#FIRSTLOOK: “BOSTON STRANGLER” FILM COMING TO DISNEY+

“Boston Strangler,” 20th Century Studios true-crime thriller from writer-director Matt Ruskin about the trailblazing reporters who broke the story of the notorious Boston Strangler murders of the 1960s, will premiere March 17, 2023, exclusively on Disney+ under the Star banner in Canada.

“Boston Strangler” stars two-time Oscar® nominee Keira Knightley (“The Imitation Game,” “Pride & Prejudice”), Emmy® nominee Carrie Coon (“Fargo,” “The Gilded Age”), Alessandro Nivola (“Amsterdam”), David Dastmalchian (“Dune”), Morgan Spector (“Homeland”), Bill Camp (“Joker”), and Academy Award® winner Chris Cooper (“Adaptation”). Written and directed by Matt Ruskin (“Crown Heights”), the film is produced by Ridley Scott (“The Martian”), Kevin J. Walsh (“House of Gucci”), Michael Pruss (“American Woman”), Josey McNamara (“Promising Young Woman”), and Tom Ackerley (“I, Tonya”), with Michael Fottrell (“The Fate of the Furious”) and Sam Roston serving as executive producers. Sam Roston will oversee for Scott Free and Bronte Payne for LuckyChap.

The film follows Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley), a reporter for the Record-American newspaper, who becomes the first journalist to connect the Boston Strangler murders. As the mysterious killer claims more and more victims, Loretta attempts to continue her investigation alongside colleague and confidante Jean Cole (Carrie Coon), yet the duo finds themselves stymied by the rampant sexism of the era. Nevertheless, McLaughlin and Cole bravely pursue the story at great personal risk, putting their own lives on the line in their quest to uncover the truth.  

ABC Audio, a division of ABC News, will release a true crime companion podcast about the Boston Strangler ahead of the film’s debut on Disney+. The three-part narrative series will be hosted by award-winning journalist and former Boston Globe reporter Dick Lehr, who knew Loretta McLaughlin and has reported on the Boston Strangler case. The podcast will delve into the backstories and tragic fate of the victims linked to the Boston Strangler case and explore why these half-century-old killings remain the subject of so much fascination. It will be available for free on all major podcast platforms.  

#SXSW: “SPIN ME ROUND”

By Mr. Will Wong

Yet another whacky time at SXSW! Jeff Baena & Actress Alison Brie team-up to co-write Comedy SPIN ME ROUND, with the former also directing. The Film centers on a group of high- performers at an Italian-American restaurant chain get invited to attend an educational retreat in Florence, Italy and get way more than what they bargained for!

Amber (Brie) has worked at her restaurant as a manager for nine years and hopes secretly that this retreat will help her find love. Her last boyfriend left her in severe debt, leaving her to work this job. She’s incredibly-drawn to the face of the chain Nick Martucci (Alessandro Nivola) who will be on the retreat as well. And wouldn’t you know it, he is attracted to her too! Kat (Audrey Plaza), his assistant, tries to warn her of his ways and she finds herself confused between this looming affair and being subjected to this horribly mundane retreat.

The interesting thing about SPIN ME ROUND is that the Film begins like many other Retreat Comedies we’ve seen, with a clash of personality types, including Deb (Molly Shannon), the larger-than-life one in the group who seems to get in the way. But as things progress in the Second Act, we begin to realize that like this retreat, this Film isn’t quite what we signed-up for. Is this a Horror? By the Final Act, chaos ensues, but we’re here for it as it makes the Comedy memorable. We cannot unsee this, and yay, justice for pigs!

Brie is just great in the leading role as our eyes into this wild escape and through it all, the story has a strong feminist message that deviates from the standard Rom-Com fare. Nivola is entertaining and irresistibly greasy, though his allure makes it easy to see why Amber is so torn at times. Plaza is wonderful, though hardly seen enough in Kat’s chill. And Shannon of course is a hoot, perpetually self-absorbed in Deb‘s world, while others simply are living in it!

Don’t be surprised if you find yourself craving some Olive Garden after this!

SPIN ME ROUND streams at SXSW ’22 as follows:

Spin Me Round at ZACH Theatre

Mar 12, 20226:15pm—7:59pm

Spin Me Round at Online Screening

Mar 14, 9:00am CDT – Mar 16, 9:00am CDT9:00am—10:44am

Spin Me Round at Alamo Lamar E

Mar 15, 20224:15pm—5:59pm

Spin Me Round at Satellite Venue: AFS Cinema

Mar 15, 20229:00pm—10:44pm

Spin Me Round at Rollins Theatre at The Long Center

Mar 16, 20224:00pm—5:44pm

#FIRSTLOOK: NEW TRAILER FOR NETFLIX’S “THE RED SEA DIVING RESORT”

This looks amazing! Chris Evans and Michael Kenneth Williams star in THE RED SEA DIVING RESORT, only on Netflix!

Synopsis:
Inspired by remarkable true life rescue missions, THE RED SEA DIVING RESORT is the incredible story of a group of international agents and brave Ethiopians who in the early 80s used a deserted holiday retreat in Sudan as a front to smuggle thousands of refugees to Israel. The undercover team carrying out this mission is led by the charismatic Ari Kidron (Chris Evans) and courageous local Kabede Bimro (Michael Kenneth Williams). The prestigious cast also includes Haley Bennett, Alessandro Nivola, Michiel Huisman, Chris Chalk, Greg Kinnear and Ben Kingsley.

 

See the Trailer:

 

THE RED SEA DIVING RESORT streams on Netflix Friday, July 31, 2019.

 

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

#GIVEAWAY: ENTER TO WIN ADVANCE PASSES TO SEE “THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE”

Pacific Northwest Pictures x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win Advance Passes to an screening in Toronto of THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE on Monday, July 15, 2019.

Synopsis:
Casey (Jesse Eisenberg), a meek and timid man, is attacked at random on the street. He subsequently enrolls at a local dojo led by a charismatic and mysterious sensei (Alessandro Nivola), in an effort to learn how to defend himself.

What he uncovers is a sinister world of fraternity, violence and hypermasculinity and a woman (Imogen Poots) fighting for her place in it. Casey undertakes a journey, both frightening and darkly funny, that will place him squarely in the sights of his enigmatic new mentor.

 

See the Trailer:

 

Artwork:

 

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK.

Pacific Northwest Pictures release THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE Friday, July 19, 2019.

 

(Photo/video credit: Pacific Northwest Pictures)

#FIRSTLOOK: OFFICIAL TRAILER FOR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BIOPIC “SELMA”

To be honest, we had no idea there even was a Martin Luther King Jr. Biopic in the works!  Paramount Pictures over the weekend hit us hard with an amazing, gritty look at the Trailer for SELMA from Director Ava DuVernay (Middle of Nowhere).  We see nothing but chaos, a taste of an Era on the brink of a revolution

Official Synopsis:

The story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s (David Oyelowo) historic struggle to secure voting rights for all people – a dangerous and terrifying campaign that culminated with the epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, and led to President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

SELMA stars David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Carmen Ejogo, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tim Roth, Giovanni Ribisi, Dylan Baker, Oprah Winfrey, Alessandro Nivola, Wendell Pierce and Henry G. Sanders.

Paramount Pictures release SELMA on Friday, January 9, 2015.

See the Trailer:

(Photo/video credit: Paramount Pictures)