Review by David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong

Paul Dano’s directorial debut Wildlife comes to Toronto after premieres at Sundance and Cannes. Joe (Ed Oxenbould) is 14-years-old and looking for a job after his Dad Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal) loses his. Jerry has too much pride to look for a job, so he ends up taking work fighting local wildfires. With Jerry gone until the first snowfall, Joe’s Mom Jeannette (Carey Mulligan) must also look for work while also dealing with her newfound independence.

Wildlife is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Dano strives for period authenticity and alongside Cinematographer Diego Garcia, creates a beautifully nostalgic portrait of a family in crisis. The performances from Gyllenhaal, Mulligan and character actor Bill Camp are also quite well done, with the young Oxenbould turning in some absolutely stunning work. But the Film around them is increasingly dull as it moves sluggishly through its 104-minute running time. I understand the slice of life aesthetic Dano and Co-writer/Partner Zoe Kazan are going for, but Wildlife takes much too long to figure out where it’s going and is not all that satisfying when it gets there.

Wildlife screens on Monday, September 10 at 2:30 PM at Princess of Wales, Wednesday, September 12 at 5:45 PM at Ryerson Theatre and Saturday, September 15 at 6:15 PM at Winter Garden Theatre.

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

Wildlife is set in 1960s Montana and follows a family, through the eyes of the son, 14-year-old Joe (Ed Oxenbould). His father, Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal) has recently been fired from his job and decides to leave his family to fight a forest fire near the Canadian border. This leaves his mother, Jeanette (Carey Mulligan) to take care of their home which sends her into an adventure of her own.

Paul Dano’s directorial debut is hauntingly beautiful. Dano and Zoe Kazan co-write a captivating and heartbreaking depiction of a family slowly falling apart. Yet, it’s Dano’s strong ability to use the camera as a lens to help us see through Joe’s eyes, projecting his pain onto the audience. Dano also uses little camera movement, which lets his remarkable Cast shine.

Oxenbould’s phenomenal performance  is at the level  of a seasoned veteran, bringing to life a young, confused and shattered Joe.  The incomparable Gyllenhaal expresses all facets of the male ego without saying many words. His depiction of Jerry is the stuff of wonder. Mulligan is exquisite, delivering a fiery and fearless performance as the scared and heartbroken Jeanette. All of Jeanette’s flaws are on full display and Mulligan relishes in her imperfection. She is hypnotic and gives one of the best performances to date.

Wildlife screens at Sundance on Jan. 20 at 3:30PM at Eccles PC, Jan. 21 at 6:30PM at Redstone 1 PC, Jan. 22 at 9:30PM at Rose Wagner SLC, Jan. 26 at 5:30PM at Prospector PC, and Jan. 27 at 8:30AM at Prospector PC.

MONGREL MEDIA and MR. WILL want to give Readers a chance to win the outstanding INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS on DVD/Blu-ray Combo Pack! Read our Review here.

Official Synopsis:

Despite being extraordinarily talented, folk singer/songwriter Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) plays sparsely attended gigs at small clubs in New York City’s West Village as he struggles to make it. The Film also stars Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman and Garrett Hedlund.

Watch the Trailer:

Official Artwork:

To enter to win, simply click “like” on this Post at Mr. Will Wong on Facebook. You’re encouraged to share this Post via Social Media and you can increase your chances by Re-Tweeting the below:

http:///www.mrwillwong.com/INSIDELLEWYNDAVIS @MRWILLW wants us to #win a Copy of #INSIDELLEWYNDAVIS on #Bluray Combo Pack! In stores 3/11!

Mongrel Media release INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS on Tuesday, March 11, 2014 on Blu-ray, Video-on-Demand and DVD. Pre-order it here!

(Photo/video credit: Mongrel Media)

Already gaining serious Oscars Buzz especially in the acting categories, The Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis is nearing a release. The Drama is a close look at New York City’s Folk Music Scene in the ’60s through the eyes of a young Singer and it stars Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, Garrett Hedlund, John Goodman and Justin Timberlake.

See the Canadian HD Trailer below:

Such a complete delight partaking in the festivities of the 2013 Costume Institute Gala (Met Gala) this year in New York City.  The Gala celebrates the Metropolitan Museum‘s annual opening of the Fashion Exhibit at the Costume Institute, bringing together the Worlds of Film, Music and Fashion. Although it’s 6:00 AM and I have yet to sleep a wink, I’ve had a blast chasing the Stars and enjoying the Fashions, celebrating the theme of Punk!  Although some were faithful to it, there were also several diversions, resulting in a large variety to the eye.

Yes, it was surreal being an arm’s length from Madonna who looked fun and edgy in her Cleopatra Hair and seeing Natalie Portman clash at once with her on the  Red Carpet with her, only for her to acquiesce and let the reigning Queen of Pop shine in her metallic Givenchy Haute Couture Dress.  I am still in awe of Beyoncé‘s marvelous Givenchy Gown, which drew the most applause from Onlookers who lined the streets for a glimpse outside the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA).  Or how about getting an air kiss from this year’s Host Rooney Mara after telling her how much I admire her work?  And I cannot deny how surreal it was seeing Sofia Coppola walk arm-in-arm with Marc Jacobs – two of my favourite People!  Or how about witnessing a warm embrace between Girls Star/Writer/Producer Lena Dunham and equally brilliant Mindy Kaling?  And did I mention I accidentally stepped-on Jessica Alba‘s dress?

The Parties continued well into the morning, with the main event taking place at The Standard Hotel, where the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Rita Ora, Cara Delevingne, Madonna, Katy Perry, Carey Mulligan and a newly-blonde Anne Hathaway, stirred-up some madness.  Lawrence in particular raised a frenzy among Fans and Paparazzi alike, zipping along with tactical speed into her SUV.

See a Montage below of Clips I took from the Evening.  You won’t believe how crazy things got for Jennifer Lawrence!

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Just landed in New York City earlier today and what a night it’s been!  And the Met Gala festivities haven’t even begun!  I stumbled upon an Advance Screening for The Great Gatsby, held at the Museum of Modern Art and after sticking around for a bit, the Stars just poured out of the Venue unlike anything I’ve ever seen!

A merging of Fashion and Film Worlds collided tonight including the likes of: Vera Wang, Emma Roberts, Michael Shannon, Cuba Gooding Jr., Ezra Miller, Kylie Minogue, Aubrey Plaza, David Schwimmer, Dane DeHaan, Anna Wood, John Leguizamo, Meg Hilty, Piper Perabo, Oliver Stone, Katy Perry, Solange Knowles and of course Star Carey Mulligan.  Unreal.

Stay tuned for more Stars as I capture Stars of the Met Gala tomorrow night.  You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Gatsby giving us Goosebumps!  If this doesn’t get you excited for The Great Gatsby, I don’t know what will.  Warner Bros. has just released this 1:34 minute Extended TV Spot for one of this Summer’s most eagerly-awaited Films.  Paired together with Young & Beautiful by Lana Del Rey, which gets prominent placement in the Film, there is something just absolutely resonant and emotional about this.

I’m completely obsessed with the Track and have been repeating it non-stop of late. Such a pity that in what could be her biggest Crossover Hit, Del Rey is busy touring in Europe right now versus present Stateside giving Young & Beautiful the promotion it really deserves.

Watch the TV Spot below:

I arrive extremely early for my One-on-One with Baz Luhrmann, sitting at the Hospitality Suite with plenty of time to spare. You see, Toronto has a horrible issue with Punctuality and I am convinced that I am one of the reasons why. The bottomless Coffee makes me even more anxious than I already am.  I nibble on some v. sharp cheese, but really am not hungry due to nerves. Ever since being invited earlier this week to interview the visionary Filmmaker,  excitement and distraction had preoccupied much of my headspace. The thing is, I legitimately am a huge Fan of Luhrmann and quite literally I  had to touch my neck to see if it still was sore (as has been the case for weeks) in search of evidence that I wasn’t dreaming after receiving the invitation. I’d close the e-mail, open it again repeatedly to ensure it wouldn’t disappear on me like a cruel prank, as if almost expecting  that sobering “XX would like to recall this message”  notification.  It never came, thankfully.

Few Directors consistently have affected me viscerally as Luhrmann.  His Films are a Spectacle – an Escape if you will – taking us away to a place where Love is magical, splendorous and truly romantic. His distinct sense of  Tragic Romance almost has come define him, hence there could be no other as fitting as he to  helm an Adaptation of  F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s bittersweet Classic, The Great Gatsby.

Luhrmann walks into the room as I sit there fidgeting with my pencil – double, triple, quadruple-checking to ensure my questions were of a standard fit for the Man from whom the likes of Claire Danes, Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Leonardo DiCaprio have taken direction. He is lovely Man, indeed.  His hair a bit grayer than I’d seen in photos –  not at all as imposing as I’d imagined for someone with such grand, extravagant vision; his demeanour personable. I felt right at ease, feeling rather foolish for all the hoo-ha I’d conjured in my mind. “I’ll just sit right here on the couch and you can direct me”, he says with a smile. Was he kidding me? The Man responsible for Films like Moulin Rouge, Australia and Romeo + Juliet telling me to direct him?

I asked Luhrmann the question on many of our minds after we so cruelly were made to endure a prolonged wait for The Great Gatsby‘s release, originally slated for December.  Some cited Studio Conflict, while some cited Funding issues.  Setting the record straight, he explains “We got rained-out five times – it wasn’t just once or twice. It put us into the following year. We had to shut down just because of the rain.”.  After also being struck in the head by a crane during production, which resulted in stitches, he comes to the realization, “Now if there was no rain, it would’ve been the first time in my life I was on-time because we were very prepared in what we were doing.”.

Two ever-prevalent themes in Luhrmann‘s Films – particularly his Red Curtain Trilogy and  consistently so again in The Great Gatsby – are Romance and Tragedy.   “I keep saying to myself how I end up doing these things.  If you look at any creative person – I suppose I’m old enough now to say ‘I am creative’,    really we all do the same things over and over in different ways and different flavours”, he tells me. “Puccini basically does a lot of Tragic Romances. Shakespeare changes the genres but he always has some idea of Love or Anti-Love… I guess I’m some sort of Romantic. I suppose I have to say ‘yes’ to that  now.”.

One key line in The Great Gatsby has Nick Caraway (Tobey Maguire) telling Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), “The past cannot be repeated”. Reliving the past becomes somewhat of a fixation for  Gatsby in his limitless ambition to win back the love of his life in Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), who so happens to be married to Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton) after he goes off to war, coming back re-incarnated as a wealthy, dashing Playboy. I am curious whether or not repeating the past – a largely successful one I might add – is something  of which Luhrmann is conscious.  “I always think this is it. This is the last Movie I’m making… I may just go into Architecture or Diving”, he says perhaps half-joking. “I think I’ve gone through the Catharsis of Gatsby. I think I’ve gone into this period where I actually am who I am – that I sorta am stuck being this Guy making those Movies.”.  “I want to do it now so that it enriches life and that it’s a Circle –  the give and take is there.”.

Several are excited about DiCaprio‘s Gatsby Reunion with Luhrmann, last having worked together over 17 years ago on Romeo + Juliet, but the name on everybody’s lips is Elizabeth Debicki – an unknown entity in an Ensemble of familiarity, winning the Plum Role of  observant and gossipy Jordan Baker. “This is the first Movie she’s ever done – she was in Drama School.  My Casting Director Ronna Kress and I heard about Elizabeth –  this Girl who’s so tall and gorgeous – she’s a bit like Cate Blanchett meets Nicole (Kidman). I flew her to Los Angeles and she was such a strong choice.”.  As numerical proof to what a role in a Baz Luhrmann Film can do for one’s Career, he notes, “They put a picture of her on the Website the other day… and within an hour there were 150,000 hits. She’s making an impression.”.  On Mulligan, he has nothing but praise for her stating, “She’s just absolutely lovely inside and out!”.

In a Career which already has seen its share of pinnacles, one must wonder just what Luhrmann considers a success. He replies, “That it pays its bill, first of all. People come up to me and they go, ‘I bet you’re sick of hearing this’ – and they can be entirely mature Human Beings – or ‘You probably don’t want to hear this but I just loved blah blah blah‘ and I just go, ‘Are you kidding me?’.”. Luhrmann adds, “My Movies don’t get banged-out once a year. I make them every five or ten years, so if one person goes ‘Gee, that did something for my life, that was beautiful…’, he pauses. “That sorta stuff that will be good enough for me.”.

Enjoy my Interview in full with Baz Luhrmann below:

Fans have every reason to be excited about The Great Gatsby  and after having witnessed its magic in 3D, I eagerly am awaiting another go at it.  Warner Bros. releases on Friday, May 10, 2013.

Luhrmann was amazingly gracious to sign a Photo for my Readers and one of you will be lucky enough to own it!  Simply click “like” on this Post at Mr. Will Wong on Facebook before June 1, 2013.  Double your chances by sharing this Post on Facebook with your Friends!

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

It’s hard to believe that in about a month’s time Baz Luhrmann‘s long-awaited The Great Gatsby 3-D finally will hit theatres!  Carey Mulligan who stars as Daisy Buchanan in the F. Scott Fitzgerald Adaptation graces the cover of Vogue in May and delves right into her experience on the Film with Tom Shone, with Photographs by none other than Mario Testino.  We learn all about the moment she received news of being cast while at the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards.

Excerpt below:

“‘I was trying to be cool, but oh, it was horrible,’ remembers Mulligan, who had been on tenterhooks for weeks. ‘It was terrifying, the suspense. I was winding down on shooting Drive, so I wasn’t working that much, just waiting around for the phone to ring and for me to be disappointed.’ After Mulligan left the stage, Catherine Martin handed her a cell phone, saying, ‘Somebody wants to speak to you.’ The next thing she heard was Luhrmann’s warm Australian drawl: ‘Hullo, Daisy. . . .‘

Before he could even get to Buchanan, Mulligan was sobbing into her napkin. ‘Sobbing,’ she recalls. ‘Everybody was like, What is wrong with her?’.”.

We learn also Mulligan despite appearing demure and sweet, actually has quite a wild side!

Read more here.

The Great Gatsby 3D hits theatres May 10, 2013 via Warner Bros.

(Photo credit: Vogue Magazine/Mario Testino)

Tell me, who isn’t excited for The Great Gatsby 3-D?  These scintillating new Art Deco-inspired Posters have just been released and as usual, this Baz Luhrmann Film looks to delight visually. 

See the Posters below:

Watch the brand Trailer in full below featuring Music from the Jay-Z-produced Soundtrack:

And yes, that was Beyoncé, Lana Del Rey and Florence + The Machine  you heard.

Tracklisting as follows:

Warner Bros. releases The Great Gatsby 3-D on Friday, May 10, 2013, preceeded by the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.

(Photo/video credit: Warner Bros.)