Plot: A mild-mannered psychology professor (Glen Powell) interested in electronics takes a sideline bugging undercover cops in sting operations, specializing in setting up phony hits. When the usual undercover guy is suspended, he’s enlisted to pose as a hitman. He turns out to be a natural at undercover work, with the police using him to entrap people taking out contracts. Things get complicated when he falls for an abused wife (Adria Arjona) wanting to take out her husband.
Review: Richard Linklater’s Hit Man is the movie where Glen Powell finally becomes a legit star. Granted, there was little to no doubt remaining in anyone’s head after his breakout turn in Top Gun: Maverick, but in Hit Man, his charisma is so white hot and old-school in that true movie star way that he should rocket to the top of everyone’s young leading man list. Linklater previously...
Review: Richard Linklater’s Hit Man is the movie where Glen Powell finally becomes a legit star. Granted, there was little to no doubt remaining in anyone’s head after his breakout turn in Top Gun: Maverick, but in Hit Man, his charisma is so white hot and old-school in that true movie star way that he should rocket to the top of everyone’s young leading man list. Linklater previously...
- 5/16/2024
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Glen Powell is using his undeniable charm to put people behind bars in the new trailer for Netflix’s Hit Man. The streaming service released the official trailer for the Richard Linklater-directed film on Thursday, showing Powell as a strait-laced professor with a hidden talent as a fake hit man.
As a part-time, undercover hit man for the New Orleans Police Department, Gary Johnson (Powell) takes on several disguises sporting fake teeth, strawberry bobs, leather trench coats, and three-piece suits to lure in criminals. But he loses focus after meeting client Madison,...
As a part-time, undercover hit man for the New Orleans Police Department, Gary Johnson (Powell) takes on several disguises sporting fake teeth, strawberry bobs, leather trench coats, and three-piece suits to lure in criminals. But he loses focus after meeting client Madison,...
- 4/18/2024
- by Kalia Richardson
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Middle grader book series Kiranmala & The Kingdom Beyond is getting the animated television adaptation treatment.
Undone and The Kollective producer Submarine and Rebel Maverick have teamed to create a TV version of Sayantani DasGupta’s book series. DasGupta will adapt the stories with animation writer veteran and Emmy winner Michael Ryan.
Published by Scholastic, Kiranmala & The Kingdom Beyond debuted in 2018 with The Serpent’s Secret. It won several book awards, with Kiranmala & The Kingdom Beyond: Game of Stars following in 2019 and entering the New York Times bestseller list. A third book, Kiranmala & The Kingdom Beyond: The Chaos Curse, published in 2020, while a spin-off series, Force of Fire, published a year and a third trilogy, The Secrets of the Sky, launched in July last year.
The first book trilogy will be the focus on the TV series. Ryan and DasGupta will write the pilot,...
Undone and The Kollective producer Submarine and Rebel Maverick have teamed to create a TV version of Sayantani DasGupta’s book series. DasGupta will adapt the stories with animation writer veteran and Emmy winner Michael Ryan.
Published by Scholastic, Kiranmala & The Kingdom Beyond debuted in 2018 with The Serpent’s Secret. It won several book awards, with Kiranmala & The Kingdom Beyond: Game of Stars following in 2019 and entering the New York Times bestseller list. A third book, Kiranmala & The Kingdom Beyond: The Chaos Curse, published in 2020, while a spin-off series, Force of Fire, published a year and a third trilogy, The Secrets of the Sky, launched in July last year.
The first book trilogy will be the focus on the TV series. Ryan and DasGupta will write the pilot,...
- 3/1/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Screen can reveal the first trailer for animated feature Fox And Hare Save The Forest, ahead of its world premiere at the Berlinale.
The 3D animation follows a group of animal friends who embark on an adventure when a lake threatens to submerge their forest home, perhaps the work of a megalomaniac beaver. The trailer reveals a stop motion animated feel, which was achieved by making the characters out of clay and 3D-scanning them.
It is directed by Dutch filmmaker and illustrator Mascha Halberstad, whose debut feature Oink premiered in the Berlinale’s youth-focussed Generation sidebar and was nominated for...
The 3D animation follows a group of animal friends who embark on an adventure when a lake threatens to submerge their forest home, perhaps the work of a megalomaniac beaver. The trailer reveals a stop motion animated feel, which was achieved by making the characters out of clay and 3D-scanning them.
It is directed by Dutch filmmaker and illustrator Mascha Halberstad, whose debut feature Oink premiered in the Berlinale’s youth-focussed Generation sidebar and was nominated for...
- 2/14/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Filming is underway on long-gestating European thriller series The Kollective (6 x 60′), which we can reveal will star Natascha McElhone (Californication), Celine Buckens (Showtrial), Felix Mayr (Unorthodox), Gregg Sulkin (Marvel’s Runaways), Grégory Montel (Call My Agent), Karel Roden (A Spy Amongst Friends), Cassiopée Mayance (The Clearstream Affair), Martha Canga Antonio (Lupin) and Ralph Amoussou (Transatlantic).
Produced by Submarine (Apollo 10 ½) and created by Leonardo Fasoli (Gomorrah), Maddalena Ravagli (Gomorrah) and Submarine’s Femke Wolting, the series was commissioned by The European Alliance and will be distributed worldwide by A+E Media Group, with Hulu coming aboard for U.S. distribution.
Inspired by the investigative journalist group Bellingcat, the series will span Europe from Budapest and St. Petersburg in the East to London in the West. It will follow a group of intrepid young citizen journalists who, after a sudden tragedy, find themselves sucked into a web of government lies and corruption.
Produced by Submarine (Apollo 10 ½) and created by Leonardo Fasoli (Gomorrah), Maddalena Ravagli (Gomorrah) and Submarine’s Femke Wolting, the series was commissioned by The European Alliance and will be distributed worldwide by A+E Media Group, with Hulu coming aboard for U.S. distribution.
Inspired by the investigative journalist group Bellingcat, the series will span Europe from Budapest and St. Petersburg in the East to London in the West. It will follow a group of intrepid young citizen journalists who, after a sudden tragedy, find themselves sucked into a web of government lies and corruption.
- 1/31/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) reunites with filmmaker Richard Linklater for Netflix’s Hit Man, a dark comedy so weird it’s hard to believe it’s inspired by a true story. The one-minute teaser stars Powell as a hitman who enjoys pie and promises to eliminate a pretty potential client’s problems. But all is not as it seems…
Glen Powell and director Richard Linklater previously worked together on Fast Food Nation, Everybody Wants Some!! and Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood. With Hit Man, Powell also collaborated with Linklater on the screenplay.
“When I was 14, I worked with Rick for the first time,” said Powell in an interview with Netflix’s Tudum. “And at that point, I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, he’s one of the greats. I’m getting to be on a film set, a Richard Linklater film set.’ And now it’s 20 years later,...
Glen Powell and director Richard Linklater previously worked together on Fast Food Nation, Everybody Wants Some!! and Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood. With Hit Man, Powell also collaborated with Linklater on the screenplay.
“When I was 14, I worked with Rick for the first time,” said Powell in an interview with Netflix’s Tudum. “And at that point, I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, he’s one of the greats. I’m getting to be on a film set, a Richard Linklater film set.’ And now it’s 20 years later,...
- 1/23/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
When someone talks about a “hit man movie,” or a film about a contract killer, certain images spring to mind: a lonely soul, hollowed out on the inside and waiting across a street with a sniper rifle; a merciless killer who takes no pleasure in life while dealing out cold, calculated professionalism in his trade; maybe a lot of glowering. These are familiar tropes which can sometimes be done well—see: David Fincher’s The Killer on Netflix as Exhibit A. Perhaps, however, their familiarity is why Richard Linklater’s Hit Man has struck a chord with everyone who’s laid eyes on it.
An apparently goofy and feel-good story about a wiseacre assassin and the love story he gets wrapped up in along the way, Hit Man is the latest collaboration between the director of Boyhood and the Before Sunrise trilogy and his evermore popular muse, Glen Powell. Powell...
An apparently goofy and feel-good story about a wiseacre assassin and the love story he gets wrapped up in along the way, Hit Man is the latest collaboration between the director of Boyhood and the Before Sunrise trilogy and his evermore popular muse, Glen Powell. Powell...
- 1/22/2024
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
One of the most exciting movie releases of 2024 just got its first trailer. "Hit Man," the latest film by acclaimed indie director Richard Linklater (the man responsible for "School of Rock") received near-universal praise when it screened at film festivals in the fall of last year, and now audiences can finally get a taste of what the fuzz is about. Turns out, a lot of it may just be the chance to see Glen Powell dressing up in a lot of silly outfits. You know what, though? We're fully in.
"Hit Man" sees the latest collaboration between Powell and Linklater after "Everybody Wants Some!!" and "Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood," and this time they also co-wrote the script together, based on the 2001 Texas Monthly magazine article of the same name by Skip Hollandsworth (who also wrote the article that inspired Linklater's "Bernie" as well as co-writing that screenplay...
"Hit Man" sees the latest collaboration between Powell and Linklater after "Everybody Wants Some!!" and "Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood," and this time they also co-wrote the script together, based on the 2001 Texas Monthly magazine article of the same name by Skip Hollandsworth (who also wrote the article that inspired Linklater's "Bernie" as well as co-writing that screenplay...
- 1/22/2024
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
The Killer.How do you make a good movie in this country and be jumped on?Once, in 1967, in the opener for her Bonnie and Clyde review, Pauline Kael asked the opposite question: “How do you make a good movie in this country without being jumped on?” Now, times have changed. Nothing provokes us to jump and say, “Hold the torches! That’s the key! The way forward.”An automatic film like David Fincher’s new thriller, The Killer, comes and goes with the velocity of a Twitter news cycle: about six fervent days of talk. (The seventh and beyond? Fits and bursts of takes amid miles of silence.) Whether you think it’s good or bad, The Killer has not lingered in the popular consciousness. And I can’t imagine it lingering. It might have passed me by with the similarly fleeting presence of recent moving-image works like Richard Linklater...
- 1/3/2024
- MUBI
Glen Powell is only 35 years old, but he’s been around the movie business since he was 10, with his first credit coming as a 14-year-old in “Spy Kids 3D: Game Over” as Long-Fingered Boy. That means, even though he’s only been a part of Hollywood’s A-List for the past few years, he has a much longer filmography to his name — and he’s confident in naming his favorite film experience to date. No, it’s not playing Long-Fingered Boy.
“I’m just trying to make movies that I’d want to see, and I think ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ will be my favorite movie I’ve ever made in my whole life,” the actor told Vogue in a new interview. “There’s not going to be a more charmed, lovely experience. When that movie ended, I sobbed as I was shaving off my thin mustache.”
The ’80s-set comedy...
“I’m just trying to make movies that I’d want to see, and I think ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ will be my favorite movie I’ve ever made in my whole life,” the actor told Vogue in a new interview. “There’s not going to be a more charmed, lovely experience. When that movie ended, I sobbed as I was shaving off my thin mustache.”
The ’80s-set comedy...
- 12/25/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Thanksgiving weekend featured an animation face-off between a titan of the industry, the 100-year-old Walt Disney Animation Studios, and a relative upstart, Netflix, which only started releasing its own animated features in 2019.
Disney’s holiday movie, “Wish,” was a musical extravaganza featuring the watercolor backgrounds of the studio’s past combined with cutting-edge CGI, while Netflix’s “Leo” was a more budget-conscious musical set in modern-day Florida.
It was a showdown of theatrical versus streaming, legacy studio versus blustery upstart, fairy tale versus contemporary storytelling. And the results were startling.
While “Wish” came in third at the box office with a disappointing $31.6 million, the Adam Sandler-starring “Leo” debuted to 34.6 million views (which is hours viewed divided by total runtime), according to Netflix, which in box office terms equaled a haul of around $500 million for its opening weekend, one insider with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap. “Leo” has been...
Disney’s holiday movie, “Wish,” was a musical extravaganza featuring the watercolor backgrounds of the studio’s past combined with cutting-edge CGI, while Netflix’s “Leo” was a more budget-conscious musical set in modern-day Florida.
It was a showdown of theatrical versus streaming, legacy studio versus blustery upstart, fairy tale versus contemporary storytelling. And the results were startling.
While “Wish” came in third at the box office with a disappointing $31.6 million, the Adam Sandler-starring “Leo” debuted to 34.6 million views (which is hours viewed divided by total runtime), according to Netflix, which in box office terms equaled a haul of around $500 million for its opening weekend, one insider with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap. “Leo” has been...
- 12/11/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
“One more time: animation is a medium, not a genre. Animation is film,” Guillermo del Toro said last year. IndieWire couldn’t agree more, and yet animation — an art form that requires the most precise control of the cinematic medium — is continually disrespected.
Infamously, 2022’s Best Animated Oscars presentation featured several jokes about the nominees that, in the words of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, framed “the five Academy Award nominees for Best Animated Feature as a corporate product for kids that parents must begrudgingly endure.” The directing duo called upon the Academy to do better by animation. And this year’s ceremony largely delivered, with less jokes that belittled animation as kiddy stuff and a sterling speech from del Toro himself for his acclaimed stop-motion feature adaptation of “Pinocchio.”
Pixar and Studio Ghibli tend to spring to mind first when discussing great animation, but there’s a world beyond those two giants.
Infamously, 2022’s Best Animated Oscars presentation featured several jokes about the nominees that, in the words of Phil Lord and Chris Miller, framed “the five Academy Award nominees for Best Animated Feature as a corporate product for kids that parents must begrudgingly endure.” The directing duo called upon the Academy to do better by animation. And this year’s ceremony largely delivered, with less jokes that belittled animation as kiddy stuff and a sterling speech from del Toro himself for his acclaimed stop-motion feature adaptation of “Pinocchio.”
Pixar and Studio Ghibli tend to spring to mind first when discussing great animation, but there’s a world beyond those two giants.
- 11/23/2023
- by Bill Desowitz and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
In a shocking move, Skydance Animation has inked a multiyear agreement with Netflix to develop and produce animation features that will be released directly on Netflix. According to the release, the deal also brings Skydance’s full existing animated feature slate exclusively to Netflix.
The move comes only two years after a wide-ranging partnership between Skydance Animation and Apple TV+ was announced, following Apple’s acquisition of Skydance Animation’s “Luck.” That deal was meant to include both television and features. (The Netflix release doesn’t mention television series.)
“Spellbound,” a high-concept musical fantasy from director Vicky Jenson, will be the first film released under the pact, in 2024. The movie features a score by composer Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater and an all-star voice cast led by Rachel Zegler, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Nathan Lane and Tituss Burgess. The movie was previewed at this...
The move comes only two years after a wide-ranging partnership between Skydance Animation and Apple TV+ was announced, following Apple’s acquisition of Skydance Animation’s “Luck.” That deal was meant to include both television and features. (The Netflix release doesn’t mention television series.)
“Spellbound,” a high-concept musical fantasy from director Vicky Jenson, will be the first film released under the pact, in 2024. The movie features a score by composer Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater and an all-star voice cast led by Rachel Zegler, Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis, Nathan Lane and Tituss Burgess. The movie was previewed at this...
- 10/18/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
After the immense back-to-back reception of Before Midnight and Boyhood, Ricard Linklater hasn’t been stuck in a creative rut per se, with highlights such as Everybody Wants Some!! and Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood, but it’s safe to say he’s earned the most acclaim in quite some time with Hit Man. With the Glen Powell collaboration picked up by Netflix, hopefully the studio gives it more love than their last Linklater release. Now, the director has already revealed the first tidbits about his next project.
Speaking to Gregg Araki for Interview Magazine, Linklater has unveiled he’s planning to shoot a French-language film in Paris with French actors. “It’s like a New Wave film,” the director noted. Considering Linklater’s Antoine Doinel-esque cinematic experiment with Boyhood, not to mention how many of his films incorporate a fleet-footed formalness so synonymous with the French New Wave,...
Speaking to Gregg Araki for Interview Magazine, Linklater has unveiled he’s planning to shoot a French-language film in Paris with French actors. “It’s like a New Wave film,” the director noted. Considering Linklater’s Antoine Doinel-esque cinematic experiment with Boyhood, not to mention how many of his films incorporate a fleet-footed formalness so synonymous with the French New Wave,...
- 10/10/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Every year, the fall film festival season (try saying that five times fast) brings all sorts of discussion points to those who of us who are way too plugged into such things, from Academy Awards buzz for certain performances and movies to potentially controversial subject matter on the horizon and everything in between. But, ideally, these sorts of early screenings also help put certain kinds of movies on the radar for a wider range of audiences, shining a spotlight on titles that many might not have even heard of before. And, in some cases, a wave of overwhelmingly positive critic reactions and reviews can play a big role in helping them land distribution partners at a pretty penny.
Such appears to be the case with "Hit Man," the latest movie by acclaimed filmmaker Richard Linklater. Upon debuting at this year's Venice Film Festival and swiftly building up even more hype...
Such appears to be the case with "Hit Man," the latest movie by acclaimed filmmaker Richard Linklater. Upon debuting at this year's Venice Film Festival and swiftly building up even more hype...
- 9/20/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
Netflix has made a big splash at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival by acquiring the streaming rights of Richard Linklater’s latest film ‘Hit Man’ for a staggering 20 million Usd. The action comedy, which stars Glen Powell as a professional killer who is actually an undercover agent, has been praised by critics and audiences alike for its witty script, thrilling action sequences, and stellar performances.
‘Hit Man’ follows the adventures of Gary Johnson, a hit man who takes assignments from various clients and executes them with precision and skill. However, he is not really a cold-blooded killer, but a secret agent who works for the police. He uses his cover as a hit man to infiltrate criminal organizations and bring them down from within. Things get complicated when he tries to save a woman from her abusive husband and ends up in a dangerous situation.
The film marks the third collaboration between Linklater and Powell,...
‘Hit Man’ follows the adventures of Gary Johnson, a hit man who takes assignments from various clients and executes them with precision and skill. However, he is not really a cold-blooded killer, but a secret agent who works for the police. He uses his cover as a hit man to infiltrate criminal organizations and bring them down from within. Things get complicated when he tries to save a woman from her abusive husband and ends up in a dangerous situation.
The film marks the third collaboration between Linklater and Powell,...
- 9/19/2023
- by amalprasadappu
- https://thecinemanews.online/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_4649
As the dual strike continues to chug along, the buzziest title of the fall festivals has found a home. The Richard Linklater-directed Hit Man, which was co-written by and stars Top Gun: Maverick breakout Glen Powell, has landed at Netflix after interest from multiple buyers, mostly the streaming services. Netflix landed it in a $20 million deal.
Hit Man tells the story of a real-life, mild-mannered psychology professor (Powell) who also posed as undercover hitman for the New Orleans police. But when he breaks protocol to help a desperate woman (played by Adria Arjona) trying to flee an abusive boyfriend, the character finds himself becoming one of his false personas, falling for the woman and flirting with turning into a criminal himself. The feature is based on a 2001 Texas Monthly true-crime article from Skip Hollandsworth, who worked with Linklater on Bernie.
Out of the Venice Film Festival, Hit Man received positive reviews.
Hit Man tells the story of a real-life, mild-mannered psychology professor (Powell) who also posed as undercover hitman for the New Orleans police. But when he breaks protocol to help a desperate woman (played by Adria Arjona) trying to flee an abusive boyfriend, the character finds himself becoming one of his false personas, falling for the woman and flirting with turning into a criminal himself. The feature is based on a 2001 Texas Monthly true-crime article from Skip Hollandsworth, who worked with Linklater on Bernie.
Out of the Venice Film Festival, Hit Man received positive reviews.
- 9/18/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix shelled out a staggering $20 million for “Hit Man,” a (sort of) true-crime comedy from director Richard Linklater and star Glen Powell. The streaming service has acquired rights in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and other key international territories.
The movie, which played to enthusiastic crowds at Venice and Toronto film festivals, has been one of the few notable sales from this year’s fall festival circuit. Netflix also acquired Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut “Woman of the Hour” out of TIFF for $11 million, while A24 nabbed the Colman Domingo-led “Sing Sing.” But deals have been slow to come together for other movies on the market, such as Chris Pine’s “Poolman” or Viggo Mortensen’s “The Dead Don’t Hurt.”
“Hit Man” follows Powell as Gary Johnson, a part-time teacher who moonlights as a mysterious gun man for hire. But there’s a catch in hiring him to...
The movie, which played to enthusiastic crowds at Venice and Toronto film festivals, has been one of the few notable sales from this year’s fall festival circuit. Netflix also acquired Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut “Woman of the Hour” out of TIFF for $11 million, while A24 nabbed the Colman Domingo-led “Sing Sing.” But deals have been slow to come together for other movies on the market, such as Chris Pine’s “Poolman” or Viggo Mortensen’s “The Dead Don’t Hurt.”
“Hit Man” follows Powell as Gary Johnson, a part-time teacher who moonlights as a mysterious gun man for hire. But there’s a catch in hiring him to...
- 9/18/2023
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Netflix closed a $20 million deal on Hit Man, making the biggest deal at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and of the year for that matter. After the Richard Linklater-directed noir comic thriller debuted to raves at Venice, the film was expected to fetch the biggest deal of the fall festivals so far. Hit Man did not disappoint. Hit Man stars Top Gun Maverick’s Glen Powell and Adria Arjona (Andor) playing the most unlikely romantic partners, in performances that will boost each of their careers. Especially Powell, who co-wrote with Linklater what will be a major star turn for him. Netflix got US, UK, Australia/New Zealand, India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, and Iceland. There is also a theatrical component to the deal, I’ve heard.
Heading into its final weekend, TIFF had been slow so far on the deal front, but this...
Heading into its final weekend, TIFF had been slow so far on the deal front, but this...
- 9/18/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Not a lot was expected of Richard Linklater’s 23rd film, “Hit Man,” before it premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival on Tuesday, September 5. For one, it was coming at the end of a mini trend of films studying contract killers (or those who impersonate them). First came David Fincher’s “The Killer.” There was also Woody Allen’s “Coup de Chance,” which has a murder-for-hire as a central plotline. “Hit Man” came relatively late to the game, but in the process may have snatched the thunder out from under the other two in terms of audience response and early critical buzz that’s heaping praise on the acclaimed director of “Boyhood,” “School of Rock,” “Apollo 10 1/2,” “Before Sunset” and “Before Midnight.”
The indie action comedy “Hit Man” stars Glen Powell, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Linklater. The story is very loosely based on a 2001 Texas Monthly article...
The indie action comedy “Hit Man” stars Glen Powell, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Linklater. The story is very loosely based on a 2001 Texas Monthly article...
- 9/5/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man” received a spirited five-minute standing ovation on Tuesday night, as the director handed out high fives.
The action comedy, which stars Glen Powell, received cheers from the beginning, with the crowd clapping throughout the film during various scenes.
During the standing ovation, Linklater looked overwhelmed by the applause, mouthing “thank you so much” and holding his hand to his heart. After the applause lasted several minutes, Linklater exchanged high fives with those near him, including his partner Christina Harrison and their daughter.
Linklater spoke at the film’s Venice press conference about working so closely with Powell on “Hit Man,” saying, “We never quit working on this movie. We worked all weekend, we worked all night. We were shooting in New Orleans and we never went out. I think we went out to eat once.”
“Hit Man” received strong reviews out of Venice, with Variety...
The action comedy, which stars Glen Powell, received cheers from the beginning, with the crowd clapping throughout the film during various scenes.
During the standing ovation, Linklater looked overwhelmed by the applause, mouthing “thank you so much” and holding his hand to his heart. After the applause lasted several minutes, Linklater exchanged high fives with those near him, including his partner Christina Harrison and their daughter.
Linklater spoke at the film’s Venice press conference about working so closely with Powell on “Hit Man,” saying, “We never quit working on this movie. We worked all weekend, we worked all night. We were shooting in New Orleans and we never went out. I think we went out to eat once.”
“Hit Man” received strong reviews out of Venice, with Variety...
- 9/5/2023
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Is it something in the air? At this year’s Venice Film Festival, the unofficial theme appears to be hit men. David Fincher’s “The Killer” is all about an icy methodical professional executioner. Woody Allen’s “Coup de Chance” turns on an act of murder-for-hire. And now, just in time to steal the buzz from both those movies, we have Richard Linklater’s “Hit Man,” a screwball philosophical thriller comedy noir about the world’s unlikeliest undercover agent. He’s a one-of-a-kind movie hero, though in more ways than not he’s just like us.
The movie, which is based on a 2001 Texas Monthly article, tells the tale of Gary Johnson, a part-time college teacher who works for the New Orleans Police Department as a tech consultant, helping to make recordings of sting operations. Then he’s tapped to go undercover himself. Why would this even happen? The film...
The movie, which is based on a 2001 Texas Monthly article, tells the tale of Gary Johnson, a part-time college teacher who works for the New Orleans Police Department as a tech consultant, helping to make recordings of sting operations. Then he’s tapped to go undercover himself. Why would this even happen? The film...
- 9/5/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Richard Linklater’s features since his masterwork Boyhood (2014) — Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood, Where’d You Go, Bernadette, Last Flag Flying, and Everybody Wants Some!! — have been a decidedly mixed bag, but Hit Man finds him having a blast with a sexy black comedy boasting a sly streak of poignancy. Redoubtable supporting player Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) here offers a career-boosting, range-flaunting turn as a geeky academic who stumbles into doing a very specific kind of undercover work for the police: posing as, per the title, a hit man.
But when he falls for Adria Arjona’s saucy semi-fatale femme — who at one point tries to hire him to kill her husband — farcical maneuvers are required to keep both of them out of trouble. Given the chemistry between the two leads that could restart a dormant nuclear power plant, viewers are likely to come away sated with...
But when he falls for Adria Arjona’s saucy semi-fatale femme — who at one point tries to hire him to kill her husband — farcical maneuvers are required to keep both of them out of trouble. Given the chemistry between the two leads that could restart a dormant nuclear power plant, viewers are likely to come away sated with...
- 9/5/2023
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Richard Linklater’s Hit Man debuts out of competition in Venice this evening, and while the story follows a professional killer, the filmmaker told the press corps today, “I’m pretty sure movies invented hitmen, they aren’t real.”
His theory, “Have you ever heard of a hitman being arrested? You hear of people soliciting hitmen all the time, but they don’t exist. Mobs, drug cartels yes… but this idea, that couldn’t be more clear. Like, there’s no such thing that you meet someone that you’ve never met that you just pay like you’re paying them to mow your lawn to kill someone… It would be so easy to arrest them.”
The film aims in part to deconstruct the notion of the gun for hire. Linklater added, “The more interesting thing is why we love that character so much. It goes with cinema, there’s so many great hitmen.
His theory, “Have you ever heard of a hitman being arrested? You hear of people soliciting hitmen all the time, but they don’t exist. Mobs, drug cartels yes… but this idea, that couldn’t be more clear. Like, there’s no such thing that you meet someone that you’ve never met that you just pay like you’re paying them to mow your lawn to kill someone… It would be so easy to arrest them.”
The film aims in part to deconstruct the notion of the gun for hire. Linklater added, “The more interesting thing is why we love that character so much. It goes with cinema, there’s so many great hitmen.
- 9/5/2023
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The 16th century literary classic Journey to the West is the mother of all Chinese fantasy. The mythological saga has spawned countless adaptations in various media across Asia and beyond, from the cult late ‘70s Japanese TV series to Peking Opera, videogames, graphic novels and a stage spectacle with a score by Blur frontman Damon Albarn and design elements by Gorillaz illustrator Jamie Hewlett.
Prominent among the innumerable film versions is the 2013 blockbuster Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, directed by Stephen Chow. A similar livewire action-comedy energy infuses Netflix’s The Monkey King, a children’s animated feature based on the sprawling novel’s most popular strand, on which Chow serves as executive producer.
Following well-received originals like Klaus, Over the Moon, My Father’s Dragon, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood — plus such smart acquisitions as The Mitchells vs. the Machines...
Prominent among the innumerable film versions is the 2013 blockbuster Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, directed by Stephen Chow. A similar livewire action-comedy energy infuses Netflix’s The Monkey King, a children’s animated feature based on the sprawling novel’s most popular strand, on which Chow serves as executive producer.
Following well-received originals like Klaus, Over the Moon, My Father’s Dragon, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio and Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood — plus such smart acquisitions as The Mitchells vs. the Machines...
- 8/15/2023
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Vertical has locked down rights to the romantic comedy Match Me If You Can for North America, the UK and Ireland. Marking the feature debut of director Marian Yeager, the film is now set for a day-and-date release on August 11th. Among the major titles opening against it are Sony’s Gran Turismo and Universal’s Last Voyage of the Demeter.
Written by Betsy Morris, Match Me If You Can watches as female computer nerd Kip Parsons (Quantum Leap‘s Georgina Reilly) declares war on iPromise, an online dating service that rejected her as “unmatchable.” Taking her case to social media, she goes viral and becomes the reluctant champion for all those frustrated singles out there. When the company masterminded by Riley Detamore (All Rise‘s Wilson Bethel) finds itself at risk because her blog has gone viral, Riley maps out a plan to find out why. A chance...
Written by Betsy Morris, Match Me If You Can watches as female computer nerd Kip Parsons (Quantum Leap‘s Georgina Reilly) declares war on iPromise, an online dating service that rejected her as “unmatchable.” Taking her case to social media, she goes viral and becomes the reluctant champion for all those frustrated singles out there. When the company masterminded by Riley Detamore (All Rise‘s Wilson Bethel) finds itself at risk because her blog has gone viral, Riley maps out a plan to find out why. A chance...
- 7/25/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Richard Linklater, the acclaimed director of Boyhood and Before Sunrise, is back with a new film that promises to be a thrilling and hilarious ride. Hit Man, which is based on a true story, stars Glen Powell as an undercover cop who poses as a hit man to catch criminals. However, things get complicated when he meets a woman (Adria Arjona) who wants to escape from an abusive relationship. Will he be able to save her without blowing his cover?
Hit Man is adapted from a Texas Monthly article by Skip Hollandsworth, who also co-wrote Linklater’s 2011 film Bernie. Linklater and Powell co-wrote the screenplay for Hit Man, which marks their fourth collaboration after Fast Food Nation, Everybody Wants Some!!, and Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood. The film also features Retta, Austin Amelio, and Molly Bernard in supporting roles.
The film was shot in New Orleans in October and...
Hit Man is adapted from a Texas Monthly article by Skip Hollandsworth, who also co-wrote Linklater’s 2011 film Bernie. Linklater and Powell co-wrote the screenplay for Hit Man, which marks their fourth collaboration after Fast Food Nation, Everybody Wants Some!!, and Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood. The film also features Retta, Austin Amelio, and Molly Bernard in supporting roles.
The film was shot in New Orleans in October and...
- 7/25/2023
- by amalprasadappu
- https://thecinemanews.online/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/IMG_4649
Magic Fair, a Miami-Paris based indie sales company and Hong Kong- and Paris-based All Rights Entertainment have launched rights sales on upcoming feature animation “Pigsy,” directed by Chiu Li-Wei (“Barkley”) during the Cannes Film Festival’s Marche du Film.
The film is a reimagining of the classic Chinese tale “Journey to the West.” The story follows a self-absorbed and lazy pig on a journey to lasting happiness. Set in a distant future, the film sees Pigsy embark on a deceitful quest for a better life, only to find that true happiness may be closer than he thinks.
The production has recently added Taiwanese stars Greg Han, Liu Kuan-Ting, Harlem Yu, Tuo Tsung-Hua, Chung Hsin-Ling, Ivy Shao, Waa Wei and K.R. Bros. The film is to be completed in time for release at Chinese New Year in early 2024. Production is by the Netherland’s studio Submarine with Taiwan’s Greener Grass (“GrX”) and Studio2.
The film is a reimagining of the classic Chinese tale “Journey to the West.” The story follows a self-absorbed and lazy pig on a journey to lasting happiness. Set in a distant future, the film sees Pigsy embark on a deceitful quest for a better life, only to find that true happiness may be closer than he thinks.
The production has recently added Taiwanese stars Greg Han, Liu Kuan-Ting, Harlem Yu, Tuo Tsung-Hua, Chung Hsin-Ling, Ivy Shao, Waa Wei and K.R. Bros. The film is to be completed in time for release at Chinese New Year in early 2024. Production is by the Netherland’s studio Submarine with Taiwan’s Greener Grass (“GrX”) and Studio2.
- 5/25/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Mediawan has been shaking the foundations of the film and TV world in France and Europe since it was launched in 2015 by producer Pierre-Antoine Capton, billionaire entrepreneur Xavier Niel and financier Matthieu Pigasse.
Raising an initial $342 million (300 million euros) by listing shares on the Euronext Paris stock exchange in 2016, the Paris-based group has since gathered some 70 film and TV production labels under its umbrella as well as secured the backing of U.S. investment firms Kkr and Atwater Capitol.
High-profile acquisitions have included the television division of Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp; Lagardère Studios and its 25 labels, including Spain’s Boomerang Group; French production houses Chapter 2, Chi-Fou-Mi, Radar Films and Call My Agent creator Mon Voisin Productions as well as Italian producer Palomar.
Elisabeth d’Arvieu
In 2021, it took a majority stake in the U.K.’s Drama Republic, while on the eve of Cannes, it bought Submarine, the Amsterdam and...
Raising an initial $342 million (300 million euros) by listing shares on the Euronext Paris stock exchange in 2016, the Paris-based group has since gathered some 70 film and TV production labels under its umbrella as well as secured the backing of U.S. investment firms Kkr and Atwater Capitol.
High-profile acquisitions have included the television division of Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp; Lagardère Studios and its 25 labels, including Spain’s Boomerang Group; French production houses Chapter 2, Chi-Fou-Mi, Radar Films and Call My Agent creator Mon Voisin Productions as well as Italian producer Palomar.
Elisabeth d’Arvieu
In 2021, it took a majority stake in the U.K.’s Drama Republic, while on the eve of Cannes, it bought Submarine, the Amsterdam and...
- 5/21/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Latin representation in television and film has dropped to 2019 levels, according to a new diversity report from the Latino Donor Collaborative, a nonprofit that researches the Latin community in the U.S.
According to its 2022 report, the percentage of Latin stars, co-stars, showrunners and directors all decreased from 2021 to 2022. Last year saw 2.6 percent Latin leads on television, as opposed to 2.9 percent the year before; 2.6 percent co-leads in 2022 versus 3.7 percent in 2021; 1.4 percent of showrunners last year, contrary to 2.5 percent the year before; and 1.5 percent Latin directors as opposed to 2.5 percent in 2021.
Film projects also saw a drop in Latin representation, including stars, screenwriters and directors between 2021 and 2022, despite the population making up 19 percent of the country. Latin stars made up 5.1 percent of films in 2022, more than two percent less than the year before. However, when it came to co-stars, there was a brief increase, with 4.5 percent of co-lead ensembles being led by Latin people,...
According to its 2022 report, the percentage of Latin stars, co-stars, showrunners and directors all decreased from 2021 to 2022. Last year saw 2.6 percent Latin leads on television, as opposed to 2.9 percent the year before; 2.6 percent co-leads in 2022 versus 3.7 percent in 2021; 1.4 percent of showrunners last year, contrary to 2.5 percent the year before; and 1.5 percent Latin directors as opposed to 2.5 percent in 2021.
Film projects also saw a drop in Latin representation, including stars, screenwriters and directors between 2021 and 2022, despite the population making up 19 percent of the country. Latin stars made up 5.1 percent of films in 2022, more than two percent less than the year before. However, when it came to co-stars, there was a brief increase, with 4.5 percent of co-lead ensembles being led by Latin people,...
- 5/3/2023
- by Christy Piña
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
European production group Mediawan, which recently made headlines when it acquired a majority stake in Brad Pitt’s outfit Plan B Entertainment, has sealed another M&a deal, taking a majority stake in Submarine, the Dutch-based producers of Amazon Prime series Undone from Bojack Horseman creators Kate Purdy and Raphael Bob Waksberg.
Submarine’s credits also include “A Dream of a Thousand Cats,” an episode of Netflix and Warner Bros. Television’s The Sandman, Richard Linklater’s latest film Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood (also on Netflix), and the Emmy Award-winning documentaries Last Hijack and Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World.
Among their upcoming projects are drama series The Kollective written by Gomorrah and ZeroZeroZero showrunner Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Rvaglia; and Safe Harbor a true-crime-inspired series by Ozark co-creator Mark Williams.
“We are delighted to welcome within Mediawan a team as creative and renowned as the Submarine team,...
Submarine’s credits also include “A Dream of a Thousand Cats,” an episode of Netflix and Warner Bros. Television’s The Sandman, Richard Linklater’s latest film Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood (also on Netflix), and the Emmy Award-winning documentaries Last Hijack and Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World.
Among their upcoming projects are drama series The Kollective written by Gomorrah and ZeroZeroZero showrunner Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Rvaglia; and Safe Harbor a true-crime-inspired series by Ozark co-creator Mark Williams.
“We are delighted to welcome within Mediawan a team as creative and renowned as the Submarine team,...
- 4/17/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Plan B’s new owner Mediawan is pursuing its buying spree with the acquisition of a majority stake in the Emmy Award-winning company Submarine. The Amsterdam-based company develops and produces international scripted series and feature films and documentaries, and owns the largest animation studio in the Netherlands.
Submarine’s film and series credits include the Emmy Award-winning documentary “Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World,” and the Netflix original production “Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press.” Most recently, Submarine produced Richard Linklater’s latest film “Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood” for Netflix, and the Amazon Prime Video series “Undone” created by Kate Purdy and Raphael Bob Waksberg. Upcoming projects include the upscale drama series “The Kollective” written by “Gomorrah” and “ZeroZeroZero” showrunner Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Rvaglia; as well as “Safe Harbor” which is inspired by true events crime series and is created by Mark Williams (“Ozark”).
This...
Submarine’s film and series credits include the Emmy Award-winning documentary “Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World,” and the Netflix original production “Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press.” Most recently, Submarine produced Richard Linklater’s latest film “Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood” for Netflix, and the Amazon Prime Video series “Undone” created by Kate Purdy and Raphael Bob Waksberg. Upcoming projects include the upscale drama series “The Kollective” written by “Gomorrah” and “ZeroZeroZero” showrunner Leonardo Fasoli and Maddalena Rvaglia; as well as “Safe Harbor” which is inspired by true events crime series and is created by Mark Williams (“Ozark”).
This...
- 4/17/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
France’s Mediawan has continued its acquisitions spree by acquiring Submarine, the international producer behind Richard Linklater’s animated film Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood.
The deal, financial terms of which were not disclosed, is for a majority stake in the company, which has offices in Amsterdam, London and L.A.
Mediawan, which last year bought Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment and has been expanding internationally, claimed the Submarine acquisition builds its “House of Talent” credentials. It is led by CEO Pierre-Antoine Capton, who struck a $107M co-development and financing deal with private equity Entourage Ventures earlier this year that Mediawan Rights boss Valerie Vleeschhouwer recently outlined in more detail in an interview with Deadline.
Submarine is known for the Emmy-winning documentary Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World, Netflix original Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press and most recently Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood...
The deal, financial terms of which were not disclosed, is for a majority stake in the company, which has offices in Amsterdam, London and L.A.
Mediawan, which last year bought Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment and has been expanding internationally, claimed the Submarine acquisition builds its “House of Talent” credentials. It is led by CEO Pierre-Antoine Capton, who struck a $107M co-development and financing deal with private equity Entourage Ventures earlier this year that Mediawan Rights boss Valerie Vleeschhouwer recently outlined in more detail in an interview with Deadline.
Submarine is known for the Emmy-winning documentary Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World, Netflix original Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press and most recently Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood...
- 4/17/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages are Davis’ assessment of the current standings of the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any film or performance. Like any organization or body that votes, each individual category is fluid and subject to change. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
See the latest film predictions, in all 23 categories, in one place on Variety’s Oscars Collective.
See the 2022-2023 Awards Season calendar for all key dates and timelines.
Countdown to the Oscars with Variety here.
Last Updated: March 9, 2022
2023 Academy Awards Predictions (Final Individual Categories)
Best Picture | Director | Actor | Actress | Supporting Actor | Supporting Actress | Original Screenplay | Adapted Screenplay | Animated Feature | Production Design | Cinematography | Costume Design...
See the latest film predictions, in all 23 categories, in one place on Variety’s Oscars Collective.
See the 2022-2023 Awards Season calendar for all key dates and timelines.
Countdown to the Oscars with Variety here.
Last Updated: March 9, 2022
2023 Academy Awards Predictions (Final Individual Categories)
Best Picture | Director | Actor | Actress | Supporting Actor | Supporting Actress | Original Screenplay | Adapted Screenplay | Animated Feature | Production Design | Cinematography | Costume Design...
- 3/9/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Impressively bleak animated Hungarian sci-fi feature White Plastic Sky imagines a grim dystopia a hundred years from now where, like in Soylent Green (1973), older people are harvested at age 50, turned into trees so that they can become food for the younger generation. Except in this movie, the high-tech cannibalism is no state secret waiting to be blurted out by Charlton Heston, but a fact of life universally accepted phlegmatically by all. It only becomes a problem for protagonist Stefan (Tamas Keresztes) when his wife Nora (Zsofia Szamosi) decides to undergo the “implantation” procedure at age 32, having lost the will to live since the death of their child.
Made using a striking blend of rotoscope-traced live actors and intricate CG-drawn background designs to build a richly detailed world, this could build a cult following off a warm reception in Berlin.
Rotoscoping is a technique that dates back to the earliest days...
Made using a striking blend of rotoscope-traced live actors and intricate CG-drawn background designs to build a richly detailed world, this could build a cult following off a warm reception in Berlin.
Rotoscoping is a technique that dates back to the earliest days...
- 2/28/2023
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It's hard to overstate what a phenomenal year 2022 was for animated films. One of the most adventurous and aesthetically diverse years in recent memory, the animated medium truly had something for everyone. There were stories about the dangers of privatizing prisons presented through the lens of punk rock stop-motion and wisecracking demons, coming-of-age tales marrying anime influences with Y2K pop sensibilities, and just about everything else in between. One of my favorites of the year was Chris Williams' anti-imperialist seafaring adventure flick for Netflix, "The Sea Beast."
Boasting the second-largest Top 10 tenure for a Netflix film launched in 2022, reaching the Top 10 Films (English) list in all 93 countries in which Netflix tracks the Top 10, landing on the Top 10 films list for 40 days or more (non-consecutive) in 30 countries, and continuing to remain the biggest Netflix animated feature to date, "The Sea Beast" was still a bit of a shocker when it...
Boasting the second-largest Top 10 tenure for a Netflix film launched in 2022, reaching the Top 10 Films (English) list in all 93 countries in which Netflix tracks the Top 10, landing on the Top 10 films list for 40 days or more (non-consecutive) in 30 countries, and continuing to remain the biggest Netflix animated feature to date, "The Sea Beast" was still a bit of a shocker when it...
- 2/22/2023
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Team Experience is discussing the various Oscar categories. Here's Abe Friedtanzer and Juan Carlos Ojano.
Abe: It's always a pleasure to talk awards with you, and I'm excited to dive in to the Animated Feature race this year. While I wish that we could have been discussing out-of-the-box choices like Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, Eternal Spring, or Little Nicholas, Happy as Can Be or even mainstream fare that for some reason didn't click like Lightyear and The Bad Guys, there are five worthwhile nominees that did make the cut. I know that I had to seek out The Sea Beast once nominations were announced since I hadn't yet streamed that title, while the other four didn't come as much of a surprise. Going into this race, it feels like Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio is the clear favorite. But it didn't net any other Oscar nominations, which many thought it would.
Abe: It's always a pleasure to talk awards with you, and I'm excited to dive in to the Animated Feature race this year. While I wish that we could have been discussing out-of-the-box choices like Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood, Eternal Spring, or Little Nicholas, Happy as Can Be or even mainstream fare that for some reason didn't click like Lightyear and The Bad Guys, there are five worthwhile nominees that did make the cut. I know that I had to seek out The Sea Beast once nominations were announced since I hadn't yet streamed that title, while the other four didn't come as much of a surprise. Going into this race, it feels like Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio is the clear favorite. But it didn't net any other Oscar nominations, which many thought it would.
- 2/22/2023
- by Juan Carlos Ojano
- FilmExperience
Oscar nomination day is often the most exciting and insufferable day of the year for film fans, as we all dedicate far too much time and energy into debating whether or not a group of rich, wealthy, and powerful industry folks made the "right" judgment call on artistic contributions to the world of cinema. I try my best to not hurt my own feelings by getting personally invested in the outcomes, but it's hard to make that emotional separation when you love movies more than anything else in the world. I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this conflict, where you want to pretend like none of this matters while knowing deep down, it uh, sort of matters a lot.
Historically speaking, the Best Animated Feature category is where I have the hardest time not getting worked up in my feels about the results. Last year was particularly embarrassing for...
Historically speaking, the Best Animated Feature category is where I have the hardest time not getting worked up in my feels about the results. Last year was particularly embarrassing for...
- 1/25/2023
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Netflix)
The proportions of his eponymous stop-motion character are gangly and childlike, in the words of Guillermo del Toro. “They lend themselves to these sort of haphazard rhythms of walking and running that are very endearing. In his apparent simplicity, is a very complex work of design keeping those few elements alive and on top with the raw wood that is simulating hair and branches, and the nails on his back are very expressive and unique and feel almost elemental.” Director Mark Gustafson points out that in the story, he’s carved by a drunken Geppetto making Pinocchio “very primitive in some ways, unfinished, naked, and exposed. That was what we needed for him to go out into the world with. He can’t hide anything. That’s the nature of innocence. You’re wearing it all on the outside and that’s what this character does.
The proportions of his eponymous stop-motion character are gangly and childlike, in the words of Guillermo del Toro. “They lend themselves to these sort of haphazard rhythms of walking and running that are very endearing. In his apparent simplicity, is a very complex work of design keeping those few elements alive and on top with the raw wood that is simulating hair and branches, and the nails on his back are very expressive and unique and feel almost elemental.” Director Mark Gustafson points out that in the story, he’s carved by a drunken Geppetto making Pinocchio “very primitive in some ways, unfinished, naked, and exposed. That was what we needed for him to go out into the world with. He can’t hide anything. That’s the nature of innocence. You’re wearing it all on the outside and that’s what this character does.
- 1/11/2023
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell are set to star in an untitled, R-rated romantic comedy for Sony Pictures.
Will Gluck will direct and re-write a script by Ilana Wolpert (“High School: The Musical: The Series”). Under his production company Olive Bridge Entertainment’s first look deal with Sony, Gluck is also producing alongside Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum.
Sweeney is executive producing through her banner Fifty-Fifty Films. Natalie Sellers and Alyssa Altman will EP for Rk Films.
Also Read:
Sydney Sweeney to Produce and Star in Horror Film ‘Immaculate’ for Black Bear
Plot details are being kept under wraps. The project marks Sweeney’s latest collaboration with the studio after recently wrapping Sony/Marvel’s “Madame Web” and signing on to star in and executive produce a “Barbarella” remake, as well as “The Registration.” The “White Lotus” and “Euphoria” actress also has the films “National Anthem,” “Reality” and “Immaculate” in the works.
Will Gluck will direct and re-write a script by Ilana Wolpert (“High School: The Musical: The Series”). Under his production company Olive Bridge Entertainment’s first look deal with Sony, Gluck is also producing alongside Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum.
Sweeney is executive producing through her banner Fifty-Fifty Films. Natalie Sellers and Alyssa Altman will EP for Rk Films.
Also Read:
Sydney Sweeney to Produce and Star in Horror Film ‘Immaculate’ for Black Bear
Plot details are being kept under wraps. The project marks Sweeney’s latest collaboration with the studio after recently wrapping Sony/Marvel’s “Madame Web” and signing on to star in and executive produce a “Barbarella” remake, as well as “The Registration.” The “White Lotus” and “Euphoria” actress also has the films “National Anthem,” “Reality” and “Immaculate” in the works.
- 1/11/2023
- by Harper Lambert
- The Wrap
Richard Linklater on ‘Battle’ With Academy Over ‘Apollo 10 1/2': ‘If It’s Not Animated, What Is It?’
A version of this story about “Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood” first appeared in the Awards Preview issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
The Academy made Richard Linklater play a waiting game with “Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood,” the playful and vaguely autobiographical fantasy of Stanley, a kid recruited by NASA to go on a trial run to the Moon in advance of the far better-known Apollo 11 mission. Initially, the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch ruled that the film didn’t qualify as animation, with the Academy’s rules displaying a longstanding antipathy toward the use of rotoscoping and other techniques to animate on top of live-action performances. But in November, the branch reversed itself and made the film eligible.
“If it’s not animated, what is it?” Linklater said, laughing. “Their reasoning got more into the artistic-choice realm than the technical realm, you know?...
The Academy made Richard Linklater play a waiting game with “Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood,” the playful and vaguely autobiographical fantasy of Stanley, a kid recruited by NASA to go on a trial run to the Moon in advance of the far better-known Apollo 11 mission. Initially, the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch ruled that the film didn’t qualify as animation, with the Academy’s rules displaying a longstanding antipathy toward the use of rotoscoping and other techniques to animate on top of live-action performances. But in November, the branch reversed itself and made the film eligible.
“If it’s not animated, what is it?” Linklater said, laughing. “Their reasoning got more into the artistic-choice realm than the technical realm, you know?...
- 1/11/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
These are curious days for feature animation. Netflix scaled back its plans in the arena, while two years of releases straight to Disney+ during Covid and under Bob Chapek seem to have seriously devalued the once unstoppable Disney/Pixar animation empire. Universal, though, enjoyed one of the biggest hits ever with the near 1 billion juggernaut “Minions: The Rise of Gru” and also landed the year’s second-biggest animated release with “The Bad Guys.”
Still, animation at the box office and animation in the awards race are two very different things, and it’s unlikely that Academy voters will be checking the grosses as they review the 27 qualifying films in this year’s Best Animated Feature race at the Oscars.
Those 27 include movies from big, traditional studios like Disney/Pixar, Universal’s DreamWorks Animation, Warner Bros. and 20th Century (now part of Disney) – but also a handful of international productions from GKids,...
Still, animation at the box office and animation in the awards race are two very different things, and it’s unlikely that Academy voters will be checking the grosses as they review the 27 qualifying films in this year’s Best Animated Feature race at the Oscars.
Those 27 include movies from big, traditional studios like Disney/Pixar, Universal’s DreamWorks Animation, Warner Bros. and 20th Century (now part of Disney) – but also a handful of international productions from GKids,...
- 1/4/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
We’re fast approaching the end of the third year of Covid and it’s clear by now, if it wasn’t before, that filmgoing will never be the same. The habit is gone, everyone has become accustomed to checking out films at home rather than in theaters, it’s unclear what films people are actually seeing and what they think of them, and it’s evident that most people have, with certain exceptions, simply lost the incentive to mobilize, to actually get off their butts and plunk them down in a theater to see a movie. For a life-long film fanatic as well as a critic for more than a few decades, I’m dismayed that it’s all come to this, but I can’t pretend otherwise, that I don’t see the writing — and the images — on the wall.
Related Story Pete Hammond's 10, Ok 11, Best Movies...
Related Story Pete Hammond's 10, Ok 11, Best Movies...
- 12/29/2022
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
I want to use this blurb to acknowledge a couple of films I’m yet to see that I feel, through a combination of my own personal taste and their critical reception, maybe would’ve made the cut had I seen them this year. The first of which is idiosyncratic anime Director Masaaki Yuasa’s Inu-Oh, a rock opera set amongst 14th century Japanese performers. I’ve been a fan of Yuasa’s bombastic and enveloping style ever since I watched The Tatami Galaxy a few years ago and am dying to see the latest in his ever-growing oeuvre of impressive works. The second film is Kogonada’s After Yang. Anyone who knows me on a personal level will know how much I loved his debut Columbus and to see the filmmaker follow up that up with a quiet, reflective sci-fi sounds too good to miss. That all being said,...
- 12/28/2022
- by James Maitre
- Directors Notes
The ten best films of 2022, in five double features:
10. “Benediction” and 9. “Bros”
How does one become a fully integrated member of society — an artist, a lover, a participant in the marketplace of ideas — when that society constantly rejects your very presence and participation? Two of this year’s best took very different looks at gay creatives looking for love and fulfillment, about a century apart; “Benediction,” Terence Davies’ haunting biopic of WWI poet Siegfried Sassoon (Jack Lowden) takes a much different path than the raucous rom-com starring and co-written by Billy Eichner, but both films followed men seeking their heart’s desire in a world that judges that desire. (The exceptional LGBTQ films “Fire Island” and “The Inspection” fit this category as well.)
8. “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” and 7. “Women Talking”
Laura Poitras’ searing documentary about artist Nan Goldin and Sarah Polley’s screen adaptation of the novel by...
10. “Benediction” and 9. “Bros”
How does one become a fully integrated member of society — an artist, a lover, a participant in the marketplace of ideas — when that society constantly rejects your very presence and participation? Two of this year’s best took very different looks at gay creatives looking for love and fulfillment, about a century apart; “Benediction,” Terence Davies’ haunting biopic of WWI poet Siegfried Sassoon (Jack Lowden) takes a much different path than the raucous rom-com starring and co-written by Billy Eichner, but both films followed men seeking their heart’s desire in a world that judges that desire. (The exceptional LGBTQ films “Fire Island” and “The Inspection” fit this category as well.)
8. “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” and 7. “Women Talking”
Laura Poitras’ searing documentary about artist Nan Goldin and Sarah Polley’s screen adaptation of the novel by...
- 12/20/2022
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
With the pandemic still raging on and many, myself included, still feeling nervous about heading to the theaters, streaming services have been a lifeline for film fans. Netflix still reigns as the victor of the streaming wars and is continuing to establish itself as a certifiable force as a production company. The streamer led the Academy Award nominations last year with "The Power of the Dog," and there's a good chance they'll have plenty to celebrate in the coming weeks regarding this year's slate. 2022 was a time for restructuring and recouping massive losses, but Netflix still managed to put out some undeniably great original narrative features. As we head toward 2023, here are the 15 best original Netflix films of the year, including a few that haven't arrived on the app just yet.
Jackass 4.5
Okay, yeah, I'm kicking off this list by cheating because Netflix didn't make this film, but whatever, it's...
Jackass 4.5
Okay, yeah, I'm kicking off this list by cheating because Netflix didn't make this film, but whatever, it's...
- 12/20/2022
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
The holidays are here, Oscar voters. What are you going to watch?
At this point in the calendar, the answer could almost be “everything” – but maybe not everywhere, and definitely not all at once. The Academy Screening Room, the members-only portal where studios can place their films to be viewed by voters, has 178 films as of the beginning of Christmas week, including every major Best Picture contender except for a pair of three-hour epics only recently unveiled, Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” and James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
Those films, which beg to be seen on the largest and loudest screen possible, have yet to be added to the Academy Screening Room, a placement that costs 20,000 (albeit with a discount available to lower-budget productions). But while the Asr got off to a slow start this year, the other contenders are all now available for members to view, even...
At this point in the calendar, the answer could almost be “everything” – but maybe not everywhere, and definitely not all at once. The Academy Screening Room, the members-only portal where studios can place their films to be viewed by voters, has 178 films as of the beginning of Christmas week, including every major Best Picture contender except for a pair of three-hour epics only recently unveiled, Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” and James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
Those films, which beg to be seen on the largest and loudest screen possible, have yet to be added to the Academy Screening Room, a placement that costs 20,000 (albeit with a discount available to lower-budget productions). But while the Asr got off to a slow start this year, the other contenders are all now available for members to view, even...
- 12/19/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
This article contains spoilers for Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans.
There are many filmmakers these days looking back at their youths via semi-autobiographical reveries: Alfonso Cuarón and Roma; Kenneth Branagh and Belfast; and Richard Linklater Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood is to name just a few. Yet perhaps none have been so naked in their self-portraiture as Steven Spielberg’s recent effort, The Fabelmans.
All of the aforementioned films rename characters and incidents, but The Fabelmans is the only one about how its protagonist grew from an early age into an undeniable filmmaking wunderkind shrouded in an air of destiny; it is also the lone entry in the emerging subgenre to happily include famous anecdotes from the director’s halcyon youth that he’s recounted in countless interviews, such as a chance encounter with the legendary Hollywood director John Ford. Even the physical resemblances between Spielberg and The Fabelmans’ young hero,...
There are many filmmakers these days looking back at their youths via semi-autobiographical reveries: Alfonso Cuarón and Roma; Kenneth Branagh and Belfast; and Richard Linklater Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood is to name just a few. Yet perhaps none have been so naked in their self-portraiture as Steven Spielberg’s recent effort, The Fabelmans.
All of the aforementioned films rename characters and incidents, but The Fabelmans is the only one about how its protagonist grew from an early age into an undeniable filmmaking wunderkind shrouded in an air of destiny; it is also the lone entry in the emerging subgenre to happily include famous anecdotes from the director’s halcyon youth that he’s recounted in countless interviews, such as a chance encounter with the legendary Hollywood director John Ford. Even the physical resemblances between Spielberg and The Fabelmans’ young hero,...
- 12/17/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Oscars: ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ could lead stop-motion renaissance in Best Animated Feature
From prestige critical darlings like “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” to gonzo arthouse fare like Phil Tippett’s “Mad God,” stop-motion filmmaking is in the midst of a renaissance. As opposed to traditional and computer-generated animation, stop motion is achieved by physically manipulating puppets, clay models, and other tangible materials between frames. While some level of CGI is necessary to simulate, for example, a natural disaster, the bulk of what audiences see on screen is designed by hand.
Gold Derby’s projected Best Animated Feature lineup poses an exciting possibility: With “Gdt’s Pinocchio” out front, “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” in third, and “Wendell and Wild” on the verge of breaking into the top five, stop-motion projects could outnumber computer-animated features for the third time since the category’s 2002 induction. It will be just the second time, however, that this has happened in a lineup of five.
See...
Gold Derby’s projected Best Animated Feature lineup poses an exciting possibility: With “Gdt’s Pinocchio” out front, “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” in third, and “Wendell and Wild” on the verge of breaking into the top five, stop-motion projects could outnumber computer-animated features for the third time since the category’s 2002 induction. It will be just the second time, however, that this has happened in a lineup of five.
See...
- 12/16/2022
- by Ronald Meyer
- Gold Derby
As the arthouse cinema market continues to regain its footing, the list of what may be considered an overlooked film could be quite vast, depending on one’s metrics. For our yearly feature highlighting the 50 most overlooked films––arriving before our overall top 50 films––we’ve sought to dig deep to find the gems that deserved more attention upon their initial release and have mostly been left out of year-end conversations. Hopefully, with many widely available on a variety of streaming platforms, they will begin to find an expanded audience.
Sadly, many documentaries would qualify for this list, but we stuck strictly to narrative efforts; one can instead read our rundown of the top docs here. While they aren’t included on this list, we also hope a number of 2022 qualifying films find an audience when they get a proper release next year, including Saint Omer, One Fine Morning, and Return to Seoul.
Sadly, many documentaries would qualify for this list, but we stuck strictly to narrative efforts; one can instead read our rundown of the top docs here. While they aren’t included on this list, we also hope a number of 2022 qualifying films find an audience when they get a proper release next year, including Saint Omer, One Fine Morning, and Return to Seoul.
- 12/15/2022
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
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