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“The Disaster Artist” director James Franco jumped at the chance to make a movie about the making of one of the most notoriously bad movies of all time, Tommy Wiseau’s 2003 cult hit “The Room.” “We like to say that this is the upside down of ‘La La Land,'” Franco told TheWrap’s Matt Donnelly in a video interview. Franco, who stars as Wiseau in the film, notoriously stayed in character — including facial prosthetics and an imitation of Wiseau’s peculiar accent — while he was overseeing the shoot. Also Read: 'The Disaster Artist' Review: James Franco Comedy Isn't a Bad Movie,...

Chicago – “The Room” is a post-millennial cult movie that plays the midnight and college movie circuit, entertaining audiences with its sheer badness. Its story is told in the “The Disaster Artist,” featuring James Franco as the director of “The Room,” and he also directed the film. Very meta.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

There is a shooting-fish-in-a-barrel quality to the story, because the “movie within the movie” is notably terrible and Tommy Wiseau, the creator and star of “The Room” that Franco portrays, is an easy to parody odd duck. Having said that, the movie is winsome and funny, and the sincerity of the performances go a long way towards making it work. There are amazing recreations of “The Room,” including a side-by-side comparison during the end credits, and the film is done with a passion toward its subject, in both making fun of and celebrating it… basically it’s a buddy picture about being in the picture.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi and everything else coming to theatres in DecemberStar Wars: The Last Jedi and everything else coming to theatres in DecemberAdriana Floridia11/30/2017 10:11:00 Am

December is usually known to be the best month at the movies.

That's because it's crunch time for awards season. That coveted last week of the year is where most heavy hitters want to be released, because they'll be freshest in the minds of Oscar voters. And then some years we're extra lucky and get a new Star Wars film as our cherry on top. This is one of those years. Not only do we have tons of highly anticipated festival fare, but a new Star Wars film, a re-boot of Jumanji, and a fantastical masterpiece from Guillermo Del Toro.

These are the movies you have to see this December:

The Disaster Artist

Release Date: December 1st, 2017 (Limited) December 8th, 2017 (Wide)

For Fans of: The Room,...

We've finally come to the end of 2017, which means: lots of under-the-wire Oscar hopefuls! The return of the Bellas! A brand spankin' new Star Wars! Along with the final push of awards contenders (Steven Spielberg! Paul Thomas Anderson! Guillermo del Toro!), viewers can look forward to a pair of biopics about ethically compromised women, two vastly different musicals and the Rock taking on motorcycle-riding warriors and a safari's worth of jungle creatures. Oh, and James Franco giving what may arguably be the single greatest performance of the year. Yes, you read that sentence correctly.

One of the most highly anticipated movies of the fall film festival season is unquestionably Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing.” The movie, Payne’s first since earning six Oscar nominations for “Nebraska,” is the ambitious story of a man and wife who decide to shrink themselves down in order to cut back on economic spending. Unfortunately for the man, his wife backs out at the last minute.

Read More:Alexander Payne’s ‘Downsizing,’ Starring Matt Damon, Will Open Venice Film Festival

Payne has never crafted a movie quite on this scale before, nor has he ever attempted to try out the science-fiction genre. Footage was shown at CinemaCon earlier this year and critics went wild over what they saw. The movie is opening the Venice Film Festival at the end of this month, a premiere slot which has gone to the likes of Oscar powerhouses “La La Land,” “Gravity,” and “Birdman” in recent years.

If there is one thing that many people love about The CW DC shows, it is when we get a nice little crossover event, and they may face their post powerful adversary yet when the Music Meister comes to the screen on March 20th. Don't laugh! On the animated TV show, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, he could literally control the actions of all heroes and villains, using the power of song and dance, to serve his evil agenda. He does appear to at least have a different powerset for his live action version, and you can see a teaser trailer followed by the official synopsis directly below for the Supergirl/The Flash crossover.

"Darren Criss (“Glee”) Guest Stars As The Music Meister In The Flash And Supergirl Musical Crossover – Barry (Grant Gustin) and team are surprised when Mon-El (guest star Chris Wood) and Hank Henshaw (guest star David Harewood...

If you thought there was a secret society of Oscar hosts who tell each other everything, think again.

Neil Patrick Harris, who hosted in the show in 2015, talked to People on Saturday in the Heineken Light booth at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and explained that this year’s host Jimmy Kimmel gave him no such insight.

“The last time I talked to Jimmy was right before he announced he was doing it. I had gone to L.A. to do a kids show sponsored by Red, the AIDS Foundation, and I saw him afterwards and I said, ‘Are...

How far he'll go, indeed.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Pulitzer Prize-winning actor, composer, rapper, writer and official MacArthur "Genius," is one win away from joining the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Whoopi Goldberg with an Egot -- that is, an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.

Miranda earned his first Oscar nomination on Tuesday morning, with Moana's "How Far I'll Go" competing for Best Original Song. If he were to take home the Academy Award, he'd not only Egot, but be the youngest person to do so (at 37) and have done it fastest (in less than a decade).

Related: Oscars 2017 Snubs & Surprises: 'La La Land,' Michael Shannon, and None for 'Deadpool'

Here are the E, Gs, and Ts that Miranda has already collected:

Emmy: Miranda won Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics at the 2014 Emmy Awards for his work on the 2013 Tony Awards. Miranda penned the lyrics to Tom Kitt's music for host...

The 2017 Golden Globe Awards took a moment to honor two recent celebrities that have passed away this year, Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Typically, the ceremony doesn’t include an “In Memoriam,” but losing such dear and iconic talent, the Golden Globes paid tribute to the beloved stars by showing a video of the two stars.

The clip showed a handful of scenes from both of their movies including “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Star Wars,” “When Harry Met Sally…” and many, many more.

“We have not done an ‘In Memoriam’ on the Golden Globes. Those things are handled really well by the Oscars and the Screen Actors Guild,” producer Barry Adelman told People. “But we do realize there were some special circumstances of very recent nature that happened and I think we’ll be acknowledging that.”

Fisher passed away on December 27 after suffering a heart attack. Her mother, Reynolds, died the following day,...

It's link time which also doubles as news catch up! (Yes, Oscar Chart updates are currently in progress. So more on that and the foreign submissions very soon)

Think Pieces, List Mania, Celebrity

• Movie City News launches another "Gurus of Gold" season where all of us have named our current top 20 "general field" predictions. Yes, I'm updating my charts over the next three days! Manchester by the Sea and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk are expected leaders

• Gawker Rich Juzwiack says goodbye to one identity through a George Michael lens. It's wonderful

• Mnpp Paul Bettany is vacationing in Ibiza

• Nyt talks to Kirsten Dunst about life after Fargo and her Emmy nomination

• Mind of a Suspicious Kind Martin Scorsese's Silence is supposedly his longest ever (over 3 hours) but is it actually coming out this year?

• Cinema Enthusiast polled film twitter on their favorite films of 1982. The results are interesting but weird.

The first teaser showed a moody, wordless love story with musical moments throughout. The new teaser shows a bit more but is still wordless. I’m wondering if it is wordless or just the trailer?...

Next month’s Toronto International Film Festival has nearly completed its lineup announcements, and each one is more impressive than the last. Today’s Tiff picks feature a number of slate additions for sections as varied as the forward-focused Discovery, their burgeoning Pop Vr section and even a handful of last minute additions to the Tiff Docs list. New titles of note that have just been announced include the Cannes hit “The Red Turtle,” Wayne Roberts’ “Katie Says Goodbye” and the well-regarded “Sand Storm,” all of which will screen as part of Discovery.

Read More: Tiff Lineup: 5 Reasons to Get Excited About the 2016 Program

Both the Next Wave and Tiff Kids section pull titles from other, previously announced sections to create an appealing lineup for the next generation of cinephiles. Standout titles include “Moonlight,” “My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea” and “The Eagle Huntress.”

Additionally, the festival has...

The Toronto International Film Festival is mere weeks from kicking off, yet the annual fall fest is showing zero sign of slowing down when it comes to announcing the titles that will round out this year’s event. Today’s announcement brings with it a number of Cannes favorites, including Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or-winning “I, Daniel Blake,” Olivier Assayas’ divisive Kristen Stewart-starring “Personal Shopper” and Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta.”

Read More: Tiff Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Magnificent Seven,’ ‘American Honey,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Birth of A Nation’

The slate will also play home to the Dardenne Brothers’ latest, “The Unknown Girl,” which has reportedly been through an edit since it debuted at Cannes earlier this year. Other standouts from Cannes include Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “Aquarius,” Boo Junfeng’s “Apprentice,” Cristian Mungiu’s “Graduation,” Brillante Ma Mendoza’s “Ma’ Rosa” and Cristi Puiu’s “Sieranevada.

The Toronto International Film Festival continues to roll out the exciting programming announcements as the film-loving world looks forward to this start of this year’s festival (just next month!). The latest slate addition comes care of Tiff’s Platform section, which aims to present an “artistically stimulating and thought-provoking lineup.” The directors-focused section is only in its second year, but has already lined up a stellar spread of features from around the world, including Canada, Australia, France, Bhutan, Belgium, USA, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Per the festival, this year Platform is aiming to take on “complex and bold narratives that range from a dark, twisted fantasy, a dramatic crime thriller, an existential illusion to the reinterpretation of a satirical tragedy, a raw coming-of-age story, and tales of revolutions, radicals, and revenge.” The section will open with the international premiere of the drama “Nocturama” from critically acclaimed director-writer Bertrand Bonello.

After her last relationship left her with a broken heart, Lillian Vilchez focused on her career, but the real estate agent is now ready to find lasting love with Tom Wilson, a yacht interior specialist, on Married at First Sight (a social experiment show where couples meet for the first time on their wedding day). The newlyweds are alternating each week blogging exclusively about the ups and downs of marriage for People. Check back after every episode and follow them on Twitter: @Lillian_MAFS and @Tom_MAFS!

Tom and I had an amazing unforgettable wedding that I will never forget!

After her last relationship left her with a broken heart, Lillian Vilchez focused on her career, but the real estate agent is now ready to find lasting love with Tom Wilson, a yacht interior specialist, on Married at First Sight (a social experiment show where couples meet for the first time on their wedding day). The newlyweds are alternating each week blogging exclusively about the ups and downs of marriage for People. Check back after every episode and follow them on Twitter: @Lillian_MAFS and @Tom_MAFS!Tom and I had an amazing unforgettable wedding that I will never forget!

After her last relationship left her with a broken heart, Lillian Vilchez focused on her career, but the real estate agent is now ready to find lasting love with Tom Wilson, a yacht interior specialist, on Married at First Sight (a social experiment show where couples meet for the first time on their wedding day). The newlyweds are alternating each week blogging exclusively about the ups and downs of marriage for People. Check back after every episode and follow them on Twitter: @Lillian_MAFS and @Tom_MAFS!Tom and I had an amazing unforgettable wedding that I will never forget!

Anne Hathaway’s next project is unlike any other she’s done. Directed by Nacho Vigalondo, the sci-fi thriller “Colossal” will be making its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and now we have its first look.

The Oscar-winner stars as Gloria, a woman who discovers that severe catastrophic events are somehow connected to the mental breakdown from which she’s suffering. The film also stars Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens, Austin Stowell and Tim Blake Nelson.

Read More: Tiff Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Magnificent Seven,’ ‘American Honey,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Birth of A Nation’

In the first images released on Tiff’s website, Hathaway is seen with a bruised eye, shaggy long brown hair and looking up at some unknown object. In the second photo she is seen wearing black jeans, a white top with an olive-colored jacket, but this time smiling.

Read More: Anne Hathaway...

The Toronto International Film Festival has nearly completed its slate announcement this year — expect a few stragglers to be announced in the coming days, but this is about the size of it — rounding out its lineup with today’s announcement of its Docs, Midnight Madness, Vanguard and Tiff Cinematheque picks. And what a group this is, including plenty of returning favorites and some very exciting new names.

Tiff’s Docs section features a collection of works from award-winning directors including Steve James, Raoul Peck, Errol Morris and Werner Herzog. Leonardo DiCaprio even pops up for a “rousing call to action on climate change” in “The Turning Point,” made in collaboration with Academy Award winner Fisher Stevens and already picked up by National Geographic.

Read More: Tiff Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Magnificent Seven,’ ‘American Honey,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Birth of A Nation’

The beloved Midnight Madness section offers...

Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival is set to screen at both Venice and hopefully Telluride (along with La La Land) perhaps delivering that one-two punch movies sometimes do on route to Oscar.

Mel Gibson is not the first person who comes to mind among Oscar contenders. But advance buzz is growing on World War II drama “Hacksaw Ridge” (Lionsgate, November 4), his return to the director’s chair after “Apocalypto” 10 years ago.

See the new trailer here.

No matter how strong and resonant this true story turns out to be—it’s about a conscientious-objector medic (Andrew Garfield) who saves lives in the Battle of Okinawa without using a gun, and wins the Medal of Honor—the likelihood is slim of Gibson landing another Best Picture or Director nomination (he won both Oscars for “Braveheart” back in 1996, his only Oscar nominations). Too many Academy voters will never forgive his past behavior.

But if the movie, which will debut out of competition at the Venice Film Festival (August 31 – September 10), is well received by critics and audiences, other people involved could rise to Oscar contention — most notably,...

The selection for the 2016 Venice Film Festival has been announced, with new films by Terrence Malick, Pablo Larraín, Lav Diaz, Wang Bing, Amat Escalante, Tom Ford, and more.COMPETITIONVoyage of TimeThe Bad Batch (Ana Lily Amirpour)Une vie i (Stéphane Brizé)La La Land (Damien Chazelle)The Light Between Oceans (Derek Cianfrance)El ciudadano ilustre (Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat)Spira Mirabilis (Massimo D'Anolfi, Martina Parenti)The Woman Who Left (Lav Diaz)La región salvaje (Amat Escalante)Nocturnal Animals (Tom Ford)Piuma (Roan Johnson)Paradise (Andrei Konchalovsky)Brimstone (Martin Koolhoven)Jackie (Pablo Larraín)Voyage of Time (Terrence Malick)El Cristo Ciego (Christopher Murray)Frantz (François Ozon)Questi Giorni (Giuseppe Piccioni)Arrival (Denis Villeneuve)Les beaux jours D'Aranjuez (Wim Wenders)Out Of COMPETITIONSafariOur War (Bruno Chiaravolloti, Claudio Jampaglia, Benedetta Argentieri)I Called Him Morgan (Kasper Collin)One More Time with Feeling (Andrew Dominik)The Bleeder (Philippe Falardeau)The Magnificent Seven (Antoine Fuqua...

Is there a best picture winner in the bunch? The Venice Film Festival has unveiled its 2016 lineup, including both in competition and out of competition offerings, and with the festival’s strong track record of debuting recent best picture winners — from “Spotlight” to “Birdman” — there might be another big winner among the slate’s ranks.

As had been previously announced, the festival will open with Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land,” which will later hit Toronto (and, presumably, also Telluride). The festival will close with Antoine Fuqua’s “The Magnificent Seven,” which kicks off its own festival run days earlier, when it will open Tiff.

Read More: Tiff Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Magnificent Seven,’ ‘American Honey,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Birth of A Nation’

Other picks that will also do the Venice-tiff two-step include Tom Ford’s “Nocturnal Animals,” Denis Villeneuve’s “Arrival,” Francois Ozon’s “Frantz,” Nick Hamm...

On the heels of the Toronto International Film Festival announcement, this year’s slate for the Venice International Film Festival has arrived — and it’s a fantastic-looking line-up. Outside some of the Tiff titles (La La Land, Arrival, Frantz, The Age of Shadows, Nocturnal Animals, etc.), they’ll have the world premiere of one of our most-anticipated films of the year: Terrence Malick‘s documentary Voyage of Time (the 90-minute Cate Blanchett-narrated version).

Also among the premieres are Ana Lily Amirpour’s follow-up to A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, The Bad Batch, Mel Gibson‘s return to the director’s chair, Hacksaw Ridge, Derek Cianfrance‘s The Light Between Oceans, Pablo Larrain‘s Natalie Portman-led Jackie, as well as new films from Andrew Dominik, Lav Diaz, Ulrich Seidl, Emir Kusturica, and more. Check out the line-up below and return for our coverage.

Opening Night Film

La La Land,...

Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals, Pablo Larrain’s Jackie, Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge and Michael Fassbender romance The Light Between Oceans among line-up.Scroll Down For Line-up

The 73rd Venice Film Festival (Aug 31 - Sept 10) has unveiled the 55 features – mixing star vehicles and international auteurs – that will make up this year’s official selection.

A total of 20 films will play in competition, 18 will play out of competition and 19 will play in Horizons.

Venice is on a roll having played host to the Best Picture Oscar winner two years in a row while three years ago Gravity went on to score seven Oscars.

Ahead of the world’s oldest festival, the buzz is palpable once again.

Competition titles include Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals, Pablo Larrain’s Jacqueline Kennedy biopic Jackie (seemingly a last minute confirmation) and Michael Fassbender romance The Light Between Oceans.

Auteur directors among the line-up include Terrence Malick, Lav Diaz, [link...

As far as first looks go, the La La Land trailer might have sucked all the air out of the room this week, but we also got a trailer for another Oscar hopeful: Cannes entry Loving. It left Cannes empty handed for prizes, but there was pletny of praise for the film and buzz for leading lady Ruth Negga. You can bank we'll be talking about this one before it finally arrives stateside in November all the way to the big show.

While that transfixing glimpse at Land was more a feast for the eyes and ears, the Loving trailer goes right for the heart. I know I'm higher on Jeff Nichols than most of Team Experience, so I can admit that I'm a little biased on the film already, even if I agree that his other film this year Midnight Special was his weakest. After flirting with fable and...

It's time to overhaul those April Fool's Oscar Predictions. Release dates have shifted around a bit with Miss Sloane (starring Jessica Chastain) and The Founder (starring Michael Keaton) moving to a very crowded December. Same as it ever was. Quite strangely every Oscar hopeful wants to open opposite Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so those that have firmly planted their flags in October and November like Birth of a Nation, Billy Lynn's Halftime Walk, and Loving are looking extra smart since that's where Best Picture winners come from for a whole decade now. So why do studios keep banking on December? The answer is twofold. If you don't get buried in the glut (that's the risk) you can make a lot of money during the holidays and get a higher nomination count than you probably could have managed had you opened in October since you're so fresh in the memory.

Blink and you’ll miss it, the new Woody Allen film, Café Society, is packed with the genius’s usual mile a minute musings, teachings, and even action. It’s Allen’s examination, after thoughtful analyses of towns from Barcelona to Paris, of that juggernaut of the West—dreaded by all real New Yorkers like Woody himself. But perhaps because Allen’s distaste for La La Land is all too real, the film quickly extracts itself from Los Angeles, and one is left hard pressed to distinguish Café Society from any Allen film of yore. While Café Society shows flashes of brilliance in its analysis of the ennui of life, it never coalesces into a sum greater than its promising parts.

Café Society follows deer-in-headlights Bobby Dorfman, from the Bronx, as he wistfully tries to make it big in Hollywood in the 1930s. Played with stunning Allen-like obnoxiousness by the talented Jesse Eisenberg,...

Dvbbs shocked audiences earlier in the year when they dropped their single with Shaun Frank and Delaney Jane, titled “La La Land.” The track saw the Canadian duo switching up their sound, eschewing the high energy bangers that comprise most of their work in favor of a more refined style. Today, the song has received a remix package, which comes complete with four new versions of the song from a variety of producers.

The remix pack for “La La Land” sports a diverse array of styles, with each mix taking the song in a different direction. Corporate Slackrs give the song a head nodding remix with chilled out instrumentation and uplifting melodies, while Breathe Carolina picks up the tempo for a big room re-imagining. Kris Kross Amsterdam infuses some future bass influence into their version, while Izii rounds out the collection with a unique remix.

Overall, the remix collection for...

It's that time of year when we Sally Streep forth to venture into brand new Oscar charts. Before I get in Too deep into the 20+ charts, I trust that you'll let me know which imminently forthcoming pictures you heartily believe in I have totally forgotten about.

some best picture possibilities

 

Currently I am feel cautiously bullish on the following traditional Oscar efforst (i.e. those that with big themes / pedigree / period trappings: Fences, Birth of a Nation and Silence (though I bet the latter is all in or nothing).  I'm far more riskily "let's do this!" optimistic about a non-traditional hopefull La La Land (contemporary musical). And under the banner of 'directors Oscar hasn't yet noticed but could at some point' let's put our eggs in the baskets of Jeff Nichols (Loving), Denis Vllieneuve (Story of Your Life), and Garth Davis (Lion). Davis has never made a feature but he...

Shaun Frank proved himself quite the hitmaker in 2015, and now he’s started off this year’s festival season with a bang as well. The Toronto DJ/producer has teamed up with Dvbbs on a track titled “La La Land” and enlisted his tour mate and frequent collaborator Delaney Jane as the vocalist.

Unlike what Frank and Jane put together for last year’s “Heaven,” “La La Land” deviates far from the future house formula. In a class all its own, the track follows a simple yet poignant production methodology, allowing Jane’s angelic vocals to ring out with an ethereal crispness.

In addition to “La La Land,” Jane recently told us that she has a single coming out in May – and Frank revealed that collaborations with The Chainsmokers and Steve Aoki would follow shortly thereafter.

Until they make more information on their upcoming releases available though, listen to Shaun Frank...

With a brand new record label successfully launched, a debut album in the works and a new track out this week, not to mention a massive performance last weekend at Ultra Music Festival, 2016 has been looking pretty good so far for Dvbbs.

The duo, which consists of bothers Alex and Chris van den Hoef, had a meteoric rise to fame back in 2013 thanks to huge singles like “Tsunami” and “Stampede,” which capitalized on the boom of hard hitting, big room music that became popular several years ago within the Edm world.

Not content to just rest on their laurels though, Alex and Chris have worked hard ever since to prove themselves as versatile producers, giving us a number of tracks that showcase their talent as both musicians and songwriters.

While down in Florida last week for Miami Music Week and Ultra, we had the chance to catch up with Dvbbs...

Glenn here and welcome back to Doc Corner. Each Tuesday we're bringing reviews and features on documentaries from theatres, festivals, and on demand. This week we’re looking at films that screened at the just-ended SXSW about musical icon Gary Numan, self-helper Tony Robbins, and mature-age trans women.

Gary Numan: Android in La La Land

You know I hate to ask

But are 'friends' electric?

Only mine's broke down

And now I've no-one to love

Like many artists of Numan’s vintage who were experimenting with electronic music, there was a queerness to him, an otherness that the made him a symbol to hordes of young audiences who had never seen or heard anything like him before. He was a musician whose dark and complex lyrics were perfectly paired with the aloof roboticism of his performance – an android dreaming of the electric beeps and boops of a Moog synthesizer. But...

Much like I said last year around this time, when it comes to film festivals, there is arguably none more prestigious than the Cannes Film Festival. Each year, critics and the like descend on the south of France hoping to discover the classiest in cinema, which in turn can begin to fuel the impending Oscar speculation. 2016 likely will be no exception, as perhaps a few more Academy friendly projects than usual could wind up at Cannes. Sometime either this month or early on next month, the fest will reveal the titles scheduled to play, so I wanted to get a head start and speculate a bit about what the festival could have in its lineup. Tribeca will be on my mind soon enough, as that begins very shortly, but for the moment…Cannes gets my attention for the day today. Even though nothing is official yet, word has begun to...

After making his dent in the Hollywood landscape with the impressive Whiplash, as well as serving as a writer on this weekend's 10 Cloverfield Lane, Damian Chazelle has gotten his career off to a running start. That momentum has carried over to his latest film, La La Land, which has now been moved from its original summer release date straight into the heart of awards season. The news came from The Hollywood Reporter, who reported that La La Land's July 15th debut has been pushed back to a limited run on December 2nd, with a wide release slated to follow on December 16th. The move comes not too long after Lionsgate slated their other awards contender, Patriot's Day, for a limited, awards qualifying release on December 21st. With two films already slated for a late season prestige blitz, Lionsgate seems to be going all in on their chances ...

The whirlwind ride that was the 2016 Academy Awards has been completed, and with the winners resting and their fellow nominees drafting their next move, we can put the cinematic awards season to rest. Of course, we here at Cinema Blend are always looking to the future, and as such we.ve turned our crystal ball to next year.s ceremony. With a varying degree of certainty, and a good heap of salt, we.d like to present our picks for 2017.s Academy Award nominees in six major categories. Best Picture Sully Deepwater Horizon Snowden The Light Between Oceans The Birth Of A Nation La La Land Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk The Founder Passengers From our end, 2017.s Best Picture crop looks to be filled with the usual adaptations and social commentary pictures. Films like Deepwater Horizon, Snowden, The Light Between Oceans, and Sully all seem like pre-programmed shoo-ins, with...

Paramount Pictures

For a long ol’ time now, sequels have been Hollywood’s bread and butter. Relentlessly pushing out follow-ups to other, financially successful pictures is what drives La La Land’s engine. The results, of course, are almost always mixed: sequels emerge in the good, bad and very, very ugly varieties (emphasis on that last one), as audience hopes are dashed and destroyed on a frequent basis, leaving us feeling like fools for ever believing in them.

That won’t stop movie-goers from getting excited about the slew of sequels set for release in 2016, however. And with such a huge and potentially awesome catalogue of cinematic follow-ups set for release across the span of the year, how could they not?

What follows are all those sequels that’ll have everyone talking as the year plays out, most of which – as is almost always the case – are likely doomed to disappoint the world at large,...

Lucasfilm

Uh-oh. Not everybody likes Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Despite the fact that the movie has amassed an epic 93% on critical aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, and has been praised by pretty much everyone who saw it, from Kevin Smith to Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Rob Lowe, there are a few people who decided that the movie wasn’t up their street and that the best way to deal with that was to sound off about it in public.

Actors, writers and directors tend to keep quiet when it comes to saying anything bad about other Hollywood movies; you never know who might be listening, and thus could also deny you work in the future. Nobody wants to burn their bridges in La La Land, after all, because it’s hard to claw your way back once the damage has been done. Considering that Disney own, like, everything (and everyone), attacking...

There was a time when 2015 looked to be a year that would have massive implications on the Hollywood system of blockbuster filmmaking. There were so many huge movies scheduled in the same year that there was talk about how potentially epic flops could bring a studio to its knees and maybe allow for a shift away from the $200-400 million movies that are churned out every year. But enough films were shuffled around on the calendar where that didn't happen, so life — and Hollywood — goes on.

Looking ahead to 2016, it doesn't seem to me like there are any of the same "the sky is falling" proclamations as there were for 2015. But that doesn't mean there aren't any major blockbusters waiting to happen. Like always, there will be a selection of smaller movies that'll come out next year that I've never heard of that will likely blow me away. I have...

Believe it or not, 2015 has come to a close. We’re not just hours away from a whole new year, and with it…a whole crop of new movies to anticipate. There’s all sorts of things to come, including Oscar fare, blockbusters, independent successes, and everything in between. Below you’ll see a big list of 50 (yes 50) films that I think are worth looking out for in 2016. That’s a lot of movies, I realize, but it’s not even a quarter of the release schedules for the next 365 days. As such, I think it’s perfectly apt to list that many flicks. I’ll have a bit to say about the different sorts of titles hitting screens, then you’ll see the big list, though I won’t keep you hanging too long, that’s for sure. I know you’re mostly in it to see the list,...

Warner Bros.

If there’s one thing that Hollywood is good at, it’s repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Yes, La La Land has a tiresome knack for reliving its biggest disasters on an endless cycle – be that due to outright negligence or an ill-judged attempt to “do it differently,” there are countless examples scattered throughout cinematic history.

In terms of getting certain characters right, then, the studios will often react to a failed interpretation with a period of silence. If Hollywood screws up your favourite character, chances are that you’ll be waiting a few years for them to reinterpret said character all over again. Sometimes this goes swimmingly, and you make the leap from George Clooney’s Batman to Christian Bale’s (a rare case of Hollywood actually learning from its mistake).

But movie-goers don’t always wind up getting that lucky; one awful attempt...

Warner Bros.

Though nowadays mere utterance of his name seems to inspire cries of “He used to be married to Madonna!”, Guy Ritchie also happens to be a very successful movie director – one who has risen from the small independent film scene to the upper levels of Hollywood. Begrudgingly or not, you have to admit that the bloke has done bloody well.

Ritchie got his big break with the innovative geezer thriller Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, a film which reignited the public’s interest in British gangster movies due to its cheeky chappie characters – one of whom was played by a then-not-so-famous Jason Statham (he still didn’t have hair) – whose taste for drugs, booze, violence and the word “c*nt,” coupled with Richie’s unique and stylish way with the camera, left a real mark.

In recent years, however, Ritchie has inexplicably carved out a place in...

Twentieth Century Fox has moved Ice Age: Collision Course, the newly christened fifth chapter of its Blue Sky animated franchise, from July 15 to July 22, 2016. This will shift Sid, Manny, Ellie and company off their previous collision course with Sony’s Ghostbusters and two other pictures, the musical La La Land from Lionsgate and The Lake from EuropaCorp. For the time being, Ice Age: Collision Course is sharing its new date with one other title, Warner Bros’ King…...

Crossballs: The Debate Show

Showcase Inventory

Created by Matt Besser, Charlie Siskel

Produced by Charlie Siskel Productions

Aired on Comedy Central for 1 season (23 episodes, 1 unaired) from July 5, 2004 – August 27, 2004

Cast

Chris Tallman as Host/Moderator

Matt Besser as Various characters

Mary Birdsong as Various characters

Andrew Daly as Various characters

Jerry Minor as Various characters

Show Premise

“Out of the Crossfire, beyond Hardball, this is Crossballs!”

A parody of political debate shows, Crossballs has comedians pose as experts in their field to discuss the issue of the day and pits them against real life experts who are not aware of the farce debate they are participating in. The comedians argue both sides of an issue, be it ridiculous or not, and mine comedy from taking the issue to absurd lengths and goading reactions from the real experts.

Each episode is moderated by Chris Tallman (as a Chris Matthews type), who introduces...

Welcome to a new semi-regular subsection that we like to call the "Bullet-Points Memo." The idea behind Bpm is to highlight multiple contemporaneous entertainment business stories that seem interesting to us (and, hopefully, you). We will be pulling stories, ideas and issues from La La Land and beyond and (again, hopefully) you all will be steering us towards some topics/stories that you're interested in that we might have otherwise missed. So, without further ado, away we go......

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling have teamed for a film twice before. One was Crazy Stupid Love, and that worked out alright. The second movie was Gangster Squad (above), and the less said about it, the better. But that film’s problems weren’t related to the casting, and we’d be happy to see them work together […]

The post ‘Whiplash’ Director May Take Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling to ‘La La Land’ appeared first on /Film.

Gosling and Stone previously worked together on Crazy, Stupid, Love and Gangster Squad

"Third Time’s the Charm for Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone Reuniting on Musical La La Land" was originally published on Film School Rejects for our wonderful readers to enjoy. It is not intended to be reproduced on other websites. If you aren't reading this in your favorite RSS reader or on Film School Rejects, you're being bamboozled. We hope you'll come find us and enjoy the best articles about movies, television and culture right from the source.

Barack Obama Lied to Jimmy Kimmel -- at least that's what Kanye West says -- but the rapper insists he's got nothing but love for the Prez. Kimmel asked Barack Thursday night if he ever called Kanye at home -- something the rapper recently claimed. The Prez said, "I don't think I've got his home number." But we got Kanye at Lax Friday ... and the rapper squared off with O -- reiterating that Obama has called Kanye's home.

Mama June does not scare easily ... she's back in L.A. pitching new TV shows starring her and her brood, scoffing at veiled TLC threats. It's June's second trip to La La Land after "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" got the ax, despite TLC's warning she's not allowed to pitch new shows until May. June -- who is fresh out of the hospital after a bout with pneumonia -- blew into Lax Thursday and told us she's meeting more producers.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Sequels are rarely necessary to the ongoing pantheon of cinematic history, but that doesn’t stop Hollywood from pushing them out with the relentless force of a factory conveyor belt regardless. Why? Because human beings are inherently weak when it comes to sequels, prequels and spin-offs – they see something they like, and instinctively they want more.

Despite the fact that most sequels that eventually find their way into the world should have probably found themselves discarded the moment they appeared as mere proposals in the heads of those bigshot La La Land executives, most of the time folk flock to see them anyway – and that includes the people who rallied against their existing in the first place.

Nobody wants to miss out, after all – because even a “bad” sequel offers up its own unique brand of pleasure. Because it can be kind of “fun” to hate on a bad sequel,...