Spoiler Alert: The following contains details about the first two episodes of Disney+/Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, “Master and Apprentice” and “Toil and Trouble.”
The first episode of tonight’s Disney+ Star Wars series, Ahsoka, is dedicated to late actor Ray Stevenson, who died May 21 in Ischia, Italy.
A placard reads at the end of the epsiode, “For our friend, Ray.”
The Northern Ireland-born actor has a sizeable role on Ahsoka, playing an evil, Jedi-trained henchman, Baylan Skoll. He travels around the galaxy with his apprentice, Shin Hati, played by Ivanna Sakhno. In the first episode, “Master and Apprentice,” directed by series creator Dave Filoni, the duo rescues a witch, Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) who is key in bringing the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), who’ll rule the empire.
Related: ‘Star Wars: Ahsoka’ Trailer Sees Rosario Dawson Attempt To Stop A War Brewing In The Galaxy
Stevenson...
The first episode of tonight’s Disney+ Star Wars series, Ahsoka, is dedicated to late actor Ray Stevenson, who died May 21 in Ischia, Italy.
A placard reads at the end of the epsiode, “For our friend, Ray.”
The Northern Ireland-born actor has a sizeable role on Ahsoka, playing an evil, Jedi-trained henchman, Baylan Skoll. He travels around the galaxy with his apprentice, Shin Hati, played by Ivanna Sakhno. In the first episode, “Master and Apprentice,” directed by series creator Dave Filoni, the duo rescues a witch, Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) who is key in bringing the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), who’ll rule the empire.
Related: ‘Star Wars: Ahsoka’ Trailer Sees Rosario Dawson Attempt To Stop A War Brewing In The Galaxy
Stevenson...
- 8/23/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Prison Break and Legends Of Tomorrow star Dominic Purcell is replacing the late Ray Stevenson in Paramount and Republic Pictures’ movie Cassino In Ischia, which is now back underway in Italy.
Production came to an abrupt halt in late May after lead actor Stevenson suffered sudden illness and was rushed to hospital where he passed away aged 58.
Purcell takes on the role of Nic Cassino, a former action star who is knocked off his perch by the next generation of action heroes. In an attempt to revive his career, he travels to Italy to make the first ever “Neo-Realist” action film with a down on his luck Italian director. When unresolved family struggles resurface, he is forced to reconcile all he left behind on his road to fame.
Pic is being produced by Martin Scorsese collaborator Barbara DeFina, whose credits with the filmmaker include Silence, Casino, Cape Fear, The Color Of Money,...
Production came to an abrupt halt in late May after lead actor Stevenson suffered sudden illness and was rushed to hospital where he passed away aged 58.
Purcell takes on the role of Nic Cassino, a former action star who is knocked off his perch by the next generation of action heroes. In an attempt to revive his career, he travels to Italy to make the first ever “Neo-Realist” action film with a down on his luck Italian director. When unresolved family struggles resurface, he is forced to reconcile all he left behind on his road to fame.
Pic is being produced by Martin Scorsese collaborator Barbara DeFina, whose credits with the filmmaker include Silence, Casino, Cape Fear, The Color Of Money,...
- 6/29/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Rrr and Thor franchise star Ray Stevenson is headlining Frank Ciota’s Cassino in Ischia, a feature which is being produced by Goodfellas and Casino‘s Barbara DeFina.
The pic is a Republic Pictures Acquisition which is being distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
In the movie, three-time winner of “Best Yell in Action Film,” box office king and action star Nic Cassino (Stevenson) is knocked off his perch by the next generation of action heroes. In an attempt to revive his career, he travels to Italy to make the first ever “Neo-Realist” action film with down on their luck Italian directors. However, unresolved struggles with his family resurface and he is forced to reconcile all he left behind on his road to fame. Frank Ciota’s brother, Joseph Ciota, wrote the screenplay. The brothers previously collaborated on Stiffs and Ciao America.
Pic is produced by Isola Verde Films and DeFina Film Productions.
The pic is a Republic Pictures Acquisition which is being distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
In the movie, three-time winner of “Best Yell in Action Film,” box office king and action star Nic Cassino (Stevenson) is knocked off his perch by the next generation of action heroes. In an attempt to revive his career, he travels to Italy to make the first ever “Neo-Realist” action film with down on their luck Italian directors. However, unresolved struggles with his family resurface and he is forced to reconcile all he left behind on his road to fame. Frank Ciota’s brother, Joseph Ciota, wrote the screenplay. The brothers previously collaborated on Stiffs and Ciao America.
Pic is produced by Isola Verde Films and DeFina Film Productions.
- 5/15/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
L.A.-based Janek Ambros, founder of production and film financing company Assembly Line Entertainment, will receive the Auteur Filmmaker Award at Spain’s Roots of Europe (Raíces de Europa) festival, landing him in the company of such noteworthy cinematic auteurs as Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi alongside Spain’s Aitor López de Aberásturi and Juanma Bajo Ulloa, among others.
The festival, which runs May 2 – 12, will also be showcasing a number of Ambros’ films during the event, in recognition for his work in experimental, narrative, and documentary films primarily shot in Europe. It was just three years ago when Ambros presented Zanussi with the coveted award where he conveyed a written message from Scorsese.
“It was really nice to be a part of Zanussi being honored for his life in film and get to deliver a message from Scorsese, someone who really admires his work. So, to come back a few...
The festival, which runs May 2 – 12, will also be showcasing a number of Ambros’ films during the event, in recognition for his work in experimental, narrative, and documentary films primarily shot in Europe. It was just three years ago when Ambros presented Zanussi with the coveted award where he conveyed a written message from Scorsese.
“It was really nice to be a part of Zanussi being honored for his life in film and get to deliver a message from Scorsese, someone who really admires his work. So, to come back a few...
- 4/27/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Call Me By Your Name Oscar winner James Ivory is behind a new biopic about Italian American pop singer Jimmy Roselli, who was a competitive voice at a time when Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Dean Martin were dominating.
J.D. Zeik, screenwriter of Robert De Niro pic Ronin, has penned the screenplay. Roselli grew up in Hoboken five houses down from Sinatra, some considering his vocal talents superior to Sinatra’s. Frank’s mother Dolly privately considered Jimmy her favorite singer. But due to his combative personality and refusal to yield to mob pressure to control him and his earnings, Roselli’s career suffered greatly.
This earned him powerful enemies and in his heyday of the 1950s and 60s led him to be blacklisted from the most important clubs, performance venues and his records banned at most radio stations. Self-sabotage may have hurt Roselli the most. He had a seven-show commitment on Ed Sullivan,...
J.D. Zeik, screenwriter of Robert De Niro pic Ronin, has penned the screenplay. Roselli grew up in Hoboken five houses down from Sinatra, some considering his vocal talents superior to Sinatra’s. Frank’s mother Dolly privately considered Jimmy her favorite singer. But due to his combative personality and refusal to yield to mob pressure to control him and his earnings, Roselli’s career suffered greatly.
This earned him powerful enemies and in his heyday of the 1950s and 60s led him to be blacklisted from the most important clubs, performance venues and his records banned at most radio stations. Self-sabotage may have hurt Roselli the most. He had a seven-show commitment on Ed Sullivan,...
- 12/13/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Wme has enlisted Tony Award-winning director Kathleen Marshall for representation in all areas.
Marshall has a busy slate of upcoming projects on tap. She will helm the film adaptation of pop music star Tommy James’ best-selling autobiographical story, Me, the Mob and the Music. Award-winning film producer Barbara DeFina and Tommy James are developing the project from a screenplay by Matthew Stone.
Marshall will also direct Ed Lucas, a film based on a true story written by Academy Award-nominated writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel and produced by Elliot Abbott. And Marshall will direct and choreograph Sideways: The Musical, a musical adaptation of Rex Pickett’s 2004 novel, that became an award-winning movie directed by Alexander Payne.
Marshall has been nominated for nine Tony Awards and won three for her work on Anything Goes, Pajama Game and Wonderful Town. She has also received three...
Marshall has a busy slate of upcoming projects on tap. She will helm the film adaptation of pop music star Tommy James’ best-selling autobiographical story, Me, the Mob and the Music. Award-winning film producer Barbara DeFina and Tommy James are developing the project from a screenplay by Matthew Stone.
Marshall will also direct Ed Lucas, a film based on a true story written by Academy Award-nominated writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel and produced by Elliot Abbott. And Marshall will direct and choreograph Sideways: The Musical, a musical adaptation of Rex Pickett’s 2004 novel, that became an award-winning movie directed by Alexander Payne.
Marshall has been nominated for nine Tony Awards and won three for her work on Anything Goes, Pajama Game and Wonderful Town. She has also received three...
- 2/21/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Pop music star Tommy James and film producer Barbara DeFina are developing the biopic “Me, the Mob and the Music,” based on James’ autobiography.
DeFina, whose credits include Martin Scorsese’s “Casino” and “GoodFellas,” and James have tapped three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall to helm the film adaptation from a screenplay by Matthew Stone (“Intolerable Cruelty”).
James was the leader of Tommy James and the Shondells with No. 1 singles for “Hanky Panky” and “Crimson and Clover” along with a dozen other Top 40 hits, including “I Think We’re Alone Now”, “Mirage”, “Mony Mony”, “Sweet Cherry Wine”, and “Crystal Blue Persuasion.” He has sold an estimated 100 million records.
The book, co-written with Martin Fitzpatrick and published in 2011, centers on James’ years at Roulette Records and his complex and sometimes terrifying relationship with mobster Morris Levy, also known as the “Godfather of the Music Business.” Levy operated through payola and strong-arm tactics.
DeFina, whose credits include Martin Scorsese’s “Casino” and “GoodFellas,” and James have tapped three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall to helm the film adaptation from a screenplay by Matthew Stone (“Intolerable Cruelty”).
James was the leader of Tommy James and the Shondells with No. 1 singles for “Hanky Panky” and “Crimson and Clover” along with a dozen other Top 40 hits, including “I Think We’re Alone Now”, “Mirage”, “Mony Mony”, “Sweet Cherry Wine”, and “Crystal Blue Persuasion.” He has sold an estimated 100 million records.
The book, co-written with Martin Fitzpatrick and published in 2011, centers on James’ years at Roulette Records and his complex and sometimes terrifying relationship with mobster Morris Levy, also known as the “Godfather of the Music Business.” Levy operated through payola and strong-arm tactics.
- 7/18/2019
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
What can you say about a hybrid gangster picture that generates a good feeling about people? We really like this show — Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman and Bill Murray’s characterizations are fresh and surprising — and refreshingly non-pc, with David Caruso, Kathy Baker and Mike Starr providing solid backup. Everything’s in fine form under director John McNaughton, as filmed by Robby Müller. And there’s a fascinating story about how parts of the story were re-written and re-shot, after a preview screening.
Mad Dog and Glory
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1993 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date March 5, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, Bill Murray, David Caruso, Mike Starr, Tom Towles, Kathy Baker, Doug Hara, Guy Van Swearingen, Jack Wallace, Richard Belzer.
Cinematography: Robby Müller
Film Editor: Elena Maganini, Craig McKay
Original Music: Elmer Bernstein
Written by Richard Price
Produced by Barbara De Fina, Martin Scorsese...
Mad Dog and Glory
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1993 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 97 min. / Street Date March 5, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, Bill Murray, David Caruso, Mike Starr, Tom Towles, Kathy Baker, Doug Hara, Guy Van Swearingen, Jack Wallace, Richard Belzer.
Cinematography: Robby Müller
Film Editor: Elena Maganini, Craig McKay
Original Music: Elmer Bernstein
Written by Richard Price
Produced by Barbara De Fina, Martin Scorsese...
- 2/23/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Martin Scorcese's powerful religious film, following the Catholic church's mission to instill Christianity in Fuedal Japan, Silence is coming out this March! Come inside to find out how you can get your hands on it early.
One of the biggest snubs of this year's Academy Awards, Silence, is making its way to digital and blu-ray, merely 3 months after being on the big screen. The Martin Scorsese religious feature, starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson will arrive on Blu-Ray on March 28th, but for audiences who can't wait that long the Digital HD version will be available March 14th.
Understandably, there aren't many added features for the Blu-Ray/Digital copy of Silence. If you haven't seen the movie, there really isn't much of a need for an alternate ending, deleted scenes, bloopers, or anything of the sort. Instead, the only new content will stem from a...
One of the biggest snubs of this year's Academy Awards, Silence, is making its way to digital and blu-ray, merely 3 months after being on the big screen. The Martin Scorsese religious feature, starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson will arrive on Blu-Ray on March 28th, but for audiences who can't wait that long the Digital HD version will be available March 14th.
Understandably, there aren't many added features for the Blu-Ray/Digital copy of Silence. If you haven't seen the movie, there really isn't much of a need for an alternate ending, deleted scenes, bloopers, or anything of the sort. Instead, the only new content will stem from a...
- 2/22/2017
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Matt Malliaros)
- Cinelinx
Paramount has as expected set an awards qualifying run for Martin Scorsese’s passion project and anticipated Oscar season heavy-hitter starring Andrew Garfield.
Silence will open in limited release on December 23, day-and-date with Japan through Kadokawa and Australia via Transmission. It will expand in the Us in January 2017 and roll out across Europe in January and February 2017.
The Oscar-winning director has attempted to make the film for many years and it finally began to move forward when Im Global brought Scorsese to Cannes to launch sales in May 2013.
Mexican producer Gaston Pavlovich’s Fabrica de Cine provided lead financing alongside AI Film and executive producer Dale A. Brown of Sharpsword Films. The producers are Scorsese and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Randall Emmett, Barbara Defina, Vittorio Cecchi Gori and Irwin Winkler. Im Global founder Stuart Ford is among the executive producers.
The story centres on a pair of 17th century Portuguese missionaries who travel to Japan during the brutal...
Silence will open in limited release on December 23, day-and-date with Japan through Kadokawa and Australia via Transmission. It will expand in the Us in January 2017 and roll out across Europe in January and February 2017.
The Oscar-winning director has attempted to make the film for many years and it finally began to move forward when Im Global brought Scorsese to Cannes to launch sales in May 2013.
Mexican producer Gaston Pavlovich’s Fabrica de Cine provided lead financing alongside AI Film and executive producer Dale A. Brown of Sharpsword Films. The producers are Scorsese and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Randall Emmett, Barbara Defina, Vittorio Cecchi Gori and Irwin Winkler. Im Global founder Stuart Ford is among the executive producers.
The story centres on a pair of 17th century Portuguese missionaries who travel to Japan during the brutal...
- 9/27/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Martin Scorsese‘s “Silence” will be getting an awards-season run. The film will open limited on December 23, 2016, and then go wide in January 2017. “Silence” is a historic drama based on the novel by Shūsaku Endō. It is produced by Scorsese, Paul Breuls, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Barbara De Fina, Randall Emmett, George Furla, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Gaston Pavlovich and Irwin Winkler. Dale A. Brown of Sharpsword Films serves as an executive producer on the film. Also Read: Martin Scorsese Hopes to 'Direct a Few More' Episodes of 'Vinyl' The script was adapted by Scorsese and Jay Cocks, and the movie stars Andrew Garfield,...
- 9/26/2016
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Historical drama stars Adam Driver, Liam Neeson and Andrew Garfield.
Studiocanal will release Martin Scorsese’s anticipated historical drama Silence in the UK.
Based on Japanese author Shunsaku Endo’s novel of the same name, Silence follows two Jesuit Portuguese Catholic priests who face persecution after travelling to Japan to locate their mentor. Adam Driver, Liam Neeson and Andrew Garfield star.
Also among the cast are Ciaran Hinds (Munich) and Tadanobu Asano (Thor). Jay Cocks (Gangs Of New York) adapted the screenplay, while Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Barbara De Fina, Randall Emmett, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Irwin Winkler and Scorsese himself are producers.
Studiocanal’s UK CEO Danny Perkins said of the acquisition, which was inked at Cannes 2015: “We have been long admirers of Martin Scorsese and are truly thrilled to be bringing his latest feature to UK audiences.”
Im Global negotiated the deal on behalf of London-based AI-Film, who were principal financier on the project.
The film was...
Studiocanal will release Martin Scorsese’s anticipated historical drama Silence in the UK.
Based on Japanese author Shunsaku Endo’s novel of the same name, Silence follows two Jesuit Portuguese Catholic priests who face persecution after travelling to Japan to locate their mentor. Adam Driver, Liam Neeson and Andrew Garfield star.
Also among the cast are Ciaran Hinds (Munich) and Tadanobu Asano (Thor). Jay Cocks (Gangs Of New York) adapted the screenplay, while Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Barbara De Fina, Randall Emmett, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Irwin Winkler and Scorsese himself are producers.
Studiocanal’s UK CEO Danny Perkins said of the acquisition, which was inked at Cannes 2015: “We have been long admirers of Martin Scorsese and are truly thrilled to be bringing his latest feature to UK audiences.”
Im Global negotiated the deal on behalf of London-based AI-Film, who were principal financier on the project.
The film was...
- 4/5/2016
- ScreenDaily
Steven Spielberg directed the 1982 classic "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial," but he couldn't have brought the iconic character to life without screenwriter Melissa Mathison. Mathison died Wednesday, November 4 after an illness, her brother Dirk Mathison confirmed to Variety. She was 65.
In addition to her Oscar-nominated screenplay for "E.T." -- for which she also received an associate producer credit -- Mathison wrote scripts for "The Black Stallion," "The Escape Artist," "The Indian In The Cupboard," Martin Scorsese's "Kundun," and the upcoming Spielberg movie "The Bfg," which is in post-production.
Mathison was also married to actor Harrison Ford for more than 20 years, from 1983-2004, and they have two children together, Malcolm and Georgia.
Spielberg and "Kundun" producer Barbara De Fina both shared statements after Mathison's death.
"She was a lovely woman, and it's a great loss," De Fina told Deadline. "She was a wonderful writer. The project was about the Dalai Lama but...
In addition to her Oscar-nominated screenplay for "E.T." -- for which she also received an associate producer credit -- Mathison wrote scripts for "The Black Stallion," "The Escape Artist," "The Indian In The Cupboard," Martin Scorsese's "Kundun," and the upcoming Spielberg movie "The Bfg," which is in post-production.
Mathison was also married to actor Harrison Ford for more than 20 years, from 1983-2004, and they have two children together, Malcolm and Georgia.
Spielberg and "Kundun" producer Barbara De Fina both shared statements after Mathison's death.
"She was a lovely woman, and it's a great loss," De Fina told Deadline. "She was a wonderful writer. The project was about the Dalai Lama but...
- 11/5/2015
- by Gina Carbone
- Moviefone
It was the summer of 1995. Bill Clinton was president, Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York, and Oj Simpson was on trial. That summer’s youth-oriented movies included Pixar's first movie Toy Story, the Disney musical Pocahontas — and Kids, in which wayward, stoned teens fuck each other senseless and head-stomp random strangers.
It might be hard to remember just how notorious Larry Clark's indie-skater odysey was. The movie grossed a modest $7 million at the box office that summer — a wild success when you account for the fact that it...
It might be hard to remember just how notorious Larry Clark's indie-skater odysey was. The movie grossed a modest $7 million at the box office that summer — a wild success when you account for the fact that it...
- 7/16/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Evan Handler (Californication) is set to star in a 10-episode digital series produced by Cinelan and veteran film producer Barbara DeFina, set inside the CIA’s terrorism finance tracking unit. Based on an original story by screenwriter J.D. Zeik, The Analyst stars Handler as Kevin Mercer, a CIA analyst targeted by an unknown enemy as he navigates the increasingly murky, dangerous world of financial espionage. The series is comprised of ten eight-minute real-time episodes…...
- 4/28/2015
- Deadline
Mandeville Films is partnering with YouTube powerhouse Fine Brothers Entertainment on an untitled original series.
Benny Fine, Rafi Fine, Max Benator, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Laurie Zaks serve as executive producers. YouTube will fully fund the series.
The half-hour show, created by the Fines and developed with Mandeville’s Hoberman and Lieberman, is a comedic series that pokes fun at TV singing contests.
“We thought the Fines were amazing and we all got excited about the idea of a real transmedia opportunity as well as this ambitious push by YouTube into the scripted spaces,” said Hoberman and Lieberman. “With the Fines’ built-in audience in that platform, it felt like a natural fit.”
“We are excited to be part of this new phase with YouTube to continue our decade long passion to produce premium online shows,” added Benny and Rafi Fine, whose creations include Kids React and spin-offs Teens React and Elders React.
“This partnership...
Benny Fine, Rafi Fine, Max Benator, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Laurie Zaks serve as executive producers. YouTube will fully fund the series.
The half-hour show, created by the Fines and developed with Mandeville’s Hoberman and Lieberman, is a comedic series that pokes fun at TV singing contests.
“We thought the Fines were amazing and we all got excited about the idea of a real transmedia opportunity as well as this ambitious push by YouTube into the scripted spaces,” said Hoberman and Lieberman. “With the Fines’ built-in audience in that platform, it felt like a natural fit.”
“We are excited to be part of this new phase with YouTube to continue our decade long passion to produce premium online shows,” added Benny and Rafi Fine, whose creations include Kids React and spin-offs Teens React and Elders React.
“This partnership...
- 4/28/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
There was a tragic death Wednesday on the set of Martin Scorsese‘s “Silence,” which is to star Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver. The film is in pre-production at Taiwan’s Cmpc Studios. After the production deemed a structure on the backlot unsafe for use, a contractor was hired to reinforce it.
Also Read: Martin Scorsese-Mick Jagger Rock ‘n’ Roll Project Gets Series Order From HBO
It was during this work that a ceiling collapsed, resulting in the death of one of the contractor’s employees and injuries to two others, a spokesman for the film told TheWrap.
Also Read: Martin Scorsese-Mick Jagger Rock ‘n’ Roll Project Gets Series Order From HBO
It was during this work that a ceiling collapsed, resulting in the death of one of the contractor’s employees and injuries to two others, a spokesman for the film told TheWrap.
- 1/29/2015
- by Jason Hughes
- The Wrap
Fabrica de Cine and SharpSword Films have come onboard to produce and finance Martin Scorsese’s historical drama "Silence". Filming is slated to begin this coming Thursday in Taiwan.
In a statement, Scorsese says: "I've wanted to make 'Silence' for almost two decades, and it is finally a reality. It is heartening to have adventurous partners like Fabrica and SharpSword to work with on this picture."
Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver star in the adaptation of Shusaku Endo's novel about 17th century Portuguese Jesuits on a mission to Japan to find their mentor (Neeson). Said mentor landed in Japan over a decade earlier and has gone missing, and upon their arrival they find the local Christian population driven underground by religious persecution.
Scorsese, Gaston Pavlovich, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Randall Emmett, Irwin Winkler and Barbara DeFina will produce. "Silence" is currently targeting a 2016 release.
Source: Deadline...
In a statement, Scorsese says: "I've wanted to make 'Silence' for almost two decades, and it is finally a reality. It is heartening to have adventurous partners like Fabrica and SharpSword to work with on this picture."
Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver star in the adaptation of Shusaku Endo's novel about 17th century Portuguese Jesuits on a mission to Japan to find their mentor (Neeson). Said mentor landed in Japan over a decade earlier and has gone missing, and upon their arrival they find the local Christian population driven underground by religious persecution.
Scorsese, Gaston Pavlovich, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Randall Emmett, Irwin Winkler and Barbara DeFina will produce. "Silence" is currently targeting a 2016 release.
Source: Deadline...
- 1/23/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Martin Scorsese’s prestige independent drama and passion project Silence is moving ahead with a January 30 production start in Taiwan as the latest financing element has entered the equation.
Mexico’s Fábrica de Cine alongside SharpSword Films have come on board to produce and provide financing for the Shusaku Endo adaptation and will manage the production under the joint entity FM Films.
Paramount will distribute in the Us in 2016 while AI Films/Im Global oversee international sales.
Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver star in the story about 17th century Portuguese Jesuits in Japan during the notorious period of Christian persecution.
Fábrica de Cine head Gastón Pavlovich joins Scorsese and Emma Tillinger Koskoff on the producer roster alongside Randall Emmett, Irwin Winkler and Barbara DeFina.
SharpSword Films backer Dale Brown serves as executive producer with Matthew Malek, Tyler Zacharia, George Furla and Chad Verdi.
“I’ve wanted to make Silence for almost two decades, and it is finally...
Mexico’s Fábrica de Cine alongside SharpSword Films have come on board to produce and provide financing for the Shusaku Endo adaptation and will manage the production under the joint entity FM Films.
Paramount will distribute in the Us in 2016 while AI Films/Im Global oversee international sales.
Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver star in the story about 17th century Portuguese Jesuits in Japan during the notorious period of Christian persecution.
Fábrica de Cine head Gastón Pavlovich joins Scorsese and Emma Tillinger Koskoff on the producer roster alongside Randall Emmett, Irwin Winkler and Barbara DeFina.
SharpSword Films backer Dale Brown serves as executive producer with Matthew Malek, Tyler Zacharia, George Furla and Chad Verdi.
“I’ve wanted to make Silence for almost two decades, and it is finally...
- 1/22/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Liam Neeson will star with Andrew Garfield and Ken Watanabe in Silence, the Martin Scorsese-directed adaptation of Shusaku Endo’s novel about 17th century Jesuits who to try bring Christianity to isolated Japan. The film is being financed by Emmett/Furla/Oasis, Corsan and A1. Emmett/Furla/Oasis just funded Lone Survivor. The script is by Jay Cocks and Scorsese and production will begin in Taiwan later this year. Related: Martin Scorsese Tests Out Script For Mob Drama ‘The Irishman’, But ‘Silence’ Is His Next Pic Neeson is scheduled to reprise in Taken 3, but while Neeson has remade himself as an action star, Silence brings him back to the kind of work he did in Schindler’s List and in the Scorsese-directed Gangs Of New York. The film is produced by Irwin Winkler, Randall Emmett and George Furla, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Checchi Gori, Barbara DeFina and Paul Breuls,...
- 1/31/2014
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Untitled Hugh Hefner Biopic
David Dobkin is reportedly in talks to direct a Hugh Hefner biopic at Warner Bros. Pictures. Peter Morgan ("Rush") is scripting the project which was previously setup at Universal with Brett Ratner attached.
The story will reportedly be set sometime in the 1970s, well after Hef founded Playboy magazine in 1953. [Source: Variety]
Pox Americana
"Mesrine" director Jean-Francois Richet has been set to direct "Pox Americana" for Code Entertainment. Frank John Hughes' script made the Top Ten of the just-published 2013 Black List.
The story follows an Army officer and an Indian scout in the New Mexico Territory in the 1850s who are sent by the U.S. President to lead a special ops team to assassinate the head of the Navajo nation. Filming begins next year. [Source: Deadline]
How To Be Single
Christian Ditter ("Love, Rosie") is in negotiations to direct the ensemble comedy "How to Be Single" at New Line.
David Dobkin is reportedly in talks to direct a Hugh Hefner biopic at Warner Bros. Pictures. Peter Morgan ("Rush") is scripting the project which was previously setup at Universal with Brett Ratner attached.
The story will reportedly be set sometime in the 1970s, well after Hef founded Playboy magazine in 1953. [Source: Variety]
Pox Americana
"Mesrine" director Jean-Francois Richet has been set to direct "Pox Americana" for Code Entertainment. Frank John Hughes' script made the Top Ten of the just-published 2013 Black List.
The story follows an Army officer and an Indian scout in the New Mexico Territory in the 1850s who are sent by the U.S. President to lead a special ops team to assassinate the head of the Navajo nation. Filming begins next year. [Source: Deadline]
How To Be Single
Christian Ditter ("Love, Rosie") is in negotiations to direct the ensemble comedy "How to Be Single" at New Line.
- 12/19/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Matt D'Elia has come aboard to direct the indie thriller Green Olds, being produced by Martin Scorsese’s former partner and ex-wife Barbara De Fina. Written by Dallas Brennan, Olds is a dark comedic thriller set in the early 1950s about a husband and wife who will stop at nothing to become the perfect, ideal nuclear family. De Fina, who produced Last Temptation of Christ, Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence and Casino, among other Scorsese films, is producing with Wild Invention Pictures (The Lifeguard, The Loneliest Planet). Photos: 25 of Fall's Most Anticipated Movies The movie is eyeing a
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- 12/19/2013
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Second and final part of our analysis of neo-noir classic The Grifters (1990, directed by Stephen Frears). Since the film’s costume designer Richard Hornung died in 1995, we asked his assistant costume designer on the project, Mark Bridges, for his own recollections (Part 1 Here).
We pick up the story as Lily (Angelica Huston) is confronted by her gangster employer Bobo (Pat Hingle). In fact we had a peek at Lily’s next outfit when she admits her son Roy (John Cusack) to hospital during the first act. It is a clean white scoop neck shift dress accessorised with tortoiseshell sunglasses and, seemingly without explanation, later a brown belt. White is an empty colour and on Lily it also implies loneliness and vulnerability, the latter of which she exudes during her conformation with Bobo. Proving that a dress is never just a dress on film, Mark Bridges explains the origins of this...
We pick up the story as Lily (Angelica Huston) is confronted by her gangster employer Bobo (Pat Hingle). In fact we had a peek at Lily’s next outfit when she admits her son Roy (John Cusack) to hospital during the first act. It is a clean white scoop neck shift dress accessorised with tortoiseshell sunglasses and, seemingly without explanation, later a brown belt. White is an empty colour and on Lily it also implies loneliness and vulnerability, the latter of which she exudes during her conformation with Bobo. Proving that a dress is never just a dress on film, Mark Bridges explains the origins of this...
- 6/20/2013
- by Chris Laverty
- Clothes on Film
Martin Scorsese is finally locking down a time to direct his dream project "Silence" which has secured financing at Emmett/Furla Films and Corsan Films.
An adaptation of the Shusaku Endo novel, the story follows 17th century Jesuits who risk their lives to bring Christianity to Japan.
Shooting aims to begin in Taiwan in July next year, the film will mark Scorsese's first project once he wraps "The Wolf Of Wall Street".
Scorsese and Jay Cocks penned the script, while talks are underway with Graham King for his ownership stake in the script.
Irwin Winkler, Emmett and Furla, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Checchi Gori, and Barbara DeFina will produce.
Source: Deadline...
An adaptation of the Shusaku Endo novel, the story follows 17th century Jesuits who risk their lives to bring Christianity to Japan.
Shooting aims to begin in Taiwan in July next year, the film will mark Scorsese's first project once he wraps "The Wolf Of Wall Street".
Scorsese and Jay Cocks penned the script, while talks are underway with Graham King for his ownership stake in the script.
Irwin Winkler, Emmett and Furla, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Checchi Gori, and Barbara DeFina will produce.
Source: Deadline...
- 4/20/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Exclusive: Martin Scorsese will finally realize his long-held dream to direct Silence, an adaptation of the Shusaku Endo novel about 17th century Jesuits who risk their lives to bring Christianity to Japan. Financing for the film has been secured by Emmett/Furla Films and Paul Breuls and his Corsan Films. The plan is to shoot in Taiwan in July 2014, depending on cast, from a script by Jay Cocks and Scorsese. I’m told that things are moving fast on this and that they are all making plans for Scorsese to come to Cannes and launch the picture. Talks are underway with Graham King for his ownership stake in the script. Numerous sales companies have been vying to handle foreign rights, but that task will fall to Len Blavatnik and Stuart Ford, who’ll jointly handle foreign on the film for Emmett/Furla through their respective Axis Films and Im Global.
- 4/19/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
I know that many of you who read GeekTyrant are interested in becoming future filmmakers, which is awesome! It should come as no surprise to you that since I run a movie blog that I too would like to get into the business of making movies.
The Hollywood Reporter has come up with their list of 25 best film schools with basic details for each one. For those of you wanting to study the art of filmmaking, and wondering what the best schools for this are then this list should come in handy. Check out the full list below, and tell us what you think!
1. American Film Institute
Among the most selective film schools in America, AFI's Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies in Los Angeles offers a two-year conservatory program where students specialize in fields including directing, producing and writing, often coming to the institute after working in the...
The Hollywood Reporter has come up with their list of 25 best film schools with basic details for each one. For those of you wanting to study the art of filmmaking, and wondering what the best schools for this are then this list should come in handy. Check out the full list below, and tell us what you think!
1. American Film Institute
Among the most selective film schools in America, AFI's Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies in Los Angeles offers a two-year conservatory program where students specialize in fields including directing, producing and writing, often coming to the institute after working in the...
- 7/27/2011
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
Bruce Beresford will direct Killer Instinct based on the book by Joseph Finder, for Chockstone Pictures and De Fina Productions. The director of Driving Miss Daisy helms from the script by David Murray. Story of Killer Instinct follows a young salesman who, through a chance meeting, makes friends with a washed-up, former special forces officer who insists on helping him get ahead, with deadly consequences. Murray will help Beresford with a new draft of the script. Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz of Chockstone are producing with Barbara De Fina. Chockstone are producers of Brad Pitt starrer Cogan's Trade which is now filming. That film helmed by Andrew Dominik...
- 3/29/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Bruce Beresford will direct Killer Instinct based on the book by Joseph Finder, for Chockstone Pictures and De Fina Productions. The director of Driving Miss Daisy helms from the script by David Murray. Story of Killer Instinct follows a young salesman who, through a chance meeting, makes friends with a washed-up, former special forces officer who insists on helping him get ahead, with deadly consequences. Murray will help Beresford with a new draft of the script. Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz of Chockstone are producing with Barbara De Fina. Chockstone are producers of Brad Pitt starrer Cogan's Trade which is now filming. That film helmed by Andrew Dominik...
- 3/29/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Superstars Tom Cruise and Madonna were movie bosses' first choices for the lead roles in iconic 1990 mafia movie "Goodfellas". Studio chiefs were desperate to cast Cruise in the role of mobster Henry Hill and Madonna was wanted to play his wife - until Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco won over Scorsese and the movie's producers.
Speaking to GQ magazine on "Goodfellas" ' 20th anniversary, producer Irwin Winkler admits, "Tom Cruise was discussed. Marty wanted Ray... Frankly I thought we could do a lot better and then me and my wife were having dinner one night in a restaurant and lo and behold, Ray Liotta came over to me."
"He said, 'Look, I know you don't really want me for it, but... ' And he sold me on the role right that evening. I called Marty the next morning." Bracco beat out Madonna for the role of Karen Hill, despite Scorsese...
Speaking to GQ magazine on "Goodfellas" ' 20th anniversary, producer Irwin Winkler admits, "Tom Cruise was discussed. Marty wanted Ray... Frankly I thought we could do a lot better and then me and my wife were having dinner one night in a restaurant and lo and behold, Ray Liotta came over to me."
"He said, 'Look, I know you don't really want me for it, but... ' And he sold me on the role right that evening. I called Marty the next morning." Bracco beat out Madonna for the role of Karen Hill, despite Scorsese...
- 9/20/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Superstars Tom Cruise and Madonna were movie bosses' first choices for the lead roles in iconic 1990 mafia movie Goodfellas.
Studio chiefs were desperate to cast Cruise in the role of mobster Henry Hill and Madonna was wanted to play his wife - until Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco won over Scorsese and the movie's producers.
Speaking to GQ magazine on Goodfellas' 20th anniversary, producer Irwin Winkler admits, "Tom Cruise was discussed. Marty wanted Ray... Frankly I thought we could do a lot better and then me and my wife were having dinner one night in a restaurant and lo and behold, Ray Liotta came over to me. He said, 'Look, I know you don't really want me for it, but...' And he sold me on the role right that evening. I called Marty the next morning."
Bracco beat out Madonna for the role of Karen Hill, despite Scorsese initially favouring the Material Girl.
Fellow producer Barbara De Fina says, "Madonna seemed to be in the mix. I remember that we went to see her in the play Speed-the-Plow. Marty said hello to her afterwards. Can you imagine? Tom Cruise and Madonna? But Marty can get a performance out of almost anyone."...
Studio chiefs were desperate to cast Cruise in the role of mobster Henry Hill and Madonna was wanted to play his wife - until Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco won over Scorsese and the movie's producers.
Speaking to GQ magazine on Goodfellas' 20th anniversary, producer Irwin Winkler admits, "Tom Cruise was discussed. Marty wanted Ray... Frankly I thought we could do a lot better and then me and my wife were having dinner one night in a restaurant and lo and behold, Ray Liotta came over to me. He said, 'Look, I know you don't really want me for it, but...' And he sold me on the role right that evening. I called Marty the next morning."
Bracco beat out Madonna for the role of Karen Hill, despite Scorsese initially favouring the Material Girl.
Fellow producer Barbara De Fina says, "Madonna seemed to be in the mix. I remember that we went to see her in the play Speed-the-Plow. Marty said hello to her afterwards. Can you imagine? Tom Cruise and Madonna? But Marty can get a performance out of almost anyone."...
- 9/19/2010
- WENN
Chicago – Very, very few movies are as immensely rewatchable as Martin Scorsese’s masterful “GoodFellas,” now released on Blu-ray in a twentieth anniversary edition timed to coincide with the theatrical release of “Shutter Island” this Friday. One of the most influential films of the ’90s is one of those rare works that has lost absolutely none of its power.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Can you believe it’s been twenty years since “GoodFellas”? Jon Favreau says it best in one of the special features about the influence of the film on the new Blu-ray release: when you stumble across arguably Scorsese’s best work on cable, it’s almost impossible not to watch the rest of it in its entirety. More than arguably any other film from its era, “GoodFellas” looks like it could have come out in 2010. It’s timeless.
GoodFellas: 20th Anniversary Edition was released on Blu-ray on February 16th,...
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
Can you believe it’s been twenty years since “GoodFellas”? Jon Favreau says it best in one of the special features about the influence of the film on the new Blu-ray release: when you stumble across arguably Scorsese’s best work on cable, it’s almost impossible not to watch the rest of it in its entirety. More than arguably any other film from its era, “GoodFellas” looks like it could have come out in 2010. It’s timeless.
GoodFellas: 20th Anniversary Edition was released on Blu-ray on February 16th,...
- 2/18/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Participant Media CEO Jim Berk, Fox International Productions president Sanford Panich and CBS Paramount Television Entertainment president Nancy Tellum are among the speakers scheduled to take part in the 2009 Circle Conference, which runs from Oct. 9-11 in Abu Dhabi.
Eissa Saif Al Mazrouei, director of special projects for Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, and David Shepheard, director of the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, announced the full line-up on Tuesday.
The conference, which focuses on making films and TV for a global audience, will also hear from National Geographic Films president Adam Leipzig, BBC Worldwide head of co-production funding Stephen McDonogh, New Regency Pictures chairman Hutch Parker, Stadium International chair/CEO Stewart Till, producers Barbara DeFina, Walter Parkes, Fernando Sulichin, and Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah and directors Nawaf Al Janahi, Amin Matalqa and Malek Akkad.
The three-day event will devote more panels this year to the Middle East and the...
Eissa Saif Al Mazrouei, director of special projects for Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, and David Shepheard, director of the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, announced the full line-up on Tuesday.
The conference, which focuses on making films and TV for a global audience, will also hear from National Geographic Films president Adam Leipzig, BBC Worldwide head of co-production funding Stephen McDonogh, New Regency Pictures chairman Hutch Parker, Stadium International chair/CEO Stewart Till, producers Barbara DeFina, Walter Parkes, Fernando Sulichin, and Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah and directors Nawaf Al Janahi, Amin Matalqa and Malek Akkad.
The three-day event will devote more panels this year to the Middle East and the...
- 9/30/2009
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Chockstone Pictures and DeFina Film Productions have optioned "Killer Instinct," Joseph Finder's 2006 bestselling thriller.The novel focuses on a sales executive at an electronics giant in Boston who struggles to find the killer instinct that it takes to navigate the corporate world.Chockstone's Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz will produce with Barbara DeFina. Roger Schwartz will be co-producer.In Variety, Steve Schwartz stated: "The book appealed to us on two levels: as a terrific thriller and also as a parody of the technology industry that is scary and funny at the same time."...
- 6/6/2009
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Martin Scorsese, director of "Silence" and Gk Films' producer Graham King are apparently in talks with Oscar® winners Daniel Day-Lewis and Benicio Del Toro to star in the film. Also keen is Gael Garcia Bernal. The drama based on the Shusaku Endo novel, is expected to start production in New Zealand later this year. Set in the 17th century, the story follows two Jesuit priests who face persecution when they travel to Japan to find their mentor and spread the message of Christianity. Jay Cocks will adapt. King will produce alongside Barbara DeFina and Gianni Nunnari.
- 2/3/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
New York -- In another post-Toronto acquisition, Screen Media Films has nabbed U.S. rights to producer/star Alec Baldwin's drama "Lymelife."
Cynthia Nixon, Timothy Hutton, Jill Hennessey, Rory Culkin, Kieran Culkin and Emma Roberts also star in the late-'70s tale of a teen and his family whose Long Island town gets hit hard by Lyme disease.
Derick Martini's film nabbed the International Critics Prize for Discovery after its Toronto world premiere. Martin Scorsese and Leonard Loventhal exec produced the project, which was produced by Jon Cornick, Barbara De Fina, Michele Tayler, Angela Somerville and Baldwin.
Screen Media president Robert Baruc, who recently acquired producer/star Sarah Jessica Parker's drama "Spinning Into Butter," will oversee a platform theatrical rollout in the spring.
William Morris Independent negotiated the deal with Martini's reps, Jonathan Gray and Evan Krauss of Gray Krauss Llp.
Steven Zeitchik and Borys Kit contributed to this report.
Cynthia Nixon, Timothy Hutton, Jill Hennessey, Rory Culkin, Kieran Culkin and Emma Roberts also star in the late-'70s tale of a teen and his family whose Long Island town gets hit hard by Lyme disease.
Derick Martini's film nabbed the International Critics Prize for Discovery after its Toronto world premiere. Martin Scorsese and Leonard Loventhal exec produced the project, which was produced by Jon Cornick, Barbara De Fina, Michele Tayler, Angela Somerville and Baldwin.
Screen Media president Robert Baruc, who recently acquired producer/star Sarah Jessica Parker's drama "Spinning Into Butter," will oversee a platform theatrical rollout in the spring.
William Morris Independent negotiated the deal with Martini's reps, Jonathan Gray and Evan Krauss of Gray Krauss Llp.
Steven Zeitchik and Borys Kit contributed to this report.
- 10/13/2008
- by By Gregg Goldstein
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
New York -- Longtime Martin Scorsese producer Barbara De Fina, Austin Chick and Andrew Kletjian have optioned Lisa Unger's new Random House thriller "Black Out."
Chick, who also has optioned Tim Clark's art forgery caper script "Fake," will adapt and direct both for the big screen.
"Black Out" centers on Annie Powers, an affluent wife and mother living in Florida. Cracks in her idyllic life emerge when her psychologist is murdered and a familiar dark figure appears, triggering long-suppressed memories of a former life she must piece together to save herself and her daughter.
The Wma-repped Chick, a co-producer and uncredited writer on Sidney Lumet's "Before the Devil Knows Your Dead," helmed "Xx/Yy" and this summer's Josh Hartnett drama "August." He recently signed to write and direct an untitled Hamptons-based thriller for Sony's Screen Gems in the spring.
"I've been wanting to do a character-driven thriller since ('Devil')," said Chick,...
Chick, who also has optioned Tim Clark's art forgery caper script "Fake," will adapt and direct both for the big screen.
"Black Out" centers on Annie Powers, an affluent wife and mother living in Florida. Cracks in her idyllic life emerge when her psychologist is murdered and a familiar dark figure appears, triggering long-suppressed memories of a former life she must piece together to save herself and her daughter.
The Wma-repped Chick, a co-producer and uncredited writer on Sidney Lumet's "Before the Devil Knows Your Dead," helmed "Xx/Yy" and this summer's Josh Hartnett drama "August." He recently signed to write and direct an untitled Hamptons-based thriller for Sony's Screen Gems in the spring.
"I've been wanting to do a character-driven thriller since ('Devil')," said Chick,...
- 9/10/2008
- by By Gregg Goldstein
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Chances are better than average when you workshop a screenplay at the one of Sundance's yearly director and screen writing labs that eventually things will pan out and your passion project will get made. How's this for perseverance -Variety reports that final casting has been completed for Derick and Steven Martini's Lymelife (a 2001-Sundance lab project that first came to my attention while watching some screener at Sundance that showed the lab process in intimate detail - sorta like the workshopping DVD extra on Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs). The trade announced that the long attached Alec Baldwin is confirmed to star in the dramedy and Emma Roberts (Nancy Drew) is taking on her first role outside the usual studio-made flicks. Others to join or already confirmed a while back are Cynthia Nixon, Rory and Kieran Culkin, Jill Hennessy and Timothy Hutton. Shooting beings next week in Jersey. Set in late '70s Long Island,
- 3/4/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
The Aviator team of Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio and screenwriter John Logan are in early negotiations to develop a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1948 classic Drunken Angel for Warner Bros. Pictures. DiCaprio is attached to star in the picture, which would be produced by Barbara DeFina with Scorsese and DiCaprio through the latter's Appian Way production shingle, which is based at Initial Entertainment Group. Logan would pen the project, which is being discussed as a potential directing vehicle for Scorsese. Kurosawa's film, which was set in postwar Japan, centered on a young criminal who is being treated for tuberculosis by an alcoholic doctor.
- 2/10/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Martin Scorsese's fascinating account of the history of Italian cinema from the end of World War II to about 1961, a companion piece of sorts to his seminal documentary "A Personal Journey Through American Movies," firmly establishes the brilliant filmmaker as invaluable an educator as he is a director. Equally personal and informative, insightful and passionate, this four-hour work establishes its goal of illuminating the joys of Italian cinema to neophytes and experts alike.
Although its natural home eventually will be on video and television, "Il Mio Viaggio in Italia" has been picked up by Miramax for theatrical distribution; despite its demanding length, it well deserves to be seen on the big screen thanks to the superb restoration of its numerous film clips. Screened recently at the New York Film Festival, it is due to be exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles soon.
As its title suggests, "Viaggio" makes no claims to be an exhaustive history of Italian cinema. Rather, it is a personal essay in which Scorsese delivers not so much an overview but rather a guide to the films and filmmakers who have had the biggest influence on him. Staring directly into the camera in a series of monologues, he describes his early years growing up in Little Italy, watching Italian films broadcast on a black-and-white 16-inch TV set. Although there is a brief segment dealing with Italian silent epics, "Viaggio"'s first part deals principally with Italian postwar cinema, most notably the neorealist films made by such directors as Rossellini and De Sica.
Part Two deals with the stylistic advances made by such filmmakers as Visconti, Antonioni and Fellini, with the latter's works, most notably "I Vitelloni", "La Dolce Vita" and "8 1/2," having a particularly important impact on Scorsese's work. For instance, "I Vitelloni", he informs us, was a strong influence on Scorsese's "Mean Streets".
Admittedly, considering its four-hour-plus running time, "Viaggio" might be digested more easily in installments than in its current format. And one might argue that the film clips, while expertly chosen and edited (by Scorsese's longtime collaborator, the brilliant Thelma Schoonmaker), might be a bit too voluminous; many of the excerpts go on for 15 minutes or more. But there is no denying the passion or intelligence of this work, which is meant to be an encouragement to explore the films for ourselves rather than a dry history lesson. On that level, "Viaggio" fully succeeds.
IL MIO VIAGGIO IN ITALIA
Miramax Films
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriters: Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Raffaele Donato, Kent Jones, Martin Scorsese
Producers: Barbara De Fina, Giuliana Del Punta, Bruno Restuccia
Executive producers: Giorgio Armani, Riccardo Tozzi, Marco Chimenz
Co-executive producer: Raffaele Donato
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Color and black and white/stereo
Running time -- 246 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Although its natural home eventually will be on video and television, "Il Mio Viaggio in Italia" has been picked up by Miramax for theatrical distribution; despite its demanding length, it well deserves to be seen on the big screen thanks to the superb restoration of its numerous film clips. Screened recently at the New York Film Festival, it is due to be exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles soon.
As its title suggests, "Viaggio" makes no claims to be an exhaustive history of Italian cinema. Rather, it is a personal essay in which Scorsese delivers not so much an overview but rather a guide to the films and filmmakers who have had the biggest influence on him. Staring directly into the camera in a series of monologues, he describes his early years growing up in Little Italy, watching Italian films broadcast on a black-and-white 16-inch TV set. Although there is a brief segment dealing with Italian silent epics, "Viaggio"'s first part deals principally with Italian postwar cinema, most notably the neorealist films made by such directors as Rossellini and De Sica.
Part Two deals with the stylistic advances made by such filmmakers as Visconti, Antonioni and Fellini, with the latter's works, most notably "I Vitelloni", "La Dolce Vita" and "8 1/2," having a particularly important impact on Scorsese's work. For instance, "I Vitelloni", he informs us, was a strong influence on Scorsese's "Mean Streets".
Admittedly, considering its four-hour-plus running time, "Viaggio" might be digested more easily in installments than in its current format. And one might argue that the film clips, while expertly chosen and edited (by Scorsese's longtime collaborator, the brilliant Thelma Schoonmaker), might be a bit too voluminous; many of the excerpts go on for 15 minutes or more. But there is no denying the passion or intelligence of this work, which is meant to be an encouragement to explore the films for ourselves rather than a dry history lesson. On that level, "Viaggio" fully succeeds.
IL MIO VIAGGIO IN ITALIA
Miramax Films
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriters: Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Raffaele Donato, Kent Jones, Martin Scorsese
Producers: Barbara De Fina, Giuliana Del Punta, Bruno Restuccia
Executive producers: Giorgio Armani, Riccardo Tozzi, Marco Chimenz
Co-executive producer: Raffaele Donato
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Color and black and white/stereo
Running time -- 246 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Variety reports that Martin Scorsese is developing a film based on Graham Greene's 1948 novel The Heart of the Matter with an eye towards directing it. Don MacPherson will pen the adaptation, with Scorsese's longtime producing partner Barbara DeFina producing along with the filmmaker. The novel centers around a married Catholic police official in West Africa who falls in love with a mysterious woman while trying to bust a diamond-smuggling ring.
- 1/24/2004
- IMDbPro News
CANNES -- Vincent D'Onofrio and Joe Pantoliano are teaming to star in "Little Victories", the feature directorial debut of film editor Leo Trombetta. Mark and Michael Polish, who collaborated with Trombetta on their films "Twin Falls Idaho" and the upcoming "Northfork", will produce along with Brigitte Mueller and Martin Scorsese's producing partner, Barbara De Fina, through Cappa Prods. Penned by Trombetta as a semiautobiographical tale, "Little Victories" centers on a 12-year-old boy whose world view is irrevocably altered when his gangster uncle comes to stay with him after being tossed out the house by his wife. Tony Manne is handling the foreign sales for "Victories" through his sales company Bristol Media, which is in Cannes for the first time after launching in March 2002. Bristol is also handling the recently announced "Brides", a co-production among Alco Films, Cappa Prods. and K.G Prods., which is being executive produced by Scorsese. Trombetta's editing credits include "Green Dragon", "Going All the Way" and "Amongst Friends".
- 5/21/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Martin Scorsese's fascinating account of the history of Italian cinema from the end of World War II to about 1961, a companion piece of sorts to his seminal documentary "A Personal Journey Through American Movies," firmly establishes the brilliant filmmaker as invaluable an educator as he is a director. Equally personal and informative, insightful and passionate, this four-hour work establishes its goal of illuminating the joys of Italian cinema to neophytes and experts alike.
Although its natural home eventually will be on video and television, "Il Mio Viaggio in Italia" has been picked up by Miramax for theatrical distribution; despite its demanding length, it well deserves to be seen on the big screen thanks to the superb restoration of its numerous film clips. Screened recently at the New York Film Festival, it is due to be exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles soon.
As its title suggests, "Viaggio" makes no claims to be an exhaustive history of Italian cinema. Rather, it is a personal essay in which Scorsese delivers not so much an overview but rather a guide to the films and filmmakers who have had the biggest influence on him. Staring directly into the camera in a series of monologues, he describes his early years growing up in Little Italy, watching Italian films broadcast on a black-and-white 16-inch TV set. Although there is a brief segment dealing with Italian silent epics, "Viaggio"'s first part deals principally with Italian postwar cinema, most notably the neorealist films made by such directors as Rossellini and De Sica.
Part Two deals with the stylistic advances made by such filmmakers as Visconti, Antonioni and Fellini, with the latter's works, most notably "I Vitelloni", "La Dolce Vita" and "8 1/2," having a particularly important impact on Scorsese's work. For instance, "I Vitelloni", he informs us, was a strong influence on Scorsese's "Mean Streets".
Admittedly, considering its four-hour-plus running time, "Viaggio" might be digested more easily in installments than in its current format. And one might argue that the film clips, while expertly chosen and edited (by Scorsese's longtime collaborator, the brilliant Thelma Schoonmaker), might be a bit too voluminous; many of the excerpts go on for 15 minutes or more. But there is no denying the passion or intelligence of this work, which is meant to be an encouragement to explore the films for ourselves rather than a dry history lesson. On that level, "Viaggio" fully succeeds.
IL MIO VIAGGIO IN ITALIA
Miramax Films
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriters: Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Raffaele Donato, Kent Jones, Martin Scorsese
Producers: Barbara De Fina, Giuliana Del Punta, Bruno Restuccia
Executive producers: Giorgio Armani, Riccardo Tozzi, Marco Chimenz
Co-executive producer: Raffaele Donato
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Color and black and white/stereo
Running time -- 246 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Although its natural home eventually will be on video and television, "Il Mio Viaggio in Italia" has been picked up by Miramax for theatrical distribution; despite its demanding length, it well deserves to be seen on the big screen thanks to the superb restoration of its numerous film clips. Screened recently at the New York Film Festival, it is due to be exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles soon.
As its title suggests, "Viaggio" makes no claims to be an exhaustive history of Italian cinema. Rather, it is a personal essay in which Scorsese delivers not so much an overview but rather a guide to the films and filmmakers who have had the biggest influence on him. Staring directly into the camera in a series of monologues, he describes his early years growing up in Little Italy, watching Italian films broadcast on a black-and-white 16-inch TV set. Although there is a brief segment dealing with Italian silent epics, "Viaggio"'s first part deals principally with Italian postwar cinema, most notably the neorealist films made by such directors as Rossellini and De Sica.
Part Two deals with the stylistic advances made by such filmmakers as Visconti, Antonioni and Fellini, with the latter's works, most notably "I Vitelloni", "La Dolce Vita" and "8 1/2," having a particularly important impact on Scorsese's work. For instance, "I Vitelloni", he informs us, was a strong influence on Scorsese's "Mean Streets".
Admittedly, considering its four-hour-plus running time, "Viaggio" might be digested more easily in installments than in its current format. And one might argue that the film clips, while expertly chosen and edited (by Scorsese's longtime collaborator, the brilliant Thelma Schoonmaker), might be a bit too voluminous; many of the excerpts go on for 15 minutes or more. But there is no denying the passion or intelligence of this work, which is meant to be an encouragement to explore the films for ourselves rather than a dry history lesson. On that level, "Viaggio" fully succeeds.
IL MIO VIAGGIO IN ITALIA
Miramax Films
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriters: Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Raffaele Donato, Kent Jones, Martin Scorsese
Producers: Barbara De Fina, Giuliana Del Punta, Bruno Restuccia
Executive producers: Giorgio Armani, Riccardo Tozzi, Marco Chimenz
Co-executive producer: Raffaele Donato
Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker
Color and black and white/stereo
Running time -- 246 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/18/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A pleasant surprise, English director Stephen Frears' latest dip into mainstream Hollywood filmmaking (after the twin disasters "Hero" and "Mary Reilly") is an engaging post-World War II western with a volatile mixture of American idealism and winner-take-all competition.
Starring Woody Harrelson and Billy Crudup as returning vets and friends who both pursue married woman Patricia Arquette, "The Hi-Lo Country" is a little out of step with the times (no vampires, no city slickers) and probably won't kick up much of a fuss at the boxoffice.
It's a shame -- what with Oliver Stapleton's excellent widescreen cinematography and Carter Burwell's Oscar-worthy original music evoking classic oaters of the past -- that the holiday glut will claim such an unworthy victim. The literate story, based on Max Evans' novel, is a project Sam Peckinpah struggled for decades to get made.
Small-town ranchers in New Mexico's Hi-Lo Country (near the top of the Texas Panhandle), Pete (Crudup) and Big Boy (Harrelson) return from the war to little fanfare and are all set to continue their rough-living ways -- driving cattle, womanizing, drinking and brawling.
In Walon Green's leisurely paced screenplay, and with Frears displaying a strong grasp of the material, the fates of these two macho guys becomes intertwined when they realize their rough-and-tumble view of life is the one thing they will gladly fight for.
They are largely successful at first, with Pete taking up again with a prewar sweetheart (Penelope Cruz), who rightly fears that he doesn't really love her and won't stay around long. Indeed, when he learns that beguiling Mona (Arquette), a longtime obsession, has married, he again becomes hotly interested in her.
Seemingly unhappy, with her husband (John Diehl) employed by the land-grabbing local kingpin (Sam Elliott), Mona flirts with Pete enough to whet his appetite, but he's crushed when he learns that his pal Big Boy has already made a move on her.
While the two guys struggle to stay in business with the help of another local maverick (James Gammon), loyal-but-frustrated Pete is drawn into the dangerous game played by Big Boy and Mona.
In various tense and violent encounters with Elliott's men, the leads' backs are watched by cool-headed Levi Gomez (Enrique Castillo). But Big Boy's brother Little Boy (Cole Hauser) is firmly in the enemy camp. Ultimately, the violence escalates and wild passions are unleashed with tragic consequences, with Big Boy (who fought as Marine in the bloody invasion of Tarawa in the Pacific) seemingly at peace with himself even as he sets a fateful course.
Both an homage to the fading cowboy lifestyle and a believable rendering of the times, "Hi-Lo" boasts another strong, commanding performance from Harrelson. Big Boy is equal parts boastful charmer and punchy cowpoke -- a might-have-been equal to Elliott's wily old boy -- and Harrelson, in one of his best outings, rises to the occasion.
With his starring role in Robert Towne's "Without Limits", Crudup has had a terrific year. Although his character gets somewhat overshadowed by Big Boy and Mona, this rising talent should ride off with a lot more fans. Arquette, on the other hand, is not particularly special or memorable in her role, though her slinky, laconic approach is appropriate to the character.
THE HI-LO COUNTRY
Gramercy Pictures
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment presents
in association with Martin Scorsese
A Working Title production
with Cappa/De Fina Prods.
Director: Stephen Frears
Screenwriter: Walon Green
Producers: Barbara De Fina,
Martin Scorsese, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan
Executive producer: Rudd Simmons
Director of photography: Oliver Stapleton
Production/costume designer: Patricia Norris
Editor: Masahiro Hirakubo
Music: Carter Burwell
Casting: Victoria Thomas
Color/stereo
Cast:
Pete: Billy Crudup
Big Boy: Woody Harrelson
Little Boy: Cole Hauser
Mona: Patricia Arquette
Jim Ed Love: Sam Elliott
Hoover: James Gammon
Josepha: Penelope Cruz
Levi Gomez : Enrique Castillo
Les Birk: John Diehl
Running time - 115 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Starring Woody Harrelson and Billy Crudup as returning vets and friends who both pursue married woman Patricia Arquette, "The Hi-Lo Country" is a little out of step with the times (no vampires, no city slickers) and probably won't kick up much of a fuss at the boxoffice.
It's a shame -- what with Oliver Stapleton's excellent widescreen cinematography and Carter Burwell's Oscar-worthy original music evoking classic oaters of the past -- that the holiday glut will claim such an unworthy victim. The literate story, based on Max Evans' novel, is a project Sam Peckinpah struggled for decades to get made.
Small-town ranchers in New Mexico's Hi-Lo Country (near the top of the Texas Panhandle), Pete (Crudup) and Big Boy (Harrelson) return from the war to little fanfare and are all set to continue their rough-living ways -- driving cattle, womanizing, drinking and brawling.
In Walon Green's leisurely paced screenplay, and with Frears displaying a strong grasp of the material, the fates of these two macho guys becomes intertwined when they realize their rough-and-tumble view of life is the one thing they will gladly fight for.
They are largely successful at first, with Pete taking up again with a prewar sweetheart (Penelope Cruz), who rightly fears that he doesn't really love her and won't stay around long. Indeed, when he learns that beguiling Mona (Arquette), a longtime obsession, has married, he again becomes hotly interested in her.
Seemingly unhappy, with her husband (John Diehl) employed by the land-grabbing local kingpin (Sam Elliott), Mona flirts with Pete enough to whet his appetite, but he's crushed when he learns that his pal Big Boy has already made a move on her.
While the two guys struggle to stay in business with the help of another local maverick (James Gammon), loyal-but-frustrated Pete is drawn into the dangerous game played by Big Boy and Mona.
In various tense and violent encounters with Elliott's men, the leads' backs are watched by cool-headed Levi Gomez (Enrique Castillo). But Big Boy's brother Little Boy (Cole Hauser) is firmly in the enemy camp. Ultimately, the violence escalates and wild passions are unleashed with tragic consequences, with Big Boy (who fought as Marine in the bloody invasion of Tarawa in the Pacific) seemingly at peace with himself even as he sets a fateful course.
Both an homage to the fading cowboy lifestyle and a believable rendering of the times, "Hi-Lo" boasts another strong, commanding performance from Harrelson. Big Boy is equal parts boastful charmer and punchy cowpoke -- a might-have-been equal to Elliott's wily old boy -- and Harrelson, in one of his best outings, rises to the occasion.
With his starring role in Robert Towne's "Without Limits", Crudup has had a terrific year. Although his character gets somewhat overshadowed by Big Boy and Mona, this rising talent should ride off with a lot more fans. Arquette, on the other hand, is not particularly special or memorable in her role, though her slinky, laconic approach is appropriate to the character.
THE HI-LO COUNTRY
Gramercy Pictures
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment presents
in association with Martin Scorsese
A Working Title production
with Cappa/De Fina Prods.
Director: Stephen Frears
Screenwriter: Walon Green
Producers: Barbara De Fina,
Martin Scorsese, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan
Executive producer: Rudd Simmons
Director of photography: Oliver Stapleton
Production/costume designer: Patricia Norris
Editor: Masahiro Hirakubo
Music: Carter Burwell
Casting: Victoria Thomas
Color/stereo
Cast:
Pete: Billy Crudup
Big Boy: Woody Harrelson
Little Boy: Cole Hauser
Mona: Patricia Arquette
Jim Ed Love: Sam Elliott
Hoover: James Gammon
Josepha: Penelope Cruz
Levi Gomez : Enrique Castillo
Les Birk: John Diehl
Running time - 115 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 12/24/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Other than the presence of Martin Scorsese and longtime associate Barbara De Fina on the production credits, there's nothing very impressive about "Kicked in the Head", the latest in a seemingly endless series of indistinguishable slacker comedies in which the theme of aimlessness carries over to the writing and direction.
Populated by the usual assortment of quirk-laden misfits (this time James Woods, Linda Fiorentino, Michael Rapaport, Lili Taylor and Burt Young), the patience-testing production won't be kicking up much in the way of moviegoing business.
Kevin Corrigan, who also co-wrote the self-indulgent script, stars as the wide-eyed Redmond, an out-of-work, out-of-touch twentysomething New Yorker on a spiritual quest for truth.
His little voyage of self-discovery gets somewhat sidetracked thanks to his Uncle Sam (Woods), a fast-talking petty criminal who talks Redmond into doing a little drug-running errand for him that ends up going seriously awry.
Finding himself in "deep doo-doo" (one of the film's pet expressions), Redmond crashes at the apartment of his buddy Stretch (Rapaport), an upstart beer distributor who has sparked a nasty turf war.
Between dodging various bad guys and writing bad poetry, Redmond attempts to find salvation in the person of Megan (Fiorentino), a jaded flight attendant who'd prefer to be left alone.
With the exception of the always-interesting Fiorentino and a bemused Young as a benevolent thug, the rest of the assembled cast has a weakness for individual shtick that is continually at odds with the picture's intended ensemble spirit.
Director and co-writer Matthew Harrison -- whose "Rhythm Thief" earned him the 1995 Jury Prize for best director at Sundance -- has a jumpy, very New York style that has its moments, particularly during an extended sequence between Corrigan and Fiorentino. But his fondness for long, meaningful pauses only serves to underscore the tediousness of the story line.
There's some fine camerawork from John Thomas ("Metropolitan") and Howard Krupa as well as a suitably anxious score by Stephen Endelman ("Flirting With Disaster"), coupled with the kind of eccentric mix of oldies and alternative cuts that has been a trademark of Scorsese's own films.
KICKED IN THE HEAD
October Films
Director Matthew Harrison
Screenplay Kevin Corrigan, Matthew Harrison
Producer Barbara De Fina
Executive producer Martin Scorsese
Directors of photography John Thomas,
Howard Krupa
Production designer Kevin Thompson
Editor Michael Berenbaum
Costume designer Nina Canter
Music Stephen Endelman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Redmond Kevin Corrigan
Megan Linda Fiorentino
Stretch Michael Rapaport
Uncle Sam James Woods
Jack Burt Young
Happy Lili Taylor
Running time -- 86 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Populated by the usual assortment of quirk-laden misfits (this time James Woods, Linda Fiorentino, Michael Rapaport, Lili Taylor and Burt Young), the patience-testing production won't be kicking up much in the way of moviegoing business.
Kevin Corrigan, who also co-wrote the self-indulgent script, stars as the wide-eyed Redmond, an out-of-work, out-of-touch twentysomething New Yorker on a spiritual quest for truth.
His little voyage of self-discovery gets somewhat sidetracked thanks to his Uncle Sam (Woods), a fast-talking petty criminal who talks Redmond into doing a little drug-running errand for him that ends up going seriously awry.
Finding himself in "deep doo-doo" (one of the film's pet expressions), Redmond crashes at the apartment of his buddy Stretch (Rapaport), an upstart beer distributor who has sparked a nasty turf war.
Between dodging various bad guys and writing bad poetry, Redmond attempts to find salvation in the person of Megan (Fiorentino), a jaded flight attendant who'd prefer to be left alone.
With the exception of the always-interesting Fiorentino and a bemused Young as a benevolent thug, the rest of the assembled cast has a weakness for individual shtick that is continually at odds with the picture's intended ensemble spirit.
Director and co-writer Matthew Harrison -- whose "Rhythm Thief" earned him the 1995 Jury Prize for best director at Sundance -- has a jumpy, very New York style that has its moments, particularly during an extended sequence between Corrigan and Fiorentino. But his fondness for long, meaningful pauses only serves to underscore the tediousness of the story line.
There's some fine camerawork from John Thomas ("Metropolitan") and Howard Krupa as well as a suitably anxious score by Stephen Endelman ("Flirting With Disaster"), coupled with the kind of eccentric mix of oldies and alternative cuts that has been a trademark of Scorsese's own films.
KICKED IN THE HEAD
October Films
Director Matthew Harrison
Screenplay Kevin Corrigan, Matthew Harrison
Producer Barbara De Fina
Executive producer Martin Scorsese
Directors of photography John Thomas,
Howard Krupa
Production designer Kevin Thompson
Editor Michael Berenbaum
Costume designer Nina Canter
Music Stephen Endelman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Redmond Kevin Corrigan
Megan Linda Fiorentino
Stretch Michael Rapaport
Uncle Sam James Woods
Jack Burt Young
Happy Lili Taylor
Running time -- 86 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 9/26/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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