For his directorial debut, Richard Ayoade chose to adapt the coming-of-age novel, Submarine by Joe Dunthorne. With his deft application of French New Wave techniques, a spot-on performance by Craig Roberts and original music by Alex Turner, the front man for “The Arctic Monkeys,” Ayoade has given us an endearingly quirky film. Submarine follows 15-year-old Oliver Tate (Roberts) as he makes plans to lose his virginity to his new girlfriend while helping his parents rekindle their romance and attempting not to be dragged underwater by the overwhelming realities of growing up. You can read Matt Goldberg’s review here and see all our previous coverage here. Hit the jump for my review of the Submarine Blu-ray.

We have a couple of casting bits to bring you tonight. First up, The A-Team‘s Gerald McRaney is in negotiations to join Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming western Django Unchained. If the deal goes through, McRaney (who’ll always be Major Dad to me) will become part of a cast that already includes Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz and Kevin Costner. Variety scooped the news of McRaney’s negotiations, while stopping short of divulging any details regarding his potential role. For those unaware, Django Unchained tells the story of a freed slave (Foxx) who undergoes training with a German bounty hunter (Waltz) in preparation of saving his wife from their evil owner (DiCaprio). The film is scheduled to begin shooting in November in time for its scheduled December 25th, 2012 release.

Next up, Richard Ayoade (writer/director Submarine) has joined the cast of director Akiva Schaffer’s (Hot Rod) comedy Neighborhood Watch. Ayoade will star alongside Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Rosemarie DeWitt and Nicholas Braun in the pic which follows a group of neighbors who uncover a conspiracy in the process of “crimestopping.” Although they don’t offer any details regarding Ayoade’s role, Variety reports that Chris Tucker was also being eyed for the part at one point. Neighborhood Watch hits theaters on July 27th, 2012.

[This review is a reprint of my review that ran during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival]

Richard Ayoade’s Submarine is like an indie version of last year’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.  Both movies are coming-of-age stories that center on a lead character who views his world through the lens of his interests.  But whereas Scott sees the world in shades of videogames and pop culture, Submarine’s eccentric protagonist, 15-year-old Oliver Tate, brings a French New Wave and erudite nature to his world view.  The film wisely grounds its lead character by having him grapple with simple but relatable problems: he doesn’t know how to be a good boyfriend and his parents’ marriage is disintegrating due in part to his mom’s old flame moving in next door.  Ayoade brings an enchanting and delightful visual style to his debut feature and compliments it with an impressive score and strong performances.  While Submarine may not break any new ground or leave your head spinning, it’s a grand announcement that Ayoade is a director you’ll need to keep on your radar.

With writer-director Richard Ayoade’s great coming-of-age film, Submarine, opening this weekend, I was recently able to interview him here in Los Angeles.  For those unfamiliar with the movie, here’s part of Matt’s review:

Richard Ayoade’s Submarine is like an indie version of last year’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.  Both movies are coming-of-age stories that center on a lead character who views his world through the lens of his interests.  But whereas Scott sees the world in shades of videogames and pop culture, Submarine’s eccentric protagonist, 15-year-old Oliver Tate, brings a French New Wave and erudite nature to his world view.  The film wisely grounds its lead character by having him grapple with simple but relatable problems: he doesn’t know how to be a good boyfriend and his parents’ marriage is disintegrating due in part to his mom’s old flame moving in next door.  Ayoade brings an enchanting and delightful visual style to his debut feature and compliments it with an impressive score and strong performances.

I completely agree with Matt as Submarine is an impressive debut and I can’t wait to see what Ayoade does next.  During the interview we talked about the look and feel of the film, what was it like working with the young cast, how much was planned in advance and how much does he find on set.  In addition,  he also talked about directing an episode of Community, making The IT Crowd for NBC, and what’s he working on now.  Hit the jump to watch.

The Weinstein Company has released a new poster for Richard Ayoade’s delightful coming-of-age film Submarine.  The story centers on young Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) as he deals with trying to get a girlfriend and coping with his parents’ loveless marriage.  The new poster is almost identical to the one TWC previously released but this time it wants you to make sure that Ben Stiller is presenting it and that some critics liked it.  TWC has also released a tongue-in-cheek “anti-bullying” guide even though bullying really only factors into the first act of the film.

Hit the jump to check out the poster, click here to read my review of the film from Sundance, and click here to see the website.  The film also stars Yasmin Page, Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine, and Sally Hawkins.  Submarine opens June 3rd.

The domestic trailer for Richard Ayoade’s Submarine has gone online.  It’s not a bad trailer, but it could do a better job of playing up the film’s humor and warmth.  But instead of conveying the movie’s charm, the trailer makes us patiently await the criticism from advocacy groups deriding the use of a character saying that another character looks “mentally retarded”.  The faults of this latest trailer aside, I enjoyed the film when I saw it at Sundance and I strongly encourage you to check it out.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Submarine stars Craig Roberts, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor, Sally Hawkins, and Yasmin Paige.  The film opens June 3rd.

The first trailer for Submarine has gone online.  I caught the film at Sundance and thought it was delightful debut for writer-director Richard Ayoade.  While the trailer presents the film as slightly twee and reminiscent of Wes Anderson, it still does a good job of selling the film’s humor without spoiling too many of the jokes.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Submarine stars Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor, Sally Hawkins, Craig Roberts, and Yasmin Paige.  The film opens in the UK on March 18th.  There’s currently no release date set for the U.S. but The Weinstein Company will handle North American distribution.

Richard Ayoade’s Submarine is like an indie version of last year’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.  Both movies are coming-of-age stories that center on a lead character who views his world through the lens of his interests.  But whereas Scott sees the world in shades of videogames and pop culture, Submarine’s eccentric protagonist, 15-year-old Oliver Tate, brings a French New Wave and erudite nature to his world view.  The film wisely grounds its lead character by having him grapple with simple but relatable problems: he doesn’t know how to be a good boyfriend and his parents’ marriage is disintegrating due in part to his mom’s old flame moving in next door.  Ayoade brings an enchanting and delightful visual style to his debut feature and compliments it with an impressive score and strong performances.  While Submarine may not break any new ground or leave your head spinning, it’s a grand announcement that Ayoade is a director you’ll need to keep on your radar.