Real-life stories don’t get much more remarkable than that of William Kamkwamaba, a young Malawian who rescued his family from famine by constructing a power-generating windmill from junk parts. Kamkwamaba related his story in the 2009 bestseller The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and he is now the subject of the SXSW-screening documentary William and the Windmill from director Ben Nabors, which details both his original story and his subsequent brush with fame.
The SXSW-screening black comedy-thriller Cheap Thrills has an intriguing cast — including David Koechner, Ethan Embry, Amanda Fuller, and Innkeepers costars Sara Paxton and Pat Healy — and what sounds like an equally interesting dramatic hook. “It’s about two down-on-their luck guys who meet a wealthy couple and over the course of one night they start playing a game,” explains Travis Stevens, the founder of Snowfort Pictures, who produced the film with Gabriel Cowan and John Suits of New Artists Alliance.”We spent two years really working on the script so that when the real dark stuff starts happening the audience are playing along themselves and understand a bit more why the character is doing what he’s doing.”
The 2013 awards season is behind us, but the Oscars’ man of the hour isn’t about to disappear from the spotlight. Ben Affleck will next be on the big screen in just over a month, in Terrence Malick’s follow-up to his Academy Award-nominated Tree of Life.
EW has an exclusive poster for the To the Wonder, another dreamy, mystical installment in Malick’s collection of films that have amassed a cult following since he first hit the art-film scene in the 1970s. His latest features Affleck as Neil, a man torn between two women: Marina (Olga Kurylenko), the European woman who moved to the United States to be with him, and Jane (Rachel McAdams), the old flame from his hometown whom he reconnects with when his relationship with Marina starts to fray.
This new one-sheet features Affleck and Kurylenko embracing in front of Mont Saint-Michel, the small, rocky island that inspired the film’s title: Located off the coast of Normandy, France, Mont Saint-Michel is often called “The Wonder of the Western World.” Check out the poster below. READ FULL STORY »
Kramer vs. Kramer continues to stand as one of the most memorable, heart-wrenching dramas about divorce and the battle for child custody. But way before the Dustin Hoffman/Meryl Streep-starrer, there was What Maisie Knew, a 1897 book by Henry James about a child shuffled back and forth between her two divorced parents every six months. That turn-of-the-century novel has now been updated for a modern retelling on the big screen, in a film starring Julianne Moore and Alexander Skarsgård.
EW has the exclusive poster for the movie that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. On the new one-sheet, Moore and Skarsgård peek in from the edges, while young actress Onata Aprile (Maisie) is front and center, boring her big eyes “Mona Lisa”-style into anyone who catches a glance of this striking poster — check it out below. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Alan Markfield
Vampires and werewolves are so 2012. This year is all about aliens — specifically, the “Souls” of Stephenie Meyer’s The Host, a parasitic race that has nearly completed its invasion of Earth. There’s just one thing standing in their way: Human girl Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan of Atonement and Hanna), who won’t go down without a fight… even after her brain becomes home for one of the Souls.
Learn more about the world of The Host in this exclusive behind-the-scenes video, which features the Twilight author and the film’s stars explaining why their film is a must-see even for those who rolled their eyes at Edward and Bella. “It is a much deeper story than the Twilight novels,” says Meyer, who would know better than anyone.
Oblivion is taking Tom Cruise to a now-familiar place — a sci-fi setting where a disconnected soul confronts hard choices and a mystery that makes him question his assumptions about the world around him. That was the case in Minority Report, Vanilla Sky and War of the Worlds and it’s also the case in the April 12 film that stars Cruise as Jack Harper, a repair worker in a distant future where (like WALL-E or the Maytag repairman) his days are defined by his solitary duties. The film is directed by Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy) and based his graphic novel.
Some new images from the film nod to the tone Kosinski was seeking as he shot in 4K resoultion in Iceland and parts of the United States. The film costars Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, and Melissa Leo. Here’s more from the Universal Pictures summary:
“On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man’s confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind. Jack Harper (Cruise) is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete.Living in and patrolling the breathtaking skies from thousands of feet above, his soaring existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautifulstranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.”
Actress Julianne Moore has spent much of her career appearing in such acclaimed, prestige ventures as Short Cuts, Far From Heaven, and, most recently, the TV movie Game Change, for which the actress won an Emmy with her note perfect portrayal of Sarah Palin. But Moore’s filmography also boasts a surprising number of horror movies—including The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, The Forgotten, and Silence of the Lambs sequel Hannibal—and the actress admits to a fondness for the genre. “I like scary movies,” she says. “I don’t like slashers, but I’ve always loved stuff that’s about the devil. My son came back from a movie the other day and I said, ‘So, what was it? A devil or aliens?’ It’s usually one or the other! I personally prefer the devil.”
Remember the night of your 21st birthday?
You do? Really? Man, your sucky friends let you down.
Meet Casey and Miller, the semi-sober dudes in 21 and Over who do what best friends are supposed to do and take their pal, Jeff Chang, out for a night impossible to remember to celebrate his baptism as a legal drinker. Never mind that Jeff Chang has his medical school interview at 8 a.m. sharp the next morning, or that his father might honor-kill his son if he messes with his promising future. You only turn 21 once, am I right?
Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the writers behind The Hangover, have outdone themselves with their latest, which graciously takes us along for a night of co-ed debauchery. Fans of Pitch Perfect will immediately recognize Skylar Astin as one of the friends who remains upright, and Miles Teller breaks out of the serious drama mold he established in Rabbit Hole and Sundance’s The Spectacular Now. Twilight‘s Justin Chon nails the role I’m sure was initially pitched to him as “Mr. Chow-meets-Bernie-Lomax.”
The film opens in theaters tomorrow night, and you can see an exclusive video clip below, in which the two friends have to climb some frat’s “tower of power” to help Jeff Chang survive the night. There’s drinking games involved, Mardi Gras beads, and of course, a Wizard Elvis. READ FULL STORY »
Why did the remote Ozark mountain town of Branson, Mo., become one of the live music capitals of the world? What is the appeal of the burg’s traditional, “old fashioned values” entertainment? And just how weird is it to live there?
All these questions are addressed in the new, five-years-in-the-making documentary We Always Lie To Strangers, which will premiere at this year’s SXSW Festival. You can exclusively check out the the documentary’s poster below, where you will also find the film’s trailer. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images
There weren’t many upsets at the 2013 Oscars — more like a lot of sure-things, and a few very close races that could have gone one of three (or sometimes four) different ways.
As expected, Argo claimed the Best Picture award, riding an unstoppable wave of support after Ben Affleck was denied a directing nomination. Did voters cast their ballots last night, and throughout all the pre-Oscar guild awards, because they felt bad for the actor/filmmaker? That’s absurd. The Academy Awards may make pitiful choices sometimes, but they are not a pity party. READ FULL STORY »
