Latest news with #TakeNoPrisoners'
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Steven Soderbergh Wanted ‘Black Bag' to Feel Like the ‘Espionage Version' of ‘Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'
Never satisfied with convention, director Steven Soderbergh saw his latest feature 'Black Bag' as an opportunity to not only deconstruct the spy genre, but also challenge preconceived notions around marriage. The film stars Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett as married intelligence agents forced to reassess their loyalties to one another. A noted cinephile, Soderbergh recently shared during a recent interview with Variety that he and screenwriter David Koepp took inspiration from a classic source. 'David and I talked about what it would be like if George and Martha were spies,' he said. 'We wanted to make an espionage version of 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' More from IndieWire Scarlett Johansson Wants Marvel Fans to Know She Really Is Done: 'Natasha Is Dead' 'Take No Prisoners' Review: An Inside Look at America's Top Hostage Negotiator and His Battle Against Wrongful Detention The Edward Albee play was famously adapted in 1966 for a film by Mike Nichols starring real-life husband and wife Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Soderbergh is a huge fan of the film and was a close associate of Nichols before he died in 2014. They even did a commentary track together for the DVD release of 'Virginia Woolf.' Though the material he chose to reference for the film is rather dour and dark, Soderbergh nonetheless wanted 'Black Bag' to be more of a blockbuster than a serious affair. 'There's a version of this movie where you go a very different way. Where you don't glam it up and you make it grittier and harder and kind of less fun. And that just wasn't what I had in mind,' said Soderbergh. 'We felt this was a real Hollywood movie and you should get movie stars, and you should make them look great. That was the movie I wanted to make.' While 'Virginia Woolf' may have been a strong reference, the film also owes a lot to the spy genre, with Fassbender even resembling John le Carré's beloved George Smiley to a certain degree. At the same time, Soderbergh and Koepp didn't want this to be just another 'Bourne' movie or variation of the like. 'David found a way to keep it fresh,' Soderbergh told Variety. 'He found a way to differentiate it by going kind of narrow and deep on the character work, as opposed to let's turn it into an action spectacle. It's an emotional, psychological spectacle.' Another subversion Soderbergh and Koepp slipped into 'Black Bag' is how the relationship between Fassbender and Blanchett's character isn't as toxic as one may assume. Though their jobs are to keep and collect secrets, there's a refreshing affection between the two that feels unexpected and will keep audiences on their toes. 'It's also unusual to see a movie about a marriage in which an affair is not the point,' said Soderbergh. 'And I like this idea that the other people they work with are kind of annoyed at how well their marriage works.' 'Black Bag' is currently in theaters from Focus Features. 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 The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Scarlett Johansson Wants Marvel Fans to Know She Really Is Done: ‘Natasha Is Dead'
Ever since Robert Downey Jr. announced his heel-flip return to the MCU as iconic villain Doctor Doom, Marvel fans have been clamoring to find out who from the original 'Avengers' might be resurrected for the next installments. While it's unclear who, if anyone, will be joining Downey Jr., one star wants it to be known that her character will remain peaceful in the after-life. 'Natasha is dead. She is dead. She's dead. Okay?' said Scarlett Johansson in a recent interview with InStyle. Speaking of how Marvel fans refuse to accept her character's death in 'Avengers: Endgame,' she added, 'They just don't want to believe it. They're like, 'But she could come back!' Look, I think the balance of the entire universe is held in her hand. We're going to have to let it go. She saved the world. Let her have her hero moment.' More from IndieWire 'Take No Prisoners' Review: An Inside Look at America's Top Hostage Negotiator and His Battle Against Wrongful Detention Ed Lachman Calls Out Contemporary Cinematography: 'Everything's Mush' Though her part in the 'Avengers' series and her standalone feature 'Black Widow' have helped elevate Johansson to superstar status, she's ready to put this part of her life in the past. Especially considering how much she values her privacy and how being a part of the Marvel machine disrupts that. 'The thing about being a public figure is that the idea of being recognizable and celebrated feels fun, but then you can never stuff it back in the bottle,' Johansson said. 'The reality of it is, there's a massive loss to that, you know? So I think preserving that for as long as possible until it's someone's choice, that's the choice I make as far as my kids go.' In fact, Johansson has recently decided to step from in front of the camera to behind it. Releasing at some point this year, Johansson's directorial debut 'Eleanor the Great' stars nonagenarian June Squibb and is described as being inspired by indie films of the 'mid-80s to the mid-2000s,' such as 'Living Out Loud,' 'Crossing Delancey,' and 'Moonstruck.' Not only did the film give Johansson a chance to take some of the spotlight off herself, but it also satisfied a need to grow and take in new experiences. 'When I would get home from work,' Johansson told InStyle, 'and I would say to Colin [Jost], 'You know, it's so exciting to be 40 and learn a new thing. Now I know how to make a movie like this. I know how to finish it. The process of sound mixing and coloring and editing' — I didn't know that before. And now I know how to do it.' 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 The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Bridesmaids' Director Paul Feig Was Told Film Would Flop and Prevent Female-Led Comedies From Being Made: ‘Am I Gonna Ruin Movies for Women?'
Paul Feig was under a lot of pressure before the release of 'Bridesmaids' in 2011 — and it was more than just his own career on the line. Speaking on a panel at SXSW the night after the premiere of his new film 'Another Simple Favor,' he shared that in the lead-up to the release of 'Bridesmaids,' he was told his success or failure could have a significant impact on how women's ideas would be treated in the industry moving forward. Though Feig was the director, the film was otherwise led by women: Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo wrote the screenplay and appeared in it alongside Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper and Melissa McCarthy. More from Variety How Michael Bay Made His Death-Defying Parkour Documentary 'We Are Storror': 'I Could Not Condone Anything They Were Doing' SXSW Doc 'Take No Prisoners' Follows America's Top Hostage Negotiator in Battle to Free L.A. Public Defender From Venezuelan Prison 'The Studio' Co-Creator Seth Rogen Says Martin Scorsese Told Him 'You Guys Say "F--" Too Much' 'So many female writer friends of mine were going out and pitching female-led comedies, and they all heard from the studios: 'We have to wait and see how 'Bridesmaids' does,'' Feig said. 'I was like, 'Fuck! Don't put that on me. Am I gonna ruin movies for women?'' He also pointed out a double-standard, saying, 'I don't think with 'The Hangover' they said, 'I'm gonna wait to see all these dudes on screen before we do this again.' But thank god it did well.' The film ended up grossing more than $300 million worldwide, but things didn't always look so optimistic. 'Right till the day we came out, we were predicted to not do well,' Feig said. 'We were told, 'You have to make $20 million on opening weekend, or you will be considered a failure.' And we did a midnight screening the night before that didn't go well. They were like, 'It's gonna be $13 million. Sorry, it's a bomb.' All day, I was walking around, like, 'I guess I destroyed comedy for women.'' Feig got the good news that they'd defied expectations while spending time with some of his cast. 'Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone were over at our house for dinner, and suddenly, the texts [came in]: '20 million. 21. 22.' So we all got in the car. We went down to the Arclight Cinema and it was packed. It was the greatest moment of our lives.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Yahoo
SXSW Doc ‘Take No Prisoner' Follows America's Top Hostage Negotiator in Battle to Free L.A. Public Defender From Venezuelan Prison
In 'Take No Prisoners,' director Adam Ciralsky and Subrata De were given unprecedented access to America's former top hostage negotiator, Roger Carstens, as he battles to free L.A. public defender Eyvin Hernandez from a Venezuelan prison. The opening sequence of the documentary could be mistaken for a Jason Bourne film. On a tarmac in Miami, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's nephews — convicted drug traffickers — are loaded onto a U.S. government plane to be exchanged for seven Americans: Matthew Heath, Osman Khan, and the so-called Citgo Five. Ciralsky was the only journalist-filmmaker on the tarmac at Joint Base San Antonio when the newly freed hostages arrived. More from Variety 'The Studio' Co-Creator Seth Rogen Says Martin Scorsese Told Him 'You Guys Say "F--" Too Much' 'The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick' Review: A DIY Wellness Satire Steeped in Thuddingly Obvious Metaphors Blake Lively Speaks in Public for First Time Since Justin Baldoni Controversy at 'Another Simple Favor' SXSW Premiere But Ciralsky and De decided not to focus 'Take No Prisoners' on that 2022 recovery, which was the largest of its kind since Americans were released from Iran in 1981. Instead, the duo follow Carstens as he attempts to free Hernandez, an L.A. County deputy public defender who, in 2022, took a vacation to Colombia. There, he joined a friend on a trip to the Colombian-Venezuelan border to resolve a passport issue. At the border, Hernandez and his friend were intercepted by Venezuelan forces and jailed in a maximum security prison for 'criminal association and conspiracy.' 'While there was plenty of gold in retelling the events leading up to the initial Miami release (of the seven Americans), as filmmakers, Subrata and I felt that the odyssey to rescue Eyvin might make for a compelling vérité documentary,' says Ciralsky. 'We had no idea how difficult that would be, how long it would take, or how much it would cost.' In 2022, Ciralsky was given unprecedented access by the Biden administration to embed in a hostage negotiation process with Carstens. Remarkably, the White House and Maduro's government allowed Ciralsky to observe, and in some cases, film negotiations that stretched from the tiny island of Canouan in the Grenadines to the Venezulan regime's stronghold in Caracas. Ciralsky ultimately turned his time with Carstens into a doc and a 2024 Vanity Fair article also titled 'Take No Prisoners,' which Lionsgate Television optioned and Hulu is developing into a scripted project titled 'The Envoy' with showrunner Alexi Hawley. Variety spoke with Ciralsky and De about 'Take No Prisoners' ahead of the film's world premiere at SXSW on March 8. What drew you to tell the story of Eyvin Hernandez's family's fight to get him back home? Ciralsky: For all of the celebrity and media attention around Brittney Griner and Evan Gershkovich for good reason, because of their platform, we couldn't believe that an L.A. County public defender was rotting in a Venezuelan prison, and nobody was taking notice. It's necessarily advocacy, but we were the only people continually following Eyvin's story. There would be an occasional news hit in Los Angeles, but nobody was there following the journey of this family who didn't know any senators and were not friends with their congressmen. De: It's also important to note that Roger treated everybody with the same level of priority. That was really important to illustrate. Roger really prioritized every American and their families in the same way. So, being able to see behind the scenes, which many people don't get to see, was really important to us. The access that the Biden administration gave you was unbelievable. Why do you think they did that? Ciralsky: I think they genuinely felt that this was one of their foreign policy achievements – securing the freedom of Americans from China, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela. Also, there wasn't another side, a constituency in Washington that was saying, 'You know what? I'm for keeping Americans in prison (in foreign countries).' So, it was that weird issue where they are like, 'Who is going to criticize us?' De: Also, I think that because it was a documentary where we were following the story long-term, there just wasn't this kind of frenetic activity over managing stories that might be coming out the day of. So in their day-to-day, it felt far more measured in the sense. This film transitions between moments of intense governmental and political drama, and moments of sympathetic, emotional anguish with the Hernandez family. How did you find the balance between these two contrasting tones? De: The people at the center of these hostage situations, both in government and the families, live in a slow – often drawn out – high-wire emotional state. For the families, it's a visceral nightmare. There isn't a moment when they aren't living in this miasma of the unknown. Plagued by constant questions. Could we be doing more? What is happening to our person? And emotionally tortured by glimmers of hope – and then massive let-downs. The intense political and government drama is also an emotional roller coaster for the teams involved. They get so close to getting someone home, as you see in the film, and then, an obstacle or unknown block shuts it all down. It's crushing. So the family and hostage rescue team stories are very much interwoven. It was a shared emotional landscape How are you feeling about finding distribution for 'Take No Prisoners' out of SXSW? Ciralsky: We have some interest. It's this weird out-of-order, non-sequential thing that we have going on. There's an article, then the article will become a scripted series, and then the documentary comes out. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
