Jason Reitman Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Jason Reitman's Interview Pie Chart
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?
'Up in the Air' Songs Pulled from Oscar Race
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Awards », Paramount », RumorMonger », Oscar Watch »
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Well, it's November, which means the awards contenders are steadily coming out of the woodwork, and just as we have the Academy Awards to look forward to, we also have their fine print to tolerate. The first of this year's disqualifications naturally come from the music end of things, the same category that didn't see fit to honor the tremendous original scores composed for The Dark Knight last year and There Will Be Blood the year before that.According to Kris Tapley over at In Contention, both "Up in the Air" and "Help Yourself" from Jason Reitman's Up in the Air have been pulled out of the Best Original Song race. The former was written by Kevin Renick before he met Reitman (the song is presented in the film as it was presented to the filmmaker, with homemade introduction and all), not to mention that it comes halfway into the credits when only the first song over them can qualify. (Really, AMPAS?)
And a portion of the latter had existed earlier in Sad Brad Smith's career and thus means the song itself was not created in full for the film. It's an earnest and catchy tune, used prominently in the trailers and well in the film (and now available on iTunes, cough), but it now looks like those are two more slots left to be dominated by Disney's latest...
Austin Film Festival 2009: The Wrap-Up
Filed under: Festival Reports », Austin »
In Austin, you can set your watch by the fall film festivals. We don't just have SXSW in the spring. Starting around Labor Day, it feels like we have a film festival practically every week, from Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF) to the Austin Polish Film Festival, Austin Asian American Film Festival and of course Fantastic Fest. One of the oldest and biggest of these local autumn fests is Austin Film Festival (AFF), which spans eight days and seven screening venues, and includes a screenwriters' conference. In 2009, AFF celebrated its 16th year.
AFF focuses on screenwriters even in its film programming selections, as was evident with the opening-night film. Serious Moonlight is best known as the last script written by the late actress/filmmaker Adrienne Shelly. I admit I wasn't fond of the movie, but director Cheryl Hines was a trip -- mock-vampy on the red carpet (as shown above), and full of excitement about her film. Her screening was up against heavy competition: Matthew Weiner brought an episode of Mad Men to the festival and didn't reveal which one until just before it screened. (It turned out to be this season's "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency" episode.) Weiner also was featured in panels during the conference portion of AFF.
TIFF Review: Up in the Air
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Telluride », Theatrical Reviews », Festival Reports », Toronto International Film Festival »
Sometimes it seems like one of Hollywood's main goals is to make people without spouses and children feel really bad about themselves. If that sort of thing bothers you, I would recommend passing on Up in the Air, which is as strident about the notion that a life without a family is worthless as any movie I've ever seen. Fortunately, it is also brisk, funny, and not enslaved to genre conventions. Parts of the film, in fact, approach comic brilliance. The reason that the film's message-mongering doesn't grate, I think, is that we really do feel sorry for the protagonist – an obsessive frequent flier who begins to realize that his life is an empty, lonely shell of rationalizations and self-delusions.
In some respects, Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) approaches caricature: not only is he wifeless, childless and practically homeless – he has a barren studio in Omaha and spends 320 days a year on the road – but he fires people for a living and occasionally gives motivational speeches urging people to "empty their backpacks" and rid themselves of commitment. But there's a kernel of truth to him, in the sense that there is something compelling, almost romantic about transience. His world of luxury hotels and airline perks – and a hot frequent flier girlfriend (Vera Farmiga) with whom he sleeps with when their paths cross but who asks for nothing more – actually seems kind of cool.
'Up in the Air' Teaser Trailer
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Fandom », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
The first teaser trailer for Jason Reitman's Up in the Air has arrived online courtesy of Slashfilm (watch it after the jump), and while it doesn't knock my socks off, it definitely has that "Okay, it's time to turn our brains back on" feeling -- that familiar and satisfying post-summer thinking man's vibe. Ya know, the kind that comes at you with a teaser trailer that features a voiceover talking about life, family, responsibilities and all that other stuff. One thing the teaser has going for it is the fact that Reitman put it together himself (with a little help from his editor at Acme), with intentions of just debuting it online. So not only do you get a piece of marketing that comes straight from the filmmaker (which makes it pure, honest and devoid of Kanye West remixes and product placement), but this is the only venue with which to watch this particular teaser. In the film, George Clooney stars as a guy whose job it is to travel around and help companies downsize. But when he meets and begins to adore the female equivalent of himself as he closes in on his goal of 10 million frequent flier miles, his own job is threatened and he soon must re-evaluate what's really most important in his life.
Up in the Air hits theaters on December 4. Check out the teaser trailer after the jump, and another clip right over here.
First Clip from Jason Reitman's 'Up in the Air'
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
Over the weekend, Jason Reitman's Up in the Air premiered at the Telluride Film Festival to some very positive reactions (Cinematical's review upcoming), with some -- like indieWIRE's Anne Thompson -- already talking Oscar buzz. Now, as the film prepares to head on over to the Toronto International Film Festival, the first clip has arrived online over at Apple in advance of the first trailer. Watch it here.In the film, which is loosely based on Walter Kirn's novel, George Clooney plays a corporate downsizing expert whose job it is to travel around to different companies to determine who needs to be terminated. However, his own job soon becomes threatened as he closes in on his goal of 10 million frequent flier miles, while at the same time meeting the female equivalent of himself (played by Vera Farmiga). In the scene over on Apple, Clooney and Farmiga meet for the first time in what looks to be an frequent fliers club, where they try to one-up each other with their extensive frequent flier card collection.
Up in the Air will hit theaters on December 4.
Red-Band 'Jennifer's Body' Trailer Answers All Of Your Prayers
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Horror », Independent », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Newsstand », Movie Marketing », Fox Atomic », Trailers and Clips »
You no longer have to wait until Bruno to catch a glimpse of Jennifer's Body a.k.a that Megan Fox horror movie where she might show her boobs! ShockTillYouDrop has a red-band trailer directly from the Body team of Karyn Kusama, Diablo Cody, and Jason Reitman. According to the filmmakers, this is the trailer that truly captures what the film is all about: "Fox is putting a trailer of Jennifer's Body in front of Bruno this Friday. Great, right? Only problem is it's not our trailer. It's kind of a straight horror preview and while we're sure it'll appeal to many of you, we wanted to make sure you guys got to see our cut ... Lets call it the "filmmaker's cut". We think it captures the comedy and scares of the horror films we grew up on - a kind of nostalgia for when horror films were fun. Can't wait to show you the whole film ... In the meantime, here's the red band trailer we wanted our fans to see."
And you know what? It's a pretty awesome trailer. I was neither here nor there about the film, but this looks like a hell of a lot of fun ...
Head to The Horror Squad for the red-banded fun
Head to The Horror Squad for the red-banded fun
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Reitman Taps Anna Friel and Jesse Eisenberg for 'The Wedding'
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Casting », Deals », Scripts »
Man, Roger Dodger/Campbell Scott should have continued his teachings, rather than setting Jesse Eisenberg loose on the school cafeteria. It looks like he hasn't learned the delicate intricacies of women and romance quite yet!The Hollywood Reporter posts that Jason Reitman and Daniel Dubiecki are producing a new romantic comedy called The Wedding, which will star Eisenberg and Pushing Daisies star Anna Friel. Eisenberg will play a young man who is so infatuated with Friel's 30-something character that he crashes her wedding. Hmm. Maybe Roger should've steered completely clear of the kid, since escorts and Elizabeth Berkley seem to have led the kid right to Benjamin Braddock territory.
Reitman has cooked up a lot of interest for the film, but as of yet, no studios have signed to get this project in gear. I imagine it's only a matter of time. Reitman has a knack for picking solid films, and I've got a feeling that Eisenberg and Friel will play well off each other. But at the very least -- it'll give her something to do post-Daisies.
Jason Reitman Picks His Next Juno
Filed under: Comedy », Casting », Deals », Newsstand »
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What does last year's most talked-about teen flick have in common with this year's most talked-about pre-teen flick? Here's a hint: A director and an actress. Yes, Juno director Jason Reitman has finally chosen the female lead for his follow-up flick Up in the Air -- based on Walter Kim's (Thumbsucker) 2001 novel -- and he's chosen none other than Anna Kendrick. Who? Oh wait, I forgot to put this next to her name: Twilight actress Anna Kendrick.The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Kendrick, who played one of Bella's friends in the poetic vamp tale, beat out other actresses like Emily Blunt and Juno herself, Ellen Page. Go figure! In the film, Kendrick will play "a young woman who finds herself pulled into the orbit of a "career transition counselor" (i.e. professional firer) careening through the airless world of business travel." Oh, and that "career transition counselor" will be played by George Clooney. I haven't seen Twilight, but Kendrick was excellent in the small indie Rocket Science, and from what I remember she's got a sort of Emma Stone thing going on. Ya know, cute, girl-next-door-but-intelligent kinda personality. I dig her. Paramount will shovel it into theaters, but there's currently no word on a release date.
Clooney Will Headline Jason Reitman's 'Up in the Air'
Filed under: Comedy », Casting »
For the longest time -- until earlier this week, in fact -- I was convinced that Jason Reitman's next directing project was Diablo Cody's horror flick Jennifer's Body. Maybe that's because at a Team Juno roundtable interview last year, the two of them talked about it like it was their project (which it is, sort of -- Reitman's producing). Anyway, it's actually Karyn "Aeon Flux" Kusama who is directing Cody's follow-up, while Reitman is moving on to helm an adaptation of Walter Kirn's Up in the Air.I strongly recommend the novel, which is a terrific satire about a perpetually transitory businessman obsessed with collecting a million frequent flyer miles. I liked it better than Kirn's more popular Thumbsucker which was already adapted into a film. The movie could be very funny in the hands of a guy like Reitman -- sharp and insightful. It should be closer in tone to Thank You for Smoking than to Juno.
Reitman has already shifted the project into a higher gear by setting his sights on George Clooney, who's in talks to star as the narcissistic protagonist. While I'm pretty sure the character is quite a bit younger than the actor, Clooney has precisely the effortless comic chops this project needs. His profile won't hurt, either.
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