Friday 7 January 2011

Ones To Watch 2011: Cowboys And Aliens (TRAILER)

Last seen camping up Ironman 2, director and Swingers money-man Jon Faveau is back with Cowboys And Aliens later this year, where a spaceship arrives in the Wild West, and is faced off by cowboy gunslingers. Yes, it's very much the 'Snakes On A Plane' / Ronseal of its day, and will be out in July in the UK. Aiming for the big summer blockbuster market, see? Oh, and it stars unemployed Bond star Daniel Craig, and Harrison Ford, with Olivia Wilde. Enjoy.

Tuesday 4 January 2011

The Writers Guild Awards 2011 Nominations: The List

And so, Hollywood's back slapping red carpet season cranks into gear, as the Writers Guild announce their list of nominees for their annual awards.

There are no surprises in the nominations for Original Screenplay of Oscar Baiting movies like Natalie Portman much lauded lesbian ballet flick Black Swan and highly rated Christian Bale's The Fighter, while lesser known Please Give also gets a nod. Last year's highly grossing, thinking man's action movie Inception also makes the cut.

Though not as prestigious as the Oscars, the WGA are highly respected industry awards, and this year's ceremony will be held on Saturday, February 5, 2011, while simultaneously taking place at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel-Grand Ballroom in Los Angeles and the AXA Equitable Center in New York City. 

In the adapted screenplay category, it's notable to see recent Oscar winner Danny Boyle get his new movie 127 Hours listed (surely a contender), while the gay theme continues with Jim Carrey / Ewan McGregor love story of I Love You Philip Morris. The highly critically rated The Social Network also gets into the list, perhaps a chance to gain early momentum as the season inevitably marches towards the Golden Globes and Oscars.

The full list of movie nominees is below. The TV nominees, and further details can be seen at the  WGA site.



ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Black Swan, Screenplay by Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin; Story by Andres Heinz; Fox Searchlight

The Fighter, Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington &Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Paramount Pictures

Inception, Written by Christopher Nolan; Warner Bros.

The Kids Are All Right, Written by Lisa Cholodenko &Stuart Blumberg; Focus Features

Please Give, Written by Nicole Holofcener; Sony Pictures Classics

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
127 Hours, Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy; Based on the book Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston; Fox Searchlight

I Love You Phillip Morris, Written by John Requa & Glenn Ficarra; Based on the book by Steven McVicker; Roadside Attractions

The Social Network, Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich; Sony Pictures

The Town, Screenplay by Peter Craig and Ben Affleck &Aaron Stockard; Based on the novel Prince of Thievesby Chuck Hogan; Warner Bros.

True Grit, Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; Based on the novel by Charles Portis; Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Enemies of the People, Written, Directed, Filmed and Produced by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath; International Film Circuit

Freedom Riders, Written, Produced and Directed byStanley Nelson; International Film Circuit
Gasland, Written and Directed by Josh Fox; HBO Documentary Films and International WOW Company

Inside Job, Produced, Written and Directed by Charles Ferguson; Co-written by Chad Beck, Adam Bolt; Sony Pictures Classics

The Two Escobars, Written by Michael Zimbalist, Jeff Zimbalist; ESPN Films

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)?, Written and Directed by John Scheinfeld; Lorber Films

VIDEO: Pete Postlethwaite RIP

Veteran British screen and stage actor, Pete Postlethwaite has died at the age of 65, from cancer, it has been announced. The seasoned Shakespearean stage performer, once referred to by Steven Spielberg as "the best actor in the world", appeared in a host of movies, including The Usual Suspects, Brassed Off, A Private Function, In The Name Of The Father, Distance Voices, Still Lives, and Inception.

Some of his most notable performances have been in Brassed Off, where he plays the leader of a brass band in a beleaguered Yorkshire mining community (see his standout speech from teh movie, below) , and Distant Voices, Still Lives, which has been described as "Britain's forgotten cinematic masterpiece".

Here we include a selection of clips and trailers from these films, as well as a Guardian interview relating to one of his final movie appearances, The Age Of Stupid. Postlethwaite's final screen performance will be in the forthcoming movie, Killing Bono, which will be released later this year.