Neil Young’s Official Bootleg Series is expanding with the releases of Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (Los Angeles 2/1/71), Royce Hall (Los Angeles 1/30/71), and Citizen Kane Jr. Blues (Live The Bottom Line) (New York City 5/16/74). All three albums will be available on CD and digitally (but not on Spotify) on May 6, with vinyl editions to follow on June 3.
Royce Hall and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion were recorded near the end of a successful solo acoustic tour Young played following the dissolution of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The two sets are largely identical...
Royce Hall and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion were recorded near the end of a successful solo acoustic tour Young played following the dissolution of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The two sets are largely identical...
- 3/25/2022
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
A recording of Neil Young’s surprise performance at New York’s Bottom Line on May 16th, 1974 has circulated in fan circles for decades, but it’s finally coming out officially in early 2021 as part of Young’s new official Bootleg Series. He’s calling it The Bottom Line – “Citizen Kane Jr. Blues.”
“In my mind it’s a hazy memory,” Young wrote on the Neil Young Archives, where he announced the release, “but this moment really captures the essence of where I was in 1974. Two months later, the album On the Beach was released,...
“In my mind it’s a hazy memory,” Young wrote on the Neil Young Archives, where he announced the release, “but this moment really captures the essence of where I was in 1974. Two months later, the album On the Beach was released,...
- 10/7/2020
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
After nearly a decade with Wings, in 1979, Paul McCartney decided to make a record for himself, by himself, as he’d done with his first solo album, 1970’s McCartney. So he retreated to his Scotland farm with a bunch of synthesizers and bleeped and blooped his way into one of his most subversive albums, McCartney II, a record that — even 40 years after it came out, on May 16th, 1980 — Macca fans are still trying to make sense of.
He launched the album in the U.S. a day after its release...
He launched the album in the U.S. a day after its release...
- 5/16/2020
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
On May 16th, 1974, Ry Cooder and Leon Redbone wrapped up a gig at New York City’s Bottom Line, but the crowd was told to stick around for a surprise. It was 2:15 a.m., and a man with a guitar appeared onstage. “This one is called, um … this one’s called, um … ‘Citizen Kane Junior Blues!'” said Neil Young, strumming the intro to “Pushed It Over the End.”
It was the public’s first glimpse of his deeply new personal album On the Beach, released 45 years ago, on July 19th,...
It was the public’s first glimpse of his deeply new personal album On the Beach, released 45 years ago, on July 19th,...
- 7/19/2019
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
Tony Sokol Jun 6, 2019
New Orleans musician Mac Rebennack conjured the best mojo in Dr. John the Night Tripper.
"They call me Dr. John, The Night Tripper," New Orleans voodoo pianist Mac Rebennack sang on the 1969 song "Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya." With his sizzling Gris-Gris his hand, he lived and breathed New Orleans. The last of the best, Dr. John the Night Tripper, died of a heart attack "toward the break of day" on Thursday, June 6, according to the New York Times. Like Leon Redbone, who died last week, there is some dispute over Dr. John's age, various reports have him listed as 77 or 78.
"The family thanks all whom have shared his unique musical journey, and requests privacy at this time," a statement from the musician's family said. They did not say where he died, though he reportedly was resting at his Lake Pontchartrain area home, not too far from New Orleans.
New Orleans musician Mac Rebennack conjured the best mojo in Dr. John the Night Tripper.
"They call me Dr. John, The Night Tripper," New Orleans voodoo pianist Mac Rebennack sang on the 1969 song "Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya." With his sizzling Gris-Gris his hand, he lived and breathed New Orleans. The last of the best, Dr. John the Night Tripper, died of a heart attack "toward the break of day" on Thursday, June 6, according to the New York Times. Like Leon Redbone, who died last week, there is some dispute over Dr. John's age, various reports have him listed as 77 or 78.
"The family thanks all whom have shared his unique musical journey, and requests privacy at this time," a statement from the musician's family said. They did not say where he died, though he reportedly was resting at his Lake Pontchartrain area home, not too far from New Orleans.
- 6/7/2019
- Den of Geek
Tony Sokol May 30, 2019
Leon Redbone showcased the music that led to rock and roll in the rock era and maintained his mystery throughout.
Cult singer Leon Redbone, best known for his Panama hat, dark sunglasses and Frank Zappa mustache and goatee, died on Thursday of causes as-yet unknown. The guitar-playing singer's age was officially announced as 127, but according to Variety, was 69.
“He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover and a simple tip of his hat,” Redbone's family said in a statement. “He’s interested to see what Blind Blake, Emmett and Jelly Roll have been up to in his absence, and has plans for a rousing singalong number with Sári Barabás. An eternity of pouring through texts in the Library of Ashurbanipal will be a welcome repose, perhaps followed by a shot or two of whiskey with Lee Morse, and some long overdue discussions with his favorite Uncle,...
Leon Redbone showcased the music that led to rock and roll in the rock era and maintained his mystery throughout.
Cult singer Leon Redbone, best known for his Panama hat, dark sunglasses and Frank Zappa mustache and goatee, died on Thursday of causes as-yet unknown. The guitar-playing singer's age was officially announced as 127, but according to Variety, was 69.
“He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover and a simple tip of his hat,” Redbone's family said in a statement. “He’s interested to see what Blind Blake, Emmett and Jelly Roll have been up to in his absence, and has plans for a rousing singalong number with Sári Barabás. An eternity of pouring through texts in the Library of Ashurbanipal will be a welcome repose, perhaps followed by a shot or two of whiskey with Lee Morse, and some long overdue discussions with his favorite Uncle,...
- 5/30/2019
- Den of Geek
Leon Redbone, the singer who built a career out of performing ragtime, vaudeville and American standards with a sly wink and an unmistakable, nasally voice, died Thursday. He was 69.
A statement on Redbone’s website confirmed his death, though it did so with a sweet bit of humor and joking that he was actually 127 years old.
“He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover and a simple tip of his hat,” his family said in a statement. “He’s interested to see what Blind Blake, Emmett and...
A statement on Redbone’s website confirmed his death, though it did so with a sweet bit of humor and joking that he was actually 127 years old.
“He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover and a simple tip of his hat,” his family said in a statement. “He’s interested to see what Blind Blake, Emmett and...
- 5/30/2019
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Update, with additional details Leon Redbone, the trombone-voiced singer-songwriter whose eccentric, nostalgic Americana style of music found at least a temporarily frequent home on early episodes of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, died today. He was 69.
His death was confirmed by his family in a whimsically worded announcement on Redbone’s website — an announcement that certainly bore a resemblance to Redbone’s own songwriting and conversational style.
“It is with heavy hearts we announce that early this morning, May 30th 2019, Leon Redbone crossed the delta for that beautiful shore at the age of 127. He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover, and a simple tip of his hat. He’s interested to see what Blind Blake, Emmett, and Jelly Roll have been up to in his absence, and has plans for a rousing sing along number with Sári Barabás. An eternity of pouring through texts in the...
His death was confirmed by his family in a whimsically worded announcement on Redbone’s website — an announcement that certainly bore a resemblance to Redbone’s own songwriting and conversational style.
“It is with heavy hearts we announce that early this morning, May 30th 2019, Leon Redbone crossed the delta for that beautiful shore at the age of 127. He departed our world with his guitar, his trusty companion Rover, and a simple tip of his hat. He’s interested to see what Blind Blake, Emmett, and Jelly Roll have been up to in his absence, and has plans for a rousing sing along number with Sári Barabás. An eternity of pouring through texts in the...
- 5/30/2019
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
This week, alternative comedy's single greatest sentence constructor Patton Oswalt premieres Tragedy + Comedy = Time, his fifth hour-long special for Comedy Central (airing April 6), and his soon-to-be-released fifth stand-up LP. Having built a career on punk-rock touring cycles and venomous rants against fast food chains, Oswalt is now masterfully and hilariously playing the long game, embracing less esoteric references (though Werner Herzog still gets a shout-out) and accepting the things that make him an adult. As the guy who once took down Jackyl on a comedy album lays out: "I don't hate any music any more…...
- 4/3/2014
- Rollingstone.com
The Twelve Days of Christmas Classics starts today! Over the next two weeks, EW will put the best versions of the most-covered Christmas songs up to a daily vote to compile the ultimate holiday playlist. If your favorite singer isn’t in the list below, you better not pout: Each artist will only appear once throughout the next 12 days. Listen to our top six, vote for your favorite, and let us know why you made your pick in the comments below.
Update: The poll is closed below, but vote for your favorite version of “O Holy Night” now!
To kick...
Update: The poll is closed below, but vote for your favorite version of “O Holy Night” now!
To kick...
- 12/9/2013
- by Katie Atkinson
- EW.com - PopWatch
My favorite show on TV is HBO's Boardwalk Empire so I am happy to report that it is getting it's own soundtrack titled Boardwalk Empire Volume 1 – Music From the HBO Original Series. In preparation of it's release a Regina Spektor cover of Fanny Brice's "My Man" has hit the web. Check out the song embedded below.
Here is the tracklisting:
Boardwalk Empire Volume 1 – Music From the HBO Original Series Tracklist 01. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Livery Stable Blues
02. Stephen DeRosa – The Dumber They Come The Better I Like Them
03. Regina Spektor – My Man
04. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Dark Town Strutters Ball
05. Catherine Russell – Crazy Blues
06. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Mournin’ Blues
07. Kathy Brier – Some Of These Days
08. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Margie
09. Loudon Wainwright III – Carrickfergus
10. Nellie McKay – Wild Romantic Blues
11. Kathy Brier – After You Get What You Want (You Don’t Want It)
12. Leon Redbone...
Here is the tracklisting:
Boardwalk Empire Volume 1 – Music From the HBO Original Series Tracklist 01. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Livery Stable Blues
02. Stephen DeRosa – The Dumber They Come The Better I Like Them
03. Regina Spektor – My Man
04. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Dark Town Strutters Ball
05. Catherine Russell – Crazy Blues
06. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Mournin’ Blues
07. Kathy Brier – Some Of These Days
08. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Margie
09. Loudon Wainwright III – Carrickfergus
10. Nellie McKay – Wild Romantic Blues
11. Kathy Brier – After You Get What You Want (You Don’t Want It)
12. Leon Redbone...
- 8/16/2011
- by Tiberius
- GeekTyrant
Elektra/Asylum Records has announced a soundtrack release for the Emmy-nominated HBO show Boardwalk Empire. The album features songs from the series by such artists as Stephen DeRosa, Regina Spektor, Nellie McKay, Vince Gioardano and the Nighthawks, Kathy Brier, Martha Wainwright, Loudon Wainwright III and Leon Redbone. The soundtrack will be released on September 13, 2011 and is available for pre-order on Amazon. Boardwalk Empire produced by Terence Winter (The Sopranos) and Martin Scorsese chronicles the life and times of Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), Atlantic City’s czar during Prohibition. The first season is expected to be released on DVD and Blu-Ray later this year. The show’s second season is set to premiere this fall on HBO. To find out more about the series, visit the official show website.
Here’s the album track list:
1. Livery Stable Blues (Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks)
2. The Dumber They Come The Better I Like...
Here’s the album track list:
1. Livery Stable Blues (Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks)
2. The Dumber They Come The Better I Like...
- 8/13/2011
- by filmmusicreporter
- Film Music Reporter
Boardwalk Empire is releasing a soundtrack on September 13, "Boardwalk Empire Volume 1 – Music From the HBO Original Series."
The 16-track collection features a cross-section of tunes from the show, including contributions from Kathy Brier, Loudon Wainwright III, Nellie McKay, Leon Redbone, Martha Wainwright, and Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks.
Former One Life To Live star Kathy Brier previewed one of the sounds from the soundtracks at last years "We Love Soaps Weekend" event. Watch the video and see a full track listing below.
Full Track Listing:
1. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Livery Stable Blues
2. Stephen DeRosa – The Dumber They Come The Better I Like Them
3. Regina Spektor – My Man
4. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Dark Town Strutters Ball
5. Catherine Russell – Crazy Blues
6. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Mournin’ Blues
7. Kathy Brier – Some Of These Days
8. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Margie
9. Loudon Wainwright III – Carrickfergus
10. Nellie McKay – Wild Romantic Blues
11. Kathy Brier...
The 16-track collection features a cross-section of tunes from the show, including contributions from Kathy Brier, Loudon Wainwright III, Nellie McKay, Leon Redbone, Martha Wainwright, and Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks.
Former One Life To Live star Kathy Brier previewed one of the sounds from the soundtracks at last years "We Love Soaps Weekend" event. Watch the video and see a full track listing below.
Full Track Listing:
1. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Livery Stable Blues
2. Stephen DeRosa – The Dumber They Come The Better I Like Them
3. Regina Spektor – My Man
4. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Dark Town Strutters Ball
5. Catherine Russell – Crazy Blues
6. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Mournin’ Blues
7. Kathy Brier – Some Of These Days
8. Vince Giordano And The Nighthawks – Margie
9. Loudon Wainwright III – Carrickfergus
10. Nellie McKay – Wild Romantic Blues
11. Kathy Brier...
- 8/11/2011
- by We Love Soaps TV
- We Love Soaps
You may not even be a fan of the HBO show "Boardwalk Empire," but you could be a fan of the music culled from it. Exclusive tracks from Regina Spektor, Nellie McKay, Martha Wainwright and her dad Loudon Wainwright III, Leon Redbone and Vince Giordano grace the tracklist for "Boardwalk Empire Volume 1 - Music from the HBO Original Series." Elektra is releasing the 16-track set on Sept. 13, two weeks before the new season premiere on Sept. 25. There is the promise of a deluxe version with extra tracks as well. Regina Spektor's take on the 1920's track "My Man," made popular...
- 8/10/2011
- by Katie Hasty
- Hitfix
I saw Zooey Deschanel sing before I saw her act. It was at a pre-Oscars house party in Los Angeles in 2002 or 2003. Deschanel and another actress, Samantha Shelton, had formed a duo called If All The Stars Were Pretty Babies—taken from the title of a 1926 song by Billy Rose and Fred Fisher—and were performing occasional gigs around town. That night, they were the evening’s entertainment. Dressed in vintage Flapper-ware, they sang jazz standards and chestnuts from the 20s, 30s and 40s, and, to use a word from those times, were simply beguiling. Then came Elf, and the realization—a little late on my part, perhaps—that Deschanel could act as well. Her disarming performance as Jovie is one of the main reasons that Elf is a perennial holiday favorite in my household along with the original animated version of Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas and...
- 7/14/2009
- Vanity Fair
The Four Christmases soundtrack. I am a sucker for Christmas music. I’ll gladly admit to having a healthy CD collection of holiday standards. I start them up before Thanksgiving and don’t stop until New Years. It’s a happy time that always triggers nostalgic memories. For every silver belled lining though, there is a big fat lump of coal, and it usually comes in the form of a posthumous duet.
Now posthumous duets are nothing new, like Hollywood remakes though, they are completely unnecessary. They’re cheap and gimmicky. They embarrass everyone involved, and they make baby Jesus cry. The soundtrack for Four Christmases boldly opens up with a beloved classic that was made popular by Margaret Whiting and Johnny Mercer. The problem is they used the solo version sung by Dean Martin. Doris Day was supposed to be on that recording but she had a falling out...
Now posthumous duets are nothing new, like Hollywood remakes though, they are completely unnecessary. They’re cheap and gimmicky. They embarrass everyone involved, and they make baby Jesus cry. The soundtrack for Four Christmases boldly opens up with a beloved classic that was made popular by Margaret Whiting and Johnny Mercer. The problem is they used the solo version sung by Dean Martin. Doris Day was supposed to be on that recording but she had a falling out...
- 11/27/2008
- by John Mapes
- Movie-moron.com
Opens
Friday, April 30
Taking in "Envy", the new Barry Levinson comedy starring the ubiquitous Ben Stiller and manic Jack Black (and featuring a scene-stealing Christopher Walken) is sort of like watching a TV talk show with a particularly strong guest lineup.
The banter is sufficiently witty and engaging for the duration of the broadcast, but any lingering effects are permanently banished with a casual flick of the remote control.
Hanging at times precariously by the thread of Steve Adams' seriously under-plotted script, the low-key picture gets by on the genial charisma of its cast, but it fails to rise to the occasion when it comes to building to a necessary comic pitch.
With Stiller on a roll after "Starsky & Hutch" and "Along Came Polly", and Black Red Hot on the heels of "School of Rock", the DreamWorks release (Columbia is handling international distribution) could initially draw fans, but ultimately DreamWorks will have to wait for "Shrek 2" because their coffers probably won't be turning green with "Envy".
Stiller's Tim Dingman and Black's Nick Vanderpark are best friends, next-door neighbors and co-workers whose relationship is seriously put to the test when one of them becomes ridiculously successful.
That would be Vanderpark. After driving his buddy crazy with his harebrained ideas for wild inventions without a shred of scientific data to back them up, Vanderpark manages to hit one out of the ballpark after his notion of making dog poop evaporate into thin air with a single spray of Vapoorizer becomes a multimillion-dollar industry.
Dubious from the start, Dingman passed on the opportunity to invest a couple thousand dollars in the pie-in-the-sky enterprise, and now he's literally living in the shadow of Vanderpark's triumph -- cast by a sprawling new mansion complete with vintage merry-go-round, bowling alley, archery range and imported Roman fountains.
Consumed with envy, much to the growing frustration of his wife (Rachel Weisz), Dingman strikes up a relationship with a nutty drifter (paging Mr. Walken), and that's when things really start spiraling out of control.
Levinson, as always, creates a comfortable working environment for his comic ensemble to strut its stuff, but this time out there just isn't very much to work with, thanks to a warmed-over plot that's all setup with insufficient payoff.
As a result, the laughs tend to come in fits and starts, built around individual set pieces rather than being generated organically out of the storytelling.
That may be why the Stiller-Black matchup doesn't generate the anticipated comic sparks, leaving Walken to effectively walk away with the picture. As the off-kilter and opportunistic J-Man, he manages to spin the most mundane of lines into comic gold with the mere accentuation of a single preposition.
Behind-the-scenes contributions are generally on the money, especially the wardrobe selected by Levinson's longtime costume designer Gloria Gresham, while Dan Navarro does his best Leon Redbone as the film's off-camera troubadour.
Envy
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures and Columbia Pictures present in association with Castle Rock Entertainment a Baltimore/Spring Creek Pictures production
A Barry Levinson film
Credits:
Director: Barry Levinson
Producers: Barry Levinson, Paula Weinstein
Screenwriter: Steve Adams
Executive producer: Mary McLaglen
Director of photography: Tim Maurice-Jones
Production designer: Victor Kempster
Editors: Stu Linder, Blair Daily
Costume designer: Gloria Gresham
Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh
Cast:
Tim Dingman: Ben Stiller
Nick Vanderpark: Jack Black
Debbie Dingman: Rachel Weisz
Natalie Vanderpark: Amy Poehler
J-Man: Christopher Walken
Running time -- 99 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Friday, April 30
Taking in "Envy", the new Barry Levinson comedy starring the ubiquitous Ben Stiller and manic Jack Black (and featuring a scene-stealing Christopher Walken) is sort of like watching a TV talk show with a particularly strong guest lineup.
The banter is sufficiently witty and engaging for the duration of the broadcast, but any lingering effects are permanently banished with a casual flick of the remote control.
Hanging at times precariously by the thread of Steve Adams' seriously under-plotted script, the low-key picture gets by on the genial charisma of its cast, but it fails to rise to the occasion when it comes to building to a necessary comic pitch.
With Stiller on a roll after "Starsky & Hutch" and "Along Came Polly", and Black Red Hot on the heels of "School of Rock", the DreamWorks release (Columbia is handling international distribution) could initially draw fans, but ultimately DreamWorks will have to wait for "Shrek 2" because their coffers probably won't be turning green with "Envy".
Stiller's Tim Dingman and Black's Nick Vanderpark are best friends, next-door neighbors and co-workers whose relationship is seriously put to the test when one of them becomes ridiculously successful.
That would be Vanderpark. After driving his buddy crazy with his harebrained ideas for wild inventions without a shred of scientific data to back them up, Vanderpark manages to hit one out of the ballpark after his notion of making dog poop evaporate into thin air with a single spray of Vapoorizer becomes a multimillion-dollar industry.
Dubious from the start, Dingman passed on the opportunity to invest a couple thousand dollars in the pie-in-the-sky enterprise, and now he's literally living in the shadow of Vanderpark's triumph -- cast by a sprawling new mansion complete with vintage merry-go-round, bowling alley, archery range and imported Roman fountains.
Consumed with envy, much to the growing frustration of his wife (Rachel Weisz), Dingman strikes up a relationship with a nutty drifter (paging Mr. Walken), and that's when things really start spiraling out of control.
Levinson, as always, creates a comfortable working environment for his comic ensemble to strut its stuff, but this time out there just isn't very much to work with, thanks to a warmed-over plot that's all setup with insufficient payoff.
As a result, the laughs tend to come in fits and starts, built around individual set pieces rather than being generated organically out of the storytelling.
That may be why the Stiller-Black matchup doesn't generate the anticipated comic sparks, leaving Walken to effectively walk away with the picture. As the off-kilter and opportunistic J-Man, he manages to spin the most mundane of lines into comic gold with the mere accentuation of a single preposition.
Behind-the-scenes contributions are generally on the money, especially the wardrobe selected by Levinson's longtime costume designer Gloria Gresham, while Dan Navarro does his best Leon Redbone as the film's off-camera troubadour.
Envy
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures and Columbia Pictures present in association with Castle Rock Entertainment a Baltimore/Spring Creek Pictures production
A Barry Levinson film
Credits:
Director: Barry Levinson
Producers: Barry Levinson, Paula Weinstein
Screenwriter: Steve Adams
Executive producer: Mary McLaglen
Director of photography: Tim Maurice-Jones
Production designer: Victor Kempster
Editors: Stu Linder, Blair Daily
Costume designer: Gloria Gresham
Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh
Cast:
Tim Dingman: Ben Stiller
Nick Vanderpark: Jack Black
Debbie Dingman: Rachel Weisz
Natalie Vanderpark: Amy Poehler
J-Man: Christopher Walken
Running time -- 99 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Opens
Friday, Nov. 7
Having successfully demonstrated his big-screen comic chops with "Old School", Will Ferrell again proves there is indeed life after "SNL", playing an elf-reared naif who sets off from the North Pole for New York to seek out the biological dad he never met.
While the words "instant holiday classic" might be pushing it, "Elf" is at the very least a breezily entertaining, perfectly cast family treat. Actor-director Jon Favreau, working from a colorful script by David Berenbaum, has delivered just the right combination of naughty and nice, or, as the MPAA calls it, "mild rude humor and language."
That crowd-pleasing blend and Ferrell's irresistible performance will not only ensure that the halls of New Line will be decked out in plenty of green (as if the upcoming final "Lord of the Rings" installment hasn't already all but guaranteed that), but it's also likely to give a certain cat in a certain hat a run for his money this holiday season.
What it basically comes down to is this: How bad can a movie be that begins with a sullen-looking Bob Newhart clad in full elf regalia?
Newhart's Papa Elf provides the narration for this pleasantly fractured fairy tale about a little baby in an orphanage, who happened to find his way into Santa's sack of toys one Christmas Eve. The stowaway wasn't discovered until after the man in the red suit (played by gruff old Lou Grant himself, Ed Asner) returned to the North Pole and was subsequently raised by Papa Elf as his own son.
It soon became quite apparent that the child he named Buddy (Ferrell) was going to have trouble fitting in, given that he was growing at a rate that was roughly three times that of his workshop colleagues.
Ultimately Buddy is told the truth about his being an elf-made man and that his real biological father is alive and well and living in Manhattan.
A Scrooge-like workaholic children's book publisher, papa Walter Hobbs (James Caan) also happens to be a permanent fixture on Santa's naughty list. But that doesn't thwart Buddy, who travels to New York to introduce himself to Dad.
As babe-in-the-woods Buddy -- a vision in green, yellow tights and pointy shoes -- soon discovers, not only does Hobbs not exactly welcome his long-lost son with open arms, but Manhattan is in serious need of an injection of Christmas spirit.
It's jingling formula all the way, but Favreau (who makes good on "Made", his 2001 directorial debut) and screenwriter Berenbaum (who also penned the Walt Disney Co.'s upcoming "The Haunted Mansion"), lend the story plenty of comic smarts. There's sweetness, but it's seldom cloying.
There's also the terrific supporting cast, which includes Mary Steenburgen as Caan's resilient wife and Zooey Deschanel as the jaded Jovie, who works with Buddy at the thoughtfully resurrected Gimbel's department store
But there would be no "Elf" without Ferrell, and whether he's trying to hopscotch his way across Broadway or attempting to navigate his first escalator, he always manages to work a rousing subversive element into his character's core innocence.
Visually, the picture celebrates the best of the genre. The North Pole sequences incorporate animated elements that pay direct tribute to those vintage Rankin-Bass specials, while cinematographer Greg Gardiner and production designer Rusty Smith favor old-fashioned, forced perspective techniques over CGI to create those size disparities between Buddy and the elves.
Aurally, John Debney's appropriately festive score has been supplemented with a generous selection of swingin' Yuletide tunes by Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and Leon Redbone, while Deschanel, who joins Ferrell in an impromptu rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside", reveals a singing voice that's a study in Keely Smith cool.
Elf
New Line Cinema
Guy Walks Into a Bar Prods.
Credits:
Director: Jon Favreau
Screenwriter: David Berenbaum
Producers: Jon Berg
Todd Komarnicki, Shauna Robertson
Executive producers: Jimmy Miller
Julie Wixson Darmody
Toby Emmerich
Kent Alterman
Cale Boyter
Director of photography: Greg Gardiner
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Editor: Dan Lebental
Costume designer: Laura Jean Shannon
Music: John Debney
Visual effects supervisor: Joe Bauer
Casting: Susie Farris
Cast:
Buddy: Will Ferrell
Walter: James Caan
Jovie: Zooey Deschanel
Emily: Mary Steenburgen
Santa Claus: Edward Asner
Papa Elf: Bob Newhart
Michael: Daniel Tay
Manager: Faizon Love
Running time -- 90 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Friday, Nov. 7
Having successfully demonstrated his big-screen comic chops with "Old School", Will Ferrell again proves there is indeed life after "SNL", playing an elf-reared naif who sets off from the North Pole for New York to seek out the biological dad he never met.
While the words "instant holiday classic" might be pushing it, "Elf" is at the very least a breezily entertaining, perfectly cast family treat. Actor-director Jon Favreau, working from a colorful script by David Berenbaum, has delivered just the right combination of naughty and nice, or, as the MPAA calls it, "mild rude humor and language."
That crowd-pleasing blend and Ferrell's irresistible performance will not only ensure that the halls of New Line will be decked out in plenty of green (as if the upcoming final "Lord of the Rings" installment hasn't already all but guaranteed that), but it's also likely to give a certain cat in a certain hat a run for his money this holiday season.
What it basically comes down to is this: How bad can a movie be that begins with a sullen-looking Bob Newhart clad in full elf regalia?
Newhart's Papa Elf provides the narration for this pleasantly fractured fairy tale about a little baby in an orphanage, who happened to find his way into Santa's sack of toys one Christmas Eve. The stowaway wasn't discovered until after the man in the red suit (played by gruff old Lou Grant himself, Ed Asner) returned to the North Pole and was subsequently raised by Papa Elf as his own son.
It soon became quite apparent that the child he named Buddy (Ferrell) was going to have trouble fitting in, given that he was growing at a rate that was roughly three times that of his workshop colleagues.
Ultimately Buddy is told the truth about his being an elf-made man and that his real biological father is alive and well and living in Manhattan.
A Scrooge-like workaholic children's book publisher, papa Walter Hobbs (James Caan) also happens to be a permanent fixture on Santa's naughty list. But that doesn't thwart Buddy, who travels to New York to introduce himself to Dad.
As babe-in-the-woods Buddy -- a vision in green, yellow tights and pointy shoes -- soon discovers, not only does Hobbs not exactly welcome his long-lost son with open arms, but Manhattan is in serious need of an injection of Christmas spirit.
It's jingling formula all the way, but Favreau (who makes good on "Made", his 2001 directorial debut) and screenwriter Berenbaum (who also penned the Walt Disney Co.'s upcoming "The Haunted Mansion"), lend the story plenty of comic smarts. There's sweetness, but it's seldom cloying.
There's also the terrific supporting cast, which includes Mary Steenburgen as Caan's resilient wife and Zooey Deschanel as the jaded Jovie, who works with Buddy at the thoughtfully resurrected Gimbel's department store
But there would be no "Elf" without Ferrell, and whether he's trying to hopscotch his way across Broadway or attempting to navigate his first escalator, he always manages to work a rousing subversive element into his character's core innocence.
Visually, the picture celebrates the best of the genre. The North Pole sequences incorporate animated elements that pay direct tribute to those vintage Rankin-Bass specials, while cinematographer Greg Gardiner and production designer Rusty Smith favor old-fashioned, forced perspective techniques over CGI to create those size disparities between Buddy and the elves.
Aurally, John Debney's appropriately festive score has been supplemented with a generous selection of swingin' Yuletide tunes by Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and Leon Redbone, while Deschanel, who joins Ferrell in an impromptu rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside", reveals a singing voice that's a study in Keely Smith cool.
Elf
New Line Cinema
Guy Walks Into a Bar Prods.
Credits:
Director: Jon Favreau
Screenwriter: David Berenbaum
Producers: Jon Berg
Todd Komarnicki, Shauna Robertson
Executive producers: Jimmy Miller
Julie Wixson Darmody
Toby Emmerich
Kent Alterman
Cale Boyter
Director of photography: Greg Gardiner
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Editor: Dan Lebental
Costume designer: Laura Jean Shannon
Music: John Debney
Visual effects supervisor: Joe Bauer
Casting: Susie Farris
Cast:
Buddy: Will Ferrell
Walter: James Caan
Jovie: Zooey Deschanel
Emily: Mary Steenburgen
Santa Claus: Edward Asner
Papa Elf: Bob Newhart
Michael: Daniel Tay
Manager: Faizon Love
Running time -- 90 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Opens
Friday, April 30
Taking in "Envy", the new Barry Levinson comedy starring the ubiquitous Ben Stiller and manic Jack Black (and featuring a scene-stealing Christopher Walken) is sort of like watching a TV talk show with a particularly strong guest lineup.
The banter is sufficiently witty and engaging for the duration of the broadcast, but any lingering effects are permanently banished with a casual flick of the remote control.
Hanging at times precariously by the thread of Steve Adams' seriously under-plotted script, the low-key picture gets by on the genial charisma of its cast, but it fails to rise to the occasion when it comes to building to a necessary comic pitch.
With Stiller on a roll after "Starsky & Hutch" and "Along Came Polly", and Black Red Hot on the heels of "School of Rock", the DreamWorks release (Columbia is handling international distribution) could initially draw fans, but ultimately DreamWorks will have to wait for "Shrek 2" because their coffers probably won't be turning green with "Envy".
Stiller's Tim Dingman and Black's Nick Vanderpark are best friends, next-door neighbors and co-workers whose relationship is seriously put to the test when one of them becomes ridiculously successful.
That would be Vanderpark. After driving his buddy crazy with his harebrained ideas for wild inventions without a shred of scientific data to back them up, Vanderpark manages to hit one out of the ballpark after his notion of making dog poop evaporate into thin air with a single spray of Vapoorizer becomes a multimillion-dollar industry.
Dubious from the start, Dingman passed on the opportunity to invest a couple thousand dollars in the pie-in-the-sky enterprise, and now he's literally living in the shadow of Vanderpark's triumph -- cast by a sprawling new mansion complete with vintage merry-go-round, bowling alley, archery range and imported Roman fountains.
Consumed with envy, much to the growing frustration of his wife (Rachel Weisz), Dingman strikes up a relationship with a nutty drifter (paging Mr. Walken), and that's when things really start spiraling out of control.
Levinson, as always, creates a comfortable working environment for his comic ensemble to strut its stuff, but this time out there just isn't very much to work with, thanks to a warmed-over plot that's all setup with insufficient payoff.
As a result, the laughs tend to come in fits and starts, built around individual set pieces rather than being generated organically out of the storytelling.
That may be why the Stiller-Black matchup doesn't generate the anticipated comic sparks, leaving Walken to effectively walk away with the picture. As the off-kilter and opportunistic J-Man, he manages to spin the most mundane of lines into comic gold with the mere accentuation of a single preposition.
Behind-the-scenes contributions are generally on the money, especially the wardrobe selected by Levinson's longtime costume designer Gloria Gresham, while Dan Navarro does his best Leon Redbone as the film's off-camera troubadour.
Envy
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures and Columbia Pictures present in association with Castle Rock Entertainment a Baltimore/Spring Creek Pictures production
A Barry Levinson film
Credits:
Director: Barry Levinson
Producers: Barry Levinson, Paula Weinstein
Screenwriter: Steve Adams
Executive producer: Mary McLaglen
Director of photography: Tim Maurice-Jones
Production designer: Victor Kempster
Editors: Stu Linder, Blair Daily
Costume designer: Gloria Gresham
Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh
Cast:
Tim Dingman: Ben Stiller
Nick Vanderpark: Jack Black
Debbie Dingman: Rachel Weisz
Natalie Vanderpark: Amy Poehler
J-Man: Christopher Walken
Running time -- 99 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Friday, April 30
Taking in "Envy", the new Barry Levinson comedy starring the ubiquitous Ben Stiller and manic Jack Black (and featuring a scene-stealing Christopher Walken) is sort of like watching a TV talk show with a particularly strong guest lineup.
The banter is sufficiently witty and engaging for the duration of the broadcast, but any lingering effects are permanently banished with a casual flick of the remote control.
Hanging at times precariously by the thread of Steve Adams' seriously under-plotted script, the low-key picture gets by on the genial charisma of its cast, but it fails to rise to the occasion when it comes to building to a necessary comic pitch.
With Stiller on a roll after "Starsky & Hutch" and "Along Came Polly", and Black Red Hot on the heels of "School of Rock", the DreamWorks release (Columbia is handling international distribution) could initially draw fans, but ultimately DreamWorks will have to wait for "Shrek 2" because their coffers probably won't be turning green with "Envy".
Stiller's Tim Dingman and Black's Nick Vanderpark are best friends, next-door neighbors and co-workers whose relationship is seriously put to the test when one of them becomes ridiculously successful.
That would be Vanderpark. After driving his buddy crazy with his harebrained ideas for wild inventions without a shred of scientific data to back them up, Vanderpark manages to hit one out of the ballpark after his notion of making dog poop evaporate into thin air with a single spray of Vapoorizer becomes a multimillion-dollar industry.
Dubious from the start, Dingman passed on the opportunity to invest a couple thousand dollars in the pie-in-the-sky enterprise, and now he's literally living in the shadow of Vanderpark's triumph -- cast by a sprawling new mansion complete with vintage merry-go-round, bowling alley, archery range and imported Roman fountains.
Consumed with envy, much to the growing frustration of his wife (Rachel Weisz), Dingman strikes up a relationship with a nutty drifter (paging Mr. Walken), and that's when things really start spiraling out of control.
Levinson, as always, creates a comfortable working environment for his comic ensemble to strut its stuff, but this time out there just isn't very much to work with, thanks to a warmed-over plot that's all setup with insufficient payoff.
As a result, the laughs tend to come in fits and starts, built around individual set pieces rather than being generated organically out of the storytelling.
That may be why the Stiller-Black matchup doesn't generate the anticipated comic sparks, leaving Walken to effectively walk away with the picture. As the off-kilter and opportunistic J-Man, he manages to spin the most mundane of lines into comic gold with the mere accentuation of a single preposition.
Behind-the-scenes contributions are generally on the money, especially the wardrobe selected by Levinson's longtime costume designer Gloria Gresham, while Dan Navarro does his best Leon Redbone as the film's off-camera troubadour.
Envy
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures and Columbia Pictures present in association with Castle Rock Entertainment a Baltimore/Spring Creek Pictures production
A Barry Levinson film
Credits:
Director: Barry Levinson
Producers: Barry Levinson, Paula Weinstein
Screenwriter: Steve Adams
Executive producer: Mary McLaglen
Director of photography: Tim Maurice-Jones
Production designer: Victor Kempster
Editors: Stu Linder, Blair Daily
Costume designer: Gloria Gresham
Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh
Cast:
Tim Dingman: Ben Stiller
Nick Vanderpark: Jack Black
Debbie Dingman: Rachel Weisz
Natalie Vanderpark: Amy Poehler
J-Man: Christopher Walken
Running time -- 99 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 4/30/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Opens
Friday, Nov. 7
Having successfully demonstrated his big-screen comic chops with "Old School", Will Ferrell again proves there is indeed life after "SNL", playing an elf-reared naif who sets off from the North Pole for New York to seek out the biological dad he never met.
While the words "instant holiday classic" might be pushing it, "Elf" is at the very least a breezily entertaining, perfectly cast family treat. Actor-director Jon Favreau, working from a colorful script by David Berenbaum, has delivered just the right combination of naughty and nice, or, as the MPAA calls it, "mild rude humor and language."
That crowd-pleasing blend and Ferrell's irresistible performance will not only ensure that the halls of New Line will be decked out in plenty of green (as if the upcoming final "Lord of the Rings" installment hasn't already all but guaranteed that), but it's also likely to give a certain cat in a certain hat a run for his money this holiday season.
What it basically comes down to is this: How bad can a movie be that begins with a sullen-looking Bob Newhart clad in full elf regalia?
Newhart's Papa Elf provides the narration for this pleasantly fractured fairy tale about a little baby in an orphanage, who happened to find his way into Santa's sack of toys one Christmas Eve. The stowaway wasn't discovered until after the man in the red suit (played by gruff old Lou Grant himself, Ed Asner) returned to the North Pole and was subsequently raised by Papa Elf as his own son.
It soon became quite apparent that the child he named Buddy (Ferrell) was going to have trouble fitting in, given that he was growing at a rate that was roughly three times that of his workshop colleagues.
Ultimately Buddy is told the truth about his being an elf-made man and that his real biological father is alive and well and living in Manhattan.
A Scrooge-like workaholic children's book publisher, papa Walter Hobbs (James Caan) also happens to be a permanent fixture on Santa's naughty list. But that doesn't thwart Buddy, who travels to New York to introduce himself to Dad.
As babe-in-the-woods Buddy -- a vision in green, yellow tights and pointy shoes -- soon discovers, not only does Hobbs not exactly welcome his long-lost son with open arms, but Manhattan is in serious need of an injection of Christmas spirit.
It's jingling formula all the way, but Favreau (who makes good on "Made", his 2001 directorial debut) and screenwriter Berenbaum (who also penned the Walt Disney Co.'s upcoming "The Haunted Mansion"), lend the story plenty of comic smarts. There's sweetness, but it's seldom cloying.
There's also the terrific supporting cast, which includes Mary Steenburgen as Caan's resilient wife and Zooey Deschanel as the jaded Jovie, who works with Buddy at the thoughtfully resurrected Gimbel's department store
But there would be no "Elf" without Ferrell, and whether he's trying to hopscotch his way across Broadway or attempting to navigate his first escalator, he always manages to work a rousing subversive element into his character's core innocence.
Visually, the picture celebrates the best of the genre. The North Pole sequences incorporate animated elements that pay direct tribute to those vintage Rankin-Bass specials, while cinematographer Greg Gardiner and production designer Rusty Smith favor old-fashioned, forced perspective techniques over CGI to create those size disparities between Buddy and the elves.
Aurally, John Debney's appropriately festive score has been supplemented with a generous selection of swingin' Yuletide tunes by Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and Leon Redbone, while Deschanel, who joins Ferrell in an impromptu rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside", reveals a singing voice that's a study in Keely Smith cool.
Elf
New Line Cinema
Guy Walks Into a Bar Prods.
Credits:
Director: Jon Favreau
Screenwriter: David Berenbaum
Producers: Jon Berg
Todd Komarnicki, Shauna Robertson
Executive producers: Jimmy Miller
Julie Wixson Darmody
Toby Emmerich
Kent Alterman
Cale Boyter
Director of photography: Greg Gardiner
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Editor: Dan Lebental
Costume designer: Laura Jean Shannon
Music: John Debney
Visual effects supervisor: Joe Bauer
Casting: Susie Farris
Cast:
Buddy: Will Ferrell
Walter: James Caan
Jovie: Zooey Deschanel
Emily: Mary Steenburgen
Santa Claus: Edward Asner
Papa Elf: Bob Newhart
Michael: Daniel Tay
Manager: Faizon Love
Running time -- 90 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Friday, Nov. 7
Having successfully demonstrated his big-screen comic chops with "Old School", Will Ferrell again proves there is indeed life after "SNL", playing an elf-reared naif who sets off from the North Pole for New York to seek out the biological dad he never met.
While the words "instant holiday classic" might be pushing it, "Elf" is at the very least a breezily entertaining, perfectly cast family treat. Actor-director Jon Favreau, working from a colorful script by David Berenbaum, has delivered just the right combination of naughty and nice, or, as the MPAA calls it, "mild rude humor and language."
That crowd-pleasing blend and Ferrell's irresistible performance will not only ensure that the halls of New Line will be decked out in plenty of green (as if the upcoming final "Lord of the Rings" installment hasn't already all but guaranteed that), but it's also likely to give a certain cat in a certain hat a run for his money this holiday season.
What it basically comes down to is this: How bad can a movie be that begins with a sullen-looking Bob Newhart clad in full elf regalia?
Newhart's Papa Elf provides the narration for this pleasantly fractured fairy tale about a little baby in an orphanage, who happened to find his way into Santa's sack of toys one Christmas Eve. The stowaway wasn't discovered until after the man in the red suit (played by gruff old Lou Grant himself, Ed Asner) returned to the North Pole and was subsequently raised by Papa Elf as his own son.
It soon became quite apparent that the child he named Buddy (Ferrell) was going to have trouble fitting in, given that he was growing at a rate that was roughly three times that of his workshop colleagues.
Ultimately Buddy is told the truth about his being an elf-made man and that his real biological father is alive and well and living in Manhattan.
A Scrooge-like workaholic children's book publisher, papa Walter Hobbs (James Caan) also happens to be a permanent fixture on Santa's naughty list. But that doesn't thwart Buddy, who travels to New York to introduce himself to Dad.
As babe-in-the-woods Buddy -- a vision in green, yellow tights and pointy shoes -- soon discovers, not only does Hobbs not exactly welcome his long-lost son with open arms, but Manhattan is in serious need of an injection of Christmas spirit.
It's jingling formula all the way, but Favreau (who makes good on "Made", his 2001 directorial debut) and screenwriter Berenbaum (who also penned the Walt Disney Co.'s upcoming "The Haunted Mansion"), lend the story plenty of comic smarts. There's sweetness, but it's seldom cloying.
There's also the terrific supporting cast, which includes Mary Steenburgen as Caan's resilient wife and Zooey Deschanel as the jaded Jovie, who works with Buddy at the thoughtfully resurrected Gimbel's department store
But there would be no "Elf" without Ferrell, and whether he's trying to hopscotch his way across Broadway or attempting to navigate his first escalator, he always manages to work a rousing subversive element into his character's core innocence.
Visually, the picture celebrates the best of the genre. The North Pole sequences incorporate animated elements that pay direct tribute to those vintage Rankin-Bass specials, while cinematographer Greg Gardiner and production designer Rusty Smith favor old-fashioned, forced perspective techniques over CGI to create those size disparities between Buddy and the elves.
Aurally, John Debney's appropriately festive score has been supplemented with a generous selection of swingin' Yuletide tunes by Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and Leon Redbone, while Deschanel, who joins Ferrell in an impromptu rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside", reveals a singing voice that's a study in Keely Smith cool.
Elf
New Line Cinema
Guy Walks Into a Bar Prods.
Credits:
Director: Jon Favreau
Screenwriter: David Berenbaum
Producers: Jon Berg
Todd Komarnicki, Shauna Robertson
Executive producers: Jimmy Miller
Julie Wixson Darmody
Toby Emmerich
Kent Alterman
Cale Boyter
Director of photography: Greg Gardiner
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Editor: Dan Lebental
Costume designer: Laura Jean Shannon
Music: John Debney
Visual effects supervisor: Joe Bauer
Casting: Susie Farris
Cast:
Buddy: Will Ferrell
Walter: James Caan
Jovie: Zooey Deschanel
Emily: Mary Steenburgen
Santa Claus: Edward Asner
Papa Elf: Bob Newhart
Michael: Daniel Tay
Manager: Faizon Love
Running time -- 90 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 10/27/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.