In this March 10, 2016 file photo, Richard Linklater appears at the 2016 Texas Film Awards at Austin Studios in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP, File)
NEW YORK (AP) --
Richard Linklater's "The Last Flag Flying" will open the 55th New York Film Festival.
The latest from Linklater is described as a "lyrical road movie." It stars Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne as a trio of Navy veterans who reunite to bury the son of Carell's character, who has been killed in the Iraq War. It's conceived of as a kind of sequel to 1973's "The Last Detail," with Jack Nicholson.
The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced the selection Monday, handing "The Last Flag Flying" one of the fall film festival circuit's premiere slots. Amazon Studios will release the film on Nov. 17.
The New York Film Festival runs Sept. 28 – Oct. 15.
Linklater's two most recent films were "Everybody Wants Some!!" and the Oscar-nominated "Boyhood."
This image released by Hallmark Media shows Hunter King, left, and Tyler Hynes in a scene from "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. (Joshua Haines/Hallmark Media via AP)
Two new Christmas TV movies have a Taylor Swift connection that her fans would have no problem decoding.
"Christmas in the Spotlight" debuts Saturday on Lifetime. It stars Jessica Lord as the world's biggest pop star and Laith Wallschleger as a pro football player, who meet and fall in love — not unlike Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
"It's clearly inspired by Taylor and Travis, but I don't know them and I don't know what is going on behind the scenes. I only know what's been put out there," said Eirene Tran Donohue, a longtime, devoted fan who jumped at the opportunity to write a script even loosely based on her favorite musician.
She was inspired by the couple's support of each other's accomplishments, particularly Kelce's ease with dating the star despite the glare of the spotlight, adding, "I love the way that he celebrates her."
Tran Donohue wants fellow Swift fans to know she wrote the script with them in mind.
"There are so many Easter eggs," she said of little details added that a Swift fan would pick up on. "I put in as many as I could."
Then, on Nov. 30, Hallmark will air "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story." Instead of a nod to Swift, it's an ode to family traditions and bonding, like rooting for a sports team. Hallmark's headquarters is also in Kansas City, so it makes sense why the company chose the Chiefs to be highlighted.
In this story, written by Julie Sherman Wolfe, sparks fly when a new employee for the Chiefs organization (Tyler Hynes) meets a woman — played by Hunter King — whose family's dedication to the team goes back generations.
Sherman Wolfe, a San Francisco 49ers fan, said she got the call a week after Super Bowl LVIII, when the Chiefs... Read More
