Greta Gerwig at a New York screening of Little Women. Greta Gerwig Makes Little Women with Big Characters and Award Ambitions by Brad Balfour Of the controversies associated with this year’s Oscars, the absence of women among many of its categories – especially Best Director – have highlighted the inequity of this award’s process. Of the many women creators considered, Little Women director Greta Gerwig’s omission has often been cited in the media as most egregious one. Nonet

Big Little Lies: The Complete Second Season Big Little Lies The Complete Second Season (2019) (Warner Bros.-2020) When Big Little Lies debuted on HBO in 2017, it was proof positive – if more was needed – that television drama had surpassed film as the go-to destination for Hollywood’s creative community. Created by longtime television icon David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal, The Practice), based on a hit novel by Liane Moriarty (who also contributed to the writing of the series) an

Little Women LITTLE WOMEN (2019) Starring Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, Timothée Chalamet, Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Jayne Houdyshell, Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep, Jayne Houdyshell, Mason Alban, Rafael Silva, Emily Edström, Maryann Plunkett, Hadley Robinson, Lonnie Farmer, Charlotte Kinder and Ana Kayne. Screenplay by Greta Gerwig. Directed by Greta Gerwig. Distributed by Columbia Pictures. 135 minutes. Rated

Marriage Story MARRIAGE STORY (2019) Starring Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Azhy Robertson, Julie Hagerty, Merritt Wever, Mark O’Brien, Matthew Shear, Brooke Bloom, Kyle Bornheimer, Mickey Sumner, Martha Kelly, Matthew Maher, Annie Hamilton, Ayden Mayeri, Mary Hollis Inboden, Matthew Shear, Roslyn Ruff, Albert Jones and Wallace Shawn. Screenplay by Noah Baumbach. Directed by Noah Baumbach. Distributed by Netflix. 136 minutes. Rated R. The

Downsizing DOWNSIZING (2017) Starring Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Kristen Wiig, Udo Kier, Rolf Lassgård, Ingjerd Egeberg, James Van Der Beek, Jason Sudeikis, Neil Patrick Harris, Laura Dern, Niecy Nash, Kerry Kenney, Maribeth Monroe, Don Lake, Margo Martindale, Brigitte Lundy-Paine, Joaquim de Almeida, Phil Reeves, Ana Marie Cox, Roland Martin, Don Lake and Mary Kay Place. Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor. Directed by Alexander Payne. Distributed by Para

Star Wars: The Last Jedi STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (2017) Starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, Benicio del Toro, Billie Lourd, Hermione Corfield, Veronica Ngo, Peter Mayhew, Jimmy Vee, Justin Theroux and the voice of Frank Oz. Screenplay by Rian Johnson. Directed by Rian Johnson. Distributed by Walt Disney Studi

Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern at the New York press day for “Wilson.” Woody Harrelson & Laura Dern Being Brutally Honest About Wilson by Jay S. Jacobs We all know a guy like Wilson, a jaded eccentric who is as fascinated by people as his is offended by them. When casting Daniel (Ghost World) Clowes’ popular graphic novel about a middle-aged curmudgeon trying to find a reason in life by tracking down his ex-wife, and then the adult daughter he never knew he had, director Crai

Wilson WILSON (2017) Starring Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern, Judy Greer, Isabella Amara, Margo Martindale, Cheryl Hines, Bill McCallum, David Warshofsky, Brett Gelman, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Lauren Weedman, Toussaint Morrison, Andrew Hawtrey, Chris Carlson, Rachel Weber, Bruce Bohne, Roxy Wood and James Saito. Screenplay by Daniel Clowes. Directed by Craig Johnson. Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures.  94 minutes.  Rated R. The title character in Wilson is the type of guy who,

The Founder THE FOUNDER (2017) Starring Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Laura Dern, Linda Cardellini, B.J. Novak, Patrick Wilson, Justin Randell Brooke, Kate Kneeland, Griff Furst, Wilbur Fitzgerald, David de Vries, Andrew Benator, Cara Mantella, Randall Taylor, Lacey King, Jeremy Madden, Rebecca Ray and Adam Rosenberg. Screenplay by Robert Siegel. Directed by John Lee Hancock. Distributed by The Weinstein Company.  115 minutes.  Rated PG-13. The ads for Th

Reese Witherspoon at the “Wild” promotion at Apple Store, SoHo, New York. Photo copyright 2014 Brad Balfour. Reese Witherspoon Finds New Life In Making Wild by Brad Balfour Along with Wild‘s author Cheryl Strayed, co-star Laura Dern, and producing partner Bruna Papandrea, Reese Witherspoon made appearances throughout New York when the film version of Wild was first released in December. The 38-year-old actress came to Fox Searchlight’s Christmas reception for media and friend

The Fault In Our Stars THE FAULT IN OUR STARS (2014) Starring Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Laura Dern, Nat Wolff, Sam Trammell, Willem Dafoe, Lotte Verbeek, Ana Dela Cruz, Randy Kovitz, Toni Saldana, David Whalen, Milica Govich, Allegra Carpenter, Emily Peachey, Emily Bach, Tim Hartman, Mike Birbiglia, Bethany Leo and Alexis Hodges. Screenplay by Scott Neustaudter and Michael H. Weber. Directed by Josh Boone. Distributed by 20th Century Fox. 125 minutes. Rated PG-13. It ta

Happy Endings HAPPY ENDINGS (2005) Starring Lisa Kudrow, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Steve Coogan, Jesse Bradford, Bobby Cannavale, Jason Ritter, Tom Arnold, David Sutcliffe, Laura Dern, Sarah Clarke, Hallee Hirsh, Eric Jungmann, Kim Morgan Greene, Rayne Marcus, Caker Folley, Amanda Foreman, Johnny Galecki and Ray Liotta. Screenplay by Don Roos. Directed by Don Roos. Distributed by Lion’s Gate Films.  128 minutes.  Rated R. The title of Happy Endings does not refer to everyone living

Mark Ruffalo, Peter Krause, Naomi Watts and Laura Dern in “We Don’t Live Here Anymore.” Mark Ruffalo, Peter Krause, Laura Dern and John Curran Adultery Education by Jay S. Jacobs We Don’t Live Here Anymore is a haunting, sometimes even devastating, look at modern marriage.  Based on two short stories by Andre Dubus (“We Don’t Live Here Anymore” and “Adultery”), the movie focuses on two couples.  The film chronicles the casually cruel things that people can inflict upon each o