A Wrinkle in Time: Teaser Trailer from Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay

Posted on July 16, 2017 at 11:52 pm

I could not be more excited about seeing one of my all-time favorite books brought to screen by one of my all-time favorite directors. Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time is a magnificent story of a brave girl named Meg who has to save her scientist father (Chris Pine). He disappeared while testing a theory about traveling through space. The book was rejected at first by publishers because it did not fit into any one category — it has adventure and science fiction and romance and questions of faith and philosophy. Meg, like Jo March and Mary Lennox, is smart, strong, and brave — and, crucially, succeeds because of her faults, not in spite of them. I interviewed L’Engle’s granddaughter on the 50th anniversary of the book.

And now Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) is directing the movie version. This early glimpse of the film, which will be out next spring, looks thrilling. The trio of otherworldly creatures wonderfully named Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Who, are played by Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling.

I hope she signs up to do the whole series.

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Trailers, Previews, and Clips

Net Neutrality Day of Action

Posted on July 12, 2017 at 5:26 pm

Keep the Internet neutral! Because the internet was developed by the government and universities, it has become the greatest resource ever created, giving a high school journalist the same opportunity to obtain and publish an interview the Secretary of Defense as the New York Times. Do not let this administration turn it over to a few big corporations to decide what we do and do not need to see. Join with the tech sites who are fighting for equal access. Let the FCC know.

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Commentary

Trailer: Final Portrait with Geoffrey Rush and Armie Hammer

Posted on July 10, 2017 at 9:12 pm

Geoffrey Rush stars as Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti, with Armie Hammer as James Lord, written and directed by Stanley Tucci. Here is the real-life portrait of Lord.

Indiewire: Best Comedies since 2000

Posted on July 7, 2017 at 8:00 am

Indiewire has put together a list of the best movie comedies of the 21st century — so far.

Of course, lists are just the way to start a conversation/argument, not definitive, and it’s debatable whether some of these even count as comedies, but it’s a good reminder as you look over the possibilities on streaming services.

The obligatory complaint about one left out:

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Comedy For Your Netflix Queue Lists

Interview: Zoe Lister-Jones, Writer/Director/Lyricist/Star of “Band Aid”

Posted on July 6, 2017 at 7:07 pm

For rogerebert.com, I spoke to writer/director/lyricist/star Zoe Lister-Jones about her film,

“Band Aid,” made with an all-female crew.

Why did you insist on an all-female crew?

First and foremost, I just wanted to see what it would feel like to make art with other women and exclusively so. It’s so rare that there are even a handful of women on a crew, let alone an entire crew made up of women. So I just thought that it’d be really interesting to see how that lent itself to the creative process. And then I also was very aware of the under-representation of women on film and TV crews and I wanted to create opportunities for women in departments where they are very rarely afforded them.

How did that affect the production?

It was amazing. It exceeded my expectations and expectations were already pretty high. It was just a really distinct energy and everyone who came on set immediately acknowledged it. All the extras who came on set for the first time would be like, “Whoa. This is really different and cool.” It was just a very calm and patient and gracious community of people making work together. It really did give a communal energy to the work. And it was on top of that just super efficient and productive which is maybe the biggest takeaway.

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Actors Directors Interview Writers