happy endings

What is going on over at ABC? First of all, I have no idea if I will ever see another episode of Happy Endings. The show was moved to Fridays after lots of schedule shuffling, although none of the remaining episodes have aired yet. And today we learn that two of the show's producers, Josh Bycel and Jonathan Fener, have signed a two-year deal with NBC/Universal, which involves their involvement in the pilot for Assistance, which is based on the play by Leslye Headland. Headland, you may remember, wrote and directed the bitingly funny Bachelorette, which she also adapted from her play. Don't Trust the B---- in Apt. 23 (R.I.P.) star Krysten Ritter is attached as the lead. Let's cross our fingers that this show, which has some great talent behind it, gets picked up to series. But also, WHERE IS HAPPY ENDINGS? I miss my Happy Endings, which is a sentence I never thought I'd say—at least not in this context.

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movie

2012 was an interesting year for cinema—whether it be Hollywood franchise blockbusters, independent stage-play-turned-comedies , or haunting and heartbreaking foreign dramas. In the first half of the year, we saw young filmmakers such as a Brit Marling, Benh Zeitlin, and Leslye Headland debut their innovative and fresh take on modern stories, with films that established them as unique new voices of independent American cinema. Hollywood staples David O. Russell, Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, and Whit Stillman once again pleased audiences and won critical praise for their idiosyncratic features. And then there were the beautifully guttural foreign films from Michael Haneke, Miguel Gomes, and Leos Carax that constantly reinvent, not only what film can be, but the experiential nature of cinema as well.

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perks

We are knee-deep in Awards Season, and with this morning's announcement of the Golden Globe nominations, it seems clear that we have a predictable Oscars race on our hands. Every year there are a handful of folks who seem to go unnoticed in the wake of the heavy-hitters and the PR campaigns behind those bigger, obvious Oscar-baiting movies. Here's a list of actors who are worth a second look.

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leslye headland

Leslye Headland, who wrote and directed the raucous comedy, Bachelorette, told me a few weeks ago, "Fingers crossed, I’ll get to do more, but most female filmmakers don’t even last three movies." Well, she's not limiting herself to the film industry, as one of her plays—also in her Seven Deadly Sins cycle—is being developed into a series for NBC.

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bachelorette

Writer-director Leslye Headland is responsible for one of the raunchiest and brutally honest films of the year. Here, she talks about adapting 'Bachelorette' from stage to screen.

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Bachelorette

Feminism has won, everybody! Hollywood is now making the same film over and over again but doing it with ladies. Not that I'm complaining — especially if it means Bachelorette puts Rebel Wilson, Adam Scott and Isla Fisher all in the same film. Check out the trailer after the jump.

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