The Playlist

Cannes 2013: Surprises & Notable Absence ...

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

Interviews

Discuss: Which 'Twilight' Stars Will Still Have Careers Once The Franchise Ends?

By Oliver Lyttelton
|
November 14, 2012 11:01 AM
|
30 Comments

Features

And so they face the final curtain. This week "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Pt. 2," the fifth film in the franchise based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling young-adult vampire novels, will hit theaters (read our review here). And while Lionsgate and Summit are hoping to extend the life of their cash cow, for the moment this movie marks the end of the franchise and the story of star-crossed lovers Edward Cullen and Bella Swann.

By Simon Dang
|
June 8, 2012 12:20 PM
|
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]

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
April 13, 2012 1:28 PM
|
3 Comments

News

Easter is over, spring is here, and in case you haven't noticed, things are going to be getting supersized at the box office over the next the few months. Warner Bros. is getting ready for a busy season and have unveiled a handful of new images from some of their upcoming films.

By James Rocchi
|
September 15, 2011 7:02 AM
|
1 Comment

A political satire set in the competitive world of butter-carving at the Iowa state fair, the script for "Butter" was so ballyhooed and praised of that it wound up on The Black List, the annual underground buzz list of unproduced screenplays based on a straw poll of agents, development executives and insiders. (As a side note, we must say that The Black List is only interesting as a barometer of quality insofar as you trust agents, development executives and insiders to be able to tell good from bad, which much of Hollywood's output suggests is not actually the case.)

By Simon Dang
|
September 14, 2011 2:00 AM
|
3 Comments

With new takes on literary classics all the rage at the moment (see: Cary Fukunaga and Andrea Arnold's revisioning of the Bronte sisters' "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights"), Michael De Luca is set to produce a contemporary, gender-bending take of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" with 'Twilight' star Ashley Greene toplining.

By Kimber Myers
|
July 22, 2011 5:28 AM
|
0 Comments

Plus 4 Other Revelations From Shriek-Filled 'Twilight' Panel In Hall HFans of "The Twilight Saga" waited for days outside Comic-Con International's Hall H to be close to Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, and the rest of the actors appearing in the films. But when the 'Breaking Dawn' cast was asked what they were excited enough about to wait that long for, there was a moment of silence before 17-year-old Booboo Stewart (Seth Clearwater) piped in with "The Lord of the Rings." Unlike Tolkien devotees, The 'Twilight' audience isn't typically what people think of when they imagine Comic-Con attendees, but the enormous hall was packed with fans who didn't seem to mind (but promptly left before the rest of the day's panels).

By Gabe Toro
|
May 12, 2011 3:15 AM
|
0 Comments

“Skateland,” opening this Friday, is not to be confused with “Stake Land,” the horror picture released in April. Though both pictures do share one story element: both take place in desolate lands of no purchase, with protagonists trying to fight the hopelessness and malaise of their surroundings. Instead of a mutated vampiric wasteland, the setting is small-town Texas, circa 1980’s. Instead of vampires, there are asshole townies who have nothing better to occupy their time than to make life miserable for others. Instead of stakes, there are sk- oh, wait, that’s there in the title.

By Edward Davis
|
February 14, 2011 4:40 AM
|
0 Comments

Exclusive Long-Form Synopsis GivenAustralian filmmaker and actress Lian Lunson is heading in a completely different direction for her debut feature-length dramatic effort. The helmer behind the celebrated Leonard Cohen documentary, "I'm Your Man," which featured a memorable and intimate Bono, Edge and Cohen performance in New York's tiny Slipper Room venue, is venturing into the narrative feature arena for her next picture. And she's amassed quite the cast.