Cinematical

Interview: Jason Reitman, 'Up in the Air'

Jette Kernion — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:15:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, Austin, Interviews, George Clooney

My interview with Up in the Air director Jason Reitman in October was one of the most meta interviews I've ever done. Before the interview started, Reitman took my photo with his iPhone. He told me only "I'm not sure if that's going to work, what I'm doing with that, but if it does, you'll be thrilled with the results." I'm still in suspense.

In addition, my interview took place right after a Film School Rejects interview (check it out, Reitman name-checks Cinematical) in which Cole Abaius spent 10 minutes discussing the pie charts the Juno and Thank You for Smoking director had been posting to Twitter. Reitman kept track of which questions interviewers asked him most -- I caught him tallying things in a little notebook during our interview -- and posted the stats online frequently. Roger Ebert has also written about the pie charts. Cole and I had been reading Reitman's Twitter feed before our interviews, and not only knew about the pie chart but found out that he had just been enjoying lunch at the Salt Lick, one of the best known BBQ joints in Central Texas.

So that may explain why Twitter, pie charts and barbecue keep creeping into the following Cinematical interview with Jason Reitman. I hope it's as fun to read as it was to be there in person. The above photo is from the red carpet the evening after the interview, when Up in the Air was the closing-night film for Austin Film Festival.

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'Nine', 'Up in the Air' Lead Satellite Award Nominations

Christopher Campbell — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:15:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Music & Musicals, Awards, Quentin Tarantino, Johnny Depp, George Clooney, Oscar Watch

There are a few good reasons to hate on the Satellite Awards. First of all, we really don't need any more end of the year movie and television honors. Second of all, the Satellites seem to be little more than a knock-off of the Golden Globes, which are already pretty unnecessary. Third, they happen way too early, missing out on seeing and thereby qualifying perhaps the biggest film of the year (Avatar).

But over the years I've come to appreciate the Satellites and their bestowing organization, the International Press Academy, for their constant surprises when it comes to nominating and awarding unlikely films and talent. Just look at some of last year's acting winners: Richard Jenkins; Rosemarie DeWitt; Ricky Gervais; Michael Shannon.

Now check out this year's nominees, which continue to prove that IPA voters like to go at least slightly against the grain. Okay, so there are a lot of predictable titles in the lot, including Up in the Air and Nine, which leads with 11 nominations. Yet there are some films I don't expect to be recognized by the Golden Globes, let alone the Oscars, such as The Maid and The Stoning of Soraya M., both of which feature in the Best Actress (Drama) category.

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Jason Reitman's Interview Pie Chart

Jenni Miller — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:35:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, Drama, New Releases, Paramount, Fandom, Movie Marketing, George Clooney, Images

Jason Reitman, whose next film Up in the Air comes out on December 4th, posted a very funny image on Twitter recently - a pie chart detailing the different things that people have asked him in recent interviews. The top three were about George Clooney (111 people), the economy (96 people), and his next project (78 people). The fourth is a little more confusing, as it just reads "Real People," so apparently 77 people asked him about real people. Maybe they wanted to know if the people being laid off in the movie were real people? Who's to say what goes through the murky depths of the mind of a journalist?

I humbly ask Jason Reitman to make a pie chart of his answers. Here's what I picture it to look like.

111 people: "Clooney is such a prankster! But he's also a great serious actor. He's the Cary Grant of our times. Sometimes we have moustache contests."

96 people: "The economy sucks. Seriously though, I've never been laid off, but if I had to be laid off, I'd hope George Clooney would do it."

78 people: "My next project will be with George Clooney. Actually, it will be catching up on all the sleep I lost talking to you people and answering the same damn questions over and over again."

In one jpeg, Reitman manages to sum up the exhausting paces that filmmakers, actors, musicians, et al are put through to get their names and faces and projects out there, the laziness of some journalists, and the terror that faces every journalist that wants to be good at what they do and engender an interesting discussion that is hopefully pleasant and/or illuminating (but at the very least not boring) for everyone involved, including the reader.

If you could ask Jason Reitman anything, what would it be?

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Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats

Eric D. Snider — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:02:00 EST

Filed under: New Releases, Theatrical Reviews, George Clooney

We're told at the beginning of The Men Who Stare at Goats that "more of this is true than you would believe." But the story of the U.S. Army's attempts to harness psychic powers to create super-soldiers is so bizarre it almost HAS to be true, in accordance with the "how could anyone make this up?" principle. In fact, I believe more of this admittedly fictionalized story than I do of The Fourth Kind, which claims to be 100 percent true. Surely there's a lesson in there.

Based on Jon Ronson's nonfiction book, The Men Who Stare at Goats stars Ewan McGregor as Bob Wilton, a journalist covering the Iraq War in 2003. Bob meets a man named Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a private contractor with an unusual past: He claims to have worked for the government as a psychic spy. Bob once met a man, back home in Michigan (played by Stephen Root), who made the same claims, and who named Lyn Cassady as one of his colleagues.

You can see why the military would be interested in psychic spying. Surveillance is a lot less dangerous when you can do it entirely with your mind, rather than having to actually sneak up and eavesdrop on people. And if we could harness things like telekinesis, well, forget about it! We'd beat the Russkies for sure!

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A Peek at George Clooney Voicing 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'

Jenni Miller — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:46:00 EST

Filed under: Action, Animation, Comedy, Fox Searchlight, Family Films, George Clooney, Trailers and Clips

Yahoo! has posted an incredibly cool video of George Clooney acting out his role as Mr. Fox in the freakin' adorable Fantastic Mr. Fox. The video shows cool side-by-side comparisons of Clooney acting out different scenes on a farm with costar Wallace Wolodarsky, who voices loopy sidekick Kylie, as well as just running around pretending to be Mr. Fox, down to rolling around on the ground and doing his super cool whistle.

This behind-the-scenes peek at Mr. Fox also offers mini-interviews with director Wes Anderson, producer Allison Abbate, and Bill Murray (Badger) about working with Clooney on the film. The funniest part shows an argument between Mr. Fox and Badger, which involves growling and swiping, split-screened against the actors themselves doing the voices in an office.

As Abbate notes, "There couldn't be a more perfect Mr. Fox, because he has the Cary Grant suave, debonair sparkle where he can talk his way out of any situation, which is so our Mr. Fox character. He's just got a great voice."

Clooney's got a rather full docket this season, with The Men Who Stare at Goats coming out this week, Fantastic Mr. Fox coming out at the end of November, and Up in the Air out on Christmas day.

Click through to see the video itself, then let us know which Clooney feature you're going to be lining up for at the theaters this season, by cuss!

Continue reading A Peek at George Clooney Voicing 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'

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Discuss: Which Trailers Are You Sick Of?

William Goss — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:02:00 EST

Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Paramount, Focus Features, George Clooney, Trailers and Clips

I'm grateful for this Friday, because that's the day that The Men Who Stare at Goats comes out and I can stop seeing its trailer relentlessly attached to anything and everything I see (and given that I try to see most anything and everything out there, it's really only a 'me' problem, I suppose). One night, I had myself a triple feature and saw the preview not one, not two, but three times; as a pal put it, he had "more than a feeling" that I was getting sick of it.

Before that, it was a summer of Taking Woodstock time and time again, and it would already seem that Shutter Island's move to February will insure that I'll be sitting there, trying to piece the thing together for the next three months when not perfecting my New England Leo impersonation.

So, whether currently or in your own formative years, what trailers have you been just absolutely burnt out on? Did you and your friends quote along with them as they played? Were you actually ever turned off from seeing a film because you had it advertised to you too much? Come on, let it all out...

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AFI Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Todd Gilchrist — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:33:00 EST

Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Festival Reports, Fox Searchlight, George Clooney, Other Festivals

It's not hard to like any movie that uses the Beach Boys' music, but Wes Anderson makes it especially easy. As Hollywood's foremost purveyor of hipster drama, his pedigree as a reliable selector of appropriately wistful, poignant and all-around unforgettable songs is virtually unrivaled, but Fantastic Mr. Fox exceeds even the work of his earlier films, using "Heroes and Villains," and later, "I Get Around" as populist punctuation that manages to be both specifically relevant and substantively rousing.

As an animated opus, the film is by necessity his most controlled to date, a painstakingly-designed dollhouse where he no longer controls just the music, sets, and costumes, but the performers themselves. Ironically, however, it feels like his loosest as well - a gloriously unwieldy comedy of manners submerged in the minutiae of Anderson's madcap creativity. All of which makes Fantastic Mr. Fox a celebration both of its stop-motion medium and Anderson's aesthetic, while still managing to fully document the spectacular fun in original author Roald Dahl's daffy, distinctive imagination.

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Depp, DiCaprio and Clooney Eye Scorsese's 'Sinatra' Biopic

Elisabeth Rappe — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:32:00 EST

Filed under: Drama, Music & Musicals, Casting, Universal, RumorMonger, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Johnny Depp, George Clooney

Frank Sinatra is still what many (if not all) red-blooded man aspire to be. Playing him in a Martin Scorsese biopic is not only a dream job for any actor, it's wish fulfillment on the highest level. Is it any surprise that the some of the biggest names in Hollywood are said to by vying for the role of Old Blue Eyes? The Guardian reports that Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, and George Clooney are in fierce competition to land the part, with Universal executives allegedly pushing hardest for the marketable Depp.

It's a tough thing to cast someone like Sinatra. While I certainly like all three men as actors in their own right, I think their own fame makes it impossible for them to disappear under the skin of an icon. This isn't exactly Howard Hughes or John Dillinger, figures that an actor can shape from facts and bits of footage, but still make their own. This is a man we're all familiar with from countless movies, concerts, albums, and television appearances. How do you portray that honestly with Depp, DiCaprio, or Clooney? If forced to choose from the three, I'd pick DiCaprio purely because of the physical resemblance, and politely suggest Clooney play Dean Martin.

Personally, I hope Scorsese finds a semi-unknown for the part (someone on the level of Tom Hardy -- who might actually be really good now that he's sprung to my mind) and steers clear of the A-List. The actor lucky and brave enough won't have to sing, as Universal and Mandalay spent 2 years clearing the rights to Sinatra's catalog, but he still has to be someone you believe to possess that voice. Would you cast one of the Big Three above? Or do you have someone else in mind?

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New York's CMJ Festival Starts Today

Jenni Miller — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:45:00 EST

Filed under: Independent, Festival Reports, George Clooney, Cinematical Indie

CMJ, the multi-pronged music network that offers both online and print info for fans, industry insiders, and professionals, is also famous for its music and film festival that has NYC hipsters, journalists, and reps looking for the Next Big Thing raring to go. The CMJ Festival starts today and ends Saturday, so expect dispatches on what I'm checking out on the film front. From super small docs on techo music, Elliott Smith, and Leonard Cohen to star-studden films like The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Messenger, and The Fourth Kind, CMJ has a cool mix of music-related films and more general fare. The festival also offers panels on everything from how to break into film scoring to what the film industry can learn from the music industry on the digital piracy front.

While some of the films offer walk-up ticketing, you can also register for all-you-can-eat badges, and students get a discount. Visit CMJ's official festival website for the full film schedule.

Cinematical's big daddy Moviefone will also be covering the festival, so be sure to check in there too!

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Philly Film Fest Boasts Packed Line-Up

Jenni Miller — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:02:00 EST

Filed under: George Clooney, Philadelphia Film Festival

Last month I wrote a discussion piece asking if there were too many film festivals, and as some commenters pointed out, festivals are the only way some folks can get a gander at indie films that might not ever be released, or see movies that will have a limited release and take quite a while to make it back to their town.

Philadelphia is sharing some brotherly film love with its own international film festival, which takes place from October 15th through the 19th. The festival will kick off with the premiere of Law Abiding Citizen and end with Precious, with plenty of good stuff in between, from international indies like Fish Tank to the rabble-rousing Antichrist. Other notables include The Men Who Stare at Goats, Serious Moonlight (a sweet and funny film written by the late Adrienne Shelley and directed by Cheryl Hines), The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Chris Rock's documentary Good Hair, and lots of other great stuff. Check the full line-up after the jump, and to buy tickets or get more information, visit the official website.

Continue reading Philly Film Fest Boasts Packed Line-Up

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Fantastic Fest Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats

William Goss — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:32:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Fantastic Fest, George Clooney, War

War, as they say, is hell. So what's to be said of peace, of employing any and all means necessary to avert violence instead of propagating it? If The Men Who Stare at Goats is to believed, the forces of peace are crazy and covert and even at war with themselves, and if fellow Fantastic Fest attendees are to believed, it's at best a loose adaptation of journalist Jon Ronson's truly remarkable true-life tale.

After all, Ronson from Wales is now Bob Wilton from Ann Arbor (as played by Scotland's own Ewan McGregor), a journalist newly keen on covering the Iraq invasion after a cheating missus robs him of a purpose and a place to call his own. While waiting in Kuwait for a story, any story, he bumps into Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), who is not the contractor he says to be, but rather a man on a mission, and sensing a story, any story, Wilton decides to tag along...

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Toronto in 60 Seconds: Sunday, September 13, 2009

Peter Martin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:02:00 EST

Filed under: Deals, Festival Reports, Celebrities and Controversy, Distribution, George Clooney, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie

Left to right: Colin Farrell on the red carpet, Oprah Winfrey greeting fans, unidentified running clock man.

Read fast -- we've got 48 hours of the Toronto International Film Festival to recap and you've only got 60 seconds!

Celeb Sightings. Viggo Mortensen decisively declared that he is not "quitting acting," he just doesn't have any films lined up for now. (He's next acting in a play in Spain.) He stars in the long-awaited The Road. Matt Damon called journalists "motherf******"" and "lazy," because of false reports last week that he'd died during a mountain hike in California. He is Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! (see below).

Colin Farrell reportedly grabbed a photographer by the back of the neck, to defend the honor of his sister on the red carpet; he's in Toronto for Triage. Oprah Winfrey attended in support of Precious, Lee Daniels' Sundance hit drama that opens soon, and spoke about her personal connection to the film.

Our Coverage. In A Serious Man, Joel and Ethan Coen have delivered a film that "speaks as much with its structure as it does with its dialog," says Monika Bartyzel, yet also manages to be "wildly funny." With The Informant!, starring Matt Damon and directed by Steven Soderbergh, you can expect "a seriously entertaining film ... about a seriously plain man," according to Scott Weinberg. Clive Owen shows a "familial heart underneath the macho exterior" in The Boys Are Back, Monika observes. Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus features Heath Ledger's final performance, but, more to the point, "feels sort of like a favorite uncle just burst through the door, smiling and loaded with nifty presents," Scott writes, after confessing his unabashed love for Terry Gilliam.

A special moment with George Clooney, and more Internet confesions - after the jump!

Continue reading Toronto in 60 Seconds: Sunday, September 13, 2009

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Toronto in 60 Seconds: Friday, September 11, 2009

Peter Martin — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 09:03:00 EST

Filed under: Independent, Deals, Festival Reports, George Clooney, Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical Indie

Key Screenings. And away we go! The Toronto International Film Festival got underway on Thursday, as official opener Creation landed with a painful thud. Reaction was more positive for Lars von Trier's Antichrist (except for the guy who vomited on fellow attendees during the screening) and Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces, according to Eugene Hernandez at indieWIRE, who also noted that Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Willem Dafoe, and Penelope Cruz (plus the lovely Amanda Seyfried, above) appeared in support of their wide-ranging films, not to mention scantily-clad men and women at different functions.

The first full day of screenings found Anne Thompson gushing over the Coen Brothers' A Serious Man ("Utterly assured, personal, serious, sad and very funny"). George Clooney (staring, above) and Jeff Bridges received ovations for The Men Who Stare at Goats, tweeted a Twitter user; however, Karina Longworth recoiled: "Its vacuity actually seems offensive" compared to Lu Chuan's City of Life and Death, dealing with the tragedy in Nanking, China in 1937.

Our Coverage. As our writers on the ground scramble to hit all the choicest press and public screenings, and somehow find time to write in between dashing from one theater to the next, reviews have begun to filter in. Written by Diablo Cody and starring Megan Fox, Jennifer's Body "substitutes hipster credibility for emotional currency," says Todd Gilchrist. Directed by Jason Reitman and starring George Clooney, Up in the Air is "brisk, funny, and not enslaved to genre conventions," declares Eugene Novikov. And Erik Davis presented a TIFF Exclusive: the poster for indie flick Kirot, with Olga Kurylenko as a gun-toting mother / assassin.

News about a deal and more highlights from the Information Superhighway -- after the jump!

Continue reading Toronto in 60 Seconds: Friday, September 11, 2009

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Release Date Shuffle: Scorsese Out, Zombies In, Mr. Fox Takes It Slow

William Goss — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:02:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Horror, Thrillers, Awards, Mystery & Suspense, Paramount, Sony, RumorMonger, Distribution, Fox Searchlight, Dreamworks, Peter Jackson, George Clooney, Harry Potter

So in the midst of all the Avatar hullabaloo, we haven't yet addressed the major move on Friday of Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island from this October 2nd to next February. Considering the negative connotations that tend to come with most films pushed back, many were quick to defend the move as a savvy business strategy for a pulpy-looking film that wasn't a primary contender all along.

Fair enough. Plenty of studios made major shuffles to deal with post-strike gaps (Harry Potter, anyone?), and now they're concerned about being more fiscally responsible with what's to come. As THR's Steven Zeitchik pointed out, Paramount/Dreamworks already has two front-runners to work with between Up in the Air and The Lovely Bones, and somewhere between the reportedly sharp comedy and the prestige-heavy drama, a distinctly genre work like a Leonardo DiCaprio thriller does seem a bit like the odd man out.

In the wake of the move, two comedies -- Zombieland and Whip It -- have moved up their own October release dates to fill the void, and if there's any justice, we'll see Woody Harrelson accept a blood-splattered Oscar in DiCaprio's stead. And if Coming Soon and Box Office Mojo are to be believed, Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox will now get a limited release on November 13th before going wide on the 25th, where I suspect it will still get crushed by the likes of Old Dogs across the Thanksgiving stretch. Pity.

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Scenes We Love: From Dusk Till Dawn

Jette Kernion — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:45:00 EST

Filed under: Quentin Tarantino, George Clooney, Scenes We Love

It seems like the perfect time to talk about From Dusk Till Dawn -- and naturally, fire up the DVD player and watch it again. Quentin Tarantino wrote the screenplay and acted in the horror film, and his movie Inglourious Basterds opens next weekend. On the same day, the family film Shorts, the latest by From Dusk Till Dawn director Robert Rodriguez, will also hit theaters. And let's not forget that Rodriguez is currently filming Machete, with a cast that includes some actors from his 1996 film: Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin.

Cheech Marin is the focus of one of the most vivid scenes in From Dusk Till Dawn, which I love in a somewhat guilty sort of way. If you've seen the film, you're probably shaking your head at your computer screen and thinking, "She's not. She is totally not going to tell us she loves That Scene. Aw, no." Women are pondering whether I'm betraying our sex, men may be smirking a bit. My husband still can't believe I picked this scene to discuss. Those of you who haven't seen the film just wish I'd get on with it. If you don't want to see any slang sex words on your computer, you may not want to read past the jump.

Warning: The scene featured after the jump is R-rated and NSFW

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Trailer Park: Mr. Fox's Burning Hot Tub

Matt Bradshaw — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:03:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Trailer Trash, Family Films, George Clooney

The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Director Wes Anderson uses old school stop-motion animation for this comedic tale of a band of animals with celebrity voices who must battle some angry farmers. Listen for the voices of George Clooney, Bill Murray and Meryl Streep among others. Things get foxy on November 13.

A Serious Man
Here's a trailer that understands what trailers are supposed to do: grab your attention and make you curious to see more. This black comedy directed by the Coen Brothers and set in 1967 concerns a college professor who is experiencing a professional dilemma and is on the verge of a divorce. This one goes into limited release on October 2.

I Sell the Dead
More than any other trailer I've seen lately this one has me dying to see the film right now. On the eve of his execution a nineteenth century grave robber tells the tale of his exploits unearthing the undead. Sadly, I will have to wait for the film's limited release on August 7.

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Cinematical Seven: Great Modern Comedy Teams

Jeffrey M. Anderson — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:02:00 EST

Filed under: Brad Pitt, Cinematical Seven, George Clooney

So many comedians don't really play well with others. They're mostly scene-stealers with little regard for anyone who gets in their way. So it's always a treat to find some that click together. If they click, their connection usually passes on to the audience. Two mega-comedians, Adam Sandler & Seth Rogen, team up for the first time in this week's Funny People. It remains to be seen just what kind of chemistry they'll have, or if it deserves to be repeated, but in any case, it's a good time to revisit some of cinema's greatest comedy team-ups. [Note: I thought I would stay modern and therefore exclude Martin & Lewis, Laurel & Hardy, Fields & West, Abbott & Costello, Hepburn & Grant, Hepburn & Tracy, etc. Just because it goes without saying.]

1. Simon Pegg & Nick Frost
They're friends in real life and it shows in their films Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007). Pegg gets to do all the heroic stuff, and the romantic stuff, and he's great at it; his character arc and his performance in Shaun of the Dead are remarkably rich and subtle. But Frost has the hard job. He must balance his persona of annoying slacker with lovable sidekick, throwing in just a tiny hint of homoerotic attachment to his friend. This is an A+ in chemistry.

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'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Trailer Looks Pretty Good At The Very Least

William Goss — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Family Films, George Clooney, Trailers and Clips

A few months ago, a good friend of mine saw a test screening of Fantastic Mr. Fox (no 'The') and described it as very much the union between Roald Dahl's story and Wes Anderson's style. Now, it looks like the trailer up on Yahoo! and after our jump confirms as much, and I actually find myself genuinely charmed by it -- like, 'now on my radar' charmed.

This tale of a sly fox (voiced by George Clooney, natch) taking on some grumpy farmers reminded me a great deal of Chicken Run, if it were inspired less by The Great Escape and more by Ocean's Eleven, and while it does look perfectly family-friendly, it really does seem to be a Wes Anderson film through and through -- only Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman are all talking animals in stop-motion. (Hell, it's probably the most animated Murray's been in years!)

(Pun half-intended.)

Also starring Meryl Streep and apparently released by Fox proper (as opposed to Fox Searchlight), Fantastic Mr. Fox is due to open on November 13th.

Continue reading 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Trailer Looks Pretty Good At The Very Least

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The Venice Film Festival: Herzog, Soderbergh, Clooney and More

Jenni Miller — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:32:00 EST

Filed under: Newsstand, Michael Moore, George Clooney, Venice Film Festival

Cannes has La Croisette and the world premieres and the yachts and the red carpet mishegoss, but Venice is no slouch when it comes to excellent directors and exciting premieres (and oh yeah, the parties). This year's line-up has plenty to offer cinephiles from around the world. And for you betting types, take note that Abel Ferrara and Werner Herzog will both be there; Herzog will be showing his "re-imagining" of Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant, which so incensed Ferrara that he wished dire bodily harm upon Herzog and star Nicolas Cage.

I'm also particularly excited about Alex Cox showing Repo Chick, a sequel to his fabulous 1984 film Repo Man. Other super-cool stuff includes Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! with Matt Damon and his creepy mustache, Grant Heslov's The Men Who Stare at Goats, starring George Clooney, and [REC 2], the sequel to the Spanish horror film from Jaume Balaguero. Michael Moore with also be there with his new film, Capitalism: A Love Story. And audiences will finally get a look at the long-awaited Cormac McCarthy adaptation, The Road, starring Viggo Mortensen.

Ang Lee, who himself has won two Golden Lions at prior Venice festivals, is heading up the jury.

The full list is after the jump. Let us know what you think about the line-up and what you're eager to see.

Continue reading The Venice Film Festival: Herzog, Soderbergh, Clooney and More

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Directors We Love: Steven Soderbergh

Peter Martin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:02:00 EST

Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Independent, Fandom, Brad Pitt, George Clooney

He is, basically, the antithesis of a Comic-Con filmmaker, more interested in infusing celluloid with his personal vision than with dazzling moviegoers through visual effects. Not that director Steven Soderbergh is adverse to using advanced technology, or sprinkling computerized wizardry upon the narrative like fairy dust, or including breathless action sequences in his films. Quite to the contrary. Ocean's Thirteen, for example, fairly bursts with playful touches of meta-reality, from handwritten monetary sums dancing around a wide shot of unexpected casino winners to 60s-style split-screen montages, and contains a breathless series of escapades in which no one pulls a gun -- it's all talk.

Thus, it was distressing to hear that Soderbergh spoke with an "air of tired resignation" in an telephone conversation with The Guardian UK a while back. He said he could "see the end" of his career, with just "three or four years worth of stuff" that he hopes to be able to do, and then he "may just disappear." He now wishes he hadn't made the subtle and powerful Che; the production was so intense that he and everyone else "got scarred ... a little bit."

It's understandable that the physical demands of making Che -- the equivalent of two feature-length films -- on a 76-day schedule for the comparatively small sum of $58 million would exhaust anybody. And it may be that the last-minute script disagreements that resulted in his losing the Moneyball baseball flick gig with Brad Pitt were laying him low as well. Some people are angry at him for indulging himself and ignoring the audience, somehow squandering opportunities for other directors to make "smart movies for adults."

Continue reading Directors We Love: Steven Soderbergh

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