Screen Junkies » Chris Weitz

‘The Game’ Will Fictionalize Douchebag Pick-Up Artists

Penn Collins — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 00:40:56 +0000

If there can be an ensemble romcom adapted from What to Expect When You’re Expecting, there can surely be a film that’s based on Neil Strauss’ The Game, the bestselling book on how to pick up women.

MGM certainly agrees, recruiting Solitary Man writing/directing team Brian Koppelman and David Levien to work their magic on the source material, rewriting the project that had been kicking around in Hollywood hell with both Chris Weitz and Rawson Marshall Thurber attached to direct at different times. Chris Weitz and his brothe Paul will be sticking around in producer capacities.

The talent behind this production coupled with the absurdity of the source material makes this a promising project.

LAFF Review: A Better Life

Fred Topel — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:55:04 +0000

At first I was worried A Better Life would be an “important” movie educating all of us on the plight of immigrant families. It starts out that way but becomes a real thriller with intense stakes, against the backdrop of a relevant social issue.

Carlos works in landscaping to support his son Luis. He buys the company truck from his retiring boss so that he can own the business and build a really solid future, a better life for his son. The truck just leads to more problems.

‘A Better Life' Trailer Makes You Feel Better About Your Life

The setup paints a stark picture of this impossible situation. How can Carlos teach Luis values when he has to work all the time, and Luis has violent gang wannabes all around him at school? It’s clear the kids are just desperate for respect.

When Carlos’s situation turns bad, it’s really intense. One untrustworthy day laborer risks Carlos’s life and steals his truck. It’s even rougher because there’s no recourse. Carlos is illegal, he can’t go to the cops. Here, the film really puts us in the intensity of this life. It’s one thing to say it’s hard to be an immigrant, but to show how the most noble efforts can become an immense burden in an instant, that’s drama.

Carlos and Luis go looking for the thief, and here is where street-wise Luis can help. He overdoes it with the gang banger bravado but he has a little more savvy. He also sees the reality of how other immigrants live, who have it even worse than he does. It makes me appreciate the options I have. If someone steals my car, I just call Geico.

Carlos maintains good values throughout this hardship. He still honors his word. Even the people who wrong him are just trying to get ahead for their own families. Carlos just won’t do it at someone else’s expense. Luis asks the tough questions too. Why do poor people have so many kids, or any kids at all? Carlos has no answer for that.

This is drama. There are no solutions, only more problems. Even getting the truck back turns out to expose them to more trouble. It gets you into that headspace of always looking over your shoulder, because each day is borrowed time.

‘Pirates 5′ Director Whirlpool Includes Sam Raimi And Shawn Levy?

Geoffrey Golden — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 23:23:39 +0000

Whether you liked Pirates of the Caribbean 4 or wished you owned a boat with a plank, so you could shove the film reels off of said plank, On Stranger Tides is a box office winner. Disney has collected over $639 million doubloons worldwide so far, which means there will be more of them. The only problem is that Johnny Depp and Pirates 4 director Rob Marshall are not yet signed on for a fifth installment. They’ve also set sail to make another project together, Thin Man, which is perhaps their way of abandoning ship.

6 photosDaphne Joy

If Depp pulls out, that’ll obviously create a major whirlpool for producers to fight out of. However, the studio is already throwing around new names for director: Sam Raimi, Chris Weitz, Alfonso Cuaron, Shawn Levy and their fantasy pick… Tim Burton. Apparently, they wanted Burton for #4, so it seems unlikely they’d get him now. Of those, I’d say Levy makes the most sense, given that his filmography contains many huge budget, family friendly CG-based movies. I guess we’ll see how it all shakes down.

Screenwriter Terry Rossio already turned a draft of Pirates 5 to Disney. (CinemaBlend)

‘A Better Life’ Trailer Makes You Feel Better About Your Life

Joseph Gibson — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:33:40 +0000

Chris Weitz‘s A Better Life doesn’t exactly look like a pick-me-up, unless you consider sober blue-collar dramas about life as an immigrant in America to be fun afternoon viewing. Still, you might appreciate the trailer since it might make you feel more thankful for the blessings in your life:

“The film looks at the relationship between illegal immigrant Carlos Galindo (Mexican actor Demián Bichir) and his teenage son, Luis (José Julián). When Carlos’ truck is stolen, the father is powerless to turn to law enforcement, but the crisis brings him closer to his potentially wayward son.”

That sounds a little bit like the Italian neorealist classic The Bicycle Thieves, but with a truck instead of a bike. Sold! (via 24 Frames)