in this issue Film Guide Jack O Connell is everywhere Get to Know the Star of Unbroken pg 30 At The Festivals Toronto pg 14 Telluride pg 36

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1 Film Guide Fall 2014 in this issue Jack O Connell is everywhere Get to Know the Star of Unbroken pg 30 Meet the Directors Michael Cuesta of Kill the Messenger pg 1 James Marsh of The Theory of Everything pg 9 Damien Chazelle of Whiplash pg 22 At The Festivals Toronto pg 14 Telluride pg 36

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3 Michael Cuesta Gets Personal By Frank Gonzales Michael Cuesta, director of the new CinéArts film Kill the Messenger, has made a career of taking stories that simmer slowly and deliberately, and asking the audience to pay attention and have patience with the slow burn. It s a technique he s put to good use in both television (Six Feet Under, Homeland, and True Blood, among others) and in film (12 and Holding and L. I. E.). But in his new movie he s taking the true story of a disgraced San Jose Mercury News reporter, and using the essence of a great tragedy, putting a new spin on the classic David vs. Goliath story in a very personal way. Kill the Messenger is a recounting of the story of journalist Gary Webb, who in the 1990s uncovered the CIA s complicity in allowing huge amounts of cocaine into the United States to be sold across the country to raise money for the Nicaraguan Contras rebel army. The story he wrote eventually led to a vicious smear campaign that found Webb fighting to defend his integrity, his family, and his life. Cuesta found Webb s story intriguing and it became a metaphor for some of the struggles he s had to overcome in the moviemaking business. Kill the Messenger had so many things that appealed to me on a personal level, Cuesta recalled in a recent CinéArts conversation. I saw Gary as a reporter of the people, and he really had an earnest and sincere belief in the public s right to know the facts. He had to juggle the pressures of what he wrote and its repercussions with his own personal family life. Likewise, for me, it was about doing something you re passionate about and keep one foot in big Hollywood, and one foot in providing for a family. It s very hard to balance those two worlds. For the director, the story launched him into his own personal research into Webb s life and the uncovering of the tragedy that befell him. At the same time he knew that he didn t want the film to turn into an indictment of the government and dredge up conspiracy theories and red/blue, left/right debates. It s a tricky thing. You re making a movie about a journalist who was about getting the facts right and doing his best at that, so as a filmmaker I thought my responsibility was to be as truthful as possible to what I uncovered and to set the tone of what happened, mostly from Gary s point of view. To help Cuesta uncover the man behind the story, and to place him in a sea of characters that leave immediate and indelible marks, Cuesta and casting director Avy Kaufman built a group of amazing actors, led by Jeremy Renner in one of his best roles as Gary Webb. Renner s history with the director goes back a few years when they worked together for the first time on the 2007 film 12 and Holding. That past led to good vibes on the set of Kill the Messenger, on which Renner also serves as producer. I think our history together put us both in a place of trust. During pre-production he would check in with me from time to time, mostly with words of encouragement, but also making suggestions and casting choices. And when he arrived a few weeks before shooting he was able to hang up his producer s cap and we rolled into intense rehearsals, mostly fleshing out characters and relationships. He could easily focus in on the character when he was an actor, and phase out his producer role effortlessly. But a great cast is only as good as the story they are asked to tell and Kill the Messenger rolls out slowly and deliberately, which suited Cuesta just fine. For me, or at least with my sensibility, I always try to withhold, and build the story slowly. Let it simmer and be a slow build. From the moment the story lands on Gary s desk, it becomes a ticking instrument. A bomb is set under the table, so to speak. Gary is a reporter in a smaller city paper, and you get the sense and feel that once he gets into the story, you know it s going to be big. You know Gary is going to stick his nose into it as far as he can. So you re waiting for that shoe to drop. The story of Gary Webb is a tragic one, ultimately, because not only is his career destroyed but his family life is torn apart and he commits suicide in the end. Yet Cuesta takes a lot of positives from the man s life and draws upon that in his story. The tragedy was that he was fighting an unwinnable war. But he kept going and said, No, I m going to expose the liars. He needed to tell the truth, and the weight of that was to go against the government. In the final analysis director Michael Cuesta sees Webb s story as something we can take as a spark to ignite a renewed passion for the Fifth Estate: I think it s a good opportunity to continue the story. My thing was to see Gary as this guy who fought this unwinnable war, but still had little victories along the way. There was so much more to come out of this event, good and bad. And Gary got that out. I think it s important for people to see these David-and-Goliath stories and know that there is a lot we don t know. And the silver lining is that Gary actually pulled it off! He had the guts to ask the questions. I hope that people see the movie and how this guy took this incredible responsibility on his shoulders. Gary had a true belief in the public s right to know the facts. We need people like Gary now. Two-time Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner (The Bourne Legacy) leads an all-star cast in the dramatic thriller Kill the Messenger, based on the remarkable true story of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb. Webb stumbles onto a story which leads to the shady origins of the men who started the crack epidemic on the nation s streets and further alleges that the CIA was aware of major dealers who were smuggling cocaine into the U.S., and using the profits to arm rebels fighting in Nicaragua. Despite warnings from drug kingpins and CIA operatives to stop his investigation, Webb keeps digging to uncover a conspiracy with explosive implications. His journey takes him from the prisons of California to the villages of Nicaragua to the highest corridors of power in Washington, D.C. and draws the kind of attention that threatens not just his career, but his family and his life. Kill the Messenger opens at CinéArts Theatres in October CinéArts Film Guide Fall

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6 A MESMERIZING STORY. BENNETT MILLER S MOST AMBITIOUS AND MOST SUCCESSFUL WORK. -Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES CHANNING TATUM S PERFORMANCE IS A MARVEL OF PHYSICALITY, AND SURELY ONE OF THE BEST WE LL SEE ALL YEAR. -Stephanie Zacharek, VILLAGE VOICE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF MONEYBALL AND CAPOTE STEVE CARELL CHANNING TATUM MARK RUFFALO FOXCATCHER WINNER I BEST DIRECTOR I CANNES FILM FESTIVAL SONY PICTURES CLASSICS PRESENTS AN ANNAPURNA PICTURES PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH LIKELY STORY A FILM BY BENNETT MILLER FOXCATCHER STEVE CARELL CHANNING TATUM MARK RUFFALO AND VANESSA REDGRAVE CASTING BY JEANNE McCARTHY, C.S.A. MUSIC SUPERVISOR SUSAN JACOBS MUSIC BY ROB SIMONSEN ADDITIONAL MUSIC BY WEST DYLAN THORDSON COSTUME DESIGNER KASIA WALICKA-MAIMONE EDITED BY STUART LEVY, A.C.E. CONOR O NEILL JAY CASSIDY, A.C.E. PRODUCTION DESIGNER JESS GONCHOR DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY GREIG FRASER, ASC CO-PRODUCER SCOTT ROBERTSON EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS CHELSEA BARNARD RON SCHMIDT MARK BAKSHI MICHAEL COLEMAN TOM HELLER JOHN P. GIURA PRODUCED BY MEGAN ELLISON BENNETT MILLER JON KILIK ANTHONY BREGMAN WRITTEN BY E. MAX FRYE AND DAN FUTTERMAN DIRECTED BY BENNETT MILLER MMXIV FAIR HILL LLC - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED OPENS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH

7 GRADE A. BENNETT MILLER HAS OUTDONE HIMSELF. AN ENORMOUS FILM. STEVE CARELL IS THE REVELATION AND THEN SOME: VOCALLY, PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY HE IS NOT JUST UNRECOGNIZABLE, HE SIMPLY IS A DIFFERENT MAN. IT S SELDOM WE VE EVER WITNESSED SUCH A TOTAL ERASURE OF SELF IN A ROLE. -Jessica Kiang, INDIEWIRE / THE PLAYLIST FROM THE DIRECTOR OF MONEYBALL AND CAPOTE STEVE CARELL CHANNING TATUM MARK RUFFALO FOXCATCHER WINNER I BEST DIRECTOR I CANNES FILM FESTIVAL SONY PICTURES CLASSICS PRESENTS AN ANNAPURNA PICTURES PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH LIKELY STORY A FILM BY BENNETT MILLER FOXCATCHER STEVE CARELL CHANNING TATUM MARK RUFFALO AND VANESSA REDGRAVE CASTING BY JEANNE McCARTHY, C.S.A. MUSIC SUPERVISOR SUSAN JACOBS MUSIC BY ROB SIMONSEN ADDITIONAL MUSIC BY WEST DYLAN THORDSON COSTUME DESIGNER KASIA WALICKA-MAIMONE EDITED BY STUART LEVY, A.C.E. CONOR O NEILL JAY CASSIDY, A.C.E. PRODUCTION DESIGNER JESS GONCHOR DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY GREIG FRASER, ASC CO-PRODUCER SCOTT ROBERTSON EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS CHELSEA BARNARD RON SCHMIDT MARK BAKSHI MICHAEL COLEMAN TOM HELLER JOHN P. GIURA PRODUCED BY MEGAN ELLISON BENNETT MILLER JON KILIK ANTHONY BREGMAN WRITTEN BY E. MAX FRYE AND DAN FUTTERMAN DIRECTED BY BENNETT MILLER MMXIV FAIR HILL LLC - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED OPENS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH

8 Advertisement 2014 PAR. PICS Men, Women & Children follows the story of a group of high school teenagers and their parents as they attempt to navigate the many ways technology has changed their relationships, their communication, their selfimage, and their love lives. The film attempts to stare down social issues such as video game culture, anorexia, infidelity, fame hunting, and the proliferation of illicit material on the internet. As each character and each relationship is tested, we are shown the variety of roads people choose - some tragic, some hopeful - as it becomes clear that no one is immune to this enormous social change that has come through our phones, our tablets, and our computers. From Academy Award -nominated filmmaker Jason Reitman (Labor Day, Young Adult, Up In The Air). The film stars Rosemarie Dewitt (Kill The Messenger, Rachel Getting Married), Jennifer Garner (Dallas Buyers Club, Draft Day), Judy Greer (Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, Tomorrowland), Dean Norris (Breaking Bad, The Counselor), Adam Sandler (Grown Ups 1 and 2, The Longest Yard) and Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks, Love Actually). Men, Women & Children is based on Chad Kultgen s novel of the same name with Reitman 6 cinearts.com directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erin Cressida Wilson (Secretary, Chloe). He is producing the feature with his partner Helen Estabrook through their Right of Way Films banner. Michael Beugg (Up In The Air, Little Miss Sunshine) and Mason Novick (Bad Words, Juno) will serve as executive producers. The young ensemble cast includes Timothée Chalamet (Interstellar), Olivia Crocicchia (Terri), Kaitlyn Dever (Short Term 12), Ansel Elgort (The Fault In Our Stars, Divergent), Katherine Hughes (Roadies), Elena Kampouris (Labor Day) and Travis Tope (The Town That Dreaded Sundown). Narrated by Emma Thompson, the film s ensemble cast features Sandler and DeWitt as Don and Helen Truby, and Tope as their son Chris. Garner stars as Patricia Beltmeyer with Dever as her daughter Brandy. Greer is Donna Clint and Crocicchia is daughter Hannah. Norris plays Kent Mooney with Elgort playing his son Tim. Hughes and Kampouris play cheerleaders Brooke Benton and Allison Doss, respectively, and Chalamet is football player Danny Vance. Rounding out the cast are David Denman (The Office), Jason Douglas (Revolution), Dennis Haysbert (Sin City: A Dame To Kill For), Shane Lynch (Ray Donovan), Will Peltz (Paranoia) and J.K. Simmons (Growing Up Fisher). FROM PAGE TO SCREEN Men, Women & Children, actually began when filmmaker Jason Reitman read Chad Kultgen s first novel and the author quickly became one of his favorites. He read Men, Women & Children in galley form and fell in love with it, even contributing a quote for the book jacket. The novel s honest look into the love lives and relationships of teenagers and their parents and how they communicate in today s technology-obsessed society fascinated Reitman. He recalls, The moment I read the book, I just knew this was something I wanted to turn into a movie one day. Chad somehow understood where we are going technologically before the rest of us. His insight into not only how teenagers and their parents speak to each other but how they communicate over every device the way we text, the way we Instant Message, the way we Tweet and the way we write on social media sites. And also how we Tumbl. Chad was our sociologist who perfectly laid out not only all these characters but the way they interacted with the internet. Executive producer Mason Novick, a longtime Kultgen fan and supporter, thought that the contemporary themes, characters yearning for love, connection and validation and tonal mixture of humor and pathos,

9 would resonate with Reitman. I always admired Chad s literary voice and I thought that Men, Women & Children combined so many elements of Jason s films. It s got adults in difficult situations, people making real decisions that actually impact their lives. It s got comedy and drama and idiosyncratic characters and real emotion. And I think a lot of people are actually sort of questioning their place in the world and Jason is so good with this kind of material. He is able to handle tricky plot points and tones and complex characters with sensitivity and grace. He allows audiences to really understand what these characters are experiencing through their eyes, whether that be the teenagers or their parents you understand and empathize with all these characters and their relationships, even when they are not their best selves, Novick says. Reitman was also drawn to the notion that despite the myriad of methods of contact and interaction, we are increasingly separated from each other. It s about a group of parents and teenagers navigating the new world that we are all trying to figure out - social media, instantaneous access to what each other is thinking, doing, seeing. It s really about connection. He continues, And what has become of the idea of intimacy? Intimacy has become so linked to the idea of sexuality that we forgot the simple idea of being close. Although the internet and the effect it is having on every aspect of our culture is often deliberated, Kultgen found the discussion to be slightly hollow and detached. He wanted to explore something more interpersonal and intergenerational. He says, I wasn t aware of anything that had really tackled the issue of how technology is affecting the way kids are developing socially, sexually and also how it s affecting their parents and older generations. I really think parents can t even begin to understand how their kids are developing in the way that perhaps prior generations could. I wanted to write a book about that. Men, Women & Children examines the irony that we possess the technology to communicate instantly in countless ways and yet the generational divide is perhaps even more vast than in previous eras and that the confusion between sexuality and self-worth still exists and perhaps is exacerbated by the internet age. Advertisement Adapting the book for the screen would be a deft and nuanced writing project. Men, Women & Children marks the first time Reitman has co-written a screenplay. While at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, he bumped into Erin Cressida Wilson who had written the screenplay for Chloe, a film he d produced. Wilson recalls Reitman telling her he had optioned a book and asked her to read it. She loved it. Reitman explains, When you first read it, it s so explicit it s hard to imagine how it could exist on the big screen. But what I loved about the book was how honest it was. There is no actual sex shown in this movie, it s about the conversation about sex and about love and frankly, like many of my movies, it is about communication or the lack thereof. Wilson adds, This book seemed to be the perfect meeting point for Jason and for me. On a certain level, it s seemingly politically incorrect, and yet the points that we wanted to hone in the script were about love and the 2014 PAR. PICS 2014 PAR. PICS horror and sadness of what has happened to us through internet and texting, the very things that are supposed to draw us closer, drive us further apart. The idea that we need to touch each other again, literally and figuratively. For both Jason and me, it s a very sexy, transgressive, heartfelt story that hopefully leads to something hopeful and funny. The collaboration felt sort of magical and it happened seamlessly. The generational divide and quasi rolereversal, vis-à-vis technology and social media, also intrigued Wilson. The adults are newbies at this and they don t know exactly what to do, so they re fumbling through it - whereas the kids are really fast at it and horrifyingly brilliant at living this kind of life Look for Men, Women & Children soon at CinéArts theatres. CinéArts Film Guide Fall

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11 James Marsh and His Theory of Moviemaking By Frank Gonzales Director James Marsh lives in two cinematic universes: documentaries and narratives. So it seems natural that his latest feature film, The Theory of Everything, is a culmination of his experiences piecing together facts and fables, and legends and learnings into this most elegant tribute to the ongoing lives of Stephen Hawking and Jane Hawking, and their times together. The Theory of Everything is based on Jane Hawking s memoir of her life with the brilliant astrophysicist, from their meeting as students in Cambridge, to his being diagnosed with motor neuron disease and their struggles to fight the battle together. Marsh s ability to recreate a time and place when the world was waiting for someone to light up the sky with a new idea is remarkable. What is even more impressive is that while Marsh is building up his subject s theories into ever-expanding proportions, that same person s individual world seems to physically crumble around him. In this way, James Marsh pulls together his two directorial universes into a cohesive whole. Marsh has an impressive list of credits as a director. On the documentary side there was Man on Wire which brought him an Oscar and Project Nim; his narrative features include Shadow Dancer and The King. As he said in a recent CinéArts interview, he rather likes the ability to tell a story as he sees fit: How you make a documentary is vastly different from how you make a feature film, but the objective stays exactly the same. My rule is if I can capture a film s story that is totally unbelievable like Man on Wire or Project Nim, a documentary would be best to tell that story because you wouldn t be able to refute it. With a narrative feature film there is a script and the means of production is much bigger. There are more people involved and you don t get a chance to correct your mistakes; you shoot a scene and then move on to the next one. So shooting a feature film is much harder, but in some ways is easier because you have a script and you have a structure already. Marsh became associated with The Theory of Everything through the writer of the screenplay adaptation, Anthony McCarten, and was impressed by the length and breadth of his tenacity to get the rights and to develop the script. Anthony d been working on it for many years, both creatively and politically. What I got was not the story I knew. Being British, I knew who Stephen Hawking is, but the script gave me a whole new perspective of the man, through Jane s eyes. It showed who Stephen was before he was diagnosed with the illness, and also the diagnosis itself and how it impacted their relationship. Marsh recalls his initial work on the film was based on his non-narrative experience: Coming from a documentary background helped me plot the course initially. There s lots of archive footage of Stephen and photographs that we looked at for the production and costume design of the film, but we also looked at the way Stephen moved or didn t move. The director relied havily on his two lead actors, Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, to anchor his movie, so getting to know the real Hawkings was important to the process. Eddie met with Stephen a couple of times before we started filming. Felicity spent time with Jane when we were in Cambridge preparing to film. Each lead actor had specific challenges to make their characters come to life and Marsh was appreciative of their efforts. Felicity took and caught things about Jane, her voice and manners for example, which in real life are very particular. Eddie also had lots of technical challenges, but his character s story wouldn t work, and would not have been valid, without Felicity being in tandem with him. While Marsh s work with the actors is admirable, he sees himself as more of a sounding board and a launch pad: As a director you have to do some technical preparation, like making sure accents are correct and so on. With Eddie his character s vast, challenging disability plays out in four or five different stages, not just one in a wheelchair. We had to take him to the wheelchair slowly and inexorably. So what I do with actors is give them freedom. Everyone s efforts paid off when the film was sceened for Jane and Stephen, and they both gave their approval. Stephen was quite suprised that it wasn t terrible, quips Marsh. It was great to have his blessing. So does Marsh see his own career moving more into the narrative universe, or the documentary one, or equally in both? He says, It will very much be determined by how best to tell the story. Filmmaking is a mysterious process. What you consider as a filmmaker is, do you want to spend two years to make a documentary or at least one to make a feature film? You have to make sure the subject matter piques your interest across all of the time you spend on it. You have to remain endlessly curious about them. I really enjoy both styles of filmmaking, but with narratives working with the actors is so much of what you do, and that experience is special. There is a lot I need to learn in that area of filmmaking, so I might pursue that and learn more. The Theory of Everything, starring Eddie Redmayne (Les Misérables) and Felicity Jones (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), is the extraordinary story of one of the world s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde. Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of time. Together, they defy impossible odds, breaking new ground in medicine and science, and achieving more than they could ever have dreamed. The film is based on the memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, by Jane Hawking, and is directed by Academy Award winner James Marsh (Man on Wire). Look for The Theory of Everything at CinéArts Theatres beginning November 7, CinéArts Film Guide Fall

12 A film by MIKE LEIGH TIMOTHY SPALL WINNER BEST ACTOR CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

13 One of the great movies about an artist. -John Powers, VOGUE It s all staggering. It s bringing cinema as close to painting as it s come since the silent era. -Wesley Morris, GRANTLAND Spall has always been a terrific actor, but this is the performance of his career. -Stephanie Zacharek, VILLAGE VOICE Ecstatically beautiful and exquisitely detailed. -Scott Foundas, VARIETY It s Mike Leigh s masterwork. -Anne Thompson, INDIEWIRE A luminous and moving film. -Leslie Felperin, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER WATCH FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A FREE TRIP FOR TWO TO LONDON! COMING IN DECEMBER CONTEST BEGINS DECEMBER 19 TH! VISIT CINEMARK.COM FOR DETAILS! SONY PICTURES CLASSICS FILM4 FOCUS FEATURES INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION DIAPHANA FRANCE 3 CINÉMA AMUSEMENT PARK FILMS WITH PARTICIPATION WITH THE & BFI PRESENT UNITED A KINGDOM/FRENCH REPUBLIC/FEDERAL CANAL+ CINÉ+ FRANCE TÉLÉVISIONS REPUBLIC OF GERMANY OF PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION BY XOFA PRODUCTIONS WITH LIPSYNC PRODUCTIONS A THIN MAN FILM TIMOTHY SPALL DOROTHY ATKINSON MARION BAILEY PAUL JESSON LESLEY MANVILLE MARTIN SAVAGE A FILM LINE BY MIKE LEIGH MR. TURNER CASTING NINA GOLD PRODUCER DANIELLE BRANDON SOUND MAKE-UP & RESEARCH JACQUELINE RIDING RECORDIST TIM FRASER HAIR DESIGNER CHRISTINE BLUNDELL DESIGNER COSTUME MUSIC JACQUELINE DURRAN COMPOSED BY GARY YERSHON PRODUCTION FILM DESIGNER SUZIE DAVIES EDITOR JON GREGORY, ACE EXECUTIVE CINEMATOGRAPHY DICK POPE, BSC CO-PRODUCERS MICHEL SAINT-JEAN MALTE GRUNERT PRODUCERS TESSA ROSS NORMAN MERRY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER GAIL EGAN PRODUCED WRITTEN & BY GEORGINA LOWE DIRECTED BY MIKE LEIGH IN CO-PRODUCTION CHANNEL FOUR TELEVISION CORPORATION THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE DIAPHANA FRANCE3 CINÉMA UNTITLED 13 COMMISSIONING LTD OPENS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19 TH IN NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES! SONYCLASSICS.COM

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16 By Cara Lyon With over 300 films to choose from this year, the 39-year-old Toronto International Film Festival is a cinephile s dream. Complete with Hollywood galas and red carpet premiers, the festival attracts industry veterans, journalists, publicists, filmmakers and general cinema enthusiasts from all over the world. Some films will find their way into a theatre near you, many will not. What is definite is that Toronto is always a first glimpse into the year s Awards season hopefuls. Here are just a few of the highlights from this year s festival. Foxcatcher Director: Bennett Miller Cast: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo Synopsis: Two brothers, both former Olympic wrestling champions (Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo) become involved in a fateful and fatal friendship with a neurotic millionaire (Steve Carell), in this true-life drama from director Bennett Miller (Capote, Moneyball) Review: Already one of the year s most anticipated films, Foxcatcher combines the aspects of a real life crime story and a sports drama. There are many good things to say about this film, but the performances are what will be remembered. Steve Carell is nearly unrecognizable in a role that is a major departure from his usual goofball persona. Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo should be equally acknowledged for their roles as wrestling champions, Mark and Dave Schultz. Wild Director: Jean-Marc Vallée Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern Synopsis: A self-destructive woman (Reese Witherspoon) attempts to leave behind her years of drug abuse and reckless sex with a solo, 1,000-mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, in this adaptation of Cheryl Strayed s best-selling memoir from director Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club). Review: A powerfully intimate look into the path of self discovery based on Cheryl Strayed s real life journey. Reese Witherspoon delivers her best performance to date in my opinion, better than Walk the Line, for which she won the Academy Award in Fans of director Jean-Marc Vallée s Oscar-winner from last year, Dallas Buyers Club, are sure to love this film. 14 cinearts.com

17 Theory of Everything Director: James Marsh Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones Synopsis: While students at Cambridge, Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne, Les Misérables) and Jane (Felicity Jones, The Invisible Woman) fall deeply in love. His earthshattering diagnosis leads him to embark on his ambitious study of the nature of time with Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, in this moving adaptation of Jane Hawking s memoir from Academy Award-winning director James Marsh (Man on Wire). Review: It is impossible to take your eyes off of Eddie Redmayne s transformative performance as Stephen Hawking. Director James Marsh had some tough subject matter to tackle in the level of complication to Hawking s theories and ideals. He manages to dive in to these subjects just enough so that they are still (mostly) understandable, and he wisely centers the story around Stephen and Jane s romance making this above all, a love story. While We re Young Director: Noah Baumbach Cast: Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Driver Synopsis: Noah Baumbach s exploration of aging, ambition and success stars Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts as a middle-aged couple whose career and marriage are overturned when a disarming young couple enters their lives. Review: Noah Baumbach s most charming and accessible film to date. Ben Stiller and Noami Watts perfectly play the 40-something couple that aren t quite ready to let go of their fading youth. Both performances are spot on, neither actor being afraid to look a little foolish at times. Sophisticated comedy is an extremely tricky genre but While We re Young absolutely pulls it off. Men, Women & Children Director: Jason Reitman Cast: Jennifer Garner, Adam Sandler, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ansel Elgort, Judy Greer, Elena Kampouris, Dean Norris, Synopsis: The latest feature from Jason Reitman (Up in the Air, Labor Day) follows a group of teenagers and their parents as they attempt to navigate the many ways the internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image, and their love lives. Review: Director Jason Reitman s most recent venture, featuring a strong ensemble cast portraying the characters in a plot of interweaving story lines. A new age narrative that examines the role that technology plays in our smartphone and internet addicted lives. Reitman achieves an honest portrayal which everyone will identify with in some way. CinéArts Film Guide Fall

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23 ACADEMY AWARD WINNER REESE WITHERSPOON FROM THE DIRECTOR OF DALLAS BUYERS CLUB BASED ON THE INSPIRATIONAL BEST SELLER DECEMBER 5 FoxSearchlight.com/WILD

24 Every aspiring filmmaker dreams of having their script land in the hands of prominent producers, showing their film at festivals around the world, having that film bought for national distribution, and being adored by critics and audiences alike. Most young filmmakers would settle for even one out of those four, but for writer/director Damien Chazelle, all these dreams came true. I had the pleasure of speaking with Damien the morning before his much lauded film, Whiplash, was set to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival (after playing at three of the most prestigious film festivals: Sundance, Cannes, and Telluride) and we discussed how Whiplash went from being a painful, personal experience to one of the most celebrated indie films of the year. Whiplash, starring J.K. Simmons (Juno) and Miles Teller (Divergent), is Chazelle s semiautobiographical story that follows a young jazz drummer s struggle while attending New York s most renowned music conservatory. The crux of it is stuff I went through. In my case it was high school and I just sort of transposed that to be in even more of a pressure cooker environment in the form of an actual vocational music school with people prepping for the professional life. Down to even some of the smallest details of the movie, it is definitely by far the most personal thing I ve ever done or written So, how does a twenty-something director take his life as a screenplay and turn it into this years Sundance darling? According to Damien it all started when Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) came on as a producer. His producer, Helen Estabrook, had read the script, liked it, and got Jason on board. Then they were looking for a way to make this movie and so the idea was to make a short. [From there] Jason gave the script to J.K. Simmons, who he puts in all of his films.that was just the first of many ways that Jason and Helen proved to be completely indispensable. The plan was to work backwards. Damien had his producers and his principle cast, but Whiplash was still a feature that needed to be paired down to their new vision as a short film. The script I had written before and the short was pulled from the script, it was a scene that we had pulled out and made as its own little piece, but the feature was always the end goal. I had been out of the jazz world, out of the music program that I had been in, for a while, and it occurred to me