Paul Schrader hit Cannes this weekend with Competition title Oh, Canada, reuniting him with American Gigolo star Richard Gere in the role of a terminally ill documentarian who reveals secrets as his life nears its end.
Lead producer David Gonzales says the fact that the film was ready for a Cannes splash was a miracle on a number of fronts.
Development began just 18 months ago after Schrader learned that his good friend, writer Russell Banks, was suffering from cancer.
Schrader, who previously adapted Banks’ novel Affliction to the big screen, felt compelled to make a new film based on Banks’ penultimate 2021 book Foregone, which the writer had originally wanted to title ‘Oh, Canada.’
“He said, ‘This is my next film, I can see the film in my head.’ We’re going back to the end of 2022,” says Gonzales, who secured the rights.
Banks died in January 2023 as Schrader was mid-screenplay.
Lead producer David Gonzales says the fact that the film was ready for a Cannes splash was a miracle on a number of fronts.
Development began just 18 months ago after Schrader learned that his good friend, writer Russell Banks, was suffering from cancer.
Schrader, who previously adapted Banks’ novel Affliction to the big screen, felt compelled to make a new film based on Banks’ penultimate 2021 book Foregone, which the writer had originally wanted to title ‘Oh, Canada.’
“He said, ‘This is my next film, I can see the film in my head.’ We’re going back to the end of 2022,” says Gonzales, who secured the rights.
Banks died in January 2023 as Schrader was mid-screenplay.
- 5/18/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Paul Schrader Renaissance began the moment “First Reformed” debuted to the director’s best reviews in at least 15 years, back in 2017. The spiritual trilogy formed around it — “The Card Counter” and “Master Gardener” — have fostered in a new generation’s mind this frankly narrow vision of what constitutes a Paul Schrader movie: men in rooms, pens across diaries, peculiar revenge plots.
It’s likely that audiences anticipating another drama in which a man’s profession comes dressed as the sick soul of America will be baffled by “Oh, Canada,” his newest feature now in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It’s based on Russell Banks’ 2021 novel “Foregone.” Those well-acquainted with Schrader’s half-century of cinema may find themselves on the edge of bafflement with this film, which uses the last will and testament of documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife (Richard Gere) as a trickle-down device for 55 years of guilt,...
It’s likely that audiences anticipating another drama in which a man’s profession comes dressed as the sick soul of America will be baffled by “Oh, Canada,” his newest feature now in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It’s based on Russell Banks’ 2021 novel “Foregone.” Those well-acquainted with Schrader’s half-century of cinema may find themselves on the edge of bafflement with this film, which uses the last will and testament of documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife (Richard Gere) as a trickle-down device for 55 years of guilt,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Nick Newman
- Indiewire
Paul Schrader may have found a trick for cheating death: Just make more movies. Amid some serious health struggles over the past few years, the 77-year-old auteur and screenwriting legend has entered one of his most prolific phases.
“Every time I’m getting ready to die, I have a new idea,” Schrader says. “Then I think, ‘Oh well, I guess I can’t die yet. I have to write this.’ ”
Over a recent five-year stretch, Schrader wrote and directed what he describes as an accidental trilogy — First Reformed (2017) with Ethan Hawke, The Card Counter (2021) with Oscar Isaac and Master Gardener (2022) with Joel Edgerton — with each film involving a fresh spin on the “man alone in a room” archetype he invented nearly 50 years ago with his script for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976). Schrader is now back again with a new feature, Oh, Canada, co-starring Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli,...
“Every time I’m getting ready to die, I have a new idea,” Schrader says. “Then I think, ‘Oh well, I guess I can’t die yet. I have to write this.’ ”
Over a recent five-year stretch, Schrader wrote and directed what he describes as an accidental trilogy — First Reformed (2017) with Ethan Hawke, The Card Counter (2021) with Oscar Isaac and Master Gardener (2022) with Joel Edgerton — with each film involving a fresh spin on the “man alone in a room” archetype he invented nearly 50 years ago with his script for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976). Schrader is now back again with a new feature, Oh, Canada, co-starring Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada, the new drama that reunites the director with his American Gigalo star Richard Gere, had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival Friday night, where it was welcomed with a three-minute-plus standing ovation for Schrader and his team at the Grand Lumiere Theatre. With typical Canadian politeness, the crowd even applauded the film’s producers.
Before the premiere, Schrader and the cast of Oh, Canada, including Richard Gere, and Uma Thurman, but not Jacob Elordi, had climbed the red carpet steps up the Palais to the sounds of the Canadian national anthem. Among the famous faces in the audience at the theater was Nathalie Emmanuel.
While the creative team received a warm welcome, the film itself was less warmly received, with only polite applause and a perfunctory standing ovation for Schrader and his cast. But there was a collection of whoops and cheers, and at least one “bravo!
Before the premiere, Schrader and the cast of Oh, Canada, including Richard Gere, and Uma Thurman, but not Jacob Elordi, had climbed the red carpet steps up the Palais to the sounds of the Canadian national anthem. Among the famous faces in the audience at the theater was Nathalie Emmanuel.
While the creative team received a warm welcome, the film itself was less warmly received, with only polite applause and a perfunctory standing ovation for Schrader and his cast. But there was a collection of whoops and cheers, and at least one “bravo!
- 5/17/2024
- by Scott Roxborough and Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“How can so much suffering have no meaning?”
That’s a question posed by decorated documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife in Paul Schrader’s meandering ode to death, dying, aging, and regret, “Oh, Canada.” It’s inevitably one also felt by audiences who will be left bewildered by the Oscar-nominated filmmaker’s most experimental and alienating work in some time, which loses itself in the process.
With “Oh, Canada,” Schrader splices timelines, color palettes, and aspect ratios to tell Fife’s story as a now-revered nonfiction movie-maker who fled the United States in the late 1960s for Canada to avoid the Vietnam War draft. Schrader is a gifted filmmaker who has given us so much more than “First Reformed” and “The Card Counter,” the only movies audiences of late seem to remember him by. He’s not unfamiliar with unpacking a great and morally complicated artist’s work in wildly subversive...
That’s a question posed by decorated documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife in Paul Schrader’s meandering ode to death, dying, aging, and regret, “Oh, Canada.” It’s inevitably one also felt by audiences who will be left bewildered by the Oscar-nominated filmmaker’s most experimental and alienating work in some time, which loses itself in the process.
With “Oh, Canada,” Schrader splices timelines, color palettes, and aspect ratios to tell Fife’s story as a now-revered nonfiction movie-maker who fled the United States in the late 1960s for Canada to avoid the Vietnam War draft. Schrader is a gifted filmmaker who has given us so much more than “First Reformed” and “The Card Counter,” the only movies audiences of late seem to remember him by. He’s not unfamiliar with unpacking a great and morally complicated artist’s work in wildly subversive...
- 5/17/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Hard to believe it has been 44 years since Paul Schrader and star Richard Gere last worked together on 1980’s seminal American Gigolo, a film that became not just a keystone in Gere’s celebrated career but also one for one Schrader’s as one of his earliest directorial credits. Of course he has written some of the great screenplays, particularly in his collaborations with Martin Scorsese on Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ and Taxi Driver. But it is what interests him now a half century later as a writer-director that continues to fascinate.
In recent years that has included insular works like The Card Counter, Master Gardener and the critically acclaimed First Reformed. Now he has returned to more of what he labels a “mosaic,” in this case a movie made up of pieces of a life put under a cinematic microscope at different periods, all moving in...
In recent years that has included insular works like The Card Counter, Master Gardener and the critically acclaimed First Reformed. Now he has returned to more of what he labels a “mosaic,” in this case a movie made up of pieces of a life put under a cinematic microscope at different periods, all moving in...
- 5/17/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Vertical has acquired U.S. rights from AGC Studios to The Order, a dramatic thriller directed by Australia’s Justin Kurzel (Macbeth), on which we were first to report. Starring Jude Law (Firebrand), Nicholas Hoult (X-Men franchise), Tye Sheridan (The Card Counter), Jurnee Smollett (Birds of Prey) and more, the film will will have an exclusive release in theaters nationwide later this year.
Written by Oscar and BAFTA nominee Zach Baylin (King Richard), the film adapts Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt’s book The Silent Brotherhood, chronicling the escalating crimes of the titular white supremacist domestic terror group. It’s set in 1983, when a series of increasingly violent bank robberies, counterfeiting operations, and armored car heists frightened communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. As baffled law enforcement agents scrambled for answers, a lone FBI agent (Law), stationed in the sleepy, picturesque town of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, came to believe...
Written by Oscar and BAFTA nominee Zach Baylin (King Richard), the film adapts Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt’s book The Silent Brotherhood, chronicling the escalating crimes of the titular white supremacist domestic terror group. It’s set in 1983, when a series of increasingly violent bank robberies, counterfeiting operations, and armored car heists frightened communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. As baffled law enforcement agents scrambled for answers, a lone FBI agent (Law), stationed in the sleepy, picturesque town of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, came to believe...
- 5/16/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
French distributor Arp has picked up all French rights Paul Schrader’s new film Oh, Canada ahead of its world premiere in competition in Cannes next month.
The feature stars Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli and Jacob Elordi.
Oh, Canada reunites Schrader with Gere, more than 40 years after their first collaboration on American Gigolo. Adapted from the Russell Banks novel Foregone, Oh, Canada sees Gere playing Leonard Fife, a famed American documentary filmmaker who fled to Canada as a young man to avoid the Vietnam War draft. Dying from cancer, he agrees to give a final interview where he promises to reveals his long-held secrets, speaking in front of his wife (Thurman), a devoted former student (Imperioli), and the film crew.
David Gonzales is the lead producer on Oh, Canada alongside Tiffany Boyle, Luisa Law, Scott Lastaiti and Meghan Hanlon. Arclight Films is handling international sales and WME Independent...
The feature stars Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli and Jacob Elordi.
Oh, Canada reunites Schrader with Gere, more than 40 years after their first collaboration on American Gigolo. Adapted from the Russell Banks novel Foregone, Oh, Canada sees Gere playing Leonard Fife, a famed American documentary filmmaker who fled to Canada as a young man to avoid the Vietnam War draft. Dying from cancer, he agrees to give a final interview where he promises to reveals his long-held secrets, speaking in front of his wife (Thurman), a devoted former student (Imperioli), and the film crew.
David Gonzales is the lead producer on Oh, Canada alongside Tiffany Boyle, Luisa Law, Scott Lastaiti and Meghan Hanlon. Arclight Films is handling international sales and WME Independent...
- 4/30/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This year’s 77th Cannes Film Festival will mark a meeting of the New Hollywood minds in France. Not only is George Lucas receiving the festival’s Honorary Palme d’Or, but filmmakers Francis Ford Coppola and Paul Schrader are in the official Competition for the first time in decades.
While Schrader has gone the route of Venice for his “lonely man in a room” trilogy — “First Reformed,” “The Card Counter,” and “Master Gardener” all premiered in Italy — he’s at Cannes this year with “Oh, Canada.” The lineup was confirmed this morning by Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux. The contemplative drama about a tortured writer looking back on his years as a leftist who fled to Canada to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War stars Jacob Elordi, Richard Gere, and Uma Thurman. Cue the flashbulbs for a buzzy Elordi red carpet moment. The “Euphoria” breakout was last seen...
While Schrader has gone the route of Venice for his “lonely man in a room” trilogy — “First Reformed,” “The Card Counter,” and “Master Gardener” all premiered in Italy — he’s at Cannes this year with “Oh, Canada.” The lineup was confirmed this morning by Cannes festival director Thierry Frémaux. The contemplative drama about a tortured writer looking back on his years as a leftist who fled to Canada to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War stars Jacob Elordi, Richard Gere, and Uma Thurman. Cue the flashbulbs for a buzzy Elordi red carpet moment. The “Euphoria” breakout was last seen...
- 4/11/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Starring Barbara Crampton and Rachel Michiko Whitney, we have an exclusive clip from Snow Valley! The film is the directorial debut of the late Brandon Murphy, and is now available from Gravitas Ventures, who had recently acquired Snow Valley from Uinta Productions and Paper Street Pictures.
"Written and directed by Murphy (Hitman’S Wife’S Bodyguard), the film stars Barbara Crampton (Re-animator), Rachel Michiko Whitney (The Card Counter), Cooper van Grootel (One Of US Is Lying), Tom Williamson (All Cheerleaders Die), David Lambert (The Fosters), Paige Elkington (Relationship Status), and Ali Fumiko Whitney (The Road Dance).
In this psychological thriller, a newly engaged couple's swank ski weekend goes horribly awry, when an unexpected guest arrives and the house's dark supernatural forces begin to rise on the anniversary of a tragic event.
Snow Valley was produced by Chris Abernathy, Aaron B. Koontz, Justice Laub, Rachel Michiko Whitney, and executive produced by Andrea Chung and Solco Schuit.
"Written and directed by Murphy (Hitman’S Wife’S Bodyguard), the film stars Barbara Crampton (Re-animator), Rachel Michiko Whitney (The Card Counter), Cooper van Grootel (One Of US Is Lying), Tom Williamson (All Cheerleaders Die), David Lambert (The Fosters), Paige Elkington (Relationship Status), and Ali Fumiko Whitney (The Road Dance).
In this psychological thriller, a newly engaged couple's swank ski weekend goes horribly awry, when an unexpected guest arrives and the house's dark supernatural forces begin to rise on the anniversary of a tragic event.
Snow Valley was produced by Chris Abernathy, Aaron B. Koontz, Justice Laub, Rachel Michiko Whitney, and executive produced by Andrea Chung and Solco Schuit.
- 3/26/2024
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
We’ll see Terrifier 2 star Lauren Lavera get her rematch with Art the Clown when Terrifier 3 reaches theatres this October, but sometime this year we’ll also have the chance to see Lavera take the lead in the pregnancy horror film The Fetus. A specific release date hasn’t yet been announced for this one, but a trailer for the film has made its way online, and you can check it out in the embed above.
Written and directed by Joe Lam, with Nathan Faudree and Yuke Li credited as story consultants, The Fetus tells the story of a couple struggling to learn the truth about the origins of their unborn child– a demonic entity that emerges from the body. Here’s an alternative synopsis: When Alessa becomes pregnant, it brings up Chris’ deep-rooted trauma surrounding fatherhood. Upon discovering that their fetus craves human blood, they visit his father,...
Written and directed by Joe Lam, with Nathan Faudree and Yuke Li credited as story consultants, The Fetus tells the story of a couple struggling to learn the truth about the origins of their unborn child– a demonic entity that emerges from the body. Here’s an alternative synopsis: When Alessa becomes pregnant, it brings up Chris’ deep-rooted trauma surrounding fatherhood. Upon discovering that their fetus craves human blood, they visit his father,...
- 3/15/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
The 2024 Oscars are coming up and Poor Things is one contender that nominees have to watch out for. The film is nominated in a total of eleven categories, including Best Supporting Actor for Mark Ruffalo. Mark Ruffalo played the role of the film’s antagonist, Duncan Wedderburn, and we have never seen him quite like this ever before.
A still from Poor Things
Now, we all know that Mark Ruffalo is undoubtedly amongst the finest that Hollywood has to offer. However, Poor Things proved that there are times when someone of his caliber can too feel insecure. On one hand, there was Mark Ruffalo feeling insecure on the set of Poor Things, and on the other, there was his co-star Willem Dafoe using his insecurity to play a prank on him. He even enlisted an ex-co-star to make it seem all the more believable.
Willem Dafoe Plays a Prank on...
A still from Poor Things
Now, we all know that Mark Ruffalo is undoubtedly amongst the finest that Hollywood has to offer. However, Poor Things proved that there are times when someone of his caliber can too feel insecure. On one hand, there was Mark Ruffalo feeling insecure on the set of Poor Things, and on the other, there was his co-star Willem Dafoe using his insecurity to play a prank on him. He even enlisted an ex-co-star to make it seem all the more believable.
Willem Dafoe Plays a Prank on...
- 3/9/2024
- by Mishkaat Khan
- FandomWire
Gravitas Ventures has acquired worldwide rights to Uinta Productions and Paper Street Pictures’ “Snow Valley,” the directorial debut from the late Brandon Murphy.
Murphy, who died in January 2022, was the screenwriter for “Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.” He also wrote the script for “Snow Valley,” which was in post production at the time of his death.
The film stars Barbara Crampton (“Re-Animator”), Rachel Michiko Whitney (“The Card Counter”), Cooper van Grootel (“One Of Us Is Lying”), Tom Williamson (“All Cheerleaders Die”), David Lambert (“The Fosters”), Paige Elkington (“Relationship Status”), and Ali Fumiko Whitney (“The Road Dance”).
In the psychological thriller, a newly engaged couple’s swanky ski weekend goes horribly awry when an unexpected guest arrives and the house’s dark supernatural forces begin to rise on the anniversary of a tragic event.
“Snow Valley” was produced by Chris Abernathy, Aaron B. Koontz, Justice Laub and Michiko Whitney. Andrea Chung and Solco Schuit executive produced.
Murphy, who died in January 2022, was the screenwriter for “Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.” He also wrote the script for “Snow Valley,” which was in post production at the time of his death.
The film stars Barbara Crampton (“Re-Animator”), Rachel Michiko Whitney (“The Card Counter”), Cooper van Grootel (“One Of Us Is Lying”), Tom Williamson (“All Cheerleaders Die”), David Lambert (“The Fosters”), Paige Elkington (“Relationship Status”), and Ali Fumiko Whitney (“The Road Dance”).
In the psychological thriller, a newly engaged couple’s swanky ski weekend goes horribly awry when an unexpected guest arrives and the house’s dark supernatural forces begin to rise on the anniversary of a tragic event.
“Snow Valley” was produced by Chris Abernathy, Aaron B. Koontz, Justice Laub and Michiko Whitney. Andrea Chung and Solco Schuit executive produced.
- 3/1/2024
- by Katcy Stephan
- Variety Film + TV
The specter of death was all around Paul Schrader as he wrote and filmed “Oh Canada,” starring Richard Gere and Jacob Elordi. The new film, being sold by Arclight Films at the European Film Market, centers around the last days of documentary filmmaker Leonard Fife and is based on the Russell Banks’ novel “Foregone.” Schrader was a longtime pal of Banks since Schrader directed the adaptation of Banks’ acclaimed “Affliction” in 1989. Banks died in January 2023 as Schrader was working on the “Canada” screenplay. “We corresponded up to almost the end,” says Schrader. “My health was bad too.” He contracted Covid-19 and endured subsequent respiratory issues that led to hospitalization.
“We were all dealing with mortality issues as Leonard does in the film. You get to the point where you wonder how many bullets you have left in the gun,” the veteran filmmaker says.
Schrader and Banks’ Fife is an enigmatic...
“We were all dealing with mortality issues as Leonard does in the film. You get to the point where you wonder how many bullets you have left in the gun,” the veteran filmmaker says.
Schrader and Banks’ Fife is an enigmatic...
- 2/16/2024
- by Stephen Rodrick
- Variety Film + TV
Willa, Astrakan Film and Cold Iron Pictures are set to join Argonauts Productions to produce “The Boy With the Light Blue Eyes,” a coming-of-age queer Greek tragedy.
Written by Thanasis Neofotistos and Grigoris Skarakis, and to be directed by Neofotistos as his debut feature, “The Boy With the Light Blue Eyes” follows teenager Peter as he navigates the suffocating confines of his superstitious and traditional Greek village community.
Peter is born with light blue eyes in a village that considers them a threat, but only his mother knows. She decides to cover their color with a mask at all times, claiming a threatening eye condition. In this blissful ignorance, Peter and his best friend Aemon embark on an adventure through which Peter learns the painful truth about his eyes and the lies he has been told.
The project participated in Cannes Focus CoPro, and the script has been developed through the Mediterranean Film Institute,...
Written by Thanasis Neofotistos and Grigoris Skarakis, and to be directed by Neofotistos as his debut feature, “The Boy With the Light Blue Eyes” follows teenager Peter as he navigates the suffocating confines of his superstitious and traditional Greek village community.
Peter is born with light blue eyes in a village that considers them a threat, but only his mother knows. She decides to cover their color with a mask at all times, claiming a threatening eye condition. In this blissful ignorance, Peter and his best friend Aemon embark on an adventure through which Peter learns the painful truth about his eyes and the lies he has been told.
The project participated in Cannes Focus CoPro, and the script has been developed through the Mediterranean Film Institute,...
- 1/23/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
As we welcome in the New Year, we can reveal our annual (non-exhaustive) list of U.S. and international movies we think could grace the festival circuit in 2024. We’ve stuck to our criteria that the project must already be in production and have not already been announced for a festival. More than 70% of our selections last year went on to debut at a major festival. Those that didn’t were largely delayed by the strike or are still in post-production. If the titles below make the cut, it will be a thrilling year on the festival circuit once again.
Megalopolis
Expectations are high that Francis Ford Coppola will deliver his long-awaited $100+ million passion project in 2024. The sci-fi drama charts the story of an architect who wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster. The cast featuring Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight,...
Megalopolis
Expectations are high that Francis Ford Coppola will deliver his long-awaited $100+ million passion project in 2024. The sci-fi drama charts the story of an architect who wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster. The cast featuring Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight,...
- 1/2/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow, Andreas Wiseman, Zac Ntim and Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
At 77 years young, Paul Schrader is really in a considerable renaissance period. He was undoubtedly in the wild and lost in the woods there for a few years, but he returned to his “Taxi Driver” roots and a style of minimalism he always professed to love but never actually attempted with “First Reformed” (2017), which paid off with huge dividends. Every film he’s directed since “The Card Counter” and “Master Gardener” has shown a filmmaker totally rejuvenated in his old age.
Continue reading Paul Schrader Calls Joaquin Phoenix “Bland” & Throws DiCaprio’s ‘Killers Of The Flower’ “Idiot” Character Under The Bus at The Playlist.
Continue reading Paul Schrader Calls Joaquin Phoenix “Bland” & Throws DiCaprio’s ‘Killers Of The Flower’ “Idiot” Character Under The Bus at The Playlist.
- 1/1/2024
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
Exclusive: Harland Williams (Dumb and Dumber) has wrapped production on Wing Man, his sophomore feature behind the camera, in which he also stars opposite comics Russell Peters (The Opening Act) and Jamie Kennedy (Malibu’s Most Wanted).
Others rounding out the cast of the indie comedy, written and directed by Williams, include Evan Marsh (Workin’ Moms), Shiva Negar (The Cleaning Lady), Kayla Wallace (When Calls the Heart) and Dylan Flashner (The Card Counter).
The film watches as Bob (Marsh) loses his fiancée Terri (Negar) to the wealthy Kazeem (Peters), hiring the Wing Man, Turk (Williams), to help him get her back. Subsequently, though, the Wing Man faces off against his arch enemy — the other Wing Man, Eddie (Kennedy) — who has other plans for Bob. Through car races and bar hopping, this quest for love teaches Bob that true love is found right in front of him. Always there is his faithful assistant,...
Others rounding out the cast of the indie comedy, written and directed by Williams, include Evan Marsh (Workin’ Moms), Shiva Negar (The Cleaning Lady), Kayla Wallace (When Calls the Heart) and Dylan Flashner (The Card Counter).
The film watches as Bob (Marsh) loses his fiancée Terri (Negar) to the wealthy Kazeem (Peters), hiring the Wing Man, Turk (Williams), to help him get her back. Subsequently, though, the Wing Man faces off against his arch enemy — the other Wing Man, Eddie (Kennedy) — who has other plans for Bob. Through car races and bar hopping, this quest for love teaches Bob that true love is found right in front of him. Always there is his faithful assistant,...
- 12/7/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Rotterdam Film Festival Sets ‘Head South’ As Opening Film
Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk, coming-of-age comedy Head South has been announced as the opening picture of the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), running from January 25 to February 4. The festival has also teased a handful of early selections. They include Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla’s dystopian, sci-fi animation Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust and U.S. director Billy Woodberry’s biodoc Mário, about African independence activist Mário de Andrade, which will both world premiere. Further confirmations include European premieres for Amanda Kramer’s So Unreal and Ann Hui’s Elegies as well as Omar Hilal’s Voy! Voy! Voy!, which is Egypt’s Oscar entry this year. The festival will unveil its full line-up on December 18.
Paul Schrader To Be Feted At Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Avellino Festival
U.S. director and screenwriter Paul Schrader will be honored with a Lifetime...
Jonathan Ogilvie’s post-punk, coming-of-age comedy Head South has been announced as the opening picture of the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), running from January 25 to February 4. The festival has also teased a handful of early selections. They include Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla’s dystopian, sci-fi animation Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust and U.S. director Billy Woodberry’s biodoc Mário, about African independence activist Mário de Andrade, which will both world premiere. Further confirmations include European premieres for Amanda Kramer’s So Unreal and Ann Hui’s Elegies as well as Omar Hilal’s Voy! Voy! Voy!, which is Egypt’s Oscar entry this year. The festival will unveil its full line-up on December 18.
Paul Schrader To Be Feted At Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Avellino Festival
U.S. director and screenwriter Paul Schrader will be honored with a Lifetime...
- 11/23/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Festival First For Darren Dale
Producer and screenwriter, Darren Dale has been named as the new board chair of the Sydney Film Festival, following the retirement of Dianne Weir. He is a leading advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content and has been director of Blackfella Films since 2000. He has been involved with films including “The Dark Emu Story,” “Mabo” and TV’s “Redfern Now.” He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and has held board roles at Acmi, Sydney Film Festival, Screen Nsw and the Australian Film Television and Radio School.
“As the first Indigenous and industry practitioner to chair the Sydney Film Festival, Darren Dale’s appointment marks a significant and positive shift for the festival. With an impressive track record in storytelling spanning two decades, he brings valuable experience to lead this cultural organization,” said federal Minister for Arts John Graham.
Producer and screenwriter, Darren Dale has been named as the new board chair of the Sydney Film Festival, following the retirement of Dianne Weir. He is a leading advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content and has been director of Blackfella Films since 2000. He has been involved with films including “The Dark Emu Story,” “Mabo” and TV’s “Redfern Now.” He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and has held board roles at Acmi, Sydney Film Festival, Screen Nsw and the Australian Film Television and Radio School.
“As the first Indigenous and industry practitioner to chair the Sydney Film Festival, Darren Dale’s appointment marks a significant and positive shift for the festival. With an impressive track record in storytelling spanning two decades, he brings valuable experience to lead this cultural organization,” said federal Minister for Arts John Graham.
- 11/23/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Decades after he began his career, experiencing all of the ups and downs, it’s clear that filmmaker Paul Schrader is seemingly doing some of the best work he’s ever done late in life. “First Reformed,” “The Card Counter,” and “Master Gardener” are all films that prove Schrader still has a distinct voice in the filmmaking community. And apparently, he is putting together the pieces for what could be his final film, “Oh, Canada.”
Read More: Paul Schrader Calls ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ “Tiresome Claptrap,” Says AI Could’ve Written The Script
According to Paul Schrader’s recent Facebook post, the filmmaker has confirmed that he is starting rehearsals for his next film, “Oh, Canada,” which will star Richard Gere and Jacob Elordi.
Continue reading ‘Oh, Canada’: Paul Schrader Confirms New Film Will Star Richard Gere & Jacob Elordi at The Playlist.
Read More: Paul Schrader Calls ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ “Tiresome Claptrap,” Says AI Could’ve Written The Script
According to Paul Schrader’s recent Facebook post, the filmmaker has confirmed that he is starting rehearsals for his next film, “Oh, Canada,” which will star Richard Gere and Jacob Elordi.
Continue reading ‘Oh, Canada’: Paul Schrader Confirms New Film Will Star Richard Gere & Jacob Elordi at The Playlist.
- 9/11/2023
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
If you’re a fan of Mel Gibson’s classic action flicks, be sure to stream them before they leave Max at the end of August.
All four “Lethal Weapon” movies and “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” starring the late, great Tina Turner, will be leaving the streaming service. Luckily, you’ll have all month to watch them.
Watching the new “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” animated movie in theaters? Max has several films featuring the radical reptilians: the live-action “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze” (1991)
and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III” (1993), as well as the animated “Tmnt” (2007).
Kaiju fans will want to check out “Godzilla” (2014), “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” (2019), “King Kong” (1933) and “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” (2012).
Finally, if horror is your thing, six “Hellraiser” films and “The Ring Two” make great summer scares.
Here’s everything leaving Max in August 2023
August 5
Hard Knocks:...
All four “Lethal Weapon” movies and “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” starring the late, great Tina Turner, will be leaving the streaming service. Luckily, you’ll have all month to watch them.
Watching the new “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” animated movie in theaters? Max has several films featuring the radical reptilians: the live-action “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze” (1991)
and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III” (1993), as well as the animated “Tmnt” (2007).
Kaiju fans will want to check out “Godzilla” (2014), “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” (2019), “King Kong” (1933) and “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” (2012).
Finally, if horror is your thing, six “Hellraiser” films and “The Ring Two” make great summer scares.
Here’s everything leaving Max in August 2023
August 5
Hard Knocks:...
- 8/1/2023
- by Lawrence Yee
- The Wrap
Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” has already received a handful of strong first reactions, but now comes a huge claim from “Taxi Driver” writer and “The Card Counter” director Paul Schrader. The Oscar nominee attended the New York premiere of Nolan’s atom bomb epic and took to social media afterwards to hail it as “the best, most important film of this century.”
“If you see one film in cinemas this year it should be ‘Oppenheimer,'” Schrader added in a Facebook post shared widely across social media. “I’m not a Nolan groupie but this one blows the door off the hinges.”
“Oppenheimer,” based on the 2005 book “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, tracks the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II through the eyes of theoretical physicist and Manhattan Project leader J. Robert Oppenheimer. Cillian Murphy stars in the lead role. The film also...
“If you see one film in cinemas this year it should be ‘Oppenheimer,'” Schrader added in a Facebook post shared widely across social media. “I’m not a Nolan groupie but this one blows the door off the hinges.”
“Oppenheimer,” based on the 2005 book “American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, tracks the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II through the eyes of theoretical physicist and Manhattan Project leader J. Robert Oppenheimer. Cillian Murphy stars in the lead role. The film also...
- 7/18/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
(Welcome to Under the Radar, a column where we spotlight specific movies, shows, trends, performances, or scenes that caught our eye and deserved more attention ... but otherwise flew under the radar. In this edition: Paul Schrader is back and as provocative as ever with "Master Gardener," "Unrest" meets politics and philosophy in the middle, and "Land of Gold" puts a new spin on road trip movies.)
We should probably address the elephant in the room, right? The longer this writers' strike marches on, the clearer it becomes that we've reached a pivotal inflection point in this industry. Writers, the lifeblood of the entire moviemaking business, are rightfully fed up with a studio system that has progressively disenfranchised the most vulnerable (and irreplaceable) creative talent. As much as top-level studio executives forced the hands of writers through unfair wages, the insidious practice of "mini-rooms," and the worrisome possibilities involving A.I.
We should probably address the elephant in the room, right? The longer this writers' strike marches on, the clearer it becomes that we've reached a pivotal inflection point in this industry. Writers, the lifeblood of the entire moviemaking business, are rightfully fed up with a studio system that has progressively disenfranchised the most vulnerable (and irreplaceable) creative talent. As much as top-level studio executives forced the hands of writers through unfair wages, the insidious practice of "mini-rooms," and the worrisome possibilities involving A.I.
- 6/1/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
Plot: The film follows Narvel Roth, the meticulous horticulturist of Gracewood Gardens. He is as much devoted to tending the grounds of this beautiful and historic estate, to pandering to his employer, the wealthy dowager Mrs. Haverhill. When Mrs. Haverhill demands that he take on her wayward and troubled great-niece Maya) as a new apprentice, chaos enters Narvel’s spartan existence, unlocking dark secrets from a buried violent past that threaten them all.
Review: Paul Schrader’s career has always been one of extreme highs and lows. While his writing and directing efforts are typically tagged with his credits on Raging Bull and Taxi Driver, Schrader’s output in the 2000s has been wildly inconsistent. But, since his 2017 masterpiece First Reformed, the filmmaker has delivered a solid follow-up in 2021’s The Card Counter and looks to complete a loose thematic trilogy with Master Gardener. With an exceptional lead performance by...
Review: Paul Schrader’s career has always been one of extreme highs and lows. While his writing and directing efforts are typically tagged with his credits on Raging Bull and Taxi Driver, Schrader’s output in the 2000s has been wildly inconsistent. But, since his 2017 masterpiece First Reformed, the filmmaker has delivered a solid follow-up in 2021’s The Card Counter and looks to complete a loose thematic trilogy with Master Gardener. With an exceptional lead performance by...
- 5/26/2023
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
In today’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo gets in the weeds with Joel Edgerton. The talented writer/actor/director is promoting his latest film, “Master Gardener,” directed by the great Paul Schrader. The film acts as the third and final entry in what Schrader is now calling his “Man in a Room” trilogy, which also features “First Reformed” and “The Card Counter.” The film follows a scrupulous greenskeeper of a wealthy plantation as he tends to the needs of the grounds and a new understudy who uncovers disturbing details about the gardener’s past.
Continue reading ‘Master Gardener’: Joel Edgerton On Working With Paul Schrader, Returning To ‘Star Wars’ & More [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Master Gardener’: Joel Edgerton On Working With Paul Schrader, Returning To ‘Star Wars’ & More [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.
- 5/22/2023
- by Mike DeAngelo
- The Playlist
Paul Schrader’s new film “Master Gardener” wraps up his loose trilogy that began with “First Reformed” and “The Card Counter” via a fittingly controversial bang, as the film stars Joel Edgerton as a former white supremacist who hides from his past by working as a gardener on a large estate. Critics have pointed out that the unapologetic film is not for everyone — and Schrader has gleefully used his press tour to remind everyone that he doesn’t really care what they think.
The film premiered at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival, where Schrader received a Golden Lion for his lifetime achievements in the film industry. But in a new interview with Vanity Fair, Schrader revealed that the film missed out on the opportunity to bow at a different festival due to concerns about the sensitive subject matter.
“Cameron Bailey, who runs the Toronto Film Festival, had issues with it.
The film premiered at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival, where Schrader received a Golden Lion for his lifetime achievements in the film industry. But in a new interview with Vanity Fair, Schrader revealed that the film missed out on the opportunity to bow at a different festival due to concerns about the sensitive subject matter.
“Cameron Bailey, who runs the Toronto Film Festival, had issues with it.
- 5/20/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
A person sits at a desk, in a room so stark and tidy it might belong to a monk or a model prisoner, writing in a notebook. His inner monologue plays as a voiceover, drier than sandpaper; in this case, it’s a horticulture lecture about French and British gardens. If you were not aware that you were watching the opening shots of a Paul Schrader film, you’d think you were witnessing a parody of one. For 50-plus years, the legendary screenwriter and director has turned a stable of...
- 5/20/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
With “Master Gardner,” writer-director Paul Schrader completes what has been dubbed his “Lonely Man” trilogy — but the man behind “American Gigolo” and “The Mosquito Coast” has returned to the same preoccupations and themes over his long career. The only thing that’s really changed is his approach to filmmaking.
“The last three films I’ve made in about 20 days each,” Schrader told IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “I’m shooting more quote-unquote film — even though we don’t shoot film — I’m shooting more images and getting more images in the chip to, like we say, in the 20 days than I did in 40.”
Part of that leanness is attributed to Schrader’s understanding of what is and isn’t needed, even before arriving on set. His scripts are now a tight 70-80 pages, while in the early ’80s they tended to hover around 115. “When you’re working on a tight budget,...
“The last three films I’ve made in about 20 days each,” Schrader told IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “I’m shooting more quote-unquote film — even though we don’t shoot film — I’m shooting more images and getting more images in the chip to, like we say, in the 20 days than I did in 40.”
Part of that leanness is attributed to Schrader’s understanding of what is and isn’t needed, even before arriving on set. His scripts are now a tight 70-80 pages, while in the early ’80s they tended to hover around 115. “When you’re working on a tight budget,...
- 5/19/2023
- by Mark Peikert
- Indiewire
After a slight lapse with 2021’s subpar The Card Counter, writer/director Paul Schrader returns to solid, provocative form in this captivating character study of an emotionally detached horticulturalist with a dark past who is forced to reconnect with traits he once embraced, and now hates, to save someone he loves. On paper, Master Gardener’s plot can easily be streamlined into a sentence long synopsis but Schrader’s film, like it’s protagonist, is enriched with depth and complexity.
An electrifying Joel Edgerton plays Narvel Roth, the master gardener of the title who works for wealthy dowager/land owner Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver). In the run up to her annual charity auction, Norma asks Narvel if he could take on her great niece, Maya (Quintessa Swindell), as an apprentice to help with the extra work. Narvel reluctantly agrees but soon finds himself bonding with Mia, who also has a...
An electrifying Joel Edgerton plays Narvel Roth, the master gardener of the title who works for wealthy dowager/land owner Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver). In the run up to her annual charity auction, Norma asks Narvel if he could take on her great niece, Maya (Quintessa Swindell), as an apprentice to help with the extra work. Narvel reluctantly agrees but soon finds himself bonding with Mia, who also has a...
- 5/19/2023
- by Daniel Goodwin
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Production underway in Guadalajara.
Mira Sorvino and Joseph Sikora are attached to join Ruben Islas’ Atypical Pirate Movie, which is currently filming in Mexico and Grandave International has introduced to Cannes buyers.
The feature centres on a savant who gets caught up in the theft of a valuable thumb drive and is on the run from its owners in Guadalajara where he hooks up with the leader of a gang of thieves.
The cast includes previously announced Julio Macias, Danube Hermosillo, Emiliano Zurita, Herńan Mendoza, Gigi Guerrero, Casper Smart, and Mario Escalante.
Sorvino recently starred opposite Courteney Cox in Starz...
Mira Sorvino and Joseph Sikora are attached to join Ruben Islas’ Atypical Pirate Movie, which is currently filming in Mexico and Grandave International has introduced to Cannes buyers.
The feature centres on a savant who gets caught up in the theft of a valuable thumb drive and is on the run from its owners in Guadalajara where he hooks up with the leader of a gang of thieves.
The cast includes previously announced Julio Macias, Danube Hermosillo, Emiliano Zurita, Herńan Mendoza, Gigi Guerrero, Casper Smart, and Mario Escalante.
Sorvino recently starred opposite Courteney Cox in Starz...
- 5/19/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver in Master GardenerPhoto: Magnolia Pictures
A man sits at a desk, writing in his journal while the camera circles him. It’s an image that’s been repeated in every film of Paul Schrader’s recent loose trilogy. The three films are connected by this image...
A man sits at a desk, writing in his journal while the camera circles him. It’s an image that’s been repeated in every film of Paul Schrader’s recent loose trilogy. The three films are connected by this image...
- 5/17/2023
- by Murtada Elfadl
- avclub.com
That Shall He Also Reap: Schrader Sows the Seeds of Fate with Metaphorical Blossoms
The seeds of hate are sown the same as seeds of love represents one of many horticultural metaphors blooming in the unruly soil of Master Gardener, which one might call the cherry atop Paul Schrader‘s thematic ‘man in a room’ trilogy,’ including 2017’s First Reformed and 2021’s The Card Counter. Each concerns a man with a specific skill or interest used as a defense mechanism to avoid or escape a past he’s never quite confronted.
As per usual, significant themes of sexual repression/manipulation and intricate social hierarchies constrict a main protagonist who’s become an empty vessel but needing something, often desperately, to fill himself with.…...
The seeds of hate are sown the same as seeds of love represents one of many horticultural metaphors blooming in the unruly soil of Master Gardener, which one might call the cherry atop Paul Schrader‘s thematic ‘man in a room’ trilogy,’ including 2017’s First Reformed and 2021’s The Card Counter. Each concerns a man with a specific skill or interest used as a defense mechanism to avoid or escape a past he’s never quite confronted.
As per usual, significant themes of sexual repression/manipulation and intricate social hierarchies constrict a main protagonist who’s become an empty vessel but needing something, often desperately, to fill himself with.…...
- 5/16/2023
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Tye Sheridan is launching his new production company, Dogwood Pictures with its debut film, Black Flies, is set to play in competition at the 76th Annual Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, the pic reunites Sheridan with Sean Penn after over a decade since Malick’s The Tree of Life. Sheridan first became involved with the film in 2018 and continued on throughout the film’s execution and release.
Hailing from small-town East Texas, Sheridan is launching Dogwood Pictures which aims to tell stories that shine a light on hidden pockets of American culture.
“As a teen, some of the first films I worked on, like Mud and Joe, had a profound effect on me because they were universal stories, yet they conveyed the sheer magic and richness of American subculture. Those are the kinds of stories we want to bring to life through Dogwood Pictures,” said Sheridan.
In his corner,...
Hailing from small-town East Texas, Sheridan is launching Dogwood Pictures which aims to tell stories that shine a light on hidden pockets of American culture.
“As a teen, some of the first films I worked on, like Mud and Joe, had a profound effect on me because they were universal stories, yet they conveyed the sheer magic and richness of American subculture. Those are the kinds of stories we want to bring to life through Dogwood Pictures,” said Sheridan.
In his corner,...
- 5/15/2023
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Warner Bros’ Beetlejuice 2 has continued to round out its cast with the addition of Willem Dafoe (Inside), sources have confirmed to Deadline.
The studio declined comment. But the actor joins an ensemble also to feature newcomers Jenna Ortega and Justin Theroux, as well as original Beetlejuice cast members Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, which also has Monica Bellucci in talks for a role.
Details as to the long-anticipated sequel’s plot are under wraps. Tim Burton has returned to direct from a script by Wednesday‘s Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, with Burton, Tommy Harper, Plan B, Marc Toberoff and David Geffen producing. Danny Elfman will return to score the new film, which kicked off production in London earlier this week and is slated for release on September 6, 2024.
The original Beetlejuice watches as the spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home,...
The studio declined comment. But the actor joins an ensemble also to feature newcomers Jenna Ortega and Justin Theroux, as well as original Beetlejuice cast members Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, which also has Monica Bellucci in talks for a role.
Details as to the long-anticipated sequel’s plot are under wraps. Tim Burton has returned to direct from a script by Wednesday‘s Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, with Burton, Tommy Harper, Plan B, Marc Toberoff and David Geffen producing. Danny Elfman will return to score the new film, which kicked off production in London earlier this week and is slated for release on September 6, 2024.
The original Beetlejuice watches as the spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home,...
- 5/12/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s something about gambling that makes us want to see it on the big screen. Whether it’s a comedy, crime drama, or romance, there’s something special about watching our favourite actors and actresses play around with cards and dice. In honour of this topic being quite popular lately (and because we just love movies and casino royale film locations), we’ve compiled a list of popular casino film titles in New Zealand. If you need a recommendation for your next movie night, take a look!
Nr 1 Casino Movie: The Hangover
Playing at casinos has always been a popular form of entertainment for many, and The Hangover is a classic comedy film that captures the fun and excitement of a trip to Las Vegas. Whether you’re a fan of online casinos or prefer the real-life experience of playing at a brick-and-mortar establishment, this movie is sure to resonate with you.
Nr 1 Casino Movie: The Hangover
Playing at casinos has always been a popular form of entertainment for many, and The Hangover is a classic comedy film that captures the fun and excitement of a trip to Las Vegas. Whether you’re a fan of online casinos or prefer the real-life experience of playing at a brick-and-mortar establishment, this movie is sure to resonate with you.
- 5/11/2023
- by Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
Paul Schrader will not keep mum.
On Monday night, the filmmaker spoke at Santa Monica’s Aero Theatre between screenings of “First Reformed” (2017) and “The Card Counter” (2021). He’s been making the promo rounds of late, whether sharing his new digs on Facebook or being interviewed by New York Magazine or, most recently, The New Yorker.
His distributors often ask him to refrain from Facebook posting ahead of the release of his new film — in this case “Master Gardener”, starring the romantic triangle of Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver, and Quintessa Swindell, which played well at Venice. It’s the concluding film in Schrader’s lonely-man-in-a-room trilogy, including “First Reformed” and “The Card Counter.” And yet the indefatigable Schrader is still posting, weighing in on A.I., among other things, and during the conversation, he also spoke about the tricky movie he’s written and now hopes Elisabeth Moss will star in and direct.
On Monday night, the filmmaker spoke at Santa Monica’s Aero Theatre between screenings of “First Reformed” (2017) and “The Card Counter” (2021). He’s been making the promo rounds of late, whether sharing his new digs on Facebook or being interviewed by New York Magazine or, most recently, The New Yorker.
His distributors often ask him to refrain from Facebook posting ahead of the release of his new film — in this case “Master Gardener”, starring the romantic triangle of Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver, and Quintessa Swindell, which played well at Venice. It’s the concluding film in Schrader’s lonely-man-in-a-room trilogy, including “First Reformed” and “The Card Counter.” And yet the indefatigable Schrader is still posting, weighing in on A.I., among other things, and during the conversation, he also spoke about the tricky movie he’s written and now hopes Elisabeth Moss will star in and direct.
- 5/9/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
If gardening is the art of manipulating crops, those with roots and blossoms that require scrupulous nurturing, then horticulturist Narvel Roth is the best and worst guy for the job in writer-director Paul Schrader’s silently haunting minimalist epic, “Master Gardener.”
Played by a brooding and elegantly sturdy Joel Edgerton, Narvel Roth seems suited for the job on the one hand, as he is the meticulous kind. With a strikingly angular face, slim-fit overalls, not a hair out of place in his neatly parted cut and a name as peculiarly formal as its owner, you could almost sniff Narvel’s thoroughness in every plant and flora he tends to.
Then again, perhaps he is not all that suited for the post, either. A shady past as a former neo-Nazi and tough-guy-for-hire haunts Narvel, despite his current honorable occupation at the stately mansion, Gracewood Gardens. How could he be expected to...
Played by a brooding and elegantly sturdy Joel Edgerton, Narvel Roth seems suited for the job on the one hand, as he is the meticulous kind. With a strikingly angular face, slim-fit overalls, not a hair out of place in his neatly parted cut and a name as peculiarly formal as its owner, you could almost sniff Narvel’s thoroughness in every plant and flora he tends to.
Then again, perhaps he is not all that suited for the post, either. A shady past as a former neo-Nazi and tough-guy-for-hire haunts Narvel, despite his current honorable occupation at the stately mansion, Gracewood Gardens. How could he be expected to...
- 5/4/2023
- by Tomris Laffly
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Tye Sheridan (The Tender Bar) has closed a deal to star alongside Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult in AGC Studios‘ crime thriller The Order from director Justin Kurzel, which is heading into production in Alberta, Canada on May 11th.
The film adapts the book The Silent Brotherhood by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, which chronicles the escalating crimes of the titular white supremacist domestic terror group. It’s set in 1983 amongst the series of increasingly violent bank robberies, counterfeiting operations and armored car heists that frightened communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. As baffled law enforcement agents scrambled for answers, a lone FBI agent (Law), stationed in the sleepy, picturesque town of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, came to believe the crimes were not the work of traditional, financially motivated criminals, but a group of dangerous domestic terrorists, inspired by a radical, charismatic leader (Hoult), who are plotting...
The film adapts the book The Silent Brotherhood by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, which chronicles the escalating crimes of the titular white supremacist domestic terror group. It’s set in 1983 amongst the series of increasingly violent bank robberies, counterfeiting operations and armored car heists that frightened communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. As baffled law enforcement agents scrambled for answers, a lone FBI agent (Law), stationed in the sleepy, picturesque town of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, came to believe the crimes were not the work of traditional, financially motivated criminals, but a group of dangerous domestic terrorists, inspired by a radical, charismatic leader (Hoult), who are plotting...
- 5/2/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Clockwise from top left: They Cloned Tyrone (Photo: Netflix); Master Gardener (Photo: Magnolia Pictures); War Pony (Photo: Momentum Pictures); Theater Camp (Photo: Searchlight Pictures), Past Lives (Photo: A24)Graphic: Karl Gustafson
By this point in the year, we already know what summer blockbusters to expect in 2023. Sure, there are a few superhero flicks,...
By this point in the year, we already know what summer blockbusters to expect in 2023. Sure, there are a few superhero flicks,...
- 4/28/2023
- by Jen Lennon, Mark Keizer, and Cindy White
- avclub.com
After premiering at Venice and screening at the NYFF last year, Paul Schrader’s Master Gardener finally receives a release date. The writer-director’s latest, which completes his late-career trilogy after The Card Counter (2021) and First Reformed (2017), will hit theaters via Magnolia Pictures on May 19. The film’s official synopsis reads: Master Gardener follows Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton), the meticulous horticulturist of Gracewood Gardens. He is as much devoted to tending the grounds of this beautiful and historic estate, to pandering to his employer, the wealthy dowager Mrs. Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver). When Mrs. Haverhill demands that he take on her […]
The post Trailer Watch: Paul Schrader’s Master Gardener first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Trailer Watch: Paul Schrader’s Master Gardener first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 3/28/2023
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
After premiering at Venice and screening at the NYFF last year, Paul Schrader’s Master Gardener finally receives a release date. The writer-director’s latest, which completes his late-career trilogy after The Card Counter (2021) and First Reformed (2017), will hit theaters via Magnolia Pictures on May 19. The film’s official synopsis reads: Master Gardener follows Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton), the meticulous horticulturist of Gracewood Gardens. He is as much devoted to tending the grounds of this beautiful and historic estate, to pandering to his employer, the wealthy dowager Mrs. Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver). When Mrs. Haverhill demands that he take on her […]
The post Trailer Watch: Paul Schrader’s Master Gardener first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Trailer Watch: Paul Schrader’s Master Gardener first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 3/28/2023
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
After flirting with obsolescence in the late 2000s, writer/director Paul Schrader has been experiencing something of a career renaissance. His original screenplay for 2017’s “First Reformed” was nominated for an Academy Award, and his 2022 follow-up “The Card Counter” appeared in numerous critics’ annual “best of” lists. Now, the acclaimed filmmaker’s momentum will be tested once again with the arrival of his latest opus “Master Gardener.” Here’s the indie crime thriller’s official synopsis:
“Narvel Roth is the meticulous horticulturist of Gracewood Gardens, a beautiful estate owned by wealthy dowager Mrs.
Continue reading ‘Master Gardener’ Trailer: Paul Schrader’s Latest Thriller Stars Joel Edgerton As A Horticulturist With A Violent Past at The Playlist.
“Narvel Roth is the meticulous horticulturist of Gracewood Gardens, a beautiful estate owned by wealthy dowager Mrs.
Continue reading ‘Master Gardener’ Trailer: Paul Schrader’s Latest Thriller Stars Joel Edgerton As A Horticulturist With A Violent Past at The Playlist.
- 3/28/2023
- by Jake Sweltz
- The Playlist
The only thing better than Paul Schrader’s Facebook posts is Paul Schrader’s movies, and his latest is only two months away. Magnolia Pictures has released the first trailer for “Master Gardener,” the 24th directorial effort from the “First Reformed” and “American Gigolo” filmmaker, on Tuesday.
A crime thriller written and directed by Schrader, “Master Gardener” stars Joel Edgerton as Narvel Roth, a brilliant horticulturist working at the Gracewoods Gardens estate. Devoted to his work, Roth is forced by his employer, wealthy dowager Mrs. Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver), to take on her troubled great-niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell) as his apprentice. Initially closed off, Roth slowly warms to his young charge, and the two form a close intergenerational friendship. But Roth has numerous secrets and an extremely unsavory past that he hides from Maya, and when the truth comes out, it threatens the peaceful existence he’s worked to maintain.
The...
A crime thriller written and directed by Schrader, “Master Gardener” stars Joel Edgerton as Narvel Roth, a brilliant horticulturist working at the Gracewoods Gardens estate. Devoted to his work, Roth is forced by his employer, wealthy dowager Mrs. Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver), to take on her troubled great-niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell) as his apprentice. Initially closed off, Roth slowly warms to his young charge, and the two form a close intergenerational friendship. But Roth has numerous secrets and an extremely unsavory past that he hides from Maya, and when the truth comes out, it threatens the peaceful existence he’s worked to maintain.
The...
- 3/28/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
“Taxi Driver” screenwriter Paul Schrader is back with another dark tale of a man struggling to leave his past behind with “Master Gardener,” which will be released by Magnolia Pictures on May 19.
In his 2018 Oscar-nominated directorial debut “First Reformed,” Schrader told the story of a pastor and former military chaplain struggling with the death of his son in Iraq and his growing sense of hopelessness over climate change. His 2021 follow-up “The Card Counter” followed a former Guantanamo Bay prison guard whose spartan life of penance is interrupted when a young man comes to him with a plan to murder his torturous commanding officer.
Also Read:
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Set for October Theatrical Release by Apple
Now, “Master Gardener,” which premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival, stars Joel Edgerton as Narvel, a brilliant gardener who is asked by his wealthy employer Norma (Sigourney Weaver...
In his 2018 Oscar-nominated directorial debut “First Reformed,” Schrader told the story of a pastor and former military chaplain struggling with the death of his son in Iraq and his growing sense of hopelessness over climate change. His 2021 follow-up “The Card Counter” followed a former Guantanamo Bay prison guard whose spartan life of penance is interrupted when a young man comes to him with a plan to murder his torturous commanding officer.
Also Read:
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Set for October Theatrical Release by Apple
Now, “Master Gardener,” which premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival, stars Joel Edgerton as Narvel, a brilliant gardener who is asked by his wealthy employer Norma (Sigourney Weaver...
- 3/28/2023
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
With filming set to start next month in Europe, we have official details on the Return to Silent Hill, including confirmation that Jeremy Irvine and Hannah Emily Anderson will star in the film:
"Jeremy Irvine and Hannah Emily Anderson will star in the new psychological horror Return to Silent Hill. Christophe Gans, director of the first Silent Hill feature, is returning to reprise his role at the helm of this next installment in the film franchise. Written by Gans, Sandra Vo-Anh (Beauty and the Beast) and William Josef Schneider, Return to Silent Hill is based on Silent Hill 2, the second and most popular game in Konami’s successful video game series.
The film follows James, a man broken after being separated from his one true love. When a mysterious letter calls him back to Silent Hill in search of her, he finds a once-recognizable town transformed by an unknown evil.
"Jeremy Irvine and Hannah Emily Anderson will star in the new psychological horror Return to Silent Hill. Christophe Gans, director of the first Silent Hill feature, is returning to reprise his role at the helm of this next installment in the film franchise. Written by Gans, Sandra Vo-Anh (Beauty and the Beast) and William Josef Schneider, Return to Silent Hill is based on Silent Hill 2, the second and most popular game in Konami’s successful video game series.
The film follows James, a man broken after being separated from his one true love. When a mysterious letter calls him back to Silent Hill in search of her, he finds a once-recognizable town transformed by an unknown evil.
- 3/15/2023
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Just days after winning the Oscar for best animated feature for his dark take on “Pinocchio,” Guillermo del Toro is already looking to cast his next film.
Sources tell Variety that Andrew Garfield, Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth are in early talks to star in Netflix’s live-action “Frankenstein” movie, which del Toro will write and direct.
Del Toro has been developing the project, based on English author Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, for several years, but it’s unclear how faithful he intends to interpret the source material. “Frankenstein” is part of the filmmaker’s multi-year deal with Netflix, where del Toro has a number of projects in various stages of development. Conversations about “Frankenstein” are in the very early stages, sources tell Variety.
Del Toro’s win on Sunday marked his third Academy Award, following two wins for 2017’s “The Shape of Water,” which took home prizes for best director and best picture.
Sources tell Variety that Andrew Garfield, Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth are in early talks to star in Netflix’s live-action “Frankenstein” movie, which del Toro will write and direct.
Del Toro has been developing the project, based on English author Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, for several years, but it’s unclear how faithful he intends to interpret the source material. “Frankenstein” is part of the filmmaker’s multi-year deal with Netflix, where del Toro has a number of projects in various stages of development. Conversations about “Frankenstein” are in the very early stages, sources tell Variety.
Del Toro’s win on Sunday marked his third Academy Award, following two wins for 2017’s “The Shape of Water,” which took home prizes for best director and best picture.
- 3/15/2023
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Paul Schrader is back at it, and this time he’s taking aim at the Oscars.
The screenwriter of “Taxi Driver” and “Obsession,” who was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for “First Reformed”, is taking aim at what he feels is a muddled awards show and member base. “Oscars So Not Hollywood. Diversifying membership, recalibrating how votes are counted, these changes have transformed the Hollywood Oscars into the International Oscars,” Schrader wrote on Facebook (via Twitter). “I rather like the provincial origins of the Oscars: Hollywood coming together to celebrate its own.”
Just In: Paul Schrader, writer of Taxi Driver (1978) and world-renown filmmaker responsible for First Reformed (2018) and The Card Counter (2021) calls Oscars too “woke” and says the Oscars are too “international” and must “return to its origins.” pic.twitter.com/ARVxlrVjN6
— Lance (@lancenyyc) March 13, 2023
Schrader continued, less coherently: “Barry Diller is right. If the Oscars are to...
The screenwriter of “Taxi Driver” and “Obsession,” who was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for “First Reformed”, is taking aim at what he feels is a muddled awards show and member base. “Oscars So Not Hollywood. Diversifying membership, recalibrating how votes are counted, these changes have transformed the Hollywood Oscars into the International Oscars,” Schrader wrote on Facebook (via Twitter). “I rather like the provincial origins of the Oscars: Hollywood coming together to celebrate its own.”
Just In: Paul Schrader, writer of Taxi Driver (1978) and world-renown filmmaker responsible for First Reformed (2018) and The Card Counter (2021) calls Oscars too “woke” and says the Oscars are too “international” and must “return to its origins.” pic.twitter.com/ARVxlrVjN6
— Lance (@lancenyyc) March 13, 2023
Schrader continued, less coherently: “Barry Diller is right. If the Oscars are to...
- 3/13/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Taliah Webster, who starred in the Safdie Brothers’ film “Good Time,” and Sam Dillon are set to lead the cast of crime thriller “On Point.”
The feature, written and directed by Christian Schifano (“Bratus”), is set in urban New York. A one-take film, “On Point” will follow Natalie (Webster) and her roommate Amy (Alaina Surgener) as they head to a party downtown. While waiting for an Uber, Amy stops to buy a vape when she’s confronted by an armed man with an agenda.
“On Point” will be shot as both a short and a feature.
The film is set to be produced by Pimlico Pictures, led by Francis Chapman (“Bratus”), with producing partners Ivy Freeman-Attwood and Fabrizio Ellis. Kyle Stroud of Carte Blanche Films (“The Card Counter”) is serving as a consulting producer for Pimlico.
“Working with Sam, Taliah, and Alaina is a really exciting opportunity for me. Knowing...
The feature, written and directed by Christian Schifano (“Bratus”), is set in urban New York. A one-take film, “On Point” will follow Natalie (Webster) and her roommate Amy (Alaina Surgener) as they head to a party downtown. While waiting for an Uber, Amy stops to buy a vape when she’s confronted by an armed man with an agenda.
“On Point” will be shot as both a short and a feature.
The film is set to be produced by Pimlico Pictures, led by Francis Chapman (“Bratus”), with producing partners Ivy Freeman-Attwood and Fabrizio Ellis. Kyle Stroud of Carte Blanche Films (“The Card Counter”) is serving as a consulting producer for Pimlico.
“Working with Sam, Taliah, and Alaina is a really exciting opportunity for me. Knowing...
- 3/1/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
U.S. film financier Grandave Capital will invest in the documentary “Romano Artioli – The Last Great Dreamer,” about the one-time owner of the Bugatti and Lotus automobile brands, Romano Artioli.
In 1952, Artioli, a 20-year-old technician in Italy watched in astonishment as Bugatti ceased production in Molsheim, France. Artioli studied mechanical engineering and went on to repair cars, before eventually setting up an automotive retail and import business. By the mid-1980s, this business became so successful that Artioli was able to begin discussions with the French government about buying the Bugatti brand. In 1987, his dream became a reality.
The documentary showcases Artioli and his passion for beauty and sportscars leading him to revive Bugatti and also relaunch Lotus, building iconic cars. As visionaries in automotive were replaced by white collar managers who tried to cut him out, Artioli managed to react swiftly, pushing through his ambitious vision.
Grandave Capital described...
In 1952, Artioli, a 20-year-old technician in Italy watched in astonishment as Bugatti ceased production in Molsheim, France. Artioli studied mechanical engineering and went on to repair cars, before eventually setting up an automotive retail and import business. By the mid-1980s, this business became so successful that Artioli was able to begin discussions with the French government about buying the Bugatti brand. In 1987, his dream became a reality.
The documentary showcases Artioli and his passion for beauty and sportscars leading him to revive Bugatti and also relaunch Lotus, building iconic cars. As visionaries in automotive were replaced by white collar managers who tried to cut him out, Artioli managed to react swiftly, pushing through his ambitious vision.
Grandave Capital described...
- 2/24/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
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