 It’s always great to get to interact with filmmakers and pick their minds about their craft. But rare is it that you have the chance to talk to someone who wrote and directed the screenplay from their own best-selling novel. A day after being blown away by The Perks of Being a Wallflower (my favorite film of the year so far), I had the opportunity to attend a press junket with writer/director Stephen Chboksy to pick his brain about his wonderful novel and film. We also had the added experience of having a group of high school journalists from St. Agnes School here in Houston, which brought an interesting youth perspective to the proceedings. Stephen had some great stories to tell about the cast, why he chose to shoot the film the way he did, and other great insights about how the film can affect all ages. Check out audio of the junket after the jump!
Read more on Roundtable with ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ director Stephen Chbosky…
 A story of the pain and pleasure of the high school experience, there are a lot of things to like about the teen drama ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’. There are also a few issues as well, namely a tonal inconsistency and some odd choices on the part of writer/director (and author of the novel of the same name that was adapted here) Stephen Chbosky, but besides that this is mostly a very strong film. Featuring solid performances from Logan Lerman and Emma Watson alongside a scene stealing supporting turn from Ezra Miller, the movie succeeds due to its acting, emotional honestly, and nostalgia that it’s likely to bring out in both fans of the young adult novel and those who think back to their teenage years spent in the formative halls of a high school. Despite its flaws, I anticipate this being a popular film, if not in theaters than on DVD later this year/next year. I’m not sure that any Oscar love is headed the movie’s way, but it’s better than I was expecting and is the sort of flick that rarely gets made by a studio these days, so that’s certainly something to applaud. I’d be happy if Miller gets some precursor love, but I won’t hold my breath.
Read more on The Perks of Being a Wallflower (***)…
Categories: Film Reviews Tags: book adaptation, dylan mcdermott, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Joan Cusack, Johnny Simmons, Kate Walsh, Logan Lerman, Mae Whitman, Nicholas Braun, Oscar hopeful, paul rudd, Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
 As we barrel towards the fall movie season, more information is coming out regarding highly anticipated titles. Knowing that Summit Entertainment has released tons of new stills for two of its biggest films, The Perks of Being A Wallflower and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 2. Whether by shear coincidence or manufactured circumstances, these photos are arriving during a strange period of high public discussion about the stars of the movie, with Kristen Stewart’s dalliance with a director or Ezra Miller’s coming out. In either circumstance, these pics are a welcome look at movies that will surely be discussed a lot in the following months. Take a gander at the photos after the jump!
Read more on New stills from The Perks of Being A Wallflower and Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2…
 The second half of the year is upon us. The race is about to heat up with big Oscar hopefuls coming down the pike. Our John Foote will be in attendance at the Toronto International Film Festival and many films will be unveiling themselves to critics alike. There is a very unclear yet still feasible shape to the race looking from ten thousand feet.
There are internet jitters building for Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master starring Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. With the trailers released and now the film being pushed up to September, it looks as though we may be in store for a master class in filmmaking. Phoenix also looks to be a lead contender for his first Oscar after delivering in his previous nominated works, Gladiator (2000) and Walk the Line (2005). Phoenix does have tough competition ahead of him including what looks to be a critical darling-type performance coming from John Hawkes in Ben Lewin’s The Sessions. Early word is very positive for the film and the turns by Hawkes along with co-stars Helen Hunt and William H. Macy. Since Hawkes’ initial nomination two years ago for Winter’s Bone, he hasn’t shown any signs of letting up. He was arguably left off last year in Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene and will be seen later this year in Julia Dyer’s The Playroom and Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. There seems to be a tremendous following and support for him in his current state. Speaking of Spielberg, we’re still awaiting some type of marketing material for his upcoming Lincoln biopic. No poster or trailer has been released with very few stills leaked online. One starts to think if it will even be ready in time.
Taking a look at the next couple of months, the circuit will begin to reveal itself.
Read more on Oscar Circuit: “It’s the time of the season”…
Categories: Article, Editor, Oscar Circuit, Oscar Predictions Tags: Amour, Amy Adams, ang lee, Anna Karenina, Anne Hathaway, Arbitrage, Argo, Ava DuVarney, Ben Affleck, Bill Murray, Bradley Cooper, Brave, bryan cranston, Carey Mulligan, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz, Christopher Walken, Clint Eastwood, Cloud Atlas, Colin Farrell, Daniel Barnz, Daniel Day-Lewis, David O. Russell, Django Unchained, Editor, Elizabeth Olsen, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Flight, Fun-Size, Great Expectations, Halle Berry, Helen Hunt, Hyde Park on Hudson, jamie foxx, Joaquin Phoenix, Joe Wright, John Goodman, John Hawkes, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, judd apatow, Justin Timberlake, kathryn bigelow, Killing Them Softly, Laura Linney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Les Miserables, Liam Neeson, Liberal Arts, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Logan Lerman, Looper, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Martin McDonagh, Michael Haneke, Middle of Nowhere, Moonrise Kingdom, nicole kidman, Not Fade Away, olivia colman, Olivia Williams, Oscar Circuit, oscar predictions, Paul Thomas Anderson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Quentin Tarantino, Rian Johnson, Richard Gere, Rise of the Guardians, Roger Michell, Russell Crowe, Rust and Bone, Sam Rockwell, Seth Rogen, seven psychopaths, Silver Linings Playbook, Skyfall, Steven Spielberg, the dark knight rises, The Grandmasters, The Guilt Trip, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Impossible, The Man with the Iron Fists, The Master, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Sessions, tom hanks, Trouble with the Curve, Viola Davis, Woody Harrelson, Wreck-It Ralph, Zero Dark Thirty
Even though MTV Movie Awards can be incredibly annoying (a Twilight film wins Best Movie again?!), there’s no doubt that they have proved to be a great marketing tool for highly anticipated films. Before the big show last night, Emma Watson, Nina Dobrev, Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller were on hand to present the first trailer for Perks of Being a Wallflower. Perks tells the story of a freshman (Lerman) who are dealing with a terrible loss, gets taken under the wing of two seniors (Miller and Watson). The adaptation of the acclaimed novel is set to hit screens September 14.
Read more on ‘Perks of Being a Wallflower’ trailer premieres before MTV Movie Awards…
 After scaring audiences as a teen killer in We Need to Talk About Kevin, Ezra Miller will be tackling a decidedly lighter roles. He has The Perks of Being A Wallflower coming this year and Variety is reporting that Miller has signed on to star as one of Mia Wasikowska’s lovers in the new adaptation of Madame Bovary. This new adaptation written by Rose Barrenche, the script will maintain the period setting with the drama unfolding with a modern mentality.
Read more on Ezra Miller to play Mia Wasikowska’s lover in ‘Madame Bovary’…
 A general trend that has been observed (and joked about) here on The Awards Circuit is that Joey and I rarely agree on, well, anything. Our split goes far beyond select movies and into what I’m convinced are entirely different philosophies on film criticism. For a while it was confounding to me, and I’m sure to him, yet over time it has become a source of endearing fascination. It also provides me with hope whenever he dislikes a highly anticipated release and adds – to me at least – an added bit of legitimacy when we are both totally on board with a film (like the immaculate Blue Valentine in 2010). However, there are times when I hate to (mostly) agree with my colleague, and Lynne Ramsay’s long-gestating follow-up to Morvern Callar - one of my most anticipated films of 2011 – is one of them.
The film, based on an intriguing but overweening epistolary novel by Lionel Shriver, is about the mother of a psychopath named Kevin who was convicted of a school massacre some years earlier. The mother, Eva, must now deal with the outer and inner torment she suffers as she pieces together her part in his destruction. Was Kevin simply a bad kid, or did her own reluctance toward parenting him contribute to all of this? It’s an interesting question, and those of you thinking you’ll be challenged by it should temper your expectations, as Ms. Ramsay prefers to dazzle with creepy effects than have you carefully consider what’s behind them. Read more on We Need to Talk About Kevin (**)…
 For Your Consideration: Best Achievement in Directing
Film: “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Writer: Lynne Ramsay & Rory Kinnear
Realistic Nominations: Best Actress (Tilda Swinton)
Oscar Scene: Kevin’s bow (after the massacre).
Few women find themselves in Oscar’s conversation for Best Director. Most recently we saw Kathryn Bigelow win her much deserved Oscar for “The Hurt Locker” but there have been plenty of women worthy of citation over the past decade. Sofia Coppola was nominated for writing and directing the independent classic, “Lost in Translation” but what of Julie Taymor for her wonderful adaptation of the Beatles’ classic songs in “Across the Universe.” Before the “Twilight” franchise, Catherine Hardwicke put her stamp on the indie film, “Thirteen” starring Evan Rachel Wood and Oscar Winner Holly Hunter. Obviously we’ve seen Jane Campion awarded for her work in “The Piano” but she brought to life the beautiful “Bright Star” and “Portrait of a Lady,” both ignored by the Academy.
Read more on Circuit Consideration: Lynne Ramsay for “We Need to Talk About Kevin”…
Greetings, readers! It’s that time again…
What the hell? We’ve barely recovered from Thanksgiving and it’s already New Year’s Eve?! Oh wait; it’s just a barely-veiled rehash of that cloying, paper-thin romantic comedy pretending to be some kind of “mosaic” of love. Phew! Anyway, it’s looking like a Razzie contender based on the overwhelming critical consensus. Despite that, will this film be the box office success that its predecessor was? Though it has far more competition than Valentine’s Day’s opening weekend, online buzz suggests that audiences will repeat their habit of seeing movies almost destined to bore them to death, which will be enough for a $20-25 million haul. Read more on Weekend Openings (December 9-11)…
Categories: Weekend Openings Tags: Charlize Theron, Diablo Cody, Ezra Miller, Gary Oldman, golden globe hopeful, Jason Reitman, Madonna, New Year's Eve, Oscar hopefuls, The Sitter, Tilda Swinton, tinker tailor soldier spy, W.E., We Need To Talk About Kevin, Weekend Openings, Young Adult
 The trailer for Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin hits. Is Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller set up for Oscar success? Some think so. Check it out after the jump. Read more on Trailer: We Need to Talk About Kevin…
 If you were to ask me about my thoughts on ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ directly after seeing it back in September, I would have said that it was one of the biggest disappointments of 2011 (besides ‘The Tree of Life’ and ‘Attack the Block’) for me. Stewing over it some more, I’ve come to find that the pluses outweigh the minuses here. I still think that I like it less than almost all of the other Oscar pundits, but the excellent lead performance by Tilda Swinton and the unsettlingly good turn by Ezra Miller (he’s actually the film’s highlight in my eyes) supersede co-writer/director Lynne Ramsay’s filmmaking missteps. It’s a love it or hate it type of direction she takes, and if not for Swinton and Miller, I might be leaning to towards the latter. When it comes to the acting, the film is rather top notch for the most part. When it comes to the writing and the directing, however…it’s a whole other story. Too flawed to be the masterpiece that the reviews out of Cannes suggested, this still is a unique enough take on familiar material to be worth the recommendation from me, even if it’s not quite on the level as a somewhat similar film from earlier this year called ‘Beautiful Boy’. Still, the pros outweigh the cons here.
Read more on We Need to Talk About Kevin (***)…
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It’s always great to get to interact with filmmakers and pick their minds about their craft. But rare is it that you have the chance to talk to someone who wrote and directed the screenplay from their own best-selling novel. A day after being blown away by The Perks of Being a Wallflower (my favorite film of the year so far), I had the opportunity to attend a press junket with writer/director Stephen Chboksy to pick his brain about his wonderful novel and film. We also had the added experience of having a group of high school journalists from St. Agnes School here in Houston, which brought an interesting youth perspective to the proceedings. Stephen had some great stories to tell about the cast, why he chose to shoot the film the way he did, and other great insights about how the film can affect all ages. Check out audio of the junket after the jump!
