Brightest Star | |
---|---|
Directed by | Maggie Kiley |
Written by | Maggie Kiley Matthew Mullen |
Based on | Some Boys Don't Leave by Maggie Kiley |
Produced by |
|
Starring | |
Cinematography | Chayse Irvin |
Edited by | Franklin Peterson Cindy Thoennessen |
Music by | Matthew Puckett |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | Gravitas Ventures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 80 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Brightest Star (also titled Light Years) [1] is a 2013 American independent [2] romantic comedy film directed by Maggie Kiley and starring Chris Lowell and Rose McIver. [3] The film, which also marks Kiley's directorial debut, is based on her 2009 short film Some Boys Don't Leave. [4] [5] [6]
After his girlfriend dumps him, a young man (Chris Lowell) tries to become the kind of person she desires, but his growing love for a singer (Jessica Szohr) and some advice from an astronomer (Allison Janney) help him remain true to himself.
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 13% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 4.17/10. [7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 32 out of 100, based on nine critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [8]
Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com gave it one and a half stars. [9]
Chris Joseph Columbus is an American filmmaker. Born in Spangler, Pennsylvania, Columbus studied film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. After writing screenplays for several teen comedies in the mid-1980s, including Gremlins, The Goonies, and Young Sherlock Holmes, he made his directorial debut with a teen adventure, Adventures in Babysitting (1987). Columbus gained recognition soon after with the highly successful Christmas comedy Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992).
Allison Brooks Janney is an American actress. Known for her performances across the screen and stage, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and seven Primetime Emmy Awards, in addition to nominations for two Tony Awards.
John Campbell McTiernan Jr. is an American retired filmmaker. He is best known for his action films, including Predator (1987), Die Hard (1988), and The Hunt for Red October (1990). His later well-known films include the action-comedy-fantasy film Last Action Hero (1993), the action film sequel Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), the heist-film remake The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), and The 13th Warrior (1999). His last completed feature film was the mystery-thriller Basic, released in 2003.
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang. Although the name "Rotten Tomatoes" connects to the practice of audiences throwing rotten tomatoes in disapproval of a poor stage performance, the direct inspiration for the name from Duong, Lee, and Wang came from an equivalent scene in the 1992 Canadian film Léolo.
The Impostors is a 1998 American farce film, directed, written, and produced by Stanley Tucci, starring Oliver Platt, Tucci, Alfred Molina, Tony Shalhoub, Steve Buscemi, Hope Davis, Elizabeth Bracco, Lili Taylor, Michael Emerson, Allison Janney, Allan Corduner, Isabella Rossellini, and Billy Connolly.
James Joseph Gandolfini Jr. was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Tony Soprano, the Italian-American Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series The Sopranos (1999–2007). For this role, he won three Emmy Awards, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, and one Golden Globe Award. His role as Tony Soprano has been described as one of the greatest and most influential performances in television history.
The Girlfriend Experience is a 2009 American slice-of-life drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, and starring then-pornographic actress Sasha Grey. It was shot in New York City, and a rough cut was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2009. The film was also made available on Amazon Video on Demand as a pre-theatrical rental.
Away We Go is a 2009 American romantic road comedy-drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. The film's two leads are John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph. It is Mendes's first film without Thomas Newman's collaboration.
The Rewrite is a 2014 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Marc Lawrence. It stars Hugh Grant as a washed-up screenwriter who begins teaching at Binghamton University, and Marisa Tomei as a single mother with whom the screenwriter finds romance. It began development at Castle Rock Entertainment in October 2012, and filming began in New York in April 2013.
American actor, director, and producer Robert Duvall has had an extensive career in film and television since he first appeared in an episode of Armstrong Circle Theatre in 1959. His television work during the 1960s includes Route 66 (1961), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1962), The Twilight Zone (1963), The Outer Limits (1964), The F.B.I. (1965–1969), and The Mod Squad (1969). He was then cast as General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1979 miniseries Ike. In 1989, he played Augustus "Gus" McCrae alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the epic Western adventure television miniseries Lonesome Dove. The role earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film. Three years later, he portrayed Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader Joseph Stalin in the television film Stalin (1992), which earned him another Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Film.
Maggie Kiley is an American filmmaker and actress.
The Girl on the Train is a 2016 American mystery psychological thriller film directed by Tate Taylor and written by Erin Cressida Wilson, based on the popular 2015 debut novel of the same name by British author Paula Hawkins. The film stars Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Allison Janney, Édgar Ramírez, and Lisa Kudrow. The film follows an alcoholic divorcée who becomes involved in a missing person investigation.
Tallulah is a 2016 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Sian Heder and starring Elliot Page, Allison Janney, and Tammy Blanchard. The film revolves around a young woman who unexpectedly takes a baby from her irresponsible mother and pretends the child is her own. Without a place to stay, the woman asks for help from her ex-boyfriend's mother, telling her the baby is her granddaughter.
I, Tonya is a 2017 American biographical sports mockumentary black comedy film directed by Craig Gillespie from a screenplay by Steven Rogers. It follows the life and career of American figure skater Tonya Harding and her connection to the 1994 assault on her rival Nancy Kerrigan. The film states it is based on "contradictory" and "totally true" interviews with Harding and her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly, suggesting they are unreliable narrators. This means the viewer must decide for themselves whether to see the film as the truth or as a version concocted by Harding herself. It features darkly comedic interviews with the characters in mockumentary style, set in the modern day, and breaks the fourth wall. Margot Robbie stars as Harding, Sebastian Stan as Gillooly, and Allison Janney as Harding's mother LaVona Golden. Julianne Nicholson, Caitlin Carver, Paul Walter Hauser, and Bobby Cannavale also star.
A Happening of Monumental Proportions is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed by Judy Greer in her directorial debut and produced by Chris and Paul Weitz. It stars Allison Janney and Common. The film was released on September 21, 2018 by Great Point Media.
Troop Zero is a 2019 American comedy-drama film directed by Bert & Bertie, from a screenplay by Lucy Alibar and inspired by Alibar's 2010 play Christmas and Jubilee Behold The Meteor Shower. The film stars Viola Davis, Mckenna Grace, Jim Gaffigan, Mike Epps, Charlie Shotwell, and Allison Janney.
Breaking News in Yuba County is a 2021 American black comedy film directed and co-produced by Tate Taylor, from a screenplay written by Amanda Idoko. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Allison Janney, Mila Kunis, Awkwafina, Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, Juliette Lewis, Samira Wiley, Jimmi Simpson, Clifton Collins Jr., Bridget Everett, Dominic Burgess, Keong Sim, Chris Lowell, Matthew Modine and Ellen Barkin.
Big Significant Things is a 2014 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Bryan Reisberg and starring Harry Lloyd and Krista Kosonen. It is Reisberg's directorial debut.
Pass Over is a 2018 American drama film directed by Spike Lee and starring Jon Michael Hill, Julian Parker, Ryan Hallahan and Blake DeLong. It is a performance of the play of the same name by Antoinette Nwandu, directed for the stage by Danya Taymor and filmed by Spike Lee.
Lou is a 2022 American crime thriller film directed by Anna Foerster. The film stars Allison Janney, Jurnee Smollett, Logan Marshall-Green, Ridley Asha Bateman, and Matt Craven.