News

Recently, CBS released the new,official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "Elementary" episode 8 of season 3. The episode is entitled, "End Of Watch," and it turns out that we're going to see things get pretty damn intense and intriguing in this one as Watson and Holmes combine forces with the NYPD to track down a lethal cop killer, and more! In the new, 8th episode press release: Holmes and Watson will join the NYPD manhunt for a cop killer. Meanwhile, Sherlock is going to search for the creator of a "recovery bag" who is posting personal statements Holmes made in sobriety meetings. Guest stars feature: Leslie Silva as Atf Agent Hernan, Ken Marks as Moderator, Geoff Wigdor as Charlie Riggs and Kerry Butler as Astrid. Episode 8 is set to air on Thursday night, December 18th at 9pm central time on CBS.

There's a ton of great movies where one character is shared by two different actors. For example, in the upcoming Rian Johsnon-directed sci-fi action thriller Looper the main character Joe is played by both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis. In anticipation of this amazing looking movie Complex has created a Top 10 list of best performances by actors that share a role.

I've included five of the ten entries below, so make sure to head on over to Complex to see the complete top 10 list, and let us know if you can think of any other performances in which two actors played the same character!

Star Trek: Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto

There was a lot of pressure on the 2009 reboot of Star Trek, with rabid Trekkies on one end ready to pounce at any transgression over the franchise's folklore, and nerd-bashers on the other simply ready to dismiss the...

2011, we barely knew you, and you're gone already. It's been another crazy year for me here at the site, which included a lot of traveling to movie sets, some of which I can't tell you about yet, and, of course, news, interviews, and screenings, not to mention the annual lunacy that is San Diego Comic-Con. While I haven't seen every movie out in 2011, some by choice (*cough* Green Lantern *cough*), and many others due to a sheer lack of time, I'm compiling a few year-end lists anyway.

I have always been a "bad news first" kind of guy, so first up are the Most Overrated Movies O The Year. Now, granted, most of these I did like, in some way, but I just didn't like them as much as, apparently, everyone else. These are in no particular order, so lets get cracking.

Most Overrated Movies of the Year

Hanna -...

White Irish Drinkers opens at the Tivoli Theatre in Saint Louis, or at a Landmark Theatre near you, on Friday, May 6th, 2011.

Synopsis: In the autumn of 1975 in Brooklyn, 18-year-old Brian (Nick Thurston) is killing time, pulling off petty crimes with his street tough older brother Danny (Geoff Wigdor), whom he both idolizes and fears. They both live with their parents, Paddy (Stephen Lang), a longshoreman, and his long-suffering wife, Margaret (Karen Allen), who puts up with Paddy’s drinking and abusive behavior, especially to her and Danny. Though Paddy has never been physically abusive to Brian, every time he sees his brother’s suffering, his heart breaks a little more. Brian works for Whitey (Peter Riegert) at the failing Lafayette movie theater. Owing money to local mobsters, Whitey calls in a favor to an old friend who works with The Rolling Stones. They come up with a deal to...

Screen Media will release the Mean Streets-flavored independent drama White Irish Drinkers on Blu-ray and DVD on July 12.

Nick Thurston (l.) and Geoff Wigdor are brothers...and White Irish Drinkers.

In Brooklyn, 1975, 18-year-old Brian Leary (Nick Thurston, TV’s Reviving Ophelia) is killing time, pulling off petty crimes with his street tough older brother Danny (Geoff Wigdor, Levity), whom he both idolizes and fears. He doesn’t really want to be a criminal, but he doesn’t share the dreams of his old friends from their working class neighborhood either. So, looking for a way out of their situation, the siblings come up with a seemingly nutty plan: book the Rolling Stones for a concert in a local theater, sell tickets for $50 apiece in cash, and steal the money on the night of show.

Written and directed by John Gray and also starring Karen Allen (Scrooged), Stephen Lang (Avatar...

"White Irish Drinkers" director John Gray shared his thoughts on making his Brooklyn-set drama with indieWIRE. The film hits select cinemas today, March 25. In 1975 in the Bay Ridge area in Brooklyn, an enclave of working-class, hardscrabble families live with a societal code that discourages any aspirations to leave the neighborhood. In the thick of it are two brothers, Danny (Geoff Wigdor) and Brian (Nick Thurston), who dare to ...

"White Irish Drinkers" director John Gray shared his thoughts on making his Brooklyn-set drama with indieWIRE. The film hits select cinemas today, March 25. In 1975 in the Bay Ridge area in Brooklyn, an enclave of working-class, hardscrabble families live with a societal code that discourages any aspirations to leave the neighborhood. In the thick of it are two brothers, Danny (Geoff Wigdor) and Brian (Nick Thurston), who dare to ...

White Irish Drinkers Review - Vets Karen Allen, Peter Riegert and Stephen Lang shine in ‘70s-set Brooklyn tale White Irish Drinkers (Four out of Five Stars) review of White Irish Drinkers Writer/director John Gray blends young leads with an impressive cast of veterans including Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Peter Riegert (Animal House) and Stephen Lang (Avatar) for White Irish Drinkers, a '70s-set, coming-of-age drama set around the working class Irish of Brooklyn's Bay Ridge neighborhood. Gray is best known as the writer, director and producer of the long-running TV series Ghost Whisperer, but he draws from his Brooklyn childhood and the people and places from his neighborhood for this tale of a working-class father and his two sons. White Irish Drinkers is a truly independent production with modest production values but Gray wisely emphasizes the performances. White Irish Drinkers is melodramatic in spots and frequently...

White Irish Drinkers Review - Vets Karen Allen, Peter Riegert and Stephen Lang shine in ‘70s-set Brooklyn tale White Irish Drinkers (Four out of Five Stars) review of White Irish Drinkers Writer/director John Gray blends young leads with an impressive cast of veterans including Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Peter Riegert (Animal House) and Stephen Lang (Avatar) for White Irish Drinkers, a '70s-set, coming-of-age drama set around the working class Irish of Brooklyn's Bay Ridge neighborhood. Gray is best known as the writer, director and producer of the long-running TV series Ghost Whisperer, but he draws from his Brooklyn childhood and the people and places from his neighborhood for this tale of a working-class father and his two sons. White Irish Drinkers is a truly independent production with modest production values but Gray wisely emphasizes the performances. White Irish Drinkers is melodramatic in spots and frequently...

Review of White Irish Drinkers - Stephen Lang’s portrayal of a raging alcoholic father brings to mind an intensity we all witnessed in spades in his portrayal of Colonel Miles Quaritch in Avatar. (2 out of 5 stars) White Irish Drinkers movie review - Stephen LangThe oddly titled White Irish Drinkers offers a convincing recreation of working-class Brooklyn in the 70s. It boasts compelling portrayals by newbie Nick Thurston and film veteran Stephen Lang and some memorable (and even unforeseen) moments. But the film unfortunately suffers from a detrimental mix of slow pacing, lack of well-rounded characters, a back load of plot turns saved until the very end and a subpar performance from Karen Allen. Brian (Thurston) and Danny (Geoffrey Wigdor) are teenage brothers living with their abusive father (Lang) and weak-willed but loving mother (Allen). Danny attempts to enlist his younger bro’s help in carrying out petty crimes, finally...

Review of White Irish Drinkers - Stephen Lang’s portrayal of a raging alcoholic father brings to mind an intensity we all witnessed in spades in his portrayal of Colonel Miles Quaritch in Avatar. (2 out of 5 stars) White Irish Drinkers movie review - Stephen LangThe oddly titled White Irish Drinkers offers a convincing recreation of working-class Brooklyn in the 70s. It boasts compelling portrayals by newbie Nick Thurston and film veteran Stephen Lang and some memorable (and even unforeseen) moments. But the film unfortunately suffers from a detrimental mix of slow pacing, lack of well-rounded characters, a back load of plot turns saved until the very end and a subpar performance from Karen Allen. Brian (Thurston) and Danny (Geoffrey Wigdor) are teenage brothers living with their abusive father (Lang) and weak-willed but loving mother (Allen). Danny attempts to enlist his younger bro’s help in carrying out petty crimes, finally...

Stephen Lang discusses the authenticity of White Irish Drinkers, Avatar 2, Terra Nova, and much more

2009 was a banner year for actor Stephen Lang, who appeared in The Men Who Stare at Goats, Public Enemies and this little movie called Avatar you may have heard of. 2011 is shaping up to be another fine year for the celebrated actor, with roles in Conan the Barbarian and the highly-anticipated Fox sci-fi series Terra Nova. Before those larger projects are released, though, Stephen Lang stars in White Irish Drinkers, which doesn't have the genre appeal of those previous titles, but packs an enormous dramatic punch. Stephen Lang turns in a phenomenal performance as Patrick, a hard-drinking Brooklyn dock worker who takes out his aggressions on his wife, Margaret (Karen Allen) and sons Brian and Danny (newcomers Nick Thurston and Geoffrey Wigdor).

I recently had the chance to speak with Stephen Lang over the phone about this fantastic indie drama,...

Reviewed by Chris Allsop

(March 2011)

Directed/Written by: John Gray

Starring: Stephen Lang, Peter Riegert, Karen Allen, Nick Thurston, Geoffrey Wigdor and Leslie Murphy

In keeping with the hard-drinking, working-class community at the heart of “White Irish Drinkers,” this low-budget indie might not be the most polished production you’ll ever see, but it’s gotta lot o’ heart, dammit.

The story, set in ’70s Brooklyn, focuses on a working-class Irish Catholic family existing in perpetually smoke-filled rooms. The father (Stephen Lang) stays drunk in his down time and confuses domestic violence with affection. Mom (Karen Allen) is walled up behind religion and tradition, while the older brother (Geoffrey Wigdor) is a small-time hoodlum whose idea of family time is to have his younger brother Brian (Nick Thurston) tag along for robberies.

In among all this chaos, Brian — dreamer, painter and lovechild of Frodo and Mel Gibson — tries to keep...

Reviewed by Chris Allsop

(March 2011)

Directed/Written by: John Gray

Starring: Stephen Lang, Peter Riegert, Karen Allen, Nick Thurston, Geoffrey Wigdor and Leslie Murphy

In keeping with the hard-drinking, working-class community at the heart of “White Irish Drinkers,” this low-budget indie might not be the most polished production you’ll ever see, but it’s gotta lot o’ heart, dammit.

The story, set in ’70s Brooklyn, focuses on a working-class Irish Catholic family existing in perpetually smoke-filled rooms. The father (Stephen Lang) stays drunk in his down time and confuses domestic violence with affection. Mom (Karen Allen) is walled up behind religion and tradition, while the older brother (Geoffrey Wigdor) is a small-time hoodlum whose idea of family time is to have his younger brother Brian (Nick Thurston) tag along for robberies.

In among all this chaos, Brian — dreamer, painter and lovechild of Frodo and Mel Gibson — tries to keep...

White Irish Drinkers

Directed By: John Gray

Written By: John Gray

Starring: Nick Thurston, Geoffrey Wigdor, Stephen Lang, Karen Allen, Leslie Murphy, Peter Riegert

Screen Media Films

Release Date: March 25, 2011 (limited)

Set in 1975 Brooklyn, White Irish Drinkers is a coming-of-age tale not unlike many we've seen in the past. Though not exactly the most original of stories, however, director John Gray has delivered a decent drama that's worth a watch.

The movie follows Brian Leary (Nick Thurston), a talented 18-year-old artist facing the always difficult decision of what to do in life. He loves to draw and paint and would like to do it as a career, but he's unsure if that's even possible and doesn't even feel comfortable telling his friends and family about it because he comes from a strict blue-collar upbringing. The only one who he does feel comfortable sharing it with is a girl he meets...

From Screen Media Films. The jewel of this year’s Craic Irish Film Festival, which opened last night at New York’s TriBeCa Cinemas, is director John Gray’s White Irish Drinkers, a raucous, touching, vital hard-knocks family drama that offers an exquisitely written script, a series of plot twists and a medley of spot-on performances from young talents Nick Thurston (right out of U.S.C.) and Geoffrey Wigdor, along with seasoned screen eminences Karen Allen, Stephen Lang, and Peter Riegert. The film ostensibly revolves around a local Brooklyn theater in the mid-1970s whose owner has inexplicably convinced the Rolling Stones to play for “one night only.” But the movie builds from that delightful premise into a love story, a caper-gone-wrong film, and an examination of family dysfunction with hints of The Fighter. It is, more centrally, a coming-of-age, how-do-i-break-out-of-the-boroughs saga that has the unabashed verité, fresh insight,...

"We are White Irish Drinkers!" The official trailer for John Gray's White Irish Drinkers has debuted on Apple. This is another one of those back-to-the-filmmaker's-roots gritty crime flicks about street life in the 70's. The film is basically about a few "White Irish Drinkers" - two brothers, played by Nick Thurston and Geoff Wigdor, who get caught up in the world of crime, but apparently also like to drink... and fight. The cast also includes Karen Allen and Stephen Lang as their mother and father. Early festival reviews have praised this, calling it a "sparkling piece of entertainment." Check it out, then let us know what you think? Watch the official trailer for John Gray's White Irish Drinkers: [flv:http://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/WhiteIrishDrinkers-officialtrailer.mp4 http://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/WhiteIrishDrinkers-officialtrailer.jpg 598 254] You can also watch the White Irish Drinkers trailer in High Definition on Apple A coming of age story set in 1975 working-class Brooklyn, where two teenage brothers who are...

Get ready for a movie that looks like a mix between The Black Donnellys and Juice. White Irish Drinkers is directed by John Gray and stars Stephen Lang, Peter Riegert, Karen Allen, Nick Thurston, Geoffrey Wigdor, and Leslie Murphy.

About White Irish Drinkers:

A coming of age story set in 1975 working-class Brooklyn, in which two teenage brothers living with their abusive father and their well-meaning but ineffective mother are caught up in a life of petty crime. Older brother Danny concocts a daring scheme to steal enough money for the two to escape, timed around the chaos of an upcoming Rolling Stones concert. The sensitive younger brother, Brian, ultimately has a choice: remain loyal to the brother with whom he shares a powerful love-hate bond, or use his hidden talent as an artist as his own ticket out of their dead-end existence.

Robert Baruc, President of Screen Media Films, announced today that Screen Media has acquired North American rights for John Gray’s White Irish Drinkers, a gritty coming of age story about working-class Brooklyn brothers, whose involvement in a risky crime may be their only escape from their volatile Irish family.

The film stars newcomers Nick Thurston, Geoff Wigdor and Leslie Murphy, alongside veterans Stephen Lang, Karen Allen, and Peter Riegert. The film premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the 2010 Woodstock Film Festival, and was just nominated for the Gotham Genius Award. Screen Media will release the film theatrically in Spring 2011.

It’s early autumn of 1975 in Brooklyn and 18 year-old Brian Leary (Nick Thurston) is killing time, pulling off petty crimes with his street tough older brother Danny (Geoff Wigdor), whom he both idolizes and fears. They both live with their parents, Paddy (Stephen Lang), a longshoreman,...

Another worthy independent film that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival has found distribution. Screen Media Films has acquired North American rights to White Irish Drinkers, a hard-edged coming of age story  set in 1975 Brooklyn. written and directed by John Gray. A spring 2011 theatrical release is planned. Two teenage brothers try to figure out what to do with their lives, each badly bruised from being raised to be terrified by the drunken rages of their father. That role is played by Avatar's Stephen Lang who plays a hard-drinking Irish blue collar worker handing down the lessons of becoming a man that he learned from his father: repress emotion, and rule with an iron fist. One brother is an art prodigy conflicted about showing his talent, and the other is creeping into the fringes of being a criminal. The drama centers around a deal to have the Rolling Stones...

Screen Media has picked up North American rights for John Gray’s “White Irish Drinkers,” so announced Robert Baruc, President of Screen Media Films today. The gritty coming of age story tells of working-class Brooklyn brothers, whose involvement in a risky crime may be their only escape from their volatile Irish family. Starring are newcomers Nick Thurston, Geoff Wigdor and Leslie Murphy, with veteran actors like "Avatar" star Stephen Lang, Karen Allen, and Peter Riegert. Pic had its premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival and took home the Audience Award at the 2010 Woodstock Film Festival. Additionally, it was just nominated for the Gotham Genius Award. Screen Media Films has set a release to theaters some time next Spring.

Screen Media has picked up North American rights for John Gray’s “White Irish Drinkers,” so announced Robert Baruc, President of Screen Media Films today. The gritty coming of age story tells of working-class Brooklyn brothers, whose involvement in a risky crime may be their only escape from their volatile Irish family. Starring are newcomers Nick Thurston, Geoff Wigdor and Leslie Murphy, with veteran actors like "Avatar" star Stephen Lang, Karen Allen, and Peter Riegert. Pic had its premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival and took home the Audience Award at the 2010 Woodstock Film Festival. Additionally, it was just nominated for the Gotham Genius Award. Screen Media Films has set a release to theaters some time next Spring.

Sundance Film Festival

Park City, Utah

There isn't much levity in "Levity", although the movie is about a man seeking atonement so it does concern the quest for lightness, the lifting of a burden. Writer-director Ed Solomon, light years removed from his Hollywood day job scripting films such as "Men in Black" and the two "Bill & Ted" films, draws viewers into a tightly controlled and metaphorical world in which an ex-con, a man withdrawn into himself after years in prison, suddenly finds himself back in the place where he once killed a teenager and wants to say he's sorry to someone.

The opening night film of Sundance 2003 is a high-charged emotional work, fleshed out with believable characters and a sharply observed environment. Solid performances by Billy Bob Thornton, as a man who has no role to play in society, as well as Morgan Freeman, Holly Hunter and Kirsten Dunst, greatly help Solomon to tell a story on his mind since he tutored teens in a maximum-security juvenile prison years before. Sony Pictures Classics should enjoy modest boxoffice success in specialty venues with the film.

While Solomon and his production team work hard to create a gritty inner-city environment, the film has a fairy-tale quality. Thornton's Manuel Jordan is paroled without explanation after serving 22 years of a life sentence. He then finds himself in an empty, snowy parking lot where a pay phone rings, a summons to his destiny. On the other end of the line is Freeman's Miles Evans, a gruff but kindly minister, who runs a community center. Miles expected another man to answer but, nevertheless, Manuel soon has a room at the center and a place to work. A newspaper photo of the young convenience store clerk he shot is the room's only adornment.

He tracks down and follows the dead boy's older sister, Adele (Hunter), and somewhat unbelievably enters into her life, meeting her own troubled teenage son (Geoffrey Wigdor), named after his dead uncle. A nightclub across the scruffy parking lot from the center produces the movie's final major character. Here at the club, Sofia (Dunst), a beautiful and seemingly privileged young woman, trashes herself with nightly debauches from which Manuel must rescue her.

People do preach to one another in this movie: The pastor to Manuel because, well, that's his job, and Manuel to Sofia because her self-destructiveness makes him angry. But, curiously, no one seems to put much faith in these sermons. Miles even calls his sermons "lies." And Manuel never gets around to telling the young boys assigned to the community center because of some vandalism his own words of wisdom. People's attitudes, their looks and silences, speak louder in the movie. The wages of sin are writ large on their faces.

What Sofia calls Manuel's "icy" glare is really a sad stare. With long graying hair and a face of morose astonishment, Thornton moves through the film with a quiet reticence that seemingly goads other characters to action.

Solomon's succession of climaxes to tie up all the plot threats smacks of contrivance. Things end up a little too neat and tidy for people who live such untidy lives. While this by no means undoes the fine work leading up to the third act, it does put you at a distance from the drama.

Cinematographer Roger Deakins and designer Francois Seguin keep the colors dark, cool and muted. Montreal plays the unnamed east coast city, looking scruffy, cold and somewhat inhospitable. Mark Oliver Everett supplies a minimal, low-key score that's just right.

This is, overall, an inspired debut as a director for Solomon and, one hopes, a promise of greater works to come.

LEVITY

Sony Pictures Classics

Sony Pictures Classics and Studio Canal present a Film Colony production

Credits:

Writer/director: Ed Solomon

Producers: Richard N. Gladstein, Adam J. Merims, Ed Solomon

Executive producers: Morgan Freeman, Lori McCreary, Fred Schepisi, Andrew Spaulding, James Burke, Doug Mankoff

Director of photography: Richard Deakins

Production designer: Francois Seguin

Music: Mark Oliver Everett

Costume designer: Marie-Sylvie Deveau

Editor: Pietro Scalia.

Cast: Manuel Jordan: Billy Bob Thornton

Miles Evans: Morgan Freeman

Adele Easley: Holly Hunter

Sophia: Kirsten Dunst

Running time -- 100 minutes

MPAA rating: R...