News

About six years ago, one Alex Cross passed the torch to another. In 2018, Aldis Hodge had the title role in the film Brian Banks, about a real-life star football player who was falsely accused of rape in high school and tried to make it to the NFL after he was released from prison. The great Morgan Freeman played Banks’ prison mentor, an experience Hodge describes as “awesome.” But there was one moment that especially stood out. “Mr. Freeman leaned over to our director, Tom Shadyac, and he whispered something,” Hodge recalls.

If you grew up on such films as "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," "The Nutty Professor," and "Liar Liar," you likely know the name Tom Shadyac. The writer/director made a name for himself with these now beloved family comedies. You might remember his first detour from such fare with the critically-panned but commercially successful "Patch Adams," but chances are you've never heard of his follow-up.

Shadyac's 2002 supernatural thriller "Dragonfly" was every bit as maudlin as "Patch Adams" but it also had the distinction of being a bona fide box office dud, making $52 million on a $60 million budget. Trying something different is often to be commended, but the guy who directed "Ace Ventura" helming a film about a widowed doctor whose dead wife contacts him through patients doesn't seem like the most well-advised career move. Still, if you've got Kevin Costner fronting your bizarre drama, you might be in with a chance of making something half-decent.

There is a good chance Ace Ventura: Pet Detective will come up in conversation if you ask someone who is strolling their dog on the street about their favorite Jim Carrey flick. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective earned mixed reviews upon its initial release, so it is almost funny to see how beloved it has become among fans despite this fact. Nevertheless, the film remains a hilarious detective satire.

Reviewers and viewers alike had a major effect because of Carrey’s performance. Not only did it initiate the actor’s cinematic career, but it also initiated a franchise. Having said that, what if we told you that Carrey was not the first choice to play such an iconic character?

Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

The original contender for the role is also a legendary figure in the comedy film industry, but his comedic sensibility is nothing like Carrey’s outrageous and wild improvisation.

The film industry was very different in the early 2000s than it is now. It was a period when franchise films were still relatively rare. And the box office was dominated by A-list stars who could draw audiences to theaters based solely on their names. As one of the biggest stars of the time, Jim Carrey also enjoyed great success with his 2003 flick, Bruce Almighty.

What distinguished Tom Shadyac’s film from most of the Carrey films that came before it was that the actor was not the only humorous element in the story. He has many of the funniest scenes with his co-star Morgan Freeman, who played the ‘God’ in the movie.

In an interview with the BBC, the Canadian-born actor admitted to feeling intimidated by Freeman. Carrey truly believed that everyone in the film industry was hesitant to work with the Oscar-winning star.

Jim Carrey and Morgan Freeman...

Exclusive: Independent Artist Group (Iag) is making a big push in lit with the hire of A3 Artists Agency’s Adam Kanter.

The company is looking to bolster its ranks with directors and writers with Kanter becoming Head of Motion Pictures at the company.

Kanter, who spent three years as Head of A3’s Motion Picture literary department and partner, will bring a slew of clients with him including Girls Trip’s Malcolm Lee, Get Smart’s Pete Segal and There’s Something About Mary’s Bobby Farrelly.

The move was just announced internally by Iag CEO Jim Osborne and EVP, Head of Content Development Kyle Loftus.

The move will see Iag, which was created after APA merged with music touring agency Artist Group International last summer, look to build out its director and writing clients, bringing in more agents and helmers and scribes.

The Motion Picture Department that Kanter will...

(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

"If you went into a movie called 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective' and you were doing the stuff I was doing in that movie, would you be expecting while you were doing that movie that it was going to be huge?" Jim Carrey asked this to radio shock-jock Howard Stern in 1994 shortly after the actor's movie opened unexpectedly atop the box office. Stern bluntly responded with "No" but it was, in fact, a monster hit. It was one of three such hits that Carrey would be a part of that year, making it one of arguably the best years that any actor has had — from a commercial standpoint — in history.

Yet, it all started with a movie that, as Stern pointed out,...

Jackie Brown – Picture: Miramax Films

Happy New Year! It’s a great start to the New Year on Netflix, with some great new movies and television shows to binge on.

If you missed any new titles added to Netflix this past week, check out our New on Netflix section for the complete list.

Here are the best new movies and TV shows added to Netflix this week;

John Wick Movie Collection

Films: 3

Genre: Action, Thriller | Runtimes: 101 / 122 / 130 Minutes

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick

One of the most popular action franchises in recent memory, three of the four John Wick memories are now available to stream on Netflix.

John Wick, a former assassin, is grieving over the loss of his wife. To help him through his grief, she bought him a puppy before her death, but after a home invasion results in the death of the dog and...

Everyone’s favourite Sticky Bandit, Daniel Stern, was the original choice for directing Jim Carrey comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, but the actor has now shared why he turned it down.

Home Alone is a staple Christmas watch in most households, but did you know that one of the actors was the original director for Ace Ventura: Pet Detective?

That’s right. Daniel Stern, who played Marv in the first two Home Alone films, has recently revealed in an interview with Comicbook.com that he was in line to direct the Jim Carrey comedy but turned it down. Stern made his feature film directorial debut with 1993’s Rookie Of The Year, but has since only directed TV shows.

“The thing was, when Rookie came out, I got a ton of offers to direct other films,” Stern said. “But it was also the time when I was doing a sequel to Home Alone...

Los Angeles, Dec 17 (Ians) Actor Daniel Stern, popular for his acting roles like Marv from the ‘Home Alone’ franchise and Phil in ‘City Slickers’, also has directorial credits as he said that he was the original director of ‘Ace Ventura: Pet Detective’.

In 1993, Stern directed the film ‘Rookie of the Year’, about a Little League baseball player who becomes a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.

The actor recently revealed that after that film, he was tapped to helm the comedy ‘Ace Ventura: Pet Detective’, which he ultimately turned down, reports deadline.com.

“The thing was when Rookie came out, I got a ton of offers to direct other films. But it was also the time when I was doing a sequel to Home Alone and then doing a sequel to City Slickers,” Stern said in an interview with ComicBook.

“Just to be crass, I hit the cash cow for the...

Daniel Stern is best known for his acting roles like Marv from the Home Alone franchise and Phil in City Slickers he also has directorial credits.

In 1993, Stern directed the film Rookie of the Year, about a Little League baseball player who becomes a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. The actor recently revealed that after that film, he was tapped to helm the comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, which he ultimately turned down.

“The thing was when Rookie came out, I got a ton of offers to direct other films. But it was also the time when I was doing a sequel to Home Alone and then doing a sequel to City Slickers,” Stern said in an interview with ComicBook. “Just to be crass, I hit the cash cow for the one and only time in my life as an actor and it was like, ‘I don’t think I...

It's astonishing to think what an enormous hit Tom Shadyac's film "Bruce Almighty" was when it came out back in 2003. Jim Carrey played Bruce, a mid-level TV reporter who is selfish and a little disappointed with his job. When a rival named Evan (Steve Carell) is promoted above him, Bruce wails to God that life is unfair. Astonishingly, God Almighty (Morgan Freeman) appears to Bruce in order to give him a lesson. For one week, and limited to only a small portion of Buffalo, New York, Bruce will be given the infinite power of the Divine, teaching him that being God isn't as easy as all that. Bruce uses his Godly powers for petty, personal things like parting traffic and increasing the bust size of his girlfriend Grace (Jennifer Aniston). 

Naturally, Bruce's cavalier use of power -- and his lazy acumen when it comes to answering prayers -- leads to chaos.

It's hard to imagine there are many Trekkies in the world who are immensely fond of Russell Watson's rendition of "Where My Heart Will Take Me," the theme song to "Star Trek: Enterprise." Imagine if Rod Stewart were straining to produce a particularly stubborn bowel movement, and you can hear the gravelly strains of Mr. Watson's vocals. The insipid lyrics wax elegiac about the progress we've made "getting from there to here," and how the singer's "time is finally near." No one can hold back the song's narrator as he has "faith of the heart." Nothing's gonna bend or break him. The effect of the song is more or less equivalent to a black-bordered inspirational poster hung on a corporate office wall next to a cubicle. You have strength of the soul.

One might be able to see why the makers of "Star Trek: Enterprise" wanted a pop song,...

Tom Shadyac's 1997 comedy film "Liar Liar" had a light supernatural concept: Fletcher Reed, a typical Hollywood Workholic Dad constantly lies to his family and clients in order to succeed in life. As a lawyer, lying is handy. As a father, however, lying gets him in trouble with his five-year-old son, Max (Justin Cooper). As such, the child makes a birthday wish, longing that his dad cannot lie for just one day. The wish comes true. 

What follows is a comedic showcase for star Jim Carrey to put his talents for physical comedy on display. The actor hilariously mugs and thrashes about in agony as Fletcher's newfound truthfulness gets him in various amounts of trouble. In one case, he cannot lie to exonerate a dishonest client. In another, he says openly lascivious things to a woman on the elevator. He gets slapped in the face and even arrested for his comments.

Tom Shadyac, the director whose comedy film resumé includes Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Nutty Professor, Liar, Liar and Bruce Almighty, has decided it’s time to sell a 2,417-square-foot chicly modernized Spanish-style home he owns that’s located just above the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. He’s listing it for $2.75 million.

Shadyac, whose most recent film was the 2018 drama Brian Banks starring Aldis Hodge and Greg Kinnear, bought the four-bedroom, four-bath house in 2020 from Aaron Paul. According to Dirt.com, the house years ago was also once occupied by Brad Pitt. Paul paid about $1.4 million for the house in 2012, which is located on a quiet cul-de-sac not far from Chateau Marmont, and sold it eight years later to Shadyac for $2.2 million.

According to listing information, the house, which was built in 1931, offers panoramic views of Los Angeles from almost every room and “has been updated to blend timeless Spanish character with warm,...

In the far-reaching pantheon of comedy stars, few possess the same sometimes-subtle, sometimes-explosive style as Steve Carell. First glimpsed by audiences as a cast member on 1996's short-lived comedy vehicle "The Dana Carvey Show," the Massachusetts-born actor grabbed the attention of comedy fans during a six-year stint as a correspondent on "The Daily Show with John Stewart." This desk time helped him transition nicely into another news-related role: the career-hungry anchor Evan in Jim Carrey's "Bruce Almighty" in 2003 before Carell showed us how goofy he could be in 2004's cult-classic "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy."

However, one role beats all others when combining the many talents Carell has stuffed under his belt (that's what she said). Of course, it's Michael Scott, Dunder Mifflin's cringe-king boss and America's answer to Ricky Gervais's David Brent. Throughout nine seasons of "The Office," Scott helped Carell showcase tonnes of humor and...

The case for Sherri Shepherd as TV mom of the year is here. With her upcoming appearance in Season 2 of “Harlem,” she adds a new onscreen daughter under her wing — and they’ve got a matching look that screams family ties.

As a fan of Tracy Oliver’s series on Amazon Prime, the talk show host was more than excited to do a guest spot, but what sealed the deal was her character. Shepherd, already known for her enthusiastic persona, portrays Angie’s (Shoniqua Shandai) equally loud, proud and take-charge mother, Sonia, in Episode 3 titled, “An Assist from the Sidelines.”

In an exclusive clip, Shepherd is seen sharing a touching heart-to-heart moment with Shandai as she reminds her to pick herself up when life knocks her down.

Perhaps Shepherd embodied the role all too well as she says the mother-daughter feeling between Shandai and herself took on a life offscreen.

The tagline on the poster for Mel Brooks' celebrated 1974 comedy film "Blazing Saddles" was, "Never give a saga an even break." Not only is that a clever pun, but it reveals the central philosophy of modern pop satire. Anything that takes itself seriously enough the deem itself a "saga" is most assuredly ripe for ribald parody. Brooks would continue to deny even breaks to Alfred Hitchcock ("High Anxiety"), historical epics ("History of the World Part I"), and "Star Wars" ("Spaceballs"). In 1993, Brooks -- reacting to the massive, massive popularity of Kevin Reynolds' 1991 actioner "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" -- elected to make "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," a raunchy, slapstick farce that skewered all things Sherwood. 

Many of Brooks' gags in "Men in Tights" were shamelessly recycled from his unsuccessful 1975 sitcom "When Things Were Rotten," starring Dick Gautier as Robin Hood, but he at least did have the good sense to very occasionally skew modern.

Tom Shadyac's 1994 hit film "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" starring Jim Carrey has, in 2022, been the subject of a deep re-litigation. Upon its release, audiences reacted with the utmost enthusiasm to Carrey's over-the-top-and-then-some shenanigans, laughing heartily at the actor's boundless energy and aggressive strangeness. Even the premise was odd: Ace Ventura was a private investigator who only took cases involving pets and animals. His plum gig comes when the Miami Dolphins hire him to find their kidnapped mascot, a dolphin named Snowflake. 

What made the film worthy of reconsideration was a staggeringly transphobic twist that mocked and derided one of the film's main characters for comedic purposes. The climax of "Ace Ventura" saw a trans woman (Sean Young) stripped down to her underwear in front of dozens of cops as evidence of her guilt in the case. Her exposure was accompanied by having the surrounding crowd spitting and rubbing their...

It's fair to say that certain aspects of the "Ace Ventura" movies don't play well at all nowadays; even at the time, the original film was called out for its rampant homophobia and transphobia. Putting the really problematic aspects (which we'll touch upon later) aside for a moment, let's not forget what an utterly unique force of nature Jim Carrey was when he burst onto our screens as Ace for the first time.

We hadn't really seen anything like it. Roger Ebert compared him to Jerry Lewis, but he was restrained by comparison. At his peak, Steve Martin did zany just about as well as anybody and Robin Williams was capable of leaving us breathless with his whirl of free-association improvisations, but they both seemed fully in control of what they were doing. Carrey, on the other hand, seemed so wildly out there, like a live-action cartoon character.

As a shy teenager,...

When the title character in Tom Shadyac's 2003 comedy film "Bruce Almighty" has a terrible few days, he complains to God that He might not being doing His job properly. In response, God (Morgan Freeman) appears to Bruce (Jim Carrey) and offers him the divine gig for a few days as a way to teach him some humility.. The film is a lighthearted, gently thoughtful comedy romp that proved to be an enormous hit. 

The casting of Freeman in the role of God was logical. Thanks to his calming, authoritative screen presence and stentorian, orotund voice, Freeman already had...

The post Morgan Freeman's Famous Voice Didn't Happen By Accident appeared first on /Film.

Exclusive: The 44th annual Mountainfilm festival has announced its first wave of film titles and festival highlights. Festival-goers can look forward to more than 120 films as the festival takes over Telluride’s majestic box canyon Memorial Day weekend, May 26-30, 2022. The festival will include 31 features and nearly 100 shorts.

Mountainfilm 2022 will highlight 80+ North American, US, and Colorado premieres. Also celebrating world premieres are the highly-anticipated documentary, The Holly, based on the seven-year investigation into the high-profile shooting in Denver’s Holly neighborhood (film subject Terrance Roberts in attendance), and Chasing, a gripping tale of a 3,000-mile rowing race across the Atlantic Ocean (film subject Jason Caldwell in attendance).

The festival also boasts 18 world premiere short films traversing some of the most pertinent issues of the day — from the climate crisis to inclusion to border walls — while also providing film-goers with a dose of the adrenaline-packed, edge-of-your-seat excitement they crave from Mountainfilm.

Exclusive: Former Secret Hideout President Heather Kadin has been tapped as President of Scripted Television for management and production company Range Media Partners. She will oversee all scripted development and production for Range Studios and will executive produce their scripted television projects under the company’s co-production arrangement with A+E Studios as part of A+E Networks’ minority stake acquisition.

Kadin will collaborate with Range’s team of managers and talent clients on creating new series and building scripted TV brands. Her hire completes the team of film and TV executives at Range as she joins recently appointed President of Non-Scripted TV Mark Herwick and Oliver Riddle, head of international film and TV.

An accomplished TV executive and producer, Kadin became available less than three months after a 12-year stint running Secret Hideout and its predecessor, K/O Paper Products, as President of Television.

“Heather and my journeys are incredibly intertwined.

Exclusive: Heather Kadin is going out on her own. After 12 years of running a TV production company, Alex Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout and its predecessor, Kurtzman and Bob Orci’s K/O Paper Products, as President of Television, Kadin is leaving to pursue other opportunities. Her exit is still being finalized, and it is unclear yet whether Kadin would continue as an executive producer on Secret Hideout’s projects in development, which she has shepherded.

“Heather and I have spent 12 extraordinary years together, and in that time she’s been a brilliant creative force whose passion and dedication have been felt by the many writers and directors we work with at Secret Hideout,” Kurtzman said. “I’m certain she’ll carry that passion into the next phase of her amazing career, I’m so grateful for the time we’ve shared, and I wish her every success and happiness on her bright road ahead.

Exclusive: Tiffany Dupont (Brian Banks) is set as a series regular opposite Billy Campbell, Angel Parker and Gerardo Celasco in National Parks, ABC’s drama pilot co-written and executive produced by Yellowstone star Kevin Costner. The project hails from Costner’s Territory Pictures Entertainment, 20th Television and A+E Studios.

Co-written by Costner, Aaron Helbing and Jon Baird and to be directed by Anthony Hemingway, National Parks follows a small group of elite national parks service agents as they solve crimes while protecting the parks — which, while being known for their sweeping, beautiful landscapes, also attract a vast array of criminal activity.

Dupont will play Talia, a quick-witted Isb Special Agent and wildlife expert whose tenacity and attention to detail make her a vital part of the Isb team.

2021 ABC Pilots & Series Orders

In addition to Campbell, Parker and Celasco, Dupont joins previously announced series regulars Ashleigh Sharpe Chestnut and Blu Hunt.

The star and co-writer of the new film Banana Split walks us through some of her favorite comedies.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Banana Split (2020)

Big (1988)

West Side Story (2020)

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (1982)

The ’Burbs (1989)

Back To The Future (1985)

Tropic Thunder (2008)

Cape Fear (1991)

The Foot Fist Way (2006)

Best In Show (2000)

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

The Hours (2002)

Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006)

Black Mass (2015)

The Irishman (2019)

Romy And Michele’s High School Reunion (1997)

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Zoolander (2001)

Knocked Up (2007)

Armageddon (1998)

Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985)

The Room (2003)

The Disaster Artist (2017)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (1997)

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970)

Gremlins (1984)

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Bruce Almighty (2003)

Liar Liar (1997)

The Ten Commandments (1956)

Obvious Child (2014)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Harold And Maude (1971)

Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans...

Aldis Hodge has been acting since he was a child, but he caught the attention of Hollywood when he starred in the acclaimed Texas high school football drama Friday Night Lights as Ray “Voodoo” Tatum, the stone-faced, “I’m not here to make friends” Dillon Panthers quarterback who posed problems for Coach Taylor and the team. From there, Hodge continued have career glow-up as he landed roles in numerous TV series and films including the critically acclaimed Underground as well as the features Straight Outta Compton and Hidden Figures. Most recently he stars opposite Kevin Bacon in the Showtime drama City on a Hill and gives a stirring performance in a pair of prison reform dramas that includes the Tom Shadyac-directed Brian Banks and Chinonye Chukwu’s prison reform drama Clemency, which he co-stars with Alfre Woodard.

With an extensive resume of TV series and films, Hodge is determined...

Why so serious? While some filmmakers get their start making cheaply made B-movies or horror films, there’s a new crop of directors emerging who previously cut their teeth making classic comedies. And while most haven’t abandoned their sense of humor entirely, they’ve finally been recognized at both the box office and awards circuit by veering into prestige pictures. The latest example is Todd Phillips, the director of “Joker,” which as the darkly disturbed origin story of the iconic Batman villain is no laughing matter. Here are some other directors who have re-emerged as more than just funny men.

Preston Sturges – Comedy Classic: “The Lady Eve”/Dramatic Turn: “Sullivan’s Travels”

Preston Sturges, one of the signature directors of Old Hollywood, would likely still be admired today based solely on the success of his screwball comedies like “The Great McGinty” and “The Lady Eve.” But he took a...

In the era of #MeToo, in which women are finally being given a voice against sexual predators, a movie about a false rape accusation feels like a tough sell. Brian Banks is an earnestly told true story of criminal injustice focusing on Banks (a terrific Aldis Hodge in a bust-out performance), a junior at Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California, who’s headed to USC on a scholarship and a future NFL career as a linebacker. That future evaporates when Banks is wrongly accused of sexual assault by fellow...

Okay, sports (and film) fans, ready for another true tale of an underdog athlete overcoming the odds? Of course, since that’s a staple of this popular film genre. Ah, but this is of a somewhat “mixed” cinema breed. That’s because most sports flicks concern a player overcoming physical adversity, be it a disease (My All American) or injury (Bleed For This). Ah, but in this fact-based drama, the hardship is a prison record. So that “mix” is the inspirational sports biography and a “take on the system” courtroom drama. That’s’ the football/legal battle at the heart of the tale of the “real” man named Brian Banks.

His story begins at what should be the end of his long struggle. Brian (Aldis Hodge) is called into the police station office of his parole officer Mick (Dorian Missick). Seems that because of a new California law, all sex...

Universal’s Hobbs & Shaw isn’t going anywhere and will stay put in No. 1 this coming weekend with $28M-$30M, a decline of 50%-53%. This as five wide entries flood the market: Paramount/Nickelodeon/Walden Media/Mrc’s storied IP Dora and the Lost City of Gold, CBS Films/eOne/Lionsgate’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Disney/Fox’s The Art of Racing in the Rain, New Line’s 1978 femme mobster pic The Kitchen and Bleecker Street’s Brian Banks.

Why so much stuff? Some of these movies are bound to step on one another demo-wise. Word is many rivals were trying to avoid The Lion King, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Hobbs & Shaw. Another factor slowing down business this weekend: Kids already are going back to school, with K-12 going from 96% out last Friday to 84% this Friday. That number will reduce to 30% K-12 schools out by August 30. Meanwhile,...

Perhaps the worst thing a film can be, even more so than the binary of good or bad, is forgettable. That is the best way to reflect upon “Brian Banks,” the latest film in the canon of dramas that highlight the criminalization and mass incarceration of black people in the United States.

Director Tom Shadyac (“The Nutty Professor”) flatly tells the true story of the titular football star whose promising career came to a screeching halt when he was wrongfully accused and convicted of raping a young woman in 2002 (when he was 17 years old) and spent six years in prison. Though we see brief flashbacks of Brian in jail feeling defeated and struggling to navigate the system inside, much of the film is spent after his incarceration, as he tries in vain to find work despite having a criminal record while on a strict custody parole and fighting to clear his name.

For audiences who have been patiently awaiting the movie where comedy filmmaker turned feel-good inspirational director Tom Shadyac casts Morgan Freeman to basically play God again, well, that wait is finally over. But the small value beyond that in the sports drama “Brian Banks“— think, “The Blind Side,” and “Glory Road”— littered with a number of problematic plot points and unintentionally offensive narrative emblems, including the exasperating white savior cliché, is negligible.

Continue reading ‘Brian Banks’ Is A Soapy Legal Drama That Never Rises Above Its Magical Sports Movie Tropes [Review] at The Playlist.

There are few actors who could make the receipt of a Facebook friend request feel as cataclysmic as Aldis Hodge does during the unexpected turning point of Tom Shadyac’s fact-based drama “Brian Banks.” As the eponymous lead, Hodge is tasked with carrying the weight of a story that seems too wild and strange to be real: a heartbreaking tale of false accusations and wrongful convictions that literally hinges on an odd olive branch extended via social media. Hodge sells it, just as he sells the rest of an otherwise chintzy film, a Lifetime movie-like drama that falls short of engaging with the many thorny issues it dramatizes.

In the early aughts, Long Beach native Banks was a promising high school football player who committed to playing at USC when he was just a junior. While Banks is a straight arrow with his eyes firmly fixed on his athletic future,...

Brian Banks Bleecker Street Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Tom Shadyac Screenwriter: Doug Atchison Cast: Aldis Hodge, Greg Kinnear, Sherri Shepherd, Xosha Roquemore, Melanie Liburd, Tiffany Dupont Screened at: Tribeca, NYC, 6/5/19 Opens: August 9, 2019 When Spain in the 15th century determined to make the entire […]

The post Brian Banks Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

The story told in Brian Banks is unfortunately all too familiar. The eponymous biopic, directed by Tom Shadyac, chronicles the true story of the All-American football player who had committed to USC by his junior year, then had his life upended when he was falsely accused and convicted of rape, to being exonerated, and finally reaching his goal of playing in the NFL.

Throughout his 10-years in the prison system, a sentence he received despite the lack of evidence to support the accusation, Banks never wavered in maintaining his innocence. Ultimately, with the help of Justin Brooks and the California Innocence Project, Banks’ conviction was overturned in 2012, his name was cleared, and he was finally free to pursue his NFL dreams.

Speaking at the 25th annual Essence Festival in New Orleans, Banks described the film as a “full circle” moment. “It’s really surreal to have gone through such a traumatic experience…...

The year reaches the halfway mark on June 30, and traditionally films from the first six months have an uphill battle in the Oscar race. However, this year’s January-June crop might get a boost from the accelerated schedule: Nominations voting is a tight Jan. 2-Jan. 7, 2020. So if voters start their homework now, early films will have a leg-up over hopefuls that might get lost in the fourth-quarter glut.

So far, the festivals have offered strong possibilities, including Sundance’s “The Report”; and several from Cannes, including “Pain and Glory” from Pedro Almodovar; “Parasite,” from Bong Joon-ho; and “Rocketman.”

Films in 2019 general release have offered plenty of terrific work, including “Booksmart,” “Late Night,” Danny Boyle’s “Yesterday,” and Jordan Peele’s “Us,” plus the knockout “Shadow,” from master director Zhang Yimou (released domestically by Well Go USA Entertainment). Best picture possibilities? Hmm, maybe. If voting were held today, Disney-Pixar...

It is certain that a “Magic 8 Ball” movie is in the works. In fact, you may rely on it.

A movie centered on the fortune-telling toy, which dates back to the 1950s, is being developed by Mattel Films and Blumhouse Productions. “Fantasy Island” director Jeff Wadlow is attached to helm and will script with collaborators Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach.

The sooth-saying device contains a white 20-sided die floating in blue-tinted alcohol. Each of the die’s 20 faces has a brief message — 10 affirmative, five negative, and five non-committal — read through a window on the ball’s bottom. The replies are to be looked at after asking the ball a yes–no question and include “It is certain,” “You may rely on it,” “Better not tell you now,” “Ask again later,” “Don’t count on it” and “Outlook not so good.”

The latest roll of “Magic 8 Ball” was announced Monday as...

Brian Banks Trailer The movie trailer for Brian Banks (2018), directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Doug Atchison, has been released by Bleecker Street Media. Plot Synopsis Brian Banks‘ plot synopsis: based on the book by Brian Banks, “The inspirational true story of Brian Banks (Aldis Hodge), an All-American high school football [...]

Continue reading: Brian Banks (2018) Movie Trailer: Aldis Hodge is Wrongly Convicted & Fights to Fulfill His NFL Dream...

If you’re a casual film fan, you may not immediately know the name, Tom Shadyac. However, you are probably very familiar with his work. Shadyac is the director behind such comedy films as “Ace Venture: Pet Detective,” “Liar, Liar,” “The Nutty Professor,” “Patch Adams,” and “Bruce Almighty.” And now, after years away from feature filmmaking, he’s back with a film about the true story of a young Black kid who gets wrongfully locked away in prison, derailing his pro football career.

Continue reading ‘Brian Banks’ Trailer: Greg Kinnear Attempts To Get A Wrongfully Convicted Athlete Released From Prison at The Playlist.

"How did you survive it?" "Almost didn't..." Bleecker Street has debuted the first official trailer for an indie drama titled Brian Banks, the latest from director Tom Shadyac, his first feature since making Evan Almighty in 2007. This premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year, and just played at the Cleveland Film Festival earlier this month. The controversial film, based on a true story, is about a 16 year old football player who All-American high school football star who finds his life upended when he is wrongly convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, sent to prison after going through the broken legal system. Aldis Hodge stars as the titular Brian Banks, with a cast including Greg Kinnear, Melanie Liburd, Tiffany Dupont, Sherri Shepherd, Matt Battaglia, Xosha Roquemore, Dorian Missick, and Dean Denton. This looks an upsetting, poignant film lead by the very talented Aldis Hodge. Here's the first...

The following remembrance was written by Deborah Davis, Mark Urman’s wife.

From Anatole Litvak’s “Anastasia,” the first movie he saw as a child at a picture palace in the Bronx, to Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” (his choice for this year’s Best Picture), Mark Urman was a man with a boundless passion for cinema. In the course of his nearly 50 years in film, Mark felt blessed to work with some of the greatest luminaries in the business, from Joseph Losey, David Lean, and Bernardo Bertolucci to Roman Polanski, Sydney Lumet, and Julian Schnabel.

He also delighted in encouraging talents as they emerged, including Ryan Gosling, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Lynette Howell, Jamie Patricof, Christian Bale, Liv Tyler, Marc Forster, Natasha Richardson, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Kevin Smith, Cary Fukunaga, Lee Daniels, and Bill Condon.

Mark was born in the Bronx on November 24, 1952, the...

Mark Urman, a veteran independent film distributor who headed Paladin Films for the past decade, died on Saturday after a short illness. He was 66.

Urman executive produced “Monster’s Ball” and “Murderball,” and was involved in campaigns for Oscar contenders “Half Nelson,” “Affliction,” and “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.” He broke into the entertainment business in the 1980s by working in publicity at United Artists in New York, followed by Columbia Pictures’ Triumph Films and Dennis Davidson Associates.

In 1997, he became a distribution executive at Cinepix Film Properties, which became Lionsgate. He moved to ThinkFilm in 2001 to head theatrical distribution and oversaw the release of “Half Nelson,” for which Ryan Gosling received a best actor Academy Award nomination; Oscar-winning documentaries “Taxi to the Dark Side” and “Born Into Brothels”; and docs “Spellbound,” “The Story of the Weeping Camel,” “Murderball,” and “War/Dance.”

After a brief stint at Senator,...

Updated with reaction. Mark Urman, a prominent figure in the independent film business who headed Paladin Film for the past decade, has died at age 66 after battling cancer.

Word of his passing circulated over the weekend, especially among the many film and media professionals who live (as did Urman) in Montclair, N.J. Urman’s family has so far declined to make a statement. We will update all this as more information comes in.

Early on, Urman worked in publicity for Columbia Pictures and United Artists before joining PR firm Dennis Davidson Associates in the 1980s, where he got some of his first tastes of championing specialty film titles. He spearheaded several publicity campaigns for Miramax and other indie outfits, and later told a few memorable tales about Bob and Harvey Weinstein in Peter Biskind’s 2004 book Down and Dirty Pictures.

Urman would go on to become a noted tastemaker in the sector,...

Exclusive: Bleecker Street has partnered with ShivHans Pictures for the release of Brian Banks, the true story about an All-American football player who went to prison for a crime he did not commit. Directed by Tom Shadyac, the pic premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, where it picked up the Audience Award. It will bow in theaters August 9, 2019.

Aldis Hodge stars in the title role along with Greg Kinnear, Sherri Shepherd, Melanie Liburd, Xosha Roquemore, and Tiffany Dupont.

Banks (Hodge) was a high school football star who had committed to USC by his junior year. In 2002, his life upended when he is falsely accused of rape. Fiercely maintaining his innocence and despite any evidence to support the accusation, Brian is nonetheless railroaded through the justice system and sentenced to a decade of prison and probation. Ultimately, with the help of Justin Brooks (Kinnear) and the California Innocence Project, Banks...

The timing could hardly be worse for “Brian Banks,” a well-meaning and emotionally engaging movie about the California Innocence Project’s incredible battle to exonerate a Long Beach football player who lost 11 years of his life to prison and parole after a high school classmate falsely accused him of rape. Independently made and still seeking distribution, the compelling biopic — a stark departure from lowbrow studio comedies for “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” director Tom Shadyac — faces an uphill path not unlike the one Cip lawyer Justin Brooks (played here by Greg Kinnear) accepted when he took Banks’ case (a chance-of-a-lifetime role for Aldis Hodge).

In a sign that this solid social-justice drama stands apart from current events — an exceptional case that neither contradicts nor enhances the #MeToo movement — “Brian Banks” was met with multiple standing ovations at its L.A. Film Festival premiere, even as the nation’s attention was turned...

The newest of the fall festivals wraps up today, and the Los Angeles Film Festival has announced Tom Shadyac’s powerful and inspiring true story Brian Banks as winner of its Audience Award for Fiction Feature Film and the acclaimed Stuntman as Audience Award choice winner for Best Documentary Feature. As the Toronto Film Festival annually proves, it is the Audience Award that often gets the most attention and is most representative of a particular film’s success at many of these fests.

At its world premiere screening Saturday afternoon, Brian Banks received five standing ovations by my count as the key creative team and actors were brought up on stage by Banks himself after the rousing reception to the emotionally draining film. It’s the story of a promising young football star’s fight against the justice system in trying to clear his name after serving prison time and...

Exclusive: The Los Angeles Film Festival is on the move from June to this month, where it opens on Thursday with the world premiere of the music documentary Echo in the Canyon. Over the course of the next week, the festival will be offering an array of cinematic programming of all kinds including several more world premiere features.

One of those is the locally based Brian Banks, which marks a return to narrative filmmaking by director Tom Shadyac, whose most recent work with the spiritual documentary I Am and whose mosat recent commercial film was 2007’s Evan Almighty. A powerful and inspiring film, Brian Banks is a decided departure for the man whose filmography includes Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Liar Liar, Bruce Almighty, Dragonfly and Eddie Murphy’s The Nutty Professor. Independently made, Brian Banks stars Aldis Hodge in the title role alog with Greg Kinnear, Sherri Shepherd, Melanie Liburd,...

Andrew Slater’s music documentary Echo in the Canyon has been set as the opening night film of Film Independent’s 2018 La Film Festival, which kicks off Sept. 20 and continues through Sept. 28.

This will mark the world premiere of the documentary which puts the spotlight on iconic music groups The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas & the Papas and how they birthed the beginnings of Laurel Canyon historic music scene. The docu shows how the echo of these artists’ creations reverberated between each other and ultimately across the world with a timelessness that continues today. The film also features appearances by Tom Petty, Brian Wilson, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Michelle Phillips, Jackson Browne, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Lou Adler, Jakob Dylan, Norah Jones, Beck, Regina Spektor, Cat Power, and others. The film will premiere at Ford Theatres on Sept. 20 and be followed by a live performance.

Feature to focus on Us president’s early influences, among them hard-nosed attorney Roy Cohn.

Gabriel Sherman is lining up to write The Apprentice for Gidden Media, which will explore how the young Donald Trump embarked on the road to the White House.

The story will chart Trump’s rise to power from the perspective of influential people in his life, among them the lawyer and mentor Roy Cohn, the late, hard-nosed attorney who served as chief counsel to senator Joseph McCarthy during the Communist witch hunt trials in the early 1950s and was eventually disbarred for unethical practices.

Amy Baer...

Vanity Fair special correspondent Gabriel Sherman will write “The Apprentice,” a screenplay that will explore how a young Donald Trump set himself on the path to become the 45th President of the United States.

The story will follow Trump’s rise to power as seen from the perspective of his many early influences, including lawyer Roy Cohn. The project was announced Wednesday.

Amy Baer is producing through her company Gidden Media. Sherman will also be an executive producer on the movie.

Sherman is the author of the 2014 book “The Loudest Voice in the Room,” the New York Times best-­selling biography of Fox News founder Roger Ailes, which he’s currently adapting for Showtime and Blumhouse Television with Tom McCarthy executive producing.

“As a journalist, I’ve reported on Donald Trump for more than 15 years,” Sherman said. “I’ve long been fascinated by his origin story as a young builder...