The Playlist

The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.

Interviews

Alejandro Jodorowsky & Paul Schrader Fund New Films 'La Danze De La Realidad' & 'The Canyons' On Crowdsourcing Platforms

By Charlie Schmidlin
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May 9, 2012 11:37 AM
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0 Comments

News

With the JOBS act, finally passed in Congress, boasting an incredible series of changes for crowdfunding projects, the methods for independent filmmakers and artists to finance their projects stand to get easier and more versatile real soon. And as Kickstarter and Indiegogo seem to generate success stories every day, it appears two major filmmakers feel confident enough to bring their new projects to the people.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 5, 2012 5:19 PM
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3 Comments

News

Well, it's still looking for a cast and not yet in front of cameras, but it looks like the team behind Paul Schrader's upcoming indie sexual thriller "The Canyons" is looking to get the buzz going a bit early.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 5, 2012 5:32 PM
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5 Comments

News

Back in January, word cropped up that screenwriter/author Bret Easton Ellis and director Paul Schrader were cooking up a microbudget film together, an L.A. based noir. Ellis provocatively teased that the male lead "has to act and be full frontal naked banging girls and guys realistically" and he suggested porn star James Deen for one of the lead roles. Well, the Ellis has provided another update about the movie, tweeting today: "Shooting begins July 9th in Los Angeles..."

By Gabe Toro
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January 23, 2012 9:19 AM
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1 Comment

News

Could shock-novelist Bret Easton Ellis' next detour lead him down some dark alleyways with the writer of "Taxi Driver"? If Ellis' topsy-turvy Twitter account (via ONTD) is to be believed, he's working on an "L.A. noir micro budget Paul Schrader movie." And he's got an interesting, NSFW Google search lead in mind.

By Ryan Sartor
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November 8, 2011 1:51 PM
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2 Comments

News

It is difficult to know where Clive Owen’s loyalties lie in the war of art versus commerce. He’s acted in garbage like “King Arthur,” “Derailed,” and “Shoot ‘Em Up,” but on the other hand, he earned an Oscar nominated for 2004’s “Closer.” When Owen does collect a Jason Statham-sized paycheck, it is often while working for great directors, who would never consider hiring a guy like Statham: Alfonso Cuarón (“Children of Men”), Spike Lee (“Inside Man”) or Tom Twyker (“The International”—actually, Twyker would probably work with Statham), and when Owen actually does act in a Jason Statham movie (this year’s “Killer Elite”), he makes sure that Robert De Niro is there to help take the hit.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 3, 2011 2:30 AM
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7 Comments

As much as we love Paul Schrader, it's tough to admit that the acclaimed screenwriter and director has been on a bit of a slide. It has been nearly a decade since the excellent "Auto Focus" and since then, he's directed three films: the compromised and troubled production of "Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist," the escort thriller "The Walker" and the WWII sexual fetish pic (really) "Adam Resurrected." What each of those films share is a diminishing audience and critical regard with each subsequent picture. Since his last flick in 2008, Schrader has been attached to a couple of projects -- the Bollywood backed "Xtreme City" and more recently the vengeance pic "The Jesuit" -- but none of them have really started moving (the latter project was supposed to have started shooting in March but word has been very quiet). Unfortunately, it looks like Schrader is taking on a pretty terrible sounding work-for-hire gig.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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November 8, 2010 9:54 AM
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0 Comments

This one has been brewing for a while, and was even packaged and looking for buyers at Cannes, but it took another round at AFM for buyers to come onboard, and now Paul Schrader's next film "The Jesuit" is on the way.