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Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Ernest Borgnine, Ali McGraw, Burt Young, Franklyn Ajaye, Brian Davies, Seymour Cassel, Cassie Yates | Written by Bill Norton | Directed by Sam Peckinpah

Directed by Sam Peckinpah, Convoy is a film that rides on the wave of the trucker and Cb radio craze of the 1970s. Based on the popular country song of the same name by C.W. McCall, the movie attempts to blend action, comedy, and social commentary into one wild, sprawling road adventure. However, its execution leaves much to be desired, and it often feels like it’s unsure of what kind of film it wants to be.

The story revolves around Martin “Rubber Duck” Penwald (played by Kris Kristofferson), a stoic and charismatic trucker who finds himself on the run from an overzealous sheriff named “Dirty” Lyle Wallace (Ernest Borgnine). Along the way, Rubber Duck inadvertently inspires a convoy of fellow truckers to follow him,...

The Dark Knight trilogy, directed by Oscar-winner Christopher Nolan, is considered one of the best superhero franchises out there. Starring Christian Bale in the lead as Bruce Wayne/Batman, the movies went on to become hugely successful and even got a posthumous Oscar win for actor Heath Ledger, who played Joker in the second movie.

Tom Hardy’s Bane and Christian Bale’s Batman in The Dark Knight Rises

But nothing is ever perfect, and the trilogy is no exception. At the end of the third movie, which saw the showdown between Batman and his nemesis, Bane, played by Tom Hardy, there were some discrepancies. Marion Cotillard played the role of Talia al-Ghul, the daughter of Ras al-Ghul, who comes to Gotham for revenge as Batman killed her father. And her death scene in the movie is something fans have never been to find of.

A Death Scene in Christopher...

Discovering Michelle Monaghan in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was like finding evidence that the old-school Hollywood comedy actress gene, long thought extinct, was alive and well. She did more than hold her own opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer — she stole the movie. I’ve been rooting for her ever since. A few Mission Impossibles, Gone Baby Gone, True Detective followed, as well as some significant work in small indies like Trucker, Fort Bliss, and Nanny. She returns to comedy with her latest, The Family Plan, which is streaming now on Apple TV+. On this episode, she talks about […]

The post “It’s a Gift When People Share with Me their Stories”: Michelle Monaghan, Back To One, Episode 273 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Discovering Michelle Monaghan in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was like finding evidence that the old-school Hollywood comedy actress gene, long thought extinct, was alive and well. She did more than hold her own opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer — she stole the movie. I’ve been rooting for her ever since. A few Mission Impossibles, Gone Baby Gone, True Detective followed, as well as some significant work in small indies like Trucker, Fort Bliss, and Nanny. She returns to comedy with her latest, The Family Plan, which is streaming now on Apple TV+. On this episode, she talks about […]

The post “It’s a Gift When People Share with Me their Stories”: Michelle Monaghan, Back To One, Episode 273 first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

The "Fox Animation Domination" lineup of prime-time cartoon TV comedy series returns with new seasons of "The Simpsons", "Bless the Harts", "Bob's Burgers" and "Family Guy", all airing September 27, 2020 on Fox:

Season Premiere: "The Simpsons":

"...'Mr. Burns' goes undercover as 'Fred' at the nuclear power plant and becomes friends with 'Homer' and the gang. Burns implements all sorts of amenities to improve his employees' lives, but a jealous 'Smithers' plots to bring the old, bitter Burns back and destroy Fred. Cast includes Dan Castellaneta as 'Homer Simpson', Julie Kavner as 'Marge Simpson', Nancy Cartwright as 'Bart Simpson'/'Nelson', Yeardley Smith as 'Lisa Simpson', Hank Azaria as 'Moe', Harry Shearer as 'Skinner', Tress MacNeille as 'Dolph', Pamela Hayden as 'Milhouse', Harry Shearer as 'Flanders' and David Harbour, Phil Rosenthal as guest-voices..."

Season Premiere: "Bless the Harts":

"...'Jenny' and 'Betty' secretly follow 'Violet', after becoming paranoid she's making the...

Michelle Monaghan has been cast to star in the new drama “Messiah” from Netflix.

“The Path” star will play U.S. intelligence officer Eva Geller, who finds a foe in al-Masih ad-Dajjal, an incendiary religious and political figure from Syria.

Michael Petroni created the series, which has been described as a 21st-century political thriller about a Middle Eastern man who builds after a following after he claims he has been sent from God, and the world’s reaction to his rise. The story will be told from several character viewpoints, including Monaghan’s intelligence agent, a Palestinian refugee, an Israeli Shin Bet officer and a Latino preacher and his daughter.

Aquaman finally gets his due in Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, out now from Warner Home Entertainment. In the latest installment in the new linked video continuity, all inspired by the uninspiring New 52 reality. As is fitting in a spotlight film like this, Aquaman’s origins are explored so we also get the tried and true enmity between Arthur Curry and Orm, the Ocean Master. There’s lots of shouting, fighting, fish, and Sturm und Drang but honestly, not a lot of warmth and emotion—much like the current source material.

Queen Atlanna (Sirena Irwin) rules over forgotten Atlantis which is about to be proven a real legend as it braces for war. The undersea kingdom is discovered when Cyborg (Sean Patrick Thomas) investigates a sub having gone missing. Upon discovering the existence of Atlantis, he summons the rest of the Justice League — Superman (Jerry O’Connell), Batman (Jason O...

"You want in this family, you gotta pay the price." After starring in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, actor Ben Barnes hasn't had the best luck with his film choices. He's the lead in the continuously delayed The Seventh Son, and he seems stuck in a rut if forgettable fantasy or sparsely seen films. Maybe there's a chance that could change with By the Gun, a gritty crime thriller set in Boston that sees Barnes entering the world of the Italian mafia. Leighton Meester doesn't seem to be offering much here though, especially with one particularly terrible line delivery on display that we hope is fixed in the final cut. Watch? Here's the first trailer for James Mottern's By the Gun, originally from Yahoo: By the Gun is directed by James Mottern (Trucker) and written by Emilio Mauro. Nick Tortano (Ben Barnes) is a smooth-talking, ambitious criminal from the streets of Boston.

Every now and then a bunch of people get together to make a movie and it lands on our doorstep with little to no warning, and such is the case with "By The Gun." We sorta didn't even know this existed, and frankly, given the names involved, we thought this would've appeared on our radar sooner. Guess not, but at any rate, the first trailer is here. Ben Barnes, Leighton Meester, Harvey Keitel, Toby Jones, and that guy from "The Town" all star in this French/Italian production of a Boston-based story about a young Italian American kid named Nick. He falls in with the aging Boston mafia and restores the organization to its former, fearsome glory. But of course, his rise to the top can only be followed by the inevitable fall, and he won't be able to escape his actions. The real question is whether or not "By The Gun...

By Scott Feinberg

The Hollywood Reporter

Michelle Monaghan, one of the most underappreciated actresses working today, has starred in two films — both tiny indies — in which she portrays a character employed in a stereotypically masculine job who is struggling to juggle her work responsibilities with the stereotypically feminine responsibility of raising a young child.

The first, which came out six years ago, was James Mottern‘s Trucker, and she deserved a best actress Oscar nomination for her work. (Don’t take my word for it; the late Roger Ebert wrote at the time, “Her performance clearly deserves an Oscar nomination.”) Unfortunately, though, despite the best efforts of the film’s tiny distributor, Monterey Media, the film never quite made it onto the radar of the Academy’s acting branch.

The second, which was released in New York over the weekend, is Claudia Myers‘ Fort Bliss, in which Monaghan is equally...

• Lionsgate has purchased the North American rights for Dark Blood, the last film starring River Phoenix (My Own Private Idaho) before he passed away in 1993. Directed and written by George Sluizer (The Vanishing), the upcoming thriller follows the story of Boy (Phoenix), a young widower living as a hermit on a nuclear testing site in the desert. While traveling solo on his “second” honeymoon, Boy discovers a stranded Hollywood couple. Desiring the woman, Boy decides to hold them captive because he finds himself under the impression that he can create a better world with her. The upcoming drama, set to be released via VOD,...

For someone having an accidental career, Michelle Monaghan -- Maggie on HBO's "True Detective" -- is doing pretty well.

The 37-year-old actress grew up in a town of 700, Winthrop, Iowa, and daydreamed of becoming a journalist.

"I grew up loving current events," Monaghan tells Zap2it. "You grow up looking out when there are not a lot of other things going on in your hometown."

Monaghan lived in town, but her family had a farm and grew corn and beans. Her summer vacations were spent detasseling corn.

"I would go through rows and snap it off for $5 an hour," she says. Monaghan left Winthrop for Chicago, where she put herself through college by modeling for catalogs.

"This acting thing landed in my lap," she says. "They were looking for an actress on 'Young Americans' on The WB. Ian Somerhalder and Kate Bosworth came out of there."

At that point,...

Lightning Entertainment, the Santa Monica-based sales, production and distribution company, has acquired international rights to the hit South by Southwest Film Festival comedy, Gus, starring Michelle Monaghan (Source Code, Gone Baby Gone) Radha Mitchell (Olympus Has Fallen, Silent Hill) and Michael Weston (Fox’s “House,” HBO’s “Six Feet Under”), it was announced today by Robert Beaumont, President of Lightning.

The film, which premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival to rave reviews in March, marks the feature film debut of Jessie McCormack, who directed from her own script.

McCormack is also a producer alongside Kathryn Himoff, Kevin Fitzmaurice Comer and Erik Van Wyck. The film is executive produced by Richard N. Gladstein (Finding Neverland, The Cider House Rules, The Bourne Identity). The deal was negotiated by Lightning Entertainment’s Joseph Dickstein and ICM Partners on behalf of the filmmakers. ICM Partners represents Monaghan and Mitchell and is also...

Synchronicity Entertainment, the genre film production and international sales label launched by Lisa Wilson and Myles Nestel’s The Solution Entertainment Group, has acquired international rights to the mob thriller God Only Knows starring Ben Barnes and Harvey Keitel, it was announced today by Ruzanna Kegeyan, Synchronicity’s President of International Distribution. Check out this new photo from the movie.

Currently in post-production, God Only Knows stars Ben Barnes (The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Dorian Gray, The Words), Toby Jones (Hunger Games, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Red Lights), Leighton Meester (The CW’s “Gossip Girl”) and Harvey Keitel (Moonrise Kingdom, Reservoir Dogs). The film was directed by James Mottern (Trucker), written by newcomer Emilio Mauro, and produced by French production company, Mirabelle Pictures.

The film follows Nick, a smooth-talking, ambitious young man from the streets of Boston who has made some mistakes, and has found himself living a life of petty crime.

Since her breakout role in 2005’s “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang,” Michelle Monaghan has been steadily turning in solid supporting performances in everything from big-budget thrillers (“Mission Impossible III”) to more character-based dramas (“North Country”), but Hollywood still hasn’t seen her as a leading lady. That’s all set to change though, as Monaghan has signed on to appear in her biggest role yet alongside Susan Sarandon.

Jonathan Mostow (“Terminator 3,” “U-571”) will direct Monaghan and Sarandon in the thriller “Still of Night,” from a script which he also penned. The film follows Monaghan as a young career woman who is forced to care for her missing sister’s daughter, and in the process of looking for her whereabouts, must outwit a criminal (Sarandon) in order to save her and her family’s lives. Sarandon playing a more devious character could be compelling, but otherwise this material seems to let down the talents of Monaghan,...

Exclusive Media will finance and produce the new thriller Still Of Night, written and to be directed by Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3, U-571, Breakdown) and starring Michelle Monaghan (Source Code) with Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking) in final negotiations to star, it was announced today by Exclusive Media Co-Chairmen, Nigel Sinclair and Guy East.

Exclusive Media will produce the film alongside writer/director Jonathan Mostow and Steve Alexander.

A paranoia thriller that builds to a pulse-pounding crescendo, Still Of Night is a smart, stylish ride packed with shocking twists that will give you nightmares – because it could actually happen to you. Katie Tyler (Michelle Monaghan) is an aspiring career woman with everything finally falling into place.until her sister Gwen disappears. Fully aware of Gwen.s tainted past and suddenly left to take care of her young daughter, Katie sets out determined to bring her back. But as...

They light up the small screen, but have seen relatively little exposure in the movies. Here’s James’ of TV stars we’d love to see on the big screen…

Straddling the fine line between success and failure in Hollywood is like walking a tightrope of future career persecution and retrospective judgement.

Success on the TV screen is not always amply rewarded with a success on the big screen. There are a few ways to make the cut – reinvent your career through TV (Keifer Sutherland style), take the path less trodden with a series of slow-burning support roles (Jk Simmons) or have a huge hit on TV simply too large to ignore (Ricky Gervais).

Hollywood is a bit like an elitist private members club – once you’re in, you’re in, but cracking it has proven far too difficult for this list of talented actors in the past. We, the people,...

Michelle Monaghan is one of those actresses with a lot of potential, who spends most of her time collecting paychecks ("The Heartbreak Kid," "Made of Honor," "Eagle Eye"). She got strong notices a few years back for her performance in “Trucker,” but it’s been far too long since the days of “Gone Baby Gone,” “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” and “North Country.” Though that is about to change. Monaghan is now negotiating to star in “Fast Flash to Bang Time,” playing one of two troubled FBI agents searching for a killer and a kidnapped infant. The FBI agents’ “trouble” involves one…...

In recent years, Michelle Monaghan has really been an unsung hero of sorts. She excelled, perhaps most notably, in Ben Affleck‘s praised debut Gone Baby Gone, and hasn’t failed to maintain that level of quality in the years since. She was phenomenal in James Mottern‘s little-seen Trucker — she basically carried the whole film — and followed that up with equally good supporting turns in Sofia Coppola‘s Somewhere (yeah, she was barely in it, but still) and Duncan Jones‘ recent Source Code.

Her next role, which she’s just signed on to, will be a leading part in Fort Bliss, which seems to bear plenty of similarities — a somewhat worn-down premise, a still up-and-coming writer-director (Claudia Myers), and, this probably goes without saying, firmly indie roots — to the aforementioned Trucker. The material, though, however used up it may sound — Monaghan will play “a female soldier transferred home after...

Before we get to the meat of the article, it should most definitely be highlighted that Seasons 1-3 of Breaking Bad are now available to stream via Netflix. The surprise announcement adds a show that would most definitely appear in the top 5 of our list of the Best TV Shows on Netflix Instant Watch.

As you may have recently heard, Netflix and Starz were unable to reach an agreement to renew their contract, so all of the “Starz Play” movies will no longer be available to stream beginning February 28th of 2012.

It’s a sizeable loss for Netflix, and a potential signal of rough waters ahead for the company. Netflix offered Starz $300 million but they wouldn’t take it. Given how limited Starz library is, it’s a relatively surprising move. Here’s my opinion: don’t get mad at Netflix, they’re doing everything they can to have a...

For decades now we've been crazy about actor Michael Keaton. From his portrayal of Batman to his stint in the afterlife as Beetlejuice, the actor knows full well how to bring an unbalanced nature to his roles, and in the new flick Penthouse North he'll be bringing some true psycho to the big screen.

From the Press Release

Michael Keaton and Michelle Monaghan will star in Penthouse North, a taut psychological thriller from director Joseph Ruben, producer Jeff Sackman announced today.

Ruben was elated with his stars. “Michelle Monaghan is an incredible actor whom audiences love and connect with completely. And Michael Keaton can do it all. He has a special talent for creating complicated villains who are dark, charming and ultimately terrifying. Put these actors together, and you've got the makings for a hell of a thriller.”

The plot centers on Sara (Monaghan), a photojournalist haunted by a tragic event,...

Source Code is a fascinating picture, but not in a wholly positive light. The story is compelling, but smacks of a certain familiarity that keeps the viewer wondering where they’ve seen this before, only to remember, ironically, Déjà Vu. The Denzel Washington/Tony Scott pic may have been a stretch, but it certainly broke ground for the foundation that Source Code was set on. Part-thriller and largely formula, Source Code is a clean movie, well executed, but ultimately without the aggressive sense-of-self that would make it great.

Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal, the leading man everyone wants to like but who just doesn’t grab the spotlight) wakes up on a train in another man’s body. Across from him sits the beautiful Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan, the superb lead of Trucker). The first run-through goes badly, as Stevens gets erratic, denying that he knows her and fighting his environment.

Jake Gyllenhaal leads this sci-fi thriller as Captain Colter Stevens, a soldier who mysteriously wakes up on a train near Chicago, even though his last recollection is of flying a fighter plane over Afghanistan. As you marvel at the beautiful cinematography and shift listlessly in your seat looking straight down on the buildings and streets, you start to question what has this guy gotten into, and what is going on? Seemingly forced to live an 8 minute window of time on the train which is destined to explode via a terrorist incident, he meets Christina (Michelle Monaghan) and forms a bond. Unknown to Colter, he’s part of a computer simulation program created by a self absorbed scientist Dr. Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright). This program is rooted in a fantastic ideology about the future but in the bounds of this movie, it’s limited to government intervention into a covert operation to stop a bomb.

Chicago – Michelle Monaghan is surprising in person. Known for playing pragmatic supporting roles in such films as “Due Date,” “Somewhere.” “The Heartbreak Kid” and “Made of Honor,” her bubbly, attractive enthusiasm is charming and infectious.

“Source Code” is her latest effort, a tense, exciting and vivid story about humanity in the midst of a science fiction experiment. She is not “alive” in this film, only a mirror image of what she was, a victim in a commuter train bombing. Jake Gyllenhaal is special agent that is placed over and over into the train’s dilemma, always eight minutes before the explosion takes place. His mission is to find the bomber. Her mission is to create a memory with those multiple circumstances.

Michelle Monaghan (Christina) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Coulter) in ‘Source Code’

Photo credit: Jonathan Wenk for © 2010 Summit Entertainment

Monaghan was born in small town Iowa, and studied Journalism in Chicago.

Opening April 15, 2011. (thanks Jun) Subscribe to the comments for this post? Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Post this on Diigo Post on Google Buzz Add this to...

Update #2: Steve Pond at The Wrap has confirmed the film is eligible and did not have a qualifying run at the end of 2009. The reason it was included on the reminder list is because that list "is compiled before the end of the year, and does not always accurately reflect the films that end up qualifying." Mystery solved.

Updated: In Contention's Guy Lodge has just pointed out Frankie and Alice was included on the Academy's list of 274 films eligible for Oscar consideration last year, which would insinuate it had some kind of qualifying run in 2009. As Lodge points out, a film can have only one Los Angeles County qualifying run, which would render the film ineligible. I'm sure the details will be revealed soon enough as to whether this was a clerical error or if the film is truly ineligible.

Deadline's Pete Hammond is reporting Freestyle Releasing is prepping...

La Mission

Directed by: Peter Bratt

Cast: Benjamin Bratt, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Erika Alexander

Running Time: 1 hr 57 mins

Rating: R

Release Date: July 9, 2010 (limited)

Plot: An alcoholic ex-con (Bratt) is forced to come to terms with his son’s sexuality. When he struggles to accept his son, his neighbor helps him along the way.

Who’S It For? I’ll admit this is primarily for a gay audience, specifically a Latino gay audience. The film deals a lot with the culture and the inherent homophobia as well as his son’s struggle for acceptance. Anyone who has been through the experience of coming out to a less than welcoming group may see some of themselves in this film.

Expectations: As a gay man, I’ve lived through coming out. I didn’t feel the need to see it on the big screening, but still, I hoped for something other than...

Indie Roundup is your weekly guide to what's new and upcoming in the world of independent film. Pictured clockwise, from upper left: The Freebie, Winter in Wartime, Trucker, Saint John of Las Vegas.

Deals. Our own Eric D. Snider highlighted The 10 Sundance Films You Need to Watch For, which nicely sums up the buzz and the biggest distribution deals from the festival. Millions of dollars have been committed and the theatrical release schedule will be dotted with Sundance acquisitions for months to come. And the deals continue, as reported by our friends at indieWIRE.

Phase 4 Films won a bidding war for rights to writer/director Katie Aselton's The Freebie. Aselton stars with Dax Shepherd as a married couple whose relationship "is still full of love but lacking in lust," according to that dashing critic Eric D. Snider. He called it "an honest, unadorned relationship drama that suggests a new talent on the horizon.

Inf

In Trucker, Michelle Monaghan portrays a woman resolute in the knowledge that she is not meant for motherhood.

“I think that as women you’re conditioned and you’re kind of socialized to believe that you’re meant to be maternal and if you’re not, God forbid, that’s the biggest crime in the world,” the 33-year-old actress muses. “I think that makes this movie sort of interesting, that it kind of butts up against all of society’s double standards.”

It is not without irony, then, that Michelle herself became pregnant shortly after filming wrapped. When asked...

Mandalay Entertainment is venturing into indie film financing.

Mandalay Vision will be headed by former co-head of Plum Pictures Celine Rattray and focus on films budgeted at $15 million or less.

Rattray's Plum credits include work on "Lonesome Jim," "Grace Is Gone," "Trucker" and "New York, I Love You."

Mandalay touted Rattray's "ability to raise and deliver financing steadily over a number of years, despite the overall economic downturn as well as major changes in distribution opportunities for independent pictures."

She will report Mandalay's Peter Guber, Paul Schaeffer, Cathy Schulman and Peter Strauss. Based in New York, Rattray will begin staffing the new unit shortly.

Mandalay Vision's initial film development slate includes "Salvation Boulevard," based on a Larry Beinhart novel that Mandalay Pictures optioned in 2009. George Ratliff ("Joshua") will direct from a script by Ratliff and Douglas Stone.

Mandalay Vision has also come aboard "The Kids are All Right" -- directed...

Take an overly self-confident, kiss-up paper salesman and combine him with the daughter of a big-lipped rock legend, a movie star that has a six degrees of separation movie game named after him, a tiny girl that has been pregnant, had the ability to “phase” through objects and knock girls on their butts and what do you get? James Gunn’s next film Super.

The Office’s Rainn Wilson (The Rocker) stars as a regular Joe type guy, Frank, that decides to fight crime as a superhero (sans powers) after his wife Sarah, played by Liv Tyler (The Incredible Hulk), runs off with a slimy drug dealer, Jacques, played by Kevin Bacon. Taking the persona Crimson Bolt, Frank teams up with Libby, played by Ellen Page (Juno, Whip It!) who decides to be his sociopath sidekick, Boltie.

So how would Gunn make a great cast like that better? By adding...

Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia (Columbia Pictures) (top); Carey Mulligan in An Education (Kerry Brown / Sony Pictures Classics) (bottom) Only two actresses delivered great performances in 2009, at least as far as most Us-based critics’ groups were concerned: veteran Meryl Streep as Julia Child in Julie & Julia, and newcomer Carey Mulligan as a daring schoolgirl in 1960s London in An Education. The exceptions were critics in Las Vegas, Detroit, and Florida, who actually noticed another newcomer, Gabourey Sidibe’s abused illiterate pregnant teen in Precious. San Diego critics, who usually go their own merry way, picked Michelle Monaghan for Trucker, while Los Angeles critics, who sometimes dare to be different, picked Cesar winner Yolande Moreau for her talented [...]...

Since Moses brought the tablets down from the mountain, lists have come in tens, not that we couldn't have done with several more commandments. Who says a year has Ten Best Films, anyway? Nobody but readers, editors, and most other movie critics. There was hell to pay last year when I published my list of Twenty Best. You'd have thought I belched at a funeral. So this year I have devoutly limited myself to exactly ten films.

On each of two lists.

The lists are divided into Mainstream Films and Independent Films. This neatly sidesteps two frequent complaints: (1) "You name all those little films most people have never heard of," and (2) "You pick all blockbusters and ignore the indie pictures." Which is is my official Top Ten? They both are equal, and every film here is entitled to name itself "One of the Year's 10 Best!"

Alphabetically:

¶ The Top 10 Mainstream Films

Bad Lieutenant.

A pretty good year.

George Clooney in .Up in the Air.

Photo: Dale Robinette/ Paramount

It seems to be a critical tradition to bewail the awfulness of each year's movies. But how often is this really true? With the annual caveat that it's impossible (and meaningless) to designate one movie or filmmaker as the "best," here are a number of 2009 pictures I liked a lot in various aspects, with one entrant in each category selected, fairly arbitrarily, as the "best," and equally worthy contenders noted below them.

Best Picture:

"Up in the Air" A mainstream film with a complex heart and a brain, too. Not exactly a comedy, not precisely a drama, but as close to a perfect movie as any other this year.

Also really good: "The Hurt Locker": Can it actually have been seven years since Kathryn Bigelow's last picture? This scrappy low-budget film, with a breakthrough performance by Jeremy Renner,...

Here is the list of this year’s top achievers in film from the San Diego Film Critics Society: Best Film Inglourious Basterds Runner-up A Single Man Best Director Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds Runner-up James Cameron, Avatar Best Actress Michelle Monaghan, Trucker Runners-up Abbie Cornish, Bright Star Carey Mulligan, An Education Best Actor Colin Firth, A Single Man Runner-up Viggo Mortensen, The Road Best Supporting Actress Samantha Morton, The Messenger Runner-up Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air Best [...]...

Michelle Monaghan in Trucker Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds Is San Diego Critics’ Big Winner Colin Firth’s best actor win for his gay college professor in Tom Ford’s A Single Man, however well-deserved, wasn’t really a surprise, but the San Diego critics‘ choice for best actress sure was: Michelle Monaghan for her portrayal of a carefree long-haul truck driver whose life suddenly undergoes a dramatic change in the concisely titled Trucker. Among the critics’ other unusual choices were best supporting actress Samantha Morton for her war widow in Oren Moverman’s The Messenger; best editing to Alan Edward Bell for (500) Days of Summer, hardly one’s idea of "showy" film editing work; and the best cinematography award for [...]...

2009 San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2009 San Diego Film Critics winners: Dec. 15, 2009   Melanie Laurent in Inglourious Basterds   Best Film: Inglourious Basterds Best Foreign Language Film: Il Divo Best Documentary: The Cove Best Animated Film: Up Best Director: Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds Best Actress: Michelle Monaghan for Trucker Best Actor: Colin Firth for A Single Man Best Supporting Actress: Samantha Morton for The Messenger Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds Best Ensemble Performance: Inglourious Basterds Best Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds Best Adapted Screenplay: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach for Fantastic Mr. Fox Best Cinematography: Javier Aguirresarobe for The Road Best Editing: Alan Edward Bell for (500) Days of Summer Best Score: Abel Korzeniowski for A Single Man Best Production Design: David Wasco for [...]...

Michelle Monaghan, who starred opposite Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III and who at one point was touted as a potential awards contender for Trucker (above), and NCIS: Los Angeles star Chris O’Donnell, perhaps best known for playing Robin opposite George Clooney’s Batman in Batman Forever, will join Screen Actors Guild president Ken Howard to announce the nominees for the 2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards. The SAG Award nominations in five film and eight television categories will take place at 6 a.m. Pt / 9 a.m. Et on Thursday, Dec. 17, in the SilverScreen Theater at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. The nominations announcement will be telecast live on TNT and webcast live on TNT.TV and TBS.Com. [...]...

The San Diego Film Critics name Inglourious Basterds the best film of 2009 (thanks to Alexander and Kevin). Best Film: Inglourious Basterds Best Director: Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds Best Actress: Michelle Monaghan,...

• Scott Gaita reports that "Precious" was named best film of the year by the African-American Film Critics Assn. The film also won best director for Lee Daniels, supporting actress for Mo’Nique and screenplay for Geoffrey Fletcher (tying with Ron Clements, Rob Edwards and John Musker for "The Princess and the Frog.") However, Nicole Beharie was named best actress for "American Violet" over "Precious" star Gabby Sidibe. Morgan Freeman was selected best actor for "Invictus." The Circuit

• For Richard Rushfield, "Another slew of awards and nominations came in this weekend and the result is that this year's stagnant deathmarch of an Oscar race got a tiny bit shaken up, or at least it got a bit more confusing." As Richard writes, "for most of the season a troika of damaged contenders have been assumed to have a lock on nominations, with the assumption that one of them would take the top prize,...

When Michelle Monaghan was sent the script for "Trucker" by writer-director James Mottern, she knew she had found, in her words, "the role of a lifetime." The actor, whose credits include the action comedy "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and the thriller "Gone Baby Gone," is earning some of the best reviews of her career. No less than Roger Ebert called her work in the film a "career-changing performance" and stated, "Her performance clearly deserves an Oscar nomination."Monaghan was instantly drawn to the role of free-spirited truck driver Diane Ford, who is forced to reconnect with her 11-year-old son when his father becomes ill. "I was so shocked this was written by a man, that a man could tap into a female and have her play what is sort of a stereotypically man's role, professionally and personally, but also make her feminine," Monaghan says. "She's not a victim, which was a huge thing for me.

Variety has just kicked off their Awards Season series of actor-on-actor profiles, where one actor talks about how impressed or amazed they were by another actor this year. And this year there are actually some good ones, like: Ben Affleck on Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker, or Tom Cruise on Peter Sarsgaard in An Education, or Charlize Theron on Michelle Monaghan in Trucker, or Marcia Gay Harden on Robin Williams in World's Greatest Dad, or Martin Sheen on Hal Holbrook in That Evening Sun. I've chosen to feature a few that really deserve to be in the spotlight (like Sam Rockwell in Moon) this Awards Season so read on! First up, we have Bradley Cooper talking about Sam Rockwell in Duncan Jones' Moon (via Variety): "I love watching that guy act anyway and it was an inventive way to tell this story and to tell the story...

Things have been happening recently in the Oscar race that has my head spinning, and primarily because several films I have yet to see continue to change their status.

Just yesterday I mentioned how I forgot to add Sandra Bullock's performance from The Blind Side to the Best Actress prediction race only to have one reader remind me Marion Cotillard's performance in Nine has been moved from Supporting to Lead and Natalie Portman's performance in Brothers has moved from contention in Lead to Supporting.

I have also updated the charts by adding Maggie Gyllenhaal's Crazy Heart performance to the Best Actress charts along with Michelle Monaghan's performance in Trucker.

Now, other than The Blind Side and Trucker, I haven't seen Brother, Nine or Crazy Heart, which is a large reason these continue to escape me, but I think I have things pretty much squared away now.

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It was a celeb-fest last Saturday as stars gathered with their families for the 2009 P.S. Arts “Express Yourself” Creative Arts Fair, held in Santa Monica, Calif.

At left, The Soup host and Community star Joel McHale poses with wife Sarah and sons Edward Roy, 4 ½, and Isaac Hayden, 20 months.

See many more photos below, including pictures of James Marsden, Nicole Sullivan, Jake Weber, Michelle Monaghan, Wolfgang Puck, Melora Hardin, Jason Bateman, Natalie Maines, Adrian Pasdar, Breckin Meyer, Jenna Elfman, Hamish Linklater, Megyn Price, Jennifer Grey, Kyle MacLachlan, Camryn Manheim and kids!

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin

The Box star James Marsden...

As part of its ongoing An Evening With… screening series, Back Stage welcomed actors Michelle Monaghan and Viggo Mortensen and director Michael Hoffman to three recent events.On Nov. 6, "Trucker" star Monaghan appeared following a screening of the film to talk about playing fiercely independent truck driver Diane Ford. The actor revealed that she prepared by attending a truck driving school and going on short trips with female drivers. "I definitely had some stereotypes that were blown apart," Monaghan said. "You tend to think that truck drivers are uneducated or didn't choose this lifestyle. And nothing could be further from the truth. I met college graduates, intelligent people, fascinating people."On Nov. 7, Back Stage welcomed writer-director Hoffman to speak after his film "The Last Station." Actor James McAvoy was scheduled to appear but had to cancel due to illness. Prior to the film, Hoffman read an email from McAvoy apologizing for missing the event.

The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival is coming to a close and the award winners were announced Sunday night in a presentation hosted by Fliff president Gregory von Hausch.

Among the big winners was "Entre Nos," the new immigrant drama which picked up 4 awards, including The Seashell Award for Best Film of the festival, Best Actress in a Foreign Film for star Paola Mendoza, who also co-wrote and co-directed the film, The Special Jury Award for Debut by a Child, and The President's Award for Best Feature Film. "This film is close to our hearts and was a labor of love. We couldn't be more thrilled," said co-director and writer Gloria La Morte.

"Punching the Clown," a comedy about a satirical singer/songwriter, scored Best American Indie Film, Best Actor in an American Indie for star Henry Phillips and Best Director of an American Indie for Gregori Viens.

"Trucker," starring Michelle Monaghan and Nathan Fillion,...

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

As actress Michelle Monaghan’s daughter Willow Katherine nears her first birthday, her next big milestone — walking — has been delayed by that nasty cold that’s going around. And Michelle admits she’s dealing with baby’s first bug is considerably less joyous than those much-anticipated first steps.

“Oh, God — she’s been sick for the last week and it’s been hell!” the actress — who’s gathering rave reviews for her performance as a tough mom in the indie film Trucker – told Celebrity Baby Blog. “She’s almost getting ready to walk and so we’re...

Trucker

Directed by: James Mottern

Cast: Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Fillion, Benjamin Bratt, Jimmy Bennett

Running Time: 1 hr 30 min

Rating: R

Release Date: October 23, 2009

Plot: A truck driver (Monaghan) begins to re-evaluate her life after her ex-husband gets cancer and she’s reunited with her 11 year old son (Bennett).

Who’S It For? Any hardcore Michelle Monaghan fans out there? Otherwise, fans of first time feature filmmakers.

Expectations: Full disclosure: I’m a big Firefly fan so I’ll see pretty much any movie with Nathan Fillion in it.

Scorecard (0-10)

Actors:

Michelle Monaghan as Diane: Best known for mediocre thrillers (Eagle Eye) and romantic comedies (Made of Honor), Monaghan attempts to get out of her box in Trucker. As a woman with the titular job, she’s a tough chick. In her first scene she’s having sex with a man in a cheap motel room before walking away...

Oct 21, 2009

James Mottern's Trucker features spectacular performances but these excellent actors are required to do too much heavy lifting with a script that plays out too predictably to be effective. Anyone who has spent time with their TV sets tuned to The Sundance Chanel could practically write every scene and character arc in Trucker from the plot description alone. But if a film is predictable does that make it bad? Yes. There should have been a few more moments in Trucker that didn't feel cribbed from "Independent Drama 101," but it seems clear ...Read more at MovieRetriever.com...

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImagetd>

During a Friday visit to the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, actress and first-time mom Michelle Monaghan revealed that daughter Willow Katherine, 11 months, is “almost walking.”

Of course, it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind — and baby girl appears to be conflicted about whether or not mobility is something worth pursuing, however! Michelle adds,

“She’s basically getting ready to take those first steps. She’s just teasing us! She gets down and squats and makes sure we’re looking at her and then stands up and decides not to.”

Willow is Michelle...