REVIEW: First-Time Director Vera Farmiga Seeks - and Finds -Higher Ground

Did you feel it? Not five minutes after the earthquake that ran up the east coast Tuesday, the courtyard of my Brooklyn building rang with voices: This one jumped off of her shaking bed; that one, sadly, didn’t feel a thing. It seemed more likely, as my equilibrium gave way, that my body was the source of the betrayal, not my surroundings. But then I’d never experienced an earthquake; I have always managed to sleep or daydream through them, retaining a sliver of doubt as comfort for being left out. If I didn’t feel it, how real could it be? Near the beginning of Higher Ground, Vera Farmiga’s phlegmatic directorial debut, a group of 1960s Sunday schoolers is enjoined by their Pastor to welcome God into their hearts. Pastor Bud (Bill Irwin), so neutered and non-threatening he invites a higher suspicion, calls on the group of young kids to attune themselves to Jesus’s arrival at the door: Can they feel it? Young Corinne (McKenzie Turner) decides that she can, but it’s largely a whim, an impulse toward approval and acceptance. Religions — and certainly lives of religious devotion — have been built on less. A jump in time takes us to Corinne as a teenager (the striking resemblance to the film’s director and star makes you wish the word “ethereal” weren’t so overused; she is played by her little sister, Taissa Farmiga), but not before we get a sense of the younger Corinne’s keenly engaged relationship with the world. Whether observing the affection drain from her parents (John Hawkes and Donna Murphy) after a devastating miscarriage or suffering a twinge as Pastor Bud vibes on her madeover mom, it is clear that Corinne feels all sorts of things, weirdly and deeply. Farmiga closes in on moments that express mood and character so lightly and perceptively that you don’t notice them gently — sometimes too gently — moving the story forward. Watchful, arty Corinne is a contrast to her bounding blonde sister (played as a teenager by Kaitlyn Rae King and as an adult by Nina Arianda), but it is the former who attracts the attention of the local rock star, Ethan (Boyd Holbrook). Courtship, pregnancy, marriage and a near-fatal van accident follow in a series of indelibly observed vignettes. Farmiga, working with Winter’s Bone cinematographer Michael McDonough, uses fantasy cutaways sparingly. Humor is more subtly embedded into Corinne’s 30-year journey from being “saved” during Sunday school, born again twice more, struggling with doubt and disillusionment, and ultimately reckoning with a faith separate from the church and her community. Ours is very much Corinne’s perspective, and the narrative line, such as it is, is telegraphed along a string of Farmiga’s extraordinarily translucent responses to a loving but rigid environment. The notion of Corrine as too smart for her surroundings is handled with typical effacement, so that her questioning nature, when it flickers and then finally detonates, lacks the cumulative force deeper, more precise characterization may have wrought. In its place there is a seductive ease to the moment-driven storytelling and an equalizing force to the clean, orienting compositions. Though we travel to the heart of the kind of proselytizing that makes people switch subway cars, every character in the small, rural New York community where Corinne and Ethan (later played along a convincing spectrum of passion by Humpday’s Joshua Leonard) are raising their three children maintains their dignity, and therefore their plausibility. The adult Corinne is sincere in her desire to feel what seems to come so naturally to the others, especially her best friend, a mischievous brunette named Annika (Dagmara Dominczyk) whose claustrophobic sensuality extends to an ability to speak in vaguely European tongues. The fact that This Dark World: A Memoir of Salvation Found and Lost, the Carolyn S. Briggs memoir, has changed its title to match the film adaptation feels like a reflection of Higher Ground’s tempering effect. Co-writers Briggs and Tim Metcalfe are careful to avoid words like “cult” and “fundamentalist”; they work to avoid easy judgments, but the smoothed edges of interiority make the context somewhat nebulous. It was a tough job, no doubt, in times as reactionary to discussions of faith and ideology as ours. Though it’s not always clear what Corinne has gotten herself into, and how deep, Farmiga’s embodiment of her as a seeker of solace in all of its forms — a suggestible but hardly nave convert — focuses the story on its very human core. Tying things up a little too neatly for my taste — and my nerves — the first voice I heard after leaving the Higher Ground screening and boarding a subway car packed shoulder to sternum was that of a preacher waving a burgundy leather-bound bible. He railed from Bloomingdales to Brooklyn: “You better get clear with God,” he said, “because the worst is yet to come.” It’s tougher all the time to find a captive audience, especially in what he called “the city of Sodom and Gomorrah.” He wasn’t about to waste it. “You will pay for it one day,” he said, referring to our assumed spiritual indolence. “You know what I’m talking about: The earthquake that’s coming.” A young woman turned to me with a look of contempt: How can he say such things here, in New York City; here, in this crowded subway? Our indifference provoked him: “I hope you don’t say I’m crazy,” he said. “The moment you talk about God, people say you’re crazy.” I had pulled out my notebook and was scribbling where I stood. A minute or so later, a man in plain clothes pushed in close to me and flashed a police badge between us. “Did that man touch you?” he asked. No. He was a bigot and a zealot, but he didn’t touch me, and he wasn’t crazy. A half hour later, back at my desk, I did feel the earthquake, and the first thing I thought of, once I was sure I wasn’t having a stroke, was Vera Farmiga’s soulful, searching face.

American Idol's Scott MacIntyre Ties the Knot

Scott MacIntyre and Christina Teich American Idol alum Scott MacIntyre married his girlfriend on Thursday, People reports. Idol alum Scott MacIntyre is engaged MacIntyre, 26, wed Christina Teich in a small ceremony in Scottsdale, Ariz. During the service, the Idol finalist - who was also the first blind contestant to compete on the show - performed a song in dedication to his new bride called "Wanna Be There," which he also wrote. MacIntyre's most recent album, Heartstrings, was released in March 2010 and debuted at No. 18 on iTunes. Is American Idol on your Watchlist? Add it and your other favorites now and never miss an episode "It's about love, it's about loss, it's about the hardships of another person when you can't do anything," he told TVGuide.com when it was released. "It's about trying to find hope when there's hopelessness around. They're all things I've been through in my life. I've put a lot of my heart into every song and it's always been about sharing a message." Looks like he found his love.

'Dragon Gate' to screen in Imax 3D

BEIJING -- Hong Kong helmer Tsui Hark's 3D chopsocky epic "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" will show on Imax giant screens around China as well as standard 3D digital from Dec. 18, producers Bona Ent. said Thursday. The release date gives the pic, which will be the first Chinese film to screen in Imax 3D, a good run over the peak Christmas season. Pic, about a hunt for a missing concubine, features Jet Li, Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, Li Yuchun, Kwai Lun-mei and Mavis Fan, and is co-produced by China Film Group, SMG Pictures, Shine Show Interactive Media and Bona. So far only Feng Xiaogang's "Aftershock" and the patriotic pic "Beginning of the Great Revival" have been given the Imax treatment in China. Neither was in 3D. The martial arts world that Tsui Hark creates in 3D is truly overwhelming, and we decide to present it in the large-screen format. With crystal-clear picture and Imax-approved stereo system in our theaters, this film will bring the ultimate sensation to the audience," said Don Savant, m.d. of Imax Asia-Pacific. Imax has been enormously successful in tapping the China market, making a breakthrough where other exhibitors have failed. In March, Imax signed a 75-theater revenue-sharing agreement with China's Wanda Cinema Line Corp. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Brad Pitt to Produce Drama 'Twelve Years a Slave' With Steve McQueen Directing

Brad Pitt and his Plan B banner are tackling the subject of slavery with an adaptation of Twelve Years a Slave, an autobiography written in 1853 by Solomon Northup, a free black man who became enslaved.our editor recommendsBox Office Smackdown: Brad Pitt's 'World War Z' to Open Against Johnny Depp's 'Lone Ranger'Carey Mulligan Joins Cast of Steve McQueen's Sophomore Feature 'Shame''World War Z': Brad Pitt to Begin Filming in Glasgow'Moneyball': Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill in New Trailer Steve McQueen, who co-wrote and directed the acclaimed 2008 drama Hunger, is directing the adaptation while Chiwetel Ejiofor, the British actor who has appeared in movies such as Salt and Inside Man, is attached to the part of Northup. McQueen co-wrote the script with John Ridley. Northup was a married and educated free black man living in New York when two men approached him with a job offer in Washington. When he showed up in D.C., he was kidnapped and put in a slave pen, paving the way to his grueling life under numerous owners. The book is studied for everything from its details of the slave markets that existed in D.C. to the type of food served to slaves. Northup was able to secure his freedom when a white carpenter from Canada, who didn't believe in slavery, was able to smuggle out letters to Northup's wife, initiating a court case that saw him set free. CAA is arranging the financing and repping the North American distribution rights. McQueen, repped by CAA, has Shame in the can. The drama, which will premiere at the Venice Film Festival, reunites McQueen with his Hunger star Michael Fassbender and also stars Carey Mulligan. Hunger won McQueen the Golden Camera prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Ejiofor, repped by ICM, starred in the British TV series The Shadow Line and recently completed shooting Savannah, a slave drama that also stars James Caviezel and Jamie Alexander. Plan B is in pre-production on the big-budget adaptation of the Max Brooks novel World War Z. Marc Forster is directing the Paramount pic, which sees Pitt starring and has a Dec. 21, 2012 release date. Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com Twiter: @Borys_Kit Related Topics Brad Pitt Chiwetel Ejiofor International

Inside the field of the 'Dark Dark night Rises' Paparazzo

For celebrity photography enthusiasts who've resided all of their lives in Pittsburgh, situations are finally searching for. After many years of wishing to obtain a good shot of local personas like Ben Roethlisberger or, um, Andy Van Slyke, they now end up in particular in Gotham City, as Christopher Nolan performs location shoots for his third Batman movie, 'The Dark Dark night Increases,' within their zipcode. All of a sudden, local photography enthusiasts have something everybody wants: bootleg photos from the much-over-blown production. I spoke to Jared Wickerham, a 22-year-old Pittsburgh resident that has created the majority of the 'Dark Dark night Rises' photos that you have seen going swimming the web, and that he gave us a glimpse inside his world staking the set. Moviefone: What possessed you to definitely take pictures of 'The Dark Dark night Rises' set? Jared Wickerham: Used to do lots of skateboarding after i was more youthful, so running in to the police was pretty normal. So that's most likely what got me into this. I shoot mostly sports, however the Pirates were on vacation that weekend and so i thought, Believe to invest my weekend than outdoors creating a couple of pictures? However I honestly did not know it might be this large so far as the hype and the significance of individuals images to numerous people: to determine individuals different spoilers or whatever. Did anybody on set offer any potential to deal with you capturing? The very first lady I went into, among the P.A.s, I believe, stated, "You cannot take pictures here." It had been about the pavement and that i stated, "I understand my privileges. I am on the public pavement." So she increased to among the guards and returned and merely made the decision to face before me. Since I Have shoot sports, I'd a pleasant, lengthy lens, and so i just required a couple of steps back and shot round her. So that's their security plan? To simply stand before you? The next was another P.A. who had been about my maturity -- I am 22 -- and that he just emerged in my experience and stated, "I dispise to get this done, but I have reached stand before you. It's come lower from my boss that I must stand before you.Inch I went in to the location manager -- I believe his title was James -- and that he also emerged in my experience and stated, "I need quit taking pictures." I stated, "Well, I am about the pavement, I am inside a public area, I understand my privileges." That's virtually things i told everyone, "I understand I am inside my privileges." The moment I only say that, they are like, "Yeah, you're.Inch So they know what you are doing? I could obtain the pictures which i did with my bigger lens, however it wasn't a secret which i was shooting. That's without a doubt. Had you been surprised at how open the set is perfect for this type of secretive production? Pretty surprised. But, simultaneously, now they are shooting downtown [instead of the suburb of Concord], and that is clearly just a little harder to get at simply because they possess the entire roads covered in snow and you've got many of these highrises. Did they struggle to bar everybody who had been shooting? They offered me a harder time about this. There have been certainly others there shooting, however they attempted to express which i could not shoot there, but others with slightly more compact cameras could. The folks with increased inconspicuous equipment certainly got away by using it. Why have your set photos become probably the most attention? There have been many people using their personal cameras and camcorders, therefore it wasn't as exclusive when i guess I'd have loved. However I think Used to do pretty much. I believe having the ability to place them out first -- you realize, I place them out at lunch on the Sunday and returned to shooting. I believe the Batman stuff was larger than the Bane stuff was, from what I have observed. There have been a couple people shooting -- there is another digital photographer from Splash News there -- so there have been a few different versions of all things. Watch a clip for 'The Dark Dark night Rises' The length of time have you spend chilling out close to the set? I had been there Saturday or sunday, the 30th and 31st, and Saturday I had been there from noon until 8 p.m. And Sunday I had been there from 8:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. Each morning it did not take very lengthy simply because they wanted to really make it look gloomy using the shadow which was cast while watching building. After they were built with a scene setup, they'd perform a scene for any minute or perhaps a minute . 5 -- the fighting scene would take perhaps a minute -- and they'd do this 5 or 6 occasions. What photo has demonstrated typically the most popular? The photo of Bane about the left-hands affiliate with his goons about the right-hands side as he's standing on the top from the tumbler -- which was really probably the most seen. How can the privileges towards the photos work? I keep your copyright and that i make royalties about the images when they are licensed through Getty. When they are licensed through me, i quickly get 100 % of this. Just how much have you been making per photo? It is dependent on size, circulation, the sights that the website will get and just how large the photo is. So something similar to MTV that utilizes one fourth-page photo within an article, I'd guess perhaps a couple of $ 100 for your picture. It simply is dependent. An MTV license might be $200 or $300 for your image, while Perez Hilton or TMZ could license it for pretty much, with respect to the traffic. Do you experience feeling guilty? Do you experience feeling you should not do this? I honestly aren't seeing why I ought to feel any guilt. I had been just doing my job like a photojournalist to get the best images possible on the story which was -- but still is -- huge in Pittsburgh. All the local newspapers and Tv producers covered it and still using the filming moved from Concord to Downtown. I had been making individuals pictures in the pavement -- a public place -- much like everybody else. The moments I captured pics of counseled me shot outside in public places. I had been just lucky which i might get nearer to the experience because I cover mostly sports like a freelance digital photographer and own a sizable telephoto lens. Individuals who I spoke to who have been employed by the film included in the crew counseled me very understanding after i mentioned which i understood my privileges which I had been on public property. All of them were just told using their bosses to inform me to stop taking photos but not one of them really managed to get right into a large deal. Them all, such as the local officer working, were comfortable with the laws and regulations which things i was doing was perfectly legal. They'd places that the general public could stand, watch, and take pictures, so that is what Used to do. Following the Pennsylvania Film Tax Credit passed, increasingly more movies happen to be filming within Pittsburgh and also the surrounding areas. Any movie which comes into the city is really a large deal towards the citizens living here, but Batman is most likely the greatest and many over-blown movie you will see shot here. I could not avoid the chance to photograph a film I was raised watching myself. And i believe I designed a couple of nice images. So hopefully my weekend spent outdoors within the gorgeous weather covering this large event that happened to occur during my neighborhood, can help me settle the debts. (All photos thanks to Jared Wickerham, Getty Images.) You are able to contact Mike Ryan on Twitter. Follow Moviefone on Twitter.

Suits: Is Harvey Going Soft? Can Mike and Harvey Keep Their Secret Forever?

Patrick J. Adams and Gabriel Macht He's callous. He's cunning. He's courageous. But is just one of New You are able to City's top closers, Suits' Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), going soft? "For Harvey, there's that juggling act of 'Maybe I could be a little bit much softer in some places. Maybe I'm able to just ease on many people,'" Macht informs TVGuide.com. "I've found that you will find these injections in some places that Mike throws where Harvey, previously, could have been like, 'Get from my face!' But gradually, we are beginning to determine that he's really amused because of it.Inch Exclusive: Chi McBride lawyers up for Suits season finale After having to band together again and again to maintain the reality regarding Mike (Patrick J. Adams) - and the insufficient a law degree - a secret, the dynamic between your two males has developed far beyond where it began, and it has transformed both of them -- for better as well as for worse. "For me personally, it began like a typical mentorship like this can be a guy Mike really wants to be, and for that reason he's going to fit everything in that Harvey informs him," Adams states. "But exactly what the authors did so superbly and permitted us to produce is really a situation that's much more complex and breaks that typical mentor mold. You will find lots of elements about Harvey that Mike respects and admires, but there's lots of it he does not wish to finish up like." (Macht adds having a laugh: "I'd rather not be you can either!Inch) The same is true this suggest Harvey will crack completely? Not quite, but Harvey's much softer side will emerge when his protégé, Mike needs it most. "You are likely to observe that his armor breaks which he's three-dimensional. He is doing possess a heart," Macht states. "I believe he shows his heart by standing for Mike constantly, but you will see it increasingly more if this will get more personal as we are gradually peeling back that onion." Watch full instances of Suits Harvey will need to continually come to Mike's defense because it gets to be more complicated for that pair to cover his lack qualifications using their competition inside and outdoors from the firm. "Almost always there is the danger and that we are certainly having fun with that until the finish," he states. "I really like seeing the way the authors develop new ways that i can play that fear after which try to find solutions. ... For me personally, that's always fun to experience whenever I all of a sudden need to worry." Regrettably, their efforts to maintain Mike's real past hidden might be in vain. After many misfires and almost discloses, the heavens from the USA drama say it's beginning to appear like not really a question of if everybody will uncover the reality, however when.InchIts building towards a location where we are drained of the way to maintain it a secret," Adams states. "I believe Mike is gradually recognizing he can't bare this up forever and, eventually, someone's likely to discover. And what exactly are we likely to do then?" Suits airs Thursdays at 10/9c on USA.

The Sitter Red-colored Band Trailer Hits

Jonah Hill's adventures in babysitting Can you let Jonah Hill take proper care of your kids? Okay, therefore it is not Jonah themself, however , his character Noah, a slacker college burnout who finds an opportunity to have easy cash by taking care of several annoying ankle-biters within the Sitter. You can view the red-colored band trailer below, but be cautioned: naughty words about plus some moments of the sexual character abound. Oh, and youngsters promising. Because this originates from David Gordon Eco-friendly operating in Pineapple Express mode, things naturally don't go quite based on plan. For while taking care of the small brats is difficult enough, Noah then will get screwed up inside a crazy adventure which includes drug sellers, vehicle chases and also the chance to exhibit off his street abilities. The oddest thing about this promo may be the slightly awkward, overlong introduction featuring Hill and the youthful co-stars. We are less than sure it had been necessary, although it is fascinating to determine Hill's current, 21 Jump Street-level fitness in comparison to how he looked while making The Sitter. Still, you will find some funny moments found within the trailer, and we are always glad to determine Mike Rockwell given an opportunity to revealed. The film will arrive across water-feature on December 9, then a The month of january 27, 2012 release date right here.

New Pics From We Bought A Zoo Emerge

And Cameron Crowe talks.... While most of the recent chatter around Cameron Crowe has been about rock doc Pearl Jam Twenty, he does also still have a new film due out later this year in We Bought a Zoo. While we've yet to see a trailer, some new images from the movie have emerged, which you can see below. And Crowe has been opening up about the project to USA Today, talking about his reasons for picking this project over several others bubbling away in his brain, focusing on the happier aspects despite it primarily being about a man who takes over a wildlife park with his family after their mother dies. "I wanted to do things that were less achingly personal, more 'Let's just enjoy the craft of doing it and creating it and get actors who just, like, rip it and love going there with you. ' Let joy flood into the experience rather than, 'Let's go look at more funeral parlours. ' And despite the presence of Matt Damon leading the cast, Crowe singles out one performer in particular for bringing the joy - Crystal, the monkey you might recognise from her recent stint in The Hangover 2... "We feel this is Crystal's breakthrough performance," he laughs. It is her Carnal Knowledge. The role brings out colours we have yet to see. It is more mature than her Todd Phillips work. She is not just the hottest actress around, but also the most compelling. Look out, Damon!For his part, the actor simply seems delighted to be working with Crowe, who handed out musical and cinematic homework in his usual style before Damon signed on. "He gave me the film Local Hero. And he gave me about 15 songs, a lot of Neil Young and Eddie Vedder. I actually took the music, put it on my iPod and went for a run in Central Park. Then I read the script. I thought to myself, 'This is absolutely something I want to be in. ' {We Bought a Zoo pics}. We Bought a Zoo arrives on December 23.

Take advantage of Riggle Signs Development Cope With Cinemax, Set To Star In 'Lifestyle Lemonaid'

EXCLUSIVE: Actor Take advantage of Riggle has inked a development cope with Cinemax. Underneath the pact, Riggle originates aboard to assist develop and star in Lifestyle Lemonaid, a comedy project depending on LifestyleLemonaid.com, Nikki Joel's tell-all blog about her marriage to top WME talent agent Brandt Joel. Cinemax bought the project, that is being compiled by Jordon Nardino (Desperate Average women), last summer time. Cinemax fittings Mark Wahlberg and Steve Levinson are executive creating. On her behalf blog, Nikki Joel regularlyshares her husband'smost intimate particulars. Time he wanted to possess a vasectomy ...time she caught him self pleasuring in the center of the evening throughout an earthquake ...time he removed her TiVo-erectile dysfunction shows while he was pissed she'd gone out three nights consecutively without him ... Riggle will have the husband (who's unlikely to become a real estate agent) on the program, that is slated to perform a table read. Under Riggle's deal, if Lifestyle Lemonaid does not go near series, Cinemax will build up other projects for him. Lifestyle Lemonade stretches former Daily Show correspondent's relationship with Wahlberg and Levinson. Earlier this development season, Riggle starred in Wahlberg and Levinson's first broadcast pilot, CBS' comedy Home Game. That casting consequently turned from Riggle and Wahlberg's interact within the feature comedy Another Men. Riggle, repped by CAA and Principato Youthful, lately wrapped 21 Jump Street and has Everyone Loves Whales within the can.

Submit The Questions You Have for "Conversations using the Closer"

Kyra Sedgwick, Mary McDonnell Calling all Closer fans! Have you got a burning question concerning the final season from the TNT hit series? TV Guide Magazine Editor-in-Chief Debra Birnbaum will moderate a Screen Stars Guild Foundation Q&A using the cast - including Kyra Sedgwick, Phillip P. Keene and Mary McDonnell - in addition to creator James Duff tonight at 11:15pm ET/8:15pm PT in La, immediately after Monday's brand new episode. For fans who can't result in the panel personally, they are able to live-stream the session at http://world wide web.sagfoundation.org/videogallery/livestream, as well as submit questions by delivering a contact to livestream@sagfoundation.org or tweet an issue to @SAGF_Live while using hashtag #SAGF. Start delivering in individuals questions now!Sign up for TV Guide Magazine now!