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William Friedkin on Preparing 'Killer Joe': "It's Like a Warped Version of 'Cinderella'''

By Bryan Reesman (Subscribe to Bryan Reesman's posts), Posted Oct 9th 2010 12:00PM
Filed under: Movie News
William FriedkinWhile William Friedkin has recently been busy promoting the Blu-ray release of 'The Exorcist,' he has also been looking ahead to future endeavors. Next up for the Oscar-winning director is 'Killer Joe,' a cinematic exploration of a cop who's also a hired killer, starring Matthew McConaughey and Emile Hirsch.

This will be the second film collaboration between Friedkin and playwright/screenwriter Tracy Letts, who also wrote and adapted his play 'Bug,' a film that also starred Ashley Judd. Letts won the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his hit Broadway drama 'August: Osage County.' Plans are to start work on 'Killer Joe' on Nov. 8.

Considering that Friedkin has previously tackled detectives and corruption (usually together) with 'The French Connection,' 'To Live And Die In L.A.,' 'Jade' and 'Cruising,' one wonders how he will keep the material fresh this time out. "This is nothing like any of those," he told Moviefone. "This is very edgy. It is on the razor's edge. It's been called very violent. I don't think it is very violent, but it's very sexually explicit. It is about a very disturbing group of characters."
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William Friedkin and Linda Blair on the Making of 'The Exorcist'

By Bryan Reesman (Subscribe to Bryan Reesman's posts), Posted Oct 5th 2010 2:00PM
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews, DVDs, Horror

It's been called the scariest movie ever made, and arriving today on Blu-ray nearly 37 years after its original Yuletide release, 'The Exorcist' is as enigmatic and creepy as ever. It's also still ripe with the contradictions that transformed it into a classic: a "theological thriller" written by a devout Catholic and directed by an agnostic Jew; a film not considered a horror tale by its creators yet invoking terror in its audience; and a young teen star engaged in disturbing acts who did not understand their implication at the time of filming. Yet it is these inherent dichotomies that give the film its undeniable power.
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Rita Tushingham Talks 'Doctor Zhivago,' the Beatles and Breast Cancer Awareness

By Bryan Reesman (Subscribe to Bryan Reesman's posts), Posted May 7th 2010 2:00PM
Filed under: Celebrity Interviews
Rita TushinghamEven though she knew she was working with acclaimed director David Lean and acting opposite the revered Sir Alec Guinness, Rita Tushingham probably no had idea that the three weeks she spent shooting scenes for the supporting role of The Girl in the epic, Oscar-winning 'Doctor Zhivago' would make her a permanent part of film history.

Forty five years later, the film has received a brilliant new restoration from Warner Bros. -- it was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival last weekend and released this week on Blu-ray and DVD -- and these days, people consider it to be one of the greatest films ever made.

While in town to promote the film's sparkling reissue, Tushingham sat down to chat with Moviefone about the film, working with Lean and Guinness, being friends with The Beatles back in the day and her fight to raise awareness for breast cancer. Here's what she had to say.
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Controversial 'Remember Me' Ending Dividing Critics and Audiences

By Bryan Reesman (Subscribe to Bryan Reesman's posts), Posted Mar 15th 2010 1:30PM
Filed under: Hot Topic
While it might have initially seemed like Robert Pattinson's latest movie, 'Remember Me,' would be generating controversy and debate over whether it proves that the 'Twilight' star has real acting chops, it has actually caused a big stir among critics and audiences because of its incredibly dramatic (and some feel overwrought) final minutes.

Its big twist seems to be overshadowing the rest of the picture for some and is undoubtedly drawing attention away from the fact that, despite its low 27% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film features solid performances from Pattinson and co-star Emilie de Ravin ('Lost').


(SPOILER ALERT! If you have not seen the film and do not want to know the ending, read no further as the climax is revealed and discussed in detail after the jump.)
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James Franco to Play Trapped Mountain Climber in '127 Hours'

By Bryan Reesman (Subscribe to Bryan Reesman's posts), Posted Jan 7th 2010 11:45AM
Filed under: Movie News
Known for heroic or macho roles in movies like 'Annapolis,' 'James Dean,' 'Flyboys' and the 'Spider-Man' trilogy, plus his comedic stoner turn in 'Pineapple Express,' James Franco is taking on a slightly different character for his next film.

According to Variety, in director Danny Boyle's forthcoming '127 Hours' the 31-year-old actor will portray real-life mountaineer Aron Ralston, whose lower right forearm became trapped under an 800-pound boulder during a climb in Utah in 2003.
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Pierre Morel to Direct 'Dune' Remake

By Bryan Reesman (Subscribe to Bryan Reesman's posts), Posted Jan 5th 2010 12:00PM
Filed under: Movie News
'Dune' RemakeAnother day, another remake.

Hollywood has become so obsessed with remaking or rebooting every possible hit from the past that they regularly invoke the ire of purist fans and critics. The news that Pierre Morel will direct a new 'Dune' remake just fuels the fire; firstly because this is the third cinematic incarnation of Frank Herbert's legendary sci-fi novel (big screen version in '84, small screen Sci-Fi Channel version in '00) and secondly because Morel comes from a background of smaller budget action movies.
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SAG Award Nominees Include 'Inglourious Basterds,' 'Hurt Locker,' 'Precious'

By Bryan Reesman (Subscribe to Bryan Reesman's posts), Posted Dec 17th 2009 9:45AM
Filed under: Movie News, Awards
While some of the nominees in the Theatrical Motion Pictures category for January's 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® followed conventional Hollywood wisdom ('Invictus,' 'The Blind Side'), there were some surprises.

The most notable were for Quentin Tarantino's violent epic 'Inglourious Basterds,' Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq war drama 'The Hurt Locker' and the gritty, inner city coming-of-age tale 'Precious: Based On The Novel 'Push' By Sapphire.' Even a few members of the press made quiet cheers or audible gasps of (pleased) surprise at those announcements.

The nominees were announced this morning at a press conference in Los Angeles by Chris O'Donnell and Michelle Monaghan. The Actor® Awards Ceremony will air live on Sat., Jan. 23, 2010, on TNT and TBS at 8PM ET.
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