Columbia Pictures is hoping they hit a home run with Moneyball, the baseball drama inspired by a true story and starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Chris Pratt. The film, based on Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s unorthodox approach to putting together a baseball team, opens in theaters on September 23, 2011. Prior to its wide release, the film screened at the Toronto International Film Festival where Brad Pitt took part in a press conference to talk about tackling the sports movie. In this video provided by Columbia Pictures, Pitt discusses the appeal of the story, how we approach failure and success, sports films and how we love our athletic teams, and underdog stories.
The Plot: Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics and the guy who assembles the team, who has an epiphany: all of baseball’s conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs.
Warner Bros Pictures has just released the first trailer for what is likely to be one of the films in contention come Oscar time. Take a look and see what you think. Is it Oscar-worthy?
Sean Penn in 'This Must Be the Place'This Must Be the Place has just found a home with The Weinstein Company, with the studio picking up North American distribution rights from the producers Lucky Red, Indigo Film and Medusa Film. Sean Penn stars as an aging rock star in the thriller co-written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino (Il Divo).
The film also features Frances McDormand, Judd Hirsch, Eve Hewson, Kerry Condon, Harry Dean Stanton, Joyce Van Patten, David Byrne, Olwen Fouéré, Shea Whigham, Liron Levo, Heinz Lieven, and Simon Delaney.
“I’m thrilled to be working with Harvey. He has a very deep appreciation of the film and a clear vision for its release, and he loves to come to Rome,” stated Sorrentino in the press release announcing the acquisition.
TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein said, “Sorrentino is a true auteur. We were gripped by his film and are excited to share it with American audiences. Sean proves once again that he is one of the finest actors of our time.”
The Story:
Cheyenne is a former rock star. At 50 he still dresses ‘Goth’ and lives in Dublin off his royalties. The death of his father, with whom he wasn’t on speaking terms, brings him back to New York. He discovers his father had an obsession: to seek revenge for a humiliation he had suffered. Cheyenne decides to pick up where his father left off, and starts a journey, at his own pace, across America.
Starring: Channing Tatum and Al Pacino [full cast list under the ‘Cast’ tab]
Directed By: Dito Montiel
Release Date: November 4, 2011
Running Time: 95 minutes
Genres: Drama, action
MPAA Rating: R for violence, pervasive language and brief disturbing sexual content
Official Synopsis: A young cop is assigned to a precinct in the working class neighborhood where he grew up, and an old secret threatens to destroy his life and his family.
[tabs style=”default” title=”‘The Son of No One’ Resources”] [tab title=”Cast”]
Channing Tatum
Tracy Morgan
Katie Holmes
Ray Liotta
Juliette Binoche
Al Pacino
[/tab]
'George Harrison: Living in the Material World' Poster
Oscar and Emmy-winner Martin Scorsese’s documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World will debut on HBO on Wednesday, October 5, 2011 (Part 1) and Thursday, October 6th (Part 2). Produced by Scorsese, Olivia Harrison (George’s widow), and Nigel Sinclair, George Harrison: Living in the Material World includes interviews with Harrison’s friends and contemporaries, Eric Clapton, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, George Martin, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Tom Petty, Phil Spector, Ringo Starr, and Jackie Stewart.
Announcing the upcoming premiere, HBO Programming President Michael Lombardo said, “When Martin Scorsese brings a project to HBO, we all know it is going to be very special, and he has added to that body of work with this monumental film on George Harrison. From rock‘n’roll icon to moviemaker, to spiritual seeker and humanitarian, George Harrison was a true renaissance man. This amazing film will illuminate every aspect of Harrison’s remarkable, multifaceted life.”
Comments Scorsese, “Like so many millions of people, I first came to know George through the music, which was the soundtrack of our world. The Beatles’ music, those beautifully lyrical guitar breaks and solos, those unforgettable songs of George’s like ‘I Me Mine’ or ‘If I Needed Someone,’ and the images, in magazines, on album covers, the TV appearances, the newsreel footage, the Richard Lester movies; and then there was the world after the Beatles, when George and his music seemed to open up and flower.
I will never forget the first time I heard ‘All Things Must Pass,’ the overwhelming feeling of taking in that all glorious music for the first time. It was like walking into a cathedral. George was making spiritually awake music – we all heard and felt it – and I think that was the reason that he came to occupy a very special place in our lives. So when I was offered the chance to make this picture, I jumped at it. Spending time with Olivia, interviewing so many of George’s closest friends, reviewing all that footage, some of it never seen before, and listening to all of that magnificent music – it was a joy, and an experience I’ll always treasure.”
The Story:George Harrison: Living in the Material World focuses the imaginative and inspired eye of one of cinema’s most preeminent filmmakers on one of the world’s most influential men. The film takes viewers on the musical and spiritual voyage that was George Harrison’s life, much of it told in his own words. The result is deeply moving and touches each viewer in unique and individual ways.
Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese traces Harrison’s life from his musical beginnings in Liverpool through his life as a musician, a seeker, a philanthropist and a filmmaker, weaving together interviews with Harrison and his closest friends, performances, home movies, and photographs. Much of the material in the film has never been seen or heard before. The result is a rare glimpse into the mind and soul of one of the most talented artists of his generation and a profoundly intimate and affecting work of cinema.
Martin put together a completely unsolicited list of the do’s and don’ts of handling Hollywood’s biggest night of the year for Murphy, the highlights of which include:
-“Start slimming down now. You looked kinda paunchy in Norbit.”
-“Remember to relax and have a good time while 12,000 livebloggers rip you to shreds.”
-“If you feel the show is running long, you’re probably thinking of 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, or any of the shows in the ’90s.”
-“If you feel tired midway through, give Neil Patrick Harris a Red Bull and throw some sheet music at him.”
Check out the full letter to Eddie Murphy on Steve Martin’s official website: www.stevemartin.com
Well, I’d like the 13 poster better if it included Alexander Skarsgard on it. But as it is, it’s just all right (it looks a little too photoshopped for my taste).
More interesting is the new trailer for the action thriller directed by Géla Babluani who remade his own 2005 indie film, 13 Tzameti, with this English language version.
The remake’s cast includes Jason Statham, Sam Riley, Mickey Rourke, Curtis 50 Cent Jackson, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Michael Shannon, and Alexander Skarsgard, and is set for a limited theatrical release in NY and LA the week of October 28, 2011, before hitting stores on Blu-ray and DVD on November 8th.
The Plot: Vince Ferro is a man in desperate circumstances. While on a quick fix-it job, he steals an envelope containing instructions for a mysterious job that promises a potential fortune. He assumes a false identity and follows the instructions, only to find himself a numbered participant in an underworld Russian roulette competition, where gamblers place bets on who’ll survive when the trigger is pulled.
The stakes are high, but the payout is more than he can resist. Many are competing for the first time, and a precious few have even returned to play again, but are his odds any better than other players in this most deadly game? What will it take to be the last man standing?
Because we just can’t get enough of Ryan Gosling in Drive, here’s a new behind-the-scenes video with Gosling talking about his character, the story, choices he made in certain scenes, and cars. The film’s directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and also stars Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, and Christina Hendricks. Drive will open in theaters on September 16, 2011.
Official Synopsis: Ryan Gosling stars as a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day, and steering getaway vehicles for criminal operations by night. A loner by nature, Driver can’t help falling in love with his beautiful but vulnerable neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan), a young mother dragged into a dangerous criminal underworld by the return of ex-convict husband Standard (Oscar Isaac).
After a heist operation intended to help Standard pay off protection money spins out of control, Driver finds himself driving defense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of deadly serious criminals (Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman). When the gangsters reveal that they’re after more than the bag of money in his trunk—that they’re coming straight for Irene and her son—Driver is forced to shift gears and go on the offense.
Lady Gaga "You and I"
Ready to listen to a “You and I” remix? How about seven of them? Lady Gaga’s latest chart-topping single “You And I” has been remixed by Wild Beasts, Mark Taylor, 10 Kings, ATB, Metronomy, Danny Verde, and Hector Fonseca (and all the new versions are available as of today on iTunes). The Metronomy and Wild Beasts remixes are also featured on Lady Gaga’s Youtube channel.
The Winchester boys return to hunt down more creepy creatures, demonic entities, and assorted weird things with season seven of Supernatural. The new season debuts on The CW on September 23, 2011.
The Synopsis: Twenty-six years ago, Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. Subsequently, their father John (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) raised them to be soldiers. He taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America…and he taught them how to kill it.
Sam and Dean have battled every kind of supernatural threat. After dozens of bloody adventures, they finally closed in on their dark destiny: with the help of their friends, father-figure Bobby (Jim Beaver) and fallen angel Castiel (Misha Collins), they managed to avert the Apocalypse. But the victory came at a terrible cost: Sam sacrificed himself, to be imprisoned in Hell alongside Lucifer.
Devastated, Dean retired to civilian life and was shocked when, a year later, a mysteriously resurrected Sam appeared at his door. Back in the hunt, the brothers faced increasingly strange, deadly creatures, ultimately fighting their way to the original monster-the Mother Of All. And Dean discovered the shocking, dangerous truth about Sam: he’d returned from Hell but without his soul, leaving him calculating and untrustworthy.
In a risky move, Dean restored Sam’s soul, but at great cost. Sam was flooded with horrific memories of Hell, memories that threatened to overtake him, even kill him. Meanwhile, Civil War in Heaven raged on. Castiel, determined not to lose, made the reckless choice to open a door to Purgatory, the repository for all monster souls. His gambit: harness the power of those souls by absorbing them. Ignoring Sam and Dean’s warnings, Castiel made a deal with the King of Hell to find that door.
Now, despite Sam and Dean’s efforts to stop him, Castiel has succeeded in his plan. His power is God-like, and Sam and Dean have no idea how to stop him. But even Castiel doesn’t truly understand the magnitude of what’s inside him – or how dangerous he really is.
Season seven finds Dean and Sam reeling from the loss of their friend. Sam’s violent memories of Hell threaten to overtake him, threatening not just his life, but his brother’s as well. Meanwhile, Dean struggles under the weight of a secret that threatens to tear them apart. And even as the brothers traverse the backroads of America, hunting things that go bump in the night, something is coming for them.
They are about to face an enemy more canny and adaptable than any they’ve ever fought. As the landscape around them becomes increasingly treacherous, the tools they’ve come to rely upon will be stripped away. Our heroes, like so many outlaws before them, will find themselves utterly outmatched and outgunned, with no one to rely on but each other.
