LOCAL CONNECTIONS
With Georgia’s booming film industry, you can’t look at a list of movies without noticing some that were made here (or stars with local ties).
Filmed in metro Atlanta
“No Good Deed”
“The Good Lie”
“Kill the Messenger”
“Dumb and Dumber To”
Stars with area ties
Jane Fonda, who plays the matriarch in “This Is Where I Leave You,” has lived here in the past and still spends a fair amount of time in Atlanta, where she has friends and family and where her charity GCAPP is based.
Atlanta entertainment mogul Tyler Perry appears in “Gone Girl.”
Andre Benjamin (of Outkast hip-hop fame) stars as rocker Jimi Hendrix in “Jimi: All Is by My Side.”
Denzel Washington, who stars in “The Equalizer,” filmed his Oscar-nominated role in “Flight” here. His “Equalizer” co-star Chloe Grace Moretz, who also appears in “Laggies,” is from Cartersville.
— Jennifer Brett
True to Hollywood form, the popcorn movies of summer are finally making way for the prestigious Oscar contenders of fall. Of course, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a fair share of silly comedies, mindless action movies and animated family films on tap, too. But with nary a comic-book superhero or sequel/prequel/remake/reboot in sight, grown-up audiences have as much to look forward to as the younger crowd.
Although studio release schedules are subject to change, here’s a breakdown of what moviegoers can anticipate between now and mid-November, when the even bigger holiday films will start hitting theaters.
SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS:
"Hector and the Search for Happiness." A discontented psychiatrist embarks on a worldwide quest to find the secret to true happiness in this larger-than-life comedy. Simon Pegg portrays the soul-searching shrink, with Christopher Plummer, Toni Collette, Stellan Skarsgard and Jean Reno among those he meets along the way.
"Love Is Strange." A longtime gay couple (John Lithgow and Alfred Molina) takes advantage of a new same-sex marriage law and legally ties the knot. But when one of them loses his teaching job at a Catholic school, they're forced to sell their apartment and make temporary living arrangements apart from each other. The drama also stars Marisa Tomei.
"This Is Where I Leave You." Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Adam Driver and Rose Byrne lead the ensemble in this comedy about a dysfunctional family. Four siblings return to their childhood home — with various spouses, exes and kids in tow — for their father's funeral. Jane Fonda plays the widowed matriarch.
DULY NOTED:
Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning and Toni Collette provide voices in the animated flick "The Boxtrolls."
The marital drama "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them" co-stars Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy.
Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman return for the family-friendly sequel "Dolphin Tale 2."
"The Drop" is a crime caper with Tom Hardy and the late James Gandolfini (in his final role).
In "The Equalizer," vigilante Denzel Washington takes on the Russian mob to rescue young Chloe Grace Moretz.
"Good People" casts James Franco and Kate Hudson as a married couple on the run from gangsters.
Andre Benjamin (of Outkast hip-hop fame) stars as legendary '60s rocker Jimi Hendrix in "Jimi: All Is by My Side."
Teens run afoul of monsters in "The Maze Runner," based on the popular YA book by James Dashner.
Kevin Kline and Maggie Smith play mismatched Parisian housemates in the comedy "My Old Lady."
The home-invasion thriller "No Good Deed" features Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson.
Kevin Smith ("Clerks") directs Justin Long and Haley Joel Osment in the horror movie "Tusk."
Liam Neeson portrays a renegade private eye in the action-packed "A Walk Among the Tombstones."
In "Whiplash," a Sundance breakout, young Miles Teller portrays a competitive jazz musician.
OCTOBER HIGHLIGHTS:
"Fury." As World War II draws to a close, Brad Pitt portrays a battle-scarred sergeant who leads his endangered crew on a mission behind enemy lines in Nazi Germany. Shia LaBeouf and Logan Lerman also star. The action drama recalls the claustrophobic atmosphere of "Das Boot," only in a Sherman tank instead of a submarine.
"Gone Girl." Director David Fincher ("The Social Network") adapts Gillian Flynn's best-selling thriller. Ben Affleck stars as a man whose life unravels amid a media frenzy surrounding the disappearance of his wife (Rosamund Pike). Suspicions mount that he might know more than he's telling. The supporting cast includes Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry.
"Laggies." In the latest character-driven indie comedy from writer/director Lynn Shelton ("Your Sister's Sister"), Keira Knightley is an aimless young woman who finds a new friend in quirky teenager Chloe Grace Moretz. Sam Rockwell portrays the kid's world-weary (and single) father. Love may be in the air.
"St. Vincent." Melissa McCarthy plays the struggling single mother of a 12-year-old son (Jaeden Lieberher) in this warm-hearted comedy — but it's basically a supporting role. The real star is Bill Murray as an eccentric curmudgeon who develops an unlikely camaraderie with the fatherless boy. With Naomi Watts as a pregnant stripper.
DULY NOTED:
Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner are the parents in "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day," based on Judith Viorst's children's book.
Nicole Kidman loses her memory in the psychological drama "Before I Go to Sleep," opposite Colin Firth as her husband.
The latest romantic Nicholas Sparks adaptation, "The Best of Me," features James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan.
"The Book of Life" is an animated film produced by Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth").
Black and white Ivy League students square off in the college satire "Dear White People," a hit at Sundance this year.
The horror movie "Dracula Untold" tells the origin story of the famous blood-sucking count.
"The Good Lie" showcases Reese Witherspoon in the real-life story of an American woman driven to help Sudanese refugees.
Part legal thriller, part estranged father-son drama, "The Judge" co-stars Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall.
Journalist Jeremy Renner upsets both Central American drug smugglers and the CIA in the gritty drama "Kill the Messenger."
"Left Behind" is a sci-fi action thriller starring Nicolas Cage.
Adam Sandler and Emma Thompson star in "Men, Women & Children," a comedy from "Juno" director Jason Reitman.
Loner (and freelance TV cameraman) Jake Gyllenhaal delves into the seedy underworld of L.A. in "Nightcrawler."
Gay activists lend their support to striking British coal miners in the fact-based "Pride," with Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton.
Kate Beckinsale, Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley appear in the suspense drama "Stonehearst Asylum."
NOVEMBER HIGHLIGHTS:
"Birdman." From director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu ("Babel") comes a dark comedy about a washed-up star's bid for redemption. Not coincidentally, Michael Keaton (who played Batman on the big screen) portrays the Broadway-bound actor, who's most famous for his movie role as an iconic superhero. Also in the cast: Edward Norton, Naomi Watts and Zach Galifianakis.
"Foxcatcher." A virtually unrecognizable Steve Carell plays it straight as John du Pont, the enigmatic Olympic wrestling benefactor charged in the murder of an athlete. Directed by Bennett Miller ("Moneyball"), the docudrama co-stars Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo as brother wrestlers Mark and Dave Schultz.
"Interstellar." "Inception" director Christopher Nolan's sci-fi mind-bender follows a group of explorers to outer space, where they discover a wormhole that transports them to new and distant galaxies. Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway head the cast, which also features Jessica Chastain and Casey Affleck. The visual effects promise to dazzle.
"Rosewater." TV host and political pundit Jon Stewart makes his directorial debut with a harrowing drama based on BBC journalist Maziar Bahari's best-selling memoir about his 2009 imprisonment in Iran, where he was interrogated (and tortured) for more than 100 days. The international cast includes Gael Garcia Bernal and Shohreh Aghdashloo.
DULY NOTED:
In "Beyond the Lights," a pop singer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) clashes with her overprotective mother/manager (Minnie Driver).
An adorable robot stars in the animated movie "Big Hero 6," based on a lesser-known Marvel comic book.
Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels reunite for the farcical Farrelly brothers sequel "Dumb and Dumber To."
"The Imitation Game" tells the true story of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), a British WWII code-breaker later tried for being homosexual.
Eddie Redmayne plays the young Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything."
