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Casting: Neil LaBute Enlists Ethan Hawke, Vera Farmiga For New Thriller; Logan Lerman Joins Brad Pitt For ‘Fury’

  • By Edward Davis
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  • May 6, 2013 7:06 PM
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  • 4 Comments
News
Logan Lerman might be known for the forgettable “Percy Jackson” films (a sequel arrives this summer), but he almost scored the coveted lead in “The Amazing Spider-Man” a few years ago and he impressed with his acting chops in “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower.” Casting directors and filmmakers have noticed. He’s getting called up into the big leagues and will join Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf in the WWII tank thriller “Fury” that “End of Watch” filmmaker David Ayer is writing and directing for Sony Pictures. The movie is already set for a Fall 2014 release and it’s an interesting one because it will be Ayer’s first non police-centered movie. Let’s hope unlike the almost great “End Of Watch,” the visual material doesn’t stand in the way of a good story and strong dynamic.
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More: Ethan Hawke, Julia Vera, Neil LaBute, Logan Lerman, Brad Pitt, Fury, David Ayer, The Spoils of Babylon, Minions, Despicable Me 2, Into The Woods

Hurt People Hurt People: Neil LaBute & Alice Eve On The Intricate Roleplaying Of ‘Some Velvet Morning’

  • By Kristin McCracken
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  • May 3, 2013 12:03 PM
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  • 0 Comments
Some Velvet Morning, Alice Eve, Neil LaBute
Interviews
Since his award-winning debut feature “In the Company of Men” in 1997, Neil LaBute has developed a diverse career that spans writing and directing for both the stage and screen. Depicting unsettling and often cruel relationships between men and women, his work can be difficult to stomach, but there is no denying his unique voice. Over the years, LaBute has experimented with directing other people’s work, venturing into the horror (“The Wicker Man”), thriller (“Lakeview Terrace”) and comedy (“Nurse Betty,” “Death at a Funeral”) genres, to varying degrees of critical success. At the same time, he is a prolific playwright, with “The Mercy Seat,” “Fat Pig,” “reasons to be pretty,” and “The Shape of Things,” among others, making theatrical waves.
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More: Neil LaBute, Alice Eve, Stanley Tucci, Some Velvet Morning, Interviews, Interview, Tribeca Film Festival, Star Trek Into Darkness, Interviews

The Best And Brightest Of The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

  • By The Playlist Staff
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  • April 29, 2013 2:17 PM
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  • 3 Comments
The Best And Brightest Of The Tribeca Film Festival 2013
Festivals
And so we’ve reached the end of the Tribeca Film Festival. Known for its wide-ranging selection of films from all over the globe, they truly outdid themselves this year with a slate of diverse, boundary-pushing films that suggested that, outside of the most prestigious fests like New York, Cannes and Sundance, independent cinema was alive and well, flourishing in the fest’s eleventh year. We profiled twenty films at the start of the fest that might be worth discussion, and a number of those spotlight films didn't disappoint. But the excitement of the Tribeca Film Festival is that there's often greatness emerging from where you least expect it.
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More: Tribeca Film Festival, Hide Your Smiling Faces, Bluebird, The Rocket, Cutie And The Boxer, Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors, Some Velvet Morning, Neil LaBute, Mistaken For Strangers, Features, Feature

Tribeca Review: Neil LaBute Goes Back To Basics In Spartan, Scintillating 'Some Velvet Morning'

  • By Gabe Toro
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  • April 22, 2013 10:01 AM
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  • 1 Comment
Reviews
When filmmakers find themselves in a rough place, they tend to dial back their productions, usually by necessity, but also as a refresher course in refueling the creative spirit. Playwright Neil LaBute has had a rough go of it in his last few big-screen adventures: "Lakeview Terrace" was a half-baked contemporary thriller clearly made to fill the personal coffers, though one could argue it reflected an intriguing take on contemporary race relations in suburban communities. And remaking "Death At A Funeral" nearly shot-for-shot was always going to be a thankless task. The fact that these two films followed the misunderstood-but-still-questionable "Wicker Man" remake seems to point to a creative force in decline, at least onscreen -- LaBute remains active in the world of shorts and stage, where his reputation has yet to be sullied.
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More: Some Velvet Morning, Neil LaBute, Stanley Tucci, Alice Eve, Tribeca Film Festival, Review

Neil LaBute Heads To Television With 'Full Circle' Plus Poster For 'Some Velvet Morning'

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • April 17, 2013 12:26 PM
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  • 0 Comments
News
The usual conversation about Neil LaBute, at least around here, is how the man who broke out with provocative fare like "In The Company Of Men" and "Your Friends & Neighbors" has turned into the unrecognizable guy behind stuff like "Lakeview Terrance," "The Wicker Man" and "Death At A Funeral." But it looks like the man who examined and completely turned upside down the relationships between men and women, is returning to that fertile ground with two new projects.
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More: Neil LaBute, Some Velvet Morning, Television, TV News, Full Circle

First Look: Alice Eve In Neil LaBute's 'Some Velvet Morning' & Zoe Kazan And Jake Johnson In 'The Pretty One'

  • By Edward Davis
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  • March 8, 2013 5:32 PM
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  • 2 Comments
News
Two Tribeca Film Festival first-looks for you this afternoon. First up is one of two Neil LaBute films landing within the span of two months: "Some Velvet Morning," which is debuting at Tribeca in mid-April. It stars Alice Eve ("Star Trek Into Darkness") and Stanley Tucci, and it's a relationship drama making its world premiere in the Narrative section.
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More: Alice Eve, Neil LaBute, Stanley Tucci, Zoe Kazan, Jake Johnson, Tribeca Film Festival, The Pretty One, Some Velvet Morning

Sony Picks Up Neil LaBute's Agatha Christie Adaptation 'Crooked House'; Film Looks To Be Recasting

  • By Benjamin Wright
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  • July 10, 2012 12:22 PM
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  • 0 Comments
News
It’s been a little over a year now since we heard that Neil LaBute was set to direct an adaptation of famed mystery writer Agatha Christie’s “Crooked House,” which he would be bringing to life from a script he co-wrote with Academy Award-winning “Gosford Park” writer Julian Fellowes and Tim Rose Price. There was word shortly after that an impressive ensemble of talent in Julie Andrews, Matthew Goode, Gemma Arterton, and Gabriel Byrne would be filling out the plum roles the film had to offer – but it looks as if that may have changed entirely.
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More: Neil LaBute, Crooked House, Sony Pictures

Adam Brody To Star In Neil LaBute Penned & Produced 'Some Girls'; Lands 'Welcome To The Jungle'

  • By Benjamin Wright
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  • January 17, 2012 1:20 PM
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  • 0 Comments
News
Former “The O.C.” heartthrob Adam Brody has come a long way from his days of covering for bad boy buddy Ryan Atwood in the privileged California community. Since his breakout turn in the Fox drama, he’s stolen the show in everything from big budget blockbusters like “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” to the Jason Reitman-directed “Thank You For Smoking,” and most recently has been carving out a niche for himself in independent drama and comedies like the forthcoming “The Oranges,” and Whit Stillman’s “Damsels in Distress,” and was recently cast in the long-gestating Linda Lovelace biopic “Lovelace.” It certainly seems like his days as Seth Cohen are far behind him.
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More: Adam Brody, Neil LaBute, Some Girl(s), Welcome To The Jungle, Dennis Haysbert, Jean-Claude Van Damme

Julie Andrews, Matthew Goode, Gemma Arterton & Gabriel Byrne Topline Neil LaBute's 'Crooked House'

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
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  • May 16, 2011 4:34 AM
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  • 1 Comment
The announcement of new projects from some directors are greeted in The Playlist's headquarters with a robust cheer. These days, the announcement of a new film from writer-director Neil LaBute musters nothing more than a groan and an immediate game of 'pick the short straw' to see who has to go and review the damn thing. The playwright-turned-director started strongly, making Aaron Eckhart a star with "The Company of Men," and followed it with the flawed but interesting "Your Friends and Neighbors" and the decent "Nurse Betty."
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More: Films, Actors, Actresses, Neil LaBute, Crooked House, Matthew Goode, Gabriel Byrne, Gemma Arterton, Julie Andrews

Neil LaBute & Aaron Eckhart To Reteam For 'The Geography of Hope'; Ed Harris Also Stars

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
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  • May 6, 2011 5:44 AM
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  • 0 Comments
Breakout movie roles don't come as memorable -- or repulsive -- as Aaron Eckhart's slimy performance as Chad in Neil LaBute's "In The Company Of Men." It was a wickedly dark turn in a movie that itself was blackly hilarious that lead to two more collaborations between the writer/director: the excellent "Your Friends & Neighbors" and the far less successful "Possession." And then the two parted ways. Eckhart went on to become one of the top leading men and character actors in Hollywood, while LaBute fell into a bit of spiral directing a string of bad movies including, at the bottom of the barrel, "The Wicker Man" and "Lakeview Terrace." But almost a decade since they last worked together, it looks like the duo are ready to pick up again.
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More: Films, Actors, Neil LaBute, The Geography Of Hope, Aaron Eckhart, Ed Harris

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