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The story of “Dreamin’ Wild” is a pretty damn fascinating one beyond its terrific filmmaker (Bill Pohlad) and its excellent cast. In short, Light In The Attic, a fantastic Seattle record label that unearths undiscovered gems, did just that with Donnie and Joe Emerson. Teenage boys with dreams of rock stardom, they self-released Dreamin’ Wild in 1979, a bedroom-made album of rock, pop jams, raw funk, and yacht rock, and of course, no one really noticed; it fell into obscurity, and they went on with their “normal” adult lives.

Continue reading ‘Dreamin Wild’: Casey Affleck, Zooey Deschanel & More Star In The Story Of Forgotten & Rediscovered Teen Rockers at The Playlist.

It's not uncommon for movie and TV stars to make the jump from the screen to the printed page; many well-known actors have capitalized on their name recognition to help boost their profiles as emerging authors. Notable examples include Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings), who found success with his self-published poetry; James Franco (This is the End) recently rolled out a well-received short story collection entitled Palo Alto; and Ethan Hawke (Sinister, The Purge) has won acclaim for the novels The Hottest State and Ash Wednesday. While we don't hear nearly enough about actors from the world of horror and sci-fi making a successful transition to those same genres in print, it's not as rare a phenomenon as you might think. Let's examine the literary legacies of three notable horror stars who carved out thrilling new careers as horror writers... Thomas Tryon Genre Role: I Married a Monster from Outer Space...

Ah, the eternal question -- at least around the Moviefone water cooler -- what to watch this weekend? But, there are so many choices! Or, sometimes, not enough. Luckily, your trusty editors narrowed down the best of what's debuting at the cinema -- or screening on your TV -- to make your weekend that much better. Take a look at our picks below! "Identity Thief" By now, you've surely seen the trailer for this movie featuring Melissa McCarthy saying, "Sandy Bigelow .. Patterson!" and Jason Bateman's character stating he's "going after Bilbo." While I chuckled a bit the first few times I saw it, after the 30th time it loses some of its luster. Years of experience have taught me that one trailer = disaster, but I still want to root for this comedic team. McCarthy's winning turn in "Bridesmaids" wasn't a fluke -- the woman is genuinely hilarious, and Bateman is no slouch,...

In today's totally non-essential news comes word that Forest Whitaker gets top billing as one of the voices for the new stop-motion animated film Toys in the Attic which is coming out on DVD and VOD on February 5, 2013 through Hannover House home video. Actually the film is not that new. It's actually a Czech made 2009 film by accalimed amimator Jiri Barta with a new English dialogue soundtrack written by Vivian Schilling. Judging from the trailer below is visually striking film in the sort of creepy, off beat, 1960's Soviet Bloc Iron Curtain totalitarian style so common in Czech animated films. Take a look to see what I mean:...

Title: Toys in The Attic Directors: Jirí Barta, Vivian Schilling Stars: Forest Whitaker, Joan Cusack and Cary Elwes Toys in the Attic is what a European version of Pixar’s Toy Story 3 would be like. Less light-hearted fun, more focus on claymation, and imagery’s much more Tim Burton than John Lassetter. Director Jirí Barta’s vision of forgotten toys living out their plastic lives in the attic satisfies, even though it’s a tough film to recommend to children looking their next Toy Story fix. Barta treats his film like a classic hero’s journey, with porcelain doll Buttercup (voiced by Vivian Schilling) taking on the role of the princess in need of [ Read More ]...

Check out 2 new Toys in the Attic clips which feature the voice talent of Joan Cusack, as mechanical mouse Madame Curie in the animated family adventure. Also in the English-language voice cast are Forest Whitaker, Cary Elwes, Vivian Schilling, Marcelo Tubert, Douglas Urbanski, Emily Hahn, Joy Ellison, Rico Simonini and Roy Vongtama. The film helmed by Jirí Barta and Vivian Schilling from the writing by Edgar Dutka, Vivian Schilling and Barta, opened September 7th in limited areas, and expands to Atlanta and Philadelphia on September 14th. There are additional locations of expansion throughout October as well. Set in a magical world of toys and knick-knacks stored in the attic of a home in Prague, Toys in the Attic is an award-winning stop-motion animated feature.

Check out 2 new Toys in the Attic clips which feature the voice talent of Joan Cusack, as mechanical mouse Madame Curie in the animated family adventure. Also in the English-language voice cast are Forest Whitaker, Cary Elwes, Vivian Schilling, Marcelo Tubert, Douglas Urbanski, Emily Hahn, Joy Ellison, Rico Simonini and Roy Vongtama. The film helmed by Jirí Barta and Vivian Schilling from the writing by Edgar Dutka, Vivian Schilling and Barta, opened September 7th in limited areas, and expands to Atlanta and Philadelphia on September 14th. There are additional locations of expansion throughout October as well. Set in a magical world of toys and knick-knacks stored in the attic of a home in Prague, Toys in the Attic is an award-winning stop-motion animated feature.

Following in the footsteps of Jan Svankmajer, Toys In The Attic mixes animation with live action and is being described as “four parts Toy Story and one part Tim Burton.” The American dub of Jiří Barta’s stop-motion family film (also known as In The Attic)—adapted, produced and directed by Vivian Schilling—will receive a limited release on September 7th in the United States. Look for it in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Memphis and N.W. Arkansas, expanding to additional cities in the following weeks.

Synopsis

Set in a magical world of toys and knick-knacks stored in the attic of a home in Prague, this award-winning stop-motion animated feature has been called “An animation masterpiece” (Anima Basuari), and “a diabolically inventive tale that is four parts Toy Story and one part Tim Burton (New York International Children’s Film Festival).

The setting for the...

Toys in the Attic is a very unique looking animated film set during the Cold War. With multiple forms of animation, combined with live acting, this film looks very intriguing. Check out this clip and become a believer.

Featuring voice-over work by Forest Whitaker, Joan Cusack and Cary Elwes, Toys in the Attic was directed by Jiri Barta who also penned the story with Edgar Dutka. The English adaptation of this Czech Republic project was written, produced and directed by Vivian Schilling.

Toys in the Attic has won multiple festival awards including Grand Prize Winner at the New York International Children’s Film Festival, Best Movie at the Anima Basauri Festival (Spain), and Best Movie at Sitges Animation Festival. Look for it's limited release in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Memphis and N.W. Arkansas on September 7, expanding to additional cities in the following weeks.

For more,...

Starring the voices of Forest Whitaker (as Teddy), Joan Cusack (as Madame Curie) and Carey Elwes (as Sir Handsome), Toys in the Attic, combines multiple forms of animation, is set in a magical world of toys and knick-knacks, stored in the attic of a home in Prague during the Cold War era. The setting for the film was inspired by the cultural and political contrast of the Cold War era and its impact on director Jiri Barta and the Czech Republic. The world of the attic is divided into the land of happy toys in the West and the Land of Evil in the East. The despotic Head of State rules over the Land of Evil with a band of sinister minions, insects and rotted vegetables. When the...

Photo: Hannover House This week's edition of Overlooked Trailers has damn near every single kind of movie you could imagine from low-budget found footage horror, to drama, to thriller, to sci-fi, to martial arts, documentary and stop-motion animation. The first trailer below is for Toys in the Attic, an English adaptation of the 2009 French stop motion film, which looks like more of a darker version of Toy Story told through stop-motion rather than CGI. After that is Deadfall, a thriller starring Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde, Charlie Hunnam, Sissy Spacek and Kris Kristofferson, which is to say it has a loaded cast, but wasn't able to land a major distributor. Could still be a decent watch however. Stage Fright is a curious movie about the condemnation of some kids that are making a movie based on some found footage material. It's working with Paranormal Activity's "Demand It" marketing tactic, but...

Welcome to Morning Watch, our daily roundup of funny/interesting/bizarre/creative/informative videos for you to start your day with. Joseph Gordon-Levitt Talks More Batman Movies While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel's show, Joseph Gordon-Levitt talks about his role in The Dark Knight Rises, and whether those revelations at the end of the film will lead to him continuing the franchise. Note: There are Tdkr spoilers here for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.   Toys in the Attic Trailer Joan Cusack, Cary Elwes and Forest Whitaker star in this bizarre little stop-motion flick that reminds us of a creepier version of Toy Story in that it features a bunch of toys who team up to rescue one of their own after it's been locked in the attic. This hits limited theaters on...

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If you've ever thought that Pixar's Toy Story movies might have been better suited for stop-motion animation instead of CG, now you can find out what a stop motion Toy Story might have looked like... if it had been put through a quirky European filter, that is. Back in 2009, Czech director Jirí Barta made a movie called Toys in the Attic that played several film festivals and even won the grand prize at the New York International Children's Film Festival. It has since been picked up by Hannover House and will receive an English language dub with the help of American actor and writer Vivian Schilling. The story revolves around a group of toys living in the attic of a house in Prague; when a doll named Buttercup is kidnapped by the ruler of the Land of Evil, her friends must come together to rescue her. There are no cowboys or space rangers here,...

The new trailer for stop-motion animated adventure "Toys in the Attic" fills us with sweet emotion, even though it's not based on the Aerosmith album of the same name.

This European take on "Toy Story" concerns a community of playthings that come to life when no humans are around, which is a good thing too because some of them are so creepy they might get unceremoniously smashed with a golf club if anyone saw them.

"Toy Story" alum Joan Cusack voices a character named Madam Curie (That explains it! All the toys got radiation poisoning!), while Academy Award-winner Forest Whitaker voices a teddy bear. Fan fave actor Cary Elwes is back in swashbuckling form as the voice of Don Quixote lookalike Sir Handsome, although the Buttercup/"Princess Bride" reference may be a tad on-the-nose. Incidentally, the character of Buttercup seems to be missing her nose.

We know who to thank for that dialogue too,...

We got the sad news last night that Disney dropped Henry Selick‘s latest stop-motion project, but don’t fear that this animation method is being left in the dust by Hollywood. We’ve got two strong examples to highlight today and both are quite creepy. We already told you how great it was, but Focus Features have let loose a final, online-exclusive trailer for their animation ParaNorman. This one is a low-key, unsettling look at the coming-of-age story filled with all sorts of scary creatures.

But certainly more frightening is a trailer for the Us release of the Czech film Toys in the Attic. Directed by Vivian Schilling and Jiří Barta, the mix of live-action and stop-motion is a twist on Toy Story as we follow a girl and her toy collection, who come alive in a Cold War-esque environment. For those looking to be genuinely petrified, the animation...

Yes, we've seen toys come to life from Disney and Pixar in the computer animated franchise Toy Story. But seeing them come to life in stop motion animation is still impressive in the trailer for Toys in the Attic, the United States release of the Czech film In the Attic: Who Has a Birthday Today? The Hanover House film gets a limited release in September complete with an English dubbed audio track that actually features Toy Story franchise talent Joan Cusack along with Forest Whitaker, Cary Elwes and Vivian Schilling. This looks pretty damn cool, and feels like a fresh departure from studio animated films. Watch! The trailer for Vivian Schilling and Jiří Barta's the English dubbed Toys in the Attic from E! Online: Following the symbolism of the Cold War era, the world of the attic is divided into the land of happy toys in the West and the...

Craving more adventures of playthings come to life, now that Woody and Buzz Lightyear have retired to the happiness of a new toy box? What luck! Because the upcoming flick Toys in the Attic delivers stop-motion adventure in the vein of the Toy Story franchise. The film takes place in the magical world of toys and knick-knacks stored in the attic, where Buttercup the doll is kidnapped by the ruler of the Land of Evil (a human-faced bug hybrid that will surely give you nightmares). Naturally, Buttercup's pals—voiced by the likes of Forest Whitaker and Joan Cusack—set out to rescue her! The film, which was originally produced in the Czech language, hits select markets Sept. 7, 2012.

Hannover House's English language version of stop-motion Czech film "Toys in the Attic" is heading to theaters September 7. The film, voiced by Forest Whitaker, Joan Cusack and Cary Elwes, and directed by Jiri Barta, was the grand prize winner at the New York International Children's Film Festival. Check out the newly released poster and synopsis below: Set in a magical world of toys and knick-knacks stored in the attic of a home in Prague, this award-winning stop-motion animated feature has been called “An animation masterpiece” (Anima Basuari), and “a diabolically inventive tale that is four parts Toy Story and one part Tim Burton (New York International Children’s Film Festival). The setting for the film was inspired by the cultural and political contrast of the Cold War era and its impact on director Jiri Barta and the Czech Republic. The world of the attic is divided into the land of...

Jiri Barta‘s Toys in the Attic is the kind of hybrid animation that deserves a larger audience. Thankfully, it’s getting a Us release courtesy of Hannover House. According to Cartoon Brew, the film (which I was fortunate enough to catch at Fantastic Fest 2010) has gotten a new set of English-language performances from Forest Whitaker, Joan Cusack and Cary Elwes in anticipation of seeing limited Us theaters on September 7th. It also got a new poster where one critic’s quote credits it as one part Toy Story and one part Tim Burton. That’s definitely an acceptable description, although the overall look and feel of the movie itself defies reduction. The plot isn’t all that complicated, though. In it, a teddy bear, a lump of clay with a bottle cap hat and a Don Quixote-esque figure must rescue a pretty doll from the clutches of the green bust of a man who rules...

Czech animation director Jiri Barta and Paris-based Eurocine Films are targeting the U.S. market with an adapation and English-dubbed version of Barta’s newest stop-motion-animated feature, Toys in the Attic. Forest Whitaker, Joan Cusack and Cary Elwes will provide the voices for the Us theatrical release that will be handled by Hannover House and is scheduled for April 6, 2012 release. Originally produced in the Czech language, the animated film is set in a magical world of toys and knick-knacks stored in the attic of a home in Prague. Following the symbolism of the Cold War era that impacted Barta and the Czech Republic, the world of the attic is divided into the land of happy toys in the West and the land of evil in the East. The despotic Head of State rules over the evil empire of the East with a band of sinister minions, insects and rotted vegetables.