Even before the people chose Green Book at the Toronto Film Festival and anointed Peter Farrelly’s film a surprise Oscar contender, the film survived a road trip as overflowing with twists and turns as the story onscreen. Green Book recreates the concert tour of piano virtuoso Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), a black man touring the Deep South in 1962 with only a Bronx-bred burly Italian driver and temporarily unemployed Copacabana bouncer, Tony ‘Lip’ Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) as security from the dangers of the Jim Crow era. Polar opposites, the two men discover substance beneath each other’s surfaces, and are reshaped by the hard miles they travel together.
The film bears similarities to crowd-pleasing mismatched buddy and road trip comedies like Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Midnight Run and 48 Hrs., and it even has a Christmas theme that makes it theatrically relevant in holiday season. But it veers into a timely tale about tolerance and race,...
The film bears similarities to crowd-pleasing mismatched buddy and road trip comedies like Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Midnight Run and 48 Hrs., and it even has a Christmas theme that makes it theatrically relevant in holiday season. But it veers into a timely tale about tolerance and race,...
- 12/26/2018
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
A column chronicling conversations and events on the awards circuit.
Julia Roberts is back in the awards conversation this season, not only with her latest film, Ben Is Back, which has been winning her some of the best reviews of her career, but also her Amazon series Homecoming, which got a two-season initial order and has racked up Lead Actress nominations right out of the gate for her at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards after just a 10-episode first season.
I caught up with her Thursday night at CAA for an interview set to run on Deadline next week. We talked as a full house, largely Academy members, watched Ben Is Back. She’s justifiably proud of the movie, which just began its limited runs last week and will expand through Roadside Attractions to the top 25 markets next week as it continues to widen during the season. Even...
Julia Roberts is back in the awards conversation this season, not only with her latest film, Ben Is Back, which has been winning her some of the best reviews of her career, but also her Amazon series Homecoming, which got a two-season initial order and has racked up Lead Actress nominations right out of the gate for her at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Awards after just a 10-episode first season.
I caught up with her Thursday night at CAA for an interview set to run on Deadline next week. We talked as a full house, largely Academy members, watched Ben Is Back. She’s justifiably proud of the movie, which just began its limited runs last week and will expand through Roadside Attractions to the top 25 markets next week as it continues to widen during the season. Even...
- 12/15/2018
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
This award season the best editing navigated complex mood swings in capturing love and pain in such Oscar contenders as “Roma,” “A Star Is Born,” “The Favourite,” “First Man,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Green Book,” and “Widows.”
Several movies started off strong with the bold opening, including the mopping of water in the credit scene in “Roma,” the perilous X-15 flight in “First Man,” and the juxtaposition of Viola Davis in bed with Liam Neeson with the botched heist in “Widows.”
“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón’s black-and-white childhood remembrance of things past, establishes a rhythm as well as a cleansing metaphor about life and memory with the flow of water in the opening. Cuarón, who served as editor with co-editor Adam Gough, created a dance with his pacing, making the viewer a voyeur in a family drama filled with daily adventures that ebb and flow in intensity.
The director meticulously...
Several movies started off strong with the bold opening, including the mopping of water in the credit scene in “Roma,” the perilous X-15 flight in “First Man,” and the juxtaposition of Viola Davis in bed with Liam Neeson with the botched heist in “Widows.”
“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón’s black-and-white childhood remembrance of things past, establishes a rhythm as well as a cleansing metaphor about life and memory with the flow of water in the opening. Cuarón, who served as editor with co-editor Adam Gough, created a dance with his pacing, making the viewer a voyeur in a family drama filled with daily adventures that ebb and flow in intensity.
The director meticulously...
- 12/13/2018
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini, Sebastian Maniscalco, Dimiter D. Marinov, Mike Hatton, P.J. Byrne, Joe Cortese, Maggie Nixon, Von Lewis, Jon Sortland, Don Stark, Anthony Mangano, Paul Sloan, Quinn Duffy | Written by Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie | Directed by Peter Farrelly
Peter Farrelly’s Green Book is an uplifting and compelling dramatic feature from one half comedic duo of the Farrelly brothers. Directors of cult and financially acclaimed classics such as Kingpin, Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary, Green Book is the first foray into dramatic territory. The end result is undoubtedly conventional, yes. But a splendidly crafted poignant rendition of a comely picture…
In 1962, Tony “Tony Lip” Vallelonga, a tough bouncer, is looking for work with his nightclub is closed for renovations. The most promising offer turns out to be the driver for the African-American classical pianist Don Shirley for a concert...
Peter Farrelly’s Green Book is an uplifting and compelling dramatic feature from one half comedic duo of the Farrelly brothers. Directors of cult and financially acclaimed classics such as Kingpin, Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary, Green Book is the first foray into dramatic territory. The end result is undoubtedly conventional, yes. But a splendidly crafted poignant rendition of a comely picture…
In 1962, Tony “Tony Lip” Vallelonga, a tough bouncer, is looking for work with his nightclub is closed for renovations. The most promising offer turns out to be the driver for the African-American classical pianist Don Shirley for a concert...
- 12/13/2018
- by Jak-Luke Sharp
- Nerdly
1. “A Star Is Born”
The beauty of Bradley Cooper’s romantic drama is that it finds a way to re-imagine old-school Hollywood classicism as something contemporary yet timeless. The soap-opera beats are all in place, and they pay off with all the grandeur you hope for, but as directed by Cooper with a slow-burn voyeuristic spaciousness, “A Star Is Born” is like something from the ’70s — not just a melodramatic weeper but a journey. Lady Gaga, in her captivating movie-star debut, plays the beguiling songstress Ally — innocent, spirited, calculating, loving — as someone who echoes Gaga herself while remaining her own mystery creation. (Does Ally hold onto herself as an artist or become part of the machine? The answer is both.) And Cooper, in a performance of broken-down shaggy power, creates the most lived-in hellbent movie rock star in a generation. Their acting meshes so intimately that the entire movie feels like a dance.
The beauty of Bradley Cooper’s romantic drama is that it finds a way to re-imagine old-school Hollywood classicism as something contemporary yet timeless. The soap-opera beats are all in place, and they pay off with all the grandeur you hope for, but as directed by Cooper with a slow-burn voyeuristic spaciousness, “A Star Is Born” is like something from the ’70s — not just a melodramatic weeper but a journey. Lady Gaga, in her captivating movie-star debut, plays the beguiling songstress Ally — innocent, spirited, calculating, loving — as someone who echoes Gaga herself while remaining her own mystery creation. (Does Ally hold onto herself as an artist or become part of the machine? The answer is both.) And Cooper, in a performance of broken-down shaggy power, creates the most lived-in hellbent movie rock star in a generation. Their acting meshes so intimately that the entire movie feels like a dance.
- 12/11/2018
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
One of the perks of having the son of one of the film’s subjects be its co-writer is that the production gets all kinds of access for research. That’s exactly what it was like for Betsy Heimann, who created the vintage ‘60s looks on “Green Book,” which chronicles the friendship between pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his one-time driver Tony “Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen).
“I had access to some fabulous photographs of Tony at the Copacabana with Tom Jones and Don Rickles and all kinds of characters,” Heimann shared at Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts: Costume Designers panel, moderated by this author (watch the exclusive video above). “I had some pictures of his mother and [Tony and Dolores’] wedding. And I had a few pictures of the family.”
It was a Vallelonga family affair on the project, which was co-written by Tony’s son Nick. Vallelonga family members were also in the movie,...
“I had access to some fabulous photographs of Tony at the Copacabana with Tom Jones and Don Rickles and all kinds of characters,” Heimann shared at Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts: Costume Designers panel, moderated by this author (watch the exclusive video above). “I had some pictures of his mother and [Tony and Dolores’] wedding. And I had a few pictures of the family.”
It was a Vallelonga family affair on the project, which was co-written by Tony’s son Nick. Vallelonga family members were also in the movie,...
- 12/10/2018
- by Joyce Eng
- Gold Derby
First-round voting is underway for Oscar’s Original Song and Original Score categories, but Academy music-branch voters are discovering that four talked-about scores are missing from the eligibility list.
Music for “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” “Green Book,” “Mandy” and “The Other Side of the Wind” has been disqualified for various reasons, Variety has learned.
More than 150 scores are in the running, although only the approximately 300 music-branch members have access to the list when they log onto the Academy website to cast their ballots. This year, unlike previous years, the Academy chose not to release the complete rundowns of qualified scores and songs.
“Solo: A Star Wars Story,” composed by John Powell with themes by John Williams, was nixed by the board as having been entered too late for the competition (deadline was Nov. 15).
“Mandy,” the Nicolas Cage revenge thriller that featured the late Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson’s final score,...
Music for “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” “Green Book,” “Mandy” and “The Other Side of the Wind” has been disqualified for various reasons, Variety has learned.
More than 150 scores are in the running, although only the approximately 300 music-branch members have access to the list when they log onto the Academy website to cast their ballots. This year, unlike previous years, the Academy chose not to release the complete rundowns of qualified scores and songs.
“Solo: A Star Wars Story,” composed by John Powell with themes by John Williams, was nixed by the board as having been entered too late for the competition (deadline was Nov. 15).
“Mandy,” the Nicolas Cage revenge thriller that featured the late Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson’s final score,...
- 12/9/2018
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
Green Book, Peter Farrelly's period-piece dramedy about the black concert pianist Don Shirley (Oscar winner Mahershala Ali) and his less cultured white driver Tony Lip (Oscar nominee Viggo Mortensen), is likely to land a bunch of Oscar nominations, and maybe even a few wins.
But best original score will not be one of them.
The executive committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' music branch met Nov. 29, The Hollywood Reporter has learned, and reviewed the score, which had been flagged for review by the branch's score subcommittee, which was established just last year to review cue-sheets of submitted ...
But best original score will not be one of them.
The executive committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' music branch met Nov. 29, The Hollywood Reporter has learned, and reviewed the score, which had been flagged for review by the branch's score subcommittee, which was established just last year to review cue-sheets of submitted ...
- 12/6/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Green Book, Peter Farrelly's period-piece dramedy about the black concert pianist Don Shirley (Oscar winner Mahershala Ali) and his less cultured white driver Tony Lip (Oscar nominee Viggo Mortensen), is likely to land a bunch of Oscar nominations, and maybe even a few wins.
But best original score will not be one of them.
The executive committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' music branch met Nov. 29, The Hollywood Reporter has learned, and reviewed the score, which had been flagged for review by the branch's score subcommittee, which was established just last year to review cue-sheets of submitted ...
But best original score will not be one of them.
The executive committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' music branch met Nov. 29, The Hollywood Reporter has learned, and reviewed the score, which had been flagged for review by the branch's score subcommittee, which was established just last year to review cue-sheets of submitted ...
- 12/6/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
We are recognizing “Green Book”: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali. Our Hollywood Film Tributes recognize films and talent for their excellence in the art of filmmaking. From our rave review last month: They don’t make em like this anymore. Sometimes that’s a bit of a slight, as film has evolved over the years. In the case of Green Book, aside from a small complaint or two, it’s almost exclusively a compliment. This movie is an absolute crowd pleaser, one that almost defies you not to smile. All of the Academy Award buzz is well founded (more on that later on), creating a likable awards player that will have some big time fans within the voting community. Top to bottom, it’s so well done, you never quite mind the simplistic feel of the story. The film is a biographical dramedy about an unlikely friendship. Set in the 1960’s,...
- 12/5/2018
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Mahershala Ali and John David Washington sat down for a chat for Variety’s Actors on Actors. For more, click here.
Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”) and John David Washington (“BlacKkKlansman”) have catapulted into the awards season conversation with two searing films about race in America. Both movies are based on true stories. Ali, who won the supporting actor Oscar in 2017 for “Moonlight,” portrays Dr. Don Shirley, an acclaimed black pianist embarking on a tour of the Deep South at the height of Jim Crow. Washington, the son of Denzel, plays Ron Stallworth, a black detective tasked with infiltrating the Kkk. Their turns, alternately fiery and funny, have received rave reviews. The two men had an honest and raw conversation about what drew them to the projects.
Mahershala Ali: How did “BlacKkKlansman” come your way?
John David Washington: I got a text message from Spike Lee. Now, I don’t have his number.
Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”) and John David Washington (“BlacKkKlansman”) have catapulted into the awards season conversation with two searing films about race in America. Both movies are based on true stories. Ali, who won the supporting actor Oscar in 2017 for “Moonlight,” portrays Dr. Don Shirley, an acclaimed black pianist embarking on a tour of the Deep South at the height of Jim Crow. Washington, the son of Denzel, plays Ron Stallworth, a black detective tasked with infiltrating the Kkk. Their turns, alternately fiery and funny, have received rave reviews. The two men had an honest and raw conversation about what drew them to the projects.
Mahershala Ali: How did “BlacKkKlansman” come your way?
John David Washington: I got a text message from Spike Lee. Now, I don’t have his number.
- 12/4/2018
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
From the Lethal Weapons to Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen’s latest, black-white duos in film are commonplace. But often it’s just self-serving
Stop us if you have heard this one before: “One of them is black; one’s white. How are they going to get along when they’re thrown together by fate?” To be fair, new movie Green Book is based on the true story of a road trip through the early-60s deep south, taken by a refined African-American pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his Italian-American bouncer-turned-chauffeur (Viggo Mortensen). Although the film’s message is ultimately uplifting, its execution has drawn criticism. Shirley’s niece, Carole Shirley Kimble, has disowned the project as “a depiction of a white man’s version of a black man’s life”.
Related: Green Book in Oscars race after National Board of Review award...
Stop us if you have heard this one before: “One of them is black; one’s white. How are they going to get along when they’re thrown together by fate?” To be fair, new movie Green Book is based on the true story of a road trip through the early-60s deep south, taken by a refined African-American pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his Italian-American bouncer-turned-chauffeur (Viggo Mortensen). Although the film’s message is ultimately uplifting, its execution has drawn criticism. Shirley’s niece, Carole Shirley Kimble, has disowned the project as “a depiction of a white man’s version of a black man’s life”.
Related: Green Book in Oscars race after National Board of Review award...
- 12/3/2018
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Green Book follows the story of American pianist Don Shirley and his music road tour in the 1960s South with his Italian-American driver and bodyguard Tony the Lip.
The real Tony went on to be a character actor in an array of movies such as The Pope of Greenwich Village. But it was his son Nick Vallelonga who would bring his father and Shirley’s emotional story to the big screen. Why did it take so long? Essentially Vallelonga was respecting the wishes of Shirley who wanted the movie to happen after his death (both Vallelonga and Shirley died in 2013). Vallelonga had interviewed both thoroughly. He told screenwriter Brian Currie about the movie, and he then pitched Green Book to his friend Peter Farrelly. But Currie didn’t hard sell Farrelly; he soft-pitched the idea and let the Dumb and Dumber director get back to him.
When it came to...
The real Tony went on to be a character actor in an array of movies such as The Pope of Greenwich Village. But it was his son Nick Vallelonga who would bring his father and Shirley’s emotional story to the big screen. Why did it take so long? Essentially Vallelonga was respecting the wishes of Shirley who wanted the movie to happen after his death (both Vallelonga and Shirley died in 2013). Vallelonga had interviewed both thoroughly. He told screenwriter Brian Currie about the movie, and he then pitched Green Book to his friend Peter Farrelly. But Currie didn’t hard sell Farrelly; he soft-pitched the idea and let the Dumb and Dumber director get back to him.
When it came to...
- 12/1/2018
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Queer representation in film has come a long way, and this year could open the floodgates at the Oscars. As of this writing we’re predicting that seven actors will be nominated for playing Lgbt roles across all four acting categories, and there’s an eighth currently on the bubble. How many will make the cut?
“The Favourite” leads the way with three predicted nominees playing queer roles. Best Actress contender Olivia Colman and Best Supporting Actress hopefuls Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz are in a love triangle of sorts as 18th century royals, though it’s not entirely clear how much of their sexual interplay is about actual attraction and how much is about power.
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” stars potential Best Actress contender Melissa McCarthy as lesbian writer Lee Israel and Best Supporting Actor possibility Richard E. Grant as her gay friend and criminal accomplice Jack Hock.
“The Favourite” leads the way with three predicted nominees playing queer roles. Best Actress contender Olivia Colman and Best Supporting Actress hopefuls Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz are in a love triangle of sorts as 18th century royals, though it’s not entirely clear how much of their sexual interplay is about actual attraction and how much is about power.
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” stars potential Best Actress contender Melissa McCarthy as lesbian writer Lee Israel and Best Supporting Actor possibility Richard E. Grant as her gay friend and criminal accomplice Jack Hock.
- 11/29/2018
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
The year’s most complex music assignment may have been Kris Bowers’ work on “Green Book.” He not only composed the score, he transcribed and played all of pianist Don Shirley’s original 1960s recordings, and he had to teach Mahershala Ali how to be a convincing pianist.
“Green Book” is the fact-based story about African-American artist Shirley’s early-1960s tour of the South with his white driver-bodyguard. Bowers (composer of TV’s “Dear White People”) was hired before shooting. “I would play the keyboard in front of Mahershala, so he could watch me. I would make sure that he was in the right spot, that he was as comfortable as possible, and that it looked as authentic as it could,” Bowers says.
Bowers was wowed by Shirley’s virtuosic performances. “To take the technique and dexterity that you need to be a concert pianist, and then play these jazz songs in that way,...
“Green Book” is the fact-based story about African-American artist Shirley’s early-1960s tour of the South with his white driver-bodyguard. Bowers (composer of TV’s “Dear White People”) was hired before shooting. “I would play the keyboard in front of Mahershala, so he could watch me. I would make sure that he was in the right spot, that he was as comfortable as possible, and that it looked as authentic as it could,” Bowers says.
Bowers was wowed by Shirley’s virtuosic performances. “To take the technique and dexterity that you need to be a concert pianist, and then play these jazz songs in that way,...
- 11/29/2018
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
Having worked with Peter Farrelly on “Movie 43” (2013), film editor Patrick J. Don Vito was surprised to read the script for the director’s latest film, “Green Book.” “I thought, wow, this is really good,” he recalls, “and this is such a departure” for the filmmaker behind bawdy comedies like “Dumb and Dumber” (1994), “Kingpin” (1996) and “There’s Something About Mary” (1998). Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Based on a true story, this Universal release centers on Tony “Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), an Italian-American bouncer who takes a job driving classical pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a musical tour through the Jim Crow-era South.
See As ‘Green Book’ opens wide, will Oscar voters also go along for the ride?
Although the film deals with more serious subject matter, Farrelly didn’t leave his funny bone behind. “That was probably the biggest trick of the movie,” Don Vito explains, “the...
Based on a true story, this Universal release centers on Tony “Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), an Italian-American bouncer who takes a job driving classical pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a musical tour through the Jim Crow-era South.
See As ‘Green Book’ opens wide, will Oscar voters also go along for the ride?
Although the film deals with more serious subject matter, Farrelly didn’t leave his funny bone behind. “That was probably the biggest trick of the movie,” Don Vito explains, “the...
- 11/28/2018
- by Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
The bottom line of every awards race is to get your movie seen. The more people who see it and love it, the more likely you are to notch a nomination or win. The real impact of early awards like the National Board of Review and the idiosyncratic Gothams (New York’s streamed version of the Independent Spirit Awards), is to move other awards groups like critics, SAG, and the Academy toward films they might have otherwise overlooked.
For example, most awards watchers have long assumed that Paul Schrader’s well-received “First Reformed” would register with year-end groups and move into Oscar contention for a long overdue screenplay nomination — if anyone deserves a career prize, it’s the creator of “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull.” Now “First Reformed” and its extraordinary performance by Ethan Hawke (nominated for “Training Day” and “Boyhood”) move up in the screener piles. It’s not...
For example, most awards watchers have long assumed that Paul Schrader’s well-received “First Reformed” would register with year-end groups and move into Oscar contention for a long overdue screenplay nomination — if anyone deserves a career prize, it’s the creator of “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull.” Now “First Reformed” and its extraordinary performance by Ethan Hawke (nominated for “Training Day” and “Boyhood”) move up in the screener piles. It’s not...
- 11/28/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The National Board of Review today named Universal/DreamWorks/Participant Media’s The Green Book as best movie and Bradley Cooper as best director for Warner Bros.’ A Star Is Born. The honorees will be feted at the Nbr Awards Gala, hosted by Willie Geist, on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at Cipriani 42nd Street.
The National Board of Review does it their way when it comes to lauding awards contenders and often isn’t in lockstep with who the ultimate Oscar winner is. Last year, they named Steven Spielberg’s The Post as best picture along with its stars Tom Hanks as best actor and Meryl Streep as best actress. The Post only earned two Oscar noms last year for best picture and Streep and came up empty in regards to wins. The last time Nbr synced with AMPAS on best picture was for 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire.
Green Book also took best...
The National Board of Review does it their way when it comes to lauding awards contenders and often isn’t in lockstep with who the ultimate Oscar winner is. Last year, they named Steven Spielberg’s The Post as best picture along with its stars Tom Hanks as best actor and Meryl Streep as best actress. The Post only earned two Oscar noms last year for best picture and Streep and came up empty in regards to wins. The last time Nbr synced with AMPAS on best picture was for 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire.
Green Book also took best...
- 11/27/2018
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
The National Board of Review on Tuesday revealed its 2018 award winners, naming Green Book as its pick for best film.
In addition to Green Book receiving the top honor, Viggo Mortensen, the star of the Universal release, was named best actor.
The Nbr plaudits mark the first major awards and nominations for the Peter Farrelly-directed pic, which was inspired by the true friendship that developed between Italian-American driver Tony Vallelonga (Mortensen) and African-American musician Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a road trip through the deep South during the 1960s. The film, which bowed Nov. 16, has received stellar reviews and won ...
In addition to Green Book receiving the top honor, Viggo Mortensen, the star of the Universal release, was named best actor.
The Nbr plaudits mark the first major awards and nominations for the Peter Farrelly-directed pic, which was inspired by the true friendship that developed between Italian-American driver Tony Vallelonga (Mortensen) and African-American musician Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a road trip through the deep South during the 1960s. The film, which bowed Nov. 16, has received stellar reviews and won ...
- 11/27/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The National Board of Review on Tuesday revealed its 2018 award winners, naming Green Book as its pick for best film.
In addition to Green Book receiving the top honor, Viggo Mortensen, the star of the Universal release, was named best actor.
The Nbr plaudits mark the first major awards and nominations for the Peter Farrelly-directed pic, which was inspired by the true friendship that developed between Italian-American driver Tony Vallelonga (Mortensen) and African-American musician Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a road trip through the deep South during the 1960s. The film, which bowed Nov. 16, has received stellar reviews and won ...
In addition to Green Book receiving the top honor, Viggo Mortensen, the star of the Universal release, was named best actor.
The Nbr plaudits mark the first major awards and nominations for the Peter Farrelly-directed pic, which was inspired by the true friendship that developed between Italian-American driver Tony Vallelonga (Mortensen) and African-American musician Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a road trip through the deep South during the 1960s. The film, which bowed Nov. 16, has received stellar reviews and won ...
- 11/27/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
In the segregation-era film Green Book, Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali stars as Dr. Don Shirley, a real-life world-class black pianist. In several scenes, with the grace that Ali always seems to exude no matter who he's portraying, his fingers fly across his piano keys in a way that look so masterful you can't help but wonder, "Is that really him playing the piano?" The question is a credit to Ali's acting, since no, he isn't the one pulling those notes from that Steinway piano. When we're not lost in the fierce concentration on Ali's face during those performance scenes, it's actually the fingers of film composer Kris Bowers that we're riveted by.
Green Book follows Ali's Dr. Shirley on a a concert tour that extends from New York to the Deep South, with Bronx-born Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) as his chauffeur and bodyguard. The two abide by the "Green Book,...
Green Book follows Ali's Dr. Shirley on a a concert tour that extends from New York to the Deep South, with Bronx-born Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) as his chauffeur and bodyguard. The two abide by the "Green Book,...
- 11/24/2018
- by Mekishana Pierre
- Popsugar.com
Dr. Donald W. Shirley was a piano prodigy of Jamaican descent who had mastered much of the standard concert repertory by age 10. “His virtuosity is worthy of gods,” Igor Stravinsky once said. Yet the idiosyncratic Shirley has been reduced to one of cinema’s long-standing racist stock characters in Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book.”
To be fair, “Green Book” doesn’t set out to be a Don Shirley biopic; however, the movie’s billed as essentially an interracial buddy comedy. Universal, which produced the film, plans to submit the true-life road trip film in the Best Comedy/Musical at the Golden Globes (although its eventual category placement will be determined by the Hollywood Foreign Press). American buddy comedies have generally mandated equal screen time to both characters — except when one of those characters is black, and exists almost entirely to help transform his white companion on a quest toward salvation.
To be fair, “Green Book” doesn’t set out to be a Don Shirley biopic; however, the movie’s billed as essentially an interracial buddy comedy. Universal, which produced the film, plans to submit the true-life road trip film in the Best Comedy/Musical at the Golden Globes (although its eventual category placement will be determined by the Hollywood Foreign Press). American buddy comedies have generally mandated equal screen time to both characters — except when one of those characters is black, and exists almost entirely to help transform his white companion on a quest toward salvation.
- 11/23/2018
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
When “Green Book” premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the response to it was ecstatic. Audiences gave it rapturous ovations and voted it their favorite movie of the festival, and critics swooned. Many of us felt that “Green Book,” directed with grace and crack timing by Peter Farrelly (from a script he co-wrote with Nick Vallelonga and Brian Hayes Currie), was a crowd-pleaser in the best way — a feel-good movie, yes, but one built around a series of honest observations about what it showed you. The dialogue went ping without calling attention to itself, and you could use the movie in a master class for acting.
That said, there’s no denying that the tropes that thread through “Green Book” have been around a long time. It’s a buddy movie. And a road movie. And a Hollywood liberal message movie, set in the days of Civil Rights and Jim Crow,...
That said, there’s no denying that the tropes that thread through “Green Book” have been around a long time. It’s a buddy movie. And a road movie. And a Hollywood liberal message movie, set in the days of Civil Rights and Jim Crow,...
- 11/22/2018
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Odds are, you’ve probably already heard quite a bit about the film “Green Book,” which expands nationwide just in time for Thanksgiving. The film, which stars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, tells the true story of a white bouncer-turned-driver that acts as a bodyguard for the highly-respected Black pianist, Dr. Don Shirley, as they embark on a concert tour through the Deep South in 1962.
Read More: ‘Green Book’: Mahershala Ali & Viggo Mortensen Road Trip Through The Jim Crow South [Tiff Review]
And in honor of the film’s nationwide expansion, we are happy to present our readers with an exclusive clip from the drama.
Continue reading ‘Green Book’ Exclusive Clip: Mahershala Ali Shows Off His Piano Skills In The Crowd-Pleasing Oscar Contender at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘Green Book’: Mahershala Ali & Viggo Mortensen Road Trip Through The Jim Crow South [Tiff Review]
And in honor of the film’s nationwide expansion, we are happy to present our readers with an exclusive clip from the drama.
Continue reading ‘Green Book’ Exclusive Clip: Mahershala Ali Shows Off His Piano Skills In The Crowd-Pleasing Oscar Contender at The Playlist.
- 11/21/2018
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
This is a repost of our Tiff 2018 review. Plot: In the early sixties, a famous pianist, Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) agrees to a tour of the Deep South, hiring a loosely connected wiseguy, Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) to be his driver and bodyguard. Review: It’s funny how something totally conventional and mainstream can almost feel like a tonic at a place like Tiff. So many movies come in with dreams of Oscar…...
- 11/21/2018
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
In today’s film news roundup, “Green Book” gets a festival honor, the Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild names lifetime achievement winners, and indies “Tyger Tyger” and “Sons of the Cross” are heading into production.
Honors
The Palm Springs International Film Festival will present the drama “Green Book” with the Vanguard Award at its annual film awards gala on Jan. 3.
The Vanguard Award is a group honor for a film’s cast and director in recognition of their collective work on an exceptional film project. Actors Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali as well as director Peter Farrelly are expected to attend.
“Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are an on-camera dream team in the crowd-pleasing film ‘Green Book,’ inspired by a true friendship, about a New York City bouncer hired to drive and protect pianist Dr. Don Shirley on a concert tour in the Deep South,” said festival chairman Harold Matzner.
Honors
The Palm Springs International Film Festival will present the drama “Green Book” with the Vanguard Award at its annual film awards gala on Jan. 3.
The Vanguard Award is a group honor for a film’s cast and director in recognition of their collective work on an exceptional film project. Actors Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali as well as director Peter Farrelly are expected to attend.
“Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are an on-camera dream team in the crowd-pleasing film ‘Green Book,’ inspired by a true friendship, about a New York City bouncer hired to drive and protect pianist Dr. Don Shirley on a concert tour in the Deep South,” said festival chairman Harold Matzner.
- 11/21/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Imagine being asked to record an audition to play rock ’n’ roll legend Freddie Mercury in a movie, but your tryout is specifically for the members of Queen, Mercury’s former bandmates. That was the awkward position Rami Malek was put in before he starred in the Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
“We ended up watching it [together] in Roger Taylor’s flat, in London,” Malek says. “One of the craziest, most surreal moments of my life, was standing next to them and basically trying to gauge their reaction in real time. Something no human should be subject to.”
Malek, best-known for his Emmy-winning role on “Mr. Robot,” has spent most of his free time in serious roles in indie films such as “Short Term 12” and “Buster’s Mal Heart.” Playing Mercury in a movie that comes awfully close to a musical was completely out of his comfort zone.
“I don...
“We ended up watching it [together] in Roger Taylor’s flat, in London,” Malek says. “One of the craziest, most surreal moments of my life, was standing next to them and basically trying to gauge their reaction in real time. Something no human should be subject to.”
Malek, best-known for his Emmy-winning role on “Mr. Robot,” has spent most of his free time in serious roles in indie films such as “Short Term 12” and “Buster’s Mal Heart.” Playing Mercury in a movie that comes awfully close to a musical was completely out of his comfort zone.
“I don...
- 11/20/2018
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Variety Film + TV
Nick Vallelonga had been thinking about making a movie about his dad, Tony Lip, since he was a teenager. He started recording interviews with his father in his 20s and mapped it all out in his 30s. But he couldn't really make the film — an odd-couple dramedy about his father's road trip with classical pianist Don Shirley through an intolerant South during the 1960s — until 2013, at the request of one of its subjects. "Dr. Shirley asked me to not make this movie until he passed away, for whatever his reasons were," says Vallelonga....
- 11/20/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Nick Vallelonga had been thinking about making a movie about his dad, Tony Lip, since he was a teenager. He started recording interviews with his father in his 20s and mapped it all out in his 30s. But he couldn't really make the film — an odd-couple dramedy about his father's road trip with classical pianist Don Shirley through an intolerant South during the 1960s — until 2013, at the request of one of its subjects. "Dr. Shirley asked me to not make this movie until he passed away, for whatever his reasons were," says Vallelonga....
- 11/20/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Green Book has such a good message that it’s pretty much enough. You may be able to see where the story is going, but if it’s going to reach any racists who need to hear this message, it can’t be too outside the box. In 1962, Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen) takes a holiday job as Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali)’s driver on tour in the south. Even though Dr. Shirley is an acclaimed, famous pianist, off stage he’s treated like every other black person in the south. The Green Book is the guide to hotels that allow black people. In […]
The post Green Book movie review: The fast and the furious about racism appeared first on Monsters and Critics.
The post Green Book movie review: The fast and the furious about racism appeared first on Monsters and Critics.
- 11/20/2018
- by Fred Topel
- Monsters and Critics
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has selected Viggo Mortenson as the recipient of its American Riviera Award.
Mortensen will be presented with the award at the 34th iteration of the festival, which runs Jan. 30 through Feb. 9. He will be recognized for his work in film, which includes Academy Award nominations for “Eastern Promises” and “Captain Fantastic,” and in his recently released comedic drama “Green Book.”
“Viggo is one of the steadiest acting forces in cinema and one of its greatest chameleons,” said Roger Durling, the festival’s executive director. “As Tony Lip in ‘Green Book,’ he delivers the capstone to his remarkable career. He encapsulates the American Riviera Award. We greatly admire and love him.”
Directed by Peter Farrelly, “Green Book” is inspired by a friendship that transcended race, class, and the 1962 Mason-Dixon line. Mortensen portrays a New York City bouncer from the Bronx who is hired to drive...
Mortensen will be presented with the award at the 34th iteration of the festival, which runs Jan. 30 through Feb. 9. He will be recognized for his work in film, which includes Academy Award nominations for “Eastern Promises” and “Captain Fantastic,” and in his recently released comedic drama “Green Book.”
“Viggo is one of the steadiest acting forces in cinema and one of its greatest chameleons,” said Roger Durling, the festival’s executive director. “As Tony Lip in ‘Green Book,’ he delivers the capstone to his remarkable career. He encapsulates the American Riviera Award. We greatly admire and love him.”
Directed by Peter Farrelly, “Green Book” is inspired by a friendship that transcended race, class, and the 1962 Mason-Dixon line. Mortensen portrays a New York City bouncer from the Bronx who is hired to drive...
- 11/19/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Chicago – In the original sin of racism in America, structured in the societal relationship between whites and African Americans, there had to be small steps before there were larger ones. In 1962, a black piano virtuoso and his white Italian New Yorker driver toured through the Deep South and developed a friendship, in the new film “Green Book.”
Rating: 4.5/5.0
The title refers to a pamphlet, distributed to African Americans in the 1950s and ‘60s, that gave them tips as to which Southern State restaurants, hotels and stores that would accept their business. The driver, Tony “Lip” Vallelonga, used this guide to drive the pianist Don Shirley back then, and also used his connection to Shirley to understand his own deep seated attitudes. Viggo Mortensen portrays Tony, and Oscar winner Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight”) is Shirley, and the ardent performances of the two men is one of the many highlights of the film,...
Rating: 4.5/5.0
The title refers to a pamphlet, distributed to African Americans in the 1950s and ‘60s, that gave them tips as to which Southern State restaurants, hotels and stores that would accept their business. The driver, Tony “Lip” Vallelonga, used this guide to drive the pianist Don Shirley back then, and also used his connection to Shirley to understand his own deep seated attitudes. Viggo Mortensen portrays Tony, and Oscar winner Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight”) is Shirley, and the ardent performances of the two men is one of the many highlights of the film,...
- 11/19/2018
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Before hitting the road on a nationwide release, Universal's awards contender Green Book got warmed up with a limited opening on 25 screens that earned $313,000 this weekend and a per screen average of $12,250.
Stars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are expected to be awards contenders for their performances as Italian-American bodyguard Tony Lip and jazz icon Dr. Don Shirley. Green Book follows the friendship that grew between the two men as Tony escorted Shirley on his tour through the Jim Crow South, using the titular Green Book to find hotels that African-Americans were allowed to stay in.
Stars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are expected to be awards contenders for their performances as Italian-American bodyguard Tony Lip and jazz icon Dr. Don Shirley. Green Book follows the friendship that grew between the two men as Tony escorted Shirley on his tour through the Jim Crow South, using the titular Green Book to find hotels that African-Americans were allowed to stay in.
- 11/18/2018
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Universal is going limited with Peter Farrelly’s Green Book this weekend. The film, starring Oscar-nominee Viggo Mortensen and Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali, is based on the true story of a racist bouncer hired by jazz pianist and composer Don Shirley to drive him through the South during the Jim Crow era. Julian Schnabel’s latest, At Eternity’s Gate, heads out via CBS Films. Starring Willem Dafoe as Vincent Van Gogh, the project came together after a visit by Schnabel and the film’s co-writer to Paris’ Musée D’Orsay.
Cohen Media group is heading out with Venice fest title Shoah: The Four Sisters, the final film of late French writer-director-producer Claude Lanzmann. And Wolfe Releasing is giving Anchor And Hope, which it picked up out of the European Film Market last February, an exclusive start in Los Angeles.
Among other limited releases opening this weekend in theaters are Of Fathers And Sons...
Cohen Media group is heading out with Venice fest title Shoah: The Four Sisters, the final film of late French writer-director-producer Claude Lanzmann. And Wolfe Releasing is giving Anchor And Hope, which it picked up out of the European Film Market last February, an exclusive start in Los Angeles.
Among other limited releases opening this weekend in theaters are Of Fathers And Sons...
- 11/16/2018
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline Film + TV
Don Kaye Nov 15, 2018
The celebrated actor didn’t think he was the best guy to play an Italian-American bouncer in Green Book.
“I had a lot of misgivings about it,” says Viggo Mortensen, seated in a room at the London Hotel in Los Angeles where he is spending the day talking about his new movie Green Book. The “it” in question is the role of Frank Anthony “Tony Lip” Vallelonga, an Italian-American bouncer and raconteur who was hired as a driver for famed African-American pianist Don Shirley (played in the film by Mahershala Ali) when the latter toured the Jim Crow South in 1962.
In the movie, the two men -- who couldn’t be farther apart in their manner and cultural background -- find common ground in challenging the ugly racism of the region and era.
“The last thing I wanted to do was a caricature and (director) Pete Farrelly felt the same,...
The celebrated actor didn’t think he was the best guy to play an Italian-American bouncer in Green Book.
“I had a lot of misgivings about it,” says Viggo Mortensen, seated in a room at the London Hotel in Los Angeles where he is spending the day talking about his new movie Green Book. The “it” in question is the role of Frank Anthony “Tony Lip” Vallelonga, an Italian-American bouncer and raconteur who was hired as a driver for famed African-American pianist Don Shirley (played in the film by Mahershala Ali) when the latter toured the Jim Crow South in 1962.
In the movie, the two men -- who couldn’t be farther apart in their manner and cultural background -- find common ground in challenging the ugly racism of the region and era.
“The last thing I wanted to do was a caricature and (director) Pete Farrelly felt the same,...
- 11/15/2018
- Den of Geek
I heard Mahershala Ali‘s next Oscar acceptance speech today. It happened during a Q&A for “Green Book” at Bice in midtown Manhattan after the film screened next door.
“The film provides some perspective on things we are experiencing now. I think we need to have these films,” the “Moonlight” winner began. “We need to have art. We need to have ‘edu-tainment.’ Things have to exist that do some of the fighting for us.” On his portrayal of Don Shirley — the musician driven around the South in 1961 by Viggo Mortensen‘s character Tony Vallelonga — he continued, “It was a real blessing to step into the shoes of a man who was that dynamic and that complicated. I’d never seen that man on screen before — of any color. It made me nervous, but I wanted to step toward it.”
It’s rare that applause breaks out at one of...
“The film provides some perspective on things we are experiencing now. I think we need to have these films,” the “Moonlight” winner began. “We need to have art. We need to have ‘edu-tainment.’ Things have to exist that do some of the fighting for us.” On his portrayal of Don Shirley — the musician driven around the South in 1961 by Viggo Mortensen‘s character Tony Vallelonga — he continued, “It was a real blessing to step into the shoes of a man who was that dynamic and that complicated. I’d never seen that man on screen before — of any color. It made me nervous, but I wanted to step toward it.”
It’s rare that applause breaks out at one of...
- 11/15/2018
- by Bill McCuddy
- Gold Derby
“Green Book,” which Universal releases Nov. 16, centers on the unlikely real-life friendship between Jamaican-American classical pianist Don Shirley and his driver Tony Vallelonga, a laid-off New York nightclub bouncer, during a 1962 tour of the Midwest and the racially tense South. The film premiered at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival in September and has surged to become an Oscar contender, including possible actor noms for the two leads, Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen.
Director-co-writer Peter Farrelly, best known for offbeat comedies (“There’s Something About Mary”), says it was a tough production: “We had 35 days and $20 million to shoot this 120-page script — and with dozens of locations, all set in 1962.” The result looks effortless, partly because of the cast and crew: “A lot of people did a lot of work for very little money because they liked the story.”
Sean Porter, Cinematographer
“I’m a story guy, so I wanted a visual balance.
Director-co-writer Peter Farrelly, best known for offbeat comedies (“There’s Something About Mary”), says it was a tough production: “We had 35 days and $20 million to shoot this 120-page script — and with dozens of locations, all set in 1962.” The result looks effortless, partly because of the cast and crew: “A lot of people did a lot of work for very little money because they liked the story.”
Sean Porter, Cinematographer
“I’m a story guy, so I wanted a visual balance.
- 11/14/2018
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Melissa McCarthy, Steve Carell and Dave Chappelle are among the onetime comedians delivering dramatic performances at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and on Tuesday director Peter Farrelly joined the Tiff ranks of funny folks getting serious. Farrelly, the director of “There’s Something About Mary,” “Dumb and Dumber” and “Shallow Hal,” has moved away from hair-gel gags to civil-rights abuses with “Green Book,” which premiered on Tuesday night after a press screening earlier in the day.
The title comes from the Negro Motorist Green Book, a publication designed to tell African-Americans where they could safely eat and stay in the South during the days of segregation. In this case, the man following it was an Italian-American bouncer from the Bronx, “Tony Lip” (played by Viggo Mortensen), who was hired to chauffeur black pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a concert tour from Manhattan into the South in 1962.
That trip really happened,...
The title comes from the Negro Motorist Green Book, a publication designed to tell African-Americans where they could safely eat and stay in the South during the days of segregation. In this case, the man following it was an Italian-American bouncer from the Bronx, “Tony Lip” (played by Viggo Mortensen), who was hired to chauffeur black pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a concert tour from Manhattan into the South in 1962.
That trip really happened,...
- 11/14/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
“For a vacation without aggravation.” So begins The Green Book, a guide for black travelers of the limited establishments they were welcome at in a segregated America. Published in the decades leading up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (and a few years beyond), the handbook could be considered more valuable than a Bible for its intended readers as they navigate to safe passage amongst a cesspool of racism. In Peter Farrelly’s entertaining, easy-to-please dramedy Green Book, it’s the first thing given to Tony “Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), who reluctantly accepted a two-month gig to drive renowned pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a concert tour through the Deep South.
Packing the kind of Italian-bred gut that can hold 26 hot dogs in one sitting and, for dinner, an entire pizza, Mortensen plays Tony Lip with a wallop of brash endearment. A self-proclaimed “bullshit artist,” he can convince anyone to do anything,...
Packing the kind of Italian-bred gut that can hold 26 hot dogs in one sitting and, for dinner, an entire pizza, Mortensen plays Tony Lip with a wallop of brash endearment. A self-proclaimed “bullshit artist,” he can convince anyone to do anything,...
- 11/14/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
They don’t make em like this anymore. Sometimes that’s a bit of a slight, as film has evolved over the years. In the case of Green Book, aside from a small complaint or two, it’s almost exclusively a compliment. This movie is an absolute crowd pleaser, one that almost defies you not to smile. All of the Academy Award buzz is well founded (more on that later on), creating a likable awards player that will have some big time fans within the voting community. Top to bottom, it’s so well done, you never quite mind the simplistic feel of the story. Opening this week, it’s going to be a force this season. The film is a biographical dramedy about an unlikely friendship. Set in the 1960’s, we first meet Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), an Italian working stiff in the Bronx. A bouncer at the Copacabana,...
- 11/14/2018
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Best Actor Oscar race this year just might turn into the battle of the bulge, pitting a pot-bellied Dick Cheney against a chowhound Italian bodyguard going belly to belly.
In this corner, after packing on about 40 pounds for his role as President George W. Bush’s controversial ex-veep in “Vice,” due in theaters on Christmas day, is Christian Bale, 43. The Welsh actor, who dropped 30 pounds and won a supporting Academy Award for his rail-thin crack-addict boxer Dicky Eklund in 2010’s “The Fighter,” holds the unofficial title of Hollywood’s most dedicated yo-yo dieter.
Bale transformed into musclebound alpha-male sicko Patrick Bateman in 2000’s “American Psycho.” Then he dropped an alarming 60 pounds for his mad insomniac factory worker in 2004’s “The Machinist.” He next put on 30 pounds of muscle to fill out the Caped Crusader’s rubber suit starting with 2005’s “Batman Begins.” The actor then lost 55 pounds as a prisoner-of-war for 2006’s “Rescue Dawn.
In this corner, after packing on about 40 pounds for his role as President George W. Bush’s controversial ex-veep in “Vice,” due in theaters on Christmas day, is Christian Bale, 43. The Welsh actor, who dropped 30 pounds and won a supporting Academy Award for his rail-thin crack-addict boxer Dicky Eklund in 2010’s “The Fighter,” holds the unofficial title of Hollywood’s most dedicated yo-yo dieter.
Bale transformed into musclebound alpha-male sicko Patrick Bateman in 2000’s “American Psycho.” Then he dropped an alarming 60 pounds for his mad insomniac factory worker in 2004’s “The Machinist.” He next put on 30 pounds of muscle to fill out the Caped Crusader’s rubber suit starting with 2005’s “Batman Begins.” The actor then lost 55 pounds as a prisoner-of-war for 2006’s “Rescue Dawn.
- 11/13/2018
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
Awards season is in swing, and we are back in podcast mode. Today, we weigh in on a plethora of fact-based films, and the question of how authentic they really are.
The main topics: Green Book, a road trip through the Jim Crow-era deep South that unites two unlikely partners in a brilliant black classical pianist named Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his burly Italian Copacabana bodyguard Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen); and The Front Runner, with Hugh Jackman as Sen. Gary Hart, the Democratic front-runner for president until he was exposed as a philanderer. The press gave a pass to the wandering eyes of JFK and other politicians, and the Hart scandal ushered in the current climate where every White House occupant’s flaws are fodder for coverage.
We weigh in whether the press deserves to be considered the heavy as director Jason Reitman has rendered them.
The main topics: Green Book, a road trip through the Jim Crow-era deep South that unites two unlikely partners in a brilliant black classical pianist named Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his burly Italian Copacabana bodyguard Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen); and The Front Runner, with Hugh Jackman as Sen. Gary Hart, the Democratic front-runner for president until he was exposed as a philanderer. The press gave a pass to the wandering eyes of JFK and other politicians, and the Hart scandal ushered in the current climate where every White House occupant’s flaws are fodder for coverage.
We weigh in whether the press deserves to be considered the heavy as director Jason Reitman has rendered them.
- 11/12/2018
- by Peter Bart and Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Green Book is one of the most enjoyable and crowd-pleasing films this holiday season, even if it spends too much time with the driver.
The scene where Tony Lip meets Dr. Don Shirley in the mostly easygoing Green Book is telling in more ways than one. A sequence credited as “based on a real friendship,” it is the meeting between a prospective employee and employer, an Italian-American bruiser named Tony (Viggo Mortensen) and the immaculately measured Jazz musician, Don (Mahershala Ali), who lives atop a veritable castle in the sky—or at least in a luxury apartment above Carnegie Hall. His home reflects culture and prestige, yet other than a single manservant, it is empty, and not so much a part of the New York elite it towers above as it is an object hidden away from a distance. Like a fine piece of art, it can be admired without being touched.
The scene where Tony Lip meets Dr. Don Shirley in the mostly easygoing Green Book is telling in more ways than one. A sequence credited as “based on a real friendship,” it is the meeting between a prospective employee and employer, an Italian-American bruiser named Tony (Viggo Mortensen) and the immaculately measured Jazz musician, Don (Mahershala Ali), who lives atop a veritable castle in the sky—or at least in a luxury apartment above Carnegie Hall. His home reflects culture and prestige, yet other than a single manservant, it is empty, and not so much a part of the New York elite it towers above as it is an object hidden away from a distance. Like a fine piece of art, it can be admired without being touched.
- 11/12/2018
- Den of Geek
Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), an African-American classical-trained pianist on a jazz-trio tour in a part of 1960’s America that’s not prepared to embrace integration. In his search for a chauffeur, Don makes the curious choice of Frank Anthony Vallelonga, a.k.a. Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), a loudmouth Italian cliché temporarily off the Mob payroll as a bouncer back in New Yawk. They sure as hell don’t get off to an amicable start, with Don sitting like a king in a chic apartment above Carnegie Hall. Tony...
- 11/12/2018
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
Viggo Mortensen Clarifies His Use of the N-Word: ‘Discrimination Evolves and Changes Its Vocabulary’
Viggo Mortensen has further clarified his use of the n-word at a “Green Book” screening earlier this week, for which he has since apologized. In a new statement posted on the website of his publishing company, Perceval Press, the Oscar nominee writes that “it is not true, as has been implied in much of the reporting on what I said on Wednesday, that I was naïvely claiming racism had disappeared along with the general use of the N-word. I was actually stating the opposite, that discrimination evolves and changes its vocabulary, and that we must always be vigilant.”
Here’s his full statement:
“Last Wednesday, I participated in an onstage interview session moderated by Elvis Mitchell following a screening of ‘Green Book’ in Los Angeles, along with the movie’s director, Peter Farrelly, and my acting partner, Mahershala Ali. As has been made public, I spoke the full N-word when...
Here’s his full statement:
“Last Wednesday, I participated in an onstage interview session moderated by Elvis Mitchell following a screening of ‘Green Book’ in Los Angeles, along with the movie’s director, Peter Farrelly, and my acting partner, Mahershala Ali. As has been made public, I spoke the full N-word when...
- 11/11/2018
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Inspired by a true story, Green Book centers on the friendship of Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), an Italian-American bouncer who is hired to escort classical pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) in the 1960s era South.Though not exactly two peas in a pod, the men gradually form a bond that goes beyond race and creed.
“The main [...]
The post Viggo Mortensen Gets To The “Heart” And Relevance Of ‘Green Book’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
“The main [...]
The post Viggo Mortensen Gets To The “Heart” And Relevance Of ‘Green Book’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 11/11/2018
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali and Linda Cardellini all walked the red carpet at the Tcl Chinese Theatres on Friday night to celebrate the premiere of Green Book, which tells the true story of the friendship that developed between Italian-American tough guy Tony Lip and African-American pianist Dr. Don Shirley when they embarked on a concert tour together through the American South in the 1960s.
The movie's title refers to a book that was once published for African-American travelers so that they could find nonsegregated restaurants, hotels and other facilities while traveling across the country.
It’s a film the celebrates ...
The movie's title refers to a book that was once published for African-American travelers so that they could find nonsegregated restaurants, hotels and other facilities while traveling across the country.
It’s a film the celebrates ...
- 11/10/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali and Linda Cardellini all walked the red carpet at the Tcl Chinese Theatres on Friday night to celebrate the premiere of Green Book, which tells the true story of the friendship that developed between Italian-American tough guy Tony Lip and African-American pianist Dr. Don Shirley when they embarked on a concert tour together through the American South in the 1960s.
The movie's title refers to a book that was once published for African-American travelers so that they could find nonsegregated restaurants, hotels and other facilities while traveling across the country.
It’s a film the celebrates ...
The movie's title refers to a book that was once published for African-American travelers so that they could find nonsegregated restaurants, hotels and other facilities while traveling across the country.
It’s a film the celebrates ...
- 11/10/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mahershala Ali has accepted an apology from “Green Book” actor Viggo Mortensen for using the N-word on at a screening of their film — but noted that it was not appropriate for his co-star to use the slur.
Mortensen used the word on Wednesday night at the ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood during a conversation moderated by Film Independent programmer Elvis Mitchell. Mortensen was speaking about cyclical and generational use of hate speech, according to several audience members in attendance, and used the N-word specifically as an example of speech that’s no longer common in conversation.
In his subsequent apology, Mortensen said, “Although my intention was to speak strongly against racism, I have no right to even imagine the hurt that is caused by hearing that word in any context, especially from a white man. I do not use the word in private or in public. I am very sorry that I...
Mortensen used the word on Wednesday night at the ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood during a conversation moderated by Film Independent programmer Elvis Mitchell. Mortensen was speaking about cyclical and generational use of hate speech, according to several audience members in attendance, and used the N-word specifically as an example of speech that’s no longer common in conversation.
In his subsequent apology, Mortensen said, “Although my intention was to speak strongly against racism, I have no right to even imagine the hurt that is caused by hearing that word in any context, especially from a white man. I do not use the word in private or in public. I am very sorry that I...
- 11/10/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
To land a Best Actor Oscar nod, it takes all cylinders firing smoothly. “Green Book” star Viggo Mortensen was a candidate for the win: He ranked second in a recent Los Angeles Times critics’ poll, he’s a popular and beloved actor’s actor who landed surprise SAG and Oscar nominations for his survivalist single parent in 2017’s “Captain Fantastic,” a decade after his 2007 Oscar nomination as a tattooed Russian thug in “Eastern Promises.”
Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” has played to standing ovations, from Toronto where it won the audience award (often a sign of things to come), to packed screenings in the deep south, to recent guild showings in Los Angeles. But at a November 7 Film Independent Q&A, while making a point about racism in the ’60s versus now, Mortensen threw down the n-word.
How that played in the room is up for interpretation. But safe to...
Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” has played to standing ovations, from Toronto where it won the audience award (often a sign of things to come), to packed screenings in the deep south, to recent guild showings in Los Angeles. But at a November 7 Film Independent Q&A, while making a point about racism in the ’60s versus now, Mortensen threw down the n-word.
How that played in the room is up for interpretation. But safe to...
- 11/9/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
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