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13 articles from 2009

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Kelly Reichardt's Next Film Quietly Starts Shooting

25 September 2009 8:20 AM, PDT | cinemablend.com | See recent Cinema Blend news »

Kelly Reichardt remains a very, very small-scale director, even after movies like Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy won rapturous reviews from critics (like me) and attract name talent like Michelle Williams. Given that she films outside of Hollywood with shoestring crews, it makes sense that the beginning of filming of her next film, Meek's Cutoff, flew under the radar. In today's Variety piece about Paul Dano joining the cast of Wichita, the final paragraph mentions that he's part of the Meek's Cutoff cast, alongside girlfriend and theater actress Zoe Kazan, Bruce Greenwood, Michelle WIlliams and Shirley Henderson. The fact that there are so many moderately well-known actors in the film suggests that there are a lot more characters operating in this one than in Wendy and Lucy, and maybe a lot more money too. Not that any of these actors are demanding huge salaries, but simply having that many »

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Michelle Williams Reteams with Reichardt for 'Meek's Cutoff'

25 September 2009 | ioncinema | See recent ioncinema news »

- I love how Variety makes a casual, end-of-article mention that is all alarm bells and whistles for us. In a Paul Dano casting update for the James Mangold project, comes word that Kelly Reichardt is in Oregon currently shooting a period pic that has her re-teaming with Wendy and Lucy's Michelle Williams, and has the filmmaker working with her biggest cast yet additionally working with Dano, Bruce Greenwood (probably suggested by Todd Haynes), Shirley Henderson and Zoe Kazan. We reported that the filmmaker was fleshing out a Western-themed project, so it looks like she'll be well-prepared for working in difficult terrain. Written by Jon Raymond (who wrote on her previous film and Old Joy), the film's title Meek's Cutoff is based on the tale with perhaps Gerry-like consequences. The year is 1845, the earliest days of the Oregon Trail, and a wagon team of three families has hired the »

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It's Cow Country for Kelly Reichardt

4 September 2009 | ioncinema | See recent ioncinema news »

- Does one call it a trend if two remarkably talented indie filmmakers are looking to explore (and make their next project) the Western. Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo) is saddling up for a 2010 shoot for his Untitled Western, and now comes word that the Western might receive the revisionist, minimalist and low budget treatment via Kelly Reichardt. The filmmaker who overwhelmed us with her co-directed debut Old Joy, and received tons of accolades for the Michelle Williams-starring Wendy & Lucy (I'm among the small percentage of those who didn't cling to the 2008 semi-road trip drama), will according to producer, mentor and friend Larry Fessenden, is currently fleshing out some of her characters for her screenplay. If we do find out more info Reichardt's Untitled Western it'll probably be when her producers look for some coin in 2010 - regardless, we look forward in keeping her fans in the loop. »

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News Flash: Be the First to Watch Channing Tatum's 'Public Enemies' at the Los Angeles Film Festival

6 May 2009 5:11 PM, PDT | Channing Tatum Unwrapped | See recent Channing Tatum Unwrapped news »

'Public Enemies', Channing Tatum's highly-anticipated historical drama with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, will have it's first public screening very soon, because the film has been chosen as the prestigious Centerpiece for Film Independent's 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival, which runs from June 18th - 28th.

Here's the festival description for the film where Channing Tatum plays the iconic criminal Pretty Boy Floyd...

Public Enemies

- Director: Michael Mann

- Writers: Roman Bennett and Micael Mann & Ann Biderman Producers Kevin Misher, Michael Mann

- Cast: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, Billy Crudup, Emilie de Ravin, Giovanni Ribisi)

In the action-thriller Public Enemies, acclaimed filmmaker Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Academy Award® winner Marion Cotillard in the story of legendary Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger (Depp) -- the charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the number one target of J. Edgar Hoover »

- Blog Expert

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Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 5/5

5 May 2009 12:45 PM, PDT | Cinematical | See recent Cinematical news »

No skipping this week! Bump a couple of these up to "buy" if your budget allows.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story of a man who ages backwards becomes a staggering, three-hour demonstration of superb make-up and seamless computer effects under the direction of David Fincher. Despite the length, only one note is played -- everyone else's pity for "poor Benjamin" -- while the man himself (Brad Pitt) remains a frustrating cipher. With Cate Blanchett and Taraji P. Henson. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.

Add to Netflix queue | Buy at Amazon

Last Chance Harvey

While in London for his daughter's wedding, New York jingle-writer Dustin Hoffman romances Emma Thompson. "A movie for grown-ups, but not in that clammy, Oscar-craving way that would make it untenable; it's a movie about people that takes place in the real world," said James Rocchi in his review for Cinematical. »

- Peter Martin

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The Unseen Destruction of Nations

5 May 2009 10:42 AM, PDT | ifc.com | See recent IFC news »

Kelly Reichardt's "Wendy & Lucy" may be -- in competition only with Lance Hammer's "Ballast" -- the best film of 2008, and both movies have been so underseen by the public that they could be said to have not been released at all. (Or, at least, not publicized at all.) Critics saw them, though, and none that I know of have walked away unamazed by the simple but torrential forces of intimate storytelling told with a correctly situated camera and a respect for real people. "Ballast" is the more visually stealthy of the two, but Reichardt's film is almost a structuralist triumph: how to make the most emotionally wrenching indie of the new era with as little narrative as possible. Based, like Reichardt's "Old Joy," on a short story by Jon Raymond, "Wendy" is as simple as a real catastrophe: a young homeless woman loses her dog. And the film's »

- Michael Atkinson

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DVD Tuesday May 5th-May 11th

5 May 2009 4:27 AM, PDT | SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news »

DVD Tuesday May 5th-May 11th Last Chance Harvey The Curious Case of Benjamin Button In the Oxford English dictionary, the definition of ‘whimsy’ does not, sadly, include the phrase “magic realism for the senile.” Nor does it reference the fact that anything whimsical must include a 75% recommended aphorism content, and be read aloud in a combination of southern drawl and numb-tongued slur, like Paula Dean reading Aesop’s fables after a stroke. And, of course, the dictionary lacks an appropriate discussion of folk sayings, flights of fancy, and geriatrics croaking out life lessons amid death rattles. In fact, the definition of whimsy would be much simplified were it simply to be replaced with a screening The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, director David Fincher’s 2008 Oscar contender. The film is so very charming, balancing its bittersweet moments with quirky affectations, that it comes off more as a recipe for exotic chocolate than a film. »

- Ali

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Rt on DVD: Benjamin Button, Bollywood Kung Fu, and a Special Twilight Set

4 May 2009 8:58 AM, PDT | Rotten Tomatoes | See recent Rotten Tomatoes news »

Award season armchair jockeys should check out a few notable Oscar and Golden Globe contenders this week, including David Fincher's visionary epic film about a man who ages backwards (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and a romantic story for the older set (Last Chance Harvey). If your idea of an indie pixie dream girl is Michelle Williams, watch the remarkable actress in her latest (the micro-budgeted Wendy and Lucy, from the director of Old Joy). Smaller releases this week include a Bollywood kung fu pic (Chandni Chowk to China) and an urban comedy with a sci-fi twist (Frankenhood), though... »

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Jon Raymond Reads from Livability

8 April 2009 3:05 PM, PDT | Vanity Fair | See recent Vanity Fair news »

Livability: Stories (Bloomsbury) When his childhood friend’s sick father asked for help, Daryl was reluctant. But in the end, he made it his mission to find Benny. He searched the old neighborhood, but barely recognized the place, what with all the new condos and flashy storefronts. And when he found Benny at last, Daryl barely recognized him either. In this compelling short story from Livability: Stories (Bloomsbury), writer Jon Raymond reveals a character grappling with change, disillusionment, and a friendship gone awry. Raymond is the co-writer of the films Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy, adapted from stories in this collection. Listen to the podcast after the jump. »

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The Year's Most Overrated Film - So Far

1 April 2009 11:47 AM, PDT | Huffington Post | See recent Huffington Post news »

After missing the press screenings and then reading all the glowing reviews of Ramin Bahrani's Goodbye Solo -- some of which hailed Bahrani as the next great American filmmaker -- I bought a ticket in Manhattan yesterday to see what all the fuss was about. I'm still wondering. Turgid and uneventful, built around two characters of opposite demeanor whose paths temporarily reach a confluence, Goodbye Solo is another under-paced, under-dramatized film that falls into "neo-neo-realism" category that A.O. Scott went on about at such great lengths in a recent Sunday Times magazine piece. But like other titles he cited -- films like the wildly overrated Ballast, "Wendy and Lucy, Old Joy and the early films of David Gordon Green -- Goodbye Solo is a movie about nothing that wants you to think it's about something. Buy tickets to these films at your own... »

- Marshall Fine

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Severed Ways By Mike Plante

11 March 2009 9:27 PM, PDT | Filmmaker Magazine_Web Exclusives | See recent Filmmaker Magazine_Web Exclusives news »

A graduate of Bard College, filmmaker Tony Stone’s first feature, Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America, unleashes an almost-new genre – the indie historical drama. It might also be the ultimate heavy metal video. Based on historical research, Severed Ways follows two Vikings stranded in medieval America, encountering both Native Americans and monks, everyone trying to survive. It is deeper than an action film as the Vikings are complete characters, violent but missing their girlfriends. In a way, Old Joy with Vikings. Shot on mini-dv, the result is stunning, a period piece that looks like a painting but feels like an inside view with characters even speaking in Norse language. Filmmaker: Did you start the film while at... »

- Jason Guerrasio

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Will Oldham Says "Goodbye"

9 March 2009 2:06 AM, PDT | Filmmaker Magazine - Blog | See recent Filmmaker Magazine news »

Will Oldham, Aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, has always had distinctive music videos, directed by talented folks like Braden King, Harmony Korine, and Andy Bruntel. "Beware," the new Bonnie 'Prince' Billy album, will be released on March 17th, and the album's first single ("I Am Goodbye")--directed by Jennifer Parsons and Leif Johnson--is striking for its lo-fi elegance and beauty. Oldham is a compelling performer, both on stage and screen (from "Matewan" to "Old Joy" and "The Guatemalan Handshake"). In "I Am Goodbye," Mr. Billy strolls through the streets of Los Angeles, grinning and bouncing and singing his heart out. It's a joyous walk, a perfect evening, and it's near impossible to take your eyes off the video's bushy-bearded,... »

- James Ponsoldt

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Movie Review - 'Wendy and Lucy'

27 February 2009 12:03 AM, PST | GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news »

Wendy and Lucy

Starring Michelle Williams and Will Patton

Directed by Kelly Reichardt

Rated R

Michelle Williams gives a subtle, beautiful performance in Wendy and Lucy as a young woman traveling north to find her true calling, when all along the one thing that mattered in her life was right by her side.

Williams plays Wendy, and Lucy is her dog. They're driving across country, or around the country, with Alaska as a final destination. We get the sense that Wendy is just wandering from one final destination to the next. She has come from Indiana, and we know she visited Utah at one point, and now she's in Oregon. That's not the straightest path to Alaska.

Wendy is also running out of money. She figures she has about $500 left to get her from Oregon to Alaska in her 20-year-old Honda. But the Honda needs work and she's saving every »

- Colin Boyd

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2009 | 2008 | 2006

13 articles from 2009

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