Alexander Payne Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Alexander Payne, director of The Holdovers, said he gets pushback for the kinds of films that he makes but he plans to persevere and hopes there will be more space for “human” stories in theaters.

If you watch Paul Giamatti in the new movie The Holdovers, you might be left wondering: is that his real eye?

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor It could have been easy for Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s role in “The Holdovers” to be yet another stereotypical trope for Black women that Hollywood has lazily thrown out throughout history. If that had been the case, the actress tells Variety that would have passed. “When I meet with these studio execs and they ask ‘What is it you would like to do next?’ she says.

Festival and specialty fare crowded the top ten this weekend with Priscilla (A24) and The Holdovers (Focus Features) expanding to hit nos. 4 and 6 respectively. Yash Raj Films’ Bollywood thriller Tiger 3 is at no. 8, and world of mouth continued to buoy Radical (Pantelion/Participant) with Eugenio Derbez, rounding out the list at no. 10.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic In the most shockingly funny moment of Alexander Payne’s “Sideways,” Miles Raymond, the desperate English teacher and wine aficionado (that is, alcoholic with good taste) played by Paul Giamatti, has just learned that his book was turned down by the publisher he had his hopes pinned on. It’s more than a rejection; it’s the death of his dream. Miles is in the middle a chi-chi Napa Valley wine tasting, and suddenly he’s in dire need of a drink.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Director Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” roots itself in 1970s nostalgia, right down to the main title design and the studio logos. However, neither company existed at the time. Distributor Focus Features was founded in 2002, while the film’s production company Miramax got started in 1979.

As you probably have heard by now, writer Tom Perrota, the author of 1998’s novel “Election,” which was adapted into a very successful feature film by filmmaker Alexander Payne, has written the sequel, 2022’s book “Tracy Flick Can’t Win.” And some years back, it was announced that Payne and Reese Witherspoon would reunite to adapt that book into a movie. READ MORE: ‘The Holdovers’ Review: Alexander Payne & Paul Giamatti Reunite For A ’70s Nostalgia Dramedy [Telluride] Some thought it would be Payne’s next movie.

Savina Petkova Hollywood might have ground to a halt in recent months during the recent labor strikes, with the role of artificial intelligence in the moviemaking business a key stumbling block between studio bosses and both the writers and actors guilds. But two-time Academy Award winner Alexander Payne (“Sideways”) quipped at the Thessaloniki Film Festival this week that when it comes to AI, he’s all for it. “If AI could write a script for me, I would be so happy,” Payne joked.

Radical with Eugenio Derbez built on its smash opening in Mexico to hit no. 5 at the U.S. box office with a super $2.7 million at 416 theaters. The Pantelion film had delayed its debut Stateside by two weeks to skirt The Eras Tour juggernaut, allowing word of mouth to build for the drama about a dedicated teacher in a troubled Mexican border town.   

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, to two parents of Greek heritage, two-time Oscar winner Alexander Payne was awarded Greek citizenship last year around the time he was working on his latest feature, The Holdovers. 

A24’s Priscilla by Sofia Coppola catapults from four screens to 1,300, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers from Focus Features expands to 60 from six and two new indies have wide debuts — What Happens Later from Bleecker Street, directed by and starring Meg Ryan, opens at 1,400 locations and Daisy Ridley-starring The Marsh King’s Daughter from Roadside Attractions at over 1,000.

In celebration of “The Holdovers” hitting theaters this weekend, filmmaker Alexander Payne (“Sideways”) has teamed up with Alamo Drafthouse for a special “Guest Selects” conversation. In the video (which you can watch below), Payne gives five film recommendations when people ask him what they should watch.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Richard Linklater’s action comedy “Hit Man” is set to open the Marrakech International Film Festival, which has announced its lineup of more than 70 films mixing known titles and fresh fare. The fest is forging ahead with its 20th edition, which will run Nov.

Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers from Focus Features pulled in an estimated $200k on six screens in New York and LA for a per-screen average of $33.3k, a good limited opening on an upbeat specialty weekend that also saw A24’s Priscilla by Sofia Coppola off to a fine start.

Independents are out in force with high-profile fall festival fare from Pricilla to The Holdovers, a big Viva Pictures push with Inspector Sun (voiced by Ronny Chieng), Cannes documentary winner Four Daughters and Waikiki, the debut feature by Hawaiian filmmaker Christopher Kahunahana. the first homegrown feature to be shown there.

Valerie Wu Intern The 2023 annual Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF), hosted from Oct. 12 to Oct. 19, has announced its slate of awards winners.

Regarding movie runtimes, Alexander Payne apparently likes short and lean and “sharklike” in their efficiency. IndieWire reports that the director of “The Holdovers” had some choice words about inflated runtimes of recent film releases at the Middleburg Film Festival last weekend.

Thierry Frémaux is best known internationally as the long-time head of France’s Cannes Film Festival, which is organized out of its offices in Paris’s trendy Marais neighborhood.

Jaden Thompson Tonya Mantooth, CEO and artistic director of the San Diego International Film Festival, is keenly aware that film is a uniquely immersive medium with the power to connect people — even strangers. And that power will be evident at SDIFF’s 22nd edition, which will run in person Oct.18-22, with screenings at various venues in the San Diego area. The event will also feature panels, Q and A’s, filmmaker happy hours and more special programming.

Filmmaker Alexander Payne (“Sideways,” “The Descendants,”) recently held a Q&A session during the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon, France (via Variety), with Los Angeles-based French film journalist Didier Allouch overseeing that conversation. Payne gave the French audience a big tease about what he’s currently working on, which could allow him to tackle a dream film genre.

Lise Pedersen Two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne shared his passion for film and his thoughts on contemporary American cinema with the audience at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon where he is premiering his eighth feature film, “The Holdovers,” under the French title “Winter Break,” on October 15th. In a conversation skilfully led and translated by Los Angeles-based French film journalist Didier Allouch, Payne drew laughs from the Lumière crowd when he explained that the secret to making good films was “keeping your budgets low.” “John Huston approached Luis Buñuel one day and asked him, ‘How is it that you make these wonderful films, like “Viridiana” and “The Exterminating Angel”?’ And Buñuel replied, ‘How much money do you make and how much money do you think I make?’” said Payne with a smile.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor Co-founder and CEO of the Newport Beach Film Festival Gregg Schwenk muses that there are several reasons the fest, which will run Oct. 12-19 this year, has grown in popularity over the last 24 years. There are, of course, the movies: over 300 films this year, including about 100 features and over 200 shorts from countries all over the world.

Sharareh Drury Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival GEMS has announced the full lineup for its 2023 festival, which will run from Nov. 2-5. The 10th edition of the fest will feature 26 films from 14 countries, all taking place at MDC’s Koubek Center and Silverspot Cinema.

EXCLUSIVE: In a major shakeup at Miramax, CEO Bill Block will exit the company this week, a move that will come as soon as Tuesday when his contract expires. It does not look like there was much if any negotiation on a new deal for Block, which raises questions of exactly which areas the multi-faceted company will lean into.

With Alexander Payne‘s latest “The Holdovers” making the festival rounds before it hits theaters in October, fans of the director wonder what he’ll start work on next. Will it be the long-gestating sequel to his 1999 film “Election,” titled “Tracy Flick Can’t Win“? Payne’s short answer about that project: don’t hold your breath.

Jaden Thompson The Newport Beach Film Festival, which will run from Oct. 12-19 this year, has announced their opening and closing night films. Marco Perego’s “The Absence of Eden,” which stars Zoë Saldana, will open the festival on Oct.

Lise Pedersen LYON, France — Four-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón and “Time Bandits” helmer Terry Gilliam will join a star director-studded lineup at this year’s Lumière Film Festival including Wes Anderson, Alexander Payne and Wim Wenders. Cuarón (“Roma,” “Gravity”) is returning to Lyon – where he was a guest of honor in 2018 – to present a selection of films by Swiss filmmaker Alain Tanner (“Charles Dead or Alive,” “The Salamander,” “Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000”).

The People’s Choice Award from the just-wrapped 2023 Toronto Film Festival has gone to American Fiction . First Runner Up is Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers. Second Runner Up was Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron . The Documentary Award went to Mr. Dressup: The Magic Of Make-Believe, ,and the Midnight Madness winner was Dicks: The Musical.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson’s satire of race and media, captured the Toronto International Film Festival’s people’s choice award, bolstering its Oscars chances. TIFF’s people’s choice award is considered to be among the best predictors of eventual awards success, though the 2023 festival hosted a weaker lineup than most years due to the writers and actors strikes that saw some prominent contenders skip a Canadian premiere. In the past, winners of the prize such as “Green Book,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Nomadland” went on to be named best picture at the Academy Awards.

the atomic bomb, a revisionist doll and CGI Harrison Ford have gobbled up our attention, for better or worse, but not because any of those varied titles have much heart.Then there’s the “The Holdovers,” directed by Alexander Payne, which is set during frigid Christmastime at a Northeast boarding school that’s nearly empty of students. The lovable dramedy, which just screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, is blanketed in snow and ice — and it’s the warmest cinematic experience you’ll have all year. Running time: 133 minutes.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor With “American Fiction,” Cord Jefferson, best known for penning television episodes of “Succession” and “Watchmen,” helms one of the finest directorial debuts seen since Sam Mendes’ “American Beauty.” In the style that feels like an audacious blend of the screenplays of Alexander Payne’s “Sideways” and Nicole Holofcener’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me,” he shepherds an audacious dramedy anchored by a career-best and Oscar-worthy performance from star Jeffrey Wright. After debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival, it’s a movie that could be a contender for the coveted TIFF Audience Award, and it would be deserved.

Todd Longwell When people discuss busy U.S. production hubs outside of Los Angeles and New York, they tend to namecheck Georgia and New Mexico.

UPDATED with latest: The Toronto Film Festival began September 7 in Ontario with opening-night movie The Boy and the Heron, from Oscar-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. It kicks off a lineup for the fest’s 48th edition that includes world premieres of GameStop pic Dumb Money, Netflix’s Pain Hustlers, Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, Kristin Scott Thomas’ Scarlett Johansson pic North Star, Chris Pine’s Poolman, Michael Keaton-directed Knox Goes Away, Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour, Atom Egoyan’s Seven Veils, Michael Winterbottom’s Shoshana, Grant Singer’s Reptile, Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt, Lee Tamahori’s The Convert and Alex Gibney’s doc In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon.

Sophia Scorziello editor Virginia’s Middleburg Film Festival, now in its 11th year, is set to open this October with Netflix’s Bayard Rustin biopic “Rustin” starring Colman Domingo. Director George C.

It’s officially September. Summer is winding down, school is starting, and the Fall film festival circuit has kicked off.

TELLURIDE – Considering the success and adoration of the “Sideways,” it’s sort of surprising it took Alexander Payne and Paul Giamatti this long to find another film to make together. Almost 20 years later, the director and actor have reteamed for “The Holdovers,” which debuted at this year’s Telluride Film Festival.