Archive for the ‘film’ Category

LA Times On Blue Heaven Movie Deal

Friday, April 4th, 2008

After the recent sale of the film rights to BLUE HEAVEN to Lila 9th Productions, the LA Times spoke with CJ Box and Steve Fisher, the agent behind the deal, to get the scoop on how they sold this “smart adult thriller.”

Get the scoop here.

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Scorsese And DiCaprio Book Trip To Shutter Island

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007

Hot on the heels of the Gone Baby Gone release, Variety reports today that another Dennis Lehane novel will see the big screen: SHUTTER ISLAND. Teaming up once again, Martin Scorsese will direct the picture, and Leonardo DiCaprio will star as U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels.

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Gone Baby Gone Opens Tomorrow!

Thursday, October 18th, 2007

Ben Affleck’s directorial debut opens tomorrow nationwide. Affleck’s brother Casey stars as Private Investigator Patrick Kenzie, and Michelle Monaghan is Patrick’s partner, Angie Genarro. Morgan Freeman plays Captain Jack Doyle, and Ed Harris is Detective Remy Bressant. Amy Ryan is riveting as Helene McCready, a Boston mother whose child is kidnapped.

If you haven’t already bought those tickets online, perhaps the four star review from the Associated Press will have you running to the box office this weekend:

Working with two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer John Toll and composer Harry Gregson-Williams, Affleck never sugarcoats or overdramatizes the surroundings, instead establishing a mood that’s fraught with danger, suspicion and dark discoveries around every corner. It’s depressing and bleak, but also excitingly alive and real.

That pervasive sense of moral ambiguity is one of the strongest elements of “Gone Baby Gone,” and it will you keep you thinking and talking about the film long after it’s over.

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Gone Baby Gone Among Best Crime Films Of Decade!

Friday, September 7th, 2007

The Hollywood Reporter praises director Ben Affleck’s film, based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. Calling it “one of the best crime crime of this decade,” the Reporter praises its “rich gallery of vivid characters, brought to life by an excellent cast” and says star Casey Affleck gives “the performance of his career.”

We’ve posted the wonderful review in full below, but you can also find it here.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Ben Affleck seemed like a promising young actor when he starred in “Chasing Amy” a decade ago. A year later, he and Matt Damon won an Oscar for their screenplay for “Good Will Hunting.”

But since then, Affleck has been better known for his offscreen romances than for his screen performances, which have been pretty universally derided. So a lot of people will be surprised by his directorial debut, “Gone Baby Gone,” though if you caught the glint of intelligence he showed in such movies as “Going All the Way” and “Boiler Room,” his achievement here might seem less startling.

Affleck, who also wrote the screenplay with Aaron Stockard, was smart to begin with a novel by Dennis Lehane (“Mystic River”). Like that story, which was made into an award-winning movie by Clint Eastwood, this one takes place in a working-class neighborhood of Boston and centers on the disappearance of a child. Because this film is as uncompromising as “Mystic River,” and since the cast is not quite as star-studded, it faces an uphill battle at the box office. But it’s going to be remembered as one of the best crime movies of this decade.

Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) is a private investigator who works with his girlfriend (Michelle Monaghan) in a tight-knit Boston neighborhood. They are asked by distraught relatives to help the police locate a missing 4-year-old girl. The search leads to druggies, crime bosses, pedophiles and compromised
cops.

The plot is complicated and loaded with twists, but the writers do a fine job of keeping the action lucid. The script boasts a good deal of mordant humor, along with an underlying mood of melancholy. Perhaps what is most impressive is the complex moral vision that permeates the script. When Patrick gives vent to anger and disgust and shoots a pedophile, the cops applaud him, but he is tormented by the killing. That’s a sign that the film isn’t going to rely on pat moral judgments.

“Gone” also contains a rich gallery of vivid characters, brought to life by an excellent cast. This is one case where nepotism pays off because Affleck’s brother Casey gives the strongest performance of his career. He creates a memorable character — a baby-faced detective who is constantly being mocked for his youthful appearance (a cop tells him to go back to his “Harry Potter” book) but proves to be tougher and smarter than he looks. Actually, it’s neither brains nor brawn that makes Patrick a good detective; his chief strength is perseverance, a bullheaded refusal to give up the chase.

Monaghan demonstrates an easy rapport with Casey Affleck. Ed Harris is superb as a cynical cop, and Harris’ wife Amy Madigan has a choice cameo as the kidnapped girl’s aunt. Morgan Freeman has a small but crucial role as the chief of police and lends an air of gravitas to his few scenes. All of the lowlife supporting characters are sharply etched, and there’s an outstanding turn by Amy Ryan as the kidnapped girl’s fun-loving, irresponsible mother.

As director Affleck gets strong support from the moody, dark-tinged cinematography of two-time Oscar winner John Toll, William Goldenberg’s astute editing and Harry Gregson-Williams’ evocative score. Sharon Seymour’s production design also plays a role in building the sense of a community, which ultimately has a great deal to do with the film’s denouement.

Viewers will argue about Patrick’s decision in the final reel and debate whether he acted in the best interests of the kidnapped child. He is motivated by loyalty to the community where he grew up, and the film neither endorses nor criticizes his judgment. The understated, open-ended final scene allows us to sort out the moral implications for ourselves. It’s a tribute to this thoughtful, deeply poignant, splendidly executed film that we replay the conclusion in our minds long after the lights come on.

Miramax will release the film nationwide in October.

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All Hat in Toronto

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

All Hat, the film based on Brad Smith’s novel of the same name, will be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival, which starts on September 6th. The film stars Rachel Leigh Cook, Keith Carradine, and Ernie Hudson.

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Dennis Lehane hits a triple!

Friday, March 4th, 2005

“Until Gwen,” Dennis Lehane’s masterful story that was published in The Atlantic Monthly last year, has been selected for both THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2005 and THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2005. Before this year, no one had been selected for both collections at the same time. Adding to the fun, the story was just optioned by screenwriter Josh Olson. Congratulations, Dennis!

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The little golden man

Monday, March 1st, 2004

Not even an army of Hobbits could stop the rushing “Mystic River.” Both Sean Penn and Tim Robbins won Oscars for their roles in Clint Eastwood’s adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s MYSTIC RIVER (which, by the way has reached #140 on IMDb.com’s list of the greatest movies ever made.) The Oscar audience gave Penn, who played Jimmy, a standing ovation when he won the award for Best Actor. In October, The New York Times said that Penn, “is almost beyond praise. Jimmy Markum is not only one of the best performances of the year, but also one of the definitive pieces of screen acting in the last half-century, the culmination of a realist tradition that began in the old Actor’s Studio and begat Brando, Dean, Pacino and De Niro.” Congratulations Tim and Sean!

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"Mystic River" goes for the gold

Tuesday, January 27th, 2004

Just 36 hours after both Sean Penn and Tim Robbins won Golden Globes for their work in Clint Eastwood’s film adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s MYSTIC RIVER, the film received six Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Eastwood), Best Actor (Penn), Best Supporting Actor (Robbins), Best Supporting Actress (Marcia Gay Harden), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Brian Helgeland). Congratulations to all!

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More Top 10 lists for "Mystic River"

Monday, December 22nd, 2003

Clint Eastwood’s adaptation of MYSTIC RIVER has appeared on a bunch of new Top 10 lists: New York Daily News’ Jack Matthews (#3) and Jami Bernard (#8), Southeastern Film Critics (#2), Time’s Richard Schickel (#1), Chicago Tribune’s Michael Wilmington (#3), Los Angeles Times’ Kenneth Turan’s (#2), Roger Ebert (#6), and Richard Roeper (#2).

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"Mystic River" is Golden and Global

Friday, December 19th, 2003

“Mystic River” has been nominated for five Golden Globe awards: Best Picture – Drama, Best Actor – Drama (Sean Penn), Best Supporting Actor (Tim Robbins), Best Director (Clint Eastwood), and Best Screenplay (Brian Helgeland).

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