June 29th discussion : The Dying Gaul

Register for this discussion starting June 2nd.

Pick up your copy of the DVD starting June 2nd.

Director – Craig Lucas

Screenplay – Craig Lucas

Stars – Peter Sarsgaard, Campbell Scott, Patricia Clarkson

Plot: A powerful and seductive Hollywood mogul convinces an impoverished West Hollywood writer, whose lover has recently died of AIDS, to sell his autobiographical screenplay for big bucks. The writer, Robert, knows he'll have to make major changes in the script (like changing the sex of the dying lover). During the rewrite, the producer, Jeffrey, takes Robert under his wing, introducing him to his wife Elaine, herself a closet screenwriter. Jeffrey approaches Robert for sex and Elaine approaches Robert out of curiosity about his sex life in grief. The entangled triangle of relationships threatens more than the completion of a film script. Plot synopsis from amazon.com

Review links:
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times
David Edelstein Slate

Read more reviews:
IMDB
Metacritic

June 22nd discussion : Capote

Register for this discussion starting June 2nd.

Pick up your copy of the DVD starting June 2nd.

Director – Bennett Miller

Screenplay – Dan Futterman (adapted from the book by Gerald Clarke)

Stars – Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Clifton Collins Jr., Chris Cooper

“In November, 1959, the shocking murder of a smalltown Kansas family captures the imagination of Truman Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman), famed author of Breakfast at Tiffany's. With his childhood friend Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), writer of the soon-to-be published To Kill a Mockingbird, Capote sets out to investigate, winning over the locals despite his flamboyant appearance and style. When he forms a bond with the killers and their execution date nears, the writing of "In Cold Blood," a book that will change the course of American literature, takes a drastic toll on Capote, changing him in ways he never imagined.” Product description via amazon.com

Review links:
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times
David Edelstein Slate

Read more reviews:
IMDB
Metacritic