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The upcoming episode of “Secrets of the Dead,” titled “Lost Treasures of Angkor — The Discovery,” promises to be an exciting exploration of history. Set to air on Thursday, November 14, 2024, at 9:00 Pm on PBS, this episode dives into the fascinating world of the ancient Khmer Empire.

Viewers will get a closer look at the stunning gold and silver artifacts recently discovered in Laos. These treasures are not just beautiful objects; they hold significant clues about the culture, trade, and influence of the Khmer Empire. The episode will showcase how these artifacts help historians piece together the rich history of a civilization that once thrived in Southeast Asia.

Through expert interviews and stunning visuals, “Lost Treasures of Angkor” will take audiences on a journey back in time. It will highlight the importance of these discoveries and what they reveal about the ancient world. This episode is sure to captivate history buffs...

The upcoming episode of “Secrets of the Dead,” titled “Lost Treasures of Angkor — The Discovery,” promises to be an exciting exploration of history. Set to air on PBS at 10:00 Pm on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, this episode dives deep into the fascinating world of the ancient Khmer Empire.

Viewers will be taken on a journey to Laos, where gold and silver artifacts have been uncovered. These remarkable discoveries hold significant clues about the Khmer Empire’s rich culture and influence. The episode will showcase how these treasures not only highlight the artistic skills of the time but also reveal the empire’s connections with trade and power.

As the story unfolds, experts will share insights into the historical context of these artifacts. This exploration will shed light on the daily lives of the people who lived during this remarkable period. “Lost Treasures of Angkor” aims to captivate history enthusiasts and curious minds alike,...

"On an island everything is complete..." There's a little film playing on the festival circuit this fall (including at AFI Fest) that quietly sneaks its way into the hearts of anyone who watches it. This lovely story set on a Finnish island is the kind of wholesome, healing work of art that can provide real comfort to viewers of any age. The Summer Book is the latest feature film from American filmmaker Charlie McDowell, director of the films The One I Love, The Discovery, and Windfall before this. It's rare to come across a film that is so peaceful and sublime, never grating or meandering, so deeply in love with the magnificence of life on this planet. It's cliche to say, but it's absolutely true for this film – it feels like a really warm, nourishing hug of a film from a grandma that loves you dearly no matter what shenanigans one might get into.

In Episode 3 of “Presumed Innocent” (“The Discovery”), showrunner David E. Kelley turns the heat on Jake Gyllenhaal’s Rusty Sabitch, Chicago’s slick chief deputy prosecutor suspected of brutally murdering his pregnant mistress and colleague, Carolyn (Renate Reinsve). It kicks off with Rusty receiving the shocking text —”You were there, I saw you” — which places him at the scene of the crime, denies him an alibi, and further points to his guilt.

For editor Philip Neel (Episodes 3 and 6), this was a great entry point for cutting Rusty’s obsession with Carolyn and how it spiraled out of control in a twisted confluence of sex, politics, power, and love. “Nobody writes better courtroom drama than David Kelley,” Neel told IndieWire. “And he made a lot of changes. He was able to expand the dimensions of the mystery and flesh out the characters more [beyond Scott Turow’s 1987 novel and the 1990 movie starring...

Netflix’s new Hitchcockian thriller Windfallstars three actors you’ve definitely seen before — and perhaps even in the same movie together. But first, the scene: The film follows a series of (unfortunate) events that transpire when a robber is caught burgling a billionaire CEO’s idyllic vacation home. When the tech mogul and his wife show up unexpectedly for a weekend away, the robber’s plan goes awry. Windfallwas directed by Charlie McDowell and based on a story by McDowell and his leading actor, Jason Segel, and screenwriters Andrew Kevin Walker and Justin Lader.

Segel stars alongside The Power of the Dog’s Jesse Plemons in their second Charlie McDowell film — the two appear in his 2017 sci-fi thriller The Discovery — and Netflix leading lady Lily Collins, aka Emily in Paris herself. Read on to find out more about the film, which, in a taut 90 minutes, explores class, power and the...

There’s a reason why true crime is only enticing to a very specific demographic. However tremendous the making can be, the looming acknowledgment of actual people having faced the dread we’re watching on screen does take a certain toll on you. It’s even more tricky for the makers to play Switzerland and not take a side when creating a show about a victim and a perp—both of whom deserve some empathy from the viewers. Of course, there are sides to be taken in Olsen and Rabe’s Love And Death. And the challenge for you is to convince yourself that you are, in fact choosing the right side every time you find yourself feeling an ache for Candy Montgomery and the turn her life took.

Spoilers Ahead

Wish It Were Fiction

I was a tad taken aback last week when the 3rd episode of Love And Death...

Exclusive: Deadline has learned that 8x Oscar nominated actress Glenn Close and Anders Danielsen Lie have signed on to star in a feature film take of Tove Jansson’s novel The Summer Book which Charlie McDowell will direct and produce with his Case Study Films, a production company he co-founded with Alex Orlovsky and wife Lily Collins.

Recently celebrating the 50th anniversary of its original print publication, The Summer Book tells the life affirming story of a young girl and her grandmother as they spend a summer on a tiny, unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The novel distills the essence of the summer into 21 vignettes and has been translated into 35 languages since its first publication in 1972.

Robert Jones adapted the book for screen. Pic is co-financed by High Frequency Entertainment and Hurst Capital. Production starts this summer in Finland.

Anders Danielsen Lie, courtesy Case Study Films

“I’m...

Apple+ will release its newest comedic TV series, ‘Shrinking,’ on January 27th, 2023. This series follows a widowed therapist attempting to cope with some of his own feelings by helping his patients tackle their challenges. ‘Shrinking’ has a cast full of actors and actresses who own the screen and bring the story to another level of authenticity and reliability. The cast includes Jason Segel, Harrison Ford, and Jessica Williams, who have all been in many films and other productions seen on Hollywood’s big screens. Jason Segel not only portrays the main character and therapist Jimmy, but he also is one of the writers behind the beautiful story. From ‘The Muppets’ to ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall,’ Jason has made a name for himself in the entertainment industry through both his acting and writing skills. Take a look into Jason Segel’s career and how his experience will prove itself to be a great addition to ‘Shrinking.

Exclusive: One of the most prominent ex-ICM agents still in play, Jessica Lacy, has landed at Range Media Partners as Partner and head of management company’s newly minted division, Range Select. In her role, Lacy will oversee structuring and arranging financing, packaging, and securing distribution for select independent films. She is joined by her former ICM colleague Oliver Wheeler who also will work in the Range Select unit as a manager.

Lacy spent the last two decades combined at ICM Partners — where she was a partner and head of the Independent Film Department for the past 10 years — and Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency (before its 2006 acquisition by ICM). Throughout her career, Lacy has brokered distribution deals for many of the many acclaimed films coming out of the Sundance Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, SXSW, Tribeca, and the Toronto International Film Festival.

She was part of...

Exclusive: The Hideaway Entertainment has promoted Kristy Grisham to SVP of Development and Production, upping Ryan Cassells to Director of Development and Production, and tapping Jennifer Cox as Creative Executive. The company’s expansion reflects a recent initiative to ramp up their slate by buying and optioning books, screenplays, life rights and other IP in all stages of development.

In her role, Grisham will be responsible for overseeing development and production on The Hideaway’s current slate of film and television projects, including its adaptation of Dan Schilling’s book Combat Control with Thruline Entertainment Partner Ron West (The Great) and screenwriter Michael Russell Gunn (Billions). Grisham was integral in bringing the book proposal to the company and packaging the movie, which is being directed by Sam Hargrave (Extraction), with The Hideaway and MGM co-financing.

Grisham is also overseeing Otherwise Illegal Activity from The Wolf of Wall Street scribe Terence Winter...

“Seven” screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker is not used to working with a co-writer. And yet he jumped at the prospect of working with his friends on a contained, film noir-inspired thriller.

“Windfall” – which is now streaming on Netflix – stars Jesse Plemons and Lily Collins as a wealthy couple who arrive at their vacation home, only to happen upon a stranger in the middle of robbing the place. That stranger then holds them hostage, and what plays out is an incisive and acerbic thriller all set in one location.

The stranger is played by Jason Segel, who originated the idea that would become “Windfall.” Segel, Walker, co-writer Justin Lader and director Charlie McDowell are all friends who were called to a Zoom meeting by Segel during the pandemic to figure out if this idea might be worth turning into a film.

For Walker – a frequent collaborator of David Fincher’s who wrote films like “Fight Club,...

Is this Bad Movie Week at all the big streaming platforms? We haven’t checked in with Prime Video or HBO Max yet, but after struggling through Hulu’s Deep Water a few days ago we now find ourselves faced with this week’s soon-to-be-forgotten Netflix offering, Windfall.

Windfall was directed by Charlie McDowell, who gave us the interesting, quirky, and eerie The One I Love a few years back and the numbingly dull The Discovery after that. Windfall — which needed four writers to come up with the story and screenplay for this 86-minute affair, including McDowell himself and Seven scribe Andrew Kevin Walker — lands somewhere between the two, but unfortunately closer to The Discovery territory in its blandness and lack of energy.

The film begins with Jason Segel — playing against type for McDowell for the second time after also starring in The Discovery — as a disheveled, hulking man wandering around an extremely nice,...

A well-heeled young couple arrive for a weekend away at their Ojai country pad, only to find it already occupied by a criminal drifter out to take not just their money, but their happiness too, over the course of a tense, tetchy overnight hostage situation. But our sympathies aren’t directed exactly as you might expect in “Windfall,” a tightly wound sunshine noir that borrows from hardboiled classics like “The Desperate Hours,” while revisiting the kind of chilly, compressed relationship anatomy that director Charlie McDowell essayed in his debut “The One I Love.” Blending the oddball sensibility of McDowell and regular co-writer Justin Lader with the nastier genre smarts of “Se7en” scribe Andrew Kevin Walker, this low-key Netflix holds to its intriguing promise for a crisp 90 minutes, though even its climax is muted by design.

A trio of stars all playing effectively against type will be the chief draw for...

From the old school ‘50s-era opening titles, you can feel what tone Charlie McDowell’s Windfall is going for. The director’s third feature plays up the Hitchcock aesthetic big time in its marketing, but tonally it feels even more adjacent to Rian Johnson’s bouncy recent works of mystery thrills, The Brothers Bloom and, especially, Knives Out. A three-hander confined to a single location, the film stars Jesse Plemons and Lily Collins as a tech CEO and his wife heading to their vacation home in Ojai, only to find Jason Segel’s character in the middle of robbing it. Knowing that his identity is blown thanks to a hidden camera he spots, Segel demands enough cash to be able to start a new life, and the unnamed trio enter into a tense period of waiting for the money delivery to be arranged.

It’s a quick and easy set-up for a film,...

With most films seeking to get out of the shadow cast by a certain caped crusader, March is a bit of a lighter month than usual, but there remains a handful of recommendations. From offbeat festival favorites to the return of the erotic thriller to what’s sure to be one of the best sci-fi tales of the year, check out our picks below.

11. Jane by Charlotte (Charlotte Gainsbourg; March 18 in theaters)

After being in front of the camera for nearly four decades, Charlotte Gainsbourg gets personal with her directorial debut. Jane by Charlotte, which premiered at Cannes before playing NYFF and beyond, is a portrait of her mother, singer and actress Jane Birkin, as the pair reflect on their creative lives. As they discuss the pains and joys of their relationship, it promises an intimate look at the intricacies of a bond formed not only by blood, but also fiercely creative drives.

What would you do if you arrived at your vacation home, only to discover it was being robbed? That’s the conundrum facing Jesse Plemons and Lily Collins in the first trailer for the new Netflix thriller film “Windfall.”

Plemons and Collins play a wealthy married couple who find themselves being held hostage by an unstable but also somewhat inept criminal, played by Jason Segel. As the hostage situation continues, Plemons’ character grows more agitated, and with the sun going down, the stakes get more dangerous.

The original film hails from “The One I Love” and “The Discovery” filmmaker Charlie McDowell, who has a knack for twisty, semi-sci-fi stories. But further intrigue is added by the involvement of screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker, the writer behind “Se7en” and various other David Fincher projects who co-wrote “Windfall” with Justin Lader, based on a story by Walker, Lader, McDowell and Segel.

Plemons and Collins,...

After making a splash with his nifty single-location romantic thriller The One I Love, Charlie McDowell’s follow-up The Discovery came and went quickly. But his next film has quite an enticing set-up. Jason Segel, Lily Collins, and Jesse Plemons star in the Hitchcockian noir thriller following a young couple who arrive at their vacation home only to find it’s being robbed.

Now set for a March 18 release on Netflix, the first trailer has dropped, which showcases a rather playful tone setting up the dynamic between the trio. As one might expect, Plemons is clearly having the most fun, while Segel takes on a fittingly aloof villainous role. With McDowell having proved his skills at the one-location drama, here’s hoping this is a bounce-back for him.

Watch the trailer below.

Windfall opens on March 18 on Netflix.

The post Windfall Trailer: Jason Segel Disrupts Jesse Plemons and Lily Collins'...

"You owe a debt to a helluva lot more people than just me." Netflix has revealed the first official trailer for Windfall, a new "Hitchcockian thriller" following a wealthy couple who arrive at their vacation home only to find it's being robbed. This is the latest film by filmmaker Charlie McDowell, best known for his Sundance gems The One I Love and The Discovery. The concept for this one, created by co-star Jason Segel, wonders "what if" your safe space at home "gets invaded and doesn't feel safe anymore?" Starring Jason Segel, Lily Collins, Jesse Plemons, and that's it. "The story really exposes all three of us," Collins states. "We're all flawed, and the story showcases and starts to unearth how those flaws come about and that none of us are innocent. And I feel like it is about choice and the choices we make and the choices we don't...

Are audiences sleeping on Charlie McDowell? As the spouse of Lily Collins and the son of Martin McDowell and Mary Steenburgen, it’s easy to overlook that he’s also a director who already has a couple of solid films to his credit. “The One I Love” and “The Discovery” both premiered at Sundance in 2014 and 2017, respectively.

Continue reading ‘Windfall’ Trailer: Jason Segel, Lily Collins & Jesse Plemons Star In Charlie McDowell’s New Hitchcockian Thriller at The Playlist.

Having highlighted 30 films we guarantee are worth seeing this year and films we hope get U.S. distribution, we now venture into the unknown. One expects more pandemic-related delays, but there’s still plenty of currently under-the-radar movies that will hopefully make a mark in 2022.

Though the majority lack a set release—let alone confirmed festival premiere—most have wrapped production and will likely debut at some point in 2022. Be sure to check back for updates over the next twelve months (and beyond).

100. Babylon (Damien Chazelle; Dec. 25)

Damien Chazelle’s obsession with the magic of cinema seems to be reaching its natural apex: a detailed recreation of the era where silent film transitioned to sound. For collaborating with the biggest cast of his career, including Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, this should mark a big leap for the Oscar-winning filmmaker. Chazelle’s greatest strength is his ability to capture the...

Jason Segel, Lily Collins and Jesse Plemons have signed up for the Netflix thriller ‘Windfall.’

Said to be a Hitchcockian type thriller, it is further described as a modern-day noir that follows a young couple who arrive at their vacation home only to find it’s being robbed.

Charlie McDowell, who worked with both Segel and Plemons on Netflix’s ‘The Discovery’, will take the helm on the project. The screenplay is co-written by Justin Lader and ‘Seven’ scribe Andrew Kevin Walker.

McDowell, Segel, Collins and Plemons will also produce alongside Alex Orlovsky, Duncan Montgomery and Jack Selby, while David Duque Estrada and Elika Portnoy will executive produce for Mutressa Movies along with Rick Covert.

Also in news – Javier Bardem to star in adaptation of ‘Lyle, Lyle Crocodile’

Segel was last seen in ‘Dispatches From Elsewhere’ on the big screen he starred in ‘End of the Tour’. Collins stars in...

Director Charlie McDowell previously worked with Jason Segel and Jesse Plemons on the 2017 Netflix film The Discovery. Now, he’s reteaming with both actors and bringing Lily Collins on board for Windfall, a contemporary-set noir that the streaming giant has just picked up for distribution. Deadline reports that Netflix has acquired the rights to Windfall in “a […]

The post Neo-Noir ‘Windfall’ Starring Jesse Plemons, Lily Collins, and Jason Segel Heads to Netflix appeared first on /Film.

Netflix has acquired the modern-day noir pic Windfall, from director Charlie McDowell with Jason Segel, Lily Collins and Jesse Plemons starring. Segel and McDowell also developed the story, with Justin Lader and Andrew Kevin Walker penning the script. Production wrapped earlier this year. Sources say Netflix preemptively acquired the rights in a major 8-figure dollar deal.

The film is a Hitchcockian thriller following a young couple who arrive at their vacation home only to find it’s being robbed.

Alex Orlovsky and Duncan Montgomery are producing along with McDowell, Segel, Collins and Plemons. Jack Selby will also produce. Exec producers are David Duque Estrada, Elika Portnoy and Rick Covert.

Segel most recently was seen in his AMC anthology series Dispatches from Elsewhere, and on the film side he starred in End of the Tour. Collins stars in the Netflix series Emily in Paris. Plemons next can be seen in Disney’s Jungle Cruise.

“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” and “Judas and the Black Messiah” star Jesse Plemons has been cast opposite “WandaVision’s” Elizabeth Olsen in the HBO Max original limited series “Love and Death.”

Per the logline, the show follows two church-going couples, enjoying small-town family life in Texas. The series is based on the true story of Texas housewife Candy Montgomery, who murdered her friend from church, Betty Gore, with an axe in 1980

The series, produced by Lionsgate, is inspired by the book “Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs” and a collection of articles from Texas Monthly.

The “Breaking Bad” alum will play Allan Gore, while Olsen was previously announced to play Candy Montgomery.

Plemons’ breakout role on the Emmy Award-winning cult sports drama “Friday Night Lights” as Landry Clarke spurred his career, leading him to star in series such as Noah Hawley’s Golden Globe Award-winning show “Fargo,...

Peter J. Nygard and Louis Bacon were two of the world’s richest men, who also happened to be neighbors in a posh corner of the Bahamas. A bitter feud between the billionaire hedge fund operator and the Canadian fashion mogul, one that initally stemmed from a noise complaint, dominated headlines, and eventually led to Nygard’s arrest and indictment for racketeering and sex trafficking.

It’s a stranger-than-fiction saga that seems ripe for the big screen treatment. Well, no surprise — in a highly competitive situation, Matthew George’s Savvy Media Holdings has acquired the rights to two books on the battling one-percenters. The company has purchased the underlying material of Dick Russell’s forthcoming book “Bacon Vs. Nygard: Sex-Trafficking, Political Corruption, Murder-for-Hire, and the Takedown,” as well as Melissa Cronin’s “Predator King: Peter Nygard’s Dark Life of Rape, Drugs, and Blackmail.” The latter was published in April last year by Skyhorse Publishing.

Though film adaptations of comic book and graphic novel are usually associated with superhero films, there has been a wide variety of comic-to-film adaptations, from “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” to “My Friend Dahmer.” Now, Focus Features is entering the graphic novel game with a film adaptation of “Patience,” with Charlie McDowell set to direct.

Read More: ‘The Forgiven’ First Look: Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Matt Smith & More Star In Focus Features’ Upcoming Drama

Deadline has the scoop on “Patience,” reporting that the director of “The Discovery” and “The One I Love,” Charlie McDowell, will take directorial duties for the film adaptation of Daniel Clowes‘ graphic novel.

Continue reading ‘Patience’: Charlie McDowell Directing Adaptation of Graphic Novel For Focus Features at The Playlist.

Exclusive: Focus Features has set Charlie McDowell to direct an adaptation of Daniel Clowes’ graphic novel Patience. McDowell, whose directing credits include The One I Love and The Discovery, is writing the script with Justin Lader, his collaborator on those other films.

Innisfree Pictures’ Jim Burke and Steven Snyder are producing.

Focus has been trying for several years to adapt the graphic novel by Clowes, who was Oscar-nominated for adapting his comic Ghost World as a feature in 2001. He wrote the first draft. The novel is about sacrifices in the name of love. When his wife Patience is murdered, Jack falls into a deep pit of anger, grief, and guilt. Ten years later, he learns of a time machine that might allow him to fix things. From there, he plunges into a psychedelic journey through Patience’s past and the events that shaped her into the woman he knew and loved.

Christoph Waltz and Lily Collins have joined the cast of the Jake Gyllenhaal produced thriller ‘Gilded Rage’.

Waltz and Collins join the already cast Bill Skarsgard on the story inspired by events surrounding the murder of Manhattan hedge fund magnate Thomas Gilbert Sr. by his son Tommy. The murder which shook New York society to the core attracted the attention of the news across America. Tommy Gilbert recently received 30 years-to-life in prison for the murder.

Charlie McDowell is directing fro a screenplay by McDowell and Justin Lader based on the Vanity Fair article ‘Gilded Rage’ by Benjamin Wallace that was published in 2015. Riva Marker and Jake Gyllenhaal will produce under their banner Nine Stories.

Also in news – Paul Feig sheds some light on his ‘Dark Army’ monster movie

Having previously appeared as a ‘Bond villain’, Waltz was last in ‘Alita: Battle Angel’. He is currently rumoured to be returning to...

Exclusive: Here’s a hot Afm package. I can reveal that Christoph Waltz and Lily Collins will star with Bill Skarsgard in Gilded Rage, a dramatic thriller about the real-life murder of a Manhattan hedge fund manager.

Charlie McDowell is directing. Xyz Films is financing and producing the film with Riva Marker and Jake Gyllenhaal under their banner Nine Stories, Jeremy Steckler, and Conde Nast Entertainment, with Hunter Ryan and David Ryan exec producing.

Xyz is also handling world sales and co-repping domestic with ICM Partners and Endeavor Content. The project will be introduced to buyers at next week’s American Film Market. Shoot is set for spring 2020.

The script was written by McDowell and Justin Lader based on the Vanity Fair article Gilded Rage by Benjamin Wallace that was published in 2015. E. Max Frye penned a previous draft. Story is inspired by events...

The Guild of Music Supervisors has partnered with Mondo.NYC for the second year. An incubator confab for the music and tech industries that includes a multi-venue festival showcasing emerging artists from around the world, Mondo.NYC is scheduled for Oct. 15 – 18 at the Williamsburg Hotel in Brooklyn.

The final day, Oct. 18, billed as the Second Annual NYC Guild of Music Supervisors Education Event & Film Festival, will feature panels with music supervisors Trevor Gureckis and Sue Jacobs, composer and music supervisor, respectively, of “The Goldfinch;” publishing professionals Andrea Minze, Senior Director, Music for Advertising, Umpg, and James Armstrong, VP Creative Marketing, Sony/Atv; and business development executives Jennifer Freed, CEO, Trevanna Tracks and Cestjon McFarland, general counsel/head of business affairs, SyncFloor.

Topics planned include how technology is improving the work of music supervisors; how composers and music supervisors can work better together and a case study on the campaign roll-out for Weedmaps’ Museum of Weed.

With the continued rise of the streaming giants we’re seeing such an extraordinary influx of new films and TV series that it can be hard to keep on top of things. This new era may mean that you could miss something special on your epic trawl through the many options. However, there is also a new urgency for a little curation – so you don’t miss the diamonds in the digital rough. Here’s a few recent arrivals on Netflix, so you can catch up on some great entertainment.

The Gambler

This remake of a 1974 film stars Mark Wahlberg and was directed by Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt. It explores the story of an exclusive, very high-stakes gambling ring and how a professor secretly selects the top minds in his literature class to learn the intricacies of gambling. Of course he could have just gone to legalonlinecasino.

Showtime has a new surprise addition to its summer lineup. “On Becoming a God in Central Florida,” the nine-episode series starring Kristen Dunst, will be debuting at the end of August, the network revealed on Monday.

As part of the news, the ’90s-set drama about one woman’s pursuit of wealth inside a pyramid scheme offered up a first trailer for the series. This first look at “On Becoming a God in Central Florida” comes with a venue change, as the show was originally intended for the YouTube Premium subscription service. Engadget reported last week that YouTube TV was “gifting” Showtime to select “longtime friends” of the service through Labor Day Weekend.

Dunst plays Krystal Stubbs, a woman who chases promises of riches while working her regular job at a water park. As she becomes more entrenched in the scheme to turn quick investments into life-changing money, she begins to...

There is one compelling reason to see Mary Magdalene, Lion director Garth Davis’ long-delayed drama, a notorious casualty of the death of the Weinstein Company. It is not the work of the director, a talented filmmaker who has crafted a slow-moving Biblical epic that fails to engage. It is not the presence of Joaquin Phoenix, who plays Jesus of Nazareth as a loving but ever-pained martyr. Nor is it the typically strong work of Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays Peter with a fire Phoenix surprisingly lacks. And it is not the script by Helen Edmundson and Philippa Goslett, which succeeds in establishing the time and place but feels like a slog through an oft-dramatized story.

The reason, as may be clear, is Rooney Mara. As Mary of Magdala, the close follower of Jesus Christ and one of history’s most mischaracterized figures, Mara is simultaneously strong-willed, emotionally shattered, and spiritually enlightened.

Training Day alumna Julie Benz is set for a recurring role in On Becoming A God In Central Florida, a 1990s-set one-hour dark comedy series, starring and executive produced by Kirsten Dunst. The series, set to premiere on YouTube Premium in 2019, hails from George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures and Sony’s TriStar Television.

Written by Robert Funke and Matt Lutsky based on a spec script they wrote, On Becoming A God is set near Orlando in the early 1990s. It centers on Krystal Gill (Dunst), a minimum-wage-earning water park employee who will eventually scheme her way up the ranks of Founders American Merchandise: the cultish, flag waving, multi-billion dollar pyramid scheme that drove her family to ruin.

Benz will play Carole Wilkes, a “big-haired” and “buxom” Fam wife who’s much farther up the pyramid than Krystal. Having fully embraced her role as a subordinate, Carol sees...

Jason Segel is returning to the small screen in a very big way.

The How I Met Your Mother alum is set to create and star in the new AMC anthology series Dispatches From Elsewhere, TVLine has learned. The cable network announced the news during its portion of the Television Critics Association summer press tour on Saturday.

The hour-long anthology series — which counts Garrett Basch (The Night Of), Scott Rudin and Eli Bush (The Newsroom) among its EPs — is about “a group of ordinary people who stumble onto a puzzle hiding just behind the veil of everyday life,” and “come...

AMC has picked up the anthology series “Dispatches from Elsewhere” created by and starring Jason Segel, Variety has learned.

The hour-long series is about a group of ordinary people who stumble onto a puzzle hiding just behind the veil of everyday life. They will come to find that the mystery winds far deeper than they ever imagined. The series will include viewer engagement elements across multiple platforms. The series will begin shooting early next year.

“I am thrilled to be telling this story at AMC,” Segel said. “I truly could not imagine a better team and a more perfect home for this material.”

Segel will executive produce along with Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, and Garrett Basch. AMC Studios will produce.

Segel previously starred in the hit comedy “How I Met Your Mother” and was a key cast member in the critically-acclaimed shows “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared.” On the film side,...

YouTube has finalized a deal for 10-episode series order to On Becoming A God In Central Florida, a 1990s-set one-hour dark comedy series, starring and executive produced by Kirsten Dunst. The series, set to premiere on YouTube Premium in 2019, hails from George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures and Sony’s TriStar Television.

On Becoming A God In Central Florida, which was previously in development at AMC, was one of the passion projects for the late TriStar TV topper Suzanne Patmore Gibbs who revived Sony Pictures TV’s label as home of female-focused material.

Written by Robert Funke and Matt Lutsky based on a spec script they wrote, On Becoming A God is set near Orlando in the early 1990s. It centers on Krystal Gill (Dunst), a minimum-wage-earning water park employee who will eventually scheme her way up the ranks of Founders American Merchandise: the cultish, flag waving, multi-billion...

New arrival worked at Stay Gold, Wild Bunch, The Weinstein Company

ICM Partners on Monday announced the hire of Kristen Konvitz at the agency’s independent and international film department.

Konvitz, who most recently served as head of production at Stay Gold Features, will be based in the Los Angeles office and reports to department head Jessica Lacy.

At Stay Gold Features, Konvitz was involved in Sundance breakout Patti Cake$ that sold to Fox Searchlight, as well as A24’s upcoming Under The Silver Lake from David Robert Mitchell, and SXSW award winner The Strange Ones.

The hire comes as Lacy’s division enjoys a purple patch, having recently sold Cannes Director’s Fortnight hit The Florida Project to A24, Cory Finley’s Sundance selection Thoroughbred to Focus Features, and Charlie McDowell’s The Discovery to Netflix.

“Our department is in the midst of a banner year, and we want to continue to grow our team with...

Author: Scott Davis

Already eagerly anticipated, the first trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s Logan Lucky has arrived this weekend and you can view it in the player below.

After saying he was retiring from film directing, Soderbergh is back behind the camera for his first film since 2013’s Side Effects and Behind the Candelabra and it looks like he has chosen wisely as even from the first couple of minutes of footage seen in the trailer below looks like classic Soderbergh.

Channing Tatum (Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Magic Mike Xxl) and Adam Driver (Paterson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi) stars as Jimmy and Clyde Logan, brothers and petty thieves who decide to attempt to pull of a heist during a Nascar race in North Carolina. A little out of their depth in the planning stage, they decide to try and acquire the help of Joe Bang (Daniel Craig), an incarcerated...

Last week, in response to the news that Netflix had finally cracked the Cannes competition lineup (a breakthrough that inspired the Federation of French Cinemas to question if a movie that skips theaters should even be considered “a cinematographic work”), I wrote about the streaming giant and how they’ve performed as a distributor. My conclusions were, uh, not super favorable. Criticizing the company’s penchant for pricing out the competition, hoarding the hottest indies on the festival circuit, and burying them on their site without the benefit of a proper release, I argued that Netflix isn’t a distributor so much as “a graveyard with unlimited viewing hours,” and that “it doesn’t release movies, it inters them.” It’s a problem that extends to the well-funded features that Netflix produces themselves, a problem that’s only going to get worse as those titles continue to get better.

See MoreNetflix Keeps Buying Great Movies,...

The Cinemaholics are family at this point, so it makes sense that they’d review The Fate of the Furious, which is the eighth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise. In addition to that, Jon Negroni, Will Ashton and Maveryke Hines also dig into reviews for Free Fire, Sandy Wexler, 13 Reasons Why and The Discovery.

This week’s show kicks off with some shop talk about Universal’s juggernaut franchise as a whole, including some quick rankings and reflections on the movies and their future. Then, during the Mini Review segment, Jon and Will spend some extra time debating whether or not Sandy Wexler, Adam Sandler’s latest Netflix movie, is total garbage or redeemable schlock. Later on, Jon and Will unite against Maveryke in their liking of The Discovery, which is Charlie McDowell’s sophomore effort as a feature film director.

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On this episode of Adjust Your Tracking, Joe and I start things off with more chatter about the state of going out to the movies, and how things are rapidly evolving in this streaming era. We then move on to our two main reviews: new Netflix speculative sci-fi drama “The Discovery” and Neon‘s new release in theaters, “Colossal.” The back half of this episode features a grab bag of recommendations, starting with the latest from Romanian master Christian Mungiu, “Graduation,” and then moving to some streaming options in the wonderful documentary miniseries “Five Came Back” and season 2 of “Fargo.” Continuing with our Jesse Plemons theme this episode (he’s in three of the films/shows we discuss), Joe also highlights “Other People” and “Stretch & Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives.”

Read More: Adjust Your Tracking Talks “T2 Trainspotting,” Dave Chappelle’s Netflix Specials, “The New Edition Story” & “Prevenge”

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When Cristian Mungiu goes to the Cannes Film Festival, he’s an internationally renowned filmmaker, with the distinction of being the first Romanian to win the venerated Palme d’Or. That was over a decade ago, when Mungiu’s abortion thriller “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” took the festival’s top prize. His subsequent features, “Beyond the Hills” and “Graduation,” have also played in its Official Selection. Mungiu continues to travel the world and land raves for his sociopolitical cinema, which explores the country’s problems on an intimate scale.

But that hasn’t made it any easier to get his movies seen back home.

Read More: Cristian Mungiu’s ‘Graduation’ Trailer: Father-Daughter Relations Get Tense In The Cannes-Bound Family Drama

Ever since the success of his sophomore feature “4 Months,” Mungiu has self-distributed his work in Romania, reviving a caravan-style approach to screening movies in small towns that was once used...

The Discovery Review Podcast. FilmBookCast Ep. 56 – The Discovery (2017), is an audio podcast review in which FilmBook contributor Mike Smith and his co-host Mike DeCriscio discuss their thoughts on the newest film from director Charlie McDowell, The Discovery. The Discovery is a movie directed by Charlie McDowell and starring Jason Segel, Rooney Mara, Robert Redford, Jesse Plemons, and Riley Keough, among others. The […]...

Part monster movie, part romantic comedy, part feminist manifesto: Nacho Vigalondo’s “Colossal” is a lot of things. But Anne Hathaway’s first impression of it was much simpler than that.

“I think the exact email I got from my agent was, ‘This might be too weird, but it might be the right weird,'” the actress recently told IndieWire when asked about her first introduction to the project. “I read it and it felt like it the right weird.”

An innovative blend of high concept sci-fi and romcom tropes, “Colossal” gives “Kong: Skull Island” a run for its money as the disaster movie of the year, which is why it’s somewhat of a shock to consider that it almost didn’t get made at all. Vigalondo first gained exposure among genre fans for his labyrinthine time-travel comedy “Timecrimes,” but it has taken years for him to make a more widely-accessible crowdpleaser.

The-Artery, a visual effects, virtual reality, digital content and experiential brand marketing studio that has worked on the likes of Netflix’s Robert Redford thriller The Discovery and Baz Luhrmann drama The Get Down, has hired industry veteran Karin Levinson as its Head of Features and Television Content and expanding operations into Los Angeles. Levinson will helm the new L.A. office and spearhead new business initiatives across film, TV, advertising, Vr and augmented…...

The-Artery, a visual effects, virtual reality, digital content and experiential brand marketing studio that has worked on the likes of Netflix’s Robert Redford thriller The Discovery and Baz Luhrmann drama The Get Down, has hired industry veteran Karin Levinson as its Head of Features and Television Content and expanding operations into Los Angeles. Levinson will helm the new L.A. office and spearhead new business initiatives across film, TV, advertising, Vr and augmented…...

‘The Discovery’ Hides Purgatory Behind a Promising PremiseWhy prove there’s an afterlife if you don’t engage with it?

Sometimes you hear a premise that’s worth seeing through even if you know the film can’t possibly live up to it. Netflix’s The Discovery, the second film by writer/director Charlie McDowell, is one of those. Science has proven, beyond doubt, that we exist beyond life. Brainwaves have been measured and in some peer-reviewed sense, the afterlife exists. The only problem is — if it’s even a problem at all — the suicide rate has skyrocketed. People have some certainty so they’re getting out while the getting’s good. What’s on the other side, what they’re escaping the pain and suffering of this mortal coil into, well, that’s something the scientists haven’t quite gotten to yet.

McDowell’s debut film The One I Love has a similarly tantalizing premise that...

Hungry for fresh nourishment, specialty audiences flocked to new World War II drama “The Zookeeper’s Wife” (Focus Features), directed by Niki Caro and starring Jessica Chastain.

While smart-house moviegoers can be discerning — see Fox Searchlight’s “Wilson” — the holocaust drama overcame modest reviews to score in wider initial release. The dearth of other product should help Focus to find bigger success ahead.

Read More: ‘The Zookeeper’s Wife’ Director Niki Caro Has a Plan for Fighting Hollywood’s Gender Gap

New openings finding niche interest were led by “David Lynch – The Art Life” (Janus) as smaller films continue to struggle.

At a time of dwindling movie ad revenue, streaming service Netflix took out two full-page ads for five films in both the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. They touted four Sundance debuts: “The Discovery” starring Robert Redford and Rooney Mara, which played limited theatrical dates with no grosses reported,...

Even five years ago, it would have been hard to imagine Jason Segel, the Muppet-loving, butt-baring star of modern comedy classics like “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Knocked Up” as some kind of Sundance darling, but that’s exactly how the actor found his unexpected second act.

When Segel was picked to star as the lauded and immensely troubled late author David Foster Wallace in James Ponsoldt’s “The End of the Tour,” the filmmaker’s decision to cast the lovably goofy “This is 40” and “How I Met Your Mother” star was met with plenty of skepticism. Segel, however, dove deeply into preparing for the role, listening to the recordings of journalist David Lipsky (played by Jesse Eisenberg in the 2015 drama) and watching clips of Foster online to get a sense of the writer’s presence. He even started his own book club to read and discuss Foster’s “Infinite Jest.