Tuesday, November 10, 2015

2015 British IIndependent Film Award Nominations Announced

In 1998, Raindance created the British Independent Film Awards to celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking.  The awards also honor new talent and promote British films and filmmaking to a wider public.

On Tuesday, November 3, 2015, the nominations for The 2015/18th Moët British Independent Film Awards were announced in London.  The winners will be announced at The Moët British Independent Film Awards on Sunday, December 6, 2015 at Old Billingsgate. The event will be live streamed on www.bifa.film.

The 2015 Moët British Independent Film Awards nominations:

Best British Independent Film sponsored by Moët & Chandon
  • 45 YEARS Tristan Goligher, Andrew Haigh
  • AMY James Gay-Rees, Asif Kapadia
  • EX MACHINA Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Alex Garland
  • THE LOBSTER Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, Efthymis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos
  • MACBETH Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Laura Hastings-Smith, Todd Louiso, Jacob Koskoff, Michael Lesslie, Justin Kurzel

Best Director
45 YEARS Andrew Haigh
AMY Asif Kapadia
EX MACHINA Alex Garland
THE LOBSTER Yorgos Lanthimos
MACBETH Justin Kurzel

Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Films
45 YEARS Andrew Haigh
BROOKLYN Nick Hornby
EX MACHINA Alex Garland
HIGH-RISE Amy Jump
THE LOBSTER Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou

Best Actress sponsored by MAC
MARION COTILLARD Macbeth
CAREY MULLIGAN Suffragette
CHARLOTTE RAMPLING 45 Years
SAOIRSE RONAN Brooklyn
ALICIA VIKANDER The Danish Girl

Best Actor sponsored by Movado
TOM COURTENAY 45 Years
COLIN FARRELL The Lobster
MICHAEL FASSBENDER Macbeth
TOM HARDY Legend
TOM HIDDLESTON High-Rise

Best Supporting Actress
HELENA BONHAM CARTER Suffragette
OLIVIA COLMAN The Lobster
ANNE-MARIE DUFF Suffragette
SIENNA MILLER High-Rise
JULIE WALTERS Brooklyn

Best Supporting Actor
LUKE EVANS High-Rise
BRENDAN GLEESON Suffragette
DOMHNALL GLEESON Brooklyn
SEAN HARRIS Macbeth
BEN WHISHAW The Lobster

Most Promising Newcomer sponsored by The London Edition
AGYNESS DEYN Sunset Song
MIA GOTH The Survivalist
ABIGAIL HARDINGHAM Nina Forever
MILO PARKER Mr Holmes
BEL POWLEY A Royal Night Out

The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) sponsored by 3 Mills Studios
THE HALLOW Corin Hardy
KAJAKI: THE TRUE STORY Paul Katis
NINA FOREVER Chris & Ben Blaine
SLOW WEST John Maclean
THE SURVIVALIST Stephen Fingleton

The Discovery Award sponsored by Raindance
AAAAAAAAH! Andrew Starke, Steve Oram
BURN BURN BURN Daniel-Konrad Cooper, Tim Phillips, Charlie Covell, Chanya Button
ORION: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING Jeanie Finlay
THE RETURN Oliver Nias
WINTER Tilly Wood, Paula Crickard, Heidi Greensmith

Best Documentary
  • AMY James Gay-Rees, Asif Kapadia
  • DARK HORSE: THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF DREAM ALLIANCE Judith Dawson, Louise Osmond
  • HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD Bous De Jong, Al Morrow, Jerry Rothwell
  • PALIO James Gay-Rees, John Hunt, Cosima Spender
  • A SYRIAN LOVE STORY Elhum Shakerifar, Sean McAllister

Producer of the Year
TRISTAN GOLIGHER 45 Years
JAMES GAY-REES Amy
PAUL KATIS, ANDREW DE LOTBINIERE Kajaki: The True Story
CECI DEMPSEY, ED GUINEY, YORGOS LANTHIMOS, LEE MAGIDAY The Lobster
DAVID A HUGHES, DAVID MOORES The Violators

Outstanding Achievement in Craft
ADAM ARKAPAW Cinematography – Macbeth
MARK DIGBY Production Design – Ex Machina
CHRIS KING Editing – Amy
FIONA WEIR Casting – Brooklyn
ANDREW WHITEHURST Visual Effects, Ex Machina

Best British Short Film
  • BALCONY Tom Kimberly, Ali Mansuri, Toby Fell-Holden
  • CRACK Joseph Taussig, Peter King
  • EDMOND Emilie Jouffroy, Nina Gantz
  • LOVE IS BLIND Lizzie Brown, Dan Hodgson
  • MANoMAN Kamilla Kristiane Hodøl, Simon Cartwright

Best International Independent Film
  • CAROL Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Christine Vachon, Phyllis Nagy, Todd Haynes
  • FORCE MAJEURE Erik Hemmendorff, Marie Kjellson, Philippe Bober, Ruben Östlund
  • GIRLHOOD Bénédicte Couvreur, Céline Sciamma
  • ROOM Ed Guiney, David Gross, Emma Donoghue, Lenny Abrahamson
  • SON OF SAUL Gábor Sipos, Gábor Rajna, Cara Royer, László Nemes

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Monday, November 9, 2015

Review: "Justice League: Gods and Monsters" Recalls "Justice League" Roots

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 43 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

Justice League: Gods and Monsters (2015) – Video
Running time:  76 minutes (1 hour, 16 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence throughout and suggestive content including nudity
DIRECTOR:  Sam Liu
WRITERS:  Alan Burnett; from a story by Bruce W. Timm and Alan Burnett
PRODUCER: Alan Burnett
EDITOR:  Christopher D. Lozinsk
COMPOSER:  Frederik Wiedmann
ANIMATION STUDIO:  Moi Animation

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/ACTION/FANTASY

Starring:  (voices) Benjamin Bratt, Michael C. Hall, Tamara Taylor, Paget Brewster, C. Thomas Howell, Jason Isaacs, Dee Bradley Baker, Grey Griffin, Penny Johnson Jerald, Tahmoh Penikett, Bruce Thomas, Carl Lumbly, Taylor Parks, Richard Chamberlain, Yuri Lowenthal, and Andrea Romano

Justice League: Gods and Monsters is a 2015 straight-to-video animated superhero film from Warner Bros. Animation.  It is the 23rd film in Warner's line of DC Universe original animated movies.  The film focuses on an alternate version of DC Comics' ultimate superhero team, the Justice League.  This film also marks the return of fan-favorite writer-producer, Bruce Timm, to DC Universe films.

Justice League: Gods and Monsters is set in an alternate universe and features a different version of DC Comics's “Trinity” – Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman.  This different version of Superman is Hernan Guerra (Benjamin Bratt), not Clark Kent.  Superman's origin is still the planet, Krypton, but his biological father is General Zod (Bruce Thomas), not Jor-El.  On Earth, baby Kal-El is found and raised by a family of honorable and hardworking Mexican migrant farmers (instead of the Kansas farming couple, Ma and Pa Kent).  The troubles Hernan experienced living as an undocumented immigrant in the United States with his parents has made Superman short-tempered and withdrawn from humanity.

This alternate version of Wonder Woman is not Diana Prince from Paradise Island.  She is Bekka (Tamara Taylor), a New God, living in exile from Apokolips on EarthBatman is not Bruce Wayne.  He is Dr. Kirk Langstrom (Michael C. Hall), a scientist transformed by experimentation into a vampire-like man who feeds on criminals to satisfy his thirst for blood, which eats away at his humanity.  In Gods and Monsters, this Justice League operate outside the law, which makes it easy for them to be framed for the murders of several prominent scientists.

As Justice League: Gods and Monsters, the Justice League acts as the brutal force that maintains order on Earth.  The League has very little accountability and maintains a wary alliance with the United States government and with President Amanda Waller (Penny Johnson Jerald).  However, the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three prominent scientists seem to point to Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman as the murderers.  Now, authorities plan to use, “Project Fair Play,” the pet project of these murdered scientists, to hold the Justice League accountable for murders that they did not commit.  So who did?

Viewers that are familiar with the characters, comic books, and mythologies of DC Comics will find Justice League: Gods and Monsters a delight.  The better your grasp on what has been changed and how it has been changed, the more entertaining this film will be.  Still, the themes of justice and unity preside over the story.  The heroes, dark as they are, still undergo a journey to their better selves, striving to embrace their better natures.  Different though they may be, they are still superheroes.  They are still the Justice League.

In terms of the animation, character design, and art direction, Justice League: Gods and Monsters looks like the dearly DC Universe animated films.  In terms of action and drama, Gods and Monsters is also similar to the “Justice League” (2001-2004) animated television series and other animated series for which this film's writers, Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, are known.  That's a good thing; that's a very good thing.

Justice League: Gods and Monsters is a welcomed return of a classic Justice League cool.  I hope that Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett reunite for more.

8 of 10
A

Friday, November 6, 2015


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


16 Films Vie for "Best Animated Feature" at 88th Oscars

16 ANIMATED FEATURES SUBMITTED FOR 2015 OSCAR® RACE
Sixteen features have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 88th Academy Awards®.

The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:

“Anomalisa”
“The Boy and the Beast”
“Boy and the World”
“The Good Dinosaur”
“Home”
“Hotel Transylvania 2”
“Inside Out”
“Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet”
“The Laws of the Universe - Part 0”
“Minions”
“Moomins on the Riviera”
“The Peanuts Movie”
“Regular Show: The Movie”
“Shaun the Sheep Movie”
“The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water”
“When Marnie Was There”

Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles qualifying run.  Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules before they can advance in the voting process.  At least eight eligible animated features must be theatrically released in Los Angeles County within the calendar year for this category to be activated.  In any year in which 16 or more animated feature films are eligible, a maximum of five motion pictures may be nominated.

Films submitted in the Animated Feature Film category also may qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.
The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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


Saturday, November 7, 2015

Amazon Adds Three Kids Series and One Special

Amazon Orders Three Original Kids Series—Dino Dana, The Kicks and Lost in Oz—and Orders Half-Hour Special Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer’s Llamas

Two series greenlit from previous kids pilot season, including Amazon’s first original animated series for kids ages 6 to 11, Lost in Oz and live-action series The Kicks, based on Alex Morgan’s book series

Additional pick-ups include a follow-up to the Emmy award-winning Dino Dan and a half-hour special following up the Shaun the Sheep series and recent hit movie

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today announced it has ordered three new Amazon Original Kids SeriesDino Dana, The Kicks and Lost in Oz—as well as half-hour special, Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer’s Llamas to debut on Prime Video. The new series come from creative talent including Aardman Animations, Bureau of Magic’s Mark Warshaw, Abram Makowka, Darin Mark and Jared Mark (East Los High, Smallville), novelist James Frey (I Am Number Four), and J.J. Johnson (Dino Dan, Annedroids). All three series will be available for Prime members in the US, UK, Germany and Austria and will debut next year. Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer’s Llamas will make its world debut for Prime members in the US on November 13.

    “We’re excited to offer our Prime members a beautifully reimagined world in our first original kids 6-to-11 animated series and bring to the screen Alex Morgan’s successful book series with an inspirational role model at the core”

“We’re excited to offer our Prime members a beautifully reimagined world in our first original kids 6-to-11 animated series and bring to the screen Alex Morgan’s successful book series with an inspirational role model at the core,” said Tara Sorensen, Head of Kids Programming at Amazon Studios. “Aardman and Sinking Ship are award-winning producers and we’re excited to debut Dino Dana and Shaun the Sheep on Prime Video.”

A follow up to the 2015 Emmy award-winning series Dino Dan, Dino Dana is a preschool program that takes viewers on a whole new level of dinosaur encounters. The series will feature 16 new prehistoric creatures, an adopted baby dino and, for the first time, two sisters. After a chance encounter with Trek and his Dino Field Guide, Dana, a “paleontologist in training,” and her teenage sister Emily, begin to see dinosaurs all around them, leading to plenty of action and adventure. Created and directed by J.J. Johnson (Dino Dan, Annedroids), the series will be executive produced by Sinking Ship partners Johnson, Blair Powers and Matt Bishop, co-executive produced by Christin Simms (Dino Dan) and written by Johnson and Simms.

In The Kicks, a live-action series for children ages six to 11, Devin Burke (played by newcomer Sixx Orange) was the star player on her soccer team back home until her family moved to California midway through the school year. Now, Devin has to rise to the challenge after discovering that her new school team has been on a losing streak over the last few months and is badly in need of a leader to rally the team together. Based on a book series by US Olympic Gold Medalist and current US Women’s National Team soccer player Alex Morgan, the project is Executive Produced by Full Fathom Five’s novelist James Frey (I Am Number Four) and Todd Cohen (Lumen), as well as Andrew Orenstein (Malcolm in the Middle). The series also stars E’myri Crutchfield (Vacation) as Zoe Hanson, Gabe Eggerling (Even Angels Cry) as Bailey Burke, Sophia Mitri Schloss (Desert Cathedral) as Emma Gelbaum, Monica Lacy (Hawaii Five-0) as Sharon Burke, and Tim Martin Gleason (New Girl) as Tom Burke.

Lost in Oz is an animated, action-adventure comedy for children ages 6 to 11 set in a modern, metropolitan Emerald City. Stranded in this spectacular world, 12-year-old Dorothy Gale befriends West, a young, street-smart witch grappling with dark temptations, and Ojo, a giant munchkin. With Dorothy’s dog Toto, this unlikely crew embarks on an epic journey, seeking out the magic Dorothy needs to get back to Kansas. The challenge for Dorothy, and everyone else in this world, is that Oz is facing the greatest magic crisis in eons. Developed and produced by Bureau of Magic’s Mark Warshaw, Darin Mark, Jared Mark, and Abram Makowka (East Los High, Smallville), this contemporary re-imagining of L. Frank Baum’s extraordinary universe is designed by Flaunt Productions (Under Siege, Project Spark), music by Adam Berry (The Penguins of Madagascar) with theme music by Mark Mothersbaugh (The Lego Movie).

In Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer’s Llamas, the Farmer and Bitzer go to a Country Fair and Shaun accompanies them intent on causing mischief. Shaun spies an auction of three exotic and very crafty Llamas and cleverly gets the unwitting Farmer to buy them. At first everything’s great fun, but soon their new Llama roommates get a bit too comfortable in their new home. When things spiral out of control, Shaun is forced to take action to oust the intruders and save the farm. The Aardman Animations special is written by Lee Pressman (Peter Rabbit), Richard Starzak (Shaun the Sheep movie) and Nick Vincent Murphy (Moone Boy), directed by Jay Grace (Shaun the Sheep, Creature Comforts) and produced by Paul Kewley & John Woolley (Shaun the Sheep).

Amazon Original Series are available for Prime members to stream and enjoy through the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/originals, at no additional cost to their membership. Customers who are not already a Prime member can sign up for a free trial at www.amazon.com/prime. The new series will also be available as part of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, the all-you-can-eat subscription service designed from the ground up for kids. FreeTime Unlimited is available exclusively on Amazon devices including Amazon Fire TV and Fire tablets, and a year-long subscription is included with every Fire Kids Edition.


About Amazon Video
Amazon Video includes tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes available on Prime Video at no additional charge to Prime members, as well as access to hundreds of thousands of titles to buy or rent. Amazon Video is the only service in the world that brings customers both of these options in one place.

Prime Video, available on Amazon Video, lets Prime members enjoy binge-worthy TV shows including Amazon Original Series airing now such as the multi-Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-winning series Transparent, Red Oaks, Hand of God, Bosch, Catastrophe and Mozart in the Jungle as well as hit series like Sex and the City, Veep, Girls, The Sopranos, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Wire. Prime Video also offers members blockbuster movies such as Transformers: Age of Extinction, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Star Trek Into Darkness and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, among others. Prime members have access to a collection of kids shows including Amazon Original Series Annedroids, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, the Annecy, Annie and multi-Emmy Award-winning Tumble Leaf, and Wishenpoof, as well as popular shows from Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, and Blue’s Clues.

Prime members can look forward to new original series premiering this year such as the much anticipated adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle premiering on November 20 along with Mozart in the Jungle premiering later this year. Coming in 2016 will be the second seasons of Bosch and romantic comedy Catastrophe, along with the debut season of The New Yorker Presents and Mad Dogs.

Amazon Video can be accessed through the Amazon Video app on TVs, connected devices and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/amazonvideo. Prime Video titles can also be downloaded for offline enjoyment—the only subscription streaming service to offer this functionality. Customers who are not already Prime members can sign up for a free trial at Amazon.com/prime.

Amazon Prime is an annual membership program for $99 a year that offers customers unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on more than 20 million items across all categories, unlimited Free Same-Day Delivery on more than a million items in 16 metro areas, unlimited streaming of tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes, more than one million songs, more than one thousand playlists and hundreds of stations with Prime Music, early access to select Lightning Deals all year long, free secure, unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive with Prime Photos and access to more than 800,000 books to borrow with the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. In addition, Prime members in select cities receive one and two hour delivery through Prime Now on tens of thousands of items through a mobile app. Not a member? Start a free trial of Amazon Prime at amazon.com/prime.

About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company 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.

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November 25th, 2015 is "Creed Day" in Philadelphia

Mayor of Philadelphia Proclaims November 25th “‘Creed’ Day”

“Creed” Stars Sylvester Stallone, Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson and Writer/Director Ryan Coogler and Producer Irwin Winkler on Hand.

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Standing atop the Philadelphia Art Museum’s iconic steps, Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter proclaimed Wednesday, November 25th, 2015 “Creed” Day in honor of the upcoming film—opening that same day—which explores the next chapter in the “Rocky” saga. Joining Mayor Nutter to receive the official proclamation were Sylvester Stallone himself and fellow “Creed” stars Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson, and the film’s writer/director, Ryan Coogler, and producer Irwin Winkler.

The film, which brings Rocky Balboa face-to-face with the son of his one-time rival and best friend, Apollo Creed, was shot in and around the City of Brotherly Love. The museum steps, and the statue of Rocky that stands at the bottom of them, can, in fact, be seen in “Creed.”

Mayor Nutter also gifted the team from “Creed” with individually inscribed miniature Liberty Bells to mark the occasion; they, in turn, presented the mayor with a framed rendering of the mural, created as a special tribute to the city, that was installed this morning at the Front Street Gym in North Philly, a location that features prominently in the new film.

Following the presentations, former football star Vince Papale—who, much like Rocky, went from underdog to hometown hero to sports superstar when he became a walk-on Philadelphia Eagle—opened the floor for questions from the press in attendance.

From Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema comes award-winning filmmaker Ryan Coogler’s “Creed.” The film reunites Coogler with his “Fruitvale Station” star Michael B. Jordan as the son of Apollo Creed, and explores a new chapter in the “Rocky” story, starring Academy Award nominee Sylvester Stallone in his iconic role.

Adonis Johnson (Jordan) never knew his famous father, world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, who died before he was born. Still, there’s no denying that boxing is in his blood, so Adonis heads to Philadelphia, the site of Apollo Creed’s legendary match with a tough upstart named Rocky Balboa.

Once in the City of Brotherly Love, Adonis tracks Rocky (Stallone) down and asks him to be his trainer. Despite his insistence that he is out of the fight game for good, Rocky sees in Adonis the strength and determination he had known in Apollo—the fierce rival who became his closest friend. Agreeing to take him on, Rocky trains the young fighter, even as the former champ is battling an opponent more deadly than any he faced in the ring.

With Rocky in his corner, it isn’t long before Adonis gets his own shot at the title…but can he develop not only the drive but also the heart of a true fighter, in time to get into the ring?

“Creed” also stars Tessa Thompson (“Selma,” “Dear White People”); Phylicia Rashad (Lifetime’s “Steel Magnolias”); and English pro boxer and former three-time ABA Heavyweight Champion Anthony Bellew.

Ryan Coogler directed from a screenplay he wrote with Aaron Covington, based on a story by Coogler. The film is being produced by Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Kevin King-Templeton and Sylvester Stallone, with Nicolas Stern executive producing.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures present, in association with New Line Cinema, a Chartoff Winkler Production, “Creed.” The film opens nationwide on Wednesday, November 25, 2015, and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, with select international territories as well as all television distribution being handled by MGM.

“Creed” has been rated PG-13 for violence, language and some sensuality.

www.creedthemovie.com

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from November 1st to 7th, 2015 - Update #18

Support Leroy on Patreon.

NEWS:

From NPR:  Harry Potter's Emma Watson inspires Malala Yousafzai to call herself a "feminist."

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From CinemaBlend:  Police groups threatening Quentin Tarantino.

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From CinemaBlend:  Alicia Vikander may replace Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" sequel.

From Movies.com:  Meanwhile, the original Lisbeth Salander, Noomi Rapace, will take the lead in the Amy Winehouse biopic.

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From EOnline:  An all-female "Ocean's Eleven," with Sandra Bullock...

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From Indiewire:  Plans are afoot for a new "Star Trek" television series, but only the first episode would be shown on CBS; the rest would be shown on CBS's streaming service.

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From THR:  Jamie Foxx tells Quentin Tarantino to keep telling the truth in regards to Tarantino's comments about police brutality.

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From THR:  The award season kicks off with the Hollywood Film Awards.

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From BoxOfficeMojo:  "The Martian" is the #1 movie at the 10/30 to 11/01/2015 weekend box office with an estimated take of $11.4 million.

From Deadline:  James Bond "Spectre" setting some opening day and week records.

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From Deadline:  Spielberg teases "Indiana Jones 5."

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From TheWrap:  After working together on "Fruitvale Station" and on the upcoming boxing drama, "Creed," director Ryan Coogler and actor Michael B. Jordan will re-team for the education scandal movie, "Wrong Answer."

From Variety:  Brad Pitt's "World War Z" sequel, scheduled for 2017, gets a new screenwriter.


COMICS: Books and Films:

From Indiewire:  Nicole Kidman has apparently joined the cast of the "Wonder Woman" movie.

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From YahooNews:  Marvel's Netflix plans may change.


TRAILERS:

From Variety:  First trailer for Spike Lee's "Chi-raq," from Amazon.


HARD NEWS:

From Truthout:  "Robin Hood Tax" movement.


OBITS:

From Variety:  The screenwriter, Melissa Mathison, has died (Wednesday, November 4, 2015).  She earned an Oscar nomination for her original screenplay for "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial."  She was also married to Harrison Ford for a time and had two children with Ford.  Mathison was 65.

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From Deadline:  The Oscar-winning screenwriter, Colin Welland ("Chariots of Fire") has died at the age of 81 (Monday, November 2, 2015).

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From Variety:  The actor Fred Thompson has died at the age of 73, Sunday, November 1, 2015.  He appeared in "Law & Order" from 2002 to 2007.  He was also a U.S. Senator from Tennessee, a Watergate attorney, and a presidential candidate in 2008.



Friday, November 6, 2015

Amazon Announces "Sneaky Pete" Starring Giovanni Ribisi

Amazon Greenlights Sneaky Pete, Original Dramatic Series Launching in 2016

New show exclusively on Prime Video stars Giovanni Ribisi and is created by Emmy Award-winning writer David Shore and Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston
November 04, 2015 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time


SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ:AMZN)—Amazon today announced it has greenlit new dramatic Amazon Original Series "Sneaky Pete" that will debut exclusively on Prime Video in the US, UK, Germany, Austria and Japan next year. The new series comes from an acclaimed creative team including Executive Producers David Shore (House), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Erin Gunn (Battle Creek) and James Degus (All the Way). The pilot episode, currently available on Amazon Video and featuring a special appearance by Cranston, was directed by Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) who also executive produces the show.

    “We are excited to bring to Amazon’s customers a new compelling series headlined by Giovanni Ribisi from the minds of David Shore and Bryan Cranston”

“We are excited to bring to Amazon’s customers a new compelling series headlined by Giovanni Ribisi from the minds of David Shore and Bryan Cranston,” said Roy Price, Vice President, Amazon Studios. “Sneaky Pete is an incredible addition to Amazon’s expanding drama slate and we are eager for its premiere in 2016.”

Sneaky Pete, a co-production with Sony Pictures Television, stars Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar), Marin Ireland (Side Effects), Margo Martindale (The Millers), Peter Gerety (Prime Suspect), Libe Barer (Parenthood) and Shane McRae (Still Alice). The series revolves around a con-man (Ribisi) who, after leaving prison, takes cover from his past by assuming the identity of his cellmate, Pete. He moves in with Pete’s unsuspecting family and is roped into the family’s bail bond business. In order to keep the charade up, he plays the part of a skip tracer, taking down criminals worse than himself—and discovering a family life he’s never had.

Sneaky Pete will be available for Prime members to stream and enjoy through the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/originals, at no additional cost to their membership. The series will be available in SD and HD, as well as in 4K Ultra HD and High Dynamic Range (HDR) on compatible smart TVs. Customers who are not already Prime members can sign up for a free trial at www.amazon.com/prime.


About Amazon Video
Amazon Video includes tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes available on Prime Video at no additional charge to Prime members, as well as access to hundreds of thousands of titles to buy or rent. Amazon Video is the only service in the world that brings customers both of these options in one place.

Prime Video, available on Amazon Video, lets Prime members enjoy binge-worthy TV shows including Amazon Original Series airing now such as the multi-Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-winning series Transparent, Red Oaks, Hand of God, Bosch, Catastrophe and Mozart in the Jungle as well as hit series like Sex and the City, Veep, Girls, The Sopranos, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Wire. Prime Video also offers members blockbuster movies such as Transformers: Age of Extinction, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Star Trek Into Darkness and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, among others. Prime members have access to a collection of kids shows including Amazon Original Series Annedroids, Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street, the Annecy, Annie and multi-Emmy Award-winning Tumble Leaf, and Wishenpoof!, as well as popular shows from Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. including SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, and Blue’s Clues.

Prime members can look forward to new original series premiering this year such as the much anticipated adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle premiering on November 20 along with Mozart in the Jungle premiering later this year. Coming in 2016 will be the second seasons of Bosch and romantic comedy Catastrophe, along with the debut season of The New Yorker Presents and Mad Dogs.

Amazon Video can be accessed through the Amazon Video app on TVs, connected devices and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/amazonvideo. Prime Video titles can also be downloaded for offline enjoyment—the only subscription streaming service to offer this functionality. Customers who are not already Prime members can sign up for a free trial at Amazon.com/prime.

Amazon Prime is an annual membership program for $99 a year that offers customers unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on more than 20 million items across all categories, unlimited Free Same-Day Delivery on more than a million items in 16 metro areas, unlimited streaming of tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes, more than one million songs, more than one thousand playlists and hundreds of stations with Prime Music, early access to select Lightning Deals all year long, free secure, unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive with Prime Photos and access to more than 800,000 books to borrow with the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. In addition, Prime members in select cities receive one and two hour delivery through Prime Now on tens of thousands of items through a mobile app. Not a member? Start a free trial of Amazon Prime at amazon.com/prime.

About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company 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.
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