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

Watch: Kathryn Bigelow & Jessica Chastain Talk To CNN About NBR Winning 'Zero Dark Thirty' Plus New Pics From The Film

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
December 5, 2012 3:57 PM
|
11 Comments

News

It has been a very good week for "Zero Dark Thirty." The film has now pushed itself to the front of the Oscar conversation by taking three prizes from the New York Film Critics Circle on Monday and another three from the National Board Of Review today, with director Kathryn Bigelow and actress Jessica Chastain looking like the ones to beat (at the moment). While many critics and industry types have already seen the film, the rest of us have to wait, so here's a few more peeks to tide you over.

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
January 5, 2012 5:51 PM
|
18 Comments

News

Well, here's a piece of good news. Attached way back last spring for Kathryn Bigelow's upcoming untitled Seal Team 6 movie (aka "Kill Bin Laden"), we began to get worried about Joel Edgerton's involvement when the project began further casting this fall -- adding Jason Clarke -- and his name remained conspicuously absent.

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
October 17, 2011 8:08 AM
|
4 Comments

Casting is a tricky business, and doing it right sometimes means balancing egos, the needs of the film, the characters on the page and a host of other factors to find the right people to come together and bring a project to life. Or sometimes, it's as simple as just getting a couple of great people together and just letting them do their thing. And that must have been what director Marion Lainé was thinking, pairing up the stars of recent arthouse favorites "Certified Copy" and "Carlos" in her next feature film.

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
March 24, 2011 12:57 PM
|
0 Comments

After an early bout of casting rumors around Zack Snyder's upcoming "Superman," the cord has quickly been tightened around the film, employing Christopher Nolan levels of secrecy (and no surprise really, given he's overseeing the project). In fact the only real concrete news of late is that Kevin Costner was confirmed as Pa Kent in the film, while Snyder himself revealed Viggo Mortensen won't be in the film (he was rumored for Zod). But this morning comes a fresh bit of potential casting, so get ready to put on your speculation hats on people.

By Oliver Lyttelton
|
March 23, 2011 1:23 AM
|
2 Comments

'Eastern Promises' Scribe Steven Knight Rewrote Script, Gemma Arterton Nowhere To Be SeenIt's almost exactly a year since "Clash of the Titans" opened, overcoming some tough competition, a beyond-shoddy 3D conversion and terrible reviews to pick up a hugely impressive half-billion dollars worldwide. While filming has been underway for a few weeks in the U.K. on the yet-to-be-officially-titled sequel ("Wrath of the Titans" has been bandied about, but never confirmed), Warner Bros has sent out a press release to officially announce the start of principle photography, and it's confirmed a few cast members, as well as giving the first detailed description of the plot.

By Oliver Lyttelton
|
January 7, 2011 1:55 AM
|
0 Comments

Bill Nighy May Also Join, Hayley Atwell & Clemence Poesy Testing While critics firmly came in against in "Clash Of The Titans," the film did boffo box office taking in nearly $500 million worldwide so it's no surprise that a sequel is on the way. Everyone from new director Jonathan Liebesman ("Battle: Los Angeles") to returning stars Sam Worthington and Liam Neeson have promised that the follow-up will be an improvement and, considering that the original landed firmly on our Worst of 2010 list, the bar hasn't been set unachievably high.

By The Playlist
|
December 27, 2010 6:23 AM
|
16 Comments

The Ladies Dominate The Breakout Field This Year

By The Playlist
|
October 25, 2010 10:32 AM
|
12 Comments

Three-Part Epic Features A Post-Punk Mix Of Wire, The Feelies, New Order & MoreThis writer finally caught up with Olivier Assayas' sprawling three-part epic, "Carlos," starring the excellent Edgar Ramirez and centering on the rise and downfall of Ilich Ramírez Sánchez aka "Carlos The Jackal," the international terrorist who menaced the world in the 1970s (this author also agrees most with our review from Cannes; it's pretty engaging at first, but then tends to drag in its last half).