Moviefone Editorial

Tag: About My Father

  • Kim Cattrall to Return As ‘Sex and the City’s Samantha Jones

    hgsoOjUd

    After six seasons of the popular HBO series and two movies of vastly differing quality, ‘Sex and the City’ largely vanished from the zeitgeist for more than a decade. But it remained popular in syndication and the fanbase wanted to see the next stage of the characters, so creator Darren Star and executive producer Michael Patrick King brought the main stars back for ‘And Just Like That…’ with one major exception.

    Kim Cattrall, who had played the sex-positive publicist Samantha Jones through the entire series and both movies, would not return for the new show. Now, though, that has changed.

    Kim Cattrall stars in 'About My Father,' which is in theaters now.
    Kim Cattrall stars in ‘About My Father,’ which is in theaters now.

    What happened with Kim Cattrall and ‘Sex and the City’?

    Cattrall made comments after the original show wrapped that her experience shooting had not always been positive, laying some of the blame at Sarah Jessica Parker’s feet.

    The actor publicly announced in 2016 that she was finished playing Samantha when she didn’t feel like the script for a proposed third film did justice to the character. “I would have preferred for all of us to have some kind of event to warrant a third film,” Cattrall told Variety in 2022. “That didn’t happen.”

    Her decision led to a further rift with Parker, and when ‘And Just Like That…’ was created, it was developed without Cattrall. King added new characters to the show, though the series itself and the new additions received some seriously mixed reviews from critics and audiences.

    According to Variety’s sources, Cattrall shot her dialogue on March 22nd in New York City, without seeing or speaking with the stars of the series, including Sarah Jessica Parker, or with “And Just Like That” showrunner Michael Patrick King. The scene reportedly sees Samantha –– who in the show’s canon is now living in London –– having a phone conversation with Carrie.

    The characters, who were written in the spin-off as estranged, reconnected at the end of Season One via text. This will mark Cattrall’s first –– and potentially only –– appearance on the new show.

    Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon star in Max's 'And Just Like That...'
    (L to R) Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon star in Max’s ‘And Just Like That…’ Photograph by Craig Blankenhorn / HBO Max.

    Related Article: Robert De Niro and Sebastian Maniscalco Talk Comedy ‘About My Father’

    What’s the story of ‘And Just Like That…’?

    The series follows the continuing stories of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) as they confronted the reality of 2020s New York and the vagaries of aging.

    No longer the 30/40-somethings of the original series, they’re now confronted with shifting gender dynamics and, in Miranda and Charlotte’s cases, the challenges of raising teenagers.

    Carrie, meanwhile, has her own issue to deal with when longtime paramour and husband of several years, John James Preston (Chris Noth) dies unexpectedly.

    While she deals with that, Carrie’s storyline this year will include a reunion with old flame Aiden, played by John Corbett.

    Season 2 of ‘And Just Like That…’ debuts on the Max streaming service on June 22nd.

    'And Just Like That...'season 2 premieres on Max beginning June 22nd.
    ‘And Just Like That…’season 2 premieres on Max beginning June 22nd. Photograph by Courtesy of Max.

    Other Kim Cattrall Movies:

    Buy Kim Cattrall Movies on Amazon

     

  • ‘About My Father’ – Robert De Niro and Sebastian Maniscalco

    XNYXUI0A

    Opening in theaters on May 26th is the new comedy ‘About My Father,’ which was written by comedian Sebastian Maniscalco and loosely based on his own life.

    What is the plot of ‘About My Father?’

    Directed by Laura Terruso (‘Work It‘), ‘About My Father’ centers around Sebastian Maniscalco (played by himself), who is encouraged by his fiancée (Leslie Bibb) to bring his immigrant, hairdresser father, Salvo (Robert De Niro), to a weekend get-together with her super-rich and exceedingly eccentric family (Kim Cattrall, David Rasche, Anders Holm, and Brett Dier). The weekend develops into what can only be described as a culture clash, leaving Sebastian and Salvo to discover that the great thing about family is everything about family.

    U4Xscgayjz5nq7UgSmHwN5

    Who is in the cast of ‘About My Father?’

    Directed by Laura Terruso (‘Work It‘), ‘About My Father’ stars Sebastian Maniscalco (‘The Irishman’) as himself, Robert De Niro (‘Goodfellas,’ ‘Meet the Parents’) as Salvo Maniscalco, Leslie Bibb (‘Iron Man’) as Ellie, Kim Cattrall (‘Sex and the City’) as Tigger Collins, David Rasche (‘Burn After Reading’) as Bill Collins, Anders Holm (‘The Muppets Mayhem’) as Lucky Collins, and Brett Dier (‘Fresh’) as Doug Collins.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of traveling to Chicago, Illinois to speak in-person with Robert De Niro and Sebastian Maniscalco about their work on ‘About My Father,’ Maniscalco’s process of writing the screenplay, why De Niro wanted to play Salvo, the Oscar winner’s process, and if Sebastian was nervous about De Niro meeting his real-life father.

    Robert De Niro and Sebastian Maniscalco star in 'About My Father.'
    (L to R) Robert De Niro and Sebastian Maniscalco star in ‘About My Father.’

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with De Niro, Maniscalco, Leslie Bibb, Kim Cattrall, David Rasche, Anders Holm, Brett Dier, and director Laura Terruso.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Sebastian, can you talk about writing the screenplay, the inspiration you took from own relationship with your father, and what the process was like for you bringing this story to the big screen?

    Sebastian Maniscalco: So Austin Earl, who’s the co-writer, who really wrote a lot of the dialogue, I gave him the characters, what they would do and how they would do it. He really put it together and wrote some really fantastic scenes. So the characters are inspired from a culmination of different people and then we gave them different characteristics in each character. Austin really came up with some fantastic scenes. I provided the character detail, what they would say and how they would say it, and he wrote the dialogue. Just extracting the relationship that I have with my father and then paralleling that into a film, that was kind of the inspiration of writing the script. I wanted to tell a story about my relationship with my dad and also meeting my wife’s side of the family, and I just thought that was a good playground for comedy.

    MF: Mr. De Niro, what was your first reaction to Sebastian’s screenplay and what were some of the aspects of the character that you were really excited to explore on screen?

    Robert De Niro: Paul Weitz sent me the script. Paul had directed me in two movies and he was producing this. I read it and then I said, “Can we have a reading of it?” Which I do a lot just to, as I like to say, see if it’s lifted off the page a little. So we get a bunch of actors, not the actors who would be in it, but just actors who would want to read for the sake of it and help us. I met (director) Laura Terruso, and I liked her and she’s from that world. Both her parents are from Italy. Sebastian, his father, meeting him and all that, it all had a good foundation. So after the reading, I pretty much said, “Yeah, it’s good for me. I’d like to do it.”

    Robert De Niro as Salvo in 'About My Father.'
    Robert De Niro as Salvo in ‘About My Father.’ Photo Credit: Dan Anderson.

    Relate Article: ‘The Irishman’ Trailer Reveals Martin Scorsese’s Next Mob Story With Robert De Niro, Al Pacino

    MF: What was it like meeting with Sebastian’s father Salvo, and how did that help you prepare for this role?

    Robert De Niro: Well, Salvo, I saw through the script, through his eyes what he was, and then I met him. He was different with me, obviously but I still had questions for him about the script and so on. I liked him and I knew that there’s a lot of stuff we could do together, what’s written and also what’s not written. But there would be room since he knows the world, I know the world, and Laura does. There’s a way of having fun with this. So it was all good.

    MF: Finally, Sebastian, were you nervous about working with Mr. De Niro, starring in the film, or making such a personal movie?

    Sebastian Maniscalco: Yeah, I was nervous doing the movie. I was nervous during this whole process. A lot of anxiety, just questioning whether or not I could pull this off, memorizing lines, which I also found extremely difficult. I mean, I’m 50 this year and I’m like, man, it don’t come as fast as it used to. In my twenties, a script, give me the thing. Now I’m sitting there, okay, is this in there? I got to go over it, over and over again. So a lot of different new experiences for me in this whole process. But now that it’s over and I saw it, I was like, oh wow. Because during the thing, you don’t know what’s going on. Then when you see it all put together, you’re like, oh yeah. No, it’s good.

    Sebastian Maniscalco and Robert De Niro in 'About My Father.'
    (L to R) Sebastian Maniscalco and Robert De Niro in ‘About My Father.’ Photo Credit: Dan Anderson.

    Other Movies Similar to ‘About My Father:’

    Buy Tickets: ‘About My Father’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Robert De Niro Movies On Amazon

    ‘About My Father’ was produced by Lionsgate, and Depth of Field, and opens in theaters on May 26th.

  • CinemaCon 2023: Lionsgate Films Presentation

    Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.'
    (L to R) Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.

    Lionsgate might not quite have the same number of giant films to tout compared to its bigger studio rivals, but it has some solid performers. Could there be chatter about the success of ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ and a look ahead to spin-off ‘Ballerina’, which stars Ana de Armas?

    And, of course, the company is headed back to the world of ‘The Hunger Games’ later this year for a prequel.

    Team Lionsgate kicked off by mentioning their two upcoming titles –– as in this week –– with ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ and ‘Sisu’ before turning to the forthcoming rest of the year and beyond…. Which somewhat surprisingly turned out to be a sizzle reel or imagery and logos that dispensed with most of the slate.

    Rachel McAdams as Barbara Dimon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in 'Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.'
    (L to R) Rachel McAdams as Barbara Dimon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ Photo Credit: Dana Hawley.

    Among the movies we can expect?

    ‘About my Father’ (May 26th), a new comedy drama starring Robert De Niro, horror spoof ‘The Blackening’ (June 16th), raucous comedy ‘Joy Ride’ (more on that in a moment), ‘Wonder’ spin-off ‘White Bird’ (August 18th) and ‘The Expendables 4’ (September 22, which only showed a logo, but promises more action with genre legends and new faces).

    Plus, there is ‘Ordinary Angels’ (October 13), which stars Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson and is inspired by the true story of a hairdresser who single-handedly rallies an entire community to help a widowed father save the life of his critically ill young daughter. And finally in the reel, ‘Saw X’, which arrives just in time for Halloween on October 27th.

    First up, one of the biggies…

    ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’

    Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird and Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow in 'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.'
    (L to R) Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird and Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow in ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo Credit: Murray Close.

    This prequel to the hugely successful movie series that starred Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen returns us to the dystopian world of Panem (where conflict has led to huge shortages and “Districts” send “Tributes” to compete in lethal games to distract the populace.

    This time, however, the story is set decades before the time of Katniss and focuses on a younger Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth –– playing the character who will eventually become Donald Sutherland’s cruel President Snow). At this point, the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol.

    With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy Gray’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.

    ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ will be in theaters on November 17th.
    ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ will be in theaters on November 17th.

    A new poster appeared on screen, which was soon followed by the first trailer for the movie that you can see below.

    Cz6dmiOg

    It’s suitably epic, with the likes of Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage and Jason Schwartzman all involved, and even a vocal cameo for Donald Sutherland –– pointing to a potential bookend for the movie –– who reminds us that “it’s the things you love the most that destroy you.”

    But that was it for the movie; no star power and little else mentioned.

    ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ will be in theaters on November 17th.

    U5NGv1rB0QpQgWj0tkBMm2

    Next up, something all-together ruder and more chaotic…

    ‘Joy Ride’

    Stephanie Hsu as Kat, Sabrina Wu as Deadeye, Ashley Park as Audrey, and Sherry Cola as Lolo in 'Joy Ride.'
    (L to R) Stephanie Hsu as Kat, Sabrina Wu as Deadeye, Ashley Park as Audrey, and Sherry Cola as Lolo in ‘Joy Ride.’

    As mentioned, Lionsgate is hopeful for new comedy ‘Joy Ride’, directed by ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ co-writer Adele Lim and starring Ashley Park, Sherry Cola and ‘Everything Everywhere’ Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu.

    Written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong & Teresa Hsiao, Joy Ride is a story of identity and self-discovery focusing on four unlikely friends who embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure. When Audrey’s (Park) business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo (Cola), her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat (Hsu), her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Lolo’s eccentric cousin.

    This one at least had the on-stage support of producer Seth Rogen, who showed up (in a different outfit from the Paramount presentation) to enthuse about the movie and how it was the first comedy he watched after pandemic lockdowns and how much of a relief it was to see someone making one after the long, dark slog.

    And that was pretty much it for talk of the film –– since Lionsgate screened it for the CinemaCon crowd.

    Director Adele Lim on the set of 'Joy Ride.'
    Director Adele Lim on the set of ‘Joy Ride.’ Photo Courtesy of Lionsgate. Copyright © 2023 Lionsgate.

    Movies Presented at Lionsgate Films 2023 CinemaCon Presentation:

    Buy Lionsgate Movies On Amazon

     

  • Lionsgate Brings ‘John Wick’, ‘The Expendables’ and More to CinemaCon

    Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves
    (L-R) Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves attend the Lionsgate CinemaCon presentation in support of ‘John Wick: Chapter Four’ at the Colosseum Theatre in Caesar’s Palace on April 28th, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Eric Charbonneau.

    Tasked with the final studio presentation of this year’s CinemaCon event, Lionsgate brought its biggest gun – and fist, foot, or anything else that can be turned into a weapon.

    We’re talking, of course, about Keanu Reeves’ John Wick. And Reeves was at the event in person to show the first full trailer for ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’. Though the ‘Wick’ footage didn’t open the event, it was one of the clear highlights.

    The trailer is full of everything ‘Wick’ fans might be looking for – more of the title character taking on fellow assassins using all manner of violent tactics, including, in this case, nunchuks.

    ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’, which opens on March 24th, 2023, stars Reeves, Donnie Yen, Laurence Fishburne, Bill Skarsgård, and Ian McShane. Chad Stahelski, who directed the previous three films, is back behind the camera, and joined the star to present the movie.

    Reeves described the ‘Wick’ franchise as “a celebration of fight choreography, balletic action and storytelling that can only happen through movement.” Then the actor and director discussed their long creative partnership – which stretches back to the latter being Reeves’ stunt double on the ‘Matrix’ franchise, while Stahelski enthused about paying tribute to action icons through the ages in this latest installment.

    f9HakKt6vPZWClZUV638w3

    Action icons also form a huge part of ‘Expend4bles’ which, as you might guess, is the fourth of ‘The Expendables’ franchise. With Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone back anchoring the chaos and banter, the upcoming movie stars Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Megan Fox, Dolph Lundgren, Tony Jaa, Randy Couture, Jacob Scipio, Levy Tran, Andy Garcia, and Iko Uwais. Uwais is set to play the movie’s villain.

    The footage was predictably crazy, with Stallone crashing a plane through a tunnel and plenty of fighting. ‘Expend4bles’, with Scott Waugh directing, is still awaiting a formal release date, but should be in theaters this year.

    CWoN3XfYLQjzmnh3o4YFo4

    Eli Roth’s video game adaptation ‘Borderlands’ also brought some impressive footage to the presentation, which included Cate Blanchett in a bright red wig, toting a gun and fighting her way through a vibrantly colored cityscape. Kevin Hart also appeared as did Jack Black voicing the robot Claptrap who unexpectedly takes a bullet from Blanchett’s gun but keeps on chatting.

    As for the synopsis? Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous outlaw with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of the universe’s most powerful S.O.B., Atlas (Edgar Ramirez). Lilith forms an alliance with an unexpected team — Roland (Hart), a former elite mercenary, now desperate for redemption; Tiny Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Florian Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound, rhetorically challenged protector; Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis), the scientist with a tenuous grip on sanity; and Claptrap (Black), a persistently wiseass robot. These unlikely heroes must battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find and protect the missing girl, who may hold the key to unimaginable power. The fate of the universe could be in their hands — but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other.

    ‘Borderlands’ will blast into theaters on a date still to be decided this year.

    PcSDBvYFfZ71QKwSwJeWZ7

    Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco emceed the presentation, which also included footage from his upcoming autobiographical comedy ‘About My Father’. Maniscalco co-wrote and executive produced the movie, in which Robert De Niro plays his father. In the pic, Maniscalco tells his old-school Italian immigrant father Salvo that he is going to propose to his all-American girlfriend, Salvo insists on crashing a weekend with her wealthy parents.

    Talking about his upcoming movie, and the origins for it, Maniscalco said, “I wanted to make a movie where you could take the family. I didn’t think this thing was going to be made. I can’t believe Robert De Niro is playing my father in this movie. It hurt my feelings when I heard Leonardo DiCaprio should play me.”

    ‘About My Father’ doesn’t yet have a release date scheduled.

    ACYdDRkcwgrxTh0LxcPJF2

    On a different family front, stars Rachel McAdams and Abby Ryder Fortson took the stage to introduce the trailer for ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’.

    This initial glimpse of the Judy Blume classic in movie form drew plenty of laughs (and a few squirms) of recognition as the footage revealed coming-of-age challenges, sex education classes and teenage girls chanting that they must improve their bust.

    The movie arrives on September 16th.

    arKmVzwq9qPd9NIs8Eand3

    Then there was ‘White Bird: A Wonder Story’, which is set in the same universe as the 2017’s heartwarming hit ‘Wonder’. Adapted again from the work of author R.J. Palacio (this time his graphic novel), it follows Julian (Bryce Gheisar), who was one of the kid who bullied Auggie (Jacob Tremblay) in the original film. He’s been expelled and is now trying to fit into a new private school.

    In the story, Julian gets a visit from his Grandmère from Paris (Helen Mirren) who was a child in Nazi-occupied France. She tells the story of how she went into hiding, helped by a young man from her school, who took a huge risk in doing so. Together they find love and compassion.

    ‘White Bird: A Wonder Story’ is due in theaters on October 14th.

    1dCgiv89GvKqLCLpzJjzj5

    Lionsgate wrapped up their event with one more big title, one that many had almost forgotten was still happening: the prequel to the ‘Hunger Games’ movies, ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’.

    With Francis Lawrence back to direct (he handled three of the original ‘Games’ movies), the prequel is set years prior to the original movies. We meet the 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow, who would become the tyrannical President of Panem. The young Snow sees a chance for a change in fortunes when he is chosen to be mentor to Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.

    No other information about the movie (which is now shooting) was given, other than the news that it’ll be in theaters on November 17th next year.

    Jennifer Lawrence
    Jennifer Lawrence in 2012’s ‘The Hunger Games.’
    U5NGv1rB0QpQgWj0tkBMm2