Are we the only ones entirely psyched to see this movie? Entirely possible, but we’re big Noah Baumbach fans and his last film, “The Squid & The Whale” finally tapped his full potential.
The dysfunctional family drama that stars Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh (Baumbach’s wife), Jack Black (and an appearance by John Turturro) was originally scheduled for October now has a firm date of November 16 according to Entertainment Weekly.
The script captures ”the worst of all your family dynamics coming into play,” co-star Leigh told EW. “And everyone’s trying so hard to rise above past hurts.”
In the film, Jack Black plays Leigh’s loser fiancé, and her frosty and judgemental sister Margot (Kidman) is not having it. Apparently Black sought out Baumbach after seeing ‘Squid,’ and the director warmed to him immediately. Kidman told EW she was glad to return to the ”the tone of humor in To Die For,” (which seems odd cause the two types of humor seem vastly different).
EW talked to Nicole Kidman (and it’s not online, so we reposted the QA)
What were your first impressions of Noah Baumbach
We met in a coffee shop and just clicked. It’s funny because he’s really shy and I’m shy so at the meeting we didn’t say much. and it was brief!
Where there something that drew you to the script?
He’s such an unusual, uncompromising writer. I remember him saying he found it fascinating how a lot of people think, “Because they’re my family, we should get along.” And they don’t. Plus there are very few films where the big roles are so well written for two women.
What was tricky about tackling the role of Margot?
She’s having a breakdown. She’s a raw, angry woman in that very precarious place of feeling like she’s wasting her life. I kept saying to Noah, “Please, I need her to have a heart.”
To prepare for the role, Kidman, watched old Woody Allen and Bergman films, (“bless his heart.”)
There’s not much info on the official site, but the full synopsis reads.
Noah Baumbach’s follow-up to his Academy Award nominated “The Squid and the Whale,” is a daringly funny and bracingly honest exploration of the tender, absurd and sometimes excruciating relationship between siblings and the fallout for those in their wake: children, husbands, lovers.
Margot, with her all-too-rapidly maturing son Claude (newcomer Zane Pais) in tow, arrives with the gale force of a hurricane. From the minute she meets Pauline’s fiancé – the unemployed artist Malcolm (Jack Black) – Margot starts to plant seeds of doubt about the union.
As the wedding approaches, one complication crashes into the next: vengeful neighbors, a beloved tree in the backyard and Margot’s own marital turmoil. The two sisters, find themselves at the precipice of an unexpected transformation ultimately revealing that even when your family is about to implode . . . the one thing you can cling to for solace and comfort is your imploding family.
There’s no word on the soundtrack details yet, but the “Squid and the Whale” soundtrack was understated and excellent. Scored by Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips (their album Back Numbers is one 2007’s best) the soundtrack also included some tasteful tracks by the Feelies, Blossom Dearie (from “School House Rock“), Loudon Wainwright III and probably my favorite Lou Reed song, “Street Hassle/Waltzing Matilda.” The ‘Margot’ trailer features Blondie’s “Sunday’s Girl” and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Our House” as covered by Phantom Planet (who do a surprisingly wonderful, wistful job with it).
Baumbach knows how to pick ’em, (no Randall Poster this time?) so we’re hoping for another great mix of songs (perhaps the aforementioned trailers songs will make their way into the movie).
Watch: “Margot At The Wedding” trailerListen: The Feelies – “Let’s Go”
Listen: Loudon Wainwright III – “The Swimming Song”
Download: If I Were Noah Baumbach Soundtrack Series Disc
