Even if we wouldn't say he's quite cracked it yet, we've got a lot of respect for the way that Zac Efron is trying to establish himself as a proper grown-up adult actor. After all, the "High School Musical" series would be an albatross for many, but Efron's quietly been banging out a diverse mix of ...
Read More »Damn it. Just when we thought we were going to be able to ignore Zach Braff's controversially crowd-sourced sophomore feature, he goes and casts Anna Kendrick. According to The Wrap, the "Pitch Perfect" star, so often the best thing in whatever she's in, has joined the cast of Braff's currently-prep...
Read More »To play one early September festival could be seen as a shot in the dark, but if you manage to hit the trifecta of Venice, Telluride and TIFF, you know that the people behind the film have got some confidence in the finished product. Not many films ticked all three destinations off their box this ye...
Read More »The first three feature films by Ramin Bahrani – 2005’s “Man Push Cart,” 2007’s “Chop Shop” and 2008’s “Goodbye Solo” -- were extremely well-regarded by festival and art-house crowds (Roger Ebert called Bahrani “the director of t...
Read More »Of all the director/actor pairings of the year, the one between the acclaimed, but so far firmly arthouse-y Ramin Bahrani, the helmer of "Man Push Cart" and "Goodbye Solo," and Zac Efron, fresh-faced star of the "High School Musical" franchise, is one of the most curious. But after festival plaudits...
Read More »While Universal killed two high-profile, risky, ambitious efforts recently, putting the kibosh on Guillermo del Toro's "At the Mountains of Madness" and Ron Howard's "The Dark Tower," the studio isn't afraid to spend money. It's just that those holding the purse strings are choosing wisely and if you've been paying attention to the box office this summer, there is one genre that is not only making mad bank, but is also, generally speaking, pretty cost-effective: the R-rated comedy. "The Hangover Part II," "Horrible Bosses" and most importantly, from Universal's perspective, "Bridesmaids," have been smash successes. So it's no surprise then th...
Read More »Ramin Bahrani is pretty ace. The Iranian-American director broke through with 2005's terrific "Man Push Cart," and then followed it up swiftly with 2007's "Chop Shop" and 2008's "Goodbye Solo." There's not a bad film among them, all three humane, touching and cosmopolitan, and he's one of the most i...
Read More »'Modern Family' Star Sofia Vergara Confirmed For CastLee Daniels hasn't quite had Hollywood bowing before him in the same way that some directors do after picking up an Oscar nomination -- in his case, for "Precious." It's not that the director hasn't gotten involved in projects -- he's attached to ...
Read More »Zac Efron is determined to have someone punch his adorable little face. The tween heartthrob has been lining up a number of Adult Projects that will hopefully help him transition into grittier fare and one of those, "Die In A Gunfight," now has a director.
Read More »Commercial director Frederik Bond has been patiently awaiting the opportunity to make his feature film debut. At various times he's been attached to direct the comc book adaptation "Hack/Slash," the remake of Bong Joon-ho's "The Host" and most recently, the sci-fi flick "Year 12." But it looks like ...
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