Director Lawrence Kasdan’s Darling Companion has been set as the opening night film for the 27th Santa Barbara International Film Festival taking place January 26 – February 5, 2012. Announcing the film’s premiere, SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling stated, “We are incredibly privileged to have the world premiere of a Lawrence Kasdan film. The highly anticipated Darling Companion is a fantastic film to kick off the festival.”
The cast of Darling Companion includes Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Dianne Wiest, Richard Jenkins, Sam Shepard, Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss, and Ayelet Zurer.
In addition to the premiere of Darling Companion, the SBIFF will feature a Lawrence Kasdan Retrospective with a Q&A and screenings of Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), and Grand Canyon (1991).
The Plot: In Darling Companion, Beth (Diane Keaton) saves a bedraggled lost dog from the side of the freeway on a wintry day in Denver. Struggling with her distracted, self-involved husband Joseph (Kevin Kline) and an empty nest at home, Beth forms a special bond with the rescued animal. When Joseph loses the dog after a wedding at their vacation home in the Rockies, the distraught Beth enlists the help of the few remaining guests and a mysterious young woman (Ayelet Zurer) in a frantic search.
Each member of the search party is affected by the adventure, which takes them in unexpected directions – comic, harrowing, and sometimes deeply emotional.
Focus Features has unveiled their 2012 theatrical release calendar which includes Paul Weitz’ drama, Being Flynn, and Lorene Scafaria’s directorial debut, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.
BEING FLYNN – March 2, 2012 (select cities)
Being Flynn is the new dramatic feature from Academy Award-nominated writer/director Paul Weitz (About a Boy). Adapted from Nick Flynn’s 2004 memoir Another Bulls—t Night in Suck City, the movie explores bonds both unbreakable and fragile between parent and child. Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine and There Will Be Blood) portrays Nick Flynn, a young writer seeking to define himself. He misses his late mother, Jody (four-time Academy Award nominee Julianne Moore), and her loving nature. But his father, Jonathan, is not even a memory, as Nick has not seen the man in 18 years.
Jonathan Flynn (two-time Academy Award winner Robert De Niro) has long defined himself as a great writer, “a master storyteller.” Suddenly facing eviction from his apartment, Jonathan impulsively reaches out to Nick and the two come face-to-face.
SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD – April 20, 2012 (wide)
The feature directorial debut of screenwriter Lorene Scafaria stars Golden Globe Award winner Steve Carell and Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley. Set in a too-near future, the movie explores what people will do when humanity’s last days are at hand. As the respective journeys of Dodge (Steve Carell) and Penny (Keira Knightley) converge, the two spark to each other and their outlooks – if not the world’s – brighten.
MOONRISE KINGDOM – May 25, 2012 (select cities)
The new feature from two-time Academy Award nominee Wes Anderson. Set on an island off the coast of New England in the 1960s, the film follows a young boy and girl (Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) falling in love. When they are moved to run away together, various factions of the town mobilize to search for them and the town is turned upside down – which might not be such a bad thing. Bruce Willis plays the town sheriff; two-time Academy Award nominee Edward Norton is cast as a camp leader; and Academy Award nominee Bill Murray and Academy Award winner Frances McDormand portray the young girl’s parents.
PARANORMAN – August 17, 2012 (wide)
The new 3D stop-motion comedy thriller from animation company LAIKA, reteaming the company with Focus Features after the groundbreaking Academy Award-nominated Coraline. ParaNorman is, following “Coraline,” the company’s second stop-motion animated feature to be made in 3D. In ParaNorman, a small town comes under siege by zombies. Who can it call? Only misunderstood local boy Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee), who is able to speak with the dead.
In addition to the zombies, he’ll have to take on ghosts, witches and, worst, of all, grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse. But this young ghoul whisperer may find his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits.
HYDE PARK ON HUDSON – 2012
In June 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Academy Award nominee Bill Murray) and his wife Eleanor (Olivia Williams) host the King and Queen of England (Samuel West and Olivia Colman) for a weekend at the Roosevelt home at Hyde Park on Hudson, in upstate New York – the first-ever visit of a reigning English monarch to America. With Britain facing imminent war with Germany, the Royals are desperately looking to FDR for support. But international affairs must be juggled with the complexities of FDR’s domestic establishment, as wife, mother, and mistresses all conspire to make the royal weekend an unforgettable one.
Seen through the eyes of Daisy (Academy Award nominee Laura Linney), Franklin’s neighbor and intimate, the weekend will produce not only a special relationship between two great nations but, for Daisy – and through her, for us all – a deeper understanding of the mysteries of love and friendship.
ANNA KARENINA – 2012
The third collaboration of Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley with director Joe Wright, following the award-winning box office successes Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, is the epic love story Anna Karenina, adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love). The story unfolds in its original late-19th-century Russia high-society setting and powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart, from the passion between adulterers to the bond between a mother and her children. As Anna (Keira Knightley) questions her happiness, change comes to her family, friends, and community.
Director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson sit down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss the performance capture film The Adventures of Tintin, featuring Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, and Daniel Craig.
After having earned the top spot on IMDB’s list for the past six out of seven years, Johnny Depp has been pushed down to #3 on the IMBD Top 10 Stars of 2011 list. And in a bit of a shocker, for the first time since 2007, no Twilight stars made the top 10 (Kristen Stewart dropped from #2 in 2010 to #12 in 2011, while Robert Pattinson didn’t even make the top 25).
However, relative newcomer Jennifer Lawrence – who wasn’t even in the top 100 in 2010 – landed at #7 this year.
IMDB determines the top 10 stars by counting the page views for each actor.
IMDb’s Top 10 Stars of 2011*
1. Natalie Portman
2. Mila Kunis
3. Johnny Depp
4. Emma Stone
5. Chris Hemsworth
6. Olivia Wilde
7. Jennifer Lawrence
8. George Clooney
9. Ryan Gosling
10. Christian Bale
IMDB’s Top 10 Emerging Stars (charting for the first time on the Top 100 list):
Pantelion Films has released a new teaser trailer and teaser poster for the comedy Casa de mi Padre starring Will Ferrell and directed by Matt Piedmont (former SNL writer and a director of many Funny or Die videos). Set for a March 16, 2012 theatrical release, Casa de mi Padre also stars Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal, and Genesis Rodriguez.
The Plot:
Armando Alvarez (Will Ferrell) has lived and worked on his father’s ranch in Mexico his entire life. As the ranch encounters financial difficulties, Armando’s younger brother Raul (Diego Luna) shows up with his new fiancée, Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez). It seems that Raul’s success as an international businessman means the ranch’s troubles are over as he pledges to settle all debts his father has incurred.
But when Armando falls for Sonia, and Raul’s business dealings turn out to be less than legit, all hell breaks loose as they find themselves in a war with Mexico’s most feared drug lord, the mighty Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal).
Paranormal Witness will be returning for a second season as Syfy has confirmed the show’s received a 12 episode pick-up order. Filming has already begun on season 2, which is set to premiere in August 2012.
Announcing the renewal, Mark Stern, President Original Content, Syfy and Co-Head, Original Content, Universal Cable Productions, stated, “Paranormal Witness is an edge-of-your-seat television experience and we’re thrilled that viewers made it a standout hit for us this fall. We look forward to working with Dimitri and Bart as we showcase another terrifying round of true-life hauntings.”
“We’re thrilled this series is returning; we think it is unlike anything else out there. The stories are totally gripping, visually arresting and genuinely very scary. We approach these shows as individual horror movies. We love making them and we’re convinced the series will continue to grow from its highly successful first season,” said executive producers Dimitri Doganis and Bart Layton.
According to the network, Paranormal Witness was Syfy’s top unscripted non-franchise first season series ever among adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and total viewers.
What’s It About?
“Paranormal Witness is a tense, filmic, high-octane drama-documentary series that brings to life the real stories of people who have lived through paranormal experiences that defy explanation. Using a mixture of intimate first-hand testimony, actual footage and gritty realistic drama, Paranormal Witness transports viewers into a world turned upside-down by extraordinary, terrifying and sometimes life-threatening paranormal events.”
Music Choice will broadcast Merry Christmas from Mariah Carey beginning on December 19, 2011 to help put Mariah fans in the mood for the holidays. The special will be available on Music Choice on Demand under the Holiday Hits category.
The holiday special includes the Grammy-winning singer talking about her Christmas album and working with Justin Bieber and John Legend on holiday music videos. The Merry Christmas from Mariah Carey special also features Carey discussing how she’ll spend Christmas and what she has in store for husband Nick Cannon and their twins, Monroe and Moroccan.
IGN’s just premiered the latest Battleship trailer complete with commentary by director Peter Berg who explains how his background as the son of a Navy historian plays into this film (he was brought up studying Naval battles – specifically World War II).
NBC also announced Daniel Radcliffe (forever known to muggles worldwide as Harry Potter) will host for the very first time on January 14th. Debuting that same night is Lana Del Rey as the show’s musical guest.
The black-and-white The Broken Tower will be released on January 10, 2012 followed by Gaukur Úlfarsson’s documentary feature Gnarr (about comedian Jón Gnarr’s campaign for mayor of Reykjavik) on February 7th. Return will arrive on February 28th and finds Cardellini playing a U.S. Army reservist who has trouble adjusting to life back in the States.
Per the official press release: “Focus World identifies and curates the most exciting voices in international and independent cinema. Part of Focus Features’ multi-platform strategy, Focus World presents titles of genuine vision and originality as premiere releases on EST, iVOD, and VOD, along with DVD and other formats.”
