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TALK: Jonathan Levine opens up about “Long Shot”

"It was important to us to make something kind of joyous at the end of the day"
Charlize Theron, Seth Rogen and June Diane Raphael
Directed by Jonathan Levine

Filmmaker Jonathan Levine stood in front of a packed theater in Washington, D.C., Wednesday evening to introduce a screening of his new film, “Long Shot,” a political comedy. He opined that it was somewhat of a challenge, in such surreal times as now, to make a comedy that satirizes politics. Nonetheless, he felt the time was right for such a rib-tickler like his new film. “We started making ... more >

Warm Bodies

A concept doth not a good film make
Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Parker
Directed by Jonathan Levine

After vampires and wherewolves let us hail the return of the zombies (whether they appear in "The Walking Dead," "Warm Bodies," "28 days and weeks later," "Zombieland," or, very soon, "World War Z," zombies are pleasing to audiences--they're attention-grabbers and soon they'll probably control everything). The Jonathan Levine-directed (PROFILE) "Warm Bodies" expounds on the living-dead ... more >

Jonathan Levine, FILMMAKER

From "The Wackness" to "Warm Bodies"

Born in 1976 in New York Jonathan Levine worked as assistant to Paul Schrader on the film “Auto Focus” (2002) and two other short films, until he directed “All the Boys Love Mandy Lane” (2006) which marked his debut in the feature-length film racket. That teen-horror thriller rose well above the usual productions found under this genre. Levine the director made all the right noises, drawing from ... more >

50/50

It takes a pair to beat the odds
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anna Kendrick, and Seth Rogen
Directed by Jonathan Levine

If you hear the movie press machine tell it, I’m supposed to come away from 50/50 talking about how it’s a new type of cancer movie: frank, funny, and unconventionally moving and based on the real-life cancer experiences of its screenwriter, Will Reiser. Instead, I left with a cool feeling toward the film’s misogyny, something that Seth Rogen’s presence often serves as a dog whistle for. ... more >

50/50

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