The Playlist

Stephen Daldry Talks Asperger's, Depicting 9/11 In 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,' And The Oscars

By Todd Gilchrist
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December 20, 2011 12:30 PM
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3 Comments

Features

At present, up to the imminent release of “Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close,” Stephen Daldry is three-for-three in terms of films to Best Director Oscar nominations; there’s clearly something about the stories he tells hitting a nerve among Academy voters, no matter how challenging (“The Hours”) or even controversial (“The Reader”) his subject matter. 'Extremely Loud' suggests that he’s as interested as ever in posing hard questions and finding powerful answers, as he brings to life Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel about a child with Asperger’s who takes an extraordinary journey to come to terms with the death of his father during 9/11.

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Stage Actress Jeanine Serralles Joins Coen Bros' Folk Music Movie 'Inside Llewyn Davis,' F. Murray Abraham Circling Too

By Drew Taylor
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December 19, 2011 6:56 PM
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1 Comment

News

Well, the cast for the Coen Brothers' forthcoming music world drama "Inside Llewyn Davis," has added another interesting name, with Variety reporting that stage actress Jeanine Serralles has joined the production. The actress previously had parts in James Gray's wildly underrated "Two Lovers" and Julie Taymor's jaw-dropping (in a bad way) "Across the Universe." She joins a cast that already includes Coen film regular John Goodman, Justin Timberlake, Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan, in the period film about the Greenwich Village folk music scene in the 1960s.

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David Fincher Says His 'Cleopatra' With Angelina Jolie Wouldn't Be A "Giant Sword And Sandal Epic"

By Drew Taylor
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December 19, 2011 6:30 PM
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4 Comments

News

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Jailed Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi Was Set To Make Hollywood Debut On Steve Zaillian-Scripted 'A Thousand Splendid Suns'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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December 13, 2011 9:45 AM
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3 Comments

News

One of the most depressing events in the film world in the last few years has been the imprisonment of Iranian director Jafar Panahi. The man behind acclaimed films such as "The Circle," "Crimson Gold" and "Offside" among others, was arrested by the country's regime two years ago for "assembly and colluding with the intention to commit crimes against the country’s national security and propaganda against the Islamic Republic," and sentenced to six years in prison, as well as being banned for making films, or leaving the country, for twenty years. Petitions and protests have been held all over the world, just as Panahi's documentary "This Is Not A Film" was unveiled at festivals, but so far, to no avail. And it has emerged that, just as Panahi's imprisonment took place, he was moving towards making his Hollywood debut with one of the biggest producers in town, and an Oscar-winning screenwriter.

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Stephen Daldry Hopes To Make Long-Gestating 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay' As 8-Hour HBO Series

By Oliver Lyttelton
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December 12, 2011 10:21 AM
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1 Comment

News

This year marks a full decade since Michael Chabon's masterpiece "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay," a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel telling the story of America in the 1930s and 1940s through the eyes of two Jewish comic book creators, was published. And as tends to happen with a cultural phenomenon like that book, movie rights were snapped up even before publication, with Scott Rudin (who produced the adaptation of Chabon's "Wonder Boys" around the same time) acquiring the project, and setting the late Sydney Pollack to direct, with Jude Law circling the role of escape-artist-turned-comic-artist Joe Kavalier.

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Bill Hader Says Rachel Bilson Is "Really Funny" In 'The To-Do List'; Confirms Vaughn Meader Biopic "Still In Development"

By Gabe Toro
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December 12, 2011 10:01 AM
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1 Comment

News

When we last spoke to Bill Hader, the multi-talented comedian had several irons in the fire, specifically a supporting role in the upcoming comedy formerly titled “The Hand Job.” Written and directed by Hader’s wife Maggie Carey, the film follows a straight-arrow high school senior who decides to eliminate all her sexual inexperience in one fell swoop.

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Exclusive: 'Dragon Tattoo' Producer Scott Rudin Replies To David Denby's Upcoming New Yorker Review Embargo Break

By The Playlist
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December 4, 2011 8:59 PM
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132 Comments

News

If you follow movie insider baseball news you may have heard the embargo on Sony's "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" is about to break tomorrow in the New Yorker via a full-blown review by author David Denby, a member of the New York Film Critics Circle. In a controversial move that is now taking on a greater ripple effect than they likely expected, the NYFCC had moved their year-end voting deadline ahead a few weeks earlier this year, in order to be first out of the gate with their 2011 awards. But, the organization was rushed to see everything in time, and while Warner Bros. declined to screen "Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close" early for the organization, Sony provided 'Dragon Tattoo' under the wire (the NYFCC actually moved their voting back one more day to accomodate the screening). This is where Denby, along with his fellow NYC colleagues, were granted early access to see the film (though it's been said less critical Fincher fanboys have also seen the picture).

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Trey Parker & Matt Stone Confirm A 'Book Of Mormon' Movie Is On The Way, But Not Just Yet

By Oliver Lyttelton
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September 13, 2011 1:30 AM
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0 Comments

Of all the creative types working today, one would imagine that possibly the least likely to threaten to pick up an EGOT (managing to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony, a feat managed by only ten people in history) are the gleefully puerile "South Park" and "Team America" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. But somehow, they're heading in that direction. Already the holder of several Emmys for "South Park," their widely acclaimed smash-hit Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon" picked up a record haul of Tonys earlier in the summer, and the cast recording already looks a virtual lock to win in its category at the Grammys next year.

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New Coen Brothers Movie About '60s Folk Legend Gets Financing, Is Titled 'Inside Llewyn Davis'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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August 31, 2011 12:43 PM
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1 Comment

It looks like the Coens are a little closer to getting their next film mounted, and with producer Scott Rudin -- who paired with duo previously on "No Country For Old Men" and "True Grit" -- now behind the film, it looks like the trio are gearing up for another run at the Oscars.

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Bill Hader Calls The 'To-Do List' A Raunchy 'Sixteen Candles' & Talks 'Men In Black 3'

By Gabe Toro
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August 19, 2011 3:41 AM
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0 Comments

Comedian Says 'House Of Joel' Might Be Dead; Says Josh Brolin Is "Scary Good" In 'MIB3'Among the sea of comedic actors currently working in Hollywood, one of our favorites is Bill Hader, if not for his uncanny talent and savvy mimicry skills, then for his desire to strike out as a multi-hyphenate comic talent. Logging big time minutes in “Superbad,” “Knocked Up,” "Paul" and even “A Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian,” Hader’s developed a solid rep as a guy who can bring the funny in some of the biggest blockbusters around.

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