VendelaVida Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Watch This: 'Away We Go' Clip
Filed under: Comedy », Universal », Trailers and Clips »
In Sam Mendes' Away We Go, Verona (Maya Rudolph) and Burt (John Krasinski) touch down in a number of spots around North America in search of a new home after Burt's flighty parents decide to go live in Antwerp. Thanks to a script from Dave Eggers and his wife Vendela Vida, Away We Go is far less wrist-slittingly depressing than Mendes' last outing, Revolutionary Road, if quite a bit more twee.The clip below is from a scene where three concerned airline attendants don't want to let Verona board the plane because she looks more than eight months pregnant, even though she assures them she's not. This goes out to all the mommies and daddies (and expecting mommies and daddies) out there who have to deal with anyone eyeballing and/or touching your belly when it's not welcome. Hands off! (Unless you're John Krasinski armed with a stethoscope, of course.)
Watch the clip after the jump
Review: Away We Go
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Romance », Theatrical Reviews », Focus Features », Summer Movies »

Burt and Verona (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph) don't quite have things figured out yet. I mean, they pretty much have each other pegged, enjoying a marriage-less relationship, keeping each other warm on those cold Colorado nights, and they know that they want to bring a kid into this world -- well, want to or not, the baby's coming, and so they'll keep it warm as well.
Their parents won't be of much help. After all, his (Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels) are making plans to take off for Europe just before the baby's due, a trip years in the making and selfish as all get out, while hers passed away some time back. So Burt and Verona decide to visit other family and friends, looking for people they can depend on in places they could grow up in, let alone grow old in -- looking for a place that might help them figure out together the whys and hows of keeping it all together.
Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels Joining Untitled Sam Mendes Comedy
Filed under: Comedy », Casting », Focus Features »
Great day in the morning! Two of my favorite actors on the planet are joining the cast of Sam Mendes' increasingly promising 2009 comedy, which has yet to find a title. According to a Focus Features press release that landed in my inbox, Jeff Daniels and Catherine O'Hara will round out an ensemble that already includes John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Toni Colette, Cheryl Hines and Allison Janney. The screenplay was co-written by McSweeney's founder and Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius author Dave Eggers and novelist Vendela Vida. The film "follows the journey of an expectant couple as they travel the U.S. in search of a place to put down roots and raise a family."O'Hara is probably the funniest woman on the planet, and Daniels can bring heart and humanity to any film, so this is good news indeed. With Christopher Guest taking a break from making the movies that have been her bread and butter over the years, O'Hara can use the high-profile work; her only screen appearance this year or last has been in the underrated Penelope.
Mendes also has the DiCaprio-Winslet reunion movie Revolutionary Road in the works -- it will headline the 2008 Oscar season -- but this new project will be his first stab at comedy. Eggers co-wrote the adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are with Spike Jonze, which should finally see the light of day next year as well.
Sam Mendes Gets Funny
Filed under: Comedy », Deals »
American Beauty had its comedy, but it was a pretty dark film. After that came Road to Perdition, which jumped into the crime drama vein. Then there was Jarhead. It was all sorts of amusing to see Jake Gyllenhaal gyrate while clothed in nothing more than two Santa hats, but the rest was pretty serious. And we've still got a documentary, Revolutionary Road, and Middlemarch on the way. It's no wonder that Variety is reporting that director Sam Mendes is now running towards comedy!He has signed on to direct a still-untitled "contemporary comedy" for Focus Features this spring. The film was written by McSweeney's head honcho, and the brain behind A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers and his wife Vendela Vida (who edits The Believer and wrote Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name). As Variety describes it, the flick "follows a young couple's journey around the U.S. as they search for somewhere to put down roots and raise the baby they are expecting." Ah, there's nothing like getting impregnated and then trying to find out where you want to live. Unfortunately, there's no word on the cast yet (Mrs. Mendes, perhaps??), but as soon as we hear it, we'll let you know.









