Kevin Costner is one of the most recognizable names in the movie industry, without a doubt. He has starred in numerous movies, including The Untouchables, Jkf, The Bodyguard, and others, but it seems that was Kevin Costner really likes is the western genre. He starred in Wyatt Earp, directed and starred in Dances with Wolves, which earned him two Oscars, and starred in the western series Hatfields & McCoys and Yellowstone, and he is currently working on a four-part movie series, Horizon: An American Saga, which is going to be set in the Civil War era, and we have just received confirmation of the first film’s epic runtime. The movie is set to premiere on May 19, 2024 at the Cannes Film Festival, and ahead of the premiere, a new official trailer has been revealed!
In short, Kevin Costner is directing, starring, and co-writing the saga, with Jon Baird joining him as co-writer.
In short, Kevin Costner is directing, starring, and co-writing the saga, with Jon Baird joining him as co-writer.
- 5/18/2024
- by Arthur S. Poe
- Fiction Horizon
Kevin Costner is one of the most recognizable names in the movie industry, without a doubt. He has starred in numerous movies, including The Untouchables, Jkf, The Bodyguard, and others, but it seems that was Kevin Costner really likes is the western genre. He starred in Wyatt Earp, directed and starred in Dances with Wolves, which earned him two Oscars and starred in the western series Hatfields & McCoys and Yellowstone. It is obvious that he likes the Wild West in all shapes and sizes, and his next movie projects confirm that. Costner is currently working on a four-part movie series, Horizon: An American Saga, which is going to be set in the Civil War era, and we have just received confirmation of the first film’s epic runtime.
Kevin Costner is directing, starring, and co-writing the saga, with Jon Baird joining him as co-writer. It is planned to consist...
Kevin Costner is directing, starring, and co-writing the saga, with Jon Baird joining him as co-writer. It is planned to consist...
- 5/10/2024
- by Arthur S. Poe
- Fiction Horizon
On the list of movies I've watched the most in my life, Hocus Pocus is right up there at the top of the list (along with Antoine Fuqua's King Arthur Director's Cut) thanks to its annual airings on Freeform (formerly ABC Family), so I'm thrilled that Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy have announced they'll be reprising their roles as the Sanderson Sisters in a Hocus Pocus sequel that will be released on the streaming service Disney+ in the fall of 2022.
The Hocus Pocus 2 news was shared on the official Disney+ Twitter page (see below), and while a sequel was officially announced by Disney late last year, this is the first official confirmation that we'll see at least some of the original cast members reprise their roles in the follow-up film.
It remains to be seen, however, if Max (Omri Katz), Dani (Thora Birch), Allison (Vinessa Shaw...
The Hocus Pocus 2 news was shared on the official Disney+ Twitter page (see below), and while a sequel was officially announced by Disney late last year, this is the first official confirmation that we'll see at least some of the original cast members reprise their roles in the follow-up film.
It remains to be seen, however, if Max (Omri Katz), Dani (Thora Birch), Allison (Vinessa Shaw...
- 5/20/2021
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
At first glance, Freeform’s annual 31 Days of Halloween lineup looks like it’s just a bunch of Hocus Pocus — and that’s not entirely false.
Over the next month, the cable network will broadcast the beloved 1993 Walt Disney film starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy a total of 30 — yes, 30! — times.
More from TVLineFall TV 2019: Your Handy Calendar of 100+ Season and Series Premiere DatesHalloween on TV: 10 Episodes Worth StreamingPretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists Cancelled at Freeform After 1 Season
In addition, Freeform will debut 31 Nights of Halloween Fan Fest. Airing Saturday, Oct. 5 (at 8/7c), the 90-minute special...
Over the next month, the cable network will broadcast the beloved 1993 Walt Disney film starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy a total of 30 — yes, 30! — times.
More from TVLineFall TV 2019: Your Handy Calendar of 100+ Season and Series Premiere DatesHalloween on TV: 10 Episodes Worth StreamingPretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists Cancelled at Freeform After 1 Season
In addition, Freeform will debut 31 Nights of Halloween Fan Fest. Airing Saturday, Oct. 5 (at 8/7c), the 90-minute special...
- 10/1/2019
- TVLine.com
"How long are you going to keep protecting them, Sam?" Samuel Goldwyn Films has debuted an official trailer for a western titled Out of Liberty, which hasn't played at any film festivals but is opening in a few select theaters starting this September. Set in winter in 1839 in the town of Liberty, Missouri (now a suburb of Kansas City), the film is about a local jailer who is tasked with watching Missouri's most wanted men as they await their upcoming hearing. Caught between the local Missourians' increased effort to remove the prisoners, and the prisoners' desperate efforts to survive, Sam Tillery is pushed beyond what any lawman can endure. The full cast includes Jasen Wade, Brandon Ray Olive, Corbin Allred, Adam Johnson, Larry Bagby, Shawn Stevens, Jake Van Wagoner, and Brock Roberts. It's described as an "intense, evocative western, with an outcome you have to see to believe." This seems like a solid thriller.
- 7/17/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Hocus Pocus turned 25 years old this year, and two of the actors decided to celebrate by recreating one of their famous scenes. Remember Larry Bagby and Tobias Jelinek? They played bullies Ernie (a.k.a "Ice") and Jay, respectively in the 1993 original. In one scene, the dynamic duo teased Omri Katz's character, Max, in a cemetery. Fast-forward a few decades and it looks Bagby and Jelinek haven't lost their touch. The actors recently reprised their roles and made a little movie magic for E! News. Not only did they nail their lines, but they also perfected their characters' looks—right down to the "Ice" buzz cut. Check out the video to see their hilarious...
- 10/31/2018
- E! Online
Update: Bette Midler, the one and only Winifred Sanderson, has joined Freeform's Hocus Pocus special. See her teaser below. Previously: Sisters! Get ready to sing. Freeform announced it will air a star-studded Hocus Pocus 25th anniversary special on Saturday, Oct. 20. The new special, Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Halloween Bash, will air as part of the network's new 31 Nights of Halloween programming block. The celebration of the cult-classic film's anniversary will feature interviews with the movie's stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Doug Jones, Amanda Shepherd, Larry Bagby, Jason Marsden and Tobias Jelinek, as well as director Kenny Ortega, writers Mick Garris and...
- 10/18/2018
- E! Online
[This episode review contains foreshadowing for future episodes, and the following review comments on this, though sometimes indirectly. Depending on your tolerance for spoilers, you may or may not wish to continue reading if you haven't finished watching the show.]
A big pot of gold delivered to your door. World peace. No more EastEnders on TV. Wishing may well be the most common pastime on Planet Earth, just inching ahead of backgammon and darts.
But as the old saying goes: “Be careful of what you wish for”. Cordelia's taking this advice on board a bit too late after new kid in town Anya (in reality, a scary, veiny demon) grants her wish of Buffy never coming to Sunnydale. This can only mean one thing: Alternate Dimension Time.
The Alternate Dimension is a common trope in fiction, in films such as It's A Wonderful Life. It's especially popular in science fiction. Doctor Who came up with Inferno, in which Jon Pertwee's Doctor found himself on a parallel Earth, just hours away from doomsday. Worse still, he had to battle with vicious, unkind counterparts of his friends, including Liz and the...
A big pot of gold delivered to your door. World peace. No more EastEnders on TV. Wishing may well be the most common pastime on Planet Earth, just inching ahead of backgammon and darts.
But as the old saying goes: “Be careful of what you wish for”. Cordelia's taking this advice on board a bit too late after new kid in town Anya (in reality, a scary, veiny demon) grants her wish of Buffy never coming to Sunnydale. This can only mean one thing: Alternate Dimension Time.
The Alternate Dimension is a common trope in fiction, in films such as It's A Wonderful Life. It's especially popular in science fiction. Doctor Who came up with Inferno, in which Jon Pertwee's Doctor found himself on a parallel Earth, just hours away from doomsday. Worse still, he had to battle with vicious, unkind counterparts of his friends, including Liz and the...
- 3/3/2014
- Shadowlocked
Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here
Stars: Janice Fabian, Christian Lee, Larry Bagby, Dana Young | Written by Miller Drake | Directed by Robert Skotak
Aliens invade a small town invading the towns cinema where the patrons are watching a sci-fi marathon. Taking over the projection room, the aliens splice together footage of old sci-fi films from the 50s to try an “bore” the audience into losing their minds so that they can take them over. A couple of teenagers in the audience realise that the alien threat is real and set out to put an end to the aliens plans before it’s too late.
Only really notable for being the one and only directorial effort from Robert Skotak, a visual effects whiz who has worked on such films as Tremors, Darkman, Terminator 2 and more recently Joe Dante’s The Hole, Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here isn’t really a movie,...
Stars: Janice Fabian, Christian Lee, Larry Bagby, Dana Young | Written by Miller Drake | Directed by Robert Skotak
Aliens invade a small town invading the towns cinema where the patrons are watching a sci-fi marathon. Taking over the projection room, the aliens splice together footage of old sci-fi films from the 50s to try an “bore” the audience into losing their minds so that they can take them over. A couple of teenagers in the audience realise that the alien threat is real and set out to put an end to the aliens plans before it’s too late.
Only really notable for being the one and only directorial effort from Robert Skotak, a visual effects whiz who has worked on such films as Tremors, Darkman, Terminator 2 and more recently Joe Dante’s The Hole, Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here isn’t really a movie,...
- 10/10/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Age Of The Dragons *
Stars: Danny Glover, Vinnie Jones, Corey Sevier, Kepa Kruse, Sofia Pernas | Written by Anne. K Black, McKay Daines | Directed by Ryan Little
Age Of The Dragons had the potential to be gloriously trashy. A reimagining of Moby Dick but with dragons instead of the titular white whale, and starring Danny Glover, this has got “Cult Classic” written all over it. Unfortunately, it’s just as bad as it sounds but not bad enough to be ironically enjoyable.
The story will be familiar to anyone that’s read or seen the source material. Whaler (or in this case Dragon Hunter) Ishmael (Corey Sevier) and his companion Queequeg (Kepa Kruse) board the ship Peaquod (this time a mobile fort on wheels) run by the enigmatic Captain Ahab (Danny Glover), a figure shrouded in legend after a white dragon killed his sister and left him disfigured. His crew is...
Stars: Danny Glover, Vinnie Jones, Corey Sevier, Kepa Kruse, Sofia Pernas | Written by Anne. K Black, McKay Daines | Directed by Ryan Little
Age Of The Dragons had the potential to be gloriously trashy. A reimagining of Moby Dick but with dragons instead of the titular white whale, and starring Danny Glover, this has got “Cult Classic” written all over it. Unfortunately, it’s just as bad as it sounds but not bad enough to be ironically enjoyable.
The story will be familiar to anyone that’s read or seen the source material. Whaler (or in this case Dragon Hunter) Ishmael (Corey Sevier) and his companion Queequeg (Kepa Kruse) board the ship Peaquod (this time a mobile fort on wheels) run by the enigmatic Captain Ahab (Danny Glover), a figure shrouded in legend after a white dragon killed his sister and left him disfigured. His crew is...
- 3/2/2011
- by Jez Sands
- Nerdly
CBS' "The Young and the Restless" featured actor Kanin Howell the week of May 17 as Frank the Con Man, a character who throws a major monkey wrench into the soap's finely oiled engine. Kanin appeared in a full Yatr episode arc as Frank, a smooth-talking conman always on the lookout to find another victim. Questions remain if Frank the Con met up with Frank the forger (Larry Bagby),Adam (Michael Muhney) and Victor (Eric Braeden) in prison. Howell comes from Hollywood crafts royalty; his dad is a three time Emmy-nominated stunt coordinator. At an early age Howell was exposed to the magic of movie-making getting his start in the industry working as a stuntman, like...
- 5/23/2010
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
Larry Bagby live at The Mint in Los Angeles. Photo copyright by Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos. Larry Bagby live at The Mint in Los Angeles. Photo copyright by Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos. Larry Bagby live at The Mint in Los Angeles. Photo copyright by Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos. Larry Bagby live at The Mint in Los Angeles. Photo copyright by Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos. 10/07/2009 - Larry Bagby - Actor/Musician Larry Bagby Live - The Mint - Los Angeles, CA. USA © Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos 10/07/2009 - Larry Bagby - Actor/Musician Larry Bagby Live - The Mint - Los Angeles, CA. USA ©...
- 10/12/2009
- by James Wray
- Monsters and Critics
TORONTO -- Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon give strong acting and singing performances in the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line". Playing the legendary Man in Black, Phoenix displays a surprisingly good voice and the ability to imitate Johnny's deep bass. As his second wife, singer June Carter, Witherspoon delivers a knockout performance as a woman who must temper her passion with an unwillingness to witness her man's self-destruction.
James Mangold's movie, too, has its rewards as it manages to skirt many of the usual dangers of any truthful look at a legend, especially a musical one. Like last year's "Ray", the chosen path is a conventional one, but it does yield an emotionally satisfying story of a man who battled many devils to claim a life of artistic and personal achievement.
Given the late singer's huge influence on music -- on folk, rock, country and punk -- and the smoothness of this particular production, it's hard to see why there won't be long lines at boxoffices for "Walk the Line".
Phoenix has never been the most expressive of actors, but that works just fine for Johnny Cash. A shy man who cultivated an outlaw image and sang of hard-luck lives in hard-living songs, he took the stage with a stony face and a guitar aimed at the audience. Phoenix doesn't look much like Johnny, but he gets his stage persona.
Witherspoon gets the humor and honesty as well as the resonant voice of the scrappy performing daughter of country music's first family. June falls for Johnny, but Johnny's first wife, Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin), June's own second marriage and Johnny's increasing dependence on drugs and booze kept her at arm's length for many years.
Gill Dennis and Mangold base their screenplay on two books by Cash, "Man in Black" and "Cash: The Autobiography", as well as interviews with the couple up until their deaths in 2003. The movie follows Johnny's life from the cotton fields of Arkansas in the 1940s to his celebrated performance at Folsom Prison in 1968, which produced a best-selling live album. That span includes his pill-popping and groupie-cuddling days but stops before his born-again conversion in the 1970s.
A sawmill accident claims the life of Johnny's older brother, Jack, whom everyone saw as the "good" brother, the one headed for a life of preaching. Johnny's mean-spirited father (Robert Patrick) even declared that the devil "took the wrong son," thus insuring a lifetime of guilt and pain for Johnny.
The movie rushes through his Army service, first marriage and failed jobs to get to the fateful moment when Johnny walks through the door of Sun Studios in Memphis in 1955 and presents himself to producer Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts). The audition with his band -- guitarist Luther Perkins Dan John Miller) and bassist Marshall Grant (Larry Bagby) -- goes badly until Phillips suggests Johnny do a song from the heart. One of his old tunes from his Army days does the trick, and soon he's touring with Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and the sassy June Carter.
The movie concentrates on the blossoming relationship -- it was hardly a romance, at least not at first -- between Johnny and June. The movie establishes a strong and enduring friendship between these two, although Johnny's lingering looks are a clear sign he hopes for more.
Following June's divorce, Johnny makes romantic overtures but, according to the movie, June manages to resist for nearly a decade. Johnny does persuade June to work and tour with him, though, which leaves wife Vivian to draw her own conclusions.
"Walk the Line" -- a title drawn from Johnny's song about the difficulties of avoiding temptation while married -- is essentially a romance about a couple who are alone together only onstage. The two clearly are soul mates, but much stands between them including Johnny's equally passionate attraction to amphetamines. When June has had enough, Johnny's life spirals downward with an arrest, separation from his family and financial and health problems.
The decision to approach Johnny's life as a love story causes Mangold to neglect the development of Johnny's music. In fact, the movie implies that Johnny falls into his musical style and personality without giving it much thought. Despite the accomplished vocal work by Phoenix and Witherspoon, the film doesn't give us nearly enough of these two people as musicians.
The production is solid other than the fact that no one ages a bit. Photographed by Phedon Papamichael and edited by Michael McCusker, the concert footage is fine and energetic, while the leaps in time never feel jarring. All period details are accomplished without fuss. T-Bone Burnett expertly handles not only the score but also production of all the film's music.
WALK THE LINE
20th Century Fox
Fox 2000 Pictures presents a Tree Line Films/Catfish Prods. production
Credits:
Director: James Mangold
Screenwriters: Gill Dennis, James Mangold
Based on the books "Man in Black" and "Cash: The Autobiography" by: Johnny Cash
Producer: Cathy Konrad, James Keach
Executive producers: John Carter Cash, Alan C. Blomquist
Director of photography: Phedon Papamichael
Production designer: David J. Bomba
Costumes: Arianne Phillips
Music: T-Bone Burnett
Editor: Michael McCusker
Cast:
Johnny Cash: Joaquin Phoenix
June Carter: Reese Witherspoon
Vivian Cash: Ginnifer Goodwin
Ray Cash: Robert Patrick
Sam Phillips: Dallas Roberts
Carrie Cash: Shelby Lynne
Luther Perkins: Dan John Miller
Marshall Grant: Larry Bagby
Running time -- 136 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
James Mangold's movie, too, has its rewards as it manages to skirt many of the usual dangers of any truthful look at a legend, especially a musical one. Like last year's "Ray", the chosen path is a conventional one, but it does yield an emotionally satisfying story of a man who battled many devils to claim a life of artistic and personal achievement.
Given the late singer's huge influence on music -- on folk, rock, country and punk -- and the smoothness of this particular production, it's hard to see why there won't be long lines at boxoffices for "Walk the Line".
Phoenix has never been the most expressive of actors, but that works just fine for Johnny Cash. A shy man who cultivated an outlaw image and sang of hard-luck lives in hard-living songs, he took the stage with a stony face and a guitar aimed at the audience. Phoenix doesn't look much like Johnny, but he gets his stage persona.
Witherspoon gets the humor and honesty as well as the resonant voice of the scrappy performing daughter of country music's first family. June falls for Johnny, but Johnny's first wife, Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin), June's own second marriage and Johnny's increasing dependence on drugs and booze kept her at arm's length for many years.
Gill Dennis and Mangold base their screenplay on two books by Cash, "Man in Black" and "Cash: The Autobiography", as well as interviews with the couple up until their deaths in 2003. The movie follows Johnny's life from the cotton fields of Arkansas in the 1940s to his celebrated performance at Folsom Prison in 1968, which produced a best-selling live album. That span includes his pill-popping and groupie-cuddling days but stops before his born-again conversion in the 1970s.
A sawmill accident claims the life of Johnny's older brother, Jack, whom everyone saw as the "good" brother, the one headed for a life of preaching. Johnny's mean-spirited father (Robert Patrick) even declared that the devil "took the wrong son," thus insuring a lifetime of guilt and pain for Johnny.
The movie rushes through his Army service, first marriage and failed jobs to get to the fateful moment when Johnny walks through the door of Sun Studios in Memphis in 1955 and presents himself to producer Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts). The audition with his band -- guitarist Luther Perkins Dan John Miller) and bassist Marshall Grant (Larry Bagby) -- goes badly until Phillips suggests Johnny do a song from the heart. One of his old tunes from his Army days does the trick, and soon he's touring with Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and the sassy June Carter.
The movie concentrates on the blossoming relationship -- it was hardly a romance, at least not at first -- between Johnny and June. The movie establishes a strong and enduring friendship between these two, although Johnny's lingering looks are a clear sign he hopes for more.
Following June's divorce, Johnny makes romantic overtures but, according to the movie, June manages to resist for nearly a decade. Johnny does persuade June to work and tour with him, though, which leaves wife Vivian to draw her own conclusions.
"Walk the Line" -- a title drawn from Johnny's song about the difficulties of avoiding temptation while married -- is essentially a romance about a couple who are alone together only onstage. The two clearly are soul mates, but much stands between them including Johnny's equally passionate attraction to amphetamines. When June has had enough, Johnny's life spirals downward with an arrest, separation from his family and financial and health problems.
The decision to approach Johnny's life as a love story causes Mangold to neglect the development of Johnny's music. In fact, the movie implies that Johnny falls into his musical style and personality without giving it much thought. Despite the accomplished vocal work by Phoenix and Witherspoon, the film doesn't give us nearly enough of these two people as musicians.
The production is solid other than the fact that no one ages a bit. Photographed by Phedon Papamichael and edited by Michael McCusker, the concert footage is fine and energetic, while the leaps in time never feel jarring. All period details are accomplished without fuss. T-Bone Burnett expertly handles not only the score but also production of all the film's music.
WALK THE LINE
20th Century Fox
Fox 2000 Pictures presents a Tree Line Films/Catfish Prods. production
Credits:
Director: James Mangold
Screenwriters: Gill Dennis, James Mangold
Based on the books "Man in Black" and "Cash: The Autobiography" by: Johnny Cash
Producer: Cathy Konrad, James Keach
Executive producers: John Carter Cash, Alan C. Blomquist
Director of photography: Phedon Papamichael
Production designer: David J. Bomba
Costumes: Arianne Phillips
Music: T-Bone Burnett
Editor: Michael McCusker
Cast:
Johnny Cash: Joaquin Phoenix
June Carter: Reese Witherspoon
Vivian Cash: Ginnifer Goodwin
Ray Cash: Robert Patrick
Sam Phillips: Dallas Roberts
Carrie Cash: Shelby Lynne
Luther Perkins: Dan John Miller
Marshall Grant: Larry Bagby
Running time -- 136 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 9/15/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
TORONTO -- Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon give strong acting and singing performances in the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line". Playing the legendary Man in Black, Phoenix displays a surprisingly good voice and the ability to imitate Johnny's deep bass. As his second wife, singer June Carter, Witherspoon delivers a knockout performance as a woman who must temper her passion with an unwillingness to witness her man's self-destruction.
James Mangold's movie, too, has its rewards as it manages to skirt many of the usual dangers of any truthful look at a legend, especially a musical one. Like last year's "Ray", the chosen path is a conventional one, but it does yield an emotionally satisfying story of a man who battled many devils to claim a life of artistic and personal achievement.
Given the late singer's huge influence on music -- on folk, rock, country and punk -- and the smoothness of this particular production, it's hard to see why there won't be long lines at boxoffices for "Walk the Line".
Phoenix has never been the most expressive of actors, but that works just fine for Johnny Cash. A shy man who cultivated an outlaw image and sang of hard-luck lives in hard-living songs, he took the stage with a stony face and a guitar aimed at the audience. Phoenix doesn't look much like Johnny, but he gets his stage persona.
Witherspoon gets the humor and honesty as well as the resonant voice of the scrappy performing daughter of country music's first family. June falls for Johnny, but Johnny's first wife, Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin), June's own second marriage and Johnny's increasing dependence on drugs and booze kept her at arm's length for many years.
Gill Dennis and Mangold base their screenplay on two books by Cash, "Man in Black" and "Cash: The Autobiography", as well as interviews with the couple up until their deaths in 2003. The movie follows Johnny's life from the cotton fields of Arkansas in the 1940s to his celebrated performance at Folsom Prison in 1968, which produced a best-selling live album. That span includes his pill-popping and groupie-cuddling days but stops before his born-again conversion in the 1970s.
A sawmill accident claims the life of Johnny's older brother, Jack, whom everyone saw as the "good" brother, the one headed for a life of preaching. Johnny's mean-spirited father (Robert Patrick) even declared that the devil "took the wrong son," thus insuring a lifetime of guilt and pain for Johnny.
The movie rushes through his Army service, first marriage and failed jobs to get to the fateful moment when Johnny walks through the door of Sun Studios in Memphis in 1955 and presents himself to producer Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts). The audition with his band -- guitarist Luther Perkins Dan John Miller) and bassist Marshall Grant (Larry Bagby) -- goes badly until Phillips suggests Johnny do a song from the heart. One of his old tunes from his Army days does the trick, and soon he's touring with Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and the sassy June Carter.
The movie concentrates on the blossoming relationship -- it was hardly a romance, at least not at first -- between Johnny and June. The movie establishes a strong and enduring friendship between these two, although Johnny's lingering looks are a clear sign he hopes for more.
Following June's divorce, Johnny makes romantic overtures but, according to the movie, June manages to resist for nearly a decade. Johnny does persuade June to work and tour with him, though, which leaves wife Vivian to draw her own conclusions.
"Walk the Line" -- a title drawn from Johnny's song about the difficulties of avoiding temptation while married -- is essentially a romance about a couple who are alone together only onstage. The two clearly are soul mates, but much stands between them including Johnny's equally passionate attraction to amphetamines. When June has had enough, Johnny's life spirals downward with an arrest, separation from his family and financial and health problems.
The decision to approach Johnny's life as a love story causes Mangold to neglect the development of Johnny's music. In fact, the movie implies that Johnny falls into his musical style and personality without giving it much thought. Despite the accomplished vocal work by Phoenix and Witherspoon, the film doesn't give us nearly enough of these two people as musicians.
The production is solid other than the fact that no one ages a bit. Photographed by Phedon Papamichael and edited by Michael McCusker, the concert footage is fine and energetic, while the leaps in time never feel jarring. All period details are accomplished without fuss. T-Bone Burnett expertly handles not only the score but also production of all the film's music.
WALK THE LINE
20th Century Fox
Fox 2000 Pictures presents a Tree Line Films/Catfish Prods. production
Credits:
Director: James Mangold
Screenwriters: Gill Dennis, James Mangold
Based on the books "Man in Black" and "Cash: The Autobiography" by: Johnny Cash
Producer: Cathy Konrad, James Keach
Executive producers: John Carter Cash, Alan C. Blomquist
Director of photography: Phedon Papamichael
Production designer: David J. Bomba
Costumes: Arianne Phillips
Music: T-Bone Burnett
Editor: Michael McCusker
Cast:
Johnny Cash: Joaquin Phoenix
June Carter: Reese Witherspoon
Vivian Cash: Ginnifer Goodwin
Ray Cash: Robert Patrick
Sam Phillips: Dallas Roberts
Carrie Cash: Shelby Lynne
Luther Perkins: Dan John Miller
Marshall Grant: Larry Bagby
Running time -- 136 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
James Mangold's movie, too, has its rewards as it manages to skirt many of the usual dangers of any truthful look at a legend, especially a musical one. Like last year's "Ray", the chosen path is a conventional one, but it does yield an emotionally satisfying story of a man who battled many devils to claim a life of artistic and personal achievement.
Given the late singer's huge influence on music -- on folk, rock, country and punk -- and the smoothness of this particular production, it's hard to see why there won't be long lines at boxoffices for "Walk the Line".
Phoenix has never been the most expressive of actors, but that works just fine for Johnny Cash. A shy man who cultivated an outlaw image and sang of hard-luck lives in hard-living songs, he took the stage with a stony face and a guitar aimed at the audience. Phoenix doesn't look much like Johnny, but he gets his stage persona.
Witherspoon gets the humor and honesty as well as the resonant voice of the scrappy performing daughter of country music's first family. June falls for Johnny, but Johnny's first wife, Vivian (Ginnifer Goodwin), June's own second marriage and Johnny's increasing dependence on drugs and booze kept her at arm's length for many years.
Gill Dennis and Mangold base their screenplay on two books by Cash, "Man in Black" and "Cash: The Autobiography", as well as interviews with the couple up until their deaths in 2003. The movie follows Johnny's life from the cotton fields of Arkansas in the 1940s to his celebrated performance at Folsom Prison in 1968, which produced a best-selling live album. That span includes his pill-popping and groupie-cuddling days but stops before his born-again conversion in the 1970s.
A sawmill accident claims the life of Johnny's older brother, Jack, whom everyone saw as the "good" brother, the one headed for a life of preaching. Johnny's mean-spirited father (Robert Patrick) even declared that the devil "took the wrong son," thus insuring a lifetime of guilt and pain for Johnny.
The movie rushes through his Army service, first marriage and failed jobs to get to the fateful moment when Johnny walks through the door of Sun Studios in Memphis in 1955 and presents himself to producer Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts). The audition with his band -- guitarist Luther Perkins Dan John Miller) and bassist Marshall Grant (Larry Bagby) -- goes badly until Phillips suggests Johnny do a song from the heart. One of his old tunes from his Army days does the trick, and soon he's touring with Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and the sassy June Carter.
The movie concentrates on the blossoming relationship -- it was hardly a romance, at least not at first -- between Johnny and June. The movie establishes a strong and enduring friendship between these two, although Johnny's lingering looks are a clear sign he hopes for more.
Following June's divorce, Johnny makes romantic overtures but, according to the movie, June manages to resist for nearly a decade. Johnny does persuade June to work and tour with him, though, which leaves wife Vivian to draw her own conclusions.
"Walk the Line" -- a title drawn from Johnny's song about the difficulties of avoiding temptation while married -- is essentially a romance about a couple who are alone together only onstage. The two clearly are soul mates, but much stands between them including Johnny's equally passionate attraction to amphetamines. When June has had enough, Johnny's life spirals downward with an arrest, separation from his family and financial and health problems.
The decision to approach Johnny's life as a love story causes Mangold to neglect the development of Johnny's music. In fact, the movie implies that Johnny falls into his musical style and personality without giving it much thought. Despite the accomplished vocal work by Phoenix and Witherspoon, the film doesn't give us nearly enough of these two people as musicians.
The production is solid other than the fact that no one ages a bit. Photographed by Phedon Papamichael and edited by Michael McCusker, the concert footage is fine and energetic, while the leaps in time never feel jarring. All period details are accomplished without fuss. T-Bone Burnett expertly handles not only the score but also production of all the film's music.
WALK THE LINE
20th Century Fox
Fox 2000 Pictures presents a Tree Line Films/Catfish Prods. production
Credits:
Director: James Mangold
Screenwriters: Gill Dennis, James Mangold
Based on the books "Man in Black" and "Cash: The Autobiography" by: Johnny Cash
Producer: Cathy Konrad, James Keach
Executive producers: John Carter Cash, Alan C. Blomquist
Director of photography: Phedon Papamichael
Production designer: David J. Bomba
Costumes: Arianne Phillips
Music: T-Bone Burnett
Editor: Michael McCusker
Cast:
Johnny Cash: Joaquin Phoenix
June Carter: Reese Witherspoon
Vivian Cash: Ginnifer Goodwin
Ray Cash: Robert Patrick
Sam Phillips: Dallas Roberts
Carrie Cash: Shelby Lynne
Luther Perkins: Dan John Miller
Marshall Grant: Larry Bagby
Running time -- 136 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 9/14/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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