Cannes film festival
Playing themselves, film icons gaze into the looking-glass in this unconvincing and tiresome piece of cine-narcissism
A peculiar and tiresome piece of cine-narcissism here from Christophe Honoré, based on an insufferably twee kind of cinephilia – yet rescued, slightly, by the down-to-earth drollery of Catherine Deneuve, who is playing herself.
Chiara Mastroianni, the Franco-Italian actor and Deneuve’s daughter, is of course very well known for her startling likeness to her father: the film icon Marcello Mastroianni. We see her here also playing herself and acting in what is evidently supposed to be a homage to Anita Ekberg’s Trevi fountain scene from Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, in which Marcello famously starred. She feels haunted by her father and has a dream in which her face turns into Marcello’s in the bathroom mirror; actually, it is not much of a change. She confesses how unhappy she...
Playing themselves, film icons gaze into the looking-glass in this unconvincing and tiresome piece of cine-narcissism
A peculiar and tiresome piece of cine-narcissism here from Christophe Honoré, based on an insufferably twee kind of cinephilia – yet rescued, slightly, by the down-to-earth drollery of Catherine Deneuve, who is playing herself.
Chiara Mastroianni, the Franco-Italian actor and Deneuve’s daughter, is of course very well known for her startling likeness to her father: the film icon Marcello Mastroianni. We see her here also playing herself and acting in what is evidently supposed to be a homage to Anita Ekberg’s Trevi fountain scene from Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, in which Marcello famously starred. She feels haunted by her father and has a dream in which her face turns into Marcello’s in the bathroom mirror; actually, it is not much of a change. She confesses how unhappy she...
- 5/22/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Now a Cannes veteran, French filmmaker Christophe Honoré has returned to the Competition with the world premiere of Marcello Mio, his French-Italian comedy that stars longtime collaborator Chiara Mastroianni — who, in the film, adopts the persona and appearance of her late father, Marcello Mastroianni. The movie received applause that lasted a touch over eight minutes during its unveiling this evening.
Marcello Mio taps into the younger Mastroianni’s complex reality of being the daughter of cinema icons Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve.
In a fantasy scenario, Chiara hits a crisis point and begins to dress, speak and breathe like her late father, the legendary star of such films as La Dolce Vita, 81/2 and Marriage Italian Style. Those around her, including Deneuve, Fabrice Luchini, Melvil Poupaud, Benjamin Biolay, Nicole Garica and Hugh Skinner, who also play part-real, part-fictionalized versions of themselves in Marcello Mio, begin to believe it and start to call her “Marcello.
Marcello Mio taps into the younger Mastroianni’s complex reality of being the daughter of cinema icons Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve.
In a fantasy scenario, Chiara hits a crisis point and begins to dress, speak and breathe like her late father, the legendary star of such films as La Dolce Vita, 81/2 and Marriage Italian Style. Those around her, including Deneuve, Fabrice Luchini, Melvil Poupaud, Benjamin Biolay, Nicole Garica and Hugh Skinner, who also play part-real, part-fictionalized versions of themselves in Marcello Mio, begin to believe it and start to call her “Marcello.
- 5/21/2024
- by Nancy Tartaglione and Nada Aboul Kheir
- Deadline Film + TV
Talk about an identity crisis!
In a wonderfully funny and completely original comedy, French star Chiara Mastroianni in a bit of an existential crisis mode decides one day to morph into her very famous father, the late great Marcello Mastroianni. In a search for her own identity she discovers more about herself, her father, even her equally famous mother Catherine Deneuve who surprisingly consented to play herself and discover truths about her relationship with her ex-finacé (he died in 1996) that had never been made public.
Playing tonight in the official competition of the Cannes Film Festival, where the entire family has appeared many times as fictional characters, this time it hits close to home, but always with a light touch as Chiara drops her own persona and hits the town as if it were Marcello Mastroianni back in Fellini’s 8 1/2. Black suit, hat, moustache, large glasses — she’s all in.
In a wonderfully funny and completely original comedy, French star Chiara Mastroianni in a bit of an existential crisis mode decides one day to morph into her very famous father, the late great Marcello Mastroianni. In a search for her own identity she discovers more about herself, her father, even her equally famous mother Catherine Deneuve who surprisingly consented to play herself and discover truths about her relationship with her ex-finacé (he died in 1996) that had never been made public.
Playing tonight in the official competition of the Cannes Film Festival, where the entire family has appeared many times as fictional characters, this time it hits close to home, but always with a light touch as Chiara drops her own persona and hits the town as if it were Marcello Mastroianni back in Fellini’s 8 1/2. Black suit, hat, moustache, large glasses — she’s all in.
- 5/21/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Of all the actors with claims to nepo baby aristocracy, few, if any, have the same pedigree as Chiara Mastroianni. An accomplished performer and winning star all on her own, the daughter of Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni has that rare distinction of seeing both of her parents grace Cannes Film Festival posters, leaving a project that playfully interrogates that very heritage a near shoo-in for the festival spotlight. But that vaunted competition slot does little favors for Christophe Honoré’s slight and sketch-like “Marcello Mio,” which plays as an incisive photo-shoot concept in search of wider justification.
This fashion shoot concept isn’t hypothetical, as Honoré’s meta-movie doodle opens on the very same, finding Mastroianni decked out in full Anita Ekberg garb as she saunters into a pool before Paris’ Saint-Sulpice church reformatted as an ersatz Trevi Fountain. The visual folds in several layers, taking Marcello’s iconic turn in “La Dolce Vita,...
This fashion shoot concept isn’t hypothetical, as Honoré’s meta-movie doodle opens on the very same, finding Mastroianni decked out in full Anita Ekberg garb as she saunters into a pool before Paris’ Saint-Sulpice church reformatted as an ersatz Trevi Fountain. The visual folds in several layers, taking Marcello’s iconic turn in “La Dolce Vita,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Indiewire
THR puts the spotlight on the best films from the festival circuit that have yet to land a U.S. distribution deal.
La Cocina
Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios
Sales WME Independent, Fifth Season
From Anthony Bourdain giving American readers an inside look at the rock ’n’ roll restaurant industry in Kitchen Confidential to Nancy Meyers’ citrus-dotted white marble countertops in enviable home kitchens, modern American audiences have had an infatuation with cookery. Though previously largely reserved for the nonfiction space with entries like Bourdain’s No Reservations and Netflix’s operatic Chef’s Table, the narrative possibilities of the dark underbelly of back-of-house restaurant staff have began to emerge lately. The Bear, the anxiety-inducing FX series about a Chicago Italian beef joint, swept the Emmys in January and is poised to do the same this go-around. Enter director Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina. “Think The Bear on cocaine with a Red Bull chaser...
La Cocina
Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios
Sales WME Independent, Fifth Season
From Anthony Bourdain giving American readers an inside look at the rock ’n’ roll restaurant industry in Kitchen Confidential to Nancy Meyers’ citrus-dotted white marble countertops in enviable home kitchens, modern American audiences have had an infatuation with cookery. Though previously largely reserved for the nonfiction space with entries like Bourdain’s No Reservations and Netflix’s operatic Chef’s Table, the narrative possibilities of the dark underbelly of back-of-house restaurant staff have began to emerge lately. The Bear, the anxiety-inducing FX series about a Chicago Italian beef joint, swept the Emmys in January and is poised to do the same this go-around. Enter director Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina. “Think The Bear on cocaine with a Red Bull chaser...
- 5/19/2024
- by Scott Roxborough and Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Dubbed ‘The Sex Symbol of the silver screen’, Anita Ekberg, renowned for her iconic frolicking in the Trevi Fountain in Fellini’s ‘La Dolce Vita,’ delivers an amazingly unique barn-storming performance in ‘The Killer Nun.’ In an interview exclusive to this edition, Ekberg reveals her frustration with the ‘bombshell’ typecasting that followed, expressing a preference for working on films like ‘Killer Nun’ and she boldly declares, ‘This is the kind of film I like!‘
Originally banned as a Video Nasty, ‘Killer Nun’ is a true ‘Nunsploitation’ great, which uniquely crosses into the Giallo genre. Presented here uncut and pristinely restored from a 2K scan of the camera negative, this release finally does justice to the uninhibited and frenzied vision of its creator. With impressive high-style photography and vivid, deliciously surreal murders, it is superbly enhanced by the dreamy yet dystopian score of Alessandro Alessandroni (immortalised by his twangy guitar and...
Originally banned as a Video Nasty, ‘Killer Nun’ is a true ‘Nunsploitation’ great, which uniquely crosses into the Giallo genre. Presented here uncut and pristinely restored from a 2K scan of the camera negative, this release finally does justice to the uninhibited and frenzied vision of its creator. With impressive high-style photography and vivid, deliciously surreal murders, it is superbly enhanced by the dreamy yet dystopian score of Alessandro Alessandroni (immortalised by his twangy guitar and...
- 5/15/2024
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
One of the pleasures of the Cannes Film Festival is seeing what films and what directors break out. Sure, in the current crop of films premiering at the 77th festival this May, there are some big names everybody knows; you don’t need an explainer to know that Francis Ford Coppola and “Megalopolis” are a big deal. But Cannes is also where filmmakers such as Julia Ducournau and Justine Triet gained wide exposure and became international known quantities, thanks to the prestige granted by nabbing the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or.
Introduced a full decade into the festival’s existence, the Palme d’Or has a strong pedigree associated with it; several of the films that received the prize — “La Dolce Vita,” “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” “Taxi Driver,” “Paris, Texas,” “Pulp Fiction,” “The Tree of Life,” “Parasite,” and way too many others to properly list — have claim...
Introduced a full decade into the festival’s existence, the Palme d’Or has a strong pedigree associated with it; several of the films that received the prize — “La Dolce Vita,” “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” “Taxi Driver,” “Paris, Texas,” “Pulp Fiction,” “The Tree of Life,” “Parasite,” and way too many others to properly list — have claim...
- 5/15/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
It’s a Saturday afternoon in February and Spike Lee and Giancarlo Esposito are sitting side-by-side in a golf cart on a studio lot in Los Angeles. The two, friends for 40 years, have worked together many times over the years on such Lee joints as 1988’s School Daze, 1989’s Do the Right Thing, 1990’s Mo’ Better Blues and 1992’s Malcolm X. They are back together and collaborating once again, this time for Fiat on behalf of the Italian automaker’s brand new, all-electric Fiat 500e.
Lee directs and stars in the “Italy in America” spot opposite his Emmy-nominated friend in what marks their first national advertising campaign together. As the story goes, Esposito helps Lee find his inner Italian as they discover how their urban commute becomes more “dolce” in the 2024 Fiat 500e. “The all-electric Fiat 500e captures the essence of the Italian lifestyle. This new campaign brings together an iconic duo of diverse heritage,...
Lee directs and stars in the “Italy in America” spot opposite his Emmy-nominated friend in what marks their first national advertising campaign together. As the story goes, Esposito helps Lee find his inner Italian as they discover how their urban commute becomes more “dolce” in the 2024 Fiat 500e. “The all-electric Fiat 500e captures the essence of the Italian lifestyle. This new campaign brings together an iconic duo of diverse heritage,...
- 5/5/2024
- by Chris Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sydney, Paris, now Rome: Luca Guadagnino’s match moved to the Italian capital on Monday as the highly anticipated Warner Bros. film Challengers continued its world tour.
A film about love, relationships and tennis starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, the feature is the eighth film from the director of Call Me by Your Name and Bones and All. It was presented for its Roman premiere in the setting of Piazza Barberini, behind the Via Veneto that gave birth to La Dolce Vita.
Challengers follows the story of the young tennis hopeful Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) at the center a love triangle with two friends and fellow athletes, Art (Faist) and Patrick (O’Connor). Due to a serious knee injury, Tashi has to give up her career and become Art’s coach, and the pair have since gotten married. After a series of winning matches, she wants to enroll Art in the Challenger Tour,...
A film about love, relationships and tennis starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, the feature is the eighth film from the director of Call Me by Your Name and Bones and All. It was presented for its Roman premiere in the setting of Piazza Barberini, behind the Via Veneto that gave birth to La Dolce Vita.
Challengers follows the story of the young tennis hopeful Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) at the center a love triangle with two friends and fellow athletes, Art (Faist) and Patrick (O’Connor). Due to a serious knee injury, Tashi has to give up her career and become Art’s coach, and the pair have since gotten married. After a series of winning matches, she wants to enroll Art in the Challenger Tour,...
- 4/8/2024
- by Martina Barone
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sophia Loren is coming to Hong Kong. Well, a restaurant dedicated to the Italian icon is coming to Hong Kong, rather.
Opening in mid-April in the Wanchai district of Hong Kong is Sophia Loren House, the first international outpost of the actress’ burgeoning restaurant empire.
Sophia Loren House has taken over the four-story Woo Cheong Pawn Shop, a Hong Kong heritage building that was formerly the location of The Pawn restaurant. The venue pays homage to Italy of the 1960s and 1970s, the era of Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and also Loren’s heyday as a screen siren. The restaurant is designed by Italian architect Ivo Maria Redaelli, who also designed the four Sophia Loren Restaurants in Italy, and features a great deal of Loren themed art work.
Sophia Loren House Hong Kong
As for the food, the Sophia Loren House has four dining concepts across its four floors.
Opening in mid-April in the Wanchai district of Hong Kong is Sophia Loren House, the first international outpost of the actress’ burgeoning restaurant empire.
Sophia Loren House has taken over the four-story Woo Cheong Pawn Shop, a Hong Kong heritage building that was formerly the location of The Pawn restaurant. The venue pays homage to Italy of the 1960s and 1970s, the era of Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita and also Loren’s heyday as a screen siren. The restaurant is designed by Italian architect Ivo Maria Redaelli, who also designed the four Sophia Loren Restaurants in Italy, and features a great deal of Loren themed art work.
Sophia Loren House Hong Kong
As for the food, the Sophia Loren House has four dining concepts across its four floors.
- 3/21/2024
- by Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Not since the days of Ben-Hur, Cleopatra and Fellini classics like La Dolce Vita has Rome enjoyed the boom in film production it’s experiencing at the moment. From Tom Cruise racing through the eternal city’s narrow streets in Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, to Matteo Garrone’s Oscar-nominated immigrant drama Lo Capitano, the Italian capital is in the midst of a resurgence that harkens back to its “Hollywood on the Tiber” heyday.
At the center of all this activity is Cinecitta, the famed studio facility that now, after years of dormancy, is operating at 100 percent capacity thanks to a number of technical upgrades, increased studio space and a tax incentive that offers producers a 40 percent rebate on production expenditures. The studio has recently hosted a number of high-profile productions, including Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, based on the William S. Burroughs novel of the same name and starring Daniel Craig,...
At the center of all this activity is Cinecitta, the famed studio facility that now, after years of dormancy, is operating at 100 percent capacity thanks to a number of technical upgrades, increased studio space and a tax incentive that offers producers a 40 percent rebate on production expenditures. The studio has recently hosted a number of high-profile productions, including Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, based on the William S. Burroughs novel of the same name and starring Daniel Craig,...
- 1/29/2024
- by Kevin Cassidy
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Goodbye, Christmas and New Year’s. Hello, awards season!
The Golden Globes are upon us, and that means the festivities kick off with W Magazine’s annual Friday night soiree toasting its Best Performances Issue. Expect to see well-heeled, A-List celebrities mix and mingle elbow-to-elbow in the penthouse suite of the Chateau Marmont.
That same evening, Jon Hamm, Willem Dafoe and Wilmer Valderrama will be among the celebs at the Golden Globes Foundation Dinner helping to present $5 million in grant awards to 96 non-profits.
In the past, studios and networks threw lavish affairs in separate ballrooms at the Beverly Hilton immediately following the Globes, but things have slowed down in recent years due to the Covid pandemic and controversies that rocked the HFPA. Instead, there are smaller affairs being thrown at venues throughout Los Angeles in the nights leading up to the Globes and immediately following the big show.
Check out...
The Golden Globes are upon us, and that means the festivities kick off with W Magazine’s annual Friday night soiree toasting its Best Performances Issue. Expect to see well-heeled, A-List celebrities mix and mingle elbow-to-elbow in the penthouse suite of the Chateau Marmont.
That same evening, Jon Hamm, Willem Dafoe and Wilmer Valderrama will be among the celebs at the Golden Globes Foundation Dinner helping to present $5 million in grant awards to 96 non-profits.
In the past, studios and networks threw lavish affairs in separate ballrooms at the Beverly Hilton immediately following the Globes, but things have slowed down in recent years due to the Covid pandemic and controversies that rocked the HFPA. Instead, there are smaller affairs being thrown at venues throughout Los Angeles in the nights leading up to the Globes and immediately following the big show.
Check out...
- 1/5/2024
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
One of my moments of dread is the threat of random violence. The moment in the original Terminator when the machine shows up at people’s homes, knocks on their door and asks if they are Sarah Connor then promptly shoots them when they answer yes is still chilling. Drawing inspiration for me from the classically brutal Martyrs (2008) and the odd cheapy eye transplant film Mansion Of The Doomed (1976) is this lovely gripping Italian horror thriller The Goldsmith (aka L’orafo) (2022)
The film opens on a chase scene in broad daylight over urban dirt fields, three children who turn out to be younger versions of the people in the film are fleeing from an older man. Arianna (Valentina Carbone), Stefano (Matthias Cavallo) and Roberto (Federico Graziani). During the chase, the girl drops a gold cross. The old man catches up to them and reaches down for the cross. The male children charge to stop him.
The film opens on a chase scene in broad daylight over urban dirt fields, three children who turn out to be younger versions of the people in the film are fleeing from an older man. Arianna (Valentina Carbone), Stefano (Matthias Cavallo) and Roberto (Federico Graziani). During the chase, the girl drops a gold cross. The old man catches up to them and reaches down for the cross. The male children charge to stop him.
- 12/5/2023
- by Terry Sherwood
- Horror Asylum
In a glittering event at Madrid’s Florida Park, Spain’s Secuoya Studios brought out its big guns, led by its president James Costos and Secuoya Content Group CEO Raúl Berdonés, to tout the fast-growing company’s slate, led by its 10-episode series “Zorro,” its most ambitious production.
The series pilot will be unveiled at Mipcom in a special screening on Oct. 15, noted Berdonés, who added that the two-year-old company has made a strong commitment to sustainable production.
“Zorro,” starring Miguel Bernardeau and Renata Notni, will be exclusively available on Prime Video in Latin America, the U.S., Spain, Andorra, and Portugal in the first half of 2024, followed by its broadcast on Spain’s Tve. Mediawan handles international distribution.
Attendees of the 3rd Iberseries & Platino Industria were treated to a sneak peek two days before.
Speaking of the company’s slate, Berdonés remarked: “This ambitious, innovative, distinctive, and diverse content...
The series pilot will be unveiled at Mipcom in a special screening on Oct. 15, noted Berdonés, who added that the two-year-old company has made a strong commitment to sustainable production.
“Zorro,” starring Miguel Bernardeau and Renata Notni, will be exclusively available on Prime Video in Latin America, the U.S., Spain, Andorra, and Portugal in the first half of 2024, followed by its broadcast on Spain’s Tve. Mediawan handles international distribution.
Attendees of the 3rd Iberseries & Platino Industria were treated to a sneak peek two days before.
Speaking of the company’s slate, Berdonés remarked: “This ambitious, innovative, distinctive, and diverse content...
- 10/6/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Kim Kardashian’s performance on the current season of “American Horror Story,” two episodes in, could be described as thrillingly competent. As Siobhan (sure!), a power publicist who is determined to get her actor client, played by Emma Roberts, everything she wants, Kardashian leverages her rapacious ambition. She directs it outward, determined to get for someone else all the fame that the real-life Kardashian has found for herself.
Siobhan’s steeliness and her capability for cutting wit come through in jagged-edge one-liners, to which Kardashian’s affect and her presence lend a bit of topspin. “You on a bad day,” she tells her client, a would-be star who is struggling to convey her personality despite a botched talk-show appearance, “is like Hilary Swank on a great one.” (Ouch.) The second episode featured a slightly brutal Jamie Lee Curtis read, rendered into Hollywoodese by Kardashian — a performer who could have fit...
Siobhan’s steeliness and her capability for cutting wit come through in jagged-edge one-liners, to which Kardashian’s affect and her presence lend a bit of topspin. “You on a bad day,” she tells her client, a would-be star who is struggling to convey her personality despite a botched talk-show appearance, “is like Hilary Swank on a great one.” (Ouch.) The second episode featured a slightly brutal Jamie Lee Curtis read, rendered into Hollywoodese by Kardashian — a performer who could have fit...
- 9/28/2023
- by Daniel D'Addario
- Variety Film + TV
Horace Ové, director of “Pressure” (1976), the first full-length Black British film, died on Sept. 16. He was 86.
Ové’s son Zak posted on Facebook: “Our loving father Horace, took his last breath at 4.30 this morning, while sleeping peacefully. I hope his spirit is free now after many years of suffering with Alzheimer’s. You are forever missed, and forever loved. Rest in Peace Pops, and thank you for everything.”
Born in Trinidad in 1936, Ové’s moved to London in 1960 to study interior design. A stint in Rome, during which he worked as a film extra including on Joseph Mankiewicz’s “Cleopatra” (1963), he was exposed to the work of Federico Fellini and Vittorio De Sica, who would become infuences. He returned to Britain in 1965 and covered social and political events in the country while being a student at the London Film School. During the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the...
Ové’s son Zak posted on Facebook: “Our loving father Horace, took his last breath at 4.30 this morning, while sleeping peacefully. I hope his spirit is free now after many years of suffering with Alzheimer’s. You are forever missed, and forever loved. Rest in Peace Pops, and thank you for everything.”
Born in Trinidad in 1936, Ové’s moved to London in 1960 to study interior design. A stint in Rome, during which he worked as a film extra including on Joseph Mankiewicz’s “Cleopatra” (1963), he was exposed to the work of Federico Fellini and Vittorio De Sica, who would become infuences. He returned to Britain in 1965 and covered social and political events in the country while being a student at the London Film School. During the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the...
- 9/17/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson in Lost In TranslationImage: Kino Lorber
Reciting lines for a Japanese whisky commercial, Bill Murray looks deep into the camera with straight-faced irony and says, “For relaxing times, make it Suntory time.” An increasingly agitated director gives him lengthy instructions that are translated, hilariously, with improbable brevity.
Reciting lines for a Japanese whisky commercial, Bill Murray looks deep into the camera with straight-faced irony and says, “For relaxing times, make it Suntory time.” An increasingly agitated director gives him lengthy instructions that are translated, hilariously, with improbable brevity.
- 9/12/2023
- by Rania Richardson
- avclub.com
Sony’s “The Equalizer 3” has finally toppled the six-week reign of “Barbie” atop the U.K. and Ireland box office.
Antoine Fuqua’s action thriller, headlined by Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning, debuted with £2.7 million ($3.4 million), per numbers from Comscore.
In its seventh weekend, Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” slid down to second place with £1.6 million for a mighty total of £92.5 million. It is the highest grossing film of 2023 and occupies seventh position on the all-time charts for the territory behind “Spectre,” which has £95.2 million.
Also in its seventh weekend, Universal’s “Oppenheimer” slid down a spot to third with £960,504. With £55.4 million, it is the second highest grossing film of 2023 and is level with “Bohemian Rhapsody” at No. 34 on the all-time chart.
Angel’s “Sound of Freedom,” a massive success Stateside, debuted in fourth place with £760,060. Rounding off the top five was Paramount’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” which...
Antoine Fuqua’s action thriller, headlined by Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning, debuted with £2.7 million ($3.4 million), per numbers from Comscore.
In its seventh weekend, Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” slid down to second place with £1.6 million for a mighty total of £92.5 million. It is the highest grossing film of 2023 and occupies seventh position on the all-time charts for the territory behind “Spectre,” which has £95.2 million.
Also in its seventh weekend, Universal’s “Oppenheimer” slid down a spot to third with £960,504. With £55.4 million, it is the second highest grossing film of 2023 and is level with “Bohemian Rhapsody” at No. 34 on the all-time chart.
Angel’s “Sound of Freedom,” a massive success Stateside, debuted in fourth place with £760,060. Rounding off the top five was Paramount’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” which...
- 9/5/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The work of pioneering Black British filmmaker Horace Ové will be celebrated this fall with a BFI Southbank retrospective season titled Power to the People: Horace Ové’s Radical Vision.
A 4K restored version of “Pressure” (1976), the first full-length Black British film, which is an exploration of the concerns faced by emerging second-generation West Indians in Britain, will receive a joint restoration world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival and the New York Film Festival on Oct. 11. This precedes the film’s U.K.-wide cinema release by BFI Distribution and on BFI Player on Nov. 3.
The restoration, funded by the BFI Production Board and conducted by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation, was made possible with contributions from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation and the BFI philanthropy Pioneers of Black British Filmmaking consortium. It was accomplished in collaboration with the Ové family and producer Robert Buckler,...
A 4K restored version of “Pressure” (1976), the first full-length Black British film, which is an exploration of the concerns faced by emerging second-generation West Indians in Britain, will receive a joint restoration world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival and the New York Film Festival on Oct. 11. This precedes the film’s U.K.-wide cinema release by BFI Distribution and on BFI Player on Nov. 3.
The restoration, funded by the BFI Production Board and conducted by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation, was made possible with contributions from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation and the BFI philanthropy Pioneers of Black British Filmmaking consortium. It was accomplished in collaboration with the Ové family and producer Robert Buckler,...
- 8/21/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
As Hollywood commemorates the life and career of the late William Friedkin, fans are sharing clips and memories of the “Exorcist” director’s famously unfiltered and foul-mouthed takes on cinema… including an expletive-laden strike at the DC film “Batman v. Superman.”
One clip that has gone viral on social media since news of Friedkin’s death broke came from a 2018 documentary “Friedkin Uncut,” a retrospective of the filmmaker’s career as told through his words and those of his collaborators and peers.
At the end of the documentary, Friedkin discusses his then-recent visit to the Venice Film Festival, where he premiered “The Devil & Father Amorth,” a documentary about Catholic priest and exorcist Gabriele Amorth.
While Friedkin loves traveling to Venice and presenting his films there, he says in the documentary that he does not like screening them in competition. While some of his films have been entered into competition at Venice,...
One clip that has gone viral on social media since news of Friedkin’s death broke came from a 2018 documentary “Friedkin Uncut,” a retrospective of the filmmaker’s career as told through his words and those of his collaborators and peers.
At the end of the documentary, Friedkin discusses his then-recent visit to the Venice Film Festival, where he premiered “The Devil & Father Amorth,” a documentary about Catholic priest and exorcist Gabriele Amorth.
While Friedkin loves traveling to Venice and presenting his films there, he says in the documentary that he does not like screening them in competition. While some of his films have been entered into competition at Venice,...
- 8/8/2023
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
Sprawling Cinecittà complex is in demand again thanks to tax breaks and boom in film and TV production
Walk through the 1930s-built, dusty pink gates of Cinecittà, the legendary film studios in Rome, and the magic of its golden era is immediately palpable. This is where Charlton Heston rode to victory in his chariot race in Ben Hur, which went on to win 11 Oscars. It is where the real-life love affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton played out on the set of Cleopatra, and where Federico Fellini produced classics including La Dolce Vita and Amarcord.
The sprawling Cinecittà was opened with great pomp by Benito Mussolini in 1937, in part to make films promoting the dictator’s fascist propaganda. During the second world war it was first occupied by the Nazis and later became a refuge to the thousands made homeless by the allied bombing of the Italian capital.
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Walk through the 1930s-built, dusty pink gates of Cinecittà, the legendary film studios in Rome, and the magic of its golden era is immediately palpable. This is where Charlton Heston rode to victory in his chariot race in Ben Hur, which went on to win 11 Oscars. It is where the real-life love affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton played out on the set of Cleopatra, and where Federico Fellini produced classics including La Dolce Vita and Amarcord.
The sprawling Cinecittà was opened with great pomp by Benito Mussolini in 1937, in part to make films promoting the dictator’s fascist propaganda. During the second world war it was first occupied by the Nazis and later became a refuge to the thousands made homeless by the allied bombing of the Italian capital.
Continue reading.
- 7/14/2023
- by Angela Giuffrida in Rome
- The Guardian - Film News
Federico Fellini’s post-war immigration story “Napoli-New York,” which was penned for the big screen by the famed director but never produced, is set to become a graphic novel written by French comic book writer Jean-David Morvan.
Meanwhile, as previously announced, cameras are rolling in Naples on the movie version by Oscar-winning director Gabriele Salvatores.
Fellini co-wrote the tale with his frequent collaborator Tullio Pinelli, a writer on the Italian maestro’s “La Dolce Vita” and “8 1/2,” as well as other titles. Turin-based media company Arancia Studio has now attached the prolific Morvan – who has written more than 250 books that have sold millions of copies – for the graphic novel adaptation.
“Napoli-New York” revolves around two kids named Celestina and Carmine who, after Celestina’s house collapses in an air raid, manage to surreptitiously board a ship in the port of Naples, becoming clandestine passengers. The youngsters are on a mission to reach the U.
Meanwhile, as previously announced, cameras are rolling in Naples on the movie version by Oscar-winning director Gabriele Salvatores.
Fellini co-wrote the tale with his frequent collaborator Tullio Pinelli, a writer on the Italian maestro’s “La Dolce Vita” and “8 1/2,” as well as other titles. Turin-based media company Arancia Studio has now attached the prolific Morvan – who has written more than 250 books that have sold millions of copies – for the graphic novel adaptation.
“Napoli-New York” revolves around two kids named Celestina and Carmine who, after Celestina’s house collapses in an air raid, manage to surreptitiously board a ship in the port of Naples, becoming clandestine passengers. The youngsters are on a mission to reach the U.
- 7/13/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
A selection at Venice Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival, Emanuele Crialese’s 1970s-set, Penélope Cruz-starring drama L’immensità opened in theaters earlier this summer from Music Box Films. Now, with the film arriving digitally today, we’re pleased to exclusively debut an alternate poster inspired by Federico Fellini classic. Along with the poster debut, we’re delighted to give away 10 digital codes to watch the film on AppleTV. To enter, sign up for The Film Stage’s free newsletter by July 16 (available to U.S. readers only).
Designed by Greenlight Creative, here’s their statement about the new poster: “The La Dolce Vita-inspired poster for L’immensità evolved out of the original design explorations for the film’s theatrical poster. We were looking to find a design style that would place the film in a vibrant mid-century or ’70s period setting, communicate a bittersweet, nostalgic tone, and provide a star platform for Penélope Cruz.
Designed by Greenlight Creative, here’s their statement about the new poster: “The La Dolce Vita-inspired poster for L’immensità evolved out of the original design explorations for the film’s theatrical poster. We were looking to find a design style that would place the film in a vibrant mid-century or ’70s period setting, communicate a bittersweet, nostalgic tone, and provide a star platform for Penélope Cruz.
- 7/11/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Exclusive: In what will be her first film promotion appearance in a good long time, Amber Heard is set to appear at the 69th Taormina Film Festival for the world premiere of In The Fire. Heard will be in Sicily along with the film’s director Conor Allyn and co-star Eduardo Noriego. The film will premiere June 24 at the Teatro Antico di Taorina. The fest takes place June 23-July 1, 2023 in Sicily.
In the Fire is described as a supernatural thriller that stars Heard as a pioneering psychiatrist who sets out to treat a desperate child at a time when psychiatry is not yet a respected science. Set in 1899, the film follows a 38-year-old American psychiatrist as she arrives on a rich farm in Colombia after being called to solve the case of a disturbed child following increasingly insistent accusations that the child is the devil. While the woman tries to psychoanalyze the child,...
In the Fire is described as a supernatural thriller that stars Heard as a pioneering psychiatrist who sets out to treat a desperate child at a time when psychiatry is not yet a respected science. Set in 1899, the film follows a 38-year-old American psychiatrist as she arrives on a rich farm in Colombia after being called to solve the case of a disturbed child following increasingly insistent accusations that the child is the devil. While the woman tries to psychoanalyze the child,...
- 6/12/2023
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar-winning director Gabriele Salvatores (“Mediterraneo”) is back behind the camera on “Napoli – New York,” a period immigration drama based on a story written for the screen by Federico Fellini.
Fellini co-wrote the tale of two Neapolitan kids who embark on a ship to New York to escape Italy’s early postwar poverty with his frequent collaborator Tullio Pinelli, a writer on the Italian maestro’s “La Dolce Vita” and “8 1/2,” as well as other titles.
Italian A-lister Pierfrancesco Favino stars as the chief officer of the ship which the two kids, named Carmine and Celestina, manage to board surreptitiously in the port of Naples, becoming clandestine passengers. The youngsters are on a mission to reach the U.S. where they dream of living with Celestina’s sister, who emigrated to New York two years earlier. Newcomers Dea Lanzaro e Antonio Guerra play the kids. (See first-look image above of Favino with the kids and Salvatores.
Fellini co-wrote the tale of two Neapolitan kids who embark on a ship to New York to escape Italy’s early postwar poverty with his frequent collaborator Tullio Pinelli, a writer on the Italian maestro’s “La Dolce Vita” and “8 1/2,” as well as other titles.
Italian A-lister Pierfrancesco Favino stars as the chief officer of the ship which the two kids, named Carmine and Celestina, manage to board surreptitiously in the port of Naples, becoming clandestine passengers. The youngsters are on a mission to reach the U.S. where they dream of living with Celestina’s sister, who emigrated to New York two years earlier. Newcomers Dea Lanzaro e Antonio Guerra play the kids. (See first-look image above of Favino with the kids and Salvatores.
- 6/5/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The great promise of streaming video was that we would have unlimited, universal access to nearly every movie ever created. We might expect difficulty finding some niche titles from independent filmmakers, but the most important films should always be available. Unfortunately, as streamers look to save money, it seems they’re cutting back on the crown jewels of cinema. Today, if you want to stream “The Godfather,” “Taxi Driver,” “Apocalypse Now,” or even “Citizen Kane,” you’re going to come up empty.
If you love movies, this is a frightening prospect. What’s the point in signing up for a year-long streaming contract if the service you choose is going to throw important titles out the door? Paramount+ is an especially frustrating service. Although Paramount owns the rights to “The Godfather” series, those films frequently bounce around to competing streamers. If you wanted to watch them today, they’re not...
If you love movies, this is a frightening prospect. What’s the point in signing up for a year-long streaming contract if the service you choose is going to throw important titles out the door? Paramount+ is an especially frustrating service. Although Paramount owns the rights to “The Godfather” series, those films frequently bounce around to competing streamers. If you wanted to watch them today, they’re not...
- 5/25/2023
- by Ben Bowman
- The Streamable
Sooner or later, the lead actor of the movie-within-a-movie being made in “A Brighter Tomorrow” jokes, disgruntled director Giovanni (self-referential cornball Nanni Moretti’s latest on-screen avatar) was bound to make a movie that ended with its protagonist’s suicide — the implication being, the world wouldn’t be so surprised to find the helmer putting a noose around his own neck.
Well, he does and he doesn’t go that far in a high-concept meta-comedy that presents its director’s personal disillusion with art, love and the state of the world, before becoming a “just kidding” group hug for his fans. That’s a sizable public in Moretti’s native Italy, where this welcome return-to-form has already been a commercial success. The director’s not nearly as big a deal abroad, however, to the extent that few may care whether the Cannes regular (who won the Palme d’Or for...
Well, he does and he doesn’t go that far in a high-concept meta-comedy that presents its director’s personal disillusion with art, love and the state of the world, before becoming a “just kidding” group hug for his fans. That’s a sizable public in Moretti’s native Italy, where this welcome return-to-form has already been a commercial success. The director’s not nearly as big a deal abroad, however, to the extent that few may care whether the Cannes regular (who won the Palme d’Or for...
- 5/24/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Bella Thorne is saying ciao to the role of festival programmer.
The “Paint Her Red” filmmaker, who makes her directorial debut with the short film, will curate a selection for the “Influential Shorts” gala programming for the 2023 Taormina Film Festival. Thorne has selected “Don’t Go Too Far” as the first short film to be screened alongside her own.
Thorne and Taormina Film Festival co-Artistic Director Barrett Wissman selected “Don’t Go Too Far,” directed by Saudi female filmmaker Maram Taibah. The film follows an Arab man (Hakeem Jomah) with an intellectual disability who is accidentally separated from his sister (Ida Alkusay) on a New York subway. Never having been left alone in his entire life, the train carries him off. He is left to find his way back home alone in an apathetic city. “Don’t Go Too Far” is written and directed by Taibah and produced by Jaselle Martino.
The “Paint Her Red” filmmaker, who makes her directorial debut with the short film, will curate a selection for the “Influential Shorts” gala programming for the 2023 Taormina Film Festival. Thorne has selected “Don’t Go Too Far” as the first short film to be screened alongside her own.
Thorne and Taormina Film Festival co-Artistic Director Barrett Wissman selected “Don’t Go Too Far,” directed by Saudi female filmmaker Maram Taibah. The film follows an Arab man (Hakeem Jomah) with an intellectual disability who is accidentally separated from his sister (Ida Alkusay) on a New York subway. Never having been left alone in his entire life, the train carries him off. He is left to find his way back home alone in an apathetic city. “Don’t Go Too Far” is written and directed by Taibah and produced by Jaselle Martino.
- 5/23/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
With the opening of Funke this month — and last year’s arrival of a Jon & Vinny’s as well as Mexican steakhouse Hideaway — the Beverly Hills dining scene is on a roll. Three other new restaurants of note have just debuted as well as a slew of others on the way.
Espelette
French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s namesake restaurant in the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills has closed after six years. Taking its place is Espelette from Waldorf Astoria culinary director Steve Benjamin, focusing on simple, coastal European dishes. 9850 Wilshire Blvd.
LA Dolce Vita La Dolce Vita
The legendary Hollywood hotspot — which initially bowed in 1966 with the help of Frank Sinatra as an investor — has reopened in its longtime Beverly Hills location under the restaurant’s third owners in its 57 years. With restaurateurs Marc Rose and Med Abrous of Call Mom (The Spare Room, Genghis Cohen) at the helm, the old-world...
Espelette
French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s namesake restaurant in the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills has closed after six years. Taking its place is Espelette from Waldorf Astoria culinary director Steve Benjamin, focusing on simple, coastal European dishes. 9850 Wilshire Blvd.
LA Dolce Vita La Dolce Vita
The legendary Hollywood hotspot — which initially bowed in 1966 with the help of Frank Sinatra as an investor — has reopened in its longtime Beverly Hills location under the restaurant’s third owners in its 57 years. With restaurateurs Marc Rose and Med Abrous of Call Mom (The Spare Room, Genghis Cohen) at the helm, the old-world...
- 5/19/2023
- by Evan Nicole Brown
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ruben Östlund is aware that the Cannes critics can resemble a circle of sadness.
The two-time Palme d’Or winner and “Triangle of Sadness” director admitted to Variety that he understands why Martin Scorsese declined to debut “Killers of the Flower Moon” in competition at Cannes. Östlund serves as the 2023 Cannes Film Festival jury president.
“You have to use the competition to gain energy. And think of how much energy the Cannes Film Festival has given to filmmakers all over the world,” Östlund said. “Of course, if you’re a director of the caliber of Martin Scorsese, to be in competition with other films involves a risk rather than a reward — critics in Cannes can be harsh.”
He added, “But I would like to encourage everybody to enter the competition.”
Scorsese’s long-awaited “Killers of the Flower Moon” is premiering at this year’s festival; however, the Western epic true...
The two-time Palme d’Or winner and “Triangle of Sadness” director admitted to Variety that he understands why Martin Scorsese declined to debut “Killers of the Flower Moon” in competition at Cannes. Östlund serves as the 2023 Cannes Film Festival jury president.
“You have to use the competition to gain energy. And think of how much energy the Cannes Film Festival has given to filmmakers all over the world,” Östlund said. “Of course, if you’re a director of the caliber of Martin Scorsese, to be in competition with other films involves a risk rather than a reward — critics in Cannes can be harsh.”
He added, “But I would like to encourage everybody to enter the competition.”
Scorsese’s long-awaited “Killers of the Flower Moon” is premiering at this year’s festival; however, the Western epic true...
- 5/11/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The Hollywood Reporter Roma, the entertainment media brand’s first European edition, was launched in a majestic mansion in Rome on Thursday night.
The starry party at Palazzo Brancaccio attracted 1,000 buzzy Italian well-wishers that included Cinecittà CEO Nicola Maccanico; local Netflix content exec Tinny Andreatta; Piera Detassis, president of the Italian Academy of Cinema; Alessandro Michele, who recently exited his role as creative director of Gucci; and Italian actress Ornella Muti.
The gilded indoor-outdoor setting in Rome had the feel of a scene out of Federico Fellini’s Italian classic La Dolce Vita. Also walking the red carpet were Suburra star Alessandro Borghi, The White Lotus actress Beatrice Grannò and Isabella Ferrari of The Great Beauty.
Inside, Nekesa Mumbi Moody, The Hollywood Reporter’s editorial director, and Elisabeth Rabishaw, co-publisher and executive vice president of THR, congratulated THR Roma on its debut.
“This is only the beginning,” said Moody, who...
The starry party at Palazzo Brancaccio attracted 1,000 buzzy Italian well-wishers that included Cinecittà CEO Nicola Maccanico; local Netflix content exec Tinny Andreatta; Piera Detassis, president of the Italian Academy of Cinema; Alessandro Michele, who recently exited his role as creative director of Gucci; and Italian actress Ornella Muti.
The gilded indoor-outdoor setting in Rome had the feel of a scene out of Federico Fellini’s Italian classic La Dolce Vita. Also walking the red carpet were Suburra star Alessandro Borghi, The White Lotus actress Beatrice Grannò and Isabella Ferrari of The Great Beauty.
Inside, Nekesa Mumbi Moody, The Hollywood Reporter’s editorial director, and Elisabeth Rabishaw, co-publisher and executive vice president of THR, congratulated THR Roma on its debut.
“This is only the beginning,” said Moody, who...
- 4/21/2023
- by Gianmaria Tammaro
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Cannes Director Defends Johnny Depp’s ‘Jeanne du Barry’ as Opener: It’s Not a ‘Controversial Choice’
Opening an acclaimed festival with a film featuring a problematic lead star and a director accused of assault? Not controversial at all.
Cannes festival director Thierry Fremaux addressed the potential backlash to “Jeanne du Barry” being announced as the 2023 opening night selection. The period piece film stars Johnny Depp and Maïwenn as French king Louis Xv and his lover Jeanne du Barry; Maïwenn, who was recently sued for assault, also directs the film.
“I don’t see Maïwenn’s film as a controversial choice at all, because if Johnny Depp had been banned from working it would have been different, but that’s not the case,” Fremaux told Variety. “We only know one thing, it’s the justice system and I think he won the legal case. But the movie isn’t about Johnny Depp.”
Depp won a defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, alleging he lost out on work following her abuse accusations.
Cannes festival director Thierry Fremaux addressed the potential backlash to “Jeanne du Barry” being announced as the 2023 opening night selection. The period piece film stars Johnny Depp and Maïwenn as French king Louis Xv and his lover Jeanne du Barry; Maïwenn, who was recently sued for assault, also directs the film.
“I don’t see Maïwenn’s film as a controversial choice at all, because if Johnny Depp had been banned from working it would have been different, but that’s not the case,” Fremaux told Variety. “We only know one thing, it’s the justice system and I think he won the legal case. But the movie isn’t about Johnny Depp.”
Depp won a defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, alleging he lost out on work following her abuse accusations.
- 4/14/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Cannes Film Festival’s longtime director Thierry Fremaux sat down with Variety following the announcement of this year’s lineup, which includes a bevy of star-studded period movies, including Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Karim Aïnouz’s “Firebrand” and Jonathan Glazer’s “Zone of Interest.” Along with a raft of politically-minded films, there’s also a record six movies directed by female helmers in competition, including newcomers like Senegalese direcotr Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s feature debut “Banel et Adama.”
Fremaux said his only regret this year is to miss out on “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” but he’s keeping high hopes to convince Scorsese to vie for a second Palme d’Or 47 years after winning his first with “Taxi Driver.” He also revealed that as many as two or three movies are expected to be added to the competition next week, after Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week announce their respective lineups.
Fremaux said his only regret this year is to miss out on “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” but he’s keeping high hopes to convince Scorsese to vie for a second Palme d’Or 47 years after winning his first with “Taxi Driver.” He also revealed that as many as two or three movies are expected to be added to the competition next week, after Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week announce their respective lineups.
- 4/13/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
While we’ve known the results of Jeanne Dielman Tops Sight and Sound‘s 2022 Greatest Films of All-Time List”>Sight & Sound’s once-in-a-decade greatest films of all-time poll for a few months now, the recent release of the individual ballots has given data-crunching cinephiles a new opportunity to dive deeper. We have Letterboxd lists detailing all 4,400+ films that received at least one vote and another expanding the directors poll, spreadsheets calculating every entry, and now a list ranking how many votes individual directors received for their films.
Tabulated by Genjuro, the list of 35 directors, with two pairs, puts Alfred Hitchcock back on top, while Chantal Akerman is at number two. Elsewhere in the top ten are David Lynch, Francis Ford Coppola, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, Orson Welles, Yasujirō Ozu, and Stanley Kubrick, and tied for the tenth spot is Wong Kar Wai and Ingmar Bergman.
Check out the list below,...
Tabulated by Genjuro, the list of 35 directors, with two pairs, puts Alfred Hitchcock back on top, while Chantal Akerman is at number two. Elsewhere in the top ten are David Lynch, Francis Ford Coppola, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, Orson Welles, Yasujirō Ozu, and Stanley Kubrick, and tied for the tenth spot is Wong Kar Wai and Ingmar Bergman.
Check out the list below,...
- 3/5/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Nino Rota’s soundtrack for Federico Fellini’s 1976 film “Il Casanova,” which is getting a re-release via Italian record label Cam Sugar, has been a favorite of Alexandre Desplat’s ever since the Oscar-winning French composer first listened to it at 15 years old.
The magnificently staged film stars Donald Sutherland as the legendary 18th-century Venetian adventurer Giacomo Casanova, who sought wealthy patrons and sexual encounters as he traveled from Venice to Paris, London, Germany, Rome and Austria, where he makes love to a mechanical doll.
The 27 remastered tracks on Rota’s “Casanova” score are being re-released by Cam Sugar in collaboration with Decca Records on Feb. 10, both digitally and on vinyl. They feature compositions on the edge of classical and electronic music, making use of a wide range of instruments including harpsichord, vibraphone and electric piano.
Rota, who scored most of Fellini’s films, including “La Dolce Vita” and “8 1/2,...
The magnificently staged film stars Donald Sutherland as the legendary 18th-century Venetian adventurer Giacomo Casanova, who sought wealthy patrons and sexual encounters as he traveled from Venice to Paris, London, Germany, Rome and Austria, where he makes love to a mechanical doll.
The 27 remastered tracks on Rota’s “Casanova” score are being re-released by Cam Sugar in collaboration with Decca Records on Feb. 10, both digitally and on vinyl. They feature compositions on the edge of classical and electronic music, making use of a wide range of instruments including harpsichord, vibraphone and electric piano.
Rota, who scored most of Fellini’s films, including “La Dolce Vita” and “8 1/2,...
- 2/3/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
New York City’s fabled movie rental chain, Kim’s Video, shuttered its downtown locations throughout the early-to-mid aughts, offering an early warning sign that the cinema as we once knew it was dying, or at least migrating to other formats.
The chain’s disappearance left an open wound among lower Manhattan film buffs, stranding Kim’s hundreds of thousands of members without a good place — any place, actually — to rent movies, while leaving behind a collection of 55,000 VHS tapes and DVDs that encompassed everything from horror flicks like C.H.U.D. to the complete works of Paul Morrissey to bootleg copies of Jean-Luc Godard’s Histoire(s) du cinéma.
What happened to Kim’s treasure trove of films remained a mystery for quite some time, with occasional stories popping up — including a long-form Village Voice piece by movie critic and podcaster Karina Longworth (You Must Remember This) — explaining...
The chain’s disappearance left an open wound among lower Manhattan film buffs, stranding Kim’s hundreds of thousands of members without a good place — any place, actually — to rent movies, while leaving behind a collection of 55,000 VHS tapes and DVDs that encompassed everything from horror flicks like C.H.U.D. to the complete works of Paul Morrissey to bootleg copies of Jean-Luc Godard’s Histoire(s) du cinéma.
What happened to Kim’s treasure trove of films remained a mystery for quite some time, with occasional stories popping up — including a long-form Village Voice piece by movie critic and podcaster Karina Longworth (You Must Remember This) — explaining...
- 1/20/2023
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Premiering on the first day of the Sundance Film Festival, Kim’s Video is the perfect Sundance documentary, a playful and intelligent film that teases one thing and delivers quite another. Just as 2012’s Searching for Sugar Man set out to find a missing soul singer and uncovered a secret history of anti-apartheid rebellion in South Africa, this affectionate and funny film by Ashley Sabin and David Redmon and playing in the fest’s Next lineup starts as a nerd’s quest and transforms into, well, actually two things: one a glorious shaggy dog story that somehow links a New York dry cleaner, the Coen brothers’ late fees, South Korea’s CIA and the Mafia, the other an astute and actually rather moving rumination on the very real social importance of film history.
The subject matter raises questions that have bugged even casual visitors to Manhattan of a certain age:...
The subject matter raises questions that have bugged even casual visitors to Manhattan of a certain age:...
- 1/20/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Margot Robbie has expressed surprise at “getting away” with an “orgy” scene in her new film.
The Australian actor appears in Babylon, a Hollywood epic from Oscar-winning La La Land director Damien Chazelle, alongside Diego Calva and Brad Pitt.
According to reviews, the film is divisive and contains many shocking scenes, with one depicting an orgy occurring early on.
One person who was surprised by the film’s content was Carey Mulligan, who spoke with Robbie as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” interview series. She described the opening sequence as “this enormously debauched, crazy, wild party” featuring “lots of people wearing very little or nothing”.
Robbie said: “It’s pretty much a party-slash-orgy. It kind of turns into an orgy.”
She described the film as “mad”, stating: “When I read the script, I was like, this is like La Dolce Vita and Wolf of Wall Street had a baby – and I love it.
The Australian actor appears in Babylon, a Hollywood epic from Oscar-winning La La Land director Damien Chazelle, alongside Diego Calva and Brad Pitt.
According to reviews, the film is divisive and contains many shocking scenes, with one depicting an orgy occurring early on.
One person who was surprised by the film’s content was Carey Mulligan, who spoke with Robbie as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” interview series. She described the opening sequence as “this enormously debauched, crazy, wild party” featuring “lots of people wearing very little or nothing”.
Robbie said: “It’s pretty much a party-slash-orgy. It kind of turns into an orgy.”
She described the film as “mad”, stating: “When I read the script, I was like, this is like La Dolce Vita and Wolf of Wall Street had a baby – and I love it.
- 1/17/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
Margot Robbie has expressed surprise at “getting away” with an “orgy” scene in her new film.
The Australian actor appears in Babylon, a Hollywood epic from Oscar-winning La La Land director Damien Chazelle, alongside Diego Calva and Brad Pitt.
According to reviews, the film is divisive and contains many shocking scenes, with one depicting an orgy occurring early on.
One person who was surprised by the film’s content was Carey Mulligan, who spoke with Robbie as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” interview series. She described the opening sequence as “this enormously debauched, crazy, wild party” featuring “lots of people wearing very little or nothing”.
Robbie said: “It’s pretty much a party-slash-orgy. It kind of turns into an orgy.”
She described the film as “mad”, stating: “When I read the script, I was like, this is like La Dolce Vita and Wolf of Wall Street had a baby – and I love it.
The Australian actor appears in Babylon, a Hollywood epic from Oscar-winning La La Land director Damien Chazelle, alongside Diego Calva and Brad Pitt.
According to reviews, the film is divisive and contains many shocking scenes, with one depicting an orgy occurring early on.
One person who was surprised by the film’s content was Carey Mulligan, who spoke with Robbie as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” interview series. She described the opening sequence as “this enormously debauched, crazy, wild party” featuring “lots of people wearing very little or nothing”.
Robbie said: “It’s pretty much a party-slash-orgy. It kind of turns into an orgy.”
She described the film as “mad”, stating: “When I read the script, I was like, this is like La Dolce Vita and Wolf of Wall Street had a baby – and I love it.
- 1/17/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
Margot Robbie has expressed surprise at “getting away” with an “orgy” scene in her new film.
The Australian actor appears in Babylon, a Hollywood epic from Oscar-winning La La Land director Damien Chazelle, alongside Diego Calva and Brad Pitt.
According to reviews, the film is divisive and contains many shocking scenes, with one depicting an orgy occurring early on.
One person who was surprised by the film’s content was Carey Mulligan, who spoke with Robbie as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” interview series. She described the opening sequence as “this enormously debauched, crazy, wild party” featuring “lots of people wearing very little or nothing”.
Robbie said: “It’s pretty much a party-slash-orgy. It kind of turns into an orgy.”
She described the film as “mad”, stating: “When I read the script, I was like, this is like La Dolce Vita and Wolf of Wall Street had a baby – and I love it.
The Australian actor appears in Babylon, a Hollywood epic from Oscar-winning La La Land director Damien Chazelle, alongside Diego Calva and Brad Pitt.
According to reviews, the film is divisive and contains many shocking scenes, with one depicting an orgy occurring early on.
One person who was surprised by the film’s content was Carey Mulligan, who spoke with Robbie as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” interview series. She described the opening sequence as “this enormously debauched, crazy, wild party” featuring “lots of people wearing very little or nothing”.
Robbie said: “It’s pretty much a party-slash-orgy. It kind of turns into an orgy.”
She described the film as “mad”, stating: “When I read the script, I was like, this is like La Dolce Vita and Wolf of Wall Street had a baby – and I love it.
- 1/16/2023
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
Ten years ago, there were five clear frontrunners for the Oscar for Best Director of 2012: Ben Affleck for “Argo,” Kathryn Bigelow for “Zero Dark Thirty,” Tom Hooper for “Les Misérables,” Ang Lee for “Life of Pi” and Steven Spielberg for “Lincoln. But when the nominations were announced, only Lee and Spielberg made the cut. Replacing Affleck, Bigelow and Hooper were Michael Haneke for “Amour,” David O. Russell for “Silver Linings Playbook” and Benh Zeitlin for “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”
Talk about an Oscar race going wild.
The lesson learned was that the Directors Branch of the Academy can be very unpredictable. They might overlook a big Hollywood star for helming a critical and commercial success, and instead go with an obscure director for their work on a tiny arthouse film. With that said, we should be prepared for some surprises in the directing category when the nominations are...
Talk about an Oscar race going wild.
The lesson learned was that the Directors Branch of the Academy can be very unpredictable. They might overlook a big Hollywood star for helming a critical and commercial success, and instead go with an obscure director for their work on a tiny arthouse film. With that said, we should be prepared for some surprises in the directing category when the nominations are...
- 1/9/2023
- by Tariq Khan
- Gold Derby
Typically, director Damien Chazelle and his Oscar-winning editor Tom Cross (“Whiplash”) start cutting a movie from the last scene, since it’s the most challenging. So it went for the “Caravan” showdown in “Whiplash,” the “What if?” epilogue in “La La Land,” and the suspenseful Apollo 11 mission in “First Man.” But for their magnum opus, “Babylon,” they began at the top: The opening bacchanal at the mansion of Kinoscope Studios executive Don Wallach (Jeff Garland), a nearly 30-minute tour de force that sweeps through the colorful cast of characters and sets the manic, hedonistic tone for a Wild West Hollywood caught between silents and talkies in the late ’20s.
“Here we did something different because Damien wanted to make the party to end all parties, and thought it had more of the ingredients of the rest of the movie instead of the end, where we go to these dark places,...
“Here we did something different because Damien wanted to make the party to end all parties, and thought it had more of the ingredients of the rest of the movie instead of the end, where we go to these dark places,...
- 1/5/2023
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
, Damien Chazelle’s sprawling “Babylon” may begin in 1926, but the movie is soon burdened with a clairvoyance that allows it to become unstuck in time. Several of the epic’s characters are haunted by glimpses of a future they’re powerless to prevent, a curse that its director brings to bear by drawing inspiration from across the entire spectrum of film history.
Burdened with the knowledge that this 80 million studio project could be the last of its kind, “Babylon” refracts Hollywood’s first major identity crisis through the prism of its latest one. It reminds us the movies have been dying for more than 100 years, and then — through its heart-bursting, endearingly galaxy-brained prayer of a finale — interprets that as uplifting proof they’ll actually live forever. It just doesn’t have any idea how the movies will do it, or where the hell they might go from here.
“Singin’ in the Rain...
Burdened with the knowledge that this 80 million studio project could be the last of its kind, “Babylon” refracts Hollywood’s first major identity crisis through the prism of its latest one. It reminds us the movies have been dying for more than 100 years, and then — through its heart-bursting, endearingly galaxy-brained prayer of a finale — interprets that as uplifting proof they’ll actually live forever. It just doesn’t have any idea how the movies will do it, or where the hell they might go from here.
“Singin’ in the Rain...
- 12/16/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
After enormous success and Oscars for films ranging from Whiplash to La La Land to First Man, writer-director Damien Chazelle returned to an early dream project first envisioned 15 years ago — a no-holds-barred look at early Hollywood, a time when not only movies were transitioning from silent to sound but Los Angeles itself was booming from desert to bulging metropolis. People were caught up in a turbulent time of change, and it didn’t always work out for some. As witnessed in the resulting film and years of meticulous research, Babylon is a sight to behold, a decadent, freewheeling, at times even poignant look at a series of dreamers, stars, fringe players and all who wanted a piece of a world that felt out of control, uninhibited and full of promise — and downfall.
With more than 100 speaking roles and a widescreen full of extras, Chazelle has created a vision of Hollywood...
With more than 100 speaking roles and a widescreen full of extras, Chazelle has created a vision of Hollywood...
- 12/16/2022
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Margot Robbie has expressed surprise at “getting away” with an “orgy” scene in her new film.
The Australian actor appears in Babylon, a Hollywood epic from Oscar-winning La La Land director Damien Chazelle, alongside Diego Calva and Brad Pitt.
According to reviews, the film is divisive and containts many shocking scenes, with one depicting an orgy occurring early on.
One person who was surprised by the film’s content was Carey Mulligan, who spoke with Robbie as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” interview series. She described the the opening sequence as “this enormously debauched, crazy, wild party” featuring “lots of people wearing very little or nothing”.
Robbie said: “It’s pretty much a party-slash-orgy. It kind of turns into an orgy.”
She described film as “mad”, stating: “When I read the script, I was like, this is like La Dolce Vita and Wolf of Wall Street had a baby – and I love it.
The Australian actor appears in Babylon, a Hollywood epic from Oscar-winning La La Land director Damien Chazelle, alongside Diego Calva and Brad Pitt.
According to reviews, the film is divisive and containts many shocking scenes, with one depicting an orgy occurring early on.
One person who was surprised by the film’s content was Carey Mulligan, who spoke with Robbie as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” interview series. She described the the opening sequence as “this enormously debauched, crazy, wild party” featuring “lots of people wearing very little or nothing”.
Robbie said: “It’s pretty much a party-slash-orgy. It kind of turns into an orgy.”
She described film as “mad”, stating: “When I read the script, I was like, this is like La Dolce Vita and Wolf of Wall Street had a baby – and I love it.
- 12/15/2022
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
Carey Mulligan and Margot Robbie know each other, having worked together on Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman,” which Mulligan starred in and Robbie produced through her company, LuckyChap Entertainment. So when they sit down to discuss their recent projects — Mulligan’s turn in “She Said” as Megan Twohey, the New York Times reporter whose investigative work with Jodi Kantor helped bring down Harvey Weinstein, and Robbie’s portrayal in “Babylon” of Nellie Laroy, a self-destructive silent film star — it’s like watching two old friends chatting. During the conversation, Mulligan talks about getting to know Twohey, and Robbie gives insight into working with Damien Chazelle on the wild provocation that is “Babylon.” Naturally, Robbie’s upcoming summer film, “Barbie,” by way of Greta Gerwig, also comes up.
Carey Mulligan: I have lots of questions about “Babylon.” Actually, on “Maestro,” which I just finished, I was talking to Steve Morrow,...
Carey Mulligan: I have lots of questions about “Babylon.” Actually, on “Maestro,” which I just finished, I was talking to Steve Morrow,...
- 12/14/2022
- by Kate Aurthur
- Variety Film + TV
After winning the 1998 Thalberg Award, Norman Jewison told the press backstage: “The broader the Academy reaches for artistic excellence in filmmaking, the more important it becomes. Hollywood can’t isolate itself. We’re not the only talented people in the world.”
It’s taken a long time, but Academy voters and the U.S. film industry are heeding Jewison’s advice.
This year, dozens of countries have submitted entries for the international film competition. A few of them have gone beyond that, looking for (deserved) recognition in other races.
That includes several international film entries, such as Austria’s “Corsage”; Belgium’s “Close”; Cambodia’s “Return to Seoul”; Denmark’s “Holy Spider”; Germany’s “All Quiet on the Western Front”; India’s “The Last Film Show”; Mexico’s “Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”; Poland’s “Eo”; and South Korea’s “Decision to Leave.”
Countries outside the U.
It’s taken a long time, but Academy voters and the U.S. film industry are heeding Jewison’s advice.
This year, dozens of countries have submitted entries for the international film competition. A few of them have gone beyond that, looking for (deserved) recognition in other races.
That includes several international film entries, such as Austria’s “Corsage”; Belgium’s “Close”; Cambodia’s “Return to Seoul”; Denmark’s “Holy Spider”; Germany’s “All Quiet on the Western Front”; India’s “The Last Film Show”; Mexico’s “Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”; Poland’s “Eo”; and South Korea’s “Decision to Leave.”
Countries outside the U.
- 12/8/2022
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
While we’re still a few weeks away from the film’s official release, Damien Chazelle’s three-plus-hour Babylon has now been unleashed for select press and industry and response has, expectedly, been wildly divisive. Led by Diego Calva, Margot Robbie, and Brad Pitt, the Jazz Age-set epic Babylon lavishly captures Hollywood’s transition from silents to talkies. Also starring Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, P.J. Byrne, Lukas Haas, Olivia Hamilton, Tobey Maguire, Max Minghella, Rory Scovel, Katherine Waterston, Flea, Jeff Garlin, Eric Roberts, Ethan Suplee, Samara Weaving, and Olivia Wilde, a new trailer has now been released.
“They are building a city from scratch and an industry from scratch. It was about capturing the spirit of that time, which I’d say was a lot more wild west,” Chazelle said at TIFF, saying to expect “excess, more drugs, more extreme living on all ends of the spectrum.
“They are building a city from scratch and an industry from scratch. It was about capturing the spirit of that time, which I’d say was a lot more wild west,” Chazelle said at TIFF, saying to expect “excess, more drugs, more extreme living on all ends of the spectrum.
- 11/28/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” was just the warm up for “Babylon,” his epic comedy-drama about Hollywood during the seismic shift from silents to talkies in the late 1920s — think “La Dolce Vita” meets “Nashville” by way of “The Wolf of Wall Street.” This allowed the Oscar-winning director to step out of his comfort zone with a wild, orgiastic ride through hedonistic excess and extreme living before the sound revolution transformed the movies into a cultural phenomenon.
Judging from the mixed response to Monday’s Academy screening, however, “Babylon” might have a bumpier Best Picture ride than its singing and dancing predecessor. It should be a major crafts player, though. That means likely nominations for some or all of Chazelle’s collaborators: cinematographer Linus Sandgren (Oscar winner for “La La Land”); production designer Florencia Martin; costume designer Mary Zophres; composer Justin Hurwitz (Oscar winner for “La La Land” score...
Judging from the mixed response to Monday’s Academy screening, however, “Babylon” might have a bumpier Best Picture ride than its singing and dancing predecessor. It should be a major crafts player, though. That means likely nominations for some or all of Chazelle’s collaborators: cinematographer Linus Sandgren (Oscar winner for “La La Land”); production designer Florencia Martin; costume designer Mary Zophres; composer Justin Hurwitz (Oscar winner for “La La Land” score...
- 11/16/2022
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Damien Chazelle’s new film Babylon is shaping up to be one of the most divisive of the year.
The latest from the director of acclaimed hits Whiplash and La La Land is a three-hour plus epic set in Hollywood.
Many have been expecting the film, which stars Margot Robbie, Diego Calva and Brad Pitt, to be yet another Oscar contender for Chazelle, whose last release was First Man in 2018.
However, going by the first reactions, it seems Babylon could be too divisive to become an awards frontrunner.
Chazelle himself said that the film was inspired by an intriguing mix of films – namely The Godfather, La Dolce Vita and Nashville.
Reactions have stemmed from those in awe of Chazelle’s impressive directing skills to those overwhelmed by the sheer amount the filmmaker tries to cram into the film.
Variety‘s Clayton Davis called Babylon a “high octane, cocaine-inducing trip”, while...
The latest from the director of acclaimed hits Whiplash and La La Land is a three-hour plus epic set in Hollywood.
Many have been expecting the film, which stars Margot Robbie, Diego Calva and Brad Pitt, to be yet another Oscar contender for Chazelle, whose last release was First Man in 2018.
However, going by the first reactions, it seems Babylon could be too divisive to become an awards frontrunner.
Chazelle himself said that the film was inspired by an intriguing mix of films – namely The Godfather, La Dolce Vita and Nashville.
Reactions have stemmed from those in awe of Chazelle’s impressive directing skills to those overwhelmed by the sheer amount the filmmaker tries to cram into the film.
Variety‘s Clayton Davis called Babylon a “high octane, cocaine-inducing trip”, while...
- 11/15/2022
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
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