Michael Shannon Page 2

The Sundance Film Festival is currently in full swing, having begun on 22nd January, and wrapping up on 1st February. This year, something particularly special is in the air at Salt Lake City, as the festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. That's right, the Sundance Film Festival has been running for 30 years! Starting out back in 1985, Sundance screened 86 films with the help of 13 staff members. Last year, the festival showcased 186 films of 12,218 that were submitted. That sort of growth has helped Sundance become one of the biggest independent film festivals in, not only North America, by the world.

Kevin Bacon at The Sundance Film Festival, 2015 (Credit: Larry Busacca - Getty Images)

This year, 54 first-time filmmakers are having their films premiered at the festival, but there are plenty of well-known faces there, as well, as 200 films are being shown this year for the monumental anniversary. For the 12th year running, The Village at the Lift has been set up in Park City with a café, restaurant, nightclub and photo studio. And this photo studio has seen a host of celebrities for the festival flocking in to pose for pictures in promotion for their various films, taken by Larry Busacca.

Continue reading: Our Favourite Pictures From The Sundance Film Festival 30th Anniversary [Photos]

Kevin Spacey and Michael Shannon have been cast as Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley in Elvis and Nixon - a historical drama based on a real meeting between the legendary musician and one-time President. 

Kevin Spacey will play President Richard Nixon in Liza Johnson's 'Elvis and Nixon'

The movie is set to be directed by Liza Johnson (Hateship Loveship, Return) from a script from actor Cary Elwes and Hanala and Joey Sagal. 

Continue reading: Kevin Spacey Swapping Frank Underwood For Richard Nixon In 'Elvis And Nixon'

He's best known for playing the grumpy breakfast loving Ron Swanson on NBC's 'Parks and Recreation', but Nick Offerman has turned his hand to another profession: music video director. He's overseen the delightfully weird video for Tweedy's song, 'Low Key', which also features a host of celebrity cameos.

 

It's a different gig for the actor, usually seen in front of the camera

Tweedy is the latest project from Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, comprised of himself and his son Spencer Tweedy. 'Low Key' is the first single from their first album, 'Sukierae', and the offbeat video shows them going door-to-door in attempts to sell their record to disinterested members of the public. Man of Steel actor Michael Shannon features as the assistant of the record label boss, whilst Melissa McCarthy, Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter and Chance the Rapper feature amongst the bemused homeowners who are visited by the band. There's also a very strange twist at the end of the video, but we won't ruin the surprise!

Continue reading: Nick Offerman Has Directed A Music Video And It's Full Of Celebrities

HBO have given us a first peek at Boardwalk Empire’s fifth and final season, which is set to air this September. A menacing sense of violence tingles through the 38-second trailer as Nucky, Chalky, Al Capone, Luciano, George Mueller all play a central role.

And if the stakes could get any higher following season 4’s finale, then the great depression certainly goes a long way towards raising them. Michael K. Williams has already confirmed that HBO’s period gangster drama will take place 7 years after season 4’s ending. Watch the teaser here.

Continue reading: Boardwalk Empire Season 5: A Peek At The Depression Era As "All Empires Fall"

The Man of Steel is the latest foray onto the big screen from arguably the comic book-world's biggest star; Superman. There is often a sense of anticipation surrounding a new Superman adaptation whenever one is made, but now it seems as though anticipation levels are in over-drive, and with good reason too, as the latest big screen take on the man who wears his underwear on the outside of his trousers has the potential to be one of the biggest comic book movies to date. However that doesn't necessarily mean that the film will be a hit, as this overview will try to explain why the film could be as big a disappointment as Superman Returns.

Watch The Man Of Steel Trailer

There are two names hanging above Man of Steel that seem to indicate big things for the movie: Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan. Snyder has been lauded since his take on Frank Miller's 300 graphic novel and his work with Supermna is the first time he has had the chance to work with a proper superhero, and he now has the chance to bring something new to the Superman tale, a chance he is sure to take. As tempting as Snyder's name is, the real excitement is surrounding Christopher Nolan, the man who remade Batman and turned comic book movie-making into what it is today, and with the Brit filmaker on hand to write the story for the film, the chance to see a Superman film that retains the dark, seriousness of The Dark Knight shouldn't be one that you would want to pass up too easily. What usually happens when two greats come together though is usually a little underwhelming,a nd with Man of Steel this might be the case again - and the critical reception the film has so far received seems to indicate just that.

Continue reading: Is The 'Man Of Steel' Really The Superhero Movie We've Been Waiting For?

Today, Friday 14 June 2013, marks the day when the world falls back in love with Superman as the Man of Steel flies into cinemas across the globe as the man in the bright red underpants has been reinvented for the big screen once again and this time we might have a reboot worthy of rivalling the 1970’s movie series. At least, that’s what the movie execs behind the film are hoping for, however the expectations of movie producers is rarely met by audiences and critics and with Man of Steel, we may have another case of a rather disappointing foray into film by the planet Krypton’s most famous son.

On the whole, the critical response to the film has been mostly lukewarm, and only on occasion has a critics staunchly defended the film and said that it is the summer blockbuster we’ve all been waiting for (since The Avengers or The Dark Knight Rises at least). After a week of critical response to the film, it currently holds the rather underwhelming 58% on critic aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, however the film does have a much more appealing 82% approval rate from audience, with a number of people commending the film for being a successful enough spectacle to make the occasional detours into generic blockbuster territory barely discernible. With such a stark contrast between the two percentages, it might leave a few people scratching their heads and wondering whether it will be worth seeing or not, but the only real way to see who has the better opinion of the film would be to go see it yourself.

The overall criticism with the film, it seems, is that the overall spectacle that Zack Snyder has created is too erratic and all-over-the-place, rarely giving the story or development of the characters room to breath. But still, it is a spectacle and one that is still highly entertaining to watch, even if it is pretty hard to follow (think of a smarter version of Transformers).  David Sexton’s review for the London Evening Standard seems to summarize the film pretty competently, saying; “some films make you wish you were 12 again so you could appreciate them as they deserve.”

Continue reading: What’s The Final Word On Superman ‘Man Of Steel’?

With an impressive cast, including James Franco, Michael Shannon, Ray Liotta and Winona Ryder, The Iceman is a movie adaptation of the true story of the hitman Richard Kuklinski. Between 1964 and 1986, Kuklinski killed 100 people, whilst working as a hitman and simultaneously upholding a life as a perfect family man.

Not only does The Iceman look to be an impressive return to form for Winona Ryder, whose output has been scant of late (she plays Kuklinski’s wife), but the rest of the cast appear to be on top form, too, with Ariel Vromen in the director’s seat to guide them through the action and high drama. Reviews for the movie are positive, so far, with The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney writing “The redoubtable Michael Shannon leads a superb cast in Ariel Vromen's compelling portrait of New Jersey career criminal Richard Kuklinski.”

Shannon’s performance seems to be one of the highlights of the movie, with Robbie Collins of The Daily Telegraph commenting “Michael Shannon embodies Kuklinski down to the bone: there are shades of Paul Muni's Scarface in his lighter moments, although for most of the film he looks as if his face might have been hewn from granite.” The Iceman is released on May 3, US and June 7, UK. 

Continue reading: Trailer: Impressive Cast For Hitman Adaptation 'The Iceman' (Video)

In New York, Leonardo Dicaprio, Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Johnson and a bald-shaven Christoph Waltz attended the premiere of Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, joking with the photographers as they posed for them. And Tarantino even turned up with his Kill Bill star Uma Thurman on his arm.

Meanwhile in London, the first part in Peter Jackson's new trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, had its royal film performance this week with much of the cast in attendance, including Martin Freeman, Cate Blanchett and Ian McKellen, who watched the film alongside Prince William. The film is in cinemas now, with the following chapters scheduled for next Christmas and the summer of 2014.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies Feat: Tarantino's Django Unchained, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey And Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher All Premier

Paul Rudd isn't often associated with words such as 'Grace' or, for that matter, 'tact', with roles in great contemporary-classic comedies such as 'Anchorman', 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall', or in the flop 'Dinner For Schmucks', but it seems that Broadway's 'Grace', in which he's currently starring, is exactly what Rudd needed bring attention to his own grace. Plus, his pairing with Ed Asner (Disney Pixar's 'Up') in this brand new American four person stage-play, that also stars Michael Shannon ('Boardwalk Empire', 'Revolutionary Road') and Kate Arrington (Broadway veteran), certainly seems like a match made in heaven.

'Grace' has been described on Playbill.com: "In alternating scenes of hilarity and poignancy, life turns surreal for an eclectic foursome whose destinies collide in the Sunshine State... A wide-eyed young couple (Rudd & Arrington) head south with big plans to open a chain of Gospel-themed motels. When an agitated rocket scientist (Shannon) and a prickly pest-control man (Asner) enter the picture, the couple's ordered world is thrown into utter chaos."

In response as to whether this 'utter chaos' finds any kind of aesthetic stage value one tweeter said of 'Grace': "It's brilliant. It made me laugh, cry and contemplate grace. Ed Asner is a national treasure." To celebrate the play and its themes, a whole host of special events have been organised around it, included a series of three 'talkback' evenings. October 10th, 17th and 24th will see a variety of speakers from critics, members of the cast as well as members of the clergy meet to discuss themes of the play, focussing particularly on the aspects of faith that it probes.

Continue reading: Paul Rudd And Ed Asner Find 'Grace' On Stage