Patrick Fugit

Sneak Previews of Cameron Crowe’s WE BOUGHT A ZOO to Run over Thanksgiving Weekend

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 16th, 2011 at 12:52 pm

20th Century Fox will be giving sneak previews Cameron Crowe‘s family film We Bought a Zoo in over 800 theaters on November 26th to take advantage of Thanksgiving weekend.  The previews are well in advance of the film’s December 23rd release date, but Fox has a lot of confidence in the movie following reactions from test screenings in both major cities and the heartland.  The sneaks will give the movie a chance to build up buzz and possibly be a stronger contender during awards season, especially since it has to share its December 23rd weekend with The Adventures of Tintin, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, War Horse, The Darkest Hour, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

We Bought a Zoo stars Matt Damon as “a single dad who wants to give his family a new start and moves to a home that’s smack in the middle of a down-and-out zoo. Together, he and his two children try to restore the zoo to its former glory.”  The movie also stars Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Elle Fanning, and Patrick Fugit.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer. [Update: We've been sent the full press release, which is now included after the jump.]

First Trailer and Poster for WE BOUGHT A ZOO

by Jason Barr    Posted: September 14th, 2011 at 10:53 am

20th Century Fox has released the first trailer and poster for Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo.  Based on the memoir by Benjamin Mee, the film tells the story of a man who decides to buy and run a zoo with his family following the death of his wife. The cast includes Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous), Elle Fanning (Somewhere), Thomas Haden Church, J.B. Smoove (Date Night) and John Michael Higgins (Yes Man).

The trailer starts off strong enough but right about the time a Damon voiceover explains “You don’t need any sort of special knowledge to run a zoo, just a lot of heart” it loses me. I’m no expert, but I’d like to think running a zoo does require some sort of special knowledge. On the bright side, the film looks to have plenty of heartwarming moments and Church’s work seems to be as strong as ever. We Bought a Zoo opens December 23.  Check out the trailer and poster after the jump.

Wendell Pierce to Star in Biopic B.B. KING AND I; Patrick Fugit Co-Stars

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: May 18th, 2011 at 9:19 pm

When Wendell Pierce was cast as a journeyman jazz musician in Treme, he immediately started taking trombone lessons.  As Pierce told The Grio, “I didn’t want to look like an actor who knows absolutely nothing about music.”  I’ll be Pierce is thumbing through his phone book for a guitar teacher as we speak, because the actor has just signed on to play B.B. King in the biopic B.B. King and I.  Michael Zanetis co-wrote the screenplay based on his experience as a drummer who travels from the Heartland to Hollywood to pursue his musical dreams.  Zanetis met King at a 1980 concert and struck up a lifelong friendship.  Patrick Fugit (Cirque du Freak) will play the fictional Zanetis.  Michael Schroder (Man in the Chair) is on board to direct.

King Size Film has scheduled the independent production to begin September 1 with a Spring 2012 release in mind.  More after the jump:

Cameron Crowe Tweets First Images from WE BOUGHT A ZOO

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 3rd, 2011 at 3:40 pm

Here’s something I never thought I’d say: Cameron Crowe is on twitter. The writer/director now has a twitter account, and today released the first images from his new film We Bought a Zoo. Based on the memoir by Benjamin Mee, the film tells the story of a man who decides to buy and run a zoo with his family following the death of his wife. The cast includes Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous), Elle Fanning (Somewhere), J.B. Smoove (Date Night) and John Michael Higgins (Yes Man).

The images give us our first look at Johansson and Fugit, as well as a nice snapshot of Damon’s character and his family (complete with his wife, played by Stephanie Szostak). We got our first peek at Damon in character back in January via some rather uninteresting set photos. Crowe is simultaneously releasing his Elton John/Leon Russell documentary, tweaking his Pearl Jam documentary Pearl Jam 20, and starting post-production on Zoo. Hit the jump to check out the images. We Bought a Zoo hits theaters December 23^rd.

Teaser Trailer for CINEMA VERITE Starring Tim Robbins, Diane Lane, and James Gandolfini

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 16th, 2011 at 8:32 pm

HBO has dominated the TV movie for ages.  The network has won the last 7 Emmys for Outstanding Made for TV Movie, not to mention 16 of the last 19.  But it’s not the sexiest format, so HBO’s efforts do a much better job at boosting the Emmy total than my actual interest in the network, no matter how solid Temple Grandin was.

Yet something about Cinema Verite stands out.  The cast is teriffic, featuring Diane Lane, Tim Robbins, James Gandolfini, Patrick Fugit — but that’s not it.  HBO telepics always have great casts.  I’m drawn in by the story, a look behind the scenes of the 1973 documentary An American Family, which chronicled the lives of the Loud family and effectively birthed the reality TV genre.  The first teaser trailer, which makes excellent use of “California Dreamin’” by The Mamas & the Papas, does not disappoint.  Watch it after the jump.

Patrick Fugit and Elle Fanning Join Matt Damon and Scarlet Johansson in WE BOUGHT A ZOO

by Jeff Ames    Posted: November 9th, 2010 at 5:27 pm

With the principals in place, Cameron Crowe and 20th Century Fox are now turning their attention to supporting roles for We Bought a Zoo.  Patrick Fugit (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant) and Elle Fanning (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) have been brought on to star alongside Matt Damon, Thomas Hayden Church, and Scarlett Johansson, who came aboard last week after hefty negotiations with the studio.

Fugit’s role is under wraps, but Fanning will play an underage minor who works at the zoo and becomes involved with Damon’s onscreen son, Dylan; according to Deadline, Colin Ford (Push) is circling the role of Dylan. Fugit previously worked with Crowe on the director’s semi-autobiographic Almost Famous, where he played Crowe’s onscreen persona. He is currently filming Cinema Verite with Diane Lane and Tim Robbins, set for a 2012 release. Along with Zoo, Fanning is also starring in JJ Abram’s Super 8 and Francis Ford Coppola’s Twixt Now and Sunrise (both due out next year). She will next be seen in The Nutcracker 3D set for release November 24.

8 Movie Clips from CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE’S ASSISTANT

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: October 2nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm

Opening October 23rd is “Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant”. The movie is helmed by Paul Weitz and it’s his adaptation of “The Saga of Darren Shan”, a very popular book series by Darren Shan. Since the movie couldn’t combine all twelve books, they’ve taken the first three and used that as the story. Obviously if the film is successful, they’ll use the rest of the series to make more movies. Anyway, Universal has given us 8 clips from the film and a featurette called “A Look Inside” and they’re after the jump. I’ve also posted the synopsis for those not familiar with the books.

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