The Thinking Person’s 2012 Summer Movie Preview (Or 8 Reasons to Escape the Tyranny of Escapism)

The Thinking Person’s 2012 Summer Movie Preview (Or 8 Reasons to Escape the Tyranny of Escapism)

After “The Avengers“ set the high watermark for summer spectacle, the rest of the season of mindless entertainment seems doomed to disappoint. Despair not: After sorting through the piles of pulp and popcorn Hollywood plans to dole out over the next three months, we’ve come up with eight reasons to retreat into a dark, windowless space …


Tainted Love: An Exclusive Q&A with Take This Waltz Writer-Director Sarah Polley

Tainted Love: An Exclusive Q&A with Take This Waltz Writer-Director Sarah Polley

‘A shorter route to happiness might be to embrace where you are and what you have and enjoy that moment …’


Julie Taymor Developing Thomas Mann’s Transposed Heads

Julie Taymor Developing Thomas Mann’s Transposed Heads

Taymor is back in the news, not for any ties to her departure from ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,’ but for two movies she has in development.



The Jazz Age Meets the Rave Age in the First Trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby

The Jazz Age Meets the Rave Age in the First Trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby

After catching a glimpse of the trailer for Luhrmann’s latest, we’re beginning to have our doubts about the upcoming Gatsby.


From the Vault: ‘Into the Wild’ by Jon Krakauer, Brought to Screen by Sean Penn

From the Vault: ‘Into the Wild’ by Jon Krakauer, Brought to Screen by Sean Penn

In this week’s book and movie recommendation, we’re inspired by Cheryl Strayed’s Wild to look back at John Krakauer’s Into the Wild.





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Find out who's been cast, who's directing, and whether the book was better!

Cinematic Soul Mates? Peter Weir and Jennifer Egan’s Gothic Bestseller, The Keep

Cinematic Soul Mates? Peter Weir and Jennifer Egan’s Gothic Bestseller, The Keep

Egan’s The Keep and A Visit from the Goon Squad are like a pair of Austen protagonists: extraordinary beings containing labyrinthine complexity beneath a deceptively accessible exterior.



Old Jews Telling Jokes: Peter Gethers on Bringing the ‘Funny’ to the Stage

Old Jews Telling Jokes: Peter Gethers on Bringing the ‘Funny’ to the Stage

It started with a fairly simple question: ‘How hard is it to make something funny?’ And it was off and running from there…



Read This Now: ‘The University Poem,’ Unpublished Vladimir Nabokov Poem From 1926

Read This Now: ‘The University Poem,’ Unpublished Vladimir Nabokov Poem From 1926

Also today, the omnipresence of the Wilhelm Scream, Zach Galifianakis considering joining Dunces, and a brand-new game-to-film adaptation.



Notorious Stephen King Quasi-Adaptation ‘The Lawnmower Man’ Returns as TV Series

Notorious Stephen King Quasi-Adaptation ‘The Lawnmower Man’ Returns as TV Series

Also in the news today, Tom Cruise’s remake of a remake currently being remade, dissecting ‘The Shining’ and ‘The Phantom Carriage,’ and hilarious film warnings.



Harry Potter Fans: Stop Abandoning Your Pet Owls

Harry Potter Fans: Stop Abandoning Your Pet Owls

Also in the news today: the Exegesis of Philip K. Dick, the raciest film out of Cannes, and ‘There Will Be Blood’ director Paul Thomas Anderson’s next undertaking.



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Bond Is Back: New ‘Skyfall’ Teaser Trailer

Also in our Monday roundup: The Exorcist lands onstage, an inspiring commencement address, and Rihanna’s entire ‘Battleship’ script.



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Featured Trailer: Headhunters directed by Morten Tyldum

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Related story: Headhunters Thrills on the Big Screen: An Interview with Director Morten Tyldum

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