‘Touchy Feely’ Trailer Wants to Get Close and Relieve Your Tension

Lynn Shelton’s Your Sister’s Sister was one of the best films of 2012, and is still probably criminally underseen, so let’s make sure that doesn’t happen to her new film, Touchy Feely, by spreading around its trailer early and often. The film stars Rosemarie Dewitt as a massage therapist who develops a fear of touching and being touched by other people, and even though that sounds like a difficult enough hurdle to overcome already, probably it’s safe to say that’s not entirely what the movie is about. No, the new trailer for the film makes it seem like a metaphor for the larger issue of human relationships, how we make connections with other people, how important those connections are to our wellbeing, and all of that good stuff. Of course, any movie about human relationships is going to need some talented humans to bring the whole thing to life, so Touchy Feely has gone ahead and brought together a cast of people like Ellen Page, Scoot McNairy, Allison Janney, and Josh Pais to make that happen. Click through to watch the trailer and see how they did. If you’re the type of person who usually appreciates Shelton’s method of getting her actors together in a few confined spaces in order to heighten the intimacy between them and then see how that plays out on camera, then it seems like Touchy Feely is going to have plenty for you to love. And hey, look at that, Mark Duplass even showed up http://dlvr.it/3XFJgv

Casting Couch: Jennifer Lopez to Lend a Hand in ‘The 33,’ Ray Winstone to Teach Sean Penn in ‘The Gunman,’ and More

What is Casting Couch? It’s a safe place where you can read all the casting news you want without being afraid that anyone is going to judge you. Today we are happy to inform you that Hollywood has given new jobs to TV funnymen Donald Faison and Ryan Hansen. From judging reality shows on TV to recently co-starring with Jason Statham in Parker, it seems like Jennifer Lopez is slowly dipping her toes back into the world of celebrity. Probably it’s only a matter of time before we even have to start listening to “J-Lo” music on the radio again. Before you shudder at that notion though, let’s just focus on the movie world. THR is reporting that she’s just taken another role, this one in the dramatic retelling of the Chilean mining collapse of 2010, The 33. We already know that Antonio Banderas is starring in this one, and as an addendum to the news of Lopez’s casting also comes word that Martin Sheen and Rodrigo Santoro are on board as well. That’s only 29 to go. If the name Ray Winstone doesn’t instantly ring a bell, he’s that charming though gruff English chap you remember from big Hollywood releases like The Departed and Hugo. Yeah, look at him, don’t you just want to pinch his cheeks? Anyway, the news here is that The Gunman keeps looking more and more interesting, because even though it’s got one of those generic secret-agent-being-pursued-by-his-own-people Bourne-knockoff plots, the secret agent being pursued is http://dlvr.it/3XDvlm

Review: ‘Call Me Kuchu’ Is a Hopeful And Infuriating Kick to the Heart

Documentaries come in all shapes, sizes and colors, but one thing the vast majority of them have in common is that they’re usually telling a story about something that has happened in the past. They could be looking back centuries, decades or years, but more often than not they’re exploring events that have already come to pass. Call Me Kuchu is a less common example of a film that explores an ongoing story by following people and events as they unfold, and the result is an at times harrowing, heartbreaking and hopeful look at the best and worst humanity has to offer. While the subject of gay rights divides the United States for the most part evenly and peaceably, other countries vary wildly. Some are more accepting, and some are far more restrictive. Uganda belongs in the latter camp with 95% of Ugandans aligning themselves directly against homosexuality. Gay sex is already illegal and punishable by time in prison, but a newly proposed law would make repeat offenses punishable by death. The film follows David Kato, Uganda’s first openly gay man, as he and other activists fight to stop the law from passing. It quickly and quite literally becomes a fight for their very lives. The term “kuchu” is “a synonym for the queers,” but as evidenced by the film’s title it doesn’t appear to be a derogatory one. Instead it’s embraced by Uganda’s LGBT community and used frequently by David and his peers as they share their own stories http://dlvr.it/3XDhhy

Sony Goes All In On ‘The Amazing Spider-Man,’ Announces Dates For ‘3’ and ‘’4’

Seeing as Spider-Man is definitely one of the top five most recognizable superheroes on the planet, and superheroes have been pretty much the most profitable thing you can make movies about over the last decade or so, it makes sense that Sony wouldn’t want to give up the rights to making Spider-Man movies and have them revert back to Disney/Marvel Studios. A new press release from the studio [via /Film] reveals just how enthusiastic they are about making sure that the further adventures of the web head stay under their control. Even though they only have to keep making Spider-Man movies every few years to keep control of the property, which currently puts them in a very safe position seeing as they’re deep into production on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 right now, they’ve decided to take steps to ensure that Spidey won’t be going back to his Marvel roots at least up through 2018. That’s right, Sony must really like what they’re seeing over on Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 set, because before that movie can even be finished, they’re already going ahead with plans for not just another ASM sequel, but two more sequels. This new press release firms up dates for three upcoming movies, which are apparently going to look as follows: We’ll see The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on May 2, 2014, The Amazing Spider-Man 3 on June 10, 2016, and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 on May 4, 2018. Does it seem a little ridiculous to be http://dlvr.it/3XD0jj

LAFF 2013 Review: Powerful and Thought-Provoking, There Is Not a Bad Performance in ‘Short Term 12′

What kind of parent do you think you will be? That’s a big question, and one that usually doesn’t come up until you are actually face-to-face with the prospect. Grace (Brie Larson) works at a foster care facility, the eponymous Short Term 12, and is clearly in a loving (albeit not very well hidden) relationship with her boyfriend and fellow facility staff member, Mason (John Gallagher Jr.) But even though she works with kids all day, the idea of having one of her own has Grace completely spooked. This fear is not completely unsurprising considering the first few moments we spend in Short Term 12 see Mason telling a new hire, Nate (Rami Malek), a ridiculous story about his first day and a kid who tried to run away, only to then have one of the current kids burst through the front doors, hightailing it to the gates. Grace and Mason do not miss a beat in chasing down Sammy (Alex Calloway) and calming him down, but it becomes very clear in that moment that the residents of Short Term 12 are dealing with big issues of their own. Grace is the “boss” and very much in control of the facility, but when Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever) comes to stay with them, something about their newest resident causes Grace to start to unravel. Grace tries to connect with Jayden to get her to open up, but in doing so she finds herself relating to and recognizing parts of herself in the troubled young girl, http://dlvr.it/3XCX0P

Short Film: ‘On Our Way’ is a Low Budget Romance Done Right

Why Watch? Although director Fergal Rock could do with a better camera package, the charm of this short film comes from the sweetness of its leads. Dorothy Cotter and Matthew Keenan shine here, converting a chance encounter into something special with looks, silent era swagger and obvious chemistry. Yes, they have a meet cute, but it’s not based on the situation’s circumstances or a wacky locale (it’s in an empty movie theater); it’s sprinkled with sugar because of Cotter’s portrayal of a character that’s decidedly not shy. Where some movies would include elements that are charming for charming’s sake, Rock and company imbue the characters with it so that everything that happens feels light but still organic. For those who have seen Rock’s Henry and Sunny, the style here shouldn’t be surprising at all. What Will It Cost? About 9 minutes. Keep Watching Short Films http://dlvr.it/3XC16D

The Simple Math of Why Hollywood is Broken

As we all know, Hollywood is imploding. Steven Spielberg is on the case, millions of angry comment section responses to remake announcements are on the case, and now producer Lynda Obst is on the case. In an excerpt from her new book, “Sleepless in Hollywood,” Obst laboriously details her drive to former Fox CEO Peter Chernin‘s house while repeating the phrases New Abnormal and Old Abnormal until they seem clever. Okay, so I didn’t like the chapter, but it did feature at least two clear insights into the current production mindset of the major studios. The New Abby Someone, if you will. First: DVD sales numbers are the real killer. According to Chernin via Obst, “The historical studio business, if you put all the studios together, runs at about a ten percent profit margin. For every billion dollars in revenue, they make a hundred million dollars in profits. That’s the business, right? … The DVD business represented fifty percent of their profits. Fifty percent. The decline of that business means their entire profit could come down between forty and fifty percent for new movies.” Second: The magic wand of the Profit and Loss Statement where studios considered the earning potential of a movie based on its actors, director and content is now a mystery to most. Again, Chernin, “They said to me, ‘We don’t even know how to run a P&L right now. We don’t know what our P&L looks like because we don’t know what the DVD http://dlvr.it/3XBT7f

Six Fun Activities To Do With That Brilliant New ‘Mad Men’ Press Release

With just one episode left in this year’s remarkable Mad Men season, AMC has cheerily released an “official” press release announcing the latest merger for the ad men, including a look at the new firm’s new logo and adorable comments from all of its partners. The memo was shared on Mad Men’s Facebook page after last night’s show (and subsequently shared by every person you know on social media), and while it’s certainly fun to gaze at, it’s even more fun to use as the jumping off point for some Mad Men activities (and, we’ll admit it now, to delve ever-deeper into the finely-tuned historical elements of the ever-accurate show). Let’s have some fun. 1. Call Peggy at (212) KL 5-0112 Well, we tried, and only got a recorded message telling us that dialing this number “is not allowed from this line.” What, SC&P doesn’t like iPhones? Of course, the phone number listed on the release as the SC&P main line utilizes the traditional fictitious phone number style for most major entertainment productions. However, despite popular opinion, not all 555 numbers are fake, as only 555-0100 through 555-0199 have been set aside for strictly fictional use, while the rest of numbers have been assigned as regular phone numbers. Those poor people. The inclusion of the “KL 5” dialing style is (of course) historically accurate. KL 5 was used in the mid-1960s by a number of television shows for its fake numbers, a throwback to the telephone exchange codes used in the early days of widespread telephone usage in America. http://dlvr.it/3X9xLx

LAFF 2013 Review: Lake Bell Proves a Voice is a Powerful Tool with Her Goofy ‘In A World…’

Children naturally grow up wanting to be like their parents, and some actually do. Children of actors becoming actors, children of musicians becoming musicians, and I’m sure there are some children of accountants who become accountants. (Okay, maybe not that last one.) Carol (Lake Bell) wants to be a voice over actor, but not because her father, famous voice over actor Sam (Fred Melamed) is one, but because she understand the power of voice. Carol spends her days as a vocal coach (boasting Eva Longoria as one of her clients) and logging various accents into her archive of voices. Carol is kooky and a bit awkward (her outfits alone can tell you that), but she is also sweet and honest, in no way the shark you apparently need to be to make it as a voice over actor. In A World… takes audiences behind the scenes of voice over acting as the community “mourns” the death of the godfather of voice over acting, Don LaFontaine, by clamoring for a shot to take over the iconic, “In a world…” line. Even though his own daughter has aspirations to make a name for herself in the industry, Sam is instead grooming another up-and-coming voice over actor, Gustav (Ken Marino) for the job. Sam may not support his daughter’s career, but he also decides to stop supporting her, throwing her out so his new, younger girlfriend Jamie (Alexandra Holden) can move in. Carol finds herself living on the couch of her sister Dani (Michaela Watkins) who is http://dlvr.it/3X9DSv

Development Hell: Why We Didn’t Get a Superman Movie From 1988 to 2006

Few franchises have crashed and burned as spectacularly as the Superman films, which reached their nadir with 1987’s fourth installment, The Quest for Peace, which grossed barely a tenth the box office of Richard Donner’s classic origin story a decade earlier. SUPERMAN’S DIMINISHING RETURNS Superman (1978) $134M Superman II (1980) $108M Superman III (1983) $60M Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) $15M With Tim Burton’s dark, gritty Batman demolishing box office records in 1989, Warner Bros. had no reason to think audiences would respond to the brighter, more colorful Man of Steel mythos – at least, not until 1992, when DC Comics’ bestselling “The Death and Return of Superman” cycle put The Daily Planet’s most famous reporter back on the front page. In the comics (later turned into a 2007 animated film, Superman: Doomsday), Superman is killed by a creature called Doomsday, before being resurrected after a three-month publishing hiatus which became a publicity magnet. Deciding that the death-and-rebirth story merited a movie, Warner placed a full-page ad in the trade press announcing a working-titled Superman: The New Movie, with Batman producer Jon Peters at the wheel, and screenwriter Jonathan Lemkin (Lethal Weapon 4, Devil’s Advocate, Demolition Man), at the typewriter. Superman Reborn (1994-95) “Superman demands fantasy elements that Batman doesn’t,” Lemkin said. “You’ve got to have villains whose powers and abilities demand that Superman — and only Superman — can be the one who stops them. The fate of the whole planet should be at stake.” Putting his own spin on the death-and-return concept, Lemkin’s script opened with a defeated Superman in his death throes, telling the story of http://dlvr.it/3X8V8D

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