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Lawrence G. Paull, who was an Oscar-nominated production designer on the classics “Blade Runner” and “Back to the Future,” has died. Paull died on Nov. 10 in La Jolla, California. He was 81.

Among Paull’s other credits are Robert Zemeckis’ “Romancing the Stone” and Ron Underwood’s “City Slickers.” He also worked on “Born Yesterday,” “Predator 2,” “Harlem Nights,” “Escape From L.A.” and “Naked Gun 33-1/3: The Final Insult.”

“I was very saddened to read of Larry’s passing,” director Ridley Scott said in a statement. “I haven’t seen him in a number of years. But I remember I was always struck by his staunch and faithful support of the strange plan for the unique world of ‘Blade Runner.’ Between Syd and myself, and Larry, it was a challenging, monumental task for him and against all odds. The proof is in his work in the film. So I guess We won.

Lawrence G. Paull, the Oscar-nominated production designer who helped create the distinctive looks of 1980s films including the visually groundbreaking 1982 “Blade Runner.” died on Nov. 10 of heart disease in La Jolla, Calif. He was 81.

Paull received an Academy Award nomination for art direction with David L. Snyder for Ridley Scott’s prescient film based on the Philip K. Dick novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” He won the BAFTA award for production design for the influential sci-fi film, which depicted a Los Angeles in 2019 with 105 million residents and incessant rain. Together with Scott, Snyder and visual futurist Syd Mead, they conceived a dystopian world of familiar detective film tropes interwoven with a decaying vision of the near future.

Scott said in a statement, “I was always struck by his staunch and faithful support of the strange plan for the unique world of ‘Blade Runner.'”

He helped create the...

Exclusive: Craig Bolotin is adapting The Vows for Universal based on Natalie Shutler’s August 2018 The New York Times article “Son, Placed for Adoption, Leads Birth Parents to Altar 36 Years Later”.

Mandeville Films’ David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman are producing.

Shutler’s article tells the story of 36-year-old Martin Schmidt, who just prior to having his own kids, decided to seek out his biological parents in Wisconsin, after knowing for decades that he was adopted. Schmidt’s parents Dave Lindgren and Michele Newman were high school sweethearts, and broke up months prior to Schmidt’s birth. After being reconnected via Schmidt, Lindgren and Newman fell in love again and married with their firstborn son officiating the wedding.

Bolotin’s numerous writing credits include Black Rain and the feature Fox adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel The Longest Ride. He also served as writer/director of the Forest Whitaker-Rosario Dawson...

For once, a movie based on a Nicholas Sparks book appears to be populated by relatively realistic approximations of human beings dealing with relationship conflict in realistic ways. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing

I’m “biast” (con): not a fan of Nicholas Sparks

I have not read the source material

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

I think this might be the first movie based on a Nicholas Sparks novel that I haven’t hated. Oh, sure, it’s set in an American South — specifically, North Carolina — where there are, impossibly, no black people (see also: Safe Haven), and where it only ever rains as an expression of manly sadness that cannot be articulated in any other way. It uses a motif similar to The Notebook’s, in which romantic handwritten documents of a relationship — in this case, love letters — allow for flashbacks to the 1940s,...

Britt Robertson and Scott Eastwood star in the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation to make it to film. Here's our The Longest Ride review.

There are variables in the chemistry of a Nicholas Sparks film, but the basic formula has seldom changed through films like The Notebook, Dear John and The Lucky One. Even the posters for these movies often look indistinguishable from one another, except for the two actors pictured. The Longest Ride is the tenth Sparks adaptation to hit the big screen and though it sticks to what you'll know if you've seen more than one of the others, it's not necessarily a formula that's in need of fixing.

Stop us if this sounds like we've done a find and replace on some other plot summary, but this time we follow Sophia, (Britt Robertson) who's about to start a prestigious internship at a gallery in New York, just as...

Julie Kirkham, who produced such films as Cherry 2000, Black Rain and Anna and the King and served as an executive for Lawrence Bender and Quentin Tarantino, has died. She was 61. Kirkham died June 10 after recently being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, her friend, Black Rain screenwriter Craig Bolotin, said.    Kirkham began as a script reader in Hollywood. She worked for Ray Stark Productions at Columbia Pictures as a development executive, shifted to TriStar Pictures and then became vice president production at Orion Pictures, the company behind the 1987 Melanie Griffith sci-fi film Cherry 2000.   She later served as

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Director: George Tillman Jr; Screenwriter: Craig Bolotin; Starring: Scott Eastwood, Britt Robertson, Alan Alda, Jack Huston, Oona Chaplin, Melissa Benoist; Running time: 128 mins; Certificate: 12A

Don't expect any surprises from The Longest Ride, the 10th big screen adaptation out of the Nicholas Sparks stable. It's a profitable cottage industry for sure, but one that seemingly exists solely as a rite-of-passage for fast-rising 20-something Hollywood stars.

Everyone from Ryan Gosling to Rachel McAdams, Zac Efron and Channing Tatum have passed through a Sparks production on their way to bigger things. However, The Notebook aside, does any Sparks movie linger in the memory?

The Longest Ride is no exception. It'll be forgotten as soon as the credits roll, but its leads Scott Eastwood and Britt Robertson show enough charisma here to rise above a risible script, cheesy dialogue and flat direction.

All the Sparksian elements are out in full force: boy meets girl,...

Chicago – “The Longest Ride” is sentimental schlockmeister Nicholas Sparks’ latest attempt to remix “The Notebook.” It’s got an old man recounting lost love, handwritten letters, young lovers kissing in the rain, breakups, reunions, corny dialogue and of course those North Carolina backdrops. He’s playing all the same notes, but this time he’s lost the melody.

Rating: 1.5/5.0

The first of two love stories this time around revolves around young Wake Forest art student (Britt Robertson). She’s got two months until she leaves for the big city and heads to Manhattan for an internship at a prestigious art gallery. Her sorority sisters drag her to a bull riding event and she locks eyes with handsome cowboy Scott Eastwood (Clint’s youngest son). He’s a pro rider trying to bounce back from a debilitating injury the year before. Just like that, romance is born. But the chemistry never materializes.

Okay multiplex maniacs, before we make a most welcome return visit to the Marvel Movie Universe, it’s time for that annual (sometimes semi-annual) slog into another movie universe, Sparks-land. I’m talking about another flick based on another product off the novel assembly line from Nicholas Sparks. Box office gold occurred with The Notebook eleven (!) years ago and the studios have been returning with pick, shovel, and camera to that mine ever since. Just like cinema stars and franchises, he’s a brand name. It’s just a question of which familiar themes will be re-hashed and which photogenic actors will be put through some now familiar paces. But hey, we may get a surprise, although this one’s title seems more than a little daunting. Are you ready to embark on The Longest Ride?

This ride begins a year ago as professional bull rider Luke Collins (Scott Eastwood...

The cinematic universe of romance novelist Nicholas Sparks has become a theatrical institution best described as “Shyamalanian.” The films stick to a particular genre formula, but that’s part of the fun: an unlikely romance is challenged by dubious (or even better, insane) plot twists that all the same allow for a happily-ever-after-enough ending. The shtick is part of the appeal, as watching beautiful people fall in love only gets more exciting when you know they’ll have to overcome a coo-coo bananas curveball or two. As the 10th entry in a potentially-stagnating brand, The Longest Ride tries out something more daring than any ghost wife or organ transplant shuffle: being sweetly, uneventfully boring.

The structure of The Longest Ride is the biggest surprise it has in store, as the first twenty minutes or so are by-the-numbers Sparks. An artsy college senior, Sophia (Britt Robertson) meets a shit-kicking bull rider,...

Britt Robertson and Scott Eastwood's love story parallels a romance from decades past in a new featurette for The Longest Ride.

The Longest Ride is the latest adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks romance novel, with Straight Talk's Craig Bolotin writing the screenplay.

Robertson stars as Sophia Danko, an art student who begins a passionate romance with a former bull-riding champion (Eastwood) who is aiming for a comeback.

The duo are inspired by an elderly friend named Ira (Alan Alda), who regales them with tales of his own passionate affair from decades earlier.

Boardwalk Empire Jack Huston portrays the younger version of Ira, and ex-Game of Thrones actress Oona Chaplin is his lover.

The Longest Ride is being adapted for the screen by Notorious and Men of Honour director George Tillman Jr.

20th Century Fox will release the movie on Friday (April 10) in the Us and on June 19 in the UK.

If you were to gain access to the computer where Nicholas Sparks writes his books, I'll bet you'd find that "search and replace" is the most commonly used function. "The Longest Ride" is the latest movie to escape from the popular romance writer's head, and it is about as flimsy an exercise in formula as you're likely to see this year. It's not that it is unprofessionally made, or that it lacks the polish of a typical studio release. Far from it. The film is handsomely produced, and everyone does exactly what they were hired to do, both in front of the camera and behind it. It would not surprise me if most reviews for this film are openly hostile. It is a wretched piece of writing, and an absurd final product. It almost seems pointless to pile on, though. The audience who loves Sparks is going to go see...

Chicago – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new romantic drama “The Longest Ride” from “The Notebook” and “Dear John” novelist Nicholas Sparks!

“The Longest Ride,” which opens on April 10, 2015 and is rated “PG-13,” stars Scott Eastwood, Britt Robertson, Alan Alda, Oona Chaplin, Melissa Benoist, Jack Huston and Lolita Davidovich from director George Tillman Jr. and writer Craig Bolotin based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks.

To win your free “The Longest Ride” passes courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds of winning; this doesn’t intensify your competition!

Preferably, use...

In terms of movie adaptations, the output of bestselling author Nicholas Sparks stands as a perfect example of Hollywood’s adherence to the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The “it” in question is Sparks’ very clear formula. With films such as The Notebook, The Last Song and Dear John in his back catalogue, we would surely be forgiven for thinking his storytelling, by this point, is simply a case of joining up the dots, and his latest romance – The Longest Ride – certainly looks as though it will prove that to be true.

Starring Britt Robertson (Cake) and Scott Eastwood (Fury), the Nicholas Sparks book is this time adapted by Craig Bolotin (Black Rain) and is directed by George Tillman Jr. (Faster). In it, another conventionally attractive young couple must overcome some obstacles to make their earth-shattering, life-changing, true love relationship work. You know, just like in The Notebook,...

"It's eight seconds. That girl could be the rest of your life." Just in time for Valentine's Day, the latest Nicholas Sparks romance The Longest Ride has gotten a new trailer. However, this isn't full of the whimsy and cheesy romance that we're used to seeing in trailers for these kind of films. Instead, this one seems geared towards the Fifty Shades of Grey audiences (it's probably playing before the film this weekend) with pretty steamy moments between Britt Robertson and Scott Eastwood. And because of that, the past romance Alan Alda recounts takes a backseat for sexiness. It just feels like too much. Watch? Here's the latest trailer for George Tillman Jr.'s The Longest Ride from 20th Century Fox: You can still watch the first trailer for The Longest Ride right here. The Longest Ride is directed by George Tillman Jr. (Men of Honor, Soul Food, Notorious) and...

Nicholas Sparks offers two love stories for the price of one in the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of his novel “The Longest Ride.” Directed by George Tillman Jr. from a script by Craig Bolotin, it’s the story of a young woman who finds parallels between her burgeoning relationship in the present and the World War II love story of an elderly man she befriends.

See video: Diane Sawyer Gets Nostalgic for Final Person of the Week Segment

Britt Robertson and Alan Alda take center stage after Robertson’s boyfriend in the film, played by Scott Speedman, discovers...

Normally, Nicholas Sparks adaptations are nothing to get excited about, but the cast that is coming together for The Longest Ride, Fox’s latest attempt to find Notebook-style success with a tearjerker from the prolific author, is unusually interesting. We previously reported that Scott Eastwood (yes, son of Clint), Boardwalk Empire actor Jack Huston and acting veteran Alan Alda had boarded the project in leading roles, joining Game of Thrones actress Oona Chaplin and Under the Dome star Britt Robertson, and now we’ve learned that Lolita Davidovich has also signed on.

Davidovich, who recently appeared alongside the late James Gandolfini in HBO original movie Cinema Verite, will play the protective mother of Eastwood’s character, a cowboy who goes out during a blizzard in a race against time to save his family ranch and the love of his life (Robertson). His path intersects with that of an imperiled older...

• Rosa Salazar (Parenthood) has joined the cast of Insurgent as Lynn. Currently filming in Atlanta, the Divergent follow-up from director Robert Schwentke (R.I.P.D.) will again star Shailene Woodley (The Fault in Our Stars), Theo James (Underworld: Awakening), Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now), Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars), Kate Winslet (Labor Day), Jai Courtney (Jack Reacher), and Zoe Kravitz (After Earth), as well as newcomers to the series Naomi Watts (The Impossible), Daniel Dae Kim (Lost), and Octavia Spencer (The Help). In the book, Lynn is described as a bitter Dauntless-born initiate with a shaved head, eyebrow piercing, a tough attitude,...

Lolita Davidovich has joined the cast of Fox 2000's The Longest Ride. Scott Eastwood, Britt Robertson and Oona Chaplin already have boarded the George Tillman Jr.-helmed drama, which is based on Nicholas Sparks' best-selling novel of the same name. The story follows a young couple whose lives intertwine with that of a much older man as he reflects on a lost love while he's trapped in an automobile crash. Craig Bolotin, Brad Desch, Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber adapted the screenplay. Story: Scott Eastwood to Star in Nicholas Sparks Adaptation 'The Longest Ride' Davidovich will play the protective mother of Eastwood's

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We’ve really missed seeing living legend Alan Alda (M*A*S*H) at the movies. Outside of playing the antagonist in the forgettable Ben Stiller/Eddie Murphy caper Tower Heist and taking a small supporting role in the also dreary Wanderlust, Alda has been largely absent from the big screen. Luckily, that’s changing now that he has booked the lead role in Nicholas Sparks adaptation The Longest Ride.

In the film, a romantic drama set up over at Fox 2000, Alda will play a man stuck in his car after crashing on an isolated road during a heavy snowstorm. Fighting to stay conscious as he awaits rescuers, the man sees visions of the love of his life, who previously passed away. Meanwhile, outside of the car, there is another romance playing out between a young art history major and a handsome bull rider, who fall in love despite their different personalities,...

Here’s a guy you never get tired of seeing. Fox 2000 has set Alan Alda to star in The Longest Ride, the George Tillman Jr-directed adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks bestselling novel. The Fault In Our Stars‘ Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen at Temple Hill are producing with Theresa Park. Scripted by Craig Bolotin, Brad Desch, Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, the story opens as a man snowbound and stuck in his car after a major crash on an isolated road. As he drifts in and out of consciousness awaiting rescue, the man sees visions of his life’s love, who died earlier. There is another romance between a young art history major and a handsome bull rider who fall in love despite coming from completely different backgrounds. Each has aspirations and dreams, and the cowboy is fighting the clock and should not be riding due to past injuries, but...

Here’s a guy you never get tired of seeing. Fox 2000 has set Alan Alda to star in The Longest Ride, the George Tillman Jr-directed adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks bestselling novel. The Fault In Our Stars‘ Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen at Temple Hill are producing with Theresa Park. Scripted by Craig Bolotin, Brad Desch, Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, the story opens as a man snowbound and stuck in his car after a major crash on an isolated road. As he drifts in and out of consciousness awaiting rescue, the man sees visions of his life’s love, who died earlier. There is another romance between a young art history major and a handsome bull rider who fall in love despite coming from completely different backgrounds. Each has aspirations and dreams, and the cowboy is fighting the clock and should not be riding due to past injuries, but...

Young star of Boardwalk Empire, Jack Huston, has been cast as co-lead in the upcoming adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel, The Longest Ride. It came as no surprise when Fox 2000 snapped up the rights to the book when it was published in 2013, as previous works by Sparks – including The Notebook, Dear John and Safe Haven – have proved extremely popular in the romantic drama genre. The Longest Ride looks like it will be no exception.

The story begins with an elderly man, trapped in a car following a crash on a snowbound highway. Awaiting rescue, the steadily weakening man reflects on the years he spent with his beloved, but deceased, wife. Elsewhere, as the elderly man reminisces, an Art History college senior is busy finding unlikely love with a bull rider. Eventually, a strange occurrence causes the two stories to intertwine.

Jack Huston will play the younger version of the...

Exclusive: Boardwalk Empire’s Jack Huston has been set to star in The Longest Ride, Fox 2000′s adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks tale that will be directed by George Tillman and produced by Temple Hill’s Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey along with Theresa Park. Huston will play the young Ira in a tale that brings together two intertwining love stories. Pic has an April 3 release date. Scripted by Craig Bolotin, Brad Desch, Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, the story opens with a 90-year-old man snowbound and stuck in his car after a major crash on an isolated road. As he drifts in and out of consciousness awaiting rescue, the man sees visions of his life’s love, who died earlier. Together they reminisce about their life together, including his difficulty in returning from WWII and being unable to have children with her because of a war wound. They become renowned...

Just days after Scott Eastwood signed on to star in The Longest Ride, actress Britt Robertson has landed a lead role in this adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' novel.

The story follows a young college student named Sophia Danko (Britt Robertson) who falls in love with a cowboy (Scott Eastwood), with this budding relationship set to alter both of their lives forever. Meanwhile, in a nearby town, a 91-year-old man becomes stranded after a car crash, forcing him to reflect on the love of his life whom he lost, as both stories become intertwined.

George Tillman Jr. is directing from an adapted screenplay by Craig Bolotin, with Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey producing for Temple Hill, alongside the director, Theresa Park and Robert Teitel. Fox 2000 has already handed out an April 3, 2015 release date, although it isn't known when production will begin.

Britt Robertson most recently starred in the DreamWorks comedy Delivery Man,...

Scott Eastwood, the son of legendary filmmaker/actor Clint Eastwood, has landed his first major starring role in Fox 2000's Nicholas Sparks adaptation The Longest Ride.

The story centers on an elderly man who becomes stranded after a car crash, which forces him to reflect on his past with the love of his life whom he lost. In a nearby town, a cowboy (Scott Eastwood) and a college senior fall for one another, as this new relationship begins to alter their lives forever. The plot follows both stories that eventually intertwine. Fox 2000 acquired the rights to this novel back in February, seven months before it was published in September.

George Tillman Jr. (Faster) is directing from an adapted screenplay by Craig Bolotin, with Temple Hill's Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey producing alongside the director, Theresa Park and Robert Teitel.

Scott Eastwood's previous credits include Trouble with the Curve, Chasing Mavericks,...

George Tillman likes to jump around the genres. His last film was coming-of-age drama The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister & Pete (which has yet to see a UK release) and before that Dwayne Johnson thriller Faster. Next up on his roster? Nicholas Sparks adaptation The Longest Ride for Fox.Admittedly, this one sounds a little different to Sparks' usual romantic stock-in-trade, though there will be some elements of that. Black Rain writer Craig Bolotin has adapted the book, which follows two converging stories. One is about an elderly man trapped in a car accident who is clinging to life. As he swims in and out of consciousness, he sees visions of his dead wife and their married life. In another plot, a high school senior meets a young bull ride who harbours a secret.The Longest Ride, which arrived in bookstores last September after is just the latest Sparks book...

George Tillman Jr. is in final negotiations to direct The Longest Ride, Fox 2000's adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel. Temple Hill's Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey are producing. Story: 'Longest Ride' Moves to Avoid Showdown With 'Fifty Shades of Grey' The book's story runs on two tracks that ultimately converge: one focuses on an elderly man who lies trapped in a car accident, and, while fighting to remain conscious, sees visions of his deceased wife and their life together. The second centers on a high school senior who meets a young bull rider with a secret. Craig Bolotin, the

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"The Twilight Saga" producers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey are set to produce an adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' latest novel "The Longest Ride" at Fox 2000.

Craig Bolotin ("Black Rain," "Straight Talk") has been tapped to pen the adaptation. The story follows two storylines that ultimately converge.

The first involves an elderly man trapped in a car accident. While fighting to remain conscious, he sees visions of his deceased wife and their life together.

The second follows a high school senior who meets a young bull rider with a secret. The book hits stores next month.

Fox picked up the rights to the title in February.

Source: THR...

Craig Bolotin, the veteran screenwriter who wrote the 1989 Ridley Scott-Michael Douglas thriller Black Rain, has been tapped to pen the adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' latest novel, The Longest Ride, for Fox 2000. Temple Hill’s Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey are producing. The book’s story runs on two tracks that ultimately converge. One focuses on an elderly man who lies trapped in a car accident. While fighting to remain conscious, he sees visions of his deceased wife and their life together. The second centers on a high school senior who meets a young bull rider with a secret. Photos:

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Michael Apted ("Amazing Grace," "The World is Not Enough") is set to direct an as-yet-untitled film adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novel "Eight Months on Ghazzah Street."

The book deals with the friendship between an Arab woman and an English woman who moves to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Apted has been scouting locations in Jordan for the project.

Craig Bolotin ("Black Rain") is penning the script which will update the 1980s-set novel to the present day, and will swap the English woman's nationality for an American.

Source: Screen Daily...

Michael Apted ("Amazing Grace," "The World is Not Enough") is set to direct an as-yet-untitled film adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novel "Eight Months on Ghazzah Street."

The book deals with the friendship between an Arab woman and an English woman who moves to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Apted has been scouting locations in Jordan for the project.

Craig Bolotin ("Black Rain") is penning the script which will update the 1980s-set novel to the present day, and will swap the English woman's nationality for an American.

Source: Screen Daily...

NEW YORK -- Sundance Institute and the Royal Film Commission of Jordan have selected seven projects for the third annual Middle East Screenwriters Lab.

Chadi Zeneddine's filmmaker saga "Brahim" from Lebanon, Suhad Khatib's bombing tale "The Building" from Jordan and Ismael El Habbash's "Dancing at the Checkpoint" from the Palestinian territories were chosen.

The other participants and projects are Rola Nashef's gas station study "Detroit Unleaded" from USA/Lebanon, Sali Ma Ben Moumen's family saga "A Place for Atlas' Feet" and Hicham Ayouch's small-town drama "Samba Doo Maazooz" (both from Morocco) and Eyad Zahra's musician profile "Sammy Paradise" from USA/Syria.

This year's advisors include filmmaking vets Mary Harron, Nabil Ayouch, Reza Bagher, Craig Bolotin, Michael Goldenberg, Yousry Nasrallah and Shawn Slovo.

The event will take place in Jordan from Oct. 28 – Nov. 1.