Director Andrea Di Stefano’s dramatic film Escobar: Paradise Lost, which just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, has released a new poster featuring the film’s star Benicio Del Toro. Coming to theaters on November 6, 2014, Escobar: Paradise Lost also stars The Hunger Games‘ Josh Hutcherson, Claudia Traisac, Brady Corbet, Carlos Bardem and Ana Girardot.
The Plot:
For Pablo Escobar (Del Toro), family is everything. When young surfer Nick (Hutcherson) falls for Escobar’s niece, he finds his life on the line when he’s pulled into the dangerous world of the family business.
The supernatural thriller The Bye Bye Man has found a home at TWC-Dimension. TWC’s picked up worldwide rights to the Intrepid Picture’s film scripted by Jonathan Penner and based on the Robert Damon Schneck short story, “The Bridge to Body Island.”
The full synopsis has yet to be released. However, TWC-Weinstein says The Bye Bye Man “chronicles the harrowing events experienced by three Wisconsin college students in the early 1990s.”
Stacy Title (The Last Supper) is directing and Intrepid Pictures’ Trevor Macy is producing.
“There are only a few truly scary and iconic characters within this genre and we think the Bye Bye Man has the potential to be the next one. Trevor and Stacy will be great partners in bringing this fantastic and terrifying script to the screen,” stated Matthew Signer, EVP of Production and Creative Affairs for TWC-Dimension, announcing the acquisition.
“TWC-Dimension saw the potential in this project from very early on, and their enthusiasm makes them a great home for the movie,” said Macy.
The 39th Toronto International Film Festival came to an end today with The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch earning the People’s Choice Award, a win which helps its shot at Oscar glory. Other films earning awards recognition at the festival were Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s What Do We Do in the Shadows and Oren Moverman’s Time Out of Mind.
Here’s the complete list of the 2014 TIFF winners:
VIMEO AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM:
The winner of the Vimeo Award for Best Canadian Short Film goes to Randall Okita for The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer. The jury remarked, “For its bold blend of live action and digital animation to produce a striking meditation on the nature of memory and its legacy, the jury awards the Vimeo Award for Best Canadian Short Film to Randall Okita’s The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer.” The award offers a $10,000 cash prize.
Honorable Mention: Rob Grant’s What Doesn’t Kill You
VIMEO AWARD FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM:
The winner of the Vimeo Award for Best International Short Film goes to Sotiris Dounoukos’s A Single Body (Un seul corps). The jury remarked, “For its extraordinary exploration of the value of friendship, hope, and aspiration in an unusually brutal and austere environment… and world — made especially heartbreaking by striking performances by Doudou Masta and Mexianu Medenou — the jury awards the Vimeo Award for Best International Short Film to Sotiris Dounoukos for A Single Body.” The award offers a $10,000 cash prize.
Honorable Mention: Atsuko Hirayanagi’s Oh Lucy!
CANADA GOOSE AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FILM:
The Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film goes to Maxime Giroux’s Felix and Meira (Félix et Meira). The jury remarked, “For its immense sophistication and craftsmanship in telling a brave story bridging two disparate worlds, its generosity of spirit, masterful use of music, and exquisite performances that fuel the film’s power as both an intimate love story and a profound statement on the value of passion, family and community, the Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film goes to Maxime Giroux’s Felix and Meira.” This award is made possible thanks to Canada Goose and comes with a cash prize of $30,000.
CITY OF TORONTO AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FIRST FEATURE FILM:
The City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film goes to Jeffrey St. Jules for Bang Bang Baby. The jury remarked, “For its ingenious mixing of genres, sophisticated blend of tones and ability to create its own strange, tragicomic and original world without sacrificing any richness in regards to story, character and emotion, the jury recognizes as Best Canadian First Feature Film Bang Bang Baby by Jeffrey St. Jules.” The award carries a cash prize of $15,000.
Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI) for Special Presentations:
The Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI) for Special Presentations is awarded to Oren Moverman’s Time Out of Mind. The jury remarked, “For Oren Moverman’s sensitive and human depiction of homelessness, and Richard Gere’s remarkable performance, the FIPRESCI jury is pleased to grant the Special Presentations prize to Time Out of Mind.”
Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI) for the Discovery:
The Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI) for the Discovery programme is awarded to Abd Al Malik for May Allah Bless France! (Qu’Allah bénisse la France!) The jury remarked, “The FIPRESCI jury is pleased to grant the Discovery prize for a story of a youth displaced in their own country, struggling to find the balance between chaos and serenity, on the strength of art, music and human spirit.
While the startling cinematography is purely black and white, the director Abd Al Malik managed to show the different shades of grey in his daring debut May Allah Bless France!. Félicitations.”
NETPAC AWARD:
As selected by a jury from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema, the NETPAC Award for World or International Asian Film Premiere goes to Shonali Bose for Margarita, with a Straw. Jury members include Lekha Shankar (India), Hannah Fisher (China) and Anderson Le (Hawaii). The jury remarked, “Margarita, with a Straw is both universal and groundbreaking. Director Shonali Bose and actress Kalki Koechlin have jointly created a character and a world that embody a love letter to life, with all its highs and lows, in spite of overwhelming physical limitations.”
GROSLCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS:
This year marked the 37th year that Toronto audiences were able to cast a ballot for their favourite Festival film, with the Grolsch People’s Choice Award. This year’s award goes to Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII.
Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country deemed illegal. The award offers a $15,000 cash prize and custom award, sponsored by Grolsch.
First Runner Up: Isabel Coixet’s Learning to Drive
Second Runner Up: Theodore Melfi’s St. Vincent
The Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award:
The Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award goes to Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement for What We Do in the Shadows. The film follows three flatmates who are just trying to get by and overcome life’s obstacles — like being immortal vampires who must feast on human blood.
First Runner Up: Kevin Smith’s Tusk
Second Runner Up: Jalmari Helander’s Big Game
The Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award:
The Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award goes to Hajooj Kuka for Beats of the Antonov. Beats of the Antonov follows refugees from the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains in Sudan as they survive displacement and the trauma of civil war. Music, a cornerstone of their traditions and identity, becomes itself a vehicle for survival.
First Runner Up: David Thorpe’s Do I Sound Gay?
Second Runner Up: Ethan Hawke’s Seymour: An Introduction
BLOOM has released the first photo from Sea of Trees, the dramatic thriller from Oscar nominee Gus Van Sant. The new photo features Matthew McConaughey front and center with Ken Watanabe standing in the background. Naomi Watts also stars in the film written by Chris Sparling and produced by Gil Netter, Ken Kao, Kevin Halloran, F. Gary Gray, Brian Dobbins, and Allen Fischer.
The Plot:
The film follows Arthur Brennan (McConaughey) trekking into Aokigahara, known as the Sea of Trees, a mysterious dense forest at the base of Japan’s Mount Fuji where people go to contemplate life and death. Having found the perfect place to die, Arthur encounters Takumi Nakamura (Watanabe), a Japanese man who has also lost his way. The two men begin a journey of reflection and survival, which affirms Arthur’s will to live and reconnects him to his love with his wife (Watts).
Ben McKenzie stars as Detective James Gordon in the Batman prequel series, Gotham. The gritty crime thriller will premiere on Fox on September 22, 2014.
Joining Ben McKenzie in season one are David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne, Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney, Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth, Donal Logue as Detective Harvey Bullock, and Camren Bicondova as Selina Kyle/the future Catwoman. Robin Lord Taylor plays Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, Cory Michael Smith is Edward Nygma/the future Riddler, Zabryna Guevara is Captain Sarah Essen, and Erin Richards is Barbara Kean.
Victoria Cartagena plays Renee Montoya, Andrew Stewart Jones is Crispus Allen, and John Doman is Carmine Falcone.
The Synopsis: Before there was Batman, there was GOTHAM.
With a reputation synonymous with law and order, Commissioner James Gordon is one of the crime world’s greatest foes. Everyone knows the name. But what is known of Gordon’s rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? And what did it take to navigate the layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world’s most iconic villains — the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker?
Gotham is the origin story of the great DC Comics Super-Villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (The Mentalist, Rome), this one-hour drama follows one cop’s rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering on the edge of evil and chronicles the genesis of one of the most popular super heroes of our time.
Brave, earnest and eager to prove himself, the newly minted detective Gordon (Ben McKenzie) is partnered with the brash, but shrewd police legend Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), as the two stumble upon the city’s highest-profile case ever: the murder of local billionaires Thomas and Martha Wayne. At the scene of the crime, Gordon meets the sole survivor: the Waynes’ hauntingly intense 12-year-old son, Bruce (David Mazouz), toward whom the young detective feels an inexplicable kinship. Moved by the boy’s profound loss, Gordon vows to catch the killer.
As he navigates the often-underhanded politics of Gotham’s criminal justice system, Gordon encounters imposing gang boss Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith), and many of the characters who will become some of DC Comics’ most renowned, enduring villains, including a teenaged Selina Kyle/the future Catwoman (Camren Bicondova) and Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor). Although the crime drama follows Gordon’s turbulent and singular rise through the Gotham City police department, it also focuses on the unlikely friendship Gordon forms with the young heir to the Wayne fortune, who is being raised by his unflappable butler, Alfred (Sean Pertwee) — a friendship that will last them all of their lives and will play a crucial role in helping the young boy eventually become the crusader he’s destined to be.
Keanu Reeves is back in action with the thriller John Wick from stunt coordinator/first-time feature film director Chad Stahelski. The film, which is showing off a new trailer and poster, also features Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan, Dean Winters, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, and Willem Dafoe.
Written by Derek Kolstad, John Wick is heading to theaters on October 24, 2014.
The Plot:
An ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him. With New York City as his bullet-riddled playground, JOHN WICK (Keanu Reeves) is a fresh and stylized take on the “assassin genre”.
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs just made Frozen fans very happy. Not only did he promise that favorite characters from Frozen will have a larger presence at the Magic Kingdom parks and in the Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, there are also plans in the works for a brand new Frozen attraction at Walt Disney World Resort’s Norway Pavilion in Epcot. Staggs also revealed that they’re extending parts of the “Frozen Summer Fun LIVE!” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios so that fans of the blockbuster movie can keep singing along with Queen Elsa and Princess Anna.
Here’s the details on the upcoming Frozen attraction straight from Disneyland’s official blog by Chairman Tom Staggs:
When Walt Disney promised that Disneyland would never be completed, so long as there is imagination left in the world, he made a promise to our guests that we take seriously at all our locations around the world. This year, one particular product of imagination — Disney Animation’s blockbuster hit Frozen — captured the hearts and minds of people around the world and gave us a new opportunity to make good on Walt’s pledge.
We’ve made Frozen a part of the guest experience in a number of ways already and our guests have both loved them and asked for more. So I’m pleased to say that we’re starting construction at Walt Disney World Resort on a brand new Frozen attraction at the Norway Pavilion in Epcot. The new attraction, which replaces Maelstrom, will take our guests to Arendelle and immerse them in many of their favorite moments and music from the film. The pavilion will also include a royal greeting location where Anna and Elsa can meet our guests. We think these Frozen elements are great complements to the Norway Pavilion, which showcases the country and region that inspired the film.
Staggs didn’t reveal when visitors to Epcot can expect to be able to check out the new Frozen attraction.
Hayley Atwell’s excited to be working on ABC’s mid-season replacement series Agent Carter and happy to be able to dig into the character and really give audiences a chance to learn who Peggy Carter is and what makes her tick. At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, Atwell – who will also be appearing in the season two premiere of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – talked about getting the opportunity to fill in more of Peggy’s backstory. “We’ve got glimpses of who she is from the Captain America films and also the One-Shot, but this is now a chance to explore her limitations as a human being and having to go beyond that to save the day. I think there’s so much in her that’s yet to be shown to the world.”
For those not up on their Marvel properties, here’s the official plot of the Agent Carter series: “Marvel’s Agent Carter follows the story of Peggy Carter. It’s 1946, and peace has dealt Peggy Carter a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad. Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), Peggy must balance doing administrative work and going on secret missions for Howard Stark all while trying to navigate life as a single woman in America, in the wake of losing the love of her life – Steve Rogers.”
Hayley Atwell Agent Carter Interview
It’ll be interesting to see her in that time period. What does it mean to you to be able to show what women had to deal with back then?
Hayley Atwell: “I think what’s frightening is how we haven’t actually come that far. I don’t know about the US but in terms of Britain, women are still not paid the same as men. We really haven’t come that far since the ’50s, unfortunately. I mean, we may have culturally in terms of how we treat each other and how men treat women, but there’s still a long way to go. And so I think that this period is something that men and women can still relate to.”
Would you have been able to do this show if it had been any more than eight episodes?
Hayley Atwell: “Good question. Probably. I’m so committed to Peggy Carter that I would have done it if it had gone on for 50 episodes.”
How great was it to not only get the role in the Marvel movies but then to have them ask you to do a TV series too?
Hayley Atwell: “It’s a dream come true really. I had such a great experience doing the first two films and loved working with the Marvel crew and all the filmmakers, so this was just this wonderful extension to be able to revisit something that was a very joyous memory.”
How did you feel about the final scene in One-Shot with the men just staring at the women in bikinis? Didn’t that sort of undermine the story?
Hayley Atwell: “But they looked like idiots, right? I mean that was the whole point: they made themselves look like idiots. I don’t think you’ll be seeing much of that in the Agent Carter pilot. If Peggy was there when it happened, I think she would have [slapped] them.”
Morgan Freeman was once mistaken for Samuel L. Jackson in an airport, he used to have a nickname, and he doesn’t have a middle name. These little known facts about Morgan Freeman were discovered during a series of random questions from Jimmy Kimmel on the September 11, 2014 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper team up for the third time in Serena, a dramatic thriller based on the book by Ron Rash and directed by Susanne Bier (Things We Lost in the Fire). The independent drama, which just revealed the first official trailer, will be making its premiere at the London Film Festival on October 13, 2014. Serena’s been pushed back a few times and still doesn’t have a confirmed US release date.
The Plot:
The film follows newlyweds George (Bradley Cooper) and Serena Pemberton (Jennifer Lawrence) who travel from Boston to the mountains of North Carolina where they begin to build a timber empire in 1929. Serena soon shows herself to be the equal of any man: overseeing crews, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving a man’s life in the wilderness. Together, this king and queen rule their dominion, killing or vanquishing all who stand in the way of their ambitions. But when Serena learns that she can never bear a child, she sets out to murder the woman who bore George a son before his marriage. And when she starts to suspect that George is protecting his illegitimate family, the Pembertons’ intense, passionate marriage begins to unravel as the story moves toward its shocking reckoning.
