The Playlist

'Looper' Director Rian Johnson Is Working On A Cyberpunk-y Sci-Fi Script For His Next Film

By Edward Davis
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April 1, 2013 6:48 PM
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5 Comments

News

American writer/director Rian Johnson has never repeated himself. His debut, "Brick," is a film noir-y crime drama that featured one of the early turning-point Joseph Gordon-Levitt performances that proved the young actor was much more than just a TV child star trying to break into movies. His sophomore effort, "The Brothers Bloom," was a more whimsical con-man film that had flourishes of controlled Wes Anderson-like camera moves, and his third film, of course, was last year's sci-fi time-travel film, "Looper," starring Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis.

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New Images From 'Pacific Rim,' Rian Johnson Gives The Movie An Early Endorsement

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 3, 2013 4:47 PM
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2 Comments

News

While every other studio seems to be dropping some mad billz for Super Bowl spots, Warner Bros. are politely sitting on the sidelines today. So, sorry, you won't be seeing anything for "Man Of Steel," "The Great Gatsby," "The Hangover Part III" or "Pacific Rim." But as a small concession of sorts, they've dropped some new images for the latter.

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DGA Award TV Nominees Include Rian Johnson, Lena Dunham, Louis C.K., Philip Kaufman & More

By Kevin Jagernauth
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January 9, 2013 3:19 PM
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0 Comments

Television

Perhaps as further evidence that great storytelling is happening just as often on the small screen as it is in the multiplex, this year's DGA nominees for televison feature more than a few names who are seasoned in the feature film world, so let's get right to it.

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'Zero Dark Thirty' Wins Best Picture, Director & Actress From National Board Of Review, Leonardo DiCaprio Takes Supporting Actor

By Oliver Lyttelton
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December 5, 2012 2:34 PM
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8 Comments

Awards

Awards season continues on apace, and if things keep on the way things have been going this week, Kathryn Bigelow may need to enlarge her trophy cabinet. Her follow-up to the awards-laden "The Hurt Locker," Bin Laden-hunt picture "Zero Dark Thirty" hasn't even opened in theaters yet, but it already won the Best Film (along with Director and Cinematography) prize from the New York Film Critics' Circle on Monday, and now the National Board of Review (the somewhat nebulous organization who traditionally kicked off awards season, before the NYFCC moved their dates up last year) have followed suit.

Podcast: The Playlist Talks 'The Master' & 'Looper'

By Erik McClanahan
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October 1, 2012 10:59 AM
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8 Comments

Features

The podcast returns this week after a long absence. We apologize for the lack of shows, but obviously we've been hella busy. This week, host Erik McClanahan is joined by regular guests Kevin Jagernauth and Rodrigo Perez for reviews of two films from American writer/directors garnering a ton of attention at the moment: "The Master" from Paul Thomas Anderson, and the latest from Rian Johnson, "Looper."

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Review: Heady, High Concept 'Looper' Is A Dazzling Piece Of Sci-Fi Noir

By Kevin Jagernauth
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September 26, 2012 11:01 AM
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4 Comments

Reviews

Welcome to 2044, Kansas. Time travel hasn't been invented yet, but in thirty years it will be. And when it is, it's immediately outlawed, with criminal organizations using it for their own ends -- namely, to dispose of bodies. In the future, thanks to the advances in tracking people, it becomes more difficult to make someone disappear. And thus there are Loopers. Sent 'assignments' from the future, they dispatch them in the present, get rid of the bodies, thus eliminating them from the future, for which efforts they get paid a modest sum. It's not the most honorable job, but considering how bad the economy has become, it's something.

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Fox Director Shortlist For 'Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes' Both Predictable & Surprising

By Kevin Jagernauth
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September 25, 2012 10:40 PM
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8 Comments

News

With Rupert Wyatt bailing on the director's chair just over a week ago, 20th Century Fox now have a vacany to fill for "Dawn Of The Planet The Apes" and it's one they want to move on fast as a release date is on the horizon. So here comes the shortlist and it's both predictable and kind of totally random at the same time.

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TIFF Review: Heady, High Concept 'Looper' Is A Dazzling Piece Of Sci-Fi Noir

By Kevin Jagernauth
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September 6, 2012 12:48 PM
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5 Comments

Reviews

Welcome to 2044, Kansas. Time travel hasn't been invented yet, but in thirty years it will be. And when it is, it's immediately outlawed, with criminal organizations using it for their own ends -- namely, to dispose of bodies. In the future, thanks to the advances in tracking people, it becomes more difficult to make someone disappear. And thus there are Loopers. Sent assignments from the future, they dispatch them in the present, get rid of the bodies, thus eliminating them in the future and get paid a modest sum for their efforts. It's not the most honorable job, but considering how bad the economy has become, it's something.

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New Poster & Score/Sound Featurette Debut For Rian Johnson’s 'Looper'

By Benjamin Wright
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August 23, 2012 11:59 AM
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2 Comments

News

As the summer film season slows to a halt with lessening explosions, it’s time to look forward to festivals like Venice, TIFF and Telluride, which will offer us a taste of what we can expect during the upcoming fall/awards seasons run. One film that will be playing TIFF, however, “Brick” director Rian Johnson’s sci-fi actioner “Looper,” is starting a marketing rollout akin to so many of those big summer tentpoles.

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Jump Through Time With New Images From 'Looper' Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis & Emily Blunt

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 19, 2012 4:27 PM
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4 Comments

News

Ambitious to say the least, Rian Johnson continues to add to this filmography of high concept genre films with this fall's "Looper." And after a solid reception at Comic-Con over the weekend, we're continuing to see more and more from the upcoming film.

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