Platinum Dunes, Mandalay Pictures and Universal have selected Dutch filmmaker Diederik Van Rooijen to direct a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Plot details for the remake have not yet been released. Van Rooijen is best known for his film Taped. For more information on the project, click here. The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes has signed on to direct…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 27
Netflix has acquired exclusive streaming rights to The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life, an Oscar-nominated documentary short about pianist and Holocaust survivor Alice Herz-Sommer. The film will be available April 1. It’s subject, believed to have been the oldest-living Holocaust survivor, died on Sunday at the age of 110. To read more on…
Short film round-up
For something that is at once charmingly fantastical and deeply relatable, check out I Am Tom Moody, a seven-minute animated short from Ainslie Henderson. The film follows a young amateur entertainer struggling with the conflicting voices in his head, one plagued by insecurity and the other aggressively negative. The stop-motion animation is masterfully done, and the…
Critic delighted by ‘Frances Ha’
While I frequently say that I want to be Greta Gerwig when I grow up, I certainly don’t aspire to be anything like the woman she portrays in Frances Ha – that is to say, a complete and utter mess. It’s a testament to Gerwig’s abilities and charm that such a character is not only tolerable but downright…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 22
NBC has ordered 13 episodes of Shades of Blue, a crime drama starring and executive produced by Jennifer Lopez. Lopez will play a single mother and detective working undercover for the FBI’s anti-corruption task force. The show will premiere during the 2015-16 TV season. For more information on the project, click here. Academy Award-winning costume designer…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 17
Netflix has confirmed that Orange Is the New Black will return on June 6. The streaming video service confirmed the date in a bonus blurb at the end of the second season of House of Cards. For more information and a teaser for the new episodes, click here. Beetlejuice actor Michael Keaton told MTV News that he and director…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 18
Napoleon Dynamite actor John Heder is set to star in Fox’s new half-hour comedy pilot, entitled Here’s Your Damn Family. Heder will star as a thirty-something living with his mother whose life is upended when she gets married to a man with three teenage children. For more information on the series, click here. The Departed screenwriter William Monahan…
Short film round-up
For something that’s a little silly but is nonetheless entertaining, take a look at The Wolf of Valentine’s Day, a three-minute parody short from Nathan Moore that sends up Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street by placing it in the dog-eat-dog world of chocolates and greeting cards. It’s in trailer format, giving Moore the opportunity to hit all…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 13
Netflix will air the final season of animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, thanks to a new deal with Disney/ABC TV Group and Lucasfilm. The 13-episode season will premiere on the site on March 7th, along with all previous episodes of the show. “Star Wars is one of the most iconic franchises of all time…
Critic floored by ‘Blue Jasmine’
I loved Blue Jasmine, but I will not be able to watch it again for quite some time. Though it is wildly entertaining and impeccably made, it is not a particularly easy film to sit through, with its harsh tone and difficult subject matter. Nevertheless, it is a stunning addition to Woody Allen’s already impressive oeuvre….
Short film round-up
If you’ve seen Spike Jonze’s Her, you’ll definitely want to check out Her: Love In The Modern Age, Lance Bangs’ documentary short that chronicles some of the reactions to the movie. The 15-minute film takes a look at love in the modern age through the eyes of various actors, writers, musicians, and culture experts, including Olivia Wilde,…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 8
A new study conducted by the Journal of Management Inquiry suggests that while actresses in their 20s earn more than their male counterparts, the ratio reverses once they hit their mid-30s. “While the difference is fairly small, it’s indicative of the other side of the double standard,” said one of the study’s authors, Notre Dame…
Entertainment news round-up for Feb. 6
Longtime Oscars sponsors Coca-Cola and Hyundai have dropped their support of the event, for reasons undisclosed. PepsiCo and General Motors will take their places. Other advertisers set to appear during the March 2 telecast are Johnson & Johnson, AARP, American Express, Mars, McDonald’s, Samsung, Sprint, and Unilever. For more information, click here. Evangeline Lilly is…
Critic falls in love with “About Time”
I’m not entirely sure that there are adequate words to describe the way I feel about About Time. To put it in 21st century parlance, boy, did it give me the feels. I left the theater sniffling like an idiot and craving a substantial quantity of comfort food. Written and directed by Richard Curtis, the film…
Critic irked by ‘Philomena’
It always makes me sad when older actors must play roles that require them to simply be old. Unfortunately for Judi Dench, Philomena casts her in just such a role. While not a bad film, it is an underwhelming bore that reduces real people to mere caricatures. Directed by Stephen Frears, the movie tells the true…
Entertainment news round-up for Jan. 31
Friends actor David Schwimmer is returning to the small screen in ABC’s upcoming comedy pilot Irreversible. In addition to starring, Schwimmer will also produce the project, which is based on the Israeli series Bilti Hafich. The original series’ co-creator Segahl Avin co-wrote the American adaptation and may direct the pilot. For more information, click here. Emma Thompson has…
Entertainment news round-up for Jan. 30
Jerry Seinfeld has confirmed that he is planning a Seinfeld reunion. In a radio interview, the actor and comedian described the project as a “short-ish form,” “one-on-one thing” with Larry David. He mentioned that other actors from the show will also be involved. For more information, click here. Former Saturday Night Live actor Bill Hader is in talks to…
Critic finds ‘Frozen’ enjoyable, but not exceptional
I’m among the few people who did not completely adore Frozen. Don’t get me wrong – I thought it was a sweet, charming film with a refreshingly modern message. However, I don’t believe it lives up to the standard set by earlier Disney films. Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, the film follows “Anna” (Kristen…
Short film round-up
For a delightfully whimsical and slightly melancholy treat, take a look at Cicada Princess, a seven-minute short from Mauchi Baiocchi that blends nature and fantasy to stunning effect. Using remarkably detailed puppetry, Baiocchi presents the life cycle of the cicada as a Cinderella story, narrated beautifully by the always excellent Stephen Fry. It’s a gorgeous little…
OCU women’s basketball team defeats Texas Wesleyan 96-61
Oklahoma City University defeated Texas Wesleyan 96-61 on Thursday, Jan. 23 at Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars obtained a single-game team program-record of 20 3-pointers. In addition, Cara Pugh tied the single-game individual mark with eight 3-pointers. Pugh shares the school record with Patricia Ordonez, who hit eight 3-pointers on March 22, 1988. Kayla MacKenzie,…
Entertainment news round-up for Jan. 26
The Directors Guild gave this year’s top prize to Alfonso Cuaron for his sci-fi thriller Gravity. The award was presented at the organization’s 66th DGA Awards ceremony at the Century Plaza Hotel on Saturday. “This is truly an honor and I’m humbled by it,” Cuaron said in his acceptance speech. “I still have this teen…
Meinders School of Business will host Entrepreneurship Day
Meinders School of Business will host the 2014 Entrepreneurship Day Friday, February 26 from 8 to 11:30 a.m. The event will feature several entrepreneur guest speakers who will share their struggles, victories and insights. Guest speakers include Robert Browne, the chairman emeritus of the Great Plains Coca-Cola Bottling Company; Justin Briggs, technology executive of Altheus…
Short film round-up
If black comedy is your cup of tea, take a look at DEAD…, a brightly macabre little film from Royal College of Art student Joe Bichard. The four-minute animated film takes a darkly gleeful look at death and grief through the eyes of a young boy who has lost his entire family. Bichard isn’t afraid to…
Critic finds ‘Nebraska’ dull and overrated
I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so bored during a movie as I was during Alexander Payne’s Nebraska. It’s the cinematic equivalent of watching paint dry. I spent most of its nearly two-hour runtime squirming in my seat and trying not to fall asleep. Though it seems to have some sort of emotional impact in…
Entertainment news round-up for Jan. 21
Apple is currently the sole distributor of Sundance documentary Sepideh. The film, which appeared at Sundance on Sunday, is available for rent or purchase on iTunes for an undefined period of exclusivity. “The really exciting thing for me is that, with iTunes, the most number of people will be able to see this film,” director Berit…
Critic unimpressed by ‘Anchorman 2’
I wanted so badly to find Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues funny. The trouble is that it just isn’t. A boring, bloated mess that does little but tread old ground, it’s so jam-packed with lazy gags and half-hearted plot development that it garners more groans than giggles. Will Ferrell returns to the franchise as “Ron Burgundy,”…
