Film
Debut Poster For Lee Daniels’ ‘The Paperboy’ – Starring Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman & Matthew McConaughey
Dec 28th
Millennium Films has released this first poster for Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels’ (Precious) ‘The Paperboy.’ Based on Pete Dexter’s 1995 novel of the same name, the film stars Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack and David Oyelowo. Dexter’s novel is set in Florida and centers on a pair of brothers who team-up to investigate the potential wrongful conviction of a death-row inmate. Check out the brief synopsis for ‘The Paperboy’ below. Look out for the film sometime in 2012. Source: The Film Stage.
A directionless young man helps his reporter brother investigate the possible wrongful conviction of a man on death row, and in the process, falls for the woman whom the convict has been romancing through prison correspondence.
Meryl Streep Interview For ‘The Iron Lady’
Dec 28th
‘The Iron Lady’ is an intimate portrait of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), one of the 20th century’s most famous and controversial figures and the first and only female Prime Minister of The United Kingdom. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd (who previously directed Meryl Streep in ‘Mamma Mia!’), ‘The Iron Lady’ co-stars Jim Broadbent, Olivia Colman, Nicholas Farrell, Susan Brown, Roger Allam, Anthony Head, Julian Wadham, Pip Torrens, Nick Dunning, Richard E. Grant, David Westhead, Angus Wright, Alexandra Roach, Harry Lloyd and John Sessions. The film is set for release December 30th in the US, and January 6th in the UK.
When did this role first come to your attention?
Meryl Streep: From working on ‘Mamma Mia!’, me and Phyllida had been speaking periodically. I had been telling her about my dream to make a movie about Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. I know that sounds funny, but I have an interest in things that we don’t want to handle in movies or look at, because I think anything forbidden is exciting, you know? Nudity is nothing, it’s not really a provocation. Try and talk about leaving and dying and all those things.
And this particular take that Abi Morgan took with this screenplay was really really great. Three days in the life of a little old lady, who just happens to be the person who was the longest serving Prime Minister in the 20th century and the only female in the western world who ruled a nuclear country. Pretty interesting stuff, to look at a life ebbing in its diminishment. That really interested me.
Poster For The 84th Academy Awards Unveiled
Dec 28th
With the 84th Academy Awards fast approaching, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released the official poster for the show. The art features the iconic Oscar statuette alongside images from eight films spanning eight decades: “Gone with the Wind” (1939), “Casablanca” (1943), “Giant” (1956), “The Sound of Music” (1965), “The Godfather” (1972), “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989), “Forrest Gump” (1994) and “Gladiator” (2000). All the films featured on the poster won the Academy Award for Best Picture, except “Giant,” for which George Stevens won the Oscar for Directing.
Supported by the tagline “Celebrate the movies in all of us,” the design is meant to evoke the emotional connections we all have with the movies. “Whether it’s a first date or a holiday gathering with friends or family, movies are a big part of our memory,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “The Academy Awards not only honor the excellence of these movies, but also celebrate what they mean to us as a culture and to each of us individually.”
Oscar nominations will be announced on January 24th, 2012 and the 84th Academy Awards will take place on February 26th, 2012. The artwork was created by award-winning graphic designer Anthony Goldschmidt, and Mark and Karen Crawford of the design firm Blood&Chocolate. You can download and share the poster here.
Mark Wahlberg Interview For ‘Contraband’
Dec 28th
Mark Wahlberg leads the cast of ‘Contraband’, a fast-paced thriller about a man trying to stay out of a world he worked so hard to leave behind and the family he’ll do anything to protect. Set in New Orleans, the film explores the cutthroat underground world of international smuggling — full of desperate criminals and corrupt officials, high-stakes and big payoffs — where loyalty rarely exists and death is one wrong turn away. Alongside Mark Wahlberg, the film stars Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Haas, and Ben Foster. ‘Contraband’ is released in cinemas January 13th in US, and March 16th in the UK.
What was it like having Baltasar Kormákur on board as director? Seeing as he played your role and produced the original Icelandic film?
Mark Wahlberg: At first I was concerned that he might refer to the way he played things, but he really wanted me to do my own thing. He was great, he‘s really smart. There was no bells and whistles. I don’t think he’s ever made a movie with the tenth of the budget that we have of on ‘Contraband.’ But he still has the same approach, he’s not off in a trailer, he’s on the set the whole time jumping around and running, showing me how to climb things. I really like his style, he’s covering all of the bases, he’s really smart about all the performances. With him you can try different things, which makes the performances a lot more layered. He obviously starred-in and produced the original, so he knows the story inside and out.
Extended TV Spot For Joe Carnahan’s ‘The Grey’ – Starring Liam Neeson & James Badge Dale
Dec 28th
With the films release a few weeks away, Open Road Films has released this new extended TV spot for Joe Carnahan’s (The A-Team, Smokin’ Aces) upcoming adventure-survival thriller ‘The Grey.’ The film re-teams Carnahan with his ‘The A-Team’ leading man Liam Neeson, it also stars Dallas Roberts, James Badge Dale, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo, Nonso Anozie and Joe Anderson.
In ‘The Grey’ Liam Neeson leads an unruly group of oil-rig roughnecks when their plane crashes into the remote Alaskan wilderness. Battling mortal injuries and merciless weather, the survivors have only a few days to escape the icy elements – and a vicious pack of rogue wolves on the hunt – before their time runs out. Open Road Films has pencilled in a January 27th, 2012 release date for the film. ’The Grey’ is based on the short story ‘Ghost Walker’ by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers.
Concept Art & First Still From Tom Tykwer & The Wachowski’s ‘Cloud Atlas’
Dec 27th
Han Cinema has premiered these two pieces of concept art and first look at Bae Doona (The Host) in Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola, Run & Perfume) and The Wachowski’s (The Matrix trilogy) ’Cloud Atlas.’ The film stars Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw, Susan Sarandon, Jim Broadbent, Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant and Doona, all of whom are expected to play multiple parts, including cross-gendered roles, each set in a different place and era. ‘Cloud Atlas’ is scheduled for release October 26th in the US, while the UK release date is currently TBC. The film is an adaptation of David Mitchell’s epic novel of the same name. Check out the synopsis for the book below.
A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified “dinery server” on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation — the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other’s echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small. In his captivating third novel, David Mitchell erases the boundaries of language, genre and time to offer a meditation on humanity’s dangerous will to power, and where it may lead us.