Articles
‘An American Werewolf in Paris’ has their name on it, but the finished product bears virtually no resemblance to the film writers Tom Stern and Tim Burns set out to make. Anotherfilmnerd talks to them about how a script everyone loved became a film everyone hated.
The Insider is evidence that Mann’s cinema is marked by a formal and cultural ‘tense’ linked to his historical heritage. In the watershed article ‘La politique des auteurs’, Bazin writes: “Jacques Rivette has said that an auteur speaks in the first person. It’s a good definition; let’s adopt it.”[iii] Mann’s film language speaks in the ‘past tense’ about Mann’s biography.
“Guns Akimbo” is now irrevocably the film that’s both about and embroiled in a painful online saga with offline consequences.
I can't fathom a world that "The Beach Bum" exists where it wasn't some instant cult classic.
Regrettably, we do have to go out with a CGI monstrosity, but at least we can finish with a fond look back at the Top 10 Carols.
Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds sing and dance their way through a [record scratch] direct sequel to A Christmas Carol?
Sexual assault. In A Christmas Carol. Go figure.
Matthew McConaughey stars in a solemn and faithful tribute to the abiding spirit of Charles Dickens.
Look, let’s just hold our noses and get through it, OK?
Kelsey Grammar stars in a musical you really wish wasn’t.
A Christmas Carol goes Hallmark.
A Christmas Carol heads to the Canadian Old West to distinctly mixed results.
Blackhat was released on January 15, 2015 (123 minutes) – the Theatrical Cut. This cut of the film had a last minute, last-minute restructuring of the original timeline of the film. Information on why these changes were made and the various versions of the films released over the years can be found here. The Director’s Cut (122 minutes) premiered at a special screening in February 2016, had a limited broadcast run in 2017, and will be released on home video for the first time on November 28, 2023. This is Mann’s preferred version of the film and restores the structure to its original chronology along with other changes.
In which we pay tribute to the proud tradition of TV sitcom Christmas Carol episodes with one of the loosest riffs there could be.
Bill Murray as Scrooge! What could go wrong?
In which George C. Scott gives us a masterpiece of a Carol.
In which Disney takes its first crack at A Christmas Carol.
In which Ethan makes the admittedly perverse argument that one of the loosest adaptations of A Christmas Carol is one of the best.
The most gimmicky, dated entry on the list is also [record scratch] one of the best?
Walter Matthau as Scrooge! What could go wrong?
A classic of animation, one of the shortest Carols, and one of the best.
Albert Finney in an all-singing, all-dancing Christmas Carol.
In which A Christmas Carol gets animated, and legally blind.
Many argue this is the best Christmas Carol. How will it fare in the Christmas Carol gauntlet?
A Christmas Carol comes to TV, accompanied by Vincent Price.
In which Reginald Owen plays the holliest, jolliest Scrooge of them all.
Sound comes to A Christmas Carol, as do the loosest interpretations of the spirits ever put to film.
An introduction to the Christmas Carol Advent Calendar™️ and a look at what happens when A Christmas Carol tries silence.
The following is based on behind-the-scenes interviews, production documentaries, production notes, marketing materials and even one or two private conversations.
From 1981 to 2023, Michael Mann only made 12 feature films, with the gap between each film widening. However, over these three decades, Mann’s name has been attached to a myriad of fascinating projects. The range of these projects is startling - anywhere from a contemporary media mogul drama to a medieval archer story and everything in between. Below is a list of these projects with brief details, including when they were announced and if any news followed their announcements. There are likely even more films than mentioned here, and one can hope we, as an audience, get to see some of these one day.
To celebrate the release of a new Australian outback thriller THE ROYAL HOTEL, I talk with writer/director Kitty Green about the differences between narrative and documentary cinema, the balance of time and style, Julia Garner choosing her own own love interest, and so much more.
To celebrate the roadshow release of a new Australian Neo-Noir ("Yeah Noir") SLANT, I talk with writer/star Michael Nikou, director James Vinson, producer Monique Fisher and the icon Sigrid Thornton about shooting chronologically, being "in for a penny, in for a pound" making an independent original film and so much more.
‘An American Werewolf in Paris’ has their name on it, but the finished product bears virtually no resemblance to the film writers Tom Stern and Tim Burns set out to make. Anotherfilmnerd talks to them about how a script everyone loved became a film everyone hated.
‘An American Werewolf in Paris’ has their name on it, but the finished product bears virtually no resemblance to the film writers Tom Stern and Tim Burns set out to make. Anotherfilmnerd talks to them about how a script everyone loved became a film everyone hated.
Writer Andrew Miller shares his vision for the eagerly-awaited Tremors TV series
Writer Andrew Miller shares his vision for the eagerly-awaited Tremors TV series
Writer Andrew Miller shares his vision for the eagerly-awaited Tremors TV series
A couple of years before the adaptation of 'Hellboy' Peter Briggs co-wrote with director Guillermo del Toro hit the screens, Briggs was ready to ignore the conventional wisdom that 'There Can Be Only One' and take a stab at reviving a struggling franchise.
When Queen and Country called, writer John Rogers was wary until an executive ordered him to get his “nerd ass in and write the movie”. Rogers reflects on his adaptation of Greg Rucka’s classic comic two-plus decades later and his unaired (but leaked) pilot for Warren Ellis’ comic ‘Global Frequency’.
Genre vet Mark Verheiden reflects on his 'dark' days, prepping a shot-but-never-finished pilot remaking the classic gothic soap 'Dark Shadows', and a TV series designed to bridge the gaps between movies as part of a sprawling, epic adaptation of Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower'.
Australian actor-turned-producer Steve Kearney’s experience shooting his American feature film debut wasn’t what you could call ideal. Within three weeks of filming ‘The Nutt House’, the director was fired. By the time it was ready to be edited, all four of the film’s writers (Sam & Ivan Raimi, Bruce Campbell and Scott Spiegel) had disowned it. And the film’s ‘premiere’ at Cannes, well; it wasn’t how you’d hope a film premiere would go. Kearney spoke to Another Film Nerd about ‘The Nutt House’, ‘Pistol Pete’ - the pilot he filmed with legendary ‘Simpsons’ writer John Swartzwelder - and the path that brought him back to Australia.
It may not have set the box office alight, but the cult New Zealand sex-and-violence-laden puppet film 'Meet The Feebles' put filmmakers Peter Jackson and Danny Mulheron on the map. Before long, New Line Cinema enlisted the duo to take on one of their most beloved and feared franchises. Mulheron reflects on his brief time in Los Angeles, his work with Peter Jackson and an unsuccessful pitch into the world of television with the most unlikely of writing partners – a veteran writer from Jim Henson's popular educational program, 'Sesame Street'.
When push came to shove, a set of competing deadlines left writer/director Bill Lawrence confronted with a choice - stick with his hit TV series 'Scrubs' or leave the show behind to make his feature directing debut with a big-screen revival of the 'Fletch' series. And, to the surprise of many, he decided the world of features could wait, leaving Harvey Weinstein in a mad scramble to get something made before he lost the rights to the iconic franchise.
When ‘Tremors’ co-creators Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson were approached to develop a fifth entry in the popular franchise, they envisioned sending gun nut Burt Gummer to the land down under the throw another graboid on the barbie. But a combination of unfortunate events and mysterious studio forces saw them unceremoniously dumped from the franchise.
Academy-Award nominated screenwriter Eric Heisserer’s first feature screenplay credit is one most writers would kill for - reviving a horror franchise that has enthralled and terrified audiences for generations. But a director with differing views and shifting studio attitudes gave the then-baby writer a baptism of fire into the world of studio filmmaking.
One-time' Walking Dead' and 'Damien' showrunner Glen Mazzara didn't just try to adapt Stephen King's sprawling epic 'The Dark Tower'; he lived and breathed the eight-novel series for more than three years. And while his pilot never saw the light of day, he remains proud of his plans for the Master of Horror's magnum opus.
One was too highbrow (despite the presence of a horny ox), the other was too sad - but the unaired pilots for ‘Brave New World’ (a workplace comedy set in a historical re-enactment village) and ‘Guess Who Died’ (a tale of lost and new love among retirees) hold a special place in writer Peter Tolan’s heart.
For the followup to his feature writing/directing debut, Alex Winter had a hot script, a talented cast and the money to make it happen. But at the eleventh hour, something happened that made him walk away. Winter delves into his operatic, ambitious and thoroughly compelling noir and an unmade political satire set to star Alan Rickman.
For the followup to his feature writing/directing debut, Alex Winter had a hot script, a talented cast and the money to make it happen. But at the eleventh hour, something happened that made him walk away. Winter delves into his operatic, ambitious and thoroughly compelling noir and an unmade political satire set to star Alan Rickman.
Much like the titular character in his comedic noir ‘Chad Schmidt’, it was a case of being in the right place at the wrong time for writer/director Steven Conrad. He had the script, he had Brad Pitt on board to star, but fate wasn’t willing to let the tale of a struggling actor with an uncanny resemblance to one of Hollywood’s leading stars reach the screen.
When John August got the chance to pitch to Warner Brothers on a standalone ‘Catwoman’ film, he developed a story that would expand on the mythos created in the classic Tim Burton film ‘Batman Returns’. Unfortunately, Warner Brothers - still smarting from the backlash to ‘Batman & Robin’ - had other ideas.
Orson Welles had The Other Side of The Wind. Terry Gilliam had The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, and independent filmmaker Michael Worth has Bring Me The Head of Lance Henriksen. After a shoot that lasted for around three years and a protracted round of distribution hassles, the ‘Boyhood’ of ‘That Guy’ pictures looks like it’ll finally be seeing the light of day.
One novel, five seasons. Writer Jordan Harper lays out his ambitious plans for his television adaptation of James Ellroy’s ‘LA Confidential’. On the record and not-so hush hush...
"Take the Night" is a concertina, a family crime drama of second chances, worth a look to see if they're secured or squandered.
John Stimpson's "Ghost Light" is a quaint absurd supernatural comedy about a travelling theatre company; whose desperation for escaping their status is rivalled only by their lack of self-awareness.
Documentarian Ta Opre’s “Killing the Shepherd” captures a remote Zambian community of Shikabeta on the brink of wildlife depletion, starvation and destruction.
Emmy Award-winning Writer/director Trevor Hawkins’ debut narrative feature “Lotawana” is a cautionary love letter to wandering.
“Outlier” is an out of the frying pan and into the fire examination of toxic relationships and the implicit magnetic lure of substituting one bad situation for another. Director and co-writer Nate Strayer’s lockdown inspired debut is once dripping with potential. With “Outlier”, co-writers Jona Doug and Strayer take “Misery” through Mark Zuckerberg’s “Meta-Verse” looking glass.
“Here Alone” - a deeply affecting tale of isolation - does more with its modest 150 thousand dollar budget and 90 odd minutes than so many survival horror thrillers before or since. Discovering this 2016 tale feels more like finding a lost premonition than another entry into the swarm of zombie genre fare that occupied the 2010s.
"Transference" is a tragic story of insecurity and self-sabotage in the face of love and happiness. Transference is the practice of substitution, and writer/director/star Raffaello Degruttola sees this as a symptom of this doomed coupling.
“West of Michigan” searches for meaning in the detours, the guesses and the errors after the trials. It’s a meandering, personal tale that echoes the universal question at the end of high school; what happens now? What’s refreshing is that despite the growing clouds of uncertainty, it still positively beams, “I’m not sure, but we’ll figure it out together.”
Charles Frank’s “Somewhere With No Bridges” turned me into a puddle. It’s a deeply personal, poetic, searching eulogy. Frank’s ruminating documentary investigation looks to unearth the answers to his formative memories in the New England fishing community of Martha’s Vineyard. This delicate, intuitive probe is told with the reverence and grace of Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life”.
“Minor Premise” is a significant formal achievement, featuring a phenomenally engaging Sathya Sridharan performance. Director/co-writer Eric Schultz creates an intentionally disorienting and fast-paced ‘all in your head’ whodunnit where the suspects are the competing sections of neuroscientists fractured consciousness.
“Blood From Stone” aspires to be the neon trailer park, blood splatter sister of “Only Lover’s Left Alive.”
What if you can’t let go? What if you can’t move on? How far would you retreat into yourself - affecting the world around you - to hold onto a sliver of what you once had? These are some of the questions that “L’autre” asks. You’ll have to watch it to see how it answers.
"Busman's Holiday" is an unexpected wonder. A welcome surprise at every single turn.
“The Racer” is a demystifying glimpse into the ‘win or die’ world of competitive cycling.
“Rom Boys: 40 Years of Rad” is a beautifully raw and inarticulate prayer for London’s concrete shrine to 70s Californian Skate culture; the ROM Skatepark. Director Matt Harris compiles a crew of some of the world’s most prominent skaters and BMX riders to shed light on the 40 years that each unforgiving undulate of this concrete playground has shaped generations of English skaters.
“Northwood Pie” is a scrappy underdog of a film that elevates a town’s communal pizza joint to an essential ‘rite of passage’.
“Chasing Einstein” is an illuminating ‘popcorn’ documentary following the world’s leading physicists, scientists and tech disruptors attempting to transcend Einstein’s enduring theory of gravity.
"Fame-ish" is kind of "Chef"-"ish" and "Jay and Silent Bob: Reboot" - "ish".
“Standoff" is a tight little short from writer Illan Strauss and director Devan Young that creates a bent little version of our reality where guns are superimposed into the hands of every man, woman and child that populate this world.
“The King of Staten Island” is a charming and heartfelt comedy that will push you to the limits of your infuriation. Pete Davidson’s naked, authentic, arrested development may make you rage until you scream.
"Fate's Shadow" didn't resonate with on an emotional or a technical level (which to be fair is exceedingly tricky in shorts). One can be sure that this level of dissociative bourgeois blow-up is not my kind of b*llshit.
"Burning Dog" is writer/director Trey Batchelor's feature-length, first-person, accidental passenger seat criminal conspiracy cut scene. It's an experimental whodunnit for the Twitch age. "Burning Dog" is a video game movie for those already resolute to watching somebody else navigate the game better than they can.
Tracy Ann Chapel’s “Cherzoso, The Silent Film” is a bite-sized pronouncement of the performative nature of womanhood, a state where silence is intrinsic.
“The Dalai Lama -- Scientist” is a refreshing bridge between the theological and scientific that harnesses the purity of that natural impulse to disassemble to see how something works. This documentary doesn’t stand up to scrutinising its parts, but his Holiness makes this experiment worth your while.
“Silent Panic” is a flawed, found body tale where the prospective impacts of reporting its discovery demolish friendships and the lives of those implicated.
"Human Capital" an expression of American class warfare. An amorality tale of the no-win situation for working-class people, when the wealthy throw money and superiority at the problem. Isolated, faced with the virus, this pill is all the more bitter to swallow.
The Terminator Series like The Godfather and The Godfather Part II before it, are burdened by staggering, genre and cinema redefining perfection. Every sequel blinded by servitude. The original Terminator, Sarah runs away from her destiny. In Judgement Day, Sarah embraces John and along with the T-800 rails against fate. The rest of the franchise, including Dark Fate, are frozen.
Writer/director Great Gerwig’s second film behind the lens is an utter delight. A formal joy, with a terrific cast in tune with the vision of a profoundly perceptive filmmaker.
“The Peanut Butter Falcon”, from writer/director pairing Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, is a heartening tale of warts and all humanity of running from all that holds you back, into what you’ll hope will be your salvation. Contained within, is another jaw-dropping performance from the immensely talented Shia LaBeouf.
Writer/director and cinematographer Mizelle shows technical aptitude that significantly elevates this tale of morally bankrupt crooks preying on the dysfunctional relations of the wealthy.