“Nightbitch,” adapted from Rachel Yoder’s eponymous novel, is a film of many parts, some more successful than the others, and each clashes in a tonal mish-mash. Marielle Heller directs, with an inherent understanding of the subject matter—the curbed spirit and artistry of women doomed to stay-at-home motherhood—yet struggles to make a cogent point by the end. Amy Adams stars in the lead role and is unsparing, setting aside all vanity, but is constrained by a film that is ultimately more square than intended.

Continue reading ‘Nightbitch’ Review: Amy Adams Gives A Committted Performance In Marielle Heller’s Cathartic Look At Motherhood [TIFF] at The Playlist.

Call it art imitating life.  Marielle Heller (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” “A Beautiful Day in the Neigborhood”) was at the top of the list for Amy Adams and author Rachel Yoder to write and direct “Nightbitch.”  What was not expected was Heller bringing real life experience to the project.  For a body-horror/comedy that closely tracks the struggles of a recent mother, her raising of her children, and her slow transformation into, no joke, a dog, Heller, oddly enough, took direct inspiration from her life.  As she recently expressed in an article for Vanity Fair:

“I was writing it after being isolated in my house for a year” during the pandemic…And my husband…was on production, so I was alone with two kids for the first time.

Continue reading ‘Nightbitch’ Trailer: Amy Adams Stars in Marielle Heller’s Body-Horror Comedy at The Playlist.

As the TIFF 2024 lineup comes more into focus, few movies have as much buzz around them as Marielle Heller‘s “Nightbitch.” And there are many reasons for that, all covered in Vanity Fair’s first look at the movie.  For one, it’s Heller’s first film in five years, since 2019’s “A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood.”  It’s also an adaptation of Rachel Yoder‘s lauded 2021 novel, a magical realism-type story about a mom who gradually transforms into a dog.

Continue reading ‘Nightbitch’ First Look: Marielle Heller’s Latest Starring Amy Adams Is “About Motherhood And Rage” at The Playlist.

If you think waiting for the Amy Adams thriller, “Nightbitch,” is agonizing, just imagine how directing Marielle Heller feels. A horror comedy about a woman who pauses her career to be a stay-at-home mom, but then domesticity takes a wild and surreal turn, “Nightbitch” began shooting back in October 2022. While it was thought to be ready for a 2023 release, Searchlight Pictures only recently set “Nightbitch” for a December 6, 2024 release—more than two years after it was shot.

Continue reading ‘Nightbitch’: Marielle Heller Say Waiting For Her Amy Adams Thriller Is Like Having “Creative Blue Balls” at The Playlist.

Searchlight Pictures’ 2024 theatrical schedule is coming into…focus. The Disney division already has Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness” set for June 21. The distributor’s Sundance acquisition, Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” will hit limited release on Oct. 18. Now, the long-awaited Marielle Heller dramedy “Nightbitch,” with Amy Adams, has hit the release schedule for Dec. 6.

READ MORE: Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain” With Kieran Culkin Sets Oct.

Continue reading ‘Nightbitch’: Amy Adams & Marielle Heller’s Surreal Dramedy Sets Dec. 6 Release Date at The Playlist.

What will it take for Amy Adams to win Best Actress at the Oscars? The actress already has six nominations from performances in “American Hustle” and “Arrival,” among others, but she hasn’t managed to snag the prize yet. Maybe a team-up with director Marielle Heller on a dark comedy horror hybrid will do the trick.

Adams and Heller will work together for the first time on “Nightbitch,” and, wow, does this film sound intriguing.

Continue reading Searchlight Acquires Annapurna’s ‘Nightbitch’ With Amy Adams, Marielle Heller To Direct at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage, and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This biweekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching. 

Since we last met, a flurry of prestige new releases have hit the streaming services – awards season in full swing, it seems, even this peculiar, couch-bound version of it.

Continue reading The 11 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘The Trial Of The Chicago 7,’ ‘American Utopia’ & More at The Playlist.

Scott Frank (“Godless,” “Out of Sight”) brings the rich writing of Walter Tevis (“The Hustler,” “The Color of Money”) to life in his nuanced, accomplished seven-part adaptation of “The Queen’s Gambit,” premiering on October 23 on Netflix. Frank deftly rises above the trappings of a relatively straightforward melodrama by focusing on the complex character at the center of this story of genius, addiction, and redemption.

Continue reading ‘The Queen’s Gambit’: Anya Taylor-Joy Shines In Scott Frank’s Absorbing Tale Of Genius, Addiction & Redemption [Review] at The Playlist.

Filmmaker Marielle Heller has had a pretty great couple of years. After her 2018 film, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” scored multiple awards, including three Oscar nominations, the director returned last year with “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” which again saw her in the Oscars discussion, with a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Tom Hanks. Heller is hoping to keep this successful streak alive with her upcoming project, a new limited series titled “Five Women.”

READ MORE: Marielle Heller Says British Audiences Kept Waiting For Something Sinister In ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ [Interview]

According to Deadline, Heller will direct the just-announced limited series, “Five Women,” which follows the story of several women all linked by a serial sexual harasser.

Continue reading Marielle Heller To Direct & Produce A Limited Series About A Serial Sexual Harasser at The Playlist.

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This weekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching. 

This week’s new release slate includes three big Oscar nominees (and one winner), an acclaimed indie that should’ve been up there with them, new Aardman animation on Netflix, a muscular old-school action flick, and two new Blu-rays from Criterion. 

Continue reading The 9 Best Movies To Buy Or Stream This Week: ‘Jojo Rabbit,’ ‘Beautiful Day,’ ’21 Bridges’ & More at The Playlist.

In an era where female filmmakers are close to getting their due (there’s still a long, long way to go), one director who deserves more accolades and praise is Marielle Heller.  The former actor has helmed three impressive features so far, “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” (one of the best films of the decade), “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” (which landed Melissa McCarthy and Ricard E.

Continue reading Marielle Heller Says British Audiences Kept Waiting For Something Sinister In ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

Get your tissues ready, because another trailer for the Mister Rogers biopic “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” has dropped. In perhaps what may be a perfectly cast role, America’s dad Tom Hanks will don the iconic red cardigan as he steps into the role of the beloved children’s TV show host Fred Rogers. This story goes beyond the classic TV show to discuss who Fred Rogers was outside of his TV persona and the impact he had on those around him.

Continue reading New ‘A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood’ Trailer Is Here To Make You Cry Happy Tears at The Playlist.

There’s a moment in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” where Lloyd Vogel, the fictional counterpart of one Tom Junod played by Matthew Rhys, addresses an audience of fellow journalists and admits to them that he writes for magazines because doing anything else doesn’t feel like living properly.

READ MORE: 2019 Toronto International Film Festival: 25 Most Anticipated Movies

Writing reviews of movies in the blur of a festival can feel strange.

Continue reading ‘A Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood’: This Is No Safe Mister Rogers Biopic & Tom Hanks Is Transformative [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

With her last film, the critically-acclaimed “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” Marielle Heller accepted the grueling challenge of painting an odious misanthrope in a positive light. And dang, she pulled it off with aplomb, Melissa McCarthy and screenwriters Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty helping the director make notorious bunco writer Lee Israel not only excusable but utterly endearing (read our review here).

READ MORE: The Best Films Of 2019… So Far

Heller clearly isn’t tempted by an easy life, her upcoming feature “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” entailing molding Tom Hanks into the iconic Mr.

Continue reading ‘A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood’ Trailer: Tom Hanks Is Born To Play Mr. Rogers at The Playlist.

When the Oscar nominations were announced last month, many people were surprised–and angry–over the lack of female directors among the names read aloud that morning. Marielle Heller was not one them–either of the nominated directors or those surprised by the absence of women in the category. In Kate Erbland’s insightful interview on Indiewire, the “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” director and fellow 2018 standout Debra Granik share their thoughts on female filmmakers and this year’s awards season where they’ve almost entirely missed on out nominations.

Continue reading Debra Granik & Marielle Heller Talk Oscars “Exclusion”: “The World Doesn’t Know How To Handle More Than One Good Female Director At A Time” at The Playlist.

This year was supposed to be different, right? After opening up the Academy to a huge number of diverse people, this year’s Oscar nominations were going to be the bright, shining example of inclusivity that the awards show has lacked in years past. While there seems to be some diversity among the nominees, there is definitely a strong lack of females in the major filmmaking categories, despite 2018 being a banner year for women directors and writers.

Continue reading #OscarsSoMale: People Are Outraged Over Lack Of Female Filmmakers In This Year’s Best Director Category at The Playlist.

One of the joys of award season for the past few years has been The Hollywood Reporter’s ongoing series of roundtable discussions with Academy Award contenders, ranging from cinematographers to actors to composers. These roundtables always prove to be an insightful watch, getting together many of the leading craftsmen to discuss their art.

This year THR kicks things off with an in-depth talk with some of the most prominent directors on this year’s awards circuit.

Continue reading Alfonso Cuarón, Bradley Cooper, Ryan Coogler & More Talk Political Filmmaking at The Playlist.

Nicole Holofcener is having a great year already. Her recent film for Netflix, “The Land of Steady Habits,” is a return to form for the filmmaker, who last directed a film in 2013. However, the five-year gap between “Enough Said” and her next feature film might have been a lot shorter if she was able to make “Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Continue reading Nicole Holofcener Talks “Traumatic” & “Terrible” Experience Leaving The Production Of ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ at The Playlist.

Despite passing away more than 15 years ago, Fred Rogers is having a bit of a moment in 2018. The star of the iconic children’s show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” was already the subject of one of the best documentaries of the year (“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”) and now, we get our first look at the upcoming biopic about Rogers, starring none other than the most lovable man in Hollywood — Tom Hanks.

Continue reading Tom Hanks Looks Undeniably Adorable In His Red Cardigan In The First Look At Upcoming Mister Rogers Biopic at The Playlist.

TELLURIDE – We’re not going to ignore the fact that you’ll likely wince if we refer to Marielle Heller’s sophomore effort,”Can You Ever Forgive Me?” as “a little gem of a movie.” While that looks great as a pull quote on a movie ad (perish the thought) in this case it honestly may be more apropos than you might think. And considering Heller’s talents that not out of bounds.

Continue reading ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ Is An Unexpected Little Gem Of A Movie [Telluride Review] at The Playlist.

“Diary of a Teenage Girl” filmmaker Marielle Heller is back with her next film, and this time she’s enlisting an A-list star for the lead role. In a trailer that premiered as part of Entertainment Weekly’s “Female Filmmaker Friday,” Heller introduces her newest film, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” And this time, Heller has comedic actress Melissa McCarthy as the lead, in what is sure to be McCarthy’s darkest, and most dramatic role yet.

Continue reading ‘Diary Of A Teenage Girl’ Helmer Is Back With ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ With Melissa McCarthy at The Playlist.

The nicest guy in Hollywood to play the nicest guy on public television? Yep, it’s happening though one wonders what the dramatic conflict might be in the movie about the gentlest celebrity to have ever existed.

Tom Hanks has signed up play Fred Rogers in “You Are My Friend.” The biopic comes from the pens of Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster (who have both worked on “Transparent“), with Marielle Heller (“The Diary Of A Teenage Girl“) getting behind the camera to direct.

Continue reading Tom Hanks To Play Mr. Rogers In Biopic ‘You Are My Friend’ at The Playlist.

This is not how Warner Bros. wanted to wrap up what had been a stellar year for their DC cinematic universe after the critical and blockbuster success of “Wonder Woman.” After the Patty Jenkins directed drama became a pop culture and social change phenomenon, the studio hoped the superhero team up movie that shall go unnamed would, at the worst, be an end-of-year box office hit. Instead, when all is said and done the Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon mashup will likely make less globally than the much derided “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” There has been no official word, but outside of “Wonder Woman 2,” “Shazam,” and James Wan‘s in-production “Aquaman” everything else has seemingly been placed on hold. 

Continue reading 9 Directors Who Could Superpower The DCEU at The Playlist.

Had things gone differently, Nicole Holofcener, who has criminally not made a feature since 2013’s “Enough Said,” would have underway or have possibly even completed “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” starring Julianne Moore and Chris O’Dowd. Unfortunately, Moore wound up leaving over creative differences, and not much was heard about the project since last year. But an A-list comedienne is bringing it back to life.

Continue reading Melissa McCarthy Replaces Julianne Moore In ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’ at The Playlist.

"The Diary of a Teenage Girl" Director To Helm Feature Version Of Historic Gay-Rights Doc ‘The Case Against 8'

Continue reading “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” Director To Helm Feature Version Of Historic Gay-Rights Doc ‘The Case Against 8′ at The Playlist.