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Exclusive: Jake Rubin and Evan Metzold are set to direct Mulligans, a dark golf comedy for recently launched production company Objectively Good Media.

The project reunites the duo with Ogm on the heels of their directorial debut, Damned If You Do, which has wrapped production. A dark comedy following a group of teenage friends who have sold their souls to the devil, that film stars Kate Siegel, Harvey Guillén, Ed Weeks and more.

Scripted by Rubin, Mulligans tells the story of a wealthy Florida family who rip each other apart while competing in a golf tournament to win the family golf course and inheritance. Situated in the swampy folklore of Florida, the dark comedy takes place on the golf course and the surrounding swamps of the prestigious (and fictional) Winston Hills Country Club.

“Similar to Damned if You Do,” said the filmmakers, “Mulligans is another big ensemble comedy where we...

Exclusive: Objectively Good Media has secured exclusive film rights to Carlos Vieira’s memoir Knockin’ Doorz Down, enlisting Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair (Before We Go) to mount an adaptation, titled The 9,009 Lives of a Cocaine God, from their own script.

Based on a true story, The 9,009 Lives examines the devastating impact of addiction on families. Delving deep into the complexity of addiction, recovery, and redemption, the film will offer a raw exploration from the perspective of Vieira’s journey torn between his love for his family and the relentless pull of his addiction. The writer is depicted living out different versions of his life, each more harrowing than the last, until he begins to understand that the only way to break the cycle is to find the strength to love himself.

Vieira is the founder of The Carlos Vieira Foundation, a charitable organization that focuses on the following three campaigns: Race for Autism,...

Jennifer Lopez has spent the better part of her career navigating the two halves of her public persona: Bronx-born girl next door “Jenny from the block” and Hollywood power player “J.Lo.” Though much of the tension between the two has been amplified by media coverage that spans calculated marketing campaigns and inescapable paparazzi scrutiny, Lopez has frequently seemed to capitulate to whichever of the two serves her best at the time.

“This is Me…Now: A Love Story” is, on its face, the visual component of her self-funded ninth studio album, and at a reported $20 million price tag it’s easy to see it first and foremost as an advertisement. But as not only the subject but star, co-writer and executive producer of an interlinked series of music videos, Lopez showcases above all else how tough it is to express oneself personally after more than 30 years in the public eye,...

Is it a movie? Is it a musical? Is it a music video? Is it a documentary? Is it a visual album? Is it a dance memoir? No one really knows, except for the star herself, Jennifer Lopez. In the new film “This Is Me… Now” arriving on Prime Video on Feb. 16, JLo opens up in an intimate, fantastical, and narrative-driven reflection inspired by her new album. The megastar shares her personal journey of self-healing and self-love in an immersive world where music and visuals intertwine. You will be able to witness this sure-to-be one-of-a-kind visual extravaganza on both Prime Video subscription tiers. You can watch with a 30-Day Free Trial of Amazon Prime Video.

How to Watch Jennifer Lopez's 'This Is Me... Now' When: Friday, February 16, 2024 Where: Amazon Prime Video Stream: Watch with a 30-Day Free Trial of Amazon Prime Video. 30-Day Free Trial$8.99+ / month amazon.com About...

Jennifer Lopez in This Is Me...Now Image: Prime Video To understand where multi-hyphenate superstar Jennifer Lopez is today, as her new film This Is Me...Now: A Love Story is about to start streaming on Prime Video, audiences need to know where she’s been. Two decades ago, Lopez suffered...

Jennifer Lopez in This Is Me...NowImage: Prime Video

To understand where multi-hyphenate superstar Jennifer Lopez is today, as her new film This Is Me...Now: A Love Story is about to start streaming on Prime Video,audiences need to know where she’s been. Two decades ago, Lopez suffered devastating...

In the summer of 2022, Netflix released “Halftime,” a glossy, shiny, and intermittently revelatory documentary focused on global icon Jennifer Lopez. That offering found unexpected (if highly unrelatable) pathos in the star’s distress over not being nominated for an Oscar for her (quite good) turn in “Hustlers.” Just twenty months later, and yet another streamer is now releasing its own glossy, shiny, and intermittently revelatory film project focused on global icon Jennifer Lopez. The pathos, though? That’s mostly missing, but certainly not for lack of trying.

The project comes from the mind of Lopez herself, who also co-financed the effort. It’s clunkily titled (and punctuated) as “This Is Me…Now: A Love Story,” linking it inextricably with Lopez’s latest studio album, which just so happens to be dropping the same day as its “cinematic” component. Synergy!

The official synopsis for the project is filled with chestnuts that...

Jennifer Lopez will unveil a new album, This Is Me…Now, and accompanying film, This Is Me…Now: A Love Story, on Feb. 16. In addition, Amazon MGM Studios will release a documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, that showcases how both projects came to be on Feb. 27.

Directed by Jason Bergh, the documentary “follows Jennifer Lopez as she attempts her most daring project yet: independently producing a new album and cinematic original that explore her twenty-year journey to self-love.”

The official synopsis adds that it “offers unflinching access to...

Jennifer Lopez took on an enormous challenge with This is Me … Now: A Love Story, the “narrative driven, cinematic original” film that hits Prime Video this week. It wasn’t the singing, acting or intricate choreography featured in the 65-minute musical, as the multihyphenate can do all of that in her sleep. The real hurdle arose when the money disappeared and Lopez opted to open her wallet to pay for the whole thing.

“Everybody thought I was crazy when I said I would do it. We did have financing, and then that fell out. They pulled out at the last minute, and then it was that moment where you go, ‘Ok, do we just make a video or do we go ahead and do this thing?'” explained the 54-year-old entertainer during an interview at the Four Seasons Los Angeles in Beverly Hills while sitting alongside her Nuyorican Prods. producing partner Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas.

The two-minute trailer for This Is Me…Now describes the sci-fi autobiographical musical one-hour film as from the heart, soul, and dreams of Jennifer Lopez. The trailer runs through J-Lo’s various romances and marriages, and finds her friends hosting an intervention to discuss her sex addiction.

“I learned the hard way not all love stories have a happy ending,” says Lopez. “Whenever someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up, the answer was always in love.”

Grammy-winner Dave Meyers (“No Tears Left to Cry” by Ariana Grande) directs from a screenplay by Jennifer Lopez and Matt Walton. Lopez’s hubby, Ben Affleck, is featured in the film alongside Fat Joe, Trevor Noah, Kim Petras, Post Malone, Keke Palmer, Sofia Vergara, Jenifer Lewis, and Jay Shetty.

The cast also includes Neil deGrasse Tyson, Sadhguru, Tony Bellissimo, Derek Hough, Trevor Jackson, Paul Raci, Bella Gagliano, Brandon Delsid,...

Jennifer Lopez is partnering with Amazon MGM Studios for a cinematic experience that will leave you breathless, sweaty, and ready to hit the dance floor. Today, Amazon debuted the This Is Me…Now: A Love Story trailer, showcasing Lopez’s narrative-driven cinematic experience, which will be available exclusively to Prime Video on February 16, 2024.

Here’s the official synopsis for This Is Me…Now: A Love Story:

This Is Me…Now: A Love Story is like nothing you’ve ever seen from Jennifer Lopez. Alongside director Dave Meyers, Jennifer has created a narrative-driven cinematic odyssey steeped in mythological storytelling and personal healing. Dropping in tandem with her first studio album in a decade, this genre-bending Amazon original showcases her journey to love through her own eyes. With fantastical costumes, breathtaking choreography, and star-studded cameos, this panorama is an introspective retrospective of Jennifer’s resilient heart.

Joining Lopez for her epic musical presentation are Fat Joe,...

There is a lot going on in the new trailer for Jennifer Lopez’s This Is Me…Now: A Love Story.

In the trailer, the singer navigates a sex-addict anonymous-styled meeting after friends stage an intervention, citing her three marriages as a red flag. She also dances, sings, reflects on childhood, and appears in mythological settings in the span of less than three minutes.

“I learned the hard way — not all love stories have a happy ending,” Lopez says in a voiceover in the arresting visual, featuring musical-type dance numbers...

Ok, this one is certainly hard to categorize, but let’s give it a shot. Inspired by Jennifer Lopez’s upcoming album of the same name due in February, the film “This Is Me…Now” is a quasi-documentary with narrative elements— an intimate, fantastical, and narrative-driven reflection of her personal journey of self-healing and self-love (perhaps inspired by some of Beyonce’s most recent documentaries).

Directed by Dave Meyers, the film was written by Jennifer Lopez and Matt Walton with a story conceived by Lopez, Meyers, and Chris Shafer.

Continue reading ‘This Is Me… Now’ Trailer: Jennifer Lopez Love-Story Quasi-Doc Hybrid Debuts Feb 16 at The Playlist.

Jennifer Lopez is reintroducing herself yet again with genre-bending film “This Is Me…Now.”

Released in tandem with her first new album in a decade that shares the same title as the feature, the film is co-written by Lopez and Matt Walton. The cinematic original film co-stars Lopez’s husband Ben Affleck, as well as features cameos by Trevor Noah, Kim Petras, Sofia Vergara, Keke Palmer, and more.

The official synopsis reads: “Jennifer has created a narrative-driven cinematic odyssey, steeped in mythological storytelling and personal healing. Dropping in tandem with her first studio album in a decade, this genre-bending Amazon original showcases her journey to love through her own eyes. With fantastical costumes, breathtaking choreography, and star-studded cameos, this panorama is an introspective retrospective of Jennifer’s resilient heart.”

Grammy winner Dave Meyers directs using a story he co-created with Lopez and Chris Shafer. The Amazon MGM Studios features Fat Joe,...

“Family Leave,” the upcoming Netflix movie starring Jennifer Garner and Ed Helms, has rounded out its ensemble cast.

Joining the comedy film are Rita Moreno, Matthias Schweighöfer, Bashir Salahuddin, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, Fortune Feimster, Xosha Roquemore, Paul Scheer, King Bach aka Andrew Bachelor, Pete Holmes, Naomi Ekperigin, Dan Finnerty, Cyrus Arnold and Vanessa Carrasco, with character details yet to come.

Based on the book “Bedtime For Mommy” by Amy Krouse-Rosenthal, “Family Leave” follows Jess (Garner) and Bill Walker (Helms), who are doing their best to keep their family connected as their children grow older, more independent and more distant. When a chance encounter with an astrological reader causes the family to wake up to a full body switch, on the morning of the most important day of each of their lives, the Walkers must unite to land a promotion, college interview, record deal and soccer tryout. Emma Myers (“Wednesday”) and...

Now that he’s done playing Tommy Wiseau, James Franco is turning his attention to a much less disastrous artist: Shel Silverstein. Deadline reports that the multi-multi-hyphenate is now in talks to both direct and star in a biopic about the children’s author, songwriter, poet, and cartoonist, whose books have adorned many a classroom for decades.

Read More:James Franco Recreated 25 Minutes of ‘The Room’ Shot-for-Shot in ‘The Disaster Artist’

Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair are writing the as-yet untitled project, which is based on the Lisa Rogak book “A Boy Named Shel.” Deadline’s report notes that the film “will focus on the personal and professional struggles that made Silverstein a unique voice.”

Read More:James Franco Reveals Why He Became ‘Frustrated’ After 10 Years of Acting and Had to Do More — Watch

Silverstein, who was born in 1930 and died in 1999, is best known for books like “The Giving Tree,...

It looks like James Franco has found a great new film project to jump on board. According to Variety, he is in talks to in and direct a film that will tell the story of prolific children’s book author, cartoonist, and lyricist Shel Silverstein.

Shel Silverstein is best known for his children's books such as The Giving Tree, Where The Sidewalk Ends, Falling Up, A Light in the Attic, Everything On It, The Missing Piece and more. I own all of these books and I enjoyed reading many of them all the time when I was growing up!

In case you didn't know, Silverstein was also a singer, songwriter, and screenwriter. According to the report, the movie will focus "not only on his struggles professionally, but personally as well, and trace how he became the iconic author he is today."

This is actually incredibly cool and James Franco is...

James Franco will play children's book author Shel Silverstein in a biopic that he will also direct.

Based on Lisa Rogak's book A Boy Named Shel, the movie will focus on the personal and professional struggles of the author behind the popular book The Giving Tree and collection of poems Where the Sidewalk Ends. Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair will write the screenplay.

McG and Mary Viola will produce through their Wonderland banner, along with Gigi Pritzker and Rachel Shane for Mwm Studios, which was recently rebranded from Pritzker's OddLot Entertainment.

Franco will executive produce through Rowena Films with Vince Jolivette and Adrian Alperovich of Mwm, which will fully finance.

The...

Exclusive: His latest film The Disaster Artist squarely in the awards-season mix, James Franco is in talks to direct and star in another exploration of the life of an artist. He’ll helm and star as the prolific children’s book author, cartoonist and lyricist Shel Silverstein. The film will be written by Chris Shafer & Paul Vicknair from the Lisa Rogak book A Boy Named Shel, and it will focus on the personal and professional struggles that made Silverstein a unique...

Many argue that homage is the highest form of flattery – especially when it comes to film. If that is indeed the case, then Richard Linklater should be experiencing some extreme ego-inflation right about now – for Captain America himself has clearly chosen to tip his shield to the legendary indie director’s Before Sunrise with his directorial debut, Before We Go.

With Evans also taking the lead role, and Alice Eve (Star Trek Into Darkness) as his co-star, this romantic tale comes from the writer of Rain Man – Ronald Bass – along with Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair (both screenwriters of the Chris Evans movie Playing It Cool), as well as Jen Smolka (The Good Cook).

You can check out the official plot synopsis below:

“Flustered and fearful after a brush with a mugger, Brooke (Alice Eve) races through Manhattan’s Grand Central Station, desperate to catch the night’s last Boston-bound train.

There's something so distinctly beautiful about Richard Linklater's refined, stripped down and deeply mature Before trilogy. It's easy to see why people would want to mimic it. It's two characters, interacting amongst gorgeous backdrops like prime European destinations, discussing life, love and anything-and-everything in-between. It's not hard to film, and paves the way for hearty character development. Based on the early reviews from last year's Tiff, however, Chris Evans' attempt to capture that spark in-a-bottle with his directorial debut, Before We Go, didn't quite work as well. Besides moving the two soon-to-be love-stricken strangers' action to New York City, Evans' movie looks strikingly similar -- right down to the name -- to what the series attempted before, with his character, musician Nick Vaughan, meeting lost young woman Brooke Dalton (Alice Eve) thanks to a train -- this being one she missed, in addition to having her purse robbed -- and having the charismatic,...

Stars: Chris Evans, Michelle Monaghan, Iaon Gruffudd, Anthony Mackie, Topher Grace, Aubrey Plaza, Patrick Warburton, Martin Starr, Luke Wilson, Matthew Morrison, Ashley Tisdale, Philip Baker Hall | Written by Chris Shafer, Paul Vicknair | Directed by Justin Reardon

Imagine if love was easy, we’d have less rom-coms for a start. These comedies that look at the complications of love tend to make themselves out to be the only movie that does the re-tread tale in this certain way, the truth being most follow a similar structure (because it works). The success of the film relies on making the audience care for the characters and charming the hopeless romantic in them into submission. The question is can Chris “Captain America” Evans charm you by Playing it Cool? The answer is probably yes.

Chris Evans plays a screenwriter given the task of writing a script for a rom-com. Being the jaded type he...

Vertical Entertainment has acquired Us rights to Justin Reardon’s rom-com starring Chris Evans, Michelle Monaghan, Martin Starr and Aubrey Plaza. Voltage Pictures handles international sales at Afm.

Formerly known as A Many Splintered Thing, the film will open theatrically in the first quarter of 2015 and also stars Patrick Warburton, Topher Grace, Luke Wilson, Anthony Mackie, Ioan Gruffudd, and Philip Baker Hall.

Playing It Cool follows an imaginative young man who meets the (engaged) woman of his dreams at a dinner where he pretends to be a philanthropist and resolves to win her heart. Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair wrote the screenplay.

Nicolas Chartier, Craig Flores, McG, and Mary Viola produced while Evans served as executive producer.

“We are looking forward to working with Chris Evans and the rest of the cast for the Us release of Playing It Cool,” said Vertical co-president Mitch Budin. “We think audiences will appreciate the unique storytelling and the honest intimacy...

Chris Evans explores the incessant rom-com theme of whether heterosexual males and females can ever be just friends in the first trailer for Justin Reardon‘s “Playing It Cool.” Originally titled the less clichéd “A Many Splintered Thing,” the Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair-scripted rom-com stars Evans, fresh from receiving U.S. distribution for his directorial debut “Before We Go,” as an aspiring action movie screenwriter who is forced by his agent, Bryan (played by Evans’ “Captain American: The Winter Soldier” co-star Anthony Mackie) to pay his dues with a rom-com in promise of a six-week action film set in Malaysia. Evans’ [...]

The post Watch: Chris Evans Tries ‘Playing It Cool’ with Michelle Monaghan in First Trailer appeared first on Up and Comers.

Can it be considered fantasy when someone with the face and charm of Chris Evans is unlucky in love? Maybe so, but Playing It Cool is sticking firmly in romantic comedy territory, as shown by its first trailer.The idea of the cynical romantic, burned too many times by love but perhaps willing to give it just one… more… chance is a well-used trope in rom-coms. So, perhaps is the idea that men and women – particularly those in some state of potential lust – have trouble just being friends.In this case, our love-blighted hero is a screenwriter who is sick of writing romantic comedies and really wants to graduate to action. Part of the problem is his own love life is a mess, and is further complicated when he meets the seemingly ideal Michelle Monaghan. Trouble is, she’s engaged to Ioan Gruffudd, so they decide to be pals. Good luck with that,...

“Before We Go,” Chris Evans’ directorial debut, is getting distributed in the Us by The Weinstein Company’s specialty distribution arm Radius, according to Deadline. In addition to directing, Evans starred in the film opposite Alice Eve. The script was written by Ronald Bass, Jen Smolka, Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair. The film takes places over the course of a single night. When Nick (Evans) and Brooke (Eve) meet in New York City they are strangers. After Brooke gets robbed on her way to her train to Boston she is alone and terrified. The two strangers become fast confidants as they [...]

The post Chris Evans’ Directorial Debut ‘Before We Go’ Gets Us Distribution appeared first on Up and Comers.

I’m just going to put this out there: romantic comedies are now really hard to write. I mean, as a creative endeavour, it’s a full-on cliché minefield. To correctly balance all the elements required – chemistry, tension, humour, romance – while avoiding the most well-worn cinematic devices, is monumentally difficult. A fool’s errand, some might say. And yet, still they appear, because still writers try to bring something new and fresh to the genre. Still we buy those tickets, and sit in the dark – hoping to be pleasantly surprised, but knowing we will probably be disappointed.

So, here we are again, with a new trailer for another daring attempt. The film is titled Playing It Cool in this preview, but was previously known as A Many Splintered Thing. Does it achieve the impossible dream? Is this film that most elusive of treasures – that mythic creature that continually slips our collective grasp?...

Following the trailer for Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper's reunion in Serena, yet another film that was shot in 2012, but has sat on a shelf for a couple years, has a trailer that has surfaced online. Playing It Cool (formerly called A Many Splintered Thing) marks the return of Captain America franchise star Chris Evans to the romantic comedy genre, and it's even a bit of a meta story as it sees him playing  a screenwriter who gets pushed by his agent to write a romantic comedy to help boost his career. But Evans isn't the kind of guy who believes in that cheesy love bullshit. Cue falling in love with the right girl. Watch! Here's an international trailer for Justin Reardon's Playing It Cool (via The Playlist): Playing it Cool (formerly A Many Splintered Thing) is directed by Justin Reardon and written by Paul Vicknair & Chris Shafer...

Update, 11:35 Am Pst: Radius has confirmed Deadline’s scoop for Before We Go. Below find the press release.

Previous Exclusive, 9:49 Am Pst: Radius has gotten on the Toronto deal-making board. I’m hearing the label is closing a low-seven-figure deal for U.S. rights to Before We Go, the film directed by and starring Captain America‘s Chris Evans. This comes after the successful multi-platform release of the Evans-starrer Snowpiercer.

Scripted by Ronald Bass, Jen Smolka, Chris Shafer, and Paul Vicknair, Before We Go also stars Alice Eve. Over the course of one night, two strangers form an unlikely bond based on the conflicts in their own lives. Pic is produced by Evans, McG, Mary Viola, Karen Baldwin and Howard Baldwin, Mark Kassen and Bill Immerman.

The film came into the festival playing the Special Presentations section and a lot of people really liked it. CAA and Wme...

Weinstein boutique arm RADiUS-twc has picked up Us rights to "Before We Go," "Snowpiercer" star Chris Evans' directorial debut, at Tiff. Starring Evans and Alice Eve (of "Star Trek Into Darkness"), the film follows two strangers stuck overnight in New York City whose casual acquaintance grows into something deeper a la "Before Sunrise." "Before We Go" was produced by Evans, Mark Kassen, McG, Mary Viola, Karen Baldwin, Howard Baldwin and William J. Immerman.  The executive producers are Peter Pastorelli, James McGough and Ron Bass - the latter of whom also wrote the screenplay with Jen Smolka, Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair. RADiUS, which also handled "Snowpiercer" and has tapped something of an indie star in Evans, is eyeing a second quarter 2015 release.

If you were ever a grade schooler in desperate need of clever rhymes and you had finally graduated to the point where you were just a hair too mature for the wacky words of a one Dr. Seuss, your grubby little hands likely reached for a heavy Shel Silverstein tome like “Where the Sidewalk Ends” or “A Light in the Attic.” His sprawling books of colorful poetry and beautiful accompanying illustrations (all his own) chronicled all the issues that mattered the most to children. For instance, flipping open a Silverstein book could point you to the plight of a modern day King Midas, who turns everything he touches to raspberry jello. A perfect hell! Or maybe you’d settle on the story of Melinda Mae, the girl who tried to eat an entire whale, an actually does so in the span of 80 years. That’s just silly. Now, the man who brought so much joy to our...