‘The Way, Way Back’ Cast & Crew Interviews: Steve Carell And Allison Janney
The Way Way Back is the coming of age story of 14-year-old Duncan’s (Liam James) summer vacation with his mother, Pam (Toni Collette), her overbearing boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell), and his daughter, Steph (Zoe Levin). Having a rough time fitting in, the introverted Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen (Sam Rockwell), the gregarious manager of the Water Wizz Water Park. Through his funny, clandestine friendship with Owen, Duncan slowly opens up to and begins to finally find his place in the world – all during a summer he will never forget. This film is the directorial debut for Academy Award winners Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (The Descendants) and this is one of four posts where you will hear what the cast and crew had to say about being a part of the film.
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While this summer is packed with superhero and comic book movies, including Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel, there still is room for Hugh Jackman to reprise his role as one of the most popular mutants around, Wolverine. The Wolverine is the latest adventure for old man Logan, taking place after the events of all of the previous X-Men films and setting itself in Japan. The story is based in part on one of the most famous comic arcs for the character, developed by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. While X-Men Origins: Wolverine left many fans disappointed, The Wolverine looks like a step in a much better direction. Continue on to see the new trailer as well as a batch of very cool, character-based posters.
Following the special screenings and Q&As for 
Following 
I have already reviewed the Closing Night film of the 2013 Newport Beach Film Festival (the very entertaining 
The closing night film for the 2013 Newport Beach Film Festival is a real audience pleaser. The Way Way Back is a fairly standard coming-of-age story about an introverted boy opening up to others thanks to good-natured people he befriends, away from his family. The film is not breaking any new ground nor is it taking a familiar story to the next level in the way a film like Adventureland did, but it is incredibly likable, thanks to some key performances and a winning level of energy. Not every film needs to be something new and in the case of The Way Way Back, it succeeds by going back to the basics and letting us enjoy a traditional tale.
Compared to my 
Tuesday night at the 2013 Newport Beach Film Festival was a bit of a dark one, as both films settled into dramatic territory, with one pulling this off way more effectively than the other. To put it bluntly, on this night I saw both my worst film of the festival so far and my best film of the festival so far. Rushlights was a silly crime thriller that amounted to nothing special, while The Hunt was a compelling drama that needed no more than characters and dialogue to keep it effective throughout. The night could be deemed bittersweet, in a way, as I only saw one good film, but the fact that The Hunt was the film I ended my night of screenings on is bittersweet in and of itself, as the movie was very good, but deals with intense subject matter that really had me riled up at points. Regardless, I at least have the chance to share my thoughts on these films and why one of them should be sought out.
Monday night at the 2013 Newport Beach Film Festival put me right back on schedule for viewing two films a night for the remainder of the week, possibly seeking a bit of solace (and food) at the wonderful after parties, and then stationing myself back at home, where I can deliver my thoughts on the various films I had a chance to view amongst audiences. On this night, I was able to see two movies and a short film. The films were Wasteland, which was preceded by the short film Fruit of Labor, and Gus. Each film was decidedly different from the other, but I would say I ended up having a good time overall, with Wasteland serving as the standout of the night.
Saturday at the 2013 Newport Beach Film Festival was a busy day. I specifically planned it that way, as I wanted my Sunday to be more relaxed. So I ended up seeing 4 different films, none of which were similar in any way. It was a full schedule and I have thoughts on three of them. I say three, because the first film of the day was a retrospective screening of the John Wayne western, The Searchers. This classic film was preceded by an interview with author Glenn Frankel who recently released “The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend”, essentially making it unnecessary for me to write anything about the film. Unfortunately (and this really upset me), the recording of this conversation has been lost on my part. Still, while many have written about The Searchers already (and it is a great film), I would rather spend my time sharing my thoughts on three new films that have been largely unseen by general audiences: Greetings from Tim Buckley, Isolated, and Welcome to the Jungle.
Recently, we have seen films like 2012, Melancholia, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, and even Children of Men, to an extent, depict what it would be like to see the world come to an end. Just to round things out, I guess, we now have the version of that story in a movie that stars comic actors Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, James Franco, Jay Baruchel, Michael Cera, and many more. WonderCon had a panel devoted to This Is The End, an apocalyptic comedy starring all of these guys as themselves, written and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Read on to find out what went on at this hilarious panel. Now updated with new trailer.
Many of my friends know that I love The Evil Dead trilogy, the cult horror films from director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, Oz The Great and Powerful) and star Bruce Campbell. I watch all three films (The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness) back-to-back-to-back every year in October, involving as many people as I can in the process. The idea of remaking The Evil Dead could seem like something that I would be entirely against, but I was willing to hear it out, as Raimi, Cambpell, and producer Rob Tapert were the ones that wanted to do it. Essentially, if it had their blessing, I would be down for a new take on “The ultimate experience in grueling terror” (original tag line for the first film). Fortunately, everything I have been seeing and hearing so far has me quite excited, which is why I was looking forward to this panel for the film, taking place a week before its theatrical release. Read on to learn more about what went down at this WonderCon panel.
Saturday was considered the most important day for WonderCon, at least as far as movie geeks were concerned, but the presentation for the new film from director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth), the giant robots versus giant monsters movie known as Pacific Rim, was easily one of the most anticipated events of the whole weekend. While the no one from the cast made an appearance, people familiar with Guillermo del Toro should know well enough that he does not need a whole lot of help from others to really have him deliver an entertaining panel, given his charismatic personality, wonderful Mexican accent, and his hilarious use of swear words when talking about his passions. Read on to learn more about what audiences were treated to as far as Pacific Rim is concerned, with its summer release date looming on the horizon.
A quick introduction, as this is my first WonderCon 2013 article, I will have been in attendance all weekend for WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California and hope to bring plenty of cool info regarding several upcoming films. First up is the new film from director James Wan (Saw, Insidious) called The Conjuring. This film is a supernatural horror movie based on a true story and James Wan came to Anaheim to present his thoughts on the film and show off some footage. He also brought with him the actual people whom this story is based on. Read on to learn more about this upcoming horror film, arriving in theaters this summer.
