News

When fans think of Bob Odenkirk nowadays, the first thing, or character, rather, that comes to mind is likely the shady lawyer Saul Goodman. The actor first stepped into the shoes and flashy suits of the defense lawyer and professional con artist in Season 2 of Breaking Bad and never looked back, evolving into something much more than just the comedic relief character and constant confidant of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). The man whose real name is Jimmy McGill would eventually get his own television series in Better Call Saul, exploring the many layers of the character and his eventual downfall in a show that arguably rivaled its already legendary predecessor. Despite his powerhouse performance, however, Odenkirk never saw himself as an actor.

At this year's San Diego Comic-Con, Odenkirk sat down with Steve Weintraub for Collider's Inside Hollywood panel, where he reflected on his career...

István Szabó is bringing some “Sunshine” to Cannes Classics.

His 1999 historical epic, starring Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, John Neville and Jennifer Ehle, followed generations of a Hungarian-Jewish family until the mid-20th century. No stranger to Cannes thanks to award-winning “Mephisto” (which also picked up an Academy Award) and “Colonel Redl,” Szabó wrote the script with Israel Horovitz.

The full 4K digital restoration of the film was “prepared especially for Cannes,” reveals Nfi’s Filmlab director Viktória Sovák.

“The frames of the 181-minute-long film were partially corrupted and dotted with large white spots. During color grading, carried out with [the film’s original] cinematographer Lajos Koltai, the opportunity arose to make minor adjustments to the digital material that were not possible at the time it was shot. His greatest pleasure came with being able to bring out even the most minute details, which was impossible in the analogue era.”

Overall, Szabó’s nine feature...

The great actor Robert Picardo, a frequent Joe Dante collaborator and long time Star Trek hologram, joins Josh and Joe to discuss movies that compel him to sit and watch all the way through any time they just happen to be on.

Also… Josh and Bob discuss the best cheesesteak joints in Philly.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Howling (1981)

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

A Hard Day’s Night (1964)

The Running Jumping and Standing Still Film (1959)

Swing Time (1936)

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

Cabaret (1972)

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

On The Waterfront (1954)

Some Like It Hot (1959)

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Innerspace (1987)

Ordinary People (1980)

Hollywood Boulevard (1976)

Rock ‘N’ Roll High School (1978)

The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather Part II (1974)

Jaws (1975)

The Wiz (1978)

The Godfather Part III (1990)

Alien (1979)

Star Wars (1977)

Death Becomes Her (1992)

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

I Knew It Was You (2009)

Touch Of Evil (1958)

Citizen Kane (1941)

The Day The Earth Stood Still...

Israel Horovitz, a playwright, screenwriter and director whose career was tarnished by sexual assault allegations in the late 2010s, died from cancer on Monday at his Manhattan home, his wife told The New York Times. He was 81.

Horovitz’s best-known plays include “Line,” “Park Your Car in Harvard Yard,” “The Primary English Class,” “The Widow’s Blind Date,” “What Strong Fences Make” and “The Indian Wants the Bronx.”

In 2017, nine women accused Horovitz of sexual misconduct in a New York Times article. Some of the women were actresses in plays he had directed or employed. One woman alleged he had raped her and another alleged he assaulted her when she was 16.

Horovitz responded to the accusations in the Times and apologized, saying he had “a different memory of some of these events. I apologize with all my heart to any woman who has ever felt compromised by my actions, and...

Playwright Israel Horovitz, whose Off Broadway productions provided early stages for such soon-to-be-stars as Al Pacino, Marsha Mason, John Cazale and Richard Dreyfus but whose later career was severely damaged by repeated accusations of sexual assault, died at his Manhattan home of cancer on Nov. 9. He was 81.

His death was confirmed to The New York Times by wife Gillian Horovitz. Horovitz’s children include Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys, film producer Rachael Horovitz and TV producer Matthew Horovitz.

Horovitz’s first success came in 1968, with the Off Broadway double-bill The Indian Wants the Bronx and It’s Called the Sugar Plum, featuring casts that included Pacino, Mason and Cazale. Mason’s future Goodbye Girl costar Dreyfuss appeared, with Cazale, in Horovitz’s 1970 play Line, which was Off Off Broadway’s longest running production when it closed in 2018.

Though a prolific and acclaimed writer of works for Off Broadway and regional theaters,...

Claude Lelouch on influencing Terrence Malick: "I'm happy that you say so." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

When I spoke with Claude Lelouch at his hotel in New York less than two years ago, he believed that The Best Years Of A Life (Les Plus Belles Années D'Une Vie), starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Anouk Aimée, and Monica Bellucci would be his last.

Now he has La Vertu Des Impondérables with Elsa Zylberstein (Un + une with Jean Dujardin and Christopher Lambert), Marianne Denicourt, Ary Abittan, and Stéphane De Groodt (Israel Horovitz's My Old Lady) in the works.

Claude Lelouch: "In Un Homme Et Une Femme (A Man And A Woman), when Anouk Aimée arrives at the end on the train platform, she didn't know Jean-Louis Trintignant would be there."

In 1966, Un Homme Et Une Femme won the Cannes Palme d'Or, and in 1967 won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, and Claude Lelouch took Best Writing,...

Update: Michael Bregman, son of Martin Bregman, confirmed his father’s passing. Below is a rewrite, my attempt at a proper obit of a storied New York producer.

Martin Bregman, the New York-based producer of such films as Sea of Love, Scarface, Serpico and Carlito’s Way, died Saturday at age 92. His passing was first reported by local New York TV news station Wnbc. His passing was attributed to cerebral hemorrhage, his widow, Cornelia, told News 4’s Chuck Scarborough.

Michael Bregman, a producer with his father on The Bone Collector, Carlito’s Way and several other films, told Deadline his father died after being rushed to Weill Cornell Presbyterian Hospital on East 68th Street early Saturday morning. “It was surprising and surreal; my sister reached me at 1 Am and said come quickly, there’s not much time,” Michael Bregman told Deadline. “We were by his side when he passed at 5:45 Pm Saturday.

This year Al Pacino may pick up his third career Emmy Award as Best Movie/Mini Actor for the HBO telefilm “Paterno.” He plays the title role of disgraced Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, whose successful 45-year career ended after his assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was revealed to have been a child molester. Pacino previously won the same prize for “Angels in America” in 2004 and “You Don’t Know Jack” in 2010, and he was nominated once more for “Phil Spector” in 2013. But of course, most of Pacino’s career has been in film and not television. In honor of his latest small-screen achievement, let’s take a look back at some of his best big-screen performances. Tour through our photo gallery above of Pacino’s 25 greatest films above, ranked from worst to best.

Pacino is an Academy Award winner for his cinematic work, but it took him 20 years and...

Heather Graham drew from her own life for her directorial debut, “Half Magic” — specifically, the power of visualizing what you want to accomplish. “I had a group of friends, and we would get together, and we would make wishes for things,” she told TheWrap founder and editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman. “We would support each other in making our dreams come true. And a lot of things started to happen… we would wish for things and they would come true,” Graham continued. Also Read: Heather Graham Says Israel Horovitz Forced a Kiss After She Dated His Son, Beastie Boys' Ad-Rock One of her wishes: “I...

Heather Graham says playwright Israel Horovitz forced a kiss on her decades ago after she dated his son, Beastie Boys star Adam Horovitz. Graham said on the latest edition of Marc Maron’s “Wtf” podcast, which posted Monday, that she dated the younger Horovitz, a.k.a. Ad-Rock, when she was 18 or 19, around the time she appeared in the 1989 Gus Van Sant film “Drugstore Cowboy.” “After I dated Adam and we broke up, I auditioned for one of plays and after the audition… he was like, ‘Let me walk you out’ and so he gets in the elevator...

Award-winning playwright, author, and the founding artistic director of the Gloucester Stage Company, Israel Horovitz, has been accused of sexual assault by 9 women and his son, Beastie Boys rapper and musician Adam Horovitz, aka Ad-Rock, has spoken out to say that he believes the allegations and stands behind the women. The stories range from the mid-1980s all the way up to last year and range from sexual abuse to inappropriate touching, with one of the women stating that she had known the elder Horovitz since she was 11-years old and considered him to be an honorary grandfather while another was Adam Horovitz's high school girlfriend. Israel Horovitz has released a statement claiming to have a "different memory" of the events.

The 78-year old Israel Horovitz responded to the allegations by saying that he had "a different memory of some of these events" and apologizing, "with all my heart...

Adam Horovitz, a member of the Beastie Boys and son to famed playwright Israel Horovitz, has supported the nine women accusing his father of sexual misconduct. “I believe the allegations against my father are true, and I stand behind the women that made them,” Horovitz, also known as Ad-Rock, said in a statement to the New York Times. A spokesperson for Ad-Rock has not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment. In the New York Times report, nine women came forward to accuse the playwright of sexual misconduct. One woman said she was 16 when he pressed her against a wall.

Update with more information. Nine women have provided explicit, on-the-record accounts of being molested or assaulted by Israel Horovitz, a screenwriter whose credits include My Old Lady, Author! Author! and Sunshine, as well as some of the most produced plays in the American canon, including The Indian Wants The Bronx, the 1968 off-Broadway hit that launched the career of Al Pacino. The New York Times reported this morning that the nine women came forward in light of…...

In the annals of rich men who look to Hollywood to build a secondary empire, real estate billionaire Charles S. Cohen (Forbes net worth: $2.2 billion) is their Don Quixote. His Cohen Media Group is staking its claim in spaces renowned for their allergies to profit: He’s restoring classic films, releasing foreign-language titles, and moving into specialty exhibition.

One Oscar campaigner calls Cohen’s taste “older middle-of-the-road arthouse,” and that’s exactly the audience he wants. Three of Cohen’s French imports — “Outside the Law” (2010), “Timbuktu” (2014) and “Mustang” (2015) — received foreign-language Academy Award nominations. This year, Cohen (with partner Amazon Studios) took Iranian Cannes-prize-winner Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman” all the way to the Oscar, much to the chagrin of established competitors Sony Pictures Classics (“Toni Erdmann”) and Music Box (“A Man Called Ove”).

However, where other billionaire businessmen have wanted to be studio moguls, or Harvey Weinstein, what Cohen really...

In the annals of rich men who look to Hollywood to build a secondary empire, real estate billionaire Charles S. Cohen (Forbes net worth: $2.2 billion) is their Don Quixote. His Cohen Media Group is staking its claim in spaces renowned for their allergies to profit: He’s restoring classic films, releasing foreign-language titles, and moving into specialty exhibition.

One Oscar campaigner calls Cohen’s taste “older middle-of-the-road arthouse,” and that’s exactly the audience he wants. Three of Cohen’s French imports — “Outside the Law” (2010), “Timbuktu” (2014) and “Mustang” (2015) — received foreign-language Academy Award nominations. This year, Cohen (with partner Amazon Studios) took Iranian Cannes-prize-winner Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman” all the way to the Oscar, much to the chagrin of established competitors Sony Pictures Classics (“Toni Erdmann”) and Music Box (“A Man Called Ove”).

However, where other billionaire businessmen have wanted to be studio moguls, or Harvey Weinstein, what Cohen really...

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes -- a new comedy by Israel Horovitz My Old Lady, with a cast starring Oscar winner and 5-time Tony nominee Estelle Parsons, two-time Tony winner Judith Ivey, along with Angelina Fiordellisi Zorba on Broadway oppositeAnthony Quinn and Francesca Choy-kee Disgraced - begins rehearsals May 12 prior to the start of previews June 7 and opening June 19, in a world-premiere production by Cherry Lane Theatre 38 Commerce St. in Greenwich Village. The play is directed by Barnet Kellman. The company just met the press, and BroadwayWorld was on hand - check out photo coverage below...

The annual Playwrights for a Cause benefit will be Sunday, July 24th at 730 pm at the Atlantic Theatre Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street, NYC 10011. The special performance will include six original plays. This year the playwrights for the benefit will include Israel Horovitz, Dominique Morisseau, Antoinette Nwandu, John Patrick Shanley, Regina Taylor as well as an award-winning writer from the Planet Connections community that will be announced later.

Meru directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi with Tom Brokaw Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Sundance Audience Award winner and Sheffield Doc/Fest selection Meru was honored with a lunch hosted by Meredith Brokaw, Tom Brokaw, Austin Hearst and Doc NYC 2015's new Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Barbara Kopple at the 21 Club, organised by Peggy Siegal. Meru composer J. Ralph, who also worked on Orlando von Einsiedel's Oscar nominated Virunga, Bob Eisenhardt, who was also the editor of HBO's Everything Is Copy, directed by Jacob Bernstein on his mother Nora Ephron, which had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival , were at the lunch and discussion. Jean Doumanian, a producer of John Wells' wild and furious August: Osage County, documentarian Alexandra Pelosi, director/playwright Israel Horowitz, Absolute Wilson director/producer Katharina Otto-Bernstein and Wendy Ettinger, Chicken & Egg Pictures founder, were among the guests.

Peggy Siegal introduces Tom Brokaw...

By Lee Pfeiffer

It's rare that a feature included as a bonus in a Blu-ray release of a classic movie would rate having us provide a separate review. However, director Richard Shepard's acclaimed documentary "I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazle" merits exceptional treatment. The 2009 movie gained considerable praise when first released but suffered the fate of most documentaries in that it was not widely seen outside of the art house circuit and a DVD release the following year. Fortunately, Warner Home Video had the good instincts to include it in their 40th anniversary Blu-ray release of "Dog Day Afternoon" (click here for review) , a film in which Cazale stole the show despite sharing the screen with some of the most talented actors on the planet.  The documentary packs a great deal into it's all-too-brief 40 minute running time and sheds much light on the career of Cazale, perhaps...

In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, the political controversy surrounding the release of The Interview, and continued suppression of plays, books, and art in American schools, libraries and museums, the battle for freedom of speech and expression is more essential than ever. Planet Connections Theatre Festivity will present an evening of world premiere plays by Erik Ehn, Halley Feiffer, Israel Horovitz and Neil Labute addressing censorship in the arts in Playwrights for a Cause, to be held at 730pm on June 14, 2015 at the Sheen Center, located at 18 Bleecker Street.

Playwrights For A Cause, an evening of plays by award-winning playwrights Erik Ehn, Halley Feiffer, Israel Horovitz and Neil Labute, and a panel discussion concerning censorship in climate science and more inclusion of Lgbt, women, and minorities in the arts, originally scheduled for June 14, 2015 at The Sheen Center at 18 Bleecker Street, has been canceled by the management of The Sheen Center.

Playwrights For A Cause, an evening of plays by award-winning playwrights Erik Ehn, Halley Feiffer, Israel Horovitz and Neil Labute, and a panel discussion concerning censorship in climate science and more inclusion of Lgbt, women, and minorities in the arts, originally scheduled for June 14, 2015 at The Sheen Center at 18 Bleecker Street, has been canceled by the management of The Sheen Center.

Major casting has have been announced for the 2015 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity's Playwrights For A Cause, set to take place at 730pm on Sunday, June 14, 2015 at the Sheen Center, located at 18 Bleecker Street. The evening, which will benefit the non-profit National Coalition Against Censorship, will showcase world premiere one-act plays by four acclaimed playwrights Israel Horovitz's Breaking Phillip Glass and Erik Ehn's Her Speech, both directed by Planet Connections Theatre Festivity founder and Pfac Producing Artistic Curator Glory Kadigan Halley Feiffer's A Play About New Mexico, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch and Neil Labute's Mohammed Gets a Boner, directed by Marco Calvani.

In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, the political controversy surrounding the release of The Interview, and continued suppression of plays, books, and art in American schools, libraries and museums, the battle for freedom of speech and expression is more essential than ever. Planet Connections Theatre Festivity will present an evening of world premiere plays by Erik Ehn, Halley Feiffer, Israel Horovitz and Neil Labute addressing censorship in the arts in Playwrights for a Cause, to be held at 730pm on June 14, 2015 at the Sheen Center, located at 18 Bleecker Street.

From D Films, Sneak Peek footage from director Israel Horovitz' dramatic feature "My Old Lady", starring Kevin Kline, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas and Dominique Pinon, now available on Blu-ray and DVD:

"...'Mathias Gold' (Kline), a down-and-out New Yorker, travels to Paris to liquidate a huge and valuable apartment he has inherited from his estranged father. 

"When he reaches his apartment he finds 'Mathilde Girard' (Smith), a refined old lady living in the apartment with her daughter, 'Chloe' (Thomas).

"He then discovers the romantic history between Mathilde and his father, a romance that lasted over half a century..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "My Old Lady"...

Monday was a very busy day for Oscar nominees. Aside from the main event that I covered in detail yesterday, the Oscar Nominees luncheon, a couple of trade sites poached the Academy’s large turnout for nighttime parties offering yet more photo ops. The bigger names usually walk down the carpets at those things, head through the door, grab a piece of pizza and head to the exit. Anything to keep your name out front and your face in front of voters at a crucial time. And since there are lots of nominees who come into town just for the luncheon, their handlers make them available for one last late-night talk show appearance before voting starts.

That’s why you saw Michael Keaton and Jimmy Fallon (who brought his Tonight Show to Hollywood for the week) doing readings of Birdman scripts as submitted by 6-year-olds. And that’s why you...

Three lives intertwine in unexpected and profound ways in Israel Horovitz's My Old Lady, a funny, moving drama starring the legendary Estelle Parsons and featuring Angelica Page and Tim Altmeyer. This newly revised, never-before-seen version of Horovitz's 2002 play opens on December 5 8pm at the Don amp Ann Brown Theatre. Performances continue through January 4, 2015, with specially priced previews tonight, December 3 and 4.

Prolific playwright Israel Horovitz makes his directorial debut with My Old Lady, a witty and heartfelt drama about surprising inheritances and unexpected connections that critics are calling “simply wonderful” (Jeffrey Lyons, Lyons Den Radio) and “a classic in the making” (Sydney Levine, Indiewire).

Read our review Here.

Following a successful theatrical release through Cohen Media Group, My Old Lady arrives on Blu-ray with Digital HD and Ultraviolet and on DVD on January 27, 2015 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The film features an outstanding cast including Academy Award winners Kevin Kline and Maggie Smith and Academy Award nominee Kristin Scott Thomas and will also be available two weeks early on Digital HD January 13, 2015.

When Mathias Gold (Kevin Kline) arrives at the sumptuous Parisian apartment he inherited from his father, he’s surprised that the property comes with two stubborn live-in tenants who are not required to leave according to an ancient French real estate law.

A bitterly funny pas de trois character dramedy performed by three compulsively watchable actors. I’m “biast” (pro): love the cast

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

I have not read the source material

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

Kevin Kline’s “old lady” is not what you might perhaps be expecting. He’s a New Yorker who comes to Paris to check out the apartment his recently deceased French father has left him only to discover that Maggie Smith is living there. Turns out his dad got the place on the cheap many years earlier thanks to a peculiar quirk of Parisian real estate: the purchase was such a bargain because it was a viager, which entitles the former owner to continue living in the property and get paid a sort of reverse-mortgage by the new owner until the seller dies. Well, it’s...

★★☆☆☆At the age of 75, and with over 70 plays under his belt, prolific theatre director Israel Horovitz makes his cinematic debut, adapting his 2002 stage play of the same name, My Old Lady (2014). Given Horovitz’s proven track record of crafting critically successful and award-winning narratives for theatre, one would be forgiven for thinking that a transition into film would be a smooth one. However the journey has proven to be bumpier than first thought, with this first feature failing to break free from the shackles of its theatre beginnings. My Old Lady centres upon three characters played by Kevin Kline, Maggie Smith and Kristen Scott-Thomas.

Kevin Kline, Maggie Smith and Kristin Scott Thomas star in this thoughtful drama about a ménage à trois of sorts – peppered with some ingenious twists

That title might lead you to expect a soundtrack from Chas and Dave. Actually, it’s a thoughtful emotional drama, written and directed by the veteran playwright Israel Horovitz. The film is a bit sentimental here and there, but well-acted, and when the cinemas are so full of Ya, it’s interesting to get some A: a film for grownups. Kevin Kline plays recovering alcoholic Mathias, who shows up in Paris, having been left a handsome apartment by his father; embittered by failures and disappointments, he is relying on this property to boost his self-esteem. But to his horror, he finds it is a viager: it has a sitting tenant – who sold it for a song on condition that she can stay and receive rent...

Three lives intertwine in unexpected and profound ways in Israel Horovitz's My Old Lady, a funny, moving drama starring the legendary Estelle Parsons and featuring Angelica Page and Tim Altmeyer. This newly revised, never-before-seen version of Horovitz's 2002 play opens on December 5 8pm at the Don amp Ann Brown Theatre. Performances continue through January 4, 2015, with specially priced previews on December 3 and 4.

Acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Israel Horovitz makes his directorial debut with My Old Lady, a comedy drama starring Kevin Kline as penniless New Yorker Mathias who plans on making some quick cash by liquidating the huge Parisian apartment he inherited from his estranged father. But upon arriving at the door of his new French home, he finds he won't gain possession of it till it's current inhabitant Mathilde (Maggie Smith) as passed on. What's more, according to an ancient French law, he must pay Mathilde a monthly fee until she dies. Chock full of humour and charm, there is a lot to like about My Old Lady, especially Kline on top form, and Smith, who is always a delight in the crotchety old lady role. Released: 21st November (Irl/U.K.)...

Awards: Anne Thompson's Updated Oscar Predictions 2015 "Boyhood" Star Patricia Arquette Will Campaign for Supporting Actress Oscar Four Reasons Why Clark Terry Doc "Keep On Keepin' On" Is Oscar Bait Updated: Foreign Language Oscar Contenders Where Are the Missing Pictures? Box Office: "Skeleton Twins" Scores Best Limited Opening Since "Boyhood" Top Ten Box Office Takeaways: "No Good Deed" Tops Weak Field, "The Drop" Scores, "The Giver" Soars News & Features: As TriStar Lands Ang Lee, Who's In Line to Replace Sony's Pascal? Fantastic Fest Preview: 10 Must-See Films How Kevin Kline Helped Israel Horovitz's "My Old Lady" Film Debut It's Not Getting Better for Women in Hollywood, But There Is a Silver Lining "New Girl" vs. "The Mindy Project": One's a Winner Take a "Walk Among the Tombstones" with Cinematographer Mihai Malaimare...

Kevin Kline, Maggie Smith, and Kristin Scott Thomas are three of my favorite actors. If you share that opinion, I think you’ll agree that watching My Old Lady is time well spent, even though the film leaves something to be desired. Israel Horovitz makes his directorial debut with this adaptation of his 2002 play, which starts out with great promise and a lighthearted tone. It grows more serious as the story unfolds and reveals all too clearly its origins as a stage piece. The premise is certainly auspicious. Financially and emotionally impoverished Kline arrives in Paris to claim his inheritance, a spacious and desirable apartment, only to find that his father purchased the ...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...

The upcoming weekend boasts an onslaught of new Specialty titles vying for audiences. In all likelihood, however, many will have a short big screen life as the fall’s awards contenders ramp up and crowd others out. Five of this week’s dozen-plus newcomers are spotlighted here with Fox Searchlight’s The Drop edging on a wide release. The feature starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and James Gandolfini will bow in over 800 theaters. TWC’s The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby also joins the fray with a platform release. The film also has two accompanying titles told from the perspective of its two main characters, which will be released in more limited runs in October. Magnolia will open its thriller Honeymoon in a day and date release while Dada Films’ Swearnet: The Movie breaks a movie record with the most F-bombs ever. And Cohen Media Group’s My Old Lady bowed Wednesday in limited release.

Starring Maggie Smith, Kevin Kline and Kristin Scott Thomas, My Old Lady is already my favorite film of the year. Based on the play by Israel Horovitz, who also adapted and directed for the screen, this charming “dramedy” hits the mark at every turn.

Kline plays Mathias Gold, a down on his luck New Yorker and recovering alcoholic who has inherited an enormous Paris apartment from his estranged father. Thinking he can quickly flip the valuable property for a fast buck, he shows up to find 90-year old tenant Mathilde Girard (Maggie Smith) living there with her adult daughter Chloe (Kristin Scott Thomas).

Mathias soon learns from local real estate agent Monsieur Lefebvre (played perfectly by scene stealing French character actor Dominique Pinon) that the deal is a “viager” – a uniquely French system whereby the buyer doesn’t take legal possession of the property until the seller dies (one of...

Struggling to understand an explosively unique idea and world is a gripping theme that powerfully drives several aspects of the new independent comedy-drama, ‘My Old Lady,’ which is now playing in select theaters. The emotionally damaged protagonist of the film, Mathias Gold, is an older cynical American trying to accept he’s lost many of his meaningful relationships throughout his life. His tension understandably rises when he discovers his recently deceased father’s secret life in Paris, including a puzzling real estate transaction and secret personal relationship with his tenant. Writer-director Israel Horpvitz, who adapted the movie from his acclaimed 2002 play of the same name, also took the risk of entering [ Read More ]

The post Interview: Kevin Kline and Israel Horovitz Talk My Old Lady appeared first on Shockya.com.

Learning to truly make peace with the resentment you have formed towards those around you, whether its in estranged relationships with family members or people you just met who are quick to judge you, can be a harrowing experience. That struggle to make peace with the people you feel disconnected with, no matter how they factor into your life, is relatably and powerfully presented in writer-director Israel Horovitz’s new independent comedy-drama, ‘My Old Lady.’ The movie, which was released today in select theaters, marks the helmer’s feature film directorial debut, after he first chronicled the characters’ enthralling emotional struggles in a hit play that has played around the world. ‘My [ Read More ]

The post Interview: Israel Horovitz Talks My Old Lady appeared first on Shockya.com.

My Old Lady director Israel Horovitz at MoMA premiere on Samuel Beckett's Cascando: "I once recited a poem of mine to Beckett." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

The New York première of Israel Horovitz's My Old Lady, starring Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas and Maggie Smith, was hosted by Meryl Streep, David O. Russell and Glenn Close at MoMA. Among those attending were producers Rachael Horovitz and Gary Foster, Charles Cohen, Paul Haggis, Gina Gershon, Joanna Coles, the Beastie Boys' Adam Horovitz, Phil Jackson, Alex Gibney, Ophelia Lovibond, Colin Callender, Mark Feuerstein, Erin Richards, Billy Magnussen and Julia Jones.

Israel Horovitz with co-host Meryl Streep: "It's probably rare for you to be talked to by a first time feature director who begins by saying, let me tell you about my grandchildren." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

"If you do not love me I shall not be loved," a line from Samuel Beckett's Cascando,...

My Old Lady sounds like a title from the days of screwball comedy, a genre in which director Israel Horovitz's adaptation of his own play might have fared better.

Concerning the French property release scheme known as viager, wherein a buyer pays a monthly fee in exchange for ownership when the seller one day kicks the bucket, the film stars a blustery Kevin Kline as Mathias Gold, an itinerant heir arrived in Paris to claim his late father's property, and Maggie Smith as Mathilde, a nonagenarian who, it turns out, is legally tied to the apartment. Her daughter, Chloé (Kristin Scott Thomas), meets Mathias when he bursts in on her in the john; later, she indignantly declares him an "imbecile."

It sounds like a recipe for comedy (and Kline seems to th...

Never in my life would I have guessed I’d be able to teach someone as accomplished as Kevin Kline about anything at all, but it turns out, he doesn’t know all that much about motion capture. However, that’s only one thing compared to the wealth of memories, techniques and industry insight he had to share with me during our interview for his upcoming film, My Old Lady. Kline leads the big screen adaptation of Israel Horovitz’s play as Mathias, a man who travels to Paris to cash in his inheritance, a high value apartment. Trouble is, it’s a “viager,” so he won’t actually own the place until the current tenant, Mathilde Girard (Maggie Smith), passes away. Until then, he actually has to pay her a fee according to the unusual French system. In addition to discussing his experience making My Old Lady and breaking down the motion capture technique,...

My Old Lady Cohen Media Group Reviewed for Shockya by Harvey Karten. Data-based on Rotten Tomatoes Grade: B Director: Israel Horovitz Screenplay: Israel Horovitz Cast: Kevin Kline, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas Screened at: Review 1, NYC, 8/28/14 Opens: September 10, 2914 It’s difficult to believe that Israel Horovitz wrote the screenplay for the 1970 movie “The Strawberry Statement.” While it’s not unusual for a scripter to have a long, successful life (after all wrote this forty-four years ago and he’s still going strong), but considering that “Strawberry” was a big-budget movie about the late sixties riots at Columbia University, one that showed radical students breaking windows and, I believe, [ Read More ]

The post My Old Lady Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Seeds of Yesterday: Horovitz’s Debut a Tonally Uncomfortable Adaptation

Playwright and screenwriter Israel Horovitz makes his directorial debut with My Old Lady, an adaptation of his own play which originally opened back in 2002. At times a richly observed portrait of coming to terms with the traumatic events of the past when we’re finally forced to, more often than not, the film’s awkward tonal shifts lends the film a generally unpleasant ambience. There’s no smooth segue from its belabored setup from hokey comedy to unctuous soap opera of seedy family secrets. Fans of its three main star attractions will find Kline, Smith, and Scott-Thomas in overall fine form, though the artificial quality of the material often makes their interactions feel forced.

A down and out New Yorker in his late 50’s, Mathias Gold (Kevin Kline) thinks he’s solved all his financial problems when his estranged father...

Jumping from drama to comedy with ease, the sixty-six year old Kevin Kline means different things to different moviegoers. For some, he's the actor with pronounced dramatic chops in early films like "Sophie's Choice," "The Big Chill" and "Cry Freedom," while for others he's the comedic genius who won an Oscar for "A Fish Called Wanda," and was similarly terrific in films like "Dave," "In & Out" and more. His latest leading role in "My Old Lady" sees him touching upon both genres, with the movie premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend. The film marks the directorial debut of Israel Horovitz, an award winning theatre director, bringing his own play to the big screen. It finds Kline playing Mathias, an American freshly arrived in Paris looking to sell an apartment he's inherited from his late father, but there's a problem. Mathilde (Maggie Smith) has been living there for seventy.

Fury (David Ayer)

[via the BFI]

The programme for the 58th BFI London Film Festival launched today, with Festival Director Clare Stewart presenting this year’s rich and diverse selection of films and events. The lineup includes highly anticipated fall titles including David Ayer’s Fury, Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher, the Sundance smash Whiplash, Jean-Luc Godard’s Goodbye to Language 3D, The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner, Jason Reitman’s Men, Women and Children and Jean-Marc Vallee’s Wild.

As Britain’s leading film event and one of the world’s oldest film festivals, it introduces the finest new British and international films to an expanding London and UK-wide audience, offering a compelling combination of red carpet glamour, engaged audiences and vibrant exchange. The Festival provides an essential profiling opportunity for films seeking global success at the start of the Awards season, promotes the careers of British and...

As we look in the rearview mirror of the summer blockbusters, September heralds the start of the fall movie season. Filled with Hollywood heavyweights and A-listers, here’s our Big list of the most anticipated movies coming to cinemas this autumn and during the holidays.

Our exhaustive list includes films that are playing at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival as well the ones that already have a theatrical release date. With the awards season on the horizon, we also added a few bonus films at the end to keep your eye out for in the months ahead.

Pull up a chair, grab a pen and paper and get ready for Wamg’s Guide to the 100+ Films This Fall And Holiday Season.

We kick it off with what’s showing in Toronto at the film festival that runs September 4 – 14.

Maps To The Stars – September 2014 – Toronto International Film Festival; UK & Ireland September...

UK sales outfit Protagonist Pictures has appointed former StudioCanal executive Vanessa Saal as head of sales, part of a company restructure that includes launching a Us presence fronted by producer Eddie Vaisman.

Vaisman joins as head of production and acquisitions, Us.

As part of the shuffle, Dave Bishop has moved from his existing sales position to the newly created role of head of worldwide acquisitions; Emily Gotto has been promoted to acquisitions executive; George Hamilton to sales coordinator; and Hashim Alsaraf has been hired as deliveries manager.

Saal comes to Protagonist from Studiocanal’s Paris base where she was svp, international sales, handling territories including the Us and Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, Latin America and Spain.

She joined Studiocanal in 2010 as vp, international sales, and while at the company worked on the sale of films such as The Gunman, Non-Stop and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. She previously worked at Kinology when the company started operations in 2008 and...

London-based Protagonist Pictures is restructuring as it stretches to fit increased ambitions. The company has had a strong year with Sundance and Berlin hits Frank and ’71, and a number of films in the pipeline. Part of the ramp up includes key appointments just ahead of bringing three titles to Toronto. 3311 Productions’ Eddie Vaisman is joining the company as head of production and acquisitions, U.S., kickstarting its U.S. business. He’ll look to strengthen Protagonist’s Stateside profile and build up its finance and production activities. Vaisman’s credits include producing In A World…, an exec producing Michael Polish’s Big Sur and the upcoming Ad Inexplorata with Mark Strong. He previously worked at Sony-based Avenue Pictures and in 2004 started out at Kathryn Bigelow’s Paramount-based First Light. In another hire, Vanessa Saal will join the company as head of sales. She’s moving over from Studiocanal where she was Svp of international sales.

Last year, the London Film Festival was bookended by a pair of Tom Hanks movies. This year, the fest is going in a different direction with opening- and closing-night films set during World War II. The event will open with The Imitation Game on October 8 and now has set David Ayer’s Fury as the capper on October 19. The pic stars Brad Pitt, Shia Labeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, and Jon Bernthal. Pitt and Ayer are confirmed to attend the closing-night festivities in Leicester Square with screenings to be simulcast to cinemas across the UK. The film is set in April 1945 as the Allies make their final push in the European Theater. A battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy (Pitt) commands a five-man Sherman tank crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines where they face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany. Written and directed by Ayer,...