Death takes the most unexpected of forms in “Tuesday,” a sui generis debut from Croatian director Daina O. Pusić. Her strikingly original if occasionally counterintuitive film brings the central idea of Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal” into the modern era — trying to stall Death, if only for a matter of hours — anchored by a committed performance from a curiously miscast Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
According to Pusić’s singular imagination, Death isn’t a scythe-wielding skeleton, nor a winged figure in a pitch-black plague cloak. Rather, it appears as a ruddy-colored, computer-generated macaw with a rumbling Darth Vader-esque bass (performed by Arinzé Kene), his words low like glaciers calving and a syntax like Jabba the Hutt. Why a macaw? It seems that these exotic parrots are harbingers of death in some cultures. This one — an intimidating red bird that can shrink and swell at will — hears the cries of dying...
According to Pusić’s singular imagination, Death isn’t a scythe-wielding skeleton, nor a winged figure in a pitch-black plague cloak. Rather, it appears as a ruddy-colored, computer-generated macaw with a rumbling Darth Vader-esque bass (performed by Arinzé Kene), his words low like glaciers calving and a syntax like Jabba the Hutt. Why a macaw? It seems that these exotic parrots are harbingers of death in some cultures. This one — an intimidating red bird that can shrink and swell at will — hears the cries of dying...
- 6/7/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Martin Starger, a producer for such films as Robert Altman’s Nashville and Peter Bogdanovich’s Mask, died Friday at 92 in his Los Angeles home of natural causes. His death was confirmed by his niece, casting director Ilene Starger.
“He was a brilliant, elegant, remarkable man,” Starger said. “He had wonderful taste in projects, and, on a highly personal level, he was like a father to me, given that his older brother, my father, died very suddenly when I was a teenager.”
As the first president of ABC Entertainment, he helped bring such projects as Roots, Happy Days and Rich Man, Poor Man to television.
As an executive producer, Starger worked on films including Stanley Donen’s Movie Movie (1978), Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata, The Muppet Movie (1979) and The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Mark Rydell’s On Golden Pond (1981), The Last Unicorn (1982) and Alan J. Pakula’s Sophie’s Choice (1982).
Martin...
“He was a brilliant, elegant, remarkable man,” Starger said. “He had wonderful taste in projects, and, on a highly personal level, he was like a father to me, given that his older brother, my father, died very suddenly when I was a teenager.”
As the first president of ABC Entertainment, he helped bring such projects as Roots, Happy Days and Rich Man, Poor Man to television.
As an executive producer, Starger worked on films including Stanley Donen’s Movie Movie (1978), Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata, The Muppet Movie (1979) and The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Mark Rydell’s On Golden Pond (1981), The Last Unicorn (1982) and Alan J. Pakula’s Sophie’s Choice (1982).
Martin...
- 6/1/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Martin Starger, who shepherded Roots, Happy Days and Rich Man, Poor Man as the first president of ABC Entertainment before producing such films as Robert Altman’s Nashville and Peter Bogdanovich’s Mask, has died. He was 92.
Starger died Friday at his home in Los Angeles, his niece, New York-based casting director Ilene Starger, announced. “He was a brilliant, elegant, remarkable man and had wonderful taste in projects,” she noted.
As an executive producer, Starger worked on films including Stanley Donen’s Movie Movie (1978), Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata, The Muppet Movie (1979) and The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Mark Rydell’s On Golden Pond (1981), The Last Unicorn (1982) and Alan J. Pakula’s Sophie’s Choice (1982)
He received Tony nominations in 1987 and 1989 for producing the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Starlight Express and the comedy Lend Me a Tenor, respectively,
Starger was born on May 8, 1932, in the Bronx, New York. After graduating from City College,...
Starger died Friday at his home in Los Angeles, his niece, New York-based casting director Ilene Starger, announced. “He was a brilliant, elegant, remarkable man and had wonderful taste in projects,” she noted.
As an executive producer, Starger worked on films including Stanley Donen’s Movie Movie (1978), Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata, The Muppet Movie (1979) and The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Mark Rydell’s On Golden Pond (1981), The Last Unicorn (1982) and Alan J. Pakula’s Sophie’s Choice (1982)
He received Tony nominations in 1987 and 1989 for producing the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Starlight Express and the comedy Lend Me a Tenor, respectively,
Starger was born on May 8, 1932, in the Bronx, New York. After graduating from City College,...
- 6/1/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cannes awards have become hugely influential in subsequent awards races, especially the Oscars. The top honor, the Palme d’Or, confers prestige and a stamp of approval — this year from the Competition jury led by multi hyphenate Greta Gerwig — that awards voters take seriously.
Palme winners “Parasite,” “Triangle of Sadness,” and “Anatomy of a Fall” were all Best Picture Oscar contenders and won Oscars. And they were all picked up by specialty distributor Neon before they won their Cannes prize. Neon did not break its streak. It acquired two eventual prize-winners before the closing ceremony: Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner “Anora,” the first American film to win the prize since Terence Malick’s “Tree of Life” in 2011, and Iranian dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” which took home a special award.
Thus “Anora,” from veteran indie filmmaker Baker (Cannes entry “The Florida Project...
Palme winners “Parasite,” “Triangle of Sadness,” and “Anatomy of a Fall” were all Best Picture Oscar contenders and won Oscars. And they were all picked up by specialty distributor Neon before they won their Cannes prize. Neon did not break its streak. It acquired two eventual prize-winners before the closing ceremony: Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner “Anora,” the first American film to win the prize since Terence Malick’s “Tree of Life” in 2011, and Iranian dissident filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” which took home a special award.
Thus “Anora,” from veteran indie filmmaker Baker (Cannes entry “The Florida Project...
- 5/26/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Sean Baker’s “Anora” has won the Palme d’Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, a jury headed by Greta Gerwig announced on Saturday.
The win for Baker’s freewheeling film about a stripper and the son of a Russian oligarch becomes the fifth consecutive Palme winner to be distributed by Neon, which previously handled “Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Triangle of Sadness,” “Titane” and “Parasite.”
TheWrap’s review said of the film, “It’s one of the most entertaining movies to play in Cannes this year, and also one of the most confounding: part character study of the title character (Mikey Madison), a sex worker from Brighton Beach who falls for rich Russian playboy Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn); part look into the world of the super-rich, an arena Baker has studiously avoided in films like ‘Tangerine,’ ‘The Florida Project’ and ‘Red Rocket’; part escalating nightmare comedy reminiscent of ’80s gems...
The win for Baker’s freewheeling film about a stripper and the son of a Russian oligarch becomes the fifth consecutive Palme winner to be distributed by Neon, which previously handled “Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Triangle of Sadness,” “Titane” and “Parasite.”
TheWrap’s review said of the film, “It’s one of the most entertaining movies to play in Cannes this year, and also one of the most confounding: part character study of the title character (Mikey Madison), a sex worker from Brighton Beach who falls for rich Russian playboy Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn); part look into the world of the super-rich, an arena Baker has studiously avoided in films like ‘Tangerine,’ ‘The Florida Project’ and ‘Red Rocket’; part escalating nightmare comedy reminiscent of ’80s gems...
- 5/25/2024
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Almost everyone is aware of the unsettling feeling of being observed while doing something, which can shake one’s confidence regardless of their skill or expertise. And filmmaker Denis Villeneuve also experienced this while working on the sequel of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi film, Blade Runner. Released in 1982, the original movie received mixed reviews upon its release. However, it would later go on to become a cult hit.
Denis Villeneuve on the sets of Blade Runner 2049 | Credit: Warner Bros.
Decades after the original film’s release, the sequel of the film finally went into production with Villeneuve taking the directorial duties and Scott serving as an executive producer. However, his constant presence on the set was not a very pleasing experience for the Dune director, who politely asked Scott to leave without directly saying it.
Denis Villeneuve Felt Uncomfortable Directing Blade Runner 2049 in Presence of Ridley Scott
In a conversation with Deadline,...
Denis Villeneuve on the sets of Blade Runner 2049 | Credit: Warner Bros.
Decades after the original film’s release, the sequel of the film finally went into production with Villeneuve taking the directorial duties and Scott serving as an executive producer. However, his constant presence on the set was not a very pleasing experience for the Dune director, who politely asked Scott to leave without directly saying it.
Denis Villeneuve Felt Uncomfortable Directing Blade Runner 2049 in Presence of Ridley Scott
In a conversation with Deadline,...
- 5/25/2024
- by Laxmi Rajput
- FandomWire
The dogged pursuit of the relationship unicorn that is the good break-up informs the wit and winking wisdom of Jonás Trueba’s “The Other Way Around,” a delightful showcase for the Spanish director’s lithe, airy style, here accented with glistening strands of Madrileño meta-melancholy. A hip, popular twosome decide to call it quits after 14 years, cuing a very funny yet properly grown-up portrait of the ideal couple trying to smoothe, and even to celebrate, their transition into ideal exes. It’s the celebration aspect that will prove their undoing. If the good breakup is rare, the joyous breakup is completely mythical.
Filmmaker Ale (Itsaso Arana) and her actor boyfriend of 14 years Alex (Vito Sanz) have decided — mutually, they insist — to pack their bags for Splitsville. They lie in the dark in their still-shared bed with a poignant politeness recognizable to anyone who has similarly ended a longterm relationship prior to canceling a longterm lease.
Filmmaker Ale (Itsaso Arana) and her actor boyfriend of 14 years Alex (Vito Sanz) have decided — mutually, they insist — to pack their bags for Splitsville. They lie in the dark in their still-shared bed with a poignant politeness recognizable to anyone who has similarly ended a longterm relationship prior to canceling a longterm lease.
- 5/23/2024
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Few periods on the calendar mean more to cinephiles than the two weekends in May occupied by the Cannes Film Festival. Since its founding in 1946, the French festival has been a launchpad for some of the most artistically significant films of all time. The Palme d’Or is one of the most coveted film awards on the planet, and the festival’s ability to balance subversive arthouse work with major Hollywood premieres has led many to view it as the world’s most significant celebration of cinema.
The 2024 lineup featured a mix of buzzy premieres from New Hollywood titans like Francis Ford Coppola and Paul Schrader alongside exciting new works from emerging directors. Between the Main Competition, Un Certain Regard, special screenings, and sidebars like the Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week, the onslaught of new films can be overwhelming for anyone who isn’t able to give the festival their 24/7 attention.
The 2024 lineup featured a mix of buzzy premieres from New Hollywood titans like Francis Ford Coppola and Paul Schrader alongside exciting new works from emerging directors. Between the Main Competition, Un Certain Regard, special screenings, and sidebars like the Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week, the onslaught of new films can be overwhelming for anyone who isn’t able to give the festival their 24/7 attention.
- 5/23/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, the grandson of cinema legends Liv Ullmann and Ingmar Bergman, “tried everything else” before ultimately deciding to become a filmmaker himself.
“I was like, I’m not going to do that because it has been done in my family,” he told IndieWire at the Cannes Film Festival, where he debuted his first feature, the tense psychodrama “Armand,” set entirely within the walls of a private school amid a meeting of disgruntled parents. “They have done alright.”
That is an understatement, and Tøndel was eager to not follow in their footsteps. Still, after taking a university course that involved filmmaking, he couldn’t resist. “I felt so good doing that, and then I applied to film school and after that I never looked back,” said Tøndel, who studied at Westerdals School of Arts. “I felt so alive, and I felt so me.”
“Armand,” which premiered in Un Certain Regard,...
“I was like, I’m not going to do that because it has been done in my family,” he told IndieWire at the Cannes Film Festival, where he debuted his first feature, the tense psychodrama “Armand,” set entirely within the walls of a private school amid a meeting of disgruntled parents. “They have done alright.”
That is an understatement, and Tøndel was eager to not follow in their footsteps. Still, after taking a university course that involved filmmaking, he couldn’t resist. “I felt so good doing that, and then I applied to film school and after that I never looked back,” said Tøndel, who studied at Westerdals School of Arts. “I felt so alive, and I felt so me.”
“Armand,” which premiered in Un Certain Regard,...
- 5/23/2024
- by Esther Zuckerman
- Indiewire
There’s one very good scene in “Armand,” the first movie written and directed by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, who is the grandson of Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann. We’re inside a primary school in Norway. Elisabeth, the mother of a student, has been summoned to the school to appear before a panel of teachers. She’s informed, in dribs and drabs, that her six-year-old son, Armand, may have sexually abused one of his classmates. Since Elisabeth believes that she has a well-adjusted son, and that a six-year-old can’t be guilty of abuse in any predatory way, she fixes her interrogators with a look of skeptical contempt. And after she’s been grilled about a series of what strike her as trivial micro transgressions, she starts to laugh. In fact, she can’t stop laughing.
Elisabeth is played by Renate Reinsve, who reached a new peak of prominence with...
Elisabeth is played by Renate Reinsve, who reached a new peak of prominence with...
- 5/22/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Norwegian writer-director Halfdan Ullmann Tondel takes some big swings with his first feature Armand, not all of which connect, but the ambition and risk-taking are largely impressive.
A single-setting drama that unfolds in an echo-filled elementary school after hours, it stars Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World) as local celebrity Elisabeth, the mother of never-met Armand, a first-grade boy who is accused by his classmate Jon, also never seen, of sexual abuse.
When the boys’ teacher and key school staffers call a meeting with parents to decide the next steps, Elisabeth clashes with Jon’s parents, Sarah (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) and Anders (Endre Hellestveit), although not all is as it seems. The basic setup recalls, among other stories about accusations, Roman Polanski’s adaptation of stage play Carnage, but Armand gets much weirder as it goes on, with choreographed dance sequences and melodramatic revelations that feel contrived and...
A single-setting drama that unfolds in an echo-filled elementary school after hours, it stars Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World) as local celebrity Elisabeth, the mother of never-met Armand, a first-grade boy who is accused by his classmate Jon, also never seen, of sexual abuse.
When the boys’ teacher and key school staffers call a meeting with parents to decide the next steps, Elisabeth clashes with Jon’s parents, Sarah (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) and Anders (Endre Hellestveit), although not all is as it seems. The basic setup recalls, among other stories about accusations, Roman Polanski’s adaptation of stage play Carnage, but Armand gets much weirder as it goes on, with choreographed dance sequences and melodramatic revelations that feel contrived and...
- 5/22/2024
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
How is a child’s life different from that of adults today? What is it like growing up around stimuli, in a world that is always-online, and with varying degrees of supervision? Is complete safeguarding even possible? These are questions contemporary cinema has been asking a lot in the last few years. Many classroom dramas, including 2023’s The Teacher’s Lounge, have explored complex ways the in-and-out-of-school dynamics intertwine, usually through the prism of a single incident. Armand, by Halfdan Ullmann Tønde, opts for that micro-as-macro approach and refuses to pass any judgment. As a result the film stays in this moral limbo between truth and lie, accusation and defense, instead zooming into its characters’ psychological states. Elisabeth (Renate Reinsve) has been summoned to an emergency parent-teacher meeting after her six-year-old son Armand is accused of crossing boundaries with his classmate Jon. What actually happened, we do not know.
Armand...
Armand...
- 5/21/2024
- by Savina Petkova
- The Film Stage
Breaking Up is Hard To Do: Trueba Reinvents Couple Goals
Gloriously reminding us that we are doomed to repeat the same existential mundane experiences, in an
amuse bouche format with winks to Danish philosopher Sören Kierkegaard and relationship woe cinema that was Ingmar Bergman, Spanish filmmaker Jonás Trueba reshuffles the deck of (tarot) cards that is couplehood in the highly creative relationship comedy concept adorned with some meta cinema references. Reworking with the very likeable screen pairing thesps of Itsaso Arana and Vito San (also featured in Trueba’s previous number The August Virgin), The Other Way Around (which goes by the title Volveréis – which means “you will return” in Spanish) is a Kinder Surprise for how life imitates art, and how the couple-hood we see on screen might just be mordant live example of what is le passé composé.…...
Gloriously reminding us that we are doomed to repeat the same existential mundane experiences, in an
amuse bouche format with winks to Danish philosopher Sören Kierkegaard and relationship woe cinema that was Ingmar Bergman, Spanish filmmaker Jonás Trueba reshuffles the deck of (tarot) cards that is couplehood in the highly creative relationship comedy concept adorned with some meta cinema references. Reworking with the very likeable screen pairing thesps of Itsaso Arana and Vito San (also featured in Trueba’s previous number The August Virgin), The Other Way Around (which goes by the title Volveréis – which means “you will return” in Spanish) is a Kinder Surprise for how life imitates art, and how the couple-hood we see on screen might just be mordant live example of what is le passé composé.…...
- 5/20/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Three years ago, Cannes audiences fell in love with Renata Reinsve, the titular star of Norwegian competition entry The Worst Person in the World. Chances are, they won’t be quite as well disposed to her character in this austere drama from fellow countryman Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, grandson of Norwegian actress Liv Ullman and Swedish auteur Ingmar Bergman. Tøndel’s lineage should give you a fair idea of what’s in store here, but, surprisingly, Armand doesn’t dig especially deep into the human psyche, finally falling into a strange no man’s land between intense character drama and jet-black comedy.
Reinsve plays Elisabeth, and as we suspect from the opening sequence, in which she puts the pedal to the metal down a leafy country road, Elisabeth is, literally, a drama queen, an actress still wearing the hooped earrings she needs to play her latest part. She has been summoned...
Reinsve plays Elisabeth, and as we suspect from the opening sequence, in which she puts the pedal to the metal down a leafy country road, Elisabeth is, literally, a drama queen, an actress still wearing the hooped earrings she needs to play her latest part. She has been summoned...
- 5/18/2024
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Like any Christmas film worth the time it took to wrap, Tyler Taormina’s wry but melancholy “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” has a bone-deep understanding of why all the best holidays are so painfully bittersweet: They bring the evanescence of our lives into focus, crystallizing the passage of time, while slowing it down just enough for us to appreciate how much of it has already melted into memory. Unlike the rest of its way too crowded genre, Taormina’s contribution has precious little interest in doing anything else.
And god bless this movie for that, because its tinselly charm depends on conjuring a feeling so pure and hyper-specific that even the slightest flurry of a plot might threaten to dilute the effect. Even more so than Taormina’s previous features, “Christmas in Miller’s Point” is just happy to be an immaculately conceived vibe.
Instead of scenes, there are fleeting glimpses.
And god bless this movie for that, because its tinselly charm depends on conjuring a feeling so pure and hyper-specific that even the slightest flurry of a plot might threaten to dilute the effect. Even more so than Taormina’s previous features, “Christmas in Miller’s Point” is just happy to be an immaculately conceived vibe.
Instead of scenes, there are fleeting glimpses.
- 5/17/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Before making Joachim Trier’s 2021 hit The Worst Person in the World, Renate Reinsve was about to jack it all in. Three years later — after A Different Man, with Sebastian Stan, Another Life, with Gael García Bernal, and Handling the Undead, a chiller from Let the Right One In writer John Ajvide Lindqvist — she now finds herself not just back in Cannes but doing double duty at the Sundance, Berlin and Tribeca film festivals (“It’s a running joke that I have two movies everywhere”). Reinsve takes the lead in the Swedish drama Armand, directed by Ingmar Bergman’s grandson Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel.
Deadline: What can you tell us about how you were cast in Armand?
Renate Reinsve: Halfdan, the director, approached me 10 years ago, and we did a short movie together. I think we did it in two days. Afterwards, we both stood there with tears in our eyes,...
Deadline: What can you tell us about how you were cast in Armand?
Renate Reinsve: Halfdan, the director, approached me 10 years ago, and we did a short movie together. I think we did it in two days. Afterwards, we both stood there with tears in our eyes,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
At long last, Kathryn Bigelow is returning to filmmaking. After 2017’s Detroit, she was developing the David Koepp-scripted thriller Aurora for Netflix but has now moved on to another project for the company. The untitled thriller will unfold in real-time at the White House as a missile attack threatens the United States. THR reports former NBC News president Noah Oppenheim, who also wrote Jackie, scripted the project based on Bigelow’s idea. No additional details were revealed but with Netflix now greenlighting the project, here’s hoping it kicks off before the end of the year.
Juliette Binoche will make her directorial and writing debut in a new anthology film Bike Me Up. Joining directors Sally El Hosaini, Isabel Coixet, Matthias Schweighöfer, Asger Leth, and Frédéric Auburtin, each section will be set in a different European city and explore the locales’ relationship with cycling. Binoche’s film will be...
Juliette Binoche will make her directorial and writing debut in a new anthology film Bike Me Up. Joining directors Sally El Hosaini, Isabel Coixet, Matthias Schweighöfer, Asger Leth, and Frédéric Auburtin, each section will be set in a different European city and explore the locales’ relationship with cycling. Binoche’s film will be...
- 5/16/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
When Roger Corman died on May 9 at age 98, the film world lost one of its great independent film legends. Over the course of his seven decade career, Corman directed over 55 films and received more than 500 producing credits, creating work that helped serve as the launchpad for major Hollywood stars and filmmakers like Peter Fonda, Frances Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Peter Bogdanovich, and Jonathan Demme. And yet, from his first film to his last, Corman remained true to his roots of low-budget, independent, lowbrow-yet-brilliant genre filmmaking.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman was smart enough to attend Stanford University studying industrial engineering, but quit his first job in the field after only four days. Looking to go into the film industry, he worked his way up at 20th Century Fox from mail room messenger to story reader. But after he didn’t receive credit for the success of “The Gunslinger,...
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman was smart enough to attend Stanford University studying industrial engineering, but quit his first job in the field after only four days. Looking to go into the film industry, he worked his way up at 20th Century Fox from mail room messenger to story reader. But after he didn’t receive credit for the success of “The Gunslinger,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Roger Corman, the legendary B-movie filmmaker who directed, produced, and starred in upwards of 500 films over the course of a staggering eight decade-spanning career, has died. He passed away aged 98 this past Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, California.
In a statement posted on Roger’s Instagram to announce his passing, Corman’s wife Julie and daughters Mary and Catherine shared the following: “It is with profound sadness, and boundless gratitude for his extraordinary life, that we remember our beloved husband and father, Roger Corman. He passed away on May 9th, at home in Santa Monica, California, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife Julie and his daughters Catherine and Mary. He was generous, open-hearted and kind to all those who knew him. A devoted and selfless father, he was deeply loved by his daughters. His films were revolutionary and iconoclastic, and captured the spirit of an age.
In a statement posted on Roger’s Instagram to announce his passing, Corman’s wife Julie and daughters Mary and Catherine shared the following: “It is with profound sadness, and boundless gratitude for his extraordinary life, that we remember our beloved husband and father, Roger Corman. He passed away on May 9th, at home in Santa Monica, California, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife Julie and his daughters Catherine and Mary. He was generous, open-hearted and kind to all those who knew him. A devoted and selfless father, he was deeply loved by his daughters. His films were revolutionary and iconoclastic, and captured the spirit of an age.
- 5/13/2024
- by Jordan King
- Empire - Movies
We’re always sad to report about the death of an important person from the industry, but that is also part of our reality and we have to honor the work that these people put into the history of cinema. This is why we are sad to report that it has been announced that legendary indie director Roger Corman passed away in his come in Santa Monica, CA, on May 9, 2024 at the age of 98. Roger Corman never became a mainstream author, but he was a pioneer of independent cinema and one of the most important filmmakers in history.
No official cause of death was revealed, but the news was confirmed by Corman’s family yesterday, who also issued the following statement: “His films were revolutionary and iconoclastic, and captured the spirit of an age. When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, ‘I was a filmmaker, just...
No official cause of death was revealed, but the news was confirmed by Corman’s family yesterday, who also issued the following statement: “His films were revolutionary and iconoclastic, and captured the spirit of an age. When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, ‘I was a filmmaker, just...
- 5/12/2024
- by Arthur S. Poe
- Fiction Horizon
Legendary B-movie king Roger Corman, who directed and produced hundreds of low-budget films and discovered such future industry stars as Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, has died. He was 98.
Corman died May 9 at his home in Santa Monica, Calif., surrounded by family members, the family confirmed to Variety.
“His films were revolutionary and iconoclastic, and captured the spirit of an age. When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, ‘I was a filmmaker, just that,’ ” the family said in a statement.
Corman’s empire, which existed in several incarnations, including New World Pictures, and Concorde/New Horizons, was as active as any major studio and, he boasted, always profitable. He specialized in fast-paced, low-budget genre movies — horror, action, science fiction, even some family fare — and his company became a work-in-training ground for a wide variety of major talents, from actors like Nicholson (“Little Shop of Horrors...
Corman died May 9 at his home in Santa Monica, Calif., surrounded by family members, the family confirmed to Variety.
“His films were revolutionary and iconoclastic, and captured the spirit of an age. When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, ‘I was a filmmaker, just that,’ ” the family said in a statement.
Corman’s empire, which existed in several incarnations, including New World Pictures, and Concorde/New Horizons, was as active as any major studio and, he boasted, always profitable. He specialized in fast-paced, low-budget genre movies — horror, action, science fiction, even some family fare — and his company became a work-in-training ground for a wide variety of major talents, from actors like Nicholson (“Little Shop of Horrors...
- 5/12/2024
- by Richard Natale and Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Despite the fact that not one, but two of the show’s four central couples have split up recently, Bravo has renewed “The Valley” for a second season. And yes, the full cast is expected to be back — even those who seem to be heading toward divorce.
“The Valley” — years in the making — premiered on Bravo on March 19, in the Tuesday timeslot after “Vanderpump Rules,” its progenitor. In the announcement, part of a broader set of renewals made by parent company NBCUniversal, the company called the show “its most-watched freshman series in nearly a decade.”
“The Valley” is led by former “Vanderpump Rules” stars Jax Taylor and his now-estranged wife Brittany Cartwright, along with Kristen Doute, all of whom were jettisoned from the mothership in 2020, after the show’s disastrous eighth season, when Doute’s and Taylor’s past misdeeds (of the racist kind) made them too toxic to employ.
“The Valley” — years in the making — premiered on Bravo on March 19, in the Tuesday timeslot after “Vanderpump Rules,” its progenitor. In the announcement, part of a broader set of renewals made by parent company NBCUniversal, the company called the show “its most-watched freshman series in nearly a decade.”
“The Valley” is led by former “Vanderpump Rules” stars Jax Taylor and his now-estranged wife Brittany Cartwright, along with Kristen Doute, all of whom were jettisoned from the mothership in 2020, after the show’s disastrous eighth season, when Doute’s and Taylor’s past misdeeds (of the racist kind) made them too toxic to employ.
- 5/9/2024
- by Kate Aurthur
- Variety Film + TV
He pitched slave-ship dramas to Ingmar Bergman, cast Marlon Brando as a bisexual man and wrote a Malcolm X screenplay that horrified the FBI. Why was this cinephile spurned by Hollywood?
It’s fair to say James Baldwin wasn’t a fan of The Exorcist. “It has absolutely nothing going for it,” he wrote in his 1976 memoir-meets-criticism collection The Devil Finds Work. “Except Satan, who is certainly the star.” William Friedkin’s 1973 horror hit about a possessed schoolgirl might have caused havoc in theatres, but for the African American literary giant it was a garish dud that missed the real target. “For, I have seen the devil, by day and by night, and have seen him in you and in me,” he went on. “He does not levitate beds, or fool around with little girls: we do.”
Baldwin wasn’t an opportunist critic bashing a big commercial hit – he was...
It’s fair to say James Baldwin wasn’t a fan of The Exorcist. “It has absolutely nothing going for it,” he wrote in his 1976 memoir-meets-criticism collection The Devil Finds Work. “Except Satan, who is certainly the star.” William Friedkin’s 1973 horror hit about a possessed schoolgirl might have caused havoc in theatres, but for the African American literary giant it was a garish dud that missed the real target. “For, I have seen the devil, by day and by night, and have seen him in you and in me,” he went on. “He does not levitate beds, or fool around with little girls: we do.”
Baldwin wasn’t an opportunist critic bashing a big commercial hit – he was...
- 4/30/2024
- by Lanre Bakare
- The Guardian - Film News
Baltimore native John Waters is filmdom’s pencil-mustached titan of trash who has spent a lifetime of dumpster-diving into a vat of bad taste, sleaze, kinky gross-outs, over-the-top camp, maudlin melodramatics, sick jokes, taboo sexuality, vulgarity and bizarre personalities. At least he has a fabulous sense of humor. The director is a New York University film school dropout who instead became a scholar of transgressive, envelope-shredding cinema, influenced by the directorial likes of Herschell Gordon Lewis, Federico Fellini, William Castle, Douglas Sirk and Ingmar Bergman. Early on, Waters assembled a stock company of players from suburban Baltimore who he would the Dreamlanders, including Mink Stole and Edith Massey.
But Waters would find his true muse and favorite leading lady in his childhood friend, Glenn Milstead, a drag queen whose alter-ego was known as Divine. When Milstead died at age 42 from an enlarged heart in 1988, Waters’ output went more mainstream, with...
But Waters would find his true muse and favorite leading lady in his childhood friend, Glenn Milstead, a drag queen whose alter-ego was known as Divine. When Milstead died at age 42 from an enlarged heart in 1988, Waters’ output went more mainstream, with...
- 4/20/2024
- by Susan Wloszczyna, Misty Holland and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
by Cláudio Alves
NAUSICAÄ Of The Valley Of The Wind (1984) is the only Miyazaki film ever screened at Cannes.
In 1997, to mark the occasion of its 50th edition, the Cannes Film Festival awarded a special Palme des Palmes to Ingmar Bergman. Afterward, and since 2002, it has also attributed the Honorary Palme d'Or to film artists in honor of their esteemed careers. Until now, the prize has gone to directors, producers and actors such as Catherine Deneuve, Manoel de Oliveira, and Agnès Varda, among many others. This year, however, the festival will award its first Palme d'Or to animated cinema and a group rather than an individual. The honoree is Studio Ghibli, cofounded by Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, and the dear departed Isao Takahata. This comes after The Boy and the Heron won the studio its second Oscar and breaks with American dominance over these Honorary awards in the past few years.
NAUSICAÄ Of The Valley Of The Wind (1984) is the only Miyazaki film ever screened at Cannes.
In 1997, to mark the occasion of its 50th edition, the Cannes Film Festival awarded a special Palme des Palmes to Ingmar Bergman. Afterward, and since 2002, it has also attributed the Honorary Palme d'Or to film artists in honor of their esteemed careers. Until now, the prize has gone to directors, producers and actors such as Catherine Deneuve, Manoel de Oliveira, and Agnès Varda, among many others. This year, however, the festival will award its first Palme d'Or to animated cinema and a group rather than an individual. The honoree is Studio Ghibli, cofounded by Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, and the dear departed Isao Takahata. This comes after The Boy and the Heron won the studio its second Oscar and breaks with American dominance over these Honorary awards in the past few years.
- 4/17/2024
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
One of Hollywood's most frustrating recent news stories is that Francis Ford Coppola is having trouble finding distribution for his self-funded passion project, "Megalopolis" (via The Hollywood Reporter). In a just world, making "The Godfather" would grant Coppola a lifetime blank check, but that has never been the world we've lived in.
What you may not be aware of is one of Coppola's influences for his magnum opus. Like his friend "Star Wars" director George Lucas, Coppola looked to Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. While Lucas took after Kurosawa's Jidaigeki (historical) films, Coppola looked to one of the director's contemporary-set films: "The Bad Sleep Well."
Released in 1960 and starring his go-to leading man Toshiro Mifune, the movie is one of Kurosawa's (comparatively) more obscure ones. It was especially overshadowed by "High and Low," the masterful kidnapping thriller that Kurosawa and Mifune released in 1963. Both movies are set in the world of...
What you may not be aware of is one of Coppola's influences for his magnum opus. Like his friend "Star Wars" director George Lucas, Coppola looked to Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. While Lucas took after Kurosawa's Jidaigeki (historical) films, Coppola looked to one of the director's contemporary-set films: "The Bad Sleep Well."
Released in 1960 and starring his go-to leading man Toshiro Mifune, the movie is one of Kurosawa's (comparatively) more obscure ones. It was especially overshadowed by "High and Low," the masterful kidnapping thriller that Kurosawa and Mifune released in 1963. Both movies are set in the world of...
- 4/15/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
While it was fascinating to see the results of the 2022 Sight & Sound poll, we’re just as curious to see what lies outside the established canon. As part of a comprehensive project at the essential resource They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?, Ángel González polled nearly 839 critics on the best films that didn’t receive a single vote on the Sight & Sound poll, which they’ve now compiled into a massive Beyond the Sight & Sound Canon, which initially features 1,030 films but expands to a whopping 14,558 total films.
As a preview, we’ve collected the films that received at least 20 votes in this new poll, which is 263. It’s led by Spike Jonze’s Her, and they’ve also noted the directors that were most represented. Fritz Lang leads the pack with eight films mentioned, while François Truffaut has seven, and Anthony Mann, Clint Eastwood, Eric Rohmer, John Ford, Samuel Fuller,...
As a preview, we’ve collected the films that received at least 20 votes in this new poll, which is 263. It’s led by Spike Jonze’s Her, and they’ve also noted the directors that were most represented. Fritz Lang leads the pack with eight films mentioned, while François Truffaut has seven, and Anthony Mann, Clint Eastwood, Eric Rohmer, John Ford, Samuel Fuller,...
- 4/8/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
There's an entire generation of movie lovers who first encountered Jackie Chan in the "Rush Hour" films. The actor, director and stuntsman didn't have a huge love for the franchise at the time, perhaps because they barely scratched the surface of what he was capable of as a choreographer. Still, his buddy cop films hold a special place in the hearts of countless action fans, and his rapport with co-star Chris Tucker isn't half bad, either.
The "Rush Hour" trilogy hasn't aged the best in the intervening years, thanks in part to its director, Brett Ratner, who was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017. The film's "East meets West" humor would also never fly today, making the franchise something of a time capsule for irreverent, 2000s humor. Still, we could never get enough of Chan and Tucker — that's why we're all still holding out for that potential "Rush Hour 4." While...
The "Rush Hour" trilogy hasn't aged the best in the intervening years, thanks in part to its director, Brett Ratner, who was accused of sexual misconduct in 2017. The film's "East meets West" humor would also never fly today, making the franchise something of a time capsule for irreverent, 2000s humor. Still, we could never get enough of Chan and Tucker — that's why we're all still holding out for that potential "Rush Hour 4." While...
- 3/31/2024
- by Lyvie Scott
- Slash Film
French actress Juliette Binoche (“The English Patient”) will be the next president of the European Film Academy Board, succeeding Polish director Agnieszka Holland (“Europa”) in the honorary role. Holland was the first female president of the board.
Binoche was unanimously proposed by the board members after Holland decided to step down. Following a formal approval process, which historically has been a mere formality, Binoche’s appointment will officially begin on May 1, 2024. The presidential role is primarily symbolic.
Holland, who served as chairwoman of the board until 2019, became president in 2021, succeeding German director Wim Wenders. Holland plans to fully dedicate her time to making films.
Holland’s “Europa” won the Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Her 2023 film “Green Border” won the Special Jury Prize at Venice International Film Festival.
Mike Downey, the current chair of the board, and Academy CEO Matthijs Wouter Knol said...
Binoche was unanimously proposed by the board members after Holland decided to step down. Following a formal approval process, which historically has been a mere formality, Binoche’s appointment will officially begin on May 1, 2024. The presidential role is primarily symbolic.
Holland, who served as chairwoman of the board until 2019, became president in 2021, succeeding German director Wim Wenders. Holland plans to fully dedicate her time to making films.
Holland’s “Europa” won the Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Her 2023 film “Green Border” won the Special Jury Prize at Venice International Film Festival.
Mike Downey, the current chair of the board, and Academy CEO Matthijs Wouter Knol said...
- 3/14/2024
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
French actor Juliette Binoche will be the new president of the European Film Academy (Efa) when Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland steps down on May 1.
The Academy board unanimously proposed The Taste Of Things actor. Members now have until the end of April to vote their approval – a majority needs to be reached for Binoche to succeed.
Holland has been president since 2021, after previously serving as chairwoman of the board until 2019. The Green Border director said she is stepping down to focus on filmmaking.
“I am not a person to easily step aside, but I have come to the conclusion that...
The Academy board unanimously proposed The Taste Of Things actor. Members now have until the end of April to vote their approval – a majority needs to be reached for Binoche to succeed.
Holland has been president since 2021, after previously serving as chairwoman of the board until 2019. The Green Border director said she is stepping down to focus on filmmaking.
“I am not a person to easily step aside, but I have come to the conclusion that...
- 3/14/2024
- ScreenDaily
Juliette Binoche, the Oscar-winning French actor whose sprawling career shows no signs of slowing down, is set to succeed Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland as president of the European Film Academy.
The honorary role was previously held by Ingmar Bergman, who served as the first president and was originally chosen by the 40 founding Academy members in 1989. Wim Wenders, who succeeded Bergman in 1996, served until 2020, followed by Holland, who became the first female president and has now decided to step down.
“We want to honour Agnieszka Holland’s wish and completely understand that responsibilities besides filmmaking, however inspiring and important, can sometimes stand in the way of creating art,” said the chair of the Board Mike Downey and Academy CEO Matthijs Wouter Knol in a statement shared with all Academy members in 52 European countries. “A decision like this is also one that makes us realise how much we owe to Agnieszka Holland’s work for our institution.
The honorary role was previously held by Ingmar Bergman, who served as the first president and was originally chosen by the 40 founding Academy members in 1989. Wim Wenders, who succeeded Bergman in 1996, served until 2020, followed by Holland, who became the first female president and has now decided to step down.
“We want to honour Agnieszka Holland’s wish and completely understand that responsibilities besides filmmaking, however inspiring and important, can sometimes stand in the way of creating art,” said the chair of the Board Mike Downey and Academy CEO Matthijs Wouter Knol in a statement shared with all Academy members in 52 European countries. “A decision like this is also one that makes us realise how much we owe to Agnieszka Holland’s work for our institution.
- 3/14/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French actress Juliette Binoche has been announced as the new president of the European Film Academy, replacing Polish director Agnieszka Holland.
The body said Binoche had been unanimously proposed by the members of the Efa board after Holland expressed her desire to step down in 2024.
The role of Efa President is an honorary one and holds a symbolic power for the Berlin-based body, representing more than 4,600 cinema professionals across Europe.
Ingmar Bergman served as the first President and was originally chosen by the 40 founding Academy members in 1989.
He was followed by Wim Wenders in 1996, who held the post until 2020. His sucessor Holland was the Academy’s first female President.
Binoche will formally take up the role on May 1 2024, after a majority of the 4,600 members of the European Film Academy have given their vote of approval until the end of April 2024.
Holland indicated her decision to step down this spring, expressing...
The body said Binoche had been unanimously proposed by the members of the Efa board after Holland expressed her desire to step down in 2024.
The role of Efa President is an honorary one and holds a symbolic power for the Berlin-based body, representing more than 4,600 cinema professionals across Europe.
Ingmar Bergman served as the first President and was originally chosen by the 40 founding Academy members in 1989.
He was followed by Wim Wenders in 1996, who held the post until 2020. His sucessor Holland was the Academy’s first female President.
Binoche will formally take up the role on May 1 2024, after a majority of the 4,600 members of the European Film Academy have given their vote of approval until the end of April 2024.
Holland indicated her decision to step down this spring, expressing...
- 3/14/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Ludwig Göransson made good on an awards-season sweep by winning an Academy Award Sunday night for the music of “Oppenheimer,” his second career win for best original score.
The Oscar completes a run the 39-year-old Swedish composer has had picking up Grammy, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Critics Choice and Society of Composers & Lyricists awards for the score of Christopher Nolan’s film.
Read More: See all the 2024 Oscar winners here.
Göransson previously won the original score Oscar for 2018’s “Black Panther.” He also has two Emmys for the music of “The Mandalorian,” another Oscar nomination for a song in 2022’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and three more Grammys for “Black Panther” and his songwriting-producing work with Childish Gambino.
Göransson’s was one of seven Oscars won by “Oppenheimer.” At the podium, he thanked director Nolan for his initial idea to use the violin as a central instrument in the score, which...
The Oscar completes a run the 39-year-old Swedish composer has had picking up Grammy, Golden Globe, BAFTA, Critics Choice and Society of Composers & Lyricists awards for the score of Christopher Nolan’s film.
Read More: See all the 2024 Oscar winners here.
Göransson previously won the original score Oscar for 2018’s “Black Panther.” He also has two Emmys for the music of “The Mandalorian,” another Oscar nomination for a song in 2022’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and three more Grammys for “Black Panther” and his songwriting-producing work with Childish Gambino.
Göransson’s was one of seven Oscars won by “Oppenheimer.” At the podium, he thanked director Nolan for his initial idea to use the violin as a central instrument in the score, which...
- 3/11/2024
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
Reader, you have been lied to! Film history is littered with unfairly maligned classics, whether critics were too eager to review the making of rather than the finished product, or they suffered from underwhelming ad campaigns or general disinterest. Let’s revise our takes on some of these films from the wrongheaded to the correct opinion.
The list of sequels to masterpieces that can be considered masterpieces themselves isn’t a very long one; “The Godfather Part II” is an obvious candidate, and arguments can be made for James Cameron‘s “Aliens” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and “The Color of Money” all have their partisans, and Ingmar Bergman scored a late-career triumph with his “Scenes From a Marriage” sequel “Saraband.” One movie that almost never gets mentioned in this company is “The Two Jakes,” the 1990 sequel to “Chinatown” directed by its star,...
The list of sequels to masterpieces that can be considered masterpieces themselves isn’t a very long one; “The Godfather Part II” is an obvious candidate, and arguments can be made for James Cameron‘s “Aliens” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and “The Color of Money” all have their partisans, and Ingmar Bergman scored a late-career triumph with his “Scenes From a Marriage” sequel “Saraband.” One movie that almost never gets mentioned in this company is “The Two Jakes,” the 1990 sequel to “Chinatown” directed by its star,...
- 3/6/2024
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
In an entirely objective and deeply serious critique, filmmaker Joel Coen has reviewed his brother’s new movie Drive-Away Dolls without being mean and petty even once.
If you want a masterclass in writing a professional film review, look no further than filmmaker Joel Coen’s measured, thoughtful critique of Drive-Away Dolls, the new thriller which just happens to be directed by Joel’s brother, Ethan.
“Mr Coen’s apparent goal – aside from making Tommy Wiseau look like Ingmar Bergman – was to replicate a 90s B comedy,” Joel Coen writes on Substack. “That he failed to clear even that subterranean bar is the only interesting thing about the film. It is truly stunning to watch a man set out to make the spiritual descendant of Mannequin 2 and then fail…”
The review then descends into a maelstrom of name-calling, childhood bitterness and score-settling that we won’t repeat here. In fact,...
If you want a masterclass in writing a professional film review, look no further than filmmaker Joel Coen’s measured, thoughtful critique of Drive-Away Dolls, the new thriller which just happens to be directed by Joel’s brother, Ethan.
“Mr Coen’s apparent goal – aside from making Tommy Wiseau look like Ingmar Bergman – was to replicate a 90s B comedy,” Joel Coen writes on Substack. “That he failed to clear even that subterranean bar is the only interesting thing about the film. It is truly stunning to watch a man set out to make the spiritual descendant of Mannequin 2 and then fail…”
The review then descends into a maelstrom of name-calling, childhood bitterness and score-settling that we won’t repeat here. In fact,...
- 2/29/2024
- by Ryan Lambie
- Film Stories
Exclusive: Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson, now best known as the director behind beautiful, taut features like Let the Right One In and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, wrote to Swedish screen legend Ingmar Bergman sometime in the early 2000s with an idea. Bergman’s response was characteristically colorful.
“What the hell is this? What do you mean?” Bergman told Alfredson.
Alfredson had told the Persona filmmaker that he wanted to remake Faithless, the 2000 feature Bergman had written about an imaginary woman who recollects her painful experience of adultery to an aging filmmaker. The pic played in competition that year in Cannes and was directed by Bergman’s ex-wife, actress Liv Ullmann.
“This was long before everyone was producing remakes, so it was a very unusual question, especially for Bergman,” Alfredson said.
Fast forward to February 2024 and Alfredson is deep into an edit of a contemporary TV adaptation of Faithless he has...
“What the hell is this? What do you mean?” Bergman told Alfredson.
Alfredson had told the Persona filmmaker that he wanted to remake Faithless, the 2000 feature Bergman had written about an imaginary woman who recollects her painful experience of adultery to an aging filmmaker. The pic played in competition that year in Cannes and was directed by Bergman’s ex-wife, actress Liv Ullmann.
“This was long before everyone was producing remakes, so it was a very unusual question, especially for Bergman,” Alfredson said.
Fast forward to February 2024 and Alfredson is deep into an edit of a contemporary TV adaptation of Faithless he has...
- 2/29/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Erik Poppe to direct ‘Bad Moon Rising’ from first script by Nobel Prize winner Jon Fosse (exclusive)
Erik Poppe will direct Bad Moon Rising [working title], a feature written by fellow Norwegian and recent Nobel Prize-winner Jon Fosse, with a script written 26 years ago and minimally adjusted since.
The film is scheduled to go into production on the second week of September this year, in locations along the western coast of Norway including fjords. Casting is underway.
Poppe took meetings in Berlin over the weekend to secure further financing for the project; he is also waiting on the response from the Norwegian Film Institute regarding its contribution.
The story follows a couple from their first meeting, through their relationship including a son,...
The film is scheduled to go into production on the second week of September this year, in locations along the western coast of Norway including fjords. Casting is underway.
Poppe took meetings in Berlin over the weekend to secure further financing for the project; he is also waiting on the response from the Norwegian Film Institute regarding its contribution.
The story follows a couple from their first meeting, through their relationship including a son,...
- 2/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve recently revealed his four all-time favorite films, spanning sci-fi masterpieces to psychological drama. Topping the list is Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey, which Villeneuve deemed “a perfect movie for many reasons.” As Dune 2 is soon to be released, Villeneuve his idea of the best movies of all time.
Denis Villeneuve Names His All-Time Favorite Films
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey
While talking to Letterboxd about his top 4 favorite movies, Denis Villeneuve said:
“My four favorite films, to be honest, that list can change every morning. There’s one of my favorites of all time that’s at top there that stayed there after many years – 2001: A Space Odyssey – for me, a perfect movie for many reasons. Apocalypse Now from Coppola is probably the movie I watch the most in my life; it’s a movie that I absolutely adore.
Denis Villeneuve Names His All-Time Favorite Films
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey
While talking to Letterboxd about his top 4 favorite movies, Denis Villeneuve said:
“My four favorite films, to be honest, that list can change every morning. There’s one of my favorites of all time that’s at top there that stayed there after many years – 2001: A Space Odyssey – for me, a perfect movie for many reasons. Apocalypse Now from Coppola is probably the movie I watch the most in my life; it’s a movie that I absolutely adore.
- 2/19/2024
- by Nivedita Dubey
- FandomWire
As the final work in progress wrapped on Friday, Göteborg ‘s head of TV Drama Vision Cia Edström and head of industry and Nordic Film Market Josef Kullengård could finally relax after a mission well accomplished.
Two of their biggest challenges this year – hosting an industry showcase for 700-plus international delegates in a brand-new venue, the Clarion Hotel Draken, and lifting the Nordic industry’s moral by the crisis in the drama sector – had been successfully met. Variety drills down on how and why:
All-Time Record Attendees
As many as 2,029 accredited delegates registered for the festival and industry showcases at the 47th Göteborg Film Festival, and parallel TV and film markets, the largest in the Nordic region. “We’ve never hit this silver line,” said Kullengård. The 18th TV Drama Vision drew 729 delegates, the Nordic Film Market 556.
Ideal New Göteborg Industry Hub
Literally built around Götoborg’s historic Draken Cinema...
Two of their biggest challenges this year – hosting an industry showcase for 700-plus international delegates in a brand-new venue, the Clarion Hotel Draken, and lifting the Nordic industry’s moral by the crisis in the drama sector – had been successfully met. Variety drills down on how and why:
All-Time Record Attendees
As many as 2,029 accredited delegates registered for the festival and industry showcases at the 47th Göteborg Film Festival, and parallel TV and film markets, the largest in the Nordic region. “We’ve never hit this silver line,” said Kullengård. The 18th TV Drama Vision drew 729 delegates, the Nordic Film Market 556.
Ideal New Göteborg Industry Hub
Literally built around Götoborg’s historic Draken Cinema...
- 2/3/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s Best Director lineup is filled with familiar names for cinephiles: Martin Scorsese and Alexander Payne are old pros at this point, Bradley Cooper has long been famous as an actor, and Jonathan Glazer — despite only making four films — has been a known quantity since 2000’s “Sexy Beast.” That just makes it all the more impressive that in this (very male) lineup, Justine Triet not only made it into the category, but was nominated with a film that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with her heavyweight competitors’ works.
Although Triet made her feature debut “Age of Panic” in 2013, it took her a decade to obtain her true breakout moment when her fourth feature “Anatomy of a Fall” premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 2023. Starring a never-better Sandra Hüller as a successful writer who is tried for the sudden death of her husband, a fellow creative, the film is a marital drama...
Although Triet made her feature debut “Age of Panic” in 2013, it took her a decade to obtain her true breakout moment when her fourth feature “Anatomy of a Fall” premiered at Cannes Film Festival in 2023. Starring a never-better Sandra Hüller as a successful writer who is tried for the sudden death of her husband, a fellow creative, the film is a marital drama...
- 1/31/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
“My role is to sometimes talk to the press or to fight with policemen,” Cannes Delegate General Thierry Fremaux joked during a keynote this evening at the Göteborg Film Festival.
Fremaux had been making a comedic reference to his altercation with a local police officer on the pavement outside the Carlton Hotel at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. The altercation — which went viral — was just one of the topics Fremaux touched on this evening in Göteborg during a keynote session with Swedish filmmaker and two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund.
Concluding the description of his unique job title, Fremaux added: “We are really at the service of the artist, the press, the audience and the professionals. If those roles are well done, we are happy.”
The evening’s session was chaired by outgoing Göteborg head Jonas Holmberg, who quizzed the pair on their working relationship and what they...
Fremaux had been making a comedic reference to his altercation with a local police officer on the pavement outside the Carlton Hotel at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. The altercation — which went viral — was just one of the topics Fremaux touched on this evening in Göteborg during a keynote session with Swedish filmmaker and two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund.
Concluding the description of his unique job title, Fremaux added: “We are really at the service of the artist, the press, the audience and the professionals. If those roles are well done, we are happy.”
The evening’s session was chaired by outgoing Göteborg head Jonas Holmberg, who quizzed the pair on their working relationship and what they...
- 1/31/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Yorgos Lanthimos. Christopher Nolan. Justine Triet. Jonathan Glazer.
What do these four directors have in common? They were all among the nominees for this year’s Academy Awards, and none of them were born in the United States. Lanthimos is Greek, Triet is French, and Nolan and Glazer are British. Among the nominees, only New Yorker Martin Scorsese is American-born.
The last time only one American-born director made it to that year’s Best Director lineup was back in 1997, when Miloš Forman (Czech), Scott Hicks (Australian), Mike Leigh and Anthony Minghella (both English) received Oscar nominations. Of course, this is only technically true. Joel Coen was the one American in the category, yet it was due to a guild rule that he received sole credit for directing despite his helming “Fargo” with his brother Ethan, who would’ve been the second American among the nominees.
SEEOscars: Justine Triet is 8th...
What do these four directors have in common? They were all among the nominees for this year’s Academy Awards, and none of them were born in the United States. Lanthimos is Greek, Triet is French, and Nolan and Glazer are British. Among the nominees, only New Yorker Martin Scorsese is American-born.
The last time only one American-born director made it to that year’s Best Director lineup was back in 1997, when Miloš Forman (Czech), Scott Hicks (Australian), Mike Leigh and Anthony Minghella (both English) received Oscar nominations. Of course, this is only technically true. Joel Coen was the one American in the category, yet it was due to a guild rule that he received sole credit for directing despite his helming “Fargo” with his brother Ethan, who would’ve been the second American among the nominees.
SEEOscars: Justine Triet is 8th...
- 1/31/2024
- by Sebastian Ochoa Mendoza
- Gold Derby
One of Scandinavia most interesting new voices, propelled onto the world festival stage with her short film “The Manila Lover,” a Norwegian Amanda best short film and Cannes Critics’ Week nominee, Oslo-based Johanna Pyykkö is competing at the Göteborg Film Festival with her feature debut “My Wonderful Stranger,” which she helmed and co-wrote with Jørgen Færøy Flasnes (“Nudes”).
Shepherding her debut are Dyveke Bjørkly Graver (“Sick of Myself”) and Renée Hansen Mlodyszewski, an associate producer on “The Worst Person in the World,” who produced the pic for Oslo Pictures, in co-production with France’s Bathysphere, MB17 Films, Arte France and Sweden’s Garagefilm. Pyramide International handles sales.
“My Wonderful Stranger” will bow in French cinemas June 5, via Pyramide Distribution. Scandinavian Film Distribution handles Scandinavian rights.
The story turns on the lonely Ebba, 18, who works as a cleaner at Oslo’s harbour. One night, she finds a beautiful man with a...
Shepherding her debut are Dyveke Bjørkly Graver (“Sick of Myself”) and Renée Hansen Mlodyszewski, an associate producer on “The Worst Person in the World,” who produced the pic for Oslo Pictures, in co-production with France’s Bathysphere, MB17 Films, Arte France and Sweden’s Garagefilm. Pyramide International handles sales.
“My Wonderful Stranger” will bow in French cinemas June 5, via Pyramide Distribution. Scandinavian Film Distribution handles Scandinavian rights.
The story turns on the lonely Ebba, 18, who works as a cleaner at Oslo’s harbour. One night, she finds a beautiful man with a...
- 1/30/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Michael I. Levy, a veteran talent representative involved in the careers of such major stars and players as Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Duval, Bruce Lee, Marlon Brando and William Peter Blattey, died January 11 of complications from Covid pneumonia. He was 84.
His death was announced today by his family.
At the start of his career, Levy represented blacklisted film and TV writers including Waldo Salt, Ring Lardner Jr., and Dalton Trumbo. He would later participate in the careers of Milos Foreman, Michael Mann, Ingmar Bergman, John Huston, John Landis, Mario Puzo and Stan Lee of Marvel Comics as well as Marvel Comics itself.
Through his Michael I. Levy Enterprises, Levy packaged more than 100 films, TV series, and TV movies for major producing clients. In 1981, he became President and CEO of CBS Theatrical Film Group, contributing to the Fox-cbs video deal and the formation of Tri-Star Motion Pictures.
Throughout his career,...
His death was announced today by his family.
At the start of his career, Levy represented blacklisted film and TV writers including Waldo Salt, Ring Lardner Jr., and Dalton Trumbo. He would later participate in the careers of Milos Foreman, Michael Mann, Ingmar Bergman, John Huston, John Landis, Mario Puzo and Stan Lee of Marvel Comics as well as Marvel Comics itself.
Through his Michael I. Levy Enterprises, Levy packaged more than 100 films, TV series, and TV movies for major producing clients. In 1981, he became President and CEO of CBS Theatrical Film Group, contributing to the Fox-cbs video deal and the formation of Tri-Star Motion Pictures.
Throughout his career,...
- 1/23/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Passion and Perseverance, the two watchwords at this year’s TV Drama Vision in Göteborg will resonate across this year’s program where a record 700 delegates will take the pulse of what’s hot and upcoming from the Nordics and Europe.
Unfolding parallel to the Göteborg Film Festival, the Nordics’ biggest TV drama showcase and networking event will run Jan 30-31.
“This is what we need!” said TV Drama Vision honcho Cia Edström about the passion infused in the 60-plus series to be showcased – and about perseverance in the industry, to be debated by the 100 guest speakers – including U.S. streaming giants Netflix, Disney+– first time on-stage – Amazon and all key Nordic commissioners.
“Times are tough-not only in the Nordics but internationally. Our industry is going through profound changes,” she said, citing the microeconomic headwinds impacting drama investors’ coin, artificial intelligence, the halt in production-triggered among others by Hollywood strikes,...
Unfolding parallel to the Göteborg Film Festival, the Nordics’ biggest TV drama showcase and networking event will run Jan 30-31.
“This is what we need!” said TV Drama Vision honcho Cia Edström about the passion infused in the 60-plus series to be showcased – and about perseverance in the industry, to be debated by the 100 guest speakers – including U.S. streaming giants Netflix, Disney+– first time on-stage – Amazon and all key Nordic commissioners.
“Times are tough-not only in the Nordics but internationally. Our industry is going through profound changes,” she said, citing the microeconomic headwinds impacting drama investors’ coin, artificial intelligence, the halt in production-triggered among others by Hollywood strikes,...
- 1/18/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
“Beef” keeps serving up awards season.
The Netflix limited series won the Emmy for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, shortly after taking home the title of Best Limited Series at the 2024 Golden Globes. Ali Wong won the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series category, and Steven Yeun won for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series also during the Golden Globes ceremony.
Both actors won in their respective lead star categories at the Emmys, with Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, and Maria Bello earning nominations for their supporting performances.
The 10-episode series “Beef” beat out “Daisy Jones and the Six,” “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi” in the Outstanding Limited or Anthology category.
The Netflix dramedy was among the top critically acclaimed series of the year. Created by Lee Sung Jin, the series centers on two Los Angeles residents,...
The Netflix limited series won the Emmy for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, shortly after taking home the title of Best Limited Series at the 2024 Golden Globes. Ali Wong won the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series category, and Steven Yeun won for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series also during the Golden Globes ceremony.
Both actors won in their respective lead star categories at the Emmys, with Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, and Maria Bello earning nominations for their supporting performances.
The 10-episode series “Beef” beat out “Daisy Jones and the Six,” “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi” in the Outstanding Limited or Anthology category.
The Netflix dramedy was among the top critically acclaimed series of the year. Created by Lee Sung Jin, the series centers on two Los Angeles residents,...
- 1/16/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Three attempts to make fetch happen: The original Mean Girls (top), the new Mean Girls adaptation (middle) and the Broadway version of Mean Girls (bottom)Image: Screenshot: Paramount Pictures, Lloyd Bishop/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images, Jojo Whilden/Paramount © 2023 Paramount Pictures (Getty Images)
Mean Girls,...
Mean Girls,...
- 1/13/2024
- by Drew Gillis
- avclub.com
The European Film Academy has unveiled its new board which has been voted in under updated guidelines aimed at ensuring a more balanced geographical representation of its members.
Three incumbent board members have been re-elected for a fresh two-year term running from 2024-25. Mike Downey (Ireland/UK) will continue as chair of the board with Joanna Szymańska (Poland) joining Ada Solomon (Romania) as Deputy Chair.
Another eight new members have been voted in for the next two years, while a further six incumbent members will continue their mandate until the end of 2024.
The new structure has increased board representation of members in countries in Northeastern and Southeastern Europe such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia.
A new seat representing members from transnational populations is dedicated to Sámi filmmakers from 2024-2025, followed by Romani filmmakers for 2026-2027.
Anne-Lajla Utsi (Sápmi/Norway), who is head...
Three incumbent board members have been re-elected for a fresh two-year term running from 2024-25. Mike Downey (Ireland/UK) will continue as chair of the board with Joanna Szymańska (Poland) joining Ada Solomon (Romania) as Deputy Chair.
Another eight new members have been voted in for the next two years, while a further six incumbent members will continue their mandate until the end of 2024.
The new structure has increased board representation of members in countries in Northeastern and Southeastern Europe such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia.
A new seat representing members from transnational populations is dedicated to Sámi filmmakers from 2024-2025, followed by Romani filmmakers for 2026-2027.
Anne-Lajla Utsi (Sápmi/Norway), who is head...
- 1/10/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival unveiled its 2024 lineup today, featuring 250 feature films set to screen across ten days, with highlights including Handling the Undead, Norwegian filmmaker Thea Hvistendahl’s feature debut, starring Renate Resinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie. Other buzzy titles include the Finish title The Missile from filmmaker Miia Tervo and Morbius director Daniel Espinosa’s return to Nordic filmmaker with Madame Luna.
Handling the Undead opens the festival following its debut bow at Sundance. The pic, an adaptation of a novel by Let The Right One In writer John Ajvide Lindqvist, tells the story of three families recently left in mourning after the passing of loved ones. Suddenly, the power grid goes out, and the deceased begin to move.
Guests set to pass through Gothenburg include actor Ewan McGregor, who will receive the festival’s honorary dragon award for career achievement. He will also be in town to...
Handling the Undead opens the festival following its debut bow at Sundance. The pic, an adaptation of a novel by Let The Right One In writer John Ajvide Lindqvist, tells the story of three families recently left in mourning after the passing of loved ones. Suddenly, the power grid goes out, and the deceased begin to move.
Guests set to pass through Gothenburg include actor Ewan McGregor, who will receive the festival’s honorary dragon award for career achievement. He will also be in town to...
- 1/9/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Festival selection includes Nikolaj Arcel’s ‘The Promised Land’ and Ernst De Geer’s ‘The Hypnosis’.
Goteborg Film Festival has selected almost 250 films for its 47th edition, including recent Nordic favourites The Promised Land starring Mads Mikkelsen and The Hypnosis by Ernst De Geer.
The festival, which runs from January 26 to February 4, has also programmed events including a talk between Ruben Ostlund and Cannes director Thierry Fremaux; and selected Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen to receive its Nordic Honorary Dragon award.
Scroll down for the list of festival titles
The 10 films competing in the Nordic Competition include Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land,...
Goteborg Film Festival has selected almost 250 films for its 47th edition, including recent Nordic favourites The Promised Land starring Mads Mikkelsen and The Hypnosis by Ernst De Geer.
The festival, which runs from January 26 to February 4, has also programmed events including a talk between Ruben Ostlund and Cannes director Thierry Fremaux; and selected Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen to receive its Nordic Honorary Dragon award.
Scroll down for the list of festival titles
The 10 films competing in the Nordic Competition include Nikolaj Arcel’s The Promised Land,...
- 1/9/2024
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
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