The Playlist

Look Out Ben Affleck & Matt Damon, Johnny Depp Joins Rival Whitey Bulger Project ‘Black Mass’

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 3, 2013 11:14 AM
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7 Comments

News

While there's another "Pirates Of The Caribbean" movie on the way, it seems that Johnny Depp is swashbuckling Jack Sparrow style off-screen as well. Much to the surprise of Terry Gilliam, the actor has put his own "Don Quixote" project into development at Disney, and now he's joining another project that has a rival movie on the same subject brewing, with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

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First Lincoln, Now Washington: NBC Prepping Presidential Series, Barry Levinson To Direct

By Kevin Jagernauth
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November 15, 2012 11:20 AM
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2 Comments

News

Forget vampires and zombies...the hottest new trend? Presidents. Okay, so it's not quite a full-on phenomenon yet, but clearly we're in a bit of moment where the nation's founders are getting their due on the big screen. Of course, Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" is now speechifying in theaters across the country and if NBC has its way, each week you'll get the first President of the United States Of America piped into your home.

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Review: Barry Levinson's 'The Bay' Is A Frightening Eco-Horror 'Jaws' Riff

By Drew Taylor
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November 1, 2012 5:00 PM
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0 Comments

Reviews

Primarily known for his talky, small-scale comedic dramas, exemplified by his beloved "Diner," Vanity Fair recently made a compelling argument for this seminal Barry Levinson film influencing everything from "Seinfeld" and "Swingers" to Judd Apatow's comedy factory and feel-good Hollywood trifles like "The Natural." In light of this posit, this makes "The Bay," Levinson's new, highly squishy found-footage horror movie more than just a career left turn; it's more like he veered onto oncoming traffic. The only thing more surprising than Levinson making "The Bay," though, is how effectively creepy it is.

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

By Drew Taylor
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October 31, 2012 4:18 PM
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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.

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NYFF Review: Barry Levinson's 'The Bay' Is A Frightening Eco-Horror 'Jaws' Riff

By Drew Taylor
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September 19, 2012 6:07 PM
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5 Comments

Reviews

Primarily known for his talky, small-scale comedic dramas, exemplified by his beloved "Diner," Vanity Fair recently made a compelling argument for this seminal Barry Levinson film influencing everything from "Seinfeld" and "Swingers" to Judd Apatow's comedy factory and feel-good Hollywood trifles like "The Natural." In light of this posit, this makes "The Bay," Levinson's new, highly squishy found footage horror movie more than just a career left turn; it's more like he veered onto oncoming traffic. The only thing more surprising than Levinson making "The Bay," though, is how effectively creepy it is.

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Danny Glover, Barry Levinson, Bob Balaban & More Join Stephen Frears’ 'Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight'

By Benjamin Wright
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April 11, 2012 1:18 PM
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1 Comment

News

The Stephen Frears-directed “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight” has had no shortage of casting updates since things got underway back in February, with future “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” star Benjamin Walker joining the fold as Kevin Kennedy, a Supreme Court clerk who supported Ali and even wrote briefs that would help to maintain the boxer's status as a conscientious objector of the war, all in this tale of Ali’s trial following his arrest for anti-Vietnam sentiments and behaviour when drafted to serve in the war.

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Barry Levinson Returns To The Diamond With Hank Aaron Biopic

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 3, 2012 2:20 PM
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1 Comment

News

It seems the baseball movie is back in vogue in Hollywood. While the genre pics are generally well-received stateside, studios and the like have been reluctant to put too much money behind them in recent times, as the sport doesn't play well internationally, where box office dollars are more important than ever. But with Jackie Robinson getting the big-screen treatment courtesy of Brian Helgeland's "42," another giant of the game is stepping up to the plate.

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Barry Levinson's 'Diner' To Become A Broadway Musical With Tunes By Sheryl Crow

By Kevin Jagernauth
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September 20, 2011 6:06 AM
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1 Comment

The history of movies being turned into Broadway shows (and vice versa) has been happening for decades, and while it certainly won't stop anytime soon, the road is littered with the carcasses of failed productions. Pulling off a massive hit is the rare exception, but the earnings can be so huge that it's no wonder they keep trying adaptations on Broadway.

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Eric Stonestreet To Play Fatty Arbuckle In Barry Levinson Directed 'The Day The Laughter Stopped'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 22, 2011 7:38 AM
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1 Comment

In the history of salacious Hollywood trials, none have matched the infamy of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's battle against charges that he raped actress Virgina Rappe at a boisterous Hollywood party (who died shortly afterward of peritonitis caused a ruptured bladder). It was essentially the first showbiz trial, one that found Arbuckle prosecuted in the press -- and later in court -- thanks to the relentless tabloid journalism of William Randolph Hearst's chain of newspapers, which painted the silent comedian as a lecher who used his girth to overpower women sexually. After three trials -- in which it became apparent that evidence was being manufactured and witnesses were being told to lie in an overzealous pursuit to find him guilty -- Arbuckle was eventually acquitted, though his career was in ruins and fearing government intervention in the industry, most of Hollywood refused to work with him. However, in the dawn of the talkies, Warner Bros. signed up him for some two reel shorts and their success led the studio to sign Arbuckle for a feature film. Unfortunately, he would suffer a heart attack and die before he could start work on the project.

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Al Pacino and Barry Levinson Reteaming To Adapt Philip Roth Novel 'The Humbling'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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June 11, 2011 2:00 AM
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0 Comments

Levinson Talks Prospect Of Helming Mob Epic 'Gotti: Three Generations'For someone who's almost incontestably one of the greatest living American novelists (there will always be naysayers...) Philip Roth has never fared well on the big screen. "Goodbye, Columbus is mostly forgotten, but fairly decent, but "Portnoy's Complaint," "The Human Stain" and "Elegy" (an adaptation of "The Dying Animal") were all disasters of varying degrees, despite excellent source material. But Hollywood ain't done with Roth yet, with news breaking that a veteran director and star, fresh off a recent success together, are joining forces again to adapt a recent work from the author.

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