Speaking during a masterclass at the Lumiere Festival [via The Guardian], Javier Bardem continued to defend Woody Allen, who has been vehemently accused by wife Mia Farrow of sexually abusing her daughter Dylan back in 1993:
“At the time I did ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona,’ the allegations were already well known for more than 10 years, and two states in the US deemed he was not guilty,” explained the actor.
20 Years Later: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman And Steve Buscemi Talk ‘The Big Lebowski’
Joel and Ethan Coen‘s The Big Lebowski celebrated its 20 year anniversary (3.6.98) this past year, and it seems like everyone’s celebrating this landmark release. A film which most people will admit demands repeat viewings and rewards them to greater degrees every repeated time. It's an American comedy classic, which has even spawned The annual Lebowski Fest, where fans dress up as characters from the movie, oddly enough started in Louisville, Kentucky, back in 2002 and now an annual event at almost every major English-speaking city in the world.
Read moreRoseanne reacts to her character's death on ABC show: 'I ain't dead bitches!'
Roseanne Barr reacted on Tuesday night to the premiere of The Conners,ABC’s reboot of the hit series, which was cancelled after the actress/comedian was fired from the show earlier this year.
The season premiere of the new series got down to business rather quickly by killing her character off a few seconds into the proceedings. The cause of death? an opioid overdose — Roseanne reacted on Twitter by saying, in all caps: “I AIN’T DEAD, BITCHES!!!!”
Read moreNicole Kidman is brutally brilliant in DESTROYER | Official Trailer
I saw and reviewed Karyn Kusama's "Destroyer" this past September at TIFF. It's essentially a dirty cop movie delivered via a female perspective. If the screenplay has weak spots, contrivances, if you will, since this should be considered a B-movie, Kusama does break through due to her brilliant strengths as a director of atmosphere. She's a fantastic filmmaker, I highly recommend you check out, if you haven't already, the work she did in 2015's "The Invitation." However, "Destroyer" is, by all means, the Nicole Kidman show. At 51-years-of-age, and completely de-glammed, God I hate that term, she delivers her best performance in more than two decades, she's devastating.
Read moreBlumhouse Founder On Why He Hasn't Hired Women Filmmakers: “There Are Not A Lot Of Female Directors, Period”
You've got to hand it to Jason Blum, founder of Blumhouse Productions which has released the likes of "Get Out," "The Purge," "Insidious," "Split"and "Paranormal Activity." He's just telling it like it is.
The company has been criticized with not really having had female filmmakers direct its horror-centered films. Blum was grilled the other day about this subject in an interview with Polygon. Why doesn't he have more women filmmakers working for him? The answer, according to Blum, is rather simple, there just aren't that many:
Read moreJames Gray's 'Ad Astra' moves from January to May 2019
I kept telling HE's Jeffrey Wells that there is absolutely no chance in hell that 20th Century Fox’s James Gray sci-fi movie "Ad Astra" (which was meant to be released in mid-January) would receive an Academy-qualifying release in December. No chance. Gray's films are not Oscar-bait, he's a lone-wolf that goes by his own creative juices. So, of course, unsurprisingly, it was announced yesterday that Gray's “epic science fiction thriller” is now set for release on May 24th, 2019. You can put a Cannes premiere in the bank with that date now settled-in.
Read moreErrol Morris is 'Pissed' That His Steve Bannon Doc 'American Dharma' Cannot Find a Distributor Due to Left-Wing Backlash
"American Dharma" gives Steve Bannon a voice, so if you're already turned off by that prospect, then documentary filmmaker Errol Morris' latest movie is not for you. The rest of us can go into this beguiling film with an open mind and accept the challenge of an open dialogue with a man who many believe to be responsible for the emergence of the "Alt-Right" movement in this country.
Morris has been criticized for not being tough enough on Bannon in this doc, but I say phooey. Morris not only calls Bannon "racist," "evil," and "scary" to his face, but he is there to counterbalance and debate him throughout. Of course, deciding to boycott this doc plays right into the hands of the alt-right, who won the election because of the safe-space mentality inflicting America today.
Read moreLuca Guadagnino Working on Film Adaptation of Bob Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks"
In a recent New Yorker interview with director Luca Guadagnino ("Call Me by Your Name"), it was revealed that a film adaptation of Bob Dylan’s 1975 album "Blood on the Tracks" is being worked on, with Guadagnino set to direct and Richard LaGravenese writing the screenplay. Digging up for more information I stumbled upon a source telling SPIN that the film will tell “a multiyear story, set in the seventies, that [LaGravenese] and Guadagnino had invented, drawing on the album’s central themes.” LaGravenese tells the New Yorker about the characters: “When they’re repressing, we dramatize the repression, and what that does to them. And we dramatize what happens when you let your passions take over too much.”
It looks like they're going for a "I'm Not There" type of narrative. A risky endeavor, if you ask me, but well worth a shot. "Blood on the Tracks" is an incredible work of art.
'First Man': Do Millennials Actually Care About the Moon Landing?
I'm sorry folks, I just can't get on-board the "First Man" train, not for particularly political reasons, such as what Richard Brody and Armond White seem to be doing, no, I believe Chazelle's film was rather stilted, impenetrable if you will -- it didn't help that I couldn't care less about the moon landing in the first place.
Yes, the film is about a huge, earth-shaking event, one which I wasn't alive to bear witness to or understand the importance of, but, truth be told, what did government exactly accomplish by going to the moon? Stealing American's precious tax-paying dollars?
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper's 'A Star Is Born' Soundtrack Debuts at No. 1
One of the positives of "A Star is Born" is, no doubt, the top-notch soundtrack and the fact that songs with actual instrumentation (good ol' bass, drum, piano and guitar) are back at the top of the Billboard charts since God knows how long.
It is no surprise then that Gaga-mania mixed with word of mouth for the film has made the film's soundtrack sell more than 231,000 copies in the week ending Oct. 11, according to Nielsen Music -- according to Billboard that's "the biggest week for a soundtrack in more than three-and-a-half years. Of Star’s overall starting sum, 162,000 were in album sales."
Bryan Singer Denies Allegations In Upcoming Esquire Exposée
There's a lot of talk about an upcoming Esquire article which will recap all of Bryan Singer‘s sexually promiscuous misdeeds, so today Singer decided to write a scathing rebuttal on his social media.
In an Instagram post, Singer states, “I have known for some time that Esquire magazine may publish a negative article about me. They have contacted my friends, colleagues, and people I don’t even know.” He continues on by saying that the upcoming exposée is an example of a recurrent trend these days where “careers are being harmed by mere accusations.”
Read moreThe Force Killed Luke Skywalker, Confirms Mark Hamill
Mark Hamill gave an interesting take on Twitter regarding Luke Skywalker in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”
Hamill shared a panel from “The Last Jedi” comic adaptation of Rian Johnson’s film on Twitter and compared what happened to Luke not unlike what happens to an addict who has relapsed.
“THE FORCE KILLED LUKE. You have to acknowledge the irony in his fate,” Hamill tweeted. “Almost like an addict that kicked his habit cold turkey, remained clean for decades, only to re-use just once & then, tragically, overdoses.”
Hamill previously teased that perhaps Luke isn’t actually dead.
Peter Bogdanovich: "I think a lot of current movies are going to date very badly, particularly the superhero movies"
Matt Zoler Seitz has a fascinating interview with director, film historian Peter Bogdanovich up on RogerEbert.com. It's definitely worth a read, at the very least for Bogdanovich's incredible insight on Buster Keaton, silent cinema and the changes in American movies today. Bogdanovich thinks that the current crop of superhero flicks ravaging the silver screen today will age very badly over time. With the exception of "The Dark Knight," and a few other minor entertainments, I can't help but believe that he is correct in his assumption.
A few noteworthy quotes:
Read more'First Man' Backlash Coming From All Directions: "It's Not Patriotic Enough," "It's Too Patriotic," "It's Too White," ...
"First Man" has been surrounded by idiotic controversies ever since its world premiere at Venice this past August. A common complaint about Damien Chazelle's film, albeit mostly from conservative pundits, was that you never actually see Armstrong planting the flag on the moon. Of course, the flag actually appears in the film numerous times, including an actual shot of the flag waving on the moon and Neil Armstrong's son putting up a flag in front of the Armstrong household.
The flag is there. I've seen "First Man" twice now, and although you don't see Armstrong's iconic planting of it on the moon ground, it is subtly shown. Anyways, why are we even arguing about this in the first place? Who cares?!
Read morePost 'Star Wars: Episode IX', Oscar Isaac Is Taking the Year Off From Acting
If there's a harder working actor/actress than Oscar Isaac I plead for you to name him/her.
Now that we've settled that, I do believe that the filmography Isaac has created this past decade cannot be touched by any other actor, safe, maybe, Joaquin Phoenix. You don't believe me? How else would you describe a career that in the past 6 years has given us "Inside Llewyn Davis," "A Most Violent Year," "Ex-Machina," and two "Star Wars" movies?
Isaac spoke to IndieWire yesterday at NYFF, as his latest film, the Vincent Van Gogh biopic "At Eternity's Gate" was having its North American premiere. The 39-year-old Guatemalan-born actor didn't hesitate in saying that he's zonked. In fact, he will take an entire year off from acting.
“I haven’t really stopped for 10 years,” he said. “I’m just going to be with family and taking a bit of a rest.”
And yet, with all that being said, he still has two important movies being released in 2019:
Read moreRyan Coogler to Write and Direct 'Black Panther' Sequel
THR is reporting that Ryan Coogler will write and direct a sequel to this year's uber-successful "Black Panther."
Coogler is set to make mega bucks for "Black Panther 2." Good for him. Such a great timeline for him. His career got started with the little indie "Fruitvale Station," which I thought wasn't all that impressive, despite the important political context and friendly reviews. What really turned heads, including mine, was the way he shot those boxing scenes in "Creed 2," Wowza! That really led me to believe this guy had something special, but then he had to go and waste those talents on the most mass-marketed, safe entertainment imaginable over at Marvel. Oh, well. Money talks, but I do hope Coogler eventually goes back into making original statements post-Panther. Which is not to say "Black Panther 2" will disappoint by any means, although I had a generally mixed reaction with the original, but, man, Marvel and Disney are really stealing all these young up and coming talents for the most mainstream fare imaginable.
Michael B. Jordan is also set to star in the 'Panther' sequel. And so, you might ask, if Jordan's character died in the first one, how is he going to star in this movie as well? My answer is rather simple: this is Marvel, nobody ever really dies forever.
Uber-Trippy Trailer for Harmony Korine's 'The Beach Bum'
Marvel/Disney Tackle Gender Wage Gap: Scarlett Johansson Lands $15M Payday for 'Black Widow'
For years I have been clamoring for a "Black Widow movie." The cinematic potential of the character, as portrayed by Scarlett Johannsen in the 'Avengers' flicks, is endless. After all, what could be more cinematic than a spy movie?
Marvel Studios is finally going to be making a stand-alone “Black Widow” movie with Johansson and directed by Cate Shortland. This has us all very excited and today's news was just icing on the cake as its been reported that Johannson will be making just as much as her counterparts in the MCU.
Read more'A Star Is Born' and 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Submitted as Dramas NOT Musicals for Golden Globes Consideration
Warner Bros.’ "A Star is Born" is, by all accounts, a musically-driven film that, truth be told, belongs in the "musical" category at the Golden Globes. Ditto 20th Century Fox’s by-the-books "Bohemian Rhapsody," which features an incredible performance from Rami Malek, the latter recounts the ups and downs of the band Queen.
So what's the deal with both films being submitted as dramas for the 2019 Golden Globe awards? Calculated strategy, of course. Especially when it comes to 'Star,' the Bradley Cooper-directed film is going to be a major player at the Globes and Oscars, Warner doesn't want it to be seen as a 'light' musically-driven picture, they want it to be seen as a meaty statement, which, of course, it isn't. It's a remake of a remake of a remake, which, by all accounts, pulls the same strings as its predecessors. Think of it as an updated, modern-day version of the 1974 Kris Kristofferson/Barbara Streisand version, which also takes place in the country music world. Cooper's version is slightly better, but not by all that much.
Anne Thompson broke this story yesterday and it's gotten pundits scratching their heads. But I don't really think there's much to be confused about here -- being relegated to the 'musical' category is a downgrade in terms of how your film may be perceived at the Oscars. There's a lot of fluff in that category, no need to be part of that crowd, especially when 'Star' has a shot at winning the Drama category.
Trailer: 'Ben is Back' features one of Julia Roberts' best performances
My B-review of Julia Roberts' return to form in "Ben is Back." Her best performance since? Who knows! The script may be a bit all over the place, but her performance deserves to be praised, ditto Lucas Hedges as her drug-addicted son struggling between recovery and relapse.