Latest news with #OrionPictures
The Guardian
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Heck, why don't we just come up with a book?': how Gene Hackman became an author
The Oscar winner Gene Hackman and his marine archaeologist friend Daniel Lenihan were chatting in a cafe in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when they came up with the idea for their first book. The swashbuckling sea yarn, Wake of the Perdido Star, would be the first of five novels written by the celebrated actor, who was found dead on Wednesday. Hackman was introduced to Lenihan in preparation for filming 1993 legal thriller The Firm alongside Tom Cruise, as he needed to learn how to scuba dive. The pair would talk about writers they both enjoyed – Robert Louis Stevenson, Conrad, Melville, Hemingway – until one day, they thought, 'Heck, why don't we just come up with a book like we like to read?', Lenihan told the Guardian in 2000. It took the pair three years to put together Wake of the Perdido Star, which is set in the early 19th century and follows a young man, Jack O'Reilly, who becomes a pirate, 'Black Jack', after his parents are murdered. Two further collaborations followed: the 2004 courtroom drama, Justice for None, and Escape from Andersonville, published in 2008. One intriguing writing project that never came to fruition was a screenplay of The Silence of the Lambs. According to screenwriter Ted Tally, the rights to Thomas Harris' novel were originally snapped up by Orion Pictures with a view to giving Hackman his first outing as a writer and director (even possibly playing the lead role, Hannibal Lecter). But as he relates in the book Screenwriters' Masterclass, the studio quickly handed over writing duties to Tally, telling him that Hackman 'was up to page 30 of the screenplay and only on page 30 of the book, so that's not going to work out.' Jonathan Demme went on to direct with Anthony Hopkins giving an Oscar-winning performance as Lecter. Hackman formally retired from acting in 2004. Asked why he got into writing that same year, he said he could do it 'without 90 people standing around' waiting for him to perform. 'I feel it's creative. And I like the loneliness of it.' His first solo writing effort came in 2011 with Payback at Morning Peak, a dime store western which sees the teenage Jubal pursuing outlaws on horseback through New Mexico's gold mining towns. Jubal 'looked to the darkening skies of the west', Hackman writes in chapter 18. 'A flash of light in pewter-coloured clouds. Jubal raised his pistol. As the thunder clapped, he fired'. Hackman said that he drew on his time in the marines, which he joined aged 16, for the book. 'A lot of what I experienced as a young man I kind of exaggerated into what this young Jubal may have found himself doing.' For Hackman's final novel – Pursuit, published in 2013 – he pivoted from 19th-century western to police thriller. Writing is 'very relaxing for me,' he said in 2009. 'I don't picture myself as a great writer, but I really enjoy the process'. While critics weren't always kind, fans enjoyed Hackman's novels. 'I was totally awestruck by the writing talents of Gene Hackman', wrote one Goodreads reviewer of Payback at Morning Peak. 'He has always been one of my favourite actors, and now he is one of my favourite authors.'
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mahershala Ali Joins Former Blade MCU Director's New Movie
Academy Award winner has been tapped to star in a new movie written and directed by former Blade MCU director . The project, which hails from Amazon MGM Studios' Orion Pictures, is called Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. Other details about the movie, including the plot, are still being kept close to the vest. The project's producers include Tariq and Two & Two Pictures' Lucan Toh (Before I Disappear) and Babak Anvari (I Came By). Tariq was previously attached to direct Marvel Studios' Blade reboot, with Ali set to star as the titular anti-hero. However, in 2022, the director was confirmed to not be moving forward with the project due to 'continued shifts' in the production schedule. The future of the highly-anticipated Blade reboot remains unclear to this day. 'Due to continued shifts in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film,' Marvel said in a 2022 statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter. 'We appreciate Bassam's talent and all the work he's done getting Blade to where it is.' The announcement comes on the heels of Sam Esmail's record-breaking thriller Leave the World Behind, which starred Ali, Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, and Myha'la. Ali can next be seen starring in Jurassic World Rebirth, set to release on July 2. Ali's other notable credits include Moonlight, Green Book, Hidden Figures, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, House Of Cards, The Place Beyond The Pines, True Detective, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Luke Cage, Kicks, Swan Song, and Roxanne Roxanne. Meanwhile, Tariq — whose debut feature film Mogul Mowgli premiered to critical acclaim — is the co-director behind the 2013 documentary film These Birds Walk. Tariq also served as the director for Netflix's 2019 documentary Ghosts of Sugar Land. (Source: Deadline) The post Mahershala Ali Joins Former Blade MCU Director's New Movie appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Anora' Isn't the Only Oscar Contender on an Upswing
With a victory for Best Original Screenplay win for 'Anora' at the Writers Guild Awards 2025, it certifies the Sean Baker film as the top contender for Best Picture, even if fellow Oscar nominees 'The Substance,' 'September 5,' and 'The Brutalist' were ineligible for the award having not been written by guild members or under a WGA collective bargaining agreement. 'Anora' had already won top prize at the PGA Awards and DGA Awards the previous weekend, with its Critics Choice Award for Best Film being a nice bonus. The only other film to win over those guilds and the WGA yet not win Best Picture is 'Brokeback Mountain' in 2006. The major harbinger indicating that the Ang Lee movie would not prevail at the Oscars was 'Crash' winning Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards, so a win at that particular awards body in the coming week is crucial to the Neon release's dominant awards campaign. More from IndieWire 'Nosferatu,' 'Conclave,' and 'Wicked' Win at the 2025 ADG Awards 'The Substance,' 'Wicked,' and 'The Last Showgirl' Win at the 2025 MUAHS Awards All that said, there is another Best Picture nominee that has been on a significant upswing stemming from these guild awards, which are happening concurrently with final Oscar voting. That film is 'Nickel Boys.' The Orion Pictures release directed by RaMell Ross won both Best Adapted Screenplay at the WGA Awards and the Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film at the DGA Awards. Although Ross is not nominated for Best Director at the Oscars, he is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay alongside Joslyn Barnes, who is also one of the producers nominated for Best Picture on behalf of the film. The other two are Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner of Plan B Entertainment. However, it's more notable in this category that fellow Oscar nominees 'Sing Sing,' 'Emilia Pérez,' and 'Conclave' were ineligible at the WGAs. That's because 'Conclave,' the papal election drama written by Peter Straughan, adapting the Robert Harris novel of the same name, has been the category frontrunner thus far. Straughn won both the Critics Choice Award and the Golden Globe, but has yet to win an award voted on by people in the Academy. But that should change soon, as Straughan is expected to win at the BAFTAs on Sunday. What could ultimately determine which film wins the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar isn't the BAFTAs but the USC Scripter Awards, a prize that's leaning toward 'Nickel Boys.' That awards body is on a hot streak, having predicted the last two Oscar winners, including 'American Fiction' and 'Women Talking.' Coincidentally, both of those films also happened to be Orion Pictures releases. 'Conclave' though is not to be counted out, even though the WGA Awards have predicted the last four Best Adapted Screenplay winners in a row, as it is an incredibly popular film. But the other statistic that should cause the film some concern is that it has been seven years since the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay was not awarded to the film's director. If his reception at the DGA Awards, where all five Best Director nominees stood up to cheer him on, was any indication, Ross and his film 'Nickel Boys' have the most momentum as Oscar voting begins to wrap. Best of IndieWire 2023 Emmy Predictions: Who Will Win at the Primetime Emmy Awards? 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
