Tuesday, November 17, 2009 8:20 PM | From Cinematical
Anyone who covers a film festival has dealt with it at one point or another. (More likely they deal with it several times a year.) You go to Sundance, to SXSW, to Toronto, etc., and see a film you really like. At this point the movie is just one of 250 at the festival, although maybe it has some "big names" or something to it. A few other writers end up agreeing with you that the film is quite good, and then the audiences have their say ... and mostly everyone is in agreement: good movie! And then ... it happens: Not just a handful of contrary-yet-insightful opinions, but a full-blown backlash.
"Dude, I just read your rave on Juno. You overhyped it! It freaking sucks!" --or-- "Martyrs isn't so great. The horror guys always over-praise the stuff they see early." --or-- "Did all the Sundance critics get together and just blindly pick a movie to rave over?" --- and stuff much nastier than that. I was one of the first film critics to see Juno, which at Toronto was just another comedy with a cool cast, until everyone saw it, that is. Then it was the darling of the festival, and I was thrilled to play along. Because I sincerely adore that flick. So did I contribute to the "overhype" on Juno? What about Waitress? I fell in love with that flick at Sundance as well, it came and went without finding a massive audience, and nobody accused me of overhyping the movie.
Wow is the best way to sum up Jennifers Body. The movie stars Megan Fox and is written by Diablo Cody who did JUNO which starred Ellen Page and is one of my favorite movies. I even did an editorial on how I thought Ellen Page should have starred in Jennifers Body... I was that excited for Diablo Cody's newest film. ( Megan Fox Got Naked but Ellen Page Would have Nailed it: )
JUNO was s...
Jason Reitmans Up In The Air Aims For Toronto Premiere; ShadowPlay Animating Opening Title Sequence
Jason Reitman, director of Thank You For Smoking and Juno, joined Twitter a few days ago to provide a few updates about his post-production work on the forthcoming Up in the Air, starring George Clooney. "A brief chronicle of my attempt to finish my film in time for the Toronto Film Festival," he calls it. (I'm continually pleased by the evolving capabilities of the Internet to allow me to observe creators at work while making me feel as is I'm working at the same time.) So while the film may well still have a December release date, it could well premiere at Toronto (editors note: or sneak premiere at Telluride), just like Juno did.
The two posts that followed had some good, if brief info. First, that he's nearly done with the first edit, which currently clocks at 2'04". (Though I generally hate even reporting this; anyone who isn't a ...
Reitman comedy to star Jesse Eisenberg and Anna Friel
Wednesday, June 3, 2009 6:58 PM | From MovieJungle
Jason Reitman and producing partner Daniel Dubiecki will executive produce "The Wedding."
Jesse Eisenberg will star as a young man who crashes the wedding of a woman in her thirties (Anna Friel, who stars on ABC's "Pushing Daisies") who he is infatuated with.
Max Winkler is writing the script for "Wedding."
There are a number of studios interested but none have climbed on board the project. Fox Searchlight previously worked with Reitman on the "Juno" and "Thank You for Smoking" successes.
The Diablo Cody written "Juno" won her an Oscar® for Best Screenplay.
Reitman comedy to star Jesse Eisenberg and Anna Friel
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 11:35 AM | From MovieJungle
Jason Reitman and producing partner Daniel Dubiecki will executive produce "The Wedding."
Jesse Eisenberg will star as a young man who crashes the wedding of a woman in her thirties (Anna Friel, who stars on ABC's "Pushing Daisies") who he is infatuated with.
Max Winkler is writing the script for "Wedding."
There are a number of studios interested but none have climbed on board the project. Fox Searchlight previously worked with Reitman on the "Juno" and "Thank You for Smoking" successes.
The Diablo Cody written "Juno" won her an Oscar® for Best Screenplay.
DISASTER MOVIE DVD Review -- Jeff says never has a movie been so aptly titled
Never has a movie been so aptly titled. This Movie movie is the latest, and worst, in a series of ever-degrading movies that spoof - and oftentimes, simply steal scenes from - popular films. Disaster Movie tells the story of a group of a young group of friends, inexplicably including Juno, who are forced to weather every disaster known to man. Along the way, they meet dozens upon dozens of movie star lookalikes, from Iron Man to Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City. Some pop up for a one-liner, while others (like Juno) stick around for the majority of the film. The odd thing about this latest installment is that it simply gives up on actually parodying any movies - not only are most of the jokes and lines simply ripped from the art that the film claims to spoof, but the filmmakers seem to have decided that the viewers shouldnt have ...
Diablo Cody on United States of Tara
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 11:35 AM | From CanMag.Com
It's been quite a year for Diablo Cody. After winning the Oscar for writing Juno, she's got her second film in post-production, and now a TV show on Showtime. Cody created United States of Tara at the request of Steven Spielberg himself.
Cody and Spielberg's United States of Tara
"I actually thought my agent was joking," Cody said. "At the time Juno hadn’t been made. All I had was a script floating around town. To find out that Steven Spielberg wants to see me was surreal. I thought I was in trouble, like he was going to ask me to leave Hollywood. I found out what the idea was and I thought, ‘Oh, this is something I would like to do.’ I would have written anything for him, but I was genuinely interested. I pitched to him and he said, ‘This is great. Lets take it around.’ So we did."
SLUMDOG Sweeping Critics Groups
Monday, December 15, 2008 8:42 AM | From Spout Blog
It’s starting to look like early predictions that Slumdog Millionaire would be the Juno of 2008 were wrong: Juno, though a massive box office hit and an eventual Best Picture nominee, wasn’t selected as the Best Film of its year by a single critics group, an honor which Danny Boyle’s film has landed several times [...]
The Amazon MP3 Daily Deal is literally one of the first sites I stop at everyday. Amazon has been completely destroying iTunes when it comes to value recently. Their mp3s are encoded at a higher quality than iTunes’ and come without restrictive DRM technology, meaning you can play them on any type of device. And when their daily deals offer popular albums, usually below $4, you realize it’s one of the best values on the internet (I’ve spent probably $50 on Amazon this year, and bought about 25 albums).
Today’s deal is the soundtrack to Juno, on sale for $3.99 in downloadable mp3 form. It’s a calming, cute, and eclectic mix [...]
Juno Director Passes on Ellen Page for New Film
Friday, November 21, 2008 11:35 PM | From Worst Previews
Anna Kendrick, who has a small part in "Twilight" as one of Kristen Stewart's human friends, has nabbed the coveted female lead in Paramount's "Up in the Air," opposite George Clooney. "Juno" director Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner have adapted the comedy from Walter Kirn's 2001 novel. Reitman also will direct.
Anyone who covers a film festival has dealt with it at one point or another. (More likely they deal with it several times a year.) You go to Sundance, to SXSW, to Toronto, etc., and see a film you really like. At this point the movie is just one of 250 at the festival, although maybe it has some "big names" or something to it. A few other writers end up agreeing with you that the film is quite good, and then the audiences have their say ... and mostly everyone is in agreement: good movie! And then ... it happens: Not just a handful of contrary-yet-insightful opinions, but a full-blown backlash.
