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The American Film Institute announced Thursday that the psychological thriller “Heretic,” starring Hugh Grant, and the Maria Callas biopic “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie, will be the Red Carpet Premieres at this year’s AFI Fest.

The “Heretic” premiere is scheduled first, with its gala screening on Oct. 24. The premiere for “Maria” will follow on Oct. 26.

The complete list of Red Carpet Premieres includes the documentary “Music by John Williams,” Robert Zemeckis’ drama-fantasy “Here,” starring Tom Hanks, the next installment of the stop-motion series “Wallace & Gromit: Most Fowl,” and Clint Eastwood’s “Juror #2.”

“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema — together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO, in a statement. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”

Among the films featured in the Special Screenings section are “Bird,...

When discussing the industry-wide changes needed for television to more authentically capture the lived experiences of disabled people, actor Eileen Grubba passionately implored the industry to end what she described as the tokenization of the community.

“The industry has got to stop saying, ‘Ok, let me go find some kid that’s cute that’s in a wheelchair and give them a series.’ That is soul-crushing to the people who’ve been fighting for decades to make a living,” said the “New Amsterdam” actor, who has faced disabilities since the age of 5.

Grubba shared her sentiments on a warm and sunny Thursday morning as industry trailblazers gathered at the Saban Media Center at the Television Academy Foundation in North Hollywood to discuss ways to ensure authentic disability inclusion in television in a “The Power of TV” panel hosted by the Academy Foundation.

Karen Horne, an event diversity, equity and inclusion expert,...

Exclusive: The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge has created the first-ever disability loop group, launched with a recent Edfc workshop held on then Sony studio lot that included coaching, feedback and advice from animation executives. Sony Pictures Entertainment has been a key sponsor and host of Edfc for six years.

A loop group is a group of actors involved in recording audio for edited programming during post-production. Loop groups provide background noise and audio clips that enrich the soundscape and lend a sense of authenticity in films, TV shows, video games and commercials.

The initiative follows the casting of Edfc founder and director Nic Novicki as Lego Spider-Man and longtime Film Challenge participant Danielle Perez as Sun-Spider in Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation’s Oscar-nominated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Both Perez and Novicki are actors with disabilities who were recommended for their roles in the film by writer-producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller,...

I Am Like You CINEMAflix Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net, linked from Rotten Tomatoes by Harvey Karten Director: Haik Kocharian Screenwriter: Haik Kocharian Cast: Stacy Edwards, Eileen Grubba, Terra Mackintosh, Curtis Butterfield, John Hosking, Lucky Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 9/4/22 Opens: September 16, 2022 As a kid, my favorite movie was Fred M. Wilcox’s […]

The post I Am Like You Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

A smart and sweet riff through “Grease,” “Footloose,” “High School Musical” and scads of other upbeat, teen-skewing entertainments, “Best Summer Ever” greatly impress with its deft balance of affectionate homage and exuberant inclusivity. Working from a peppy screenplay they co-wrote with Will Halby, Andrew Pilkington and Terra Mackintosh, directors Michael Parks Randa and Lauren Smitelli keep the mood so beguilingly light and bright, even during brief romantic setbacks, that it’s remarkably easy to suspend disbelief and gratefully delight in a world where racial divides and ableist prejudices are nonexistent, and just about the only negative stereotype on view is a mean-girl cheerleader.

The all-embracing attitude that propels “Best Summer Ever” is on full display right from the start. It’s the last day of the season at Lakeview Dance Camp, as young sweethearts Sage (Shannon DeVido), who uses a wheelchair, and her football-player boyfriend Tony (Ricky Wilson Jr.) lead...

The ReelAbilities Film Festival is set to open with Michael Parks Randa and Lauren Smitelli’s inclusive musical romancer Best Summer Ever, executive produced by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ted Danson, Amy Brenneman, and Mary Steenburgen.

Gyllenhaal, Sarsgaard and Benjamin Bratt have cameo roles in the feature shot with a fully integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities and which bowed at SXSW. Best Summer Ever, which also stars Shannon DeVido, Ricky Wilson Jr., MuMu, Jacob Waltuck, Emily Kranking, Ajani “Aj” Murray, Eileen Grubba and Holly Palmer, will screen on April 29 at the Queens Drive-In.

And ...

The ReelAbilities Film Festival is set to open with Michael Parks Randa and Lauren Smitelli’s inclusive musical romancer Best Summer Ever, executive produced by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ted Danson, Amy Brenneman, and Mary Steenburgen.

Gyllenhaal, Sarsgaard and Benjamin Bratt have cameo roles in the feature shot with a fully integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities and which bowed at SXSW. Best Summer Ever, which also stars Shannon DeVido, Ricky Wilson Jr., MuMu, Jacob Waltuck, Emily Kranking, Ajani “Aj” Murray, Eileen Grubba and Holly Palmer, will screen on April 29 at the Queens Drive-In.

And ...

In today’s film news roundup, Kumail Nanjiani has been cast as a journalist, Daisy Ridley boards Imax’s “Asteroid Hunters,” “Best Summer Ever” leads off a festival, Shelley Duvall gets an honor and “Dark Harvest” lands at MGM.

Project Launch

Kumail Nanjiani will star in the political thriller “The Independent,” which is being introduced to buyers by The Exchange at the Berlin Film Festival.

He will portray a journalist who uncovers a conspiracy, which places the fate of the election in his hands with America’s first viable independent presidential candidate poised for victory.

“Kumail is a great actor with global recognition and he serves as the cornerstone for an incredible ensemble cast that we are excited to announce shortly,” said Brian O’Shea of The Exchange.

Amy Rice, who was nominated for an Emmy for “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama,” is directing “The Independent” from a script by Evan Parter.

There are people who will tell you that the downfall of our society as a whole will come at the hands of “callout culture,” the environment in which individuals or groups are publicly shamed for their poor behavior – think of an old-fashioned stoning, but with tweets – until they deliver a half-hearted non-apology or the entire thing blows over. People who tell you this are wrong. (Spoiler: The downfall of our society is unchecked capitalism.)

This is not to say that callout culture is a net positive overall, but rather that there are moments during which it’s useful. Like now.

After Sunday night’s fantastic episode of HBO’s “Watchmen,” it’s time to finally verbalize the question on everybody’s mind: What is Damon Lindelof’s problem with dogs?

During his illustrious TV career, Lindelof has co-created and served as showrunner on three separate shows, ABC’s “Lost,” HBO’s “The Leftovers,...

Hey, "S.W.A.T."fans. We are back to deliver a brand new set of spoiler scoops for you guys. These will be for the upcoming episode 5 of this current season 3. Thanks to the wonderful CBS folks, we've got a brand new press release for episode 5. It features a few teaser descriptions that we're going to tell you about right now. To get things started, CBS' press released revealed what this new episode 5 is officially titled. It's called,"The Lbc." That is definitely a fitting title based on what's coming up in this episode. It sounds like episode 5 will feature some very interesting, dramatic, intense and possible action-filled scenes as the Swat crew teams up with the Long Beach Police team for a massive case! Hondo serves up more drama. This time, with his father. Luca gets very overwhelmed and more. We'll go head and start off this spoiler session with the...

In the sci-fi film Singularity, John Cusack stars as the CEO of a company that is about to release a "super computer designed to end all wars." But, as you would guess, the computer determines that humans are the real problem and must be eradicated. It unleashes an army of robots upon the world. Cusack is joined by a cast that includes Julian Schaffner, Jeannine Wacker, Eileen Grubba, and Carmen Argenziano. I will say this movie doesn't look very good at all. It's the kind of trailer that leaves you asking, why is Cusack making a movie this terrible? It doesn't even try to hide the fact that this is just a blending of The Terminator and The Matrix.

In 2020, Elias van Dorne (John Cusack), CEO of Va Industries, the world's largest robotics company, introduces his most powerful invention--Kronos, a super computer designed to end all wars. When Kronos goes online,...

"I am a survivor. But I am not alone." Voltage Pictures has released an official trailer for a super weird, out-of-nowhere sci-fi film called Singularity, in reference to the theoretical "singularity" moment within computing / technology. John Cusack stars as the CEO of a company that is about to released a "super computer designed to end all wars." Surprise! The computer determines humans must be eradicated, and unleashes an army of robots upon the world. This is less like Transcendence, much more of a Terminator rip-off meets Transformers meets Divergent, or something like that. The cast includes Julian Schaffner, Jeannine Wacker, Eileen Grubba, and Carmen Argenziano. It can also be filed under why-is-John-Cusack-making-such-terrible-movies, since it looks as bad as they come. This is one trailer worth skipping. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Robert Kouba's Singularity, direct from Voltage's YouTube: In 2020, Elias van Dorne (John Cusack), CEO of Va Industries,...

Recently, CBS released the new,official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "Criminal Minds" episode 13 of season 10. The episode is entitled, "Nelson's Sparrow," and it turns out that we're going to see some intense action go down when the Bau crew tracks down a vicious killer that's has broken free, and more! In the new, 13th episode press release: A new case will bring the Bau back to its beginnings as the team tracks a killer that got away. Press release number 2: The Bau is going to revisit its origins when they look at one of Rossi and Gideon's old cases to track a killer that got away. Series star Kirsten Vangsness co-wrote the episode with Erica Messer, one of the series' executive producers. Ben Savage ("Girl Meets World," "Boy Meets World") guest stars as young Gideon, and Arye Gross ("Castle," "Ellen") guest stars as Donnie Mallick. Other guest stars...

Recently, Fox served up the new,official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "Bones" episode 22 of season 9. The episode is entitled, "The Nail in the Coffin," and it sounds like things will get pretty interesting as the team gets closer to closing in on the mysterious Ghost Killer, and more. In the new,22nd episode press release: The team will get closer to discovering the identity of the ghost killer. Press release number 2: The Jeffersonian team will investigate the death of Stephanie McNamara, who is the daughter of a wealthy family whose remains were found in a national park. When the team digs deeper into the circumstances surrounding her death, clues from the case are going to lead them to believe she may be the Ghost Killer's latest victim, with a surprising connection to a previous victim. In the meantime, the FBI Deputy Director is going to take a special...

New trailer for director Robert Kouba’s “The Rift”, which actually shows glimpses of those alien buggers. I’m assuming those are aliens. They look alien-y. After radar anomalies start appearing all over the world, strange rifts are starting to form in the sky. There is something hiding behind these rifts. It’s moving. I’m not sure if the whole movie takes place at a small diner in the middle of nowhere or not, but the trailer seems to strongly hint at that. Well, that’s one way to keep the budget down. The film stars Eileen Grubba, James Distefano and Ralph Guzzo. Your guess is as good as mine when you can see this thing.

This Sunday, December 4th, marks the Hung Season 3 finale with Episode 3.10: The Whole Beefalo. Jill Jacobson guest stars along with Jay Thomas as the parents of Jason's (Stephen Amell) pimp. We recently caught up with Jill to chat about the episode, as well as her upcoming stand-up comedy appearances.

Here is our conversation.

What can you tell us about this character you are playing on the season finale of Hung?

Jill Jacobson: One would expect that I'd be playing one of the broads that Thomas Jane is doing it with. But I'm not. I think its quite surprising. It's pretty crazy. I am the mother of the new pimp. We just show up. My husband is played by Jay Thomas. He is fantastic. We just went crazy. Apparently, the producers allowed us to just go crazy. I don't see why they wouldn't keep it in. We got a...

Hung Season 2 Blu-ray Contest Giveaway Sweepstakes. This Hung: Season 2 Blu-ray contest, giveaway, sweepstakes illustrates Hung: Season 2‘ release by HBO Studio on DVD and Blu-ray on September 27, 2011.

Hung: Season 2 stars Thomas Jane, Jane Adams, Eddie Jemison, Charlie Saxton, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Rebecca Creskoff, Gregg Henry, Anne Heche, Kathryn Hahn, Gina Hecht, Alanna Ubach, Lennie James, Lyudmila Velikaya, and Eileen Grubba.

Hung: Season 2′ plot synopsis: “A former high school sports legend turned middle-aged high school basketball coach finds a way to benefit from his biggest asset.”

For more Hung‘ photos, videos, and information, check out our Hung Page.

Three winners will receive:

- (1) Hung: Season 2

To Enter:

1. Follow @FilmBookdotCom on Twitter (click below).

Follow @filmbookdotcom

2. Tweet: I just entered to win Hung: Season 2 on Blu-ray @FilmBookdotCom. You can too here: http://bit.ly/nLthNa #hung #contest #win #free #giveaway

Rules:

Only contestants that are (1.) following Film-Book on...

The web series craze hasn't seemed to catch on with the general public, but as far as the horror genre goes, we have an abundance to choose from. And today we got word of another that looks to be worth at least a few minutes of your time to check out: director and lead actor Russ Cootey's "The Resolve".

The premise is as follows:

"The Resolve" centers around Mike Patterson (Russ Cootey), a beleaguered man, gripped by O.C.D. issues with humanity, unleashed by fiery clashes on others. He explains to his therapist Sean Miller (Alex Ballar - War Wolves) how he has found a way to deal with his compulsion, which is to kill those who he believes are responsible for the misalignment in humanity.

Also starring are Ellen Dubin (The Collector, Lexx, Highlander), Kristina Hughes (Old School, Green River), Anthony Ray Parker (The Matrix, Xena), Holt Boggs (The Prodigy,...