Archive for the ‘Paramount Vantage’ Category
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Sony, Sony Classics, Warner Brothers, Focus Features, Cinematical Seven, Lists, Miramax, Paramount Vantage
I guess it’s a moderate spoiler to admit that tonight’s Cinematical Seven was intended to correspond with today’s home video release of the Sam Rockwell sci-fi drama, Moon, but even if I’ve tipped you off as to what the movie reveals within twenty minutes, I hope that not knowing the exact how’s and why’s of his situation intrigue you enough to still check it out. The reason I and others were so high on it was because Rockwell gave such a uniquely multi-layered performance as his lonely astronaut that I wanted to celebrate other notable dual performances by a single actor.
For the record, I’ve left off David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers because, well, I haven’t seen it yet — nor Multiplicity, while we’re being honest here — and I opted to exclude split-personality performances, similarly impressive though they may be (after some reluctance, I just had to take A History of Violence out of the running before all sorts of Jekyll/Hyde-esque condemnations came my way (Viggo’s great in that all the same)).
As usual, your comments/suggestions are welcome, and as usual, we didn’t snub anyone or anything on purpose. Except for the Eddie Murphy romps. They’ll probably get their own Cine 7 someday.
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Sony, Sony Classics, Warner Brothers, Focus Features, Cinematical Seven, Lists, Miramax, Paramount Vantage
I guess it’s a moderate spoiler to admit that tonight’s Cinematical Seven was intended to correspond with today’s home video release of the Sam Rockwell sci-fi drama, Moon, but even if I’ve tipped you off as to what the movie reveals within twenty minutes, I hope that not knowing the exact how’s and why’s of his situation intrigue you enough to still check it out. The reason I and others were so high on it was because Rockwell gave such a uniquely multi-layered performance as his lonely astronaut that I wanted to celebrate other notable dual performances by a single actor.
For the record, I’ve left off David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers because, well, I haven’t seen it yet — nor Multiplicity, while we’re being honest here — and I opted to exclude split-personality performances, similarly impressive though they may be (after some reluctance, I just had to take A History of Violence out of the running before all sorts of Jekyll/Hyde-esque condemnations came my way (Viggo’s great in that all the same)).
As usual, your comments/suggestions are welcome, and as usual, we didn’t snub anyone or anything on purpose. Except for the Eddie Murphy romps. They’ll probably get their own Cine 7 someday.
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Sony, Sony Classics, Warner Brothers, Focus Features, Cinematical Seven, Lists, Miramax, Paramount Vantage
I guess it’s a moderate spoiler to admit that tonight’s Cinematical Seven was intended to correspond with today’s home video release of the Sam Rockwell sci-fi drama, Moon, but even if I’ve tipped you off as to what the movie reveals within twenty minutes, I hope that not knowing the exact how’s and why’s of his situation intrigue you enough to still check it out. The reason I and others were so high on it was because Rockwell gave such a uniquely multi-layered performance as his lonely astronaut that I wanted to celebrate other notable dual performances by a single actor.
For the record, I’ve left off David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers because, well, I haven’t seen it yet — nor Multiplicity, while we’re being honest here — and I opted to exclude split-personality performances, similarly impressive though they may be (after some reluctance, I just had to take A History of Violence out of the running before all sorts of Jekyll/Hyde-esque condemnations came my way (Viggo’s great in that all the same)).
As usual, your comments/suggestions are welcome, and as usual, we didn’t snub anyone or anything on purpose. Except for the Eddie Murphy romps. They’ll probably get their own Cine 7 someday.
Filed under: Comedy, Independent, Theatrical Reviews, Paramount Vantage
Once upon a time, Marc Pease (Jason Schwartzman) flipped out during his high school’s production of The Wiz, despite every assurance from his drama teacher, Mr. Gribble (Ben Stiller), that he was at the very least capable (“You set the bar… so that others can go beyond it!”).
Eight years later, Gribble’s giving The Wiz another shot, while Pease tries to keep the remaining half of his once mighty a cappella group together and heading towards some modest goal of stardom. The two of them share a common love with present-day senior Meg (Anna Kendrick), and all three of them have a love for performing — and an aversion to anything resembling comedy over the course of The Marc Pease Experience.
Filed under: Comedy, Politics, Paramount Vantage
Apparently, the Japanese American Citizens League thinks so. The group is angry about a scene featuring a racist rant against the Japanese that leads to an ass-kicking of the lone Asian in the group, played by Ken Jeong, who is of Korean heritage.
The AP reports there are other things in the movie that the JACL are displeased with besides the Pearl Harbor rant given by Jeremy Piven’s character, Don Ready, like when he uses the word “Jap” and engages in other human resource department nightmares.
Paramount Vantage responded, “We understand that when presented out of context, jokes and situations in the movie about a variety of topics might be offensive to some people… To be very clear, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard is in no way meant to be mean-spirited, disparaging or hurtful to any individuals and we regret any offense taken.”
If you want to chat about whether or not The Goods tickled your funny bone or pissed you off, producer Adam McKay wants to hear about it. He announced last weekend on Twitter that he’d respond to calls about the movie and live-stream his answers, and based on how it went last Sunday, he is planning to do it again. He’s also responsive to Tweets (and is very, very funny), so I suggest you follow him, Goods or no.
Have you seen The Goods? Were you offended?
Filed under: Comedy, Politics, Paramount Vantage
Apparently, the Japanese American Citizens League thinks so. The group is angry about a scene featuring a racist rant against the Japanese that leads to an ass-kicking of the lone Asian in the group, played by Ken Jeong, who is of Korean heritage.
The AP reports there are other things in the movie that the JACL are displeased with besides the Pearl Harbor rant given by Jeremy Piven’s character, Don Ready, like when he uses the word “Jap” and engages in other human resource department nightmares.
Paramount Vantage responded, “We understand that when presented out of context, jokes and situations in the movie about a variety of topics might be offensive to some people… To be very clear, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard is in no way meant to be mean-spirited, disparaging or hurtful to any individuals and we regret any offense taken.”
If you want to chat about whether or not The Goods tickled your funny bone or pissed you off, producer Adam McKay wants to hear about it. He announced last weekend on Twitter that he’d respond to calls about the movie and live-stream his answers, and based on how it went last Sunday, he is planning to do it again. He’s also responsive to Tweets (and is very, very funny), so I suggest you follow him, Goods or no.
Have you seen The Goods? Were you offended?
Filed under: Comedy, Paramount, Theatrical Reviews, Paramount Vantage, Summer Movies
How strange it is to think that a comedy isn’t brash enough or absurd enough or funny enough (okay, that one’s not so strange), but the truth about The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard is that, while it is brash and absurd and funny in fits and starts, it also seems to lose its nerve as it goes on, running low on laughing gas and coasting to a stop or whatever it is that auto-minded metaphors for auto-minded comedies do.
A wheeler and dealer even in grade school, the now-grown Don Ready (Jeremy Piven) sells cars like nobody’s business when somebody’s business is in trouble, and that’s just the predicament that Ben Selleck (James Brolin) finds himself in. Ready’s entourage includes the likes of Ving Rhames, Kathryn Hahn and David Koechner; I’ll leave you to guess which of the three is the willful slut. Selleck’s staff includes Ken Jeong, Tony Hale and Charles Napier; I’ll leave you to determine which of those three suffers most at the racist outbursts of another (hint: not Hale).
Filed under: Interviews, Paramount Vantage
It’s rare that even a movie’s biggest fan can recall all of the little throwaway lines of dialogue and performance details from supporting players. But if that supporting player is Jeremy Piven, you can almost guarantee it will come immediately to mind, whether he’s an assaultive partygoer who turns introspective during a Gas ‘N Sip hangout session in Say Anything, or a pal searching for romantic redemption during his high school reunion in Grosse Pointe Blank. Finally in charge of his own film, The Goods, Piven is no less generous with his comedic set-ups, sharing the screen with a talented ensemble of players (including Ving Rhames, Katheryn Hahn and Rob Riggle) who find themselves tasked with the challenge of liquidating an entire dealership’s stock of cars over the Fourth of July holiday.
Cinematical recently spoke to Piven via telephone to discuss his participation in the film, which is produced by Adam McKay (Step Brothers) and directed by Neil Brennan (Chappelle’s Show). In addition to talking about the good fortune that found him at the helm of a summer comedy, Piven discussed the prospect of making a car salesman a charming fellow, and reflected on the reasons why folks seem to find him such a convincing con man.
Cinematical: A car salesman is perhaps not the first person you think about when you imagine a sympathetic character. How much did you want this guy to be genuinely likeable and how much of a snake-oil salesman did you want him to be?
Filed under: Comedy, Paramount, Distribution, Paramount Vantage
You’d think that the next movie featuring the star of a very recent blockbuster would be a surefire candidate to get a splashy theatrical release. Yet despite the presence of Ben Stiller in its cast, chances are that you won’t see The Marc Pease Experience this summer.
Stiller, who starred in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian — which has earned nearly $400 million worldwide since its release in late May — plays a supporting role as a mentor to Jason Schwartzman, who must come to terms with his dream of becoming a musical star on Broadway. Rising starlet Anna Kendrick is also featured. As reported by The Playlist, Paramount will be releasing The Marc Pease Experience on August 21 in just 10 markets: Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle … and “maybe” Boston, according to director Todd Louiso. Those are definitely major markets, but New York and Los Angeles will be avoided, and I’m guessing those of us in the selected markets will need to search out where exactly the movie will be dumped be playing.
Production on the film began under the Paramount Vantage banner, a division that has since been shuttered. The Playlist speculates that “there was basically a mandate from Paramount to all the Paramount Vantage movies ‘on the way out’ that ‘We’re just not going to put any more money into them.’” Whether that’s true or not — and I’m inclined to hope that they evaluated each movie on its own merits — you might need to buy a plane ticket to see another Ben Stiller comedy this summer. Failing that, The Marc Pease Experience is expected on DVD before the end of the year.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Romance, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Images, Paramount Vantage, Posters
A new poster of The Duchess has appeared online, exclusive to ComingSoon.net.There’s a snip of it to the right, and if you click on the lovely Keira Knightley, you’ll be taken to the blindingly enormous version.
It’s a stunning poster, although I think they could have lightened up on the airbrushing, as Knightley looks appallingly plastic. The dress, however, excuses all sorts of Photoshop sins. You know how I love my lush costumes, and The Duchess promises to have loads of gorgeous, frothy items. (One of my favorite sites, The Costumer’s Guide to Movie Costumes, has a whole page devoted to it already. I want that fox hunting outfit for my own, but I’m not sure what to do with it since I don’t hunt foxes. Or ride horses.)
But that’s the big question about the film, isn’t it? Will the movie actually say something relevant about Georgiana Spencer, Duchess of Devonshire? She was quite the figure in her own time; as the official press release notes, she was a leader of the progressive Whig Party, and an active political campaigner in an era when women couldn’t even vote. The comparisons to her descendant, Princess Diana, are apt — but both women would probably agree that such remarks are a bit glib. The movie marketing, however, is trading on that fact very heavily. I remain excited, but historical dramas can only go one of two ways: wonderful or awful. There’s no in-between.
The Duchess opens September 19th, 2008.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
