Posts Tagged ‘Marisa Tomei’

Short Take: Deftly written and directed for those who have forfeited all optimism for American politics - or are prepared to

Director: George Clooney

Screenwriters: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon; based on Farragut North by Beau Willimon

Cast: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright

Length: 1h 41m

Synopsis: Nearing the turning point to a highly contested Democratic Primary election, Pennsylvania Governor Mike Morris (Clooney) and his chief campaign managers Paul (Hoffman) and Stephen (Gosling) are trying desperately to win out against the competing Senator and his crafty press secretary Tom Duffy (Giamatti) for the pivotal state of Ohio. Soon before full support is set to swing in either candidate’s favor, dependent upon the backing of the powerful Senator Thompson (Wright), Stephen, a genuinely fervent devotee of Morris’ politics, accidentally gets entangled in a small scandal when Duffy decides to bid for his defection. Word of the two’s meeting creates friction at the top of the Morris campaign, and from there on the dominos fall in the direction of defeat. Forced to test his loyalties by defending his personal ambitions, Stephen finds a way to play himself back into good professional standing using questionable influences and political chicanery. Although he may have started out rather green, Stephen discovers just how dirty the art of politics can really be.

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Short Take: Self-aware without bragging about it. A genuinely romantic comedy.

Directors: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Screenwriter: Dan Fogelman

Cast: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Jonah Bobo, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Analeigh Tipton, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon

Length: 1 hour, 58 minutes

Synopsis: Cal Weaver (Carell) is overcome with depression when his wife Emily (Moore) demands a divorce and reveals she slept with a coworker. After listening to Cal drunkenly profess his woes, fast-talking lothario Jacob (Gosling) decides to teach him how to get more women. As Cal regains his self-confidence, Jacob falls in love with Hannah (Stone), a determined young woman who has a specific vision for her future. Meanwhile, Cal’s son Robbie (Bobo) nurses a crush for his babysitter, Jessica (Tipton).

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Short Take: A fresh take on a tested concept

Directors: Mark and Jay Duplass (Baghead)

Screenwriters: Mark and Jay Duplass (Baghead)

Cast: John C. Reilly (Step Brothers), Jonah Hill (Get Him to the Greek), Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler), Catherine Keener (Where the Wild Things Are)

Length: 1h 32m

Synopsis: John (Reilly) is a divorced middle-aged man living by himself, currently hitting what he believes to be rock bottom. Through encouragement and arm twisting by his ex-wife Jamie (Keener) and her new husband John attends a party where he’ll supposedly have a golden opportunity to get back into the dating game after a 7 year hiatus. As it turns out, that’s exactly what happens. He clicks with a warm, fun-loving single mother named Molly (Tomei), whose 21 year old son Cyrus (Hill) still lives with her. Shortly after the dating begins John meets Cyrus face to face, and at first the two seem to get along swell. What John begins to realize, though, is that Cyrus is actually trying everything he can to sabotage his mother’s new relationship, and so John must try to foil Cyrus’ plans under the nose of the woman caught between them. Read the rest of this entry »

Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly's "Cyrus" has been one of the recent indie successes

According to Pamela McClintock of Variety.com the “specialty sector”, or independent film market, has received a recent boost in box-office grosses thanks to releases like Mark and Jay Duplass’ Cyrus starring Jonah Hill, John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, and Catherine Keener, a documentary that follows the raising of several children from all over the world titled Babies, as we as several others.

President of Fox Searchlight Steve Gilula says that the recent (relative) success of these independent films are indicative that there “is life in the [indie] market, even as audiences are being more selective.” Some other examples of these films include City Island, Exit Through the Gift Shop, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

These indie successes hope to continue their theatrical and VOD runs, because as with any film the longer the run the more money they make. However, with word of mouth being the primary propellant of their runs such success is almost completely reliant on audience buzz, which is means these films’ futures are harder to predict than most.

One aspect that’s being tentatively attributed to these films’ financial achievements is how there are fewer large-market films being released during the Spring and early Summer months. Also consider the recent Warner Bros. flop Jonah Hex, for example, and it can be said that independent films have had less competition than usual.

The momentum that the “specialty sector” is building right now will be important for the current releases in creating Oscar buzz come Fall and Winter, as well as help later indie releases like Bill Murray and Robert Duvall’s Get Low, which will open July 30th, to do the same by holding the attention of audiences who may become distracted by bigger films such as Inception, Predators, Twilight: Eclipse, Salt, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and Tron.

Source: Variety

Jennifer Connelly recently joined the cast of "Salvation Boulevard"

Jennifer Connelly (Blood Diamond) and Greg Kinnear (Green Zone) have been cast for the project Salvation Boulevard, funded by Mandalay Vision (a branch of Mandalay Entertainment Group). The two join a cast consisting of Pierce Brosnan, Jim Gaffigan, and Ed Harris.

The film is a comedy/thriller based on a book of the same name written by Larry Beinhart, and will be directed by George Ratliff (Joshua).

“[The film] centers on a former Deadhead turned born-again Christian who finds himself on the run from fundamentalist members of his mega-church who will do anything to protect their larger-than-life pastor.” – Variety

Marisa Tomei is also currently in negotiations to join the cast.

Source: Variety.com