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14 articles
Cannes Review: James Franco's 'As I Lay Directing'
1 hour ago
Back in her “Pretty Women” days, I interviewed the young Julia Roberts and at one point she mentioned her dog, which she called Faulkner. Well, that’s one way to add some intellectual heft to your resume. Is it so different with James Franco, choosing “As I Lay Dying” as his first directorial feature? He says he loved the book when he first read it back in high school. Well, I loved a girl named Becky but I didn’t make a film about her. Honestly, I root for James Franco, but he exhausts with his incessant need to produce every little thought into something for our consumption. His recent art exhibition in Berlin included some fairly lame paintings he did in college of his high school yearbook photos; you know, things like sitting on the bleachers at a swim meet. Yes, of course that’s better than the guy »
- Tom Christie
Cannes Film Fest Diary 3: Seduced by 'The Past,' Abandoned by a Brazilian Beach Bikini Party
4 hours ago
At 8:30am Friday morning, I got it. What Cannes is truly all about. You get something in theory, and then there’s the moment you get it through experience. Asghar Farhadi’s “The Past” had just begun, and I thought back to what a friend said was the real reason to attend Cannes: because you see the best films in the world. Literally, according to one of the money men in James Toback’s new documentary about Cannes, “Seduced and Abandoned” – more on that later – half of the year’s supply of big films debuts at the festival. Farhadi won the Oscar for best foreign film with his last, “A Separation,” and as the new film began, the audience just relaxed into their seats as the film, with its first shot, took over. It’s a wonderful feeling when you realize you are in very, very, very good hands. »
- Tom Christie
Review: The Kids Are All Right in 'The Kings of Summer,' A Sappy Coming-of-Age Romantic Comedy
10 hours ago
The fine young summer romance -- that time in the short months between spring and fall when love gets idealized and love gets messy -- is an idea so entrenched in pop culture and particularly in film that we tend to forget to ask if such an impossible thing actually exists? It never existed for me, but then again I didn't go to summer camp or work at a theme park -- and I certainly didn't flee the parental tyranny of home for the lawless yonder of the woods as three teenage friends do in "The Kings of Summer." Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts from a screenplay by Chris Galletta, "Kings" is a sweet yet fleeting trifle of a film. It puts this specific brand of love on the highest of cinematic pedestals, featuring plenty of montage, scorching lens flares and young people mulling over absolutely nothing amid the gauzy wisp of wheat fields. »
- Ryan Lattanzio
Three Weddings Before a Bunch of Funerals: 'Game of Thrones' 3.8: 'Second Sons'
10 hours ago
Appreciative fans welcomed the return this week of "Peter Drunklage," a reference to a character created to universal acclaim by "Game of Thrones" star Peter Dinklage during a recent "Saturday Night Live" appearance. Only three episodes to go, HBO has reminded us in their recent "Games" commercials, and in the first of these countdown chapters we got the first of the three weddings that form the centerpiece of George R.R. Martin’s source novel, "A Storm of Swords," the forcible unification of doe-eyed Sansa Stark with Tyrion Lannister, the crafty schemer Dinklage plays so entertainingly. (The patterns in Martin’s storytelling aren’t so over-neat that there will eventually be one wedding for each of the three leeches, swollen with the blood of a king, or anyway of the bastard offspring of a king, that Melisandre dropped sizzling this week onto a sacrificial BBQ grill. But almost.) This wedding was »
- David Chute
Cannes: Asghar Farhadi Talks Fest Favorite 'The Past,' Starring Tahar Rahim and Berenice Bejo
12 hours ago
In what’s turning out to be a very strong year for the Cannes Competition, it’s hard to pick a front-runner at the festival’s midway point. As many critics rate the chances of Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s “Like Father, Like Son” (not least because of a family-ties dynamic many assume will appeal to Jury president Steven Spielberg’s sensibilities) they also rate highly previous Cannes winners the Coen brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis." And this is before the Competition entries from Steven Soderbergh, Nicolas Winding Refn, Paolo Sorrentino, Alexander Payne, Roman Polanski and Jim Jarmusch have even screened. But one man sure to be in the fray for the Palme d’Or this weekend is Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi with “The Past.” Nicole Kidman reputedly emerged from the film in tears and while the reception for Farhadi’s sixth feature appears more muted than the nearly unanimous praise that greeted “A Separation, »
- Matt Mueller
Ron Howard and Bryce Dallas Howard's 'Project Imaginat10n' Contest Underway, Jamie Foxx's Short Film Goes Into Production Update
13 hours ago
Director Ron Howard and daughter/actress Bryce Dallas Howard have teamed up to jump on the user-generated content bandwagon with the new film contest for Canon, "Project Imaginat10n." A number of celebrity directors are getting involved in the project, including Eva Longoria, James Murphy, Georgina Chapman and Jamie Foxx, who recently starting shooting his short film in Brooklyn.The film stars Tyrin Turner, Foxx's longtime friend and the star of "Menace II Society," and Foxx's "Django Unchained" co-star Nichole Galicia. Howard, along with Foxx's mentor on the set, David West, paid on-set visits during shooting.Beginning June 4, filmmakers of all skill levels can submit up to five photographs per 10 storytelling prompts -- among them, "setting," "mood," "backstory" and "the unknown." Submissions close in the fall and after a judging panel selects finalists in mid-October, Ron Howard and a public vote will determine 91 winning photographs. Then, directors will choose 10 photos, »
- Ryan Lattanzio
MacFarlane Opts Out of 2014 Oscar Gig, Recommends Joaquin Phoenix as Host
13 hours ago
Some have speculated that because the motion picture Academy is happy with the ratings of the last Oscar show, and therefore wanted to bring back musically-oriented producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, that their 2013 Oscar host Seth MacFarlane would be part of the 2014 show package. But not so fast. Update: MacFarlane reiterates yet again on Twitter that his Oscar gig was a one-time thing.First, this is no surprise. He has never sounded too eager to return after the way critics beat him up. Even if he did lower the age demo. Second, the Academy says they aren't anywhere near to hiring a host yet. “Given the fact that we just confirmed Craig Zadan and Neil Meron to produce," says an Academy spokesperson, "we understand how people might speculate in that fashion, but it's really way too early to have any idea who our host might be in 2014." Who would you like to see host? »
- Anne Thompson
As Restored 'Cleopatra' Hits the Cannes Croisette, Film Critics Look Back at the 'Most Notorious Epic Ever' (Trailer)
13 hours ago
Cannes Classics previously announced that Joseph L. Manciewicz's four-plus-hour epic "Cleopatra," celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, will screen on the Croisette May 21 in a newly restored print alongside other giant classics such as Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor" in 3-D and "Vertigo." The restoration will expand worldwide the next day, May 22, screening in the Cinemark Classic Film Series among other theater chains. Starring Elizabeth Taylor (the eponymous siren of the Nile) and her swain Richard Burton in full-on Egyptian headdress as Marc Antony, "Cleopatra" is the bloated magnum opus that nearly sunk the Fox studio in 1963 after failing to make back its colossal budget -- which adjusted for inflation totaled over $323 million in 2013 dollars -- and failing to garner much in the way of critical acclaim. Susan King of the La Times highlights the film, discussing the lasting interest in Taylor and Burton, who were having an adulterous affair during the shoot. »
- Beth Hanna and Ryan Lattanzio
Cannes Deals: Sony Pictures Classics Snaps Up Asghar Farhadi's 'The Past,' Radius Nabs 'Blue Ruin' and More (Videos)
14 hours ago
-Sony Pictures Classics has won Us rights to "The Past," the new film by Asghar Farhadi (director of 2012 Best Foreign Language Oscar winner "A Separation") starring Tahar Rahim, Berenice Bejo and Ali Mosaffa. The film, which centers on the complex divorce between a French woman and an Iranian man, premiered in competition at the festival on May 17, and has garnered rave reviews. (Toh! "A Separation" Q & A with Farhadi here; Anthony Kaufman discusses "The Past" as Palme d'Or frontrunner here.) -Mongrel Media has nabbed all Canadian rights to Paolo Sorrentino's "La Grande Bellezza" ("The Great Beauty"), which premieres in competition on May 21. The film stars Tony Servillo ("Il Divo," also helmed by Sorrentino) as an aging writer in Rome reflecting back on his lost youth. This is the fifth film by Sorrentino to compete for the Palme d'Or, including 2011's Sean Penn-starrer "This Must Be the Place. »
- Beth Hanna
Watch: New Clips from 'Only God Forgives,' with Ryan Gosling as Stoic Badass and Kristin Scott Thomas as Ruthless Drug Lord
14 hours ago
Prior to the world premiere of Nicolas Winding Refn's "Only God Forgives" on Wednesday, TWC-Radius has been tempting the Cannes crowds with clips from the Thailand-set thriller, which stars Kristin Scott Thomas and Ryan Gosling as a mother and son heading a drug ring in the Bangkok underworld. The four clips below highlight their unsettling relationship following the death of Gosling's brother, as well as establishing Scott Thomas' character as a Momma Not to Mess With. (Toh's interview with Scott Thomas is here.) "Only God Forgives" is in the competition section, and hits Us theaters on July 19. Winding Refn and Gosling previously collaborated on 2011's "Drive." »
- Beth Hanna
Trailers from Hell: Dan Ireland on Hitchcock's Masterpiece 'Vertigo'
14 hours ago
Femme Fatales Week! begins at Trailers from Hell, with director Dan Ireland introducing "Vertigo," Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece and last year's Sight & Sound top-ranked film of all time, starring James Stewart and Kim Novak. Stewart was born on May 20, 1908. "Hitchcock's masterpiece to date and one of the four or five most profound and beautiful films the cinema has yet given us". That was critic Robin Wood's astute 1968 evaluation ten years after Alfred Hitchcock's final collaboration with James Stewart had been released to indifferent box office and unappreciative reviews. Tragic, obsessive and backed by an unforgettable Bernard Herrmann score, it's one of the director's most mesmerizing accomplishments. It knocked Citizen Kane off its nearly 50 year perch as the #1 picture of all time in the 2012 Sight and Sound decade poll of critics and filmmakers. »
- Trailers From Hell
Cannes Market: Dardenne Brothers' 'Two Days, One Night,' Gosling's 'How to Catch a Monster,' Dominik's 'Blonde' and More
14 hours ago
Films have been selling like hotcakes at the Cannes Market this past weekend. Below, news on the Dardenne brothers' latest, Ryan Gosling's directorial debut, Andrew Dominik's Marilyn Monroe biopic and more. -Sundance Selects has announced the acquisition of Us rights to the Dardenne brothers' next film, "Two Days, One Night," which will star Marion Cotillard as a woman given one weekend to convince her colleagues to forego their bonuses so that she can keep her job. Fabrizio Rongione and Olivier Gourmet are also set to star in the film, which is currently in pre-production. -International sales are strong for Ryan Gosling's directorial debut "How to Catch a Monster," which stars Christina Hendricks, Iain De Caestecker, Saoirse Ronan, Ben Mendelsohn, Eva Mendes, Matt Smith and Rob Zabrecky in a modern fantasy-drama that began principal photography in Detroit this month. The title has been sold to a total of 20 international distributors thus far, »
- Beth Hanna
Cannes First Look: Paul Haggis Talks 'Third Person,' starring Neeson, Wilde, Franco, Kunis
14 hours ago
Paul Haggis has been quiet since his last outing as writer-director, 2010’s “The Next Three Days,” with only a credit on the videogame "Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" to fill in the gap between then and now. But he turned up in Cannes to beat the publicity drum for "Third Person," a multi-stranded relationship drama he shot last fall in Paris, Rome and Cinecitta Studios. The film focuses on three couples played by Liam Neeson and Olivia Wilde, James Franco and Mila Kunis, and Adrien Brody and Moran Atias. Neeson’s Michael is a writer struggling to live up to his early success, holed up in Paris working on his latest novel and embarking on an affair with Wilde. Franco portrays a famous artist locked in a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife (Kunis), a former soap actress reduced to working as a hotel maid to fund her court case. »
- Matt Mueller
Cannes Review: 'Inside Llewyn Davis' Is Vintage Coens
19 May 2013 5:41 PM, PDT
There is a moment in “Inside Llewyn Davis,” the new Coen brothers film that stormed the Palais Saturday, when the owner of Manhattan's Gaslight club circa 1961 asks Davis what he thinks of the four Irish sweater-clad singers performing. Davis, a struggling folk singer with an edge, ponders the question. “I like the sweaters,” he says. You can imagine Joel and Ethan Coen cracking up at that line. Appearing in a press conference after the screening, with more laughter on the panel than any other press conference heretofore, Joel said, “You can tell from the film that we have enormous respect for folk music, which is not to say that there aren’t funny things about folk music.” (More from conference here.) Indeed: The army private with a down-home innocence and a Jim Nabors voice (Stark Sands); the urban Jewish singer wearing a cowboy hat and a new, out-west name (Adam Driver »
- Tom Christie
14 articles
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