Movie News
Yorgos Lanthimos can’t stop (won’t stop!) working with Oscar winner Emma Stone, casting the actress once again as leading lady for his next project “Bugonia.”
The drama will also star Jesse Plemons who, along with Stone, appears in Lanthimos’ forthcoming “Kinds of Kindness.” That three-chapter feature just premiered on Friday at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
“Bugonia” follows two conspiracy-obsessed young men who kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. The script is from heat-seeking “Succession” and “The Menu” writer Will Tracy.
Focus Features has won domestic rights to distribute the project. Universal Pictures will roll out the film in global territories, save Korea where “Parasite” producer Cj Enm will release. The latter is financing the film with Fremantle. CAA Media Finance and WME Independent brokered the rights deal.
This package is loaded with pedigree.
The drama will also star Jesse Plemons who, along with Stone, appears in Lanthimos’ forthcoming “Kinds of Kindness.” That three-chapter feature just premiered on Friday at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
“Bugonia” follows two conspiracy-obsessed young men who kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. The script is from heat-seeking “Succession” and “The Menu” writer Will Tracy.
Focus Features has won domestic rights to distribute the project. Universal Pictures will roll out the film in global territories, save Korea where “Parasite” producer Cj Enm will release. The latter is financing the film with Fremantle. CAA Media Finance and WME Independent brokered the rights deal.
This package is loaded with pedigree.
- 5/18/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Writer-director John Krasinski‘s original family film IF has started off its box office run with $1.8 million in Thursday previews.
The fantasy pic, headlining Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming alongside an A-list voice cast, explores the world of discarded imaginary friends and what happens when a young girl and her neighbor try to reunite them with their previous human pals.
The live-action/CGI animated Paramount pic is tracking for a domestic debut in the $40 million range from more than 4,000 theaters, but the family marketplace continues to struggle in the post-pandemic era. Nor is original fare an easy proposition. It’s hard to read too much into Thursday previews since families don’t start turning out in earnest until Friday and Saturday, generally speaking, although some exhibitors are worried the movie could have a hard time getting to $40 million based on presales, according to sources.
Reviews aren’t so great — If...
The fantasy pic, headlining Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming alongside an A-list voice cast, explores the world of discarded imaginary friends and what happens when a young girl and her neighbor try to reunite them with their previous human pals.
The live-action/CGI animated Paramount pic is tracking for a domestic debut in the $40 million range from more than 4,000 theaters, but the family marketplace continues to struggle in the post-pandemic era. Nor is original fare an easy proposition. It’s hard to read too much into Thursday previews since families don’t start turning out in earnest until Friday and Saturday, generally speaking, although some exhibitors are worried the movie could have a hard time getting to $40 million based on presales, according to sources.
Reviews aren’t so great — If...
- 5/17/2024
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Daniel Baur’s K5 Intl. has sold out most of international on Kevin Costner’s two-part Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga,” with only a few territories left, ahead of its world premiere Sunday in Cannes’ out of competition section.
K5 closed sales to Tobis Film (German-speaking territories), Metropolitan Filmexport (France), Stan Entertainment (Australia), Unicorn (Eastern Europe), Sf Studios/Ab Svensk (Scandinavia), Echo Lake Distribution (Airlines), EnterMode (South Korea), Falcon Films (Middle East), Nos Lusomundo (Portugal), Tanweer (Greece), MadMen (Australia), Parallax Studios/Saga Film (Philippines), Aqua Group (Turkey) and Myndform (Iceland).
Warner Bros./New Line will give the films wide releases in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Spain, Italy and the Netherlands on June 28 and Aug. 16.
Last year, Baur re-launched K5 Intl. with a new focus on high-budgeted elevated genre films and series. When Baur received the call from producer Howard Kaplan of Territory Pictures that he was...
K5 closed sales to Tobis Film (German-speaking territories), Metropolitan Filmexport (France), Stan Entertainment (Australia), Unicorn (Eastern Europe), Sf Studios/Ab Svensk (Scandinavia), Echo Lake Distribution (Airlines), EnterMode (South Korea), Falcon Films (Middle East), Nos Lusomundo (Portugal), Tanweer (Greece), MadMen (Australia), Parallax Studios/Saga Film (Philippines), Aqua Group (Turkey) and Myndform (Iceland).
Warner Bros./New Line will give the films wide releases in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Spain, Italy and the Netherlands on June 28 and Aug. 16.
Last year, Baur re-launched K5 Intl. with a new focus on high-budgeted elevated genre films and series. When Baur received the call from producer Howard Kaplan of Territory Pictures that he was...
- 5/17/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety - Film News
A new entry in the “Insidious” franchise has been set for the theaters. The next installment of the Blumhouse Productions horror property, co-produced by Screen Gems, has been added to Sony’s theatrical slate, with the studio dating the film for an Aug. 29, 2025 release.
No further details on the project were disclosed, including whether series regulars such as Patrick Wilson and Leigh Whannell would be involved. The newly announced feature is different from “Thread: An Insidious Tale,” an in-universe series spin-off that was first reported on by Deadline in May 2023 and is said to star Mandy Moore and Kumail Nanjiani, with Jeremy Slater attached to write and direct.
Barring no other “Insidious” installments releasing before this newly announced one, this would mark the sixth entry in the horror franchise and the first since last year’s “Insidious: The Red Door,” which saw actors Patrick Wilson and Ty Simpkins return to...
No further details on the project were disclosed, including whether series regulars such as Patrick Wilson and Leigh Whannell would be involved. The newly announced feature is different from “Thread: An Insidious Tale,” an in-universe series spin-off that was first reported on by Deadline in May 2023 and is said to star Mandy Moore and Kumail Nanjiani, with Jeremy Slater attached to write and direct.
Barring no other “Insidious” installments releasing before this newly announced one, this would mark the sixth entry in the horror franchise and the first since last year’s “Insidious: The Red Door,” which saw actors Patrick Wilson and Ty Simpkins return to...
- 5/17/2024
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety - Film News
Neon has bought North American rights to “The Unknown” (“L’Inconnue”), the hotly anticipated next movie from “Anatomy of a Fall”’s Oscar-winning co-writer Arthur Harari.
As revealed by Variety earlier this week, the movie will star Léa Seydoux (“Dune 2”) and is being represented in international markets. Harari is rolling off of “Anatomy of a Fall” which he co-wrote with director Justine Triet, abd won an Oscar, two Golden Globes, a BAFTA and the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s president of acquisitions and production Jeff Deutchman with producer Nicolas Anthomé on behalf of the filmmakers, and marks Neon’s second collaboration with Harari following last year’s “Anatomy of a Fall” which Neon acquired out of Cannes in 2023 before it won the Palme d’Or for that year. This deal further cements Neon’s commitment to bringing top-of-the-line international cinema to U.
As revealed by Variety earlier this week, the movie will star Léa Seydoux (“Dune 2”) and is being represented in international markets. Harari is rolling off of “Anatomy of a Fall” which he co-wrote with director Justine Triet, abd won an Oscar, two Golden Globes, a BAFTA and the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s president of acquisitions and production Jeff Deutchman with producer Nicolas Anthomé on behalf of the filmmakers, and marks Neon’s second collaboration with Harari following last year’s “Anatomy of a Fall” which Neon acquired out of Cannes in 2023 before it won the Palme d’Or for that year. This deal further cements Neon’s commitment to bringing top-of-the-line international cinema to U.
- 5/17/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety - Film News
Raoul Peck’s life is as fascinating as his films, filled with unexpected twists and turns. From his early stints as a cab driver and journalist, to a minister of culture post in his native Haiti, to teaching, to founding his Velvet Film production shingle to his breakthrough when he earned an Oscar nomination as producer/director with the James Baldwin doc, “I Am Not Your Negro,” the common denominator is Peck’s drive to make life better through his work. “I went into film because there were things I wanted to say, to express or deconstruct,” he explained. “And there is a fight to be had about the state of the world and wherever I’m living.”
On May 20, Peck will have his third Cannes premiere with the Special Screenings doc “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.” It chronicles the life of a South African photographer — another of Peck’s...
On May 20, Peck will have his third Cannes premiere with the Special Screenings doc “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.” It chronicles the life of a South African photographer — another of Peck’s...
- 5/19/2024
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety - Film News
Manila-based production outfit Parallax Studio and entertainment company Saga Film Studios have formed a joint venture that will distribute the two-part Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga” in the Philippines. The deal is the first of a number of acquisitions planned by the joint venture.
The “Horizon: An American Saga” films are directed by and star Academy Award winner Kevin Costner. The first film has its world premiere Sunday in Cannes’ out of competition section.
Warner Bros./New Line will give the films wide releases in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Spain, Italy and the Netherlands on June 28 and Aug. 16. Daniel Baur’s K5 Intl. is handling international sales.
“When we heard that these films were being offered, we had to jump at the chance to acquire them,” Wesley Villarica of Parallax Studio said. “It’s not every day that films like these come around. And coming from Kevin Costner,...
The “Horizon: An American Saga” films are directed by and star Academy Award winner Kevin Costner. The first film has its world premiere Sunday in Cannes’ out of competition section.
Warner Bros./New Line will give the films wide releases in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Spain, Italy and the Netherlands on June 28 and Aug. 16. Daniel Baur’s K5 Intl. is handling international sales.
“When we heard that these films were being offered, we had to jump at the chance to acquire them,” Wesley Villarica of Parallax Studio said. “It’s not every day that films like these come around. And coming from Kevin Costner,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety - Film News
There are dream jobs, and then there are dream jobs. Acting seems like one of the more potentially fun dreams, especially when someone gets cast in a major franchise. Who among us hasn't imagined getting to be a part of "Star Wars," "Star Trek," the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or whatever movie or television series makes our hearts beat faster? Talk about living the dream. Heck, sometimes those dreams can even be shared, with friends or family members getting to live vicariously through the actor. In the case of actor Maya Erskine, who recently starred as one half of the spy duo "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" on Prime, one particularly intense "Star Wars" fan in her family even (jokingly) threatened to disown her if she didn't take a role on the Disney+ series "Obi-Wan Kenobi."
On the series, Erskine plays Sully Stark, a pilot who helps rescue and transport Jedi who...
On the series, Erskine plays Sully Stark, a pilot who helps rescue and transport Jedi who...
- 5/19/2024
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
According to the lore of Ishiro Honda's original Godzilla film "Gojira" (1954), the title monster came into being as the direct result of nuclear tests held in out in the Pacific. An unseen ancient sea creature was exposed to radiation from said tests, causing it to mutate into a 130-meter-tall amphibious dinosaur-like behemoth that climbs out of the ocean and lays waste to cities in Japan. It crushed buildings underfoot and can breathe clouds of destructive radiation. Nothing seems to be able to stop it.
"Gojira" was partially inspired by the real-life Daigo Fukuryu Maru disaster, an even in which a Japanese fishing vessel was exposed to nuclear radiation during the United States' Castle Bravo H-bomb tests. One of the sailors died, the rest of the crew was sick, and the Japanese public became concerned that the fish may have been tainted. Nuclear fears were justifiably high in 1954, making Honda's film incredibly timely.
"Gojira" was partially inspired by the real-life Daigo Fukuryu Maru disaster, an even in which a Japanese fishing vessel was exposed to nuclear radiation during the United States' Castle Bravo H-bomb tests. One of the sailors died, the rest of the crew was sick, and the Japanese public became concerned that the fish may have been tainted. Nuclear fears were justifiably high in 1954, making Honda's film incredibly timely.
- 5/19/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Cannes film festival
Noémie Merlant’s first film as a director is relentlessly silly, self-indulgent and unsuited to its themes of misogyny and sexual violence
Here to prove that “actor project” movies are always the ones with the dodgiest acting is the otherwise estimable French star Noémie Merlant who presents her writing-directing debut in Cannes, with herself in a leading role and Céline Sciamma on board as producer and credited as script collaborator. It’s got some funny moments and there’s a great scene in a gynaecologist’s treatment room whose calm, straightforward candour completely annihilates all those other coyly shot gynaecologist scenes you’ve ever seen in any movie or TV drama. And the opening sequence is very dramatic, centring on a woman whose story is sadly neglected for the rest of the film in favour of the younger, prettier people.
But I have to say that the film is relentlessly silly,...
Noémie Merlant’s first film as a director is relentlessly silly, self-indulgent and unsuited to its themes of misogyny and sexual violence
Here to prove that “actor project” movies are always the ones with the dodgiest acting is the otherwise estimable French star Noémie Merlant who presents her writing-directing debut in Cannes, with herself in a leading role and Céline Sciamma on board as producer and credited as script collaborator. It’s got some funny moments and there’s a great scene in a gynaecologist’s treatment room whose calm, straightforward candour completely annihilates all those other coyly shot gynaecologist scenes you’ve ever seen in any movie or TV drama. And the opening sequence is very dramatic, centring on a woman whose story is sadly neglected for the rest of the film in favour of the younger, prettier people.
But I have to say that the film is relentlessly silly,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
A self-portrait and cinematic essay, Leos Carax’s “It’s Not Me” is perhaps the most accurate impression of a late-era Jean-Luc Godard experiment anyone has ever attempted. From Carax’s raspy voiceover to his jaggedly assembled combination of archival footage and absurd original snippets, the 41-minute short probes a variety of personal and political subjects, but it never quite beats with the furious heart and provocative spirit of Godard’s twilight era.
The project was conceived as part of a museum exhibition on Carax for Paris’ Centre Pompidou, but the prompt posed to him in the form of a question — “Where are you at, Leos Carax?” — appears to have led the enigmatic filmmaker on a confounding quest of self-discovery. The exhibit would never come to fruition, but Carax’s inquiry into his work, his lifelong influences and cinema at-large has yielded an occasionally fascinating collage. The film not only ponders Carax’s past,...
The project was conceived as part of a museum exhibition on Carax for Paris’ Centre Pompidou, but the prompt posed to him in the form of a question — “Where are you at, Leos Carax?” — appears to have led the enigmatic filmmaker on a confounding quest of self-discovery. The exhibit would never come to fruition, but Carax’s inquiry into his work, his lifelong influences and cinema at-large has yielded an occasionally fascinating collage. The film not only ponders Carax’s past,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Variety - Film News
It’s hard to remember the last time a director prominently displayed their own vagina onscreen. Statistically speaking, most of them wouldn’t be able to do it if they tried. But Noémie Merlant has never shied away from an opportunity to redefine how female bodies are depicted on film, and “The Portrait of a Lady on Fire” star’s recent pivot behind the camera has only emboldened her efforts to reject the male gaze by inviting her characters to reclaim its oppressive hyper-sexualization on their own terms.
Needless to say, she’s happy to lead by example in her poisoned but delicious midnight snack of a second feature. Playing Élise, a C-list starlet who’s recently been cast as Marilyn Monroe in a TV movie (only to steal her boyfriend’s car and flee the set in a panic), Merlant crashes into “The Balconettes” dolled up to look like...
Needless to say, she’s happy to lead by example in her poisoned but delicious midnight snack of a second feature. Playing Élise, a C-list starlet who’s recently been cast as Marilyn Monroe in a TV movie (only to steal her boyfriend’s car and flee the set in a panic), Merlant crashes into “The Balconettes” dolled up to look like...
- 5/19/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The story goes thus: it was 1985, and Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan, having enjoyed nearly two decades of cinematic success in his native country, wanted to extend his reach into the United States. Chan had already tried to infiltrate America in 1980 with Robert Clouse's film "The Big Brawl," but while it was highly respected by martial arts fans, "Brawl" wasn't the massive hit Chan wanted. Chan had already directed four movies by 1985 but still felt that an American director could translate his fightin' sensibilities for a North American audience more accurately. So, he hired genre filmmaker James Glickenhaus to helm the 1985 actioner "The Protector."
Chan and Glickenhaus butted heads throughout production, as Glickenhaus refused to film fight sequences in a way Chan approved of. At the end of production, Chan merely re-edited the film himself and directed new scenes in the hope of salvaging the project.
It was his...
Chan and Glickenhaus butted heads throughout production, as Glickenhaus refused to film fight sequences in a way Chan approved of. At the end of production, Chan merely re-edited the film himself and directed new scenes in the hope of salvaging the project.
It was his...
- 5/19/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The Furiosa, Mad Max and Happy Feet director talks tap dancing, life as a twin and what he’d tell his younger self
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What is the best thing about being a twin?
The shared experience. We spent the first 20 years of our lives together every day. We both have a similar curiosity about the world, and he practised as a doctor for 50 years. His take on human behaviour was really amusing, funny and very wise. It was always interesting to have conversations with him, so we would just compare notes. It’s why I love collaborating with people because it’s always about the discourse.
Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email
What is the best thing about being a twin?
The shared experience. We spent the first 20 years of our lives together every day. We both have a similar curiosity about the world, and he practised as a doctor for 50 years. His take on human behaviour was really amusing, funny and very wise. It was always interesting to have conversations with him, so we would just compare notes. It’s why I love collaborating with people because it’s always about the discourse.
- 5/19/2024
- by Debbie Zhou
- The Guardian - Film News
The first Charles Addams' strip that might be considered a part of the Addams Family canon was published in the pages of the New Yorker on August 6, 1938. In it, a vacuum cleaner salesman stands just inside a large, creepy, obviously haunted mansion, addressing the denizens, a cadaverous vampire woman and a brutish bearded man. The salesman, unperturbed by his grim surroundings offers his sales pitch, declares that no well-appointed home should be without such an appliance.
58 of Addams' 1,300 cartoon strips would feature his oddball Family, a nameless clan of ghouls who cherished horror and death. Throughout the '40s, a central canon of Family members would solidify, and come to include a squat, beastly patriarch, his skeletal wife, their two murderous children, a witchy grandmother, a fecklessly weird bald uncle, and their Frankensteinian live-in butler. In Addams' strips, the Family would talk about how much they loved destructive storms, how...
58 of Addams' 1,300 cartoon strips would feature his oddball Family, a nameless clan of ghouls who cherished horror and death. Throughout the '40s, a central canon of Family members would solidify, and come to include a squat, beastly patriarch, his skeletal wife, their two murderous children, a witchy grandmother, a fecklessly weird bald uncle, and their Frankensteinian live-in butler. In Addams' strips, the Family would talk about how much they loved destructive storms, how...
- 5/18/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Premiering out of Critics’ Week in Cannes, Alexis Langlois’ debut feature “Queens of Drama” is a musical blast of queer culture euphoria, telling a decades-spanning, impossible love story between a pair of pop idols who begin as fans and then become lovers, who climb the charts and permeate the culture as enemies, and who end up forgotten, as time moves forward and a new generation of teenage fans claim new idols for themselves.
The film’s familiar rise-and-fall rhythms struck a chord with filmmaker Alexis Langlois, who cites Vincente Minnelli and George Cukor as inspiration. “I wanted to offer a great, romantic story,” says Langlois. “Really, to give all these queer characters – and the queer actors who play them — a sense of grand romance by mixing the codes and memories of classic cinema with something much more modern.”
“And I like idea of the wheel of fortune,” they continue. “As...
The film’s familiar rise-and-fall rhythms struck a chord with filmmaker Alexis Langlois, who cites Vincente Minnelli and George Cukor as inspiration. “I wanted to offer a great, romantic story,” says Langlois. “Really, to give all these queer characters – and the queer actors who play them — a sense of grand romance by mixing the codes and memories of classic cinema with something much more modern.”
“And I like idea of the wheel of fortune,” they continue. “As...
- 5/18/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety - Film News
One thing that becomes clear, as you make your way through sixteen seasons of "Always Sunny," is that the gang is awfully resilient. Not only are they all severe alcoholics who otherwise don't seem to have any health problems, but they're constantly falling into things and getting the s**t kicked out of them, only to be back to normal by the start of the next episode. When one YouTuber made a compilation of the gang's injuries last year, the video was over 12 minutes long:
For Danny DeVito, who plays the show's wise and dependable father figure Frank, one of his favorite moments from filming "Always Sunny" came in season 11's "Frank Falls Out The Window." In the episode's very first scene, Frank falls out of his and Charlie's apartment and gets a giant gash on the back of his head. We don't see him hitting the ground, but the aftermath doesn't look pretty.
For Danny DeVito, who plays the show's wise and dependable father figure Frank, one of his favorite moments from filming "Always Sunny" came in season 11's "Frank Falls Out The Window." In the episode's very first scene, Frank falls out of his and Charlie's apartment and gets a giant gash on the back of his head. We don't see him hitting the ground, but the aftermath doesn't look pretty.
- 5/18/2024
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
Cate Blanchett blew kisses to the Cannes Film Festival audience as her new film, “Rumours,” earned a four-minute standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival on Saturday night.
The crowd welcomed the film’s dark humor, laughing throughout the entirety of the late-night screening. While some of the auditorium emptied out while the credits rolled, the majority of filmgoers waited patiently to pay their respects to the film’s stars. Blanchett’s “Rumours” co-star Alicia Vikander was notably not in attendance.
The film’s trio of directors — Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson — seemed surprised by Cannes’ relatively new tradition of handing the filmmaker(s) a microphone for post-screening remarks. They made a speech together after the applause wrapped, thanking the audience and quoting their own film by saying “it’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
The dark comedy follows a group of world leaders who meet...
The crowd welcomed the film’s dark humor, laughing throughout the entirety of the late-night screening. While some of the auditorium emptied out while the credits rolled, the majority of filmgoers waited patiently to pay their respects to the film’s stars. Blanchett’s “Rumours” co-star Alicia Vikander was notably not in attendance.
The film’s trio of directors — Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson — seemed surprised by Cannes’ relatively new tradition of handing the filmmaker(s) a microphone for post-screening remarks. They made a speech together after the applause wrapped, thanking the audience and quoting their own film by saying “it’s better to burn out than to fade away.”
The dark comedy follows a group of world leaders who meet...
- 5/18/2024
- by Angelique Jackson and Ellise Shafer
- Variety - Film News
Disparage the Marvel Cinematic Universe all you want, but there's no denying that when it comes to casting, Kevin Feige and the McU's longtime casting director, Sarah Halley Finn, have the magic touch. It's all but impossible now to picture anyone other than Robert Downey Jr. lending his snarky wit to the self-declared "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" Tony Stark, or to imagine a different actor bringing the same spot-on mix of wholesomeness and New Yorker defiance like Chris Evans did as Steve Rogers. And let's not forget Thor and Loki, two Marvel Comics veterans who could've easily been dismissed as dorky C-listers, only to become the franchise's most long-lasting players thanks to Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston.
For all of its missteps, that hasn't changed in the MCU post-"Avengers: Endgame." Esteemed character actors Oscar Isaac, Hailee Steinfeld, and Florence Pugh all brought the full brunt of their talents to...
For all of its missteps, that hasn't changed in the MCU post-"Avengers: Endgame." Esteemed character actors Oscar Isaac, Hailee Steinfeld, and Florence Pugh all brought the full brunt of their talents to...
- 5/18/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
When Glen Powell was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in Austin May 15, there was one obvious person to give him the honor: The director who discovered Powell, when the actor was just 14 years old, Robert Rodriguez.
Powell grew up in Austin right at the moment that it was starting to become a solid film production hub, thanks in large part to Rodriguez, the auteur behind “El Mariachi” and “From Dusk Till Dawn” and who’d founded Austin’s Troublemaker Studios. When Rodriguez was casting for “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over,” he was looking for a number of “local hires” to round out the cast.
“I remember distinctly how surprised I was [by Powell] because we’d cast a bunch of people from L.A.,” Rodriguez told IndieWire at the red carpet for the induction — which was also the Austin premiere of Netflix’s “Hit Man,” starring Powell and directed by Richard Linklater.
Powell grew up in Austin right at the moment that it was starting to become a solid film production hub, thanks in large part to Rodriguez, the auteur behind “El Mariachi” and “From Dusk Till Dawn” and who’d founded Austin’s Troublemaker Studios. When Rodriguez was casting for “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over,” he was looking for a number of “local hires” to round out the cast.
“I remember distinctly how surprised I was [by Powell] because we’d cast a bunch of people from L.A.,” Rodriguez told IndieWire at the red carpet for the induction — which was also the Austin premiere of Netflix’s “Hit Man,” starring Powell and directed by Richard Linklater.
- 5/18/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw the TV Glow” is a singular work of cinema, a film that earned rave reviews for committing to its distinct aesthetic and exploration of the ways that our attachments to pop culture that feel disposable to others can be linked to trans identity. But despite many hailing it as a perfect standalone movie, the filmmaker believes there might be even more stories to tell in the world of Owen and “The Pink Opaque.”
In a new interview with USA Today, Schoenbrun refused to rule out the possibility of making a sequel to “I Saw the TV Glow,” explaining that they’d be open to approaching the story again from a different perspective.
“I’ve been thinking about it for quite a while. I always ask myself, ‘Where do the characters go? Is there anywhere else after this?'” Schoenbrun said. “Sometimes there’s not an answer that deserves further exploration,...
In a new interview with USA Today, Schoenbrun refused to rule out the possibility of making a sequel to “I Saw the TV Glow,” explaining that they’d be open to approaching the story again from a different perspective.
“I’ve been thinking about it for quite a while. I always ask myself, ‘Where do the characters go? Is there anywhere else after this?'” Schoenbrun said. “Sometimes there’s not an answer that deserves further exploration,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules” has long been one of unscripted television’s most formally adventurous series, with a cinematic grammar that constantly evolves to express the feelings and ideas at each season’s center. Last season, for example, editor Jesse Friedman explored the “Scandoval” situation in which longtime cast member Tom Sandoval cheated on his girlfriend Ariana Madix by telling the story in reverse — a technique that had more in common with the work of Christopher Nolan and Harold Pinter than with other shows in the world of reality TV, and one that provided the perfect visual corollary for Ariana and her friends’ piecing together of the narrative. For the Season 11 finale, Friedman once again took some audacious stylistic risks that paid off not only emotionally, but indicated how the show as a whole might be coming to the end of an era.
The final moments of the season finale...
The final moments of the season finale...
- 5/18/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
The best thing the MonsterVerse has done is to unite two icons of cinema, Godzilla and Kong. Sure, 2014's "Godzilla" and "Kong Skull Island" may have ranked higher on our list of the best MonsterVerse movies, but it was with "Godzilla vs. Kong" that the franchise found its secret weapon — a big ape and a big lizard begrudgingly teaming up. Since then, the MonsterVerse has given us grand entertainment that only an IP-obsessed Hollywood could provide, while also fitting right in with the weirdness and silliness of the Showa era of monster movies.
Alongside its stakes, the MonsterVerse has also grown in mythology, as it introduced the concept of Hollow Earth, a whole unique world with its own lore, locations, and characters. That being said, these movies aren't exactly what you should watch if you want immediate answers to questions about lore of backstories — especially not about the Titans. After all,...
Alongside its stakes, the MonsterVerse has also grown in mythology, as it introduced the concept of Hollow Earth, a whole unique world with its own lore, locations, and characters. That being said, these movies aren't exactly what you should watch if you want immediate answers to questions about lore of backstories — especially not about the Titans. After all,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Steven Moffat is one of the most divisive names in the "Doctor Who" fandom. First he was the beloved writer who gave us one amazing story per season. Then he was given the reins of the show in 2010 and the audience's good will started to slip away. By season 7 he'd gotten a reputation as a guy whose storylines were too complicated for their own good, and as a showrunner who was sort of bad at writing realistic, three-dimensional characters who weren't named the Doctor. Particular scrutiny was given to how he wrote women; we loved River Song when she was introduced in season 4, but by the end of Eleven's run it felt like most of his female characters were just River Song variants. Moffat loves himself an aggressively badass woman who never stops flirting, but fans themselves grew tired of it.
The good news is that the Peter Capaldi era...
The good news is that the Peter Capaldi era...
- 5/18/2024
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
Fox hit a home run with "Bones." The procedural crime dramedy feels like the last of a dying breed, with the show running for an amazing 246 episodes across 12 seasons. In the age of Netflix canceling seemingly successful shows after just a few seasons (if we're lucky), that feels like an impossibility. The show's success stems from the relationship between Emily Deschanel's Temperance "Bones" Brennan and David Boreanaz's Seely Booth. But that wasn't always going to be the case, until series creator Hart Hanson realized it needed to be the case.
In a 2014 interview with Give Me My Remote, Hanson was asked to reflect back on the show's pilot, which aired in 2005. Deschanel had already secured her role on "Bones" thanks to a bit of improv. Boreanaz, meanwhile, was set to be part of the show, but not necessarily the co-lead alongside Deschanel. Hanson explained how that all changed thanks to one key scene.
In a 2014 interview with Give Me My Remote, Hanson was asked to reflect back on the show's pilot, which aired in 2005. Deschanel had already secured her role on "Bones" thanks to a bit of improv. Boreanaz, meanwhile, was set to be part of the show, but not necessarily the co-lead alongside Deschanel. Hanson explained how that all changed thanks to one key scene.
- 5/18/2024
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
Few filmmakers have ever sacrificed more for their craft than Mohammad Rasoulof, the Iranian director who has faced non-stop legal pressure from his country’s government in recent years over his politically charged films. Rasoulof, who has been arrested and imprisoned on multiple occasions, is bringing his latest film, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” to the Main Competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. But weeks before the film — which follows a judge in Tehran navigating political fallout from protests — was set to debut on the Croisette, Rasoulof was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment and a flogging in Iran.
Many interpreted the sentence as an attempt to force Rasoulof to pull his provocative film from Cannes. But the auteur soon fled the authoritarian country and found shelter in Germany with the hope of attending his film’s premiere this week. In a new interview with The Guardian, conducted from an undisclosed location,...
Many interpreted the sentence as an attempt to force Rasoulof to pull his provocative film from Cannes. But the auteur soon fled the authoritarian country and found shelter in Germany with the hope of attending his film’s premiere this week. In a new interview with The Guardian, conducted from an undisclosed location,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Noemie Merlant’s sophomore feature “The Balconettes” plays as a raunchy horror-comedy with a greater social conscience. The film follows three roommates – an actress, played by Merlant, a camgirl played by “Dune: Part Two” breakout Souheila Yacoub and a frustrated writer played Sanda Condreanu – who are initially infatuated and eventually repelled by a lothario neighbor from across the yard. Exploring questions of coercion and consent with a healthy dose of blood and guts, “The Balconettes” wants to entertain and energize in equal measure.
Variety spoke with the filmmaker ahead of her film’s world premiere in Cannes.
How did this film come about?
Four years ago, I found myself escaping from a daily life that was suffocating. I went to live with women, with friends of mine, including Sanda Codreanu, who stars in the film. This was the first time I’d lived with other women, and the first time...
Variety spoke with the filmmaker ahead of her film’s world premiere in Cannes.
How did this film come about?
Four years ago, I found myself escaping from a daily life that was suffocating. I went to live with women, with friends of mine, including Sanda Codreanu, who stars in the film. This was the first time I’d lived with other women, and the first time...
- 5/18/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety - Film News
“Emilia Pérez,” a Spanish-language musical drama starring Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Karla Sofía Gascón, has earned the biggest standing ovation of this year’s Cannes Film Festival so far.
Gomez wiped away tears as the Palais clapped for a full nine minutes, accompanied by plenty of hooting, whistling and cheering. During the standing ovation, director Jacques Audiard waved his hat at the balcony as stars Saldaña and Édgar Ramírez shared an emotional hug. There was huge applause for Gascón, who stars in the film as a drug cartel leader who seeks gender-affirming surgery.
In the film, from Palme d’Or winner Audiard, Saldaña stars as Rita, an “overqualified and undervalued” lawyer, whose firm is more inclined to help criminals than seek justice. She finds an unexpected way out when a feared drug cartel leader Manitas (Gascón) recruits her to aid him in surreptitiously completing a sex change operation to...
Gomez wiped away tears as the Palais clapped for a full nine minutes, accompanied by plenty of hooting, whistling and cheering. During the standing ovation, director Jacques Audiard waved his hat at the balcony as stars Saldaña and Édgar Ramírez shared an emotional hug. There was huge applause for Gascón, who stars in the film as a drug cartel leader who seeks gender-affirming surgery.
In the film, from Palme d’Or winner Audiard, Saldaña stars as Rita, an “overqualified and undervalued” lawyer, whose firm is more inclined to help criminals than seek justice. She finds an unexpected way out when a feared drug cartel leader Manitas (Gascón) recruits her to aid him in surreptitiously completing a sex change operation to...
- 5/18/2024
- by Ramin Setoodeh and Angelique Jackson
- Variety - Film News
Jim Backus' first major acting gig was playing a snotty millionaire named Dexter Hayes on the 1940 radio serial "Society Girl." This was to kick off a decades-long career in radio, film, and television, wherein Backus invented multiple indelible characters that remain a part of the pop fabric to this very day. He appeared on "The Jack Benny Program" and even briefly had his own TV show, "The Jim Backus Show" in 1957. He famously played the voice of Mr. Magoo from 1949 until his death in 1989, and starred in "Rebel Without a Cause." He was adept at playing clueless weirdos and self-absorbed egotists, although he had a great deal of comedic range. Be sure to listen to his hit comedy single "Delicious!" sometime. He elicits laughter without saying anything. I could list more credits, but we'd be here all day; Backus starred in over 100 films and shorts, and several dozen TV shows.
- 5/18/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Cannes film festival
A thoroughly implausible yarn about a Mexican cartel leader who hires a lawyer to arrange his transition is carried along by its cheesy Broadway energy
Anglo-progressives and US liberals might worry about whether or not certain stories are “theirs to tell”. But that’s not a scruple that worries French auteur Jacques Audiard who, with amazing boldness and sweep, launches into this slightly bizarre yet watchable musical melodrama of crime and gender, set in Mexico. It plays like a thriller by Amat Escalante with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and a touch of Almodovar.
Argentinian trans actor Karla Sofia Gascon plays Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, a terrifyingly powerful and ruthless cartel leader in Mexico, married to Jessi (Selena Gomez), with two young children. Manitas is intrigued by a high-profile murder trial in which an obviously guilty defendant gets off due to his smart and industrious lawyer...
A thoroughly implausible yarn about a Mexican cartel leader who hires a lawyer to arrange his transition is carried along by its cheesy Broadway energy
Anglo-progressives and US liberals might worry about whether or not certain stories are “theirs to tell”. But that’s not a scruple that worries French auteur Jacques Audiard who, with amazing boldness and sweep, launches into this slightly bizarre yet watchable musical melodrama of crime and gender, set in Mexico. It plays like a thriller by Amat Escalante with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and a touch of Almodovar.
Argentinian trans actor Karla Sofia Gascon plays Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, a terrifyingly powerful and ruthless cartel leader in Mexico, married to Jessi (Selena Gomez), with two young children. Manitas is intrigued by a high-profile murder trial in which an obviously guilty defendant gets off due to his smart and industrious lawyer...
- 5/18/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The Hong Kong-Asian Film Collaboration Funding Scheme has selected two Hong Kong-Japan co-productions by seasoned producers Stanley Kwan and Shunsuke Koga as its first winning projects.
All The Things We Have Done Wrong That Led Us To This, produced by Kwan, and 38.83, produced by Koga, will each receive a grant of up to $1.1m (Hk$9m) to support their production. The announcement was made at the Hong Kong Night during the Cannes Film Festival on May 16.
All The Things… is to be directed by Japan’s Daishi Matsunaga, whose LGBTQ+ romance drama Egoist played in competition at Tokyo in 2022 and...
All The Things We Have Done Wrong That Led Us To This, produced by Kwan, and 38.83, produced by Koga, will each receive a grant of up to $1.1m (Hk$9m) to support their production. The announcement was made at the Hong Kong Night during the Cannes Film Festival on May 16.
All The Things… is to be directed by Japan’s Daishi Matsunaga, whose LGBTQ+ romance drama Egoist played in competition at Tokyo in 2022 and...
- 5/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
Fresh off his brief but scene-stealing performance in “Civil War,” Jesse Plemons is reteaming with six-time Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos for his next film, now titled “Bugonia,” which has landed at Focus Features for North America. Plemons is also one of the many ensemble talents in Lanthimos’ “Kinds Of Kindness,” which just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and co-stars Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, and Hunter Schafer (read our review).
Continue reading Jesse Plemons Joins Emma Stone In Yorgos Lanthimos’ ‘Bugonia’ For Focus Features at The Playlist.
Continue reading Jesse Plemons Joins Emma Stone In Yorgos Lanthimos’ ‘Bugonia’ For Focus Features at The Playlist.
- 5/18/2024
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
The Cannes Market has responded quickly to reports of long lines to access the Palais and brought in measures to alleviate delays.
Organisers have added an extra Fast Track line at the Jetée Albert-Edouard and doubled existing entrance routes at the Main Entrance and Mediterranean Access.
The move comes after market attendees reported long lines and missed meetings during the first four days.
Cannes visitors generally acknowledge that security needs to be tight, but several have voiced their frustrations after lengthy experiences.
Ida Martins of Cologne-based Media Luna said she had “lost a lot of meetings because people cannot come in”. She added,...
Organisers have added an extra Fast Track line at the Jetée Albert-Edouard and doubled existing entrance routes at the Main Entrance and Mediterranean Access.
The move comes after market attendees reported long lines and missed meetings during the first four days.
Cannes visitors generally acknowledge that security needs to be tight, but several have voiced their frustrations after lengthy experiences.
Ida Martins of Cologne-based Media Luna said she had “lost a lot of meetings because people cannot come in”. She added,...
- 5/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
Neon has acquired the North American rights to “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” directed by Mohammad Rasoulof. The thriller is set to premiere In Competition in Cannes on May 24, and marks Rasoulof’s first return to the Cannes Film Festival, after being barred from traveling. Neon is planning a North American theatrical release later this year.
The film — which stars Setareh Abdolmaleki, Zahra Rostami, Amineh Mazroei Arani and Niousha AkhshiVardoogh — follows Iman, an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, who grapples with mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify and his gun mysteriously disappears. Suspecting the involvement of his wife Najmeh and his daughters Rezvan and Sana, he imposes drastic measures at home, causing tensions to rise.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s VP of Acquisitions Sarah Colvin with Films Boutique / Parallel 45’s Jean-Christophe Simon and Film Boutique’s Julien Razafindranaly on behalf of the filmmakers.
The film — which stars Setareh Abdolmaleki, Zahra Rostami, Amineh Mazroei Arani and Niousha AkhshiVardoogh — follows Iman, an investigating judge in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, who grapples with mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify and his gun mysteriously disappears. Suspecting the involvement of his wife Najmeh and his daughters Rezvan and Sana, he imposes drastic measures at home, causing tensions to rise.
The deal was negotiated by Neon’s VP of Acquisitions Sarah Colvin with Films Boutique / Parallel 45’s Jean-Christophe Simon and Film Boutique’s Julien Razafindranaly on behalf of the filmmakers.
- 5/18/2024
- by Selena Kuznikov
- Variety - Film News
Harmony Korine’s AggroDr1ft unfurls through sheets of kaleidoscopic color — neon shades of gold, aqua and red — that ripple and pulse, achieving almost an intelligence of their own as they add expressionistic textures to the film’s Miami-set tale of a melancholy hitman out for a demonic Final Boss. And while the narrative recalls, at times, Robert E. Howard, Michael Mann and Grand Theft Auto, the film’s genuinely unique method of production allows its hallucinatory vibe — aided by an insidious AraabMuzik score — to reign supreme. Working with his team at new production outfit Edglrd, including creative director Joao […]
The post “The Fact That It’s Thermal Imagery, It Hits Memory in a Different Way”: Edglrd Creative Director Joao Rosa on Harmony Korine’s Visionary AggroDr1ft first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “The Fact That It’s Thermal Imagery, It Hits Memory in a Different Way”: Edglrd Creative Director Joao Rosa on Harmony Korine’s Visionary AggroDr1ft first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 5/18/2024
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The “Mavka” franchise is just getting started.
Ukraine’s Film.UA Group is now developing a live-action film based on the character already spotlighted in “Mavka. The Forest Song,” Variety has found out. Shown in 148 countries, it has grossed over $21 million globally.
According to its team, the live-action version will delve even deeper into Ukrainian folklore, offering a more “intricate” portrayal of the mythological character.
“‘Mavka’ was always planned as a multiplatform, cross-media IP. Animated feature was just the start. We want to keep the old fans happy and to attract new ones,” said producer Anna Eliseeva, admitting the new film will be a different (forest) beast.
“The plot and even the character will differ from the animation. ‘Forest Song’ was based on our mythology and the work of Ukrainian poetess Lesya Ukrainka, but we had to reinvent the character for the family audience. Now, we will be able to...
Ukraine’s Film.UA Group is now developing a live-action film based on the character already spotlighted in “Mavka. The Forest Song,” Variety has found out. Shown in 148 countries, it has grossed over $21 million globally.
According to its team, the live-action version will delve even deeper into Ukrainian folklore, offering a more “intricate” portrayal of the mythological character.
“‘Mavka’ was always planned as a multiplatform, cross-media IP. Animated feature was just the start. We want to keep the old fans happy and to attract new ones,” said producer Anna Eliseeva, admitting the new film will be a different (forest) beast.
“The plot and even the character will differ from the animation. ‘Forest Song’ was based on our mythology and the work of Ukrainian poetess Lesya Ukrainka, but we had to reinvent the character for the family audience. Now, we will be able to...
- 5/18/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety - Film News
What scares Stephen King? The legendary horror author has made a career (and a fortune) frightening us all with his tales of terror. But what gets under King's skin? What gives him the creeps? "Pet Sematary" was famously sold as the "Stephen King novel that scared Stephen King," mostly because King thought the book was too damn bleak but published it to fulfill a contractual obligation.
But what about horror works by other people? Are there horror movies that give the master of horror the heebie jeebies? As it turns out, there's one movie in particular King has claimed scared him. In fact, it scared him so much that the first time he watched it he requested it be turned off before the film even ended. That film: "The Blair Witch Project," the blockbuster indie horror movie that became a cultural phenomenon when it arrived in 1999.
Read more: The 95 Best...
But what about horror works by other people? Are there horror movies that give the master of horror the heebie jeebies? As it turns out, there's one movie in particular King has claimed scared him. In fact, it scared him so much that the first time he watched it he requested it be turned off before the film even ended. That film: "The Blair Witch Project," the blockbuster indie horror movie that became a cultural phenomenon when it arrived in 1999.
Read more: The 95 Best...
- 5/18/2024
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Back in Cannes a year after presiding over the main Cannes jury, the two-time Palme d’or winner Ruben Öslund unveiled more details about his next mega-project, English-language “The Entertainment is Down,” which he said should be ready for Cannes 2026.
The press conference, attended by the hottest talent and producers from the Nordic region and beyond, was hosted by Film i Väst, one of Europe’s largest regional film funds.
Making his usual rock star appearance, flanked by actors Kirsten Dunst and Daniel Brühl, Östlund unveiled more details about “The Entertainment is Down”, to be shot entirely on a real 747 airplane, bought by the producers for the movie.
”I was in London doing some casting and Erik [Hemmendorff, producer and partner in the Swedish banner Plattform Produktion] was in Northern London looking for airplanes. A few days later I asked: ‘Did you buy it?’ And he said: ‘Yes!’ That was quite early in the process. I said: ‘Oh,...
The press conference, attended by the hottest talent and producers from the Nordic region and beyond, was hosted by Film i Väst, one of Europe’s largest regional film funds.
Making his usual rock star appearance, flanked by actors Kirsten Dunst and Daniel Brühl, Östlund unveiled more details about “The Entertainment is Down”, to be shot entirely on a real 747 airplane, bought by the producers for the movie.
”I was in London doing some casting and Erik [Hemmendorff, producer and partner in the Swedish banner Plattform Produktion] was in Northern London looking for airplanes. A few days later I asked: ‘Did you buy it?’ And he said: ‘Yes!’ That was quite early in the process. I said: ‘Oh,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety - Film News
Third time may not always be the charm, but it was for "All in the Family." Following a pair of failed pilots, Norman Lear's pioneering sitcom hit the airwaves on January 12, 1971. Fittingly titled "Meet the Bunkers," the show's first episode is a pretty typical outing for Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) and his kin. It's basically plotless; Archie and his son-in-law Michael/Mike (Rob Reiner) squabble over religion and politics like it's their personal hobby; Archie's daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) is equally irritated and on the verge of tears as she tries to keep the peace between the stubborn men in her life; Archie is deservedly (and hilariously) made to look like a clown for his bigotry; and the whole thing wraps up with some unguarded earnestness, illustrating why his loved ones even put up with Archie in the first place.
Like any TV pilot, the characters aren't done cooking yet.
Like any TV pilot, the characters aren't done cooking yet.
- 5/18/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a movie musical where the words “mammoplasty, vaginoplasty, rhinoplasty” play out in song. Nor have you lived until you’ve seen that same movie musical in which Selena Gomez says the words “My pussy still hurts when I think of you.” And you’ve never seen a movie musical at all about transness that takes as bold of swings as Jacques Audiard‘s “Emilia Pérez,” which is stylistically unforgettable while missing the crucial element that makes any movie musical work: Actually good, memorable songs.
Audiard is the 72-year-old French director known ever for dipping into other worlds and genres that are far from his own as a cis white guy from Europe. His 2015 Palme d’Or winner “Dheepan” was a story of Tamil refugees who’ve fled Sri Lankan civil war for Paris. “The Sisters Brothers” was his attempt at a western...
Audiard is the 72-year-old French director known ever for dipping into other worlds and genres that are far from his own as a cis white guy from Europe. His 2015 Palme d’Or winner “Dheepan” was a story of Tamil refugees who’ve fled Sri Lankan civil war for Paris. “The Sisters Brothers” was his attempt at a western...
- 5/18/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Cannes – You have to give Jacques Audiard credit. The famed French filmmaker has proven time and time again he isn’t afraid to take big swings. And with “Emilia Perez,” he’s attempting to hit one all the way across the Atlantic. Debuting at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in competition, “Perez” is a Mexican-set musical melodrama with a narrative that seemingly knows no bounds. And yet, even at its most unwieldy, Audiard’s cinematic skill and Zoe Saldana‘s at times dazzling performance make it hard to ignore.
Continue reading ‘Emilia Perez’ Review: Zoe Saldana Sings In Jacques Audiard’s Audacious Movie Musical [Cannes] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Emilia Perez’ Review: Zoe Saldana Sings In Jacques Audiard’s Audacious Movie Musical [Cannes] at The Playlist.
- 5/18/2024
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
I’m going to tell you something that will instantly rattle a millennial body to its core: “Glee,” the Fox musical dramedy that became a phenomenon before becoming a dark cultural tale, premiered 15 years ago, on May 19, 2009.
To make you feel slightly better about the passage of time, that date is a bit of a cheat: Because Fox suspected it had an honest-to-goodness hit on its hands, the network premiered the first episode after the “American Idol” Season 8 finale in May, before beginning the full season a few months later in September.
Still, May 19 was the day the world first was re-reminded of the wonder of “Don’t Stop Believin,’” witnessed the instantly iconic combo of cringe and charisma that was Rachel Berry/Lea Michele, and considered the shocking declaration that someone could be both an athlete and a singer.
If you aren’t a recovering Gleek, one of the...
To make you feel slightly better about the passage of time, that date is a bit of a cheat: Because Fox suspected it had an honest-to-goodness hit on its hands, the network premiered the first episode after the “American Idol” Season 8 finale in May, before beginning the full season a few months later in September.
Still, May 19 was the day the world first was re-reminded of the wonder of “Don’t Stop Believin,’” witnessed the instantly iconic combo of cringe and charisma that was Rachel Berry/Lea Michele, and considered the shocking declaration that someone could be both an athlete and a singer.
If you aren’t a recovering Gleek, one of the...
- 5/18/2024
- by Erin Strecker
- Indiewire
Spanish director Jonás Trueba wants you to celebrate the endings, not just the beginnings.
That includes the demise of a serious relationship, because Ale and Alex (Itsaso Arana and Vito Sanz) have been together for 15 years. Now, they want only two things: to go their separate ways and to have a proper fiesta.
“The idea of a ‘separation party’ can be scary, but I just kept hearing about it. I even suggested it to a friend of mine, but every time, people’s faces just drop. You can see fear creeping in. It’s crazy and silly, and at the same time, it could be something beautiful. It’s a great idea for a film, if not for real-life.”
In “The Other Way Around,” premiering at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, the couple in question still has a lot of affection for each other.
“It’s a love story, but another kind of love story,...
That includes the demise of a serious relationship, because Ale and Alex (Itsaso Arana and Vito Sanz) have been together for 15 years. Now, they want only two things: to go their separate ways and to have a proper fiesta.
“The idea of a ‘separation party’ can be scary, but I just kept hearing about it. I even suggested it to a friend of mine, but every time, people’s faces just drop. You can see fear creeping in. It’s crazy and silly, and at the same time, it could be something beautiful. It’s a great idea for a film, if not for real-life.”
In “The Other Way Around,” premiering at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, the couple in question still has a lot of affection for each other.
“It’s a love story, but another kind of love story,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety - Film News
Brazil’s Spcine, the city of São Paulo’s film-tv body, is launching the third edition of its cash rebate program, which prioritizes international projects looking to shoot in the vibrant city and state.
Municipal support for the program has already been renewed, now totalling US$ 3.8 million, while negotiations with the state of São Paulo are still ongoing, said Luiz Toledo, Spcine director of investments and strategic partnerships.
The incentive program, which offers 20%-30% cash rebates to international films and TV shows – whether fiction, non-fiction, Xr or animation – stipulates a minimum investment of $2 million in the territory and a cap per project of $3 million. Additional bonus percentages are provided to projects that embrace diversity.
“We are beginning to reap tangible results since we launched in 2019,” Toledo noted, estimating that São Paulo has attracted an average of 1,000 projects a year – encompassing films, series, ads and video clips – which invested a combined...
Municipal support for the program has already been renewed, now totalling US$ 3.8 million, while negotiations with the state of São Paulo are still ongoing, said Luiz Toledo, Spcine director of investments and strategic partnerships.
The incentive program, which offers 20%-30% cash rebates to international films and TV shows – whether fiction, non-fiction, Xr or animation – stipulates a minimum investment of $2 million in the territory and a cap per project of $3 million. Additional bonus percentages are provided to projects that embrace diversity.
“We are beginning to reap tangible results since we launched in 2019,” Toledo noted, estimating that São Paulo has attracted an average of 1,000 projects a year – encompassing films, series, ads and video clips – which invested a combined...
- 5/18/2024
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety - Film News
Spoiler Alert: The following review contains some spoilers.
Like a rose blooming amid a minefield, it’s a miracle that Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez” exists: a south-of-the-border pop opera about a most unlikely metamorphosis and the personal redemption it awakens in a stone-cold criminal.
With a Palme d’Or to his name and the cojones to tackle his third movie in a culture and language that are not his own (after “Dheepan” and “The Sisters Brothers”), the director of “A Prophet” takes audiences into the macho realm of Mexican cartels, where Manitas del Monte — a fearsome drug lord with a silver grill and a voice like gravel — wants out, not because he’s had a crisis of conscience, but because he’s decided to embrace his true self … as a woman.
Pardon me if I’ve mixed up the pronouns there. Audiard’s dazzling and instantly divisive film — which...
Like a rose blooming amid a minefield, it’s a miracle that Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez” exists: a south-of-the-border pop opera about a most unlikely metamorphosis and the personal redemption it awakens in a stone-cold criminal.
With a Palme d’Or to his name and the cojones to tackle his third movie in a culture and language that are not his own (after “Dheepan” and “The Sisters Brothers”), the director of “A Prophet” takes audiences into the macho realm of Mexican cartels, where Manitas del Monte — a fearsome drug lord with a silver grill and a voice like gravel — wants out, not because he’s had a crisis of conscience, but because he’s decided to embrace his true self … as a woman.
Pardon me if I’ve mixed up the pronouns there. Audiard’s dazzling and instantly divisive film — which...
- 5/18/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety - Film News
2024's box office got off to a rough start, and the big boost that's typically expected in the summer has yet to materialize. John Krasinski's "If," a fantasy film about retired imaginary friends that combines live action and animation, is the latest release to debut to underwhelming numbers. Deadline reports that "If" is on track to gross $30.5 million in its opening weekend, which is at the bottom end of projections.
That's not a disaster for "If" itself, which had a relatively constrained $110 million budget. It's a bigger start than the more-expensive action comedy flick "The Fall Guy" managed a couple of weeks ago. And while "If" may not have impressed critics (its Rotten Tomatoes score is 50% as of this writing), it received an A CinemaScore from opening night exit polls, indicating that general audiences feel more warmly about it. Original movies are always a tough sell at the box office,...
That's not a disaster for "If" itself, which had a relatively constrained $110 million budget. It's a bigger start than the more-expensive action comedy flick "The Fall Guy" managed a couple of weeks ago. And while "If" may not have impressed critics (its Rotten Tomatoes score is 50% as of this writing), it received an A CinemaScore from opening night exit polls, indicating that general audiences feel more warmly about it. Original movies are always a tough sell at the box office,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Hannah Shaw-Williams
- Slash Film
Neon has secured North American rights from Films Boutique to Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, ahead of its world premiere in Competition at Cannes on May 24.
Neon is planning a North American theatrical release in 2024.
The story centres on an investigating judge in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, who grapples mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify, leading to suspicion of his own family. The cast includes Setareh Abdolmaleki, Zahra Rostami, Amineh Mazroei Arani and Niousha Akhshi Vardoogh.
Production companies are Germany’s Run Way Pictures and France’s Parallel45. Films Boutique is handling worldwide sales rights to the film,...
Neon is planning a North American theatrical release in 2024.
The story centres on an investigating judge in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, who grapples mistrust and paranoia as nationwide political protests intensify, leading to suspicion of his own family. The cast includes Setareh Abdolmaleki, Zahra Rostami, Amineh Mazroei Arani and Niousha Akhshi Vardoogh.
Production companies are Germany’s Run Way Pictures and France’s Parallel45. Films Boutique is handling worldwide sales rights to the film,...
- 5/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
Nicolas Cage plays the title character of “The Surfer,” but it’s not until the film’s final minute that he climbs onto a surfboard. The movie, while set on a muscle beach in Australia, isn’t about surfing. It’s about male anxiety, male power, male midlife crisis, male rituals of pain and dominance, and how much theater Nicolas Cage can wring out of all of that. “The Surfer” premiered last night at a Cannes midnight show, and that’s smart programming, because it really is a midnight movie — the kind of trippy slapdash comic nightmare where the only way to watch it is to sit back and “go with it.”
Cage makes that easy to do. The film has been designed as a bad-trip psychodrama that’s also a high-camp Nicolas Cage freak-out. I only wish that “The Surfer,” as directed by Lorcan Finnegan and written by Thomas Martin,...
Cage makes that easy to do. The film has been designed as a bad-trip psychodrama that’s also a high-camp Nicolas Cage freak-out. I only wish that “The Surfer,” as directed by Lorcan Finnegan and written by Thomas Martin,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety - Film News
MK2 Films has acquired worldwide rights, including France, to French filmmaker Claude Lanzmann’s films, including his landmark documentary about the Holocaust, “Shoah,” which is inscribed in Unesco’s Memory of the World register. The deal was signed with Les Films Aleph.
“Shoah,” considered one of the most important works in world cinema, tells the story of the genocide of European Jews by the Nazis during World War II. With a duration of nine and a half hours, it is the result of 12 years of research, giving voice to the protagonists of the concentration camps — survivors, perpetrators and bystanders. It was edited over five years from 230 hours of footage and virtually no archival images. The film, first released in 1985, won two BAFTA awards. It is available in a restored 4K version.
In addition to “Shoah,” the agreement also includes five other films by the French filmmaker and writer: “The Karski Report...
“Shoah,” considered one of the most important works in world cinema, tells the story of the genocide of European Jews by the Nazis during World War II. With a duration of nine and a half hours, it is the result of 12 years of research, giving voice to the protagonists of the concentration camps — survivors, perpetrators and bystanders. It was edited over five years from 230 hours of footage and virtually no archival images. The film, first released in 1985, won two BAFTA awards. It is available in a restored 4K version.
In addition to “Shoah,” the agreement also includes five other films by the French filmmaker and writer: “The Karski Report...
- 5/18/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety - Film News
In this instalment of Screen’s Cannes Close-Up interview series, Louis Balsan – EVP for distribution and acquisitions at production, financing, and sales outfit Anton – shares his insider tips for festival novices, and reveals his most memorable Cannes deal that was closed in the tiny cabin of a yacht.
Balsan is in Cannes with stop-motion animation Savages, from My Life As A Zucchini director Claude Barras, which has its world premiere at the festival.
Attendees should “prioritise films and build the rest of your schedule around that and not the other way around,” says Balsan. “The drinks and all – that’s nice.
Balsan is in Cannes with stop-motion animation Savages, from My Life As A Zucchini director Claude Barras, which has its world premiere at the festival.
Attendees should “prioritise films and build the rest of your schedule around that and not the other way around,” says Balsan. “The drinks and all – that’s nice.
- 5/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
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