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Almost 16 years since his MCU debut in The Incredible Hulk, Tim Blake Nelson is finally making his way to the big screen as the classic Hulk villain The Leader in Captain America: Brave New World. However, a scrapped sequel to the 2008 film would have had Nelson play the comic book villain opposite Edward Norton's Bruce Banner/Hulk. It was not meant to be, according to the actor. The Incredible Hulk is now a vital part of the near MCU future, with the Captain America sequel starring Anthony Mackie playing a major role in revitalizing its characters.

While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Tim Blake Nelson reflected on the years since playing the supporting character in The Incredible Hulk in 2008. When a sequel to the film did not get off the ground, the actor felt like his time in the MCU had ended before it really began. Nelson underlines the...

Tim Blake Nelson, the character actors’ character actor, has spent a career adding to a “rogues gallery of dysfunctional weirdos” on film and TV, from the singing convict in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the singing gunslinger in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs — both from the Coen Brothers — to Wade Tillman, a paranoid cop with incredible interrogation skills and a severe case of Ptsd in HBO’s Emmy-winning TV series Watchmen, to the supervillain Samuel Sterns, aka The Leader, in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, a role Nelson will reprise, 16 years later, in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World.

Along the way, Nelson has also gone behind the camera, directing film versions of his plays Eye of God (1997) and The Grey Zone (2001), adapting Shakespeare’s Othello, setting it in a modern-day high school with O (2001), and shooting two of his original screenplays: Kansas (1998) and Leaves of Grass (2009).

In his latest acting job,...

The Leader, portrayed by Tim Blake Nelson, is set to debut in Captain America: Brave New World. President Thunderbolt Ross will face assassination attempts through mind-controlled super soldiers, hinting at the Leader's influence. The Leader, a Hulk nemesis, will showcase his intelligence and seemingly his ability to create mind-control technology against Captain America.

The Leader is an upcoming archvillain of the MCU who will star alongside the titular hero in Captain America: Brave New World, which begs an explanation about what to expect. Captain America: Brave New World will be Sam Wilson's big-screen debut carrying the mantle. Joining him will be a host of characters that debuted The Incredible Hulk, including Liv Tyler's Betty Ross, Tim Blake Nelson's Samuel Sterns, and Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross portrayed by Harrison Ford, following on from William Hurt's prior performance in the role.

Emerging details about Captain America: Brave New World...

Tim Blake Nelson returns to his indie genre roots in an exclusive Bang Bang poster debut. The sports drama centers on a retired boxer reconnecting with his grandson, all while being under the skeptical eye of his ex-girlfriend and former rival. Nelson's impressive Rotten Tomatoes producer score streak may continue with Bang Bang's Tribeca Film Festival premiere.

As audiences gear up to see his return to the blockbuster world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tim Blake Nelson is leading the charge in an exclusive Bang Bang poster. Nelson is an acclaimed filmmaker both in front of and behind the camera, starring in everything from the Coen Brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou? to Minority Report, Holes, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. The actor is also well-known for starring in The Incredible Hulk as Samuel Sterns, a role he'll reprise for 2025's Captain America: Brave New World,...

The late 1990s and early 2000s were a weird era for films. There is definitely an influence from Y2K, and it seemed like there was an attitude that anything goes from some and a tightening of the belt from others. The world was in an odd place, and this influenced everything in culture like music, television, and films. 2002 gave us a wide variety of horror, like Queen of the Damned, Fear Dot Com, Cabin Fever, Bubba Ho-Tep, Dog Soldiers, and Bloody Mallory. This was the end of an era and the start of another for David Arquette it seemed. A time when he tested the “leading man” waters. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite go as planned as box office bomb after box office bomb came. Films like Ravenous, Ready to Rumble, 3000 Miles to Graceland, See Spot Run, and The Grey Zone all featured Arquette in some form but...

Warning: Contains Spoilers for the Upload season 3 finale.

The season 3 finale of Upload ends with a cliffhanger, leaving viewers unsure of which version of Nathan survived. Rachel O'Toole, the production designer of Upload, discusses the challenges of creating a futuristic and nostalgic online environment. O'Toole drew inspiration from different sources, such as the book Snow Crash, to create distinct aesthetics for each location in the show.

The Upload season 3 finale dropped on Prime Video on November 10 and left off on one of the biggest cliffhangers to date. After a backup version of Nathan is uploaded to Lakeview, the series establishes a love square between Nora, Ingrid, and the two Nathans. However, one of the Nathans is destroyed in the final seconds of Episode 8, leaving viewers in the dark about which version survived. With both couples managing to deepen their bond and elevate their relationship, there's sure to be heartbreak if...

Some liquid courage will drive Ingrid to talk to Original Nathan about Norma, err, Nora during this Friday’s Upload.

In the second of this week’s two episodes, Ingrid gets drunk and opens up about her insecurities with AI Bartender, which prompts her to then confront her relationship issues head-on. For starters, Ingrid is unhappy that Nora is spending so much time with her (Backup Copy) Nathan. So in TVLine’s exclusive sneak peek, a very wasted Ingrid — randomly sporting pockets full of sand — shows up in the middle of one of Nathan’s real-world missions to issue an order.

The third season of the popular series Upload is fast approaching!

Robbie Amell returns as Nathan in the Prime Video sci-fi comedy, which is set in a technologically advanced future where holographic phones, self-driving vehicles, AI assistance, and 3D food printers are the norm. And, forget about dying – instead, you’ll be “uploaded” to a virtual reality afterlife, and enjoy all the comforts of a world-class resort. Provided you can afford it.

Find out more about season three and watch the trailer inside…

In season three, we pick back up with Nora and freshly downloaded Nathan as they navigate their relationship, while racing to stop the mysterious conspiracy that threatens to destroy millions of lives. Can they shut down Freeyond, and finally have a real life together? Or is it just a matter of time until Nathan’s head explodes? Meanwhile, in Lakeview, a backup copy of Nathan has been...

The wait is finally over, as Prime Video has given us our first look at Season 3 of the popular sci-fi comedy series “Upload”, as well as the official release date! “Upload” season 3 will begin streaming on October 20, exclusively on Prime Video. The new season will consist of eight episodes with two episodes premiering each week.

Upload is a sci-fi comedy series from Emmy-winning writer Greg Daniels, set in a technologically advanced future where holographic phones, self-driving vehicles, AI assistance, and 3D food printers are the norm. And forget about dying – instead, you’ll be “uploaded” to a virtual reality afterlife and enjoy all the comforts of a world-class resort. Provided you can afford it.

In Upload Season Three, we pick back up with Nora and freshly downloaded Nathan as they navigate their relationship, while racing to stop the mysterious conspiracy that threatens to destroy millions of lives. Can they shut down Freeyond,...

The sci-fi-rom-com series ‘Upload’ has now been renewed for a Season 3, with a new trailer just being uploaded. The new season of the popular sci-fi-rom-com series finds itself on a dramatic turn as AI collides with real life, as the AI generated Nathan tries to have a real life with his service handler Nora.

The trailer for ‘Upload’ has a very deceivingly standard American rom-com tone, and to the average person it will look like just another sit-com like ‘Friends’ or ‘How I Met Your Mother’. But ‘Upload’ has been very different conceptually.

For the unversed, ‘Upload’ is a sci-fi comedy series set in a distant future where death is not permanent, as the deceased can ‘upload’ their consciousness into a digital avatar in a digital afterlife, enjoying all the comforts of a new AI life called Lakeview, provided they can afford it.

The story starts off with Nathan Brown,...

The sci-fi-rom-com series ‘Upload’ has now been renewed for a Season 3, with a new trailer just being uploaded. The new season of the popular sci-fi-rom-com series finds itself on a dramatic turn as AI collides with real life, as the AI generated Nathan tries to have a real life with his service handler Nora.

The trailer for ‘Upload’ has a very deceivingly standard American rom-com tone, and to the average person it will look like just another sit-com like ‘Friends’ or ‘How I Met Your Mother’. But ‘Upload’ has been very different conceptually.

For the unversed, ‘Upload’ is a sci-fi comedy series set in a distant future where death is not permanent, as the deceased can ‘upload’ their consciousness into a digital avatar in a digital afterlife, enjoying all the comforts of a new AI life called Lakeview, provided they can afford it.

The story starts off with Nathan Brown,...

Prime Video’s season three trailer for Upload teases the shenanigans in store when Nathan and a backup Nathan exist at the same time. Robbie Amell reprises his role as Nathan and Allegra Edwards returns as Ingrid.

The popular sci-fi comedy also stars Andy Allo as Nora, Kevin Bigley as Luke, Zainab Johnson as Aleesha, and Owen Daniels as A.I. Guy.

The series premiered in May 2020, with season two following in March 2022. The eight-episode third season will debut on October 20, 2023 with the release of the first two episodes. Two new episodes follow each Friday leading up to the November 10th season finale.

Greg Daniels created the series and serves as showrunner and executive producer. Howard Klein and Jeff Blitz are also onboard as executive producers.

Poster for Prime Video’s ‘Upload’ season 3

The Season 3 Plot, Courtesy of Prime Video:

Upload is a sci-fi comedy series from Emmy-winning writer Greg...

At the end of “Upload” season 2, things looked very good for Nathan (Robbie Amell). Having finally escaped from the virtual afterlife known as Lakeview by downloading himself into a clone body, he seemed bound for Irl relationship bliss with Nora (Andy Allo). Yay! Except uh oh, his nose started bleeding — which means the download is going to fail.

Well, we’re now just a month out from the Oct. 20 premiere of “Upload” Season 3 on Amazon Prime Video, and based on the new trailer, it looks like death is just one of the headaches Nathan needs to deal with. Because now he’s competing for Nora’s affections with himself — or rather, himself from 6 months earlier.

It seems relationships are easy enough to start, but maintaining them takes work. But Nora really likes Nathan. Luckily — if you can call it luck — someone freaked out when they discovered he had escaped from...

Prime Video has released the official trailer for the upcoming third season of sci-fi comedy Upload, starring Robbie Amell and Andy Allo.

Created by Emmy-winning writer Greg Daniels, Upload is set in a technologically advanced future where holographic phones, self-driving vehicles, AI assistance and 3D food printers are the norm. And, forget about dying – instead, you’ll be “uploaded” to a virtual reality afterlife and enjoy all the comforts of a world-class resort. Provided you can afford it.

Season 3 picks back up with Nora (Allo) and freshly downloaded Nathan (Amell) as they navigate their relationship, while racing to stop the mysterious conspiracy that threatens to destroy millions of lives. Can they shut down Freeyond, and finally have a real life together? Or is it just a matter of time until Nathan’s head explodes? Meanwhile, in Lakeview, a backup copy of Nathan has been activated...

For the fans of ‘Upload’, there is good news as those waiting for Season 3 of the sci-fi comedy series won’t have to wait long; it will premiere on October 20, 2023. The show has released its official first-look images for its new outing. The series will pick up the threads of Season 2 and will explore new character arcs and story lines.

Set in the not-too-distant future, ‘Upload’ imagines a world in which death isn’t the end of consciousness. Instead, people can choose to “upload” themselves to a digital afterlife where they can continue living on, including maintaining contact with their loved ones and enjoying all the amenities the digital afterlife offers. Of course, the fee for that is exorbitantly high.

‘Upload’ Season 3 picks back up with Nora and freshly downloaded Nathan as they navigate their relationship, while racing to stop the mysterious Freeyond conspiracy that threatens to destroy millions of lives.

Robbie Amell (Nathan) in ‘Upload’ season 3 (Photo Courtesy of Prime Video)

Prime Video’s set an October 2023 premiere date for season three of the popular comedy Upload. Starring Robbie Amell, season three will kick off on October 20th with the release of the first two episodes. Two new episodes of the eight-episode season arrive on subsequent Fridays.

The premiere date announcement was accompanied by the first photos from season three along with plot details.

In addition to Robbie Amell as Nathan, returning Upload stars include Andy Allo as Nora, Kevin Bigley as Luke, Allegra Edwards as Ingrid, Zainab Johnson as Aleesha, and Owen Daniels as A.I. Guy. Emmy winner Greg Daniels created the series and executive produces along with Howard Klein.

Robbie Amell (Nathan) and Owen Daniels (A.I. Guy) in season 3 (Photo Courtesy of Prime Video)

The Plot, Courtesy of Apple TV+:

Upload is a sci-fi comedy...

Robbie Amell (Nathan), Owen Daniels (A.I. Guy)

Credit: Liane Hentscher/Prime Video Prime Video has announced that Season Three of the sci-fi comedy series Upload will premiere Friday, October 20 on Prime Video, with the official first-look images out now. The third season will consist of eight episodes, with two episodes premiering every week exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world. On October 20, Upload Season Three will be part of the savings, convenience, and entertainment that Prime members enjoy in a single membership. Upload is a sci-fi comedy series from Emmy-winning writer Greg Daniels, set in a technologically advanced future where holographic phones, self-driving vehicles, AI assistance, and 3D food printers are the norm. And, forget about dying – instead, you’ll be “uploaded” to a virtual reality afterlife, and enjoy all the comforts of a world-class resort. Provided you can afford it. In Upload Season Three,...

Prime Video has announced an October 20 premiere date for Season 3 of its sci-fi comedy series Upload, starring Robbie Amell and Andy Allo. The streamer also unveiled some first-look images of the upcoming eight-episode season (see above and below). Two episodes will debut weekly on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world.

Created by Emmy-winning writer Greg Daniels, Upload is set in a technologically advanced future where holographic phones, self-driving vehicles, AI assistance and 3D food printers are the norm. And, forget about dying – instead, you’ll be “uploaded” to a virtual reality afterlife and enjoy all the comforts of a world-class resort. Provided you can afford it.

Season 3 picks back up with Nora and freshly downloaded Nathan as they navigate their relationship, while racing to stop the mysterious conspiracy that threatens to destroy millions of lives. Can they shut down Freeyond,...

Well, this is some exciting TV news.

Prime Video has announced Upload Season 3 will finally premiere Friday, October 20, 2023.

In a shift from the rollout strategy the first two seasons used, two episodes will be available weekly.

That means you'll have to wait a month longer if you plan on binging, but seriously, more shows should adopt the weekly strategy.

The binge is good at the time, but then the conversation is over in one fell swoop.

There's plenty of fun in store for fans of the hit comedy series.

"On Upload Season Three, we pick back up with Nora and freshly downloaded Nathan as they navigate their relationship, while racing to stop the mysterious conspiracy that threatens to destroy millions of lives," the logline teases.

"Can they shut down Freeyond, and finally have a real life together? Or is it just a matter of time until Nathan's head explodes?"

"Meanwhile,...

Upload Season 3 will begin uploading to Amazon Prime Video on Friday, Oct. 20, the streamer has officially announced.

The third season, arriving more than a year-and-a-half after Season 2, will consist of eight episodes, to be released two-per-week.

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Hailing from creator Greg Daniels (The Office), Upload is set in a technologically advanced future where humans can choose to be “uploaded” into a virtual afterlife. The Flash vet Robbie Amell stars as computer programmer Nathan,...

Of the thousands of dramatic feature films that deal with the subject of the Holocaust, few have evoked — or have even tried to — the experience of what went on inside the concentration camps. That’s understandable; the horror of that experience is forbidding and in some ways unimaginable. But there’s a small group of movies, like “Schindler’s List” and “Son of Saul” and “The Grey Zone,” that have met that horror head-on, and in an indelible way. To that list we can now add Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest.”

It’s a remarkable film — chilling and profound, meditative and immersive, a movie that holds human darkness up to the light and examines it as if under a microscope. In a sense, it’s a movie that plays off our voyeurism, our curiosity to see the unseeable. Yet it does so with a bracing originality. “The Zone of Interest...

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To fete the unisex woody-floral Gris Dior fragrance, Dior has unveiled The Grey Zone, a pop-up discovery boutique and immersive art exhibition that debuted on April 11 at 8175 Melrose Ave. with a starry soiree and will be open to the public April 13-16, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Dior’s Dior Gris fragrance

On hand for the opening party was Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega and The Woman King star Thuso Mbedu who join Stranger Things actor Joseph Quinn, Fai Khadra, Orelsan, Maya Hawke and Liu Yuxin as ambassadors for the eau de parfum and front the new #DareInGrisDior campaign. Among the guests were Gossip Girl’s Thomas Doherty, Dominique Fishback, Alexandra Daddario, Liza Koshy, Madeleine Arthur and Kiernan Shipka.

Ahead of the event, Ortega told THR, “The House...

David Arquette and Scott Foley are joining Kunal Nayyar, Lucy Hale and Christina Hendricks in the film “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.” The charming and comical story of redemption, adapted by author Gabrielle Zevin from her own New York Times best-selling novel, begins shooting this month in the U.S. in Cape Cod.

Hans Canosa is directing from Zevin’s novel, which has sold over five million copies and been translated into 38 languages. Bcdf Pictures’ Claude Dal Farra and Brian Keady are producing alongside Kelsey Law, Canosa and Zevin. Bcdf’s Brice Dal Farra, Nayyar, Hale and Hendricks are executive producers. Mister Smith Entertainment is handling sales on the film.

The life of A.J. Fikry (Nayyar) is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare edition of Poe poems,...

As an award nominee, Tim Blake Nelson usually hears the words “supporting” or “ensemble” associated with his achievements. The Gold Derby Awards, for instance, have nominated him three times in supporting and ensemble categories. Critics have called him the “Coen Brothers go-to hayseed.” But his only major win from an industry peer group has been an Album of the Year Grammy in 2002 for “O’ Brother Where Art Thou,” which he shared with 28 other artists.

But in “Old Henry,” out October 1, Nelson steps into a lead role. “It figures the first one would have ‘old’ in the title,” the 57-year-old New Yorker by way of Tulsa, Oklahoma, quipped about his starring role. Could he be an Independent Spirit leading actor nominee? Nelson talks about his career, Covid and the big reveal at the end of “Old Henry” he wants you to keep under your ten-gallon hat.

SEEAnn Dowd is early Oscars...

Barry Levinson is 79, so it doesn’t seem much of a leap to say that he made “The Survivor,” a true story of the Holocaust, as a late-career reckoning. The central character, Harry Haft, played by the remarkable Ben Foster, is a Polish Jew who gets sent to Auschwitz in 1943, where he sees the lowest circle of the inferno of the death camps. But he also becomes a boxer, sparring with other prisoners for the entertainment of the Nazis, and this allows him not to perish. What Harry does makes him, in effect, a cousin to the Sonderkommandos, the work units comprised of death-camp prisoners whose lives were extended because they did the grisly work of disposing of gas-chamber victims. “The Survivor” confronts the question of whether Harry was making a deal with the devil. But since Harry is a fighter, and a good one, in movie terms he also...

Exclusive: David Arquette has been cast in Amazon Studios’ coming-of-age pilot Hot Pink, created by Elisabeth Holm.

The You Cannot Kill David Arquette subject joins in a recurring role, alongside lead Sarah Michelle Gellar and series regulars Nina Bloomgarden, David Iacono, Mimi Davila, Dana Donnelly and Myra Molloy. No character details have been revealed.

Hot Pink, from Amazon Studios in association with Annapurna Pictures, is loosely inspired by Elana K. Arnold’s National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of. Series creator Holm is executive producing with director Desiree Akhavan and executive producers Rebecca Green and Sue Naegle and Ali Krug for Annapurna.

Arnold’s 2017 novel What Girls Are Made Of is described as exploring “the real, knotted, messy, thriving heartbeat of young womanhood” through the eyes of a 16-year-old girl.

If ordered to series, Hot Pink would join Amazon Studios’ growing YA series slate, which includes The Wilds and the upcoming show,...

Exclusive: Tim Blake Nelson has signed on to star in Shout! Studios and Hideout Pictures’ action western Old Henry.

The movie, which is written and directed by Potsy Ponciroli, follows a widowed farmer and his son who warily take in a mysterious, injured man with a satchel of cash. Shannon Houchins and Mike Hagerty are producing. EPs are Garson Foos, Bob Emmer, Jordan Fields, Alex Siskin, and Trevor O’Neil.

Nelson, whose work spans acting, directing, producing and writing, recently starred in Warner Bros’ Just Mercy and the HBO multi-Emmy winning limited DC series Watchmen. His turn in Watchmen as the vigilante Looking Glass earned Nelson a Critic’s Choice nomination in the supporting actor drama series category.

His feature credits include the Coen Brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, as well as Lincoln, The Incredible Hulk, Meet the Fockers, Minority Report and the upcoming Guillero del Toro feature Nightmare Alley.

He was the star of the Scream films, became a heavyweight world champion – and, with the deaths of his sister Alexis and best friend Luke Perry, still has demons to grapple with

I always had a soft spot for David Arquette. From the first time I spotted him, in a bit part in Beverly Hills 90210, and ever after, whether he was playing the dorky policeman in the Scream films, carrying offbeat indie films such as Dream with the Fishes, or playing a Jewish rebel in the Holocaust film The Grey Zone, he radiated a sweet likeability you just can’t fake. It was cheering to spot his goofily handsome face onscreen, like finding your brother’s funny friend hanging out in your kitchen when you got home from school.

The baby brother of acclaimed actors Rosanna, Patricia and Alexis, his talent was obvious; he was on the cover of...

Tim Blake Nelson first heard about “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” in 2002, when Joel and Ethan Coen handed him a short script about a cheerful, singing cowboy who often finds himself in violent situations. The filmmaking siblings told him it was one of several western stories that “would be written over the years.” But it wasn’t until 2016 that the final five vignettes were completed and assembled into a feature-length script. Watch our exclusive video interview with Nelson above.

See Zoe Kazan on co-writing ‘Wildlife’ and co-starring in ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs’: ‘I felt so protective of her’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

As the titular Buster, Nelson gets to sing, dance and kill on his journeys through the Wild West. But he doesn’t see the character as a villain. “As an actor, you learn early on that you’ve got to advocate for your character,” he explains. “Mostly that means figuring...

Exclusive: David Arquette has come on board The MisEducation of Bindu, a coming-of-age comedy which was one of the winning titles of Mark and Jay Duplass’ Campaign to find America’s Next Generation of Indie Filmmakers. Directed by Prarthana Mohan, the plot follows a bright and awkward Bindu, a 14-year-old Indian American girl who’s not only caught between girlhood and womanhood, but also with a foot in India’s traditional past and the promise of global future.

Arquette, whose notable credits include the Scream films, Never Been Kissed, and The Grey Zone, will play Bindu’s step-father.

The Duplass brothers teamed with Seed&Spark, the film-focused crowdfunding site, to launch the initiative last year, aimed to bolster burgeoning filmmakers all over the country.

The Miseducation Of Bindu will go before cameras this summer.

Arquette was recently seen in Survivors Guide to Prison and Saving Flora. He’s repped by Avalon and Apa.

William Morris Endeavor learned this week of a bondage death that occurred last fall at the home of Skip Chasey, an executive in the agency’s TV business affairs group.

According to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, Duncan Gilbert, 48, died on Nov. 19 at Chasey’s home during “recreational mummification bondage.” The agency first learned of the death this week, after it was first reported on journalist Mark Ebner’s podcast, “The Grey Zone.”

“While we were unaware of the circumstances surrounding this personal matter until now, we understand that the police file is closed and no charges were brought. If other facts develop, we will re-evaluate the situation and determine any appropriate action to take,” the agency said in a statement.

Chasey is well known in the leather and Bdsm community as “Master Skip,” according to various websites and profiles. According to the coroner’s report, Gilbert was...

Tim Blake Nelson is best known for his acting role in films such as O Brother Where Art Thou, The Incredible Hulk, and a ton of other films. He's a great actor that takes on a lot of co-starring roles. What you may not know about him is that he's also been directing films since 1997. Films such as O, The Grey Zone, Leaves of Grass, and Anesthesia.

Now he's set to direct a sci-fi action thriller called Michael Zero for Millennium Media and Eclectic Pictures, and it's based on a spec from Adam Alleca (Last House on the Left). There's no word on if he also plans on starring in the film or not, but I hope he's in it!

The high-concept sci-fi action-thriller follows Michael Redmayne, who is forced to hunt down and kill his clones after they desert the war they were created to fight, in order to...

The beautiful performances and raw intimacy are definitely worth your time, but its wispy good intentions ultimately dissipate into thin air. I’m “biast” (pro): love the amazing cast

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

When a Columbia University professor (Sam Waterston: Le Divorce) is violently mugged on his walk home one dark, cold night, the disparate group of friends, family, lovers, and strangers who are affected by this event have to come to terms with their own pain, their own failings, and the inadequate ways in which they have been trying to cope. That’s the idea, anyway, but it doesn’t work as a cohesive, satisfying whole in the way that, I’m sure, writer-director Tim Blake Nelson (The Grey Zone) intends.

There is a wonderfully astute sensitivity to how Nelson and his marvelous cast play out the...

Causality and Kindness: Nelson’s Latest Look at All the Lonely People

The multifaceted Tim Blake Nelson unveils his latest directorial effort in nearly seven years with Anesthesia, a New York set drama focused on a series of interconnected characters leading up to a brutal crime of the narrative’s central figure. It’s sometimes easy to forget Nelson, perhaps best known as a character actor in an incalculable amount of arresting performances across a variety of films, is also an accomplished writer and director, premiering his own eclectic five features since his first (and best) 1997 debut Eye of God. Since then, he made a contemporized version of Shakespeare’s Othello in 2001 with O, an English language drama centered on a rebellious group of Sonderkomandos attempting to overthrow their Nazi captors in the grueling The Grey Zone (also 2001) and a comedy crime drama Leaves of Grass (2009) with Edward Norton pulling double duty as twins.

A retiring Philosophy professor (Sam Waterston) buzzes up to a stranger’s apartment one night, screaming for help. The tenant (Cory Stoll) rushes downstairs, and finds two men, bloody and beaten on the doorstep. One is the ailing professor, and the other, we cannot see. The narrative then flashes back several days to show us how these characters came to meet this gruesome fate. Anesthesia offers an intriguing but familiar set up, which splays the story out into numerous sprawling strands. The film is Altmanesque in its conceptualization, as the lives of roughly a dozen strangers crisscross and interlock in unexpected ways.

Writer-director Tim Blake Nelson, best known as Delmar from O Brother, Where Art Thou?, rounded up a stellar and committed cast, including Glenn Close, Michael K. Williams and Kristen Stewart. The filmmaker seems at home collaborating with actors of this caliber, having directed Edward Norton to not one,...

While Tiff has become film premiere terrain for his last director outings (the horribly timed post 9/11 released The Grey Zone and 2009′s Leaves of Grass), Tim Blake Nelson could be deemed as a return customer in Sundance folklore. His stacked resume at Sundance includes his first three premiered and/or workshopped outings (includes his short Kansas), and he is rooted at the Institute, being a Creative Advisor in the Directors Lab on four separate occasions. Employing the mapped out ensemble narrative strategy for his fifth feature film, the multi-tasker called upon a team of fellow thesps in Gretchen Mol, Corey Stoll, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jessica Hecht, Hannah Marks, Glenn Close, Scott Cohen, Sam Waterston and team captain Kristen Stewart (see pap pic above) for Anesthesia. Production on the New York City set drama began late last year, so despite turning into James Franco’s muse (five straight feature films) he...

Music Composed by: Jeff Danna

Release Date: August 6, 2013

Format: Digital Download

Number of Discs: n/a (19 tracks, approx. 43 minutes)

Label: Lakeshore Records

Overview:

Lakeshore Records will release the Continuum – Original Television Soundtrack Season One digitally on August 6, 2013. The album features the original music, composed by Jeff Danna (Silent Hill: Revelation, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus), for the first season of the beloved science fiction show.

“I encouraged a partially-orchestral approach to the series,” said Danna. “The world that Simon has created for Continuum is not a small or safe place and calls for music that is as cinematic as Simon’s vision of his characters and stories. The orchestra is the musical-partner for a story like this, and it is a large part of the soundscape of Continuum.”

Born in Canada to a musical family, Jeff Danna has created scores for a long and varied list of films. His...

I've mentioned before how several years ago I created a list using Roger Ebert's Great Movies, Oscar Best Picture winners, IMDb's Top 250, etc. and began going through them doing my best to see as many of the films on these lists that I had not seen as I possibly could to up my film I.Q. Well, someone has gone through the exhaustive effort to take all of the films Roger Ebert wrote about in his three "Great Movies" books, all of which are compiled on his website and added them to a Letterbxd list and I've added that list below. I'm not positive every movie on his list is here, but by my count there are 363 different titles listed (more if you count the trilogies, the Up docs and Decalogue) and of those 363, I have personally seen 229 and have added an * next to those I've seen. Clearly I have some work to do,...

I've mentioned before how several years ago I created a list using Roger Ebert's Great Movies, Oscar Best Picture winners, IMDb's Top 250, etc. and began going through them doing my best to see as many of the films on these lists that I had not seen as I possibly could to up my film I.Q. Well, someone has gone through the exhaustive effort to take all of the films Roger Ebert wrote about in his three "Great Movies" books, all of which are compiled on his website and added them to a Letterbxd list and I've added that list below. I'm not positive every movie on his list is here, but by my count there are 362 different titles listed (more if you count the trilogies and Decalogue) and of those 362, I have personally seen 229 and have added an * next to those I've seen. Clearly I have some work to do,...

Tim Blake Nelson has always been a talent equally as adept on-screen as he is behind the camera -- putting his stamp on such diverse films as WWII drama “The Grey Zone” and pot comedy “Leaves of Grass” -- but as his primary focus and the majority of his credits remains acting-based, he's now found back-to-back roles in the ambitious directorial efforts of his fellow peers. James Franco and Tommy Lee Jones have both lined up their next projects in the director's chair -- literary biopic “Bukowski” and pioneer-era western “The Homesman,” respectively -- and besides keeping true to each actor's narrative wheelhouse, they've added the integral element of Nelson to their casts as well. Tracing the life of Charles Bukowski from childhood through his high school years, “Bukowski” will find Nelson in the role of the poet's father, Henry, whose financial straits lead to abuse toward his child, and.

Agnieszka Holland's film uses a fragment of the Holocaust story to hint at its enormity

Claude Lanzmann's famous proscription against ever tackling the Holocaust in a purely representational way – because how can one honestly, decently recreate the almost unimaginable without cheapening or faking it? – still casts a shadow over the whole genre three decades after the release of his documentary Shoah. I wish more people would listen to him. His polar opposite is Steven Spielberg, and Schindler's List neatly embodies all Lanzmann's doubts. The documentary favours long takes, no heroes, and no war-crime footage whatsoever. The feature shows it all: random executions, gas chambers, the anguish of the doomed, but undercuts it all with a Spielbergian hunger for uplift and good guys.

The Holocaust movie has taken some odd turns in the years since Shoah and Schindler established these parameters. We were favoured with those "Have Yourself a...

The 2011 edition of a movie critic's dream unreels again this week. In my own home town, I'll be able to show the films of my choice in a classic movie palace, flawlessly projected on a giant screen before a movie-loving audience. To paraphrase Orson Welles when he was given the run of Rko Radio Pictures to make his own movie, it's the biggest train set a boy could ever want.

Ebertfest 2011 runs April 27-May 1. The passes have been sold but we've always been able to find room for everyone in line inside the 1,600-seat Virginia Theater. Its long-term renovation continued this year with work on the lobby, the concession stand and the upstairs lobby. The marquee is a work in progress.

The preservation of theaters like this is invaluable; such buildings will never again be constructed, and most of our filmmakers will never have seen their films with such a large audience.

Leaves of Grass, like its characters, is manic. It’s tonally insane, but that’s not a slant. The insanity at hand plays perfectly into the situation and its leads. This is a dark comedy told with an old sensibility. This is a modern day religious fable. It features the tropes and themes of classical storytelling: betrayal, brotherhood, power and love.

Many have been lamenting the tone as jarring. It absolutely is, but in the best and most suitable way possible. When the situation and humor shift it goes into an unexpected and joyous territory. When a nice comedic moment can lead to two heads being blown off instantaneously, it keeps you on your feet. The feel of unevenness is, obviously, intentional. One will either fully embrace the chances director Tim Blake Nelson takes or won’t.

Bill and Brady (Edward Norton, playing twins) seem nothing alike. Brady is a...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"The Darjeeling Limited" (2007)

Directed by Wes Anderson

Released by Criterion Collection

Anderson's underappreciated trip to India on the backs of three brothers (Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson) who take a train the country to honor their late father gets a reexamination with this Criterion Collection edition that includes a new documentary, an audio commentary from Anderson, Schwartzman and Roman Coppola, audition footage, a video essay from Matt Zoller Seitz, a chichat between Anderson and the late James Ivory about the film's music and Anderson's ad for American Express and the short "Hotel Chevalier" with Natalie Portman.

"As Good As Dead" (2010)

Directed by Jonathan Mossek

Released by First Look Entertainment

Andie MacDowell, Frank Whaley and Matt Dallas star as spurned cult members from the South who take a New Yorker (Cary Elwes) hostage years after they believe he's killed their leader in this thriller.

Director: Tim Blake Nelson Writer: Tim Blake Nelson Starring: Edward Norton, Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, Melanie Lynskey, Keri Russell, Tim Blake Nelson Bill Kincaid (Edward Norton) escaped Little Dixie, Oklahoma several years ago and has never looked back. Having completely shed the accent of his roots, Bill currently resides in Providence, Rhode Island where he is a published author and Classics professor at Brown University (Harvard is primed to offer him a chance to open his own law and philosophy hybrid department). Leaves of Grass opens as Bill lectures to his class on the Socratic ideals of self-discipline and control (and the dangerous illusion of thinking you have succeeded in abiding by this philosophy).This scene is not merely to show the audience that Bill is a professor, but to establish the philosophical tone. (Later, a young female student throws herself at Bill – his self-restraint would make Socrates proud.) Meanwhile,...

Edward Norton, who seemed like the leading young actor of his generation a decade ago -- before a run of bad luck in Hollywood -- shows off his prodigious talents by playing twins in the latest of his woefully underseen movies, the smart and frequently hilarious "Leaves of Grass." Pulled from release at the last minute this spring, this Coen brothers-like stoner comedy -- directed by character actor Tim Blake Nelson, whose helming career ("O," "The Grey Zone") has been even more jinxed -- is...

British-born Emily Mortimer (City Island) and Golden Globe nominee Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man) have joined the ensemble cast of Martin Scorsese’s adventure film Hugo Cabret shooting now in London.

The live action 3D film, based on Brian Selznick’s captivating and imaginative New York Times best-seller The Invention of Hugo Cabret, stars Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfied and Chloe Moretz. It is written by John Logan and produced by Scorsese, Graham King, Tim Headington and Johnny Depp.

Executive producers are Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Charles Newirth and Christi Dembrowski.

Hugo Cabret, Scorsese’s first film shot in 3D, tells the tale of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. When Hugo encounters a broken machine, an eccentric girl, and the cold, reserved man who runs the toy shop, he is caught up in a magical, mysterious adventure that could...

For many years, moviegoers knew Tim Blake Nelson as the comedic character actor who would show up in movies like the Coens' O Brother, Where Art Thou? or Miguel Arteta's The Good Girl , usually playing the dumb guy. At the same time, Nelson was establishing himself as a fairly intelligent filmmaker with dramatic fare like O and The Grey Zone . Now, Nelson is back with his new movie Leaves of Grass , a movie closer in tone to some of the comedies he's appeared in and teaming him with actor Edward Norton in a rare dual role. Norton plays Northeastern college professor Bill Kincaid who learns his drug-dealing twin brother Brady, also played by Norton, has been shot in a deal gone wrong back in his former home of Oklahoma. Bill travels home only to discover not only is Brady...

Continuing our recent previews of upcoming SXSW films brings us to our latest, Leaves of Grass. The film, written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson and starring Edward Norton, Kerri Russell, Susan Sarandon, Richard Dreyfuss and Edward Norton, is being released by First Look Studios and we’ve got a trailer and info about the film for you today.

The film concerns Ivy League professor Bill Kincaid who receives news of the murder of his estranged identical twin brother, Brady (both played by Norton), in a pot deal gone bad. He leaves the world of academia to travel back to his home state of Oklahoma. But once he arrives he finds things are not what they seem and reports of his brother’s death are greatly exaggerated.

Soon Bill is caught up in the dangerous and unpredictable world of drug commerce in the Southwest. In the process, he reconnects with...

What’s this? A new trailer for Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass with twice the usual amount of Norton? Looks that way. Nelson, known for his off-kilter character work in films like O’ Brother, Wher Art Thou?, Holes and Minority Report, is directing and starring in this story of identical twins who conspire to take on a small-town drug lord together.

The plot synopsis sounds like an action movie, but the trailer is it’s own quirky little beast, with Edward Norton starring as both twins–one a shaggy pot dealer and the other a straight-laced Ivy League professor– and Richard Dreyfuss as the crime boss. Nelson looks to be recycling his usual, scruffy yokel and Keri Russell steps in to add the romantic interest, with Susan Sarandon playing the mother of the twins.

I think this has more than a little of the Coens’ Bros. feel to it,...