Alfred Hitchcock once said that "to make a great film you need three things -- the script, the script and the script." Now, for the eighth time since the 1950s, Hollywood is learning this lesson the hard way, as the Writers Guild of America has officially been on strike since May 2, 2023.
In a statement announcing the strike, which followed "six weeks of negotiations with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Discovery-Warner, NBC Universal, Paramount and Sony under the umbrella of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP)," the WGA said that it was driven by the companies' creation of "a gig economy inside a union workforce," and that the AMPTP had "closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession."
The last WGA strike took place in 2007-08, and its impact can still be seen in the movies and television shows...
In a statement announcing the strike, which followed "six weeks of negotiations with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Discovery-Warner, NBC Universal, Paramount and Sony under the umbrella of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP)," the WGA said that it was driven by the companies' creation of "a gig economy inside a union workforce," and that the AMPTP had "closed the door on their labor force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession."
The last WGA strike took place in 2007-08, and its impact can still be seen in the movies and television shows...
- 5/8/2023
- by Hannah Shaw-Williams
- Slash Film
Exclusive: In what's been a busy Cannes so far for FilmNation Entertainment, the company has sold out international on Frank helmer Lenny Abrahamson's upcoming Room. A promo for the hot drama project was screened in Fne's offices this week, striking a strong emotional chord with buyers and bringing about competitive situations. Universal came in for key European markets including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Benelux and Scandinavia, as well as Latin America. Among other…...
- 5/18/2015
- Deadline
Dublin-based Element Pictures has acquired film and TV rights to Laird Hunt’s 2014 Civil War novel Neverhome. The company has set Frank helmer Lenny Abrahamson to direct with Ed Guiney producing. The just-published Little Brown title is drumming up critical raves and tells the story of a farmer’s faithful wife who leaves her husband to don the uniform of a Union soldier. Disguised as a man, she becomes a hero, a folk legend, a madwoman and a traitor to the American cause. There’s also an air of mystery to the story: Why did she leave, and her husband stay? Why can she not return? What will she have to go through to make it back home?
This marks a reteam for Element and Abrahamson after collaborating on such pics as 2012’s What Richard Did, this year’s Sundance hit Frank starring Michael Fassbender in a giant papier-mâché head,...
This marks a reteam for Element and Abrahamson after collaborating on such pics as 2012’s What Richard Did, this year’s Sundance hit Frank starring Michael Fassbender in a giant papier-mâché head,...
- 9/24/2014
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline
The latest release to go out NSFC (not screened for critics), the intended parody "Epic Movie" is a monumentally unfunny (even by usual NSFC standards) time-waster brought to you by the same folks responsible for last year's equally lame "Date Movie".
Ostensibly taking aim at Hollywood blockbusters but essentially a catchall vehicle for titles that don't fall immediately under the scary movie or date movie um-brella, the 20th Century Fox release obviously is courting the 14-year-old male crowd with the hope that all the bikini-clad babes, bodily (mal)functions and blows to the crotch will distract them from the realization that there's a big gaping hole in the laughs department.
This time around, the obligatory linking device, such as it is, brings together Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, Jayma Mays and Faune Chambers as characters from spoofs of "The Da Vinci Code", "X-Men", "Nacho Libre" and "Snakes on a Plane" who find golden tickets in Wonka bars entitling them to take part in an epic movie.
After barely surviving "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with Crispin Glover doing the Willy honors, they stumble across an enchanted wardrobe that takes them to the land of Gnarnia (with spelling changed for copyright reasons), where they encounter the likes of Jennifer Coolidge as the White Bitch and "Saturday Night Live's" Darrell Hammond doing a mean Johnny Depp in the guise of one Captain Jack Swallows.
Along the way, there are limp spoofs of everything from "Superman Returns" to "Scarface" to "MTV Cribs" to "Borat", but in each case writer-directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer seem to think a half-baked imitation of the original constitutes instant comic gold.
Even a potentially amusing premise like showing the rapidly maturing cast of the "Harry Potter" franchise as middle-aged slobs is completely squandered despite the best efforts of Kid in the Hall Kevin McDonald.
Among others whose talents go to considerable waste here are "Nacho" scene-stealer Hector Jimenez and Christopher Guest ensemble vets Fred Willard and Jim Piddock.
Behind the scenes, meanwhile, production designer William Elliott and costume designer Frank Helmer at least manage to find a little inspiration in replicating the look of those blockbusters, which is something that is otherwise sorely lacking in this epic bore.EPIC MOVIE
20th Century Fox
Regency Enterprises
Credits:
Director-screenwriters: Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer
Producer: Paul Schiff
Executive producers: Arnon Milchan, Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer, Rodney Liber
Director of photography: Shawn Maurer
Production designer: William Elliott
Editor: Peck Prior
Costume designer: Frank Helmer
Music: Edward Shearmur
Cast:
Edward: Kal Penn
Peter: Adam Campbell
White Bitch: Jennifer Coolidge
Lucy: Jayma Mays
Susan: Faune Chambers
Willy: Crispin Glover
Bink: Tony Cox
Mr. Tumnus: Hector Jimenez
Captain Jack Swallows: Darrell Hammond
Mystique: Carmen Electra
Aslo: Fred Willard.
Running time -- 86 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Ostensibly taking aim at Hollywood blockbusters but essentially a catchall vehicle for titles that don't fall immediately under the scary movie or date movie um-brella, the 20th Century Fox release obviously is courting the 14-year-old male crowd with the hope that all the bikini-clad babes, bodily (mal)functions and blows to the crotch will distract them from the realization that there's a big gaping hole in the laughs department.
This time around, the obligatory linking device, such as it is, brings together Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, Jayma Mays and Faune Chambers as characters from spoofs of "The Da Vinci Code", "X-Men", "Nacho Libre" and "Snakes on a Plane" who find golden tickets in Wonka bars entitling them to take part in an epic movie.
After barely surviving "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with Crispin Glover doing the Willy honors, they stumble across an enchanted wardrobe that takes them to the land of Gnarnia (with spelling changed for copyright reasons), where they encounter the likes of Jennifer Coolidge as the White Bitch and "Saturday Night Live's" Darrell Hammond doing a mean Johnny Depp in the guise of one Captain Jack Swallows.
Along the way, there are limp spoofs of everything from "Superman Returns" to "Scarface" to "MTV Cribs" to "Borat", but in each case writer-directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer seem to think a half-baked imitation of the original constitutes instant comic gold.
Even a potentially amusing premise like showing the rapidly maturing cast of the "Harry Potter" franchise as middle-aged slobs is completely squandered despite the best efforts of Kid in the Hall Kevin McDonald.
Among others whose talents go to considerable waste here are "Nacho" scene-stealer Hector Jimenez and Christopher Guest ensemble vets Fred Willard and Jim Piddock.
Behind the scenes, meanwhile, production designer William Elliott and costume designer Frank Helmer at least manage to find a little inspiration in replicating the look of those blockbusters, which is something that is otherwise sorely lacking in this epic bore.EPIC MOVIE
20th Century Fox
Regency Enterprises
Credits:
Director-screenwriters: Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer
Producer: Paul Schiff
Executive producers: Arnon Milchan, Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer, Rodney Liber
Director of photography: Shawn Maurer
Production designer: William Elliott
Editor: Peck Prior
Costume designer: Frank Helmer
Music: Edward Shearmur
Cast:
Edward: Kal Penn
Peter: Adam Campbell
White Bitch: Jennifer Coolidge
Lucy: Jayma Mays
Susan: Faune Chambers
Willy: Crispin Glover
Bink: Tony Cox
Mr. Tumnus: Hector Jimenez
Captain Jack Swallows: Darrell Hammond
Mystique: Carmen Electra
Aslo: Fred Willard.
Running time -- 86 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 1/29/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review was written for the theatrical screening of "Epic Movie".The latest release to go out NSFC (not screened for critics), the intended parody "Epic Movie" is a monumentally unfunny (even by usual NSFC standards) time-waster brought to you by the same folks responsible for last year's equally lame "Date Movie".
Ostensibly taking aim at Hollywood blockbusters but essentially a catchall vehicle for titles that don't fall immediately under the scary movie or date movie um-brella, the 20th Century Fox release obviously is courting the 14-year-old male crowd with the hope that all the bikini-clad babes, bodily (mal)functions and blows to the crotch will distract them from the realization that there's a big gaping hole in the laughs department.
This time around, the obligatory linking device, such as it is, brings together Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, Jayma Mays and Faune Chambers as characters from spoofs of "The Da Vinci Code", "X-Men", "Nacho Libre" and "Snakes on a Plane" who find golden tickets in Wonka bars entitling them to take part in an epic movie.
After barely surviving "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with Crispin Glover doing the Willy honors, they stumble across an enchanted wardrobe that takes them to the land of Gnarnia (with spelling changed for copyright reasons), where they encounter the likes of Jennifer Coolidge as the White Bitch and "Saturday Night Live's" Darrell Hammond doing a mean Johnny Depp in the guise of one Captain Jack Swallows.
Along the way, there are limp spoofs of everything from "Superman Returns" to "Scarface" to "MTV Cribs" to "Borat", but in each case writer-directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer seem to think a half-baked imitation of the original constitutes instant comic gold.
Even a potentially amusing premise like showing the rapidly maturing cast of the "Harry Potter" franchise as middle-aged slobs is completely squandered despite the best efforts of Kid in the Hall Kevin McDonald.
Among others whose talents go to considerable waste here are "Nacho" scene-stealer Hector Jimenez and Christopher Guest ensemble vets Fred Willard and Jim Piddock.
Behind the scenes, meanwhile, production designer William Elliott and costume designer Frank Helmer at least manage to find a little inspiration in replicating the look of those blockbusters, which is something that is otherwise sorely lacking in this epic bore.EPIC MOVIE
20th Century Fox
Regency Enterprises
Credits:
Director-screenwriters: Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer
Producer: Paul Schiff
Executive producers: Arnon Milchan, Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer, Rodney Liber
Director of photography: Shawn Maurer
Production designer: William Elliott
Editor: Peck Prior
Costume designer: Frank Helmer
Music: Edward Shearmur
Cast:
Edward: Kal Penn
Peter: Adam Campbell
White Bitch: Jennifer Coolidge
Lucy: Jayma Mays
Susan: Faune Chambers
Willy: Crispin Glover
Bink: Tony Cox
Mr. Tumnus: Hector Jimenez
Captain Jack Swallows: Darrell Hammond
Mystique: Carmen Electra
Aslo: Fred Willard.
Running time -- 86 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Ostensibly taking aim at Hollywood blockbusters but essentially a catchall vehicle for titles that don't fall immediately under the scary movie or date movie um-brella, the 20th Century Fox release obviously is courting the 14-year-old male crowd with the hope that all the bikini-clad babes, bodily (mal)functions and blows to the crotch will distract them from the realization that there's a big gaping hole in the laughs department.
This time around, the obligatory linking device, such as it is, brings together Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, Jayma Mays and Faune Chambers as characters from spoofs of "The Da Vinci Code", "X-Men", "Nacho Libre" and "Snakes on a Plane" who find golden tickets in Wonka bars entitling them to take part in an epic movie.
After barely surviving "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with Crispin Glover doing the Willy honors, they stumble across an enchanted wardrobe that takes them to the land of Gnarnia (with spelling changed for copyright reasons), where they encounter the likes of Jennifer Coolidge as the White Bitch and "Saturday Night Live's" Darrell Hammond doing a mean Johnny Depp in the guise of one Captain Jack Swallows.
Along the way, there are limp spoofs of everything from "Superman Returns" to "Scarface" to "MTV Cribs" to "Borat", but in each case writer-directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer seem to think a half-baked imitation of the original constitutes instant comic gold.
Even a potentially amusing premise like showing the rapidly maturing cast of the "Harry Potter" franchise as middle-aged slobs is completely squandered despite the best efforts of Kid in the Hall Kevin McDonald.
Among others whose talents go to considerable waste here are "Nacho" scene-stealer Hector Jimenez and Christopher Guest ensemble vets Fred Willard and Jim Piddock.
Behind the scenes, meanwhile, production designer William Elliott and costume designer Frank Helmer at least manage to find a little inspiration in replicating the look of those blockbusters, which is something that is otherwise sorely lacking in this epic bore.EPIC MOVIE
20th Century Fox
Regency Enterprises
Credits:
Director-screenwriters: Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer
Producer: Paul Schiff
Executive producers: Arnon Milchan, Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer, Rodney Liber
Director of photography: Shawn Maurer
Production designer: William Elliott
Editor: Peck Prior
Costume designer: Frank Helmer
Music: Edward Shearmur
Cast:
Edward: Kal Penn
Peter: Adam Campbell
White Bitch: Jennifer Coolidge
Lucy: Jayma Mays
Susan: Faune Chambers
Willy: Crispin Glover
Bink: Tony Cox
Mr. Tumnus: Hector Jimenez
Captain Jack Swallows: Darrell Hammond
Mystique: Carmen Electra
Aslo: Fred Willard.
Running time -- 86 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 1/26/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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