The story of a down-on-his-luck publicist, who gets lucky when he discovers that a man recently released from a mental health facility looks just like a difficult Hollywood star. With the help of a powerful producer, he helps the man become a star…but in a town full of crackpots, success isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

With a wicked cast including Charlie Day, Ken Jeong (The Hangover, TVs Community), Kate Beckinsale (Underworld, Click, Total Recall), Ray Liotta (Cocaine Bear, Goodfellas), and Jason Sudekis (TVs Ted Lasso, Horrible Bosses), the film is also packed with comic cameos including Jason Bateman, Adrien Brody, Edie Falco, Glenn Howerton, John Malkovich and Jillian Bell.

Lionsgate premiered FOOL’S PARADISE in U.S. cinemas earlier this year and this Chaplin-esque Hollywood satire will launch on Digital in Australia in September.

FOOL’S PARADISE launches on Digital September 6!
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Based ever so loosely on an actual event when drug runners lost a load of the white powder in the hills of Tennessee. This ultimately led to the overdose death of a 79-kilogram American Black Bear after it ingested copious amounts of the drug. In a scenario that could only happen in America, the deceased bear was then stuffed and now resides in a shopping mall in Kentucky.

Director Elizabeth Banks’ has a sure hand on the tiller and uses her extensive knowledge of the comedy realm to entertain with lots of laughs and more than a subtle amount of gore. It’s all crowd-pleasing stuff. She also leaves no Southern stereotype stone unturned and fills the screen with loveable losers and unheralded heroes.

Make no mistake, if you are rooting for the human beings in this picture, you’ve aligned yourself with the losing side. The mighty Cocaine Bear will prevail. If the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ever gets it together to give an Oscar for the best digital on-screen animal, the bear with the white nose should be a shoo-in.
Rob Hudson
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Cocaine Bear stars Keri Russell (The Americans), Emmy winner Margo Martindale (The Americans), Emmy winner Ray Liotta (The Many Saints of Newark), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones), Kahyun Kim (American Gods), Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth), Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project) and newcomer Scott Seiss.

Directed by Elizabeth Banks (Charlie’s Angels, Pitch Perfect 2) from a screenplay by Jimmy Warden (The Babysitter: Killer Queen), Cocaine Bear is produced by Oscar® winners Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. The Machines) and Aditya Sood (The Martian) for Lord Miller, by Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman (Pitch Perfect franchise) for Brownstone Productions, and by Brian Duffield (Spontaneous). Robin Fisichella (Ma) will executive produce.
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The film’s pedigree is a solid one with the show’s original creator David Chase and former episode writer Lawrence Konner penning the story and screenplay. Setting its timeline as a prequel was also a wise move and it takes full advantage of the salty language and unruly race relations of the time.

Building the main storyline on a character, Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), that was never seen on the television show gives hardcore fans more involvement. As does the casting of the late great James Gandolfini’s son Michael as the young Tony. His scenes are quite moving even with their limited screen time.

When the nostalgia of spending the evening with some of your favourite fictitious criminals wears off, you are left with a slight feeling of need. That to get the full effect of the film you need to know the Sopranos’ world intimately. For those with that knowledge, it’s an engaging ride and one filled with easter eggs that pay dividends.

Rob Hudson
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“The Many Saints of Newark” stars Alessandro Nivola (“Disobedience”, “American Hustle”), Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. (Broadway’s “Hamilton”, “Murder on the Orient Express”), Jon Bernthal (“Baby Driver”, “The Wolf of Wall Street”), Corey Stoll (“First Man”, “Ant-Man”), Michael Gandolfini (TV’s “The Deuce”), Billy Magnussen (“Game Night”, “The Big Short”), Michela De Rossi (“Boys Cry”, TV’s “The Rats”), John Magaro (“The Finest Hours”, “Not Fade Away”), with Emmy winner Ray Liotta (TV’s “Shades of Blue”, “Goodfellas”) and Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga (“Up in the Air”, “The Conjuring” films).

Alan Taylor (“Thor: The Dark World”), who won an Emmy for his directing work on “The Sopranos,” is helming the film from a screenplay by series creator David Chase & Lawrence Konner, based on characters created by Chase. Chase, Konner and Nicole Lambert are producing the film, with Michael Disco, Marcus Viscidi, Toby Emmerich and Richard Brener serving as executive producers.

Taylor’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Kramer Morgenthau (“Creed II”, “Thor: The Dark World”), production designer Bob Shaw (“The Wolf of Wall Street”, “The Sopranos”), Oscar-nominated editor Christopher Tellefsen (“Moneyball”, “A Quiet Place”) and costume designer Amy Westcott (“The Wrestler”, “Black Swan”).

“The Many Saints of Newark” was shot on location in New Jersey and New York, and several beloved characters from the original series that inspired the film are featured in the movie. During its six-season run, “The Sopranos”—widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential television drama series of all time—was honored with 21 Primetime Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and two Peabody Awards, to name only a portion.

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“The Many Saints of Newark” stars Alessandro Nivola (“Disobedience,” “American Hustle”), Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. (Broadway’s “Hamilton,” “Murder on the Orient Express”), Jon Bernthal (“Baby Driver,” “The Wolf of Wall Street”), Corey Stoll (“First Man,” “Ant-Man”), Michael Gandolfini (TV’s “The Deuce”), Billy Magnussen (“Game Night,” “The Big Short”), Michela De Rossi (“Boys Cry,” TV’s “The Rats”), John Magaro (“The Finest Hours,” “Not Fade Away”), with Emmy winner Ray Liotta (TV’s “Shades of Blue,” “Goodfellas”) and Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga (“Up in the Air,” “The Conjuring” films).

Alan Taylor (“Thor: The Dark World”), who won an Emmy for his directing work on “The Sopranos,” is helming the film from a screenplay by series creator David Chase & Lawrence Konner, based on characters created by Chase. Chase, Konner and Nicole Lambert are producing the film, with Michael Disco, Marcus Viscidi, Toby Emmerich and Richard Brener serving as executive producers.

Taylor’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Kramer Morgenthau (“Creed II,” “Thor: The Dark World”), production designer Bob Shaw (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “The Sopranos”), Oscar-nominated editor Christopher Tellefsen (“Moneyball,” “A Quiet Place”) and costume designer Amy Westcott (“The Wrestler,” “Black Swan”).

“The Many Saints of Newark” was shot on location in New Jersey and New York, and several beloved characters from the original series that inspired the film are featured in the movie. During its six-season run, “The Sopranos”—widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential television drama series of all time—was honored with 21 Primetime Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and two Peabody Awards, to name only a portion.

The Many Saints of Newark will be released in Australian cinemas September 23!

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Opening with the high of a verbal reading of lists of each other’s best attributes, the film then rips that bandaid of contentment off with the very next scene. Set in a marriage consoler’s office, Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) can barely hide her contempt for husband Charlie (Adam Driver). Theirs is a love that has become venomous.

Not taking editorial sides until film’s end, both parts of this union have validity in their opinions. What was once a unified direction has been whittled down to the essence of separation. They both love their son Henry (Azhy Robertson) and he has provided some of the glue that has kept them together this long.

As the story progresses, their struggles pull you in with an alarming ability to elicit real emotions within yourself. Almost all relationships go through phases where the wishes and desires of one run counter to the other. Most of the time Nicole and Charlie are civil on the outside and seething on the inside and one can’t help but feel this is reflected in situations we have all experienced in our own lives.

Marriage Story is screening exclusively at Dendy Cinemas – for more information and to book tickets head to www.dendy.com.au

Rob Hudson
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