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American Poet Louise Gluck Awarded 2020 Nobel Prize For Literature, First U.S. Woman To Win Since Toni Morrison

American Poet Louise Gluck Awarded 2020 Nobel Prize For Literature, First U.S. Woman To Win Since Toni Morrison
American poet and former U.S. Poet Laureate Louise Gluck was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature Thursday, the world’s highest literary honor, “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal,” said the Nobel Committee.

She is the first American woman to win the prize since Toni Morrison in 1993 and one of only 16 women since the awards, established in the will of Alfred Nobel, began in 1901.

Nobel Committee chair Anders Olsson praised Gluck’s striving for clarity. “Glück seeks the universal, and in this she takes inspiration from myths and classical motifs, present in most of her works.”

The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded by The Swedish Academy in Stockholm.

Mats Malm, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, said in a video presentation Thursday, that he had informed Gluck of the award earlier in the day. “It came as surprise. A welcome one.
See full article at Deadline »

Shifting fairy tales by Anne-Katrin Titze and Ed Bahlman

Shifting fairy tales by Anne-Katrin Titze and Ed Bahlman
Guest Of Honour director and rabbit competition winner Atom Egoyan with Anne-Katrin Titze’s Steiff Dürer Bunny at the Seven Grams Caffe in New York Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

At the Canada Now Opening Night U.S. premiere on February 13, of Atom Egoyan’s Guest Of Honour, starring David Thewlis and Laysla De Oliveira with Luke Wilson and Arsinée Khanjian, 99 Records founder Ed Bahlman asked Atom about his work with longtime composer Mychael Danna and Shannon Graham.

Guest Of Honour China poster from Atom Egoyan’s phone Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Ed Bahlman: Atom, it’s a beautiful score. Can you talk a little bit how you worked with the composer?

Atom Egoyan: The composer is someone I’ve been working with since Family Viewing, Mychael Danna. He’s a very brilliant composer. Because of the relationship, a lot of the visual composing...
See full article at eyeforfilm.co.uk »

Agc Television Secures Spierig Brothers for ‘Ben Walker’ Series Adaptation

Agc Television Secures Spierig Brothers for ‘Ben Walker’ Series Adaptation
Filmmaking brothers Michael and Peter Spierig have boarded the supernatural thriller series adaptation of the popular literary “Ben Walker” franchise, developed by Stuart Ford’s Agc Television.

Rob Carlson at UTA negotiated the deal on behalf of the Spierig Brothers with Agc Television President Lourdes Diaz, Agc’s VP of Legal & Business Affairs Anant Tamirisa, and VP of Scripted Television Matt Bankston.

Ford, Diaz, creator Christopher Golden, and Pete Donaldson for Donaldson Media & Consulting will executive produce.

The Spierig brothers hit the ground running in 2003 when their debut feature “Undead” won the Fipresci Award and enjoyed a North American release handled by Lionsgate. Their follow up, “Daybreakers,” starred Ethan Hawke and was a hit at that year’s Midnight Madness in Toronto, before again enjoying a theatrical run again handled by Lionsgate.

Since then the two have found continued success with features such as “Predestination” – once again with Hawke in the leading role,
See full article at Variety »

‘The Alienist’ Writer John Sayles Developing Televangelism Drama ‘Electric Church’ With Agc Television

‘The Alienist’ Writer John Sayles Developing Televangelism Drama ‘Electric Church’ With Agc Television
Exclusive: The Alienist writer John Sayles is developing a limited series set in the world of televangelism with Agc Television.

Sayles, who has been nominated for a best screenwriting Oscar for Passion Fish and Lone Star, is developing Electric Church with Black Mirror director John Hillcoat on board to direct.

Sayles co-created the project with Marc-Edouard Leon. The drama tells the true story behind the rise of the Christian Right. In the 1980’s, larger-than-life personalities such as Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell ruled the airwaves. They were rich, they were idolized, they epitomized religious excess. The series will explore how their paths collided in an epic saga that would change the face of American politics.

Sayles will exec produce with Hillcoat, Agc Studios founder Stuart Ford, Agc Television President Lourdes Diaz and Agc’s Head of Film Greg Shapiro with Jonathan Pavesi producing.

The deal
See full article at Deadline »

Agc Television Plots Series From Christopher Golden’s Ben Walker Book Franchise

Agc Television has optioned rights to author Christopher Golden’s Ben Walker supernatural thriller book franchise to develop into a TV series. The deal unveiled Tuesday encompasses the prolific Golden’s 2017 bestseller Ararat that launched the series and the upcoming The Pandora Room which hits shelves in April. A third novel, Red Hands, will be published in 2020.

Golden, who helped on the screenplay for the Hellboy reboot coming later this year, will pen the pilot script based on Ararat, which won a Bram Stoker Award. Agc Studios founder Stuart Ford and TV division boss Lourdes Diaz are executive producing the project with Golden and Pete Donaldson of Donaldson Media & Consulting. A late 2019 production start is being eyed.

The book’s lead character Ben Walker is a self-described “weird sh*t expert” working for a secret arm of the Department of Defense to investigate newly discovered phenomena. The job leads Walker
See full article at Deadline »

Agc Television to Adapt Christopher Golden's Ben Walker Novels

Stuart Ford's Agc Television has optioned Christopher Golden's Ben Walker novels for the small screen, starting with the best-selling supernatural thriller Ararat.

Golden's Walker novels follow the titular character, a self-described "weird shit expert" who investigates strange phenomena for a secret arm of the Department of Defense. In Ararat, an earthquake reveals a secret cave in Mount Ararat in Turkey.

When a newly engaged couple go exploring, they discover an ancient buried ship many believe to be Noah's Ark. But when a blizzard traps them inside, a much more horrible truth is revealed. Agc Television has optioned ...
See full article at The Hollywood Reporter »

Film News Roundup: Mlb Doping Scandal Documentary ‘Screwball’ Set for Spring Release

Film News Roundup: Mlb Doping Scandal Documentary ‘Screwball’ Set for Spring Release
In today’s film news roundup, “Screwball” is getting a domestic release in the spring, Brian Goldsmith re-ups at Lionsgate, horror novel “Snowblind” is in the works as a film, and “Room 13” has been cast.

Acquisition

Greenwich Entertainment has acquired U.S. rights to baseball doping documentary “Screwball” and plans a theatrical release to coincide with the start of the Major League Baseball season in April.

The film, directed by Billy Corben (“Cocaine Cowboys”), centers on the Alex Rodriguez/Biogenesis doping scandal, which broke in 2013 when several Mlb players were accused of obtaining performance-enhancing drugs such as human growth hormone from the now-defunct rejuvenation clinic Biogenesis of America.

Screwball” premiered in September at the Toronto International Film Festival and recently played at DocNYC. Corben and Alfred Spellman produced under their Rakontur banner.

“Billy Corben’s wildly entertaining doc is his latest look at a perverse pursuit of the American Dream,
See full article at Variety »

David Thewlis To Star In Atom Egoyan’s ‘Guest Of Honour’ With Laysla De Oliveira & Luke Wilson – Afm

David Thewlis To Star In Atom Egoyan’s ‘Guest Of Honour’ With Laysla De Oliveira & Luke Wilson – Afm
Exclusive: David Thewlis has been set to star in Oscar nominee Atom Egoyan’s latest feature, Guest Of Honour. Thewlis will be joined by Laysla De Oliveira and Luke Wilson in the father-daughter drama. From a script by Egoyan, filming begins on November 5 in the Toronto area. The Film Farm’s Simone Urdl and Jennifer Weiss are producing; Egoyan is also producing for Ego Film Arts. Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, Sebastien Beffa and Noah Segal are exec producers. Elevation Pictures has Canadian rights, Playtime is handling international sales.

Thewlis plays Jim, dad to Veronica (De Oliveira), a young high-school music teacher. The two attempt to unravel their complicated histories and intertwined secrets in the film which weaves through time exploring perception and penance, memory and forgiveness.

When a hoax instigated by an aggressive school bus driver (Rossif Sutherland) goes very wrong, Veronica is accused of abusing her position
See full article at Deadline »

Readers Can Unwrap New Christmas Horror Anthology Hark! The Herald Angels Scream on October 23rd from Blumhouse Books/Anchor Books

With 18 stories sure to chill you to the bone written by critically acclaimed authors Scott Smith, Michael Koryta, Seanan McGuire, Sarah Pinborough, among many others, Hark! The Herald Angels Scream will be available in both paperback and Kindle editions on October 23rd from Blumhouse Books/Anchor Books.

"Hark! The Herald Angels Scream, edited by bestselling author and editor Christopher Golden will be available on October 23rd. A Blumhouse Books/Anchor Books paperback original, Hark! The Herald Angels Scream is a fantastic collection of 18 horror stories from bestselling, acclaimed authors including Scott Smith, Seanan McGuire, Josh Malerman, Michael Koryta, Sarah Pinborough, and many more.

Publishers Weekly gave a positive review to Hark! The Herald Angels Scream and said, “This lineup proves that the Christmas season can have plenty of thrills and chills.” Booklist said, “Golden curates another sure-bet horror anthology.” Hark! The Herald Angels Scream dives deep into the dark side
See full article at DailyDead »

Charles Aznavour Dies: “Profoundly French” Singer-Actor Was 94; President Macron Praises “Unique Influence”

Charles Aznavour Dies: “Profoundly French” Singer-Actor Was 94; President Macron Praises “Unique Influence”
Charles Aznavour, the French singer and musical stylist sometimes referred to a France’s Sinatra, has died at age 94.

His death at one of his homes in France was confirmed by both his producer Gerard Drouout Productions and the French Culture Ministry.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement: “Profoundly French, viscerally attached to his Armenian roots, famous in the entire world, Charles Aznavour accompanied the joys and sorrows of three generations. His masterpieces, his timbre, his unique influence will long survive him.”

Though he never achieved fame in the United States on the level of his European popularity, his dramatic gestures and story-telling style of singing and songwriting was a major influence on Liza Minnelli, David Bowie and even Bob Dylan. In a 1998 concert at Madison Square Garden featuring Dylan and Joni Mitchell, Dylan paid tribute to Aznavour with a performance of Aznavour’s “The Times We’ve Known.
See full article at Deadline »

Charles Aznavour, French-Armenian Singer-Songwriter-Actor, Dies at 94

Charles Aznavour, French-Armenian Singer-Songwriter-Actor, Dies at 94
French-Armenian singer-songwriter-actor Charles Aznavour, best known for songs such as “She,” “Yesterday When I Was Young” and “For Mama,” has died. Aznavour, who was 94, died in his sleep from a cardiac arrest in his home in Mouries, France, according to his agent.

Aznavour sold more than 180 million records and appeared in more than 60 films. Bob Dylan considered Aznavour, sometimes referred to as a Gallic Frank Sinatra, to be “one of the greatest live performers” he’d ever seen. CNN named him Entertainer of the Century in 1998, and he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last year.

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted Monday: “Charles Aznavour was profoundly French, deeply attached to his Armenian roots and known throughout the world. He has accompanied the joys and pain of three generations. His masterpieces, the tone of his voice, his unique radiance will long survive him.”

Aznavour, who continued to perform
See full article at Variety »

New to Streaming: ‘Punch-Drunk Love,’ ‘Free Fire,’ ‘The Salesman,’ and More

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

Best in Show (Christopher Guest)

Christopher Guest has had an exceptionally strong ’00s with A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration, and it remains to be seen how his upcoming Mascots will be received, but his arguable peak is still the gloriously funny mockumentary Best in Show. Guest’s other films have lovingly skewered egotistical oddballs and the insanity of subjective or objective criticism, so Best in Show is
See full article at The Film Stage »

The Promise Review [Tiff 2016]

The Promise is visually arresting and befittingly nostalgic, but no where near enough so to warrant or rectify the film’s atrociously underdeveloped protagonists and threadbare plot. Director Terry George fails to materialize the sobering and engrossing pathos elicited by genre heavyweights like Schindler’s List and, to a certain extent, George’s own Hotel Rwanda. As a result, The Promise falls subsequently flat.

Co-writers George and Robin Swicord’s (heavily revised) vision of a whimsical, fleeting love-triangle trope backdropped by the Armenian genocide is as bad a narrative combination as it reads, exploiting the atrocity and its victims as mere devices of tragedy in an attempt to humanize characters that scarcely qualify as people that are even remotely worthy of triggering compassion. The only genuine humanness residing in the otherwise haughty film is its desire to produce a movie that’s accessible and informative regarding the plight of the Armenian people.
See full article at We Got This Covered »

[Tiff Review] The Promise

Terry George‘s The Promise begins with a title card that appears on-screen stating that 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Turkish government during World War I. It’s a tragedy that has been depicted before in film, perhaps most notably in Atom Egoyan’s underwhelming Ararat, with ample room still made available to deliver the definitive version. Despite formidable talent on both sides of the camera, unfortunately we’ll have to wait longer for such a drama to arrive.

The film takes place on the brink of World War I in Turkey. Michael (Oscar Isaac), an intelligent, compassionate Armenian, decides to settle down and marry a girl (Angela Sarafyan) that he’s not completely smitten by, but claims that with time he will indeed love her. He lives in Armenia, but opts to journey to Turkey, without his wife, to study medicine at the Imperial Medical School and become
See full article at The Film Stage »

War And Remembrance: Speaking to Christopher Plummer about Remember

  • Cineplex
Christopher Plummer is a marvel. At age 85, when most men his age have long ago settled into retirement, he’s acting full-time both on stage and in films. He holds the record as the oldest person — age 82 — to win an Oscar (his was a Best Supporting Actor nod for 2011’s Beginners), and this month he carries a heavy load as the star of director Atom Egoyan’s dramatic thriller Remember.

Plummer plays Zev, a Holocaust survivor suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s who sets out to find the Nazi guard who killed his family 70 years ago in Auschwitz. Plummer was at his Connecticut home when we spoke by phone about the daunting role, his own memories of the war and how he keeps his mind sharp.

What drew you to this role?

“Well, I had never really done this sort of thing before, a kind of victim. He
See full article at Cineplex »

Atom Egoyan accepts Honorary Heart of Sarajevo

  • ScreenDaily
Atom Egoyan accepts Honorary Heart of Sarajevo
Canadian film-maker received the honour before a screening of Exotica as part of the Tribute To… programme

At the Sarajevo Film Festival on Wednesday [Aug 19], Canadian director Atom Egoyan received the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo for his contribution to the art of film at a ceremony in the festival’s Meeting Point cinema.

“By awarding Atom Egoyan with the Heart of Sarajevo, we would like to honour one of the most noted contemporary film-makers, who is not only a theatre and opera director as well, but also a visual artist, writer and professor of film,” said Sff festival director Mirsad Purivatra.

“They call him the master of visual and verbal storytelling, and we completely agree.”

Egoyan then took to the stage and delivered a touching speech: “I’ve been to many festivals, I’ve received honours, but this one is so special because of the spirit and the history of this festival.

“This is a festival
See full article at ScreenDaily »

Sarajevo fest to honour Atom Egoyan

  • ScreenDaily
Sarajevo fest to honour Atom Egoyan
Director’s latest feature Remember to screen at Venice and Toronto.

The Sarajevo Film Festival (Aug 14-22) is to pay tribute to Canadian director Atom Egoyan, who will receive Honorary Heart of Sarajevo for his contribution to film.

The festival will screen three of his films: Exotica (1994), set in and around a fictional strip club; Cannes award-winner The Sweet Hereafter (1997); and Ararat (2002), a drama about the Armenian genocide.

Egoyan, who was born to Armenian parents in Egypt but moved to Canada aged two, has directed more than a dozen features, several TV projects, and shorts.

Following critical acclaim and accolades for Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter and Ararat, his films of the past decade have included crime drama Where The Truth Lies, starring Colin Firth and Kevin Bacon; true crime drama Devil’s Knot, again with Firth and Reese Witherspoon; and thriller The Captive, starring Ryan Reynolds.

Egoyan’s latest feature, Remember, starring
See full article at ScreenDaily »

Cairo 2014 Review: The Cut, A Good Epic Journey

With the exception of Atom Egoyan's Ararat, the Armenian Genocide has not had much attention in Western cinema. German-Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin, whose previous films have often looked at issues of the marginalized, transnational cultures and violence, attempts to tackle this huge and difficult subject with his sweeping epic The Cut. A fictionalized story of one man's journey of war, slavery, and an epic journey to find his family, it is perhaps too long and somewhat predictable in its narrative unfolding, but nonetheless is effective in its portrayal not only of the genocide, but also the harrowing effects of trauma, and is beautifully photographed and scored.Nazaret (Tahar Rahim) is an Armenian living in southeastern Turkey as a skilled metalsmith. His happy life with his wife...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]
See full article at Screen Anarchy »

2014 Cannes Critics’ Panel Day 2: No Sweet Hereafter Found in Egoyan’s “The Captive” & Ceylan Shines with Gender Role Malaise in “Winter Sleep”

Cannes – Friday May 16th

The first title out of the gate at this morning’s 8:30 a.m. showing was the first of three Canadian films in the Main Competition. Snatched up earlier by the A24 folks, starring Ryan Reynolds, Scott Speedman, Rosario Dawson and Mireille Enos, The Captive landed mostly 2 star notes with our panel, unfortunately making Atom Egoyan’s kidnapping thriller the first misfire of the fest. Winner of the Grand Prix and the International Critic’s Prize by the F.I.P.R.E.S.C.I.for The Sweet Hereafter in 1997, the Canuck has been at the fest’s Directors’ Fortnight for Speaking Parts (1989) and The Adjuster (1991) and found a home in the official selections for six features: Exotica (1994), Felicia’s Journey (1993), Ararat (2002 – Out of Comp), Where the Truth Lies (2005) and 2008′s Adoration.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s over three hour dialogue driven drama occupied a one time showing 3:00 p.
See full article at IONCINEMA.com »

Atom Egoyan's 'The Captive' Goes to A24

Atom Egoyan's 'The Captive' Goes to A24
Entertainment One Films International (eOne Films International), in conjunction with Wme Global, Ego Film Arts and The Film Farm, is proud to announce the Us sale of The Captive to A24, in partnership with DirecTV. Directed by acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan (Chloe{FImCSmmsdOXxqo, Ararat), and written by Atom Egoyan and David Fraser, the film is based on an original story by Atom Egoyan. The film is produced by Egoyan, Simone Urdl, Jennifer Weiss and Stephen Traynor. A24 will release the film this fall.

Said Atom Egoyan,

"On behalf of my team, we are delighted that A24 will release The Captive in the Us. I am impressed with the caliber of films and campaigns they have recently worked on and I look forward to collaborating with them to reach an American audience."

Said Harold van Lier, President, eOne Films International,

"A24 is an extremely exciting company right now with a
See full article at MovieWeb »
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