Amazon Announces "The Last Tycoon" for July 28th

Amazon Original Series The Last Tycoon, Based on the Last Work of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Debuts Exclusively on Prime Video on July 28, 2017

All nine episodes of the original dramatic series—starring Matt Bomer, Kelsey Grammer and Lily Collins, and executive produced by Academy Award nominee Billy Ray and Christopher Keyser—will be available globally on Prime Video in more than 200 countries and territories

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon announced its new original one hour series The Last Tycoon, starring Golden Globe winner Matt Bomer (White Collar, The Normal Heart), multi-Golden Globe and Emmy winner Kelsey Grammer (Frasier, Boss) and Lily Collins (The Blind Side, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones), will premiere on Friday, July 28, 2017, exclusively on Prime Video.

From F. Scott Fitzgerald’s last work, which celebrated its 75th anniversary last year, The Last Tycoon—inspired by the life of legendary film mogul Irving Thalberg—follows Hollywood’s Golden Boy, Monroe Stahr (Bomer), as he battles father figure and boss Pat Brady (Grammer) for the soul of their studio. In a world darkened by the Great Depression and the growing international influence of Hitler’s Germany, The Last Tycoon illuminates the passions, violence, and towering ambition of 1930s Hollywood. Customers can watch the pilot episode online at Amazon.com/The-Last-Tycoon before the full season’s remaining eight episodes air on July 28. The show will be available on PrimeVideo.com for Prime Video members in more than 200 countries and territories around the globe.

    “It’s thrilling to watch F. Scott Fitzgerald’s extraordinary work brought to life through the eyes of Billy and Chris, and this incredible cast”

A co-production with TriStar Television, The Last Tycoon also stars Rosemarie DeWitt (La La Land) as Rose Brady, Dominique McElligott (House of Cards) as Kathleen Moore, Enzo Cilenti (The Martian) as Aubrey Hackett, Mark O’Brien (Arrival) as Max Miner, and Koen De Bouw (Professor T.) as Tomas Szep. Guest stars include Jennifer Beals (Taken) as Margo Taft, Saul Rubinek (Unforgiven) as Louis B. Mayer, and Eion Bailey (Once Upon a Time) as Clint Frost. Academy Award nominee Billy Ray (Captain Phillips, The Hunger Games) writes and directs multiple episodes and the series is executive produced by Ray, Christopher Keyser (Tyrant, Party of Five), who serve as showrunners, Joshua D. Maurer (Rubicon), Alixandre Witlin (Georgia O’Keeffe), David A. Stern (Rosemary’s Baby) and Scott Hornbacher (Mad Men). Noted Pulitzer-winning Fitzgerald scholar A. Scott Berg serves as consulting producer with Perri Kipperman (Billions) serving as co-executive producer. The series is made possible by an array of behind-the-scenes artists, including Academy Award-winning production designer Patrizia von Brandenstein (Amadeus), Emmy-winning costume designer Janie Bryant (Mad Men), Emmy-nominated Director of Photography Danny Moder (The Normal Heart), and Academy Award-winning composer Mychael Danna (Life of Pi).

“It’s thrilling to watch F. Scott Fitzgerald’s extraordinary work brought to life through the eyes of Billy and Chris, and this incredible cast,” said Joe Lewis, Head of Comedy, Drama and VR, Amazon Studios. “This great team has created a stunning portrayal of 1930s Hollywood. We’re excited to share the series with Prime members this summer.”

Prime members will be able to stream The Last Tycoon exclusively via the Amazon Prime Video app for TVs, connected devices including Fire TV, mobile devices and online. Members can also download the series to mobile devices for offline viewing at no additional cost to their membership.

The Last Tycoon was part of Amazon’s pilot season last year, a unique development process that gives all customers an opportunity to stream and review pilots in order to help choose the next Amazon Original Series that are then made available to Prime members. Below are what customers have said about the pilot:

•     “A beautifully rendered, intelligent portrait of Hollywood in the 1930s, and exploration of the fascinating world of Irving Thalberg. For admirers of all that, and Fitzgerald’s book—not to mention those who think ‘they don’t make them like they used to’–this show is a must-see.” 

•     “An excellent drama with killer fashion and set design.”

•     “The overall quality and feel of the show is fantastic. The storyline quickly engages the viewer, pulling them into the world of Brady American Studios and 1930s Hollywood. All of the different elements meld together to bring a show that is a true masterpiece.”

•     “This has Emmy written all over it. Lots of times. Acting, directing, writing, sets & costumes; this thing has it all and we can believe the question about whether it gets produced isn't really a question at all.”

The entire first season of The Last Tycoon will be available for Prime members to stream and enjoy using the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices including Amazon Fire TV, and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/The-Last-Tycoon, with other Amazon Original Series online at Amazon.com/originals, at no additional cost to their membership. Eligible customers who are not already Prime members can sign up for a free trial at www.amazon.com/prime. For a list of all Amazon Video compatible devices, visit www.amazon.com/howtostream.


About Amazon Video
Amazon Video is a premium on-demand entertainment service that offers customers the greatest choice in what to watch and how to watch it. Amazon Video is the only service that provides all of the following:

•     Prime Video: Thousands of movies and TV shows, including popular licensed content plus critically-acclaimed and award-winning Amazon Original Series and Movies from Amazon Studios like Transparent, The Man in the High Castle, Love & Friendship, and kids series Tumble Leaf, available for unlimited streaming as part of an Amazon Prime membership. Prime Video is also now available to customers in more than 200 countries and territories around the globe at www.primevideo.com.
•     Amazon Channels: Over 100 video subscriptions to networks like HBO, SHOWTIME, STARZ, PBS KIDS, Acorn TV, and more, available to Amazon Prime members in the US as add-ons to their membership. To view the full list of available channels, visit www.amazon.com/channels.
•     Rent or Own: Hundreds of thousands of titles, including new release movies and current TV shows available for on-demand rental or purchase for all Amazon customers.
•     Instant Access: Customers can instantly watch anytime, anywhere through the Amazon Video app on compatible TVs, mobile devices, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Fire tablets, or online. For a list of all compatible devices, visit www.amazon.com/howtostream.
•     Premium Features: Top features like 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and mobile downloads for offline viewing of select content.

In addition to Prime Video, the Prime membership includes unlimited fast free shipping options across all categories available on Amazon, more than two million songs and thousands of playlists and stations with Prime Music, secure photo storage with Prime Photos, unlimited reading with Prime Reading, unlimited access to a digital audiobook catalog with Audible Channels for Prime, a rotating selection of free digital games and in-game loot with Twitch Prime, early access to select Lightning Deals, exclusive access and discounts to select items, and more. To sign-up for Prime or to find out more, visit: www.amazon.com/prime.

About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

-----------------------

Review: "Catch that Kid" is a Kiddie Action Flick (Happy B'day, Kristen Stewart)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Catch that Kid (2004)
Running time: 91 minutes (l hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some language, thematic elements and rude humor
DIRECTOR: Bart Freundlich
WRITERS: Michael Brandt and Derek Haas (based upon the Danish film Klatreøsen by Nikolaj Arcel, Hans Fabian Wullenweber, and Erlend Loe)
PRODUCERS: Andrew Lazar and Uwe Schott
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Julio Macat
EDITOR: Stuart Levy
COMPOSER: George S. Clinton

ADVENTURE/COMEDY/CRIME/FAMILY with elements of action and thriller

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Corbin Bleu, Max Thieriot, Jennifer Beals, Sam Robards, John Carroll Lynch, James Le Gros, Michael Des Barres, Stark Sands, and Grant Hayden Scott & Shane Avery Scott

The subject of this movie review is Catch that Kid, a 2004 adventure-comedy and crime film from Fox 2000 Pictures, a division of 20th Century Fox. The film is an early starring role for actress Kristen Stewart, who would go on to star in the Twilight films.

Fox’s Catch that Kid, a remake of the smash 2002 Danish film, Klatreøsen (Catch that Girl), is a kind low watt and low-tech version of Spy Kids (lacking the Spy Kids franchise’s imagination and fantastical aspects) and a juvenile version of Mission: Impossible, replete with car chases, computer hacking, and breaking and entering heavily secured structures.

Maddy (Kristen Stewart) is a budding climber, hoping to be like her father, Tom (Sam Robards), who climbed Mount Everest. Tom, however, sustained a severe injury while at Everest, that’s come back to haunt him. Without an expensive, experimental (but highly successful) surgery, he will likely remained mostly paralyzed. When a large multinational bank, for which her mother, Molly (Jennifer Beals, Flashdance), provides high tech security, refuses to loan her family the money, Maddy takes things into her own hands.

She convinces two boy friends to help her bypass the state of the art electronic security, and rob the bank of 250,000 dollars. A complication is that both boys are in love with Maddy and vie for her attention against each other. The computer whiz, Austin (Corbin Bleu), and the mechanically inclined, Gus (Max Thieriot), may, however, have just the talent that when combined with Maddy’s spunk and climbing skills could bring them success

The film is quite well directed by Bart Freundlich, a well-considered director of independent art films. Although the concept is farfetched, the action and jokes should sit well with most kids and even some teens, never mind the moral implications of robbing a bank to save your father’s life.

Catch that Kid is largely meant to be like “Kim Possible” or Totally Spies,” those animated shows where kids go on dangerous missions. Picture this as a high-octane action movie for kids, sans the pyrotechnics and violence. In that light, it’s entertaining (at times, even to more mature minds), and Freundlich keeps the level of suspense high. It may be difficult for adults to identify with kiddie action heroes, but these characters are doing the Tom Cruise or Bruce Willis things for the children.

5 of 10
B-

----------------

Review: "Runaway Jury" is Unrealistic, But Entertaining (Happy B'day, Gene Hackman)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 32 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Runaway Jury (2003)
Running time: 127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence, language, and thematic elements
DIRECTOR: Gary Fleder
WRITERS: Brian Koppelman and David Levien, Rick Cleveland, and Matthew Chapman (based upon the novel by John Grisham)
PRODUCER: Christopher Mankiewicz, and Gary Fleder
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Elswit, A.S.C.
EDITOR: William Steinkamp, A.C.E. and Jeff Williams

DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, Bruce Davison, Bruce McGill, Jeremy Piven, Nick Searcy, Joanna Going, Stanley Anderson, Cliff Curtis, Jennifer Beals, and Bill Nunn with Orlando Jones and (uncredited) Dylan McDermott

Runaway Jury is a 2003 legal drama/thriller from director Gary Fleder. The film is based on the 1996 novel, The Runaway Jury, by author John Grisham.

Set in New Orleans, Runaway Jury is the story of a mysterious man named Nicholas Easter (John Cusack), who talks his way onto the jury of a landmark civil case against a gun manufacturer and attempts to influence the verdict by manipulating the other jurors. Meanwhile, on the outside, Easter’s girlfriend, Marlee (Rachel Weisz) runs a game to swindle the two lawyers involved in the case into paying her 10 million dollars if they want the verdict friendly to their clients.

Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman) is a torts lawyer who represents the plaintiff, Celeste Wood (Joanna Going), the widow of Jacob Wood (Dylan McDermott), who was killed in a shooting rampage at brokerage firm. She believes the gun manufacturer knew that the killer bought the gun from a store that was careless and ignored gun laws. Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman) is a jury consultant for the defense. Fitch is almost superhuman in the way he is able to discover the pasts of jurors, examine their beliefs and mindsets, and find out who can be bought, bribed, or blackmailed. His war with Nick Easter and Marlee drives the trial to the brink of ruin for a breathtaking finale.

Runaway Jury is the latest film adapted from a bestseller by John Grisham, author of books such as The Firm and A Time to Kill, both of which were adapted into films. The novel’s original premise was about a civil action against big tobacco, but the gun industry, also a target of big lawsuits, may have seemed like an easier sell to moviegoers, as guns are a lightening rod and divider of the American public. However, the film really doesn’t turn on a change of litigants. The best thing this film has going for it is the trio of John Cusack, Gene Hackman, and Rachel Weisz because they put the drama and thrills in this film. Dustin Hoffman is good, but he seems like the odd man out. His one good chance to chew up the scenery with Hackman is decidedly one-sided with Hackman eating his lunch. Anyone seeing this movie will clearly understand what power Hackman radiates. His star power and acting ability is worlds better than most other actors. An actor in a film with him has got to bring serious game, or Hackman will sweep him away. I so loved Hackman’s performance here that I wanted to have a baby for him.

Parts of Runaway Jury certainly test the bounds of belief and reality, but this is a great legal drama even if stuff happens in this film that no judge would allow to go on in his courtroom. And I say that knowing that most judges ain’t worth crap and are as crooked as a devil in gambling parlor. Runaway Jury is wonderful entertainment, and if you turn your reasoning down a little, it’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.

7 of 10
B+

--------------------

Review: "Devil in a Blue Dress" (Happy B'Day, Don Cheadle)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 80 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, sexuality, and language
DIRECTOR: Carl Franklin
WRITER: Carl Franklin (based upon the book by Walter Mosley)
PRODUCERS: Jesse Beaton and Gary Goetzman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tak Fujimoto
EDITOR: Carole Kravetz
Image Award nominee

MYSTERY/DRAMA

Starring: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney, Mel Winkler, Albert Hall, Lisa Nicole Carson, Jenard Burks, John Roselius, Beau Starr, and Joseph Latimore

It’s Los Angeles, 1948. World War II vet Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins (Denzel Washington) is out of work and needing money because he owns his home (one of the few black men to do so in the post WW II black neighborhoods of L.A.), and the mortgage is due… now. Through a friend, he connects with a shady white man named DeWitt Albright (Tom Sizemore), who pays Easy 100 dollars to find a missing white woman named Daphne Monet (Jennifer Beals). It seems like an easy way to make quick cash, but Easy gets more than he bargained for when people connected to Daphne start turning up dead. With the cops breathing down his neck, Easy turns to his old Houston, Texas running mate Raymond Alexander aka “Mouse” (Don Cheadle), a trigger happy hood who will definitely have Easy’s back. However, Mouse is sometimes as hazardous to Easy as the Daphne and the men looking for her are always dangerous to him.

When Devil in a Blue Dress debuted in 1995, the film seemed like a sure thing, both at the box office and with critics. Writer/director Carl Franklin had earned attention with his brutal and gritty neo-noir crime thriller, One False Move (1992). The film was based upon Walter Mosley’s “Easy” Rawlins detective novel series that was getting a lot of notice because its lead was African-American, a rarity in detective fiction. The series was also growing in popularity and book sales, especially with the release of a fourth book in the series in late 1994. Playing Easy was Denzel Washington, an actor hitting a career stride with three Oscar nominations (and one win) and box office success. Although the film met with many good reviews, Devil in a Blue Dress never quite caught on, and today is overshadowed, as far as modern Film-Noir-like movies go, by L.A. Confidential, which showed up two years later after the release of Devin in a Blue Dress.

Franklin’s adaptation of the novel by Walter Mosley fails to capture the ambiance and impressions of post-war L.A. – certainly not the way Mosley succeeds in creating this wonderful gumbo of Black folks and Black subcultures. Franklin and the production staff do a fine job recreating the L.A. of that time period, but it sometimes feels empty and flat – like a set for a stage drama. Franklin transforms the novel’s plot into something resembling Chinatown or Out of the Past. It doesn’t take a genius movie fan to figure out that Daphne Monet knows something that can hurt a rich and powerful person. And that person wants her found before his enemies get a hold of her and the dangerous info she possesses. Because of such a familiar plot, Devil in a Blue Dress the movie must rely on its characters and the actors playing them to be a compelling film.

The film is nearly a half hour into the narrative when the performances and the characters begin to thaw. Denzel really starts to fit comfortably in Easy’s skin, and Tom Sizemore sinks deep in DeWitt Albright’s wickedness. The movie really blossoms when Don Cheadle steps in as Easy’s old homeboy, Mouse. In the books, Mouse is a cold-blooded killer who will murder a man for a minor insult as easily as he’d murder a man for trying to kill him. Even Mouse’s playfulness only makes him come across as a mild-tempered rattlesnake, and Cheadle superbly captures that essence of the character and puts it on the screen. This brilliant and captivating small supporting role caught many by surprise, but Oscars ignored it. Jennifer Beals takes almost the entirety of the film before her character comes alive. Ms. Beals’ best scenes are the ones in which Daphne deals with her true identity – familiar territory for Ms. Beals perhaps?

While by no means a great film, Devil in a Blue Dress sometimes seems like a prestige TV film. Still, because of what its characters are and because of its setting, Devil in a Blue Dress remains a memorable late, late 20th century noir film.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
1996 NAACP Image Awards: 4 nominations: “Lead Actress in a Motion Picture” (Jennifer Beals), “Outstanding Motion Picture,”” Outstanding Soundtrack Album” (Columbia), and “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Don Cheadle)

Monday, April 17, 2006