Sandra Hüller (a Best Actress nominee) and Christian Friedel, stars of Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest — nominated for Best Picture, Best International Picture, Director, Sound, and Adapted Screenplay — are familiar with Shakespeare’s famous verse from Hamlet: ”All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players …” That’s because both thespians have been playing the Danish prince on stages around Germany for years.
Due to Germany’s repertory system in city and state theaters, an actor can revisit an assortment of plays time after time over a number of years.
Friedel tells me that he first played the Dane in 2012. It’s a sort of rock star Hamlet performed with his band, Woods of Birnam. “It can take years until the piece is really finished,” he explains.
He adds that “It changes as you’re getting older,” an experience he feels with movies as well.
Due to Germany’s repertory system in city and state theaters, an actor can revisit an assortment of plays time after time over a number of years.
Friedel tells me that he first played the Dane in 2012. It’s a sort of rock star Hamlet performed with his band, Woods of Birnam. “It can take years until the piece is really finished,” he explains.
He adds that “It changes as you’re getting older,” an experience he feels with movies as well.
- 3/9/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Homegrown hits led by A Moroccan Affair and Championext, an explosion of comedies and the solid performance of several European indies have helped the Spanish box office to withstand the lack of US releases following the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes last year.
Local productions were the highest grossing independent films at the Spanish box office in the year ending February 2024, with Álvaro Fernández Armero’s A Moroccan Affair at the top of the list.
The 2023 Spanish box office total was €504 million, with 77.8 million tickets sold, representing a 26% increase on 2022.
The two biggest Spanish films are both part of existing franchises.
Local productions were the highest grossing independent films at the Spanish box office in the year ending February 2024, with Álvaro Fernández Armero’s A Moroccan Affair at the top of the list.
The 2023 Spanish box office total was €504 million, with 77.8 million tickets sold, representing a 26% increase on 2022.
The two biggest Spanish films are both part of existing franchises.
- 3/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
by Nathaniel R
the great Juliette Binoche announcing Best Actress at the César Awards on Feb 23, 2024 in Paris
This has not been an awards season full of surprises. The expected winners just keep on winning whether we're talking awards bodies in the US, UK, or France. The 49th annual César Awards took place Friday in Paris with the expected winner, Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall, taking home six prizes. The nomination leader, Thomas Cailley's mutant adventure The Animal Kingdom also won multiple prizes with five statues in total... all for craft awards. As expected the stupidly maligned but brilliant Oscar submission The Taste of Things was shut out from any wins after a paltry nomination showing.
The winners of each category and a few comments after the jump... ...
the great Juliette Binoche announcing Best Actress at the César Awards on Feb 23, 2024 in Paris
This has not been an awards season full of surprises. The expected winners just keep on winning whether we're talking awards bodies in the US, UK, or France. The 49th annual César Awards took place Friday in Paris with the expected winner, Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall, taking home six prizes. The nomination leader, Thomas Cailley's mutant adventure The Animal Kingdom also won multiple prizes with five statues in total... all for craft awards. As expected the stupidly maligned but brilliant Oscar submission The Taste of Things was shut out from any wins after a paltry nomination showing.
The winners of each category and a few comments after the jump... ...
- 2/25/2024
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The Taste of Things.How do you solve a riddle like Trần Anh Hùng’s The Taste of Things? Revolving around the professional and romantic companionship between a master chef and his faithful cook, the feature, which won the Vietnamese-French filmmaker the Best Director award at Cannes, enjoys largely rapturous reviews in international press, yet its critical reception in France is much more divisive. Dismissed by publications such as Le Monde, Libération, and Cahiers du cinéma as a “bourgeois” and “old-fashioned” effort, Taste was simultaneously embraced by the right-wing outlet Causeur, which exalts the meat-centric feature as a return to tradition, and a slap in the face to the quinoa-eating, so-called “woke” crowd. To be selected over Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall and other shortlisted nominees as France’s official submission to the Oscars was yet another sin. Months before its cinema release, Taste received an extraordinary amount...
- 1/3/2024
- MUBI
France’s César Academy has unveiled its annual Revelations list showcasing 32 emerging acting talents making their mark in the French-speaking cinema world.
The 16 selected actresses include Suzy Bemba for her performance year in Catherine Corsini’s Homecoming. Bemba was also seen in Venice Golden Lion winner Poor Things this year.
The selection also features Rebecca Marder for Corsica-set thriller Grand Expectations; Garance Marillier, for bio-pic Marinette about French female soccer pioneer Marinette Pichon, and Park Ji-min for her award-winning performance in Return To Seoul.
The actor list includes Milo Machado Graner, who plays the visually impaired son in Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall, Marc Zinga’s for his performance in Belgium’s Oscar entry Omen and Samuel Kircher for Catherine Breillat’s taboo-breaking drama Last Summer. His brother Paul Kircher is also in the selection for The Animal Kingdom.
The talents were selected by a committee of...
The 16 selected actresses include Suzy Bemba for her performance year in Catherine Corsini’s Homecoming. Bemba was also seen in Venice Golden Lion winner Poor Things this year.
The selection also features Rebecca Marder for Corsica-set thriller Grand Expectations; Garance Marillier, for bio-pic Marinette about French female soccer pioneer Marinette Pichon, and Park Ji-min for her award-winning performance in Return To Seoul.
The actor list includes Milo Machado Graner, who plays the visually impaired son in Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall, Marc Zinga’s for his performance in Belgium’s Oscar entry Omen and Samuel Kircher for Catherine Breillat’s taboo-breaking drama Last Summer. His brother Paul Kircher is also in the selection for The Animal Kingdom.
The talents were selected by a committee of...
- 11/16/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
This year’s Telluride Film Festival will be missing its beloved co-founder, Tom Luddy, who died this year. Thus, the 2023 festival is dedicated to Luddy (1943-2023), as well as co-founders Bill Pence (1940-2022), James Card (1915-2000), and Stella Pence. Executive Director Julie Huntsinger, whose role expanded in the years since she joined the festival as managing director in 2007, is running the show solo for the first time.
Per usual, the 50th anniversary Tff edition covers a range of over eighty feature films, new features, shorts, and classic programs representing twenty-nine countries, along with filmmaker tributes, conversations, seminars, and student programs. Huntsinger is carrying on the Luddy legacy while at the same time showcasing her own taste. “Tom was a fearless leader until the bitter end,” said Huntsinger on the phone during a recent interview with IndieWire. “I miss him so much. I’m devoted to tradition and continuity, and I...
Per usual, the 50th anniversary Tff edition covers a range of over eighty feature films, new features, shorts, and classic programs representing twenty-nine countries, along with filmmaker tributes, conversations, seminars, and student programs. Huntsinger is carrying on the Luddy legacy while at the same time showcasing her own taste. “Tom was a fearless leader until the bitter end,” said Huntsinger on the phone during a recent interview with IndieWire. “I miss him so much. I’m devoted to tradition and continuity, and I...
- 8/30/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Former Sierra/Affinity sales head brings Laurel Charnetsky, Dan Stadnicki with her.
Neon has launched a sales division and brought on former Sierra/Affinity sales head Kristen Figeroid to lead the charge.
As president of international sales and distribution Figeroid will handle sales on the company’s production slate and third-party projects and leads a team featuring Laurel Charnetsky as VP, international acquisitions & operations, and Dan Stadnicki as manager, international sales & distribution.
Figeroid most recently served as managing director and EVP of sales & distribution at Sierra/Affinity and was expected to make a big move as that company’s owner eOne...
Neon has launched a sales division and brought on former Sierra/Affinity sales head Kristen Figeroid to lead the charge.
As president of international sales and distribution Figeroid will handle sales on the company’s production slate and third-party projects and leads a team featuring Laurel Charnetsky as VP, international acquisitions & operations, and Dan Stadnicki as manager, international sales & distribution.
Figeroid most recently served as managing director and EVP of sales & distribution at Sierra/Affinity and was expected to make a big move as that company’s owner eOne...
- 8/29/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Following his BIFA nominated feature films Tucked (2019) and Justine (2021), writer/director Jamie Patterson’s latest continues his look into the untold stories of those on the margins in his hometown of Brighton.
Starring up and coming talent George Webster (Disney+ series Wedding Season and upcoming AppleTV+ series Masters of the Air and Paramount+ series The Doll Factory) and Skye Lourie, and featuring Alice Lowe, Joe Wilkinson, April Pearson, Jordan Stephens, Joss Porter, Benedict Garrett and Patrick Bergin, God‘s Petting You is a darkly twisted comedy charged with erotic thriller energy in its exploration of the depths and depravity of the Brighton underworld.
Synopsis:
At a self-help group, cheeky young Charlie, a down on his luck heroin addict, falls in love with the ravishing ‘Tattoo Girl’, a struggling sex addict. Teaming up they hatch a hair-brained scheme to steal a small fortune from a criminally inclined porn star, a plan that’s guaranteed to fail.
Starring up and coming talent George Webster (Disney+ series Wedding Season and upcoming AppleTV+ series Masters of the Air and Paramount+ series The Doll Factory) and Skye Lourie, and featuring Alice Lowe, Joe Wilkinson, April Pearson, Jordan Stephens, Joss Porter, Benedict Garrett and Patrick Bergin, God‘s Petting You is a darkly twisted comedy charged with erotic thriller energy in its exploration of the depths and depravity of the Brighton underworld.
Synopsis:
At a self-help group, cheeky young Charlie, a down on his luck heroin addict, falls in love with the ravishing ‘Tattoo Girl’, a struggling sex addict. Teaming up they hatch a hair-brained scheme to steal a small fortune from a criminally inclined porn star, a plan that’s guaranteed to fail.
- 6/20/2023
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
New film from Wei Shujun was a late addition to Cannes’ Un Certain Regard Selection.
Paris-based mk2 films has boarded Wei Shujun’s Only The River Flows following the film’s late addition to Cannes’ Un Certain Regard Selection.
The film, based on Yu Hua’s short novel Mistakes By The River, follows a chief of police as he investigates a series of murders in a riverside town in rural China in the 1990s. Though an arrest is made quickly, clues push the policeman to delve deeper into the hidden behaviour of the locals and piece together the truth. The...
Paris-based mk2 films has boarded Wei Shujun’s Only The River Flows following the film’s late addition to Cannes’ Un Certain Regard Selection.
The film, based on Yu Hua’s short novel Mistakes By The River, follows a chief of police as he investigates a series of murders in a riverside town in rural China in the 1990s. Though an arrest is made quickly, clues push the policeman to delve deeper into the hidden behaviour of the locals and piece together the truth. The...
- 4/25/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
With the passing of Anna Karina, a curtain has fallen on the French New Wave, that fabled cinematic movement that brought fame to the man who made her name, Jean-Luc Godard. Yes, Godard is still with us, as is “Breathless” star Jean-Paul Belmondo (practically the last of the living New Wave legends), but his moviemaking compatriots François Truffaut, Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Jacques Demy, and, most recently, Agnès Varda are gone, and with them the spirit of playful abandon that Karina perfectly embodied.
In such Godard classics as “A Woman is a Woman,” “Pierrot le Fou,” “Alphaville,” and “Made in USA,” Karina appeared as a gamine and a femme fatale at the same time. Not since Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich had there been a director-and-star tandem so potent. The closest to it would be Philippe Garrel’s partnership with Nico — although the avant-garde blue plate specials made by...
In such Godard classics as “A Woman is a Woman,” “Pierrot le Fou,” “Alphaville,” and “Made in USA,” Karina appeared as a gamine and a femme fatale at the same time. Not since Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich had there been a director-and-star tandem so potent. The closest to it would be Philippe Garrel’s partnership with Nico — although the avant-garde blue plate specials made by...
- 12/16/2019
- by David Ehrenstein
- Variety Film + TV
No, not a blind Sherlock Holmes, but a blind Van Johnson, who directs his butler, his girlfriend Vera Miles and the London police to thwart a crime based on something he overheard in a bar. Henry Hathaway directs a complicated murder mystery that plays like a combo of Rear Window and Wait Until Dark, with a cranky Van Johnson as the central character.
23 Paces to Baker Street
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1956 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date February 21, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Van Johnson, Vera Miles, Cecil Parker, Patricia Laffan, Maurice Denham, Estelle Winwood, Liam Redmond, Isobel Elsom, Martin Benson, Queenie Leonard.
Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Film Editor: James B. Clark
Original Music: Leigh Harline
Written by Nigel Balchin from the novel Warrant for X by Philip MacDonald
Produced by Henry Ephron
Directed by Henry Hathaway
In the 1950s the murder mystery thriller came of age, as creakier older formulas...
23 Paces to Baker Street
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1956 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date February 21, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Van Johnson, Vera Miles, Cecil Parker, Patricia Laffan, Maurice Denham, Estelle Winwood, Liam Redmond, Isobel Elsom, Martin Benson, Queenie Leonard.
Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Film Editor: James B. Clark
Original Music: Leigh Harline
Written by Nigel Balchin from the novel Warrant for X by Philip MacDonald
Produced by Henry Ephron
Directed by Henry Hathaway
In the 1950s the murder mystery thriller came of age, as creakier older formulas...
- 3/25/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By Todd Garbarini
Update: Producer Ilya Salkind now also slated to appear.
Richard Lester’s film The Four Musketeers is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. With an all-star cast that includes Oliver Reed, Faye Dunaway, Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, and Sir Christopher Lee, the film will be shown on Tuesday, September 29th, 2015 at 7:00 pm as a special tribute to Sir Christopher as well as part of the theatre's Anniversary Classics series. Actors Richard Chamberlain and Michael York are scheduled to appear at the screening and take part in a Q & A and discussion on the making of the film.
From the press release:
Last year the Anniversary Classics series presented a successful 40th anniversary screening of The Three Musketeers, director Richard Lester's stylish and entertaining retelling of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel. Join us this year to see Lester's stirring conclusion of the tale, The Four Musketeers...
Update: Producer Ilya Salkind now also slated to appear.
Richard Lester’s film The Four Musketeers is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. With an all-star cast that includes Oliver Reed, Faye Dunaway, Raquel Welch, Richard Chamberlain, Michael York, and Sir Christopher Lee, the film will be shown on Tuesday, September 29th, 2015 at 7:00 pm as a special tribute to Sir Christopher as well as part of the theatre's Anniversary Classics series. Actors Richard Chamberlain and Michael York are scheduled to appear at the screening and take part in a Q & A and discussion on the making of the film.
From the press release:
Last year the Anniversary Classics series presented a successful 40th anniversary screening of The Three Musketeers, director Richard Lester's stylish and entertaining retelling of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel. Join us this year to see Lester's stirring conclusion of the tale, The Four Musketeers...
- 9/1/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has unveiled its 2015 line-up which includes films representing 54 countries, 23 world premieres and 53 U.S. premieres. The U.S. premiere of Niki Caro’s McFarland USA will close out the 30th fest. Based on the 1987 true story and starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello, the film follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school. The unlikely band of runners overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well.
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
- 1/8/2015
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline
Every year, we here at Sound On Sight celebrate the month of October with 31 Days of Horror; and every year, I update the list of my favourite horror films ever made. Last year, I released a list that included 150 picks. This year, I’ll be upgrading the list, making minor alterations, changing the rankings, adding new entries, and possibly removing a few titles. I’ve also decided to publish each post backwards this time for one reason: the new additions appear lower on my list, whereas my top 50 haven’t changed much, except for maybe in ranking. Enjoy!
****
Special Mention:
Shock Corridor
Written and directed by Samuel Fuller
USA, 1963
Shock Corridor stars Peter Breck as Johnny Barrett, an ambitious reporter who wants to expose the killer at the local insane asylum. To solve the case, he must pretend to be insane so they have him committed. Once in the asylum,...
****
Special Mention:
Shock Corridor
Written and directed by Samuel Fuller
USA, 1963
Shock Corridor stars Peter Breck as Johnny Barrett, an ambitious reporter who wants to expose the killer at the local insane asylum. To solve the case, he must pretend to be insane so they have him committed. Once in the asylum,...
- 10/28/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Beginning on Halloween night and running through November 7th, New York's Lincoln Center is once again playing host to a horror film festival called Scary Movies, which will see both world premieres of new horror films as well as screenings of genre faves from the past.
With oodles of filmmakers in attendance, and tons of movies being shown, it looks to be another can't miss event. Read on for all the details!
From the Press Release
The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s annual horror fest Scary Movies returns for its 7th edition featuring several U.S. and New York City premieres among its lineup of highly anticipated horror films and thrillers, genre rarities and fan favorites. Appearances include filmmakers Eli Roth, Andrew van den Houten, Cliff Prowse and Derek Lee.
Among the nine U.S. or NYC premieres are; Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson’s high school horror-revenge film...
With oodles of filmmakers in attendance, and tons of movies being shown, it looks to be another can't miss event. Read on for all the details!
From the Press Release
The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s annual horror fest Scary Movies returns for its 7th edition featuring several U.S. and New York City premieres among its lineup of highly anticipated horror films and thrillers, genre rarities and fan favorites. Appearances include filmmakers Eli Roth, Andrew van den Houten, Cliff Prowse and Derek Lee.
Among the nine U.S. or NYC premieres are; Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson’s high school horror-revenge film...
- 10/16/2013
- by John Squires
- DreadCentral.com
Dirk Bogarde: ‘Victim’ star took no prisoners in his letters to Dilys Powell Letters exchanged between film critic Dilys Powell and actor Dirk Bogarde — one of the most popular and respected British performers of the twentieth century, and the star of seminal movies such as Victim, The Servant, Darling, and Death in Venice — reveals that Bogarde was considerably more caustic and opinionated in his letters than in his (quite bland) autobiographies. (Photo: Dirk Bogarde ca. 1970.) As found in Dirk Bogarde’s letters acquired a few years ago by the British Library, among the victims of the Victim star (sorry) were Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave (Julia), a "ninny" who was “so utterly beastly to [Steaming director Joseph Losey] that he finally threw his script at her face”; and veteran stage and screen actor — and Academy Award winner — John Gielgud (Arthur), who couldn’t "understand half of Shakespeare" despite being renowned for his stage roles in Macbeth,...
- 9/23/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Andrew Sarris, a leading movie critic during a golden age for reviewers who popularized the French reverence for directors and inspired debate about countless films and filmmakers, died Wednesday. He was 83.
Sarris died at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan after complications developed from a stomach virus, according to his wife, film critic Molly Haskell.
Sarris was best known for his work with the Village Voice, his opinions especially vital during the 1960s and 1970s, when movies became films, or even cinema, and critics and fans argued about them the way they once might have contended over paintings or novels.
No longer was the big screen just entertainment. Thanks to film studies courses and revival houses, movies were analyzed in classrooms and in cafes. Audiences discovered such foreign directors as Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman, rediscovered older works by Howard Hawks, John Ford and others from Hollywood, and...
Sarris died at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan after complications developed from a stomach virus, according to his wife, film critic Molly Haskell.
Sarris was best known for his work with the Village Voice, his opinions especially vital during the 1960s and 1970s, when movies became films, or even cinema, and critics and fans argued about them the way they once might have contended over paintings or novels.
No longer was the big screen just entertainment. Thanks to film studies courses and revival houses, movies were analyzed in classrooms and in cafes. Audiences discovered such foreign directors as Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman, rediscovered older works by Howard Hawks, John Ford and others from Hollywood, and...
- 6/20/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Robert Forster, Denise Grayson Oscar-nominated Actor Robert Forster, soon to be seen supporting George Clooney in Alexander Payne's likely Oscar contender The Descendants, is seen with actress Denise Grayson attend the 2011 Governors Awards in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood, on Saturday, November 12. [Photo: Matt Petit / ©A.M.P.A.S.] James Earl Jones was a long-distance Honorary Oscar honoree (Jones was in London, appearing onstage with Vanessa Redgrave); makeup artist Dick Smith (The Godfather Part II), however, was present at the ceremony to receive his Honorary Oscar. Oprah Winfrey was the recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Robert Forster was a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee for Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown (1997). Forster's other film credits include John Huston's Reflections in a Golden Eye, Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool, and George Cukor's Justine. Among Denise Grayson's movie credits is David Fincher's critically acclaimed The Social Network.
- 11/17/2011
- by D. Zhea
- Alt Film Guide
Lars von Trier's would-be apocalyptic take on the end of the world is a narcissistic and humourless exercise
Woody Allen once said: "If I had to live my life again I'd do everything the same, except that I wouldn't see The Magus." By the same token, if I was told that the end of the world was nigh, I wouldn't waste my time seeing Melancholia, Lars von Trier's celebration of the imminent extinction of planet Earth. I'd do something more pleasurable like taking an axe to a cigarette machine and smoking my first fag for 40 years, an activity I still associate with movie-going.
However, I did nearly end my own life last Tuesday by the exertion entailed in walking from the eastern side of Covent Garden to the western end of Soho in 10 minutes, due to the distributors' bad planning of the press viewings. Breathing what seemed like my last,...
Woody Allen once said: "If I had to live my life again I'd do everything the same, except that I wouldn't see The Magus." By the same token, if I was told that the end of the world was nigh, I wouldn't waste my time seeing Melancholia, Lars von Trier's celebration of the imminent extinction of planet Earth. I'd do something more pleasurable like taking an axe to a cigarette machine and smoking my first fag for 40 years, an activity I still associate with movie-going.
However, I did nearly end my own life last Tuesday by the exertion entailed in walking from the eastern side of Covent Garden to the western end of Soho in 10 minutes, due to the distributors' bad planning of the press viewings. Breathing what seemed like my last,...
- 10/1/2011
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
The grand George Cukor, after such works as The Women, Camille, and Sylvia Scarlett were released, was branded a "women's director." There's no question he knew how to make his female leads shimmer as if they were residing in the firmament and not just on the screen. That's one rumored reason why he was released from Gone with the Wind. Apparently, Clark Gable was afraid he might be overshadowed by his female lead if Cukor did the helming.
Gable would no doubt have had a similar jitteriness with Lars von Trier, who after Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, and Antichrist, has merited the moniker of "depressed women's director." No one else since Ingmar Bergman and Chantal Akerman has so consistently and illustriously particularized the disintegration of females stuck in an interminable, patriarchal dystopia.
Sounds glum? Have no fear. Watching the despondent despond is not a joyless experience when a master is in control,...
Gable would no doubt have had a similar jitteriness with Lars von Trier, who after Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, and Antichrist, has merited the moniker of "depressed women's director." No one else since Ingmar Bergman and Chantal Akerman has so consistently and illustriously particularized the disintegration of females stuck in an interminable, patriarchal dystopia.
Sounds glum? Have no fear. Watching the despondent despond is not a joyless experience when a master is in control,...
- 9/30/2011
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Machine Gun Preacher
Opens: 2011
Cast: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon, Madeline Carroll, Kathy Baker
Director: Marc Forster
Summary: After finding God, drug-dealing biker Sam Childers renounces his outlaw ways and embarks on a spiritual path, becoming a crusader for hundreds of desperate and helpless children who were being forced to become soldiers in war-torn southern Sudan.
Analysis: Despite taking the freshly rejuvenated James Bond franchise and nearly destroying it with the very disappointing "Quantum of Solace", German-Swiss filmmaker Marc Forster still has a decent amount of good will left thanks to strong earlier efforts like "Monster's Ball," "Finding Neverland," "Stranger Than Fiction" and "The Kite Runner".
Now, in his first film since that Bond outing, Forster returns to serious drama with this true story tale of a biker who became a humanitarian crusader for children in the Sudan. The story itself is fascinating, the born again Sam Childers and...
Opens: 2011
Cast: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon, Madeline Carroll, Kathy Baker
Director: Marc Forster
Summary: After finding God, drug-dealing biker Sam Childers renounces his outlaw ways and embarks on a spiritual path, becoming a crusader for hundreds of desperate and helpless children who were being forced to become soldiers in war-torn southern Sudan.
Analysis: Despite taking the freshly rejuvenated James Bond franchise and nearly destroying it with the very disappointing "Quantum of Solace", German-Swiss filmmaker Marc Forster still has a decent amount of good will left thanks to strong earlier efforts like "Monster's Ball," "Finding Neverland," "Stranger Than Fiction" and "The Kite Runner".
Now, in his first film since that Bond outing, Forster returns to serious drama with this true story tale of a biker who became a humanitarian crusader for children in the Sudan. The story itself is fascinating, the born again Sam Childers and...
- 1/17/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Maverick director best known for his film of Ulysses – widely seen as a noble failure
There must be something quixotic about a director who sets out to make a film of James Joyce's Ulysses. A passionate Joycean, Joseph Strick, who has died aged 86, was undeterred by the challenge and the obstacles: "Even before I made it, people were saying it was unfilmable. I think the truth is, some people just find the book unreadable."
The iconoclastic Strick first envisaged an 18-hour version, faithful to every word, but unsurprisingly he could not get anyone to finance it. When the final two-hour version, shot in Dublin, was completed in 1967, it fell foul of censorship – just like the novel. The British Board of Film Censors requested 29 cuts to remove sexual references from Molly Bloom's final, expletive-laden soliloquy. Strick obliged by replacing all of the offending footage with a blank screen and a high-pitched shrieking sound.
There must be something quixotic about a director who sets out to make a film of James Joyce's Ulysses. A passionate Joycean, Joseph Strick, who has died aged 86, was undeterred by the challenge and the obstacles: "Even before I made it, people were saying it was unfilmable. I think the truth is, some people just find the book unreadable."
The iconoclastic Strick first envisaged an 18-hour version, faithful to every word, but unsurprisingly he could not get anyone to finance it. When the final two-hour version, shot in Dublin, was completed in 1967, it fell foul of censorship – just like the novel. The British Board of Film Censors requested 29 cuts to remove sexual references from Molly Bloom's final, expletive-laden soliloquy. Strick obliged by replacing all of the offending footage with a blank screen and a high-pitched shrieking sound.
- 6/17/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
In Dread Central's effort to promote independent horror, have we got the goods on a great horror film festival in Las Vegas! From May 12-16th Sci-Fi Center at 2520 State Street, Las Vegas, Nv 89109, will be hosting The Polly Staffle Grindhouse Fest (aka PollyGrind), which includes 30 different films with five world premieres, seven Las Vegas premieres, and one U.S. premiere. There will also be a ton of music videos and trailers and more horror-related goods for you to feast your eyes on.
Read on for the full line-up, and look for more from Dread Central on PollyGrind (click here for the official site) soon!
Wednesday, May 12
Post-apocalyptic Nightmares (Double Feature)
Hosted By Heather Wixson Of Dreadcentral.Com
5:30 p.m.
Vendor tables open
7 p.m.
Trailer - Michael Ramova’s Soldier Killer (30 seconds) (World Premiere)
Trailer - Michael Ramova’s The Texas Chainsaw Champion (1:23 minutes) (World Premiere)
Trailer...
Read on for the full line-up, and look for more from Dread Central on PollyGrind (click here for the official site) soon!
Wednesday, May 12
Post-apocalyptic Nightmares (Double Feature)
Hosted By Heather Wixson Of Dreadcentral.Com
5:30 p.m.
Vendor tables open
7 p.m.
Trailer - Michael Ramova’s Soldier Killer (30 seconds) (World Premiere)
Trailer - Michael Ramova’s The Texas Chainsaw Champion (1:23 minutes) (World Premiere)
Trailer...
- 4/20/2010
- by thehorrorchick
- DreadCentral.com
Jack Hirshberg, the iconic publicist who worked on dozens of films and chronicled a golden age in Hollywood, died at his home in Laguna Niguel, Calif., on March 7 after a brief illness. He was 92.
His death was announced Friday by family spokesperson Spooky Stevens.
A native of Montreal, Hirshberg began his career as a newspaper reporter in the 1930s, becoming a syndicated columnist with "Hirshberg's Hollywood," which ran throughout Canada. He was a founding member of the Publicists Guild of America in 1937 and worked on such films as "The Ten Commandments," "Some Like It Hot," "Play It Again, Sam," "All the President's Men" and "Ordinary People."
Hirshberg also represented such notables as Frank Sinatra, Jack Benny, Gary Cooper, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Martin & Lewis and Cecil B. DeMille.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences maintains a special collection of the Hirshberg Papers, Spanning the years 1953-80, they include hundreds of articles,...
His death was announced Friday by family spokesperson Spooky Stevens.
A native of Montreal, Hirshberg began his career as a newspaper reporter in the 1930s, becoming a syndicated columnist with "Hirshberg's Hollywood," which ran throughout Canada. He was a founding member of the Publicists Guild of America in 1937 and worked on such films as "The Ten Commandments," "Some Like It Hot," "Play It Again, Sam," "All the President's Men" and "Ordinary People."
Hirshberg also represented such notables as Frank Sinatra, Jack Benny, Gary Cooper, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Martin & Lewis and Cecil B. DeMille.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences maintains a special collection of the Hirshberg Papers, Spanning the years 1953-80, they include hundreds of articles,...
- 3/19/2010
- by By Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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