It’s quickly appearing on critics’ must-see lists — and it hasn’t even premiered yet. TOP OF THE LAKE, the seven-part Sundance Channel original series from Oscar-winning director Jane Campion, is screening in its entirety today at Park City’s Egyptian Theater — the first television series to ever do so, a fact that in itself is getting critics talking.
Every year there’s one. A surprise, sometimes a long-shot, but a performance that’s so undeniably stunning it just can’t be ignored by audiences (or the Academy). And in this year’s Oscar nominations — announced today — that surprise was Sundance Film Festival favorite BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD’s QuvenzhanĂ© Wallis, who at 9 years old is the youngest Best Actress hopeful ever. (For the past decade, WHALE RIDER’s Keisha Castle-Hughes has owned that distinction, but she was a whopping 13 years old when nominated.)
Every year there’s one. A surprise, sometimes a long-shot, but a performance that’s so undeniably stunning it just can’t be ignored by audiences (or the Academy). And in this year’s Oscar nominations — announced today — that surprise was Sundance Film Festival favorite BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD’s QuvenzhanĂ© Wallis, who at 9 years old is the youngest Best Actress hopeful ever. (For the past decade, WHALE RIDER’s Keisha Castle-Hughes has owned that distinction, but she was a whopping 13 years old when nominated.)
Photo Credit: The Guardian
There are the kinds of superheroes you see in summer popcorn movies, and then there are real-life superheroes. Some of the biggest rock stars in the world have proved that they also have some of the biggest hearts, by giving generously of their time and money to causes they care about. Some you’ve probably heard of–their charitable works are nearly as famous as they are–but some will likely surprise you. Here are our Top 10 musical superstar superheroes.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is Chuck D’s hero. Of course, he’s a lot of people’s heroes. He is, after all, indisputably one of the greatest basketball players of all time, with six NBA championships, eight MVP awards and more career points than anyone ever (33,387, to be precise). His jersey number, 33, was retired by his alma mater, UCLA, and both of the pro teams he played for, the Milwaukee Bucks and the L.A. Lakers. But that’s just for starters; learn more about what makes him truly extraordinary on tonight’s powerful season finale of ICONOCLASTS.
Sure, he’s Bond (arguably the best), in GOLDFINGER and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (among others). Yeah, he won an Oscar for playing a grizzled Chicago lawman in THE UNTOUCHABLES. And of course, he’s a professor-adventurer in INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE. But, wow — has Sean Connery been in a lot of scifi and fantasy movies! Here are five of our favorites:
“There’s a fine line between someone that’s shit and someone that’s renegade and brilliant,” says celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Guess which side he and his chum Sir Paul Smith stand on.
There’s just something about James Spader that reads… well, kind of odd. Intelligent, certainly, but also icky. He has a certain oddball appeal that often manifests in roles that are uncomfortably sexual — and, more often than not, you’re in for a mindfuck. Next up for Spader is the political drama LINCOLN, in which he plays a Tennessee lobbyist — but lest you’re worried he’s gone legit, he explained that his favorite thing about the role was smoking cigars, laughing and drinking… and being naughty and irreverent. Here are some of his oddest (and some of our favorite) roles to date.
You don’t have to be a sports fan to love a great sports flick; the drama, the passion for the game, the struggle and the victories (and losses) make for irresistible movie material. Here are five of our favorite kick-ass sports movies any film buff will love — no matter how you feel about what happens in the ring…or the field…or the court…
“I really like when strong women stand up and help other women,” says fashion designer Tory Burch of supermodel-turned-activist Christy Turlington Burns. At a time when women’s basic rights are in danger abroad and at home, it’s inspiring to see two women turn their own success into something greater. Tune in to tonight’s episode of ICONOCLASTS (8P on Sundance Channel) to see them in action.
What exactly do a smooth-voiced singer-songwriter and a rough-humored comic-animator have in common? Find out on this week’s ICONOCLASTS — tonight at 8P on Sundance Channel — when Grammy-winning chanteuse Norah Jones helps us see a new side of Family Guy auteur Seth MacFarlane.
One of the most influential, successful stars in Hollywood is also — luckily for fans of innovative filmmaking — not afraid to take risks. Though he has starred in the kind of huge, slick hits that have established him as a dashing leading man, his tastes have always veered more political, more satirical. In THE PERFECT STORM — airing Sunday at 10P on Sundance Channel — Clooney is the captain of a Massachusetts fishing boat desperately holding onto a dying industry who goes out for one more big catch with a hurricane and two other massive weather events bearing down. But nothing could capsize this megastar’s compellingly diverse, endlessly entertaining body of work. It was hard to whittle it down, but here are five of our very favorite Clooney indie roles.
On this week’s ICONOCLASTS — tonight at 8P on Sundance Channel — we get to listen in as two of the most painfully, hilariously honest artists creating movies and TV today talk about the love (your work) letter that brought them together.
The sixth season of the innovative, inspiring ICONOCLASTS — Sundance Channel’s longest-running series — premieres tonight at 8P. ICONOCLASTS is a chance for artists, entrepreneurs, designers, filmmakers and others to spend time with someone from another field who is changing the world around us and how we see ourselves. Tonight, we’ll get to listen in on a conversation between Oscar-nominated actor James Franco and legendary performance artist Marina Abramović. After guiding him through the Marina Abramović Method to help him relax, the artist turns Franco into a living sculpture, a “demi-god,” smearing him with sticky stuff and covering him with gold leaf. It’s a sight to behold…
The sixth season of the innovative, inspiring ICONOCLASTS — Sundance Channel’s longest-running series — premieres tonight at 8P. ICONOCLASTS is a chance for artists, entrepreneurs, designers, filmmakers and others to spend time with someone from another field who is changing the world around us and how we see ourselves. Tonight, we’ll get to listen in on a conversation between Oscar-nominated actor James Franco and legendary performance artist Marina Abramović. After guiding him through the Marina Abramović Method to help him relax, the artist turns Franco into a living sculpture, a “demi-god,” smearing him with sticky stuff and covering him with gold leaf. It’s a sight to behold…
What makes a great ensemble cast? Often the individual players are exceptional in their own right; often they are undisputed leads. But brought together, with the right director and the right script, they can create something different, something bigger.
What makes a great ensemble cast? Often the individual players are exceptional in their own right; often they are undisputed leads. But brought together, with the right director and the right script, they can create something different, something bigger.
The (UK) Guardian is abuzz over Isabella Rossellini’s latest venture into the animal kingdom, a series of videos for Burt’s Bees that chronicle, in gory detail, the fascinating and fragile life of one of our primary pollinators.
Robert Redford is speaking out on behalf of a global effort to end violence against women.
The Sundance founder is joining Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler’s One Billion Rising, which encourages people around the world to “walk out, dance, rise up and demand an end to the violence.”
Any real film fan will recognize William H. Macy. Chances are, you’ve seen his Oscar-nominated role in FARGO and his supporting turns in MAGNOLIA and BOOGIE NIGHTS. But if that’s all you know of this indie Everyman hero, are you ever missing out. Both awkward and intelligent, apprehensive and over-eager, Macy conveys a jittery familiarity — you know a guy like this, however far-fetched a character he may be playing. Here’s a William H. Macy sampler that will give you the full picture of his considerable talents — and, lucky for you, you can even catch two of these movies this weekend on Sundance Channel.
What exactly is it about Maggie Gyllenhaal?
She is not a classic beauty, and yet she is beautiful; she does not convey raw sexuality, and yet she is sexy. And how. Watch SECRETARY tonight at 8P on Sundance Channel if you don’t believe us (and especially if you do).
Still smarting from Mad Men withdrawal? Perhaps this will assuage your need: the show’s stars performing Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
There’s already been plenty of buzz about the biggest movies to emerge from the Venice Film Festival thus far — if you haven’t heard of them yet, you will soon enough. There’s Terrence Malick’s typically abstruse TO THE WONDER; Spike Lee’s Michael Jackson tribute BAD 25; Paul Thomas Anderson’s Scientology-inspired THE MASTER; and our own Robert Redford’s THE COMPANY YOU KEEP.
Comedian Mike Birbiglia turned a kind of serious problem — chronic sleepwalking — into one helluva funny story, about relationships, marriage and stand-up comedy. SLEEPWALK WITH ME won the Best of Next! Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Check out the trailer: