The first poster for Baz Luhrmann‘s upcoming drama The Great Gatsby has arrived.

The Great Gatsby follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings.  Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan.  It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits.  As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke and Isla Fisher all star.  The Great Gatsby opens December 25th.

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First poster for THE GREAT GATSBY HollywoodHubbub

Formerly known as Cogan’s Trade (which I think it a far cooler title), here’s the first poster for the upcoming crime drama Killing Them Softly starring Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, and Ray Liotta.

Jackie Cogan (Pitt) is an enforcer; and when the Mob’s rules get broken, he gets hired to ply his trade — murder.  In the gritty, tough-talking pages of Higgins’s 1974 national best-seller, Cogan is called in when a high-stake card game under the protection of the Mob is heisted. Expertly, with a ruthless businessman’s efficiency, a shrewd sense of other people’s weaknesses, and a style as cold as his stare, Cogan moves with reliable precision to restore the status quo as ill-conceived capers and double-dealing shenanigans erupt into high-voltage violence.

The film is due to open on September 21st.

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First poster for KILLING THEM SOFTLY starring Brad Pitt HollywoodHubbub

As a general rule I find Aaron Sorkin to be both overrated and preachy, but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to checking out The Newsroom when it premieres on HBO on June 24th.

This new series centers on a cable news anchor (Jeff Daniels), his new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), his newsroom staff (John Gallagher, Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn) and their boss (Sam Waterston). Together they set out on a patriotic and quixotic mission to do the news well in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles and their own personal relationships.

Check out the poster below (via Collider).

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New poster for Aaron Sorkin’s THE NEWSROOM HollywoodHubbub

It’s not a trailer but this clip of Joaquin Phoenix in The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson‘s highly anticipated followup to There Will Be Blood, certainly makes me excited to see the final product.  Then again, considering the quality of Anderson’s previous work I was already super excited to see The Master.

Set in America in the years following World War II, a charismatic intellectual (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) launches a faith-based organization and taps a young drifter (Phoenix) as his right-hand man. But as the faith begins to gain a fervent following, the onetime vagabond finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced, and his mentor.

The film opens on October 12th.

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First clip from THE MASTER starring Joaquin Phoenix HollywoodHubbub

Here’s the first poster and trailer for Jay and Mark Duplass’ The Do-Deca-Pentathlon.

The story of two grown brothers (Mark Kelly & Steve Zissis) who secretly compete in a homemade Olympics during a family reunion. When their fierce and disruptive competition is uncovered, the brothers must pick between their passion for beating the hell out of each other and the greater good of the family.

To be honest, the trailer left me wanting.  I’m sure the film will be better than it’s portrayed in the trailer so I’ll probably check it out at some point but I don’t see me rushing out to see this film the first chance I get.

Check out the poster (thanks to kinogallery) and trailer for The Do-Deca-Pentathlon below.

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The Duplass’ THE DO-DECA-PENTATHLON now has a poster and trailer HollywoodHubbub

Continuing in the spirit of the last couple of days here’s the trailer for Fox’s new serial killer show The Following starring Kevin Bacon, James Purefoy, Natalie Zea, Jeananne Goosssen, and Shawn Ashmore.

I read the pilot script a while ago, and whilst I wasn’t blown away by it, I do think there’s potential.  It certainly doesn’t hurt that they were able to land Kevin Bacon as the lead, although it looks like each season will only contain about 13 episodes due to Bacon’s desire to be able to continue filming movies.

THE FBI estimates there are currently over 300 active serial killers in the United States. What would happen if these killers had a way of communicating and connecting with each other? What if they were able to work together and form alliances across the country? What if one brilliant psychotic serial killer was able to bring them all together and activate a following? Welcome to THE FOLLOWING, the terrifying new thriller from creator/executive producer Kevin Williamson (“The Vampire Diaries,” “Dawson’s Creek,” the “Scream” franchise). When notorious serial killer JOE CARROLL (James Purefoy, “Rome”) escapes from death row and embarks on a new killing spree, the FBI calls former agent RYAN HARDY (Emmy-nominated actor Kevin Bacon, “X-Men: First Class”) to consult on the case. Having since withdrawn from the public eye, Hardy was responsible for Carroll’s capture nine years ago, after Carroll murdered 14 female students on the Virginia college campus where he taught literature. Hardy is a walking textbook of all-things Carroll. He knows him better than anyone; he is perhaps Carroll’s only psychological and intellectual match. But the Ryan Hardy who broke the Carroll case years ago isn’t the same man today. Wounded both physically and mentally by his previous pursuit of this serial killer, it’s been a long time since Hardy has been in the field. This investigation is his redemption, his call to action. In contrast to nine years ago, Hardy isn’t calling the shots on this case. He works closely with an FBI team, which includes all-business and tough-as-nails JENNIFER MASON (Jeananne Goossen, “The Vow,” ALCATRAZ) and young, razor-sharp MIKE WESTON (Shawn Ashmore, “X-Men”).

The team considers Hardy to be more of a liability than an asset. But Hardy proves his worth when he uncovers that Carroll was covertly communicating with a network of killers in the outside world. It quickly becomes obvious that he has more planned than just a prison escape, and there’s no telling how many additional killers are out there. The FBI’s investigation leads Hardy to CLAIRE MATTHEWS (Natalie Zea, “Justified”), Carroll’s ex-wife and mother of the criminal’s 10-year-old son, JOEY (newcomer Kyle Catlett). Close during Hardy’s initial investigation, Hardy turns to Claire for insight into Carroll’s next move. The tension rises when Carroll’s accomplices kidnap his intended last victim from nine years ago. Hardy becomes ever more determined to end Carroll’s game when he realizes that this psychopath intends to finish what he started. The thriller will follow Hardy and the FBI as they are challenged with the ever-growing web of murder around them, masterminded by the devious Carroll, who dreams of writing a novel with Hardy as his protagonist. The reinvigorated Hardy will get a second chance to capture Carroll, as he’s faced with not one but a cult of serial killers.

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Trailer for THE FOLLOWING starring Kevin Bacon HollywoodHubbub

NBC cancelled Awake the other day.  Well, strictly speaking they opted to not renew the show for a second season.

I was somewhat excited about Awake before it aired thanks to a decent amount of positive buzz which typically included phrases like “intelligent” and “thought provoking”.  In some respects Awake is/was these things, however it’s mostly a standard police procedural with a unique delivery method.

The concept of the show is that police officer Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs), his wife Hannah (Laura Allen) and their son Rex (Dylan Minnette) are in a car wreck.  Michael survives and following the accident he lives in two realities, one where Hannah survived and one where Rex survived.  Every time he goes to sleep he wakes up in the other reality.  Each episode contains one case in each of Michael’s two worlds which he sets out to solve, aspects of each case typically bleed together between the worlds even though they’re not always related, and Michael is forced to deal with either a grieving Hannah or his stereotypically distant emo teenage son.  It’s not a bad show but it’s not a spectacularly good one either.  It is also kinda depressing for the simple fact that every episode contained people grieving for either a dead mother or a dead son.

I don’t like police procedurals.  They don’t usually allow for serialised storytelling and their formula is duller than watching paint dry.  Needless to say, I was very let down by Awake.

Now, despite being let down by the final product after reading such glowing reviews before the show aired, I am disappointed that NBC decided to not bring Awake back for a second season.  I’m disappointed because for a network that’s doing as poorly as NBC I don’t understand why they wouldn’t at least try and do something different.  Awake is still a basic cop show at it’s heart and I don’t think there’s any denying that the general population like watching cop shows.  The thing that made Awake interesting, even if not for me personally, was the way it was trying to present the procedural genre.  It was still a show which revolved around good guys catching bad guys, but the delivery mechanism for these stories was as markedly different as it could be for this genre.  At least it was trying something different with a stale genre of television.

What hope is there for the arrival of the next great one of a kind show like Lost when creativity of even the smallest kind like that in Awake is stifled?

The sheer lack of imaginative ambition on network TV these days makes me truly angry.  No-one is willing to take a chance on something even slightly different.  No-one will let a show grow and develop and find it’s true voice.  Hell, I read on Deadline today that CBS will pass on Nick Stoller’s sitcom Entry Level, even though it was received well by the network, because it’s a single camera sitcom and CBS’s other comedies are multi-camera sitcoms (source).

And that’s why I’m disappointed that Awake isn’t coming back.  Not because it was especially good but because it was trying something slightly different, and that ambition seems to have resulted in it’s cancellation whilst a show like Whitney gets to live another day.

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NBC cancels AWAKE and why that disappoints me HollywoodHubbub

Per IMDB – On the night of the discovery of a duplicate planet in the solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident.

When I first saw Super 8 I was almost certain that it would be my #1 film for 2011, and on repeat viewings that opinion didn’t change.  Then I saw Another Earth, and it’s so easily my #1 film of 2011 I feel Super 8 should be embarrassed.

If you watch the trailer before seeing the film, which I assume pretty much anyone reading this will do, please don’t let the sci-fi elements contained in the trailer turn you off from watching the film.  All in all the sci-fi element within Another Earth takes up a very small part of the film.  In actuality, the film is far more about the connection between Rhoda (Brit Marling) and John (William Mapother), and Rhoda’s feelings about what she did and how she can move on, than it ever is about the discovery of “another Earth”.  Ultimately, the film is about being human, the choices we make, the friendships we develop, and what makes us who we are.

Both Brit Marling (who wrote and produced the film) and William Mapother give great performances, with Marling’s performance making her an actress to keep an eye on.  The film was shot on a very small budget, but has such beautiful cinematography that you wouldn’t really know.  There’s an abundance of wonderful imagery throughout the film and it’s accompanied by a majestic and haunting soundtrack by Fall on Your Sword.  Like a lot of films in my best of 2011 list, Another Earth has a mood and feel to it that sucks you in until the very end.

Given my very strong enjoyment of Another Earth, I’m excited for Brit Marling’s next writing/starring project, The East, which tells the story of a contract worker who is tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group, only to find herself falling for its leader. The East also stars Ellen Page and Alexander Skarsgård.

On the list of honours for Another Earth, it was nominated for 8 awards, and won Best Actress at Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival, the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at Sundance, and the Special Jury Prize at Sundance.

Watching the trailer again sent chills down my spine.  I cannot possibly put into words how brilliant I think this film is.  If I try it just devolves into nonsensical stuttering with a final demand that “you have to watch it”.  Well, you have to watch it.

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Top 10 films of 2011: #1 – ANOTHER EARTH HollywoodHubbub

Ned (Paul Rudd) lives a happy life growing organic vegetables on a farm with his hippie girlfriend (Kathryn Hahn) and his dog named Willie Nelson, until an unadvised incident with marijuana at a farmer’s market lands him in jail.  When he gets out of jail, he is forced to live with his sisters Liz (Emily Mortimer), Natalie (Zooey Deschanel) and Miranda (Elizabeth Banks).

Look at that cast.  You add in Rashida Jones, Adam Scott, Steve Coogan, and T.J. Miller and this film basically becomes one of my wet dreams.

So again, it’s an indie comedy, something that’s right up my alley, and it features a group containing some of my favourite actors and actresses.

Beyond that it’s simply a funny and somewhat touching story about a likeable good-natured guy with three messed up, self-absorbed sisters, who he’s able to positively affect when he stays with them against their wishes.  Not much more to it than that.

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Top 10 films of 2011: #3 – OUR IDIOT BROTHER HollywoodHubbub

I’ve been compiling my best of list from my Flickchart and it has led to a bit of a problem.  See, the way Flickchart determines the release date for a film is when it gets it’s first public showing.  A lot of the time this would be fine, but for the indie fare which pretty much always debuts at a festival and then takes a while to find a distributor, this can mean that Flickchart can be off by a year or two.  I’ve now realised that two films which saw a limited release this year, but which Flickchart has as being released in 2010, were excluded from my draft list of best films for 2011.  Happythankyoumoreplease is one of those films, the other is the next spot up in my rankings.  This has lead to a 4a and 4b, not to indicate a tie, but rather as a means to include films on this list which deserve to be included.

Happythankyoumoreplease tells the story of a six New Yorkers who juggle love, friendship, and the keenly challenging specter of adulthood. Sam Wexler (Josh Radnor, who also wrote and directed the film) is a struggling writer who’s having a particularly bad day. When a young boy gets separated from his family on the subway, Sam makes the questionable decision to bring the child back to his apartment and thus begins a rewarding, yet complicated, friendship. Sam’s life revolves around his friends – Annie (Malin Akerman), whose self-image keeps her from commitment; Charlie (Pablo Schreiber) and Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan), a couple whose possible move to Los Angeles tests their relationship; and Mississippi (Kate Mara), a cabaret singer who catches Sam’s eye.

Ever since How I Met Your Mother came on the air in 2005 I’ve been impressed by Josh Radnor.  He always comes across as a likeable guy even in his more douchey moments on the show.  It was with that in mind that I was interested to see what he was like as both a writer and director.  Turns out he’s good.

The film is for all intents and purposes a coming of age tale for people in their late twenties/early thirties, set in New York, and accompanied by an indie soundtrack.  In other words, this is exactly the type of film that I love.  You add in Radnor, Akerman, and the wonderful Tony Hale, and it’s plain as day that I would rank this high.

I often try and explain why I like a certain film to friends or family and more often than not I end up saying it has a “certain feel” to it.  That’s typically my way of saying I enjoyed how it looked and sounded, and the mood it put me in both when I was watching it and after it had finished.  Happythankyoumoreplease is another film that has an unquantifiable “feel” to it that will appeal to you if you’re a  fan of indie dramas.

After watching Happythankyoumoreplease and Martha Marcy May Marlene, I was over the moon to learn that Radnor’s next writing/directing/starring project, Liberal Arts, also stars Elizabeth Olsen and is due to debut at Sundance this year.  I can’t wait to see what he does as a follow-up.

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Top 10 films of 2011: #4b – HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE HollywoodHubbub