The Conspirator

97 Original Scores Up for Oscar; DRIVE and ATTACK THE BLOCK Ruled Ineligible

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 23rd, 2011 at 12:04 pm

As the 84th Academy Awards move closer, we’re starting to get a better sense of how things will pan out. We recently shared the 39 songs that will contend for the Best Original Song category, and now the Academy has announced the 97 original scores eligible for the Best Original Score award. AMPAS is notoriously picky when it comes to eligibility in this category, and as we feared the scores for both Drive and Attack the Block have been deemed ineligible. Also disappointing is the ineligibility of Alexandre Desplat’s mesmerizing score for The Tree of Life.

While it’s upsetting to see some of the year’s best work side-lined, there’s plenty to be happy about. I was a huge fan of Howard Shore’s work in Hugo and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as The Chemical Brothers’ brilliant work in the criminally underseen Hanna. Hit the jump for the full list, as well as who I think will make the cut.

Weekend Box Office – RIO Breaks 2011′s Box Office Losing Streak with $40 Million Debut

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: April 17th, 2011 at 9:51 am

Woo-hoo.  Folks, it looks like 2011 has indeed soared to its first big weekend win in months on the wings of Fox’s Rio.  The 3D animated toon rose from the ashes of a lower than expected Friday figure to earn an estimated $40 million for the three day frame.  Unfortunately, there was not a lot of love left over for Wes Craven’s Scream 4 but, no matter!  The weekend should still end up ahead of last year by approximately 12%.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Rio	$40,000,000	$40
2	Scream	$19,300,000	$19.3
3	Hop	$11,160,000	$82.6
4	Soul Surfer	$7,400,000	$19.9
5	Hanna	$7,327,000	$23.3
6	Arthur	$6,940,000	$22.3
7	Insidious	$6,857,000	$35.9
8	Source Code	$6,300,000	$36.9
9	The Conspirator	$3,924,000	$3.9
10	Your Highness	$3,895,000	$15.9

Friday Box Office – RIO Flies to Number One with $10.2 Million; SCREAM 4 Second with $8.3 Million

by Nicole Pedersen    Posted: April 16th, 2011 at 9:33 am

Remember how box office watchers were counting on this weekend to become 2011’s very first big winner?  A frame whose combined grosses would finally top 2010’s?  With two high profile releases – Rio and Scream 4 – that seemed a reasonable conclusion and it still appears doable.  Unfortunately, Friday’s estimates suggest that it will not be the unqualified rout we expected considering that last April’s strongest contender was Kick-Ass.  Fox is reporting a $10.2 million opening for Rio from 3,826 locations (well over half of those in 3D).  That is not much above the $9.6 million debut of the year’s top opener Rango, which had no 3D price boost in its favor.  Projections originally put Rio above Rango’s weekend total but it now appears that the toon will end up well below that $38.1 figure.  Meanwhile Scream 4, which many believed would win Friday, pulled in an estimated $8.3 million from 3,305 locations.  That puts the sequel on track for a $22 million weekend – well below even the most conservative early projections.  Finally, three films are statistically tied for fourth place with Soul Surfer, Hanna and Arthur all estimated in the $2.1 million range for Friday while The Conspirator debuted at number ten with $1.7 million.  Details and analysis tomorrow.

	Title	Friday	Total
1	Rio	$10,200,000	$10.2
2	Scream 4	$8,300,000	$8.3
3	Hop	$2,300,00	$73.7
4	Soul Surfer	$2,125,000	$14.6
5	Hanna	$2,124,000	$18.1

THE CONSPIRATOR Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 15th, 2011 at 7:06 am

Robert Redford is an activist and that’s all well and good, but he’s awful at balancing his political viewpoints with storytelling.  His previous film, Lions for Lambs, was a pedantic, simpleminded bore.  With his latest film, The Conspirator, Redford at least has the courtesy to provide a story, but it may as well be prefaced with “Hi, I’m Robert Redford.  I’m going to give you an allegory for how we treat military detainees.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go back to my other job as worn leather.”  Despite solid performances and the promise of a complex narrative, Redford undermines his message of “Justice for All” by making the criminal a victim.

First Posters for ONE DAY and THE CONSPIRATOR

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 14th, 2011 at 8:40 pm

Focus Features recently moved One Day up to July 8, which I quickly marked on my calendar.  As directed by Lone Scherfig (An Education), Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess are sure to charm in this high-concept romance: two friends who meet on the night of their college graduation and proceed to meet exactly once each year on July 15 for the next two decades.  It sounds very Blue Valentine, and this washed-out One Day poster does not seem concerned with such comparison.

The Conspirator perhaps boasts an even greater pedigree: Robert Redford directs Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Evan Rachel Wood, Tom Wilkinson, and Kevin Kline in the tale of Mary Surratt, the woman who was charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  View the first posters for both One Day and The Conspirator after the jump.

Trailer for Robert Redford’s Lincoln Assassination Film THE CONSPIRATOR

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 26th, 2011 at 3:36 pm

With this being Sundance week and all, what better time than now to premiere the trailer for Robert Redford’s new film The Conspirator? (In case you live under a rock, Redford acquired the festival in 1985 and has been spearheading it ever since). Directed by Redford, the period film tells the story of Mary Surratt, the female who was charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the aftermath that followed her arrest.  The film boasts a wildly impressive cast including Robin Wright as Surratt, James McAvoy, Evan Rachel Wood, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline, Stephen Root, Justin Long, Danny Huston and Jonathan Groff. The film is set to be released this April. Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

BEAUTIFUL BOY, THE CONSPIRATOR, SUBMARINE, and INSIDIOUS Find Distributors at Toronto International Film Festival

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 15th, 2010 at 11:27 am

Film festivals are a great way to pick up distribution for your flick.  Buyers not only have a chance to see the movie, but they get to see it with an audience and gauge reaction.  Today, we have news of four films that played at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and now have distributors.

Hit the jump for news regarding the sales of Shawn Ku’s Beautiful Boy (starring Michael Sheen and Maria Bello), Robert Redford’s The Conspirator (starring James McAvoy and Robin Wright), the British coming-of-age drama Submarine, and James Wan’s Insidous (starring Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson).

Kevin Kline Exclusive Interview – THE EXTRA MAN Star On His Goal To “Stop Acting,” John Cleese’s Influence, Working With Muppets, and a Lot More

by Ron Messer    Posted: August 15th, 2010 at 2:06 pm

Kevin Kline is misunderstood.  His performances on stage and screen over the past four decades are so seamless that audiences often attribute his characters’ traits to him.  That is, of course, a tricky proposition that he observes with a healthy dose of humor.

Kline mused on the topic and several more in an interview leading up to the release of The Extra Man, which opened in several major markets this weekend as part of its continued national rollout.  Hit the jump for the audio and transcript, along with tales of his love for Ricky Gervais, why he’d never run for President and John Cleese’s humorous take on Kline’s performance in The Big Chill.

Kevin Kline Interview THE EXTRA MAN

by Jake Lasker    Posted: July 29th, 2010 at 1:07 pm

Last month I was invited to participate in a roundtable interview with Academy Award winning actor Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda) to discuss his upcoming film The Extra Man. Kline stars as an eccentric (and unsuccessful) playwright who rents the spare room in his New York City apartment out to an aspiring journalist (Paul Dano) who is new to the city. As they develop a relationship, Kline teaches Dano how to be an “extra man” – getting paid to accompany elderly widows to social events. Kline is hilarious in the role and was just as funny in person.

In our interview, Kline talked about how he became involved with the project, his notoriously bad driving, running into Jeremy Irons during shooting, public urination, working with his family, and his upcoming role in Robert Redford’s the Conspirator. To see what Kline had to say, continue reading. The Extra Man hits theaters this Friday, July 30.

Line-Up for 2010 Toronto International Film Festival Announced; Films Include NEVER LET ME GO, THE CONSPIRATOR, and BLACK SWAN

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: July 27th, 2010 at 10:09 am

Every year, the Toronto International Film Festival showcases some of the year’s most exciting and must-see movies, and 2010 isn’t going to be any different.  Fifty films showing at this year’s festival have been announced and I’m (unsurprisingly) bitter-as-hell that I’m not going to be there.  Films making their various premieres (World, North American, etc.) include Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, Robert Redford’s The Conspirator, Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go (image above), and Ben Affleck’s The Town.  While the line-up includes plenty of films that have already premiered at other festivals (including Sylvain Chomet’s The Illusionist, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Biutiful, Julian Schnabel’s Miral, and Stephen Frears’ Tamara Drewe), it will be the first time they’ll be showing up on our quaint little 9.5 million square mile-continent.

Hit the jump for a list of all 50 films.  The 2010 Toronto International Film Festival will run from September 9^th-19^th.

Toby Kebbell Video Interview THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE; Plus Updates on THE VETERAN and Redford’s THE CONSPIRATOR

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: July 11th, 2010 at 8:28 pm

While many of you might not recognize Toby Kebbell’s name, you’ve probably seen his work.  That’s because in Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla, Kebbell was amazing as Johnny Quid.  Also, Kebbell was great in Anton Corbijn’s Control as he played Rob Gretton and he was in Disney’s Prince of Persia as he played Garsiv.

At any rate, I was able to recently interview Kebbell as he’s in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (which opens this Wednesday) and during the interview we talked about being in two big summer movies, how does he prepare for his roles, he tells me some great stories about how he got ready for RocknRolla, plus he discussed The Veteran and Robert Redford’s The Conspirator, as he plays John Wilkes Booth.  Hit the jump to check it out:

New Images from Robert Redford’s THE CONSPIRATOR

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: April 28th, 2010 at 11:26 am

New images from Robert Redford’s The Conspirator have hit the net thanks to USA Today. The film centers on a reluctant attorney (played by James McAvoy) forced to defend Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), an accomplice in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, as her son was the only conspirator to escape the manhunt.  It also “follows the race to hunt down the small band of Confederate sympathizers who helped plot the attack.”

While the film was independently financed and doesn’t yet have a distributor, with the great cast (Evan Rachel Wood, Justin Long, Toby Kebbell) and Redford’s name, I’m sure this will get released.  Hit the jump to check out the new images:

Alexis Bledel Interview THE GOOD GUY

by Sara Wayland    Posted: February 19th, 2010 at 11:15 am

Alexis Bledel is an actress making a name for herself in both film and television. After starting out in community theater and then working as a model, her television debut was in the critically acclaimed and fan favorite series Gilmore Girls. She then went on to play one of the leads in both Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants films, and starred as the daughter of Michael Keaton and Jane Lynch in the comedy Post-Grad.

In her latest project, The Good Guy, the Texas native is playing an ambitious young woman in Manhattan, who is looking for a good job, good friends and a good guy to share her life with. During an interview at the film’s press day, Alexis spoke about developing the character of Beth. She also talked about her role in the upcoming historical drama The Conspirator, from director Robert Redford, and confirmed that there would be no more Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants films

Check out what she had to say after the jump:

A Fistful of News – 5 More Stories From Us to You

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 16th, 2009 at 11:15 pm

There’s always more to give and while we should all definitely be giving around this time of year*, we have five news stories than we didn’t have time to craft into a bigger article but still though they were worth a read.  After the jump you can find out what’s coming up on Parks and Recreation, where you can HBO’s John Adams on Blu-ray for less than $30, and Edgar Wright’s loving tribute to actor Edward Woodward who passed away today at the age of 79.

A Fistful of News – 10 Extra News Stories to Wind Down Your Week

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 13th, 2009 at 2:18 pm

It’s been a pretty crazy week for news here at Collider as Steve landed the first photos and full synopses from dozens of upcoming films.  If you haven’t seen them, you can check them out here, here, here, and here.  That was on top of all the good stuff we bring you on a regular basis.  But even with all the news we posted this week, there’s still more and while we didn’t have time to give these stories their own articles, we wanted to make sure you knew about some other cool stuff from the past few days.

Hit the jump to read about how James Franco’s General Hospital stint folds into a larger art project he’s doing, South Park taking their shot at James Cameron’s Avatar, Spider-Man finally arrested for being a menace, and more.

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