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Sony Cancels Theatrical Release for ‘The Interview’ on Christmas
21 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
With theater chains defecting en masse, Sony Pictures Entertainment has pulled the planned Christmas release of “The Interview.”
In announcing the decision to cancel the holiday debut, Sony hit back at the hackers who threatened movie theaters and moviegoers and who have terrorized the studio and its employees for weeks.
“Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like,” the statement reads.
“We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public,” it continues. “We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”
The comedy centers on a hapless television host who is »
- Brent Lang
Steve Carell’s North Korea-Set Project Dropped by New Regency
22 hours ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
New Regency has ditched plans to produce a paranoid thriller starring Steve Carell that was to be set in North Korea.
The decision came after a group of hackers called the Guardians of Peace threatened to attack theaters showing “The Interview,” which centers on an assassination attempt against dictator Kim Jong-un. The country has denied involvement but praised the hackers.
New Regency is 20% owned by News Corp., parent of 20th Century Fox. The studio had indicated to New Regency that it would not release the project.
New Regency announced the project in October with plans for director Gore Verbinski to start shooting in March. The untitled film was the first in a multiyear deal between Verbinski’s Blind Wink and New Regency.
Steve Conrad (“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”) was writing the screenplay.
News was first reported by Deadline.com.
»
- Dave McNary
‘The Interview’ Replaced at Dallas Theater by ‘Team America: World Police’
5 hours ago | The Wrap | See recent The Wrap news »
The Alamo Drafthouse was totally going to show “The Interview,” threats or no threats. But now that Sony Pictures has pulled its Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy completely, the Dallas theater is going with Plan B: a free screening of “Team America: World Police.”
The Texas movie house provided a pretty simple explanation for the substitution via Twitter: “Because America, F Yeah,” it wrote.
Sony yanked the Christmas release — and any possibilities of a future offering — of its newest comedy on Wednesday, »
- Tony Maglio
Legendary options The Damned
18 minutes ago | ScreenDaily | See recent ScreenDaily news »
Thomas Tull’s Legendary Pictures has optioned rights to Andrew Pyper’s forthcoming novel The Damned.
The supernatural thriller will be published by Simon & Schuster in February and is said to be in the vein of The Sixth Sense and Jacob’s Ladder.
Legendary’s Alex Hedlund and Tracy Stevens will oversee the project.
Pyper’s past work includes the novelxvdfdfv, which is currently in development with Universal Pictures and Imagemovers.
UTA handled the film deal on behalf of Anne McDermid & Associates and The Gernert Company.
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- jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
Surprising Full Cast Revealed For Jason Reitman's Live Read Of 'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back'
23 minutes ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
In exactly one year, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will land in theaters, so what can you do the fill the gap of 365 days until then? Well, you can watch the previous six "Star Wars" films over and over, dive into the books, video games, and spin-off shows, or if you live in Los Angeles, see "Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back" recreated in a way you've never seen before, or will see since. Jason Reitman is directing a one-night-only live read of 'Empire Strikes Back' tonight at Lacma, and today the final pieces of the cast have been put in place and revealed. And they are as follows: Luke Skywalker - Aaron Paul Han Solo - Ellen Page Princess Leia - Jessica Alba Darth Vader - Jk Simmons C-3P0 - Stephen Merchant Lando Calrissian - Dennis Haysbert Yoda - Kevin Pollak And yeah, this is kind of awesome. »
- Kevin Jagernauth
First Look: Jessica Chastain in ‘Crimson Peak’
23 minutes ago | Slash Film | See recent Slash Film news »
Guillermo del Toro and Legendary Pictures are following Pacific Rim with Crimon Peak, a horror thriller in the grand old “big haunted house” mode, but with a cast and budget that are more typical of today’s tentpole films. The cast includes Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, and Charlie Hunnam. The first image of Jessica Chasten in […]
The post First Look: Jessica Chastain in ‘Crimson Peak’ appeared first on /Film. »
- Russ Fischer
Best of 2014: How Richard Linklater cast his 'Boyhood' star
32 minutes ago | EW - Inside Movies | See recent EW.com - Inside Movies news »
Since debuting at January's Sundance Film Festival, Richard Linklater's Boyhood has become one of the most critically adored films in recent memory. Audiences felt the same way, swooning at the story of a boy (Ellar Coltrane) and his complicated family as he ages from 6 to 18 years old. The experimental $4 million movie, filmed in Texas with little fanfare over a dozen years, has grossed more than $43 million around the world and become one of the favorites for Best Picture. The experience has been surreal, to say the least, for 20-year-old Coltrane, whose life to this point is indirectly documented in the film. »
- Jeff Labrecque
‘American Sniper’ Trailer: Bradley Cooper At His Best?
35 minutes ago | Deadline New York | See recent Deadline New York news »
In what’s being hailed as a career standout turn, Bradley Cooper stars in the true story of Navy Seal Chris Kyle – family man, one-time rodeo cowboy, and the undisputed most lethal sniper in U.S. history.
Clint Eastwood directs Cooper, Sienna Miller, Jake McDorman, Luke Grimes, Navid Negahban and Keir O’Donnell in the Christmas Day drama adapted by Jason Hall from Kyle’s memoir. Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow premiered the film at AFI Fest on Veterans Day and wrapped a flurry of critics’ kudos into their new second trailer.
This peek better suggests the precarious balance Kyle struggled to keep in his roles as husband, father, and soldier as he served four nightmarish tours of duty in Iraq. Could it nab Cooper his third consecutive Oscar nomination after Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle?
Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan are producers, with Tim Moore, »
- Jen Yamato
'The Jungle Book': Bill Murray will sing!
38 minutes ago | EW - Inside Movies | See recent EW.com - Inside Movies news »
Rudyard Kipling’s classic tales of an Indian boy raised by wolves, first published as a series in the late 19th century, has been adapted more than a dozen times. But Walt Disney’s 1967 animated musical—his last—set the gold standard. Now, director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) is giving Mowgli and his animal pals a 21st-century tech update. Newcomer Neel Sethi, 10, plays Mowgli, and there’s a lot riding on those young shoulders. Not only does he do his own tree-climbing—”A 10-year-old in a loin cloth is hard to double with a stuntman,” Favreau says— but he’s »
- Nicole Sperling
Before Sony's 'The Interview,' There Was 'Hitler—Dead or Alive'
39 minutes ago | Thompson on Hollywood | See recent Thompson on Hollywood news »
With all the current hue and cry over "The Interview" -- the comedy that Sony won't be releasing on Christmas Day -- I am once again reminded of "Hitler -- Dead or Alive," an ultra-low-budget 1942 B-movie starring Ward Bond as an ex-con who tries to collect a bounty on Adolf Hitler. No, I'm not making that up. Read More: Four Reasons Why Theaters Should Have Played "The Interview" Back when I taught a college course focused on war movies, I often screened the final minutes of this obscure oddity, to give students an inkling of American attitudes during the early days of Us involvement in World War II. Because even though the movie was an unabashedly cheesy Poverty Row production -- it dared to be a fantasy-fulfilling slice of cheese: At the end of the flick, Hitler is shot by Nazis who don't recognize him after Bond and his buddies shave off Der Führer's mustache. »
- Joe Leydon
Sony Hack Needs Tempered Response, White House Says
48 minutes ago | Deadline New York | See recent Deadline New York news »
It’s important the United States government not play into the hands of those responsible for the cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment by over-reacting, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at today’s White House press briefing.
Earnest declined to pin the attack on the North Korean government — an announcement the media is expecting to come today from the Justice Department. The investigation by the FBI and the Department of Justice in to who is behind the attack, which also included a threat on the lives of anyone who attended the Christmas Day opening of the studio’s movie, is progressing, Earnest said.
“I can tell you that, consistent with the president’s previous statements about how we will protect against, monitor and respond to cyber incidents, this is something that’s being treated as a serious national security issue,” he said. “There is evidence to indicate »
- Lisa de Moraes
The Best Films of 2014
54 minutes ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
Halfway through 2014, our top three critics found themselves in a rare moment of agreement: “The Grand Budapest Hotel” was one of the year’s best films so far. Several months later, Wes Anderson’s delightful comic caper still ranks high on two lists, while rating an honorable mention on a third — a sign, perhaps, of the impossibility of total unanimity in a year of such rich and diverse cinematic pleasures. (Other movies that scored top-10 mentions from at least two of our critics: “Foxcatcher,” “Winter Sleep,” “Gone Girl,” “Interstellar” and “Selma.”)
Here are our critics’ choices for the year’s finest achievements in film:
Justin Chang’s top 10 films of 2014 | Read more
1. Boyhood
3. The Grand Budapest Hotel
4. Winter Sleep
5. Foxcatcher
6. Bird People
7. Gone Girl
8. Selma
9. Mr. Turner
10. Interstellar
Peter Debruge’s top 10 films of 2014 | Read more
1. Calvary
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel
3. Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of »
- Variety Staff
Tomm Moore Follows 'Secret of Kells' with Exquisite Animated Oscar Contender 'Song of the Sea'
1 hour ago | Thompson on Hollywood | See recent Thompson on Hollywood news »
Produced by the Ireland-based animation studio, Cartoon Saloon, and distributed by Gkids, "Song of the Sea" is an animated Oscar contender for its exquisite hand-drawn beauty and stirring story about the last Seal-child trapped between two worlds. Ben and his enchanted little sister Saoirse (a Selkie) are hurled into a fading world of ancient legend and magic as they attempt to return to their home by the sea. The film takes inspiration from the mythological Selkies of Irish folklore, who live as seals in the sea but become humans on land. "Song of the Sea" features the voices of Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, David Rawle, Lisa Hannigan, Pat Shortt, and Jon Kenny. The score is composed by Bruno Coulais and Irish band Kíla, who previously collaborated on "The Secret of Kells." "I had heard plenty of Selkie stories growing up and had seen the 'Secret of Roan Inish' but had »
- Bill Desowitz
The Genius of Mike Leigh's System: Leigh & Cast on Gorgeous 'Mr. Turner'
1 hour ago | Thompson on Hollywood | See recent Thompson on Hollywood news »
"Mr. Turner" (December 19) is a lushly mounted period biopic about a globally beloved painter, but it is also about art and commerce, creative integrity, institutional hypocrisy, damaged children, personal generosity, inspiration and love. At its center is a great romance. And all this from famously cranky Brit auteur Mike Leigh, who many tend to take for granted. (The film is now nominated for seven London Film Critics awards, including Best Picture.) We shouldn't, just because he always delivers. At 71 he's at the height of his powers. Labor of love "Mr. Turner" was not easy to get made. It's the apotheosis of the Leigh Method, the creative --and hugely influential--process he has honed and refined over decades, which allows his actors to collaborate for months--or a year even-- on building their characters and his screenplay. Think about the filmmakers, from Richard Linklater to Bennett Miller, to name two of his award-season rivals, »
- Anne Thompson
Jason Reitman casts a surprising Han and Leia in 'The Empire Strikes Back' live-read
1 hour ago | EW - Inside Movies | See recent EW.com - Inside Movies news »
Really, there's nothing that says "Han" can't be a woman's name. Ellen Page will be taking on the part of Han Solo in director Jason Reitman’s live stage-reading of The Empire Strikes Back Thursday night, and Jessica Alba has been cast as Princess Leia—the royal revolutionary who thinks the smuggler is nothing but a "stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerfherder." Until, of course, she doesn't. The whole point of Reitman's live-read series is to take classic scripts and turn them into something we've never seen before, but he tells EW that casting his Juno star as the sardonic captain »
- Anthony Breznican
Watch: Take Aim With A New Trailer And Clip For Clint Eastwood's 'American Sniper' Starring Bradley Cooper
1 hour ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Sporting a thick beard and intoning a fat Texas drawl, Bradley Cooper has transformed for his role in "American Sniper." But so too in a way has Clint Eastwood. The director hasn't tackled this kind of material in years, if ever, and certainly not with the same immediacy or intensity. A new trailer has arrived for the non-fiction drama about human costs enacted upon individuals who pull the trigger with the full sanction of the U.S. government. Co-starring Sienna Miller (excuse us, Hollywood? We know she's in both this film and "Foxcatcher," but let's get her more substantial roles other than "the wife," okay?), the film tells the tale of Chris Kyle, one of the deadliest snipers in Navy Seal history. He's a man with a mission on the battlefield, but at home, his fragile psyche cannot take the toll. Whether or not this movie can change up the »
- Kevin Jagernauth
New American Sniper Trailer Offers a Longer Look at Clint Eastwood’s Military Drama
1 hour ago | Collider.com | See recent Collider.com news »
Warner Bros. has released a new American Sniper trailer for director Clint Eastwood’s film about U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. The trailer is a bit misleading in that the full film doesn’t have near as much ambiguity or thoughtfulness as this cut would have you believe. I’ll be honest, I really didn’t like this movie. It’s frustratingly one-note and refuses to delve into areas that could be fascinating (especially with regards to Kyle’s life once he leaves the military), and its only saving grace is a strong performance from Bradley Cooper, who does the best with the material he’s given. Moreover, Eastwood completely fumbles sequences that should be tense or thrilling; the whole thing just feels like a missed opportunity. Check out the new American Sniper trailer after the jump. The film also stars Sienna Miller, »
- Adam Chitwood
The Films of Stanley Kubrick Ranked: Noir, War, and the Outer Reaches of Existence
1 hour ago | Slash Film | See recent Slash Film news »
There isn’t a thing that hasn’t been written about the films of Stanley Kubrick. His films have been celebrated and reviled; some originally reviled have been reassessed as masterpieces; reams of copy have been written on even his least-appreciated movies. And yet they pull us in time and again. His films feature richly developed concepts […]
The post The Films of Stanley Kubrick Ranked: Noir, War, and the Outer Reaches of Existence appeared first on /Film. »
- Russ Fischer
Highlights from the Palm Springs Film Fest Lineup
1 hour ago | Thompson on Hollywood | See recent Thompson on Hollywood news »
The fest boasts 192 films from 65 countries, including 65 premieres. More info here. World premieres include: "Don Quixote: The Gentleman of La Mancha" starring James Franco, Horatio Sanz, Luis Guzman and Line Shaye, "Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson," "Some Kind of Love" and "Twenty-Five Palms," a documentary on the 25th anniversary of the Palm Springs International Film Festival. International premieres include: "Arteholic" (Germany), a documentary featuring Udo Kier and Lars von Trier and more, Iceland's "The Grandad," Luxembourg's "Never Die Young" and Netherlands' "Accused." North American Premieres include: "40-Love" (Belgium), "Afterlife" (Hungary), "Beatles" (Norway), "See You in Montevideo" (Serbia) starring in Aramand Assante, "She’s Funny That Way" (USA) directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Imogen »
- Ryan Lattanzio
Sony Hack: White House Considering Responses for ‘Serious National Security Matter’
1 hour ago | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »
The Obama administration is viewing the massive hack attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment as a “serious national security matter” and is considering a range of possible options as a response, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday.
A question about the Sony Pictures situation was the first Earnest faced at Thursday’s midday press briefing. Earnest was careful not to say that the White House believes North Korea was behind the attack. He emphasized that the investigation into the attack is “progressing” at the FBI and Justice Department.
Earnest confirmed that Sony Pictures officials reached out to the White House for “input” on the film which was screened back in June. He would not say who was in the screening or the specific feedback that was given. “We would not have been in a position of dictating” any changes, he said.
Earnest said the president was dismayed by the »
- Cynthia Littleton
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