2018 PGA Awards Nominations Snubs 'Mudbound', 'The Florida Project', And More

We're neck deep in the awards season and while every guilt and critic group tries to make theirs look important, only a select few tend to be good indicators for the Oscars. The Producers Guild Awards is definitely one of those, and that bodes well for a surprisingly large group of mainstream flicks.

Get Out, Lady Bird, Call Me By Your Name, The Big Sick, and Wonder Woman were among those nominated for the top film, their equivalent to Best Picture. There were 11 nominees this year due to a tie, and that may be what got Wonder Woman into the mix. I, Tonya, Three Billboards, Molly's Game, The Post, The Shape of Water, and Dunkirk rounded out the rest of the group.

Notice a few big movies missing? Yeah, I bet you do. You won't find Mudbound, Phantom Thread, Darkest Hour, or The Florida Project on the list, which severely hurts their chances of getting nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award. Ooooh boy, I'm looking at you hard on this one, Netflix. Meanwhile, Amazon must be giddy that The Big Sick is starting to get the attention it so richly deserves. I definitely think it will be among the Best Picture candidates at the Oscars. 

The rest of the nominations are below. The winners will be announced on January 20th.

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures

The Big Sick

Call Me by Your Name

Dunkirk

Get Out

I, Tonya

Lady Bird

Molly’s Game

The Post

The Shape of Water

Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

Wonder Woman

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures

The Boss Baby

Coco

Despicable Me 3

Ferdinand

The Lego Batman Movie

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures

Chasing Coral

City of Ghosts

Cries from Syria

Earth: One Amazing Day

Jane

Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower

The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee

The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama

Big Little Lies (Season 1)

The Crown (Season 2)

Game of Thrones (Season 7)

The Handmaid’s Tale (Season 1)

Stranger Things (Season 2)

The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy

Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 9)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 1)

Master of None (Season 2)

Silicon Valley (Season 4)

Veep (Season 6)

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television

Black Mirror (Season 4)

Fargo (Season 3)

FEUD: Bette and Joan (Season 1)

Sherlock: The Lying Detective

The Wizard of Lies

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television

30 for 30 (Season 8)

60 Minutes (Season 50)

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (Season 9, Season 10)

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (Season 1, Season 2)

Spielberg

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (Season 2)

Jimmy Kimmel Live! (Season 15)

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Season 4)

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (Season 3)

Saturday Night Live (Season 43)

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television

The Amazing Race (Season 29)

American Ninja Warrior (Season 9)

Lip Sync Battle (Season 3)

Top Chef (Season 14)

The Voice (Season 12, Season 13)

The Award for Outstanding Short-Form Program

Better Call Saul’s Los Pollos Hermanos Employee Training (Season 1)

Carpool Karaoke (Season 1)

Humans of New York: The Series (Season 1)

National Endowment for the Arts: United States of Arts (Season 3)

Viceland at the Women’s March (Season 1)

The Award for Outstanding Sports Program

All or Nothing: A Season with the Los Angeles Rams (Season 2)

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Season 12)

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (Season 23)

SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt (Season 3)

VICE World of Sports (Season 2)

The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program

Doc McStuffins (Season 4)

Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2017

School of Rock (Season 3)

Sesame Street (Season 47)

SpongeBob SquarePants (Season 10, Season 11)

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Punch Drunk DVDs: 'Wonder Woman', 'The Big Sick', 'Close Encounters', And More!

NEW THIS WEEK

 

Wonder Woman

Beloved DC Comics icon Wonder Woman makes her long-awaited big screen debut in this acclaimed new action-adventure blockbuster from director Patty Jenkins. Gal Gadot stars as the titular princess Dianna, an unbeatable Amazonian warrior born and raised for battle and glory. When an American pilot (Chris Pine) crash lands his plane in her secluded island homeland, Dianna discovers not only the existence of men, but of the atrocities they can commit, as she finds herself suddenly involved in the first World War. Believing it to be her mission to end the worldwide bloodshed, the warrior enters the world for the first time, prepared to fight alongside us to save it.

We Said: “[Wonder Woman’s] experiences in war teach her that for all of man's many faults, it's their imperfections that make them unique, and their constant striving to be better. Wonder Woman is also an imperfect creation, but Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot  have given us the best DC Comics movie yet, one that future films would be wise to follow.” Rating: 3.5 out of 5

BUY NOW

The Big Sick

Based on the real-life relationship of screenwriting duo Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick tells their unconventional love story with hilarious humor and heartwarming depth. Kumail stars as a fictionalized version of himself, an up and coming  Pakistani comedian who’s fallen in love with a white American woman (Zoe Kazan), despite the wishes of his traditional Muslim parents. When Emily suddenly comes down with a sickness that leaves her comatose, Kamail forms an unlikely friendship with her understandably stressed-out parents (Ray Romano and Holly Hunter.)  

We Said: “The Big Sick doesn't offer up any easy solutions for Kumail. This is a guy who is dealing with thousands of years of tradition heaped onto his shoulders. Breaking away from that is going to cause some people a lot of pain. At the same time, things aren't so easy to figure out when Emily wakes up. He may have become a changed man in the time she was sick, but it's great that her concerns when awake are made paramount. This isn't just Kumail's story, it's the story of Kumail and Emily, and she has her own thoughts on his supposed transformation. Of course, we know there's going to be a happy ending, but at least by the end of The Big Sick we feel Kumail and Emily deserve it.” Rating: 4 out of 5

BUY NOW

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg’s genre defining scifi masterpiece, finally gets the high-def treatment it deserves in this all new 4K restoration or the 70’s hit. Richard Dreyfuss stars as an average man suddenly obsessed with the idea of life beyond our planet in this groundbreaking and iconic movie that’s just as powerful today as it was 40 years ago.

BUY NOW

Also Available:  The Bad Batch, Bates Motel: The Complete Fifth Season, Arrow: The Complete Fifth Season, Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars, and Lethal Weapon: The Complete First Season

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Box Office: Dunkirk Strafes the Competition with $50M Weekend

1. Dunkirk (review)- $50.5M
Christopher Nolan continues his reign as this generations sporadic director who knocks it out of the park with each outing. World War II movies are generally well received by audiences when it comes to box office receipts but in the words of our own Travis Hopson "Dunkirk raises the bar for WW2 Movies", with competition like Saving Private Ryan and countless golden age classics, that's pretty high praise
2. Girl's Trip- $30.3M
In a surprising turn the female led comedy Girl's Trip earns a VERY respectable $30M weekend. We're seeing more and more how there is little to no difference in the draw of a comedy based on it's gender leads, male or female...if it's funny, people will come out.
3. Spider-Man: Homecoming- $22M/$251.7M
Another week, another drop for the wall crawler. After a record breaking opening it doesn't look like this one is going to break the billion dollar mark, but let's not be too jaded...1/4 of a billion in 3 weeks is nothing to laugh at.
4. War for the Planet of the Apes- $20.4M/$97M
5. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets- $17.2M
Luc Besson's attempt to bring us the next The Fifth Element has fallen on it's face. With a sky-high budget this kind of opening weekend is enough to certify this one a bomb.
6. Despicable Me 3- $12M/$213M
Gru and the Minions are still bringing in $200 mil+?? Really?
7. Baby Driver- $6M/$84M
8. The Big Sick- $5M/$24M
9. Wonder Woman- $4.6M/$389M
In it's eigth week of release the Amazonian princess is still holding a place in the top 10, with only another 11 million to go it looks like the first true DCU critical success is going to break $400M before it's all said and done.
10. Wish Upon- $2.4M/$10M

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Box Office: 'Planet Of The Apes' Wins The War With $56M; 'The Big Sick' Sees Healthy Gains

1. War for the Planet of the Apes (review)- $56.5M
Are we looking at a case of blockbuster fatigue here? War for the Planet of the Apes opened with a decent $56.5M domestic, and a worldwide haul of $102M. I mean, that's not bad, but it's considerably less than Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' $72.6M debut a couple of years ago, and only a couple of million better than 'Rise' in 2011. This isn't terrible by any stretch but it's disappointing since the reviews have been through the roof, some of the summer's best. But let's be honest, there have been a lot of blockbusters in a short amount of time, and audiences seem to be tuning out the franchise sequels. Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean both underperformed, and it looks like 'Dawn' will do the same.
2. Spider-Man: Homecoming- $45.2M/$208.2M
Ooof, Spider-Man swung into the side of a building in week two as 'Homecoming' fell 61% for $45.2M. That's the largest second week drop in MCU history, and puts it on a course to do exactly the same business as The Amazing Spider-Man which wrapped up at $262M. It's already surpassed the domestic tally for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, so there's that. And it's not like these are really disappointing numbers, anyway. This one was far less expensive than Sony's most recent Spider-Man attempts, and with the power of Marvel Studios behind it there's a greater potential for growth overseas. As of now Spider-Man: Homecoming has $347M worldwide, but most importantly it has genuine fan enthusiasm and critical support.
3. Despicable Me 3- $18.9M/$187.9M
4. Baby Driver- $8.7M/$73.1M
5. The Big Sick- $7.6M/$16M
Amazon Studios is teaching Netflix how to do it as The Big Sick continues to be a summer hit, based entirely on word of mouth. The film by husband and wife duo Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon expanded to 2600 theaters and earned $7.6M for $16M overall. As I mentioned earlier, sequels are taking it in the shorts this summer, but original fare like The Big Sick, Baby Driver, 47 Meters Down, and others are drawing in big audiences eager for fresh material.
6. Wonder Woman- $6.8M/$380.6M
7. Wish Upon (review)- $5.5M
I don't know what I expected from Wish Upon, the PG-13 horror starring Joey King and Ryan Phillippe. The $12M-budgeted flick about a high school girl who unleashes a wish-fulfilling music box on her foes earned $5.5M, which for any horror has to be disappointing. It's the first weekend where these movies double or triple their budget before tanking hard, and at this rate Wish Upon will just barely break even before being wished out into the cornfield.
8. Cars 3- $3.1M/$140M
9. Transformers: The Last Knight- $2.7M/$124.8M
At $517M so far, Transformers: The Last Knight is going to be a successful disappointment. Sucks to set the bar so high sometimes.
10. The House- $1.7M/$23.1M

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Box Office: 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Swings Away With $257M Worldwide

1. Spider-Man: Homecoming (review)- $117M
And this is exactly what Sony was hoping for when they struck their miracle deal with Marvel, allowing for Spider-Man: Homecoming to join the MCU. The revitalized franchise, which stars Tom Holland in the web-slinger role, opened with $117M domestic and $257M worldwide. That's the second best Sony opening ever, right between Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man movie, and his Spider-Man 3. That's right, Spider-Man 2, which most consider the best Spidey movie ever, only opened with $88M. Crazy, right? Anyway, they've made the smart move this time. This film is less expensive than either of Marc Webb's attempts the last time, and with the power of Marvel Studios behind it there's a better chance for long-term growth. While it may not make substantially more at the box office, there is genuine excitement to see what comes next, and that was something Webb's films did not have.
2. Despicable Me 3- $33.9M/$149.1M
While it may not live up to the high standards set by earlier films, Despicable Me 3 already has $447.5M worldwide. Get ready for more Minions.
3. Baby Driver- $12.7M/$56.8M
The best hold of the week went to Edgar Wright's critically-beloved Baby Driver, which fell only 35% for a $56M total after two weeks. Nice. It's about a day or two away from being Wright's biggest grosser ever, and there's buzz going that he may want to do a sequel, which would be his first.
4. Wonder Woman- $10.1M/$368.7M
5. Transformers: The Last Knight- $6.3M/$118.9M
6. Cars 3- $5.6M/$133.7M
7. The House- $4.8M/$18.6M
On the way to being Will Ferrell's worst performing mainstream comedy. The promotion for this one was just awful, though, and it was dumped on a tough weekend with no critical support behind it.
8. The Big Sick (review)- $3.6M/$6.9M
America, you continue to impress me. The Big Sick, which I and others have been calling the best rom-com of the summer, expanded to 255 more theaters and earned an impressive $3.6M. The Amazon Studios release stars Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Ray Romano, and Holly Hunter, and is based on Kumail's relationship with co-writer Emily V. Gordon. It's a charming film that largely does away with genre conventions, especially in its depiction of Pakistani-American families. It's worth checking out when it expands further next week.
9. 47 Meters Down- $2.7M/$38.4M
10. The Beguiled- $2M/$7.4M

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Podcast: Summer Movie Explosion! Spider-Man: Homecoming, Baby Driver, Despicable Me 3!

It's a 60-minute Ironman match as me and Hannah Buchdahl of Cinema Clash​ go the whole hour reviewing Spider-Man: Homecoming, Baby Driver, Despicable Me 3, and The Big Sick! I'm exhausted. There shouldn't be that many movies crammed into one jam-packed show! And yet it's not all as I also give my thoughts on Sofia Coppola's southern thriller The Beguiled, and raunchy non comedy, The Little Hours!  And all set to the tunes of that killer Baby Driver soundtrack. Boom.

Tune in and follow Cinema Royale on Blogtalkradio as part of Critical: The Movie Critics Network!

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Interview: 'The Big Sick', Kumail Nanjiani & Emily V. Gordon Get Personal

I came away from Sundance 2017 with a handful of real favorites that will stick with me throughout the year, and right at the top of the list was The Big Sick. Not only was it the best comedy I saw at the festival, it may be the best comedy of the year. And the reason why is that it's not only funny, but deeply personal, which helps it avoid many of the tropes it so easily could have fallen into. That's where Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V. Gordon come in.

The Big Sick is about their courtship, and the mysterious illness that Emily developed while they were dating. It got so bad doctors had to put her in a medically-induced coma. During that time, Kumail grew closer with her family. The film charts all of this, but also Kumail's standup comedy career, and the conflicts with his traditional Pakistani family.

How does one go about making a movie about their own illness? Kumail and Emily have been together making people laugh for a long time, but this story isn't always meant to be funny. I had a chance to sit down and talk with them about The Big Sick, what went into their decision to tell this story, choosing Zoe Kazan to play Emily, and how this movie has affected them personally.

Check out the interview below, and my review of The Big Sick here!

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Box Office: 'Transformers 5' Disappoints With $69M, 'The Big Sick' Has Healthy Debut

1. Transformers: The Last Knight (review)- $45.3M/$69M
The last few weeks have been dominated by big studio movies faring poorly domestically, but kicking major butt overseas. Just look at The Mummy for an example. But Transformers? We don't expect such numbers from Transformers. And yet, Transformers: The Last Knight opened to a weak $45M on Wednesday, and $69M for the weekend, the lowest of the franchise. Good thing for that $196M international box office otherwise we'd be calling this a franchise killer. By comparison, the original film a decade ago earned $155M over its first week.  The truth is the domestic numbers have been falling for a while now. 2014's Age of Extinction opened with $100M on the way to $245M, a mere fraction of the $1B worldwide it would eventually end with. It's tough to say what this means so early on. I mean, the film is obviously going to be huge overall, but those U.S. totals have to be concerning to Paramount as they prepare to move on from Michael Bay, who is an audience draw all by himself.
2. Cars 3- $25.1M/$99.8M
Pixar's Cars 3 skidded 53% in the second weekend for $25M and $99M overall, $141M worldwide. That's good but not great, and look, this franchise is about selling toys anyway.  Even if it isn't a gigantic blockbuster it will more than make up for it merchandising. On a side note, I literally just finished watching this and think it's one of Pixar's best. That's how you pass the torch and keep a franchise alive the right way.
3. Wonder Woman- $25.1M/$318.3M
4. 47 Meters Down- $7.4M/$24.2M
Not sinking far was the sleeper hit, 47 Meters Down, with the shark thriller dropping only 33% for $24M overall.
5. All Eyez On Me- $5.8M/$38.6M
If Tupac is around somewhere he's probably groaning at the second week drop for All Eyez On Me. The hip-hop biopic got off to a hot start last week but fell a massive 77% for $5.8M. Considering it only cost about $40M it should earn a few bills, and for sure it's going to do huge on the home release market, even though the movie is pretty awful.
6. The Mummy- $5.8M/$68.5M
7. Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales- $5.2M/$160M
8. Rough Night- $4.7M/$16.6M
How is Rough Night getting beat so handily by 47 Meters Down? This blows my mind.  On the plus side, the 41% drop is one of the best holds of the week, meaning those who saw it are spreading the word. But there were such huge expectations that this has to be disappointing.
9. Captain Underpants- $4.2M/$65.7M
10. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2- $3M/$380.2M

Considering I've been saying since January that The Big Sick (review) is the best romantic comedy we're going to see this year, that it opened with an incredible $87K per site average does my heart proud. That's only in five locations for $435K overall, but the expansion begins in earnest next week. The film stars Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Ray Romano, and Holly Hunter, chronicling the real-life courtship of Nanjiani and his wife, Emily V. Gordon. It's a charming little film that blends culture clash comedy with illness drama, and it's damn funny, too. If you have a chance to check it out, make sure and do it.

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Review: 'The Big Sick' Is The Best Romantic Comedy You'll See This Year

NOTE: This is a reprint of my review from the Sundance Film Festival. The Big Sick opens in DC on June 30th. 

Take all of the competing elements in Michael Showalter's The Big Sick and it sounds like a movie trying to hit every festival niche at once. It's all at once a movie about overcoming disease, a story about cultural assimilation, a movie about stand-up comedians, a coming of age tale, and a rom-com. On the surface it shouldn't work at all,  but given the personal touches included by writer and star Kumail Nanjiani and co-writer Emily V. Gordon, every single moment feels authentic, which makes those moments all the funnier.

Nanjiani is playing a version of himself, a Chicago comedian who doubles as an Uber driver. Gordon, who is Nanjani's real-life wife, is portrayed by Zoe Kazan, and yes this is the story of their rather unconventional courtship. Born to a very traditional Pakistani family, Kumail faces their disapproval on a number of fronts. They don't support his standup career really, but his mother really doesn't like his refusal to marry a nice Muslim woman. All he wants to do is live his life, but at the same time he wants the love and approval of his parents.

So Kumail is naturally conflicted when he meets Emily after a gig in which she lightly heckles him. After schooling her on the intricacies of the heckle, "Heckling doesn't have to be negative", they begin a reluctant relationship in which neither wants to commit. He institutes a silly two-day rule, she keeps trying to break things off after each date, but more and more they begin to lean on one another. But when he starts trying to school her on cheap B-movie horror movies...yeah, that's what did it.

Fans of Kumail and Emily's various projects together will probably already know their story, but if not you'll recognize how deeply personal this material is to both. Fear of losing his family causes Kumail to be an idiot, and things with Emily break off in spectacularly bad fashion. It all happens just as his stand-up career is beginning to look up, with a prime slot at a Montreal festival looming if he can keep it together. While his friends (including SNL's Aidy Bryant) try to pull him out of his funk, things only get worse when he learns Emily is in the ICU with a mysterious illness. With no family in town, Kumail is pressed into allowing the doctors to place her in a medically-induced coma so they can figure out the problem. That's some heavy shit, man.

Believe it or not, things actually get much heavier, but there are always moments of levity to lighten the mood. Ray Romano and Holly Hunter play Emily's parents, who fly into town and are at first perplexed why Kumail is still hanging around after the break-up. It could be argued that the screenplay doesn't allow much time for the darker emotional moments to just exist on their own without some kind of joke to follow, and that is a fair point. But I also think it's tough for Romano, whose character is kind of a wuss compared to the firebrand Hunter, to not be funny even when he isn't trying to be.

And so the film takes a turn into a very different kind of film. With Emily in a coma the focus becomes on parents, and how Kumail works to earn the love of two different sets of them. His own, of course, but also Emily's. We learn about Emily by watching her parents, who both have their issues, and at the same time Kumail learns to love Emily deeper by getting to know the people who love her most.

With Judd Apatow on board as a producer the film comes with some serious mainstream muscle, but it also has some of his worst filmmaking traits. Like Apatow's Funny People, the film pushes a bit too hard on Kumail and his stand-up pals. There's a lot of material there that didn't need to be included, especially with his unfunny and intrusive roommate. Also, some scenes just feel like extended bits and don't add much to what we know about Kumail. It wouldn't be so bad but the movie is overlong and its these scenes that slow things down drastically. There's so much that works that you can't help but notice what doesn't. Jokes about our dependency on technology, usually a red flag for me because everybody does them to try and seem hip, are some of the film's best. And  this may be the one movie that can tell jokes about 9/11 that don't feel crass. There are a handful that Kumail tells and one got such a reaction from the audience that we missed the next four minutes because of all the laughter.

The Big Sick doesn't offer up any easy solutions for Kumail. This is a guy who is dealing with thousands of years of tradition heaped onto his shoulders. Breaking away from that is going to cause some people a lot of pain. At the same time, things aren't so easy to figure out when Emily wakes up. He may have become a changed man in the time she was sick, but it's great that her concerns when awake are made paramount. This isn't just Kumail's story, it's the story of Kumail and Emily, and she has her own thoughts on his supposed transformation. Of course, we know there's going to be a happy ending, but at least by the end of The Big Sick we feel Kumail and Emily deserve it.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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Win Passes To A Free Screening Of 'The Big Sick'

We're happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free advance screening of The Big Sick, starring Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Ray Romano, and Holly Hunter. The film chronicles the real-life courtship between Nanjiani and co-writer Emily V. Gordon.

SYNOPSIS: Based on the real-life courtship between Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, THE BIG SICK tells the story of Pakistan-born aspiring comedian Kumail (Nanjiani), who connects with grad student Emily (Zoe Kazan) after one of his standup sets. However, what they thought would be just a one-night stand blossoms into the real thing, which complicates the life that is expected of Kumail by his traditional Muslim parents.

When Emily is beset with a mystery illness, it forces Kumail to navigate the medical crisis with her parents, Beth and Terry (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano) who he's never met, while dealing with the emotional tug-of-war between his family and his heart. THE BIG SICK is directed by Michael Showalter (HELLO MY NAME IS DORIS) and producer by Judd Apatow (TRAINWRECK, THIS IS 40) and Barry Mendel (TRAINWRECK, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS).

The screening takes place on Monday, June 26th at 7:00pm at Landmark E Street Cinema. If you'd like to attend, simply enter through the Rafflecopter contest form below. Winners will be selected on Sunday, June 18th, and contacted by email. Good luck!

The Big Sick opens June 30th.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Win Passes To A Special Screening And Q&A For 'The Big Sick' With Guest Kumail Nanjiani

This is turning out to be a big month for some of my favorite movies out of Sundance. Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) and Emily V. Gordon's The Big Sick is holding a special advance screening that will include a Q&A with Nanjiani and Gordon to talk about bringing their real-life courtship to the big screen.

SYNOPSIS: Based on the real-life courtship between Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, THE BIG SICK tells the story of Pakistan-born aspiring comedian Kumail (Nanjiani), who connects with grad student Emily (Zoe Kazan) after one of his standup sets. However, what they thought would be just a one-night stand blossoms into the real thing, which complicates the life that is expected of Kumail by his traditional Muslim parents.

When Emily is beset with a mystery illness, it forces Kumail to navigate the medical crisis with her parents, Beth and Terry (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano) who he's never met, while dealing with the emotional tug-of-war between his family and his heart. THE BIG SICK is directed by Michael Showalter (HELLO MY NAME IS DORIS) and producer by Judd Apatow (TRAINWRECK, THIS IS 40) and Barry Mendel (TRAINWRECK, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS).

The screening takes place on Friday, June 2nd at 7:00pm at Burke Theater at US Navy Memorial.  To enter, simply complete the Rafflecopter contest form below. Winners will be selected on Sunday, May 28th and contacted by email. Good luck!

The Big Sick opens June 30th.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

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First Trailer For Kumail Nanjiani's Sundance Hit 'The Big Sick'

You see a lot of great movies with a ton of potential for awards, but not everything is what one would call easily marketable. One film that fit in both categories rather easily was The Big Sick, from Silicon Valley's Kumail  Nanjiani and his wife, Emily V. Gordon, and that's one reason why Amazon Studios shelled out a whopping $12M to acquire it. It's arguably the most talked about movie at the festival, and the first trailer is finally here so check it out.

Penned by Nanjiani and Gordon, the film is a bittersweet but very funny look at their courtship, as well as Nanjiani's relationship to his Pakistani family who don't approve of his dating an American girl or his standup comedy career. So it's a movie that kind of plays like an extended meet cute with fish-out-of-water aspects, but it has a ton of heart and you can feel how personal the story is. Playing Gordon is indie darling Zoe Kazan, while Judd Apatow is on board as a producer, and you can really feel his influence during the standup scenes. There are some terrific performances by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter, as well.  There's just a lot to love about this movie, and that it gracefully transitions from a rom-com into a fairly potent illness drama is just one of the many sure steps it takes.

The Big Sick opens June 23rd, but you can check out my review here. 

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Saoirse Ronan Joins 'On Chesil Beach', Zoe Kazan Leads 'The Big Sick', Rachel Nichols Goes 'Inside'

Oscar-nominated Brooklyn star Saoirse Ronan has joined the long-developing adaptation of Ian McEwan's book, On Chesil Beach. Dominic Cooke (The Hollow Crown) will direct the film which is set in 1962 and follows a couple celebrating their wedding anniversary in a hotel on the Dorset coast. Filming is set to begin this fall. [Variety]

Zoe Kazan (Our Brand is Crisis) and Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) are set to star in rom-com The Big Sick, from Wet Hot American Summer's Michael Showalter. Nanjiani co-wrote the screenplay with his wife, Emily V. Gordon, based on their own relationship and centering on the challenges faced by a Pakistani man and his American girlfriend. [THR]

Rachel Nichols (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) is going Inside, a remake of 2007 French horror À L’Intérieur. There's a lot of genre talent behind this one, beginning with Kidnapped director Miguel Angel Vivas, and [REC] writers Jaume Balagueró and Manu Diez. The original story, and presumably the English-language remake as well, centers on a widowed mother-to-be under attack by another woman intent on snatching her unborn child. [Variety]

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