AUSTIN, Texas, October 21, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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Dell Laser Consultants is proud to announce it is the winner of the LASIK Surgery Center for the Best of Austin awards.
The awards celebrate the best businesses and organizations in the Austin area and are based on community nominations and votes. Dr. Steven Dell, founder of Dell Laser Consultants, said, “Dell Laser Consultants always puts our patients first, and winning this award shows that our patients are delighted with their vision. With so many choices for LASIK, we thank you for trusting us with your most valuable asset: your vision!”
Besides having the commitment of putting patients first, Dell Laser Consultants is known for its state-of-the-art technology to ensure that patients achieve the most optimal vision possible. Dell Laser Consultants offers Custom Wavefront-Guided LASIK, which uses diagnostic mapping called iDesign to map each person’s eyes and each eye’s unique imperfections. This provides the board-certified eye surgeons at Dell Laser Consultants with the most accurate and precise information about each patient’s eyes.
Dr. Dell pioneered the use of this iDesign technology during LASIK in the Austin area because he is a consultant for Johnson and Johnson Vision, which manufactures these lasers. He is a well-regarded international leader in LASIK, cataract surgery, and refractive procedures.
There are many reasons patients come to Dell Laser Consultants, not just from Texas, but from all over the country, to get their LASIK procedures. It immediately and positively changes each patient’s life. With the improved vision from LASIK, a person no longer has to worry about cumbersome glasses or dry contact lenses during sports or exercise and it is easier to maintain an active lifestyle. There is also cost savings from not having to buy new glasses every year or expensive contact lens solution and equipment. With better vision, patients feel safer and more confident driving and participating in everyday activities.
Besides LASIK procedures, Dell Laser Consultants also offer Refractive Surgery, Dry Eye Treatment & Cataract Surgery. The staff at Dell Laser Consultants includes two experienced eye surgeons and knowledgeable and professional optometrists, which provide courteous and individualized care to each patient.
Each of the highly trained professionals at Dell Laser Consultants are dedicated to offering compassionate care while carefully evaluating each person’s special vision needs and crafting a solution that best meets that person’s lifestyle. Dell Laser Consultants offer a variety of financing options and the friendly office staff can help you decide which choice works best for you.
If you think you may be a candidate for LASIK surgery, visit the FAQs on the Dell Laser Consultants website and take our self-test, then contact our office at 512-347-0255 to schedule your in-person appointment.
The sixth and final season of the acclaimed series, The Crown, is set to have two premieres this year and now we have an advanced look of the conclusion.
The big streamer, Netflix, is celebrating the upcoming release of the last season of their hit show, The Crown. Recently, the teaser trailer was unveiled and took us through the memories of seasons past with the earlier incarnations of Queen Elizabeth portrayed by actresses Claire Foy and Olivia Coleman. The trailer and poster give us a poignant and haunting look at the Queen’s reflection on her legacy and a symbol of her exit. It was also revealed that the series’ last season is an epic that will have two premieres. The first part will make its way onto Netflix on November 16, and part 2 will be premiering on December 14.
Netflix has now revealed a series of new images that show audiences what’s to come with the upcoming season. Elizabeth Debicki stars in the season as Princess Diana and talks about her role, “I think it’s a really unique challenge as an actor, to portray those days. I really just trusted in Peter’s emotional blueprint that he created for us to follow. It’s his interpretation and I think it made emotional sense to me, so I clung to that. Because, obviously, it’s devastating and it’s fraught and we can never know.”
Dominic West steps back into the shoes of Prince Charles and talks about the ease of slipping into the role, “I think he’s got real sadness to him and real compassion and what’s great about The Crown is that you see these public figures in private. I suspect in private he’s quite emotional, well that’s the way I played him anyway… I think, hopefully, what comes out is compassionate but relatively well-balanced. I talked to a lot of people who have met him because he’s met a lot of people, he’s met probably more than anyone except the Queen and Prince Philip. Almost everyone has extremely warm, kind things to say about him.” Ismelda Staunton also expressed her thoughts on becoming Queen Elizabeth again, “I’ve been living with her for a long time so, if anything, I felt more comfortable this time. I love her stillness and her ability to not be thrown by everything that must have constantly – throughout her whole life – gone on around her.”
Meanwhile, Salim Daw expresses his strong feelings about portraying Mohamed Al Fayed, “I adore this character. I love him so much and I enjoy portraying him because I love him. In this huge series, he is so human and he’s so colourful. He’s hard sometimes, very hard, funny, like a child – with his son he’s sometimes very, very hard but he has plenty of love for his son and the audience will see that and will feel exactly what I’m talking about.” Khalid Abdalla, plays his son, Dodi, and told Netflix, “It’s been the honour of my life to be part of this project, to be part of The Crown, and to play Dodi”
George A. Romero’s classic Dawn of the Dead is getting a theatrical re-release at Regal Cinemas for its 45th anniversary
2023 marks the 45th anniversary of the release of the George A. Romero classic Dawn of the Dead (get it HERE) – and to celebrate, Regal Cinemas theatres across the United States are bringing the film back to the big screen! Dawn of the Dead also got a Regal theatrical re-release last year, but that was the 3-D conversion. This year, it’s the original 2-D version of the film that will be showing. The new re-release begins on October 27th.
To find out if Dawn of the Dead will be screening at a Regal near you, check their official website.
Written and directed by Romero, Dawn of the Dead has the following synopsis: As hordes of zombies swarm over the U.S., the terrified populace tries everything in their power to escape the attack of the undead, but neither cities nor the countryside prove safe. In Pennsylvania, radio-station employee Stephen and his girlfriend, Francine, escape in the station helicopter, accompanied by two renegade SWAT members, Roger and Pete. The group retreats to the haven of an enclosed shopping center to make what could be humanity’s last stand.
The film stars Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, Gaylen Ross, David Emge, and Tom Savini.
I have never seen the 3-D conversion of Dawn of the Dead, but I have had the opportunity to see the 2-D film on the big screen a couple times and it was a great experience. This is one of my all-time favorites, and I actually consider Dawn of the Dead to be one of the best movies ever made, regardless of genre. (I’ve always enjoyed film scholar Joe Neff’s quote, “Romero’s Dawn of the Dead makes Citizen Kane look like Maniac Nurses Find Ecstasy.”) So if you have the chance to catch a Regal theatrical screening of Dawn of the Dead, I highly recommend checking it out.
Have you ever seen Dawn of the Dead on the big screen? Will you be attending a 45th anniversary Regal theatrical re-release screening? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Romero’s Dead series also includes Night of the Living Dead, Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, and Survival of the Dead.
Jeffrey Wright stars as a code-switching author on his way to the top of the charts in Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction trailer.
Thelonius’ Monk’ Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) is tapping into a different angle of the Black experience for his next novel. However, he will discover embellishing your identity is a slippery slope. In today’s American Fiction trailer, Cord Jefferson makes his directorial debut for a comedy about identity, expectations, and pulling wool over the eyes of individuals looking to get rich off other people’s struggles.
Here’s the official synopsis for American Fiction:
Cord Jefferson’s hilarious directorial debut confronts our culture’s obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write an outlandish “Black” book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
Written for the screen and directed by Cord Jefferson, American Fiction is based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett. Jeffrey Wright leads the star-studded cast, with Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Keith David, Issa Rae, and Sterling K. Brown.
American Fiction is the winner of the People’s Choice Award at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Today’s American Fiction trailer finds Monk attending a conference about the new novel from Sinatra Golden (Issa Rae). When Golden’s book strikes a chord with Monk’s writing sensibilities, he looks hard at his career trajectory and aims to change it. Taking the literary world by surprise, Monk adopts a pen name to publish a book that relies on Black stereotypes to sell his new voice. Monk must assume the deceptive role when the book becomes a bestseller, landing himself in a whirlwind of attention for literature he’d hoped to avoid writing his entire career. Code-switching is only the beginning of Monk’s journey. Who would have thought fame would come at such a significant cost?
American Fiction opens in select theaters on December 15, with expanded screenings on December 22. What do you think about today’s American Fiction trailer? Let us know in the comments section below.
PHILADELPHIA, October 20, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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A few blinks as everything comes into focus, faces of neighbors, words on street signs, all seen with clarity, some for the first time, by children and adults in Philadelphia after receiving free eye exams and glasses at a local vision clinic.
The clinic was organized by the North America affiliate of the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation, the leading global vision care foundation, and its partner Aetna, a CVS Health company.
The vision clinic was held in September at Philadelphia Housing Authority and helped address the unresolved vision problems of 397 youth and adults who may have otherwise lacked access to eye exams and glasses. Leveraging the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation’s proven clinic model and manufacturing capabilities, the clinic enables most participants in need of glasses to receive their newly prescribed, quality eyewear on-site. A team of Foundation, Aetna and EssilorLuxottica personnel helped staff the clinic.
“Giving back and being an active part of the communities we serve is at the center of what we do at Aetna,” said Brad Fischer, Vice President, Dental, Vision and Voluntary, Aetna, a CVS Health company. “Through events like this, we provide access to care to those in need and make a positive impact in the communities where we live, work and play. It’s a privilege to partner with the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation in this effort.”
“Good vision has the power to help us learn better, keep us safe and promote a more inclusive society,” said Becky Palm, Executive Director, OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation North America. “It’s our privilege to partner with Aetna to ensure that underserved patients in the Philadelphia area are able to access the eye exams and glasses they need.”
The North America affiliate of the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, registered in the United States. This regional affiliate supports the goals of the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation, a French registered charitable organization (endowment fund) reflecting the commitment and values of EssilorLuxottica to contribute to eliminating uncorrected poor vision in a generation. It is headquartered at 147 rue de Paris, 94220 Charenton-Le-Pont, France. https://onesight.essilorluxottica.com/
Contact Information:
Amy Greene
Media Relations, OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation [email protected]
513-404-1376
Last week, we ran a special WTF episode about the 1979 Disney movie, The Black Hole, an uncommonly adult film for the family-friendly studio. It kicked off an experiment for the studio to move into adult fare, eventually spawning no less than three subsidiaries that produced some of the most influential movies of the 80s, 90s and 2000s. These off-shoots paved the way for Disney’s place as the most powerful motion picture studio in the world, with them owning Lucasfilm, Pixar and the MCU. With the studio celebrating its 100th anniversary, we figured now would be an opportune time to look back at the studio Disney launched to distribute their more grown-up fare, the now shuttered Touchstone Pictures.
Jump back to 1983, when Disney put out a now obscure comedy called Trenchcoat, starring Airplane’s Robert Hayes and Superman’s Margot Kidder. A comic mystery, it was produced by Walt Disney Productions but was considered so adult that the company released it under a subsidiary called Buena Vista Distribution. The name Walt Disney was nowhere to be found on the film. The movie flopped, but other more-adult-oriented Disney films like Tron and Never Cry Wolf did pretty well, yet fell short of their full potential. The common thought was that the Walt Disney brand was considered too childish and that whenever people saw the company name, they assumed they would be seeing a kids movie.
In 1984, the company released their first movie under Touchstone, which the company intended to be their more adult-oriented arm. That film was Splash, which became a smash hit, launching the careers of stars Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah and John Candy, and director Ron Howard. Despite their early success, the first year or so of operations for Touchstone was rocky, with them producing movies like Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend and My Science Project, which felt like slightly risqué Disney films and nothing more.
Their fortunes began to turn when they focused on lower-budget R-rated comedies starring people who, arguably, were considered washed up. That’s why you had actors like Richard Dreyfuss and Bette Midler lead films like Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People and Stakeout, all of which were smash-hits that revitalized careers. Suddenly, they were hip.
This led to the golden age of Touchstone, with them producing the Martin Scorsese classic The Color of Money, Good Morning Vietnam, Cocktail, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and so many others. The studio became such a success that Disney opened another subsidiary, Hollywood Pictures, which was initially a pipeline for lower-budget fare like Encino Man, but eventually released larger films like Judge Dredd, Dangerous Minds, The Rock and The Sixth Sense. Finally, Hollywood Pictures was folded into Touchstone, but, as Disney itself became willing to release PG-13 rated movies on their own, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean series and the Marvel films, and R-rated adult dramas became a business the studio no longer had any interest in, they folded.
With Touchstone only a memory, on the 100th anniversary of Disney, we thought it would be fun to make a list of 10 underrated, quasi-obscure Touchstone movies worth checking out.
Ruthless People
If people enjoy watching Danny DeVito play the notorious Frank Reynolds on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, they should check out 1986’s Ruthless People, which almost serves as a prequel to that show. In it, he plays a heartless business person who plots to do away with his rich, shrewish wife, played by a memorably unhinged Bette Midler. Lucky for him, she gets kidnapped, and being the bastard he is, he refuses to pay the ransom, hoping they just kill her. Yet, the kidnappers prove to be a likable young couple (Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater) who actually rebuild Midler’s self-esteem, and eventually, the three turn the tables on him. It’s a hilarious little movie.
Stakeout
This John Badham action-comedy was a favorite of mine as a kid. Still, it is perhaps not all that PC in 2023, with it mainly about two horny cops on a stakeout who, to their delight, discover that the frequently naked woman they’re spying on is the smoking hot Madeleine Stowe. Yet, the movie is a ton of fun, with Richard Dreyfus cast against type as a heroic male lead, while young Emilio Estevez tries to look grown up by wearing a cop stache. One of the best things about Stakeout is how well it juggles the comedy and the action, veering back and forth from zany antics to hard-R eighties action with aplomb. Aidan Quinn also makes for a menacing bad guy. That said, the sequel, Another Stakeout, really sucks.
An Innocent Man
Tom Selleck plays a wrongly accused man set up by two corrupt cops and spends three years in a super-max prison. The experience changes him from a gentle airline mechanic to a hardened killer looking for revenge, and the film is surprisingly hard-edged for a 1980s Tom Selleck vehicle. David Rasche from Veep, Succession and Sledge Hammer makes for a loathsome villain, while F. Murray Abraham is excellent as the lifer who shows new fish Selleck the ropes. Think of this as a less grim Shot Caller, albeit one with a Hollywood-style happy ending.
Captain Ron
Kurt Russell sends up Snake Plisken as an eye-patching-wearing boat captain hired by Martin Short’s harried family man. This movie has a lot of hilarious bits, with Russell effective in a rare comic turn. Notably, Russell and Short became lifelong friends after this was made, which seems a recurring thing for the always genial Short.
Alive
Director J. A Bayona is about to launch a new telling of the infamous Andes survivors story on Netflix, but the 1993 version put out by Touchstone holds up well thirty years later. While Ethan Hawke may not be the first name that comes to mind when making a film about the Uruguayan rugby team that crash-landed in the Andes and were forced to resort to cannibalism to survive, this is nonetheless a terrific movie. It’s a highly empathetic tale of survival, beautifully directed by Frank Marshall.
The Program
This film was a hot-button topic when it came out in 1993. A dark examination of the pressures of College football, the movie contained an infamous scene where players sat on a lane divider in traffic as a macho stunt. This scene was excised from all prints while the movie was still in theaters after a couple of teens got killed copying it. While that tragedy led to the film being somewhat shelved by the studio, it’s a pretty thrilling sports film with great performances by the late James Caan and the hulking Andrew Bryniarski.
Summer of Sam
Spike Lee’s epic examination of the hysteria surrounding the Son of Sam murders that rocked New York City in the summer of 1977 ranks as one of his finest films. If you ever wanted to see what a film like Goodfellas or Boogie Nights would have been like had it been directed by Lee, this is the movie for you. John Leguizamo gives the performance of his life in the lead role. At the same time, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito and Adrien Brody are all so good that, were the movie better received in ’99, I think they all would have gotten Oscar nods. This is a legit forgotten masterpiece.
Enemy of the State
While it was a box office hit in 1998, Enemy of the State remains one of the more obscure entries in the combined filmographies of Tony Scott, Will Smith and Jerry Bruckheimer. This is a terrific nineties update of classic seventies paranoia thrillers, with Gene Hackman stealing the show as a character that might just be the guy he played in the Francis Ford Coppola classic The Conversation.
The Count of Monte Cristo
This old-fashioned swashbuckler was a sleeper hit in the winter of 2002. A fresh take on the Alexander Dumas classic, the now controversial Jim Caviezel plays our swashbuckling hero, Edmond Dantes, who is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and escapes decades of imprisonment to wreak havoc on his accusers. A very young Henry Cavill plays his son.
Reign of Fire
One would think that a post-apocalyptic dragon movie starring Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey and Gerard Butler would be better known, but this movie sank like a stone in the summer of 2002. While the CGI hasn’t held up well, this movie is a total blast, and I’m convinced it was one of the reasons why Christopher Nolan wanted Bale to play the lead in Batman Begins.
Fede Alvarez has shared a picture of the Alien-related books he was looking through when developing the new Alien movie
The new Alien movie directed by Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead 2013, Don’t Breathe) began filming in Budapest, Hungary on March 9th and wrapped up in early July, right before the Screen Actors Guild strike began. As far as we know (and here’s everything we do know about the movie that may or may not be called Alien: Romulus), it’s still on track for an August 16, 2024 theatrical release. Alvarez is doing a good job of keeping details under wraps – but over the weekend, he did take to social media to share a picture of the books he was looking through while developing the project.
In this image we have books on the art of the video game Alien: Isolation, Aliens set photography, the work designer H.R. Giger did on Alien, the work of concept artist Ron Cobb, the making of Alien, the vehicles and technology of the Alien franchise, David’s drawings from Alien: Covenant, and the Colonial Marines tech, as well as a collection of Aliens comic books.
This new Alien movie is coming to us from Momentum and 20th Century Studios, with Ridley Scott producing through his Scott Free banner. We originally heard that it was being made for release through the Hulu streaming service, much like the Predator franchise addition Prey that was released last year (and turned out to be one of the more well-received entries in that series), but then the plan changed to a theatrical release.
Alvarez is directing the film from a screenplay he was written with his frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues. When the project was announced near the start of 2022, it was said that Alvarez pitched this idea for a new Alien movie to Ridley Scott years ago. Whatever the idea was, it stuck with Scott. So in late 2021, he called Alvarez and asked if he still wanted to make an Alien movie. Clearly, the answer was yes. 20th Century Studios division president Steve Asbell told The Hollywood Reporter that they picked up the project “purely off the strength of Fede’s pitch. It was just a really good story with a bunch of characters you haven’t seen before.“
Asbell added that, since the movie was being made for Hulu, “It’s not a film that has to be all things to all people with those gargantuan budgets. They get to be authentically what they are. And this is closer to its genre roots.“
It has been said that the story Alvarez and Sayagues crafted for this movie is not connected to the other films in the Alien franchise. It will show us what happens when “a group of young people on a distant world find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe.”
The cast consists of Cailee Spaeny (Mare of Easttown), David Jonsson (Industry), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Spike Fearn (The Batman), Aileen Wu (Away from Home), and Isabela Merced (Rosaline).
Are you interested in Fede Alvarez’s Alien movie? What do you think of the selection of books he was going through when developing the project? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Barbara Crampton talks to us about her newest film, how she got her Re-Animator co-star Jeffrey Combs involved and any sequels talks.
Barbara Crampton is an absolute legend in the world of horror. Whether it’s her classic films from the 80s like Re-Animator or From Beyond, or more recent fare like You’re Next or Jakob’s Wife, she’s had quite the career. And her newest role in Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls may not be a particularly prominent one, but it leaves an impact. Because if there’s one thing we haven’t seen enough from her in her career, it’s comedy. So I was absolutely overjoyed to be able to discuss the film with her and find out some of the film’s secrets, I loved the film and can’t wait for people to see it (in theaters for One Night Only!). So check out the video above if you want to see how she got her Re-Animator co-star Jeffrey Combs involved with the project, as well as if she’s heard any rumblings of a sequel.
Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls plot:
Amateur occultist Marcus J. Trillbury, aka Onyx TheFortuitous, is struggling. He’s misunderstood at home and work, but his dreams for a new life seem to be answered when he lands a coveted invitation to the mansion of his idol Bartok the Great for a ritual to raise the spirit of an ancient demon. He excitedly joins Bartok and his fellow eclectic group of devotees as they prepare for the ceremony, but pretty quickly it becomes apparent everything is not as it seems. As Onyx and his new friends fight to keep their souls, he must decide what he’s willing to truly sacrifice in order to meet his destiny.
ONYX THE FORTUITOUS AND THE TALISMAN OF SOULS IS IN THEATERS ONE NIGHT ONLY ON OCTOBER 19TH, 2023.
NEW YORK, October 19, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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Tween Lifestyle Brand Fashion Angels and Mikaila Ulmer, entrepreneur who founded Me & the Bees Lemonade at four years old, have now launched a Lemonade Stand Starter Kitto help other aspiring young entrepreneurs launch successful businesses.
Available for $19.97, the all-in-one kit includes everything children need to start a lemonade stand, from marketing materials to sheets for recipes and business management. With expert guidance and easy-to-follow instructions, budding entrepreneurs can learn valuable skills in responsibility, time management, and communication, while exploring the world of entrepreneurship.
“Within the kit are the tools I used to launch my lemonade stand business along with tips and tricks directly from me to help the next generation of entrepreneurs realize their dreams like I did,” said Ulmer.
Recommended for ages 8+ the It's My Biz Lemonade Stand Starter Kit makes a great gift for birthdays and the upcoming holidays. Check out the Instagram reels here to see what’s inside the kit.
“From running a multi-million dollar business to making time for her schoolwork, Mikaila awakens the go-getter in us and inspires us all to dream like kids and pair our passions with our purpose,” said the people’s shark, Daymond John.
The It's My Biz Lemonade Stand Starter kit was designed in the U.S. by Fashion Angels and includes 20 Disposable Sample Cups, 10 Stir Sticks, 12 Paper Straws, Cup Stand, Decorative Sticker Sheet, Logo Sticker Sheet, 35 Sheet Recipe Book and Sticker Sheet, Menu Sign, Logo Sign, Dry Erase Marker, Lemonade Garland, 20 Receipts, 10 Business Cards, 10 Feedback Cards, BIZ Bag and IT'S MY BIZ! 60 Sheet Journal (Guidebook, Order Forms, Ledger Sheets, Activity Sheets).
About Me & the Bees Lemonade
Since 2009, what started as a lemonade stand in a front yard in Austin, Texas, has quickly grown to a national brand with distribution to all 50 U.S. states. The all-natural shelf-stable lemonades contain no high-fructose corn syrup, no preservatives or additives. They are made with premium ingredients including U.S. Grade-A honey, real lemon juice, and flaxseed, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.www.meandthebees.com. Follow on social channels: @mikailasbees.
About Fashion Angels
Since its inception in 1996, Milwaukee-based Fashion Angels has built an innovative brand based on empowering young women to unleash their creative potential. As a leading designer and manufacturer of award-winning tween girls’ craft, entrepreneurial, fashion and beauty activity products, as well as a full line of fashion accessories, stationery, and beauty and room décor, Fashion Angels aims to inspire the next generation of strong women through STEAM-based creativity. Follow on social channels: @FashionAngels.
Julian Schnabel’s In the Hand of Dante film includes Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, and Gerard Butler as primary cast members.
A star-studded crime thriller from Oscar-nominated director Julian Schnabel is coming our way, with Orcasr Isaac, Jason Momoa, and Gerard Butler leading the cast. Schnabel’s In the Hand of Dante film is in production in Italy, with an Interim Agreement from SAG-AFTRA to allow filming during the ongoing strike. Based on the novel of the same name by Nick Tosches, In the Hand of Dante finds a piece of history in the clutches of criminals.
According to Deadline’s exclusive report, In the Hand of Dante “revolves around when the original manuscript of the Divine Comedy emerges in the clutches of a black-market smuggling ring in the dangerous underbelly of New York City, weary scholar Nick is called by the mob to authenticate it.”
“Overwhelmed by temptation, Nick defies the mafia and steals the manuscript in a frenzied bid to have it all. He follows a dark and violent path from a metaphorical Hell into Paradise with his love Giulietta, while a parallel tale unfolds: the odyssey of Dante himself, a man who — trapped in a loveless marriage with Gemma and bolstered only by his mentorship under an austere intellectual — escapes to Sicily and creates his greatest work, immortalizing his lost love, Beatrice.”
“Nick and Dante’s timelines weave separate paths and yet the two men are inextricably linked — both lose themselves chasing love, beauty, and the very promise of the divine.”
Schnabel (Before the Night Falls, At Eternity’s Gate, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) directs from a script he wrote based on Tosches’ novel. Sabrina Impacciatore (The White Lotus, The Last Kiss, The Passion of the Christ) and Fortunado Cerlino (Inferno, Medici, Gomorrah) also star. Jon Kilik and Francesco Melzi d’eril produce for MeMo Films, with Olmo Schnabel for TWIN Productions.
While Hollywood waits for SAG-AFTRA and studio executives to sort out the ongoing strike, select projects are getting a green light to roll cameras. In the Hand of Dante is one of the few productions to charge full steam ahead while others remain trapped in limbo. By allowing a handful of projects to continue, SAG-AFTRA is ensuring theater owners have new films to screen should the strike continue for much longer.
What do you think about the concept of Schnabel’s In the Hand of Dante film? Isaac, Momoa, and Butler are quite the powerhouse cast to lead this divine crime thriller. We’ll be keeping a close watch over this one as production continues.
