Skip to content
Archive of posts filed under the Focus Features category.

Somewhere

Posted by  on 3 October 2010, 12:24 am

Somewhere

World-premiering at the 2010 Venice International Film Festival. From Academy Award-winning writer/director Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation, The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette), Somewhere is a witty, moving, and empathetic look into the orbit of actor Johnny Marco (played by Stephen Dorff). You have probably seen him in the tabloids; Johnny is living at the legendary Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood. He has a Ferrari to drive around in, and a constant stream of girls and pills to stay in with. Comfortably numbed, Johnny drifts along.

Then, his 11-year-old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) from his failed marriage arrives unexpectedly at the Chateau. Their encounters encourage Johnny to face up to where he is in life and confront the question that we all must: which path in life will you take? Filmed entirely on location, Somewhere reunites the writer/director with Lost in Translation editor Sarah Flack and production designer Anne Ross. Stacey Battat (Broken English) is the costume designer, and Harris Savides (Elephant) is the director of photography, on Somewhere.

Directed by: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Michelle Monaghan, Elle Fanning, Stephen Dorff, Laura Ramsey
Screenplay by: Sofia Coppola
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, nudity and language.
Release Date: December 22nd, 2010
Studio: Focus Features

Filed under 2010 December Movies, Focus Features. Tagged , , , , , ,
1 Comment

It’s Kind of a Funny Story

Posted by  on 18 September 2010, 11:45 am

Emma Roberts in It's Kind of a Funny Story

World-premiering at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. What’s a 16-year-old boy doing playing music and table tennis with adult psychiatric patients – on a school day? It’s kind of a funny story…

“It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” adapted from Ned Vizzini’s 2006 novel of the same name, is the new comedy-drama from acclaimed writer / directors Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden.

It’s @5:00 AM on a Sunday in Brooklyn. Craig Gilner (played by Keir Gilchrist of “United States of Tara”) is bicycling up to the entrance of a mental health clinic; this bright 16-year-old is stressed out from the demands of being a teenager. Before his parents (Lauren Graham [of “Parenthood”] and Jim Gaffigan [of “Away We Go”]) and younger sister are even awake, Craig checks himself into Argenon Hospital and is admitted by a psychiatrist. But the youth ward is temporarily closed – so he finds himself stuck in the adult ward. One of the patients, Bobby (Zach Galifianakis of “The Hangover”), soon becomes both Craig’s mentor and protégé.

Craig is also quickly drawn to another 16-year-old displaced to the adult ward, the sensitive Noelle (Emma Roberts of the upcoming “Scream 4’), who just might make him forget his longtime unrequited crush Nia (Zoë Kravitz of the upcoming “Mad Max”). With a minimum five days’ stay imposed on him by the adult ward’s staff psychiatrist Dr. Eden Minerva (Academy Award nominee Viola Davis), Craig is sustained by friendships on both the inside and the outside as he learns more about life, love, and the pressures of growing up.

Directed by: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts, Lauren Graham, Zoe Kravitz, Viola Davis
Screenplay by: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Ned Vizzini
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic issues, sexual content, drug material and language.
Studio: Focus Features
Release Date: October 8th, 2010

Filed under 2010 October Movies, Comedy Movies, Drama and Romance, Focus Features. Tagged , , , , ,
Comment

The American

Posted by  on 6 August 2010, 10:11 pm

The American

Jack (George Clooney) is an artful assassin with a lengthy track record, constantly on the move and always watching his back. When an assignment goes wrong and a lover ends up dead, he vows that the next job will be his last. This final obligation takes him to a picturesque town nestled amongst lush Italian hills, its historical piazzas bursting with life. But to Jack, every location is a trap and every person a potential threat. Still, he surprises himself, enjoying confessional conversations over Armagnac with an insightful priest and slipping into an affair with a local beauty. But by letting his guard down, Jack may be tempting fate.

A dangerous shadow-dweller shows every sign of closing in, and the mysterious woman who has hired him may not be all that she seems. As an increasingly wary Jack contemplates life, love and death in Italy, the film escalates into a climactic showdown through the cobbled maze of age-old alleyways. This sexy, suspenseful and intricate story blends intrigue and passionate romance within a searing morality tale to finally reveal the heart of this deeply private man.

Directed by: Anton Corbijn
Starring: George Clooney, Bruce Altman, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli, Violante Placido
Screenplay by: Martin Booth, Rowan Joffe
MPAA Rating: Not Rated.
Release Date: September 1st, 2010
Studio: Focus Features

Filed under 2010 September Movies, Action & Adventure Movies, Focus Features. Tagged , , , , ,
Comment

The Kids Are All Right

Posted by  on 21 June 2010, 1:52 am

The Kids Are All Right

Starring: Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson
Directed by: Lisa Cholodenko
Screenplay by: Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko
MPAA Rating: R for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some teen drug and alcohol use.
Release Date: July 9, 2010
Studio: Focus Features

The Kids Are All Right is the heartfelt new comedy from acclaimed director Lisa Cholodenko, starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo. Two teenaged children (Alice in Wonderland’s Mia Wasikowska and Journey to the Center of the Earth’s Josh Hutcherson) get the notion to seek out their biological father and introduce him into the family life that their two mothers (Bening and Moore) have built for them. Once the donor (Ruffalo) is found, the household will never be the same, as family ties are defined, re—defined, and re—re—defined. The New York Times raves that it’s “a generous, nearly note—perfect portrait of a modern family,” and Entertainment Weekly calls the movie “funny, smart and sexy!”

Continue reading ‘The Kids Are All Right’ »

Filed under 2010 July Movies, Drama and Romance, Focus Features. Tagged , , , , , ,
Comment