News

Alfre Woodard, John Benjamin Hickey, Makenzie Leigh, Lewis Pullman, and Jordan Preston Carter in ‘Salem’s Lot’ (Photo by Courtesy of New Line Cinema/Max)

Max’s October 2024 lineup includes a new adaptation of Stephen King’s bestselling vampire novel Salem’s Lot and the premiere of the eight-episode comedy series The Franchise starring Himesh Patel. Jordin Sparks hosts and Johnny Weir and Terrell Ferguson judge the new competition series Roller Jam debuting on October 10th. And Dylan O’Brien stars in Caddo Lake, a mystery thriller premiering on October 10th.

The streamer’s October calendar of new series and films also includes the documentaries I Am Not A Monster: The Lois Riess Murders, Louder: The Soundtrack of Change, and Breath of Fire. Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap starring Josh Hartnett makes its streaming premiere on October 25th, and Maxxxine with Mia Goth debuts on October 18th.

The third and final...

Exclusive: Celebrating his 50th year as an indie filmmaker and distributor, Jeff Lipsky is prepping the release of his eighth feature as director. Goldilocks and the Two Bears is due to open domestically via Glass Half Full Media in July for a limited theatrical run, followed by a general release in late summer/early fall. Check out an exclusive clip above.

Goldilocks introduces a trio of new actors: Claire Milligan, Serra Naiman and Bryan Mittelstadt. It’s directed and written by Lipsky, produced by longtime collaborator Nick Athas and shot by Zak Ray with production sound mixed by Caleb Mose (O.J.: Made in America).

Filmed entirely in Las Vegas, the movie centers on a man and a woman – travelers who’ve all but given up on futures that might have been glorious. When a stranger enters their midst, a woman on the run from her own demons, the...

Beloved Swedish classic novel “The Scarab Flies at Dusk” is being adapted into a premium family adventure series produced by Nordic Drama Queens, the top-notch production label backed by Fifth Season.

Swedish broadcaster Svt has already commissioned the show whose starry cast will be led by Tomas von Brömssen (“My Life as a Dog”), Pernilla August (“‘The Best Intentions”) Dag Malmberg (“The Bridge”) and Lena Endre (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”). Fifth Season is handling worldwide sales on the series and is introducing it to potential buyers attending the Göteborg Film Festival’s TV Drama Vision.

“Afterglow” filmmaker Atle Knudsen will be directing the series, which is penned by celebrated authors Ditta Bongenhielm (“Bonus Family“) and Lovisa Milles (“Jordskott“).

“The Scarab Flies at Dusk” will be filmed in Västra Götaland and produced by Nordic Drama Queens in collaboration with Svt, Film i Väst, TV2 Norway, Monster As and Dr...

English language series stars Lena Olin and will film in Iceland later this year.

Chocolat and The Cider House Rules director Lasse Hallstrom is making his first foray into TV drama series with Iceland-set mystery thriller The Darkness starring Lena Olin.

Based on the best-selling book by Icelandic author Ragnar Jónasson, the six-part English language series is a co-production between CBS Studios, Stampede Ventures and Iceland’s True North.

Icelandic broadcaster Síminn has boarded the project, which is being sold internationally by Paramount Global Content Distribution. The Darkness is written by Sam Shore, whose credits include Cbbc’s Mystic, and Jónasson serves as executive producer.

The "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise has introduced plenty of colorful characters over the past decade, from a talking raccoon named Rocket, to a sentient tree named Groot, to the antennae-sporting alien, Mantis. Yet few new additions have been as instantaneously accepted as friend-shaped like Cosmo, the adorable space dog voiced by Maria Bakalova in "The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special." So far, we've only gotten a bit of screen time with Cosmo, but we know that she's telekinetic, loves Kevin Bacon, took a liking to Sean Gunn's Kraglin, and is, in the parlance of dog owners, "food motivated."

Cosmo also wears a pretty distinctive outfit: she's decked out in an old-fashioned spacesuit that's a bit like the kind astronauts wore during the Space Race. It features a patch that says Cccp and a rust red collar opening that could connect to a helmet — complete with what looks like a tiny sensor antenna.

Of the 94 filmmakers who have clinched the coveted Palme d’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival, only 10 have achieved the honor twice. The latest one to follow the dual win precedent established by Alf Sjoberg (1944’s “Torment” and 1951’s “Miss Julie”) is another Swedish director, Ruben Ostlund, whose first and second victories came for 2017’s “The Square” and 2022’s “Triangle of Sadness.” The latter film has, by all accounts, become his most successful yet and is now in the running for three Oscars, including Best Director.

In this year’s directing Oscar race, Ostlund faces Todd Field (“Tar”), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”), Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) and Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”). The Daniels are also first-time Oscar nominees, while Spielberg stands as the only past directing contender in the group, with a pair of wins for “Schindler’s List” (1993) and “Saving Private Ryan...

by Nathaniel R

Sweden's Guldbagge Award, designed by Karl Axel Pehrson, looks like something out of a Cronenberg movie and we respect that. It doesn't look much like any other golden film award. It's chased in copper and enameled before the gold enters the picture. The Guidbagges were first handed out in 1964 when the late Ingmar Bergman, still Sweden's most famous auteur, took home Best Film and Best Director for The Silence. Other Swedish classics that have won the top prize include other Bergman masterpieces like Persona, Fanny & Alexander, and Cries and Whispers, arthouse auteur pics like You the Living and Border, Oscar darlings like The Emigrants, Pelle the Conquerer, and My Life as a Dog, and LGBTQ favourites like the teen lesbian drama Show Me Love and gay dance drama And Then We Danced.

This year's big winner was Oscar-nominated satire Triangle of Sadness which took home six prizes.

Seth Willenson, a producer and longtime marketing, finance and distribution executive, died peacefully at his home in Los Angeles after a long bout with heart disease, according to a representative for the family. He was 74.

Willeson first started his 52-year career in 1970 when he became the second hire at New Line Cinema. It was there where he pioneered a theatrical marketing concept of the 1970’s, the Midnight Movie – using the 1936 anti-cannabis propaganda film “Reefer Madness” – a practice that continued for more than a decade with movies such as “Pink Flamingos,” “Sympathy for the Devil” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Willenson would return to New Line Cinema 20 years later after his first stint at the studio as president of Telecommunications & Planning. Willenson would subsequently serve as producer/executive producer on numerous indie films, most notably Allison Anders’ award-winning “Gas Food Lodging” and the Chuck Norris-starrer “Top Dog.”

Willenson would...

Seth Willenson, the influential marketing executive and producer of films and home video, died March 18 in Los Angeles, a rep confirmed to Variety. According to their statement, Willenson died from heart disease. He was 74.

Willenson began his career in 1970, as an early hire at the then-young New Line Cinema. He was responsible for one of the company’s earliest successes, by promoting the 1936 anti-cannabis propaganda film “Reefer Madness” as a “midnight movie” to college campuses. As a result of his work, the film became a cult classic, and he would later be responsible for the marketing of other “midnight movies” that New Line distributed, including “Pink Flamingos,” “Sympathy for the Devil” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” After leaving the company in 1973, he would return over 20 years later to become the president of telecommunications and planning in 1988.

In between, Willenson worked as a senior vice president at Films Inc., then...

Writer/director Stephen Chbosky discusses his favorite films with host Josh Olson.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Rent (2005)

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

Dear Evan Hansen (2021)

Mean Girls (2004)

Footloose (1984)

Grease (1978)

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015)

Wonder (2017)

Trainspotting (1996)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

The Usual Suspects (1995)

The Shop Around The Corner (1940)

You’ve Got Mail (1998)

Can’t Buy Me Love (1987)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Live Like A Cop Die Like A Man (1976)

The Wizard Of Oz (1939) – John Badham’s trailer commentary

Once (2007)

Mean Streets (1973)

Invaders From Mars (1986)

Cabaret (1972) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

Heathers (1989) – Karyn Kusama’s trailer commentary

Sing Street (2016)

Star 80 (1983)

All That Jazz (1979) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing

The Sound Of Music (1965)

Fiddler On The Roof (1971)

Blow-Up (1966) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review

The Graduate (1967) – Neil Labute’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review

Vertigo (1958) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary, Brian Trenchard-Smith...

Sweden’s Nent Group commits to making two English-language films every year.

Sweden’s Lasse Hallström is to write and direct Hilma, an English-language biopic of artist and feminist pioneer Hilma af Klint, as the first title in a new film commitment from streaming operator Nordic Entertainment Group (Nent Group).

Nent Group has pledged to produce two English-language features every year for international audiences, focusing on stories of inspirational Nordic figures and events.

Hilma will star Lena Olin as Klint in her later years, with Olin and Hallström’s daughter Tora Hallström playing the younger version of the artist.

The...

Among the Oscar nominations surprises every year is the Best Director lineup. Remember when Steven Spielberg (“The Color Purple”), Ron Howard (“Apollo 13”) and Ben Affleck (“Argo”) all won at the Directors Guild of America Awards but were snubbed by the directors branch of the academy. This year DGA nominee Aaron Sorkin (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) was likewise left off the list of Oscar contenders. He was replaced by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg for his superb “Another Round,” which also picked up a bid for Best International Feature. He joins a long roster of Best Director nominees for films other than in English.

The academy first embraced international filmmakers in the 1960s. Italian auteur Federico Fellini was nominated for his 1961 classic “La Dolce Vita.” He contended again two years later for “8 1/2.” He reaped two more bids for “Fellini Satyricon” (1970) and “Amarcord’ (1975).

Predict the 2021 Oscars winners through...

Exclusive: Veteran indie executive and filmmaker Jeff Lipsky is hooking up with Kino Lorber to launch The Jeff Lipsky Collection on growing streaming service Kino Now. The collection, which becomes available on March 5, will include five out of seven of Lipsky’s directing efforts dating from 2006-2019. Other filmmakers who are similarly represented with Kino Now Auteur Collections include Jean-Luc Godard, Lina Wertmüller, Derek Jarman, István Szabó and F.W. Murnau.

On the Lipsky roster are Flannel Pajamas (2006), a relationship story co-starring Julianne Nicholson and Justin Kirk; family drama Twelve Thirty (2011), starring Jonathan Groff; surreal comedy Molly’s Theory Of Relativity (2013) with Sophia Takal and Lawrence Michael Levine; character study Mad Women (2015), co-starring Reed Birney and Jamie Harrold; and Holocaust-themed family drama The Last (2019), starring Rebecca Schull. Lipsky hopes to add his first film, 1997’s The End, to the collection as soon as its restoration is complete.

Says Lipsky, “Being inducted...

Emily Blunt hasn’t gotten on the Oscars’ radar yet, but the Hollywood Foreign Press Association can’t get enough of her. They’ve given her six Golden Globe nominations to date. So she might be a major dark horse contender for her role in the romance “Wild Mountain Thyme.”

SEEGolden Globe TV contenders: Strong newbies include ‘The Great’ and ‘Ted Lasso,’ but will voters finally catch up with ‘Schitt’s Creek’ instead?

Blunt plays Rosemary, who is in love with a man (Jamie Dornan) in the middle of a family land dispute. It was written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, based on his own Tony-nominated play “Outside Mullingar.” This is Shanley’s third film as a director, and his first since “Doubt” (2008), which earned five Golden Globe nominations and five Oscar nominations 12 years ago.

Granted, “Wild Mountain Thyme” hasn’t gotten reviews as favorable as “Doubt,” but consider Blunt’s track record.

Paul Dravet is retiring after running the Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace since Mike Walsh bought the then-dilapidated Cremorne cinema in 1986 and spent millions restoring it.

One of Australia’s most respected exhibitors and a staunch advocate for Australian films and upscale fare, Dravet departs on September 6.

“It’s hard to believe somebody as ageless as Paul Dravet is retiring. He’s supported our films, even when he didn’t want to, and always set a very high benchmark for taste and showmanship,” Transmission Films’ Andrew Mackie tells If.

“Without him, the exhibition world loses some of its shine. That said, I don’t quite believe he doesn’t still have a lot to contribute. He always struck me a somebody who lives for cinema.”

Universal Pictures MD Mike Baard concurred: “Paul, or Dravet as he is affectionately known, is one of our industry’s great showmen. His dedication to his...

Tom Quinn, the founder of the indie studio Neon, thought that Netflix was making a big mistake. After seeing “Okja,” Bong Joon-ho’s eccentric creature feature, he believed passionately that the the offbeat visuals and ambitious story of girl’s bond with a super pig needed to be seen on the big screen. So began a six-month attempt by Quinn to convince the streaming service to partner with Neon on a theatrical release, an effort that ultimately failed.

“I felt it was a huge mistake,” said Quinn.

When Bong announced that he had a script for his next movie, “Parasite,” Quinn didn’t hesitate. He bought the project at the script stage, a highly unusual move for a U.S. studio.

“My disappointment at losing out on ‘Okja’ combined with my love for director Bong’s work caused me to be relentless in my pursuit of his next film,” said Quinn.

Swedish stars Pernilla August (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace), Stellan Skarsgard (The Avengers) and Melinda Kinnaman (My Life as a Dog) have joined the voice cast of The Ape Star, an upcoming animated feature from director Linda Hamback.

Hamback will reteam with her Gordon & Paddy screenwriter Janne Vierth on the pic, in which Jonna, an orphan girl, gets adopted by a mother gorilla.

The film, an adaptation of Frida Nilsson’s award-winning novel, is set to start production next month and wrap in November 2020. Lee Film is producing.

“The main message of the film is that anyone can be ...

Swedish stars Pernilla August (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace), Stellan Skarsgard (The Avengers) and Melinda Kinnaman (My Life as a Dog) have joined the voice cast of The Ape Star, an upcoming animated feature from director Linda Hamback.

Hamback will reteam with her Gordon & Paddy screenwriter Janne Vierth on the pic, in which Jonna, an orphan girl, gets adopted by a mother gorilla.

The film, an adaptation of Frida Nilsson’s award-winning novel, is set to start production next month and wrap in November 2020. Lee Film is producing.

“The main message of the film is that anyone can be ...

There is apparently a sizable overlap between people who like films in which cute dogs scamper around happily, and people who like films in which cute dogs drop dead every half an hour. In 2017, “A Dog’s Purpose” catered to both groups by telling the tale of Bailey, whose soul transmigrates into the body of a newborn pup whenever he dies. He is granted a different name, breed, and (sometimes) gender with each metempsychosis, but his enthusiastic thoughts are always voiced by Josh Gad, and he retains his loyalty to his favorite master, Ethan, played in the film’s later scenes by Dennis Quaid.

Critics agreed that “A Dog’s Purpose” was, well, a dog, but Bailey, who can recall his past lives, is back in the sequel, “A Dog’s Journey”.

Again, it is a glossily nostalgic and moralistic Nicholas Sparks-style melodrama co-written by W. Bruce Cameron, and adapted from his novel.

Ghost Town AnthologyThe titles for the 69th Berlin International Film Festival are being announced in anticipation of the event running February 7-17, 2019. We will update the program as new films are revealed.COMPETITIONThe Ground Beneath My FeetThe Golden Glove (Faith Akin, Germany/France)By the Grace of GodThe Kindness of StrangersI Was at Home, but A Tale of Three SistersGhost Town Anthology (Denis Côté, Canada)Berlinale SPECIALGully Boy (Zoya Akhtar, India)BrechtWatergate (Charles Ferguson, USA)Panorama 201937 Seconds (Hikari (Mitsuyo Miyazaki), Japan)Dafne (Federico Bondi, Italy)The Day After I'm Gone (Nimrod Eldar, Israel)A Dog Called Money (Seamus Murphy, Ireland/UK)Waiting for the CarnivalChainedFlatland (Jenna Bass, South Africa/Germany/Luxembourg)Greta (Armando Praça, Brazil)Hellhole (Bas Devos, Belgium/Netherlands)Jessica Forever (Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel, France)AcidMid90s (Jonah Hill, USA) Family MembersMonos (Alejandro Landes, Columbia/Argentina/Netherlands/Germany/Denmark/Sweden/Uruguay) O Beautiful Night (Xaver Böhm,...

Slow torture for kids and grownups alike, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms gives a bad name to the very concept of family entertainment. What went wrong? Where to begin?!? On the surface, this Disney debacle seems like a no-brainer for the holidays: It’s an 1816 gothic fairytale by E.T.A. Hoffman and a ballet with music by Tchaikovsky. What we have here is simply a botch job with two directors — Lasse Hallstrom (My Life as a Dog) for starters and Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III) for reshoots — and...

Lasse Hallstrom and Joe Johnston will have a unique shared directing credit on Disney’s upcoming “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.”

The helmers — who are not a directing team — will be listed on the same title card for “The Nutcracker,” which stars Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, Misty Copeland, and Mackenzie Foy.

Hallstrom was the first director on the movie. Johnston was hired for a month of re-shoots, requiring extensive special effects, when Hallstrom was not available to film the additional footage.

Typically, under the Directors Guild of America’s rules, only one filmmaker can be credited with directing a film. That was the case on “Bohemian Rhapsody,” in which Bryan Singer was given the credit, even though he was fired in the latter stages of shooting and replaced by Dexter Fletcher. That rule can be waived to allow two directors to be credited when filmmakers have a history of...

It was an unlikely friendship and business partnership that has outlasted most Hollywood marriages. Victor Loewy was born in Romania; Robert Lantos, pictured at left, came to Montreal from Hungary.

“Hungarians have a sense of superiority to Romanians,” says Lantos, dryly — it’s been a running joke between them for years. Yet, the two McGill students formed a bond. Lantos would hitchhike to school. Loewy picked him up.

Together, in the early 1970s, they had formed a tiny company named Vivafilm and managed to acquire the Canadian rights to the “Best of the New York Erotic Film Festival” — it was their first hit.

“My main interest was to make films, and Victor’s main interest was to make money. So we matched up perfectly,” says Lantos.

From a tiny office filled with borrowed furniture, the duo launched an empire. Lantos was the wordsmith and Loewy handled all the graphics for...

Lasse Hallström’s canine tale is steeped in sentimentality, heavy with nostalgia and full of furry charm – but ultimately banal

“What is the meaning of life? Are we here for a reason?” asks the protagonist pup in the unironically titled A Dog’s Purpose. Dog lover and director Lasse Hallström, who also made My Life As a Dog and Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, follows one canine (voiced by Josh Gad) through its various reincarnations (deaths notwithstanding) and respective owners: a German shepherd police dog, an endearingly sluggish corgi and, in its most adorable iteration, a ginger-eyelashed red retriever named Bailey. Said retriever lands in the scrawny arms of eight-year-old only child Ethan (Bryce Gheisar), the canine companion a welcome distraction from his alcoholic father (Luke Kirby). Teen Ethan and his girlfriend are played by Netflix TV stars Kj Apa (Riverdale’s Archie) and Britt Robertson (Girlboss’s Sophia) respectively,...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

The Bfg (Steven Spielberg)

CGI loses the day in Steven Spielberg’s The Bfg, a partly motion-captured, eco-minded adaptation of Roald Dahl’s adored children’s book that leans so heavily on green-screen trickery that even Mark Rylance’s kind eyes — squinting out from that computer-generated abyss — can’t save it from mediocrity. The plotline of a friendly, dream-blowing giant who takes an orphaned girl under his wing has...

Each month, the fine folks at FilmStruck and the Criterion Collection spend countless hours crafting their channels to highlight the many different types of films that they have in their streaming library. This April will feature an exciting assortment of films, as noted below.

To sign up for a free two-week trial here.

Monday, April 3 The Chaos of Cool: A Tribute to Seijun Suzuki

In February, cinema lost an icon of excess, Seijun Suzuki, the Japanese master who took the art of the B movie to sublime new heights with his deliriously inventive approach to narrative and visual style. This series showcases seven of the New Wave renegade’s works from his career breakthrough in the sixties: Take Aim at the Police Van (1960), an off-kilter whodunit; Youth of the Beast (1963), an explosive yakuza thriller; Gate of Flesh (1964), a pulpy social critique; Story of a Prostitute (1965), a tragic romance; Tokyo Drifter...

I'm an unshakable dog lover, heart and soul – you wouldn't have to do much to get me wagging my metaphorical tail just by making a movie about pups being pups. So A Dog's Purpose had me at first bark. Then along came PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) with disturbing news: A video clip, originally aired on TMZ, showed a German Shepherd resisting being forced into a water tank to film a rescue scene. The "alternative facts" claimed the animal wasn't coerced at all, just momentarily disoriented when...

Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.

This Past Weekend:

As per my Thursday update, M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller Split ended up winning the weekend but with way more than anyone, including myself, predicted, with more than $40 million for its opening weekend. That’s pretty impressive, and his first movie to open at that level since 2010’s The Last Airbender. Meanwhile, Vin Diesel’s sequel xXx: The Return of Xander Cage ended up making around where I predicted, taking second place with $20.1 million, not a great sign for the continuation of that franchise. Michael Keaton’s The Founder ended up right around where I predicted with $3.4 million, ending up just outside the Top 10. Hidden Figures, La La Land and Sing continued to do well with minimal drop-offs.

This...

Josh Gad’s opening voiceover in “A Dog’s Purpose” asks: “What is the meaning of life?”

You might think: I don’t know, but I don’t think a movie about dog reincarnation is going to tell me.

He goes on: “Are we here for a reason?” Puppies? “Is there a point to any of this?” Probably not, but hopefully puppies.

Turns out, the answer to that last question is a resounding no. It’s not hard to guess why any studio would want to make a movie based on W. Bruce Cameron’s bestselling novel, one that’s ostensibly designed to appeal to the millions of people who turn cute dog videos viral. However, “A Dog’s Purpose” is a lot harder to understand when you consider that it’s a kids’ movie featuring multiple dog characters suffering and dying — and when you consider that it’s directed by Lasse Hallström,...

‘Toni Erdmann’ (Courtesy: Tiff)

By: Carson Blackwelder

Managing Editor

It’s not too often that foreign-language films get recognized for anything at the Oscars beyond the best foreign-language film category — but it does happen. And, believe it or not, it happens more for best original screenplay and best adapted screenplay than many other categories. A prime example of that is Toni Erdmann, Germany’s submission this year that is proving to be a cross-category threat, which could score a nomination — or a win — for its writing.

The story of Toni Erdmann — which has a solid Rotten Tomatoes score of 91% — follows a father who is trying to reconnect with his adult daughter after the death of his dog. It sounds simple enough but, of course, the two couldn’t be more unalike. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016 and where it won the Fipresci Prize. Since then, it...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

Author: The Jt Leroy Story (Jeff Feuerzeig)

Author: The Jt LeRoy Story relives the literary hoax of the early aughts, the truly weird and out of control tale of Jt LeRoy. An allegedly gender-fluid HIV positive son of a West Virginia truck stop hooker, he rose to the heights of indie stardom befriending the likes of Courtney Love, Shirley Manson, Lou Reed, Michael Pitt, Billy Corgan and filmmakers Gus Van...

It’s been about half-a-year since we learned The Criterion Collection would be departing Hulu soon and bringing its entire streaming library to the new service FilmStruck, alongside films from Turner Classic Movies, Janus Films, Flicker Alley, Icarus, Kino, Milestone, Zeitgeist, Warners Bros. and more. Basically, it’s cinephile heaven, but on everyone’s mind is how much would this service-of-our-dreams cost?

Ahead of a launch on October 19, Turner has now revealed the subscription pricing plans, and thankfully it’s quite reasonable. The subscriptions are broken down into three options. First, for $6.99 a month, you get “a constantly refreshed library of hard to find & critically acclaimed films,” which we imagine will be the Mubi-style of a curated, more limited line-up featuring hand-picked selections from their entire library.

Then, for $10.99 a month, you get access to the entire The Criterion Channel, as well as exclusive bonus content, and “exclusive contemporary and previously unavailable films.

Plus: Turner to launch Svod service FilmStruck; and more…

Tyler Perry’s 34th Street Films has hired Black List writers Jim Kehoe and Brian Kehoe to direct their R-rated action-comedy script Top Of The Food Chain.

The comedy is described as City Slickers meets The Revenant, replete with a huge, marauding bear.

Kay Cannon is preparing to direct The Kehoes’s Cherries with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg producing for Good Universe alongside Dmg Entertainment.

The Los Cabos Film Festival and Cannes Marché will present four Mexican films in post under the auspices of Los Cabos Goes To Cannes on May 15. The films are: Galopando Cine’s Carrion (Carroña) by Sebastián Hiriart; portmanteau The Bedroom (La Habitación) from Machete Films; EnAguas Cine’s The Darkest Days Of Us (Los Días Más Oscuros De Nosotras) by Astrid Rondero; and Spécola’s William, The New Judo Master (William, El Nuevo Maestro Del Judo) by Ricardo Silva.Starz Digital...

Yet another streaming service has been announced to join the market of Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and more. Get ready for FilmStruck! Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and the Criterion Collection have joined together to create Turner’s first domestic direct-to-consumer streaming product. With hopes of becoming a one-stop shop for arthouse, indie, foreign, and cult films old and new (including “Seven Samurai,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “A Room With A View,” “Blood Simple,” “My Life As A Dog,” “Mad Max,” “Breaker Morant,” and “The Player”), FilmStruck is expected to launch later this year. Further, with Criterion Collection coming aboard, the service will be the noted distribution company’s exclusive streaming home, which includes the Criterion Channel, “a new premium service programmed and curated by the Criterion team,” according to a press release. “At Turner, we are dedicated to engaging fans wherever they are, and we’re investing aggressively in content,...

Ioncinema.com’s Ioncinephile of the Month feature focuses on an emerging filmmaker from the world of cinema….but we would be disingenuous in categorizing this month’s spotlighted artist as a “new” arrival on the scene as this person as added a significant of contributions to the American independent film landscape.

This October, we feature Reed Morano, an award-winning cinematographer who’s deft craftsmanship can be found in works dating back to Courtney Hunt’s Frozen River and So Yong Kim’s For Ellen to more recent oeuvres in John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings and Mark Jackson’s War Story. Morano made the transition to directing, wearing not one but two hats on Meadowland, a soberingly thoughtful examination on loss, grief and an eschewing type of salvation starring Olivia Wilde in a performance that several are calling both fearless and ferocious.

Premiering this past April at the Tribeca Film...

Ioncinema.com’s Ioncinephile of the Month feature focuses on an emerging filmmaker from the world of cinema. This September, we put the spotlight on the writer-director of The Skeleton Twins. After exploring the thirtysomething slackerhood with the 2009 SXSW Film Festival preemed True Adolescents, Craig Johnson’s sophomore feature visits a paralleled (re)union of sibling spirits where the pursuit of happiness is challenged by the skeletal remains of what was left in one’s past. An examination of the sometimes vacuous, sometimes endearingly noir phases that the psyche tends to visit, the Sundance U.S. Dramatic Competition Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award winning film mowed down Park City auds with the versatile Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader proving that comedy and drama do mix.

Johnson’s delicate empathetic portrait of the misfits carries some vintage moments, and was instantly picked up by Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions for distribution and is landing in theatres September 12th.

Have you ever wondered what are the films that inspire the next generation of visionary filmmakers? As part of our monthly Ioncinephile profile (read this September), we ask the filmmaker the incredibly arduous task of identifying their top ten list of favorite films. Craig Johnson (who sees his The Skeleton Twins receive its theatrical release on September 12th) put together this top 10 (as of September 2014).

Carrie - Brian De Palma (1976)

“Freaky, funny, arty, beautiful, … and fucking scary. Sissy Spacek breaks your heart. And that seventies split screen action? Badass. This movie delivers on all levels at all times.”

Election – Alexander Payne (1999)

“Every moment of this movie rings true. Painfully funny, painfully smart and so perfectly constructed. My sister and I quote it whenever we see each other. Might be a perfect film.”

The Graduate – Mike Nichols (1967)

“The look on Mrs. Robinson’s face when Benjamin leaves her in the hallway.

In light of Kodak's decision to continue producing film stock and the vigorous support by Martin Scorsese and a host of other prominent directors, it's ironic that Lasse Hallstrom had to be forced into using film again for "The Hundred-Foot Journey." What's stranger is that it took Steven Spielberg, the film's producer, to pair Hallstrom up with Swedish cinematographer Linus Sandgren ("American Hustle"), who insisted they shoot on film. "I didn't even know that he existed until Steven recommended him," Hallstrom laughs. "He's tall and relaxed and comes from the North of Sweden. And his aesthetic is identical to mine. Instead of doing cuts, we did two long takes. But I like the fact that you can keep rolling and rolling with digital until we get it. Otherwise, I cut and talk." But the acclaimed director of "Chocolat," "Cider House Rules," and "My Life as a Dog" resisted film until Sandgren showed.

The Nicholas Sparks Limited Edition DVD Collection is another of those set releases that is the best and worst of all possible worlds. Serious fans are going to be happy to get collectible postcards, and a “personal letter from Nicholas Sparks,” but they already own the movies, and the discs don’t have any new bonuses.

On the other hand, if you don’t already own the movies (or only have one or two), this is a great collection to bring them all home at once. While there aren’t new bonuses, and the films aren’t remastered, or otherwise jazzed up with new treatments, most of the films include some solid bonuses anyway, and even the aging Message in a Bottle looks pretty good.

The Collection includes:

Message in a Bottle A Walk to Remember The Notebook Nights in Rodanthe Dear John The Lucky One Safe Haven

Running through...

One of the downsides of living in a movie landmark with a half-mile long driveway is that obsessed fans who can’t get a satisfactory peek from the road will occasionally think nothing about rolling up to your front door. Jim Lutz and Alex Carrillo have lived in their 100-year old farmhouse in Manor, Texas, since 1977, raising five children, running a jewelry business, and occasionally lending their rustic home to a movie or television production. But the tourists who come knocking aren’t imposing on their hospitality because of Roadie, the 1980 movie starring Art Carney and Meat Loaf that filmed there.

Relatively Media has announced that they will be developing a a biopic based on American business magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller. They've hired Lasse Hallstrom (My Life as a Dog, Cider House Rules) to direct the movie, and Dallas Buyers Club screenwriter Craig Borten to write the script.

The film will be an adaptation of Ron Chernow’s 1998 book Titan: The Life Of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. In case you're not up to speed on your American history, Rockefeller co-founded Standard Oil Co. in 1870 and revolutionized the oil industry. It made him the world’s first billionaire. He also ended up giving away most of his fortune.

I strongly suggest you watch the History Channel event series The Men Who Built America if you want a solid and entertaining rundown of Rockefeller and several other men that took America to the next level of greatness in terms of business and industry.

Currently, Avicii isn't just taking over the charts with his hit "Wake Me Up"; he's also rocking stadiums on his world tour. Here, the 24-year-old Swedish DJ tells Us Weekly 25 things about himself.  1. Grand Theft Auto 5 is my drug.  2. I don't believe in ghosts.  3. I do believe in outer space.  4. Lately I've been hanging out in the studio with Chris Martin and Wyclef! 5. My mother, Anki Liden, is a famous Swedish actress who starred in the Oscar-nominated film My Life as a Dog.  6. My [...]...

Random Media, a new multi-platform content company, has hired indie distribution vet Tom Skouras as chairman, the company announced Monday. For more than a decade, Skouras was president of Skouras Pictures, Inc., an indie film distribution company that handled the release of, among others, Joel and Ethan Coen’s first film, Blood Simple, Paul Schrader’s The Comfort of Strangers, Martin Donovan’s Apartment Zero and My Life as a Dog, directed by Lasse Hallstrom. "Tom will bring a level of guidance and insight to Random Media that can only be gained from a lifetime of extraordinary experience in our industry,”

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Random Media has tapped Tom Skouras as chairman, the newly formed indie film distributor said Monday. Skouras knows the world intimately, having served as founder and president of Skouras Pictures, which had the Coen Brothers’ debut film “Blood Simple” and Lasse Hallstrom’s Oscar-nominated “My Life as a Dog,” among its credits. It’s also been a family pursuit for Skouras, who the third generation of his family to be involved in the motion picture business. Members of the Skouras clan have owned or controlled United Artists Theater Circuit, Skouras Theaters, Fox Westcoast Theaters, and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

Cinelinx takes the stand to review Warner Archive's Night Court: The Complete Ninth Season on DVD!

This Warner Archive release is a Manufacture-On-Demand (Mod) DVD. It is made to be played in "play only" DVD devices, and may not play in some DVD recorders or PC drives. This 3-disc set, however, played with no problems in the Toshiba DVD recorder used for this review. This title is available directly from WBShop.com by clicking here.

The Set-up

Judge Harry Stone (Harry Anderson) rules over the chaos of a New York City night court. This three-disc DVD set includes all 22 episodes from the ninth and final season. Also stars Markie Post, Richard Moll, Marsha Warfield, Charles Robinson, Joleen Lutz and John Larroquette.

The Delivery

This three disc DVD set contains the following episodes: "A Guy Named Phantom, Pts. 1 & 2," "My Life as a Dog Lawyer," "Puppy Love," "Pop Goes the Question,...

Amazon is having a massive sale on Criterion Collection titles, virtually all of them listed at 50% off and I have included more than 115 of the available titles directly below along with a selection of ten I consider must owns. Titles beyond my top ten include Amarcord, Christopher Nolan's Following, David Fincher's The Game, Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory and The Killing, Roman Polansk's Rosemary's Baby, Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited and plenty of Terrence Malick. All the links lead directly to the Amazon website, so click on through with confidence. Small Note: By buying through the links below you help support RopeofSilicon.com as I get a small commission for the sales made through using these links. Thanks for reading and I appreciate your support. Top Ten Must Owns 8 1/2 (dir. Federico Fellini) 12 Angry Men (dir. Sidney Lumet) The 400 Blows (dir.

Amazon is having a massive sale on Criterion Collection titles, virtually all of them listed at 50% off and I have included more than 115 of the available titles directly below along with a selection of ten I consider must owns. Titles beyond my top ten include Amarcord, Christopher Nolan's Following, David Fincher's The Game, Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory and The Killing, Roman Polansk's Rosemary's Baby, Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited and plenty of Terrence Malick. All the links lead directly to the Amazon website, so click on through with confidence. Small Note: By buying through the links below you help support RopeofSilicon.com as I get a small commission for the sales made through using these links. Thanks for reading and I appreciate your support. Top Ten Must Owns 8 1/2 (dir. Federico Fellini) 12 Angry Men (dir. Sidney Lumet) The 400 Blows (dir.

Helen Mirren is expected to take on the lead role in The Hundred-Foot Journey.

Chocolat director Lasse Hallström has signed on for the adaptation of Richard C Morais's novel, reports Deadline.

Set in France, the tale centres around the rivalry between a three star Michelin restaurant and a nearby Indian eatery.

Mirren is rumoured for the role of the high-class restaurant's chef Madame Mallory, who takes a shine to the son of the family of her enemies.

DreamWorks has said that a casting has not yet been made.

Swedish director Hallström has also worked on What's Eating Gilbert Grape, My Life as a Dog and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

Mirren will next be seen reprising her role as Victoria in Red 2. She has also lent her voice to Monsters University.

The Hundred-Foot Journey will begin shooting in the autumn.

Watch a trailer for Helen Mirren's forthcoming movie...

Ioncinema.com’s Ioncinephile of the Month feature focuses on an emerging filmmaker from the world of cinema. This April, we’ve got a first: two for the price of one. Husband and wife filmmaking team of Ron Eyal and Eleanor Burke premiered Stranger Things at such fests as Slamdance (Winner Grand Jury Prize Best Narrative Feature), Raindance (Winner Grand Jury Prize Best U.K. Feature), Woodstock, Karlovy Vary, and is now they’ve got a one week theatrical run (April 5 – 11) at the reRun Theater in Brooklyn. Here is our profile on the filmmaker team and worth checking out is our accompanying original/combined personal Top Ten films list.

Eric Lavallee: During your childhood…what films were important to you?

Eleanor Burke: I remember going to the cinema as a very young child. The ceremony of it all was impressive: the velvet curtains, the hush as the lights went down.

The Swedish moviemaker Lasse Hallström was brought to Hollywood following the success of the funny, moving, deeply honest My Life As a Dog. But for 20 years he's largely devoted himself to increasingly glossy, romantic crowd-pleasers, the serious exception being his version of John Irving's novel The Cider House Rules. Safe Haven, his second adaptation of a bestselling weepie by Nicholas Sparks, is an almost unendurably sentimental tale of a young woman in flight from an abusive relationship in New England who finds Mr Right at a cosy little seaport in South Carolina. He's a handsome widower with two small children, one adorable, the other in need of a mother's love, and the idyll is broken and mended on 4 July. At the beginning there's a certain suspense, and there's also for those who like it, and obviously many do, a generous helping of divine intervention.

DramaRomancePhilip French

guardian.co.uk...