Nick Robinson will star opposite Kiersey Clemons (“Dope”) in the upcoming feature “The Language of Flowers,” based on the bestselling novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, which spent 69 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list.
Award-winning director Michael Mayer (“The Seagull”) is set to direct the Peter Hutchings’ adaptation. Claude Dal Farra, Brice Dal Farra, and Brian Keady of Bcdf Pictures serve as producers.
“The Language of Flowers” will go into production this summer, shooting in South Africa and San Francisco. Mister Smith Entertainment is handling international sales and will introduce the title to buyers at next week’s Cannes Film Market.
UTA and Mister Smith Entertainment will co-represent North American rights.
“Global audiences have witnessed Nick’s immense talents in his recent starring roles in both ‘Love, Simon’ and ‘Everything, Everything,’” said Claude Dal Farra. “We are delighted he is joining Kiersey to bring this special and touching story to life.
Award-winning director Michael Mayer (“The Seagull”) is set to direct the Peter Hutchings’ adaptation. Claude Dal Farra, Brice Dal Farra, and Brian Keady of Bcdf Pictures serve as producers.
“The Language of Flowers” will go into production this summer, shooting in South Africa and San Francisco. Mister Smith Entertainment is handling international sales and will introduce the title to buyers at next week’s Cannes Film Market.
UTA and Mister Smith Entertainment will co-represent North American rights.
“Global audiences have witnessed Nick’s immense talents in his recent starring roles in both ‘Love, Simon’ and ‘Everything, Everything,’” said Claude Dal Farra. “We are delighted he is joining Kiersey to bring this special and touching story to life.
- 5/7/2019
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The Ferryman, Network, To Kill A Mockingbird and What The Constitution Means To Me are among the Broadway and Off Broadway productions taking nominations in this year’s New York Drama League Awards.
The 2019 nominees were announced today in the categories of Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the Distinguished Performance Award. The roster was read this morning by the current stars of Broadway’s Waitress, Shoshana Bean and Jeremy Jordan at Sardi’s Restaurant.
The 85th Annual Drama League Awards will be held on Friday, May 17.
Here is the complete list of nominees:
Outstanding Production Of A Broadway Or Off-broadway Play
Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties
by Jen Silverman
Directed by Mike Donahue
McC Theater
Dance Nation
Written by Clare Barron
Directed by Lee Sunday Evans
Playwrights Horizons
Fairview
Written by Jackie Sibblies...
The 2019 nominees were announced today in the categories of Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the Distinguished Performance Award. The roster was read this morning by the current stars of Broadway’s Waitress, Shoshana Bean and Jeremy Jordan at Sardi’s Restaurant.
The 85th Annual Drama League Awards will be held on Friday, May 17.
Here is the complete list of nominees:
Outstanding Production Of A Broadway Or Off-broadway Play
Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties
by Jen Silverman
Directed by Mike Donahue
McC Theater
Dance Nation
Written by Clare Barron
Directed by Lee Sunday Evans
Playwrights Horizons
Fairview
Written by Jackie Sibblies...
- 4/17/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Can a play lie in wait? Let’s say it can so we can say that it has: Lanford Wilson’s Burn This has been lurking about since 1987 anticipating the arrival of Adam Driver, and for that match-up alone the years haven’t been wasted.
But that match-up alone is very nearly all we get in Michael Mayer’s Broadway revival opening tonight at the Hudson Theatre. And that’s pretty odd, since the production’s other match-up – Driver and his fellow Star Wars: Episode IX compatriot Keri Russell – is the major selling point here, a teaming that’s been scorching subway walls since steamy ads began cropping up earlier this winter.
To say that Burn This hasn’t aged particularly well since ’87 is rather like pointing out a lopsided old house with a badly built foundation needs a paint job – true enough, maybe, but almost beside the point. Burn...
But that match-up alone is very nearly all we get in Michael Mayer’s Broadway revival opening tonight at the Hudson Theatre. And that’s pretty odd, since the production’s other match-up – Driver and his fellow Star Wars: Episode IX compatriot Keri Russell – is the major selling point here, a teaming that’s been scorching subway walls since steamy ads began cropping up earlier this winter.
To say that Burn This hasn’t aged particularly well since ’87 is rather like pointing out a lopsided old house with a badly built foundation needs a paint job – true enough, maybe, but almost beside the point. Burn...
- 4/17/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
As we’re now about halfway through the Broadway season, there are currently eight productions of plays set to open this spring. Could we be seeing any of them contend at this year’s Tony Awards? Below, we recap the plot of each play as well as the awards history of its author, cast, creative types, the opening, and (where applicable) closing dates.
“Choir Boy” (opens January 8; closes March 10)
In this new play by Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney, the story centers on the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys, which for a half a century has been dedicated to the education of strong, ethical black men. One talented student has been waiting for years to take his rightful place as the leader of the school’s legendary gospel choir. But can he make his way through the hallowed halls of this institution if he sings in his own key?...
“Choir Boy” (opens January 8; closes March 10)
In this new play by Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney, the story centers on the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys, which for a half a century has been dedicated to the education of strong, ethical black men. One talented student has been waiting for years to take his rightful place as the leader of the school’s legendary gospel choir. But can he make his way through the hallowed halls of this institution if he sings in his own key?...
- 1/29/2019
- by Jeffrey Kare
- Gold Derby
Welcome to Rumorville! Here you can learn about casting news that’s about to break in Hollywood. These speculations might be only rumors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t follow the trail all the way to the audition room. “Funny Girl”With Lady Gaga possibly heading toward her first Oscar for her role in “A Star is Born,” she seems to be on the verge of becoming a Broadway star. Recently, on Randy Rainbow’s show, Rosie O'Donnell said a Broadway revival of the classic musical “Funny Girl” is in the works, starring Gaga and featuring O’Donnell. It is unclear what that means for the rumors that have already been in place for years about Lea Michele starring in the show. According to Michael Friedman, the show is getting revived with Michael Mayer directing and O’Donnell playing Fanny’s mom, but Gaga will reportedly not be in the cast.
- 10/12/2018
- backstage.com
Adapting an iconic Anton Chekhov play is an ambitious if not daunting feat, and thankfully filmmaker Michael Mayer and screenwriter Stephen Karam pull it off with The Seagull.
Annette Bening is Irina, an actress who visits her family’s countryside Russian estate. Corey Stoll plays her lover Boris who is the subject of envy by Irina’s son [...]
The post DVD Spotlight: Saoirse Ronan And Annette Bening Take Flight In ‘The Seagull’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
Annette Bening is Irina, an actress who visits her family’s countryside Russian estate. Corey Stoll plays her lover Boris who is the subject of envy by Irina’s son [...]
The post DVD Spotlight: Saoirse Ronan And Annette Bening Take Flight In ‘The Seagull’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 10/8/2018
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
‘Venom’ (Photo credit: Ctmg)
The critics hated Venom, blasted by Rolling Stone’s Pete Travers as a “puddle of simplistic, sanitized PG-13 drivel” and the worst Marvel film of the year, and by The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw as clumsy, monolithic and fantastically boring.
Audiences must be watching a different movie as the Sony Pictures/Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man spin-off starring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed smashed October opening weekend records worldwide last weekend.
Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black clearly is benefiting from repeat business in its third weekend while Benjamin Gilmour’s Jirga advanced to $128,000 including festival screenings after taking $16,000 in its second weekend on 10 screens.
Paramount released Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups direct to home entertainment in the Us but gave it a theatrical run here as an alternate content release.
Transmission’s The Seagull didn’t fly while of the limited releases Madman Entertainment’s American Animals...
The critics hated Venom, blasted by Rolling Stone’s Pete Travers as a “puddle of simplistic, sanitized PG-13 drivel” and the worst Marvel film of the year, and by The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw as clumsy, monolithic and fantastically boring.
Audiences must be watching a different movie as the Sony Pictures/Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man spin-off starring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed smashed October opening weekend records worldwide last weekend.
Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black clearly is benefiting from repeat business in its third weekend while Benjamin Gilmour’s Jirga advanced to $128,000 including festival screenings after taking $16,000 in its second weekend on 10 screens.
Paramount released Paw Patrol: Mighty Pups direct to home entertainment in the Us but gave it a theatrical run here as an alternate content release.
Transmission’s The Seagull didn’t fly while of the limited releases Madman Entertainment’s American Animals...
- 10/7/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Marnie panel and screening with Nicholas Wright and Michael Mayer at the Film Society of Lincoln Center Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Nico Muhly's Marnie, based on Winston Graham’s novel, which had been adapted by Jay Presson Allen for Alfred Hitchcock's film (starring Sean Connery and Tippi Hedren) is coming to The Metropolitan Opera in New York. At the Film Society of Lincoln Center, librettist Nicholas Wright and director Michael Mayer joined Paul Cremo (Director of Opera Commissioning Program at The Met) before a 35mm print screening of Marnie for a conversation on the choices they made in adapting the book for the opera. They shared their comments on the controversial film, Hitchcock's mothers and the sexual politics of the times.
Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard stars as Marnie and baritone Christopher Maltman is the man who pursues her. The costumes are by Arianne Phillips who also did Michael Mayer's Broadway production of Head Over Heels,...
Nico Muhly's Marnie, based on Winston Graham’s novel, which had been adapted by Jay Presson Allen for Alfred Hitchcock's film (starring Sean Connery and Tippi Hedren) is coming to The Metropolitan Opera in New York. At the Film Society of Lincoln Center, librettist Nicholas Wright and director Michael Mayer joined Paul Cremo (Director of Opera Commissioning Program at The Met) before a 35mm print screening of Marnie for a conversation on the choices they made in adapting the book for the opera. They shared their comments on the controversial film, Hitchcock's mothers and the sexual politics of the times.
Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard stars as Marnie and baritone Christopher Maltman is the man who pursues her. The costumes are by Arianne Phillips who also did Michael Mayer's Broadway production of Head Over Heels,...
- 9/22/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Michael Mayer’s West End production of Funny Girl starring Olivier Award winner Sheridan Smith will be broadcast in cinemas globally on Wednesday October 24. A trailer was released today.
The performance was filmed by Digital Theatre during the final week of the musical’s run at the Manchester Palace Theatre. The film will be released in cinemas for one night only by Trafalgar Releasing.
The October 24 screening had been set for the United Kingdom, but Trafalgar announced the global expansion today.
In addition to Smith’s Fanny Brice, the recorded performance stars Darius Campbell, Nigel Barber, Zoë Ann Bown, Martin Callaghan, Jennifer Harding, Rachel Izen, Joshua Lay and Myra Sands. The revised book is by Harvey Fierstein.
“I’m beyond excited to be able to share our production of Funny Girl with audiences across the pond in North America,” said Smith.
The Funny Girl revival opened at the Menier Chocolate Factory...
The performance was filmed by Digital Theatre during the final week of the musical’s run at the Manchester Palace Theatre. The film will be released in cinemas for one night only by Trafalgar Releasing.
The October 24 screening had been set for the United Kingdom, but Trafalgar announced the global expansion today.
In addition to Smith’s Fanny Brice, the recorded performance stars Darius Campbell, Nigel Barber, Zoë Ann Bown, Martin Callaghan, Jennifer Harding, Rachel Izen, Joshua Lay and Myra Sands. The revised book is by Harvey Fierstein.
“I’m beyond excited to be able to share our production of Funny Girl with audiences across the pond in North America,” said Smith.
The Funny Girl revival opened at the Menier Chocolate Factory...
- 9/14/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Tony winner Michael Mayer’s film adaptation of one of Anton Chekhov’s most acclaimed plays, is a fantastically acted and brilliantly verbose tragicomedy which relies as much on its original source material, as it does on its surprisingly accurate adapted screenplay. Written by Stephen Karam and staring Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, and Elisabeth Moss, amongst other well-known Hollywood faces, The Seagull tells a tale of unrequited love, obsession and blinding jealousy in a story which is as engaging as it is hugely thought-provoking.
The action takes place in the Russian countryside at the turn of the century where aging actress Irina (Annette Bening) has come to stay at her ailing elderly brother’s country estate. Along for the ride, Irina has brought her current lover, the popular writer Boris Trigorin (Corey Stoll), a man whose charm and unequalled eloquence soon attract the attention of Nina (Saoirse Ronan), an ambitious...
The action takes place in the Russian countryside at the turn of the century where aging actress Irina (Annette Bening) has come to stay at her ailing elderly brother’s country estate. Along for the ride, Irina has brought her current lover, the popular writer Boris Trigorin (Corey Stoll), a man whose charm and unequalled eloquence soon attract the attention of Nina (Saoirse Ronan), an ambitious...
- 9/7/2018
- by Linda Marric
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Since starting his tenure on “So You Think You Can Dance” 10 seasons ago, Spencer Liff has choreographed Broadway productions from “Falsettos” to “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” to “Head Over Heels,” the new musical with tunes by the Go-Go’s that’s now running at the Hudson Theatre. But Liff’s work isn’t the only way that Fox’s long-running dance series has changed Broadway.
Listen to this week’s podcast for free below and at Apple Podcasts:
“It’s educated people sitting at home who have never been in a dance class,” Liff said on the latest episode of Stagecraft, Variety‘s theater podcast, on which he appeared alongside Michael Mayer, the Tony-winning director of “Head Over Heels.” “They’ve heard the judges comment, on both our show and ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ and they now know the difference between a battement and a tour-jeté, and who’s doing it correctly.
Listen to this week’s podcast for free below and at Apple Podcasts:
“It’s educated people sitting at home who have never been in a dance class,” Liff said on the latest episode of Stagecraft, Variety‘s theater podcast, on which he appeared alongside Michael Mayer, the Tony-winning director of “Head Over Heels.” “They’ve heard the judges comment, on both our show and ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ and they now know the difference between a battement and a tour-jeté, and who’s doing it correctly.
- 8/7/2018
- by Gordon Cox
- Variety Film + TV
In today’s film news roundup, Edgar Ramirez is in talks to play a criminal, Kiersey Clemons is in negotiations to portray a flower arranger and finalists have been announced for Universal’s Film Music Composer Initiative.
Castings
Edgar Ramirez is in talks to portray a career criminal in Netflix’s near-future movie “The Last Days of American Crime.”
The project is based on the Radical Publishing graphic novel by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini. Olivier Megaton (“Taken 2”) is directing from an adapted screenplay by Karl Gajdusek, whose credits include “Oblivion” and “Stranger Things.”
The story centers on U.S. government plans to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts. Graham Bricke, a career criminal who was never able to hit the big score, teams up with Kevin Cash and Shelby Dupree to commit the heist of the century and the last crime...
Castings
Edgar Ramirez is in talks to portray a career criminal in Netflix’s near-future movie “The Last Days of American Crime.”
The project is based on the Radical Publishing graphic novel by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini. Olivier Megaton (“Taken 2”) is directing from an adapted screenplay by Karl Gajdusek, whose credits include “Oblivion” and “Stranger Things.”
The story centers on U.S. government plans to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts. Graham Bricke, a career criminal who was never able to hit the big score, teams up with Kevin Cash and Shelby Dupree to commit the heist of the century and the last crime...
- 7/28/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Michael Mayer, who recently directed the Annette Bening-Saoirse Ronan movie, The Seagull, has come on board to direct the feature take on Vanessa Diffenbaugh’s New York Times bestseller The Language of Flowers. Kiersey Clemons, star of Open Road’s cult comedy Dope and the upcoming Warner Bros./DC Flash movie is in talks to star in the lead role of Victoria.
The Language of Flowers tells the story of a young woman who, after being released from the foster care system, finds work in a flower shop. There she changes the lives of others while working to overcome her own troubled past with her foster mother. The book spent 69 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list and has sold over 2M copies worldwide in 40 languages. Previously set up at Fox 2000, the novel was then developed by Bcdf with a new screenplay by Peter Hutchings.
Claude Dal Farra,...
The Language of Flowers tells the story of a young woman who, after being released from the foster care system, finds work in a flower shop. There she changes the lives of others while working to overcome her own troubled past with her foster mother. The book spent 69 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list and has sold over 2M copies worldwide in 40 languages. Previously set up at Fox 2000, the novel was then developed by Bcdf with a new screenplay by Peter Hutchings.
Claude Dal Farra,...
- 7/27/2018
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s really hard to laugh when somebody’s holding a gun to your head. That’s the way this Go-Go’s feels in “Head Over Heels,” an over-written, over-designed, and generally overdone production directed by Michael Mayer. From the sets and costumes to the performance style, the basic principle seems to be: Less is boring and more is never enough. Thanks, no doubt, to the Oracle of Delphi (played here by the impishly funny Peppermint), it’s a miracle that at least some of the wit in Jeff Whitty’s original book gets through.
The storyline is credited to Sir Philip Sidney, an Elizabethan sonneteer whose 180,000-word narrative poem, “The Arcadia,” inspired many other imitations. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. If Shakespeare could crib from this rom-com material (see “As You Like It”), so can Whitty and James Magruder, who did the adaptation for this Broadway production.
The storyline is credited to Sir Philip Sidney, an Elizabethan sonneteer whose 180,000-word narrative poem, “The Arcadia,” inspired many other imitations. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. If Shakespeare could crib from this rom-com material (see “As You Like It”), so can Whitty and James Magruder, who did the adaptation for this Broadway production.
- 7/27/2018
- by Marilyn Stasio
- Variety Film + TV
For better or worse, Broadway’s Head Over Heels is stuck with being known as “the Go-Go’s musical” – better because of the good will floating on stage with all those lighter-than-air hits by Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, et.al., worse because the hard-working new production can’t seem to keep itself from popping those effervescence tune bubbles one by one.
With the Go-Go’s music shotgun-wedded to Sir Philip Sidney’s 16th century prose poem The Arcadia – a marriage conceived by Avenue Q‘s Jeff Whitty, who wrote the original book before splitting, reportedly in part over his inclination to rewrite some of the Go-Go’s lyrics – Head Over Heels is Elizabethan farce by way of ye olde MTV. The verse may be archaic, but the we’re here sentiment is as up to date as last week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Further adapted by James Magruder...
With the Go-Go’s music shotgun-wedded to Sir Philip Sidney’s 16th century prose poem The Arcadia – a marriage conceived by Avenue Q‘s Jeff Whitty, who wrote the original book before splitting, reportedly in part over his inclination to rewrite some of the Go-Go’s lyrics – Head Over Heels is Elizabethan farce by way of ye olde MTV. The verse may be archaic, but the we’re here sentiment is as up to date as last week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Further adapted by James Magruder...
- 7/27/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The Traverse City Film Festival is celebrating its 14th year in 2018 by bringing together some of the year’s best indies and documentaries, plus classics from Jonathan Demme, Hal Ashby, and more. The Michigan-set festival, backed by Michael Moore, is being run in 2018 by directors Susan Fisher and Meg Weichman, who have worked on the festival for nearly a decade and have been at the helm since December.
Tickets for this year’s edition will go on sale to the public on Saturday, July 21 (click here for the official festival website). Friends of the Film Festival will be able to get early access to tickets with advance sales starting Sunday, July 15.
The full lineup for the 2018 Traverse City Film Festival is below.
Opening Night: “Rbg”
Centerpiece: “Hearts Beat Loud”
Closing Night: “Burden”
Open Space
“Stop Making Sense,” Jonathan Demme
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” Jake Kasdan
“Coco,” Lee Unkrich
“Black Panther,...
Tickets for this year’s edition will go on sale to the public on Saturday, July 21 (click here for the official festival website). Friends of the Film Festival will be able to get early access to tickets with advance sales starting Sunday, July 15.
The full lineup for the 2018 Traverse City Film Festival is below.
Opening Night: “Rbg”
Centerpiece: “Hearts Beat Loud”
Closing Night: “Burden”
Open Space
“Stop Making Sense,” Jonathan Demme
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” Jake Kasdan
“Coco,” Lee Unkrich
“Black Panther,...
- 6/29/2018
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Joe Mantello’s staging of Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women broke the 787-seat Golden Theatre house record for the fifth and final time last week, closing out its limited engagement with a whopping $1,275,918 for a nine-performance week ending June 24. Even without the additional performance, the Glenda Jackson-Laurie Metcalf-Alison Pill starrer had already surpassed its previous, usual eight-performance week of $1,077,919.
In all, Broadway’s 33 productions of this season’s Week 4 totaled $40,285,884, about 88.9% of gross potential. This week’s total marks a small 1.6% increase over last week’s $39,653,552.
This week’s total attendance of 297,029 was about 93% of capacity, with an average paid admission of $136.
Another house record was set at the August Wilson Theatre, with Mean Girls scoring its third record-breaker there with $1,578,401, coming in well beyond its gross potential of $1.469M. Sro attendance of 9,900 – five tix more than last week – was 101.02% of capacity, with average ticket...
In all, Broadway’s 33 productions of this season’s Week 4 totaled $40,285,884, about 88.9% of gross potential. This week’s total marks a small 1.6% increase over last week’s $39,653,552.
This week’s total attendance of 297,029 was about 93% of capacity, with an average paid admission of $136.
Another house record was set at the August Wilson Theatre, with Mean Girls scoring its third record-breaker there with $1,578,401, coming in well beyond its gross potential of $1.469M. Sro attendance of 9,900 – five tix more than last week – was 101.02% of capacity, with average ticket...
- 6/25/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
The Seagull and Head Over Heels director Michael Mayer on Adam Driver for the role John Malkovich originated in Lanford Wilson's Burn This: "It will be the first Broadway revival. He is just perfect for this part." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
While The Seagull, starring Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss, and Brian Dennehy with Corey Stoll, Billy Howle, Jon Tenney, Michael Zegen, Glenn Fleshler and Mare Winningham is in cinemas across the Us, including the prestigious Paris Theatre, Michael Mayer is busy in preparation for an original Broadway musical (producers include Gwyneth Paltrow and Jordan Roth) that he is directing. Head Over Heels, based on Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia, a 16th century masque, adapted by James Magruder, original book by Jeff Whitty, costumes by Arianne Phillips, scenic design by Julian Crouch, choreographed by Spencer Liff to the song catalogue of The Go-Go's and Belinda Carlisle, arranged by musical supervisor Tom Kitt,...
While The Seagull, starring Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss, and Brian Dennehy with Corey Stoll, Billy Howle, Jon Tenney, Michael Zegen, Glenn Fleshler and Mare Winningham is in cinemas across the Us, including the prestigious Paris Theatre, Michael Mayer is busy in preparation for an original Broadway musical (producers include Gwyneth Paltrow and Jordan Roth) that he is directing. Head Over Heels, based on Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia, a 16th century masque, adapted by James Magruder, original book by Jeff Whitty, costumes by Arianne Phillips, scenic design by Julian Crouch, choreographed by Spencer Liff to the song catalogue of The Go-Go's and Belinda Carlisle, arranged by musical supervisor Tom Kitt,...
- 6/20/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
(l-r) Saoirse Ronan and Corey Stoll in The Seagull. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics ©
Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull is great material for a first-rate film. Director Michael Mayer’s screen adaptation of Chekhov’s 1896 play is a visually lovely production with a top-tier cast with wonderful locations, sets and costumes. “The Seagull”was the first of Chekhov’s four great plays, a work full of human meaning, and one of the great classics of literature. Sadly, “great classic” does not describe this film.
Michael Mayer’s The Seagull is not so much a bad film as a deeply disappointing one. It should have been a great film – it has all the lavish trappings of a great film, fabulous cast included, yet it is a hollow shell, all surface with little underneath. The problem seems to be two-fold. First, Stephen Karam’s script does violence to Chekhov’s work,...
Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull is great material for a first-rate film. Director Michael Mayer’s screen adaptation of Chekhov’s 1896 play is a visually lovely production with a top-tier cast with wonderful locations, sets and costumes. “The Seagull”was the first of Chekhov’s four great plays, a work full of human meaning, and one of the great classics of literature. Sadly, “great classic” does not describe this film.
Michael Mayer’s The Seagull is not so much a bad film as a deeply disappointing one. It should have been a great film – it has all the lavish trappings of a great film, fabulous cast included, yet it is a hollow shell, all surface with little underneath. The problem seems to be two-fold. First, Stephen Karam’s script does violence to Chekhov’s work,...
- 6/1/2018
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Elisabeth Moss, Mare Winningham, Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Michael Zegen, and Jon Tenney in the sublime costumes designed by Ann Roth for Michael Mayer's lush and layered take on The Seagull
In the second instalment of my conversation with The Seagull director, who is currently working on an upcoming Broadway production of Head Over Heels, based on the song catalogue of The Go-Go's and Belinda Carlisle with costumes by Arianne Phillips, Michael Mayer spoke about collaborating with screenwriter Stephen Karam (Tony Award winner for The Humans) and composer Nico Muhly.
Michael Mayer on Nico Muhly's music for Billy Howle's role in The Seagull: "[It] goes with the spirit of Konstantin who is young and trying to make new forms and is passionate about that."
Michael Mayer is a very busy creator. He has a Broadway revival of Lanford Wilson's Burn This with Adam Driver on board...
In the second instalment of my conversation with The Seagull director, who is currently working on an upcoming Broadway production of Head Over Heels, based on the song catalogue of The Go-Go's and Belinda Carlisle with costumes by Arianne Phillips, Michael Mayer spoke about collaborating with screenwriter Stephen Karam (Tony Award winner for The Humans) and composer Nico Muhly.
Michael Mayer on Nico Muhly's music for Billy Howle's role in The Seagull: "[It] goes with the spirit of Konstantin who is young and trying to make new forms and is passionate about that."
Michael Mayer is a very busy creator. He has a Broadway revival of Lanford Wilson's Burn This with Adam Driver on board...
- 5/20/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Michael Mayer's bountiful adaptation (with screenwriter Stephen Karam) of The Seagull stars Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss, and Brian Dennehy with Corey Stoll, Billy Howle, Jon Tenney, Michael Zegen, Glenn Fleshler, and Mare Winningham Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
On the morning of the theatrical première in New York, Michael Mayer joined me for a conversation on The Seagull. He explained producer Tom Hulce's role, their meeting with Annette Bening, that Saoirse Ronan was in-between starring in John Crowley's adaptation of Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn and being cast in Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird, and why producer Leslie Urdang suggested Elisabeth Moss for Nina.
He told me how costume designer Ann Roth, production designer Jane Musky and cinematographer Matthew J Lloyd were vital collaborators for the look of the film.
Michael Mayer on Ann Roth: "She stuck cookie crumbs into Brian Dennehy's jacket pocket." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Michael...
On the morning of the theatrical première in New York, Michael Mayer joined me for a conversation on The Seagull. He explained producer Tom Hulce's role, their meeting with Annette Bening, that Saoirse Ronan was in-between starring in John Crowley's adaptation of Colm Tóibín's Brooklyn and being cast in Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird, and why producer Leslie Urdang suggested Elisabeth Moss for Nina.
He told me how costume designer Ann Roth, production designer Jane Musky and cinematographer Matthew J Lloyd were vital collaborators for the look of the film.
Michael Mayer on Ann Roth: "She stuck cookie crumbs into Brian Dennehy's jacket pocket." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Michael...
- 5/15/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Vineyard Theatre's 2018 Gala Fundraiser celebrating Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer and the award-winning theatre company's 35th Anniversary took place on Monday, May 14, 2018 at Edison Ballroom 240 West 47th Street. Cody Lassen is the 35th Anniversary Gala Chair and Audible, Inc. is the lead corporate sponsor of the event. BroadwayWorld was on hand and you can check out photos from the evening below...
- 5/15/2018
- by Walter McBride
- BroadwayWorld.com
Even with the eyes of the arthouse world focused on Cannes this weekend, two releases are indie box office standouts: Sony Pictures Classics’ “The Seagull” and Roadside Attractions/30West’s “Beast,” both of which led the way with per screen averages above $13,000.
“The Seagull,” an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s classic literary work of the same name, stars Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss and Corey Stoll, with Michael Mayer directing. Released on six screens, the film made $80,607 for a per screen average of $13,434. The film has received positive reviews with a 79 percent Rotten Tomatoes score.
Also Read: 'Avengers: Infinity War' Hits $1.6 Billion Globally to Become Top-Grossing Superhero Movie in History
Sitting just behind it is “Beast,” a drama written and directed by Michael Pearce about a young woman (Jessie Buckley) who escapes her stifling life by falling in love with a free-spirited stranger named Pascal (Johnny Flynn). But when Pascal is arrested on several murder charges, she must make a difficult decision on whether or not to stand by him. Sporting a Rotten Tomatoes score of 92 percent, the film made $52,078 from four screens for an average of $13,020.
In third among limited releases is Eammon Films’ “Nothing to Lose,” a Brazilian true-story drama about the life of Edir Macedo, founder of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Evangelical groups gave the film a modest success, making $646,421 for a per screen average of $9,368.
Also Read: 'The Seagull' Film Review: All-Star Cast Flourishes in Chekhov Adaptation
On the far gorier side of the spectrum is Neon/Shudder’s shocking rape-retaliation film, “Revenge,” which became a minor viral hit this week thanks to the film’s rave reviews and 91 percent Rotten Tomatoes score. Written and directed by French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat, “Revenge” follows Jen (Matilda Lutz), a woman who is raped by her boyfriend’s three sleazy buddies during a getaway in the desert and then thrown off a cliff by her boyfriend himself. Surviving the fall, Jen swears bloody vengeance on the four men… and spoiler alert, she gets it.
The film had a muted performance at the box office, making $46,023 from 36 screens for a per screen average of just $1,723. However, like Neon’s previous release, “Borg vs. McEnroe,” the numbers were weighed down by Neon’s decision to give the film a day-and-date digital release. On iTunes, “Revenge” charted as one of the top 10 movie downloads this weekend.
Also Read: 'Revenge' Film Review: Female-Gaze B-Movie Thriller Earns an A for Execution
Among holdovers, Magnolia Pictures/Participant Media’s documentary “Rbg” expanded to 180 screens and made $1.16 million this weekend, bringing its 10-day total to $2 million. The film about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will double its screen count next weekend. Meanwhile, Bleecker Street expanded Sebastian Lelio’s “Disobedience” to 100 screens, making just under $438,000 in its third weekend, to bring its total to $1.2 million
Finally, A24’s “Lean on Pete” reached the $1 million mark in its sixth weekend, adding $64,750 from 129 screens, while Fox Searchlight’s “Isle of Dogs” will hit the $30 million mark this week after adding $1 million from 1,046 locations in its eight weekend.
Read original story ‘The Seagull’ Leads Indie Box Office as Art House Theaters Get Crowded At TheWrap...
“The Seagull,” an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s classic literary work of the same name, stars Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss and Corey Stoll, with Michael Mayer directing. Released on six screens, the film made $80,607 for a per screen average of $13,434. The film has received positive reviews with a 79 percent Rotten Tomatoes score.
Also Read: 'Avengers: Infinity War' Hits $1.6 Billion Globally to Become Top-Grossing Superhero Movie in History
Sitting just behind it is “Beast,” a drama written and directed by Michael Pearce about a young woman (Jessie Buckley) who escapes her stifling life by falling in love with a free-spirited stranger named Pascal (Johnny Flynn). But when Pascal is arrested on several murder charges, she must make a difficult decision on whether or not to stand by him. Sporting a Rotten Tomatoes score of 92 percent, the film made $52,078 from four screens for an average of $13,020.
In third among limited releases is Eammon Films’ “Nothing to Lose,” a Brazilian true-story drama about the life of Edir Macedo, founder of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Evangelical groups gave the film a modest success, making $646,421 for a per screen average of $9,368.
Also Read: 'The Seagull' Film Review: All-Star Cast Flourishes in Chekhov Adaptation
On the far gorier side of the spectrum is Neon/Shudder’s shocking rape-retaliation film, “Revenge,” which became a minor viral hit this week thanks to the film’s rave reviews and 91 percent Rotten Tomatoes score. Written and directed by French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat, “Revenge” follows Jen (Matilda Lutz), a woman who is raped by her boyfriend’s three sleazy buddies during a getaway in the desert and then thrown off a cliff by her boyfriend himself. Surviving the fall, Jen swears bloody vengeance on the four men… and spoiler alert, she gets it.
The film had a muted performance at the box office, making $46,023 from 36 screens for a per screen average of just $1,723. However, like Neon’s previous release, “Borg vs. McEnroe,” the numbers were weighed down by Neon’s decision to give the film a day-and-date digital release. On iTunes, “Revenge” charted as one of the top 10 movie downloads this weekend.
Also Read: 'Revenge' Film Review: Female-Gaze B-Movie Thriller Earns an A for Execution
Among holdovers, Magnolia Pictures/Participant Media’s documentary “Rbg” expanded to 180 screens and made $1.16 million this weekend, bringing its 10-day total to $2 million. The film about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will double its screen count next weekend. Meanwhile, Bleecker Street expanded Sebastian Lelio’s “Disobedience” to 100 screens, making just under $438,000 in its third weekend, to bring its total to $1.2 million
Finally, A24’s “Lean on Pete” reached the $1 million mark in its sixth weekend, adding $64,750 from 129 screens, while Fox Searchlight’s “Isle of Dogs” will hit the $30 million mark this week after adding $1 million from 1,046 locations in its eight weekend.
Read original story ‘The Seagull’ Leads Indie Box Office as Art House Theaters Get Crowded At TheWrap...
- 5/13/2018
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
All hail the notorious Rbg. As Cannes premieres titles that will fill specialized release calendars, Ruth Bader Ginsberg biopic “Rbg” made the top 10 — and in just 180 theaters.
Also opening were “The Seagull” and “Beast,” neither of which rose to the level of standout in their initial results. Several other niche titles, led by “Boom for Real,” a new documentary on artist Jean-Michael Basquiat showed initial interest. Directed by Sara Driver, it is one of several standout current specialized titles directed by women, a significant parallel to the Palais protest Saturday in Cannes.
In addition to “Rbg,” co-directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, Claire Denis’ “Let the Sunshine In” is performing ahead of most recent subtitled films. “Revenge” from Coralie Fargeat had strong success in its initial streaming dates along with some theatrical play. Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” is settling in for a decent run, while Lynne Ramsey’s...
Also opening were “The Seagull” and “Beast,” neither of which rose to the level of standout in their initial results. Several other niche titles, led by “Boom for Real,” a new documentary on artist Jean-Michael Basquiat showed initial interest. Directed by Sara Driver, it is one of several standout current specialized titles directed by women, a significant parallel to the Palais protest Saturday in Cannes.
In addition to “Rbg,” co-directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, Claire Denis’ “Let the Sunshine In” is performing ahead of most recent subtitled films. “Revenge” from Coralie Fargeat had strong success in its initial streaming dates along with some theatrical play. Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” is settling in for a decent run, while Lynne Ramsey’s...
- 5/13/2018
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
A dozen new specialty titles packed theaters this weekend. Sony Classics’ The Seagull and Roadside Attractions/30West’s Beast edged out the competition, grossing $80,607 in six locations and $52,078 in four theaters respectively.
The big screen version of Russian dramatist Anton Checkhov’s The Seagull opened in six New York and Los Angeles locations Friday, scoring the best per theater average of the specialty newcomers. Directed by Michael Mayer and starring Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Corey Stoll and Elisabeth Moss, the feature grossed $80,607, averaging $13,434. Spc picked up the title in 2017, but held off releasing while it opened Bening starrer Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool. The producers showed an early version of The Seagull to Spc co-president Michael Barker, who gave notes.
“We addressed those notes in the final edit,” said producer Leslie Urdang in a conversation earlier this week about the film. “We give real kudos to him for helping us.
The big screen version of Russian dramatist Anton Checkhov’s The Seagull opened in six New York and Los Angeles locations Friday, scoring the best per theater average of the specialty newcomers. Directed by Michael Mayer and starring Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Corey Stoll and Elisabeth Moss, the feature grossed $80,607, averaging $13,434. Spc picked up the title in 2017, but held off releasing while it opened Bening starrer Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool. The producers showed an early version of The Seagull to Spc co-president Michael Barker, who gave notes.
“We addressed those notes in the final edit,” said producer Leslie Urdang in a conversation earlier this week about the film. “We give real kudos to him for helping us.
- 5/13/2018
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline Film + TV
An abundance of new Specialty releases will roll into theaters and on-demand this weekend, including newcomers with Hollywood A-listers such as Sony Pictures Classics’ drama The Seagull, based on the Chekhov play and starring Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan and Elisabeth Moss. Olivia Holt, Skyler Gisondo, Kristin Chenoweth and Bruce Dern star in Cinedigm Entertainment’s comedy-romance Class Rank, making a day and date bow this weekend, while a cross-section of documentaries will open, hoping to tap some of the momentum of last weekend’s successful launch of non-fiction title Rbg. Good Deed Entertainment is opening Always At the Carlyle by Matthew Miele with a cast of stars effusing about the legendary Upper East Side New York hotel. Sara Driver’s Boom For Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat about the late artist’s pre-fame years in a now lost downtown Manhattan begins its run via Magnolia Pictures (which...
- 5/11/2018
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline Film + TV
Every part in a Chekhov play, no matter how small, is a great part and filled with potential, and Elisabeth Moss proves that in this new screen version of “The Seagull,” which has been adapted by the playwright Stephen Karam.
Moss plays Masha, which is a small role in relation to the lead roles of the famous actress Arkadina and the ambitious ingénue Nina. At the start of “The Seagull,” Masha famously says, “I’m in mourning for my life,” but Karam cleverly begins his screenplay with the set-up of the last scene in the play and then flashes back to the beginning, when there still seems to be some hope for everyone.
Moss reads that well-known line about being in mourning for her life in a way that exactly catches the tone of Chekhov: deeply anguished yet also somehow comic. Chekhov considered “The Seagull” a comedy and called it that in his text, even though it is filled to the brim with the sadness of what can happen between people who love unrequitedly and compete with each other.
Watch Video: Saoirse Ronan, Annette Bening Row Into This Year's Oscar Race in 'The Seagull' Trailer
There have been other films of “The Seagull,” and many different contemporary stage productions. Sidney Lumet directed a movie adaptation with Vanessa Redgrave as Nina in 1968, and the 1975 Williamstown production was filmed for PBS with Blythe Danner as a very spontaneous, in-the-moment, and heartbreaking Nina. And anyone who saw Meryl Streep play Arkadina in “The Seagull” in Central Park in 2001 will remember her in it, especially the way she did an expert cartwheel on stage.
Arkadina is played by Annette Bening here, and her celebrated literary lover Trigorin is played by Corey Stoll. In the first scenes, which are presented as a flashback, Arkadina’s son Konstantin (Billy Howle, “On Chesil Beach”) has prepared an avant-garde play starring his girlfriend Nina (Saoirse Ronan), and Arkadina keeps interrupting the performance with rude remarks. Bening plays Arkadina in a much crueler way than she is usually portrayed in this scene; she is very cutting, and yet Bening is believable later when Arkadina wonders, “Why did I hurt him?”
Also Read: Annette Bening Joins Cast of Marvel Studios' 'Captain Marvel'
As played by Bening, Arkadina is a vain woman and a ruthless winner who is disgusted by her son’s weakness and pretentiousness and jealousy. In the big scene where Arkadina dresses Konstantin’s head wound after he has attempted suicide, Bening smiles at Howle more like a girlfriend than a mother. Bening’s Arkadina is a woman without a shred of maternal feeling, and this makes her very different from Streep’s Arkadina, who was angry with her son but still tied to him.
Stoll is an extremely sexy Trigorin, especially when he looks at Ronan’s Nina with bedroom eyes as he takes her on a boat ride and rows her along, but the tone of his voice sounds jaded and cruel, and this matches what we have seen and heard of Arkadina. (Never has Bening’s throaty voice sounded more deadly and more heartless than it does here.)
When Bening plays her second big scene, in which Arkadina has to do anything she can think of to hold on to Trigorin, director Michael Mayer keeps the camera steadily on her face as she flatters Trigorin out of his urge to leave her for the younger Nina. After Arkadina has won, Stoll’s Trigorin sits back and says, “I am weak and spineless…is that what women want?” This is a very funny line as delivered here, and it hits just the right tragic-comic note.
Watch Video: Saoirse Ronan Is a Confused Newlywed in the First Trailer for 'On Chesil Beach'
“The Seagull” has been “opened up” so that some scenes play outdoors, and that works well because these characters are supposed to be amidst nature on a country estate. This mobility helps keep the material fluid, as does the very hard-working score by Nico Muhly and Anton Sanko, which becomes particularly ominous before Konstantin’s attempted suicide (what sounds like a mixed male and female chorus starts to shriek on the soundtrack). But the most impressive thing about this film of “The Seagull” is that every role has been ideally cast.
Moss somehow manages to dominate the whole film and stay most in the memory in spite of limited footage, but Bening plays her last moment here extraordinarily well, and this closing scene with Arkadina generally gives actresses trouble. (Streep didn’t seem to know how to play it, as if it were a puzzle that she couldn’t figure out.)
Bening is physically fluttery throughout most of the film, which expresses Arkadina’s desperate need to never face the facts. But in our last view of this woman, Bening decides to keep very still, her eyes glassy and fixed on some distant point, and the effect is like a surprisingly bold move in an otherwise circumspect poker game. The PBS version of “The Seagull” with Blythe Danner is still the best film adaptation of this play, but this movie has much to recommend it.
Read original story ‘The Seagull’ Film Review: All-Star Cast Flourishes in Chekhov Adaptation At TheWrap...
Moss plays Masha, which is a small role in relation to the lead roles of the famous actress Arkadina and the ambitious ingénue Nina. At the start of “The Seagull,” Masha famously says, “I’m in mourning for my life,” but Karam cleverly begins his screenplay with the set-up of the last scene in the play and then flashes back to the beginning, when there still seems to be some hope for everyone.
Moss reads that well-known line about being in mourning for her life in a way that exactly catches the tone of Chekhov: deeply anguished yet also somehow comic. Chekhov considered “The Seagull” a comedy and called it that in his text, even though it is filled to the brim with the sadness of what can happen between people who love unrequitedly and compete with each other.
Watch Video: Saoirse Ronan, Annette Bening Row Into This Year's Oscar Race in 'The Seagull' Trailer
There have been other films of “The Seagull,” and many different contemporary stage productions. Sidney Lumet directed a movie adaptation with Vanessa Redgrave as Nina in 1968, and the 1975 Williamstown production was filmed for PBS with Blythe Danner as a very spontaneous, in-the-moment, and heartbreaking Nina. And anyone who saw Meryl Streep play Arkadina in “The Seagull” in Central Park in 2001 will remember her in it, especially the way she did an expert cartwheel on stage.
Arkadina is played by Annette Bening here, and her celebrated literary lover Trigorin is played by Corey Stoll. In the first scenes, which are presented as a flashback, Arkadina’s son Konstantin (Billy Howle, “On Chesil Beach”) has prepared an avant-garde play starring his girlfriend Nina (Saoirse Ronan), and Arkadina keeps interrupting the performance with rude remarks. Bening plays Arkadina in a much crueler way than she is usually portrayed in this scene; she is very cutting, and yet Bening is believable later when Arkadina wonders, “Why did I hurt him?”
Also Read: Annette Bening Joins Cast of Marvel Studios' 'Captain Marvel'
As played by Bening, Arkadina is a vain woman and a ruthless winner who is disgusted by her son’s weakness and pretentiousness and jealousy. In the big scene where Arkadina dresses Konstantin’s head wound after he has attempted suicide, Bening smiles at Howle more like a girlfriend than a mother. Bening’s Arkadina is a woman without a shred of maternal feeling, and this makes her very different from Streep’s Arkadina, who was angry with her son but still tied to him.
Stoll is an extremely sexy Trigorin, especially when he looks at Ronan’s Nina with bedroom eyes as he takes her on a boat ride and rows her along, but the tone of his voice sounds jaded and cruel, and this matches what we have seen and heard of Arkadina. (Never has Bening’s throaty voice sounded more deadly and more heartless than it does here.)
When Bening plays her second big scene, in which Arkadina has to do anything she can think of to hold on to Trigorin, director Michael Mayer keeps the camera steadily on her face as she flatters Trigorin out of his urge to leave her for the younger Nina. After Arkadina has won, Stoll’s Trigorin sits back and says, “I am weak and spineless…is that what women want?” This is a very funny line as delivered here, and it hits just the right tragic-comic note.
Watch Video: Saoirse Ronan Is a Confused Newlywed in the First Trailer for 'On Chesil Beach'
“The Seagull” has been “opened up” so that some scenes play outdoors, and that works well because these characters are supposed to be amidst nature on a country estate. This mobility helps keep the material fluid, as does the very hard-working score by Nico Muhly and Anton Sanko, which becomes particularly ominous before Konstantin’s attempted suicide (what sounds like a mixed male and female chorus starts to shriek on the soundtrack). But the most impressive thing about this film of “The Seagull” is that every role has been ideally cast.
Moss somehow manages to dominate the whole film and stay most in the memory in spite of limited footage, but Bening plays her last moment here extraordinarily well, and this closing scene with Arkadina generally gives actresses trouble. (Streep didn’t seem to know how to play it, as if it were a puzzle that she couldn’t figure out.)
Bening is physically fluttery throughout most of the film, which expresses Arkadina’s desperate need to never face the facts. But in our last view of this woman, Bening decides to keep very still, her eyes glassy and fixed on some distant point, and the effect is like a surprisingly bold move in an otherwise circumspect poker game. The PBS version of “The Seagull” with Blythe Danner is still the best film adaptation of this play, but this movie has much to recommend it.
Read original story ‘The Seagull’ Film Review: All-Star Cast Flourishes in Chekhov Adaptation At TheWrap...
- 5/10/2018
- by Dan Callahan
- The Wrap
The great director Sidney Lumet brought a beautifully acted version of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull to the screen in 1968, but apparently it has taken another half-century to get a another version that gives Chekhov’s 1895 play a new spin in movies.
I have to say, the new The Seagull compares favorably to any previous attempt, particularly in bringing out the lighter aspects of what is a very funny piece. Lumet’s version had the likes of James Mason and Vanessa Redgrave among others, and the 2018 model is similarly blessed with a brilliant cast at the top of their game. And though director Michael Mayer and screenwriter Stephen Karam come largely from the American theater, this sparkling version feels anything but theatrical; it has been gloriously shot and is beautifully cinematic.
But as I say in my video review above, it is all on the page and in the playing.
I have to say, the new The Seagull compares favorably to any previous attempt, particularly in bringing out the lighter aspects of what is a very funny piece. Lumet’s version had the likes of James Mason and Vanessa Redgrave among others, and the 2018 model is similarly blessed with a brilliant cast at the top of their game. And though director Michael Mayer and screenwriter Stephen Karam come largely from the American theater, this sparkling version feels anything but theatrical; it has been gloriously shot and is beautifully cinematic.
But as I say in my video review above, it is all on the page and in the playing.
- 5/10/2018
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Every so often, it’s nice to see a film that’s been on the shelf for years finally come out and actually get solid reviews. Usually, that’s the mark of a terrible flick. Here, in the case of The Seagull, we have a much happier outcome. Initially earmarked to come out a few years ago, it finally played at the recent Tribeca Film Festival, before heading into release this week. Too often, films of this ilk end up like Tulip Fever, finally released to outright pans. The Seagull, while not likely to end up being championed like Margaret, which took nearly a decade to come out but was feted upon release, still is the rare delayed title to clearly not have been shelved because of quality. The movie is an adaptation of the classic Anton Chekhov play. Here’s the synopsis from IMDb, in case you’re unfamiliar...
- 5/10/2018
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
It's doubtful that all the comic-book noise at the multiplex is making you long for Chekhov, but hey: Here's the Russian playwright anyway! And unlike Sidney Lumet's misbegotten 1968 film version of The Seagull, this new take on the 1896 theatrical milestone gets the casting right; ditto the tone of comedy running right up against tragedy until something breaks.
Director Michael Mayer, working from a script by Tony-winning playwright Stephen Karam (The Humans), tries hard – sometimes too hard – to avoid the stultifying trap of filmed theater. Things work best when the...
Director Michael Mayer, working from a script by Tony-winning playwright Stephen Karam (The Humans), tries hard – sometimes too hard – to avoid the stultifying trap of filmed theater. Things work best when the...
- 5/9/2018
- Rollingstone.com
Feature premiered at the recent Tribeca Film Festival.
The Seagull, Michael Mayer’s drama that recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, has been picked up for UK distribution by Thunderbird Releasing.
Starring Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss and Corey Stoll, the film focuses on eight people at a country estate in Russia, all grappling with various romantic entanglements while exploring the dangerous nature of narcissism.
The film’s UK release is slated for summer 2018.
The deal was negotiated by Edward Fletcher, managing director of Thunderbird Releasing, and Carl Clifton, president of sales representative Hyde Park International. On the acquisition,...
The Seagull, Michael Mayer’s drama that recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, has been picked up for UK distribution by Thunderbird Releasing.
Starring Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss and Corey Stoll, the film focuses on eight people at a country estate in Russia, all grappling with various romantic entanglements while exploring the dangerous nature of narcissism.
The film’s UK release is slated for summer 2018.
The deal was negotiated by Edward Fletcher, managing director of Thunderbird Releasing, and Carl Clifton, president of sales representative Hyde Park International. On the acquisition,...
- 5/3/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Put Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss, and Corey Stoll in a room, and you’ve got yourself one of the most talented, charismatic rooms in Hollywood. It’s too bad that The Seagull, Michael Mayer‘s plodding, histrionic adaptation of the Anton Chekhov play of the same name, puts that talent to waste. Mayer and screenwriter Stephen Karam enthusiastically try to modernize an […]
The post ‘The Seagull’ Review: Annette Bening Soars in a Stage Adaptation That Can’t Quite Keep Up [Tribeca] appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘The Seagull’ Review: Annette Bening Soars in a Stage Adaptation That Can’t Quite Keep Up [Tribeca] appeared first on /Film.
- 4/30/2018
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
Packed with names such as Annette Bening, Elisabeth Moss and Saoirse Ronan, this adaptation of the classic play is brisk and funny
Taking in the night, Dr Dorn (Jon Tenney) looks at poor lovesick Masha (Elisabeth Moss), pauses, then sagely sighs: “The spells cast by this lake.” This new version of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, as adapted by Stephen Karam, seems populated by characters who know they are in a Chekhov play. I don’t mean that there are any arch, meta-textual tricks, more that the comedy inherent in the play is amplified, the “woe-is-me” mopery is kept to a minimum, and the woodland grounds and its samovar-laden patios are gorgeous.
While this is not director Michael Mayer’s first film, he is far better known for his work on Broadway and in the West End (he won a Tony award in 2007 for Spring Awakening). Despite his background and...
Taking in the night, Dr Dorn (Jon Tenney) looks at poor lovesick Masha (Elisabeth Moss), pauses, then sagely sighs: “The spells cast by this lake.” This new version of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, as adapted by Stephen Karam, seems populated by characters who know they are in a Chekhov play. I don’t mean that there are any arch, meta-textual tricks, more that the comedy inherent in the play is amplified, the “woe-is-me” mopery is kept to a minimum, and the woodland grounds and its samovar-laden patios are gorgeous.
While this is not director Michael Mayer’s first film, he is far better known for his work on Broadway and in the West End (he won a Tony award in 2007 for Spring Awakening). Despite his background and...
- 4/24/2018
- by Jordan Hoffman
- The Guardian - Film News
Great plays are plays for a reason. If something succeeds onstage, it’s usually because it was written for that medium. Of course, if Hollywood can make a blockbuster out of a video game, classic Russian dramas are fair game as well. Unfortunately, although “The Seagull” sports a winning cast, the latest adaptation of the stage classic should have let Anton Chekhov’s writing speak for itself.
The drama unfolds on a Russian country estate, and it involves the intertwining love lives of the actress Irina Arkadina (Annette Bening), her lover and well-known author Boris Trigorin (Corey Stoll), her lovesick son Konstantin (Billy Howle), and their young neighbor Nina (Saoirse Ronan). Konstantin loves Nina and envies Trigorin’s success, Nina is starstruck and becomes infatuated with Boris, who’s aroused by Nina’s admiration, and Irina is too busy tracking Trigorin’s waning desire to take an interest in her son.
The drama unfolds on a Russian country estate, and it involves the intertwining love lives of the actress Irina Arkadina (Annette Bening), her lover and well-known author Boris Trigorin (Corey Stoll), her lovesick son Konstantin (Billy Howle), and their young neighbor Nina (Saoirse Ronan). Konstantin loves Nina and envies Trigorin’s success, Nina is starstruck and becomes infatuated with Boris, who’s aroused by Nina’s admiration, and Irina is too busy tracking Trigorin’s waning desire to take an interest in her son.
- 4/23/2018
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Why is it that in cinema, remakes are so often reviled, whereas in theater, each new production of a classic play brings a fresh wave of anticipation, as we wonder how the director and cast might choose to interpret the characters this time around, and thrill to the idea of watching the material brought to life again? That question is further complicated in the case of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” since no definitive big-screen adaptation of the 1896 play exists. Sadly, that will not change with the arrival of director Michael Mayer’s latest attempt, despite the tantalizing prospect of seeing actresses as great as Saoirse Ronan, Elizabeth Moss, and Annette Bening in the three leading female roles.
Whether you know the play well or are experiencing it for the first time, you may well find yourself asking, What was Mayer hoping to achieve? Despite the gift of Chekhov’s...
Whether you know the play well or are experiencing it for the first time, you may well find yourself asking, What was Mayer hoping to achieve? Despite the gift of Chekhov’s...
- 4/21/2018
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
You can feel the heat, temperature and otherwise, in Michael Mayer's sultry screen adaptation of Anton Chekhov's classic 1896 play. Rather than the reams of dialogue you would normally expect, this streamlined version scripted by Tony Award-winning playwright Stephen Karam (The Humans) delivers sensuality in spades. Sure, the characters constantly talk about their unfulfilled lives and unrequited loves. But they also skinny-dip in the lake and constantly make out with each other. A stodgy The Seagull this is not. Would you expect anything else from theater director Mayer, who picked up a Tony himself for the sex-drenched musical Spring Awakening?...
- 4/21/2018
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Vineyard Theatre's Artistic Directors Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern and Managing Director Suzanne Appel announce an initial line-up of stars set for the 2018 Gala Fundraiser celebrating Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer and the award-winning theatre company's 35th Anniversary. The annual Gala Fundraiser will take place on Monday, May 14, 2018, beginning at 630pm at Edison Ballroom 240 West 47th Street. Cody Lassen is the 35th Anniversary Gala Chair and Audible, Inc. is the lead corporate sponsor of the event.
- 4/20/2018
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
In late April, theater lovers devote most of their attention to the clutch of Broadway shows rushing to open before the eligibility cutoff for Tony nominations. But this year fans should be keeping an eye on things downtown too: New projects by or about Broadway talent aren’t onstage. They’re at a film festival — the Tribeca Film Festival (running April 18-29), where Terrence McNally, Howard Ashman, Michael Mayer and Stephen Karam are all in the mix.
Every Act of Life (pictured top)
Jeff Kaufman and Marcia Ross’ documentary, making its world premiere at the festival, chronicles the life of McNally, the veteran, out-and-proud playwright and four-time Tony winner behind “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Ragtime,” “Love! Valour! Compassion!” and more. The biopic — which counts Audra McDonald, Christine Baranski, Angela Lansbury, Meryl Streep and Bryan Cranston among those involved — touches on everything from McNally’s romance with Edward Albee to...
Every Act of Life (pictured top)
Jeff Kaufman and Marcia Ross’ documentary, making its world premiere at the festival, chronicles the life of McNally, the veteran, out-and-proud playwright and four-time Tony winner behind “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Ragtime,” “Love! Valour! Compassion!” and more. The biopic — which counts Audra McDonald, Christine Baranski, Angela Lansbury, Meryl Streep and Bryan Cranston among those involved — touches on everything from McNally’s romance with Edward Albee to...
- 4/10/2018
- by Gordon Cox
- Variety Film + TV
Adam Driver and Jon Hamm join the likes of Annette Benning and Jennifer Morrison in talks to join the CIA thriller The Torture Report.
The project is based on the CIA’s rendition and interrogation program following 9/11. Back in 2014, a 500-page dossier was released that revealed eye-opening accounts of extreme interrogation tactics performed on detainees, which was employed by the CIA post 9/11 during the war on terror.
Also in the news – Zachary Quinto updates on the future of the Star Trek film franchise: Three potential new scripts in the works.
The project is to be written by The Bourne Ultimatum and Contagion scribe Scott Z. Burns. Vice Studios is producing the project with Danny Gabai, Eddy Moretti, Jennifer Fox, Burns, Michael Sugar, Steven Soderbergh and Kerry Orent.
Driver was last seen in the latest in the Star Wars saga, The Last Jedi. He will reprise his role yet again in Episode IX.
The project is based on the CIA’s rendition and interrogation program following 9/11. Back in 2014, a 500-page dossier was released that revealed eye-opening accounts of extreme interrogation tactics performed on detainees, which was employed by the CIA post 9/11 during the war on terror.
Also in the news – Zachary Quinto updates on the future of the Star Trek film franchise: Three potential new scripts in the works.
The project is to be written by The Bourne Ultimatum and Contagion scribe Scott Z. Burns. Vice Studios is producing the project with Danny Gabai, Eddy Moretti, Jennifer Fox, Burns, Michael Sugar, Steven Soderbergh and Kerry Orent.
Driver was last seen in the latest in the Star Wars saga, The Last Jedi. He will reprise his role yet again in Episode IX.
- 4/5/2018
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Exclusive: Annette Bening, Adam Driver, Jon Hamm and Jennifer Morrison are all in talks to star in a CIA drama tentatively titled The Torture Report, which will be written and directed by The Bourne Ultimatum and Contagion scribe Scott Z. Burns. Vice Studios is handling the financing for this project, which focuses on the CIA’s rendition and interrogation program following 9/11.
Back in December 2014, the U.S. Senate Select Intelligence Committee released a 500+ page report detailing shocking accounts of extreme interrogation tactics performed on detainees, which was employed by the CIA post 9/11 during the war on terror.
Burns was previously attached to write and direct an HBO film based on investigative reporter Katherine Eban’s 2007 Vanity Fair article Rorschach And Awe, that exposed how the CIA hired two psychologists to build a torture program with the full knowledge and cooperation of the American Psychological Association. That project is no longer...
Back in December 2014, the U.S. Senate Select Intelligence Committee released a 500+ page report detailing shocking accounts of extreme interrogation tactics performed on detainees, which was employed by the CIA post 9/11 during the war on terror.
Burns was previously attached to write and direct an HBO film based on investigative reporter Katherine Eban’s 2007 Vanity Fair article Rorschach And Awe, that exposed how the CIA hired two psychologists to build a torture program with the full knowledge and cooperation of the American Psychological Association. That project is no longer...
- 4/4/2018
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Talent will practically burst from the screen when the film adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” hits theaters May 11. Leading the play-turned-feature will be Academy Award nominees Annette Bening and Saoirse Ronan, as well as Corey Stoll, Mare Winningham, and Emmy Award winner Elisabeth Moss. Directed by Michael Mayer, this adaptation has been penned by Tony Award winner Stephen Karam and will be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. A full-length trailer can be seen below. Book your own film gig! Check out Backstage's audition listings!
- 3/8/2018
- backstage.com
Record 46% of feature slate directed by women.
Liz Garbus’ The Fourth Estate will close the 17th annual Tribeca Film Festival presented by At&T and Drake Doremus’ Zoe has been selected as the Centerpiece Gala, festival brass announced on Wednesday (March 7) as they unveiled a feature slate featuring a record 46% of films directed by women.
The Fourth Estate follows The New York Times’ coverage of the Trump administration’s first year, while sci-fi romance Zoe (pictured) stars Ewan McGregor, Léa Seydoux, Rashida Jones, and Theo James. The festival runs from April 18-29.
The line-up includes world premieres for Martin Freeman in...
Liz Garbus’ The Fourth Estate will close the 17th annual Tribeca Film Festival presented by At&T and Drake Doremus’ Zoe has been selected as the Centerpiece Gala, festival brass announced on Wednesday (March 7) as they unveiled a feature slate featuring a record 46% of films directed by women.
The Fourth Estate follows The New York Times’ coverage of the Trump administration’s first year, while sci-fi romance Zoe (pictured) stars Ewan McGregor, Léa Seydoux, Rashida Jones, and Theo James. The festival runs from April 18-29.
The line-up includes world premieres for Martin Freeman in...
- 3/7/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Record 46% of feature slate directed by women.
Liz Garbus’ The Fourth Estate will close the 17th annual Tribeca Film Festival presented by At&T and Drake Doremus’ Zoe has been selected as the Centerpiece Gala, festival brass announced on Wednesday (March 7) as they unveiled a feature slate featuring a record 46% of films directed by women.
The Fourth Estate follows The New York Times’ coverage of the Trump administration’s first year, while sci-fi romance Zoe (pictured) stars Ewan McGregor, Léa Seydoux, Rashida Jones, and Theo James. The festival runs from April 18-29.
The line-up includes world premieres for Martin Freeman in...
Liz Garbus’ The Fourth Estate will close the 17th annual Tribeca Film Festival presented by At&T and Drake Doremus’ Zoe has been selected as the Centerpiece Gala, festival brass announced on Wednesday (March 7) as they unveiled a feature slate featuring a record 46% of films directed by women.
The Fourth Estate follows The New York Times’ coverage of the Trump administration’s first year, while sci-fi romance Zoe (pictured) stars Ewan McGregor, Léa Seydoux, Rashida Jones, and Theo James. The festival runs from April 18-29.
The line-up includes world premieres for Martin Freeman in...
- 3/7/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Saoirse Ronan and Annette Bening could be angling for a return to the Oscar race based on the classy new trailer for director Michael Mayer’s “The Seagull.” Corey Stoll, Elisabeth Moss, Mare Winningham, Jon Tenney, Michael Zegan, Glenn Fleshler, with Billy Howle and Brian Dennehy also star in the film, which Sony Pictures Classics plans to release on May 11. The new adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s classic play, with a script by Tony winner Stephen Karam, follows a family and their hangers-on and lovers at a lakeside Russian estate during one summer weekend. Also Read: Saoirse Ronan and Elisabeth Moss' 'The...
- 3/7/2018
- by Thom Geier
- The Wrap
Not long after two high points of their respective careers, Annette Bening (20th Century Woman) and Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird), have teamed for a new adaptation of the Anton Chekhov play The Seagull. Directed by the Tony Award-winning Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening), ahead of a Sony Pictures Classics release this spring, the first trailer has now arrived for the tale of uncouth love among the upper class.
“The play was trying to do something surprising and new: to show people behaving in naturalistic ways, to eschew histrionics and telegraphed emotions for something more nuanced,” Mayer tells EW. “[It allowed] the actors to truly live inside the characters they were playing, and to introduce the concept of subtext to world drama.”
Also starring Corey Stoll, Elisabeth Moss, Mare Winningham, John Tenney, Glenn Fleshler, Michael Zegen, Billy Howle, and Brian Dennehy, see the trailer below.
One summer at a lakeside Russian estate, friends and...
“The play was trying to do something surprising and new: to show people behaving in naturalistic ways, to eschew histrionics and telegraphed emotions for something more nuanced,” Mayer tells EW. “[It allowed] the actors to truly live inside the characters they were playing, and to introduce the concept of subtext to world drama.”
Also starring Corey Stoll, Elisabeth Moss, Mare Winningham, John Tenney, Glenn Fleshler, Michael Zegen, Billy Howle, and Brian Dennehy, see the trailer below.
One summer at a lakeside Russian estate, friends and...
- 3/7/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Sony Classics have revealed the first trailer of the enchanting The Seagull featuring Lady Bird actress Saoirse Ronan and Annette Benning.
Based on The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, the film tells the story of a young woman named Nina (Ronan) who falls in love with the wrong man, a writer named Boris Trigorin played by Corey Stoll.
Also in trailers – Saoirse Ronan stars in first look trailer for On Chesil Beach
Directed by Michael Mayer from a screenplay by Stephen Karam, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Annette Bening, Billy Howle and Corey Stoll.
The film is due for release in 2018
The Seagull Synopsis
An ageing actress named Irina Arkadina pays summer visits to her brother Pjotr Nikolayevich Sorin and her son Konstantin on a country estate. On one occasion, she brings Trigorin, a successful novelist, with her. Nina, a free and innocent girl on a neighbouring estate, falls in love with Boris Trigorin.
Based on The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, the film tells the story of a young woman named Nina (Ronan) who falls in love with the wrong man, a writer named Boris Trigorin played by Corey Stoll.
Also in trailers – Saoirse Ronan stars in first look trailer for On Chesil Beach
Directed by Michael Mayer from a screenplay by Stephen Karam, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Annette Bening, Billy Howle and Corey Stoll.
The film is due for release in 2018
The Seagull Synopsis
An ageing actress named Irina Arkadina pays summer visits to her brother Pjotr Nikolayevich Sorin and her son Konstantin on a country estate. On one occasion, she brings Trigorin, a successful novelist, with her. Nina, a free and innocent girl on a neighbouring estate, falls in love with Boris Trigorin.
- 3/7/2018
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
"The stage is set for a little family drama..." Sony Classics has debuted the first trailer for the period drama The Seagull, based on the classic play of the same name by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. The film stars Annette Bening as an aging actress named Irina, who visits her brother, Pjotr, and son, Konstantin on a secluded country estate in the summer. Irina introduces a successful novelist, Boris, to Nina, the free-spirited young woman from a neighboring estate. She falls for Boris, and this causes quite the commotion at the estate, but of course. Saoirse Ronan also stars as Nina, with a cast including Elisabeth Moss, Billy Howle, Corey Stoll, Michael Zegen, Mare Winningham, Brian Dennehy, Glenn Fleshler, & Jon Tenney. This looks much more light-hearted than expected, possibly quite fun, if love affairs can be "fun". Here's the first official trailer for Michael Mayer's The Seagull, originally embedded from EW.
- 3/6/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
After receiving her third Oscar nomination by the age of 23, Saoirse Ronan will follow up “Lady Bird” with a return to her period drama roots, starring alongside four-time Oscar nominee Annette Bening for an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s stage classic “The Seagull.” Originally written in 1895, “The Seagull” is the Russian playwright’s first of four major plays. “The Seagull” has seen countless stage adaptations over the years, including ballets, operas and two film adaptations — one directed by Sidney Lumet. A recently released trailer positions the drama as a comedy of errors, showcasing the immense acting talent who were clearly drawn to the classic material.
The new adaptation stars Bening as the fading actress Irina Arkadina, Ronan as the pretty ingenue Nina, Corey Stoll (“House of Cards”) as the famous writer Boris Trigorin, Billy Howle as the lovesick Konstantin, and Elisabeth Moss as his admirer Masha. Set on a Russian country estate,...
The new adaptation stars Bening as the fading actress Irina Arkadina, Ronan as the pretty ingenue Nina, Corey Stoll (“House of Cards”) as the famous writer Boris Trigorin, Billy Howle as the lovesick Konstantin, and Elisabeth Moss as his admirer Masha. Set on a Russian country estate,...
- 3/6/2018
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
BroadwayWorld has just learned that Sony Pictures Classics' film adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, is set to be released in May 2018. The film is directed by Tony winner Michael Mayer and adapted for the screen by Tony winner Stephen Karam. The Seagull is fresh and modern and as relevant now as when it was first produced in 1903 Russia. It is the story of eight people, all of whom are fatally in love with the wrong person.
- 2/8/2018
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
On Broadway and beyond, a curtain can rise as quickly as it can fall; a star can be swapped as easily as Bernie Telsey can say, “That’s enough.” Theater is the beating heart of New York show business and, if you want to make it here, it’s crucial you’re up to date on incoming projects, latest castings, and other industry news. Don’t worry, Broadway baby, Backstage has your back. Every week, we’re rounding up the can’t-miss stories no thespian should live without, so you can focus on important matters like hitting your high F. Curtain up and light those lights! Broadway’s officially got the beat.Confirming speculation, The Go-Go’s musical “Head Over Heels” will take its Broadway bow this summer at the Hudson Theatre. Beginning performances June 23 with an official opening set for July 26, the jukebox tuner will star Peppermint of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,...
- 2/1/2018
- backstage.com
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