Indie actress Greta Gerwig gives an engaging performance in the funny and charming dramatic comedy, Frances Ha, which she co-wrote with director, Noah Baumbach.  Gerwig plays an apprentice dancer in New York who aspires to become a regular member of her modern dance company.  Living her life with joy, optimism and self-delusion, she throws herself headlong into her dreams even as she struggles with friendship, love, ambition, and frequent setbacks.  Opening in theaters on May 17^th, the film is shot in black and white and also features Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver, Michael Zegen and Patrick Heusinger.

I recently landed an exclusive interview with Gerwig who talked to me about writing and starring in her second film with Baumbach, their effortless creative collaboration, what inspired her quirky character, how they auditioned all the roles to find a perfect cast of New York’s best actors, the immersive directing process, and the excitement of shooting on location on the streets of New York.  She also revealed what she has coming up next: a film with director Mia Hansen-Love about the 90’s French club music scene, plans to re-team with Baumbach on a new film in New York, and their DreamWorks Animation project.

The first trailer for director Noah Baumbach’s (The Squid and the Whale) upcoming comedy Frances Ha has been released online.  The film is described as “a modern comic fable” and stars Greta Gerwig as the titular character.  A straight plot is unclear, but the film looks to follow the exploits of Frances as she meanders her way through late 20s irresponsibility, juggling friendships, love, and everything in between while living in New York City.  I adore the black and white aesthetic and the tone that this trailer conveys (Gerwig appears to be unendingly charming), so consider my hopes for this one high.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and click here to read our review of the film from TIFF.  Written by Baumbach and Gerwig, the film also stars Mickey Summer, Adam Driver, Michael Zegen, and Patrick Heusinger.  Frances Ha opens on May 17th.

Even though his films are most easily classified as comedies, you rarely feel good coming out of project by writer/director Noah Baumbach. That’s not a bad thing as his caustic wit and insightful observations about terrible, self-obsessed people have lead to some great films like The Squid And The Whale. However, his latest feature is a little different. Teaming up with mumblecore darling Greta Gerwig following their collaboration on the underappreciated Greenberg, Baumbach has surprisingly delivered his most warm and sweet movie to date in Frances Ha. After being produced almost in secret, the film premiered at TIFF to a far more positive reception than he has ever received before. Hit the jump for additional appreciation for the appropriately frivolous and insightful ode to late 20s irresponsibility.

Nine new images from writer/director Woody Allen’s new film To Rome With Love have been released.  The pic is comprised of four separate vignettes and “tells the story of a number of people in Italy—some American, some Italian, some residents, some visitors—and the romances and adventures and predicaments they get into.”  Allen stars alongside an impressive cast that includes Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penelope Cruz, Judy Davis, Alison Pill, and Greta Gerwig.

In related news, director Bob Weide’s must-see Woody Allen documentary is now available on Netflix Instant Watch.  I can’t recommend the film enough.  Whether you’re a Woody die-hard or just a casual fan, the film is incredibly entertaining and wildly engrossing as it takes an intimate look at Allen’s life and filmography complete with insightful thoughts from the man himself.  Do yourself a favor and carve out a couple hours this weekend to give it a whirl.  Hit the jump to check out the To Rome With Love images.  The film is in select theaters starting today.

Greta Gerwig brings an unconventional beauty, bravura and vulnerability to the role of Lola, the unconventional heroine in Lola Versus. The film follows Lola through a year full of humor and heartbreak as she reevaluates a lifetime’s worth of aspirations and plans and adjusts to her new life as a single woman in the city. Gerwig makes the role hers and holds the audience’s sympathy through even the most difficult moments as she becomes an inescapable version of the character that has so many flaws.

At the press day for Lola Versus, we sat down at a roundtable interview with Gerwig to talk about what attracted her to the challenging role. She told us why she likes movies about women behaving badly, how at some point you’ve got to stop looking for Prince Charming and deal with fixing yourself first, and why Noam Chomsky crossed with Bill Murray is her ideal kind of guy. She also discussed what it was like shooting on location in New York City, how she learned to approach acting like a fencing match, what it was like working with Woody Allen on To Rome With Love in Italy, and how she hopes to direct something she’s written next year.  Hit the jump for the interview.

I have a tendency to write a little too breathlessly about projects in development at HBO.  So it is important for me to learn that like every other network, HBO passes on some series, no matter how great the talent attached.  Variety reports the network passed on The Corrections, the adaptation of the bestselling Jonathan Franzen book about “the troubles of a Midwestern couple and their three adult children as they trace their lives from the mid-20th century to ‘one last Christmas’ together near the turn of the millennium.”  Writer/director Noah Baumbach (Greenberg) had assembled a stellar cast in Ewan McGregor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rhys Ifans, Dianne Wiest, Chris Cooper, and Greta Gerwig.  McGregor, a man of taste and distinction, praised the scripts by Baumbach and Franzen, saying the “lovely writing” convinced him to spend four months of each of the next four years exploring this character.  They shot the pilot in February, but alas, the pieces apparently did not come together in a way that met the HBO standard.  For more on what we’re missing out on, hit the jump for the full book synopsis.

Opening this weekend is writer-director Whit Stillman‘s (Metropolitan, Barcelona, The Last Days of Disco) first movie in thirteen years: Damsels in Distress.  Filled with the unique characters and dialogue that populate all of his works, Stillman’s latest film is about a group of college coeds (Greta Gerwig, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Carrie MacLemore, Adam Brody, and Analeigh Tipton) whose friendship is threatened by a series of romances, “including slick Charlie (Brody), dreamboat Xavier (Hugo Becker), the mad frat-pack of Frank (Ryan Metcalf), and Thor (Billy Magnussen) — who threaten their friendship and sanity.”  For more on the film, here’s the trailer.

At the recent Los Angeles press day, I got to speak with Stillman and Gerwig. We talked about the dialogue, favorite movies and actors, karaoke, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

The trailer for Lola Versus has gone online.  The movie stars Greta Gerwig as a young woman who gets dumped just before her wedding, and who must then struggle with her newly single life.  Based on this trailer, your enjoyment of Lola Versus will vary based on how much you’ve enjoyed Gerwig work in the past.  The jokes don’t seem particularly strong (there’s a My Best Friend’s Wedding reference), but I tend to like Gerwig even though she’s never blown me away in a movie.  Hopefully, Lola Versus will be the film that does it.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer along with the new poster.  The film also stars Zoe Lister-Jones, Joel Kinnaman, Hamish Linklater, Debra Winger, and Bill Pullman.  Lola Versus June 8th.

The first trailer for Woody Allen’s To Rome with Love has gone online.  Per the synopsis: “The film is comprised of four separate vignettes and tells the story of a number of people in Italy—some American, some Italian, some residents, some visitors—and the romances and adventures and predicaments they get into.”  The vignette style has its advantages and disadvantages, and I can already tell from the trailer that there will most likely be more than a few stories that could test my patience.  Nevertheless, Allen himself is a standout in this trailer, as is the story involving Jesse Eisenberg, Alec Baldwin and Ellen Page.  The same can’t be said for Penelope Cruz or Robert Benigni‘s stories, both of which veer towards the farcical.  Those looking for a Rome take on Midnight in Paris will be sorely disappointed, as To Rome with Love looks to be much more of a straightforward comedy.  I’m a big fan of Allen’s, so I’m really hoping that his vignette pic delivers.  He’s got an impeccable cast to work with, so fingers crossed.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars  Judy Davis, Alison Pill, and Greta Gerwig.  To Rome with Love opens on June 22nd.

Earlier today we learned that Woody Allen’s latest film, Nero Fiddled, had been retitled To Rome With Love. Now the first images from the Rome-set pic have gone online. The film is comprised of four separate vignettes and tells the story of a number of people in Italy—some American, some Italian, some residents, some visitors—and the romances and adventures and predicaments they get into. I loved the hell out of Midnight in Paris and Allen taking a vignette approach to Rome is promising, so I’m really looking forward to the pic. Not to mention the stellar cast that includes Allen himself, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penelope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Alison Pill, Greta Gerwig and Ellen Page.

After the jump you’ll find the first images from the film along with a full cast and soundtrack listing. To Rome With Love opens on June 22nd.

I believe there is an uncanny valley in portraying the young and erudite.  I want to see witty movies about the UHB, but only a select few—led by Woody Allen—can write the dialogue without it seeming so stilted.  Whit Stillman is one of the masters.  It’s not that the banter isn’t stiff, rather that is part of the point.  And it helps when you have stars like Greta Gerwig, Adam Brody, and Analeigh Tipton voicing the characters as Stillman does in his latest, Damsels in Distress.  Gerwig, Tipton, Megalyn Echikunwoke, and Carrie MacLemore star as a group of coeds whose friendship is threatened by a series of romances, “including smooth Charlie (Brody), dreamboat Xavier (Hugo Becker), the mad frat-pack of Frank (Ryan Metcalf), and Thor (Billy Magnussen).”  Damsels in Distress opens in limited release on April 6. Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

Today, we’re proud to premiere the poster for Whit Stillman‘s Damsels in Distress.  The film centers on a group of women in college whose friendship is strained when they become romantically entangled with a series of men.  Damsels is Stillman’s first film since 1998′s The Last Days of Disco, and I’m bummed that a last-minute schedule change at the Toronto International Film Festival caused me to miss it.  Thankfully, Steve said it was great and the film is set to hit theaters this spring where I’ll be sure to catch it.

Hit the jump to check out the poster and here’s Steve’s exclusive interview with Stillman on the film.  The film stars Greta Gerwig, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Carrie MacLemore, Analeigh Tipton, Hugo Becker, Ryan Metcalf, Billy Magnussen, and Adam Brody.  Damsels in Distress opens in limited release on April 6th.

A curious little website has popped up announcing a new documentary produced by Keanu Reeves that tackles one of the foremost issues facing filmmakers today: the advent of digital filmmaking. Entitled Side by Side, the documentary takes an in-depth look at the issue of film vs. digital, and “examines all aspects of filmmaking – from capture, to edit, to visual effects, to color correction, to distribution to archive.” Through interviews with numerous well-respected masters of the medium, Side by Side “explores what has been gained, what is lost and what the future might bring.” Take this sample quote from Christopher Nolan:

“No credible source really has been claiming to have invented something that is aesthetically superior to film at this point.”

The documentary will feature Reeves interviewing filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Lana and Andy Wachowski, George Lucas, James Cameron, Steven Soderbergh, and many more. Hit the jump for more details.

Damsels in Distress (starring Greta Gerwig and Adam Brody), Goon (starring Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, and Liev Schreiber), Page Eight (starring Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, and Ralph Fiennes), and Violet & Daisy (starring Saoirse Ronan, Alexis Bledel, and James Gandolfini) are all playing at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.  We have images for these films.  We think you’d like to see them.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8 – 18th.

Two-time Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Rose Byrne (FX’s Damages) has agreed to take on a role originally planned for Greta Gerwig in director Derek Cianfrance’s (Blue Valentine) crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines. Although Gerwig had never officially signed onto the film, we reported back in June that the actress was in talks to join. Today, Vulture is reporting that Byrne has officially taken over the part as a result of scheduling conflicts that arose with Gerwig’s film promotion commitments.

For those unfamiliar with the project, The Place Beyond the Pines also stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, and Ben Mendelsohn. The pic centers on a showdown between a cop turned politician (Cooper) and a biker/bank robber (Gosling) and is currently shooting in Schenectady. Per the report, Byrne will play the role of Cooper’s wife. The actress most recently appeared in hits such as X-Men: First Class and Bridesmaids. As for Gerwig, she is currently filming Woody Allen’s The Bop Decameron in Rome alongside Alec Baldwin and Jesse Eisenberg.