Universal City, California – Continuing its theatrical run, the charming comedy starring Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Hanks, Focus Features’ Asteroid City is available tomorrow, July 11, 2023 to buy or rent at home on digital platforms nationwide from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Packed with humor, an eclectic cast of characters, and an extraordinary alien encounter, the film marks the return of seven-time Oscar® nominated writer and director Wes Anderson and his signature unique visual style.
A “delightfully profound desert charmer” (Indiewire) that “packs a punch with its ensemble cast” (Slash Film), Asteroid City showcases a star-studded, critically acclaimed supporting cast alongside Schwartzman, Johansson, and Hanks, including Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan and Jeff Goldblum.
A fictional American desert town, circa 1955. Junior Stargazers...
A “delightfully profound desert charmer” (Indiewire) that “packs a punch with its ensemble cast” (Slash Film), Asteroid City showcases a star-studded, critically acclaimed supporting cast alongside Schwartzman, Johansson, and Hanks, including Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan and Jeff Goldblum.
A fictional American desert town, circa 1955. Junior Stargazers...
- 7/11/2023
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
HollywoodThe film follows the chaos that ensues as world-changing events take place at a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention.Screengrab: YouTube/ Focus FeaturesThe trailer for Wes Anderson's upcoming comedy Asteroid City has been released. The film is set in the 1950s in a fictional American desert town. According to a report by Variety, the film follows the chaos that ensues as world-changing events take place at a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention, which is designed to unite students and parents in scholarly competition. The film's main cast includes Margot Robbie, Tom Hanks, Hong Chau, and Scarlett Johansson. Also featured in the film are Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Ed Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, Grace Edwards, Aristou Meehan, Sophia Lillis, Ethan Lee, Jeff Goldblum, and Rita Wilson. Asteroid City...
- 3/30/2023
- by LakshmiP
- The News Minute
Los Angeles, March 30 (Ians) The trailer for Wes Anderson’s upcoming comedy ‘Asteroid City’ has been released. The film is set in the 1950s in a fictional American desert town.
At a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention, which is designed to unite students and parents in scholarly competition, chaos ensues as world-changing events take place, reports ‘Variety’.
The film’s main cast includes Margot Robbie, Tom Hanks, Hong Chau and Scarlett Johansson. Also featured in the film are Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Ed Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, Grace Edwards, Aristou Meehan, Sophia Lillis, Ethan Lee, Jeff Goldblum and Rita Wilson.
‘Asteroid City’ is the latest on Anderson’s long list of credits that include ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’, ‘Isle of Dogs’, ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’, ‘Moonrise Kingdom’, ‘The French Dispatch...
At a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention, which is designed to unite students and parents in scholarly competition, chaos ensues as world-changing events take place, reports ‘Variety’.
The film’s main cast includes Margot Robbie, Tom Hanks, Hong Chau and Scarlett Johansson. Also featured in the film are Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Ed Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, Grace Edwards, Aristou Meehan, Sophia Lillis, Ethan Lee, Jeff Goldblum and Rita Wilson.
‘Asteroid City’ is the latest on Anderson’s long list of credits that include ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’, ‘Isle of Dogs’, ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’, ‘Moonrise Kingdom’, ‘The French Dispatch...
- 3/30/2023
- by News Bureau
- GlamSham
Focus Features has dropped the trailer for Wes Anderson’s upcoming comedy “Asteroid City.”
“Asteroid City” is set in the 1950s in a fictional American desert town. At a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention, which is designed to unite students and parents in scholarly competition, chaos ensues as world-changing events take place.
The film’s main cast includes Margot Robbie, Tom Hanks, Hong Chau and Scarlett Johansson. Also featured in the film are Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Ed Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, Grace Edwards, Aristou Meehan, Sophia Lillis, Ethan Lee, Jeff Goldblum and Rita Wilson.
“Asteroid City” is the latest on Anderson’s long list of credits that include “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “Isle of Dogs,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Moonrise Kingdom,” “The French Dispatch” and “The Royal Tennenbaums.
“Asteroid City” is set in the 1950s in a fictional American desert town. At a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention, which is designed to unite students and parents in scholarly competition, chaos ensues as world-changing events take place.
The film’s main cast includes Margot Robbie, Tom Hanks, Hong Chau and Scarlett Johansson. Also featured in the film are Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Ed Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, Grace Edwards, Aristou Meehan, Sophia Lillis, Ethan Lee, Jeff Goldblum and Rita Wilson.
“Asteroid City” is the latest on Anderson’s long list of credits that include “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “Isle of Dogs,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Moonrise Kingdom,” “The French Dispatch” and “The Royal Tennenbaums.
- 3/29/2023
- by Julia MacCary
- Variety Film + TV
On Saturday, film and TV funder Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg celebrated the six films that it funded running in the official program of the Cannes Film Festival.
These were Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness,” in Competition, Ali Abbasi’s “Holy Spider,” in Competition, Emily Atef’s “More Than Ever,” in Un Certain Regard, Mia Hansen-Løve’s “Un beau matin,” in Directors’ Fortnight, Sergei Loznitsa’s “The Natural History of Destruction,” in Special Screening, and Mantas Kvedaravicius’ “Mariupolis 2,” in Special Screening.
Commenting on the role Medienboard played in funding the films in Cannes, the organization’s chief Kirsten Niehuus said: “Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and other film funds play an important role in sustaining high quality cinema in Europe and in international co-productions around the world.”
Speaking about the type of films Medienboard likes to fund, she said: “Not very original but true – we prefer films that bring something original to an audience.
These were Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness,” in Competition, Ali Abbasi’s “Holy Spider,” in Competition, Emily Atef’s “More Than Ever,” in Un Certain Regard, Mia Hansen-Løve’s “Un beau matin,” in Directors’ Fortnight, Sergei Loznitsa’s “The Natural History of Destruction,” in Special Screening, and Mantas Kvedaravicius’ “Mariupolis 2,” in Special Screening.
Commenting on the role Medienboard played in funding the films in Cannes, the organization’s chief Kirsten Niehuus said: “Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and other film funds play an important role in sustaining high quality cinema in Europe and in international co-productions around the world.”
Speaking about the type of films Medienboard likes to fund, she said: “Not very original but true – we prefer films that bring something original to an audience.
- 5/25/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
San Francisco went green on Saturday evening as Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix Resurrections made its U.S. premiere at the city’s historic Castro Theater.
Naturally, Warner Bros. opted out of the standard red carpet for the event, in favor of a green one—with Mayor London Breed also getting in on the celebration of the film, which shot select scenes in San Francisco. “In honor of the Matrix Resurrection movie premiere tonight right here at our own Castro Theater, buildings across the city — including City Hall — will be participating in the Light San Francisco Matrix Green project!” she wrote on Twitter.
Set for release in theaters and on HBO Max on December 22, The Matrix Resurrections is the fourth film in the iconic sci-fi franchise which comes 18 years after the release of the sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, and 22 years after its launch with The Matrix.
Naturally, Warner Bros. opted out of the standard red carpet for the event, in favor of a green one—with Mayor London Breed also getting in on the celebration of the film, which shot select scenes in San Francisco. “In honor of the Matrix Resurrection movie premiere tonight right here at our own Castro Theater, buildings across the city — including City Hall — will be participating in the Light San Francisco Matrix Green project!” she wrote on Twitter.
Set for release in theaters and on HBO Max on December 22, The Matrix Resurrections is the fourth film in the iconic sci-fi franchise which comes 18 years after the release of the sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, and 22 years after its launch with The Matrix.
- 12/19/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Sony recently unveiled the first poster for its adaptation of Uncharted, starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, which is scheduled for release in the U.S. on February 18.
The film based on the beloved PlayStation video games created by Naughty Dog follows a young Nathan Drake (Holland) on his first adventure with his fellow treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Wahlberg), watching as the pair go in dangerous pursuit of “the greatest treasure never found” while also tracking clues that may lead to Nathan’s long-lost brother.
Antonio Banderas, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, Sophia Ali, Patricia Meeden and Sarah Petrick also star in the film from director Ruben Fleischer, which was scripted by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway.
Charles Roven and Alex Gartner produced for Atlas Entertainment with Avi Arad and Ari Arad for Arad Productions. Fleischer, Holland, Marcum and Holloway exec produced alongside PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan,...
The film based on the beloved PlayStation video games created by Naughty Dog follows a young Nathan Drake (Holland) on his first adventure with his fellow treasure hunter Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Wahlberg), watching as the pair go in dangerous pursuit of “the greatest treasure never found” while also tracking clues that may lead to Nathan’s long-lost brother.
Antonio Banderas, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, Sophia Ali, Patricia Meeden and Sarah Petrick also star in the film from director Ruben Fleischer, which was scripted by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway.
Charles Roven and Alex Gartner produced for Atlas Entertainment with Avi Arad and Ari Arad for Arad Productions. Fleischer, Holland, Marcum and Holloway exec produced alongside PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan,...
- 12/16/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
On Wednesday, Warner Bros. Pictures unveiled a new poster for The Matrix Resurrections via its official Twitter account.
“Step back into the Matrix with this new poster for The Matrix Resurrections,” read the photo caption. “Watch it in theaters and on HBO Max* this Christmas. #TheMatrix.”
Resurrections is the fourth film in the iconic sci-fi franchise which comes 18 years after the release of the sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, and 22 years after its launch with The Matrix.
It’s set 20 years after the events of Revolutions, and finds Neo (Keanu Reeves) living a seemingly ordinary life as Thomas A. Anderson in San Francisco, where his therapist prescribes him blue pills. Neither he nor Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) recognize each other. Subsequently, however, Morpheus offers him the red pill and reopens his mind to the world of the Matrix.
“Step back into the Matrix with this new poster for The Matrix Resurrections,” read the photo caption. “Watch it in theaters and on HBO Max* this Christmas. #TheMatrix.”
Resurrections is the fourth film in the iconic sci-fi franchise which comes 18 years after the release of the sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, and 22 years after its launch with The Matrix.
It’s set 20 years after the events of Revolutions, and finds Neo (Keanu Reeves) living a seemingly ordinary life as Thomas A. Anderson in San Francisco, where his therapist prescribes him blue pills. Neither he nor Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) recognize each other. Subsequently, however, Morpheus offers him the red pill and reopens his mind to the world of the Matrix.
- 11/17/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
German co-productions are making a strong showing at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, among them Leos Carax’s opening film, “Annette,” Wes Anderson’s star-studded “The French Dispatch” and Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi’s “The Story of My Wife.”
Fabian Gasmia’s Berlin-based Detailfilm is among the producers on “Annette,” which stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. The musical shot throughout the German state of North RhineWestphalia, including at the Ordensburg Vogelsang, a former Nazi military academy that doubles for a high-security U.S. prison in the film. The production received €500,000 from regional funder Filmstiftung Nrw in addition to support from the German-French Minitraité.
“The French Dispatch” marks Anderson’s third collaboration with co-producer Studio Babelsberg after “Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Isle of Dogs.” The competition entry also partially shot at the studio. Studio Babelsberg’s Christoph Fisser, Henning Molfenter and Charlie Woebcken, who secured funding for the production...
Fabian Gasmia’s Berlin-based Detailfilm is among the producers on “Annette,” which stars Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. The musical shot throughout the German state of North RhineWestphalia, including at the Ordensburg Vogelsang, a former Nazi military academy that doubles for a high-security U.S. prison in the film. The production received €500,000 from regional funder Filmstiftung Nrw in addition to support from the German-French Minitraité.
“The French Dispatch” marks Anderson’s third collaboration with co-producer Studio Babelsberg after “Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Isle of Dogs.” The competition entry also partially shot at the studio. Studio Babelsberg’s Christoph Fisser, Henning Molfenter and Charlie Woebcken, who secured funding for the production...
- 7/9/2021
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Pictured: “Little Joe” director Jessica Hausner, Martin Gschlacht, one of the film’s producers, Kirsten Niehuus, with director-producer Cordula Kablitz-Post.
Berlin funding agency Medienboard’s managing director Kirsten Niehuus hosted a cocktail reception on Saturday at Grand Hotel in Cannes to celebrate the five films it funded that feature in the festival program.
The five films are competition titles “A Hidden Life” and “Little Joe”; Un Certain Regard films “The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao” and “Liberté”; and Critics’ Week film “The Trap”.
Among the 350 guests were August Diehl, an actor in Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life”; Jessica Hausner, director of “Little Joe”; Albert Serra, director of “Liberté”; Karim Aïnouz, director of “The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao”; and Carlo Chatrian, newly assigned artistic director of the Berlinale.
Other guests include Edward Berger, director of “Patrick Melrose,” “Deutschland 83” and “Jack”; Nurhan Sekerci-Porst, producer of Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade...
Berlin funding agency Medienboard’s managing director Kirsten Niehuus hosted a cocktail reception on Saturday at Grand Hotel in Cannes to celebrate the five films it funded that feature in the festival program.
The five films are competition titles “A Hidden Life” and “Little Joe”; Un Certain Regard films “The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao” and “Liberté”; and Critics’ Week film “The Trap”.
Among the 350 guests were August Diehl, an actor in Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life”; Jessica Hausner, director of “Little Joe”; Albert Serra, director of “Liberté”; Karim Aïnouz, director of “The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao”; and Carlo Chatrian, newly assigned artistic director of the Berlinale.
Other guests include Edward Berger, director of “Patrick Melrose,” “Deutschland 83” and “Jack”; Nurhan Sekerci-Porst, producer of Fatih Akin’s “In the Fade...
- 5/19/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
First look at Nora Arnezeder in project; Mister Smith Entertainment launching sales at Afm.
Munich-based Constantin Film has begun production on sci-fi epic Haven - Above Sky, from director Tim Fehlbaum and executive producer Roland Emmerich.
Screen can reveal a first look at the film, which is starring Nora Arnezeder (Mozart In The Jungle), Iain Glen (Game Of Thrones), Sarah-Sofie Boussnina (Mary Magdalene), Sope Dirisu (The Huntsman: Winter’s Tale), Sebastian Roché (The Man In The High Castle) and Joel Basman (Land Of Mine).
Director Fehlbaum co-wrote the screenplay with Mariko Minoguchi. Set in the near future, after a global...
Munich-based Constantin Film has begun production on sci-fi epic Haven - Above Sky, from director Tim Fehlbaum and executive producer Roland Emmerich.
Screen can reveal a first look at the film, which is starring Nora Arnezeder (Mozart In The Jungle), Iain Glen (Game Of Thrones), Sarah-Sofie Boussnina (Mary Magdalene), Sope Dirisu (The Huntsman: Winter’s Tale), Sebastian Roché (The Man In The High Castle) and Joel Basman (Land Of Mine).
Director Fehlbaum co-wrote the screenplay with Mariko Minoguchi. Set in the near future, after a global...
- 10/16/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
David Garrett’s Mister Smith boards period drama, currently in post-production.
David Garrett’s Mister Smith Entertainment has boarded international sales to Terrence Malick’s upcoming Second World War drama Radegund.
Sales are set to commence at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.
Radegund will follow the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector who refused to fight for the Nazis and was executed by them in 1943.
The film marks Malick’s return to the Second World War period following acclaimed 1998 drama The Thin Red Line.
From Malick’s screenplay, the film stars August Diehl as Franz Jägerstätter, Valerie Pachner as his wife Fani, Matthias Schoenaerts as Captain Herder and Bruno Ganz as Judge Lueben alongside Martin Wuttke, Maria Simon, Karin Neuhäuser and Alexander Fehling.
Malick’s production partner Grant Hill is producing together with Dario Bergesio, Marcus Loges, Josh Jeter and Elisabeth Bentley.
Studio Babelsberg are co-producing. Adam Morgan, [link...
David Garrett’s Mister Smith Entertainment has boarded international sales to Terrence Malick’s upcoming Second World War drama Radegund.
Sales are set to commence at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.
Radegund will follow the true story of Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector who refused to fight for the Nazis and was executed by them in 1943.
The film marks Malick’s return to the Second World War period following acclaimed 1998 drama The Thin Red Line.
From Malick’s screenplay, the film stars August Diehl as Franz Jägerstätter, Valerie Pachner as his wife Fani, Matthias Schoenaerts as Captain Herder and Bruno Ganz as Judge Lueben alongside Martin Wuttke, Maria Simon, Karin Neuhäuser and Alexander Fehling.
Malick’s production partner Grant Hill is producing together with Dario Bergesio, Marcus Loges, Josh Jeter and Elisabeth Bentley.
Studio Babelsberg are co-producing. Adam Morgan, [link...
- 1/23/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Duncan Jones has begun principal photography in Berlin on Netflix’s upcoming 2017 thriller.
Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux star in the project about a mute man searching for a missing person in the year 2052 while duelling with two villains.
Jones co-wrote the Mute script with Michael Robert Johnson. The filmmaker’s longtime business partner Stuart Fenegan produces for Liberty Films.
Charles J.D. Schlissel serves as executive producer along with Henning Molfenter, Charlie Woebcken and Christoph Fisser of Studio Babelsberg.
Mt. Philo Films has cast Pierson Fode and Sedale Threatt Jr. in It’s Time. Fritz Mitchell is directing from a script by Jeff Sarokin the true story of a friendship that arose from a tragic accident during a 1989 American football college game between Vanderbilt and Ole Miss. Mitchell’s Mt. Philo Films partner Wendy Yamano produces.Rlj Entertainment’s Acorn brand has licensed all Us television, digital and home entertainment rights to ITV Studios’ six-part...
Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux star in the project about a mute man searching for a missing person in the year 2052 while duelling with two villains.
Jones co-wrote the Mute script with Michael Robert Johnson. The filmmaker’s longtime business partner Stuart Fenegan produces for Liberty Films.
Charles J.D. Schlissel serves as executive producer along with Henning Molfenter, Charlie Woebcken and Christoph Fisser of Studio Babelsberg.
Mt. Philo Films has cast Pierson Fode and Sedale Threatt Jr. in It’s Time. Fritz Mitchell is directing from a script by Jeff Sarokin the true story of a friendship that arose from a tragic accident during a 1989 American football college game between Vanderbilt and Ole Miss. Mitchell’s Mt. Philo Films partner Wendy Yamano produces.Rlj Entertainment’s Acorn brand has licensed all Us television, digital and home entertainment rights to ITV Studios’ six-part...
- 10/12/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Back in 2014, “Beauty and the Beast,” or also known as “La Belle et La Bête,” premiered at the Berlin Film Festival to positive reviews. Now two years later, thanks to Shout! Factory, the Christophe Gans live-action French film will be hitting Us cinemas this September.
In this adaptation of the classic tale Léa Seydoux stars as Belle opposite Vincent Cassel as the Beast. Set in 1810, the story follows the unexpected romance that blooms after the youngest daughter of a merchant who is going through rough times offers herself to the beast to save her father.
Read More: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Trailer: Emma Watson Might Be The One In Disney’s Live-Action Remake
Shout! Factory acquired the movie in January of this year. The fantasy film, written by Gans and Sandra Vo-Anh, garnered around $28 million overseas when it was released two years ago.
It is produced by Richard Grandpierre and...
In this adaptation of the classic tale Léa Seydoux stars as Belle opposite Vincent Cassel as the Beast. Set in 1810, the story follows the unexpected romance that blooms after the youngest daughter of a merchant who is going through rough times offers herself to the beast to save her father.
Read More: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Trailer: Emma Watson Might Be The One In Disney’s Live-Action Remake
Shout! Factory acquired the movie in January of this year. The fantasy film, written by Gans and Sandra Vo-Anh, garnered around $28 million overseas when it was released two years ago.
It is produced by Richard Grandpierre and...
- 7/28/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
The Cannes-bound project is based on Ken Scott’s adaptation of the post-wwii non-fiction book by Karen Levine.
Hana’s Suitcase centres on a survivor and entrepreneur who must revisit memories of Auschwitz and discuss his sister’s fate to help a passionate educator create a Holocaust exhibit.
Producing the Canada-German co-production are Christian Larouche of Christal Films, Scott through his Cinemascott Productions banner, and Henning Molfenter of Babelsberg Film. Maxime Vanasse will serve as executive producer.
Ascot Elite holds German-speaking rights.
The project was originally created as a radio documentary by Levine, who turned it in a book.
Seville International represents worldwide rights.
Hana’s Suitcase centres on a survivor and entrepreneur who must revisit memories of Auschwitz and discuss his sister’s fate to help a passionate educator create a Holocaust exhibit.
Producing the Canada-German co-production are Christian Larouche of Christal Films, Scott through his Cinemascott Productions banner, and Henning Molfenter of Babelsberg Film. Maxime Vanasse will serve as executive producer.
Ascot Elite holds German-speaking rights.
The project was originally created as a radio documentary by Levine, who turned it in a book.
Seville International represents worldwide rights.
- 5/3/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Walking Dead's Lauren Cohan stars in The Boy, and we have details on the horror film's upcoming premiere. Also in this round-up: Hellions Blu-ray / DVD info, Cavity Colors' Starry Eyes shirt, Cinefamily's X-Files marathon, acquisition details for Christophe Gans' Beauty and the Beast, and Diamond Select Toys' Alien Minimates.
The Boy Premiere: Press Release: "(Burbank, January 11, 2016) - Stx Entertainment and Lakeshore Entertainment have arranged a once-in-a-lifetime experience for fans to see the new horror movie The Boy at 15 exclusive red carpet screenings before the general public has an opportunity to see the film. The PG-13 rated motion picture opens in theaters nationwide on January 22.
All 15 screenings will occur simultaneously and will take place on one night only- Wednesday, January 20, 2016 - starting at 6Pm Et / 3Pm Pt. Tickets to this event are now available online at TheBoyFanPremiere.Movie. The announcement was made today by Jack Pan, President of Marketing for Stx Entertainment.
The Boy Premiere: Press Release: "(Burbank, January 11, 2016) - Stx Entertainment and Lakeshore Entertainment have arranged a once-in-a-lifetime experience for fans to see the new horror movie The Boy at 15 exclusive red carpet screenings before the general public has an opportunity to see the film. The PG-13 rated motion picture opens in theaters nationwide on January 22.
All 15 screenings will occur simultaneously and will take place on one night only- Wednesday, January 20, 2016 - starting at 6Pm Et / 3Pm Pt. Tickets to this event are now available online at TheBoyFanPremiere.Movie. The announcement was made today by Jack Pan, President of Marketing for Stx Entertainment.
- 1/14/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Every year Villa Aurora follows its own long tradition of welcoming the German community and friends to socialize and celebrate the German contribution to American culture.
The German co-production “Citizenfour” by Laura Poitras (De/Us, Praxis Films, Br, Ndr) was awarded the Oscar® for Best Documentary Feature yesterday. “Citizenfour” has also received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature.
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” by Wes Anderson (Gb/De, Neunzehnte Babelsberg Film), another German co-production, picked up four Academy Awards® in the categories Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Hair and Make-Up as well as Best Original Score. It had been nominated in nine categories.
A day before the Oscars®, German Films joined forces with the Villa Aurora and the German Consul-General in Los Angeles to hold their traditional reception in honor of the German Oscar® nominees at the garden of the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles.
The teams of “Citizenfour” comprising the German producers Dirk Wilutzky and Mathilde Bonnefoy, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” with the producers Carl Woebcken, Henning Molfenter and Christoph Fisser, the representatives of the German regional funders Carl Bergengruen of Mfg Baden-württemberg and Kirsten Niehuus of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg as well as the director Wim Wenders, who was nominated for Best Documentary Feature for “The Salt Of The Earth," celebrated there with guests from the German and international film industry.
The beautiful Spanish Deco home at 520 Paseo Miramar in the Pacific Palisades was bought by the famed author, Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta in 1943 the same year that he published The Devil in France, the account of his imprisonment by the Nazis in the South of France before he fled to the U.S.
In September of 1940, with the support of Varian Fry and the U.S. Vice Consul in Marseille, Hiram Bingham, Lion and Marta were able to join another group of exiles in crossing the Pyrenees on foot. They made their journey from Lisbon to New York on different ships. From there, they traveled to Los Angeles, and in 1943 moved into the Villa Aurora, which soon became a focal point in the lives of many intellectuals and artists who had fled from Germany including Bertold Brecht, Thomas Mann and his brother Heinrich Mann, Marlene Dietrich.
Their German passports had been confiscated by the Nazis. In the McCarthy era, Feuchtwanger was scrutinized as a “premature antifascist” by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Fearing that he would not be allowed to return, he never traveled outside the U.S. again. After years of immigration hearings, Feuchtwangers application for American citizenship was finally granted, but the letter informing Feuchtwanger of the fact was not received until a day after his death.
Marta bequeathed to the University of Southern California the library and the house in exchange for the life-long right to live in the Villa. She was appointed curator of the Villa and was politically and culturally active. The Villa remained a social destination in Los Angeles. In 1987 she died at the age of 96.
"So, in my fiftieth year, I literally arrived in the U.S. on foot. Has that made me a U.S. citizen? Can a piece of paper change half a century of my life? I don’t believe it. Now, that I have only 10 years to complete the second half of the century, I feel, it is good to have the citizenship of a country that unites my German routes with the ones of many other nations. Being American is very close to being a citizen of the world."
Source: Marta Feuchtwanger: Only a Woman, Years Days Hours, Aufbau Verlag Berlin Leipzig, 1984
Celebrating the Academy Award Nominees at the same time as 20 years of present ownership of the Villa Aurora and at the same time as 25 years after German reunification, restoration of the famed Babelsberg Studios made this year especially notable.
At the party, I had the chance to speak with Mariette Rissenbeek, Managing Director or German Films.
How long have you been with German Export?
I started in 2002, 13 years ago. I was in charge of festivals and public relations. The position gave me rewarding insights into festivals and I was able to meet many producers.
What changes have you seen in your time there?
I started a year after “Good Bye Lenin” and “Nowhere in Africa”. In the 2000s, German films became very popular internationally. Since 2011 I have been the Managing Director which involves lots of administration and politics.
How do German films do abroad?
Every year two to three titles work well. “Phoenix” is doing very well in France. “Hannah Arendt” and “The Lives of Others” did well worldwide. This year we have “Elser” (“Thirteen Minutes”) which just premiered in Berlin and of course “Salt of the Earth” and “CitizenFour” (winner of the 2015 Spirit Award for Best Documentary), “Victoria” which Adopt Films acquired for U.S.
Germans have consistently won Academy Awards since 1929 when Emil Jannings won for Best Actor in “The Way of All Flesh” and “ The Last Command”.
I also had the chance to speak with the Director of Villa Aurora, my friend since her days at Goethe Institute.
How long have you been Director of Villa Aurora ?
Three years in May.
You moved over from Goethe Institute and have changed Villa Aurora significantly. Can you tell us what changes it has undergone since you took over as its director?
When I applied for the position, I gave my vision for the Villa in various areas which included increased visibility, and renovations, as the home was in a rather neglected state. I also wanted our guests to network more with the Los Angeles arts community. So now their work appears in galleries, they give master classes and they show their work.
I had support from the Berlin headquarters and the German Foreign office and so we could renovate, landscape and install better lighting. I love creative work and this has been very satisfying.
Similarly as at the Goethe Institute, I still network and organize events, but I am also a “den mother” to the fellows. At this time we have five artists in residence. Four are here for three months and one is here for eight months – a writer in exile who cannot live in the native country of birth. We have had a writer from Syria living in Turkey; last year we had someone from Viet Nam and before, a blogger from Belarus living in Poland.
We also have an agreement with Cal Arts to send an artist to Germany to work and present their work.
Once again the congeniality and milieu brought together Hollywood and Germany, a partnership which goes back to the first days of the Hollywood we know today.
The German co-production “Citizenfour” by Laura Poitras (De/Us, Praxis Films, Br, Ndr) was awarded the Oscar® for Best Documentary Feature yesterday. “Citizenfour” has also received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature.
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” by Wes Anderson (Gb/De, Neunzehnte Babelsberg Film), another German co-production, picked up four Academy Awards® in the categories Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Hair and Make-Up as well as Best Original Score. It had been nominated in nine categories.
A day before the Oscars®, German Films joined forces with the Villa Aurora and the German Consul-General in Los Angeles to hold their traditional reception in honor of the German Oscar® nominees at the garden of the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles.
The teams of “Citizenfour” comprising the German producers Dirk Wilutzky and Mathilde Bonnefoy, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” with the producers Carl Woebcken, Henning Molfenter and Christoph Fisser, the representatives of the German regional funders Carl Bergengruen of Mfg Baden-württemberg and Kirsten Niehuus of Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg as well as the director Wim Wenders, who was nominated for Best Documentary Feature for “The Salt Of The Earth," celebrated there with guests from the German and international film industry.
The beautiful Spanish Deco home at 520 Paseo Miramar in the Pacific Palisades was bought by the famed author, Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta in 1943 the same year that he published The Devil in France, the account of his imprisonment by the Nazis in the South of France before he fled to the U.S.
In September of 1940, with the support of Varian Fry and the U.S. Vice Consul in Marseille, Hiram Bingham, Lion and Marta were able to join another group of exiles in crossing the Pyrenees on foot. They made their journey from Lisbon to New York on different ships. From there, they traveled to Los Angeles, and in 1943 moved into the Villa Aurora, which soon became a focal point in the lives of many intellectuals and artists who had fled from Germany including Bertold Brecht, Thomas Mann and his brother Heinrich Mann, Marlene Dietrich.
Their German passports had been confiscated by the Nazis. In the McCarthy era, Feuchtwanger was scrutinized as a “premature antifascist” by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Fearing that he would not be allowed to return, he never traveled outside the U.S. again. After years of immigration hearings, Feuchtwangers application for American citizenship was finally granted, but the letter informing Feuchtwanger of the fact was not received until a day after his death.
Marta bequeathed to the University of Southern California the library and the house in exchange for the life-long right to live in the Villa. She was appointed curator of the Villa and was politically and culturally active. The Villa remained a social destination in Los Angeles. In 1987 she died at the age of 96.
"So, in my fiftieth year, I literally arrived in the U.S. on foot. Has that made me a U.S. citizen? Can a piece of paper change half a century of my life? I don’t believe it. Now, that I have only 10 years to complete the second half of the century, I feel, it is good to have the citizenship of a country that unites my German routes with the ones of many other nations. Being American is very close to being a citizen of the world."
Source: Marta Feuchtwanger: Only a Woman, Years Days Hours, Aufbau Verlag Berlin Leipzig, 1984
Celebrating the Academy Award Nominees at the same time as 20 years of present ownership of the Villa Aurora and at the same time as 25 years after German reunification, restoration of the famed Babelsberg Studios made this year especially notable.
At the party, I had the chance to speak with Mariette Rissenbeek, Managing Director or German Films.
How long have you been with German Export?
I started in 2002, 13 years ago. I was in charge of festivals and public relations. The position gave me rewarding insights into festivals and I was able to meet many producers.
What changes have you seen in your time there?
I started a year after “Good Bye Lenin” and “Nowhere in Africa”. In the 2000s, German films became very popular internationally. Since 2011 I have been the Managing Director which involves lots of administration and politics.
How do German films do abroad?
Every year two to three titles work well. “Phoenix” is doing very well in France. “Hannah Arendt” and “The Lives of Others” did well worldwide. This year we have “Elser” (“Thirteen Minutes”) which just premiered in Berlin and of course “Salt of the Earth” and “CitizenFour” (winner of the 2015 Spirit Award for Best Documentary), “Victoria” which Adopt Films acquired for U.S.
Germans have consistently won Academy Awards since 1929 when Emil Jannings won for Best Actor in “The Way of All Flesh” and “ The Last Command”.
I also had the chance to speak with the Director of Villa Aurora, my friend since her days at Goethe Institute.
How long have you been Director of Villa Aurora ?
Three years in May.
You moved over from Goethe Institute and have changed Villa Aurora significantly. Can you tell us what changes it has undergone since you took over as its director?
When I applied for the position, I gave my vision for the Villa in various areas which included increased visibility, and renovations, as the home was in a rather neglected state. I also wanted our guests to network more with the Los Angeles arts community. So now their work appears in galleries, they give master classes and they show their work.
I had support from the Berlin headquarters and the German Foreign office and so we could renovate, landscape and install better lighting. I love creative work and this has been very satisfying.
Similarly as at the Goethe Institute, I still network and organize events, but I am also a “den mother” to the fellows. At this time we have five artists in residence. Four are here for three months and one is here for eight months – a writer in exile who cannot live in the native country of birth. We have had a writer from Syria living in Turkey; last year we had someone from Viet Nam and before, a blogger from Belarus living in Poland.
We also have an agreement with Cal Arts to send an artist to Germany to work and present their work.
Once again the congeniality and milieu brought together Hollywood and Germany, a partnership which goes back to the first days of the Hollywood we know today.
- 2/26/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Welcome, beloved guests. The time has come to check-in to The Grand Budapest Hotel. Upon arrival, be sure to take in the beautiful world surrounding you, as created by director and co-writer Wes Anderson, as well as the wonderful hotel aesthetic, brought to you by production designer Adam Stockhausen. This week, Wamg and a few members of the press sat down (in a roundtable discussion) with Anderson and Stockhausen to talk about Anderson’s all new caper The Grand Budapest Hotel. Check it out below!
The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains, sleds, and skis; and the sweetest...
The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains, sleds, and skis; and the sweetest...
- 3/7/2014
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Welcome, beloved guest-to-be. Upon your check-in to The Grand Budapest Hotel on Friday, you might meet a very important attorney that goes by the name of Deputy Kovacs, who is played by Jeff Goldblum in Wes Anderson’s new caper about friendship, honor, and promises fulfilled. This week, Wamg and a few members of the press sat down (in a roundtable discussion) with Goldblum to talk about the working with Anderson, upcoming projects, and memes. Check it out below!
The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains, sleds, and skis; and the sweetest confection of a love affair — all...
The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains, sleds, and skis; and the sweetest confection of a love affair — all...
- 3/6/2014
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Upon your check-in to The Grand Budapest Hotel on Friday, you will be greeted by a young lobby boy named Zero – a bright brave, resourceful boy who immigrated on foot from Aq-Salim-al-Jabat. Played by actor Tony Revolori, the character of Zero serves under concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) in Wes Anderson’s new caper about friendship, honor, and promises fulfilled. Yesterday, Wamg and a few members of the press sat down (in a roundtable discussion) with Revolori to talk about the incredible cast, slap takes, and mustaches. Check it out below!
The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains,...
The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars; and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting; a raging battle for an enormous family fortune; a desperate chase on motorcycles, trains,...
- 3/6/2014
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
credit: Sara Wood / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Is it too soon for George Clooney to win back-to back Oscars?
In what will undoubtedly be a major awards season player and possible Best Picture winner, Columbia Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox announced today that The Monuments Men, a Smokehouse production directed by and starring George Clooney, has started production in Berlin, Germany. Due in theaters on December 18th, the action-thriller is written by Clooney & Grant Heslov, based on the book by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter. Clooney and Heslov also produce the film through their Smokehouse Productions. It is their first production since winning the Academy Award® for Best Picture for their work on Argo.
Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history,The Monuments Men focuses on an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked by Fdr with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces...
Is it too soon for George Clooney to win back-to back Oscars?
In what will undoubtedly be a major awards season player and possible Best Picture winner, Columbia Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox announced today that The Monuments Men, a Smokehouse production directed by and starring George Clooney, has started production in Berlin, Germany. Due in theaters on December 18th, the action-thriller is written by Clooney & Grant Heslov, based on the book by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter. Clooney and Heslov also produce the film through their Smokehouse Productions. It is their first production since winning the Academy Award® for Best Picture for their work on Argo.
Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history,The Monuments Men focuses on an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked by Fdr with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces...
- 3/5/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Columbia Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox announced today that The Monuments Men , a Smokehouse production directed by and starring George Clooney, has started production in Berlin, Germany. The action-thriller is written by Clooney & Grant Heslov, based on the book by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter. Clooney and Heslov also produce the film through their Smokehouse Productions. It is their first production since winning the Academy Award® for Best Picture for their work on Argo . Barbara A. Hall is executive producer. The Monuments Men is a co-production with Germany.s Siebente Babelsberg Film GmbH, a subsidiary of Studio Babelsberg Ag. Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter serve as co-producers. Sony Pictures will release the film domestically, with...
- 3/5/2013
- Comingsoon.net
The Shakespeare authorship question is a debate that started over one hundred years ago surrounding the identity of the works traditionally attributed to the bearded Bard from Stratford-Upon-Avon, William Shakespeare. Was he really the genius behind Hamlet.s tragic life, Romeo.s burning love, and Lady Macbeth.s plaguing guilt? Could the intellectual behind literature.s most brilliant characters be this very ordinary man from Stratford?
So little is known about the man from Stratford that many find it impossible to believe that the son of an illiterate tradesman was the author of such literary masterpieces as .The Merchant of Venice,. .King Lear,. and .Henry V.. His education from a village school could never have provided Shakespeare with a vocabulary extensive enough to write the most talked about literature in the world and there is no proof that he travelled to foreign lands let alone learnt to speak their native tongues.
So little is known about the man from Stratford that many find it impossible to believe that the son of an illiterate tradesman was the author of such literary masterpieces as .The Merchant of Venice,. .King Lear,. and .Henry V.. His education from a village school could never have provided Shakespeare with a vocabulary extensive enough to write the most talked about literature in the world and there is no proof that he travelled to foreign lands let alone learnt to speak their native tongues.
- 10/19/2011
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
I had the pleasure of seeing Joe Wright’s fourth feature tonight, the action/drama/thriller Hanna starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, and Eric Bana. While I’m embargoed from sharing any thoughts, Focus Features shared a new clip and a variety of images from the film. The clip features some of the fantastic The Chemical Brothers score, and a snippet from one of my favorite scenes in the film. Check them out below, followed by production notes from the film. Click for hi-resolution versions.
Synopsis
A teenage girl goes out into the world for the first time – and has to battle for her life. Director Joe Wright weaves elements of dark fairy tales into the adventure thriller Hanna, filmed on location in Europe and Morocco.
Hanna (played by Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan of Atonement, also directed by Joe Wright) is 16 years old. She is bright, inquisitive, and a devoted daughter.
Synopsis
A teenage girl goes out into the world for the first time – and has to battle for her life. Director Joe Wright weaves elements of dark fairy tales into the adventure thriller Hanna, filmed on location in Europe and Morocco.
Hanna (played by Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan of Atonement, also directed by Joe Wright) is 16 years old. She is bright, inquisitive, and a devoted daughter.
- 2/16/2011
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Face the Unknown with Liam Neeson and January Jones in this new trailer from Warner Bros. Pictures.
Synopsis:
Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (January Jones) suddenly doesn’t recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired, and on the run.
Aided by an unlikely ally (Diane Kruger), Martin plunges headlong into a deadly mystery that will force him to question his sanity, his identity, and just how far he’s willing to go to uncover the truth.
Academy Award® nominee Liam Neeson (Schindler’S List), Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) and January Jones (TV’s “Mad Men”) star in the contemporary thriller Unknown. The film also stars Aidan Quinn (TV’s “The Book of Daniel”), Bruno Ganz (The Reader) and Oscar® nominee...
Synopsis:
Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (January Jones) suddenly doesn’t recognize him and another man (Aidan Quinn) has assumed his identity. Ignored by disbelieving authorities and hunted by mysterious assassins, he finds himself alone, tired, and on the run.
Aided by an unlikely ally (Diane Kruger), Martin plunges headlong into a deadly mystery that will force him to question his sanity, his identity, and just how far he’s willing to go to uncover the truth.
Academy Award® nominee Liam Neeson (Schindler’S List), Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) and January Jones (TV’s “Mad Men”) star in the contemporary thriller Unknown. The film also stars Aidan Quinn (TV’s “The Book of Daniel”), Bruno Ganz (The Reader) and Oscar® nominee...
- 10/25/2010
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Principal photography is underway on the thriller Unknown White Male under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra ( Orphan ). The film stars Liam Neeson ( Schindler's List , upcoming Clash of the Titans ), Diane Kruger ( Inglorious Basterds ), January Jones (TV's "Mad Men"), Aidan Quinn (TV's "The Book of Daniel"), Bruno Ganz ( The Reader ) and Frank Langella ( Frost/Nixon ). The film is being produced by Joel Silver, under his Dark Castle Entertainment banner; Leonard Goldberg; and Dark Castle's Andrew Rona. Steve Richards, Sarah Meyer and Peter McAleese are serving as the film's executive producers, with Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter co-producing. The screenplay is by Oliver Butcher & Stephen Cornwell and Karl Gajdusek, based on...
- 2/11/2010
- Comingsoon.net
Press release:
Principal photography is underway on the thriller “Unknown White Male,” under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra (“Orphan”). The film stars Oscar® nominee Liam Neeson (“Schindler’s List,” upcoming “Clash of the Titans”), Diane Kruger (“Inglorious Basterds”), January Jones (TV’s “Mad Men”), Aidan Quinn (TV’s “The Book of Daniel”), Bruno Ganz (“The Reader”) and Oscar® nominee Frank Langella (“Frost/Nixon”).
The film is being produced by Joel Silver, under his Dark Castle Entertainment banner; Leonard Goldberg; and Dark Castle’s Andrew Rona. Steve Richards, Sarah Meyer and Peter McAleese are serving as the film’s executive producers, with Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter co-producing. The screenplay is by Oliver Butcher & Stephen Cornwell and Karl Gajdusek, based on the novel Out of My Head by Didier van Cauwelaert.
Liam Neeson stars as Dr. Martin Harris, who awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that...
Principal photography is underway on the thriller “Unknown White Male,” under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra (“Orphan”). The film stars Oscar® nominee Liam Neeson (“Schindler’s List,” upcoming “Clash of the Titans”), Diane Kruger (“Inglorious Basterds”), January Jones (TV’s “Mad Men”), Aidan Quinn (TV’s “The Book of Daniel”), Bruno Ganz (“The Reader”) and Oscar® nominee Frank Langella (“Frost/Nixon”).
The film is being produced by Joel Silver, under his Dark Castle Entertainment banner; Leonard Goldberg; and Dark Castle’s Andrew Rona. Steve Richards, Sarah Meyer and Peter McAleese are serving as the film’s executive producers, with Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter co-producing. The screenplay is by Oliver Butcher & Stephen Cornwell and Karl Gajdusek, based on the novel Out of My Head by Didier van Cauwelaert.
Liam Neeson stars as Dr. Martin Harris, who awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that...
- 2/10/2010
- by Reel Loop News Staff
- ReelLoop.com
Summit Entertainment has picked up North American distribution rights to "The Ghost Writer", the project that director Roman Polanski was in the final stages of work on before his arrest a few months ago.
Here is the full press release.
Summit Entertainment announced today that the studio will distribute the thriller The Ghost Writer, directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski, in North America. Polanski produced the film along with long time collaborators Robert Benmussa and Alain Sarde. Summit International, which has a long-standing relationship with Polanski representing the sales of the rights to his films outside of North America, acted as sales agent for The Ghost Writer. Sales have been made in all major territories around the globe. The North American rights to the film were represented by Icm. Current plans call for Summit to release the film during the first half of 2010.
The movie thriller tells the...
Here is the full press release.
Summit Entertainment announced today that the studio will distribute the thriller The Ghost Writer, directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski, in North America. Polanski produced the film along with long time collaborators Robert Benmussa and Alain Sarde. Summit International, which has a long-standing relationship with Polanski representing the sales of the rights to his films outside of North America, acted as sales agent for The Ghost Writer. Sales have been made in all major territories around the globe. The North American rights to the film were represented by Icm. Current plans call for Summit to release the film during the first half of 2010.
The movie thriller tells the...
- 12/13/2009
- by Kellvin Chavez
- AMC - Script to Screen
Frankfurt, Germany -- Director Roman Polanski is continuing to work on his film "The Ghost" from his jail cell in Switzerland and expects to deliver it on time before the end of the year.
"The film will be finished," Henning Molfenter, head of production at Studio Babelsberg and a co-producer on "The Ghost," told The Hollywood Reporter. "We will meet all our deadlines and all of our obligations with distributors."
Polanski had already delivered a rough cut of the film -- an adaptation of the Robert Harris best-seller -- before his arrest in Zurich last month on a decades-old sex charge.
Postproduction has continued as the director continues to fight extradition to the U.S. While Polanski's contact with the outside world is limited, it is believed he is being kept up to date with developments and is able to communicate via telephone with editor Herve du Luze and others involved with the project.
"The film will be finished," Henning Molfenter, head of production at Studio Babelsberg and a co-producer on "The Ghost," told The Hollywood Reporter. "We will meet all our deadlines and all of our obligations with distributors."
Polanski had already delivered a rough cut of the film -- an adaptation of the Robert Harris best-seller -- before his arrest in Zurich last month on a decades-old sex charge.
Postproduction has continued as the director continues to fight extradition to the U.S. While Polanski's contact with the outside world is limited, it is believed he is being kept up to date with developments and is able to communicate via telephone with editor Herve du Luze and others involved with the project.
- 10/15/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cologne, Germany -- Studio Babelsberg producer Henning Molfenter, scheduled to attend the Zurich Film Festival as a member jury judging German-language films, is boycotting the festival to protest Saturday's arrest of director Roman Polanski.
Fellow jury members -- actor Til Schweiger and composer Niki Reiser -- are expected to follow suit.
"There is no way I'd go to Switzerland now. You can't watch films knowing Roman Polanski is sitting in a cell 5 km away," Molfenter told The Hollywood Reporter.
Zurich's international jury -- headed by actress Debra Winger -- will make a statement on Polanski's arrest at 12:30 p.m. local time.
Swiss police arrested the 76-year-old Polanski on Saturday night as he entered Switzerland to attend the Zurich festival. He is being held on a U.S. warrant connected to a decades-old charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.
Studio Babelsberg is a co-producer on Polanski's latest,...
Fellow jury members -- actor Til Schweiger and composer Niki Reiser -- are expected to follow suit.
"There is no way I'd go to Switzerland now. You can't watch films knowing Roman Polanski is sitting in a cell 5 km away," Molfenter told The Hollywood Reporter.
Zurich's international jury -- headed by actress Debra Winger -- will make a statement on Polanski's arrest at 12:30 p.m. local time.
Swiss police arrested the 76-year-old Polanski on Saturday night as he entered Switzerland to attend the Zurich festival. He is being held on a U.S. warrant connected to a decades-old charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.
Studio Babelsberg is a co-producer on Polanski's latest,...
- 9/28/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director Quentin Tarantino's World War II action adventure Inglourious Basterds stars actor Brad Pitt as an American officer, leading a squad of renegade Us soldiers behind enemy lines. The film's ensemble cast includes Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Brühl, Eli Roth, Samm Levine, B.J. Novak, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard, Paul Rust, Michael Bacall, Omar Doom, Sylvester Groth, Julie Dreyfus, Jacky Ido, August Diehl, Martin Wuttke, Richard Sammel, Christian Berkel, Sönke Möhring, Michael Fassbender, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor, Denis Menochet and Cloris Leachman. Basterds reunites Tarantino with Academy Award-nominated editor Sally Menke, Academy Award-winning Dp Bob Richardson and production designer David Wasco. Also joining Tarantino for the first time is Academy Award-nominated costume designer Anna Sheppard. Academy Award-nominee Lawrence Bender produced the film with Erica Steinberg and Lloyd Phillips. Co-producers are Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter, with Pilar Savone, associate producer. The Weinstein Company and Universal Pictures,...
- 6/17/2009
- HollywoodNorthReport.com
Quentin TarantinoÂ.s Inglourious Basterds began principal photography last week on location in Germany.
{sidebar id=1}The ensemble cast of Inglourious Basterds includes Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Brühl, Eli Roth, Samm Levine, B.J. Novak, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard, Paul Rust, Michael Bacall, Omar Doom, Sylvester Groth, Julie Dreyfus, Jacky Ido, August Diehl, Martin Wuttke, Richard Sammel, Christian Berkel, Sönke Möhring, Michael Fassbender, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor, Denis Menochet and Cloris Leachman.
Inglourious Basterds reunites Tarantino with Academy Award-nominated editor Sally Menke, Academy Award-winning director of photography Bob Richardson, and production designer David Wasco. Joining Tarantino for the first time is Academy Award-nominated costume designer Anna Sheppard.
Academy Award-nominee Lawrence Bender is producing Inglourious Basterds. Erica Steinberg and Lloyd Phillips, and Bob and Harvey Weinstein are the filmÂ.s executive producers. The co-producers are Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter. Pilar Savone...
{sidebar id=1}The ensemble cast of Inglourious Basterds includes Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Mélanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Brühl, Eli Roth, Samm Levine, B.J. Novak, Til Schweiger, Gedeon Burkhard, Paul Rust, Michael Bacall, Omar Doom, Sylvester Groth, Julie Dreyfus, Jacky Ido, August Diehl, Martin Wuttke, Richard Sammel, Christian Berkel, Sönke Möhring, Michael Fassbender, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor, Denis Menochet and Cloris Leachman.
Inglourious Basterds reunites Tarantino with Academy Award-nominated editor Sally Menke, Academy Award-winning director of photography Bob Richardson, and production designer David Wasco. Joining Tarantino for the first time is Academy Award-nominated costume designer Anna Sheppard.
Academy Award-nominee Lawrence Bender is producing Inglourious Basterds. Erica Steinberg and Lloyd Phillips, and Bob and Harvey Weinstein are the filmÂ.s executive producers. The co-producers are Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter. Pilar Savone...
- 10/14/2008
- by IESB Staff <alyson@iesb.net>
- IESB.net
STRIKE ZONE: LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES
UPDATED 8:48 p.m. CET Feb. 9
BERLIN -- Industry players at the Berlinale responded with huzzahs Saturday to reports that the WGA had finalized its tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which could see writers back to work as early as Monday.
In a news conference Saturday in New York, WGA East president Michael Winship said, "It's not a done deal, but it's pretty much done."
News of a potential three-year pact first leaked out in the early hours of Saturday when WGA leaders sent an e-mail to its 10,500 members summarizing the main deal points ahead of key membership meetings in New York and Los Angeles on Saturday.
The WGA West board of directors and the WGA East Council will meet Sunday to decide whether to refer the tentative deal to membership for a ratification process that could take up to a month. But the board and council do have the power to end the strike immediately, if they choose not to wait for a membership referendum on that question. The latter member vote would take anywhere from two to 10 days, so the expectation is that the board and council may opt to make the decision to get the industry back to work.
"I'm really excited", said GK Films head Graham King, whose Johnny Depp starrer "Shantaram" was shelved due to the strike. "I can't wait to get back to work. Everyone here is excited. It's been a horrendous time. Now I'll have a lot work to do when I get back to L.A."
"It's very good", said Germany's Constantin Film's acquisitions head, Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann. "The market has been very quiet, and the strike had a lot to do with that. I don't think that an agreement will have a huge effect on the market now. Everyone is looking to Cannes when it will be clear what will happen with the SAG strike."
The expectation here for several days was that an agreement would be reached:
"I personally had bet on (the strike being settled) next week, but this is great, of course, it means projects that we have been talking about for a long time will now pick up speed," said Henning Molfenter, head of production at Studio Babelsberg Motion Picture. "The strike slowed everything down, meant projects that were in development didn't progress.
UPDATED 8:48 p.m. CET Feb. 9
BERLIN -- Industry players at the Berlinale responded with huzzahs Saturday to reports that the WGA had finalized its tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which could see writers back to work as early as Monday.
In a news conference Saturday in New York, WGA East president Michael Winship said, "It's not a done deal, but it's pretty much done."
News of a potential three-year pact first leaked out in the early hours of Saturday when WGA leaders sent an e-mail to its 10,500 members summarizing the main deal points ahead of key membership meetings in New York and Los Angeles on Saturday.
The WGA West board of directors and the WGA East Council will meet Sunday to decide whether to refer the tentative deal to membership for a ratification process that could take up to a month. But the board and council do have the power to end the strike immediately, if they choose not to wait for a membership referendum on that question. The latter member vote would take anywhere from two to 10 days, so the expectation is that the board and council may opt to make the decision to get the industry back to work.
"I'm really excited", said GK Films head Graham King, whose Johnny Depp starrer "Shantaram" was shelved due to the strike. "I can't wait to get back to work. Everyone here is excited. It's been a horrendous time. Now I'll have a lot work to do when I get back to L.A."
"It's very good", said Germany's Constantin Film's acquisitions head, Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann. "The market has been very quiet, and the strike had a lot to do with that. I don't think that an agreement will have a huge effect on the market now. Everyone is looking to Cannes when it will be clear what will happen with the SAG strike."
The expectation here for several days was that an agreement would be reached:
"I personally had bet on (the strike being settled) next week, but this is great, of course, it means projects that we have been talking about for a long time will now pick up speed," said Henning Molfenter, head of production at Studio Babelsberg Motion Picture. "The strike slowed everything down, meant projects that were in development didn't progress.
NEW YORK -- Sony Pictures Classics has nabbed North American rights to German drama The Counterfeiters, a true story about a money-manufacturing operation set up by the Nazis.
The film, from writer-director Stefan Ruzowitzky, last week received seven Lola nominations, including best feature.
Ruzowitzky, whose credits include 1998's The Inheritors and 2000's Anatomie, adapted the film from Adolf Burger's memoirs The Devil's Workshop.
The film stars Karl Markovics, who plays the head of a counterfeiting operation, and David Striesow, who plays the superintendent who arrests Markovics' character and then puts him in charge of an effort to produce fake foreign currency.
The film was produced by Nina Bohlmann, Babette Schroeder and Josef Aichholzer and co-produced by Caroline von Senden, Henning Molfenter and Carl L. Woebcken.
The acquisition reteams SPC with Beta Cinema, with which it made a deal for the German film The Lives of Others, which won the Oscar last month for best foreign-language film.
SPC's Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Dylan Leiner negotiated the deal with Dirk Schuerhoff of Beta Cinema.
The film, from writer-director Stefan Ruzowitzky, last week received seven Lola nominations, including best feature.
Ruzowitzky, whose credits include 1998's The Inheritors and 2000's Anatomie, adapted the film from Adolf Burger's memoirs The Devil's Workshop.
The film stars Karl Markovics, who plays the head of a counterfeiting operation, and David Striesow, who plays the superintendent who arrests Markovics' character and then puts him in charge of an effort to produce fake foreign currency.
The film was produced by Nina Bohlmann, Babette Schroeder and Josef Aichholzer and co-produced by Caroline von Senden, Henning Molfenter and Carl L. Woebcken.
The acquisition reteams SPC with Beta Cinema, with which it made a deal for the German film The Lives of Others, which won the Oscar last month for best foreign-language film.
SPC's Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Dylan Leiner negotiated the deal with Dirk Schuerhoff of Beta Cinema.
- 3/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- Matt Damon will return to Berlin and Studio Babelsberg for location shooting on "The Bourne Ultimatum", the third installment in the franchise based on the books by Robert Ludlum.
Paul Greengrass ("United 93"), who helmed the second Bourne film, "The Bourne Supremacy", will begin shooting in Babelsberg at the end of the month, said Henning Molfenter, managing director of Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures, the studio's production arm. Babelsberg will act as a production service provider to Universal Pictures on the Berlin shoot.
This is the second Bourne film to lens in Berlin, following Doug Liman's "The Bourne Identity", the film that launched the franchise in 2002.
Greengrass and Damon are crisscrossing the globe for "Ultimatum", which also includes shooting days in Morocco, Spain, France, the U.K. and the U.S.
Damon already was scheduled to come to Berlin in February for the 57th Berlin International Film Festival. Robert De Niro's "The Good Shepherd", which stars Damon as C.I.A. founder Edward Wilson, is running in competition in Berlin.
Paul Greengrass ("United 93"), who helmed the second Bourne film, "The Bourne Supremacy", will begin shooting in Babelsberg at the end of the month, said Henning Molfenter, managing director of Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures, the studio's production arm. Babelsberg will act as a production service provider to Universal Pictures on the Berlin shoot.
This is the second Bourne film to lens in Berlin, following Doug Liman's "The Bourne Identity", the film that launched the franchise in 2002.
Greengrass and Damon are crisscrossing the globe for "Ultimatum", which also includes shooting days in Morocco, Spain, France, the U.K. and the U.S.
Damon already was scheduled to come to Berlin in February for the 57th Berlin International Film Festival. Robert De Niro's "The Good Shepherd", which stars Damon as C.I.A. founder Edward Wilson, is running in competition in Berlin.
- 1/15/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
LONDON -- Prague's newest co-production service, Central Scope, opens for business Tuesday in the Czech capital with a mission to provide incoming U.S. and European features with a full range of production and financing services.
An independent subsidiary business unit of Berlin's Babelsberg Studios, Central Scope managing director Henning Molfenter -- who previously headed Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures -- said the new outfit aims "to maximize Prague's cost efficiencies and locations" by seeking to combine the range of "soft-money" deals available across Europe.
"Moviemaking in Europe is driven by soft-money," Henning said Monday, referring to the range of tax-shelters, subsidies, grants and rebates available across the European Union and in various different jurisdictions.
"Central Scope will combine soft-money deals from around Europe to help structure productions. Prague is a perfect center for this. We shall be bringing productions to Prague, but may also take Czech crews and services to other European locations or other European services here. We strongly believe in Europe's value as a production center," Henning said.
An independent subsidiary business unit of Berlin's Babelsberg Studios, Central Scope managing director Henning Molfenter -- who previously headed Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures -- said the new outfit aims "to maximize Prague's cost efficiencies and locations" by seeking to combine the range of "soft-money" deals available across Europe.
"Moviemaking in Europe is driven by soft-money," Henning said Monday, referring to the range of tax-shelters, subsidies, grants and rebates available across the European Union and in various different jurisdictions.
"Central Scope will combine soft-money deals from around Europe to help structure productions. Prague is a perfect center for this. We shall be bringing productions to Prague, but may also take Czech crews and services to other European locations or other European services here. We strongly believe in Europe's value as a production center," Henning said.
- 11/27/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
VENICE, Italy -- Paul Verhoeven's World War II drama Black Book is an ambitious throwback to the days of rousing all-action wartime pictures in which an intrepid loner risks everything to fight a clearly defined enemy. It succeeds on almost all fronts. The epic film is a high-octane adventure rooted in fact with a raft of arresting characters, big action sequences and twists and turns galore as a group of Dutch resistance fighters combat the Nazis not knowing they have a traitor at their core.
Top-flight production values and a ripping yarn should mean major boxoffice returns anywhere there is a taste for old-fashioned big-screen entertainment.
Set in German-occupied Holland in 1944, the film follows a young woman named Rachel (Carice van Houten) as she attempts to flee the Nazis with her own and other Jewish families. Having purchased their river passage with all they own, they find the escape is a trap as they are intercepted by the Gestapo and mercilessly mown down.
All except Rachel, who finds her way to a group of resistance fighters run by man named Kuipers (Derek de Lint), who operates a soup kitchen as cover for his sabotage operations. Quickly recruited into the group's inner circle led by daredevil Hans (Thom Hoffman), Rachel demonstrates her bravery and resourcefulness in an encounter on a train with an SS officer named Muntze (Sebastian Koch).
Soon, Rachel is ensconced at the local Gestapo headquarters, sleeping with Muntze and working with a local floozy, Ronnie (Halina Reijn), in the office of a brutal officer named Franken (Waldemar Kopus).
Even though the end of the war is barely months away, the danger increases for the resistance group. When she discovers that there has been a plot involving both Nazis and Dutch in faking escape plans for Jewish families who are murdered and robbed, she finds herself with enemies on all sides.
Director Verhoeven, back on home turf after the Hollywood excesses of Starship Troopers and Showgirls, has fashioned an exciting tale with co-scripter Gerard Soeteman, who developed the original story. Production designer Wilbert Van Dorp and cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub have done a great job in creating period detail and capturing fast-moving sequences and intimate moments. Editors Job ter Burg and James Herbert contribute fine work, and Oscar-winning composer Anne Dudley's score complements it all effectively.
Van Houten makes a memorable heroine, a singer as well as a good actress, in what is a very punishing role. Koch and Hoffman do a lot to give their stereotyped roles some originality.
The filmmakers strive hard to root the picture in genuine drama. There are bookends set in Israel that add considerable emotional resonance. While the revelation of the traitor smacks of melodrama, the high adventure is mixed with moments of authentic wartime pathos.
BLACK BOOK
A Fu Works production in association with Egoli Tossell Film, Clockwork Pictures, Studio Babesberg AG, Motion Investment Group, Motel Films and Hector
A VIP Medienfonds 4 production
Credits:
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Screenwriters: Gerard Soeteman, Paul Verhoeven
Producers: San Fu Maltha, Jos van der Linden, Frans van Geste, Jeroen Baker, Teun Hilte, Jens Meurer
Executive producers: Andreas Grosch, Andrea Schmid, Marcus Schofer, Henning Molfenter, Carl Woebcken, Jamie Carmichael, Graham Begg, Sara Giles
Director of photography: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Production designer: Wilbert van Dorp
Music: Anne Dudley
Editors: Job ter Burg, James Herbert
Cast:
Rachel/Ellis: Carice van Houten
Ludwig Muntze: Sebastian Koch
Hans Akkermans: Thom Hoffman
Ronnie: Halina Reijn
Gunther Franken: Waldemar Kobus
Gerben Kuipers: Derek de Lint
Gen. Kautner: Christian Berkel
Notary Smaal: Dolf de Vries
Van Gein: Peter Blok
Rob: Michiel Huisman
Tim Kuipers: Ronald Armbrust
Kees: Frank Lammers
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 145 minutes...
Top-flight production values and a ripping yarn should mean major boxoffice returns anywhere there is a taste for old-fashioned big-screen entertainment.
Set in German-occupied Holland in 1944, the film follows a young woman named Rachel (Carice van Houten) as she attempts to flee the Nazis with her own and other Jewish families. Having purchased their river passage with all they own, they find the escape is a trap as they are intercepted by the Gestapo and mercilessly mown down.
All except Rachel, who finds her way to a group of resistance fighters run by man named Kuipers (Derek de Lint), who operates a soup kitchen as cover for his sabotage operations. Quickly recruited into the group's inner circle led by daredevil Hans (Thom Hoffman), Rachel demonstrates her bravery and resourcefulness in an encounter on a train with an SS officer named Muntze (Sebastian Koch).
Soon, Rachel is ensconced at the local Gestapo headquarters, sleeping with Muntze and working with a local floozy, Ronnie (Halina Reijn), in the office of a brutal officer named Franken (Waldemar Kopus).
Even though the end of the war is barely months away, the danger increases for the resistance group. When she discovers that there has been a plot involving both Nazis and Dutch in faking escape plans for Jewish families who are murdered and robbed, she finds herself with enemies on all sides.
Director Verhoeven, back on home turf after the Hollywood excesses of Starship Troopers and Showgirls, has fashioned an exciting tale with co-scripter Gerard Soeteman, who developed the original story. Production designer Wilbert Van Dorp and cinematographer Karl Walter Lindenlaub have done a great job in creating period detail and capturing fast-moving sequences and intimate moments. Editors Job ter Burg and James Herbert contribute fine work, and Oscar-winning composer Anne Dudley's score complements it all effectively.
Van Houten makes a memorable heroine, a singer as well as a good actress, in what is a very punishing role. Koch and Hoffman do a lot to give their stereotyped roles some originality.
The filmmakers strive hard to root the picture in genuine drama. There are bookends set in Israel that add considerable emotional resonance. While the revelation of the traitor smacks of melodrama, the high adventure is mixed with moments of authentic wartime pathos.
BLACK BOOK
A Fu Works production in association with Egoli Tossell Film, Clockwork Pictures, Studio Babesberg AG, Motion Investment Group, Motel Films and Hector
A VIP Medienfonds 4 production
Credits:
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Screenwriters: Gerard Soeteman, Paul Verhoeven
Producers: San Fu Maltha, Jos van der Linden, Frans van Geste, Jeroen Baker, Teun Hilte, Jens Meurer
Executive producers: Andreas Grosch, Andrea Schmid, Marcus Schofer, Henning Molfenter, Carl Woebcken, Jamie Carmichael, Graham Begg, Sara Giles
Director of photography: Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Production designer: Wilbert van Dorp
Music: Anne Dudley
Editors: Job ter Burg, James Herbert
Cast:
Rachel/Ellis: Carice van Houten
Ludwig Muntze: Sebastian Koch
Hans Akkermans: Thom Hoffman
Ronnie: Halina Reijn
Gunther Franken: Waldemar Kobus
Gerben Kuipers: Derek de Lint
Gen. Kautner: Christian Berkel
Notary Smaal: Dolf de Vries
Van Gein: Peter Blok
Rob: Michiel Huisman
Tim Kuipers: Ronald Armbrust
Kees: Frank Lammers
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 145 minutes...
AUSTIN -- In a political environment that can brew controversy out of allegorical children's fables or a documentary about penguins, it is hard to imagine the intensity of feeling that will greet "V for Vendetta", a movie whose heroes are terrorists. One foresees news talk shows in which red-faced pundits denounce the filmmakers and call for boycotts. Given a film as entertaining and solidly crafted as this one, such attention could turn into strong boxoffice.
Of course, plenty of films -- particularly those set in dystopian futures like this one -- identify with revolutionaries. But most put heavy sci-fi clothing on their brave new worlds, while "V" takes pains to tie its reality to our own. Although based on a comic book, it isn't as heavily stylized as a superhero movie. Its score and production design, both rich and inviting, are heightened without suggesting that this near-future London is an outright fantasy, though the new government, a restrictive state led by John Hurt's Sutler, is draped in some awfully Nazi-ish iconography.
If the film's look and feel refuse to flee from the real world, its dialogue takes every chance to connect to it. We are told about the recent past, that "America's war grew worse and worse, and eventually came to London." Hot-button terms like "rendition" are sprinkled about; dissidents are handled as in a third-world dictatorship; and our hero (who calls himself V) lectures citizens who have surrendered their liberties to a government that promised to protect them from terrorism.
As V, Hugo Weaving has the unenviable task of playing the entire film behind an immobile mask. He rises to the challenge, bringing the character to life with body language and his sonorously nimble voice.
V has a flair for the theatrical. He introduces himself to London on Guy Fawkes Day with fireworks and a symbolic bombing, then hijacks a television broadcast to announce that he will return a year later to destroy the Houses of Parliament. He suggests that citizens who feel oppressed by their rulers should join him there. And then he's gone, leaving some very anxious politicians in his wake.
The viewer's proxy here is Evey (Natalie Portman), who accidentally becomes a part of V's plans. With her, we work through many of the expected reactions to V's approach -- and if she eventually comes around to his way of thinking, the film certainly doesn't present the choice as an uncomplicated one. The filmmakers (Andy and Larry Wachowski adapting the screenplay, James McTeigue at the helm) are clearly on the vigilante's side, but they give viewers room to question his motives and methods: Has he psychologically programd Evey? Is the city of London about to become a war zone simply because V has a personal grudge? The serious tone "Vendetta" takes encourages such moral nitpicking.
Although some marketing materials aim to position this as an action film, viewers expecting a thrill ride might be disappointed. V engages in a couple of satisfying crime-fighting set pieces, but the story is more occupied with mystery and intrigue. Happily, it almost is entirely free of the hollow pomposity that marred the Wachowskis' last two "Matrix" films. Here, Alan Moore's graphic novel and the history of real-world oppressive governments is more than enough, leaving no need for the screenwriters to invent hokey mythologies and plenty of room to fantasize about revolution.
V FOR VENDETTA
Warner Bros. Pictures
Silver Pictures
Credits:
Director: James McTeigue
Screenwriters: Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski
Based on the graphic novel by: Alan Moore and David Lloyd
producers: Grant Hill, Joel Silver, Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Executive producer: Benjamin Waisbren
Director of photography: Adrian Biddle
Production designer: Owen Paterson
Music: Dario Marianelli
Co-producers: Roberto Malerba, Henning Molfenter, Charlie Woebcken
Costume designer: Sammy Sheldon
Editor: Martin Walsh
Cast:
Evey Hammond: Natalie Portman
V: Hugo Weaving
Finch: Stephen Rea
Sutler: John Hurt
Prothero: Roger Allam
Gordon Deitrich: Stephen Fry
Creedy: Tim Pigott-Smith
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 131 minutes...
Of course, plenty of films -- particularly those set in dystopian futures like this one -- identify with revolutionaries. But most put heavy sci-fi clothing on their brave new worlds, while "V" takes pains to tie its reality to our own. Although based on a comic book, it isn't as heavily stylized as a superhero movie. Its score and production design, both rich and inviting, are heightened without suggesting that this near-future London is an outright fantasy, though the new government, a restrictive state led by John Hurt's Sutler, is draped in some awfully Nazi-ish iconography.
If the film's look and feel refuse to flee from the real world, its dialogue takes every chance to connect to it. We are told about the recent past, that "America's war grew worse and worse, and eventually came to London." Hot-button terms like "rendition" are sprinkled about; dissidents are handled as in a third-world dictatorship; and our hero (who calls himself V) lectures citizens who have surrendered their liberties to a government that promised to protect them from terrorism.
As V, Hugo Weaving has the unenviable task of playing the entire film behind an immobile mask. He rises to the challenge, bringing the character to life with body language and his sonorously nimble voice.
V has a flair for the theatrical. He introduces himself to London on Guy Fawkes Day with fireworks and a symbolic bombing, then hijacks a television broadcast to announce that he will return a year later to destroy the Houses of Parliament. He suggests that citizens who feel oppressed by their rulers should join him there. And then he's gone, leaving some very anxious politicians in his wake.
The viewer's proxy here is Evey (Natalie Portman), who accidentally becomes a part of V's plans. With her, we work through many of the expected reactions to V's approach -- and if she eventually comes around to his way of thinking, the film certainly doesn't present the choice as an uncomplicated one. The filmmakers (Andy and Larry Wachowski adapting the screenplay, James McTeigue at the helm) are clearly on the vigilante's side, but they give viewers room to question his motives and methods: Has he psychologically programd Evey? Is the city of London about to become a war zone simply because V has a personal grudge? The serious tone "Vendetta" takes encourages such moral nitpicking.
Although some marketing materials aim to position this as an action film, viewers expecting a thrill ride might be disappointed. V engages in a couple of satisfying crime-fighting set pieces, but the story is more occupied with mystery and intrigue. Happily, it almost is entirely free of the hollow pomposity that marred the Wachowskis' last two "Matrix" films. Here, Alan Moore's graphic novel and the history of real-world oppressive governments is more than enough, leaving no need for the screenwriters to invent hokey mythologies and plenty of room to fantasize about revolution.
V FOR VENDETTA
Warner Bros. Pictures
Silver Pictures
Credits:
Director: James McTeigue
Screenwriters: Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski
Based on the graphic novel by: Alan Moore and David Lloyd
producers: Grant Hill, Joel Silver, Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Executive producer: Benjamin Waisbren
Director of photography: Adrian Biddle
Production designer: Owen Paterson
Music: Dario Marianelli
Co-producers: Roberto Malerba, Henning Molfenter, Charlie Woebcken
Costume designer: Sammy Sheldon
Editor: Martin Walsh
Cast:
Evey Hammond: Natalie Portman
V: Hugo Weaving
Finch: Stephen Rea
Sutler: John Hurt
Prothero: Roger Allam
Gordon Deitrich: Stephen Fry
Creedy: Tim Pigott-Smith
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 131 minutes...
- 12/21/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
AUSTIN -- In a political environment that can brew controversy out of allegorical children's fables or a documentary about penguins, it is hard to imagine the intensity of feeling that will greet "V for Vendetta", a movie whose heroes are terrorists. One foresees news talk shows in which red-faced pundits denounce the filmmakers and call for boycotts. Given a film as entertaining and solidly crafted as this one, such attention could turn into strong boxoffice.
Of course, plenty of films -- particularly those set in dystopian futures like this one -- identify with revolutionaries. But most put heavy sci-fi clothing on their brave new worlds, while "V" takes pains to tie its reality to our own. Although based on a comic book, it isn't as heavily stylized as a superhero movie. Its score and production design, both rich and inviting, are heightened without suggesting that this near-future London is an outright fantasy, though the new government, a restrictive state led by John Hurt's Sutler, is draped in some awfully Nazi-ish iconography.
If the film's look and feel refuse to flee from the real world, its dialogue takes every chance to connect to it. We are told about the recent past, that "America's war grew worse and worse, and eventually came to London." Hot-button terms like "rendition" are sprinkled about; dissidents are handled as in a third-world dictatorship; and our hero (who calls himself V) lectures citizens who have surrendered their liberties to a government that promised to protect them from terrorism.
As V, Hugo Weaving has the unenviable task of playing the entire film behind an immobile mask. He rises to the challenge, bringing the character to life with body language and his sonorously nimble voice.
V has a flair for the theatrical. He introduces himself to London on Guy Fawkes Day with fireworks and a symbolic bombing, then hijacks a television broadcast to announce that he will return a year later to destroy the Houses of Parliament. He suggests that citizens who feel oppressed by their rulers should join him there. And then he's gone, leaving some very anxious politicians in his wake.
The viewer's proxy here is Evey (Natalie Portman), who accidentally becomes a part of V's plans. With her, we work through many of the expected reactions to V's approach -- and if she eventually comes around to his way of thinking, the film certainly doesn't present the choice as an uncomplicated one. The filmmakers (Andy and Larry Wachowski adapting the screenplay, James McTeigue at the helm) are clearly on the vigilante's side, but they give viewers room to question his motives and methods: Has he psychologically programd Evey? Is the city of London about to become a war zone simply because V has a personal grudge? The serious tone "Vendetta" takes encourages such moral nitpicking.
Although some marketing materials aim to position this as an action film, viewers expecting a thrill ride might be disappointed. V engages in a couple of satisfying crime-fighting set pieces, but the story is more occupied with mystery and intrigue. Happily, it almost is entirely free of the hollow pomposity that marred the Wachowskis' last two "Matrix" films. Here, Alan Moore's graphic novel and the history of real-world oppressive governments is more than enough, leaving no need for the screenwriters to invent hokey mythologies and plenty of room to fantasize about revolution.
V FOR VENDETTA
Warner Bros. Pictures
Silver Pictures
Credits:
Director: James McTeigue
Screenwriters: Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski
Based on the graphic novel by: Alan Moore and David Lloyd
producers: Grant Hill, Joel Silver, Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Executive producer: Benjamin Waisbren
Director of photography: Adrian Biddle
Production designer: Owen Paterson
Music: Dario Marianelli
Co-producers: Roberto Malerba, Henning Molfenter, Charlie Woebcken
Costume designer: Sammy Sheldon
Editor: Martin Walsh
Cast:
Evey Hammond: Natalie Portman
V: Hugo Weaving
Finch: Stephen Rea
Sutler: John Hurt
Prothero: Roger Allam
Gordon Deitrich: Stephen Fry
Creedy: Tim Pigott-Smith
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 131 minutes...
Of course, plenty of films -- particularly those set in dystopian futures like this one -- identify with revolutionaries. But most put heavy sci-fi clothing on their brave new worlds, while "V" takes pains to tie its reality to our own. Although based on a comic book, it isn't as heavily stylized as a superhero movie. Its score and production design, both rich and inviting, are heightened without suggesting that this near-future London is an outright fantasy, though the new government, a restrictive state led by John Hurt's Sutler, is draped in some awfully Nazi-ish iconography.
If the film's look and feel refuse to flee from the real world, its dialogue takes every chance to connect to it. We are told about the recent past, that "America's war grew worse and worse, and eventually came to London." Hot-button terms like "rendition" are sprinkled about; dissidents are handled as in a third-world dictatorship; and our hero (who calls himself V) lectures citizens who have surrendered their liberties to a government that promised to protect them from terrorism.
As V, Hugo Weaving has the unenviable task of playing the entire film behind an immobile mask. He rises to the challenge, bringing the character to life with body language and his sonorously nimble voice.
V has a flair for the theatrical. He introduces himself to London on Guy Fawkes Day with fireworks and a symbolic bombing, then hijacks a television broadcast to announce that he will return a year later to destroy the Houses of Parliament. He suggests that citizens who feel oppressed by their rulers should join him there. And then he's gone, leaving some very anxious politicians in his wake.
The viewer's proxy here is Evey (Natalie Portman), who accidentally becomes a part of V's plans. With her, we work through many of the expected reactions to V's approach -- and if she eventually comes around to his way of thinking, the film certainly doesn't present the choice as an uncomplicated one. The filmmakers (Andy and Larry Wachowski adapting the screenplay, James McTeigue at the helm) are clearly on the vigilante's side, but they give viewers room to question his motives and methods: Has he psychologically programd Evey? Is the city of London about to become a war zone simply because V has a personal grudge? The serious tone "Vendetta" takes encourages such moral nitpicking.
Although some marketing materials aim to position this as an action film, viewers expecting a thrill ride might be disappointed. V engages in a couple of satisfying crime-fighting set pieces, but the story is more occupied with mystery and intrigue. Happily, it almost is entirely free of the hollow pomposity that marred the Wachowskis' last two "Matrix" films. Here, Alan Moore's graphic novel and the history of real-world oppressive governments is more than enough, leaving no need for the screenwriters to invent hokey mythologies and plenty of room to fantasize about revolution.
V FOR VENDETTA
Warner Bros. Pictures
Silver Pictures
Credits:
Director: James McTeigue
Screenwriters: Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski
Based on the graphic novel by: Alan Moore and David Lloyd
producers: Grant Hill, Joel Silver, Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Executive producer: Benjamin Waisbren
Director of photography: Adrian Biddle
Production designer: Owen Paterson
Music: Dario Marianelli
Co-producers: Roberto Malerba, Henning Molfenter, Charlie Woebcken
Costume designer: Sammy Sheldon
Editor: Martin Walsh
Cast:
Evey Hammond: Natalie Portman
V: Hugo Weaving
Finch: Stephen Rea
Sutler: John Hurt
Prothero: Roger Allam
Gordon Deitrich: Stephen Fry
Creedy: Tim Pigott-Smith
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 131 minutes...
- 12/20/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
BERLIN -- Germany's Studio Babelsberg expects to raise €15 million ($19.5 million) in its initial public offering in the spring, Babelsberg CEO Carl Woebcken and production head Henning Molfenter told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday. Babelsberg plans to use the cash to invest in studio facilities. Woebcken said the company is eyeing two new soundstages and plans to upgrade its sound equipment. The IPO could go through as early as late next month Woebcken said, adding that the issue price would likely be in the €2-€4 ($2.60-$5.20) range.
- 2/16/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
BERLIN -- Germany's Studio Babelsberg expects to raise €15 million ($19.5 million) in its initial public offering in the spring, Babelsberg CEO Carl Woebcken and production head Henning Molfenter told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday. Babelsberg plans to use the cash to invest in studio facilities. Woebcken said the company is eyeing two new soundstages and plans to upgrade its sound equipment. The IPO could go through as early as late next month Woebcken said, adding that the issue price would likely be in the €2-€4 ($2.60-$5.20) range.
- 2/16/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CANNES -- Henning Molfenter has been named the new managing director of Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures, the studio's new owners said Monday. Molfenter's appointment is the first major management decision by Carl Woebcken and Christoph Fisser since taking over the studio from Vivendi Universal in September. It sends a clear signal that the new owners want to continue to attract big Hollywood pictures to shoot at Babelsberg as Molfenter, currently head of production at SBMP, has played a key role in revitalizing the German film studio. He served as an executive producer in charge of production services for Roman Polanski's The Pianist in Babelsberg in 2001, co-ordinated the German side of production on Around the World in 80 Days and has handled production services for such recent Babelsberg shoots as The Bourne Supremacy and The Constant Gardener.
- 10/5/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Why the latest Jackie Chan movie is called "Around the World in 80 Days" is a mystery. Better to call it "Lau Xing and the Jade Buddha". Any resemblance between Jules Verne's marvelous science fiction novel or Mike Todd's enjoyable 1956 movie is pure happenstance. This is simply a Jackie Chan movie pitched to youngsters who enjoy slapstick fights and goofy caricatures. When Verne's hero, stalwart British sporting gentleman Phileas Fogg, gets turned into a second banana to his French valet played by Chan, and Indian Princess Aouda and her dramatic rescue by Fogg get replaced by a French hat-check girl, you know the filmmakers have pretty much chucked old Jules out the window.
Which would be all right if the all-David writing team of David Titcher, David Benullo and David Goldstein sticks to any coherent story or director Frank Coraci ("The Waterboy") establishes a consistent tone. Instead, the film meanders between lackluster fights and overly broad comedy, some embarrassingly bad. This "Around the World" will have a tough time appealing to general audiences because the comedy is juvenile and the action largely uninspired.
In this incarnation, Fogg (British TV comedy vet Steve Coogan) is a turn-of-the-century inventor of "future retro" gadgets. Fogg makes a bet that he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days with the head of the Royal Academy of Science (Jim Broadbent). This serves as mere backdrop to the story of Lau Xing (Chan), who burgles the Bank of England to re-acquire a jade Buddha stolen from his village by a gang of bandits led by General Fang (actress-singer Karen Joy Morris).
Lau hitches a ride with Fogg, figuring this will be his quickest way home. That Fogg, supposedly one of the brainiest men in Britain, would believe Chan to be a French valet is fairly consistent with the lackadaisical style of the screenplay. Another addition to the group picked up in Paris is Monique (pert Cecile de France), who figures a world tour will help her nascent artistic career.
Throughout the feeble adventures, the script lacks the connective tissue that explain how a character stranded in China suddenly materializes in San Francisco or how, having missed a boat in New York, the intrepid heroes suddenly wind up on that very same boat sailing for England. Similarly, characters change from imbecile to clever depending on a particular sequence's needs. The key problem is this: If you are going to rewrite one of the most imaginative adventure novelists ever, you cannot substitute such lame situations and tedious characters as the three Davids do.
Todd coined the expression "cameo" to describe the more than 40 brief appearances by stars and celebrities of the day in his "Around the World". Here the success of these cameos is in inverse relationship to the amount of screen time affording the celebrity. Richard Branson turning up as a guy tending a hot-air balloon is worth a chuckle. Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Turkish prince in an extended and unnecessary sequence is borderline grotesque. Seldom has an actor looked more in need of a career change.
The movie contains one inventive sequence: A fight breaks out at an Impressionists exhibition. As Chan defends himself against a horde of Chinese assassins amid paint buckets, a canvas behind him gets pummeled and spattered until -- voila! -- it becomes an Impressionist painting. Alas, this kind of wit swiftly evaporates. Mostly, the film traffics in cheap sets -- an Indian sequence created in Thailand compares unfavorably with the sets in Bob Hope/Bing Crosby road pictures -- to seriously awful acting from usually decent performers such as Broadbent and Ewen Bremner.
De France has plenty of charm and at times makes you forget the awful dialogue and lame bits. Coogan plays a British twit who falls somewhere between Hugh Grant and Peter Cook. Chan works hard, but this is one of his least inspired performances.
Production values overall are poor. The constant swing between real and fake sets establishes no tone for the comedy. The music begins with a theme reminiscent of John Williams' "Star Wars" and concludes with the Walt Disney Co. inserting "It's a Small World" by the Baha Men over the end titles. Ouch! Visual effects by Rhythm & Hues and Jim Henson's Creature Shop are uneven.
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media
Credits:
Director: Frank Coraci
Screenwriters: David Titcher, David Benullo, David Goldstein
Based on the novel by: Jules Verne
Producers: Hal Lieberman, Bill Badalato
Executive producers: Jackie Chan, Willie Chan
Solon So, Alex Schwartz, Phyllis Alia
Director of photography: Phil Meheux
Production designer: Perry Andelin Blake
Music: Trevor Jones
Co-producers: Henning Molfenter, Thierry Potok
Costume designer: Anna Sheppard
Editor: Tom Lewis
Cast:
Passepartot/Lau Xing: Jackie Chan
Phileas Fogg: Steve Coogan
Lord Kelvin: Jim Broadbent
Prince Hapi: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Monique La Roche: Cecile de France
Inspector Fox: Ewen Bremner
General Fang: Karen Joy Morris
Hobo: Rob Schneider
Queen Victoria: Kathy Bates
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 120 minutes...
Which would be all right if the all-David writing team of David Titcher, David Benullo and David Goldstein sticks to any coherent story or director Frank Coraci ("The Waterboy") establishes a consistent tone. Instead, the film meanders between lackluster fights and overly broad comedy, some embarrassingly bad. This "Around the World" will have a tough time appealing to general audiences because the comedy is juvenile and the action largely uninspired.
In this incarnation, Fogg (British TV comedy vet Steve Coogan) is a turn-of-the-century inventor of "future retro" gadgets. Fogg makes a bet that he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days with the head of the Royal Academy of Science (Jim Broadbent). This serves as mere backdrop to the story of Lau Xing (Chan), who burgles the Bank of England to re-acquire a jade Buddha stolen from his village by a gang of bandits led by General Fang (actress-singer Karen Joy Morris).
Lau hitches a ride with Fogg, figuring this will be his quickest way home. That Fogg, supposedly one of the brainiest men in Britain, would believe Chan to be a French valet is fairly consistent with the lackadaisical style of the screenplay. Another addition to the group picked up in Paris is Monique (pert Cecile de France), who figures a world tour will help her nascent artistic career.
Throughout the feeble adventures, the script lacks the connective tissue that explain how a character stranded in China suddenly materializes in San Francisco or how, having missed a boat in New York, the intrepid heroes suddenly wind up on that very same boat sailing for England. Similarly, characters change from imbecile to clever depending on a particular sequence's needs. The key problem is this: If you are going to rewrite one of the most imaginative adventure novelists ever, you cannot substitute such lame situations and tedious characters as the three Davids do.
Todd coined the expression "cameo" to describe the more than 40 brief appearances by stars and celebrities of the day in his "Around the World". Here the success of these cameos is in inverse relationship to the amount of screen time affording the celebrity. Richard Branson turning up as a guy tending a hot-air balloon is worth a chuckle. Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Turkish prince in an extended and unnecessary sequence is borderline grotesque. Seldom has an actor looked more in need of a career change.
The movie contains one inventive sequence: A fight breaks out at an Impressionists exhibition. As Chan defends himself against a horde of Chinese assassins amid paint buckets, a canvas behind him gets pummeled and spattered until -- voila! -- it becomes an Impressionist painting. Alas, this kind of wit swiftly evaporates. Mostly, the film traffics in cheap sets -- an Indian sequence created in Thailand compares unfavorably with the sets in Bob Hope/Bing Crosby road pictures -- to seriously awful acting from usually decent performers such as Broadbent and Ewen Bremner.
De France has plenty of charm and at times makes you forget the awful dialogue and lame bits. Coogan plays a British twit who falls somewhere between Hugh Grant and Peter Cook. Chan works hard, but this is one of his least inspired performances.
Production values overall are poor. The constant swing between real and fake sets establishes no tone for the comedy. The music begins with a theme reminiscent of John Williams' "Star Wars" and concludes with the Walt Disney Co. inserting "It's a Small World" by the Baha Men over the end titles. Ouch! Visual effects by Rhythm & Hues and Jim Henson's Creature Shop are uneven.
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media
Credits:
Director: Frank Coraci
Screenwriters: David Titcher, David Benullo, David Goldstein
Based on the novel by: Jules Verne
Producers: Hal Lieberman, Bill Badalato
Executive producers: Jackie Chan, Willie Chan
Solon So, Alex Schwartz, Phyllis Alia
Director of photography: Phil Meheux
Production designer: Perry Andelin Blake
Music: Trevor Jones
Co-producers: Henning Molfenter, Thierry Potok
Costume designer: Anna Sheppard
Editor: Tom Lewis
Cast:
Passepartot/Lau Xing: Jackie Chan
Phileas Fogg: Steve Coogan
Lord Kelvin: Jim Broadbent
Prince Hapi: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Monique La Roche: Cecile de France
Inspector Fox: Ewen Bremner
General Fang: Karen Joy Morris
Hobo: Rob Schneider
Queen Victoria: Kathy Bates
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 120 minutes...
Why the latest Jackie Chan movie is called "Around the World in 80 Days" is a mystery. Better to call it "Lau Xing and the Jade Buddha". Any resemblance between Jules Verne's marvelous science fiction novel or Mike Todd's enjoyable 1956 movie is pure happenstance. This is simply a Jackie Chan movie pitched to youngsters who enjoy slapstick fights and goofy caricatures. When Verne's hero, stalwart British sporting gentleman Phileas Fogg, gets turned into a second banana to his French valet played by Chan, and Indian Princess Aouda and her dramatic rescue by Fogg get replaced by a French hat-check girl, you know the filmmakers have pretty much chucked old Jules out the window.
Which would be all right if the all-David writing team of David Titcher, David Benullo and David Goldstein sticks to any coherent story or director Frank Coraci ("The Waterboy") establishes a consistent tone. Instead, the film meanders between lackluster fights and overly broad comedy, some embarrassingly bad. This "Around the World" will have a tough time appealing to general audiences because the comedy is juvenile and the action largely uninspired.
In this incarnation, Fogg (British TV comedy vet Steve Coogan) is a turn-of-the-century inventor of "future retro" gadgets. Fogg makes a bet that he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days with the head of the Royal Academy of Science (Jim Broadbent). This serves as mere backdrop to the story of Lau Xing (Chan), who burgles the Bank of England to re-acquire a jade Buddha stolen from his village by a gang of bandits led by General Fang (actress-singer Karen Joy Morris).
Lau hitches a ride with Fogg, figuring this will be his quickest way home. That Fogg, supposedly one of the brainiest men in Britain, would believe Chan to be a French valet is fairly consistent with the lackadaisical style of the screenplay. Another addition to the group picked up in Paris is Monique (pert Cecile de France), who figures a world tour will help her nascent artistic career.
Throughout the feeble adventures, the script lacks the connective tissue that explain how a character stranded in China suddenly materializes in San Francisco or how, having missed a boat in New York, the intrepid heroes suddenly wind up on that very same boat sailing for England. Similarly, characters change from imbecile to clever depending on a particular sequence's needs. The key problem is this: If you are going to rewrite one of the most imaginative adventure novelists ever, you cannot substitute such lame situations and tedious characters as the three Davids do.
Todd coined the expression "cameo" to describe the more than 40 brief appearances by stars and celebrities of the day in his "Around the World". Here the success of these cameos is in inverse relationship to the amount of screen time affording the celebrity. Richard Branson turning up as a guy tending a hot-air balloon is worth a chuckle. Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Turkish prince in an extended and unnecessary sequence is borderline grotesque. Seldom has an actor looked more in need of a career change.
The movie contains one inventive sequence: A fight breaks out at an Impressionists exhibition. As Chan defends himself against a horde of Chinese assassins amid paint buckets, a canvas behind him gets pummeled and spattered until -- voila! -- it becomes an Impressionist painting. Alas, this kind of wit swiftly evaporates. Mostly, the film traffics in cheap sets -- an Indian sequence created in Thailand compares unfavorably with the sets in Bob Hope/Bing Crosby road pictures -- to seriously awful acting from usually decent performers such as Broadbent and Ewen Bremner.
De France has plenty of charm and at times makes you forget the awful dialogue and lame bits. Coogan plays a British twit who falls somewhere between Hugh Grant and Peter Cook. Chan works hard, but this is one of his least inspired performances.
Production values overall are poor. The constant swing between real and fake sets establishes no tone for the comedy. The music begins with a theme reminiscent of John Williams' "Star Wars" and concludes with the Walt Disney Co. inserting "It's a Small World" by the Baha Men over the end titles. Ouch! Visual effects by Rhythm & Hues and Jim Henson's Creature Shop are uneven.
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media
Credits:
Director: Frank Coraci
Screenwriters: David Titcher, David Benullo, David Goldstein
Based on the novel by: Jules Verne
Producers: Hal Lieberman, Bill Badalato
Executive producers: Jackie Chan, Willie Chan
Solon So, Alex Schwartz, Phyllis Alia
Director of photography: Phil Meheux
Production designer: Perry Andelin Blake
Music: Trevor Jones
Co-producers: Henning Molfenter, Thierry Potok
Costume designer: Anna Sheppard
Editor: Tom Lewis
Cast:
Passepartot/Lau Xing: Jackie Chan
Phileas Fogg: Steve Coogan
Lord Kelvin: Jim Broadbent
Prince Hapi: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Monique La Roche: Cecile de France
Inspector Fox: Ewen Bremner
General Fang: Karen Joy Morris
Hobo: Rob Schneider
Queen Victoria: Kathy Bates
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 120 minutes...
Which would be all right if the all-David writing team of David Titcher, David Benullo and David Goldstein sticks to any coherent story or director Frank Coraci ("The Waterboy") establishes a consistent tone. Instead, the film meanders between lackluster fights and overly broad comedy, some embarrassingly bad. This "Around the World" will have a tough time appealing to general audiences because the comedy is juvenile and the action largely uninspired.
In this incarnation, Fogg (British TV comedy vet Steve Coogan) is a turn-of-the-century inventor of "future retro" gadgets. Fogg makes a bet that he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days with the head of the Royal Academy of Science (Jim Broadbent). This serves as mere backdrop to the story of Lau Xing (Chan), who burgles the Bank of England to re-acquire a jade Buddha stolen from his village by a gang of bandits led by General Fang (actress-singer Karen Joy Morris).
Lau hitches a ride with Fogg, figuring this will be his quickest way home. That Fogg, supposedly one of the brainiest men in Britain, would believe Chan to be a French valet is fairly consistent with the lackadaisical style of the screenplay. Another addition to the group picked up in Paris is Monique (pert Cecile de France), who figures a world tour will help her nascent artistic career.
Throughout the feeble adventures, the script lacks the connective tissue that explain how a character stranded in China suddenly materializes in San Francisco or how, having missed a boat in New York, the intrepid heroes suddenly wind up on that very same boat sailing for England. Similarly, characters change from imbecile to clever depending on a particular sequence's needs. The key problem is this: If you are going to rewrite one of the most imaginative adventure novelists ever, you cannot substitute such lame situations and tedious characters as the three Davids do.
Todd coined the expression "cameo" to describe the more than 40 brief appearances by stars and celebrities of the day in his "Around the World". Here the success of these cameos is in inverse relationship to the amount of screen time affording the celebrity. Richard Branson turning up as a guy tending a hot-air balloon is worth a chuckle. Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Turkish prince in an extended and unnecessary sequence is borderline grotesque. Seldom has an actor looked more in need of a career change.
The movie contains one inventive sequence: A fight breaks out at an Impressionists exhibition. As Chan defends himself against a horde of Chinese assassins amid paint buckets, a canvas behind him gets pummeled and spattered until -- voila! -- it becomes an Impressionist painting. Alas, this kind of wit swiftly evaporates. Mostly, the film traffics in cheap sets -- an Indian sequence created in Thailand compares unfavorably with the sets in Bob Hope/Bing Crosby road pictures -- to seriously awful acting from usually decent performers such as Broadbent and Ewen Bremner.
De France has plenty of charm and at times makes you forget the awful dialogue and lame bits. Coogan plays a British twit who falls somewhere between Hugh Grant and Peter Cook. Chan works hard, but this is one of his least inspired performances.
Production values overall are poor. The constant swing between real and fake sets establishes no tone for the comedy. The music begins with a theme reminiscent of John Williams' "Star Wars" and concludes with the Walt Disney Co. inserting "It's a Small World" by the Baha Men over the end titles. Ouch! Visual effects by Rhythm & Hues and Jim Henson's Creature Shop are uneven.
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
Buena Vista Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media
Credits:
Director: Frank Coraci
Screenwriters: David Titcher, David Benullo, David Goldstein
Based on the novel by: Jules Verne
Producers: Hal Lieberman, Bill Badalato
Executive producers: Jackie Chan, Willie Chan
Solon So, Alex Schwartz, Phyllis Alia
Director of photography: Phil Meheux
Production designer: Perry Andelin Blake
Music: Trevor Jones
Co-producers: Henning Molfenter, Thierry Potok
Costume designer: Anna Sheppard
Editor: Tom Lewis
Cast:
Passepartot/Lau Xing: Jackie Chan
Phileas Fogg: Steve Coogan
Lord Kelvin: Jim Broadbent
Prince Hapi: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Monique La Roche: Cecile de France
Inspector Fox: Ewen Bremner
General Fang: Karen Joy Morris
Hobo: Rob Schneider
Queen Victoria: Kathy Bates
MPAA rating PG
Running time -- 120 minutes...
- 6/16/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures said Tuesday that it has promoted Henning Molfenter to head of production, the No. 2 position at the German studio. As a production executive at Babelsberg, Molfenter has worked on such films as Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning feature The Pianist, on which he received an executive producer credit, and as a co-producer on the upcoming Jackie Chan starrer Around the World in 80 Days. He will report to studio head Thierry Potok. Molfenter's job will be to attract more local and international productions to Babelsberg in order to keep the studio booked year-round. "Henning Molfenter has developed an excellent reputation (that will enable him) to attract projects to Babelsberg ... and to build up the studio and the area," Potok said.
- 9/24/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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