where it 's at is a 1969 american drama film written and directed by garson kanin .

the film stars david janssen , rosemary forsyth , robert drivas , brenda vaccaro and don rickles .

the film was released on may 7 , 1969 , by united artists .

where it ' s at ( film )

4 ) where dark tower fails , it fails in exposition . but honestly , who cares ?
annalee newitz is an editor at large at ars technica . she is the author of
foxtrot
director samuel maoz at the 74th venice film festival . ( domenico stinellis / ap )
ars film debut : watch it ' s no game and meet the hoffbot , written by an algorithm .
as far as i ' m concerned , the movie is a philosophical puzzle ,
maoz said in an interview at the recently concluded toronto film festival , where the drama had its north american premiere .
it ' s the dirty concept , this nature of fate , and the attempt to understand it , to clean it , is what ' s interesting to me .
like its predecessor sunspring , it ' s no game was made as part of the 48 hour film challenge at the sci - fi london film festival . also like sunspring , it ' s no game has bent the rules of writing . louis savy , who organizes sci - fi london , called sharp and goodwin ' s latest film with benjamin
counter - culture hacking . . . it ' s exciting if not a little scary .
it ' s october . you getting in the spooky mood yet ? we take a look at the
poltergeist curse
and reveal all of the suspect deaths surrounding the film series .
two women troubled with guy - problems swap homes in each other ' s countries , where they each meet a local guy and fall in love .
garson kanin ' s
where it ' s at
is one of those strange sort of movies that come out of las vegas almost without meaning to . they usually have don rickles in them , and they ' re usually set in a big casino or hotel ( with lots of plugs ) and they usually involve a lot of hard , cynical people with tough dialog . usually frank sinatra plays the lead , but in
where it ' s at
we get david janssen instead , doing a simultaneous imitation of sinatra and richard widmark .
david hasselhoff talks about being in it ' s no game . right after this , he left for the premiere of guardians of the galaxy vol . 2 , where he ' s featured on the soundtrack rapping about starlord .
the film to the bone portrays a young woman ' s experience with an eating disorder .
real strength comes from that other cast member , the one mentioned at the top of this piece , caesar ' s palace and , by extension , las vegas . watching the scenes of the casinos and vegas in the years just before it got taken over by corporations intent on turning it into a family fun park and international tourist destination is a pleasure in and of itself . it ' s a fascinating time capsule of sin city , when it was at the height of sinfulness , glitz and glamour and none of it was family friendly . nor did it want to be . it was a place for grownups to smoke , drink , have sex and lose their money . by 1969 standards , the city of vegas was truly where it ' s at .
the images , for someone who is at risk or struggling , it can be a very visceral experience .
talking about the film , he says , “i didn’t accept to do the film just because i fell in love with the characters . yes , it was quite challenging to play the role of jai and i might be biased to say that he’s my favourite character in the film , but this film won’t be the same without the other two characters . more than that , it’s a very emotional film , and a personal one for both my brother and me . leaving aside the success or failure of this film , it’ll be a memorable experience in our lives , and this was a gift to our parents . ”
angelina jolie has found a powerful voice as a director . it’s time we listened
the poltergeist curse : ' it ' s heeere . . . ' - biography
sept . 25 : this story was updated with additional information about the film
foxtrot ' s
u . s . distribution .
it was obvious at a wednesday night screening of dark tower , the dreamed - of - for - decades screen version of stephen king’s hybrid epic fantasy - western series , that critics weren’t buying it .
the film is a suspense thriller about michael , who brings his girlfriend jenny to a beautiful yet strange mountain town where everyone seems familiar . but he begins to see and hear things . . . see full summary »
, following a successful premiere at the telluride film festival . based on loung ung’s memoir , it stars srey moch as the young protagonist trying to survive the genocidal violence , forced child conscription and labour camps of the khmer rouge’s terrorisation of civilians in cambodia in the 1970s .
on the rooftop noelle says that she likes the pixies . earlier , when she was mad at him and he was outside her door , an instrumental piano version of the pixies song ' where is my mind ' is playing .
it ' s representative of an ongoing tension in the field , and this [ trailer ] has crystallized it ,
she says .
she said i’m bad publicity . but there’s nothing better for the israeli government than to show it’s willing to criticize itself .
even those most invested in the court’s grandeur are finding it hard to defend its reality .
still , janssen exhibits an unexpected depth of acting ability ( especially contrasted to the disaster of
shoes of the fisherman
) . and a young girl named brenda vaccaro , who plays janssen ' s secretary and drivas ' lover , has a lovely , quiet , humorous presence . in a movie like
where it ' s at ,
you appreciate such things because there ' s so little else .
: you know , vampire weekend ' s doing a show at the end of the month . would you wanna go ?
. through television , theatre and film , vacarro has remained active ever since .
one look at the twitter hashtag # tothebone and it ' s easy to see why those who ' ve had eating disorders are worried about how the film portrays a complex condition like anorexia , which often isn ' t accurately or responsibly depicted in the media .
viewers who remember
lebanon
will be surprised by the new film ' s style . far from a neo - verite look at the harshness of middle east war ,
foxtrot ' s
scenes are as likely to be shot through with magical realism as gritty realism . the film is laden with slick shot - making and indelible images , as technically dazzling as it is emotionally weighty .
50 years ago , this was a wasteland . he changed everything | short film showcase
movie news , screening invitations and reviews from the world of independent film and beyond .
in anticipation of walt disney ' s ' get a horse ! ' and the biographical film ' saving mr . banks , ' we take a look at seven lesser - known facts on the man and the institution .
on october 16 , 1854 oscar wilde was born . we take a look at this incredible author ' s love for the risqué .
but that’s not really a bad thing . in fact , that’s partly what makes the film so much fun . it foregoes lengthy exposition and backstories , and while that makes for a disjointed narrative structure , it allows for a fast - paced story told mainly through scares and monsters and plenty of gunfights and idris elba asking jake if the animals in his world still speak . ( it also gets an assist from a tonally perfect score from tom holkenborg . ) there’s a basic , wondrous glee in the dark tower that makes it feel more like a stephen king film than any other stephen king film since stand by me .
behold : it ' s no game , written by an ai and starring the great david hasselhoff .
nevertheless , universal has given the director another chance . he’s back with split , a film both directed and written by shyamalan himself . are we looking at a return to form , or just another load of jumbled nonsense ?
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
chon noriega , a professor in the ucla department of film , television and digital media , points to the 1991 film
grand canyon ,
which was set in l . a . and dealt with issues of race and class but had no latino standouts . it was as if
only whites and african americans have a subconscious , only they dream ,
he said .
it just doesn ' t look like l . a . where did the other half of the city go ?
marti noxon , the film ' s writer and director , responded to the criticism on twitter soon after the trailer dropped .
we hope the film helps people talk about a subject that is too often ignored ,
she wrote .
yet for all of this , arcel’s film is fun , loving , scary , and often as genuinely compelling as it is wildly misguided . the dark tower may be a terrible , even baffling version of stephen king’s the dark tower , but it’s highly enjoyable as a cinematic king fanfic . here are four things you need to know to prepare for the journey .
as
saturday night live
gets ready to celebrate its 40th anniversary this sunday , we ' re taking a look at the famous funny people who started it all .
it ' s a subject that could be on the minds of mainstream u . s . moviegoers this season too , with richard linklater ' s
last flag flying
opening the new york film festival and then arriving in theaters several weeks later . the movie is a look at a vietnam veteran ( steve carell ) who loses a son to the war in iraq and must see to the funeral arrangements .
but while mcconaughey’s man in black isn’t truly menacing so much as oozing snake oil , the glimpses we get of the monsters the tower is keeping at bay are creepy and fun . the film’s special effects are top - notch , and a reminder that king’s entire multiverse hinges on a weird fiction view of the horrors out there in the cosmos . that the film features a nebula of creepy monsters from the beyond may make it feel like a stranger things ripoff to some viewers , but don’t be misled : arcel is in fact honoring king’s longstanding lovecraftian tradition .
but don’t take my word for it . just look at who’s playing miguel’s family . legendary mexican actress ana ofelia murguía ( escrito en el cuerpo de la noche , la reina de la noche ) who’s been working since the late 1960s will be voicing miguel’s bisabuela , while weeds ‘ lupita , renée victor , plays his abuela . since much of miguel’s story revolves around his love of music , it makes sense that they’d recruit sofía espinosa , who played gloria trevi in the 2014 biopic gloria , to play his mom . oh , and for his dad ? let’s just say # rogelifans have found their new favorite animated film , as jaime camil plays the young boy’s father .
angelina jolie has found a powerful voice as a director . it’s time we listened | bidisha | opinion | the guardian
it’s an m . night shyamalan film . run for the hills ! of course , ten years ago we’d be saying the exact opposite of the once adored film - maker . dubbed the new hitchcock by many , his films including the sixth sense , unbreakable and signs heralded a bold , exciting new time for cinema .
those schools became the models for midtown high , where peter is often one of the only white kids we see . and yet diversity isn ' t a plot point in
spider - man : homecoming ,
where spidey ' s nerdy gamer best friend ned leeds is played by scene - stealing newcomer jacob batalon , an asian american actor , and his rival flash thompson is played with rich - jerk perfection by tony revolori , who is of guatemalan descent .
even ahead of its release in israel , the film already has become a hot - button subject thanks to the country ' s famously conservative culture minister , miri regev , condemning it as a traitorous act . maoz laughed off the condemnation and said the right - wing government would be better off embracing the movie , which was financed by the government ' s official film fund .
the images , for someone who is at risk or struggling , it can be a very visceral experience , it can trigger all kinds of upsetting feelings ,
says claire mysko , ceo of neda . some viewers , she says , may see it as a
race to the bottom
to lose even more weight .
for sharp , who grew up hooked on knight rider , watching hasselhoff transform into the hoffbot was sort of like a fan ' s dream come true . at the same time , it was a fascinating look at how acting works .
watching david perform those lines , there was this moment where his whole stature changed . his shoulders went back and he took an 80s power stance . the watch goes up to his mouth and it was like muscle memory . an actor’s imagination exists in their body , and his muscle memory kicked in .
then he mused that this electrifying moment was actually crafted by an ai :
benjamin helps you take these calcified cultural objects that we all recognize too easily and it automatically caricatures them . if hoff is a caricature of a caricature , ben takes it a step further .
with poltergeist & apos ; s success came a creepy mystique that the classic film is shrouded in real - life tragedies that some interpret as a curse .
jake teams up with a reluctant roland to travel from the desolate outposts of roland’s world back into the bustle of new york , where they hope to find a portal to the man in black’s lair in order to destroy it before it can destroy the tower . along the way , they battle a strange attic - destroying demon , more lovecraftian monsters , attacks from the man in black’s henchman , and roland’s own warring sense of purpose : does he want mere revenge against the man in black for past wrongs , or does he want to save the world ?
it’s not all good news , though . the first 80 minutes are nicely filmed , well - acted and deeply unnerving . unfortunately , a tonal shift at a critical turning point in the film shatters the illusion somewhat and threatens to bring you back out of what is a genuinely immersive experience , though the trademark shyamalan twist works exceptionally well here .
it’s a fair statement , but it won’t be the first time that racial fears have been encoded within the genre . in george a romero’s seminal night of the living dead in 1968 , the african american lead ben , played by duane jones , and his grim fate ( 40 - year - old spoiler : he gets killed at the end after a posse mistakes him for a zombie ) eerily coincided with the assassination of martin luther king . it was a landmark film even for having a black lead , but its bleak climax made a depressing statement on american sociopolitical progress . there are moments throughout the film that imply hostility towards ben’s race and his power but issues surrounding his racial identity aren’t overtly explored .
the film ' s depiction of recreational marijuana smoking in an innocent manner without consequences is rumored to be the main reason for its r rating by the mpaa .
he did , however , fashion a movie out of it . eight autumns after his first narrative feature
lebanon
took the foreign - film world by storm with its frightening intimacy and tank - set claustrophobia , maoz is back with another compelling film . on sept . 19 that film ,
foxtrot ,
swept the ophirs , the israeli equivalent of the academy awards , winning eight prizes , including best picture . that means , among other things , that
foxtrot
will now be the official israeli entry at this year ' s foreign - language oscars .
james mcavoy is absolutely astounding , managing to channel different personalities and changing between them at the drop of a hat . it’s mightily imposing and brings the actor forward into a new light – this is award worthy it’s that good . anna taylor - joy and betty buckley are both likeable with the rest of the cast blending into the background somewhat against these three impressive characterisations .
i appreciate the concern but no one made me do this film . i wanted , needed to . i ' m so proud of what we accomplished . time we talk about it !
admittedly , his son’s birth was a wake up call in his life and the first time he held his son at the hospital was a moment of truth for him .
but as significant as it is to see faces of all ethnicities presented onscreen in
spider - man : homecoming ,
it ' s still peter parker ' s story , and both the hero and villain , played by michael keaton , remain white men .
as camera tracks andy ' s walk past full - length windows of a downtown casino , a woman in blue inside the casino follows the movement , waving at the camera .
jai lava kusa is slated for release just a week before mahesh babu’s spyder arrives in theatres ; however , ntr jr is unperturbed by this clash at the box - office .
: well , whatever , we sell a hell of a lot of it .
, gushing about how it
got a million hits .
the fact that
it ' s like a magnet school where all kinds of kids go , they just have to be really smart and test to get in ,
said watts .
we thought if we made it that kind of school , then you were going to have a really interesting mix of people .
diversity
is not part of the story ,
he says , because in the onscreen world of
spider - man : homecoming
— just like in the real one — it is , simply , normal .
the main elements and characters who help roland along his journey in the book series have all been merged into jake’s character , effectively turning roland’s story into jake’s story — perhaps because at heart all stephen king stories are about boys learning to be men . here , it is jake who must find roland , learn about the tower , and ultimately stop the man in black from blowing it up . if that happens , roland assures jake , the darkness the tower currently holds at bay — an implied nebula of strange lovecraftian cosmic terrors — will encroach upon all of their separate worlds .
“we have had numerous instances where multiple films have gone on to become hits , despite releasing at the same time . if the content is good , then people will even watch 100 films ! and i’m sure that both the films will do well . i’ve always believed in competition because that’s what keeps everyone on their toes ; however , there’s absolutely no bad blood between actors . ultimately , the industry should thrive and the only way forward is by doing good films . ”
‘it is one of the very , very few horror movies that does jump off of racial fears’ … jordan peele on his new film get out , which stars daniel kaluuya , above . photograph : youtube
a look back at robert zemeckis ' half - animated classic , who framed roger rabbit , on its 30 - year anniversary .
such stories — wherever they take place — address more universal dynamics : of countries at the crossroads of patriotism and military tragedy .
last year , director oscar sharp and ai researcher ross goodwin released the stunningly weird short film sunspring . it was a sci - fi tale written entirely by an algorithm that eventually named itself benjamin . now the two humans have teamed up with benjamin again to create a follow - up movie , it ' s no game , about what happens when ai gets mixed up in an impending hollywood writers ' strike . ars is excited to debut the movie here , so go ahead and watch . we also talked to the film cast and creators about what it ' s like to work with an ai .
i won ' t be naive and say there is no social or political statement in my film ,
maoz said .
but it ' s more broad than specific . i don ' t have an interest in a realistic film about a roadblock . the roadblock is a microcosm of a society — any society — that has its perception distorted by a past trauma .
foxtrot
is based on the feeling the director had that school day morning . winning the silver lion award at the venice film festival ( compared to
lebanon ' s
gold lion prize ) , it spins from its director ' s anxiety a tale of a successful nearly middle - aged couple , the feldmans , who learn from military attaches that their fresh - out - high - school son was killed while engaged in mandatory military service .
ust in time for halloween and after a notably devastating year for race relations in the us , the first trailer for jordan peele’s directorial debut get out has hit , causing an understandable stir . given peele’s emmy - winning comedy central show key & peele , it’s perhaps no surprise that his first film as director would involve racial commentary ( one of his most famous skits revolves around the
until it begins to master those aspects of producing and distributing entertainment meant to confront shame and stigma , it ' ll continue to discover its blind spots by trial and error .
she is cautiously optimistic given that , prior to the film ' s netflix distribution deal , neda partnered with its actors to produce a public service announcement addressing common myths about eating disorders .
the friction between israel ' s arts community and benjamin netanyahu ' s conservative government has been sparking for a while ; it came to the international fore with a controversial gown regev wore on the cannes red carpet this year , depicting the old city of jerusalem to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the six - day war . regev was not invited to the ophirs by israel ' s film academy .
moreover , ntr jr states that going by the kind of films being made in the past few years in telugu cinema , the industry is moving in the right direction . and just when we begin to wonder if he’s no longer wary of expectations riding on his films anymore , he replies , “there’ll always be expectations . you can’t avoid it . the only thing you can do is put in a genuine effort to make good films and surpass expectations . look at baahubali - the whole country had huge expectations on the film and it was due to the efforts of every single artiste and technician that the film became what it is today . you can’t have any apprehensions before taking up something and i love challenges . ”
diversity isn ' t a plot point in ' spider - man : homecoming . ' it ' s just normal for millennial new yorkers like peter parker
julia child ' s story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger julie powell ' s 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in child ' s first book .
only one element we’ve seen before in a stephen king film makes a dent on the plot : the shining itself . fans of stephen king , or of the kubrick film , may recall that the “shine” is a rare psychic ability to read minds and sense the future . throughout dark tower , jake is informed that he “shines , ” that he has “the shine , ” and that this is a rare gift — so rare we’ve seen it only in a few king characters here and there over the decades . this , too , might feel superimposed on the film , but it’s a loving reflection of the ongoing interconnectedness of king’s worlds — a crucial aspect of the dark tower series .
it ' s complicated is a movie starring meryl streep , steve martin , and alec baldwin . when attending their son ' s college graduation , a couple reignite the spark in their relationship . but the complicated fact is they ' re divorced and he ' s remarried .
cast deaths were not the only agents of the curse’s proliferation , as other peculiar and creepy legends surround the film franchise . jobeth williams , who played mom diane freeling in the first two films , claimed that director steven spielberg insisted on using actual human skeletons as props in an attempt to save money ( at the time , they were cheaper than plastic skeletons ) . williams’s claim has never been verified , but it persists to this day in the lore surrounding the films’ curse .
fear the walking dead
at least tries to hew to some reality as far as who lives in l . a . the show ' s use of spanish with subtitles during some conversations lends a touch of authenticity . but it doesn ' t seem like it should be a sisyphean ordeal for a show set in l . a . to cast a latino as a latino .
when asked on set about the importance of being a latino on the show , he revealed that he isn ' t latino . his mother is
100 % sicilian so that ' s where i get my spanish - looking skin texture ,
he amiably explained , adding that he usually went for white or latino roles .
and marvel will take even bigger steps soon .
black panther ,
starring chadwick boseman as the film division ' s first leading superhero of color , promises a true watershed moment for representation when it opens next february with a predominantly black cast onscreen and
creed
director ryan coogler , the mcu ' s first african american helmer , behind the camera .
we may not see the events that have taken place over the course of the dark tower series in this film , but elba’s roland has internalized them all the same . whenever he aims a weapon , you fully believe that he kills not with his gun but with his heart — part of the gunslinger creed . elba is the physical embodiment of roland , and he’s so committed to his vague , barely explained quest that he stays the film’s most deeply compelling figure , even if he’s no longer the main protagonist . when we finally see roland attempting to interact with random people in modern - day new york , and see how out of place he is , the comedic moments are tinged with sadness : here is a man out of time who’s truly lost everything , won’t regain it , and knows it .
it turns out maoz ' s daughter had missed the bus by mere seconds and was still alive . but the incident stayed with the director in a peculiar way .
“there were no references for me to play this role , and it drained me out both mentally and physically . when actors depict stuttering on screen , it’s usually exaggerated . but we wanted to put a different spin on it . instead of stressing on the first syllable of a word , i tried doing that in the middle of the word or a sentence . this made the dialogue both audible and convincing . acting is all about how your internalise an experience and convince someone that it is plausible . i’m often asked to share tips on acting , but i believe that it’s something that can’t be taught , ” ntr explains .
arcel also does his best to run with the interconnectivity of king’s universe , something that links many of his books but has really never made its way into a screen adaptation until now . the dark tower universe essentially ties all of king’s universes together ; characters from the dark tower appear in other books , and characters throughout his fiction move between the worlds held in place by the tower . on film , save for one element , these multiple worlds feel superimposed : a long - ruined theme park dedicated to “pennywise” in roland’s world implies that it ’s shapeshifting titular character once ran the joint ; a portal dubbed 1408 implies that the demonic hotel room of king’s 1408 is but a jaunt away ; other subtler references to salem’s lot , needful things , and the shining occur throughout the film .
samuel maoz ' s
foxtrot
swept the ophirs , israel ' s equivalent of the academy awards , but has been condemned by the government ' s conservative culture minister miri regev . ( tiff )
i love by the sea , but it’s a gorgeous curio when set alongside the rest of her output . in returning to the bigger , more heavily political canvas of first they killed my father , jolie reconnects with her prior body of work and looks afresh at the often disregarded collateral damage of male warfare : women and children . let’s hope the world is ready to listen this time .
unbroken was superseded by her much smaller film , by the sea , in 2015 . based somewhat on jolie’s parents’ marriage but also redolent of gena rowlands’ work with john cassavetes , it tells the story of a couple pulled apart by grief after two miscarriages , which causes them to act out in various unflattering and perverse ways . although this luxury arthouse work is anomalous in terms of jolie’s much wider interests as a director , by the sea marks her out as an auteur who can create stunningly beautiful work that balances sumptuous design with ( particularly female ) emotional torment . in one scene jolie’s character nessa tells her husband , played by jolie’s then - husband brad pitt : “maybe you shouldn’t have a drink today . it’ll be good for you . ” clearly brad didn’t listen . and have you heard him speaking french , as he does throughout the film ? oof – it’s like overhearing an upstairs neighbour struggling to move heavy furniture .
) and janssen had something else in common as well . both actors would die before reaching their fiftieth birthday . janssen died of a heart attack at the age of 48 and drivas died from complications due to aids in 1986 at the age of 47 , one year shy of the age janssen lived to be . drivas led a very private life and while his death from aids is widely known now , at the time , whether by mistake or personal family request , the
“films are scripted , but on bigg boss , i got a platform to showcase who i’m as a person . i’m just tarak there . and tarak laughs a lot , ” he laughs . the show’s popularity has surged a lot and the actor , by his admission , has gained a lot from it : “i made it a point to watch every single episode of the show and it’s only then that i was able to host the show with some degree of spontaneity . it was a wonderful experience , but i don’t know if i’m going to do more tv shows . let’s see what else is in store for me . ”
the story follows teenager jack benson . jack is on the hunt for his birth mother he finds she has been a regular all along at the nearby griddle house .
when your cherubic little daughter communicates with spirits living inside your tv set , your backyard becomes a swimming pool of muddy skeletons , there’s a wolf - beast - demon living in your children’s closet , and steven spielberg & apos ; s genius gets into the mix—that’s a formula of blockbuster scariness .
and yet , according to several studies , no group buys more movie tickets when compared with their proportion of the u . s . population than latinos . in the motion picture assn . of america ' s 2014 theatrical market statistics report for u . s . and canadian moviegoers , latinos were 17 % of the population but
oversampled
at 25 % of north american frequent moviegoers .
moonlight is the surprise contender in this year’s oscar race ; directed by barry jenkins , and adapted from a play by tarell alvin mccraney , it’s the story of a black gay man at three different stages of his life . jenkins and two of his male cast , trevante rhodes and andré holland , talk about the issues surrounding black gay identity , while naomie harris explains how she got to grips with playing a crack addict .
a widowed mom gets a summer internship at a tech company and draws the attention of two very different executives while learning about about accounting , app designs and finding love .
a latino playing god as he gives up control of planet earth to help a funny white tv reporter having a bad day at the office ? get out of here .
the shift in focus shown in the trailer for get out and the exploration of racial identity suggests that the horror genre might finally be ready to push a new boundary . there’s so much to unpack in the 150 - second preview , giving us a mere glimpse of themes we’re not used to seeing in horror . the timing of the film also mirrors romero’s efforts in the 60s to reflect america’s struggle with race , a nation still plagued by ongoing , institutional injustice . while get out will act as entertainment predominantly ( it’s from blumhouse , the production company behind insidious and the purge ) , with daily reports of black men killed for the color of their skin , it’s also a vital reminder that racism remains a more terrifying force than any supernatural boogeyman .
ever since the makers of the film unveiled the characters which ntr is going to play , there’s been a lot of focus on him as jai , who considers himself as a modern day ravana , and quite rightfully so . he even stutters while delivering his lines , and that’s become an usp of the character .
in the new film , the key to that success lies with a boy named jake ( tom taylor ) , a psychic teen living in new york who’s been frenziedly drawing his constant visions of roland , the tower , and a mysterious man in black who wants to destroy it . jake is convinced , correctly , that otherworldly beings wearing human faces are working for the man in black , kidnapping children from jake’s world and using them to essentially direct psychic laser beams at the tower . when they inevitably come for jake , he uses the knowledge his visions have granted him to elude capture and escape through a multi - dimensional portal to roland’s world , a vast barren wasteland .
i do think it opened the door … [ both ] the casting of that show and the audience embracing it ,
said finn , who also casts from the television and theater worlds and says she ' s constantly going through an ever - stacked pile of dvds on the lookout for new talent .
she followed up with a more comprehensive statement thursday night that acknowledged her own experiences with anorexia and bulimia and stressed the importance of responsibly portraying what it ' s like to have an eating disorder .
' s sarah hay ) , who informs them that it doesn ' t matter if they go on strike because the future is ai writing movies for other ai . as evidence , she shows them
cass , a widowed mother of two and driven attorney , is in need of a nanny . she hires matt , a handsome single family friend . matthew ' s more laid back style changes the demeanor of the family ' s intense schedule . does cass realize she ' s needs to adjust her life ' s focus ?
for those who have a more practical inquiry of maoz — where has he been since 2009 ? — he has an elusive answer . the director , 55 , said he had been concentrating on other activities such as building furniture and raising his daughters while also developing a black comedy that has yet to be produced . he had also been flirting with several military stories ,
but i ' m not sure i want the army to be my career .
so he took them all and folded them into his film .
revolori was coming off of memorable turns in wes anderson ' s
grand budapest hotel
and the sundance darling
dope
when he auditioned for
spider - man .
i saw white kids auditioning for ned and flash and liz and michelle , so it wasn ' t about , ' let ' s cast this diverse , '
he told the times .
it was more about , let ' s let diverse people and people of color have the opportunity .
british actor charlie hunnam was cast asmexican american cartel kingpin edgar
la barbie
valdez in the film
american drug lord .
( don kelsen / los angeles times )
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king louis xvi ascended to the throne on may 10 , 1774 . we take a more intimate look at the king and his wife marie antoinette—the good , the bad , and the naughty .
the world ' s most famous madame is called to washington to testify before congress .
) , but what’s interesting is that he would insert this within the horror genre .
sometimes what ' s in your head isn ' t as crazy as you think .
jolie excels when she puts the experiences of women and girls in the spotlight . her second film , unbroken , in 2014 , was a solid biopic of louis zamperini , the former japanese prisoner of war who became an olympic runner . it was well made , but stately and too worshipful of its subject .
she said i ' m bad publicity . but there ' s nothing better for the israeli government than to show it ' s willing to criticize itself ,
maoz said .
they didn ' t play this right . they used to play chess , and now they ' re boxing .
and we haven’t even gotten to the two funniest additions to the film , who are surely to garner the most laughs . proving that we should follow guillermo del toro’s example and not pit coco against the similarly - themed animated flick the book of life , the disney·pixar has recruited one of del toro’s own book of life voice actors ( the very funny gabriel iglesias ) to play the part of head clerk in the land of the dead’s “department of family reunions . ” and then there’s cheech marin—who’s also lending his voice to this summer’s cars 3 . he’s also playing an authority figure in the ghostly land of the dead as a corrections officer . the rest of the voice cast is rounded out by herbert siguenza , selene luna , octavio solis , lombardo boyar , alanna ubach , and blanca araceli .
so , right from temper to my latest film jai lava kusa , the whole idea has been to put in a genuine effort to do something challenging and hope that people like it as well . my son is growing up and i have to be a very responsible father to him . i want to create an atmosphere around him so that he can go on to explore what he wants to do . if he’s destined to be an actor , so be it , but i’m not going to force him into it , ” he confesses , furthering , “i don’t believe in the idea of legacy . talent is what matters in the end . no one forced me to be an actor . my son might be tilted to this profession , but i won’t push him into it . ”
with jurassic world : fallen kingdom now in cinemas , we take a look at how imdb users rated the films of the franchise . plus , browse exclusive lego® jurassic world playsets , presented by lego .
what happens when you mix reality tv , celebrities , a world - renowned psychic - medium , and the dead all into one ? you get the haunting of… ! bio’s hit show returns for a second season , which premieres this saturday , june 1st at 10 / 9c . . . .
what the dark tower loses in faithfulness to king , it makes up for in spirit , fun , and a sense of wonder .
critics of the trailer also pointed out that it offered no mental health resources for those who might need support after seeing the images pop up in their newsfeed . mysko is hopeful that netflix , which received the same criticism over graphic episodes of 13 reasons why , will air the film with the contact information for appropriate helplines .
my goal with the film was not to glamorize eds , but to serve as a conversation starter about an issue that is too often shrouded by secrecy and misconceptions ,
she wrote .
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i was mostly able to follow the plot , i didn ' t quite get how the main problem / threat was addressed . aside from being competently made and having a few ok gags , i do have a bias for movies that criticize religion , although none of the serious points made in it is anything new to those familiar with the topic . it is nice to see this type of portrayal of religion in 2017 - it is entertaining and a good way to spend an hour or so for amazon prime members , however it won ' t change anybody ' s mind , and is a far cry from a must see .
for so , so many reasons , a reasonably faithful film version of all eight books of the dark tower was never going to happen . ( spoilers follow for the dark tower book series . )
overall , split is a thrilling return to form for a director who had all but lost his mojo . with a spell - binding performance from james mcavoy and a very well - written script , this is a film that highlights the art of film - making in a simple fashion ; one that shows you don’t need a massive budget to keep the audience on the edge of their seats .
the plot focuses on chris ( sicario’s daniel kaluuya ) , a black man planning to meet the parents of his white girlfriend rose ( allison williams , known for her role as marnie in girls ) for the first time . but from the outset , something seems off . an uncomfortable encounter with a local cop puts them – and us – on edge and once they arrive at the family home and get settled , chris becomes aware of increasingly strange , and potentially murderous , behavior . a major element of this relates to racial difference as chris must navigate an almost entirely white space ( apart from the “help” ) , relying on a lifetime’s worth of practice dealing with micro - aggressions and discrimination . it’s a thrilling conceit and one hopes that get out might signal a trend of culturally relevant horror films from film - makers of color .
perhaps the scariest part of it ' s no game , at least for a writer , is the idea that the writer ' s strike might be resolved by hiring ais . sharp is currently writing a screenplay about the de - extinction of wooly mammoths and said that
the possibility of the writer ' s strike is looming large in my life .
but he isn ' t afraid that benjamin will become a scab like robocop did during the detroit cop strike in the eponymous movie .
in a way we ' re being a bit satirical about people who are afraid of what ross [ goodwin ] and i are doing .
angelina jolie , with loung ung , cambodian activist and co - writer of her latest film , first they killed my father : a daughter of cambodia remembers . photograph : chris pizzello / invision / ap
two people with commitments issues are asked to be best man and maid of honor at their friends wedding . with nothing much in common , they both didn ' t expect to find the romance of a life time .
and granted , there was a lot not to buy . director nikolaj arcel ’s cinematic interpretation ( “adaptation” is a tricky descriptor for a bunch of reasons ) of king’s series is a wildly ambitious attempt to take a sprawling story that spans many characters and multiple universes and turn it into an urban fantasy set mainly in new york city .
of course most war films , whoever they are directed by , depict conflict as brutal , unjust , callous and grievously wasteful of human life . but relatively few include women as plentiful or significant characters or make the obvious gendered point that it is men , not women , who are the perpetrators of virtually all the world’s violence in “peacetime” as well as war ; and that it is women and children who must suffer , unasked , through the acts and consequences of men’s violence .
while mysko wishes the trailer had fewer scenes portraying extreme thinness , she is hopeful that the film will share an important story about illness and recovery without glorifying eating disorders or erasing the diversity of people ' s experiences . collins ' character is cast as a thin , white , middle - class woman .
social media erupted recently with
whitewashing
accusations after the film
american drug lord
gave the starring role of mexican american cartel kingpin edgar
la barbie
valdez to the british actor charlie hunnam .
when brought together at a family event , two exes find themselves oddly attracted to each other after ten years of divorce . although the couple think that this affair will stay in a different state , it brings itself back to their own city and disrupts their personal lives . while the couple still maintain other romances , they cannot help but to continue with their affair .
except for king’s main character , idris elba’s roland the gunslinger — who isn’t even the main character of this movie — the other film characters are all composites of multiple characters from the book series . except for the broadest central plot point — roland pursues a man , played by matthew mcconaughey , who wants to destroy the tower that keeps our universe and many others in balance — king’s ideas have been largely swept aside for a strange fusion of science fiction and weird fiction disguised as a young adult fantasy .
an online campaign to see a spider - man of color star in sony ' s 2012 reboot
the amazing spider - man
failed , although it did land
atlanta
star glover a small role years later in
homecoming .
it ' s not enough just to have the best friend of the protagonist be a person of color or a woman ; [ audiences ] actually want to see the protagonist be a woman or a person of color ,
said hunt , whose team issues its next hollywood diversity report in february , tracking inclusiveness in films released in 2016 .
it ' s all about , ' whose stories are we telling ? ' this appears to be a step in the right direction .


looking for eric is a 2009 british-french film about the escape from the trials of modern life that football and its heroes can bring for its fans .

it was written by screen writer paul laverty and directed by the english director ken loach .

the film 's cast includes the former professional footballer eric cantona and the former bass guitarist with the fall , steve evets .

loach said of the film , " we wanted to deflate the idea of celebrities as more than human .

and we wanted to make a film that was enjoying the idea of what you and i would call solidarity , but what others would call support for your friends really , and the old idea that we are stronger as a team than we are as individuals . "

looking for eric

looking for eric would be a whole lot better if it never found eric .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing looking for eric near you .
home » blogs » “looking for rio” – eric cantona film premiere . . .
looking for eric emerges as a portrait of a world and a way of life .
“looking for rio” – eric cantona film premiere . . . | football supporters ' federation
ken loach ' s looking for eric , starring eric cantona , is the veteran director ' s sunniest film to date .
looking for eric is a movie starring steve evets , eric cantona , and stephanie bishop . eric , a football fanatic postman whose life is descending into crisis , receives some life coaching from the famously philosophical eric cantona .
loach strains hard for fun in looking for eric , but he ' s like a jokester who doesn ' t know how to tell a joke .
a conventional and entirely dishonest turn of events . . . undermine [ s ] everything that has come before in looking for eric .
lighter than the usual ken loach feature , looking for eric marks a departure of sorts for the solemn director , but ultimately , it ' s a minor work .
it was this legendary talismanic status that film director ken loach has made the focus of his latest movie , looking for eric , starring , and partly inspired by , cantona himself .
eric cantona made football an art , a philosophy , something beautiful . but can he put in a great performance in a movie ? the united legend stars in the new ken loach film looking for eric which has its uk premiere in manchester ( june 1 ) .
trailer - looking for eric genre : sport / comedy regie / directed by : ken loach darsteller / cast : john henshaw , stephanie bishop , eric cantona , gerard kearns and smug roberts kinostart deutschland : 5 . november 2009 kinostart usa : offizielle filmsite : urltoken used with authorization
“the reception here has been awesome . i’m looking forward to building a relationship with the fan base . ”
the uk premiere of eric cantona’s new documentary “looking for rio” takes place at amnesty international’s football film festival ( hackney picturehouse , 6th - 8th june ) . the festival is held in partnership with the blizzard and picturehouse cinemas .
eric , a football fanatic postman whose life is descending into crisis , receives some life coaching from the famously philosophical eric cantona .
eric vanden eykel , but their faces were all looking up ( the reception of jesus in the first three centuries 1 ; new york : bloomsbury t & t clark , 2016 ) .
ryan returns the next day , and eric demands to know what ' s going on . ryan is looking after the gun for zac , and can ' t go to the police because zac ' s heavies have threatened to set their dogs on jess . eric goes to see zac , but is humiliated by his dobermann .
now comes ken loach ' s looking for eric , about a manchester postman ' s imaginary relationship with the maverick manchester united centre forward , who retired in 1997 and who has since turned to painting , playing the trumpet , philosophy , acting and film producing .
no prior knowledge of either english soccer or one of its greatest stars of the ’90s , french - born eric cantona , is necessary to go “looking for eric . ” but helmer ken loach and writer paul laverty’s ninth feature together is a curious hybrid : three movies — boilerplate , socially aware loach ; personal fantasy ; romantic comedy — wrap around [ … ]
the second eric of the film is none other than the legendary ex manchester united player eric cantona , who basically plays himself . he is a ghost - like figure , who is a figment of eric the postal worker ' s imagination .
ukm : the uk met office ' s global model , which is definitely worth looking at . but the forecasts are 12 hours old .
the first exchange , which followed a rapturous welcome , wonderfully set the tone for the next 60 minutes . why do you think so many people are here and that you are still so popular , eric ? there was a brief pause before cantona looked up and replied :
because i am not a man . i am cantona .
the line was straight out of looking for eric and engendered the sort of reaction that used to be reserved for one of his exquisite touches at old trafford .
looking for eric is also a film about football and about obsession . written by long - time collaborator paul laverty , it follows postal worker eric bishop ( steve evets ) as his life spirals out of control . his second wife has left him , and his teenage stepsons ( one of whom , interestingly uncommented on , is black ) are both sullen and wild .
cmc , cemn : two variants of the canadian global model , which is worth looking at , but again the forecasts are 12 hours old .
looking for eric
is the last film i would have expected from ken loach , the great british director of films about working class lives . his strength is social realism and a critique of the limited options within a class system . he works close to the earth and to his characters .
eric berger is the senior space editor at ars technica , covering everything from astronomy to private space to wonky nasa policy . a certified meteorologist , eric lives in houston .
whether you’re looking to open an event space that caters to weddings , concerts , or corporate and non - profit events , the end result is that you’ll be in charge of each night’s party . if you find joy in bringing happiness to people , this shouldn’t be a problem . o’reilly has a final piece of advice for those looking to break into the industry :
ken loach has always been my favourite director of british films , you can honestly say that his movies are like no other . they are always so gritty , so realistic and brilliantly portray normal everyday people and the problems in which they experience - ' looking for eric ' is no exception . the film is about marijuana smoking postman eric bishop ( steve evets ) whose hero is the international footballer eric cantona . tied down by many personal and family problems ( looking after his granddaughter is bringing him back into contact with his ex girlfriend who he parted with on bad terms and his stepson is hiding a gun for a drugs baron ) , bishop forms an imaginary relationship with cantona who gives him advice on how the handle all of the drama taking place around him . but it isn ' t all doom and gloom , this film is funny from the beginning and like most loach ' s films , there is a strong sense of humanity , friendship , loyalty and hope throughout . ' looking for eric ' is yet another great film from a great filmmaker .
looking for eric is in fact the story of two erics . the first is a depressed , middle - aged postal worker and manchester united football fan ( played by steve evets ) . eric ' s life is disintegrating in front of his eyes . he is alone and struggling to cope with life , his stepsons add to his worries . they are drifting into serious crime and use his home as a place to store their stolen goods and a place for their friends to doss out .
he had spent the past week making appearances up and down the country in the lead - up to friday ' s release of looking for eric – the ken loach - directed film in which cantona plays himself – but this was an entirely different gig . twerton park was not so much the last stop on the promotional tour , but more an opportunity for loach to give those connected with the club he has followed since 1974 a day they would cherish for the rest of their lives .
ken loach’s bittersweet comedy drama looking for eric witnesses the veteran british director undertaking one of his first forays into magic realism . the film blends enchanting and refreshing fantasy - themed whimsicality with an irresistible core of warmth and sweetness that loach unveils in the hard - scrabble working - class life that occupies center stage . . . . read more
one of the best ken loach ' s films . a perfect mix of comedy and drama , passion for football and social commitment , fantasy and realism . looking for eric sound genuine because it tells a story where football represents a distraction from the bleak and miserable reality and helps people carry on , but also because erica cantona is not just a football star , but embodies the popular side of this sport , who was born from people and for the people , and cannot just live in a golden cage . here more than ever loach shows his ability for storytelling , being compelling and entertaining at the same time , because his rebellion to the system can ' t be imagined without a reasonable share of irony . looking for eric is , therefore , a story that everyone can identify with or , saying it with the main character ' s words , to put oneself in his blue suede shoes . . .
credits include footage of the press conference where eric cantona gives his famous
seagulls
quote .
eric is convinced , king cantona can help him get a grip on his life once more .
avno , aemn : two variants of noaa ' s premiere global model , the gfs . both are worth looking at , but again the forecasts are 12 hours old .
to win back the love of his life , eric ' s going to need a little training .
“for us , the next step is letting people know about my culinary talent , ” she says . “i’m starting a web - based identity for myself—katie o’s food carnival—because my clients have been asking for it and you have to listen to that . ”
looking for eric is a gritty and realistic comedy - drama , which doesn ' t sacrifice laughter in - spite of all the glumness . eric bishop is a typical miserable northener on the surface , and we follow him through his juggling act of a life , as he ' s helped along by eric cantona . it ' s full of interesting and well devoloped characters , and the acting is really quite striking . even eric cantana is good , proving that sports stars can act ( well he is playing himself ) . throw a happy ending into the mix , and you have a brilliant story of a man overcoming his troubles , with the help of friends .
after falling off senators ' radar , curtis lazar looks for a fresh . . .
looking for rio is an exploration of football and politics in brazil in the run up to the world cup , and the film will be headlining amnesty international’s sidelines film festival , a weekend of documentaries , discussion , and debate with a football and human rights theme .
with acting now his priority , cantona no longer follows football closely but he knows enough about the game to realise that much has changed since he retired and not necessarily for the better . one of the subjects he feels most passionate about is the soaring cost of tickets , an issue that loach tackles in looking for eric through cantona ' s co - star , steve evets , who plays eric bishop , a postman who has switched his allegiances from manchester united to fc united , the club formed by fans disillusioned with the glazer ' s takeover at old trafford .
there was a moment ! surprise is the hardest thing to act , and steve ( evets ) had no idea he was in the film . on the day… eric cantona hid behind a black drape that we ' d put round the camera . steve was looking towards the life - size cantona poster and eric slipped out and stood behind him , and spoke . the first take it didn ' t quite work . but there was still surprise enough for the second take .
movies and tv shows are certified fresh with a steady tomatometer of 75 % or higher after a set amount of reviews ( 80 for wide - release movies , 40 for limited - release movies , 20 for tv shows ) , including 5 reviews from top critics .
after postman eric bishop crashes his car driving the wrong way round a roundabout , his friends at the sorting office try to cheer him up . but eric has too many things on his mind , especially problems with sons ryan and jess . eric keeps a life - size poster of former manchester united centre - forward eric cantona on the wall and asks its advice . one day , he finds the real cantona standing behind him .
during a family reunion with lily and sam , eric ' s house is raided by armed police and everyone is arrested . a furious lily refuses to speak to eric , though ryan is relieved to find that he ' s hidden the gun in a chicken . video footage of eric ' s humiliation is posted on youtube .
eyebrows were raised when the premise behind looking for eric was first announced to the film trade press . a ghostly buddy movie co - starring a global football celebrity as himself , directed by ken loach ? clearly loach ' s palme d ' or for the wind that shakes the barley ( 2006 ) must have gone to his head . and yet the director ' s hand is instantly recognisable - indeed , in many respects the film is a compilation of his favourite subjects .
here ' s the url for this tweet . copy it to easily share with friends .
no prior knowledge of either english soccer or one of its greatest stars of the ’90s , french - born eric cantona , is necessary to go “looking for eric . ” but helmer ken loach and writer paul laverty’s ninth feature together is a curious hybrid : three movies — boilerplate , socially aware loach ; personal fantasy ; romantic comedy — wrap around a central core of a hopeless soccer fanatic who’s given a second chance to sort out his life . as in many of laverty’s scripts , problems of overall tone and character development aren’t solved by loach’s easygoing direction , though when it works , “eric” has many incidental pleasures .
the film - shot entirely on location in manchester - tells the story of eric bishop , a football - mad postman whose life is in a tailspin until his idol eric cantona appears in his imagination to give him back his confidence .
eric tells cantona about meeting lily in 1979 , at a 1950s rock ' n ' roll dance contest . they had a daughter , sam , but eric left them , and has felt intense guilt ever since . the roundabout incident was caused by confusion after he agreed to pick up sam ' s baby daughter daisy from lily , and he couldn ' t face meeting her . cantona orders eric to shave and go to see her . eric meets lily and apologises .
looking for eric
is inexplicable . it has elements of a loach social drama , which might have been better used as the entire story . cantota is nice enough , but so what ? if there seem to be any comic possibilities in the story , loach doesn ' t find them . if your world doesn ' t revolve around eric cantota , he ' ll come over as just a nice enough guy , no big deal . and can the great ken loach actually have fallen prey to the obligatory action in the third act virus ?
given that this is a loach movie , cantona’s appearance is handled in an entirely natural way , sans vfx , though it’s economically made clear that the onetime soccer star is a figment of eric’s dopey imagination . as the two get to know each other , the ooh - la - la frenchman starts giving advice to eric on how to get back with lily , his first , teenage love ( shown in flashbacks ) for whom eric has never lost his devotion .
eric cantona , pictured here at cannes , more recently popped up at bath city fc . photograph : dominic lipinski / pa
eric bishop , a middle - aged postman working for the manchester sorting office , is going through a dreadful crisis . for starters , his second life companion has not resurfaced although she was released from prison a few months ago . he is left alone with two stepsons to look after , which is no bed of roses since the two teens disrespect him and keep disobeying him . to make matters worse , ryan , the older boy , fascinated by zac , a dangerous gangster , has accepted to hide his gun in eric ' s house . on the other hand , he is asked by sam , his student daughter who has a newborn baby , to get back in touch with lily , his separated wife . now , eric left her not long after she gave back to their daughter . as a result eric panics . . . having lost all his bearings , eric bishop soliloquizes face to the poster of his idol , another eric , french footballer eric cantona , when the latter appears just like the genie out of aladdin ' s lamp . through a series of aphorisms peculiar to him , the footballer - philosopher will help remorse - ridden desperate eric bishop to get by .
after being fired from her job , angie teams up with her flatmate to find employment for immigrants .
“we design items that can save and be repurposed later , like a braised meat that can be re - braised and turned into a product for the next day , ” says o’reilly . “but this is your night to ask me for anything . i call it the when harry met sally concept , because people are afraid to be demanding and ask for what they want—but i am creating for you . ”
and if the film achieves its only half - believable denouement through the death of loach’s art rather than of one of his characters this time around , then that , too , seems tonally appropriate ; we sense that neither eric or their various costars can instruct us in any way through martyrdom , so their unlikely perseverance seems deserved—if not necessarily hard - earned . much like the signature kinesthetics of cantona , the unmistakable , and undeniably perceptive , aesthetics of loach’s best proletariat odes are on display in looking for eric —even if those skills appear to be working toward an unsatisfying goal .
( 2009 ) , directed by ken loach , follows the redemption story of middle - aged and initially washed - up eric bishop . we meet eric in the midst of an existential crisis as his unresolved feelings about his life bubble up and disturb his impotent stupor . he conjures up eric “the king” cantona , legendary footballer , as a coping mechanism — a life coach of sorts .
in looking for eric , loach , working with regular photographer barry ackroyd , stays true to his usual realist vision of working britain , yet also manages to make one of his least typical films in that for much of its first hour , it plays as a comedy . steve evets gives a gruff but tender performance as eric bishop , the struggling postie whose life has gradually fallen apart . living with two stoned stepsons , he can ' t summon the courage to reconnect with his ex - wife , lily . his workmates try to cheer him up with jokes and , in one of the funniest scenes of loach ' s oeuvre , buoy him with a male self - help group .
tabd , tabm , tabs : these are simple statistical models , which are essentially useless for track forecasting .
for a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances , see our glossary .
the recent world cup in south africa brought everyone ' s attention to soccer ( which most of the world calls football ) , but movies such as
bend it like beckham
and
looking for eric
show why we should pay more attention to it . the fall ' s steve evets plays down - on - his - luck postman eric bishop , who in his mind gets advice from footballer eric cantona ( playing himself ) . through this , eric reconnects with his family . but when his son gets involved with a group of thugs , eric has to take charge . this is only the third ken loach film that i ' ve seen ( the others were
poor cow
and
kes
) . as i understand it , loach usually focuses on political topics in his movies . while this one isn ' t really political , it ' s still one that i strongly recommend . everything about it feels so realistic . i ' d never even heard of eric cantona before this . without a doubt , the best scene in the movie is the home invasion towards the end .
eric bishop , a middle - aged postman working for the manchester sorting office , is going through a dreadful crisis . for starters , his second life companion has not resurfaced although she was released from prison a few months ago . he is left alone with two stepsons to look after , which is no bed of roses since the two teens disrespect him and keep disobeying him . to make matters worse , ryan , the older boy , fascinated by zac , a dangerous gangster , has accepted to hide his gun in eric ' s house . on the other hand , he is asked by sam , his student daughter who has a newborn baby , to get back in touch with lily , his separated wife . now , eric left her not long after she gave back to their daughter . as a result eric panics . . . having lost all his bearings , eric bishop soliloquizes face to the poster of his idol , another eric , french footballer eric cantona , when the latter appears just like the genie out of aladdin ' s lamp . through a series of aphorisms peculiar to him , the footballer - philosopher . . .
ken loach ' s latest is an uplifting , entertaining and amusing socio - drama featuring a match - winning performance from eric cantona .
eric cantona will be in conversation at the event and post - screening drinks ( or more specifically , caipirinhas ) will be served .
twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup . try again or visit twitter status for more information .
“you have to get people to eat your product before they agree to pay for it , ” o’reilly explains .
it may not have the subtlety of nick hornby ' s fan ' s - eye novel fever pitch , nor the nostalgic tug of philip saville ' s lovely 1983 film those glory glory days in which two young female spurs fans meet danny blanchflower , but looking for eric is likely to be as popular a film as loach has made since he began working in 1964 . they may even have to adjust the old cliché : it only takes 45 years to score a goal , ken .
full financial estimates for this film , including domestic and international box office , video sales , video rentals , tv and ancillary revenue are available through our research services . for more information , please contact us at research @ urltoken .
eric is unable to get through to ryan and jess , and cantona tells him that it ' s because he ' s a poor disciplinarian . eric reminisces about cantona ' s great goals , but cantona says his proudest moment was a pass to goalscorer denis irwin against spurs . he tells eric that if he always plays safe , he will never take any risks . during his nine - month ban for assaulting a fan , cantona learned the trumpet , and plays a shaky rendition of ' la marseillaise ' over the manchester rooftops .
eric and his postman friends watch the match in the pub . one , spleen , is an outspoken fc united member , and he argues about his motives with fans who have stayed loyal to manchester united . returning home , eric sees ryan being beaten up by local gangster zac .
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lily brings daisy around to eric ' s house , but cries after seeing that he ' s kept the picasso card . eric hands the baby to an alarmed jess and rushes after her . she reminds him that he walked out on her and sam and refuses to speak to him .
his work colleagues ( also avid manchester united fans ) , led by portly meatballs ( john henshaw , good ) , try to cheer him up . but then one night , while getting high in his bedroom , eric is “visited” by another eric , his all - time idol cantona .
eric needs help . he gets it partly from his mates at work , among them the terrifically named spleen ( justin moorhouse ) , smug ( smug roberts ) and meatballs ( john henshaw ) . partly from a spliff ( unexpectedly for a director whose values were defined long before the 1960s , the drugs definitely do work in this film ) . most of all , his shot at redemption comes from eric cantona .
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for five decades now ken loach has been such a brilliant scourge of class oppression that’s he almost become a victim of his success . for unsympathetic critics , he’s “red ken” , an earnest worry - wart more committed to socialism than to entertainment .
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but as a baseline , o’reilly says that her venue fee on a saturday night is $ 5 , 500 for 6 hours—noting that it’s a little undermarket—and includes tables and chairs . but the packages that the venue offers allows for flexibility in pricing .
eric bishop ( steve evets ) is a 50 something postman who’s life has taken a serious downturn . he is plagued with regrets of his past , in abandoning his first wife and newborn baby and now struggling to manage his teenage sons from his second marriage . one of his outlets for fun is following his beloved football team manchester utd and it’s from the past years of this succesful team that he is given some life coaching and guidance from none other than eric cantona , the french footballing sensation who is also famous for his philosophical ramblings .
eric is the typical disheartened underdog , but he eventually develops a game plan ( after an endearingly cheesy training montage ) to turn his life around .
postman eric bishop ' s life is out of control . his stepsons are in trouble with the law , his house is a mess and he is about to lose the love of his life forever . but then eric cantona appears in his bedroom and starts to turn his life around . . .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
apologies for the pun , but this is a film of two halves . the second takes the viewer into much darker territory . without spoiling the story , the film switches from life - affirming comedy to a near catastrophe for eric and his family . it ' s an emotional rollercoaster of a movie . it captures the contradictions of working class life and has within it lots of infectious , subtle moments .
this eventually leads to a crowd - pleasing finale involving eric , meatballs and the whole gang of manchester united supporters that stresses a favorite loach theme of the collective being stronger than the individual . again , the bit is enjoyable but further jars the pic’s search for an overarching tone .
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please don ' t misunderstand me . i am not some kind of meteorologist elitist . honestly , it doesn ' t take that much education to have a basic understanding of weather forecasting . and i don ' t have any problem with people looking at all of the available forecast data to draw their own conclusions about hurricane forecasts and make decisions for their families in the face of a natural disaster .
looking for eric treats postmen such as eric bishop with the same sympathy as the builders in riff - raff ( 1991 ) and the railwaymen in the navigators ( 2001 ) . after bishop comes close to a total breakdown , his colleagues stage a full - blown therapy session that ranks alongside the football match in kes ( 1969 ) as the funniest scene in any ken loach film . an impassioned pub argument about american financial exploitation of manchester united recalls the collective ownership debate in land and freedom ( 1995 ) , and the way that naïve teenagers are exploited by ruthless gangsters echoes sweet sixteen ( 2002 ) , while bishop himself resembles bob in raining stones ( 1993 ) : an essentially good man out of his depth .
each day is an uphill struggle for eric ; he is alone in every sense . he only survives because of the friendship and support he receives from his workmates and the love that is reignited in him when he takes his grandchild round to see his first wife lily ( stephanie bishop ) .
“since some of the paperwork was already in progress for the venue , it only took a couple of months to get all the contracts in order and closed , ” says o’reilly . she notes that this wan’t the typical experience : deals for similar spaces normally take longer .
cantona tells eric that the noblest vengeance is forgiveness . lily rings him immediately afterwards and asks to meet him in a pub . during a long heart - to - heart , eric confesses that he had a panic attack during sam ' s christening . lily tells him that she thought he ' d gone off her . sam is surprised to find her parents having a friendly chat . back at eric ' s house , cantona orders him to start a fitness regime with him as his personal trainer .
eric the postman is slipping through his own fingers . . . his chaotic family , his wild stepsons , and the cement mixer in the front garden don ' t help , but it is eric ' s own secret that drives him to the brink . can he face lily , the woman he once loved ? despite outrageous efforts and misplaced goodwill from his football fan mates , eric continues to sink . in desperate times it takes a spliff and a special friend to challenge eric to journey into the most perilous territory of all - the past . as a certain frenchman says ,
he who is afraid to throw the dice , will never throw a six .
cotc : a version of the us navy ' s global model , which is kind of meh for hurricanes and is 12 hours old .
the outlines of eric ' s life are grim . the film begins after he survives a car crash , and involves his two worthless grown sons , ryan and jess , and his lingering feelings for his estranged wife , lily ( stephanie bishop ) , who has refused to speak to him in seven years .
no subject was off - limits and as cantona sat for the best part of an hour , without once looking at his watch , candidly discussing everything from the part his father played in his infamous kung‑fu kick at selhurst park to his ambition of managing manchester united and the exorbitant ticket prices that have hammered a nail into the coffin of the working - class supporter , it was tempting to wonder how cristiano ronaldo would handle a similar engagement .
eric the postman is slipping through his own fingers . . . his chaotic family , his wild stepsons and the cement mixer in the front garden don’t help , bu . . .
when eric walks in a room you really know he ' s there . it ' s true of very few people but he ' s a man with considerable charisma and a magnetism . actors talk about natural projection . . but eric did that on a football field – he communicated to 70 , 000 people . that ' s an extraordinary natural ability .
after discovering a stolen cement mixer in front of his house , eric finds ryan and his friends going to see manchester united versus barcelona , and travelling in a glossy black mercedes .
despite the joyful friendship and the good humor of his postal worker colleagues , who do everything to bring a smile back to his face , eric is in a state of gloom .
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douglas gordon and philippe parreno ' s zidane - a tightly focused study of the former french captain playing a match for real madrid - remains , for me , the best work about actually playing the game . director emir kusturica ' s documentary maradona is more about the iconography of the argentinian star .
this movie really does live up to its billing as a feel good movie . it is original , funny , touching and kept my attention from start to finish and with the added bonus of having eric cantona , great for all football fans and fans of eric as an actor . the only word of caution i would give is that there is a huge amount of swearing in it , mostly the f word , so you might want to be careful not to watch it with people who do not like swearing .
this is especially visible along the massing and treatment of the façades , culminating in the monumental oriel window looking over apple tree yard . the nature of the site is explicitly celebrated with a memorial epigraph to sir edwin lutyens as the place where he designed his plans for new delhi ; and the corner is punctuated with a sculpture in indian granite , which is the work of sculptor stephen cox ra , and brings in a timeless quality to the everyday of the street .
eric goldschein is a freelance journalist who covers entrepreneurship , small business trends , emerging technologies , culture and sports . he was previously the managing editor of sportsgrid . com , and has written for business insider , trep life , the huffington post and more . you can contact him at ericgoldschein . com , or on twitter at @ ericgoldschein .
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wasted food is also a big topic of conversation for the staff , which occasionally has to create dishes when they’re not certain how much will be consumed .
amusing though cantona ' s appearances usually are ( his wobbly trumpet performance of ' la marseillaise ' is a particular highlight ) , he turns serious when he tells bishop that his career would have got nowhere without dedicated teamwork . this theme , a loach perennial , is threaded throughout the film until a climax so visually memorable as to be almost surreal . looking for eric was widely tipped to become loach ' s first genuine box - office hit since kes , but in the event the film performed disappointingly - partly , box - office receipts implied , because of the intense hostility to manchester united in a number of british cities . clearly , teamwork can only stretch so far .
this whole thing has been a dream job . i ' m a jobbing actor me . have been for years . but it doesn ' t matter because i ' ve worked with ken now , it ' s an ambition fulfilled . eric cantona ' s in it , i ' ve got the lead role . . . i mean what actor wouldn ' t die for that job ? it ' s on my cv and if i never work again , this has been an absolute adventure .
south african jazz artist nduduzo makhathini takes the audience through a quest he explains as healing . ikhami is an isizulu word for medicine . fourteen blue . . .
his two stepsons excel in little scams of all kinds , his daughter reproaches him for not being up to scratch , and his sentimental life is a desert .
roger ebert ' s speech on empathy for the
11th hour
series on april 9th , 1994 , being republished here in honor of his birthday june 18 .
loach , known for his social realism style of directing , cast a relatively unknown actor steve evets from salford in his first lead role alongside cantona who plays himself .
director : ken loach . screenplay : paul laverty . starring : steve evets , eric cantona , stephanie bishop , gerard kearns , stefan gumbs , lucy - jo hudson , matthew mcnulty , john henshaw .
synopsis in barcelona , the regional capital of catalonia and the cradle of catalan nationalism , two clubs have competed for over a century . since their foundation , each reflects a differing conception of catalan identity . the independence - orientated fc barcelona and the apolitical espanyol . here , as in manchester and milan , people are born on one side or the other , destined to become culès , barça supporters or perico , espanyol fans . for 100 years , this sporting rivalry has expressed all the tensions of catalan history , its geopolitics fall during the franco dictatorship , its distinct identity and the release of a catalanism suppressed for so many years . in over a century of cohabitation , the two clubs and their supporters , have developed their own codes , their own legends , and have created their myths , heroes , alternating periods at the top for barca and painful disqualifications for espanyol often related to the intrusion of politics . in this documentary , eric cantona plunges us into the story of two rival identities , a sport , a city , and a country .
determined to have a normal family life once his mother gets out of prison , a scottish teenager from a tough background sets out to raise the money for a home .
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it also became clear there was more where that came from . what ' s the most difficult : playing football or acting in films ?
for me ,
said cantona , with a shrug of the shoulders ,
everything is easy .
for the second time in 60 seconds the room erupted and it was easy to imagine that if cantona had got up from his seat and left at that point , no one would have complained that the £20 they had spent on a ticket did not represent value for money .
while cantona retains a great deal of respect for ferguson , there is a former team - mate at old trafford whom he also holds in high esteem .
ryan giggs is 35 but still has the passion for the game . i admire this kind of player . i don ' t admire every player in the world who plays football until 35 years old because some of them play and are not passionate anymore . but when you see giggs , everybody knows that he still has the fight and passion for the game .
i was really happy when i received an invitation to a screening of director ken loach ' s new film , looking for eric . and i couldn ' t believe my luck when i was offered the chance to interview ken loach and scriptwriter paul laverty . but i have to admit that i was very apprehensive about talking to loach . i haven ' t spoken to him since the split in respect . in the break - up things were said by both sides that probably shouldn ' t have been . what was i supposed to say if i didn ' t like the film ? luckily i didn ' t have to confront that problem . the film is top drawer , up there with loach ' s very best : land and freedom , and kes .
a delightful and amazingly engaging tragicomedy that blends sadness , tenderness and a lot of humor to deliver this heart - warming story that benefits from some amazing performances - especially by a hilarious eric cantona at his most philosophical .
cantona advises eric that it ' s impossible to outrun people faster than himself , and that he should exploit zac ' s fears . eric hatches a plot with his friends to go round en masse to zac ' s house , disguised in cantona masks , smash up his mercedes , television and furniture , spray him and his associates with red paint and threaten to post footage on youtube . finally , meatball destroys the gun with a sledgehammer .
eric tells cantona more about his life . he still keeps a postcard of a picasso peace dove , sent by lily shortly after his departure . he wants to write to her , but can ' t articulate his feelings .
deciding to spring - clean his life , eric throws out lots of junk . but when he finds a gun in ryan ' s room , he realises that his son is in serious trouble . ryan comes home , the two fight , and ryan goes off with the gun . eric and jess borrow fellow postman meatball ' s car and try to find him . they see the aftermath of a nightclub shooting , but no sign of ryan .
eric the postman is slipping through his own fingers . . . his chaotic family , his wild stepsons , and the cement mixer in the front garden don t help , but it is eric s own secret that drives him to the brink . can he face lily , the woman he once loved thirty years ago ? despite outrageous efforts and misplaced goodwill from his football fan mates , eric continues to sink . in desperate times it takes a spliff and a special friend from foreign parts to challenge a lost postman to make that journey into the most perilous territory of all the past . as the chinese , and one frenchman , say , he who is afraid to throw the dice , will never throw a six . features the full screenplay , including extra scenes , sixteen pages of colour photographs , plus introductions from paul laverty , ken loach , eric cantona and production notes from the cast and crew .
one night , having stolen some of his stepson ' s spliff , eric gets his cantona visitation , resulting in more comedy as the frenchman dispenses life - enhancing aphorisms in heavily accented english .
i ' m still getting over the bloody seagulls ,
retorts the flustered bishop , referring to cantona ' s famous pronouncement following his nine - month ban for kung - fu kicking a crystal palace fan in 1995 .
into this sad man ' s life steps cantota , a superstar in all the soccer - playing world , who becomes his confidante and confessor . cantota , it must be said , is quite successful in his role : warm , persuasive , a source of common sense . he diagnoses eric ' s problem : he should get back together with lily . this is also the plan of sam ( lucy - jo hudson ) , eric and lily ' s grown daughter .
eric the postman is slipping through his own fingers . . . his chaotic family , his wild stepsons and the cement mixer in the front garden don’t help , but it is eric’s own secret that drives him to the brink . can he face lily , the woman he once loved 30 years ago ? despite outrageous efforts and misplaced goodwill from his football fan mates , eric continues to sink . in desperate times it takes a spliff and a special friend from foreign parts to challenge a lost postman to make that journey into the most perilous territory of all - the past . as the chinese , and one frenchman , say :
he who is afraid to throw the dice will never throw a six .
today cantona remains just as philosophical about life . at the cannes film festival he laughed at reporters who asked about his career saying ,
i stopped football at 30 because i lost my passion for it . so long as i feel a great passion for the cinema , i ' ll continue to shoot films . and if i get bored i will move on and do something else .
long synopsis : eric the postman is slipping through his own fingers… his chaotic family , his wild stepsons , and the cement mixer in the front garden don’t help , but it is eric’s own secret that drives him to the brink . can he face lily , the woman he once loved thirty years ago ? despite outrageous efforts and misplaced goodwill from his football fan mates , eric continues to sink . in desperate times it takes a spliff and a special friend from foreign parts to challenge a lost postman to make that journey into the most perilous territory of all - the past . as the chinese , and one frenchman , say , “he who is afraid to throw the dice , will never throw a six . ”
eric the postman is slipping through his own fingers . his chaotic family , his wild stepsons , and the cement mixer in the front garden don’t help , but it is eric’s own secret that drives him to the brink . can he face lily , the woman he once loved thirty years ago ? despite outrageous efforts and misplaced goodwill from his football fan mates , eric continues to sink . in desperate times it takes a spliff and a special friend from strange parts to challenge a lost postman to make that journey into the most perilous territory of all – the past . as the chinese , and one frenchman , say , ' he who is afraid to throw the dice , will never throw a six ' . urltoken
here now is a most unexpected comedy appealing to world soccer fans , and based on a common enough daydream : a man ' s sports hero appears in his life and carries on friendly conversations with him . i call it a fantasy but loach approaches it as if it were quite real . he uses eric cantona , a famed star of manchester united , and places him right there in the room with eric bishop ( steve evets ) a manchester postal worker badly in need of encouragement .
' oo ah cantona ! ' they still sing his name at old trafford and he hasn’t played there for over a decade . it ' s not just in honour of his sublime talent on the pitch .
with lines like that , it is little wonder that loach enjoyed working with cantona so much on set . the film director thanked the frenchman afterwards and another standing ovation for king eric followed . bath city were around £12 , 000 richer and randall ' s would never feel the same again . cantona , however , was not quite finished . moments later he was holding aloft a pink ticket with no62 on it . the bottle of wine must have tasted fantastic .