PhillipSeymourHoffman Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Cinematical has received this exclusive final poster for Doubt, which proudly displays its many much-deserved award nominations. Based on the play by John Patrick Shanley (who also adapted and directed this big-screen version -- listen to our audio interview with him here), Doubt is exceptional because of its cast -- with all four players (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Viola Davis) turning in sharp, powerful performances. Set in the Bronx, New York in 1964, Doubt plunges right into the heart of a Catholic School and follows the two nuns who suspect a priest of making unwanted advances toward the school's first black student. Easily one of my favorite films of the year, this is definitely one you don't want to miss -- especially on a cold dark weekend in the middle of winter.

Doubt is in theaters now. Check out a larger version of the poster by clicking below.

"I went to a church school in the Bronx in the early '60s, and I had the Sisters of Charity (as teachers) who wore these very particular, very peculiar Victorian black bonnets; I had an interesting and good experience there. It was a time of great certitude; it was a quieter time, and yet it was on the cusp of great change. There was a big sound coming from over the hill, and that sound was the '60s; it came crashing in shortly after that. ... At the time I wrote the play, again, it was a time of great certitude -- it was the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, and I didn't feel certain, I felt doubtful. ... I (thought) I wanted to write something... that shows what is lost and what is gained when the world changes."

Playwright and director John Patrick Shanley can tell you where his film Doubt, starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, came from; as it's being released into a busy Oscar season with high expectations, he can't quite tell you where it's headed. The Oscar-winning screenwriter of Moonstruck and the writer-director of the cult fave Joe Versus the Volcano also talked about the challenges of opening up his play for the big screen, how tough times can mean great opportunities for writers and the pleasure of working with noted cinematographer Roger Deakins. Shanley spoke with Cinematical in Los Angeles; you can listen to the podcast here at Cinematical by clicking below:


You can also download the interview in full right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.

Last week, indieWIRE ran a provocative piece by Anthony Kaufman about the financial woes of THINKfilm, one of my favorite indie distributors. Kaufman detailed the cash flow problems at THINKfilm, which were causing acrimony between the distrib and many of its filmmakers, who were alleging that the distributor hadn't paid what it owed to them, as well as to advertising companies charged with marketing films under THINKfilm's banner.

Now indieWIRE has a follow-up piece up by Eugene Hernandez, which says that director/producer Alex Gibney, whose film Taxi to the Darkside won the best documentary Oscar this year and was supposed to receive a major theatrical push by THINKfilm following its win, is seeking more than $1 million in damages from the ailing distributor.

While THINKfilm did pay the film's producers the minimums guaranteed by their contract on May 5, Gibney's complaint alleges that THINKfilm failed to disclose that it did not have the financial resources to support the film's theatrical push following its Oscar win, and "jeopardized the success of the film by failing to abide by the terms of contracts it entered into with public relations firms and advisers and failed to pay such firms for work done and expenses incurred."

Synecdoche: n. A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket), or the material for the thing made from it (as steel for sword). -- American Heritage Dictionary

The directorial debut of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation), Synecdoche, New York is a sprawling, messy work of inspired brilliance and real humanity, a film that enthralls and affects even as it infuriates and confounds. Kaufman gives us parts, and the whole; he gives us the general and the specific. The plot is, on the surface, about a theater director, Caden (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), whose work, and life, in upstate New York have both fallen into a state of stasis relieved only by hints of slow decay. His marriage to Adele (Catherine Keener) is a qualified success: somewhat supportive, somewhat loving, somewhat successful, sustained in part by their daughter Olive (Sadie Goldstein). And just as Caden's life falls apart personally -- Adele, a painter, takes Olive to Berlin for a gallery showing and never comes back -- he also earns a "Genius" grant, and embarks on an ambitious, immersive theater piece that'll be his masterwork.

But that meat-and-potatoes synopsis does not, and can not, fully explain what Kaufman covers and examines and explores and offers in the film -- partially because of the fluidity of time and space and art and reality in the story, and partially because of how Kaufman wedges every frame full of set design, side notes, visual tricks, subtext, deadpan jokes, prosthetic makeup, voice-over, post-modern inventions and old-fashioned melodrama. Synecdoche, New York veers away from reality fairly early in its journey; indeed, there's a question of if it even starts anywhere near there to begin with. Caden's obsessed with the decline of his physical body as he ages, poking at bumps, examining anomalies, concerned with disease.

I didn't leave Charlie Wilson's War, the new film from director Mike Nichols, dissatisfied or unamused. I walked out of Charlie Wilson's War angry. No reasonable person expects a film -- any film -- to capture the complexity and scope of real events with absolute precision; adaptations are translations, and as the old Italian saying goes, "The translator is a traitor." It's one thing to compress, combine and fictionalize a story to fit the sprawling, ugly mess of it onto the big screen; it's another to take only the best, shiniest parts of a real, ugly story and turn it into a feel-good comedy. Translation may be traitorous, but Charlie Wilson's War feels like a conscious act of treason against reason itself. As film critic David Thompson has said, "We learn our history from movies, and history suffers ...." Charlie Wilson's War isn't just bad history; it feels even more malign, like a conscious attempt to induce amnesia.

Based on George Crile's 2003 book of the same name, Charlie Wilson's War follows the exploits of Charlie Wilson, a Democratic Congressman from Texas who, during the '80s, had as much fun with his position as you could, which was a lot. As Charlie Wilson's War opens, we see Charlie hot-tubbing in a Vegas hotel suite; the room's full of booze, broads and blow. But Charlie, played by Tom Hanks, can't look away from the news; as one of his new acquaintances notes her apathy to world events, Charlie boils it down: "Dan Rather's wearing a turban; you don't want to know why?" Dan Rather's in a turban because Dan Rather's in Afghanistan, among the Afghan mujahideen -- the Islamic rebels trying to drive the Soviet Union out of their country by any means necessary. This sight sparks something in Charlie, so he sets out to increase the C.I.A.'s funding for the Afghan rebels -- from $5 million a year to 10. It's a lot of money. It's going to be much more.

ComingSoon now has the exclusive first look at the teaser poster for Charlie Wilson's War (click on the image to the right for a larger version). War stars Tom Hanks as the 'unconventional' congressman Charlie Wilson, who with the help of a Texas socialite and a rogue CIA agent managed to organize a "covert war" in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion. Hanks is joined by Julia Roberts as the socialite Joanne Herring and Philip Seymour Hoffman as CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos.

Wilson's good-time-guy image was only one aspect of his personality and more importantly he considered himself a staunch patriot with a clear sense of right and wrong. Wilson was once quoted as saying '"The US had nothing whatsoever to do with these people's decision to fight...But we'll be damned by history if we let them fight with stones." Charlie Wilson's War is based on the book, Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crill III -- I guess for the sake of billboard space they decided to shorten the title just a little.

The trailer for the film was just released a few weeks ago, and I think most of us were a little 'underwhelmed' by the whole thing. It's a solid cast, and it does have Oscar written all over it, but for such a fascinating story I guess I was just expecting a little more 'oomph' in the preview. Although for those of you out there worried that this is just another boring political drama, don't worry, the trailer works in a few genuine laughs -- but that could just be me. Much like the trailer, the poster for the flick isn't going to blow you away but it gets the job done -- mainly reminding you that there are three Oscar winners in the film. Considering you have mega-stars like Roberts and Hanks in the cast, it's a pleasant surprise that Hoffman made it on the poster at all. Charlie Wilson's War is scheduled for release on Christmas Day.

When you consider the star power behind the film version of George Crile's book, Charlie Wilson's War; I'm a little surprised it took this long to finally get a trailer. Worst Previews is hosting a clip from Entertainment Tonight who had a first look at the real life story of democratic senator Charlie Wilson, as played by Tom Hanks (unfortunately it also has an ET commentator rattling on in the background). In the early 80's, Wilson conspired with a Texas socialite and a rogue CIA agent to fund an Afghan resistance to the Soviet invasion. Tom Hanks stars as the coke-snorting, stripper-loving senator congressman with Julia Roberts filling in as socialite Joanne Herring, and Philip Seymour Hoffman as CIA agent Gust Avrakotos. The film has Oscar bait written all over it; three winners in one film? Someone has got to get a nomination out of this one. Directed by Mike Nichols, the film marks Aaron Sorkin's first screenplay in almost a decade; now that Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip is no more, maybe he can get to work on that script about the '68 Democratic convention for Spielberg.

Charlie Wilson's War is set for release this Christmas and opening the same day as Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, as well as the kiddie flick The Water Horse. Neither of which seems like much of a challenge to the drama when it comes to ticket sales since they aren't exactly vying for the same audiences. The only fly in the ointment come Christmas weekend could be the Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson life affirming weepy, The Bucket List. It looks like it's gearing up to be a battle of the "Hollywood heavyweights," but my money is on Hanks and company. The man seems to have the magic touch, after all. Charlie Wilson's War opens December 25th.

UPDATE: The official trailer has just arrived over on Yahoo, so head on over there to check it out.