Latest news with #SearchlightPictures
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Bradley Cooper's stand-up comedy drama ‘Is This Thing On?' to close New York Film Festival
The closing night selection of this year's New York Film Festival will be the world premiere of 'Is This Thing On?' the latest film directed by Bradley Cooper. The film will be released by Searchlight Pictures but is currently without an opening date. Presented by Film at Lincoln Center, the 63rd New York Film Festival runs Sept. 26 through Oct. 13. Based on the life of British comedian John Bishop, from a screenplay written by Cooper, Will Arnett and Mark Chappell, the film stars Arnett and Laura Dern as a couple in the process of splitting up when Arnett's character immerses himself into New York City's stand-up comedy scene. Likening the film to a contemporary iteration of the classic comedy of remarriage, NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim said it is 'definitely a pivot' from the grandeur of the two previous films directed by Cooper, 'A Star Is Born' and 'Maestro.' ('Maestro' also played at the NYFF.) 'I would say it's quite different from Cooper's two other films as director,' said Lim in an interview this week. 'It is less sweeping. This is a more intimate film — kind of scrappier.' Lim noted the new film also has a very different aesthetic from Cooper's previous directing efforts. While Matthew Libatique — a three-time Oscar nominee, recognized for his work on both 'A Star Is Born' and 'Maestro' — is the film's cinematographer, Cooper often operated the camera himself. 'There's a lot of intimate handheld work, which I think matches the tone of the film — it has this bittersweet tone,' noted Lim. Cooper, a 12-time Oscar nominee, also takes a supporting role in the film, with a cast that includes Andra Day, Sean Hayes, Ciarán Hinds and Amy Sedaris alongside stand-up comedians Chloe Radcliffe, Jordan Jensen and Reggie Conquest. 'Earlier this year we had the wonderful opportunity to shoot this story all throughout the city, so it's very exciting to debut it on the closing evening of the festival,' Cooper said in a statement. 'NYC injects an energy into every aspect of filmmaking that just can't be replicated.' The festival's opening night film will be the North American premiere of Luca Guadagnino's 'After the Hunt,' a drama of campus politics and personal intrigue starring Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield. The festival's centerpiece will be the North American premiere of Jim Jarmusch's 'Father Mother Sister Brother,' a story of family relationships told in three chapters in three different countries featuring Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Vicky Krieps, Cate Blanchett, Charlotte Rampling and Tom Waits. Both of those films will have their world premieres at the Venice Film Festival. Still to be announced are the NYFF's main slate and numerous other sections. Aside from 'Is This Thing On?' Lim says there will be a few other world premieres in the festival's program, which for the most part draws on titles from throughout the year that first screened at festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Rotterdam, Cannes, Locarno, Telluride, Venice and Toronto. 'How do we make a case for cinema as an art form that is still vital and relevant? I think programming the New York Film Festival is answering this question,' said Lim. 'If I'm going to put forward a list of films that makes the case for cinema as an art form that matters today in 2025, which are the films that I'm going to put forward as evidence? The program is our answer to that question.' The New York Film Festival main slate selection committee is chaired by Lim and includes film programmers Florence Almozini and Rachel Rosen, critic K. Austin Collins and former Times film critic Justin Chang.
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Benedict Cumberbatch Ate Five Meals a Day to Play Doctor Strange, Says Hollywood Is ‘Grossly Wasteful': ‘It's Horrific Eating Beyond Your Appetite… I Could Feed a Family With the Amount' I Ate
Benedict Cumberbatch called Hollywood a 'grossly wasteful industry' during an interview on 'Ruthie's Table 4' podcast. The Oscar nominee is no stranger to massive studio productions given his role as Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Cumberbatch loves undergoing a 'body transformation' for his work, he also says 'it's horrific eating beyond your appetite.' 'Going back to responsibility and resourcefulness and sustainability, it's just like, what am I doing? I could feed a family with the amount I'm eating,' Cumberbatch said, noting he would eat five meals a day while getting into Doctor Strange shape in addition to snacks like boiled eggs, almonds and cheese in between meals. More from Variety 'The Roses' Trailer: Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman's Marriage Goes to Hell in New Take on 'The War of the Roses' 'The Roses' Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman Sets August Release From Searchlight Inside 'You Me Bum Bum Train,' London's Hottest Ticket That Swears Its 'Passengers' - Including Leonardo DiCaprio, Madonna and Benedict Cumberbatch - to Total Secrecy 'It's a grossly wasteful industry,' he continued. 'Think about set builds that aren't recycled, think about transport, think about food, think about housing, but also light and energy. The amount of wattage you need to create daylight and consistent light in a studio environment. It's a lot of energy.' Cumberbatch admitted that actors are routinely slammed and branded as hypocrites when they speak out in support of sustainability in Hollywood given how wasteful the industry is, but the actor noted that he tries to 'push the green initiative' on his film sets as both an actor and a producer. 'You don't have to give the crew plastic bottles,' he said as an example. If you're in the middle of a desert and you can't get glass bottles there, fair enough. But we're in 21st Century.' Cumberbatch is on a press tour for his upcoming movie 'The Roses,' a reimagining of the 1981 novel 'The War of the Roses' by Warren Adler. The book previously spawned a 1989 film adaptation of the same name starring Michael Douglas Kathleen Turner Danny DeVito G. D. Spradlin. Cumberbatch's new version co-stars Olivia Colman. The duo play a married couple who self-destruct during a bitter divorce. 'The Roses' opens August 29 from Searchlight Pictures. Watch Cumberbatch's full interview on 'Ruthie's Table 4' podcast in the video below. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? Final Emmy Predictions: Talk Series and Scripted Variety - New Blood Looks to Tackle Late Night Staples
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Black Swan' Books Exclusive 15th Anniversary Run in Imax Theaters
Darren Aronofsky's award-winning Black Swan is getting the Imax treatment in celebration of its fifteenth anniversary. The psychological thriller — starring Natalie Portman in her Oscar-winning role as a troubled ballerina — is being remastered for an exclusive Aug. 21-24 run in more than 200 Imax locations across the U.S. and Canada, Searchlight Pictures announced Wednesday. More from The Hollywood Reporter Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey': Tickets for Imax 70MM Screenings Now Officially on Sale a Year Out Rise of the Machines: Inside Hollywood's AI Civil War Natalie Portman-Produced French Animated Film 'Arco' Wins Annecy It will be the first time that audiences can watch Black Swan in the premium Imax format. Plans for additional anniversary events will be announced at a later date. Black Swan made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September 2010 on its way to collecting five Academy Award nominations, including for best picture and best director, and a win for best actress. Set in the cutthroat world of New York City ballet, the story follows Nina (Portman), a dedicated dancer whose pursuit of perfection spirals into obsession when a new rival, played by Mila Kunis, joins the company. As she prepares for the demanding dual role of the Swan Queen, the mounting pressure begins to blur the line between reality and delusion, leading to a mesmerizing descent into the dark depths of ambition, identity and madness. Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder also star in the specialty film. Black Swan earned more than $329 million at the global box office, including $107 million domestically and $222 million overseas, not adjusted for inflation, to become one of the top-grossing titles in Searchlight's history. Searchlight released a new trailer and poster ahead of the film's Imax screenings. Best of The Hollywood Reporter The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Black Swan' Dances Back Into Theaters for IMAX Anniversary Screenings
Darren Aronofsky summer is upon us, as his ninth feature 'Caught Stealing' hits theaters August 29. But the week before, his iconic 2010 ballerina-on-the-brink thriller 'Black Swan' will return for a special IMAX 15th anniversary engagement on August 21 and 24. Searchlight Pictures will take the Best Picture nominee — and Best Actress winner for Natalie Portman — to more than 200 IMAX screens on August 21 and 24. Directed by Aronofsky and shot by Matthew Libatique, 'Black Swan' has been specially remastered for the IMAX format, joining recent premium retro screenings like the upcoming golden anniversary of Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws' and the 10th anniversary of Robert Eggers' 'The Witch.' More from IndieWire 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Review: Fisherman Slasher Hooks a Salty and Satisfying Legacy Sequel 'Smurfs' Review: The Once-Iconic Blue Menaces Are Trapped in Charmless, Generic Animated Feature According to Searchlight, more plans to celebrate 'Black Swan's' 15th birthday will be announced throughout the year, and the company has released a brand new trailer (below) to get things started. Portman swept the movie awards season that year for her physically and mentally grueling portrayal of sexually repressed New York City ballerina Nina Sayers, who spirals into madness and delusion when she takes on the dual role of the Swan Queen for a new interpretation of Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake.' Sending her world further into a tailspin are her helicopter mom (a wonderfully creepy Barbara Hershey), lascivious artistic director (Vincent Cassel), and confidante-turned-company-nemesis Lily (Mila Kunis). 'Black Swan' grossed more than $329 million at the global box office off a budget in the low eight figures, with nominations for Picture, Director, Cinematography, and Editing along with Portman's Best Actress win. After opening the Venice Film Festival and premiering in theaters later in the fall, 'Black Swan' was subject to at least two controversies that ultimately had little impact on its legacy: First, that the film was an uncited reinterpretation of Satoshi Kon's 1997 anime film 'Perfect Blue,' about a former Japanese pop star driven to madness by an obsessive fan. Another came from American Ballet Theatre dancer Sarah Lane, who served as Portman's dance double on the film and who allegedly did most of the onscreen dancing attributed to Portman, the actress' face digitally superimposed on Lane's body during the most challenging pointe work. Through numerous statements and interviews, the filmmakers resolved the issue, with the technical demands of Portman's performance ultimately undisputed despite Lane arguably not receiving the credit she felt was due. (Portman had studied ballerina as a child and then spent another year training for the 'Black Swan' production.) Either way, 'Black Swan' is still remembered as a delirious mash-up of high art and sleaze, of 'The Red Shoes,' 'Carrie,' 'Showgirls,' and 'All About Eve,' a backstage melodrama now understood as one of the best films of the 21st century so far. IMAX screenings of 'Black Swan' will take place in major cities throughout the U.S. and Canada, with tickets for select showings already available. Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie Nicolas Winding Refn's Favorite Films: 37 Movies the Director Wants You to See Solve the daily Crossword
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'Anita de Monte Laughs Last' adaptation: Eva Longoria to direct
(Picture Courtesy: Facebook) Actor-director Eva Longoria is set to direct her next film "Anita de Monte Laughs Last", an adaptation of the best-selling novel by Xochitl Gonzalez. Longoria, who has previously directed projects such as "Glamorous", "Latinos Living the American Dream" and "Flamin' Hot", will helm the project for Searchlight Pictures, according to the entertainment news outlet Variety. The plot The plot of "Anita de Monte Laughs Last" revolves around a first-generation Ivy League student, who uncovers the work of a female artist decades after her mysterious death. It is described as "a propulsive, witty examination of power, love, and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite". Critically acclaimed novel Gonzalez, whose 2024 novel went on to receive critical acclaim, will write the screenplay for the film which is produced by Longoria under her production banner Hyphenate Media Group. Cris Abrego and Jada Miranda are producing the film alongside Longoria. "Anita de Monte Laughs Last" also marks the second collaboration for Longoria and Searchlight Pictures after their work on "Flamin' Hot", which released in 2023. The film starred Annie Gonzalez and Jesse Garcia in the lead roles.
