The Writer’s Guild of America announced the film and documentary nominees for the 2018 WGA Awards and many of the expected nominees made the cut. “Lady Bird,” “The Shape of Water,” “Get Out,” “I, Tonya” and “The Big Sick” were nominated in the Original Screenplay category.  “Call Me By Your Name,” “The Disaster Artist,” “Logan,” “Molly’s Game” and “Mudbound” all earned Adapted Screenplay nominations.

Continue reading ‘Get Out,’ ‘Logan,’ ‘The Big Sick,’ ‘Lady Bird’ Among 2018 WGA Awards Nominees at The Playlist.

The American Cinema Editors revealed their nominees for the 68th Annual ACE Eddie Awards. to kick off the New Year, which will certainly see Oscar prognosticators adjusting their predictions accordingly.

While the ACE Eddie Awards obviously allow for more contenders with more categories at play, it’s nice to see “Blade Runner 2049,” “Baby Driver,” and “The Shape Of Water” get some recognition, after being mostly shut out so far this awards season.

Continue reading ACE Eddie Award Nominees Include ‘Blade Runner 2049,’ ‘Get Out,’ ‘Dunkirk’ & More at The Playlist.

The Force remains with Disney as the clock winds down on 2017, and 2018 hovers on the horizon….

Despite having the biggest week-to-week drop of any movie in the top ten (most experienced holiday season boosts), “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” retained the top spot for the third straight week with $52.4 million and this time with a spectacular 26% hold; the third best 3rd weekend hold of all time and the 5th best grossing 3rd weekend of al time. 

Continue reading ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Crosses $1 Billion Worldwide [Box Office] at The Playlist.

Just like that, it’s December, end of year lists are being curated (if not already posted) and the Sundance Film Festival has released their lineup for the upcoming fest which will subsequently, technically, begin chatter for the 2018 Oscars.

There’s a lot going on at the end of the year and that’s not even when we account the personal stresses that come along with the holiday season. December is pretty light for the first two weeks with only really three films posed to make any sort of splash and then the latest in the “Star Wars” saga enters the race and obliterates its competition.

Continue reading 13 Movies To Watch In December at The Playlist.

If you live in Los Angeles and haven’t caught up with most of this year’s awards season titles you can breathe easy.  No, screeners aren’t arriving early, but AFI Fest has added some unexpected starpower and prestige to its 2017 slate.

Joining previously announced galas “Mudbound” (opening night), “All The Money In The World” (closing night), “Call Me By Your Name,” “The Disaster Artist” and “Hostiles” are seven films that hope to make a dent in the Oscars race in various categories.

Continue reading ‘I, Tonya,’ ‘Shape of Water’ And ‘Molly’s Game’ Added To 2017 AFI Fest Slate at The Playlist.

Premiering last month at the Toronto International Film Festival, if there was one thing everyone could agree on about Aaron Sorkin‘s directorial debut “Molly’s Game,” it was that it was very… Aaron Sorkin-y. Even if his chops behind the camera still need some work, the dialogue is exactly what you’d expect. It’s no “The Social Network” or even “Steve Jobs” (which was pretty underrated, if you ask me) but it does feature Jessica Chastain gamely chewing into the screenplay while wearing some outrageously beautiful/trashy attire.

Continue reading ‘Molly’s Game’ Trailer: Jessica Chastain Is A High Roller 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.

For his entire career, Aaron Sorkin has delighted in following the journey of ambitious, visionary, and sometimes deeply flawed men. From the fractured geniuses of “The Social Network” and “Steve Jobs,” to the data driven obsession of the Oakland A’s general manager in “Moneyball,” to the news anchor eager to shake up the system in “The Newsroom,” the screenwriter has crafted singular portraits of those who eagerly want not just success, but the power to implement their unorthodox ideas, and the space to reshape the conventions around them.

Continue reading Jessica Chastain Moves Like A (Card) Shark In ‘Molly’s Game’ [TIFF Review] at The Playlist.

The Telluride Film Festival is in the rear-view mirror and the Venice Film Festival will finish up this week and that means they’ll both give way to the Toronto International Film Festival, easily the largest film festival in North America, and in terms of sheer size and volume, probably the largest film festival in the world. TIFF usually houses around 300 films or so, and it’s such a wide and varied event, you can curate it to your tastes: you could stick with glossy mainstream picks with stars, indie up-and-comers, Midnight Madness pictures, foreign films, documentaries, experimental films, and shorts if you wish.

Continue reading 2017 Toronto International Film Festival: 21 Must-See Films 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.

When it comes to cinema, the folks who are strictly screenwriters don’t typically receive top-billing recognition, at least not among garden-variety moviegoers. The household names tend to be actors and directors, in that order. For years, Aaron Sorkin has been one of the exceptions that prove the rule. He has penned incredible television, from “The West Wing” to “The Newsroom,” and he has penned incredible films, from “A Few Good Men” to “The Social Network.” Come this November, however, Sorkin will no longer be an exception to the rule because he is (finally!) making his directorial debut with STX Entertainment’s “Molly’s Game.”

READ MORE: Review: Danny Boyle’s Aaron Sorkin Penned ‘Steve Jobs’ Starring Michael Fassbender’ Is A Rush Of Blood To The Head

While Sorkin is jumping behind the camera for the first time, it doesn’t mean he’s left his old gig in the rearview, as he’s still the credited screenwriter for “Molly’s Game.” The drama is based on the memoir of Molly Bloom, the young woman who orchestrated one of the highest stakes poker games ever.

Continue reading ‘Molly’s Game’ Trailer: Jessica Chastain Plays High Stakes Poker at The Playlist.

You know Aaron Sorkin’s crisp, rat-a-tat dialogue from several seminal TV shows and movies, “The West Wing,” “The Social Network,” “Steve Jobs” and many more. And while he’s one of the go-to writers in Hollywood, and one of the most influential and well paid, Sorkin’s finally striking out for his directorial debut, “Molly’s Game.” Starring Jessica Chastain, the movie centers on the true life story of a successful entrepreneur who becomes a target of an FBI investigation when she establishes a high-stakes, international poker game.

Continue reading Jessica Chastain Shares The First Teaser For ‘Molly’s Game’ at The Playlist.

We’re in the brief lull before the awards season comes roaring to life, and one film that everyone will have their eyes on is Aaron Sorkin‘s “Molly’s Game.” It’s the directorial debut for the acclaimed screenwriter, and even more, it features Jessica Chastain in the lead role.

Co-starring Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O’Dowd, and Bill Camp, the film tells the true story of Molly Bloom, a beautiful, young, Olympic-class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons.

Continue reading First Look: Jessica Chastain In Aaron Sorkin’s ‘Molly’s Game’ at The Playlist.

Three major studio releases received official release dates over the weekend. The highest profile of the bunch is the hotly anticipated, 33-years-in-the-making “Top Gun” sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.”

The film will feature the return of Tom Cruise as Maverick, who is now working as an experienced flight instructor for young pilots. It will be directed by Joseph Kosinski, whose previous directorial credits are frustratingly limited to “Oblivion” and “TRON: Legacy.” Tony Scott he is not.

Continue reading ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ & Aaron Sorkin’s ‘Molly’s Game’ Starring Jessica Chastain Set Release Dates at The Playlist.

LAS VEGAS – This wasn’t necessarily STX Entertainment’s finest moment. After a rough 2016 that featured one breakout hit (“Bad Moms”), one critically acclaimed wonder (“The Edge Of Seventeen”) and a bunch of bombs, the fledgling mini-major wanted to reassure the nation’s theater owners at CinemaCon that everything was back on track. Well, they certainly tried.

Chairman Adam Fogelson hyped the studio’s three-year distribution agreement with Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp (a company that at one time planned on releasing its own movies in the U.S.

Continue reading Jessica Chastain And Aaron Sorkin’s ‘Molly’s Game’ Is A Sexy Play For STX First, Awards Movie Second at The Playlist.

There’s now less than a month until Christmas, and after a start last week with our look at the Best Posters and Best Trailers of the year, this week commences in earnest our annual smorgasbord of movie love that is our annual Playlist year-end features marathon. We’ll be looking at the best and worst of films, performances, sequences, cinematography, soundtracks and more across the next few weeks, which will serve as a reminder that 2016 was a pretty strong year at the movies.

Continue reading The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2017 at The Playlist.

While we were busy doing other things, Aaron Sorkin has quietly put together an impressive cast for his directorial debut. Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Michael Cera, Kevin Costner, Brian d’Arcy James, J.C. McKenzie and Samantha Isler are already on board for the movie, which has now added for more talents to the ensemble.

READ MORE: Michael Cera Joins Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba In Aaron Sorkin’s Directorial Debut

Chris O’Dowd, Jeremy Strong, Bill Camp (aka the detective from “The Night Of“) and Graham Greene have also signed up to the high stakes poker drama.

Continue reading Chris O’Dowd Joins The Impressive Cast Of Aaron Sorkin’s ‘Molly’s Game’ at The Playlist.

Acclaimed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is getting ready to begin production on his directorial debut “Molly’s Game,” and he’s bringing Michael Cera along for the ride. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sorkin has cast Cera as the mysterious Player X in the upcoming drama alongside Jessica Chastain.

READ MORE: Review: Danny Boyle’s Aaron Sorkin Penned ‘Steve Jobs’ Featuring Michael Fassbender Is A Rush Of Blood To The Head

“Molly’s Game” tells the story of Molly Bloom, played by Chastain, a former Olympic athlete who turns to cocktail waitressing in Los Angeles.

Continue reading Michael Cera Joins Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba In Aaron Sorkin’s Directorial Debut ‘Molly’s Game’ at The Playlist.

“Only make a film you already know how to sell,” is the the rule that former Universal Pictures Chairman and current STX Entertainment honcho Adam Fogelson lives by. And so far in young history of the newest studio in Hollywood, they’ve more or less lived by that motto, but to fairly modest success. They’re released four films to date, three of which have been straight genre efforts (“The Gift,” “The Boy,” “Hardcore Henry“) while another was a starry prestige project that failed to catch fire (“Secret In Their Eyes“).

Continue reading STX Picks Up Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’ Internationally & Aaron Sorkin’s ‘Molly’s Game’ At Home at The Playlist.

Writer Aaron Sorkin (“The West Wing,” “Steve Jobs”) has been itching to direct a movie for a long time now. In fact the original plan was for Sorkin to direct “The Social Network,” but when David Fincher was interested, Sorkin was happy to step aside. He’s finally getting his own film to write and direct. Sorkin’s been working on his directorial debut “Molly’s Game” and tonight The Mark Gordon Company announced the lead cast in Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba.

Continue reading Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba To Star In Aaron Sorkin’s Directorial Debut ‘Molly’s Game’ at The Playlist.

Jessica Chastain Offered Lead In ‘Molly’s Game,’ Aaron Sorkin’s Directorial Debut

Continue reading Jessica Chastain Offered Lead In ‘Molly’s Game,’ Aaron Sorkin’s Directorial Debut at The Playlist.

Aaron Sorkin Adapting Hollywood Poker Memoir, Regrets Hurting Mark Zuckerberg's Feelings

Continue reading Aaron Sorkin Adapting Hollywood Poker Memoir, Regrets Hurting Mark Zuckerberg’s Feelings at The Playlist.