News

Jim Tauber, a longtime film executive who was president of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment for a decade after working at Fox, Propaganda Films, Columbia TriStar and elsewhere, has died of multiple myeloma complications. He was 74. His family confirmed the news but did not provide a date of death.

Tauber served as president and COO of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment from 2005-15, overseeing some 30 films for the company. His Ske credits include Best Picture nominee Hell or High Water, The Place Beyond the Pines, Death at a Funeral, Lars and the Real Girl and The Kite Runner, Talk to Me, Breach, Age of Adaline and Synecdoche, New York.

“I was Art and Jim was Commerce, and I like to think we complimented each other,” his friend and collaborator Bill Horberg, Chairman Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America, East, told Deadline. Horberg, who made 13 films with Tauber. “He had a wonderful, droll sense...

The Memory Police, starring Lily Gladstone, highlights themes of memory, authoritarianism, and erasure. The film takes place on an unnamed island where things are disappearing, emphasizing the power of memory. Gladstone questions the lack of Indigenous North American representation in film despite their land being used.

Lily Gladstone will star in The Memory Police, a story she believes is affecting because it "could take place everywhere." During a Sunday screening of Killers of the Flower Moon in Los Angeles - Gladstone, to the surprise of many, was not nominated for a BAFTA and was not present at the awards ceremony - she discussed the significance of the upcoming film (via Deadline), sharing:

"It's the kind of story that could take place everywhere. I think anybody who comes from a world culture or a history where there's been a systematic effort to erase your sense of who you are, your memories,...

Lily Gladstone thinks 'The Memory Police' is so powerful because it is a "story that could take place everywhere".The 37-year-old actress is starring in the sci-fi movie which takes place on an island controlled by a hidden force that makes people collectively forget and found the plot particularly hard-hitting as a Native American as it addresses the "effort to erase" culture and language.Speaking at a screening of her film 'Killers of the Flower Moon' in Los Angeles on Sunday (18.02.24), Lily said: "It's the kind of story that could take place everywhere. I think anybody who comes from a world culture or a history where there's been a systematic effort to erase your sense of who you are, your memories, your language, your culture – in this film, birds are disappeared because they're deemed unnecessary."'The Memory Police' is an adaptation of Yoko Ogawa...

Acclaimed British actor, writer and director Samantha Morton who was awarded a Fellowship at the Ee BAFTA Awards on Sunday has called for more investment in British cinema.

The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry.

Addressing a press conference after accepting her award, Morton said: “We need more investment in British cinema. I’ve been saying this for years because we can’t just be a service industry for the wonderful Americans. They are amazing and thank God they come here and make movies and put us in as well, thank you. Like in France, we need our own quotas and we need to be making those investments.” Inward investment in the U.K. film and high-end TV industry was $4.22 billion in 2023, with the bulk of it coming from the U.S.

The U.K....

Acclaimed British actor, writer and director Samantha Morton will be awarded a Fellowship at the upcoming Ee BAFTA Film Awards.

The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry.

After earning plaudits in theater and television, Morton’s breakthrough film role was Carine Adler’s “Under the Skin (1997) that earned her a BIFA nomination and the Boston Film Critics Award for best actress. She has been Oscar nominated twice – for best supporting actress for Woody Allen’s “Sweet and Lowdown” (1999), and for best actress for Jim Sheridan’s “In America” (2003).

For her portrayal of child-murderer Myra Hindley in “Longford” (2006) Morton scored best actress nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and BAFTA Television Award, and won a Golden Globe. In 2009, she made her directorial debut with television film “The Unloved,” a semi-autobiographical film based in the British children’s care system,...

Charlie Kaufman is receiving the honorary Heart of Sarajevo award at the Sarajevo Film Festival. The ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless’ mind screenwriter, 64, is getting the gong in recognition of his contribution to the art of filmmaking at the 29th annual event, which will run from 11 to 18 August. It will also hold an open-air screening of 2002’s ‘Adaptation’, also written by Kaufman and directed by his long-time collaborator Spike Jonze, 53. Jovan Marjanović, the festival’s director, said: “We are thrilled that, after 15 years, we are welcoming back to the (festival) one of the most significant, world-renowned screenwriters and directors, and honour him for his work and dedication to the art of filmmaking. “Charlie Kaufman is an extraordinary filmmaker whose films, though filled with biting humour, compel us to contemplate existential depths of the human experience.” Charlie was previously a guest of the festival in 2008 when he presented his directorial debut ‘Synecdoche,...

Rotten Tomatoes scores can be deceiving as they often disagree with critics and audiences on certain films, causing online uproar and audience boycotts. Synecdoche, New York is a monumental achievement despite its low score on Rotten Tomatoes, showcasing Philip Seymour Hoffman's best performance. Some films like A Few Good Men and The Last Jedi have high scores on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences feel they are too generous considering their flaws.

Despite the fact that most people will have visited Rotten Tomatoes at least once in their life, it is not always right about movies. Following the advent of the internet, film reviewing and critic scores became a widely-accessible fixture of going to the movie theater or even watching a picture at home. Filmmakers are now far more reliant on critical responses to their work simply because far more of their target audience will read those responses. In pre-internet times,...

There’s a scene at the start of Beau is Afraid in which the titular character (Joaquin Phoenix) is given new medication by his therapist (Stephen McKinley Henderson). Beau takes the pills “incorrectly”, triggering a panic attack which sets in motion a series of events depicting his deteriorating/fluctuating mental state. It’s a fleeting scene but one that seems to suggests everything forth could be taken with a pinch of dimethyltryptamine. For what unravels is a cerebral cortex swirling sense assault within a world locked in a perpetual Purge film parody, and writer/director Ari Aster utilising post-pandemic paranoia to heighten his action and comedy.

The story starts with the bereft, jittery Beau, a middle aged loner wallowing in paranoia prior to catching a flight to visit his mother, but when his front door key and luggage get stolen Beau is forced to abandon the trip. A brutal street...

MCU fans waited a long time for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, so it's hardly a surprise their fervor has given the movie a record-breaking opening weekend at the box office. Needless to say, not every movie has as wide an audience. There are lots of films that appeal to narrower set of viewers with very specific tastes.

These range from apocalyptic horror films such as This Is the End to David Lynch’s inexplicable Eraserhead. Redditors have picked the movies that they feel are worth a watch mainly because their bizarreness is so difficult to understand, which makes them fascinating. These aren’t necessarily bad films but films that simply need to be seen to be believed.

Meet The Feebles Follows The Vices Of Puppets

Redditor ITeechYoKidsArt sums up the weirdness of Meet the Fables by sarcastically asking, “What’s not to love about freaky Muppet sex on drugs?” The...

Four-time Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams will be honored at the 2022 Gotham Awards with the ceremony’s Performer Tribute.

“The Fabelmans” actress will be feted during the 32nd annual Gotham Awards Ceremony on November 28. Williams, a four-time Oscar nominee, began her career as a teen star with “Dawson’s Creek” before going on to lead “My Week With Marilyn,” “Brokeback Mountain,” “Blue Valentine,” “Shutter Island,” and “Manchester By the Sea.”

Williams earned Emmy, Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and Screen Actors Guild awards for her portrayal of Gwen Verdon in the critically acclaimed FX limited series “Foss/Verdon,” and later made her MCU debut with “Venom” in 2018. Other roles include “The Greatest Showman,” “All the Money in the World,” “I’m Not There,” “The Station Agent,” “Synecdoche, New York,” and this year’s “Showing Up,” directed by her “Wendy and Lucy” and “Certain Women” collaborator Kelly Reichardt.

“We are exceptionally proud to honor Michelle Williams,...

With the new month come new arrivals to all TV and movie streamers, including Hulu. The August 2022 slate contains many classic re-watch options as well as new seasons of original shows and new movies as well.

For those who couldn’t get enough of Keke Palmer in Jordan Peele’s latest movie “Nope” (2022), one of her breakout films “Akeelah and the Bee” (2006) has landed on Hulu. Tom Hanks’ “Cast Away” (2000), Natalie Portman’s “Black Swan,” the first two “Despicable Me” films and Tobey Maguire’s “Spider-Man” trilogy also arrive this month.

FX’s “Reservation Dogs” Season 2 arrives exclusively on Hulu Aug. 3. The Hulu Original film “Prey” arrives Aug. 5. “Legacy: The True Story of the L.A. Lakers” premieres on Hulu Aug. 15. Another exclusive heading to Hulu later in August is Steve Carell’s limited series “The Patient,” available to stream Aug. 30.

Here’s what’s new on Hulu in August 2022.

Also...

Samantha Morton has been cast in the lead role of the Starz drama series “The Serpent Queen.”

Morton will star as Catherine de Medici. Based on the book “Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France” by Leonie Frieda, the eight-episode series is described as an account of one of the most influential women ever to wear a crown. Considered an immigrant, common and plain, Catherine de Medici is married into the 16th century French court as an orphaned teenager expected to bring a fortune in dowry and produce many heirs, only to discover that her husband is in love with an older woman, her dowry is unpaid and she’s unable to conceive. Yet, only with her intelligence and determination, she manages to keep her marriage alive and masters the bloodsport that is the monarchy better than anyone else, ruling France for 50 years.

Morton recently had a celebrated turn on...

Writer, director, producer Nicole Holofcener joins podcast hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante to discuss some of her favorite films.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Enough Said (2013)

True Romance (1993)

Coming Home (1978)

Bound for Glory (1976)

Hal (2018)

The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)

The Cowboys (1972)

Harold And Maude (1971)

Conrack (1974)

Norma Rae (1979)

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Miller’s Crossing (1990)

Naked (1993)

The Short And Curlies (1987)

Short Cuts (1993)

Nashville (1975)

McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Heaven Can Wait (1978)

Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

The Father (2020)

Carnal Knowledge (1971)

Sex, Lies And Videotape (1989)

Jaws (1975)

Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy (1955)

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

World Without End (1956)

Boogie Nights (1997)

Blue Velvet (1986)

Goodfellas (1990)

Adaptation (2002)

Synecdoche, New York (2008)

Lolita (1962)

The Shining (1980)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

Paths of Glory (1957)

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

12 Angry Men (1957)

A Serious Man (2009)

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)

Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

Capote (2005)

A History of Violence (2005)

The 400 Blows...

One of EnergaCamerimage Film Festival’s most closely watched sections in a world where streaming shows rule the roost is the First Look TV Pilots Competition and this year’s winner, the Amazon Original “Hunters,” kept veteran cinematographer Frederick Elmes on his toes, he says.

Elmes, with more than 60 director of photography credits spanning five decades, brought to the job a wealth of expertise, ranging from his early days capturing the haunting monochrome shadows of “Eraserhead” to Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York” via “Blue Velvet” – a film that shares some of the hyper-reality qualities of “Hunters.”

The 90-minute opening episode of the show, “In the Belly of the Whale,” sets up eight characters who form a crack team of Nazi hunters in 1970s-era New York – led in the chase by a wise-cracking Al Pacino. It kept Elmes busy capturing distinctive performances, he says.

“We had to establish these characters quickly,...

Oscar winner Charlie Kaufman‘s unsettling new film “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” debuted on Netflix on September 4. Despite his Oscars pedigree, Kaufman’s new film is an unconventional awards contender. But I think it is the most eerily perfect movie to exemplify the cinematic and societal year 2020.

Kaufman wrote “Being John Malkovich” (1999) and “Adaptation” (2002) and won an Oscar for co-writing “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” (2004). From those films and his subsequent directorial efforts “Synecdoche, New York” (2008) and “Anomalisa” (2015), you could probably guess that there’s more to this story than meets the eye.

SEEPredict the 2021 Oscar nominations in 8 categories today; nominee event now active

Jessie Buckley stars as a young woman who, as the title indicates, is thinking of ending things. That sounds suicidal at first, until she further explains that she’s considering breaking it off with her new boyfriend (Jesse Plemons). Honestly, though, this is a Charlie Kaufman movie,...

“It’s why I like road trips,” a driver says to his his companion as they hustle down an icy highway. “It’s good to remind yourself that the world’s larger than the inside of your own head.” The exchange — though it’s tough to call it an exchange, given that it feels like the man behind the wheel is mumbling the thought aloud to himself — happens early in I’m Thinking of Ending Things, Charlie Kaufman’s adaptation of Iain Reid’s novel, and feels like one of...

Netflix has given a platform to various voices in the Hollywood industry such as Alfonso Cuarón (“Roma”), Dee Rees (“Mudbound”), and most recently Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”), in which filmmakers get to bring their distinct visions to life with the autonomy they wouldn’t be afforded at a traditional studio. As Oscars voters have become more accepting of the streaming giant’s offerings (see Laura Dern’s best supporting actress win for “Marriage Story”), it’s encouraging to see Netflix roll out the red carpet for Charlie Kaufman’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things.” With critics weighing in with mostly positive reviews, Kaufman — who serves as the film’s writer, director and producer — along with his below-the-line team, could be an underdog contender in this year’s unusual awards race.

The film tells the story of an unnamed woman (Jessie Buckley) traveling with her new boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to meet...

In Search of Lost Time Regained: Kaufman Mutates Memory and Meaning

“The real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes,” advised Marcel Proust, one of many countless bits of quotable wisdom from the prolific French novelist, one of the major literary influences of the twentieth century. Proust, like James Joyce, doesn’t happen to be one of the many diegetic references in the hyper-literate I’m Thinking of Ending Things, the latest exercise in narrative collapse and disorienting fugue states from Charlie Kaufman.

The third directorial effort from Kaufman, following Synecdoche, New York (2008) and Anomalisa (2015) is based on the lauded 2016 novel by Canadian writer Iain Reid, but slides like hand in glove to the oeuvre of the writer responsible for Spike Jonze’s Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation.…...

Charlie Kaufman’s upcoming Netflix movie “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” (streaming September 4) is one of the most highly anticipated films of the 2020 fall movie season. The movie is only Kaufman’s second live-action directorial feature after 2008’s “Synecdoche, New York,” and it is his first screen project in half a decade (his last release was 2015’s animated film “Anomalisa”). The wait for Kaufman’s “Ending Things” follow-up might not take as long as Variety confirms the writer-director is currently at work on two projects: “Memory Police” and “IQ83.”

“Memory Police” is “a script about dreams” and based on Yōko Ogawa’s 1994 Japanese novel of the same name. Variety reports the project is in development with Ryan Gosling’s production company Arcana. The second project, “IQ83,” is based on the Arthur Herzog book of the same name and is being developed as “a limited series for HBO.” The novel takes...

It’s been 12 years since Charlie Kaufman made his live-action directorial debut with “Synecdoche, New York” in 2008. But the gifted and quite unique four-time Oscar nominee who won for his original screenplay for 2004’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is back behind the camera and is determined to frighten us with “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” that hits Netflix on September 4.

SEEToni Collette (‘Hereditary’): ‘It’s not your average horror film’ [Complete Interview Transcript]

Instead of going big screen, the brain behind 1999’s “Being John Malkovich,” 20o2’s “Adaptation” and the 2015 stop-motion animated “Anomalisa” is going the streaming route with Netflix. His latest is based Iain Reid‘s best-seller of the same name and has knock-out cast. Cindy (Jessie Buckley) and Jake (Jesse Plemons) are a couple who take a roadtrip to meet his parents, even though Cindy is planning to break up with him. Jake’s folks Dean and Suzie...

Charlie Kaufman, the writer of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Being John Malkovich,” is back with his first movie in five years — an adaptation of Iain Reid’s bestselling, cult horror novel “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” on Netflix that teased its first trailer Thursday.

And this latest trip into Kaufman’s mind, which finds Jessie Buckley on a road trip to meet her boyfriend’s parents, is as strange, offbeat funny and disturbing as you’ve come to expect from one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed mind-benders.

“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” stars Buckley as a young woman with second thoughts about taking a road trip with her new boyfriend (Jesse Plemons) to his family farm. But when she finds herself trapped at the farm during a snowstorm with Jake’s mother (Toni Collette) and father (David Thewlis), she begins to question the nature of everything she...

Filmmaker Charlie Kaufman is quite the character, beyond writing modern surrealist classics like “Being John Malkovich,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Adaptation” and writing and directing some of his own strange postmodern features like “Synecdoche, New York” and the stop-motion film “Anomalisa.” Kaufman has been doing the press rounds quite a bit this summer, promoting not only his upcoming Netflix movie “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” but also his new book “Antkind.” And a portrait has emerged, though to be fair, one that was always there if you’re paying attention: Kaufman is deeply neurotic, self-loathing, and very misanthropic (definitely read that recent New York Times profile, or Nyt Book interview; “I’m sorry, what?

Continue reading ‘I’m Thinking Of Ending Things’ Trailer: Charlie Kaufman’ Returns With A Surreal New Mindbender For Netflix at The Playlist.

The first trailer for Charlie Kaufman’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” has finally arrived. Adapted from the book by Iain Reid, it’s Kaufman’s first film behind the camera since 2015’s animated “Anomalisa” and stars Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette, and David Thewlis. Watch the trailer below.

In this surreal and melancholy study of loneliness that’s one of the fall’s must-see films, Buckley plays an unnamed woman who accompanies her boyfriend Jake (Plemons) on a road trip in a snowstorm to meet his parents (Collette and Thewlis) for dinner at their farmhouse. Six weeks into their courtship and Buckley’s character already has plans to break the relationship off but can’t bring herself to do so. Once they arrive at Jake’s parents house, events spiral into decidedly Kaufman territory as the woman begins to question her surroundings, her sanity, and the fabric of the world around her.

With readers turning to their home viewing options more than ever, this daily feature provides one new movie each day worth checking out on a major streaming platform.

To fill the void left by the absence of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, for the next two weeks, this column will be dedicated to films that premiered at the festival over the course of seven decades.

“Everyone is disappointing the more you know someone,” says Catherine Keener’s Adele Lack (what a name!) early on in “Synecdoche, New York.” She says it with a shrug, as she prepares to turn off the lights on her marriage to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Caden Cotard. By the end of Charlie Kaufman’s mind-melting, soul-shattering masterpiece from 2008, you do feel like you know all of these people and the world they live in, but none of it is disappointing.

“Synecdoche, New York” is stuffed with vivid characters,...

According to “El Camino” and “The Irishman” actor Jesse Plemons, production on the set of the latest Charlie Kaufman movie made for a “delirious” experience — and why would you expect anything less from the writer of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Being John Malkovich,” and the writer/director of “Synecdoche, New York”? These are contemporary American cinema’s all-time-great, mind-shattering existential wallows, and his next film, an adaptation of Ian Reid’s sick novel “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” for Netflix, will fall squarely into that dank and dreary camp.

Plemons, who plays Jake in “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” said in a new GQ interview that writer/director Kaufman definitely “Kaufman-ized” Reid’s novel. Published in 2016, the psychological-horror story centers on a woman in a relationship that’s already ended in her mind, but she’s nonetheless following her boyfriend Jake (Plemons) through the dead...

From “Avengers: Endgame” to “Game of Thrones” and the Mueller report, much about 2019 has been about endings — and debates about new beginnings. Major tentpole events have consumed the public sphere with the expectation of dramatic conclusions and the intrigue of mysterious next chapters.

The best movies, however, don’t need to cling to some larger timeline to prove their worth: They deliver memorable experiences on their own terms, illustrating why the feature-length format remains an essential vessel for creativity. While entertainment pundits continue to muse on whether “film is dead,” the movies keep proving that they most definitely are not.

Here are the very best of them that 2019 has delivered so far.

“Diane”

An intimate story about a woman staring death in the face and struggling to see its reflection in her own life, “Diane” is as depressing as it sounds. On the other hand, Kent Jones’ Tribeca-winning narrative debut...

Anonymous Content founder and producer Steve Golin, who succumbed to cancer on April 21 at age 64, had something in short supply in Hollywood: good taste. There aren’t many Hollywood producers who can lay claim to producing two Oscar contenders in one year, as he did with “Spotlight” and “The Revenant” in 2016.

While Golin was a hard-driving entrepreneur who also founded Propaganda Films — the pioneering production/management company/pirate crew that represented more than 50 top movie directors from Michael Bay, Zack Snyder, and Antoine Fuqua to Michel Gondry, David Lynch, Spike Jonze, and David Fincher for commercials and music videos as well as filmed features — he always put in the increasing time and energy it required to support excellent dramas. Gondry’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” Jonze’s “Being John Malkovich,” and Lynch’s “Wild at Heart” are among the groundbreaking films that Golin pushed through, along with such...

Anonymous Content founder and producer Steve Golin, who succumbed to cancer on April 21 at age 64, had something in short supply in Hollywood: good taste. There aren’t many Hollywood producers who can lay claim to producing two Oscar contenders in one year, as he did with “Spotlight” and “The Revenant” in 2016.

While Golin was a hard-driving entrepreneur who also founded Propaganda Films — the pioneering production/management company/pirate crew that represented more than 50 top movie directors from Michael Bay, Zack Snyder, and Antoine Fuqua to Michel Gondry, David Lynch, Spike Jonze, and David Fincher for commercials and music videos as well as filmed features — he always put in the increasing time and energy it required to support excellent dramas. Gondry’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” Jonze’s “Being John Malkovich,” and Lynch’s “Wild at Heart” are among the groundbreaking films that Golin pushed through, along with such...

Toni Collette, Jessie Buckley, and David Thewlis are joining the cast of Netflix’s film “I’m Thinking of Ending Things,” sources tell Variety.

Charlie Kaufman is writing and directing the movie, which stars Jesse Plemons. Based on Ian Reid’s 2016 novel, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” follows Jake (Plemons), a man going on a road trip to meet his parents on their secluded farm with his girlfriend (Buckley), who is thinking of terminating their relationship. When Jake makes an unexpected detour leaving her stranded, a twisted mix of palpable tension, psychological frailty, and sheer terror ensues.

Kaufman is also producing with Likely Story’s Anthony Bregman, Bob Salerno, and Stefanie Azpiazu. Reid will serve as co-producer.

The new project reunites Kaufman with his frequent collaborator Bregman, who previously produced “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Synecdoche, New York,” and “Human Nature.”

Collette most recently starred in A24’s...

As 2018 draws to a close and various critics groups and deliberating bodies measure the year in movie superlatives, a look below the line at the Academy’s crafts races reveals an art form invigorated by many of today’s most brilliant cinematic minds.

Perhaps the most fully realized visual effort is director Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to the Oscars-crashing “Moonlight”: an adaptation of James Baldwin’s “If Beale Street Could Talk.” For the task of translating 1970s Harlem to the screen, Jenkins tapped underappreciated production designer Mark Friedberg, who despite genius efforts on films like “Far From Heaven” and “Synecdoche, New York,” has never been nominated for an Oscar. “Moonlight” composer Nicholas Britell returned with intricate themes to bear, along with costume designer Caroline Eselin, who embraced a far juicier opportunity this time around. Cap it off with lush photography, once again courtesy of Dp James Laxton, and this is quite an attractive package.

Jesse Plemons is in talks to co-star with Brie Larson in Charlie Kaufman’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” for Netflix, sources tell Variety.

Plemons will play Jake, a man going on a road trip to meet his parents on their secluded farm with his girlfriend (Larson), who is thinking of terminating their relationship. When Jake makes an unexpected detour leaving her stranded, a twisted mix of palpable tension, psychological frailty, and sheer terror ensues.

Kaufman is directing and adapting the script based on Ian Reid’s 2016 novel. He is also producing with Likely Story’s Anthony Bregman and Stefanie Azpiazu. Reid will serve as co-producer.

Plemons credits include Scott Cooper’s western “Hostiles,” “Game Night” with Rachel McAdams, Steven Spielberg’s “The Post,” and “American Made” alongside Tom Cruise.

He recently wrapped production on Fox Searchlight’s “Antlers” opposite Keri Russell and also shot “Jungle Cruise” with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt.

FX has ordered a limited series based on the life of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon with Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams attached as the series leads, Variety has learned.

Based on “Fosse,” the biography written by Sam Wasson, the untitled eight-part series tells the story of the romantic and creative partnership between Fosse and Verdon. He was a visionary filmmaker and one of theater’s most influential choreographers and directors, while she was the greatest Broadway dancer of all time. Together they changed the face of American entertainment at a perilous cost. Featuring Fosse’s choreography, the series explores the hidden corners of show business, the price of pursuing greatness, and the suffering inflicted in the name of art. Production on the series is slated to begin in the fall with the show set to launch in 2019.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Steven Levenson, and George Stelzner will executive produce,...

There’s a famous passage from Paul Bowles’ “The Sheltering Sky” that continues to resonate because of how plainly it speaks to the bittersweet shortsightedness of being alive: “Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really… And yet it all seems limitless.”

Of all the references sewn into the fabric of Kent Jones’ first narrative feature — the revered film critic and programmer nods to Paul Schrader, Bob Dylan, and executive producer Martin Scorsese among others in his chilly amuse-bouche of artistic inspirations — Bowles isn’t high on the list. Jones is too hyper-literate and omnivorous to be unfamiliar with the book, but even filmmaker Matías Piñeiro and Stephin Merritt serve as more explicit muses for this intimate drama.

And yet, Bowles’ writing — his resigned...

Spring is here, love is in the air, and everyone is finally ready to go back outside, but Netflix’s April offerings are giving us at least seven more compelling reasons to stay on the couch for at least another few weeks. This month brings an eclectic mix of new movies to the streaming platform, from the sweet Americana of “The Iron Giant” to the decidedly less sweet Americana of “Scarface” — from the mad brilliance of Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Along Came Polly” to the brilliant madness of the Wachowskis’ “Speed Racer.” We’ve also got “Deep Blue Sea” and David Fincher’s “Se7en,” two very different movies about two very different monsters (super sharks and Kevin Spacey, respectively).

Here are the seven best movies that are new to Netflix this April.

7. “Psychokinesis” (2018)

Now that Netflix increasingly positions itself as a pipeline for first-run foreign movies, every month seems to...

DVD Playhouse—March 2009

By

Allen Gardner

Let The Right One In (Magnolia) An awkward 12 year-old boy, ignored by his mother and the target of bullies, finds himself drawn to his new neighbor: a girl his own age who only appears at night, and seems herself to be as lonely an outcast as he. Haunting film from Sweden is best described as The 400 Blows meets Nosferatu, and contains some of the most haunting imagery of any film in recent memory. Truly a unique and memorable work. Bonuses: Deleted scenes; Featurette; Photo and poster gallery. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.

Paramount Centennial Collection Paramount offers two more classic titles, restored, remastered and loaded with extras. Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch A Thief stars Cary Grant as a retired jewel thief trying to enjoy his sunset years on the French Riviera with a minimum of drama, until he catches the eye of a high-maintenance heiress (Grace Kelly,...

Mickey Rourke added to his award season haul and stole the show at the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday with a hilarious and rambling acceptance speech.

A starstudded crowd at the Santa Monica, California ceremony gave the 56-year-old actor a standing ovation when he stepped onstage to collect the Best Male prize for his role as a washed-up grappler in The Wrestler.

During a bizarre speech, he dedicated the award to his beloved pet dog Loki, who died this week (15Feb); threatened to beat up comedian Rainn Wilson, who had impersonated him in an earlier skit; forgot the name of his The Wrestler co-star Marisa Tomei; and broke his microphone.

He said, "That little blond dude who did that thing (Wilson), I'm going to beat your ass when I get out of here... I've got thousands of letters about my dog that died six days ago. Loki, Loki, this is for you baby."

And he needed help from the audience when he forgot to thank Tomei, who played a stripper in the film. He said, "My memory ain't that good. I want to thank....." and paused, prompting the crowd to yell "Marisa". He responded by saying, "Melissa? Marisa? Marisa Tomei. She had to do all this bare-a**ed. Not many girls can climb the poll. She climbed the poll and she did it well."

The Wrestler also lifted the Best Feature award and the Best Cinematography prize for Maryse Alberti.

There were also big wins for Best Female Melissa Leo, Best Supporting Female Penelope Cruz, Best Supporting Male James Franco and Best Director Tom McCarthy.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Best Feature: The Wrestler

Best Director: Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)

Best First Feature: Synecdoche, New York

Best Screenplay: Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

Best First Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black (Milk)

Best Female Lead: Melissa Leo (Frozen River)

Best Male Lead: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Best Supporting Female: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

Best Supporting Male: James Franco (Milk)

Best Cinematography: Maryse Alberti (The Wrestler)

Best Documentary: Man On Wire

Best Foreign Language Film: The Class

Robert Altman Award: Director Charlie Kaufman and the ensemble cast of Synecdoche, New York

Someone To Watch Award: Lynn Shelton (My Effortless Brilliance)

Truer Than Fiction Award: Margaret Brown (The Order Of Myths)

Producers Award: Heather Rae (Frozen River and Ibid)...

It was all about the comeback kid at this year's Spirit Awards, where The Wrestler was top dog with three awards, including Best Feature and Best Actor for Mickey Rourke.

Per Movie City News:

Picture: “Wall-E” Runner-up: “The Dark Knight”

Director: Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire” Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”

Actor: Sean Penn, “Milk” Runner-up: Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

Actress: Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky” Runner-up: Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”

Supporting actor: Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight” Runner-up: Eddie Marsan, “Happy-Go-Lucky”

Supporting actress: Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and “Elegy” Runner-up: Viola Davis, “Doubt”

Screenplay: Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky” Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, “Synecdoche, New York”

Foreign-language film: “Still Life” Runner-up: “The Class”

Documentary: “Man on Wire” Runner-up: “Waltz With Bashir”

Animation: “Waltz With Bashir”

Cinematography: Yu Lik Wai, “Still Life” Runner-up: Anthony Dod Mantle, “Slumdog Millionaire”

Production design: Mark Friedberg, “Synecdoche, New York” Runner-up: Nathan Crowley, “The Dark Knight”

Music/score: A.R. Rahman, “Slumdog Millionaire” Runner-up: Alexandre Desplat, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

New Generation: Steve McQueen, “Hunger”

Douglas E. Edwards independent/experimental film/video: James Benning, “RR” and “Casting a Glance”...

We shared with you Roger Ebert's list of the 20 best films of 2008, and we're going to see a lot more of these between now and the end of the year. Our own list will be announced on Friday, December 19th.

But I'm going to do something I seldom do here at The Big Picture and refrain from commenting on these lists as we present them to you. And with the collection assembled by Time's Richard Corliss, that's probably best. Here's a look at Corliss' list of the best of 2008:

1 - Wall-e

2 - Synecdoche, New York

3 - My Winnipeg

4 - 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days

5 - Milk

6 - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

7 - Slumdog Millionaire

8 - Iron Man

9 - Speed Racer

10 - Encounters at the End of the World...

By Stephen Saito

Jason Bateman and Sandra Oh braved the early call time this morning in Los Angeles to announce this year's nominees for the Spirit Awards. The awards will take place on February 21st, and will be broadcast live and uncut on IFC at 5pm Et/2pm PT. Here are the nominees:

Best Feature

"Ballast"

Producers: Lance Hammer, Nina Parikh

"Frozen River"

Producers: Chip Hourihan, Heather Rae

"Rachel Getting Married"

Producers: Neda Armian, Jonathan Demme, Marc Platt

"Wendy and Lucy"

Producers: Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani

"The Wrestler"

Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin

Best Director

Ramin Bahrani, "Chop Shop"

Jonathan Demme, "Rachel Getting Married"

Lance Hammer, "Ballast"

Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"

Thomas McCarthy, "The Visitor"

Best First Feature

"Afterschool"

Director: Antonio Campos

Producers: Sean Durkin, Josh Mond

"Medicine for Melancholy"

Director: Barry Jenkins

Producer: Justin Barber

"Sangre de Mi Sangre"

Director: Christopher Zalla

Producers: Per Melita, Benjamin Odell

"Sleep Dealer"

Director: Alex Rivera

Producer: Anthony Bregman

"Synechdoce, New York"

Director: Charlie Kaufman

Producers: Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Sidney Kimmel

John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)

"In Search of a Midnight Kiss"

Writer/Director: Alex Holdridge

Producers: Seth Caplan and Scoot McNairy

"Prince of Broadway"

Director: Sean Baker

Writers: Sean Baker, Darren Dean

Producer: Darren Dean

"The Signal"

Writer/Directors: David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry

Producers: Jacob Gentry and Alexander Motiagh

"Take Out"

Writer/Directors/Producers: Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou

"Turn the River"

Writer/Director: Chris Eigeman

Producer: Ami Armstrong

Best First Screenplay

Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"

Lance Hammer, "Ballast"

Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"

Jonathan Levine, "The Wackness"

Jenny Lumet, "Rachel Getting Married"

Best Screenplay

Woody Allen, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, "Sugar"

Charlie Kaufman, "Synecdoche, New York"

Howard A. Rodman, "Savage Grace"

Christopher Zalla, "Sangre de Mi Sangre"

Best Female Lead

Summer Bishil, "Towelhead"

Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"

Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"

Tarra Riggs, "Ballast"

Michelle Williams, "Wendy and Lucy"

Best Male Lead

Javier Bardem, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"

Sean Penn, "Milk"

Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"

Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"

Best Supporting Female

Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Rosemarie DeWitt, "Rachel Getting Married"

Rosie Perez, "The Take"

Misty Upham, "Frozen River"

Debra Winger, "Rachel Getting Married"

Best Supporting Male

James Franco, "Milk"

Anthony Mackie, "The Hurt Locker"

Charlie McDermott, "Frozen River"

JimMyron Ross, "Ballast"

Haaz Sleiman, "The Visitor"

Best Cinematography

Maryse Alberti, "The Wrestler"

Lol Crowley, "Ballast"

James Laxton, "Medicine for Melancholy"

Harris Savides, "Milk"

Michael Simmonds, "Chop Shop"

Best Documentary

"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"

Director: Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath

"Encounters at the End of the World"

Director: Werner Herzog

"Man on Wire"

Director: James Marsh

"The Order of Myths"

Director: Margaret Brown

"Up the Yangtze"

Director: Yung Chang

Best Foreign Film

"The Class" (France)

Director: Laurent Cantet

"Gomorrah" (Italy)

Director: Matteo Garrone

"Hunger" (UK/Ireland)

Director: Steve McQueen

"Secret of the Grain" (France)

Director: Abdellatif Kechiche

"Silent Light" (Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany)

Director: Carlos Reygadas

Robert Altman Award (Given to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast)

"Synecdoche, New York"

Director: Charlie Kaufman

Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy

Ensemble Cast: Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams

Someone to Watch Award

Barry Jenkins, "Medicine for Melancholy"

Nina Paley, "Sita Sings the Blues"

Lynn Shelton, "My Effortless Brilliance"

Truer Than Fiction Award

Margaret Brown, "The Order of Myths"

Sacha Gervasi, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil"

Darius Marder, "Loot"

Producers Award

Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, "Treeless Mountain" and "I'll Come Running"

Jason Orans, "Goodbye Solo" and "Year of the Fish"

Heather Rae, "Frozen River" and "Ibid"...

With six nominations each, "Ballast," a drama about survival in the Mississippi Delta, "Frozen River," a portrait of two single moms on the Canadian border, and "Rachel Getting Married," the account of a dysfunctional family wedding, led the nominees for Film Independent's Spirit Awards, announced Tuesday morning.

All three films were nominated for best feature along "Wendy and Lucy" and "The Wrestler."

Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York," a twisty, M.C. Escher-like film, was singled out as the winner of the group's Robert Altman Award, give to one film's director, casting director and ensemble cast. Kaufman will share the award with casting director Jeanne McCarthy and his actors Hope Davis, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton, Tom Noonan, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, and Michelle Williams when the Spirit Awards are handed out Feb. 21.

"Synecdoche" also figure in the best first feature lineup, along with Antonio Campos' "Afterschool,...

Fair warning: I begin with a parable, continue with vast generalizations, finally get around to an argument with Entertainment Weekly, and move on to Greek gods, "I Love Lucy" and a house on fire.

The parable, The lodestars of John Doe's life are his wife, his children, his boss, his mistress, and his pastor. There are more, but these will do. He expects his wife to be grateful for his loyalty. His children to accept him as a mentor. His boss to value him as a worker. His mistress to praise him as a sex machine. His pastor to note his devotion. These are the roles he has assigned them, and for the most part they play them.

In their own lives, his wife feels he has been over-rewarded for his loyalty, since she has done all the heavy lifting. His children don't understand why there are so many stupid rules.

Disney's theatrical matriculation of "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" went deliriously well this weekend, as the telefilm-spawned sequel registered a genre-record $42 million in estimated opening grosses to top the domestic boxoffice.

Lionsgate's R-rated horror sequel "Saw V" also managed to cut into a meaty $30.5 million, roughly matching the bow of its bloody predecessor in the franchise that won't die and tying up second place on the frame.

The one-two boxoffice punch left a big mark on industry stats: The weekend's robust $135 million in industrywide grosses notched a whopping 32% improvement over the same weekend a year earlier, Nielsen Edi said. That made for the fifth straight frame of year-over-year weekend upticks.

Seasonal boxoffice is now pacing ahead of fall 2007 by 10%, while year-to-date grosses are tracking even with the same portion of last year.

Also this weekend, Warner Bros.' police drama "Pride and Glory" debuted as weakly as feared, with...

Catherine Keener and Robin Wright Penn have signed on to 2929 Entertainment's What Just Happened? for director Barry Levinson.

The Hollywood comedy, based on an original screenplay by Art Linson, centers on a desperate movie producer Robert De Niro) trying to survive the treachery of Hollywood and a broken second marriage.

Keener will play the head of the studio the producer is courting, while Wright Penn will portray the producer's ex-wife. Stanley Tucci, John Turturro and Kristen Stewart co-star. Bruce Willis and Sean Penn also will be featured in small roles, playing themselves.

Principal photography is set to begin this week in Los Angeles.

Keener recently completed filming on Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are. After What Just Happened, the actress will film Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York.

Wright Penn most recently was seen in Hounddog, which screened in January at the Sundance Film Festival. She recently completed work on the Paramount Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures co-production Beowulf for director Robert Zemeckis.

Keener is repped by the Gersh Agency.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton and Tilda Swinton are in negotiations to star in Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York. Indie production companies Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Anthony Bregman's Likely Story will produce the project based on Kaufman's original screenplay.

Kaufman and Spike Jonze also will serve as producers. Kimmel's William Horberg will executive produce. Producers are anticipating a spring shoot in New York.

Hoffman will play a theater director who ambitiously attempts to put on a play by creating a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse. Keener is set to play his first wife, Williams will play his second wife, Morton will appear as his sometime lover, and Swinton will portray Keener's best friend and the dubious mentor to the daughter of Hoffman and Keener's characters.

"It takes the term 'living theater' to a whole new level," said Bregman, who will kick off his new company with the production of Synecdoche. "We were kind of hoping that Charlie would write a small, contained film set in a kitchen with a couple of easy-going characters."...