Let’s be honest up front: the studio output this year left much to be desired. Sure, wide releases from the Coens, Shane Black, Denis Villeneuve, and Robert Zemeckis fulfilled expectations, but we had to dig deep for the studio films that caught us pleasantly off-guard. While much of our year-end coverage will be focusing on the overlooked gems, today we’re kicking things off by highlighting the few major releases that left us surprised.
Note that the below ten features are strictly films that received a wide release on their opening weekend and not ones that eventually expanded with a roll-out. Some, for various reasons, arrived with virtually little-to-no anticipation around these parts, while others wildly exceeded our standard expectations, and a few managed to be among our favorites of the year.
Check out our selections below and let us know what surprised you most in 2016.
10 Cloverfield Lane (Dan Trachtenberg...
Note that the below ten features are strictly films that received a wide release on their opening weekend and not ones that eventually expanded with a roll-out. Some, for various reasons, arrived with virtually little-to-no anticipation around these parts, while others wildly exceeded our standard expectations, and a few managed to be among our favorites of the year.
Check out our selections below and let us know what surprised you most in 2016.
10 Cloverfield Lane (Dan Trachtenberg...
- 12/14/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender are on fire in Justin Kurzel’s searing Macbeth, Robert Zemeckis takes us up on to Philippe Petit’s high wire, and Dane DeHaan is James Dean
A question: how is it that we seem to get a new screen version of Hamlet once a decade or so, yet Macbeth (Studiocanal, 15) has remained largely untouched since Roman Polanski’s hefty 1971 version? If it wasn’t already the most wildly cinematic of all Shakespeare plays, Justin Kurzel’s stripped-back, blood-caked and fire-breathing new version is certainly out to prove the point. Some have complained that it loses too many words, yet in their place are vivid, scorched-in images: snow and sparks, heaving bodies in tangled states of violence, skies that bleed in saturated scarlet.
I honestly can’t remember which passages are missing. Kurzel finds such an intuitive visual language for the Scottish play that I...
A question: how is it that we seem to get a new screen version of Hamlet once a decade or so, yet Macbeth (Studiocanal, 15) has remained largely untouched since Roman Polanski’s hefty 1971 version? If it wasn’t already the most wildly cinematic of all Shakespeare plays, Justin Kurzel’s stripped-back, blood-caked and fire-breathing new version is certainly out to prove the point. Some have complained that it loses too many words, yet in their place are vivid, scorched-in images: snow and sparks, heaving bodies in tangled states of violence, skies that bleed in saturated scarlet.
I honestly can’t remember which passages are missing. Kurzel finds such an intuitive visual language for the Scottish play that I...
- 1/31/2016
- by Guy Lodge
- The Guardian - Film News
Two big films for the weekend, we have .The Martian. and .The Walk.. Matt Damon stars in .The Martian. from director Ridley Scott. This one.s based on the best-selling novel by Andy Weir.
In .The Walk,. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as the real-life Philippe Petit, he.s the high-wire artist featured in the Oscar-winning documentary, .Man On Wire.. This is from the Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis (.Forrest Gump,. .Contact,. .Cast Away.).
Which one is my pick of the week? Take a look!
In .The Walk,. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as the real-life Philippe Petit, he.s the high-wire artist featured in the Oscar-winning documentary, .Man On Wire.. This is from the Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis (.Forrest Gump,. .Contact,. .Cast Away.).
Which one is my pick of the week? Take a look!
- 10/2/2015
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Wanna know what it feels like to walk on a wire between two buildings over 100 stories off the ground? Before I put on the Vr headset and prepare to virtually walk on a wire between the Twin Towers as Philippe Petit, circa 1974, the dude operating it tells me that most of the people who attempt it take one step and then quit. I feel my stomach drop slightly -- partly because I'm now a wee bit scared of this particular Vr experience, and partly because I don't want to look like a...
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- 9/29/2015
- by affiliates@fandango.com
- Fandango
Wanna know what it feels like to walk on a wire between two buildings over 100 stories off the ground? Before I put on the Vr headset and prepare to virtually walk on a wire between the Twin Towers as Philippe Petit, circa 1974, the dude operating it tells me that most of the people who attempt it take one step and then quit. I feel my stomach drop slightly -- partly because I'm now a wee bit scared of this particular Vr experience, and partly because I don't want to look like a scaredy-cat in front of the huge line waiting to try this sucker out. So I take a deep breath, throw the headset on and what followed might just be the most visceral, all-encompassing movie-related Vr experience I've ever had. But let's back up. In case you haven't heard...
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- 9/28/2015
- by Erik Davis
- Movies.com
In 1974, French acrobat Philippe Petit did something truly astonishing, and practically superhuman. He strung a high wire between the North and South towers of the World Trade Center, and had the courage to actually walk across it from end to end. It.s a feat that few people who have ever lived would have had the bravery to do, and I know for a fact that I.m not one of those people. I can say this will complete certainty, because I recently got a taste of the real deal in virtual reality form! In promotion of director Robert Zemeckis.The Walk - which brings the story of the famed 1974 high wire act to theaters around the world . Sony and IMAX recently teamed up to create a "Can You Walk The Walk" virtual reality experience. While it was recently making a stop in Los Angeles, I got the chance to...
- 9/28/2015
- cinemablend.com
Philippe Petit is not your ordinary Frenchman. Yet, in some ways, that is exactly what director Robert Zemeckis wants you to think about Petit — that he is an ordinary charming Frenchman with his beret,...
- 9/26/2015
- by Sasha Stone
- AwardsDaily.com
We tend to identify Robert Zemeckis with a long list of hit films from Forrest Gump to Cast Away to Back to The Future, Romancing The Stone, Polar Express, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Beowulf and Flight. A closer look at the struggles behind almost all those films suggests why he might have found a kindred spirit in Philippe Petit, the French aerialist (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who in 1974 walked a wire strung between the North and South towers of the World Trade…...
- 9/26/2015
- Deadline
We won't see Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Nsa whistleblower Edward Snowden until next year now, but get ready to see him as French high wire man Philippe Petit from next week - at least exclusively in IMAX cinemas.
Robert Zemeckis' new film uses the giant screen 3D format to tell the story of Petit's high-wire walk across the Twin Towers in 1970s New York City. Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, and James Badge Dale also star in the film which will open first in IMAX on September 30th before going wide on regular screens from October 9th.
Robert Zemeckis' new film uses the giant screen 3D format to tell the story of Petit's high-wire walk across the Twin Towers in 1970s New York City. Ben Kingsley, Charlotte Le Bon, and James Badge Dale also star in the film which will open first in IMAX on September 30th before going wide on regular screens from October 9th.
- 9/21/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Everest Universal Pictures Reviewed by: Harvey Karten for Shockya. Databased on Rotten Tomatoes. Grade: C Director: Baltasar Kormákur Written by: William Nicholson, Simon Beaufoy Cast: Jason Clarke, Keira Knightly, Josh Brolin,Mia Goth, Charlotte Bøving, John Hawkes, Michael Kelly, Sam Worthington, Emily Watson Screened at: AMC 34th St., NYC, 9/15/15 Opens: September 25, 2015 If you define extreme sports as any activity that could result in death, boxing and football should be included. But since the chance of serious injury leading to death in those sports is minimal, we prefer to limit our definition to those that could result in the immediate demise of its proponents. Think of Philippe Petit’s crossing [ Read More ]
The post Everest Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Everest Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 9/19/2015
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
After years as the supporting act, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Oscar-tipped for his performances as Nsa whistleblower Edward Snowden and wire-walker Philippe Petit. He talks about his head for heights – and a secret meeting in Moscow
There are only a dozen customers in the restaurant in Los Angeles, but even then it takes three passes of the room to pick him out. Joseph Gordon-Levitt sits alone, folded in on himself – right leg tucked over left, shoulders hunched, an Anglepoise-like arm on his thigh propping a smartphone in front of his face. The 34-year-old actor wears a pair of black specs, a navy T-shirt and dark jeans. He looks so unremarkable, sitting there, I have to peer close to make sure this is the guy who was in one of the Batman movies; who starred in two of the smartest summer blockbusters of recent years, Looper and Inception; whom I watched on...
There are only a dozen customers in the restaurant in Los Angeles, but even then it takes three passes of the room to pick him out. Joseph Gordon-Levitt sits alone, folded in on himself – right leg tucked over left, shoulders hunched, an Anglepoise-like arm on his thigh propping a smartphone in front of his face. The 34-year-old actor wears a pair of black specs, a navy T-shirt and dark jeans. He looks so unremarkable, sitting there, I have to peer close to make sure this is the guy who was in one of the Batman movies; who starred in two of the smartest summer blockbusters of recent years, Looper and Inception; whom I watched on...
- 9/18/2015
- by Tom Lamont
- The Guardian - Film News
It's a constant game of upping the ante as the various fall film festival jockey to debut the hottest titles, and today the New York Film Festival trotted out a pretty great get as part of their Main Slate lineup. Read More: The 20 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2014 New York Film Festival Organizers announced that Steven Spielberg's Cold War drama "Bridge Of Spies" starring Tom Hanks will make its World Premiere at Nyff. Pretty damn good! And the rest of the new titles are pretty solid as well, with lots of selections from the Cannes Film Festival, a strong presence by international auteurs, and some excellent U.S. Premiere titles. It's a cinephile's dream for those in the area, so better get out your organizer and start planning. The New York Film Festival runs from September 25th to October 11th. Check out the Main Slate below. Opening NightThe WalkRobert Zemeckis,...
- 8/12/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Following on from an early teaser a few months ago, the full trailer is now out for Robert Zemeckis' new film about Philippe Petit and his high-wire walking stunt between the World Trade Centre towers in New York City in the 1970s. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as the Frenchman who, with the help of a team, strung a wire and did his walk hundreds of feet above ground. The film itself opens this Fall.
- 6/4/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
On August 7th 1974, Philippe Petit made an astounding high wire walk between the two World Trade Center towers. Now, in October, director Robert Zemeckis is bringing this stunning story to life, and if it is as breath taking as this new poster, we're in for a hell of a treat. In recent years, Zemeckis has been known for truly visually stunning pieces of work, but still doing justice to the story and characters. Just for that, I think he's perfect for this incredible true life story. Released: 2nd October 2015...
- 4/20/2015
- by noreply@blogger.com (Tom White)
- www.themoviebit.com
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
After narrowing the Oscar documentary feature shortlist to five at the 87th Academy Award nominations Jan. 15, a number of notable exclusions were featured, particularly Al Hicks‘ Keep on Keepin’ On, which documents the mentorship and friendship of a jazz legend and a blind piano prodigy, and Steve James‘ Life Itself, about the life and career of famed film critic Roger Ebert. (James is no stranger to snubs and the exclusion of his 1994 film Hoop Dreams led to rule reform within the documentary category.) Both films hold 97 percent positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
Some films surprised when they didn’t even land a spot on the shortlist, such as Red Army, which examines the rise and fall of the Soviet Union’s hockey team from the perspective of its coach. That film holds a 100 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In light of these best documentary feature snubs,...
Managing Editor
After narrowing the Oscar documentary feature shortlist to five at the 87th Academy Award nominations Jan. 15, a number of notable exclusions were featured, particularly Al Hicks‘ Keep on Keepin’ On, which documents the mentorship and friendship of a jazz legend and a blind piano prodigy, and Steve James‘ Life Itself, about the life and career of famed film critic Roger Ebert. (James is no stranger to snubs and the exclusion of his 1994 film Hoop Dreams led to rule reform within the documentary category.) Both films hold 97 percent positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
Some films surprised when they didn’t even land a spot on the shortlist, such as Red Army, which examines the rise and fall of the Soviet Union’s hockey team from the perspective of its coach. That film holds a 100 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In light of these best documentary feature snubs,...
- 1/23/2015
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
Second edition of San Sebastian Film Festival strand to feature six action sports films including the long-awaited sequel to motorcycle racing classic On Any Sunday.
The San Sebastian Film Festival (Sept 19-27) has revealed the line-up for the second edition of its Savage Cinema strand, comprising six action sports films.
These include the European premiere of Dana Brown’s motorcycle racing documentary, On Any Sunday - The Next Chapter. It is the long-awaited follow-up to 1971’s On Any Sunday, an insider look a motorcycle racing directed by Bruce Brown that was Oscar nominated for Best Documentary Feature.
Bruce’s son Dana has directed this modern take on the original, capturing what it means to race motorcycles in the Us and globally, produced by Red Bull Media House in association with Freeride Entertainment.
The strand also includes a collaboration with the Bilbao Mendi Film Festival in a bid to present mountaineering’s best films, and will see...
The San Sebastian Film Festival (Sept 19-27) has revealed the line-up for the second edition of its Savage Cinema strand, comprising six action sports films.
These include the European premiere of Dana Brown’s motorcycle racing documentary, On Any Sunday - The Next Chapter. It is the long-awaited follow-up to 1971’s On Any Sunday, an insider look a motorcycle racing directed by Bruce Brown that was Oscar nominated for Best Documentary Feature.
Bruce’s son Dana has directed this modern take on the original, capturing what it means to race motorcycles in the Us and globally, produced by Red Bull Media House in association with Freeride Entertainment.
The strand also includes a collaboration with the Bilbao Mendi Film Festival in a bid to present mountaineering’s best films, and will see...
- 7/29/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
• Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect) is attached to star in a re-imagining of the now-classic 1980 Goldie Hawn comedy Private Benjamin. In the original, scripted by Nancy Meyers, after Judy Benjamin’s husband dies on their wedding night, a recruiting agent tricks the prissy widower into enlisting in the U.S. Army. It’s obviously not what she expected. The new take finds a “redneck” (Wilson) and a city girl who enlist in the Marines as an escape from their lives. [Den of Geek; The Wrap]
• NBA superstar LeBron James has signed on to join the cast of Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck. Method Man is reportedly on board too.
• NBA superstar LeBron James has signed on to join the cast of Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck. Method Man is reportedly on board too.
- 5/8/2014
- by Lindsey Bahr
- EW - Inside Movies
Sony has set release dates for the first two films from Tom Rothman's TriStar Productions -- Jonathan Demme's Ricki and the Flash and Robert Zemeckis' untitled biopic about high-wire artist Philippe Petit, who walked between the World Trade Center towers. Ricki and the Flash, starring Meryl Streep and written by Diablo Cody, will open June 26, the same corridor used to launch Streep's femme-fueled The Devil Wears Prada when Rothman was at Fox. Photos: 35 of 2014's Most Anticipated Movies: 'X-Men: Days of Future Past,' 'Mockingjay,' 'Spider-Man 2' Zemeckis' 3D movie stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as
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- 5/6/2014
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
• Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes) will join Oscar winners Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) and Nicole Kidman (The Hours) in theater director Michael Grandage’s film debut Genius. The film recounts the complex friendship between renowned editor Max Perkins (Firth) and literary giant Thomas Wolfe (Law) and is based on A. Scott Berg’s biography of Perkins, adapted for the screen by John Logan (The Aviator). [Deadline]
• Ben Kingsley (Ender’s Game), James Badge Dale (World War Z), and Charlotte Le Bon (Mood Indigo) may join Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Don Jon) in To Reach the Clouds, Robert Zemeckis’ (Back to the Future...
• Ben Kingsley (Ender’s Game), James Badge Dale (World War Z), and Charlotte Le Bon (Mood Indigo) may join Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Don Jon) in To Reach the Clouds, Robert Zemeckis’ (Back to the Future...
- 4/25/2014
- by Jake Perlman
- EW - Inside Movies
Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale, and Charlotte Le Bon are set to join Joseph Gordon-Levitt on the Manhattan skyline. The trio have just been cast in Robert Zemeckis‘ To Reach the Clouds, about high-wire walker Philippe Petit‘s 1974 attempt to walk between the Twin Towers — 1,350 feet off the ground. Get all the details […]
The post Robert Zemeckis’ ‘To Reach the Clouds’ Adds Ben Kingsley and More appeared first on /Film.
The post Robert Zemeckis’ ‘To Reach the Clouds’ Adds Ben Kingsley and More appeared first on /Film.
- 4/25/2014
- by Angie Han
- Slash Film
Canadian actress Charlotte Lebon, who is upcoming in Disney/ DreamWorks’ The Hundred Foot Journey, is in talks to join Joseph Gordon-Levitt in TriStar and Robert Zemeckis‘ untitled movie about high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. She will play Petit’s girlfriend Annie in the feature based on Petit’s memoir To Reach The Clouds. Annie is described as a wafer-thin street-performing mime who becomes angry with Philippe for stealing away her audience. She agrees to forgive him on the condition that he buys her a glass of wine, and the two fall quickly in love. Ben Kingsley and James Badge Dale are also in the cast. Zemeckis’ 3D feature is the first to come from Tom Rothman under the revived TriStar banner at Sony. The pic will be done with the spectacle of Avatar, Life Of Pi and Gravity, with...
- 4/25/2014
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Better call your agent. AMC’s “Breaking Bad” prequel “Better Call Saul,” which centers on shady attorney Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk, will be cast by Sherry Thomas and Sharon Bialy, Backstage has learned. The Culver City-based casting directors also cast the original series. “Better Call Saul,” which was ordered straight to series by AMC, will focus on the evolution of Odenkirk’s character before he ever became Walter White’s lawyer. “Breaking Bad” series regular Jonathan Banks will also appear in the spinoff. The show is scheduled to premiere in November 2014. Meanwhile, the Philippe Petit biopic, which will star Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the French high-wire artist who walked between the Twin Towers in the 1970s, is set to be cast by Victoria Burrows and Scot Boland. Shooting on the Robert Zemeckis picture, titled "To Reach the Clouds," is slated to begin in May.
- 3/11/2014
- backstage.com
Discovery Channel extends its reach into daredevil stunt programming with its new special, “Heirs to the Dare,” which premieres next Monday at 9 p.m. Pst. It follows three men who have become part of the legacy created by famous daredevils Robert “Evel” Knievel, the Flying Wallendas and Philippe Petit. What drives contemporary daredevils Henry “Pitbull” Rife (pictured above), Bubba Blackwell and Super Joe to attempt these great feats today? The special will introduce viewers to the men, their motivations and shed light on the paychecks involved with taking on these dares. See video: Discovery’s ‘Bering Sea Gold’ Preview: Things Unravel as Sean Finds.
- 3/3/2014
- by Jethro Nededog
- The Wrap
Here we are again after the Golden Globes, Mike Fleming and Anita Busch taking on the task of play by play during the most wide-open Oscar race we can remember. Even on the party circuit, industry insiders who usually have a grasp of who’ll walk away with Oscars were evenly torn between Alfonso Cuaron’s 3D masterpiece Gravity and Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave. Then again, there were so many terrific films that got Best Picture nominations, and all of them have at least a puncher’s chance at an upset. Related: Oscars: Pete Hammond’s Absolute Final Predictions That includes American Hustle, where David O Russell co-wrote the Best Original Script nominee with Eric Warren Singer and got tour de force performances and nominations for Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Perfs so strong there was no room on the nomination roster for perennial Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner.
- 3/3/2014
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
After negotiations first broke surrounding the role last month, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has at last been confirmed to star in Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation at Tristar of Petit’s book, “To Reach The Clouds." Following the journey toward Philippe Petit’s daring stunt of tightrope-walking between the World Trade Center towers in 1974, the film will Zemeckis direct Levitt as Petit from a script written by him and Christopher Browne; also—this being Zemeckis—it will utilize 3D to gain the most stomach-lurching cinematography that the “Flight” helmer can muster. The film goes into production this May. [Variety] Actress Lily Collins spent much of last year stuck in franchise panic, as planned heavyweight “The Mortal Instruments” weathered delays and production halts following the first installment’s poor critical and box office reception. Her long-term duty to Cassandra Clare’s series remains uncertain, but for now she’s signed on to another adaptation: “How To Be Single,...
- 2/25/2014
- by Charlie Schmidlin
- The Playlist
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has gotten to do some pretty amazing things on film in the past few years: he fought alongside Batman, survived cancer, traveled through time and rode a bike better than anyone. For his next film, he.ll be doing quite a bit of walking, and that walking will happen on a tightrope over 1300 ft. above the ground. Gordon-Levitt has signed on for what is being called To Walk The Clouds, Robert Zemeckis. upcoming feature adaptation of French high-wire professional Philippe Petit.s memoirs of the same name, focusing on his legendary walk between the World Trade Center towers in 1974. After all, nobody can play a Frenchman like a guy from Los Angeles, right? Natural dialects aside, this is great news, as Gordon-Levitt is an excellent actor and capable of making any role his own - and it takes such a genial performer to step into the shoes of...
- 2/25/2014
- cinemablend.com
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has gotten to do some pretty amazing things on film in the past few years: he fought alongside Batman, survived cancer, traveled through time and rode a bike better than anyone. For his next film, he.ll be doing quite a bit of walking, and that walking will happen on a tightrope over 1300 ft. above the ground. Gordon-Levitt has signed on for what is being called To Walk The Clouds, Robert Zemeckis. upcoming feature adaptation of French high-wire professional Philippe Petit.s memoirs of the same name, focusing on his legendary walk between the World Trade Center towers in 1974. After all, nobody can play a Frenchman like a guy from Los Angeles, right? Natural dialects aside, this is great news, as Gordon-Levitt is an excellent actor and capable of making any role his own - and it takes such a genial performer to step into the shoes of...
- 2/25/2014
- cinemablend.com
Great Scott! “Back to the Future” is being re-imagined as a stage musical. The list of films becoming musicals is long and varied. Some, such as “Hairspray,” work spectacularly well, while others, such as “Carrie,” are disasters of historic proportions. Also read: Robert Zemeckis Directing Philippe Petit Picture, Courting Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Star “Back to the Future” has a critical advantage. The film’s director, Robert Zemeckis, and co-writer and producer Bob Gale, are writing the book to the play with director Jamie Lloyd. The show is being developed by Universal State Productions and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment as a West End show.
- 1/31/2014
- by Brent Lang
- The Wrap
We all know that studios chase success. The problem is that they often chase it in the wrong ways. Instead of truly digging into an audience's reaction and looking at ways to help serve a certain desire the audience has, they frequently just imitate on a surface level. I'd like to think that the conversations that have no doubt resulted from the phenomenal success of "Gravity" would lead to something along the lines of the proposed film version of "To Reach The Clouds" by Robert Zemeckis, with a script by Zemeckis and Christopher Browne. Philippe Petit was the focus of the...
- 1/24/2014
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
They say that New York’s one helluva town, so it’s no surprise that a massive swath of films are set in the city that never sleeps. From romantic comedies to mob dramas, everyone who’s anybody has found their focus somewhere in the streets of the five boroughs. In two new films, it seems that a couple of the players on your fantasy boyfriend roster are getting called up to tell two uniquely New York stories that may not necessarily be that well known in the grand scheme of the city’s history. First up is Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing the whimsical sort of record-breaker you might expect him to portray. To Reach for the Clouds, helmed by Robert Zemeckis, will see Gordon-Levitt as 24-year-old high wire artist Philippe Petit, a man who dropped jaws and somehow managed to not die tightrope walking between the almost-completed Twin Towers in 1974. Petit gained international fame at the time...
- 1/23/2014
- by Samantha Wilson
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Robert Zemeckis is set to direct “To Reach the Clouds,” a feature take on famed tightrope walker Philippe Petit that the “Flight” filmmaker is courting Joseph Gordon-Levitt to star in, according to an individual familiar with the project. Tom Rothman’s TriStar Productions is in negotiations to acquire the 3D project, which will likely serve as the revamped company’s first film. Zemeckis and his ImageMovers partners Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey would produce, while Cherylanne Martin will executive produce. Also Read: Robert Zemeckis to Direct Universal’s Adaptation of ‘Marwencol’ Documentary Zemeckis and Christopher Browne co-wrote the script, which...
- 1/23/2014
- by Jeff Sneider
- The Wrap
Exclusive: In what is shaping up to be the first project from Tom Rothman’s TriStar Productions, the Sony-based film company is in the process of acquiring To Reach The Clouds, the working title of the story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. Robert Zemeckis will direct the film, and he has co-written the script with Christopher Browne from Petit’s memoirs. This is a most ambitious first project for Rothman, because it carries on the spirit of experiential 3D films made under his reign at Fox including James Cameron’s Avatar and Ang Lee’s Life Of Pi. I’m told that Rothman got the idea to do this right when he was exiting the theater after seeing Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity, and he began to think about projects with similar possibilities. He knew that Zemeckis...
- 1/23/2014
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
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