Exclusive: Vertical has acquired North American rights for Lola, written, directed by, and starring Nicola Peltz Beckham (Transformers: Age of Extinction). Marking Peltz Beckham’s directorial debut, the film also stars Virginia Madsen (Sideways), Trevor Long (Ozark), Luke David Blumm (Where the Crawdads Sing), Raven Goodwin (Smilf), Richie Merritt (Euphoria), and Will Peltz (The List).
Vertical has slated the film for a day & date release on February 9, 2024.
Set in 2002 Middle America, Lola revolves around nineteen-year-old Lola James (Peltz Beckham) who is desperately working to save enough money to get her little brother, Arlo (Luke David Blumm), out of their toxic home dominated by their mother, Mona (Madsen). All Lola wants is for Arlo to have a chance at the life she never had, nor will. One tragic night her whole world gets uprooted, and from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same.
Filmmaker and star Peltz Beckham stated,...
Vertical has slated the film for a day & date release on February 9, 2024.
Set in 2002 Middle America, Lola revolves around nineteen-year-old Lola James (Peltz Beckham) who is desperately working to save enough money to get her little brother, Arlo (Luke David Blumm), out of their toxic home dominated by their mother, Mona (Madsen). All Lola wants is for Arlo to have a chance at the life she never had, nor will. One tragic night her whole world gets uprooted, and from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same.
Filmmaker and star Peltz Beckham stated,...
- 12/1/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Mario Van Peebles has set his latest film “The Price for Freedom,” which tells the story of civil rights pioneers and NAACP organizers Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore, who were instrumental in advancing the cause for Black voters in Florida.
The Moores’ story is described as “equal parts civil rights history and a personal tale of love, commitment and family,” as it chronicles the activists’ fight for voting rights and the equalization of pay for Black teachers in Florida, as well as their battle against racial violence and lynching.
After opening 64 chapters of the NAACP in the state and registering hundreds of thousands of Black voters, the Moores were murdered on Dec. 25, 1951, when a bomb exploded directly under their bedroom at their home on the outskirts of Mims, Fla.
“It was their attempted defense alongside the young Thurgood Marshall (destined to become the first Black Supreme Court justice) of the ‘Groveland Four,...
The Moores’ story is described as “equal parts civil rights history and a personal tale of love, commitment and family,” as it chronicles the activists’ fight for voting rights and the equalization of pay for Black teachers in Florida, as well as their battle against racial violence and lynching.
After opening 64 chapters of the NAACP in the state and registering hundreds of thousands of Black voters, the Moores were murdered on Dec. 25, 1951, when a bomb exploded directly under their bedroom at their home on the outskirts of Mims, Fla.
“It was their attempted defense alongside the young Thurgood Marshall (destined to become the first Black Supreme Court justice) of the ‘Groveland Four,...
- 11/30/2023
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
Newly expanded advisor roster spans filmmaking disciplines.
Projects from South Africa, China and Turkey are among 10 selected for the 2020 Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs, which have been reconfigured as a digital event amid the pandemic lockdown.
The event will take place on Sundance Co//ab and as always is designed to connect selected filmmaker Fellows with creative advisors and industry mentors across multiple disciplines.
The Directors Lab runs from June 1-19 when filmmakers will participate in a schedule of advisor presentations, scene analysis sessions, directing exercises, one-on-one meetings, and inaugural conversations across a wide range of industry disciplines, including casting,...
Projects from South Africa, China and Turkey are among 10 selected for the 2020 Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs, which have been reconfigured as a digital event amid the pandemic lockdown.
The event will take place on Sundance Co//ab and as always is designed to connect selected filmmaker Fellows with creative advisors and industry mentors across multiple disciplines.
The Directors Lab runs from June 1-19 when filmmakers will participate in a schedule of advisor presentations, scene analysis sessions, directing exercises, one-on-one meetings, and inaugural conversations across a wide range of industry disciplines, including casting,...
- 5/28/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Rachel and Finn have a big moment together. Plus, New Directions get closer to picking their set list for Regionals.
The April 18 episode of Glee focused on dreams, the theme for this year’s Regionals, as Rachel (Lea Michele) prepares for the role of her dreams.
5 Highlights From This Week’s Episode Of ‘Glee’:
1. Finn (Cory Monteith) enrolls himself at the University of Lima, where he’s studying to become a teacher. With Puck (Mark Salling) as his roommate, the boys party in their dorm, and slip-n-slide in the hallway. Plus, their singing chops get them automatically inducted into the biggest fraternity on campus. No need for hazing — pass go and collect $200! After Finn misses another test, Puck (of all people) has a talk with his best friend and tells him that he’s going to do everything he can to ensure that Finn works hard and fulfills his dream of becoming a teaching.
The April 18 episode of Glee focused on dreams, the theme for this year’s Regionals, as Rachel (Lea Michele) prepares for the role of her dreams.
5 Highlights From This Week’s Episode Of ‘Glee’:
1. Finn (Cory Monteith) enrolls himself at the University of Lima, where he’s studying to become a teacher. With Puck (Mark Salling) as his roommate, the boys party in their dorm, and slip-n-slide in the hallway. Plus, their singing chops get them automatically inducted into the biggest fraternity on campus. No need for hazing — pass go and collect $200! After Finn misses another test, Puck (of all people) has a talk with his best friend and tells him that he’s going to do everything he can to ensure that Finn works hard and fulfills his dream of becoming a teaching.
- 4/19/2013
- by Christopher Rogers
- HollywoodLife
Oscar® nominees Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton star in Joyful Noise, a funny and inspirational story of music, hope, love and renewal.
The small town of Pacashau, Georgia, has fallen on hard times, but the people are counting on the Divinity Church Choir to lift their spirits by winning the National Joyful Noise Competition. The choir has always known how to sing in harmony, but the discord between its two leading ladies now threatens to tear them apart. Their newly appointed director, Vi Rose Hill (Latifah), stubbornly wants to stick with their tried-and-true traditional style, while the fiery G.G. Sparrow (Parton) thinks tried-and-true translates to tired-and-old.Shaking things up even more is the arrival of G.G..s rebellious grandson, Randy (Jeremy Jordan). Randy has an ear for music, but he also has an eye for Vi Rose.s beautiful and talented daughter, Olivia (Keke Palmer), and the sparks...
The small town of Pacashau, Georgia, has fallen on hard times, but the people are counting on the Divinity Church Choir to lift their spirits by winning the National Joyful Noise Competition. The choir has always known how to sing in harmony, but the discord between its two leading ladies now threatens to tear them apart. Their newly appointed director, Vi Rose Hill (Latifah), stubbornly wants to stick with their tried-and-true traditional style, while the fiery G.G. Sparrow (Parton) thinks tried-and-true translates to tired-and-old.Shaking things up even more is the arrival of G.G..s rebellious grandson, Randy (Jeremy Jordan). Randy has an ear for music, but he also has an eye for Vi Rose.s beautiful and talented daughter, Olivia (Keke Palmer), and the sparks...
- 12/22/2011
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Tim Boland and Sam Retzer have written the score for the dance film sequel Honey 2. The film is directed by Bille Woodruff who also directed the first part. The movie’s cast includes Katerina Graham (The Vampire Diaries), Randy Wayne, Audrina Patridge, Melissa Molinaro and Lonette McKee who is reprising her role from the first part. The original Honey from 2003 starring Jessica Alba featured a score by Mervyn Warren. Boland and Retzer’s best known film scoring credit is the 2007 street dancing hit movie Stomp the Yard. Honey 2 also features numerous songs from artists including Estelle, La Roux and Far East Movement. The movie is coming out this weekend in the UK and will be opening theatrically in other European countries throughout the summer. A release on Blu-Ray and DVD is expected later this summer in the Us.
- 6/12/2011
- by filmmusicreporter
- Film Music Reporter
Mervyn Warren is set to score the gospel-choir comedy Joyful Noise. The film centers on an unlikely partnership between two strong-minded women who are forced to work together to save a small town gospel choir after budget cuts threaten to shut them down. The movie stars Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Kris Kristofferson, Courtney B. Vance and Jesse L. Martin. Todd Graff (Bandslam, Camp) is writing and directing the film. Warren has already been working on the Alcon Entertainment production for several months, as he is also arranging and producing about a dozen songs for the film and he will next be starting to write the orchestral score. The project will be the first major feature scoring assignment in a while for the composer who has scored such films as The Wedding Planner, A Walk to Remember and Honey. Warner Bros has set a January 12, 2012 release date for Joyful Noise.
- 5/19/2011
- by filmmusicreporter
- Film Music Reporter
Michael Buckner/Wireimage The future Sheryl Crow envisioned for herself only a few short years ago was nothing out of the ordinary: a house, a husband, and a family. However, when the songstress realized that her path in life had taken an unexpected turn, she was more than happy to work with the cards she had been dealt. “I had to let go of this picture I’d always painted about my life,” she reveals in the October issue of Health magazine.
Intent on having children, Sheryl was undeterred by her single status; She began the journey to expand her family through adoption.
Intent on having children, Sheryl was undeterred by her single status; She began the journey to expand her family through adoption.
- 9/27/2009
- by Anya
- People - CelebrityBabies
Donny Osmond's nephew has auditioned for the eighth series of American Idol. David Osmond competed in the penultimate round of auditions in Salt Lake City, Utah. The 28-year-old is the son of Alan Osmond, the oldest of the singing Osmonds, and currently performs in the musical group Osmonds 2nd Generation. Before singing 'Something Within Me' by Take 6, he revealed to the judges that he suffers from (more)...
- 1/30/2009
- by By Lara Martin
- Digital Spy
Nominees of 2009 Naacp Image Awards for its recording category have been announced on January 7 in Los Angeles. From the announcement, it is revealed that Jennifer Hudson leads the pack with six nods and Beyonce Knowles follows with five counts.
Topping the music list, Jennifer competes with Anthony David, Estelle, Jazmine Sullivan and Leona Lewis in "Outstanding New Artist". She meanwhile lands her self-titled debut album in a stiff competition with Beyonce's "I Am...Sasha Fierce", Kanye West's "808's & Heartbreak", Ne-Yo's "Year of the Gentleman" and Seal's "Soul" in "Outstanding Album".
On the other hand, Beyonce has to face off Jennifer in three other categories; "Outstanding Female Artist", "Outstanding Song" and "Outstanding Music Video" in addition to her battle with Jennifer in "Outstanding Album". She gets her two videos for singles "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" competing with Alicia Keys' "Superwoman", will.
Topping the music list, Jennifer competes with Anthony David, Estelle, Jazmine Sullivan and Leona Lewis in "Outstanding New Artist". She meanwhile lands her self-titled debut album in a stiff competition with Beyonce's "I Am...Sasha Fierce", Kanye West's "808's & Heartbreak", Ne-Yo's "Year of the Gentleman" and Seal's "Soul" in "Outstanding Album".
On the other hand, Beyonce has to face off Jennifer in three other categories; "Outstanding Female Artist", "Outstanding Song" and "Outstanding Music Video" in addition to her battle with Jennifer in "Outstanding Album". She gets her two videos for singles "If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" competing with Alicia Keys' "Superwoman", will.
- 1/8/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
The Naacp has announced it's 40th Annual Image Awards nominations. In the film category, Cadillac Records, The Secret Life of Bees, Miracle at St. Anna, Seven Pounds and Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys" have been nominated.
The TV network with the most nominations? ABC with 24 total!
The awards night will be televised on Fox, Feb. 12 from the Shrine Auditorium.
Click Read More to see the complete list of nominees:
Television Categories
Comedy Series
"30 Rock" (NBC)
"Everybody Hates Chris" (CW)
"The Game" (CW)
"Tyler Perry.s House of Payne" (TBS)
"Ugly Betty" (ABC)
Actor in a Comedy Series
Donald Faison - "Scrubs" (NBC)
Lavan Davis - "Tyler Perry.s House of Payne" (TBS)
Paul James - "Greek" (ABC Family)
Terry Crews - "Everybody Hates Chris" (CW)
Tyler James Williams - "Everybody Hates Chris" (CW)
Actress in a Comedy Series
America Ferrera -...
The TV network with the most nominations? ABC with 24 total!
The awards night will be televised on Fox, Feb. 12 from the Shrine Auditorium.
Click Read More to see the complete list of nominees:
Television Categories
Comedy Series
"30 Rock" (NBC)
"Everybody Hates Chris" (CW)
"The Game" (CW)
"Tyler Perry.s House of Payne" (TBS)
"Ugly Betty" (ABC)
Actor in a Comedy Series
Donald Faison - "Scrubs" (NBC)
Lavan Davis - "Tyler Perry.s House of Payne" (TBS)
Paul James - "Greek" (ABC Family)
Terry Crews - "Everybody Hates Chris" (CW)
Tyler James Williams - "Everybody Hates Chris" (CW)
Actress in a Comedy Series
America Ferrera -...
- 1/7/2009
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Sundance Film Festival
PARK CITY -- The first network television movie to be screened at Sundance, A Raisin in the Sun never totally transcends its origins on the stage and it's a long way from cutting edge cinema. But those who can relax into the leisurely pace and lush language will be rewarded with an earnest and moving night at the movies. After its late February airing on ABC, film should have a long shelf life in schools and on home video.
Adapted from Lorraine Hansberry's groundbreaking 1959 play and powered by the high-profile cast -- Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Sanaa Lathan and Audra MacDonald -- from the acclaimed 2004 Broadway revival, A Raisin in the Sun is a throwback to an earlier era of theater and race relations. But what's remarkable is that Hansberry's wit and vitality, the work of a 27-year-old playwright, still feels alive and relevant today.
This is American kitchen-sink drama, engaged and socially conscious, where every line has a purpose. It's the story of the Younger family set in the Southside of Chicago in the early 1950s. Hansberry was prescient enough to see that black history was at a turning point in this country and she was able to create a play that captured the changing aspirations of a new generation.
The dream of freedom, the ultimate goal for people like the matriarch of the family Lena Younger (Rashad), has been replaced by the pursuit of the American Dream by her son Walter (Combs). A chauffeur for a rich white family, he feels like he's missing out on his big chance, and he is not going to take it lying down.
While Walter chases his piece of the pie, his sister Beneatha (Sanaa Lathan) represents another strain of the black experience. She feels she can be whatever she wants to be, and that alternately includes an actor, a Nigerian dancer, an artist and a doctor. As her mother puts it, "I've seen butterflies do less flitting." As Beneatha spreads her wings to find herself, Hansberry delivers a touch of feminism before its time.
Hovering over the household is the ghost of Walter's father, and more specifically, his $10,000 life insurance check that is due any day. Walter wants to use the money to buy a bar with his none-to-bright friend Bobo (Bill Nunn), which makes them ripe patsies for another emerging type of black man -- the worldly hustler.
Lena is bitterly opposed to Walter's business venture and uses some of the money to put a down payment on a house in an all-white neighborhood where the family is destined to be unwelcome. What's at stake here is nothing less than the soul and the future of the black people as Hansberry sees it. It's a battleground to be sure and it plays out largely in the two-room Younger apartment.
Director Kenny Leon, who also helmed the show on Broadway, attempts to open up the action, drawing on Paris Qualles' screenplay, which in turn is adapted from a TV version of the original play by Hansberry herself. The staging remains a bit creaky and theatrical and the local saloon or the street life in front of the apartment still seems more like a set than a real place.
But that almost seems beside the point. None of this diminishes the spirit of the play or the cast's commitment to the material, which almost seems palpable. As he did on stage, Leon gets the most out of his actors and with Hansberry's words, that's what carries the film. Rashad beautifully captures the wounded pride and hopes of the older generation, while the rapper and music entrepreneur Combs holds his own in his first major movie role. Balanced between her mother-in-law's idealism and her husband's pragmatism is Walter's wife Ruth, who may be getting the worst of both worlds. MacDonald gives the role a heartbreaking dimension.
Befitting the television production it is, the music by Mervyn Warren is a bit too insistent and visual elements are straightforward without being distinguished. But as old-fashioned as it may be, it's still a provocative, powerful piece of work. In hindsight, one can only watch the Younger family set out for greener (or whiter) pastures and see the turmoil and violence of the '60s just around the corner.
A RAISIN IN THE SUN
ABC World Premiere Movie Event
A Storyline Entertainment and Bad Boy World Wide Entertainment Group production in association with Sony Pictures Television
Credits:
Director: Kenny Leon
Writer: Paris Qualles, based on the play by Lorraine Hansberry
Producer: John M. Eckert
Executive producers: Sean Combs, Carl Rumbaugh, Susan Batson, David Binder, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron
Director of cinematography: Ivan Strasburg
Production designer: Karen Bromley
Music: Mervyn Warren
Costumes: Gersha Phillips
Editor: Melissa Kent
Cast:
Walter Lee Jr.: Sean Combs
Beneatha Younger: Sanaa Lathan
Ruth Younger: Audra McDonald
Lena Younger: Phylicia Rashad
Travis Younger: Justin Martin
Bobo: Bill Nunn
Asagai: David Oyelowo
Willy: Ron Cephas Jones
George: Sean Patrick Thomas
Karl Linder: John Stamos
Running time -- 131 minutes
No MPPA rating...
PARK CITY -- The first network television movie to be screened at Sundance, A Raisin in the Sun never totally transcends its origins on the stage and it's a long way from cutting edge cinema. But those who can relax into the leisurely pace and lush language will be rewarded with an earnest and moving night at the movies. After its late February airing on ABC, film should have a long shelf life in schools and on home video.
Adapted from Lorraine Hansberry's groundbreaking 1959 play and powered by the high-profile cast -- Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Sanaa Lathan and Audra MacDonald -- from the acclaimed 2004 Broadway revival, A Raisin in the Sun is a throwback to an earlier era of theater and race relations. But what's remarkable is that Hansberry's wit and vitality, the work of a 27-year-old playwright, still feels alive and relevant today.
This is American kitchen-sink drama, engaged and socially conscious, where every line has a purpose. It's the story of the Younger family set in the Southside of Chicago in the early 1950s. Hansberry was prescient enough to see that black history was at a turning point in this country and she was able to create a play that captured the changing aspirations of a new generation.
The dream of freedom, the ultimate goal for people like the matriarch of the family Lena Younger (Rashad), has been replaced by the pursuit of the American Dream by her son Walter (Combs). A chauffeur for a rich white family, he feels like he's missing out on his big chance, and he is not going to take it lying down.
While Walter chases his piece of the pie, his sister Beneatha (Sanaa Lathan) represents another strain of the black experience. She feels she can be whatever she wants to be, and that alternately includes an actor, a Nigerian dancer, an artist and a doctor. As her mother puts it, "I've seen butterflies do less flitting." As Beneatha spreads her wings to find herself, Hansberry delivers a touch of feminism before its time.
Hovering over the household is the ghost of Walter's father, and more specifically, his $10,000 life insurance check that is due any day. Walter wants to use the money to buy a bar with his none-to-bright friend Bobo (Bill Nunn), which makes them ripe patsies for another emerging type of black man -- the worldly hustler.
Lena is bitterly opposed to Walter's business venture and uses some of the money to put a down payment on a house in an all-white neighborhood where the family is destined to be unwelcome. What's at stake here is nothing less than the soul and the future of the black people as Hansberry sees it. It's a battleground to be sure and it plays out largely in the two-room Younger apartment.
Director Kenny Leon, who also helmed the show on Broadway, attempts to open up the action, drawing on Paris Qualles' screenplay, which in turn is adapted from a TV version of the original play by Hansberry herself. The staging remains a bit creaky and theatrical and the local saloon or the street life in front of the apartment still seems more like a set than a real place.
But that almost seems beside the point. None of this diminishes the spirit of the play or the cast's commitment to the material, which almost seems palpable. As he did on stage, Leon gets the most out of his actors and with Hansberry's words, that's what carries the film. Rashad beautifully captures the wounded pride and hopes of the older generation, while the rapper and music entrepreneur Combs holds his own in his first major movie role. Balanced between her mother-in-law's idealism and her husband's pragmatism is Walter's wife Ruth, who may be getting the worst of both worlds. MacDonald gives the role a heartbreaking dimension.
Befitting the television production it is, the music by Mervyn Warren is a bit too insistent and visual elements are straightforward without being distinguished. But as old-fashioned as it may be, it's still a provocative, powerful piece of work. In hindsight, one can only watch the Younger family set out for greener (or whiter) pastures and see the turmoil and violence of the '60s just around the corner.
A RAISIN IN THE SUN
ABC World Premiere Movie Event
A Storyline Entertainment and Bad Boy World Wide Entertainment Group production in association with Sony Pictures Television
Credits:
Director: Kenny Leon
Writer: Paris Qualles, based on the play by Lorraine Hansberry
Producer: John M. Eckert
Executive producers: Sean Combs, Carl Rumbaugh, Susan Batson, David Binder, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron
Director of cinematography: Ivan Strasburg
Production designer: Karen Bromley
Music: Mervyn Warren
Costumes: Gersha Phillips
Editor: Melissa Kent
Cast:
Walter Lee Jr.: Sean Combs
Beneatha Younger: Sanaa Lathan
Ruth Younger: Audra McDonald
Lena Younger: Phylicia Rashad
Travis Younger: Justin Martin
Bobo: Bill Nunn
Asagai: David Oyelowo
Willy: Ron Cephas Jones
George: Sean Patrick Thomas
Karl Linder: John Stamos
Running time -- 131 minutes
No MPPA rating...
"Living Out Loud" should be living large for New Line Cinema. An edgy, thoughtful and very funny relationship film from Jersey Films, it stars Holly Hunter and Danny DeVito in wonderful performances. Mature audiences who want more from a film than chases and explosions will delight in the vital human story.
Written and directed by Richard LaGravenese, the film stars Hunter as Judith Nelson, a 40-ish, Upper East Side woman who has just divorced her husband (Martin Donovan), an accomplished cardiologist whose conjugal life was not governed by notions of merely the heart. Post-marriage life is a lonely abyss for Judith, who takes to tipping back straight-up martinis and haunting a black jazz club. She feels isolated, bingeing on junk food and becoming increasingly estranged from and agitated by the world outside her cushy condo.
Living in June's world but hardly part of it is Pat (DeVito), a faceless schlub who toils as the doorman in her tony condo. Pat has similar problems of loneliness: His longtime wife has thrown him out, and his beloved daughter is terminally ill. Compounding Pat's plight is his gambling problem, which reduces him to living on his successful brother's (Richard Schiff) couch and enduring all sorts of unsolicited life advice.
In essence, Judith and Pat have no personal identity: She has long since abandoned her childhood friends, and he has burned too many bridges with elusive dreams and petty schemes. While LaGravenese's screenplay wobbles at times in trying to bring the unlikely lovers together and is a tad overwritten in its thematics, it's a brilliant work -- funny, sad and magical. Look for end-of-year screenwriting honors for LaGravenese.
Hunter's performance as a woman who has lost herself is fantastic. Her sinewy energy mixes with almost pathetic vulnerability. DeVito's performance will surprise many for his capacity to play a romantic character. His feisty demeanor is coated with an undeniable charm and likability.
Queen Latifah brings forth one of the best supporting performances of the year as a sultry songstress who has learned to settle for less. Her effervescent presence and scrumptious rendition of some jazz classics bring vibrant dimension to the movie. Pencil her in for year-end honors in the supporting actress category.
First-time director LaGravenese's visuals are a bit stiff, but his work with the actors is laudable. Adding luster is the movie's delectable score, courtesy of George Fenton. Highest praise also to executive music producer Anita Camarata and song producer Mervyn Warren for bringing us a true musical treat.
LIVING OUT LOUD
New Line Cinema
A Jersey Films production
Producers: Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg,
Stacey Sher
Screenwriter-director: Richard LaGravenese
Co-producer: Eric McLeod
Director of photography: John Bailey
Production designer: Nelson Coates
Editors: Jon Gregory, Lynzee Klingman
Costume designer: Jeffrey Kurland
Music: George Fenton
Song producer: Mervyn Warren
Executive music producer: Anita Camarata
Casting: Margery Simkin
Color/stereo
Cast:
Judith Nelson: Holly Hunter
Pat: Danny DeVito
Liz Bailey: Queen Latifah
Bob Nelson: Martin Donovan
Philly: Richard Schiff
The Kisser: Elias Koteas
Mary: Suzanne Shepherd
Donna: Mariangela Pino
The Masseur: Eddie Cibrian
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Written and directed by Richard LaGravenese, the film stars Hunter as Judith Nelson, a 40-ish, Upper East Side woman who has just divorced her husband (Martin Donovan), an accomplished cardiologist whose conjugal life was not governed by notions of merely the heart. Post-marriage life is a lonely abyss for Judith, who takes to tipping back straight-up martinis and haunting a black jazz club. She feels isolated, bingeing on junk food and becoming increasingly estranged from and agitated by the world outside her cushy condo.
Living in June's world but hardly part of it is Pat (DeVito), a faceless schlub who toils as the doorman in her tony condo. Pat has similar problems of loneliness: His longtime wife has thrown him out, and his beloved daughter is terminally ill. Compounding Pat's plight is his gambling problem, which reduces him to living on his successful brother's (Richard Schiff) couch and enduring all sorts of unsolicited life advice.
In essence, Judith and Pat have no personal identity: She has long since abandoned her childhood friends, and he has burned too many bridges with elusive dreams and petty schemes. While LaGravenese's screenplay wobbles at times in trying to bring the unlikely lovers together and is a tad overwritten in its thematics, it's a brilliant work -- funny, sad and magical. Look for end-of-year screenwriting honors for LaGravenese.
Hunter's performance as a woman who has lost herself is fantastic. Her sinewy energy mixes with almost pathetic vulnerability. DeVito's performance will surprise many for his capacity to play a romantic character. His feisty demeanor is coated with an undeniable charm and likability.
Queen Latifah brings forth one of the best supporting performances of the year as a sultry songstress who has learned to settle for less. Her effervescent presence and scrumptious rendition of some jazz classics bring vibrant dimension to the movie. Pencil her in for year-end honors in the supporting actress category.
First-time director LaGravenese's visuals are a bit stiff, but his work with the actors is laudable. Adding luster is the movie's delectable score, courtesy of George Fenton. Highest praise also to executive music producer Anita Camarata and song producer Mervyn Warren for bringing us a true musical treat.
LIVING OUT LOUD
New Line Cinema
A Jersey Films production
Producers: Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg,
Stacey Sher
Screenwriter-director: Richard LaGravenese
Co-producer: Eric McLeod
Director of photography: John Bailey
Production designer: Nelson Coates
Editors: Jon Gregory, Lynzee Klingman
Costume designer: Jeffrey Kurland
Music: George Fenton
Song producer: Mervyn Warren
Executive music producer: Anita Camarata
Casting: Margery Simkin
Color/stereo
Cast:
Judith Nelson: Holly Hunter
Pat: Danny DeVito
Liz Bailey: Queen Latifah
Bob Nelson: Martin Donovan
Philly: Richard Schiff
The Kisser: Elias Koteas
Mary: Suzanne Shepherd
Donna: Mariangela Pino
The Masseur: Eddie Cibrian
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 9/16/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Every time the Preacher hits a rocky patch in his sermon, the Preacher's wife cranks up the choir to uplift his ramblings. So too does the rousing gospel singing of Whitney Houston lift up "The Preacher's Wife" when it hits some story flat notes and dull patches. Starring Houston and Denzel Washington, this holiday-time fantasy will surely warm viewers' hearts and fill up boxoffice stockings despite its patchy narrative.
Based on the 1947 film "The Bishop's Wife", this Buena Vista release of a Samuel Goldwyn Jr. production is an old-style, family fantasy chilled over with the hard realities of contemporary urban life. In this '90s rendition, Houston stars as a choir-singing preacher's wife, Julia, whose marriage to her husband, Henry (Courtney B. Vance) has become stale. The sparks that once kindled between them have now been doused by Henry's workaholic tendencies. The Preacher is a good man, to a fault. By taking on all the woes of his parish, he has not only unwittingly neglected his wife and son Justin Pierre Edmund), but in the process, has become less effective as a minister. In a moment of desperate candor, the Preacher prays for help and, lo and behold, it arrives in the form of an angel, a dapper, gray-coated gent named Dudley (Washington). Although appreciating that God works in mysterious ways, the Preacher is skeptical about the viability of so charismatic and smooth-talking an angel.
What Dudley brings that is most valuable to the Preacher's household is his luminous smile and good-hearted intentions. He soon becomes a hit with the kid, and Mom, of course, notices. Verily, she sparks to his good works. The movie is at its most fun and most magical in the scenes between Washington and Houston as the effervescent Angel brings the good wife out of her day-to-day doldrums.
It's hard not to root for them to get together and somehow lose the stuffy hubby. Houston and Washington are a radiant screen couple and when paired on the screen, the story sizzles.
Screenwriters Nat Mauldin and Allan Scott's updating of Robert E. Sherwood and Leonardo Bercovici's "The Bishop's Wife" script is episodically structured as Dudley assists the Preacher and his wife in their personal and parishional woes, sometimes pulling a few angelic tricks out of his overcoat's sleeve. Eventually, the story kicks into a solid dramatic gear in a battle between the Preacher and a slick developer (Gregory Hines) over saving the church. The film's narrative here is similar to that of a musical, serving mainly as a line to string together Houston's glorious gospel singing.
Although the pacing sometimes drags, director Penny Marshall has nicely colored the production with a number of offbeat human moments. Marshall's direction is particularly strong in her work with the supporting players. As the minister of drudge, Vance is well-cast.
The supporting cast -- credit to casting director Paula Herold -- brings life and energy to the production. Particularly entertaining are Jenifer Lewis as the preacher's sassy mother-in-law and Loretta Devine as his lively secretary.
THE PREACHER'S WIFE
Buena Vista Releasing
Buena Vista, Touchstone Pictures
and the Samuel Goldwyn Co. present
A Samuel Goldwyn Jr. production
In association with Parkway Prods.
and Mundy Lane Entertainment
A Penny Marshall film
Producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr.
Director Penny Marshall
Screenwriters Nat Mauldin, Allan Scott
Based on "The Bishop's Wife" screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood, Leonardo Bercovici
Executive producers Robert Greenhut,
Elliot Abbott
Co-producers Debra Martin Chase,
Amy Lemisch, Timothy M. Bourne
Director of photography Miroslav Ondricek
Production designer Bill Groom
Editor Stephen A. Rotter, George Bowers
Costume designer Cynthia Flynt
Music Hans Zimmer
Casting Paula Herold
Gospel music producers Mervyn Warren,
Whitney Houston
Associate producer Bonnie Hlinomaz
Sound mixer Les Lazarowitz
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dudley Denzel Washington
Julia Biggs Whitney Houston
Henry Biggs Courtney B. Vance
Joe Hamilton Gregory Hines
Marguerite Coleman Jenifer Lewis
Beverly Loretta Devine
Jeremiah Biggs Justin Pierre Edmund
Britsloe Lionel Richie
Saul Jeffreys Paul Bates
Osbert Lex Monson
Running time -- 125 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Based on the 1947 film "The Bishop's Wife", this Buena Vista release of a Samuel Goldwyn Jr. production is an old-style, family fantasy chilled over with the hard realities of contemporary urban life. In this '90s rendition, Houston stars as a choir-singing preacher's wife, Julia, whose marriage to her husband, Henry (Courtney B. Vance) has become stale. The sparks that once kindled between them have now been doused by Henry's workaholic tendencies. The Preacher is a good man, to a fault. By taking on all the woes of his parish, he has not only unwittingly neglected his wife and son Justin Pierre Edmund), but in the process, has become less effective as a minister. In a moment of desperate candor, the Preacher prays for help and, lo and behold, it arrives in the form of an angel, a dapper, gray-coated gent named Dudley (Washington). Although appreciating that God works in mysterious ways, the Preacher is skeptical about the viability of so charismatic and smooth-talking an angel.
What Dudley brings that is most valuable to the Preacher's household is his luminous smile and good-hearted intentions. He soon becomes a hit with the kid, and Mom, of course, notices. Verily, she sparks to his good works. The movie is at its most fun and most magical in the scenes between Washington and Houston as the effervescent Angel brings the good wife out of her day-to-day doldrums.
It's hard not to root for them to get together and somehow lose the stuffy hubby. Houston and Washington are a radiant screen couple and when paired on the screen, the story sizzles.
Screenwriters Nat Mauldin and Allan Scott's updating of Robert E. Sherwood and Leonardo Bercovici's "The Bishop's Wife" script is episodically structured as Dudley assists the Preacher and his wife in their personal and parishional woes, sometimes pulling a few angelic tricks out of his overcoat's sleeve. Eventually, the story kicks into a solid dramatic gear in a battle between the Preacher and a slick developer (Gregory Hines) over saving the church. The film's narrative here is similar to that of a musical, serving mainly as a line to string together Houston's glorious gospel singing.
Although the pacing sometimes drags, director Penny Marshall has nicely colored the production with a number of offbeat human moments. Marshall's direction is particularly strong in her work with the supporting players. As the minister of drudge, Vance is well-cast.
The supporting cast -- credit to casting director Paula Herold -- brings life and energy to the production. Particularly entertaining are Jenifer Lewis as the preacher's sassy mother-in-law and Loretta Devine as his lively secretary.
THE PREACHER'S WIFE
Buena Vista Releasing
Buena Vista, Touchstone Pictures
and the Samuel Goldwyn Co. present
A Samuel Goldwyn Jr. production
In association with Parkway Prods.
and Mundy Lane Entertainment
A Penny Marshall film
Producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr.
Director Penny Marshall
Screenwriters Nat Mauldin, Allan Scott
Based on "The Bishop's Wife" screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood, Leonardo Bercovici
Executive producers Robert Greenhut,
Elliot Abbott
Co-producers Debra Martin Chase,
Amy Lemisch, Timothy M. Bourne
Director of photography Miroslav Ondricek
Production designer Bill Groom
Editor Stephen A. Rotter, George Bowers
Costume designer Cynthia Flynt
Music Hans Zimmer
Casting Paula Herold
Gospel music producers Mervyn Warren,
Whitney Houston
Associate producer Bonnie Hlinomaz
Sound mixer Les Lazarowitz
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dudley Denzel Washington
Julia Biggs Whitney Houston
Henry Biggs Courtney B. Vance
Joe Hamilton Gregory Hines
Marguerite Coleman Jenifer Lewis
Beverly Loretta Devine
Jeremiah Biggs Justin Pierre Edmund
Britsloe Lionel Richie
Saul Jeffreys Paul Bates
Osbert Lex Monson
Running time -- 125 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 12/9/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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