Joel Coen

‘A Serious Man’ Plays as Masterfully Fictionalized Autobiography For Joel, Ethan Coen

HollywoodChicago.com — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:20:45 -0600

CHICAGO – “A Serious Man” isn’t the story of Joel and Ethan Coen’s lives. But you might not necessarily know it. While the brothers continue to turn their films into Hollywood gold, this 1967-set black comedy is among the more personal projects in their repertoire.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

That gamut is growing into a serious catalog with “Burn After Reading,” 2007 best-picture Oscar winner “No Country for Old Men,” “The Ladykillers,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” “The Big Lebowski,” “Fargo” and “Raising Arizona” now under their yamakas over the course of two decades.

While the yamaka is designed to signify deference to god, “A Serious Man” pays homage to the Coens’ culture in an authentically Jewish way. But this is more than just one of the more Jewish films you’ve seen since “Schindler’s List”. “A Serious Man” is powered by a highly internal script and actors who externalize a series of very unfortunate events.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “A Serious Man” in our reviews section.

The film centers around one man in particular who you’ve likely never seen on screen before: Michael Stuhlbarg.

The Coen brothers, who are referred to in the industry as the “two-headed director” and are often known by actors to receive the same response to a question from either brother, took a chance on this cast. Tony Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg plays Larry Gopnik.

Gopnik is a Midwestern professor who watches his life fall apart before his own eyes. His wife asks for a divorce, his inept brother won’t move out of the house, his kid steals his money for plastic surgery, blackmail is attempted by his student and an anonymous tipster attempts to defame his character and prevent him from being awarded tenure.

“A Serious Man” from writers and directors Joel Coen and Ethan Coen stars Michael Stuhlbarg , Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, Jessica McManus, Peter Breitmayer, Brent Braunschweig, David Kang, Benjy Portnoe, Jon Kaminski Jr., Ari Hoptman and Alan Mandell. The film opened everywhere on Oct. 9, 2009. “A Serious Man,” which has a running time of 105 minutes, is rated “R” for language, some sexuality and nudity and brief violence.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “A Serious Man” review.

Michael Stuhlbarg (left) stars as Larry Gopnik and Fred Melamed (right) stars as Sy Ableman in Joel and Ethan Coen’s “A Serious Man”.
Photo credit: Wilson Webb

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “A Serious Man” review.

HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: 50 ‘A Serious Man’ Chicago Passes to New Joel, Ethan Coen Film

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:22:10 -0600

CHICAGO – In our latest comedy/drama edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to the Chicago screening of the highly anticipated new film “A Serious Man” from Oscar-winning directors Joel and Ethan Coen!

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen are the creators of “Raising Arizona,” “Fargo,” “The Big Lebowski,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” “No Country for Old Men” and “Burn After Reading”. “A Serious Man” stars Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, Aaron Wolff, Jessica McManus, Peter Breitmayer and Alan Mandell.

To win your free pass to the Chicago screening of “A Serious Man” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, all you need to do is answer our question below. That’s it! This screening will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. in downtown Chicago. Directions to enter this Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.

“A Serious Man” from Joel and Ethan Coen stars Michael Stuhlbarg.
Image credit: Working Title Films

Here is the “A Serious Man” plot description:

“A Serious Man” is the story of an ordinary man’s search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and “F Troop” is on TV.

It is 1967 and Larry Gopnik (Tony Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg) – a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university – has just been informed by his wife, Judith (Sari Lennick), that she is leaving him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous acquaintances, Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed), who seems to her a more substantial person than the feckless Larry.

Larry’s unemployable brother, Arthur (Richard Kind), is sleeping on the couch. His son, Danny (Aaron Wolff), is a discipline problem and a shirker at Hebrew school. His daughter, Sarah (Jessica McManus), is filching money from his wallet in order to save up for a nose job.

While his wife and Sy Ableman blithely make new domestic arrangements and his brother becomes more and more of a burden, an anonymous hostile letter writer is trying to sabotage Larry’s chances for tenure at the university. Also, a graduate student seems to be trying to bribe him for a passing grade while at the same time threatening to sue him for defamation.

Plus, the beautiful woman next door torments him by sunbathing nude. Struggling for equilibrium, Larry seeks advice from three different rabbis. Can anyone help him cope with his afflictions and become a righteous person? A mensch? A serious man?

The “A Serious Man” movie trailer can be watched now below.

To secure your free tickets now, make sure you’re logged into your HollywoodChicago.com account. If you don’t yet have one, you can quickly register here. Having an account with a valid e-mail address is required. Then, simply add a new comment in the form below. In your comment, include an answer to this question:

What makes a good person a good person?

Like all Hookups here, this HollywoodChicago.com Hookup is simple: Just submit your comment below and we will award 50 people randomly via e-mail for our “A Serious Man” Hookup. Winners needs to arrive early as seats are consumed on a first-come, first-served basis. Good luck!

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief/Publisher
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: ‘No Country For Old Men’ Riveting in HD

BrianTT — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:23:44 -0600

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Like most truly great films, “No Country For Old Men” gets better every time I see it. My most recent viewing, in pristine HD with the new Blu-Ray release, made me appreciate this dark masterpiece even more than the last time I saw it and I have a feeling it’s one of those films that will change a bit every time I press play. Films like that, ones that get deeper with time, are what we call “must-owns”.

Perhaps it was the flawless HD transfer but what truly struck me this time around was Roger Deakins’ amazing cinematography. The man is at the top of his field (shooting this, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” and “In the Valley of Elah” in one year). Even if you forget everything else, “No Country” is an amazing film just to look at, the kind of gorgeous filmmaking that is perfect for 1080P and the video transfer is flawless.

No Country For Old Men was released on Blu-Ray on April 7th, 2009.
Photo credit: Buena Vista

About now is when a Blu-Ray review usually gets into the plot but how does one even describe “No Country For Old Men”? One of the film’s strengths is its refusal to play by standard genre rules. It’s a western, a noir, a chase movie, an action adventure, features more bloody death than most horror movies, and even has elements of comedy, all in one.

This is a movie with three leads who never meet and what some viewers thought was a non-ending. It is as ambitious a film as the super-talented Coen brothers have ever made and the daring choices they took with it resulted in four Academy awards, including Supporting Actor, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and the Best Picture of 2007.

Essentially, “No Country For Old Men” is about a good guy chasing a bad guy and the average guy caught in the middle. The good guy is an aging police officer played by Tommy Lee Jones. The bad guy is a nearly mythical evil named Anton Chigurh, played by Javier Bardem in his Oscar-winning performance. And the average guy is Llewelyn Moss, played by Josh Brolin in a performance that didn’t get nearly the credit it deserved.

Moss stumbles across a drug deal gone bad. He takes the money he finds and runs, but not before the truly evil Chigurh gets his scent. “No Country For Old Men” is about the title of the film. Times are changing. Life is getting harder, rougher, more impossible to predict. We’re all riding on the flip of a coin and evil can’t be stopped. It’s dark, depressing, and brilliant.

The Blu-Ray release of “No Country For Old Men” finally gives the film the home treatment it deserves after a lackluster first release on standard DVD. The most impressive and extensive series on the Blu-Ray release of “No Country” chronicles a large variety of the press around the film from its release through the film’s Oscar wins.

Viewers can randomly watch an interview (although some are just audio clips) or the entire collection is presented in chronological order. Various interviews with the Coen brothers, Bardem, Brolin, and more sources as diverse as NPR, Charlie Rose, and David Poland provide a great chronicle of the film’s publicity.

As for non-interview bonus features, the collection is still a little light and don’t expect any deleted scenes or commentary tracks. The biggest piece on disc 1 is “The Making of No Country For Old Men,” a 24-minute look at the production. The other featurettes - “Working with the Coens,” “The Diary of a Country Sheriff,” and “Josh Brolin’s Unauthorized Behind-the-Scenes” are all pretty brief.

The lack of a commentary track is disappointing, but “No Country For Old Men” is truly a film that speaks for itself. One of the best films of the last few years has been given the Blu-Ray treatment it deserves with striking video quality and a very intriguing collection of interviews. It would make an excellent addition to anyone’s collection.

‘No Country For Old Men’ is released by Miramax/Buena Vista Home Entertainment and stars Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, Stephen Root, Garret Dillahunt, and Kelly MacDonald. It was written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It was released on April 7th, 2009. It is rated R.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Burn After Reading’ Hilarious Movie, Horrible Blu-Ray

BrianTT — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:23:27 -0700

CHICAGO – It’s impossible for a critic to thoroughly defend something he finds funny but fully realizes that a large majority of the audience may not. Sometimes a film just hits your funny bone in right way. “Burn After Reading” does so for me, but may not for audiences without a little bit of a mean streak.

Fitting snugly into the Coen Brothers’ resume of slightly-demented comedies, “Burn After Reading” disappointed audiences expecting “No Country For Old Men 2”, but like “Raising Arizona”, “The Hudsucker Proxy”, and “The Big Lebowski”, should have an extensive life on the home market.

Every time the Coens have made a “serious” movie, they’ve followed it with a lark of a comedy. “Arizona” came after “Blood Simple”, “Hudsucker” followed “Barton Fink”, and “Lebowski” was an odd choice after “Fargo”. They’ve all thrown audiences for a loop. It happened again with “Burn After Reading”, a dark, vicious comedy about people who think they understand espionage because they’ve seen a lot of spy movies. The Coens have often been accused of making fun of their characters and I’ve usually defended them as laughing with their lead. Not this time. They’re laughing at these morons.

The morons in question include an all-star cast headed by Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, J.K. Simmons, and John Malkovich. The entire ensemble is clearly having a blast and it’s infectious. Some critics were upset at not being able to find the deeper meaning in a story about a disc of government secrets that makes its way into the hands of some stupid fitness experts. Guess what? There is no deeper meaning. That’s the point. Just have fun with “Burn After Reading”.

Perhaps Universal knows they have an eventual cult hit and held back the special features for an inevitable special edition but that kind of double-dipping is getting really old. Universal has been consistently releasing the most comprehensive and well organized Blu-Rays of the season, so we’ll forgive “Burn After Reading” as the exception. Special features? Three lonely featurettes - “Finding the Burn”, “DC Insiders Run Amuck”, and “Welcome Back, George” - don’t really qualify as “special”, especially considering they run less than twenty minutes COMBINED.

“Burn After Reading” does include Universal’s BD-Live functionality that allows viewers to cut their favorite scenes and send them but this common addition doesn’t really qualify as a special feature. It’s really just bookmarking with an internet connection.

Technically, “Burn After Reading” looks and sounds great with a 1080p HD Widescreen transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and an audio track an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Both the video and audio won’t be used to show off new home theaters, but are also never distracting.

Universal clearly intended the Blu-Ray release of “Burn After Reading” to be a rental. If they wanted more purchases, they would have put more effort into the special features. Luckily, the movie itself is funny enough to make the dearth of bonuses easier to overlook.

‘Burn After Reading’ is released by Universal Home Video and stars Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, John Malkovich, J.K. Simmons, David Rasche, and Richard Jenkins. It was released on December 21st, 2008.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Richard Jenkins on First Lead Role in ‘The Visitor,’ ‘Six Feet Under,’ Coen Brothers

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:40:29 -0600

DeKALB, Ill. – Richard Jenkins is a familiar if not overly recognizable character actor. With his distinctly grave voice, he’s best known for his turn as the dead father in the seminal HBO series “Six Feet Under”. But he has also had numerous film roles – most notably with the filmmaking brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen along with Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly.

Born and raised in DeKalb, Ill., Jenkins moved to the east coast after college to pursue theater work with the Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, R.I. Now residing there, Jenkins has carved a character niche in TV and movies from Providence.

Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor”.
Photo credit: Overture Films

HollywoodChicago.com recently interviewed Jenkins about his first leading male role in the new film “The Visitor,” his “Six Feet Under” experience and his life as an actor.

‘The Visitor’

HollywoodChicago.com: In “The Visitor,” how are you as an individual most like the character you play (Walter Vale)? Conversely, how are you unlike him?
Richard Jenkins: Like him, I’m a little hesitant to do new things and try new things. I get stuck in a box a bit – but hopefully not to the degree that Walter Vale has. But I do understand him. I understand looking for different answers in the same place and not finding them.

I understand isolation and I’m a little shy, which is in Walter. I’m unlike him since I’m a little more hyper. I think physically I’m different from Walter. I’m a little more animated.

HC: What is the origin of your association with the writer and director of the film (Thomas McCarthy)? Since he wrote Walter Vale with you in mind, how did he help you and how did you help him develop Walter from the page to the character?
RJ: We barely knew each other. We did know enough to say “hi” because we had the same agent. But we were in Los Angeles doing a movie, staying at the same motel and doing different movies. He saw me in the lobby and asked me to get something to eat. So we went out and talked for a couple hours about everything.

A year-and-a-half later, he calls and says he wrote this part for me. It’s the part he had been thinking about. He thought about me as Walter after he had dinner with me. He said he wrote Walter with my voice in his head. We then rehearsed it for two weeks.

He rewrote as we went along while the other two leads and I basically hung out. We had meals together, we rehearsed and we talked and laughed. We really became friends. The things we were saying in rehearsal would sometimes end up in the script the next day in a much clearer and more interesting way.

It really evolved. At the same time, this was his movie and his script. He knew what he wanted it to be. Basically the script I read was the script we shot.

HC: When Walter has the angry breakdown in the immigration detention center, what decisions as an actor did you make in approaching how angry he would get?
RJ: I did it in a bunch of different ways, but I kept thinking: “This is Walter’s breakdown.” I didn’t want to do it by tearing apart the room. There was a certain decorum even in that for him. It’s anger, yes, but it’s also impotence. You can change anything in the situation. He realizes there is nothing he can do.

HC: Following Sept. 11, 2001, laws and attitudes toward immigration rights are a major plot point in “The Visitor”. Was it Thomas McCarthy’s intention to expose how good people are painted with the same brush as terrorists?
RJ: I always thought when I read this script (and it holds true in life) that everything changes when you know someone. Everything changes when there’s somebody sitting behind that detention center glass who is your child or your friend.

The ability to stand in someone’s shoes before we judge is important. There is a whole world of experience out there that we sometimes shut ourselves from – not intentionally – but we do. It’s simply better if we know each other than if we don’t.

Richard Jenkins (left) and Hiam Abbass in “The Visitor”.
Photo credit: Overture Films

HC: Since you have a great deal of experience with stage work, what classic theater character do you equate Walter Vale with and why?
RJ: Elwood Dowd from “Harvey” – you know, the guy who talks to the rabbit – except he has a friend and Walter doesn’t have a friend.

Richard Jenkins: The Actor

HC: You’ve been on a number of film sets with many different directors. What type of set atmosphere do you prefer with your acting style? Without naming names, what type of set experience is not conducive to your preference?
RJ: I’ve never been asked that. It’s an important question.

It even determines the movie I will do and how I feel the working conditions will be. I like relaxed sets. I like to feel that I can make a mistake without feeling like I’m costing somebody money. I like a sense of freedom. I like it when people are open and are willing to let you do your work.

When there is tension, arguments and money problems, it’s tough to do your work. Some people thrive on that. I don’t.

HC: You have now worked with the Coen brothers on three films. What kind of sensibility do they bring to their stories and characters that you most connect to?
RJ: They trust you. They cast you because they see you as their character.

It’s a very relaxed and easy atmosphere with them. Still, they make these incredibly intense, interesting and complicated films. They move very fast because they know what they want. Still, they are also open for you to bring to your character what you see. It’s a great environment to work with them.

HC: How did growing up in the DeKalb, Ill. during the 1960s impact your decision of becoming an actor?
RJ: I went to the movies in DeKalb at the Egyptian Theater. That’s how I saw the world. I saw “Goldfinger” and thought: “Wow!” It didn’t matter what was playing. We went. I fantasized about it, but as for being in the movies, I thought that was like going to the moon. I didn’t know how you did that.

When the opportunity arose to actually work in film, I jumped right in. It fulfilled all my fantasies about it. There’s nothing like walking onto a Hollywood sound stage. You walk onto Warner Brothers and on those big sound stages that have been there for years there’s a list of every movie ever shot there.

You are in the same place where Spencer Tracy, Errol Flynn, Jimmy Cagney and Humphrey Bogart made movies.

‘Six Feet Under’

HC: I was always struck by the dichotomy between Nathaniel Fisher, your character and the character of Nate’s wife (Ruth). What do you think Nate and Ruth’s relationship in life was about? Why do you think your character greeted her after her death at the end of the show?
RJ: I had an idea, but I never really knew who this guy was because he was only alive in the show (literally) for a minute and a half. Every time I appeared, it was another character’s impression of him. Everyone saw him in a different way. In truth, I never knew who he really was.

I also know, though, that there was something special between Ruth and Nate when they were really young. When she died, she thought of him.

HC: How did you collaborate with series creator Alan Ball on the character?
RJ: I was only supposed to be in the pilot, but Alan said: “When your father dies, you never really stop thinking about him.” So, he asked me to come back and do more. He could be brutal to his family, but really it was about the character being brutal to themselves like self-loathing or a lack of confidence.

HC: Since you only appeared in the show periodically, how were you able to develop the excellent father-son connection between your character and the characters played by Peter Krause and Michael C. Hall?
RJ: They are really good actors. We all started the show together. We started with the pilot. We didn’t know what it was going to be like. We all became friends. It was really fun coming back during my appearances to see everyone.

HC: Finally, as a veteran actor, do you have a one-line piece of advice regarding technique?
RJ: If you’re an actor, you are enough. You have to believe that – that you are enough.

“The Visitor” is currently playing at Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema in Chicago.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Despite Stylistic Inconsistency, George Clooney’s ‘Leatherheads’ Feels Good

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:53:10 -0600

CHICAGO – George Clooney’s latest film, “Leatherheads,” brings light-hearted, screwball antics and slapstick blunders to the screen with a romantic tale that tells how professional football came to be.

Read Allison Pitaccio’s full review of “Leatherheads” in our reviews section.

View our full “Leatherheads” image gallery.

Set in 1925, fading football star Dodge Connelly (George Clooney) attempts to save the professional game by recruiting a college football hero to save the sport. The film begins with a game of ragtag football in a stadium shared by cattle where oddball plays and dirty tricks are welcomed.

Few fans come to the games and barely follow the sport – due to their often illegal consumption of booze – but when Dodge is told the team is bankrupt and the sponsors are selling, he’s determined to find a solution for his beloved team (the Duluth Bulldogs).

George Clooney (left) in “Leatherheads”.
Photo credit: IMDb

Renée Zellweger and George Clooney in “Leatherheads”.
Photo credit: IMDb

80th Academy Awards Headlined By ‘No Country For Old Men,’ ‘There Will Be Blood,’ ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:50:43 -0700

CHICAGO – “No Country For Old Men,” “Juno,” “Once,” “Atonement,” “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Ratatouille,” “The Golden Compass,” “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” “La Vie en Rose,” “Michael Clayton” and more headlined the 80th Academy Awards on Feb. 24, 2008.

In total, “No Country For Old Men” led the pack with four Oscars followed by a surprising three for “The Bourne Ultimatum” and two for “There Will Be Blood”. A complete list of all 2008 Oscar winners at the 80th Academy Awards is found below. All image credits go to Oscar.com.

Best Picture:
Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen for “No Country For Old Men”

Best Director:
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for “No Country For Old Men”

Best Original Screenplay:
Diablo Cody for “Juno”
The HollywoodChicago.com interview with “Juno” writer Diablo Cody can be found here.

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for “No Country For Old Men”

Best Actor:
Daniel Day-Lewis for “There Will Be Blood”

Best Actress:
Marion Cotillard for “La Vie en Rose”

Best Supporting Actor:
Javier Bardem for “No Country For Old Men”

Best Supporting Actress:
Tilda Swinton for “Michael Clayton”
The HollywoodChicago.com interview with “Michael Clayton” director Tony Gilroy can be found here.

Best Art Direction:
Dante Ferretti (art direction) and Francesca Lo Schiavo (set decoration) for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

Best Cinematography:
Robert Elswit for “There Will Be Blood”

Best Film Editing:
Christopher Rouse for “The Bourne Ultimatum”

Best Original Song:
“Falling Slowly” from “Once” (music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova)
The HollywoodChicago.com interview with “Once” director John Carney and stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova can be found here.

Best Original Score:
Dario Marianelli for “Atonement”

Best Sound Mixing:
Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis for “The Bourne Ultimatum”

Best Sound Editing:
Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg for “The Bourne Ultimatum”

Best Visual Effects:
Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood for “The Golden Compass”

Best Costume Design:
Alexandra Byrne for “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”

Best Makeup:
Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald for “La Vie en Rose”

Best Animated Feature:
Brad Bird for “Ratatouille”

Best Animated Short Film:
Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman for “Peter & the Wolf”

Best Documentary Feature:
Alex Gibney and Eva Orner for “Taxi to the Dark Side”

Best Documentary Short Subject:
Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth for “Freeheld”

Best Live-Action Short Film:
Philippe Pollet-Villard for “Le Mozart des Pickpockets” (“The Mozart of Pickpockets”)

Best Foreign Language Film:
Stefan Ruzowitzky for “The Counterfeiters” (Austria)

Host Jon Stewart marked one of this year’s surprise moments when he offered for “Once” co-star Marketa Irglova – initially cut off by music – to return to the stage and deliver her acceptance speech. That speech has made its way to YouTube and can be seen below.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

New York City Filming Report Surfaces For ‘Burn After Reading’ With Pitt, Clooney

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:01:18 -0600

Following my Aug. 30, 2007 report on the Joel and Ethan Coen film “Burn After Reading,” a reader on Sunday wrote in with new filming details.

They are shooting today (Sunday, Sept. 23) literally across the street from my apartment.

They have slightly doctored the area around Grant’s Tomb (the General Grant National Memorial site).

One of the crew told us they would be filming up and down Riverside Drive including near Riverside Church and the International House. Riverside Drive runs along the west side of upper Manhattan.

Brad Pitt and George Clooney are on hand. My two children were fascinated by the many cars with Virginia license plates and the D.C. cabs, which are distinctive from their New York City cousins.

The film also features John Malkovich and Frances McDormand. IMDb describes the plot with these words:

A disk containing the memoirs of a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous gym employees who attempt to sell it.

3:26 p.m. update: After this post appeared, writer Shane Hazen of HollywoodChicago.com pointed out news from Friday, Sept. 21 announcing that Clooney suffered a broken rib in a New Jersey motorcycle accident.

Various reports questioned whether or not this would delay “Burn After Reading” filming.

8:39 p.m. update: Following this report, several additional people wrote me about Clooney’s current involvement in the project following his recent accident.

I followed up with my initial source for this report for more information. Daniel Tamulonis has given me permission to cite this information to his real name. In his follow-up e-mail to my question, he said:

As for Clooney, the technician who spoke to my children and me assured us that “it was nothing” and that Clooney would be taking part in the shoot.

As the day progressed (we were walking a neighbor’s dog and had several chances to witness what was going on), we saw rehearsals and then a car stunt involving Pitt.

There will be more shooting [on Monday] in front of the International House. We saw Pitt several times but not Clooney.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Production Begins on ‘Burn After Reading’ From Joel, Ethan Coen

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:06:21 -0600

On Aug. 30, 2007, I heard word that production has begun in New York City for Focus Features and Working Title Films on the film “Burn After Reading” from Joel and Ethan Coen.

They are writing, producing and directing. “Burn After Reading,” which is a dark spy comedy that will also shoot in Washington, D.C., stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich and Frances McDormand.

Focus Features, Rogue Pictures and Working Title Films are part of NBC Universal, which was formed in May 2004 by combining NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com