After dropping a teaser trailer during the Super Bowl teasing the release of the actual trailer, Lucasfilm today released the official trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story. The new trailer shows off brief scenes with each of the key players in this Star Wars prequel, but of course focuses on the young Han played by Alden Ehrenreich.
“I was kicked out of Flight Academy for having a mind of my own. I’m going to be a pilot – the best in the galaxy,” says Han (Ehrenreich) before putting his money where his mouth is in the one minute 44 second trailer.
Lucasfilm and Disney also released four character posters featuring Han Solo, Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke), and Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo). The cast also includes Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Paul Bettany.
Filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller began as directors on the Han Solo project before exiting the film, with Ron Howard picking up the reins and finishing the movie. After boarding the film Howard kept fans apprised of the behind the scene happenings via his social media accounts, showing off photos from the set and even announcing the film’s official title with an Instagram post.
Howard directed from a script by Jon Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan. Solo: A Star Wars Story will open in theaters on May 25, 2018.
The Plot: Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in Solo: A Star Wars Story, an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.
Poster of Han Solo in ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story.’Poster of Lando Calrissian in ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story.’Poster of Chewbacca in ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story.’Poster of Qi’ra from ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story.’
The new TV spot for Red Sparrow premiered during the 2018 Super Bowl which pitted the Philadelphia Eagles against the New England Patriots, with the Eagles emerging victorious. The new 38 second trailer titled “She’s Out of Your League” shows Jennifer Lawrence as a young woman forced into becoming a spy.
Red Sparrow was directed by Francis Lawrence who also directed Jennifer Lawrence in the first film of The Hunger Games trilogy. Justin Haythe (A Cure for Wellness) adapted Jason Matthews’ novel, with Peter Chernin, Steve Zaillian, Jenno Topping, and David Ready producing.
In addition to Jennifer Lawrence, the cast of the thriller includes Joel Edgerton (It Comes At Night), Matthias Schoenaerts (Far From the Madding Crowd), Charlotte Rampling (Assassin’s Creed), Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds), and Jeremy Irons (Justice League). 20th Century Fox has set a March 2, 2018 theatrical release date.
The Plot: Dominika Egorova is many things. A devoted daughter determined to protect her mother at all costs. A prima ballerina whose ferocity has pushed her body and mind to the absolute limit. A master of seductive and manipulative combat.
When she suffers a career-ending injury, Dominika and her mother are facing a bleak and uncertain future. That is why she finds herself manipulated into becoming the newest recruit for Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people like her to use their bodies and minds as weapons. After enduring the perverse and sadistic training process, she emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow the program has ever produced. Dominika must now reconcile the person she was with the power she now commands, with her own life and everyone she cares about at risk, including an American CIA agent who tries to convince her he is the only person she can trust.
Jennifer Lawrence stars in ‘Red Sparrow’ (Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox)
Paramount Pictures ran a new TV spot for the thriller A Quiet Place during the 2018 Super Bowl, helping to kick off the Big Game which the Philadelphia Eagles ultimately won. The horror/thriller comes from John Krasinski who did triple duty on the film as the star, writer, and director.
Krasinski plays opposite his real-life spouse Emily Blunt (The Girl on the Train, Into the Woods, Edge of Tomorrow) as a married couple who are forced to raise their children without making any noise out of fear they’ll be attacked. The family communicates via sign language and they move around their home and exterior avoiding anything that could possibly reveal their positions to an unseen enemy.
Noah Jupe (Houdini and Doyle, The Night Manager) and Millicent Simmonds (Wonderstruck) co-star as the couple’s children who have been forced out of necessity into growing up in a world in which the slightest bit of noise could cause them to be attacked.
Tagline: If they can’t hear you, they can’t hunt you.
In addition to a new 30 second trailer, Paramount released a behind the scenes video featuring John Krasinski discussing his film. Describing the story, Krasinski explained, “Whatever is hunting them is everywhere. It’s all throughout the world. There’s nowhere to go. The only people this family have to rely on are each other.”
“Obviously, living silently is an impossibility. They have to figure out which sounds are safe and which sounds aren’t safe. The father lays down sand paths to keep everything muted. The entire family has to speak sign language. There’s a whole lighting system that they communicate with,” said Krasinski.
A Quiet Place was produced by Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller. The story comes from Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, with Krasinski, Bryan Woods, and Scott Beck writing the screenplay.
Paramount Pictures has set an April 6, 2018 theatrical release date.
The Big Game hosted the big debut of the brand new Avengers: Infinity War trailer. The Super Bowl trailer spotlighted each of the main cast of characters, including the star of the upcoming, much-anticipated Black Panther film, Chadwick Boseman.
The cast of the super-loaded superhero film includes Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America, Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk, and Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord. The cast also includes Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Karen Gillian as Nebula, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, Dave Bautista as Drax, Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon, Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine, and Paul Bettany as Vision. Josh Brolin takes on the role of the film’s lead villain, Thanos.
Avengers: Infinity War is set to open in theaters on May 4, 2018.
Anthony and Joe Russo return to the world of comic book-inspired films to direct this Avengers sequel. The Russo brothers previously directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, and they’re currently at work on the still-untitled Avengers film which is targeting a May 3, 2019 theatrical release.
Kevin Feige produced Avengers: Infinity War and Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo and Stan Lee executive produced. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely wrote the screenplay.
The Plot: An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
HBO has released the first official trailer for the upcoming second season of the sci-fi thriller, Westworld. The trailer, which debuted during the 2018 Super Bowl, also revealed the premiere date for the show’s much-anticipated second season. Westworld season two will kick off on Sunday, April 22, 2018 at 9pm ET/PT.
The Westworld trailer marked the first Super Bowl ad for the network in 20 years. The trailer was directed by the series’ co-creator Jonathan Nolan and features a cover of Kanye West’s “Runaway” by series composer Ramin Djawadi.
For those who need to catch up before season two arrives, all 10 episodes of season one are currently available on HBO Now, HBO Go, and HBO On Demand. HBO confirmed season two will also consist of 10 episodes.
Westworld season one was the most-watched freshman series on HBO. The season one cast included Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, Tessa Thompson, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Jimmi Simpson, Rodrigo Santoro, Shannon Woodward, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Ben Barnes, Simon Quarterman, Angela Sarafyan, Luke Hemsworth, Clifton Collins, Jr., Talulah Riley and Louis Herthum.
New to the series for the show’s second season as series regulars are Katja Herbers, Gustaf Skarsgård, and Fares Fares.
Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy created the series and serve as executive producers with J.J. Abrams, Athena Wickham, Roberto Patino, Richard Lewis, and Ben Stephenson. The critically acclaimed series is based on the bestselling book by Michael Crichton.
A Look Back – The Season 1 Plot: Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, Westworld is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin, exploring a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged. Among Westworld’s main players are: Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins), the brilliant, taciturn and complicated creative director, chief programmer and founder of Westworld, who has an uncompromising creative vision for the park. The Man in Black (Ed Harris) is the distillation of pure villainy into one man. Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood) is a provincial, beautiful and kind rancher’s daughter, who begins to discover that her entire idyllic existence is an elaborately constructed lie.
Teddy Flood (James Marsden), a new arrival to a small frontier town, quickly proves both his charm and talent with a revolver. Beautiful, razor-sharp madam Maeve Millay (Thandie Newton) has a genius for reading people and a knack for survival, but her seen-it-all-before worldview is about to be challenged. Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright) is the brilliant and quixotic head of the park’s Programming Division, whose keen observation of human nature provides him with boundless inspiration for his life’s work: creating artificial people.
Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson) is a mysterious and savvy provocateur with a unique perspective on Westworld. Theresa Cullen (Sidse Babett Knudsen), Westworld’s head of Quality Assurance, is responsible for keeping the park from sliding into unscripted chaos. A first-time visitor, William (Jimmi Simpson) is initially wary of the park’s more lascivious attractions, but slowly uncovers a deeper meaning. Hector Escaton (Rodrigo Santoro), Westworld’s perennial “most wanted” bandit, subscribes to the theory that the West is a wild place, and the only way to survive is to embrace the role of predator. Elsie Hughes (Shannon Woodward), a sardonic rising star in the Behavior Department, is charged with diagnosing the odd quirks of behavior in the park’s hosts. Armistice (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) is a savage fighter and brutal bandit, whose ruthlessness is surpassed only by her abiding loyalty to her fellow outlaws.
James Marsden and Evan Rachel Wood in ‘Westwood’ season 1 (Photo: John P. Johnson / HBO)
Paramount Pictures used the 2018 Super Bowl featuring the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles to launch the first trailer for the upcoming sixth film of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible – Fallout. A 30 second spot promoting the film debuted during the 2018 Super Bowl, with the full two-and-a-half-minute trailer arriving online immediately after the teaser’s Super Bowl premiere.
The cast of MI6 is led by Tom Cruise reprising his starring role as Ethan Hunt. The cast also includes Henry Cavill, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Michelle Monaghan, Alec Baldwin, Wes Bentley, and Frederick Schmidt.
Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise teamed up again after working as director/actor on Jack Reacher and 2015’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation for the franchise’s sixth entry. McQuarrie pulled triple duty, directing, co-writing (with Bruce Geller), and producing. Tom Cruise, Jake Myers, and J.J. Abrams also serve as producers, and David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger executive produce.
The popular action film franchise is based on the classic TV series which aired from 1966 to 1973. The first Mission: Impossible film with Tom Cruise premiered in 1996. Mission: Impossible II followed in 2000, starring Cruise and directed by John Woo. J.J. Abrams directed the franchise’s third film, Mission: Impossible III, which opened in 2006. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol debuted in theaters in 2011 and was directed by Brad Bird. The fifth film of the series, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, was released in 2015 with McQuarrie writing and directing.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout is set to open in theaters on July 27, 2018.
The Plot: The best intentions often come back to haunt you. Mission: Impossible – Fallout finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong.
The first teaser footage from Lucasfilm’s Solo: A Star Wars Story premiered during the 2018 Super Bowl, showing off one minute of footage from the Han Solo project. The first look video was really just a teaser for the full teaser trailer which will arrive on February 5, 2018.
Disney and Lucasfilm are set to launch Solo: A Star Wars Story in theaters on May 25, 2018.
The film stars Alden Ehrenreich (Rules Don’t Apply, Beautiful Creatures) as Han Solo, Woody Harrelson as Tobias Beckett, Emilia Clarke as Qi’Ra, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Paul Bettany, and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca. Ron Howard directed from a script by Jon Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan.
The Plot: Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in Solo: A Star Wars Story, an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.
Alden Ehrenreich is Han Solo in ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ (Photo Credit: 2018 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved)
Universal Pictures released a new trailer for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom at the beginning of 2018 Super Bowl, teasing the island was just the beginning. The new trailer showed more dinosaurs, more action, and more people who shouldn’t be messing with nature screaming and running for their lives.
The Jurassic World sequel stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, with J.A. Bayona (The Impossible) directing. The cast also includes James Cromwell, Ted Levine, Justice Smith, Geraldine Chaplin, Daniella Pineda, Toby Jones, Rafe Spall, Isabella Sermon, BD Wong and Jeff Goldblum.
Steven Spielberg and Colin Trevorrow served as executive producers.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom opens in theaters on June 22, 2018.
The Plot: It’s been four years since theme park and luxury resort Jurassic World was destroyed by dinosaurs out of containment. Isla Nublar now sits abandoned by humans while the surviving dinosaurs fend for themselves in the jungles. When the island’s dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event.
Owen is driven to find Blue, his lead raptor who’s still missing in the wild, and Claire has grown a respect for these creatures she now makes her mission. Arriving on the unstable island as lava begins raining down, their expedition uncovers a conspiracy that could return our entire planet to a perilous order not seen since prehistoric times. With all of the wonder, adventure and thrills synonymous with one of the most popular and successful series in cinema history, this all-new motion-picture event sees the return of favorite characters and dinosaurs—along with new breeds more awe-inspiring and terrifying than ever before. Welcome to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Owen (Chris Pratt) with a baby Velociraptor in ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.’ (Photo Credit: Universal Pictures)
DGA President Thomas Schlamme, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film Award-winner Guillermo del Toro, presenter and 2016 winner Damien Chazelle, and DGA National Executive Director Russell Hollander.
The Directors Guild of America has selected the winners of the 70th Annual DGA Awards honoring outstanding achievements in films, television, and commercials of 2017. This year, members of the Directors Guild bestowed wins on first-time nominees including Guillermo del Toro, Reed Morano, Jordan Peele, Jean-Marc Vallée, and Niki Caro.
Judd Apatow hosted the 70th Annual DGA Awards which were held on Saturday, February 3, 2018 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. Among the celebrities on hand to present awards were Pamela Adlon, Kevin Bacon, Damien Chazelle, Sally Hawkins, Allison Janney, Richard Jenkins, Catherine Keener, Christine Lahti, Don Mischer, Kimberly Peirce, Chelsea Peretti, Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Jay D. Roth, Amy Schumer, Frankie Shaw, John Singleton, Emma Thomas, Aisha Tyler, and Bradley Whitford.
The 2018 awards ceremony also included the presentation of special Lifetime Achievement/Service Awards to Michael Apted (Honorary Life Member Award), Dwight Williams (Frank Capra Achievement Award), and Jim Tanker (Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award).
Directors Guild of America Awards Winners:
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film:
GUILLERMO del TORO The Shape of Water (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Mr. del Toro’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: J. Miles Dale
Production Manager: Dennis Chapman
First Assistant Director: Pierre Henry
Second Assistant Director: Tyler Delben
This is Guillermo del Toro’s first DGA Award nomination.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Feature Film:
JORDAN PEELE Get Out (Universal Pictures)
Mr. Peele’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Marcei A. Brown, Rick A. Osako (Fairhope Unit)
First Assistant Director: Gerard DiNardi
Second Assistant Directors: Ram Paul Silbey, Marc Newland (Fairhope Unit), Jack McKenna (New York Unit)
Second Second Assistant Director: Maggie Ballard
Location Manager: Kurt Enger (New York Unit)
This was one of two DGA Award nominations this year for Jordan Peele. He was also nominated in the Feature Film category for Get Out.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series:
REED MORANO The Handmaid’s Tale, “Offred” (Hulu)
Ms. Morano’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Manager: Joe Boccia
This is Reed Morano’s first DGA Award nomination.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series:
BETH McCARTHY-MILLER
Unit Production Manager: David Hyman
First Assistant Director: Dale Stern
Second Assistant Director: Jeff Rosenberg
Second Second Assistant Director: Yarden Levo
Additional Second Assistant Director: Chalis Romero
This is Beth McCarthy-Miller’s twelfth DGA Award nomination. She won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series in 2013 for the 30 Rock episode “Hogcock!/Last Lunch.” She was also nominated that year, together with Rob Ashford, in the Movies for Television and Mini-Series category for The Sound of Music Live! She was previously nominated in the Comedy Series category for 30 Rock episodes “Live from Studio 6H” in 2012, “Live Show” in 2010, “The Reunion Episode #304” in 2008 and “Somebody to Love” in 2007.
She won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Musical Variety twice, in 2001 for America: A Tribute to Heroes (co-directed with Joel Gallen) and in 2000 for the “Val Kilmer and U2” episode of Saturday Night Live. She was also twice nominated in that category for Saturday Night Live episodes “Christopher Walken and The Foo Fighters” in 2003 and the 25th Anniversary episode in 1999. She was also nominated in 2015 in the Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials category for Adele Live in New York City.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series:
JEAN-MARC VALLÉE Big Little Lies (HBO)
Mr. Vallée’s Directorial Team:
Unit Production Managers: Barbara A. Hall, G.D. Fienberg
First Assistant Director: David Ticotin
Second Assistant Director: Christine Danahy
Second Second Assistant Director: Bob Riley
Additional Second Assistant Directors: Bryan Landrine, Rob Burgess, Allison Rushton, Mallory Squeo
This is Jean-Marc Vallée’s first DGA Award nomination.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming:
DON ROY KING Saturday Night Live, “Host: Jimmy Fallon” (NBC)
Mr. King’s Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Michael Mancini, Michael Poole, Bob Caminiti
Stage Managers: Gena Rositano, Chris Kelly
This is Don Roy King’s twelfth DGA Award nomination. He previously won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in this category for Saturday Night Live, “Host: Dave Chappelle” in 2016 and for Saturday Night Live “Host: Justin Timberlake” in 2013. Mr King also won the DGA Award for Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials for Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special in 2015. He was previously nominated for Saturday Night Live episodes in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014, and in 2015 in the Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming category for the Saturday Night Live episode, “Host: Tracy Morgan/Musical Guest: Demi Lovato.”
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials:
GLENN WEISS The 89th Annual Academy Awards (ABC)
Mr. Weiss’s Directorial Team:
Associate Directors: Ken Diego, Eve Adair, Susan Kopensky, Lori Margules, Robin Mishkin Abrams, Michael Polito
Stage Managers: Gary Natoli, Rita Cossette, Dave Cove, John Esposito, Valdez Flagg, Chris Hines, Alissa Levisohn Hoyo, Arthur Lewis, Roxanne Lozano, Ron Paul, Tammy Raab, Jason Seligman, Jackie Stathis, Cheryl Teetzel-Moore, Debbie Williams, Ari Woog
This is Glenn Weiss’s fourteenth DGA Award nomination. He previously won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials in 2013, 2014 and 2016 for the 67th, 68th and 70th Annual Tony Awards and in the Musical Variety category in 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012 for the 61st, 64th, 65th, and 66th Annual Tony Awards. He was also nominated in the Musical Variety category in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2008 for the 55th, 56th, 59th, 60th, and 62nd Annual Tony Awards. Additionally, Mr. Weiss was nominated in 2015 for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series, together with Rob Ashford, for Peter Pan Live!.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs:
BRIAN SMITH MasterChef, “Vegas Deluxe & Oyster Shucks” (FOX)
Mr. Smith’s Directorial Team:
Associate Director: Anna Moulaison
Stage Managers: Drew Lewandowski, Brady Hess
This is Brian Smith’s fifth DGA Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs in 2012 for MasterChef, “Episode #305.” He was previously nominated in this category for episodes of MasterChef in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, and in 2016 for S.T.R.O.N.G., “Welcome to Strong.”
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs:
NIKI CARO Anne with an E, “Your Will Shall Decide Your Destiny” (Netflix)
This is Niki Caro’s first DGA Award nomination.
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials:
MARTIN de THURAH
(Epoch Films)
Festival, StubHub – Goodby Silverstein
First Assistant Director: Charles Conner
Machines, StubHub – Goodby Silverstein
First Assistant Director: Charles Conner
Mad World, WealthSimple – WealthSimple In House
First Assistant Directors: Jey Wada
Second Assistant Director: Custis Smith
This is Martin de Thurah’s second DGA Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials in 2013 for The Man Who Couldn’t Slow Down (Hennessy VS) and Human Race (Acura MDX 2014).
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary:
MATTHEW HEINEMAN City of Ghosts (Amazon)
This is Matthew Heineman’s second DGA Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary in 2015 for Cartel Land.
Lifetime Achievement & Service Award Recipients:
MICHAEL APTED
Honorary Life Member Award
Given in recognition of leadership in the industry, contribution to the Guild and the profession of directing, and outstanding career achievement.
DWIGHT WILLIAMS
Frank Capra Achievement Award
This award is given to an Assistant Director or Unit Production Manager in recognition of career achievement in the industry and service to the Directors Guild of America.
JIM TANKER
Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award
This award is given to an Associate Director or Stage Manager in recognition of career achievement in the industry and service to the Directors Guild of America.
Ethan Hawke, Rose Byrne, and Chris O’Dowd star in ‘Juliet, Naked’ (Photo Courtesy of Sundance Institute / Photo by Alex Bailey)
Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have picked up the U.S. distribution rights to Juliet, Naked, a romantic comedy starring Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids, Damages), Ethan Hawke (Boyhood, Training Day), and Chris O’Dowd (Molly’s Game, Get Shorty). The rom com is based on Nick Hornby’s novel and was adapted for the screen by Tamara Jenkins, Jim Taylor, and Evgenia Peretz. Jesse Peretz (Nurse Jackie, Girls) directed.
Juliet, Naked made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and was produced by Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, Barry Mendel, Judd Apatow, and Jeffrey Soros. Simon Horsman, Nick Hornby, Thorsten Schumacher, and Patrick Murray executive produced.
“The filmmakers and the cast are incredibly talented and give justice to the comedy and originality of Nick’s novel,” said Lionsgate President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions Jason Constantine. “We look forward to seeing audiences rock out to the film when it hits screens this year.”
“Juliet, Naked was one of the true buzz titles at Sundance this year, driven by a wonderful, romantic rock and roll sensibility and enormously winning performances by Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O’Dowd,” stated Roadside Attractions co-founders Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff. “Jesse Peretz delivered an indie-spirited home run that’s also broadly commercial and crowd pleasing. It’s the perfect fun and heartwarming comedy for us to program on our slate this summer.”
Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions are planning a summer 2018 theatrical release.
The Plot:Juliet, Naked tells the story of Annie (Rose Byrne) who is stuck in a long-term relationship with Duncan (Chris O’Dowd) – a huge fan of obscure rock musician Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke). When the acoustic demo of Tucker’s hit record from 25 years ago surfaces, its release leads to a life-changing encounter with the elusive rocker himself. Based on Nick Hornby’s best-selling novel, Juliet, Naked is a comic account of life’s second chances.
