Bel Ami

Magnolia Pictures’ Bel Ami, directed by Declan Donnellan and written by Rachel Bennette, is based on the French author Guy de Maupassant’s 1885 novel, “Bel Ami, or, The History of a Scoundrel: A Novel.” Set for a limited released on June 8, 2012, Bel Ami is the story of George Duroy’s (Robert Pattinson’s) corrupt rise from poverty to wealth, from pennilessness to one of the most successful men inParis.

Although Paris in the 1880’s was obstensibly a man’s world, as Duroy quickly learned, the most important people in Paris were not actually the men, but their wives. Upon returning from three years of military service abroad, Duroy works as a clerk before starting a career in journalism. Just like today, in 1880’s Paris connections were everything – and in his job as a journalist Duroy was able to meet some of the city’s most powerful people.

In a world where sex was power and politics and media jostled for influence, Duroy lived at the intersection of all three. Using his wits and powers of seduction, Duroy’s life was changed through a series of ruthless and calculating trysts with Paris’s most influential women.

Also starring Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci.

Moonrise Kingdom

What happens when two twelve-year-olds (newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) fall in love, make a secret pact and then flee their New England town to run away together into the wilderness? All heck breaks lose, that’s what happens! As the entire town and various authorities mobilize to hunt down the runaways, a violent storm brews off coast – and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone would have predicted.

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom is a new drama directed by two-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Rushmore) and written by Anderson and Roman Coppola (The Darjeeling Limited).

In addition to introducing newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, who portray the young boy and girl, Moonrise Kingdom features a cast of well-known and award-winning actors. Bruce Willis is cast as the town sheriff, Captain Sharp. Academy Award nominee Edward Norton is the Khaki Scout troop leader, Scout Master Ward.

The young girl’s parents are played by Academy Award winner Frances McDormand and Academy Award nominee Bill Murray. The cast also includes Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman.

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Beasts of the Southern Wild, directed by feature film newcomer Benh Zeitlin and written by Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar, took the recent Sundance Film Festival by storm, winning both the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Dramatic, and the Excellence in Cinematography Award for U.S. Dramatic. Hailed as “stunning,” “magnificent,” “magical,” and “unforgettable,” Beasts of the Southern Wild is both a magical tale and a hero’s journey.

Set is a part of the Louisiana Delta swampland known as “the Bathtub,” Beasts stars newcomer Quvenzhané Wallis as six-year-old Hushpuppy, a courageous girl who lives with her hard-drinking father, Wink (Dwight Henry). In a film that does a marvelous job of portraying the bond between father and daughter, Wink’s tough love prepares Hushpuppy for a time when the universe itself seems to unravel.

When Wink contracts a mysterious terminal illness, the world seems to start to spin out of control. Temperatures rise and the ice caps melt – unleashing an army of prehistoric creatures called aurochs (which some critics have likened to “prehistoric giant warthogs”) that are ready to terrorize the populace. With the waters rising and Wink’s health failing, young Hushpuppy sets out alone on a search for her lost mother.

Beautifully shot on Super 16-millimeter film, Beasts of the Southern Wild is a truly unique film that defies stereotypes, managing to be at once mythological, anthropological and apocalyptic.

Chimpanzee

 

Hailed by critics as “breathtaking,” “astounding,” and “the best nature film ever made,” Chimpanzee is a G-rated family film that takes viewers deep into the African forest to meet an adorable baby chimp named Oscar.

Smart and playful, Oscar has a natural curiosity that makes him want to discover all he can about the complex world around him. Through his interactions with his chimpanzee friends and family – including his mother, the group’s leader, and other young chimps in the group – Oscar learns how to live, love and navigate through the world.

In fact, the forest world is an exciting playground for Oscar and his friends, who seem to have a knack for getting into trouble with the adults of the group. After all, creating mayhem is far more fun than taking an afternoon nap! Then, after Oscar’s family faces a rival band of chimps, Oscar is left to fend for himself and ends up having a surprising experience that changes his life forever.

Chimpanzee, a new True Life Advanture from Disneynature, showcases the incredible intelligence and ingenuity of the chimps, who have some of the most extraordinary personalities in the animal kingdom. Chimpanzee is narrated by Tim Allen and co-directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, two British producers/directors known for their work on nature documentaries for both TV and cinema.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

On April 27, 2012, the creators of Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit will release their latest animation feature: The Pirates! Band of Misfits. Coming to theatres in both3D and 2D, The Pirates! stars Hugh Grant in his first animated role, as the luxuriantly bearded Pirate Captain.

Although he’s certainly not the best pirate captain on the seas, the Captain is filled with boundless enthusiasm and is on a mission: to win the coveted Pirate of the Year Award. To catch this prize, though, he’ll have to best his bitter rivals Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek).

With his ultimate goal in mind, the Captain and his rag-tag crew embark on an adventure that takes them from the shores of exotic Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. Along the way they visit ghost ships, battle a diabolical queen (Imelda Staunton) and team up with a haplessly smitten young scientist (David Tennant). Although the
Captain has always dreamed of winning the Pirate of the Year Award, those who see him in action immediately realize what a long shot this is!

Director Peter Lord clearly had a lot of fun working with Screenwriter Gideon Defoe’s story to create this hilarious swashbuckling family film. Rated PG, for mild action, rude
humor and some language.

Total Recall

What is real? What is it that makes “reality,” well, reality? Total Recall, a new action thriller from Columbia Pictures (Sony) directed by Len Wiseman, explores this question in vivid detail. What if it were possible to take a “mind trip” from reality, and experience a dream that can create real memories? In Total Recall, a company called Rekall specializes in making this happen. For factory worker Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), the possibility is just too enticing to ignore. Although Quaid has a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) that he loves, his “real life” is very frustrating, and the thought of taking a mind-trip that would leave him with memories of being a super-spy sounds like a perfect escape from reality.

His visit to Rekall was a great idea until the procedure went terribly wrong, and the line between dream and reality got completely blurred. Suddenly, Quaid is a hunted man on the run from the police. With the leader of the free world, Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), out to get him, Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) in an attempt to locate the leader of the underground resistance (Bill Nighy) and change the fate of the world. In the process, Quaid discovers his true identity, finds his true love, and learns his true fate.

Or does he? Based on the famous short story, “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale,” by Philip K. Dick, Total Recall is a mind-bender about reality and memory. As Quaid asks when confronted with the realization that what he is experiencing may – or may not – be real: “If I’m not me, then who the hell am I?”

Savages

Set for release on July 6, 2012, Savages is directed by three-time Oscar®-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone. A ferocious crime-thriller, Savages features an all-star ensemble cast of Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch and Demian Bichir. The film is based on the best-selling crime novel of the same name by Don Winslow; Winslow, Stone and Shane Salerno co-wrote the script.

On the surface Ben, a peaceful and charitable Buddhist and Chon, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and ex-mercenary, may not appear to have a lot in common. But underneath their rather different exteriors they’re best friends who share a long-time friendship, a business growing some of the best marijuana ever developed, and a one-of-a-kind love with the same extraordinary woman, Ophelia.

Their friendship, business and love are all going great until a Mexican drug cartel catches up to their Laguna Beach, California, business and demands that the trio partners up with them. Things get ugly after the three politely refuse the offer.

When the cartel kidnaps Ophelia, Ben and Chon – with the reluctant assistance of a dirty DEA agent – wage a war to gain her release. Elena, the merciless head of the cartel, and Lado, her brutal enforcer, soon realize that they have underestimated the unbreakable bond between these three friends.

The Cabin in the Woods

The Cabin in the Woods, a 2012 horror film, features the extraordinary talents of Cloverfield (2008) write Josh Wheldon, who teamed up with the director to write this aberration of the typical horror flick.  Featuring notable actors such as Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Jesse Williams, Anna Hutchison, and Fran Kranz, the film defies the odds.

It starts out just like any other horror story would.  Five friends venture off into the woods to a remote vacation house.   They all span that wide range of high-school stereotypes; the jock, the virgin, the nerdy guy, the stoner.  Things come out of the dark to terrorize and eventually pick them all off one by one.  Blah blah blah.

That’s where the typical horror movie ends, but this one is different.  It doesn’t just veer off the map, it takes a nose-dive.  What these five poor souls will soon realize is that the madness they’re experiencing is not only calculated by a group of scientists, but is something completely out of this world, and if things don’t go their way, the entire earth might have to pay.

Directed by Drew Goddard, The Cabin in the Woods premiered at this years annual South by Southwestern festival in Austin, Texas to stellar reviews.  Having finished production almost two years ago, during a management change, the films rights were just recently bought and the buzz around the film has been swirling.  The film will be premiering for audiences across the country tomorrow, April 13th.

Rebecca Wang – Producer
Rebecca Wang Entertainment

Monsieur Lazhar

Monsieur Lazhar, a 2011 Canadian drama film, was an Academy Award nominee at this year’s 84^th Academy Awards in the category of Best Foreign Film.  Although it did not win, it was received by judges and audiences alike as a beautiful drama film.

Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Saïd Fellag) is an Algerian immigrant who happens to be in the right place at the right time.  After a suicide of an elementary school teacher, the school is in desperate need of a replacement, and it just so happens Monsieur Lazhar has a unique way of teaching.

Creating personal bonds with all the children, he strikes a chord with them as their lazy, glutton habits dominate their schooling.  Not learning what they should, Lazhar sets on a mission to change their lifes, as political and culture problems befall him in Montreal, Canada.

Directed by Philippe Falardeau, Monsieur Lazhar has received extremely positive reviews, with Boyd van Hoeij from Variety magazine saying, “Quietly intelligent and respectable, much like its protag.”  The film will be released to American audiences on a limited basis on April 13^th.

Rebecca Wang – Producer
Rebecca Wang Entertainment

Marley

Marley, a 2012 American documentary, chronicles the life of one of our decade’s most prolific characters; Robert Nesta Marley, better known as “Bob”.   Set to be released in theaters April 20^th for limited audiences, Marley is highly anticipated by colleagues and fans alike.

Born in 1945 in Saint Ann Jamaica, Bob Marley was born the English father of white ethnicity and a Jamaican mother of black ethnicity, inciting many questions about his race over his life.  Using his love for music and his country, he honed in on the two most prevalent things in the world; problems and culture.

Using the misfortunes many of the people in his country faced, he created a stellar genre of music popular in America; reggae and Rastafari.  He sang about political and culture problems, and gave a voice to those who didn’t have one.  By garnering the attention of the world through his upbeat attitude and spectacular music, he became a worldwide icon for peace and hope.

Directed by Kevin MacDonald, Marley is unique in that it will feature exclusive material including rare footage held by his family members, never-before-seen performances, as well as unheard interviews.  For a generation that knows the name, this film will help better understand the life behind it.

Rebecca Wang – Producer
Rebecca Wang Entertainment