At the Disney premiere of "Let It Shine" with Kat McNamara

A Conversation with Joel Courtney

ACTOR JOEL COURTNEY HEADLINES IDAHO CINEPOSIUM FILM CONFERENCE IN MAY. A Conversation with Joel Courtney (SUPER 8) is sure to delight attendees atIdaho Cineposium - an Indie Northwest Film Conference - coming to Coeur d'Alene May 18-19, 2012. The conference kicks off Friday afternoon when Silverwood Theme Park opens its gates just for this group and a very special screening of SODA SPRINGS, fresh from winning the Audience Award at the Sun Valley Film Festival. The conference continues Saturday at the Coeur d'Alene Inn with a jam-packed day of speakers and panels discussing distribution, funding, production management, social networking, legal issues, and the special interview with actor Joel Courtney. Registration Information & Costs Adults, $79 (before May 1); $89 after May 1  Students age 15 and up, $49 (before May 1); $59 after May 1 Registration includes conference, screening, meals and snacks. SODA SPRINGS screening only: $15; includes a Q & A by writer-starJay Pickett and executive producer Gary Hollie. SEE AGENDA & REGISTER HERE

Super 8 picks up 8 Saturn Award Nominations

From the Hollywood Reporter: 

Potter and Hugo received 10 nominations each followed by Super 8 with eight and Marvel Studios’ Captain America: The First Avenger with seven. The Adventures of Tintin andMission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol snagged six nominations while Rise of the Planet of the Apes garnered five.

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The nominees in for best science fiction included Universal’s The Adjustment Bureau, Marvel Studios/Paramount’s Captain America, Relativity’s Limitless, Fox’s Apes, Paramount’s Super 8 and Fox’s X-Men: First Class.

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For best director, the nominees included J.J. Abrams (Super 8), Brad Bird (Mission: Impossible), Martin Scorsese (Hugo), Steven Spielberg (Tintin), Rupert Wyatt(Apes), and David Yates (Harry Potter).

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The 2012 Saturn Awards will be presented Wednesday, June 20, in Burbank.

Super 8: Recapturing Child-Like Joy

From Erika D. Peterman over at Shotgun Reviews:

The movie's real triumph, however, is in its endearing characters. Courtney, who I swear is channeling Henry Thomas from 1982, is teriffic as the vulnerable but spunky Joe. I loved his scenes with Fanning, who plays Alice with such quiet, convincing melancholy. Griffiths steals many a scene as a tyrannical film director-in-training, and the movie audience laughed every time he opened his mouth.

"2011 films wooed us with plenty worthy romances fit for Valentine's Day"

From Ben Flanagan at Alabama Live:

Compiling a Valentine's Day movie list gets less dreamy and more tedious each year you try it, especially when you realize nearly every movie qualifies as a romance.

A modern film narrative often feels naked without at least an inkling of a romantic storyline, not that every movie needs one. We just expect it now.

The 2011 movie year gave us a swell crop of stories bursting with romantic feeling, including some up for the Best Picture Oscar.

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Newb Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning find young love in J.J. Abrams' sci-fi adventure "Super 8,"sharing the film's most poignant moments, heightened by their performances and Michael Giacchino's subtle musical score.