Exclusive: Scatena & Rosner Films has acquired worldwide rights to The Christmas Letter, a holiday comedy starring Angus Benfield (The Keeper), Chevy Chase (Community), Randy Quaid (The Last Detail), and Brian Doyle-Murray (Groundhog Day). Marking the feature directorial debut of Tori Hunter, the film is expected to be released in theaters later this year.
The Christmas Letter follows an unemployed copywriter who receives an annual braggadocious Christmas letter from his well-to-do friend who’s great at making our hero feel less than. Tired of being outdone and down on his luck, he gambles everything to give his family a Christmas-letter worthy vacation, and to upstage his wealthy pest.
Written by Michael Cunningham, the flick is produced by Benfield and Michael Cunningham. Daniel Hegel, Ruth Benfield, Gato Scatena, and Jordan Rosner served as executive producers.
“This film is going to be such a fun nod to classics like ‘Christmas Vacation,’ we...
The Christmas Letter follows an unemployed copywriter who receives an annual braggadocious Christmas letter from his well-to-do friend who’s great at making our hero feel less than. Tired of being outdone and down on his luck, he gambles everything to give his family a Christmas-letter worthy vacation, and to upstage his wealthy pest.
Written by Michael Cunningham, the flick is produced by Benfield and Michael Cunningham. Daniel Hegel, Ruth Benfield, Gato Scatena, and Jordan Rosner served as executive producers.
“This film is going to be such a fun nod to classics like ‘Christmas Vacation,’ we...
- 5/30/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
With all due respect to Sally Potter’s visually sumptuous “Orlando,” the seemingly best way to adapt Virginia Woolf is through a side door. Michael Cunningham’s novel “The Hours” works, in part, not because it’s a quasi-adaptation of “Mrs. Dalloway,” but because it stretches out the central issues of that text to see how various women across time deal with the shackles of gender and the patriarchy.
Continue reading ‘Orlando, My Political Biography” Review: A Vibrant Documentary About Virginia Woolf And Trans Identity. at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Orlando, My Political Biography” Review: A Vibrant Documentary About Virginia Woolf And Trans Identity. at The Playlist.
- 11/15/2023
- by Christian Gallichio
- The Playlist
David Bowie has a stage show featuring his music called Lazarus. However, the musical was almost very different from its final form. Reportedly, it was almost a tribute to Bob Dylan as David Bowie wanted the music to consist of fake songs written by the “Blowin’ in the Wind” singer.
David Bowie wanted to make a musical with fake Bob Dylan songs David Bowie | Nigel Wright/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
Lazarus is a jukebox musical featuring David Bowie’s music. The show is a spiritual sequel to the movie The Man Who Fell to Earth, which starred Bowie. The musical continues the story of Thomas Newton, a humanoid alien stuck on Earth. Lazarus premiered off-Broadway in 2015, a few months before Bowie’s death.
During the making of Lazarus, Bowie had a different idea than using his music. In an interview with GQ, novelist Michael Cunningham shared what Bowie originally envisioned for the show.
David Bowie wanted to make a musical with fake Bob Dylan songs David Bowie | Nigel Wright/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
Lazarus is a jukebox musical featuring David Bowie’s music. The show is a spiritual sequel to the movie The Man Who Fell to Earth, which starred Bowie. The musical continues the story of Thomas Newton, a humanoid alien stuck on Earth. Lazarus premiered off-Broadway in 2015, a few months before Bowie’s death.
During the making of Lazarus, Bowie had a different idea than using his music. In an interview with GQ, novelist Michael Cunningham shared what Bowie originally envisioned for the show.
- 6/12/2023
- by Ross Tanenbaum
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Andrew Bolton collaborated with Michael Cunningham and Stephen Daldry’s The Hours stars Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Julianne Moore, who read from Virginia Woolf’s Orlando: A Biography for About Time: Fashion and Duration Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In Christian D Bruun's Calendar Girl (a 2020 Doc NYC highlight), which features interviews with the who’s who of the fashion world, Diane von Furstenberg, Steven Kolb (CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America), and André Leon Talley), we see Andrew Bolton stroll through the China: Through the Looking Glass exhibit with Ruth Finley, creator of the Fashion Calendar.
Andrew Bolton with Anne-Katrin Titze: “I wanted to use the Phillip Glass soundtrack for The Hours” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
At the in-person press preview for About Time: Fashion and Duration, Andrew Bolton (the Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art) told me how...
In Christian D Bruun's Calendar Girl (a 2020 Doc NYC highlight), which features interviews with the who’s who of the fashion world, Diane von Furstenberg, Steven Kolb (CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America), and André Leon Talley), we see Andrew Bolton stroll through the China: Through the Looking Glass exhibit with Ruth Finley, creator of the Fashion Calendar.
Andrew Bolton with Anne-Katrin Titze: “I wanted to use the Phillip Glass soundtrack for The Hours” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
At the in-person press preview for About Time: Fashion and Duration, Andrew Bolton (the Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art) told me how...
- 10/29/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Is two-time Emmy winner Jeff Daniels about to add another trophy to his mantel? The versatile actor previously prevailed for “The Newsroom” (2013) and “Godless” (2018), and now he’s earning super-early Emmy buzz for his role as former FBI director James Comey in Showtime’s limited series “The Comey Rule” (watch the trailer above). The program, which debuts this September, tells the story of Comey’s transition from working in President Barack Obama‘s administration to his ultimate firing under President Donald Trump. Daniels has a rich history of starring in great productions, so below we take a look back through his 15 best movies ever — can you guess our #1 pick?
TV academy members love when well-known actors take on political figures — just look at Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin (“Game Change”), Barry Pepper as Robert F. Kennedy (“The Kennedys”), Paul Giamatti as John Adams (“John Adams”), as well as all of...
TV academy members love when well-known actors take on political figures — just look at Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin (“Game Change”), Barry Pepper as Robert F. Kennedy (“The Kennedys”), Paul Giamatti as John Adams (“John Adams”), as well as all of...
- 8/24/2020
- by Marcus James Dixon
- Gold Derby
It’s official: Darren Star’s hit comedy series Younger is staying put at TV Land. The Viacom network has set a June 12 premiere date for its flagship original series’ upcoming sixth season. The announcement was made by the show’s cast (watch the video above).
It had been previously announced.that Younger would be moving to sibling Paramount Network starting with Season 6. Given the series’ long history and ratings success on TV Land, that decision was eventually reversed.
Younger established TV Land as destination for single-camera comedy series and has consistently grown its ratings season after season, including closing out the most recent fifth season as its highest-rated ever among adults 18-49. Younger also has been the #1 series on ad-supported cable for two consecutive years among Women 18-49 and Women 25-54.
Younger, which is the only remaining original scripted series on TV Land, stars Sutton Foster, Hilary Duff, Debi Mazar,...
It had been previously announced.that Younger would be moving to sibling Paramount Network starting with Season 6. Given the series’ long history and ratings success on TV Land, that decision was eventually reversed.
Younger established TV Land as destination for single-camera comedy series and has consistently grown its ratings season after season, including closing out the most recent fifth season as its highest-rated ever among adults 18-49. Younger also has been the #1 series on ad-supported cable for two consecutive years among Women 18-49 and Women 25-54.
Younger, which is the only remaining original scripted series on TV Land, stars Sutton Foster, Hilary Duff, Debi Mazar,...
- 4/9/2019
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
The Pulitzer at 100 director and Oscar-winner for Strangers No More, Kirk Simon, has died. Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
The Pulitzer At 100 director and Oscar-winner for Strangers No More, Kirk Simon, died at the age of 63 on April 14 in New York.
For his most recent documentary, Kirk assembled a grand cast plus authors, journalists, composers and photographers who have won Pulitzers, to create a vivid portrait of the importance of Joseph Pulitzer's brilliant idea to establish the School of Journalism at Columbia University and award prizes.
Kirk Simon documented Jane Goodall's work in Chimps: So Like Us Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Kirk Simon documented Jane Goodall's work in Chimps: So Like Us, Ingmar...
The Pulitzer At 100 director and Oscar-winner for Strangers No More, Kirk Simon, died at the age of 63 on April 14 in New York.
For his most recent documentary, Kirk assembled a grand cast plus authors, journalists, composers and photographers who have won Pulitzers, to create a vivid portrait of the importance of Joseph Pulitzer's brilliant idea to establish the School of Journalism at Columbia University and award prizes.
Kirk Simon documented Jane Goodall's work in Chimps: So Like Us Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Kirk Simon documented Jane Goodall's work in Chimps: So Like Us, Ingmar...
- 4/26/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Production scheduled to start later in year for 2019 series debut.
Extending the 25-year run of TV adaptations of Armistead Maupin’s groundbreaking literary saga, Netflix has ordered a limited series based on Maupin’s Tales Of The City novels from Working Title Television and NBCUniversal International.
Set in the present day, the new 10-part series, titled Armistead Maupin’s Tales Of The City, will see Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis reprise their roles from the three previous Tales mini-series.
Ellen Page joins the cast and production is expected to start later this year for a series debut in 2019.
Orange Is The New Black...
Extending the 25-year run of TV adaptations of Armistead Maupin’s groundbreaking literary saga, Netflix has ordered a limited series based on Maupin’s Tales Of The City novels from Working Title Television and NBCUniversal International.
Set in the present day, the new 10-part series, titled Armistead Maupin’s Tales Of The City, will see Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis reprise their roles from the three previous Tales mini-series.
Ellen Page joins the cast and production is expected to start later this year for a series debut in 2019.
Orange Is The New Black...
- 4/25/2018
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Production scheduled to start later in year for 2019 series debut.
Extending the 25-year run of TV adaptations of Armistead Maupin’s groundbreaking literary saga, Netflix has ordered a limited series based on Maupin’s Tales Of The City novels from Working Title Television and NBCUniversal International.
Set in the present day, the new 10-part series, titled Armistead Maupin’s Tales Of The City, will see Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis reprise their roles from the three previous Tales mini-series.
Ellen Page joins the cast and production is expected to start later this year for a series debut in 2019.
Orange Is The New Black...
Extending the 25-year run of TV adaptations of Armistead Maupin’s groundbreaking literary saga, Netflix has ordered a limited series based on Maupin’s Tales Of The City novels from Working Title Television and NBCUniversal International.
Set in the present day, the new 10-part series, titled Armistead Maupin’s Tales Of The City, will see Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis reprise their roles from the three previous Tales mini-series.
Ellen Page joins the cast and production is expected to start later this year for a series debut in 2019.
Orange Is The New Black...
- 4/25/2018
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
Netflix has ordered a 10-episode limited series revival of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. Production is expected to start later this year for premiere in 2019.
As previously announced when the project was in development, Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis will reprise their roles as Mary Ann Singleton and Anna Madrigal. Barbara Garrick, who played DeDe Halcyon Day in the original miniseries, also is set to return. Ellen Page joins the cast as Shawna, the daughter of Linney’s character, Mary Ann. Additional cast to be announced.
Based on the books by Armistead Maupin, this next chapter – Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City – follows Mary Ann (Linney), who returns home to San Francisco and is reunited with her daughter Shawna (Page) and ex-husband Brian, twenty years after leaving them behind to pursue her career. Fleeing the midlife crisis that her picture perfect Connecticut life created, Mary Ann returns...
As previously announced when the project was in development, Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis will reprise their roles as Mary Ann Singleton and Anna Madrigal. Barbara Garrick, who played DeDe Halcyon Day in the original miniseries, also is set to return. Ellen Page joins the cast as Shawna, the daughter of Linney’s character, Mary Ann. Additional cast to be announced.
Based on the books by Armistead Maupin, this next chapter – Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City – follows Mary Ann (Linney), who returns home to San Francisco and is reunited with her daughter Shawna (Page) and ex-husband Brian, twenty years after leaving them behind to pursue her career. Fleeing the midlife crisis that her picture perfect Connecticut life created, Mary Ann returns...
- 4/24/2018
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix has ordered a new 10-episode installment of “Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City,” Variety has learned.
As previously announced when it was revealed the series was in development, Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis will reprise their roles as Mary Ann Singleton and Anna Madrigal respectively. In addition, Barbara Garrick, who played DeDe Halcyon Day in the original miniseries, is also set to return.
Finally, “Juno” and “Inception” star Ellen Page will join the series as Shawna, Mary Ann’s daughter.
Based on the books by Maupin, the new installment follows Mary Ann, who returns home to San Francisco and is reunited with her daughter and ex-husband Brian, twenty years after leaving them behind to pursue her career. Fleeing the midlife crisis that her picture perfect Connecticut life created, Mary Ann returns home to her chosen family and will quickly be drawn back into the orbit of Anna Madrigal...
As previously announced when it was revealed the series was in development, Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis will reprise their roles as Mary Ann Singleton and Anna Madrigal respectively. In addition, Barbara Garrick, who played DeDe Halcyon Day in the original miniseries, is also set to return.
Finally, “Juno” and “Inception” star Ellen Page will join the series as Shawna, Mary Ann’s daughter.
Based on the books by Maupin, the new installment follows Mary Ann, who returns home to San Francisco and is reunited with her daughter and ex-husband Brian, twenty years after leaving them behind to pursue her career. Fleeing the midlife crisis that her picture perfect Connecticut life created, Mary Ann returns home to her chosen family and will quickly be drawn back into the orbit of Anna Madrigal...
- 4/24/2018
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
A winner of both the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Screenwriting at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and the Big Screen Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, ‘Pop Aye’ was a hit with critics and festival audiences alike, and now has been selected by Singapore as the country’s Official Submission to the 90th Academy Awards. Kino Lorber has now released Kirsten Tan’s Award-Winning Pop Aye on DVD with special features including behind-the-scenes footage and trailer.
Pop Aye was released theatrically by Kino Lorber earlier in 2017, with a two-week run at New York’s Film Forum and engagements in key national markets including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle. International sales are by Cercamon, a sales company based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates headed by Sébastien Chesneau who is French.
This first feature of Kirsten Tan comes from Singapore but it takes place in Thailand.
Pop Aye was released theatrically by Kino Lorber earlier in 2017, with a two-week run at New York’s Film Forum and engagements in key national markets including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle. International sales are by Cercamon, a sales company based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates headed by Sébastien Chesneau who is French.
This first feature of Kirsten Tan comes from Singapore but it takes place in Thailand.
- 11/10/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Each month, the fine folks at FilmStruck and the Criterion Collection spend countless hours crafting their channels to highlight the many different types of films that they have in their streaming library. This August will feature an exciting assortment of films, as noted below.
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Tuesday, August 1
Tuesday’s Short + Feature: These Boots and Mystery Train
Music is at the heart of this program, which pairs a zany music video by Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki with a tune-filled career highlight from American independent-film pioneer Jim Jarmusch. In the 1993 These Boots, Kaurismäki’s band of pompadoured “Finnish Elvis” rockers, the Leningrad Cowboys, cover a Nancy Sinatra classic in their signature deadpan style. It’s the perfect prelude to Jarmusch’s 1989 Mystery Train, a homage to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the musical legacy of Memphis, featuring appearances by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Joe Strummer.
To sign up for a free two-week trial here.
Tuesday, August 1
Tuesday’s Short + Feature: These Boots and Mystery Train
Music is at the heart of this program, which pairs a zany music video by Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki with a tune-filled career highlight from American independent-film pioneer Jim Jarmusch. In the 1993 These Boots, Kaurismäki’s band of pompadoured “Finnish Elvis” rockers, the Leningrad Cowboys, cover a Nancy Sinatra classic in their signature deadpan style. It’s the perfect prelude to Jarmusch’s 1989 Mystery Train, a homage to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll and the musical legacy of Memphis, featuring appearances by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and Joe Strummer.
- 7/24/2017
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof in The Pulitzer At 100
In the second installment of my conversation with The Pulitzer At 100 director Kirk Simon we discussed where Michael Cunningham (The Hours) and Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay which is also read by Martin Scorsese) keep their Pulitzers, multiple winners Thomas Friedman and Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times on working hard every day, a Tony Kushner Angels In America accent, Paula Vogel's (How I Learned to Drive) winning headline, Ayad Akhtar (Disgraced), and paying homage to Walter Hill's The Warriors when filming Tracy K Smith's reading of Life On Mars.
In The Pulitzer At 100, Michael Cunningham, with a sheepish grin, states that where his Pulitzer is kept is connected to the fate of Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? and The Great Gatsby.
Pulitzer winner Paula Vogel taught Ayad Akhtar,...
In the second installment of my conversation with The Pulitzer At 100 director Kirk Simon we discussed where Michael Cunningham (The Hours) and Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay which is also read by Martin Scorsese) keep their Pulitzers, multiple winners Thomas Friedman and Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times on working hard every day, a Tony Kushner Angels In America accent, Paula Vogel's (How I Learned to Drive) winning headline, Ayad Akhtar (Disgraced), and paying homage to Walter Hill's The Warriors when filming Tracy K Smith's reading of Life On Mars.
In The Pulitzer At 100, Michael Cunningham, with a sheepish grin, states that where his Pulitzer is kept is connected to the fate of Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? and The Great Gatsby.
Pulitzer winner Paula Vogel taught Ayad Akhtar,...
- 7/19/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Revival-enamored Netflix is looking to resurrect another beloved television tale.
TVLine has learned that the streamer is developing a 10-episode, present-day continuation of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. Sources confirm that original cast members Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis are attached to star, with other Tales vets expected to join them.
Netflix declined to comment.
This would mark the fourth TV chapter of the Lgbt-themed, San Francisco-set Tales, following the landmark 1993 version (which aired stateside on PBS) and the “sequels” More Tales of the City and Further Tales of the City, which ran on Showtime in 1998 and 2001, respectively.
TVLine has learned that the streamer is developing a 10-episode, present-day continuation of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. Sources confirm that original cast members Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis are attached to star, with other Tales vets expected to join them.
Netflix declined to comment.
This would mark the fourth TV chapter of the Lgbt-themed, San Francisco-set Tales, following the landmark 1993 version (which aired stateside on PBS) and the “sequels” More Tales of the City and Further Tales of the City, which ran on Showtime in 1998 and 2001, respectively.
- 6/28/2017
- TVLine.com
This first feature of Kirsten Tan premiered in Sundance ‘17 World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Its provenance is Singapore but it takes place in Thailand. It continued onward to the Hivos Tiger Competition at Iffr (R’dam).
The thrill of interviewing here in Sundance is that you see a film; you have an impression and while it is still fresh you meet the filmmakers without having much time for any research or reflection. And then you get to see them again as “old friends” when you meet again in Rotterdam.
As Kirsten, her producer Weijie Lai and I sat down at the Sundance Co-op on Main Street here in Park City, I really had little idea of where the interview would take us, somewhat analogously to her film in which an architect, disenchanted with life in general, being put aside as “old” in his own highly successful architectural firm and in a stale relationship with his wife,...
The thrill of interviewing here in Sundance is that you see a film; you have an impression and while it is still fresh you meet the filmmakers without having much time for any research or reflection. And then you get to see them again as “old friends” when you meet again in Rotterdam.
As Kirsten, her producer Weijie Lai and I sat down at the Sundance Co-op on Main Street here in Park City, I really had little idea of where the interview would take us, somewhat analogously to her film in which an architect, disenchanted with life in general, being put aside as “old” in his own highly successful architectural firm and in a stale relationship with his wife,...
- 2/7/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Fan fiction is more prevalent than you might think. With Fifty Shades of Grey being unleashed in theaters Friday, there's no denying that the novel's author, E L James, has brought fan fiction into the spotlight. Originally titled Master of the Universe, James's Twilight fan fiction based on Stephenie Meyer's multi-million dollar franchise first found its home on FanFiction.net. After the racy material within the story forced James to pull it from FanFiction.net, she next hosted Master of the Universe on her own website called 50Shades.com (which now redirects to her official author page). Back then,...
- 2/12/2015
- by Amanda Michelle Steiner, @amandamichl
- PEOPLE.com
The star, who loves a good rum drink and former Mayor Bloomberg's sense of humor, chatted with People this week about "one last thing" ... Last good laughWe went to the Met Ball recently and sat with former Mayor Bloomberg, who turned out to be surprisingly funny. It's not necessarily the first adjective that would spring to mind for him. Last time I saw the sunriseI have a young baby [Cyrus, 1, with wife Claire Danes], so I've seen the sunrise on several occasions, but they're all sort of blurred into a haze of slightly painful memories. Last vacationWe just went on a brief vacation to Bermuda with some friends.
- 5/23/2014
- PEOPLE.com
Writers for Breaking Bad and House of Cards were among those singled out for the 2014 Writers Guild Awards, which will be held on Feb. 1 in Los Angeles and New York.
The nominees are:
Drama Series:
Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC
The Good Wife, Written by Meredith Averill, Leonard Dick, Keith Eisner, Jacqueline Hoyt, Ted Humphrey, Michelle King, Robert King, Erica Shelton Kodish, Matthew Montoya, J.C. Nolan, Luke Schelhaas, Nichelle Tramble Spellman, Craig Turk, Julie Wolfe; CBS
Homeland, Written by Henry Bromell, William E. Bromell, Alexander Cary,...
The nominees are:
Drama Series:
Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC
The Good Wife, Written by Meredith Averill, Leonard Dick, Keith Eisner, Jacqueline Hoyt, Ted Humphrey, Michelle King, Robert King, Erica Shelton Kodish, Matthew Montoya, J.C. Nolan, Luke Schelhaas, Nichelle Tramble Spellman, Craig Turk, Julie Wolfe; CBS
Homeland, Written by Henry Bromell, William E. Bromell, Alexander Cary,...
- 12/5/2013
- by Lynette Rice
- EW - Inside TV
London, August 8: Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro, who last starred together in the five-time Oscar winning drama 'The Deer Hunter' more than 12 years ago, will again be teaming up for their upcoming flick 'The Good House'.
The forthcoming movie, which will be the pair's fourth film together, is based on Ann Leary's darkly comic story of a small town in New England, the BBC reported.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'The Hours', Michael Cunningham, will be writing the script.
De Niro's Tribeca Productions's partner, Jane Rosenthal, along with FilmNation's Aaron Ryder and Karen Lunder, will produce the film. (Ani)...
The forthcoming movie, which will be the pair's fourth film together, is based on Ann Leary's darkly comic story of a small town in New England, the BBC reported.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'The Hours', Michael Cunningham, will be writing the script.
De Niro's Tribeca Productions's partner, Jane Rosenthal, along with FilmNation's Aaron Ryder and Karen Lunder, will produce the film. (Ani)...
- 8/8/2013
- by Meeta Kabra
- RealBollywood.com
Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro are to star in the upcoming adaptation of best-selling novel The Good House.
The upcoming film will mark the first time that Streep and De Niro have appeared together on the big screen in nearly 20 years.
The Good House is to star Streep as a New England realtor struggling with alcohol addiction as she falls in love with a straight-talking friend (De Niro).
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Michael Cunningham will adapt Ann Leary's novel for the big screen.
Cunningham's previous film credits include the Colin Farrell drama A Home at the End of the World and Evening.
The Good House is to be Streep and De Niro's fourth film collaboration.
Streep most famously starred with De Niro in the 1978 Vietnam War drama The Deer Hunter, and they later appeared in 1996's Marvin's Room.
A production schedule and release date for The Good House is expected...
The upcoming film will mark the first time that Streep and De Niro have appeared together on the big screen in nearly 20 years.
The Good House is to star Streep as a New England realtor struggling with alcohol addiction as she falls in love with a straight-talking friend (De Niro).
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Michael Cunningham will adapt Ann Leary's novel for the big screen.
Cunningham's previous film credits include the Colin Farrell drama A Home at the End of the World and Evening.
The Good House is to be Streep and De Niro's fourth film collaboration.
Streep most famously starred with De Niro in the 1978 Vietnam War drama The Deer Hunter, and they later appeared in 1996's Marvin's Room.
A production schedule and release date for The Good House is expected...
- 8/7/2013
- Digital Spy
• You know filmmakers mean business when they cast two Oscar winners to star in their adaptation of a best-seller. Meryl Streep is set to star as Hildy Good, the main character of Ann Leary’s The Good House. Hildy is a grandmother, a real-estate broker, and an alcoholic. The book is set a year after her family tried to intervene, when Hildy starts to immerse herself in the sordid secrets of her Massachusetts town as she befriends, and then tries to protect, a younger transplant named Rebecca, who has yet to be cast. Robert De Niro, who starred with Streep in The Deer Hunter,...
- 8/7/2013
- by Lindsey Bahr
- EW - Inside Movies
They.re not exactly Tracy and Hepburn, but Robert De Niro has shared the screen with Meryl Streep three times in the past (The Deer Hunter, Marvin's Room, Falling in Love), and the powerhouse acting talents have just circled the fourth project on which they.ve chosen to collaborate. FilmNation Entertainment has announced that it has acquired the rights to Ann Leary.s bestselling novel The Good House, which will be shaped into a feature-length film for Streep and De Niro to star in. Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cunningham (The Hours) will adapt the book for the screen, with Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh producing for Tribeca Productions. We knew right away with Jane.s and Michael.s demonstrated talent and Ann.s bestseller that we have the opportunity to create something truly entertaining,. said FilmNation.s Evp Production Karen Lunder. .It is undeniable the authenticity and chemistry Meryl and...
- 8/6/2013
- cinemablend.com
Robert De Niro began repairing years of poor career choices with Silver Linings Playbook last year, and it looks like he might try and continue this trend with The Good House (for sanity’s sake, let’s just sweep The Big Wedding under a rug and never speak of it again). Also starring Meryl Streep, The Good House is an adaptation of Ann Leary’s similarly-titled novel, and it will be written for the screen by Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Hours,” which became another film starring Streep a few years back. There’s no word yet on who’ll direct. The combination of Cunningham with Streep and De Niro (who previously worked together on The Deer Hunter) sounds like a match made in heaven. The book’s subject matter, however, paints an entirely different picture. The novel tells the story of Hildy Good (Streep), a realtor and recovering alcoholic whose perfect routine is thrown...
- 8/6/2013
- by Adam Bellotto
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Oscar voters, take note: Meryl Street and Robert De Niro will join forces for the fourth time with an adaptation of the best-selling Ann Leary novel "The Good House."
The dark comedy will find Streep taking on the lead role of real-estate agent Hildy Good, a barely recovering alcoholic whose harmonious life unravels when she embarks on a new friendship and rekindles an old flame (De Niro). FilmNation and Tribeca Productions will head up "House," according to a joint press released Tuesday.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham ("The Hours," "A Home at the End of the World') will adapt the novel, marking the third time Streep has taken a role in one of Cunningham's works. (In addition to the source material for "Hours," the author wrote the script for 2007's "Evening.")
“We knew right away with [producer Jane Rosenthal’s] and Michael’s demonstrated talent and Ann’s bestseller that we have the...
The dark comedy will find Streep taking on the lead role of real-estate agent Hildy Good, a barely recovering alcoholic whose harmonious life unravels when she embarks on a new friendship and rekindles an old flame (De Niro). FilmNation and Tribeca Productions will head up "House," according to a joint press released Tuesday.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham ("The Hours," "A Home at the End of the World') will adapt the novel, marking the third time Streep has taken a role in one of Cunningham's works. (In addition to the source material for "Hours," the author wrote the script for 2007's "Evening.")
“We knew right away with [producer Jane Rosenthal’s] and Michael’s demonstrated talent and Ann’s bestseller that we have the...
- 8/6/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro made for a good on-screen couple in the likes of The Deer Hunter and the more romantic Falling In Love (among others) so it makes sense that to reunite them. Now the team behind FilmNation has picked up the rights to Ann Leary’s book The Good House for the pair to star in.Michael Cunningham, who wrote The Hours (itself adapted into a film featuring Streep) is aboard to script the movie, which will be told through the eyes of Streep’s Hildy Good. She’s an estate agent in New England losing her grip on a usually well-organised life thanks to a drinking issue and her new friendship with a woman named Rebecca McCallister.At the same time, she starts seeing an old flame in the shape of Frank Getchell (De Niro), who wants to help her sort things out. “Ann Leary...
- 8/6/2013
- EmpireOnline
While they already have the classic "The Deer Hunter," the underrated "Falling In Love," and the tough indie "Marvin's Room" under their belt, it has been seventeen years since Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep last graced the big screen together. But it looks like we won't have to wait much longer for another movie with the legendary pair as they've got a new project lined up. De Niro and Streep are now both attached to star in the adaptation of the recently published and critically acclaimed book "The Good House" by Ann Leary. Michael Cunningham ("The Hours," "A Home At The End Of The World") will adapt the book, a dramedy that tells the story of a recovering alcoholic finding love once again. Here's the synopsis: The Good House is a wickedly funny look at denial, told through the eyes of Hildy Good (Streep), a New England realtor and...
- 8/6/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep will team for a fourth time in film adaptation of the darkly comic Ann Leary novel "The Good House" at FilmNation Entertainment.
Streep plays Hildy Good, a New England realtor and not-so-recovering alcoholic whose perfectly compartmentalized life starts to come apart at the seams when she forms a new friendship with Rebecca McCallister.
As Rebecca becomes the subject of town gossip, Hildy rekindles an old flame with Frank Getchell (De Niro), a blunt Yankee, who tries to un-complicate her complicated life.
"The Hours" author Michael Cunningham will adapt the book, while Jane Rosenthal, Aaron Ryder and Karen Lunder will produce.
Streep and De Niro previously starred together in 1978's "The Deer Hunter," 1984's "Falling In Love" and 1996's "Marvin's Room".
Source: Deadline...
Streep plays Hildy Good, a New England realtor and not-so-recovering alcoholic whose perfectly compartmentalized life starts to come apart at the seams when she forms a new friendship with Rebecca McCallister.
As Rebecca becomes the subject of town gossip, Hildy rekindles an old flame with Frank Getchell (De Niro), a blunt Yankee, who tries to un-complicate her complicated life.
"The Hours" author Michael Cunningham will adapt the book, while Jane Rosenthal, Aaron Ryder and Karen Lunder will produce.
Streep and De Niro previously starred together in 1978's "The Deer Hunter," 1984's "Falling In Love" and 1996's "Marvin's Room".
Source: Deadline...
- 8/6/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Exclusive: FilmNation Entertainment has acquired from Jane Rosenthal the rights to the bestselling Ann Leary novel The Good House. They’re reuniting one of the great screen couples, Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro, and Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours (Streep starred in the movie) is set to adapt the book. The novel is darkly comic, and told through the eyes of Hildy Good (Streep), a New England realtor and not-so-recovering alcoholic whose perfectly compartmentalized life starts to come apart at the seams when she forms a new friendship with Rebecca McCallister. As Rebecca becomes the subject of town gossip, Hildy rekindles an old flame with Frank Getchell (De Niro), a tell it like it is Yankee, who tries to un-complicate her complicated life. Streep and De Niro starred together previously in 1978′s The Deer Hunter, 1984′s Falling In Love and 1996′s Marvin’s Room. De Niro...
- 8/6/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
How soon into a movie or book or anything do you know you'll love it? When I first read The Hours, Michael Cunningham's transcendent riff on Virginia Woolf's "Mrs Dalloway" I knew as soon as Clarissa had entered the flower shop. With the film version I knew even sooner, perhaps having been prepped for the movie by the book but also because of the unfussy simplicity of the kick-off to this glorious triptych. (The Hours isn't always unfussy, of course, but note how the music drops out completely in this absolutely key moment when Virginia finds her first sentence.)
All we're left with is three women, three eras, three great actresses, and three separate temperaments.
Virginia: Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.
Laura: Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.
Clarissa: Sally, I think I'll buy the flowers myself.
How utterly perfect and succinct - Art,...
All we're left with is three women, three eras, three great actresses, and three separate temperaments.
Virginia: Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.
Laura: Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.
Clarissa: Sally, I think I'll buy the flowers myself.
How utterly perfect and succinct - Art,...
- 5/14/2013
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
From the cavorting skeletons of medieval danse macabre through to Saturday Night Fever, the terror of mortality has always mingled with joie de vivre on the dancefloor
The metaphoric relationship between dancing and sex is a two-way street, as in "rockin' and rollin'" and the euphemistic "horizontal tango", a term so cheesy it should turn all right-minded people into wallflowers. Latin dancing, in particular, we think of as a public analogue of intercourse. Inevitably The Simpsons has spoofed this idea with a dance called La Penetrada, which promises to make "sex look like church". In literary circles, Eros graces Jane Austen's dances, despite all the juvenile giggling over red breeches and the stubbornness of the leading man. One of the central cinematic examples of dance as erotic affirmation surely belongs to Saturday Night Fever, with John Travolta's exuberant pelvis nodding "Yes, yes, yes!" to all of life's propositions.
The metaphoric relationship between dancing and sex is a two-way street, as in "rockin' and rollin'" and the euphemistic "horizontal tango", a term so cheesy it should turn all right-minded people into wallflowers. Latin dancing, in particular, we think of as a public analogue of intercourse. Inevitably The Simpsons has spoofed this idea with a dance called La Penetrada, which promises to make "sex look like church". In literary circles, Eros graces Jane Austen's dances, despite all the juvenile giggling over red breeches and the stubbornness of the leading man. One of the central cinematic examples of dance as erotic affirmation surely belongs to Saturday Night Fever, with John Travolta's exuberant pelvis nodding "Yes, yes, yes!" to all of life's propositions.
- 10/26/2012
- by Laurence Scott
- The Guardian - Film News
With a trip to Paris in the 20s the subject of Woody Allen's Oscar contender, we've been wondering which bookish era we'd most like to revisit
Amid all the noise for The Artist, which looks set to clean up at the Oscars as it did at the Baftas, we on the Guardian books desk are gunning for another cinematic nostalgia-fest harking back to the same period. In the running for Best Picture, but with the bookies only giving it a 100/1 chance of winning, Midnight in Paris has been hailed as a return to form for Woody Allen, and described as a "perfect soufflé" by the Observer film critic Philip French. It might not have a performing dog, but it does have Papa Hemingway in a vest roaring "who wants a fight?" Like The Artist it is a warning against the dangers of romanticising the past as a Golden Age,...
Amid all the noise for The Artist, which looks set to clean up at the Oscars as it did at the Baftas, we on the Guardian books desk are gunning for another cinematic nostalgia-fest harking back to the same period. In the running for Best Picture, but with the bookies only giving it a 100/1 chance of winning, Midnight in Paris has been hailed as a return to form for Woody Allen, and described as a "perfect soufflé" by the Observer film critic Philip French. It might not have a performing dog, but it does have Papa Hemingway in a vest roaring "who wants a fight?" Like The Artist it is a warning against the dangers of romanticising the past as a Golden Age,...
- 2/24/2012
- by Lisa Allardice
- The Guardian - Film News
Stephen Daldry's new film is buffed, polished, and as deplorable as its source material. A good bet for an Oscar then, says John Patterson
I don't know how Stephen Daldry does it. He has conducted yet another masterclass in the confection of high-tone, middle-brow Oscar bait and has succeeded triumphantly. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, manipulative and fraudulent at every level, has its nominations in place and is on the road to the Academy Awards. And that is exactly what was meant to happen. Rarely have I seen a movie as maniacally fine-tuned to drive the voters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences into orgasms of approbation and applause. It may not carry home the statuettes, but no one can say they didn't try everything.
Daldry – already bedazzled unto blindness by glib, overrated books like Michael Cunningham's The Hours and Bernhard Schlink's schlocky bestseller The Reader...
I don't know how Stephen Daldry does it. He has conducted yet another masterclass in the confection of high-tone, middle-brow Oscar bait and has succeeded triumphantly. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, manipulative and fraudulent at every level, has its nominations in place and is on the road to the Academy Awards. And that is exactly what was meant to happen. Rarely have I seen a movie as maniacally fine-tuned to drive the voters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences into orgasms of approbation and applause. It may not carry home the statuettes, but no one can say they didn't try everything.
Daldry – already bedazzled unto blindness by glib, overrated books like Michael Cunningham's The Hours and Bernhard Schlink's schlocky bestseller The Reader...
- 2/11/2012
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
Madonna delivers a tale of two wallies, says Peter Bradshaw
Having already applied her insights to Eva Perón as a performer, Madonna now lavishes the full force of her empathy and historical sense on another strong-yet-vulnerable power behind the throne – in this, her second movie as director and co-writer. Her heroine is Wallis Simpson, the woman who as storm clouds of war gathered, fell in love with the British king, helped cause his abdication. Edward VIII was supposed to have given up everything for her. But what, Madonna's film asks poignantly, did she give up for him? A feisty divorced American, married to a prominent Brit, vilified, misunderstood … oh dear.
Andrea Riseborough plays Wallis in the cocktail-quaffing 1930s, and, in a parallel world, Abbie Cornish plays Wally, a lonely, beautiful, maritally abused but reassuringly wealthy woman in Manhattan in 1998, who finds herself obsessed with Wallis's story and haunted by the gutsy Mrs Simpson herself.
Having already applied her insights to Eva Perón as a performer, Madonna now lavishes the full force of her empathy and historical sense on another strong-yet-vulnerable power behind the throne – in this, her second movie as director and co-writer. Her heroine is Wallis Simpson, the woman who as storm clouds of war gathered, fell in love with the British king, helped cause his abdication. Edward VIII was supposed to have given up everything for her. But what, Madonna's film asks poignantly, did she give up for him? A feisty divorced American, married to a prominent Brit, vilified, misunderstood … oh dear.
Andrea Riseborough plays Wallis in the cocktail-quaffing 1930s, and, in a parallel world, Abbie Cornish plays Wally, a lonely, beautiful, maritally abused but reassuringly wealthy woman in Manhattan in 1998, who finds herself obsessed with Wallis's story and haunted by the gutsy Mrs Simpson herself.
- 1/20/2012
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
One of the doctors I’ve worked with once asked me “What’s it like to be a writer?”
I guarantee that every single one of the columnists here at ComicMix has been asked that question, or a form of it, quadrillions of times.
The mother of one of my daughter’s friends: “Where do you get your ideas?”
A co-worker at my day job: “So what do you do? They give you the comic and you put the words in those balloons?”
An old boyfriend: “You get paid for that?”
My mother on the phone, back when I was a full-time freelancer: “What do you do all day? How can you sit in your pajamas until 3:00 in the afternoon?
Mom on the phone again: “I’m sorry to bother you. Are you typing?”
The answers:
“What’s it like to be a doctor?” (Cracking wise.)
“I don’t know.
I guarantee that every single one of the columnists here at ComicMix has been asked that question, or a form of it, quadrillions of times.
The mother of one of my daughter’s friends: “Where do you get your ideas?”
A co-worker at my day job: “So what do you do? They give you the comic and you put the words in those balloons?”
An old boyfriend: “You get paid for that?”
My mother on the phone, back when I was a full-time freelancer: “What do you do all day? How can you sit in your pajamas until 3:00 in the afternoon?
Mom on the phone again: “I’m sorry to bother you. Are you typing?”
The answers:
“What’s it like to be a doctor?” (Cracking wise.)
“I don’t know.
- 12/5/2011
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
Krysta Ficca Fiction writer Daniel Orozco
The 2011 Whiting Writers’ Awards are being presented tonight to 10 recipients by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation. The writers — four in fiction, four in poetry, one in nonfiction, and one in plays — will each receive $50,000 in recognition of their early-career talent and promise.
The recipients were proposed by anonymous nominators and then selected by an anonymous committee. A ceremony announcing the winners will take place this evening at the Times Center in New York, with...
The 2011 Whiting Writers’ Awards are being presented tonight to 10 recipients by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation. The writers — four in fiction, four in poetry, one in nonfiction, and one in plays — will each receive $50,000 in recognition of their early-career talent and promise.
The recipients were proposed by anonymous nominators and then selected by an anonymous committee. A ceremony announcing the winners will take place this evening at the Times Center in New York, with...
- 10/25/2011
- by Barbara Chai
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
ABC intends to keep playing with big red balls – Wipeout has been renewed for a fifth season, but with Vanessa Minnillo as the host. I still think the course should be an attraction at Disney.
For reasons that I can only imagine, the small town of Juzcar in Spain has been repainted Smurf blue in honor of the upcoming movie. Sony has promised to restore everything after the promotion, but from the images, I think it looks kind of neat.
There’s a rumor going around that girls are so into getting Justin Bieber’s used Underoos that when he takes them off, a security guard issues him a new pair and takes the used ones to an incinerator. It sounds like an episode of Dirty Jobs, except Mike Rowe wouldn’t even go there.
Five out authors including John Waters, Edmund White and Michael Cunningham name the best gay books in the world.
For reasons that I can only imagine, the small town of Juzcar in Spain has been repainted Smurf blue in honor of the upcoming movie. Sony has promised to restore everything after the promotion, but from the images, I think it looks kind of neat.
There’s a rumor going around that girls are so into getting Justin Bieber’s used Underoos that when he takes them off, a security guard issues him a new pair and takes the used ones to an incinerator. It sounds like an episode of Dirty Jobs, except Mike Rowe wouldn’t even go there.
Five out authors including John Waters, Edmund White and Michael Cunningham name the best gay books in the world.
- 6/17/2011
- by Ed Kennedy
- The Backlot
Ahead of Review's book club on The Hours, Michael Cunningham explains how discovering Virginia Woolf as a teenager inspired him to write his novel about her life – and how his mother provided a surprising solution when he got stuck
Virginia Woolf was great fun at parties. I want to tell you that up front, because Woolf, who died 70 years ago this year, is so often portrayed as the Dark Lady of English letters, all glowery and sad, looking balefully on from a crepuscular corner of literary history with a stone lodged in her pocket.
She did, of course, have her darker interludes. More on that in a moment. But first I'd like to announce, to anyone who might not know, that she, when not sunk in her periodic depressions, was the person one most hoped would come to the party; the one who could speak amusingly on just about any...
Virginia Woolf was great fun at parties. I want to tell you that up front, because Woolf, who died 70 years ago this year, is so often portrayed as the Dark Lady of English letters, all glowery and sad, looking balefully on from a crepuscular corner of literary history with a stone lodged in her pocket.
She did, of course, have her darker interludes. More on that in a moment. But first I'd like to announce, to anyone who might not know, that she, when not sunk in her periodic depressions, was the person one most hoped would come to the party; the one who could speak amusingly on just about any...
- 6/3/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
Donna Aceto Edward Albee accepts the Lambda Literary Foundation’s Pioneer Award
Alternating between typical awards-show glamor and moments of unscripted reality, the twenty-third annual Lambda Literary Awards toasted the best in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender literature and publishing in a ceremony at New York’s School of the Visual Arts Theatre Thursday night.
The ceremony began as a way to celebrate the creative literary efforts of Lgbt writers sometimes unable to cross over into larger publishing houses or attract a general audience.
Alternating between typical awards-show glamor and moments of unscripted reality, the twenty-third annual Lambda Literary Awards toasted the best in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender literature and publishing in a ceremony at New York’s School of the Visual Arts Theatre Thursday night.
The ceremony began as a way to celebrate the creative literary efforts of Lgbt writers sometimes unable to cross over into larger publishing houses or attract a general audience.
- 5/27/2011
- by Nick Andersen
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Like proposed films about Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix and James Brown, a biopic about legendary singer Dusty Springfield seems to have been in development hell for years. The last we heard anything about the Springfield film was last spring when it was reported that James Mangold was eyeing the project as a potential gig and at one time had Nicole Kidman slotted for the lead role with "The Hours" writer Michael Cunningham penning the screenplay. That project still seems to be stalled, but over in the U.K. a separate film is now brewing about the crooner. THR reveals that Fairbanks…...
- 4/7/2011
- The Playlist
Remember Jessica Sharzer's imagining of the Dusty Springfield story, which began production in 2005? No? How about the one starring Nicole Kidman, penned by The Hours' scribe Michael Cunningham which got off the ground in 2008? Still drawing a blank? Turns out, the cursed project just can't seem to get made, even with significant star power behind it. The third time could be the charm, though, as Fairbanks Productions has saved up $30 million in change to give it another shot. Based on Sharon Davis's intimate novel A Girl Called Dusty, the film is the third announced production from the 6-month old company founded by Dominick Fairbanks - the great grandson of none other than Douglas Fairbanks. Filming is set to start at some point in 2012, as long as the "Death comes in threes" rule doesn't show its face. Gist: "This is the story that she never had the chance to tell herself.
- 4/7/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
The internet, for all its stupidity sometimes, is still magic. The ability to connect with people that one might not otherwise meet has given rise to all sorts of opportunities -- bloggers become published authors, musicians grow their fanbases, and people from different locales can relate to each another and perhaps become friends. Still, occurrences such as those are mere serendipity compared to the real magic of the It Gets Better project. Founded by Stranger columnist Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller, It Gets Better started with one video that reached out to bullied gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, particularly young people, and told them exactly that--Life might be hard for you now, but hang in there, and the whole world awaits.
[It] had been live on YouTube for just a few hours when e-mails and likes and friend requests started coming in so fast that my computer crashed,...
[It] had been live on YouTube for just a few hours when e-mails and likes and friend requests started coming in so fast that my computer crashed,...
- 4/6/2011
- by Tamatha Uhmelmahaye
Why is the Hollywood actor reading Adrian Mole and getting to grips with British drinking culture? Emma Brockes finds out
In the TV film Temple Grandin, Claire Danes plays a woman with autism who succeeds against the odds in a world hostile to her needs. It's a synopsis to make the heart sink: the awards-grab nature of roles in which the extremely privileged play the severely disadvantaged; the suspicion that autism is, from a television perspective, the disadvantage du jour; and the sheer improbability of the story on which it is based – the eponymous Grandin came to prominence for inventing a system in Us slaughterhouses in which the cows, with whom she strongly identified, were more humanely treated. And so the most surprising thing about the film is that, in spite of all this, it's very good.
Danes wanted to do it because she was tired, she says, of playing the ingénue.
In the TV film Temple Grandin, Claire Danes plays a woman with autism who succeeds against the odds in a world hostile to her needs. It's a synopsis to make the heart sink: the awards-grab nature of roles in which the extremely privileged play the severely disadvantaged; the suspicion that autism is, from a television perspective, the disadvantage du jour; and the sheer improbability of the story on which it is based – the eponymous Grandin came to prominence for inventing a system in Us slaughterhouses in which the cows, with whom she strongly identified, were more humanely treated. And so the most surprising thing about the film is that, in spite of all this, it's very good.
Danes wanted to do it because she was tired, she says, of playing the ingénue.
- 4/1/2011
- by Emma Brockes
- The Guardian - Film News
The Boys in the Band
Can I make a confession? I didn't want to watch or review Making the Boys, the new documentary about the landmark 1968 play and 1970 film The Boys in the Band that opens in limited release in March.
Yes, yes, I know how important the movie is in gay entertainment history (which is why I put it as number one on my list of the most important gay movies of all time, even as I also put it on another list of my least favorite gay movies).
But it's also probably the most discussed gay movie of all time. As Making the Boys points out, it was hailed upon its first staging, then condemned by gays in the post-Stonewall era, then "rediscovered" in the 1990s. At every point in modern gay history, it's been there in the background, cited as an example of post-Stonewall "truth," or as...
Can I make a confession? I didn't want to watch or review Making the Boys, the new documentary about the landmark 1968 play and 1970 film The Boys in the Band that opens in limited release in March.
Yes, yes, I know how important the movie is in gay entertainment history (which is why I put it as number one on my list of the most important gay movies of all time, even as I also put it on another list of my least favorite gay movies).
But it's also probably the most discussed gay movie of all time. As Making the Boys points out, it was hailed upon its first staging, then condemned by gays in the post-Stonewall era, then "rediscovered" in the 1990s. At every point in modern gay history, it's been there in the background, cited as an example of post-Stonewall "truth," or as...
- 2/22/2011
- by Brent Hartinger
- The Backlot
I've followed Electric Literature [Link Nsfw -Tu] with some interest online over the past six months or so, both through Twitter and their blog, The Outlet. Part literary journal, part literary app builder (perhaps most notably the custom app they made for Stephen Elliott's The Adderall Diaries), they value both their writers and their readers' method of subscribing. Of course this not to say that other journals don't, but I'm not sure how many small lit outfits can afford to pay their writers $1000 per story and still be able to offer print editions.
That said, this isn't a review concerning the changing business models in the literary world. I'm an avowed print-loving dino who took years to come around to using Google Reader. I'm not the person you want to ask about Kindle vs. iPad. Let us get to the stories then, shall we? Hopeless completist that I am, I wanted to start with No.
That said, this isn't a review concerning the changing business models in the literary world. I'm an avowed print-loving dino who took years to come around to using Google Reader. I'm not the person you want to ask about Kindle vs. iPad. Let us get to the stories then, shall we? Hopeless completist that I am, I wanted to start with No.
- 2/21/2011
- by Tamatha Uhmelmahaye
The Hours (2002) Direction: Stephen Daldry Cast: Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Ed Harris, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, Stephen Dillane, John C. Reilly, Miranda Richardson, Eileen Atkins Screenplay: David Hare; from Michael Cunningham's novel Oscar Movies Recommended Nicole Kidman, The Hours Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer-winning The Hours uses Virginia Woolf's 1925 novel Mrs. Dalloway (working title: "The Hours") as the link that binds its three leading female characters. Far apart in terms of time and space, those three disturbed, unhappy women share both the deadness of a life of self-abnegation and the living reality of death itself. Despite gaps in the narrative, Stephen Daldry's stabs at melodrama, and one poor central performance, The Hours stands as an intelligent and deeply moving achievement. Most of the credit for the film's success goes to Meryl Streep, outstanding as a 21st century Mrs. Dalloway; Nicole Kidman, surprisingly effective...
- 2/11/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
I sometimes think that there's a fine line between a literary novel and a parody of a literary novel. Case-in-point is the new book by Michael Cunningham, a Pulitzer Prize winner for The Hours (and also the seminal work of gay fiction, A Home at the End of the World)
By Nightfall (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, $25) is about Peter, a 44-year-old straight art dealer who starts to question if everything about his life — his career, his marriage — is a lie. Searching for the passion that has long since left his marriage, he finds himself falling hopelessly in love with the irresponsible, sexually ambiguous 23-year-old brother of his wife.
It sounds like a parody, doesn't it? Let's face it: the characters in these novels are always insufferably neurotic, upper-crust New Yorkers who have jobs like "art dealer" that give them lots of opportunities to spend their days ruminating on exactly what "beauty" is.
By Nightfall (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, $25) is about Peter, a 44-year-old straight art dealer who starts to question if everything about his life — his career, his marriage — is a lie. Searching for the passion that has long since left his marriage, he finds himself falling hopelessly in love with the irresponsible, sexually ambiguous 23-year-old brother of his wife.
It sounds like a parody, doesn't it? Let's face it: the characters in these novels are always insufferably neurotic, upper-crust New Yorkers who have jobs like "art dealer" that give them lots of opportunities to spend their days ruminating on exactly what "beauty" is.
- 12/14/2010
- by Brent Hartinger
- The Backlot
My favorite sentence from On the Road is the one where Sal is thinking to himself after learning everything in the particular stretch of Southern California, where his drug-fueled, cross country trip has currently placed him, gets done tomorrow. "For the next week that was all I heard -- manana, a lovely word and one that probably means heaven," is such a great line because it's true and because it's true for so many things. Maybe Jack Kerouac is commenting on Sal's hippy-Buddhist-amphetamine-abled ability to live in the moment. Or maybe he's channeling the mind of every single procrastinator on the planet, thinking things will most definitely get finished 24 hours from now. Or maybe he's commenting on how his own salvation, his own peaceful place is always just a day away. Or maybe it's something else. Regardless, it's a sweet line, one that encapsulates much of the novel's ethos and...
- 12/14/2010
- by Joshua Cohen
- Tubefilter.com
By Nightfall is more wrenching mood piece than tightly plotted novel, though perhaps that’s to be expected from author Michael Cunningham, most famous for the Pulitzer Prize-winner The Hours. But the mood By Nightfall creates and sustains is so wonderfully depicted and all-encompassing that it washes away all other concerns. Cunningham is after a kind of free-floating melancholy, of the kind experienced by middle-aged people who react poorly to the epiphany that their lives are settling in for a long downward slope toward death. Told from the point of view of Peter, a fortysomething art-gallery owner who’s abruptly ...
- 10/21/2010
- avclub.com
Michael Cunningham’s home in Provincetown, Mass., hews to the classic Cape Cod style. The shingles of his modest two-story condo along the water on the far east end of town are graying from the salty sea air. The house that The Hours built—or at least bought (“It cost almost exactly what [movie producer] Scott Rudin paid me for The Hours,” Cunningham casually reveals)—has the kind of sparkling bay views and voluptuous breezes that inspire you to take a deep breath and sink into vacation relaxation.Which is why the author’s studio is the room without the view. “I need to detach from that,” he says, gesturing at the bay from the couch of his Ralph Lauren–perfect living room–cum–kitchen on an afternoon in early September. “I need to really focus and not be sitting there at 10 in the morning thinking, God, why aren’t I walking on the beach?...
- 10/13/2010
- The Advocate
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