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"It was as if he vaporized out of the driver's seat and just... floated away." Brainstorm Media has debuted an official trailer for an indie drama titled Don't Come Back From The Moon, an adaptation of a novel that first premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2017, where it won a Special Jury Prize for Directing. This was made by cinematographer Bruce Thierry Cheung before he made the junk sci-fi film Future World, but is just now getting released. It's about a group of kids in a small California desert town who are forced into a scavenging life when their fathers abandoned them ("for the Moon") without warning. Starring Jeff Wahlberg, James Franco, Rashida Jones, Alyssa Elle Steinacker, Henry Hopper, Hale Lytle, Jeremiah Noe, and Cheyenne Haynes. This looks like one of those artsy indies filled with random shots of kids hanging out, running around, and doing whatever. The...

"Yosemite" (January 1) (Film Page) Director: Gabrielle Demeestère Cast: James Franco, Henry Hopper, Steven Wiig, Barry Del Sherman, Tony Vella Criticwire Average: C Why is it a Must See? James Franco is one of Hollywood's most love-him-or-hate-him figures, yet there's no denying that he keeps churning out interesting work in all mediums, including books. His first novel, "Palo Alto," became an unassumingly wonderful film courtesy of Gia Coppola, and now writer-director Gabrielle Demeestère is using his second novel, "A California Childhood," for her feature debut. "Yosemite" is told in three parts and tracks the intertwining experiences of three fifth grade friends in Palo Alto during the fall of 1985. Mixing themes of adolescence and friendship, the movie is a light and sensitive venture into the nostalgia of Franco. "Chimes at Midnight" (January 1)Director: Orson...

Palo Alto 2: Demeestere Crafts Franco’s Prose for Portrait of Preadolescent Angst

Director Gabrielle Demeestere adapts James Franco’s A California Childhood for her directorial debut, Yosemite, a mid-1980s set triptych on three young boys in the suburban climes of Palo Alto. If this sounds a bit familiar, it may be because Demeestere is the second woman director to adapt Franco’s prose for a debut, following Gia Coppola’s 2013 title Palo Alto, based on Franco’s earlier short story collection Palo Alto Stories. Franco also happens to appear as a peripheral character in both. Demeestere’s film premiered at the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival, and probably won’t be assisted by the presence of Franco during its limited theatrical release due to the actor/writer/director’s multiple cinematic offerings during any given period. Still, Demeestere scores points with this low-key slow burn which features naturalistic performances from...

The distributor has picked up all Us and Canadian rights Gabrielle Demeestere’s Slamdance selection starring James Franco and Henry Hopper.

Newcomer Calum John, Alec Mansky and Everett Meckler round out the cast on the 1985-set tale of three school friends in the wealthy California local of Palo Alto.

Yosemite is based on Franco’s short stories from his collection A California Childhood. Rabbit Bandini Productions produced with The Art Of Elysium and Sam Slater and Paul Bernon of Burn Later Productions.

monterey brokered the deal with ICM Partners and plans a winter 2015 launch.

Cinedigm has acquired all North American rights to Punk’s Dead: Slc Punk 2 and will release theatrically in early 2016 followed by digital roll-out. Punk’s Dead is the sequel to 1999’s Slc Punk and follows the next generation of outcast misfits adrift in the Utah hinterlands. Cinedigm brokered the deal with Xyf Films.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s legion of fans will get their chance to see the filmmaker’s latest Inherent Vice – at least those in New York and L.A. after a long build-up of anticipation. Studio Warner Bros. is handling the director’s latest, set in a drug-laced L.A. in the 1970s. Barring some unforeseen cataclysm, the feature is easily going to be this week’s b.o. superstar and likely one of the year’s biggest per screen debuts. How it will fare against other fall b.o. knock-outs like Searchlight’s Birdman or TWC’s The Imitation Game remains to be seen. A slew of Specialty openers will coincide with the Inherent Vice juggernaut. A24 will open Oscar-nominated filmmaker Atom Egoyan’s The Captive day and date after an early fall bow in the director’s native Canada. Sundance Selects will expose Free The Nipple in New York...

This is a reprint of our review from the 2012 Rome Film Festival where "The Color Of Time" screened under its original title "Tar." It's difficult to know quite what to make of "Tar," a multi-authored project seemingly coaxed into being by the sheer force of James Franco's current artistic cachet. Playing In Competition in the Xxi sidebar of the Rome Film Festival, the film represents the work of twelve newbie directors -- Nyu film students all -- and attempts to create an impressionistic interpretation of the work of poet Ck Williams, who himself appears occasionally, reading from his collection. Championed by and starring Franco, amongst a starry cast including Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Henry Hopper, Bruce Campbell and Zach Braff, the film shifts around in time and mood, using four different actors (Franco one of them) to depict Williams at different stages in his life, with the scenes sometimes...

Set to be released On Demand and on iTunes December 9th, prior to its release in theaters on December 12, a new trailer has arrived for The Color of Time. James Franco produces this look at Pulitzer Prize-Winning poet C.K. Williams, with a cast that also includes Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain and Zach Braff. Starz Digital Media has also released a special introduction to the movie from James Franco, along with a poster.

The Color of Time is a dramatic and inventive look at the life and work&#160of the ionic C.K. Williams. Williams (James Franco) has a beautiful, adoring wife (Mila Kunis) and a young son.&#160But as he prepares for a reading in New York City and struggles to create new work, he is haunted by memories of his past, from his first sexual encounter to a later tragic loss.

An ensemble of 12 directors work with a...

James Franco stars as Pulitzer Prize winning poet C.K. Williams in The Color of Time. The film centers on the struggles of the real-life writer, from childhood throughout his career. The film has eleven credited directors, so the film could be a beautiful experiment or a wonderful mess. There is also a very Terrance Malick-esque quality to the trailer, which should be interesting to see how that style carries over into the full, given that no one can do Malick besides Malick (and even then it’s a little iffy sometimes). The Color of Time also stars Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Zach Braff, Henry Hopper, and the always-fantastic Bruce Campbell of Evil Dead fame.

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The post Watch James Franco in Malick-esque ‘The Color of Time’ trailer appeared first on Sound On Sight.

The James Franco-produced “The Color of Time” (formerly titled “Tar” when it premiered at last year’s Rome Film Festival) examines the life and work of Pulitzer Prize winning poet C.K. Williams. The film takes an unusual approach to the material, in that an ensemble of 12 directors (all are New York University students) collaborated with the main cast. But this is not an anthology film —the directors worked together to create a single narrative. The story follows a young Williams, living with his wife and young son and grappling with both the dark and idyllic memories of his past as he prepares for a reading in New York City. Judging from the U.S. trailer, the directors decided to really go for the Terence Malick look. But unfortunately, the all-star cast including Franco (as Williams), Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Zach Braff, Bruce Campbell and Henry Hopper can't make the dreamy material work.

Starz Digital Media has released The Color of Time trailer and poster. We last reported on this film over two years ago, and at the time it looked like it was an adaptation of the poetry of Pulitzer Prize-winner C.K. Williams, but as this new trailer and synopsis explain, it's really more of a biopic. The plot has Williams (James Franco) preparing for a reading in New York City, but he's haunted by memories from his past. The Color of Time has the hook of being handled by 12 directors, and the cast also includes Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Zach Braff, Henry Hopper, and Bruce Campbell. However, looking at this trailer, it seems like the ensemble of directors really wanted to make The Tree of Life minus dinosaurs. Hit the jump to check out The Color of Time trailer and poster. The film will be available for early digital download on December 2nd,...

The life of Pulitzer Prize-winning author and poet C.K. Williams is put on display in the first trailer for Tar. James Franco and Jessica Chastain play the poet and his wife in this upcoming drama, which was written and directed by a collection of 12 Nyu film students. Mila Kunis, Zach Braff and Bruce Campbell round out the cast of this upcoming drama, which doesn't have a distributor or release date in place yet. In addition, we also have the first poster, which you can check out below the trailer.

Tar comes to theaters in 2013 and stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Zach Braff, Henry Hopper, Bruce Campbell, Giavani Cairo, Jamie DeKelaita. The film is directed by Edna Luise Biesold, Sarah-Violet Bliss, Gabrielle Demeestere, Alexis Gambis, Brooke Goldfinch, Shripriya Mahesh, Pamela Romanowsky, Bruce Thierry Cheung.

The life of Pulitzer Prize-winning author and poet C.K. Williams is put on display in the first trailer for Tar. James Franco and Jessica Chastain play the poet and his wife in this upcoming drama, which was written and directed by a collection of 12 Nyu film students. Mila Kunis, Zach Braff and Bruce Campbell round out the cast of this upcoming drama, which doesn't have a distributor or release date in place yet. In addition, we also have the first poster, which you can check out below the trailer.

Tar comes to theaters in 2013 and stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Zach Braff, Henry Hopper, Bruce Campbell, Giavani Cairo, Jamie DeKelaita. The film is directed by Edna Luise Biesold, Sarah-Violet Bliss, Gabrielle Demeestere, Alexis Gambis, Brooke Goldfinch, Shripriya Mahesh, Pamela Romanowsky, Bruce Thierry Cheung.

A movie that lists 12 individuals as directors, all from Nyu, has every right to be a little meandering, a touch confusing and feel noticeably looser than most Hollywood products and so Tar comes by its enigmatic feel honestly.

Though it debuted last November at the Rome Film Festival, not much has been said about the film, which looks at the life and times of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ck Williams and starring James Franco as one version of Williams and Henry Hopper as another version, with two other younger actors as yet another two versions of the man. 

The impressive cast includes Mila Kunis, as Williams' wife, Jessica Chastain, Zach Braff and perhaps most surprising, Bruce Campbell.

Watch the first trailer now.

Almost a year since it premiered at the Rome Film Festival, the dramatic omnibus "Tar," which features a star-studded cast that includes Jessica Chastain, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Zach Braff, Bruce Campbell and Henry Hopper, is still without a U.S. distributor or release date. But we guess it's coming out somewhere in the world as the first trailer for the movie has finally arrived. Helmed by twelve newcomer directors, all Nyu film students, "Tar" is based on the work and life poet C.K. Williams, using four different actors to portray the man at different stages in his life. A variety of stylistic choices are used to help express his work in a movie that seems not so much plot driven, as aiming to achieve a variety of moods and tones. Here's the official synopsis which gives a better idea of the scope and scale of the effort: Tar...

“Tracking Shot” is a monthly featurette here on Ioncinema.com that looks at a dozen or so projects that are moments away from lensing and this October we see a couple of items that we could certainly circle as potential Cannes 2014 bait. Thanks to our friends at Production Weekly for the helping hand in curating our list of future must see items.

Among the top foreign film productions, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover‘s Peter Greenaway is looking at a late October, possible November start to begin filming a fragment of the great Soviet master filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein’s bio timeline. Eisenstein In Guanajuato will cover the portion of the filmmaker’s post Battleship Potemkin career, with Eisenstein landing in Mexico after Hollywood studios balked at the idea of working with him and in its place finds romance. The Girl Who Played with Fire‘s Daniel Alfredson...

Hoping to pique moviegoers interest, a new poster for the upcoming drama "Tar" was released on Thursday (June 6).

Based on a poetry collection by Ck Williams the film combines 12 of his poems to create a lyrical road trip through the author's life.

Starring in the unique project are James Franco, Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Zach Braff, Henry Hopper, and Bruce Campbell.

With 12 writers and 11 directors, "Tar" will be something to see when it hits theaters on March 6th, 2013.

It's difficult to know quite what to make of 'Tar,' a multi-authored project seemingly coaxed into being by the sheer force of James Franco's current artistic cachet. Playing In Competition in the Xxi sidebar of the Rome Film Festival, the film represents the work of twelve newbie directors -- Nyu film students all -- and attempts to create an impressionistic interpretation of the work of poet Ck Williams, who himself appears occasionally, reading from his collection. Championed by and starring Franco, amongst a starry cast including Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Henry Hopper, Bruce Campbell and Zach Braff, the film shifts around in time and mood, using four different actors (Franco one of them) to depict Williams at different stages in his life, with the scenes sometimes playing out with internal dialogue and mini-storylines, and other times played mute, with snatches of poetry voiced over. It is to...

Starring James Franco in the lead, Tar is a collaborative effort between twelve students that has perhaps the greatest cast of any student film ever made.

The film will be debuting at the International Rome Film Festival next month, and the first two images from the film have surfaced online.

Based on the life of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, C. K. Williams, the film is written and directed by Edna Biesold, Sarah-Violet Bliss, Bruce Thierry Cheung, Gabrielle Demeestere, Alexis Gambis, Shruti Ganguly, Brooke Goldfinch, Omar Zuniga Hidalgo, Shripriya Mahesh, Pamela Romanowsky, Tine Thomasen, and Virginia Urreiztieta, with supervision from Franco himself.

Franco stars as C. K. Williams, alongside Mila Kunis, Jessica Chastain, Zach Braff, Bruce Campbell, and Henry Hopper, who will be playing the younger version of the poet.

Tar will be making its world premiere in Rome next month, and hopefully will be picked up at the festival for distribution elsewhere.

Even though Rome Film Festival head Marco Mueller had been promising two surprise additions to his line-up -- strongly hinting toward Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" being one of them -- we're not sure any of these latest additions qualify as left field shockers. But for cinema buffs, they do promise an interesting time as they gear up for a week long run or so of movies. New films by James Franco, Paul Verhoeven, Peter Greenaway and Mike Figgis mark the highlights of the latest batch of movies scheduled at the fest, so let's dive right in. First up, Franco will be unveiling "Tar," an omnibus of sorts based on the poems of C.K. Williams with segments helmed by Nyu grad students and overseen by the multihyphenate. Of course, he takes a role in the picture himself, along with the previously announced Mila Kunis and Jessica Chastain, along with Zach Braff,...

Tar, starring James Franco, Mila Kunis and Jessica Chastain, will premiere this November at the Rome International Film Festival.

The feature film, adapted by Franco and the students in the class he teaches at New York University, is a compilation of twelve short films each directed by a student. They’re based on a book of poems titled Tar by Pulitzer Prize winner C.K. Williams. Each short film is based on a stand-alone poem in the book but they are bought together as a one feature to give a greater look at the poet’s life, through his poetry.

We also have the official synopsis for the film, which reads:

“Tar is based on Pulitzer prize-winning poet C.K. Williams’ collection of the same name. Written and directed by 12 filmmakers, the film blends together adaptations of numerous poems, creating a poetic road trip through C.K. William’s life.

Dennis Hopper's son Henry Hopper has been accused of raping a 15-year-old girl. TMZ reports that 21-year-old Henry is being sued by the girl's mother for "plying her with drugs and alcohol" before allegedly forcing her to have sex. The plaintiff claimed that her daughter met the Restless actor in February 2011 and that the two began communicating via Facebook, during which time it is claimed he invited her to visit him at his home in Venice, California and promised her access to alcohol and illegal drugs. The lawsuit obtained by the website, filed under the name 'Jane Doe', went on to allege that Henry would make sure the 15-year-old (more)...

Henry Hopper, the son of deceased "Easy Rider" star Dennis Hopper, is being sued by a woman who claims that the younger Hopper sexually battered her underage daughter. The suit claims that the 21-year-old Hopper -- the product of his father's marriage to his fourth wife, Katherine Lanasa -- met the girl, then 15, through a mutual friend in Feb. 2011. The pair continued to communicate via Facebook, the suit says, with Hopper repeatedly inviting the girl to his Venice, Calif. home, and plying her with drugs and alcohol. Also read: For...

Henry Hopper has been accused of rape. The 21-year-old son of the late actor Dennis Hopper allegedly sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl after luring her to his home in Venice Beach, California, with alcohol and drugs. In a new civil lawsuit launched by the now 16-year-old girl's mother, it was claimed the actor ''engaged in sexually offensive conduct with her,'' including sexual intercourse, forced oral copulation and sodomy, after exchanging messages on Facebook for months, according to gossip website TMZ. She is also said to have visited his home several times after being introduced by a mutual friend in February 2011. A lawyer for...

Henry Hopper has been accused of rape. The 21-year-old son of the late actor Dennis Hopper allegedly sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl after luring her to his home in Venice Beach, California, with alcohol and drugs. In a new civil lawsuit launched by the now 16-year-old girl's mother, it was claimed the actor 'engaged in sexually offensive conduct with her,' including sexual intercourse, forced oral copulation and sodomy, after exchanging messages on Facebook for months, according to gossip website TMZ. She is also said to have visited his home several times after being introduced by a mutual friend in February 2011. A lawyer for the teenager, identified only as Jane Doe, says Henry 'preyed upon a young impressionable child, suggesting...

Henry Hopper, the 21-year-old son of Dennis Hopper, stands accused of raping a 15-year-old girl after allegedly plying her with drugs and alcohol, according to a lawsuit TMZ.com has obtained. Hopper is being sued by the mother of the 16-year-old girl who claims that in 2011, Hopper invited her to his home in Venice, Calif., for drugs and alcohol. The girl, identified as Jane Doe, claims Hopper waited until she was intoxicated and then engaged her in sexual intercourse, forced oral copulation and sodomy. Doe's mother claims the girl suffered emotional injuries and required professional treatment. It's unclear if the alleged victim ever reported any of these events to law enforcement authorities. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages.

Henry Hopper has been accused of raping a 15-year-old girl by the young woman's mother, who alleges that Dennis Hopper's son took advantage of the minor after giving her drugs and alcohol.

According to TMZ, 21-year-old Hopper began a Facebook relationship with the young girl -- after meeting in February 2011 through a mutual friend -- before inviting her to his Venice, Calif., home.

The lawsuit details that the young girl, named in the legal papers as Jan Doe, visited Hopper's home on several occasions during which the actor would supply her with alcohol before engaging in "sexually offensive conduct," which according to TMZ included "sexual intercourse, forced oral copulation and sodomy."

Although it is unknown whether Doe ever reported any of these events to the police, Doe's mother says her daughter has suffered from "injuries to her emotional health, strength and activity."

Henry starred in 2011's "Restless" opposite Mia Wasikowska...

Dennis Hopper's 21-year-old son has been accused of raping a 15-year-old girl ... after plying her with drugs and alcohol ... this according to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ. Henry Hopper -- who starred in Gus Van Zant's "Restless" in 2011 -- is being sued by the mother of an unidentified 16-year-old girl ... who claims the girl met Hopper through a mutual friend in Feb. 2011. According to the legal papers, the girl -- identified in the lawsuit...

Dennis Hopper's 21-year-old son has been accused of raping a 15-year-old girl ... after plying her with drugs and alcohol ... this according to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ.

Henry Hopper -- who starred in Gus Van Zant's "Restless" in 2011 -- is being sued by the mother of an unidentified 16-year-old girl ... who claims the girl met Hopper through a mutual friend in Feb. 2011.

It is the most glamorous, prestigious film festival in the world. But who controls Cannes? How do you get past the bouncers? And will Lars Von Trier ever be allowed back? Xan Brooks decodes the Croisette

Sometimes, standing in line outside the Lumière theatre in Cannes, I find myself wondering whatever happened to Liz, the immaculate American executive last seen being hauled over the barricades at the 2008 premiere of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. One bouncer had her by the shoulders and another had her by the legs, and she had just time to shout despairingly to her colleagues – "They don't know who I am!" – before she vanished over the side to rejoin the hoi-polloi. Liz may well have been a player back in La, someone not to be messed with. In Cannes, though, she was a near-criminal: a woman in the wrong place at the wrong time,...

From Gus Van Sant, Oscar-nominated director of Milk (Nominated for Best Achievement in Directing, 2009) and Good Will Hunting (Nominated for Best Director, 1998), comes the acclaimed love story Restless, out now on DVD and Digital Download from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and to celebrate the release we’ve got 3 copies of the DVD to give away absolutely free!

Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre, Alice in Wonderland) and newcomer Henry Hopper shine in this humorous and touching tale of romance between a young man (Hopper) who has given up on life and a young girl (Wasikowska) on the verge of losing hers.

To be in with a chance of winning simply watch the above clip and tell us what is Enoch’s (Henry Hopper) imaginary friend? Is it:

a) A travel agent

b) A marathon runner

c) A Kamikaze pilot

Email your answer and address to competition@blogomatic3000.com with Restless in the subject line.

From Gus Van Sant, Oscar®-nominated director of Milk (Nominated for Best Achievement in Directing, 2009) and Good Will Hunting (Nominated for Best Director, 1998), comes the acclaimed love story Restless, out now on DVD and Digital Download from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and to celebrate the release we’ve got 3 copies of the DVD to give away absolutely free!

Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre, Alice in Wonderland) and newcomer Henry Hopper shine in this humorous and touching tale of romance between a young man (Hopper) who has given up on life and a young girl (Wasikowska) on the verge of losing hers.

To be in with a chance of winning simply watch the above clip and tell us what is Enoch’s (Henry Hopper) imaginary friend?

A. A travel agent

B. A marathon runner

C. A Kamikaze pilot

All you need to do for your chance of winning a copy of the DVD is email contest@obsessedwithfilm.

From Gus Van Sant, Oscar®-nominated director of Milk (Nominated for Best Achievement in Directing, 2009) and Good Will Hunting (Nominated for Best Director, 1998), comes the acclaimed love story Restless, out now on DVD and Digital Download from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and to celebrate the release we’ve got 3 copies of the DVD to give away!

Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre, Alice in Wonderland) and newcomer Henry Hopper shine in this humorous and touching tale of romance between a young man (Hopper) who has given up on life and a young girl (Wasikowska) on the verge of losing hers.

To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, simply click next to be taken to the entry form and question….

We can't decide what's crazier: Lindsay Lohan's floral navy jeans, or the fact that the actress has been linked to 21-year-old Henry Hopper, fellow actor and son of the late, great Dennis Hopper. Lohan, 25, and Hopper were spotted playing hooky Tuesday afternoon at a Venice Beach liquor store, where they fetched a bottle of Grey Goose vodka and Red Bulls, according to photo agency X17Online. A source also reports that the pair were sharing lovey-dovey kisses while in the vehicle.

Lohan previously dated "That 70s Show" actor Wilmer Valderrama and, more famously, the DJ Samantha Ronson from 2008 until 2009, when the much-photographed couple called it quits.

Photo:...

ReelzChannel Celebrity Rundown

Don Cornelius who created the long-running musical variety show Soul Train — "The Hippest Trip in America" — was found dead in his Sherman Oaks, CA home this morning. TMZ is reporting that law enforcement sources say it appears to be a suicide.

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Demi Moore made the cover of People with the inside scoop on her breakdown, caused by deep insecurity and the perceived need "to stay young and skinny to remain attractive to her husband," and "needed reassurance all the time that she was hot and sexy."

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Lindsay Lohan is apparently so spooked by the trespasser at her Venice Beach condo that she's moving out, and may move to New York. In the meantime she's living at the famed Chateau Marmont, where according to Radar she appeared "loaded" on Sunday night and was seen "going to the restroom with a male companion on numerous occasions." Could the unidentified...

Mia Wasikowska headlines this daring new romantic drama, on Blu-ray and DVD combo pack January 24th

From director Gus Van Sant comes the daring romantic drama Restless, which makes its Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack debut starting this week, January 24th. In stores now, this haunting tale follows two outsiders who experience a chance meeting at a funeral only to discover that they share unexpected common ground and a similar view of the world.

We recently caught up with Oscar-winner Gus to chat about the movie. Here is our conversation.

What encourages you, or inspires you, to take on a new project this far into your career?

Gus Van Sant: Usually, the concept or the screenplay, or the scenario. It can always be different. Sometimes it's just a project that's been around a long time. In this case, here was a project, where it was just a script I was sent,...

Blu-ray/DVD Release Date: Jan. 24, 2012

Price: Blu-ray/DVD $45.99

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

With Restless, Sony continues its pattern of releasing smaller movies as a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with no individual DVD.

The quirky coming-of-age love story, directed by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting), stars newcomer Henry Hopper and Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre) as the unlikely romantic couple.

Hopper’s Enoch Brae has given up on life and spends his time talking to the ghost of a Japanese kamikaze pilot from World War II and going to the funerals of strangers. Wasikowska’s Annabel Cotton is a terminally ill girl who has a deep love of life and the natural world. When they have a chance encounter at a funeral, they find unexpected common ground.

Restless, which is the first feature film written by Jason Lew, also stars Jane Adams (TV’s Hung) and Ryo Kase (Letters From Iwo Jima...

[1] For a while there, it looked like Taylor Lautner was going to make his name as a young action star, landing high-priced deals in projects like Stretch Armstrong. But after the critical and commercial disappointment of Abduction, Lautner is now exploring a different path. The Twilight star is finalizing a deal to produce and star in auteur director Gus Van Sant's next directorial effort, a small-budget picture based on a New Yorker article that Lautner optioned. More after the jump. Details on the film have yet to be revealed, but we're sure to learn more as the project comes together. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter [2] that a writer for the script will be announced later this week. If all goes well, the untitled indie will begin shooting early next year. The Van Sant collaboration is a rather unexpected move by Lautner, who's been looking mostly at bigger, more action-oriented...

Remember, back in July, when Taylor Lautner had dinner with Gus Van Sant and Dustin Lance Black, and that reporter from GQ Australia used the situation to ask that rude question about Lautner's sexuality? Not that they needed any reason to dine together beyond enjoyment of each other's company or even just a shared desire for nourishment, but as it turns out, the dinner seems to have been part of some serious Hollywood business.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lautner will star in (and produce!) an as-of-yet unnamed indie film that Van Sant will direct. All that's publicly known about the film is that it is based off a New Yorker article that Lautner optioned, though we can also assume that, given Van Sant's involvement, it probably won't be a comedy.

It's an interesting match, and perhaps a good one for each participant. Lautner's solo debut, the actioner "Abduction," was...

Following the less-than-stellar reception of his latest, Abduction , Taylor Lautner is now planning to go indie, starring in a film from Gus Van Sant. The Hollywood Reporter has the news, saying that Lautner will also produce the film and that it will be based on an unspecified New Yorker article that the star optioned. Van Sant's latest film, Restless , starred Mia Wasikowska and Henry Hopper. He also directed the pilot episode of the new Starz original series "Boss," featuring Kelsey Grammer in the lead. Lautner himself can next be seen on the big screen in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 , hitting theaters on November 18th. (Photo Credit: WENN.com)...

Mia Wasikowska's Restless was the first film to be shown at Canberra Film Festival last night. The 12-day event, which features 58 films from 26 countries, will also screen movies such as Olivia Newton-John's cult film Xanadu and Rob Nugent's documentary Memoirs of a Plague. Festival director Simon Weaving told The ABC: "It's a lovely sized festival, so we can really pick the best films in the world. "[Restless is] a love story about a terminally ill girl, but it is one of those wonderfully redemptive films. A gorgeous performance from Mia. Henry Hopper is playing opposite her, Dennis Hopper's son." Weaving had previously said that it was also a "personal goal" of his to showcase some African (more)...

Well. Director Gus Van Sant (Milk) and screenwriter Jason Lew just went right ahead and upped the ante on the manic pixie dream girl. She now must not only be ethereally lovely, perfectly saintly, and at the same time completely bonkers, she also must be dying beautifully of cancer, the kind that doesn’t make your hair fall out but leaves you with a so-cute elfin haircut and a peachy glow. Oh, wait: A Walk to Remember did that a decade ago. Perhaps that nagging sense that there wasn’t a shred of originality in their work is what pushed Van Sant and Lew over the edge, for they sure do scramble to cram the “quirky” back into the please-god-kill-me-and-save-me-from-yet-another-ridiculous-teen-romance. Enoch. Seriously, our hero’s name is Enoch. He draws chalk outlines of himself in the street, like crime-scene cops do! He goes to the funerals of strangers... for fun!

"Listless" might have been a better title for Gus Van Sant's morbidly whimsical story of an autumnal love affair between the terminally ill brain-cancer patient Annabel (Mia Wasikowska) and Enoch (Henry Hopper), a disturbed teenager who survived the car crash that killed his parents and left him in a coma for several months. Annabel is devoted to Charles Darwin and is rehearsing her own death. Enoch had a near-death experience, habitually attends the funerals of strangers (where he meets Annabel) and goes around with an imaginary friend, a Japanese kamikaze pilot from the second world war. They are sadly a tiresome pair, though the casting is not without interest. Wasikowska is the Australian actor who played the daughter in The Kids Are All Right and is currently playing the title role in the British film of Jane Eyre. Her good-looking co-star is the 21-year-old son of Dennis Hopper and...

Contagion (12A)

(Steven Soderbergh, 2011, Us) Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jennifer Ehle. 106 mins

Much as he did with Traffic, Soderbergh connects the dots of a global issue and makes it look like something authoritative and contemporary rather than a celebrity disaster movie. Here it's a viral pandemic, briskly tracked in forensic detail and techno-backed montages. The response from health authorities and the panicked populace is all too credible, though once the dots are connected, we're too freaked out to remember why we were supposed to be watching.

We Need To Talk About Kevin (15)

(Lynne Ramsay, 2011, UK/Us) Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller. 112 mins

Swinton's fine performance and Ramsay's visual intelligence add up to a devastating portrait of motherhood. After a high-school shooting, a mother's existence becomes a living hell.

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (12A)

(Göran Olsson, 2011, Swe) 96 mins

A trove of rediscovered news footage, along with modern-day commentary and soundtrack,...

The sheer fatuity of Restless's representation of bereavement and death is breathtaking

Gus Van Sant, so revered for art-film works such as Elephant, Last Days and Gerry, makes one of his periodic returns to the mainstream with this horrifically irritating weepie. Enoch is a high-cheekboned blond boy whose parents died in a car wreck that put him in a three-month coma. In a numbed, voyeuristic mood of emotional estrangement, he now gatecrashes other people's funerals. Here he runs into Annabel, similarly tricked out in emo-goth-Wildean black. She is sort of entitled to be there, having shared a hospital ward with the deceased, and she is herself a terminal case. So this odd couple begin their super-cool, offbeat, Gen-Xish love affair. Enoch is played by Henry Hopper with exasperating sub-James-Franco mannerisms and a wooden, charmless style. As Annabel, Mia Wasikowska does a little better, but her character is afflicted with...

Pack your rain gear and we’ll take a trip to the Northeast, Seattle to be exact. It’s the home of alternative culture and mecca of most quirkiness. And our guide is one of the most off-beat film directors, Gus Van Zant of My Own Private Idaho fame. For a bit of a change of pace he’s presenting a boy-meets-girl story. They do meet “cute”, but these two young people in Restless are far from the typical movie couple.

We first meet the shy, sullen teenage boy Enoch ( Henry Hopper ) as he “crashes” the memorial service of a complete stranger. He sits quietly in the back and after the service, he returns to the big, gloomy house he shares with his aunt ( Jane Adams ). His only friend is the ghost of a WWII kamikaze pilot, Hiroshi ( Ryo Kase ), that only Enoch can see. At the next service Enoch...

Also Lines Up Serial Killer Pic 'The Frozen Ground' With John Cusack & Nicolas Cage So, Katherine Lanasa comes to the table with some pretty interesting factoids. She's the ex-wife of both French Stewart and Dennis Hopper (and the mother of Henry Hopper who you saw in "Restless"), and while her name might not be familiar, she's been working steadily for years, mostly on TV, racking up appearances in a number of shows. Maybe you remember her as Lydia in "Two and a Half Men" (see above) or Beverly Ford in "Big Love." She was also the lead on the…...

Director Gus Van Sant returns with Restless, a drama about terminal illness and ghostly WWII pilots. Here’s Caroline’s review…

Gus Van Sant has been known to deviate between the experimental and the mainstream during his career, but for every Milk or Good Will Hunting, there is a film such as Restless, which employs many of the director’s strengths but somehow seems to organise them into something twee and unappealing.

In this film of morbid echoes, the couple in question mirror that of Harold And Maude, as the film's protagonist, preoccupied and haunted by death, meets a girl who only has three months to live. Earnest male leads have had a little bit of a resurgence of late, with The Art Of Getting By and Submarine both employing detached teenage boys and presenting their characters with the challenges of love and companionship.

The strength of Restless, then, lies with Mia Wasikowska,...

Thumbs up: Mel & Sue, Henry Hopper (and the new Van Sant movie), gold ice buckets (yes, really). Thumbs down: Edwina Currie on Strictly, Chelsea boots and knitting

Going up

Henry Hopper Lead in the new Gus Van Sant film Restless, which has a very fashiony trailer, including amaze sunglasses on Hh and Mia Wasikowska in an animal-print coat

The statement earring Our numero uno style takeout from Milan fashion week

'I'll have a salad – and a side of macaroni cheese' The fashionable dinner order overheard at Gordon Ramsay's new Bread Street Kitchen

Gold ice buckets Latest interior crush. Particularly Ralph Lauren's "Montgomery"

Monica Vinader's Fiji bracelets Breast Cancer Awareness month is the perfect excuse to add a silver-and-pink version to your wrist-stack

Mel & Sue Will surely be inundated with TV offers after The Great British Bake Off?

Going down

Knitting This winter's ironic craft of choice is crochet.

Restless, auteur Gus Van Sant's lastest pic about teens who fall in love and meet the ghost of a Japanese amikaze fighter pilot (I have no idea), stars Mia Wasikowska (who I think of as mini-Carey Mulligan) and Henry Hopper. The movie hits theaters on October 21.

Gus Van Sant and Bryce Dallas Howard's Restless roundtable

Sony acquires Restless

Schuyler Fisk interview, Restless

It kinda sounds annoyingly precious, and sort of similar plot-wise to that Ya classic The Pigman  - nerd alert - but with prettier clothes. I like Van Sant a lot (he did Elephant) and Wasikowska was awesome in Jane Eyre, so we'll see.

This clip from Restless hit the Interwebz today, check it out:

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It’s October. A time when Ghoulies, Ghosties and Long-Legged Beasties roam the earth. But if you start seeing the ghost of a World War II Japanese kamikaze fighter pilot, you’re probably Enoch Brae, the central character of Restless. And that’s not a bad place to be.

Enoch is an odd kid. If your name is Enoch you probably have to be a loner slack indie hipster. It’s probably the law. Enoch traces his outline in chalk, as you’d do for someone who has died. He hangs out with a ghost that regularly beats him at Battleship. And Enoch crashes funerals. One day, during his usual round of funeral-hopping, he meets Annabel, a beautiful little Mia Farrow doppelganger that is almost as quirky as he is. The two strike up a friendship, Enoch finds out Annabel has terminal brain cancer, and the rest of the film...