I've noted this a few times now, but of all the jokes that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler told during their killer Golden Globes performance, the one that resonated most with me was their jab at Avatar director James Cameron: "I haven't been following the controversy surrounding Zero Dark Thirty," Poehler said name-checking director Kathryn Bigelow. "But when it comes to torture, I trust the woman who spent three years married to James Cameron." more »
Proving that a movie shot over a day and a half can premiere at Sundance if it has James Franco's name attached, Interior. Leather Bar. is an infuriating stunt that misrepresents itself as Franco and co-director Travis Mathews' reimagining of the 40 minutes William Friedkin claims he was forced to cut from Cruising to get an R rating. Yet it would seem "James Franco's 40 Minutes" don't exist either, leaving only this hastily tossed-off companion piece, a partly authentic, partly scripted behind-the-scenes featurette that never quite conveys the star's "high/curious" interest in all things taboo. After Sundance and Berlin, relative obscurity awaits. more »
I couldn't have guessed back in 1995 that Richard Linklater's charming Before Sunrise would spark one of the most beloved trilogies of the next few decades, but anticipation has been so high for the latest chapter in Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine's (Julie Delpy) arrested romance that it was only natural we'd be longing for more after 2004's Before Sunset. Shot in secret, the third film in the series, Before Midnight, premiered last night at Sundance to rave reviews and today brings a few new photos that'll have you pining even harder for whenever it's delivered to theaters.
more »
Two Sundances ago Brit Marling mesmerized as the leader of a cult being infiltrated by two would-be documentarians in Zal Batmanglij's Sound Of My Voice; this year she returns to Park City as the infiltrator, playing a corporate operative who goes undercover within a volatile anti-capitalist eco-anarchist group in Batmanglij's sophomore feature, The East. Hit the jump for a peek at the tense first trailer and let Ellen Page's steely-pixie voice put you on edge.
more »
Pulling raw talent from the footnotes of rock 'n' roll history and splashing their names up on the marquee where they belong, Twenty Feet From Stardom wages a compelling crusade to get background singers some long-overdue recognition. Featuring such stalwarts as Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer and Tata Vega — many of whose voices are well known even if their names are not — this rousing group portrait should have commercial legs as long as its subjects', leaving satisfied audiences everywhere listening with new ears. Director Morgan Neville's loving spotlight, produced by late A&M Records exec Gil Friesen, ensures their contributions will go unsung no more. more »
Who you gonna call to cast Ghostbusters 3 — if it ever gets made, that is? Don't count on Michael Cera. I got a brief moment to talk to the actor at the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday where his latest movie, Sebastián Silva's Crystal Fairy helped kick off the festival, and I took the opportunity to ask him if he'd been approached at all about the much-discussed Ghostbusters 3 film that co-creators Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis want to start shooting this year . more »
The Sundance Film Festival opens Thursday with a new crop of anticipated indies — some of which will define the cinematic year. Last year's narrative winner Beasts of the Southern Wild received a slew of Oscar nominations this year along with other titles. Which ones will emerge this year? Over the next week, Movieline will give a snapshot of the filmmakers themselves in their own words along with trailers. Here Andrew Bujalski (Computer Chess), James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now), Francesca Gregorini (Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes), Kim Longinotto (Salma), and Gabriela Cowperthwaite (Blackfish) preview their films.
more »
Nine years after Napoleon Dynamite made Sundance darlings out of its makers, screenwriter Jerusha Hess is set to make her directorial debut with the femme-centric comedy Austenland, adapted from Shannon Hale's best-seller about a Jane Austen obsessee on holiday at a resort where the Regency authoress is venerated like a goddess.
more »
Writer-director Jeff Nichols returns with the Arkansas-set drama Mud, which vied for the Palme d'Or at Cannes and sweeps through the Sundance Film Festival this week with stars Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon in tow. Watch the film's first trailer — which does indeed feature a shirtless McConaughey, along with simmering Southern-fried intrigue and a palpable sense of menace — and stay tuned for more updates from Park City.
more »
Rising U.K. actress Kaya Scodelario (Skins, Moon, Wuthering Heights) stars as a teenager who strikes up a friendship with her mysterious neighbor (Jessica Biel) in the drama Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes, which premieres in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Movieline's got your first look at the poster for the surrealism-tinged thriller featuring Scodelario, who will be one to watch this month in Park City.
more »
James Franco said he is unlikely to return to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes following the exit of the sequel's director Rupert Wyatt.
more »
The unveiling of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival line-up has begun! (Get the first wave of titles in the U.S. and World dramatic and documentary slate, plus the NEXT selections here.) Here are ten intriguing, surprising, and promising figures and filmmakers to look forward to following around Park City as their films vie among the 16 dramatic and 16 documentary films in competition this year — including a certain Twilight maven, everyone's favorite boy wizard, and two kinds of Bries.
more »
The week following Thanksgiving is, traditionally, one in which the film industry looks back and forward. The Gotham Awards, which took place in New York on Monday night, and the Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations, which were announced on Tuesday, pay homage to the film achievements of the past year, while the Sundance Film Festival, which announced the first of its lineups on Wednesday, begins the discussion for the coming year. Most titles in the festival's U.S. competition slots will find distribution — and as they reach moviegoing audiences, steer the ongoing cultural conversation that good film provokes. more »
The first wave of Sundance 2013 programming has been unveiled (find the full list of U.S. and World narrative and documentary titles, plus the NEXT line-up, here) along with some intriguing first images from films like David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints, starring Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck as 1970s outlaw lovers, and Primer director Shane Carruth's sophomore film Upstream Color.
more »
Jesse Eisenberg landed an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network and most recently, he is a love-sick architect opposite Alec Baldwin in Woody Allen's To Rome with Love. Next up, the young star plays a piano prodigy who tries to check his mother (played by Oscar-winner Melissa Leo) into rehab. Things, however, go awry when he is taken hostage by her drug dealer (hate when that happens) and he is suddenly off on a wild adventure.
more »
