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Lionsgate Delays Release of Fatale & Voyagers to 2021

Lionsgate delays release of Fatale & Voyagers to 2021

As the global pandemic continues to keep theaters closed, Lionsgate is re-evaluating the release dates of two of its upcoming films as the Colin Farrell-led sci-fi drama Voyagers and Hilary Swank-starring thriller Fatale have both been delayed from their October and November 2020 releases to undated 2021 slots.

Fatale centers on a married man (Ealy) who finds himself living a nightmare as he is relentlessly compromised, out-witted and morally manipulated by a mysterious woman (Swank) with whom he had a wild one nightstand. How far will he go to save his marriage from his mistake?

Written and produced by David Loughery (The Intruder, Lakeview Terrace, Obsessed), the film is produced by Taylor’s Hidden Empire Film Group partner Roxanne Taylor and is executive produced by partner Robert F. Smith. Two-time Oscar nominee Dante Spinotti (L.A. Confidential, Heat) served as director of photography, marking his third collaboration with Taylor on Fatale.

Set in the near future, Voyagers chronicles the odyssey of 30 young men and women who are sent deep into space on a multi-generational mission in search of a new home. The mission descends into madness, as the crew reverts to its most primal state, not knowing if the real threat they face is what’s outside the ship or who they’re becoming inside it.

Starring Tye Sheridan (Ready Player One, X-Men: Apocalypse), Lily-Rose Depp (The Dancer, The King), Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch), Viveik Kalra (Blinded By The Light, Next of Kin, Beecham House), Quintessa Swindell (Euphoria), Isaac Hempstead Wright (Game of Thrones), Archie Madekwe (Les Misérables, Teen Spirit, Midsommar), Archie Renaux (Morbius), Chanté Adams (Roxanne Roxanne), and Colin Farrell (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Minority Report, Total Recall), the film is being described as Lord of the Flies for a new generation.

Production on the film began this week in Romania. Thunder Road’s Brendon Boyea is producing alongside Iwanyk and Burger, with Stuart Ford and AGC’s Head of Film Greg Shapiro onboard as executive producers.

AGC is fully financing the picture in partnership with AGC investors Fibonacci Films, Ingenious Media, and Aperture Media. Fibonacci’s Greg Clark and Victoria Hill also serve as executive producers. The film was a major seller at Berlin’s European Film Market earlier this year with amongst others Universal International acquiring a number of major territories.

The new dates for Fatale and Voyagers are set to be announced at a later date, though the studio has confirmed it is eyeing a first quarter 2021 release for the former film.

The post Lionsgate Delays Release of Fatale & Voyagers to 2021 appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Russo Bros-Produced Actioner Mosul Acquired by Netflix

Russo Bros-produced actioner Mosul acquired by Netflix

After originally being set at 101 Studios last year, the Russo Brothers (Extraction, Avengers: Endgame)-produced action-thriller Mosul has been acquired by Netflix with plans to distribute the film worldwide in November, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film, written and directed by Matthew Michael Carnahan (World War Z, 21 Bridges) in his feature directorial debut and inspired by Luke Mogelson’s 2017 New Yorker article “The Desperate Battle to Destroy Isis,” the film is based on the true story of one group of Iraqi men fought back against ISIS when the terrorist group took their titular home city and families. The film will focus on the Nineveh SWAT team, a renegade police unit who engaged in guerrilla warfare against the terrorist group in a desperate struggle to save the northern Iraq city, which was also the site to a number of major battles in the mid-2010s.

The cast for the film includes Suhail Dabbach (The Hurt Locker), Adam Bessa (Extraction) and Is’Haq Elias. The Avengers directing duo produced the film with Mike Larocca via their AGBO production banner alongside The New Yorker Studios (The Old Man and the Gun, Only the Brave).

Mosul marks the latest collaboration between the Russo Brothers and a streaming platform after they previously partnered with Netflix for the Chris Hemsworth-starring Extraction, which became the platform’s most-watched original film in their history, and the Tom Holland-starring crime drama Cherry, which was recently acquired by Apple TV+ for an early 2021 release

Executive producers on the film include Todd Mkurath, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely for AGBO alongside Mohamed Al-Daradii (Son of Babylon), Patrick Newall (Anon), Wang Zhongjun, Wang Zhonglei and Hu Junyi for Huayi.

Mosul, which made its world premiere at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, is set to debut on Netflix in November 2020.

The post Russo Bros-Produced Actioner Mosul Acquired by Netflix appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Joby Harold Developing Space Mountain Film at Disney

Joby Harold developing Space Mountain film at Disney

As the studio awaits to bring Jungle Cruise to audiences next summer following its pandemic-related delay, Disney is ready to expand its roster of film adaptations of theme park attractions with a Space Mountain film, which is set to be developed by Joby Harold (Army of the Dead), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Plot details are being kept close to the chest for the film, but it is being described as a “family adventure,” keeping very much in line with other adaptations of Disney attractions including the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and the forthcoming Dwayne Johnson (Black Adam) and Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place Part II)-starring feature.

In addition to penning the script for the film, Harold will produce the project with his producing partner and wife Tory Turnell via their Safehouse Pictures banner alongside Dan Lin and Jonathan Elrich’s Rideback, who helped produce the box office smash live-action remake of Aladdin.

Space Mountain first opened in Florida Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland park in 1975 and would make its way to the California’s Tomorrowland park in 1977, Tokyo’s Tomorrowland in 1983, Paris’ first in 1995 as De la Terre à la Lune before being rebranded as Hyperspace Mountain in 2017 and Hong Kong’s park first in 2005 as Space Mountain before the same renaming as Paris in 2016. The attraction has no story or characters akin to Pirates or The Haunted Mansion, but rather takes fans on a fast indoor ride through the stars, meaning Harold will need to craft a new story inspired by the ride.

In addition to creating the story for Zack Snyder’s zombie pic at Netflix, Harold is currently attached to write and executive produce Disney+’s upcoming Star Wars limited series centered on Obi-Wan Kenobi, which will see the return of Ewan McGregor to the role.

(Photo Credits: Stephane Cardinale/Sygma via Getty Images, Rachel Luna/WireImage)

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CS Interview: Mamoudou Athie on Welcome to the Blumhouse’s Black Box

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CS Interview: Mamoudou Athie on Welcome to the Blumhouse’s Black Box

ComingSoon.net got the opportunity to chat with star Mamoudou Athie (Uncorked, Sorry for Your Loss) to discuss his role in one of the four films in Amazon Prime Video’s Welcome to the Blumhouse collection, Black Box, which is now available on the streaming platform! Click here to watch the sci-fi thriller!

When reflecting back on the reason for why he wanted to be a part of the project, the Get Down alum outright states that it was the opportunity to work with writer/director Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. in his feature debut, looking back on his first conversation with the filmmaker in which he came away thinking, “Oh yeah, I want to work with this guy.”

“I just felt a connection with him in terms of what he’s after and also the kind of person he is, so it was a no-brainer,” Athie expressed. “Not to mention the character and the script itself, I had never done anything like it. It was an entirely present process, Emmanuel was so prepared and so generous, much like Prentice [Penny, Uncorked writer/director]. I would say it’s a very different situation, though it was Prentice’s first feature he does showrun Insecure, he’s amazing at it, whereas I believe Emmanuel had only shot some shorts prior. It didn’t even feel like a leap of faith, though, when I spoke with him it was one of those things where it was like, ‘Oh yeah, we understand each other and we’re after the same thing, so whatever happens we’re aligned in our goals.’”

This collaborative relationship with Osei-Kuffour Jr. carried over into his work developing the character of Nolan for the screen, with Athie noting that the script was “really well-written” and included a number of “cues” and “hints” to help appropriately get him into character from scene to scene.

“You have ideas based on what people say about your character and what you say about yourself as the character and what you do,” Athie explained. “That informs exactly who I’m playing at the end of the day, then we get into more specifics with the imagination that is born of those facts and also having conversations with the director, ‘What is appropriate?’ Because there are some things that I did that just aren’t in the movie, I’ll tell you that much right now [laughs]. When you’re aligned it’s pretty easy going.”

To bring his character to life and explore the depths of terror he experiences as he fights to recover his memories to properly be with his daughter also proved to be one of the most creatively challenging for the 32-year-old star as he navigated the mindset of the role.

“Sorting out how this person goes — I’m trying to avoid spoilers [chuckles] — how this person goes through the world did require a certain amount of really careful consideration throughout,” Athie recalled. “When you have a good director who’s helping you stay within the parameters that you have set for yourself, it becomes an easier task, it was one of those things that happened organically through conversation after conversation until we were like, ‘Okay, now we get it.’”

One of the brightest elements of the project for the star came in the form of working with the young Amanda Christine, who portrays his daughter Ava in the film, who he calls “the star” and describes her as “fantastic” and found himself amazed at her work on the set.

“I could not believe, even like on the first day of filming, that she was so available to the degree that she was and just like skillful beyond her years, she’s incredible with that one,” Athie brightly described. “I just remembered there was this one scene where I had to yell at her, it wasn’t my favorite to scene to get to yell at Amanda, but like I was impressed at what she was able to bring out of me, I was like, ‘Whoa.’ I thought that had to be self-generated because she’s like such an incredible actor, we had a phrase we used in the school I went to that when you’re being a good scene partner you’re throwing the ball to your scene partner, and she threw it to me in such a way that you just can’t help but to respond in other kinds of ways, like, ‘Wow, she’s a fantastic young actor.’”

Having come from his work with Netflix on the Baz Luhrmann co-created musical drama and Facebook Watch for the Elizabeth Olsen-starring drama, Athie didn’t really notice much difference working with Amazon for the film, noting it was more a “Blumhouse production” than “strictly an Amazon set.”

“My head was kind of in the sand, so I didn’t really pay attention to that kind of thing, I was just worried about what I had to do, which was shoot this movie and in 19 days, so there was really no time for musings about anything else but what we were doing,” Athie laughed. “I’m glad people are going to have an opportunity to watch it, I’m really excited for the release, I’m excited for Emmanuel in particular, the more people that see it the better, I hope it does great!”

Written and directed by Osei-Kuffour Jr. in his feature debut, the film follows single father Nolan who is recovering from a car accident that took his wife as well as his memory and chooses to undergo an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.

The films showcase exciting up-and-coming talent, alongside established actors in exceptional and shocking new roles. Welcome to the Blumhouse will launch in October, timed for the Halloween season, on Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Amazon Prime Video will launch the initial slate of four films as double features starting with The Lie directed by acclaimed writer/director Veena Sud (The Killing, 7 Seconds) and Black Box directed by up-and-coming writer/director Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. (Born with It), both premiering on October 6. Launching the following week on October 13 is Evil Eye, from talented young directors Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani (A Day’s Work, Jinn) and executive produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico, White Tiger), and Nocturne written and directed by filmmaker Zu Quirke (Zugzwang, Ghosting) making her feature film debut. The latter four films will launch in 2021.

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CS Video: The War With Grandpa Interviews With Seymour, Marin & Riggle

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CS Video: The War With Grandpa interviews with Seymour, Marin & Riggle

ComingSoon.net got the opportunity to chat with Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jane Seymour (Wedding Crashers), Cheech Marin (The Book of Life) and Rob Riggle (Night School) to discuss The War With Grandpa, which is now available in select theaters! Our interviews can be viewed in the player below! Click here to pre-order your digital copy of the family comedy!

Based on the award-winning book by Robert Kimmel Smith, The War with Grandpa follows sixth-grader Peter (Fegley), who is pretty much your average kid — he likes gaming, hanging with his friends and his beloved pair of Air Jordans. But when his recently widowed grandfather Ed (Robert De Niro) moves in with Peter’s family, the boy is forced to give up his most prized possession of all, his bedroom. Unwilling to let such an injustice stand, Peter devises a series of increasingly elaborate pranks to drive out the interloper, but Grandpa Ed won’t go without a fight. Soon, the friendly combatants are engaged in an all-out war with side-splitting consequences.

Pick up your copy of the book here!

The comedy features an all-star supporting cast, including Christopher Walken, Uma Thurman, Rob Riggle, Cheech Marin, Laura Marano, and Jane Seymour.

The War with Grandpa is directed by Tim Hill from a screenplay by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. The film will be released in theaters on October 9, 2020.

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CS Recommends: Michael Mann’s The Keep, 30 Days of Night & More!

CS Recommends: Michael Mann's The Keep, 30 Days of Night & More!

CS Recommends: Michael Mann’s The Keep, 30 Days of Night & More!

Stuck inside? Don’t know what to watch/read/play/listen to? ComingSoon.net has got you covered. In this week’s CS Recommends our staff kicks off gives you solid tips on the best media to consume during your downtime, including The Keep and more! Check out our picks below!

MAX EVRY’S RECOMMEND: The Keep

Click here to purchase The Keep by F. Paul Wilson!

Click here to purchase The Keep audiobook!

Click here to purchase 1983’s The Keep movie directed by Michael Mann!

My favorite film by Michael Mann is his least favorite, the one he has used his considerable pull in Hollywood to try to keep (pun intended) off of Blu-ray and streaming services: 1983’s The Keep. This gothic World War II horror tale concerns Nazis who occupy a Romanian castle that was already occupied by a centuries-old spectral being named Molasar. German soldiers start getting offed, and a brutal SS officer (Gabriel Byrne) is brought in to investigate. The sprawling story weaves in a Jewish scholar (Ian McKellan), a sympathetic non-Nazi German Army Captain (Jürgen Prochnow), and a supernatural warrior called Glaeken (Scott Glenn). To say this movie is bats**t insane is a towering understatement. It’s also famously a mess due to studio interference that rendered some dialogue unintelligible, and scenes edited to the point of incoherence (it was cut from 210 minutes to 96 minutes without Mann’s input). The special effects man also died during production, leaving Mann to scrap many of the big sequences he had planned. It’s a shame, because what remains is an atmospheric wonder, with powerful imagery and a truly memorable golem-like villain, not to mention an exquisite Tangerine Dream score.

I love the film so much I recently took the time to read F. Paul Wilson’s original novel, which is actually only the first part in a multi-book saga called “The Adversary Cycle.” The labyrinthine plot involves false vampirism and the looming threat of concentration camps sweeping through Europe. It deftly combines real-life historical horrors with mythic fantasy elements that lead to nothing less than a confrontation between the forces of light and darkness in the purest sense. It’s also interesting that the character Scott Glenn plays in the film goes by the name “Glen” in the book!

Amazon currently has a low-quality version of The Keep available for purchase, but be warned that the picture and sound quality are dreadful. Still, it’s enough to give you a sense of the vibe Mann was trying to create, and is as close as we’ll get to being able to experience the film until Mann and Paramount relent in releasing a restored version of the already-compromised final product. Having seen a print of the film in a rep theater, I can say it was meant to be experienced in all its horrific splendor! Give the film a go if you’ve never seen it and want to experience a truly wild visionary horror epic, and then if you want to make sense of the plot check out the novel!

KYLIE HEMMERT’S RECOMMEND: 30 Days of Night

Click here to purchase the 30 Days of Night movie!

Click here to purchase the 30 Days of Night Omnibus paperback!

David Slade’s 30 Days of Night debuted in 2007 and still, in my humble opinion, holds up as one of the best vampire horror thrillers to date. Produced by Sam Raimi, the movie is based on the comic book miniseries by Steve Niles, who co-wrote the screenplay, and Ben Templesmith and takes place in a small Alaskan town that enters a thirty-day-long polar night and is quickly overrun by a group of brutal and relentless vampires who take advantage of the prolonged darkness to openly kill and feed upon the townspeople. The adaptation is led by Josh Hartnett alongside Melissa George, Danny Huston, and Ben Foster, and is a genuinely terrifying, smart, and bloody tale about survival, sacrifice, and a seemingly unending nightmare.

GRANT HERMANNS’ RECOMMEND: The Wolf of Snow Hollow

Click here to purchase!

The werewolf genre generally sees audiences treated to a generic hunt for the titular beast or a focus on the person suffering from the lycanthropic affliction, but Jim Cummings’s The Wolf of Snow Hollow has offered one of the freshest and most entertaining takes on the genre thus far. Acting as a whodunnit in a small snowy town that rarely sees homicides occur, the film presents a fairly intriguing mystery and guessing game as to who’s committing the murders and whether it’s an actual supernatural monster or a disturbed human while also focusing on the offbeat and hilarious officers of the Sheriff Department, especially Cummings’ anger-prone recovering alcoholic deputy. It’s beautifully shot, thrillingly crafted, hilariously written, and brilliantly performed by its whole cast, namely Cummings, Rikki Lindhome, and Robert Forster in his final feature film role, establishing itself as a Halloween must-watch for the ages.

MAGGIE DELA PAZ’S RECOMMEND: Tragedy Girls

Click here to purchase!

Starring Brianna Hildebrand and Alexandra Shipp, the film centers around two high school seniors and childhood best friends named Sadie and McKayla, who are both obsessed with becoming social media famous through their titular true crime blog. However, it proves to be difficult for them when there is actually little to no action going on in their boring Mid-western town of Rosedale. That’s why they have no choice but to take matters into their own hands by committing and planning the murders themselves while also managing to keep a serial killer in captivity.

This 2016 slasher dark comedy film was truly a delight to watch. It features a fun and entertaining storyline that is topped off by the incredible and charming performances of Hildebrand and Shipp. Despite being a duo of psychopathic protagonists, it’s extremely hard not to root for their characters, especially when their brutal killing plans don’t always go as smoothly as they’ve wanted them to be. These types of leads are definitely hard to sell to the audience but due to Hildebrand and Shipp’s dynamic chemistry, the film was able to effectively deliver the story and message they intended to convey.

What I also like the most about Tragedy Girls is that it serves as a timely social commentary about the effects of fame and social media to today’s society: How some people nowadays would just post anything that would garner them the most likes, views, and followers without even trying to be thoughtful of its real message and consequences. So, if you’re looking for something to add on your Halloween movie list, I highly recommend you check out this gem!

JEFF AMES’ RECOMMEND: Trick ‘r Treat

Click here to purchase!

Despite a substantial amount of slasher flicks and monster films at our disposal, there really is a lack of what one might call true Halloween films outside of, say, Hocus Pocus, John Carpenter’s Halloween, and a handful of others that exist in but don’t specifically focus on the holiday. That’s what makes Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat such an amazing, er, treat. The film does for Halloween what A Christmas Carol does for Christmas in that it provides a deeper lore to go along with the bags of candy and wacky, sometimes overly sensual costumes. By film’s end, you’ll not just understand Halloween, but feel compelled to take part in it lest you endure the wrath of the demonic pumpkin creature Sam.

Taking cues from the likes of Charlie Brown’s Halloween, classic slasher films, and monster flicks of yesteryear, Dougherty weaves a tapestry of wildly entertaining and sometimes hilarious stories that culminate with a morbid twist and a clear-cut message: respect Halloween or pay the price. You’ve been warned.

ComingSoon.net recommends all readers comply with CDC guidelines and remain as isolated as possible and to wear your mask during this urgent time.

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CS Video: The War With Grandpa Interview With De Niro, Fegley & Marano

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CS Video: The War With Grandpa interview with De Niro, Fegley & Marano

ComingSoon.net got the opportunity to chat with two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro (The Irishman), Oakes Fegley (The Truth About Lies) and Laura Marano (The Perfect Date) to discuss their roles in The War With Grandpa, which is now in select theaters. Our interview can be viewed in the player below! Click here to pre-order your digital copy of the family comedy!

Pick up your copy of the book here!

The comedy features an all-star supporting cast, including Christopher Walken, Uma Thurman, Rob Riggle, Cheech Marin, Laura Marano, and Jane Seymour.

The War with Grandpa is directed by Tim Hill from a screenplay by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. The film is now in select theaters nationwide!

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CS Interview: Writer/Director/Star Jim Cummings on The Wolf of Snow Hollow

In time for the film’s debut at the Beyond Fest and on digital platforms and select theaters, ComingSoon.net got the opportunity to chat with the writer, director and star of the horror-comedy The Wolf of Snow Hollow Jim Cummings to discuss developing the concept, his influences on the story and working with Robert Forster in his final feature role.

When it came to the conception of the film and developing his story concept, Cummings expresses his large appreciation for the works of Alfred Hitchcock and David Fincher and really desired to “make this, like, detective story” and actually started with his ending before building the plot around it.

“I had the idea after the ending of, like, you know, in the breaking story, I’d like to have a certain amount of clues, and there’s one clue which stands out,” Cummings explained. “It’s such a simple biological thing and I had the idea for the reveal of the twist at the end of the film and I was like, ‘That would be so dope, that would just be the coolest thing to do 70 minutes into a movie.’ I had to do that, I wrote the story and did all this research and read all of John Douglas’ books about serial murderers and motive and detective stories and all that stuff and I tried to make it as realistic as possible in that sense. Very quickly, it was like, ‘Alright cool this is actually a pretty dope idea, let’s see if we can go out with it’ and Orion read it and was ‘Oh, yeah, absolutely, let’s do this movie.’ It was kind of perfect, I was living in Los Angeles for three years and it was always boiling hot. I thought it might be fun to do like a snowball fight, kind of fun movie with my friends and we were incredibly lucky, the guys at Orion were just incredibly endorsing of us and allowed us to go out and make this thing.”

In tapping into both the detective nature of the story as well as the horror nature of the werewolf element, the multi-hyphenate filmmaker notes that he and his crew always kept the tropes of both genres in mind and “used that a lot on set,” stating it was “so important to do that.”

“The horror fandom is like such a unique kind of like crazed fandom and like the more that you can plant Easter eggs and like it becomes a much more diverse conversation with the audience in a way that other filmmaking isn’t,” Cummings expressed. “It’s like you have such a tapestry of horror movies that you kind of have to embrace these things because you’ll get cheers from the crowd. It’s a neat and fun thing to do.”

Cummings also found getting to work with the recently revived Orion Pictures was like a “daydream,” warmly recalling how it was “such a trip to see the first cut with the Orion logo and the spinning stars” and joking that he “could retire tomorrow, like, I made it in life.”

“I get to have this open one of my movies, like that stuff was really fun,” Cummings stated. “Outside of that, the team we’re working with, the executives were so kind and young and like, got it. They were very much understanding of, you know, how subtle you can be on a joke or subtle you can be in detective stuff and that the audience would follow it along anyway. Yeah. It was a daydream to work with them and they all kind of got the tone of the movie and gave notes that made the film better, not just different, which is very rare.”

Click here to purchase The Wolf of Snow Hollow!

Prior to partnering with Orion for his first studio film, Cummings broke out with his feature debut on the indie dramedy Thunder Road, based on his short film of the same name, on which he served as director, writer, star, co-editor, composer and visual effects artist. Coming into Wolf of Snow Hollow, however, Cummings elected to hand a number of these reins off to other talent and choose to focus on acting, directing and writing and he found it be a “great dream” experience.

“There were there were full days on set where I didn’t have to go into hair and makeup and I got to just direct,” Cummings recalled with a chuckle. “I got to work with Kelsey Edwards who, we met her in Utah, she’s a local and she plays Liz Fairchild in the film. She just could do all of the wonderful monologues, stuff that I think I’m, you know, halfway decent at and I didn’t have to do it. There are people who we got to work with where they were such a juggernaut of what they do that I didn’t have to worry about any of it. I just got to show up and do it. Natalie Kingston, the same thing, I’d never worked with her as a cinematographer, but I was a fan of hers for years. She and I are both from New Orleans. This was the first movie where I never touched the camera, I didn’t have to, I didn’t have to do any of that. It was like exclusively cinematography versus directing they were two non-overlapping departments, which is really, really wonderful. It was different, it was nice to be able to just direct and not have to race back and forth in front of the camera and behind it [laughs].”

When it came to building his cast, which alongside himself included the likes of Knives Out‘s Rikki Lindhome and Breaking Bad alum Forster, Cummings noted he had the latter at the top of his list when writing the character while finding the rest of his cast came with the luck of the draw of the casting process.

“One of our producers, Matt Miller, had worked with him in a film called Too Late so we knew that we could at least get a script to him that he would read,” Cummings explained. “But then some of them, no, like Rikki Lindhome came in to audition and I had seen her in Garfunkel & Oates and a thousand other films, and it was mainly comedy stuff and it was mainly a bit metropolitan. I had never seen her play this kind of like cowgirl tomboy and then as soon as we talked, as soon as we got on the phone and hung out with each other, she was like, ‘Oh no, this is like I grew up in a small town. This was me. Like, I know this. I know this person. I know this thing.’ It became very clear. So like it was kind of casting against the grain, but she fucking killed it in the movie. She comes across as like so, you know, desirous of success and then also like wanting to create diplomacy and she’s just so put upon this whole time. It’s just like it was exactly what the character was supposed to be. And she became that it was really wonderful.”

Cummings discussed it was “a crazy shock” when the news first broke that Forster had passed away, leading to everyone “calling my phone and I had to merge a bunch of calls” and finding it to be “a really weird thing when somebody that you know who is a celebrity passes away” but that he’s honored to be bringing his final feature performance to the world.

“He’s so good in the film and I feel like I got to know him a lot and he kind of was this paternal figure for all of us,” Cummings warmly remembered. “The movie’s about this guy who’s hiding a medical condition from people so that he could keep working and so it was kind of this perfect fusion that he you know, he did such a great job. I don’t know. We didn’t change the edit after he passed away, I would say that we because, you know, we loved him just the same from the first day we started editing it and he gave us gold. The movie, his performance was so funny and so heartbreaking and kind of honest of what it’s like to be the head of a patriarchal group like a sheriff’s department. That performance, I mean, I stand by it, that’s one for the ages, he’s so good.”

While not faced with too many creative challenges on the film, given a supportive cast and crew and producers, Cummings did laugh as he recalled he encountered plenty of production challenges with his shooting in the mountainous setting.

“Shooting on the top of a mountain at 14 degrees, you know, when trying to murder someone over 14 hours outside,” Cummings related. “We had to do all of this stuff that like from my hot porch in Echo Park, sounded like a good idea, and then when you’re at the top of the mountain and all your friends have frostbite, you’re like, ‘Why did you do this to us?’ It’s not the best idea. I mean, everything, dude, we had, you know, at the most, I think were 60 people on set, 60 members, the cast and crew, for some of these bigger set pieces, that’s something that I had never done before. Somebody and producer Ben Wiessner says ‘Making a movie like this is like taking an aircraft carrier to the grocery store’ for getting the simplest shot that you would normally be able to get by going and grabbing the camera and taking it up very quickly has to be done with this huge team of people, and so it just takes a lot longer. There’s a quote there’s a great quote from Uncle David Fincher who says, ‘You don’t know what directing is until you’ve got five shots left to get, but the sun is going down and you’re only going to get two.’ And I remember hearing that in film school and then learning it in a real way on this film.”

Having mentioned the Social Network and Se7en filmmaker a few times in previous answers, Cummings confirmed that two-time Oscar nominee Fincher was a major influence for the look of the film as he and cinematographer Kingston discussed his works frequently as she built her lookbook that was “based off of kind of darker films and photographers as well.”

“Going through all of Fincher’s cinematographers and like some of the movie lends to that, like, ‘Hey, it’s ok that this is not as sculpted, this is just like this girl eating ramen in her kitchen,’ that felt a bit more, you know, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” Cummings explained. “Yeah, I mean, there are thousands of conversations we had, we spent five days in a room together just talking about what the look at the movie was going to be and doing shotlisting and talking about the emotions of the scenes and that kind of stuff. Which is something I had never been before. But yeah, that was that was all kind of in the DNA of the project before we showed up on set.”

With the film coming at a time in which people are still sequestered to their homes, the studio was unable to hold test screenings and established its premieres at the Beyond and Fantastic Fest as the first time people would see it and Cummings laughingly called it “a waking terror” leading up to the release but also expressed excitement for the response, especially as it heads to drive-ins and digital platforms after the festivals.

“It really is relatively unsanitized it’s so cool,” Cummings excitedly opined. “You know, Jim said it was okay and the two other editors say, okay, the studio says it’s okay let’s put it out to the world. But then dude, it’s like the fact that Beyond Fest and Fantastic Fest and American Cinematheque, all these people that are, like, working hard to get the movie on the screen. It’s such a daydream to be able to have made this thing over the last two years and then finally people get to see it, that’s a very cool thing. Like all of these amazing actors that acted in the film finally get to have clips for their reel and like, you know, that the universe gets to have something that’s like a fun Christmasy werewolf movie for the holiday season. I don’t know, man, it’s a it depends on what day you ask me, there’s times where I’m like, ‘I wish I had known, I wish I’d known AfterEffects when I was doing that shot, I could stabilize it better. But like that’s it, you put it out, it’s my first studio movie, I’m thrilled. I think it’s also really something I’m feeling the transformative nature of like being transported to this snowy small town, but like it snowed in Colorado last weekend. So there’s going to be snow at the drive that like it’s going to feel like you’re part of that experience. So much of the movie is like in cars and like it’s such a fun movie to watch with a crowd, and I just I’m thrilled for people to be able to engage with it in that way. There’s like such a retro, the movie has this kind of like ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, like retro Orion classic feel to it. And so it’s just fun. I don’t know, it feels like it feels like, you know, John Carpenter, we’re putting Halloween on the big screen again. You know, it feels like that kind of fun, rush of excitement for fandom.”

Written and directed by Jim Cummings, the film follows a small-town sheriff struggling with a failed marriage, a rebellious daughter, and a lackluster department, as he is tasked with solving a series of brutal murders that are occurring on the full moon. As he’s consumed by the hunt for the killer, he struggles to remind himself that there’s no such thing as werewolves.

Alongside Forster, the cast for the film includes Riki Lindhome (Knives Out, Under the Silver Lake), Jimmy Tatro (American Vandal, The King of Staten Island) and Chloe East (Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, Next Level).

The trailer for the film includes a new song called “Little Red Riding Hood” from the soundtrack for the film, arranged by Ben Lovett with vocals from Valen. The film is scored by Ben Lovett (composer for The Ritual, The Night House and The Wind). The soundtrack is set to be released by Lakeshore Records.

The Wolf of Snow Hollow is now available in select theaters and on digital platforms and VOD just in time for the Halloween season!

The post CS Interview: Writer/Director/Star Jim Cummings on The Wolf of Snow Hollow appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

A Rainy Day In New York Review: Lesser Woody Allen, But Still Fun

Rating:

7.8 out of 10

Cast:

Timothée Chalamet … Gatsby
Elle Fanning … Ashleigh
Liev Schreiber … Roland Pollard
Suzanne Smith … Roland’s Assistant
Olivia Boreham-Wing … Roland’s Assistant
Ben Warheit … Alvin Troller
Griffin Newman … Josh
Selena Gomez … Chan

You can pre-order your copy of the movie here!

A Rainy Day In New York Review

There’s a whimsical sense of innocence and naivete percolating Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York, an entertaining old-fashioned rom com in which a pair of attractive lovers realize their future lies with other more attractive people. The two main characters, Gatsby and Ashleigh, played by Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning, are meant to signify contemporary youths — albeit to the nth degree — struggling with life on opposite ends of the social pole, as it were. He’s a deadbeat snob who loathes his more culturally inspired upbringing and spends his nights gambling away his fortune, while she’s just a gal from Arizona who fawns at every celebrity she comes in contact with and is too innocuous to recognize her own irresistible sex appeal. They co-exist because, hey, she’s cute and fun and he’s sophisticated and mostly uncomplicated.

The plot ushers them to (where else?) New York, so she can interview a famed filmmaker (played by Live Schreiber) experiencing his own midlife crisis alongside a neurotic producer (played by Jude Law). Predictably, the job separates Ashleigh from Gatsby long enough for each of them to go on one of those life reflective quests where every encounter provides some form of on-the-nose commentary about their relationship.

At one point, Gatsby visits his brother and learns that he is afraid to marry his fiancé because her obnoxious laugh renders him impotent. Later, Gatsby speaks to his mother and discovers a deep family secret that completely changes his outlook on society and his personal upbringing. He even stumbles onto a movie set where he runs into Chan (Selena Gomez), a sister of a former flame, who instantly lambasts him for his completely unoriginal decision to date a girl from the desert. “What do you guys talk about? Snakes?”

Ashleigh, meanwhile, enjoys her own misadventures during which her fondness for Gatsby seems to diminish with each glass of wine.

There’s a not-so-subtle conflict in the film revolving around the finer arts versus more popular entertainment. When Gatsby refuses to go to his mother’s literary party filled with “housewives who have the leisure to pursue esoteric culture — the out of work discussing the out of print,” he casually name-drops the famed sports journalist Jimmy Cannon, who made his mark covering boxing. Oh, and Gatsby makes this observation while sitting beneath a giant mural of Marvel superheroes.

In an earlier scene, Gatsby bumps into an old chum from school who slams “Turner Classic Movie wimps,” Grace Kelly and laments the lack of toilet humor in modern films. How uncivilized. But also, what?

Basically, the whole endeavor serves mostly as an excuse for Allen, now 84, to unleash his trademark neurotic dialogue, pontify about classical artists, and critique modern culture. To that end, A Rainy Day in New York delivers in spades and works as an amusing piece of romantic cinema dripping with enough pop culture references to make cinephiles swoon. Your enjoyment of the film will greatly depend on your love of art and Hollywood in general, though Allen does paint a seedy portrait of a La-La Land infected with sleazy playboys and dejected would-be artists caked in alcohol.

Chalamet makes for an engaging enough lead, though he looks far too young to carry the kind of depression he wallows in for much of the film’s run time; and speaks and acts like a character from another century. At one point he claims his family is “a farrago of WASP plutocrats,” to which the recipient of the comment replies, “That sounds like something on the menu of a Fusion restaurant.”

Is there really a place in this world where people talk like that?

On the opposite end of the spectrum is the adorable Elle Fanning, who charms her way through a rudimentary role with aplomb. Ashleigh is (for lack of a better word) a flibbertigibbit, whose sole purpose is to make bad decisions in order to help audiences accept Gatsby’s ultimate choice at the film’s end. Yet, Fanning stimulates the character with a pleasant dose of sweetness and plucky charm that is hard to sneer at. “I certainly hope there isn’t a gun in the glove compartment like in one of your movies,” she tells a producer after he catches his wife cheating on him, so enchanted is Ashleigh by the aura of movies. Though, later we see she at least has the good sense to recognize and debate whether to accept a sexual advance from a popular actor.

A Rainy Day in New York doesn’t aspire to the same heights as Annie Hall, nor does it reach the greatness of more modern fair like Midnight in Paris. That’s because, for all the aforementioned talk revolving around art and culture, the film really boils down to a simple tale of boy meets girl. With this, Allen doesn’t traverse any new ground. Except, the man has such a strong grasp of the romantic comedy genre that even his lesser works hold some value.

You may not get much out of it, but A Rainy Day in New York still manages to stir the mind and tickle the heart.

The post A Rainy Day In New York Review: Lesser Woody Allen, But Still Fun appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Pixar’s Soul to Debut on Disney+ This Christmas!

Pixar's Soul to Debut on Disney+ This Christmas!

BEGIN SLIDESHOW

Pixar’s Soul to Debut on Disney+ This Christmas!

The Walt Disney Company announced today that Soul, the all-new original feature from Pixar Animation Studios, will debut exclusively on Disney+ on December 25, 2020. In international markets where Disney+ isn’t currently or soon to be available, Soul will be released theatrically, with dates to be announced.

“We are thrilled to share Pixar’s spectacular and moving ‘Soul’ with audiences direct to Disney+ in December,” said Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “A new original Pixar film is always a special occasion, and this truly heartwarming and humorous story about human connection and finding one’s place in the world will be a treat for families to enjoy together this holiday season.”

Soul comes from visionary filmmaker Pete Docter, the Academy Award-winning director behind Inside Out and Up, and co-director/writer Kemp Powers, playwright and screenwriter of One Night in Miami. It stars the voice talents of Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Phylicia Rashad, Ahmir Questlove Thompson, Angela Bassett and Daveed Diggs and features original jazz music by globally renowned musician Jon Batiste and a score composed by Oscar winners Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network).

“The world can be an exhausting and frustrating place – but it’s also full of unexpected joys, even in seemingly mundane things,” said Docter, director of Soul and Chief Creative Officer of Pixar Animation Studios. “‘Soul’ investigates what’s really important in our lives, a question we’re all asking these days. I hope it will bring some humor and fun to people at a time when everyone can surely use that.”

Over the last six months, marketplace conditions created by the ongoing pandemic, while difficult in so many ways, have also provided an opportunity for innovation in approaches to content distribution. With over 60 million subscribers within the first year of launch, the Disney+ platform is an ideal destination for families and fans to enjoy a marquee Pixar film in their own homes like never before.

Previously scheduled for theatrical release on November 20, 2020, Soul was named an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year along with multiple upcoming festivals including the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival this Sunday.

What is it that makes you…YOU? Pixar Animation Studios’ Soul introduces Joe Gardner (voice of Jamie Foxx) – a middle-school band teacher who gets the chance of a lifetime to play at the best jazz club in town. But one small misstep takes him from the streets of New York City to The Great Before – a fantastical place where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before they go to Earth. Determined to return to his life, Joe teams up with a precocious soul, 22 (voice of Tina Fey), who has never understood the appeal of the human experience. As Joe desperately tries to show 22 what’s great about living, he may just discover the answers to some of life’s most important questions.

Soul is Directed by Academy Award winner Pete Docter (Inside Out, Up), co-directed by Kemp Powers (One Night in Miami) and produced by Academy Award nominee Dana Murray, p.g.a. (Pixar short Lou).