by Leroy Douresseaux
At the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, director David O. Russell’s American Hustle won “Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture,” SAG’s equivalent of a “best picture” award. After leading the nominations with four in the theatrical motion picture categories, director Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave won only one, Lupita Nyong'o as supporting actress.
I still think this is another sign that 12 Years a Slave is unlikely to win any big awards at the upcoming Oscars. I wonder if even Nyong’o will win in her Oscar category.
In the television categories at the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Breaking Bad and “Modern Family” each won two awards. Actress Rita Moreno received the “Life Achievement Award.”
The 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards winners were announced at the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® ceremony. The ceremony was simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS on Saturday, January 18, 2014 from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.
THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role:
MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY / Ron Woodroof – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role:
CATE BLANCHETT / Jasmine – “BLUE JASMINE” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role:
JARED LETO / Rayon – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role:
LUPITA NYONG’O / Patsey – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture:
AMERICAN HUSTLE (Columbia Pictures)
AMY ADAMS / Sydney Prosser
CHRISTIAN BALE / Irving Rosenfeld
LOUIS C.K. / Stoddard Thorsen
BRADLEY COOPER / Richie DiMaso
PAUL HERMAN / Alfonse Simone
JACK HUSTON / Pete Musane
JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Rosalyn Rosenfeld
ALESSANDRO NIVOLA / Federal Prosecutor
MICHAEL PEÑA / Sheik (Agent Hernandez)
JEREMY RENNER / Mayor Carmine Polito
ELISABETH RÖHM / Dolly Polito
SHEA WHIGHAM / Carl Elway
TELEVISION PROGRAMS
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries:
MICHAEL DOUGLAS / Liberace – “BEHIND THE CANDELABRA” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries:
HELEN MIRREN / Linda Kenney Baden – “PHIL SPECTOR” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series:
BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White – “BREAKING BAD” (AMC)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series:
MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham – “DOWNTON ABBEY” (PBS)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series:
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series:
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / Vice President Selina Meyer – “VEEP” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series:
BREAKING BAD (AMC)
MICHAEL BOWEN / Uncle Jack
BETSY BRANDT / Marie Schrader
BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White
LAVELL CRAWFORD / Huell
TAIT FLETCHER / Lester
LAURA FRASER / Lydia Rodarte-Quale
ANNA GUNN / Skyler White
MATTHEW T. METZLER / Matt
RJ MITTE / Walter White Jr.
DEAN NORRIS / Hank Schrader
BOB ODENKIRK / Saul Goodman
AARON PAUL / Jesse Pinkman
JESSE PLEMONS / Todd
STEVEN MICHAEL QUEZADA / Gomez
KEVIN RANKIN / Kenny
PATRICK SANE / Frankie
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series:
"MODERN FAMILY" (ABC)
JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy
AUBREY ANDERSON EMMONS / Lily Tucker-Pritchett
JESSE TYLER FERGUSON / Mitchell Pritchett
NOLAN GOULD / Luke Dunphy
SARAH HYLAND / Haley Dunphy
ED O’NEILL / Jay Pritchett
RICO RODRIGUEZ / Manny Delgado
ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron Tucker
SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria Delgado-Pritchett
ARIEL WINTER / Alex Dunphy
SAG AWARDS® HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES:
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture:
LONE SURVIVOR (Universal Pictures)
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series:
GAME OF THRONES (HBO)
LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
Screen Actors Guild 50th Annual Life Achievement Award: RITA MORENO
http://www.sagawards.org/
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Sunday, January 19, 2014
Review: Silly "LiTTLE MAN" Offers Big Laughs (Happy B'day, Shawn Wayans)
Little Man (2006)
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for crude and sexual humor throughout, language and brief drug references
DIRECTOR: Keenen Ivory Wayans
WRITERS: Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, and Shawn Wayans
PRODUCERS: Rick Alvarez, Lee R. Mayes, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, and Shawn Wayans
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Steven Bernstein
EDITORS: Michael Jackson and Nick Moore
COMPOSER: Teddy Castellucci
COMEDY/CRIME
Starring: Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Kerry Washington, Tracy Morgan, John Witherspoon, Lochlyn Munro, Fred Stoller, Damien Dante Wayans, Gary Owen, Chazz Palminteri, Alex Borstein, Brittany Daniel, John DeSantis, Dave Sheridan, Molly Shannon, and David Alan Grier with Rob Schneider (no screen credit)
The subject of this movie review is Little Man (also stylized as LiTTLE MAN), a 2006 crime comedy from director, Keenen Ivory Wayans, and starring his brothers, Marlon and Shawn Wayans. The film focuses on a wannabe dad who mistakenly believes that a short-of-stature criminal is his newly adopted son.
As soon as diminutive criminal, Calvin (Marlon Wayans provides the face; Linden Porco and Gabriel Pimental provide the body), leaves prison, he joins his dim and hapless homeboy, Percy (Tracy Morgan, priceless as the criminally inept doofus), in the theft of a large diamond. With the police hot on their trail, Calvin passes the diamond off to a suburban couple, Darryl (Shawn Wayans) and Vanessa (Kerry Washington).
Calvin and Percy follow the couple back to their home where they learn that the couple is struggling with whether or not they should have a child. Percy convinces the short-statured Calvin to disguise himself as a baby, and Percy leaves Calvin on Darryl and Vanessa’s doorstep. After discovering the “baby” Calvin on their doorstep, the couple takes him in, deciding to keep the toddler for at least the weekend until they can turn him over to child welfare authorities on Monday. Now a part of the family, baby Calvin makes his move to retrieve the diamond he hid in Vanessa’s bag, but Pops (John Witherspoon, in a scene stealing role), Vanessa’s father who lives with them, doesn’t trust this new foundling and keeps his eyes on him. Meanwhile, Walken (Chazz Palminteri), the cheap hood for whom Calvin and Percy stole the diamond, is moving in to retrieve his booty and he just may kill anyone in his way.
A midget or diminutive criminal passing himself off as a baby to be taken in by a naïve civilian who then unwittingly hides bogus baby from the law is a staple of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon shorts – 1954 Baby Buggy Bunny comes to mind. The family team of director/co-writer Keenen Ivory Wayans and co-writers/stars Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans make the concept their own in the new comedy, Little Man. Coming from the people who gave us the Fox sketch comedy series, “In Living Color,” and the reviled, but popular 2004 film, White Chicks ($113 million in worldwide box office, $42.2 of that earned internationally), we would expect Little Man to be in bad taste, and boy, is it in bad taste.
It’s grosser than most gross-out comedies. In terms of sexual innuendo, bawdy humor, and sexual humor, it actually crosses the line. There are moments that either outright offended me or stunned and shocked me into silence – killing my laughter as if someone hit an off switch. This concept is ridiculous except in Bugs Bunny cartoons. The execution of the narrative is illogical, implausible, improbable, and filled with impossibilities.
The CGI and visual effects that mold Marlon Wayans body with that of two dwarf actors to create Calvin is some amazing movie technology, but it doesn’t totally work. Marlon’s head often movies awkwardly, and sometimes his head still looks way too big for such a small body. Sometimes the seams between the computer-created Calvin and reality are painfully obvious, and Calvin just looks as if he’s been pasted in. On the other hand, about half the time, the “little man” in Little Man actually looks quite good.
But after all is said and done, Little Man is just frickin’ funny. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, howl with laughter in the theatre funny, choke-on-laughter funny, funny funny, etc. Those who like the Wayans’ unabashedly low brow humor, chocked full of bad taste and taboo busting will find this a hilarious treat. Little Man isn’t the classic great film, but it’s the classic make-you-laugh comedy. What Little Man lacks in serious artistic merit, it makes up for in laughter inducing nonsense. That’s the low art of high comedy.
6 of 10
B
Saturday, July 15, 2006
NOTES:
2007 Razzie Awards: 3 wins: “Worst Actor” (Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans), “Worst Screen Couple” (Shawn Wayans, Kerry Washington, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans and either Kerry Washington or Marlon Wayans), and “Worst Remake or Rip-Off” (Rip-Off of the 1954 Bugs Bunny cartoon Baby Buggy Bunny-1954); 4 nominations: “Worst Picture,” “Worst Actor” (Rob Schneider for The Benchwarmers), “Worst Director” (Keenen Ivory Wayans), and “Worst Screenplay” Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans)
Updated: Sunday, January 19, 2014
The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
"Kids on the Slope" and on Neon Alley
VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE PREMIERE OF JAZZ ANIME DRAMA KIDS ON THE SLOPE ON NEON ALLEY
Launching On The 24/7 Digital Anime Channel, Series By The Acclaimed Team Behind Cowboy Bebop Follows A Group Of Young Jazz Musicians In 60s Era Japan
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, announces a very special mid-season anime series debut with the launch of KIDS ON THE SLOPE on Neon Alley on Friday, January 17th at 9:30pm (PST).
The 12-episode anime drama about a group of young Japanese jazz musicians originally aired in Japan as a part of the prestigious ‘noitaminA’ block on Fuji TV, is rated ‘TV-14,’ and new installments will debut every Friday. KIDS ON THE SLOPE is distributed in North America by Sentai Filmworks.
Get ready to be blown away as the acclaimed team behind COWBOY BEBOP reunites for a tale of life, love, and all that jazz in KIDS ON THE SLOPE! Set during the summer of 1966 and based on a popular manga series created by Yuki Kodama, KIDS ON THE SLOPE! is the story of High school freshman Kaoru Nishimi struggling to adjust to the latest of many moves in his young life - this time to his uncle’s home in the seaside town of Kyushu. It’s never easy adjusting. But this time will be different. This time he’ll meet friends who’ll change his life forever. And he’ll discover a new passion, one that grabs his heart and rocks him to his very soul. It’s called JAZZ, and together with bad boy Sentaro and music store girl Ritsuko, they’re going to follow their muse to wherever the music takes them!
Neon Alley is VIZ Media’s innovative 24-hour English-dubbed linear anime channel that is available for general web access as well as for the Xbox 360® and Xbox LIVE® and the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) gaming system and the PlayStation®Network. Fans can also take advantage of the platform’s Video-On Demand “Catch Up” option which offers the flexibility to watch shows such as KIDS ON THE SLOPE anytime. The “Catch Up” option also allows viewers to search for specific content by individual series or by latest additions.
“KIDS ON THE SLOPE is a rich character-driven drama that demonstrates the power that music has to dramatically alter lives, and we’re very excited to bring it to North American fans on Neon Alley,” says Charlene Ingram, Senior Animation Marketing Manager. “Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop and Space Dandy fame, the series wonderfully captures the look and sound of 60s era Japan. Watanabe reunites with acclaimed Cowboy Bebop composer Yoko Kanno, who creates a rich and textured jazz soundtrack for this dynamic new musical drama. We invite fans to catch the mesmerizing premiere!”
Neon Alley’s diverse programming schedule includes a mix of action, adventure, sci-fi, supernatural, fantasy, and horror anime, all uncut and dubbed into English and presented in HD (when available), for a low monthly subscription rate of only $6.99.
For more information on Neon Alley, please visit www.NeonAlley.com.
For more information about other anime titles from VIZ Media, please visit: www.viz.com.
For more information on Sentai Filmworks, please visit www.sentai-filmworks.com
About Sentai Filmworks
Sentai Filmworks is one of the fastest-growing anime companies in North America, producing hit series like Persona 4, Girls und Panzer, Devil Survivor 2, Bodacious Space Pirates, Majestic Prince and High School of the Dead as well as high profile theatrical films such as Grave of the Fireflies, K-ON! and Appleseed. Sentai Filmworks’ programs are distributed through Ingram Entertainment, Diamond Comic Distributors, Section23Films and Waxworks through retailers Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s, FYE, Hastings, Suncoast, The Right Stuf, Wal-Mart and other good and fine stores. Digital product offerings may be found at Amazon, Anime Network, Crunchyroll, Google Play, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, PlayStation Network, Rovi, Samsung, Vudu, XBOX Marketplace and YouTube.
2014 USC Scripter Award Nominees Revealed
USC Libraries Name Finalists for 26th-Annual Scripter Award
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The USC Libraries have named the authors and screenwriters of Captain Phillips, Philomena, The Spectacular Now, 12 Years a Slave, and What Maisie Knew as finalists for the 26th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award. Scripter honors the screenwriter or screenwriters of the year’s most accomplished cinematic adaptation as well as the author or authors of the written work upon which the screenplay is based.
The finalists are, in alphabetical order by film title:
•Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty, authors of A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, and screenwriter Billy Ray, for Captain Phillips
•For Philomena, author Martin Sixsmith, who wrote the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, and screenwriters Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
•Novelist Tim Tharp and screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber for The Spectacular Now
•Solomon Northup, author of Twelve Years a Slave, and screenwriter John Ridley for 12 Years a Slave
•Screenwriters Carroll Cartwright and Nancy Doyne for What Maisie Knew, adapted from the novel by Henry James
The Friends of the USC Libraries established Scripter in 1988. Previous Scripter winners include the screenwriters and authors of Argo, The Descendants, No Country for Old Men, and The English Patient.
Co-chaired by Golden Globe-winning screenwriter Naomi Foner and USC professor and vice president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, the 2014 Scripter selection committee selected the five finalists from a field of 86 eligible adaptations.
Serving on the selection committee, among many others, are film critics Leonard Maltin and Kenneth Turan; authors Michael Chabon, Michael Ondaatje and Mona Simpson; screenwriters Geoffrey Fletcher, Callie Khouri and Steve Zaillian; and USC deans Elizabeth Daley of the School of Cinematic Arts, Madeline Puzo of the School of Dramatic Arts and Catherine Quinlan of the USC Libraries.
The studios distributing the finalist films and the publishers of the original stories are:
•Captain Phillips—Columbia Pictures and Hyperion Books
•Philomena—Weinstein Company and Macmillan
•The Spectacular Now—A24 and Alfred A. Knopf
•12 Years a Slave—Fox Searchlight and Derby & Miller
•What Maisie Knew—Millennium Entertainment and Herbert S. Stone
The USC Libraries will announce the winning authors and screenwriters at a black-tie ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014 in the historic Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library on the University Park campus of the University of Southern California. Academy Award winners Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford will serve as honorary dinner chairs.
Current silent auction donors and other event sponsors include AOC, Arthur Murray Santa Monica, At Your Side Private Exercise, Bouchon Beverly Hills, The Chopra Center for Wellbeing, Corvain Wine Access System, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Fess Parker Inn, Flight Deck, Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, French Reflections, The Geffen Playhouse, Daryle Ann and Mark Giardino, The Grammy Museum, The Grill, The Kitchen For Exploring Foods, Knock, Knock, Montage Beverly Hills, The LA Opera, The Los Angeles Clippers, Lee Olvera, OPI, Pebble Beach Concors d' Elegance, Pica Peru, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Plumleigh, Porto Via Beverly Hills, Poseidon Stand Up Paddleboards, Rivera, SBE Restaurant Group, Total Wine and More, USC Athletics, and WEN Chaz Dean.
For more information about Scripter—including ticket availability, additional sponsorship opportunities, and an up-to-date list of sponsors—please email scripter@usc.edu or visit scripter.usc.edu.
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The USC Libraries have named the authors and screenwriters of Captain Phillips, Philomena, The Spectacular Now, 12 Years a Slave, and What Maisie Knew as finalists for the 26th-annual USC Libraries Scripter Award. Scripter honors the screenwriter or screenwriters of the year’s most accomplished cinematic adaptation as well as the author or authors of the written work upon which the screenplay is based.
The finalists are, in alphabetical order by film title:
•Richard Phillips with Stephan Talty, authors of A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, and screenwriter Billy Ray, for Captain Phillips
•For Philomena, author Martin Sixsmith, who wrote the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, and screenwriters Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
•Novelist Tim Tharp and screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber for The Spectacular Now
•Solomon Northup, author of Twelve Years a Slave, and screenwriter John Ridley for 12 Years a Slave
•Screenwriters Carroll Cartwright and Nancy Doyne for What Maisie Knew, adapted from the novel by Henry James
The Friends of the USC Libraries established Scripter in 1988. Previous Scripter winners include the screenwriters and authors of Argo, The Descendants, No Country for Old Men, and The English Patient.
Co-chaired by Golden Globe-winning screenwriter Naomi Foner and USC professor and vice president of the Writers Guild of America, West, Howard Rodman, the 2014 Scripter selection committee selected the five finalists from a field of 86 eligible adaptations.
Serving on the selection committee, among many others, are film critics Leonard Maltin and Kenneth Turan; authors Michael Chabon, Michael Ondaatje and Mona Simpson; screenwriters Geoffrey Fletcher, Callie Khouri and Steve Zaillian; and USC deans Elizabeth Daley of the School of Cinematic Arts, Madeline Puzo of the School of Dramatic Arts and Catherine Quinlan of the USC Libraries.
The studios distributing the finalist films and the publishers of the original stories are:
•Captain Phillips—Columbia Pictures and Hyperion Books
•Philomena—Weinstein Company and Macmillan
•The Spectacular Now—A24 and Alfred A. Knopf
•12 Years a Slave—Fox Searchlight and Derby & Miller
•What Maisie Knew—Millennium Entertainment and Herbert S. Stone
The USC Libraries will announce the winning authors and screenwriters at a black-tie ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014 in the historic Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library on the University Park campus of the University of Southern California. Academy Award winners Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford will serve as honorary dinner chairs.
Current silent auction donors and other event sponsors include AOC, Arthur Murray Santa Monica, At Your Side Private Exercise, Bouchon Beverly Hills, The Chopra Center for Wellbeing, Corvain Wine Access System, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Fess Parker Inn, Flight Deck, Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, French Reflections, The Geffen Playhouse, Daryle Ann and Mark Giardino, The Grammy Museum, The Grill, The Kitchen For Exploring Foods, Knock, Knock, Montage Beverly Hills, The LA Opera, The Los Angeles Clippers, Lee Olvera, OPI, Pebble Beach Concors d' Elegance, Pica Peru, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Plumleigh, Porto Via Beverly Hills, Poseidon Stand Up Paddleboards, Rivera, SBE Restaurant Group, Total Wine and More, USC Athletics, and WEN Chaz Dean.
For more information about Scripter—including ticket availability, additional sponsorship opportunities, and an up-to-date list of sponsors—please email scripter@usc.edu or visit scripter.usc.edu.
Friday, January 17, 2014
"Vampire Academy" Movie Soundtrack Due February 11, 2014
Universal Music Enterprises to Release VAMPIRE ACADEMY Soundtrack out February 11, 2014
Featured artists include Katy Perry, Sky Ferreira, Goldfrapp, Iggy Azalea, Natalia Kills, Au Revoir Simone, Jaymes Bullett, Max Frost, Bear In Heaven, Rainy Milo and an exclusive track from CHVRCHES
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Universal Music Enterprises announced today that it will release the soundtrack album from the upcoming movie VAMPIRE ACADEMY on February 11. The line-up of artists includes Katy Perry, Goldfrapp, Sky Ferreira and more. Indie darlings CHVRCHES (Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and Lauren Mayberry) will contribute a self-produced exclusive track of the Bauhaus cover “Bela Lugosi's Dead.” The Weinstein Company will release VAMPIRE ACADEMY in theaters nationwide on February 14th.
The full album track list features an eclectic line-up, with “In Your Grave” by Jaymes Bullet (unreleased), “Red Lips” by Sky Ferreira, “Nice and Slow” by Max Frost, “Thea” by Goldfrapp, “Boys Don’t Cry” by Natalia Kills, “Bounce” by Iggy Azalea, ”Sinful Nature” by Bear In Heaven, “Think About It” by Naughty Boy, “Rats” by Rainy Milo (unreleased), “Spiritual” by Katy Perry, “Crazy” by Au Revoir Simone and the aforementioned exclusive CHVRCHES “Bela Lugosi's Dead.” CHVRVCHES says, "’Bela Lugosi's Dead’ is a genre defining classic. It was equal parts thrilling and daunting to attempt a reworking of such an incredible song. We can only hope that we did The Count proud." Adds Howard Paar, music supervisor, "I think we all felt a big responsibility to capture the spirit of the books with the songs that were chosen. I hope everyone has as much fun listening to the soundtrack as we did making it."
Director Mark Waters explains, "I had happily planned a career as a doctor when I first saw 'The Hunger' in the early eighties. I was immediately enraptured by it and its unforgettable use, in the classic opening sequence, of the seminal Bauhaus song, 'Bela Lugosi's Dead.' I saw the movie again the next day and, by the end of the week, I no longer wanted to be a doctor.
"If and when my journey as a filmmaker took me down the dark alley of the Vampire genre, I knew I'd want to pay homage to The Hunger, Bauhaus, and 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' in a way that took it all to another level. It was remarkable good luck we could hitch onto the comet that is CHVRCHES. I dare anyone to try walking out on the closing credits when their version of Bela is playing!"
From Mark Waters, the director of MEAN GIRLS, and his brother Daniel Waters, the screenwriter of HEATHERS, comes VAMPIRE ACADEMY, a film based on the best-selling book series by Richelle Mead.
St. Vladimir's is like any boarding school -- it’s got cute boys, gossip queens, and a strict curfew, but that’s only because when you’re a vampire the sun is annoying. Rose Hathaway (Zoey Deutch), is the 17-year-old half human/half vampire guardian of her best friend, Princess Lissa Dragomir (Lucy Fry), the last in line to become queen of the Vampire Moroi. Someone or something wants Lissa dead. To keep her alive, Rose will have to keep her hormones in check and actually learn from her hot guardian instructor Dimitri. Only then will she be able to fight off crazed vampires, deadly fire-spells, and murderous psi-hounds. If you thought high school was cut throat….
VAMPIRE ACADEMY is a best-selling series of six young-adult paranormal romance novels by author Richelle Mead. The first book in the series, Vampire Academy, was published in 2007. By 2013 the series had sold over 8 million copies in 35 countries. With its irreverent characters and Richelle's distinct voice, Vampire Academy has set itself apart from anything else the Young Adult world is reading.
VAMPIRE ACADEMY will be released through the Weinstein Company, was financed by Reliance and is produced by Don Murphy and Susan Montford of NATURAL BORN KILLERS, BULLY, REAL STEEL & TRANSFORMERS, Deepak Nayar of BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB & LOST HIGHWAY and Michael Preger of the upcoming DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS.
Featured artists include Katy Perry, Sky Ferreira, Goldfrapp, Iggy Azalea, Natalia Kills, Au Revoir Simone, Jaymes Bullett, Max Frost, Bear In Heaven, Rainy Milo and an exclusive track from CHVRCHES
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Universal Music Enterprises announced today that it will release the soundtrack album from the upcoming movie VAMPIRE ACADEMY on February 11. The line-up of artists includes Katy Perry, Goldfrapp, Sky Ferreira and more. Indie darlings CHVRCHES (Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and Lauren Mayberry) will contribute a self-produced exclusive track of the Bauhaus cover “Bela Lugosi's Dead.” The Weinstein Company will release VAMPIRE ACADEMY in theaters nationwide on February 14th.
The full album track list features an eclectic line-up, with “In Your Grave” by Jaymes Bullet (unreleased), “Red Lips” by Sky Ferreira, “Nice and Slow” by Max Frost, “Thea” by Goldfrapp, “Boys Don’t Cry” by Natalia Kills, “Bounce” by Iggy Azalea, ”Sinful Nature” by Bear In Heaven, “Think About It” by Naughty Boy, “Rats” by Rainy Milo (unreleased), “Spiritual” by Katy Perry, “Crazy” by Au Revoir Simone and the aforementioned exclusive CHVRCHES “Bela Lugosi's Dead.” CHVRVCHES says, "’Bela Lugosi's Dead’ is a genre defining classic. It was equal parts thrilling and daunting to attempt a reworking of such an incredible song. We can only hope that we did The Count proud." Adds Howard Paar, music supervisor, "I think we all felt a big responsibility to capture the spirit of the books with the songs that were chosen. I hope everyone has as much fun listening to the soundtrack as we did making it."
Director Mark Waters explains, "I had happily planned a career as a doctor when I first saw 'The Hunger' in the early eighties. I was immediately enraptured by it and its unforgettable use, in the classic opening sequence, of the seminal Bauhaus song, 'Bela Lugosi's Dead.' I saw the movie again the next day and, by the end of the week, I no longer wanted to be a doctor.
"If and when my journey as a filmmaker took me down the dark alley of the Vampire genre, I knew I'd want to pay homage to The Hunger, Bauhaus, and 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' in a way that took it all to another level. It was remarkable good luck we could hitch onto the comet that is CHVRCHES. I dare anyone to try walking out on the closing credits when their version of Bela is playing!"
From Mark Waters, the director of MEAN GIRLS, and his brother Daniel Waters, the screenwriter of HEATHERS, comes VAMPIRE ACADEMY, a film based on the best-selling book series by Richelle Mead.
St. Vladimir's is like any boarding school -- it’s got cute boys, gossip queens, and a strict curfew, but that’s only because when you’re a vampire the sun is annoying. Rose Hathaway (Zoey Deutch), is the 17-year-old half human/half vampire guardian of her best friend, Princess Lissa Dragomir (Lucy Fry), the last in line to become queen of the Vampire Moroi. Someone or something wants Lissa dead. To keep her alive, Rose will have to keep her hormones in check and actually learn from her hot guardian instructor Dimitri. Only then will she be able to fight off crazed vampires, deadly fire-spells, and murderous psi-hounds. If you thought high school was cut throat….
VAMPIRE ACADEMY is a best-selling series of six young-adult paranormal romance novels by author Richelle Mead. The first book in the series, Vampire Academy, was published in 2007. By 2013 the series had sold over 8 million copies in 35 countries. With its irreverent characters and Richelle's distinct voice, Vampire Academy has set itself apart from anything else the Young Adult world is reading.
VAMPIRE ACADEMY will be released through the Weinstein Company, was financed by Reliance and is produced by Don Murphy and Susan Montford of NATURAL BORN KILLERS, BULLY, REAL STEEL & TRANSFORMERS, Deepak Nayar of BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB & LOST HIGHWAY and Michael Preger of the upcoming DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS.
Broadcast Film Critics Name "12 Years a Slave" Best Picture of 2013
by Amos Semien
The Broadcast Film Critics Association named 12 Years a Slave the “Best Picture” of 2013 at the 19th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, which the BFCA presents. Director Steve McQueen’s film also claimed “Best Supporting Actress” for Lupita Nyong’o and “Best Adapted Screenplay” for John Ridley.
Gravity led the 19th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards with seven wins, including “Best Director” for Alfonso Cuarón and “Best Actress in An Action Movie” for Sandra Bullock. This is a record for the most Critics’ Choice Movie Award wins ever, previously held by Inception (2010) and Avatar (2009), which both had six wins.
American Hustle won four awards, including “Best Acting Ensemble” and “Best Actress in a Comedy” for Amy Adams. Dallas Buyers Club received two major acting awards, “Best Actor” to Matthew McConaughey and “Best Supporting Actor” to Jared Leto.
The winners of the 19th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards were announced at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards ceremony on Thursday, January 16, 2014 from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. The show was broadcast live on The CW Network. Aisha Tyler hosted the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards ceremony. Tyler currently serves as the new host of the critically acclaimed improv show, “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” on The CW Network and is also currently a co-host of Emmy-nominated show “The Talk.”
WINNERS OF THE 2014 / 19th ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS (for the year in film 2013):
Best Picture – “12 Years a Slave”
Best Actor – Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Best Actress – Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Best Supporting Actor – Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Best Supporting Actress – Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Best Young Actor/Actress – Adele Exarchopoulos, “Blue Is The Warmest Color”
Best Acting Ensemble – “American Hustle”
Best Director – Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity”
Best Original Screenplay – Spike Jonze, “Her”
Best Adapted Screenplay – John Ridley, “12 Years a Slave”
Best Cinematography – Emmanuel Lubezki, “Gravity”
Best Art Direction – Catherine Martin (Production Designer), Beverley Dunn (Set Decorator), “The Great Gatsby”
Best Editing – Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger, “Gravity”
Best Costume Design – Catherine Martin, “The Great Gatsby”
Best Hair & Makeup – “American Hustle”
Best Visual Effects – “Gravity”
Best Animated Feature – “Frozen”
Best Action Movie – “Lone Survivor”
Best Actor in an Action Movie – Mark Wahlberg, “Lone Survivor”
Best Actress in an Action Movie – Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
Best Comedy – “American Hustle”
Best Actor in a Comedy – Leonardo DiCaprio, “Wolf of Wall Street”
Best Actress in a Comedy – Amy Adams, “American Hustle”
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie – “Gravity”
Best Foreign Language Film – “Blue Is the Warmest Color”
Best Documentary Feature – “20 Feet From Stardom”
Best Song – “Let It Go” Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, “Frozen”
Best Score – Steven Price, “Gravity”
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The Broadcast Film Critics Association named 12 Years a Slave the “Best Picture” of 2013 at the 19th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, which the BFCA presents. Director Steve McQueen’s film also claimed “Best Supporting Actress” for Lupita Nyong’o and “Best Adapted Screenplay” for John Ridley.
Gravity led the 19th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards with seven wins, including “Best Director” for Alfonso Cuarón and “Best Actress in An Action Movie” for Sandra Bullock. This is a record for the most Critics’ Choice Movie Award wins ever, previously held by Inception (2010) and Avatar (2009), which both had six wins.
American Hustle won four awards, including “Best Acting Ensemble” and “Best Actress in a Comedy” for Amy Adams. Dallas Buyers Club received two major acting awards, “Best Actor” to Matthew McConaughey and “Best Supporting Actor” to Jared Leto.
The winners of the 19th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards were announced at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards ceremony on Thursday, January 16, 2014 from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. The show was broadcast live on The CW Network. Aisha Tyler hosted the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards ceremony. Tyler currently serves as the new host of the critically acclaimed improv show, “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” on The CW Network and is also currently a co-host of Emmy-nominated show “The Talk.”
WINNERS OF THE 2014 / 19th ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS (for the year in film 2013):
Best Picture – “12 Years a Slave”
Best Actor – Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Best Actress – Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Best Supporting Actor – Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Best Supporting Actress – Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Best Young Actor/Actress – Adele Exarchopoulos, “Blue Is The Warmest Color”
Best Acting Ensemble – “American Hustle”
Best Director – Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity”
Best Original Screenplay – Spike Jonze, “Her”
Best Adapted Screenplay – John Ridley, “12 Years a Slave”
Best Cinematography – Emmanuel Lubezki, “Gravity”
Best Art Direction – Catherine Martin (Production Designer), Beverley Dunn (Set Decorator), “The Great Gatsby”
Best Editing – Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger, “Gravity”
Best Costume Design – Catherine Martin, “The Great Gatsby”
Best Hair & Makeup – “American Hustle”
Best Visual Effects – “Gravity”
Best Animated Feature – “Frozen”
Best Action Movie – “Lone Survivor”
Best Actor in an Action Movie – Mark Wahlberg, “Lone Survivor”
Best Actress in an Action Movie – Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
Best Comedy – “American Hustle”
Best Actor in a Comedy – Leonardo DiCaprio, “Wolf of Wall Street”
Best Actress in a Comedy – Amy Adams, “American Hustle”
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie – “Gravity”
Best Foreign Language Film – “Blue Is the Warmest Color”
Best Documentary Feature – “20 Feet From Stardom”
Best Song – “Let It Go” Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, “Frozen”
Best Score – Steven Price, “Gravity”
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Review: "The Hunt for Red October" Still a Goodie
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Running time: 134 minutes (2 hour, 14 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some intense action/violence and language
DIRECTOR: John McTiernan
WRITERS: Larry Ferguson and Donald Stewart (based on the novel by Tom Clancy)
PRODUCER: Mace Neufeld
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jan De Bont (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Dennis Virkler and John Wright
COMPOSER: Basil Poledouris
Academy Award winner
DRAMA/ESPIONAGE/ACTION/THRILLER
Starring: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, Richard Jordan, Peter Firth, Tim Curry, Courtney B. Vance, Stellan Skarsgard, Jeffrey Jones, Fred Dalton Thompson, Daniel Davis, Gates McFadden, and James Earl Jones
Advertisements for the upcoming film, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, tout it as the return of the Tom Clancy thriller to the big screen. That little bit of hard-selling made me want to see the first Tom Clancy thriller to hit movie theatres, again.
The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 naval thriller and action movie from director John McTiernan. The film is based on The Hunt for Red October, a novel by the late author Tom Clancy that was first published in 1984. The Hunt for Red October the movie focuses on a rogue Soviet submarine captain and the young CIA analyst who is trying to figure out his every move.
The Hunt for Red October opens in 1984 in the USSR and introduces Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery). He commands the Red October, a ballistic missile submarine that is virtually undetectable. The ship’s first mission is to be part of USSR war game exercises, but early in the mission, the Red October disappears.
In the United States, a young CIA analyst, Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin), gets an assignment from Vice Admiral James Greer (James Earl Jones), CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence. Ryan must discover Ramius’ intentions before a war breaks out between the Americans and the Russians over the missing Red October. Is Ramius trying to defect, or to start a war?
Tom Clancy’s intrepid CIA agent, Jack Ryan, makes his first big screen appearance in The Hunt for Red October. Actor Harrison Ford would play the character in 1992’s Patriot Games and 2004’s Clear and Present Danger. Ben Affleck would play Ryan in The Sum of All Fears (2002), which I have not seen as of this writing. Clear and Present Danger is one of my all-time favorite movies, and honestly, I can’t say if I like Baldwin or Ford more as Ryan, because both are among my favorite actors.
The Hunt for Red October is not a great movie, but it is greatly entertaining. It is skillfully directed by John McTiernan, who, for a time from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, was one of the supreme directors of big, masculine, and loud action movies. The expert film editing in this movie reveals McTiernan’s efficiency at creating a story that is part clever and deceptive game and part espionage thriller – all wrapped inside the mechanics of a military film.
Sean Connery as Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Ryan are convincing and proficient, and while this is not their best work, they create characters we want to be next to and follow into adventure. I had not seen this movie in years, but it is as good as or maybe even better than I remember. The Hunt for Red October is the techno-thriller that does not require the viewer to be smart to watch it. That is not a slap at the audience; that’s a compliment to say that The Hunt for Red October is a smart movie that is also successful at entertaining.
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
1991 Academy Awards, USA: 1 win: “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Cecelia Hall and George Watters II); 2 nominations: “Best Sound” (Richard Bryce Goodman, Richard Overton, Kevin F. Cleary, and Don J. Bassman), and “Best Film Editing” (Dennis Virkler and John Wright)
1991 BAFTA Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Actor” (Sean Connery), “Best Production Design” (Terence Marsh), “Best Sound” (Cecilia Häll, George Watters II, Richard Bryce Goodman, and Don J. Bassman)
Friday, January 17, 2014
The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.
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