Quentin Tarantino‘s 1994 sophomore feature Pulp Fiction wasn’t just a major break out hit. It changed the face of cinema in the 1990s, both by helping bring attention to indie and foreign films, and by inspiring a host imitators. When audiences lined up to watch Tarantino’s bloody, whip-smart movie, studios rushed to fill theaters and video stores with more stories about loquacious hitmen, monologuing bank robbers, and foul-mouthed gun molls.
In most cases, these knockoffs provided cheap thrills, heavy on the violence and pop-cultural references but low on Tarantino’s sense of composition and ear for unique dialogue. In the best cases, Pulp Fiction‘s success made way for other great movies to get made, oddball films ignored by the studios until Tarantino convinced them that they could make money.
Here are the fifteen best Pulp Fiction influenced movies of the 1990s, those that stand on their own...
In most cases, these knockoffs provided cheap thrills, heavy on the violence and pop-cultural references but low on Tarantino’s sense of composition and ear for unique dialogue. In the best cases, Pulp Fiction‘s success made way for other great movies to get made, oddball films ignored by the studios until Tarantino convinced them that they could make money.
Here are the fifteen best Pulp Fiction influenced movies of the 1990s, those that stand on their own...
- 6/21/2024
- by Joe George
- Den of Geek
Way of the Gun: Rasoulof’s Bold, Blunt Indictment of Iranian Regime
There’s been little opportunity for artists to clearly or critically speak truth to power in post-revolutionary Iran, where filmmakers and actors are often censored through brute force. Anything considered as propaganda against the state can irreparably affect one’s career, which is why Iranian cinema, like a lot of films made by artists suppressed by political terror, often moves in the realm of metaphor, where intentions and themes are coded. Until now. With his tenth feature film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Mohammed Rasoulof launches what constitutes an artistic missile into this supposedly omnipotent dominion, and seems to have drop kicked the hornet’s nest.…...
There’s been little opportunity for artists to clearly or critically speak truth to power in post-revolutionary Iran, where filmmakers and actors are often censored through brute force. Anything considered as propaganda against the state can irreparably affect one’s career, which is why Iranian cinema, like a lot of films made by artists suppressed by political terror, often moves in the realm of metaphor, where intentions and themes are coded. Until now. With his tenth feature film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Mohammed Rasoulof launches what constitutes an artistic missile into this supposedly omnipotent dominion, and seems to have drop kicked the hornet’s nest.…...
- 5/25/2024
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
When Hugh Jackman bid farewell to his iconic role as Wolverine in the 2017 flick Logan, fans were struck by a bittersweet feeling. The movie proved to be an appropriate goodbye to the much-loved character, revealing a more vulnerable and emotional side to the clawed mutant. However, what many fans might not know is that The Wolverine couldn’t have taken place if Fox had adhered to their original plan to have Darren Aronofsky helm the 2013 flick.
The Wolverine, a sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), was originally slated to be directed by Aronofsky, who is best known for his dark and intense movies like Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream. But, as fate would have it, the director eventually dropped out of the project in order to allow James Mangold to step in and take the reins.
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men
The Directorial Switch-Up: When Darren...
The Wolverine, a sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), was originally slated to be directed by Aronofsky, who is best known for his dark and intense movies like Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream. But, as fate would have it, the director eventually dropped out of the project in order to allow James Mangold to step in and take the reins.
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men
The Directorial Switch-Up: When Darren...
- 3/29/2024
- by Siddhika Prajapati
- FandomWire
Copland was supposed to be Sylvester Stallone’s comeback movie. Despite earning decent box office and generating Sly’s best reviews in decades, it seemed to be the final nail in his coffin as a leading man, and I don’t understand why. Before Copland, Stallone was headlining huge action movies like Daylight and Judge Dredd, and while they underperformed domestically and overseas, they were still big. One would think that Stallone would have been given an old-school action film to revive his career, but all of a sudden, he was slotted into cheap movies, such as the slasher thriller D-tox, which is also called Eye See You. That movie was so bad that it went direct-to-video, which pretty much meant the end of Stallone’s career for half a dozen years until he managed a major comeback with Rocky Balboa. It would get pretty dire for Sly, but Warner Bros...
- 11/5/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
In HBO’s The Insurrectionist Next Door Alexandra Pelosi comes across as a charming and sympathetic bull in a china shop, eager to understand, find common ground with or at least provide a platform for people with whom she agrees on very little. That would be nearly everyone she talks to here. The veteran documentarian (Journeys with George, Fall to Grace) wants to know what compelled those who took part in the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol, and how they might feel about it all now that they’re facing prison time(or,...
- 10/15/2023
- by Chris Vognar
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Taye Diggs, known for his five-season run starring as the beloved Billy Baker, former NFL player turned high school football coach, on CW’s All American, has signed with A Management Company and Global Artists Agency for representation.
Diggs can next be seen leading the two-part BET+ film Love & Murder: Atlanta Playboy based on the true crime story of businessman Lance Herndon. In the film, Diggs stars as Lance (Diggs), a successful Atlanta businessman, renowned in equal measure for both revolutionizing the city’s 911 system, and his womanizing ways. When he is found murdered in his own home, questions and allegations abound as to who might have wanted him dead.
Diggs also is set to voice King Triton with Amber Riley as Ursula in Ariel, the Disney/Disney Junior animated series.
Other TV credits include the series regular role of Dr. Sam Bennet in Grey’s Anatomy spinoff series...
Diggs can next be seen leading the two-part BET+ film Love & Murder: Atlanta Playboy based on the true crime story of businessman Lance Herndon. In the film, Diggs stars as Lance (Diggs), a successful Atlanta businessman, renowned in equal measure for both revolutionizing the city’s 911 system, and his womanizing ways. When he is found murdered in his own home, questions and allegations abound as to who might have wanted him dead.
Diggs also is set to voice King Triton with Amber Riley as Ursula in Ariel, the Disney/Disney Junior animated series.
Other TV credits include the series regular role of Dr. Sam Bennet in Grey’s Anatomy spinoff series...
- 9/20/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
While Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One didn’t quite break the bank as predicted, Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie won’t let it slow a good partnership down. The two have collaborated on a number of Cruise’s latest outings, including the last three Mission: Impossible sequels, Top Gun: Maverick and Jack Reacher. McQuarrie gained recognition with his script for The Usual Suspects, which he parlayed into his debut outing as both the writer and director of a violent, crime thriller with a side of dark comedy titled The Way of the Gun back in 2000.
McQuarrie is coming back to his harder-edged roots on a secret project with Cruise that he’s describing as a “gnarly” R-rated film. Back in 2020, McQuarrie hinted to Empire about the project and speaking once again with Empire for his in-depth talk about Dead Reckoning Part One, he confirms the project is still...
McQuarrie is coming back to his harder-edged roots on a secret project with Cruise that he’s describing as a “gnarly” R-rated film. Back in 2020, McQuarrie hinted to Empire about the project and speaking once again with Empire for his in-depth talk about Dead Reckoning Part One, he confirms the project is still...
- 7/31/2023
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
Here’s the latest episode of The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.
For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro-budget indie films to bigger-budget studio films and everything in between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dome Lenoir, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk about how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their filmmaking experiences from directors, writers, producers and screenwriters, to actors, cinematographers and distributors.
The Filmmaker’s Podcast #347: Christopher McQuarrie: Story structure, screenwriting, directing...
For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro-budget indie films to bigger-budget studio films and everything in between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dome Lenoir, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk about how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their filmmaking experiences from directors, writers, producers and screenwriters, to actors, cinematographers and distributors.
The Filmmaker’s Podcast #347: Christopher McQuarrie: Story structure, screenwriting, directing...
- 7/10/2023
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Modern movies can now be slotted into five distinct categories: Comedies, dramas, horror/sci-fi, superhero films and Tom Cruise. The 61-year-old actor has gone beyond being a marquee-name star to becoming his own movie genre, a sort of one-man blockbuster flavor that borrows liberally from those other types and adds in a special sauce that’s equal parts charisma, salesmanship, daredevil action, nonstop running and teeth. As the industry-saving success of last year’s Top Gun: Maverick reminded us, Cruise is still the closest thing to a sure thing, the...
- 7/5/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
More than 50 years ago, a lovely lady and a man named Brady fell in love and got married. The result was The Brady Bunch, the beloved 1970s sitcom about a big blended family. The show aired for five seasons on ABC and earned a second life in syndication. In the process, it made stars of its cast, including Eve Plumb as put-upon middle sister Jan Brady and Barry Williams as oldest Brady son Greg. But what have Plumb, Willams, and the rest of the cast been up to since the show ended? Keep reading for an update on the surviving Brady Bunch cast members and what they’re doing now.
Maureen McCormick Maureen McCormick | ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images); Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images
Maureen McCormick played the eldest Brady family daughter Marcia in The Brady Bunch and several spinoffs and sequels, including The Brady Bunch...
Maureen McCormick Maureen McCormick | ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images); Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images
Maureen McCormick played the eldest Brady family daughter Marcia in The Brady Bunch and several spinoffs and sequels, including The Brady Bunch...
- 5/20/2023
- by Megan Elliott
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Image: Paramount Pictures Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise have given audiences such all-timer action movies as Mission: Impossible—Fallout and Top Gun: Maverick, but it was Jack Reacher, an underrated thriller released 10 years ago this week, on December 19, 2012, that launched their successful partnership. Based on Lee Child’s bestseller One Shot,...
- 12/19/2022
- by Phil Pirrello
- avclub.com
Another delay for these two highly anticipated action movie sequels. Paramount Pictures and Skydance have confirmed an extra year delay for the back-to-back next Mission: Impossible movies. The next two sequels, directed again by filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie, were filmed back-to-back and will be released back-to-back. The rumor is that this means the storyline will play out between both movies - with a big cliffhanger ending tying them together. Mission: Impossible 7 was set for release in September of 2022 later this year, but it has been rescheduled for release on July 14th, 2023 next summer. And the sequel, Mission: Impossible 8, has been moved from that July 2023 spot to June 28th, 2024. Nothing to do but wait 'till they're ready. Both movies already finished shooting over the last year. They're now in post-production, which is why the studio has decided more ...
- 1/21/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Welcome to The Best Movie You Never Saw, a column dedicated to examining films that have flown under the radar or gained traction throughout the years, earning them a place as a cult classic or underrated gem that was either before it’s time or has aged like a fine wine. This week we’ll be examining The Way Of The Gun, writer-director Christopher McQuarrie’s violent crime pic starring Ryan…...
- 3/23/2020
- by Paul Shirey
- JoBlo.com
Spencer Mullen Mar 15, 2019
Tesla Model Y, the Pentagon, Triple Frontier, and more in today's daily Link Tank!
Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Tesla Model Y in Los Angeles.
"After almost four years of anticipation, Tesla unveiled the Model Y Thursday in Los Angeles and CEO Elon Musk revealed that the all-electric SUV will start at $39,000 with four variants: a Standard Range, Long Range, Dual Motor All Wheel Drive, and Performance version, which will have a top speed of 150 miles per hour and cost $60,000."
Read more at Inverse.
Here's why we're confused by Jude Law's role in Captain Marvel.
"In the run-up to Captain Marvel‘s release, there was confusion about who, exactly, Jude Law would be playing. This did not do the movie any favors. I really enjoyed Captain Marvel. Having seen it twice now, I’m impressed with the reverse-chronological origin story, and especially the way that...
Tesla Model Y, the Pentagon, Triple Frontier, and more in today's daily Link Tank!
Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Tesla Model Y in Los Angeles.
"After almost four years of anticipation, Tesla unveiled the Model Y Thursday in Los Angeles and CEO Elon Musk revealed that the all-electric SUV will start at $39,000 with four variants: a Standard Range, Long Range, Dual Motor All Wheel Drive, and Performance version, which will have a top speed of 150 miles per hour and cost $60,000."
Read more at Inverse.
Here's why we're confused by Jude Law's role in Captain Marvel.
"In the run-up to Captain Marvel‘s release, there was confusion about who, exactly, Jude Law would be playing. This did not do the movie any favors. I really enjoyed Captain Marvel. Having seen it twice now, I’m impressed with the reverse-chronological origin story, and especially the way that...
- 3/15/2019
- Den of Geek
Joseph Baxter Mar 20, 2019
Frankenstein’s Monster is headed to CBS… to solve crimes on a TV procedural called Alive, from the team that brought you Elementary.
CBS has announced a new crime procedural pilot that, theoretically, could replace “Elementary, my dear Watson” with “Fire bad.” – Well, maybe not. However, the pertinent point here is that the Eye Network is developing a Frankenstein-based TV series, which will set the lightning-struck, body-stitched reanimated giant in San Francisco to solve crimes. – We’re not joking!
Now under the title, Alive, he CBS Frankenstein TV pilot – greenlit along with dramas Republic of Sarah and Courthouse – is under the creative direction of Jason Tracey and Rob Doherty, a duo of writers for the network’s long-running, imminently-ending modernized Sherlock Holmes series, Elementary. The ordered CBS Television Studios production will see Tracey pen the pilot and serve as executive producer with Doherty.
Would-be Frankenstein series Alive,...
Frankenstein’s Monster is headed to CBS… to solve crimes on a TV procedural called Alive, from the team that brought you Elementary.
CBS has announced a new crime procedural pilot that, theoretically, could replace “Elementary, my dear Watson” with “Fire bad.” – Well, maybe not. However, the pertinent point here is that the Eye Network is developing a Frankenstein-based TV series, which will set the lightning-struck, body-stitched reanimated giant in San Francisco to solve crimes. – We’re not joking!
Now under the title, Alive, he CBS Frankenstein TV pilot – greenlit along with dramas Republic of Sarah and Courthouse – is under the creative direction of Jason Tracey and Rob Doherty, a duo of writers for the network’s long-running, imminently-ending modernized Sherlock Holmes series, Elementary. The ordered CBS Television Studios production will see Tracey pen the pilot and serve as executive producer with Doherty.
Would-be Frankenstein series Alive,...
- 2/1/2019
- Den of Geek
If you took Christopher McQuarrie’s just-posted tweet “Missions: Accepted” to mean that he’s returning to the action franchise, you were correct. Variety reports that the director of last year’s “Fallout” — which, with $790 million in box-office returns, is the franchise’s highest-grossing entry — is helming back-to-back sequels due in 2021 and 2022, respectively. McQuarrie and Tom Cruise will be spending a lot of time together over the next few years, as they’re also collaborating on the upcoming “Top Gun: Maverick.”
While the first four “Mission: Impossible” movies each boasted a different director — Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, and Brad Bird, respectively — McQuarrie has emerged as its main creative force. He wrote and directed “Fallout,” co-wrote and directed “Rogue Nation,” and will handle both duties on the two untitled sequels. His contributions to the series have been as popular with critics as they have with audiences, as “Fallout...
While the first four “Mission: Impossible” movies each boasted a different director — Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, and Brad Bird, respectively — McQuarrie has emerged as its main creative force. He wrote and directed “Fallout,” co-wrote and directed “Rogue Nation,” and will handle both duties on the two untitled sequels. His contributions to the series have been as popular with critics as they have with audiences, as “Fallout...
- 1/15/2019
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
There may not be any more eggnog to drink or mistletoe to stand under, but don’t despair — Hulu is coming in clutch with over 200 new titles arriving to the streaming service next month.
Ease into the new year by rewatching classics like “Beetlejuice,” “Heathers” and “Rain Man,” or snuggle up with a bowl of popcorn for family movies like “Shrek,” “Surf’s Up,” and “The Twilight Saga.” If reality TV is more your style, then you’re in luck, as a slew of favorites are set to make their Hulu debut this month including Season 7 of “Dance Moms,” Season 2 of “90 Day Fiancé,” and Season 10 of “American Pickers.” Starting out this year’s slate of Hulu originals, Season 2 of “Future Man” drops Jan. 11.
Find the complete list of this month’s new arrivals below and stream now on Hulu.com. Right now, the streaming service is knocking its monthly price...
Ease into the new year by rewatching classics like “Beetlejuice,” “Heathers” and “Rain Man,” or snuggle up with a bowl of popcorn for family movies like “Shrek,” “Surf’s Up,” and “The Twilight Saga.” If reality TV is more your style, then you’re in luck, as a slew of favorites are set to make their Hulu debut this month including Season 7 of “Dance Moms,” Season 2 of “90 Day Fiancé,” and Season 10 of “American Pickers.” Starting out this year’s slate of Hulu originals, Season 2 of “Future Man” drops Jan. 11.
Find the complete list of this month’s new arrivals below and stream now on Hulu.com. Right now, the streaming service is knocking its monthly price...
- 12/31/2018
- by Margeaux Sippell
- Variety Film + TV
Hulu’s slate of new titles arriving on the platform in January is here.
The second season of Hulu original “Future Man” will arrive on the service Jan. 11, while the Natalie Portman-Tessa Thompson science fiction film “Annihilation” will be available to stream on Jan. 4. The film is Alex Garland’s follow-up to “Ex Machina” and starred Portman, Thompson and Jennifer Jason Leigh as a group of scientists investigating a strange environmental phenomenon known as “the shimmer.”
Here’s the full list of what’s coming and going in January.
Also Read: Here's What You Can Stream With Your Amazon Prime Membership in January
Available Jan. 1
Atlanta: Complete Season 2 (FX)
The Detectorists: Complete Season 3 (Drg)
Dot.: Complete Season 2B (Universal Kids)
Saints & Sinners: Complete Seasons 1-3 (Bounce TV)
X Company: Complete Seasons 2&3 (Sony)
54 (1998)
10 Years (2011)
2 Days in the Valley (1996)
9 to 5 (1980)
A Charlie Brown Valentine (2002)
A Simple Plan (1998)
A...
The second season of Hulu original “Future Man” will arrive on the service Jan. 11, while the Natalie Portman-Tessa Thompson science fiction film “Annihilation” will be available to stream on Jan. 4. The film is Alex Garland’s follow-up to “Ex Machina” and starred Portman, Thompson and Jennifer Jason Leigh as a group of scientists investigating a strange environmental phenomenon known as “the shimmer.”
Here’s the full list of what’s coming and going in January.
Also Read: Here's What You Can Stream With Your Amazon Prime Membership in January
Available Jan. 1
Atlanta: Complete Season 2 (FX)
The Detectorists: Complete Season 3 (Drg)
Dot.: Complete Season 2B (Universal Kids)
Saints & Sinners: Complete Seasons 1-3 (Bounce TV)
X Company: Complete Seasons 2&3 (Sony)
54 (1998)
10 Years (2011)
2 Days in the Valley (1996)
9 to 5 (1980)
A Charlie Brown Valentine (2002)
A Simple Plan (1998)
A...
- 12/16/2018
- by Tim Baysinger
- The Wrap
Hulu has confirmed that several of its original series will be debuting new episodes on the streaming service in October, including the first installment of the horror anthology “Into the Dark” as well as more of season 1 of the Sean Penn drama “The First.” And there will also be new to Hulu seasons of some of your favorites reality shows from other networks, including various editions of “Little Women” and “The Real Housewives.”
Likewise, there will be plenty of movies making their first Hulu appearances including the Oscar-winning “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “Raging Bull.”
See Netflix schedule: Here’s what is coming and leaving in October
Available October 1
Television
60 Days In – Complete Season 4
America’s Book of Secrets – Complete Season 1 & 2
American Pickers – Complete Season 18
Ancient Aliens – Complete Season 4
Bob’s Burgers – Season 9 Premiere
El Clon – Complete Season 1
Escaping Polygamy – Complete Season 3
Family Guy – Season 16 Premiere
Hoarders – Complete...
Likewise, there will be plenty of movies making their first Hulu appearances including the Oscar-winning “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and “Raging Bull.”
See Netflix schedule: Here’s what is coming and leaving in October
Available October 1
Television
60 Days In – Complete Season 4
America’s Book of Secrets – Complete Season 1 & 2
American Pickers – Complete Season 18
Ancient Aliens – Complete Season 4
Bob’s Burgers – Season 9 Premiere
El Clon – Complete Season 1
Escaping Polygamy – Complete Season 3
Family Guy – Season 16 Premiere
Hoarders – Complete...
- 10/1/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Amazon Prime Video has confirmed that several of its original series will be debuting new episodes on the streaming service in August, including the third season of “The Man In The High Castle” and the first of Emmy winner Matthew Weiner‘s anthology “The Romanoffs.”
Likewise, there will be plenty of movies making their first appearances on Amazon Prime Video including those featuring Oscar-winning turns by Robert De Niro (“Raging Bull”) and Halle Berry (“Monster’s Ball”).
Unlike Netflix, Amazon does not disclose the shows and movies leaving the service in any given month. We’ve done some digging and unearthed a few titles that will be exiting Amazon Prime Video in the first week of October. News of these is detailed at the bottom of this post.
See Netflix schedule: Here’s what is coming and leaving in October
Available October 1
88
4: Apocalypse
5up 2down (Getting High)
A Boy...
Likewise, there will be plenty of movies making their first appearances on Amazon Prime Video including those featuring Oscar-winning turns by Robert De Niro (“Raging Bull”) and Halle Berry (“Monster’s Ball”).
Unlike Netflix, Amazon does not disclose the shows and movies leaving the service in any given month. We’ve done some digging and unearthed a few titles that will be exiting Amazon Prime Video in the first week of October. News of these is detailed at the bottom of this post.
See Netflix schedule: Here’s what is coming and leaving in October
Available October 1
88
4: Apocalypse
5up 2down (Getting High)
A Boy...
- 10/1/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Twelve years went by between filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie’s directorial debut with “The Way of the Gun” and his follow-up “Jack Reacher.” However, since 2012, McQuarrie has firmly planted himself as one of the best action directors working today with not one, but two great entries in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise. Not only has his last two ‘Mission’ films proven that Tom Cruise is still able to put his life in danger in various new and exciting ways, but the writer-director has also fleshed out his supporting cast, most notably with Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust.
Continue reading Christopher McQuarrie Shoots Down ‘Mission: Impossible’ Spin-Offs But Hints At A Future Film With Rebecca Ferguson at The Playlist.
Continue reading Christopher McQuarrie Shoots Down ‘Mission: Impossible’ Spin-Offs But Hints At A Future Film With Rebecca Ferguson at The Playlist.
- 9/27/2018
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
(Welcome to Now Stream This, a column dedicated to the best movies streaming on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and every other streaming service out there.) The weekend is almost here, which means you’re likely going to be scrolling through streaming services, asking yourself: “What the heck should I watch?” That’s where Now Stream This comes in. Below, […]
The post Now Stream This: ‘Barry Lyndon’, ‘Her’, ‘The Way of the Gun’, ‘Cropsey’, ‘The Rock’, ‘The Brothers Bloom’ and More appeared first on /Film.
The post Now Stream This: ‘Barry Lyndon’, ‘Her’, ‘The Way of the Gun’, ‘Cropsey’, ‘The Rock’, ‘The Brothers Bloom’ and More appeared first on /Film.
- 8/16/2018
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Christopher McQuarrie won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for “The Usual Suspects” 22 years ago, but it wasn’t necessarily smooth sailing on his path to directing “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” which with its near universal praise and enormous box office projections places him clearly amongst the elite action directors working in Hollywood today.”I learned a lot between my first and second film [as a director], especially in that there were 12 years between “The Way of the Gun” and “Jack Reacher,” seven of which I didn’t get anything made,” said McQuarrie in an interview with IndieWire. “I was really struggling and was forced to confront what I was doing wrong: ‘Why couldn’t I get something going? What did the business want from me that I wasn’t giving them?'”
McQuarrie said his career and life turned around when he stopped fighting to make the movies he wanted to make (but no...
McQuarrie said his career and life turned around when he stopped fighting to make the movies he wanted to make (but no...
- 7/25/2018
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Mission: Impossible – Fallout is an anomaly. It’s the sixth installment of a decades-old franchise that has hit full steam. This is stranger still when considering its origins during the ‘60s-tv-adaptation boom of the late ‘90s and early aughts. What should have been a passing trend burgeoned into an auteur’s playground of action and intrigue, a feat that becomes doubly impressive when viewed alongside the plasticity of contemporary summer fare. Now add to all that an aging star (Tom Cruise) and his safe choice for director (Christopher McQuarrie)–the only one to return to the fold–rather than a fresh recruit. In theory, this film is out of its depth, doomed to be put out to pasture by something younger and sleeker, making it that much more exhilarating to see Fallout pummel its way into being one of the decade’s best action films.
McQuarrie performs a fascinating bit...
McQuarrie performs a fascinating bit...
- 7/12/2018
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Christopher McQuarrie broke out in Hollywood by winning the Oscar for writing “The Usual Suspects,” but in recent years he’s become known as Tom Cruise’s go-to director. After working with Cruise on “Jack Reacher,” McQuarrie delivered one of the best “Mission: Impossible” movies with 2015’s “Rogue Nation.” Now the director is back in the director’s chair for this month’s “Mission: Impossible – Fallout.” Ahead of the film’s release, McQuarrie took to social media to share a story about his relationship to film criticism.
McQuarrie remembered the negative reviews he got for his 2000 directorial debut “The Way of the Gun,” which starred Ryan Phillippe and Benicio del Toro. But one bad review stood out above all the rest since, for McQuarrie, it was written less an attack on the film but as an attack on the director personally. The director remembered a line in the review that read,...
McQuarrie remembered the negative reviews he got for his 2000 directorial debut “The Way of the Gun,” which starred Ryan Phillippe and Benicio del Toro. But one bad review stood out above all the rest since, for McQuarrie, it was written less an attack on the film but as an attack on the director personally. The director remembered a line in the review that read,...
- 7/5/2018
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
On more occasions than they probably care to admit, actors get punched in the face filming fight sequences, as when Sarah Silverman took a right-hander square in the eye from Ryan Phillippe while filming Christopher McQuarrie's directorial debut The Way of the Gun back around 1999.
- 8/18/2017
- cinemablend.com
Sarah Silverman has no trouble recalling her most awkward on-camera encounter — which, contrary to her standard comedic hijinks, was not at all funny.
The Emmy-nominated Speck of Dust star joined People’s Editor-in-Chief Jess Cagle in the latest episode of The Jess Cagle Interview (streaming now on the People/Entertainment Weekly Network), and when the question came up to recount her most uncomfortable moment on camera, Silverman detailed an unfortunate punch to the face — from actor Ryan Phillippe.
“The most awkward moment I’ve ever had on-camera, and there’s several of them, but I would probably say a movie...
The Emmy-nominated Speck of Dust star joined People’s Editor-in-Chief Jess Cagle in the latest episode of The Jess Cagle Interview (streaming now on the People/Entertainment Weekly Network), and when the question came up to recount her most uncomfortable moment on camera, Silverman detailed an unfortunate punch to the face — from actor Ryan Phillippe.
“The most awkward moment I’ve ever had on-camera, and there’s several of them, but I would probably say a movie...
- 8/18/2017
- by Jess Cagle
- PEOPLE.com
Simon Brew Feb 1, 2017
Antoine Fuqua drops out of the Scarface remake to concentrate on The Equalizer 2
Off the back of his generally quite successful new take on The Magnificent Seven, director Antoine Fuqua was juggling a couple of projects. There’s a sequel to his hit take on The Equalizer, starring Denzel Washington. And then there’s the remake of Scarface, to which he’s been attached for some time. Both are with different studios, the former with Sony, the latter with Universal.
See related Mission: Impossible 6 arriving in summer 2018 Christopher McQuarrie interview: The Way Of The Gun
However, it looked like it came to make your mind up time when the two films were set to overlap. And Fuqua has chosen The Equalizer.
Both Sony Pictures and Denzel Washington were keen to fast track the new film, which is now likely to land in 2018. Fuqua had already...
Antoine Fuqua drops out of the Scarface remake to concentrate on The Equalizer 2
Off the back of his generally quite successful new take on The Magnificent Seven, director Antoine Fuqua was juggling a couple of projects. There’s a sequel to his hit take on The Equalizer, starring Denzel Washington. And then there’s the remake of Scarface, to which he’s been attached for some time. Both are with different studios, the former with Sony, the latter with Universal.
See related Mission: Impossible 6 arriving in summer 2018 Christopher McQuarrie interview: The Way Of The Gun
However, it looked like it came to make your mind up time when the two films were set to overlap. And Fuqua has chosen The Equalizer.
Both Sony Pictures and Denzel Washington were keen to fast track the new film, which is now likely to land in 2018. Fuqua had already...
- 2/1/2017
- Den of Geek
Inspired by a conversation with Trick 'r Treat and Krampus director Michael Dougherty, writer/director Chris McQuarrie just shared a cool story on Twitter about a time he visited Devil's Tower in Wyoming, and I wanted to pass it along to you in case you don't follow him on social media. You probably know McQuarrie as the writer of The Usual Suspects, The Way of the Gun, Valkyrie, Edge of Tomorrow, Jack Reacher, and Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation (and the director of the latter two). I won't bother with any more preamble — here's the story:
At the request of @Mike_Dougherty: My trip to Devils Tower (eavesdrop @ #DevilsTower)
— ChristopherMcQuarrie (@chrismcquarrie) April 6, 2016
@Mike_Dougherty #DevilsTower (1)
This is a true story, told without embellishment. I will spare you the read by stating up front:
— ChristopherMcQuarrie (@chrismcquarrie) April 6, 2016
@Mike_Dougherty #DevilsTower (2)
It is neither amazing nor funny. It's just a thing that happened exactly as I'll tell it.
At the request of @Mike_Dougherty: My trip to Devils Tower (eavesdrop @ #DevilsTower)
— ChristopherMcQuarrie (@chrismcquarrie) April 6, 2016
@Mike_Dougherty #DevilsTower (1)
This is a true story, told without embellishment. I will spare you the read by stating up front:
— ChristopherMcQuarrie (@chrismcquarrie) April 6, 2016
@Mike_Dougherty #DevilsTower (2)
It is neither amazing nor funny. It's just a thing that happened exactly as I'll tell it.
- 4/6/2016
- by Ben Pearson
- GeekTyrant
Den Of Geek Staff Sep 21, 2018
We have a list of the new Hulu movies and shows arriving in October 2018.
Happy Huluween!
Hulu is blessed to have a name that sounds roughly enough like "Hallow." That means it's basically honor-bound to bring the heat for Halloween. Thankfully for the October 2018 new releases, Hulu is bringing us the spookies that we need. The Blair Witch Project, The Others, and Child's Play all arrive this month. And if you're looking for some more wholesome creepies, The Nightmare Before Christmas should do. And if that weren't enough, Hulu is debuting its own horror show - anthology series Into the Dark.
For those shamefully unable to get into the Halloween spirit, Hulu is bringing in some other fun film options. Galaxy Quest, Music and Lyrics, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective should help out with that.
Then of course, are the usual and typically deep TV offerings.
We have a list of the new Hulu movies and shows arriving in October 2018.
Happy Huluween!
Hulu is blessed to have a name that sounds roughly enough like "Hallow." That means it's basically honor-bound to bring the heat for Halloween. Thankfully for the October 2018 new releases, Hulu is bringing us the spookies that we need. The Blair Witch Project, The Others, and Child's Play all arrive this month. And if you're looking for some more wholesome creepies, The Nightmare Before Christmas should do. And if that weren't enough, Hulu is debuting its own horror show - anthology series Into the Dark.
For those shamefully unable to get into the Halloween spirit, Hulu is bringing in some other fun film options. Galaxy Quest, Music and Lyrics, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective should help out with that.
Then of course, are the usual and typically deep TV offerings.
- 1/21/2016
- Den of Geek
One of my favorite aspects about the Mission: Impossible franchise is that all of the movies have had a very different style to them. One of the reasons for this is because each of the films have had a different director with a unique style and vision for the spy action thriller. Those directors include Brian DePalma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, Brad Bird, and Christopher McQuarrie.
McQuarrie directed the most recent film in the franchise, and he is the first director to come back to direct a sequel. I just assumed that this sequel would have the same style and vibe as Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, but that won’t be the case at all. During an interview with /Film, the director explained that he is looking to push himself to take the next film in a different direction:
“My desire as a filmmaker is to always be a better...
McQuarrie directed the most recent film in the franchise, and he is the first director to come back to direct a sequel. I just assumed that this sequel would have the same style and vibe as Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, but that won’t be the case at all. During an interview with /Film, the director explained that he is looking to push himself to take the next film in a different direction:
“My desire as a filmmaker is to always be a better...
- 12/12/2015
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Few franchises can hold a candle to the staying power of Mission: Impossible, and even when franchise fatigue threatened to clip its wings in the mid-2000s, Paramount’s box office darling continued to pull in the big numbers with each passing iteration – and the stellar performance of Rogue Nation ($682 million) is a testimony to that consistency.
Now, with Christopher McQuarrie ready to become the first director in the franchise’s history to helm two entries, all eyes have now turned to Mission: Impossible 6, and the filmmaker recently shared some details about his new approach.
More News From The Web
With Tom Cruise and Rogue Nation breakout Rebecca Ferguson set to reprise their roles as Ethan Hunt and Ilsa Faust, respectively, McQuarrie has begun dreaming up ideas of where to take the franchise next. For a series defined by eye-popping action, along with thrills and spills, fans have come...
Now, with Christopher McQuarrie ready to become the first director in the franchise’s history to helm two entries, all eyes have now turned to Mission: Impossible 6, and the filmmaker recently shared some details about his new approach.
More News From The Web
With Tom Cruise and Rogue Nation breakout Rebecca Ferguson set to reprise their roles as Ethan Hunt and Ilsa Faust, respectively, McQuarrie has begun dreaming up ideas of where to take the franchise next. For a series defined by eye-popping action, along with thrills and spills, fans have come...
- 12/10/2015
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Christopher McQuarrie is set to return as writer/director for the sixth installment in the "Mission: Impossible" franchise - the first time a director has returned for another entry. Does his involvement mean the next one will be quite similar to this past Summer's highly regarded "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation"?
Speaking with Slashfilm, the helmer says he wants to take the sequel in a different direction and push into new territory:
"My desire as a filmmaker is to always be a better filmmaker than I was on the previous film. I'm not a filmmaker interested in stasis. I really want to grow and push myself. I think if you look at the three films I've done — from The Way of the Gun to Jack Reacher to Mission: Impossible - I think it's very clear there's a distinct voice that runs through them, and they're each sort of expanding, in...
Speaking with Slashfilm, the helmer says he wants to take the sequel in a different direction and push into new territory:
"My desire as a filmmaker is to always be a better filmmaker than I was on the previous film. I'm not a filmmaker interested in stasis. I really want to grow and push myself. I think if you look at the three films I've done — from The Way of the Gun to Jack Reacher to Mission: Impossible - I think it's very clear there's a distinct voice that runs through them, and they're each sort of expanding, in...
- 12/10/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
One of the things that has made the "Mission: Impossible" series so interesting so far has been the way they've used a different director each time, bringing a different sensibility to each entry in the series while playing with the rotating ensemble cast, Tom Cruise always at the center of the thing. That's about to change, though. This morning, Christopher McQuarrie tweeted the very simple phrase, "Mission: Accepted." That is exciting news on several fronts, but mainly it's exciting because McQuarrie and Cruise have been developing this great creative chemistry for a while now, and anything that continues that has a chance of being good for all parties involved. McQuarrie is having one of the best second acts of anyone in town at the moment, and he deserves it. He's a smart writer who has a nice way with the big gesture, and there's a reason "The Usual Suspects" was...
- 11/30/2015
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Benicio Del Toro is a pretty singular talent in the industry, so it’s never a surprise when he does worth worthy of being honored. This year, the 19th annual Hollywood Film Awards have seen fit to bestow upon him the Hollywood Supporting Actor Award for his performance in Sicario. Of course, Del Toro more or less stole that film, so it’s a totally viable honor. He’s going to be in play for an Oscar nod in Best Supporting Actor, but regardless of if that nom happens or not, this shows how he’s still crafting memorable supporting characters. That’s always been Del Toro’s bread and butter, so this is just a perfect citation for him… Here’s part of the press release once again announcing this honor: dick clark productions announced that Academy Award-winning actor Benicio Del Toro will receive the “Hollywood Supporting Actor Award” for Sicario.
- 10/29/2015
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Box Office Sabermetrics is a weekly column that will attempt to apply the statistical analysis Sabermetrics, used in Baseball, to the box office results each weekend.
One of my favorite books, and favorite movies of the decade, is Moneyball. Telling the story of how A’s General Manager Billy Beane and his front office used statistical analytics – called Sabermetrics – to put together a winning team off a low budget and undervalued players. I’ve always enjoyed that side of Baseball, how integral we evaluate statistics is to the sport, so I thought it was high time I brought it to how we evaluate movies. Given that film is a subjective medium, the only real hard statistic we have to evaluate is box office returns. So, each week I will be taking a look at the weekend numbers and seeing what Baseball statistics have to say about them.
Here are the...
One of my favorite books, and favorite movies of the decade, is Moneyball. Telling the story of how A’s General Manager Billy Beane and his front office used statistical analytics – called Sabermetrics – to put together a winning team off a low budget and undervalued players. I’ve always enjoyed that side of Baseball, how integral we evaluate statistics is to the sport, so I thought it was high time I brought it to how we evaluate movies. Given that film is a subjective medium, the only real hard statistic we have to evaluate is box office returns. So, each week I will be taking a look at the weekend numbers and seeing what Baseball statistics have to say about them.
Here are the...
- 8/5/2015
- by Dylan Griffin
- SoundOnSight
Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie might see himself as one of the luckiest men on the planet. The screenwriter won an Academy Award for his second produced screenplay (“The Usual Suspects”) and that launched him into directing. But his first feature, “The Way Of The Gun,” was a box office flop and in McQuarrie’s own words landed him into “director’s jail” for about twelve years. While projects developed in the interim, McQuarrie wouldn’t land another credit until 2008 for “Valkyrie” starring Tom Cruise. But before the film was made, it seemed as if Cruise had kept the faith, and in 2007 the trades reported that McQuarrie would tailor several screenplays that the superstar actor was considering. All of them he liked, but he had handpicked McQuarrie to bring them up to snuff. “Valkyrie” was one of the few projects of that time that Cruise actually made, and the actor and...
- 8/1/2015
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
This Friday, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation will be released. It’s the fifth film in the iconic franchise, but sadly stands as only the third film of its director Christopher McQuarrie in 15 years since he got behind the camera. That’s a real shame, because Christopher McQuarrie is Hollywood’s best-kept secret when he really should be their pride and joy.
Christopher McQuarrie was so damn hot in the mid-90s. He wrote the script for the classic The Usual Suspects and came home with an Oscar. He ended up using that clout to get his feature-directing debut made with the criminally underrated The Way of the Gun, released in 2000. The film failed both critically and commercially – a domestic gross of $6 million, and a worldwide gross of only $13 million against a $21 million budget – and McQuarrie went from insider to outcast in Hollywood.
Fast forward eight years and McQuarrie had only...
Christopher McQuarrie was so damn hot in the mid-90s. He wrote the script for the classic The Usual Suspects and came home with an Oscar. He ended up using that clout to get his feature-directing debut made with the criminally underrated The Way of the Gun, released in 2000. The film failed both critically and commercially – a domestic gross of $6 million, and a worldwide gross of only $13 million against a $21 million budget – and McQuarrie went from insider to outcast in Hollywood.
Fast forward eight years and McQuarrie had only...
- 7/27/2015
- by Dylan Griffin
- SoundOnSight
Read More: Watch: How the Famous 'Mission: Impossible' Heist Scene Was Made Nearly 20 years have passed since Brian De Palma first transformed a snazzy television series into a high-wire act of elaborate Hitchcockian suspense with the first "Mission: Impossible" movie. By now, the very idea of an auteur-driven blockbuster sounds downright quaint. While veterans John Woo, J.J. Abrams and Brad Bird all had the chance to leave a mark on the franchise, with fifth installment "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation," relative newcomer Christopher McQuarrie trades ambition for competent action and typically charismatic worldly spies, but little in the way of fresh ideas — about as much as one can expect these days. McQuarrie's screenwriting career stretches back to "The Usual Suspects," but his directing career is comparatively young, with only two previous credits to his name: 2000's "The Way of the Gun" and 2012's "Jack...
- 7/24/2015
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Ken Kokin has produced and directed second unit on several award-winning films that include the ‘The Usual Suspects’, ‘Captain Abu Raed’,’The Way of the Gun’ and ‘Mortdecai’. Read about his most recent film and directorial debut 'Blood Moon' here.
by Ken Kokin: It was 2008 when I discovered a little known film festival called HollyShorts because of my own short film 'For Tomorrow, The Toms Shoes Story', about one of the first deliveries of the Toms One For One campaign to some of the poorest regions of Argentina, and because another film that I produced called 'The Way of the Gun' was set to screen there.
Once a tiny spark in the shadow of tinsel town, HollyShorts now attracts A-listers like Jessica Biel, Demi Moore, Kirsten Dunst, Matthew Modine and Josh Brolin. Festival honorees include the legendary filmmaker David Lynch and Oscar winner Paul Haggis.
HollyShorts is an incubator for filmmakers. Dave Green’s short 'Meltdown', a comedy about food puppets in a refrigerator was featured at HollyShorts, and he believes that it paved the way for him to direct the massive studio film 'Earth to Echo'.
HollyShorts founders Theo Dumont and Daniel Sol are two of the most passionate cinephiles that I have ever met. Ironically, for creating a short festival, they are both over 6 feet tall. Their drive to support filmmakers is extraordinary, as they have created a showcase for the true artist who recognizes that short films typically don’t attract money or distribution. Yet, it is because of festivals like HollyShorts and mobile consumption of video content that the paradigm is changing.
In 2005, many of us in the film community saw the writing on the wall — short films would explode with the creation of YouTube. We were right, and Youtube was just the beginning... Enter in the short attention span theater of the newest Internet generation. Thanks to the 7 to 15 second time limits of SnapChat, Instagram, Vine, and others, the hunger for short video content and the advancement of the art form is skyrocketing worldwide.
With over 300 million active users on Instagram alone, advertisers are starting to actualize the importance of these content channels in the digital marketplace. HollyShorts and similar festivals have more relevance than ever. The international film sales & distribution industry is paying attention and is on the prowl for content like never before, so don’t be surprised to run into talent scouts while socializing at any of the festival’s epic parties.
The HollyShorts Film Festival takes place at the Tcl Chinese Theatre in the heart of Hollywood from August 13th to August 22nd, and marks the festival’s 11th year anniversary with a grand prize of $15,000 for this overall winner, courtesy of HollyShorts sponsor, Zype.
Shorts can range from the cutest animations, to the most serious subjects like illness, war and homelessness. The program includes Short Animation, Short Live Action, Short Documentary, Music Video, Webisode, Commercials, Trailers, 3D Shorts, Youth Film and Digital Microbudget.
Learn more by visiting the HollyShorts website.
by Ken Kokin: It was 2008 when I discovered a little known film festival called HollyShorts because of my own short film 'For Tomorrow, The Toms Shoes Story', about one of the first deliveries of the Toms One For One campaign to some of the poorest regions of Argentina, and because another film that I produced called 'The Way of the Gun' was set to screen there.
Once a tiny spark in the shadow of tinsel town, HollyShorts now attracts A-listers like Jessica Biel, Demi Moore, Kirsten Dunst, Matthew Modine and Josh Brolin. Festival honorees include the legendary filmmaker David Lynch and Oscar winner Paul Haggis.
HollyShorts is an incubator for filmmakers. Dave Green’s short 'Meltdown', a comedy about food puppets in a refrigerator was featured at HollyShorts, and he believes that it paved the way for him to direct the massive studio film 'Earth to Echo'.
HollyShorts founders Theo Dumont and Daniel Sol are two of the most passionate cinephiles that I have ever met. Ironically, for creating a short festival, they are both over 6 feet tall. Their drive to support filmmakers is extraordinary, as they have created a showcase for the true artist who recognizes that short films typically don’t attract money or distribution. Yet, it is because of festivals like HollyShorts and mobile consumption of video content that the paradigm is changing.
In 2005, many of us in the film community saw the writing on the wall — short films would explode with the creation of YouTube. We were right, and Youtube was just the beginning... Enter in the short attention span theater of the newest Internet generation. Thanks to the 7 to 15 second time limits of SnapChat, Instagram, Vine, and others, the hunger for short video content and the advancement of the art form is skyrocketing worldwide.
With over 300 million active users on Instagram alone, advertisers are starting to actualize the importance of these content channels in the digital marketplace. HollyShorts and similar festivals have more relevance than ever. The international film sales & distribution industry is paying attention and is on the prowl for content like never before, so don’t be surprised to run into talent scouts while socializing at any of the festival’s epic parties.
The HollyShorts Film Festival takes place at the Tcl Chinese Theatre in the heart of Hollywood from August 13th to August 22nd, and marks the festival’s 11th year anniversary with a grand prize of $15,000 for this overall winner, courtesy of HollyShorts sponsor, Zype.
Shorts can range from the cutest animations, to the most serious subjects like illness, war and homelessness. The program includes Short Animation, Short Live Action, Short Documentary, Music Video, Webisode, Commercials, Trailers, 3D Shorts, Youth Film and Digital Microbudget.
Learn more by visiting the HollyShorts website.
- 6/4/2015
- by Erin Grover
- Sydney's Buzz
Alex Garland, screenwriter of “28 Days Later,” “Sunshine” and “Never Let Me Go,” makes an impressive directorial debut with cerebral sci-fi thriller “Ex Machina” (in theaters today), but Garland waves off the achievement of leaping to directing as “just next in a continuum.” “The truth was that there was no epiphany moment about directing, because I just don’t dignify the directing role the way we’re supposed to,” the British filmmaker told The Dissolve. “There are a few people — like Woody Allen, he’s an auteur, and I’m cool with that. But for me, directing is about collaboration.” Whether directing is a logical next step or a hard-sought achievement for screenwriters, it’s often done by telling studios, “Hey, here’s my next screenplay. You can have it as long as I get to direct.” Preston Sturges — at the time the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood — is noted for...
- 4/11/2015
- by Emily Rome
- Hitfix
Teasers for trailers rarely deliver anything more than that, but yesterday's teaser for Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation brought the goods and then some! While that could have sufficed on its own, we now have the full trailer giving us a bigger picture of Ethan Hunt and Co. taking on the anti-imf force, the Syndicate. Check out the action below! Christopher McQuarrie proved himself to be a more than adequate director with the likes of The Way Of The Gun and Jack Reacher, but I...
- 3/23/2015
- by Sean Wist
- JoBlo.com
Kenneth Kokin’s brilliant directorial debut ‘Blood Moon’ is an engaging and gripping tragedy that’s worthy of being seen. Written by Oscar Nominated Nicholas Kazan, ‘Blood Moon’ stars his daughter, Maya Kazan (‘The Knick’), Frank Medrano (‘The Shawshank Redemption’) and James Callis (‘Battle Star Galactica’, ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’).
Kokin also produced and directed second unit on several award-winning films that include the ‘The Usual Suspects’, ‘Captain Abu Raed’,’The Way of the Gun’ and ‘Mortdecai’.
Haunting, yet stylistically beautiful, the story follows a young woman who is raped and how she executes retribution on her attacker. It explores the transition from of a perky, pretty teen-ager to someone who is forever warped from abuse and degradation. ‘
‘Blood Moon’ is a culturally relevant story and a reminder that the issue of rape is too often ignored, especially in a country where abortion sharply divides its people and where women have to pay for their own rape kits to gather legal evidence – the equivalent of having to pay the police to dust for prints in a robbery.
Kokin first learned of ‘Blood Moon’ in Larry Moss’s Master acting class. It was written and produced in the 1980’s as an off-Broadway play and starred a teenage Dana DeLaney.
Kokin reflects on the story and working with Kazan:
Moss’s comments on the piece were so provocative, that I was compelled to run out and read it the next day. Even now, the ending continues to haunt me. I knew if I could get this play made into a film, it would be impactful for viewers…
It was an honor to work with Kazan, because I have so much respect for him as a filmmaker. His support was a blessing, and his material gave me tremendous confidence, because I knew it could hold itself up.
I felt like we were on the same creative plane. We went through the screenplay word-by-word, and always agreed on the nuances that we found interesting and humorous.
Writer of ‘Blood Moon’ Nicholas Kazan shares the history of ‘Blood Moon’ and its adaptation to film:
I couldn’t make a living writing for the theatre, so I moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles. I started to write for film, and eventually was fortunate enough to get some films made. Over the past 15 years, I’ve mostly been writing my own scripts and selling them when I can. That’s how I enjoy my life.
The play on which this film is based was done in New York in 1983. First I wrote plays in Berkeley, for the Magic Theater; subsequently most of my plays have been done in New York and Los Angeles. This play has been produced in New York, Washington DC, California, and many other places. It will have have a run again in New York in the spring.
One of the difficult things about a play is that you can’t edit it. In film, you can edit it and pick the best given take of any moment. You put all the best takes together and, you hope, end up with something fairly reasonable.
Why did you write ‘Blood Moon’?
I was told this story in college about a girl who was raped, which is essentially the first act of the play. I didn’t even know if it was a true story, but it stuck in my imagination. And then the second act of the play, the woman’s revenge, was my dramatic conceit.
How has the audience responded over the years?
Some people receive it as a piece of theater - especially when it’s well done – and the response has been very good. Occasionally, there have been a few people who are horrified by the second act. In the theatre, what the protagonist Mayna does is justified. It has its roots in Greek myth. There’s an ‘eye for an eye’ quality to it.
Was it challenging to change ‘Blood Moon’ into a screenplay?
There are some things that work better in theater than they do on film. In the film, we had to intercut between the two acts, which you obviously don’t do on stage.
There’s a tradition of tragedy on stage, where you watch in horror as you realize what’s going to happen. That’s the definition of tragedy – you’re horrified, and then you watch it happen. That’s the first act of the play, then in the second act, you don’t know what’s going to happen, but you know she’s going to do something. You don’t know what it is until the very end.
In the film, we had to intercut between the two acts because the first act, the tragedy gradually unfolding, just didn’t work as well on film. In the theatre, you’re having a communal experience where you’re witnessing this awful thing. On film, you’re not a witness. By intercutting, we brought an element of tension to the whole that made it work.
What has been the overall response to ‘Blood Moon’?
Sometimes there were nights when people didn’t understand what was happening until the play clearly revealed it. There were other nights when people got a sense of it earlier. You would know it because someone in the audience would go ‘oh my God!’ with a gasp. It was really similar to the way that laughter is contagious in an audience. One person would gasp, and then you’d feel other people wondering what they were gasping about. And then they’d go ‘Oh My God’ and get what was happening on stage. The play worked either way: it’s a communal experience, so it didn’t really matter when the audience “saw” what was really going on.
Kokin also produced and directed second unit on several award-winning films that include the ‘The Usual Suspects’, ‘Captain Abu Raed’,’The Way of the Gun’ and ‘Mortdecai’.
Haunting, yet stylistically beautiful, the story follows a young woman who is raped and how she executes retribution on her attacker. It explores the transition from of a perky, pretty teen-ager to someone who is forever warped from abuse and degradation. ‘
‘Blood Moon’ is a culturally relevant story and a reminder that the issue of rape is too often ignored, especially in a country where abortion sharply divides its people and where women have to pay for their own rape kits to gather legal evidence – the equivalent of having to pay the police to dust for prints in a robbery.
Kokin first learned of ‘Blood Moon’ in Larry Moss’s Master acting class. It was written and produced in the 1980’s as an off-Broadway play and starred a teenage Dana DeLaney.
Kokin reflects on the story and working with Kazan:
Moss’s comments on the piece were so provocative, that I was compelled to run out and read it the next day. Even now, the ending continues to haunt me. I knew if I could get this play made into a film, it would be impactful for viewers…
It was an honor to work with Kazan, because I have so much respect for him as a filmmaker. His support was a blessing, and his material gave me tremendous confidence, because I knew it could hold itself up.
I felt like we were on the same creative plane. We went through the screenplay word-by-word, and always agreed on the nuances that we found interesting and humorous.
Writer of ‘Blood Moon’ Nicholas Kazan shares the history of ‘Blood Moon’ and its adaptation to film:
I couldn’t make a living writing for the theatre, so I moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles. I started to write for film, and eventually was fortunate enough to get some films made. Over the past 15 years, I’ve mostly been writing my own scripts and selling them when I can. That’s how I enjoy my life.
The play on which this film is based was done in New York in 1983. First I wrote plays in Berkeley, for the Magic Theater; subsequently most of my plays have been done in New York and Los Angeles. This play has been produced in New York, Washington DC, California, and many other places. It will have have a run again in New York in the spring.
One of the difficult things about a play is that you can’t edit it. In film, you can edit it and pick the best given take of any moment. You put all the best takes together and, you hope, end up with something fairly reasonable.
Why did you write ‘Blood Moon’?
I was told this story in college about a girl who was raped, which is essentially the first act of the play. I didn’t even know if it was a true story, but it stuck in my imagination. And then the second act of the play, the woman’s revenge, was my dramatic conceit.
How has the audience responded over the years?
Some people receive it as a piece of theater - especially when it’s well done – and the response has been very good. Occasionally, there have been a few people who are horrified by the second act. In the theatre, what the protagonist Mayna does is justified. It has its roots in Greek myth. There’s an ‘eye for an eye’ quality to it.
Was it challenging to change ‘Blood Moon’ into a screenplay?
There are some things that work better in theater than they do on film. In the film, we had to intercut between the two acts, which you obviously don’t do on stage.
There’s a tradition of tragedy on stage, where you watch in horror as you realize what’s going to happen. That’s the definition of tragedy – you’re horrified, and then you watch it happen. That’s the first act of the play, then in the second act, you don’t know what’s going to happen, but you know she’s going to do something. You don’t know what it is until the very end.
In the film, we had to intercut between the two acts because the first act, the tragedy gradually unfolding, just didn’t work as well on film. In the theatre, you’re having a communal experience where you’re witnessing this awful thing. On film, you’re not a witness. By intercutting, we brought an element of tension to the whole that made it work.
What has been the overall response to ‘Blood Moon’?
Sometimes there were nights when people didn’t understand what was happening until the play clearly revealed it. There were other nights when people got a sense of it earlier. You would know it because someone in the audience would go ‘oh my God!’ with a gasp. It was really similar to the way that laughter is contagious in an audience. One person would gasp, and then you’d feel other people wondering what they were gasping about. And then they’d go ‘Oh My God’ and get what was happening on stage. The play worked either way: it’s a communal experience, so it didn’t really matter when the audience “saw” what was really going on.
- 2/18/2015
- by Erin Grover
- Sydney's Buzz
Every week, Shelf Life sees Tom White select and talk about a movie that lives on his DVD shelf, one he thinks we should all see. After receiving critical acclaim and numerous awards for co-writing The Usual Suspects, Christopher McQuarrie was noticeably absent from the cinematic landscape. You may know him now for Jack reacher and Edge of Tomorrow, but back in the late nineties, he was unsuccessfully trying to get a biopic of Alexander the Great off the ground, not wanting his success with Bryan Singer's classic thriller to typecast him as 'a crime guy'. But, as the story goes, it took a cup of coffee with Benico Del Toro to change his mind, which sent him to work on his directorial debut, an action/crime thriller which turned everything we know about the usual hero dynamic on it's head. This was movie was 2000's The Way of the Gun.
- 2/4/2015
- by [email protected] (Tom White)
- www.themoviebit.com
For anyone who was a teenager in the late '90s, Ryan Phillippe was the hottest guy around.With bad boy roles in both "Cruel Intentions" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer," he may not have been the guy to bring home to mom ... but he was definitely the one you wanted to meet up with after sneaking out of the house.Throw in a high profile romance with Reese Witherspoon, and these two were like teen movie royalty. While a lot has changed in their personal lives since the two costarred in the Upper East Side update of "Dangerous Liaisons," one thing hasn't: Ryan's hotness.The actor celebrates his 40th birthday today, and recently, Phillippe's looked better than ever. Back in June, he showed off his incredibly shredded physique on the beach, along with his growing collection of tattoos (right). Yeah, it's possible he looks even better now.
- 9/10/2014
- by tooFab Staff
- TooFab
Fifteen years ago, Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon welcomed their first child together — daughter Ava. In honor of her birthday, Phillippe remembered a sweet moment the former spouses shared the day Witherspoon gave birth via Twitter on Tuesday, Sept. 9. "15 yrs ago today, was my last [day] on, The Way of the Gun. A helicopter waited off set to transport me from the 'Mexican brothel' in Utah to Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills," the Secret and Lies actor, 40, tweeted. (Phillippe starred in the drama [...]...
- 9/10/2014
- Us Weekly
Ryan Phillippe is one proud papa!The actor took to Twitter on Tuesday to share a series of messages in honor of his daughter Ava's 15th birthday. "15 yrs ago today, was my last on, "The Way of the Gun". A helicopter waited off set to transport me from the "Mexican brothel" in Utah to Cedars Sinai in Beverly Hills," he tweeted. "With my stomach in knots, exhausted & dirty, covered in syrupy fake blood & shards of candy glass ... found the pad and I was taken to an area to sterilize myself. I made it to my then wife's bedside w/ two hours to spare before my baby girl first entered the world." "15 years ago I learned what love truly is," the doting dad added.Everybody now: Awwwwwwwwww!The "Damages" star and ex-wife Reese Witherspoon, who divorced after seven years of marriage in 2006, amicably co-parent Ava and their 10-year-old son Deacon. Even...
- 9/9/2014
- by tooFab Staff
- TooFab
Believe it or not, it’s not easy being Tom Cruise. Over the weekend, Tom Cruise’s latest big-budget scifi-actioner Edge of Tomorrow opened. To be polite, the box office returns left this $178 million picture well over the edge of being a box-office bomb with just over $29 million domestically, coming in 3rd place. In the film his character Bill Cage fights a superior and innumerable opponent in these organic machine aliens known as Mimics. This isn’t too dissimilar from where Cruise stands right now against the immeasurable tides of sequels, reboots and franchises. It almost makes Edge of Tomorrow autobiographical on Cruise’s part as he’s one of the only movie stars at his level not churning out a franchise film every year or two. And to go along with that theory, just as Cage is connected to the network that powers the Mimics, Cruise is certainly engaged with the studio system.
- 6/9/2014
- by Dylan Griffin
- SoundOnSight
Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 28 Nov 2013 - 06:04
Our series of lists devoted to underappreciated films brings us to the year 2000, and another 25 overlooked gems...
The new millennium brought with it an eclectic range of hit films. Hong Kong action director John Woo brought us Mission: Impossible II, the most profitable film of the year at the box office. Ridley Scott enjoyed one of the biggest critical and financial successes of his career with Gladiator, while Robert Zemeckis created a memorable drama with Tom Hanks and a ball named Wilson in Cast Away.
From a comic book movie standpoint, 2000 was also a key year. X-Men not only established a successful film franchise which is still going, with X-Men: Days Of Future Past out next year, but also headed up a wave of big-budget Marvel adaptations which shows no sign of slowing down.
As ever, we've travelled far outside the...
Our series of lists devoted to underappreciated films brings us to the year 2000, and another 25 overlooked gems...
The new millennium brought with it an eclectic range of hit films. Hong Kong action director John Woo brought us Mission: Impossible II, the most profitable film of the year at the box office. Ridley Scott enjoyed one of the biggest critical and financial successes of his career with Gladiator, while Robert Zemeckis created a memorable drama with Tom Hanks and a ball named Wilson in Cast Away.
From a comic book movie standpoint, 2000 was also a key year. X-Men not only established a successful film franchise which is still going, with X-Men: Days Of Future Past out next year, but also headed up a wave of big-budget Marvel adaptations which shows no sign of slowing down.
As ever, we've travelled far outside the...
- 11/27/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Christopher McQuarrie, the screenwriter-turned-director behind The Way of the Gun , Jack Reacher and the upcoming Mission: Impossible 5 , has lined up a new project in the form of Three to Kill , an adaptation of Jean-Patrick Machette's French novel. Deadline has the news, reporting that Colin Firth is attached to headline. Published in the United States by City Lights Noir with a translation by Donald Nicholson Smith, Three to Kill is officially described as follows: Businessman Georges Gerfaut witnesses a murder-and is pursued by the killers. His conventional life knocked off the rails, Gerfaut turns the tables and sets out to track down his pursuers. Along the way, he learns a thing or two about himself.... Manchette-masterful stylist, ironist, and social...
- 11/21/2013
- Comingsoon.net
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