I wrote back in my IndieWire days on the 10 Films That Should Be in the Criterion Collection, the article was written more than 5 years ago and five of those titles still haven’t gotten the Criterion treatment (Enter the Void, Sunrise, Freaks, Atlantic City, Talk to Her) whilst the other five have, including Claire Denis’ “Beau Travail”).
Read more‘Boys State’: Sundance 2020 Doc Winner Makes A Case For Mutual Understanding in Politics [Review]
A24 and Apple are joining forces to win that documentary Oscar with “Boys State,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this past January. The critics fell hard for directors Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s feel-good politico doc which tackles the annual mock gubernatorial race in Austin involving 1,100 boys.
Read moreChristopher Nolan's ‘Tenet' Screened For Press in Canada
In case you were still in denial that Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” was actually coming out at the end of the month, here comes some more news, this time from North of the border as Canadian press in Toronto, albeit a very limited and select few, caught Nolan’s film this past week. A journo who attended the highly secretive screening had mostly positive things to say about the film, I won’t mention anything else, but, suffice to say, upon hearing the news, I immediately emailed a WB contact I had in Canada, and he indeed confirmed that more press screenings are coming about shortly.
Read moreSofia Coppola’s ‘On the Rocks’ Set For October Release on Apple TV+
Following up with the Netflix pandemic plan, Apple TV+ is planning to bypass every fall festival and released a major Oscar contender straight-to-streaming this fall. Sofia Coppola’s “On the Rocks,” starring Bill Murray and Rashida Jones, has officially been set with an October release date (with newly released stills available via EW).
Read more‘The War With Grandpa': De Niro Sells Out, Again [Trailer]
After his triumphant turn in “The Irishman,” Robert De Niro has decided that he’s not ready to totallygive up on the easy paychecks he gets for starring in stupid comedies. Case in point, the upcoming The War with Grandpa.”
Read more‘The Devil All the Time': Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland Star in Highly-Anticipated Netflix Film [Trailer]
Campos’ film will be released by Netflix on September 16th. The streaming giant couldn’t care less about delaying titles due to the pandemic, they are relentless in the amount of streaming content they have greenlit for release these past few months. Their fall lineup is stacked with heavy-hitting titles such as David Fincher’s “Mank,” “Charlie Kaufman’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” Ron Howard’s “Hillbilly Elegy,” and Ben Wheatley’’s “Rebecca.”
Read moreNYFF 2020 Includes McQueen, Zhao, Puiu, Petzold and Zhangke
The New York Film Festival is bound to be the biggest film event in the U.S. this year — that is, unless AFI can muster up a great lineup this coming November. Announcing their lineup this morning, NYFF has another spectacularly curated event this year with Steve McQueen, Chloé Zhao, Cristi Puiu, Jia Zhangke, Christian Petzold, and Hong Sang-soo all set to premiere new films.
Read moreDavid Cronenberg Believes Francis Ford Coppola Prevented ‘Crash' From Winning the Palme d'Or
David Cronenberg’s “Crash” is celebrating its 24th anniversary this month and a brand-new 4K restoration will be released to coincide with the birthday. If you haven’t seen this provocative cult classic, which revolves around a mosaic of characters who get turned on by car crashes, then now’s the time as it has aged liked fine wine over the years.
Read moreAMC CEO Hints at Higher Ticket & Concession Prices For ‘Tenet' Screenings
It had to happen, with AMC Theatres having just posted quarterly losses of more than half a billion dollars, a reopening of its doors to hundreds of locations had to be imminent. Well, beginning later this month, that’s exactly what’s going to happen, as hundreds of its theaters will reopen for business, but with ticket and concession prices raised significantly. Why? Speaking on a recent investor’s call (via Variety), AMC CEO Adam Aron blamed the price hike on the rigorous training to make sure all of the employees are following the rules and, no, not because they have been on financial life support these lasted several months. What do you believe is the real reason?
Read more‘Unpregnant’: Haley Lu Richardson Needs An Abortion in Fantasy Abortion Dramedy [Trailer]
We already got one great abortion drama in 2020 (“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”), well, here comes another one tackling this highly politicized topic, albeit in slightly more comedic ways.
Read moreNetflix's Opening ‘Ta-dum' Sound Upgraded by Hans Zimmer
Martin Scorsese Signs Multi-Year Directing Deal With Apple
Apple has locked up director Martin Scorsese for a multi-year deal, to produce and direct new films for Apple [via Deadline]. This, of course, comes on the heels of Apple buying Scorsese’s upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon,” in a massive deal that was reportedly worth more than $160 million.
Read moreLionsgate Sells Thriller ‘Run’ To Hulu; Skipping Theatrical Release
Another studio film has decided to bypass a theatrical release altogether and be sold to a streaming service. Last week, it was announced that Lionsgate was sending “Antebellum” straight to PVOD. And now, the studio is at it again, selling the theatrically-planned “Run” to Hulu. According to Deadline, HULU is not planning a theatrical release for “Run,” although an international release is set for theaters.
Read moreAzael Jacobs' ‘French Exit’ To Close Out NYFF 2020
A hotshot NYC-based producer had told me a few weeks ago to watch out for this year’s New York Film Festival which, he said, “would blow away any lineup by Telluride, Toronto or Venice.” Well, an additional piece of the puzzle has been added today by the NYFF as they have announced that Azazel Jacobs’ “French Exit” will make its world premiere as the closing night selection of the upcoming festival. Jacobs’ film joins this 58th edition’s opening night (Steve McQueen’s “Lovers Rock”) and centerpiece film (Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland”).
Read moreSean Connery Voted Best James Bond in Massive U.K. Poll, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan Runners-Up
Sean Connery was named the all-time best James Bond in a new poll seeking to find the best ever cinematic portrayal of the famous Ian Fleming spy character. Connery took in 56% of the vote in the Radio Times poll. Timothy Dalton was the surprise runner-up, taking in 32% of the votes, whilst, surprisingly, Pierce Brosnan finished third with 23% of the final tally. Trailing behind were Roger Moore, Daniel Craig, and George Lazenby in last place.
Read moreMartin Scorsese's ‘Killers of the Flower Moon' Won’t Start Production Until Early 2021
Martin Scorsese was supposed to start shooting the $200 million production of “Killers of the Flower Moon” back in March, but the man the pandemic hit and, much like every other shoot in Tinsel Town, a delay happened. ‘Killers, which is set to star Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, is an adaptation of David Grann’s novel, scripted by Eric Roth.
Read more‘An American Pickle': Seth Rogen Plays Dual Roles in this Shapeless HBO Max Comedy [Review]
Seth Rogen plays dual roles in “American Pickle” an HBO Max comedy that fizzles out in its latter half. That’s too bad, really, because Rogen, at first, grabs your attention playing Herschel Greenbaum, a ditch-digger from a 1919 Eastern European shtetl — donning a Tevye beard straight out of “Fiddler on the Roof,” Herschel falls hard for Sarah (Sarah Snook). However, their wedding is a disaster, everyone except them gets killed by the evil Cossacks, which leads them to immigrate to Ellis Island. Herschel gets a job at a pickle factory, to support a pregnant Sarah, only to fall into a barrel of brine and get pickled for a century.
Read more‘Robin’s Wish’: Doc Tackles Robin Williams’ Suicide [Trailer]
We were all shocked when a 63-year old Robin Williams kills himself in 2014. How could such a brilliant and, on the surface, joyful man feel so lonesome? The upcoming documentary “Robin’s Wish” tries to answer that question and, it turns out, much like everything in life, the answer is much more complicated than any media outlet would have led you believe at the time.
Read more‘Judas & The Black Messiah’: LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya Star In Black Panthers Saga
You can tell by watching the trailer for “Judas & The Black Messiah” that they tried to capture the current zeitgeist in the editing. It all makes for a powerfully driven trailer. But is the movie any good? We won’t know that until its 2021.
Read moreSundance 2021 Will Be A Shorter and Digital-Heavy Event
The Sundance Film Festival does not currently have a specific plan in mind for its 2021 edition, but all indicators point towards it being a very unique edition of the Park City-based event — in other words, it will be a much smaller affair than in years past, with limited screenings.
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Brady Corbet's “The Origin of the World,” his X-Rated epic about "Northern California’s economy" in the 1970s epic, has now started production in South Africa under the working title “SALT FLATS.”