Shawn Ryan is adapting for television the 2020 novel The Night Agent by Matthew Quirk. The Shield creator revealed the project last night as part of a series of tweets about some the favorite books he read in 2020.
He listed The Night Agent in the category of “Books I read, Decided To Adapt For Television And May Have Already Finished Writing The Pilot Episode.”
I hear Ryan wrote the pilot script on spec at Sony Pictures TV where he is under an exclusive overall deal. The project is believed to be still in internal development and will be taken out in the new year. Ryan is executive producing via his MiddKid Productions, with the company’s Marney Hochman also expected to exec produce.
Published in October to strong reviews, Quirk’s The Night Agent has drawn comparisons to the early novels of John Grisham and David Baldacci. It centers on FBI...
He listed The Night Agent in the category of “Books I read, Decided To Adapt For Television And May Have Already Finished Writing The Pilot Episode.”
I hear Ryan wrote the pilot script on spec at Sony Pictures TV where he is under an exclusive overall deal. The project is believed to be still in internal development and will be taken out in the new year. Ryan is executive producing via his MiddKid Productions, with the company’s Marney Hochman also expected to exec produce.
Published in October to strong reviews, Quirk’s The Night Agent has drawn comparisons to the early novels of John Grisham and David Baldacci. It centers on FBI...
- 12/24/2020
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
When Netflix severed ties with Kevin Spacey after he was accused of sexual misconduct, one of the projects that got dropped was the actor’s Gore Vidal biographical drama, entitled “Gore.” The film, directed and co-written by Michael Hoffman (“The Best of Me”) from Jay Parini’s book “Empire of Self, A Life of Gore Vidal,” wrapped production in Italy just a few weeks before the first allegation was made against Spacey. Some have wondered if anyone would release the Spacey-fronted feature, but newly released script details make it clear that seems unlikely to ever happen.
According to an in-depth report from Buzzfeed, “Gore” includes “several scenes that would almost certainly strike audiences as difficult to absorb given Spacey’s involvement. Some scenes explore Gore’s complicated and unorthodox attitudes toward transactional sex and sex with very young men, for example, and a graphic scene involves two transgender sex workers.
According to an in-depth report from Buzzfeed, “Gore” includes “several scenes that would almost certainly strike audiences as difficult to absorb given Spacey’s involvement. Some scenes explore Gore’s complicated and unorthodox attitudes toward transactional sex and sex with very young men, for example, and a graphic scene involves two transgender sex workers.
- 10/26/2018
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
A series of Christmas cards and booklets containing poetry by the legendary poet Robert Frost will be on display at a Vermont college for the first time in over half a century years, reports says.
Middlebury College will host the poems, some of which were published in the cards for the first time, the Associated Press reports. The cards date back to 1929, with the first including Frost’s famous work, “Christmas Trees.”
In the poem, he wrote, “He asked if I would sell my Christmas trees / My woods — the young fir balsams like a place / Where houses all are churches and have spires.
Middlebury College will host the poems, some of which were published in the cards for the first time, the Associated Press reports. The cards date back to 1929, with the first including Frost’s famous work, “Christmas Trees.”
In the poem, he wrote, “He asked if I would sell my Christmas trees / My woods — the young fir balsams like a place / Where houses all are churches and have spires.
- 12/11/2017
- by Char Adams
- PEOPLE.com
Michael Stuhlbarg, Freya Mavor and Nikolai Kinski have joined the cast of Netflix's Gore Vidal biopic starring Kevin Spacey.
Michael Hoffman is directing the film from a screenplay co-written with Jay Parini, based on Parini's 2015 biography Empire of Self: A Life of Gore Vidal. The film focuses on the period in 1982 following Gore’s loss in the California Senate primary election. He retreats to his Italian home La Rondinaia in a Bacchanalian attempt to circumvent his writer’s block and sense of ennui. Douglas Booth and Griffin Dunne are also featured in the cast.
Stuhlbarg will play Gore’s longtime companion Howard;...
Michael Hoffman is directing the film from a screenplay co-written with Jay Parini, based on Parini's 2015 biography Empire of Self: A Life of Gore Vidal. The film focuses on the period in 1982 following Gore’s loss in the California Senate primary election. He retreats to his Italian home La Rondinaia in a Bacchanalian attempt to circumvent his writer’s block and sense of ennui. Douglas Booth and Griffin Dunne are also featured in the cast.
Stuhlbarg will play Gore’s longtime companion Howard;...
- 9/14/2017
- by Ashley Lee
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Oscar-winner signs on to Second World War escape drama that Fortitude International will introduce to Cannes buyers.
Colin Firth will star in Benjamin’s Crossing as Walter Benjamin, the Jewish philosopher who escaped from the Nazis by fleeing across the Pyrenees in 1940.
Pat O’Connor, who worked with Firth on the Un Certain Regard entry A Month In The County, will direct and production is expected to start this autumn.
Benjamin’s Crossing is based on Jay Parini and Devon Jersild’s adaptation of Parini’s novel of the same name.
Benjamin fled his home in Paris and met Lisa Fittko who agreed to help the ailing man escape over the mountains to Spain.
Carl Effenson of Artimage Entertainment produces with Sally Jo Effenson of Joule Films, and Lucas Jarach, along with Fortitude’s Robert Ogden Barnum and Nadine de Barros.
Fortitude International, co-founded by de Barros and Barnum, is financing the project and will begin pre-sales...
Colin Firth will star in Benjamin’s Crossing as Walter Benjamin, the Jewish philosopher who escaped from the Nazis by fleeing across the Pyrenees in 1940.
Pat O’Connor, who worked with Firth on the Un Certain Regard entry A Month In The County, will direct and production is expected to start this autumn.
Benjamin’s Crossing is based on Jay Parini and Devon Jersild’s adaptation of Parini’s novel of the same name.
Benjamin fled his home in Paris and met Lisa Fittko who agreed to help the ailing man escape over the mountains to Spain.
Carl Effenson of Artimage Entertainment produces with Sally Jo Effenson of Joule Films, and Lucas Jarach, along with Fortitude’s Robert Ogden Barnum and Nadine de Barros.
Fortitude International, co-founded by de Barros and Barnum, is financing the project and will begin pre-sales...
- 5/15/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Oscar-winner Colin Firth is set to star in the Pat O'Connor-helmed Benjamin's Crossing, based on the novel by Jay Parini. Firth will play Walter Benjamin, the real life Jewish philosopher who made a daring escape from Nazi-occupied Europe through the Pyrenees Mountains in 1940. Fortitude International is financing and launching sales at Cannes. Production is set to go in the fall of 2017. The political thriller reteams Firth and O'Connor who worked together on…...
- 5/15/2017
- Deadline
Chicago – Michael Hoffman is not a director renowned for operatic drama. The closest he ever got to staging Shakespeare onscreen was in his problematic 1999 adaptation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Emotional outbursts in a Hoffman picture are often tinged with offbeat humor, a fact well-illustrated by his his under-appreciated 1991 comedy “Soapdish.”
“The Last Station” may initially seem like the kind of picture dripping with self-conscious prestige that’s predictably unveiled at Oscar season. Based on the novel by Jay Parini, the film stars Christopher Plummer as legendary Russian author Leo Tolstoy during the last year of his life. His belief in pacifism and his denouncement of materialism has inspired him to “donate” his life’s work to the general public. While Tolstoy’s fanatical friend and disciple, Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), adamantly supports his decision, Sofya is furiously against it, fearing that her husband’s idealism has drifted into madness.
“The Last Station” may initially seem like the kind of picture dripping with self-conscious prestige that’s predictably unveiled at Oscar season. Based on the novel by Jay Parini, the film stars Christopher Plummer as legendary Russian author Leo Tolstoy during the last year of his life. His belief in pacifism and his denouncement of materialism has inspired him to “donate” his life’s work to the general public. While Tolstoy’s fanatical friend and disciple, Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), adamantly supports his decision, Sofya is furiously against it, fearing that her husband’s idealism has drifted into madness.
- 6/23/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Michael Hoffman's The Last Station is a great example of the kind of Hollywood production that frustrates for what it could have been. Adapted from Jay Parini's fictional biography of the last days of Tolstoy, the venerated Russian novelist famous for writing Anna Karenina and War and Peace, it's a handsomely mounted period piece with a talented cast. It means well, it's more than watchable and definitely stands up to repeat viewing. But it's so intent on not committing to any deeper exploration of Tolstoy's life and work it ends up feeling annoyingly vacant, reducing decades of radical thought and political criticism to a general riff on 'life goes on'.
The film gets under way with Tolstoy's faithful secretary Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti, Cold Souls, Shoot 'Em Up, The Illusionist) under house arrest for his master's outspoken views on the state's abuses of power. He hires wide-eyed acolyte Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy,...
The film gets under way with Tolstoy's faithful secretary Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti, Cold Souls, Shoot 'Em Up, The Illusionist) under house arrest for his master's outspoken views on the state's abuses of power. He hires wide-eyed acolyte Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy,...
- 6/15/2010
- Screen Anarchy
The story of the last unedifying days of Leo Tolstoy deal with the battle between the writer's wife and his disciple for his legacy
Based on a novel by Jay Parini, The Last Station deals with the somewhat unedifying last months of the 82-year-old Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) that concluded with his public death at the remote southern Russia railway station of Astapovo in 1910, the end of the line and the last station of the cross. During this time his wife Sofya (Helen Mirren) battles for his soul and the copyright of his valuable works with the writer's manipulative disciple Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), who regards himself as the guardian of the great man's reputation and wants the money from War and Peace to be used to advance the cause of universal love and passive resistance. Their battles are observed and recorded by Tolstoy's new secretary, Valentin Bulgakov, played by...
Based on a novel by Jay Parini, The Last Station deals with the somewhat unedifying last months of the 82-year-old Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) that concluded with his public death at the remote southern Russia railway station of Astapovo in 1910, the end of the line and the last station of the cross. During this time his wife Sofya (Helen Mirren) battles for his soul and the copyright of his valuable works with the writer's manipulative disciple Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), who regards himself as the guardian of the great man's reputation and wants the money from War and Peace to be used to advance the cause of universal love and passive resistance. Their battles are observed and recorded by Tolstoy's new secretary, Valentin Bulgakov, played by...
- 2/21/2010
- by Helen Mirren, Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
The turbulent marriage between Leo Tolstoy and his wife Sofya has been turned into an actor’s showcase in The Last Station. Outstanding, Oscar-nominated performances by Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer lift this stagy period piece about the end of the famed Russian author’s life above its highbrow trappings and the result is an emotional, crowd-pleasing drama. One does not have to have read ‘War and Peace’ or ‘Anna Karenina’ (I certainly haven’t) to appreciate Writer/Director Michael Hoffman’s excellent biopic as it’s not a film about Tolstoy’s inspirations and doesn’t inject trivia from his novels into the screenplay a la Shakespeare In Love. Instead, The Last Station focuses on an episode near the end of his life when, as a crusty old idealist, Tolstoy was conflicted between the desires of his sycophantic followers and those of his long-suffering, high-maintenance wife Sofya. The movie...
- 2/19/2010
- by Tom
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Talk about the little film that could: The Last Station, the story of the final days of Russian author Tolstoy, has managed to get itself Oscar-nominated not once but twice, with Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer both nominated. And you can get a taste of what landed them the nods below.The film sees Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy) arrive to act as secretary to the aging Leo Tolstoy (Plummer), who is in the last year of his life and has decided, as part of his commitment to a non-material life, to leave his works and fortune to the Russian people. His wife Sofya (Mirren) is less than happy with this decision, and does everything she can to try to stop him.It's all directed by Michael Hoffman, based on the novel by Jay Parini. The Last Station is out on February 19, so you can see what all the fuss is about then.
- 2/10/2010
- EmpireOnline
Release Date: Jan. 15 Director: Michael Hoffman Writers: Michael Hoffman (Screenplay), Jay Parini (Novel) Starring: James McAvoy, Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, Paul Giamatti Cinematographer: Sebastian Edschmid Studio/Run Time: Egoli Tossell Film. 110 mins. Tolstoy’s final war Despite its wandering backstory and revisionist depiction of a germinating religious movement helmed by one of the greatest authors of the 20th century, The Last Station features brilliant performances by both Christopher Plummer as the aged Leo Tolstoy and Helen Mirren as Sofya, his long suffering wife and working partner of 48 years....
- 2/5/2010
- Pastemagazine.com
For a film about the last days of Leo Tolstoy, The Last Station is remarkably light on its feet. With nimble acting from all involved and a script that walks the tightrope between comedy and tragedy, Michael Hoffman's historical drama explores love and loss with humor and heart. Though the film is ostensibly about the Russian writer, it is told from the perspective of Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy, Wanted), a young devotee of Tolstoy.
Most people are only familiar with Tolstoy for his weighty tomes War and Peace and Anna Karenina, but The Last Station focuses on a different man. The aging Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) has left fiction behind in favor of spiritual and philosophical writings that have inspired their own religious movement. Tolstoy calls for a life that abandons sexuality and worldly possessions, a belief that terrifies his wife, the Countess Sofya Tolstoy (Helen Mirren,...
Most people are only familiar with Tolstoy for his weighty tomes War and Peace and Anna Karenina, but The Last Station focuses on a different man. The aging Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus) has left fiction behind in favor of spiritual and philosophical writings that have inspired their own religious movement. Tolstoy calls for a life that abandons sexuality and worldly possessions, a belief that terrifies his wife, the Countess Sofya Tolstoy (Helen Mirren,...
- 1/20/2010
- CinemaSpy
"The Last Station" has already made a big splash this awards season, nabbing major nominations with a couple critically lauded performances from thespian royalty. Both Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer have been recognized by the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild for their roles in the film, and Oscar nods seem all but assured.
On Friday (January 15), moviegoers will finally get a chance to see what all the fuss is about when the film arrives in theaters. Plummer plays legendary Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, who creates his own religion, renounces his worldly possessions and stops sleeping with his wife. Mirren, as his wife, naturally doesn't take too kindly to these changes after almost fifty years of marriage. Here's what else you should know about the film.
Nobody Wanted to Make the Movie
Adapted from Jay Parini's book, "The Last Station: A Novel of Tolstoy's Last Year," the...
On Friday (January 15), moviegoers will finally get a chance to see what all the fuss is about when the film arrives in theaters. Plummer plays legendary Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, who creates his own religion, renounces his worldly possessions and stops sleeping with his wife. Mirren, as his wife, naturally doesn't take too kindly to these changes after almost fifty years of marriage. Here's what else you should know about the film.
Nobody Wanted to Make the Movie
Adapted from Jay Parini's book, "The Last Station: A Novel of Tolstoy's Last Year," the...
- 1/15/2010
- by Eric Ditzian
- MTV Movies Blog
Veteran actor Christopher Plummer has been in our global consciousness since he played Captain Von Trapp in 1965 Best Picture winner The Sound of Music. Since then, in addition to near-constant work in the theatre, he has played Rudyard Kipling, King Herod, Sherlock Holmes, and Mike Wallace, in addition to a seminal role in Twelve Monkeys and countless narration gigs. (That voice!) 2009 may have been the busiest year of Plummer's later film career, with lead roles in both The Last Station and Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, in addition to his voice work in both Pixar’s smash hit Up and Tim Burton’s sleeper 9. With The Last Station, Plummer tackles another iconic character: the Russian author—and charismatic leader of an anarchist movement—Leo Tolstoy. In writer/director Michael Hoffman’s adaptation of the historical novel by Jay Parini of the same...
- 1/14/2010
- by Kristin McCracken
- Huffington Post
Although it feigns literary prestige, Michael Hoffman’s The Last Station, a chronicle of Leo Tolstoy’s last days, is little more than a gilded trifle, though it offers its share of light enjoyments. Adapting Jay Parini’s novel, Hoffman (Soapdish) zeroes in on the battle between Tolstoy’s wife, Sofya (Helen Mirren) and his chief disciple, Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti). In his latter years, Tolstoy turned away from writing the novels that remain the foundation of Russian literature and toward promoting a utopian philosophy incorporating elements of Christianity and anarchism. But for Hoffman, the substance of Tolstoy’s beliefs ...
- 1/14/2010
- avclub.com
Turning a fabulously operatic, thematically replete true-life tale into a frosted slice of dinner theatrics, The Last Station conveys nothing more convincingly than its own self-regard. The story of Leo Tolstoy's last days, in exile from his own home, his wife, and possibly the social movement he spearheaded toward the end of his life, rivals any the great novelist could have dreamt up for himself. And yet The Last Station, adapted from Jay Parini's 1990 book by writer/director Michael Hoffman, seems to have been mounted by everyone involved like it was their own private troika -- a period vehicle which might carry them to award glory, or the set of their next self-regarding costume piece.
- 1/13/2010
- Movieline
Veteran actor Christopher Plummer has been in our global consciousness since he played Captain Von Trapp in 1965 Best Picture winner The Sound of Music. Since then, in addition to near-constant work in the theatre, he has played Rudyard Kipling, King Herod, Sherlock Holmes, and Mike Wallace, in addition to a seminal role in Twelve Monkeys and countless narration gigs. (That voice!) 2009 may have been the busiest year of Plummer's later film career, with lead roles in both The Last Station and Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, in addition to his voice work in both Pixar's smash hit Up and Tim Burton's sleeper 9. With The Last Station, Plummer tackles another iconic character: the Russian author - and charismatic leader of an anarchist movement - Leo Tolstoy. In writer/director Michael Hoffman's adaptation of the historical novel by Jay Parini of the same name, Tolstoy is at...
- 1/12/2010
- TribecaFilm.com
Michael Hoffman began his career as an actor, spending time at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and studying at Oxford, before "stumbling" into filmmaking. With films like "Soapdish" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" on his résumé, the writer-director felt ready to tackle his most ambitious project yet: an adaptation of "The Last Station," the 1990 biographical novel about Leo Tolstoy by Jay Parini. Starring Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy, the film chronicles the Russian literary giant's final days as battle over his fortune rages between his strong-willed wife, Sofya (Helen Mirren), and his acolyte, Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti). James McAvoy plays Tolstoy's private secretary, Valentin Bulgakov, who is caught up in the machinations. Hoffman spoke to Back Stage about his experience as an actor, how that shaped his skills as a director, and his work with the cast of "The Last Station." Back Stage: Would you say your experience as an actor...
- 1/7/2010
- backstage.com
Sandra Bullock, 'The Blind Side'For years, Sandra Bullock has charmed audiences with endearing turns in films like "While You Were Sleeping," "Miss Congeniality," and "Two Weeks Notice." While most people associate her with romantic comedies, Bullock has also turned in terrific dramatic performances in films like "Crash" and the underrated "Infamous." She probably didn't have awards aspirations when she signed on to play Leigh Anne Tuohy, the wealthy Memphis matriarch who takes in an African-American teenager named Michael Oher and helps him launch a football career, in "The Blind Side."On the page, the role could smack of condescending schmaltz, with lines like "You threaten my son, you threaten me." Yet when asserted by Bullock, with a perfect Tennessee twang, they work. And she gets off some great ones, such as when she warns one person, "If you so much as set foot downtown, you will be sorry.
- 1/7/2010
- backstage.com
Leo Tolstoy is widely considered in the west to be the greatest writer of all time and this year sees the release of a film, The Last Station, to mark the centenary of his death. So why is his native Russia lukewarm about the literary genius?
For Tolstoy fans, 2010 is set to be a wonderful year. One hundred years after the great Russian novelist fled from his country estate outside Moscow – dying three weeks later in a small provincial railway station – the world is gearing up to celebrate him. In Germany and the Us there are fresh translations of Anna Karenina; in Cuba and Mexico Tolstoy bookfairs; worldwide, a new black- and-white documentary. Dug up from Russia's archives and restored, the original cinema footage shows an elderly Tolstoy playing with his poodles and vaulting energetically on his horse.
Next month also sees the UK premiere of The Last Station, an...
For Tolstoy fans, 2010 is set to be a wonderful year. One hundred years after the great Russian novelist fled from his country estate outside Moscow – dying three weeks later in a small provincial railway station – the world is gearing up to celebrate him. In Germany and the Us there are fresh translations of Anna Karenina; in Cuba and Mexico Tolstoy bookfairs; worldwide, a new black- and-white documentary. Dug up from Russia's archives and restored, the original cinema footage shows an elderly Tolstoy playing with his poodles and vaulting energetically on his horse.
Next month also sees the UK premiere of The Last Station, an...
- 1/6/2010
- by Luke Harding
- The Guardian - Film News
Writer/director Michael Hoffman has made a diverse bunch of movies, from the quirky comedy Soapdish to the romantic comedy One Fine Day to his take on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Now he has tackled the final days of Leo Tolstoy in The Last Station, based on the novel by Jay Parini. It took Hoffman nearly two decades for the stars to align on the picture, which was originally to star Meryl Streep as Sofya Tolstoy and Anthony Hopkins as the Russian novelist during his final days when he and his wife fought bitterly over his loyalty to his cult of followers and the fate of his estate. When financing for the film came through from Germany and Russia, Hoffman was able to assemble Academy Award ® winner Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer as his leads with James McAvoy as Tolstoy's secretary, a key character in the film. Although filming in Russia,...
- 1/4/2010
- by maint
- Film Independent
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony may be one of the longest with 10 best picture nominees. It is more tough now to guess the contenders for Best Picture Nominations. The predictions will really be interesting this time ! We have sorted out ten movies as the contenders for Best Picture Nominees of 82nd Academy Awards. Our Predictions for 2010 Oscar Best Picture Nominees are:
Avatar
Avatar is centered around the themes of imperialism and biodiversity. The movie had been in development since 1994 by Cameron, who wrote a 114-page scriptment for the film. Cameron explained that the delay in producing the film since the 1990s had been to wait until the technology necessary to create his project was advanced enough. The film received generally positive reviews from film critics.
Nine The screenplay of this musical-romantic film is based on Arthur Kopit's book for the 1982 Tony Award-winning musical of the same name. The star-studded cast includes Daniel Day-Lewis,...
Avatar
Avatar is centered around the themes of imperialism and biodiversity. The movie had been in development since 1994 by Cameron, who wrote a 114-page scriptment for the film. Cameron explained that the delay in producing the film since the 1990s had been to wait until the technology necessary to create his project was advanced enough. The film received generally positive reviews from film critics.
Nine The screenplay of this musical-romantic film is based on Arthur Kopit's book for the 1982 Tony Award-winning musical of the same name. The star-studded cast includes Daniel Day-Lewis,...
- 12/23/2009
- by Alice
- Gossipvita
Sony Pictures Classics have picked up North America and Latin American rights to Michael Hoffman’s The Last Station starring Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, James McAvoy and Paul Giamatti. - With potential actress noms in An Education and Broken Embraces, and Best Foreign Picture nods for The White Ribbon and A Prophet, if I were Spc, I'd pick one or two ponies for Oscar contention and not try to clog the ballot box. Sony Pictures Classics have picked up North America and Latin American rights to Michael Hoffman’s The Last Station starring Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, James McAvoy and Paul Giamatti. That news was mentioned a couple of days back on the blogsphere. The pic, a Telluride selection, will be released this December - probably pushing some of the film's perfs. Based on Jay Parini's novel, this is set in the...
- 12/13/2009
- by Ioncinema.com Staff
- IONCINEMA.com
What's a young man to do in the shadow of greatness? In "The Last Station," written and directed by Michael Hoffman (adapted from Jay Parini's novel),we watch the last few months of writer Leo Tolstoy's life—his tempestuous marriage to the Countess Sofya and his compulsion to divest himself of earthly comforts, as played by Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren. And we watch through the eyes of young Valentin, Tolstoy's naively idealistic secretary. And who better to play Valentin than James McAvoy, in one of the most delicate, detailed, heart-rending performances in his notably brilliant career, despite being in the shadow of acting greatness. Back Stage: You were speaking with Michael Hoffman about this film long ago. How did the role finally become yours?James McAvoy: There was a point when I wasn't certain the job was being offered to me—probably because nobody knew who I was.
- 12/10/2009
- backstage.com
Tolstoy here seems half-monk and half-clown, a seeming contradiction translated with extraordinary clarity by Christopher Plummer.
In an earlier epoch, The Last Station is the kind of movie that some striving studio mogul would snap up, stock with the best performers on his payroll, and assign to an A-list director, in order to play in packed theaters of adoring fans, and finally to triumph in the hallowed hall of the Academy Awards. Today, however, Jay Parini's novel about the final days of Leo Tolstoy's life has come to movie screens with…...
In an earlier epoch, The Last Station is the kind of movie that some striving studio mogul would snap up, stock with the best performers on his payroll, and assign to an A-list director, in order to play in packed theaters of adoring fans, and finally to triumph in the hallowed hall of the Academy Awards. Today, however, Jay Parini's novel about the final days of Leo Tolstoy's life has come to movie screens with…...
- 12/9/2009
- by Chris Barsanti
- PopMatters
Sony Pictures Classics
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: B+
Directed by: Michael Hoffman
Written By: Michael Hoffman, from Jay Parini.s novel
Cast: Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, Paul Giamatti, James McAvoy
Screened at: Sony, NYC, 12/1/09
Opens: December 4, 2009
Bear with me because this is not a digression.Liberals want money to be distributed more equitably and will often support tax increases on the rich, with revenue diverted to programs that will help the poor or the community as a whole. Socialists are liberals with a vengeance: the most radical want more than simply government takeover of the means of production, but rather a redistribution of income to all according to need. There are different kinds of socialists. One group, the well-to-do, like to talk a good game because socialism is fashionable, but they would be horrified to lose more than a pittance. Another are the poor, those who...
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: B+
Directed by: Michael Hoffman
Written By: Michael Hoffman, from Jay Parini.s novel
Cast: Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, Paul Giamatti, James McAvoy
Screened at: Sony, NYC, 12/1/09
Opens: December 4, 2009
Bear with me because this is not a digression.Liberals want money to be distributed more equitably and will often support tax increases on the rich, with revenue diverted to programs that will help the poor or the community as a whole. Socialists are liberals with a vengeance: the most radical want more than simply government takeover of the means of production, but rather a redistribution of income to all according to need. There are different kinds of socialists. One group, the well-to-do, like to talk a good game because socialism is fashionable, but they would be horrified to lose more than a pittance. Another are the poor, those who...
- 12/2/2009
- Arizona Reporter
A devoted wife and passionate lover of fifty years is suddenly abandoned by her husband when he opts to regress to poverty, vegetarianism and celibacy. A potential Oscar contender, "The Last Station" has just got its first trailer that gives a preview at how Countess Sofya is frustrated with the changes her husband makes.
The epic drama is adapted from Jay Parini's novel of the same name about famous author Leo Tolstoy. During their marriage, Sofya has copied out "War and Peace" six times by hand and thus she flips out upon knowing that Tolstoy is encouraged to sign a new will that gives his inheritance to Russia instead of his family.
The roles of Sofya and Tolstoy were originally given to Meryl Streep and Anthony Hopkins but now they are filled by Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer. Joining the two in the cast ensemble are James McAvoy as Tolstoy's young and gullible assistant,...
The epic drama is adapted from Jay Parini's novel of the same name about famous author Leo Tolstoy. During their marriage, Sofya has copied out "War and Peace" six times by hand and thus she flips out upon knowing that Tolstoy is encouraged to sign a new will that gives his inheritance to Russia instead of his family.
The roles of Sofya and Tolstoy were originally given to Meryl Streep and Anthony Hopkins but now they are filled by Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer. Joining the two in the cast ensemble are James McAvoy as Tolstoy's young and gullible assistant,...
- 11/25/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
See the trailer as well as previously added images from Sony Pictures Classics' "The Last Station," starring Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, Paul Giamatti, James McAvoy and Kerry Condon. Michael Hoffman directs from the writing by Jay Parini. The foreign drama sees release in limited venues on December 4th. Check out the official site at http://www.sonyclassics.com/thelaststation. After almost fifty years of marriage, the Countess Sofya (Helen Mirren), Leo Tolstoy’s (Christopher Plummer) devoted wife, passionate lover, muse and secretary—she’s copied out War and Peace six times…by hand!—suddenly finds her entire world turned upside down. In the name of his newly created religion, the great Russian novelist has renounced his noble title, his property and even his family in favor of poverty, vegetarianism and even celibacy. After she’s born him thirteen children! When Sofya then discovers that Tolstoy’s trusted disciple, Chertkov (Paul Giamatti)—whom she despises.
- 11/25/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Christopher Plummer in The Last Station
Photo: Sony Pictures Classics The film that once was set to star Anthony Hopkins and Meryl Streep now stars Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren and is supposedly a serious Oscar contender. That film is The Last Station and it's set to hit theaters in New York and L.A. on December 4.
Michael Hoffman wrote and directed the film, an adaptation of Jay Parini's novel of the same name, which is set in the last tumultuous years of Leo Tolstoy's (Plummer) life, the historical biopic centers on the battle for his soul waged by his wife (Mirren) and his leading disciple, Vladimir Cherkov (Paul Giamatti). Torn between his professed codtrine of poverty and chastity and the reality of his enormous wealth, his thirteen children, and a life of hedonism, Tolstoy makes a dramatic flight from his home. Too ill to continue beyond the tiny rail station at Astapovo,...
Photo: Sony Pictures Classics The film that once was set to star Anthony Hopkins and Meryl Streep now stars Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren and is supposedly a serious Oscar contender. That film is The Last Station and it's set to hit theaters in New York and L.A. on December 4.
Michael Hoffman wrote and directed the film, an adaptation of Jay Parini's novel of the same name, which is set in the last tumultuous years of Leo Tolstoy's (Plummer) life, the historical biopic centers on the battle for his soul waged by his wife (Mirren) and his leading disciple, Vladimir Cherkov (Paul Giamatti). Torn between his professed codtrine of poverty and chastity and the reality of his enormous wealth, his thirteen children, and a life of hedonism, Tolstoy makes a dramatic flight from his home. Too ill to continue beyond the tiny rail station at Astapovo,...
- 11/25/2009
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
See new images in from Sony Pictures Classics' "The Last Station," starring Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, James McAvoy, Paul Giamatti, Anne-Marie Duff, Kerry Condon and Patrick Kennedy. Based on the novel by Jay Parini, the story looks at the tumultuous last year of novelist Leo Tolstoy. Christopher Plummer plays Tolstoy and Helen Mirren is in as his wife. Also in the cast are James McAvoy as well as Paul Giamatti. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September.
- 10/27/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Sony Pictures Classics has picked up North American and Latin American rights to bring to the screen Michael Hoffman's "The Last Station." Based on the novel by Jay Parini, the story looks at the tumultuous last year of novelist Leo Tolstoy. Christopher Plummer plays Tolstoy and Helen Mirren is in as his wife. Also in the cast are James McAvoy as well as Paul Giamatti. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September.
- 10/5/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Sony Pictures Classics. list of potential award winners continues to grow. According to Variety, Spc has picked up the North and Latin American rights to Telluride Film Festival hit, Michael Hoffman.s The Last Station. It.s based on Jay Parini.s 1990 biographical novel about famed Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. The film focuses on the point in Tolstoy.s (Christopher Plummer) life when he decides to renounce all of his wealth in the name of his new religion. His wife, Sofya (Helen Mirren), finds out that her husband.s disciple Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti) might have tricked Tolstoy into altering his will and leaving the Russian people all of his assets rather than his family. Sofya grows incredibly angry and desperate to get what.s rightfully hers, but her rage only makes her husband more vulnerable to Chertov.s power of persuasion. In the middle of the battle is Tolstoy...
- 10/3/2009
- cinemablend.com
Cologne, Germany -- Sony Pictures Classics has grabbed North and Latin American rights to Michael Hoffmann's historical drama "The Last Station," starring Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, James McAvoy and Paul Giamatti from Robbie Little's The Little Film Company.
The drama, based on the 1990 novel by Jay Parini, premiered at Teluride and is the story of a young intellectual (McAvoy) who visits the aging Russian author Leo Tolstoy (Plummer) only to become entangled in a battle over his literary legacy. Mirren stars as Tolstoy's conniving wife, Countess Sofya. Ann-Marie Duff also stars, playing Tolstoy's youngest daughter Sasha.
"The Last Station" was produced by Germany's Egoli Tossell Film Halle in co-production with SamFilm and Russia's Andrei Konchalovsky Production Center. Jens Meurer, Chris Curling and Bonnie Arnold produced with Andrei Konchalovsky acting as executive producer.
In a separate domestic deal, Strand Releasing has acquired U.S. rights to German Film Award winner "John Rabe,...
The drama, based on the 1990 novel by Jay Parini, premiered at Teluride and is the story of a young intellectual (McAvoy) who visits the aging Russian author Leo Tolstoy (Plummer) only to become entangled in a battle over his literary legacy. Mirren stars as Tolstoy's conniving wife, Countess Sofya. Ann-Marie Duff also stars, playing Tolstoy's youngest daughter Sasha.
"The Last Station" was produced by Germany's Egoli Tossell Film Halle in co-production with SamFilm and Russia's Andrei Konchalovsky Production Center. Jens Meurer, Chris Curling and Bonnie Arnold produced with Andrei Konchalovsky acting as executive producer.
In a separate domestic deal, Strand Releasing has acquired U.S. rights to German Film Award winner "John Rabe,...
- 10/2/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
I've been waiting for this movie since last year and even did a post in anticipation. I'd love to see James McAvoy back doing period movies and The Last Station is apparently a great acting vehicle for someone as talented as McAvoy - and the cast is also superb!
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- - - Based on the book by Jay Parini, The Last Station looks at the last days of Russia's greatest author, Count Leo Tolstoy. Considered an icon by all Russians, Tolstoy is the author of such acclaimed novels as 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina'. Wanting to spend his dying days in peace and quiet, Tolstoy fled from his home and away from the spotlight. He died nine days later in the house of the station master at Astapovo. Directed by Michael Hoffman, the cast include James McAvoy as Valentin Bulgakov, Christopher Plummer as Count Leo Tolstoy,...
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- - - Based on the book by Jay Parini, The Last Station looks at the last days of Russia's greatest author, Count Leo Tolstoy. Considered an icon by all Russians, Tolstoy is the author of such acclaimed novels as 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina'. Wanting to spend his dying days in peace and quiet, Tolstoy fled from his home and away from the spotlight. He died nine days later in the house of the station master at Astapovo. Directed by Michael Hoffman, the cast include James McAvoy as Valentin Bulgakov, Christopher Plummer as Count Leo Tolstoy,...
- 9/8/2009
- The Movie Fanatic
I've been waiting for this movie since last year and even did a post in anticipation. I'd love to see James McAvoy back doing period movies and The Last Station is apparently a great acting vehicle for someone as talented as McAvoy - and the cast is also superb!
- - -
- - - Based on the book by Jay Parini, The Last Station looks at the last days of Russia's greatest author, Count Leo Tolstoy. Considered an icon by all Russians, Tolstoy is the author of such acclaimed novels as 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina'. Wanting to spend his dying days in peace and quiet, Tolstoy fled from his home and away from the spotlight. He died nine days later in the house of the station master at Astapovo. Directed by Michael Hoffman, the cast include James McAvoy as Valentin Bulgakov, Christopher Plummer as Count Leo Tolstoy,...
- - -
- - - Based on the book by Jay Parini, The Last Station looks at the last days of Russia's greatest author, Count Leo Tolstoy. Considered an icon by all Russians, Tolstoy is the author of such acclaimed novels as 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina'. Wanting to spend his dying days in peace and quiet, Tolstoy fled from his home and away from the spotlight. He died nine days later in the house of the station master at Astapovo. Directed by Michael Hoffman, the cast include James McAvoy as Valentin Bulgakov, Christopher Plummer as Count Leo Tolstoy,...
- 9/8/2009
- The Movie Fanatic
A few months ago, we mentioned (http://themovie-fanatic.com/exclusive_articles/star_news!/the_last_station_james_mcavoy/) that James McAvoy is part of an impressive ensemble cast for the big screen adaptation of Jay Parini's book, The Last Station. The Last Station looks at the last days of Russia's greatest author, Count Leo Tolstoy. Considered an icon by all Russians, Tolstoy is the author of such acclaimed novels as 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina'. Wanting to spend his dying days in peace and quiet, Tolstoy fled from his home and away from the spotlight. He died nine days later in the house of the station master at Astapovo. Directed by Michael Hoffman, the cast include James McAvoy as Valentin Bulgakov, Christopher Plummer as Count Leo Tolstoy, Helen Mirren as Tolstoy's wife, Sofya, Pul Giamatti as Vladimir Chertkov and Anne-Marie Duff as Tolstoy's daughter, Sasha. Awards...
- 9/29/2008
- The Movie Fanatic
The Devil Wears Prada's evil editor has booked another literary giant: Leo Tolstoy. Per Production Weekly, Meryl Streep is teaming up with Anthony Hopkins and Paul Giamatti for the indie biopic The Last Station from director Michael Hoffman. Based on Jay Parini's novel of the same name, the historical drama tells the story of how the legendary Russian scribe (Hopkins) struggled with fame and wealth while trying to live a life devoid of material things. Streep portrays his wife, while Giamatti takes on the role of the War and Peace author's leading disciple. Production is expected to begin next February.
- 6/29/2006
- IMDbPro News
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