News

It’s Friday, so in that lenient sense, it’s time for some rumors we might not usually touch. In this case, it’s a scoop on Damien Chazelle’s next film, courtesy of Daniel Richtman. So what’s Chazelle’s follow-up to his divisive 2022 opus “Babylon” reportedly going to be?

Read More: Damien Chazelle Has His Sixth Feature Set Up At Paramount

Well, if Richtman’s scoop is true, then it’s a biopic about legendary stuntman Evil Knievel, with Leonardo DiCaprio attached to star and “The Departed” screenwriter William Monahan set to pen the script.

Continue reading Leonardo DiCaprio Rumored To Star In Evel Knievel Film For Damien Chazelle [Report] at The Playlist.

Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to 2022’s Babylon could see Leonardo DiCaprio playing the legendary stunt rider Evel Knievel for Paramount.

Babylon was a bruising experience for its director, Damien Chazelle. The 2022 ode to early Hollywood largesse only made back around $63m of its reported $100m budget, presumably leaving Paramount somewhat in the red. While the film itself wasn’t lacking in merits, audiences simply didn’t show up in force for the film and that left Chazelle publicly wondering if he was now in the dreaded ‘director’s jail’.

According to a new report from Daniel Richtman (via World Of Reel), however, Chazelle could be back with a new project – and a high-profile one at that. According to RIchtman, Chazelle is again partnering with Paramount to bring a biopic of the legendary stunt rider Evel Knievel to the screen, with Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role. The Departed's William Monahan...

When you purchase through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

This December, Tubi is bringing you a lot of entertainment, from the supernatural thriller drama series Haven to the historical drama series Black Sails. However, for this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Tubi in the next month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the five best films that are coming to Tubi in December 2024 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Die Hard (December 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94% Credit – 20th Century Studios

Die Hard is an action thriller film directed by John McTiernan from a screenplay co-written by Jeb Stuart and Steve E. de Souza. Based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp, the 1988 film follows a New York City police detective in Los Angeles to make up with his wife. Still, when terrorists take over his wife’s office building,...

Throughout the late 90s to 2005, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were Hollywood’s favorite couple. Although the duo starred in an episode of the NBC sitcom Friends, once, there was a time when both the stars were considered for the same Martin Scorsese film. Unfortunately, the dream of working together did not come true for the former lovebirds.

Jennifer Aniston in Friends | Credits: NBC

Scorsese’s The Departed ultimately became a classic with a star-studded cast of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and even Jack Nicholson. However, before all the actors were cast, both Aniston and Pitt were initially set to be a part of the now iconic film.

When Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt almost starred in a film together

In the landscape of Hollywood, casting choices often define the success or failure of a film. Yet, sometimes, the most surprising combinations can lead to unexpected outcomes. One such case...

Remaking a 2002 Hong Kong hit and setting the story in Irish-Catholic Boston, Martin Scorsese seemed to be out of his element with The Departed—if not, that is, for the fact that the film marked a return to the director’s bread-and-butter mean streets, and that his source material, Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak’s Infernal Affairs, was itself heavily influenced by his iconic gangster films. Something of a genre homecoming after recent detours into the arenas of the historical epic (Gangs of New York) and the period biopic (The Aviator), The Departed again found him trawling a gritty, brutal urban underbelly where racial epithets spit from roughnecks’ mouths, class divisions are as sharp as a switchblade, and allegiances to others and one’s self are always tenuous at best.

The Rolling Stones’s “Gimme Shelter” plays over a blistering opening sequence edited by Thelma Schoonmaker with gunshot-punctuated...

After a decades-long wait, it was 2006’s The Departed that earned Martin Scorsese his first Oscar win for Best Director, presented by the iconic trio of Coppola, Spielberg, and Lucas. Apart from Scorsese’s deserved victory, the thriller, based on the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, further swooped four accolades in the 79th Academy Award, including Best Picture.

But while Scorsese intended it to be a one-off thing, Mark Wahlberg, who starred as Sergeant Dignam, had ideas about continuing the story with a sequel, starring Brad Pitt and Robert De Niro.

Mark Wahlberg Once Pitched WB About Greenlighting The Departed 2

The Departed | Warner Bros.

With Mark Wahlberg‘s character being the only one to make it out alive among the main cast, for a while, the actor insisted on getting the train on a potential sequel running. With writer William Monahan and the Pain & Gain star on the same page,...

George Clooney has been a Hollywood veteran with an astounding legacy. The actor also turned director with his 2002 directorial debut Confessions of a Dangerous Mind during one of the breaks while being involved in his celebrated Ocean’s trilogy. Previously, Clooney showered good wishes for his close friend Ben Affleck.

George Clooney in Ocean’s 8

Interestingly, both the actors played DC’s iconic frontline hero Batman and both have helmed several projects as directors. But Clooney believes Affleck as an actor deserves more credits and attention. Clooney also directed Affleck in his 2021 coming-of-age drama, The Tender Bar.

George Clooney Revealed Ben Affleck’s Underrated Role

Ben Affleck in The Tender Bar

George Clooney, who directed the Batman star Ben Affleck in The Tender Bar, has all the good reasons to believe that Affleck deserved much more attention for his role. Based on J. R. Moehringer’s book of the same name,...

Brad Pitt can immerse into different roles with ease and he will always find a way to marvel at it. With a decades-long career in Hollywood, the actor has worked with several directors in several movies but not with legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese.

Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Pitt almost had the opportunity to work with the director but he felt that he would not be fitting to the character in a crime thriller. However, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood star was involved in the film behind the camera.

Suggested“We were in the lavatory trying to sell our passports”: Brad Pitt’s ‘Troy’ Co-star Had To Resort To Extreme Means To Earn Some Money After Spending It All on Drinks and Gambling Brad Pitt Rejected A Martin Scorsese Movie of His Own Production Martin Scorsese. Credit: Apple Music Podcast

Martin Scorsese’s 2006 crime thriller,...

Watching the extended director’s cut DVD of Kingdom of Heaven nearly 18 years after its release (and nearly 20 in the case of the film’s original theatrical run) is a curious thing. Among Ridley Scott’s many insights into what may still be his most beautiful looking historical epic to date, the director muses on the commentary track that the home media market is something of a godsend. Because even two decades ago, the modus operandi was “faster and simpler.”

“I think the value of this digital market is people are more willing or more ready to sit at home and enjoy the longer version,” Scott reflected. “Thank God for DVD.”

That long lost home market of yore really was a gift to filmmakers, and few of them benefited from it better than Scott. The British director famously achieved a kind of absolution when he was able to re-edit Blade Runner...

Act accordingly, Martin Scorsese has some things to say about “The Departed.”

In a new interview with GQ, Scorsese said Warner Bros. executives were disappointed in his gloriously nihilistic film because it ends with almost all of the main characters dead – including the leads played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon.

“What they wanted was a franchise. It wasn’t about a moral issue of a person living or dying,” Scorsese claimed of his Warner Bros. bosses.

Released in 2006, “The Departed” famously won Scorsese his first and only Oscar so far for Best Director. The film was also the 2007 Best Picture winner and won another Oscar for its adapted screenplay by William Monahan. The project was an American remake of “Infernal Affairs,” the 2002 Japanese film that spawned its own franchise – in part, because one of the two main characters survived its finale.

Scorsese told GQ that after a successful test...

Cormac McCarthy, generally considered one of America’s greatest living authors, has died. His death was confirmed by his son, John McCarthy. He was 89.

McCarthy is best known for books such as Blood Meridian or The Evening Redness in the West; The Road, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and No Country For Old Men, which was adapted into the Coen Brothers’ Oscar-winning film.

His other published works include The Orchard Keeper, Outer Dark, Child of Dark, Suttree, All the Pretty Horses – which won the National Book Award – The Crossing and Cities of the Plain. All the Pretty Horses, The Road and No Country were adapted for film by Billy Bob Thornton, John Hillcoat and Joel and Ethan Coen, respectively.

McCarthy told the Wall Street Journal that No Country for Old Men was originally a screenplay, but failed to gain traction in that form. “In fact, they said, ‘That will never work.

Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" is a modern American epic, a mythic tale that unflinchingly captures the brutal and violent spirit of the West, devoid of any of the heroism and starry-eyed optimism that's usually part of the genre. Shockingly, however, despite the novel's immense influence and grand cinematic scope, "Blood Meridian" has never been adapted for the big screen. Finally, after numerous attempts from a long line of filmmakers eager to bring McCarthy's seminal work to life, John Hillcoat will be directing a proper adaptation, according to Deadline.

There's an argument to be made that "Blood Meridian" is quite possibly the most savage, cynical, and terrifyingly bleak Western ever written. There are no beacons of justice in McCarthy's Wild West; instead, there's only the scalp-hunting Glanton gang and the carnage that his crew perpetuates. A deconstruction of Western tropes that serve to highlight the racist, imperialist, and sadistic...

Released in 2010, Nolan’s groundbreaking film is widely celebrated for its dazzling visuals and engaging plot. “Inception” follows the life of Dom Cobb (Leonardo Dicaprio) and his team of dream extractors as they undertake a series of heists inside dreams.

It explores issues like memory, manipulation, identity, and loyalty; all blended to create a captivating story that has revolutionized how we think about movies.

Christopher Nolan created this masterpiece that combined great cinematography, fantastic performances, and a unique complex storyline. By separating dreams from reality with his signature style, Nolan introduced us to something special in cinematic history.

The journey through different levels of the subconscious is one of a kind and leaves moviegoers with their complexity to unravel long after the film ends.

In this blog post, we explore some of the best mind-bending movies like “Inception,” going deep into similar realms and other mind-boggling sci-fi films for you.

Marlowe Review — Marlowe (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Neil Jordan, written by William Monahan and Neil Jordan and starring Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange, Danny Huston, Alan Cumming, Stella Stocker, Francois Arnaud, Darrell D’Silva, Ian Heart, Kim DeLonghi, Tony Corvillo, Mitchell Mullen, Patrick Muldoon, Daniela Melchior, Roberto Peralta and Michael [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Marlowe (2022): Liam Neeson Stars in a Detective Movie That Falters Despite Good Acting Throughout...

Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe has been played by some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. To many, Humphrey Bogart remains the definitive Marlowe, based on his performance in Howard Hawks’ The Big Sleep, but film noir afficianados will often cite Murder My Sweet’s Dick Powell, or later iterations, like Robert Mitchum in Farewell My Lovely or Elliot Gould in The Long Goodbye as the best. Indeed, Liam Neeson is stepping into some mighty big shoes with his new movie, Marlowe, but if anyone can go toe-to-toe with Mitchum or Bogart, it’s Neeson, right?

To help bring Marlowe to the big screen, Neeson recruited one of his most frequent directors, Neil Jordan. The two famously worked together on Michael Collins, as well as the earlier High Spirits and the more recent (underrated) Breakfast on Pluto, and are set to reteam again on a new prison break thriller filming this year.

Exclusive: We’re hearing from box office sources that Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania zoomed to a 17M-18M last night in previews from showtimes that started at 3Pm. That figure, which could be higher or lower once Disney officially reports later this morning, is where Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2‘s Thursday night was back in 2017, at 17M.

The Thursday night previews for Marvel’s crop last year were Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (36M), Thor: Love & Thunder (29M) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (28M).

Industry projections have the 4-day for Quantumania at 120M, but Disney thinks it’s between 105M-110M. Nonetheless, the threequel is bound to set an opening record for the Ant-Man franchise and the third best Presidents Day opening ever after 2018’s Black Panther (242.1M) and 2016’s Deadpool (152.1M). Advance ticket sales earlier this week were...

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on February 16th, 2023, reviewing “Marlowe,” featuring Liam Neeson as the famous private eye Philip Marlowe. In theaters beginning February 15th.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Neeson portrays as an aging Marlowe, working on a case in 1939 Los Angeles assigned by wealthy Clare Cavendish (Diane Kruger), looking for her lover named Nico, who is presumed dead but Clare knows somehow is still alive. Her mother is silent film era superstar Dorothy (Jessica Lange), retired because of her age but still powerfully connected to a studio head who is about to be appointed ambassador. As the layers of the case are peeled away, enemies become friends and vice versa, but rest assured that Philip Marlowe will apply and receive several beat downs.

”Marlowe” is in theaters beginning February 15th. Featuring Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange, Danny Huston and Alan Cummings.

Neil Jordan's new detective movie "Marlowe," starring Liam Neeson, is the director's first since "Greta" in 2018. Jordan may be one of the moodiest filmmakers working, and the smoky mysteries of film noir seem especially suited to his skills. "Marlowe" does indeed feature the famous P.I. created by Raymond Chandler in his 1939 novel "The Big Sleep," but it is not based on any of Chandler's works. Instead, the screenplay, by William Monahan ("The Departed") is based on a spinoff Marlowe novel called "The Black-Eyed Blonde" by John Banville. True to the genre, "Marlowe" is about the eponymous detective's search for the ex-lover of a rich heiress (Diane Kruger). A notable piece of trivia: "Marlowe" constitutes Neeson's 100th official screen credit.

As of this writing, "Marlowe" is not enjoying the best reviews (it currently has a 23 approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes), but fans of film noir would do well to...

Neil Jordan is a prolific filmmaker. His work has spanned many genres over the course of his career, and he's not a writer-director whose movies can be placed in a box. Where to even begin listing his credits? There's "The Crying Game," "Interview with a Vampire," "Michael Collins," "Mona Lisa," and a movie we spent a good deal of time asking him about, "The Company of Wolves." Now, Jordan returns to the world of noir with "Marlowe." 

The filmmaker reunites with Liam Neeson for a Philip Marlowe picture, about the same literary detective character Humphrey Bogart played in "The Big Sleep" and Elliott Gould in "The Long Goodbye." This story is not based on one of Raymond Chandler's hardboiled novels, but Jordan does capture the vibe that defines the character at the heart of those stories. As Jordan told us, he wanted to make a colorful noir and even...

Liam Neeson in Marlowe Photo: Open Road Films The dark and violent world of Raymond Chandler’s durable hard-boiled private detective Philip Marlowe brings many descriptors to mind. Tough. Two-fisted. Cynical. “Elegant” comes far down that list. But a small elegance, expressed in decent production values, terse pacing and long lateral camera takes,...

Plot: In 1939 Los Angeles, hard-boiled private detective Philip Marlowe (Liam Neeson) is hired by the daughter (Diane Kruger) of a legendary silent star (Jessica Lange) to find a prop man who went missing. Marlowe quickly finds himself embroiled in a case involving drugs, murder, and secrets that the powers-that-be in Hollywood would like kept secret.

Review: With Marlowe, Liam Neeson finds himself stepping into the shoes of perhaps the most iconic film noir hero of all time. Writer Raymond Chandler’s books were big favourites in Tinseltown in the forties, with Dick Powell (Murder My Sweet), Humphrey Bogart (The Big Sleep) and many more playing Philip Marlowe during the peak noir era. In the seventies neo-noir revival years, the character once again became hip, with Robert Mitchum playing an older Marlowe in Farewell My Lovely and a remake of The Big Sleep. In contrast, Elliot Gould played a hip, spaced-out...

Too earnest to be a parody and lacking the point of view to be revisionism or even homage, “Marlowe” merely cosplays a 1930s detective movie, taking us from two-fisted private dick to icy rich client to corruption among the powerful as though we hadn’t seen all of this countless times before.

With the slightest flick of the wrist, director Neil Jordan and screenwriter William Monahan – adapting an “approved by the estate of Raymond Chandler” novel from 2014 – could have turned this movie into a prolonged “Carol Burnett Show” sketch or, in the other direction, a haunting contemplation of societal rot in 1939 Los Angeles.

Instead, it’s a parade of curvy sedans, snappy fedoras, cigarette lighters and dialogue that only a cast this talented could deliver with a straight face.

Also Read:

Liam Neeson Calls UFC Star Conor McGregor ‘Little Leprechaun’ Who ‘Gives Ireland a Bad Name’

Liam Neeson stars as ex-cop turned gumshoe Philip Marlowe,...

Legendary characters don’t die. They keep getting reinvented. If they exist in fiction, new authors come along to create new adventures for them. And if they exist onscreen, you can bet that a remake or reboot will come along every generation or so in hopes of recatching that lightning in a bottle.

And often both happens, as is the case with Philip Marlowe, the iconic hard-boiled detective invented by Raymond Chandler and portrayed onscreen over the decades by actors including Dick Powell, Humphrey Bogart, Robert Montgomery, James Garner, Elliott Gould, Robert Mitchum and probably others I’ve forgotten.

The latest tough guy actor to don the fedora is Liam Neeson, in director Neil Jordan’s new film based on a 2014 novel by John Banville, writing under the name Benjamin Black. Suffice it to say that the results won’t erase anyone’s memories of The Big Sleep or The Long Goodbye.

Actor Liam Neeson is set to portray the iconic character Philip Marlowe in the upcoming film, Marlowe. But he is hardly the first. Neeson has become known in recent decades for his leading roles in action movies like The Grey and Taken.

In Marlowe, he’ll go noir as he attempts to fill the shoes of one of the most storied private eyes in history: a character who’s been played by some of the biggest actors in Hollywood history.

Liam Neeson takes his penchant for action movies noir in ‘Marlowe’ Marlowe stars Diane Kruger and Liam Neeson | Jb Lacroix/WireImage

Set in Bay Cities, California, in the ’50s, Marlowe follows a “tough as nails private detective” as he investigates the disappearance of a beautiful heiress’ ex-lover. But the more he digs into the case, the more he realizes the spider’s web has spun far larger than he originally thought.

In late 2018, when Howard Stern asked Jonah Hill about working with Martin Scorsese on "The Wolf of Wall Street," Hill was effusive in his praise of the veteran filmmaker. There's no doubt that Scorsese is one of, if not the greatest living director. According to Hill, a lot of that has to do with his ability to problem-solve. As the actor sees it, "directing is just solving issues constantly," and he claimed to have witnessed first-hand Scorsese's ability to "close his eyes and then solve an insanely complex issue" in 30 seconds.

By the time it came time to film 2006's "The Departed," Scorsese had been around long enough -- his filmography stretches all the way back to the '70s -- to know what he wanted and how to make it happen. And as some unprecedented behind-the-scenes footage shows, the director approached his Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon-led crime...

After being portrayed by the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, Elliott Gould, James Garner, and Robert Montgomery, the Raymond Chandler creation Philip Marlowe has found new life with Liam Neeson. Based on John Banville’s authorized sequel novel to The Long Goodbye, 2014’s The Black-Eyed Blonde, the script for Neil Jordan’s Marlowe comes from William Monahan (The Departed). Ahead of a release next month, the first trailer has now arrived.

A noir crime thriller set in late 1930s Los Angeles, the film centers around a street-wise, down on his luck detective, Philip Marlowe, who is hired to find the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress (Diane Kruger), daughter of a well-known movie star (Jessica Lange). The disappearance unearths a web of lies, and soon Marlowe is involved in a dangerous, deadly investigation where everyone involved has something to hide.

See the trailer below.

Marlowe opens on February 15.

The post...

Marlowe Trailer — Neil Jordan‘s Marlowe (2023) movie trailer has been released by Open Road Films. The Marlowe trailer stars Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ian Hart, Colm Meaney, Danny Huston, and Alan Cumming. Crew William Monahan wrote the screenplay for Marlowe. Name created the music for the film. Name crafted the cinematography [...]

Continue reading: Marlowe (2023) Movie Trailer: Detective Liam Neeson is hired to Find a Missing Person in Neil Jordan’s Noir Crime Thriller...

The period Los Angeles film noir makes a return courtesy of director Neil Jordan. Liam Neeson makes a turn as Raymond Chandler’s famous gumshoe detective, Philip Marlowe, in what initially looks like a slight departure from his second career as an action star. However, this detective can still scrap with the best of Neeson’s other characters with a particular set of skills. The trailer has just been unveiled via the production company Open Road. Neeson is joined by an all-star cast including Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange, Alan Cumming, Danny Huston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Colm Meaney.

The official synopsis from Open Road reads,

Marlowe, a gripping noir crime thriller set in late 1930’s Los Angeles, centers around a street-wise, down on his luck detective; Philip Marlowe, played by Liam Neeson, who is hired to find the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress (Diane Kruger), daughter of a well-known movie star...

Liam Neeson is good at saving people, this we know. We know it practically like a proverb at this point, as the actor's penchant for high-octane thriller roles has evolved into somewhat of a parody over the years. But interestingly enough, he's going to take that archetype and place it in a different time period with "Marlowe," a new noir feature starring the "Taken" lead himself.

In the film's official trailer, we catch a glimpse of the actor as he slips into the world of 1930s Los Angeles. With his fedora and pinstripes, he takes on cases and meets the stunning Diane Kruger and Jessica Lange as the private detective susses out a mystery. And it seems that everyone he meets is in on the crime. Is the joke on him? 

According to Open Road Films, the movie is "a gripping noir crime thriller set in late 1930's Los Angeles,...

Exclusive: After 15 years at Charles Roven’s Atlas Entertainment, where he served as Executive Vice President, producer Andy Horwitz has moved on to launch Big Swell Entertainment, a producing collective that aims to be a home for the next generation of young, hands-on producers and storytellers.

Big Swell will look to take a different approach in comparison to the model of the traditional production company, allowing producers to operate independently under the Big Swell banner while encouraging a collective and collaborative approach with all creatives involved. Horwitz is currently in the process of assembling his team, having already put together a robust slate of projects at varying stages.

Horwitz is being backed in this venture by Mountaintop Productions, a Tel Aviv-based production company founded by Hezi and Omri Bezalel. In partnership with the Bezalels, Big Swell plans to leverage Mountaintop’s relationship base within the Israeli and European content business...

Spoilers for "The Departed" follow, so beware.

Martin Scorsese's "The Departed" features a star-studded cast and an action-packed story, so it's no surprise that there was some talk of a sequel. Mark Wahlberg gave an Oscar-nominated performance as Sergeant Dignam, a significant supporting role. The actor spearheaded a follow-up to "The Departed" along with the film's screenwriter, William Monahan. Sadly, the idea was turned down, and Monahan has a pretty good idea why.

The stacked bill of the original "Departed" included Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson, all of whom were killed off by the end of the film. Wahlberg was the only actor with a surviving character, and he wanted to bring in a new crop of Hollywood legends for a follow-up. "Like [Robert] De Niro and Brad Pitt, and you know, that sort of thing," the actor explained to KFC Radio.

Monahan had his own idea of...

Other winners include Genki Kawamura’s ‘A Hundred Flowers’ and China’s ‘A Woman’.

Colombian director Laura Mora’s second film The Kings Of The World has won the Golden Shell award for best film at the 70th edition of the San Sebastian International Film Festival (Ssiff).

Scroll down for full list of winners

A Colombian co-production with Luxembourg, France, Mexico and Norway, the film follows five street kids from Medellin who venture into the countryside in search of the land that one of them inherited. Film Factory Entertainment handles international sales. Mora’s debut was 2017 Toronto and San Sebastian selection Killing Jesus.

Forty-four years have passed since a feature film was last built around Raymond Chander’s harder-than-hardboiled fictional detective Philip Marlowe — a screen absence that seems both unduly long and now, in the wake of Neil Jordan’s “Marlowe,” not quite long enough. A phony, flimsy attempt at vintage noir, the film is adapted not from a Chandler work but “The Black-Eyed Blonde,” an authorized Marlowe entry from 2014, by Irish novelist John Banville. Minus Banville’s own knack for literary ventriloquism, however, this all too evidently European co-production can’t help but feel multiple degrees removed from the real thing, not helped by the shuffling, ungainly presence of a wildly miscast Liam Neeson in shoes once filled by Bogart and Mitchum.

Following a low-key premiere as the closing film at this year’s San Sebastian Film Festival, “Marlowe” will be released Stateside by Open Road Films on December 2 — though even with the big-name cachet of Jordan,...

Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger turned out at the San Sebastian Film Festival on Saturday to support the world premiere of Neil Jordan’s “Marlowe,” which closes the festival tonight.

Jordan and William Monahan’s adaptation of John Banville’s novel “The Black-Eyed Blonde” centers Raymond Chandler’s famous detective Philip Marlowe, and – like Chandler’s books – is set in 1930s Los Angeles.

Jordan said it was confusing to call it a film noir. “First of all, it’s shot in color,” he said.

Even though it is set in the past, it’s a futuristic film that provided his reference point for the look of this one.

“To make a film like this, you have to reinvent the image. The reference I chose was ‘Blade Runner,’ which is set in L.A. in the future. I’m making a film set in L.A. in the past, but somehow it’s a sci-fi film.

The film stars Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger and Jessica Lange.

Marlowe, directed by Neil Jordan and written by William Monahan, will have its world premiere at the closing gala of the San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Screening in official competition, Marlowe stars Liam Neeson as the titular private detective asked to hunt down the ex-lover of a mysterious blonde woman, played by Diane Kruger, in 1930’s Los Angeles. It is inspired by John Banville’s novel The Black-Eyed Blonde, based on the character of Philip Marlowe from the novels of Raymond Chandler.

Jessica Lange, Ian Hart, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Alan Cumming also star.

Open Road Films is joining forces with Liam Neeson for Marlowe, a noir crime thriller boasting a star-studded cast that will make your head spin. Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange, Danny Huston, Alan Cumming, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ian Hart, Colm Meaney, Daniela Melchior, and Francois Arnaud join Neeson as cast members, with Academy Award winner Neil Jordan directing from a script by William Monahan.

Based on Booker Prize-winning author John Banville’s book The Black-Eyed Blonde, Marlowe presents “a gripping noir crime thriller set in late 1930’s Bay City, centers around a brooding, down-on-his-luck detective; Philip Marlowe, played by Liam Neeson, who is hired to find the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress (Diane Kruger), daughter of a well-known movie star (Jessica Lange). The disappearance is the first twist in a series of bewildering events, and soon Marlowe is embroiled in a deadly investigation and web of lies that he’s determined to bring to light.

Exclusive: Open Road Films has acquired North American rights to Marlowe, a noir crime thriller that stars Liam Neeson atop an ensemble that includes Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange, Danny Huston, Alan Cumming, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ian Hart, Colm Meaney, Daniela Melchior and Francois Arnaud. Neil Jordan directed the film from script by The Departed’s William Monahan. The film will be released theatrically December 2 through Open Road/Briarcliff Entertainment.

In what is Neeson’s 100th film, the star plays detective Philip Marlowe, the protagonist from the hardboiled Raymond Chandler mysteries that included The Big Sleep, Farewell My Lovely and The Long Goodbye. This one is based on author John Banville’s book The Black-Eyed Blonde, an original novel authorized by the Raymond Chandler estate. The action is set in late 1930’s Bay City, centering around the brooding, down on his luck detective Marlowe. He’s hired to find the ex-lover of...

After so many years spent in development hell, I never truly believed that The Crow would fly again, but fly it has. Rupert Sanders is in the midst of production on The Crow reimagining in the Czech Republic, and THR has reported that Danny Huston has joined the cast.

It’s not clear who Danny Huston will be playing in The Crow reimagining, but he will be starring alongside Bill Skarsgard and FKA Twigs. Zach Baylin, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Will Smith’s King Richard, penned the script for this latest version of The Crow. There have been various attempts at reimagining The Crow over the years, but none have been able to get off the ground. The most recent was supposed to have starred Jason Momoa and would have been directed by Corin Hardy, but it fell apart several years ago.

Related...

Ray Liotta mixed affable identifiability with mobster menace for his role as Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. It is one of the reasons the film became the gangster classic it is today. The director got what he wanted from an actor who knew how to give. It was the only time they worked together. But they almost pulled off at least one other job, and it may even have nabbed an extra Oscar. The actor who played it in The Departed certainly got a nomination.

An Americanized remake of the 2002 Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs, The Departed was the first remake of a foreign film to win the Best Picture Academy Award. It was also Scorsese’s first Best Picture win. He didn’t film it in New York, however, where so many of his most signature pieces are set. William Monahan’s screenplay for The Departed was...

Martin Scorsese’s sprawling Boston crime epic “The Departed” boasts one of the most stacked ensembles of all time: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, and Alec Baldwin all lead this Best Picture–winning saga about a Boston cop (DiCaprio) who goes undercover to penetrate the gang underworld led by Frank Costello (Nicholson). Heading up the sting operation is Staff Sergeant Dignam, played by Mark Wahlberg, whose character gets the last laugh in the violent movie.

While this American remake of the Hong Kong film “Infernal Affairs” seemed a natural fit for a sequel, earning just under $290 million at the global box office after its fall 2006 opening, that plan fell through. It’s known that scribe William Monahan (who earned a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for the film) had an idea for a follow-up that didn’t play out. But Mark Wahlberg, in a...

At the 2021 Oscars, playwright Florian Zeller shared in the Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay with Christopher Hampton for bring his stage hit “The Father” to the screen.In his directorial debut Zeller bagged Anthony Hopkins his second Best Actor Oscar. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2022 Oscars predictions for Best Adapted Screenplay and be sure to check out our predictions for Best Original Screenplay.)

Screen versions of stage works had won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars 15 times before. The most recent of these was in 2017 when “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney prevailed for adapting the latter’s un-produced play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” Prior to that you have to go all the way back to 1989 when Alfred Uhry won for adapting his hit play “Driving Miss Daisy.”

At the 2020 Academy Awards, “Jojo Rabbit” director Taika Waititi won for bringing Christine Leunens novel...

"The Tender Bar" is a story with a kind heart. Based on Jr Moehringer's memoir, the film adaptation doesn't sugarcoat conflict to achieve any of its feel-good moments, either. The drama focuses on the bad times as much as the good times. Screenwriter William Monahan is behind the adaptation, which features Ben Affleck as the watchful Uncle Charlie. Anyone with a large family or lucky enough to have an Uncle Charlie, related or not, will recognize the beauty of the character. 

The story is about far more than the aspiring writer's relationship with his uncle or his absent father, though. For Monahan,...

The post The Tender Bar Screenwriter William Monahan on Adapting Jr Moehringer's Unusual Memoir [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on January 6th, 2022, reviewing the latest from Ben Affleck, directed by George Clooney. “The Tender Bar” is streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting January 7th.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

Ben Affleck portrays Uncle Charlie, a Long Island bartender in the 1970s who fancies himself a philosopher king. Tye Sheridan is J.R.(the source of the memoir that is based on the film), who rhapsodizes about his life as a kid hanging at the bar and later as a young college student, still thinking Affleck’s Uncle Charlie is the coolest cat.

“The Tender Bar” is streaming on Amazon Prime Video beginning January 7th. Featuring Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, Lily Rabe, Christopher Lloyd and Max Martini. Screenplay adapted by William Monahan. Directed by George Clooney. Rated “R”

Click here for Patrick McDonald’s full on-air review of...

Memoirs don’t necessarily need a shape because memories tend to thrive on essence and detail more than they require form. But they have to feel purposeful, because otherwise, why is someone else’s past worth our time?

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Jr Moehringer found a captive readership and critical acclaim with his vivid 2005 remembrance “The Tender Bar,” about the nurturing fellowship a corner dive and its colorful denizens provided to a growing boy missing a father. But the movie version written by William Monahan and directed by George Clooney is like drinking the watery remains of a scotch on the rocks: you can guess what it was, but it definitely isn’t that anymore.

It’s surprising that this effort from Clooney is as flavorless and unrooted as it is, because his better directorial turns are the ones grounded in character more than style. His “Tender Bar” does boast...

Voting has only just begun for select nominees at the 2022 WGA Awards. Drama series, comedy series and new series votes will be taken until Jan. 5, while voting doesn’t even open for original and adapted screenplays until Jan. 12 (with a deadline of Jan. 26). Nominations for the television categories, as well as new media, news, radio/audio and promotional writing awards will be announced on Jan. 13, with screenplay nominations announced Jan. 27. Final voting for all takes place between Feb. 2 and Feb. 16, with the winners being announced at the 74th annual ceremony on March 20.

Although it is still very early days for some of these categories, Variety breaks down where select series, scripts and categories stand so far.

Original Screenplay

The contenders in the original screenplay field are dominated by repeat WGA and Academy Award nominees with a few breakthrough tyro scribes in the mix. “King Richard,” penned by Zach Baylin (who...

The Tender Bar Amazon Prime Video Reviewed for Shockya.com by Abe Friedtanzer Director: George Clooney Writer: William Monahan Cast: Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, Christopher Lloyd, Lily Rabe, Daniel Ranieri Screened at: Rodeo Screening Room, 12/6/21 Opened: December 17th, 2021 Children look up to the adults in their lives, which can be a good or a […]

The post The Tender Bar Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will be factors in this year’s movie awards race.

Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan (The Departed) admits that after he agreed to adapt author J.R. Moehringer’s memoir into the feature film The Tender Bar a wave of apprehension struck him, he said, “because it’s a very popular book – a lot of people, it’s their favorite book. And I found that out after I said yes, so you get a little nervous about it.”

But Monahan quickly found his own way into the material: How gifted writer J.R. (played by Daniel Ranieri as a child and Tye Sheridan as a young man) is raised by his struggling single – and single-minded – mom, Dorothy (Lily Rabe), determined that her son would go to Harvard, with the help of her brother Charlie (Ben Affleck), a well-read bartender,...

For Variety‘s Writers on Writers, Terence Winter pays tribute to “The Tender Bar” (screenplay by William Monahan).

William Monahan’s superb adaptation of J.R. Moehringer’s wonderful coming-of-age memoir hit me right in the throat. Like J.R., the protagonist of the film, I lost my own father when I was 7 years old, not to a divorce, but to cancer. Also like that young man, I spent the rest of my youth cobbling together a small army of father figures who raised me to be the man, and ultimately, the writer I became.

There was my brother Tom, 10 years my senior, a New York cop who taught me not to take any shit from people; there was Mr. Canzoneri, my best friend’s dad, who showed me the ultimate kindness by allowing his home to be my own as well; Louie the Butcher who was my first boss, who...

Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Ted Hope.

Executive producers: Barbara A. Hall, J.R. Moehringer.

Director: George Clooney.

Screenplay: William Monahan, based on the memoir by J.R. Moehringer.

Camera: Martin Ruhe.

Editor: Tanya M. Swerling.

Music: Dara Taylor.

Cast: Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, Lily Rabe, Christopher Lloyd, Max Martini, Rhenzy Feliz, Briana Middleton, Max Casella, Sondra James, Michael Braun, Daniel Ranieri.

…...

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has published its list of the 101 greatest screenplays of the 21st century, topped by Jordan Peele’s “Get Out.” Peele won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with the script for his horror movie, which also marked his solo feature directorial debut. Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning “Parasite” screenplay cracked the WGA’s top five along with Charlie Kaufman’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Network,” and the Coen Brothers’ “No Country for Old Men.” All of these aforementioned films won screenwriting Oscars.

The remainder of the WGA’s top 10 consists of Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous,” and Christopher Nolan’s “Memento.” Anderson has three scripts in the top 101, as does Tarantino. Writers with multiple ranked scripts include Aaron Sorkin, Charlie Kaufman,...