![]() | Married Life - Trailer A wry blend of dark humor, romantic deception, and stylish melodrama—with an invigorating dash of suspense—Married Life is an unconventional fable for grown-ups about the irresistible power and utter madness of love. After decades of marital contentment, Harry (Chris Cooper) concludes that he must kill his wife Pat (Patricia Clarkson) because he loves her too much to let her suffer when he leaves her. Harry has fallen hard for the young and lovely Kay (Rachel McAdams), but his best friend Richard (Pierce Brosnan) wants to win Kay for himself. As Harry implements his maladroit plans for murdering his wife, the other characters are entangled with their own deceptions. Like Harry, they race towards their passions but trip over their scruples, seemingly well-intended towards all, but truthful to none. Married Life is an uncommonly adult film that surprises and confounds expectations. While it plays with mystery, comedy, and intrigue, its ultimate concern is: “What is married life?” In its sly way, Married Life poses perceptive questions about the seasonal discontents and unforeseen joys of all long-term relationships. Directed by: Ira Sachs Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, Rachel McAdams |
Archive for February, 2008
Married Life – Trailer
Thursday, February 7th, 2008Smart People – Trailer
Thursday, February 7th, 2008![]() | Smart People - Trailer Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (DENNIS QUAID) might be imperiously brilliant, monumentally self-possessed and an intellectual giant – but when it comes to solving the conundrums of love and family, he’s as downright flummoxed as the next guy. His teenaged daughter (ELLEN PAGE) is an acid-tongued overachiever who follows all too closely in dad’s misery-loving footsteps, and his adopted, preposterously ne’er- do-well brother (THOMAS HADEN CHURCH) has perfected the art of freeloading. A widower who can’t seem to find passion in anything anymore, not even the Victorian Literature in which he’s an expert, it seems Lawrence is sleepwalking through a very stunted middle age. When his brother shows up unexpectedly for an extended stay at just about the same time as he accidentally encounters his former student Janet (SARAH JESSICA PARKER), the circumstances cause him to stir from his deep, deep freeze, with often comical, sometimes heartbreaking, consequences for himself and everyone around him. Directed by: Noam Murro Starring: Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church, Ellen Page |
I’m Not There – 20m Featurette
Thursday, February 7th, 2008![]() | I’m Not There - 20m Featurette I’m Not There is an unconventional journey into the life and times of Bob Dylan. Six actors portray Dylan as a series of shifting personae — from the public to the private to the fantastical — weaving together a rich and colorful portrait of this ever-elusive American icon. Directed by: Todd Haynes Starring: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw |
RedChip Drops Research Coverage On Left Behind Games
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008Hot Topic, Inc. Reports January Comp Store Sales Down 3.6 Percent; Reduces Number of Planned Store Projects
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008RTN Announces Affiliate in Salisbury
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008Strike, day 93; Production, day 2
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008With all eyes on yesterday’s primaries, the announcement of the big, bi-coastal WGA membership meeting this Saturday was easy to overlook. But it’s certainly a welcome development. It’s widely expected that the WGA boards will discuss the status of the agreement with the AMPTP, and outline the steps needed to get back to work.
I anticipate some uncomfortable questions and awkward moments. That’s almost a given at a meeting with 1,000+ people and open microphones. But I can plead for a little decorum. Specifically:
- Dissent does not equal treason. You can disagree with anyone in the room or on the stage, but that doesn’t mean they’re a villain or a sell-out.
- If someone else asks your question, or makes your point, sit down. Yes, you waited in line 20 minutes to get to the mic. But let someone else say something new.
- The future takes precedence over the past. There are a lot of histories to be written about the strike, including alternate scenarios. These make interesting message-board discussions, but don’t play well as one-sided polemics.
In Los Angeles, the meeting is at the Shrine Auditorium — often home to awards shows, but also the stage where I got my USC diploma. I’m planning on working the phone banks at the WGA mothership on Friday, so if you’re a member, there’s a chance I may be calling you to encourage you to come to the pow-wow.
Much of yesterday’s shooting on the web pilot was constrained to a narrow kitchen, which reminded me again why traditional TV comedies have unrealistically-sized rooms. Another challenge: this show has a lot more characters in a scene than The Nines did, which inevitably slows down the work as you connect eye-lines and coverage. But it went smoothly, and we got our last shots just as the sun went down.
Today, we have a late call — 11:30 a.m. — and wrap production after dark.
Big Surprise: Almost All Oscar-Nominated Films Have Been Pirated Online
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Exhibition
Piracy is a huge issue in Hollywood, and I ain't talkin' about the Johnny Depp movies. The Motion Picture Association of America has been cracking down hard in recent years -- but how effective have their efforts been? Andy Baio at Waxy.org has tracked the availability of pirated versions of Oscar-nominated movies every year since 2003, and guess what? By the time the ceremony rolls around, nearly every nominated film can be found illegally online. Here are his findings for this year, along with some analysis of the results. Baio reports that 28 of the 34 nominated films were online -- in DVD quality -- by the end of January. Some of those films are out on DVD already, and that accounts for some of the uploads. Others were made available to Academy members and some critics' groups by way of DVD screeners. Those screeners are encoded and tracked and watermarked, and we're threatened with our lives if we allow them to be pirated, but obviously some people are doing it anyway.
What's interesting about this year's data is that those Academy screeners are becoming less of a factor. The risk of prosecution has probably made some recipients think twice about uploading them. But also, the window between theatrical release and DVD release is getting smaller, and many films are released in Region 5 format overseas at the same time they hit theaters here. The reason for that is to counteract camcorder piracy -- there's no reason for someone to buy a pirated version on the streets of Hong Kong when a studio-endorsed DVD-quality version is also for sale -- but a lot of those DVDs make their way onto the Internet, too.
Continue reading Big Surprise: Almost All Oscar-Nominated Films Have Been Pirated Online
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Wednesday, February 6th, 2008Heath Ledger Died from an Accidental Overdose, Says Medical Examiner
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Newsstand
According to the New York City medical examiner, Heath Ledger's death was due to an "accidental overdose of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and other prescription drugs." For those hip to different medications, the official cause of death was "acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine." Apparently, these are the generic names for Oxycontin, Valium, Xanax, Restoril and Unisom. There was no word on how much of each he took, or whether a heavy dose of one was what ultimately did him in, but a spokeswoman did note that his death was due to "the cumulative effects of these medications together."
This ruling finally came two weeks after the actor was found dead by a masseuse in his rented SoHo apartment in New York City. Original reports claimed the apartment belonged to Mary-Kate Olsen (which turned out to be false), and the masseuse actually called Olsen several times before calling for an ambulance in an attempt to get the young actress to send her security crew. This was the part I had the most trouble with -- if you found this dude unconscious on a floor, would you want an ambulance there or Mary-Kate Olsen? Whatever the case, it's obvious Ledger (may have) had a pretty strong addiction to pain killers and sleep medication, if it was taking that many pills to knock the guy out. It's my belief that too many young kids today are sucking these pills down like they're water, not really understanding what they do or how they can harm you. Hopefully Ledger's death will provide enough of a wake-up call to those who are currently suffering from their own addictions.
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