One of our favorite films from the Tribeca Film Festival was Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. It’s an in-depth look at the career and life of Joan Rivers. But, even non-fans will enjoy the journey of one of the hardest working women in show business.
Look for the film in select theaters on June 11th. Purchase Joan’s necklace here on qvc.com.
Check out everything you need to know about the film at the official website here.
Enjoy the trailer below!
The cast was red carpet ready and so were we. Enjoy the premiere video below!
Patricia Cornwell’s #1 Best-Selling Crime Novels are finally ready to hit your tv screens. Lifetime presents two world premiere movies, two weeks in a row starting with At Risk this Saturday at 9EST/PT
Here’s the scoop: High-powered and glamorous District Attorney Monique Lamont (Andi MacDowell), seeks to further her political aspirations by solving a decades-old murder. Not convinced of the purity of his boss’ motives, Monique’s colleague, Win Garano (Daniel Sunjata), grudgingly takes on the assignment. But, the deeper he delves into this cold case, the more twisted it becomes and more apparent that there is much more at stake.
Visit the official website here. Enjoy the sneak peek below.
Here’s the scoop: Three women’s lives share a common core: they have all been profoundly affected by adoption. Karen (Annette Bening) had a baby at 14, gave her up at birth, and has been haunted ever since by the daughter she never knew.Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) grew up as an adopted child; she’s a bright and ambitious lawyer, but a flinty loner in her personal life. Lucy (Kerry Washington) is just embarking with her husband on the adoption odyssey, looking for a baby to become their own.
Become a fan of the movie on Facebook here. Everything you could want at the official website here. Opens May 7th in NYC and LA. Enjoy the trailer below.
An Education, the new film from writer Nick Hornby (About A Boy, High Fidelity) and directed by Lone Scherfig is chock-full of surprises.
On the surface, it sounds like another trite “young girl seduced by an older man” movie, but what unfolds is a fully realized film about one woman’s past experiences, realized with equal parts humor and drama.
Based on a memoir by Lynn Barber, the film is set in a post-war, pre-Beatles London suburb, and tells the story of a bright British schoolgirl who is torn between studying for a place at Oxford and the more exciting alternative offered to her by a charismatic older man. What surprises here, is the reality that the performances are grounded in. Jenny (perfectly played by Carey Mulligan) is the sort of girl that while smart for her age, is still naïve about the world around her and how actions that seemed appropriate and harmless as a girl, can have serious repercussions when chosen in an adult world.
David (played by Peter Sarsgaard) is her suitor. His ability to seduce Jenny is even more believable, given the subtlety and nuance of Sarsgaard’s performance. He shows Jenny his world as though he is seeing it himself for the first time, and it’s that enthusiasm and sharing of wonder and discovery that appeals to and draws Jenny in.
All of the supporting performances are excellent, especially Alfred Molina, who plays Jenny’s father, a perfectly rational man who also gets seduced by David. Other standouts in the cast include Rosamund Pike (Sense and Sensibility), Emma Thompson, Olivia Williams and Dominic Cooper.
You wouldn’t expect any less but perfect music choices in a Nick Hornby film, and here those songs actually add to the context of the film. They aren’t just used because they’re great songs, but rather they enhance characters and give insight into the story.
An Education opens tomorrow in New York and Los Angeles. Check the website for future release dates near you. Get the soundtrack here. Enjoy the trailer below.
Take a peek at the trailer below for a little British football movie coming out October 9th. Starring Michael Sheen ( Frost/Nixon), Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge) and Colm Meaney (he’s the new Michael Caine! What hasn’t he been in?), The Damned United tells the confrontational and darkly humorous story of Brian Clough’s doomed 44 day tenure as manager of the reigning champions of English football Leeds United. Previously managed by his bitter rival Don Revie, and on the back of their most successful period ever as a football club, Leeds was perceived by many to represent a new aggressive and cynical style of football – an anathema to the principled yet flamboyant Clough.
We were crying 30 seconds into the trailer, but in a good way. The Way We Get By is a deeply moving film about life and how to live it. Beginning as a seemingly quirky story about troop greeters – a group of senior citizens who gather daily at a small airport to thank American soldiers departing and returning from Iraq, the film quickly turns into a moving, unsettling and compassionate story about aging, loneliness, war and mortality. The film reminds us how our culture casts our elders, and too often our soldiers, aside. More important, regardless of your politics, The Way We Get By celebrates three unsung heroes who share their love with strangers who need and deserve it. The Way We Get By opens in New York on July 17th. Enjoy the trailer below.
Start your Monday with a look back at the gang from Dazed and Confused and an update on where they are now. Click here to see. And relive the words of “Woody” about high school girls below. Enjoy!
Living legend Woody Allen recently answered questions at a press conference in New York about his upcoming film Whatever Works which opens tomorrow. While the film stars Larry David, you can squint your eyes and see Woody playing this role. But, as Woody notes he feels he couldn’t have played the role even if he was younger. He also discussed how the script was originally written for Zero Mostel back in the seventies, his memories of filming and living in New York and how he has only improved “marginally” as a director since Annie Hall.
Q- Woody, Did you ever see yourself playing the role of “Boris” (the title character in “Whatever Works”played by Larry David) ?
Woody Allen- This is not a part I could have played even if I was younger. I had originally conceived the part for Zero Mostel and Larry was able to do this character and the vitriolic humor and get away with it. They liked him. Groucho Marx had this…people were never offended by Groucho. They were offended if he didn’t insult them. If I were to do that, you would think I was nasty…proclaiming I’m a genius and people are cretins…you wouldn’t watch me. But, certain people can get away with it. And, Larry’s one that can. When Zero died, I never thought for one minute of doing the part myself. I put the script in the drawer and were it not for a possible imminent actor’s strike, I never would have taken it out of the drawer and looked at it. Then my casting director thought Larry could do it. I didn’t rewrite anything for Larry, but I did have to rewrite elements of the script because it had been lying there in the drawer for a long time dormant, and I had to freshen it up. Larry just seemed to fit it like a glove.
People always ask me about performances in my movies and they think I’m being facetious but I’m not, I hire great people and then I get out of their way. They were great before they met me, they’re great in the movie and they’ll be great in other movies after me. I hire them and tell them that they’re free to go. If they’re doing something that I know is egregiously wrong, that rarely happens, then I’ll say something. But, that’s it. If you hire good people, they read the script, they get it, that’s why they take the job and they do it. Afterwards, you look great as a director. But the truth is, if you hire the right people, that‘s 99% of it. The first time I heard Evan’s southern accent was when we shot her. Ed Begley, Jr. didn’t even know he was supposed to be doing a southern accent until we were on set. And he said, “Okay” and he made some kind of adjustment and he was just great.
Q-This script was written in the seventies. How much work did it take to bring the script up to date?
Woody- It took work. What intrigued me about it originally was that Zero was this fat blustery, self-aggrandizing…he knew everything about art and science and music and literature, and movies…sharing his knowledge with you for justifiably superior position. And he was very funny to be around…always carrying on and lecturing. And, I thought it would be funny that he’s living with this dumb little runaway from the South. And suddenly her mother shows up and she can’t stand him and then her father shows up…that original material all remained the same. The social and political things had to be freshened up.
Q- What’s the difference between filming in New York and Europe. Do you have to change the scripts at all?
Woody- It’s strictly a circumstance of finance. It’s very expensive to shoot in New York. I work on a very low budget. I like to do it because I live here and I love it. I was going to make my next film in New York but I couldn’t afford to, so I though maybe I’ll shoot it in San Francisco, but I couldn’t afford to do that either. So we shifted to London and made the cast British just has we had done for “Match Point”…which had been written for the Hamptons, and as an American story. I would love very much to make more films in New York.
The sensibility is the same in a city like London. Barcelona was a bit different and I wasn’t as familiar with Barcelona. I had to write some of the characters in Spanish and that had an influence on the script…fortuitously, a good influence. But, my first instinct is to go to London because they speak English and I can feel it. But, I would love to shoot in New York.
Q- What about the trend of movies being turned into Broadway musicals. Have you ever thought of turning one of your films into a Broadway musical? And if so, which one?
Woody- Well, I myself, have no interest in that whatsoever. None. No interest in writing it, seeing it, knowing about it. But, some of them I think would be good musicals in the right hands. The odds of doing a good musical are hugely against you and it would be a terrible musical and everyone would be angry at me.
Q- What are some of your fondest memories of New York?
Woody- My memories are very unrealistic. The New York I grew up loving was ironically enough, the New York of Hollywood movies…people who lived in penthouses with white telephones and they’d come home, have a drink with ermine draped over their shoulders, elevators opening directly into their apartments and making witty banter. I grew up in Brooklyn, not that far from Larry, and I never knew New York as it really existed. For that you’d have to speak to Spike Lee or Martin Scorcese.
Q- How has your approach to filmmaking changed since the time you wrote the script to the time you actually got to film it?
Marginally. It’s not an exact science and every time you make a new movie, it’s a new and different experience and you learn very little from the past…very, very little. I’m a little bit better than I was…when I first started, I made a lot of coverage and was a bit protective of myself. But, then as I got more confident, I was able to let actors improvise and do long takes. I’m better than I was when I made “Take The Money And Run”, but not much better than I was when I made “Annie Hall” or around that era. I’ve learned very little after that. The only thing that does change is you have some life experiences and you suffer a little bit and you incorporate that into your work…the sensibility of your work. But that’s all. There’s been a marginal increase in my technique, but very little else good.
Whatever Works opens tomorrow, June 19tjh. Enjoy the trailer below.
