New HBO Original Limited Series The Plot Against America, Starring Winona Ryder and John Turtorro, Debuts March 17

The Plot Against America, a limited series based on the acclaimed Philip Roth novel of the same name, imagines an alternate American history during World War II, told through the eyes of a working-class Jewish family in New Jersey as they endure the political rise of Charles Lindbergh, an aviator-hero and xenophobic populist, who captures the presidency and turns the nation toward fascism. Created by frequent collaborators David Simon and Ed Burns (HBO’s “The Wire” and “Generation Kill”), the six-part limited series The Plot Against America debuts same time as the U.S. on Tuesday, 17 March at 9am exclusively on HBO GO and HBO, with an encore telecast on the same day at 10pm on HBO. New episode premieres every Monday at the same time.

Sandra Bullock's "Our Brand is Crisis" Unveils First Trailer‏

Warner Bros. Pictures has just released the first poster and trailer for the election satire “Our Brand is Crisis,” starring Oscar winners Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side”) and Billy Bob Thornton (“Sling Blade”). The trailer may be viewed here at https://youtu.be/wDxHhluBWcQ.

A Bolivian presidential candidate failing badly in the polls enlists the firepower of an elite American management team, led by the deeply damaged but still brilliant strategist “Calamity” Jane Bodine (Bullock). In self-imposed retirement following a scandal that earned her nickname and rocked her to her core, Jane is coaxed back into the game for the chance to beat her professional nemesis, the loathsome Pat Candy (Thornton), now coaching the opposition.

But as Candy zeroes in on every vulnerability – both on and off the campaign trail – Jane is plunged into a personal crisis as intense as the one her team exploits nationally to boost their numbers. Dramatic, rapid-fire and laced with satire, “Our Brand is Crisis” reveals the cynical machinations and private battles of world-class political consultants for whom nothing is sacred and winning is all that matters.

REEL DEAL: Ruby Sparks Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas SPOTLIGHT

Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas in RUBY SPARKS

A once bestselling author who is suffering from writer’s block finds inspiration once again writing about his ideal girl whom he named Ruby Sparks.  Paul Dano, whose remarkable performances in “Little Miss Sunshine” and “There Will Be Blood” stars in “Ruby Sparks,” a story that his real-life girlfriend Zoe Kazan wrote.  The movie is fittingly brought to life by married pair of directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris whose previous feature “Little Miss Sunshine” was nominated for four Academy Awards® including Best Picture. 

REEL DEAL: Ruby Sparks SPOTLIGHT

Sparks fying for Zoe Kazan 

Zoe Kazan’s spark is aglow all over as her debut lead role and screenplay “Ruby Sparks” continuously merit positive and rave reviews since it recently opened in the U.S.  More than ripe and timely for reaping movie audience internationally looking for a new kind of high in romantic movies, “Ruby Sparks” will soon open in Phil. cinemas on September 19.

In the enchanting, reflective and very funny “Ruby Sparks,” Paul Dano plays Calvin, a brilliant young writer who dazzled the literary world a decade ago when he was a young student. His first novel was greeted with accolades and awards.  But since penning that book, he has failed to live up to expectations and that early promise. He hasn’t written anything for a decade. Life changes one sunny California day when Calvin wills the perfect woman into his life by the sheer power of his imagination. Ruby (Zoe Kazan) leaps off the page and into the kitchen of his house, filling it with her warm and joyful personality. But Calvin will have to decide soon what awaits Ruby at the end of his story.

REEL DEAL: Ruby Sparks SPOTLIGHT

BOY WRITES GIRL INTO LIFE IN “RUBY SPARKS”

Not your conventional boy-meets-girl  romantic story,  “Ruby Sparks” leads us to Calvin Weir-Fields, (played by Paul Dano who also appeared in “Little Miss Sunshine,” “There Will Be Blood”) a literary wunderkind with an acclaimed first novel.  But since then, he’s been stricken with a stubborn case of writer’s block magnified by a dismal love life.  In a last-ditch attempt to reignite his creative spark, Calvin begins to envision a female protagonist in his mind.  Then one morning she steps off the page and into his life.  Suddenly, Ruby (portrayed by Zoe Kazan who is also the film’s writer) is sleeping in Calvin’s bed, cooking in his kitchen, beguiling him in every way, with one mind-boggling twist:  he somehow has the power to change her every time he sits at his typewriter. As Calvin tries to juggle this power, he faces a major dilemma as a writer and a boyfriend: what will it take to make this relationship from his imagination work in the real world?

REE: DEAL" Ruby Parks - Paul Dano & Zoe Kazan SPOTLIGHT

REAL-LIFE SWEETHEARTS PAUL DANO & ZOE KAZAN TACKLE SURREAL LOVE IN “RUBY SPARKS”

“Ruby Sparks” is the story of a novelist’s vision who inexplicably comes to life, only to prove far more complicated than even he could have imagined.  With a light touch and a dash of magical realism, the first screenplay from actress and playwright Zoe Kazan attracted the attention of Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris, the married team who directed the run-away hit “Little Miss Sunshine.”  The film takes an unpredictable route into fantasy, identity and the ways we invent love – and how love can re-invent us.

Paul Dano plays Calvin, a celebrated author in his younger years who hasn’t had a follow up novel years after his first breakthrough novel.  Struggling with writer’s block, disappointed and unfulfilled, his close relationships are with his dog and his brother. Calvin who is cut off and isolated is constantly being urged by his married brother Harry (Chirs Messina) to get out, live, date and write. Finally finding in his imagination a muse for his novel and with his old typewriter, he creates the perfect girl he named Ruby.  Barely done with his first chapter, to his astonishment that his character, Ruby (Zoe Kazan) has magically sprung to life and arrived in his kitchen where she is cooking eggs.