The Informant Archives - The Playlist

Most Overlooked/Underappreciated Films of 2009

Rodrigo Perez — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:11:00 +0000

We see a lot of movies every year, and there are always those films that we end up sitting in awe of in an empty theater wondering, “Where is everybody?” These are the films that for whatever mystical reason slipped through cracks, were ignored by critics and given the cold shoulder to by audiences. We feel a Netflix account is vital to anyone even remotely interested in film, and if you haven’t seen these we urge you skip the crap that’s filling up theaters over the next two months, add these to your queue and catch up with some great films you missed in the last year.

Continue reading Most Overlooked/Underappreciated Films of 2009 at The Playlist.

LFF ’09 Day Six: ‘Bright Star,’ ‘Micmacs’ and ‘The Informant’

Oliver Lyttelton — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:36:00 +0000

We’ve covered all these films at least once, so we’re gonna try and keep it brief (plus, to be frank, we’re a few days behind on our reviews), but Monday at the LFF saw showings of Jane Campion’s comeback movie “Bright Star,” “Micmacs,” from “Amelie” helmer Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant.”

“The Informant” opened in the States almost two months ago, so it’s old news for most of you, but we fall right between our most positive review of the movie, and the more guarded verdict of our editor-in-chief: the film plays like gangbusters, with a hugely enjoyable central performance from Matt Damon (who really does get better and better with each role), and Soderbergh’s unusual casting choices pay off: the highlights in a very strong ensemble include Melanie Lynskey, also great in “Up in the Air,” Scott Bakula and Joel McHale.

Continue reading LFF ’09 Day Six: ‘Bright Star,’ ‘Micmacs’ and ‘The Informant’ at The Playlist.

Scott Z. Burns Writing ‘Traffic’ Meets ‘Outbreak’-like Virus Movie For Steven Soderbergh

Rodrigo Perez — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:36:00 +0000

On a recent Creative Screenwriting Magazine podcast, annoying interviewer/Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith spoke with screenwriter Scott Z. Burns about his experience writing “The Informant!” for director Steven Soderbergh — a job that started back in 2002. Among some interesting tidbits and anecdotes — like how Sydney Pollack also met with Burns about doing a more straight forward version of Mark Whitacre‘s story, or Burns’ fear of rewriting the great Tom Stoppard‘s “Bourne Ultimatum“ draft — he dropped some info about an upcoming project with Soderbergh.

Continue reading Scott Z. Burns Writing ‘Traffic’ Meets ‘Outbreak’-like Virus Movie For Steven Soderbergh at The Playlist.

Weekend Box Office- ‘Cloudy’ Weathers Hailstorm Of Flops

Gabe Toro — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:03:00 +0000

Not much competition for the top this week, as “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs” ruled the roost once again. Exit polling showed that kids enjoyed watching large cartoon things fall from the sky and land on people in 3D, while adults responded to the fact that their kids wanted to see this. The $100 number is being thrown around as far as budget, but we find it hard to believe Sony didn’t scrimp by with a much lower cost.

Continue reading Weekend Box Office- ‘Cloudy’ Weathers Hailstorm Of Flops at The Playlist.

Weekend Box Office- Season Gets ‘Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs,’ ‘Jennifer’s Body’ Goes Untouched

Gabe Toro — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Slow goings at the box office this weekend. We blame the baseball season, since it’s obviously heating up and- oh, wait, the season’s pretty well decided. Well, people are upset about the recession, right? Which explains why “Transformers” only made $400 mi- well, ok, got us there. How about… there’s nothing remotely exciting enough to see? The number one movie is the most reliable of subgenres, the CG-toon “Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs.” Its debut was much softer than others of its ilk (particularly the recent “Ice Age” installment, which recently became the third highest grossing film of all time outside of America- spittake), and the numbers were definitely goosed by the 3D showings.

Continue reading Weekend Box Office- Season Gets ‘Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs,’ ‘Jennifer’s Body’ Goes Untouched at The Playlist.

In Theaters: ‘The Informant!,’ ‘Jennifer’s Body’ & ‘Bright Star’

Rodrigo Perez — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:39:00 +0000

Mid-September and fall is looking up. After a couple of dreadful weeks of cringe-worthy options, the multiplex has become a bit less frightening. Get out there and show your support for good work, so the dry spells won’t last this long in the future. We can only hope, right?

In Wide Release: The most notable release this week has got to be Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant.” We’ve been excited to see him get back to the quality and stylish comedy of “Out of Sight” or the “Ocean’s” movies and he has certainly delivered.

Continue reading In Theaters: ‘The Informant!,’ ‘Jennifer’s Body’ & ‘Bright Star’ at The Playlist.

TIFF ’09 Review: ‘The Informant!’

Katie Walsh — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:59:00 +0000

There’s a moment late in the third act of Steven Soderbergh’s whirlygig whistleblower farce “The Informant!” (the exclamation point is key) that makes you totally reassess the whole movie. It’s not a twist, per se, but it’s a character beat that makes you realize that the movie, which up until that point had been fairly jolly, complete with a relentlessly buoyant score by Marvin Hamlisch and a dopey, winning performance by a pudgy Matt Damon, is a much deeper, more complex experience.

Continue reading TIFF ’09 Review: ‘The Informant!’ at The Playlist.

TIFF Review: ‘The Informant’ Is A Zany Gas

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:50:00 +0000

Let’s face it and be honest. Steven Soderbergh’s black comedy about a bumbling whistleblower in the agricultural community titled, “The Informant!” looks devilishly arch and mischievously funny.

The trailer looked fantastic and Soderbergh’s wry humor evinced in the underrated “Ocean’s” movies (popcorn art), usually through Matt Damon, were always rather sly in a smart, self-aware goofy manner. “The Informant” felt like it was channeling that vibe throughout, so could it live up to the hype or at least our high expectations?

Continue reading TIFF Review: ‘The Informant’ Is A Zany Gas at The Playlist.

TIFF ’09: Day One

Katie Walsh — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:43:00 +0000

Film festivals are fun, but lord do they crush the body: no sleep, starvation, hectic running around, plus bouts of terrible, on-the-run eating. How some do this and manage to party on top of this while churning out copy seems unfathomable.

Day 1 was ok. Nothing stellar, but at least one fun highlight, Steven Soderbergh’s ridiculous and zany “The Informant!” which isn’t essential Soderbergh, but pretty deliciously absurdist.

Continue reading TIFF ’09: Day One at The Playlist.

Steven Soderbergh Raves About Marvin Hamlisch’s Musical Work On ‘The Informant!’

Rodrigo Perez — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:03:00 +0000

Alright, we haven’t posted incessantly or anything because clearly not that many people are interested, but when we first learned legendary ’70s composer Marvin Hamlisch was recruited to write the music for Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant!,” we were incredibly psyched (No really, he’s one of the two people in the world who has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, a Tony, a Golden Globe and a Pulitzer Prize).

Not only did Hamlisch write scores for seminal films like, Woody Allen’s “Bananas,” “The Sting,” “The Way We Were,” “The Spy Who Loved Me,” “Ordinary People,” “Sophie’s Choice,” etc., Soderbergh roping him into working on the film was a coup: the composer hadn’t scored a film in 13 years (1996’s “The Mirror Has Two Faces”).

Continue reading Steven Soderbergh Raves About Marvin Hamlisch’s Musical Work On ‘The Informant!’ at The Playlist.

Venice Buzz: ‘Informant!’ Tattle-Tale Gags Amuse

Rodrigo Perez — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:01:00 +0000

Reports are in from the Venice Film Festival on Steven Soderbergh’s black comedy, “The Informant!” starring Matt Damon and most reviews seem to be largely positive.

While no one seems to be doing backflips over it either, some suggesting it’s a little lightweight — at least compared to most Soderbergh ventures of late — it seems like the film is largely amusing and winning over critics.

Variety: “The wacky little brother of ‘Erin Brokovich,’ ‘The Informant!’ goofs around lightheartedly while still doing some justice to the true-life story of a zealous but wildly delusional corporate whistle-blower.

Continue reading Venice Buzz: ‘Informant!’ Tattle-Tale Gags Amuse at The Playlist.

13 Most-Anticipated Picks From TIFF ’09

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:35:00 +0000

One can surely do more than 10-15 picks for the Toronto International Film Festival each year and there are surely about 35-40 films on our radar, but we only have so much time and can only be in so many places at once. So we thought we’d whittle this down to the core of what we’re really anticipating in 2009. You’ll have to note things that we’ve already seen this year, at the Cannes Film Festival or otherwise are not on this list, but pictures like, Jane Campion’s “Bright Star,” Bong Joon-Ho’s “Mother,” Pedro Almodovar’s “Broken Embraces,” and to a slightly-lesser extent Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist” — plus non-Cannes pic Lone Scherfig’s “An Education” — are all still must-see pictures (even if all of them aren’t front-to-back perfect).

Continue reading 13 Most-Anticipated Picks From TIFF ’09 at The Playlist.

Tony Hale Explains His Role In The ‘The Informant!’ Talks Rag-Tag Bunch Of Comic Co-Stars

Simon Dang — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:21:00 +0000

Best known for his run on Fox’s “Arrested Development” as Buster Bluth, it surprised many when Tony Hale found his way on Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant!” Speaking with Vulture though, Hale explained that it wasn’t he who was odd one out but rather the film’s star, Matt Damon.

“I play Matt Damon’s lawyer in the second half of the movie,” Hale explains. “It’s just a crazy story of this guy who pulled one over on both the FBI and the company he was working for, Mark Whitacre.

Continue reading Tony Hale Explains His Role In The ‘The Informant!’ Talks Rag-Tag Bunch Of Comic Co-Stars at The Playlist.

Hilariously Schmaltzy ‘Informant!’ Soundtrack Rules

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:45:00 +0000

One of our most anticipated films of the fall is Steven Soderbergh’s black comedy about a bumbling whistleblower in the agricultural community titled, “The Informant!”

It stars Matt Damon — in doughy, 30-lbs plus form with a silly mustache — and also co-stars a strange, but off-the-beaten path group of actors like Joel McHale (E!’s “The Soup”), Scott Bakula (TV’s “Quantum Leap”), Tony Hale (Buster from “Arrested Development”) Patton Oswalt and Melanie Lynskey (“Mr.

Continue reading Hilariously Schmaltzy ‘Informant!’ Soundtrack Rules at The Playlist.

New ‘Informant!’ Photos; Patton Oswalt Also In The Film Too

Rodrigo Perez — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:50:00 +0000

First up there’s a few new photos from Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant!” a picture that we are dying to see this fall that makes its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Some come from MTV, others from IMDB.

We’re a bit worried as to how it’s going to play. It is a Warner Bros. picture so they’ll have some juice to market it, but it looks a bit like a niche, black comedy ala the Coen Brothers, with Matt Damon as the film’s only real star wattage (i.e.

Continue reading New ‘Informant!’ Photos; Patton Oswalt Also In The Film Too at The Playlist.

A.R. Rahman’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Score Leads The World Soundtrack Awards

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:15:00 +0000

It’s that time of year again, the World Soundtrack Nominations have been announced and it feels like the Grammy Awards, meaning, these awards feel so last year (the Grammys also never feel relevant because their award cycle goes from October to August of that following year…odd). So yeah, the Oscars were six months ago, but the WSA are a little behind the times.

Regardless, A.R. Rahman’s “Slumdog Millionaire,” score — which one the Oscars for Best Original Song and Best Original Score — leads the pack of nominees with three nods in all two of the three categories.

Continue reading A.R. Rahman’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Score Leads The World Soundtrack Awards at The Playlist.

Steven Soderbergh Calls Out HBO & AMC For Butchering Widescreen Films

Kevin Jagernauth — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:05:00 +0000

These days, it seems Steven Soderbergh is in the news for everything except making movies.

Of course, there was the ugly and widely publicized cancellation of “Moneyball”, and now in the “In My Opinion” column in the latest issue of DGA Quarterly, Soderbergh has written a very candid, funny and scathing piece on HD channels that butcher widescreen films.

Non-aspect ratio nerds take note, this might be Greek. In particular, he speaks about films in 2.40:1 that are blown up or chopped to fit the 16:9 ratio of current television sets.

Continue reading Steven Soderbergh Calls Out HBO & AMC For Butchering Widescreen Films at The Playlist.

‘The Men Who Stare At Goats’ Set For November 6 Release, ‘The Informant!’ And ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ Bumped Up To September

Simon Dang — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:55:00 +0000

Grant Heslov’s “The Men Who Stare At Goats” which will premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival has now been given a November 6th U.S. release date.

Starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges, the quirky dark comedy film is inspired by Jon Ronson’s non-fiction book of the same name which centers on the government’s attempts to garner paranormal abilities to combat its enemies.

Here’s a full synopsis of the film:

Reporter Bob Wilton (McGregor) is in search of his next big story when he encounters Lyn Cassady (Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims to be part of an experimental U.S.

Continue reading ‘The Men Who Stare At Goats’ Set For November 6 Release, ‘The Informant!’ And ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ Bumped Up To September at The Playlist.

New Poster For ‘The Informant!,’ ‘District 9’ Gets A Featurette

Simon Dang — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:58:00 +0000

A new poster for Steven Soderbergh’s “The Informant” starring Matt Damon has debuted. Very cheeky riff on Saul Bass. We love it. In the picture, Matt Damon plays a bumbling and inept corporate informant who is “helping” the government bring a price-fixing case against an agricultural business giant. [Yahoo]

Eli Roth on his upcoming sci-fi epic “Endangered Species”: “I’m writing the parts with certain people in mind and we’ll see if they do it.

Continue reading New Poster For ‘The Informant!,’ ‘District 9’ Gets A Featurette at The Playlist.

‘The Road,’ Herzog’s ‘Bad Lieutenant’, New Michael Moore & Todd Solondz Films Officially Added To Venice Film Fest Line-Up

Rodrigo Perez — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:18:00 +0000

The 66th annual Venice Film festival has been unveiled and it looks like Variety’s early trade report was almost completely on-the-mark.

Practically every major film they said was hoping to play at the festival is there including new world premieres for pictures by Werner Herzog, Michael Moore, Todd Solondz and John Hillcoat. But note, one film they were off on is the Coen brothers’ “A Serious Man. ” The picture is making its world debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Continue reading ‘The Road,’ Herzog’s ‘Bad Lieutenant’, New Michael Moore & Todd Solondz Films Officially Added To Venice Film Fest Line-Up at The Playlist.

‘The Road,’ Werner Herzog’s ‘Bad Lieutenant’ & Todd Solondz’s ‘Forgiveness’ To Screen At The Venice Film Festival?

Simon Dang — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:33:00 +0000

The 2009 Venice Film Festival is scheduled to be unveiled in about a week and as usual the trades have received wind about what’s probably/possibly going to be there. Our first few reactions: 1.) Wow 2.) Can someone buy us a ticket to Venice asap? 3.) Whoa, TIFF you’ve been put on blast [ed. though whatever TIFF wants TIFF usually gets, so this just might mean the Toronto Film Festival is going to be kick-ass as well).

Continue reading ‘The Road,’ Werner Herzog’s ‘Bad Lieutenant’ & Todd Solondz’s ‘Forgiveness’ To Screen At The Venice Film Festival? at The Playlist.

‘The Informant,’ ‘Bright Star,’ ‘Precious,’ Ricky Gervais’ ‘The Invention of Lying’ Added To TIFF ’09 Line-up.

Rodrigo Perez — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:29:00 +0000

Sweet. The Toronto International Film Festival has announced more of its 2009 line-up including opening and closing night films.

The opening night film is Jon Amiel’s “Creation” starring Paul Bettany and his wife Jennifer Connelly and its essentially a biopic about Charles Darwin. The move is a little strange as TIFF usually opens up with a Canadian-made movie, but as its head programmer said today, “it has been a tradition, but it is not a law.” We honestly have little interest in that picture, but maybe TIFF could change our minds.

Continue reading ‘The Informant,’ ‘Bright Star,’ ‘Precious,’ Ricky Gervais’ ‘The Invention of Lying’ Added To TIFF ’09 Line-up. at The Playlist.

Will The Depressing Cinema Landscape Force Steven Soderbergh Into Early Retirement?

Rodrigo Perez — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:23:00 +0000

See what you fuckers in the press have done? You’ve dispirited the shit out of Steven Soderbergh with all this “Moneyball” stuff.

His two-part epic “Che” is available on DVD and Blu-ray now in the U.K. so presumably this is the reason why he’s doing press across the pond.

But don’t look for answers about “Moneyball,” either the U.K. press is not asking or he’s simply not talking.

This conversation is strictly about “Che” and the man sounds defeated and rather depressed at the mixed response he got from the film and the adventurous way they presented the film with the road show of two parts.

Continue reading Will The Depressing Cinema Landscape Force Steven Soderbergh Into Early Retirement? at The Playlist.

Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Informant’ Trailer With Matt Damon

Rodrigo Perez — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:23:00 +0000

More commentary and context tomorrow, but man, we cannot wait for this. It looks like a blast. In the meantime, here’s one of the larger synopsis for this upcoming Steven Soderbergh black comedy. You gotta love how much weight Matt Damon puts on (would Tom Cruise ever pull a move like this? Will Smith?) and just how committed his performance appears to making his character seem like a total buffoon. When was the last time a major star put on serious weight for a role?

Continue reading Steven Soderbergh’s ‘The Informant’ Trailer With Matt Damon at The Playlist.

Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Cleo’ 3D Musical Is At Least Two Pictures Away? Reveals More About ‘Liberace’ Biopic & Spalding Gray Doc

Rodrigo Perez — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:53:00 +0000

Steven Soderbergh having a flotilla of projects on the go is nothing new. In the last year and a half he shot, “Che,” the upcoming black comedy “Informant” with Matt Damon and “The Girlfriend Experience” with real-life porn star Sasha Grey, back to back to back.

However, the one most people want to see (well at least we do) is the most audacious-sounding one, “Cleo,” which is supposed to be a a 3D live action musical version of the “Cleopatra” story featuring the music of booze-soddled indie rockers Guided By Voices and starring Catherine Zeta Jones (Jim Greer, the bassist of GBV and one-time SPIN writer penned the script; Soderbergh once used a GBV song in “Full Frontal” and frontman Robert Pollard wrote some of the score to “Bubble”).

Continue reading Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Cleo’ 3D Musical Is At Least Two Pictures Away? Reveals More About ‘Liberace’ Biopic & Spalding Gray Doc at The Playlist.