News

Kevin Costner's film career spans over 50 movies, showcasing his versatility in both Western and non-Western genres. Costner's underrated films, like Mr. Brooks and The Company Men, deserve more appreciation and a critical reassessment. Despite some failures, such as The Postman and 3000 Miles to Graceland, Costner's acting talent remains a highlight in each film.

Kevin Costner has had a vast film career with many significant hits and several underrated films that deserve more love. Appearing in over 50 films, Kevin Costner is best known for his Western movies, though he has dabbled in many genres throughout his career. The actor's first role was in the 1981 film Malibu Hot Summer. Costner, who has been acting for over 40 years, has become a significant Hollywood celebrity over the past four decades, starring in both television and film.

Apart from film, Costner also had a country music and sporting career, the latter giving Kevin...

Exclusive: Prime Video is rounding out cast for Obsession, a thriller series produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Atomic Monster, starring Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia. Patch Darragh (Long Bright River), Kira Guloien (The Good Doctor), Celeste Oliva (Julia), Jesse James Keitel (Big Sky) and Matt Murray (Snowpiercer) are set for recurring roles, written and executive produced by Lisa Zwerling and Karyn Usher.

In addition to Cameron and Jogia, they join previously announced Dorian Missick and Karla Souza.

Based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s 2021 international bestseller 56 Days, the story follows Oliver (Jogia) and Ciara (Cameron), who, after meeting randomly in a supermarket, fall for each other fast, and dangerously hard. 56 days later, homicide investigators arrive at Oliver’s apartment to find an unidentified body — brutally murdered and intentionally decomposed. Did he kill her? Did she kill him? Intercutting between an intense single day in the present investigation and the...

Though 2008 was a banner year for film with movies such as Iron Man, The Dark Knight, and Revolutionary Road hitting theaters, it also marked a period of uncertainty thanks to a number of factors most notably the financial crisis that left many without a job or a clear picture of the future, no matter the industry. Hollywood wasn't exempt from this; the financial crisis, along with a writers strike that affected many movies, hit the film industry with the force of a hurricane. Some filmmakers chose to explore the fallout from the financial crisis, the most compelling being The Company Men. It tracks the fallout via three employees played by Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, and Chris Cooper, who work at the same company, and how they choose to handle the news. What makes The Company Men even more impressive is that it's the directorial debut of John Wells.

Paula Weinstein, the respected producer of films including “The Perfect Storm,” “Analyze This,” “The Fabulous Baker Boys” and “Blood Diamond,” and former chief content officer at Tribeca Enterprises, died Monday in New York. She was 78.

Her daughter, Hannah Rosenberg, said in a statement, “The world is a lesser place without my mother. She was a masterful producer and a force of nature for the things she believed in, including the many projects that spanned her illustrious career, the stories she fought to tell and the social justice causes she championed.

“She shattered barriers in Hollywood and always lifted other women along with her. And I know my mother would want me to add this: if you’d like to honor her, please stop what you are doing and turn your attention toward reelecting President Biden and making sure Democrats win down the ballot so we can be sure Democracy survives...

Paula Weinstein, who produced dozens of films including The Perfect Storm and The Fabulous Baker Boys, exec produced Grace and Frankie, won Emmys for Truman and Recount and was a former studio and Tribeca Enterprises executive during a nearly 40-year career, died Monday morning. She was 78.

Her daughter Hannah Rosenberg told Deadline that Weinstein died peacefully at her home in New York. She was well-liked around Hollywood; condolences to her many friends in the industry.

“The world is a lesser place without my mother,” Rosenberg said in a statement to Deadline. “Paula was a lifelong activist and force of nature who was a champion for social justice and underdogs for more than half a century. She shattered barriers in Hollywood and always lifted other women along with her. I know my mother would want me say this: if you’d like to honor her, please stop what you are doing...

Fans are saying farewell to Manifest and Never Have I Ever.

For the week of June 5 to June 11, the series dominated Netflix’s English-language series list. Manifest as Season 4, Part 2 took the top spot with 78.15M hours viewed in the week after it debuted on June 2. The enthusiasm surrounding the final episodes also boosted Season 1 back into the Top 10 with 18.18M hours viewed.

Devi Vishwakumar’s senior year was met with near equal excitement, as Never Have I Ever Season 4jumped to No. 2 on the list following its June 8 debut. In the first few days of release, Season 4 racked up 76.21M hours viewed. It would not be surprising to see Never Have I Ever tally another successful week during the next measurement window, when it will have been available for the entire seven-day span.

Those new releases pushed Fubar to No. 3, though the series still drew 42.28M hours viewed after two weeks at No.

Exclusive: Apple TV+’s Huey P. Newton series The Big Cigar has rounded out its cast, with Jaime Ray Newman (Dopesick), Noah Emmerich (Dark Winds), John Doman (City on a Hill), Chris Brochu (Zero Contact) and newcomer Brenton Allen coming aboard in recurring roles. André Holland leads the cast, with Alessandro Nivola, Tiffany Boone, Pj Byrne, Marc Menchaca, Jordane Christie, Moses Ingram, Olli Haaskivi and Glynn Turman also set to star, as previously announced.

The six-episode limited series, based on the eponymous Playboy magazine article by Argo‘s Joshuah Bearman, tells the extraordinary, hilarious, almost-too-good-to-be-true story of how Black Panther leader Newton (Holland) relied on his best friend, Bert Schneider (Nivola) — the Hollywood producer behind Easy Rider — to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI.

Newman will play Roz Torrance, with Emmerich as Schneider’s brother Stanley, and Doman as his father Abe.

Exclusive: Longtime John Wells Productions executive Ned Haspel has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer. He was previously EVP, Business and Financial Affairs.

Haspel joined Jwp as VP of Business Operations in 1999. Based in Los Angeles and reporting to Wells, he handles all of the company’s business affairs, finance and production, as well as overseeing all budgeting on Jwp’s shows and features. He has also been integral to negotiating all of Wells’ overall deals with Warner Bros. TV.

Early in his tenure, Haspel worked on some of the company’s biggest hits, The West Wing, ER, Third Watch and Southland. Since then, he has been involved with Jwp’s entire slate, including Shameless and Animal Kingdom, for which he has negotiated the initial rights deals, and every other deal that followed. Additionally, he’s worked on several feature films, including Company Men, Love & Mercy, Far from Heaven and August: Osage County.

One is immediately struck by the simplicity of Let Him Go. Following the untimely death of their son, retired sheriff George Blackledge (Kevin Costner) and his wife Margaret (Diane Lane) watch in horror as their daughter-in-law (Kayli Carter) marries into the Weboy Family, their grandson in tow. The Weboys are an unruly sort, holding power over all of those inside and outside of the law around the border of Montana and North Dakota. Big mean fish in a small pond. Unswayed by the violence sure to come their way, George and Margaret set out to rescue their family from certain doom.

Written and directed by Thomas Bezucha and based on the Larry Watson novel of the same name, this is storytelling that recalls westerns from decades long past. And how fitting to cast Costner in the lead role, an aging movie star who uniquely represents Hollywood’s past, present, and future.

Showtime is saying goodbye to a number of titles in May.

The network has announced a list of movies that are set to disappear throughout next month.

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? will be one of the first titles taken off on May 1, followed by Shakespeare in Love on May 5 and American Graffiti on May 12. Trumbo, starring Bryan Cranston, will leave on May 18, with The Company Men set for a May 23 departure. The King's Speech will say goodbye on May 26.

And May 31 is the last call, for now, for films such as ...

Showtime is saying goodbye to a number of titles in May.

The network has announced a list of movies that are set to disappear throughout next month.

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? will be one of the first titles taken off on May 1, followed by Shakespeare in Love on May 5 and American Graffiti on May 12. Trumbo, starring Bryan Cranston, will leave on May 18, with The Company Men set for a May 23 departure. The King's Speech will say goodbye on May 26.

And May 31 is the last call, for now, for films such as ...

As big a star as Ben Affleck is, I’m sure he gets the credit that he deserves. Not only is he an A-list Hollywood talent, he’s an acclaimed and award winning filmmaker. Affleck is part of superhero blockbusters, prestige fare, and everything in between. Throw in his charity work and you have a dynamic star. For a while, he was seen as a bit of a punching bag, but another Oscar and some very solid choices later, that decidedly is no longer the case. He’s rightfully taken his place as one of the industry’s biggest names. I just don’t think he’s always seen in that light, which is a shame. Affleck is a two time Academy Award winner, taking home an Oscar early in his career for co-writing Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon, then winning one a few years ago for producing his latest directional outing Argo.

The Company Men, America's favorite mash-up group and nationally recognized pop vocal group, announced the addition of their newest member today, Terron Brooks. An accomplished singer, songwriter and actor, Brooks brings to the group a wealth of performing experience from Broadway 'Simba' in Disney's Lion King and 'Seaweed' in Hairspray to performing alongside some of the hottest names in music such as Stevie Wonder, Peter Cetera, Josh Groban and Phil Collins.

Chef Boyardee: Wells Fails with Filmmaking Recipe

For his third film outing, director John Wells delves into the catty universe of high-end cuisine with Burnt (formerly titled Adam Jones for its lead character) with the same square generalities formulating the emotionless energy of previous dramas August: Osage County and The Company Men. Bradley Cooper once again plays a smug playboy, one of those confused personalities charged with simultaneous duties as narcissistic tyrant and charismatic romantic lead.

Attempting to extol the high-stakes wheeling and dealing of the fine-dining universe, it’s a film professing to depict the elegance and privilege of a specific scene but couldn’t be any more thanklessly banal. Much like another Bradley Cooper vehicle, the literary minded The Words (2012), the subject matter is sidelined by standard issue formulaic tropes, satisfying every conceivable audience expectation.

A once revered two-star Michelin rated chef, Adam Jones (Cooper), sucks down his...

Burnt

Written by Steven Knight

Directed by John Wells

USA, 2015

Much like its truculent hero, Burnt is difficult to tolerate at times. Nothing about director John Wells’ redemptive tale about a burned-out chef is particularly noteworthy, but the pacing and performances keep things humming along nicely. Sure, it’s packed with fast food self-realizations, but it’s also an appetizing glimpse into the high-pressure world of fine cuisine. Ultimately, Burnt re-mixes the ingredients of a familiar recipe into an unapologetic crowd-pleaser.

While Jon Favreau’s Chef gave the meat-and-potatoes crowd something to drool over in 2014, Burnt will have culinary snobs reaching for their Gold Cards this season. There are plenty of montages featuring beautiful food being prepared in ridiculously-elaborate ways. Mostly, John Wells (The Company Men, August: Osage County) takes us into the kitchen to watch the huge egos behind these tiny morsels.

Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) was a cocky...

Bradley Cooper is not content with two stars. Oh no, no, no, he wants three stars, dang it, because that is what leading men always want: more, more, more! In Burnt, a new film by pedestrian director John Wells (The Company Men, August: Osage County), Cooper portrays Adam Jones, a cook who reached the highest echelon in the restaurant business, namely, two Michelin stars for his Paris fine-dining establishment. Then he flamed out, a victim of his own addictions and excesses, and disappeared to New Orleans, where he kicked his long-held habits (on his own) and began doing self-imposed penance by shucking oysters anonymously in a common diner. As the movie begins, he completes his self-imposed penance, walks out of the restaurant without a word,...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Take another look @ footage from actor Ben Affleck's past films, to give you an idea of his take as 'Batman' in director Zack Snyder's "Man Of Steel" followup "Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice":

Film clips include "Gone Girl", "Runner Runner", "Argo", "The Town", "To The Wonder", "The Company Men", "Hollywoodland", "State Of Play", "He's Just Not That Into You"...

..."Smokin' Aces", "Gigli", "The Third Wheel" and "Daredevil".

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek Ben Affleck...

Has the soufflé already caved on "Burnt"? It can't be the best sign of confidence in the movie when the usually promo happy Harvey Weinstein declines to show the star-studded drama to a festival audience. There is a sense that the picture is something of an afterthought on The Weinstein Company slate this fall behind "Carol," "The Hateful Eight," and "Macbeth." But yes, the cooking world drama is coming and a new international trailer has arrived. Bradley Cooper leads the movie as celebrated chef Adam Jones, a man passionate about food, but also riddled with no shortage of demons. And the movie written by Stephen Knight ("Locke," "Eastern Promises") and directed by John Wells ("The Company Men," "August: Osage County") will tell the story of the rock star chef who is driven to the edge chasing his third Michelin star. Read More: Watch: Bradley Cooper Is A Bad Boy Chef in The First Trailer for.

Never underestimate a man with everything to lose. On behalf of The Weinstein Company, check out the official trailer for&#160Burnt, which opens in theaters nationwide this fall! John Wells takes the helm on this comedic drama, a man best known for last year's August: Osage County and the cult hit The Company Men. Bradley Cooper leads this story of a burnt out chef looking for redemption, and is followed by an amazing ensemble that includes Sienna Miller, Jamie Dornan, Daniel Br&#252hl, Uma Thurman and Emma Thompson.

Chef Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) had it all, and lost it. A two-star Michelin rockstar with the bad habits to match, the former enfant terrible of the Paris restaurant scene did everything different every time out, and only ever cared about the thrill of creating explosions of taste. To land his own kitchen and that third elusive Michelin star though, he'll need...

Take another look @ footage from actor Ben Affleck's past films, to see if he has the chops to play 'Batman' in director Zack Snyder's "Man Of Steel" sequel, "Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice":

Film clips include "Gone Girl", "Runner Runner", "Argo", "The Town", "To The Wonder", "The Company Men", "Hollywoodland", "State Of Play", "He's Just Not That Into You", "Smokin' Aces", "Gigli", "The Third Wheel" and "Daredevil".

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek Ben Affleck...

Take another look @ footage from actor Ben Affleck's past films, plus a trailer from his latest film "Gone Girl", to give you an idea of his ability to play 'Batman' in director Zack Snyder's "Man Of Steel" sequel, "Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice":

Film clips also include "Runner Runner", "Argo", "The Town", "To The Wonder", "The Company Men", "Hollywoodland", "State Of Play", "He's Just Not That Into You", "Smokin' Aces", "Gigli", "The Third Wheel" and "Daredevil".

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek Ben Affleck...

Take another look @ footage from actor Ben Affleck's past films, plus a trailer from his latest film "Gone Girl", to give you an idea of his ability to play 'Batman' in director Zack Snyder's "Man Of Steel" sequel, "Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice":

Film clips also include "Runner Runner", "Argo", "The Town", "To The Wonder", "The Company Men", "Hollywoodland", "State Of Play", "He's Just Not That Into You", "Smokin' Aces", "Gigli", "The Third Wheel" and "Daredevil".

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek Ben Affleck...

When Netflix adds, it must also delete.

While Netflix is adding a ton of movies and TV shows to its streaming library in January 2015, periodically, the streaming service has to do a little housecleaning. A number of titles are due to expire at the end of the year, which means the its the end for some '80s and '90s favorites ("Batman," Beverly Hills Cop," "Happy Gilmore," "Spaceballs"), a handful of Oscar winners ("Gladiator," "Braveheart," "Kramer vs. Kramer"), and a few modern classics ("The Usual Suspects," "Love Actually," "The Breakfast Club").

We've said it before and we'll say it again: Watch 'em while you can!

Netflix Titles Expiring on January 1, 2015

"12 Angry Men" (1957)

"A Mighty Heart" (2007)

"A River Runs Through It" (1992)

"Backdraft" (1991)

"Bad Boys" (1995)

"Batman" (1989)

"Beethoven" (1992)

"Beethoven's 2nd" (1993)

"Beverly Hills Cop" (1984)

"Big Trouble in Little China" (1986)

"Boyz n the Hood" (1991)

"Braveheart" (1995)

"Can't Buy Me Love" (1987)

"Carrie" (1976)

"D3: The Mighty Ducks...

Rosemarie DeWitt is one of the most charming and underrated actresses working today. She has given terrific performances in films like Promised Land, The Company Men and the recent Men, Women And Children where she continues to prove what a talent she is. In Kill The Messenger, DeWitt beautifully portrays the real life Sue Webb – wife to reporter Gary Webb – who watched her family crumble when her husband revealed some seriously damaging secrets about the CIA. It is...

Having received a warm reception at Cannes 2014 in May, The Homesman will be hitting theaters stateside in a prime awards season spot - November 14th.

In his Variety’s review, critic Peter Debruge wrote, the film is a “sturdy cross-country Western.”

The Homesman stars Academy Award-winners Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank, with a supporting cast featuring Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Sonja Richter, Tim Blake Nelson, Academy Award-nominees John Lithgow and Hailee Steinfeld, James Spader and Academy Award-winner Meryl Streep.

When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy (Hilary Swank). Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George Briggs (Tommy Lee Jones), to join her.

The unlikely pair and the three women (Grace Gummer,...

Sneak Peek footage from Ben Affleck's past films, plus a trailer from his latest film "Gone Girl", to give you an idea of his ability to play 'Batman' in director Zack Snyder's "Man Of Steel" sequel, "Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice":

Film clips include "Runner Runner", "Argo", "The Town", "To The Wonder", "The Company Men", "Hollywoodland", "State Of Play", "He's Just Not That Into You", "Smokin' Aces", "Gigli", "The Third Wheel" and "Daredevil".

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek Ben Affleck...

All right, all right, all right. We get it: Matthew McConaughey has had a year that most actors could only dream of. He wins the Best Actor Oscar in a competitive category for his stunning turn in Dallas Buyers Club. He is predicted to be a major contender in the Best Actor – Drama category at next month’s Emmys, for his tour de force performance in HBO’s True Detective. And he keeps attracting good work, such as the Gus Van Sant drama Sea of Trees. Now, the Oscar-winning actor is circling a hot Black List screenplay, The Company Man, which has the potential to continue his McConaissance.

The Company Man (not to be confused with The Company Men, a 2010 drama with Ben Affleck and Kevin Costner) is based on a true story about CIA agent Edwin Wilson, who had a meteoric rise in the agency until some of his...

When most film fanatics think of their favorite films' technical aspects, they think visually: compositions, montage, special effects, and so on. But sound is just as integral to the makeup of a film's environment as images, and the Tribeca Film Festival's recent panel on sound design and music helped illustrate that. Moderated by Glenn Kiser, the director of the Dolby Institute, "Dolby Institute: The Art of Sound Design & Music" took a look at some of the more notable moments in the careers of sound technician Skip Lievsay, a frequent Coen Brothers collaborator who recently won an Oscar for his work on Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity," and music supervisor Susan Jacobs, known for her work with David O. Russell and Julian Schnabel. Here are a few highlights from the panel. Lievsay on the turning point in "Inside Llewyn Davis". Lievsay’s favorite moment in his latest collaboration with the Coen Brothers...

“The business of the business is so crazy and complicated that we forget why we’re doing what we’re doing,” said veteran producer and Hollywood refugee Paula Weinstein at a kickoff lunch for the Tribeca Film Festival Tuesday. “Now, I’m reminded everyday why we’re doing what we’re doing.” The veteran producer of “Analyze This,” “The Perfect Storm,” and “The Company Men" is enjoying in her third month as a VP at Tribeca Enterprises. Youth has a lot to do with it, Weinstein said. After all, the Tribeca Film Festival is only 13, so there were matzohs and macaroons on hand and a glancing nod at Passover, as well as acknowledgement by Tribeca founder Jane Rosenthal that the festival planned mostly to do what it had done before -- just better. Weinstein, who recently relocated from La to Manhattan, couldn’t be happier about it. She said the...

Here we go with another installment of my Spotlight on the Stars series. Each week, I’ll look at an actor/actress/filmmaker that I’d like to celebrate in some kind of a way. It could be due to something of theirs coming out that weekend (like last week and this week, for example) or just because I feel they deserve to have a moment in the sun, but each time it’ll be a bit of positivity about someone who I’d like to pay tribute to. For this week’s piece (number three overall so far), I wanted to take a look at our first male actor…Kevin Costner. Some see him as a bit of a has been, but I disagree and not only still see a movie star, but an underrated actor as well. Costner is a throwback to an older generation of actor. Very...

Since the hubbub of Oscar season has finally died away and we can look past the strategy of campaigns, August: Osage County arrives on Blu-ray for reexamination. Perhaps distance and time will finally melt those rosy-tinted glasses so many seem to have donned for the experience of the film, as multiple viewings only enhance its creaky strokes of forced melodrama. As with her nomination for 1999’s Music of the Heart, her unnecessary accolades for this appear to be overwhelmingly kiss ass. It’s a mode we’ve seen Ms. Streep in before, that of the highly nuanced harpy with complicated and convoluted depth; only it all feels so incredibly constrained and affected that it’s difficult to believe a single minute of it.

When something sounds too good to be true, it often is, and while John Wells certainly wasn’t the most inspired choice to helm the adaptation of...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: April 8, 2014

Price: DVD $29.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo $39.99

Studio: The Weinstein Company/Anchor Bay Entertainment

August: Osage County has an all-star cast, headlined by Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) and Julia Roberts (Eat Pray Love), no less.

Based on the play by Tracy Letts, who also wrote the screenplay, the drama movie tells the story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, including Roberts, Julianne Nicholson (TV’s Boardwalk Empire) and Juliette Lewis (Conviction). Their lives have diverged, but a family crisis brings them back together to the house where they grew up and to the woman (Streep) who raised them.

August: Osage County is the second feature film directed by John Wells (The Company Men), who’s better known as the executive producer and showrunner of TV series ER, Shameless and Southland.

The R-rated movie’s A-list cast also boasts Chris Cooper (American Beauty), Ewan McGregor...

Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 27 Feb 2014 - 05:54

Our series of lists devoted to underappreciated films brings us to the year 2010, and another 25 overlooked gems...

By 2010, Hollywood’s obsession with 3D movies was in full swing. James Cameron’s Avatar may have given audiences a taste of what the cutting edge of stereoscope could look like, but it has to be said that the movies ushered into cinemas in its wake were a decidedly mixed bunch. Toy Story 3's 3D was extraordinarily effective, yet Clash Of The Titans looked like a blurry mess. How To Train Your Dragon came to life in its flying sequences, but the less said about the horribly murky Last Airbender, the better.

Unless we’re mistaken, none of the movies on this list were shot or released in 3D, and few of them did particularly stellar business. A few got a certain amount of critical acclaim,...

Love him or hate him, Ben Affleck is going to be Batman in Zack Snyder's Batman Vs. Superman. It seems that over time people have been warming up to the idea of Affleck playing Batman, but there are still some fans out there that aren't sold on it. I predict that they will be as soon as they see him in the awesome suit that we've been hearing about. In a recent interview with Playboy, the actor talks about understanding the backlash of the fans, as well as the parts of Snyder’s vision that made him want to take the role.

"I understand I'm at a disadvantage with the internet. If I thought the result would be another Daredevil, I'd be out there picketing myself. [laughs] Why would I make the movie if I didn't think it was going to be good and that I could be good in it?...

While the vitriol has subsided considerably, there was a massive outpouring of negativity from fanboys around the world when Ben Affleck was cast as Batman in Batman Vs. Superman. The actor, of course, is no stranger to the superhero genre, portraying blind vigilante Matt Murdock in Marvel's 2003 adventure Daredevil. During a recent interview with Playboy, the actor revealed that Daredevil was the only movie he ever regretted, which may have been part of the motivation in taking on the Batman role. The actor also spoke about the immense negative reactions from the fans and how he handled that, how Zack Snyder's vision convinced him to take the role, how this new version of Batman doesn't "compete" with Christian Bale's version, and how he has grown as an actor and an artist over the past 10 years.

The actor was told that George Clooney keeps a photo of himself as...

John Wells is no stranger to working with ensembles. An award-winning producer on a number of popular American TV shows – including E.R., The West Wing and Shameless – he made the jump to director with The Company Men (2010), a patient corporate drama headlined by Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper.

For his sophomore directorial effort, Wells has taken on the ambitious task of adapting Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play August: Osage County to the big screen. The film is chock full of A-List talent and impressive performances, and ahead of its UK release this week we got a chance to speak to him about working with so many talented actors, in addition to some of the challenges he faced.

The post The HeyUGuys Interview: Director John Wells Discusses August: Osage County appeared first on HeyUGuys.

John Wells will collect the American Society Of Cinematographers’ Board Of Governors award in Los Angeles on February 1.

Wells most recently directed August: Osage County, which has earned acting Oscar nominations for Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, and his feature writer-director credits include The Company Men.

For TV he has served as executive producer on ER, The West Wing, Southland, Mildred Pierce and Shameless, among others.

“John Wells is an extraordinary talent whose long career has exposed the world to superlative cinematography across a wide array of features and television,” said Asc president Richard Crudo.

Writer-director-producer John Wells will receive the American Society of Cinematographers Board of Governors Award at the 28th annual Asc Outstanding Achievement Awards, Feb. 1 at the Hollywood & Highland Ray Dolby Ballroom. The Award is presented to “an individual who has made extraordinary achievements in advancing the art and craft of filmmaking." In television, he was a creative force behind series like the Emmy-winning ER and The West Wing. His executive producer credits include Southland, Mildred Pierce, China Beach and current project Shameless. In features, he directed August: Osage County and wrote and directed The Company Men.

read more...

It’s been some time since the heyday of Kevin Costner’s prime. I’m talking about those sweet years between 1987 (The Untouchables) and 1994 (Wyatt Earp), when he was a regular box office draw, an award-winning director, and the president of sports movies. It’s not that he disappeared exactly. In fact, Costner’s been remarkably consistent in appearing in almost a movie a year. It’s more that the quality and profile of those films has diminished, and him a bit too in the process. There have been exceptions of course – Thirteen Days, Open Range, The Upside of Anger, TV’s Hatfields & McCoys. But a look at his projects between 2006 and 2013 – The Guardian, Mr. Brooks, Swing Vote, The New Daughter, The Company Men &ndash...

Read More...

August: Osage County is getting a lot of attention as award season heats up, and while the cynics may question the acclaim directed at yet another star-studded drama, the extended trailer below gives some insight into the complex roles that help lead to that attention.

The film ultimately feels a little too much like a play, for obvious reasons, but there’s no denying the power of all these actors/actresses thrown in front of the screen at once. Surprisingly, Julianne Nicholson (recently of Boardwalk Empire and Masters of Sex) manages to run away with every scene she’s in. Considering who she’s surrounded by, that’s pretty impressive.

Despite the award season chatter, the film is getting mixed reviews from critics, and that’s largely to be expected considering the strangely, dark spin on a family dysfunction yarn. With something to irritate and/or alienate just about everyone,...

Exclusive: A week before Sundance, Tom Ortenberg’s Open Road Films is strengthening its film acquisition team by hiring Peter Lawson and giving him the newly created title of executive vice president of Productions and Acquisitions. Lawson is a top-flight acquisitions exec who served stints most recently at The Weinstein Company and before that Miramax. He left to get a taste of production experience in big-sized studio films by joining Basil Iwanyk’s Thunder Road as production president. After two years, I’m hearing that he has shaken up his career Gps and is taking the exit from Thunder Road onto Open Road. Before he left TWC, Lawson worked on such films as the John Hillcoat-directed Lawless, The Iron Lady, The Company Men, Blue Valentine, The Intouchables and the docus Undefeated, Bully and The Tillman Story. At Miramax, his acquisition deals included The Diving Bell And The Butterfly. Before that at First Look Pictures,...

Directed by John Wells (The Company Men), the upcoming film features an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Abigail Breslin, Sam Shepard, and Chris Cooper. August: Osage County is the much-anticipated movie version of an award-winning play with an all-star cast, including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard and Misty Upham. This calls for a high-class soundtrack, a call which has been met by combining superb songs – both fine new releases and classics by famous performers – with excellent compositions by Gustavo Santaolalla, Adam Taylor and Mateo Messina. August: Osage County tells the dark,...

Yes, August: Osage County is essentially two hours and ten minutes of family conflict. And it's not the kind where a dispute ends because one party charges out of a room in anger, slams a door and shortly thereafter are consoled and things are suddenly alright. No, when it comes to the Weston family, to be yelled at only means you must yell louder in response and, for the most part, I loved almost every minute of it with only a couple of narrative hang-ups that kept it from being one of the year's best. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tracy Letts (Killer Joe, Bug), the playwright has adapted his own work for the screen and director John Wells (The Company Men) has assembled an impressive cast to bring every acidic word to life. The vein in Julia Roberts' forehead has never pulsed so strong as vile...

It's undeniable that, at least on paper, "August: Osage County" looks like a can't-miss proposition. Pairing Tracey Letts' Pulitizer Prize and Tony Award-winning play with an outstanding ensemble cast ranging from awards-nominated veterans to rising young stars—Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard, Misty Upham—it's hard to fathom the material not working. And while the choice of helmer John Wells ("The Company Men") might not seem like the most inspired decision, all he theoretically has to do is put the camera on a tripod and let the actors do their thing. And he does. And yet, 'Osage County' still turns out be an exhausting, screechy drama, in which a lot of very good actors work very hard, and yet produce so little as a result. Following the death of family patriarch and celebrated poet Beverly Weston (Shepard,...

Suffer the Children: Wells’ Adaptation Enjoyable Camp, Hinges on Grandiose Performances

When something sounds too good to be true, it often is, and while John Wells certainly wasn’t the most inspired choice to helm the adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize Winning play August: Osage County, its delirious cast lineup trumps all else. The film belongs to a bygone tradition of cinema adapted from famous stage plays, such as when Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee and Paul Zindel were all names on the tips of everyone’s tongues. While Letts has the potential to be as perversely humorous as any of them, this adaptation only shines in a handful of scenes, gummed up with disingenuous mortar on the way to each to one. Several cast members are in fine form, but most of them have the potential to distract rather than homogenize, and thus, Wells seems to have let...

The apex of Kevin Costner’s long, iconic career came in the form of his monumentally successful 1990 Western epic Dances With Wolves, which won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Costner. For many, the actor-director’s downturn started with 1995′s Waterworld followed by apocalyptic-mailman debacle The Postman.

The truth, of course, is that Kevin Costner never really stopped working, but never quite re-captured his post-Dances With Wolves level of stardom. The past half-decade or so has seen a period of rehabilitation for the actor’s career, arguably beginning with his surprisingly arresting turn as a serial killer in Mr. Brooks, along with his role as a mentor figure for Ben Affleck’s bitter, laid-off corporate drone in The Company Men. Then came his killer role in The History Channel’s surprise hit mini-series Hatfields & ...

Click to continue reading ‘Draft Day’ Trailer & Poster: Kevin Costner Versus the...

It took nearly 20 years before screenwriter John Wells stepped out from behind the producer's role that had garnered huge success and fame on television with shows like NBC's long-running hit medical drama "E.R.", Aaron Sorkin's "The West Wing," "Third Watch" and more recently, "Shameless " and "Southland." He was nominated for an unprecedented 21 Emmy nominations, for which he won six. Wells directed a few episodes of "E.R." and even won a DGA award, but when he showed up at the Sundance Film Festival with his timely ensemble drama The Company Men , starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper, people realized that Wells was more than just a writer/producer who could evoke equally strong emotions on the movie...

Chicago – Highly anticipated! In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 40 pairs of advance-screening passes up for grabs to the darkly searing “Tracy Letts” comedy “August: Osage County” starring Meryl Streep!

Based on Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play of the same name, “August: Osage County” has already been nominated by the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, BAFTA and just two days ago by the Chicago Film Critics Association for best actress (Meryl Streep) and best adapted screenplay (Tracy Letts). The film is a lock for recognition at the upcoming Oscars, too.

The comedy, which is rated “R” and opens on Dec. 25, 2013, also features an all-star cast including Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor, Juliette Lewis, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dermot Mulroney, Sam Shepard, Margo Martindale and Julianne Nicholson from director John Wells (“The Company Men”) and writer Tracy Letts.

To win your...

August: Osage County tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them.

Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name made its Broadway debut in December 2007 after premiering at Chicago’s legendary Steppenwolf Theatre earlier that year.

It continued with a successful international run and was the winner of five Tony Awards in 2008, including Best Play.

August: Osage County is directed by John Wells (The Company Men) and features an all-star cast, including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard and Misty Upham.

Want to win tickets to the advanced screening of August: Osage County on Wednesday, December 18 at 7:00Pm in St.

Directed by John Wells (The Company Men), the upcoming film features an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Abigail Breslin, Sam Shepard, and Chris Cooper. August: Osage County tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name made its Broadway debut in December 2007 after premiering at Chicago’s legendary Steppenwolf Theatre earlier that year. It continued with a successful international run and was the winner of five Tony Awards in 2008, including Best Play. August: Osage...