The Playlist

Netflix Considering Picking Up Ron Howard's 'The Dark Tower'; Tate Taylor To Direct 'Joyland' & '11/22/63' Goes To TV

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 2, 2013 6:24 PM
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2 Comments

News

Projects never die, they either have momentum or they don't, and one particular, ambitious endeavour has already been kicked around and picked over, going through various ups and downs, is Ron Howard's "The Dark Tower." We'll try to keep this history brief.

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Roland Emmerich Developing 'Lawrence of Arabia' TV Miniseries

By Joe Cunningham
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May 2, 2013 2:09 PM
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4 Comments

Television

When Roland Emmerich makes a movie, more often than not you can bet that he’s going to go big. You could say that he’s a filmmaker who prefers an epic scale, and an argument could be made that he’s actually modern cinema’s equivalent to a David Lean. Okay, okay, we jest… but trust Emmerich of all people to look at a classic Lean epic and decide that of all things, he’s going to make it bigger.

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Lisa Cholodenko To Direct HBO Miniseries 'Olive Kitteridge' Starring Frances McDormand & Richard Jenkins

By Ken Guidry
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May 2, 2013 1:37 PM
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0 Comments

Television

Well, once again, HBO proves that they are the masters at attracting top talent to come to their network. Just this year, their roster includes filmmakers such as David Mamet and Steven Soderbergh, the latter finally being able to make "Behind the Candelabra," his long-gestating Liberace film with Michael Douglas and Matt Damon (coming out later this month). They also have the Duplass Brothers, Cary Fukunaga, and Guillermo del Toro, to name a few, with projects on the horizion. And now you can add Lisa Cholodenko to the mix.

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Alex Gibney To Direct 4-Hour Documentary On Frank Sinatra For HBO

By Kieran McMahon
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May 1, 2013 6:29 PM
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0 Comments

News

It is no overstatement to describe documentary-maker Alex Gibney as one of the pre-eminent filmmakers in America, a blotless 30-year career has seen him accumulate a back catalogue striking not only for the consistently outstanding quality of his work, but also for the boldness and incisiveness of his subject matter. Highlights include “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” “Taxi to the Dark Side” (which won him an Oscar) and “Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson,” and we await his upcoming “We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks” and his forthcoming documentary on legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, “Finding Fela!” Thus it is with no little excitement that we greet the announcement of his next subject, one Frank Sinatra.

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Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig & Tobey Maguire To Star In IFC Miniseries 'The Spoils Of Babylon'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 29, 2013 10:45 PM
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1 Comment

Television

When "Casa De Mi Padre" dropped last spring, it more or less died on the vine, and was forgotten about. And that's a shame, because in my opinion, it was outrageously hilarious and go for broke, in the way that only a spoof of Mexican telenovelas could be. It was absurd, surreal and bonkers in the way that Will Ferrell does best (joined by game co-stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna), but perhaps the niche of its comedic target put people off. Well, whatever the reason, Ferrell is giving the parody soap opera concept another spin, with time with a more American flavored riff.

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Coulson Lives In Lamest Way Possible In 'Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.'

By Drew Taylor
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April 29, 2013 2:50 PM
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16 Comments

Television

There's been a lot of speculation as to how Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) would be brought back for the new ABC series set within the Marvel Universe, "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." The series, which is being spearheaded by "Avengers" director Joss Whedon, but has yet to get an official green light from the network, would revive the Coulson character, last seen with a giant fucking spear through his chest in "The Avengers," and focus on the super-spy organization he works for. Well, details on how he will be resurrected have been revealed (supposedly) and a spoiler warning should be issued, along with a "prepared to be incredibly disappointed" warning.

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Exclusive: Lynn Shelton To Direct Adaptation Of Mishna Wolff's Memoir 'I'm Down'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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April 29, 2013 12:33 PM
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0 Comments

News

Lynn Shelton is nothing if not prolific. Since her 2006 feature debut "We Go Way Back," she's made five films, and since "Humpday" became a crossover hit, she's only gotten busier; that film was followed by "Your Sister's Sister" in 2011, and barely a year later, she was back with another feature, "Touchy Feely," which premiered at Sundance back in January. And in between all of that (plus occasional cameos in the likes of "Safety Not Guaranteed" and "Prince Avalanche"), she's become an in-demand TV director, with her work including episodes of "Mad Men," "Ben & Kate" and "New Girl."

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'Scream' TV Series Gets Greenlit, Wes Craven May Direct Pilot

By Cain Rodriguez
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April 26, 2013 2:50 PM
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3 Comments

Television

With two small screen prequels to big films already a hit this TV season -- NBC’s “Hannibal” and A&E’s “Bates Motel” -- and small screen adaptations of “Fargo” and “Goodfellas” on the way (and possibly even a sequel series to "L.A. Confidential"), TV networks are looking at other big screen properties to exploit for easy brand name recognition. Their latest catch? A certain post-modern horror series from the nineties.

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Watch: Buster & Lucille Get Closer In First Clip From 'Arrested Development' Season 4

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 26, 2013 8:24 AM
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0 Comments

Television

The big question no one wants to ask among the fans clamoring and eagerly awaiting return of "Arrested Development" is: does Mitch Hurwitz still have the magic? It's been a decade since the show first went on the air (jesus, we feel old) and sometimes returning to the well, doesn't always yield the same fruit (mixing metaphors, sorry). But if this clip is anything to by, he hasn't lost the touch.

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'L.A. Confidential' Sequel TV Series Being Shopped By James Ellroy

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 25, 2013 10:34 PM
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2 Comments

Television

The world that James Ellroy conjured with "L.A. Confidential," adapted in the crackling 1987 noir, is one that captured the imagination and had filmmakers flocking to his work, and in particular the "L.A. Quartet." Brian De Palma tackled "The Black Dahlia" with rather disastrous results, while Joe Carnahan is still hoping to make "White Jazz" at some point. Meanwhile, last year, "I Am Love" helmer Luca Guadagnino, signed up to bring "The Big Nowhere" to the big screen. So what's next? How about a TV series.

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