Writer/Director Gary Ross constructs a historical-film miracle: a meaningful tale about the Civil War that doesn't bog down in details. Rebel deserter Matthew McConaughey leads a wartime insurrection against both the South and the North. It's hard to believe that it really happened. Free State of Jones Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Universal Studios Home Entertainment 2016 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 140 min. / Street Date September 20, 2016 / 19.99 Starring Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali, Keri Russell, Christopher Berry, Sean Bridgers, Jacob Lofland, Thomas Francis Murphy, Bill Tangradi, Brian Lee Franklin. Cinematography Benoit Delhomme Film Editor Pamela Martin, Juliette Welfing Original Music Nicholas Britell Written by Gary Ross story by Leonard Hartman Produced by Jon Kilik, Gary Ross, Scott Stuber Directed by Gary Ross
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
This is one very good movie about an unusual subject, with committed performances, a handsome production and a screenplay fashioned with intelligence and good judgment. So why are...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
This is one very good movie about an unusual subject, with committed performances, a handsome production and a screenplay fashioned with intelligence and good judgment. So why are...
- 9/20/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
It’s been interesting watching Matthew McConaughey make project decisions after winning his Academy Award. He has gone big with epics like Interstellar and gone small with the still unreleased Sea of Trees, but this week he’s trying something new. Basically, he’s attempting to bring back the Civil War film with Free State of Jones. This type of movie is rarely done right and usually is super dry, so it’s a tall order, but starring one of our most exciting actors right now, there’s a chance, right? Well, this turns out to be a total bore, plodding and sometimes strangely tone deaf to the racial dynamics on display. The saving grace is McConaughey though, even if you can’t quite see what he saw in this material. There’s moments of entertainment and righteous indignation, but too often it’s just a poorly thought out history lesson.
- 6/23/2016
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Free State Of Jones can be defined as a Civil War “epic” only in length, as this two-hour-plus disaster slowly plays out like a never-ending highway pileup (we’re talking 70 cars deep, at least). There’s absolutely no focus, horrendous over-bloating, and a cataclysmically inept method of storytelling that incoherently blurs numerous cinematic deliveries.
Writer/Director Gary Ross begins with his colonial answer to Saving Private Ryan‘s D-Day opening, only to devolve his “true story” into a “Whitesplaining” history lesson complete with informational text blurbs and eroded photos from the 1800s. Truly – and frustratingly – this is a movie that never ends, marching on for what seems like an eternity of dopily dry historical regurgitation. Tedious, emotionally-numbing, when-is-this-over regurgitation.
Matthew McConaughey stars as Confederate defector Newton Knight, a pioneer who leaves his wife and child to avoid hanging. Newt eventually meets up with a group of runaway slaves – led by...
Writer/Director Gary Ross begins with his colonial answer to Saving Private Ryan‘s D-Day opening, only to devolve his “true story” into a “Whitesplaining” history lesson complete with informational text blurbs and eroded photos from the 1800s. Truly – and frustratingly – this is a movie that never ends, marching on for what seems like an eternity of dopily dry historical regurgitation. Tedious, emotionally-numbing, when-is-this-over regurgitation.
Matthew McConaughey stars as Confederate defector Newton Knight, a pioneer who leaves his wife and child to avoid hanging. Newt eventually meets up with a group of runaway slaves – led by...
- 6/23/2016
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
Matthew McConaughey‘s “Free States of Jones” has been bumped from its May 13 release date to June 24. The film is an action-drama based on a true story and set during the Civil War. It tells the story of a Southern farmer, Newt Knight and his rebellion against the Confederacy. It also stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali and Keri Russell, and is directed by Gary Ross. Also Read: Stephen King Confirms Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey to Star in 'The Dark Tower' Ross also wrote the screenplay based on a story by Leonard Hartman and Ross. Producers on the film are Scott Stuber,...
- 3/10/2016
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Stx has pushed the release date of Gary Ross’ epic period action/drama The Free State Of Jones by two months, from March 11 to May 13, and it has dated The Space Between Us. Both pictures are being dropped into the summer. Free State Of Jones, written by Ross and Leonard Hartman, stars Matthew McConaughey and is set during the Civil War. It follows defiant Southern farmer Newt Knight and his armed rebellion against the Confederacy. Scheduled on the same date in May is…...
- 10/22/2015
- Deadline
These guys are making all other writers look bad. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the writing team behind Star Trek and the upcoming sequel, as well as Transformers, Cowboys & Aliens and the creators of Fox’s Fringe, have hopped aboard the Universal adaptation of the popular children’s fantasy series Dragonology [THR].
Dragonology was written in 2003 by Dugald Steer, and was a faux non-fiction tale wherein dragons actually exist, as detailed by dragonologist Ernest Drake. According to THR, the “studio’s take revolves around a team of dragonologists who embark on a quest to avert a plot to use the world’s remaining dragons to wipe out humanity.”
Along with the reboots of Van Helsing and The Mummy, Dragonology will fly under the banner of K/O Paper Products, the Orci/Kurtzman production company that signed with Universal back in May. The series has been in work since 2008, with Leonard Hartman writing the script.
Dragonology was written in 2003 by Dugald Steer, and was a faux non-fiction tale wherein dragons actually exist, as detailed by dragonologist Ernest Drake. According to THR, the “studio’s take revolves around a team of dragonologists who embark on a quest to avert a plot to use the world’s remaining dragons to wipe out humanity.”
Along with the reboots of Van Helsing and The Mummy, Dragonology will fly under the banner of K/O Paper Products, the Orci/Kurtzman production company that signed with Universal back in May. The series has been in work since 2008, with Leonard Hartman writing the script.
- 8/29/2012
- by Andy Greene
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Though the duo are busy working on a sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man as writers, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are wearing their producing hats elsewhere. Heat Vision has word that the Transformers and Star Trek writing duo have boarded Universal's fantasy adventure adaptation of Dragonology, a series of children's books that the studio picked up in 2008. Kurtzman and Orci will only be producing this time around, but they will oversee the hiring of a new writer and new script (the original draft was written by newcomer Leonard Hartman). The books are presented as faux fiction, so could this be found footage? It remains to be seen how the story will be told, but the books are written by fictional Victorian dragonologist Ernest Drake, and the film focuses on a team of researchers who embark on a quest to avert a plot to use the world’s remaining dragons to...
- 8/28/2012
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Star Trek writers and producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are set to produce a new fantasy adventure film called Dragonology for Universal Pictures.
The movie is based on a children's book series that tells a non-fiction account of dragons that existed in our world. The books were written by Dr. Ernest Drake, who's a fictional character that discovered the existence of dragons. He devoted his life to researching them. Each book is another volume in his history of the dragons. I've never heard of this book series, but apparently it's really popular.
According to THR the studio’s version "revolves around a team of dragonologists who embark on a quest to avert a plot to use the world’s remaining dragons to wipe out humanity." Each book is another volume in his history of the ancient species.
The studio acquired the series in 2008, and the first script was written by Leonard Hartman.
The movie is based on a children's book series that tells a non-fiction account of dragons that existed in our world. The books were written by Dr. Ernest Drake, who's a fictional character that discovered the existence of dragons. He devoted his life to researching them. Each book is another volume in his history of the dragons. I've never heard of this book series, but apparently it's really popular.
According to THR the studio’s version "revolves around a team of dragonologists who embark on a quest to avert a plot to use the world’s remaining dragons to wipe out humanity." Each book is another volume in his history of the ancient species.
The studio acquired the series in 2008, and the first script was written by Leonard Hartman.
- 8/28/2012
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are well-established in the science fiction genre, but now it would seem that they are turning their attention to fantasy. The writing duo - who have worked on projects ranging from the Star Trek reboot to this summer's family drama People Like Us - is now attached to produce Dragonology, a film based on the series of books that began in 2003 with Dugald Steer's Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons. The project is currently set up over at Universal. THR says that the studio picked up the rights to the series in 2008 and had Leonard Hartman attached to both write the script, but now Hartman will simply serve as an executive producer while Kurtzman and Orci hunt for a new screenwriter (they will also be overseeing the draft of the new script). The story will follow a group of "dragonologists" who group together to...
- 8/28/2012
- cinemablend.com
"Star Trek" and "Transformers" scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are set to produce the kid-lit fantasy adventure adaptation "Dragonology" at Universal Pictures says Heat Vision.
The stories work on the conceit that dragons actually exist as revealed by the Victorian dragonologist Ernest Drake. The studio’s take revolves around a team of dragonologists who embark on a quest to avert a plot to use the world’s remaining dragons to wipe out humanity.
Leonard Hartman was originally set to pen the script adaptation when Universal scored the property back in 2008, now that's been chucked out with Kurtzman and Orci overseeing the hiring of a new scribe to pen a new draft.
The stories work on the conceit that dragons actually exist as revealed by the Victorian dragonologist Ernest Drake. The studio’s take revolves around a team of dragonologists who embark on a quest to avert a plot to use the world’s remaining dragons to wipe out humanity.
Leonard Hartman was originally set to pen the script adaptation when Universal scored the property back in 2008, now that's been chucked out with Kurtzman and Orci overseeing the hiring of a new scribe to pen a new draft.
- 8/28/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have come aboard to produce Dragonology, Universal’s fantasy adventure based on the children’s book series. The studio picked up the series in 2008, initially setting Leonard Hartman to pen the script. Hartman now will act as an exec producer, while Kurtzman and Orci will oversee the hiring of a new scribe and the writing of a new script. Story: 'Star Trek 2' Screenwriter Alex Kurtzman Reveals 'Kirk Doesn't Understand What It Means to Be Captain' The books are faux fiction and based on the conceit that dragons actually exist as revealed by the Victorian dragonologist
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- 8/27/2012
- by Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Universal acquires 'Dragonology' rights
Universal has acquired the film rights to the children's book series "Dragonology", setting Leonard Hartman to write and executive produce the adaptation.
The faux nonfiction books by Dugald A. Steer are based on the conceit that dragons actually exist as revealed by the Victorian dragonologist Ernest Drake. An underlying theme is that dragons should be studied and revered in the same way as any rare species.
Hartman's fantasy adventure take revolves around a group of dragonologists who go on a globetrotting quest to keep a corrupt man from taking control of the world's dragons and using them to wipe out humanity.
The first book, devised and published in the U.K. in 2003 by Templar and in the U.S. by Candlewick Press, has sold more than 2.8 million copies worldwide in 32 languages. Subsequent titles, from books on tracking and taming dragons to a code-writing kit, have brought the total sales for all "Dragonology" titles to 5.7 million, according to its publisher.
The faux nonfiction books by Dugald A. Steer are based on the conceit that dragons actually exist as revealed by the Victorian dragonologist Ernest Drake. An underlying theme is that dragons should be studied and revered in the same way as any rare species.
Hartman's fantasy adventure take revolves around a group of dragonologists who go on a globetrotting quest to keep a corrupt man from taking control of the world's dragons and using them to wipe out humanity.
The first book, devised and published in the U.K. in 2003 by Templar and in the U.S. by Candlewick Press, has sold more than 2.8 million copies worldwide in 32 languages. Subsequent titles, from books on tracking and taming dragons to a code-writing kit, have brought the total sales for all "Dragonology" titles to 5.7 million, according to its publisher.
- 6/13/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Uni likes the sound of 'Fury'
Universal has pre-emptively acquired the action spec script Fury by Leonard Hartman for Scott Stuber and Mary Parent to produce via their Stuber/Parent shingle.
The project is known to be a contemporary action thriller with supernatural overtones about a group of special forces. Jon Moan brought it into Stuber/Parent and will oversee. Jeff Kirschenbaum is overseeing for Universal.
The deal was in the mid-six figures.
The sale marks the third project that Hartman -- a former starting center on the Ohio State football team -- has set up at Universal. He sold a spec that is being turned into a Goosebumps movie and set up a period pitch with Gary Ross attached to produce.
Hartman, who lives in Ohio, broke into the business with a period spec centered on the Homestead Strike that sold to late director Alan Pakula.
Hartman is repped by ICM, Flashpoint Entertainment and attorney Marcy Morris.
The project is known to be a contemporary action thriller with supernatural overtones about a group of special forces. Jon Moan brought it into Stuber/Parent and will oversee. Jeff Kirschenbaum is overseeing for Universal.
The deal was in the mid-six figures.
The sale marks the third project that Hartman -- a former starting center on the Ohio State football team -- has set up at Universal. He sold a spec that is being turned into a Goosebumps movie and set up a period pitch with Gary Ross attached to produce.
Hartman, who lives in Ohio, broke into the business with a period spec centered on the Homestead Strike that sold to late director Alan Pakula.
Hartman is repped by ICM, Flashpoint Entertainment and attorney Marcy Morris.
- 9/27/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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