Only one new movie is opening in wide release this weekend:
Expected to top the weekend box office is the superhero sequel Thor: The Dark World directed by Alan Taylor and starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Kat Dennings, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Anthony Hopkins. Brian Tyler who previously scored Marvel’s Iron Man 3 earlier this year has composed the film’s music. Hollywood Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score digitally and Intrada Records will release a physical version. Check out our previous article for the full album details. Also visit Superhero Hype, Tracksounds, Soundtrax and Trailer Addict for recent interviews with Tyler about his work on the film.
Opening in limited release is the period drama The Book Thief directed by Brian Percival and starring Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson and Sophie Nelisse. The film’s original music is composed and conducted by Academy Award winner John Williams. Sony Classical will release a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score on November 8. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and audio clips. Also check out our previous article for a video interview with Williams about his first score for a film not directed by Steven Spielberg in eight years.
Also opening in select cities is the documentary The Armstrong Lie written and directed by Alex Gibney and produced by Frank Marshall, Matt Tolmach. David Kahne has composed the film’s original score. No soundtrack album has been announced. The film tells the unfolding story of Armstrong’s life and career over the last four years. The movie premiered at this year’s Venice Film Festival and is being released by Sony Pictures Classics. To learn more about the documentary, visit the official movie website.
Also opening in limited release is the romantic drama How I Live Now directed by Kevin Macdonald and starring Saoirse Ronan, Tom Holland, Anna Chancellor, George McKay and Corey Johnson. The film’s original score is composed by Jon Hopkins (Monsters). JustMusic has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music, as well as Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra’s Do It With a Rockstar and a remix of Daughter’s Home by Hopkins. Check out our previous news article for the full soundtrack details and to listen to audio clips.
Already playing in select theaters since this past Wednesday is the indie romantic comedy A Case of You Kat Coiro and starring Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Sienna Miller, Keir O’Donnell, Busy Philipps, Peter Dinklage and Brendan Fraser. Mateo Messina (Juno, Butter) who previously scored Coiro’s L!fe Happens has composed the film’s original score. No soundtrack album has been announced. A Case of You follows a writer who builds a very embellished online profile in an attempt to win his dream girl. The film premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and was picked up for U.S. distribution by IFC Films. To find out more about the comedy, visit the official movie website.
Mateo Messina has also composed the score for the indie comedy Best Man Down written and directed by Ted Koland and starring Justin Long, Tyler Labine, Jess Weixler, Addison Timlin, Frances O’Connor and Shelley Long. No word on a soundtrack release. The movie follows a bride and groom who are forced to cancel their honeymoon when their best man dies unexpectedly. The film is being released today by Magnolia Pictures and is also available on VOD. To learn more about the comedy, visit the official movie website.
Another limited release this week is the new film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations directed by Mike Nevell and starring Jeremy Irvine, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Robbie Coltrane, Ewen Bremner, Jason Flemyng, Sally Hawkins and Holliday Grainger. Richard Hartley (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, A Thousand Acres) has composed the film’s original music. Metropolis Movie Music has released a soundtrack featuring the composer’s score when the film was released overseas last year. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details.
Also opening in limited release is the indie drama The Motel Life directed by Alan and Gabe Polsky and starring Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff, Dakota Fanning, Kris Kristofferson, Garret Backstrom, Andrew Lee, Doc Divecchio and Nancy Youngblut. David Holmes (Ocean’s Eleven, Haywire, Out of Sight) has composed the film’s original music. No word on a soundtrack release. The Motel Life follows two down-on-their-luck brothers who are forced to flee from their home to Reno after being involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident. The movie is also being released day-and-date on VOD.
Also opening in select cities is the indie drama Go for Sisters written and directed by John Sayles and starring Edward James Olmos, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Yolonda Ross, Harold Perrineau, Hector Elizondo and Isaiah Washington. The film’s original music is composed by Mason Daring (Music of the Heart, A Walk on the Moon) who previously collaborated with Sayles on such film as Lone Star, Passion Fish and Sunshine State. No soundtrack album has been released. The movie premiered at this year’s SXSW Film Festival and is being released by Variance Films. For more information about the drama, visit the official movie website.
Another limited release this week is the indie comedy Ass Backwards directed by Chris Nelson and starring Casey Wilson, June Diane Raphael, Alicia Silverstone, Jon Cryer, Vincent D’Onofrio, Brian Geraghty, Bob Odenkirk, Paul Scheer and Sandy Martin. Orr Rebhun and Erica Weis (The Crazy Ones, 1600 Penn) have composed the film’s original music. No soundtrack album has been announced. Ass Backwards follows two self-proclaimed stylish New Yorkers with a fragile grip on reality who take a road trip back to their hometown to claim the beauty pageant crown that eluded them as children. The comedy premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and has been picked up by Gravitas Ventures for U.S. distribution.
Opening in New York this weekend before expanding to other cities later this month is the romantic drama Reaching for the Moon directed by Bruno Barreto and starring Miranda Otto, Gloria Pires and Tracy Middendorf. Marcelo Zarvos (The Good Shepherd, The Words, Ray Donovan) has composed the film’s original music. No word yet on a soundtrack release. Reaching for the Moon chronicles the mid-life years of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Elizabeth Bishop when she left America to live and write in Rio de Janiero — where she would also fall in love with well-off architect Lota de Macedo Soares. The movie is being released by Wolfe Releasing.
Finally, another limited release this weekend is the comedy The Starving Games directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (Meet the Spartans, Vampire Sucks) and starring Maiara Walsh, Brant Daugherty, Cody Christian, Juhahn Jones and Taylor Ashley Murphy. The spoof of The Hunger Games and other films is composed by Timothy Wynn (Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3,Warhawk video games). No soundtrack album has been announced. Check out our previous article to learn more about the film, which is being released by Ketchup Entertainment and is also available on VOD.
