John Orloff, the co-creator of Apple TV+ miniseries Masters of the Air, has signed with UTA for representation in all areas.
The move comes after Orloff signed with Verve for representation in January, the same month his high profile and high priced war drama launched. However, in February, the agency became embroiled in an internal battle amongst partners, resulting in the ousting of founding partner Bill Weinstein. Several lit clients were caught up in the churn. Brian K. Vaughan, the comics author and screenwriter, also switched agencies and signed with UTA in March.
Orloff adapted the acclaimed memoir by Mariane Pearl, A Mighty Heart, into a 2007 drama that starred Angelina Jolie and counted Brad Pitt as among its producers. He earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best first screenplay for his script.
Orloff also co-wrote the screenplay for Zack Snyder’s animated 2010 feature Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole,...
The move comes after Orloff signed with Verve for representation in January, the same month his high profile and high priced war drama launched. However, in February, the agency became embroiled in an internal battle amongst partners, resulting in the ousting of founding partner Bill Weinstein. Several lit clients were caught up in the churn. Brian K. Vaughan, the comics author and screenwriter, also switched agencies and signed with UTA in March.
Orloff adapted the acclaimed memoir by Mariane Pearl, A Mighty Heart, into a 2007 drama that starred Angelina Jolie and counted Brad Pitt as among its producers. He earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best first screenplay for his script.
Orloff also co-wrote the screenplay for Zack Snyder’s animated 2010 feature Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole,...
- 4/2/2024
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Michael Winterbottom has devoted much of his filmmaking career to revisiting real-life events through works blurring the boundaries between documentary and drama to various degrees.
The filmmaker shed light on his approach in a recent Doha Film Institute (Dfi) masterclass, going behind the scenes of Welcome To Sarajevo, 24 Hour Party People, In This World, The Road To Guantanamo, A Might Heart and Eleven Days In May.
“It’s a continuum, even if you’re filming a fantasy film in a studio on a green screen there is an element of document to that. You’re recording that moment of the act of performance,” he said when quizzed on his attitude towards documentary versus fiction.
“Equally, even in a documentary like Eleven Days… you’re trying to shape that story, so it’s a continuum,” he added, referring to the 2022 documentary commemorating 68 children killed in Israeli bombing raids over Gaza...
The filmmaker shed light on his approach in a recent Doha Film Institute (Dfi) masterclass, going behind the scenes of Welcome To Sarajevo, 24 Hour Party People, In This World, The Road To Guantanamo, A Might Heart and Eleven Days In May.
“It’s a continuum, even if you’re filming a fantasy film in a studio on a green screen there is an element of document to that. You’re recording that moment of the act of performance,” he said when quizzed on his attitude towards documentary versus fiction.
“Equally, even in a documentary like Eleven Days… you’re trying to shape that story, so it’s a continuum,” he added, referring to the 2022 documentary commemorating 68 children killed in Israeli bombing raids over Gaza...
- 3/20/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Angelina Jolie movies list is so loaded it’s hard to pick which is her very best and which are not so cool. My foolproof technique for doing this for any actor is to check what critics and audiences are saying across multiple channels. That’s exactly how I arrived at ranking Angelina Jolie’s movies from best to worst. In the end, you can hardly go wrong with the multiple award winning actress. Even the worst movies on the list feel somewhat watchable because of her graceful and charming personality. There are scarcely a handful of actors that come close to Jolie’s reputation.
This article highlights some of the best and worst movies on the Angelina Jolie movies list.
Angelina Jolie Movies List: Ranked Best to Worst
Source: The Union Journal
Angelina Jolie’s film debut came in 1982 when she featured in Hal Ashby’s “Lookin’ to Get...
This article highlights some of the best and worst movies on the Angelina Jolie movies list.
Angelina Jolie Movies List: Ranked Best to Worst
Source: The Union Journal
Angelina Jolie’s film debut came in 1982 when she featured in Hal Ashby’s “Lookin’ to Get...
- 12/9/2022
- by Dee Gambit
- buddytv.com
Rooney as Japanese? Stone as Native Hawaiian? TheWrap looks at history of racially misguided castings
Katharine Hepburn in “Dragon Seed” (1944)
Caucasian Hepburn played a Chinese woman in this big-screen adaptation of the Pearl S. Buck novel.
Marlon Brando in “The Teahouse of the August Moon” (1956)
Brando starred as an Okinawan translator for the U.S. Army in this comedy about the American occupation of the island nation.
John Wayne in “Conquerer” (1956)
Wayne was cast as Mongol conquerer Genghis Khan in what’s considered by many to be one of the worst films of all time.
Charlton Heston in “Touch of Evil” (1958)
Heston starred as Ramon Miguel Vargas in the 1958 crime film, a Mexican narcotics officer.
Mickey Rooney in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961)
More caricature than character, Rooney starred as the buck-toothed, Japanese Mr. Yunioshi in the 1961 film, which has faced volumes of criticism since.
Natalie Wood in “West Side Story” (1961)
Wood plays...
Katharine Hepburn in “Dragon Seed” (1944)
Caucasian Hepburn played a Chinese woman in this big-screen adaptation of the Pearl S. Buck novel.
Marlon Brando in “The Teahouse of the August Moon” (1956)
Brando starred as an Okinawan translator for the U.S. Army in this comedy about the American occupation of the island nation.
John Wayne in “Conquerer” (1956)
Wayne was cast as Mongol conquerer Genghis Khan in what’s considered by many to be one of the worst films of all time.
Charlton Heston in “Touch of Evil” (1958)
Heston starred as Ramon Miguel Vargas in the 1958 crime film, a Mexican narcotics officer.
Mickey Rooney in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961)
More caricature than character, Rooney starred as the buck-toothed, Japanese Mr. Yunioshi in the 1961 film, which has faced volumes of criticism since.
Natalie Wood in “West Side Story” (1961)
Wood plays...
- 6/22/2021
- by Wrap Staff
- The Wrap
Gucci debuted the next chapter of its Chime For Change campaign this week under the banner “To Gather Together,” a call for the global community to unite in support of gender equality.
“Every person is created equal. We all have the power to use our voices to stand up for what we believe in. When we gather together across generations and communities, we have the opportunity to create real change. The fearlessness of this generation to express themselves gives me hope that a future of freedom and equality is possible,” said Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele.
“With this next chapter of Chime For Change, Gucci is proud to reaffirm our commitment to a more just and equitable world. Achieving gender equality is critical to securing our collective future, and we are dedicated to leveraging our creative power, global employee engagement, and support for non-profit projects to ignite conversation and help...
“Every person is created equal. We all have the power to use our voices to stand up for what we believe in. When we gather together across generations and communities, we have the opportunity to create real change. The fearlessness of this generation to express themselves gives me hope that a future of freedom and equality is possible,” said Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele.
“With this next chapter of Chime For Change, Gucci is proud to reaffirm our commitment to a more just and equitable world. Achieving gender equality is critical to securing our collective future, and we are dedicated to leveraging our creative power, global employee engagement, and support for non-profit projects to ignite conversation and help...
- 2/1/2019
- Look to the Stars
Last week, World of Children, a global recognition and funding organization for individuals exclusively serving the needs of vulnerable children, celebrated the 2017 Honorees at the annual World of Children Awards 2017 ceremony at 583 Park Avenue in New York City.
Lauren Bush Lauren attends World of Children Awards 2017
Credit/Copyright: Craig Barritt/Getty Images for World of Childre
Over 400 guests gathered for a special evening of stories and celebration recognizing five extraordinary individuals who have dramatically improved the lives of children around the world. Emceed by Alina Cho (Editor at Large, Ballantine Bantam Dell), the evening featured a cocktail reception, dinner program, and special performance by the United Nations International School (Unis) Middle School/High School Choral Club and a special performance by soloists Schuyler Johnson and Jenna Gold.
Celebrities, VIP guests and World of Children supporters in attendance included Victoria’s Secret Angels Martha Hunt (dressed in Off-White), Lindsay Ellingson (dressed...
Lauren Bush Lauren attends World of Children Awards 2017
Credit/Copyright: Craig Barritt/Getty Images for World of Childre
Over 400 guests gathered for a special evening of stories and celebration recognizing five extraordinary individuals who have dramatically improved the lives of children around the world. Emceed by Alina Cho (Editor at Large, Ballantine Bantam Dell), the evening featured a cocktail reception, dinner program, and special performance by the United Nations International School (Unis) Middle School/High School Choral Club and a special performance by soloists Schuyler Johnson and Jenna Gold.
Celebrities, VIP guests and World of Children supporters in attendance included Victoria’s Secret Angels Martha Hunt (dressed in Off-White), Lindsay Ellingson (dressed...
- 11/8/2017
- Look to the Stars
Angelina Jolie celebrates her 40th birthday today (June 4), and to mark the occasion here at Digital Spy we've rifled through our DVD collections to pick out our favourite Jolie films.
Remember her breakthrough with Hackers way back in the '90s? How about the ass-kicking turn in Tomb Raider or her soulful performance in A Mighty Heart? Read on to find out our Jolie favourites then have your say on her best big screen roles in the comments below...
Tomb Raider - Matt Hill (Deputy Editor)
With Hackers already spoken for, and Morgan Freeman's ridiculous 'loom of fate' ruining the otherwise rather decent Wanted, Jolie's turn as gaming icon Lara Croft looms largest over her career for me – largest in that it's still somehow seen as a rather huge mistake that she inexplicably recovered from. That reputation is one really worth reassessing, though. Sure, Jolie only narrowly missed out...
Remember her breakthrough with Hackers way back in the '90s? How about the ass-kicking turn in Tomb Raider or her soulful performance in A Mighty Heart? Read on to find out our Jolie favourites then have your say on her best big screen roles in the comments below...
Tomb Raider - Matt Hill (Deputy Editor)
With Hackers already spoken for, and Morgan Freeman's ridiculous 'loom of fate' ruining the otherwise rather decent Wanted, Jolie's turn as gaming icon Lara Croft looms largest over her career for me – largest in that it's still somehow seen as a rather huge mistake that she inexplicably recovered from. That reputation is one really worth reassessing, though. Sure, Jolie only narrowly missed out...
- 6/4/2015
- Digital Spy
While working as a journalist in Karachi, American Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and beheaded in early 2002. It seemed timely to watch the 2007 film A Mighty Heart, based on his wife Miriane's memoir of the experience, as similar attacks by Isis have been in the news in recent weeks.
The main reason I'd been hesitant to see A Mighty Heart is the casting of Angelina Jolie. Nothing against her as an actress, but having a white actress play a mixed-race woman continues a long history of "whitewashing" in film. Jolie does a fine job here, mimicing well Mariane Pearl's French accent and cadence. She plays Mariane as contained and determined during the search, then fierce and raw when she receives the tragic news of her husband's death. Logically I know that if Jolie hadn't been involved, the movie might not have ever received wide release. Yet I couldn't help wondering...
The main reason I'd been hesitant to see A Mighty Heart is the casting of Angelina Jolie. Nothing against her as an actress, but having a white actress play a mixed-race woman continues a long history of "whitewashing" in film. Jolie does a fine job here, mimicing well Mariane Pearl's French accent and cadence. She plays Mariane as contained and determined during the search, then fierce and raw when she receives the tragic news of her husband's death. Logically I know that if Jolie hadn't been involved, the movie might not have ever received wide release. Yet I couldn't help wondering...
- 9/25/2014
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
It's a been a period for calling foul on casting actors to play characters of different enthnicities. In recent years, there's been Jake Gyllenhaal in the titular role of Mike Newell's "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time." Then, of course, there's the casting of Angela Jolie to play Cleopatra. But apparently the hue and cry here is uncalled for as Cleopatra was actually a Ptolemy, i.e. of Greek descent. Few during the verbal melee over her casting, however, seem to mention her portrayal of the real-life mixed race woman (half black and half default), Mariane Pearl, in "A Mighty Heart" a few years ago. But then Jolie...
- 7/28/2014
- by Wendy Okoi-Obuli
- ShadowAndAct
Angelina Jolie is one of six "role models for a better world" due to her work raising awareness about sexual violence worldwide, according to Glamour writer and author Mariane Pearl, who the actress portrayed in the 2007 biopic A Mighty Heart. The 39-year-old actress is a Unhcr Goodwill Ambassador who has traveled to dozens of countries around the world, including war zones, and visited with survivors of rape and other types of assault. She has spoken about the issue several times at major events. Last month, Jolie co-chaired and spoke at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. "Everywhere I went ... rape was the silent killer," the writer quoted Jolie as saying in...
- 7/9/2014
- E! Online
She's a fierce advocate for ending sexual violence all over the world and Angelina Jolie opened up to journalist Mariane Pearl about the fight to end rape as a consequence of war.
In the August 2014 issue of Glamour magazine, the "Maleficent" actress opened up about her fellow activists and the importance for fighting against sexual violence.
Check out highlights from Miss Jolie's interview below and for more, head over to Glamour!
On sexual violence as a weapon of war:
“Everywhere I went, rape was the silent killer. But it became quickly clear to me that these women were not just the collateral damage of war. Rape was a strategic, organized scheme to destroy entire communities.”
On the camaraderie among her fellow activists:
“We care for each other–and for each other’s children. It is a profound source of joy and inspiration.”
On the importance of combating sexual violence:
“[T]his is not a woman problem.
In the August 2014 issue of Glamour magazine, the "Maleficent" actress opened up about her fellow activists and the importance for fighting against sexual violence.
Check out highlights from Miss Jolie's interview below and for more, head over to Glamour!
On sexual violence as a weapon of war:
“Everywhere I went, rape was the silent killer. But it became quickly clear to me that these women were not just the collateral damage of war. Rape was a strategic, organized scheme to destroy entire communities.”
On the camaraderie among her fellow activists:
“We care for each other–and for each other’s children. It is a profound source of joy and inspiration.”
On the importance of combating sexual violence:
“[T]his is not a woman problem.
- 7/9/2014
- GossipCenter
Salma Hayek and John Legend posed with activists Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Mariane Pearl at a photocall for the new Chime For Change charity in London yesterday. The organization, which was founded by Salma, Beyoncé Knowles, and Gucci creative director Frida Giannini, announced that Beyoncé will headline a global charity concert in London on June 1. John, who serves on the Advisory Board for Chime For Change and will perform at the upcoming event, spoke at the concert's press conference about his involvement in the organization, which raises funds to improve the lives of women worldwide. He said, "All men should be feminists. If men care about women's rights, the world will be a better place." Florence and the Machine, Ellie Goulding, and Timbaland will also be performing at the event. View Slideshow ›...
- 3/27/2013
- by Maria Mercedes Lara
- Popsugar.com
Stepping out for a good cause, Salma Hayek and John Legend showed up at a photocall to launch ‘The Sound of Change Live’ in London, England this morning (March 26).
The “Desperado” dame posed along with the handsome R&B singer as well as Mariane Pearl and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoyon the roof at the Corinthia Hotel as part of the newly-unveiled Chime For Change campaign.
Chime For Change is a charitable initiative from Gucci to promote and bring awareness to girls’ and women’s empowerment issues.
Coming up on June 1st, Legend will join Beyonce Knowles, Rita Ora, and Ellie Goulding for a massive concert event in London.
Legend told press, “This is the first global concert for girls and women’s empowerment. But Chime for Change is about more than that.”
“There are no innocent bystanders in the information age. Technology connects us as never before. But that means we also have the opportunity,...
The “Desperado” dame posed along with the handsome R&B singer as well as Mariane Pearl and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoyon the roof at the Corinthia Hotel as part of the newly-unveiled Chime For Change campaign.
Chime For Change is a charitable initiative from Gucci to promote and bring awareness to girls’ and women’s empowerment issues.
Coming up on June 1st, Legend will join Beyonce Knowles, Rita Ora, and Ellie Goulding for a massive concert event in London.
Legend told press, “This is the first global concert for girls and women’s empowerment. But Chime for Change is about more than that.”
“There are no innocent bystanders in the information age. Technology connects us as never before. But that means we also have the opportunity,...
- 3/26/2013
- GossipCenter
The lives of war correspondents are ripe with both lulls and action, and they’ve been translated, both truthfully and stuffed full of fiction, onto film for decades.
Charlize Theron is in talks to co-produce a biopic of slain war reporter Marie Colvin, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The story is based on the Vanity Fair article “Marie Colvin’s Private War” optioned by producer Basil Iwanyk and Thunder Road’s Peter Lawson. Theron would not only be taking on the challenge of representing a real-life journalist in a believable yet cinematic way, but a female journalist, which brings added complexities.
Charlize Theron is in talks to co-produce a biopic of slain war reporter Marie Colvin, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The story is based on the Vanity Fair article “Marie Colvin’s Private War” optioned by producer Basil Iwanyk and Thunder Road’s Peter Lawson. Theron would not only be taking on the challenge of representing a real-life journalist in a believable yet cinematic way, but a female journalist, which brings added complexities.
- 9/1/2012
- by Solvej Schou
- EW - Inside Movies
Over the years, we've seen many actors and actresses emulate style icons on the big and small screen in celebrity biopics. And while adopting a different accent, learning musical instruments or becoming a chain smoker can make a huge difference in authentically capturing a character, we believe the believability of it really comes down to the hair and makeup.
For the sake of argument, let's consider Lindsay Lohan as Elizabeth Taylor. Frozen in astonishment over how glamorous the wayward starlet looked sporting a dark wig, thick eyelashes and beauty mark, Lohan doesn't actually resemble Taylor. She just looks better than she normally does on the red carpet.
Inspired by LiLo's questionable transformation, we've rounded up the best and worst celebrity biopic match-ups, including Naomi Watts as Princess Di, Beyoncé as Etta James, Angelina Jolie as Mariane Pearl and David Bowie as Andy Warhol. Which celeb do you believe made the most convincing about-face?...
For the sake of argument, let's consider Lindsay Lohan as Elizabeth Taylor. Frozen in astonishment over how glamorous the wayward starlet looked sporting a dark wig, thick eyelashes and beauty mark, Lohan doesn't actually resemble Taylor. She just looks better than she normally does on the red carpet.
Inspired by LiLo's questionable transformation, we've rounded up the best and worst celebrity biopic match-ups, including Naomi Watts as Princess Di, Beyoncé as Etta James, Angelina Jolie as Mariane Pearl and David Bowie as Andy Warhol. Which celeb do you believe made the most convincing about-face?...
- 7/25/2012
- by Stylelist
- Huffington Post
Each week within this column we strive to pair the latest in theatrical releases to worthwhile titles currently streaming on Netflix Instant Watch. This week we offer alternatives to Being Flynn, The Snowtown Murders, and Tim & Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie.
This Friday theaters will be filled with pairs of men, from a couple of kooky comedians, to an estranged father-son team, and a duo of deadly Aussies. But if these new releases aren’t enough to satisfy your craving for chills, laughs and heartwarming moments, we’ve got you covered with some of the best selections Now Streaming.
Based on Nick Flynn’s poignant memoir, this drama centers on his time volunteering at a homeless shelter, and how it led to an unexpected reunion with his estranged father. Paul Dano and Robert De Niro co-star; Paul Weitz directs.
Want more memoir-based dramas?
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006) Dito Montiel...
This Friday theaters will be filled with pairs of men, from a couple of kooky comedians, to an estranged father-son team, and a duo of deadly Aussies. But if these new releases aren’t enough to satisfy your craving for chills, laughs and heartwarming moments, we’ve got you covered with some of the best selections Now Streaming.
Based on Nick Flynn’s poignant memoir, this drama centers on his time volunteering at a homeless shelter, and how it led to an unexpected reunion with his estranged father. Paul Dano and Robert De Niro co-star; Paul Weitz directs.
Want more memoir-based dramas?
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006) Dito Montiel...
- 3/1/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
The actress's directorial debut, an unflinching portrayal of the genocide in Bosnia, has sent shockwaves through the Balkans – and may mark the start of a career behind the camera
• Feature: 'Angelina Jolie touched our souls' – Bosnia's rape victims have their say
Angelina Jolie's name has remained a byword for sex appeal for longer than most film stars could hope, but the 36-year-old Oscar-winner's status as one of the most compelling women in Hollywood is about to change. Her harrowing directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, has been met with such unexpected critical acclaim that a future for the actress behind the camera, as well as on screen, now looks certain.
The film, which premiered in New York this month, has already been recognised with a Stanley Kramer award for work in the cinema that draws attention to injustice and social issues. Last week it also received a Golden Globe nomination.
• Feature: 'Angelina Jolie touched our souls' – Bosnia's rape victims have their say
Angelina Jolie's name has remained a byword for sex appeal for longer than most film stars could hope, but the 36-year-old Oscar-winner's status as one of the most compelling women in Hollywood is about to change. Her harrowing directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, has been met with such unexpected critical acclaim that a future for the actress behind the camera, as well as on screen, now looks certain.
The film, which premiered in New York this month, has already been recognised with a Stanley Kramer award for work in the cinema that draws attention to injustice and social issues. Last week it also received a Golden Globe nomination.
- 12/19/2011
- by Vanessa Thorpe
- The Guardian - Film News
Angelina Jolie is set to play an iconic Middle East leader. But not the one you might be expecting.
While Jolie has been attached to play Cleopatra in a long-gestating biopic for some time now, her next foray into that part of the world will take her only a century back in time. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jolie is in talks to play the title role in "Gertrude Bell," a film about the early 20th century English woman whose adventures and diplomacy in the region helped set the stage for new, more modern governments.
As an explorer, archaeologist and British intelligence agent, she mapped much of the region and was able to bridge cultural gaps between leaders and people in the region and the European nations.
Ridley Scott would direct, following the long-awaited sequel to "Alien," the Michael Fassbender-starring "Prometheus."
Jolie's career has touched down in the Middle...
While Jolie has been attached to play Cleopatra in a long-gestating biopic for some time now, her next foray into that part of the world will take her only a century back in time. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jolie is in talks to play the title role in "Gertrude Bell," a film about the early 20th century English woman whose adventures and diplomacy in the region helped set the stage for new, more modern governments.
As an explorer, archaeologist and British intelligence agent, she mapped much of the region and was able to bridge cultural gaps between leaders and people in the region and the European nations.
Ridley Scott would direct, following the long-awaited sequel to "Alien," the Michael Fassbender-starring "Prometheus."
Jolie's career has touched down in the Middle...
- 11/18/2011
- by Jordan Zakarin
- Huffington Post
Angelina Jolie's twins literally keep her hands full during a recent outing. The actress who voices Master Tigress in "Kung Fu Panda 2" was spotted carrying both Vivienne and Knox on each arms as they made their exit from Eden Superbowl in St. Julians, Malta after an afternoon of bowling on Wednesday, July 6.
The longtime partner of Brad Pitt wore an all-black ensemble for the family outing and hid behind dark glasses upon leaving the bowling alley. Both of her twins, who will turn 3 on July 12, were captured on camera looking tired. Also joining the fun was her 5-year-old daughter Shiloh, who donned a striped polo shirt and boys' shorts.
This is the second time in a week Angie and her children, who are staying in Malta while Brad films "World War Z", spent time at Eden Superbowl. Last Thursday, June 30, the Mariane Pearl of "A Mighty Heart" also took her kids,...
The longtime partner of Brad Pitt wore an all-black ensemble for the family outing and hid behind dark glasses upon leaving the bowling alley. Both of her twins, who will turn 3 on July 12, were captured on camera looking tired. Also joining the fun was her 5-year-old daughter Shiloh, who donned a striped polo shirt and boys' shorts.
This is the second time in a week Angie and her children, who are staying in Malta while Brad films "World War Z", spent time at Eden Superbowl. Last Thursday, June 30, the Mariane Pearl of "A Mighty Heart" also took her kids,...
- 7/7/2011
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Angelina Jolie doesn't play the game, she sets the rules
Actor: Salt, Changeling, A Mighty Heart
Here we come to the highest-ranking woman on the list. No female director made it into the top 10 or, depressingly, anywhere in the top 50. You'll have to skim down to find Sofia Coppola and Kathryn Bigelow. But Angelina Jolie, 35, is in a league of her own. Consider her rivals. Sandra Bullock earns more hard cash, according to Forbes, but even with that Oscar no one is making any claims for her credibility. Anne Hathaway may be better value for money, but is hardly setting marquees alight. A few years ago, Nicole Kidman could have given Jolie a run for her money, but who can remember her last decent film? Julianne Moore is a stunning actor, but the whole celebrity-power thing just isn't her bag.
Like her or loathe her, Jolie doesn't play the game – she sets the rules.
Actor: Salt, Changeling, A Mighty Heart
Here we come to the highest-ranking woman on the list. No female director made it into the top 10 or, depressingly, anywhere in the top 50. You'll have to skim down to find Sofia Coppola and Kathryn Bigelow. But Angelina Jolie, 35, is in a league of her own. Consider her rivals. Sandra Bullock earns more hard cash, according to Forbes, but even with that Oscar no one is making any claims for her credibility. Anne Hathaway may be better value for money, but is hardly setting marquees alight. A few years ago, Nicole Kidman could have given Jolie a run for her money, but who can remember her last decent film? Julianne Moore is a stunning actor, but the whole celebrity-power thing just isn't her bag.
Like her or loathe her, Jolie doesn't play the game – she sets the rules.
- 9/24/2010
- The Guardian - Film News
HollywoodNews.com:
By Anthony D’Alessandro
The 1970s Virginia Slims cigarette promos boasted the slogan “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby” toward their femme demo and the same prideful adage can be applied to the female action hero who has broken ceilings at the cinema over the last 40 years.
In the wake of the body count left behind by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone in the ’80s and ‘90s, it’s often asked Who is the action hero of now?
As a fresh crop of actors make their mark in the genre, they become too pretentious about fully wearing the crown for fear of being pigeon-holed: Gerard Butler and Vin Diesel prefer to dabble in bullets.
If you’re holding out for a hero, “Salt” reminds us that our cinematic knight in shining armor wears a dress and her name is Angelina Jolie. Jolie doesn’t duck...
By Anthony D’Alessandro
The 1970s Virginia Slims cigarette promos boasted the slogan “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby” toward their femme demo and the same prideful adage can be applied to the female action hero who has broken ceilings at the cinema over the last 40 years.
In the wake of the body count left behind by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone in the ’80s and ‘90s, it’s often asked Who is the action hero of now?
As a fresh crop of actors make their mark in the genre, they become too pretentious about fully wearing the crown for fear of being pigeon-holed: Gerard Butler and Vin Diesel prefer to dabble in bullets.
If you’re holding out for a hero, “Salt” reminds us that our cinematic knight in shining armor wears a dress and her name is Angelina Jolie. Jolie doesn’t duck...
- 7/22/2010
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Hollywoodnews.com
The National Organization for Women should send Angelina Jolie a nice cheese basket (or vice versa).
The world's most famous actress-humanitarian might not have single-handedly erased gender inequality in the movie industry, but she sure has struck a major blow for actresses. How else to explain her $20 million payout for Sony's next big summer release, "Salt," an action project that originally was written to star a man -- no less than Tom Cruise?
"It's definitely unusual that a female has become an action star," "Salt" producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura says. "But it's a funny thing. She's not a female action star; she's an action star. She's really the first female to transcend gender. I don't think it's occurred before."
To di Bonaventura's point, a star must be in some rarefied atmosphere when a one-hander lead role in a huge studio action tentpole is rewritten from male to female. It's akin...
The world's most famous actress-humanitarian might not have single-handedly erased gender inequality in the movie industry, but she sure has struck a major blow for actresses. How else to explain her $20 million payout for Sony's next big summer release, "Salt," an action project that originally was written to star a man -- no less than Tom Cruise?
"It's definitely unusual that a female has become an action star," "Salt" producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura says. "But it's a funny thing. She's not a female action star; she's an action star. She's really the first female to transcend gender. I don't think it's occurred before."
To di Bonaventura's point, a star must be in some rarefied atmosphere when a one-hander lead role in a huge studio action tentpole is rewritten from male to female. It's akin...
- 7/14/2010
- by By Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s a been a year for calling foul on casting actors to play characters of different enthnicity. There’s been Jake Gyllenhaal in the titular role of Mike Newell’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (as well as the other “Persian” cats in the cast). But I’ve since found out that Persians, while Middle Eastern, aren’t actually considered to be Arab by Arabs but um, white, so… Then, of course, there’s been the rumoured casting of Angela Jolie to play Cleopatra in the Scott Rudin produced film currently in pre-production. But apparently the hue and cry here is uncalled for too as Cleopatra was actually a Ptolemy, i.e. of Greek descent. Nobody during this verbal melee, however, seemed to mention her portrayal of the real-life mixed race woman (half black and half default), Mariane Pearl, in A Mighty Heart a few years ago...
- 7/2/2010
- by MsWOO
- ShadowAndAct
Well, would you look at that! Pauly Shore is still around, and here is an interview with him. I'll tell ya, as far as minimally-talented washed-up comedians go, he seems a hell of a lot cooler than that Gallagher asshole. (Av Club)
Remember how I mentioned about Jeremy London and his highly suspect "kidnapping" which was taken straight out of an episode of "Six Feet Under?" Yeah, well shit just got real. Real sad. Turns out he and his wife are both addicts who lost custody of their son. (Evil Beet)
"True Blood" is only two episodes into Season Three and it's already been given the go ahead for Four. Well, obviously. You don't have to be a marketing genius to know that Vampires + Nudity = $$$$$$$$$! (The Flickcast)
David Simon basically thinks that people are too stupid to appreciate "Treme." I haven't caught up with "Treme" yet, but I've found that...
Remember how I mentioned about Jeremy London and his highly suspect "kidnapping" which was taken straight out of an episode of "Six Feet Under?" Yeah, well shit just got real. Real sad. Turns out he and his wife are both addicts who lost custody of their son. (Evil Beet)
"True Blood" is only two episodes into Season Three and it's already been given the go ahead for Four. Well, obviously. You don't have to be a marketing genius to know that Vampires + Nudity = $$$$$$$$$! (The Flickcast)
David Simon basically thinks that people are too stupid to appreciate "Treme." I haven't caught up with "Treme" yet, but I've found that...
- 6/21/2010
- by Stacey Nosek
The Tribeca Film Institute and Gucci announced the recipients selected for the 2010 Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund on Wednesday.
In its third year, the Fund provides finishing finances to domestic and international documentary filmmakers with feature-length films that document pressing social issues of immediate and historical significance.
Seven projects have been selected from 390 submissions from 23 countries to receive a total of $100,000, to be administered by Tfi.
The projects were selected by a committee consisting of Diana Barrett, Liz Garbus, Simon Kilmurry, Trevor Neilson, and Mariane Pearl who chose the recipients from finalists previously selected by Tfi.
The projects that will receive funding are:
African Deep (Rachel Boynton)
Donor 150 (Jerry Rothwell)
Moving Windmills: The William Kamkwamba Story (Tom Rielly)
The Mosou Sisters (Marlo Poras & Yu Ying Wu Chou)
The Redemption of General Butt Naked (Daniele Anastasion & Eric Strauss)
The Warlord’s Wife (Victoria Stevenson)
Welcome to Shelbyville (Kim Snyder)...
In its third year, the Fund provides finishing finances to domestic and international documentary filmmakers with feature-length films that document pressing social issues of immediate and historical significance.
Seven projects have been selected from 390 submissions from 23 countries to receive a total of $100,000, to be administered by Tfi.
The projects were selected by a committee consisting of Diana Barrett, Liz Garbus, Simon Kilmurry, Trevor Neilson, and Mariane Pearl who chose the recipients from finalists previously selected by Tfi.
The projects that will receive funding are:
African Deep (Rachel Boynton)
Donor 150 (Jerry Rothwell)
Moving Windmills: The William Kamkwamba Story (Tom Rielly)
The Mosou Sisters (Marlo Poras & Yu Ying Wu Chou)
The Redemption of General Butt Naked (Daniele Anastasion & Eric Strauss)
The Warlord’s Wife (Victoria Stevenson)
Welcome to Shelbyville (Kim Snyder)...
HollywoodNews.com: The Tribeca Film Institute and Gucci have announced the recipients selected for the 2010 Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund which provides finishing finances to domestic and international documentary filmmakers with feature-length films that document pressing social issues of immediate and historical significance. In the third year of the fund, seven projects have been selected from 390 submissions from 23 countries to receive a total of $100,000, to be administered by the Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi).
The projects were selected by a committee consisting of Diana Barrett, Liz Garbus, Simon Kilmurry, Trevor Neilson, and Mariane Pearl who chose the recipients from finalists previously selected by Tfi. The projects that will receive funding are:
African Deep (Rachel Boynton)
Donor 150 (Jerry Rothwell)
Moving Windmills: The William Kamkwamba Story (Tom Rielly)
The Mosou Sisters (Marlo Poras & Yu Ying Wu Chou)
The Redemption of General Butt Naked (Daniele Anastasion & Eric Strauss)
The Warlord’s Wife (Victoria Stevenson)
Welcome...
The projects were selected by a committee consisting of Diana Barrett, Liz Garbus, Simon Kilmurry, Trevor Neilson, and Mariane Pearl who chose the recipients from finalists previously selected by Tfi. The projects that will receive funding are:
African Deep (Rachel Boynton)
Donor 150 (Jerry Rothwell)
Moving Windmills: The William Kamkwamba Story (Tom Rielly)
The Mosou Sisters (Marlo Poras & Yu Ying Wu Chou)
The Redemption of General Butt Naked (Daniele Anastasion & Eric Strauss)
The Warlord’s Wife (Victoria Stevenson)
Welcome...
- 6/2/2010
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
In its third year, the Fund provides finishing finances to domestic and international documentary filmmakers with feature-length films that document pressing social issues of immediate and historical significance. Seven projects have been selected from 390 submissions from 23 countries to receive a total of $100,000, to be administered by Tfi. The projects were selected by a committee consisting of Diana Barrett, Liz Garbus, Simon Kilmurry, Trevor Neilson, and Mariane Pearl who chose the recipients from finalists previously selected by Tfi. The projects that will receive funding are: The Warlord’s Wife (Victoria Stevenson) (UK) The story of Emma McCune who travelled…...
- 6/2/2010
- Sydney's Buzz
First a disclaimer: I'm a great fan of the mercurial filmmaker Michael Winterbottom. I admire his hunger to reinvent himself by biting into a broad range of genres. High points from his oeuvre include Jude, a haunting adaptation of Thomas Hardy (who can forget Kate Winslet as poor Sue Bridehead lying naked on the bed, trying to feel sexual?); In This World, a faux documentary about Afghan refugees; Code 46, a sci fi love story; A Mighty Heart, from Mariane Pearl's memoir; and the shag-a-thon that was Nine Days. Is there anything the man won't try? Now, with The Killer Inside, Me, Winterbottom attempts a noir thriller. It's adapted from the cult novel by 50's pulp writer Jim Thompson (The Grifters), who specialized in tales of homicidal sickos. Because of the violence visited upon female characters...
- 5/4/2010
- by Erica Abeel
- Huffington Post
Not content with Alice in Wonderland for your Johnny Depp fix? Looking for more than a little Salt to give you a taste of Angelina Jolie? Then you’ve come to the right place my friend, because shooting has begun on what is being described as a “romantic thriller”, The Tourist, starring both aforementioned A-List sex symbols and due for theatrical release next year! Check out the official press release below:
On 23 February 2010 principal photography began on Gk Films’ romantic thriller “The Tourist,” directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. “The Tourist” is being produced by Academy-Award-winner Graham King and will shoot in Paris and Venice. Sony Pictures will distribute the film.
“The Tourist” is written by Academy Award® winning screenwriters Julian Fellowes (“Gosford Park,” “The Young Victoria”) and Christopher McQuarrie (“Valkyrie”), and Jeffrey Nachmanoff (“The Day After Tomorrow”) and revolves around Frank (Depp), an...
On 23 February 2010 principal photography began on Gk Films’ romantic thriller “The Tourist,” directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. “The Tourist” is being produced by Academy-Award-winner Graham King and will shoot in Paris and Venice. Sony Pictures will distribute the film.
“The Tourist” is written by Academy Award® winning screenwriters Julian Fellowes (“Gosford Park,” “The Young Victoria”) and Christopher McQuarrie (“Valkyrie”), and Jeffrey Nachmanoff (“The Day After Tomorrow”) and revolves around Frank (Depp), an...
- 2/26/2010
- by Craig Sharp
- FilmShaft.com
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button leads with 13 nominations
Photo: Paramount Pictures The nominees have been announced (get the list here) and as everyone is sure to notice right off the bat (no pun intended) The Dark Knight missed out on nominations for Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay and Director while Heath Ledger earned a nomination for his performance as The Joker. But the absence of the box-office record breaker in other lead categories suddenly makes me think the assumed win for Ledger isn't as much of a lock as it was only a few hours ago. Sure, I think he will still win, but -- to quote Sister Aloysius -- I have doubt. Speaking of Supporting Actor, my one "gamble" prediction of Michael Shannon getting a nomination for his performance in Revolutionary Road came true (I still remember Mark's comment saying he couldn't take me seriously... Why so serious Mark?...
Photo: Paramount Pictures The nominees have been announced (get the list here) and as everyone is sure to notice right off the bat (no pun intended) The Dark Knight missed out on nominations for Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay and Director while Heath Ledger earned a nomination for his performance as The Joker. But the absence of the box-office record breaker in other lead categories suddenly makes me think the assumed win for Ledger isn't as much of a lock as it was only a few hours ago. Sure, I think he will still win, but -- to quote Sister Aloysius -- I have doubt. Speaking of Supporting Actor, my one "gamble" prediction of Michael Shannon getting a nomination for his performance in Revolutionary Road came true (I still remember Mark's comment saying he couldn't take me seriously... Why so serious Mark?...
- 1/22/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Brothers Maddox and Pax Jolie-Pitt and their mother, Angelina Jolie, enjoyed some high-flying fun together Monday at Washington, D.C.'s Air and Space Museum – where they proved to be one of the major sights, as far as the camera-toting tourists were concerned, The Washington Post reports. Accompanied by security guards and sporting a navy blue hoodie, 6-year-old Maddox and 4-year-old Pax, in an olive green jacket, reportedly asked a barrage of questions as they gazed upon Space Hall, Skylab and the Wwi and Wwii aerial exhibits. Their mom, however, also had more earth-bound issues on her mind during her visit to the nation's capital,...
- 4/8/2008
- PEOPLE.com
Angelina Jolie was radiant as she awarded her friend, journalist Mariane Pearl, with the Fern Holland Award Monday night at the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards gala in Washington, D.C. Jolie, who played Pearl in the film version of her book A Mighty Heart, spoke of Pearl's special gift as a mother and called her an example of "courage, hope and tolerance," reports the Washington Post. Pearl, the wife of slain reporter Daniel Pearl, called Jolie "a sister" during her acceptance speech, and the two spent the day together, as their kids – Maddox, Pax and Adam – played. On Tuesday,...
- 4/8/2008
- PEOPLE.com
The Weinstein Co.'s The Great Debaters moved to the top of the class for the 39th NAACP Image Awards, nabbing eight nominations, including two for Denzel Washington.
Washington's nominations, announced Tuesday during a news conference at the Beverly Hilton, were for actor in a motion picture and directing in a motion picture, theatrical or TV.
The film, loosely based on the true story of Wiley College debate coach Melvin B. Tolson, who inspires his students to form the school's first debate team, also received nominations in the categories of motion picture, actress in a motion picture (Jurnee Smollett) and writing in a motion picture, theatrical or television (Robert Eisele). The film's Denzel Whitaker, Forest Whitaker and Nate Parker were nominated in the supporting actor category.
Other nominees in the actor in a motion picture category include Columbus Short (Stomp the Yard), Don Cheadle (Talk to Me), Terrence Howard (Pride) and Will Smith (I Am Legend).
Angelina Jolie was nominated for her role as widow Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart for actress in a motion picture along with Halle Berry for Things We Lost in the Fire, Jill Scott for Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?...
Washington's nominations, announced Tuesday during a news conference at the Beverly Hilton, were for actor in a motion picture and directing in a motion picture, theatrical or TV.
The film, loosely based on the true story of Wiley College debate coach Melvin B. Tolson, who inspires his students to form the school's first debate team, also received nominations in the categories of motion picture, actress in a motion picture (Jurnee Smollett) and writing in a motion picture, theatrical or television (Robert Eisele). The film's Denzel Whitaker, Forest Whitaker and Nate Parker were nominated in the supporting actor category.
Other nominees in the actor in a motion picture category include Columbus Short (Stomp the Yard), Don Cheadle (Talk to Me), Terrence Howard (Pride) and Will Smith (I Am Legend).
Angelina Jolie was nominated for her role as widow Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart for actress in a motion picture along with Halle Berry for Things We Lost in the Fire, Jill Scott for Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?...
Into the Wild, Sean Penn's study of a young man who ditches civilization for a life on the road, dominates the film nominations for the 14th annual SAG Awards, which were announced Thursday morning.
It scored four noms, including shout-outs for its ensemble cast, Emile Hirsch as best actor, Hal Holbrook as best supporting actor and Catherine Keener as best supporting actress.
In the category of outstanding performance by a cast of a motion picture, "Wild" faces off against 3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster, Hairspray and No Country for Old Men. SAG appears to favor films that have spent weeks, if not months, in release, ignoring such titles as Atonement, Sweeney Todd and The Great Debaters, which are just hitting theaters.
On the TV side, 30 Rock, The Sopranos and Ugly Betty lead the pack with three nominations apiece.
30 Rock and "Ugly Betty" were nominated for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series, where they will compete with "Desperate Housewives", Entourage and The Office. In addition to "The Sopranos", the nominees for best dramatic ensemble are Boston Legal, The Closer, Grey's Anatomy and rookie series Mad Men.
Because the WGA has granted its union ally SAG a waiver to produce the awards show -- which will be broadcast Jan. 27 by TNT and TBS from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles -- the SAG Awards promise to be one of the few untroubled spots in an embattled awards season.
"Wild", a Paramount Vantage release, was left in the dust when the nominations for Golden Globes were announced last week -- it picked up just two mentions for its score and Eddie Vedder's song "Guaranteed" -- but it roared back to life Thursday as Jeanne Tripplehorn and Terrence Howard announced the SAG picks at a predawn news conference at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.
"Wild"'s Hirsch, who appears to starve himself in the film as he confronts a harsh Alaska winter, scored his first SAG nom and will compete for best dramatic film actor with George Clooney, who plays a troubled legal fixer in "Michael Clayton"; Daniel-Day Lewis, a ruthless oil baron in "There Will Be Blood"; Ryan Gosling, who romances a real, not-so-live doll in "Lars and the Real Girl"; and Viggo Mortensen, who goes mano a mano with the Russian mob in "Eastern Promises".
For dramatic film actress, the SAG nominating panel of 2,100 guild members stayed loyal to Cate Blanchett for again presiding over Elizabethan England in the sequel "Elizabeth: The Golden Age". Blanchett, who now has been nominated for SAG Awards 11 times, was first nominated in 1999 for "Elizabeth". She also was nominated this year for supporting actress for making like Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There".
In the best actress heat, Blanchett is surrounded by Julie Christie, who drifts off into Alzheimer's in "Away From Her"; Marion Cotillard, who embodies Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose"; Angelina Jolie, who plays another real-life woman, Mariane Pearl, in "A Mighty Heart"; and Ellen Page, who stars as a wisecracking pregnant teen in "Juno".
The best supporting male lineup consists of Holbrook, who appears as a lonely retiree in "Wild"; Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones, who represent opposite sides of the law in the same film, "No Country for Old Men"; Casey Affleck, who has a love-hate relationship with a celebrated outlaw in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"; and Tom Wilkinson, who suffers a breakdown in "Michael Clayton".
Keener, who teaches Hirsch's character some hard-learned lessons about life on the road in "Wild", is nominated for supporting actress along with Blanchett; Ruby Dee, who plays the crime lord's mom in "American Gangster"; Amy Ryan, who plays another mom caught up in a crisis in "Gone Baby Gone"; and Tilda Swinton, a manipulating corporate attorney in "Michael Clayton".
On the TV side, James Gandolfini and Edie Falco, who each have won two SAG Awards as best dramatic actor and actress for their work in "The Sopranos", are again nominated in those categories for the mob series' cut-to-black final season.
It scored four noms, including shout-outs for its ensemble cast, Emile Hirsch as best actor, Hal Holbrook as best supporting actor and Catherine Keener as best supporting actress.
In the category of outstanding performance by a cast of a motion picture, "Wild" faces off against 3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster, Hairspray and No Country for Old Men. SAG appears to favor films that have spent weeks, if not months, in release, ignoring such titles as Atonement, Sweeney Todd and The Great Debaters, which are just hitting theaters.
On the TV side, 30 Rock, The Sopranos and Ugly Betty lead the pack with three nominations apiece.
30 Rock and "Ugly Betty" were nominated for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series, where they will compete with "Desperate Housewives", Entourage and The Office. In addition to "The Sopranos", the nominees for best dramatic ensemble are Boston Legal, The Closer, Grey's Anatomy and rookie series Mad Men.
Because the WGA has granted its union ally SAG a waiver to produce the awards show -- which will be broadcast Jan. 27 by TNT and TBS from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles -- the SAG Awards promise to be one of the few untroubled spots in an embattled awards season.
"Wild", a Paramount Vantage release, was left in the dust when the nominations for Golden Globes were announced last week -- it picked up just two mentions for its score and Eddie Vedder's song "Guaranteed" -- but it roared back to life Thursday as Jeanne Tripplehorn and Terrence Howard announced the SAG picks at a predawn news conference at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.
"Wild"'s Hirsch, who appears to starve himself in the film as he confronts a harsh Alaska winter, scored his first SAG nom and will compete for best dramatic film actor with George Clooney, who plays a troubled legal fixer in "Michael Clayton"; Daniel-Day Lewis, a ruthless oil baron in "There Will Be Blood"; Ryan Gosling, who romances a real, not-so-live doll in "Lars and the Real Girl"; and Viggo Mortensen, who goes mano a mano with the Russian mob in "Eastern Promises".
For dramatic film actress, the SAG nominating panel of 2,100 guild members stayed loyal to Cate Blanchett for again presiding over Elizabethan England in the sequel "Elizabeth: The Golden Age". Blanchett, who now has been nominated for SAG Awards 11 times, was first nominated in 1999 for "Elizabeth". She also was nominated this year for supporting actress for making like Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There".
In the best actress heat, Blanchett is surrounded by Julie Christie, who drifts off into Alzheimer's in "Away From Her"; Marion Cotillard, who embodies Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose"; Angelina Jolie, who plays another real-life woman, Mariane Pearl, in "A Mighty Heart"; and Ellen Page, who stars as a wisecracking pregnant teen in "Juno".
The best supporting male lineup consists of Holbrook, who appears as a lonely retiree in "Wild"; Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones, who represent opposite sides of the law in the same film, "No Country for Old Men"; Casey Affleck, who has a love-hate relationship with a celebrated outlaw in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"; and Tom Wilkinson, who suffers a breakdown in "Michael Clayton".
Keener, who teaches Hirsch's character some hard-learned lessons about life on the road in "Wild", is nominated for supporting actress along with Blanchett; Ruby Dee, who plays the crime lord's mom in "American Gangster"; Amy Ryan, who plays another mom caught up in a crisis in "Gone Baby Gone"; and Tilda Swinton, a manipulating corporate attorney in "Michael Clayton".
On the TV side, James Gandolfini and Edie Falco, who each have won two SAG Awards as best dramatic actor and actress for their work in "The Sopranos", are again nominated in those categories for the mob series' cut-to-black final season.
- 12/21/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
UPDATED 5:21 p.m. PT Nov. 27, 2007
Film Independent's 2008 Spirit Awards took on an international accent as nominees were announced Tuesday. Best feature noms went to the French-language "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" and the Pakistan-set "A Mighty Heart", while the starring duo of Tony Leung and Tang Wei of the Shanghai drama "Lust, Caution" both figure in the top acting categories.
But Americana also ruled as "I'm Not There", Todd Haynes' kaleidoscope deconstruction of the work of Bob Dylan, led the field. With four nominations, including best feature, director and supporting noms for Cate Blanchett and Marcus Carl Franklin, it also was named the inaugural winner of the Robert Altman Award, recognizing Haynes, casting director Laura Rosenthal and the ensemble cast.
While the Spirit Awards focus on American independent film, a film can qualify if at least one U.S. citizen or permanent resident is credited in two or more of the categories of writer, director or producer, which opened the door for this year's globetrotting noms.
In addition to "I'm Not There", "Diving Bell", a film told from the point of view of a stroke victim, and "Mighty Heart", the dramatization of the search for kidnapped journalist Daniel Pearl, the other contenders in the best feature category are "Juno", a comedy about an unintended pregnancy, and "Paranoid Park", the account of a teen who accidentally kills a man.
Four of the best film nominees saw their helmsman nominated for best director: Haynes ("I'm Not There"), Jason Reitman ("Juno"), Julian Schnabel ("Butterfly") and Gus Van Sant ("Paranoid"). But instead of Michael Winterbottom for "Mighty Heart", the fifth slot went to Tamara Jenkins -- who also was nominated for best screenplay -- for the family drama "The Savages".
"There wasn't a dominant genre or even a film. It was a mix of emerging filmmakers and veteran filmmakers like Gus Van Sant and Todd Haynes. I felt like it was a wide spectrum of talent in all areas," FIND exec director Dawn Hudson said at the ceremonies that Lisa Kudrow and Zach Braff hosted at the Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles.
"You want all these films to gain some momentum," she added. "There's such a glut of films this season that you hope that this will shine a spotlight on these lower-budgeted films that are so deserving."
The best actress contenders are Angelina Jolie for portraying Mariane Pearl in "Mighty Heart"; Sienna Miller, seen as a soap actress facing off with a journalist in "Interview"; Ellen Page, who appears as the pregnant teen in "Juno"; Parker Posey, who finds herself embarking on an affair in "Broken English"; and Tang, who becomes entangled in love and espionage in "Lust".
Nominated as best actor are Pedro Castaneda, who plays an undocumented farm worker "August Evening"; Don Cheadle, who stars as a radio host in "Talk to Me"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, whose character struggles with an ailing father in "Savages"; Frank Langella, who appears as the older half of a May-December relationship in "Starting Out in the Evening"; and Leung, who plays a spy in "Lust".
Still, several performances that have excited critics failed to make the cut: Among the missing were Ryan Gosling ("Lars and the Real Girl"), Laura Linney ("Savages"), Nicole Kidman ("Margot at the Wedding"), Keri Russell ("Waitress") and John Cusak ("Grace Is Gone").
Along with Blanchett, who seems to channel Dylan in "Not There", the nominees for best supporting female are Anna Kendrick ("Rocket Science"), Jennifer Jason Leigh ("Margot"), Tamara Podemski ("Four Sheets to the Wind") and Marisa Tomei ("Before the Devil Knows You're Dead").
Best supporting male nominee Franklin plays a young musician who calls himself Woody Guthrie in "Not There". In the nominees circle, he joins Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Talk to Me"), Kene Holliday ("Great World of Sound"), Irfan Khan ("The Namesake") and Steve Zahn ("Rescue Dawn").
Screenplay nominees are Ronald Harwood ("Butterfly"), Jenkins ("Savages"), Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner ("Starting Out"), the late Adrienne Shelly ("Waitress") and Mike White ("Year of the Dog").
In the adjoining category of best first screenplay, the nominees are Jeffrey Blitz ("Rocket Science"), Zoe Cassavetes ("Broken English"), Diablo Cody ("Juno"), Kelly Masterson ("Devil") and John Orloff ("Mighty Heart").
The Spirits also recognize films made for less than $500,000 with its John Cassavetes Award.
Film Independent's 2008 Spirit Awards took on an international accent as nominees were announced Tuesday. Best feature noms went to the French-language "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" and the Pakistan-set "A Mighty Heart", while the starring duo of Tony Leung and Tang Wei of the Shanghai drama "Lust, Caution" both figure in the top acting categories.
But Americana also ruled as "I'm Not There", Todd Haynes' kaleidoscope deconstruction of the work of Bob Dylan, led the field. With four nominations, including best feature, director and supporting noms for Cate Blanchett and Marcus Carl Franklin, it also was named the inaugural winner of the Robert Altman Award, recognizing Haynes, casting director Laura Rosenthal and the ensemble cast.
While the Spirit Awards focus on American independent film, a film can qualify if at least one U.S. citizen or permanent resident is credited in two or more of the categories of writer, director or producer, which opened the door for this year's globetrotting noms.
In addition to "I'm Not There", "Diving Bell", a film told from the point of view of a stroke victim, and "Mighty Heart", the dramatization of the search for kidnapped journalist Daniel Pearl, the other contenders in the best feature category are "Juno", a comedy about an unintended pregnancy, and "Paranoid Park", the account of a teen who accidentally kills a man.
Four of the best film nominees saw their helmsman nominated for best director: Haynes ("I'm Not There"), Jason Reitman ("Juno"), Julian Schnabel ("Butterfly") and Gus Van Sant ("Paranoid"). But instead of Michael Winterbottom for "Mighty Heart", the fifth slot went to Tamara Jenkins -- who also was nominated for best screenplay -- for the family drama "The Savages".
"There wasn't a dominant genre or even a film. It was a mix of emerging filmmakers and veteran filmmakers like Gus Van Sant and Todd Haynes. I felt like it was a wide spectrum of talent in all areas," FIND exec director Dawn Hudson said at the ceremonies that Lisa Kudrow and Zach Braff hosted at the Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles.
"You want all these films to gain some momentum," she added. "There's such a glut of films this season that you hope that this will shine a spotlight on these lower-budgeted films that are so deserving."
The best actress contenders are Angelina Jolie for portraying Mariane Pearl in "Mighty Heart"; Sienna Miller, seen as a soap actress facing off with a journalist in "Interview"; Ellen Page, who appears as the pregnant teen in "Juno"; Parker Posey, who finds herself embarking on an affair in "Broken English"; and Tang, who becomes entangled in love and espionage in "Lust".
Nominated as best actor are Pedro Castaneda, who plays an undocumented farm worker "August Evening"; Don Cheadle, who stars as a radio host in "Talk to Me"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, whose character struggles with an ailing father in "Savages"; Frank Langella, who appears as the older half of a May-December relationship in "Starting Out in the Evening"; and Leung, who plays a spy in "Lust".
Still, several performances that have excited critics failed to make the cut: Among the missing were Ryan Gosling ("Lars and the Real Girl"), Laura Linney ("Savages"), Nicole Kidman ("Margot at the Wedding"), Keri Russell ("Waitress") and John Cusak ("Grace Is Gone").
Along with Blanchett, who seems to channel Dylan in "Not There", the nominees for best supporting female are Anna Kendrick ("Rocket Science"), Jennifer Jason Leigh ("Margot"), Tamara Podemski ("Four Sheets to the Wind") and Marisa Tomei ("Before the Devil Knows You're Dead").
Best supporting male nominee Franklin plays a young musician who calls himself Woody Guthrie in "Not There". In the nominees circle, he joins Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Talk to Me"), Kene Holliday ("Great World of Sound"), Irfan Khan ("The Namesake") and Steve Zahn ("Rescue Dawn").
Screenplay nominees are Ronald Harwood ("Butterfly"), Jenkins ("Savages"), Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner ("Starting Out"), the late Adrienne Shelly ("Waitress") and Mike White ("Year of the Dog").
In the adjoining category of best first screenplay, the nominees are Jeffrey Blitz ("Rocket Science"), Zoe Cassavetes ("Broken English"), Diablo Cody ("Juno"), Kelly Masterson ("Devil") and John Orloff ("Mighty Heart").
The Spirits also recognize films made for less than $500,000 with its John Cassavetes Award.
- 11/28/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
UPDATED 6:36 p.m. PT Nov. 27
Film Independent's 2008 Spirit Awards took on an international accent as nominees were announced Tuesday.
Best feature noms went to the French-language "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" and the Pakistan-set "A Mighty Heart", while the starring duo of Tony Leung and Tang Wei of the Shanghai drama "Lust, Caution" both figure in the top acting categories.
But Americana also ruled as "I'm Not There", Todd Haynes' kaleidoscope deconstruction of the work of Bob Dylan, led the field. With four nominations, including best feature, director and supporting noms for Cate Blanchett and Marcus Carl Franklin, it also was named the inaugural winner of the Robert Altman Award, recognizing Haynes, casting director Laura Rosenthal and the ensemble cast.
While the Spirit Awards focus on American independent film, a film can qualify if at least one U.S. citizen or permanent resident is credited in two or more of the categories of writer, director or producer, which opened the door for this year's globetrotting noms.
In addition to "I'm Not There", "Diving Bell", a film told from the point of view of a stroke victim, and "Mighty Heart", the dramatization of the search for kidnapped journalist Daniel Pearl, the other contenders in the best feature category are "Juno", a comedy about an unintended pregnancy, and "Paranoid Park", the account of a teen who accidentally kills a man.
Four of the best film nominees saw their helmsman nominated for best director: Haynes ("I'm Not There"), Jason Reitman ("Juno"), Julian Schnabel ("Butterfly") and Gus Van Sant ("Paranoid"). But instead of Michael Winterbottom for "Mighty Heart", the fifth slot went to Tamara Jenkins -- who also was nominated for best screenplay -- for the family drama "The Savages".
"There wasn't a dominant genre or even a film. It was a mix of emerging filmmakers and veteran filmmakers like Gus Van Sant and Todd Haynes. I felt like it was a wide spectrum of talent in all areas," FIND exec director Dawn Hudson said at the ceremonies that Lisa Kudrow and Zach Braff hosted at the Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles.
"You want all these films to gain some momentum," she added. "There's such a glut of films this season that you hope that this will shine a spotlight on these lower-budgeted films that are so deserving."
The best actress contenders are Angelina Jolie for portraying Mariane Pearl in "Mighty Heart"; Sienna Miller, seen as a soap actress facing off with a journalist in "Interview"; Ellen Page, who appears as the pregnant teen in "Juno"; Parker Posey, who finds herself embarking on an affair in "Broken English"; and Tang, who becomes entangled in love and espionage in "Lust".
Nominated as best actor are Pedro Castaneda, who plays an undocumented farm worker "August Evening"; Don Cheadle, who stars as a radio host in "Talk to Me"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, whose character struggles with an ailing father in "Savages"; Frank Langella, who appears as the older half of a May-December relationship in "Starting Out in the Evening"; and Leung, who plays a spy in "Lust".
Still, several performances that have excited critics failed to make the cut: Among the missing were Ryan Gosling ("Lars and the Real Girl"), Laura Linney ("Savages"), Nicole Kidman ("Margot at the Wedding"), Keri Russell ("Waitress") and John Cusack ("Grace is Gone").
Along with Blanchett, who channels Dylan in "Not There", the nominees for best supporting female are Anna Kendrick ("Rocket Science"), Jennifer Jason Leigh ("Margot"), Tamara Podemski ("Four Sheets to the Wind") and Marisa Tomei ("Before the Devil Knows You're Dead").
Best supporting male nominee Franklin plays a young musician who calls himself Woody Guthrie in "Not There". In the nominees circle, he joins Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Talk to Me"), Kene Holliday ("Great World of Sound"), Irfan Khan ("The Namesake") and Steve Zahn ("Rescue Dawn").
Screenplay nominees are Ronald Harwood ("Butterfly"), Jenkins ("Savages"), Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner ("Starting Out"), the late Adrienne Shelly ("Waitress") and Mike White ("Year of the Dog").
In the adjoining category of best first screenplay, the nominees are Jeffrey Blitz ("Rocket Science"), Zoe Cassavetes ("Broken English"), Diablo Cody ("Juno"), Kelly Masterson ("Devil") and John Orloff ("Mighty Heart").
The Spirits also recognize films made for less than $500,000 with its John Cassavetes Award.
Film Independent's 2008 Spirit Awards took on an international accent as nominees were announced Tuesday.
Best feature noms went to the French-language "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" and the Pakistan-set "A Mighty Heart", while the starring duo of Tony Leung and Tang Wei of the Shanghai drama "Lust, Caution" both figure in the top acting categories.
But Americana also ruled as "I'm Not There", Todd Haynes' kaleidoscope deconstruction of the work of Bob Dylan, led the field. With four nominations, including best feature, director and supporting noms for Cate Blanchett and Marcus Carl Franklin, it also was named the inaugural winner of the Robert Altman Award, recognizing Haynes, casting director Laura Rosenthal and the ensemble cast.
While the Spirit Awards focus on American independent film, a film can qualify if at least one U.S. citizen or permanent resident is credited in two or more of the categories of writer, director or producer, which opened the door for this year's globetrotting noms.
In addition to "I'm Not There", "Diving Bell", a film told from the point of view of a stroke victim, and "Mighty Heart", the dramatization of the search for kidnapped journalist Daniel Pearl, the other contenders in the best feature category are "Juno", a comedy about an unintended pregnancy, and "Paranoid Park", the account of a teen who accidentally kills a man.
Four of the best film nominees saw their helmsman nominated for best director: Haynes ("I'm Not There"), Jason Reitman ("Juno"), Julian Schnabel ("Butterfly") and Gus Van Sant ("Paranoid"). But instead of Michael Winterbottom for "Mighty Heart", the fifth slot went to Tamara Jenkins -- who also was nominated for best screenplay -- for the family drama "The Savages".
"There wasn't a dominant genre or even a film. It was a mix of emerging filmmakers and veteran filmmakers like Gus Van Sant and Todd Haynes. I felt like it was a wide spectrum of talent in all areas," FIND exec director Dawn Hudson said at the ceremonies that Lisa Kudrow and Zach Braff hosted at the Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles.
"You want all these films to gain some momentum," she added. "There's such a glut of films this season that you hope that this will shine a spotlight on these lower-budgeted films that are so deserving."
The best actress contenders are Angelina Jolie for portraying Mariane Pearl in "Mighty Heart"; Sienna Miller, seen as a soap actress facing off with a journalist in "Interview"; Ellen Page, who appears as the pregnant teen in "Juno"; Parker Posey, who finds herself embarking on an affair in "Broken English"; and Tang, who becomes entangled in love and espionage in "Lust".
Nominated as best actor are Pedro Castaneda, who plays an undocumented farm worker "August Evening"; Don Cheadle, who stars as a radio host in "Talk to Me"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, whose character struggles with an ailing father in "Savages"; Frank Langella, who appears as the older half of a May-December relationship in "Starting Out in the Evening"; and Leung, who plays a spy in "Lust".
Still, several performances that have excited critics failed to make the cut: Among the missing were Ryan Gosling ("Lars and the Real Girl"), Laura Linney ("Savages"), Nicole Kidman ("Margot at the Wedding"), Keri Russell ("Waitress") and John Cusack ("Grace is Gone").
Along with Blanchett, who channels Dylan in "Not There", the nominees for best supporting female are Anna Kendrick ("Rocket Science"), Jennifer Jason Leigh ("Margot"), Tamara Podemski ("Four Sheets to the Wind") and Marisa Tomei ("Before the Devil Knows You're Dead").
Best supporting male nominee Franklin plays a young musician who calls himself Woody Guthrie in "Not There". In the nominees circle, he joins Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Talk to Me"), Kene Holliday ("Great World of Sound"), Irfan Khan ("The Namesake") and Steve Zahn ("Rescue Dawn").
Screenplay nominees are Ronald Harwood ("Butterfly"), Jenkins ("Savages"), Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner ("Starting Out"), the late Adrienne Shelly ("Waitress") and Mike White ("Year of the Dog").
In the adjoining category of best first screenplay, the nominees are Jeffrey Blitz ("Rocket Science"), Zoe Cassavetes ("Broken English"), Diablo Cody ("Juno"), Kelly Masterson ("Devil") and John Orloff ("Mighty Heart").
The Spirits also recognize films made for less than $500,000 with its John Cassavetes Award.
- 11/28/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director Todd Haynes' quirky, all-star Bob Dylan-inspired movie I'm Not There is set to be the toast of the IFC Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Los Angeles in February, after landing the event's first Robert Altman Award. Announced at the Spirit Awards last year, the honor is given to the director, casting agent and cast of an outstanding indie movie. In I'm Not There, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere and Cate Blanchett are among the actors who conjure up the spirit of Dylan at different stages of his life for the offbeat biopic. The movie was also nominated for the Spirits' Best Film prize, where it will compete with Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell And The Butterfly, Juno, A Mighty Heart and Paranoid Park. Blanchett and Marcus Carl Franklin earned Best Supporting Actress and Actor nods respectively for their portrayals of Dylan, and Todd Haynes is a Best Director nominee. Other four-film nominees are acclaimed coming-of-age film Juno, The Diving Bell And The Butterfly and The Savages. Meanwhile, Ang Lee's controversial Lust, Caution is also a multi-nominee; the film's stars Tony Leung and Tang Wei are up for Best Actor and Actress honors, while Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography is also under consideration. French actress Julie Delpy's 2 Days In Paris earned her a First Feature nomination; she'll be up against Jeffrey Blitz's Rocket Science, which garnered three nominations. In the lead acting categories, Angelina Jolie is an immediate favorite for her role as grieving Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart. Jolie will compete against Sienna Miller (Interview), Parker Posey (Broken English), Ellen Page (Juno) and Tang Wei. Leung will be up against Pedro Castaneda (August Evening), Don Cheadle (Talk To Me), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Savages) and Frank Langella (Starting Out In The Evening) in the Best Actor category. The nominations were announced on Tuesday morning by Lisa Kudrow and Zach Braff.
- 11/28/2007
- WENN
COLOGNE, Germany -- Michael Winterbottom's A Mighty Heart, the story of Al Qaeda's 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, has been chosen as the year's best international literary adaptation by the Frankfurt Book Fair, organizers said Wednesday.
A Mighty Heart was based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Pearl's widow, French journalist Mariane Pearl. Angelina Jolie played Mariane in the film, with Dan Futterman as Daniel Pearl.
"We chose this film because it deals with a very current and politically vital issue and, at the same time, is a plea against violence and hate," Book Fair director Jurgen Boos said.
A Mighty Heart beat out Kevin Macdonald's Oscar-winner The Last King Of Scotland, Todd Field's Little Children, Steven Soderbergh's The Good German, Richard Eyre's Notes on a Scandal, Billy August's Nelson Mandela biopic Goodbye Bafana and Pascale Ferran's Lady Chatterley for the 10,000 ($14,000) award.
Winterbottom will collect his prize in person in Frankfurt on Oct. 12.
The Frankfurt Book Fair, which runs Oct. 10-14, is the world's largest book market and has honored film adaptations since 2004.
A Mighty Heart was based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Pearl's widow, French journalist Mariane Pearl. Angelina Jolie played Mariane in the film, with Dan Futterman as Daniel Pearl.
"We chose this film because it deals with a very current and politically vital issue and, at the same time, is a plea against violence and hate," Book Fair director Jurgen Boos said.
A Mighty Heart beat out Kevin Macdonald's Oscar-winner The Last King Of Scotland, Todd Field's Little Children, Steven Soderbergh's The Good German, Richard Eyre's Notes on a Scandal, Billy August's Nelson Mandela biopic Goodbye Bafana and Pascale Ferran's Lady Chatterley for the 10,000 ($14,000) award.
Winterbottom will collect his prize in person in Frankfurt on Oct. 12.
The Frankfurt Book Fair, which runs Oct. 10-14, is the world's largest book market and has honored film adaptations since 2004.
- 9/13/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt took over a French bowling alley on Monday so their kids could hit pins with pal Mariane Pearl's son. Jolie plays Pearl in new movie A Mighty Heart, which Pitt produced, and the two families have become close since working together on the film, which follows the kidnap and murder of Pearl's journalist husband Daniel. And when Marianne took up an invitation to join Pitt, Jolie and their four kids on a brief vacation in her native France, the Hollywood couple used their star power to close the Le Palace Vert arcade for a quiet bowl. Owner Patrick Bernard tells People magazine he was particularly impressed with Pitt's parenting skills: "At one point... because the children don't have the strength to always get the ball down the lane, it sometimes stops. Brad thought he'd go down the lane to push it along. He slipped and fell on his back." Pitt then showed off his air hockey skills. Bernard adds, "He was particularly good at it." The owner still can't believe Pitt and Jolie chose to host their bowling party at his place: "We're certainly the smallest bowling in France, so we're still having trouble realizing we spent Monday afternoon with the most famous couple in the world."...
- 7/26/2007
- WENN
The tragic widow portrayed by Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart is suing radical groups, including al Qaeda and Pakistan-based Habib Bank, over her husband's 2002 murder. Mariane Pearl, the wife of slain U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl, filed her lawsuit at the U.S. District Court For The Eastern District Of New York on Wednesday. It reads, "Plaintiffs seek to hold responsible those terrorists, terrorist organizations and the supporting charitable and banking organizations for the senseless kidnapping, torture and murder of Daniel Pearl... Habib and its subsidiaries aided, abetted and provided material support in the form of financial services for the terrorist support organizations." Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel was kidnapped in Pakistan, before being tortured and then beheaded by militants, an act captured on videotape. Mariane Pearl is seeking unspecified damages and just whatever is deemed "appropriate" to stop the defendants committing similar acts again. Her agony in the days following her husband's kidnapping and then murder was captured by Jolie in 2007 drama A Mighty Heart.
- 7/19/2007
- WENN
Director Michael Winterbottom has a wide variety of genres under his belt, but lately it’s been the war in the Middle East that has captured his attention. First, he directed “The Road to Guantanamo” which was part documentary, part drama. And now he has directed the adaptation, written by Mariane Pearl, “A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of my Husband, Danny Pearl.” This is the real-life story of The Wall Street Journal reporter, Danny Pearl, who was working in Pakistan, and goes missing. The book and now film chronicle the ordeal Mariane (played by Angelina Jolie) went through as Danny went missing, the effort to find him and his eventual murder. This isn’t a typical, light summer movie that is heavy on special effects. It is an intense...
- 6/27/2007
- by Jeff Bayer
- The Scorecard Review
This review was written for the festival screening of "A Mighty Heart".CANNES -- Michael Winterbottom's expertly fashioned documentary-style drama "A Mighty Heart" relates the intense manhunt launched in Pakistan when jihadists kidnapped Wall Street Journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. Angelina Jolie delivers a well-measured and moving performance as the reporter's wife, Mariane.
With the BBC's Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston now missing and believed kidnapped for 70 days and journalists in danger in hotspots around the world, a film version of Mariane Pearl's book about the search for her husband could not be more timely.
Set for release in the U.S. in June and the rest of the world in September, the film's even-handed approach to incendiary topics should generate substantial interest.
Jolie's voice-over sets the scene as the movie begins in Karachi, a vast, sprawling city where her husband went missing. He was on assignment to meet a man who could tell him more about Richard Reid, the captured shoe bomber. The events of Sept. 11 were not long past, and the situation was made difficult by the Wall Street Journal going public with the fact that it had turned over a suspicious computer to the CIA.
The film traces Pearl's movements on the night he was kidnapped, with him being warned several times to meet his contact only in public. His trail died when a taxi dropped him off at a restaurant. When he fails to return to the place where he and his wife, who is pregnant with their first child, are staying, she calls in the authorities. Senior people from the newspaper including John Bussey (Denis O'Hare) and Steve LeVine (Gary Wilmes) drop everything to help in the hunt headquartered at the home of the Pearl's friend, writer Asra (Archie Panjabi). U.S. diplomatic security specialist Randall Bennett (Will Patton) and representatives of assorted American agencies join the team that is led by the head of the Pakistani counter-terrorism unit who is known as Captain (Irrfan Khan).
The news breaks internationally, and various parties claim that Pearl is with the CIA or Mossad, which complicates things. One Pakistani government member dismisses it as a crime by India. Winterbottom shows the painstaking steps taken to link one mobile phone caller to the next and efforts to track down a single Internet provider that is used to send e-mails about the kidnapping. Marcel Zyskind's cinematography captures the frantic bustle of the over-populated city as agents swarm into tenements to arrest suspects.
The film alarmingly implies that torture works when one suspect reveals names under duress and watching the no-holds-barred approach of the Pakistani authorities on a raid, the American Bennett declares, "I love this town!"
For the most part, however, the film reflects the dispassionate view espoused by Mariane Pearl, who sees that it is misery that breeds terrorism. Jolie plays her with respect and a firm grasp on a difficult accent influenced by France and Cuba. She has a powerful scene in which she lets out a shriek of grief that will be recognized wherever people suffer from terror and loss.
A MIGHTY HEART
Paramount Pictures
Produced by Plan B Entertainment, Revolution Films
Credits:
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Screenwriter: John Orloff
Producers: Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner, Andrew Eaton
Director of photography: Marcel Zyskind
Production designer: Mark Digby
Music: Harry Escot, Molly Nyman
Costume designer: Charlotte Walter
Editor: Peter Christelis
Cast:
Mariane Pearl: Angelina Jolie
Daniel Pearl: Dan Futterman
Asra Nomani: Archie Panjabi
Captain: Irrfan Khan
Randall Bennett: Will Patton
John Bussey: Denis O'Hare
Dost Aliani: Adnan Siddiqui
Steve Levine: Gary Wilmes
Masud the Fixer: Daud Khan
Omar/Bashir: Alyy Khan
Suleiman: Taj Khan
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
With the BBC's Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston now missing and believed kidnapped for 70 days and journalists in danger in hotspots around the world, a film version of Mariane Pearl's book about the search for her husband could not be more timely.
Set for release in the U.S. in June and the rest of the world in September, the film's even-handed approach to incendiary topics should generate substantial interest.
Jolie's voice-over sets the scene as the movie begins in Karachi, a vast, sprawling city where her husband went missing. He was on assignment to meet a man who could tell him more about Richard Reid, the captured shoe bomber. The events of Sept. 11 were not long past, and the situation was made difficult by the Wall Street Journal going public with the fact that it had turned over a suspicious computer to the CIA.
The film traces Pearl's movements on the night he was kidnapped, with him being warned several times to meet his contact only in public. His trail died when a taxi dropped him off at a restaurant. When he fails to return to the place where he and his wife, who is pregnant with their first child, are staying, she calls in the authorities. Senior people from the newspaper including John Bussey (Denis O'Hare) and Steve LeVine (Gary Wilmes) drop everything to help in the hunt headquartered at the home of the Pearl's friend, writer Asra (Archie Panjabi). U.S. diplomatic security specialist Randall Bennett (Will Patton) and representatives of assorted American agencies join the team that is led by the head of the Pakistani counter-terrorism unit who is known as Captain (Irrfan Khan).
The news breaks internationally, and various parties claim that Pearl is with the CIA or Mossad, which complicates things. One Pakistani government member dismisses it as a crime by India. Winterbottom shows the painstaking steps taken to link one mobile phone caller to the next and efforts to track down a single Internet provider that is used to send e-mails about the kidnapping. Marcel Zyskind's cinematography captures the frantic bustle of the over-populated city as agents swarm into tenements to arrest suspects.
The film alarmingly implies that torture works when one suspect reveals names under duress and watching the no-holds-barred approach of the Pakistani authorities on a raid, the American Bennett declares, "I love this town!"
For the most part, however, the film reflects the dispassionate view espoused by Mariane Pearl, who sees that it is misery that breeds terrorism. Jolie plays her with respect and a firm grasp on a difficult accent influenced by France and Cuba. She has a powerful scene in which she lets out a shriek of grief that will be recognized wherever people suffer from terror and loss.
A MIGHTY HEART
Paramount Pictures
Produced by Plan B Entertainment, Revolution Films
Credits:
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Screenwriter: John Orloff
Producers: Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner, Andrew Eaton
Director of photography: Marcel Zyskind
Production designer: Mark Digby
Music: Harry Escot, Molly Nyman
Costume designer: Charlotte Walter
Editor: Peter Christelis
Cast:
Mariane Pearl: Angelina Jolie
Daniel Pearl: Dan Futterman
Asra Nomani: Archie Panjabi
Captain: Irrfan Khan
Randall Bennett: Will Patton
John Bussey: Denis O'Hare
Dost Aliani: Adnan Siddiqui
Steve Levine: Gary Wilmes
Masud the Fixer: Daud Khan
Omar/Bashir: Alyy Khan
Suleiman: Taj Khan
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 5/22/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CANNES -- Michael Winterbottom's expertly fashioned documentary-style drama A Mighty Heart relates the intense manhunt launched in Pakistan when jihadists kidnapped Wall Street Journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. Angelina Jolie delivers a well-measured and moving performance as the reporter's wife, Mariane.
With the BBC's Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston now missing and believed kidnapped for 70 days and journalists in danger in hotspots around the world, a film version of Mariane Pearl's book about the search for her husband could not be more timely.
Set for release in the U.S. in June and the rest of the world in September, the film's even-handed approach to incendiary topics should generate substantial interest.
Jolie's voice-over sets the scene as the movie begins in Karachi, a vast, sprawling city where her husband went missing. He was on assignment to meet a man who could tell him more about Richard Reid, the captured shoe bomber. The events of Sept. 11 were not long past, and the situation was made difficult by the Wall Street Journal going public with the fact that it had turned over a suspicious computer to the CIA.
The film traces Pearl's movements on the night he was kidnapped, with him being warned several times to meet his contact only in public. His trail died when a taxi dropped him off at a restaurant. When he fails to return to the place where he and his wife, who is pregnant with their first child, are staying, she calls in the authorities. Senior people from the newspaper including John Bussey (Denis O'Hare) and Steve LeVine (Gary Wilmes) drop everything to help in the hunt headquartered at the home of the Pearl's friend, writer Asra (Archie Panjabi). U.S. diplomatic security specialist Randall Bennett (Will Patton) and representatives of assorted American agencies join the team that is led by the head of the Pakistani counter-terrorism unit who is known as Captain (Irrfan Khan).
The news breaks internationally, and various parties claim that Pearl is with the CIA or Mossad, which complicates things. One Pakistani government member dismisses it as a crime by India. Winterbottom shows the painstaking steps taken to link one mobile phone caller to the next and efforts to track down a single Internet provider that is used to send e-mails about the kidnapping. Marcel Zyskind's cinematography captures the frantic bustle of the over-populated city as agents swarm into tenements to arrest suspects.
The film alarmingly implies that torture works when one suspect reveals names under duress and watching the no-holds-barred approach of the Pakistani authorities on a raid, the American Bennett declares, "I love this town!"
For the most part, however, the film reflects the dispassionate view espoused by Mariane Pearl, who sees that it is misery that breeds terrorism. Jolie plays her with respect and a firm grasp on a difficult accent influenced by France and Cuba. She has a powerful scene in which she lets out a shriek of grief that will be recognized wherever people suffer from terror and loss.
A MIGHTY HEART
Paramount Pictures
Produced by Plan B Entertainment, Revolution Films
Credits:
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Screenwriter: John Orloff
Producers: Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner, Andrew Eaton
Director of photography: Marcel Zyskind
Production designer: Mark Digby
Music: Harry Escot, Molly Nyman
Costume designer: Charlotte Walter
Editor: Peter Christelis
Cast:
Mariane Pearl: Angelina Jolie
Daniel Pearl: Dan Futterman
Asra Nomani: Archie Panjabi
Captain: Irrfan Khan
Randall Bennett: Will Patton
John Bussey: Denis O'Hare
Dost Aliani: Adnan Siddiqui
Steve Levine: Gary Wilmes
Masud the Fixer: Daud Khan
Omar/Bashir: Alyy Khan
Suleiman: Taj Khan
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
With the BBC's Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston now missing and believed kidnapped for 70 days and journalists in danger in hotspots around the world, a film version of Mariane Pearl's book about the search for her husband could not be more timely.
Set for release in the U.S. in June and the rest of the world in September, the film's even-handed approach to incendiary topics should generate substantial interest.
Jolie's voice-over sets the scene as the movie begins in Karachi, a vast, sprawling city where her husband went missing. He was on assignment to meet a man who could tell him more about Richard Reid, the captured shoe bomber. The events of Sept. 11 were not long past, and the situation was made difficult by the Wall Street Journal going public with the fact that it had turned over a suspicious computer to the CIA.
The film traces Pearl's movements on the night he was kidnapped, with him being warned several times to meet his contact only in public. His trail died when a taxi dropped him off at a restaurant. When he fails to return to the place where he and his wife, who is pregnant with their first child, are staying, she calls in the authorities. Senior people from the newspaper including John Bussey (Denis O'Hare) and Steve LeVine (Gary Wilmes) drop everything to help in the hunt headquartered at the home of the Pearl's friend, writer Asra (Archie Panjabi). U.S. diplomatic security specialist Randall Bennett (Will Patton) and representatives of assorted American agencies join the team that is led by the head of the Pakistani counter-terrorism unit who is known as Captain (Irrfan Khan).
The news breaks internationally, and various parties claim that Pearl is with the CIA or Mossad, which complicates things. One Pakistani government member dismisses it as a crime by India. Winterbottom shows the painstaking steps taken to link one mobile phone caller to the next and efforts to track down a single Internet provider that is used to send e-mails about the kidnapping. Marcel Zyskind's cinematography captures the frantic bustle of the over-populated city as agents swarm into tenements to arrest suspects.
The film alarmingly implies that torture works when one suspect reveals names under duress and watching the no-holds-barred approach of the Pakistani authorities on a raid, the American Bennett declares, "I love this town!"
For the most part, however, the film reflects the dispassionate view espoused by Mariane Pearl, who sees that it is misery that breeds terrorism. Jolie plays her with respect and a firm grasp on a difficult accent influenced by France and Cuba. She has a powerful scene in which she lets out a shriek of grief that will be recognized wherever people suffer from terror and loss.
A MIGHTY HEART
Paramount Pictures
Produced by Plan B Entertainment, Revolution Films
Credits:
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Screenwriter: John Orloff
Producers: Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner, Andrew Eaton
Director of photography: Marcel Zyskind
Production designer: Mark Digby
Music: Harry Escot, Molly Nyman
Costume designer: Charlotte Walter
Editor: Peter Christelis
Cast:
Mariane Pearl: Angelina Jolie
Daniel Pearl: Dan Futterman
Asra Nomani: Archie Panjabi
Captain: Irrfan Khan
Randall Bennett: Will Patton
John Bussey: Denis O'Hare
Dost Aliani: Adnan Siddiqui
Steve Levine: Gary Wilmes
Masud the Fixer: Daud Khan
Omar/Bashir: Alyy Khan
Suleiman: Taj Khan
Running time -- 100 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 5/22/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were not threatened by Al-Qaeda terrorists but received threats from members of a little-known Islamic fundamentalist group trying to get publicity. A story last Thursday published in India's Financial Express claimed the terrorist group had threatened the celebrity couple, who were filming in Pune, India. Jolie is in the city shooting A Mighty Heart, in which she portrays Mariane Pearl, widow of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was killed in 2002 by Al-Qaeda terrorists. Sources close to the couple tell American publication Us Weekly that a little-known Islamic fundamentalist website put out a threat as a ploy to gain attention. The source says, "The FBI was told it was not credible, which they told Brad and Angelina." The couple were in India along with their children, Maddox, five, Zahara, 22 months, and Shiloh, five months. Pitt initially added private security to his team until he was assured by authorities that his family was safe. The source adds, "It was a big deal until they found out it was bogus."...
- 11/9/2006
- WENN
Angelina Jolie was not a passenger in the car which hit a teenage biker in Pune, India on Wednesday. Student Mittal Rawat was knocked off his motorbike when a Toyota Qualis collided with him before fleeing the scene. Police are investigating the driver of the vehicle, which was originally thought to be carrying Jolie in the backseat. Following the incident, local officials have decided to step up security measures surrounding Jolie and boyfriend Brad Pitt, who are currently filming A Mighty Heart in the region. Pitt is producing the film adaptation of A Mighty Heart, which stars Jolie as the book's author Mariane Pearl, whose husband Daniel Pearl was killed by Islamic extremists in Pakistan four years ago. Police officer RS Khaire says, "We have increased the security for Ms Jolie to see that incidents like this do not happen again. We are not taking this incident lightly." Arti Surendranath of Kailash Picture Company, who are managing the movie's shooting schedule, insisted Jolie was not in the vehicle during the time of the hit-and-run accident, but added, "It's a small incident which has been blown out of proportion."...
- 10/16/2006
- WENN
A car carrying Angelina Jolie knocked down a teenage motorbiker in Pune, India on Wednesday night. The actress was sitting reading in the backseat of the Toyota Qualis when it collided with 19-year-old Mittal Rawat as her driver was attempting to escape pursuing paparazzi. Luckily Rawat escaped with only minor bruises, but reported the incident to local police after the driver continued driving and did not stop to check if he was hurt. Rawat tells the Indian Express newspaper, "Two vehicles were also proceeding in the same direction and tried to overtake me. One of the vehicles brushed against my motorcycle and I fell down. Both the vehicles sped away without stopping." Senior police inspector Govind Pawar says the driver may be charged with rash and negligent driving, adding, "It is a serious offence and the driver can be arrested if found guilty." Jolie and boyfriend Brad Pitt are in India filming A Mighty Heart, an adaptation of Mariane Pearl's book about her late husband, Wall Street journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was murdered by Islamic extremists in Pakistan in 2002.
- 10/13/2006
- WENN
Angelina Jolie has won her dream role - as author Ayn Rand's iconic heroine Dagney Taggart. Jolie, a longtime fan of Russian-born Rand, has been quietly campaigning to play Taggart in new film Atlas Shrugged - and now she's landed the role, according to trade newspaper Daily Variety. The movie adaptation of Rand's epic tome has been kicking around Hollywood for many years, and, at one point, was set to star Faye Dunaway. The project sets up a busy 12 months for Jolie, whose next movie will be another epic adaptation, Beowulf. She'll also be seen alongside Matt Damon in The Good Shepherd and she'll also star in the adaptation of Mariane Pearl's book about the kidnap and murder of her husband, journalist Daniel Pearl.
- 9/22/2006
- WENN
Filming of Angelina Jolie's hard-hitting new movie A Mighty Heart has caused controversy in Pakistan when the crew was found guilty of shooting without permission. The production crew has been caught filming scenes in Karachi and Islamabad without permission, according to Pakistani reports, and the shoot has been shut down. In a statement released to The Pakistan Daily Times, a government official says, "No request by the film unit to shoot in Pakistan had been made to the embassy." The film is based on Mariane Pearl's memoir about the kidnap and murder of her journalist husband Daniel Pearl, who went missing in Pakistan in 2002, while researching a story about Muslim fundamentalists for the Wall Street Journal.
- 9/14/2006
- WENN
Brad Pitt has confirmed girlfriend Angelina Jolie will play Mariane Pearl, the widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, in a movie being made by his production company. The film will be adapted from Pearl's memoir, A Mighty Heart, which chronicles her experience after her husband was kidnapped and murdered by Islamic extremists in Pakistan in 2002. According to Pitt, "The film will focus on the deep collaboration between people around the world in search of Daniel in 2002. We hope the film can increase understanding between people of all faiths and portray the story and the people involved as honestly as possible without anger or judgment." Pearl, a French journalist, was pregnant when her husband was kidnapped in 2002 and gave birth to their son Adam in May of that year. She has expressed her support for the project: "I am delighted that Angelina Jolie will be playing my role in the adaptation of the book. I deeply admire her work and what she is committed to." The film will begin shooting this autumn and will be Jolie's first dramatic role since giving birth to her daughter with Pitt, Shiloh Nouvel.
- 7/14/2006
- WENN
Motherhood certainly isn't interrupting Angelina Jolie's career. The Oscar-winning mom, who recently joined the animated comedy Kung Fu Panda, has also agreed to portray Mariane Pearl, the wife of slain journalist Daniel Pearl in a film based on her book, A Mighty Heart. Road to Guantanamo helmer Michael Winterbottom directs the Paramount Vantage project, which tells the story of Pearl's search for her kidnapped husband in Pakistan, while she was five months pregnant with his child. Winterbottom and Laurence Coriat will adapt the screenplay while Jolie's betrothed Brad Pitt will produce via his Plan B production company. Filming is expected to start within the next five weeks.
- 7/13/2006
- IMDbPro News
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