Variety’s 2008 Screening Series Calendar
December
This schedule will be updated frequently, so please return to this website for details on new events as they are added.
New York Screening Series (Los Angeles)
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Vicky Cristina Barcelona ALREADY SCREENED Studio: The Weinstein Company Director: Woody Allen Screenplay: Woody Allen Cast: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson Q&A: Penelope Cruz Two young American women, Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) come to Barcelona for a summer holiday. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is sensible and engaged to be married; Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) is emotionally and sexually adventurous. In Barcelona, they’re drawn into a series of unconventional romantic entanglements with Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), a charismatic painter, who is still involved with his tempestuous ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz). Set against the luscious Mediterranean sensuality of Barcelona, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is Woody Allen’s funny and open-minded celebration of love in all its configurations. Location: Sunshine 143 E Houston Street, New York, NY 10002 |
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The Reader ALREADY SCREENED Studio: Weinstein Director: Stephen Daldry Screenplay: David Hare Cast: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes Q&A: TBD In postwar Germany, a young man’s decades-long obsession with an older woman runs headlong into a war crimes trial, where he learns an awful truth. Location: Sunshine 143 E Houston Street, New York, NY 10002 |
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The Wrestler ALREADY SCREENED Studio: Fox Searchlight Director: Darren Aronofsky Screenplay: Rob Siegel Cast: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood Q&A: Director Darren Aronofsky, Mickey Rourke Back in the late ‘80s, Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey. Estranged from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and unable to sustain any real relationships, Randy lives for the thrill of the show and the adoration of his fans. However, a heart attack forces him into retirement. As his sense of identity starts to slip away, he begins to evaluate the state of his life -- trying to reconnect with his daughter, and strikes up a blossoming romance with an aging stripper (Marisa Tomei). Yet all this cannot compare to the allure of the ring and passion for his art, which threatens to pull Randy “The Ram” back into his world of wrestling. Director Darren Aronofsky presents a powerful portrait of a battered dreamer, who despite himself and the odds stacked against him, lives to be a hero once again in the only place he considers home – inside the ring. Location: Sunshine 143 E Houston Street, New York, NY 10002 |
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Revolutionary Road ALREADY SCREENED Studio: Paramount Vantage Director: Sam Mendes Screenplay: Justin Haythe Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon, Kathryn Hahn, David Harbour, Kathy Bates Q&A: Director Sam Mendes, Leonardo Dicaprio, Kate Winslet Adapted from the revealing novel by Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road is an incisive portrait of an American marriage seen through the eyes of Frank (three-time Academy Award® nominee Leonardo DiCaprio) and April (five-time Academy Award® nominee Kate Winslet) Wheeler. Yates’ story of 1950’s America poses a question that has been reverberating through modern relationships ever since: can two people break away from the ordinary without breaking apart? Frank and April have always seen themselves as special, different, ready and willing to live their lives based on higher ideals. So, as soon as they move into their new house on Revolutionary Road, they proudly declare their independence from the suburban inertia that surrounds them and determine never to be trapped by the social confines of their era. Yet for all their charm, beauty and irreverence, the Wheelers find themselves becoming exactly what they didn’t expect: a good man with a meaningless job whose nerve has gone missing; a less-than-happy homemaker starving for fulfillment and passion; an American family with lost dreams, like any other. Driven to change their fates, April hatches an audacious plan to start all over again, to leave the comforts of Connecticut behind for the great unknown of Paris. But when the plan is put in motion, each spouse is pushed to extremes – one to escape whatever the cost, the other to save all that they have, no matter the compromises. Location: Sunshine 143 E Houston Street, New York, NY 10002 |
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Doubt ALREADY SCREENED Studio: Miramax Director: John Patrick Shanley Screenplay: John Patrick Shanley Cast: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams Q&A: TBD Set in 1964, Doubt centers on a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him abusing a black student. He denies the charges, and much of the play's quick-fire dialogue tackles themes of religion, morality and authority. Location: Sunshine 143 E Houston Street, New York, NY 10002 |
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Good ALREADY SCREENED Studio: ThinkFilms Director: Vincent Amorin Screenplay: C. P. Taylor, John Wrathall Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Jason Issacs Q&A: Viggo Mortensen, Jason Issacs The rise of national socialism in Germany should not be regarded as a conspiracy of madmen. Millions of "good" people found themselves in a society spiralling into terrible chaos. A film about then, which illuminates the terrors of now. Location: Sunshine 143 E Houston Street, New York, NY 10002 |
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ALREADY SCREENED Studio: Paramount Pictures Director: David Fincher Screenplay: Eric Roth Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Elle Fanning, Julia Ormond Q&A: TBD Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences. Location: Sunshine 143 E Houston Street, New York, NY 10002 |
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Waltz With Bashir ALREADY SCREENED Studio: Sony Pictures Classics Director: Ari Folman Screenplay: Ari Folman Cast: Animated Feature Q&A: Director Ari Folman This mesmerizing and gripping animated documentary begins one night at a bar, when an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images. Location: Sunshine 143 E Houston Street, New York, NY 10002 |
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I’ve Loved You So Long ALREADY SCREENED Studio: Sony Classics Director: Phillipe Claudel Screenplay: Phillipe Claudel Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein Q&A: Kristin Scott Thomas Léa (Elsa Zylberstein) and Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas) are sisters. The film begins with Léa, the younger sister by fifteen years, picking Juliette up at the airport. We soon realize that the two sisters are almost complete strangers to each other. Juliette has just been released from prison after serving a long sentence. Léa was still a teenager when Juliette, a doctor, was convicted of the murder of her six-year-old son. Léa contacted Juliette when she was released and suggested that Juliette come to live with her. Juliette had no particular desire to see her sister again. Location: Sunshine 143 E Houston Street, New York, NY 10002 |
