Exclusive: Penelope Ann Miller and Mia Kirshner are set as the leads in Lifetime’s upcoming movie The College Admissions Scandal following the story of over 50 wealthy and elite families that tried to cheat the college admissions system. Additionally, Canadian actor Michael Shanks portrays college admissions consultant Rick Singer. Production is set to begin this month.
The College Admissions Scandal will debut this fall as part of Lifetime’s Ripped From the Headlines movie slate, which includes Escaping the Nxivm Cult: A Mother’s Fight to Save Her Daughter, Abducted: The Mary Stauffer Story and Trapped: The Alex Cooper Story.
The College Admissions Scandal follows two wealthy mothers, Caroline (Miller), a sought after interior designer and Bethany (Kirshner), an owner of a successful financial services firm, who share an obsession with getting their teenagers into the best possible college.
The College Admissions Scandal will debut this fall as part of Lifetime’s Ripped From the Headlines movie slate, which includes Escaping the Nxivm Cult: A Mother’s Fight to Save Her Daughter, Abducted: The Mary Stauffer Story and Trapped: The Alex Cooper Story.
The College Admissions Scandal follows two wealthy mothers, Caroline (Miller), a sought after interior designer and Bethany (Kirshner), an owner of a successful financial services firm, who share an obsession with getting their teenagers into the best possible college.
- 8/12/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Moneyball producer Rachael Horovitz and Jennifer Wachtell are partnering with Vanity Fair contributing editor Evgenia Peretz on a TV adaptation of Peretz’s deep dive into the Hollywood college admissions scandal, To Cheat And Lie In La. Peretz, whose screenwriting credits include Juliet, Naked and Our Idiot Brother, is adapting from her article that was posted online this morning and will be published in the September issue of the magazine, and the producers are in talks with showrunners and directors before going out to studios.
Peretz’s investigation into the scandalous story broadens from the celebrity focus in the bribery and cheating scandal and focuses on a quixotic group of privileged La families — the non celebrities — caught in the now infamous criminal web. Peretz has previously covered private school culture in her articles on Georgetown Prep, Marlborough, and Miss Porter’s school. The article leans into the socially complex...
Peretz’s investigation into the scandalous story broadens from the celebrity focus in the bribery and cheating scandal and focuses on a quixotic group of privileged La families — the non celebrities — caught in the now infamous criminal web. Peretz has previously covered private school culture in her articles on Georgetown Prep, Marlborough, and Miss Porter’s school. The article leans into the socially complex...
- 7/31/2019
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Chicago – The story of a drop-out rock and roll star… usually disappearing at the height of their fame… has fascinated the movies in both fiction (“Eddie and the Cruisers”) and documentary (“Waiting for Sugarman”). “Juliet, Naked” takes the premise and creates a charming, romantic story about fandom and redemptive decisions.
Rating: 4.5/5.0
All the cast is at the top of their game with a solid and very funny script. The Year of Ethan Hawke continues with another great performance by the man as the disappeared rocker. And Irish actor Chris O’Dowd nearly steals the picture as an obsessed fan, who inadvertently begins the demise of his long time relationship. Rose Byrne is his live-in girlfriend and the centerpiece of the proceedings, and she proves again that beyond her radiant good looks lies a deft and subtle comic actor. “Juliet, Naked” is a fun and intuitive life transition story, and is recognizable on many emotional levels.
Rating: 4.5/5.0
All the cast is at the top of their game with a solid and very funny script. The Year of Ethan Hawke continues with another great performance by the man as the disappeared rocker. And Irish actor Chris O’Dowd nearly steals the picture as an obsessed fan, who inadvertently begins the demise of his long time relationship. Rose Byrne is his live-in girlfriend and the centerpiece of the proceedings, and she proves again that beyond her radiant good looks lies a deft and subtle comic actor. “Juliet, Naked” is a fun and intuitive life transition story, and is recognizable on many emotional levels.
- 8/26/2018
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Music fandom among males is a specialty of author Nick Hornby (see: the vinyl nerds, on page and screen, of High Fidelity), and the British writer continues his probe into the pathology of rock obsession with Juliet, Naked. The fan in question is Duncan (Chris O’Dowd), an academic who teaches Cinema and TV Studies, i.e. he makes classroom comparisons of The Wire to Shakespeare and Dickens that seem hilarious (and spot-on). Still, the professor saves his most rapt admiration for Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke), an alt-rocker who achieved...
- 8/17/2018
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
Sony Pictures Classics expects summer blockbuster fatigue to help its weekend newcomer The Wife starring Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce, opening New York and Los Angeles Friday. The film is one of a fairly busy slate of limited release newcomers, perhaps hinting at another busy fall as awards season looms. Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate is bowing Juliet, Naked Friday in NYC and L.A., starring Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O’Dowd. Sundance favorite We The Animals by Jeremiah Zagar opens Friday in New York en route to a 100-plus location count by end of September, via The Orchard. Music Box Films is launching French-language Memoir Of War based on the book by Marguerite Duras. And actor Peter Facinelli is making his directorial debut with comedy Breaking & Exiting starring Milo Gibson and Jordan Hinson, making its way to select locations in a day and date roll out via Freestyle Digital Media.
- 8/17/2018
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline Film + TV
Earlier this week, I took a look at Ethan Hawke’s latest directorial effort. Today, we’ll be looking at his newest starring role. The movie in question is Juliet, Naked, which is based on the charming Nick Hornby book of the same name. This week, the adaptation hits theaters, offering up something mellow and nice for audiences. Hawke getting to play an elusive rock star would suggest a far harder edged affair than this, but it makes for a nice little change of pace. You won’t necessarily see any raves about this kind of flick, but you need them. They’re comfort food, cinematically speaking. The film is described, via IMDb, as such: “Juliet, Naked is the story of Annie (the long-suffering girlfriend of Duncan) and her unlikely transatlantic romance with once revered, now faded, singer-songwriter, Tucker Crowe, who also happens to be the subject of Duncan’s musical obsession.
- 8/16/2018
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
“Juliet, Naked” charmed the roof off the Eccles Theater at the Sundance Film Festival when it premiered there in January, and no wonder.
Jesse Peretz’s adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel is a lovely low-key comedy with a rock ‘n’ roll heart, with Rose Byrne, Chris O’Dowd and Ethan Hawke delivering a trio of deftly and subtly drawn performances from Hornby’s deep trough of memorable characters.
Hornby’s books have been adapted into the commercial and critical successes “High Fidelity,” “Fever Pitch” and “About a Boy.”
Also Read: 'The Children Act' Film Review: Emma Thompson Grapples With Conscience in Sluggish Legal Drama
“Juliet, Naked” is the story of Annie, a British woman in her late 30s whose longtime boyfriend, Duncan, is one of the leaders of a somewhat motley online community of music lovers and nutcases that has grown up around the slim but influential output of one Tucker Crowe,...
Jesse Peretz’s adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel is a lovely low-key comedy with a rock ‘n’ roll heart, with Rose Byrne, Chris O’Dowd and Ethan Hawke delivering a trio of deftly and subtly drawn performances from Hornby’s deep trough of memorable characters.
Hornby’s books have been adapted into the commercial and critical successes “High Fidelity,” “Fever Pitch” and “About a Boy.”
Also Read: 'The Children Act' Film Review: Emma Thompson Grapples With Conscience in Sluggish Legal Drama
“Juliet, Naked” is the story of Annie, a British woman in her late 30s whose longtime boyfriend, Duncan, is one of the leaders of a somewhat motley online community of music lovers and nutcases that has grown up around the slim but influential output of one Tucker Crowe,...
- 8/15/2018
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The reign of Ethan Hawke continues this year. Following a career-best turn (or certainly a match to his Richard Linklater collaborations) in First Reformed, later this fall his next directorial effort Blaze will arrive, but in between things get a bit lighter and more romantic with Juliet, Naked. Directed by Jesse Peretz based on Nick Hornby’s novel, the story follows Rose Byrne’s character as she falls for a rock star (Hawke), who also happens to be an object of fandom for her boyfriend (Chris O’Dowd).
Dan Mecca said in his Sundance review, “Peretz has always been a humanist filmmaker and this material suits him. The screenplay, credited to many, plays scattershot at times, but the director does well to keep the focus on his leads. Hawke and Byrne are given the most screen time and their chemistry is built of an interesting alchemy: not particularly explosive, but casually aligned.
Dan Mecca said in his Sundance review, “Peretz has always been a humanist filmmaker and this material suits him. The screenplay, credited to many, plays scattershot at times, but the director does well to keep the focus on his leads. Hawke and Byrne are given the most screen time and their chemistry is built of an interesting alchemy: not particularly explosive, but casually aligned.
- 7/4/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Usually when rock stars talk of their wasted lives they mean something entirely different than what’s at the plot of Jesse Peretz’s Juliet, Naked, the critically charmed new rom-com based on the novel by Nick Hornby.
This new trailer for the August 17 release sets up the rock & roll anti-debauchery tale sweetly: Rose Byrne’s Annie is stuck in a long-term relationship with Chris O’Dowd’s Duncan, an obsessive fan of a long-missing obscure American rock star named Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke). Tucker, long sober, feels like he’s wasted the last non-creative years of his life, and when the acoustic demo of Tucker’s 25-year-old hit record surfaces, and Annie writes a harshly critical review, the rocker himself comes out of hiding to praise her insight – and talk second chances for all involved.
Peretz directs from a screenplay by Evgenia Peretz and Jim Taylor & Tamara Jenkins,...
This new trailer for the August 17 release sets up the rock & roll anti-debauchery tale sweetly: Rose Byrne’s Annie is stuck in a long-term relationship with Chris O’Dowd’s Duncan, an obsessive fan of a long-missing obscure American rock star named Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke). Tucker, long sober, feels like he’s wasted the last non-creative years of his life, and when the acoustic demo of Tucker’s 25-year-old hit record surfaces, and Annie writes a harshly critical review, the rocker himself comes out of hiding to praise her insight – and talk second chances for all involved.
Peretz directs from a screenplay by Evgenia Peretz and Jim Taylor & Tamara Jenkins,...
- 6/29/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Andrew Heckler's Burden won the audience award for best narrative feature at the 23rd annual Nantucket Film Festival. The awards, unveiled today as the five-day festival wrapped, saw Jesse Peretz's Juliet, Naked, written by Evgenia Peretz, Jim Taylor and Tamara Jenkins, take home the runner-up prize.
Dava Whisenant's Bathtubs Over Broadway won the best documentary feature award, while Rudy Valdez’s The Sentence was named the runner-up. Irene Taylor Brodsky’s Homeless: The Soundtrack was awarded best short film, and Randall Christopher’s The Driver Is Red is the runner-up.
In addition, Nff revealed its Best of Fest selections, special repeat screenings determined ...
Dava Whisenant's Bathtubs Over Broadway won the best documentary feature award, while Rudy Valdez’s The Sentence was named the runner-up. Irene Taylor Brodsky’s Homeless: The Soundtrack was awarded best short film, and Randall Christopher’s The Driver Is Red is the runner-up.
In addition, Nff revealed its Best of Fest selections, special repeat screenings determined ...
- 6/25/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Andrew Heckler's Burden won the audience award for best narrative feature at the 23rd annual Nantucket Film Festival. The awards, unveiled today as the five-day festival wrapped, saw Jesse Peretz's Juliet, Naked, written by Evgenia Peretz, Jim Taylor and Tamara Jenkins, take home the runner-up prize.
Dava Whisenant's Bathtubs Over Broadway won the best documentary feature award, while Rudy Valdez’s The Sentence was named the runner-up. Irene Taylor Brodsky’s Homeless: The Soundtrack was awarded best short film, and Randall Christopher’s The Driver Is Red is the runner-up.
In addition, Nff revealed its Best of Fest selections, special repeat screenings determined ...
Dava Whisenant's Bathtubs Over Broadway won the best documentary feature award, while Rudy Valdez’s The Sentence was named the runner-up. Irene Taylor Brodsky’s Homeless: The Soundtrack was awarded best short film, and Randall Christopher’s The Driver Is Red is the runner-up.
In addition, Nff revealed its Best of Fest selections, special repeat screenings determined ...
- 6/25/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have picked up U.S. rights to the Sundance comedy Juliet, Naked, starring Rose Byrne and Chris O'Dowd.
The Jesse Peretz-directed feature, which also stars Ethan Hawke, follows Annie (Byrne), who is stuck in a long-term relationship with Duncan (O’Dowd), a huge fan of obscure rock musician Tucker Crowe (Hawke). When the acoustic demo of Crowe’s hit record from 25 years ago surfaces, its release leads to a life-changing encounter with the elusive rocker himself.
Tamara Jenkins, Jim Taylor and Evgenia Peretz adapted the screenplay from Nick Hornby’s best-selling novel of the same name.
Judd Apatow produced...
The Jesse Peretz-directed feature, which also stars Ethan Hawke, follows Annie (Byrne), who is stuck in a long-term relationship with Duncan (O’Dowd), a huge fan of obscure rock musician Tucker Crowe (Hawke). When the acoustic demo of Crowe’s hit record from 25 years ago surfaces, its release leads to a life-changing encounter with the elusive rocker himself.
Tamara Jenkins, Jim Taylor and Evgenia Peretz adapted the screenplay from Nick Hornby’s best-selling novel of the same name.
Judd Apatow produced...
- 2/3/2018
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Partners plan summer release for Sundance entry.
Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have picked up Us rights to Juliet, Naked starring Ethan Hawke, Rose Byrne and Chris O’Dowd.
Jesse Peretz’s rom-com is based on the book by Nick Hornby about a woman whose long-term boyfriend obsesses over an obscure rocker until a chance encounter leads to a life-changing event.
Rocket Science handles international sales. Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa produced with Barry Mendel, Judd Apatow and Jeffrey Soros. Executive producers are Simon Horsman, Hornby, Thorsten Schumacher, and Patrick Murray.
Tamara Jenkins and Jim Taylor, and Evgenia Peretz adapted Hornby’s book.
Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions brokered the deal with Los Angeles Media Fund on behalf of the filmmakers.
The distributors plan a summer release following the recent world premiere in Sundance, where Juliet, Naked debuted in the Premieres section.
Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have picked up Us rights to Juliet, Naked starring Ethan Hawke, Rose Byrne and Chris O’Dowd.
Jesse Peretz’s rom-com is based on the book by Nick Hornby about a woman whose long-term boyfriend obsesses over an obscure rocker until a chance encounter leads to a life-changing event.
Rocket Science handles international sales. Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa produced with Barry Mendel, Judd Apatow and Jeffrey Soros. Executive producers are Simon Horsman, Hornby, Thorsten Schumacher, and Patrick Murray.
Tamara Jenkins and Jim Taylor, and Evgenia Peretz adapted Hornby’s book.
Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions brokered the deal with Los Angeles Media Fund on behalf of the filmmakers.
The distributors plan a summer release following the recent world premiere in Sundance, where Juliet, Naked debuted in the Premieres section.
- 2/2/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
What if Troy Dyer from Reality Bites put out one, cult sad sack album in the 90s and then disappeared? Such is the spark of Juliet, Naked, a nifty crowd-pleasing three-hander from Jesse Peretz, based on the Nick Hornby novel of the same name. The forever charming Rose Byrne stars as Annie, a forty-ish woman living in a solitary seaside town in England with her boyfriend Duncan (Chris O’Dowd), a teacher who’s obsessed with recluse musician Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke). In fact, Duncan runs a fan site for and populated by fellow Crowe obsessives, all fantasizing and mythologizing on potential shelved masterpieces, wayward gossip, and countless interpretations of his sole album Juliet.
When Duncan is gifted with a demo entitled Juliet, Naked, featuring raw recordings of the same old tracks, an annoyed Annie retaliates with a negative comment on Duncan’s website. Her words prompt a positive reaction from Crowe himself,...
When Duncan is gifted with a demo entitled Juliet, Naked, featuring raw recordings of the same old tracks, an annoyed Annie retaliates with a negative comment on Duncan’s website. Her words prompt a positive reaction from Crowe himself,...
- 1/22/2018
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
Rose McGowan is back in the headlines this week thanks to a Vanity Fair interview that teases one of the chapters from her upcoming memoir, “Brave.” In the chapter, the actress writes about the alleged “mind games” Robert Rodriguez played on her during the making of “Planet Terror.” McGowan had told the director about being raped by Harvey Weinstein at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, and she writes that he used that knowledge against her by filming a scene in which she is attacked by a man and selling the film to the Weinstein-owned Dimension Films.
Read More:Rose McGowan: Robert Rodriguez Filmed ‘Planet Terror’ Abuse Scene After She Told Him About Harvey Weinstein Rape
Rodriguez has issued a statement denying ever playing mind games with McGowan and listing some of the inaccuracies in her story. The director calls out Vanity Fair reporter Evgenia Peretz for not reaching out to him...
Read More:Rose McGowan: Robert Rodriguez Filmed ‘Planet Terror’ Abuse Scene After She Told Him About Harvey Weinstein Rape
Rodriguez has issued a statement denying ever playing mind games with McGowan and listing some of the inaccuracies in her story. The director calls out Vanity Fair reporter Evgenia Peretz for not reaching out to him...
- 1/4/2018
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Robert Rodriguez denies using Rose McGowan’s traumatic experiences with Harvey Weinstein as “a tool for mind games” while directing her in “Grindhouse.” The accusation appeared in an excerpt from her upcoming memoir printed in Vanity Fair on Wednesday in which the actress said she “fell hard and fast” Rodriguez, but that she later saw the sale of “Planet Terror” to the Weinstein-owned Dimension Films as the ultimate act of cruelty and said Rodriguez “sold our film to my monster.” In his response to TheWrap regarding the article, Rodriguez said: “It is unfortunate that Vanity Fair reporter Evgenia Peretz did...
- 1/4/2018
- by Debbie Emery and Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
Rose McGowan was one of the first women to come forward with allegations of sexual assault against now disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein last year, breaking her agreement to keep quiet and accusing him of rape.
And now, the actress — who has established herself as one of the most outspoken and prominent voices in the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct — is opening up about the toll those decades of silence took on her life.
In an interview with Vanity Fair published Tuesday, McGowan, 44, says her alleged experience with Weinstein, 65, split her life into “B.C. and “A.D.” compartments. “Part...
And now, the actress — who has established herself as one of the most outspoken and prominent voices in the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct — is opening up about the toll those decades of silence took on her life.
In an interview with Vanity Fair published Tuesday, McGowan, 44, says her alleged experience with Weinstein, 65, split her life into “B.C. and “A.D.” compartments. “Part...
- 1/3/2018
- by Dave Quinn
- PEOPLE.com
Ten months after the Sundance Film Festival debut of Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” — which terrified and delighted festgoers at a secret screening last January, en route to a $250- million worldwide box office and growing award season haul — festival director John Cooper and head programmer Trevor Groth talked to IndieWire about their process for finding films for Sundance’s 39th installment (January 18-28) with similar breakout potential, even if the 2018 Sundance slate is less sprawling than its predecessor (104 films vs. 113, culled from 29 countries).
Read More:Sundance 2018 Competition Lineup Boasts New Films from Paul Dano, Reed Morano, Idris Elba, Ethan Hawke, and More
Here’s our breakdown of this year’s thematic trends and hot buys.
African-American stories
“We saw a real increase in [stories told from] the unique perspective and experience of African-American males in American society right now,” said Cooper, citing four of the 16 films in 2018’s U.S. Dramatic Competition alone: “Monster,...
Read More:Sundance 2018 Competition Lineup Boasts New Films from Paul Dano, Reed Morano, Idris Elba, Ethan Hawke, and More
Here’s our breakdown of this year’s thematic trends and hot buys.
African-American stories
“We saw a real increase in [stories told from] the unique perspective and experience of African-American males in American society right now,” said Cooper, citing four of the 16 films in 2018’s U.S. Dramatic Competition alone: “Monster,...
- 11/29/2017
- by Anne Thompson and Jenna Marotta
- Thompson on Hollywood
Ten months after the Sundance Film Festival debut of Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” — which terrified and delighted festgoers at a secret screening last January, en route to a $250- million worldwide box office and growing award season haul — festival director John Cooper and head programmer Trevor Groth talked to IndieWire about their process for finding films for Sundance’s 39th installment (January 18-28) with similar breakout potential, even if the 2018 Sundance slate is less sprawling than its predecessor (104 films vs. 113, culled from 29 countries).
Read More:Sundance 2018 Competition Lineup Boasts New Films from Paul Dano, Reed Morano, Idris Elba, Ethan Hawke, and More
Here’s our breakdown of this year’s thematic trends and hot buys.
African-American stories
“We saw a real increase in [stories told from] the unique perspective and experience of African-American males in American society right now,” said Cooper, citing four of the 16 films in 2018’s U.S. Dramatic Competition alone: “Monster,...
Read More:Sundance 2018 Competition Lineup Boasts New Films from Paul Dano, Reed Morano, Idris Elba, Ethan Hawke, and More
Here’s our breakdown of this year’s thematic trends and hot buys.
African-American stories
“We saw a real increase in [stories told from] the unique perspective and experience of African-American males in American society right now,” said Cooper, citing four of the 16 films in 2018’s U.S. Dramatic Competition alone: “Monster,...
- 11/29/2017
- by Anne Thompson and Jenna Marotta
- Indiewire
Keen to make films about subjects many would avoid, the film star and activist is as likely to be found discussing the Khmer Rouge, subject of her new film, as featuring in glamour magazines
The meeting with Angelina Jolie was going so well. The Vanity Fair reporter Evgenia Peretz was welcomed into the “11,000 square foot beaux arts mansion” in Los Feliz, which the 42-year-old actress and her six children acquired after her divorce last year from Brad Pitt.
Peretz marvelled at the “rolling lawns, lush trees”, the kitchen “worthy of a Nancy Meyers movie”, the “charming grey library with a library ladder”. When the interview hit the stands in July, however, it prompted an outcry from Team Jolie and controversy over comments she made about the casting process behind her latest film.
Continue reading...
The meeting with Angelina Jolie was going so well. The Vanity Fair reporter Evgenia Peretz was welcomed into the “11,000 square foot beaux arts mansion” in Los Feliz, which the 42-year-old actress and her six children acquired after her divorce last year from Brad Pitt.
Peretz marvelled at the “rolling lawns, lush trees”, the kitchen “worthy of a Nancy Meyers movie”, the “charming grey library with a library ladder”. When the interview hit the stands in July, however, it prompted an outcry from Team Jolie and controversy over comments she made about the casting process behind her latest film.
Continue reading...
- 9/16/2017
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
Jolie’s lawyers have claimed a recent Vanity Fair interview was misinterpreted but it’s not the first time an actor’s representative has denied the veracity of a journalist’s transcript
It’s hard not to feel a stab of sympathy for Evgenia Peretz, contributing editor at Vanity Fair, who recently fell prey to journalism’s equivalent of the plague of frogs or the storm of locusts – an act of God so outlandish that many are inclined to dismiss it as a myth. One moment Peretz is round at Angelina Jolie’s gaff, sitting amid the “soft creamy-white furnishings” and listening as Jolie (luminous skin; an “ethereal wood nymph”) bangs on at length about her latest movie project. The next, disaster. The celebrity appears to break cover and say something of genuine interest. And that, of course, is where the real nightmare begins.
I say “appears” because, at the time of writing,...
It’s hard not to feel a stab of sympathy for Evgenia Peretz, contributing editor at Vanity Fair, who recently fell prey to journalism’s equivalent of the plague of frogs or the storm of locusts – an act of God so outlandish that many are inclined to dismiss it as a myth. One moment Peretz is round at Angelina Jolie’s gaff, sitting amid the “soft creamy-white furnishings” and listening as Jolie (luminous skin; an “ethereal wood nymph”) bangs on at length about her latest movie project. The next, disaster. The celebrity appears to break cover and say something of genuine interest. And that, of course, is where the real nightmare begins.
I say “appears” because, at the time of writing,...
- 8/10/2017
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
A Vanity Fair cover story about Angelina Jolie’s post-divorce life and new film resulted in controversy for the actress and the publication. Specifically, there was a passage in the profile, which was written by Vf contributing editor Evgenia Peretz, that appeared to describe an unusual and uncomfortable audition process for child actors in Jolie’s First They Killed My Father. The project is an adaptation of Loung Ung’s memoir about the Khmer Rouge genocide, which is weighty stuff for any actor to deal with, let alone a child. Jolie described the process of finding someone to play a young Ung, which she first referred to as a “game” involving asking the kids to pretend to steal money, then lie when they got caught.
The idea of putting impoverished kids through that, even as a hypothetical, hasn’t sat well with many readers. Jolie and her crew have been...
The idea of putting impoverished kids through that, even as a hypothetical, hasn’t sat well with many readers. Jolie and her crew have been...
- 8/4/2017
- by Danette Chavez
- avclub.com
Update, 4:20 Pm: Vanity Fair said that it is standing by contributing editor Evgenia Peretz’s cover story last week on Angelina Jolie, a story Jolie says unfairly depicted the casting process for her new Netflix film First They Killed My Father as potentially cruel to children. The magazine, which published the story July 26, wrote today it was asked earlier this week by Jolie’s lawyer to remove a section of the feature claiming casting directors for the film placed…...
- 8/3/2017
- Deadline
Vanity Fair isn't taking Angelina Jolie's claim that a part of her recent tell-all is "false and upsetting" lightly.
On Sunday, Jolie refuted an excerpt from the magazine's September cover story that depicted a "disturbing" audition process for her upcoming Netflix film about Cambodia, First They Killed My Father. The Vanity Fair story described an alleged "game" with impoverished children from "orphanages, circuses, and slum schools" set up by casting directors in order to find the lead for the film to play young Loung Ung. The excerpt reads: "They put money on the table and asked the child to think of something she needed the money for, and then to snatch it away. The director would pretend to catch the child, and the child would have to come up with a lie."
Jolie released a statement to Et, which in part read, "I am upset that a pretend exercise in an improvisation, from an actual...
On Sunday, Jolie refuted an excerpt from the magazine's September cover story that depicted a "disturbing" audition process for her upcoming Netflix film about Cambodia, First They Killed My Father. The Vanity Fair story described an alleged "game" with impoverished children from "orphanages, circuses, and slum schools" set up by casting directors in order to find the lead for the film to play young Loung Ung. The excerpt reads: "They put money on the table and asked the child to think of something she needed the money for, and then to snatch it away. The director would pretend to catch the child, and the child would have to come up with a lie."
Jolie released a statement to Et, which in part read, "I am upset that a pretend exercise in an improvisation, from an actual...
- 8/3/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
Vanity Fair stands by a story that contends that Angelina Jolie asked poor children to imagine themselves snatching money they desperately needed to audition for her film “First They Killed My Father.” In an unsigned statement, the magazine said its employees had reviewed the audiotape of contributing editor Evgenia Peretz’s interview with Angelina Jolie for a September cover story, and that the magazine “stands by Peretz’s story as published.” Jolie objected to the portrayal.
The feature, “A Life in Bold,” details a casting process that critics have called “monstrous” and “sickening.
The feature, “A Life in Bold,” details a casting process that critics have called “monstrous” and “sickening.
- 8/3/2017
- by Ashley Boucher
- The Wrap
Angelina Jolie is refuting an excerpt in her recent Vanity Fair tell-all that depicts a "disturbing" audition process for her upcoming Netflix Cambodian film, First They Killed My Father.
The Vanity Fair cover story explains an alleged "game" with impoverished children from "orphanages, circuses, and slum schools" set up by casting directors in order to find the lead for the film to play young Loung Ung. The excerpt reads: "They put money on the table and asked the child to think of something she needed the money for, and then to snatch it away. The director would pretend to catch the child, and the child would have to come up with a lie."
Related: Angelina Jolie's 13 Biggest 'Vanity Fair' Revelations: From 'Bad' Brad Pitt Problems to Crying in the Shower
Critics immediately spoke out about the casting strategy, some calling it emotionally abusive, sickening, monstrous and cruel.
Jolie, who directed the film, released a statement...
The Vanity Fair cover story explains an alleged "game" with impoverished children from "orphanages, circuses, and slum schools" set up by casting directors in order to find the lead for the film to play young Loung Ung. The excerpt reads: "They put money on the table and asked the child to think of something she needed the money for, and then to snatch it away. The director would pretend to catch the child, and the child would have to come up with a lie."
Related: Angelina Jolie's 13 Biggest 'Vanity Fair' Revelations: From 'Bad' Brad Pitt Problems to Crying in the Shower
Critics immediately spoke out about the casting strategy, some calling it emotionally abusive, sickening, monstrous and cruel.
Jolie, who directed the film, released a statement...
- 7/30/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
Angelina Jolie is disputing Vanity Fair's depiction of how children were treated in Cambodia during auditions for her upcoming film adaptation First They Killed My Father. After the magazine reported that casting directors were playing a game "rather disturbing in its realism" with potential child actors, Jolie responded saying that the story did not clearly describe what was a "pretend exercise in an improvisation."
Vanity Fair contributing editor Evgenia Peretz wrote that casting directors played a game in which they placed money in front of children and asked them to think of something they needed it for, and...
Vanity Fair contributing editor Evgenia Peretz wrote that casting directors played a game in which they placed money in front of children and asked them to think of something they needed it for, and...
- 7/30/2017
- by Arlene Washington
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Angelina Jolie may own one of L.A.’s most stunning and storied homes, the former Cecil B. DeMille mansion, but the actress admits, she doesn’t know the first thing about decorating the place.
Design “was always Brad’s thing,” Jolie, 42, tells Vanity Fair in her September cover story. Her new home, an 11,000-square-foot mansion in Los Angeles with 6 bedrooms and 10 baths, was furnished in part by a set-decorator friend. The living room is outfitted with two cozy white sofas and several large throw pillows. “I didn’t even know I needed throw pillows,” Jolie admits.
Related: Angelina Jolie...
Design “was always Brad’s thing,” Jolie, 42, tells Vanity Fair in her September cover story. Her new home, an 11,000-square-foot mansion in Los Angeles with 6 bedrooms and 10 baths, was furnished in part by a set-decorator friend. The living room is outfitted with two cozy white sofas and several large throw pillows. “I didn’t even know I needed throw pillows,” Jolie admits.
Related: Angelina Jolie...
- 7/26/2017
- by Mackenzie Schmidt
- PEOPLE.com
Exclusive: Film starring Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke begins UK shoot.
Four new cast members have been announced for the upcoming Nick Hornby adaptation Juliet, Naked.
Joining Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O’Dowd in the cast are Azhy Robertson (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, pictured top, far left), Lily Brazier (People Just Do Nothing, middle right), Ayoola Smart (Vera, middle left) and stand-up comedian and Silicon Valley star Jimmy O. Yang (far right).
The project, directed by Jesse Peretz, has started filming on location in London and the south-east coast of the UK.
International sales are being handled by London based sales company Rocket Science.
Byrne plays Annie, who is stuck in long-term relationship with Duncan (O’Dowd) - an obsessive fan of obscure rocker Tucker Crowe (Hawke). When the acoustic demo of Tucker’s hit record from 25 years ago surfaces, its release leads to a life-changing encounter with the elusive rocker himself.
Robertson plays Tucker...
Four new cast members have been announced for the upcoming Nick Hornby adaptation Juliet, Naked.
Joining Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke and Chris O’Dowd in the cast are Azhy Robertson (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, pictured top, far left), Lily Brazier (People Just Do Nothing, middle right), Ayoola Smart (Vera, middle left) and stand-up comedian and Silicon Valley star Jimmy O. Yang (far right).
The project, directed by Jesse Peretz, has started filming on location in London and the south-east coast of the UK.
International sales are being handled by London based sales company Rocket Science.
Byrne plays Annie, who is stuck in long-term relationship with Duncan (O’Dowd) - an obsessive fan of obscure rocker Tucker Crowe (Hawke). When the acoustic demo of Tucker’s hit record from 25 years ago surfaces, its release leads to a life-changing encounter with the elusive rocker himself.
Robertson plays Tucker...
- 7/17/2017
- by orlando.parfitt@screendaily.com (Orlando Parfitt)
- ScreenDaily
Casting for Jesse Peretz’s Juliet, Naked movie is well underway, and Deadline reports that the adaptation has set sights on Ethan Hawke, Rose Byrne and Irish actor Chris O’Dowd to fill out key roles in the preliminary cast.
A big-screen take on Nick Hornby’s eponymous best-seller, it’s understood Tamara Jenkins (The Savages) and Jim Taylor (Sideways) have been elected to pen the adaptation, with revisions by Phil Alden Robinson and Evgenia Peretz. It’s got all the hallmarks of an ensemble dramedy, too, with the official snippet teeing up a “heartwarming romantic comedy about love and life’s second chances and follows the story of long-suffering Annie (Byrne), her music obsessed boyfriend Duncan (O’Dowd), and music star Tucker Crowe (Hawke), the object of Duncan’s obsession.”
Even from the fleeting logline alone, it’s not too difficult to see why Juliet, Naked is oft compared...
A big-screen take on Nick Hornby’s eponymous best-seller, it’s understood Tamara Jenkins (The Savages) and Jim Taylor (Sideways) have been elected to pen the adaptation, with revisions by Phil Alden Robinson and Evgenia Peretz. It’s got all the hallmarks of an ensemble dramedy, too, with the official snippet teeing up a “heartwarming romantic comedy about love and life’s second chances and follows the story of long-suffering Annie (Byrne), her music obsessed boyfriend Duncan (O’Dowd), and music star Tucker Crowe (Hawke), the object of Duncan’s obsession.”
Even from the fleeting logline alone, it’s not too difficult to see why Juliet, Naked is oft compared...
- 10/21/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
Exclusive: Ethan Hawke, Rose Byrne and Chris O'Dowd are in talks to star in a big-screen adaptation of Nick Hornby's bestselling novel Juliet, Naked. Tamara Jenkins, who wrote The Savages, and Sideways writer Jim Taylor have adapted the script from Hornby's book, with revisions by Phil Alden Robinson and Evgenia Peretz. Jesse Peretz (My Idiot Brother) is attached to direct. Judd Apatow and Barry Mendel, who worked with Byrne and O'Dowd on the hit film Bridesmaids, are…...
- 10/21/2016
- Deadline
The Final Six
Sony has scored the movie rights to Alexandra Monir's upcoming space thriller novel "The Final Six," a deal made even though only the book proposal and a few chapters were available - in fact the book's publishing rights are about to go up for auction.
The story imagines a present-day world under a first-of-its-kind coalition between the United Nations and the international space agencies, with a plot to send a team of six intrepid teenagers to create the first human settlement on Jupiter's moon, Europa. [Source: Variety]
Deadpool
Following the news about its massive success on Digital HD, Fox has released the full six-minute gag reel for the "Deadpool" film and - understandably - is definitely not safe for work.
Juliet Naked
Jesse Peretz has closed a deal to direct "Juliet, Naked" based on the best-selling novel by "Brooklyn" and "About a Boy" author Nick Hornby. Tamara Jenkins, Jim Taylor,...
Sony has scored the movie rights to Alexandra Monir's upcoming space thriller novel "The Final Six," a deal made even though only the book proposal and a few chapters were available - in fact the book's publishing rights are about to go up for auction.
The story imagines a present-day world under a first-of-its-kind coalition between the United Nations and the international space agencies, with a plot to send a team of six intrepid teenagers to create the first human settlement on Jupiter's moon, Europa. [Source: Variety]
Deadpool
Following the news about its massive success on Digital HD, Fox has released the full six-minute gag reel for the "Deadpool" film and - understandably - is definitely not safe for work.
Juliet Naked
Jesse Peretz has closed a deal to direct "Juliet, Naked" based on the best-selling novel by "Brooklyn" and "About a Boy" author Nick Hornby. Tamara Jenkins, Jim Taylor,...
- 5/6/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
The director of Our Idiot Brother will direct Juliet, Naked based on the Nick Hornby novel in a project backed by Jeffrey Soros and Simon Horsman’s fledgling producer-financier Los Angeles Media Fund (Lamf).
Judd Apatow, Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Barry Mendel and Soros are the executive producers on the story of a woman who forms a long-distance romance with a singer whom her boyfriend idolises.
Tamara Jenkins and spouse Jim Taylor – Alexander Payne’s screenwriting partner on films such as Sideways and About Schmidt – wrote the screenplay with revisions by Phil Alden Robinson and Evgenia Peretz.
Lamf was launched in September 2014 to make films across a range of genres budgeted up to $50m.
It is co-financing and co-producing with Stx The Space Between Us starring Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Carla Gugino, and Britt Robertson, and supernatural horror The Bye Bye Man.
Lamf is also in post on the Jim Carrey-starrer True Crimes, which it co-produces...
Judd Apatow, Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Barry Mendel and Soros are the executive producers on the story of a woman who forms a long-distance romance with a singer whom her boyfriend idolises.
Tamara Jenkins and spouse Jim Taylor – Alexander Payne’s screenwriting partner on films such as Sideways and About Schmidt – wrote the screenplay with revisions by Phil Alden Robinson and Evgenia Peretz.
Lamf was launched in September 2014 to make films across a range of genres budgeted up to $50m.
It is co-financing and co-producing with Stx The Space Between Us starring Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Carla Gugino, and Britt Robertson, and supernatural horror The Bye Bye Man.
Lamf is also in post on the Jim Carrey-starrer True Crimes, which it co-produces...
- 5/6/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
It's Sunday afternoon, or: your last chance to read all that stuff you meant to read last week before Monday brings a new deluge of things you will want to read. Below, some of our recommendations: "The Making of Azealia Banks," by Zach Baron (Spin): The Harlem native on moving to L.A., disassociating herself from "the rap game," and what — if anything — it means to be famous at 21 years old. "Animal Collective," by Mark Richardson (Pitchfork): The band sits down for a pre-Centipede Hz release interview about growing up and moving to Mars. "Angel on Horseback," by Evgenia Peretz (Vanity Fair): The Help's breakout star on her busy 2011 — she acted in six films, including Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life — her tendency to tear up, and her return to the theater. "Amish fiction: Put a bonnet on it," by Deborah Kennedy (Salon): Move aside E.L. James,...
- 9/2/2012
- by Caroline Bankoff,Andre Tartar
- Vulture
Anchor Bay Entertainment and The Weinstein Company will release the Blu-ray™ and DVD of the “outrageous” comedy, Our Idiot Brother in the U.S. on November 29th. We have two copies of the DVD and the soundtrack to give way to our U.S. readers.
From the producers behind Little Miss Sunshine and starring Paul Rudd (I Love You, Man) in the title role, Our Idiot Brother is a comedy about an idealist who barges into the lives of his three sisters, played by Elizabeth Banks (W.), Zooey Deschanel ((500) Days of Summer) and Emily Mortimer (City Island), along with Rashida Jones (TV’s “The Office”), and funnyman Steve Coogan (Tropic Thunder). Directed by Jesse Peretz, with screenplay by Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall (story by Evgenia Perez and David Schisgall and Jesse Peretz), Our Idiot Brother heads to retail on November 29, 2011 for an Srp of $39.99 for the Blu-ray™ and $29.98 for the DVD.
From the producers behind Little Miss Sunshine and starring Paul Rudd (I Love You, Man) in the title role, Our Idiot Brother is a comedy about an idealist who barges into the lives of his three sisters, played by Elizabeth Banks (W.), Zooey Deschanel ((500) Days of Summer) and Emily Mortimer (City Island), along with Rashida Jones (TV’s “The Office”), and funnyman Steve Coogan (Tropic Thunder). Directed by Jesse Peretz, with screenplay by Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall (story by Evgenia Perez and David Schisgall and Jesse Peretz), Our Idiot Brother heads to retail on November 29, 2011 for an Srp of $39.99 for the Blu-ray™ and $29.98 for the DVD.
- 11/17/2011
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
The Help helped themselves to a second serving. The Help was Number One at the box office for the second weekend in a row with $14.3 Million. Colombiana premiered in Second Place with $10.3 Million. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark premiered in Third Place with $8.6 Million. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was Fourth with $8.6 Million for 148.4 Million so far. Our Idiot Brother premiered in Fifth Place with $6.5 Million. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, The Smurfs, Conan the Barbarian, Fright Night, and Crazy, Stupid, Love. rounded out the top ten respectively.
Colombiana is an American and French action film directed by Olivier Megaton. The film stars Zoe Saldana and Michael Vartan.
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is a 2011 American horror film written by Matthew Robbins and Guillermo del Toro and directed by comic book artist Troy Nixey. The film stars Katie Holmes, Bailee Madison,...
Colombiana is an American and French action film directed by Olivier Megaton. The film stars Zoe Saldana and Michael Vartan.
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is a 2011 American horror film written by Matthew Robbins and Guillermo del Toro and directed by comic book artist Troy Nixey. The film stars Katie Holmes, Bailee Madison,...
- 8/29/2011
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
Paul Rudd brings wide-eyed charm to Our Idiot Brother, a simple yet enjoyable comedy with a sterling cast. Here’s Ron’s review…
Ned (Paul Rudd) is an organic farmer who sells vegetables at a market somewhere in Upstate New York. When he's not selling green veggies, he's selling green of a different kind – smokeable green, if you will. When Ned falls for a cop's sob story and sells the officer some swede with a side of hippie lettuce, Ned finds himself going up the river for eight long months.
Of course, Ned, as we soon find out, is a model prisoner and a wonderful person, so he gets out early on good behaviour, only to find out that his girlfriend Janet (Kathryn Hahn) has dumped him and shacked up with another hippie (Billy, played by Tj Miller), and now Ned is on his own.
Well, kind of. You see,...
Ned (Paul Rudd) is an organic farmer who sells vegetables at a market somewhere in Upstate New York. When he's not selling green veggies, he's selling green of a different kind – smokeable green, if you will. When Ned falls for a cop's sob story and sells the officer some swede with a side of hippie lettuce, Ned finds himself going up the river for eight long months.
Of course, Ned, as we soon find out, is a model prisoner and a wonderful person, so he gets out early on good behaviour, only to find out that his girlfriend Janet (Kathryn Hahn) has dumped him and shacked up with another hippie (Billy, played by Tj Miller), and now Ned is on his own.
Well, kind of. You see,...
- 8/29/2011
- Den of Geek
Chicago – Advertised deceptively as a comedy, the new film “My Idiot Brother” has a Zen-like quality that is surprising, and oddly captivating, but cannot sustain itself and eventually runs out of steam. Paul Rudd plays the brother to three errant sisters, portrayed by Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel and Emily Mortimer.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
This is more of a slice-of-life than a laugh out loud comedy, but the elements of the absurd post-millennial life of the characters does contribute to knowing chuckles and reflections about the truth that families often hide. In that sense the film attempts redemption, but the story shifts to provide a happy ending that leaves the characters wanting for more, including the Idiot Brother.
Ned (Rudd) practices organic agriculture and happily plies his trade at a local East Coast farmer’s market. He is a kind, trusting presence in all the lives he touches, even selling pot to a...
Rating: 3.0/5.0
This is more of a slice-of-life than a laugh out loud comedy, but the elements of the absurd post-millennial life of the characters does contribute to knowing chuckles and reflections about the truth that families often hide. In that sense the film attempts redemption, but the story shifts to provide a happy ending that leaves the characters wanting for more, including the Idiot Brother.
Ned (Rudd) practices organic agriculture and happily plies his trade at a local East Coast farmer’s market. He is a kind, trusting presence in all the lives he touches, even selling pot to a...
- 8/27/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Our Idiot Brother is equally a typical dysfunctional family film and a heartwarming comedy. Not an easy combination for any flick, but because of its star -- Paul Rudd -- it actually works more than it does not.
Rudd shines, as usual, as Ned, the only boy in a family full of sisters. Elizabeth Banks is Miranda, an uptight journalist willing to sell her soul for a big break. Meanwhile, Zooey Deschanel is Natalie, a stand-up comedienne with questionable talent and Emily Mortimer stars as Liz, a mother of two whose husband is less than honest.
The family dynamic is top notch and as anyone with siblings can attest, it possesses as much loving as loathing. This should be hardly a surprise given the fact that director Jesse Peretz turned to his sister Evgenia Peretz to write the script with David Schisgall.
The supporting cast too is game for the...
Rudd shines, as usual, as Ned, the only boy in a family full of sisters. Elizabeth Banks is Miranda, an uptight journalist willing to sell her soul for a big break. Meanwhile, Zooey Deschanel is Natalie, a stand-up comedienne with questionable talent and Emily Mortimer stars as Liz, a mother of two whose husband is less than honest.
The family dynamic is top notch and as anyone with siblings can attest, it possesses as much loving as loathing. This should be hardly a surprise given the fact that director Jesse Peretz turned to his sister Evgenia Peretz to write the script with David Schisgall.
The supporting cast too is game for the...
- 8/26/2011
- by webmaster@moviefanatic.com (Movie Fanatic Staff)
- Reel Movie News
I wanted to consider Our Idiot Brother as this summer's best comedy. However, the film doesn't use its dramatic moments.
Ned (Paul Rudd) just got kicked out by his wife (Kathryn Hahn) after he got arrested for drug trafficking. Because he has nowhere to go, one of his three sisters, Liz (Emily Mortimer), welcomes Ned to her home. Obviously, Liz, who is a married mom of two children, would like her other two sisters, Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), to take turns when it comes to offering a shelter to Ned.
Miranda is a journalist for Variety, a real-life magazine specialized on show business, and Natalie is a fledgling comedienne who still performs in cabarets. At first, the three sisters stand Ned. Despite his good intentions, when Ned starts to spill out some of his sisters' secrets, things go awry. For instance, he revealed to Miranda that her...
Ned (Paul Rudd) just got kicked out by his wife (Kathryn Hahn) after he got arrested for drug trafficking. Because he has nowhere to go, one of his three sisters, Liz (Emily Mortimer), welcomes Ned to her home. Obviously, Liz, who is a married mom of two children, would like her other two sisters, Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), to take turns when it comes to offering a shelter to Ned.
Miranda is a journalist for Variety, a real-life magazine specialized on show business, and Natalie is a fledgling comedienne who still performs in cabarets. At first, the three sisters stand Ned. Despite his good intentions, when Ned starts to spill out some of his sisters' secrets, things go awry. For instance, he revealed to Miranda that her...
- 8/26/2011
- by noreply@blogger.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Paul Rudd, in the title role, walks away with much of the critics' praise in this ensemble comedy.
By Terri Schwartz
Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks in "Our Idiot Brother"
Photo: Big Beach Films
Even with strong performances from the ensemble cast in "Our Idiot Brother," the Sundance darling is being heralded as Paul Rudd's movie. Reviews for the comedy, which opened on Friday (August 25), are heralding Rudd's turn as one of the best of his career. And although the response has been generally positive, critics did take issue with some of the other idiotic parts of the movie.
Some found the script's approach to the characters too formulaic: Rudd's character might be an idiot, but he is actually a commendable guy when compared to his three jaded sisters, his hippie ex-girlfriend and his wine-drinking mother. Others thought the movie was a bit unconvincing despite its well-meaning message. Still,...
By Terri Schwartz
Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks in "Our Idiot Brother"
Photo: Big Beach Films
Even with strong performances from the ensemble cast in "Our Idiot Brother," the Sundance darling is being heralded as Paul Rudd's movie. Reviews for the comedy, which opened on Friday (August 25), are heralding Rudd's turn as one of the best of his career. And although the response has been generally positive, critics did take issue with some of the other idiotic parts of the movie.
Some found the script's approach to the characters too formulaic: Rudd's character might be an idiot, but he is actually a commendable guy when compared to his three jaded sisters, his hippie ex-girlfriend and his wine-drinking mother. Others thought the movie was a bit unconvincing despite its well-meaning message. Still,...
- 8/26/2011
- MTV Movie News
Paul Rudd, in the title role, walks away with much of the critics' praise in this ensemble comedy.
By Terri Schwartz
Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks in "Our Idiot Brother"
Photo: Big Beach Films
Even with strong performances from the ensemble cast in "Our Idiot Brother," the Sundance darling is being heralded as Paul Rudd's movie. Reviews for the comedy, which opened on Friday (August 25), are heralding Rudd's turn as one of the best of his career. And although the response has been generally positive, critics did take issue with some of the other idiotic parts of the movie.
Some found the script's approach to the characters too formulaic: Rudd's character might be an idiot, but he is actually a commendable guy when compared to his three jaded sisters, his hippie ex-girlfriend and his wine-drinking mother. Others thought the movie was a bit unconvincing despite its well-meaning message. Still,...
By Terri Schwartz
Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks in "Our Idiot Brother"
Photo: Big Beach Films
Even with strong performances from the ensemble cast in "Our Idiot Brother," the Sundance darling is being heralded as Paul Rudd's movie. Reviews for the comedy, which opened on Friday (August 25), are heralding Rudd's turn as one of the best of his career. And although the response has been generally positive, critics did take issue with some of the other idiotic parts of the movie.
Some found the script's approach to the characters too formulaic: Rudd's character might be an idiot, but he is actually a commendable guy when compared to his three jaded sisters, his hippie ex-girlfriend and his wine-drinking mother. Others thought the movie was a bit unconvincing despite its well-meaning message. Still,...
- 8/26/2011
- MTV Music News
The Weinstein Co. released a red band trailer for the upcoming comedy “Our Idiot Brother” after ABC refused to broadcast green trailer for the film unless it makes certain cuts. The original trailer is already airing on several channels. “We’d like to dedicate our new red band trailer for ‘Our Idiot Brother’ to censorship everywhere. Enjoy!” said Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of the company. Here is the official synopsis: Everybody has one. The sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz, Miranda and Natalie, that person is their perennially upbeat brother Ned, an erstwhile organic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty of mankind is a less-than-optimum strategy for a tidy, trouble-free existence. Ned may be utterly lacking in common sense, but he is their brother and so, after his girlfriend dumps him and boots him off the farm,...
- 8/26/2011
- LRMonline.com
Our Idiot Brother
Written by David Schisgall and Evgenia Peretz
Directed by Jesse Peretz
USA, 2011
When is an indie not an indie? According to the Independent Spirit Awards, all it takes is a budget that falls short of the $20-million mark to qualify for that status, but while you’re watching something like Our Idiot Brother ($5 million, in case you were wondering), the distinction can seem meaningless. Here’s a movie that, while intermittently amusing, feels just as test-marketed, assembled by committee, and carefully calibrated for easy consumption as any Hollywood contemporary – just aimed at a slightly more “discerning” crowd.
Paul Rudd stars as the titular figure, a bearded, pathologically agreeable pseudo-hippie named Ned, who winds up in jail for a spell after selling pot to a uniformed policeman. Following his release, his three sisters – Miranda (Elizabeth Banks), Liz (Emily Mortimer) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel) – react with differing levels of weariness.
Written by David Schisgall and Evgenia Peretz
Directed by Jesse Peretz
USA, 2011
When is an indie not an indie? According to the Independent Spirit Awards, all it takes is a budget that falls short of the $20-million mark to qualify for that status, but while you’re watching something like Our Idiot Brother ($5 million, in case you were wondering), the distinction can seem meaningless. Here’s a movie that, while intermittently amusing, feels just as test-marketed, assembled by committee, and carefully calibrated for easy consumption as any Hollywood contemporary – just aimed at a slightly more “discerning” crowd.
Paul Rudd stars as the titular figure, a bearded, pathologically agreeable pseudo-hippie named Ned, who winds up in jail for a spell after selling pot to a uniformed policeman. Following his release, his three sisters – Miranda (Elizabeth Banks), Liz (Emily Mortimer) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel) – react with differing levels of weariness.
- 8/26/2011
- by Simon Howell
- SoundOnSight
Jesse Peretz's Our Idiot Brother is a feel-good movie for people who resist feel-good movies, a flawed vessel that nonetheless stays afloat by clinging to its buoyant star, Paul Rudd. Its problems are numerous and apparent: The picture meanders listlessly, and in the end it's really more of a character sketch than a comedy -- the movie's writers, David Schisgall and Evgenia Peretz (the director's sister), haven't really bothered much with a plot. Yet I came out of Our Idiot Brother feeling better than I did when I went in. It's the kind of movie whose value lies between the lines, not directly on them, and if the pleasures it offers are slender ones, at least there's something good-hearted about them.
- 8/25/2011
- Movieline
Paul Rudd was joined by his "Our Idiot Brother" director Jesse Peretz (center) and co-star Hugh Dancy (right) last night at an outdoor screening of the comedy, which hits theaters this Friday. The event, hosted by The Cinema Society and Altoids with Grey Goose, was held at 1 MiMA Tower in Manhattan. Attendees included: Steve Coogan, Alexia Rasmussen (cast), Matthew Mindler (cast), Evgenia Peretz (co-writer), Peter Saraf (producer), David Glasser ...
- 8/23/2011
- Indiewire
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Like a great shining beacon of hope in the Mean-Spirited Comedy Summer of 2011, Our Idiot Brother boasts a heartfelt message delivered through Paul Rudd’s unfiltered, socially retarded but almost preternaturally good-hearted Ned. Director Jesse Peretz (who also directed Rudd in The Ex and 2001’s little-seen The Château), working from a screenplay by Evgenia Peretz and her husband David Schisgall, delivers a breezily paced comedy enlivened by a top-notch “indie” cast. With only a clichéd third act to run down the film’s merits, Brother deserves much praise for taking the road not traveled and avoiding glorifying an ego-driven, potty-mouthed protagonist.
Ned is, for all involved, something of an idiot savant who’s neither idiotic nor particularly learned, rather just out of touch with the fast-paced lives of his three very different sisters. When Ned’s moral code lands him in jail after selling pot to a uniformed officer,...
Like a great shining beacon of hope in the Mean-Spirited Comedy Summer of 2011, Our Idiot Brother boasts a heartfelt message delivered through Paul Rudd’s unfiltered, socially retarded but almost preternaturally good-hearted Ned. Director Jesse Peretz (who also directed Rudd in The Ex and 2001’s little-seen The Château), working from a screenplay by Evgenia Peretz and her husband David Schisgall, delivers a breezily paced comedy enlivened by a top-notch “indie” cast. With only a clichéd third act to run down the film’s merits, Brother deserves much praise for taking the road not traveled and avoiding glorifying an ego-driven, potty-mouthed protagonist.
Ned is, for all involved, something of an idiot savant who’s neither idiotic nor particularly learned, rather just out of touch with the fast-paced lives of his three very different sisters. When Ned’s moral code lands him in jail after selling pot to a uniformed officer,...
- 8/23/2011
- by Mark Zhuravsky
- Obsessed with Film
See new clips from Our Idiot Brother starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Steve Coogan, Hugh Dancy, Kathryn Hahn and Rashida Jones. Jesse Peretz directs from the writing by David Schisgall and Evgenia Peretz. Also in the cast of the Weinstein Co release which opens August 26th are Shirley Knight, T.J. Miller, Adam Scott, Janet Montgomery, Sterling K. Brown and Matthew Mindler. Every family has one: the sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz (Emily Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), that person is their perennially upbeat brother Ned (Paul Rudd), an erstwhile organic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty of mankind is a less-than-optimum...
- 8/8/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
See new clips from Our Idiot Brother starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Steve Coogan, Hugh Dancy, Kathryn Hahn and Rashida Jones. Jesse Peretz directs from the writing by David Schisgall and Evgenia Peretz. Also in the cast of the Weinstein Co release which opens August 26th are Shirley Knight, T.J. Miller, Adam Scott, Janet Montgomery, Sterling K. Brown and Matthew Mindler. Every family has one: the sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz (Emily Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), that person is their perennially upbeat brother Ned (Paul Rudd), an erstwhile organic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty of mankind is a less-than-optimum...
- 8/8/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
See new clips from Our Idiot Brother starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Steve Coogan, Hugh Dancy, Kathryn Hahn and Rashida Jones. Jesse Peretz directs from the writing by David Schisgall and Evgenia Peretz. Also in the cast of the Weinstein Co release which opens August 26th are Shirley Knight, T.J. Miller, Adam Scott, Janet Montgomery, Sterling K. Brown and Matthew Mindler. Every family has one: the sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz (Emily Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), that person is their perennially upbeat brother Ned (Paul Rudd), an erstwhile organic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty of mankind is a less-than-optimum...
- 8/8/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
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