SAOIRSE RONAN, ALEXIS BLEDEL & JAMES GANDOLFINI AT TIFF 2011 WITH "VIOLET & DAISY"

Saoirse Ronan at TIFF 2011 Premiere of Violet & Daisy

Young Irish Actress Saoirse Ronan and Gilmore Girls star Alexis Bledel caused a bit of havoc at VISA Screening Room earlier this evening for their Premiere of Violet & Daisy.  The Film, directed by the Writer of Precious (previous winner of the Cadillac People's Choice Award in 2009), centers around two young Assassins hired to kill a Man who they learn isn't the person they thought he was originally.

Ronan is an absolute Sweetheart I must say and she really goes above and beyond for her Fans. After my Camera had failed to fire, two members of the Mavenati - Monika and Nicole - jumped in right away to offer some help and made my Photo with her happen.  One even told Ronan, "He's got a Blog!  You have to take a Photo with him!", which Ronan giggled at, obliging right away.  I will note that she has excellent taste in Cameras as she pointed out to me, "Oh wow, I love your Camera!" when noticing my Olympus E-PL2.

Bledel who sometimes doesn't do the Fan thing, did a few Autographs and Photos before heading into her SUV, which I hear is better than normal.

I actually am looking forward to seeing Violet & Daisy, which also stars The Sopranos' James Gandolfini but will have to wait til it gets a release due to time constraints.

See more Photos below:

ENTER TO WIN A COPY OF THE SOUNDTRACK TO "HANNA" BY THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS

Attention The Chemical Brothers Fans!  Those lovely Ladies at Alliance Films would like to offer you a Limited Edition Free Download Card for the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to Action-Thriller Hanna.  The Film is directed by Joe Wright.

Scored completely by The Chemical Brothers, the 20-track Collection is the latest in a growing trend of Celebrity Composers in Film.  The Album is a thrilling and dangerous ride through the psyche of a teenage Assasin. 

Starring Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana and the Oscar-nominated Saoirse Ronan, Hanna opens in theatres Friday, April 8, 2011 via Alliance Films in Canada.  Its Soundtrack is now available digitally on iTunes.

To qualify for the win tell me who, in the Comments section, directs Hanna.  Deadline is Friday, April 15, 2011 midnight.

Watch the Trailer here.

Good luck, Mavenati!

WIN 1 OF 3 "THE WAY BACK" PRIZE PACKS!

Alliance Films and Mr. Will-W.:Pop Maven want to give three lucky readers the chance to win The Way Back Prize Packs!  The latest Film from four-time Oscar nominated Director Peter Weir has won the hearts of Critics and opens in theatres Friday, January 21, 2011.

Watch a stellar Cast which includes Ed Harris, Saoirse Ronan, Colin Farrell and Jim Sturgess trek across Siberia fighting for survival with quite literally nothing.  Read my recap of the Toronto Premiere earlier this month right here.

Prize Packs include the original Novel which The Way Back is based upon, Slavomir Rawicz's The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom and passes for two to see the Film nationwide at your own convenience.  

To qualify for the win, just e-mail mrwillw@mrwillw.com with subject header "THE WAY BACK".  Winners will be contacted by Tuesday, January 24, 2011.  Good luck, Mavenati!  

Watch the Trailer below:

"THE WAY BACK" TORONTO PREMIERE WITH DIRECTOR PETER WEIR

Peter Weir & Mr. Will-W.

Four-time Oscar nominated Director and Screenwriter Peter Weir graced Toronto with his presence today, doing Press for his already well-received new Film The Way Back.  Known for acclaimed titles like Green Card, Dead Poets Society, The Witness, The Truman Show and more recently, Master and Commander, Weir is still at the top of his game with this latest effort. 

Although I am unable to post my Review of The Way Back due to a Press Embargo which ends on Release Day, January 21, 2011, I can say for now that the journey for these Siberian Gulag Prisoners is grueling, and in effect cathartic.  This fantastic Ensemble Cast including the likes of Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Saoirse Ronan and Colin Farrell put on some tour-de-force performances in an all-out fight for survival across Siberia.

As you might recall, Alliance Films was generous enough to give away passes here last week to a few lucky readers for tonight's Screening at gorgeous Bell Lightbox and it was a pleasure for me to see some familiar faces!  

After visiting CBC for a taping of George Stroumboulopoulous Tonight (airing Thursday) earlier in the day, Weir was kind enough to do a Q&A for the Film, hosted by Canada AM's Richard Crouse.  Fielding questions from the Audience, Weir expressed that he has absolutely no regrets focusing attentions now on relatively more-Commercial releases, compared to some of his earlier work. Like Crouse, Weir is wowed by 16 year-old Atonement Star Saoirse Ronan's professionalism and drive for perfection.  The Australian Director concluded that Ronan who plays Irena, simply is an "Old Soul".  On the Film's Lead Character Janusz played by Jim Sturgess, who delivers a career-best here, Weir acted jokingly insulted about a statement Sturgess made recently on how making this Film was like "making a Movie in the olden days".  In reality, Weir has adapted to the Digital Technology of this era, although he has no interest in making a 3-D Film at this time.

WIN 1 OF 5 PASSES TO TORONTO PREMIERE OF "THE WAY BACK"

Critics are raving about The Way Back, the latest Film from Master and Commander Director Peter Weir.  Its story is about a group of Prisoners who escape a Siberian Penal Camp at the brink of World War II en route to freedom.  Alliance Films wants to give five lucky Mr. Will-W.:Pop Maven readers passes for two to attend an Advanced Screening of the beautifully-cast Film including Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Saoirse Ronan and Colin Farrell in Toronto Tuesday, January 12, 2011.  The Screening will be held at the gorgeous TIFF Bell Lightbox at 7:00 PM and four-time Oscar-nominee Director Weir will be in attendance.

If interested, please email mrwillw@mrwillw.com before Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 12:00 PM EST.  Tickets will be sent to you digitally so you must be able to print a copy.  Good luck, Mavenati!

The Way Back hits theatres January 21, 2011.  Which Blog loves you back most? :')

NEW TRAILER FOR "HANNA"

It's sorta like True Grit when you think about it, but a little less Country.  The Trailer for Hanna has just been released and it looks pretty intriguing if you ask me. 

Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan who delivered the goods in 2007's Atonement, plays a 14 year-old Girl trained to be a Killer by her Father (Eric Bana) in the woods of Finland. Cate Blanchett plays Marissa, an Intelligence Operative who has her Agents hunting for Hanna in a chase across Europe.  The Joe Wright (Atonement, The Soloist) Film hits theatres April 8, 2011 via Focus Features.

REVIEW: THE LOVELY BONES

I've never read Alice Sebold's best-selling novel The Lovely Bones, but I'm pretty certain that she can't be overly pleased with how Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson adapted it.  And believe me, it had all the makings of an Oscar winner with a cast that includes Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci and the film's young star, Saoirse Ronan. We might remember from her brilliant performance in Atonement in 2007.

The Lovely Bones takes places in the '70s and centers around 14 year-old Susie Salmon (Ronan) who is murdered by neighbourhood predator George Harvey (Tucci).  She tells the tragic story of her death from the afterlife, where she can still see her family torn apart by their grief and her father Jack's (Wahlberg) determination to solve the mystery of her murder.  Susie has a difficult time coming to terms with her own death and she is unable to fully enter heaven because of this.  Meanwhile, liberal Grandma Lynn (Sarandon) steps in the picture helping restore some order in the grief-stricken Salmon household, adding some oddly-placed moments of comic relief.  With the passing of time and a lack of additional evidence, the police department allocates fewer resources in finding Susie's murderer.  Both Jack and sister Clarissa (Amanda Michalka) are certain however, that the murderer is in fact Harvey but it all means little.

This is a very beautiful film to watch with some very cutting edge CGI animation, but admittedly, it takes away from what should overall be a dark, heavy mood.  My biggest problem with this story however, is that there seems to be a great amount of attention placed on building suspense and tension when in the end, a resolution is met by karma, not true justice; this is a big let-down.  Also, some overly-romanticized dialogue in Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Jackson's screenplay make for some awkward moments, as we are forced to believe that this 14 year-old girl had experienced the makings of unequivocal love with her senior crush Ray Singh (Reece Ritchie).  And despite some Oscar buzz for Tucci's haunting performance here, I've seen him do much better work in films like Julie & Julia and The Devil Wears Prada.  The same can be said about Ronan, one of the leading actresses of her generation, but simply this won't be remembered as her best work.  Or at least I hope not anyway.

Paramount Pictures' The Lovely Bones is in theatres January 15, 2010 and perhaps is better watched without expectations.  Grade: C