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Karate Kid (2024) has added Dawson's Creek star Joshua Jackson to the cast. The upcoming movie is the sixth feature-length installment in the franchise. Jackson's character is currently unknown, but will play a major role in the movie.

2024's Karate Kid has added a major new cast member. The upcoming movie will be the sixth feature-length installment in the ongoing Karate Kid franchise, which also includes the popular Netflix show Cobra Kai. It is set to unite original star Ralph Macchio, reprising his role as the first "karate kid" Daniel Larusso, with Jackie Chan, reprising his role as the wise martial arts mentor Mr. Han from the 2010 remake The Karate Kid, which was loosely connected to the other movies in the franchise.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming Karate Kid movie has added Joshua Jackson to the cast. His role is unknown, but it has been confirmed that he will be one of the main characters.

Warning: contains Spoilers from Star Wars: Darth Vader - Black, White and Red #1!The dark side of the Force has been reimagined as a living nightmare in new official Darth Vader art. The Force has always been depicted in Star Wars - ever since the first film's premiere in 1977 - as an unseen energy connecting all life. Now, in a surprising move, Star Wars is showing fans what the dark side would look like if its power was suddenly visible.

Star Wars: Darth Vader - Black, White and Red #1 is an anthology consisting of three stories by different creators. 'Inescapable' by Peach Momoko features a woman enduring a nightmare where she confronts Vader on a desolate world. When Vader approaches her, she's forced to flee. However, Vader uses the Force in an attempt to capture her. What's fascinating is that this power is given a visual representation. The...

The Performers | Elizabeth Henstridge and Iain De Caestecker

The Show | Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Episode | “Inescapable” (June 21, 2019)

The Performance | “Unstoppable together” is the theme of Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz’s fortitude in the face of any and all adversity. It also describes the teamwork of Henstridge and de Caestecker when presented with anything close to the heavy lifting they did this week, in the FitzSimmons-centric “reunion” episode.

Snappy, sometimes sassy banter has always been the scientists’ trademark, and in navigating the mind prison built by Atarah, they shared all manner of verbal...

A welcome reunion for Fitz and Simmons is fraught with strife in this memory laden episode of Agents of Shield.

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This review contains spoilers for Agents of Shield.

Agents of Shield Season 6 Episode 6

Whenever Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge take center stage as Fitz and Simmons in Agents of Shield, we’re bound to witness a master class in emotionally rich acting, and “Inescapable” certainly delivered in that respect (although shouldn’t the episode really have been called “Unstoppable Together?”). In a cathartic exploration of both scientists’ deepest fears and insecurities, we had a ringside seat as the two of them purged their pent up frustration and gave us a glimpse of the near and distant past for a healthy helping of context. Although the overall story barely progressed, the Jemma of season 5 bringing the Fitz of season 4 up to speed was a joy to behold.

Sneak Peek new footage, plus images from the "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." episode "Inescapable", directed by Jesse Bochco, airing June 21, 2019 on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand:

"...in 'Inescapable', it's the end of the beginning for 'Fitzsimmons'.

"They've fought through space, time and alternate realities to find each other...

"...and now, closer than ever, only their own demons can stop 'FitzSimmons' reunion..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Agents of S.H. E.L.D.: Inescapable" ...

"Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D." Comic Books...

Hey, "Agents Of Shield" fans. We hope you guys enjoyed tonight's episode 5. Now that it's officially aired and in the history books, it's time to see what's about to take place in the next, new episode 6 that's scheduled to air next week. ABC was gracious enough to serve up a press release for episode 6. So, that's what we'll be referencing for this spoiler session. As always, to get things started, we'll be taking a look at the title for this 6th installment. It's officially called, "Inescapable." Episode 6 sounds like it will feature some pretty interesting stuff in regards to Fitz and Simmons. In fact, ABC's one and only description totally revolves around Fitz and Simmons. So, we thing it's pretty safe to assume that it will mostly be about these two. It turns out that Fitz and Simmons will be even closer than ever to being reunited, and only their...

Perfect Storm: Mystery Tinged Romance from Nadda Gets Blown Away in Gusts

There’s much to admire in Montreal-born director Ruba Nadda’s latest film, October Gale, which reunites her with the Patricia Clarkson, star of her generally well-received 2009 film, Cairo Time. Nadda once again provides Clarkson with a melancholy tinged lead role that provides us with a framework that recalls classic ‘women’s pictures’ of the studio era, something we’d most likely have seen from a Cukor or Negulesco and starring the embittered likes of a Joan Crawford or Barbara Stanwyck. Clarkson evokes a softer sentimentality than those references, which may explain why many will be dismayed when the film suddenly becomes a romance tinged mystery thriller, only one that doesn’t want to sacrifice any of these particular elements and therefore tends to seem watered down on all fronts.

A Toronto doctor still grieving over the tragic...

Ruba Nadda followed up her breakthrough film Cairo Time with thrillers for its two leads: Inescapable for Alexander Siddig, and now October Gale for Patricia Clarkson. Both rely on character-driven drama more than traditional action, exploring the intricacies of family relationships and the repercussions of loss. Dr. Helen Matthews (Clarkson) was accustomed to peaceful getaways with her husband, James, in the Hamptons of northern Ontario, a lake district that's long been a retreat for affluent Toronto residents. James died during an October gale on Lake Joseph, and Helen is still submerged in grief as she opens up their island cottage the following spring. Tidying the house triggers memories of James (Callum Keith Rennie), and Nadda uses these flashbacks to...

After enjoying Ruba Nadda‘s Inescapable and hearing praise for Cairo Time I was intrigued by her latest effort, October Gale. For whatever reason Nadda doesn’t seem quite certain about what she wants from her plot. Is it a Nicholas Sparks love triangle for the middle-aged between a still grieving widow (Patricia Clarkson‘s Helen), the memory of her […]...

Writer/director Ruba Nadda has found her mysterious stranger to star opposite Patricia Clarkson in their upcoming project, October Gale. Scott Speedman will take the role, in what is shaping up to be a potentially nail-biting drama.

Speedman – perhaps best known for his supporting turns in Underworld and Underworld: Evolution – will play William, who washes up on the shore of a remote island cottage owned by Helen Matthews (Clarkson), during a heavy storm. He is unconscious and bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound but, lucky for him, Matthews is a doctor. She takes him in to tend his injuries, but they soon realize the would-be assassin – possibly Tim Roth – is returning to finish what he started. To make matters worse, the inclement weather has cut them off from the mainland, and they must face the threat alone.

While elements of the plot may sound somewhat contrived – if you’re going...

• 12 Years A Slave Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and The Avengers’s Scarlett Johansson are both in talks to lend their voices to Disney’s upcoming live-action/CG adaption of The Jungle Book. Nyong’o is currently in talks to play Rakcha, the mother wolf who adopts Mowgli, while Johansson is in early negotiations to lend her voice to the character of Kaa, a python who eats its victims by hypnotizing them. Iron Man’s Jon Favreau is set to direct the film based on the classic novel by Rudyard Kipling which will also star Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom...

Exclusive: Myriad Pictures is reuniting with Ruba Nadda, producer Daniel Iron and their Cairo Time star Patricia Clarkson on October Gale.

Kirk D’Amico’s company has secured world sales on the Canadian thriller and has been introducing to buyers at the Efm.

Principal photography is set to kick off in spring with Toronto-based Iron of Blue Ice Pictures producing with David Collins of Ireland’s Samson Films.

Myriad chief D’Amico is an executive produce with Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and Emily Alden of Canada’s Pacific Northwest Pictures.

October Gale centres on a woman who gets involved in a deadly struggle for survival as she spends time at her island cabin home putting her late husband’s affairs in order.

“We are very happy to be working with Ruba and Danny again,” said D’Amico, whose company handled sales on Nadda’s most recent film, Inescapable. “Ruba has written a taught, suspenseful script...

Fringe star Joshua Jackson is rounding out the quartet of leads of Showtime‘s drama pilot The Affair. From playwright and writer/producer Sarah Treem and co-creator Hagai Levi, The Affair is an intense and intimate exploration of two marriages and an affair that disrupts them — with all of the complex consequences that result. It centers on Noah (Dominic West), a good husband and devoted father of four whose settled, comfortable world is about to implode when he meets Allison (Ruth Wilson) who he he thinks is his soul mate. Jackson will play Cole, a hard-edged cowboy married to Allison. Their emotionally charged marriage becomes even more complicated when Allison begins an affair with Noah. Maura Tirney plays Noah’s long-time wife. The Affair marks Jackson’s followup to Fox’s praised sci-fi drama Fringe, which ended its five-season run earlier this year. On the feature side, the former Dawson...

This week: The powerful documentary "The House I Live In" takes a serious look at America's War on Drugs and is the best new offering in what is annually a subdued week for home video releases.

Also new this week is the shelved shocker "6 Souls" with Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, the thriller "Inescapable" with Alexander Siddig and Joshua Jackson and the Blu-ray debut of the comedy classic, "The Kentucky Fried Movie."

'The House I Live In'

Box Office: $210,752

Rotten Tomatoes: 93% Fresh

Storyline: Filmed in over 20 states, this comprehensive documentary about the United States' so-called War on Drugs of the past 40 years by "Why We Fight" director Eugene Jarecki captures emotional stories from all socioeconomic levels: the grieving mother, dealer, senator, inmate, federal judge and more. 'The House I Live In' provides a definitive and well-researched portrait of America's longest war and reveals its profound human rights implications.

June 11 marks the 35th birthday of actor Joshua Jackson.

While Jackson has had various TV and film roles in the decade since "Dawson's Creek" wrapped, he is perhaps best-known for his part as Pacey Witter on the beloved television show. Jackson played the show's resident bad boy from 1998 through 2003, wooing Katie Holmes' Joey Potter and engaging in copious shenanigans in the small town of Capeside, Massachusetts. In the years since, Jackson has held a lead role in the Fox show "Fringe," as well as appeared in films such as "Inescapable" and "Battle in Seattle," but to many fans, he will always be Pacey.

Below, Jackson and 15 other actors who can't escape one role.

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: July 2, 2013

Price: DVD $24.98, Blu-ray $29.98

Studio: IFC/Mpi

Alexander Siddig goes to the gun for his family in Inescapable.

A successful and respected businessman sees his world turned upside down in the mystery-thriller Inescapable.

Twenty-five years ago Adib (Alexander Siddig, The Nativity Story), a promising young officer in the Syrian military police, suddenly left Damascus under suspicious circumstances. Abandoning the love of his life, Fatima (Marisa Tomei, (The Lincoln Lawyer), he made his way to Canada and wiped the slate clean. Years later, with a beautiful family and a great job in Toronto, Adib is happy and content in the successful life he has built from scratch. But when Adib’s journalist daughter (Jay Anstey) suddenly disappears during a visit to Damascus, his past threatens to violently catch up to him…

Directed by Ruba Nadda, Inescapable also stars Oded Fehr (Resident Evil: Retribution) and Joshua Jackson (Lay the Favorite...

Joshua Jackson has signed with Anonymous Content for representation. The Canadian-born actor is coming off a five-season stint starring in Fox’s cult hit series Fringe where he played Peter Bishop in the show created by J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. On the movie front, Jackson appeared in last year's Lay the Favorite, the Stephen Frears comedy in which he starred with Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta-Jones, as well as Inescapable, a drama with Alexander Siddig and Marisa Tomei. Jackson continues to be repped by CAA, Abi Harris of Ken McReddie Associates

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London-based Signature Entertainment have revealed a raft of deals in the wake of Cannes’ Marche du Film.

The UK distributor has acquired psychological thriller Power of Few, starring Christopher Walken and Christian Slater, from Arclight.

Signature has also secured Chandran Rutnam’s terrorist thriller A Common Man, starring Ben Kingsley, from Myriad.

Also from Myriad, Signature has taken Ruba Nadda’s missing person drama Inescapable, starring Marisa Tomei, Alexander Siddig and Joshua Jackson.

Other acquisitions include spoof The Starving Games, from K5, and sci-fi horror Skinwalker Ranch, from Highland Film Group.

A dreary, flaccid, far-fetched “thriller,” Inescapable (available on VOD) arouses the little interest it does due to its locale, Syria, and its time period, early 2011. What topic could be more felicitously chosen? Yet, even forgetting the film was shot in South Africa, Ruba Nada’s subpar direction and screenplay and Teresa Hannigan’s zonked editing waste the opportunity to add any insight into the armed conflict that has already traumatized a people for far too long.

As for the lead actor, Alexander Siddig, who’s best known as Dr. Julian Bashir on the long-running series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, his inability to muster up an iota of charisma or any depth of character is the final nail in this celluloid coffin.

Siddig portrays Adib Abdel Kareem, who escaped to Canada a quarter of a century ago from Syria after being accused falsely of being an Israeli spy. Now with his wife and two daughters,...

Brooklyn-born Marisa Tomei showcases an impressive Syrian accent in our exclusive clip from Inescapable, currently playing in theaters and available on SundanceNow, VOD, iTunes, Amazon Streaming, PS3 Playstation Unlimited, Xbox Zune, Google Play and YouTube. Ruba Nadda directs this drama centering on Adib Abdel Kareem (Alexander Siddig), a Toronto family man whose mysterious past comes to light after his daughter disappears in Syria. Take a look at this intense scene featuring Adib and his wife Fatima (Marisa Tomei) in a heated exchange. You can also clickHere to learn more about how to watch this new film on SundanceNow.

Inescapable - Exclusive "How Did You Meet?"

Adib Abdel Kareem (Alexander Siddig) had made the perfect life for himself in Toronto: beautiful wife, two grown daughters, great job. He is a confident man, at ease in any setting - his Syrian background betrayed only by a slight accent and his daughters' names,...

Check out what's new to rent and own this week on the various streaming services such as cable On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, and, of course, Netflix. Cable On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pre-theatrical exclusives for rent, priced from $3-$10, in 24- or 48-hour periods The Master (Oscar-nominated drama; Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams; rated R) Chasing Mavericks   (surfing drama; Gerard Butler, Elisabeth Shue; rated PG)   Inescapable (thriller; Alexander Siddig, Marisa Tomei; also playing in select theaters) Holy Motors (fever-dream French drama; Denis Lavant, Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue) Funeral Kings  (comedy; Dylan Hartigan, Kevin Corrigan; rated R)  War Witch (Canadian Oscar nominee for...

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Inexorable Void: Nada’s Latest an Ineffectively Staged Political Thriller

Following a quietly effective 2009 romantic drama, Cairo Time, which featured a touching and gently handled love affair between a luminous Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig, director Ruba Nadda returns to a setting of Middle Eastern intrigue, this time for a politically tinged thriller with maybe even a hint of espionage. Unfortunately, what begins as a promisingly rich thriller focusing on the prickly dynamics of Syria’s governmental and historical baggage, quickly reduces itself to a joyless exercise in prevailing generality, which the film’s banal tagline even prophesies for us with its warning that “You can’t escape your past.”

Opening nearly immediately with a tizzy inducing scenario, we briefly get a glimpse of Adib Abdul-Kareem’s (Alexander Siddig) comfortable life as an operations manager at a Toronto bank before he discovers that his elder daughter, Muna (Jan Anstey), a...

It's the last weekend in February and it also happens to be Oscar weekend, which means nothing of import is hitting theatres today. There are two major releases that will be duking it out with A Good Day to Die Hard for box office supremacy. Scott Stewart follows up Legion and Priest with Dark Skies, a horror film that did not screen for critics, which is probably all you need to know. Elsewhere, Dwayne Johnson stars in in the action-thriller Snitch which seems somewhat similar to last year's Contraband. In select theatres, IFC is also releasing the Canadian thriller Inescapable starring Alexander Siddig, Joshua Jackson, and Marisa Tomei. Other than that, it's still looking pretty barren out there. Will you be watching anything this weekend? Dark Skies Snitch Inescapable (limited) Bless Me Ultima (limited) Kai po che! (limited)

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Title: Inescapable Director: Ruba Nadda Starring: Alexander Siddig, Marisa Tomei, Joshua Jackson, Oded Fehr, Saad Siddiqui In 2009, Arab Canadian filmmaker Ruba Nadda delivered a romance set against a significantly chaotic sociopolitical backdrop in the form of “Cairo Time,” starring Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig. She imprints a different genre exercise against a similarly tumultuous Middle Eastern setting, though with far less fetching results, in “Inescapable,” a jumbled mixture of political mystery and questing-father drama also starring Siddig. The story unfolds in early 2011, before the wider effects of the Arab Spring helped plunge Syria into civil war. White collar Canadian family man Adib Kareem (Siddig) finds his blissful domesticity [ Read More ]

The post Inescapable Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Bless Me Ultima This adaptation of the mainstay of high-school reading lists by Rudolfo Anaya is selling itself as based on "the controversial book that was banned, forbidden, and burned." Directed by Carl Franklin, the filmmaker who brought us One False Move and Devil in a Blue Dress, the film looks to be a coming-of-age story among Chicanos in the American southwest, laced with mysticism (that old lady is a Witch!). The early reviews have been generally positive, calling the film an earnest, satisfying story. Inescapable Director Ruba Nadda made the quietly beautiful Cairo Time, and here she reunites with her male lead from that film, the wonderful Alexander Siddig. In what appears to be something like an Arab Taken, Siddig plays a Syrian exile whose daughter goes missing in Damascus, and he has to find her while dodging all sorts of Syrian authorities who view him ...

In Canadian writer/director Ruba Nadda’s elegant and oddly topical thriller Inescapable, Adib Abdul-Kareem (Alexander Siddig) is a computer operations manager at a Toronto bank who fled Syria some 30 years ago. Married to a Canadian with whom he’s fathered two pretty teenage girls, he’s kept his checkered past a secret from his family the whole time, but after the disappearance of the older of his two daughters (Jay Anstey) during a clandestine visit to Syria in order to find out where her father is from, Adib heads to Damascus despite the possibility of repercussions for long ago sins. With combative ex-flame …...

Given the current state of affairs in Syria, it's hard not to look at Ruba Nadda's Inescapable as almost quaint, a period piece reminiscent of a time in that country's history before all-out war replaced getting "disappeared" by one of the government's half dozen secret police forces. It's the eve of the rebellion against Assad, and probably the furthest thing from Adib Abdel Kareem's (Alexander Siddig) mind is going back to the country he fled under mysterious circumstances 20 years before. Unfortunately, his daughter, Muna, has vanished on an unannounced trip to Damascus, wrenching Adib out of his Canadian idyll. Now he has to call up the ex-fiancée (Marisa Tomei) he hasn't talked to since the Clinton Administration and confront his past, all while trying to find Muna. ...

Watch the trailer and see the second poster for IFC Films' Inescapable, starring Alexander Siddig, Joshua Jackson and Marisa Tomei. The IFC Films release opens on February 22nd and is directed and written by Ruba Nadda. Oded Fehr, Saad Siddiqui, Fadia Nadda, Jay Anstey and Bonnie Lee Bouman complete the main cast. It is January, 2011, before the Arab Spring begins to take hold in Syria. Adib Abdel Kareem (Siddig) had made the perfect life for himself in Toronto: beautiful wife, two grown daughters, great job. He is a confident man, at ease in any setting - his Syrian background betrayed only by a slight accent and his daughters’ names, Muna and Leila. Adib is a man who has successfully built a life from scratch – a man who had left his past behind.

Watch the trailer and see the second poster for IFC Films' Inescapable, starring Alexander Siddig, Joshua Jackson and Marisa Tomei. The IFC Films release opens on February 22nd and is directed and written by Ruba Nadda. Oded Fehr, Saad Siddiqui, Fadia Nadda, Jay Anstey and Bonnie Lee Bouman complete the main cast. It is January, 2011, before the Arab Spring begins to take hold in Syria. Adib Abdel Kareem (Siddig) had made the perfect life for himself in Toronto: beautiful wife, two grown daughters, great job. He is a confident man, at ease in any setting - his Syrian background betrayed only by a slight accent and his daughters’ names, Muna and Leila. Adib is a man who has successfully built a life from scratch – a man who had left his past behind.

Title: Inescapable IFC Films Director: Ruba Nadda Screenwriter: Ruba Nadda Cast: Alexander Siddig, Marisa Tomei, Joshua Jackson, Oded Fehr, Saad Siddiqui, Jay Anstey Screened at: Core Club, 66 E 55 St., NYC, 1/31/13 Opens: February 22, 2013 When we read about scores, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of Syrians dying during the current civil war in that mysterious country, we recognize that these are just numbers, statistics. What could make these figures hit home, of course, would be to hone in on just one of the victims. What does a person’s death, disfigurement or disappearance mean to that individual’s loved ones? Ruba Nadda takes on that theme with “Inescapable,” graphically [ Read More ]

The post Inescapable Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: May 7, 2013

Price: DVD $39.98, Blu-ray $49.99

Studio: Warner Home Video

J.J. Abrams’ popular science-fiction TV show Fringe ends with season five.

The time-travel, alternate universe story wraps up with Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble, The Last Airbender), his son Peter (Joshua Jackson, Inescapable) and FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv, The Pacific) trying to return the world to the way it’s supposed to be, all the while keeping ahead of the creepy and powerful Observers.

The fifth season has 13 episodes, plus these special features on both the DVD and Blu-ray:

featurette “A Farewell to Fringe““Fringe Panel at Comic-Con 2012″producer commentaryand a gag reel.

Fringe: The Complete Series, with all five seasons in one box, is also available.

Buy or Rent Fringe: The Fifth & Final Season

DVD | Blu-ray | Instant Video Sd | Instant Video Hddvd | Blu-ray...

Heaps of stills from Seven Psychopaths, Matt Damon and Michael Douglas filming Behind the Candelabra, and a first picture of Benicio Del Toro and Mathieu Amalric in Arnaud Desplechin's Jimmy Picard.

There's also set photos of Jim Carrey in mask and Aaron Johnson not wearing any underwear on the set of Kick Ass 2, Ryan Gosling and Rooney Mara arriving in Austin to film Terrence Malick's next, and the 'Naughties' CG smurfs in The Smurfs 2.

Posters for Liz and Dick, Frankenweenie, Stand Up Guys, Gambit, Room 237, Rise of the Guardians, Promised Land and Beautiful Creatures.

"The Weinstein Company have acquired U.S. rights from Butler Films to distribute Lee Daniels' 'The Butler' which is currently in production in New Orleans. The all-star film will likely get an awards run release next Fall…" (full details)

"Robert Rodriguez says the upcoming 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For'...

Katie Holmes has rekindled her friendship with ex-boyfriend Joshua Jackson. 'Inescapable' star Joshua - who is in a long-term relationship with German actress Diane Kruger - has revealed is thrilled to have reconnected with his former 'Dawson's Creek' co-star after she called him following her recent divorce from Tom Cruise. The 34 year old said they had a lot to catch up on during a recent phone-call. He told 'George Strombolopolous Tonight': ''Like any old friend, it was like, 'Oh, hi how are ya? What's going on?' 'I had a kid'; 'Yeah, that's crazy, I heard!'... It was nice, it was very nice,...

Katie Holmes has rekindled her friendship with ex-boyfriend Joshua Jackson. 'Inescapable' star Joshua - who is in a long-term relationship with German actress Diane Kruger - has revealed is thrilled to have reconnected with his former 'Dawson's Creek' co-star after she called him following her recent divorce from Tom Cruise. The 34 year old said they had a lot to catch up on during a recent phone-call. He told 'George Strombolopolous Tonight': 'Like any old friend, it was like, 'Oh, hi how are ya? What's going on?' 'I had a kid'; 'Yeah, that's crazy, I heard!'... It was nice, it was very nice, actually.' Katie and Joshua dated during the first season of the popular TV series in 1998 but...

This year’s Toronto was competing in my psyche with the recent loss of my mother. My focus was less on finding the greatest of films this year. I hear from others that the festival offered a good mix, if not the most outstanding, selection of films. Personally, I am discovering that a new community has opened its arms to me and the films that are standing out most for me are by women and about women. My community, those women who have lost their mothers, is sharing a unique and profound rite of passage whose meaning continuously unfolds.

In Toronto I was hyper aware of the women and their position in this corner of the world I inhabit. Canadian women, Helga Stephenson, Director Emerita of the Toronto Film Festival, predecessor to Piers Handling; Michele Maheux, Executive Director and COO of Tiff ever since I've known her which has been a long time; Linda Beath who headed United Artists when I was beginning my career and who has since moved to Europe where she teaches at Eave (European Audio Visual Entrepreneurs), Kay Armitrage, programmer of the festival for 24 years and professor at University of Toronto, are all women to helped me envisage myself as a professional in the film business, and they are still as vibrant and active as when we met more than 25 years ago. Carolle Brabant, Telefilm Canada’s Executive Director continues Canada’s female lineage as does Karen Thorne-Stone, the President and CEO of Ontario Media Development Corporation.

18 films currently are in a large part attributable to Omdc; they include Nisha Pahuja’s doc The World Before Her (contact Cinetic) (Best Doc Feature of 2012 Tribeca Ff), Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz (Isa: TF1), Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children (Isa: FilmNation), Anita Doron’s The Lesser Blessed, (Isa: EOne) Ruba Nadda’s Inescapable (Isa: Myriad), Alison Rose’s doc, Following the Wise Men.

Tiff’s new program for year-round support of mid-level Canadian filmmakers, Studio, under the directorship of Hayet Benkara is bringing industry mentorship to 16 filmmakers with experience, shorts in the festival circuit, features in development. Exactly half of these filmmakers are women. This was a conscious move on Hayet’s part. She said there is always such a predominance of males without thinking about it that she decided to bring balance.

Then a look at some more of the Canadian talent here brings me to the Birks Diamonds celebration of seven Canadian women: Anais Barbeau-Lavalette, Manon Briand, Anita Doron, Deepa Mehta (Midnight’s Children), Kate Melville, and Ruba Nadda which honored each with a Birks diamond pendant in a reception hosted by Shangri-La Hotel and Telefilm Canada where 300 guests mingled and caught up with each other. The pre-eminence of women was again made so apparent to me.

Talking to publicist Jim Dobson at Indie PR at the reception of Jordanian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir whose film When I Saw You was so evocative of the 60s, a time of worldwide freedom and even optimism among the fedayeem in Jordan looking to resist the Expulsion of the Palestinians from Palestine; he said that all five of his clients here are women directors, “I had When I Saw You, (Isa: The Match Factory), Satellite Boy (Isa: Celluloid Dreams/ Nightmare), Hannah Arendt (The Match Factory), Inch'allah (Isa: eOne), English Vinglish (Isa: Eros Int')."

Of the 289 features here at Tiff, Melissa Silverstein at Women and Hollywood is trying to zero in on the women directors, so watch her blogs More Women-Directed Films Nab Deals out of Tiff, Tiff Preview: Women Directors to Watch and Tiff Preview: The Female Directing Masters Playing at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival.

Add to this the upcoming Sundance initiative on women directors that Keri Putnam is heading up (more on that later!) and I am feeling heartened by the consciousness of women, directors and otherwise, out there. That is saying a lot since last season in Cannes with the pathetic number of women directors showing up in the festival and sidebars this past spring.

Here is the Female Factor for Tiff 12 which scores an A in my book:

Gala Presentations - 6 out of 20 = c. 30% which is way above the usual 13% which has been the average up until Cannes upended that with its paltry 2%..2 of these were opening night films.

Mira Nair The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Also showed in Venice. Isa: K5. Picked up for U.S. and Canada by IFC. Shola Lynch Free Angela & All Political Prisoners. Isa: Elle Driver Deepa Mehta Midnight’s Children. Isa: FilmNation already sold to Roadshow for Australia/ N.Z., Unikorea for So. Korea, DeaPlaneta for Spain. Ruba Nadda Inescapable. Isa: Myriad. Canada: Alliance. Liz Garbus Love, Marilyn. Isa: StudioCanal. HBO picked up No. American TV rights. Madman has Australia. Gauri Shinde English Vinglish. Isa: Eros International.

Masters – 0 – Could we say that women directors have not been around that long or shown such longevity as the men? Lina Wertmiller was a long time ago. I don’t even know if she is still alive. Ida Lupino was an anomaly. Who else was there in those early days? Alice Guy-Blaché ?

Special Presentations - 13 out of 70 = 19%

Everybody Has A Plan - Argentina/ Germany/ Spain - Ana Piterbarg - Isa: Twentieth Century Fox International - U.S.: Ld Entertainment, U.K.: Metrodome Lines Of Wellington - Also in Venice, San Sebastian Ff - Portugal - Valeria Sarmiento - Isa: Alfama Films. Germany: Ksm Cloud Atlas--Germany - Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski - Isa: Focus Int'l. - U.S. and Canada: Warner Bros. , Brazil - Imagem, Finland - Future Film, Eastern Europe - Eeap, Germany X Verleih, Greece - Odeon, Iceland - Sensa, India - PVR, So. Korea - Bloomage, Benelux - Benelux Film Distributors, Inspire, Slovenia - Cenemania, Sweden - Noble, Switzerland - Ascot Elite, Taiwan - Long Shong, Turkey - Chantier Inch'allah – Canada - Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette - Isa and Canada: Entertainment One Films Hannah Arendt – Germany – Margarethe von Trotta – Isa: The Match Factory Imogine – U.S. – Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini - Isa: Voltage. U.S.: Lionsgate/ Roadside Attractions acquired from UTA, Netherlands: Independent Ginger and Rosa – U.K. – Sally Potter – Isa: The Match Factory. U.S. contact Cinetic Love is All You Need – Also played in Venice) Denmark – Susanne Bier – Isa: TrustNordisk - U.S. : Sony Pictures Classics, Canada: Mongrel, Australia - Madman, Brazil - Art Films, Bulgaria - Pro Films, Colombia - Babilla Cine, Czech Republic - Aerofilms, Finland - Matila Rohr Nordisk, Germany - Prokino, Hungary - Cirko, Italy - Teodora, Japan - Longride, Poland - Gutek, Portugal - Pepperview Lore – Australia/ Germany/ U.K. – Cate Shortland – Isa: Memento. U.S.: Music Box, France: Memento, Germany - Piffl, Hong Hong - Encore Inlight, So. Korea - Line Tree, Benelux - ABC/ Cinemien, U.K., Artificial Eye Dreams for Sale – Japan – Miwa Nishkawa – Isa: Asmik Ace Stories We Tell – Canada – Sarah Polley - Isa: Nfb. U.K.: Artificial Eye Liverpool – Canada – Marion Briand - Isa: Max Films. Canada: Remstar Venus and Serena – U.S./ U.K. – Michelle Major, Maikin Baird. Producer's Rep: Cinetic

Mavericks - 3 out of 7 “Conversations With” were with women (43%)

Discovery 11 out of 27 = 40% which includes The-Hottest-Public Ticket for the Israeli Film directly below (a Major Buzz Film Among its Public)

Fill the Void by Rama Burshtein, a first-time-ever Hasidic woman director Kate Melville’s Picture Day Alice Winocour Augustine - Isa: Kinology 7 Cajas by Tana Schembori from Paraguay - Isa: Shoreline Gabriela Pichler’s Eat Sleep Die from Sweden, Serbia and Croatia - Isa: Yellow Affair Oy Rola Nashef’s Detroit Unleaded France’s Sylive Michel’s Our Little Differences Contact producer Pallas Film Russian censored film Clip from Serbia by Maja Milos - Isa: Wide sold to Kmbo for France, Maywin for Sweden, Artspoitation for U.S. Satellite Boy by Australian Catriona McKenzie - Isa: Celluloid Dreams/ Nightmares Ramaa Mosley’s The Brass Teapot - Isa: TF1 sold to Magnolia for U.S., Intercontinental for Hong Kong, Cien for Mexico, Vendetta for New Zealand Veteran Korean-American Grace Lee’s Janeane from Des Moines.

Tiff Docs 7 out of 29 = 24% - Women traditionally have directed a greater portion of docs

Christine Cynn (codirector ) The Act of Killing - Isa: Cinephil Janet Tobias No Place on Earth - Isa: Global Screen Sarah Burns (codirector) The Central Park Five Isa: PBS sold to Sundance Select for U.S. Treva Wurmfeld Shepard & Dark - Contact Tangerine Entertainment Nina Davenport First Comes Love - Contact producer Marina Zenovich Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out - Isa: Films Distribution Halla Alabdalla As If We Were Catching a Cobra (Comme si nous attraptions un cobra) about the art of caricature in Egypt and Syria! Halla is Syrian herself, studied science and sociology in Syria and Paris - Isa: Wide

Contemporary World Cinema 11 out of 61 = 18%

Children of Sarajevo by Aida Begic, Sarajevo - Isa: Pyramide Baby Blues by Katarzyna Rostaniec, Poland. Contact producer The Cowards Who Looked to the Sky by Yuki Tanada, Japan - Isa: Toei Comrade Kim Goes Flying by Anja Daelemans (co-director), Belgium/ No. Korea. The first western financed film out of No. Korea Three Worlds by Catherine Corsini, France - Isa: Pyramide sold to Lumiere for Benelux, Pathe for Switzerland Middle of Nowhere by Ava DuVernay, U.S. - Contact Paradigm Talent Agency The Lesser Blessed by Anita Doron, Canada - Isa: eOne Watchtower by Pelin Esmer, Turkey/ France/ Germany- Isa: Visit Films Jackie by Antoinette Beumer, Netherlands - Isa: Media Luna When I Saw You by Annemarie Jacir, Palestine,/ Jordan/ Greece All that Matters is Past by Sara Johnsen, Norway- Isa: TrustNordisk

Tiff Kids 0 out of 5. Any meaning to this???

City To City – Mumbai 0 Out Of 10 Any meaning to this???

Vanguard 2 out of 15 = 13% (the average for most festivals)

90 Minutes– Norway – Eva Sorhaug - Isa: Level K Peaches Does Herself – Germany - Peaches. Contact producer. See Indiewire review.

Midnight Madness 0 out of 9 which is fine with me, thank you. This is a boy's genre or a date-night genre for girls and boys with a plan for the night.

IFC Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to writer-director Ruba Nadda’s “Inescapable,” which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last week. The company picked up U.S. rights to "Byzantium" and North American rights to the Mira Nair-directed drama "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" at the festival. Alexander Siddig, Joshua Jackson and Marisa Tomei star in "Inescapable," the story of a Syrian expatriate who returns to Damascus to look for his missing daughter with the help of a former lover and an embassy official. Daniel Iron and Lance Samuels produced; Christine Vachon of Killer Films, Kirk D’Amico of Myriad Pictures and Mark Slone of Alliance Films served as executive producers. Read More: Updated Toronto 2012 Round-Up: Full List of Acquisitions, Plus Sales Agents From CAA, UTA, Wme Weigh In "We're all very happy to be working with the wonderfully talented Ruba Nadda...

IFC Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to writer/director Ruba Nadda’s Inescapable from Myriad Pictures. The thriller, which stars Alexander Siddiq, Joshua Jackson and Marisa Tomei, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film is the story of a Syrian expatriate, played by Siddiq, whose journalist daughter goes missing in Damascus. He returns to his homeland to search for her with the help of a former lover (Tomei) and an embassy official (Jackson.) It was produced by Daniel Ironand Lance Samuels. Killer Films’ Christine Vachon, Myriad’s Kirk D’Amico and Alliance Films’ Mark Slone served as executive producer.

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IFC Films has acquired from Myriad Pictures the U.S. distribution rights to director/writer Ruba Nadda's thriller "Inescapable," which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this month, the companies announced on Wednesday. The film stars Alexander Siddig, Joshua Jackson (left) and Marisa Tomei. "Inescapable" tells the story of a Syrian expatriate (Siddig) whose journalist daughter goes missing in Damascus. He returns to his homeland to find her and calls on a former flame (Tomei) to help him, as well as an embassy official (Jackson) who may have an agenda of his own. IFC Films previously released Nadda's...

New York, NY (September 19, 2012) – IFC Films has acquired from Myriad Pictures the U.S. distribution rights to Director/Writer Ruba Nadda’s (Cario Time) thriller Inescapable, which premiered as a Gala Presentation at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. The film stars Alexander Siddig (Cario Time, Kingdom of Heaven), Joshua Jackson (Lay the Favorite, “Fringe”) and Marisa Tomei (Crazy, Stupid Love., The Wrestler, My Cousin Vinny). Thefilm was produced by Daniel Iron (Citizen Gangster, Cairo Time, Away From Her, The Bang Bang Club, The Red Violin) and Lance Samuels (The Bang Bang Club). Christine Vachon (Boys Don’t Cry, Far From Heaven), of Killer Films, Kirk D’Amico (Margin Call, The Good Girl) of Myriad Pictures and Mark Slone of Alliance Films serve as Executive Producers. Alliance Films is distributing Inescapable in Canada. Inescapable is the story of a Syrian expatriate (Siddig) whose journalist daughter goes missing in Damascus. He returns...

Inescapable

Directed by Ruba Nadda

Written by Ruba Nadda

Canada, 2012

It is no secret that virtually every story has been told already. There are, as it would seem, no remaining new and original tales for screenwriters and directors to share with audiences at this point in time. Sure, some of the details my be re-arranged so as to keep projects as fresh as possible, but the bare essentials remain the same. It is similar to pizza and its many possible toppings. One may bury in meat, vegetables or a pleasant mixture of both, it’s still a pizza. Sometimes however, the sense that a story has been told before in film comes as more obvious, not necessarily because of remakes or reboots (although those are quite prominent), but because a film driven by the same storyline literally came out only a short time ago. In such cases, how the filmmakers...

Ruba Nadda, whose Cairo Time captured Best Canadian Feature in 2009, returns to Tiff with Inescapable. Both star leading man Alexander Siddig and are set in the Middle East. However, Inescapable is anything but a charming romance, but rather a fast-paced political thriller set in the most dangerous country in the world, Syria.

When he learns that his daughter has gone missing in Syria, Adib (Siddig) leaves his comfy business in Toronto to track her down in Syria. Turns out that the Syrian government has abducted Adib’s journalist daughter and that a shady Canadian diplomat (Joshua Jackson) knows more about it than he lets on. Adib gets help from old flame (Marisa Tomei) who’s chagrined to help find the daughter of the man she almost married 20 years ago.

Credit Nadda for making a thriller. Though it sounds mad to Americans, the Canadian film system frowns on genre pictures and...

As you should have already heard, the fifth and final (sniff) season of Fringe largely takes place in 2036, a time in which the Observers have taken over.

In this season, which picks up right after “Letters of Transit,” the Fringe team, who have been preserved in amber for 20 years, are part of the resistance movement and fighting for freedom from their pale rulers. And it’s clear in the photo below, which you’re seeing first on EW.com, that they’re not going down without a fight.

The premiere, airing Sept. 28, also finds Peter (Joshua Jackson), Astrid (Jasika Nicole...

Diane Kruger bid adieu to the Toronto International Film Festival yesterday as she hopped a flight out of the Canadian city. The actress wheeled a Louis Vuitton suitcase behind her and carried a Tiff tote bag as she made her way through security, and later in the day, she was spotted strolling NYC's SoHo neighborhood. Diane was at the cinematic celebration to support her longtime boyfriend, Joshua Jackson, at the premiere of his movie Inescapable. Diane is a frequent fixture at film festivals, and earlier this year, she served on the jury at Cannes. The actress is a native of Germany but has a special connection to France. She frequently stars in French-language films like last year's Farewell, My Queen, and the Cannes Film Festival was where she walked her first red carpet as a young actress years ago. View Slideshow ›...

Diane Kruger donned Valentino Couture to join her boyfriend, Joshua Jackson, at the Toronto International Film Festival debut of Inescapable last night. The picture, a thriller about a father searching for his daughter, in which Josh stars, didn't meet great reception from critics - check out one scathing review of Inescapable. Nonetheless, the premiere brought Josh back to his native Canada along with German-born Diane. In fact, Josh has been spending a great deal of time in his motherland shooting Fringe in Vancouver. Diane's been keeping company with Josh north of the border, but has also ventured to their homes in La and Paris over the last month to focus on some of her own work. View Slideshow ›...

Two stars whose films premiered at Toronto -- Marisa Tomei with Ruba Nadda's "Inescapable" and Sam Rockwell with Martin McDonagh's "Seven Psychopaths" -- have signed on for "Why Now," a indie comedy that will shoot over three weeks in upstate New York this November. Michael Godere and Ivan Martin wrote and will direct and star alongside Tomei, Rockwell and Brian Geraghty. Parts & Labor is producing. Here's more from ScreenDaily. In Collider's early review of "Inescapable" they mention the film's inevitable comparisons to "Taken" but say that "it could have been better than 'Taken.'" They continue; "Tomei may be grossly miscast, but she’s a minor misstep in a film that constantly stumbles over its potential. Cinema doesn’t have too many Arab heroes. A country like Syria is always a place for danger, but never a vital part of the protagonist’s...

Because the basic plot of Ruba Nadda's Inescapable is about a badass father trying to rescue his kidnapped daughter, it will instantly be compared to Taken (even though you only need to look as far back as 24 to see a story about a badass father trying to rescue his kidnapped daughter).  There's so much in Inescapable that shoots down comparisons to Taken including the setting, the circumstances surrounding the daughter's kidnapping, the protagonist's background, and how he goes about his business.  Sadly, Inescapable stalls as a thriller because it never figures how to fully take advantage of its unique qualities. Adib (Alexander Siddig) formerly worked in the Syrian Military Intelligence Service, but fled the country twenty years ago to live in Canada.  There, he raised a family and found a peaceful life working in finance, but in January 2011, his teenage daughter Muna (Jay Anstey) goes missing in Damascus.  The...

Toronto -- For those viewers who can suspend their disbelief enough to accept Marisa Tomei playing a native Syrian woman named Fatima, writer-director Ruba Nadda’s Damascus-set thriller Inescapable may be just about palatable. But that casting choice is really only one of many unconvincing decisions in this contrived Canadian mash-up of Taken and Not Without My Daughter, and despite a hot button setting, the film will at best break out to local theatrical and worldwide ancillary slots following its Toronto premiere. It’s not as if the concept weren’t juicy enough: Syrian-born, Toronto-based executive Adib (Alexander Siddig)

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The 56th Annual London Film Festival has announced its full lineup — a packed schedule that includes 225 features, 14 world premieres, and a variety of special events, including the gala debut of Rolling Stones documentary Crossfire Hurricane. The band, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is expected to attend the festival as well.

Other highlights: Mike Newell’s new adaptation of Great Expectations will close out the fest on Oct. 21. (As previously announced, Tim Burton’s 3-D animated flick Frankenweenie will open it on Oct. 10.) Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut, Quartet, and the Ben Affleck-directed thriller Argo will also be featured in gala screenings.

Joshua Jackson plays Peter Bishop — a man with secrets, brains, quick-witted charisma, and a big smirk — on the Fox sci-fi series Fringe. In his new movie Inescapable, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday, Sept. 11, Jackson reveals a broader ability to play up intrigue as a Canadian Consular official with a past.

The film is directed by Arab-Canadian filmmaker Ruba Nadda, who was born to a Syrian father and Palestinian mother, and whose Cairo Time won the best Canadian feature film award at the Toronto fest in 2009. Inescapable revolves around a father’s frustrated search for his daughter,...

Back again with part five in our weeklong preview of the Toronto International Film Festival. We have talked Galas: The Big Launches, Genre: The Fantastic Side of Things, Asian Cinema: Pacific Rim Offerings, and Documentaries: Big Screen Reality. As we draw ever closer to the kickoff, today we'll look at a handful of the smaller films vying for your attention. Thanks for reading. The Deep Baltasar Kormakur (Contraband) returns to his native Iceland to dramatize this shocking true story of a miraculous shipwreck survivor. Trailer Inescapable Toronto native Ruba Nadda's follow-up to Cairo Time is this Middle Eastern political thriller about a man who returns to his native Syria to try to track down his missing daughter. Alexander Siddig (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)...