News

Exclusive: Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman (Succession) have been tapped to helm the first two episodes of The Four Seasons, Netflix’s new comedy series based on the same-name 1981 film, from Tina Fey, Lang Fisher and Tracey Wigfield.

As previously announced, Fey, Steve Carell, Colman Domingo, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Erika Henningsen and Will Forte will star. While a logline for the series hasn’t been provided, the film The Four Seasons follows three couples who vacation together every season, only to see their worlds upended when one of them divorces. Alan Alda directed from his script and starred opposite Carol Burnett, with Martin Bregman producing.

Hailing from Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Fey’s production company Little Stranger, Inc., The Four Seasons will be exec produced by Fey, Fisher, Wigfield, David Miner, Eric Gurian and Jeff Richmond. Alda and Marissa Bregman will produce,...

Exclusive: C. Thomas Howell (Seal Team) and Michelle Hurd (Star Trek: Picard) have signed on to star alongside Trevor Donovan and Ashley Elaine in Where the Wind Blows, a romantic Western based on the USA Today bestselling novel by Caroline Fyffe.

Shooting this summer in Montana, the film follows Chase (Donovan), a rugged cowboy and solitary drifter who closed off his heart long ago — until the day he impulsively does a kindness for a beautiful young woman (Elaine), and everything changes in three days.

John Schimke will direct from his script written with Fyffe and Mike Maden. Producers are Schimke, Ashley Elaine and Don Paul with Ae Productions, Inc., and Brandon Smith and Eden Matson at Nova Vento Entertainment. Ricki Maslar, CSA is handling casting.

Previously seen in films like The Outsiders, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Red Dawn, Howell has most recently been seen on shows like Seal Team and Obliterated,...

Death and Other Details season 2 gets an uplifting update from the show’s creators. Co-created by Heidi Cole McAdams and Mike Weiss, Death and Other Details is an original Hulu mystery series surrounding a murder on a cruise ship. The show features a leading cast of Violett Beane, Laura Patten, Angela Zhou, Hugo Diego Garcia, Pardis Saremi, Linda Emond, and Mandy Patinkin.

Speaking with TheWrap, Weiss and McAdams discuss the possibility of Death and Other Details season 2. Check out the full quote from the creators below:

McAdams: The four people who are standing there looking at the severed leg at the end of Season 1 — Imogene, Leila [Pardis Saremi], Teddy [Angela Zhou] and Jules [Hugo Diego Garcia] — we’ve talked about them being the people that carry us into a future season to investigate more crimes.

[The show is really about] the rise of the next World’s Greatest Detective in Imogene. She goes from being someone who tries to do it all...

Kristen Wiig headlines Apple TV+ comedy drama Palm Royale, and here’s the trailer for the upcoming show.

Kristen Wiig made her name as one of the cast members of Saturday Night Live, alongside the likes of Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Bill Hader.

Since then, she found huge success as a writer, scripting and starring in 2012’s Bridesmaids and 2021’s Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar with Annie Mumolo. She has also starred in several films she hasn’t written, including Girl Most Likely and Craig Johnson’s wonderful 2014 film The Skeleton Twins, in which she stars alongside Hader.

She now headlines Apple TV+ comedy drama Palm Royale. The synopsis reads as follows:

Palm Royale is a true underdog story that follows Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig) as she endeavours to break into Palm Beach high society. As Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots,...

Exclusive: Sony has added Michelle Hurd (Star Trek: Picard), Bryan Brown (Australia), Darren Barnet (Gran Turismo) and Hadley Robinson (Moxie) to the cast of their as-yet-untitled rom-com from director Will Gluck (Easy A). Sydney Sweeney and Glenn Powell will lead the ensemble, as previously announced, with Alexandra Shipp also featuring.

Details as to the plot of the R-rated comedy are under wraps. But it’s based on a script by Ilana Wolpert that Gluck is re-writing. Joe Roth, Jeff Kirschenbaum, and Gluck are producing, with Sweeney exec producing for Fifty-Fifty Films, alongside Natalie Sellers and Alyssa Altman for Rk Films, and Jacqueline Monetta for Olive Bridge.

Perhaps best known for starring opposite Patrick Stewart on Paramount+’s Star Trek: Picard, Hurd has also been seen on series including Blindspot, Lethal Weapon, Ash vs. Evil Dead, Daredevil, Jessica Jones and The Glades, to name a few. Notable film credits include Bad Hair,...

In what can be called movie geek comfort food, Battle: Los Angeles and Krull have become cult favorites over the years. Why? You can watch either movie while doing other things keeping an extra eye on the screen, have devout fans who can recite the dialogue verbatim and will defend both movies to the end. Guilty pleasures, yes, cult status, definitely.

Even HBO Max has it listed as such.

The 2011 sci-fi and 1982 fantasy films have come to HBO Max and are available to stream now.

“Marines don’t quit.”

Battle: Los Angeles, starring Aaron Eckhart, and from director Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath Of The Titans), is the exciting story of a squad of U.S. Marines who become the last line of defense against a global invasion. It gets the military right than most war movies. Numerous Marine units assisted in filming and the movie contains some awesome scenes with Black Hawks,...

The return of fan-favorite shows, auteurs tackling new original series, new documentaries and more headline what’s new on HBO Max in April 2022.

Top of the list is the HBO Max original series “The Flight Attendant,” which returns for its second season on April 21. Then there’s the long-awaited return of Bill Hader’s “Barry” on April 24 on HBO and HBO Max, as well as Season 3 of “The Black Lady Sketch Show” on April 8.

In terms of new originals, “The Wire” and “The Deuce” creator David Simon is back with the new series “We Own This City” on April 25, which chronicles the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force. Michael Mann executive produces and directs the first episode of the neo-noir “Tokyo Vice,” which premieres on April 7. And Ben Foster stars as Holocaust survivor Harry Haft in the HBO Original Film “The Survivor,” which...

April is about to be a good month for returning HBO and HBO Max properties.

HBO Max’s list of releases for April 2022 features three hotly anticipated seasons of television. The Flight Attendant, which helped launch HBO Max as a viable spot for good dramedy in 2020, premieres its second season on April 21. That will be followed by another go-around for the sci-fi comedy Made for Love on April 28. Of course, the big ticket item this month is something that HBO Max inherited from its cable cousin. Barry season 3 will continue the story of hitman-turned-actor Barry Berkman (Bill Hader) on April 24.

The TV offerings run much deeper than just returning shows this month. April 7 sees the arrival of Tokyo Vice, a sprawling crime drama with some episodes directed by Michael Mann. The series stars Ansel Elgort as an American journalist embedding himself in Tokyo’s criminal underground in the late ’90s.

Exclusive: Glynn Turman (Women of the Movement), Bob Balaban (The French Dispatch), Ron Funches (Undateable) and Jimmy O. Yang (Space Force) are the latest additions to the cast of the upcoming film 80 for Brady, from Paramount Pictures and Endeavor Content. They join an ensemble that includes 7-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady, as well as Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field and Sara Gilbert, as previously announced.

The film is inspired by the true story of four best friends and New England Patriots fans who take a life-changing trip to the 2017 Super Bowl Li to see their hero Tom Brady play, and the chaos that ensues as they navigate the wilds of the biggest sporting event in the country. Details with regard to the characters the newest additions to the cast will be playing have not been disclosed.

Kyle Marvin, who co-wrote and starred in Sony Pictures Classics’ The Climb,...

In addition to being a co-host and judge, Indian-American luminary Padma Lakshmi also serves as an executive producer on Bravo's long-running cooking competition show Top Chef. Joining the show in season 2, Lakshmi has appeared on over 200 episodes of the show since 2006. As an integral part of the series, she has 10 Primetime Emmy nominations to date.

Related: Top Chef: 10 Best Restaurants Owned By Former Contestants

In the intervening 15 years, Lakshmi has also appeared in such projects as 30 Rock, Girl Most Likely, Royal Pains, Life in Pieces, and several talk shows, including Today, The View, Entertainment Tonight, and more. In 2020, Lakshmi launched her own Hulu original series, Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi.

Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo reteam for a likable but throwaway comedy about two best friends going on vacation

The staggering success of 2011’s Bridesmaids – almost $300m globally, two Oscar nominations, a belated industry realisation that uh yeah women can do mass market comedies too – had an unlikely effect on its breakout star, and co-writer, Kristen Wiig. While Saturday Night Live viewers already cherished her as the show’s hit-after-hit Mvp, global audiences were now too let in on the joke and most of us waited impatiently to see what she would do next, perhaps expecting more of the same. But unlike the more obvious scene-stealer of the film, Melissa McCarthy, Wiig chose not to pursue a career headlining studio comedies, sticking mostly to the outskirts, choosing Sundance over Hollywood (she repeatedly turned down the offer to do a Bridesmaids sequel). There were muted successes but more often disappointments and...

A new year has arrived but Amazon Prime is looking to the past.

That’s not a bad thing mind you, as for its list of new releases in January 2021, Amazon is bringing back some classic movies and TV shows for its host of subscribers. We’ll get to the Amazon originals in a moment but for now, feast your eyes on January’s impressive library additions for the streamer.

Jan. 1 marks the arrival of all eight seasons of Dexter…roughly four and a half of which are great! Dexter will be receiving its own Michael C. Hall-approved revival later this year and thanks to Amazon you can catch up with the first run again. Speaking of show’s with disappointing conclusions, all nine seasons of How I Met Your Mother will come to Amazon on Jan. 19. Some movies of note arriving on Jan. 1 include Dr. Strangelove, The Truman Show,...

A new year means a new start. But in its list of new year releases for January 2021, Hulu is sending a message of…eh, we’ll get the year started in February. Not to be overly rude to the usually sturdy streaming service, but there’s not much going on for Hulu in 2021’s first month.

Perhaps the biggest release of note is something that already enjoyed a successful release for ITV in the U.K. The Sister is the lates thriller from Neil Cross (Luther) and it makes its U.S. debut on Hulu on Jan. 22. 2020 comedies Save Yourselves and Like a Boss both arrive on Jan. 1. Hulu original film The Ultimate Playlist of Noise premieres on Jan. 15 and TV series Everyone is Doing Great arrives on Jan. 13.

Thankfully Hulu’s library titles are a bit livelier this month. Jan. 1 sees the arrival of Blade Runner: The Final Cut,...

It’s 2021 in just a couple of weeks, so now’s the time for out with the old and in with the new. And in streaming terms, that means get ready for a load of fresh titles to celebrate the New Year in style.

We’ve already covered what’s coming to Netflix, Disney Plus and Hulu in January, so let’s take a look at everything that’s on the way on Amazon Prime Video next month, too. As you’d expect, New Year’s Day is the biggest drop of the month when it comes to fresh releases, but a few notable movies and TV shows are scattered throughout the remaining days as well.

In total, there are over 70 titles coming to Prime on the 1st, including countless classics of all shapes and sizes for subscribers to enjoy. In the mood for some genuine cinematic masterpieces? Then check out Stanley Kubrick’s Dr.

Hulu is kicking off the new year in style next month, with January set to deliver a ton of fresh titles to the Disney-owned streaming service. There’s a bunch of original content landing throughout the first few weeks of 2021, but probably the highlight is the incredible number of classic movies that are going up on the site on New Year’s Day. Whether you’re in the mood for iconic comedies, dramas, animated efforts or sci-fi flicks, there’s something for you on the way.

There are well over 100 films being added to Hulu’s library on January 1st, so let’s just pick out a few notable titles. The full Austin Powers trilogy is among them, and if you can’t get enough of Mike Myers, the first Shrek likewise becomes available. For dramas, there’s Robert Downey Jr. biopic Chaplin, Johnny Depp vehicle Donnie Brasco and Jim Carrey’s The Truman Show.

“Orange Is the New Black” alum Emma Myles has joined the cast of Showtime’s “City on a Hill” in a recurring role, TheWrap has learned exclusively.

She will appear alongside stars Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge in the role of Kelly Kinicki’s widow, Babsie. Her grief resurfaces when Jackie (Bacon) and Decourcy (Hodge) re-open the investigation on Kelly’s disappearance, Showtime said.

Myles’ past film and television credits include playing Leanne Taylor on “Orange Is the New Black,” as well as roles in “Odd Mom Out,” “King of Knives,” “Child of Grace,” “Girl Most Likely,” “Happy Yummy Chicken,” “Law and Order: Svu,” “Spinning Into Butter,” “Please Give” and “How to Make it in America.” She is repped by the Katz Company and Don Buchwald and Associates.

Also Read: Third 'Walking Dead' Series Set for 2020 Debut at AMC

“City on a Hill” is set in early 1990s Boston, rife...

Growing up in the suburbs of Los Angeles provided fertile inspiration for Michelle Morgan, director of the recent iTunes New Filmmaker Spotlight “It Happened in L.A.” (Click here to watch the film)

“I’m born and raised in La, so it’s a world that I know pretty well,” she said. “I lived in the city when I was a child and then I spent most of my young-adult years in the suburbs, so the city was always this mythical thing to us in the suburbs.”

“It Happened in L.A.” follows thirtysomething Annette (Morgan), her boyfriend, Elliot (Jorma Taccone), and her Bff, Baker (Dree Hemingway), as they navigate the perils of the bleak dating scene in Los Angeles. Is there such a thing as a perfect couple, or is that an urban myth?

“It Happened in L.A.,” which was Morgan’s feature directorial debut, premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival...

2017-06-19T14:38:21-07:00Darren Criss Isn't Embarrassed by Nude Selfie

No shame in his nude selfie game! Weeks after Darren Criss shared a slightly Nsfw photo to Instagram, the Glee alum opened up about his initial hesitation to post the eye-popping picture.

Alongside the now-viral photo, in which he’s posing in the mirror completely nude — except for a strategically placed Speedo that he is holding instead of wearing — Criss wrote: "So what's more red? My sunburn, my speedo, or Your Face??? #ACSVersace"

Read the rest of this article at Us Weekly.

Darren Criss has also appeared in Girl Most Likely.

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday.

This week’s question: “The Book of Henry” has been assailed by critics. But let’s look beyond this particular reviled new release. What’s the worst movie you’ve ever reviewed?

Alissa Wilkinson (@alissamarie), Vox

It’s unfortunately not even a contest: “God’s Not Dead 2,” which I reviewed for Flavorwire and then wrote about it further for Thrillist. (The first movie is actually far worse, but I didn’t review it.) They’re actually not the worst-made movies I’ve seen, but as a Christian and a film critic, I find them so actively offensive and cynical that it’s somehow even more depressing. I didn’t derive any joy from the process, but it felt important that I write about it.

Kristy Puchko (@KristyPuchko), Pajiba/Cbr.com...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

Beauty and the Beast (Bill Condon)

The near-ubiquitous familiarity with the majority of Disney animations make the financial proposition of a live-action remake a no-brainer greenlight. In aiming to appeal to those experiencing these stories for the first time, the generation prior, and the generation that brought that generation to the theater, it can also be as creatively risk-averse as one might imagine. As these cultural touchstones get dusted...

MaryAnn’s quick take… Bland, tasteless entertainmentstuff intended to neither move nor offend, and succeeds as such. A sad pile of unfunny nothing that falls painfully flat. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

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

I suddenly realized, while struggling to stay awake during the limp and unfunny Going in Style, that it seemed like forever ago that I first started seeing trailers for the film. Had its release been postponed after an initial marketing push, or was it just so uninspired and familiar that it merely felt as if I’d seen it all before?

Both, as it turns out: Style was original slated to open almost a year ago, in May 2016 (which means I probably saw trailers in late 2015), and it’s also such a stale wisp of a dustbunny that it barely stands out from its own background noise.

MaryAnn’s quick take… Poignant and hilarious and wise, a melancholy ode to a moment when the world was changing for women (and men)… and how it still and always is. I’m “biast” (pro): I’m desperate for stories about women

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

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

Sex, some, though more awkwardness and regrets than action. Not much in the way of drugs; just some beer, oh, and lots of cigarettes; it has several points to make about cigarettes, actually. Rock ’n’ roll, definitely: an ongoing battle between punk and “art fag” music (think: Talking Heads).

Plenty of talk about women’s orgasms, which — hey! — 20th Century Women reminds us does not automatically fall under the Sex heading the way it does for men. And a scene around a dinner table in which menstruation and painful virginity-losing is discussed,...

Annette Bening has signed on to star in “Katrina: American Crime Story,” the next installment in Ryan Murphy’s FX anthology series.

Bening will play Kathleen Blanco, who was Governor of Louisiana during and after Hurricane Katrina, in the limited-run series from Murphy, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson.

Read More: ‘American Crime Story,’ ‘Atlanta’ Delays: Why FX Hits Sometimes Go On Long Hiatuses

FX announced last month that “Katrina,” which is the follow-up to “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” won’t be ready until 2018. That’s to allow producers more time to craft the story; but the delay was also attributed to Hurricane season-related insurance issues.

Production on the series’ third installment, about the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace, will actually take place before “Katrina.” That will allow FX to air both editions within six months of each other in 2018, and perhaps put the...

IndieWire’s Springboard column profiles up-and-comers in the film industry worthy of your attention.

Don’t let newly minted multi-hyphenate Michelle Morgan’s resume fool you — she always wanted to be a writer. Although Morgan’s first official forays into the industry included small parts on shows like “CSI: Miami” and, yes, even “Saved By the Bell: The New Class” and an arc on “American Dreams,” she originally went to school for screenwriting and simply fell into acting.

And it wasn’t necessarily something that fueled her creatively, which is why Morgan eventually returned to writing, penning the scripts for John Stockwell’s “Middle of Nowhere” and Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s “Girl Most Likely.” In 2013, she turned to directing, with her amusing short “K.I.T,” which screened at Sundance. This time around at the festival, Morgan has combined all of her skills, and she not only...

Here’s your daily dose of an indie film, web series, TV pilot, what-have-you in progress, as presented by the creators themselves. At the end of the week, you’ll have the chance to vote for your favorite.

In the meantime: Is this a project you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments.

Raisin’ Cain: The History of Cain’s Ballroom

Logline: “Raisin’ Cain” will be a cinematic journey told through the music and artists that have made this Tulsa music venue legendary. It will celebrate its 92 years, exploring the ties between Cain’s, the Tulsa Sound, and a myriad of musical genres.

Elevator Pitch:

We hope to preserve the storied history of the legendary Honky-Tonk, Cain’s Ballroom. “The Home of Bob Wills” has hosted 3 generations of Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Wanda Jackson to the Sex Pistols, The Police, U2 and many others. The film will tell...

Two movies about women at crossroads in their lives explore the sort of personal crisis — lost mojo! — typically reserved for men onscreen. I’m “biast” (pro): desperate for movies about women

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

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

Women at crossroads in their lives. Women who feel their worlds falling apart and don’t know what to do about it. Women who’ve lost their mojo… or never even found it in the first place. These are not the sorts of personal crises that we typically see women experiencing onscreen (though men have countless cinematic examples to follow when they find themselves in a rut). So I was delighted to discover two films that fall into the sparsely populated subgenre of Women Who Go in Search of a Kick in the Butt (Though They Might Not Realize That’s What They...

Everything looks great on paper here: Damon’s brawny presence; the smartly staged action, etc. And it’s not unfun. But it feels less black ops than old hat. I’m “biast” (pro): big fan of the Bourne series

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

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

It’s been nine years since we last saw Matt Damon racing around the world and beating people up as brainwashed assassin Jason Bourne… and the weight of those interim years rests heavily upon this fourth installment. Oh, it’s not that Damon (The Martian, Interstellar), now 46 years old, isn’t up to the physical demands of the role. In fact, his Bourne is significantly beefier here: bigger, more intimidating, just plain more dangerous in an all-muscle kind of way. (Bourne appears to have been scraping out a meager living since we last saw him...

Intimately chronicling the lives of women in their late 20s, wondering what could have been – or what could still be – has spawned a series of remarkable endeavours of late. From Frances Ha to Obvious Child, to the somewhat less impressive (but still interesting) Girl Most Likely and Say When – we’re studiously lingering over

The post Joy Review appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Well, this is lousy timing. Several horror movies, including "The Exorcist," "Night of the Living Dead," and "Interview with the Vampire" are leaving Netflix on October 1, right before Halloween.

Also leaving October 1, some spooky TV titles, including "The Dead Files."

More than 150 titles are leaving Netflix in October; here's the entire list of movies and TV shows that will disappear from Netflix streaming in October.

Leaving Oct. 1, 2015

"Aces High" (1976)

"A Fond Kiss" (2004)

"Agata And The Storm" (2004)

"A Good Day to Die" (2013)

"Alakazam The Great" (1960)

"All Is Lost" (2013)

"An Affair to Remember" (1957)

"Agora" (2009)

"A Liar's Autobiography" (2012)

"America Declassified" (2013)

"Analyze This" (1999)

"Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues " (2013)

"Angela's Ashes" (1999)

"Annie Hall" (1977)

"Another Woman" (1988)

"Apocalypse Now" (1979)

"Apocalypse Now Redux" (2001)

"Axed" (2012)

"Baby's Day Out" (1994)

"Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession" (1980)

"Baron Blood" (1972)

"Beaufort" (2007)

"Belle of the Yukon" (1944)

"Big Night" (1996)

"Blue Velvet" (1986)

"Brewster's Millions" (1945)

"Buying & Selling" (2013)

"Caesar and Cleopatra" (1945)

"Caprica" (2009)

"Carve Her Name With Pride" (1958)

"Casanova...

An achingly perfect evocation of New York’s East Village in the 1980s and an amazing cast cannot make this tale of adolescent anxiety catch fire. I’m “biast” (pro): love the cast

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

I have not read the source material

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

Adolescent anxiety playing out against the tumultuous backdrop of the late 1980s in New York’s East Village? I’m there. Hell, I was there, as a student at Nyu at the very moment this tale is set, and I can attest that its evocation of the place and time is achingly perfect, from the unrenovated tenements to the funky cafes to the scene at punk club Cbgb to the dangerous excitement in the air. Alas that the story of young Jude (Asa Butterfield: X+Y), who has decamped from boring Vermont to live with his drug-dealer dad,...

New York I Love You: Berman & Pulcini’s Schmaltz Soaked Latest

Nostalgia, especially in large doses, tends to hobble the authenticity of a text, whether in the literary or cinematic realm. On a superficial level, serving as a love letter to a bygone era of 1980s New York, Eleanor Hendricks’ novel Ten Thousand Saints falls under the quirky spigot of directing duo Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, the team behind the Oscar nominated American Splendor from 2003. In the decade since that critically championed title, they’ve continued with a particular strain of fluffy cornball items. Following a brief assay into studio filmmaking with The Nanny Diaries (2007), they were responsible for a pair of sickly sweet titles headlined by prized performers like Kevin Kline in The Extra Man (2010) and Kristen Wiig in Girl Most Likely (2012). Though their latest venture is slightly more sobering, at least in a notable absence of...

"I'm offering you Manhattan champ, don't play hard to get." Screen Media has debuted an official trailer for Ten Thousand Saints, from writers/directors Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini (of American Splendor, The Nanny Diaries, Girl Most Likely), starring Ethan Hawke and Asa Butterfield. Hawke plays an estranged father who suddenly "kidnaps" his emo-punk son and takes him to New York City, where he experiences a whole coming-of-age on the streets of Manhattan with new friends. The film is set in the 80's around the punk rock scene and it seems to have a killer soundtrack, of which many of the reviews quoted rave about. Hailee Steinfeld also stars along with Emile Hirsch and Emily Mortimer. They give away a lot (too much) in this trailer, but it actually looks pretty good. "Have you ever heard of punk?" The trailer for Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini's Ten Thousand Saints,...

Kristen Wiig is a master of uncomfortable comedy. The actress’s SNL characters pushed past the boundaries of social awkwardness, from career one-upper Penelope to mischievous weirdo Gilly, and her theatrical roles have found her tackling topics most people find inherently unfunny, from mental breakdowns (Girl Most Likely) to suicide (The Skeleton Twins), in films almost too dark to even qualify as dramedies. Wiig’s latest, Welcome to Me, also defies categorization.

An alternately sobering and amusing depiction of mental illness, it’s an entire film about a person you wouldn’t want to spend more than a minute alone in a room with. Alice Klieg (Wiig) is a lonely woman suffering from dissociative personality disorder who passes most days watching Oprah and a VHS collection of infomercials. She’s utterly mesmerized by the idea that anyone can succeed in life, provided they believe in themselves whole-heartedly, so much so...

You’ve got to hand it to Kristen Wiig: Any number of actresses would have parlayed the success of “Bridesmaids” into a string of very similar comedies and cashed a series of checks for movies that got less and less interesting. Instead, the former “SNL” star has seemingly gone out of her way to find complex, damaged and interesting characters to play. The movies themselves have been a very mixed bag — I loved “The Skeleton Twins” and suffered through “Girl Most Likely” — but no one can accuse Wiig of playing it safe, certainly not in her latest, “Welcome to Me.

Broadcast Blues: Wiig’s Amusing Portrait of Mental Illness

Mental illness collides with reality TV inspired media for Shira Piven’s generally pleasurable oddity, Welcome to Me, granting Kristen Wiig her best solo semi-dramatic role to date. That’s not to say that the film is always successful on every front, as the film’s zany implausibility, while often funny, eschews the melancholy reality of its own broken heart. But some may be perfectly fine with Piven’s and screenwriter Eliot Laurence’s inability to make borderline personality disorder seem more than the basis for an entertaining scenario. Yet the film digs so deeply into its own batty delights that moments sometimes reserved for more sobering reflection don’t resonate with any sort of dramatic impact.

Alice Klieg (Wiig), a woman suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder, wins $86 million dollars at the lottery, which allows her to stop depending on disability...

A first sampling of Sundance offerings reveals illuminating documentaries and compelling, if not perfect, narratives

A bit of friendly advice to the producers of “Ten Thousand Saints”: Please, please, please get rid of the opening narration in which the protagonist observes that life is like a river. It’s the worst line of dialogue in the whole movie, and it starts the proceedings off with a cringe.

Luckily, the script (by directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, adapting the novel by Eleanor Henderson) gets better from there. After the death of his best friend Teddy (Avan Jogia, also...

Chicago – This Thursday marks the beginning of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and yours truly will be in attendance to cover the fest for HollywoodChicago.com. Last year, the Park City, Utah event introduced the world to its 2014-defining sensations like “Whiplash” and “Boyhood”.

Those titles followed in the paths of indie landmarks such as “sex, lies and videotape,” “Clerks,” “Hoop Dreams,” “American Movie,” “Memento,” “Frozen River,” “Winter’s Bone,” and “Fruitvale Station,” among many others.

In pursuit of new favorite films for a new year, I’ve composed a relatively solid schedule so that I can devour as much diverse Sundance goodness as possible. Narratives, documentaries, white supremacists, nasty babies, Neil Hamburger, Chiwetel Ejiofor, stolen cop cars, and much, much more are all in play. But with hopes that everything I witness is the next “Boyhood”-like zeitgeist, I’ll be sure to report back here on what’s worth,...

Kristen Wiig is taking the road less traveled, and after a bumpy start, it's starting to show signs of life. Most former "Saturday Night Live" standouts either head to Hollywood to make as many studio comedies as they can or try to fashion a comedy series on TV. Wiig exploded — and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay — in Paul Fieg's blockbuster "Bridesmaids," but for the most part she's been exploring her range in indies such as "Girl Most Likely," "Hateship Loveship" and "Welcome to Me." Whether or not it's a deliberate strategy, it's paid off with Craig Johnson's "The Skeleton Twins." The dramedy reunited Wiig with her former "SNL" co-star Bill Hader as siblings who, after years of semi-estrangement, need each other more than ever. The duo earned raves for their performances, but neither has made a significant mark on the awards season this year. The good...

Who can forget 2003 when filmmaker-duo Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini landed at Sundance with a highly inventive biopic, a seminal film really in the indie film cannon. Featuring the debatably unlikeable Clevelander Harvey Pekar, American Splendor moved put the pair on a pedestal, and while they’ve been back to Sundance for The Extra Man (’10), they’ve pretty much stuck to commercial indie items in The Nanny Diaries (07), Cinema Verite – HBO ’11, and Girl Most Likely (aka Imogene) ’12. Starring Asa Butterfield, Ethan Hawke, Hailee Steinfeld, Emile Hirsch, Emily Mortimer and Julianne Nicholson, production began way back at the end of January on Ten Thousand Saints, which comes with a built-in fanbase due to the novel on which it is based on. Should be a high value sales item if included.

Gist: Based on the novel of the same name by Eleanor Henderson, set in the 1980s, a teenager (Asa Butterfield) from...

Noah Pritzker first surfaced with his short Little Dad (SXSW ’12), and in the summer of 2013 (see set pic), plugged away in the fog with his directorial debut. The San Fran resident shot in his own backyard with a cinematographer worth noting in Jakob Ihre (Oslo, 31. august). Backed by a strong indie duo producing team, Pritzker had Moonrise Kingdom‘s Kara Hayward, Saffron Burrows, Mira Sorvino and Kieran Culkin as his set of players.

Gist: Co-written by Pritzker and Ben Tarnoff, this explores the upper class San Franciscan society and centers on Clark (Ben Konigsberg), a high school student, struggling to come to terms with the demands of his family, society, love. Kara Hayward plays Etta, a high school freshman dealing with her parents divorce.

Production Co./Producers: Luca Borghese (Girl Most Likely) and Ben Howe (Gabriel)

Prediction: Park City at Midnight is a possibility, and SXSW will certainly we circling this as well.

A frequent staple of recent big-screen comedies has been the “boy-man”, who almost joins Peter Pan in defiantly singing “I won’t grow up” as he stumbles through life. Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell have played variations of this throughout their movie careers, along with other members of the “frat pack” and Judd Apatow’s repertory company. Now it seems that this role is not an exclusive male domain. Kristen Wiig in The Girl Most Likely and Jenny Slate in Obvious Child could be referred to as “girl-women” as they were supported by their folks and bounced between jobs. Now, from indie film-making queen Lynn Shelton, maker of 2011’s delightful Your Sister’S Sister, comes another, slightly younger, post-college twenty-something, who’s having a tough time with adulthood. But, she not only drops out as she befriends a girl almost a decade younger, she hides out. This new film’s...

Funny and sad and wise and wonderful… with an absolutely heartbreaking, career-changing performance by Bill Hader. I’m “biast” (pro): really like Kristen Wiig

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

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

Oh my god, I love this movie. I love not only the movie itself — it is funny and sad and wise and wonderful — but I love how it snuck up on me and made me fall in love with it out of nowhere. (It’s so rare for me to be this surprised by a film!) I knew nothing about it except that it stars Saturday Night Live alums Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader… and that’s it. If I assumed anything at all, maybe it was that I was in for some sort of wacky comedy — but I don’t recall even that minimal level of expectation.

But this…...

Director: Craig Johnson; Screenwriters: Craig Johnson, Mark Heyman; Starring: Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Luke Wilson, Ty Burrell; Running time: 93 mins; Certificate: 15

Opening a film with an attempted suicide is always a risk (the action can go downhill very quickly from there), and The Skeleton Twins features double the trouble. Mercifully, as the titular siblings, Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader manage to keep a sense of humour while, separately, they contemplate ending it all - and it's the strong bond between them that keeps this indie comedy drama from flat-lining. Unlikely as it seems, these sad sacks make for good company.

Having both graduated from Us sketch show Saturday Night Live, it's perhaps not surprising that Wiig and Hader should be on the same wavelength and that pays dividends, but just as important is their lightness of touch with emotional scenes.

After ten years at opposite ends of the country, Milo...

Kerry Washington has signed up to star Malcolm D. Lee's next feature film - the MGM romantic comedy titled "Is He The One?" Lee will direct from a script penned by DJ Richardson and Michelle Morgan ("Girl Most Likely"), which tells the tale of a bride (to be played by Washington) who remembers her past serious relationships, while getting ready for her wedding, although the audience won't find out who the lucky man is, until she meets him down the aisle at the wedding. MGM Motion Picture Group president Jonathan Glickman and senior vice president Cassidy Lange are overseeing the project. Todd Garner is producing. Lee...

Scandal star Kerry Washington has signed on as the lead in MGM's romantic comedy Is He The One, EW has confirmed. Malcolm D. Lee (The Best Man, The Best Man Holiday) will direct from a script by DJ Richardson and Michelle Morgan (Girl Most Likely). The film opens with a bride (Washington) getting ready for her wedding. Through flashbacks, the film recounts her three serious relationships. It will end with her walking down the aisle, but who will greet her is unknown. MGM Motion Picture Group president Jonathan Glickman and senior vice president Cassidy Lange are overseeing the project. Todd Garner is producing.

Scandal star Kerry Washington has signed on to star in the romantic comedy Is He the One? for MGM Studios.

The story begins with a bride (Kerry Washington) getting ready for her wedding, and ending with her walking down the aisle. The plot is told through flashbacks that showcase the three major relationships the bride has been in throughout her life. As her relationship history unfolds, it will remain unclear which of these three suitors will be waiting for her at the alter until the very end.

Malcolm D. Lee (The Best Man Holiday) is directing from a screenplay by Michelle Morgan (Girl Most Likely) and D.J. Richardson, with Todd Garner (Into the Storm) producing. No production schedule was released at this time, but shooting will likely have to wait until Kerry Washington wraps production on Season 4 of her hit ABC drama series Scandal.

Kerry Washington most recently starred on...

Exclusive: MGM has acquired Is He The One, a romantic comedy. Deal is being made to do this as a star vehicle for Emmy-nominated Scandal star Kerry Washington. They are working on that deal now. The film will be directed by Malcolm D. Lee, who is coming off the hits The Best Man and The Best Man Holiday. The script is by DJ Richardson and Michelle Morgan (Girl Most Likely). Todd Garner is producing.

The comedy begins with a woman dressing for her wedding, and it ends with a walk down the aisle. Washington plays the bride, and the story is told in flashbacks that cycle through the three major relationships of her life. The big question: Who’s at the end of that final walk, waiting for her at the altar? The film is being overseen by MGM Motion Picture Group President Jonathan Glickman and Svp Cassidy Lange.

Washington,...

Have you been yearning for a completely bonkers, risk-taking comedy on the level of Weird Al Yankovic's 1989 cult classic, Uhf? Well, look no further than Kristen Wiig's wonderfully wackadoo Welcome to Me, which premiered at this year's Toronto Film Festival. Although maybe don't make that comparison to Wiig. I did just that when I ran into her the night of the premiere, and she immediately turned cold and her publicist shooed me away with a dismissive wave of her hand.Talking to my fellow reporters before the festival, they all seemed to have developed an allergy to seeing Kristen Wiig films at Toronto. I don't blame them; there's been a pattern. The past two Toronto film festivals, still glowing from her post-Bridesmaids heat, Wiig debuted consecutive attempts to branch out into more serious indie fare, with rather dreary results. In Girl Most Likely, she was a failed...

What’s new, what’s hot, and what you may have missed, now available to stream.

new to stream

Forgotten Men: 1934 English antiwar propaganda film is a fascinating and, in retrospect, bittersweet document of the brief era between Wwi and WWII [my review] [iTunes UK] 20 Feet from Stardom: must-see documentary for any fan of modern pop music introduces us to the extraordinary women you didn’t know were behind some of the songs you know by heart [my review] [iTunes UK] After the Dark: a thrilling combination of drama, near-science-fiction, suspense, coming-of-age agita, and intellectual exploration of ideas — pity it derails itself [my review] [iTunes UK]

streaming now, before it’s on dvd

Starred Up: could be the most realistic depiction of the horribleness and the ineffectiveness of institutional incarceration — on levels that impact both the individual and society on the whole — that I’ve ever seen [my review] [Amazon UK Instant Video] 112 Weddings: startling and welcome breath of reality for an institution overladen by fantasy...

Kristen Wiig is known more so for making people laugh than she is for getting naked on screen, but that's all about to change with Welcome to Me, a new dramedy that will see the comedic actress stripping down in front of audiences for the first time.

In the past few years, Kristen Wiig has been quickly transferring her talents into more dramatic roles, with lead parts in Friends with Kids, Girl Most Likely, Hateship Loveship and the upcoming The Skeleton Twins. But Welcome to Me might be her most challenging job yet.

In the movie, she plays Alice Klieg, who suffers from a borderline personality disorder. After winning the lottery, she quits taking her meds and decides to launch her own talk show. It was Eliot Laurence's screenplay that drew her in, and she knew that she had to jump in with both feet.

"I'd never read a character like that.