Welcome back to the Supporting Actress Smackdown.
In this monthly series we pick an Oscar vintage to explore through the lens of actressing at the edges. This episode takes us back 25 years to the landmark year of 1997 when Titanic and "Matt & Ben" were all rage.
The Nominees
Aside from an encore showing for comedic genius Joan Cusack, a surprise nominee in 1988 for Working Girl, the Academy went with all first-timers for 1997's Supporting Actress roster. Not that the actresses were "new" to the scene. There were two "comeback" narratives: Kim Basinger had been a leading lady for over a decade before LA Confidential but she'd taken a three year break from the movies (amidst multiple financial and legal troubles). Meanwhile Gloria Stuart who began in the early days of sound cinema was being celebrated in a way she hadn't been since 1932. The "breakthrough" nominations, were also two-fold. One went to Minnie Driver.
In this monthly series we pick an Oscar vintage to explore through the lens of actressing at the edges. This episode takes us back 25 years to the landmark year of 1997 when Titanic and "Matt & Ben" were all rage.
The Nominees
Aside from an encore showing for comedic genius Joan Cusack, a surprise nominee in 1988 for Working Girl, the Academy went with all first-timers for 1997's Supporting Actress roster. Not that the actresses were "new" to the scene. There were two "comeback" narratives: Kim Basinger had been a leading lady for over a decade before LA Confidential but she'd taken a three year break from the movies (amidst multiple financial and legal troubles). Meanwhile Gloria Stuart who began in the early days of sound cinema was being celebrated in a way she hadn't been since 1932. The "breakthrough" nominations, were also two-fold. One went to Minnie Driver.
- 8/2/2022
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
When Rufus Wainwright was asked to write a closing theme song for “Rebel Hearts,” a documentary about a renegade order of socially activist nuns that opens this weekend, he didn’t require the preamble that virtually any other singer-songwriter would have. It was intergenerationally personal for him, as he was already intimately familiar with the subject matter, thanks to his grandfather’s girlfriend having been part of the order of nuns that got in trouble with the Catholic church in the 1960s, and having heard her story over the years.
The result is “Secret Sister,” a compelling song that evokes both spiritual mysteries and calls to concrete action, and which appears on the “Rebel Hearts” soundtrack along with another original song, Sharon Van Etten’s opening “Conjunction.” Variety has the premiere of an excerpt from Wainwright’s song (below), along with some of the historic and modern footage and animation from director Pedros Kos’ film,...
The result is “Secret Sister,” a compelling song that evokes both spiritual mysteries and calls to concrete action, and which appears on the “Rebel Hearts” soundtrack along with another original song, Sharon Van Etten’s opening “Conjunction.” Variety has the premiere of an excerpt from Wainwright’s song (below), along with some of the historic and modern footage and animation from director Pedros Kos’ film,...
- 6/24/2021
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
Something Borrowed, Something Blue: Freundlich Updates Danish Drama with Gender Bending Twist
Just as Danish director Susanne Bier masters the art of cult filmmaker with 2018’s Bird Box, her most accomplished film, 2006’s celebrated After the Wedding, receives an American remake from Bart Freundlich. Having spent a career bouncing around between dark-natured indie dramas and light comedies, Freundlich achieves his most significantly nuanced film since his 1997 debut The Myth of Fingerprints in this novel reconfiguration of the well-heeled, intercontinental original penned by Anders Thomas Jensen. Efficiently told and carried by a handful of exceptionally performed sequences from Michelle Williams and Julianne Moore, this wholly American retake also has no problem filling out its well-rounded corners, sometimes forsaking subtlety for convenience.…...
Just as Danish director Susanne Bier masters the art of cult filmmaker with 2018’s Bird Box, her most accomplished film, 2006’s celebrated After the Wedding, receives an American remake from Bart Freundlich. Having spent a career bouncing around between dark-natured indie dramas and light comedies, Freundlich achieves his most significantly nuanced film since his 1997 debut The Myth of Fingerprints in this novel reconfiguration of the well-heeled, intercontinental original penned by Anders Thomas Jensen. Efficiently told and carried by a handful of exceptionally performed sequences from Michelle Williams and Julianne Moore, this wholly American retake also has no problem filling out its well-rounded corners, sometimes forsaking subtlety for convenience.…...
- 8/10/2019
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Julianne Moore met her husband on set — and they’ve only gotten better at working together since.
The Oscar winner, 58, joined husband Bart Freundlich for a fourth film, After the Wedding, which she stars in and he directs. The couple also produced the movie, and stepped out together on the carpet for an Aug. 7 screening in New York hosted by the Cinema Society and Chopard.
“I’m pretty familiar with working with my husband, so it didn’t feel out of the ordinary,” she told People. “I think if anything, I’m highly sensitive to his moods, and so I...
The Oscar winner, 58, joined husband Bart Freundlich for a fourth film, After the Wedding, which she stars in and he directs. The couple also produced the movie, and stepped out together on the carpet for an Aug. 7 screening in New York hosted by the Cinema Society and Chopard.
“I’m pretty familiar with working with my husband, so it didn’t feel out of the ordinary,” she told People. “I think if anything, I’m highly sensitive to his moods, and so I...
- 8/7/2019
- by Justin Curto
- PEOPLE.com
The question that looms over every attempt to remake an existing film is a simple one: “What’s the point?”
If a film is good enough to inspire a remake, after all, doesn’t that mean it exists quite nicely on its own, and doesn’t need somebody else trying to do it all over again?
And if the point of the new version is to change things about the original, don’t you run the risk of losing some of the elements that made the first film special?
Director Bart Freundlich, whose remake of Susanne Bier’s 2006 drama “After the Wedding” was the first film to screen on the opening night of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, clearly knows and has thought about those questions.
Also Read: 'Brian Banks' Film Review: Forgettable Film Squanders Powerful True Story
“Susanne made such a beautiful film,” he said in the Q...
If a film is good enough to inspire a remake, after all, doesn’t that mean it exists quite nicely on its own, and doesn’t need somebody else trying to do it all over again?
And if the point of the new version is to change things about the original, don’t you run the risk of losing some of the elements that made the first film special?
Director Bart Freundlich, whose remake of Susanne Bier’s 2006 drama “After the Wedding” was the first film to screen on the opening night of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, clearly knows and has thought about those questions.
Also Read: 'Brian Banks' Film Review: Forgettable Film Squanders Powerful True Story
“Susanne made such a beautiful film,” he said in the Q...
- 8/7/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Oscar winner Julianne Moore praised the power of film to promote empathy and warned against the danger of history repeating itself Saturday at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, where she was promoting her latest film, “After the Wedding,” alongside the film’s director, her husband Bart Freundlich, and co-star Billy Crudup.
Moore received the festival’s Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at the opening ceremony Friday night, where the curtain raised on the festival’s 54th edition with a screening of “Wedding.” Moore and Freundlich will also this week present “The Myth of Fingerprints,” Freundlich’s directorial debut, on which the couple met more than two decades ago.
Speaking at a press conference in the Bohemian spa town’s Hotel Thermal, Moore reflected on the ability of film to bridge physical distances and political divides. She recalled a childhood partly spent in Frankfurt, Germany, where her...
Moore received the festival’s Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at the opening ceremony Friday night, where the curtain raised on the festival’s 54th edition with a screening of “Wedding.” Moore and Freundlich will also this week present “The Myth of Fingerprints,” Freundlich’s directorial debut, on which the couple met more than two decades ago.
Speaking at a press conference in the Bohemian spa town’s Hotel Thermal, Moore reflected on the ability of film to bridge physical distances and political divides. She recalled a childhood partly spent in Frankfurt, Germany, where her...
- 6/30/2019
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
"It was great to have something that we all cared about and that our whole family was involved in.” - Julianne Moore on After the Wedding at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Photo: Vertigo Releasing
Julianne Moore always has been adept at juggling family and career choices. She met and romanced her writer-director husband Bart Freundlich on his first film The Myth Of Fingerprints, a claustrophobic family drama about four siblings returning to their New England home for Thanksgiving.
It wasn’t exactly attraction at first sight - Moore, 58, admits to having been rather dismissive of her beau, some years her junior. “I guess I could be described as the aggressor because at the time he was 26 and I was 35,” she once confided to me.
She was married previously to actor John Gould but that relationship foundered. Now she and Freudlinch live in domestic and creative harmony and have just finished their fourth collaboration together,...
Julianne Moore always has been adept at juggling family and career choices. She met and romanced her writer-director husband Bart Freundlich on his first film The Myth Of Fingerprints, a claustrophobic family drama about four siblings returning to their New England home for Thanksgiving.
It wasn’t exactly attraction at first sight - Moore, 58, admits to having been rather dismissive of her beau, some years her junior. “I guess I could be described as the aggressor because at the time he was 26 and I was 35,” she once confided to me.
She was married previously to actor John Gould but that relationship foundered. Now she and Freudlinch live in domestic and creative harmony and have just finished their fourth collaboration together,...
- 6/29/2019
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Moore was in Karlovy Vary to accept the festival’s honourary Crystal Globe award.
Julianne Moore and her husband, director Bart Freundlich, talked about the joys and challenges of working together for the fourth time on After The Wedding, which opened the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Friday (June 28).
“We always say that the writer in me speaks to the actor in her,” said Freundlich of working with Moore. “Words are very important. I always know that she’s going to add so much that I couldn’t even see.”
“When you work in the film industry you spend...
Julianne Moore and her husband, director Bart Freundlich, talked about the joys and challenges of working together for the fourth time on After The Wedding, which opened the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Friday (June 28).
“We always say that the writer in me speaks to the actor in her,” said Freundlich of working with Moore. “Words are very important. I always know that she’s going to add so much that I couldn’t even see.”
“When you work in the film industry you spend...
- 6/29/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival Honorees
Julianne Moore, Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema
An actress, author and activist, Moore has long earned accolades on her diverse career path.
The North Carolina native won a Daytime Emmy with her first major TV role on the soap opera “As the World Turns,” and a Golden Globe for one of her first big-screen performances, as part of an ensemble cast in Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts” (1993).
Her wide-ranging work has paired her with the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson, Alfonso Cuaron and the Coen brothers. She’s also had roles in the blockbuster “Jurassic Park” and “Hunger Games” franchises.
A five-time Academy Award nominee, she won her first Oscar for “Still Alice” (2014). Moore recently signed on to star in and executive produce the Apple series “Lisey’s Story,” from Stephen King and J.J. Abrams.
In Karlovy Vary, she and her husband,...
Julianne Moore, Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema
An actress, author and activist, Moore has long earned accolades on her diverse career path.
The North Carolina native won a Daytime Emmy with her first major TV role on the soap opera “As the World Turns,” and a Golden Globe for one of her first big-screen performances, as part of an ensemble cast in Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts” (1993).
Her wide-ranging work has paired her with the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson, Alfonso Cuaron and the Coen brothers. She’s also had roles in the blockbuster “Jurassic Park” and “Hunger Games” franchises.
A five-time Academy Award nominee, she won her first Oscar for “Still Alice” (2014). Moore recently signed on to star in and executive produce the Apple series “Lisey’s Story,” from Stephen King and J.J. Abrams.
In Karlovy Vary, she and her husband,...
- 6/25/2019
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
Bart Freundlich and Julianne Moore to be honoured at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Photo: Courtesy of Kviff American actress Julianne Moore will receive a Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at the forthcoming 54th Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, which runs from 28 June to 6 July.
Moore will be present to receive the award and to present her film After The Wedding with screenwriter, director and husband Bart Freundlich
The festival organisers state that Moore and Freundlich are "an excellent example of the artistic combination of two outstanding individuals”.
Their personal and cinematic partnership was born during the filming of Freundlich’s directorial debut on the claustrophobic family drama The Myth Of Fingerprints (1997), which will also screen in the festival. Ever since then, Moore has regularly appeared in her husband’s films. In World Traveler (2001), she and Billy Crudup played two people who meet under unusual circumstances,...
Moore will be present to receive the award and to present her film After The Wedding with screenwriter, director and husband Bart Freundlich
The festival organisers state that Moore and Freundlich are "an excellent example of the artistic combination of two outstanding individuals”.
Their personal and cinematic partnership was born during the filming of Freundlich’s directorial debut on the claustrophobic family drama The Myth Of Fingerprints (1997), which will also screen in the festival. Ever since then, Moore has regularly appeared in her husband’s films. In World Traveler (2001), she and Billy Crudup played two people who meet under unusual circumstances,...
- 6/11/2019
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, the leading movie event in Central and Eastern Europe, will honor Julianne Moore and Patricia Clarkson at its 54th edition. The actresses will receive the fest’s Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema.
Moore, who won an Oscar for “Still Alice” and was Oscar-nominated for four other films, will attend a screening of “After the Wedding” with the film’s director, her husband, Bart Freundlich, and her co-star Billy Crudup. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, is a remake of Susanne Bier’s Oscar-nominated Danish-language pic.
Karlovy Vary will also screen “The Myth of Fingerprints,” another film starring Moore and directed by Freundlich.
Clarkson, who was Oscar-nominated for “Pieces of April,” will present “Learning to Drive,” directed by Isabel Coixet, at Karlovy Vary.
Also attending the festival is Casey Affleck, who will present “Light of My Life,” which he wrote,...
Moore, who won an Oscar for “Still Alice” and was Oscar-nominated for four other films, will attend a screening of “After the Wedding” with the film’s director, her husband, Bart Freundlich, and her co-star Billy Crudup. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, is a remake of Susanne Bier’s Oscar-nominated Danish-language pic.
Karlovy Vary will also screen “The Myth of Fingerprints,” another film starring Moore and directed by Freundlich.
Clarkson, who was Oscar-nominated for “Pieces of April,” will present “Learning to Drive,” directed by Isabel Coixet, at Karlovy Vary.
Also attending the festival is Casey Affleck, who will present “Light of My Life,” which he wrote,...
- 6/11/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Two modern day acting power houses go toe-to-toe in the dark and mysterious new drama After the Wedding. Sony Pictures Classics has released the first trailer, which stars Michelle Williams and Julianne Moore.
In After the Wedding, Isabel (Michelle Williams) has dedicated her life to working with the children in an orphanage in Calcutta. Theresa (Moore) is the multimillionaire head of a media company who lives with her artist husband (Crudup) and their twin boys in New York. When word comes to Isabel of a mysterious and generous grant for the financially struggling orphanage, she must travel to New York to meet the benefactor-Theresa-in person.
After the Wedding arrives in theaters as a late summer drama for anyone feeling the brunt of blockbuster fatigue. It opens August 9, going up against The Art of Racing in the Rain, Brian Banks, Dora and the Lost City of Gold and the mob drama The Kitchen.
In After the Wedding, Isabel (Michelle Williams) has dedicated her life to working with the children in an orphanage in Calcutta. Theresa (Moore) is the multimillionaire head of a media company who lives with her artist husband (Crudup) and their twin boys in New York. When word comes to Isabel of a mysterious and generous grant for the financially struggling orphanage, she must travel to New York to meet the benefactor-Theresa-in person.
After the Wedding arrives in theaters as a late summer drama for anyone feeling the brunt of blockbuster fatigue. It opens August 9, going up against The Art of Racing in the Rain, Brian Banks, Dora and the Lost City of Gold and the mob drama The Kitchen.
- 6/6/2019
- by B. Alan Orange
- MovieWeb
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all of the rights to Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams’ “After the Wedding,” which was the opening night film at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
Bart Freundlich directed the film that also starred Billy Crudip and Abby Quinn. It is an adaptation of Susanne Bier’s Academy Award-nominated Danish film of the same name.
The film is produced by Joel B. Michaels and Harry Finkel, and it is an Ingenious Media and Riverstone Pictures presentation, executive produced by Nik Bower and Deepak Nayar for Riverstone and Peter Touche and Andrea Scarso for Ingenious.
Also Read: 'After the Wedding' Film Review: Julianne Moore Remake Swaps Genders, Finds a Reason to Exist
“After the Wedding” follows Isabel (Williams) who is dedicated to her life working in an orphanage in India. She soon hears of a mysterious and generous grant from multimillionaire Theresa (Moore), she travels to New York to meet Theresa in person,...
Bart Freundlich directed the film that also starred Billy Crudip and Abby Quinn. It is an adaptation of Susanne Bier’s Academy Award-nominated Danish film of the same name.
The film is produced by Joel B. Michaels and Harry Finkel, and it is an Ingenious Media and Riverstone Pictures presentation, executive produced by Nik Bower and Deepak Nayar for Riverstone and Peter Touche and Andrea Scarso for Ingenious.
Also Read: 'After the Wedding' Film Review: Julianne Moore Remake Swaps Genders, Finds a Reason to Exist
“After the Wedding” follows Isabel (Williams) who is dedicated to her life working in an orphanage in India. She soon hears of a mysterious and generous grant from multimillionaire Theresa (Moore), she travels to New York to meet Theresa in person,...
- 5/14/2019
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Exclusive: At long last, the opening-night film of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival has a distribution deal and a release date. Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights in North America, France, India and several other Asian countries to After the Wedding, the Bart Freundlich-directed adaptation of Susanne Bier’s Oscar-nominated Danish film. Pic stars Michelle Williams, Julianne Moore, Billy Crudup and Abby Quinn. The film will be released in August.
After The Wedding got good reviews, with Oscar-bait performances for Williams and Moore. The filmmakers pondered several distribution offers, but Freundlich took his time finishing a film that was rushed to make Park City. Spc’s Michael Barker and Tom Bernard released Freundlich’s first film, The Myth of Fingerprints, and has done several with Moore including her Oscar-winning turn in Still Alice. They’ve reunited, and Spc plans an end-of-summer release leading into awards season.
Williams plays Isabel, a...
After The Wedding got good reviews, with Oscar-bait performances for Williams and Moore. The filmmakers pondered several distribution offers, but Freundlich took his time finishing a film that was rushed to make Park City. Spc’s Michael Barker and Tom Bernard released Freundlich’s first film, The Myth of Fingerprints, and has done several with Moore including her Oscar-winning turn in Still Alice. They’ve reunited, and Spc plans an end-of-summer release leading into awards season.
Williams plays Isabel, a...
- 5/14/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
The actors add weight to a handsomely made yet emotionally underwhelming remake of Susanne Bier’s 2006 drama
There has been a reliable mediocrity coursing through the films of Bart Freundlich, some of them starring his wife Julianne Moore, including the breakout 1997 drama The Myth of Fingerprints. That was met with a quiet acclaim which has grown quieter with each film, from shapeless romcoms including The Rebound and Trust the Man to indie dirge such as World Traveller and Wolves. Given the critical apathy that tends to meet his output, he might seem like a strange choice to open this year’s Sundance film festival. But for his latest, he has recruited not only his wife but Michelle Williams, a duo whose combined skills would illuminate even the drabbest of films.
Related: Hollywood A-listers and controversial documentaries head to Sundance...
There has been a reliable mediocrity coursing through the films of Bart Freundlich, some of them starring his wife Julianne Moore, including the breakout 1997 drama The Myth of Fingerprints. That was met with a quiet acclaim which has grown quieter with each film, from shapeless romcoms including The Rebound and Trust the Man to indie dirge such as World Traveller and Wolves. Given the critical apathy that tends to meet his output, he might seem like a strange choice to open this year’s Sundance film festival. But for his latest, he has recruited not only his wife but Michelle Williams, a duo whose combined skills would illuminate even the drabbest of films.
Related: Hollywood A-listers and controversial documentaries head to Sundance...
- 1/25/2019
- by Benjamin Lee
- The Guardian - Film News
Zac Efron underwent a grueling physical transformation to play serial killer Ted Bundy in “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” a drama premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this week. “I lost 13 pounds,” Efron says.
To prepare for the biographical role, he rode a stationary bike for an hour in the mornings while binge-watching the Netflix series “Ozark” and limited his meals.
“I wasn’t eating carbs. I trimmed down a lot and really controlled my diet.”
The market for independent movies is also watching its intake carefully. As the latest edition of Sundance kicks off on Jan. 24 with 112 films, the annual gathering in Park City, Utah, isn’t just where fans stand for hours in the freezing cold to see some great movies. The festival serves as an annual barometer of a rapidly changing film business that continues to evolve with scrappy new players and experimental distribution models.
In recent years,...
To prepare for the biographical role, he rode a stationary bike for an hour in the mornings while binge-watching the Netflix series “Ozark” and limited his meals.
“I wasn’t eating carbs. I trimmed down a lot and really controlled my diet.”
The market for independent movies is also watching its intake carefully. As the latest edition of Sundance kicks off on Jan. 24 with 112 films, the annual gathering in Park City, Utah, isn’t just where fans stand for hours in the freezing cold to see some great movies. The festival serves as an annual barometer of a rapidly changing film business that continues to evolve with scrappy new players and experimental distribution models.
In recent years,...
- 1/23/2019
- by Ramin Setoodeh
- Variety Film + TV
Bart Freundlich‘s seventh feature film in After the Wedding – is a new (feminist?) take on Susanne Bier’s Efter brylluppet and it might allow him to return back to the good graces of Sundance – a lieu that showcased his debut film The Myth of Fingerprints (1994) and World Traveler (2001). After working mostly in TV, he reteams with his real life partner in Julianne Moore and Billy Crudup (with whom he worked on World Traveler and Trust the Man (2005) – further acting clout comes in the shape of Michelle Williams – who replaced Diane Kruger before heading into production back in May.…...
- 11/20/2018
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
The Sundance Film Festival has gone through many changes in its 35 years, evolving from Robert Redford’s experimental incubator for independent filmmaking to the most influential festival event in the country. The 2019 edition is no exception: With Kim Yutani taking over as director of programming following the departure of longtime programming head Trevor Groth, much of the independent film community expects a lineup that reflects the shift in vision. Of course, Yutani still reports to Sundance veteran John Cooper, the festival’s director, and some Sundance movies will always be safe bets.
IndieWire’s annual Sundance wish list reflects much of the intel making the rounds, as well as some educated guesswork, based on various projects that have been submitted or seem likely to submit ahead of the festival’s deadlines. Last year’s hefty wish list included many films that make the cut, so take this overview seriously — but...
IndieWire’s annual Sundance wish list reflects much of the intel making the rounds, as well as some educated guesswork, based on various projects that have been submitted or seem likely to submit ahead of the festival’s deadlines. Last year’s hefty wish list included many films that make the cut, so take this overview seriously — but...
- 11/16/2018
- by Eric Kohn, Kate Erbland, David Ehrlich, Zack Sharf, Christian Blauvelt, Chris O'Falt, Tambay Obenson, Michael Nordine, Steve Greene and Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Michelle Williams has joined Julianne Moore in the remake of Susanne Bier's Oscar-nominated Danish drama After the Wedding, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Williams will play an orphanage owner in the reimagining from writer and director Bart Freundlich (Wolves, The Rebound, The Myth of Fingerprints), while Moore plays a wealthy businesswoman. After the Wedding will be produced by Joel Michaels (Terminator Salvation, Basic Instinct 2, Lolita) and Silvio Muraglia (Black Butterfly, All Roads Lead to Rome) through Paradox Studios. Production will begin this spring.
Paradox Studios is also financing. Cornerstone Films is handling international sales and distribution, while CAA will oversee the U.S. rights.
Williams, a ...
Williams will play an orphanage owner in the reimagining from writer and director Bart Freundlich (Wolves, The Rebound, The Myth of Fingerprints), while Moore plays a wealthy businesswoman. After the Wedding will be produced by Joel Michaels (Terminator Salvation, Basic Instinct 2, Lolita) and Silvio Muraglia (Black Butterfly, All Roads Lead to Rome) through Paradox Studios. Production will begin this spring.
Paradox Studios is also financing. Cornerstone Films is handling international sales and distribution, while CAA will oversee the U.S. rights.
Williams, a ...
- 4/19/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Michelle Williams has joined Julianne Moore in the remake of Susanne Bier's Oscar-nominated Danish drama After the Wedding, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Williams will play an orphanage owner in the reimagining from writer and director Bart Freundlich (Wolves, The Rebound, The Myth of Fingerprints), while Moore plays a wealthy businesswoman. After the Wedding will be produced by Joel Michaels (Terminator Salvation, Basic Instinct 2, Lolita) and Silvio Muraglia (Black Butterfly, All Roads Lead to Rome) through Paradox Studios. Production will begin this spring.
Paradox Studios is also financing. Cornerstone Films is handling international sales and distribution, while CAA will oversee the U.S. rights.
Williams, a ...
Williams will play an orphanage owner in the reimagining from writer and director Bart Freundlich (Wolves, The Rebound, The Myth of Fingerprints), while Moore plays a wealthy businesswoman. After the Wedding will be produced by Joel Michaels (Terminator Salvation, Basic Instinct 2, Lolita) and Silvio Muraglia (Black Butterfly, All Roads Lead to Rome) through Paradox Studios. Production will begin this spring.
Paradox Studios is also financing. Cornerstone Films is handling international sales and distribution, while CAA will oversee the U.S. rights.
Williams, a ...
- 4/19/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Oscar-winner Julianne Moore has joined the remake of Susanne Bier's Academy-nominated Danish drama After the Wedding.
Coming from writer and director Bart Freundlich (Wolves, The Rebound, The Myth of Fingerprints), the reimagining will cast the two lead roles as women, creating a story of motherhood and family, while setting the story in and around New York.
Cornerstone Films has come on board to handle international sales and distribution and will commence sales at the European Film Market in Berlin later this month. CAA will oversee the Us rights.
After the Wedding will be produced by Joel Michaels (Terminator Salvation, Basic...
Coming from writer and director Bart Freundlich (Wolves, The Rebound, The Myth of Fingerprints), the reimagining will cast the two lead roles as women, creating a story of motherhood and family, while setting the story in and around New York.
Cornerstone Films has come on board to handle international sales and distribution and will commence sales at the European Film Market in Berlin later this month. CAA will oversee the Us rights.
After the Wedding will be produced by Joel Michaels (Terminator Salvation, Basic...
- 2/7/2018
- by Alex Ritman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Oscar-winner Julianne Moore has joined the remake of Susanne Bier's Academy-nominated Danish drama After the Wedding.
Coming from writer and director Bart Freundlich (Wolves, The Rebound, The Myth of Fingerprints), the reimagining will cast the two lead roles as women, creating a story of motherhood and family, while setting the story in and around New York.
Cornerstone Films has come on board to handle international sales and distribution and will commence sales at the European Film Market in Berlin later this month. CAA will oversee the Us rights.
After the Wedding will be produced by Joel Michaels (Terminator Salvation, Basic Instinct 2, Lolita) ...
Coming from writer and director Bart Freundlich (Wolves, The Rebound, The Myth of Fingerprints), the reimagining will cast the two lead roles as women, creating a story of motherhood and family, while setting the story in and around New York.
Cornerstone Films has come on board to handle international sales and distribution and will commence sales at the European Film Market in Berlin later this month. CAA will oversee the Us rights.
After the Wedding will be produced by Joel Michaels (Terminator Salvation, Basic Instinct 2, Lolita) ...
Having been 20 years since Bart Freundlich made his feature debut, The Myth of Fingerprints, the filmmaker hasn’t exactly built his reputation based on being prolific or any sort of auteur, although his eighth movie Wolves may be his best one yet, maybe because it’s so different from his earlier ones.
It stars Taylor John-Smith (Cruel Intentions) as Anthony, the hot-shot basketball star of his private New York Catholic school, something his mother (Carla Gugino) hopes will get him into Cornell on a scholarship. The only thing holding Anthony back is his shaky relationship with his English professor father Lee (Michael Shannon), an abusive alcoholic and chronic gambler whose growing gambling debts are starting to cause problems for the whole family.
As things continue to get worse, Anthony finds a new mentor in a street ball player who calls himself Socrates (John Douglas Thompson) who forces the young man to make some tough decisions.
It stars Taylor John-Smith (Cruel Intentions) as Anthony, the hot-shot basketball star of his private New York Catholic school, something his mother (Carla Gugino) hopes will get him into Cornell on a scholarship. The only thing holding Anthony back is his shaky relationship with his English professor father Lee (Michael Shannon), an abusive alcoholic and chronic gambler whose growing gambling debts are starting to cause problems for the whole family.
As things continue to get worse, Anthony finds a new mentor in a street ball player who calls himself Socrates (John Douglas Thompson) who forces the young man to make some tough decisions.
- 3/3/2017
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
Wolf Like Me: Freundlich Returns to Familial Angst with Latest Drama
Director unveils his first theatrical release in seven years with Wolves (which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival), a melodrama of knotty familial angst wherein he returns to similar intergenerational themes seen in his first (and best) film The Myth of Fingerprints (1997).
Continue reading...
Director unveils his first theatrical release in seven years with Wolves (which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival), a melodrama of knotty familial angst wherein he returns to similar intergenerational themes seen in his first (and best) film The Myth of Fingerprints (1997).
Continue reading...
- 3/1/2017
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
“Whiplash” has become the leading example of cinematic stories about young prodigies straining on the cusp of greatness. And for those looking for a familiar story with a sports twist, “Wolves” would seem to fit the bill.
Directed by Bart Freundlich (“The Myth of Fingerprints“), and starring Taylor John Smith, Michael Shannon, Carla Gugino, Zazie Beetz, Chris Bauer, and John Douglas Thompson, the story revolves around a high school basketball star who faces financial hardship, personal injury, and wavering skills as the attempts to make it to the next level.
Continue reading Michael Shannon Gambles On His Son’s Future In New Trailer For ‘Wolves’ at The Playlist.
Directed by Bart Freundlich (“The Myth of Fingerprints“), and starring Taylor John Smith, Michael Shannon, Carla Gugino, Zazie Beetz, Chris Bauer, and John Douglas Thompson, the story revolves around a high school basketball star who faces financial hardship, personal injury, and wavering skills as the attempts to make it to the next level.
Continue reading Michael Shannon Gambles On His Son’s Future In New Trailer For ‘Wolves’ at The Playlist.
- 1/26/2017
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Excellent performances from Michael Shannon, Carla Gugino and young newcomer Taylor John Smith aren't enough to offset the narrative clichés of Bart Freundlich's (The Myth of Fingerprints) drama about a high school basketball star struggling with family dysfunction. Combining '70s era, gritty urban tropes with plot elements that would have seemed corny in old Warner Brothers melodramas, Wolves, receiving its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, feels familiar every step of the way even while exuding a unearned sense of self-importance. Smith plays 18-year-old Anthony, called "Saint" by his schoolmates at St. Anthony's and "Cornell" by
read more...
read more...
- 4/16/2016
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This is what we can already confirm. 2016 will be an epic year for Michael Shannon and not because he just received an Indie Spirit nom for Best Supporting Actor in 99 Homes (see pic above). With his services enlisted by Jeff Nichols, Liza Johnson, Tom Ford, Robert Scott Wildes, Werner Herzog and Matthew M. Ross, the versatile actor will be everywhere…including Bart Freundlich‘s sixth feature film. Freundlich got his big start at Sundance back in 1997 for The Myth of Fingerprints and would follow that up by bringing World Traveler (2002) to the fest but he hasn’t been back since. Shot this past June in NYC, Wolves stars Shannon, Carla Gugino and newcomer Taylor John Smith in this tragi-family drama.
Gist: Taylor John Smith will star as an 18-year-old basketball star who is being recruited by Cornell University. He seems to have it all figured out: captain of his team,...
Gist: Taylor John Smith will star as an 18-year-old basketball star who is being recruited by Cornell University. He seems to have it all figured out: captain of his team,...
- 11/26/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they acquired North American rights to Still Alice, starring Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parrish. The film reunites Co-Directors and Co-Writers Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland (The Last of Robin Hood) with Sony Pictures Classics, who worked together on Quinceañera. Still Alice, a Bsm Studio Presentation, is produced by Lex Lutzus, James Brown and Pamela Koffler and executive produced by Marie Savare, Christine Vachon of Killer Films, Maria Shriver, Emilie Georges, Nicholas Shumaker, Celine Rattray and Trudie Styler. This also marks a homecoming for Julianne Moore, who worked with the company on Vanya on 42nd Street, Safe and The Myth of Fingerprints.
The film has received much acclaim while debuting at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. It had its world premiere on Thursday.
Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children, is a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words.
The film has received much acclaim while debuting at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. It had its world premiere on Thursday.
Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children, is a renowned linguistics professor who starts to forget words.
- 9/12/2014
- by MovieWeb
- MovieWeb
Update, 11:35 Am: Sony Classics just confirmed the North American rights deal for Still Alice, which officially makes star Julianne Moore an Oscar contender for her performance as a cognitive psychologist who faces the early onset of Alzheimer’s. Check out Spc’s release after my original break.
Previous Exclusive, 6:14 Pm: Capping yet another busy day of Toronto deals, Sony Pictures Classics is closing a low-seven-figure deal for Still Alice, the pic written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland. The label plans to release the film for Oscar season. It has gotten strong notices for Julianne Moore, who stars with Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, and Kate Bosworth. She plays a cognitive psychologist who faces the early onset of Alzheimer’s.
This is the first deal that calls for a berth in this year’s Oscar race, though many said that the Michael Shannon-Andrew Garfield pic...
Previous Exclusive, 6:14 Pm: Capping yet another busy day of Toronto deals, Sony Pictures Classics is closing a low-seven-figure deal for Still Alice, the pic written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland. The label plans to release the film for Oscar season. It has gotten strong notices for Julianne Moore, who stars with Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, and Kate Bosworth. She plays a cognitive psychologist who faces the early onset of Alzheimer’s.
This is the first deal that calls for a berth in this year’s Oscar race, though many said that the Michael Shannon-Andrew Garfield pic...
- 9/12/2014
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline
The Tribeca Film Festival announced its jurors for this year’s event, which runs from April 16-27. The list includes Toni Collette, Lake Bell, Whoopi Goldberg, Catherine Hardwicke, Heather Graham, Anton Yelchin, Paul Wesley and 26 other leaders of the filmmaking community.
In addition to the Festival’s main competition juries in seven categories, Tribeca named Delia Ephron, Natasha Lyonne, and Gary Ross to select the second annual Nora Ephron Prize, which awards $25,000 to a female writer or director.
Click below for the entire list of jurors, with biographical information courtesy of the Tribeca festival:
World Competition Categories
The jurors for...
In addition to the Festival’s main competition juries in seven categories, Tribeca named Delia Ephron, Natasha Lyonne, and Gary Ross to select the second annual Nora Ephron Prize, which awards $25,000 to a female writer or director.
Click below for the entire list of jurors, with biographical information courtesy of the Tribeca festival:
World Competition Categories
The jurors for...
- 4/8/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
The music we grow up with shapes our tastes in later life, according to a study by Cornell University. We asked Guardian writers to tell us about the songs that take them back to their childhood homes
'My mother would listen to the Carpenters while ironing'
Of the handful of albums my parents owned, it was The Carpenters' Singles 1969-1973 that struck me the most. I remember being particularly fascinated by Rainy Days and Mondays. With the benefit of hindsight, I suspect it was because it was the first piece of music I had ever heard that appeared to perfectly suit the circumstances in which I heard it. My mother would listen to the Carpenters in the afternoon, while doing the ironing in the front room, and I remember thinking that was what the woman in the song was probably doing too. In my head she was singing it...
'My mother would listen to the Carpenters while ironing'
Of the handful of albums my parents owned, it was The Carpenters' Singles 1969-1973 that struck me the most. I remember being particularly fascinated by Rainy Days and Mondays. With the benefit of hindsight, I suspect it was because it was the first piece of music I had ever heard that appeared to perfectly suit the circumstances in which I heard it. My mother would listen to the Carpenters in the afternoon, while doing the ironing in the front room, and I remember thinking that was what the woman in the song was probably doing too. In my head she was singing it...
- 9/10/2013
- by Dorian Lynskey, Tim Jonze, Bim Adewunmi, Rebecca Nicholson, Alexis Petridis, Michael Hann, Paula Cocozza, John Crace, Lucy Mangan, Tim Dowling, Nosheen Iqbal
- The Guardian - Film News
Los Angeles, June 17: British-American actress Julianne Moore is embarrassed on how her relationship with director Bart Freundlich started.
The 52-year-old actress met the 43-year-old director in 1996 when they worked on "The Myth of Fingerprints" together, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
When asked how they got together, she said: "On a film shoot. It was a bit embarrassing, he didn't want to start a relationship. It was his very first film, but I really liked him. And it continued from there."
"Bart lived in New York, I lived in Los Angeles. We both went back and forth as much as possible. Soon after, we had a baby...We.
The 52-year-old actress met the 43-year-old director in 1996 when they worked on "The Myth of Fingerprints" together, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
When asked how they got together, she said: "On a film shoot. It was a bit embarrassing, he didn't want to start a relationship. It was his very first film, but I really liked him. And it continued from there."
"Bart lived in New York, I lived in Los Angeles. We both went back and forth as much as possible. Soon after, we had a baby...We.
- 6/17/2013
- by Machan Kumar
- RealBollywood.com
London, Jun 17(Ani): Julianne Moore has admitted that she is embarrassed about the early days of her relationship with husband Bart Freundlich, because in the beginning the director and writer didn't want to get involved with her.
The couple first met in 1996 while working on the film 'The Myth Of Fingerprints'.
The 52-year-old actress told the Daily Express that at first Freundlich didn't want to start a relationship with her.
She said that though it was his very first film, she really liked him.
Moore said that Freundlich lived in New York and she lived in Los Angeles, but after they had a baby their relationship.
The couple first met in 1996 while working on the film 'The Myth Of Fingerprints'.
The 52-year-old actress told the Daily Express that at first Freundlich didn't want to start a relationship with her.
She said that though it was his very first film, she really liked him.
Moore said that Freundlich lived in New York and she lived in Los Angeles, but after they had a baby their relationship.
- 6/17/2013
- by Smith Cox
- RealBollywood.com
Exclusive: Paradigm, which has significantly bettered its feature lit list recently, has added another talented writer/director/producer to its roster in Bart Freundlich. The filmmaker, who was signed by Ken Stovitz, has credits that include The Rebound, Trust The Man, Catch That Kid, and the Sundance hit The Myth Of Fingerprints, which launched his career. After directing numerous episodes of Californication and Prime Suspect, Freundlich is currently writing with Tom Hanks the pilot Halcyon for Playtone and HBO. Married to actress Julianne Moore, Freundlich is based in New York and remains repped by lawyer Ira Schreck.
- 5/1/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Barkin Tried To Talk Moore Out Of Freundlich Romance
Actress Ellen Barkin attempted to talk pal Julianne Moore out of falling for her The Myth Of Fingerprints director, who is now her husband of almost nine years.
Barkin thought the "affair" with Bart Freundlich was a terrible idea and told Moore it wouldn't last.
The Kids Are All Right star says, "I was hugely embarrassed about it, so I tried to keep it a secret. Barkin knew. I was on the phone with her and I wouldn’t admit it, but she knew and she was going, 'Don’t do it'. But I always say, it all worked out. We stayed together, and we have these kids together."
She tells More magazine, "(Now, we're like) 'Wow, we did it!’ Marriage is commitment; it’s the ultimate challenge... Family is the ultimate narrative... It gives a story to your life in a remarkable way."...
Barkin thought the "affair" with Bart Freundlich was a terrible idea and told Moore it wouldn't last.
The Kids Are All Right star says, "I was hugely embarrassed about it, so I tried to keep it a secret. Barkin knew. I was on the phone with her and I wouldn’t admit it, but she knew and she was going, 'Don’t do it'. But I always say, it all worked out. We stayed together, and we have these kids together."
She tells More magazine, "(Now, we're like) 'Wow, we did it!’ Marriage is commitment; it’s the ultimate challenge... Family is the ultimate narrative... It gives a story to your life in a remarkable way."...
- 3/6/2012
- WENN
In their previous articles about the upcoming TNT series "Falling Skies," Pajiba writers and geek lords Tk and Steven Lloyd Wilson registered their skepticism about leading man Noah Wyle. I believe the term "Librarian-shaped handicap" was bandied about. Judging by the just-released first five minutes of the show, old Doc Carter there isn't the problem. Listen (not having scene those Librarian TV movies), I like Noah Wyle. He was great in The Myth of Fingerprints and the first eleven hundred seasons of "ER." The problem, as far as I can see it, are the stupid CGI aliens. You let me know what you think.
[via /Film]
Oh sure, they dodge a bit of scrutiny by scuttling around in a dust cloud, but, ultimately, I think they look like stupid spider crabs. Possibly tasty in my sushi, but not at all terror-inducing. But, then again, I will concede my bias. I hate CGI.
[via /Film]
Oh sure, they dodge a bit of scrutiny by scuttling around in a dust cloud, but, ultimately, I think they look like stupid spider crabs. Possibly tasty in my sushi, but not at all terror-inducing. But, then again, I will concede my bias. I hate CGI.
- 4/19/2011
- by Joanna Robinson
Julianne Moore, who appears with Amanda Seyfried in the new film "Chloe" (opening in limited release next week), will act opposite another hot young starlet in a film titled "Backwoods." According to Roger Friedman at Showbiz411, the four-time Oscar-nominated actress will be joined by "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart in the film, which Moore's husband, Bart Freundlich, is directing.
All that is revealed about the plot of "Backwoods" is that it involves the end of the world, a concept Moore has dealt with previously in "Children of Men" and "Blindness," two very different stories. I immediately presumed the actresses would play mother and daughter, but there's no actual reasoning for this. I just think it'd be neat to have Stewart, who played daughter to Jodie Foster in "Panic Room," now have the same role opposite the actress who replaced Foster in the "Silence of the Lambs"/"Hannibal" franchise.
Both Moore and...
All that is revealed about the plot of "Backwoods" is that it involves the end of the world, a concept Moore has dealt with previously in "Children of Men" and "Blindness," two very different stories. I immediately presumed the actresses would play mother and daughter, but there's no actual reasoning for this. I just think it'd be neat to have Stewart, who played daughter to Jodie Foster in "Panic Room," now have the same role opposite the actress who replaced Foster in the "Silence of the Lambs"/"Hannibal" franchise.
Both Moore and...
- 3/16/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- MTV Movies Blog
Noah Wyle is minus his missus. The actor has been separated from his wife of nine years, Tracy, since October. And while no divorce petition has been filed, the Wyles announced in a joint statement that they are currently in mediation, presumably to divvy up assets and figure out custody of their two kids. "Tracy and Noah live in separate residences, however their two children...see both parents daily," Wyle's publicist said. The 38-year-old thesp met his makeup artist missus (née Tracy Warbin) in 1996 on the set of his film The Myth of Fingerprints. The pair tied the knot in 2000 and two years later welcomed now-7-year-old son Owen. In 2005, Wyle announced the impending birth of their...
- 1/15/2010
- E! Online
Though she won a Daytime Emmy in 1988 for her dual role as a pair of half-sisters on As The World Turns, Julianne Moore didn't gain a foothold in cinema until she was well into her 30s, but she quickly made up for lost time. In rapid succession, she established herself as a screen actor with formidable range and daring, giving memorable turns in Robert Altman's Short Cuts, Louis Malle's Vanya On 42nd Street, and Todd Haynes' Safe, which revealed a penchant for playing stifled upper-class housewives. Moore worked with Altman again on Cookie's Fortune, and took on more roles with Haynes (Far From Heaven, I'm Not There), Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia), and her husband, Bart Freundlich (The Myth Of Fingerprints, Trust The Man). Though dramatic turns have earned her four Oscar nominations—for Boogie Nights and The End Of The Affair, and, in the same year,...
- 5/28/2008
- by Scott Tobias
- avclub.com
Catch That Kid
Opens
Friday, Feb. 6
With its athletic 12-year-old female lead, Catch That Kid is an action romp with heart. If that heart is somewhat misguided, it's hard to deny the family-friendly thrills and spills along the way.
A low-wattage cast helps conjure resemblance to a video game masquerading as a theatrical release (the character names of the three young leads even flash onscreen when each is introduced). The film, from prolific producer Andrew Lazar (Space Cowboys, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind), looks to have more of a future as a home rental than catch fire at the boxoffice.
The movie is a remake of the 2002 popular Danish film Klatretosen. In view of the success of the Spy Kids franchise, American youngsters may enjoy this heist story in which the three preteen leads are rarely offscreen. Most intriguing of all is fact that the director of this broadly comedic CGI caper is indie filmmaker Bart Freundlich (The Myth of Fingerprints, World Traveler).
Maddy (Kristen Stewart) and her 2-year-old brother, Max, have a busy security-consultant mom (Jennifer Beals) and a loving dad (Sam Robards), the owner of a popular go-kart track. Dad once climbed Mount Everest, but he discourages his own daughter's dangerous zeal for rock climbing. When he suffers a medical trauma that necessitates coming up with $250,000 for an operation in Copenhagen, Maddy opts to rob the high-security vault in the monolithic Harderbach Bank headquarters -- her mother's current client. Maddy and her two best friends -- and prepubescent romantic rivals -- Austin (Corbin Bleu) and Gus (Max Thieriot) do their homework and case the joint.
Thanks to Maddy's agility, reaching the 100-foot-high (!) state-of-the-art tower vault is a no-brainer. Austin is a videographer and, apparently, a Silicon Valley-caliber computer genius, while Gus knows his way around mechanical engineering from the hours spent in the pit at the go-kart track. The combined high-tech skills of our young heroes and the bank's security measures provide some sharp visual effects during the elaborate heist.
The less said about the acting the better, though Stewart (Panic Room) is earnest in the lead. (Between the confined set of the Jodie Foster thriller and the vault here, Stewart must be Hollywood's go-to teen actress for scripts featuring "safe rooms.")
Also in support are an over-the-top Michael Des Barres (channeling Terence Stamp) as the dastardly bank president and John Carroll Lynch (channeling Robert De Niro), as a sympathetic executive whose lifelong dream is to be a method actor. Stark Sands is Chad, a bank security intern -- and Gus' obnoxious older brother -- who helps keep an eye on the video monitors and the attack dogs. Chad's boss is played by Freundlich regular James Le Gros, who seems to be giddily overacting in his own personal movie.
Catch That Kid may captivate very young audiences but more for its cartoonish storytelling than any high quality of production.
CATCH THAT KID
20th Century Fox
Fox 2000 Pictures
Mediastream III presents a Mad Chance/Nimbus Film production
Credits:
Director: Bart Freundlich
Screenwriters: Michael Brandt, Derek Haas
Based on the film Klatretosen written by: Nikolaj Arcel, Hans Fabian Wullenwebe, Erlend Loe
Producer: Andrew Lazar
Executive producers: Damien Saccani, James Dodson, Mikkel Bondesen
Director of photography: Julio Macat
Production designer: Tom Meyer
Costume Designer: Salvador Perez
Co-producers: Gym Hinderer, Jeff Graup
Music by: George S. Clinton
Editor: Stuart Levy
Cast:
Maddy: Kristen Stewart
Austin: Corbin Bleu
Gus: Max Thieriot
Molly: Jennifer Beals
Tom: Sam Robards
Mr. Hartmann: John Carroll Lynch
Ferrell: James Le Gros
Brisbane: Michael Des Barres
Chad: Stark Sands
Running time -- 91 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Friday, Feb. 6
With its athletic 12-year-old female lead, Catch That Kid is an action romp with heart. If that heart is somewhat misguided, it's hard to deny the family-friendly thrills and spills along the way.
A low-wattage cast helps conjure resemblance to a video game masquerading as a theatrical release (the character names of the three young leads even flash onscreen when each is introduced). The film, from prolific producer Andrew Lazar (Space Cowboys, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind), looks to have more of a future as a home rental than catch fire at the boxoffice.
The movie is a remake of the 2002 popular Danish film Klatretosen. In view of the success of the Spy Kids franchise, American youngsters may enjoy this heist story in which the three preteen leads are rarely offscreen. Most intriguing of all is fact that the director of this broadly comedic CGI caper is indie filmmaker Bart Freundlich (The Myth of Fingerprints, World Traveler).
Maddy (Kristen Stewart) and her 2-year-old brother, Max, have a busy security-consultant mom (Jennifer Beals) and a loving dad (Sam Robards), the owner of a popular go-kart track. Dad once climbed Mount Everest, but he discourages his own daughter's dangerous zeal for rock climbing. When he suffers a medical trauma that necessitates coming up with $250,000 for an operation in Copenhagen, Maddy opts to rob the high-security vault in the monolithic Harderbach Bank headquarters -- her mother's current client. Maddy and her two best friends -- and prepubescent romantic rivals -- Austin (Corbin Bleu) and Gus (Max Thieriot) do their homework and case the joint.
Thanks to Maddy's agility, reaching the 100-foot-high (!) state-of-the-art tower vault is a no-brainer. Austin is a videographer and, apparently, a Silicon Valley-caliber computer genius, while Gus knows his way around mechanical engineering from the hours spent in the pit at the go-kart track. The combined high-tech skills of our young heroes and the bank's security measures provide some sharp visual effects during the elaborate heist.
The less said about the acting the better, though Stewart (Panic Room) is earnest in the lead. (Between the confined set of the Jodie Foster thriller and the vault here, Stewart must be Hollywood's go-to teen actress for scripts featuring "safe rooms.")
Also in support are an over-the-top Michael Des Barres (channeling Terence Stamp) as the dastardly bank president and John Carroll Lynch (channeling Robert De Niro), as a sympathetic executive whose lifelong dream is to be a method actor. Stark Sands is Chad, a bank security intern -- and Gus' obnoxious older brother -- who helps keep an eye on the video monitors and the attack dogs. Chad's boss is played by Freundlich regular James Le Gros, who seems to be giddily overacting in his own personal movie.
Catch That Kid may captivate very young audiences but more for its cartoonish storytelling than any high quality of production.
CATCH THAT KID
20th Century Fox
Fox 2000 Pictures
Mediastream III presents a Mad Chance/Nimbus Film production
Credits:
Director: Bart Freundlich
Screenwriters: Michael Brandt, Derek Haas
Based on the film Klatretosen written by: Nikolaj Arcel, Hans Fabian Wullenwebe, Erlend Loe
Producer: Andrew Lazar
Executive producers: Damien Saccani, James Dodson, Mikkel Bondesen
Director of photography: Julio Macat
Production designer: Tom Meyer
Costume Designer: Salvador Perez
Co-producers: Gym Hinderer, Jeff Graup
Music by: George S. Clinton
Editor: Stuart Levy
Cast:
Maddy: Kristen Stewart
Austin: Corbin Bleu
Gus: Max Thieriot
Molly: Jennifer Beals
Tom: Sam Robards
Mr. Hartmann: John Carroll Lynch
Ferrell: James Le Gros
Brisbane: Michael Des Barres
Chad: Stark Sands
Running time -- 91 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 2/23/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Julianne to Wed
Far From Heaven star Julianne Moore is starting the new year off on a happy note - by announcing her engagement to longtime boyfriend Bart Freundlich. The twice-married Hollywood A-lister already has two children by the moviemaker, who she met while starring in The Myth Of Fingerprints in 1997, which he directed. The two also collaborated on World Traveler in 2001, which co-starred Billy Crudup.
- 1/6/2003
- WENN
Wyle's a Dad
E.R. star Noah Wyle has become a father for the first time after his wife Tracy gave birth to a son on Saturday. The 31-year-old's publicist Eddie Michaels announced on Monday Noah and 34-year-old make up artist Tracy are the proud parents of Owen Strausser Wyle, who was born in a Los Angeles-area hospital. Michaels enthuses, "The three are home, healthy and very, very happy." The bundle of joy's middle name comes from Noah's paternal great-grandmother. The pair wed in May 2000 after meeting on the set of The Myth Of Fingerprints.
- 11/13/2002
- WENN
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