Most of today’s audience, especially the young ones, recognize Matthew McConaughey as a great sci-fi actor mostly due to his performance in Christopher Nolan’s 2014 movie Interstellar. Yes, he was extremely convincing in the role of a strong-willed astronaut who travels through a wormhole near Saturn in search of a new home for humanity.
However, back in 1997, long before starring in Nolan’s masterpiece, the actor took part in a science fiction feature, which gained iconic status among the genre’s lovers. Interestingly, McConaughey doesn’t play an astronaut, like in Interstellar, or some kind of a scientist, no, he’s definitely gonna surprise you with quite an unexpected role.
The movie’s plot revolves around a Seti scientist Dr. Arroway, who finds evidence of extraterrestrial life and then, fighting against skeptics and political games, proves it’s necessary to find a way for communication and further encounter with aliens.
However, back in 1997, long before starring in Nolan’s masterpiece, the actor took part in a science fiction feature, which gained iconic status among the genre’s lovers. Interestingly, McConaughey doesn’t play an astronaut, like in Interstellar, or some kind of a scientist, no, he’s definitely gonna surprise you with quite an unexpected role.
The movie’s plot revolves around a Seti scientist Dr. Arroway, who finds evidence of extraterrestrial life and then, fighting against skeptics and political games, proves it’s necessary to find a way for communication and further encounter with aliens.
- 4/27/2024
- by info@startefacts.com (Ava Raxa)
- STartefacts.com
Sebastián Lelio is setting the soundtrack of a feminist revolution with musical film “The Wave (La Ola)” — it just wrapped production.
The Academy Award-winning director helms the film that follows music student Julia (Daniela López) who gets involved in the growing feminist #MeToo movement on her university campus. Amid the excitement of protest marches, per the official synopsis, Julia joins her friends in dancing and singing, revisiting her own experiences of mistreatment. As she gathers the courage to share her own abuse story, she unexpectedly becomes a central figure in the movement — a role she didn’t foresee, which forces her to address her identity as a survivor in a society that promises change but remains resistant to it.
Avril Aurora, Lola Bravo, and Paulina Cortés also star. See below for first-look images.
Lelio co-wrote the screenplay with Manuela Infante, Josefina Fernández, and Paloma Salas. The writer/director/producer was...
The Academy Award-winning director helms the film that follows music student Julia (Daniela López) who gets involved in the growing feminist #MeToo movement on her university campus. Amid the excitement of protest marches, per the official synopsis, Julia joins her friends in dancing and singing, revisiting her own experiences of mistreatment. As she gathers the courage to share her own abuse story, she unexpectedly becomes a central figure in the movement — a role she didn’t foresee, which forces her to address her identity as a survivor in a society that promises change but remains resistant to it.
Avril Aurora, Lola Bravo, and Paulina Cortés also star. See below for first-look images.
Lelio co-wrote the screenplay with Manuela Infante, Josefina Fernández, and Paloma Salas. The writer/director/producer was...
- 4/10/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Eric Roth wanted Robert Zemeckis to make a sequel to 1997’s Contact – but the conversation didn’t get very far.
In a very special episode of the Film Stories podcast, I’ve had the enormous pleasure of chatting at length to Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth. You can find the episode right here…
Early on in the conversation, he talks about working with director Robert Zemeckis, the pair of whom both took home Oscars for Forrest Gump. They’ve reteamed on another movie that’s due later this year by the name of Here, but Eric Roth told me he’d originally approached Zemeckis with an idea for something else.
“I called Bob actually to see if he’d be interested in me writing Contact 2 for him, because I really liked that. I really like that whole arena”.
Zemeckis, in Roth’s words, quickly declined the idea, with difficulties surrounding getting...
In a very special episode of the Film Stories podcast, I’ve had the enormous pleasure of chatting at length to Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth. You can find the episode right here…
Early on in the conversation, he talks about working with director Robert Zemeckis, the pair of whom both took home Oscars for Forrest Gump. They’ve reteamed on another movie that’s due later this year by the name of Here, but Eric Roth told me he’d originally approached Zemeckis with an idea for something else.
“I called Bob actually to see if he’d be interested in me writing Contact 2 for him, because I really liked that. I really like that whole arena”.
Zemeckis, in Roth’s words, quickly declined the idea, with difficulties surrounding getting...
- 3/1/2024
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
Just over forty years ago, on November 20th, 1983, ABC aired the most influential TV movie ever made. The Day After, which starred Jason Robards, John Lithgow, JoBeth Williams and Steve Guttenberg, was a riveting dramatization of the aftermath of a nuclear war, focusing on the residents of a small town dealing with the most terrifying outcome of all – surviving. Along with other movies of the era, such as Testament and the UK’s Threads, it was seen as a cry for disarmament, as no one could ever possibly “win” a nuclear war.
This week, PBS is airing a documentary on the film called Television Event, and in it, they put forward the notion that the movie may have helped prevent a nuclear war. In it, director Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) relates the following intriguing anecdote (excerpted by THR):
“The movie may have indeed helped prevent a nuclear war.
This week, PBS is airing a documentary on the film called Television Event, and in it, they put forward the notion that the movie may have helped prevent a nuclear war. In it, director Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) relates the following intriguing anecdote (excerpted by THR):
“The movie may have indeed helped prevent a nuclear war.
- 12/5/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Christopher Nolan will be honored by the Federation of American Scientists for his cinematic portrait of J. Robert Oppenheimer in Universal’s Oppenheimer this November. The five-time Oscar nominee will be bestowed with the org’s Public Service Award which recognizes outstanding work in science policy and culture.
The awards ceremony, which will take place in Washington D.C next month, revives a decades-long tradition that began in 1971, which honors the contributions of a diverse group of scientists, policymakers, and tastemakers in pursuit of advancements in science and technology.
“Nolan’s film depicts the scientists who formed Fas in the fall of 1945 as the ‘Federation of Atomic Scientists’ to communicate the dangers of nuclear weapons to the public. We continue to pursue their vision of a safer world, especially as current events remind us that those dangers are real and resurgent,” Fas CEO Daniel Correa said.
Nolan tells Deadline, “I...
The awards ceremony, which will take place in Washington D.C next month, revives a decades-long tradition that began in 1971, which honors the contributions of a diverse group of scientists, policymakers, and tastemakers in pursuit of advancements in science and technology.
“Nolan’s film depicts the scientists who formed Fas in the fall of 1945 as the ‘Federation of Atomic Scientists’ to communicate the dangers of nuclear weapons to the public. We continue to pursue their vision of a safer world, especially as current events remind us that those dangers are real and resurgent,” Fas CEO Daniel Correa said.
Nolan tells Deadline, “I...
- 10/10/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Not so long back, I had no idea what For All Mankind was really about. I’d heard that Star Trek veteran and Battlestar Galactica and Outlander creator Ronald D. Moore had co-created a new show that was streaming on Apple TV+, but since I didn’t have the service, it wasn’t in my orbit. That all changed this year when I got access to Apple TV+ and decided to catch up on their big offerings.
What’s been clear from my experience with the streamer thus far is that Apple doesn’t just heavily invest in “content”. They don’t seem to greenlight a series, briefly check some numbers from an algorithm, then cancel it (cough Netflix). They don’t give creators the chance to make something fascinating and then bury it somewhere under a terrible interface (cough Prime). And they don’t typically delete an entire series...
What’s been clear from my experience with the streamer thus far is that Apple doesn’t just heavily invest in “content”. They don’t seem to greenlight a series, briefly check some numbers from an algorithm, then cancel it (cough Netflix). They don’t give creators the chance to make something fascinating and then bury it somewhere under a terrible interface (cough Prime). And they don’t typically delete an entire series...
- 8/30/2023
- by Kirsten Howard
- Den of Geek
Minx is making that money, honey!
And everyone was reaping the rewards on Minx Season 2 Episode 3. Though you know what they say about getting everything you ever wanted, don't you?
Yeah, me either. But maybe one day, we'll be lucky enough to find out.
It's been six months since Constance bought Bottom Dollar, and Minx returned home, and everyone was figuring out their new normal. Because suddenly, they were not a struggling magazine trying to find themselves but a bonafide hit.
For Joyce, she found everything a little bit fragile and hard to fully embrace. And that makes a ton of sense when you think about history and how it treats women.
Naturally, Joyce had her hackles up, and she didn't want to be seen as aggressive or difficult, so she refrained from pushing back against Doug and generally just avoided being alone with Simon until she realized that it wasn't doing her any favors.
And everyone was reaping the rewards on Minx Season 2 Episode 3. Though you know what they say about getting everything you ever wanted, don't you?
Yeah, me either. But maybe one day, we'll be lucky enough to find out.
It's been six months since Constance bought Bottom Dollar, and Minx returned home, and everyone was figuring out their new normal. Because suddenly, they were not a struggling magazine trying to find themselves but a bonafide hit.
For Joyce, she found everything a little bit fragile and hard to fully embrace. And that makes a ton of sense when you think about history and how it treats women.
Naturally, Joyce had her hackles up, and she didn't want to be seen as aggressive or difficult, so she refrained from pushing back against Doug and generally just avoided being alone with Simon until she realized that it wasn't doing her any favors.
- 8/5/2023
- by Whitney Evans
- TVfanatic
Ever since movies began, filmmakers have depicted the end of the world of the world on screen whether it be from floods, asteroids, comets, alien invasion and even Zombies. But cinema went nuclear after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945. The arrival of the nuclear age heralded the introduction of a new sub-genre: destruction by atomic bomb. And with the release July 21 of Christopher Nolan’s lauded “Oppenheimer,” which domestically earned some $70 million in its opening weekend, let’s look at some of the vintage flicks of the genre.
Nuclear destruction of London is stopped at the last moment in the taut 1950 British film “Seven Days to Noon,” directed by John and Roy Boulting and winners of the original story Oscar, stars veteran character actor Barry Jones as a brilliant scientist working at an atomic research center in London who steals an A-bomb that...
Nuclear destruction of London is stopped at the last moment in the taut 1950 British film “Seven Days to Noon,” directed by John and Roy Boulting and winners of the original story Oscar, stars veteran character actor Barry Jones as a brilliant scientist working at an atomic research center in London who steals an A-bomb that...
- 7/25/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Space for Humanity, (S4H) a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to space for all of humanity and creators of the planet’s first Citizen Astronaut Program, and Legion M, the world’s first fan-owned entertainment company and producers of an upcoming William Shatner documentary “You Can Call Me Bill,” are thrilled to announce a groundbreaking partnership.
Together, S4H and Legion M will collaborate on the production of a music video for William “Bill” Shatner’s emotionally powerful song, “So Fragile, So Blue,” which chronicles his transformative journey to space. The song, performed only once at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. with the National Symphony Orchestra during the “Declassified®: Ben Folds Presents With William Shatner” event, received an astounding 4.5-minute standing ovation, leaving an indelible mark on all who witnessed it.
The partnership between S4H and Legion M aims to capture the essence of...
Together, S4H and Legion M will collaborate on the production of a music video for William “Bill” Shatner’s emotionally powerful song, “So Fragile, So Blue,” which chronicles his transformative journey to space. The song, performed only once at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. with the National Symphony Orchestra during the “Declassified®: Ben Folds Presents With William Shatner” event, received an astounding 4.5-minute standing ovation, leaving an indelible mark on all who witnessed it.
The partnership between S4H and Legion M aims to capture the essence of...
- 7/25/2023
- Look to the Stars
Potential "Oppenheimer" spoilers follow.
In most auteur filmmakers' bodies of work, there exists a movie that functions as the summation of their particular themes and interests, a film that essentially "unlocks" all of their other movies, throwing them into a new light. Sometimes these movies arrive late in a director's career, acting as more of a true culmination, such as Steven Spielberg's revelatory "The Fabelmans" from just last year. Other times, these films act as statements of intent right out of the gate, as I'd argue Steven Soderbergh's first feature "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" does.
It's not unusual, however, for such a movie to arrive somewhere near the middle or back half of a director's career; after all, Martin Scorsese didn't make "The Last Temptation of Christ" until he was 46 years old and 11 films deep. In other words, these kinds of films arrive when such an artist feels...
In most auteur filmmakers' bodies of work, there exists a movie that functions as the summation of their particular themes and interests, a film that essentially "unlocks" all of their other movies, throwing them into a new light. Sometimes these movies arrive late in a director's career, acting as more of a true culmination, such as Steven Spielberg's revelatory "The Fabelmans" from just last year. Other times, these films act as statements of intent right out of the gate, as I'd argue Steven Soderbergh's first feature "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" does.
It's not unusual, however, for such a movie to arrive somewhere near the middle or back half of a director's career; after all, Martin Scorsese didn't make "The Last Temptation of Christ" until he was 46 years old and 11 films deep. In other words, these kinds of films arrive when such an artist feels...
- 7/21/2023
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film
"There are those who say we should not inquire too closely into who else might be living in that darkness... better not to know." Whoa!! This looks incredible!! From the creators of Game of Thrones comes a stunning new blockbuster series unlike anything you’ve seen before. Netflix has revealed their first look teaser for 3 Body Problem, an adaptation of the sci-fi books of same name from Liu Cixin. 3 Body Problem is a new series inspired by the renowned and epic book trilogy, which tells the story of what happens when humanity discovers we are not alone in the universe. It's the next big new project from the Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, and it looks like it will be worth the wait! Mind-bending, epic sci-fi about life beyond Earth - oh yes, please. The epic series stars Jovan Adepo, John Bradley, Liam Cunningham,...
- 6/19/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The strike remains a hot-button conversation, but the topic has changed. The writers are a given and the directors made a deal; today, it’s all about the actors.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) begins contract negotiations June 7; its contract expires June 30. If SAG-AFTRA joined the writers on strike, it would mean a near-total shutdown of the industry.
SAG took the rare step of calling for a strike authorization vote and goes into the talks with of 97.91 percent of its members willing to go on strike if a fair deal isn’t reached.
“We’re really at an inflection point in the industry,” SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told IndieWire. “There are some issues that are really time sensitive and of crucial importance perhaps in ways that aren’t always the case. It’s an important moment for the labor movement in the entertainment industry and in the broader economy in this country.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) begins contract negotiations June 7; its contract expires June 30. If SAG-AFTRA joined the writers on strike, it would mean a near-total shutdown of the industry.
SAG took the rare step of calling for a strike authorization vote and goes into the talks with of 97.91 percent of its members willing to go on strike if a fair deal isn’t reached.
“We’re really at an inflection point in the industry,” SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told IndieWire. “There are some issues that are really time sensitive and of crucial importance perhaps in ways that aren’t always the case. It’s an important moment for the labor movement in the entertainment industry and in the broader economy in this country.
- 6/7/2023
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
The 2023 Cannes market runs May 16-24.
Screen is rounding up the key packages launched before and during the 2023 Cannes market (which runs May 16-24).
Refresh the page for latest updates.
May 16 ’The Salt Path’
The feature debut of acclaimed theatre director Marianne Elliott stars Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs portraying the real-life couple who trekked 630 miles of UK coastline after being kicked out of their home. Black Bear are distributing in the UK.
World sales: Rocket Science
’The Rule Of Jenny Pen’
Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow star in James Ashcroft’s thriller as a conceited judging and a psychopath...
Screen is rounding up the key packages launched before and during the 2023 Cannes market (which runs May 16-24).
Refresh the page for latest updates.
May 16 ’The Salt Path’
The feature debut of acclaimed theatre director Marianne Elliott stars Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs portraying the real-life couple who trekked 630 miles of UK coastline after being kicked out of their home. Black Bear are distributing in the UK.
World sales: Rocket Science
’The Rule Of Jenny Pen’
Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow star in James Ashcroft’s thriller as a conceited judging and a psychopath...
- 5/16/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
The stars are out at this year’s Cannes, and not just on the red carpet that leads up to the splashy premieres that make the festival the most glamorous celebration of movies in the world. From Daisy Ridley to Alicia Vikander, Angelina Jolie to Sylvester Stallone, Idris Elba to Jude Law, several A-list actors are attached to projects that are being brought to market at Cannes in what looks like its biggest edition in years. Will all that high-wattage talent lead to one mega-deal after another?
“It’s obviously going to be an outrageously busy market,” says Constantin Film’s Martin Moszkowicz. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen as much product, definitely not for the last couple of years, led by very high-profile movies with big cast, big directors, big budgets.”
Yet, the big question, Moszkowicz adds, is when and how all these projects will get made.
“It’s obviously going to be an outrageously busy market,” says Constantin Film’s Martin Moszkowicz. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen as much product, definitely not for the last couple of years, led by very high-profile movies with big cast, big directors, big budgets.”
Yet, the big question, Moszkowicz adds, is when and how all these projects will get made.
- 5/16/2023
- by John Hopewell, Elsa Keslassy and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Rev up your DeLorean and check that old flux capacitor because Cannes 2023 is looking like a trip back to the future.
After the disruption and near devastation brought on by the Covid pandemic, and concerns that the rising tide of global streamers would wash away the business model of independent film distributors worldwide, buyers and sellers arrive on the Croisette this year on a wave of good (ish) news on the return of the theatrical business and a bumper crop of big movies, both blockbuster-y and arthouse-esque, up for sale at the Marché.
“The box office in North America is back up pretty close [to pre-pandemic levels],” notes Rob Carney, vp of sales at FilmNation, referencing first-quarter figures that showed domestic revenues of $1.8 billion, just 25 percent off the record highs of 2019. Gross box office in the European Union (EU) and the U.K. last year, as reported by the European Audiovisual Observatory, was up 70 percent from the 2021 figures,...
After the disruption and near devastation brought on by the Covid pandemic, and concerns that the rising tide of global streamers would wash away the business model of independent film distributors worldwide, buyers and sellers arrive on the Croisette this year on a wave of good (ish) news on the return of the theatrical business and a bumper crop of big movies, both blockbuster-y and arthouse-esque, up for sale at the Marché.
“The box office in North America is back up pretty close [to pre-pandemic levels],” notes Rob Carney, vp of sales at FilmNation, referencing first-quarter figures that showed domestic revenues of $1.8 billion, just 25 percent off the record highs of 2019. Gross box office in the European Union (EU) and the U.K. last year, as reported by the European Audiovisual Observatory, was up 70 percent from the 2021 figures,...
- 5/16/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Once upon a time, Todd Haynes’ hot Cannes Competition title “May December” — a psychological drama based on the Mary Kay Letourneau case, starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore — would already have a North American distributor. (A source placed its budget just under $20 million.) However, we no longer live in a world where buyers will overpay for a film before they can gauge its theatrical value: The risk is just too great.
That’s why sellers CAA and UTA opted to not show the film to distributors before the festival. Instead, they’re betting that an enthusiastic response from Cannes media and audiences will boost its sale price.
“People are being skittish about paying top dollar for a movie as easily as they did in the past,” said Sony Pictures Classics co-president Michael Barker. At Cannes, SPC will screen the Pedro Almodovar gay western short “Strange Way of Life” starring Ethan Hawke...
That’s why sellers CAA and UTA opted to not show the film to distributors before the festival. Instead, they’re betting that an enthusiastic response from Cannes media and audiences will boost its sale price.
“People are being skittish about paying top dollar for a movie as easily as they did in the past,” said Sony Pictures Classics co-president Michael Barker. At Cannes, SPC will screen the Pedro Almodovar gay western short “Strange Way of Life” starring Ethan Hawke...
- 5/12/2023
- by Anne Thompson and Brian Welk
- Indiewire
50% of new members are women, 49% are men and 1% are non-binary.
The European Film Academy has welcomed a record intake of 462 new members, including US-Italian actor Willem Dafoe, Austrian director Marie Kreutzer, and Mia Bays, head of the BFI Film Fund.
The new members have been announced today, May 9, on Europe Day, a day promoted by the European Union for celebrating peace and unity in Europe.
European Film Academy members are invited to join the organisation once per year; it currently has 4,600 members in 52 countries.
Dafoe, who is known for roles in films including Platoon, Spider-Man and The Florida Project, was born in the US,...
The European Film Academy has welcomed a record intake of 462 new members, including US-Italian actor Willem Dafoe, Austrian director Marie Kreutzer, and Mia Bays, head of the BFI Film Fund.
The new members have been announced today, May 9, on Europe Day, a day promoted by the European Union for celebrating peace and unity in Europe.
European Film Academy members are invited to join the organisation once per year; it currently has 4,600 members in 52 countries.
Dafoe, who is known for roles in films including Platoon, Spider-Man and The Florida Project, was born in the US,...
- 5/9/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Carl Sagan, for those who may not know, was an astronomer and charismatic cosmologist who came into the public eye in 1980 with the broadcast of his PBS series "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage." That show, in addition to Sagan's many novels, books, and lectures, helped popularize astral science, bringing casual conversations about space to new heights.
Sagan's popularity is understandable. He was affable and well-spoken, and he talked about fun scientific concepts like the existence of UFOs, and the actual, mathematical odds that an alien civilization might someday visit Earth; given the size of the universe, Sagan calculated that there are at least a million Earth-like civilizations out there somewhere. The film "Contact" is based on his novel. Sagan was also a major advocate for marijuana use, and was rather spiritual, despite often speaking out against religion or the existence of an intelligent God. He was a fascinating dude.
Sagan...
Sagan's popularity is understandable. He was affable and well-spoken, and he talked about fun scientific concepts like the existence of UFOs, and the actual, mathematical odds that an alien civilization might someday visit Earth; given the size of the universe, Sagan calculated that there are at least a million Earth-like civilizations out there somewhere. The film "Contact" is based on his novel. Sagan was also a major advocate for marijuana use, and was rather spiritual, despite often speaking out against religion or the existence of an intelligent God. He was a fascinating dude.
Sagan...
- 5/8/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
After both playing key roles in TV miniseries Under The Banner Of Heaven, Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones are joining a new film that should see them sharing the screen a whole lot more. They're on for Sebastián Lelio's new film, Voyagers.
Neither a remake of the 2021 teen sci-fi movie nor an adaptation of the obscure, short-lived time-travelling TV series, this Voyagers will instead focus on the love that bloomed between astronomer/writer/presenter Carl Sagan and documentary producer/director Ann Druyan.
Voyagers unfolds in 1977 as NASA prepared to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes. A team led by Sagan sets out to create a message to accompany them, known as the Golden Record, which included music and images, for possible alien civilizations. But what starts out as a race-against-the-clock mission blossoms into a love story between Sagan and Druyan.
Lelio and Jessica Goldberg wrote the script after spending...
Neither a remake of the 2021 teen sci-fi movie nor an adaptation of the obscure, short-lived time-travelling TV series, this Voyagers will instead focus on the love that bloomed between astronomer/writer/presenter Carl Sagan and documentary producer/director Ann Druyan.
Voyagers unfolds in 1977 as NASA prepared to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes. A team led by Sagan sets out to create a message to accompany them, known as the Golden Record, which included music and images, for possible alien civilizations. But what starts out as a race-against-the-clock mission blossoms into a love story between Sagan and Druyan.
Lelio and Jessica Goldberg wrote the script after spending...
- 5/5/2023
- by James White
- Empire - Movies
Andrew Garfield is heading for the stars. Reports indicate the Spider-Man: No Way Home and Hacksaw Ridge actor Andrew Garfield is playing astronomer Carl Sagan in Voyagers, a new film from Sebastian Lelio. In addition to Garfield, Daisy Edgar-Jones joins the cast as Cosmos filmmaker Ann Druyan. The project is going to the Cannes market this month, courtesy of FilmNation Entertainment.
The Voyagers story takes place in 1977 at NASA, where Sagan’s team is preparing to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes. The launch includes a message from the team responsible for the monumental devices, dubbed The Golden Record. The story begins as a race to complete the mission on time, then transitions into an unforeseen love story between Sagan and Druyan. FilmNation Entertainment introduced Druyan to screenwriters Lelio and Jessica Goldberg, who wrote the original Voyagers screenplay based on interviews with Druyan and other contributors to the Golden Record mission.
The Voyagers story takes place in 1977 at NASA, where Sagan’s team is preparing to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes. The launch includes a message from the team responsible for the monumental devices, dubbed The Golden Record. The story begins as a race to complete the mission on time, then transitions into an unforeseen love story between Sagan and Druyan. FilmNation Entertainment introduced Druyan to screenwriters Lelio and Jessica Goldberg, who wrote the original Voyagers screenplay based on interviews with Druyan and other contributors to the Golden Record mission.
- 5/5/2023
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Tentpole earns $3.6m in UK, $3.2m in Mexico, $2.9m in South Korea.
Disney/Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is crossing $60m at the global box office including early Friday estimates in China as it heads into the first weekend.
Through the end of Thursday James Gunn’s tentpole has taken $35m from 47 territories in the international arena led by the UK on $3.6m, Mexico on $3.2m and South Korea on $2.9m. In North American previews on Thursday it earned $17.5m.
Meanwhile early estimates put Friday opening day in China on $7m with Disney saying that social scores...
Disney/Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 is crossing $60m at the global box office including early Friday estimates in China as it heads into the first weekend.
Through the end of Thursday James Gunn’s tentpole has taken $35m from 47 territories in the international arena led by the UK on $3.6m, Mexico on $3.2m and South Korea on $2.9m. In North American previews on Thursday it earned $17.5m.
Meanwhile early estimates put Friday opening day in China on $7m with Disney saying that social scores...
- 5/5/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones are bringing a true romance to life.
The Oscar nominee and “Where the Crawdads Sing” actress are set to lead Academy Award winner Sebastián Lelio’s “Voyagers” based on the real-life relationship between astronomer Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan, who produces the feature. FilmNation Entertainment is set to launch global sales at 2023 Cannes. Ben Browning produces for FilmNation Entertainment, along with Lynda Obst.
“Voyagers” takes place in 1977 as NASA prepares to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes, a team led by Sagan set out to create a message to accompany them — The Golden Record. But what starts out as a race-against-the-clock mission becomes an epic, unexpected love story between Carl and his collaborator Ann Druyan. FilmNation Entertianment paired Druyan with screenwriters Lelio and Jessica Goldberg who wrote the original screenplay based on interviews with Druyan and many others who worked on the Golden Record project,...
The Oscar nominee and “Where the Crawdads Sing” actress are set to lead Academy Award winner Sebastián Lelio’s “Voyagers” based on the real-life relationship between astronomer Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan, who produces the feature. FilmNation Entertainment is set to launch global sales at 2023 Cannes. Ben Browning produces for FilmNation Entertainment, along with Lynda Obst.
“Voyagers” takes place in 1977 as NASA prepares to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes, a team led by Sagan set out to create a message to accompany them — The Golden Record. But what starts out as a race-against-the-clock mission becomes an epic, unexpected love story between Carl and his collaborator Ann Druyan. FilmNation Entertianment paired Druyan with screenwriters Lelio and Jessica Goldberg who wrote the original screenplay based on interviews with Druyan and many others who worked on the Golden Record project,...
- 5/5/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Sebastián Lelio, the Oscar-winning auteur behind “A Fantastic Woman,” will direct Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones in “Voyagers,” the story of the romantic relationship between astronomer and “Contact” author Carl Sagan and documentary producer and director Ann Druyan.
The feature is produced by Ben Browning for FilmNation Entertainment, Lynda Obst, who guided “Contact” to the big screen, and Druyan herself. FilmNation Entertainment is set to launch global sales at the upcoming Cannes Market
“Voyagers” unfolds in 1977 as NASA prepared to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes. A team led by Sagan sets out to create a message to accompany them, known as the Golden Record, which included music and images, for possible alien civilizations. But what starts out as a race-against-the-clock mission blossoms into a love story between Sagan and Druyan. FilmNation Entertianment paired Druyan, who married Sagan in 1981, with screenwriters Lelio and Jessica Goldberg. They then wrote the original...
The feature is produced by Ben Browning for FilmNation Entertainment, Lynda Obst, who guided “Contact” to the big screen, and Druyan herself. FilmNation Entertainment is set to launch global sales at the upcoming Cannes Market
“Voyagers” unfolds in 1977 as NASA prepared to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes. A team led by Sagan sets out to create a message to accompany them, known as the Golden Record, which included music and images, for possible alien civilizations. But what starts out as a race-against-the-clock mission blossoms into a love story between Sagan and Druyan. FilmNation Entertianment paired Druyan, who married Sagan in 1981, with screenwriters Lelio and Jessica Goldberg. They then wrote the original...
- 5/5/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Here is another hot package set to hit the Cannes Market this month: Sebastian Lelio has set Voyagers as his next film at FilmNation Entertainment, with Andrew Garfield attached to play astronomer Carl Sagan and Daisy Edgar-Jones attached to play Cosmos filmmaker Ann Druyan.
The feature is produced by Ben Browning for FilmNation Entertainment, Lynda Obst, and Druyan. FilmNation Entertainment is set to launch global sales at the Cannes Market.
The film is set in 1977 as NASA prepared to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes and a team led by Sagan set out to create a message to accompany them — The Golden Record. But what starts out as a race-against-the-clock mission becomes an epic, unexpected love story between Sagan and his collaborator Druyan. FilmNation Entertianment paired Druyan with screenwriters Lelio and Jessica Goldberg, who wrote the original screenplay based on interviews with Druyan and many others who worked on the Golden Record project.
The feature is produced by Ben Browning for FilmNation Entertainment, Lynda Obst, and Druyan. FilmNation Entertainment is set to launch global sales at the Cannes Market.
The film is set in 1977 as NASA prepared to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes and a team led by Sagan set out to create a message to accompany them — The Golden Record. But what starts out as a race-against-the-clock mission becomes an epic, unexpected love story between Sagan and his collaborator Druyan. FilmNation Entertianment paired Druyan with screenwriters Lelio and Jessica Goldberg, who wrote the original screenplay based on interviews with Druyan and many others who worked on the Golden Record project.
- 5/5/2023
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones have signed on to star in Voyagers, a biopic from director Sebastián Lelio about the real-life love story of celebrated astronomer Carl Sagan and Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Ann Druyan.
Ben Browning is producing Voyagers from FilmNation Entertainment, alongside Druyan and Lynda Obst. FilmNation will kick off global sales of the upcoming project at the Cannes film market later this month.
The film is set in 1977 as NASA is preparing to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes, the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 missions. A team, led by Sagan, sets out to create a message to accompany them: the Golden Record, a group of images and sounds meant to express the essence of humanity and act as a first-contact greeting for any galactic lifeforms the probes might reach. But what starts out as a race-against-the-clock mission becomes an epic, unexpected love story between Sagan and his collaborator Druyan.
Ben Browning is producing Voyagers from FilmNation Entertainment, alongside Druyan and Lynda Obst. FilmNation will kick off global sales of the upcoming project at the Cannes film market later this month.
The film is set in 1977 as NASA is preparing to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes, the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 missions. A team, led by Sagan, sets out to create a message to accompany them: the Golden Record, a group of images and sounds meant to express the essence of humanity and act as a first-contact greeting for any galactic lifeforms the probes might reach. But what starts out as a race-against-the-clock mission becomes an epic, unexpected love story between Sagan and his collaborator Druyan.
- 5/5/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film will depict Sagan’s relationship with fellow astronomer Ann Druyan.
Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones are set to star in Sebastian Lelio’s Voyagers, about the real-life romance between astronomers Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan.
FilmNation Entertainment is launching global sales at the upcoming Cannes market (May 16-24).
Set in 1977 as NASA prepared to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes, the film depicts a race-against-the-clock mission that becomes an unexpected love story between Sagan and his collaborator Druyan.
FilmNation Entertainment paired Druyan with screenwriters Lelio and Jessica Goldberg, who based the original screenplay on interviews with Druyan and others who worked on the mission,...
Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones are set to star in Sebastian Lelio’s Voyagers, about the real-life romance between astronomers Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan.
FilmNation Entertainment is launching global sales at the upcoming Cannes market (May 16-24).
Set in 1977 as NASA prepared to launch humanity’s first interstellar probes, the film depicts a race-against-the-clock mission that becomes an unexpected love story between Sagan and his collaborator Druyan.
FilmNation Entertainment paired Druyan with screenwriters Lelio and Jessica Goldberg, who based the original screenplay on interviews with Druyan and others who worked on the mission,...
- 5/5/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Clouds of gloom have settled over much of the documentary field, brought on by multiple factors: a sluggish acquisition market, cutbacks in the executive ranks at Netflix and Showtime, uncertainty around Hulu’s future, CNN Films taking doc production in house, sharper scrutiny of budgets and content needs, and… well, the list goes on.
But there’s at least one bright spot it the nonfiction firmament – National Geographic Documentary Films. Coming off its latest Oscar nomination – for the feature Fire of Love – the unit of the Walt Disney Company is leaning into documentary production with half a dozen films set for release or in the works.
First up: Wild Life, a film Carolyn Bernstein, EVP of global scripted content and documentary films for NatGeo, calls “a big, beautiful love story.” The couple at the heart of it – Doug and Kris Tompkins — left the corporate world for life in remote Chile.
But there’s at least one bright spot it the nonfiction firmament – National Geographic Documentary Films. Coming off its latest Oscar nomination – for the feature Fire of Love – the unit of the Walt Disney Company is leaning into documentary production with half a dozen films set for release or in the works.
First up: Wild Life, a film Carolyn Bernstein, EVP of global scripted content and documentary films for NatGeo, calls “a big, beautiful love story.” The couple at the heart of it – Doug and Kris Tompkins — left the corporate world for life in remote Chile.
- 4/17/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Led Zeppelin’s classic-rock standard “Stairway To Heaven,” John Lennon’s peace anthem “Imagine,” Madonna’s 1984 breakthrough album Like A Virgin and John Denver’s signature tune “Take Me Home, Country Roads” are among the works added today to the U.S. National Recording Registry.
The Library of Congress announced the newcomers, a roster that also includes Mariah Carey’s modern holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and the original 1985 theme from the Super Mario Bros. video game. The latter becomes the first music from a video game to enter the registry.
In all, 25 albums, singles and other recordings were added to the roster, representing a time span of more than a century. See the complete list below.
From the 1920s, Handy’s Memphis Blues Band’s recording of “St. Louis Blues” and Fletcher Henderson’s “Sugar Foot Stomp” made the list, as did The Fairfield Four...
The Library of Congress announced the newcomers, a roster that also includes Mariah Carey’s modern holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and the original 1985 theme from the Super Mario Bros. video game. The latter becomes the first music from a video game to enter the registry.
In all, 25 albums, singles and other recordings were added to the roster, representing a time span of more than a century. See the complete list below.
From the 1920s, Handy’s Memphis Blues Band’s recording of “St. Louis Blues” and Fletcher Henderson’s “Sugar Foot Stomp” made the list, as did The Fairfield Four...
- 4/12/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Madonna’s Like a Virgin, Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina,” and Mariah Carey’s unbeatable holiday classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You” are among the recordings selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry this year.
The 2023 class of recordings includes a mix of pop hits, classic gems, and even a few left-field choices, like Carl Sagan’s audiobook of Pale Blue Dot and Koji Kondo’s original Super Mario Bros. theme song (marking the first time video game music has been added to the National...
The 2023 class of recordings includes a mix of pop hits, classic gems, and even a few left-field choices, like Carl Sagan’s audiobook of Pale Blue Dot and Koji Kondo’s original Super Mario Bros. theme song (marking the first time video game music has been added to the National...
- 4/12/2023
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Mariah Carey’s holiday staple “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Madonna’s best-selling seminal sophomore album Like a Virgin, Daddy Yankee’s thumping reggaeton anthem “Gasolina” and the Super Mario Bros. theme will join the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Wednesday announced that 25 recordings made the cut this year, including John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” Irene Cara’s “Flashdance… What a Feeling” and John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
The latest selections span from 1908 to 2012 and bring the number of titles on the registry to 625. The national library’s recorded sound collection includes nearly four million items.
Songs and albums that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” — that are also at least 10 years old — qualify to enter the National Recording Registry.
Other new selections include The Police’s Synchronicity,...
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Wednesday announced that 25 recordings made the cut this year, including John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” Irene Cara’s “Flashdance… What a Feeling” and John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
The latest selections span from 1908 to 2012 and bring the number of titles on the registry to 625. The national library’s recorded sound collection includes nearly four million items.
Songs and albums that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” — that are also at least 10 years old — qualify to enter the National Recording Registry.
Other new selections include The Police’s Synchronicity,...
- 4/12/2023
- by Mesfin Fekadu
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Are you looking for the greatest TV programs ever made? If so, this is exactly where to find them! Did your favorite show make the list of best TV series of all time?
We have researched and compiled a list of 10 amazing series based on IMDb ratings and viewership data. Ranging from crime dramas to animations – no matter your preference, there’s something here for everyone. So grab some popcorn & settle in; it’s time for an awesome TV marathon experience.
IMDb utilizes its user rating systems to create seemingly never-ending lists of top shows around all genres. One particular list is termed the “Top 250 TV Shows,” thanks again to these scoring methods used by contributors online daily. Below are listed out ten highest-rated TV series according to those stats.
10 Highest-Rated TV Shows of All Time The Sopranos (1999–2007) – 9.2 Game of Thrones (2011–2019) – 9.2 Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014) – 9.3 Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008) – 9.3 The Wire...
We have researched and compiled a list of 10 amazing series based on IMDb ratings and viewership data. Ranging from crime dramas to animations – no matter your preference, there’s something here for everyone. So grab some popcorn & settle in; it’s time for an awesome TV marathon experience.
IMDb utilizes its user rating systems to create seemingly never-ending lists of top shows around all genres. One particular list is termed the “Top 250 TV Shows,” thanks again to these scoring methods used by contributors online daily. Below are listed out ten highest-rated TV series according to those stats.
10 Highest-Rated TV Shows of All Time The Sopranos (1999–2007) – 9.2 Game of Thrones (2011–2019) – 9.2 Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014) – 9.3 Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008) – 9.3 The Wire...
- 4/1/2023
- by Buddy TV
- buddytv.com
Exclusive: Legendary astronomer and astrophysicist Carl Sagan, who expanded scientific understanding of the universe and helped millions appreciate the wonders of the cosmos, will be the subject of an upcoming documentary feature from National Geographic Documentary Films.
The Untitled Carl Sagan Film will be produced by Fuzzy Door’s Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins, Emmy and Peabody winner Ann Druyan – Sagan’s life partner – and Academy Award nominee Nanette Burstein, with Burstein directing. Also producing is production company Hungry Man.
Dr. Carl Sagan during an interview with ‘The Tonight Show’ host Johnny Carson on September 16, 1976.
Sagan’s contributions to planetary science were equaled only by his capacity to spread an infectious joy of the marvel and immensity of space. His 1980 book Cosmos became the best-selling science book ever published in English, and he appeared frequently on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (amusing the host and the viewing public with...
The Untitled Carl Sagan Film will be produced by Fuzzy Door’s Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins, Emmy and Peabody winner Ann Druyan – Sagan’s life partner – and Academy Award nominee Nanette Burstein, with Burstein directing. Also producing is production company Hungry Man.
Dr. Carl Sagan during an interview with ‘The Tonight Show’ host Johnny Carson on September 16, 1976.
Sagan’s contributions to planetary science were equaled only by his capacity to spread an infectious joy of the marvel and immensity of space. His 1980 book Cosmos became the best-selling science book ever published in English, and he appeared frequently on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (amusing the host and the viewing public with...
- 3/30/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Basque documentarian Nagore Eceiza (“Fifty Rupees Only”) is preparing to pitch her feature-length film, “If You Wish To Make An Apple Pie,” alongside 21 other projects at Málaga’s 2023 Festival Fund & Co-Production Event (Maff), which platforms new projects from emergent Spanish and Latin American talent.
Put through San Sebastian’s Ikusmira Berriak, one of Spain’s foremost development labs, and produced by Spain’s Izaskun Arandia at Izar Films and Eceiza’s own El Santo Films, the project unfurls and questions ingrained religious tenets and archaic societal structures that keep two lovers at a distance.
“I decided to produce the documentary film because of the great talent behind it. I was moved by the main theme, its treatment, but most of all by the strength, passion and determination of the main character, Dorine,” stated Arandia. “The film is a necessary reflection on the role of women in different cultures and religions...
Put through San Sebastian’s Ikusmira Berriak, one of Spain’s foremost development labs, and produced by Spain’s Izaskun Arandia at Izar Films and Eceiza’s own El Santo Films, the project unfurls and questions ingrained religious tenets and archaic societal structures that keep two lovers at a distance.
“I decided to produce the documentary film because of the great talent behind it. I was moved by the main theme, its treatment, but most of all by the strength, passion and determination of the main character, Dorine,” stated Arandia. “The film is a necessary reflection on the role of women in different cultures and religions...
- 12/22/2022
- by Holly Jones
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Physicist and author Alan Lightman has been pondering some major questions. For instance, “Where do we humans fit in the grand scheme of things? Are we just atoms and molecules, or something more? How does consciousness arise from the material neurons in our brains?”
The MIT professor and novelist goes looking for answers to those conundrums in the upcoming three-part documentary series Searching: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science. The series, directed by Geoffrey Haines-Stiles, premieres on public television stations on January 7, the same date it begins streaming on PBS.org for a 60-day window.
Could there be a better name for a physicist than Lightman?
Lightman’s areas of inquiry are as vast as the universe and as tiny as the smallest particle of matter.
“We travel with him to the prehistoric caves of Font-de-Gaume in France, where drawings and symbols suggest that—as long...
The MIT professor and novelist goes looking for answers to those conundrums in the upcoming three-part documentary series Searching: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science. The series, directed by Geoffrey Haines-Stiles, premieres on public television stations on January 7, the same date it begins streaming on PBS.org for a 60-day window.
Could there be a better name for a physicist than Lightman?
Lightman’s areas of inquiry are as vast as the universe and as tiny as the smallest particle of matter.
“We travel with him to the prehistoric caves of Font-de-Gaume in France, where drawings and symbols suggest that—as long...
- 10/27/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
According to Vulture, Carl Sagan and his wife, Ann Druyan, spent the early '80s writing a film treatment based on Sagan's 1985 novel, "Contact." After cycling through a few different production companies, a slew of screenwriters, and two directors, the film finally made it to the big screen in 1997. Starring Academy Award winners Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey, the movie was a moderate success, but there were a lot of mixed feelings about the film's ending.
At the beginning of the movie, Ellie Arroway (Foster) is a hard-core skeptic about anything that can't be verified by science, so she spends all her time listening to the skies for proof of intelligent life. Towards the end of the film, she finally encounters extraterrestrials, but cannot provide proof of the experience. Ultimately, Arroway and the audience must choose between faith or science, and a lot of viewers didn't appreciate the ambiguous ending.
At the beginning of the movie, Ellie Arroway (Foster) is a hard-core skeptic about anything that can't be verified by science, so she spends all her time listening to the skies for proof of intelligent life. Towards the end of the film, she finally encounters extraterrestrials, but cannot provide proof of the experience. Ultimately, Arroway and the audience must choose between faith or science, and a lot of viewers didn't appreciate the ambiguous ending.
- 9/16/2022
- by Christian Gainey
- Slash Film
In the fourth season of "Star Trek: Discovery," random planets and moons are being rent asunder by a free-floating Dark Matter Anomaly that has recently appeared in the galaxy. The U.S.S. Discovery investigates the Anomaly and finds that it is not a natural phenomenon. The Dark Matter Anomaly is, in fact, an energy field created by a mysterious, undiscovered species that is eventually designated Species 10-c.
In the final episodes of season four, audiences learn an awful lot about Species 10-c. They are non-humanoid, and communicate through nonverbal means. Their language is a combination of vague, emotional psychic waves, and a series of blinking lights on their own bodies. The final few episodes of season 4 are devoted to learning 10-c's language. Additionally, we learn that the 10-c once lived on elaborately constructed rings that surrounded their home sun, but the species suffered a planetwide, meteor-related cataclysm, and constructed...
In the final episodes of season four, audiences learn an awful lot about Species 10-c. They are non-humanoid, and communicate through nonverbal means. Their language is a combination of vague, emotional psychic waves, and a series of blinking lights on their own bodies. The final few episodes of season 4 are devoted to learning 10-c's language. Additionally, we learn that the 10-c once lived on elaborately constructed rings that surrounded their home sun, but the species suffered a planetwide, meteor-related cataclysm, and constructed...
- 8/31/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Communication is the key to successful first contact scenarios. The empathic relationship that language can create between two dissimilar peoples is a source of optimism in both in fiction and in real life. Consider, if you will, Denis Villeneuve's 2016 film, "Arrival." It may not be the first big movie about forging a connection between humans and aliens, but the way that its story never loses its focus on linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) allows that link to feel bigger and more poignant because of how personal it becomes.
What Banks discovers is that humanity must evolve, so that we can save others at some future date, and that language is the key to doing so. It's a poignant lesson, as we realize that, in learning it, Dr. Banks must face her destiny with her eyes wide open, fully aware of what she'll lose. It's also painful, because so much...
What Banks discovers is that humanity must evolve, so that we can save others at some future date, and that language is the key to doing so. It's a poignant lesson, as we realize that, in learning it, Dr. Banks must face her destiny with her eyes wide open, fully aware of what she'll lose. It's also painful, because so much...
- 8/16/2022
- by Margaret David
- Slash Film
Robert Zemeckis' "Contact" hit theaters in July 1997 and managed to break the mold of sci-fi drama prevalent during the time. The reasons were manifold. Ann Druyan, who was the creative director at NASA at the time, along with partner and acclaimed astronomer Carl Sagan, envisioned an unconventional tale about a headstrong female scientist on a mission. Moreover, the aliens in "Contact" were not terrifying monsters that needed to be defeated for humans to survive, making it a very different from popular films of the time like "Alien Resurrection," which was also released in 1997.
The premise of "Contact" is...
The post On-Set Fires And Jodie Foster's Costume Made Contact's Wormhole Scene A Slog To Film appeared first on /Film.
The premise of "Contact" is...
The post On-Set Fires And Jodie Foster's Costume Made Contact's Wormhole Scene A Slog To Film appeared first on /Film.
- 8/5/2022
- by Debopriyaa Dutta
- Slash Film
Depending on who you ask, Robert Zemeckis' 1997 sci-fi drama "Contact" is either a philosophical masterpiece or a boring morality lesson. Wherever you land, though, it's hard to separate the film from the many problems it ran into after it was released. From George Miller suing Warner Brothers over a contract dispute to a First Amendment debate brought forward by the White House, a lot of attention was heaped upon the adaptation of Carl Sagan's 1985 novel, and not a lot of it was positive.
However, there was also quite a bit of trouble the film faced before and during production. The film, which centered around...
The post Contact Had A 'Cursed' Production From Start To Finish appeared first on /Film.
However, there was also quite a bit of trouble the film faced before and during production. The film, which centered around...
The post Contact Had A 'Cursed' Production From Start To Finish appeared first on /Film.
- 7/16/2022
- by Erin Brady
- Slash Film
The Orville‘s own Penny Johnson Jerald did tell TVLine that most every episode of Season 3 would give people something to talk about. And sure enough, in recent weeks alone the space adventure series has addressed the issues of suicide, abortion, and gender reassignment.
In fact, the June 23 episode’s exploration of abortion — including how the Krill aggressively seek to deter the practice (read recap) — aired the day before the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, ruling that the constitutional right to abortion no longer exists.
More from TVLineHulu's Maggie Premiere: Grade the Psychic Romantic ComedyThe TVLine Performer of the...
In fact, the June 23 episode’s exploration of abortion — including how the Krill aggressively seek to deter the practice (read recap) — aired the day before the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, ruling that the constitutional right to abortion no longer exists.
More from TVLineHulu's Maggie Premiere: Grade the Psychic Romantic ComedyThe TVLine Performer of the...
- 7/5/2022
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
The composer who helped shape the sound of the 1980s as much as any other, Vangelis, is dead from Covid-19 at 79. The Greek musician used electronic instruments to play classical-inspired melodies that became instant earworms in “Chariots of Fire” and “Blade Runner.” For his work on the 1981 sports drama, he won the Oscar for Best Original Score.
Born in Agria, Greece, in 1943, Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou worked with pop bands in the 1960s as a producer, arranger, and writer, before forming the influential prog-rock band Aphrodite’s Child. Shortening his name to Vangelis, he got work the following decade as a composer for a series of nature documentaries, culminating in “Opera Sauvage,” his 1979 opus, which introduced some of his best-known themes. One piano-led track, “L’Enfant,” popped up many places over the next decade: as the official theme of the 1980 Winter Olympics, in a marching band rendition in “Chariots of Fire,” and...
Born in Agria, Greece, in 1943, Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou worked with pop bands in the 1960s as a producer, arranger, and writer, before forming the influential prog-rock band Aphrodite’s Child. Shortening his name to Vangelis, he got work the following decade as a composer for a series of nature documentaries, culminating in “Opera Sauvage,” his 1979 opus, which introduced some of his best-known themes. One piano-led track, “L’Enfant,” popped up many places over the next decade: as the official theme of the 1980 Winter Olympics, in a marching band rendition in “Chariots of Fire,” and...
- 5/19/2022
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Vangelis, the Greek prog-rocker and Oscar-winning composer for films like Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner, has died at the age of 79.
The influential artist born Evángelos Papathanassíou died late Tuesday night, a statement from Vangelis’ “private office” announced to his Elsewhere fan page Thursday. The Athens News Agency also confirmed news of Vangelis’ death. No cause of death was provided, but Greek newspaper Ot reports that Vangelis died at a hospital in France where he was being treated for Covid-19.
“Vangelis Papathanassiou was a great Greek composer who excelled at a global level,...
The influential artist born Evángelos Papathanassíou died late Tuesday night, a statement from Vangelis’ “private office” announced to his Elsewhere fan page Thursday. The Athens News Agency also confirmed news of Vangelis’ death. No cause of death was provided, but Greek newspaper Ot reports that Vangelis died at a hospital in France where he was being treated for Covid-19.
“Vangelis Papathanassiou was a great Greek composer who excelled at a global level,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Vangelis, whose instantly recognizable musical theme for 1981’s Chariots of Fire won an Oscar and became a sort of aural shorthand for tales of endurance and triumph, died May 17, according to his representatives. He was 79.
His assistant Lefteris Zermas has confirmed the death but did not provide a specific cause, saying only that Vangelis died in a hospital in France. Greek newspaper Ot is reporting that Vangelis was being treated for Covid-19.
Born Evangelos Odessey Papathanassiou in Greece, the composer and musician known worldwide simply as Vangelis, combined orchestral music, electronic synth sounds, jazz and ambient to create a then-new sound for the film that seemed to provide the musical equivalent of the ocean waves that crashed as the story’s Olympic runners sprinted down the beach. (Watch the video below.)
Vangelis would go on to compose scores for Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) and...
His assistant Lefteris Zermas has confirmed the death but did not provide a specific cause, saying only that Vangelis died in a hospital in France. Greek newspaper Ot is reporting that Vangelis was being treated for Covid-19.
Born Evangelos Odessey Papathanassiou in Greece, the composer and musician known worldwide simply as Vangelis, combined orchestral music, electronic synth sounds, jazz and ambient to create a then-new sound for the film that seemed to provide the musical equivalent of the ocean waves that crashed as the story’s Olympic runners sprinted down the beach. (Watch the video below.)
Vangelis would go on to compose scores for Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) and...
- 5/19/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou, known to cinephiles around the world as Vangelis, has died this week at a hospital in France, his reps announced in a statement. He was 79.
Vangelis is best known for the iconic theme and soundtrack to the Best Picture-winning sports film “Chariots of Fire,” for which he won an Oscar for Best Original Score while the soundtrack reached the top of the U.S. Billboard charts. He also composed the score for Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic “Blade Runner,” for which he was nominated for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe.
Born in Athens, Greece, Vangelis got his start playing keyboards for a pop band called Forminx in the 1960s and later with the prog rock band Aphrodite’s Child, which found success on the European charts. Meanwhile, he entered the film world as a composer for Greek films, expanding beyond that in the 1970s with scores...
Vangelis is best known for the iconic theme and soundtrack to the Best Picture-winning sports film “Chariots of Fire,” for which he won an Oscar for Best Original Score while the soundtrack reached the top of the U.S. Billboard charts. He also composed the score for Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic “Blade Runner,” for which he was nominated for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe.
Born in Athens, Greece, Vangelis got his start playing keyboards for a pop band called Forminx in the 1960s and later with the prog rock band Aphrodite’s Child, which found success on the European charts. Meanwhile, he entered the film world as a composer for Greek films, expanding beyond that in the 1970s with scores...
- 5/19/2022
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Vangelis, the electronic-music pioneer who won an Oscar for “Chariots of Fire” and composed such other landmark film scores as “Blade Runner,” died Tuesday, the Athens News Agency reported. He was 79.
The self-taught musician enjoyed a long career in European pop music before the magical colors and textures of his 1970s solo albums brought him to the attention of film and TV producers. The use of a track from his 1975 album “Heaven and Hell” as the theme for Carl Sagan’s PBS series “Cosmos” brought his name and music into prominence in America.
But it was his music for the 1981 film “Chariots of Fire” that brought him worldwide fame. Producer David Puttnam made the unorthodox choice for his period sports drama after hearing Vangelis’s music for the French nature documentary “Opera Sauvage” and the studio album “China.”
As he often did, Vangelis performed all of the instruments, including synthesizer,...
The self-taught musician enjoyed a long career in European pop music before the magical colors and textures of his 1970s solo albums brought him to the attention of film and TV producers. The use of a track from his 1975 album “Heaven and Hell” as the theme for Carl Sagan’s PBS series “Cosmos” brought his name and music into prominence in America.
But it was his music for the 1981 film “Chariots of Fire” that brought him worldwide fame. Producer David Puttnam made the unorthodox choice for his period sports drama after hearing Vangelis’s music for the French nature documentary “Opera Sauvage” and the studio album “China.”
As he often did, Vangelis performed all of the instruments, including synthesizer,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
Robert Blalack, a towering figure in the world of visual effects, died on Wednesday. His wife Caroline Charron-Blalack confirmed the news to Deadline. He was 73.
Blalack said he specialized in “solving the Visual Effects requirements of ‘can’t be done’ Motion Picture productions.” He proved the truth of that statement on his second film project, a 1977 space opera by the name of Star Wars.
At the age of 29, he designed and supervised the Star Wars VistaVision Composite Optical production pipeline, which allowed all the groundbreaking 365 VistaVision VFX shots in Star Wars. Much of what he created for the film was built on a (relative) shoestring. With a VFX budget of just $1.6 million for the film, Blalack made use of obsolete VistaVision optical composite equipment from Hollywood’s Golden Years that could be had for a song.
“My task was to scavenge the Hollywood junkyards for any VistaVision Composite Optical mechanics,...
Blalack said he specialized in “solving the Visual Effects requirements of ‘can’t be done’ Motion Picture productions.” He proved the truth of that statement on his second film project, a 1977 space opera by the name of Star Wars.
At the age of 29, he designed and supervised the Star Wars VistaVision Composite Optical production pipeline, which allowed all the groundbreaking 365 VistaVision VFX shots in Star Wars. Much of what he created for the film was built on a (relative) shoestring. With a VFX budget of just $1.6 million for the film, Blalack made use of obsolete VistaVision optical composite equipment from Hollywood’s Golden Years that could be had for a song.
“My task was to scavenge the Hollywood junkyards for any VistaVision Composite Optical mechanics,...
- 2/8/2022
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
If you’re a stargazer, or just love watching movies with an astronomic twist, then these five films are for you. Astronomy is one of the most popular pastimes in the world today. There are so many things that can be learned from watching the stars and different constellations as they move across the sky. These films are perfect for anyone who wants to learn more about space, astronomy, and some of the best science fiction films out there. Contact Contact is based on the novel by famed astronomer Carl Sagan and tells the story of a scientist who makes contact
Five Must-Watch Movies For Every Astronomy Nerd...
Five Must-Watch Movies For Every Astronomy Nerd...
- 2/7/2022
- by A.E. Oats
- TVovermind.com
Global non-profit Captain Planet Foundation has announced that Jane Fonda, Bill Nye, and Jerome Foster II are to be recognized for their outstanding work as real-life environmental heroes at the organization’s 30th Anniversary Gala on Saturday, March 19, 2022 in Atlanta.
In support of their mission to engage and empower young people to be environmental problem-solvers, Captain Planet Foundation holds one of the Southeast’s largest eco-benefits. The charitable evening both recognizes extraordinary sustainability efforts of honorees and raises funds for the Foundation’s programming and grant-making. Previous award recipients at Captain Planet Foundation Galas have included: Mark Ruffalo, Dr. Jane Goodall, President Jimmy Carter, Sir Richard Branson, Ludacris, Dr. Sanjay Guptay, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, and Hrh Prince Charles.
The 2022 Captain Planet Foundation Honorees are:
Exemplar Award: Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is a two-time Academy Award-winning actor, producer, author, activist, and fitness guru. Jane leads Fire Drill Fridays, the national movement to...
In support of their mission to engage and empower young people to be environmental problem-solvers, Captain Planet Foundation holds one of the Southeast’s largest eco-benefits. The charitable evening both recognizes extraordinary sustainability efforts of honorees and raises funds for the Foundation’s programming and grant-making. Previous award recipients at Captain Planet Foundation Galas have included: Mark Ruffalo, Dr. Jane Goodall, President Jimmy Carter, Sir Richard Branson, Ludacris, Dr. Sanjay Guptay, Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, and Hrh Prince Charles.
The 2022 Captain Planet Foundation Honorees are:
Exemplar Award: Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is a two-time Academy Award-winning actor, producer, author, activist, and fitness guru. Jane leads Fire Drill Fridays, the national movement to...
- 1/18/2022
- Look to the Stars
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot is a turning point in history: the first YouTube parody greenlit to series. It’s the ultimate reboot, the pinnacle of this Golden Age of Reboots. Scholars will look back on it and say that 2022 was the year we reached “peak rebootity”. Which made it ideal fodder for a Saturday Night Live sketch this weekend. (Watch the episode’s cold open here.)
Urkel asks the question, “What could be more ridiculous than a gritty reboot of one of the silliest sitcoms of the ’90s?” Of course, it’s a reboot of the silliest sitcom of the ’90s: Family Matters,...
Urkel asks the question, “What could be more ridiculous than a gritty reboot of one of the silliest sitcoms of the ’90s?” Of course, it’s a reboot of the silliest sitcom of the ’90s: Family Matters,...
- 1/16/2022
- by Robert Clarke-Chan
- TVLine.com
Saturday Night Live’s Christmas episode was largely curtailed as a result of Covid. The long-running NBC series aired a handful of original sketches with host Paul Rudd as well as a Tina Fey co-hosted Weekend Update. But it filled the time with a slew of classic old clips.
Tom Hanks, joining the show in a surprise appearance, introduced his 1991 sketch “The Global Warming Christmas Special,” which featured Hanks as Dean Martin, Mike Myers as Carl Sagan, and Dana Carvey as Paul McCartney.
Vanessa Bayer and Ryan Gosling’s Santa and his elves sketch, from 2015, also aired.
Kenan Thompson, who along with Michael Che were the only current cast members on the show, introduced the clip. “This is one of my favorite Christmas sketches, not only because I love watching sweet, innocent Vanessa Bayer as a naughty elf but I remember how much fun it was being in the office...
Tom Hanks, joining the show in a surprise appearance, introduced his 1991 sketch “The Global Warming Christmas Special,” which featured Hanks as Dean Martin, Mike Myers as Carl Sagan, and Dana Carvey as Paul McCartney.
Vanessa Bayer and Ryan Gosling’s Santa and his elves sketch, from 2015, also aired.
Kenan Thompson, who along with Michael Che were the only current cast members on the show, introduced the clip. “This is one of my favorite Christmas sketches, not only because I love watching sweet, innocent Vanessa Bayer as a naughty elf but I remember how much fun it was being in the office...
- 12/19/2021
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
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