SHAILENE WOODLEY’S Coming of Age in “WHITE BIRD IN A BLIZZARD”

“White Bird In A Blizzard” brings together an eclectic versatile cast headed by Shailene Woodley, Eva Green, Thomas Jane, Christopher Meloni and Gabourey Sidibe based on acclaimed book of the same title by Laura Kasischke and directed by Gregg Araki that tells the story of a girl’s coming of age under unusual traumatic circumstances.

Set in the late 80’s, on the surface, Kat’s (Woodley) home life seems perfect. A normal, college-bound teenager, Kat listens to the era’s Depeche Mode, hangs out with her tragically hip pals, and is critical of her parents. She’s also having her first romance with, literally, the boy next door and is starting to feel comfortable in her own skin—all under the watchful eye of her glamorous, but disturbed, homemaker mother, Eve (Green). When her mother mysteriously vanishes, Kat and her father suppress their emotions and try to resume their lives. Years later, Kat’s subconscious is consumed by images of her mother, whose peculiar disappearance she can’t fully comprehend.

Shailene Woodley, as Kat, commands the screen with the allure of a young woman embracing her sexuality and beginning to understand the power that accompanies it. Veteran filmmaker Gregg Araki uses a carefully curated soundtrack to build a tantalizing dream world and contrasts it with the stark reality of the characters who inhabit it, indicating all is not right beneath this placid façade of American suburbia.

Araki, in the following question & answer further delves into the book’s theme and on adapting the novel to a film populated with today’s most talented of actors.

300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE Teaser Poster

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures have uncovered the teaser poster of the new action adventure “300: Rise of an Empire,” the prequel to the 2006 blockbuster, “300.”

Based on Frank Miller’s latest graphic novel “Xerxes,” and told in the breathtaking visual style of “300,” this new chapter of the epic saga takes the action to a fresh battlefield—on the sea—as Greek general Themistokles attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war.

“300: Rise of an Empire” pits Themistokles against the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes, and Artemesia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.

The film stars Sullivan Stapleton (“Gangster Squad”) as Themistokles and Eva Green (“Dark Shadows,” “Casino Royale”) as Artemesia. Lena Headey reprises her starring role from “300” as the Spartan Queen, Gorgo; Hans Matheson (“Clash of the Titans”) stars as Aeskylos; and Rodrigo Santoro stars again as the Persian King, Xerxes.

"300: Rise of an Empire" is directed by Noam Murro, from a screenplay by Zack Snyder & Kurt Johnstad, based on the graphic novel “Xerxes,” by Frank Miller.

Opening across the Philippines in August 2013, “300: Rise of an Empire” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Eva Green is a vengeful with in DARK SHADOWS

Eva Green (“Kingdom of Heaven,” “Casino Royale”) stars as Angelique Bouchard, a witch who knows how to hold a grudge, in Warner Bros.' new black comedy “Dark Shadows.”
In the film, Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), an 18th-century lothario, breaks the heart of a heartless witch by the name of Angelique. When Barnabas declares his love for another, the ethereal Josette (Bella Heathcote), Angelique exacts her revenge on both of them: taking Josette’s life while giving Barnabas an eternal one as a vampire. It’s not much of a life, however, as she proceeds to bury him in a coffin forever…or at least the foreseeable future.


“Director Tim Burton kept asking, ‘What if there was this tremendous fight brewing between this man and woman, who each have supernatural abilities, for 200 years?’” screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith remembers. “And that’s basically what we see towards the end of the film, the tension that has been brewing for the entire movie—sexual tension, financial tension, physical pure hatred of each other. I mean, after all she did lock Barnabas in a box for two centuries!”