Indiewire Browse the indiewire network

The Playlist

The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.

Interviews

Actors

Directors

Archives

The Playlist

'Star Wars: Episode VII' Will Reportedly Be An Original Story, Lucas Biographer Says It Features An Older Luke Skywalker

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
  • |
  • October 31, 2012 4:44 PM
  • |
  • 10 Comments
News
As you already know, yesterday came with it the monumental news that Disney had forked over $4 billion for Lucasfilm, and are launching a new "Star Wars" trilogy, with the first film slated to arrive in 2015. Of course, the internet nearly had a meltdown, and fans have been tossing around wishlists of directors (sorry guys, David Fincher will never come near this) and wondering aloud where the story will go next. In fact, we put together our own list of ways Disney may be approaching the next part of the saga, and also wondered if integrity can be restored to the franchise. Well, this is a step in the right direction.
Read More »
More: Star Wars: Episode 7

Interview: Barry Levinson Talks Going The Horror Route With Eco-Thriller 'The Bay'

  • By Drew Taylor
  • |
  • October 31, 2012 4:18 PM
  • |
  • 0 Comments
Interviews
This weekend, Barry Levinson's disgustingly gelatinous eco-horror tale, "The Bay," will be unleashed in theaters and on iTunes. A cutting, inventive found-footage tale of a Fourth of July weekend that goes horribly wrong, we saw it at the New York Film Festival (where it was part of their inaugural crop of midnight movies) and pretty much loved it. The movie is all the more surprising for coming from the gentle, humanist creator of "Diner" and "Tin Men." We caught up with Levinson at this year's New York Comic Con and talked about what brought him to the found-footage horror genre, where film is headed, and what he thought of that gushing Vanity Fair piece on "Diner" from a few months ago.
Read More »
More: Barry Levinson, The Bay

There Was No Love Lost Between Roman Polanski & John Cassavetes: 7 Things Learned About 'Rosemary's Baby' Now On Blu-Ray

  • By Rodrigo Perez
  • |
  • October 31, 2012 3:43 PM
  • |
  • 8 Comments
Features
Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby” was a box-office hit upon its release in the summer of 1968. It grossed $33 million dollars off a $3 million dollar budget (adjusted for inflation that’s $221million from a $19 million budget) and it paved the way for horror blockbusters like “The Exorcist” and “The Omen” in the years to come. Made by Polanski at the age of 34, it was the Polish director’s American film debut, and the picture became nominated for two Academy Awards, including a win for Ruth Gordon's deliciously quirky Supporting Role performance as the neighbor from hell. It also earned Polanski his first Oscar nomination for his adaptation of Ira Levin’s novel, which is not bad for a guy that didn’t speak English as a first language.
Read More »
More: Roman Polanski, Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Rosemary's Baby, Criterion Collection, The Criterion Collection

Wes Anderson Says 'Grand Budapest Hotel' Takes Place 85 Years Ago, Inspired By The Films Of Ernst Lubitsch & Billy Wilder

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
  • |
  • October 31, 2012 3:18 PM
  • |
  • 2 Comments
News
Wes Anderson's next picture, "Grand Budapest Hotel," is already gearing up...though he'd prefer not to talk about it. But over the course of the last few weeks and months, we've learned that's a Euro-flavored pic (more on that in a sec) that will feature Bill Murray, Jude Law, Ralph Fiennes and Jason Schwartzman with some/all of Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe and Owen Wilson among those all likely to take part. And that's it. Well, a few more details about the movie have been squeezed out of the secretive helmer.
Read More »
More: Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Billy Wilder

Trick Or Treat: Halloween DVDs & Blu-Rays Worth Scaring Up Including 'Arachnophobia,' 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' & More

  • By The Playlist Staff
  • |
  • October 31, 2012 2:56 PM
  • |
  • 3 Comments
News
Attention boys and girls, it’s almost that time again. The time of year when ghosts and goblins roam the streets on All Hallow’s Eve, and the rest of us adults stay inside and watch horror films (or so we say). Well fortunately, plenty of the major studios and boutique home entertainment labels have been popping out releases of some of our favorite genre fare. So without further ado, stare directly into your television screens and tune into any one of these superb flicks just in time for Halloween, all available on home video.
Read More »
More: Features

Benedict Cumberbatch To Play Beatles Manager Brian Epstein In Tom Hanks-Produced Biopic

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
  • |
  • October 31, 2012 2:20 PM
  • |
  • 11 Comments
News
There might be unlikelier potential megastars around than Benedict Cumberbatch, but we're not sure we can think of any. The 36-year-old British actor had been slogging away in film and TV roles for a decade, mostly in a series of stuffed-shirt roles. He impressed those who took notice (particularly with stage roles, and with his portrayal of Stephen Hawking for the BBC), but wasn't really considered a leading man. But in 2010, the actor was cast as the titular hero in "Sherlock," a new reinvention of Arthur Conan Doyle's detective hero, and the show was a surprise monster hit.
Read More »

5 Things You May Not Know About Alfred Hitchcock's 'Spellbound'

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
  • |
  • October 31, 2012 1:57 PM
  • |
  • 2 Comments
Features
We're of the general opinion that you can never get enough Hitchcock, and while we've just wrapped up our massive retrospective of the director's works, to celebrate the release of a new Blu-ray boxset of his work, today has another Hitch connection. These days, Halloween means "Paranormal Activity" sequels in theaters (and before that, "Saw" movies), but in the past, when the holiday wasn't such a corporate behemoth, more interesting fare made it to theaters for that time of year. And October 31st, 1945 saw the release of Hitchcock's "Spellbound."
Read More »
More: On This Day In Movie History, Alfred Hitchcock, 5 Things You Might Not Know About...

FilmNation Picks Up Alexander Payne's 'Nebraska,' Breaking Glass Buys Xavier Dolan's 'Laurence Anyways'

  • By Joe Cunningham
  • |
  • October 31, 2012 1:28 PM
  • |
  • 2 Comments
News
After 2011’s Oscar-winning “The Descendants,” Alexander Payne is looking for a little extra help in getting his follow-up feature “Nebraska” to the screen. The road trip flick starring Bruce Dern and Will Forte is seeking a supplement to its financing by shopping its international distribution rights. Paramount is distributing the film domestically, but FilmNation has reportedly already struck a number of key deals on behalf of Payne to get the film in front of more international audiences.
Read More »
More: Nebraska, Laurence Anyways, Christopher Plummer

Retrospective: The Films Of Alfred Hitchcock Pt. 2 (1940-1976, The Hollywood Years)

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
  • |
  • October 31, 2012 12:59 PM
  • |
  • 6 Comments
Features
In the late 1930s, with films like "The Man Who Knew Too Much," "The 39 Steps" and "The Lady Vanishes" having proven global hits, the New York Times wrote: "Three unique and valuable institutions the British have that we in America have not. Magna Carta, the Tower Bridge and Alfred Hitchcock, the greatest director of screen melodramas in the world." And unsurprisingly, he came to the attention of Hollywood, with David O. Selznick signing the filmmaker to an exclusive contract, and bringing him over to direct "Rebecca."
Read More »
More: Hitchcock, Alfred Hitchcock, The Essentials, Features

Exclusive: Listen To The Soundtrack For 'A Late Quartet' Featuring The Score By Angelo Badalamenti

  • By Cory Everett
  • |
  • October 31, 2012 12:37 PM
  • |
  • 1 Comment
News
For this writer, one of the underappreciated gems at this year's TIFF was undoubtedly Yaron Zilberman's feature debut "A Late Quartet." The finely tuned drama focuses on a world reknowned string quartet (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Christopher Walken and Mark Ivanir) about to enter their 25th season together. When their cellist (Walken) is struck with an illness that forces him to resign from the group, the delicate dynamic between the other members is thrown out of sync. As the remaining trio search for a potential replacement, trusts are betrayed, relationships damaged and marriages broken.
Read More »
More: A Late Quartet, Soundtrack, Angelo Badalamenti

Follow Us

Email Updates

What's Poppin'

Recent Comments

Blog Roll

Around The Network

the network

indiewire

categories