woody allen Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Woody Allen Meets a 'Tall Dark Stranger'
Filed under: New Releases »
Woody Allen likes to keep a little mystery steeped in his upcoming projects -- especially when it comes to the title. Where other projects start off with that nugget of news, he shares it later. So, without further ado, the title of his latest film is, as The Hollywood Reporter posts:You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
This is the film that stars the likes of Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, and Naomi Watts. Set in London, the film "revolves around different members of a family, their tangled love lives, and their attempts to try to solve their problems." Before you go thinking that Watts gets to romance all the men -- Gemma Jones, Freida Pinto, and Lucy Punch also star. Considering the title, I'm going to guess that Brolin, Hopkins, and Watts are the family, and Banderas comes and spices things up with Latin lasciviousness.
I've got high hopes for this one. Sure, it's another theme right down Woody's alley. But I can't help but hope that this follows the one-two punch of his last set of films. Cassandra's Dream was a great disappointment, while Vicky Cristina Barcelona was wonderfully charming. Whatever Works didn't quite ... "work," so does that leave Stranger in good standing? I certainly hope so.
Is Hollywood Afraid To Be 'Anti-Polanski'?
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy », Politics »
If you've been arguing with your friends and family about the arrest and detainment of Roman Polanski in Switzerland last week, don't feel bad -- you're not the only one with an opinion. There's a debate brewing in Hollywood over the acclaimed director and his current legal predicament, and everyone has jumped into the fray. Polanski fled from the US after a conviction for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor back in 1978, and with his recent arrest some of the biggest names in Hollywood have been publicly showing support. Recently, filmmakers like Michael Mann, Darren Aronofsky, Terry Gilliam, and Woody Allen (ahem, yes, even Woody Allen) signed a petition demanding the filmmaker's release from a Zurich jail. On the other hand, there is a very real possibility that not everybody is on board the love train, and the problem is that those people aren't talking.
Hollywood is a business, and just like in any other business, reputation can be everything. If you think of Hollywood as the world's biggest high school, then you can see how nobody wants to be excluded from the 'cool table' -- and it doesn't help that the pro-Polanski faction has Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese, and the opposition has Sherri Shepherd and 'Nellie Olsen'. In a piece for the LA Times, writer/blogger Melissa Silverstein said, "I think people are afraid to talk in Hollywood. They are afraid about their next job." Sure, that might sound slightly paranoid, but power players like Harvey Weinstein are writing op-eds in support of the director, so maybe she's not completely off the mark.
After the jump: making excuses and Hollywood vs. Middle America...
Classic Cameos: Marshall McLuhan, 'Annie Hall'
Filed under: Comedy », Fandom »
As you probably know, a cameo in film is a brief appearance by someone who's well known, often instantly recognizable, to audiences at the time the movie is released. Usually the famous person plays him/herself, but not always. Marshall McLuhan, a communication/media theorist who reached his popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, was familiar to audiences who would have seen the 1977 comedy Annie Hall when it first played in theaters, although many viewers might not know him now. Fortunately, his popularity doesn't affect the punchline of the very funny scene he's in.Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) and Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) are in a long line for a movie, trying not to fight about their sex life, and Alvy is continually annoyed by a guy in line behind him, who rants on pompously and erroneously about any number of topics. And eventually, Alvy is able to do the one thing we'd love to do when we encounter That Guy In Line. How is McLuhan involved? Watch the relevant part of the scene after the jump (YouTube link) and you'll understand why this cameo is still classic comedy, even though McLuhan is no longer as generally well known as he was.
Cinematical Seven: Great Modern Comedy Teams
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.
Indie Roundup: 'Whatever Works,' 'Harmony and Me,' LAFF 'Stoning'
Filed under: Independent », New Releases », Box Office », Cinematical Indie », Trailers and Clips »
Indie Roundup reviews the past week of news from the independent film community and provides a peek at what's coming soon.
Openings. This weekend will finally see the release of Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, an extraordinary, ticking time bomb of a movie. Michelle Pfeiffer returns to the screen in Stephen Frears' "scandalous romp" Cheri. The very timely Iranian tale The Stoning of Soraya M., which just played the Los Angeles Film Festival, should ignite further discussion. Afghan Star features four women who (literally) risk everything in a televised singing contest.
Box Office. Woody Allen's Whatever Works performed just fine, pulling in $29,574 per-screen at nine locations. The re-issue of 1947's Brighton Rock (a very good film starring Richard Attenborough as a small-time hood) drew $10,626 at one theater; Nazi zombie flick Dead Snow scared up $5,363 in business. Several films expanded: Duncan Jones' Moon to 21 theaters ($8,541 per screen), Francis Ford Coppola's Tetro to eight locations ($7,176 per screen), and Sam Mendes' Away We Go to 132 theaters ($6,600 per screen).
Deals. Our friends at indieWIRE provided details on the acquisition of Stanley Tucci's Blind Date (due in theaters late this summer or early fall) and West of Pluto, directed by Henry Bernadet and Myriam Verreault. Pluto screens tonight at the Los Angeles Film Festival (LAFF).
Trailer. Also screening at LAFF this week is Bob Byington's Harmony and Me, which revolves around a 20-something musician (Justin Rice) who still pines for his dearly departed girlfriend. The film has been showing up at festivals all over the place, and the trailer has a good, bouncy vibe.
After the jump: Watch the trailer for Harmony and Me! Plus, more on LAFF.
Review: Whatever Works
Filed under: Comedy », Theatrical Reviews »
Whatever Works' title is the mantra of inveterate curmudgeon Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David), as well as that of Woody Allen, whose latest – and first to be set in his beloved Manhattan since 2004's Melinda and Melinda – hews as tightly to his trademark preoccupations as Of Mice and Men's Lenny clung to his rabbit. Casting David makes sense, as the Curb Your Enthusiasm star's crotchety on-screen persona more than slightly recalls that of Allen's. Yet rather than an inspired meeting of kindred minds, their collaboration does little except reinforce the notion that Allen's creative well has long since run dry, his films now split into either inert, heavy-handed, detached spectacles of pretty people doing naughty things in foreign locales (Match Point, Vicky Cristina Barcelona), or leaden comedic larks in which notable names embody Allen's archetypal kvetching role.
An erudite string-theory professor and all-around misanthrope with suicidal tendencies and an extensive vocabulary, David's Boris grumps and grouches like countless other Allen protagonists, right down to his guiding philosophy that the world is a cold, random place full of regret and misery, and that any rare chances at happiness should be seized.
UPDATE: Woody Allen Gets a $5 Million Payout from American Apparel
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy », Newsstand »
If you were one of the people fantasizing about a nasty courtroom battle between the fashion outlet American Apparel and Woody Allen, get ready to be disappointed. It was announced on Monday, that Allen,"...had accepted a $5 million settlement in his lawsuit against the manufacturer, American Apparel, and Dov Charney, its founder and chief executive." Now if you remember, Allen had launched a suit against AA for at least $10 million after the clothier used an image from Allen's film, Annie Hall, of the director dressed as a Rabbi. When Allen found out about the ad, plenty of name-calling ensued, and AA's lawyers were ready and willing to take their fight to court in hopes of proving that Allen's image wasn't even worth that much thanks to his scandalous past.
Most of Allen's fans saw the incident as a clear-cut case of copyright infringement, but Charney and AA had a different take on their use of the image. In discussions with AA's PR representative, I confirmed that AA had intended the billboard to be a comment on the public perception of AA as a brand; or to put it in movie terms, AA was the Alvy Singer to the media's Grammie Hall. Sure, it's a good use of a movie reference, and I do see their point. But something isn't clicking when on one hand Charney says, "My intention was to call upon people to see beyond media and lawsuit-inspired scandal, and to consider people for their true value and for their contribution to society" and at the same time he was mounting a legal defense that seemed to be the opposite of his intentions (you can read Charney's full statement about the case on their website).
Kidman Waves Goodbye to Woody Allen Film - Who Should Replace Her?
Filed under: Comedy », Casting »
When I wrote about Nicole Kidman signing up for the next Woody Allen film in March, I bit my tongue and didn't mention my doubts. While I knew she could handle the material, I had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn't come to fruition. This was not because I can see the future, but because many projects that she signs on for she inevitably exits -- Manderlay, The Reader, The Producers, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, etc. And now she's out of Allen's latest ensemble piece, according to Variety. While she was a solid addition to the cast that boasts the likes of Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Brolin, Naomi Watts, and Freida Pinto, there's now a big hole to fill before production kicks off in London this summer. So the big question is: Who will fill it this time, and who should?
For the films I mentioned above, Kidman was replaced with Bryce Dallas Howard, Kate Winslet, Uma Thurman, and of course, Angelina Jolie. (What a different world we'd be in if Pitt was matched with Kidman...) In other words, there's no tried and true Kidman replacement -- they run the gamut. Personally, I'd like to see someone like Maggie Gyllenhaal or Julie Delpy take over, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Woody's beloved ScarJo come to the rescue.
Who would you cast?
New Trailer for Woody Allen's 'Whatever Works'
Filed under: Comedy », Sony », Movie Marketing », Trailers and Clips »
If you had to pick someone to play a (slightly) younger version of Woody Allen, it'd pretty much have to be Larry David, right? Both men are overtly Jewish, neurotic, self-obsessed, and often pretty hilarious -- so it doesn't surprise me one bit to see Larry David take the starring role in Allen's latest, a quick-looking New York comedy called Whatever Works. Going only by the trailer, it looks to be an enjoyably typical (if appreciably old-school) Woody Allen comedy, but (as usual) the prolific filmmaker has managed to bring together one hell of a fun ensemble.Joining Larry David are Patricia Clarkson, Ed Begley Jr., Evan Rachel Wood, and Conleth Hill in this story of an upper-class New Yorker who has some sort of mid-life crisis and decides to live like a starving artist. (If I have the synopsis right, then this flick sounds a little like Mel Brooks' Life Stinks, and no movie wants to sound like that.) But the trailer (available right here at Apple) made me chuckle more than once, and I'm certainly interested in seeing a cast like this deliver some of Woody Allen's neuroses. Too early to tell, of course, but Whatever Works looks like it could be a return to comedic form for Woody. (Because I think his last several comedies have been pretty weak.)
And you? Still a Woody Allen fan? Interested in the new one? It comes out on June 19.
'Whatever Works' is Afraid of Woody Allen?
Filed under: Comedy », Tribeca », Sony Classics », The Weinstein Co. », Movie Marketing »
I just came across the new poster for Whatever Works on IMP Awards (check it by clicking the image below), and beyond the too-perfect Larry David pose, I'm struck by the utter lack of Woody Allen on the thing. Beyond the billing block and maybe an especially sharp sense of font, how would anyone know that this was the latest film from the guy who made Annie Hall and Manhattan?It was the same thing with Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and I'm wondering if potentially interested people would find themselves turned off upon finding out just whose movie they've been lured into. It's the same sense of un-branding (non-branding? anti-branding?) that kept most passersby from realizing that Zack and Miri Make a Porno was a Kevin Smith joint, and really, if you're already past that title, is his presence in the trailers and posters going to keep you away?
If anything, might the name recognition lure a couple of more people to either film (not that Larry David fans probably aren't already fans of Woody Allen, and not that Kevin Smith films probably already know which new movie is his)? Have you ever been sold on a movie until you got a glimpse of the name at the helm? When? Where? Why?
Gallery: Whatever Works
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