Spinning Platters Interview: Vera Farmiga on “Higher Ground”

Vera Farmiga in HIGHER GROUND

“This is challenging! This discourse is challenging! This is a campaign that is more rigorous than the Up in the Air Oscar campaign. Those questions were like, ‘What is it like to kiss George Clooney?'” But Vera Farmiga wouldn’t have it any other way. The Oscar-nominated actress, 38, is making her directorial debut with Higher Ground, adapted for the screen by Carolyn S. Briggs (and Tim Metcalfe) from her memoir, This Dark World. It is a finely observed, deeply felt spiritual character study about a woman named Corinne (Farmiga). Yes, this film dares to address religion, specifically evangelical Christianity. But it does so in a manner as completely disarming, sensitive, and uncompromising as Farmiga herself.

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Film Review: “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark”

Bailee Madison in DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK
starring: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison

written by: Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins

directed by: Troy Nixey

MPAA: Rated R for violence and terror

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Film Review: “Fright Night”

Anton Yelchin and Colin Farrell in FRIGHT NIGHT

starring: Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Toni Collette, David Tennant, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Imogen Poots, Dave Franco, Reid Ewing

written by: Marti Noxon

directed by: Craig Gillespie

MPAA: Rated R for bloody horror violence and language including some sexual references

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Film Review: “Conan the Barbarian”

Rose McGowan blows in CONAN THE BARBARIAN

starring: Jason Momoa, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan, Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Leo Howard

written by: Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer and Sean Hood

directed by: Marcus Nispel

MPAA: Rated R for strong bloody violence, some sexuality and nudity

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Spinning Platters Interview: Miranda July on “The Future”

Miranda July in THE FUTURE

Miranda July is an anomaly in the film industry. Perhaps this is because, although she has experienced success within it, she understands there is much more to the creative world outside of it. A multimedia artist in the truest sense of the term, July has been celebrated as much for her performance art as for her filmmaking. Her multimedia pieces have been shown and performed in galleries around the world. Her debut collection of short stories, No One Belongs Here More Than You (2007), won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. And her debut film, Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), which July wrote and directed as well as starred in, won four prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, in addition to numerous critics awards and a Special Jury Prize at Sundance.

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Spinning Platters Interview: Lone Scherfig on “One Day”

Lone Scherfig on the set of ONE DAY

“Look at this city!” Lone Scherfig is staring out at the San Francisco skyline from a conference room at the Ritz Carlton, perched high atop Nob Hill. Despite being a celebrated international director with a penchant for filming in the world’s loveliest locations, the 52-year old Danish director is in San Francisco for the first time (the closest she’d come previously was an appearance at the Mill Valley Film Festival). “You have so much good architecture here,” she exclaimed, eyes scanning the cityscape before us.

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Film Review: “Glee: The 3D Concert Movie”

Chris Colfer, Amber Riley and Jenna Ushkowitz in GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE

starring: Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer, Dianna Agron, Amber Riley, Kevin McHale, Darren Criss, Jenna Ushkowitz, Heather Morris, Naya Rivera, Mark Salling, Chord Overstreet, Harry Shum Jr., Ashley Fink, Gwyneth Paltrow

directed by: Kevin Tancharoen

MPAA: Rated PG for thematic elements, brief language and some sensuality

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Spinning Platters Interview: Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer and Tate Taylor on “The Help”

Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis in THE HELP

Emma Stone has a lot on her mind this summer. After a star-making and critically acclaimed turn in Easy A transformed the now 22-year-old into one of Hollywood’s most in-demand young actresses, Stone filmed three consecutive high-profile projects: Friends With Benefits (for her Easy A director Will Gluck), Crazy, Stupid, Love., and The Help. And now, as these things sometime happen, all three films have been released within just one month of each other, with Stone doing press for the latter two. Add in her Comic-Con duties promoting her role as Gwen Stacy opposite Andrew Garfield in next summer’s highly anticipated The Amazing Spider-Man, and you’ve got one hell of a busy summer.

But right now Emma Stone only has one thing on her mind: cookies. Specifically, the giant chocolate chip cookies available at the Four Seasons.

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Film Review: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

starring: James Franco, Freida Pinto, Andy Serkis, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, David Oyelowo

written by: Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver

directed by: Rupert Wyatt

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for violence, terror, some sexuality and brief strong language

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Film Review: “The Change-Up”

Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds in THE CHANGE-UP

starring: Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin

written by: Jon Lucas and Scott Moore

directed by: David Dobkin

MPAA: Rated R for pervasive strong crude sexual content and language, some graphic nudity and drug use

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