 Margot at the WeddingStarring: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black, John Turturro, Flora Cross
Margot at the Wedding is an upcoming film written and directed by Noah Baumbach. It is the follow-up to his critically acclaimed, Academy Award nominated film The Squid and the Whale (2005).
The film has been described as an intimate, character-driven, domestic comedy-drama. It stars Nicole Kidman and Baumbach's real-life wife Jennifer Jason Leigh as sisters named Margot and Pauline, and also features Jack Black, John Turturro and Ciarán Hinds. Kidman's character, Margot, is a successful but neurotic writer who brings her 11-year-old son (played by newcomer Zane Pais) to spend a weekend visiting her free-spirited sister Pauline (Leigh) on the eve of her wedding to Black's character. Margot disapproves of Pauline's choice of fiancé, which causes tension between the two sisters.
 Baumbach has mentioned that the film is influenced by the style of French writer-director Eric Rohmer, who is known for his character-driven, relationship-based comic dramas like Ma nuit chez Maud, Le Genou de Claire, Pauline à la plage and Le Rayon vert. Many of Rohmer's films also deal with strained family relationships and awkward courtships, and often involve summer vacations. The script's working title was Nicole at the Beach, but it was changed when Nicole Kidman signed on to avoid confusion.
Margot at the Wedding was shot from April-June 2006 in various New York locations including Hampton Bays, East Quogue, Long Island and City Island, Bronx. It is heavily tipped to premiere at this year's Toronto Film Festival, which takes place between 6-15 September 2007, and is currently scheduled for US release by Paramount Vantage on October 19, 2007.
|
 The Boy in the Striped PyjamasDirected by: Mark Herman
Starring: Vera Farmiga, Jack Scanlon, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend, Cara Horgan
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2006 novel by John Boyne. This is the first Boyne book written for children.
Unlike the months of planning Boyne had for his other books, he said that he wrote the entire first draft of Boy in two and a half days, barely sleeping until he got to the end.
This book is a story about a nine year old boy struggling to understand what is happening around him in Auschwitz during World War II.
The main character, a nine year-old boy, is the son of a commander near Jewish concentration camps. He has a strong headed sister, Gretel (the Hopeless Case). They live in a five storey mansion, but are one day suddenly moved to a place called Out-with (Auschwitz). Bruno, the boy, outraged by his father's decision to move to Out-with, and desperate to go home, spends his time in his room with no friends. He is also annoyed by the fact that they live in a three storey house instead of their old five-storey mansion, and with such a small space, there isn't any room for exploration (apparently a hobby of Bruno's) to be done. He also misses sliding down the banister in their old house.
In Bruno's bedroom, he spots a fence with people in striped pyjamas behind it from his window. These are the Jews, and they are in a concentration camp. One day his parents come to an agreement that both Bruno and Gretel (his sister) need a tutor for their education so they hire Herr Liszt. To Bruno, Herr Liszt is the most boring teacher one could ever have - because he teaches science (such as geography and history), instead of the arts, which Bruno prefers. So, in boredom and confusion he wonders what is going on in the Out-with and why people are always dressed in striped pyjamas there.
One afternoon he goes exploring. What he finds is a boy, a Jewish boy called Shmuel, a name Bruno has never heard of before but apparently is quite common among Shmuel's own people. He soon becomes Bruno's friend and Bruno goes to see him every afternoon and they talk. Bruno is told by his sister that the people in the striped pyjamas on the other side of the fence are Jews and that he and his family are "the opposite". Shortly after this, Bruno gets a bad case of lice and has to have his head shaved. This makes him look a lot more like his friend Shmuel and he finds himself thinking that it's as if "they weren't all that different, really."
The story ends with Bruno about to leave Out-with and return to his previous home with his mother and sister. As a final adventure, he agrees to dress in a set of striped pyjamas and climb under a loose wire in the fence to help Shmuel find his father who has gone missing in the camp. They do not accomplish this task, and just as it starts to rain and Bruno decides he would like to go home, the people in the area of the camp which the boys are in must go on a 'march'. Neither boy knows where this march will lead. However, they are crowded into an airtight house, where chaos insues.
The book ends with the effects of Bruno's disappearance on his family, and his Father discovering his clothes outside of the fence, while inferring what happened to his son.
A Miramax film adaptation of the novel shot in Budapest between April and June 2007. It stars David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga, Sheila Hancock and Rupert Friend.
|
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging is the first novel from the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series written by Louise Rennison in. First published in 2001 in the UK, the book follows the life of 14 year old Georgia Nicolson in her quest to the Sex God's (aka Robbie) heart.
Also, the film based around the novel is in production as of April, 2007.
Her dad's got the mentality of a Teletubby (only not so developed). Her cat, Angus, is trying to eat the poodle next door. And her best friend thinks she looks like an alien -- just because she accidentally shaved off her eyebrows. Ergghhhlack. Still, add a little boy-stalking, teacher-baiting, and full-frontal snogging with a Sex God, and Georgia's year just might turn out to be the most fabbitty fab fab ever!
|
 Frost / NixonCast: Michael Sheen, Frank Langella, Rebecca Hall, Toby Jones, Matthew Macfadyen, Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell
Directed by: Ron Howard
Written by: Peter Morgan
Oscar-winning director Ron Howard brings to the screen writer Peter Morgan's (The Queen, The Last King of Scotland) electrifying battle between Richard Nixon, the disgraced president with a legacy to save, and David Frost, a jet-setting television personality with a name to make, in the untold story of the historic encounter that changed both: Frost/Nixon. Reprising their roles from Morgan's stageplay are Frank Langella, who won a Tony for his portrayal of Nixon, and Michael Sheen, who fully inhabited the part of Frost onstage in London and New York.
For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans.
Likewise, Frost's team harbored doubts about their boss' ability to hold his own. But as cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted. Would Nixon evade questions of his role in one of the nation's greatest disgraces? Or would Frost confound critics and bravely demand accountability from the man who'd built a career out of stonewalling? Over the course of their encounter, each man would reveal his own insecurities, ego and reserves of dignity-ultimately setting aside posturing in a stunning display of unvarnished truth.
Frost/Nixon not only re-creates the on-air interview, but the weeks of around-the-world, behind-the-scenes maneuvering between the two men and their camps as negotiations were struck, deals were made and secrets revealed…all leading to the moment when they would sit facing one another in the court of public opinion.
Frost/Nixon is a collaboration between Working Title Films and Imagine Entertainment, with Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner joining Academy Award winners Brian Grazer and Ron Howard as producers. Joining Langella and Sheen as the colorful real-life personalities who provide the men counsel is a formidable roster of actors including Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, Toby Jones and Matthew Macfadyen.
|
 The Spiderwick ChroniclesThe Spiderwick Chronicles is a movie based on Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi's bestselling children's book series by the same name, the story is about three kids who battle goblins and other magical creatures who are after Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide. The movie will follow the adventures of the Grace children: Simon, Mallory and Jared as they encounter many different types of faeries. The faeries themselves are left ambiguous as to be an integral and yet non interjectional addition to the plot. It is projected for release on February 29, 2008. It will be released by Paramount Pictures.
Simon and Jared Grace will both be played by Freddie Highmore, and Mallory Grace will be played by Sarah Bolger. David Strathairn will play Arthur Spiderwick.
|
|
Coming Next Year