Black Label Media, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Conde Nast Entertainment and producer Mike Menchel have tapped Joseph Kosinski to direct the Ken Nolan-scripted No Exit.

The pic tells the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of firefighters that faced one of the deadliest wildfires in history in order to save an Arizona town, resulting in the tragic death of 19 crew members.

Nolan developed the story on spec with the producers.

Di Bonaventura, Erik Howsam, Jeremy Steckler, Dawn Ostroff, Mike Menchel, Black Label Media’s Molly Smith, Trent Luckinbill and Thad Luckinbill are producing the film. Black Label is financing.

Kosinski broke out with Tron: Legacy and followed that up with Tom Cruise’s Oblivion.

As for di Bonaventura, the film fits in his wheelhouse of action-packed films following projects like the Transformers franchise, G.I. Joe and the upcoming Deepwater Horizon starring Mark Wahlberg.

Black Label Media has been on a roll following the success of Sicario both critically and at the box office. The company’s 2016 slate looks to be just as strong with Jean-Marc Vallee’s upcoming Demolition starring Jake Gyllenhaal and the J.D. Salinger pic Rebel in the Rye starring Nicholas Hoult and Kevin Spacey.

Steckler and Ostroff recently wrapped Army of One, directed by Larry Charles for Endgame and Dimension. Mike Menchel past credits include One Chance and Ain’t Them Body Saints.

Kosinski and Nolan are repped by CAA. Nolan is also managed by Kaplan/Perrone Ent.

Source: VARIETY

Sicario, directed by Denis Villeneuve, is a nominee for Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Sound Editing.

FBI Agent Kate Macer is recruited by a shadowy government official to join an inter-agency task force to apprehend a Mexican cartel leader. Guided by a consultant with a suspicious agenda and a tendency to use brutal tactics, Kate embarks on a mission that forces her to question her idealism and leaves her unsure who she can trust.

This is the thirteenth Academy Award nomination for Roger Deakins.

He was previously nominated for:

Unbroken (2014) — Nominee, Cinematography
Prisoners (2013) — Nominee, Cinematography
Skyfall (2012) — Nominee, Cinematography
True Grit (2010) — Nominee, Cinematography
The Reader (2008) — Nominee, Cinematography
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007) – Nominee, Cinematography
No Country For Old Men (2007) — Nominee, Cinematography
The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001) — Nominee, Cinematography
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) — Nominee, Cinematography
Kundun (1997) — Nominee, Cinematography
Fargo (1996) — Nominee, Cinematography
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) — Nominee, Cinematography

This is the second Academy Award nomination for Jóhann Jóhannsson.

He was previously nominated for:

The Theory Of Everything (2014) — Nominee, Music (Original Score)

This is the eighth Academy Award nomination for Alan Robert Murray.

He was previously nominated for:

American Sniper (2014) — Winner, Sound Editing
Flags Of Our Fathers (2006) — Nominee, Sound Editing
Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) — Winner, Sound Editing
Space Cowboys (2000) — Nominee, Sound Editing
Eraser (1996) — Nominee, Sound Effects Editing
Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) — Nominee, Sound Effects Editing
Ladyhawke (1985) — Nominee, Sound Effects Editing

Other competing nominees in the Cinematography category are Robert Richardson for The Hateful Eight, John Seale for Mad Max: Fury Road, Ed Lachman for Carol and Emmanuel Lubezki The Revenant.

Other competing nominees in the Music (Original Score) category are Thomas Newman for Bridge of Spies, Ennio Morricone for The Hateful Eight, John Williams for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Carter Burwell for Carol.

Other competing nominees in the Sound Editing category are Mark Mangini and David White for Mad Max: Fury Road, Matthew Wood and David Acord for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Oliver Tarney for The Martian and Martin Hernandez and Lon Bender for The Revenant.

See the full list of nominations for the 2016 Oscars and watch The Oscars LIVE! OSCAR SUNDAY FEBRUARY 28 7e|4p on ABC!

Source: OSCAR

After making its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May and premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival just three days prior, Lionsgate’s edge-of-your-seat crime thriller “Sicario” had its New York premiere Monday night at the Museum of Modern Art leaving guests speechless and riveted by the suspense and action sequences. The film currently has a 94 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the cast promised the reviews are accurate.

“It turned out to be a good film that I’m very proud of. I was just coming off of ‘Everest’ and I almost didn’t do the movie. Thank God I did,” Josh Brolin told Variety on the red carpet prior to the screening. “The result is incredible. Once I read the script and started to get into it, I was like, ‘Wow, this is something that I want to put my time and energy into!’ What attracted me to the movie is that it brings something into the consciousness. The drug cartel in Mexico is something that’s so close to us and I hope people will see this movie and start to talk about it as much as we talk about ISIS that’s halfway across the planet.”

“Sicario” (a slang word meaning hit man in Mexico) centers on a stoic FBI agent (Emily Blunt) who is recruited by a Homeland Security task force agent (Brolin) to take down a powerful Mexican drug lord supplying the U.S.

“Playing this role is certainly the most intense thing I’ve ever done,” said Blunt. “Although it was challenging, it’s was so appealing because I get to shed every layer of skin to play a part that is raw and gritty. It’s an actor’s dream to do this type of role and I’m so happy that I could do it.”

The British star, who became an American citizen last month, has topped a short list of actresses to portray action-heavy roles, especially after starring in “Edge of Tomorrow” with Tom Cruise. But don’t expect her entire career to be based on wielding guns.

“I don’t want to do it all the time,” she admitted. “If I did, that would mean I would have to be in the gym perpetually, which is something I do not enjoy. But I’m happy to contribute to the new wave of these very kick a– roles for women. I think it’s become less of an anomaly to have women in these parts, which is fantastic. We just saw Charlize [Theron] in ‘Mad Max’ and Rebecca Ferguson in ‘Mission: Impossible’ and all these amazing women showing that they can do a push up and capable of doing what the guys are doing. But we still need more women in these types of roles. We are just beginning and I am happy to contribute.”

Joining Blunt and Brolin at the premiere were costars Daniel Kaluuya, Maximiliano Hernández, Bernardo Saracino and Benicio Del Toro, who is no stranger to drug world movies. His performance in Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic” earned him an Academy Award.

“I’m Hollywood’s go-to guy for the war on drugs,” joked Del Toro, who plays a mysterious Mexican operative. “I’ve played many characters that live in the drug world. I’ve been the guy who’s in charge of it, the cop going after the drug criminals and the guy addicted to it, but this one had a different angle. I knew there was something interesting for me to do. After this, I think it’s time for me to move on to do other things.”

Del Toro next film is 2017’s “Star Wars: Episode VIII.” He is rumored to play the villain in the highly secret project. “I’m very excited about it. I can’t talk too much about it,” he said. “I loved the original. It was a part of my childhood.”

Following the screening, the cast, director Villeneuve, Roger Deakins, the director of photography, and producers Basil Iwanyk, Edward McDonnell, Molly Smith, Thad Luckinbill and Trent Luckinbill all mingled at the after-party held at The Modern located inside the Museum of Modern Art. Blunt’s husband John Krasinski joined the bash and made his rounds socializing with guests including director Amy Heckerling and cracked jokes with Del Toro. Meanwhile Brolin shared a long conversation with Hilary Swank and Blunt chatted with director Julian Schnabel.

“Sicario” opens Friday and expands nationwide on Oct. 2.

(Pictured: Benicio Del Toro, Daniel Kaluuya, Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin at the “Sicario” after-party)

Source: VARIETY

Though much of the headlines are focused on wars overseas, Josh Brolin said, “We don’t really think about what’s in our backyard.”

Sicario actor Benicio Del Toro has been entangled in drug wars quite a few times onscreen.

“I’ve played the guy who’s addicted to it, I’ve played the guy who’s in charge of it!” he joked to The Hollywood Reporter, ahead of the film’s screening at the Toronto Film Festival.

Still, because of Denis Villeneuve’s thriller about the inter-American drug trade, dramatizing a complex U.S.-led effort to take out a major Mexican drug lord south of the border, he said he’s learned that “there’s gotta be another tactic instead of just fighting fire with fire. … There’s gotta be both sides of the border working on this.”

Emily Blunt agreed, saying she found scenes of the film to be occasionally shocking. “It is not reported in the news very much what the Cartel are doing, the sheer brutality of what they do and the imprint they’re leaving on people’s lives.”

And though much of the headlines are focused on wars overseas, Josh Brolin said, “We don’t really think about what’s in our backyard.”

Sicario hits theaters Oct. 2. Watch THR’s chat with the cast.

Source: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

After bulking up and slimming down for recent roles, Jake Gyllenhaal gives his best performance since ‘Brokeback Mountain’ as a man who refuses to mourn his wife’s death.

 

In order to make sense of his life, a white-collar widower decides he has to tear it all down in “Demolition,” dismantling appliances, smashing furniture and even going so far as to bulldoze his own house in search of a catharsis that never comes. It all could have gone horribly awry, were it not for the top-of-their-game contributions of leading man Jake Gyllenhaal (continuing in recent-streak crazy mode) and director Jean-Marc Vallee (back in early-career “C.R.A.Z.Y.” mode), whose unexpected creative choices across the line salvage a sledgehammer-obvious screenplay that will stop at nothing to provoke a reaction. Though dated to open after the Oscar dust has settled with an April 8 release, Fox Searchlight might rethink that strategy if reactions to this alternately tough and ingratiating Toronto opener are strong enough.

Featuring the most baldly manipulative first and last five minutes of any movie this year, “Demolition” opens with Wall Street slimeball Davis Mitchell (Gyllenhaal) and his wife, Julia (Heather Lind), bickering in traffic when a car blindsides them mid-thought, jarring both the Mitchells and the audience — an increasingly prevalent and virtually inexcusable tactic whereby any dialogue set in a moving vehicle and shot head-on becomes a chance for directors to catch us off-guard. That very same emotional shock ploy was used twice at Cannes, in “The Sea of Trees” and “Chronic,” and it’s high time we gave this stunt a name, so Variety hereby proposes calling it “a Demolition,” as in, “The couple were driving along, talking about fixing the refrigerator when the director pulled ‘a Demolition,’ and the next thing we know, we’re in the hospital and the wife is dead.”

Theoretically speaking, an opening like that should put audiences on edge for the rest of the movie, leaving us constantly jumpy about what might come next, and sure enough, though Bryan Sipe’s screenplay is shameless when it comes to beating its metaphors, one could hardly accuse it of being predictable. That’s instantly clear in the way Davis processes his wife’s accident — or rather, how Vallee approaches the critical, tone-setting scenes that immediately follow. Treating Julia like a ghost (the way he did Laura Dern’s dead mom in last year’s “Wild”), the helmer uses jump cuts and poignant dips-to-black to convey the numbness the character feels in place of grieving.

While his father-in-law-cum-boss, Phil (Chris Cooper), stays home wracked with guilt, Davis goes back to work almost immediately. He clearly needs someone to talk to, but rather than turning to anyone familiar, he composes a long, brutally candid letter to the company responsible for stocking the candy-withholding vending machines in the ER under the pretext of asking a refund. At first, this epistolary therapy seems like little more than a device to get Gyllenhaal’s character talking: The film has a fair amount of exposition to unload, and this is a relatively novel and quirky way to do it. Besides, Davis is obviously suppressing his own reaction to the accident and needs an excuse to get in touch with his feelings.

But these letters play a more substantial role than that, seeing as how Sipe actually follows through on his weird creative choice and invents a woman on the other end of Davis’ letters: Champion Vending Machines customer service rep Karen Moreno (Naomi Watts), who is so moved by the correspondence that she decides to call Davis at 2 a.m. to offer a sympathetic ear — which is all he ever really needed. Karen is drawn in because she’s never met anyone as honest as Davis, and Davis is happy because he finally has someone who will listen, although befriending Karen comes with the added challenge of dealing with her rebellious long-haired son, Chris (Judah Lewis), who really loves classic rock.

As it happens, so does Vallee, who notoriously deferred his director fees on “C.R.A.Z.Y.” in order to secure the David Bowie and Rolling Stones songs he wanted on that soundtrack, and who pumps up the volume here every chance he gets, blasting everything from Mr. Big’s “Free” to Heart’s “Crazy on You” to help throttle Davis out of his funk — quite literally at one point, as Gyllenhaal dances along to his newly upgraded playlist through the streets of Manhattan. Chris’ character could be a reincarnation of (or at least soul brother to) the gay, music-driven protagonist of the beloved coming-(out)-of-age pic that put Vallee on the map, and “Demolition” benefits from a comparably cheeky, dramedy-defying approach to material that might have played as either flat or overly precious in another director’s hands.

That doesn’t necessarily excuse the fact that Sipe’s script seems to be working overtime to jerk tears. Just because Davis doesn’t feel anything for his wife’s loss doesn’t mean we won’t, either, and it’s hard to watch the red-eyed Cooper without welling up ourselves, especially considering how stoical the actor is in nearly everything else. Ultimately, “Demolition” falls into that category of movie about people who just need to feel something — an increasingly common zeitgeist-channeling genre led by films such as “American Beauty,” in which relatively privileged suburban white people need something to penetrate the numb discontent of their lives.

Coincidentally, Cooper played a catalyzing force in both films. Here, his character tells his seemingly unfeeling son-in-law, “If you want to fix something, you have to take it apart and put it back together” — advice that Davis opts to take literally, first with his toolbox and later by quitting his cushy nepotistic job and joining a wrecking crew. Here, it’s stepping on a rusty nail at a (de)construction site, in lieu of a windswept plastic bag, that serves as our protagonist’s wake-up call to all that life has to offer, but the message is the same. But Sipe smugly refuses to stop there, throwing a gay bashing, a surprise pregnancy and an eye-rolling and totally out-of-character 11th-hour act of charity into the mix  — not to mention an astonishingly reckless scene in which he hands Chris a handgun and invites the kid to shoot him.

Somehow, amid this erratic roller-coaster of behavior, Gyllenhaal grounds Davis’ wildly unraveling psyche, finding both humor and heart in a man who admits to having spent the past 10 to 12 years incapable of feeling. Considering how far the dedicated actor will go to transform himself into someone new, famously bulking up (as in “Jarhead” and “Southpaw”) or slimming down (a la “Nightcrawler”) as the role requires, it’s doubly impressive to see him build a character without the crutch of a total physical reinvention — which is to say, that he can show up as the Jake Gyllenhaal fans know and love, and yet still disappear completely behind his own facade.

The actor reveals a near-sociopathic deadness to Davis in the early stretch, an almost Patrick Bateman-level lack of empathy when faced with the genuine grief of those around him (which also happens to be where Sipe’s quippy script works best, landing laughs at seemingly inappropriate moments), though the character gradually opens up in Karen and Chris’ company. If Davis’ “thing,” according to those around him, is an unfiltered and frequently tactless compulsion to speak the truth, then the Morenos serve as the mirrors who remind him of who he truly is, and Watts is wonderful in a rare supporting part that allows her to reflect her co-star’s soul without having to use sex in the process.

The object here is clearly to rip Davis apart and rebuild him from the pieces, and that’s a job neither he nor Gyllenhaal can pull off alone. It takes Karen’s empathy, Phil’s understanding, Chris’ wild taste in music and the ever-surprising Vallee’s mastery of tone to construct such a well-rounded character, and though “Demolition” very nearly blows it with two badly executed last scenes, the result is the best Gyllenhaal performance since “Brokeback Mountain” and a partially heartless character who manages to work his way into ours.

Source: VARIETY

Canadian filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee’s Demolition, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts and Chris Cooper, will open the 40th edition of the Toronto Film Festival. The fest announced its first titles today at a news conference presided over by TIFF director and chief executive Piers Handling and artistic director Cameron Bailey. The 40th edition of the festival kicks runs September 10-20 and will include a host of special events marking the four decades of the festival.

Demolition follows an investment banker who, struggling to understand his emotional disconnect after the tragic death of his wife, begins to tear apart his life in an effort to see where he went wrong and is ultimately rescued by a woman he meets in a chance encounter.

Of the 15 Galas and 34 Special Presentations announced, this initial lineup includes films from directors such as Ridley Scott, Michael Moore, Deepa Mehta, Lenny Abrahamson, Brian Helgeland, Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, Jason Bateman, Cary Fukunaga, Catherine Corsini, Stephen Frears, Tom Hooper, Hany Abu-Assad, Meghna Gulzar, Terence Davies, Jonás Cuarón, Julie Delpy, Rebecca Miller and Johnnie To.

Making a return after an absence of six years is Moore, whose Where To Invade Next is sure to provoke with its geopolitical satire. Other world premieres include Scott’s The Martian, Frears’ Lance Armstrong drama The Program and Kate Winslet-starrer The Dressmaker.

TIFF seems to have relaxed rules about North American premieres only receiving the plum opening weekend slots, although it appears the best venues will be prioritized for world and North American premieres.

“We are celebrating our 40th anniversary in 2015 and this first round of films offers a taste of the incredible lineup at this year’s festival,” said Handling. “Made by both established and emerging filmmakers from around the world, these films offer a global snapshot of our times.”

“This year we are thrilled to share a diverse array of filmmakers from Australia, India, France, China, the United Kingdom and the U.S.,” said Bailey. “We look forward to sharing these fantastic films with Toronto audiences — the most engaged and enthusiastic in the world.”

DEMOLITION – OPENING NIGHT FILM

Jean-Marc Vallée, USA (World Premiere)

In Demolition, a successful investment banker, Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal), struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. Despite pressure from his father-in-law (Chris Cooper) to pull it together, Davis continues to unravel. What starts as a complaint letter to a vending machine company turns into a series of letters revealing startling personal admissions. Davis’ letters catch the attention of customer service rep Karen (Naomi Watts) and, amidst emotional and financial burdens of her own, the two strangers form an unlikely connection. With the help of Karen and her son (Judah Lewis), Davis starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew.

Source: DEADLINE | HOLLYWOOD