The Playlist

LFF '11 Review: Rebecca Hall Chiller 'The Awakening' Is Flawed, But Also Kind Of A Blast

By Oliver Lyttelton
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October 25, 2011 3:49 AM
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It might seem ingracious to complain, but film festivals can sometimes be something of a slog. For every transcendent piece of cinema, there are two or three well-meaning, firmly mediocre pictures clogged with mental illness, child abuse and miserable sex. Which is exactly why most film festivals mix it up a little, with a midnight genre strand, or just introducing something a little more...fun into the mix.

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Watch: Trailer For Rebecca Hall Chiller 'The Awakening' Looks Like Spooky Fun

By Oliver Lyttelton
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September 15, 2011 1:55 AM
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4 Comments

Certain things just make intrinsically good material for ghost stories. Wide-eyed children, for one. Big empty houses in the middle of nowhere. Pale actresses in period nightdresses. Um, Jimmy McNulty. British chiller "The Awakening" has all of these things in one package, and from the looks of the trailer that just debuted over at The Guardian, it looks like it might be the kind of effectively spooky thriller that we haven't seen in a while.

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Benedict Cumberbatch & Rebecca Hall To Star In HBO Mini-Series 'Parade's End'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 3, 2011 8:00 AM
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6 Comments

As we reported earlier today, Benedict Cumberbatch had to bow out of Joe Wright's "Anna Karenina," but believe us, he has a good reason for what sounds like yet another first rate television project.

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Will Ferrell & Dan Rush Talk Expanding A 4-Page Short Story For The Indie Drama 'Everything Must Go'

By The Playlist
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May 12, 2011 9:15 AM
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Filmmakers Didn't Want The Relationship With Rebecca Hall Go Hollywood & 12 Other Things We LearnedFirst-time feature-length director Dan Rush (known for his commercial work) must have naked pictures of some studio execs' off-hours, off-marriage tryst. Either that or his screenplay for "Everything Must Go," an adaptation of a four-page Raymond Carver story must have ruled. Considering the subtle, mannered, funny, yet not-broad dramedy that stars the very excellent cast of Will Ferrell, Rebecca Hall, Laura Dern, Michael Peña, Stephen Root and newcomer Christopher Jordan Wallace, we're thinking the latter.

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Review: 'Everything Must Go' Is A Tender & Winning Indie Drama With Will Ferrell At His Low-Key Best

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 10, 2011 3:07 AM
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The following is a reprint of the review that ran at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival

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Frank Grillo Joins Stephen Frears' Adaptation Of Beth Raymer's 'Lay The Favorite'

By Simon Dang
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May 3, 2011 3:23 AM
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1 Comment

Little known actor Frank Grillo has joined the exciting cast of Stephen Frears next directorial effort, an adaptation of Beth Raymer's Vegas-set coming-of-age tale "Lay The Favorite."

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Joshua Jackson Joins Rebecca Hall & Bruce Willis In Stephen Frears' Gambling Pic 'Lay The Favorite'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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April 19, 2011 1:21 AM
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2 Comments

Speaking of "Fringe," the show's biggest name, former "Dawson's Creek" star Joshua Jackson, looks to be using his summer hiatus from the show productively. The actor's been something of a fixture on screens for almost two decades now, and is currently doing his best-ever work on the J.J. Abrams-produced sci-fi show, but, outside of his early roles in the "Mighty Ducks" franchise, he's never exactly had a ton of success on the big-screen.

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Clive Owen & Andrea Riseborough Replace Guy Pearce & Rebecca Hall In 'Shadow Dancer'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 6, 2011 10:00 AM
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Gillian Anderson & Aidan Gillen Round Out CastFirst announced way back last fall, "Man On Wire" director James Marsh had lined up a crackling cast for his IRA thriller "Shadow Dancer" (which may or may not be using that title any longer). Rebecca Hall and Guy Pearce were set to star but Vulture caught up with the director recently and it looks like plans have changed a bit.

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Watch: Trailer For SXSW Hit 'A Bag Of Hammers,' With Rebecca Hall & Jason Ritter

By Oliver Lyttelton
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March 16, 2011 1:22 AM
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1 Comment

Film Features Score From UK Folk Artist Johnny FlynnThe SXSW festival is continuing on, and those of us who weren't able to attend are getting more and more envious by the day -- unfortunately, someone has to stay behind at Playlist HQ to sign for packages and feed the menagerie of exotic office pets. From everything we've heard, it seems to have been something of a banner year for the festival with films like "Source Code," "Attack the Block," "Bridesmaids," "The Future," "The FP," "Kill List," "Beginners" and "Super" all looking likely to convert their success in Austin to larger audiences later in the year.

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Former Wife Swapping Yankee Mike Kekich Looks To Block 'The Trade' With Ben Affleck & Matt Damon

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 24, 2011 3:40 AM
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2 Comments

Rebecca Hall, Rachel Weisz & Naomi Watts Wishlist Candidates For Female Lead RolesRanked #35 on the Black List in 2009, Dave Mandel's script for the true story tale "The Trade" has been in the works for a while and was first announced as a starring vehicle for Ben Affleck and Matt Damon last winter. The story is based on real-life players Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich, who in 1973 revealed that they had been swapping wives and fell for each other's partners. Peterson and Kekich's ex-wife are still together today, while the other couple has since split up with Kekich later remarrying. Affleck would play the role of Peterson with Matt Damon playing Kekich. Last fall, the project heated up again as the brothers Affleck, Ben and Casey, would be rewriting the script, however, it seems the film could be in for a bumpy ride.

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