SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
This weekend, Hollywood wraps up its summer of "Spider-Man," of "The Odyssey," of "Toy Story 5." So how will theaters keep the box office momentum going? NPR's Bob Mondello has a few dozen answers in his fall movie preview.
BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE: Hollywood's been all about flash and sizzle this summer. Now it's going to take the time for a little substance...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SOCIAL RECKONING")
JEREMY STRONG: (As Mark Zuckerberg) Enough.
MONDELLO: ...Substance with flash and sizzle, admittedly.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SOCIAL RECKONING")
STRONG: (As Mark Zuckerberg) People around here understand that when I say no, that's the end of the debate.
MONDELLO: Jeremy Strong plays Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, in a follow-up to "The Social Network" called "The Social Reckoning."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SOCIAL RECKONING")
STRONG: (As Mark Zuckerberg) I'm not two years out of a dorm room anymore, Charlie. Look around.
MONDELLO: This one's about the whistleblower revelations at Facebook...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SOCIAL RECKONING")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Anxiety, depression of teenage girls got worse as a result of time spent on the platform.
MONDELLO: ...Made all the more timely by parent company Meta's recent court settlement.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SOCIAL RECKONING")
STRONG: (As Mark Zuckerberg) We're twice as big as the biggest country on Earth. We're not frightened of Congress. We're post-government around here.
JEREMY ALLEN WHITE: (As Jeff Horwitz) Please. Please let me quote that.
MONDELLO: "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay, as he did with "The Social Network," and this time, he replaces "Fight Club's" David Fincher as director. Fincher, meanwhile, directs Brad Pitt in a spinoff of Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE FURTHER MIS-ADVENTURES OF CLIFF BOOTH")
ELIZABETH DEBICKI: (As character) So you helped Rick subdue those hippie intruders, huh?
BRAD PITT: (As Cliff Booth) Something like that.
DEBICKI: (As character) You say that like there's more to it.
PITT: (As Cliff Booth) I don't possess many talents, but I know better than to get in the way of a good story.
MONDELLO: This good story is called "The Further Mis-Adventures Of Cliff Booth." And misadventures play out on a global scale in the satirical black comedy "Digger."
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JOHN GOODMAN: (As character) Digger here got us into this mess, and Digger's going to dig us out again.
MONDELLO: It's about an oil gazillionaire, played by an almost unrecognizable Tom Cruise, whose fracking has caused an ecological disaster.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DIGGER")
TOM CRUISE: (As Digger Rockwell) If we can't control the course of nature, at least we can control the narrative.
MONDELLO: "Digger" is subtitled "A Comedy Of Catastrophic Proportions." Also offering catastrophe on an epic scale, the majestic kaiju in "Godzilla Minus Zero," filmed for IMAX this time...
(SOUNDBITE OF GODZILLA ROARING)
MONDELLO: ...The larger-than-life alien critters in the Korean thriller "Hope"...
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HWANG JUNG-MIN: (As Beom Seok, yelling in Korean).
(SOUNDBITE OF CREATURE ROARING)
MONDELLO: ...And a politically charged epic called "The Uprising" from "Bourne Supremacy" director Paul Greengrass, in which a pandemic-afflicted society revolts against a petulant, impulsive leader...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE UPRISING")
TOM HOLLANDER: (As Treasurer Hales) Crush them.
MONDELLO: ...Who is revered, even as he fights unpopular wars, coddles wealthy flatterers, taxes the poor and lies to his followers.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE UPRISING")
ANDREW GARFIELD: (As Ploughman) For all that you've taken from us, all that we've lost - time to pay.
MONDELLO: "The Uprising" isn't contemporary. It's about a peasant revolt in 1381. Did you think we were talking about something else? Rebellion is also in the air as child gladiators gather in a "Hunger Games" prequel called "Sunrise On The Reaping."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE HUNGER GAMES: SUNRISE ON THE REAPING")
KIERAN CULKIN: (As Caesar Flickerman) Welcome to the Second Quarter Quell.
GLENN CLOSE: (As Drusilla Sickle) Twice the number of tributes, twice the glory.
MONDELLO: And there is superhero-adjacent mayhem in the origin story of a disfigured DC Comics villain, known as "Clayface."
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NAOMI ACKIE: (As Caitlyn Corr) This isn't cosmetic surgery.
TOM RHYS HARRIES: (As Clayface/Matt Hagen) Even if it kills me, I'll be better off than I am now.
MONDELLO: Speaking of villains, Johnny Depp plays one in his first starring role in a while...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "EBENEZER")
JOHNNY DEPP: (As Scrooge) It's good to be back.
MONDELLO: ...In "Ebenezer," a ghost story version of Dickens.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "EBENEZER")
SAM CLAFLIN: (As Fred) Merry Christmas...
DEPP: (As Scrooge) Humbug.
SAM CLAFLIN: (As Fred) ...And a happy New Year.
DEPP: (As Scrooge) Humbug.
MONDELLO: Among the most wrenching fall films, stories of children at risk, the 12-year-old whose dad just got out of prison in "If I Go Will They Miss Me"...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "IF I GO WILL THEY MISS ME")
DANIELLE BROOKS: (As Lozita) Your daddy is a work in progress. I'm a work in progress. But we gon' (ph) figure this out.
MONDELLO: ...The girl in "Josephine," whose parents struggle with how to protect her after she's witnessed a terrible crime...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JOSEPHINE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Josephine, can you tell me what you saw?
MONDELLO: ...And an immigrant family in the Palme D'Or winner, "Fjord," who are accused of abuse when a teacher spots bruises.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FJORD")
SEBASTIAN STAN: (As Mihai Gheorghiu) Don't they have to prove what they claim?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) Not before they take the children.
MONDELLO: Is this too much turmoil and trauma? Well, there are plenty of fall films about showbiz - say, "Jimmy," biopic about actor Jimmy Stewart...
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KJ APA: (As James Stewart) I saw that in a movie. I'll be gosh darn, it really works.
MONDELLO: ...And "I Play Rocky," the underdog story behind Sylvester Stallone's underdog story.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "I PLAY ROCKY")
P J BYRNE: (As Irwin Winkler) You wrote this in 3 1/2 days?
SAUL STEIN: (As Sal) This is fricking good.
BYRNE: (As Irwin Winkler) That's someone like Chuck Bronson, or we could do Eastwood.
ANTHONY IPPOLITO: (As Sylvester Stallone) Guys, I play Rocky.
MONDELLO: Also, television tales like "Primetime"...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PRIMETIME")
TONY REVOLORI: (As character) Who are you?
MONDELLO: ...With Robert Pattinson as the host of "To Catch A Predator"...
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ROBERT PATTINSON: (As Chris Hansen) I'm with "Dateline NBC," and we're doing a story on adults who try to meet teens online. You see how this looks, right?
MONDELLO: ...And a peek behind the camera in "The Scout."
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MIMI DAVILA: (As Sofia) Hi. My name is Sofia. I'm a location scout for a TV show.
MONDELLO: Documentaries include "You Had To Be There" about how a 1972 Toronto production of "Godspell" birthed a whole generation of comedians.
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VICTOR GARBER: Gilda Radner got up unknown to everybody.
EUGENE LEVY: She auditioned with the song "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah."
MARTIN SHORT: And I thought that is the most tragic thing I've ever seen.
MONDELLO: There are fictional entertainment sagas, too, from "How To Rob A Bank" about media-savvy thieves who stream their crime spree...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HOW TO ROB A BANK")
JOHN C REILLY: (As character) Fifteen banks, 900 million views. These clowns are making the FBI look like fools.
MONDELLO: ...To Chris Rock's first directing gig in a while about an actress attempting a comeback...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MISTY GREEN")
AMY LANDECKER: (As Celine) Best supporting actress, Misty Green. Is that you?
MONDELLO: ...To "Club Kid" about an irresponsible party promoter whose life takes a turn...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CLUB KID")
JORDAN FIRSTMAN: (As Peter) I found out that I have a kid.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character) What?
(CROSSTALK)
FIRSTMAN: (As Peter) A biological son. Yeah.
MONDELLO: ...To Pedro Almodovar's "Bitter Christmas" in which a filmmaker's friends realize he's appropriating incidents from their lives to make his movies.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "BITTER CHRISTMAS")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #5: (As character, speaking Spanish).
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #6: (As character, speaking Spanish).
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #5: (As character, speaking Spanish).
MONDELLO: A similar notion plays out in "A Talent For Murder" with Helen Mirren as novelist Patricia Highsmith, author of the Tom Ripley thrillers. Her publisher hopes to coax one more Ripley masterpiece from her...
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HELEN MIRREN: (As Patricia Highsmith) I'll give you one night...
MONDELLO: ...But comes to wonder...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A TALENT FOR MURDER")
MIRREN: (As Patricia Highsmith) ...To show me if you can inhabit the mind of a killer.
MONDELLO: ...If staying overnight in her home to do it is such a good idea.
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MIRREN: (As Patricia Highsmith) Are you frightened, Mr. Ridgeway?
MONDELLO: While we're talking literature, I should mention that there's yet another adaptation of Jane Austen's "Sense And Sensibility" on the way...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SENSE AND SENSIBILITY")
DAISY EDGAR-JONES: (As Elinor Dashwood) I greatly esteem him. I esteem him (laughter).
ESME CREED-MILES: (As Marianne Dashwood) Elinor, use those words again, I shall leave the room.
MONDELLO: ...As well as a romance inspired by a short story about an aromatic fishmonger. She's played by Olivia Colman.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WICKER")
OLIVIA COLMAN: (As character) Today's catch. Catch.
BEN ASHENDEN: (As Baker) You needn't (ph) yell. We can smell you're coming.
MONDELLO: Fishiness aside, she'd like to get married, so she goes to the local basket maker.
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COLMAN: (As character) I want you to make me a husband.
PETER DINKLAGE: (As character) Be at the chapel in a month.
MONDELLO: She is...
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COLMAN: (As character) Ha.
MONDELLO: ...And is well-pleased.
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #7: (As character) What's that?
COLMAN: (As character) This is my husband.
ELLA BRUCCOLERI: (As character) I heard that he's strong as a tree and just as hard.
MONDELLO: If "Wicker" is the season's most unorthodox romance, there's some competition for most unorthodox thriller. "Wild Horse Nine" follows bickering assassins.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WILD HORSE NINE")
JOHN MALKOVICH: (As Chris) I've killed people in countries you can't even spell.
SAM ROCKWELL: (As Lee) Name one country you killed someone in that I can't spell.
MALKOVICH: (As Chris) Czechoslovakia (laughter).
ROCKWELL: (As Lee) You never killed anyone in Czechoslovakia. You just know I can't spell it.
MONDELLO: "Wild Horse Nine" comes from the addled imagination of "In Bruges" filmmaker, Martin McDonagh. The white-knuckle suspense tale, "Whalefall," offers a different sort of weirdness. It follows a scuba diver with a one-hour air supply down the gullet of a whale. Offbeat in a more whimsical way, "The Incomer," about an encounter between two inhabitants of a theoretically uninhabited isle and a visiting bureaucrat whose ways seem odd to them.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE INCOMER")
DOMHNALL GLEESON: (As Daniel) I'm vegan. I don't believe in eating meat.
GRANT O'ROURKE: (As Sandy) It's right there. Look.
GLEESON: (As Daniel) Oh, I believe it exists.
O'ROURKE: (As Sandy) How about puffins? Do you believe in puffins?
GAYLE RANKIN: (As Isla) Do you believe in fish?
GLEESON: (As Daniel) I do believe in all of the animals. I just don't believe in eating any of them.
MONDELLO: Also whimsical, "Klara And The Sun," Taika Waititi's take on a sci-fi novel about what a world that's gotten used to AI companions might look like.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "KLARA AND THE SUN")
AMY ADAMS: (As Chris) Honey, if I'm going to buy you a robot, I'm not going to be spending money on an old, outdated one.
MIA THARIA: (As Josie) You said that I can choose, and I choose Klara. She's special.
NATASHA LYONNE: (As character) And she's on special - 20% off.
MONDELLO: What parents won't do for kids, right? And to entertain your kids, there'll be animation galore. A "Shaun The Sheep" mystery...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE BEAST OF MOSSY BOTTOM")
UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: (As commentator) The Beast Of Mossy Bottom.
MONDELLO: ..."Angry Birds 3"...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 3")
JASON SUDEIKIS: (As Red) Name one bird cooler than your dad.
WALKER SCOBELL: (As Glider) Liswan James (ph), Hendea (ph), Michael Beek Jordan (ph), Timothy Quailimay (ph).
MONDELLO: ...A bit of Dr. Seuss...
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BILL HADER: (As The Cat in the Hat) I'm the Cat in the Hat.
MONDELLO: ...Disney magic...
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HEXED")
STEPHEN FRY: (As Elias Quire) Welcome to Hex, the world of witches.
MONDELLO: ...And "Wildwood," a sweeping adventure from the makers of "Coraline."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WILDWOOD")
PEYTON ELIZABETH LEE: (As Prue) I don't want any part of your fairy tale. I just want my brother.
MONDELLO: Altogether, that's through Thanksgiving and the start of awards season. I'm Bob Mondello.
(SOUNDBITE OF ENYA SONG, "ORINOCO FLOW") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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