The Playlist

The Playlist Profile: Todd Solondz

By Maris James
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June 8, 2012 1:00 PM
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5 Comments

Features

Todd Solondz walks through the door of a Cafe on 12th Street in Manhattan, looking, apart from his trademark lemon-yellow converse all stars, like a person in disguise. He wears a floppy khaki sun hat and oversized shades. As he walks through the room, he peels off the sunglasses and replaces them with equally large eyeglasses with thick, retro frames. He yanks off the hat to reveal his hair, which is gray and thinning and bordering on mad scientist. He looks, perhaps, like an oddball character in a Todd Solondz film. The waitress recognizes him and greets him warmly, and he does the same. He's a memorable presence. Appearance aside, he sounds a bit like your Jewish grandmother, his voice comically nasal, his words unhurried and elongated by a childhood in New Jersey, an accent that 30 years in New York City has failed to undo.

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'Eastern Promises' Sequel Moves Forward With Vincent Cassel Joining Viggo Mortensen, David Cronenberg Will Direct

By Oliver Lyttelton
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June 8, 2012 12:24 PM
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10 Comments

News

Over the last five years or so, reports have kept cropping up of a relatively unlikely sequel: a follow-up to 2007's gangster thriller "Eastern Promises," which was directed by David Cronenberg, and starred Viggo Mortensen as a heavily tattooed low-level Russian mobster who helps a nurse (Naomi Watts) protect a baby targeted by the criminals, including his near-psychotic pal (Vincent Cassel). Given that the film had a slightly-too-neat twist whereby it was revealed that Mortensen's character was actually an undercover FSB agent, it was certainly set up for a follow-up, and recently, both Cronenberg and his star have both said that there's a script that they like, and that they were keen to make the film.

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Ashley Greene Plays 'CBGB,' Matthew Modine To Fire Steve Jobs In Ashton Kutcher-Led Biopic 'jOBS' & More

By Simon Dang
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June 8, 2012 12:20 PM
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0 Comments

News

Randall Miller's rock 'n' roll tribute "CBGB" has found its female lead with 'Twilight' star Ashley Greene taking on the role of Lisa Kristal, daughter of the Hilly Kristel, the owner of the titular, influential New York club to be played by Alan Rickman. The story follows Kristal as she clashes with her father, ends up as the club's business manager and attends law school all while keeping the club afloat during tough times. The real life Lisa Kristal is, in fact, a producer on the film so authenticity shouldn't be an issue here. Miller is helming from a script he wrote with Jody Savin with several interesting cast members already filled including Taylor Hawkins as Iggy Pop, Mickey Sumner as Patti Smith and Malin Akerman as Debbie Harry. [Variety]

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Exclusive: Poster For The British Comedy Smash 'The Inbetweeners,' Film Hits U.S. Theaters On September 7th

By Oliver Lyttelton
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June 8, 2012 11:59 AM
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2 Comments

News

Last year, in a banner year for the British box office, there was one success story that proved more surprising than any others. A film that, despite costing a fraction of the competition, outearned "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," "The Hangover Part II," "Transformers 3" and "Sherlock Holmes 2," and doubled the grosses of films like "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Fast Five" and "Cars 2," becoming one of the most successful British comedies in history. That film was "The Inbetweeners Movie," a big-screen version of the popular TV teen comedy (which airs on BBC America in the U.S), and a year on, it's finally coming to the U.S.

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Abbie Cornish In Talks To Play Joel Kinnaman's Wife In 'Robocop' Remake

By Oliver Lyttelton
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June 8, 2012 11:55 AM
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1 Comment

News

Last year wasn't a great one for Australian actress Abbie Cornish. She's been high on our radars since Cate Shortland's great "Somersault" (which also introduced the world to Sam Worthington) in 2004, and looked as if she might break out to the big time with a great performance in Jane Campion's "Bright Star" three years back, and 2011 saw her appear in a number of high profile projects. But while she starred in the sleeper hit "Limitless" (albeit in a thankless role), she also featured in "W.E." and "Sucker Punch," which numbered among the two most painful cinemagoing experiences of last year. And while she was in contention for major parts in films like "Prometheus," "The Great Gatsby" and "The Invisible Woman," she was beaten out for each of them.

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Posters For Robert Zemeckis' 'Flight,' Cate Shortland's 'Lore' & David Ayer's 'End Of Watch'

By Simon Dang
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June 8, 2012 11:39 AM
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2 Comments

News

Here's a trio of posters from three very different helmers: one from a seasoned pro returning to live action after a stint in mo-cap, one following up a superb directorial debut with a foreign-language novel adaptation and the last a genre specialist tackling what he knows best.

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First Image Of Idris Elba In Guillermo Del Toro's 'Pacific Rim'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 8, 2012 11:19 AM
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6 Comments

News

Despite his near omnipresence in the media, and the countless projects that he's attached to, we actually haven't seen a directorial effort from Guillermo Del Toro since 2008's "Hellboy II: The Golden Army." Yes, it's been that long, but not for lack of trying. Del Toro has faced a double whammy of disappointment over the last years, stepping away from directing "The Hobbit" films as they became continually delayed thanks to MGM's financial woes, and seeing his R-rated "At The Mountains Of Madness" get shelved by Universal. But there been no stopping Del Toro's "Pacific Rim," with the film currently in the midst of production, and while specifics are being kept under wraps, we now have our first look at the film.

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Androids, Sex & Sequels: 15 Things Learned About Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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June 8, 2012 10:57 AM
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2 Comments

Features

Over thirty years after the 'space jockey' first appeared in "Alien," and after a couple of months of speculation and rumor, Ridley Scott's "Prometheus," his return to sci-fi for the first time since "Blade Runner", and his continuation/prequel/spin-off/whatever to his 1979 space horror classic, finally hits theaters today. It's one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the year, and is already inspiring fierce debate (The Playlist team are split down the middle on the project, with wildly divided reactions from those who've seen it).

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Get Animated: New Pics From 'Mr. Peabody And Sherman,' Guillermo Del Toro's 'Pinocchio' & The Latest Trailer For 'Ice Age: Continental Drift'

By Joe Cunningham
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June 8, 2012 10:41 AM
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2 Comments

News

Either that exciting-looking “Wreck-It Ralph” trailer has suddenly got us all interested in animation again, or it’s made rival animators sit up and up their marketing game. Either way, we’ve got new looks at three upcoming animated flicks as a result.

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Watch: 2 TV Spots & Interrogation Videos From Oliver Stone's 'Savages' Starring Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson & Blake Lively

By Simon Dang
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June 8, 2012 10:19 AM
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8 Comments

News

An Oliver Stone crime-actioner starring Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, Blake Lively, Emile Hirsch, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Demian Bichir, Benicio Del Toro and Salma Hayek -- you'd think there would be a bit more excitement for "Savages" with the film set to hit theaters in just over a month. But on the marketing end, things have been fairly underwhelming.

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