‘School Of Rock’ “didn’t feel like a big hit” at first, says director Richard Linklater

Michaela Zee Francis Ford Coppola is joining the Roman Empire TikTok trend by answering the question: “How often do you think about the Roman Empire?” “How often do I think of Ancient Rome? Quite a lot, as the Roman Republic served as the example for my country America and its institutions, and was the inspiration for my upcoming film ‘Megalopolis,'” the “Apocalypse Now” and “Godfather” director wrote on Instagram Friday. In the recent trend on TikTok, women ask the men in their lives how often they think about the Roman Empire, with most men claiming that they think about it daily or multiple times a week.

“A lot of very impressive people have led this festival and what connects them is a love for movies and culture and what that can achieve,” Kristy Matheson told Deadline of her new job as Director of the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival.

After being one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses in the ’90s and ’00s, Angelina Jolie rarely appears onscreen anymore. Since 2010, she’s starred in just eight live-action films and only four since 2015.

Pedro Almodovar is a fan of Pedro Pascal’s work. In a new interview, Almodovar talked about Pascal’s skill set, claiming that audiences and filmmakers are “pigeonholing him” into epic roles and missing out on what he can do as an artist.Chris Hemsworth and Pedro Pascal star in new action film and Netflix and Amazon want to pay $100M for itPedro Pascal visits a fan’s art show centered around himAlmodovar spoke to Indiewire about his new film “Strange Way of Life,” which stars Pascal and Ethan Hawke. He discussed some of Pascal’s talents.

K.J. Yossman Emma Thompson rallied for creatives on Thursday, saying she finds the word “content” offensive. “I think the relationship between the executives and the creative branch just has to be much, much closer,” she said during an in-conversation with CAA boss Bryan Lourd at the Royal Television Society conference in Cambridge on Thursday afternoon.

How’s this for a big pick-up in an otherwise quiet sale season on the Fall film festival circuit? Variety reports that Netflix bought the rights to Richard Linklater‘s latest film “Hit Man” after it screened at the Venice Film Festival and TIFF to rave reviews. It’s Netflix’s second significant purchase out of TIFF, the other being Anna Kendrick‘s directorial debut “Woman Of The Hours.” READ MORE: ‘Hit Man’ New Look: Richard Linklater Says His New Genre-Bending Movie Is “All About Identity” Based on a true story (but taking liberties with the source material) “Hit Man” stars Glen Powell as Gary Johnson, a part-time teacher who moonlights as a fake hitman for the local Texas police department.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix closed a $20 million deal on Hit Man, making the biggest deal at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and of the year for that matter. After the Richard Linklater-directed noir comic thriller debuted to raves at Venice, the film was expected to fetch the biggest deal of the fall festivals so far. Hit Man did not disappoint. Hit Man stars Top Gun Maverick’s Glen Powell and Adria Arjona (Andor) playing the most unlikely romantic partners, in performances that will boost each of their careers. Especially Powell, who co-wrote with Linklater what will be a major star turn for him. Netflix got US, UK, Australia/New Zealand, India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, and Iceland. There is also a theatrical component to the deal, I’ve heard.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Netflix shelled out $20 million for global rights to “Hit Man,” a (sort of) true crime comedy from director Richard Linklater and star Glen Powell. The movie, which played to enthusiastic audiences at Telluride and Toronto film festivals, follows Powell as Gary Johnson, a mysterious gun man for hire.

James Barker, Taylor Abram, Connor Stephen and Bobby Martin of the James Barker Band packed their bags and landed in Hamilton, Ontario, for country music’s biggest night in Canada: the 2023 CCMAs.

Jaden Thompson Director Richard Linklater expressed his admiration for Greta Gerwig’s record-breaking “Barbie” in a recent interview with NME. He specifically praised the musical numbers in the fantasy comedy, which include “I’m Just Ken,” performed by Ryan Gosling. “I liked the musical numbers,” Linklater said.

EXCLUSIVE: Creatives behind Alice & Jack, which stars Domhnall Gleeson and Andrea Riseborough in the latter’s first role since the To Leslie controversy, have spotlighted how they wanted the Channel 4/Masterpiece TV series to feel like an indie film.

Gemma Atkinson has addressed a tragic loss she suffered when she was just a teen following the second episode of her reality show. The Hits Radio host was back on the small screen this week alongside her Strictly Come Dancing star fiance Gorka Marquez.

Surprise! Jack Whitehall is a dad!

“I don’t know that much in particular about this dispute, but it feels like this is a moment,” said Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav about the current showdown between big cable provider Charter and the Disney.

Richard Linklater brought his Hit Man to the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday, world premiering the comedy thriller out of competition to a six-minute ovation inside the Sala Grande.

Lionel Messi can add Owen Wilson to his list long of fans. The actor recently spoke about Messi and the fact that he kept up with his performance at the world cup.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Is it something in the air? At this year’s Venice Film Festival, the unofficial theme appears to be hit men. David Fincher’s “The Killer” is all about an icy methodical professional executioner. Woody Allen’s “Coup de Chance” turns on an act of murder-for-hire.

That Glen Powell is a gem of an actor is nothing new, but twenty years into his career, and after stealing the show in a bunch of films and series, we can all finally stop praying for him to get a leading role worthy of his talents. In “Hit Man,” Powell reunites with his “Everybody Wants Some!!” director Richard Linklater for a part that allows him to be by turns nerdy, sexy, and funny, but at all times almost unbearably charming.

It was 22 years ago that Skip Hollandsworth wrote a Texas Monthly article about Gary Johnson, a school teacher who moonlights as a hit man who doesn’t kill people. Now if that doesn’t sound like the formula for a hit movie, you may understand why it has taken so long for Gary’s story to make it to the silver screen, so long in fact that its subject passed away before he could hit the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival where the film is having its World Premiere tonight. Nevertheless Glen Powell never forgot the story and has teamed with Richard Linklater to finally tell it, but it is only “loosely” based on the article. Certain details in the screenplay co-written by Linklater and Powell are made up, and those are the details that actually help make this a hilarious winner, as well as perhaps Linklater’s most commercial movie since School Of Rock. Its quirky true crime element also has a bit in common with Linklater’s Bernie which starred Jack Black. The director seems drawn to this kind of offbeat tale, with some level of truth to it.

On its surface, a comedy about a college professor who becomes a phony hitman for the police department to catch criminals hoping to whack a stubborn spouse or bothersome business associate might seem an odd fit for a European festival noted for heavy dramas and extended runtimes. It helps, of course, that Hit Man, which premieres at Venice Film Festival this evening, is directed by Richard Linklater, a noted master of independent filmmaking for more than 30 years, and that initial reactions to it have been universally effusive.