Julio Torres’ whimsical comedy shows promise in its portrayal of the Kafka-esque maze of the US immigration system, but his ideas don’t always come together
As testified by numerous documentaries, many journalistic investigations and countless lived experiences, the United States immigration system is a purgatorial, deliberately confusing, dehumanizing hell. Getting here, let alone staying here, can be a confounding maze of dead-ends and Kafka-esque double binds, an impossible staircase of bureaucracy. The metaphors come easy; the system lends itself well to magical realism, as poignantly realized in the new A24 film Problemista, in which immigration is a literal maze of drab cubicles, an hourglass counts down one’s days till deportation, and applicants are physically disappeared by a bland visa denials.
Problemista, the winsome debut feature from writer/director/actor Julio Torres, is at its best when the erstwhile SNL writer and creator of the HBO show...
As testified by numerous documentaries, many journalistic investigations and countless lived experiences, the United States immigration system is a purgatorial, deliberately confusing, dehumanizing hell. Getting here, let alone staying here, can be a confounding maze of dead-ends and Kafka-esque double binds, an impossible staircase of bureaucracy. The metaphors come easy; the system lends itself well to magical realism, as poignantly realized in the new A24 film Problemista, in which immigration is a literal maze of drab cubicles, an hourglass counts down one’s days till deportation, and applicants are physically disappeared by a bland visa denials.
Problemista, the winsome debut feature from writer/director/actor Julio Torres, is at its best when the erstwhile SNL writer and creator of the HBO show...
- 2/26/2024
- by Adrian Horton
- The Guardian - Film News
As the Berlinale Series Market celebrates its 10th anniversary, series continue to stand “side by side” with films at the German fest, observes EFM director Dennis Ruh.
“Bsm continues to be a beacon for all aspects of serialized content, even in years where space feels tighter with less films and series, giving selected titles more exposure,” he says, mentioning a “vibrant influx” of international professionals eager to showcase their shows.
Although the sidebar for series has been discontinued, they are present in Berlinale Special and Panorama sections. Apart from Netflix’s “Supersex” and “Dostoevskij” by Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo, Berlinale Series Market Selects will spotlight 15 new shows.
“We prioritize narratives that captivate with their originality, championing diversity in representation, genre and geography. The goal is to amplify these stories, ensuring they receive the global attention they deserve,” explains Ruh, pointing out another important trend: comedy. “This might be a reaction...
“Bsm continues to be a beacon for all aspects of serialized content, even in years where space feels tighter with less films and series, giving selected titles more exposure,” he says, mentioning a “vibrant influx” of international professionals eager to showcase their shows.
Although the sidebar for series has been discontinued, they are present in Berlinale Special and Panorama sections. Apart from Netflix’s “Supersex” and “Dostoevskij” by Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo, Berlinale Series Market Selects will spotlight 15 new shows.
“We prioritize narratives that captivate with their originality, championing diversity in representation, genre and geography. The goal is to amplify these stories, ensuring they receive the global attention they deserve,” explains Ruh, pointing out another important trend: comedy. “This might be a reaction...
- 2/19/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Charlie Kaufman isn’t one to half-ass things or lend his name to projects that don’t reflect the full volume of his voice as a writer, but I was admittedly skeptical of his screenplay credit on Netflix’s “Orion and the Dark,” an animated kids movie adapted from Emma Yarlett’s picture book of the same name and directed by Sean Charmatz, whose most notable work includes a pair of “Trolls” shorts and a job as “head of story” on “The Angry Birds Movie 2.”
On the one hand, this is the first time since “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” that Kaufman has been credited for writing a film that he didn’t direct himself. On the other hand, it’s hard to put much faith in credits on a streaming platform that doesn’t even let you watch them, and — beloved as Yarlett’s book might be — this...
On the one hand, this is the first time since “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” that Kaufman has been credited for writing a film that he didn’t direct himself. On the other hand, it’s hard to put much faith in credits on a streaming platform that doesn’t even let you watch them, and — beloved as Yarlett’s book might be — this...
- 2/1/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Exclusive: German Films, the agency that promotes German cinema globally, has unveiled the seven participants for the ninth edition of its annual Face to Face campaign, which include talents who have worked on projects ranging from television series such as Deutschland ‘89 and Kafka to feature film Turning Tables.
This year’s edition, which is dubbed Face to Face with German Films – The Filmmakers, will showcase seven filmmakers who have made a lasting impact on the German film industry with their creative and artistic work. The initiative is considered a prominent platform for showcasing German talent to the international film and television worlds.
The participants this year are: actor Jan Bülow; writer and director Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay; actor Banafshe Hourmazdi; writer-director Moritz Müller-Preißer; production designer Mona Cathleen Otterbach; writer-director Eva Trobisch; and writer-director Soleen Yusef.
They are following in the footsteps of such respected filmmakers as internationally renowned stars Sandra Hüller,...
This year’s edition, which is dubbed Face to Face with German Films – The Filmmakers, will showcase seven filmmakers who have made a lasting impact on the German film industry with their creative and artistic work. The initiative is considered a prominent platform for showcasing German talent to the international film and television worlds.
The participants this year are: actor Jan Bülow; writer and director Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay; actor Banafshe Hourmazdi; writer-director Moritz Müller-Preißer; production designer Mona Cathleen Otterbach; writer-director Eva Trobisch; and writer-director Soleen Yusef.
They are following in the footsteps of such respected filmmakers as internationally renowned stars Sandra Hüller,...
- 1/18/2024
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
Martin Scorsese is going down as one of the most consistent directors ever, for no matter how you receive a movie of his, he still maintains his vision and his passion for the craft. The director has cemented himself in film culture with movies like Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, etc. At 81 years old, Scorsese is still garnering acclaim and accolades for his latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon, which is also featuring a breakout performance by Golden Globe-winner Lily Gladstone. Scorsese would recently receive a special Best Director Award from the National Board of Review, which would bring his former Gangs of New York star, Daniel Day-Lewis, into the public spotlight.
Variety is reporting that Scorsese is set to be honored at the Berlin Film Festival next month with a Golden Bear Award. His ceremony will also be screening his film The Departed. Interestingly, The Departed is also...
Variety is reporting that Scorsese is set to be honored at the Berlin Film Festival next month with a Golden Bear Award. His ceremony will also be screening his film The Departed. Interestingly, The Departed is also...
- 1/17/2024
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
When Martin Scorsese is lauded with Berlin Film Festival’s Honorary Golden Bear next month, the awards ceremony will be accompanied by a screening of his 2006 film “The Departed.”
The crime thriller, which won four Oscars including best picture and director, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. The film tells the story of an Irish mob boss who plants a spy within the Massachusetts State Police just as the police assign an undercover cop to infiltrate the gang. What follows is a race to expose the other’s identity first.
The Berlinale on Wednesday also announced that Levan Akin’s “Crossing” will open this year’s Panorama section, which will focus on “bridges between lived experiences and cinematic possibilities.” “Crossing” follows an unlikely duo who travel “from Batumi, Georgia to the urban, labyrinthine Istanbul in search of a young trans woman named Tekla,” according to the fest’s description.
The crime thriller, which won four Oscars including best picture and director, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. The film tells the story of an Irish mob boss who plants a spy within the Massachusetts State Police just as the police assign an undercover cop to infiltrate the gang. What follows is a race to expose the other’s identity first.
The Berlinale on Wednesday also announced that Levan Akin’s “Crossing” will open this year’s Panorama section, which will focus on “bridges between lived experiences and cinematic possibilities.” “Crossing” follows an unlikely duo who travel “from Batumi, Georgia to the urban, labyrinthine Istanbul in search of a young trans woman named Tekla,” according to the fest’s description.
- 1/17/2024
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
(Welcome to Did They Get It Right?, a series where we look at Oscars categories from yesteryear and examine whether the Academy's winners stand the test of time.)
Making a movie is hard. A shocking statement, I know. When you direct a film, you are utilizing a tremendous amount of your time and energy to devote to a project that more often than not takes years of your life. So, when a director releases two films in the same year, I'm always impressed that they had the bandwidth to turn these films around so quickly. The rarest of the rare, though, is when the director gets nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Director for multiple films within the same year.
The first was at the 2nd ceremony, when Frank Lloyd received three of the seven nominations for "Drag," "Weary River," and "The Divine Lady," for which he won. The...
Making a movie is hard. A shocking statement, I know. When you direct a film, you are utilizing a tremendous amount of your time and energy to devote to a project that more often than not takes years of your life. So, when a director releases two films in the same year, I'm always impressed that they had the bandwidth to turn these films around so quickly. The rarest of the rare, though, is when the director gets nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Director for multiple films within the same year.
The first was at the 2nd ceremony, when Frank Lloyd received three of the seven nominations for "Drag," "Weary River," and "The Divine Lady," for which he won. The...
- 10/29/2023
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
Both the ÖFI+ scheme for local films and the Fisa+ scheme for international shoots are being significantly enhanced.
Austrian producers have welcomed the government’s plans to increase the overall budget for the Fisa+ and ÖFI+ film and TV incentive schemes to more than €130m in 2024, to support both local production and to attract international film and TV production shoots.
The ÖFI+ scheme, which is administered by the Austrian Film Institute (ÖFI) as an extension of its funding portfolio, supports national Austrian productions and Austrian majority or minority co-productions, is set to see its budget increase by €24.4m from the...
Austrian producers have welcomed the government’s plans to increase the overall budget for the Fisa+ and ÖFI+ film and TV incentive schemes to more than €130m in 2024, to support both local production and to attract international film and TV production shoots.
The ÖFI+ scheme, which is administered by the Austrian Film Institute (ÖFI) as an extension of its funding portfolio, supports national Austrian productions and Austrian majority or minority co-productions, is set to see its budget increase by €24.4m from the...
- 10/24/2023
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
It’s been so long since Steven Soderbergh announced his recut of Kafka––so long since the thing even premiered at TIFF––that one could assume it was no longer in play. But reemergence, it seems, is in store: Indiewire have announced the U.S. premiere of his new edition, Mr. Kneff, will occur at Nitehawk’s Prospect Park location on November 9, with a complimentary cocktail made from Soderbergh’s Signani 63 offered. Tickets are now on-sale.
The official synopsis is scant: “A writer guy in 1919 Prague uses his dead-end job as inspiration for his fantastical fiction.” But the extent of Soderbergh’s revision is huge: the movie’s lost 20 minutes and, what’s more, all dialogue––silent-movie accompaniment includes an instrumental of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
If you (like me) aren’t in New York on November 9, it’s comfort to know Nitehawk’s premiere shouldn’t be the end of the road.
The official synopsis is scant: “A writer guy in 1919 Prague uses his dead-end job as inspiration for his fantastical fiction.” But the extent of Soderbergh’s revision is huge: the movie’s lost 20 minutes and, what’s more, all dialogue––silent-movie accompaniment includes an instrumental of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
If you (like me) aren’t in New York on November 9, it’s comfort to know Nitehawk’s premiere shouldn’t be the end of the road.
- 10/23/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Steven Soderbergh’s “Mr. Kneff” is finally landing stateside.
The recut version of 1991’s “Kafka” stars Jeremy Irons as a writer in 1919 Prague; the film has had new iterations unveiled in 2013 and 2021, respectively. Now, Soderbergh is revealing the first ever U.S. screening of the 2021 recut “Kafka,” titled “Mr. Kneff.” The premiere will take place at Nitehawk Cinema in Prospect Park on November 9 at 7 p.m.
The official logline of “Mr. Kneff” reads: “A writer guy in 1919 Prague uses his dead-end job as inspiration for his fantastical fiction.” Jeremy Irons, Theresa Russell, Joel Grey, Ian Holm, Jeroen Krabbé, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Alec Guinness star in the cult classic which marked Soderbergh’s sophomore directorial effort after “sex, lies, and videotape.” Soderbergh will participate in a Q&a following the U.S. premiere.
His liquor brand Singani 63 will also be sponsoring the evening, with a complimentary Singani speciality drink for ticket...
The recut version of 1991’s “Kafka” stars Jeremy Irons as a writer in 1919 Prague; the film has had new iterations unveiled in 2013 and 2021, respectively. Now, Soderbergh is revealing the first ever U.S. screening of the 2021 recut “Kafka,” titled “Mr. Kneff.” The premiere will take place at Nitehawk Cinema in Prospect Park on November 9 at 7 p.m.
The official logline of “Mr. Kneff” reads: “A writer guy in 1919 Prague uses his dead-end job as inspiration for his fantastical fiction.” Jeremy Irons, Theresa Russell, Joel Grey, Ian Holm, Jeroen Krabbé, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Alec Guinness star in the cult classic which marked Soderbergh’s sophomore directorial effort after “sex, lies, and videotape.” Soderbergh will participate in a Q&a following the U.S. premiere.
His liquor brand Singani 63 will also be sponsoring the evening, with a complimentary Singani speciality drink for ticket...
- 10/23/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Following Main Slate and Spotlight, the 61st New York Film Festival has unveiled its Revivals lineup, featuring new restorations of classic and overlooked films. Highlights include Manoel de Oliveira’s Abraham’s Valley, Jean Renoir‘s The Woman on the Beach, Bahram Beyzaie’s The Stranger and the Fog, Abel Gance’s La Roue, Paul Vecchiali’s The Strangler, Lee Grant’s Tell Me a Riddle, Nancy Savoca’s Household Saints, Horace Ové’s Pressure, and more.
“This year’s edition of Revivals is a thrilling showcase of cinema history, packed with groundbreaking discoveries and long unseen classics alike, all in outstanding restorations,” said Florence Almozini, Senior Director of Programming at Film at Lincoln Center and NYFF Revivals Programmer. “We never cease to be amazed at the lasting influence of these cinematic gems on our collective sense of cinema, with the way they have tackled cultural, societal, or political issues with such modernity and artistry.
“This year’s edition of Revivals is a thrilling showcase of cinema history, packed with groundbreaking discoveries and long unseen classics alike, all in outstanding restorations,” said Florence Almozini, Senior Director of Programming at Film at Lincoln Center and NYFF Revivals Programmer. “We never cease to be amazed at the lasting influence of these cinematic gems on our collective sense of cinema, with the way they have tackled cultural, societal, or political issues with such modernity and artistry.
- 8/21/2023
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Fisa+ and ÖFI+ schemes have paid out €40m in grants since launch in January.
Austria’s new film and TV incentive schemes Fisa+ and ÖFI+ have already surpassed expectations since being introduced at the beginning of this year, with more than €40m paid out in grants and over €120m generated as “Austrian spend”.
The Fisa+ and ÖFI schemes offer a 30% grant on Austrian spend plus a 5% green filming bonus, with the maximum amount paid per project pegged at €5m for films and €7.5m for series.
ÖFI+ grants
Producer Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, chairman of trade association Film & Music Austria, told Screen that...
Austria’s new film and TV incentive schemes Fisa+ and ÖFI+ have already surpassed expectations since being introduced at the beginning of this year, with more than €40m paid out in grants and over €120m generated as “Austrian spend”.
The Fisa+ and ÖFI schemes offer a 30% grant on Austrian spend plus a 5% green filming bonus, with the maximum amount paid per project pegged at €5m for films and €7.5m for series.
ÖFI+ grants
Producer Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, chairman of trade association Film & Music Austria, told Screen that...
- 8/11/2023
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
“Killers of the Flower Moon” executive producer Niels Juul is in Cannes with several projects based on IP from the vault of Italy’s storied Cecchi Gori movie company that include a remake of the Dino Risi-directed classic “Il Sorpasso” and “Kafka,” a script about the turbulent love life of Franz Kafka by John Briley (“Gandhi”).
The IP and some other assets of the movie company that once dominated Italy’s film industry and collapsed in the mid-1990s were acquired late last year by a group of Italian investors under the new management of Rome-based CEO Federico Canfora and U.S-based Javier Balliero Madrid. Madrid is president of the new company, which is backing a partial relaunch of the Cecchi Gori brand, which is behind such Oscar-winners as “Life Is Beautiful,” “Mediterraneo” and “Il Postino.”
They have a producing agreement with Los Angeles-based Juul, who is a former Cecchi Gori Pictures CEO.
The IP and some other assets of the movie company that once dominated Italy’s film industry and collapsed in the mid-1990s were acquired late last year by a group of Italian investors under the new management of Rome-based CEO Federico Canfora and U.S-based Javier Balliero Madrid. Madrid is president of the new company, which is backing a partial relaunch of the Cecchi Gori brand, which is behind such Oscar-winners as “Life Is Beautiful,” “Mediterraneo” and “Il Postino.”
They have a producing agreement with Los Angeles-based Juul, who is a former Cecchi Gori Pictures CEO.
- 5/17/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
A National Geographic production, A Small Light, is based on the true account of Dutch citizen Miep Gies, who, with the help of her husband, managed to find a safe haven for Otto Frank and his family, as well as other Jewish families, from the Nazis. The Nazi invasion of the Netherlands in 1940, at the start of World War II, was a foreseeable threat, particularly for the Jews, who were being persecuted by the Nazis. In order to protect his family from the approaching Nazi menace, Otto Frank reached out to his secretary, Miep Gies, and her husband for assistance. Otto wished to escape the Netherlands but lacked the necessary resources to do so. Miep and Jan supplied the Franks with a safe haven in a hidden annex on Otto’s office grounds. Despite the danger of being apprehended by the Nazis, Miep and Jan were determined to assist and support the Franks,...
- 5/4/2023
- by Poulami Nanda
- Film Fugitives
Broadway and film star Joel Grey and John Kander, composer of Cabaret, Chicago and more, will receive the 2023 Special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.
Grey was the original Amos Hart in the 1996 Chicago and the original Emcee in Cabaret on Broadway, for which he won a Tony Award. He later received an Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA for his performance in the film adaptation. Kander, who co-wrote those legendary musicals with the late lyricist Fred Ebb, is currently represented on Broadway with the musical New York, New York.
“We are immensely thrilled to honor two legends in their own rights. John Kander has composed the soundtrack to all of our lives – meeting us in every decade – creating unforgettable scores for Cabaret, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and his current Broadway hit New York, New York,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League.
“As a legendary actor and director,...
Grey was the original Amos Hart in the 1996 Chicago and the original Emcee in Cabaret on Broadway, for which he won a Tony Award. He later received an Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA for his performance in the film adaptation. Kander, who co-wrote those legendary musicals with the late lyricist Fred Ebb, is currently represented on Broadway with the musical New York, New York.
“We are immensely thrilled to honor two legends in their own rights. John Kander has composed the soundtrack to all of our lives – meeting us in every decade – creating unforgettable scores for Cabaret, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and his current Broadway hit New York, New York,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League.
“As a legendary actor and director,...
- 5/3/2023
- by Caitlin Huston
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Pitched at the Work-in-Progress industry section of international documentary film festival Visions du Réel, U.S. director David Borenstein’s sophomore feature “Can’t Feel Nothing” explores the connection between internet use and emotional disorders.
Borenstein’s debut feature doc “Dream Empire,” about the building boom in China’s ghost cities, won the top prize at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in 2017.
The filmmaker has been making technology films for networks like the BBC, Al Jazeera and Vice for years, and said the time had come to make his own – a project focused on what he calls “the vast apparatus of systems and technologies that are trying to influence our emotions.”
“It’s an interesting job but sometimes it feels like I’m in some sort of Kafka book: I interview technologists and people who make apps, who create the infrastructure of the internet that we use. I can’t help...
Borenstein’s debut feature doc “Dream Empire,” about the building boom in China’s ghost cities, won the top prize at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in 2017.
The filmmaker has been making technology films for networks like the BBC, Al Jazeera and Vice for years, and said the time had come to make his own – a project focused on what he calls “the vast apparatus of systems and technologies that are trying to influence our emotions.”
“It’s an interesting job but sometimes it feels like I’m in some sort of Kafka book: I interview technologists and people who make apps, who create the infrastructure of the internet that we use. I can’t help...
- 4/29/2023
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
Austrian television is awash with crime, mystery and historical drama, and the country’s biggest hits and new productions are heading to MipTV.
Among this year’s most anticipated titles is the upcoming “Kafka,” starring Swiss actor Joel Basman as the famed Bohemian writer.
The six-part series is currently shooting in Vienna and Salzburg and is set to premiere on Austrian pubcaster Orf and Germany’s Ard early next year, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka’s death.
“Kafka” is produced by Ard, Orf and John Lueftner and David Schalko’s Vienna-based Superfilm. Schalko is directing and co-writing the series with bestselling author and screenplay writer Daniel Kehlmann (“Measuring the World”), based on the Kafka biography by Reiner Stach, who is also
advising the production.
Sold internationally by Orf-Enterprise, the public broadcaster’s commercial subsidiary, the series’ ensemble cast includes David Kross (“Davos”), Nicholas Ofczarek (“Pagan Peak”) and Liv Lisa Fries...
Among this year’s most anticipated titles is the upcoming “Kafka,” starring Swiss actor Joel Basman as the famed Bohemian writer.
The six-part series is currently shooting in Vienna and Salzburg and is set to premiere on Austrian pubcaster Orf and Germany’s Ard early next year, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka’s death.
“Kafka” is produced by Ard, Orf and John Lueftner and David Schalko’s Vienna-based Superfilm. Schalko is directing and co-writing the series with bestselling author and screenplay writer Daniel Kehlmann (“Measuring the World”), based on the Kafka biography by Reiner Stach, who is also
advising the production.
Sold internationally by Orf-Enterprise, the public broadcaster’s commercial subsidiary, the series’ ensemble cast includes David Kross (“Davos”), Nicholas Ofczarek (“Pagan Peak”) and Liv Lisa Fries...
- 4/17/2023
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
The Portable Door is a film directed by Jeffrey Walker starring Patrick Gibson, Sophie Wilde, Christoph Waltz and Sam Neill. It is based on the novel by Tom Holt.
A film full of fantasy, with fantastic sets and a plot that is clearly conducive to wonderful performances.
Very successful in terms of production and rhythm. A very remarkable film with regard to its technical features.
About the Film The Portable Door (2023)
A film that starts like The Trial (Kafka) and that, like Jim Henson, takes us to a world of fantasy, magic doors and so on, all tinged with surrealism, with very good actors who can’t be accused of anything on the technical side: it is brilliant, even.
However, where the script’s concerned, not quite.
It has a great idea that fails to be fully developed. It gets stuck, like so many great ideas, in the initial approach,...
A film full of fantasy, with fantastic sets and a plot that is clearly conducive to wonderful performances.
Very successful in terms of production and rhythm. A very remarkable film with regard to its technical features.
About the Film The Portable Door (2023)
A film that starts like The Trial (Kafka) and that, like Jim Henson, takes us to a world of fantasy, magic doors and so on, all tinged with surrealism, with very good actors who can’t be accused of anything on the technical side: it is brilliant, even.
However, where the script’s concerned, not quite.
It has a great idea that fails to be fully developed. It gets stuck, like so many great ideas, in the initial approach,...
- 4/7/2023
- by Martin Cid
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
Irish producer and film industry activist Mike Downey has received the inaugural lifetime achievement award of the Stockfish Film Festival in Iceland for his contributions to the international film industry.
The award, presented at a private ceremony Wednesday night, recognizes achievement from professionals in the “academe, production, distribution, film festival and market scenes.”
Downey, founder of Film and Music Entertainment (F&me), has production credits on more than 100 feature films, including Dome Karukoski’s Tom of Finland, Volker Schlöndorff’s Return to Montauk, Agnieszka Holland’s Charlatan and Adrian Sibley’s documentary The Ghost of Richard Harris. He is currently working on Holland’s highly-anticipated upcoming Franz Kafka biopic Kafka. He’s a member of the BAFTA Council, the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
But Downey is arguably better known within the film industry for his tireless activism on behalf of filmmakers in crisis.
The award, presented at a private ceremony Wednesday night, recognizes achievement from professionals in the “academe, production, distribution, film festival and market scenes.”
Downey, founder of Film and Music Entertainment (F&me), has production credits on more than 100 feature films, including Dome Karukoski’s Tom of Finland, Volker Schlöndorff’s Return to Montauk, Agnieszka Holland’s Charlatan and Adrian Sibley’s documentary The Ghost of Richard Harris. He is currently working on Holland’s highly-anticipated upcoming Franz Kafka biopic Kafka. He’s a member of the BAFTA Council, the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
But Downey is arguably better known within the film industry for his tireless activism on behalf of filmmakers in crisis.
- 3/29/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Isabelle Huppert as Maureen Kearney: “We wanted to represent her physically as close as possible - hence the blonde chignon hair style, the jewellery, the bright red lipstick and her glasses.” Photo: UniFrance
“Bonjour - let’s go,” says France’s reigning art house queen Isabelle Huppert with a brisk flourish as we gather around to talk about one of the most incredible and intriguing roles in a career where an interviewer is spoilt for choice.
With her famed meticulous eye for detail, she plays a trade union leader in a French nuclear engineering company who became involved in a Kafka-esque scenario in which truth emerges stranger than any fiction.
Huppert has never met the subject of her portrayal of Maureen Kearney in The Sitting Duck (La Syndicaliste). She’s an Irish woman who has lived in France since she arrived as teacher in her twenties and married a Frenchman.
“Bonjour - let’s go,” says France’s reigning art house queen Isabelle Huppert with a brisk flourish as we gather around to talk about one of the most incredible and intriguing roles in a career where an interviewer is spoilt for choice.
With her famed meticulous eye for detail, she plays a trade union leader in a French nuclear engineering company who became involved in a Kafka-esque scenario in which truth emerges stranger than any fiction.
Huppert has never met the subject of her portrayal of Maureen Kearney in The Sitting Duck (La Syndicaliste). She’s an Irish woman who has lived in France since she arrived as teacher in her twenties and married a Frenchman.
- 2/22/2023
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
A young man struggles to provide for his family in Harka, Lotfy Nathan’s debut feature screening in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival. Set in Tunisia, it’s a quietly absorbing portrait of one man’s life in the wake of his father’s death.
Ali (Adam Bessa) hasn’t seen his family for a while but is suddenly left in charge of his two younger sisters. Ali sells gas on the streets without a license, and either hides the money he makes or boozes it away. Now, he’s expected to step up and lead a family, even though noone seems to think he’s suited for the job. This is a world where decisions are made out of desperation — and this will be the first of many.
Ali is visibly out of place in the family home, where his sisters lead a quiet and studious...
Ali (Adam Bessa) hasn’t seen his family for a while but is suddenly left in charge of his two younger sisters. Ali sells gas on the streets without a license, and either hides the money he makes or boozes it away. Now, he’s expected to step up and lead a family, even though noone seems to think he’s suited for the job. This is a world where decisions are made out of desperation — and this will be the first of many.
Ali is visibly out of place in the family home, where his sisters lead a quiet and studious...
- 5/19/2022
- by Anna Smith
- Deadline Film + TV
There’s a long and varied history of actors playing multiple roles in the same film: from Jesse Eisenberg’s dueling office workers in the Kafka-esque “The Double,” to Jake Gyllenhaal’s washed-out doppelgängers in “Enemy,” to Jeremy Irons’ twin gynecologists in “Dead Ringers.” (Michael Keaton even tried his hand at playing four characters—one man, three clones—in Harold Ramis’ 1996 comedy “Multiplicity.
Continue reading ‘Dual’ Trailer: Aaron Paul Teaches Karen Gillan How To Fight Her Doppelgänger To The Death at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Dual’ Trailer: Aaron Paul Teaches Karen Gillan How To Fight Her Doppelgänger To The Death at The Playlist.
- 3/29/2022
- by Oliver Weir
- The Playlist
Not many directors can say they got an Oscar nomination for their very first film, and certainly not for genre fare like a dystopian sci-fi comedy. For her futuristic prison satire “Please Hold,” writer and director Kd Dávila proved her considerable talents not only to the Academy, but to herself. As a screenwriter, Dávila’s debut feature “Emergency” recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to warm reviews, and “Please Hold” features many of the same themes that make her work so exciting. She specializes in dark comedies with absurdist premises; both “Please Hold” and “Emergency” send young men of color on Kafka-esque journeys through the punishing maze of systemic racism.
As a Mexican-American woman beginning her rise in Hollywood, Dávila excels at mapping her own experiences onto fictional characters, avoiding the autobiographical trap into which many women creatives often get pigeonholed. Despite her early success, she’s not immune to impostor syndrome.
As a Mexican-American woman beginning her rise in Hollywood, Dávila excels at mapping her own experiences onto fictional characters, avoiding the autobiographical trap into which many women creatives often get pigeonholed. Despite her early success, she’s not immune to impostor syndrome.
- 3/11/2022
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Catherine Breillat doesn’t make porn. Anyone familiar with the 73-year-old French auteur knows her frank portraits of female sexuality are complex, often transcendent explorations of desire through a metaphysical lens. That impulse extends back to Brelliat’s first film in 1976, “A Real Young Girl,” in which she adapted her own controversial novel about a 14-year-old’s sexual awakening. It has stayed with her through the decades in everything from “Fat Girl” to “Sex Is Comedy,” which fictionalizes the discomfort of shooting a sex scene.
Many of those movies are included in a new 11-film Breillat retrospective at New York’s IFC Center, but none epitomize Breillat’s daring aesthetic more than 1999’s “Romance,” the absorbing story of a young woman named Marie who finds catharsis from her sexless relationship with her boyfriend in a series of ambitious trysts. One of these leads to her rape; another inspires her revenge.
Many of those movies are included in a new 11-film Breillat retrospective at New York’s IFC Center, but none epitomize Breillat’s daring aesthetic more than 1999’s “Romance,” the absorbing story of a young woman named Marie who finds catharsis from her sexless relationship with her boyfriend in a series of ambitious trysts. One of these leads to her rape; another inspires her revenge.
- 2/14/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Agnieszka Holland has signed on to direct a biopic of 20th century novelist Franz Kafka.
Titled “Kafka,” the film will cover the writer’s life in a series of standalone vignettes, from his birth in 19th century Prague through to his death in Berlin just a few years after the close of World War I.
Šárka Cimbalová, Sam Taylor and Mike Downey are set to produce the feature. “‘Kafka’ will be a dazzling kaleidoscopic mosaic of a film that dramatizes the famous writer’s life and imagination in a series of standalone vignettes that span Kafka’s life from his birth in pre-war Prague, up to his tragic death in Berlin in 1924 and into scenes from the future he envisioned,” the trio said in a statement.
Marek Epstein will write the screenplay based on a story by Downey and Epstein. “Kafka” will be presented in the Berlinale co-production market line-up on Feb.
Titled “Kafka,” the film will cover the writer’s life in a series of standalone vignettes, from his birth in 19th century Prague through to his death in Berlin just a few years after the close of World War I.
Šárka Cimbalová, Sam Taylor and Mike Downey are set to produce the feature. “‘Kafka’ will be a dazzling kaleidoscopic mosaic of a film that dramatizes the famous writer’s life and imagination in a series of standalone vignettes that span Kafka’s life from his birth in pre-war Prague, up to his tragic death in Berlin in 1924 and into scenes from the future he envisioned,” the trio said in a statement.
Marek Epstein will write the screenplay based on a story by Downey and Epstein. “Kafka” will be presented in the Berlinale co-production market line-up on Feb.
- 2/9/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
The shortened in-person Berlin Film Festival (Feb. 10-16) has revealed a raft of high profile shows that will participate in keenly anticipated annual fixture Berlinale Series.
The strand opens with Amazon Prime Video Argentinian spy series “Yosi, the Regretful Spy” and also includes HBO Max Swedish friendship comedy series “Lust”; Lone Scherfig’s TV2 Danish maternity ward-set “The Shift”; Czech Television, Arte drama “Suspicion” from Czech Republic and France; British Sky supernatural thriller “The Rising”; Channel 2 Iceland police drama “Black Sand”; and from France’s Club illico, comedy-drama “Last Summers of the Raspberries.”
Films selected for the youth-focused Generation Kplus strand include “The Hill of Secrets” (South Korea); “Waters of Pastaza” (Portugal); “Moja Vesna” (Slovenia/Australia); “My Small Land” (Japan); “The Realm of God” (Mexico); “The Apple Day” (Iran); “Shabu” (Netherlands) and “Boney Piles” (Ukraine).
Films selected for the Generation 14plus strand include “Alis” (Colombia/Chile/Romania); “Bubble” (Japan...
The strand opens with Amazon Prime Video Argentinian spy series “Yosi, the Regretful Spy” and also includes HBO Max Swedish friendship comedy series “Lust”; Lone Scherfig’s TV2 Danish maternity ward-set “The Shift”; Czech Television, Arte drama “Suspicion” from Czech Republic and France; British Sky supernatural thriller “The Rising”; Channel 2 Iceland police drama “Black Sand”; and from France’s Club illico, comedy-drama “Last Summers of the Raspberries.”
Films selected for the youth-focused Generation Kplus strand include “The Hill of Secrets” (South Korea); “Waters of Pastaza” (Portugal); “Moja Vesna” (Slovenia/Australia); “My Small Land” (Japan); “The Realm of God” (Mexico); “The Apple Day” (Iran); “Shabu” (Netherlands) and “Boney Piles” (Ukraine).
Films selected for the Generation 14plus strand include “Alis” (Colombia/Chile/Romania); “Bubble” (Japan...
- 1/14/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Above: Steven Soderbergh’s Kafka (1991)In her essay “On Criticism,” Abby Sun notes: “Film festivals are equally sites of inclusion and exclusion, of abundance and scarcity. In fact, they thrive off these paradoxes.” This seems to be the case at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where an ongoing tension between commercial aspirations and professed values tends to yield more breadth than depth. Once called the Festival of Festivals, TIFF started out in 1976 as a showcase of the best titles from other international film festivals. A bit of borrowing from earlier fests like Berlinale and Cannes continues to this day. At the same time, overlapping dates with fall rivals like Venice and Telluride—and the New York Film Festival following closely behind—charge TIFF with the competitive urgency to premiere A-list titles first. In the last few years, the presentation of the TIFF People’s Choice Award to the most...
- 10/13/2021
- MUBI
This year’s TIFF has been a subdued affair compared to its pre-pandemic days, but the announcement of a new, secret Steven Soderbergh film built up a lot of interest and buzz for festival patrons. There were a few theories about what the project could be: a recut of one of the director’s older films, most likely, 1991’s “Kafka”; a sequel to his debut feature film “sex, lies, and videotape”; or “Kimi,” the mystery thriller Soderbergh has been working on with screenwriter David Koepp, starring Zoë Kravitz, set in a post-covid world and supposedly reminiscent of “The Conversation,” “Rear Window,” and “Panic Room.”
Of those three options, the least enticing was definitely a recut film, and that is exactly what TIFF’s secret screening ended up being. Soderbergh introduced a reimagining of his sophomore film “Kafka,” retitled “Mr. Kneff” and re-edited as if from the perspective of a “deranged critic/fan.
Of those three options, the least enticing was definitely a recut film, and that is exactly what TIFF’s secret screening ended up being. Soderbergh introduced a reimagining of his sophomore film “Kafka,” retitled “Mr. Kneff” and re-edited as if from the perspective of a “deranged critic/fan.
- 9/18/2021
- by Tina Hassannia
- Indiewire
Every year, filmmaker Steve Soderbergh releases a list of everything he watched and read the previous year. It’s a fun little distraction that gives us some insight, however minor, into Soderbergh’s habits. This year’s list also comes with the news that late in 2021, Soderbergh is planning on releasing a 4K box set featuring seven […]
The post Steven Soderbergh Releases His 2020 Watchlist, Teases Upcoming 4K Box Set Featuring ‘Kafka’ and Six Other Films appeared first on /Film.
The post Steven Soderbergh Releases His 2020 Watchlist, Teases Upcoming 4K Box Set Featuring ‘Kafka’ and Six Other Films appeared first on /Film.
- 1/6/2021
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
Steven Soderbergh isn’t your typical filmmaker. Honestly, we have to wonder if he’s even human. His productivity is off the charts, as he spent 2020 not only finishing up one feature film (“Let Them All Talk”) but filming an entirely new feature (“No Sudden Move”), while re-editing multiple films in his spare time and also watching tons of TV shows and films. It’s impressive…and somewhat scary just how much Soderbergh was able to accomplish in a year that was subject to an industry shutdown.
Continue reading Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Kafka’ Becomes ‘Mr. Kneff’ In New 7-Film Box Set Expected In Late 2021 at The Playlist.
Continue reading Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Kafka’ Becomes ‘Mr. Kneff’ In New 7-Film Box Set Expected In Late 2021 at The Playlist.
- 1/5/2021
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
The pleasure of a new Soderbergh movie is almost eclipsed by the emergence of Soderbergh interviews, characteristically a mingling of intense technical know-how with smarter-than-the-average-bear pontificating on where the industry’s going. This of all years is the time to hear his thoughts, as provided in a great Daily Beast chat, though there is interest in his latest spurt of productivity: during quarantine the man’s reedited Kafka, Full Frontal, and Schizopolis—the first being a rejigging, the others being a condensing—and written a sequel to his breakthrough sex, lies, and videotape, about which little has been known and equal’s been possible to imagine.
A new chat with Amy Taubin in Filmmaker yielded answers. Turns out the follow-up sprang from his desire for “a movie about the two sisters 30 years later,” driven by the fact of one having a child “about the same age that she was in the original.
A new chat with Amy Taubin in Filmmaker yielded answers. Turns out the follow-up sprang from his desire for “a movie about the two sisters 30 years later,” driven by the fact of one having a child “about the same age that she was in the original.
- 12/10/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Steven Soderbergh is working on a sequel to his hit 1989 drama “Sex, Lies and Videotape” with Andie MacDowell and Laura San Giacomo agreeing to reprise their roles as sisters.
Soderbergh disclosed the project at the conclusion of a recent interview with Filmmaker Magazine that was mostly devoted to a discussion of the production of his dramedy “Let Them All Talk,” which was shot aboard the Queen Mary 2. HBO Max is releasing “Let Them All Talk,” which stars Meryl Streep, Dianne Wiest, Candice Bergen, Lucas Hedges and Gemma Chan, on Thursday.
“Sex, Lies and Videotape” was Soderbergh’s first feature film and premiered at the 1989 Sundance Film Festival, where it won an audience award. At the Cannes Film Festival, it won the Palme d’Or and the Fipresci Prize, with James Spader getting the best actor award. Soderbergh was nominated for an Academy Award for original screenplay.
Soderbergh was asked about...
Soderbergh disclosed the project at the conclusion of a recent interview with Filmmaker Magazine that was mostly devoted to a discussion of the production of his dramedy “Let Them All Talk,” which was shot aboard the Queen Mary 2. HBO Max is releasing “Let Them All Talk,” which stars Meryl Streep, Dianne Wiest, Candice Bergen, Lucas Hedges and Gemma Chan, on Thursday.
“Sex, Lies and Videotape” was Soderbergh’s first feature film and premiered at the 1989 Sundance Film Festival, where it won an audience award. At the Cannes Film Festival, it won the Palme d’Or and the Fipresci Prize, with James Spader getting the best actor award. Soderbergh was nominated for an Academy Award for original screenplay.
Soderbergh was asked about...
- 12/10/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Steven Soderbergh is a workhorse. I can’t begin to speak for him, as I have no personal connection to the filmmaker. However, judging by his productivity, it’s clear that Soderbergh is the type of guy that doesn’t necessarily take a few months off. You have to imagine this has led to a bit of frustration with the current pandemic. But as he explained to The Daily Beast, he has been far from bored during the lockdown of the past several months.
Continue reading Steven Soderbergh Is Working On A Box Set Of His Restored Films With New Versions Of ‘Kafka,’ ‘Schizopolis’ & ‘Full Frontal’ at The Playlist.
Continue reading Steven Soderbergh Is Working On A Box Set Of His Restored Films With New Versions Of ‘Kafka,’ ‘Schizopolis’ & ‘Full Frontal’ at The Playlist.
- 12/7/2020
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
A few days before the release of “Bill and Ted Face the Music,” Steven Soderbergh was on a Zoom call with Alex Winter, and decided to turn it into a job interview. The filmmaker served as an executive producer on “Bill and Ted Face the Music,” the long-awaited third entry in the cult saga of two hard-rocking pals who travel through history to unite the world through music. The project took over a decade to get off the ground, and resulted in Winter — who left acting for documentary filmmaking years ago — returning to play the iconic doofus opposite Keanu Reeves that launched both of their careers 30 years ago. Winter even resumed acting classes to get back in the groove, and Soderbergh took note.
“Alex,” the filmmaker said, looking into his screen. “Are you available to me?” Winter chuckled. “Steven,” he said, “I will always be available to you.”
For all...
“Alex,” the filmmaker said, looking into his screen. “Are you available to me?” Winter chuckled. “Steven,” he said, “I will always be available to you.”
For all...
- 8/26/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Longtime producer Stuart Cornfeld, 67, died June 26 of cancer, but left a mark on Hollywood with collaborations with iconic directors and a run of hit movies dating back to 1980.
As a film student at the AFI Conservatory in the 1970s he worked with Anne Bancroft, who went on to introduce him to Mel Brooks. Cornfeld was an assistant on Brooks’ 1977 comedy “High Anxiety,” and the two men teamed as executive producers on David Lynch’s 1980 “The Elephant Man.”
Cornfeld went on to produce David Cronenberg’s “The Fly,” which put the Canadian body-horror master on the map. Cornfeld also produced Steven Soderbergh’s “Kafka,” the young filmmaker’s first movie after the 1989 indie sensation “Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” Guillermo del Toro’s “Mimic,” and the Vince Gilligan-scripted “Wilder Napalm.”
But Cornfeld’s closest collaboration was with filmmaker and actor Ben Stiller, with whom he launched Red Hour Productions and turned...
As a film student at the AFI Conservatory in the 1970s he worked with Anne Bancroft, who went on to introduce him to Mel Brooks. Cornfeld was an assistant on Brooks’ 1977 comedy “High Anxiety,” and the two men teamed as executive producers on David Lynch’s 1980 “The Elephant Man.”
Cornfeld went on to produce David Cronenberg’s “The Fly,” which put the Canadian body-horror master on the map. Cornfeld also produced Steven Soderbergh’s “Kafka,” the young filmmaker’s first movie after the 1989 indie sensation “Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” Guillermo del Toro’s “Mimic,” and the Vince Gilligan-scripted “Wilder Napalm.”
But Cornfeld’s closest collaboration was with filmmaker and actor Ben Stiller, with whom he launched Red Hour Productions and turned...
- 6/27/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Stuart Cornfeld, who worked with Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Films to produce movies including “Tropic Thunder,” “Dodgeball” and “Zoolander,” has died of cancer.
Several of his friends posted about his death on social media.
At Red Hour, which he founded with Stiller in 1999, he also produced “Duplex” starring Stiller and Drew Barrymore, “Starsky & Hutch,” “Blades of Glory” and “The Ruins.” One of the last films he produced was “The Polka King,” starring Jack Black. Stiller said on Twitter, “Stuart Cornfeld was as funny, smart, talented & cool as a person gets.”
A really great person left the planet today. Stuart Cornfeld was as funny, smart, talented & cool as a person gets. He was my friend, producing partner, and creative confidant. He knew movies, made movies and loved movies. World=less better without him. IMDb him. He was the best. pic.twitter.com/sOx85UvxC4
— Ben Stiller (@RedHourBen) June 27, 2020
Earlier in his career,...
Several of his friends posted about his death on social media.
At Red Hour, which he founded with Stiller in 1999, he also produced “Duplex” starring Stiller and Drew Barrymore, “Starsky & Hutch,” “Blades of Glory” and “The Ruins.” One of the last films he produced was “The Polka King,” starring Jack Black. Stiller said on Twitter, “Stuart Cornfeld was as funny, smart, talented & cool as a person gets.”
A really great person left the planet today. Stuart Cornfeld was as funny, smart, talented & cool as a person gets. He was my friend, producing partner, and creative confidant. He knew movies, made movies and loved movies. World=less better without him. IMDb him. He was the best. pic.twitter.com/sOx85UvxC4
— Ben Stiller (@RedHourBen) June 27, 2020
Earlier in his career,...
- 6/27/2020
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Stuart Cornfeld, the longtime producing partner of Ben Stiller who guided such comedies as Zoolander, Dodgeball and Tropic Thunder, has died. He was 67.
Cornfeld died of cancer, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. No other details of his death were immediately available.
While his earlier career saw him produce such fare as the David Cronenberg remake of The Fly in 1986 and the 1991 Steven Soderbergh movie Kafka, it was with his nearly two-decade association with Stiller where he made his mark.
Born in Tarzana in 1952, Cornfeld was part of the American Film Institute class of 1975. He worked with Anne Bancroft on two Directing ...
Cornfeld died of cancer, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. No other details of his death were immediately available.
While his earlier career saw him produce such fare as the David Cronenberg remake of The Fly in 1986 and the 1991 Steven Soderbergh movie Kafka, it was with his nearly two-decade association with Stiller where he made his mark.
Born in Tarzana in 1952, Cornfeld was part of the American Film Institute class of 1975. He worked with Anne Bancroft on two Directing ...
- 6/26/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Stuart Cornfeld, the longtime producing partner of Ben Stiller who guided such comedies as Zoolander, Dodgeball and Tropic Thunder, has died. He was 67.
Cornfeld died of cancer, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. No other details of his death were immediately available.
While his earlier career saw him produce such fare as the David Cronenberg remake of The Fly in 1986 and the 1991 Steven Soderbergh movie Kafka, it was with his nearly two-decade association with Stiller where he made his mark.
Born in Tarzana in 1952, Cornfeld was part of the American Film Institute class of 1975. He worked with Anne Bancroft on two Directing ...
Cornfeld died of cancer, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. No other details of his death were immediately available.
While his earlier career saw him produce such fare as the David Cronenberg remake of The Fly in 1986 and the 1991 Steven Soderbergh movie Kafka, it was with his nearly two-decade association with Stiller where he made his mark.
Born in Tarzana in 1952, Cornfeld was part of the American Film Institute class of 1975. He worked with Anne Bancroft on two Directing ...
- 6/26/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ian Holm, the classically trained Shakespearean actor best known to film audiences for his performances in films including the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” movies, “Chariots of Fire” and “Alien,” has died. He was 88.
A rep for the actor has said Holm died in hospital on Friday morning. The actor had been battling Parkinson’s Disease for a number of years. However, as recently as January, Holm appeared in person to collect the Newport Beach Film Festival’s Icon Award in London.
Holm, who was celebrated for interpretations of most of the Shakespeare canon, including a towering “King Lear,” also excelled onstage in the original production of Harold Pinter’s “The Homecoming,” which he also brought to Broadway. He began working in films only midway through his career, debuting with an adaptation of his stage performance in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 1968.
In later years, however, he worked increasingly...
A rep for the actor has said Holm died in hospital on Friday morning. The actor had been battling Parkinson’s Disease for a number of years. However, as recently as January, Holm appeared in person to collect the Newport Beach Film Festival’s Icon Award in London.
Holm, who was celebrated for interpretations of most of the Shakespeare canon, including a towering “King Lear,” also excelled onstage in the original production of Harold Pinter’s “The Homecoming,” which he also brought to Broadway. He began working in films only midway through his career, debuting with an adaptation of his stage performance in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 1968.
In later years, however, he worked increasingly...
- 6/19/2020
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Steven Soderbergh’s Oscar-winning 2000 drama gave Julia Roberts one of her greatest roles and found levity in a dark subject
In 1989, Steven Soderbergh changed the independent film business forever with sex, lies and videotape. A decade later, he conquered Hollywood. But it’s important not to yadda yadda away the years in between, when his sophomore slump (1991’s Kafka) extended to a junior slump (1993’s King of the Hill) and a senior slump (1995’s The Underneath), and he seemed lost in a wilderness of his own design. Arguments can (and should) be made for his work during this period – the Depression-era drama King of the Hill is one of his best films, and all three are varied and conceptually adventurous – but Soderbergh himself felt so discombobulated by failure that he wrote, directed, starred, edited and photographed 1996’s Schizopolis, an experimental doodle, just to give his career a hard reboot. Two years later,...
In 1989, Steven Soderbergh changed the independent film business forever with sex, lies and videotape. A decade later, he conquered Hollywood. But it’s important not to yadda yadda away the years in between, when his sophomore slump (1991’s Kafka) extended to a junior slump (1993’s King of the Hill) and a senior slump (1995’s The Underneath), and he seemed lost in a wilderness of his own design. Arguments can (and should) be made for his work during this period – the Depression-era drama King of the Hill is one of his best films, and all three are varied and conceptually adventurous – but Soderbergh himself felt so discombobulated by failure that he wrote, directed, starred, edited and photographed 1996’s Schizopolis, an experimental doodle, just to give his career a hard reboot. Two years later,...
- 3/16/2020
- by Scott Tobias
- The Guardian - Film News
Ben Mortimer Aug 28, 2017
Steven Soderbergh on changing cinema, Logan Lucky, box office analysis, and radical ideas for film...
Steven Soderbergh, then. The man who walked away from movies, and came back when he found the right story. That story was Logan Lucky, now playing in UK cinemas. And Soderbergh took some time to chat to us about the film, and his work...
[As I enter I slap two recording devices on the table, and explain that I’ve had recording failures before, and now back up as I interview.]
When I was doing the Richard Lester book we’d done multiple, multiple sessions, and I gave the tapes to Faber and Faber to be transcribed, and they lost them. And I had to do the whole thing over; days and days of stuff. It was bad.
Does that ever happen on set? Not necessarily recording failures, but…
No. I think in the digital universe its more likely to happen, that somebody forgets to hit record, because there’s not much of a difference between being in record and not being in record,...
Steven Soderbergh on changing cinema, Logan Lucky, box office analysis, and radical ideas for film...
Steven Soderbergh, then. The man who walked away from movies, and came back when he found the right story. That story was Logan Lucky, now playing in UK cinemas. And Soderbergh took some time to chat to us about the film, and his work...
[As I enter I slap two recording devices on the table, and explain that I’ve had recording failures before, and now back up as I interview.]
When I was doing the Richard Lester book we’d done multiple, multiple sessions, and I gave the tapes to Faber and Faber to be transcribed, and they lost them. And I had to do the whole thing over; days and days of stuff. It was bad.
Does that ever happen on set? Not necessarily recording failures, but…
No. I think in the digital universe its more likely to happen, that somebody forgets to hit record, because there’s not much of a difference between being in record and not being in record,...
- 8/28/2017
- Den of Geek
Steven Soderbergh, the Oscar-winning director of Traffic (2000) and films as diverse as Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), Kafka (1991), his two-part biopic Che (2008) and The Girlfriend Experience (2009), returns to features after a four year absence with a cool breeze of summertime sweetness called Logan Lucky. On the surface, this let's-rob-a-racetrack caper looks like a redneck spin on Ocean's 11, his starry (Clooney, Pitt, Damon) 2001 box-office hit. And in some ways it is. "I've lost interest in anything that smells important," the 54-year-old director recently told the New York Times.
Our advice? See...
Our advice? See...
- 8/16/2017
- Rollingstone.com
Steven Soderbergh’s directing career started with “Sex, Lies and Videotape,” a massive breakout that not only launched his career — it changed the industry of independent filmmaking in America. While struggling to find his footing after becoming a household name at age 26, Soderbergh never let himself become frozen by his early success or some preconceived notion of what his career would be. Instead, he dogmatically followed any story that piqued his interest, regardless if it was building the slick “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise or an experimental film he shot in his hometown with friends (“Schizopolis”).
He has been careful to build a career that was commercially viable so as to maximize his ability to be constantly creating and experimenting with films that were sometimes aggressively uncommercial. Along the way, he has fought to be as efficient a filmmaker as possible – constantly trying different approaches and new technology to make and...
He has been careful to build a career that was commercially viable so as to maximize his ability to be constantly creating and experimenting with films that were sometimes aggressively uncommercial. Along the way, he has fought to be as efficient a filmmaker as possible – constantly trying different approaches and new technology to make and...
- 8/14/2017
- by David Ehrlich and Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
The axe officially came down on “The Knick” in March when Cinemax confirmed it wouldn’t be continuing the acclaimed medical drama beyond Season 2. With exceptional performances from Clive Owen and Andre Holland, plus some of the best directorial work of Steven Soderbergh’s career (the series ranked #3 on our list of the best directed shows of the 21st century), “The Knick” had a fervent cult following that was surely looking forward to where the series would go next. It turns out so was Soderbergh.
Read More: ‘Logan Lucky’ Footage: Steven Soderbergh Unleashes A Very Wacky Daniel Craig Performance — Watch
The filmmaker joined Reddit today for an Ama in promotion of his new movie, the heist comedy “Logan Lucky,” and he naturally was asked a lot about the fate of the medical drama. Since both seasons were shot in just 73 days, Soderbergh felt like he and the cast had finally...
Read More: ‘Logan Lucky’ Footage: Steven Soderbergh Unleashes A Very Wacky Daniel Craig Performance — Watch
The filmmaker joined Reddit today for an Ama in promotion of his new movie, the heist comedy “Logan Lucky,” and he naturally was asked a lot about the fate of the medical drama. Since both seasons were shot in just 73 days, Soderbergh felt like he and the cast had finally...
- 7/7/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
“I’ve been working on, at no one’s request, ‘Kafka’ for 14 years. I have an idea, I have an approach. It was a movie I was never really happy with even at the time,“ Steven Soderbergh said last year about his forever developing recut of his 1991. I think his film starring Jeremy Irons, which spins a surreal tale around the famous author, is a bit of an underrated gem, but clearly the filmmaker wishes he could’ve done things differently.
Continue reading Steven Soderbergh Says His “Radical” Re-Edit Of ‘Kafka’ Might Be Finished Soon, Praises ‘Get Out’ & ‘The Love Witch’ at The Playlist.
Continue reading Steven Soderbergh Says His “Radical” Re-Edit Of ‘Kafka’ Might Be Finished Soon, Praises ‘Get Out’ & ‘The Love Witch’ at The Playlist.
- 7/7/2017
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Hollywood history is full of what-ifs. What if Tom Selleck had played Indiana Jones? What if Edgar Wright got to direct Ant-Man (that one still stings)? What if Steven Soderbergh directed a James Bond film? That last one comes to us courtesy of a Q&A at Nitehawk Cinema, following a screening of Haywire, when Soderbergh revealed that he had been approached to direct a James Bond movie more than once, but it never got off the ground.
Here’s what the director had to say:
Over the years, I’ve been in conversations…I’ve been approached twice about doing a Bond film. And it never quite got anywhere. And [‘Haywire’] in some ways, was my opportunity to do what I would do with a Bond movie.
The little tidbit was dropped in the midst of a discussion about Haywire and Soderbergh’s attempts to get a sequel (and even a TV show) made,...
Here’s what the director had to say:
Over the years, I’ve been in conversations…I’ve been approached twice about doing a Bond film. And it never quite got anywhere. And [‘Haywire’] in some ways, was my opportunity to do what I would do with a Bond movie.
The little tidbit was dropped in the midst of a discussion about Haywire and Soderbergh’s attempts to get a sequel (and even a TV show) made,...
- 7/14/2016
- by Lauren Humphries-Brooks
- We Got This Covered
After a several year break, Steven Soderbergh is returning to the movies with two projects currently in the works - "Mosaic" and the heist comedy "Logan Lucky". He also spoke at a retrospective screening of his action thriller "Haywire" this week and revealed that he's been asked to be involved in the James Bond series - and not just one time. He tells The Playlist:
"Over the years, I've been in conversations… I've been approached twice about doing a Bond film. And it never quite got anywhere. And ['Haywire'] in some ways, was my opportunity to do what I would do with a Bond movie."
It was a rushed opportunity though. The filmmaker had assembled a crew to shoot "Moneyball" but was then fired from the project. Not wanting to let his crew down, he scrambled to assemble another film which was when he saw "Haywire" star Gina Carano in an...
"Over the years, I've been in conversations… I've been approached twice about doing a Bond film. And it never quite got anywhere. And ['Haywire'] in some ways, was my opportunity to do what I would do with a Bond movie."
It was a rushed opportunity though. The filmmaker had assembled a crew to shoot "Moneyball" but was then fired from the project. Not wanting to let his crew down, he scrambled to assemble another film which was when he saw "Haywire" star Gina Carano in an...
- 7/14/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Steven Soderbergh’s sabbatical from making movies is officially over. While he took a detour into television with “The Knick,” the director has two films in the works: “Mosaic,” an experimental project over at HBO (which may not quite resemble a film in the end and could be a kind of a series), and the Nascar heist […]
The post Steven Soderbergh Admits He Was Once In Talks For James Bond; Discusses New, Weird “Midnight Edition” of ‘Kafka’ appeared first on The Playlist.
The post Steven Soderbergh Admits He Was Once In Talks For James Bond; Discusses New, Weird “Midnight Edition” of ‘Kafka’ appeared first on The Playlist.
- 7/13/2016
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
Get yer terrific long-suppressed film history right here, folks -- this is what it takes to get your movie banned in East Germany in 1965: Günter Stahnke makes a drama revealing forbidden capitalist-style competitiveness and dastardly backstabbing in a state-run industry. Think any of those Party censors would object? Spring Takes Time DVD Defa Film Library 1965 / B&W / 1:37 flat / 76 min. / Der Frühling braucht Zeit / Street Date March 2016 / available through The Defa Film Library / 29.95 Starring Eberhard Mellies, Günther Simon, Doris Abesser, Karla Runkehl, Rolf Hoppe, Erik S. Klein, Friedrich Richter, Elfriede Née. Cinematography Lothar Erdmann, Eckhardt Hartkopf, Hans-Jürgen Sasse, Kurt Schütt Film Editor Erika Lehmphul Original Music Gerhard Siebholz; 'The Sputniks' Written by Hermann O. Lauterbach, Konrad Schwalbe, Günter Stahnke Produced by Defa Directed by Günter Stahnke
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
So you think artists over Here have it bad... Günter Stahnke experienced some late-career fame at the 1990 Berlinale film festival,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
So you think artists over Here have it bad... Günter Stahnke experienced some late-career fame at the 1990 Berlinale film festival,...
- 3/12/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Here's an example of what happens when trades rush out to report a story, in a desire to be first, but no one has their ducks in a row. Last night, a flurry of information hit the web about a supposed return to feature filmmaking for Steven Soderbergh, but no one seems to know exactly what it is, for what sounds like a project that's very much in flux. Read More: Steven Soderbergh Talks 'Mosaic,' 'Kafka,' & Plans To Still Make 'The Sot-Weed Factor' First, Variety reported that Soderbergh would helm "Hillbilly Heist," a movie that would star Channing Tatum and Matt Damon. They later changed the title of the movie to "Lucky Logan," and noted that Warner Bros., Fox, and Sony were all angling to acquire the movie. Meanwhile, Deadline said Damon wasn't involved, and that the project would be starring Tatum and Michael Shannon and...
- 2/4/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
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