Jeff Daniels

First Official Poster and Two New Trailers for Aaron Sorkin’s HBO Drama THE NEWSROOM

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 21st, 2012 at 6:40 pm

The first official poster has been released for Aaron Sorkin’s new HBO drama, The Newsroom. The series stars Jeff Daniels as the primary anchor of a failing 24-hour news network who is ready to break the monotony of cable news and go back to the roots of informing his audience. We already saw his character have a fantastic (and much publicized) outburst in the first trailer.  Then, The Newsroom followed up with a series of additional trailers that developed a bit more of the storyline and also introduced us to the rest of the cast:  such as Daniels’ character’s new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), his newsroom staff (John Gallagher, Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn) and their boss (Sam Waterston).  Now, we have the first look at the official poster (in addition to some shorter trailers, in case you’ve missed the previous ones).  Hit the jump to check out the slick official poster for HBO’s The Newsroom, which debuts Sunday, June 24th at 10PM.

New Trailer for Aaron Sorkin’s HBO Series THE NEWSROOM

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 13th, 2012 at 7:57 pm

A new trailer for Oscar-winning screenwriter and The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin’s latest series, The Newsroom, has gone online.  This builds on the basic set-up introduced in the previous two trailers gets a bit more into what the plot may look like in the first few episodes beyond the pilot.  Jeff Daniels stars as the primary anchor of a floundering 24-hour news network who’s ready to break the monotony of lazy and gutless cable news.  I’m a self-professed Sorkin nut so I may be a bit biased, but I really like what we’ve seen from the series thus far.  My only concern is that the show could become too much of a soapbox for Sorkin’s worldviews a la Studio 60, but hopefully his knack for snappy dialogue and romantic characters reigns the preach-factor in a bit.  Moreover, this new trailer has 100% more David Krumholtz which is almost never a bad thing.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer (complete with Dave Krumholtz cameo!), and count down the days until The Newsroom premieres on June 24th on HBO.  The show also stars Emily Mortimer, Sam Waterston, Jane Fonda, Alison Pill, Olivia Munn and Dev Patel.

New Trailer for Aaron Sorkin’s THE NEWSROOM

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 29th, 2012 at 7:53 pm

A new trailer for Aaron Sorkin‘s upcoming HBO series The Newsroom has gone online.  The first trailer played to the dramatic aspects of the series, but the new one hits on Sorkin’s whip-smart dialogue almost to the point of self-parody (when Alison Pill‘s character talks about mixing up Georgia the state with Georgia the country, I could easily hear the dialogue coming out of Donna Moss’ mouth).  The new trailer also does a better job of laying out the plot and establishing the different characters and their relationships.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The show stars Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr., Thomas Sadoski, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn, and Sam Waterston.  The Newsroom premieres June 24th at 10/9c.

Director Rian Johnson Talks LOOPER Teaser Trailer, Grounded Sci-Fi Reality, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Make-Up and Filming Action Scenes with Bruce Willis

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: April 13th, 2012 at 3:44 pm

After posting the trailer for director Rian Johnson’s Looper yesterday, some of you may have been left with questions about the time-traveling assassin flick.  As luck has it, Johnson took a few minutes to dissect the trailer and call out specific things that fans should be anticipating.  Johnson not only spoke about the look of the film, in what he called a “grounded science fiction world,” but also advised fans to wait and see Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s performance in make-up to get the total picture.  He also commented on filming action scenes with Bruce Willis, saying that the veteran “showed us the ropes.” Looper also stars Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo, and Jeff Daniels and opens on September 28th.  Hit the jump to see Johnson’s commentary and trailer for Looper.

First Trailer for Rian Johnson’s LOOPER Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 12th, 2012 at 4:08 pm

The first trailer for writer-director Rian Johnson‘s Looper has gone online.  The futuristic thriller takes place in a world where time travel exists, but is only used on the black market. When the mob wants to kill someone, they send the target 30 years into the past where a contract killer (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) does the dirty work. Things are going smoothly until Gordon-Levitt’s future self (Bruce Willis) is sent into the past to be killed.  As a huge fan of Johnson’s previous work, Brick and The Brothers Bloom, I was already pretty damn excited for Looper, but this trailer is incredibly cool.  I love the premise and cast, and it looks as if Johnson has applied his wholly original filmmaking style to the sci-fi genre to great success.  I still don’t entirely know how Gordon-Levitt’s Bruce Willis impression is gonna play for an extended period of time, but it’s a minor qualm and I really haven’t seen enough footage to make a fair assessment.  All in all, I’m willing to bet Johnson’s about to go 3 for 3.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo, and Jeff Daniels.  Looper opens on September 28th.

First Trailer for Aaron Sorkin’s New HBO Drama THE NEWSROOM, Starring Jeff Daniels and Sam Waterston

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: April 1st, 2012 at 7:35 pm

Right about now, HBO subscribers are probably in a high over the debut of the second season of Game of Thrones or the impending summer return of season five of True Blood. But there is a new series on the premium network you should keep an eye on. It seems that Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) has a lot of venting to do and he gets everything off his chest in this brilliant first trailer for the new HBO drama, The Newsroom. Starring Jeff Daniels, Sam Waterston and Emily Mortimer, The Newsroom keeps a familiar politico-centric feel to Sorkin’s The West Wing but now features a newsroom setting replacing the White House. In this first trailer, nationally recognized news anchor Will McAvoy (Daniels) loses his objectivity (and possibly his audience) when responding to a question from the crowd at a college panel. Daniels immediately won me over by saying everything a rational and informed human being should say in spite of the political backlash it was bound to incur. Hit the jump to check it out.

Aaron Sorkin’s HBO Cable News Drama Officially Called NEWSROOM; Check Out a Small Bit of the Script

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: December 5th, 2011 at 6:23 pm

For awhile now we’ve been updating on the progress of a new HBO drama series from writer Aaron Sorkin with the likes of Jeff Daniels, Sam Waterston, Olivia Munn, Emily Mortimer and more playing various characters working at a fictional cable news channel called UBS. More specifically, the series follows one of the programs on the channel that’s not unlike Countdown with Kieth Olberman. Now HBO Watch is reporting the series formerly known as More as This Story Develops will now simply be called Newsroom. Obviously it draws parallels to Sorkin’s Sports Night series from years back, but this will much different tonally and stylistically. Daniels play the show host Will McCallister while Waterston plays network president Charlie Skinner and if you want to get a taste of the dynamic between these two characters and the work Sorkin has put on the page, you can check out a bit of the expected snappy dialogue from the show after the jump.

The Farrelly Brothers Plan to Next Direct DUMB AND DUMBER Sequel With Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 26th, 2011 at 4:04 pm

Well this was unexpected. Having just wrapped production on a big screen version of The Three Stooges, directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly are now hoping to move on to a sequel to 1994’s Dumb and Dumber. Deadline reports that the intention is to bring back the film’s stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels to reprise their classic roles as Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne. Apparently a script has already been written by Sex Drive scribes Sean Anders and John Morris, who also co-directed the Adam Sandler/Adam Samberg comedy I Hate You Dad. The plan is for the Dumb and Dumber sequel to be the Farrelly brothers’ next directorial project. The original film’s producers Charles B. Wessler, Brad Krevoy, and Steve Stabler are returning as well.

You may remember that a painful sequel to the hit comedy, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, was produced in 2003 without the brothers involvement. Hopefully this new sequel will fare better. If Carrey and Daniels do indeed come back, this could actually be a lot of fun. There’s no word on the story or whether other characters from the first film will appear, but I’m hoping for a cameo by Petey and the blind kid all grown up. The only other film on Carrey’s schedule next year is the Steve Carell comedy Burt Wonderstone, and Daniels is currently filming Aaron Sorkin’s new series for HBO, so they could feasibly fit the film into their schedules. Hit the jump for a refresher on the art of graceful idiocy.

First Posters for MY WEEK WITH MARILYN and TEXAS KILLING FIELDS Starring Sam Worthington

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: August 26th, 2011 at 1:16 pm

We’ve got a couple new posters for you today. First up is the stunning first poster for My Week With Marilyn. Based on the memoirs of Lawrence Olivier’s assistant Colin Clark, the film details a week in the life of Marilyn Monroe. Michelle Williams stars as the titular Marilyn and she looks absolutely perfect in this stellar one-sheet. The film also stars Kenneth Branagh, Dominic Cooper, Judi Dench, Julia Ormond, Emma Watson, and Eddie Redmayne. My Week With Marilyn opens in limited release November 4^th.

Additionally, we have the first poster for the thriller Texas Killing Fields. Based on a true story, the film centers on the tracking of a sadistic serial killer who dumps his victims’ bodies in a Texas marsh. The impressive cast includes Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jason Clarke, and Chloe Dean Moretz. The film also has a new release date, as Texas Killing Fields will open in select theaters October 14^th.

Sam Waterston Joins Aaron Sorkin’s HBO Drama Pilot MORE AS THIS STORY DEVELOPS

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: June 1st, 2011 at 6:49 am

We’ve known for some time now that Jeff Daniels would lead a new cable news centric drama pilot at HBO called More as This Story Develops. In addition, Emily Mortimer has been confirmed to take the lead female role with Alison Pill and Olivia Munn taking supporting roles. Now The Wrap reports Law & Order alum Sam Waterston, who played Jack McCoy on the staple legal series until its recent cancellation, has signed on for a role in the promising new series. Waterston will play Charles Skinner, the president of the cable news division which houses news anchor Will McCallister’s (Daniels) own show. This assembly of talent with Greg Mottola (Superbad) at the helm of the pilot has me excited for what looks to be yet another great series on HBO.

SOMETHING WILD Criterion Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: May 27th, 2011 at 7:00 am

Jonathan Demme was one of the brightest spots of filmmaking in the 1980’s. Like early Spielberg, his sensibilities for Americana were funky but authentic. He liked weird people, but not in an ironic or grotesque way. He loves people, and it shows in every bit of his casting. Though the academy would reward him for The Silence of the Lambs, and unintentionally turn him into a serious director for a while, his loosey-goosey charms were never more apparent than in Something Wild, which the Criterion collection has released. It stars Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith, and introduced the world to Ray Liotta. Check out our review of the film on Blu-ray after the jump.

Jeff Daniels Joins Aaron Sorkin’s Cable News Centric Drama Series at HBO

by Ethan Anderton    Posted: March 21st, 2011 at 3:13 pm

Back in January we learned that writer Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, A Few Good Men) was behind a brand new drama series. After taking us behind the curtain of a late night sketch series in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, the White House in The West Wing and cable sports news in Sports Night, the writer is taking us behind the scenes of cable news for HBO and Variety says Jeff Daniels is coming with him. The actor is currently in negotiations for the lead role in series that will have him playing the host of his own show (not unlike Kieth Olbermann or Bill O’Reilly) who is very difficult to deal with from the network perspective.

Daniels is quite a versatile actor from his slapstick antics in Dumb & Dumber to quirky drama in The Squid and the Whale, but one of my personal favorites is his turn as a naive diner employee who wants nothing more than to paint with beautiful colors in the black and white world falling apart around him in Pleasantville. Surely more casting for this promising new series is on the way, so stay tuned.

HOWL Blu-ray Review

by Harrison Pierce    Posted: January 24th, 2011 at 10:43 am

James Franco, 2010’s most oddly ubiquitous entertainer, played two real life figures onscreen last year: poet Allen Ginsberg and survivalist Aron Ralston. While Ginsberg is presumably still the better known name, far more moviegoers checked out 127 Hours than Howl, the little seen biography about the Beat founding father from acclaimed documentary filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. Although Howl marks the duo’s narrative film debut, they break from traditional biopic form by utilizing a unique mix of documentary-style interviews, Hollywood-style courtroom dramatics and animated sequences to depict the inspiration behind, creation of and aftermath of Ginsberg’s most famous poem, “Howl.” While pretty boy Franco is a somewhat odd choice to play the less-than-beautiful, but never less-than-charismatic Ginsberg, the actor adeptly portrays the poet’s repressed romantic yearnings, heartbreak over friend’s and family’s treatment by mid-century mental health professionals and, most importantly, his electrifying ability to manipulate the English language. The film itself, however, is a mixed bag: poetic where it should be prosaic; diffuse where it should be focused.  My review after the jump:

Jeff Daniels, Piper Perabo, and Noah Segan Join LOOPER

by Jason Barr    Posted: January 21st, 2011 at 6:09 am

In a bit of early morning casting news, Variety is confirming that Jeff Daniels, Piper Perabo (USA’s Covert Affairs), and Noah Segan (The Brothers Bloom) have joined Rian Johnson’s (also of The Brothers Bloom) sci-fi/action film Looper.  The three join a cast that already includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, and Paul Dano.

While the details of their newly acquired roles are currently unspecified, we do know that Looper is set to go in front of cameras later this month and that Primer writer/director Shane Carruth is working on some of the film’s time-travel effects.  For those unaware, Looper is set in the near future and tells the story of an organized group of killers (known as “Loopers”) who go back in time, take out pre-determined targets, and then dispose of them as if they never existed.  The film, which I’m eagerly anticipating, is currently looking at a 2012 release.

Oscilloscope Sets HOWL, Starring James Franco, for September Release

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 22nd, 2010 at 11:39 am

Distributor Oscilloscope will release Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Allen Ginsberg film Howl in theaters and on Video-on-Demand on September 24^th.  The film, which stars James Franco as Ginsberg, centers on the poet’s 1957 public obscenity trial.  The flick, which also stars David Strathairn, Jon Hamm, and Mary-Louise Parker, opened this year’s Sundance Film Festival to mixed reviews.

Hit the jump to read the full press release.

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