Sphere Films Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win a copy of Ari Aster’s BEAU IS AFRAID starring Joaquin Phoenix, on Blu-ray.
Synopsis:
Beau is a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man who lives with his mother in a small town. When his mother dies suddenly, Beau is forced to confront his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic journey back home. Along the way, he encounters a variety of strange and dangerous characters, including a group of bandits, a mysterious stranger, and a village wracked by an inexplicable plague. Beau must overcome his fears and find the strength to face his past if he is to survive and find his way home.
To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. Re-Tweet the Contest Tweet below for an extra chance!
Enter for a chance to #win a copy of BEAU IS AFRAID on Blu-ray.https://t.co/9yYZrSkN1E pic.twitter.com/PhEoWxXGPD
— MR. WILL WONG 📸 (@mrwillw) June 27, 2023
Rules and regulations here.
Sphere Films Canada release BEAU IS AFRAID July 11, 2023.
(Photo/video credit: Sphere Films Canada)
It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Ari Aster a visionary. The Writer/Producer and Director has won a huge following and acclaim for the way he tells Horror. 2018’s HEREDITARY delighted fans of the genre and critics alike, followed by 2019’s MIDSOMMAR, showcasing an unbelievable and guttural performance by Florence Pugh. It’s been a minute, but his latest effort BEAU IS AFRAID is garnering tons of talk and early positive word of mouth.
The Horror-Dramedy stars Joaquin Phoenix in a committed performance as an anxiety-ridden man who goes on a journey home, confronting his fears.
Moderated by Richard Crouse, Aster attended a special Toronto screening of BEAU IS AFRAID last night at Scotiabank Theatre. Aster tells the audience, “[Beau] felt like the end of the road. Whatever I was doing with those movies [Hereditary and Midsommar], I felt like I was stuffing those themes with dynamite and blowing them up.”.
Some of the Canadian Supporting Cast attended as well, including:
Patrick Kwok-Choon – “Orphan Hero”
Alicia Rosario – “Liz”
Stephanie Herrera – “Martha”
Mike Taylor – “Beau’s son”
Maev Beaty – Angel, Play Narrator
Some of our lucky readers and followers got to attend and had so much excitement about it:
Released in the U.S. by A24, Sphere Films Canada bring the three-hour opus to Canadians this Friday, April 24, 2023. Review to come.
(Photo credit: Nicholas Porteous)
Sphere Films Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win Passes to the Toronto Premiere of Ari Aster‘s BEAU IS AFRAID, starring Joaquin Phoenix. Aster, who brought us Hereditary and Midsommar, will attend the event, which is set to take place April 19, 2023 at Scotiabank Theatre.
About:
A paranoid man embarks on an epic odyssey to get home to his mother in this bold and ingeniously depraved new film from Writer/Director Ari Aster.
Writer/Director: Ari Aster
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Nathan Lane, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Patti LuPone, Amy Ryan, Parker Posey
To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. Re-Tweet the Tweet below for an extra chance.
Enter for a chance to #win Advance Passes to the Toronto Premiere of Ari Aster's #BeauIsAfraid. Aster will be in attendance.https://t.co/LfwWg3LMrL pic.twitter.com/L46ki0ghYj
— MR. WILL WONG 📸 (@mrwillw) April 11, 2023
Rules and regulations here.
Note: Please do respond to messages from third party accounts telling you in the comments on Facebook that you’ve won and asking for your banking information.
Sphere Films Canada release BEAU IS AFRAID April 21, 2023.
(Photo/video credit: Sphere Films Canada)
Academy Award winner Joaquin Phoenix is back in BEAU IS AFRAID, the latest from Ari Aster (Midsommar, Hereditary). See the brand-new Trailer.
Synopsis:
A paranoid man embarks on an epic odyssey to get home to his mother in this bold and ingeniously depraved new film from writer/director Ari Aster.
Written/Directed by: Ari Aster
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, Parker Posey and Patti LuPone
Distributed in Canada by: Sphere Films
Opening only in theatres April 21, 2023 via Sphere Films Canada.
(Photo/video credit: Sphere Films Canada)
Following the smash success of last year’s Herditary, Writer-Director Ari Aster is in Toronto to present his latest, Psychological Thriller-Horror MIDSOMMAR. The Film follows a young couple, Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) on the down and out, this as Dani is coping with a devastating loss. They venture to Sweden with his friends to a Pagan Festival which takes place only once every 90 years. Much to their horror, they witness some gruesome rituals and soon find themselves deeper involved than imagined.
Aster and Reynor spoke at the Q&A presented by Rue Morgue. Contrary to rumour, this isn’t Aster’s last Horror Film, he tells the audience We ask Aster about the gorgeous locations and what went into filming there. He explains the Film, which he’s described jokingly as “The Wizard of Oz for perverts”, despite being set in Sweden, was filmed in Hungary. His challenge was finding the perfect field on which the set, comprised of about ten houses, was built from scratch and on a tight budget.
Reynor tells us about his amazing Co-Star Pugh, who continues to see her star rise. “I feel as an Actress, there’s nothing that she can’t do. I’ve never had experience of doing a scene with someone like where in that scene where she’s discovered what ‘s happened to her family. She’s screaming. This guttural, animalistic response to this horrific trauma.”. He adds, “I’ve never had another Actor just give me my performance. I didn’t have to think. I just started crying instantly because of the way she’s playing her.”.
See some Clips from the Q&A:
Elevation Pictures release MIDSOMMAR Tuesday, July 2, 2019.
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)
What in the what is going on in this Trailer? Director Ari Aster terrified us in 2018’s Hereditary and is back at it again with this cult-esque Horror MIDSOMMAR starring rising star Florence Pugh.
Seet the Trailer:
MIDSOMMAR is in theatres Friday, July 3, 2019.
(Photo/video credit: A24)
By David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong
“I wanted the Film to feel evil.”
It is a rather innocuous quote, but one that perfectly describes the aura around Ari Aster’s critically-acclaimed Film Hereditary. The first-time feature Writer/Director has received unanimous praise out of both Sundance and SXSW for his Tale of a grieving family who, in the wake of their matriarch’s death, discover nightmarish secrets relating to their ancestry. Aster presented the Film at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Wednesday evening – the first Canadian public screening – and followed with a Q&A with the George Stroumboulopoulos.
And when your Film is being touted on posters as the “scariest Film since The Exorcist”, you know the audience is in for something special.
The less said about the shocks and surprises found within Hereditary, the better. For Aster, he just wanted to “make a Movie about grief and trauma.” But having watched various Oscar-type movies during his schooling at AFI and Sundance, he knew he had to make something more unique and outside the box: “It’s in me to see [those kinds of movies] and think, what’s the worst thing I can do here?” He doubled down by suggesting the whole point of Hereditary was to “make a Film that didn’t let people off the hook” for what they were involved with, suggesting not so-subtly that “everything that’s coming is inevitable.”
Another important element of Aster’s discussion with Strombo was regarding the Film’s Sound Design. Much of the sounds came directly off the pages of Aster’s Script, but his Sound Team was determined to use them in radically different ways. “We played a lot with using different speakers,” Aster says, using them to express not just the sounds on-screen, but the different emotions and feelings of the characters. He stressed that some effects – including mouth clicking that becomes progressively more horrifying – were designed to be “played in different parts of the room” at all times. As Aster recalled, listening on a conventional stereo system completely ruined the terrifying effects he was going for (and in turn, Colin Stetson’s enigmatic Score), remarking that he “wanted this sub base thing that you feel in your guts more than you hear it.”
But no matter where the conversation went (including a brief mention of how proud he was of Lead Actress Toni Collette’s “kamikaze” performance), Aster kept circling back to the feeling he was trying to evoke through every twisted frame of Hereditary. “I wanted to test your patience,” he told the packed audience, noting that “As the [characters] were suffering, the Movie is smiling.” And while he describes the Film as “sinister” and “mean-spirited”, he continues to be both shocked and delighted at the acclaim the Film keeps receiving – he just assumed he was “making a really alienating movie that made people feel bad.”
I will save my full thoughts on Hereditary for my upcoming Review but will note that I do not remember the last time I was so unsettled and unnerved watching a Movie. So skip the Trailers and start mentally preparing yourself – you will not want to miss out on this future Horror classic.
Elevation Pictures release HEREDITARY on June 8, 2018.
(Photo credit: David Baldwin)
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