Howl Archives - The Playlist

In Theaters: ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,’ ‘Legend Of The Guardian,’ ‘Buried’

Hunter McClamrock — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:03:00 +0000

A variety of options for mass consumption this week at the multiplex with three films opening wide. First up is Oliver Stone‘s “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” which follows his last two films “W” and “World Trade Center” in his quest to forever be at the center of the zeitgeist of America. He might have a more solid hit on his hands here, given the hot stars, subject matter and recent publicity for Michael Douglas‘ health issues.

Continue reading In Theaters: ‘Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,’ ‘Legend Of The Guardian,’ ‘Buried’ at The Playlist.

Review: ‘Howl’ Is A Completely Perfunctory Look At An Important Work Of Art

Gabe Toro — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:30:00 +0000

How to react when a movie is not intended to be “just” a movie? The new film “Howl” isn’t intended to be a direct narrative as much as an introductory course. You’ll get more from watching this in an intro to poetry class than at the cineplex; better to have a pen and pad than a bucket of popcorn. “Howl” is so named for the seminal poem by Beat Generation avatar Allen Ginsberg: who isn’t played by multi-hyphenate renaissance man James Franco as much as mimicked and impersonated.

Continue reading Review: ‘Howl’ Is A Completely Perfunctory Look At An Important Work Of Art at The Playlist.

Trailer & Poster: The Sundance Film, ‘Howl’ Starring James Franco As Allen Ginsberg

Edward Davis — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:25:00 +0000

Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s drama centered on the obscenity trial Allen Ginsberg faced after the publication of his controversial poem, “Howl” (also the name of the movie), didn’t exactly receive good notices at Sundance 2010 earlier this year and maybe this is why: the trailer (via the AVClub) is an absolute dyslectic and annoying mess.

During his mixed, but positive review of the film, the AV Club’s Nathan Rabin wrote, “It’s…doggedly schizophrenic.

Continue reading Trailer & Poster: The Sundance Film, ‘Howl’ Starring James Franco As Allen Ginsberg at The Playlist.

Oscilloscope To Release ‘Howl’ With James Franco In September

Edward Davis — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:08:00 +0000

Oscilloscope Laboratories, the company forever to be known as the one Beastie Boy Adam Yauch co-owns, has acquired U.S. distribution rights to the Sundance 2010 film, “Howl.”

Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (their narrative feature debut), the film stars James Franco as young, beat poet Allen Ginsberg and the film centers on the obscenity trial faced after the publication of his poem, Howl.

The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival mixes color, black and white and animated sequences to spin its true life story.

Continue reading Oscilloscope To Release ‘Howl’ With James Franco In September at The Playlist.

Sundance Buzz: ‘Buried,’ ‘Winter’s Bone,’ ‘Catfish’ Pick Up Festival Plaudits

Kevin Jagernauth — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:58:00 +0000

So, we couldn’t make it to Sundance this year, but that’s not going to stop us from keeping you on top of events there. As ever, the festival’s fairly front-loaded, so it’s been a busy few days over in Park City, with many of the bigger, starrier premieres already haven taken place. Buzz is starting to filter in on some of these, as well as the hidden, unexpected gems, so, without further ado…

The festival kicked off on Thursday night with the premiere of “Howl,” the feature debut of documentarians Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (“The Celluloid Closet”).

Continue reading Sundance Buzz: ‘Buried,’ ‘Winter’s Bone,’ ‘Catfish’ Pick Up Festival Plaudits at The Playlist.

Our 15+ Most Anticipated Sundance Film Festival 2010 Picks

Simon Dang — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:11:00 +0000

We won’t be attending Sundance this year (what else is new) but for all those who are, we thought we’d help you out by listing the dozen and or so films worth checking out. Of course, they’re predominantly films already floating around our radar but there’s always the “An Education”-type films of the world that can come out of nowhere. Nevertheless, here are they are in alphabetical order:

“Abel”
Diego Luna’s directorial debut follows a young boy who returns to a father-less home and must take over the patriarchal head of the household role.

Continue reading Our 15+ Most Anticipated Sundance Film Festival 2010 Picks at The Playlist.

Rob Epstein And Jeffrey Friedman Line Up ‘Howl’ Follow Up, A Linda Lovelace Biopic

Simon Dang — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:28:00 +0000

On the eve of their feature directorial debut “Howl” premiering at Sundance, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman have lined up their next project, indie biopic “Lovelace.”

The script by W. Merritt Johnson is based on Eric Danville’s biography “The Complete Linda Lovelace” and follows the story of Linda Boreman better known as iconic porn star Linda Lovelace from infamous 1972 film “Deep Throat” who subsequently transformed into feminist, anti-porn activist Linda Marchiano.

The film will reportedly tell Lovelace’s story through the perspective of three interviewers at various stages of her life with Epstein and Friedman again opting to deviate from traditional structure .

Continue reading Rob Epstein And Jeffrey Friedman Line Up ‘Howl’ Follow Up, A Linda Lovelace Biopic at The Playlist.

‘Howl’ To Be Scored By Carter Burwell And Features Animated And Black & White Segments

Simon Dang — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:30:00 +0000

Not exactly a first look but the Sundance website’s preview for directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s “Howl” starring James Franco as poet Allen Ginsberg does reveal some interesting tidbits.

Firstly, the film will be scored by the proficient Carter Burwell who recently has scored wide range of films including “Twilight” to “Where The Wild Things Are” and is also always the Coen Brothers’ musical go-to-man.

The page’s synopsis for “Howl” then informs us that the film will feature a “mind-expanding animation” as one of three interweaving narratives.

Continue reading ‘Howl’ To Be Scored By Carter Burwell And Features Animated And Black & White Segments at The Playlist.

Sundance 2010: In Competition Preview

Oliver Lyttelton — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:48:00 +0000

With the benefit of a year’s hindsight, this year’s Sundance was a particularly strong one. Many of the premieres there, the likes of “The Cove,” “Precious,” “Big Fan,” “Humpday,” “Sin Nombre,” “(500) Days of Summer,” “An Education,” “Bronson,” “Moon,” “In The Loop,” “The Messenger” and “Adventureland,” set the tone for the rest of the year, well into the upcoming awards season. Sundance announced their 2010 In Competition line up on Wednesday (with out of competition films announced Thursday – which we will be getting too shortly), and there’s plenty that sounds interesting, although as ever, these are mostly unknown quantities.

Continue reading Sundance 2010: In Competition Preview at The Playlist.

First Look: James Franco As Allen Ginsberg In ‘Howl’

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:54:00 +0000

Alright, here’s your “first look,” at James Franco in “Howl,” the biopic of the early life of Allen Ginsberg.

We say first look in quotes because obviously there’s been a lot of shots of Franco from the paparazzi and photogs, but this is basically the first sanctioned press shot that comes from EW (and a little re-remind hattip toFirstShowing, although this was basically in the magazine for weeks before it went online, but we were too lazy to scan).

Continue reading First Look: James Franco As Allen Ginsberg In ‘Howl’ at The Playlist.

Mad Man Joins Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’ Trials

Simon Dang — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:48:00 +0000

Jon Hamm has joined the cast of upcoming film “Howl”, a story about Allen Ginsberg and the obscenity trial he faced after the release of his poem of the same name.

The film will see James Franco (“Pineapple Express”, “Milk”) star as the famous poet, Paul Rudd (“Role Models”, “I Love You, Man”) as defence witness Luther Nichols, Mary Louise Parker (TV’s “Weeds”) as prosecution witness Gail Potter, Jeff Daniels (“The Lookout”, “State Of Play”) as prosecution witness Prof.

Continue reading Mad Man Joins Allen Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’ Trials at The Playlist.

Jesse Eisenberg To Play Poet Allen Ginsberg In ‘Kill Your Darlings’

Spencer Martin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:25:00 +0000

Jesse Eisenberg, the young actor headlining Greg Mottola’s “Adventureland,” which is set to be released April 3rd has been pegged to star in the Allen Ginsberg biopic “Kill Your Darlings.” The film is an ensemble about the Beat Generation of poets which included Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs and John Clellon Holmes.

First time director John Krokidas is directing the project with a script written by himself and his ex-Yale roommate Austin Bunn.

Continue reading Jesse Eisenberg To Play Poet Allen Ginsberg In ‘Kill Your Darlings’ at The Playlist.

‘Howl’ Now A Full-Blown Biopic, With An All-Star Cast

Nick Plowman — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:03:00 +0000

A while back, we reported that James Franco had been cast to play the beatnik writer Allen Ginsberg in the upcoming film “Howl.” We also reported that it was a documentary, which we found out courtesy of MTV, and that Franco would be playing Ginsberg in re-enactment scenes, the “young Ginsberg” days before he got fat and bald. Franco looks like the writer did at that time, so the re-enactment idea made sense.

Continue reading ‘Howl’ Now A Full-Blown Biopic, With An All-Star Cast at The Playlist.