Filmmaker Spike Jonze has once again tapped an eclectic array of musicians for the soundtrack to his latest project, a 30-minute movie about robots called I'm Here.

Written and directed by Jonze, I'm Here is a futuristic love story set in Los Angeles. Actors Sienna Guillory and Andrew Garfield play the lead roles, although they're hidden behind computer-hardware costumes.

The short, which premiered in January during the opening night of the Sundance Film Festival, was a collaboration between Jonze and Absolut Vodka, a company that's worked with other artists and filmmakers in the past, like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring.

Continue reading "Spike Jonze Enlists Members of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Red Hot Chili Peppers for Soundtrack to Robot-Love Story" »

Cheri Oteri returns to AMC's digital short series, Life Coach, with a new episode on Monday, February 15. You can watch earlier episodes in full at LizaLifeCoach.com, where she's been giving advice to fans in between seasons. Want to know what Liza had to say to Gwen, a woman crippled by her inability to figure out what to tip a cabdriver? Interested in hearing the advice she had for a straight guy who's interested in his roommate? Dying to appear on the site and get a chance to go on the show? Submit your video problem to Liza -- she just might have an answer.

AMC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff breaks down the ten best stories of this year's Sundance Film Festival. Among the guests are Mark Ruffalo (director of Sympathy for Delicious); Kevin Kline, who applauds "the money people"; and actor Dax Shepard (The Freebie), who coins a new term for low-budget movies. You can watch the full show online through Saturday, February 27.

• Ajami
An authentic drama set on the Israel-Palestine border. Brave and engaging.
For the full review, click here.

• Red Riding Trilogy
Three films about murder in Northern England -- puzzling but so rewarding.
For the full review, click here.

• Dear John
More melodrama from Nicholas Sparks; this time, a strong second half revives an otherwise sappy story.
For the full review, click here.

• Promised Lands  
This 1974 Susan Sontag documentary will be reissued in 2010, but its impact is relatively muted.
For the full review, click here.

• Terribly Happy
How odd is this Danish noir? Let's start with the cow with two heads (one human).
For the full review, click here.

• District B-13: Ultimatum  
In this sequel, the French parkour paean regresses to a Hollywood cliché.
For the full review, click here.

• From Paris With Love  
Travolta actioner is saddled by bad dialogue and not enough good (dirty) fun.
For the full review, click here.

• Frozen
Real threats prove scarier than zombies and vampires in this trapped-on-a-ski-lift thriller.
For the full review, click here.

• Eyes Wide Open  
While a gay Orthodox Jewish romance sounds as dramatic as they come, the film is quite dull.
For the full review, click here.

• Falling Awake
Templated romance doesn't get more saccharine than this.
For the full review, click here.

Continue reading "Q&A - Colin Firth on the Emotional Life of A Single Man" »

Oscar season comes late this year, with the awards ceremony delayed until Sunday, March 7. Some say it's because Hollywood didn't want to compete with the Olympics. Others believe that the Academy needed more time to judge the extra five Best Picture nominees. No doubt, you're probably familiar with the front-runners: Avatar (nine nominations), The Hurt Locker (nine nominations), and Inglourious Basterds (eight nominations). Check out this photo gallery to see who else made the cut.

According to the New York Times, former CEO and Chairman of Fox Studios Bill Mechanic is one half of "the odd couple of Oscar producers." Mechanic, along with the other half, Adam Shankman, are producing this year's Oscar telecast. I sat down with Mechanic to talk about the show and his nomination for best animated feature as one of the producers of Coraline.

For behind-the-scenes updates as I interview this year's Golden Globe, SAG and Oscar nominees, follow AMC News on Twitter.

(photo: Greg Peters/Rogue Pictures)

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced their feature-film slate for this year's fest, running March 12-20, in Austin, Texas. Over the course of nine days, 199 features will screen -- including 55 world premieres -- from a record 1,572 feature-length submissions. (The shorts program will be announced soon.) Below are some highlights, with descriptions courtesy of SXSW.com.

Continue reading "SXSW Announces 2010 Film-Festival Lineup Including MacGruber, Cyrus, and The Runaways" »

As King Henry VIII, Jonathan Rhys Meyers gets a lot of action on The Tudors, but in the actor's latest film, From Paris With Love, he gets to stretch the action muscles he never knew he had -- shooting at terrorists, dodging bullets, and running around with a coke-filled vase. That's because his character, James Reece, who's long dreamed of becoming an undercover agent, finally gets a shot, though he's in way over his head. Rhys Meyers says that Reece only wishes he were James Bond.

Q: What was it like shooting in Paris?

A: Paris is the most beautiful city in the world, but I wanted to see the Paris that you don't usually get to see. I was staying at the Hôtel de Crillon, which is a beautiful hotel, where Marie Antoinette learned to play the piano, and it's an elegant living museum. But I walk out on the Place de la Concorde, and I see the Paris that everybody dreams of, and I also see the Paris that is the living nightmare that happens in any First World country: tons of people from different cultures trying to make a life. I wasn't the tourist coming in and going to the Champs-Élysées or going to Ladurée and having macaroons. I was going out to these areas where people actually live. It made it a real city to me, not just a Disneyland fantasy.

Q: Your scene with John Travolta is in the Charles de Gaulle airport. That was the first time you two met?

Continue reading "Q&A - Jonathan Rhys Meyers (From Paris With Love) Weighs In on Classic Action Style" »

the cut, the more cultish favorite Inglourious Basterds also pushed through, no doubt in part because of the larger field.

In the other categories, surprises (and contenders) were fewer: Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep followed up their Golden Globe wins with Best Actor and Actress noms for Crazy Heart and Julie & Julia, respectively, and Christoph Waltz and Mo'Nique are now similarly looking for follow-up Supporting actor and actress wins for Inglourious Basterds and Precious respectively.

Who'll win Hollywood's most coveted statuette? We'll find out come Oscar night on Sun., Mar. 7. In the meantime, let us know your picks by voting in our Oscar polls in all the major catogories.

See after the jump for a complete list of nominees.

Continue reading "Avatar, The Hurt Locker and Up Lead Oscar Nominations" »