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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

Prematurely Predicting The 2014 Best Picture Contenders: 'Wolf Of Wall Street,' 'Monuments Men,' 'Gravity' & More

By Oliver Lyttelton
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February 26, 2013 2:34 PM
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61 Comments

Awards

After 6-9 months of fevered speculation and prognostication, the 2012/2013 awards season climaxed on Sunday night with the 85th Academy Awards, as Ben Affleck's "Argo" took Best Picture, Ang Lee won his second Best Director Oscar, Daniel Day-Lewis became the first person to win three Best Actor awards, Christoph Waltz took his second Supporting trophy in four years, and Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence won their first awards.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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October 15, 2012 8:54 PM
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7 Comments

News

We have to admit, we were beginning to wonder what was going on with Neill Blomkamp's expensive, mysterious "Elysium." With a release dating looming about five months from now and no posters, teaser trailers, stills or any other kind of marketing, we figured either that a) Sony was going to start a blitzkrieg campaign once they were done with "Skyfall" or b) it was getting pushed back. Now we have our answer.

By Benjamin Wright
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August 1, 2012 7:39 PM
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1 Comment

News

Disney pop princess Selena Gomez has earned a considerable amount of respect from us for allowing her film roles to stray pretty far away from her squeaky clean image that made her name. With a cameo role in the Eli Roth-starring earthquake thriller “Aftershock” and a revealing supporting part alongside James Franco in the Harmony Kormine-directed “Spring Breakers,” it would look as if the days of typical teenage dreck like “Monte Carlo” are at least partially in her rearview. Gomez is now set to star opposite Nat Wolff in a coming-of-age rock 'n roll comedy "Parental Guidance Suggested," based on the Ric Browde book “While I'm Dead...Feed the Dog,” which centers on a rock infused journey of a 16-year-old named Ric Thibault (Wolff) and his crush Nina Pennington (Gomez). It’s not exactly the ballsy material we were just priding her for taking part in, but she could do a lot worse. Dylan McDermott, Cary Elwes, and Austin Stowell will co-star.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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July 25, 2012 2:46 PM
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2 Comments

News

Already pretty much guaranteed to be a major contender in next year's Oscar race along with "August: Osage County" with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, "Saving Mr. Banks" continues to add to its cast with a trio of actors joining Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson and Colin Farrell.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 15, 2012 4:27 PM
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1 Comment

News

We've long discussed the career of Colin Farrell, one that hasn't particularly been on steady rise so much as moved in fits and starts. The actor has tackled franchises and indies in equal measure, with some more successful than others. This year sees him lead the "Total Recall" remake and star in Martin McDonagh's "Seven Psychopaths," and he's filming the thriller "Dead Man Down" as well. And while we'll have to see how those films play out, his next endeavor is kind of a no brainer for success.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 9, 2012 7:51 PM
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5 Comments

News

When Disney snatched up the Black List script "Saving Mr. Banks" back in February, not only was it one of the hottest buys of the year so far, there was added oomph by the fact the studio was already looking to cast Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep for the lead roles. And hell, landing one out of two ain't bad...

By Oliver Lyttelton
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February 28, 2012 10:40 AM
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0 Comments

News

It's now over two years since since "The Blind Side" came from nowhere to not only become a surprise box-office smash, but also earn a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards, and a Best Actress statuette for Sandra Bullock. As such, it's somewhat surprising that it's taken so long for its writer-director, John Lee Hancock, to get another project going.