spread Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Hollywood has a long history of showing us charming "golddiggers" in film, whether they're cute Depression-era heroines trying to get a free meal, a trio of Fifties fashion models scheming to land rich husbands, or soft-pedaled prostitutes of either gender. In Spread, the golddigger is a young man, much like Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy if he'd succeeded in his original plans, but unfortunately not debonair or complex enough to overcome the feeling that the movie is more sordid than sweet or sharply comic.

Nikki (Ashton Kutcher) -- and what guy with that name spells it that way? -- wants to live a life of luxury with as little effort as possible. He succeeds nicely by picking up rich woman and sponging off them for as long as he can. He has no car, no home and no savings, even though at least one woman buys him expensive clothes and gifts. Perhaps he just doesn't have a knack for acquiring expensive baubles like Marilyn Monroe's character in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, or more to the point, he has no long-term ambitions.

Here's a quick look at what's opening in limited release this weekend. If they're not playing where you live, keep an eye out as they make the rounds. And if all else fails, there's always DVD.

Grace (pictured) is one seriously effed-up horror film about a woman who gives birth to an undead baby. When one of the props required for your movie is a baby bottle filled with blood, you know you've got something special on your hands. I reviewed it for Cinematical at Sundance and said, "First-time writer/director Paul Solet ... proves himself adept both as a visual storyteller and as a guy who can make you crap your pants." Reviews at Rotten Tomatoes are evenly split between positive and negative. If this is your kind of movie, you probably know who you are. In New York and L.A. for now.

Spread, another Sundance premiere, stars Ashton Kutcher as a guy who has lots of sex with lots of women, then decides to do it professionally. (It was one of a few films at Sundance that, rather notoriously, didn't have press screenings.) At Rotten Tomatoes, 8 out of the 10 reviews are negative, though a few do offer praise for Kutcher's surprisingly good performance. Opens today on about 90 screens nationwide.

Welcome back to another edition of Insert Caption -- the game that won't travel back in time and steal your wife. Last week we asked you to dole out some steamy one-liners for a photo from Ashton Kutcher's new flick, Spread. Special congrats go out to our one winner, Chris A., for getting us his caption in 140 characters or less.





1. "So this is what Twitter tastes like." -- Chris A.



See full image and all captions




This week we're going from a womanizer to a time travelizer in honor of the new romantic drama The Time Traveler's Wife, based on the very popular book about a guy who comes equipped with a gene that allows him to travel back and forth through time, and the romantic problems that go along with such a fantastical ability. The folks behind our three favorite captions this week will time jump away with one The Time Traveler's Wife Women's Pink Double-V T-Shirt with Clock Print & Title, one Travel Note Book with Clasp, one key chain, one sticky note set and one picnic blanket. You know what to do next ...



Read the official rules for this contest

Welcome back to another edition of Insert Caption -- the game that probably won't ask you to spread 'em if you've had one too many to drink. Last week we asked you to churn out something adorable for a photo from the little indie you just wanna hug, Paper Heart. Congrats go out to Tommy L., who won us over with some of that old reliable corpse humor.



1. "Ugh! What is that smell? Who died? Oh." -- Tommy L.


See full caption and all images







This week we're rolling around in bed with Ashton Kutcher as he gets all sexed-up for his new film Spread, about a serial womanizer who finally meets his match. And because there can only be one Ashton Kutcher, we're giving away one grand prize to the person who provides the best caption for the photo below. That grand prize is (and it's a good one) one Blu-Ray DVD Player, one signed Spread poster and one collection of assorted Anchor Bay/Overture DVDs. Okay, maybe it's not as good as the kind of love Mr. Kutcher is receiving in the image below, but it's definitely a close second. Sound off below!



Read the official rules for this contest

The Box
Richard Kelly didn't exactly set the world on fire with Southland Tales, but his previous film Donnie Darko is one of my favorite movies of all time and I'm hoping this new film is more along those lines. Based on a short story by Richard Matheson, The Box stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as a couple whose financial problems can be cleared up quite simply. If they press the button on a mysterious box then they will be given a million dollars but someone they don't know will die. Sounds like a classic Twilight Zone moral dilemma, and Matheson did pen a few episodes of the series. We can find out what's in the box on October 30.

Ponyo
I really like the look of this animated feature since it doesn't look like Disney's typical work (they're releasing it here in the States) and it looks kind of atypical for Japanese anime as well. Hayao Miyazaki, the man behind Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro directs. I'd be more interested if the trailer gave a better idea of what the movie is about -- but Miyazaki's resume speaks for itself. This one gets a limited release on August 14.

The second Friday at Sundance is a day when many observers have returned home. But the festival is not over, and our intrepid crew remains on the scene.

Deals. The sight of Ashton Kutcher 's naked gigolo butt evidently convinced Anchor Bay Films that David Mackenzie's Spread was the movie for them. Eugene Hernandez at indieWIRE reports that the sister company of Overture Films paid nearly $4 million for US and Australian rights. Kutcher served as a producer on the film, which also stars Anne Heche, Rachel Blanchard, Margarita Levieva, and Sonia Rockwell.

Speaking of Rockwells, Brian Brooks (also of indieWIRE), says that Sony Pictures Classics will distribute the Sam Rockwell-starring Moon, the science fiction flick directed by David Bowie's son, Duncan Jones. Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisition Group pre-bought the film's rights before the festival. Sony Classics plans a June 2009 release. James Rocchi reviewed it for Cinematical last week.

Reviews/Interview. Our man James followed up his review of the doc We Live in Public by talking with director Ondi Timoner and subject Josh Harris. James also discovered Noah Buschel's The Missing Person, starring Michael Shannon; James says the film "isn't merely a clever, cool spin on the classic private eye story, but it also works as a private eye story." Finally, James got An Education from suddenly hot actress Carey Mulligan, director Lone Scherfig, and scripter Nick Hornby; the film's evocation of 1960s England struck James as "superbly constructed, yes, but those elements also connect." Be sure to catch up on all of Cinematical's coverage via the Sundance hub at Moviefone.

Blog Talk. Continue onward, brave reader, for a few more quotable quotes.

After watching the trailer for Ashton Kutcher's romantic 'dramedy' Spread, I can't help but think this film could be much better than this first promo would have us believe. So maybe this first glimpse isn't going to 'wow' you right off the bat, but the combination of a May-December story with Kutcher in the lead makes you think the film might have something to say other than 'ain't love grand'.

Spread is the story of Nicki, a top-notch womanizer (Kutcher) whose player lifestyle is brought to a screeching halt by two very different women. Anne Heche also stars (in a role originally occupied by Jennifer Jason Leigh) as the older woman whom Kutcher is involved with when he meets an enigmatic waitress (played by Margarita Levieva) who is just a little more 'age-appropriate'. But, when true love knocks, it isn't exactly what Nicki has in mind, and judging by the terribly 'earnest' music being played over the second half of the trailer, you know that there will be few life-lessons learned along the way.

Spread was written by first-time screenwriter Jason Dean Hall, with David Mackenzie at the helm. It was just announced that the film was being added to the Sundance line-up (but only on the non-competition roster). Spread is expected to arrive in theaters later this year, so I would assume that Kutcher and company will be doing a hard sell out in Utah to generate a little buzz. Sound off below on whether you think Kutcher is forever cursed with being Kelso, the lovable goofball, or can he make the move to being a bona-fide leading man?

UPDATE: The trailer has been removed at the request of Katalyst Films, but stay tuned, and we will let you know when something a little more official comes our way.

Yesterday we shared with you the competition slate for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, which, depending on the paper you read, was full of the dark and disturbing or the sad and melodramatic. Good to know we'll be smiling in the cold mountains of Utah come January. Today, the Sundance Institute has announced their non-competition films; this includes the Premieres section, which is usually full of studio flicks -- stuff that's set to debut in theaters the following month or so, and films that feature big stars; the big guns. Then we have the Spectrum section (with 16 dramatic films and seven docs), the Midnight section (eight films), and the Frontier section (six films).

Among the ones that stand out to me at first glance are:

• I Love You Philip Morris (Premiere), with Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor playing prison lovers.
• Adventureland - The director of Superbad follows that flick up with a comedy set in a theme park.
• The Informers (Premiere), based on the popular Bret Easton Ellis novel, and starring Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, Winona Ryder and Mickey Rourke.
• Moon (Premiere), which is that freaky space flick starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey.
• Manure (Premiere), starring Billy Bob Thornton as a manure salesman.
• Spread, starring Ashton Kitcher as a guy who seduces older women. (Wonder if he's right for that role?)
• Helen ( Spectrum), starring Ashley Judd as a psychiatrist who fights her own depression.
• The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle (Spectrum) -- I just love that title.
• Spring Breakdown (Midnight), starring Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler, Parker Posey, Will Arnett, Rachel Hamilton.

As we do every year, Cinematical will be on the ground in Park City, Utah bringing you reviews, interviews and enough Sundance flavor to send a brisk mountain chill through your soul. Check out the full non-competition slate (with descriptions) after the jump.

Last month, I wondered how Jennifer Jason Leigh could sign on for an indie romcom starring Ashton Kutcher -- the man notorious for his bad romantic comedies. She was set to co-star in Spread, the classy-titled indie comedy where Ashton is a serial womanizer and Jennifer would be the thwarted lover -- so, not only a goofy Kutcher movie, but one where he gets to cast her off! But now, however, The Hollywood Reporter posts that one week after signing on, Leigh backed out of the project for undisclosed reasons. Her replacement will be -- Anne Heche.

Rumors suggest that Leigh is pregnant, but you can't help but wonder if she just got cold feet. Production is starting immediately, so it's not like the pregnancy worry would impact things that much right now. As for Heche, well, I'm less surprised about her casting, although maybe a Kutcher film isn't the best thing to follow up her success in Men in Trees. Eh, we'll have to wait and see. Maybe this will be a great romcom, and Jason Dean Hall's script and David Mackenzie's direction will make it all come up roses.

I've got to wonder now... According to IMDb, Laura Linney is attached. What on earth attracted Linney and Leigh to a Kutcher romcom?

I just don't know what to say about this news. It's not like Jennifer Jason Leigh only picks the cream of the crop as far as films go. She has done voices for things like Spawn and Hey Arnold!, but for the most part, she picks decent films or some sort of art house/indie fare. So, what in the world made her decide to co-star with Ashton Kutcher in a sex comedy? Well, it is indie, but that doesn't sound like enough of a qualifier to me.

Variety reports that Kutcher and Leigh will star in the comedy, which has the lascivious name of Spread, and Ashton's Katalyst shingle is producing. The film will "chronicle the adventures of a serial womanizer (Kutcher); Leigh will play a thwarted lover." It's Jason Dean Hall's first feature script, and will be helmed by David MacKenzie, the director behind Young Adam and Hallam Foe. Maybe Ashton nabbed the part because of his production company?

Yeah, I know that I'm being hard on the guy. But really, aside from That '70s Show, or even Dude, Where's My Car?, he's left a wasteland of crappy romcoms -- Just Married, My Boss's Daughter, Guess Who, A Lot Like Love... I'm pretty sure What Happens in Vegas will soon be on the list as well. But you have to give him credit -- he still keeps getting the roles.