Belgian Oscar Entry ‘Omen’ Opens In France, Director Baloji Releases Soundtrack Inspired By Film
Filmmaker-musician Baloji has released a five-track EP with McA Records (under Universal Music Group) in support of the French release of his feature Omen. The film, set primarily in the Congo, is a braided narrative of four main characters, who are all accused of witchcraft or sorcery and must contend with the social implications of this denouncement. Baloji has said the soundtrack “is a complementary backstory of the characters and a musical piece in its own right.” The EP contains the tracks ‘La Tâche,’ ‘Arcade (Feat Swazzi),’ and ‘Auto Psy (Feat Chrystel),’ along with ‘Matrone (feat. Maya Andrade).’ Baloji is represented by UTA (U.S.) and As Talents (France).
Ellie Kemper To Narrate Audiobook Edition Of Katherine Center’s ‘Happiness For Beginners’
Exclusive: Ellie Kemper has signed on to...
Filmmaker-musician Baloji has released a five-track EP with McA Records (under Universal Music Group) in support of the French release of his feature Omen. The film, set primarily in the Congo, is a braided narrative of four main characters, who are all accused of witchcraft or sorcery and must contend with the social implications of this denouncement. Baloji has said the soundtrack “is a complementary backstory of the characters and a musical piece in its own right.” The EP contains the tracks ‘La Tâche,’ ‘Arcade (Feat Swazzi),’ and ‘Auto Psy (Feat Chrystel),’ along with ‘Matrone (feat. Maya Andrade).’ Baloji is represented by UTA (U.S.) and As Talents (France).
Ellie Kemper To Narrate Audiobook Edition Of Katherine Center’s ‘Happiness For Beginners’
Exclusive: Ellie Kemper has signed on to...
- 11/30/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix’s adaptation of Katherine Center’s “Happiness for Beginners” has arrived, eight years after the novel was published in 2015.
Directed and written by Vicky Wright, the film follows main characters Helen (Ellie Kemper) and Jake (Luke Grimes) as they embark on a camping trip hiking the Appalachian trail. Helen and Jake know each other through Helen’s brother Duncan, but their romantic chemistry didn’t stand a chance when Helen married Mike (Aaron Roman Weiner). Now that she has divorced Mike after infidelity and a miscarriage as well as his alcoholism, Helen wants to start over with her life. She just didn’t plan for Jake to be a part of that refresh.
Center wrote the book right before she struck gold on the New York Times best-selling list with her next book “How to Walk Way,” so the movie adaptation gives both Katherine Center fans and first-time viewers...
Directed and written by Vicky Wright, the film follows main characters Helen (Ellie Kemper) and Jake (Luke Grimes) as they embark on a camping trip hiking the Appalachian trail. Helen and Jake know each other through Helen’s brother Duncan, but their romantic chemistry didn’t stand a chance when Helen married Mike (Aaron Roman Weiner). Now that she has divorced Mike after infidelity and a miscarriage as well as his alcoholism, Helen wants to start over with her life. She just didn’t plan for Jake to be a part of that refresh.
Center wrote the book right before she struck gold on the New York Times best-selling list with her next book “How to Walk Way,” so the movie adaptation gives both Katherine Center fans and first-time viewers...
- 8/5/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Luke Grimes considers Hugh Grant his North Star when it comes to acting in romantic comedies.
Grimes, known for his role as Kayce Dutton in “Yellowstone,” stars as Jake in Netflix’s romantic comedy “Happiness for Beginners,” adapted from the novel of the same name by Katherine Center. The film, which is currently streaming, marks a shift in genre for the drama actor.
“[Hugh]’s absolutely incredible at the genre, and I could never be as good as him at that. But, you know, that was where I was trying to land the plane,” Grimes told TheWrap in an interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike. “I just think he’s so good at being the straight guy, also being sort of quirky and funny enough in himself to carry it. He also lets the funny people be funny. A lot of my favorite rom-coms have Hugh Grant, and I talked to Vicki [Wight] the director,...
Grimes, known for his role as Kayce Dutton in “Yellowstone,” stars as Jake in Netflix’s romantic comedy “Happiness for Beginners,” adapted from the novel of the same name by Katherine Center. The film, which is currently streaming, marks a shift in genre for the drama actor.
“[Hugh]’s absolutely incredible at the genre, and I could never be as good as him at that. But, you know, that was where I was trying to land the plane,” Grimes told TheWrap in an interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike. “I just think he’s so good at being the straight guy, also being sort of quirky and funny enough in himself to carry it. He also lets the funny people be funny. A lot of my favorite rom-coms have Hugh Grant, and I talked to Vicki [Wight] the director,...
- 7/30/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Adapted from the 2015 novel by Katherine Center, Netflix’s “Happiness for Beginners” largely takes place in the wilderness, where different kinds of people are forced to bond while braving the elements as they hike the Appalachian Trail. Led by “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and “The Office” alum Ellie Kemper, the gaggle of goofballs provides laughs of all kinds as well as some heartfelt moments.
Zealous camp guide Bennett (Ben Cook) keeps everything interesting, especially when he scolds Helen (Kemper) for her careless mistakes on the hike and praises Jake (Luke Grimes) for all of his perfect moves in setting up and taking down camp. Nico Santos and Gus Birney even more humor to this romantic comedy story.
Here’s who plays who in “Happiness for Beginners”:
Helen (Ellie Kemper)
Ellie Kemper portrays Helen, who wants to start over after she divorces her husband. She experienced infidelity and a miscarriage during their marriage.
Zealous camp guide Bennett (Ben Cook) keeps everything interesting, especially when he scolds Helen (Kemper) for her careless mistakes on the hike and praises Jake (Luke Grimes) for all of his perfect moves in setting up and taking down camp. Nico Santos and Gus Birney even more humor to this romantic comedy story.
Here’s who plays who in “Happiness for Beginners”:
Helen (Ellie Kemper)
Ellie Kemper portrays Helen, who wants to start over after she divorces her husband. She experienced infidelity and a miscarriage during their marriage.
- 7/29/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Known for playing optimistic characters like the title role in “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” or Erin, the bright secretary substitute for Pam on “The Office,” Ellie Kemper tells TheWrap she enjoyed the challenge of playing a less-positive person in “Happiness for Beginners.”
In the Netflix film, which is now streaming, Kemper plays main character Helen Carpenter, who decides to go on an intense wilderness camping trip to reset her life after a divorce.
“I drew on a lot of the strength and tenacity that Kimmy Schmidt embodied. I think there was a lot of determination in Helen,” she said. “But I also think what was a great and exciting challenge was to play a character who did not have the sunniest outlook on life and who was a bit cranky, for lack of a better word, and had to move through that and chose to move through that. That was...
In the Netflix film, which is now streaming, Kemper plays main character Helen Carpenter, who decides to go on an intense wilderness camping trip to reset her life after a divorce.
“I drew on a lot of the strength and tenacity that Kimmy Schmidt embodied. I think there was a lot of determination in Helen,” she said. “But I also think what was a great and exciting challenge was to play a character who did not have the sunniest outlook on life and who was a bit cranky, for lack of a better word, and had to move through that and chose to move through that. That was...
- 7/28/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
Plot: Helen has always lived her life as far from the edge as possible. Finding herself newly divorced and a little lost, Helen decides she needs a reset and signs up for the “Adventure of a Lifetime!” The adventure is a backcountry survival course hiking the Appalachian Trail with a group of oddball strangers. From the beginning, Helen’s plan to be the best hiker is tested and she finds more than just herself in the wilderness.
Review: Call them schmaltzy, cheesy, dopey, or whatever other of Snow White’s pals you like, but romantic comedies tend to earn a bad rap. For every classic romcom like When Harry Met Sally or Notting Hill, there are countless of cliche and rote takes on the genre out there. With the popularity of Lifetime and Hallmark original movies, it has become increasingly challenging for quality romantic films that are also funny to...
Review: Call them schmaltzy, cheesy, dopey, or whatever other of Snow White’s pals you like, but romantic comedies tend to earn a bad rap. For every classic romcom like When Harry Met Sally or Notting Hill, there are countless of cliche and rote takes on the genre out there. With the popularity of Lifetime and Hallmark original movies, it has become increasingly challenging for quality romantic films that are also funny to...
- 7/28/2023
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
Vicky Wight’s “Happiness for Beginners” asks a question that it answers with more authority than just about any other film I’ve ever seen: Can something still be considered a Hallmark movie if it was made by Netflix? Legally, not so much. In every other sense, however, there’s no longer even a shred of doubt.
A flat and glossy film about a newly divorced woman who decides to walk the pain away on the Appalachian Trail (a two-week excursion that finds her tripping over tree trunks and falling for a hunky ex-doctor who looks like the human manifestation of a Home Depot), this veritable “Eat, Pray, Hike” leaves no trace of originality or dramatic consequence. The advantages it has over the likes of “We Wish You a Married Christmas” and “Royally Ever After” are twofold: A likable cast, and dignified source material.
“Happiness for Beginners” is the second...
A flat and glossy film about a newly divorced woman who decides to walk the pain away on the Appalachian Trail (a two-week excursion that finds her tripping over tree trunks and falling for a hunky ex-doctor who looks like the human manifestation of a Home Depot), this veritable “Eat, Pray, Hike” leaves no trace of originality or dramatic consequence. The advantages it has over the likes of “We Wish You a Married Christmas” and “Royally Ever After” are twofold: A likable cast, and dignified source material.
“Happiness for Beginners” is the second...
- 7/27/2023
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
“Bird Box Barcelona” remained the most-watched film worldwide on Netflix, even as “The Out-Laws” and the newly released “They Cloned Tyrone” dominated the Top 10 English film chart for the week of July 17. Read on for this week’s analysis.
Normally, Netflix’s English language films have the biggest audiences across the globe on a weekly basis, but with 19 million views, “Bird Box Barcelona” was the most-watched film in much of Latin and South America, as well as Spain and ten other European countries, plus a good portion of Asia as well.
Because of that, the “Bird Box” prequel ended up faring better than the #1 English language film, “The Out-Laws,” starring Adam Devine, Nina Dobrev, Pierce Brosnan and Ellen Barkin, which continues to be quite popular with 12.1 million views last week. “The Out-Laws” was in the Top 10 for 93 countries, but only #1 in four European countries, as well as Israel.
See Grab...
Normally, Netflix’s English language films have the biggest audiences across the globe on a weekly basis, but with 19 million views, “Bird Box Barcelona” was the most-watched film in much of Latin and South America, as well as Spain and ten other European countries, plus a good portion of Asia as well.
Because of that, the “Bird Box” prequel ended up faring better than the #1 English language film, “The Out-Laws,” starring Adam Devine, Nina Dobrev, Pierce Brosnan and Ellen Barkin, which continues to be quite popular with 12.1 million views last week. “The Out-Laws” was in the Top 10 for 93 countries, but only #1 in four European countries, as well as Israel.
See Grab...
- 7/26/2023
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
The premise of Vicky Wight’s Happiness for Beginners sounds like a promising invitation to indulge in an offbeat romantic comedy. It’s a Netflix offering with Hallmark Channel roots: A 30something woman embarks on a journey through the woods to recover from her divorce. What will she find on her sojourn? A renewed sense of hope? Confidence? Romance?
If we stick to the rules of the genre, our heroine Helen (Ellie Kemper) will have it all. Peace lies in the towering trees of upstate New York, where her wilderness survival course takes place. Hope looks like the bonds she makes with her fellow campers. Love takes the shape of a familiar face who helps her remember a past self. In exchange for our attention, we will be rewarded with a couple worth rooting for and learn some truths about life. We might even consider checking out Katherine Center’s novel,...
If we stick to the rules of the genre, our heroine Helen (Ellie Kemper) will have it all. Peace lies in the towering trees of upstate New York, where her wilderness survival course takes place. Hope looks like the bonds she makes with her fellow campers. Love takes the shape of a familiar face who helps her remember a past self. In exchange for our attention, we will be rewarded with a couple worth rooting for and learn some truths about life. We might even consider checking out Katherine Center’s novel,...
- 7/25/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sitcom star Ellie Kemper gets the chance to subvert her usually chipper screen persona in “Happiness for Beginners,” writer-director Vicky Wright’s third feature and — following 2020’s Leslie Bibb starrer “The Lost Husband” — her second adaptation of a Katherine Center novel. Kemper plays dour divorcee Helen, who as the film opens is about to head off on a group hiking vacation, in the hope that it might snap her out of her post-split blues. Unbeknownst to Helen, her brother’s hunky doctor friend Jake (Luke Grimes) has booked himself onto the same trip, for reasons that are crystal-clear to the audience from the moment an exasperated Helen tells him, “God, you’re so annoying!”
We can tell immediately that we are operating under the jurisdiction of romantic comedy rules from the fact that Helen does not find Jake appearing unannounced on her trip — with only a thinly sketched excuse for...
We can tell immediately that we are operating under the jurisdiction of romantic comedy rules from the fact that Helen does not find Jake appearing unannounced on her trip — with only a thinly sketched excuse for...
- 7/24/2023
- by Catherine Bray
- Variety Film + TV
Animated adventures as well as classics based on true stories abound on Netflix in July 2023. From theatrical releases that made waves — such as James Cameron’s “Titanic” to DreamWorks’ “Puss in Boots” — we’re running down some of the best new movies to stream on Netflix this month.
Those in the mood for family fun should check out “They Cloned Tyrone,” “The Out-Laws” and “Happiness for Beginners.” “Tyrone,” starring John Boyega and Jamie Foxx promises thrilling scenes and an overall suspenseful setting. “The Out-Laws,” starring Adam Devine, Nina Dobrev, Ellen Barkin, Pierce Brosnan and Poorna Jagannathan, combines action, danger and raunchy humor. “Happiness for Beginners” was adapted from comfort book queen Katherine Center, author of the novel of the same name, and stars Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes.
Read on below for our curated picks for the best new movies to watch on Netflix in July.
Also Read:
The 25 Best...
Those in the mood for family fun should check out “They Cloned Tyrone,” “The Out-Laws” and “Happiness for Beginners.” “Tyrone,” starring John Boyega and Jamie Foxx promises thrilling scenes and an overall suspenseful setting. “The Out-Laws,” starring Adam Devine, Nina Dobrev, Ellen Barkin, Pierce Brosnan and Poorna Jagannathan, combines action, danger and raunchy humor. “Happiness for Beginners” was adapted from comfort book queen Katherine Center, author of the novel of the same name, and stars Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes.
Read on below for our curated picks for the best new movies to watch on Netflix in July.
Also Read:
The 25 Best...
- 7/16/2023
- by Dessi Gomez and Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Bird Box: Barcelona, the NFL docuseries Quarterback, the third season of Sweet Magnolias and Jamie Foxx starrer They Cloned Tyrone are among the new projects debuting on Netflix in July
Bird Box: Barcelona is a Spanish-language spinoff of the 2018 Sandra Bullock-starring thriller. The film, written and directed by Alex and David Pastor, picks up after a mysterious force destroys Earth’s population and follows survivors as they seek to escape visible threats. The movie, which stars Mario Casas and Barbarian breakout Georgina Campbell, is meant to be the first of a series of films to expand the Bird Box universe.
The eight-episode Quarterback, Netflix’s first partnership with the NFL and produced by Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, features unprecedented access to Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota both on and off the field during the 2022 season as the NFL allowed the quarterbacks to be mic’d up for every single game,...
Bird Box: Barcelona is a Spanish-language spinoff of the 2018 Sandra Bullock-starring thriller. The film, written and directed by Alex and David Pastor, picks up after a mysterious force destroys Earth’s population and follows survivors as they seek to escape visible threats. The movie, which stars Mario Casas and Barbarian breakout Georgina Campbell, is meant to be the first of a series of films to expand the Bird Box universe.
The eight-episode Quarterback, Netflix’s first partnership with the NFL and produced by Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, features unprecedented access to Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota both on and off the field during the 2022 season as the NFL allowed the quarterbacks to be mic’d up for every single game,...
- 7/10/2023
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Vital information about Paramount+’s Good Burger sequel: Original cast members Lori Beth Denberg (who played Connie Muldoon), Carmen Electra (aka Roxanne) and Josh Server (Fizz) will reprise their roles in the upcoming movie, releasing later this year exclusively on the streamer.
The first Good Burger film, based on the sketch from the Nickelodeon comedy series All That, was released in 1997. The sequel “follows Dexter Reed (Kenan Thompson) and original cashier Ed (Kel Mitchell) as they reunite in the present day at fast-food restaurant Good Burger with a hilarious new group of employees,” per the official synopsis.
More from TVLine'More...
The first Good Burger film, based on the sketch from the Nickelodeon comedy series All That, was released in 1997. The sequel “follows Dexter Reed (Kenan Thompson) and original cashier Ed (Kel Mitchell) as they reunite in the present day at fast-food restaurant Good Burger with a hilarious new group of employees,” per the official synopsis.
More from TVLine'More...
- 6/29/2023
- by Vlada Gelman
- TVLine.com
Luke Grimes as Jake and Ellie Kemper as Helen in ‘Happiness for Beginners’ (Photo by Barbara Nitke / Netflix)
Netflix has released the first official photos from the upcoming film adaptation of Katherine Center’s bestselling novel Happiness for Beginners. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt‘s Ellie Kemper and Yellowstone‘s Luke Grimes star in the comedy premiering on July 27, 2023.
Kemper and Grimes are joined by Nico Santos, Blythe Danner, and Benjamin Cook. Shayvawn Webster, Esteban Benito, and Julia Shiplett also star.
Describing her attraction to the project, Kemper told Netflix’s Tudum she believed it “was such a well-told story of one woman’s experience in getting to know herself better.” Kemper added, “I was immediately excited about the prospect of playing a woman whose outlook on life, when we first meet her, isn’t so sunny. I’ve played a lot of optimistic rubes, and Helen was neither.”
Vicky Wight adapted Center’s book and directs.
Netflix has released the first official photos from the upcoming film adaptation of Katherine Center’s bestselling novel Happiness for Beginners. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt‘s Ellie Kemper and Yellowstone‘s Luke Grimes star in the comedy premiering on July 27, 2023.
Kemper and Grimes are joined by Nico Santos, Blythe Danner, and Benjamin Cook. Shayvawn Webster, Esteban Benito, and Julia Shiplett also star.
Describing her attraction to the project, Kemper told Netflix’s Tudum she believed it “was such a well-told story of one woman’s experience in getting to know herself better.” Kemper added, “I was immediately excited about the prospect of playing a woman whose outlook on life, when we first meet her, isn’t so sunny. I’ve played a lot of optimistic rubes, and Helen was neither.”
Vicky Wight adapted Center’s book and directs.
- 4/14/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Exclusive: FBI star Missy Peregrym has made her first move into feature film production. Peregrym, who is the lead FBI Special Agent Maggie Bell alongside Zeeko Zaki in the Dick Wolf ensemble hit CBS series, has optioned film rights to the Katherine Center bestseller Things You Save In A Fire. She will produce it with Jai Khanna’s Oakhurst Entertainment, and shape it as a potential star vehicle for herself.
Published in 2019 by St. Martin’s Press, the book focuses on Cassie Hanwell, a lifesaving female firefighter who finds herself with more than a few blazes to put out. One of few women in her Texas firehouse, Hanwell is devoted to helping other people through tragedy. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to give up her whole life and move to Boston, Cassie suddenly has an emergency of her own. The tough, old-school Boston firehouse is as different...
Published in 2019 by St. Martin’s Press, the book focuses on Cassie Hanwell, a lifesaving female firefighter who finds herself with more than a few blazes to put out. One of few women in her Texas firehouse, Hanwell is devoted to helping other people through tragedy. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to give up her whole life and move to Boston, Cassie suddenly has an emergency of her own. The tough, old-school Boston firehouse is as different...
- 12/21/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Luke Grimes (Yellowstone), Nico Santos (Crazy Rich Asians) and Blythe Danner (I’ll See You in My Dreams) have signed on to star in Happiness for Beginners, a Netflix romantic comedy from writer-director Vicky Wight.
The film is based on Katherine Center’s novel of the same name and centers on Helen (Kemper), who signs up for a wilderness survival course a year after getting divorced. She discovers through this experience that in getting she has found herself.
Wight is producing the film with Geoff Linville and Berry Meyerowitz. Jeff Sackman and Larry Greenburg are its executive producers. Information on the roles to be played by Grimes, Santos and Danner has not yet been disclosed.
Kemper is a two-time Emmy nominee perhaps best known for her starring turn in Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and for her portrayal of Erin Hannon...
The film is based on Katherine Center’s novel of the same name and centers on Helen (Kemper), who signs up for a wilderness survival course a year after getting divorced. She discovers through this experience that in getting she has found herself.
Wight is producing the film with Geoff Linville and Berry Meyerowitz. Jeff Sackman and Larry Greenburg are its executive producers. Information on the roles to be played by Grimes, Santos and Danner has not yet been disclosed.
Kemper is a two-time Emmy nominee perhaps best known for her starring turn in Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and for her portrayal of Erin Hannon...
- 10/4/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Ellie Kemper, Luke Grimes, Nico Santos and Blythe Danner are starring in Happiness for Beginners, Netflix’s film adaptation of the novel by author Katherine Center.
Vicky Wight, who previously tackled an adaptation of Center’s novel, The Lost Husband, wrote the script and is directing the romantic comedy and is producing with Geoff Linville, Berry Meyerowitz.
The story follows a woman who, having trouble bouncing back from her divorce, joins a wilderness survival course. The course, of course, is a calamity, until the annoying guy she meets turns out to be just the man for her. And she learns the sugary sweet idiom of ...
Vicky Wight, who previously tackled an adaptation of Center’s novel, The Lost Husband, wrote the script and is directing the romantic comedy and is producing with Geoff Linville, Berry Meyerowitz.
The story follows a woman who, having trouble bouncing back from her divorce, joins a wilderness survival course. The course, of course, is a calamity, until the annoying guy she meets turns out to be just the man for her. And she learns the sugary sweet idiom of ...
- 10/4/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Ellie Kemper, Luke Grimes, Nico Santos and Blythe Danner are starring in Happiness for Beginners, Netflix’s film adaptation of the novel by author Katherine Center.
Vicky Wight, who previously tackled an adaptation of Center’s novel, The Lost Husband, wrote the script and is directing the romantic comedy and is producing with Geoff Linville, Berry Meyerowitz.
The story follows a woman who, having trouble bouncing back from her divorce, joins a wilderness survival course. The course, of course, is a calamity, until the annoying guy she meets turns out to be just the man for her. And she learns the sugary sweet idiom of ...
Vicky Wight, who previously tackled an adaptation of Center’s novel, The Lost Husband, wrote the script and is directing the romantic comedy and is producing with Geoff Linville, Berry Meyerowitz.
The story follows a woman who, having trouble bouncing back from her divorce, joins a wilderness survival course. The course, of course, is a calamity, until the annoying guy she meets turns out to be just the man for her. And she learns the sugary sweet idiom of ...
- 10/4/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A grieving widow escapes to a rural idyll of horses and hunky farmhands in a rustic heartwarmer that leaves you cold
Here’s a bland daytime telly-ish romantic drama that might have been made as propaganda for the current urban exodus – an advert for moving to the countryside, where folks from the city can find their inner compass while milking goats and making organic cheese. Actually, some of the film’s best casting is four-legged – the friesians are beauties and the glossily bearded goats have wonderfully expressive faces. The human actors are a bit flat by comparison, struggling a bit with director Vicky Wight’s Hallmark-card script, adapted from a novel by Katherine Center.
Related: I'm Thinking of Ending Things review – another superb nightmare courtesy of Charlie Kaufman...
Here’s a bland daytime telly-ish romantic drama that might have been made as propaganda for the current urban exodus – an advert for moving to the countryside, where folks from the city can find their inner compass while milking goats and making organic cheese. Actually, some of the film’s best casting is four-legged – the friesians are beauties and the glossily bearded goats have wonderfully expressive faces. The human actors are a bit flat by comparison, struggling a bit with director Vicky Wight’s Hallmark-card script, adapted from a novel by Katherine Center.
Related: I'm Thinking of Ending Things review – another superb nightmare courtesy of Charlie Kaufman...
- 9/3/2020
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
A few months ago, most of us had never heard of The Lost Husband, and now we're all wondering if there will be a sequel! It's all part of the romantic drama's unexpected arc from tiny unknown title to surprise summer favorite. The circumstances that made the movie a hit, though, might not work for lightning to strike twice.
The movie's success has been, in large part, due to the unique demands of the Covid-19 era, when audiences are looking for two specific things in particular: entertainment they can watch at home, and entertainment that's perhaps a little more comforting than usual. The Lost Husband checks both those boxes. It was first released as a VOD title back in April, at the beginning of major shutdowns, then acquired by Netflix. It started streaming there in August, giving it ideal timing to reach audiences at home. Plus, with its small-town, slightly weepy,...
The movie's success has been, in large part, due to the unique demands of the Covid-19 era, when audiences are looking for two specific things in particular: entertainment they can watch at home, and entertainment that's perhaps a little more comforting than usual. The Lost Husband checks both those boxes. It was first released as a VOD title back in April, at the beginning of major shutdowns, then acquired by Netflix. It started streaming there in August, giving it ideal timing to reach audiences at home. Plus, with its small-town, slightly weepy,...
- 8/25/2020
- by Amanda Prahl
- Popsugar.com
The Lost Husband is a perfectly bland but perfectly watchable movie that you’ll want to return to time and time again.
“The Lost Husband was actually released in April on VOD, before landing on the streaming service in August, and it probably can be most accurately described as perfectly pleasant. Based on a book by Katherine Center, the Vicky Wight-directed drama is a Nicholas Sparks-style story of a woman finding new love after a tragic loss.”
Read more at Thrillist.
From Star Trek‘s Uhura to Marvel’s Black Panther movie, science fiction and fantasy have the best representation of Black women out of all media genres.
“Anytime a character is announced with a Black actress playing her or a Black woman is introduced into a popular franchise, the internet is flooded with racist comments from trolls disguised as ‘real fans.’ What these so-called ‘fans’ fail to...
“The Lost Husband was actually released in April on VOD, before landing on the streaming service in August, and it probably can be most accurately described as perfectly pleasant. Based on a book by Katherine Center, the Vicky Wight-directed drama is a Nicholas Sparks-style story of a woman finding new love after a tragic loss.”
Read more at Thrillist.
From Star Trek‘s Uhura to Marvel’s Black Panther movie, science fiction and fantasy have the best representation of Black women out of all media genres.
“Anytime a character is announced with a Black actress playing her or a Black woman is introduced into a popular franchise, the internet is flooded with racist comments from trolls disguised as ‘real fans.’ What these so-called ‘fans’ fail to...
- 8/19/2020
- by Ivan Huang
- Den of Geek
Staying home? Good. Looking for something new to watch while you do it? Even better! As the world shifts to accommodate a wide range of in-home viewing options for movie lovers, it’s not just platforms that are expanding, it’s the very type of films they host. There’s more than ever to sift through, and IndieWire is here to help you do just that.
This week’s new releases include Netflix Originals, fresh VOD offerings, and new studio releases now available in the comfort of your own home. Browse your options below. “The Lost Husband” (directed by Vicky Wight)
Distributor: Quiver Distribution
Where to Find It: Rent or buy on Redbox
There’s plenty of drama to be found in “The Lost Husband,” Vicky Wight...
This week’s new releases include Netflix Originals, fresh VOD offerings, and new studio releases now available in the comfort of your own home. Browse your options below. “The Lost Husband” (directed by Vicky Wight)
Distributor: Quiver Distribution
Where to Find It: Rent or buy on Redbox
There’s plenty of drama to be found in “The Lost Husband,” Vicky Wight...
- 4/10/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
A low-key drama about a woman rediscovering herself after a family tragedy, writer-director Vicky Wight’s “The Lost Husband,” adapted from the novel by Katherine Center, is a no-frills romance-drama that pulls from the same well of tropes as a Nicholas Sparks novel. Anchored by two good, lived-in, performances by Leslie Bibb and Josh Duhamel, “The Lost Husband” exists as comfort food, elevating the “city girl in a country” setting that has essentially kept Hallmark’s film department afloat.
Continue reading ‘The Lost Husband’: Vicky Wight’s Melodrama Is Cliché-Filled Comfort Food [Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Lost Husband’: Vicky Wight’s Melodrama Is Cliché-Filled Comfort Food [Review] at The Playlist.
- 4/10/2020
- by Christian Gallichio
- The Playlist
There are worse things one could do than indulge in a cozy little romance these days, when we are all cooped up at home craving some meaningful human contact. If only writer-director Vicky Wight’s on-demand drama “The Lost Husband” could have filled that void by audaciously embracing some of the more syrupy, maybe even steamy elements of an often unfairly slighted genre.
Instead, Wight delivers a sedated Hallmark-y effort that just hints at heightened emotions — the very kind of rush underserved romance viewers come to this fare seeking — only to repeatedly interrupt and abandon them in puzzling ways. Equally confusing is that deceptive title. Suffice it to say that Wight’s predictable fish-out-of-water tale, adapted from bestselling author Katherine Center’s 2013 novel of the same name, isn’t about a husband at all, but the widowed wife he leaves behind in his wake.
She is Libby Moran (Leslie Bibb...
Instead, Wight delivers a sedated Hallmark-y effort that just hints at heightened emotions — the very kind of rush underserved romance viewers come to this fare seeking — only to repeatedly interrupt and abandon them in puzzling ways. Equally confusing is that deceptive title. Suffice it to say that Wight’s predictable fish-out-of-water tale, adapted from bestselling author Katherine Center’s 2013 novel of the same name, isn’t about a husband at all, but the widowed wife he leaves behind in his wake.
She is Libby Moran (Leslie Bibb...
- 4/10/2020
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety Film + TV
Being “nice” can sometimes be a backhanded compliment. A romantic film, one seeking to warm an audience’s heart, usually doesn’t have too much of an edge. There’s nothing wrong with being “nice,” especially when the material calls for it. However, when you wind up with something that’s only “nice” and doesn’t offer up anything else, it leaves you lacking. The Lost Husband is a prime example of this. Sure, it’s pleasant and has its heart in the right place, but that doesn’t mean that the end result isn’t bland and without narrative thrust. On Demand this weekend, it’s a harmless offering that nonetheless leaves you wanting more. This flick is a romance, introducing us to Libby (Leslie Bibb) a short time after the sudden death of her husband. Unhappy in her current situation, stuck living with her mother, Libby is offered...
- 4/9/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
There’s plenty of drama to be found in “The Lost Husband,” Vicky Wight’s adaptation of Katherine Center’s 2013 novel of the same name, much of it baked right into its intriguing title and the odd misdirection that comes from it. Yes, Libby Moran (Leslie Bibb) has lost her husband, but that’s hardly what this story is about; really, it’s about Libby finding herself after a horrible tragedy that took nearly everything from her. If that sounds like the makings of a Hallmark movie or a mass market paperback you might find at a well-stocked airport bookstore, well, yes — but this genre doesn’t typically yield great art. In that context, “The Lost Husband” is at least above average.
It’s not a lack of drama that hobbles “The Lost Husband,” but too much of it: , rather than the dense feature that has resulted here. However, Wight...
It’s not a lack of drama that hobbles “The Lost Husband,” but too much of it: , rather than the dense feature that has resulted here. However, Wight...
- 4/8/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
"This kind of pain and loss, it cracks you open... But we are made of magic and resilience, Libby." Quiver Distr. has debuted an official trailer for an indie romantic drama titled The Lost Husband, a feature film adapted from the novel of the same name by Katherine Center. Trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, Libby and her children move to her estranged aunt's goat farm in central Texas. There she falls in with a "gruff farm manager with a tragic past" and, of course, starts to enjoy the country life. Leslie Bibb stars, along with Josh Duhamel, and also Sharon Lawrence, Kevin Alejandro, Georgia King, Carly Pope, Herizen F. Guardiola, Nora Dunn, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. This looks exactly like the country livin', charming, sweet farm romance you'd expect it to look like, which is a good thing this time. Here's the...
- 3/23/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Based on the novel by New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center, The Lost Husband centers on Libby Moran, a woman who is still reeling over the death of her husband.
Libby movies into her estranged aunt’s (Nora Dunn) goat farm with her children in Central Texas, and this city girl is definitely out of her [...]
The post Leslie Bibb And Josh Duhamel Find Love On A Farm In ‘The Lost Husband’ Trailer appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
Libby movies into her estranged aunt’s (Nora Dunn) goat farm with her children in Central Texas, and this city girl is definitely out of her [...]
The post Leslie Bibb And Josh Duhamel Find Love On A Farm In ‘The Lost Husband’ Trailer appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 3/23/2020
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
Exclusive: Quiver Distribution and Redbox Entertainment have co-acquired North American rights to The Lost Husband, the Vicky Wight romantic comedy starring Josh Duhamel and Leslie Bibb. A theatrical rollout beginning in the top 25 markets is set for April.
Directed and written by Wight based on the Katherine Center novel, the story centers on a woman (Bibb) attempting to put her life back together after the death of her husband. She moves with her children to her estranged aunt’s goat farm in central Texas, meeting and matching wills with the ranch’s cowboy (Duhamel). Nora Dunn, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Georgia King and Sharon Lawrence co-star along with Carly Pope.
The film is a Six Foot Pictures production. Bibb produced with Bridget Stokes along with Wight.
The deal comes as part of a broader strategic pact between Quiver, the indie film company launched last year by former eOne exec Berry Meyerowitz...
Directed and written by Wight based on the Katherine Center novel, the story centers on a woman (Bibb) attempting to put her life back together after the death of her husband. She moves with her children to her estranged aunt’s goat farm in central Texas, meeting and matching wills with the ranch’s cowboy (Duhamel). Nora Dunn, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Georgia King and Sharon Lawrence co-star along with Carly Pope.
The film is a Six Foot Pictures production. Bibb produced with Bridget Stokes along with Wight.
The deal comes as part of a broader strategic pact between Quiver, the indie film company launched last year by former eOne exec Berry Meyerowitz...
- 2/12/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Transformers star Josh Duhamel and Leslie Bibb, who was last seen in the WB comedy, Tag, are set to star in The Lost Husband, an indie film which is being directed by Vicky Wight. Nora Dunn (The Oath), Isiah Whitlock Jr. (BlacKkKlansman), and Herizen Guardiola (Dare Me) will also star in the film, slated to go before cameras next week in Austin. Based on the novel by Katherine Center, the film was written by Wight, who is also producing under her Six Foot Pictures banner.
The story centers on Libby who, trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, moves to her estranged Aunt’s goat farm with her children in Central Texas.
Bibb and Bridget Stokes are also producing the project with Wight.
Duhamel’s recent credits include the USA true crime true crime anthology series Unsolved and Fox 2000’s comedy/drama Love,...
The story centers on Libby who, trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, moves to her estranged Aunt’s goat farm with her children in Central Texas.
Bibb and Bridget Stokes are also producing the project with Wight.
Duhamel’s recent credits include the USA true crime true crime anthology series Unsolved and Fox 2000’s comedy/drama Love,...
- 10/5/2018
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
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