Netflix is getting into the Olympic spirit with its newest batch of sports documentaries.
The streamer has partnered with the International Olympic Committee on three series following gymnastics superstar Simone Biles and athletes in men’s basketball and track and field. Filmmaking teams for the three shows will gain access to the athletes and venues at the summer games in Paris.
Separately, Netflix has ordered a series about the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones, with a focus on the team’s dominant years in the early and mid-1990s. The company made the announcements as part of its first-ever upfront on Wednesday — where it also announced its biggest push into live sports so far with a deal to carry NFL games on Christmas for the next three years.
Biles’ return for her third Olympics will be chronicled in Simone Biles: Rising, which will run in two parts. The first...
The streamer has partnered with the International Olympic Committee on three series following gymnastics superstar Simone Biles and athletes in men’s basketball and track and field. Filmmaking teams for the three shows will gain access to the athletes and venues at the summer games in Paris.
Separately, Netflix has ordered a series about the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones, with a focus on the team’s dominant years in the early and mid-1990s. The company made the announcements as part of its first-ever upfront on Wednesday — where it also announced its biggest push into live sports so far with a deal to carry NFL games on Christmas for the next three years.
Biles’ return for her third Olympics will be chronicled in Simone Biles: Rising, which will run in two parts. The first...
- 5/15/2024
- by Rick Porter
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Is there any actor who casually oozes coolness like Kurt Russell?
As with anyone in Hollywood, the young Russell had to earn his stripes. Upon signing a contract with the Mouse House, he started out anchoring a collection of zany Disney comedies in the '60s and '70s, including "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes," "The Strongest Man in the World," and "The Barefoot Executive," a movie that paired him opposite a chimpanzee. Beginning with their 1979 made-for-tv "Elvis" biopic, however, Russell and director John Carpenter collaborated on a series of highly efficient yet firmly modest genre films, many of which became cult hits and cemented their too-cool-for-school reputation.
Russell has only continued to evolve his legacy in the 21st century, starring in everything from cult favorites as worlds apart as "Sky High" and "Bone Tomahawk" to Quentin Tarantino joints and blockbuster franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and The Fast...
As with anyone in Hollywood, the young Russell had to earn his stripes. Upon signing a contract with the Mouse House, he started out anchoring a collection of zany Disney comedies in the '60s and '70s, including "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes," "The Strongest Man in the World," and "The Barefoot Executive," a movie that paired him opposite a chimpanzee. Beginning with their 1979 made-for-tv "Elvis" biopic, however, Russell and director John Carpenter collaborated on a series of highly efficient yet firmly modest genre films, many of which became cult hits and cemented their too-cool-for-school reputation.
Russell has only continued to evolve his legacy in the 21st century, starring in everything from cult favorites as worlds apart as "Sky High" and "Bone Tomahawk" to Quentin Tarantino joints and blockbuster franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and The Fast...
- 4/28/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
The 27th Sonoma International Film Festival (March 20-24), as always, leaned into wine and food with the sold-out opening night U.S. premiere of Thomas Napper’s “Widow Clicquot” (Vertical Entertainment), starring Haley Bennett as the woman who saves the legendary winemaker’s legacy. The wine country film festival drew its highest audience attendance to date with a robust film slate programmed by artistic director Carl Spence (working with Executive Director Ginny Krieger), in his second year, including upcoming specialty fare like Luc Besson’s “DogMan” (Briarcliff Entertainment) starring Caleb Landry Jones in an incendiary performance, and Sony Pictures Classics’ raucous comedy “Wicked Little Letters,” starring Olivia Colman, along with a smattering of yummy wine and food events.
The five-day festival curated by Spence along with senior programmers Amanda Salazar and Ken Jacobson, showcased more than 100 films. Twenty-five countries were represented in this year’s lineup of 43 narrative features, 16 documentary features,...
The five-day festival curated by Spence along with senior programmers Amanda Salazar and Ken Jacobson, showcased more than 100 films. Twenty-five countries were represented in this year’s lineup of 43 narrative features, 16 documentary features,...
- 3/24/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Peter Bart: In A Buzz-Less Market, Smart New Movies Must Overcome Critics’ Disdain & Audience Torpor
“Uninspired.” “Never catches fire.” “Non-memorable.”
I was sifting through reviews last weekend as the first step in my mission to re-discover the habit of moviegoing. With Barbenheimer finally behind us, I decided to see three new movies on successive days – yes, buying tickets and going to theaters.
But first come the critics: Their reviews, I assumed, would be tepid (excerpts above.) Box office results over the Presidents Day weekend were the lowest in 23 years, down 17% from a year ago — not a good portent. If there are some promising new movies out there, why are they hitting the wall?
Here’s a clue: Remember wide openings and buzz? Well, welcome to the new age of nonbuzz – new releases are greeted by the sounds of silence.
I decided to be resolute, anyway. I’m buying tickets.
Spoiler alert: I thoroughly enjoyed my filmgoing adventure. But there seems to be a...
I was sifting through reviews last weekend as the first step in my mission to re-discover the habit of moviegoing. With Barbenheimer finally behind us, I decided to see three new movies on successive days – yes, buying tickets and going to theaters.
But first come the critics: Their reviews, I assumed, would be tepid (excerpts above.) Box office results over the Presidents Day weekend were the lowest in 23 years, down 17% from a year ago — not a good portent. If there are some promising new movies out there, why are they hitting the wall?
Here’s a clue: Remember wide openings and buzz? Well, welcome to the new age of nonbuzz – new releases are greeted by the sounds of silence.
I decided to be resolute, anyway. I’m buying tickets.
Spoiler alert: I thoroughly enjoyed my filmgoing adventure. But there seems to be a...
- 2/22/2024
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” has finally been unveiled and film journalists are showering the highly-anticipated sequel with praise for its incredible ensemble cast, breathtaking visual effects and more. The film, which follow’s 2021’s “Dune,” is being called “masterful,” “damn impressive” and full of battle scenes that rival Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.”
“‘Dune: Part Two’ is damn impressive,” wrote The Playlist’s Gregory Ellwood. “Villeneuve crafts some truly Visionary moments. Austin Butler gives a truly transformative performance (and not talking makeup either). Very moving ending. A wee bit long? Yes. Did I forget I saw it the next day? Yes. Still, gonna be massive.”
Dune: Part Two is damn impressive. Villeneuve crafts some truly Visionary moments. Austin Butler gives a truly transformative performance (and not talking makeup either). Very moving ending. A wee bit long? Yes. Did I forget I saw it the next day?...
“‘Dune: Part Two’ is damn impressive,” wrote The Playlist’s Gregory Ellwood. “Villeneuve crafts some truly Visionary moments. Austin Butler gives a truly transformative performance (and not talking makeup either). Very moving ending. A wee bit long? Yes. Did I forget I saw it the next day? Yes. Still, gonna be massive.”
Dune: Part Two is damn impressive. Villeneuve crafts some truly Visionary moments. Austin Butler gives a truly transformative performance (and not talking makeup either). Very moving ending. A wee bit long? Yes. Did I forget I saw it the next day?...
- 2/15/2024
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
Cinephile Game Night has returned this year for Cinephile Summer, a brand new season featuring your favorite podcasters and filmmakers going head-to-head to see who is the ultimate cinephile. Hosted by The Film Stage’s Jordan Raup, Conor O’Donnell, and Dan Mecca along with Cinephile: A Card Game creator Cory Everett, the series will debut new episodes bi-weekly on The Film Stage Show podcast feed and The Film Stage YouTube channel.
For the second episode of Cinephile Summer, we were thrilled to face off against our friends at One Heat Minute, featuring Blake Howard, Katie Walsh, Maria Lewis, and Alexei Toliopoulos. Joining the Tfs team as special guests are Gavin Mevius (co-host of The Mixed Reviews) and Veronica Fitzpatrick (co-host of The Bright Wall/Dark Room Podcast).
Each episode features teams facing off for rounds of Filmography, Movie-Actor and Six Degrees and the team with the most points is crowned the winner.
For the second episode of Cinephile Summer, we were thrilled to face off against our friends at One Heat Minute, featuring Blake Howard, Katie Walsh, Maria Lewis, and Alexei Toliopoulos. Joining the Tfs team as special guests are Gavin Mevius (co-host of The Mixed Reviews) and Veronica Fitzpatrick (co-host of The Bright Wall/Dark Room Podcast).
Each episode features teams facing off for rounds of Filmography, Movie-Actor and Six Degrees and the team with the most points is crowned the winner.
- 7/13/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
As a global audience starts to tune in for the 95th Academy Awards, one thing that is guaranteed to surprise viewers is the creative decision not to have a red carpet, but a champagne-colored runner instead. But can this bold choice withstand the traffic on Hollywood’s biggest night? Update: It cannot, and the backlash is already brewing.
“I think the decision to go with a champagne carpet rather than a red carpet shows how confident we are that no blood will be shed,” joked Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel at the unrolling ceremony.
This is the first time since 1961 that the famous Oscars red carpet has not been red, one of the many big changes made for this year’s ceremony including a new dress code and the addition of an Academy Award “crisis team.”
Here's a look behind the scenes at the #Oscars champagne carpet. https://t.co/i5wEon5M8t pic.
“I think the decision to go with a champagne carpet rather than a red carpet shows how confident we are that no blood will be shed,” joked Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel at the unrolling ceremony.
This is the first time since 1961 that the famous Oscars red carpet has not been red, one of the many big changes made for this year’s ceremony including a new dress code and the addition of an Academy Award “crisis team.”
Here's a look behind the scenes at the #Oscars champagne carpet. https://t.co/i5wEon5M8t pic.
- 3/12/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
“John Wick: Chapter 4” officially bowed at its London premiere Monday evening, with the social media reactions embargo lifting during the event.
The fourth entry picks up following the end of “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” which saw Keanu Reeves’ infamous assassin take a tumble from atop the Continental Hotel after being betrayed by his confidante Winston (Ian McShane). Of course, Wick lives. “Chapter 4” finds the deadly pariah traveling the globe to free himself from the rule of the elusive, cutthroat High Table.
The critical darling action series has drawn strong praise in its first round of reactions, especially for its deep bench of sparring partners that includes Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Sanada, Marko Zazor, Scott Adkins and Rina Sawayama. Another central topic of opinion is the film’s runtime, which clocks in at a lengthy two hours and 49 minutes — 38 minutes longer than the previous entry’s.
Los Angeles Times critic Katie Walsh enjoyed the movie,...
The fourth entry picks up following the end of “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” which saw Keanu Reeves’ infamous assassin take a tumble from atop the Continental Hotel after being betrayed by his confidante Winston (Ian McShane). Of course, Wick lives. “Chapter 4” finds the deadly pariah traveling the globe to free himself from the rule of the elusive, cutthroat High Table.
The critical darling action series has drawn strong praise in its first round of reactions, especially for its deep bench of sparring partners that includes Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Sanada, Marko Zazor, Scott Adkins and Rina Sawayama. Another central topic of opinion is the film’s runtime, which clocks in at a lengthy two hours and 49 minutes — 38 minutes longer than the previous entry’s.
Los Angeles Times critic Katie Walsh enjoyed the movie,...
- 3/7/2023
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
South Korea’s Oscar© 2023 Entry for Best International Feature: ‘Decision to Leave’ by Park Chan-wookSure to be on the top of many people’s list as one of the best films of the year (including my own along with ‘Eo’), at the very least it should be nominated for for best international feature Oscar. This melodrama keeps you in the tense suspense of ‘Double Indemnity’, ‘The Postman Rings Twice’ or ‘Gaslight’.
From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) arrives on the scene, he begins to suspect the dead man’s wife Seo-rae (Tang Wei). As he digs deeper into the investigation, he finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire. By falling in love with her, he commits worst crime he could commit as a police officer.
writer Jeong Seo-kyeong
Decision to Leave is co-written by Jeong Seo-kyeong with the director Park Chan-wook. It is shot in and around Busan. The romantic thriller premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and is being released in select U.S. theaters by Mubi.
During the Hammer Museum- Moma Contender Series, the screenwriter Jeong Seo-kyeong spoke about her many collaboration with Park Chan-took.You can watch the 32 minute conversation here with film critic Katie Walsh. Or read below for the written version, slightly edited and abridged.
The music itself is exceptional. I wanted to go out immediately and buy it and could not stop singing it as I drove home from the movie. The original music was composed by his long time collaborator Cho Young-wuk (Oldboy, The Handmaiden, The Little Drummer Girl, Lady Vengeance, Thirst). The soundtrack is available to stream/download in most international markets and on Spotify. Watch the offical music video here for the theme song “Fog” or “Mist” (안개)” by Jung Hoon Hee(정훈희) & Song Chang Sick(송창식). Record label: Bertelsmann Music Group. Awards: Blue Dragon Film Award for Best Music, Grand Bell Award for Best Music, Korean Film Awards for Best Music.
Aside from the original mustic there is the recurring fourth movement of Mahler’s 5th Symphony thoughout the film. When asked her about the use of music this is what she answered.
When we were writing the script, the Mahler’s Fifth was actually the first score that we thought of. I needed a song that goes with someone in that lone space high up on the mountain, a music that speaks to how he feels separated from the rest of the world. That’s why I chose two songs by Mahler. And when Director Park saw the first draft, he called me up and he said, “Oh, it’s all good, but why did you have to use Mahler? Did you not watch Death in Venice? That song was perfectly used there already, so why would we have to use it again?”
But I never saw Death in Venice.
So he said, “Okay, I’ll try to work it out on my own.” And I think he did try his best to find something else, but he had to return to Mahler.
Have you seen Tar? They also use Mahler. No.
She conducts Mahler’s Fifth in Tar. So it’s a theme this year.
To return to her writing, Katie Walsh and Jeong Seo-kyeong’s conversation is below.
You started working with Director Park in 2005 with Lady Vengeance. So I’m so curious how you two connected and started working together on that film.
There was a short film competition and he was a jury member and he selected the film. And that’s how we got to know each other. From what I remember, the script of the short film was very weird and I think that’s exactly what he liked about it. So he said, I’ve got this idea. I’m working on this this vengeance trilogy and I want your sensibility on this.
At that point, just when we were about to start working together, he had just won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes [for Oldboy] and he became a worldwide director.
I thought to myself, wow, I’m going to be working with such a worldwide famous director. I was very stunned by that and he was busy at the time, so I had to start on the screenplay on my own at first.
He was on his promotional tour for the film and I was working on the first draft of the screenplay by myself. And from what I remember, it was a pathetic first draft.
But he was not taken aback by the draft at all. And instead he calmly said, “okay, let’s start revising it together”.
In Korea, there’s a method of working in which we share one hotel room and we stay there and work together for days. So the crew members were sitting around this large table in this hotel room. There are two monitors, two keyboards and one hard drive. And we were working together. When one person is writing, the other person can see it on the screen. Next to that table was a long couch where all the other crew members were sitting. It almost felt like writing that screenplay was a game of table tennis.
So he writes and then I write. I would see something that I ddin’t like and I would revise it. He would see something he didn’t like and he would revise it. So we would go back and forth like that. Instead of sharing conversations by mouth, we were seeing what was happening on the screen and that’s how we talked about the story.
At that time I was a first time writer and I was working on my first screenplay. So I really had to give it all my best to catch up with him. It really was an unfair game, if I may say. Whenever we would ask people which they liked better, they would always be on the director’s side.
But 20 years later, today, the crew member actually take my side more now.
So you still work like this?
No. Oh. After Thirst, I had my first child. And while we were working on Stoker I had my second child close. That’s why I couldn’t make a lot of time. And that’s why we can’t spend that much time together anymore.
So now I write the first draft of the screenplay and we revise it for three or four days or up to a week. Then he writes the final draft after a discussion with the crew members and the actors and myself.
Wow. That’s remarkable. I was going to ask how you guys work together, what you’re working process was like. So I’m I’m thrilled that it just came up naturally. And that is such a trial by fire. I mean, I’m sure that was like film school being in that hotel room, having to write against Park Chan-wook in a competitive manner.
I actually majored in screenwriting at school, but after graduation, I realized I actually don’t know anything about screenwriting. Like, really, like, genuinely. I was learning screenwriting from director Park Film School and I’m still learning today.
Park Chan-wook
And I’m sure director Park feels the same way.
Yeah. Yeah. So Decision to Leave is an original script.
You’ve worked on some adaptations before, but what was the spark of idea for this screenplay?
Director Park, while working on Little Drummer Girl in London, sent me an email. He suggested, “What about a story about a detective? And in his area, there are two husbands who are murdered by his wife.”
His idea at the time actually reminded me a lot of Thirst… a murder caused by adultery.
I told him, “I don’t think we can work on this one. First of all, neither of us can write a melodrama. But even more, I really can’t write a story about adultery.”
But Director Park answered, “What do you mean? I’m great at writing this stuff.”
I told him no. I don’t think we can work like this. So we had an argument about that, actually. During that argument, I realized I was already developing the characters for this story. And I found myself with a finished synopsis for the film. That’s how the film came to be.
It sounds like there’s some creative energy in the conflict or in the argument. Can you talk a little bit about that and how you’re sort of working against each other and then it’s generating ideas for you.
For this film and it’s so for most of the films that we work together on, I relate a lot to the female characters and director Park tends to relate to the male characters. And the reason I didn’t want to work on a melodrama is because I had a terrible memory from Thirst. I did not like the ending of Thirst. Why did the female character have to die when she did not want to. It would have been nice if she lived on as a vampire. So when the film was over I think I felt just like Tae-ju. She’s like, “I don’t want to die but since I love him, I guess there’s no other choice”. So I thought to myself, “Well, I don’t want it to be that way, but I guess I have no other choice.”
For Decision to Leave, I do like the ending but I did have to ask the question why the female character had to die. I had a lot of frustrations regarding that. Why Seo-rae seem to like Hae-jun more than he likes her. Why does Hae-jun seem like he can’t give up on his wife or Seo-rae.
Seo-rae says, “The moment you said you loved me, your love is over. The moment your love ends, my love begins.”
And Seo-rae has to give up give up her whole life for Hae-jun. But Hae-jun only gives up on his self-esteem.
But watching the finished film, I was struck with a realization that for some people, giving up on one’s self-esteem is the same as giving up one’s life.
There was some conflict while we were writing the film, but watching the finished film, I think I understood and connected with the overall ending.
I’m also curious about the casting of Tang Wei, who’s a Chinese actress, obviously living in Korea. And did you write the character of Seo-rae for Tang Wei or was it? Did you change that character to be Chinese once you knew she was going to be in the film?
I told director Park I didn’t want to write a melodrama because I was not confident I would do a good job. One exception was, that if the female character were played by Tang Wei, then I would write it. Because I was in love with Tang Wei.
That’s a good answer. Makes sense. I understand.
And that’s why the female character turned out to- turned out to be a Chinese person.
Well, she’s fabulous in the film. So we thank you for your instincts, for being in love with her.
One of the things I love about this film is the use of technology. It feels so honest as to how we use technology in our everyday lives, how we’re always texting and the way the characters communicate through technology. But also it becomes part of the mystery and how he solves the mystery and then also how he’s sort of driven mad at the end. So when you’re writing with director Park, how are you incorporating how the characters are using technology into the writing process? He makes it so cinematic, but I know that you must be putting that into the script as well.
If you consider authors like Agatha Christie at the time when she was writing her crime novel and compare them to those who are writing crime novels today, we have so much technology. Phones are always filming and are recording evidence. There’s not a lot that we can work with because anyone can take photos and have voice recordings and there are always CCTV cameras everywhere.
So I realized it’s impossible to have that romanticist classical crime story. Instead we must actively incorporate the use of modern technology. When Director Park first received a draft of the script. He asked me, “Why are there so many scenes with cell phones? I’ve never seen so many cell phones in a movie except in Searching.”
Director Park initially did not want to film any scenes with cell phones. But later he gave up on giving up on those cell phone scenes and instead filmed from the point of view of a cell phone. That is actually a very innovative, creative take on that. But I do feel that people took that in very well because we often feel that phones are looking at us.
As for me as a writer, the use of Apple Watches actually gave me a lot of creative freedom because it’s difficult to have scenes to incorporate the protagonist in a voiceover out of nowhere. But with the Apple Watch and the recording, it made that so much easier.
You have worked across so many genres with Director Park, vampire, vengeance, melodrama. The Handmaiden is a historical drama, romance. It’s an adaptation. Do you think there’s a consistent theme or tone that you and Director Park always come back to that spans your body of work?
The thing is, Director Park and I actually don’t agree on the themes most of the time. For instance, for Lady Vengeance, the theme was vengeance. But I don’t quite understand why people are so obsessed with vengeance.
So I actually called my friend and asked, “Why do people have to take revenge on each other instead of striving for peace?”
As for Thirst, the theme was guilt or salvation. But the thing is, I don’t feel a lot of guilt in my life. As long as I don’t do anything bad, there is no need for guit or salvation. That’s what I think.
If I were a vampire, I would think to myself, “Oh, this is how the mankind is going to evolve. So I should find a new method of life”.
So in those ways I don’t think the themes quite worked with me, but as we were working together, I didn’t realize we were working toward one common theme. I think it has to do with respect or the dignity of mankind.
In all of these different genres, the protagonists tend to be thrown into very extreme situations. And yet even in these extreme situations, these protagonists try not to lose their sense of dignity. I think when Hae-jun was talking about how Seo-rae had such upright posture, I think it really spoke to her sense of dignity.
That is a common theme throughout films like I’m a Cyborg But That’s Okayor The Handmaiden.
I was wondering, did you ever come up with that alternative finale or like, did you suggest an alternative finale?
The ending is actually something that makes logical sense. This is a story that begins very high up and then ends very low. We start on the mountain and close on the ocean. So conclusively it makes logical sense that it would end up with someone digging a hole.
I actually tend to think that an ending in which a woman dies for love is quite unnatural. But if a man dies, that’s a little more natural. But despite those personal frustrations, I cannot think of any other ending that would work better.
Director Park seems to write a lot of stories featuring female protagonists. What are the difficulties you face when you’re writing about a female protagonist while you’re working with a male director?
It is very easy. I’ve actually written a story in which it only features male protagonists. It’s called Believer. That story is filled with male characters. And I had such a hard time, I thought I was going to die.
I think one of the most difficult parts of being a writer is if a female writer is trying to write a good male character, and when a male writer is trying to write a good female character.
But despite all those difficulties, Director Park actually portrays the female characters very well. He writes characters in such a way that they don’t have to sacrifice their femininity in order to walk their path of life.
Over 20 years of working together, our collaboration has evolved so much that it’s actually difficult to tell which line is written by me and which line is written by Director Park.
In the movie The Handmaiden, one of the most feminine looking lines, was actually written by Director Park. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say that line out loud.
It’s a line by the character Sook-hee and she says, “If I could have milk from my breasts, I wish I could feed you, my lady.”
Can you imagine that?
Well, his female characters are so strong, I’m sure that is your influence, of course, in your writing, but also, in just the working relationship that he has with you.
I wish I could also have developed writing better male characters, but I think I’m a little behind if we have to make a comparison.
Keep writing women, we like it.
I wanted to ask about Seo-Rae’s mother-daughter relationship because I felt like that was such a pivotal moment in the story.
The relationship between Seo-rae and her mother was actually described in more lengthy terms. Because I think the entire story started the moment Seo-rae killed her mother. There is nothing more serious. She doesn’t commit a more serious crime than killing the mother that she loves so much.
So I think in some ways, Seo-rae has already died the moment she had to go through that.
I think she has taken a journey with her mother and her grandfather to the mountain that her mother said belonged to her, and then she starts her journey down. After she has placed the ashes of her mother and her grandfather at that mountain, she starts her own journey towards death down from the mountain. Because I think every animal, including mankind, wants to find death where they were born.
So that is why Seo-rae believed that her mother wanted to be buried in the mountains and Seo-rae goes towards the ocean because she belongs to the ocean.
I think the only way she might have found salvation from her ordeal could have been to leave and go somewhere else with Hae-jun, but that didn’t happen, so inevitably she had to go to the ocean.
And all of that began with the death of Seo-rae’s mother.
Well, thank you all so much for being here. Thank you so much. Thank you, Jiwon. Thank you, Chung Seo-kyung. And thank you for watching this film and talking to us about it.
The film’s producer, CJEnt is also the international sales agent as well as the So. Korean distributor of the film. Internationally it has licensed the film to Mubi for USA, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Latin America, Turkey, India, and Airlines and to Arna Media and Vesta for Russia, Bac Films for France, Cinobo for Greece, Cinéart for Benelux, Golden Village Pictures for Singapore, Happinet Phantom Studios for Japan, Lucky Red for Italy, Madman Entertainment for Australia and New Zealand, Movie Cloud for Taiwan, NonStop Entertainment for Scandinavia, Plaion Pictures for Germany, Purple Plan (2022) (Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore, The Filmbridge for Mongolia, Alambique Filmes for Portugal, Avalon for Spain
MoviesOscarsSouth KoreaThriller...
From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) arrives on the scene, he begins to suspect the dead man’s wife Seo-rae (Tang Wei). As he digs deeper into the investigation, he finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire. By falling in love with her, he commits worst crime he could commit as a police officer.
writer Jeong Seo-kyeong
Decision to Leave is co-written by Jeong Seo-kyeong with the director Park Chan-wook. It is shot in and around Busan. The romantic thriller premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and is being released in select U.S. theaters by Mubi.
During the Hammer Museum- Moma Contender Series, the screenwriter Jeong Seo-kyeong spoke about her many collaboration with Park Chan-took.You can watch the 32 minute conversation here with film critic Katie Walsh. Or read below for the written version, slightly edited and abridged.
The music itself is exceptional. I wanted to go out immediately and buy it and could not stop singing it as I drove home from the movie. The original music was composed by his long time collaborator Cho Young-wuk (Oldboy, The Handmaiden, The Little Drummer Girl, Lady Vengeance, Thirst). The soundtrack is available to stream/download in most international markets and on Spotify. Watch the offical music video here for the theme song “Fog” or “Mist” (안개)” by Jung Hoon Hee(정훈희) & Song Chang Sick(송창식). Record label: Bertelsmann Music Group. Awards: Blue Dragon Film Award for Best Music, Grand Bell Award for Best Music, Korean Film Awards for Best Music.
Aside from the original mustic there is the recurring fourth movement of Mahler’s 5th Symphony thoughout the film. When asked her about the use of music this is what she answered.
When we were writing the script, the Mahler’s Fifth was actually the first score that we thought of. I needed a song that goes with someone in that lone space high up on the mountain, a music that speaks to how he feels separated from the rest of the world. That’s why I chose two songs by Mahler. And when Director Park saw the first draft, he called me up and he said, “Oh, it’s all good, but why did you have to use Mahler? Did you not watch Death in Venice? That song was perfectly used there already, so why would we have to use it again?”
But I never saw Death in Venice.
So he said, “Okay, I’ll try to work it out on my own.” And I think he did try his best to find something else, but he had to return to Mahler.
Have you seen Tar? They also use Mahler. No.
She conducts Mahler’s Fifth in Tar. So it’s a theme this year.
To return to her writing, Katie Walsh and Jeong Seo-kyeong’s conversation is below.
You started working with Director Park in 2005 with Lady Vengeance. So I’m so curious how you two connected and started working together on that film.
There was a short film competition and he was a jury member and he selected the film. And that’s how we got to know each other. From what I remember, the script of the short film was very weird and I think that’s exactly what he liked about it. So he said, I’ve got this idea. I’m working on this this vengeance trilogy and I want your sensibility on this.
At that point, just when we were about to start working together, he had just won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes [for Oldboy] and he became a worldwide director.
I thought to myself, wow, I’m going to be working with such a worldwide famous director. I was very stunned by that and he was busy at the time, so I had to start on the screenplay on my own at first.
He was on his promotional tour for the film and I was working on the first draft of the screenplay by myself. And from what I remember, it was a pathetic first draft.
But he was not taken aback by the draft at all. And instead he calmly said, “okay, let’s start revising it together”.
In Korea, there’s a method of working in which we share one hotel room and we stay there and work together for days. So the crew members were sitting around this large table in this hotel room. There are two monitors, two keyboards and one hard drive. And we were working together. When one person is writing, the other person can see it on the screen. Next to that table was a long couch where all the other crew members were sitting. It almost felt like writing that screenplay was a game of table tennis.
So he writes and then I write. I would see something that I ddin’t like and I would revise it. He would see something he didn’t like and he would revise it. So we would go back and forth like that. Instead of sharing conversations by mouth, we were seeing what was happening on the screen and that’s how we talked about the story.
At that time I was a first time writer and I was working on my first screenplay. So I really had to give it all my best to catch up with him. It really was an unfair game, if I may say. Whenever we would ask people which they liked better, they would always be on the director’s side.
But 20 years later, today, the crew member actually take my side more now.
So you still work like this?
No. Oh. After Thirst, I had my first child. And while we were working on Stoker I had my second child close. That’s why I couldn’t make a lot of time. And that’s why we can’t spend that much time together anymore.
So now I write the first draft of the screenplay and we revise it for three or four days or up to a week. Then he writes the final draft after a discussion with the crew members and the actors and myself.
Wow. That’s remarkable. I was going to ask how you guys work together, what you’re working process was like. So I’m I’m thrilled that it just came up naturally. And that is such a trial by fire. I mean, I’m sure that was like film school being in that hotel room, having to write against Park Chan-wook in a competitive manner.
I actually majored in screenwriting at school, but after graduation, I realized I actually don’t know anything about screenwriting. Like, really, like, genuinely. I was learning screenwriting from director Park Film School and I’m still learning today.
Park Chan-wook
And I’m sure director Park feels the same way.
Yeah. Yeah. So Decision to Leave is an original script.
You’ve worked on some adaptations before, but what was the spark of idea for this screenplay?
Director Park, while working on Little Drummer Girl in London, sent me an email. He suggested, “What about a story about a detective? And in his area, there are two husbands who are murdered by his wife.”
His idea at the time actually reminded me a lot of Thirst… a murder caused by adultery.
I told him, “I don’t think we can work on this one. First of all, neither of us can write a melodrama. But even more, I really can’t write a story about adultery.”
But Director Park answered, “What do you mean? I’m great at writing this stuff.”
I told him no. I don’t think we can work like this. So we had an argument about that, actually. During that argument, I realized I was already developing the characters for this story. And I found myself with a finished synopsis for the film. That’s how the film came to be.
It sounds like there’s some creative energy in the conflict or in the argument. Can you talk a little bit about that and how you’re sort of working against each other and then it’s generating ideas for you.
For this film and it’s so for most of the films that we work together on, I relate a lot to the female characters and director Park tends to relate to the male characters. And the reason I didn’t want to work on a melodrama is because I had a terrible memory from Thirst. I did not like the ending of Thirst. Why did the female character have to die when she did not want to. It would have been nice if she lived on as a vampire. So when the film was over I think I felt just like Tae-ju. She’s like, “I don’t want to die but since I love him, I guess there’s no other choice”. So I thought to myself, “Well, I don’t want it to be that way, but I guess I have no other choice.”
For Decision to Leave, I do like the ending but I did have to ask the question why the female character had to die. I had a lot of frustrations regarding that. Why Seo-rae seem to like Hae-jun more than he likes her. Why does Hae-jun seem like he can’t give up on his wife or Seo-rae.
Seo-rae says, “The moment you said you loved me, your love is over. The moment your love ends, my love begins.”
And Seo-rae has to give up give up her whole life for Hae-jun. But Hae-jun only gives up on his self-esteem.
But watching the finished film, I was struck with a realization that for some people, giving up on one’s self-esteem is the same as giving up one’s life.
There was some conflict while we were writing the film, but watching the finished film, I think I understood and connected with the overall ending.
I’m also curious about the casting of Tang Wei, who’s a Chinese actress, obviously living in Korea. And did you write the character of Seo-rae for Tang Wei or was it? Did you change that character to be Chinese once you knew she was going to be in the film?
I told director Park I didn’t want to write a melodrama because I was not confident I would do a good job. One exception was, that if the female character were played by Tang Wei, then I would write it. Because I was in love with Tang Wei.
That’s a good answer. Makes sense. I understand.
And that’s why the female character turned out to- turned out to be a Chinese person.
Well, she’s fabulous in the film. So we thank you for your instincts, for being in love with her.
One of the things I love about this film is the use of technology. It feels so honest as to how we use technology in our everyday lives, how we’re always texting and the way the characters communicate through technology. But also it becomes part of the mystery and how he solves the mystery and then also how he’s sort of driven mad at the end. So when you’re writing with director Park, how are you incorporating how the characters are using technology into the writing process? He makes it so cinematic, but I know that you must be putting that into the script as well.
If you consider authors like Agatha Christie at the time when she was writing her crime novel and compare them to those who are writing crime novels today, we have so much technology. Phones are always filming and are recording evidence. There’s not a lot that we can work with because anyone can take photos and have voice recordings and there are always CCTV cameras everywhere.
So I realized it’s impossible to have that romanticist classical crime story. Instead we must actively incorporate the use of modern technology. When Director Park first received a draft of the script. He asked me, “Why are there so many scenes with cell phones? I’ve never seen so many cell phones in a movie except in Searching.”
Director Park initially did not want to film any scenes with cell phones. But later he gave up on giving up on those cell phone scenes and instead filmed from the point of view of a cell phone. That is actually a very innovative, creative take on that. But I do feel that people took that in very well because we often feel that phones are looking at us.
As for me as a writer, the use of Apple Watches actually gave me a lot of creative freedom because it’s difficult to have scenes to incorporate the protagonist in a voiceover out of nowhere. But with the Apple Watch and the recording, it made that so much easier.
You have worked across so many genres with Director Park, vampire, vengeance, melodrama. The Handmaiden is a historical drama, romance. It’s an adaptation. Do you think there’s a consistent theme or tone that you and Director Park always come back to that spans your body of work?
The thing is, Director Park and I actually don’t agree on the themes most of the time. For instance, for Lady Vengeance, the theme was vengeance. But I don’t quite understand why people are so obsessed with vengeance.
So I actually called my friend and asked, “Why do people have to take revenge on each other instead of striving for peace?”
As for Thirst, the theme was guilt or salvation. But the thing is, I don’t feel a lot of guilt in my life. As long as I don’t do anything bad, there is no need for guit or salvation. That’s what I think.
If I were a vampire, I would think to myself, “Oh, this is how the mankind is going to evolve. So I should find a new method of life”.
So in those ways I don’t think the themes quite worked with me, but as we were working together, I didn’t realize we were working toward one common theme. I think it has to do with respect or the dignity of mankind.
In all of these different genres, the protagonists tend to be thrown into very extreme situations. And yet even in these extreme situations, these protagonists try not to lose their sense of dignity. I think when Hae-jun was talking about how Seo-rae had such upright posture, I think it really spoke to her sense of dignity.
That is a common theme throughout films like I’m a Cyborg But That’s Okayor The Handmaiden.
I was wondering, did you ever come up with that alternative finale or like, did you suggest an alternative finale?
The ending is actually something that makes logical sense. This is a story that begins very high up and then ends very low. We start on the mountain and close on the ocean. So conclusively it makes logical sense that it would end up with someone digging a hole.
I actually tend to think that an ending in which a woman dies for love is quite unnatural. But if a man dies, that’s a little more natural. But despite those personal frustrations, I cannot think of any other ending that would work better.
Director Park seems to write a lot of stories featuring female protagonists. What are the difficulties you face when you’re writing about a female protagonist while you’re working with a male director?
It is very easy. I’ve actually written a story in which it only features male protagonists. It’s called Believer. That story is filled with male characters. And I had such a hard time, I thought I was going to die.
I think one of the most difficult parts of being a writer is if a female writer is trying to write a good male character, and when a male writer is trying to write a good female character.
But despite all those difficulties, Director Park actually portrays the female characters very well. He writes characters in such a way that they don’t have to sacrifice their femininity in order to walk their path of life.
Over 20 years of working together, our collaboration has evolved so much that it’s actually difficult to tell which line is written by me and which line is written by Director Park.
In the movie The Handmaiden, one of the most feminine looking lines, was actually written by Director Park. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say that line out loud.
It’s a line by the character Sook-hee and she says, “If I could have milk from my breasts, I wish I could feed you, my lady.”
Can you imagine that?
Well, his female characters are so strong, I’m sure that is your influence, of course, in your writing, but also, in just the working relationship that he has with you.
I wish I could also have developed writing better male characters, but I think I’m a little behind if we have to make a comparison.
Keep writing women, we like it.
I wanted to ask about Seo-Rae’s mother-daughter relationship because I felt like that was such a pivotal moment in the story.
The relationship between Seo-rae and her mother was actually described in more lengthy terms. Because I think the entire story started the moment Seo-rae killed her mother. There is nothing more serious. She doesn’t commit a more serious crime than killing the mother that she loves so much.
So I think in some ways, Seo-rae has already died the moment she had to go through that.
I think she has taken a journey with her mother and her grandfather to the mountain that her mother said belonged to her, and then she starts her journey down. After she has placed the ashes of her mother and her grandfather at that mountain, she starts her own journey towards death down from the mountain. Because I think every animal, including mankind, wants to find death where they were born.
So that is why Seo-rae believed that her mother wanted to be buried in the mountains and Seo-rae goes towards the ocean because she belongs to the ocean.
I think the only way she might have found salvation from her ordeal could have been to leave and go somewhere else with Hae-jun, but that didn’t happen, so inevitably she had to go to the ocean.
And all of that began with the death of Seo-rae’s mother.
Well, thank you all so much for being here. Thank you so much. Thank you, Jiwon. Thank you, Chung Seo-kyung. And thank you for watching this film and talking to us about it.
The film’s producer, CJEnt is also the international sales agent as well as the So. Korean distributor of the film. Internationally it has licensed the film to Mubi for USA, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Latin America, Turkey, India, and Airlines and to Arna Media and Vesta for Russia, Bac Films for France, Cinobo for Greece, Cinéart for Benelux, Golden Village Pictures for Singapore, Happinet Phantom Studios for Japan, Lucky Red for Italy, Madman Entertainment for Australia and New Zealand, Movie Cloud for Taiwan, NonStop Entertainment for Scandinavia, Plaion Pictures for Germany, Purple Plan (2022) (Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore, The Filmbridge for Mongolia, Alambique Filmes for Portugal, Avalon for Spain
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- 12/20/2022
- by Sydney
- Sydney's Buzz
One of the few certainties going into the 2023 awards season seems to be that Steven Spielberg will receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Director for his acclaimed semi-autobiographical drama “The Fabelmans,” starring Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and Seth Rogen. (He’s currently #1 in Gold Derby’s predictions.) Critics have been raving about the film since its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, with Katie Walsh in Tribune News Service saying it’s “a playful, honest, and ultimately gracious childhood memoir that derives its universal lessons from its specificity,” and Brian Lowry from CNN.com writing that “it’s a deeply personal chronicle from one of the cinema’s greatest talents.” With the filmmaker poised to become front and center in the upcoming awards season, let’s revisit all eight of Steven Spielberg’s Best Director Oscar races.
His first Academy Award win came in 1994 when he claimed Best Director...
His first Academy Award win came in 1994 when he claimed Best Director...
- 11/28/2022
- by Brian Rowe
- Gold Derby
The Harry Potter franchise returns to theaters this week with the release of “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” the third entry in the spinoff series set years before Harry, Ron, and Hermione shook up the Wizarding World.
Unfortunately, for fans of the fantasy series, the third “Fantastic Beasts” film is yet another middling effort, at least according to critics. The film – which has been besieged by controversy, from Johnny Depp and Ezra Miller to co-writer J.K. Rowling – has a 47-grade on Metacritic, owing to numerous mixed reviews.
Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, “The long-awaited third installment of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World sub-franchise is less clogged with distracting detail than its immediate predecessor, but even a more refined plot can’t save the two-hour-plus film from feeling like an endurance test.”
IndieWire’s Kate Erbland was similarly divided, writing that the film “falls into precisely the same traps as its predecessor,...
Unfortunately, for fans of the fantasy series, the third “Fantastic Beasts” film is yet another middling effort, at least according to critics. The film – which has been besieged by controversy, from Johnny Depp and Ezra Miller to co-writer J.K. Rowling – has a 47-grade on Metacritic, owing to numerous mixed reviews.
Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, “The long-awaited third installment of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World sub-franchise is less clogged with distracting detail than its immediate predecessor, but even a more refined plot can’t save the two-hour-plus film from feeling like an endurance test.”
IndieWire’s Kate Erbland was similarly divided, writing that the film “falls into precisely the same traps as its predecessor,...
- 4/16/2022
- by Caillou Pettis
- Gold Derby
Following Rose Byrne‘s portrayal of Gloria Steinem in the limited series “Mrs. America,” the feminist icon gets the full biopic treatment with “The Glorias.” The latest film from visionary director Julie Taymor finds Academy Award winners Alicia Vikander and Julianne Moore portraying Steinem at different ages as she founds “Ms.” magazine and rises in prominence as a leader in the women’s liberation movement. The film, which co-stars Bette Midler, Janelle Monae, Timothy Hutton and Lorraine Toussaint, is free on Amazon Prime Video. But is it worth the watch? Let’s look into some critic reviews.
Most reviews praise the performances, even if the structure of the film is divisive. As one reviewer notes, “While Taymor’s film overall lacks fluidity, their performances do fit with surprising neatness into a single, steadily evolving characterization.” Some laud Moore for playing the most recognizable version of Steinem while others believe that “Vikander is the highlight here,...
Most reviews praise the performances, even if the structure of the film is divisive. As one reviewer notes, “While Taymor’s film overall lacks fluidity, their performances do fit with surprising neatness into a single, steadily evolving characterization.” Some laud Moore for playing the most recognizable version of Steinem while others believe that “Vikander is the highlight here,...
- 10/1/2020
- by Kevin Jacobsen
- Gold Derby
Christopher Nolan’s “no chairs on set” rule has gone viral after the director’s “Interstellar” and “The Dark Knight Rises” actress Anne Hathaway brought it up during a recent interview with Hugh Jackman on Variety’s “Actors on Actors” video series. Nolan fans have known about the rule for quite some time, as “Dunkirk” actors Mark Rylance and Barry Keoghan told The Independent in 2017 that Nolan bans chairs and water bottles on set. Hathaway appeared complimentary about Nolan’s decision.
“He doesn’t allow chairs, and his reasoning is, if you have chairs, people will sit, and if they’re sitting, they’re not working,” the Oscar-winning actress said “I mean, he has these incredible movies in terms of scope and ambition and technical prowess and emotion. It always arrives at the end under schedule and under budget. I think he’s onto something with the chair thing.”
Hathaway...
“He doesn’t allow chairs, and his reasoning is, if you have chairs, people will sit, and if they’re sitting, they’re not working,” the Oscar-winning actress said “I mean, he has these incredible movies in terms of scope and ambition and technical prowess and emotion. It always arrives at the end under schedule and under budget. I think he’s onto something with the chair thing.”
Hathaway...
- 6/30/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Since we’re all going to be spending a little more time at home for a while, Cinephile and The Film Stage are proud to present Cinephile Game Night, a twice-weekly livestream series that aims to bring some attention to film-related charities (and beyond) during the Covid-19 crisis.
Each evening will feature The Film Stage crew, including Jordan Raup, Conor O’Donnell, Dan Mecca, and Cinephile creator Cory Everett, and a rotating roster of special guests as we test our knowledge of movie trivia in this online version, adapted for our current self-isolated times. With each show lasting about an hour, we’ll square off and play a few rounds of Cinephile: A Card Game, including Filmography, Movie-Actor, and Six Degrees.
Viewers are invited to tune in and follow along with the cinema-related fun! Each night, we’ll feature a relief fund or charity to spotlight. If you are viewing and donate,...
Each evening will feature The Film Stage crew, including Jordan Raup, Conor O’Donnell, Dan Mecca, and Cinephile creator Cory Everett, and a rotating roster of special guests as we test our knowledge of movie trivia in this online version, adapted for our current self-isolated times. With each show lasting about an hour, we’ll square off and play a few rounds of Cinephile: A Card Game, including Filmography, Movie-Actor, and Six Degrees.
Viewers are invited to tune in and follow along with the cinema-related fun! Each night, we’ll feature a relief fund or charity to spotlight. If you are viewing and donate,...
- 3/27/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
It’s going to take a while for Hollywood to come down from the high that is “Parasite” sweeping the 92nd Academy Awards. Bong Joon Ho’s Palme d’Or winner entered the 2020 Oscars in history-making fashion as the first South Korean feature film nominated for Academy Awards. Many Oscar pundits expected “Parasite” to win the Best International Feature Film category with ease, but very few saw Bong sweeping the major prizes for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. “Parasite” now marks the first time any foreign-language film has won the Best Picture prize. For this reason, many film critics, directors, and actors are championing “Parasite” as the most important and game-changing Best Picture winner in Oscar history. Along with Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight,” “Parasite” is also being hailed as the best Best Picture winner in recent memory.
“‘Parasite’ has dealt a much-needed slap to the American film industry’s narcissism,...
“‘Parasite’ has dealt a much-needed slap to the American film industry’s narcissism,...
- 2/10/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Warner Bros. has screened its latest DC Comics tentpole “Birds of Prey” for press, and the first wave of reactions on social media from film critics and journalists are universally strong. “Birds of Prey” is directed by Cathy Yan, making her studio debut after the indie drama “Dead Pigs,” and finds Margot Robbie reprising her role of Harley Quinn following David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad.” In the upcoming comic book action comedy, Harley is newly single from Joker and teams up with fellow heroes Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), and Renee Montoya (Rose Perez) to protect young Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco) from the villainous Black Mash (Ewan McGregor) and his henchman after she steals his precious diamond.
“‘Birds of Prey’ is delightfully unassuming and unconcerned with its place in a larger context. It’s a bonkers, bananas crime comedy and a genuine party movie,” writes Forbes’ Scott Mendelson about the film.
“‘Birds of Prey’ is delightfully unassuming and unconcerned with its place in a larger context. It’s a bonkers, bananas crime comedy and a genuine party movie,” writes Forbes’ Scott Mendelson about the film.
- 1/30/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Kirsten Howard Jan 30, 2020
Harley Quinn leads her own movie with Birds of Prey, and the early reviews on social media are positive!
These days, DC movies are like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're gonna get. Also, it can be messy. Sometimes, there can more than one layer. Can I be candid? I already regret this analogy.
Much of the recent Warner Bros/DC live-action output has been all over the shop, with the studio once again trying to find their feet in a Marvel-heavy cinematic landscape. Suicide Squad (2016) was a disappointment for most, Wonder Woman (2017) did surprisingly well, Justice League (2017) staggered onto screens after a ton of behind the scenes problems, Aquaman (2018) cashed in more than a billion dollars at the global box office despite some middling reviews, and Shazam! (2019) got a solid thumbs up across the board. Meanwhile, Joker lived in its own version of Gotham past,...
Harley Quinn leads her own movie with Birds of Prey, and the early reviews on social media are positive!
These days, DC movies are like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're gonna get. Also, it can be messy. Sometimes, there can more than one layer. Can I be candid? I already regret this analogy.
Much of the recent Warner Bros/DC live-action output has been all over the shop, with the studio once again trying to find their feet in a Marvel-heavy cinematic landscape. Suicide Squad (2016) was a disappointment for most, Wonder Woman (2017) did surprisingly well, Justice League (2017) staggered onto screens after a ton of behind the scenes problems, Aquaman (2018) cashed in more than a billion dollars at the global box office despite some middling reviews, and Shazam! (2019) got a solid thumbs up across the board. Meanwhile, Joker lived in its own version of Gotham past,...
- 1/30/2020
- Den of Geek
Margot Robbie‘s Birds of Prey may not be in theaters yet, but it’s already getting rave reviews from the critics who’ve seen it.
The film, which comes out on Feb. 7, stars Robbie as Harley Quinn after her breakup with the Joker and, on a ride to find herself, she joins a group of female superheroes on a mission to save a young girl from a crime lord, Black Mask, played by Ewan McGregor.
Birds of Prey is the spinoff to 2016’s Suicide Squad, which saw Robbie star as Quinn — although it’s safe to say the indomitable...
The film, which comes out on Feb. 7, stars Robbie as Harley Quinn after her breakup with the Joker and, on a ride to find herself, she joins a group of female superheroes on a mission to save a young girl from a crime lord, Black Mask, played by Ewan McGregor.
Birds of Prey is the spinoff to 2016’s Suicide Squad, which saw Robbie star as Quinn — although it’s safe to say the indomitable...
- 1/30/2020
- by Alexia Fernandez
- PEOPLE.com
“Motherless Brooklyn” opened on November 1 and it’s nothing if not a labor of love. Edward Norton stars in the period film as a private eye with Tourette syndrome investigating a political conspiracy in New York City. He also wrote the screenplay, produced it and directed it. It’s based on Jonathan Lethem‘s 1999 detective novel, but Norton transports the story back to the 1950s, hearkening back to an era of classic film noir. Does he pull it off?
As of this writing the film gets a MetaCritic score of 61 based on 29 reviews counted thus far: 18 positive, 9 mixed, 2 negative. On Rotten Tomatoes, which rates movies on a pass/fail basis as opposed to MetaCritic’s sliding scale, “Brooklyn” is rated 65% fresh based on 91 reviews: 59 fresh, 32 rotten. The Rt critics’ consensus summarizes the reviews by saying, “‘Motherless Brooklyn’s’ imposing length requires patience, but strong performances and a unique perspective make this a mystery worth investigating.
As of this writing the film gets a MetaCritic score of 61 based on 29 reviews counted thus far: 18 positive, 9 mixed, 2 negative. On Rotten Tomatoes, which rates movies on a pass/fail basis as opposed to MetaCritic’s sliding scale, “Brooklyn” is rated 65% fresh based on 91 reviews: 59 fresh, 32 rotten. The Rt critics’ consensus summarizes the reviews by saying, “‘Motherless Brooklyn’s’ imposing length requires patience, but strong performances and a unique perspective make this a mystery worth investigating.
- 11/2/2019
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Stars: Gene Snisky, Jeff Swanton, Jim Roof, Ernest O’Donnell, Meg Carriero, Catherine Corcoran, Katie Walsh, Sam Anoai, Joel Ruda, Anthony Edward Curry, Brittany Ineson, Robert Waldron | Written by Jason L. Koerner, Ed McKeever, Gene Snisky | Directed by Hank Leigh Hump
What do you get when you put two former WWE superstars in the woods and have them go head-to-head on camera? Well you get 100 Acres of Hell apparently!
Starring Gene Snitsky (aka WWE’s Snitsky) in the lead role, and Sam Anoai (aka Samu in WWE) as the disfigured killer Jeb Tucker, 100 Acres of Hell is, essentially, your classic 80s backwoods slasher set in 2019. The cliches are all the same, the tropes of the genre are all there… in fact nothing has changed expect for the fact this time round its not a group of buxom young “teenagers” getting slaughtered, it is in fact a group of middle-aged wanna...
What do you get when you put two former WWE superstars in the woods and have them go head-to-head on camera? Well you get 100 Acres of Hell apparently!
Starring Gene Snitsky (aka WWE’s Snitsky) in the lead role, and Sam Anoai (aka Samu in WWE) as the disfigured killer Jeb Tucker, 100 Acres of Hell is, essentially, your classic 80s backwoods slasher set in 2019. The cliches are all the same, the tropes of the genre are all there… in fact nothing has changed expect for the fact this time round its not a group of buxom young “teenagers” getting slaughtered, it is in fact a group of middle-aged wanna...
- 10/25/2019
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
The Stephen King evil-clown adaptation “It” was an unlikely blockbuster when it was released in September 2017, raking in $123 million in its opening weekend alone. That was an astounding number for a horror film with a $35 million budget, and it went on to gross $700 million worldwide. So of course there’s a sequel, which reunites the terrorized children decades later when they’re terrorized adults. But how does “It: Chapter Two” compare to chapter one?
I, for one, think it was a missed opportunity to not call the sequel “Its,” but that’s just me. As for critics, the film has earned a Metacritic score of 59 based on 43 reviews counted as of this writing: 21 positive, 19 mixed, and 3 negative. That’s a few points shy of the 69 received by the original film. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, which grades on a pass/fail scale, the sequel rates 67% fresh based on 173 reviews counted thus far,...
I, for one, think it was a missed opportunity to not call the sequel “Its,” but that’s just me. As for critics, the film has earned a Metacritic score of 59 based on 43 reviews counted as of this writing: 21 positive, 19 mixed, and 3 negative. That’s a few points shy of the 69 received by the original film. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, which grades on a pass/fail scale, the sequel rates 67% fresh based on 173 reviews counted thus far,...
- 9/6/2019
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign warned his supporters on Tuesday of scammers trying to pass their organizations off as authentically affiliated with the president. While the campaign didn’t call out any particular groups by name, the announcement came shortly publication of a report from the Campaign Legal Center and Axios that found a group run by David Bossie, the former Trump deputy campaign manager, raised $13 million this year from small-dollar and elderly donors.
Bossie’s organization, the Presidential Coalition, uses an official-looking White House seal and a Pennsylvania Avenue address,...
Bossie’s organization, the Presidential Coalition, uses an official-looking White House seal and a Pennsylvania Avenue address,...
- 5/7/2019
- by Tessa Stuart
- Rollingstone.com
The infamous killer Michael Myers strikes again in Halloween, arriving on Digital and via the digital movie app Movies Anywhere on December 28, 2018, as well as on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-rayTM, DVD and On Demand on January 15, 2019. Hailed by critics as “a near perfect blend of craft, character growth and nostalgia”, Halloween takes place four decades after Laurie Strode narrowly escaped the masked Michael Myers’ brutal killing spree. Packed with bonus features including chilling deleted and extended scenes as well as special featurettes showing behind the scenes looks at creating the film, Halloween delivers spine-chilling, hair-raising intensity and thrills to both new and repeat viewers.
Forty years after the events of 1978’s Halloween, Laurie Strode (Curtis) now lives in a heavily guarded home on the edge of Haddonfield, where she’s spent decades preparing for Michael’s potential return. After being locked up in an institution, Myers manages to escape when...
Forty years after the events of 1978’s Halloween, Laurie Strode (Curtis) now lives in a heavily guarded home on the edge of Haddonfield, where she’s spent decades preparing for Michael’s potential return. After being locked up in an institution, Myers manages to escape when...
- 12/27/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Universal City, California, November 20, 2018 – The infamous killer Michael Myers strikes again in Halloween, arriving on Digital and via the digital movie app Movies Anywhere on December 28, 2018, as well as on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-rayTM, DVD and On Demand on January 15, 2019. Hailed by critics as “a near perfect blend of craft, character growth and nostalgia”, Halloween takes place four decades after Laurie Strode narrowly escaped the masked Michael Myers’ brutal killing spree. Packed with bonus features including chilling deleted and extended scenes as well as special featurettes showing behind the scenes looks at creating the film, Halloween delivers spine-chilling, hair-raising intensity and thrills to both new and repeat viewers.
Forty years after the events of 1978’s Halloween, Laurie Strode (Curtis) now lives in a heavily guarded home on the edge of Haddonfield, where she’s spent decades preparing for Michael’s potential return. After being locked up in an institution, Myers...
Forty years after the events of 1978’s Halloween, Laurie Strode (Curtis) now lives in a heavily guarded home on the edge of Haddonfield, where she’s spent decades preparing for Michael’s potential return. After being locked up in an institution, Myers...
- 11/24/2018
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
After haunting theaters this fall, The Shape is coming to home media this winter when Universal Pictures Home Entertainment unleashes the new Halloween on digital beginning December 28th, followed by a 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and On Demand release on January 15th. Packed with several featurettes, the home video release will also include deleted and extended scenes, one of which you can watch right now.
Check out the full release details, cover art, and deleted scene below, and in case you missed it, go here to catch up on all of our Halloween (2018) coverage, including interviews with the cast and crew!
From the Press Release: Universal City, California, November 20, 2018 – The infamous killer Michael Myers strikes again in Halloween, arriving on Digital and via the digital movie app Movies Anywhere on December 28, 2018, as well as on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-rayTM, DVD and On Demand on January 15, 2019. Hailed by critics as...
Check out the full release details, cover art, and deleted scene below, and in case you missed it, go here to catch up on all of our Halloween (2018) coverage, including interviews with the cast and crew!
From the Press Release: Universal City, California, November 20, 2018 – The infamous killer Michael Myers strikes again in Halloween, arriving on Digital and via the digital movie app Movies Anywhere on December 28, 2018, as well as on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-rayTM, DVD and On Demand on January 15, 2019. Hailed by critics as...
- 11/20/2018
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
The opening lines of the documentary “Half the Picture” say it all: “Over the past 17 years, the number of female directors has actually declined. Our study makes it clear, Hollywood is a straight boys club. Research has found that Hollywood directors are overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly male.” These simple statements sum up a slew of shocking statistics.
Filmmaker Amy Adrion deftly documents the standing of women in Hollywood through a series of compelling interviews with many female filmmakers, industry insiders and academics. Her debut film has played at many of the leading festivals, including Sundance, SXSW and Hot Docs. And it is set to screen on Starz starting in late October.
Hollywood likes to pat itself on the back and always take an opportunity to say ‘look how far we’ve come.’ Like when Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win Best Director at the Oscars for “The Hurt Locker...
Filmmaker Amy Adrion deftly documents the standing of women in Hollywood through a series of compelling interviews with many female filmmakers, industry insiders and academics. Her debut film has played at many of the leading festivals, including Sundance, SXSW and Hot Docs. And it is set to screen on Starz starting in late October.
Hollywood likes to pat itself on the back and always take an opportunity to say ‘look how far we’ve come.’ Like when Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win Best Director at the Oscars for “The Hurt Locker...
- 10/11/2018
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
“A Star is Born” indeed. The movie musical opened on October 5, and though both of its leads are well-established stars, this film brings them into the spotlight in new ways. Bradley Cooper, known as a three-time Oscar nominated actor (plus one nom as a producer), here tries his hand at singing and directing. And Lady Gaga, a six-time Grammy winning pop star, is aiming to establish herself as an actor. Judging by the reviews, both have succeeded.
As of this writing the film as a MetaCritic score of 88 based on 56 reviews from some of the nation’s top critics. And its Rotten Tomatoes freshness rating is 93% based on 194 reviews. The Tomatometer consensus says that “with appealing leads, deft direction, and an affecting love story, ‘A Star Is Born‘ is a remake done right — and a reminder that some stories can be just as effective in the retelling.”
Cooper stars as...
As of this writing the film as a MetaCritic score of 88 based on 56 reviews from some of the nation’s top critics. And its Rotten Tomatoes freshness rating is 93% based on 194 reviews. The Tomatometer consensus says that “with appealing leads, deft direction, and an affecting love story, ‘A Star Is Born‘ is a remake done right — and a reminder that some stories can be just as effective in the retelling.”
Cooper stars as...
- 10/5/2018
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
Early reviews are in for the latest big superhero movie, and it looks like the titular character isn’t the only venomous thing about it.
Currently sitting at a 32% on Rotten Tomatoes, “Venom” has released to mixed reactions, many of which have been highly critical of the film despite a strong performance from Tom Hardy. Although scenes involving Hardy’s banter with the alien symbiote Venom did garner some praise from reviewers, the character wasn’t enough to save the rest of the film from the boring monotony that sometimes afflicts superhero films.
Variety‘s Owen Gleiberman criticized the “impersonality” of director Ruben Fleischer (“Zombieland”), highlighting the pop-culture blend of the film’s titular character and strong visuals despite an overwhelmingly mediocre film. “‘Venom’ is a textbook case of a comic-book film that’s unexciting in its ho-hum competence, and even its visual-effects bravura,” he wrote in his review. “Make...
Currently sitting at a 32% on Rotten Tomatoes, “Venom” has released to mixed reactions, many of which have been highly critical of the film despite a strong performance from Tom Hardy. Although scenes involving Hardy’s banter with the alien symbiote Venom did garner some praise from reviewers, the character wasn’t enough to save the rest of the film from the boring monotony that sometimes afflicts superhero films.
Variety‘s Owen Gleiberman criticized the “impersonality” of director Ruben Fleischer (“Zombieland”), highlighting the pop-culture blend of the film’s titular character and strong visuals despite an overwhelmingly mediocre film. “‘Venom’ is a textbook case of a comic-book film that’s unexciting in its ho-hum competence, and even its visual-effects bravura,” he wrote in his review. “Make...
- 10/3/2018
- by Nate Nickolai
- Variety Film + TV
The new Halloween film recently premiered at Tiff and the reaction of critics and audiences have flooded social media! All of you horror fans will be happy to hear that people absolutely loved it! They are saying that this is the best film in the franchise since John Carpenter's Halloween and it sounds like it delivers everything that a fan would want to see from a Halloween sequel!
I had really high hopes for this movie. I love this franchise and the first film is one of my favorite horror films of all time, so reading all of these wonderfully positive reactions has got me even more happy and excited about seeing this movie!
Read a bunch of the reactions to David Gordon Green and Danny McBride's Halloween film below and let us know if they up your excitement levels!
Um, why did I just cry in Halloween?...
I had really high hopes for this movie. I love this franchise and the first film is one of my favorite horror films of all time, so reading all of these wonderfully positive reactions has got me even more happy and excited about seeing this movie!
Read a bunch of the reactions to David Gordon Green and Danny McBride's Halloween film below and let us know if they up your excitement levels!
Um, why did I just cry in Halloween?...
- 9/9/2018
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
“The Predator” hasn’t been especially well received in Toronto, but it isn’t the only genre film premiering at Tiff. David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” is there too, and early word should come as a pleasant surprise to slasher fans in dire need of a good new movie. IndieWire’s Eric Kohn gives the film a B-, writing that Green “has made a slavish, sharply executed bit of fan service elevated by Jamie Lee Curtis’ transformation into a badass grandmother back to finish the job.”
Writing for Nerdist, Katie Walsh is even more enthusiastic:
“Forty years after the original film’s release, Green, McBride, co-writer Jeff Fradley, and most importantly, star and big beating heart of the franchise Jamie Lee Curtis, made a film that’s a profoundly feminist re-examination of its psychology of trauma through its iconography. It’s also a rip-roaring slasher flick that’s hands down the best Halloween sequel ever.
Writing for Nerdist, Katie Walsh is even more enthusiastic:
“Forty years after the original film’s release, Green, McBride, co-writer Jeff Fradley, and most importantly, star and big beating heart of the franchise Jamie Lee Curtis, made a film that’s a profoundly feminist re-examination of its psychology of trauma through its iconography. It’s also a rip-roaring slasher flick that’s hands down the best Halloween sequel ever.
- 9/9/2018
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
And the critical darling of the summer is … “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”? This sequel comes 10 years after the original “Mamma Mia!” film, which itself was adapted from the 1999 jukebox musical that brought the songs of Abba to the Broadway stage. No, it’s not a movie we’re likely to be talking about in the year-end awards conversation — except perhaps the Golden Globes, which adore musicals. But it does seem to have caught critics off-guard by actually improving on the original.
The 2008 “Mamma Mia!” was a huge hit, grossing $144 million domestically and a whopping $609 million worldwide against a mere $52 million budget. And it earned Golden Globe noms for Best Film Comedy/Musical and Best Film Comedy/Musical Actress (Meryl Streep). But it didn’t win over critics: it scored 51 on MetaCritic and had a rotten Tomatometer score of 54%.
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The 2008 “Mamma Mia!” was a huge hit, grossing $144 million domestically and a whopping $609 million worldwide against a mere $52 million budget. And it earned Golden Globe noms for Best Film Comedy/Musical and Best Film Comedy/Musical Actress (Meryl Streep). But it didn’t win over critics: it scored 51 on MetaCritic and had a rotten Tomatometer score of 54%.
Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions...
- 7/20/2018
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” is “everything you ever want” and “everything you ever need,” critics are saying.
“Much like its predecessor, ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ is escapist fluff of the highest order — joyful, filled with beloved pop songs and incredibly bizarre,” wrote Chicago Tribune’s Katie Walsh. “Go ahead and treat yourself to this raucous seaside summer confection, you deserve it.”
TheWrap’s film critic Nicholas Barber wrote in his review, “as for the writer-director, Ol Parker, he doesn’t come up with any urgent artistic reasons for the existence of its follow-up, ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,’ but he does make it surprisingly watchable, and he manages to overcome some mountainous obstacles.”
Also Read: 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again' Film Review: Lily James Makes Up for Near-Absence of Meryl Streep
Overall, the sequel to 2008’s “Mamma Mia!” holds a score of 83 percent on Rotten Tomatoes,...
“Much like its predecessor, ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ is escapist fluff of the highest order — joyful, filled with beloved pop songs and incredibly bizarre,” wrote Chicago Tribune’s Katie Walsh. “Go ahead and treat yourself to this raucous seaside summer confection, you deserve it.”
TheWrap’s film critic Nicholas Barber wrote in his review, “as for the writer-director, Ol Parker, he doesn’t come up with any urgent artistic reasons for the existence of its follow-up, ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,’ but he does make it surprisingly watchable, and he manages to overcome some mountainous obstacles.”
Also Read: 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again' Film Review: Lily James Makes Up for Near-Absence of Meryl Streep
Overall, the sequel to 2008’s “Mamma Mia!” holds a score of 83 percent on Rotten Tomatoes,...
- 7/18/2018
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
In a July filled with sequels, “Skyscraper” is the only blockbuster coming out this month that isn’t part of a franchise. While critics weren’t impressed by the script by director Rawson Marshall Thurber, Dwayne Johnson earned praise for his performance as Will Sawyer, an amputee forced to save his family from terrorists on a prosthetic leg.
The film opens showing the hostage situation that cost Sawyer his leg while working as an FBI agent. Ten years later, he has married Sarah (Neve Campbell), the medic who treated him and has taken a job in Hong Kong as head of security at the tallest building in the world. But when the building is attacked and Will is framed for it, he must save his family before it’s too late. Reviews for the film have been mixed, with Rotten Tomatoes setting the score at 58 percent.
Also Read: 'Skyscraper...
The film opens showing the hostage situation that cost Sawyer his leg while working as an FBI agent. Ten years later, he has married Sarah (Neve Campbell), the medic who treated him and has taken a job in Hong Kong as head of security at the tallest building in the world. But when the building is attacked and Will is framed for it, he must save his family before it’s too late. Reviews for the film have been mixed, with Rotten Tomatoes setting the score at 58 percent.
Also Read: 'Skyscraper...
- 7/11/2018
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
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