The Playlist

BRAAAM? Hans Zimmer Scoring Steve McQueen's 'Twelve Years A Slave'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 3, 2013 10:15 AM
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6 Comments

News

Eight time Oscar nominee -- winning for "The Lion King" in 1995 -- recent years have seen Hans Zimmer mostly in blockbuster mode. For Christopher Nolan, he's tuned up "Inception," "The Dark Knight" trilogy and the forthcoming "Man Of Steel," he's given Captain Jack Sparrow some bounce in three of the four "Pirates Of The Caribbean" movies, and this year alone he's already delivered music for hit mini-series "The Bible" with work on "Rush" and "The Lone Ranger" around the corner. But a slavery drama? We didn't see this coming.

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Cannes Lineup: Woody Allen & Pedro Almodovar Skipping Festival, 'Twelve Years A Slave' Not Expected, 'Nebraska' Courted & More

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 2, 2013 10:00 AM
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4 Comments

News

A few weeks ago, we took out our crystal ball and speculated on what movies might be appearing at the Cannes Film Festival when it kicks off in about six weeks or so. We made some educated guesses, ruled some other movies out and tossed some ideas around as we wait for the official announcement from organizers later this month. Well, it appears a bit of a clearer picture is emerging -- sort of -- as a handful of titles have been ruled out.

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Adjust Oscar Picks Accordingly: Steve McQueen's 'Twelve Years A Slave' Arrives On December 27th

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 28, 2013 4:40 PM
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5 Comments

News

A film we're already predicting to be a player in the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor races in the upcoming Oscar season, and pretty much a shoo-in for the Cannes Film Festival in May, Fox Searchlight are showing they're expecting big things from the "Twelve Years A Slave" as well.

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Predicting The 2013 Cannes Film Festival Lineup: Who Will Join 'The Great Gatsby' On The Croisette?

By The Playlist Staff
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March 14, 2013 12:03 PM
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18 Comments

Features

On Tuesday, it was announced that Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" would open this year's Cannes Film Festival, still the most prestigious, and arguably most important event on the cinematic calendar. And today, March 14th, marks the last day on which films can be seen by the selection panel for the festival, which kicks off May 15th.

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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.

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Paul Dano Confirms He Tested For ‘Akira,’ Says Someone Like Rian Johnson Should Direct

By Gabe Toro
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August 20, 2012 4:24 PM
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1 Comment

Interviews

One of the busier actors in show business has to be twenty-eight year-old Paul Dano. Having turned heads in the moody indie “L.I.E.” when he was only sixteen years old, it was only years later before he was able to stand toe-to-toe with Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood,” cementing his status as a fresh face that wasn’t going anywhere. His latest role is in “For Ellen,” where he plays a rock musician struggling to regain custody of his daughter. However, one look at what’s happened to the others films he’s been linked to in recent months casts a clearer picture of just how in demand he has been, and how opportunities can sometimes fall by the wayside for a variety of reasons.

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Young 'Beasts Of The Southern Wild' Star Quvenzhané Wallis Joins Steve McQueen's 'Twelve Years A Slave'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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August 1, 2012 11:18 AM
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6 Comments

News

Given the quality of "Hunger" and "Shame," it's no surprise that there's a long queue to work with director Steve McQueen, but even considering that, the cast he's put together for period epic "Twelve Years A Slave" is quite extraordinary. The film's led by one of the most exciting actors working today, Chiwetel Ejifor, who plays Solomon Northrup, a free man in the 1840s who was kidnapped and kept for the titular dozen years as a slave before escaping.

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'Beasts Of The Southern Wild' Star Dwight Henry Joins 'Twelve Years A Slave'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 26, 2012 4:59 PM
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1 Comment

News

It has been quite a journey for everyone involved with Benh Zeitlin's "Beasts Of The Southern Wild." Bowling over audiences at the Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival, the magical film has also put two previously unknown faces -- Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry, in the lead roles, each making their first film -- firmly on the map. And now they're getting the attention of Hollywood with the latter now bagging a role in one of the most star-studded, highly anticipated dramas of next year.

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'Twelve Years A Slave' Becomes More Awesome By Adding Michael K. Williams

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 23, 2012 3:52 PM
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7 Comments

News

So far, Steve McQueen's films --"Hunger" and "Shame" -- have favored small casts delivering intense drama, but with "Twelve Years A Slave" he's switching the game. The subject matter is still sober (slavery), but he's enlisting pretty much every one of our favorite actors in a cinephile's equivalent of pornography. And he's added one more name to the already stellar cast.

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Alfre Woodard Boards 'Twelve Years A Slave'; Alessandro Nivola Joins Atom Egoyan's 'Devil's Knot'

By Simon Dang
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June 12, 2012 12:22 PM
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0 Comments

News

Steve McQueen has quite an abundance of talent at his disposal for "Twelve Years A Slave" but now has more two more additions in TV staple Alfre Woodard and newcomer Lupita Nyong'o. Woodard will play a former slave who has risen through the caste system while Nyong'o plays the object of both affection and cruelty of Master Epps, to be played by Michael Fassbender. The film, of course, stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup, a free black man who is tricked into slavery and faces a grueling life under several owners. Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson, Garrett Dillahunt, Ruth Negga and Adepero Oduye all co-star in the John Ridley co-scripted tale. Most anticipated for 2013? It's up there, no doubt. [THR]

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