The Ides of March: Politics isn't for the weak. Something Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling), the magnetic press secretary for presidential candidate Jim Morris (George Clooney), learns while campaigning in Ohio. Set against the spectacle of modern world power and politics, this intense tale of sex, ambition, loyalty, betrayal and revenge follows the young press spokesman as he falls prey to backroom politics, the treacherous manipulations of veteran operatives and the seduction of a young intern.
Based on the Off-Broadway play by one-time campaign staffer Beau Willimon, the screenplay has been written by Academy Award nominated writers George Clooney (who will also direct) and Grant Heslov. Starring with Clooney and Gosling is three-time Oscar nominee (and winner for My Cousin Vinny) Marisa Tomei, along with Paul Giamatti and Evan Rachel Wood. The film is a co-production with Exclusive Media, Smoke House Pictures and Appian Way Productions.
Coming To Theaters February 3, 2012
The Woman in Black: Based on the bone-chilling novel by Susan Hill, The Woman in Black is currently in production in Yorkshire, Essex, and at Pinewood Studios, UK. A co-production with Hammer Films and Exclusive Media, the film stars Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame, with a screenplay by Jane Goldman (Kick Ass, The Debt) and directed by James Watkins (Eden Lake).
The elegant, period ghost story follows young lawyer Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), who has been dispatched to the small village of Crythin Gifford to close an estate - a house he soon discovers has a bad reputation in town, as locals have spotted a "Woman in Black," indeed a ghost of the occupant who died years before. With the children of the village in danger from the Woman in Black's wrath, Arthur seeks to appease the spectral forces and put the town, and himself, at peace. The film also stars Ciaran Hinds and Tony Award winner Janet McTeer.
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Now On DVD and Blu-Ray
Black Swan: Now available on DVD and Blu-Ray from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Black Swan is a psychological thriller set in the unlikely world of the New York City ballet. Only Darren Aronofsky (director of The Wrestler, Pi and Requiem for a Dream) could weave this chilling tale of a young dancer whose soul is ripped apart as she turns her back on everything she believes in to purses her dream to dance the lead in Swan Lake. Black Swan's World Premiere was the Opening Night Gala of the Venice Film Festival. The film grossed more than $325 million worldwide and was nominated for 5 Academy Awards, with Natalie Portman winning Best Actress for her starring role.
Nina (Natalie Portman) finally has her chance to be the lead in the prestigious NYC Ballet's version of Swan Lake. To earn the part the ballet director, Prins (Vincent Cassel), demands she tap into the dark side of the character or the Black Swan. Lily (Mila Kunis), a brash and free spirited dancer, arrives on the scene epitomizing exactly what the director is looking for. The two duel not only for the lead in the ballet, but also for the affection of Prins. The pressures and demands of the rehearsal process start to take their toll on Nina's sanity as she strives to embrace a part of herself that she has buried under the discipline of professional ballet. Something has to give, and when it does, what manifests is an unbelievably beautiful and horrifying series of events culminating in shocking revelation about not only Nina's sanity, but her very existence.
Arthur Newman, Golf Pro: Academy Award winner Colin Firth stars with Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt in this untitled comedy from the original screenplay by Academy Award nominee Becky Johnston. The film follows Wallace Avery (Colin Firth), a man who hates his job, is estranged from his ex-wife and son, and blew his one shot at living his dream. After staging his own death and buying himself a new identity as "Arthur Newman," a golf pro, his road trip towards his new life is interrupted by the arrival of the beautiful but fragile "Mike" (Emily Blunt). The project marks the highly anticipated feature directorial debut of Dante Ariola, the acclaimed commercials director who has won numerous awards for his innovative work for global brands such as Coca-Cola, Adidas, Nike, Volkswagen and scores of others. Ariola has twice been nominated for the DGA's prestigious Director of the Year award and has won the Cannes Gold Lion, advertising's highest honor.
In Production
RUSH: A true story with a screenplay by two-time Oscar nominee Peter Morgan about dashing British Formula 1 driver James Hunt and his competition with rival Niki Lauda in the mid 1970's, culminating in a tight race in 1976 for the world championship title. Hunt, a handsome, sexy, charming "rock star" of a race driver, faced off against the more conservative and humble Lauda behind the wheel. A tragic turn of events at the German Grand Prix nearly finishes Lauda's season while Hunt battles his own personal demons on and off the track, leading to a showdown in Tokyo for the world title of Formula 1 Champion between the two friendly rivals. The movie will begin production this fall with Academy Award winning director Ron Howard at the helm.
In Development
The Creed of Violence:
Based on the book by acclaimed novelist Boston Teran, with a screenplay by three-time Academy Award nominated writer and director Todd Field. The novel portrays the 1910 Mexican Revolution via the gun sights of an unlikely duo: Rawbone, a hardened small-time assassin, and John Lourdes, a Bureau of Investigation agent. The two are thrown together when Rawbone is caught smuggling munitions from Texas into Mexico and Rawbone's lawyer arranges a deal - immunity in exchange for Rawbone sharing his criminal intel. A bargain is struck, with Lourdes assigned to accompany Rawbone into the Mexican underground. The twist: Lourdes, unknown to everyone but himself, is Rawbone's son. As the two men make their way through a snake's nest of smugglers, thugs and professional killers, Lourdes must suppress the angst he feels toward his father and focus on surviving another day. The father and son share a sharp wit, cunning instinct and thirst for adventure that make this period spy mission the very definition of a thrill.
Boneshaker:
A screenplay by John Hilary Shepherd, WGA Award nominated writer (Nurse Jackie), adapted from the novel by Cherie Priest, the first in "The Clockwork Century" series of books, an adventure that chronicles an alternate history for 1890's Seattle and follows a determined widow, searching for her son while hunted by the living dead. A mix of hard-hitting action with the period steampunk style of Jules Verne. In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike led inventor Leviticus Blue to build his Incredible Boneshaking Drill Engine. But on its first test run, the Boneshaker went horribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean toxic gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead. Now, sixteen years later, and Blue's son Ezekiel is desperate to learn the truth about his dead father's evil legacy, a quest that takes him through the giant walls that surround Seattle, keeping inside the dreaded gas and the roving Rotters that hunt for human flesh, and only his mother Briar Wilkes can bring him out alive from the city teeming with the ravenous undead, airship pirates, a half-mechanical criminal overlord, and heavily armed underground refugees.
McQueen:
Screenplay written by James Gray (We Own The Night). Rough around the edges, driven by passion, at once a leader and a loner, Steve McQueen embodied the rebel image. After joining the merchant marines at a young age he quickly acquired a taste for brawling, fast women and faster cars. Once in Hollywood, it became obvious that McQueen's hard edge was no act and the former street kid earned the respect of his fellow artists. Loved by women and revered by men, his outsider mentality was captured on film in such classics as The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, Bullitt and Papillion. This forthcoming script is based upon a newly revised and updated book, that is the result of over three years of research and interviews with more than 60 of McQueen's friends and associates, painting a riveting portrait of a man whose power both on- and off-camera is legendary.
Black Mass:
Now in pre-production, BLACK MASS will star Johnny Depp as James "Whitey" Bulger, an Irish street punk in Boston with a penchant for rape and robbery, who spent much of his early life incarcerated. When released from Alcatraz, Whitey returned to his thug lifestyle and rose to power in organized crime by using his FBI informant status to bring down the Italian mafia in New England. He and his fellow hood Steve Flemmi, fed incriminating information on the Italian mob to FBI agents John J. Connolly Jr. and Dick Morris, allowing them to make highly publicized arrests while Bulger filled the void in the upper echelon of Boston organized crime. Whitey Bulger reigned as crime boss into the 1990's until a corruption investigation disgraced Morris, who admitted to taking bribes from Bulger and, with Connolly's alleged assistance, aided and abetted criminal activities involving narcotics, extortion, and murder. Bulger escaped arrest and was on the run for more than a decade, before being apprehended in Santa Monica, CA in 2012. The film will be directed by Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson and written by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth.
Hellfire Club: Ben Franklin, armed with knowledge of the colonies' unrest over heavy taxation, travels to London with hopes of maintaining peace with England before the start of the Revolutionary War. There, he meets and joins a group of radical, aristocratic intellectuals belonging to a secret "Hellfire Club," where men and women eat, drink, debate philosophy and engage in good-natured, albeit deviant, sexual behavior. While frolicking among these elitist revelers, Franklin champions his idea of a government for the people in the colonies. Unfortunately, he is unable to convince King George III and Parliament of the consequences of failing to address and relieve the plight of the colonists. Amid jealousy, betrayal, scandal and tragedy, the Hellfire Club ultimately disbands. Rumors of rebellion in the colonies stir accusations of treason against Franklin. With the help of a former club member, he escapes London to return to the Americas with information that leads to the declaration of Independence.
