The Weinstein Company is helping Netflix compete with pay cable channels. Today the two companies announced a deal that "will make foreign language, documentary and certain other movies from The Weinstein Company exclusively available for Netflix members in the U.S. to watch instantly." In other words, when films like Oscar frontrunner The Artist, Ralph Fiennes'…
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Madonna's first directorial effort -- 2008's Filth and Wisdom -- wasn't exactly well received, but you don't get to be a pop icon of her magnitude without thick skin and a lot of persistence. The multihyphenate returned to the director's chair this year for W.E., a drama consisting of two interlocking tales: one, the very well-known…
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If you're more interested in the typical fall slate of festival entrees than summer's glut of tentpole action fare, this is a great week. The Toronto International Film Festival announced the first wave of films that will play the fest in September. This is a batch of about 50 titles, which makes up only a…
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After a bit of delay in finding a distributor, Madonna's second directorial effort W.E. has a home at The Weinstein Company. Moreover, the Weinsteins plan to release the picture sometime in 2011 -- a last-minute calendar addition that could mean one of two things. Either the movie has actual awards potential, or The Weinstein Company…
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Joseph Fiennes and Eva Green will travel back to Camelot, the Starz series that re-tells the story of King Arthur. Fiennes is Merlin, while Green will be Morgana. Solid casting with both, though I'm not certain that I'll ever be able to look at an Arthurian film or TV series without having to leap the…
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Mario Van Peebles is currently directing Curtis Jackson in Things Fall Apart and, based on Jackson's past thespian efforts, that's not terribly exciting. But now Ray Liotta is joining the cast, so that's a positive turn. Jackson is playing "a star football running back...who faces a personal tragedy as well as his own mortality while…
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Madonna is lining up some impressive talent for her sophomore directorial effort. W.E. already features Vera Farmiga and Abbie Cornish, and has now added Ewan McGregor. The film features parallel narratives. In one, McGregor will play King Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry the American woman Wallis Simpson, played by Farmiga.…
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Abbie Cornish gave one of last year's great performances in Bright Star, and was rather overlooked when awards time came around. She has, however, won a better sort of recognition for a good performance: more work. The actress will appear in Neil Burger's Dark Fields, and in W.E., the sophomore directorial effort from Madonna. Variety…
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