Salt Lake Magazine took to the streets during the Sundance Film Festival and caught up with Mary last Saturday to ask her how she felt about being part of independent cinema. Skip to the :40 second mark to see her response.
Vanity Fair West coast editor Krista Smith recently caught up with Mary Elizabeth at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival to talk to Mary about her new films The Spectacular Now and A.C.O.D. Click here to watch the interview.
Also, a couple more reviews about The Spectacular Now have been released. First one is via Slashfilm:
The Spectacular Now is everything I hope a Sundance movie to be. It has heart, many laughs, story twists that will jolt you from your seat, and most importantly, the film speaks to a deep truth. It is an honest coming of age film about growing up and facing the great unknown that comes after high school, something we can all remember and relate to. But it tells that story without the forced nostalgia of other Hollywood films.
The entire supporting cast is great in the few scenes they appear, including Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Bob Odenkirk and Kyle Chandler. /Film Rating: 8.5 out of 10
The scars and blemishes on the faces of the high-school lovers in “The Spectacular Now” are beautifully emblematic of director James Ponsoldt’s bid to bring the American teen movie back to some semblance of reality, a bid that pays off spectacularly indeed. Skillfully adapted from Tim Tharp’s novel, evocatively lensed in the working-class neighborhoods of Athens, Ga., and tenderly acted by Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, this bittersweet ode to the moment of childhood’s end builds quietly to a pitch-perfect finale. Warts-and-all authenticity can be a tough sell, but Ponsoldt’s bracing youth pic seems bound to graduate with honors.
Woodley thoroughly fulfills the promise of her smaller role as the teenage daughter in “The Descendants,” locating the precise point at which Aimee’s infatuation with Sutter turns to self-protection. Equally impressive is Teller, who makes his character’s adolescent bravado appear intoxicating and then more than a little scary. The film’s supporting players are uniformly superb.
Geek Tyrant also loved the film:
Continue reading New Vanity Fair Interview; More Spectacular Now Reviews
After getting amazing reviews following its debut Friday night at the Sundance Film Festival, new film distributor A24 has nabbed the film and The Spectacular Now will be playing nationwide in theaters this summer! A release date has yet to be announced, but meanwhile, here’s the official announcement:
A24 announced the acquisition of North American rights to Sundance favorite THE SPECTACULAR NOW. The James Ponsoldt directed film, from a script by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, has become one of the darlings of the Sundance Film Festival and features breakout performances by Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley. Film also features wonderful turns by Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler and Andre Royo. Film premiered on Friday night at Sundance in US Dramatic Competition. A24 will release the film this summer.
“We fell in love with this film the minute that we watched it and we know the rest of the country will embrace this timeless love story. James has directed a wonderful film that depicts young love with complete authenticity and has two young stars giving incredible performances with Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley.” says A24.
Producer Andrew Lauren says, “I am so thrilled that the film has found a home with a company that has such passion for it. It’s been an amazing Sundance and we are so gratified by the incredibly warm response here.”
Variety meanwhile reviewed the film and said it is “a bittersweet ode to the moment of childhood’s end [that] builds quietly to a pitch-perfect finale.”
A24 beat out the Weinstein Co. for the rights.
So cool! Talk about a quick deal. Congrats to everyone!
Yesterday at the Sundance Film Festival, Mary went to the Kari Feinstein Style Lounge. Head to the gallery to check out the pics, and if I come across any HQs, I’ll be sure to add them. Also, a new A Good Day to Die Hard banner has been released via the film’s Twitter page.
A Good Day to Die Hard will hit theaters on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2013.
As the headline reads, the first reviews for James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now have already come online, and they’re all positive. While they mostly focus on Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller’s performances, they’re great nonetheless. Hopefully it won’t be long until it’s picked up by a studio. I’ll keep you guys posted but in the meantime, here are some reviews. As always, click on the links to read them in full. First one is from FirstShowing:
Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now is a deeply layered, indie romantic comedy, coming-of-age alcoholism story all wrapped up in one. It’s sweet, it’s endearing, it’s charming, it’s emotional, it’s moving, it’s honest, it’s brilliant, it’s thoughtful. It’s about so much more than what it shows on the surface, and is just as complex as the characters are, evolving as it progress just as they do. It never resorts to cliches, it never takes the easy way out, and it has a momentum that keeps pushing the story forward at a smooth rate, never too fast or too slow. While I still love Smashed, Ponsoldt shows that he matures as a filmmaker each film, which is why I can’t wait to follow his career from here. But for now, it’s all about being in the “Spectacular Now.”
“Live in the moment” is a nice platitude and a crappy life philosophy. Vivacity is all well and good. We should appreciate the present, but we can’t live only for the present. We have to think about tomorrow because we’re probably going to be there. In his wonderful new film The Spectacular Now, director James Ponsoldt explore the live-for-the-moment mentality with an authentic and earnest look at high school emotions, anxiety about the future, and first love. Led by extraordinary performances from stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, The Spectacular Now is a thoroughly charming and surprisingly powerful coming-of-age story about the fear of looking ahead and the seductive safety of living in the present.
By investing in his characters and giving the actors room to flesh out their characters, Ponsoldt stops his movie from being a cautionary tale. Obviously, “living like there’s no tomorrow” isn’t a good life strategy, but it’s an understandable escape. It’s undoubtedly entertaining to watch Sutter flee from his responsibilities and neglect plans for life beyond high school. But The Spectacular Now never lets its protagonist off the hook. The movie doesn’t lecture and it doesn’t scold; it simply lets the present play out to an uncertain and ultimately more rewarding future.
Mary has begun to hit up all the 2013 Sundance Film Festival events and last night, she began by attending the premiere of her new film The Spectacular Now. Head to the gallery to check out the pics, the first several being in HQ. There’s also an interview of Mary, which you can view below:
Mary appears in this month’s W Magazine for the ‘Best Performances 2013’ section. In it, she talks about her first acting job where she had a small role in Touched By An Angel.
“My first job was when I was 12. I was living in Salt Lake City, and I was just on Touched by an Angel as the best friend of the troubled girl—I hadn’t quite made it to the troubled-girl parts. I was the snobby best friend leading our heroine down the wrong path. When I set foot on set and saw there was free food, I realized this was the career for me. You could be another person and have candy all day.”
Head to the gallery to check out the pic, and I will have full scans soon. Thanks to Eden for the heads up!
Atelier Management has some new outtakes of Mary’s Easy Living shoot from back in September 2012. Mary was photographed by Lorenzo Aguius. Head to the gallery to check out the pics, and if you ever missed the interview, click here to read it.
Photographer Michael Lavine posted a new outtake on his blog when he photographed Mary for the Dec./Jan. issue of BUST. Here’s what he had to say about the Smashed leading lady:
What a beautiful woman Mary Elizabeth Winstead is, such a great actor, and such a nice person. I saw the movie Smashed last year and I was so impressed by her realistic rendition of an alcoholic hitting bottom and pulling herself back from the brink, that when I was offered the opportunity to work with her, I jumped at the chance. Sorry no dirt here, no reenactments of getting wasted with Aaron Paul, just a perfectly lovely day in LA with everyone having a wonderful time. I will point out that our crew was exceptional, with Penny Lovell doing an amazing job with the styling, Spencer Barnes on make up and Tony Chavez working the hair. How’s that for a fluff piece.
Head to the gallery to check out the new photo as well as the rest of the set.
Thanks to Martin, I’ve added HQ scans of Mary in the January issue of Dazed & Confused Magazine where she talks about her new film Smashed. Head to the gallery to check out the pics.
