'Stone' Movie Info

Synopsis
A seasoned corrections official and a volatile inmate find their lives dangerously intertwined in Stone, a thought-provoking drama directed by John Curran and written by Angus MacLachlan. Stone features powerful performances by Academy Award(R) winner Robert De Niro and Oscar(R) nominee Edward Norton, and a startlingly raw, breakout performance from Milla Jovovich as the sexy, casually amoral woman they both desire.

As parole officer Jack Mabry (De Niro) counts the days toward a quiet retirement, he is asked to review the case of Gerald ``Stone Creeson (Norton), in prison for covering up the murder of his grandparents with a fire. Now eligible for early release, Stone needs to convince Jack he has reformed, but his attempts to influence the older man's decision have profound and unexpected consequences for them both.

Stone skillfully weaves together the parallel journeys of two men grappling with dark impulses, as the line between lawman and lawbreaker becomes precariously thin. Golden Globe(R) winner Frances Conroy completes the superb ensemble as Madylyn, Jack's devout, long-suffering spouse.

Set against the quiet desperation of economically ravaged suburban Detroit and the stifling brutality of a maximum security prison, this tale of passion, betrayal and corruption examines the fractured lives of two volatile men breaking from their troubled pasts to face uncertain futures.

The film stars Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull), Edward Norton (The Painted Veil, Fight Club) Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element) and Frances Conroy (``Six Feet Under). It is directed by John Curran (The Painted Veil, We Don't Live Here Anymore) from a screenplay by Angus MacLachlan (Junebug). Stone is produced by Holly Wiersma (Factory Girl), Jordan Schur and David J. Mimran. Director of photography is Maryse Alberti (The Wrestler). Editor is Alexandre de Franceschi (Bright Star). Costume designer is Victoria Farrell (New York, I Love You). Production designer is Tim Grimes (The Wrestler). Co-producer is Ed Cathell III (The Secret Life of Bees). Associate producers are Cat Lake and Lauren Mann. Co-executive producers are Will French (Game of Death) and Stephen Roberts (Game of Death). Executive producers are René Besson (Solitary Man), Danny Dimbort (The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans), Avi Lerner (Rambo) and Trevor Short (Leaves of Grass).

'The Hangover' Director Out With New Comedy 'Due Date'

From Todd Phillips, the director of the smash comedy “The Hangover,” comes “Due Date” starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis as two unlikely companions who are thrown together on a road trip that turns out to be as life-changing as it is outrageous.

Downey plays Peter Highman, an expectant first-time father whose wife’s due date is a mere five days away. As Peter hurries to catch a flight home from Atlanta to be at her side for the birth, his best intentions go completely awry when a chance encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis) forces Peter to hitch a ride with Ethan—on what turns out to be a cross-country road trip that will ultimately destroy several cars, numerous friendships and Peter’s last nerve.

For Phillips, who also serves as a producer and co-writer on the film, the fun of making “Due Date” has been tied to the remarkable cast he has assembled. “Half-way through `The Hangover,' I decided I wanted to work with Zach Galifianakis again,” he notes. “Then, getting a guy like Robert Downey Jr. was a long shot, but when he came on board, it was crazy. So, when the concept came together with the right cast, we had a movie. What made it different was the ability to walk that thin line of awkwardness between the two main characters. But that’s why we have actors like Robert and Zach—they’re so good at it.”

The entire shoot of “Due Date” has been fuelled with an “anything goes” spirit of improvisation, says Phillips. “They throw lines at each other, but we normally talk about it before,” he says. “Still, the spirit of improvising is in the film in a way that makes it feel alive.”

“Every day’s a little bit different, but we’re always doing the same thing, which is playing around and massaging it and trying to have a good time,” Downey says. “I think that’s one of the great things that Phillips said—that he loves doing this because he gets paid to do what he would do for free. And he basically laughs all day long.”

Susan Downey, who serves as an executive producer, adds, “Robert, Zach and Todd all really feed off of each other. They almost have a kind of brotherhood in how they approach this. They just go at each other in a very fun yet constructive way. And they all share the same goal—they just want to make the best version of this possible. It may not be a version that’s on the page the morning they show up to shoot the scene, but they just keep mining it and pushing it to be the best that it can be.”

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Due Date” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

The Social Network Sneak Preview

Considered as the film to beat in next year's Academy Awards, Columbia Pictures' “The Social Network,” the controversial movie detailing the origins of social media megasite Facebook, will have whole-day sneak previews on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 18 & 19 in selected theaters in Metro Manila. Tickets will be available at regular admission prices.

This affords film buffs and Facebookers a chance to watch the much-talked-about and critically acclaimed movie ahead of its grand opening here on Oct. 27. “The Social Network” has been the No. 1 movie in the US for two consecutive weeks now, earning a cumulative gross of $47-million.

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times praises “The Social Network” as “fleet...funny, exhilarating...supremely confident...a creation story for the digital age,” while Richard Corliss of Time Magazine raves, “The film is like a video game at warp speed. The rewards for paying attention are mammoth and exhilarating.”

“It’s the movie of the year that also brilliantly defines the decade,” applauds Peter Travers of Rolling Stone.
In the film, on a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history, but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications.

Also starring are Justin Timberlake (“Shrek The Third”) as Sean Parker, the Napster co-founder who became Facebook's founding president; and Andrew Garfield (“Lions for Lambs,” “Spider-Man” 2012) as Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder who fell out with Zuckerberg over money.

Directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, “The Social Network” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like ColumbiaPicturesPH on Facebook.