Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
The Boat That Rocked Goes To Focus, Gets Shorter Cut
Posted on Friday, June 26th, 2009 by Russ Fischer
The Boat That Rocked, the latest directorial effort from Richard Curtis (Love, Actually) never looked like a stone cold comedy classic, but it has such a fun cast (Nick Frost, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Rhys Ifans) that it should have been a good time, at least. But reviews overseas, where the film has already been in release, have been fairly bad. Many focused on the length (129 minutes, ambitious for a comedy) and so the film may be cut by as much as 20 minutes as it moves from Universal to subsidiary Focus Features for distribution in the States. Read More »
Philip Seymour Hoffman Will Direct and Star in Jack Goes Boating with Amy Ryan
Posted on Thursday, January 15th, 2009 by David Chen
These days, it feels like more and more character actors are finally getting a chance to step behind the camera. A few months ago, it was announced that William H. Macy would be directing Keep Coming Back with Milla Jovovich. Now, according to Variety, Philip Seymour Hoffman will get the chance to ply his directorial skills as well. Hoffman will direct the romantic comedy Jack Goes Boating for Overture Films, an adaptation of Bob Glaudini’s play. Although word of Hoffman’s directorial debut first appeared last summer, we now know that Amy Ryan is attached to star opposite Hoffman and that the film will begin shooting in New York City on February 9th. Hoffman will play Jack, a stoner limo driver, and the story will center around his quest for perfection, as well as the fellow pothead he falls in love with (Ryan). A New York Times review of the play called it “immensely likable.”
On our film podcast the other night, we praised Hoffman as one of the finest actors of our generation (for an excellent article about Hoffman’s career, check out Erik Lundegaard’s piece, “Philip Seymour Hoffman is us”). I’ll be interested to see if/how Hoffman’s experience in Doubt, another play adaptation featuring four main leads, will inform how he adapts Jack Goes Boating to the big screen. With Ryan now on board, I’m already immensely excited for this film.
Mary and Max to Open 25th Sundance Film Festival
Posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
The opening night film at the Sundance Film Festival is usually a film which might otherwise be overlooked in the extensive festival line-up. For some years this has meant a documentary, and for others this has meant into a not easily categorized genre-mash like In Bruges.
This year’s film is a feature-length clay animated film starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Collette. And while at first glance, this year’s selection seems a bit odd, it’s the perfect representation of what Sundance is all about. In a day of computer animation and 3D films, the clay animated feature film is now the Hollywood outcast.
Academy Award-winning short filmmaker Adam Elliot makes his directorial debut with Mary and Max, a story based on the director’s own pen-friendship, which lasted over twenty years. Mary and Max is the tale of two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York. Read the full press release after the jump.
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Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York Movie Trailer
Posted on Thursday, September 18th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman has described his directorial debut Synecdoche, New York as his version of a horror movie. It’s a film about death, and man’s fear of mortality. I had the chance to se the film in Toronto, and I’m still unsure of what I saw. It is either brilliant or completely insane. It’s the type of movie that requires repeat viewings to understand the many layers of complexity. But it’s also one of those type of movies that is very dark and depressing in tone, so you might not be as inclined to see it the required amount of times. It’s also one of those movies that grows on you with time. The more I think about it, the more I want to see it again. I rarely give props to Sony Pictures Classics, but this is an extremely well cut trailer. Check it out and tell me what you think in the comments below!
Official Plot Synopsis: Synecdoche, New York explores nightmares that are all too realistic and human. Its hero, Caden Cotard (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a 40-year-old local theater director in Schenectady whose life is collapsing around him. His marriage to his artist wife Adele (Catherine Keener) is on its last legs while at the same time he is stricken with a series of increasingly catastrophic illnesses. He is afraid he will die any moment having never accomplished anything important in his life. When he receives a MacArthur Grant, he decides to use the windfall to stage a massive theater piece in NYC, determined to create The Great Piece of Art and leave something as true, honest and heartbreaking as life itself. It’s one of those rare films that deals with death, excruciating illness, gross bodily fluids, despair, heartbreak and bad sex but can still bring a twinkle to the eye.
You can watch the trailer in High Definition on Yahoo. Synecdoche, New York hits theaters on October 24th 2008.
Philip Seymour Hoffman Not Interested in Playing The Penguin in Our Batman 3
Posted on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
Yesterday was a semi-significant day in movie blogger history, comparative to the invention of the “Who Farted?” t-shirt. When TDK actor and beloved old geezer, Michael Caine, told MTV that a Warner Bros. exec had mentioned Johnny Depp for The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Penguin in Batman 3 (the borderline fan-fic sequel, hence the title), enlightened movie bloggers posted, podcasted, Twittered, filmed and pissed in snow diatribes like: “Enough!” “We have standards!” “This is bullshit, don’t get me started on Big Willie for Capt!” “I’m not going to mention it, but I am mentioning it, clever, innit?” Fitting then that MTV decided to ask Senor Hoffman what the deal is at the TIFF (not at the tres ghetto VMAs)…
“No one has talked to me about it ever — never,” replied Hoffman. “It happened, like, five years ago, too. It was a rumor back then and it’s still a rumor. [laughs] It’s just in the press. It’s funny.”
Ha. But wait. Depp has said that while the villain rumor is categorically unfounded The Riddler would be “fun.” How about a little fun?
“I don’t know. I think I’m more interested in seeing someone else do it. I don’t know if I’d be a good Penguin to be quite honest. [laughs]”
Orly? But what is the possibility that Hoffman then put on a monocle, scarfed a sardine and excitedly texted Cher and Depp and Nolan and DeVito with “They frickin’ bought it”? Twittle me that, because I’m a believer.
Whaaaa?!: Michael Caine Confirms Johnny Depp Up For The Riddler, Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Penguin in Batman 3!
Posted on Monday, September 8th, 2008 by Hunter Stephenson
We’re pretty sure some type of “clarification” will be sent out shortly regarding the following statement from Michael Caine, but for now, it’s the first confirmation from someone involved in the Batman franchise about new villains and casting choices. And it’s HUGE. The ubiquitous rumors about Johnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin will undoubtedly escalate after this. Here’s what Caine told MTV’s Splash Page…
“I was with [a Warner Bros.] executive and I said, ‘Are we going to make [a sequel to The Dark Knight]?’ They said yeah. I said, ‘How the hell are we going to top Heath? And he says ‘I’ll tell you how you top Heath — Johnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin.’ I said, ‘Shit, they’ve done it again!’” [Laughs]
Caine seemed to reiterate his certainty, confirming that he’d also read the rumors in the British tabloids and that “[Warner Bros.] already got [Depp and Hoffman] in mind.” Make of this what you will. Director Christopher Nolan is on vacation and hasn’t publicly stated any storylines or details for a sequel or even confirmed that he’s making another Batman film. Though, he’s long expressed his vision as a trilogy. Caine confirms that he hasn’t spoken with the director about a third installment.
Recently, Depp denied rumors that he’s up for The Riddler while on a radio show but admitted that “it’d be a fun gig”: five words that have been dissected and put under Geekland’s microscope. Meanwhile, Hoffman has been mum on the subject. Back in July, the ever ambitious National Enquirer reported an anonymous inside source as saying…
“(Producers) are convinced that the role of the Riddler is perfect for Depp. Johnny’s a pro. He’ll be able to take direction from director Chris Nolan and still make the character his own. And what better Penguin is there than Philip Seymour Hoffman.”
Screenwriter David Goyer has stated that a sequel would likely focus on lesser known villains that haven’t been depicted on screen before a la Batman Begins. And Christopher Nolan seems to prefer actors in villain roles who are not incredibly famous. Moreover, while dismissing rumors that Harvey Dent/Two Face would return, Aaron Eckhart speculated that Nolan wants to make a few smaller pics before he heads back to Gotham.
Discuss: Whoa. What do you think? Is this an example of the Internetz wishing things ever so slightly into reality?
The Truth About Those Dark Knight Sequel Casting Rumors
Posted on Saturday, August 2nd, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Since The Dark Knight is headed to become the second biggest grossing film of all time (domestically), rumors have already begun as to what villains will be featured in the enevitable sequel. The latest from the rumor mill has Johnny Depp as The Riddler, Angelina Jolie as The Catwoman, and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin. Oh my!
Wouldn’t Johnny Depp make a great Riddler? Yeah, BUT the truth of the matter is that Christopher Nolan has not yet signed on for a third Batman film. His brother and screenwriter Jonathan Nolan is supposedly still on the set doing work for Terminator Salvation. And who knows what David Goyer is up to. Even if he is busy penning a treatment, which is doubtful, I’m confident that casting talks won’t take place for quite some time. Nolan is also the type of guy to cast a role only when he has a script in hand. So I’m sure we won’t hear any casting announcements any time soon. But also take note that none of the actors who have played villains thus far were considered A-listers. And by that I mean, none of them alone could (at least, at the time) open a big blockbuster movie.
As to which villains will be featured in the next Batman film?
Goyer recently told MTV that Chris has decided on a theme for a potential third film. And anyone who has seen either of Nolan’s Batman films know that the theme is inexorably tied to the villain. And while I can easily imagine someone like The Riddler in the Nolanverse, turned into a serial killer who leaves clues behind. I can’t quite imagine a theme based on The Riddler, which would effect Bruce Wayne. And the same could be said for many of the prominent characters in the Batman franchise.
And remember, Goyer and Nolan told us that with 70 years of Batman history, they are more interested in some of the “dozens if not hundreds of other characters” that “had not been in the movies before, and had not been in the sixties TV show before.” My guess is that the villain might not be anyone we expect.
Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut Synecdoche, New York just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival (read about the reaction here). In the last couple weeks, we’ve brought you production photos and video clips, and now IonCinema brings us the movie poster. I love the imagery of Hoffman overlooking the endless tables of papers. It gives you the feeling of exactly how much of an undertaking it would be to recreate New York City inside a warehouse.
Synecdoche, New York stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a theater director named Caden Cotard, whose life in Schenectady, New York is looking bleak. His wife Adele has left him to pursue her painting in Berlin, taking their young daughter Olive with her. A new relationship with the alluringly candid Hazel has prematurely run aground. And a mysterious condition is systematically shutting down each of his body’s autonomic functions. Worried about the transience of his life, he moves his theater company to a warehouse in New York City. He directs them in a celebration of the mundane, instructing each to live out their constructed lives in a growing mockup of the city outside. Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton and Tilda Swinton co-star.
Three Video Clips from Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York
Posted on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Cannes2008 has released thre first three clips from screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation., Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind) directorial debut Synecdoche, New York. The three clips don’t reveal much. The first screening of the film happened at Cannes on Saturday. Anne Thompson writes that those who have seen it describe the movie as “ambitious, arty and brilliant, if not entirely accessible.” Others have said that like Eternal Sunshine, Synecdoche stays with you for a few days.
Synecdoche, New York stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a theater director named Caden Cotard, whose life in Schenectady, New York is looking bleak. His wife Adele has left him to pursue her painting in Berlin, taking their young daughter Olive with her. A new relationship with the alluringly candid Hazel has prematurely run aground. And a mysterious condition is systematically shutting down each of his body’s autonomic functions. Worried about the transience of his life, he moves his theater company to a warehouse in New York City. He directs them in a celebration of the mundane, instructing each to live out their constructed lives in a growing mockup of the city outside. Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton and Tilda Swinton co-star.
Kaufman described the film to the hollywood reporter: “it’s about people’s losses and death and fear of death and intimacy and relationships. Romance and regret and struggle and ego and jealousy and confusion and loneliness and sex and loss — all those things are in the movie. I wanted it to be an all-inclusive experience of a person’s life. It’s this guy’s world.”
Check out the three video clips after the jump.
New Photos: Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York
Posted on Sunday, May 11th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Next up we bring you new photos from screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation., Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind) directorial debut.
Synecdoche, New York stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a theater director named Caden Cotard, whose life in Schenectady, New York is looking bleak. His wife Adele has left him to pursue her painting in Berlin, taking their young daughter Olive with her. A new relationship with the alluringly candid Hazel has prematurely run aground. And a mysterious condition is systematically shutting down each of his body’s autonomic functions. Worried about the transience of his life, he moves his theater company to a warehouse in New York City. He directs them in a celebration of the mundane, instructing each to live out their constructed lives in a growing mockup of the city outside. Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton and Tilda Swinton co-star.
Running time is 124 minutes. I love the imagery in the background of the life-size replica of New York City which is being housed in a large warehouse.
First Look: Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener in Synecdoche, New York
Posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
You might recognize Charlie Kaufman as the screenwriter of some of the strangest films in the last decade: Being John Malkovich, Human Nature, Adaptation., Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. Now the Academy Award-winning writer makes his directorial debut with Synecdoche, New York.
Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a theater director named Caden, who ambitiously attempts to put on a play by creating a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse after finding out something is wrong with him on a trip to the dentist. The city model inside the warehouse gets bigger and bigger, as Hoffman’s character continued to age and with a mysterious disease that shuts down his autonomic functions one by one.
Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton and Tilda Swinton co-star. The project was originally written for long time collaborator Spike Jonze. More information on the film can be read in our earlier post.
Synecdoche, New York is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this month.
source: Anne Thompson
First Look: Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York
Posted on Friday, February 1st, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Ioncinema has the first photo from Academy Award-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut Synecdoche, New York. Click on the image to enlarge.
Many of you will recognize Kaufman’s name from his unique screenwriting credits: Being John Malkovich, Human Nature, Adaptation., Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. The movie stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton and Tilda Swinton. Hoffman plays a theater director named Caden, who ambitiously attempts to put on a play by creating a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse after finding out something is wrong with him on a trip to the dentist. The project was originally written for long time collaborator Spike Jonze. More information on the film can be read in our earlier post.
Synecdoche, New York is currently scheduled for a March 21st release, and will likely premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
