Four years ago, German director (and owner of the coolest name in all of cinema) Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck directed his first feature — a complex, smart, completely engrossing examination of cultural repression and spying in Cold War-era East Germany. That film, The Lives of Others, skyrocketed von Donnersmarck into the arthouse spotlight, earning the director enough accolades and awards to require a mantle as long as his name to hold them all. He went to Hollywood to try to land a high-profile project to lift his star even higher, and ended up stuck with everyone else’s leftover: a remake of a French romantic thriller that had already been dumped mid-development by two other directors and at least three stars.
Maybe it’s just that I was spoiled by Inception, by the notion that a summer action flick could be both thrilling and smart. But then again, that’s also been the attraction of the Bourne series: the notion that adrenaline-based cinema doesn’t have to come with the caveat that one has to check their brain at the door. Not that action films are universally smarter these days, but the mindless and the thoughtful are generally…
You win! After receiving 47 different emails over the last two days begging us to “report” on the fact that there is a movie crew in town, we are now complying. The movie in question is called Salt, which stars Angelina Jolie wearing not one, but two different wigs, and also Liev Schreiber. The film is described as a spy thriller about a rogue CIA operative who must clear her name after she is…
Straight women and gay men all across D.C. were presumably disappointed by the news that came out over the Thanksgiving holiday that Brad Pitt had dropped out of the production of State of Play, a big-budget political thriller set to begin filming here in Washington this winter. You may recall that Pitt had stopped by the Washington Post newsroom in September to do some research on the character he was slated to play in the…
So who do you turn to if you’re an embattled administration facing an unpopular war, bitter criticism both at home and abroad, an exodus of senior staff, and the barrel of a long year’s worth of lame ducked-ness? A retired general? Nope. A political mastermind? Nah, that would be too easy. Perhaps a captain of industry? They’re too busy starting and running multi-billion dollar foundations. Well, then how about someone who made his name by…
With Congress in recess, it’s officially the August doldrums here at Reader, Meet Author. If you have any tips, feel free to drop us a line. Otherwise, read some good books and stay cool. MONDAY: Pushcart Prize-winning author Katherine Taylor will be at Olsson’s Books & Records in Dupont Circle to talk about her debut novel Rules for Saying Goodbye, a coming-of-age tale that straddles the line between fiction and non-fiction. 7 p.m. TUESDAY: Man…
Dear Hillary Clinton and Dick Cheney: feel free to do embarrassing things in public today. D.C.’s celebrity (and we use that term loosely) photogs are probably following around real celebs — well, at least Angelina Jolie. Yesterday the Examiner gave us the heads-up on a litany of famous-outside-the-Beltway folks traipsing around town this week. So if you’re a little tired of running into Nicolas Cage filming National Treasure 2, keep your eyes peeled for these…
> > Deadline worth noting! Anyone interested in participating in this year’s DC Idiotarod has until tomorrow, Thursday March 1, at 11:59 p.m. to register your team for the big race on March 3. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to bring wanton chaos to the streets of D.C. [DC Idiotarod] > > Fans of soccer, wine, photography, and philanthropy will descend upon the JW Marriott tonight for the Goals for Girls Auction & Wine…
Remember that tingling sensation running rampant in the city this time last year? No, not that one. It was the anticipation of Washington getting an honest-to-goodness A-list power couple. Well, those halcyon days are officially over with the news that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt won’t be moving to town any time soon. Washingtonians dying to bump into Brangelina in the baby formula aisle of Whole Foods will have to look about 1,000 miles southwest….
It feels like it’s been a while since anyone truly famous has graced our fair city with their presence, but it looks like that drought comes to an end today. According to an email we received yesterday, Matt Damon and Robert DeNiro are in town (actually in Fairfax, Virginia) today taping a special episode of Chris Matthews’ Hardball. Before you berate us for not passing this tip on earlier, tickets were only available to Mason…
