When Young Il Kim’s script “Rodham” landed near the top of the Black List rankings of best unproduced screenplays, it became one of the most buzzed-about projects in Hollywood.
Read More: Hillary Clinton Makes Surprise Appearance at Kathryn Bigelow’s Vr Event to Speak Out Against Elephant Poaching
The story captures a younger Hillary Rodham at an unique moment in her life. Straight out of law school, Clinton joined the House Judiciary Committee tasked with coming up with the legal foundation to impeach President Nixon, while at the same time balancing her relationship with then-boyfriend Bill Clinton, who was back in Arkansas.
A story that shows a rarely seen human side of the brilliant young woman instantly drew the interest of director James Ponsoldt. The project looked like a go when Lionsgate jumped aboard, but was put into turnaround toward the end of 2015.
Ponsoldt told IndieWire that when the project was abandoned,...
Read More: Hillary Clinton Makes Surprise Appearance at Kathryn Bigelow’s Vr Event to Speak Out Against Elephant Poaching
The story captures a younger Hillary Rodham at an unique moment in her life. Straight out of law school, Clinton joined the House Judiciary Committee tasked with coming up with the legal foundation to impeach President Nixon, while at the same time balancing her relationship with then-boyfriend Bill Clinton, who was back in Arkansas.
A story that shows a rarely seen human side of the brilliant young woman instantly drew the interest of director James Ponsoldt. The project looked like a go when Lionsgate jumped aboard, but was put into turnaround toward the end of 2015.
Ponsoldt told IndieWire that when the project was abandoned,...
- 5/5/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Nobody sets out to make a bad movie. So why did cautionary tech thriller “The Circle” — adapted by lauded writer-director James Ponsoldt (“The Spectacular Now,” “The End of the Tour”) and beloved novelist Dave Eggers from his own 2013 bestseller — earn such negative reviews (43 on Metacritic, 17 on Rotten Tomatoes) and bomb at the box office ($9.3 million in 3,163 theaters)?
The movie went wrong in five significant ways.
1. The movie was foreign financed.
“The Circle” was developed by A-list ex-DreamWorks producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald’s Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation, which raised financing from Imagenation Abu Dhabi Fz and foreign sales company FilmNation on the power of Tom Hanks, who was the first star on board via his Playtone banner.
In order to raise an $18-million budget, globally bankable star Emma Watson was cast in a central leading role that demanded she be in every scene. Veering in tone from satiric comedy to naturalistic drama,...
The movie went wrong in five significant ways.
1. The movie was foreign financed.
“The Circle” was developed by A-list ex-DreamWorks producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald’s Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation, which raised financing from Imagenation Abu Dhabi Fz and foreign sales company FilmNation on the power of Tom Hanks, who was the first star on board via his Playtone banner.
In order to raise an $18-million budget, globally bankable star Emma Watson was cast in a central leading role that demanded she be in every scene. Veering in tone from satiric comedy to naturalistic drama,...
- 5/1/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Nobody sets out to make a bad movie. So why did cautionary tech thriller “The Circle” — adapted by lauded writer-director James Ponsoldt (“The Spectacular Now,” “The End of the Tour”) and beloved novelist Dave Eggers from his own 2013 bestseller — earn such negative reviews (43 on Metacritic, 17 on Rotten Tomatoes) and bomb at the box office ($9.3 million in 3,163 theaters)?
The movie went wrong in five significant ways.
1. The movie was foreign financed.
“The Circle” was developed by A-list ex-DreamWorks producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald’s Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation, which raised financing from Imagenation Abu Dhabi Fz and foreign sales company FilmNation on the power of Tom Hanks, who was the first star on board via his Playtone banner.
In order to raise an $18-million budget, globally bankable star Emma Watson was cast in a central leading role that demanded she be in every scene. Veering in tone from satiric comedy to naturalistic drama,...
The movie went wrong in five significant ways.
1. The movie was foreign financed.
“The Circle” was developed by A-list ex-DreamWorks producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald’s Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation, which raised financing from Imagenation Abu Dhabi Fz and foreign sales company FilmNation on the power of Tom Hanks, who was the first star on board via his Playtone banner.
In order to raise an $18-million budget, globally bankable star Emma Watson was cast in a central leading role that demanded she be in every scene. Veering in tone from satiric comedy to naturalistic drama,...
- 5/1/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
There’s one thing filmmaker James Ponsoldt just can’t seem to get away from: obsession. With films like “Smashed,” “The Spectacular Now” and “The End of the Tour” under his belt, Ponsoldt has a knack for humanizing characters with seemingly outsized needs, from addicts to recluses.
It’s that kind of obsession that also drives Ponsoldt’s next film, “The Circle.” Ponsoldt (who has always been a big believer in the power of the cinematic adaptation) has adapted Dave Eggers’ 2013 novel of the same name, which follows May (Emma Watson), a young woman who is hired by a powerful internet company (think Facebook, but bigger) and slowly falls down the rabbit hole of its many dark conspiracies and major secrets.
Read More: ‘The Circle’ Trailer: James Ponsoldt Throws Emma Watson and Tom Hanks Into A Corporate Conspiracy
“It’s rarely a conscious thing, in terms of the stories I’m attracted to,...
It’s that kind of obsession that also drives Ponsoldt’s next film, “The Circle.” Ponsoldt (who has always been a big believer in the power of the cinematic adaptation) has adapted Dave Eggers’ 2013 novel of the same name, which follows May (Emma Watson), a young woman who is hired by a powerful internet company (think Facebook, but bigger) and slowly falls down the rabbit hole of its many dark conspiracies and major secrets.
Read More: ‘The Circle’ Trailer: James Ponsoldt Throws Emma Watson and Tom Hanks Into A Corporate Conspiracy
“It’s rarely a conscious thing, in terms of the stories I’m attracted to,...
- 2/9/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
James Ponsoldt has become one of the most reliable indie directors in the industry following dramas like “Smashed,” “The Spectacular Now” and “The End Of The Tour.” His sensitive touch explores the nature of relationships in ways that are profoundly reliable and authentic, and now he’s set to play on his biggest canvas yet with “The Circle.”
Read More: James Ponsoldt Teaming With Disney For Ambitious First Studio Film ‘Wild City’
We’ve been looking forward to this one for quite some time, as production began well over a year ago with Emma Watson, Tom Hanks and John Boyega, and now the first trailer has been released, courtesy of USA Today. The film is based on Dave Eggers’ 2013 novel of the same name, which centers around a young woman (Watson) who is hired by a powerful internet company and slowly falls down the rabbit hole of its dark conspiracies.
Read More: James Ponsoldt Teaming With Disney For Ambitious First Studio Film ‘Wild City’
We’ve been looking forward to this one for quite some time, as production began well over a year ago with Emma Watson, Tom Hanks and John Boyega, and now the first trailer has been released, courtesy of USA Today. The film is based on Dave Eggers’ 2013 novel of the same name, which centers around a young woman (Watson) who is hired by a powerful internet company and slowly falls down the rabbit hole of its dark conspiracies.
- 12/6/2016
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
You can add James Ponsoldt to the list of independent filmmakers trying their hand at TV. Following the likes of Lena Dunham (“Girls”), Sam Esmail (“Mr. Robot”) and Joe Swanberg (“Easy”), Ponsoldt is working on a half-hour pilot comedy called “The Legend of Master Legend” for Amazon. John Hawkes is in talks to star in the new series.
Read More: James Ponsoldt Teaming With Disney For Ambitious First Studio Film ‘Wild City’
Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster (“Transparent”) are writing and executive-producing the pilot, which is based on a Rolling Stone article about real-life superheroes — namely Master Legend himself, whose jurisdiction is mostly confined to the Las Vegas Strip. Hawkes, who received an Oscar nomination for his performance in “Winter’s Bone” and was more recently seen in “Too Late” and “Everest,” would play said vigilante.
Read More: EuropaCorp Lands James Ponsoldt’s ‘The Circle’ Adaptation, Starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson...
Read More: James Ponsoldt Teaming With Disney For Ambitious First Studio Film ‘Wild City’
Micah Fitzerman-Blue & Noah Harpster (“Transparent”) are writing and executive-producing the pilot, which is based on a Rolling Stone article about real-life superheroes — namely Master Legend himself, whose jurisdiction is mostly confined to the Las Vegas Strip. Hawkes, who received an Oscar nomination for his performance in “Winter’s Bone” and was more recently seen in “Too Late” and “Everest,” would play said vigilante.
Read More: EuropaCorp Lands James Ponsoldt’s ‘The Circle’ Adaptation, Starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson...
- 9/21/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Nine years before he completed production on the multi-million dollar Disney remake of “Pete’s Dragon,” David Lowery was living out of the back of his car, editing corporate videos. The Dallas native directed his first feature, the little-seen “Lullaby,” at age 19. The ensuing years found him collaborating with a close-knit group of local film-savvy friends, but little in the way of upward mobility. “I never put a premium on making a living,” he told me in a recent phone conversation. “It was never one of those things that was important to me.”
Lowery’s work at the time suggests as much — it’s anything but commercial — and yet it provided him with an ideal platform for a massive career move as one of Disney’s newest secret weapons. “Pete’s Dragon,” a $60 million re-imagining of the 1977 live-action-animated musical film, has all the hallmarks of Lowery’s earlier work: a serene,...
Lowery’s work at the time suggests as much — it’s anything but commercial — and yet it provided him with an ideal platform for a massive career move as one of Disney’s newest secret weapons. “Pete’s Dragon,” a $60 million re-imagining of the 1977 live-action-animated musical film, has all the hallmarks of Lowery’s earlier work: a serene,...
- 8/9/2016
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Disney and James Ponsoldt (The End of Tour) are teaming up on Wild City, a "CG/live-action hybrid" which "explores the adventures of Los Angeles’ wild animals," according to the Hollywood Reporter's Rebecca Ford. HBO's ordered up another comedy from Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass and an adaptation of Karen Joy Fowler’s novel We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves headed up by Natalie Portman and producer Marta Kauffman (Grace and Frankie). Joel Edgerton is in early talks to join Jennifer Lawrence the spy thriller Red Sparrow. Anthony Mackie is joining John Boyega, Will Poulter, Ben O’Toole and Jack Reynor in Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal's as-yet-untitled film about the 1967 Detroit riots. And we have news of more projects in the works. » - David Hudson...
- 8/5/2016
- Keyframe
Disney and James Ponsoldt (The End of Tour) are teaming up on Wild City, a "CG/live-action hybrid" which "explores the adventures of Los Angeles’ wild animals," according to the Hollywood Reporter's Rebecca Ford. HBO's ordered up another comedy from Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass and an adaptation of Karen Joy Fowler’s novel We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves headed up by Natalie Portman and producer Marta Kauffman (Grace and Frankie). Joel Edgerton is in early talks to join Jennifer Lawrence the spy thriller Red Sparrow. Anthony Mackie is joining John Boyega, Will Poulter, Ben O’Toole and Jack Reynor in Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal's as-yet-untitled film about the 1967 Detroit riots. And we have news of more projects in the works. » - David Hudson...
- 8/5/2016
- Fandor: Keyframe
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