An annual tradition has returned to Hollywood, and we’re not talking about the awards season. We’re talking about the screeners that get sent to Oscar voters, and every year, they wind up in the hands of their children, friends, associates, neighbors, and eventually on the web.

As much as the industry works to fight it, it seems they can’t solve the problem in their own backyard as once again, awards season screeners have been leaked.

Continue reading ‘Lady Bird,’ ‘Call Me By Your Name’ & ‘I, Tonya’ Awards Season Screeners Pirated at The Playlist.

We all knew that “Thor: Ragnarok” was going to dominate the box office this weekend, the only question was how big the number was going to be. Well, let’s just say the suits at Marvel will be more than happy with the results.

“Thor: Ragnarok” wielded a mighty hammer, smashing the multiplex for $121 million. It’s the seventh best opening in Marvel history, edging out this summer’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” and it’s on track to do gangbusters numbers.

Continue reading ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Smashes The Multiplex [Box Office] at The Playlist.

Before we get into this let’s make one thing absolutely clear. Everything that has transpired regarding the floodgates of victims coming forward about sexual harassment, abuse or rape with specific men in the entertainment industry is something that needed to happen.  The revelations likely won’t end any time soon and, hopefully, it leads to a better work and life environment for everyone who is even adjacent to the Hollywood machine (pretty much anyone you know who lives in the 323/818/310).

Continue reading World Keeps Turning And The Oscars Can Barely Keep Up [Contender Countdown] at The Playlist.

Despite some films that played well to critics, the end of October fizzled out slightly in terms of quality new releases, but at least we could all stay in and binge “Stranger Things 2.”

Luckily, November kicks off in a big way, with films from Taika Waititi, Greta Gerwig and Richard Linklater all dropping in some capacity in the same week. There’s no shortage of quality pictures as the awards season heats up, and it’s also an interesting month for big releases that seemed to have landed here with little rhyme or reason.

Continue reading 11 Movies To See In November at The Playlist.

It’s the middle of October, do you know where your Academy Award frontrunner for Best Picture is?

Newsflash: no one really cares.

The aftermath of the deluge of sexual misconduct and rape accusations against Harvey Weinstein is all Hollywood is talking about these days.  Speaking to a well-placed Academy member this afternoon, they could not remember the last time so few members were aware of movies in the race or that they were “supposed” to see (and last fall featured the most consequential election in modern times). 

Continue reading Is ‘Three Billboards’ Your Stealth Best Picture Frontrunner? [Contender Countdown] at The Playlist.

Richard Linklater had a celebrated return to form with the debut of his new film “Last Flag Flying,” which was shown opening night at the New York Film Festival. Following its warm festival debut, Linklater sat down with NYFF Director Kent Jones to discuss the films that inspired him most. “What is film?  Linklater said, “To me its moments. Not necessarily the best moment in a film or the most emotional ones, but the moments that jarred me as a viewer and a filmmaker.”

As expected, his choices included some of the greatest films ever made, starting with “Raging Bull.” “That film changed my life,” he remarked, “make no mistake.” Emphasizing the sound design of the film, and a presence of a flaw in the scene he chose, Linklater applauded the picture, saying that, “recreating something but also translating that realness into it is so profound.”  He reminisced that as a teen he discussed the film with a friend who said that “Raging Bull” was an exact depiction of what it was like growing up in New York at the time.

Continue reading Richard Linklater On His Favorite Films & Cinematic Influences [NYFF] at The Playlist.

The opening film of the fifty-fifth New York Film Festival is Richard Linklater’s “Last Flag Flying”, an emotional look at the complicated nature of modern patriotism and the unbreakable bond between service members. The film is a quasi-sequel to Hal Ashby’s 1973 classic “The Last Detail”. Similar to ‘Last Detail’, this retelling is based off a novel by Daryl Ponicsan.

Continue reading ‘Last Flag Flying’ Cast: Finding Humor in Tragedy & Complicated Patriotism [NYFF] at The Playlist.

“The Last Detail,” Hal Ashby’s 1973 masterpiece about the road trip and toxic friendship which developed between three Navy sailors has aged like fine wine over the years, turning into an elegy for the country’s loss of innocence post-Vietnam. Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid‘s incredible performances drove the narrative home with unexpectedly touching vitality, and the picture has cemented a place as one of the greats of 1970s American cinema.

Continue reading ‘Last Flag Flying’: Richard Linklater Talks Sequels, More ‘Dazed’ & Disappointment With ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ at The Playlist.

Amazon Studios already has one Best Picture player with “The Big Sick” which wowed at Sundance and became a summer box office hit the industry adores. After today’s screening at the New York Film Festival of “Last Flag Flying,” it looks like they have Richard Linklater‘s moving drama in the race too.

Based on Darryl Ponicsan‘s novel, ‘Last Flag’ is the sort of movie a major segment of the Academy’s membership should warmly embrace.

Continue reading ‘Last Flag Flying’ Puts Richard Linklater And Steve Carell Back In Oscar’s Sights at The Playlist.

“Shadows are falling and I’ve been here all day,” Bob Dylan laments wearily in “It’s Not Dark Yet.” “It’s too hot to sleep,” he cries, “And time is running away.” It’s a melancholy dirge reflecting on one’s impermanence, reflecting on how much time you have left before you shuffle off this mortal coil. Yet, there’s also a life-affirming quality to the song. I’m still here, the spiritually bruised track says, but you haven’t gotten rid of me yet.

Continue reading ‘Last Flag Flying’: Richard Linklater Tackles Middle Age In Bittersweet Road Trip [NYFF Review] at The Playlist.

The fall film festival season is almost at a close. Audiences have heard first word from Venice, Telluride, the Toronto International Film Festival, to a lesser degree Fantastic Fest, and coming up this week is the New York Film Festival (don’t forget about AFI Fest which closes out the season in November). Not as huge on world premieres as the previous, aforementioned festivals, it still has tricks up its sleeve.

Continue reading New York Film Festival: 12 Must-See Movies To Watch at The Playlist.

Continue reading Contender Countdown: Anybody And Everybody Is In It For Best Picture at The Playlist.

[Updated Feb. 4]

Winner prediction:
1. James Ivory, “Call Me By Your Name”
2. Virgil Williams and Dee Rees, “Mudbound”
3. Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber, “The Disaster Artist”
4. Aaron Sorkin, “Molly’s Game”
5. Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green, “Logan”

Current predictions:

Best Picture
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Director
Original Screenplay
Adapted Screenplay
Editing
Cinematography
Production Design
Original Score
Best Song
Costumes
Sound Mixing
Sound Editing
Documentary
Foreign Language Film
Animated Feature Film
Makeup and Hairstyling
Visual Effects

Continue reading 2018 Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars Predictions at The Playlist.

Venice? Check. Telluride? Check. TIFF? Pretty much, check. The three major film festivals that traditionally mark the start of Oscar season are officially over (TIFF runs until the weekend, but all the major premieres are in the bag). And, for the first time in recent history, there is no real Best Picture frontrunner yet (let alone two when “12 Years A Slave” and “Gravity” split pundits four years ago). There are no Buzzfeed articles out of Toronto proclaiming [insert movie title] is winning Oscar’s top prize or that collective feeling out of Telluride that no matter what happens the industry on hand simply love it too much for it to lose (see “Argo,” “The Artist,” “The King’s Speech”).

Continue reading There Are No Frontrunners Yet, So Here’s Some Unsolicited Oscar Advice For Hollywood at The Playlist.

While we have our eyeballs full with Venice, TIFF, NYFF, and Telluride (which kicks off this weekend), The BFI London Film Festival is no slouch at bringing the business. While they’re less concerned with World Premieres as their counterparts, each year their lineup represents the cream of the festival crop, and 2017 is no different.

Among the highlights in the first wave of programming is Lynne Ramsay‘s “You Were Never Really Here,” which notably isn’t screening at “the big three” North American festivals.

Continue reading 2017 BFI London Film Festival Lines Up ‘You Were Never Really Here,’ ‘Mudbound,’ ‘Lean On Pete,’ More at The Playlist.

When the Venice Film Festival kicks off next Wednesday it will signal the unofficial start of the 2017-2018 awards season.  Yes, it’s that time again.  It feels like the improbable Best Picture win by “Moonlight” over “La La Land” was just yesterday, doesn’t it? Perhaps it’s because there has been so little to celebrate in the world in the months since. Well, except for some good movies, that is.

Continue reading 13 Oscar Players That Demand Your Attention This Fall And What To Look For at The Playlist.

Richard Linklater is too rarely in the conversation about great American directors. He’s been respected since he debuted with “Slacker,” but many of his independent films were too experimental to find audiences, while some of his Hollywood efforts were too broad for critics. Yet who can point to a stronger last three films than Linklater?

“Before Midnight” seamlessly caught up with the saga of Jesse and Céline in their middle age, losing none of the wit and spontaneity that marked the previous incarnations of the romance between Hawke and Delpy.

Continue reading ‘Last Flag Flying’ Trailer: Richard Linklater’s Sequel To ‘The Last Detail’ at The Playlist.

Summer is almost over, so get to the beach while you can in these dwindling dog days of August. Though the season is winding down, the fall film festival circuit is just around the corner. As usual, blockbusters will move aside, for the bounty of riches of more adult fare for the aficionado of cinema and humanist dramas. But don’t worry, there’s a “Star Wars” movie and a DC Films picture on the way if you’re so inclined too.

Continue reading 50 Most Anticipated Films: Fall Movie Preview at The Playlist.

This time last year we were feeling pretty down about the state of the blockbuster summer, having had a run of duds so instantly forgettable that we had to look them up again to remember (stuff like “X-Men: Apocalypse,” “Alice Through The Looking Glass,” “Warcraft,” and “Independence Day” — see what I mean?). Spin forward a twelvemonth and the picture is very different.

Continue reading 50 Films We Hope To See At The 2017 Fall Festivals at The Playlist.

[Updated Feb 4]

Winning prediction:
1. “The Shape of Water”
2. “Get Out”
3. “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
4. “Dunkirk”
5. “Lady Bird”
6. “Phantom Thread”
7. “Darkest Hour”
8. “Call Me By Your Name”
9. “The Post”

Current predictions:

Best Picture
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Director
Original Screenplay
Adapted Screenplay
Editing
Cinematography
Production Design
Original Score
Best Song
Costumes
Sound Mixing
Sound Editing
Documentary
Foreign Language Film
Animated Feature Film
Makeup and Hairstyling
Visual Effects

Continue reading 2018 Best Picture Oscars Predictions at The Playlist.

To be honest, the last thing I want to think about right now is the fall. Just let me bask in the summer heat while it’s here. But alas, the New York Film Festival is making cinephiles turn their attention to the latter part of the year, as they are the first major fest to announce an opening film.

Richard Linklater‘s “Last Flag Flying” has been selected to kick off NYFF on September 28th.

Continue reading First Look: Richard Linklater’s ‘Last Flag Flying,’ Will Open New York Film Festival at The Playlist.

The 2017 CinemaCon extravaganza was once again a whirlwind. But, isn’t it always?

Theater owners grumbled about potential new high priced VOD windows and only one studio (Warner Bros.) even broached the subject during their presentation. There were big stars. There were unrecognizable “stars.” There was a former Vice President and Nobel Prize winner (Al Gore). And there were incredibly annoying entertainment news personalities who were used as hosts for some of the presentations (we’re looking at you Universal and Focus Features).

Continue reading Hollywood Still Has A Huge Diversity Problem And 8 Other CinemaCon Thoughts at The Playlist.

Richard Linklater doesn’t tend to stay idle for too long. It was only a few months ago that his latest, “Everybody Wants Some!!” hit theaters and fizzled, but he’s a director with a long track record and some great films too, so it’s not a surprise he’s got some top talent aligned for his next movie — one that loosely follows a ’70s classic film.

READ MORE: Interview: Richard Linklater Talks ‘Everybody Wants Some!!,’ Spiritual Sequels, Music In His Films, And More

Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell, and Laurence Fishburne are all in talks to star in Linklater’s “Last Flag Flying.” The filmmaker is penning the script to the movie which is something of a quasi-sequel to “The Last Detail,” and catches up with Billy Bad-Ass, Mule, and Meadows as they grapple with post-9/11 American and the Iraq War.

Continue reading Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell & Laurence Fishburne Team For Richard Linklater’s ‘Last Flag Flying’ at The Playlist.