[This is a re-post of my review from the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.  Hyde Park on Hudson opens today in limited release.]

Hyde Park on Hudson is two stories: one is a bizarre, deeply misguided “love story” about a mistress; the other is a charming fish-out-of-water story set on a historical stage. Blended together, they make a film that’s unintentionally funny in its brazen schizophrenia where the plotlines overlap in terms of setting and nothing else. Director Roger Michell doesn’t seem to notice how different these stories are, and instead of choosing the superior one, his vacillation makes the picture a captivating train wreck where I couldn’t help but wonder if Michell was being subversively hilarious. How else do you explain a scene featuring cinema’s most romantic handjob?

Opening this weekend, in limited release, is director Roger Michell’s Hyde Park on Hudson.  The film stars Bill Murray as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and centers on a weekend in 1939 which marked the first ever visit to America by a British monarchy when King George VI (Samuel West)  and Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Coleman) visited FDR’s upstate New York cottage.  The monarchs’ concerns over German aggression must compete with Roosevelt’s wife (Olivia Williams), mother and cousin Daisy (Laura Linney), who are all vying for attention

During the press day I got to speak with Linney.  We talked about how she got involved in the project, what it was like working with Bill Murray, whether playing a real person made her more nervous, how she prepared for the role, and more.  In addition, towards the end of the interview I brought up Love Actually (one of my favorite holiday movies).  Hit the jump to watch.

WikiLeaks is a fascinating entity and one that could only exist in our modern technological landscape.  Furthermore, there’s the controversial figure of Julian Assange at the center.  As we previously reported, DreamWorks is planning to use two books as the basis for a WikiLeaks/Julian Assange film: Daniel Domscheit-Berg’s book Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange At The World’s Most Dangerous Website, and WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy by The Guardian reporters David Leigh and Luke Harding.  Benedict Cumberbatch will play Assange, and James McAvoy is circling the role of Domscheit-Berg.  Today, The Wrap reports that yet another talented actor, Laura Linney, is in talks to the join the project.  However, there are currently no details on the part she would play.

Linney will next be seen in Hyde Park on Hudson, which opens on December 7th.  Click here for my review.

Three new clips have gone online for director Roger Michell’s Hyde Park on Hudson.  Starring Bill Murray as Franklin D. Roosevelt, the film centers on a visit of England’s King George VI (Samuel West) and Queen Elizabeth (Olivia Coleman) to Roosevelt’s upstate New York home, Hyde Park on Hudson.  The monarchs’ concerns over German aggression must compete with Roosevelt’s wife, mother and mistress who are all vying for attention.  The following clips do a nice job at establishing the relationships between the various parties.  You can read Matt’s review of the film here.

Hyde Park on Hudson opens domestically on December 7th.  Hit the jump to view the new clips.

The film The Details, directed by Jacob Aaron Estes, stars Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Banks as the familiar unhappy suburban couple with a raccoon problem. When Maguire has a need to win over his “wack-a-doodle” neighbor Lila (Laura Linney) his life is thrown upside down in an unpredictable and almost incomprehensible way. The journey of the characters in the film meanders through a series of connected but random events that question the values of truth and integrity and examines to what lengths good people will go to protect the ones they love. The film also features Ray Liotta, Kerry Washington and Dennis Haysbert. 

At the New York press day, I was able to speak with one of it’s stars, Laura Linney, and get her personal insight into the dark comedy. We talked about her experience on set, the development of her crazy character and she gave me some personal anecdotes about other projects she was involved in, including working with Bill Murray in Hyde Park on Hudson. Click after the jump to watch.

[This a re-post of my review from the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.  The Details opens today in limited release.]

The Details is a darkly comic tale that can never quite seem to get a handle on its tone. The film plays with notions of fate but only a fate that will deal out punishment and retribution no matter how much good you do or if you even receive a kindness. That’s not a problem for a black comedy, but The Details grinds to a halt as its main character receives valuable life lessons or as he heads into another predictable comic set-up. Director Jacob Aaron Estes’ best attempt to tie it all together is with an insufferable Danny Elfman-esque score. Stars Tobey Maguire and Laura Linney do a great job handling the comedy, but even their scenes eventually feel repetitive. The Details has a lot to offer, most notably frustration.

 We have the pleasure of debuting an exclusive alternative poster for writer/director Jacob Aaron Estes‘ The Details.  A darkly comic movie, The Details stars Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man) as Jeff, a married man who notices a family of raccoons infesting his yard, a discovery which spirals into a chain reaction of tension, infidelity and murder. The film was acquired by The Weinstein Company at Sundance 2011 and was reviewed there by our own Matt Goldberg.

The Details, also starring Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert and Kerry Washington, is now available on VOD and opens theatrically November 2nd.  Hit the jump to check out the new alternative poster. 

The first trailer for The Details has been released.  The film stars Tobey Maguire as a married, philandering man who makes a series of very bad decisions and suffers through the repercussions.  The pic actually debuted at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival where it was picked up by The Weinstein Company, but the fact that they’ve held on to it this long isn’t exactly a good sign.  The trailer is rather strange, and it looks like one of those off-kilter dark comedies that either really works or really doesn’t (you can read Matt’s mixed review right here).  Given the significant delay, I’m betting it’s the latter.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, and Ray Liotta.  The Details will be available VOD on October 5th followed by a theatrical release on November 2nd.

Hyde Park on Hudson is two stories: one is a bizarre, deeply misguided “love story” about a mistress; the other is a charming fish-out-of-water story set on a historical stage.  Blended together, they make a film that’s unintentionally funny in its brazen schizophrenia where the plotlines overlap in terms of setting and nothing else.  Director Roger Michell doesn’t seem to notice how different these stories are, and instead of choosing the superior one, his vacillation makes the picture a captivating train wreck where I couldn’t help but wonder if Michell was being subversively hilarious.  How else do you explain a scene featuring cinema’s most romantic handjob?

The first trailer for the historical drama Hyde Park on the Hudson has gone online.  The film stars Bill Murray as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and centers on a weekend in 1939 which marked the first ever visit to America by a British monarchy when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited FDR’s upstate New York cottage.  Roosevelt also had an affair with his cousin, Daisy, during the same weekend.  The trailer basically plays like a funnier version of Downton Abbey, with a great deal of heart thrown in towards the end.  Lest you think this is another droll, period drama without a sense of humor, Murray is splendidly fun as Roosevelt.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill), the film also stars Laura Linney, Olivia Williams, Samuel West, Olivia Colman, Elizabeth Marvel, Elizabeth Wilson, and Eleanor Bron. Focus Features will release Hyde Park on the Hudson on December 7th.

Focus Features has released a batch of new images from the historical drama Hyde Park on the Hudson. The film stars Bill Murray as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and centers on Roosevelt’s affair with his cousin, Daisy, during a weekend in 1939 which marked the first ever visit to America by a British monarchy when King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited FDR’s upstate New York cottage. Olivia Williams plays FDR’s wife Eleanor while Laura Linney plays Daisy. Murray looks fantastic as FDR and I can’t wait to see his take on our nation’s 32nd president. Roger Michell (Notting Hill) directs.

Hit the jump to check out the images. The film also stars Samuel West, Olivia Colman, Elizabeth Marvel, Elizabeth Wilson, and Eleanor Bron. Focus Features will release Hyde Park on the Hudson on December 7th.

The dark comedy doesn’t finish its second season until September 26th, but Deadline reports Showtime is satisfied enough with the ratings for The Big C that the cable network has decided to renew the series for a third season which will start shooting the 10-episode order early next year to debut sometime in the middle of 2012. The series follows Laura Linney (The Truman Show, Love Actually) as as Cathy Jamison who this season become an all-out warrior in the fight against her Stage 4 melanoma, while her husband, Paul (Oliver Platt), stepped up to become her greatest advocate and treatment “cancierge.”

Laura Linney (The Big C) will star alongside Bill Murray in Hyde Park on the Hudson.  The film focuses on FDR’s love affair with his cousin, Daisy, during a June weekend in 1939 when the British King and Queen visited Roosevelt’s upstate New York cottage in what was the first ever visit to America by a member of the British monarchy.  As we previously reported, the notoriously reclusive Bill Murray has signed on to star as FDR.  Now, Deadline reports that Linney has signed on to play FDR’s cousin/lover, Daisy.  I’ll watch anything with Bill Murray and it’ll be interesting to see who will end up playing Eleanor Roosevelt along with the King and Queen.  Roger Mitchell (Morning Glory) will direct the film.

In other casting news, Ricky Gervais has signed on to voice the character of Argonaut in the upcoming Spy Kids film, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World.   In the press release Gervais said, “Not only am I lending my voice to Spy Kids, but they can keep it.  I’m sick of it.”  Not much is known about Argonaut besides the fact that he is a robot spy dog.  Gervais joins the cast which already includes Jessica Alba, Jeremy Piven, Joel McHale, Rowan Blanchard, Mason Cook, Antonio Banderas, Danny Trejo , Alexa Vega, and Daryl Sabara.  Spy Kids: All the Time in the World opens on August 19, 2011 and it’s written and directed by Robert Rodriguez.  Hit the jump  for the synopsis.

The first trailer for Mark Ruffalo’s directorial debut Sympathy for Delicious has been released. The film tells the story of a paralyzed DJ (played by the film’s scribe, Christopher Thornton) who somehow acquires the ability to heal, though is unable to make himself walk. Judging from the trailer, Ruffalo definitely shows some promise as a director. Factor in the top-notch cast, and I’m very interested in seeing how this film plays out. The flick premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January where it took home the Special Jury Prize.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. Sympathy for Delicious stars Mark Ruffalo, Christopher Thornton, Orlando Bloom, Juliette Lewis, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich and John Carroll Lynch.

The Details is a darkly comic tale that can never quite seem to get a handle on its tone.  The film plays with notions of fate but only a fate that will deal out punishment and retribution no matter how much good you do or if you even receive a kindness.  That’s not a problem for a black comedy, but The Details grinds to a halt as its main character receives valuable life lessons or as he heads into another predictable comic set-up. Director Jacob Aaron Estes’s best attempt to tie it all together is with an insufferable Danny Elfman-esque score.  Stars Tobey Maguire and Laura Linney do a great job handling the comedy, but even their scenes eventually feel repetitive.  The Details has a lot to offer, most notably frustration.