Morgan Spurlock (right) with Michael Moore and Jon Alpert Photo: Anne Katrin Titze
Morgan Spurlock, the documentarian behind Super Size me and Freakonomics, has died at the age of 53, his family revealed today.
"Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity," said his brother and sometime artistic collaborator, Craig Spurlock. "The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I am so proud to have worked together with him."
Best known for attempting to live for a month on only Macdonalds super size meals, Spurlock went on to make films including Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?, Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope and boy band profile One Direction: This Is Us. His career faltered after he confessed to sexual harassment at the height of the #MeToo movement, a choice which he said had been intended to emphasise the need for soul-searching and...
Morgan Spurlock, the documentarian behind Super Size me and Freakonomics, has died at the age of 53, his family revealed today.
"Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity," said his brother and sometime artistic collaborator, Craig Spurlock. "The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I am so proud to have worked together with him."
Best known for attempting to live for a month on only Macdonalds super size meals, Spurlock went on to make films including Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?, Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope and boy band profile One Direction: This Is Us. His career faltered after he confessed to sexual harassment at the height of the #MeToo movement, a choice which he said had been intended to emphasise the need for soul-searching and...
- 5/24/2024
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
When Morgan Spurlock, who died May 23 from complications of cancer at age 53, first entered the documentary space in 2004 with “Super Size Me,” he managed to turn the film’s success into a career. A career that was not only prolific, but also lucrative — a rarity, to this day, in the field.
The secret to Spurlock’s success? He was not only a talented filmmaker, but also a brilliant businessman.
Just 11 months after the Sundance premiere of “Super Size Me,” Spurlock partnered with FX on the docuseries “30 Days,” which chronicled the journey of an individual situated in an environment antithetical to his background. The first season of the series began airing in 2005 and included episodes about a Christian living as a Muslim and a conservative heterosexual living with a gay man. In total, FX chairman John Landgraf ordered three seasons of “30 Days,” which was executive produced by Ben Silverman and R.J. Cutler.
The secret to Spurlock’s success? He was not only a talented filmmaker, but also a brilliant businessman.
Just 11 months after the Sundance premiere of “Super Size Me,” Spurlock partnered with FX on the docuseries “30 Days,” which chronicled the journey of an individual situated in an environment antithetical to his background. The first season of the series began airing in 2005 and included episodes about a Christian living as a Muslim and a conservative heterosexual living with a gay man. In total, FX chairman John Landgraf ordered three seasons of “30 Days,” which was executive produced by Ben Silverman and R.J. Cutler.
- 5/24/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
In an era before social media, the impact of his wacky but issue-based fast-food documentary made a real impact on how the world eats
Super Size Me director Morgan Spurlock dies aged 53
Twenty years ago, no one was a bigger beneficiary of the Michael Moore documentary boom than gonzo doc comic Morgan Spurlock who royally punk’d the McDonald’s corporate giant with his uproarious 2004 film Super Size Me. It was a piece of cheek that took advantage of the anti-corporate, anti-fast-food feeling that had been growing, especially in this country since the McLibel trial.
He embarrassed the McDonald’s organisation and single-handedly pressured them into withdrawing their mega-portion policies and even into offering unconvincing “healthy” options. He forced it to eat a triple Mac of shame with a side order of contrition. And it was happening in a pre-social-media age when this kind of proto-viral populist uprising was very difficult to create.
Super Size Me director Morgan Spurlock dies aged 53
Twenty years ago, no one was a bigger beneficiary of the Michael Moore documentary boom than gonzo doc comic Morgan Spurlock who royally punk’d the McDonald’s corporate giant with his uproarious 2004 film Super Size Me. It was a piece of cheek that took advantage of the anti-corporate, anti-fast-food feeling that had been growing, especially in this country since the McLibel trial.
He embarrassed the McDonald’s organisation and single-handedly pressured them into withdrawing their mega-portion policies and even into offering unconvincing “healthy” options. He forced it to eat a triple Mac of shame with a side order of contrition. And it was happening in a pre-social-media age when this kind of proto-viral populist uprising was very difficult to create.
- 5/24/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
“Super Size Me” director Morgan Spurlock is dead at the age of 53 following a battle with cancer, according to a family statement provided to Deadline.
The Academy Award nominee “passed away peacefully in New York surrounded by family and friends,” the statement read. “Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity,” his brother Craig Spurlock is quoted as saying.
Spurlock shot to fame with this 2004 documentary “Super Size Me,” which took a personality-driven approach to examining the way that corporate America incentivizes unhealthy eating as epitomized by McDonald’s then-promotion to “super size” portion sizes for french fries and soft drinks. Following in the wake of Michael Moore, Spurlock adopted a style of putting himself on camera as the host leading his viewers through an exploration of the subject. It was a stunt as well: For the documentary, he engaged in eating only McDonald’s food for 30 days.
That...
The Academy Award nominee “passed away peacefully in New York surrounded by family and friends,” the statement read. “Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity,” his brother Craig Spurlock is quoted as saying.
Spurlock shot to fame with this 2004 documentary “Super Size Me,” which took a personality-driven approach to examining the way that corporate America incentivizes unhealthy eating as epitomized by McDonald’s then-promotion to “super size” portion sizes for french fries and soft drinks. Following in the wake of Michael Moore, Spurlock adopted a style of putting himself on camera as the host leading his viewers through an exploration of the subject. It was a stunt as well: For the documentary, he engaged in eating only McDonald’s food for 30 days.
That...
- 5/24/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, director of the groundbreaking documentary Super Size Me, has died after a private battle with cancer. He was 53.
Spurlock “passed away peacefully in New York surrounded by family and friends” on Thursday, according to a family statement that noted the cause was complications of cancer. Deadline understands he had been undergoing chemotherapy treatment earlier this year.
“It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,” said Craig Spurlock, one of the filmmaker’s older brothers. They collaborated on several documentary projects, including Morgan Spurlock Inside Man and 7 Deadly Sins. “Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity. The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I am so proud to have worked together with him.”
For his breakthrough film, Super Size Me, which premiered 20 years ago at the Sundance Film Festival, Spurlock voluntarily ate nothing...
Spurlock “passed away peacefully in New York surrounded by family and friends” on Thursday, according to a family statement that noted the cause was complications of cancer. Deadline understands he had been undergoing chemotherapy treatment earlier this year.
“It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,” said Craig Spurlock, one of the filmmaker’s older brothers. They collaborated on several documentary projects, including Morgan Spurlock Inside Man and 7 Deadly Sins. “Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity. The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I am so proud to have worked together with him.”
For his breakthrough film, Super Size Me, which premiered 20 years ago at the Sundance Film Festival, Spurlock voluntarily ate nothing...
- 5/24/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Recalling the first time one of his films screened at the Cannes Film Festival, a young filmmaker remembered how the duration of the standing ovation the audience gave seemed to grow with every retelling in the media. In the room, he clocked about “a six-and-a-half-minute standing ovation, [but] by the time I had got back to L.A., it had grown to 20 minutes,” he said. “I said: ‘Wait a minute, I’m happy with six. I never even had a two-minute ovation.’ ”
That director was Steven Spielberg. The film was E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, which closed the 35th Cannes festival in 1982. Even back then, they were timing standing ovations — and arguing about just how long a festival audience stayed on its feet clapping. There’s a long a tradition of using that figure, preferably inflated, as a marketing hook in your movie’s rollout.
“The film that received a 15-minute...
That director was Steven Spielberg. The film was E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, which closed the 35th Cannes festival in 1982. Even back then, they were timing standing ovations — and arguing about just how long a festival audience stayed on its feet clapping. There’s a long a tradition of using that figure, preferably inflated, as a marketing hook in your movie’s rollout.
“The film that received a 15-minute...
- 5/19/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
At his annual pre-festival press conference, Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux skillfully dogged potentially hot-button topics, including the war in Gaza, #MeToo politics, and the threat of employment strikes disrupting the 77th festival.
Frémaux politely responded to question after question from the international film press on Monday but managed not to address many of the most controversial topics on their minds.
Speaking about Moi Aussi, a short from filmmaker and #MeToo activist Judith Godrèche, which will open this year’s Un Certain Regard section, he spent more time discussing the technical aspects of the film than its subject matter: The thousands of sexual abuse victims who contacted Godrèche after she went public with her own #MeToo story and called out widespread abuse inside the French film industry.
Asked if the festival had, as was reported, hired a crisis management team to deal with possible new #MeToo allegations against filmmakers taking...
Frémaux politely responded to question after question from the international film press on Monday but managed not to address many of the most controversial topics on their minds.
Speaking about Moi Aussi, a short from filmmaker and #MeToo activist Judith Godrèche, which will open this year’s Un Certain Regard section, he spent more time discussing the technical aspects of the film than its subject matter: The thousands of sexual abuse victims who contacted Godrèche after she went public with her own #MeToo story and called out widespread abuse inside the French film industry.
Asked if the festival had, as was reported, hired a crisis management team to deal with possible new #MeToo allegations against filmmakers taking...
- 5/13/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
There’s a certain formula that often defines the recipients of the Cannes Film Festival’s prestigious top prize, the Palme d’Or. These films, especially in the last two decades, tend to have a sense of importance about them, frequently due to their sociopolitical awareness of the world (Laurent Cantet’s The Class), or of specific societal ills.
From time to time, the Palme d’Or goes to a bold, experimental, and divisive vision from a well-liked auteur, such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and Terrence Malick’s The Three of Life. But more often it’s awarded to a film in the lineup that the majority of the members on the Cannes jury can agree is good. That felt like the case for Ken Loach’s The Wind that Shakes the Barley and I, Daniel Blake, as well as Julia Ducournau’s Titane,...
From time to time, the Palme d’Or goes to a bold, experimental, and divisive vision from a well-liked auteur, such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and Terrence Malick’s The Three of Life. But more often it’s awarded to a film in the lineup that the majority of the members on the Cannes jury can agree is good. That felt like the case for Ken Loach’s The Wind that Shakes the Barley and I, Daniel Blake, as well as Julia Ducournau’s Titane,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Slant Staff
- Slant Magazine
In “Hollywood Con Queen,” director Chris Smith chronicles one of Hollywood’s most audacious scams that involved an impostor who posed as top entertainment studio executives to swindle aspiring artists. Based on the original reporting of entertainment journalist Scott Johnson, and his book, “Hollywood Con Queen: The Hunt for an Evil Genius,” the three-part Apple TV+ docuseries features first-hand accounts and insights from Johnson, private investigator Nicole Kotsianas, the alleged con artist, Hargobind Tahilramani, and his victims.
In 2018, it was revealed that an imposter was posing as a variety of well-known female Hollywood executives and their assistants in a bid to lure victims out to Indonesia with the promise of work. Tahilramani became something of a media sensation when it emerged he had been impersonating women such as former Sony chief Amy Pascal, Marvel Studios executive VP Victoria Alonso and Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy, and NBCUniversal Studio Group chair and...
In 2018, it was revealed that an imposter was posing as a variety of well-known female Hollywood executives and their assistants in a bid to lure victims out to Indonesia with the promise of work. Tahilramani became something of a media sensation when it emerged he had been impersonating women such as former Sony chief Amy Pascal, Marvel Studios executive VP Victoria Alonso and Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy, and NBCUniversal Studio Group chair and...
- 5/8/2024
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
One of the year’s most anticipated films will be on sale for independent buyers at the upcoming Cannes market. We can bring you news that French sales company Goodfellas has boarded Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis ahead of the movie’s world premiere in Competition at the festival.
Also confirmed today is the film’s French deal with Le Pacte and the involvement of longtime Coppola collaborator Paul Rassam.
Speculation has been rife around rollout plans for the $120M self-financed epic ever since Coppola showed it for the first time to buyers at L.A.’s Universal CityWalk Imax Theater at the end of March, with the screening followed shortly after by news of its Cannes selection.
Adam Driver stars as an idealistic architect attempting to rebuild New York as an American Utopia, with the ensemble cast also featuring Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voigt,...
Also confirmed today is the film’s French deal with Le Pacte and the involvement of longtime Coppola collaborator Paul Rassam.
Speculation has been rife around rollout plans for the $120M self-financed epic ever since Coppola showed it for the first time to buyers at L.A.’s Universal CityWalk Imax Theater at the end of March, with the screening followed shortly after by news of its Cannes selection.
Adam Driver stars as an idealistic architect attempting to rebuild New York as an American Utopia, with the ensemble cast also featuring Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voigt,...
- 4/30/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow and Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Thomas Pickering blends approachable narration with well-presented information in a welcome reminder of the Michael Moore method
Here is an ebullient, confident campaign documentary from Thomas Pickering, the kind of punchy and straightforward film-making that we used to see all the time in the 00s that was effectively made popular by Michael Moore. Clear ideas, sympathetic (if choir-preaching) interviews, approachable narration and presentation, strong graphics – and all of it leading to a website on the final credits where you can go to get involved and find out more.
Pickering is a vegan who was brought up by vegans and sets out to answer the anti-vegan remarks he hears from his friends all the time; they could never go vegan because meat is too delicious, or because climate change isn’t real, or because plant-based diets don’t deliver the protein, or because these days free range or organic meat industries make animals’ lives better.
Here is an ebullient, confident campaign documentary from Thomas Pickering, the kind of punchy and straightforward film-making that we used to see all the time in the 00s that was effectively made popular by Michael Moore. Clear ideas, sympathetic (if choir-preaching) interviews, approachable narration and presentation, strong graphics – and all of it leading to a website on the final credits where you can go to get involved and find out more.
Pickering is a vegan who was brought up by vegans and sets out to answer the anti-vegan remarks he hears from his friends all the time; they could never go vegan because meat is too delicious, or because climate change isn’t real, or because plant-based diets don’t deliver the protein, or because these days free range or organic meat industries make animals’ lives better.
- 4/18/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
For 40 years, the Sundance Film Festival has been the United States' preeminent market and showcase for independent film. Over this span, the festival has become famous not just for the groundbreaking movies it's premiered, but its wintry Park City, Utah setting. January is peak ski season in the once-sleepy resort town, which gives Hollywood execs, producers and artists extra incentive to skip town and squeeze in some time on the slopes while watching loads of new movies from some of the most talented and excitingly unconventional filmmakers on the planet.
This annual tradition could be coming to an end.
Today, the Sundance Institute announced that it is soliciting bids to relocate the 10-day festival. According to festival director Eugene Hernandez:
"We are in a unique moment for our festival and our global film community, and with the contract up for renewal, this exploration allows us to responsibly consider how...
This annual tradition could be coming to an end.
Today, the Sundance Institute announced that it is soliciting bids to relocate the 10-day festival. According to festival director Eugene Hernandez:
"We are in a unique moment for our festival and our global film community, and with the contract up for renewal, this exploration allows us to responsibly consider how...
- 4/17/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
We live in strange times. This young century has been defined by harrowing disasters both natural and man-made, political tribalism, and existential threats to the future of the planet. What better time for documentary filmmaking?
Non-fiction cinema has been evolving since the birth of the medium while capturing a world in motion. From the actualités of the Lumière brothers in the late 19th century to the heavily manipulated ethnographic films of the 1920, from the vérité films of the Maysles brothers to the man-on-the-street agitprop popularized by Michael Moore, documentaries have naturally always been more responsive to their times than any other mode of filmmaking.
Not only do they reveal our world to us, but they shape how we view it, and the early years of the 21st century have proven that to be more true than ever before. On one hand, digital technology has infinitely expanded our range of vision,...
Non-fiction cinema has been evolving since the birth of the medium while capturing a world in motion. From the actualités of the Lumière brothers in the late 19th century to the heavily manipulated ethnographic films of the 1920, from the vérité films of the Maysles brothers to the man-on-the-street agitprop popularized by Michael Moore, documentaries have naturally always been more responsive to their times than any other mode of filmmaking.
Not only do they reveal our world to us, but they shape how we view it, and the early years of the 21st century have proven that to be more true than ever before. On one hand, digital technology has infinitely expanded our range of vision,...
- 3/27/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
With the industry names signing on to a letter growing to reportedly near 1,000 (and counting) condemning The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer’s very controversial Oscar acceptance speech, it looks to be taking on a life of its own since the March 10 Academy Awards, where his universally praised movie won the Best International Film Oscar and was nominated for four others including Best Picture.
The speech — in which he seemed, to many at least, to compare Israel’s war on Gaza and the deaths of thousands of Palestinians with the Nazis’ extermination of Jews during World War II — certainly made some in the audience uncomfortable, even uncertain just how to interpret it at the time. It has ignited a firestorm of protest by many, including big names and Academy members like Amy Pascal, Sherry Lansing, Eli Roth, Jennifer Jason Leigh and more. What appears to be the most offending...
The speech — in which he seemed, to many at least, to compare Israel’s war on Gaza and the deaths of thousands of Palestinians with the Nazis’ extermination of Jews during World War II — certainly made some in the audience uncomfortable, even uncertain just how to interpret it at the time. It has ignited a firestorm of protest by many, including big names and Academy members like Amy Pascal, Sherry Lansing, Eli Roth, Jennifer Jason Leigh and more. What appears to be the most offending...
- 3/19/2024
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Michael Moore Agency today announced the hire of Ben Izzo and Lucy Powis, both former A3 Artists Agency theatrical literary agents, along with Rose Quealy, former Vice President of Productions for the Paramount Theatre, in Aurora, Illinois.
The addition of Izzo, Powis and Quealy expands Mma’s client roster of award-winning writers, composers, directors, choreographers, and designers at the New York City-based theatrical literary and creatives agency.
Most recently, Izzo worked at A3 Artists Agency as a Literary Agent specializing in the representation of playwrights, directors, composers, and theatrical designers. He previously held positions at Roundabout Theatre Company and New York Theatre Workshop and served as an associate producer for the inaugural season of Fulcrum Theatre Company in New York City.
Powis worked at A3 Artists Agency, where she represented writers, directors, designers, composers, choreographers, and more. Before that, she held positions in the artistic/literary departments at Roundabout Theatre Company,...
The addition of Izzo, Powis and Quealy expands Mma’s client roster of award-winning writers, composers, directors, choreographers, and designers at the New York City-based theatrical literary and creatives agency.
Most recently, Izzo worked at A3 Artists Agency as a Literary Agent specializing in the representation of playwrights, directors, composers, and theatrical designers. He previously held positions at Roundabout Theatre Company and New York Theatre Workshop and served as an associate producer for the inaugural season of Fulcrum Theatre Company in New York City.
Powis worked at A3 Artists Agency, where she represented writers, directors, designers, composers, choreographers, and more. Before that, she held positions in the artistic/literary departments at Roundabout Theatre Company,...
- 2/22/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
With over 20 books to her name, author Christine Angot has been a pillar of France’s literary scene for more than three decades. Her breakthrough novel Incest, published in 1999, was a blisteringly honest account of the author’s rape by her estranged father while she was a teenager.
Many of her subsequent novels, including Le Voyage dans l’Est (Voyage in the East), which won the prestigious Prix Médicis in 2021, revisit a trauma that shaped much of Angot’s work, as well as her life as a woman and mother.
Although her books often toe the line between autobiography and fiction — a genre the French have dubbed “autofiction” — Angot prefers to call them “novels.” For her first-ever film, the intimate and piercing documentary A Family (Une Famille), she leans heavily on the autobiographical side, turning the camera on herself and her immediate family to ask a barrage of difficult questions...
Many of her subsequent novels, including Le Voyage dans l’Est (Voyage in the East), which won the prestigious Prix Médicis in 2021, revisit a trauma that shaped much of Angot’s work, as well as her life as a woman and mother.
Although her books often toe the line between autobiography and fiction — a genre the French have dubbed “autofiction” — Angot prefers to call them “novels.” For her first-ever film, the intimate and piercing documentary A Family (Une Famille), she leans heavily on the autobiographical side, turning the camera on herself and her immediate family to ask a barrage of difficult questions...
- 2/19/2024
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Killers of the Flower Moon star Robert De Niro was confused when he took the stage at the Gotham Awards in New York City on Monday night.
The Oscar-winning actor was on hand to introduce the Historical Icon and Creator Tribute award for Martin Scorsese’s Apple film, which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone.
When De Niro began reading his prepared remarks for the introduction of the award, he noticed his comments had been edited. A video aired of the iconic director and Osage chief Geoffrey Standing Bear discussing the film, and then De Niro insisted he read the original speech he was going to give, which featured several specific, political comments, including ones about former President Donald Trump.
“History isn’t history anymore. Truth isn’t truth, and even facts are being replaced by alternative facts and driven by conspiracy theories and ugliness,” De Niro said onstage.
The Oscar-winning actor was on hand to introduce the Historical Icon and Creator Tribute award for Martin Scorsese’s Apple film, which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone.
When De Niro began reading his prepared remarks for the introduction of the award, he noticed his comments had been edited. A video aired of the iconic director and Osage chief Geoffrey Standing Bear discussing the film, and then De Niro insisted he read the original speech he was going to give, which featured several specific, political comments, including ones about former President Donald Trump.
“History isn’t history anymore. Truth isn’t truth, and even facts are being replaced by alternative facts and driven by conspiracy theories and ugliness,” De Niro said onstage.
- 11/28/2023
- by Christy Piña and Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Things got political on Wednesday at Doc NYC’s 10th annual Visionaries Tribute Honorees, when honoree Michael Moore asked the crowd to take a pledge “to let our Jewish brothers and sisters know that we will never, ever allow what happened in the 20th century” to happen again.
The Gotham Hall gala marks the opening day of the 14th annual Doc NYC and attracts the who’s who of the doc community from both coasts. Hundreds of documentary filmmakers, cinematographers, producers, editors, publicists, and distributors hobnob with Academy doc branch members in hopes of winning their votes.
Moore, American Documentary executive director Erika Dilday, and docu filmmakers Deborah Shaffer and Maite Alberdi, were honored during the four-hour lunch.
“Few of us are in a very festive mood right now,” Moore said during his 40-plus minute acceptance speech. “And so I’d like to start by just asking you to join...
The Gotham Hall gala marks the opening day of the 14th annual Doc NYC and attracts the who’s who of the doc community from both coasts. Hundreds of documentary filmmakers, cinematographers, producers, editors, publicists, and distributors hobnob with Academy doc branch members in hopes of winning their votes.
Moore, American Documentary executive director Erika Dilday, and docu filmmakers Deborah Shaffer and Maite Alberdi, were honored during the four-hour lunch.
“Few of us are in a very festive mood right now,” Moore said during his 40-plus minute acceptance speech. “And so I’d like to start by just asking you to join...
- 11/9/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
The 31st edition of the Camerimage Film Festival, Europe’s top cinematography event, will welcome a host of stellar guests to the Gothic Polish town of Torun, including Adam Driver, Sean Penn and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer.
Driver and Penn will screen their latest films, respectively, the high-octane biopic “Ferrari” and the portrait of Eastern Europe’s most remarkable wartime president, Volodymyr Zelensky, “Superpower.”
As regular fest guests have learned, the calendar of film screenings is just as important to study as the schedule for panels, seminars and masterclasses. That’s because Camerimage, with limited event space for now, strategically holds filmmaker talks following film projections, often in the same hall of the Jordanki cinema space.
Which means opening-night audiences who linger after Camerimage screens Robbie Ryan-shot “Poor Things,” the Frankenstein-esque fairytale by Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Emma Stone, will be able to...
Driver and Penn will screen their latest films, respectively, the high-octane biopic “Ferrari” and the portrait of Eastern Europe’s most remarkable wartime president, Volodymyr Zelensky, “Superpower.”
As regular fest guests have learned, the calendar of film screenings is just as important to study as the schedule for panels, seminars and masterclasses. That’s because Camerimage, with limited event space for now, strategically holds filmmaker talks following film projections, often in the same hall of the Jordanki cinema space.
Which means opening-night audiences who linger after Camerimage screens Robbie Ryan-shot “Poor Things,” the Frankenstein-esque fairytale by Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Emma Stone, will be able to...
- 11/6/2023
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Documentaries have the remarkable ability to open our eyes to the world’s realities, challenge our preconceived notions, and transform our perspectives. In an age where information inundates our lives from various sources, these cinematic works offer a unique and intimate platform to engage with issues that matter.
Related: 7 Best Mind-Expanding Documentaries
Over the years, certain documentaries have left an indelible mark, altering the course of public perception and, in some cases, even driving real-world change. This article delves into ten must-watch documentaries that have wielded the power of truth to reshape the way we view the world around us.
“Blackfish” (2013)
A Deep Dive into Captive Marine Life
This documentary hit me like a tidal wave. “Blackfish” pulled back the curtain on how marine animals are treated in captivity, specifically focusing on orcas at SeaWorld. It’s not all fun and games; the film peeled away the glossy exterior to...
Related: 7 Best Mind-Expanding Documentaries
Over the years, certain documentaries have left an indelible mark, altering the course of public perception and, in some cases, even driving real-world change. This article delves into ten must-watch documentaries that have wielded the power of truth to reshape the way we view the world around us.
“Blackfish” (2013)
A Deep Dive into Captive Marine Life
This documentary hit me like a tidal wave. “Blackfish” pulled back the curtain on how marine animals are treated in captivity, specifically focusing on orcas at SeaWorld. It’s not all fun and games; the film peeled away the glossy exterior to...
- 10/25/2023
- by Pia Vermaak
- buddytv.com
‘We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity’
Riz Ahmed, Cate Blanchett, Kristen Stewart, Cherien Dabis and Rooney Mara are among Hollywood and entertainment celebrities urging US president Joe Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.
Andrew Garfield, Jessica Chastain, James Schamus, Joaquin Phoenix, Mahershala Ali, Jon Stewart, and Dua Lipa have also added their names to an open letter on Friday urging Biden and all world leaders to call for “an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost”.
It is estimated that more than 5,000 Palestinians and Israelis...
Riz Ahmed, Cate Blanchett, Kristen Stewart, Cherien Dabis and Rooney Mara are among Hollywood and entertainment celebrities urging US president Joe Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.
Andrew Garfield, Jessica Chastain, James Schamus, Joaquin Phoenix, Mahershala Ali, Jon Stewart, and Dua Lipa have also added their names to an open letter on Friday urging Biden and all world leaders to call for “an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost”.
It is estimated that more than 5,000 Palestinians and Israelis...
- 10/21/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
A group of originally 57 (and counting) Hollywood celebrities have written an open letter to President Joe Biden asking him to call for a ceasefire in Israel and Palestine as the Israel-Hamas War rages on.
Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart, Oscar Isaac, Quinta Brunson, Ayo Edebiri, Cate Blanchett, Hasan Minhaj, Jeremy Strong and Joaquin Phoenix, among many others, signed the letter requesting an end to the “devastating loss of lives and unfolding horrors” in both countries.
“We ask that, as President of the United States, you call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost,” it reads. “More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.”
The letter, put out by the Artists 4 Ceasefire organization,...
Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart, Oscar Isaac, Quinta Brunson, Ayo Edebiri, Cate Blanchett, Hasan Minhaj, Jeremy Strong and Joaquin Phoenix, among many others, signed the letter requesting an end to the “devastating loss of lives and unfolding horrors” in both countries.
“We ask that, as President of the United States, you call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost,” it reads. “More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.”
The letter, put out by the Artists 4 Ceasefire organization,...
- 10/20/2023
- by Christy Piña
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Stuart Ford’s AGC Television has boarded the series adaptation of F.G. Haghenbeck’s novel, ‘Primavera del Mal’ (‘The Spring of Evil’) alongside Mexican-American filmmaker Fernando Lebrija of Cielo Content and Irreversible Pictures.
To be retitled “Amapola,” the upcoming historical drama series is set in the early 20th century when the Chinese held sway over the drug trade along the Mexican-u.S. border.
In the world of illicit trade, adopted siblings Raul Duval and Miguel Ying have successfully grown their family’s opium enterprise. Their ambitions now extend beyond mere cultivation as they seek to broaden their reach and increase their political influence. However, their aspirations take an unexpected turn when American mobster Bugsy Siegel arrives in Mexico City, offering them a golden opportunity.
Situated strategically between Nogales, Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona, the Ying family steers their course through the treacherous waters of the drug trade bridging Mexico and the U.
To be retitled “Amapola,” the upcoming historical drama series is set in the early 20th century when the Chinese held sway over the drug trade along the Mexican-u.S. border.
In the world of illicit trade, adopted siblings Raul Duval and Miguel Ying have successfully grown their family’s opium enterprise. Their ambitions now extend beyond mere cultivation as they seek to broaden their reach and increase their political influence. However, their aspirations take an unexpected turn when American mobster Bugsy Siegel arrives in Mexico City, offering them a golden opportunity.
Situated strategically between Nogales, Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona, the Ying family steers their course through the treacherous waters of the drug trade bridging Mexico and the U.
- 10/17/2023
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Marilyn Manson, the controversial schlock rocker, is to be the subject of a new documentary series.
British broadcaster Channel 4 has ordered three-part series Marilyn Manson: Behind The Mask (w/t) that is co-financed by Fifth Season, the company formerly known as Endeavor Content, and comes from Spector producer Lightbox in partnership with Rolling Stone.
It comes after Manson, otherwise known as Brian Warner, received a litany of accusations in recent years. Evan Rachel Wood accused the musician of sexual and physical violence and was behind a two-part HBO documentary Phoenix Rising. Subsequently, Game of Thrones star Esmé Bianco accused him of sexual assault and sexual battery and a number of other women filed civil lawsuits against him.
He was dropped by CAA and his record label Loma Vista and axed from series such as Starz’s American Gods and Shudder’s Creepshow.
After these initial accusations, Rolling Stone magazine,...
British broadcaster Channel 4 has ordered three-part series Marilyn Manson: Behind The Mask (w/t) that is co-financed by Fifth Season, the company formerly known as Endeavor Content, and comes from Spector producer Lightbox in partnership with Rolling Stone.
It comes after Manson, otherwise known as Brian Warner, received a litany of accusations in recent years. Evan Rachel Wood accused the musician of sexual and physical violence and was behind a two-part HBO documentary Phoenix Rising. Subsequently, Game of Thrones star Esmé Bianco accused him of sexual assault and sexual battery and a number of other women filed civil lawsuits against him.
He was dropped by CAA and his record label Loma Vista and axed from series such as Starz’s American Gods and Shudder’s Creepshow.
After these initial accusations, Rolling Stone magazine,...
- 10/11/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
MTV Documentary Films has released the trailer for “Pay Or Die,” a documentary about America’s soaring insulin costs that the platform acquired out of this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival.
The 90-minute film, which was executive produced by Sarah Silverman, will open theatrically at New York City’s IFC Center on November 1, the first day of National Diabetes Month. That screening will be followed by a nationwide rollout. The theatrical release of the doc will qualify it for Academy Award consideration. Paramount + will begin streaming “Pay Or Die” on World Diabetes Day – Nov. 14.
Directed by Scott Alexander Ruderman and Rachael Dyer, “Pay Or Die” follows three families struggling to afford their diabetes medications. In 2022 the American Diabetes Association reported that over 37 million Americans – about 11% of the nation – are living with diabetes and 8.4 million Americans rely on insulin to survive. According to “Pay Or Die” nearly two-million...
The 90-minute film, which was executive produced by Sarah Silverman, will open theatrically at New York City’s IFC Center on November 1, the first day of National Diabetes Month. That screening will be followed by a nationwide rollout. The theatrical release of the doc will qualify it for Academy Award consideration. Paramount + will begin streaming “Pay Or Die” on World Diabetes Day – Nov. 14.
Directed by Scott Alexander Ruderman and Rachael Dyer, “Pay Or Die” follows three families struggling to afford their diabetes medications. In 2022 the American Diabetes Association reported that over 37 million Americans – about 11% of the nation – are living with diabetes and 8.4 million Americans rely on insulin to survive. According to “Pay Or Die” nearly two-million...
- 10/5/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
Charlton Heston became a household name with leading roles in action adventures and biblical epics, but his credits extended past those two well-worn genres. Let’s take a look back at 12 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
After serving in the United States Army Air Force during WWII, Heston made his professional movie acting debut with the film noir “Dark City” (1950). His big breakthrough came just two years later with Cecil B. DeMille‘s big top soap opera “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952), in which he played the circus manager. Though an audience favorite in its time, the film often ranks among the all-time worst Oscar winners for Best Picture.
Heston later reunited with DeMille to play the Old Testament prophet Moses in “The Ten Commandments” (1956), which brought him a Golden Globe nomination. A holy hit at the box office, the role undoubtedly inspired William Wyler to cast...
After serving in the United States Army Air Force during WWII, Heston made his professional movie acting debut with the film noir “Dark City” (1950). His big breakthrough came just two years later with Cecil B. DeMille‘s big top soap opera “The Greatest Show on Earth” (1952), in which he played the circus manager. Though an audience favorite in its time, the film often ranks among the all-time worst Oscar winners for Best Picture.
Heston later reunited with DeMille to play the Old Testament prophet Moses in “The Ten Commandments” (1956), which brought him a Golden Globe nomination. A holy hit at the box office, the role undoubtedly inspired William Wyler to cast...
- 9/30/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
There’s an unintentionally surreal moment in “Food Inc. 2.” Eric Schlosser, the journalist who wrote “Fast Food Nation,” is talking about how the rise of our corporatized, centralized, industrialized food system stifles the very kind of competition that could pose a challenge to it. He reaches back, with a level-headed liberal boomer nostalgia comparable to that of Michael Moore, to talk about the growth of the middle class in the ’50s and ’60s, and how that was a period of rising wages for American workers, all of which has faded away.
Here’s the surreal part. To illustrate this postwar reverie, the movie accompanies it with a 60-year-old documentary film clip presenting the wonder of supermarkets, with the camera lingering on stacks of Campbell’s Soup cans and products like Minute Rice, Ritz Crackers, and Van Camp’s Original Baked Beans. Watching the clip, though, all I could think was:...
Here’s the surreal part. To illustrate this postwar reverie, the movie accompanies it with a 60-year-old documentary film clip presenting the wonder of supermarkets, with the camera lingering on stacks of Campbell’s Soup cans and products like Minute Rice, Ritz Crackers, and Van Camp’s Original Baked Beans. Watching the clip, though, all I could think was:...
- 9/2/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Two decades ago, Civic Development Group put a lot of people to work who couldn’t find it anywhere else. The telemarketing company employed high school dropouts, convicted felons, and drug addicts, many of whom felt as though they’d found their calling at a company that incentivized them to unwittingly participate in a high-stakes grift.
As they juggled calls on behalf of policemen unions and other charitable organizations, inadvertently duping gullible targets into opening their wallets, they had no idea how little money actually went to the organizations themselves. In truth, CDG was making a killing, keeping 90 percent of all donations — while its staffers treated the office as a hedonistic playground.
The footage of those antics provides the backbone for the first episode of “Telemarketers,” directors Adam Bhala Lough and Sam Lipman-Stern’s gritty and often darkly funny look at the CDG’s scam and the wider conspiracy of...
As they juggled calls on behalf of policemen unions and other charitable organizations, inadvertently duping gullible targets into opening their wallets, they had no idea how little money actually went to the organizations themselves. In truth, CDG was making a killing, keeping 90 percent of all donations — while its staffers treated the office as a hedonistic playground.
The footage of those antics provides the backbone for the first episode of “Telemarketers,” directors Adam Bhala Lough and Sam Lipman-Stern’s gritty and often darkly funny look at the CDG’s scam and the wider conspiracy of...
- 8/12/2023
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Adam Bhala Lough and Sam Lipman-Stern’s new three-part HBO documentary Telemarketers occupies a space on the nonfiction continuum somewhere between the angry, journalistic interrogation of early Michael Moore and the more laid-back, observational curiosity of the Nathan Fielder/John Wilson school.
It’s a slightly precarious position. As a muckraking crusade, Telemarketers conveys and synthesizes less revelatory information than your typical Last Week Tonight With John Oliver main story — which is to say that anything you learn from the documentary you probably could have learned five years ago if you’d just wanted to know. As more personal storytelling, the series sometimes lacks introspection and sufficient autobiographical candor.
In the uneasy blending, though, Telemarketers finds something that’s frequently funny, unexpectedly poignant and occasionally rather special. It isn’t going to topple an industry, but its story of two unlikely friends who, after doing the wrong thing for a long time,...
It’s a slightly precarious position. As a muckraking crusade, Telemarketers conveys and synthesizes less revelatory information than your typical Last Week Tonight With John Oliver main story — which is to say that anything you learn from the documentary you probably could have learned five years ago if you’d just wanted to know. As more personal storytelling, the series sometimes lacks introspection and sufficient autobiographical candor.
In the uneasy blending, though, Telemarketers finds something that’s frequently funny, unexpectedly poignant and occasionally rather special. It isn’t going to topple an industry, but its story of two unlikely friends who, after doing the wrong thing for a long time,...
- 8/11/2023
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
For the lucky few who caught Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy during its original, limited U.S. theatrical release in 2005, the film landed with the full force of the Korean cultural wave that was yet to come. Here, seemingly out of nowhere, was a viscerally disturbing cinematic vision — live octopus-eating, hand-to-hand combat via claw-tooth hammer and a climax involving double incest and the severing of a human tongue — but one delivered in a style as baroquely accomplished as anything Hollywood or American indie cinema had ever produced. The experience was that rarest of aesthetic shocks to the system (perhaps now extinct in our late, smartphone-everywhere era), like landing in a country and culture totally foreign to you for the first time, or stumbling onto a landmark work from a true master artist — who, somehow, you hadn’t even known existed.
To celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary, Neon is rereleasing Oldboy in U.
To celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary, Neon is rereleasing Oldboy in U.
- 8/11/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Workers at documentary powerhouse Story Syndicate, which has produced projects like Harry and Meghan, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and the Unknown series, have secured voluntary union recognition from management to bargain for their share of what they called “windfall profits for the largest streaming platforms in the world” on the back of their work.
Roughly 25 to 100 producers and 12 to 30 editorial employees, depending on the number of titles in production, will be represented by the Writers Guild of America East (Wgae) and Motion Picture Editors Guild (Mpeg) respectively, according to the groups. They attributed the successful unionization to a “remarkable example of inter-union solidarity.”
The next step will be to negotiate a contract with Story Syndicate, founded by Oscar and Emmy-winning couple Dan Cogan and Liz Garbus.
“At Story Syndicate, we believe the way we work with our employees is as important as the quality of the work itself,...
Roughly 25 to 100 producers and 12 to 30 editorial employees, depending on the number of titles in production, will be represented by the Writers Guild of America East (Wgae) and Motion Picture Editors Guild (Mpeg) respectively, according to the groups. They attributed the successful unionization to a “remarkable example of inter-union solidarity.”
The next step will be to negotiate a contract with Story Syndicate, founded by Oscar and Emmy-winning couple Dan Cogan and Liz Garbus.
“At Story Syndicate, we believe the way we work with our employees is as important as the quality of the work itself,...
- 8/8/2023
- by Winston Cho
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The WGA East and the Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700, have won a major victory in their joint effort to unionize producers and editorial employees at Story Syndicate, the Brooklyn-based documentary powerhouse behind such nonfiction features and series as Harry and Meghan and Unknown for Netflix, Fauci for PBS and I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and Last Call for HBO.
The American Arbitration Association independently verified that each guild had the support of a majority of Story Syndicate employees in their respective jurisdictions, and the company founded by Liz Garbus and Dan Cogan in 2019 now has agreed to voluntarily recognize the unions as their collective bargaining representatives.
Historically, most documentary production companies have been nonunion, and their workers have not enjoyed the same workplace benefits and protections as their counterparts in the entertainment industry’s heavily unionized scripted sector. Notable unionized exceptions include documentary companies run by Emmy...
The American Arbitration Association independently verified that each guild had the support of a majority of Story Syndicate employees in their respective jurisdictions, and the company founded by Liz Garbus and Dan Cogan in 2019 now has agreed to voluntarily recognize the unions as their collective bargaining representatives.
Historically, most documentary production companies have been nonunion, and their workers have not enjoyed the same workplace benefits and protections as their counterparts in the entertainment industry’s heavily unionized scripted sector. Notable unionized exceptions include documentary companies run by Emmy...
- 8/8/2023
- by David Robb
- Deadline Film + TV
Welcome back to Oscars Playback, in which Gold Derby editors and Experts Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng revisit Oscar ceremonies and winners of yesteryear. This week, we cover the 75th Academy Awards in 2003, honoring the films of 2002.
Oscars’ diamond jubilee crowned “Chicago” Best Picture. The Rob Marshall musical took home six trophies total, the most of the night, and was the heavy favorite going in, but the “Chicago” team was probably sweating bullets down to the wire. That’s because “The Pianist” pulled off three huge upsets, winning Best Actor for Adrien Brody, Best Director for Roman Polanski and Best Adapted Screenplay for Ronald Harwood. How close was “The Pianist” to winning Best Picture?
See Experts slugfest: Revisiting the 2002 ceremony when Halle Berry made history at the longest show ever
The biggest loser of the night was Martin Scorsese‘s “Gangs of New York,” which went 0-10. Backed by Harvey Weinstein,...
Oscars’ diamond jubilee crowned “Chicago” Best Picture. The Rob Marshall musical took home six trophies total, the most of the night, and was the heavy favorite going in, but the “Chicago” team was probably sweating bullets down to the wire. That’s because “The Pianist” pulled off three huge upsets, winning Best Actor for Adrien Brody, Best Director for Roman Polanski and Best Adapted Screenplay for Ronald Harwood. How close was “The Pianist” to winning Best Picture?
See Experts slugfest: Revisiting the 2002 ceremony when Halle Berry made history at the longest show ever
The biggest loser of the night was Martin Scorsese‘s “Gangs of New York,” which went 0-10. Backed by Harvey Weinstein,...
- 7/18/2023
- by Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Paramount reports that “Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning — Part One” has a U.S./Canada gross of $23.8 million through Thursday. That so far qualifies it as a good, but not great number. Still, the figures include one positive sign going into the film’s crucial first full weekend.
The Thursday haul was $8.3 million. That was down only slightly from Wednesday with $8.5 million as part of the initial report of $15.5 million, which also included earlier in the week previews. That suggests favorable reactions, which could feed into boosting the weekend ahead.
A Wednesday non-holiday summer opening like this has few precedents, making models for projecting the weekend trickier. But the nearly-same daily take from the full opening day is encouraging.
Before this report, projections for the initial weekend ranged from $70 million to $90 million. The strong Thursday should elevate this above the lower end, but the reality is trickier to predict, and...
The Thursday haul was $8.3 million. That was down only slightly from Wednesday with $8.5 million as part of the initial report of $15.5 million, which also included earlier in the week previews. That suggests favorable reactions, which could feed into boosting the weekend ahead.
A Wednesday non-holiday summer opening like this has few precedents, making models for projecting the weekend trickier. But the nearly-same daily take from the full opening day is encouraging.
Before this report, projections for the initial weekend ranged from $70 million to $90 million. The strong Thursday should elevate this above the lower end, but the reality is trickier to predict, and...
- 7/14/2023
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Mala Chapple has been elevated to President of Story Syndicate, the decorated production company of Liz Garbus and Dan Cogan, having made a significant mark there since joining as Chief Operating Officer in 2021.
In her previous role, Chapple oversaw production, business affairs and financial operations for the company. She also served as an executive producer of Harry & Meghan — the series on the royals that last year notched Netflix’s biggest-ever doc debut, with over 81.55M hours viewed globally in its first week of release — as well as the Netflix adventure-exploration series Unknown.
Going forward, Chapple will continue to steer the organization through ever-shifting market conditions, in concert with Garbus and Cogan. As she increases the scope of her responsibilities, Head of Documentary and Nonfiction Jon Bardin will assume additional oversight as far as day-to-day project management.
“As a creative company, how do you thrive in an evolving marketplace while remaining devoted to unique,...
In her previous role, Chapple oversaw production, business affairs and financial operations for the company. She also served as an executive producer of Harry & Meghan — the series on the royals that last year notched Netflix’s biggest-ever doc debut, with over 81.55M hours viewed globally in its first week of release — as well as the Netflix adventure-exploration series Unknown.
Going forward, Chapple will continue to steer the organization through ever-shifting market conditions, in concert with Garbus and Cogan. As she increases the scope of her responsibilities, Head of Documentary and Nonfiction Jon Bardin will assume additional oversight as far as day-to-day project management.
“As a creative company, how do you thrive in an evolving marketplace while remaining devoted to unique,...
- 7/11/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Eugene Hütz, founder and frontman with U.S. gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello, would likely to have ended up a painter wearing “dirty pants and long hair” had his parents not left the Soviet Union when he was 16.
“I would probably have become a painter, as there was more of a path paved in that in my family,” he says. “I was drawing most of my childhood and my uncle – Mikhail Mykolayev – is a pretty well-known painter who still lives in Kyiv.”
Fresh from playing a brief, impromptu solo guitar gig at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, following the international premiere of a new documentary about the band, “Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story,” Hütz fits the bill, although his khaki cargo pants are not paint spattered.
The singer was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, but the Hütz family left years of Communist oppression behind and moved to Western...
“I would probably have become a painter, as there was more of a path paved in that in my family,” he says. “I was drawing most of my childhood and my uncle – Mikhail Mykolayev – is a pretty well-known painter who still lives in Kyiv.”
Fresh from playing a brief, impromptu solo guitar gig at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, following the international premiere of a new documentary about the band, “Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story,” Hütz fits the bill, although his khaki cargo pants are not paint spattered.
The singer was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, but the Hütz family left years of Communist oppression behind and moved to Western...
- 7/8/2023
- by Nick Holdsworth
- Variety Film + TV
Lee Yong-kwan, one of the original founders of the Busan International Film Festival, says he is stepping down as the event’s chairman – this time with immediate effect.
He says the move is intended to defuse a morass of factional infighting and political interference surrounding Asian’s most prominent film festival.
A festival spokesman told Variety that the board of directors “has decided to persuade the chairperson to return. So, the resignation has not been accepted yet.”
Lee had already tendered his resignation once before, after a series of management missteps had thrown the event into disarray since early May. But he was subsequently persuaded to stick with the event until this year’s edition in October had been delivered.
On Wednesday, however, Lee said that continuing strife, notably external forces which had sought to politicize the recent comings and goings, meant that his plan to remain as caretaker for...
He says the move is intended to defuse a morass of factional infighting and political interference surrounding Asian’s most prominent film festival.
A festival spokesman told Variety that the board of directors “has decided to persuade the chairperson to return. So, the resignation has not been accepted yet.”
Lee had already tendered his resignation once before, after a series of management missteps had thrown the event into disarray since early May. But he was subsequently persuaded to stick with the event until this year’s edition in October had been delivered.
On Wednesday, however, Lee said that continuing strife, notably external forces which had sought to politicize the recent comings and goings, meant that his plan to remain as caretaker for...
- 6/28/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
As filmmaking gets further relegated to smaller screens, it’s a breath of fresh air to have a director like Pietro Marcello crafting cinema that is best experienced on a vast canvas. While the release of his stunning 2019 drama Martin Eden was unfortunately dampened by the pandemic, he’s now returned with the gorgeous fable Scarlet (aka L’Envol). Premiering just about a year ago at Cannes, the tale of a woman’s family and romantic journey in post-wwi France will now arrive in U.S. theaters starting this Friday. Starring Juliette Jouan, Raphaël Thierry, Louis Garrel, Noémie Lvovsky, Ernst Umhauer, François Négret, and Yolande Moreau.
While he stopped by NYC for last fall’s New York Film Festival premiere, I had the opportunity to speak with Marcello about his experience working in France, the silent film connections to Scarlet, how his latest work marked a transitional point for his career,...
While he stopped by NYC for last fall’s New York Film Festival premiere, I had the opportunity to speak with Marcello about his experience working in France, the silent film connections to Scarlet, how his latest work marked a transitional point for his career,...
- 6/6/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Documentary fans might be forgiven for nurturing a dream – that Cannes would follow the recent example of Venice and Berlin and award its top prize to a nonfiction film. Complete the documentary Triple Crown – the Golden Lion, the Golden Bear and the Palme d’or.
Alas, it wasn’t to be. On Saturday night, Cannes gave the gilded frond to a narrative-fiction film, as it generally does, Anatomy of a Fall. But perhaps the important thing is, the jury could have made the trifecta happen. Two documentaries appeared in main competition – Wang Bing’s Jeunesse (Youth) and Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters (Les Filles d’Olfa) – ending a nearly 20-year span in which no nonfiction film had been accorded the prestige of a competition slot. As they say about the lottery,...
Alas, it wasn’t to be. On Saturday night, Cannes gave the gilded frond to a narrative-fiction film, as it generally does, Anatomy of a Fall. But perhaps the important thing is, the jury could have made the trifecta happen. Two documentaries appeared in main competition – Wang Bing’s Jeunesse (Youth) and Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters (Les Filles d’Olfa) – ending a nearly 20-year span in which no nonfiction film had been accorded the prestige of a competition slot. As they say about the lottery,...
- 5/30/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
With the 76th Cannes Film Festival nearing its conclusion, it has been apparent that the most frequent stories have leaned heavily on how long the standing ovations have been. Johnny Depp’s Jeanne du Barry opened the fest with a seven minute standing O, while Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon landed nine and on and on and on. But none of these—or any others—have matched the reigning champ of Cannes ovations: Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, which clocked in at an astounding 22 minutes.
Pan’s Labyrinth may not have won the Palme d’Or at the 59th Cannes Film Festival, but it did set the new record for standing ovation length, topping 2004’s Fahrenheit 9/11’s reported 20-minute reception. (Michael Moore’s film at least also received the festival’s top honor.) Reflecting on that memorable moment, director del Toro said such a response is overwhelming...
Pan’s Labyrinth may not have won the Palme d’Or at the 59th Cannes Film Festival, but it did set the new record for standing ovation length, topping 2004’s Fahrenheit 9/11’s reported 20-minute reception. (Michael Moore’s film at least also received the festival’s top honor.) Reflecting on that memorable moment, director del Toro said such a response is overwhelming...
- 5/27/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Tommy Joe Ballantyne (Dave Turner), the central character in Ken Loach’s “The Old Oak,” is a middle-aged landlord and proprietor of a pub that sits near the bottom of a sloped street of working-class row houses. We’re in an unnamed village in the northeast of England, and the pub, called the Old Oak, has seen better days. So has Tommy, who’s known as Tj. Dave Turner, the very good actor who plays him, resembles a bone-weary cross between John C. Reilly and Michael Moore. There’s a sweet-souled directness to his sad prole stare, and he treats his customers, some of whom he has known since they were in grade school together, with quiet affection and respect. But the pub is falling apart, and the property values in the neighborhood have plunged. Tj is barely scraping by serving pints of ale.
In Boston, I knew a bartender...
In Boston, I knew a bartender...
- 5/26/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Every year, the Cannes Film Festival program yields its riches. And every year, documentaries are kept to the selection sidebars, with the exception of just three over the years, two of which won the Palme d’Or: “The Silent World,” co-directed by Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle in 1956, and Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” in 2004.
This year, out of 16 documentaries in the Official Selection, two are in the Competition, the first time nonfiction titles have joined that storied roster since Moore’s inclusion.
This is progress, but a quick glance at the latest Palme d’Or predictions reveals that Wang Bing’s “Youth” (marking the first 3.5-hours of an eventual 10-hour triptych) and “Olfa’s Daughters” from Kaouther Ben Hania are not high on the list of likely winners. Both are recognized by critics as boundary-pushing examples of the form but seem unlikely to become consensus award picks from Ruben Östlund’s eclectic Competition jury.
This year, out of 16 documentaries in the Official Selection, two are in the Competition, the first time nonfiction titles have joined that storied roster since Moore’s inclusion.
This is progress, but a quick glance at the latest Palme d’Or predictions reveals that Wang Bing’s “Youth” (marking the first 3.5-hours of an eventual 10-hour triptych) and “Olfa’s Daughters” from Kaouther Ben Hania are not high on the list of likely winners. Both are recognized by critics as boundary-pushing examples of the form but seem unlikely to become consensus award picks from Ruben Östlund’s eclectic Competition jury.
- 5/26/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Michelle Yeoh is looking back on watching everything in competition at Cannes all at once while serving on the jury under then-president David Lynch in 2002.
Yeoh reflected on the particularly “emotional” year of films, ranging from Gaspar Noé’s jarringly violent sexual thriller “Irréversible” to Michael Moore’s school shooting documentary “Bowling for Columbine” and films like Olivier Assayas’ sex-trafficking mystery “Demonlover” and the Dardennes’ drama “The Son.” The Palme d’Or was eventually awarded to “The Pianist,” the harrowing Holocaust drama starring Adrien Brody and directed by Roman Polanski — who both went on to win Oscars.
Yeoh, who was fresh off of her iconic “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” role, served as part of the 2002 Cannes jury at a time when she admitted she may have been “too young” to refrain from getting “too emotional” watching the heavier films back-to-back.
“It is very intense, because you’re watching two or three movies a day,...
Yeoh reflected on the particularly “emotional” year of films, ranging from Gaspar Noé’s jarringly violent sexual thriller “Irréversible” to Michael Moore’s school shooting documentary “Bowling for Columbine” and films like Olivier Assayas’ sex-trafficking mystery “Demonlover” and the Dardennes’ drama “The Son.” The Palme d’Or was eventually awarded to “The Pianist,” the harrowing Holocaust drama starring Adrien Brody and directed by Roman Polanski — who both went on to win Oscars.
Yeoh, who was fresh off of her iconic “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” role, served as part of the 2002 Cannes jury at a time when she admitted she may have been “too young” to refrain from getting “too emotional” watching the heavier films back-to-back.
“It is very intense, because you’re watching two or three movies a day,...
- 5/23/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The Columbine Movie
It’s been a month of vampires, slugs, and biddies with episodes on The Hunger, Night of the Creeps and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? This week, however, Trace and I are getting serious as we tackle gun violence, school shootings, and queerness in gay director Gus Van Sant‘s enthralling film, Elephant (2003).
The second film in Van Sant’s so-called “Death Trilogy,” Elephant is “the Columbine movie”: it’s a loose recreation of the 1999 school shooting that claimed the lives of 13 people. Van Sant adopts a pseudo-documentary filming style and the cast is almost exclusively composed of non-professional teen actors who improvised their scenes and characterizations.
The slice of life film is quiet, filmed primarily in long takes and is presented in a non-linear fashion. It’s also a powerful, under seen film that encourages discussion due to its staunch refusal to offer answers or solutions.
It’s been a month of vampires, slugs, and biddies with episodes on The Hunger, Night of the Creeps and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? This week, however, Trace and I are getting serious as we tackle gun violence, school shootings, and queerness in gay director Gus Van Sant‘s enthralling film, Elephant (2003).
The second film in Van Sant’s so-called “Death Trilogy,” Elephant is “the Columbine movie”: it’s a loose recreation of the 1999 school shooting that claimed the lives of 13 people. Van Sant adopts a pseudo-documentary filming style and the cast is almost exclusively composed of non-professional teen actors who improvised their scenes and characterizations.
The slice of life film is quiet, filmed primarily in long takes and is presented in a non-linear fashion. It’s also a powerful, under seen film that encourages discussion due to its staunch refusal to offer answers or solutions.
- 5/22/2023
- by Joe Lipsett
- bloody-disgusting.com
Louis Theroux is not comfortable with the disruptor moniker. He almost recoils at the notion, sitting back in his chair, chewing over the word and its literal, historical and symbolic connotations. “It has become a cliché; it’s definitely a cliché,” he eventually says.
But then comes one of the pensive expressions Theroux is famed for. His eyes fixed behind black-rimmed glasses. A man silently arguing with himself, jostling for clarity of thought. Suddenly, a revelation. Maybe he is a disruptor after all — or at least he once was.
“There’s a sense in which I came along in my presenting work and was a bit of a disruptor,” Theroux decides. “I took elements of conventional presenting and elements of classical vérité filmmaking and combined them.”
His talent in front of the camera was spotted by Michael Moore, who gave him a starring role in NBC’s TV Nation, interrogating...
But then comes one of the pensive expressions Theroux is famed for. His eyes fixed behind black-rimmed glasses. A man silently arguing with himself, jostling for clarity of thought. Suddenly, a revelation. Maybe he is a disruptor after all — or at least he once was.
“There’s a sense in which I came along in my presenting work and was a bit of a disruptor,” Theroux decides. “I took elements of conventional presenting and elements of classical vérité filmmaking and combined them.”
His talent in front of the camera was spotted by Michael Moore, who gave him a starring role in NBC’s TV Nation, interrogating...
- 5/20/2023
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Plug up that geyser at Yellowstone and lend Cannes the name Old Faithful. How else can one describe a nearly 80-year-old institution that has held true to an overarching vision for as many decades? Find a better sobriquet for the crop of Palme d’Or contenders who will arrive on the French Riviera boasting seven trophies among them, and with a median age, not for nothing, of about 63 years old — not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Quite the opposite in fact, as the 76th edition feels in no small part like a milestone of loyalty rewarded, a victory lap closing out a cycle that began a half-decade prior — the year current jury president Ruben Östlund graduated to the art-house big leagues with his Palme d’Or winner “The Square;” when the Netflix logo was jeered ahead of Bong Joon Ho’s “Okja,” kicking off a chill that nips...
Quite the opposite in fact, as the 76th edition feels in no small part like a milestone of loyalty rewarded, a victory lap closing out a cycle that began a half-decade prior — the year current jury president Ruben Östlund graduated to the art-house big leagues with his Palme d’Or winner “The Square;” when the Netflix logo was jeered ahead of Bong Joon Ho’s “Okja,” kicking off a chill that nips...
- 5/16/2023
- by Ben Croll
- The Wrap
Cannes Film Festival attendees are cordially invited to a free special event — presented by The Hollywood Reporter and Campari — on Saturday, May 20, at 1:30pm Cannes time, in the Campari Lounge of the Palais: a live hourlong recording of THR’s Awards Chatter podcast, followed by a cocktail reception, with the Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander.
There is limited space at this event. Anyone wishing to attend must RSVP via this link by 11am on Friday, May 19.
During the podcast recording, the 34-year-old Swede will be interviewed by yours truly about her life, career and the film that brings her to the Croisette this year: Karim Aïnouz’s Firebrand, in which she portrays Katherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII (Jude Law).
Vikander is best known for her performances on film in 2010’s Pure, 2012’s Anna Karenina and A Royal Affair; 2013’s The Fifth Estate, 2014’s Testament of Youth...
There is limited space at this event. Anyone wishing to attend must RSVP via this link by 11am on Friday, May 19.
During the podcast recording, the 34-year-old Swede will be interviewed by yours truly about her life, career and the film that brings her to the Croisette this year: Karim Aïnouz’s Firebrand, in which she portrays Katherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII (Jude Law).
Vikander is best known for her performances on film in 2010’s Pure, 2012’s Anna Karenina and A Royal Affair; 2013’s The Fifth Estate, 2014’s Testament of Youth...
- 5/16/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Those About to Die,” AGC Television’s upcoming gladiator series from Roland Emmerich, stars Anthony Hopkins and boasts a cast drawn from across Europe and the Middle East. It’s also financially innovative.
Rather than rely on a single, deep-pocketed streamer to write the check for the pricey series, budgeted at $145 million for the first season, AGC adopted a split rights structure: U.S. rights are licensed to Peacock, European rights to Hep, the Herbert Kloiber Sr./Constantin joint venture, and AGC International distributing in the rest of the world.
AGC chairman and CEO Stuart Ford takes pride in proving the naysayers wrong with financing for the project set in ancient Rome and based on Daniel P. Mannix’s book of the same name.
“We’ve assembled the show’s financing through a complex and innovative web of rights deals, banking arrangements and soft money,” Ford says. “We also assembled...
Rather than rely on a single, deep-pocketed streamer to write the check for the pricey series, budgeted at $145 million for the first season, AGC adopted a split rights structure: U.S. rights are licensed to Peacock, European rights to Hep, the Herbert Kloiber Sr./Constantin joint venture, and AGC International distributing in the rest of the world.
AGC chairman and CEO Stuart Ford takes pride in proving the naysayers wrong with financing for the project set in ancient Rome and based on Daniel P. Mannix’s book of the same name.
“We’ve assembled the show’s financing through a complex and innovative web of rights deals, banking arrangements and soft money,” Ford says. “We also assembled...
- 5/9/2023
- by Carole Horst
- Variety Film + TV
By Glenn Charlie Dunks
We are looking at some of the movies playing Canada's beloved HotDocs festival. This week we're taking a trip through the films of Christine Choy who is the recipient of the 2023 HotDocs Outstanding Achievement Award and is screening a series of her films.
Despite all of the increased attention that has been paid to documentaries over the last decade (and believe it has been a marked improvement!), it can still be frustratingly hard to see recognition for works made before that shift took place. Particularly so when you consider pre-digital and even pre-video era, where widespread praise tends to fall around a certain canon of titles.
As ever, who gets that build the canon does so by means of access and identification. For example, it’s hardly surprising that the films of HotDocs’ Outstanding Achievement Award winner for 2023, Christine Chow, aren’t as widely known or...
We are looking at some of the movies playing Canada's beloved HotDocs festival. This week we're taking a trip through the films of Christine Choy who is the recipient of the 2023 HotDocs Outstanding Achievement Award and is screening a series of her films.
Despite all of the increased attention that has been paid to documentaries over the last decade (and believe it has been a marked improvement!), it can still be frustratingly hard to see recognition for works made before that shift took place. Particularly so when you consider pre-digital and even pre-video era, where widespread praise tends to fall around a certain canon of titles.
As ever, who gets that build the canon does so by means of access and identification. For example, it’s hardly surprising that the films of HotDocs’ Outstanding Achievement Award winner for 2023, Christine Chow, aren’t as widely known or...
- 5/3/2023
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Big George ForemanPhoto: Sony
For historical context (and for fans of boxing when boxing mattered), in 1968, 19-year-old George Edward Foreman of Marshall, Texas, represented the United States in the heavyweight division of the Mexico City Olympic Games. He won a gold medal and then turned professional. Meanwhile, in the stateside boxing world,...
For historical context (and for fans of boxing when boxing mattered), in 1968, 19-year-old George Edward Foreman of Marshall, Texas, represented the United States in the heavyweight division of the Mexico City Olympic Games. He won a gold medal and then turned professional. Meanwhile, in the stateside boxing world,...
- 4/27/2023
- by Timothy Cogshell
- avclub.com
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