Safety Not Guaranteed

Poster Roundup: WRECK-IT RALPH, THE HOST, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, HYSTERIA, and COSMOPOLIS

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: April 16th, 2012 at 11:38 am

We’ve got a few new posters to share with you today.  Briefly:

• Wreck-It Ralph – The teaser poster for Disney’s new animated film which takes place in the world of video games and centers on an 8-bit arcade villain voiced by John C. Reilly.
• The Host – The first poster for director Andrew Niccol’s adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s sci-fi novel The Host.  Saoirse Ronan stars as a young girl whose body has become host to an alien invader.
• Safety Not Guaranteed – A new poster for this indie based on a real-life classified ad calling for a time-travel companion.  Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, and Jake Johnson star.
• Hysteria – The US poster for this romantic comedy based on the invention of the vibrator.  The film stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, and Felicity Jones.
• Cosmopolis – The French poster for director David Cronenberg’s financial crisis-centered thriller starring Robert Pattinson.

Hit the jump to check out the posters and full synopses.

Trailer and Poster for SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED Starring Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 28th, 2012 at 12:46 pm

FilmDistrict has released a trailer and poster for Colin Trevorrow‘s indie comedy Safety Not Guaranteed.  The movie stars Aubrey Plaza as a magazine intern who goes undercover to investigate a man (Mark Duplass) who placed an ad looking for a time-traveling partner.  The movie was based on a real newspaper ad that was passed around the Internet in 2005.  I caught the film at Sundance and thought it was slight but still charming and funny.  The trailer goes a bit too far in revealing the plot, but it also shows that Plaza can absolutely kill in a lead role.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster.  The film also stars Jake Johnson and Karan Soni.  Safety Not Guaranteed opens June 8th.

Release Dates for SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, SINISTER, FUN SIZE, CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3D

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 27th, 2012 at 8:02 pm

New release dates, y’all:

• Safety Not Guaranteed – The Sundance hit sparked by a classified ad seeking a partner for time travel hits theaters on June 8.
  
• Sinister – The supernatural thriller starring Ethan Hawke has moved from August 24 to October 5
• Fun Size – The Halloween comedy led by Victoria Justice opens the Friday before the holiday on October 26
• Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away – James Cameron presents the acrobatics of the famed Montreal circus in glorious 3D on December 21
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D – Lionsgate pushed the horror reboot from October 5 to January 4, 2013

Hit the jump for more on each project.

SXSW 2012: SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, SLEEPWALK WITH ME, the Premiere of Todd Rohal’s NATURE CALLS, and More Added to Line-Up

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 15th, 2012 at 11:59 am

The 2012 SXSW Film Festival has announced some exciting additions to their already-stellar line-up.  The Sundance flicks Searching for Sugar Man, Chasing Ice, Monsieur Lazhar (my review), Safety Not Guaranteed (my review), Shut Up and Play the Hits, and Sleepwalk with Me will all be showing up at this year’s SXSW.  I heard nothing but good things about Chasing Ice and Sleepwalk with Me, and I’m glad I’ll have a second chance to see them.  SXSW 2012 will also have the world premiere of Steve Taylor‘s Blue Like Jazz, and Todd Rohal‘s Nature Calls starring Patton Oswalt, Johnny Knoxville, and Rob Riggle.  

Hit the jump for more on all of the new additions.  The 2012 SXSW Film Festival runs from March 9 – 17th.

Director Colin Trevorrow and Screenwriter Derek Connolly Talk SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED at Sundance

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 7th, 2012 at 6:05 pm

One of the many films that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director Colin Trevorrow‘s Safety Not Guaranteed.  Written by Derek Connolly, the film’s about a trio of magazine employees investigate a classified ad that seeks a partner for time travel. One employee develops feelings for the paranoid but compelling loner and tries to discover what he’s really up to.  It’s based on a real ad that was passed around the internet in 2005 and the movie stars Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson and Karan Soni.  Shortly after premiering, FilmDistrict bought the film, so you can look forward to seeing it at some point in the future.  For more on the film, you can read Matt’s review.

After seeing the movie, I got to sit down with Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly for an extended interview. We talked about premiering at Sundance, how they first met, casting, how they secured financing, filming multiple endings, using the brand new Sony F3 to shoot the film, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Mark Duplass Talks SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, Alex Kurtzman’s WELCOME TO PEOPLE, THE SKELETON TWINS, THE DO-DECA PENTATHLON at Sundance

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 4th, 2012 at 10:56 am

One of the many films that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director Colin Trevorrow‘s Safety Not Guaranteed.  Written by Derek Connolly, the film’s about a trio of magazine employees investigate a classified ad that seeks a partner for time travel. One employee develops feelings for the paranoid but compelling loner and tries to discover what he’s really up to.  It’s based on a real ad that was passed around the internet in 2005 and the movie stars Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson and Karan Soni.  Shortly after premiering, FilmDistrict bought the film, so you can look forward to seeing it at some point in the future.  For more on the film, you can read Matt’s review.

After seeing the movie, I got to sit down with Mark Duplass for an extended interview. We talked about being at Sundance, how he got involved in Safety Not Guaranteed and what it’s about, what it was like to watch the film for the first time with a big crowd at Sundance, and how the film changed during production.  In addition, since Duplass is involved in a number of other projects, we talked about the directorial debut of Alex Kurtzman (Welcome to People), The Skeleton Twins (Bill Hader and Anna Faris as twins), Jeff Who Lives at Home, The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, The League, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Aubrey Plaza Talks SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, THE TO-DO LIST (THE HAND JOB), PARKS AND REC, and More at Sundance 2012

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 3rd, 2012 at 8:25 am

One of the many films that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director Colin Trevorrow‘s Safety Not Guaranteed.  Written by Derek Connolly, the film’s about a trio of magazine employees investigate a classified ad that seeks a partner for time travel. One employee develops feelings for the paranoid but compelling loner and tries to discover what he’s really up to.  It’s based on a real ad that was passed around the internet in 2005 and the movie stars Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson and Karan Soni.  Shortly after premiering, FilmDistrict bought the film, so you can look forward to seeing it at some point in the future.  For more on the film, you can read Matt’s review.

After seeing the movie, I got to sit down with Aubrey Plaza for an extended interview. We talked about being at Sundance, karaoke, what’s the last video game she’s played (Batman: Arkham City and Braid), 3D gaming, how she got involved in Safety Not Guaranteed and what it’s about, and what it was like to watch the film for the first time with a big crowd at Sundance.  In addition, she talked about Parks and Recreation, working with Bill Murray on director Roman Coppola‘s A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, and director Maggie Carey‘s The To-Do List (aka The Hand Job), in which she plays a recent high school graduate intent on losing her virginity before going off to college.  She said filming some of it bordered on pornography.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Sundance 2012: Matt’s Review Scorecard and Wrap-Up

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 31st, 2012 at 12:39 pm

Like I did last year, I had a great time at the Sundance Film Festival.  It’s tough to complain about weather conditions or getting around when you have the privilege to watch and discover new movies all day.  Even better, plenty of Sundance 2012 films turned out to be pretty damn good.  For me, there weren’t any quite as excellent as Martha Marcy May Marlene or Project Nim from last year, but those movies set an incredibly high bar.  Many of my peers felt they saw something truly special with Beasts of the Southern Wild and I can understand the love even if it didn’t hit me with as much emotional impact.  Most of my peers also loved Liberal Arts and Sleepwalk With Me, and I’m sorry I missed those.  But all in all, the festival ran as smoothly as last year, the volunteers (especially those in the press tent) were awesome, and it’s always a joy to hang out with people from other movie websites.

Hit the jump for my festival scorecard where you can see an organized list of my ratings for the movies I saw (although I highly encourage you to read the full review rather than just glance at a letter).  While this is my wrap-up, Steve will be posting his Sundance interviews throughout the week so keep an eye out for those.

Jake Johnson Talks SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, NEW GIRL, 21 JUMP STREET, and More at Sundance 2012

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 30th, 2012 at 1:57 pm

One of the many films that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director Colin Trevorrow‘s Safety Not Guaranteed.  Written by Derek Connolly, the film’s about “a trio of magazine employees investigate a classified ad seeking a partner for time travel. One employee develops feelings for the paranoid but compelling loner and seeks to discover what he’s really up to.”  It’s based on a real ad that was passed around the internet in 2005 and it stars Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson and Karan Soni.  Shortly after premiering, FilmDistrict bought the film, so you can look forward to seeing it at some point in the future.  For more on the film, you can read Matt’s review.

After seeing the film, I got to sit down with Jake Johnson for an extended interview.  While Johnson has been working steadily over the past few years on TV and in the movies, with the success of FOX’s hit show New Girl (he plays one of Zooey Deschanel‘s roommates), his career has definitely taken a big leap forward.  During the interview we talked about making Safety Not Guaranteed and how he got cast, what’s coming up on New Girl (some of the roommates are going to start hooking up with each other), how Deschanel got him on Twitter, playing Jesus in A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas, 21 Jump Street (he plays the principal), and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Sundance 2012 Awards Winners Include BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, THE SURROGATE, SLEEPWALK WITH ME, and THE HOUSE I LIVE IN

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: January 28th, 2012 at 9:20 pm

If you have followed our Sundance coverage over the last week and a half, you know how massive the festival can feel from afar.  These are the movies that will fill arthouses over the next year, so perhaps the best place for those who could not make it to Park City to start is at the end, with the announcement of the awards.  In terms of the major awards, the Grand Jury Prizes went to  Beasts of the Southern Wild (Dramatic), The House I Live In (in the Documentary category), Violeta Went to Heaven (World Dramatic), and The Law in These Parts (World Documentary).  Beasts of the Southern Wild, the consensus critical darling, also won for cinematography and a producers’ award.  Thankfully Fox Searchlight made a deal to bring Beasts to a theater near you soon.

The Audience Awards went to The Surrogate (Dramatic), The Invisible War (Documentary), Valley of Saints (World Dramatic), and Searching for Sugar Man (World Documentary).  The cast of The Surrogates—led by John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, and William H. Macy—doubled up with the Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting.  Fox Searchlight also picked up The Surrogates.  Love that studio.  Hit the jump for the press release with the expansive list of award winners.

Sundance 2012: SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: January 26th, 2012 at 2:11 pm

Even without the magic of nostalgia, there’s a belief we can find love not by looking forward but by looking to our past.  The past has the love we were guaranteed, or at least the love we thought we could have if we hadn’t made mistakes.  The future only holds uncertainty and heartbreak.  Colin Trevorrow‘s Safety Not Guaranteed shows its characters indulging their fantasies to turn past love into present love.  Sadly, that’s about as deep as the film goes, but the film still works thanks to the charming performances, light humor, and a tinge of melancholy.

Sundance 2012: First Images from KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, ABOUT THE PINK SKY, THE LAST ELVIS

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: November 30th, 2011 at 5:58 pm

With the announcement of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in-competition line-up comes a few hundred new images from the movies.  After the jump you’ll find synopses and the first images for Keep the Lights On (starring Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, Julianne Nicholson), Safety Not Guaranteed (starring Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass), About the Pink Sky (starring Ai Ikeda), and The Last Elvis (starring John McInerny as an Elvis impersonator).

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 19–29th.

2012 Sundance Film Festival In-Competition Line-Up Announced

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 30th, 2011 at 1:35 pm

I had a blast at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and I can’t wait to go again next year.  Today, Sundance announced their In-Competition line-ups for 2012 and already I’m trying to plan out how I’m going to see all of them (which is impossible, but it’s nice to dream).  The U.S. Dramatic Competition features For Ellen, Nobody Walks, Safety Not Guaranteed, Smashed, and more.  There are also some interesting-sounding films in the U.S. Documentary Competition including Finding North, The Invisible War, and The Other Dream Team.

Hit the jump to check out the full press release, which includes the in-competition line-ups for U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, and World Cinema Documentary Competition.  The 2012 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 19 – 29th.

Casting Call: Penelope Cruz and Emile Hirsch Are TWICE BORN; Jeff Garlin and Mary Lynn Rajskub Join SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED; Three More to SKINNY DIP

by Jackson Cresswell    Posted: May 12th, 2011 at 2:43 pm

We have three bits of casting news to bring you way this afternoon. First up, writer/director Sergio Castellitto (perhaps best-known to American audiences for his role as Miraz in Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian) added a pair of A-list names to his latest project.  According to ScreenDaily, Penelope Cruz and Emile Hirsch have agreed to star in Venuto al Mondo aka Twice Born for our English-speaking readers.  The film, a drama based on a novel, tells the story of a single mother (probably played by Cruz) who brings her son to Saravejo, where his father died fighting in the Bosnian war years ago.  There’s no word yet on what role Hirsch will play, but expect it to be a major one.

Next, and on a more comedic note, Jeff Garlin (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Mary Lynn Rajskub, whose probably best-known for her role as Chloe on 24 have joined the growing cast of Safety Not Guaranteed, along with lesser-known actors Lynn Shelton, Karan Soni, and Jenica Bergere.  Safety not Guaranteed is based on a true story… well, a true classified ad and tells the story of three reporters investigating an ad seeking a partner for a time traveling mission.  According to the press release, one of the investigators(Aubrey Plaza) develops feelings for the “paranoid but compelling loner.”  Big Beach, the company behind Little Miss Sunshine is producing along with the Duplass Bros.

For our final piece of casting news, hit the jump to learn about Pam Grier, Michael Madsen, and Brigitte Nelson joining Skinny Dip.

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