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Personally speaking, I've been a fan of Jason Schwartzman since he and writer-director Wes Anderson collaborated on Rushmore and created what I still think is a definitive portrait of the beautiful torment of teenage life. While of course Anderson and co-writer Owen Wilson conceived the ideas, Schwartzman fleshed them out both literally and emotionally, offering a character that was weird and idiosyncratic but also remarkably relatable, not the least of which because it seemed like the actor was going through many of the same things as his on screen counterpart. Eleven years later, Schwartzman has matured into one of the most versatile and interesting actors in Hollywood, even if, as he himself puts it, he isn't yet able to "get a part like someone can order a pizza." His latest film reunites him with Anderson for the fourth time, playing another kid who's growing up way too fast in Fantastic Mr. Fox. In addition to talking about tackling another coming of age story, Schwartzman discusses his own Hollywood story, and offers a few insights about the interesting filmmakers with whom he works so frequently, and so closely. Cinematical: You've worked with a number of filmmakers, such as Sofia Coppola and David O. Russell, who have very specific visions for their films. How is Wes different, whether it was just on Fantastic Mr. Fox or in general, that makes your collaboration more satisfying?Filed under: Fox Searchlight, InterviewsContinue reading Interview: Jason Schwartzman Permalink | Email this | Comments

After a year of speculation (Will it be James Bond? Will it be Maximum City? Trainspotting 2?), Danny Boyle has finally settled on his next project. Variety reports that it will be 127 Hours, the tale of mountain climber Aron Ralston. Boyle has been loosely attached to the project since June when the LA Times reported that Boyle and Fox Searchlight had signed a long term, best friends forever deal. Boyle has already penned a treatment, and Simon Beaufoy is in talks to write the script. In this age of flashmob media stories, you might have forgotten the tale of Ralston. Like your humble authoress and Balloon Boy, Ralston hails from Colorado. He became famous for a Utah climbing accident in 2003, when an 800 lb boulder shifted and crushed his hand. Ralston was forced to choose between life and limb, and in a stomach-turning story heard around the world, he amputated his own hand with a pocketknife. In the media frenzy that followed, Ralston was hailed as a hero and as an idiot, because he had chosen to go climbing alone and without notifying anyone. It was particularly intense locally, and I still remember the heroism debate Ralston sparked in my American Culture class. (It even inspired one student's final project!) Since those heady days of early fame, Ralston has enjoyed success with his autobiography, continues to climb, and is a motivational speaker. The director is already on the casting hunt for the part of Ralston, which Variety declares will be "a plum job" because it will force an actor to work solo for most of the shoot. Below the jump, I've embedded a video of Ralston describing his amputation. Watch it to prepare for two hours of unflinching detail, and sound off on who you think should be lucky enough to act out a very painful 127 Hours. Filed under: Action, Drama, Independent, Sports, Deals, Scripts, Fox Searchlight, DIY/Filmmaking, NewsstandContinue reading Danny Boyle Knows Where He'll Spend '127 Hours' Permalink | Email this | Comments

Yahoo! has posted an incredibly cool video of George Clooney acting out his role as Mr. Fox in the freakin' adorable Fantastic Mr. Fox. The video shows cool side-by-side comparisons of Clooney acting out different scenes on a farm with costar Wallace Wolodarsky, who voices loopy sidekick Kylie, as well as just running around pretending to be Mr. Fox, down to rolling around on the ground and doing his super cool whistle. This behind-the-scenes peek at Mr. Fox also offers mini-interviews with director Wes Anderson, producer Allison Abbate, and Bill Murray (Badger) about working with Clooney on the film. The funniest part shows an argument between Mr. Fox and Badger, which involves growling and swiping, split-screened against the actors themselves doing the voices in an office. As Abbate notes, "There couldn't be a more perfect Mr. Fox, because he has the Cary Grant suave, debonair sparkle where he can talk his way out of any situation, which is so our Mr. Fox character. He's just got a great voice." Clooney's got a rather full docket this season, with The Men Who Stare at Goats coming out this week, Fantastic Mr. Fox coming out at the end of November, and Up in the Air out on Christmas day. Click through to see the video itself, then let us know which Clooney feature you're going to be lining up for at the theaters this season, by cuss!Filed under: Action, Animation, Comedy, Fox Searchlight, Family Films, George Clooney, Trailers and ClipsContinue reading A Peek at George Clooney Voicing 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Permalink | Email this | Comments

It's not hard to like any movie that uses the Beach Boys' music, but Wes Anderson makes it especially easy. As Hollywood's foremost purveyor of hipster drama, his pedigree as a reliable selector of appropriately wistful, poignant and all-around unforgettable songs is virtually unrivaled, but Fantastic Mr. Fox exceeds even the work of his earlier films, using "Heroes and Villains," and later, "I Get Around" as populist punctuation that manages to be both specifically relevant and substantively rousing. As an animated opus, the film is by necessity his most controlled to date, a painstakingly-designed dollhouse where he no longer controls just the music, sets, and costumes, but the performers themselves. Ironically, however, it feels like his loosest as well - a gloriously unwieldy comedy of manners submerged in the minutiae of Anderson's madcap creativity. All of which makes Fantastic Mr. Fox a celebration both of its stop-motion medium and Anderson's aesthetic, while still managing to fully document the spectacular fun in original author Roald Dahl's daffy, distinctive imagination.Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Festival Reports, Fox Searchlight, George Clooney, Other FestivalsContinue reading AFI Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox Permalink | Email this | Comments

By Peter Hall (reprinted from 9/28/09 -- Fantastic Fest review) Quirkiness only carries so far. Napoleon Dynamite, the film that ushered in the career of Gentlemen Broncos director Jared Hess, is enjoyable because it cherishes the nervous twitches of puberty, identity crisis, and the weird kind of people who worship at Walmart strip malls. The director embraced his small-town roots to assemble a film in love with those who don't have any station in life, who have no big conflict in their mundane lives, and who have no particularly interesting story to tell, either. Hess' latest film, on the other hand, does have an interesting story to tell and it does have a three-act conventional conflict, but it barrels past being quirky into the weird-for-weird's-sake hinterland of comedy where subtlety is abolished in favor of broad, hit-and-miss gags. Gentlemen Broncos could have been great. It's about a teenage boy (Michael Angarano) whose fantasy novel featuring an underdog hero on a nonsensical planet (Sam Rockwell) is stolen by not only his washed-up hero author (Jemaine Clement) at a crash-course writing camp, but two insufferable "friends" who want to turn the story into their cinematic gateway to Hollywood. The film often wanders out of the real-world of poor Benjamin's unenviable life and into the entertaining fantasy world of his childish writings, but for the most part it feels as directionless as the confused boy we're supposed to be rooting for.Filed under: Comedy, Theatrical Reviews, Fox SearchlightContinue reading Review: Gentlemen Broncos Permalink | Email this | Comments

The new biopic about Amelia Earhart, Amelia, succeeds in portraying the famous aviatrix in a whole new light ... as a mundane soap-opera character with relationship issues. The movie looks beautiful and is obviously being released now with Oscar hopes, but it is a dull, uninspired recounting of the less interesting parts of Earhart's life. The plot is structured around Earhart's final attempt at flying around the world, then flashes back to tell her story starting from her first meeting with George P. Putnam (Richard Gere) in 1927 about a transatlantic flight, and looping back to that final flight and the mystery surrounding it, in 1937. It's a standard structure for biographical films, but is confusing at times. For one thing, I couldn't tell you whether the round-the-world attempt that the film flashes forward to periodically is her first one, or her last one. Near the end, they start to blend confusingly. The film also includes a lot of voice-over from Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank), which I presume is probably taken from her real-life letters and diaries.Filed under: Drama, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews, Fox SearchlightContinue reading Review: Amelia Permalink | Email this | Comments

We've run numerous Arrested Development stories since the series was canceled in 2006, and you can probably file this one in the same land of "Yes, sometime soon!" But it never hurts to keep fueling the fan fire, and remind Fox that we'd really really like the Bluths to return. It might be closer than we all think as according to The Hollywood Reporter, Mitch Hurwitz and James Vallely are actively working on a script for an Arrested Development movie. Hurwitz will direct the film. Hurwitz has said in the past that he wouldn't even begin to write a script unless all of the actors were committed, and THR notes that schedule conflicts remain one of the biggest hurdles of a big-screen Bluth reunion. But perhaps this is a sign that Hurwitz and Vallely know something we don't, and that the super careers the show spawned (notably Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, and Will Arnett) will leave enough of a gap for a movie. When Cinematical caught up with Arnett in New Orleans, he confirmed there wasn't a script, but was optimistic that the film would begin shooting by the end of the year. "It's really just a matter of getting a script. I know that the studio is ready to go and everyone's kind of ready, but there's a lot of moving parts. There's a lot of people in the cast, a lot of schedules and stuff, but we're in that process now of figuring it all out, actively." Let's be optimistic and hope we see them start filming Arrested Development: The Movie by December or January. I just want my Bluths back! Filed under: Comedy, RumorMonger, Scripts, Fox Searchlight, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels Permalink | Email this | Comments

It's no Citizen Kane. It's not meant to win awards. I watch movies to enjoy them. These standbys are frequently trotted out before us fuddy-duddy critics whenever we decide that a movie ostensibly meant to be two hours of pure mindless fun simply isn't very good at doing just that. More often than not, it seems that films are championed for their laziness, their relentless adherence to formula, and rarely do these formulas serve a story that's worth more than the sum of its beats. School of Rock managed to work wonders with its wholly predictable plot; I'd vouch for Fever Pitch in much the same way. And joining their ranks of surprisingly satisfying comedies is Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, Whip It, a coming-of-age tale fused with an underdog sports story that hits all the expected developments with unexpected personality and grace.Filed under: Comedy, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews, Fox SearchlightContinue reading Review: Whip It Permalink | Email this | Comments

Last night, Fantastic Fest got underway in Austin with the world premiere screening of Gentlemen Broncos, the latest comedy from director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite). Although most of the movies at this genre film festival screen at the Alamo Drafthouse, the festival has expanded to bring premieres to the larger Paramount Theatre downtown, which could hold all the fest attendees plus just about anyone who wanted to buy a ticket. Judging from the crowds outside and in the theater, it was a fairly full house. Cast and crew from Gentlemen Broncos arrived in Austin for a red carpet event before the film, and a Q&A afterwards. Not only that, but Jemaine Clement (The Flight of the Conchords) appeared onstage before the film started, in character as renowned science-fiction author Dr. Ronald Chevalier, to read some science-fiction haikus. I was lucky enough to take the above photo on the red carpet when the Gentlemen Broncos actors and filmmakers were all in one spot. From left to right: Sam Rockwell, co-writer Jerusha Hess, director/co-writer Jared Hess, Mike White, Jemaine Clement and Michael Angarano. Check out Peter Hall's review of the film.. Filed under: Comedy, Fox Searchlight, Fantastic Fest Permalink | Email this | Comments

If you're an aspiring filmmaker or an aspiring designer, then you might dig this latest contest from our good friends at Gen Art. The company, who specialize in promoting emerging talent in film, music and fashion, have partnered with Fox Searchlight and Wes Anderson's upcoming flick The Fantastic Mr. Fox on a competition that asks designers and filmmakers to incorporate these foxy characters into what they do best. The meat and potatoes of the contest revolve around designers pitching easy-to-make Fantastic Mr. Fox costumes, and then filmmakers using the winning designs to create a do-it-yourself video that teaches folks at home how to make the costume themselves. Of course there's plenty of room for tons of creative freedom -- just how you design your costume or shoot your how-to video is completely up to the artist, with some fine cash prizes for the winners. Check out all the specifics over at the contest's official website, then let us know if you enter so we can scope out your creation. Assuming the finalist videos are available online, we'll be back to show you what the finished products looks like. In the meantime, check out the trailer for The Fantastic Mr. Fox (which hits theaters November 13) after the jump. Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Fandom, Fox Searchlight, ContestsContinue reading Create 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' Costumes, Win Money! Permalink | Email this | Comments

The other day I watched My Life in Ruins out of curiosity and because I was bored. In the past, I've been quite cynical about the movie and Nia Vardalos's upcoming film I Hate Valentine's Day, but when all was said and done, I was a captive audience. And you know what? I like Nia Vardalos. I want to root for her. But it was in spite of myself that not only did I like it... I cried. Yes, despite the hackneyed plot - woman uproots her life, is cranky and miserable and loveless, then gets her groove back, along with a hunky fellow; despite the use of every possible ethnic and sexual stereotype possible; despite a love interest whose name is Poupi Kakas; and despite the complete lack of innovation in terms of the romantic comedy genre.... I liked it. And I cried. And I was very embarrassed. I cry at a lot of movies, which is awkward, since I see a lot of movies, often with colleagues, friends, and publicists. After seeing The Fall, which I adored, another viewer asked me if I was okay. I bawled during the excellent movie Bright Star, although I am 99 percent sure everyone else did too. I even cried during Seven Pounds, one of the most ludicrous and manipulative "feel-good" movies I've ever had the trauma of sitting through. And after seeing The Family Stone one Christmas, hoping for the light-hearted comedy that the trailers promised, I left the theater dazed and angry at how mean-spirited and sad it was. There are certain things that set me off, but even the lamest Sunday afternoon guilty pleasure can get me sniffling. Are you a movie crier? Which movies have you cried at? (No need to get gory with whys and wherefores.) Were you in a public theater? What do you do when you start tearing up (or sobbing)?Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Fox Searchlight, Guilty Pleasures, Fan Rant Permalink | Email this | Comments

So in the midst of all the Avatar hullabaloo, we haven't yet addressed the major move on Friday of Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island from this October 2nd to next February. Considering the negative connotations that tend to come with most films pushed back, many were quick to defend the move as a savvy business strategy for a pulpy-looking film that wasn't a primary contender all along. Fair enough. Plenty of studios made major shuffles to deal with post-strike gaps (Harry Potter, anyone?), and now they're concerned about being more fiscally responsible with what's to come. As THR's Steven Zeitchik pointed out, Paramount/Dreamworks already has two front-runners to work with between Up in the Air and The Lovely Bones, and somewhere between the reportedly sharp comedy and the prestige-heavy drama, a distinctly genre work like a Leonardo DiCaprio thriller does seem a bit like the odd man out. In the wake of the move, two comedies -- Zombieland and Whip It -- have moved up their own October release dates to fill the void, and if there's any justice, we'll see Woody Harrelson accept a blood-splattered Oscar in DiCaprio's stead. And if Coming Soon and Box Office Mojo are to be believed, Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox will now get a limited release on November 13th before going wide on the 25th, where I suspect it will still get crushed by the likes of Old Dogs across the Thanksgiving stretch. Pity.Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Horror, Thrillers, Awards, Mystery & Suspense, Paramount, Sony, RumorMonger, Distribution, Fox Searchlight, Dreamworks, Peter Jackson, George Clooney, Harry Potter Permalink | Email this | Comments

In comedy, there is a function known as a "straight man." Bud Abbott of Abbott and Costello and Oliver Hardy of Laurel and Hardy are the best-known examples of this. Their job is basically to be the springboard for the goofier member of the team, as well as other, more commonplace duties like reciting all the boring, plot-advancing dialogue. Alexis Bledel is such a "straight man," or for the purposes of this review, straight woman. On her TV show "Gilmore Girls," she was a superb, smart straight woman to her offbeat, wisecracking mom (Lauren Graham). And in her two hit Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies, she was the practical, rock solid springboard for her three more outrageous co-stars (America Ferrera, Blake Lively and Amber Tamblyn). Being straight man or straight woman is a good and noble job, but unfortunately it's one that doesn't translate well to leading roles. Here is Bledel, making her bid as America's next romantic comedy sweetheart, and though she fares much better than Katherine Heigl in the abysmally stupid The Ugly Truth, her new movie Post Grad is a fizzle. Her big, dewy blue eyes look great on the big screen, she has a superb wardrobe and -- refreshingly -- she radiates intelligence, but she lacks the ability to initiate any comedy. (Her main skill is to receive comedy and send it flying back again.) When she's required to do one of those cute scenes, like driving an ice cream truck onto a basketball court, giving an apology speech to her would-be-boyfriend over the truck's loudspeaker, she can't really pull the stunt off. She looks small and misplaced in the scene, rather than funny. She'd be better off as the recipient of the apology, or perhaps driving the truck while someone goofier did the loudspeaker speech. Filed under: Comedy, Romance, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews, New in Theaters, Fox SearchlightContinue reading Review: Post Grad Permalink | Email this | Comments

Indie Roundup reviews the past week of news from the independent film community and provides a peek at what's coming soon. Deals. Screen Media Films picked up U.S. rights to Women in Trouble and plans a release on November 13. The film, directed by Sebastian Gutierrez, is "a fun addition to the current trend of revisiting and reworking exploitation-film themes in a lighthearted way," wrote our own Jette Kernion earlier this year. "There's a certain pleasure in seeing a movie where the men are relegated to the Supportive Spouse and Lust Interest roles, after I've seen so many films where those are the only roles for women." Dave Boyle's White on Rice, described as a heartwarming comedy, has been acquired by Variance Films and Tiger Industry Films; a theatrical release is scheduled to begin in Los Angeles on September 11 before expanding throughout the fall. Matt Bradshaw pointed the way to the quietly funny trailer. [More details on both deals can be found at indieWIRE.] Online / On-Demand Viewing. All you Netflix "Watch Instantly" addicts can get your fix from even more indie films, thanks to Cinetic Rights Management. Matt Dentler notes that Richard Linklater's charming (and hugely influential) Slacker and festival favorites like Bob Odenkirk's Melvin Goes to Dinner and Gabriel Fleming's The Lost Coast, among others, are now available for online streaming to subscribers. I suppose it's a little too obvious to point out the irony of making a movie called Slacker even easier to watch, with almost no effort required at all? Ah, life in the 21st Century. Who won the Indie Weekend Box Office? It's a laughing matter -- find out after the jump!Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Thrillers, IFC, Box Office, Fox Searchlight, Cinematical IndieContinue reading Indie Roundup: 'Women' in November, Instant 'Slacker' Permalink | Email this | Comments

Okay, so I've never been much for the company of kids. which may make me extra-susceptible when it comes to the evil deeds and manipulations of a perfectly precious child on-screen. It's an easy button to push, though -- after all, who would ever suspect, let alone harm a vengeful little moppet? None of that appeal escapes tomorrow's release, Orphan, and it certainly isn't the first time that horror and horseplay have mixed on film. While I'm tempted to include that little girl from [REC] (and also Quarantine, I suppose) for giving me the willies, I won't because she wasn't the chief antagonist, and the only reason I'm leaving Children of the Corn off the list is, well, I haven't actually seen that yet. And although it doesn't hit Stateside shelves until this October, keep an eye out for the very tense import, The Children. But worry not: even with the exceptions, there's certainly no shortage of other brats to choose from.Filed under: Horror, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Universal, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Dreamworks, Cinematical Seven, Remakes and SequelsContinue reading Cinematical Seven: Creepy Kids on Film Permalink | Email this | Comments

By Erik Davis, reprint from Sundance 2009 The feel-good, Fox Searchlight-y film of the festival, 500 Days of Summer is like When Harry Met Sally ... if Sally turned around and repeatedly stabbed Harry in the heart with a toothpick. It's an anti-fairytale about a boy who falls head over dress shoes for the kind of girl who doesn't believe in love or fate or any of those cheesy words we often hear mentioned over and over again in this kind of romantic comedy. And yes, 500 Days of Summer comes with its own pop-centric, gotta-get-it-on-iTunes soundtrack, like a Garden State or a Juno or a Wackness. It's sure to draw in a large fanbase full of those seeking a hip, this-is-what-it's-really-like story about the trials and tribulations of a relationship in 2009 -- but if you dig a little deeper, you'll realize it doesn't say anything new about boy meets girl; instead, it wins over its audience with a spoonful of style and a giant helping of visual gimmicks that, honestly, make it a pretty fun flick to watch for an hour and a half. Yes, we all know there aren't 500 days in summer (the season), so obviously we're talking about a person -- and Summer (Zooey Deschanel) is the product of divorce; a smart, independent woman who isn't even interested in entertaining the idea of love. Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt), on the other hand, has this bold idea that he's going to one day spot his soul mate and the two will live happily ever after forever and ever and ever. Tom understands this may be a bit unrealistic, but he blames movies, music and television for corrupting his idea of what love should ultimately look like. And yes, those 500 days define the beginning, middle and end of Tom and Summer -- as the film so boldly tells us right up front: this is not a love story.Filed under: Comedy, Theatrical Reviews, Fox SearchlightContinue reading Review: 500 Days of Summer Permalink | Email this | Comments

The trailer for Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, Whip It! has premiered over at Yahoo! Movies today and I think I'm going to give up film blogging and join the roller derby. I've always wanted to see a girl-oriented sports movie, and while my dreams were always pinned on ice hockey, anything on skates works for me! Ellen Page plays Bliss Cavender, who rebels against her conservative, beauty-pageant loving parents to become a badass chick of the roller derby. She becomes a proud member of The Hurl Scouts, and does some fine elbow hits alongside Smashley Simpson (Barrymore), Dinah Might (Juliette Lewis), and Malice in Wonderland (Kristen Wiig). It looks like a fun combination of an athletic underdog story and coming of age tale, with some healthy dashes of romance and girl power for color. Plus the hair and make-up rocks! Check out the trailer embed after the jump. Whip It! hits theaters on October 9, and I sincerely hope that it's the first of many directorial gigs for Ms. Barrymore. It looks like she's got a winner her first time out. Filed under: Action, Comedy, Independent, Romance, Sports, Fox Searchlight, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Trailers and ClipsContinue reading Skate With This: First Trailer for Barrymore's 'Whip It' Permalink | Email this | Comments

500 Days of Summer trailer with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.