WHITE BIRD: A WONDER STORY
WHITE BIRD: A WONDER STORY
White Bird (marketed with the subtitle A Wonder Story) is a 2024 American coming-of-age period drama film directed by Marc Forster from a screenplay by Mark Bomback, based on the 2019 graphic novel of the same name by R. J. Palacio. Serving as both a prequel and sequel to Wonder (2017), the film stars Ariella Glaser, Orlando Schwerdt, Bryce Gheisar, Gillian Anderson, and Helen Mirren, with Gheisar reprising his role as Julian from Wonder.
White Bird was released in Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia on January 4, 2024; it is scheduled to be released in the United States by Lionsgate on October 4, 2024.[3]
Plot
After the events of Wonder, Julian has left Beecher Prep for good. He is visited by his grandmother, Sara, from Paris, who, in response to Julian’s reflection about his need to be socially passive in order to fit in at his new school, tells him about her childhood as a young Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.
In 1942, Sara evades being rounded up by the German troops and spends more than one year being hidden by her classmate Julien (one of whose legs is congenitally paralysed by poliomyelitis) in a barn of the house where he lives with his parents. She is instructed never to leave the barn so as not to be discovered by the neighbours suspected of being informants for the Germans. At night, Julien teaches Sara what he has learned at school during the day. Affection between them eventually grows into love.
In 1944 after the liberation of Monte Cassino, Julien is stopped on his way to school at a German checkpoint by the Milice and thrown into the back of a lorry for transportation to a remote camp in the mountains. During an escape attempt by the other prisoners, he is shot dead. At the end of the war, Sara is reunited with her father, but she finds out that her mother has been killed at KZ Auschwitz.
Cast
- Ariella Glaser as Sara Blum, a Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied France
- Orlando Schwerdt as Julien Beaumier, Sara’s polio-lamed classmate, in the barn of whose family Sara hides from the Germans
- Bryce Gheisar as Julian Albans
- Gillian Anderson as Vivienne Beaumier, Julien’s mother
- Helen Mirren as Grandmère, a renowned artist
- Patsy Ferran as Mlle Petitjean, Sara and Julien’s teacher
- Ishai Golan as Max Blum, Sara’s father
- Jem Matthews as Vincent
- Stuart McQuarrie as Pastor Luc, the headmaster of Sara and Julien’s school
- Olivia Ross as Rose Blum, Sara’s mother
- Jo Stone-Fewings as Jean Paul Beaumier, Julien’s father
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LEAP OF FAITH
LEAP OF FAITH
Documentary –
Over a year, 12 diverse Christian leaders explore contentious issues and seek fellowship at retreats in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They navigate divisions while holding onto their shared belief in love, testing the bonds they build.
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BLINK
BLINK
Blink is a 2024 American documentary film directed by Edmund Stenson and Daniel Roher. It follows a family who journey around the world prior to their children losing their vision to a rare genetic disorder, in order to experiences the world’s beauty while they still can.
It had its world premiere at the 51st Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2024, and is scheduled to be released on October 4, 2024, by National Geographic Documentary Films through Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Premise
A family journeys around the world prior to their children losing their vision to a rare genetic disorder, in order to experiences the world’s beauty while they still can.
Production
Edmund Stenson and Daniel Roher co-directed the film, with Stenson primarily involved in the production of the film, due to Roher’s commitments to Navalny and the birth of his child.[2]
In September 2023, it was announced Stenson and Roher would direct the film, with National Geographic Documentary Films, MRC and Fishbowl Films set to produce.[3
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JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX
JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX
Joker: Folie à Deux[a] is a 2024 American musical psychological thriller film directed by Todd Phillips from a screenplay co-written with Scott Silver. It is the sequel to Joker (2019), loosely based on DC Comics characters, and stars Joaquin Phoenix reprising his role as the Joker with Lady Gaga joining the cast as his love interest Harley Quinn. Zazie Beetz also reprises her role from the previous film, while Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener join the cast. It is produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Studios in association with Joint Effort.
Joker was conceived as a standalone film, although Warner Bros. intended for the film to launch a DC Black film series. Phillips expressed interest in making a sequel but confirmed that Joker was not set up to have one. The sequel entered development in June 2022, with Gaga and Beetz joining later that year. Principal photography took place in New York City, Los Angeles, and Belleville, New Jersey, from December 2022 to April 2023.
Joker: Folie à Deux premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2024,[6] and is scheduled to be released in the United States on October 4, 2024. It has received mixed reviews from critics.
Cast
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- Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck / Joker, a mentally ill, nihilistic criminal with a clown-inspired persona, formerly an impoverished party clown and aspiring stand-up comedian. Director Todd Phillips assured that while the sequel will venture further into Fleck’s psyche, he would not become the “Clown Prince of Crime”, as his “Joker” persona is an unwilling symbol to people who give him the love he always wanted.[7]
- Lady Gaga as Harleen “Lee” Quinzel / Harley Quinn, a patient at Arkham State Hospital who meets Arthur; her curiosity eventually turns to obsession, and she forms a deadly romantic relationship with him.[8][9] Describing Quinzel, Phillips noted how this version of the character is manipulative, amoral and “more grounded”, with the film deliberately ignoring much of the character’s classic mannerisms and style to fit into the world created in Joker (2019).[10]
- Brendan Gleeson as Jackie Sullivan, a guard at Arkham State Hospital.
- Catherine Keener as Maryanne Stewart, Arthur’s lawyer.[11]
- Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond, a single mother and Arthur’s former neighbor, who Arthur imagined being in a romantic relationship with.[12]
- Steve Coogan as Paddy Meyers, a popular TV personality who interviews Arthur in Arkham.[13]
- Harry Lawtey as Harvey Dent, the newly elected assistant district attorney who plans to bring Arthur to justice for his crimes.[14] Lawtey developed his own backstory for the character in order to accurately play the role, with Phillips instilling in him the idea that, in the dawn of televised trials, Dent has his eyes on the prize and is cynically willing to put Arthur on trial for his own gain. To prepare for the role, Lawtey avoided watching the versions of Harvey Dent in Batman (1989), The Dark Knight (2008) and Batman vs. Two-Face (2017) portrayed by Billy Dee Williams, Aaron Eckhart and William Shatner respectively. Despite his character being a courtroom showman, Lawtey never sings in the film, being grateful at not singing in front of Gaga.[15]
Leigh Gill and Sharon Washington reprise their roles as Arthur’s former co-worker Gary and Arthur’s social worker, respectively.[16][17][18] Jacob Lofland, Ken Leung and Bill Smitrovich have been cast in undetermined roles.[16][18]
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10/1/2024 #White Bird: A Wonder Story #Leap of Faith #Blink #Joker: Folie a Deux