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Casey Affleck Will Be A Stoner For Director Joe Wright

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Ok, that headline is a tiny bit misleading, even if it is true. Casey Affleck is set to play a character called Stoner, rather than following in Cheech & Chong’s footsteps. He’s taking on the title role of William Stoner in the film adaptation of John Williams’ novel, Stoner.

The novel, ‘follows the hardscrabble life of William Stoner, a dirt-poor farmer turned academic, who emerges as an unlikely existential hero while making his way through the first half of the 20th Century. Williams’ 1965 novel has been praised as “a masterly portrait of a truly virtuous and dedicated man.” (New Yorker) “….so well told and beautifully written, so deeply moving, that it takes your breath away.” (New York Times Book Review)’

Blumhouse Productions, Cohen Media Group (CMG) and Film4 are backing the movie, with Joe Wright (Atonement, Hanna) directing.

“Because the novel is so beautiful but not well-known, fans of Stoner feel like they’re in a secret club. I’m so excited that Casey, Joe and Andrew [Bovell, Screenwrtier] have come aboard to help expand this club’s membership,” comments Blumhouse head honcho, Jason Blum. “This quintessentially American work is being brought to the screen by a terrific international team and we’re confident their combined perspectives will add rich layers to this moving story.”

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Manchester By The Sea (Blu-ray Review)

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Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Lucas Hedges, Kyle Chandler, Tate Donovan
Directed By: Kenneth Lonergan
Running Time: 137 mins
BBFC Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: May 15th 2017

Our Score

Despite allegations of past sexual assault swirling around Casey Affleck, he picked up the Best Actor Oscar for Manchester By The Sea, with Kenneth Lonergan also winning an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Judging purely from what’s on the screen, you can see why they won, as Affleck puts in an extremely good performance, working from a nicely nuanced script which prizes emotion but tries to avoid cliché.

Affleck is Lee Chandler, who’s working as a janitor in Boston. He drinks too much, barely socialises and gets in trouble for being rude to tenants. He gets a call to say that his brother has died and so he heads to his hometown of Manchester, Massachusetts. Lee also knows he’ll have to help look after his teenage nephew, Patrick (Lucas Hedges) but isn’t prepared for that fact his brother has named him as Patrick’s guardian, something he doesn’t feel vaguely able to handle. [Read more…]

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A Ghost Story Trailer – Casey Affleck & Rooney Mara star in David Lowery’s Sundance success

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Ain’t Them Bodies Saints helmer David Lowery went full-on Hollywood last year with a reimagining of Disney’s Pete’s Dragon. After that though he’s snuck in something rather more low-key, A Ghost Story, which got a tremendous reception when it debuted at Sundance.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Prematurely taken from this Earth, a spectral figure who was once a man (Casey Affleck) makes his way toward his former home, where he is fated to remain forevermore. Shrouded in a white sheet, he observes the lament of his grief-stricken lover (Rooney Mara). Bearing unseen witness to her pain, the wisp stands sentry for years to come, interacting only with time as it hurtles further and further forward, the remnants of his humanity quietly evaporating.’

The trailer for the movie has now arrived, which you can see below. It should be in cinemas this summer. [Read more…]

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Moonlight Takes The Best Picture Oscar, While La La Land Picks Up Six Awards

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Well, for the next few decades writers have something new to include when it comes to Oscars biggest gaffes and bloopers. Faye Dunaway read out that La La Land had won the Best Picture Oscar, the producers came up to the stage, and then, partway through the acceptance speeches, they were interrupted to be told, actually no, it was Moonlight that was the big winner.

The mistake came about due to Dunaway and Warren Beatty being handed the wrong envelope, which read ‘Emma Stone – La La Land’. It was presumably was a duplicate of the Best Actress envelope, as Stone did win for that one. Despite a pause and Stone’s name being there, Dunaway decided to read it anyway.

After the mix-up, surprise winner Moonlight went off to gets its Best Picture gong. It’s impressive for a movie few had heard of before its release, and is about the sort of character – young, black, poor and gay – that the Academy Awards usually give short shrift to. However, perhaps thanks to the Academy’s diversity drive this year, where they set out to invite people from groups traditionally under-represented in the Oscar voting pool to become members, it has triumphed. Some has also suggested it perhaps partially redresses the balance after the gay-themed Brokeback Mountain lost out on the Best Picture to the now half-forgotten Crash, despite winning Best Director for Ang Lee.

Moonlight also picked up Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali and Best Adapted Screenplay for Barry Jenkins.

While La La Land had the Best Picture Oscar taken from its hands – literally – which probably tarnished the evening for them, the movie did win more awards than any other film, six in total. That includes Damien Chazelle, who becomes the youngest ever Best Director winner at the age of only 32.

Alongside Stone for Best Actress and Ali for Best Supporting Actor, the other performance gongs went to Casey Affleck who got Best Actor for Manchester By The Sea, and Viola Davis who picked up Best Supporting Actress for Fences.

You can take a look at a full list of winners below. [Read more…]

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La La Land Takes The Big Prize At The EE BAFTAs

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Do you know one of the reasons the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs manage to attract so many star names? It’s because of when they’re held. The Golden Globes come just a few days before AMPAS members have to submit who they think should be nominated for the Oscars, and the BAFTAs come just before the deadline for them to say who they think should win.

However, as the British equivalent of the Oscars, the BAFTAs are a big ceremony in their own right, and the stars descended on London’s Royal Albert Hall to see who would win.

La La Land was the big winner, taking Best Film, Best Director for Damien Chazelle, Best Actress for Emma Stone, as well as a few others. In the other acting categories, Casey Affleck took Best Actor for Manchester by the Sea, Viola Davis was given Best Supporting Actress for Fences, while Dev Patel won Best Supporting Actor for Lion.

Amongst the other awards there was a good spread of films being honoured, including I Daniel Blake, Kubo & The Two Strings, Jackie, Arrival and Hacksaw Ridge. However, notable by its absence was Moonlight, which may have won numerous Best Film accolades at other awards, but got nothing from the BAFTAs. However, the movie was hampered by the fact it’s only just being released in the UK.

Take a look at the full list of winners below (winners in bold): [Read more…]

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Manchester By The Sea (Cinema Review)

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UK Release date: January 13th 2017
Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges
Directed by: Kenneth Lonergan
Certificate: 15
Running time: 137 mins

Our Score

It’s always a sure sign of a fine movie when a character says exactly the same line twice, but with completely different meaning. That’s what happens in the fine, downbeat drama when young Patrick (Lucas Hedges), who has just lost his dad (Kyle Chandler) to a heart attack, asks his uncle Lee (Casey Affleck) to give him a lift to band practice. The first time it’s gentle, playful, a sweet, lonely boy asking his uncle, struggling to cope himself, for a simple favour. The second time it is harsh, angry, the boy is fed up with being passed around like an unwanted toy.

The remarkable thing about this film is the number of times it sets itself up for a clichéd resolution, and never follows it. Affleck’s Lee is a man struggling through life, an underpaid janitor with no friends and a crappy one-room apartment. When he discovers that his brother has died and he is the named person to care for his nephew Patrick, he does it, but reluctantly. [Read more…]

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