Silence of the Lambs Producer Discusses Donald Trump's Hannibal Lecter Reference - Main Image
Former U.S. President Donald Trump recently hosted a rally on the New Jersey shoreline and likened immigrants to the 'late, great Hannibal Lecter' from 1991's Silence of the Lambs.
In response, the Oscar-winning producer Edward Saxon refuses to take this lightly and expresses just how wrong this reference was.
Donald Trump References Hannibal Lecter in His Jersey Shore Rally Speech
Trump claimed that Venezuela's crime rate is 72% down "because they took a lot of their criminals and moved them" to the U.S. (which is actually a lot smaller than his numbers).
Not to mention, Venezuela, as the Former President continued, "is emptying out their mental institutions into the United States."
It is worth mentioning that the Former President made the same statement about the South American mental institution last year, and had no evidence to prove his statements.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump recently hosted a rally on the New Jersey shoreline and likened immigrants to the 'late, great Hannibal Lecter' from 1991's Silence of the Lambs.
In response, the Oscar-winning producer Edward Saxon refuses to take this lightly and expresses just how wrong this reference was.
Donald Trump References Hannibal Lecter in His Jersey Shore Rally Speech
Trump claimed that Venezuela's crime rate is 72% down "because they took a lot of their criminals and moved them" to the U.S. (which is actually a lot smaller than his numbers).
Not to mention, Venezuela, as the Former President continued, "is emptying out their mental institutions into the United States."
It is worth mentioning that the Former President made the same statement about the South American mental institution last year, and had no evidence to prove his statements.
- 5/14/2024
- EpicStream
Exclusive: Producers Peter Saraf and Eddie Rubin, who are in Park City to premiere the Sundance buzz titles Out of My Mind and Winner, have joined forces to create Optimistic Pictures, to develop and produce film and TV properties with an independent sensibility.
Saraf is the co-founder of Big Beach, the producer/financier responsible for one of the greatest successes to break at Sundance, the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine. After a massive bidding battle that was won by Fox Searchlight ($10.5 million and 10% gross), the film got four Oscar noms including Best Picture, won two Oscars and grossed $101 million, on an $8 million production budget.
After their first teaming on The Farewell, Saraf and Rubin are reuniting with that indie hit’s star Awkwafina. She’ll produce and star in an adaptation of G, the Ling Ma short story which is included in her National Book Critics Circle Award winning collection, Bliss Montage.
Saraf is the co-founder of Big Beach, the producer/financier responsible for one of the greatest successes to break at Sundance, the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine. After a massive bidding battle that was won by Fox Searchlight ($10.5 million and 10% gross), the film got four Oscar noms including Best Picture, won two Oscars and grossed $101 million, on an $8 million production budget.
After their first teaming on The Farewell, Saraf and Rubin are reuniting with that indie hit’s star Awkwafina. She’ll produce and star in an adaptation of G, the Ling Ma short story which is included in her National Book Critics Circle Award winning collection, Bliss Montage.
- 1/19/2024
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Barber is a mystery thriller film directed by Fintan Connolly, who also co-wrote the script with Fiona Bergin. The thriller film follows the story of Val Barber, a private investigator who is hired by a wealthy widow to find her missing granddaughter. During his investigations, several dark secrets surface, and Barber gets entangled with some powerful men who don’t want this investigation to reach its conclusion. So, if you loved Barber here are some similar movies you could watch next.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Sony Pictures
Synopsis: Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) accepts an invitation to surreptitiously investigate a forty year old unsolved murder on behalf of the victim’s uncle, Swedish industrialist Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer). Meanwhile, tattooed hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), hired to investigate Blomkvist, discovers the truth behind the conspiracy that led to his fall from grace.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Sony Pictures
Synopsis: Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) accepts an invitation to surreptitiously investigate a forty year old unsolved murder on behalf of the victim’s uncle, Swedish industrialist Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer). Meanwhile, tattooed hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), hired to investigate Blomkvist, discovers the truth behind the conspiracy that led to his fall from grace.
- 9/27/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Many gangland parodies fall flat, but not Jonathan Demme’s marvelous combo of high spirits and murder. Mafia spouse Angela de Marco’s story is goofy comedy with an edge of economic reality: how does one newly-impoverished New Yawk dame make a living for her orphaned son, while avoiding the adulterous attentions of the Big Boss who had her husband iced? Michelle Pfeiffer came into her own, Dean Stockwell has his best adult role and Matthew Modine is uniquely charming as an amorous FBI agent. The tonal balance is abetted by a supporting performances that go every which way: Mercedes Ruehl, Alec Baldwin, Oliver Platt and a slew of Demme regulars. Plus a music score by David Byrne. The disc features three new video interviews.
Married to the Mob
Blu-ray
Fun City Editions
1988 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 104 min. / Street Date September 27, 2022 / Available from Vinegar Syndrome / 39.98
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell,...
Married to the Mob
Blu-ray
Fun City Editions
1988 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 104 min. / Street Date September 27, 2022 / Available from Vinegar Syndrome / 39.98
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell,...
- 9/27/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The best horror film of the 1990s and perhaps the only serial killer picture post- Psycho that can stand on equal terms with Hitchcock’s classic, Jonathan Demme and Ted Tally’s adaptation of the Thomas Harris novel is a standout experience in every way. Not all 4K Ultra HD encodings are worth crowing about but this one is — the added visual detail and especially the contrast range really make a difference. Kino offers a good selection of extras as well, including a teaser trailer I haven’t seen for years and a fine Tim Lucas commentary.
The Silence of the Lambs
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1991 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / available through Kino Lorber / Street Date October 19, 2021 / 39.95
Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Tracey Walter, Kenneth Utt, Paul Lazar, Adelle Lutz, Obba Babatundé, Diane Baker, Roger Corman, Ron Vawter, Charles Napier,...
The Silence of the Lambs
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1991 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / available through Kino Lorber / Street Date October 19, 2021 / 39.95
Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Tracey Walter, Kenneth Utt, Paul Lazar, Adelle Lutz, Obba Babatundé, Diane Baker, Roger Corman, Ron Vawter, Charles Napier,...
- 10/2/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Producers Ed Saxon and Nina Yang Bongiovi are taking on new roles in support of the Peter Stark Producing Program at the University of Southern California.
Saxon will serve as the program’s Chair, with Bongiovi filling a new role, as its Associate Chair and Producer-In-Residence.
Both producers are alums of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. They were chosen following a multi-stage selection process, involving a comprehensive analysis and review of the program’s curriculum, and will take their posts immediately.
As Chair, Saxon will build on the program’s legacy, adapting it to meet the needs of students and the realities of the job market. In her role, Bongiovi will ensure that students are supported and mentored, as they receive on-the-ground training, reflecting current industry practice.
The change in leadership at USC was announced today by Elizabeth M. Daley, who serves as Dean of the School of Cinematic Arts.
Saxon will serve as the program’s Chair, with Bongiovi filling a new role, as its Associate Chair and Producer-In-Residence.
Both producers are alums of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. They were chosen following a multi-stage selection process, involving a comprehensive analysis and review of the program’s curriculum, and will take their posts immediately.
As Chair, Saxon will build on the program’s legacy, adapting it to meet the needs of students and the realities of the job market. In her role, Bongiovi will ensure that students are supported and mentored, as they receive on-the-ground training, reflecting current industry practice.
The change in leadership at USC was announced today by Elizabeth M. Daley, who serves as Dean of the School of Cinematic Arts.
- 7/15/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Tarik Saleh (The Nile Hilton Incident) to direct thriller.
Liam Neeson will star in Charlie Johnson In The Flames, a thriller that Michael London will produce via his Groundswell Productions and Sierra/Affinity will introduce in Cannes next week.
Tarik Saleh (The Nile Hilton Incident) will direct from Justin Haythe’s adaptation of the Michael Ignatieff novel, and Jawal Nga and Edward Saxon are producing with London.
Charlie Johnson In The Flames centres on a BBC war correspondent in the Congo who becomes embroiled in murder, corruption, and violence after he sets out to investigate the death of an innocent woman.
Liam Neeson will star in Charlie Johnson In The Flames, a thriller that Michael London will produce via his Groundswell Productions and Sierra/Affinity will introduce in Cannes next week.
Tarik Saleh (The Nile Hilton Incident) will direct from Justin Haythe’s adaptation of the Michael Ignatieff novel, and Jawal Nga and Edward Saxon are producing with London.
Charlie Johnson In The Flames centres on a BBC war correspondent in the Congo who becomes embroiled in murder, corruption, and violence after he sets out to investigate the death of an innocent woman.
- 5/3/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Another hot Cannes package: Liam Neeson, starring in Charlie Johnson in the Flames. Tarik Saleh will direct an adaptation of the Michael Ignatieff thriller novel. Script is by Justin Haythe. Michael London is producing through Groundswell Productions, along with Jawal Nga and Edward Saxon. 30West is financing. Sierra/Affinity will broker international sales and CAA and 30 West will broker U.S. rights. CAA Media Finance arranged the pic’s funding.
Neeson will play the title character, a peerless BBC war correspondent covering civil unrest in the Congo. When the death of an innocent woman shakes him to his core, he risks everything to expose the truth, only to find himself embroiled in a network of murder, corruption, and violence that forces him to question his humanity.
Neeson has as strong a global track record as anyone with a film in the Cannes market, including the Taken trilogy and most recently The Commuter.
Neeson will play the title character, a peerless BBC war correspondent covering civil unrest in the Congo. When the death of an innocent woman shakes him to his core, he risks everything to expose the truth, only to find himself embroiled in a network of murder, corruption, and violence that forces him to question his humanity.
Neeson has as strong a global track record as anyone with a film in the Cannes market, including the Taken trilogy and most recently The Commuter.
- 5/3/2018
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Talk about staying power — Jonathan Demme’s riveting, ultimately humanistic horror thriller raked in a full house of Oscars and is still scaring new viewers. Even those that chose to avoid it know what it’s all about. My review bows to the film’s superiority and remarks on some of its finer points of cinematic splendor.
The Silence of the Lambs
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 13
1991 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date February 13, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Tracey Walter, Kenneth Utt, Paul Lazar, Adelle Lutz, Obba Babatundé Diane Baker, Roger Corman, Ron Vawter, Charles Napier, Chris Isaak, George Romero, Kasi Lemmons, Lauren Roselli.
Cinematography: Tak Fujimoto
Film Editor: Craig McKay
Original Music: Howard Shore
Written by Ted Tally from the novel by Thomas Harris
Produced by Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt
Directed by Jonathan Demme
“I’ve...
The Silence of the Lambs
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 13
1991 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 118 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date February 13, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Tracey Walter, Kenneth Utt, Paul Lazar, Adelle Lutz, Obba Babatundé Diane Baker, Roger Corman, Ron Vawter, Charles Napier, Chris Isaak, George Romero, Kasi Lemmons, Lauren Roselli.
Cinematography: Tak Fujimoto
Film Editor: Craig McKay
Original Music: Howard Shore
Written by Ted Tally from the novel by Thomas Harris
Produced by Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt
Directed by Jonathan Demme
“I’ve...
- 2/17/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Programmers at Brooklyn’s BAMcinématek had already been planning Jonathan Demme month when news of his death broke, the comprehensive retrospective of one of American cinema’s most influential voices took on new meaning in the wake of his passing — and brought some of his disciples out of the woodwork. These included Paul Thomas Anderson, who moderated a series of conversations throughout the program’s opening weekend.
The series kicked off with the 1986 slapdash comedy and road movie “Something Wild,” and Anderson was on hand to interview the film’s producer Ed Saxon and SXSW founder Louis Black, a longtime friend of the late director. But it was Anderson, who’s currently in post-production on his December release “Phantom Thread,” who naturally consumed the spotlight. “This is so thrilling for me, and nerve-wracking to be here,” he said by way of introduction, calling himself the “master of ceremony for the weekend.
The series kicked off with the 1986 slapdash comedy and road movie “Something Wild,” and Anderson was on hand to interview the film’s producer Ed Saxon and SXSW founder Louis Black, a longtime friend of the late director. But it was Anderson, who’s currently in post-production on his December release “Phantom Thread,” who naturally consumed the spotlight. “This is so thrilling for me, and nerve-wracking to be here,” he said by way of introduction, calling himself the “master of ceremony for the weekend.
- 8/8/2017
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
I was terrified at the Academy Awards," screenwriter Ted Tally says. "I can't describe how nerve-racking it is. You go in the bathrooms, and people are boozing it up, smoking, doing lines of coke. You never saw so many famous people so nervous."
Twenty-five years ago on this coming Valentine's Day, The Silence of the Lambs opened in movie theaters. An intense, gritty crime odyssey, in which an FBI cadet (Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling) hunts down a serial killer (Ted Levine as Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb) with the help of another,...
Twenty-five years ago on this coming Valentine's Day, The Silence of the Lambs opened in movie theaters. An intense, gritty crime odyssey, in which an FBI cadet (Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling) hunts down a serial killer (Ted Levine as Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb) with the help of another,...
- 2/12/2016
- Rollingstone.com
'JFK' movie with Kevin Costner as Jim Garrison 'JFK' assassination movie: Gripping political drama gives added meaning to 'Rewriting History' If it's an Oliver Stone film, it must be bombastic, sentimental, clunky, and controversial. With the exception of "clunky," JFK is all of the above. It is also riveting, earnest, dishonest, moving, irritating, paranoid, and, more frequently than one might expect, outright brilliant. In sum, Oliver Stone's 1991 political thriller about a determined district attorney's investigation of the assassination of U.S. president John F. Kennedy is a slick piece of propaganda that mostly works both dramatically and cinematically. If only some of the facts hadn't gotten trampled on the way to film illustriousness. With the exception of John Williams' overemphatic score – Oliver Stone films need anything but overemphasis – JFK's technical and artistic details are put in place to extraordinary effect. Joe Hutshing and Pietro Scalia's editing...
- 5/15/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Millennium Entertainment has taken Us rights to Michael Radford’s romantic Elsa & Fred starring Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer.
Radford and Anna Pavigano wrote the remake of the 2005 Spain-Argentina hit about two senior citizens who find love.
Marcia Gay Harden, Chris Noth, Jared Gilman and Scott Bakula will also star.
Producing Elsa & Fred are Matthias Ehrenberg, Nicolas Veinberg, Jose Levy and Ricardo Kleinbaum from Cuatro Plus Films and Edward Saxon.
Millennium Entertainment’s Tristen Tuckfield negotiated the deal with ICM Partners on behalf of the filmmakers.
Radford and Anna Pavigano wrote the remake of the 2005 Spain-Argentina hit about two senior citizens who find love.
Marcia Gay Harden, Chris Noth, Jared Gilman and Scott Bakula will also star.
Producing Elsa & Fred are Matthias Ehrenberg, Nicolas Veinberg, Jose Levy and Ricardo Kleinbaum from Cuatro Plus Films and Edward Saxon.
Millennium Entertainment’s Tristen Tuckfield negotiated the deal with ICM Partners on behalf of the filmmakers.
- 5/14/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Millennium Entertainment closed a U.S. rights deal on the Michael Radford-directed Elsa & Fred, starring Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer. Radford wrote it with Anna Pavigano, and Marcia Gay Harden, Chris Noth, Jared Gilman and Scott Bakula also star. Matthias Ehrenberg, Nicolas Veinberg, Jose Levy, Ricardo Kleinbaum from Cuatro Plus Films and Edward Saxon produce. Pic is a remake of the 2005 Spanish/Argentinian film the story of two people in the twilight of their lives who discover that it’s never too late to find love and make their dreams come true. After losing his wife, straight-laced Fred (Plummer) is forced by his daughter (Harden) to move into a small apartment where he meets Elsa. From that moment on, everything changes.
- 5/14/2014
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Writer/director Omar Naim embraces the notion that science fiction allows us to observe present-day issues and human quandaries from an outsider perspective.
His award-winning 2004 film The Final Cut explored questions of memory and reality in a near-future world where people can have their babies implanted with chips that record every moment of their life. Now he’s exploring the science fiction-thriller genre further, by rewriting the Amazon Studios Development Slate project Children of Others.
Children of Others is about a barren woman who miraculously conceives with the help of a mysterious fertility clinic, only to discover that she’s bearing an alien baby who may be the precursor to invasion – or the only hope for mankind. Veteran producer Edward Saxon (Silence of the Lambs, Adaptation) is attached to the project.
We spoke to Omar about his inspirations, his own film, and the challenges and opportunities that come from working...
His award-winning 2004 film The Final Cut explored questions of memory and reality in a near-future world where people can have their babies implanted with chips that record every moment of their life. Now he’s exploring the science fiction-thriller genre further, by rewriting the Amazon Studios Development Slate project Children of Others.
Children of Others is about a barren woman who miraculously conceives with the help of a mysterious fertility clinic, only to discover that she’s bearing an alien baby who may be the precursor to invasion – or the only hope for mankind. Veteran producer Edward Saxon (Silence of the Lambs, Adaptation) is attached to the project.
We spoke to Omar about his inspirations, his own film, and the challenges and opportunities that come from working...
- 7/18/2013
- Hollywonk
Screen Australia has granted more than $276,000 in funding to support the development of 10 feature films, including projects by the co-writer of local smash The Sapphires and the team behind Wish You Were Here.
It is a small financial lifeline for the industry which is no longer receiving drama production investment from the national government agency after it spent its entire annual $42 million budget in just six months.
Among the new feature film projects to receive funding is comedy-drama The Grip, written by Tony Briggs (The Sapphires). It follows five young Australian businessmen who discover the secret to winning the pokies and develop Robin Hood-like reputations. David Field (The Combination) will direct.
Writer Felicity Price and director Kieran Darcy-Smith (Wish You Were Here) have also received funding to develop a new (as yet) untitled thriller. It follows social misfit Vincent, who holds a flame for 17-year-old Amber, but when his hopes are crushed he acts impulsively,...
It is a small financial lifeline for the industry which is no longer receiving drama production investment from the national government agency after it spent its entire annual $42 million budget in just six months.
Among the new feature film projects to receive funding is comedy-drama The Grip, written by Tony Briggs (The Sapphires). It follows five young Australian businessmen who discover the secret to winning the pokies and develop Robin Hood-like reputations. David Field (The Combination) will direct.
Writer Felicity Price and director Kieran Darcy-Smith (Wish You Were Here) have also received funding to develop a new (as yet) untitled thriller. It follows social misfit Vincent, who holds a flame for 17-year-old Amber, but when his hopes are crushed he acts impulsively,...
- 3/3/2013
- by Brendan Swift
- IF.com.au
Joining the cast of Michael Radford's remake of "Elsa & Fred," starring Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer, are Marcia Gay Harden, Chris Noth, Jared Gilman, James Brolin, George Segal, Wendell Pierce, Reg Rogers, and Erika Alexander. The film just kicked off production in New Orleans. The film is a remake of the 2005 Spanish-Argentine romantic comedy from director Marcos Carnevale, which was also adapted into a stage play. MacLaine plays a gregarious and lively New Orleans retiree, and Plummer will be the straight-laced widower that moves into her apartment, causing conflict as she won't leave him alone. The film, which raised funds at the Afm, will also shoot in Rome. During Afm, producer Ed Saxon said: "I'm pinching myself; as getting the chance to work with Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, and Michael Radford is a producer's dream come true." He is producing alongside Nicolas Veinberg, Matthias Ehrenberg, Ricardo...
- 12/4/2012
- by Sophia Savage
- Thompson on Hollywood
Marcia Gay Harden has joined the cast of Michael Radford's Elsa & Fred, starring with Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer, reports Variety. Filming started in New Orleans on Monday on the projected which also includes Chris Noth, Jared Gilman, James Brolin, George Segal, Wendell Pierce, Reg Rogers and Erika Alexander. The English remake of Marcos Carnevale's Spanish language Elsa & Fred tells of two older people who fall in love late in life. Nicolas Veinberg, Matthias Ehrenberg, Ricardo Kleinbaum, Jose Levy and Edward Saxon produce while Angel Losada Moreno, Carsten Lorenz. Aaron Gilbert, Osvaldo Rios and Rob Weston serve as exec producers.
- 12/4/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Marcia Gay Harden has joined the cast of Michael Radford's Elsa & Fred, starring with Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer, reports Variety. Filming started in New Orleans on Monday on the projected which also includes Chris Noth, Jared Gilman, James Brolin, George Segal, Wendell Pierce, Reg Rogers and Erika Alexander. The English remake of Marcos Carnevale's Spanish language Elsa & Fred tells of two older people who fall in love late in life. Nicolas Veinberg, Matthias Ehrenberg, Ricardo Kleinbaum, Jose Levy and Edward Saxon produce while Angel Losada Moreno, Carsten Lorenz. Aaron Gilbert, Osvaldo Rios and Rob Weston serve as exec producers.
- 12/4/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Michael Radford ("Il Postino") is set to direct the English-language remake of Spanish-Argentine rom-com "Elsa & Fred."
Set in New Orleans, Shirley MacLaine plays a gregarious fun-loving retiree, who takes a shine to a stick-in-the-mud widower (Christopher Plummer) who moves into her apartment building, but just wants to be left alone.
Radford and Anna Pavignano co-wrote the script, while Ed Saxon, Ricardo Kleimbaum, Matthias Ehrenberg, Nicolas Veinberg and Jose Levy will produce. Shooting kicks off in December 3rd in New Orleans and Rome.
Source: Variety...
Set in New Orleans, Shirley MacLaine plays a gregarious fun-loving retiree, who takes a shine to a stick-in-the-mud widower (Christopher Plummer) who moves into her apartment building, but just wants to be left alone.
Radford and Anna Pavignano co-wrote the script, while Ed Saxon, Ricardo Kleimbaum, Matthias Ehrenberg, Nicolas Veinberg and Jose Levy will produce. Shooting kicks off in December 3rd in New Orleans and Rome.
Source: Variety...
- 11/1/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Amazon Studios first film projects Touching Blue, Original Soldiers, and Children of Others are being produced by Denise Di Novi, Bill Gerber, and Edward Saxon. Amazon Studios was developed and launched by Amazon.com last year and invited “users to submit their scripts, storyboards, and films to the site for evaluation, discussion, and a potential deal with Warner Bros. 6,000 scripts and 600 test movies later”.
Information of the development of each film and who is producing it through Amazon Studios:
Di Novi, whose past credits include The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and Crazy, Stupid, Love., will produce Touching Blue. Written by Scott Mullen, the script revolves around a woman who has the unusual ability to track people based on the things they’ve touched, but suffers from physical pain whenever she’s touched by another person. The FBI enlists her and her powers to help hunt down a serial killer.
Information of the development of each film and who is producing it through Amazon Studios:
Di Novi, whose past credits include The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and Crazy, Stupid, Love., will produce Touching Blue. Written by Scott Mullen, the script revolves around a woman who has the unusual ability to track people based on the things they’ve touched, but suffers from physical pain whenever she’s touched by another person. The FBI enlists her and her powers to help hunt down a serial killer.
- 12/17/2011
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
After launching over a year ago, receiving over 6,000 scripts and 600 movies demanding their attention, Amazon Studios have finally filtered through all the mayhem. According to Deadline, they’ve finally announced their first three projects, as well as the producers attached to each film.
Denise Di Novi — of Ed Wood and Crazy, Stupid Love. fame — will head the first project, Touching Blue. Scott Mullen has written the script, which tells the story of a “woman who has the ability to track people based on things that they’ve touched.” However, this special gift causes physical pain to any human she touches. Think Rouge from X-Men but take away Wolverine and add the FBI, who enlist the woman to help hunt a serial killer.
Edward Saxon (Silence of the Lambs) will produce the next science fiction/horror film Children of Others, which is based from the script by Barrington Smith-Seetachit. It...
Denise Di Novi — of Ed Wood and Crazy, Stupid Love. fame — will head the first project, Touching Blue. Scott Mullen has written the script, which tells the story of a “woman who has the ability to track people based on things that they’ve touched.” However, this special gift causes physical pain to any human she touches. Think Rouge from X-Men but take away Wolverine and add the FBI, who enlist the woman to help hunt a serial killer.
Edward Saxon (Silence of the Lambs) will produce the next science fiction/horror film Children of Others, which is based from the script by Barrington Smith-Seetachit. It...
- 12/16/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
[1] It's been just over a year since Web retail giant Amazon launched [2] Amazon Studios, inviting users to submit their scripts, storyboards, and films to the site for evaluation, discussion, and a potential deal with Warner Bros. 6,000 scripts and 600 test movies later, the film studio has announced its first three projects, with Hollywood vets Denise Di Novi, Bill Gerber, and Edward Saxon signed on to produce. As far as I know, Amazon Studios hasn't expressed a particular interest in sticking to one genre, but it just so happens that all three films center on sci-fi premises. More details after the jump. Deadline [3] broke the story on the upcoming films, all of which are in the early development stages. No directors or actors have been announced at this time. Di Novi, whose past credits include The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and Crazy, Stupid, Love., will produce Touching Blue.
- 12/16/2011
- by Angie Han
- Slash Film
A trio of big name producers Denise Di Novi ("Crazy, Stupid, Love"), Bill Gerber ("Gran Torino") and Academy Award winner Edward Saxon ("Silence of the Lambs") have signed on to produce scripts uploaded to Amazon's site, the company announced on Thursday. Amazon Studios launched in November 2010 as a new media film company that relied heavily on crowd sourcing. Through the web service, filmmakers and screenwriters submit their full-length movies and scripts, which are then voted on by visitors. The company the helps get the movies that receive the most enthusiastic responses made...
- 12/15/2011
- by Brent Lang
- The Wrap
An Oscar-winning producer talks about his interest in moviemaking, medicine, and scaleable (storytelling) design.
Nearly 8 of out 10 Americans are willing to pay up to $100 for a medical device that monitors their vital signs, according to an Ibm study that tracks trends in the use of mobile devices in health care. Fewer than 10% of respondents are paying out-of-pocket charges for such devices today, but more than one-third expect to do so within the next two years. I am a movie producer, so why would this study be of such interest to me?
This might seem like a radical idea, but I believe that wireless medical technology and moviemaking can come together to create enormous good.
Let me explain. The basics of storytelling haven’t changed much since Aristotle’s Poetics, but technology has radically changed the medium for that storytelling multiple times over the past hundred years. Today, we’re at...
Nearly 8 of out 10 Americans are willing to pay up to $100 for a medical device that monitors their vital signs, according to an Ibm study that tracks trends in the use of mobile devices in health care. Fewer than 10% of respondents are paying out-of-pocket charges for such devices today, but more than one-third expect to do so within the next two years. I am a movie producer, so why would this study be of such interest to me?
This might seem like a radical idea, but I believe that wireless medical technology and moviemaking can come together to create enormous good.
Let me explain. The basics of storytelling haven’t changed much since Aristotle’s Poetics, but technology has radically changed the medium for that storytelling multiple times over the past hundred years. Today, we’re at...
- 7/1/2011
- by Edward Saxon
- Fast Company
It's always been a dream of mine to attend the entire Sundance Film Festival and, last week, I was able to fulfill that dream. Leave it to Edgar Wright to simultaneously program one of the most amazing repertory programs in recent memory and make me reconsider what dreams are made of. The Wright Stuff II ran from January 14-31 at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles and featured Wright-selected double features with special guests, Q&A's, fun trailers and more. We did a preview of what was playing at the event [1]and now that it's over, Wright has provided his own look back with some reveals of the many surprises he provided to Los Angeles fans. Check out some highlights after the break. On Wright's blog, Edgar Wright Here [2], he posted a huge list of thank yous and more. Here are some of the highlights of what he posted.
- 2/2/2011
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
The screeners having been coming so thick and fast here at CinemaSpy that we can't find the time to write them all up and sip margaritas on the beach. Hence, we've cheated and written a bunch in what journalists call a 'short and snappy' form. That way, you get to read our recommendations of what to watch and what to avoid and still have time to read the millions of Twitter messages you've got with a link to that video of the British weather forecaster flicking the bird at a news reader.
Do tell us what you think (of the reviews, not the forecaster). We will continue to bring you long-form reviews of selected releases (the upcoming Alien Anthology, for instance), but expect to see more like these...
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Genre: Family Comedy
Starring: Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn
Director: Thor Freudenthal
Screenwriters: Jackie Filgo,...
Do tell us what you think (of the reviews, not the forecaster). We will continue to bring you long-form reviews of selected releases (the upcoming Alien Anthology, for instance), but expect to see more like these...
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Genre: Family Comedy
Starring: Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn
Director: Thor Freudenthal
Screenwriters: Jackie Filgo,...
- 8/19/2010
- CinemaSpy
Chockstone Pictures has purchased the film rights to the recently released non-fiction book "The Last of the Tribe: The Epic Quest to Save a Lone Man in the Amazon." According to Variety, Doug Liman ("The Bourne Identity") is attached to direct.The book was written by Monte Reel, the South American correspondent for The Washington Post, and chronicles the search for the last surviving member of an Amazon tribe from the point of view of the government agents in charge of verifying his existence and preserving his way of life.Ed Saxon is producing with Liman, Dave Bartis, Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz.Mark Bailey is adapting the screenplay.Liman.s next film is the upcoming "Fair Game" starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts.
- 7/15/2010
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Doug Liman ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith," "The Bourne Identity") is attached to direct a film adaptation of Monte Reel's non-fiction book "The Last of the Tribe" for Chockstone Pictures reports .
The book chronicles the search for the last surviving member of an Amazon tribe and the protagonists are government agents charged with both verifying his existence and preserving his way of life.
Mark Bailey will adapt the script. Liman, Ed Saxon, Dave Bartis, Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz will produce.
The book chronicles the search for the last surviving member of an Amazon tribe and the protagonists are government agents charged with both verifying his existence and preserving his way of life.
Mark Bailey will adapt the script. Liman, Ed Saxon, Dave Bartis, Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz will produce.
- 7/14/2010
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Chockstone Pictures has picked up film rights to "The Last of the Tribe: The Epic Quest to Save a Lone Man in the Amazon," the Monte Reel non-fiction book. Doug Liman is attached to helm the project. Reel, the South American correspondent for the Washington Post, chronicles the search to find the last surviving member of an Amazon tribe from the perspective of the government agents who are tasked with verifying his existence and also preserving his way of life. Ed Saxon produces with Liman as well as Dave Bartis, Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz. The book hit shelves in June. Mark Bailey adapts the screenplay will also be executive producing.
- 7/14/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
We would like to invite our faithful readers and local Baltimorons to an advance screening of Our Family Wedding, a new film starring America Ferrera and Lance Gross. The promo screening will be on Thursday, March 11 at 7:30pm at a local Baltimore theater.
Synopsis of the film:
“Our marriage, their wedding.” It’s lesson number one for any newly engaged couple, and Lucia (America Ferrera) and Marcus (Lance Gross) are no exception. In Fox Searchlight Pictures’ Our Family Wedding, they learn the hard way that the path to saying “I do” can be rife with familial strife. When they return from college and too suddenly announce their marriage plans, they soon discover that their fathers – two highly competitive over-the-top egos – can wreak a major amount of havoc on their special day.
With insults flying and tempers running high, it’s anyone’s guess if the alpha dads (Forest Whitaker...
Synopsis of the film:
“Our marriage, their wedding.” It’s lesson number one for any newly engaged couple, and Lucia (America Ferrera) and Marcus (Lance Gross) are no exception. In Fox Searchlight Pictures’ Our Family Wedding, they learn the hard way that the path to saying “I do” can be rife with familial strife. When they return from college and too suddenly announce their marriage plans, they soon discover that their fathers – two highly competitive over-the-top egos – can wreak a major amount of havoc on their special day.
With insults flying and tempers running high, it’s anyone’s guess if the alpha dads (Forest Whitaker...
- 3/5/2010
- by Matthew
- Atomic Popcorn
Check out images from Fox Searchlight Pictures' "Our Family Wedding," starring America Ferrera, Forest Whitaker, Taye Diggs, Regina King, Lance Gross, Fred Armisen, Carlos Mencia and Charles Q. Murphy. "Our Family Wedding" is directed by Rick Famuyiwa from an original screenplay written by Rick Famuyiwa, Malcolm Spellman, and Wayne Conley. Ed Saxon and Steven Wolfe produce. "Our marriage, their wedding." It's lesson number one for any newly engaged couple, and Lucia (America Ferrera) and Marcus (Lance Gross) are no exception. In Fox Searchlight Pictures' "Our Family Wedding." they learn the hard way that the path to saying "I do" can be rife with familial strife. When they return from college and too suddenly announce their marriage plans, they soon discover that their fathers - two highly competitive over-the-top egos - can wreak a major amount of havoc on their special day.
- 2/18/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
See the first trailer for Fox Searchlight Pictures' "Our Family Wedding." The comedy is produced by Scott Hyman, Edward Saxon and Steven J. Wolfe. In this clash-of-cultures comedy, two overbearing dads must put aside their differences to plan the wedding of their son and daughter in less than two weeks. Rick Famuyiwa directs the film which opens on March 12th. Pic is rated PG 13.
- 1/13/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
"Away We Go" - Check out interview clips with John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeff Daniels, Allison Janey, Josh Hamilton, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Messina, Jim Gaffigan and Carmen Ejogo as well as director Sam Mendes and producer Edward Saxon. Focus Features releases "Away We Go" into limited areas on June 5th. Sam Mendes is known for acclaimed work such as "Revolutionary Road," "Jarhead," "American Beauty" and "Road to Perdition." See all the clips! What's "Away We Go" about? Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”) from an original screenplay by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, this funny and heartfelt film follows the journey of an expectant couple (John Krasinski [“The Office’] and Maya Rudolph [“Saturday Night Live’]), as they travel the U.S. in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise their family. Along the way, they have misadventures and find fresh connections with an assortment of relatives...
- 5/12/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
"Away We Go" - Check out interview clips with John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeff Daniels, Allison Janey, Josh Hamilton, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Messina, Jim Gaffigan and Carmen Ejogo as well as director Sam Mendes and producer Edward Saxon. Focus Features releases "Away We Go" into limited areas on June 5th. Sam Mendes is known for acclaimed work such as "Revolutionary Road," "Jarhead," "American Beauty" and "Road to Perdition." This funny and heartfelt film follows the journey of an expectant couple (John Krasinski [“The Office’] and Maya Rudolph [“Saturday Night Live’]), as they travel the U.S. in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise their family.
- 5/12/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
"Away We Go" - Check out interview clips with John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeff Daniels, Allison Janey, Josh Hamilton, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Messina, Jim Gaffigan and Carmen Ejogo as well as director Sam Mendes and producer Edward Saxon. Focus Features releases "Away We Go" into limited areas on June 5th. Sam Mendes is known for acclaimed work such as "Revolutionary Road," "Jarhead," "American Beauty" and "Road to Perdition." This funny and heartfelt film follows the journey of an expectant couple (John Krasinski [“The Office’] and Maya Rudolph [“Saturday Night Live’]), as they travel the U.S. in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise their family.
- 5/12/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
See the trailer for "Away We Go," starring John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney and Catherine O’Hara. Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida write the original screenplay. The comedy drama opens in the U.S. in limited areas on June 5th via Focus Features. Mendes produces along with Peter Saraf, Edward Saxon and Marc Turtletaub. Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”), this funny and heartfelt film follows the journey of an expectant couple (John Krasinski [“The Office’] and Maya Rudolph [“Saturday Night Live’]), as they travel the U.S. in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise their family. Along the way, they have misadventures and find fresh connections with an assortment of relatives and old friends who just might help them discover “home” on their own terms for the first time. The movie features the music of Alexi Murdoch. See the trailer: More on MovieJungle.
- 4/30/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
See the trailer for "Away We Go," starring John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney and Catherine O’Hara. Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida write the original screenplay. The comedy drama opens in the U.S. in limited areas on June 5th via Focus Features. Mendes produces along with Peter Saraf, Edward Saxon and Marc Turtletaub. Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”), this funny and heartfelt film follows the journey of an expectant couple (John Krasinski [“The Office’] and Maya Rudolph [“Saturday Night Live’]), as they travel the U.S. in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise their family....
- 4/30/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
See the trailer for "Away We Go," starring John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney and Catherine O’Hara. Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida write the original screenplay. The comedy drama opens in the U.S. in limited areas on June 5th via Focus Features. Mendes produces along with Peter Saraf, Edward Saxon and Marc Turtletaub. Directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”), this funny and heartfelt film follows the journey of an expectant couple (John Krasinski [“The Office’] and Maya Rudolph [“Saturday Night Live’]), as they travel the U.S. in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise their family....
- 4/30/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
London -- Sam Mendes' "Away We Go" has been tapped to open this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Based on the original screenplay by Dave Eggers ("Where the Wild Things Are") and Vendela Vida, the picture will kick-start the Scottish festival June 17, organizers said Tuesday.
The movie follows the journey of an expectant couple as they travel across contemporary America in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise their family.
John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph star in the film alongside Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Allison Janney.
Eiff artistic director Hannah McGill said the film "marks a distinct change of pace for one of Britain's most celebrated contemporary directors, Sam Mendes."
McGill said she is looking forward to opening the festival with a title she described as "funny, positive and smart."
Mendes said the last time he was in Edinburgh was for the Fringe in...
Based on the original screenplay by Dave Eggers ("Where the Wild Things Are") and Vendela Vida, the picture will kick-start the Scottish festival June 17, organizers said Tuesday.
The movie follows the journey of an expectant couple as they travel across contemporary America in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise their family.
John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph star in the film alongside Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Allison Janney.
Eiff artistic director Hannah McGill said the film "marks a distinct change of pace for one of Britain's most celebrated contemporary directors, Sam Mendes."
McGill said she is looking forward to opening the festival with a title she described as "funny, positive and smart."
Mendes said the last time he was in Edinburgh was for the Fringe in...
- 4/14/2009
- by By Stuart Kemp
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director Stephen Frears is in talks to follow up his Oscar-nominated The Queen with Screen Gems' courtroom drama The Burial.
Penned by Doug Wright, the film centers on the true story of Willie Gary, a black personal-injury lawyer from Mississippi who took on the case of Jeremiah O'Keefe, the owner of a local chain of funeral homes who claimed he had been swindled by a major funeral parlor conglomerate. With the cooperation of O'Keefe's lawyer, an admitted racist, he won $260 million for the plaintiff. The story is based on a New Yorker Magazine article written by Jonathan Harr.
The project had been set up at Warner Bros. Pictures but was put into turnaround before Screen Gems topper Clint Culpepper snapped up the rights.
Jenette Kahn, former president and editor-in-chief of DC Comics and Mad Magazine, and Adam Richman are producing through their Double Nickel shingle. Edward Saxon and Robert Shriver, who had been attached to produce when the project was set up at Warner Bros. Pictures, will produce as well alongside Steven Greener.
Penned by Doug Wright, the film centers on the true story of Willie Gary, a black personal-injury lawyer from Mississippi who took on the case of Jeremiah O'Keefe, the owner of a local chain of funeral homes who claimed he had been swindled by a major funeral parlor conglomerate. With the cooperation of O'Keefe's lawyer, an admitted racist, he won $260 million for the plaintiff. The story is based on a New Yorker Magazine article written by Jonathan Harr.
The project had been set up at Warner Bros. Pictures but was put into turnaround before Screen Gems topper Clint Culpepper snapped up the rights.
Jenette Kahn, former president and editor-in-chief of DC Comics and Mad Magazine, and Adam Richman are producing through their Double Nickel shingle. Edward Saxon and Robert Shriver, who had been attached to produce when the project was set up at Warner Bros. Pictures, will produce as well alongside Steven Greener.
- 3/16/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- The umpteenth indie variation on that most dependable of genres, the caper movie, Myles Connell's debut feature is notable not for tough-guy dialogue or stylishly delivered violence but rather for its vivid acting and evocative sense of atmosphere. Featuring Christopher Walken in one of his most effectively understated performances in years and a surprisingly affecting turn by Cyndi Lauper, "The Opportunists" is ultimately too low-key for its own good, but it offers some mild pleasures along the way.
Walken plays Victor Kelly, an ex-con and reformed safecracker living with his grown daughter (Vera Farmiga). He is attempting to eke out a living as an auto mechanic in Queens, N.Y. Unfortunately, his repair skills aren't on par with his nefarious ones, and his lack of income becomes all too relevant when his elderly aunt (Anne Pitoniak) is forced to move out of her comfortable nursing home to another one in, horrors, Staten Island.
One day, a personable young man named Michael (Peter McDonald) shows up at Victor's doorstep, claiming to be a long-lost relative from Ireland. Michael is not quite what he seems, though, and Victor is soon recruited by him and a couple of guys from the neighborhood (Jose Zuniga and Donal Logue, the latter the star of "The Tao of Steve") to take part in one last score. Despite the objections of Sally (Lauper), his loyal girlfriend and the owner of the local tavern, Victor trains for the job with the help of a more up-to-date safecracker (Tom Noonan). Needless to say, the caper proves more complicated than expected.
"The Opportunists" is less interested in "Rififi"-style suspense than it is in character study, and it succeeds nicely. Walken, playing a character who actually resembles a human being for a change, delivers a subtle and touching turn that clues you in to every one of Victor's myriad frustrations. Lauper, also underplaying, is equally moving as his put-upon girlfriend. And every one of the supporting performers, including such vivid character actors as Olek Krupa and Noonan in smaller roles, register with an utter authenticity.
Filmed on location in Queens and Brooklyn, the film also benefits from a visual verisimilitude that makes it easy to believe that these characters have never left their respective neighborhoods.
THE OPPORTUNISTS
First Look Pictures
Producer: John Lyons
Director-screenwriter: Myles Connell
Executive producers: Jonathan Demme, Peter Saraf, Edward Saxon, David Forrest, Beau Rogers
Co-producers: Martin Fink, Richard E. Johnson
Editor: Andy Kier
Director of photography: Teo Maniaci
Production designer: Debbie De Villa
Music: Kurt Hoffman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Victor Kelly: Christopher Walken
Michael Lawler: Peter McDonald
Sally Mahon: Cyndi Lauper
Miriam Kelly: Vera Farmiga
Pat Duffy: Donal Logue
Jesus Del Toro: Jose Zuniga
Mort Stein: Tom Noonan
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Walken plays Victor Kelly, an ex-con and reformed safecracker living with his grown daughter (Vera Farmiga). He is attempting to eke out a living as an auto mechanic in Queens, N.Y. Unfortunately, his repair skills aren't on par with his nefarious ones, and his lack of income becomes all too relevant when his elderly aunt (Anne Pitoniak) is forced to move out of her comfortable nursing home to another one in, horrors, Staten Island.
One day, a personable young man named Michael (Peter McDonald) shows up at Victor's doorstep, claiming to be a long-lost relative from Ireland. Michael is not quite what he seems, though, and Victor is soon recruited by him and a couple of guys from the neighborhood (Jose Zuniga and Donal Logue, the latter the star of "The Tao of Steve") to take part in one last score. Despite the objections of Sally (Lauper), his loyal girlfriend and the owner of the local tavern, Victor trains for the job with the help of a more up-to-date safecracker (Tom Noonan). Needless to say, the caper proves more complicated than expected.
"The Opportunists" is less interested in "Rififi"-style suspense than it is in character study, and it succeeds nicely. Walken, playing a character who actually resembles a human being for a change, delivers a subtle and touching turn that clues you in to every one of Victor's myriad frustrations. Lauper, also underplaying, is equally moving as his put-upon girlfriend. And every one of the supporting performers, including such vivid character actors as Olek Krupa and Noonan in smaller roles, register with an utter authenticity.
Filmed on location in Queens and Brooklyn, the film also benefits from a visual verisimilitude that makes it easy to believe that these characters have never left their respective neighborhoods.
THE OPPORTUNISTS
First Look Pictures
Producer: John Lyons
Director-screenwriter: Myles Connell
Executive producers: Jonathan Demme, Peter Saraf, Edward Saxon, David Forrest, Beau Rogers
Co-producers: Martin Fink, Richard E. Johnson
Editor: Andy Kier
Director of photography: Teo Maniaci
Production designer: Debbie De Villa
Music: Kurt Hoffman
Color/stereo
Cast:
Victor Kelly: Christopher Walken
Michael Lawler: Peter McDonald
Sally Mahon: Cyndi Lauper
Miriam Kelly: Vera Farmiga
Pat Duffy: Donal Logue
Jesus Del Toro: Jose Zuniga
Mort Stein: Tom Noonan
Running time -- 89 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/11/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Bewitched, honored and bewildered may describe the range of audience reactions to Buena Vista's "Beloved", starring Oprah Winfrey as a former slave tortured by a horrific past.
Graced with a daring, revelatory lead performance by Winfrey as a woman who carries scars that no human being should be forced to bear and charged by Jonathan Demme's visceral direction, "Beloved" is likely to emerge as one of the most revered and honored films of the year.
Winfrey and Demme seem shoo-ins for Academy Award nominations, and the expert technical team seems destined to win accolades as well.
While the film's initial draw will likely be Winfrey's legions of mostly female fans, the film's 172-minute length, elliptical structure and unsparing depictions of human cruelty will likely challenge the endurance of casual viewers. Undeniably, it's not a film for those seeking escapist fare or sensationalistic thrills, although the film's graphic portrayals of human need and the intrinsic horrors and soul-deep dimensions of the story line will undoubtedly stir discussion. Overall, "Beloved" represents the best in storytelling. It's a haunting mix -- pain, humiliation and happiness -- and its excellence surely will be buoyed by fevered word-of-mouth, here and abroad.
Adapted from Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "Beloved" centers on middle-aged Sethe (Winfrey), a runaway slave who in 1865 escapes the heinous cruelties of her Southern life to escape to Ohio, near Cincinnati. It's now 1873, and Sethe ekes out a small living in a tiny framed house with her teenage daughter Denver (Kimberly Elise).
She is a strong woman, proud, self-reliant but scarred, physically and psychologically. The slavers' whip and raping yahoos have taken a heavy toll. Her proud deportment masks a woman who, though she endures, doesn't expect much.
Wondrously, the arrival of long-lost neighbor Paul D. (Danny Glover) from back at "Sweet Home" stirs pangs of love and family in Sethe that have been drained from her. (She fears her husband deserted her in their escape.)
Yet Paul D.'s arrival, unfortunately but hardly surprising, also brings back the nightmarish memories of her former life. Still, for a woman not used to happiness, even the uneven contentment that She finds with Paul D. is a blessing. Nurtured by his presence, Sethe taps even further strengths, taking in to her tiny household a disturbed teenage girl who has arrived at her doorstep.
The girl, who calls herself Beloved (Thandie Newton), is strange and bewitching, wild-eyed and pouncing. She's damaged goods but shines with a magical, childlike integrity, and Sethe can't resist. Who is this girl?
Narratively, "Beloved"'s nature is contextual rather than linear. Although a triumvirate of screenwriters (Akosua Busia, Richard LaGravenese, Adam Brooks) has fitted Morrison's sprawling, multigeneric novel to cinematically fathomable dimension, director Demme has vitalized it and brought it to emotional life with a throbbing mix of sounds and imagery. It's tactile -- we feel "Beloved" more than we follow it.
Demme has fused image, color, sound, movement and cadence. It's a cinematic caldron that often scorches our sensibilities: Laden with insect sounds, animal images and searing close-ups, "Beloved" makes you feel the brutality and, perhaps as far as a movie can, feel and appreciate the uncertainties and degrading obstacles newly freed slaves faced after the Civil War. Despite some showy supernaturalistic flourishes that don't quite fit, it conveys most powerfully the horrendous psychological and social cruelties that slavery has left on those who had, to some degree, survived it.
"Beloved"'s other great powers spring from the courage of its cast members to tear fearlessly into their character's darkest torments, gnawing far beneath the surface to the very bone -- which can be unflattering. On guts alone, this cast is winning.
Winfrey's performance is terrifically raw. Stripping herself of all actress-like techniques and affectations, Winfrey shamelessly exposes her character's deeply troubled soul. It's the sort of portrayal that transcends training -- human rather than studied.
As the humble, good-natured Paul D., Glover plucks out the fright and uncertainty that his character masks with garrulous good humor. It's well-measured and wonderfully appealing.
With her beatific manner and determined resolve, Elise exposes the fears and dreams of Sethe's surviving daughter, a young woman whose painful upbringing makes her fear her new world but who also senses that she will someday make a step to a better life.
Newton's feral, bedeviled portrayal of Beloved is inspired. With her eyes pierced to another reality, she startles us into appreciating her horror and trauma.
Under Demme's inspired hand, the technical contributions are powerful, evoking emotions and empathy not usually stirred by conventional storytelling. Tak Fujimoto's washed-out, varied hues clue us to the character's interconnecting realities and turmoils, and Rachel Portman's baleful score with its hollowed reedy swells is a fitting voice for this haunting creation.
BELOVED
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Touchstone Pictures presents
a Harpo Films/Clinica Estetico production
A Jonathan Demme picture
Executive producers: Edward Saxon,
Gary Goetzman, Oprah Winfrey
Director: Jonathan Demme
Screenwriters: Akosua Busia, Richard LaGravenese, Adam Brooks
Based on the novel by: Toni Morrison
Producers: Ronald M. Bozman, Jonathan Demme, Kate Forte
Director of photography: Tak Fujimoto
Production designer: Kristi Zea
Editors: Carol Littleton, Andy Keir
Music: Rachel Portman
Costume designer: Colleen Atwood
Associate producer: Steven Shareshian
Casting: Howard Feuer
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sethe: Oprah Winfrey
Paul D.: Danny Glover
Beloved: Thandie Newton
Denver: Kimberly Elise
Baby Suggs: Beah Richards
Younger Sethe: Lisa Gay Hamilton
Stamp Paid: Albert Hall
Ella: Irma P. Hall
Janey Wagon: Carol Jean Lewis
Amy Denver: Kessia Rordelle
Schoolteacher: Jude Ciccolella
Running time -- 172 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Graced with a daring, revelatory lead performance by Winfrey as a woman who carries scars that no human being should be forced to bear and charged by Jonathan Demme's visceral direction, "Beloved" is likely to emerge as one of the most revered and honored films of the year.
Winfrey and Demme seem shoo-ins for Academy Award nominations, and the expert technical team seems destined to win accolades as well.
While the film's initial draw will likely be Winfrey's legions of mostly female fans, the film's 172-minute length, elliptical structure and unsparing depictions of human cruelty will likely challenge the endurance of casual viewers. Undeniably, it's not a film for those seeking escapist fare or sensationalistic thrills, although the film's graphic portrayals of human need and the intrinsic horrors and soul-deep dimensions of the story line will undoubtedly stir discussion. Overall, "Beloved" represents the best in storytelling. It's a haunting mix -- pain, humiliation and happiness -- and its excellence surely will be buoyed by fevered word-of-mouth, here and abroad.
Adapted from Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "Beloved" centers on middle-aged Sethe (Winfrey), a runaway slave who in 1865 escapes the heinous cruelties of her Southern life to escape to Ohio, near Cincinnati. It's now 1873, and Sethe ekes out a small living in a tiny framed house with her teenage daughter Denver (Kimberly Elise).
She is a strong woman, proud, self-reliant but scarred, physically and psychologically. The slavers' whip and raping yahoos have taken a heavy toll. Her proud deportment masks a woman who, though she endures, doesn't expect much.
Wondrously, the arrival of long-lost neighbor Paul D. (Danny Glover) from back at "Sweet Home" stirs pangs of love and family in Sethe that have been drained from her. (She fears her husband deserted her in their escape.)
Yet Paul D.'s arrival, unfortunately but hardly surprising, also brings back the nightmarish memories of her former life. Still, for a woman not used to happiness, even the uneven contentment that She finds with Paul D. is a blessing. Nurtured by his presence, Sethe taps even further strengths, taking in to her tiny household a disturbed teenage girl who has arrived at her doorstep.
The girl, who calls herself Beloved (Thandie Newton), is strange and bewitching, wild-eyed and pouncing. She's damaged goods but shines with a magical, childlike integrity, and Sethe can't resist. Who is this girl?
Narratively, "Beloved"'s nature is contextual rather than linear. Although a triumvirate of screenwriters (Akosua Busia, Richard LaGravenese, Adam Brooks) has fitted Morrison's sprawling, multigeneric novel to cinematically fathomable dimension, director Demme has vitalized it and brought it to emotional life with a throbbing mix of sounds and imagery. It's tactile -- we feel "Beloved" more than we follow it.
Demme has fused image, color, sound, movement and cadence. It's a cinematic caldron that often scorches our sensibilities: Laden with insect sounds, animal images and searing close-ups, "Beloved" makes you feel the brutality and, perhaps as far as a movie can, feel and appreciate the uncertainties and degrading obstacles newly freed slaves faced after the Civil War. Despite some showy supernaturalistic flourishes that don't quite fit, it conveys most powerfully the horrendous psychological and social cruelties that slavery has left on those who had, to some degree, survived it.
"Beloved"'s other great powers spring from the courage of its cast members to tear fearlessly into their character's darkest torments, gnawing far beneath the surface to the very bone -- which can be unflattering. On guts alone, this cast is winning.
Winfrey's performance is terrifically raw. Stripping herself of all actress-like techniques and affectations, Winfrey shamelessly exposes her character's deeply troubled soul. It's the sort of portrayal that transcends training -- human rather than studied.
As the humble, good-natured Paul D., Glover plucks out the fright and uncertainty that his character masks with garrulous good humor. It's well-measured and wonderfully appealing.
With her beatific manner and determined resolve, Elise exposes the fears and dreams of Sethe's surviving daughter, a young woman whose painful upbringing makes her fear her new world but who also senses that she will someday make a step to a better life.
Newton's feral, bedeviled portrayal of Beloved is inspired. With her eyes pierced to another reality, she startles us into appreciating her horror and trauma.
Under Demme's inspired hand, the technical contributions are powerful, evoking emotions and empathy not usually stirred by conventional storytelling. Tak Fujimoto's washed-out, varied hues clue us to the character's interconnecting realities and turmoils, and Rachel Portman's baleful score with its hollowed reedy swells is a fitting voice for this haunting creation.
BELOVED
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Touchstone Pictures presents
a Harpo Films/Clinica Estetico production
A Jonathan Demme picture
Executive producers: Edward Saxon,
Gary Goetzman, Oprah Winfrey
Director: Jonathan Demme
Screenwriters: Akosua Busia, Richard LaGravenese, Adam Brooks
Based on the novel by: Toni Morrison
Producers: Ronald M. Bozman, Jonathan Demme, Kate Forte
Director of photography: Tak Fujimoto
Production designer: Kristi Zea
Editors: Carol Littleton, Andy Keir
Music: Rachel Portman
Costume designer: Colleen Atwood
Associate producer: Steven Shareshian
Casting: Howard Feuer
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sethe: Oprah Winfrey
Paul D.: Danny Glover
Beloved: Thandie Newton
Denver: Kimberly Elise
Baby Suggs: Beah Richards
Younger Sethe: Lisa Gay Hamilton
Stamp Paid: Albert Hall
Ella: Irma P. Hall
Janey Wagon: Carol Jean Lewis
Amy Denver: Kessia Rordelle
Schoolteacher: Jude Ciccolella
Running time -- 172 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 10/5/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARK CITY, Utah -- Ulysses Jackson, a k a Ulee, is a former Vietnam War hero, but his toughest battles are raising his two granddaughters. Once again, filmmaker Victor Nunez has tapped into the rich vein of family life to forge a story that says much about the resilience of the human spirit.
Featuring a full and flinty performance by Peter Fonda as Ulee, this well-wrought and thoughtful drama should prove a nugget in select-site showings.
Walking stiffly because of the constant pain he endures from his war injury, Ulee keeps pretty much to himself. That's not to say his life is not abuzz with activity: He's a rural Louisiana beekeeper who ekes out a living selling honey. Immersed in the tedium of his honey harvesting, he's fine, but his home front poses much more vexing problems. His son Jimmy is in prison, and his oldest granddaughter (Vanessa Zima) is going through a rebellious phase. Ironically, Ulee seems most in harmony with his preteen granddaughter (Jessia Biel), whose open ways and decency mirror Ulee's own disposition.
As Ulee musters all his arthritic energies toward the critical harvest season, he is stung with a horrible dilemma. His drug-addicted daughter-in-law (Christine Dunford) has washed up in Orlando and Jimmy implores Ulee to take her in. Worse, she has divulged to Jimmy's former partners-in-crime that he has held out on them, having stashed some robbery money on Ulee's bee farm.
In this spare tale, writer-director Nunez has tapped into the core of his character's strengths and weaknesses.
Neither physically healthy enough to encounter his problem nor psychologically inclined to help wrongdoers, Ulee must muster all his strength and, much tougher, struggle against his own grain to do the right thing -- help his family. It's a solitary and heroic quest.
No superhero and crippled with flaws, Ulee does the best he can. That's the beauty of this story and the pure wonder of its theme -- that man is at his best when struggling for his kin.
Fonda's understated performance as the laconic Ulee is terrific, capturing the fiber and marrow of a man who, although he sells honey, has little sweetness in his own life. Both girls, Biel and Zima, are well-cast as the granddaughters passing through a critical growing phase. J. Kenneth Campbell, as the local lawman, embodies the adage that you catch more flies with honey.
Technical credits are marvelous, from Virgil Mirano's sovereign cinematography to Charles Engstrom's smoothly whirled score.
ULEE'S GOLD
Metromedia Entertainment
Group Orion
Producer-director-screenwriter Victor Nunez
Co-producers Sam Gowan, Peter Saraf
Executive producers Edward Saxon,
John Sloss, Valerie 8
Director of photography
Virgil Mirano
Production designer Pat Garner
Costume designer Marilyn Wall-Asse
Music Charles Engstrom
Casting Judy Courtney
Sound design Pete Winter
Color/stereo
Cast:
Ulee Jackson Peter Fonda
Connie Hope Patricia Richardson
Helen Jackson Christine Dunford
Jimmy Jackson Tom Wood
Casey Jackson Jessia Biel
Penny Jackson Vanessa Zima
Eddie Flowers Steven Flynn
Ferris Dooley Dewley Weber
Running time -- 113 minutes...
Featuring a full and flinty performance by Peter Fonda as Ulee, this well-wrought and thoughtful drama should prove a nugget in select-site showings.
Walking stiffly because of the constant pain he endures from his war injury, Ulee keeps pretty much to himself. That's not to say his life is not abuzz with activity: He's a rural Louisiana beekeeper who ekes out a living selling honey. Immersed in the tedium of his honey harvesting, he's fine, but his home front poses much more vexing problems. His son Jimmy is in prison, and his oldest granddaughter (Vanessa Zima) is going through a rebellious phase. Ironically, Ulee seems most in harmony with his preteen granddaughter (Jessia Biel), whose open ways and decency mirror Ulee's own disposition.
As Ulee musters all his arthritic energies toward the critical harvest season, he is stung with a horrible dilemma. His drug-addicted daughter-in-law (Christine Dunford) has washed up in Orlando and Jimmy implores Ulee to take her in. Worse, she has divulged to Jimmy's former partners-in-crime that he has held out on them, having stashed some robbery money on Ulee's bee farm.
In this spare tale, writer-director Nunez has tapped into the core of his character's strengths and weaknesses.
Neither physically healthy enough to encounter his problem nor psychologically inclined to help wrongdoers, Ulee must muster all his strength and, much tougher, struggle against his own grain to do the right thing -- help his family. It's a solitary and heroic quest.
No superhero and crippled with flaws, Ulee does the best he can. That's the beauty of this story and the pure wonder of its theme -- that man is at his best when struggling for his kin.
Fonda's understated performance as the laconic Ulee is terrific, capturing the fiber and marrow of a man who, although he sells honey, has little sweetness in his own life. Both girls, Biel and Zima, are well-cast as the granddaughters passing through a critical growing phase. J. Kenneth Campbell, as the local lawman, embodies the adage that you catch more flies with honey.
Technical credits are marvelous, from Virgil Mirano's sovereign cinematography to Charles Engstrom's smoothly whirled score.
ULEE'S GOLD
Metromedia Entertainment
Group Orion
Producer-director-screenwriter Victor Nunez
Co-producers Sam Gowan, Peter Saraf
Executive producers Edward Saxon,
John Sloss, Valerie 8
Director of photography
Virgil Mirano
Production designer Pat Garner
Costume designer Marilyn Wall-Asse
Music Charles Engstrom
Casting Judy Courtney
Sound design Pete Winter
Color/stereo
Cast:
Ulee Jackson Peter Fonda
Connie Hope Patricia Richardson
Helen Jackson Christine Dunford
Jimmy Jackson Tom Wood
Casey Jackson Jessia Biel
Penny Jackson Vanessa Zima
Eddie Flowers Steven Flynn
Ferris Dooley Dewley Weber
Running time -- 113 minutes...
- 1/27/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- One of the leading political figures of our age is profiled in this comprehensive and authorized documentary, which offers an unusually intimate portrait of a leader who is usually depicted as more of an icon than a man. A film of historical as well as cinematic importance, Jo Menell and Angus Gibson's "Mandela" should do well theatrically before enjoying a long life on video and cable. Recently showcased in the New York Film Festival, it's due for theatrical release in March.
The filmmakers were granted an amazing degree of access, with the result that Mandela's humanity is stressed as much as his politics. Although it offers a fairly comprehensive portrait of the political developments in South Africa in the past 50 years, the film will be best appreciated by those already familiar with the history. "Mandela" should become a staple in schools and colleges.
The film combines amazing archival footage -- including an interview with a bearded, heavier Mandela that was conducted when he was in hiding in the early 1960s -- with an up-close-and-personal look at the man today. He is interviewed at great length, in tight close-up, and he narrates a tour of locales that hold significant importance for him, from his ancestral grave site to the prison where he spent 27 years. There is also commentary, most of it admiring, from various friends, colleagues and family members.
Despite the closeness of the portrait, Mandela emerges as no less an amazing figure, with his dignity, modesty and gentle humor shining as brightly as his passion and integrity. Still, the film doesn't shy away from mentioning the less-attractive aspects of his personality, such as the callous way he treated his first wife, who adds her comments.
Adding the appropriate flavor is the musical score, which includes contributions by many prominent South African musicians.
MANDELA
Island Pictures
Clinica Estetico Prods.
Directors Jo Menell, Angus Gibson
Producers Jonathan Demme, Edward Saxon,
Jo Menell
Executive producers Chris Blackwell,
Dan Genetti
Co-producer Peter Saraf
Photography Dewald Aukema,
Peter Tischauser
Editor Andy Keir
Music Cedric Gradus Samson with
Hugh Masakela
Color/stereo
Running time -- 120 minutes
No MPAA rating...
The filmmakers were granted an amazing degree of access, with the result that Mandela's humanity is stressed as much as his politics. Although it offers a fairly comprehensive portrait of the political developments in South Africa in the past 50 years, the film will be best appreciated by those already familiar with the history. "Mandela" should become a staple in schools and colleges.
The film combines amazing archival footage -- including an interview with a bearded, heavier Mandela that was conducted when he was in hiding in the early 1960s -- with an up-close-and-personal look at the man today. He is interviewed at great length, in tight close-up, and he narrates a tour of locales that hold significant importance for him, from his ancestral grave site to the prison where he spent 27 years. There is also commentary, most of it admiring, from various friends, colleagues and family members.
Despite the closeness of the portrait, Mandela emerges as no less an amazing figure, with his dignity, modesty and gentle humor shining as brightly as his passion and integrity. Still, the film doesn't shy away from mentioning the less-attractive aspects of his personality, such as the callous way he treated his first wife, who adds her comments.
Adding the appropriate flavor is the musical score, which includes contributions by many prominent South African musicians.
MANDELA
Island Pictures
Clinica Estetico Prods.
Directors Jo Menell, Angus Gibson
Producers Jonathan Demme, Edward Saxon,
Jo Menell
Executive producers Chris Blackwell,
Dan Genetti
Co-producer Peter Saraf
Photography Dewald Aukema,
Peter Tischauser
Editor Andy Keir
Music Cedric Gradus Samson with
Hugh Masakela
Color/stereo
Running time -- 120 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/16/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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