Spanish cinema is expanding, opening up attractive film avenues to reach the worldwide market, driven by upscale commercial projects, blending of genres and a new generation of emerging female directors.
The country’s filmmakers landed three Oscar nominations: Juan A. Bayona with “Society of the Snow” (inter- national feature and makeup and hair styling); and Pablo Berger with “Robot Dreams” (animated feature). Also, four of Netflix’s top five most-popular non-English films ever are from Spain.
“The boom in talent is making for a unique and very diverse cinema,” says Guillermo Farré, Movistar Plus+ head of original films and Spanish cinema.
“The great foreign perception of Spanish cinema is driven by the productions’ quality and their international diffusion,” says Elástica Films’ María Zamora, producer of Carla Simón’s Berlinale Golden Bear winner “Alcarrás.”
“Spanish cinema is evolving with the appearance of new voices especially female and new ways of narrating,...
The country’s filmmakers landed three Oscar nominations: Juan A. Bayona with “Society of the Snow” (inter- national feature and makeup and hair styling); and Pablo Berger with “Robot Dreams” (animated feature). Also, four of Netflix’s top five most-popular non-English films ever are from Spain.
“The boom in talent is making for a unique and very diverse cinema,” says Guillermo Farré, Movistar Plus+ head of original films and Spanish cinema.
“The great foreign perception of Spanish cinema is driven by the productions’ quality and their international diffusion,” says Elástica Films’ María Zamora, producer of Carla Simón’s Berlinale Golden Bear winner “Alcarrás.”
“Spanish cinema is evolving with the appearance of new voices especially female and new ways of narrating,...
- 5/15/2024
- by Emiliano De Pablos
- Variety Film + TV
There’s a special tug at the heartstrings that follows the death of an actor who’s been closely associated with a death scene, as is the case with Bernard Hill, who died May 5 at the age of 79.
The death of Juanita Moore in 2013 at the age of 98 came 54 years after maybe the ultimate movie deathbed scene — not to mention funeral, with a horse-drawn hearse and Mahalia Jackson eulogizing her in song — in Douglas Sirk’s “Imitation of Life.” And when Carl Weathers died earlier this year, it came nearly four decades after his best-known character, Apollo Creed, had died in “Rocky IV,” prompting the entire “Creed” franchise to spring up in his wake, with him conspicuously, obviously, absent.
Much praise and remembrance has been given since Hill’s passing to his role as Captain E.J. Smith in James Cameron’s “Titanic.” But Bernard Hill’s death scene as Theoden...
The death of Juanita Moore in 2013 at the age of 98 came 54 years after maybe the ultimate movie deathbed scene — not to mention funeral, with a horse-drawn hearse and Mahalia Jackson eulogizing her in song — in Douglas Sirk’s “Imitation of Life.” And when Carl Weathers died earlier this year, it came nearly four decades after his best-known character, Apollo Creed, had died in “Rocky IV,” prompting the entire “Creed” franchise to spring up in his wake, with him conspicuously, obviously, absent.
Much praise and remembrance has been given since Hill’s passing to his role as Captain E.J. Smith in James Cameron’s “Titanic.” But Bernard Hill’s death scene as Theoden...
- 5/6/2024
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Romance is complicated. The meshing together of two or more people isn’t designed to be a smooth process and art has reflected that for generations, most recently in the new Amazon MGM rom-com “The Idea of You”. In honor of the film dropping on Prime Video, IndieWire has compiled a list of the best age-gap romance films to enjoy after watching Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine’s jaunt within the genre. From the best-selling novel by Robinne Lee, “The Idea of You” follows a 40-year-old gallery owner and divorceé, who, after escorting her daughter to Coachella, ends up in a whirlwind romance with the 24-year-old lead singer of a famous boy band. The book was adapted for the screen by Michael Showalter, as well as Jennifer Westfeldt, who’s dabbled in complicated romances in the past with films like “Kissing Jessica Stein” and “Friends With Kids”.
In terms of...
In terms of...
- 5/3/2024
- by Harrison Richlin and Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Baltimore native John Waters is filmdom’s pencil-mustached titan of trash who has spent a lifetime of dumpster-diving into a vat of bad taste, sleaze, kinky gross-outs, over-the-top camp, maudlin melodramatics, sick jokes, taboo sexuality, vulgarity and bizarre personalities. At least he has a fabulous sense of humor. The director is a New York University film school dropout who instead became a scholar of transgressive, envelope-shredding cinema, influenced by the directorial likes of Herschell Gordon Lewis, Federico Fellini, William Castle, Douglas Sirk and Ingmar Bergman. Early on, Waters assembled a stock company of players from suburban Baltimore who he would the Dreamlanders, including Mink Stole and Edith Massey.
But Waters would find his true muse and favorite leading lady in his childhood friend, Glenn Milstead, a drag queen whose alter-ego was known as Divine. When Milstead died at age 42 from an enlarged heart in 1988, Waters’ output went more mainstream, with...
But Waters would find his true muse and favorite leading lady in his childhood friend, Glenn Milstead, a drag queen whose alter-ego was known as Divine. When Milstead died at age 42 from an enlarged heart in 1988, Waters’ output went more mainstream, with...
- 4/20/2024
- by Susan Wloszczyna, Misty Holland and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
For several years now, Quentin Tarantino has been adamant that he plans to make a single 10th and final movie — which will no longer be The Movie Critic. Some of his fans were relieved when this news broke yesterday. The Movie Critic originally sounded like a nostalgic character study (“more epilogue-y,” as Tarantino once put it), while his fans particularly love the director’s more pulply, genre-driven fair. The result would have almost certainly been great. But would it have been great enough to be Tarantino’s last film?
More details about this decision are likely still to come. Still, one wonders: Would Tarantino have abandoned the movie if there wasn’t so much riding on it? His many statements about quitting film directing have suggested he’s extremely focused on protecting his legacy, which seems like a downright masochistic way of putting an enormous amount pressure on yourself. A...
More details about this decision are likely still to come. Still, one wonders: Would Tarantino have abandoned the movie if there wasn’t so much riding on it? His many statements about quitting film directing have suggested he’s extremely focused on protecting his legacy, which seems like a downright masochistic way of putting an enormous amount pressure on yourself. A...
- 4/18/2024
- by James Hibberd
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Barbra Rush, the prolific actress best known for roles in 1953’s It Came From Outer Space and long runs on Peyton Place and All My Children, has died. Her daughter confirmed Rush’s passing to Fox News on Sunday. She was 97.
Rush had a near 60-year career. In the ’50s and ’60s, she worked on the big screen with Paul Newman (three times), Kirk Douglas, Rock Hudson, Dean Martin, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra and Richard Burton. In addition to pulpier fare like Prince of Pirates and Taza, Son of Cochise, Rush did a trio of films with Douglas Sirk — The First Legion, Magnificent Obsession and Captain Lightfoot — and Bigger Than Life with Nicholas Ray.
By the late 1960s, Rush had segued mostly to TV, appearing in mainstays of the period such as Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, The Fugitive, Marcus Welby, M.D., McCloud, Maude, Ironside and Mannix.
Rush appeared in...
Rush had a near 60-year career. In the ’50s and ’60s, she worked on the big screen with Paul Newman (three times), Kirk Douglas, Rock Hudson, Dean Martin, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra and Richard Burton. In addition to pulpier fare like Prince of Pirates and Taza, Son of Cochise, Rush did a trio of films with Douglas Sirk — The First Legion, Magnificent Obsession and Captain Lightfoot — and Bigger Than Life with Nicholas Ray.
By the late 1960s, Rush had segued mostly to TV, appearing in mainstays of the period such as Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, The Fugitive, Marcus Welby, M.D., McCloud, Maude, Ironside and Mannix.
Rush appeared in...
- 4/1/2024
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
Barbara Rush, the classy yet largely unheralded leading lady who sparkled in the 1950s melodramas Magnificent Obsession, Bigger Than Life and The Young Philadelphians, has died. She was 97.
Rush, a regular on the fifth and final season of ABC’s Peyton Place and a favorite of sci-fi fans thanks to her work in When Worlds Collide (1951) and It Came From Outer Space (1953), died Sunday in Westlake Village, her daughter, Fox News senior correspondent Claudia Cowan, announced.
“My wonderful mother passed away peacefully at 5:28 this evening. I was with her this morning and know she was waiting for me to return home safely to transition,” Cowan said. “It’s fitting she chose to leave on Easter as it was one of her favorite holidays and now, of course, Easter will have a deeper significance for me and my family.”
A starlet at Paramount, Universal and Fox whose career blossomed at...
Rush, a regular on the fifth and final season of ABC’s Peyton Place and a favorite of sci-fi fans thanks to her work in When Worlds Collide (1951) and It Came From Outer Space (1953), died Sunday in Westlake Village, her daughter, Fox News senior correspondent Claudia Cowan, announced.
“My wonderful mother passed away peacefully at 5:28 this evening. I was with her this morning and know she was waiting for me to return home safely to transition,” Cowan said. “It’s fitting she chose to leave on Easter as it was one of her favorite holidays and now, of course, Easter will have a deeper significance for me and my family.”
A starlet at Paramount, Universal and Fox whose career blossomed at...
- 4/1/2024
- by Mike Barnes and Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The official jury for the New York International Children’s Film Festival (Nyicff) has been unveiled, with “Passages” director Ira Sachs, “Broad City” co-creator Ilana Glazer, “Into the Spider-Verse” producer Peter Ramsey, and actress Uma Thurman among the A-listers presiding over the 2024 festival.
IndieWire exclusively reveals the full jury lineup, as well as the jurors’ personal favorite films from growing up. The 2024 installment of Nyicff boasts Cannes-premiered animated film “Chicken for Linda!” and buzzy Neon release “Robot Dreams” among its program, as well as anime film “The Concierge” and sequel “Dounia – The Great White North.” The Oscar-qualifying festival will take place March 2 through 17. See the full lineup here.
The full jury committee includes Ilana Glazer, Uma Thurman, Sony Pictures Animation head of story Guillermo Martinez, Matthew Modine, “Doc McStuffins” creator Chris Nee, “Migration” director Benjamin Renner, filmmaker Ira Sachs, Phillipa Soo, head of artistic recruiting at Titmouse Animation Ellen Su,...
IndieWire exclusively reveals the full jury lineup, as well as the jurors’ personal favorite films from growing up. The 2024 installment of Nyicff boasts Cannes-premiered animated film “Chicken for Linda!” and buzzy Neon release “Robot Dreams” among its program, as well as anime film “The Concierge” and sequel “Dounia – The Great White North.” The Oscar-qualifying festival will take place March 2 through 17. See the full lineup here.
The full jury committee includes Ilana Glazer, Uma Thurman, Sony Pictures Animation head of story Guillermo Martinez, Matthew Modine, “Doc McStuffins” creator Chris Nee, “Migration” director Benjamin Renner, filmmaker Ira Sachs, Phillipa Soo, head of artistic recruiting at Titmouse Animation Ellen Su,...
- 3/4/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Filmax has acquired international rights to Spanish thriller “Nina,” the new feature written and directed by Andrea Jaurrieta (“Ana by Day”) that bows at this week’s Málaga Film Festival as one of its higher profile titles in main competition.
Loosely based on the play of the same name by José Ramón Fernández, which borrows elements of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” “Nina” tells the story of a woman, an actress, who returns to her home town on Spain’s rugged northern coast seeking to take revenge on a celebrated writer. As she encounters past acquaintances, including a once close childhood friend, and faces dark memories, she begins to question whether vengeance is the only way forward.
“Nina” stars Goya-winning actress Patricia López Arnaiz (“Ane is Missing”) as the titular character and San Sebastián Silver Shell winner Darío Grandinetti, famed for his performance in Pedro Almodovar’s “Talk to Her,...
Loosely based on the play of the same name by José Ramón Fernández, which borrows elements of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” “Nina” tells the story of a woman, an actress, who returns to her home town on Spain’s rugged northern coast seeking to take revenge on a celebrated writer. As she encounters past acquaintances, including a once close childhood friend, and faces dark memories, she begins to question whether vengeance is the only way forward.
“Nina” stars Goya-winning actress Patricia López Arnaiz (“Ane is Missing”) as the titular character and San Sebastián Silver Shell winner Darío Grandinetti, famed for his performance in Pedro Almodovar’s “Talk to Her,...
- 3/4/2024
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Is there a single director working today with a better track record than Martin Scorsese? Ever since breaking through with his gritty, scrappy crime drama “Mean Streets,” the Italian-American’s name has been synonymous with quality, and he’s kept that train going for several years. Some films were more acclaimed than others, but from the ’70s all the way to the 2020s, Scorsese has remained a consistent top-tier filmmaker, pumping out at least one or two stone-cold classics per decade.
What’s even more impressive is how adaptable and varied the man has proven himself to be. A refrain popular among internet contrarians is that Scorsese is just a dude who makes gangster movies, but one look at the films he’s made over the years shows that only scratches the surface of his capabilities and tastes. While his mafia films like “Goodfellas” and “The Irishman” are obvious greats,...
What’s even more impressive is how adaptable and varied the man has proven himself to be. A refrain popular among internet contrarians is that Scorsese is just a dude who makes gangster movies, but one look at the films he’s made over the years shows that only scratches the surface of his capabilities and tastes. While his mafia films like “Goodfellas” and “The Irishman” are obvious greats,...
- 1/26/2024
- by Wilson Chapman and Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
Not many directors would choose an apocalyptic sci-fi romance spanning several filmmaking disciplines for their feature debut, but Sam and Andy Zuchero wouldn’t have it any other way when it comes to “Love Me.” The film, which will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this week, stars Oscar-nominated duo Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun as a buoy and a satellite falling in love a billion years after humans have gone extinct.
Speaking exclusively to Variety, the married filmmaking team say they first thought of the idea for “Love Me” back in 2019, and shortly after the global pandemic had them ruminating on themes of isolation and human connection.
“We thought that the idea of a buoy and a satellite, the two furthest things from each other, having a conversation was really funny,” Sam says when asked about the seeds of the project. “Then we read Ray Kurzweil...
Speaking exclusively to Variety, the married filmmaking team say they first thought of the idea for “Love Me” back in 2019, and shortly after the global pandemic had them ruminating on themes of isolation and human connection.
“We thought that the idea of a buoy and a satellite, the two furthest things from each other, having a conversation was really funny,” Sam says when asked about the seeds of the project. “Then we read Ray Kurzweil...
- 1/19/2024
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
Courtesy of Kino Lorber
by Chad Kennerk
Set in the 1920s, Has Anybody Seen My Gal? gets its name from the once-popular jazz song recorded by the California Ramblers in 1925. Loosely based upon the Eleanor Porter novel Oh Money! Money! (she was also the author behind Pollyanna), the 1952 jukebox musical comedy was given the full Technicolor treatment – a visual bee’s knees in Kino Lorber’s sterling release.
The Universal Pictures title makes good use of Twenties tunes such as ‘Tiger Rag,’ ‘When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along,’ ‘It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More,’ ‘Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?’ - and of course, ‘Has Anybody Seen My Gal?’. It was directed by studio regular Douglas Sirk, who would go on to make his name with lush, slyly ironic melodramas such as Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind (all with Rock Hudson), There's Always Tomorrow,...
by Chad Kennerk
Set in the 1920s, Has Anybody Seen My Gal? gets its name from the once-popular jazz song recorded by the California Ramblers in 1925. Loosely based upon the Eleanor Porter novel Oh Money! Money! (she was also the author behind Pollyanna), the 1952 jukebox musical comedy was given the full Technicolor treatment – a visual bee’s knees in Kino Lorber’s sterling release.
The Universal Pictures title makes good use of Twenties tunes such as ‘Tiger Rag,’ ‘When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along,’ ‘It Ain’t Gonna Rain No More,’ ‘Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?’ - and of course, ‘Has Anybody Seen My Gal?’. It was directed by studio regular Douglas Sirk, who would go on to make his name with lush, slyly ironic melodramas such as Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind (all with Rock Hudson), There's Always Tomorrow,...
- 1/15/2024
- by Chad Kennerk
- Film Review Daily
February––particularly its third week––is all about romance. Accordingly the Criterion Channel got creative with their monthly programming and, in a few weeks, will debut Interdimensional Romance, a series of films wherein “passion conquers time and space, age and memory, and even death and the afterlife.” For every title you might’ve guessed there’s a wilder companion: Alan Rudolph’s Made In Heaven, Soderbergh’s remake, and Resnais’ Love Unto Death. Mostly I’m excited to revisit Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth, a likely essential viewing before Megalopolis.
February also marks Black History Month, and Criterion’s series will include work by Shirley Clarke (also subject of a standalone series), Garrett Bradley, Cheryl Dunye, and Julie Dash, while movies by Sirk, Minnelli, King Vidor, and Lang play in “Gothic Noir.” Greta Gerwig gets an “Adventures in Moviegoing” and can be seen in Mary Bronstein’s Yeast,...
February also marks Black History Month, and Criterion’s series will include work by Shirley Clarke (also subject of a standalone series), Garrett Bradley, Cheryl Dunye, and Julie Dash, while movies by Sirk, Minnelli, King Vidor, and Lang play in “Gothic Noir.” Greta Gerwig gets an “Adventures in Moviegoing” and can be seen in Mary Bronstein’s Yeast,...
- 1/11/2024
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Todd Haynes' "May December" is a tricky, difficult drama that tells a fictionalized version of the Mary Kay LeTourneau story. Some may recall that LeTourneau, a sixth-grade teacher, was arrested in 1997 for having targeted and statutorily assaulted 12-year-old Vili Fualaau. LeTourneau had two children with Lualaau, and when she was released from prison, the two married. They remained married for 14 years. In "May December," the LeTourneau-inspired character was renamed Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Julianna Moore), and her much younger husband, 34 at the time of the movie, was renamed Joe Yoo (Charles Melton).
Haynes' film follows a famous actor named Elizabeth Barry (Natalie Portman), who has taken a job playing Gracie in an upcoming drama. Elizabeth spends several weeks observing Gracie, imitating her mannerisms, and interviewing the people in her life. Why, Elizabeth wonders, did Gracie commit her terrible crime? How does Joe feel about it so many years later, still married to his victimizer?...
Haynes' film follows a famous actor named Elizabeth Barry (Natalie Portman), who has taken a job playing Gracie in an upcoming drama. Elizabeth spends several weeks observing Gracie, imitating her mannerisms, and interviewing the people in her life. Why, Elizabeth wonders, did Gracie commit her terrible crime? How does Joe feel about it so many years later, still married to his victimizer?...
- 1/8/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Every few years, the Golden Globe awards have a category hiccup. In 2015, the Ridley Scott/Matt Damon Robinson-Crusoe-in-space sci-fi movie “The Martian” was nominated (and won) for best motion picture — musical or comedy, even though the movie contained no songs and no one thought it was a comedy. A month ago, in that same category, the Globes gave a nomination to “May December,” Todd Haynes’ acclaimed but hard-to-categorize film based, not so loosely, on the true story of Mary Kay Letourneau. She, of course, was the sixth-grade teacher who spent seven years in prison after having been caught in a sexual relationship with one of her 12-year-old students, who she went on to marry and have a family with.
Categorizing “May December” as a “musical or comedy” is a lot more eyebrow-raising than calling “The Martian” one. In this case, though, the Globes at least have an ally: all the...
Categorizing “May December” as a “musical or comedy” is a lot more eyebrow-raising than calling “The Martian” one. In this case, though, the Globes at least have an ally: all the...
- 1/3/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2023, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.
In all honesty, the films of 2023 should take a backseat to the images we are seeing every day in Gaza, where journalists and average citizens have been recording and documenting a daily assault on their homes and livelihoods by the Idf. Whatever fakery we watched and enjoyed in the cinema this year should always be kept in perspective in importance with images that are real and actually happening right now. The Palestinians who have documented these important images have been targeted and killed with intent and purpose to silence what their photos and videos are showing and saying.
List of journalists who have been killed.
The below is of lesser note:
Best First Watches:
Angel’s Egg La belle noiseuse Centipede Horror Charley Varrick Coffy Crimson Gold...
In all honesty, the films of 2023 should take a backseat to the images we are seeing every day in Gaza, where journalists and average citizens have been recording and documenting a daily assault on their homes and livelihoods by the Idf. Whatever fakery we watched and enjoyed in the cinema this year should always be kept in perspective in importance with images that are real and actually happening right now. The Palestinians who have documented these important images have been targeted and killed with intent and purpose to silence what their photos and videos are showing and saying.
List of journalists who have been killed.
The below is of lesser note:
Best First Watches:
Angel’s Egg La belle noiseuse Centipede Horror Charley Varrick Coffy Crimson Gold...
- 1/3/2024
- by Soham Gadre
- The Film Stage
Iconoclastic filmmaker Todd Haynes has made a name for himself crafting stories dealing with sexuality, discrimination and pop culture. Let’s take a look back at all nine of his narrative feature films, ranked worst to best.
Haynes first came to the attention of art house audiences with “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story” (1988), a 43-minute short which used Barbie dolls to create a startling poignant, eerie biopic. This led to his feature debut, “Poison” (1991), a milestone in the New Queer Cinema that told three different narratives exploring our reactions to human carnality.
He reaped his first Oscar nomination for “Far From Heaven” (Best Original Screenplay in 2002), a meticulous recreation of Douglas Sirk melodramas centering on a 1950’s Connecticut housewife (Julianne Moore) who falls in love with her black gardener (Dennis Haysbert) after her husband (Dennis Quaid) comes out of the closet. In addition to Haynes’ bid, the film also competed...
Haynes first came to the attention of art house audiences with “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story” (1988), a 43-minute short which used Barbie dolls to create a startling poignant, eerie biopic. This led to his feature debut, “Poison” (1991), a milestone in the New Queer Cinema that told three different narratives exploring our reactions to human carnality.
He reaped his first Oscar nomination for “Far From Heaven” (Best Original Screenplay in 2002), a meticulous recreation of Douglas Sirk melodramas centering on a 1950’s Connecticut housewife (Julianne Moore) who falls in love with her black gardener (Dennis Haysbert) after her husband (Dennis Quaid) comes out of the closet. In addition to Haynes’ bid, the film also competed...
- 1/3/2024
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Tim Burton's "Batman Returns" is one of the more unusual blockbusters of its era. Following the massive, massive success of his 1989 "Batman," Burton was seemingly given a lot more creative leeway with his sequel, transforming the world of Batman into a noir carnival nightmare of hopelessness and kink. "Returns" saw the Dark Knight (Michael Keaton) facing off against the sewer-dwelling creep the Penguin (Danny DeVito) and beginning an unhealthy flirtation with the mentally unwell Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer).
Burton's rendition of Catwoman may be the best Batman villain to have been depicted in live-action. She was unbalanced and terrifying, using her newfound mindset as a tool for liberation. It's no coincidence that her costume is a skintight leather vinyl costume with a corset and a whip. This was Catwoman as a horror movie dominatrix. She had more in common with the Cenobites from "Hellraiser" than anything from a Batman comic book.
Burton's rendition of Catwoman may be the best Batman villain to have been depicted in live-action. She was unbalanced and terrifying, using her newfound mindset as a tool for liberation. It's no coincidence that her costume is a skintight leather vinyl costume with a corset and a whip. This was Catwoman as a horror movie dominatrix. She had more in common with the Cenobites from "Hellraiser" than anything from a Batman comic book.
- 1/1/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
For action fans who came of age in the 1980s and 1990s, the arrival of a new John Woo movie was not just a cinematic event but a spiritual catharsis. No one was making films the way he was, creating exquisitely orchestrated ballets of melodrama and violence influenced in equal amounts by Sam Peckinpah and Douglas Sirk but not beholden to either. Hong Kong imports like “A Better Tomorrow,” “The Killer,” and “Hard Boiled” set a new bar for what audiences could demand in terms of kinetic thrills, and when Woo moved to America, fans wondered if his voice would survive the trip. Luckily, he changed Hollywood more than Hollywood changed him, as he infused “Face/Off,” “Mission Impossible 2,” and other studio assignments with his signature dynamism and influenced a generation of action filmmakers from Quentin Tarantino to Robert Rodriguez.
Then, in 2003, it all stopped. Woo directed Ben Affleck in “Paycheck,...
Then, in 2003, it all stopped. Woo directed Ben Affleck in “Paycheck,...
- 12/1/2023
- by Jim Hemphill
- Indiewire
On December 6, the 2023 IndieWire Honors ceremony will celebrate 11 filmmakers, creators, and actors for their achievements in creative independence. We’re showcasing their work with new interviews leading up to the Los Angeles event.
From Cate Blanchett’s meet-cute hat-tip to shopgirl Rooney Mara in “Carol” and Julianne Moore’s farewell on a train platform to Dennis Haysbert at the end of “Far from Heaven” to, now, Natalie Portman’s straight-to-the-camera monologue as an actress playing an actress who is also playing another role in “May December,” Todd Haynes might not see his images as destined-to-be-iconic while on set as we do on our screens. At first.
That’s partly because, for the Oscar-nominated filmmaker upon whom IndieWire Honors will bestow the Vanguard Award on December 6 in Los Angeles, “every film has been a tremendous challenge in terms of resources and time and financing. I’ve always felt that I have...
From Cate Blanchett’s meet-cute hat-tip to shopgirl Rooney Mara in “Carol” and Julianne Moore’s farewell on a train platform to Dennis Haysbert at the end of “Far from Heaven” to, now, Natalie Portman’s straight-to-the-camera monologue as an actress playing an actress who is also playing another role in “May December,” Todd Haynes might not see his images as destined-to-be-iconic while on set as we do on our screens. At first.
That’s partly because, for the Oscar-nominated filmmaker upon whom IndieWire Honors will bestow the Vanguard Award on December 6 in Los Angeles, “every film has been a tremendous challenge in terms of resources and time and financing. I’ve always felt that I have...
- 11/29/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Very early on in Todd Haynes‘ May December, Julianne Moore is prepping for a BBQ. Her character, Gracie, is a suburban mom in Savannah, Georgia, idly chatting to a neighbor in a spacious, tastefully decorated kitchen. Her husband wanders through, grabbing a beer before going back outside to man the grill. Their kids and several friends are running around in the backyard. Gracie has just mentioned that a visitor is expected soon when she walks over to the refrigerator. As the light from the open fridge door illuminates her in profile,...
- 11/29/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Contrary to what you might think based on the plethora of Christmas films and TV series that flooded the streaming landscape recently, we're only now heading into the final month of 2023 and the winter holiday bonanza that comes with them. For Netflix, in particular, December is a time when it pulls out the big guns, tempting its subscribers with an eclectic blend of prestige television, awards season contenders, and crowd-pleasers. This year, that includes the end of the royal drama with "The Crown" season 6, part 2, Bradley Cooper going for the gold (again) with his Leonard Bernstein biopic "Maestro," and whatever the hell Zack Snyder has cooked up for us with the first half of his two-part "Star Wars"-inspired cosmic epic, "Rebel Moon -- Part One: A Child of Fire."
However, in lieu of focusing on the releases that are positioned to soak up the bulk of everyone's attention, I...
However, in lieu of focusing on the releases that are positioned to soak up the bulk of everyone's attention, I...
- 11/27/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Tarnished Angels: Haynes Curates a New Dazzling Cult Classic
Had Brian De Palma been keen on rehashing Douglas Sirk instead of Hitchcock, he might have made something along the lines of May December, the latest from Todd Haynes, returning to the sexually provocative roots which defined his early works. Reuniting for a fifth time with Julianne Moore, their latest collaboration is heavy on Bergman’s Persona (1966) motifs as well in this hothouse of blurred lines set in one strangely steamy Savannah summer in 2015. Much like Woody Allen revisited the Lana Turner-Johnny Stompanato scandal in his 1987 September, this script from Samy Burch and Alex Mechanic deviously revamps the Mary Kay Letourneau furor for a deliriously kitschy identity play between two women who each display a multitude of behavioral and emotional issues.…...
Had Brian De Palma been keen on rehashing Douglas Sirk instead of Hitchcock, he might have made something along the lines of May December, the latest from Todd Haynes, returning to the sexually provocative roots which defined his early works. Reuniting for a fifth time with Julianne Moore, their latest collaboration is heavy on Bergman’s Persona (1966) motifs as well in this hothouse of blurred lines set in one strangely steamy Savannah summer in 2015. Much like Woody Allen revisited the Lana Turner-Johnny Stompanato scandal in his 1987 September, this script from Samy Burch and Alex Mechanic deviously revamps the Mary Kay Letourneau furor for a deliriously kitschy identity play between two women who each display a multitude of behavioral and emotional issues.…...
- 11/17/2023
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
L to R: Natalie Portman as Elizabeth Berry with Julianne Moore as Gracie Atherton-Yoo, in May December. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Netflix
Director Todd Haynes re-teams with Julianne Moore, star of his Douglas Sirk-style melodrama Far From Heaven, for another soapy melodrama (complete with emotionally-overwrought score) for Haynes’ new May December. The story was apparently inspired by the 1990s Mary Kay LeTourneau case, a tabloid scandal about a married, 36-year-old teacher who was convicted of raping her 12-year-old male student, a crime for which she went to jail and where she gave birth in prison. The pair had another child and eventually married when the boy reach adulthood although they divorced years later.
It is a tabloid tale that seems made for Todd Haynes. However, while the couple in the movie have a somewhat similar history, the movie’s story takes place twenty years after the infamous events, when...
Director Todd Haynes re-teams with Julianne Moore, star of his Douglas Sirk-style melodrama Far From Heaven, for another soapy melodrama (complete with emotionally-overwrought score) for Haynes’ new May December. The story was apparently inspired by the 1990s Mary Kay LeTourneau case, a tabloid scandal about a married, 36-year-old teacher who was convicted of raping her 12-year-old male student, a crime for which she went to jail and where she gave birth in prison. The pair had another child and eventually married when the boy reach adulthood although they divorced years later.
It is a tabloid tale that seems made for Todd Haynes. However, while the couple in the movie have a somewhat similar history, the movie’s story takes place twenty years after the infamous events, when...
- 11/17/2023
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
First reviews out of Cannes for Todd Haynes’ poisonously witty and complex new film “May December” heralded “a heartbreakingly sincere piece of high camp,” “a camp and curious pleasure,” a “camp look at an actor’s process of transformation into a character.”
But how does “camp” figure into the context of a film starring Natalie Portman as a celebrity actress studying Julianne Moore as a Southern spin on Mary Kay Letourneau, the middle school teacher who had a sexual relationship with her 12-year-old student, was convicted of rape and imprisoned, and then married and had two children with him? Portman’s character is set to play Moore’s in a new movie. Is it by virtue of seeing these two gay-iconic actresses on a set with the director of “Carol,” “Velvet Goldmine,” and “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story,” a 1988 documentary about the ill-fated singer stop-motion-animated with Barbie dolls? Is it...
But how does “camp” figure into the context of a film starring Natalie Portman as a celebrity actress studying Julianne Moore as a Southern spin on Mary Kay Letourneau, the middle school teacher who had a sexual relationship with her 12-year-old student, was convicted of rape and imprisoned, and then married and had two children with him? Portman’s character is set to play Moore’s in a new movie. Is it by virtue of seeing these two gay-iconic actresses on a set with the director of “Carol,” “Velvet Goldmine,” and “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story,” a 1988 documentary about the ill-fated singer stop-motion-animated with Barbie dolls? Is it...
- 11/15/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Few directors show their cinematic influences as readily as Todd Haynes. Just watch one of his movies, and the filmmakers that helped shape his style — Douglas Sirk and Nicolas Roeg, to name two — become incredibly apparent. His stylized melodrama and favored themes of social taboos and celebrity carry the DNA of both directors. But at the same time? His work is entirely his own.
Born in Los Angeles during 1961, Haynes studied art at Brown and cinema at Bard College, where he made the short film that first brought him notoriety. Made entirely with dolls, 1987’s “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story” tells the story of the titular popular pop singer and her struggles with anorexia. Its unauthorized nature, unflattering portrayal of Carpenter’s brother and music partner Richard, and unlicensed use of the Carpenters’ music made it the subject of a lawsuit, and it remains withdrawn from circulation. Available only via bootleg,...
Born in Los Angeles during 1961, Haynes studied art at Brown and cinema at Bard College, where he made the short film that first brought him notoriety. Made entirely with dolls, 1987’s “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story” tells the story of the titular popular pop singer and her struggles with anorexia. Its unauthorized nature, unflattering portrayal of Carpenter’s brother and music partner Richard, and unlicensed use of the Carpenters’ music made it the subject of a lawsuit, and it remains withdrawn from circulation. Available only via bootleg,...
- 11/15/2023
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Netflix is finally opening the doors to the newly restored Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood this week, and in a first-look preview ahead of its November 9 reopening, the streamer and its partner, the nonprofit American Cinematheque, highlighted some of the enhancements and a screening schedule through the end of 2023.
The Egyptian will reopen on Nov. 9 with a sold-out screening of David Fincher’s “The Killer,” followed by a Q&a with the director. Throughout November it will showcase a 70mm series that includes titles like Jacques Tati’s “Playtime,” Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus,” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Boogie Nights.”
Announced today were December screenings for “Days of Heaven,” “L’amour Fou,” “Don’t Look Now,” “Imitation of Life,” “Lone Star,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and a new Netflix film for good measure: a 70mm screening of Zack Snyder’s upcoming “Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire.”
The screenings of...
The Egyptian will reopen on Nov. 9 with a sold-out screening of David Fincher’s “The Killer,” followed by a Q&a with the director. Throughout November it will showcase a 70mm series that includes titles like Jacques Tati’s “Playtime,” Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus,” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Boogie Nights.”
Announced today were December screenings for “Days of Heaven,” “L’amour Fou,” “Don’t Look Now,” “Imitation of Life,” “Lone Star,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and a new Netflix film for good measure: a 70mm screening of Zack Snyder’s upcoming “Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire.”
The screenings of...
- 11/7/2023
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Several more December screenings from the American Cinematheque and Netflix have joined the initial slate of programming at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
From Dec. 8 to 14, classic film buffs can catch the Los Angeles premiere of brand new restorations of “Days of Heaven” and “L’amour Fou.” Also featured is a 50th anniversary screening of “Don’t Look Now” with a 35mm Ib Tech print. A 35mm presentation of Douglas Sirk’s 1959 “Imitation of Life” will be followed by a Q&a with actor Susan Kohner along with a book signing by Foster Hirsch in connection with “Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties.”
A new 4k restoration of “Lone Star” will include a Q&a with director John Sayles.
From Dec. 15 to Dec. 21, the theater will feature a 70mm run of Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire” ahead of its Netflix premiere. Just in time for Christmas,...
From Dec. 8 to 14, classic film buffs can catch the Los Angeles premiere of brand new restorations of “Days of Heaven” and “L’amour Fou.” Also featured is a 50th anniversary screening of “Don’t Look Now” with a 35mm Ib Tech print. A 35mm presentation of Douglas Sirk’s 1959 “Imitation of Life” will be followed by a Q&a with actor Susan Kohner along with a book signing by Foster Hirsch in connection with “Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties.”
A new 4k restoration of “Lone Star” will include a Q&a with director John Sayles.
From Dec. 15 to Dec. 21, the theater will feature a 70mm run of Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire” ahead of its Netflix premiere. Just in time for Christmas,...
- 11/7/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay and Caroline Brew
- Variety Film + TV
Judy Nugent, who portrayed one of the twins on the early TV sitcom The Ruggles and a girl who flies around the world in the arms of the Man of Steel on a heartwarming Adventures of Superman episode, has died. She was 83.
Nugent died on Oct. 26 “surrounded by family at her Montana ranch after a short battle with cancer,” according to a family statement shared by her daughter-in-law and Battlestar Galactica and Chicago Fire actress Anne Lockhart (the older daughter of Lassie and Lost in Space star June Lockhart).
The younger daughter of a prop man at MGM, Nugent also appeared in two films directed by Douglas Sirk: as a wise-cracking tomboy who tries to get a blinded widow (Jane Wyman) to snap out of it in Magnificent Obsession (1954), and as one of the daughters of Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett’s characters in There’s Always Tomorrow (1956).
Nugent also...
Nugent died on Oct. 26 “surrounded by family at her Montana ranch after a short battle with cancer,” according to a family statement shared by her daughter-in-law and Battlestar Galactica and Chicago Fire actress Anne Lockhart (the older daughter of Lassie and Lost in Space star June Lockhart).
The younger daughter of a prop man at MGM, Nugent also appeared in two films directed by Douglas Sirk: as a wise-cracking tomboy who tries to get a blinded widow (Jane Wyman) to snap out of it in Magnificent Obsession (1954), and as one of the daughters of Fred MacMurray and Joan Bennett’s characters in There’s Always Tomorrow (1956).
Nugent also...
- 10/31/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
From the opening verse of Steve Wonder’s “If It’s Magic” to its closing image of a teary remembrance framed by an American landmark, “Fellow Travelers” doesn’t bother disguising itself. The hallmarks of a tragic romance are as plain as the plastic nose on Senator Joseph McCarthy’s face, so Showtime’s eight-part limited series embraces its unmistakable genre staples, leaning into its historical framework to evoke added pathos for our paired protagonists. After all, if you’re telling a decades-spanning gay love story reaching from the Lavender Scare through the 1980s AIDS crisis, then you’re going to cross some trodden territory.
Like an austere companion piece to “Angels in America” by way of Douglas Sirk, creator and writer Ron Nyswaner’s unabashed melodrama doesn’t suffer by comparison (to either giant) as much as it carves its own gripping (if worn) path through earnestness, insight, and passion.
Like an austere companion piece to “Angels in America” by way of Douglas Sirk, creator and writer Ron Nyswaner’s unabashed melodrama doesn’t suffer by comparison (to either giant) as much as it carves its own gripping (if worn) path through earnestness, insight, and passion.
- 10/27/2023
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Documentary casts the movie star as a painful figure who inspired a new dialogue about Aids, but doesn’t do much to examine his Republican politics
The title of this efficient documentary, patching together archive footage with off-camera interview material, is naturally taken from the 1955 romantic drama All That Heaven Allows, directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Rock Hudson opposite Jane Wyman; it is a movie – and a genre – long since rescued from critical condescension. Hudson did indeed seem to have all that heaven allowed: an almost preternatural handsomeness with something like Cary Grant’s looks and pure movie-star glow, overlaid with a granite masculinity, and a cool, insouciant style, which appeared to enclose an enigma long before his gay identity and his Aids diagnosis was confirmed at the very end of his life.
Even when he went out of style during the American new wave, as the scuffed-up authenticity of Pacino,...
The title of this efficient documentary, patching together archive footage with off-camera interview material, is naturally taken from the 1955 romantic drama All That Heaven Allows, directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Rock Hudson opposite Jane Wyman; it is a movie – and a genre – long since rescued from critical condescension. Hudson did indeed seem to have all that heaven allowed: an almost preternatural handsomeness with something like Cary Grant’s looks and pure movie-star glow, overlaid with a granite masculinity, and a cool, insouciant style, which appeared to enclose an enigma long before his gay identity and his Aids diagnosis was confirmed at the very end of his life.
Even when he went out of style during the American new wave, as the scuffed-up authenticity of Pacino,...
- 10/18/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
The matinee idol’s death in 1985 changed the public’s perception of Aids. Yet in life, the golden age actor was anything but an activist
Gore Vidal’s reaction to the news of Truman Capote’s death in 1984 is well known. “Good career move,” the writer said. Rock Hudson, once the most bankable star in Hollywood, died the following year – like Capote, he was 59 – but the manner of his death and the revelations that preceded it have deterred anyone from applying Vidal’s line to him. Looked at coldly from a 21st-century vantage point, though, Hudson’s death was a good career move, deepening his persona in ways that would never otherwise have happened. The actor died of complications from Aids, having been outed as gay months beforehand. His sexuality had been an open secret within the industry for decades: his pool parties, described as “blond bacchanalias”, were legendary. The public,...
Gore Vidal’s reaction to the news of Truman Capote’s death in 1984 is well known. “Good career move,” the writer said. Rock Hudson, once the most bankable star in Hollywood, died the following year – like Capote, he was 59 – but the manner of his death and the revelations that preceded it have deterred anyone from applying Vidal’s line to him. Looked at coldly from a 21st-century vantage point, though, Hudson’s death was a good career move, deepening his persona in ways that would never otherwise have happened. The actor died of complications from Aids, having been outed as gay months beforehand. His sexuality had been an open secret within the industry for decades: his pool parties, described as “blond bacchanalias”, were legendary. The public,...
- 10/6/2023
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
The influential director’s latest film, May December, is coming to cinemas soon. Here’s your chance to ask him about this and other provocative work, from Carol to I’m Not There
There’s considerable competition of course, but Todd Haynes has a strong claim to be one of America’s greatest living auteurs, with a string of outstanding films to his name including the Patricia Highsmith adaptation Carol, Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There, and Douglas Sirk homage Far From Heaven.
Haynes first made a name for himself with his Barbie-doll animated short film Superstar, about Karen Carpenter, and then acquired career momentum with his feature debut Poison in 1991, part of the early 90s New Queer Cinema movement. Safe, the creepy mid-90s fable about a woman afflicted by a mysterious allergy-like illness, marked his first collaboration with Julianne Moore; she would go on to appear in further films...
There’s considerable competition of course, but Todd Haynes has a strong claim to be one of America’s greatest living auteurs, with a string of outstanding films to his name including the Patricia Highsmith adaptation Carol, Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There, and Douglas Sirk homage Far From Heaven.
Haynes first made a name for himself with his Barbie-doll animated short film Superstar, about Karen Carpenter, and then acquired career momentum with his feature debut Poison in 1991, part of the early 90s New Queer Cinema movement. Safe, the creepy mid-90s fable about a woman afflicted by a mysterious allergy-like illness, marked his first collaboration with Julianne Moore; she would go on to appear in further films...
- 10/2/2023
- by Guardian film
- The Guardian - Film News
These last few years the Criterion Channel have made October viewing much easier to prioritize, and in the spirit of their ’70s and ’80s horror series we’ve graduated to––you guessed it––”’90s Horror.” A couple of obvious classics stand with cult favorites and more unknown entities (When a Stranger Calls Back and Def By Temptation are new to me). Three more series continue the trend: “Technothrillers” does what it says on the tin, courtesy the likes of eXistenZ and Demonlover; “Art-House Horror” is precisely the kind of place to host Cure, Suspiria, Onibaba; and “Pre-Code Horror” is a black-and-white dream. Phantom of the Paradise, Unfriended, and John Brahm’s The Lodger are added elsewhere.
James Gray is the latest with an “Adventures in Moviegoing” series populated by deep cuts and straight classics. Stonewalling and restorations of Trouble Every Day and The Devil, Probably make streaming debuts, while Flesh for Frankenstein,...
James Gray is the latest with an “Adventures in Moviegoing” series populated by deep cuts and straight classics. Stonewalling and restorations of Trouble Every Day and The Devil, Probably make streaming debuts, while Flesh for Frankenstein,...
- 9/28/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Universal Pictures has debuted a poignant trailer for the upcoming documentary on a Hollywood legend ‘Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed.’
The documentary is an intimate portrait of actor Rock Hudson, one of Hollywood’s most celebrated leading men of the 1950’s and ‘60’s and an icon of Hollywood’s Golden Age, whose diagnosis and eventual death from AIDS in 1985 shocked the world, subsequently shifting the way the public perceived the pandemic.
Directed by celebrated documentary filmmaker Stephen Kijak the film features a wealth of interviews from Doris Day, Linda Evans, Piper Laurie, Douglas Sirk and Ross Hunter who all worked alongside Rock Hudson, in addition to interviews with Rock Hudson’s friends Armistead Maupin and Allison Anders, and author of All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson, Mark Griffin.
Hudson became a number one box-office superstar in sweeping melodramas like ‘All That Heaven Allows,’ ‘Giant’ (starring opposite...
The documentary is an intimate portrait of actor Rock Hudson, one of Hollywood’s most celebrated leading men of the 1950’s and ‘60’s and an icon of Hollywood’s Golden Age, whose diagnosis and eventual death from AIDS in 1985 shocked the world, subsequently shifting the way the public perceived the pandemic.
Directed by celebrated documentary filmmaker Stephen Kijak the film features a wealth of interviews from Doris Day, Linda Evans, Piper Laurie, Douglas Sirk and Ross Hunter who all worked alongside Rock Hudson, in addition to interviews with Rock Hudson’s friends Armistead Maupin and Allison Anders, and author of All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson, Mark Griffin.
Hudson became a number one box-office superstar in sweeping melodramas like ‘All That Heaven Allows,’ ‘Giant’ (starring opposite...
- 9/28/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
One of the most inventive sci-fi films released by a mainstream outlet in recent memory, Brian Duffield’s “No One Will Save You” wastes little time before showing its audience that they’re watching something different. The film follows Brynn (Kaitlyn Dever), an agoraphobic young homebody who is perfectly content to hide out in her late mother’s ornate house to avoid confronting her traumas. But when faced with a break-in from an unexpected alien visitor, she’s forced to spring into defense mode to protect her home.
It would be natural to expect a lengthy chase sequence before building up to a final showdown that reveals the identity of her extraterrestrial assailant. But Duffield takes the opposite approach, placing Brynn face-to-face with a stereotypical gray alien in the film’s opening minutes. In an interview with IndieWire, Duffield explained why he decided to blow up the conventional alien invasion...
It would be natural to expect a lengthy chase sequence before building up to a final showdown that reveals the identity of her extraterrestrial assailant. But Duffield takes the opposite approach, placing Brynn face-to-face with a stereotypical gray alien in the film’s opening minutes. In an interview with IndieWire, Duffield explained why he decided to blow up the conventional alien invasion...
- 9/24/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
The German festival will take place from September 28 to October 7.
Inshallah A Boy by Jordan’s Amjad Al Rasheed, which premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week, and Paradise Is Burning by the Swedish director Mika Gustafson, a Venice Horirzons debut earlier this month, will bookend this year’s Filmfest Hamburg, taking place from September 28 to October 7) as the opening and closing films.
The programme of 132 feature films includes the German premieres of Venice titles including Yorgos Lanthimos’ Golden Lion winner Poor Things, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist, and Sofia Coppola’s biopic Priscilla, and festival favourites from throughout the...
Inshallah A Boy by Jordan’s Amjad Al Rasheed, which premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week, and Paradise Is Burning by the Swedish director Mika Gustafson, a Venice Horirzons debut earlier this month, will bookend this year’s Filmfest Hamburg, taking place from September 28 to October 7) as the opening and closing films.
The programme of 132 feature films includes the German premieres of Venice titles including Yorgos Lanthimos’ Golden Lion winner Poor Things, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist, and Sofia Coppola’s biopic Priscilla, and festival favourites from throughout the...
- 9/12/2023
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
The same season that Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson took it virtually upon themselves to help save Turner Classic Movies following a series of layoffs that was pointing to what could have been its demise, the trio are showing just how hands-on they’ll be. For September, the trio has each compiled a list of recommendations that will air on TCM throughout the month. From melodramas and film noirs to tantalizing tales and giant ants, let’s see what Spielberg, Scorsese and PTA have to recommend.
Steven Spielberg’s September TCM picks are: Douglas Sirk’s Imitation of Life (1959), the sci-fi monster movie Them! (1954), Alfred Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man (1956), and two Vincente Minnelli films, musical Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and The Bad and the Beautiful (1952).
Martin Scorsese went a bit more obscure for his TCM picks, selecting British drama Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945), pre-code...
Steven Spielberg’s September TCM picks are: Douglas Sirk’s Imitation of Life (1959), the sci-fi monster movie Them! (1954), Alfred Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man (1956), and two Vincente Minnelli films, musical Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and The Bad and the Beautiful (1952).
Martin Scorsese went a bit more obscure for his TCM picks, selecting British drama Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945), pre-code...
- 9/4/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Following David Zaslav’s despicable gutting of Turner Classic Movies earlier this summer––one of many anti-art maneuvers the money-hungry Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and president has commandeered in his embarrassing, hopefully short-lived tenure––he hoped to curry some favor by bringing together the holy trinity of filmmakers to guide the future of the channel. Now, after a few weeks on the job of “network advisors,” Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Paul Thomas Anderson have shared their picks of what to see on the channel this month.
The first two mentioned filmmakers provided videos of their recommendations, with the Killers of the Flower Moon director recommending the Boris Karloff-led Isle of the Dead, Two Sisters from Boston, Victor Fleming’s melodrama Red Dust, and Joseph Losey’s Accident.
Spielberg recommends a pair of Vincente Minnelli films, Meet Me in St. Louis and The Bad and the Beautiful, Douglas Sirk’s Imitation of Life,...
The first two mentioned filmmakers provided videos of their recommendations, with the Killers of the Flower Moon director recommending the Boris Karloff-led Isle of the Dead, Two Sisters from Boston, Victor Fleming’s melodrama Red Dust, and Joseph Losey’s Accident.
Spielberg recommends a pair of Vincente Minnelli films, Meet Me in St. Louis and The Bad and the Beautiful, Douglas Sirk’s Imitation of Life,...
- 9/4/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
To briefly remind readers of the saga:
Back in June of 2023, it was announced that the leadership behind Turner Classic Movies, a long-beloved curator of cinema from Hollywood's Golden Age and beyond, would be laid off. VP of enterprises and strategic partnerships Genevieve McGillicuddy, senior VP of programming and content strategy Charles Tabesh, executive vice president and general manager Pola Changnon, marketing VP Dexter Fedor, and VP of studio production Anne Wilson all lost their jobs. The future of TCM was suddenly up in the air. This not only outraged fans of classic cinema but threw some of Hollywood's most beloved filmmakers into a panic. Was David Zaslav, the CEO of the beleaguered Warner Bros. Discovery nixing the entire TCM brand the same way he did with so much of the films and TV shows on HBO Max? Perhaps Zaslav, having already accrued a horrendous reputation for a long series of consumer-hostile business decisions,...
Back in June of 2023, it was announced that the leadership behind Turner Classic Movies, a long-beloved curator of cinema from Hollywood's Golden Age and beyond, would be laid off. VP of enterprises and strategic partnerships Genevieve McGillicuddy, senior VP of programming and content strategy Charles Tabesh, executive vice president and general manager Pola Changnon, marketing VP Dexter Fedor, and VP of studio production Anne Wilson all lost their jobs. The future of TCM was suddenly up in the air. This not only outraged fans of classic cinema but threw some of Hollywood's most beloved filmmakers into a panic. Was David Zaslav, the CEO of the beleaguered Warner Bros. Discovery nixing the entire TCM brand the same way he did with so much of the films and TV shows on HBO Max? Perhaps Zaslav, having already accrued a horrendous reputation for a long series of consumer-hostile business decisions,...
- 9/1/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Moviegoers around the world are about to be taken to school by some of the top masters of the field this fall, between new movies by Ridley Scott, Michael Mann, David Fincher, and Martin Scorsese, among others. But as much as cinephiles can spend their entire day arguing about each and every one of these heralded directors online, what can truly compare to getting a little crash course in film history by someone who's commonly considered the greatest filmmaker alive? Many would agree that Steven Spielberg is simply in a class of his own, and thanks to his new role as part of the advisory panel for the esteemed Turner Classic Movies institution, that's exactly what fans are getting.
We previously covered the whole saga surrounding Warner Bros. Discovery's shameful treatment of the hardworking folks over at TCM, necessitating A-list filmmakers like Spielberg, Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson to...
We previously covered the whole saga surrounding Warner Bros. Discovery's shameful treatment of the hardworking folks over at TCM, necessitating A-list filmmakers like Spielberg, Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson to...
- 8/30/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
What’s so inspiring and energizing about Steven Spielberg is that he isn’t just one of the greatest filmmakers ever, he’s an eclectic cinephile who talks about his favorite films with the boyish enthusiasm of a fan.
So he was a natural fit, alongside Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson, for the advisory panel that came together in June to support Turner Classic Movies. As part of that role, he’s recorded his first “Spielberg’s Picks” video, a recommendations list of his personal faves from the September 2023 TCM lineup. Watch the video above, an IndieWire exclusive, for not just his choices, but his incisive comments.
For his debut picks, he chose Vincente Minnelli’s “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944), Douglas Sirk’s “Imitation of Life” (1959), Gordon Douglas’s “Them!” (1954), Minnelli’s “The Bad and the Beautiful” (1952), and Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Wrong Man” (1957). Scorsese and Anderson’s own picks are forthcoming,...
So he was a natural fit, alongside Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson, for the advisory panel that came together in June to support Turner Classic Movies. As part of that role, he’s recorded his first “Spielberg’s Picks” video, a recommendations list of his personal faves from the September 2023 TCM lineup. Watch the video above, an IndieWire exclusive, for not just his choices, but his incisive comments.
For his debut picks, he chose Vincente Minnelli’s “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944), Douglas Sirk’s “Imitation of Life” (1959), Gordon Douglas’s “Them!” (1954), Minnelli’s “The Bad and the Beautiful” (1952), and Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Wrong Man” (1957). Scorsese and Anderson’s own picks are forthcoming,...
- 8/30/2023
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
“The Afterparty” has placed all sorts of lenses on its murder mystery wedding romp in Season 2: the generic conventions of rom-com and film noir, specific directorial styles like Alfred Hitchcock’s and Wes Anderson’s, and even whole modes of filmmaking as in Feng’s (Ken Jeong) found-footage episode peppered with vertical iPhone videos ready for TikTok.
The sheer number of different visual styles the show needs is a challenge, but so is creating a “normal” look for the present-day interrogation scenes with Danner (Tiffany Haddish), Aniq (Sam Richardson), and Zoë (Zoe Chao). Working out the feeling of that grounding “home base” look was as challenging as crafting the show’s most extreme visual styles, and in both cases required cinematographer Ross Riege to do a lot of calibrating in order to get it right — and then keep it straight.
“We’d shoot something [in the] present day, and then the...
The sheer number of different visual styles the show needs is a challenge, but so is creating a “normal” look for the present-day interrogation scenes with Danner (Tiffany Haddish), Aniq (Sam Richardson), and Zoë (Zoe Chao). Working out the feeling of that grounding “home base” look was as challenging as crafting the show’s most extreme visual styles, and in both cases required cinematographer Ross Riege to do a lot of calibrating in order to get it right — and then keep it straight.
“We’d shoot something [in the] present day, and then the...
- 8/30/2023
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
Blind Beast.You could start cradled like the kidnapped woman in the undulating foam curves that resemble a gigantic female torso in Blind Beast (1969). You could make your approach via the swing of a Super-8 camera towards the steps of a courthouse at the beginning of A Wife Confesses (1961). You could drift into A Cheerful Girl (1957) through the kitchen window, onto a table laden with groceries and bottles of fluorescent orange soda-pop. You could inject yourself like morphine into Red Angel (1966), seep like body ink into the skin of Spider Tattoo (1966), or slide into the fevered bloodstream of All Mixed Up (1964) like powdered poison swallowed from a kite-paper pouch. Whether you arrive on the tip of a blade or the cusp of a kiss, there is no wrong place to start with Yasuzo Masumura, the postwar Japanese director whose astonishing accomplishment should by rights have him mentioned in the same...
- 8/15/2023
- MUBI
The following interview was originally published in the second issue of Outskirts Film Magazine, an independent print magazine on the past and present of cinema. Issue two is now available from the Outskirts e-shop.At 189 pages, Outskirts Nº2 is made up of original essays, interviews, reviews, translations, and a single large dossier dedicated to Japanese filmmaker and actress Tanaka Kinuyo.Forever a Woman.During the last edition of the Locarno Film Festival, a retrospective dedicated to Douglas Sirk took place, organised by Bernard Eisenschitz and Roberto Turigliatto. Among the many incredible guests invited to introduce Sirk’s films, such as Miguel Marías, Jon Halliday, Olaf Möller, Martina Müller, was Laura Mulvey. In speaking to her several months later, what started out initially as a conversation between myself and Mulvey about Sirk, unexpectedly morphed into a broader investigation that included the work of Tanaka Kinuyo, the subject of our dossier.The...
- 8/8/2023
- MUBI
Todd Haynes’ new film “May December” will open the 61st New York Film Festival on Sept. 29, Film at Lincoln Center announced Tuesday. The opening will mark the film’s North American debut. The director and cast, which includes Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton, will attend the screening.
“May December” had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where it was warmly received and acquired by Netflix. Written by first-time screenwriter Samy Burch, the dark comedy is Haynes’ first narrative film since 2019’s “Dark Waters.” It stars Portman as Elizabeth, a TV actor who travels to Savannah to study Gracie (Moore), whom she will portray onscreen and who, along with her significantly younger husband Joe (Melton), was once a target for tabloids. Elizabeth attempts to immerse herself in their lives to fully understand what made them such irresistible tabloid fodder. According to the press release, “As...
“May December” had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where it was warmly received and acquired by Netflix. Written by first-time screenwriter Samy Burch, the dark comedy is Haynes’ first narrative film since 2019’s “Dark Waters.” It stars Portman as Elizabeth, a TV actor who travels to Savannah to study Gracie (Moore), whom she will portray onscreen and who, along with her significantly younger husband Joe (Melton), was once a target for tabloids. Elizabeth attempts to immerse herself in their lives to fully understand what made them such irresistible tabloid fodder. According to the press release, “As...
- 7/11/2023
- by Missy Schwartz
- The Wrap
Rock Hudson was one of the biggest stars of the 1950’s and 60s: the most handsome leading man who romanced the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day, Jane Wyman, Barbara Rush, Julie Andrews and Gina Lollobrigida on the silver screen. But he was living a secret life off-screen — he was gay.
The new Max/HBO documentary “Rock Hudson All That Heaven Allowed” examines his double life and the lengths that were taken to ensure his LGBTQ+ identity wasn’t revealed It wasn’t until 1985 did the truth make the headlines when he became the first famous Hollywood star to die of AIDs.
Barbara Rush, who appeared in three films with Hudson including 1954’s “Magnificent Obsession,” told me in a 2019 L.A. Times interview that it was no secret in Tinseltown that he was gay. “His agent [Henry Willson] decided that there had been enough about the rumors about Rock being gay.
The new Max/HBO documentary “Rock Hudson All That Heaven Allowed” examines his double life and the lengths that were taken to ensure his LGBTQ+ identity wasn’t revealed It wasn’t until 1985 did the truth make the headlines when he became the first famous Hollywood star to die of AIDs.
Barbara Rush, who appeared in three films with Hudson including 1954’s “Magnificent Obsession,” told me in a 2019 L.A. Times interview that it was no secret in Tinseltown that he was gay. “His agent [Henry Willson] decided that there had been enough about the rumors about Rock being gay.
- 6/30/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Like a lot of all-American dreamboats, Roy Harold Fitzgerald (née Scherer Jr.) made his way to Hollywood after World War II, making good on the offer to look up a friend’s brother should he ever find himself in the greater Los Angeles area. The ex-Navy mechanic had matinee-idol looks, a cornfed wholesomeness, and a lean-beefcake physique; anyone who took one look at Fitzgerald would have immediately thought, “He ought to be in pictures.” The young man had been told that acting was “sissy stuff” when he was growing up in the Midwest,...
- 6/28/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
A stage musical adaptation of the Fannie Hurst novel Imitation of Life and its film versions is under development at Universal Theatrical Group, with Lynn Nottage writing the book and John Legend handling the music and lyrics. Liesl Tommy is attached to direct.
Following a private industry reading that took place April 24-28 in New York City, Universal Theatrical Group — the live theater division of Universal Pictures — announced the further development of the project today.
Liesl Tommy
Imitation of Life will be produced for the stage by Universal Theatrical Group and Get Lifted Film Co. The musical is being developed for Broadway.
The novel originally was published in 1933, with Universal Pictures producing two film adaptations — the first directed by John Stahl in 1934 and starring Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers, and the second in 1959, with stars Lana Turner and Juanita Moore directed by Douglas Sirk. The 1934 film was Oscar-nominated, and the...
Following a private industry reading that took place April 24-28 in New York City, Universal Theatrical Group — the live theater division of Universal Pictures — announced the further development of the project today.
Liesl Tommy
Imitation of Life will be produced for the stage by Universal Theatrical Group and Get Lifted Film Co. The musical is being developed for Broadway.
The novel originally was published in 1933, with Universal Pictures producing two film adaptations — the first directed by John Stahl in 1934 and starring Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers, and the second in 1959, with stars Lana Turner and Juanita Moore directed by Douglas Sirk. The 1934 film was Oscar-nominated, and the...
- 6/26/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
One need only look at the marketing strategy for 1934’s Imitation of Life to see how woefully inept Hollywood was unable to soberingly deal with the racist realities of American culture. The various taglines would have one believe the film is a tawdry tale about a single mother and her daughter falling in love with the same man, completely ignoring the searing backbone of the narrative regarding the toxic yoke of colorism dividing a Black mother and her daughter irrevocably.
Clearly undermining the intention of Fannie Hurst’s novel, from which it was adapted, there’s still no denying the dramatic imbalance between the juxtaposed pair of white and Black characters, a reality also readily apparent in Douglas Sirk’s more famous 1959 remake (and his swan song), which starred Lana Turner and netted Jaunita Moore an Academy Award nomination.…...
Clearly undermining the intention of Fannie Hurst’s novel, from which it was adapted, there’s still no denying the dramatic imbalance between the juxtaposed pair of white and Black characters, a reality also readily apparent in Douglas Sirk’s more famous 1959 remake (and his swan song), which starred Lana Turner and netted Jaunita Moore an Academy Award nomination.…...
- 6/14/2023
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
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