Michelle Williams

2012 Oscar Nominations Announced; HUGO and THE ARTIST Lead the Pack

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 24th, 2012 at 6:05 am

The nominations for the 84th Annual Academy Awards have finally been unveiled. Many of the categories have fallen in line just as most have predicted (I fared alright with my predictions, but not great), with Hugo scoring 11 nods, followed closely by The Artist with 10. The biggest surprises are War Horse and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close getting in for Best Picture, the exclusion of The Adventures of Tintin from Best Animated Feature, and The Tree of Life nabbing Best Picture and Best Director nods (hooray!). On the snub side of things, despite landing the most precursor critics awards of any other actor in the race thus far, Albert Brooks was denied a Best Supporting Actor nod for his stellar work in Drive (boo). Additionally, Tilda Swinton was overlooked for giving the best performance of the year in We Need to Talk About Kevin, and AMPAS has no love for Michael Fassbender‘s haunting work in Shame.

There’s still plenty to be happy about, as Gary Oldman has his first ever Oscar Nomination (yes, that’s right) and Melissa McCarthy is a Best Supporting Actress nominee. Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominees. The 84th Academy Awards will be presented by Billy Crystal on February 26th.

2012 Golden Globe Winners Announced; THE ARTIST and THE DESCENDANTS Take Top Prizes

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 15th, 2012 at 8:20 pm

I’ve just spent the past three hours watching and live-blogging the 2012 Golden Globe Awards.  My brain feels mushy.  After the jump and presented without comment is a list of this year’s winners. If you don’t even want to hit the jump, The Artist and The Descendants won Best Comedy/Musical and Best Drama, respectively.  If you want to awards prognosticate, I’ll save you the trouble: both were nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.  Those nominations haven’t been announced yet, but they were nominated.  Trust me.  I’m a professional.

Also, feel free to sound off on the winners and losers.  Lord knows I’ve been doing it for the past three hours.

Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced; DRIVE, 50/50, and THE ARTIST Up for Top Prize

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 29th, 2011 at 9:15 am

The nominations for the 27th Annual Independent Spirit Awards were announced this morning with The Artist and Take Shelter each nabbing five nominations. In addition to The Artist and Take Shelter, Drive, 50/50, The Descendants, and Beginners will duke it out for the top prize. Absent from the Best Feature list is Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, though the film was recognized in Best Supporting Male (Corey Stoll) and Best Cinematography. Also of note, Elizabeth Olsen and John Hawkes landed nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Male for Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Ryan Gosling and Woody Harrelson were both singled out in Best Actor for Drive and Rampart respectively.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominations. Recognizing the best in independent film, the awards will be handed out on February 25th, the day before the Oscars.

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Review

by Bill Graham    Posted: November 25th, 2011 at 8:16 am

Sometimes a memoir has to be taken with a grain of salt. In My Week With Marilyn, a retelling of a young man who has the time of his life on and off-set with Marilyn Monroe, things can become a bit eye-rolling. How much actually happened manages to be less important. What is essential is a small glimpse into something we may already know but remains heartbreaking nonetheless: Marilyn was an imperfect creature trying to keep from being swallowed alive by her fame. Despite not answering much of the whys and remaining mostly fluff, director Simon Curtis gives Michelle Williams the daunting task of playing Monroe near the peak of her popularity and she nails it. You can look at stills as much as you want, but the moving image allows Williams to blend into the role and become something audiences can fall in love with all over again. Hit the jump for my full review.

New Images from SHAME, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, and Many More

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: November 16th, 2011 at 3:35 pm

With the holiday movie season upon us, a few new images from some of the upcoming Oscar contenders have been unveiled. We’ve got a new look at Michael Fassbender in the extremely well-received drama Shame. Fassbender plays a sex-addict opposite Carey Mulligan, and our own Matt Goldberg loved the flick. There’s also a new image of Rooney Mara from David Fincher’s highly anticipated adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, another look at Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, and an ominous image of Gary Oldman from the spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Additionally, we’ve got another look at Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn, and an image of Sandra Bullock and Thomas Horn in the adaptation of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

But that’s not all! We’ve also got new images from We Bought a Zoo, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Haywire, Underworld: Awakening, In the Land of Blood and Honey, New Year’s Eve, and One for the Money. Hit the jump to check them out.

Sarah Polley’s TAKE THIS WALTZ Picked up by Magnolia for Early Summer 2012 Release

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 17th, 2011 at 12:57 pm

It’s a sad truth that you can’t see everything you want at a major film festival and I was bummed that I missed Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz when I was at TIFF.  However, I rested easy in the knowledge that movie starring Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen would probably find distribution and now it has.  Magnolia has sent out a press release announcing their acquisition of the relationship drama and plan to run it through the festival circuit before releasing it into theaters in early summer 2012.

For those unfamiliar with the film, Williams plays a woman who’s married to a good-natured cookbook author (Rogen) but then she finds herself attracted to a handsome artist (Luke Kirby).  I really enjoyed Polley’s previous flim, Away from Her, and I’m glad I’ll be seeing Take This Waltz in the not-too-distant future.  Hit the jump for the full press release.

First Trailer for MY WEEK WITH MARILYN

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 5th, 2011 at 5:22 pm

The first trailer for My Week With Marilyn has gone online. Based on the memoirs of Lawrence Olivier’s assistant Colin Clark, the film details a week in the life of Marilyn Monroe as seen through the eyes of Clark. The trailer looks pretty great, and Michelle Williams looks to be going all out for the role of Monroe. It’s impressive to see her play the dichotomy of the public Marilyn and the private Marilyn, and Williams seems to be holding nothing back. I like the character-centric plot, and I’m interested to see where the overall arc of the film goes.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Kenneth Branagh, Dominic Cooper, Julia Ormond, Judi Dench, Emma Watson, and Eddie Redmayne. My Week With Marilyn opens on November 4th.

TIFF 2011: TAKE THIS WALTZ Review

by Phil Brown    Posted: September 11th, 2011 at 7:52 am

Take This Waltz is a tough film to take in. You wouldn’t guess it from the casual romantic tone and the star-heavy cast that features the likes of Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, and Sarah Silverman, but the film is intriguingly (even frustratingly) morally ambiguous. We’re given the standard rom-com set-up of a semi-content married girl who meets a tall dark stranger who she finds wildly attractive and appealing. Yet, hometown TIFF favorite writer/director Sarah Polly never makes it clear whether her protagonist should be sticking with her comfortable marriage or embarking on a new adventure. It’s nice to see a movie like this that makes you draw your own conclusions, but there’s a pretty big catch. You see, because it’s difficult to tell if the main character makes the right decision, it’s also difficult to tell if she’s even a character even worth liking. Ambiguity is nice, but walking out of a theater feeling like you despise a character who you just spent two hours with isn’t particularly satisfying. Hit the jump for more.

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.

First Synopsis for Sam Raimi’s OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Starring James Franco

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 26th, 2011 at 11:34 am

Principal photography has begun on Sam Raimi’s next film, Oz The Great and Powerful and now we have the first official synopsis for the film.  We now know that the eponymous’ wizard’s real name is Oscar Diggs.  Diggs is “a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics” who finds himself transported to Oz and drawn into a battle between the three witches Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams).  The film also stars Zach Braff as Diggs’ circus assistant, and Braff will also lend his vocal talents to one of the CGI creatures in the story — Finley, the winged monkey who accompanies the magician on his journey to Oz.  I’ve always said that the only thing better than a monkey sidekick is a flying monkey sidekick.

Hit the jump for the full synopsis and press release.  Oz The Great and Powerful is set to open on March 8, 2013.

BLUE VALENTINE Blu-ray Review

by Monika Bartyzel    Posted: June 6th, 2011 at 3:56 am

Not all romances end with rousing music and fairy tale happy endings: The Break-Up gave us the finite side of love; the Before Sunrise/Before Sunset franchise offered soulmates with bad timing; and that’s to say nothing of the doom that faced lovers like Romeo and Juliet. Yet on top of the decades and centuries of creative coupling, Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine finds new ground by unleashing the infrequently-visited aspects of romance as Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams meet, love, and leave. Hit the jump for my review of Blue Valentine on Blu-ray.

Sam Raimi’s OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Set for March 8, 2013

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 25th, 2011 at 9:37 am

Filming on Sam Raimi’s Oz, The Great and Powerful is scheduled to begin shooting this July but audiences won’t be seeing any flying monkeys for a while.  Deadline reports that Disney has set the film’s release date for March 8, 2013.  While it seems a little odd that the movie wouldn’t be a summer tentpole, it could provide Disney a boost in the spring.

The film stars James Franco as a charlatan circus magician in our world, but when he’s transported to Oz, he becomes recognized as a Wizard and finds himself embroiled in a battle between the land’s three witches: Theodora (Mila Kunis), Glinda (Michelle Williams), and Evanora (Rachel Weisz).  The only other film currently set for March 8, 2013 is Neill Blomkamp’s follow-up to District 9, the sci-fi flick Elysium starring Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Wagner Moura, and possibly William Fichtner.

Michelle Williams to Play Glinda in Sam Raimi’s OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 17th, 2011 at 3:23 pm

The triumvirate of witches in Sam Raimi’s Oz, The Great and Powerful is complete.  The film stars James Franco as the future-wizard of Oz, Mila Kunis as Theodora (Wicked Witch of the West), Rachel Weisz as Evanora (Wicked Witch of the East), and now Variety reports that Michelle Williams has been cast as Glinda, the Good Witch.  So it looks like Disney won their battle with Raimi who wanted Hilary Swank for the role, but Disney wanted Williams.

In this re-imagining/prequel to The Wizard of Oz, Franco is a snake-oil salesman who is transported to Oz and teams up with Glinda to fight her evil sisters in a power struggle for control of the magical land.  While Raimi obviously knows the script better than I do, I think Williams is talented actress who adds value to any film.  She tends to gravitate to serious indie fare so this is a nice change of pace for what is sure to be one of Disney’s 2012 tentpoles.  Williams will next be seen as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn and opposite Seth Rogen in Sarah Polley’s bittersweet comedy Take This Waltz.

Sam Raimi Fighting with Disney to Cast Hilary Swank in OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 22nd, 2011 at 3:27 pm

While he’s working on filling out the rest of his cast for Oz, the Great and Powerful, director Sam Raimi is having a little trouble getting Disney on the same page. James Franco is currently set to star as the Wizard in this prequel to 1939′s The Wizard of Oz, with Mila Kunis attached to play Theodora (the Wicked Witch of the West). Raimi wants Hilary Swank to join the cast as one of the elder witches in the film, but apparently Disney is none too keen on that casting choice. Vulture reports that the Mouse House is pushing Raimi to cast Michelle Williams in the role instead, but Raimi doesn’t seem eager to budge.

The report points out that the director ran into a similar problem on the first Spider-Man flick, when Sony wanted him to cast American Beauty star Wes Bentley as Peter Parker. Obviously Raimi won out on that film, but can he convince Disney otherwise this time? Hit the jump for more.

Trailer for MEEK’S CUTOFF Starring Michelle Williams

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 26th, 2011 at 11:10 am

Oscilloscope has released the first trailer for Meek’s Cutoff, an indie western set in 1845, the earliest days of the Oregon Trail.  Three families hire Stephen Meek (Bruce Greenwood) to lead them on a troubled journey over the Cascade Mountains.  Michelle Williams, Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano, Shirley Henderson, Neal Huff, Tommy Nelson, and Rod Rondeauxn star alongside Greenwood, a character actor I’m excited to see in a lead role.

The trailer effectively invokes a quiet, moody atmosphere.  I expect no less from director Kelly Reichardt (Wendy and Lucy).  Watch the trailer after the break.

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