New York Film Critics Circle: “Lady Bird” Win Big

By Creative Media Times

A24

This has been a major week for award contenders that saw “Get Out” and “Call Me by Your Name” taking top honors at the Gotham Awards and “The Post” at National Board of Review. On Thursday it was NYFCC’s turn to give their take on the 2017’s best films as leading contenders are starting to take shape.

Writer-director Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird” from A24 was the big winner at the Thursday’s New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) Thursday. The film was named best film of 2017 while its star Saoirse Ronan earn best actress. This is a major boost to “Lady Bird”, with NYFCC being the first organization of film critics to bestow their year-end film accolades.

Independent entertainment company A24 was well represented as its comedy-drama film “The Florida Project” also received best director and best supporting actor wins for Sean Baker and Willem Dafoe respectively.

Though histrionically a solid harbinger for the awards season, it remains to be seen how this year’s NYFCC will align with the Oscars. Last year’s top prize went to La La Land, which eventually lost Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight at the Oscars.

The New York Film Critics Circle was founded in 1935, making it the oldest running in the US. With a membership count of over 30 film critics from New York-based daily and weekly newspapers, magazines, online publications, it is also one of the most prestigious. This year’s gala awards dinner will be held on January 3, 2018 and will be dedicated to the memory of Richard Schickel.

To see the full list of winners, go to nyfcc.com

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‘Thoroughbreds’ Trailer Released

By Creative Media Times

Focus Features


Focus Features has released the second trailer for its upcoming drama thriller Thoroughbreds and it doubles down on the twisted yet hilarious weirdness of the first trailer. “The only thing worse than being incompetent, or being unkind, or being evil, is being indecisive,” says Olivia Cooke’s Amanda.

Directed by Cory Finley from a screenplay he also wrote, the drama thriller stars Anya Taylor-Joy (“Split”), Olivia Cooke (“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”), Paul Sparks (Netflix’s “House of Cards”) and Anton Yelchin (“Star Trek” films) in his last role before his tragic death last year.

The film has so far been a festival favorite. Early this year, the movie premiered at Sundance Film Festival, and is scheduled for release on select theaters March 9, 2018.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:

Childhood friends Lily and Amanda reconnect in suburban Connecticut after years of growing apart. Lily has turned into a polished, upper-class teenager, with a fancy boarding school on her transcript and a coveted internship on her resume; Amanda has developed a sharp wit and her own particular attitude, but all in the process of becoming a social outcast. Though they initially seem completely at odds, the pair bond over Lily’s contempt for her oppressive stepfather, Mark, and as their friendship grows, they begin to bring out one another’s most destructive tendencies. Their ambitions lead them to hire a local hustler, Tim, and take matters into their own hands to set their lives straight.

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‘Avengers: Infinity War’ New Trailer Released

By Creative Media Times

Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures


Following the release of Thor: Ragnarok early this month, the closes November with its next superhero team-up “Avengers: Infinity War,” which is set for release next summer.

The trailer isn’t short of Marvel’s top tier characters which includes Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Bruce Banner / Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland). “Get this man a shield!” Black Panther growls.

This time however, they are joined by Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) then later meeting the heroes of Guardians of the Star-Lord (Chris Pratt).

“In time you will know what it’s like to lose,” Thanos (Josh Brolin) says in the trailer.

“Avengers 4” is expected to be the final movie for Evans, Downey, Hemsworth, Johansson, Ruffalo and Renner, though the franchise is set to continue with new members Holland, Boseman and Brie Larson who is set to debut her Captain Marvel in the next Avengers film.

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Avengers: Infinity War is scheduled to be released on May 4, 2018 followed a year later a sequel on May 3, 2019.

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2018 National Board Of Review: “The Post Named Best Film

By Creative Media Times


Awards season is in full swing as the National Board of Review provided its own take on the awards race, giving Steven Spielberg’s The Post its best picture accolade and its stars Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep the top acting honors, winning best actor and actress respectively.

Based on the story about Washington Post’s coverage of the Pentagon Papers, The Post has been on awards season radar based purely on pedigree of talents involved, the substance of the film and Spielberg’s passion to fast-track production.

Get Out meanwhile, continued its winning streak, earning best directorial debut for Jordan Peele, best cast ensemble, and a spot in NBR’s top 10 movies. Get Out is clearly having a great week: just a day earlier, the film won three Gotham Awards including best screenplay and the audience award.

Other notable NBR winners include Call Me by Your Name’s Timothée Chalamet, who won the breakthrough performance award, the same honor the young actor collected the night prior at the Gothams, and Lady Bird which won 2 awards for director Greta Gerwig and its supporting actress Laurie Metcalf. The Spotlight Award went to Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins and the film’s lead Gal Gadot.

The National Board Of Review awards will be held at a gala dinner in New York City on January 9 and will be emceed by Willie Geist.

Here is a portion of NBR winners:
Best film: The Post
Best director: Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Best actor: Tom Hanks, The Post
Best actress: Meryl Streep, The Post
Best supporting actor: Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Best supporting actress: Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

To see the full list, go to nationalboardofreview.org

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Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones In Talks To Star In “The Aeronauts”

By Creative Media Times

© aiphotoimaging.com


“The Aeronauts” will reunite “The Theory of Everything” pair Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones as the actors are in talks for Amazon Studios’ new original film, Deadline is reporting.

Tom Harper (War & Peace) will helm “The Aeronauts” based on a screenplay by Jack Thorne, who also wrote the script for current boxoffice hit “Wonder”.

The film is a period action adventure based on the true story of balloon pilot Amelia Wren and scientist James Glaisher. The two embarked on an extraordinary journey in 1862 to discover the secrets of the heavens. In that journey, they flew higher in an open balloon than anyone had before or has since, and made breathtaking discoveries. But as they ascended to the peaks of the atmosphere, they were forced into an epic fight for survival. James Glaisher will be played by Eddie Redmayne opposite Jones’ Amelia Wren.

“The Theory of Everything” earned Redmayne an Oscar for playing the role of Stephen Hawking, while Jones received a nomination for best actress. HRedmayne is currently shooting “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” the sequel to “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” which opens later next year. Jones appeared in last year’s “Star Wars: Rogue One” and will next be seen in the biopic “On the Basis of Sex.”

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Mister Rogers’ Documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” From Academy Award Winner Morgan Neville Acquired By Focus Features

Focus Features has acquired the worldwide rights to Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, the new documentary about the life and work of Mister Fred Rogers. From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom), the documentary is a Focus Features presentation of a Tremolo Production, in association with Impact Partners and Independent Lens/PBS. It is set to be released on June 8, 2018. Focus chairman Peter Kujawski made the announcement today.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? takes an intimate look at America’s favorite neighbor: Mister Fred Rogers. A portrait of a man whom we all think we know, this documentary is an emotional and moving film that takes you beyond zip-up cardigans and the land of make-believe, and into the heart of a creative genius, who inspired generations of children with compassion and limitless imagination.

“Morgan once again avoids making a traditional biodoc and instead takes us behind the curtain to see how Fred Rogers navigated the cultural and social issues of the second half of the twentieth century with his own brand of forward-thinking, compassionate wisdom far beyond his time,” commented Focus chairman Peter Kujawski. “Mister Rogers makes us all want to be better people, and we couldn’t be more proud to be a part of telling his story today.”

“The Fred Rogers I discovered making this film is at once comfortably familiar and completely surprising. I believe Mister Rogers is the kind of voice we need to hear right now,” said director Morgan Neville. “I am thrilled to work with Focus Features on taking this film out into the world, along with my collaborators at Impact Partners and Independent Lens.”

“This is Morgan’s fourth film with Independent Lens, following our Emmy Award-winning collaboration on Best of Enemies,” said Lois Vossen, Independent Lens Executive Producer. “His beautiful new film shows us just how cool Mister Rogers was and how relevant and vital his voice is right now.”

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is produced by Morgan Neville, Caryn Capotosto and Nicholas Ma and is a production of Tremolo Productions in association with Impact Partners and Independent Lens / PBS. The deal was negotiated by Endeavor Content and Judith Karfiol on behalf of the filmmakers.

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Deathstroke Introduced: Joe Manganiello Shares His Charater Pic

By Creative Media Times

Justice League’s second post-credit scene teased ruthless assassin and supervillain Deathstroke, In case you missed it, actor Joe Manganiello (True Blood) shared the first official photo of his character on instagram.

Manganiello’s Slade Wilson aka Deathstoke character was first seen when Ben Affleck posted a grainy test footage to Instagram last year, presumably for his standalone Batman film.

In the D.C. Comics, “Deathstroke the Terminator” is a highly trained master fighter with enhanced strength, speed and durability granted by an experimental serum and has a healing factor that enables him to recover from physical injury faster than a normal humans. He became an assassin highly skilled in various weapons such as swords and firearms and at one point single-handedly took on the entire Justice League.

Spoiler warning. In the intriguing end credits of Justice League, we see the return of Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), apparently having escaped prison following the events of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and relaxing in a luxurious yacht.

A boat later pulls up and reveals Deathstroke. “Shouldn’t we have a league of our own?” says Lex which seem to reference the formation of fictional supervillain team Injustice League.

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DC’s “Nightwing” Film Holding Open Cast Call For Lead

By Creative Media Times

art by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado


Do you have what it takes to be Nightwing? Well here’s your chance. Director Chris McKay has announced on twitter that there will be an open casting call for the coveted role of Dick Grayson aka Nightwing.

There will be an open casting call but that is like Vegas odds for sure. Don’t leave your career up to chance. Believe in yourself. Bet on yourself. Get an agent or a manager,” posted McKay. “Have an agent or manager submit your work. To the studio. An agent or manager protects you and also is an endorsement of your character. It means you take yourself and your career seriously… and so does someone else.

Earlier this month, McKay hinted that he’s prepping a “crazy good” script that could get pre-production to start next year. He also stated his intention to search “far and wide” in finding his Nightwing, so the director seem to be keeping that intention.

A few fan favorites have been suggested but the director apparently have not committed to anyone. Some of these well known names include Drake Bell, Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Jared Padalecki and Steven R. McQueen among others.

McKay recently directed The LEGO Batman Movie. The release of Nightwing has not yet been dated. It is possible that WB was waiting for how Justice League will perform, but now that the jury is out on the team-up film, its also possible that Nightwing will be its own stand-alone film. We’ll keep an eye on this.

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2018 PGA Best Documentary Feature Nominees Announced

By Creative Media Times

producersguild.org

The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced the Documentary Feature nominees and it came with a few surprises.

The list of films (below) advances in the final voting for the 29th Annual Producers Guild Awards presented by Cadillac. The winner will be announced during the Producers Guild Awards ceremony on Saturday, January 20, 2018 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.

Visibly missing in the list is “Faces Places,” the acclaimed French documentary which won the L’Œil d’or award (best documentary) at 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

PGA started handing out best documentary feature since 2007. Since then, five documentary films that were honored went on to win the Academy Award Best Documentary Feature including Man on Wire, The Cove, Searching for Sugar Man, Amy and O.J.: Made in America.

Here is the list of films nominated for Outstanding Documentary Motion Picture in alphabetical order:

  • Chasing Coral
  • City of Ghosts
  • Cries from Syria
  • Earth: One Amazing Day
  • Jane
  • Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower
  • The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee

ABOUT THE PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA (PGA)

The Producers Guild of America is the non-profit trade group that represents, protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media. The Producers Guild has more than 8,100 members who work together to protect and improve their careers, the industry and community by providing members with employment opportunities, seeking to expand health benefits, promoting fair and impartial standards for the awarding of producing credits, as well as other education and advocacy efforts such as encouraging sustainable production practices.

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Jude Law Joins Captain Marvel

By Armando

photo by Frederic Auerbach


It looks like Captain Marvel has found it’s male lead as Jude Law joins the cast of the film opposite Brie Larson’s title character, Variety reports Wednesday. According the article, Law will be playing Mar-Vell.

In the comics, the character is the original Captain Marvel from an alien race of Kree who later adopted the identity of the recently deceased human scientist Walter Lawson.

While posing as Lawson, he meets and become a mentor to Larson’s U.S. Air Force character Carol Danvers. Her DNA is melded with that of an alien after an explosion of a Kree device. It remains to be seen how much of the character origins from comics will carry over into the film.

Jude Law is currently riding high after being cast as a young Albus Dumbledore earlier this year for the upcoming sequel of another major studio franchise Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He recently appeared this year in Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

Its interesting to note that Law previously played a “Captain” character in a comic-book inspired film before as Sky Captain in the 2004 sci-fi action adventure Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

Captain Marvel will be directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson) from a recent script by Geneva Robertson-Dworet. Previous scripts for the film were written by Meg LeFauve and Nicole Perlman.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who is producing the film, announced this summer at SDCC that Captain Marvel will take place in the 90s before the Avengers were established.

Nick Fury, as played by Samuel L. Jackson, is also expected to appear in the film, while Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) will play the villain role.

Captain Marvel is currently slated for a March 8, 2019 release.

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