Article: 10 actors turned directors
As if having one amazing talent wasn’t enough…
“Arrested Development”‘s tear-jerking “Peanuts” song gag returns triumphantly in season 4
Bill Hader dishes on Justin Bieber to Stern
Ken Jeong talks stunts, breaking tropes and the evolution of Mr. Chow in “The Hangover 3″
David Cross and Portia de Rossi describe Lindsay and Tobias’s “trajectory of sadness” in “Arrested Development” season 4
Tom Hanks
Article: Five of our favorite Tom Hanks comedies
There’s little doubt that Tom Hanks is one of the great dramatic actors of our time and he has a pair of back-to-back Oscar wins to prove it. However, just because a guy makes us cry hysterically in a movie theater with his portrayal of a man dying from AIDS in “Philadelphia” that doesn’t mean…
Article: What to watch on IFC: Tom Hanks stars in “Bachelor Party” at 9:45/8:45c
Before there was “The Hangover” there was “Bachelor Party.” You see, before Tom Hanks was a very serious actor, he was a really funny one. When Hanks started out the Oscar winning star of movies like “Cloud Atlas,” “The Davinci Code,” “Forrest Gump” and “Philadelphia,” the producer of films like “Cast Away,” “The Ant Bully,”…
Article: “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” trailer focuses on a post-9/11 emotional journey
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” isn’t pulling any punches. It’s a film that occurs after 9/11 about a family personally affected by 9/11 in a post-9/11 world. It’s going to be emotional, it’s going to be sappy, and it’s probably going to make you cry. With that out of the way, it’s fair to say…
Article: Tom Hanks returning to World War II with “In the Garden of Beasts”
It’s fair to say that Tom Hanks has a certain interest in World War II, starring in “Saving Private Ryan,” and producing both “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific.” Now comes news that the Hanks will be returning to the time period as he and Gary Goetzman’s Playtone has acquired the rights to the nonfiction…
Article: Even Ron Howard is sick of those Dan Brown novels
Despite (or maybe because of) a laughably bad Tom Hanks haircut and plots that appear pieced together from all of the History Channel’s most sensational documentaries, Ron Howard’s adaptations of Dan Brown’s popular pot boilers have been rousing successes for the director. Now, in the wake of the news that Howard’s much-ballyhooed “Dark Tower” adaptation…
Article: Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” Is Coming
Neil Gaiman isn’t busy enough. Apparently. The author turned movie and television writer and sometimes producer and director, is adapting his wildly popular novel, “American Gods,” for television. And he’s teaming up with Tom Hanks to do it. Maybe they are bosom buddies? (Sorry.) Gaiman hasn’t written a full television series since 1996′s “Neverwhere,” but…
Article: Colin Hanks Funds Tower Records Documentary With Grassroots Donations
Tom Hanks’ actor son Colin Hanks (not to be confused with the rapper son, Chet Hanks) has been trying to get a documentary about Tower Records off the ground for about three years. The little record store that started in Hanks’ hometown of Sacramento California in 1960, grew into a music retail empire earning over…
Article: Happy Monday: The Coen Brothers’ “The Ladykillers”
It’s no secret that we love Joel and Ethan Coen a.k.a. the Coen Brothers. From “Blood Simple” to “True Grit” we are founding members of their fan club. Naturally we are excited to show their film “The Ladykillers” at 3:45 p.m. ET today. The film is an update of the Ealing Pictures classic and the…
Article: Julia Roberts’ Opera Sing-Along
Tom Hanks went on the “Jimmy Kimmel Show” last night promoting his film “Larry Crowne” in which he stars with Julia Roberts. It’s only Hank’s second time directing a feature and the first time since 1996′s “That Thing You Do!” As Cinematical points out he also co-wrote with Nia Vardalos (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”),…
Article: ‘Sling Blade’ And The Portrayal of Developmental Disability
Tonight at 11:30 p.m. ET we are showing Sling Blade, a film that marked the directorial debut of country singer turned actor Billy Bob Thornton. The film was based on George Hickenlooper’s acclaimed short “Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade” and brought Thornton into Hollywood’s spotlight and, perhaps, to Angelina Jolie’s attention. (Remember when…
Article: Five Simple Rules for Mermaid Movies
Technically, Ondine — the title character of Neil Jordan’s new film — isn’t a mermaid. When she winds up in fisherman Colin Farrell’s net in the middle of the ocean, his daughter (Alison Barry) becomes convinced that she might be a selkie, a mythological seal-human hybrid of European folklore that the father and daughter take…
Article: Summer (Business) Hours.
Tom Hanks’ production company is planning a remake of Olivier Assayas’ “Summer Hours,” news that doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Assuming someone can get it together for an adequate rewrite, the result won’t be remotely the same movie. It might not be any good either, but that has nothing to do with trying to…
Article: Guy Movies for Girls, Girl Movies for Guys
“Whip It,” Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, is an unabashed chick flick set in Austin’s roller derby scene that might, given the chance, nevertheless prove just as enjoyable for the dudes in the audience. The film inspired this week’s IFC News podcast, in which we swap marketing demos, with Alison picking out “guy movies” she likes,…
Article: Family Values
A chamber piece resolutely devoid of flash and glitter, “Summer Hours” isn’t a film one would have anticipated from the director of such disparate provocations as “Irma Vep,” “Clean,” Demonlover” and “Boarding Gate.” Then again, Olivier Assayas’ new release is subtly provocative in its own right. Its willingness to lay out ideas about art and…
Article: Cons, Corporate and Otherwise
Your guide to what’s new in theaters this week: Offbeat foreign fare compliments star-studded domestic offerings, alongside some intriguing and inventive docs. Download this in audio form (MP3: 08:58 minutes, 12.3 MB) Subscribe to the In Theaters podcast: [XML] [iTunes] “Anaglyph Tom (Tom With Puffy Cheeks)” Forty years after “Tom, Tom, The Piper’s Son,” his…
Article: The Trouble With Man Dates
The first thing John Hamburg’s “I Love You, Man” teaches us is that the mean time between the Style section of the New York Times heralding a fake trend and the creation of a Hollywood comedy predicated on that fake trend is about four years. It was in April of 2005 that the Times published…
