Singapore Press Loves "Margin Call"

Boy was I glad when indie financial thriller "Margin Call" made its way to Singapore on the last week of December 2011.

It was screening only at the Cathay Cineplexes and Shaw Theatres rather than at the splashier blockbuster-loving GV cinemas. But it did have a good number of show times and the movie is in fact, still currently screening at Cathay's Cineleisure Orchard.

I guess there are only a few hardcore Zachary Quinto fans around on this island. It seems that no one had put the local press stuff out on the internet yet.

An Oscar Nomination For "Margin Call"!

The nominations list for the 2012 Oscars have just been announced and...

W00t W00t!

Everyone...  flail your biceps round the house...

'Coz "Margin Call" has received a nomination for Writing (Original Screenplay)! The movie's director J.C. Chandor, is also the screenwriter for the indie movie produced by Before The Door.

Check out the rest of the Oscar nomination list on ABC News.

This is such super-exciting news!

It is just the 2nd day of The Year of the Dragon and the mythical creature has already brought in good tidings!

Heartiest congratulations to Zachary Quinto and the fabulous Before The Door, J.C. Chandor and the team of actors, producers, crew members for "Margin Call". And it's marvellous that JC and BTD team receive an Oscar nomination for their first movie!

Will "Margin Call" actually walk away with an Oscar this year?

Together with the mass of ZQ fans, I certainly hope so!

"Dog Eat Dog" - A Producer's Report From The Set!

Late in the year of 2011, a little movie about dog adoption called “Dog Eat Dog” was made and directed by Zachary Quinto's good friend, Sian Heder together with the Before The Door team.

The production costs were funded by backers via the Kickstarter website and the top three people who contributed to the production costs will be credited as Producers for the movie. As a special perk, they were also allowed to be on set (in LA) for a day during the filming of “Dog Eat Dog

My Twitter friend Lindsay was one of the Producers, and it was no surprise that she had a wonderful day on set with Zach, Sian, the production team and a few furry-footed creatures.

Here's Lindsay's take on that day on the “Dog Eat Dog” set:

A SArmy's Fan Review - "Margin Call" Arrives in the UK!

After making its rounds in parts of Europe, Canada, the USA, Hong Kong and yes! even Singapore, "Margin Call" finally premiered in the UK last week.

The indie film about Wall Street's money-mongerers which has been making respectable critics and reviewers take notice, opened with a red-carpet event at the Vue Theatre, Leicester Square, London on 9th January 2012.

Lead actors Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons and Paul Bettany (looking rather hipsterish in blue-tinted geeky glasses and scarf) were present to grace the gala event.

Two of our SArmy members, Kirsty (from ZacharyQuinto UK) and Natalie, were lucky enough to attend the movie's premiere. And here is Natalie's review of the low-budget but beautifully-made movie.

"Margin Call" - Review by a ZQC Member

As "Margin Call" gathers momentum, there has been some talk about Oscar nominations.

I haven't watched the movie yet, but from the rave reviews I've read from some heavy press and top critics, I hope it does head toward that direction.

For those in LA and NY, there are some events coming up with the director and producers of the movie this Saturday!

On 29 October, in LA, our favourite bb Zachary Quinto (hopefully wearing a beanie??) and Before The Door partner and one of the movie's producer Neal Dodson, will appear for a special post-show Q&A at the 7 pm screening at the Century City AMC. Do hurry and buy your tickets now before they sell out!

Over at the East Coast, in NY, writer/ director of  "Margin Call" J.C. Chandor will be stopping by the Angelika for a Q&A after the 5 pm show.

If anyone is attending these events, drop me a note! I'm sure many other fans would like to hear how these sessions went!

And to add on to @HardlyanAngel's thoughts of the movie, here's another "Margin Call" review from a ZQC member, @Sunfell!

"Margin Call" - A SArmy Fan's Review

For an indie film, "Margin Call", the Before The Door-produced and J.C. Chandor-directed Wall Street thriller with an impressive ensemble cast, has been getting a lot of attention since it opened at theatres on just 56 screens in some key USA cities this week!

The movie was also available On Demand, thereby, increasing its reach to even more interested viewers across the country.

Several publications and websites have given the movie a big thumbs-up, with as many movie-goers and fans acknowledging that it is a rather involving and relevant film of the times.

My favourite movie ratings website, Rotten Tomatoes, has awarded it a commendable 87% rating.

SDCC 2011 Interview: A Killer Year for Brea - Part 2

Brea as "Cassie Hack"

In this second part of the SDCC 2011 interview with the adorable Brea Grant with input from her brother Zane, we get to find out more about the various projects she has been busy with and what will be in store for Brea fans out there!

I for one, know that many hardcore "Dexter" fans are curious about Brea's involvement in this highly acclaimed TV series on Showtime.

My Twitter friend, Erik aka @ebrown2112 continues with the revealing Q&A:

Review of "Mr Murder Is Dead" - A Beautiful Homage to the Classical Comics

"Mr Murder Is Dead", the retro-noir fashioned detective graphic novel, has been receiving rave reviews since its launch at this year's SDCC.

And I just had to get one of our very own SArmy moderator and member, Claudia to give a review of the book written and drawn in a style that is not so common these days.

Here's Claudia's review:

"Mr Murder Is Dead", by Archaia Entertainment and Before the Door Pictures, is a graphic novel that should not be missed. As the first comic written and created by Victor Quinaz, "Mr Murder Is Dead" follows Detective Gould Kane, a.k.a. The Spook, in his retirement after the death of his arch nemesis, Mr. Murder. The story flashes back and forth between present day action and the events of the past in the 1930s and 1950s during The Spook’s heyday.

Zachary Quinto Gets Horror-ifying

Ted Levine

Let me just get one thing straight: I really do not like horror movies in general. I also find chick flicks very annoying.

And Zachary Quinto is being evil (in my tiny digital world at least) with his choice of movie work lately. 

Firstly, he goes looking so handsome in that romantic comedy phase (anyone remember "What's Your Number"? "Girl Walks Into A Bar"?) and now, he's going in the opposite direction with the horror stuff.

Only a Zachary Quinto biceps-flexed related effort in either of these genres will ever make me willingly plonk my butt down in front of a screen for 90 minutes or more. But from what I read in press releases, their next project seem to be more than just a horror film.

Quinto Walks Into A Bar....

... as part of a multi-story comedy film that's specially made for internet distribution.

The film is called "Girl Walks Into A Bar", and will most probably be shown on Hulu and YouTube. The web-only movie premieres on March 11th, 2011.

The trailer has just been released, and it's filled with popular actors like Alexis Bledel, Josh Hartnett, Danny Devito, Carla Gugino, Rosario Dawson, Robert Forster, and of course, Mr Lovely Biceps himself, Zachary Quinto!

"Margin Call" At Berlin Film Festival

After an exciting official premiere at the Sundance Festival, Before The Door's first film, "Margin Call" made its way to Germany for the 61st Berlin Film Festival this week!

The movie celebrated its international premiere at the festival, and is one of the 16 movies competing for the "Golden Bear Award" for best picture.

Zachary Quinto, joined co-stars Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Paul Bettany and first-time director, J.C. Chandor at the film festival. Together with him were also fellow BTD-ers, Neal Dodson and Corey Moosa.

"Margin Call" Premiere and After

After the press screening at this year's Sundance Festival, "Margin Call" had its official worldwide premiere at the Eccles Theatre on 25 January.

From the photo Executive Producer Cassian Elwes excitedly tweeted, the theatre looked totally filled! (Click here for pic.) This was probably due to the hype that had been surrounding the movie during the festival. Apparently, no one left the theatre when the cast and director, J.C. Chandor, appeared on stage for Q and A's. That's an indication of mega interest in this movie!

Margin Call -- SOLD!!!

This epic news is definitely worth a blog post by itself.

During last weekend, there were the initial rumours posted on various film-related websites about "Margin Call" 's sale of its USA distribution rights to Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate. Meanwhile, interested fans patiently waited for more news.

A few hours later, confirmation from Executive Producer Cassian Elwes arrived via Twitter.

Cassian tweeted: "The margin call distribution deal closed at 2 15am. And I couldn't sleep for a while afterwards. Just so excited for jc neal kevin rob mike."

The supportive Zachary Quinto/ Before The Door network broke out in jubilant cheers.

Margin Call Flexes Some Good Reviews

Together with its worldwide premiere at the Sundance Festival, there was a press screening on 21 January for "Margin Call". Many reviews for the indie movie then began to trickle through the interwebs.

The buzz has been picking up for the movie prior to the festival, with hoardes of distributors flocking to the screening, which was filled minutes after doors opened! There was definitely no shortage of offers from buyers for this star-studded indie film - the first one produced by our beloved bb, Zachary Quinto and his team at Before The Door.

Executive producer Cassian Elwes tweeted: "Variety loved margin call. Very good news. Multiple offers. Decisions to make."

"Be Careful" -- More Margin Call Buzz

Hyping up the "Margin Call" buzz with its Sundance Festival premiere this month, is an exclusive poster for the occasion.

Collider had the exclusive and posted the article and poster a couple of days ago. Here's the link to the article.

I thought it was savvy that the poster didn't focus too much on the faces and names of the acting luminaries that seem to be crowding the cast list. I mean, after all, these names already speak for themselves. And with a simple poster like this, it goes to show how much the producers and marketing team are more eager to highlight *the story* of the movie.

This must reflect something about the script that seems to be creating some excitement amongst the industry folks.

More Lucid Thoughts On Issue #2

The action visibly goes up a notch in "Lucid" #2 - the follow-up issue of the comic created by Michael McMillian (who is well-known to HBO series "True Blood" fans as vampire-hater Rev. Steve Newlin) and published by Archaia/ Before The Door.

Standard Polite Warning:
If you are not interested in SPOILERS, please do not proceed further!!

More Polite Spoiler Space.





I think this is polite enough now.

Hardly Marginal At All

What are the chances that a new production company's first movie would be greenlighted, go into production soon after with an impressive cast, and then get invited to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival??

This was exactly what happened with Before The Door Picture's movie, "Margin Call", directed by JC Chandor.

The movie - a thriller - covers the 24-hour period during a financial crisis in Wall Street, and stars Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker and Penn Badgley. Of course, our very own bb Zachary Quinto, will also be flexing his biceps in a business suit in this movie. (I know I know, we *all* want to be the pen in the above pic. sigh.)

Brea and Zane Slay Us With The Undead

Brea and Zane at NYCC (pic by Erik)

Two women on the fringes of a collapsing society must escape a zombie apocalypse in “We Will Bury You,” a horror comic set in 1920s New York. Mirah, a sex worker with a loutish husband, and Fanya, a Ukranian immigrant thief, are lovers whose unstable and chaotic world becomes all the more complicated when a zombie plague infects the city.

Brea Grant (Daphne from “Heroes”) and Zane Grant, the creators of “We Will Bury You,” are basically two of the coolest people on the planet. Both are incredibly friendly, engaging, and down-to-earth. And they were kind enough to sit with me for an interview on the first day of the 2010 New York Comic-Con.

Metallic Elements Added ... Biceps Included

Does Zachary Quinto secretly know about this blog specially dedicated to his very nom-nom-nom-y biceps???

Coz seriously folks, this is twice within the span of a few days that he's shown off those squeezable arms of his in revealing sleeveless tops. This time, they were having lunch and snugly accompanied by a body-skimming turquoise tee. (Source: Zach-quinto.net)

I sit transfixed, staring at the vision on my computer screen. It's a nice way to get my eyes massaged :D In my line of work where you look at figures all day, it's nice to look at OTHER kind of figures *g*

First Days

The first day of school. The first day at work. The first day at a new home.

First days can be terribly exciting... and yet daunting at the same time. First days usually bring with them a wave of changes to one's life experiences.

And so it was, on the First Day of filming in NYC on June 21st for the Before The Door-produced indie movie "Margin Call" that Zachary Quinto tweeted he was too excited to even sleep.

The set call started real early at 5 am and when the first shot began, Zach sent us all a cute pic of himself sitting on a stoop with that much-needed cup of coffee. (Although, I was really distracted by those biceps...yep, I can't help it. :D )