Cineplex Magazine January2014

AUGUST:
OSAGE COUNTY
HITS THEATRES
JANUARY 10 TH
From left:
Julia Roberts,
Ewan McGregor
and Meryl Streep
WHO IS
TRACY LETTS?
Letts is one of today’s
pre-eminent American
playwrights. In 2008, he won
the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
for his stage version of
August: Osage County. He has
also adapted his plays Killer Joe
and Bug for the big screen.
Letts is an actor, too, and has
had recurring roles on TV’s
Prison Break and Homeland.
WHAT DOES THE
TITLE MEAN?
August: Osage County refers
to the fact that the events
take place in Osage County,
Oklahoma, during the month
of August, but also to the
Howard Starks poem of the
same name, which Tracy Letts
says inspired his play.
WHO DIRECTED?
John Wells was behind the
camera for only his second
big-screen movie, after 2010’s
The Company Men. He’s
best known as a producer
(and sometimes director)
of quality TV shows like ER,
China Beach, The West Wing
and Shameless.
From left:
Julianne Nicholson,
Meryl Streep and
Margo Martindale
Benedict Cumberbatch
with Julianne Nicholson
YOU HAVEN’T MENTIONED
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH.
WHO DOES HE PLAY?
Cumberbatch plays Little Charles Aiken, first
cousin to the Weston girls. But there’s more
to it than that. You’ll have to see the film.
WHY DID I SEE
GEORGE CLOONEY
ON THE RED
CARPET?
Clooney and his frequent
collaborator Grant Heslov
are producers on the film.
Originally, they’d hoped to
adapt the play themselves
but Harvey Weinstein
already held the rights so
Clooney and Heslov joined as
producers.
HAVEN’T STREEP
AND ROBERTS BEEN
IN SOMETHING ELSE
TOGETHER?
You’re probably thinking
of The Ant Bully. Yes, they
both did voice work for the
2006 animated feature, but
that doesn’t really count as
working together on screen.
JANUARY 2014 | CINEPLEX MAGAZINE | 25