News

A scene from The Fan..

.

Tim Winton.s The Turning was named best feature at the 26th annual Wa Screen Awards presented in Perth on Monday night.

Drift was recognised for best actor Myles Pollard, Tim Duffy.s screenplay and for Glenn Dillon.s sound.

Emily Rose Brennan.s performance in the online series The Legend of Gavin Tanner: Episode 5 - The Big Fight, earned her the best actress award. The comedy also took the People.s Choice Award for the Mad Kids team of writer/star Matt Lovkis, director Henry Inglis and producer Lauren Elliott.

Nicholas Dunlop was honoured as best director for Comic Book Heroes, the ABC documentary about the quest by Australian comic book creators Wolfgang Byslma and Skye Walker Ogden to penetrate the Us market by travelling to Comic-Con International in San Diego; it also won best factual TV production.

Antony Webb's The Fan...

Gone is the naïve idealism of Jefferson Smith (one doubts in today.s climate that he.d actually make it to Washington and if so it would be doubtful if he would make it out alive) and it is replaced with a thriller cloaked in political theater. You wonder how anyone of worth is elected anymore. Certainly idealism is beaten down by spin. Gov. Mike Norris (George Clooney) is trying to secure the nomination in the democrat primary to lock in his run for president. That isn.t turning out to be easy as he is facing stiff competition for the nomination, led by rival campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti). Norris. manager Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and deputy campaign...

Chicago – One of the more surprising choices this week by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences was to cite the Adapted Screenplay for George Clooney’s “The Ides of March,” recently released on DVD and Blu-ray. The Ryan Gosling-led drama has some strengths, but it’s script is the weakest element of the film. The sheer force of talent of the people who bring it to life may have led some to believe it’s better than it actually is. See for yourself.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

They don’t make movies like “The Ides of March” much any more and, for that fact alone, I think many have been tempted to overlook the film’s flaws. Personally, I’d love it if we had more star-studded political thrillers like they used to make in the ’70s. Given today’s controversial political times, it seems appropriate for the genre to make a resurgence,...

Join us from 7.40am when we'll be liveblogging the nominations in the second round of voting for this year's British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards

7.40am:

Tim Curry is teeing things up …

We're going to star those longlist contenders that make the shortlist:

Best Film

The Artist

The Descendants

Drive

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Help

Hugo

The Ides of March

The Iron Lady

Midnight in Paris

Moneyball

My Week with Marilyn

Senna

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

War Horse

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Film Not in the English Language

Extra Potiche 1

Abel

As If I Am Not There

The Boy Mir – Ten Years in Afghanistan

Calvet

Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries)

Incendies

Little White Lies

Pina

Post Mortem

Potiche

Le Quattro Volte

A Separation

The Skin I Live In

Tomboy

The Troll Hunter

Outstanding British Film

Attack The Block

Arthur Christmas

Attack the Block

Coriolanus...

Eddie Redmayne in Simon Curtis' My Week with Marilyn The Artist, My Week With Marilyn, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Lead BAFTA Longlists Leading Actor Antonio Banderas (Robert Ledgard) – The Skin I Live In Brad Pitt (Billy Beane) – Moneyball* Brendan Gleeson (Gerry Boyle) – The Guard Daniel Craig (Mikael Blomkvist) – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Eddie Redmayne (Colin Clark) – My Week with Marilyn Gary Oldman (George Smiley) – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy* George Clooney (Matt King) – The Descendants* Jean Dujardin (George Valentin) – The Artist* Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar Hoover) – J. Edgar Michael Fassbender (Brandon) – Shame* Owen Wilson (Gil) – Midnight in Paris Peter Mullan (Joseph) – Tyrannosaur Ralph Fiennes (Caius Martius Coriolanus) – Coriolanus Ryan Gosling (Driver) – Drive Ryan Gosling (Stephen Meyers) – The Ides of March Leading Actress Bérénice Bejo (Peppy Miller) – The Artist* Carey Mulligan (Sissy) – Shame Charlize Theron (Mavis Gary) – Young Adult Emma Stone (Skeeter Phelan) – The Help Helen Mirren (Rachel Singer...

The full list of contenders in the first round of voting for this year's British Academy Film Awards

Best Film

The Artist

The Descendants

Drive

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Help

Hugo

The Ides of March

The Iron Lady

Midnight in Paris

Moneyball

My Week with Marilyn

Senna

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

War Horse

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Film Not in the English Language

Abel

As If I Am Not There

The Boy Mir – Ten Years in Afghanistan

Calvet

Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries)

Incendies

Little White Lies

Pina

Post Mortem

Potiche

Le Quattro Volte

A Separation

The Skin I Live In

Tomboy

The Troll Hunter

Outstanding British Film

Arthur Christmas

Attack the Block

Coriolanus

The Guard

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

The Iron Lady

Jane Eyre

My Week with Marilyn

Senna

Shame

Submarine

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Tyrannosaur

War Horse

We Need to Talk About Kevin...

George Clooney's impressive thriller about corruption among America's Democrats places him as the heir to Robert Redford

The Ides of March is George Clooney's fourth film as director and his second dealing specifically with politics, and his career as a publicly engaged film-maker now inevitably invites comparison with that of Robert Redford. Goodnight, and Good Luck, Clooney's movie about ethical communications and the confrontation in 1953 between liberal broadcaster Ed Murrow and witch-hunting cold warrior Joe McCarthy, is his equivalent of Quiz Show, Redford's movie on burgeoning corruption in the media in the 1950s. The Ides of March is his version of The Candidate, Redford's 1972 picture about democratic politics and the sacrifices and compromises involved in winning elections. The title from Plutarch and Shakespeare is intended to make us think about the scheming and backstabbing that accompanied the assassination of Julius Caesar on 15 March 44Bc, and perhaps to suggest that things were ever thus.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

While it might have opened to a relatively underwhelming, even frosty reception at the Venice Film Festival in August, don’t let that put you off what is in fact one of the year’s most exciting and gripping thrillers, The Ides of March. Finding himself in the director’s chair for the third time, George Clooney – who also stars, co-writes and produces this film – is at arguably his most confident and assured yet as a helmer in this slick, classy political film the likes of which Hollywood has been desperately craving this year.

Ryan Gosling – who seems to succeed in just about any genre he turns his hand to – is Stephen Meyers, the Junior Campaign Manager for beloved Democratic presidential candidate Mike Morris (Clooney). Young and idealistic, Meyers is quick to bat away the advances of Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), the Senior Campaign Manager for...

George Clooney's political drama is bleaker than The West Wing and packs a stronger punch

British parliamentarians know their opponents are in front of them but their enemies behind, and American primary campaigns are a contest between enemies. It can be a bitter fight. Has President Obama forgiven and forgotten Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's comments, during their primaries, about a possible Rfk-type assassination? I wonder.

George Clooney's political drama The Ides of March is about a Democratic primary campaign unfolding in the key state of Ohio, in an atmosphere heavy with fratricidal betrayal behind the scenes. Clooney directs, and has co-written the screenplay with Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, author of the original stage play, Farragut North. It sticks to the traditional Hollywood supposition that the Democrats are the ones with ideals ripe for dramatic disintegration. Republicans are presumably utterly lost from the outset.

The movie is slower,...

★★★☆☆ One of the big-hitters of the 55th BFI London Film Festival and starring and directed by George Clooney, The Ides of March (2011) is a political drama with actor of the moment Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood. Clooney's latest is adapted from the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon, who based the work on his experience of campaigning with presidential candidate Howard Dean in the state of Iowa.

Idealistic Stephen Meyers (Gosling) is the Junior Campaign Manager for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney), a man whom Stephen truly believes can make America a better place. Over the course of the Democratic Party's presidential primary in Ohio, Stephen learns - the hard way - that politics has always been, and will continue to be, an extremely dirty game.

The Ides of March is neither terrible nor remarkable, and for that it is all the more infuriating. It's a film of great potential,...

The Ides of March

Directed by George Clooney

Written by George Clooney, Beau Willimon and Grant Heslov

2011, USA

George Clooney’s fourth film as director epitomizes the terms ‘backroom politics.’ A thriller about a fictional Democratic primary in Ohio that is set more in bars, kitchens, and hotel rooms than onstage, The Ides of March takes its Caesarian title to appropriate ends, featuring a slew of Brutuses and Judases.

Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) is a 30 year-old ambitious staffer for presidential hopeful Governor Mike Morris (Clooney). Working alongside campaign head Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Morris’ idealism rubs off on him – Stephen is convinced that Morris is the next president. With only days to go in Ohio and with Morris still showing a slight edge in the polls Stephen receives a puzzling invitation to meet from the head of the opposition campaign, Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti). All at once Stephen’s...

George Clooney stars in, co-writes and directs his latest movie, The Ides Of March. But is it Ryan Gosling that steals the show? Here's our review...

George Clooney is obviously a man that loves politics. He campaigns for people, he makes stands on issues, and he loves to be on camera talking about the state of the world. However, he’s said he’ll never run for office, because he’s got too many skeletons in his closet.

So, he does the next best thing and plays a politician in a movie. He gets to make all his stump speeches, talk about his pet issues, state his slant on things, and not actually have to deal with his herd of former girlfriends writing tell-alls or travel outside of his Italian villa (once filming is over) to get his politics heard globally.

In that sense, Clooney has the best of both...

Warning: This review contains spoilers.

If one wants a low-key thriller, seek out The Ides of March. If someone’s looking for an engaging behind-the-scenes look into the world of political campaigning, seek out The Ides of March. And when it comes to dark and cynical drama about the downward spiral of a young idealist, George Clooney‘s fourth directorial feature is worth seeking out. The adaptation of the acclaimed stage play, Farragut North (by Beau Willimon, who also shares credit for the screenplay) operates well on several different layers, much to the credit of Clooney and his lean and efficient storytelling.

That downhill spiral, which plays out in a slow-burn and subtle fashion, is of Stephen Myers (played by Ryan Gosling with both a strong mixture of vulnerability and unpredictability). Stephen is a young, well-respected member of the presidential campaign team for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney). When we’re first introduced to Stephen,...

With The Ides of March, George Clooney has directed an understated drama set in and around a tight presidential primary in Ohio that speaks to broader flaws in the U.S. political process and disillusionment with our government.

On screen, however, Clooney is merely a supporting player as Governor Mike Morris, a smooth, eloquent Democrat who “believes in the Constitution” and importance of alternative fuels, for our economy and our vehicles. (I’d vote for him.)

At a televised debate, the camera hangs around out front to catch the candidates exchanging carefully-written rhetoric before slipping behind the curtain (or American flag, as it were) to the backrooms and campaign offices where those decisions are made, then eventually into the darkened stairwells and graffiti-lined alleyways where someone suffers the consequences.

Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) is Morris’ press secretary, the campaign’s “brains” in the form of a charming 30-year-old wunderkind whose idealism borders on naivete.

The Ides of March has premiered to collective critical praise (check out our The Ides of March review) and despite its feeling that political heroes are flawed, it is still an inspiring tale of personal triumph.

George Clooney is Governor Mike Morris, who is running for president. The Ides of March catches him in the all important Ohio primary being led by his top political aides, Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) and Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Hot on their campaign trail is a New York Times reporter, Ida Horowicz (Marisa Tomei), who is yearning for a big story on the eve of the primary that will decide the Democratic nominee.

As the real life 2012 presidential campaign kicks into gear, we’ve pulled some sizzling The Ides of March quotes to feed that political fire.

Stephen Myers: I've worked on more campaigns than most people have by the time they're...

Audiences are no strangers to political films these days. While they usually have more of a thriller angle and focus on government figures already in power, there have been a decent number that follow candidates on the campaign trail and as such, any new film tackling old ground needs to make a conscious effort to distinguish itself in some way, to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, The Ides of March makes no such effort and seems content to languish in probable obscurity. The film is a character study following Ryan Gosling‘s Stephen Meyers, a whip-smart but naive young campaign staffer during his time working for Governor Mike Morris. Morris, played by George Clooney who also co-wrote the screenplay and directed the film, is a presidential hopeful, and the film takes place during his campaign to win the Democratic party nomination. Meyers is essentially the number two man on the campaign at only 30 years old working...

Chicago – George Clooney’s “The Ides of March” is a star-studded political thriller of the variety that was made much more commonly in the ‘70s and would therefore seem like a perfect vehicle to restart for today’s controversial times. We could use more political thrillers with complex dialogue aimed at adults to offset the fact that a vast majority of motion pictures are aimed at children. Sadly, “The Ides of March” is not the film to use as proof that there is still vitality in this genre. A striking disappointment, the film barely works due to the sheer force of talent brought to it by the ensemble but it’s not even close to the landslide victory that it should have been.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) is the hot, young political talent. He’s the right-hand man to a legendary campaign runner named Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman...

In the new political thriller The Ides Of March George Clooney plays Presidential candidate Gov. Mike Morris, a charming and charismatic idealist during the frantic last days before the heavily contested Ohio presidential primary that could set him on the road to the White House. His character is loosely based on Vermont Governor Howard Dean and the script is from the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon, who had worked for Dean in 2004 (though the film’s big plot twist turns Morris into John Edwards). The Ides Of March opens with a TV debate between Morris and Senator Pullman (Michael Mantell), his chief primary rival. The two campaigns are managed by Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) for Morris and Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) for Pullman, but the film is told through the eyes of Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling), Zara’s second in command, a rising star and media strategy wiz...

[This is a re-print of my review from the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival] We're not inherently jaded about politics. You can't have your idealism torn down if nothing was built in the first place. The 2008 election of Barack Obama promoted that idealism and gave people hope (the giant posters emblazoned with the word "Hope" may have had something to do with it). But we were all deceived when reality came crashing in and The Ides of March lays the blame not on our political system or even our politicians but on us. And when we realize that we can't do anything larger than ourselves, we begin to think only of ourselves. Director George Clooney (who also co-wrote the screenplay and co-stars in the film) avoids being preachy or heavy-handed, but his light-touch fails to leave a lasting impact. Press secretary Steven Myers (Ryan Gosling) is a true believer in his Presidential candidate Mike Morris (Clooney). Steven has worked on numerous campaigns, he's well-liked by the press corps,...

The Ides of March

Directed by: George Clooney

Cast: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright

Running Time: 1 hr 41 mins

Rating: R

Release Date: October 7, 2011

Plot: Based on a play by Beau Willimon, while assisting the campaign manager (Hoffman), Stephen (Gosling) gets a crash course in the ugly side of politics as he tries to get a presidential candidate (Clooney) into office.

Who’S It For? It’s a smart, political thriller. The first half feels like a glimpse into a campaign, the second half is more intense. Great acting across the board.

Expectations: What’s not to love about the cast? Well, I guess I’m not a “big” fan of Wood or Tomei, but I don’t have anything against them either. My hunch was, this was going to be a “boys club” type movie anyway. Plus, with Clooney behind the camera,...

They were so close. Ides of March is gripping at times, somber and thought provoking at others but when the core of the film is revealed, it’s hard to find comfort or care in its primary characters. Ok, I have to exclude Philip Seymour Hoffman from that generalization; his character and performance were the most true to life, which inherently doomed him in the film. The others, not so much.

Ides of March follows Stephen Myers (Gosling), a charismatic, energetic campaign organizer working to win the Presidential primary for incumbent Governor Mike Morris (Clooney). Leading such a harried campaign, there’s no time for relationships until Myers, quite surprisingly, strikes up a relationship with a staff intern, Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood). When Molly seeks Stephen’s help with a sensitive issue from her past it only adds to the enormous pressure of leading the campaign. Sadly when it...

The Ides of March, based on the play Farragut North, is the fourth directorial effort for George Clooney. And like his most successful, Good Night and Good Luck, his role in the film is relatively minor as compared to the cast that shines around him.

In the play that The Ides of March is based on, the Clooney character -- a Northeast governor facing a crucial Ohio Democratic presidential primary -- is not seen. Oh, he is talked about by political operatives of both sides of the final two candidates in line to run for president.

Establishing the Governor Mike Morris character in The Ides of March as a living, breathing entity is far from an actor-director who inserted a character for the sake of screen time. Not only does Clooney control the behind the scenes action on The Ides of March, his character centers the morality tale for our time.

We're not inherently jaded about politics.  You can't have your idealism torn down if nothing was built in the first place.  The 2008 election of Barack Obama promoted that idealism and gave people hope (the giant posters emblazoned with the word "Hope" may have had something to do with it).  But we were all deceived when reality came crashing in and The Ides of March lays the blame not on our political system or even our politicians but on us.  And when we realize that we can't do anything larger than ourselves, we begin to think only of ourselves.  Director George Clooney (who also co-wrote the screenplay and co-stars in the film) avoids being preachy or heavy-handed, but his light-touch fails to leave a lasting impact. Press secretary Steven Myers (Ryan Gosling) is a true believer in his Presidential candidate Mike Morris (Clooney).  Steven has worked on numerous campaigns, he's well-liked by the press corps,...

He may be crafting every decision as director, but George Clooney is in the shadows (and in a key scene, literally) as Governor Mike Morris and Democratic presidential candidate in The Ides of March. Taking the spotlight is his press secretary Stephen Myers, played by Ryan Gosling, whose gripping Drive is also in the festival. Based on Beau Willimon‘s play Farragut North, the political drama packs a similar intensity as Nicolas Winding Refn‘s crime thriller, but instead of arresting visuals, Clooney and writing partner Grant Heslov use the agency of dialogue.

That’s not to say Clooney and his cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Sideways, The Descendants) come up short. There is a cool cleanliness to the palette, fitting for the clear, mechanical nature of the plot. This a tightly contained drama of twists and turns delivered by a class-act ensemble. After his romantic comedy turn in Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Columbia Pictures

George Clooney wrote, directed and starred in “The Ides of March.” The trailer opens with a small plane in flight and then moves inside to Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) and Gov. Mike Morris (Clooney, up in the air — again) and having a bumpy ride. In fact, it looks like Morris will have a bumpy ride as he competes in the Iowa caucuses. Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) lures Myers, the candidate’s spokesman, to another campaign. Interspersed, Morris offers sound bites about integrity,...

According to the trades, Gk Films has acquired the life rights of John Martorano, a former enforcer for James "Whitey" Bulger's Boston-based Winter Hill Gang. Graham King (The Departed) is producing. Martorano was a killer for the mob, murdering 20 people over a decade. After he discovered his compatriots, including Bulger, were government informants all along, Martorano became a government witness who exposed corruption and collusion between the mob and the Boston office of the FBI. Martorano was released from prison in 2007 after serving 14 years. Bulger fled and is still a fugitive. King met Martorano through Thomas B. Duffy, a former Massachusetts police detective who served as technical consultant on The Departed and Edge of Darkness. Gk Films also financed and produced Darkness, the upcoming Boston-based crime drama which stars Mel Gibson and was directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale). It was written by William Monahan and Andrew Bovell.