Olivier Assayas, the celebrated French director of “Clouds of Sils Maria” and “Irma Vep,” is making his Berlinale competition debut this year with “Suspended Time,” his most personal film to date.
Speaking to Variety ahead of the movie’s premiere at the Berlinale, Assayas says the film retells his experience during the lockdown and is based on his personal diary.
“When I was writing this diary, I felt that despite my anxieties and doubts or fears, it was an idyllic period, to be confined in the countryside,” he says. “It was a time where we believed in a form of utopia and as soon as society got back in action, it dissolved.”
Narrated by Assayas and woven with archival material, the comedy stars Vincent Macaigne as the director’s alter-ego, Paul, a well-known filmmaker who is confined with his music journalist brother Etienne (Micha Lescot) and their girlfriends Morgane (Nine d’Urso...
Speaking to Variety ahead of the movie’s premiere at the Berlinale, Assayas says the film retells his experience during the lockdown and is based on his personal diary.
“When I was writing this diary, I felt that despite my anxieties and doubts or fears, it was an idyllic period, to be confined in the countryside,” he says. “It was a time where we believed in a form of utopia and as soon as society got back in action, it dissolved.”
Narrated by Assayas and woven with archival material, the comedy stars Vincent Macaigne as the director’s alter-ego, Paul, a well-known filmmaker who is confined with his music journalist brother Etienne (Micha Lescot) and their girlfriends Morgane (Nine d’Urso...
- 2/18/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Between Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” sequel “Glass Onion,” the terrible quarantine “Purge” ripoff “Songbird,” and Doug Liman’s inert Covid heist movie “Locked Down”, movies have tried — and usually failed — in depicting the everyday horrors and quirks of the pandemic. Admittedly, turning the absence of interaction and drama into good cinema is an unenviable challenge. Olivier Assayas is the latest to try and, unfortunately, the latest to largely fail.
Set in April 2020, “Suspended Time” follows Paul (Vincent Macaigne) a frustrated filmmaker confined to his late parents’ picturesque country house with his wife Morgane (Nine d’Urso), his short-tempered brother Etienne (Micha Lescot), and Etienne’s wife Carole (Nora Hamzawi). In the very first scene, Paul receives an Amazon package like it’s radioactive material — it’s just a pair of socks — as a confounded Etienne asks why it all need be such a choreography. Paul explains that the virus can...
Set in April 2020, “Suspended Time” follows Paul (Vincent Macaigne) a frustrated filmmaker confined to his late parents’ picturesque country house with his wife Morgane (Nine d’Urso), his short-tempered brother Etienne (Micha Lescot), and Etienne’s wife Carole (Nora Hamzawi). In the very first scene, Paul receives an Amazon package like it’s radioactive material — it’s just a pair of socks — as a confounded Etienne asks why it all need be such a choreography. Paul explains that the virus can...
- 2/17/2024
- by Adam Solomons
- Indiewire
Festival
Ana de Armas will be honored with the Hollywood Rising-Star Award at the Deauville American Film Festival (Sept. 2-11). After it debuts at Venice, her latest film “Blonde,” where she plays Marilyn Monroe, will have its French premiere at the festival, with her and director Andrew Dominik in attendance.
Cuban born actor de Armas’s star has been in the ascendant and she has worked with several noted filmmakers including Denis Villeneuve (“Blade Runner 2049”), Rian Johnson (“Knives Out”), Olivier Assayas (“Wasp Network), Cary Joji Fukunaga (“No Time to Die”) and the Russo Brothers (“The Gray Man”).
Past winners of the award include Ryan Gosling (2011), Jessica Chastain (2011), Paul Dano (2012), Robert Pattinson (2015), Elizabeth Olsen (2015), Chloé Grace Moretz (2016), Daniel Radcliffe (2016), Shailene Woodley (2018), Elle Fanning (2018), Sophie Turner (2019) and Dylan Penn (2021).
Meanwhile, the Edinburgh International Film Festival has added Cannes titles, Owen Kline’s “Funny Pages” and Annie Ernaux and David Ernaux-Briot’s...
Ana de Armas will be honored with the Hollywood Rising-Star Award at the Deauville American Film Festival (Sept. 2-11). After it debuts at Venice, her latest film “Blonde,” where she plays Marilyn Monroe, will have its French premiere at the festival, with her and director Andrew Dominik in attendance.
Cuban born actor de Armas’s star has been in the ascendant and she has worked with several noted filmmakers including Denis Villeneuve (“Blade Runner 2049”), Rian Johnson (“Knives Out”), Olivier Assayas (“Wasp Network), Cary Joji Fukunaga (“No Time to Die”) and the Russo Brothers (“The Gray Man”).
Past winners of the award include Ryan Gosling (2011), Jessica Chastain (2011), Paul Dano (2012), Robert Pattinson (2015), Elizabeth Olsen (2015), Chloé Grace Moretz (2016), Daniel Radcliffe (2016), Shailene Woodley (2018), Elle Fanning (2018), Sophie Turner (2019) and Dylan Penn (2021).
Meanwhile, the Edinburgh International Film Festival has added Cannes titles, Owen Kline’s “Funny Pages” and Annie Ernaux and David Ernaux-Briot’s...
- 8/2/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal are teaming to star in a Spanish-language limited series at Hulu produced by Searchlight Television.
The pair will star in the drama series “La Maquina,” which hails from writer Marco Ramirez. It follows an aging boxer (García Bernal), whose crafty manager (Luna) secures him one last shot at a title. But to make it to fight night, they must navigate a mysterious underworld force.
Both Luna and García Bernal will produce under their La Corriente del Golfo banner. Ramirez will serve as executive producer and showrunner in addition to writing. Gabriel Ripstein will direct the entire series. Gerardo Gatica, Leandro Halperin, and Adam Fishbach will serve as producers. Searchlight TV is the studio. Searchlight recently co-produced the critically-acclaimed Hulu limited series “The Dropout” as well as the upcoming Hulu comedy series “History of the World Part II.”
“We are proud to partner again with...
The pair will star in the drama series “La Maquina,” which hails from writer Marco Ramirez. It follows an aging boxer (García Bernal), whose crafty manager (Luna) secures him one last shot at a title. But to make it to fight night, they must navigate a mysterious underworld force.
Both Luna and García Bernal will produce under their La Corriente del Golfo banner. Ramirez will serve as executive producer and showrunner in addition to writing. Gabriel Ripstein will direct the entire series. Gerardo Gatica, Leandro Halperin, and Adam Fishbach will serve as producers. Searchlight TV is the studio. Searchlight recently co-produced the critically-acclaimed Hulu limited series “The Dropout” as well as the upcoming Hulu comedy series “History of the World Part II.”
“We are proud to partner again with...
- 7/27/2022
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Two former crew members who worked on ABC’s daytime soap “General Hospital” have filed suit against the Disney-owned network, claiming that their terminations over their refusal to get Covid vaccinations were “unconstitutional.”
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by James Wahl and Timothy Wahl in Los Angeles Superior Court, states, “On November 9, 2021, ABC officially denied Plaintiffs’ requests for religious exemptions to the Covid Vaccine Mandate. It gave no reason for its decision, except to say that the company was ‘unable to conclude that you are prevented from receiving the Covid-19 vaccine due to a sincerely-held religious belief, practice, or observance.'”
The complaint goes on to state, “ABC does not have the authority to force a medical treatment on its employees against their will. Even if it did, it must offer religious exemptions to anybody who requests one.”
Also Read:
Netflix Sued for Defamation, Accused of Vilifying Cuban Exile Group in...
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by James Wahl and Timothy Wahl in Los Angeles Superior Court, states, “On November 9, 2021, ABC officially denied Plaintiffs’ requests for religious exemptions to the Covid Vaccine Mandate. It gave no reason for its decision, except to say that the company was ‘unable to conclude that you are prevented from receiving the Covid-19 vaccine due to a sincerely-held religious belief, practice, or observance.'”
The complaint goes on to state, “ABC does not have the authority to force a medical treatment on its employees against their will. Even if it did, it must offer religious exemptions to anybody who requests one.”
Also Read:
Netflix Sued for Defamation, Accused of Vilifying Cuban Exile Group in...
- 6/16/2022
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
A prominent Cuban exile and anti-Castro activist has sued Netflix for defamation, claiming the 2020 film “The Wasp Network” – marketed heavily as being “based on a true story” – defamed him and his organization by portraying them as “terrorists and criminals” while glorifying communist spies.
The plaintiff, Jose Basulto, was a CIA-trained anti-communist activist, pilot and dissident leader who escaped Cuba to fight the Castro regime. In the early 1990s, he started Brothers to the Rescue, a Florida-based nonprofit that flew seaplanes to assist refugees struggling in open water; the Cuban government called those airspace violations “terrorist acts,” and even shot down two aircraft in 1996.
“The Wasp Network” focuses on “The Cuban Five,” a group of nationalist spies dispatched by the Cuban Ministry to oppose and sabotage anti-regime groups like Brothers to the Rescue. It was released June 19, 2020, on Netflix worldwide. Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia Bernal, Edgar Ramirez and Ana de Armas...
The plaintiff, Jose Basulto, was a CIA-trained anti-communist activist, pilot and dissident leader who escaped Cuba to fight the Castro regime. In the early 1990s, he started Brothers to the Rescue, a Florida-based nonprofit that flew seaplanes to assist refugees struggling in open water; the Cuban government called those airspace violations “terrorist acts,” and even shot down two aircraft in 1996.
“The Wasp Network” focuses on “The Cuban Five,” a group of nationalist spies dispatched by the Cuban Ministry to oppose and sabotage anti-regime groups like Brothers to the Rescue. It was released June 19, 2020, on Netflix worldwide. Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia Bernal, Edgar Ramirez and Ana de Armas...
- 6/14/2022
- by Josh Dickey
- The Wrap
French director Olivier Assayas walked a tightrope with his 1996 unclassifiable, meta-moviemaking drama “Irma Vep.” It starred Hong Kong icon Maggie Cheung as herself, starring in a French film whose director was played by cinema legend Jean-Pierre Leaud, as they attempted to remake Louis Feuillade’s classic silent film serial “Les Vampires.” A treatise on Hollywood? A lampoon of the French film industry? A meta exercise in the negotiations between a major actress and a serious director? All of the above.
Now, Olivier Assayas is remaking his own movie for television with “Irma Vep,” coming to HBO and HBO Max on June 6 and now with Alicia Vikander in the role originated by Cheung. The show is first set to stop off at the Cannes Film Festival — Assayas’ stomping grounds with films like “Personal Shopper” and “Summer Hours” in competition and also the original “Irma Vep” in Un Certain Regard — before hitting the small screen.
Now, Olivier Assayas is remaking his own movie for television with “Irma Vep,” coming to HBO and HBO Max on June 6 and now with Alicia Vikander in the role originated by Cheung. The show is first set to stop off at the Cannes Film Festival — Assayas’ stomping grounds with films like “Personal Shopper” and “Summer Hours” in competition and also the original “Irma Vep” in Un Certain Regard — before hitting the small screen.
- 5/17/2022
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced the 395 artists and executives that have been invited to join this year — about half the number of last year’s class. The 2021 class is comprised of 46% women, 39% underrepresented ethnic/racial communities and 53% international from 49 countries outside the United States. Of the 395 invitees, 89 are former Oscar nominees, including 25 winners.
Eight individuals have been invited to join by multiple branches and must select one branch upon acceptance. They include Leslie Odom Jr, Kaouther Ben Hania, Craig Brewer, Lee Isaac Chung, Emerald Fennell, Shaka King, Alexander Nanau, Florian Zeller.
Other big names among the newly invited include Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek, “Promising Young Woman” original screenplay winner Emerald Fennell and “Minari” stars Steven Yeun, Ye-ri Han and recently crowned supporting actress Yuh-Jung Youn.
In the directing category, new invitees include Janicza Bravo, Nia DaCosta, Cathy Yan, Darius Marder, Michael Almereyda, Lizzie Borden,...
Eight individuals have been invited to join by multiple branches and must select one branch upon acceptance. They include Leslie Odom Jr, Kaouther Ben Hania, Craig Brewer, Lee Isaac Chung, Emerald Fennell, Shaka King, Alexander Nanau, Florian Zeller.
Other big names among the newly invited include Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek, “Promising Young Woman” original screenplay winner Emerald Fennell and “Minari” stars Steven Yeun, Ye-ri Han and recently crowned supporting actress Yuh-Jung Youn.
In the directing category, new invitees include Janicza Bravo, Nia DaCosta, Cathy Yan, Darius Marder, Michael Almereyda, Lizzie Borden,...
- 7/1/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar winner Yuh-Jung Youn, who took Supporting Actress in April for Minari, along with a number of her recent fellow acting nominees including Maria Bakalova, Andra Day, Vanessa Kirby, Leslie Odom Jr., Paul Raci, and Steven Yeun, are among the new class of 395 artists and executives who have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. A number of other recent winners and nominees including both of the latest screenwriting victors, Emerald Fennell and Florian Zeller, Music Score winner Jon Batiste, and all three writers of Oscar winning song “Fight For You” including H.E.R. are also on the list from the 17 branches of the Academy. Overall, there are 89 Oscar nominees, including 25 winners, among the new class. 46% are women, 39% underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, and 53% coming from countries outside of the U.S. this time around.
Although receiving an Oscar and/or a nomination is a big plus,...
Although receiving an Oscar and/or a nomination is a big plus,...
- 7/1/2021
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has extended invitations for 395 artists and executives working in film to join the ranks of a growing membership of more than 9,000 film industry figures. Per AMPAS, “membership selection decisions are based on professional qualifications, with representation, inclusion and equity remaining a priority of Academy Aperture 2025.”
Statistically, the 2021 class is comprised of 46 percent women, 39 percent underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, and 53 international members from 49 countries outside of the United States. Among the new class are 89 Oscar nominees and 25 winners, including “Minari” Best Supporting Actress winner Yuh-jung Youn, Best Actor nominee Steven Yeun, multi-nominated director/writer Lee Isaac Chung, and co-star Ye-ri Han, plus “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” Best Actress nominee Andra Day, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” Supporting Actress nominee Maria Bakalova, “Pieces of a Woman” Best Actress nominee Vanessa Kirby, and Supporting Actor nominees Leslie Odom Jr. (“One Night in Miami”) and Paul Raci...
Statistically, the 2021 class is comprised of 46 percent women, 39 percent underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, and 53 international members from 49 countries outside of the United States. Among the new class are 89 Oscar nominees and 25 winners, including “Minari” Best Supporting Actress winner Yuh-jung Youn, Best Actor nominee Steven Yeun, multi-nominated director/writer Lee Isaac Chung, and co-star Ye-ri Han, plus “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” Best Actress nominee Andra Day, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” Supporting Actress nominee Maria Bakalova, “Pieces of a Woman” Best Actress nominee Vanessa Kirby, and Supporting Actor nominees Leslie Odom Jr. (“One Night in Miami”) and Paul Raci...
- 7/1/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Oscar-nominated actors Leslie Odom Jr., Maria Bakalova and Steven Yeun are among the 395 people who have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy announced on Thursday.
Also on the list of invites: actors Yahya Abdul-Mateen, Nicole Beharie, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Carrie Coon, Laverne Cox, Andra Day, Vanessa Kirby, Nathan Lane, Jonathan Majors, Robert Pattinson and Issa Rae; directors Lee Isaac Chung, Sean Durkin, Emerald Fennell, Jonathan Glazer, Shaka King, Darius Marder and Florian Zeller; and musicians Jon Batiste, H.E.R., Janet Jackson and Emile Mosseri.
Eight people were invited by two different branches: Chung, Fennell, King, Zeller, Kaouther Ben Hania and Craig Brewer were invited by both the directors and writers branches, while Alexander Nanau was invited by the directors and documentary branches, and Odom Jr. by both the actors and music branches. If they accept the invitations, double invitees must choose a single branch...
Also on the list of invites: actors Yahya Abdul-Mateen, Nicole Beharie, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Carrie Coon, Laverne Cox, Andra Day, Vanessa Kirby, Nathan Lane, Jonathan Majors, Robert Pattinson and Issa Rae; directors Lee Isaac Chung, Sean Durkin, Emerald Fennell, Jonathan Glazer, Shaka King, Darius Marder and Florian Zeller; and musicians Jon Batiste, H.E.R., Janet Jackson and Emile Mosseri.
Eight people were invited by two different branches: Chung, Fennell, King, Zeller, Kaouther Ben Hania and Craig Brewer were invited by both the directors and writers branches, while Alexander Nanau was invited by the directors and documentary branches, and Odom Jr. by both the actors and music branches. If they accept the invitations, double invitees must choose a single branch...
- 7/1/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Amazon Studios has acquired U.S. rights to two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s “A Hero,” which shot in Shiraz, Iran, and is now in post production. Amazon Studios is planning to release “A Hero” later in the year with an eye towards a 2022 awards corridor.
UTA Independent Film Group negotiated the deal with Memento Films International on behalf of the filmmaking team.
“A Hero” is one of the prestige films in the pipeline for this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film stars well-known Iranian actors and boasts a suspenseful plot that’s still under wraps. Memento Films International said the script “tackles many contemporary issues of our modern societies.”
The anticipated Farsi-language movie marks Farhadi’s return to Iran, his homeland, where he previously directed “A Separation,” winner of Berlin’s Golden Bear, and “The Salesman,” both of which won Oscars for best foreign-language film.
“A Hero” is...
UTA Independent Film Group negotiated the deal with Memento Films International on behalf of the filmmaking team.
“A Hero” is one of the prestige films in the pipeline for this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film stars well-known Iranian actors and boasts a suspenseful plot that’s still under wraps. Memento Films International said the script “tackles many contemporary issues of our modern societies.”
The anticipated Farsi-language movie marks Farhadi’s return to Iran, his homeland, where he previously directed “A Separation,” winner of Berlin’s Golden Bear, and “The Salesman,” both of which won Oscars for best foreign-language film.
“A Hero” is...
- 4/30/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy and Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Edgar Ramirez finds a way to stay busy. The Venezuelan born actor has spent the last three years earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his performance as Gianni Versace in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” reuniting with his breakout “Carlos” director Oliver Assayas in “Wasp Network,” filming the upcoming Disney blockbuster “Jungle Cruise,” teaming up with good friend Jessica Chastain in the action flick “The 355” and appearing alongside Jennifer Garner the indie family flick “Yes Day.” And somehow he managed to fit in a key role in David E.
Continue reading Edgar Ramirez On The Temptation Of ‘The Undoing’ & Reuniting With Jessica Chastain [Interview] at The Playlist.
Continue reading Edgar Ramirez On The Temptation Of ‘The Undoing’ & Reuniting With Jessica Chastain [Interview] at The Playlist.
- 10/22/2020
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
A Cuban exile filed a defamation suit against Netflix on Wednesday, alleging she was portrayed as a promiscuous “party girl” in a film about a Cuban spy ring in South Florida.
Ana Margarita Martinez filed suit in federal court in Miami, alleging that the film, “Wasp Network,” romanticized the clandestine operations of Fidel Castro’s regime, and downplayed its crimes.
She also named the film’s director, Olivier Assayas, as a defendant.
Martinez fled Cuba as a child in the 1960s, and was active in the anti-Castro exile community in the 1990s. She married Juan Pablo Roque, another Cuban exile who was later revealed to be a Cuban spy. According to the complaint, Roque used the sham marriage to Martinez to establish his cover and to spy on the exiles.
The film was shot with the cooperation of the Cuban government, and centers on the exploits of spies who operated in Miami.
Ana Margarita Martinez filed suit in federal court in Miami, alleging that the film, “Wasp Network,” romanticized the clandestine operations of Fidel Castro’s regime, and downplayed its crimes.
She also named the film’s director, Olivier Assayas, as a defendant.
Martinez fled Cuba as a child in the 1960s, and was active in the anti-Castro exile community in the 1990s. She married Juan Pablo Roque, another Cuban exile who was later revealed to be a Cuban spy. According to the complaint, Roque used the sham marriage to Martinez to establish his cover and to spy on the exiles.
The film was shot with the cooperation of the Cuban government, and centers on the exploits of spies who operated in Miami.
- 10/21/2020
- by Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
After last weekend’s influx of movies from big-name directors like Spike Lee and Judd Apatow, the landscape for movies looks to be comparatively calmer this weekend. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a fair share of worthwhile releases hitting VOD and streaming services this weekend, from studio movies with big stars, independently produced treasures coming off of buzzy festival runs and projects from major foreign filmmakers being distributed in the United States.
Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried star in Blumhouse Productions’ latest thriller “You Should Have Left.” Following its release strategies for “Trolls World Tour” and “The King of Staten Island,” Universal has decided to give the movie a “home premiere” and price 48-hour digital rentals at $19.99.
Meanwhile, French director Olivier Assayas’ latest film “Wasp Network” is premiering on Netflix nine months after its debut at the Venice Film Festival last September. The primarily Spanish language film...
Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried star in Blumhouse Productions’ latest thriller “You Should Have Left.” Following its release strategies for “Trolls World Tour” and “The King of Staten Island,” Universal has decided to give the movie a “home premiere” and price 48-hour digital rentals at $19.99.
Meanwhile, French director Olivier Assayas’ latest film “Wasp Network” is premiering on Netflix nine months after its debut at the Venice Film Festival last September. The primarily Spanish language film...
- 6/19/2020
- by J. Kim Murphy
- Variety Film + TV
"Being a traitor's wife is no easy job." Netflix has released a new trailer for a film titled Wasp Network, which initially premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year. Based on a true and gripping story, the film is set in the early 1990s. Cuban spies infiltrate exile groups to stop terrorism against the island, but at a high personal cost. The story follows a pilot and four other Cuban political dissenters who were imprisoned by the United States on charges of espionage and murder. Edgar Ramírez stars as a pilot who starts making illegal runs to/from Cuba. Also starring Penélope Cruz, Gael García Bernal, Wagner Moura, Ana de Armas, Leonardo Sbaraglia, and Julian Flynn. This ended up with awful reviews from Venice, critics calling it one of Olivier Assayas' worst. He has edited it since then, but there's still nothing much to see here. Here's the official...
- 6/14/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
French filmmaker Olivier Assayas is about to get his biggest global audience yet with the Netflix premiere of his new movie “Wasp Network” coming to the platform on June 19. Based on the true story of five Cuban spies held as political prisoners from the late 1990s up until 2014, the movie stars Penélope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez, and Gael García Bernal. Watch the first trailer for “Wasp Network” below.
This espionage thriller is based on the book “The Last Soldiers of the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five” by Fernando Morais. The Cuban Five were arrested in September 1998 before being later convicted in Miami of several illegal activities including conspiracy to commit espionage and murder, as well as acting as agents of a foreign government. The Five had infiltrated the U.S. to observe Cuban-American groups, including the Alpha 66, among other anti-Castro paramilitary groups.
“Wasp Network” first premiered at the Venice Film Festival last fall,...
This espionage thriller is based on the book “The Last Soldiers of the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five” by Fernando Morais. The Cuban Five were arrested in September 1998 before being later convicted in Miami of several illegal activities including conspiracy to commit espionage and murder, as well as acting as agents of a foreign government. The Five had infiltrated the U.S. to observe Cuban-American groups, including the Alpha 66, among other anti-Castro paramilitary groups.
“Wasp Network” first premiered at the Venice Film Festival last fall,...
- 6/11/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Netflix is here to help people avoid the heat as the temperatures rise in June. The streaming service has announced a number of titles that will be added during the upcoming month.
Original films set to debut throughout June include Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods; Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams; Nobody Knows I'm Here; The Last Days of American Crime; Feel the Beat; Lost Bullet; One-Way to Tomorrow; and Wasp Network.
The final season of Fuller House will be added on June 2, while the last season of 13 Reasons Why will become available on June 5. Meanwhile, new ...
Original films set to debut throughout June include Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods; Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams; Nobody Knows I'm Here; The Last Days of American Crime; Feel the Beat; Lost Bullet; One-Way to Tomorrow; and Wasp Network.
The final season of Fuller House will be added on June 2, while the last season of 13 Reasons Why will become available on June 5. Meanwhile, new ...
- 5/28/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
With the lockdown continuing for the time being, most of us are still looking to streaming services to provide new – or at least, new old – content to hoover up while we’re stuck indoors. If you’ve already watched most of what Netflix has to offer you in May, however, don’t worry, as the site has got you covered for the following month as well, as the full list of what’s coming to Netflix in June has now been revealed.
To begin with, brand new movies and TV shows that are arriving on the service over the course of next month include new episodes of Queer Eye, The Politician and Dating Around and highly anticipated films like Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, based-on-a-true-story drama Wasp Network, starring Penelope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez and Ana de Armas, and comedy Eurovision, featuring Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams and Dan Stevens.
Of...
To begin with, brand new movies and TV shows that are arriving on the service over the course of next month include new episodes of Queer Eye, The Politician and Dating Around and highly anticipated films like Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, based-on-a-true-story drama Wasp Network, starring Penelope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez and Ana de Armas, and comedy Eurovision, featuring Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams and Dan Stevens.
Of...
- 5/20/2020
- by Christian Bone
- We Got This Covered
Not all film festivals go perfectly. Sometimes, a film festival premiere is more of a test screening than a huge, earth-shattering debut. And that was exactly the case with Olivier Assayas’ recent film “Wasp Network,” when it premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival. The film didn’t have the most welcome reception upon its debut, giving the filmmaker the motivation to go back and edit it to how he wanted.
Continue reading Olivier Assayas’ ‘Wasp Network’ To Debut On Netflix Next Month at The Playlist.
Continue reading Olivier Assayas’ ‘Wasp Network’ To Debut On Netflix Next Month at The Playlist.
- 5/19/2020
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
France’s National Film Board (Cnc) has temporarily changed the country’s strict window release policy to help distributors cope with the shutdown of theaters, and has unveiled several additional measures aimed at content creators and industry professionals.
Due to the fact that movie theaters in France have been closed for nearly three weeks, the Cnc has allowed 31 recently-released French films to come out immediately on DVD and transactional VOD as part of exceptional measures set in an emergency bill that gives the government special powers during the pandemic.
The batch of movies includes movies that were released theatrically within the last three months, as well as films that were in theaters as of March 14, when cinemas were ordered to shut down by the government. Among these 31 pics are Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s “The Truth,” Olivier Assayas’s “Wasp Network,” Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” and Sam Mendes’s “1917.”
The...
Due to the fact that movie theaters in France have been closed for nearly three weeks, the Cnc has allowed 31 recently-released French films to come out immediately on DVD and transactional VOD as part of exceptional measures set in an emergency bill that gives the government special powers during the pandemic.
The batch of movies includes movies that were released theatrically within the last three months, as well as films that were in theaters as of March 14, when cinemas were ordered to shut down by the government. Among these 31 pics are Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s “The Truth,” Olivier Assayas’s “Wasp Network,” Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” and Sam Mendes’s “1917.”
The...
- 4/2/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has acquired U.S. rights and several other territories for Olivier Assayas’ “Wasp Network,” the Cuban spy thriller headlined by Penelope Cruz and Edgar Ramirez which world premiered at Venice last year, Variety has learned.
The streaming giant is believed to have bought international rights to the film outside of China, Eastern Europe, Greece, Portugal, Italy and the Middle East. In France, Netflix has a 36-month exclusive Svod window following a theatrical release.
“Wasp Network” centers on the true story of Cuban spies in America during the 1990s, when anti-Castro groups based in Florida carried out military attacks on Cuba and the Cuban government struck back with the Wasp Network to infiltrate those organizations.
Assayas wrote the screenplay, which is based on Fernando Morais’ book, “The Last Soldiers on the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five.” Gael Garcia Bernal and Wagner Moura complete the cast.
Assayas, whose...
The streaming giant is believed to have bought international rights to the film outside of China, Eastern Europe, Greece, Portugal, Italy and the Middle East. In France, Netflix has a 36-month exclusive Svod window following a theatrical release.
“Wasp Network” centers on the true story of Cuban spies in America during the 1990s, when anti-Castro groups based in Florida carried out military attacks on Cuba and the Cuban government struck back with the Wasp Network to infiltrate those organizations.
Assayas wrote the screenplay, which is based on Fernando Morais’ book, “The Last Soldiers on the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five.” Gael Garcia Bernal and Wagner Moura complete the cast.
Assayas, whose...
- 1/17/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French maestro Olivier Assayas did not cement his status as a cinephile favorite over the last quarter-century through the mechanics of his film’s plots. Rather, he’s become a festival darling because of the singular sensation left lingering from watching his work. What happens in an Assayas film is never as important as how it happens […]
The post ‘Wasp Network’ Review: Even Recut, It’s Still a Clunker [Nyff] appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Wasp Network’ Review: Even Recut, It’s Still a Clunker [Nyff] appeared first on /Film.
- 10/18/2019
- by Marshall Shaffer
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Edgar Ramírez, the double Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actor who played Gianni Versace in FX’s lauded limited series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story has boarded Jennifer Garner’s Netflix movie Yes Day.
Ramírez will play Carlos, the husband to Garner’s character, Allison Torres. He joins Jenna Ortega who we announced is playing Katie Torres, their daughter.
Adapted by Justin Malen (Office Christmas Party), Yes Day is based on the children’s book by Tom Lichtenheld and Amy Krouse Rosenthal. The concept revolves around parents attempting to make it through an entire day by only saying “yes” to their children’s requests, a tradition Garner practices with her own children. With Miguel Arteta (Like a Boss) attached as director, the film is produced by Garner, Lawrence Grey, Ben Everard, Nicole King, Adam Marshall, Mark Moran and Daniel Rappaport. Entertainment 360 and Grey Matter Productions are also producing.
Ramírez will play Carlos, the husband to Garner’s character, Allison Torres. He joins Jenna Ortega who we announced is playing Katie Torres, their daughter.
Adapted by Justin Malen (Office Christmas Party), Yes Day is based on the children’s book by Tom Lichtenheld and Amy Krouse Rosenthal. The concept revolves around parents attempting to make it through an entire day by only saying “yes” to their children’s requests, a tradition Garner practices with her own children. With Miguel Arteta (Like a Boss) attached as director, the film is produced by Garner, Lawrence Grey, Ben Everard, Nicole King, Adam Marshall, Mark Moran and Daniel Rappaport. Entertainment 360 and Grey Matter Productions are also producing.
- 10/17/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Ad Astra and Call Me By Your Name producer Rt Features, the growing indie production force based in Brazil, is launching Rt Television in partnership with Anonymous Content and CAA. The latter will provide development funding, marking their first ever investment in an overseas film or TV operation.
The TV division will be based in São Paulo, Brazil, and will develop premium series for the local market and Latin America. The venture is being led by Rt Features Head of Television Barbara Teixiera. Rt Features CEO Rodrigo Teixeira will act as board member, with a hands-on role in curating IP and talent.
All Rt TV projects, including potential English-language IP generated from the operation, will be produced by Rt Features and Anonymous Content, as well as third party partners. CAA will focus on local-language programming.
Barbara Teixeira joined the company earlier this year. Prior to joining Rt, she was...
The TV division will be based in São Paulo, Brazil, and will develop premium series for the local market and Latin America. The venture is being led by Rt Features Head of Television Barbara Teixiera. Rt Features CEO Rodrigo Teixeira will act as board member, with a hands-on role in curating IP and talent.
All Rt TV projects, including potential English-language IP generated from the operation, will be produced by Rt Features and Anonymous Content, as well as third party partners. CAA will focus on local-language programming.
Barbara Teixeira joined the company earlier this year. Prior to joining Rt, she was...
- 10/15/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
“A lot of tiny things” changed in “Wasp Network” from the version that premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September to the new cut that arrived at the New York Film Festival on October 5. That was according to screenwriter and director Olivier Assayas, who discussed the film with press and industry along with its stars Penelope Cruz and Edgar Ramirez. Watch their entire press conference above.
The film tells the true story of Cuban spies who infiltrated anti-communist groups in the Us, and Assayas admitted, “When I was editing I was obsessed with being … as precise as possible with the facts, so at some point I realized when we presented the film that we were overloading the audience with dates, places and facts, and that it was detrimental to the film.”
Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
There was also a time crunch since the...
The film tells the true story of Cuban spies who infiltrated anti-communist groups in the Us, and Assayas admitted, “When I was editing I was obsessed with being … as precise as possible with the facts, so at some point I realized when we presented the film that we were overloading the audience with dates, places and facts, and that it was detrimental to the film.”
Sign UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
There was also a time crunch since the...
- 10/12/2019
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
New film additions include ‘Harriet’, ‘Waves’ and ‘Just Mercy’.
The 2019 BFI London Film Festival has added five titles to its programme and Screen Talks sessions with Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan and French director Céline Sciamma.
The festival has added the international premiere of Kasi Lemmons’ Harriet, starring Cynthia Erivo as American revolutionary Harriet Tubman, to its film programme, playing in the ‘Journey’ strand.
New European premieres include Destin Daniel Cretton’s Toronto title Just Mercy in the ‘Debate’ strand; Trey Edward Shults’ Waves in ‘Dare’; and Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s The Friend in ‘Love’.
Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network will...
The 2019 BFI London Film Festival has added five titles to its programme and Screen Talks sessions with Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan and French director Céline Sciamma.
The festival has added the international premiere of Kasi Lemmons’ Harriet, starring Cynthia Erivo as American revolutionary Harriet Tubman, to its film programme, playing in the ‘Journey’ strand.
New European premieres include Destin Daniel Cretton’s Toronto title Just Mercy in the ‘Debate’ strand; Trey Edward Shults’ Waves in ‘Dare’; and Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s The Friend in ‘Love’.
Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network will...
- 9/18/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Annie Silverstein’s feature debut “Bull” swept three awards at the 45th Deauville American Film Festival, including the Grand Prize, the Revelation Prize for best first film and the Critics’ Prize.
“Bull,” a portrait of a rebellious teenage girl from South Texas, world premiered at Cannes’s Un Certain Regard and marks Silverstein’s follow up to her short “Skunk” which won Cannes’s Cinéfondation prize in 2014. “Bull” is represented in international markets by Film Constellation, while 30West reps North American rights. “Bull” follows the relationship between a troubled adolescent from West of Houston whose mother is in jail and an ageing African American bullfighter.
The Jury prize, meanwhile, was shared between Michael Angelo Covino’s “The Climb,” and Robert Eggers “The Lighthouse,” a hallucinatory thriller starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe as two lighthouse keepers on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s. A24, which co-financed “The Lighthouse” with New Regency,...
“Bull,” a portrait of a rebellious teenage girl from South Texas, world premiered at Cannes’s Un Certain Regard and marks Silverstein’s follow up to her short “Skunk” which won Cannes’s Cinéfondation prize in 2014. “Bull” is represented in international markets by Film Constellation, while 30West reps North American rights. “Bull” follows the relationship between a troubled adolescent from West of Houston whose mother is in jail and an ageing African American bullfighter.
The Jury prize, meanwhile, was shared between Michael Angelo Covino’s “The Climb,” and Robert Eggers “The Lighthouse,” a hallucinatory thriller starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe as two lighthouse keepers on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s. A24, which co-financed “The Lighthouse” with New Regency,...
- 9/15/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French director Olivier Assayas paid tribute to Kristen Stewart, whom he directed in “Clouds of Sils Maria” and “Personal Shopper,” at the Deauville American Film Festival on Friday evening.
Stewart received a honorary award in Deauville before the French premiere of Benedict Andrews’s “Seberg” in which the actress stars as Jean Seberg, a French New Wave icon who starts supporting the Black Panthers and becomes the target of an agressive counter-intelligence program put in place by the FBI.
The Deauville tribute highlighted Stewart’s eclectic acting career through a montage of clips from her key roles in films, including “Panic Room,” “Into The Wild,” “The Twilight,” “The Runaways,” “On The Road,” “Café Society,” “Clouds of Sils Maria,” “Personal Shopper” and the upcoming “Charlie’s Angels.”
“When I think of filmmaking I think family, I imagine great gaps being bridged; messy, gorgeous, ebbs and flows of thoughts and impulse connecting us,...
Stewart received a honorary award in Deauville before the French premiere of Benedict Andrews’s “Seberg” in which the actress stars as Jean Seberg, a French New Wave icon who starts supporting the Black Panthers and becomes the target of an agressive counter-intelligence program put in place by the FBI.
The Deauville tribute highlighted Stewart’s eclectic acting career through a montage of clips from her key roles in films, including “Panic Room,” “Into The Wild,” “The Twilight,” “The Runaways,” “On The Road,” “Café Society,” “Clouds of Sils Maria,” “Personal Shopper” and the upcoming “Charlie’s Angels.”
“When I think of filmmaking I think family, I imagine great gaps being bridged; messy, gorgeous, ebbs and flows of thoughts and impulse connecting us,...
- 9/14/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
A world premiere screening at the Venice Film Festival is supposed to be an incredible experience for any filmmaker. However, in the case of acclaimed director Olivier Assayas, the recent debut of his film, “Wasp Network,” wasn’t exactly what he had planned. And according to a new interview with Deadline, the filmmaker is prepared to make the necessary changes to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
According to Assayas, he’s going to take “Wasp Network” back to the editing bay after initial reviews from Venice weren’t exactly what he anticipated.
Continue reading Filmmaker Olivier Assayas Is Re-Editing ‘Wasp Network’ After Unfavorable Venice Reviews at The Playlist.
According to Assayas, he’s going to take “Wasp Network” back to the editing bay after initial reviews from Venice weren’t exactly what he anticipated.
Continue reading Filmmaker Olivier Assayas Is Re-Editing ‘Wasp Network’ After Unfavorable Venice Reviews at The Playlist.
- 9/10/2019
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Olivier Assayas isn’t satisfied with the version of his new film, the Cuban spy epic “Wasp Network,” that world-premiered at the Venice Film Festival last week. According to a report from Deadline, the French writer/director is taking the film back into the editing bay, even as it plays the Toronto International Film Festival this week. The new cut will be unveiled at the film’s U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival this fall.
“There are a few things that need clarification,” the “Personal Shopper” and “Summer Hours” director told Deadline. “There are a series of fixes I’ll make. I might shorten some parts and lengthen others. The running time won’t change considerably, but it’s about gaining fluidity. I want the film to be understood by those who aren’t aware of the complexities of the local politics. The fixes will be done...
“There are a few things that need clarification,” the “Personal Shopper” and “Summer Hours” director told Deadline. “There are a series of fixes I’ll make. I might shorten some parts and lengthen others. The running time won’t change considerably, but it’s about gaining fluidity. I want the film to be understood by those who aren’t aware of the complexities of the local politics. The fixes will be done...
- 9/9/2019
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Olivier Assayas will head back into the cutting room with his Venice and Toronto spy movie Wasp Network, the filmmaker told Deadline on the day of its North American premiere.
The intricate, multi-layered drama starring Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia Bernal, Edgar Ramirez and Wagner Moura explores the true story of the Cuban Five, who were sent to Florida in the 1990s to infiltrate local groups and carry out espionage. Assayas wants to show a tweaked version of the movie — which is adapted from Fernando Morais’s book, The Last Soldiers of the Cold War — at the New York Film Festival in October.
“There are a few things that need clarification,” the Personal Shopper and Carlos director told me today. “There are a series of fixes I’ll make. I might shorten some parts and lengthen others. The running time won’t change considerably, but it’s about gaining fluidity.
The intricate, multi-layered drama starring Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia Bernal, Edgar Ramirez and Wagner Moura explores the true story of the Cuban Five, who were sent to Florida in the 1990s to infiltrate local groups and carry out espionage. Assayas wants to show a tweaked version of the movie — which is adapted from Fernando Morais’s book, The Last Soldiers of the Cold War — at the New York Film Festival in October.
“There are a few things that need clarification,” the Personal Shopper and Carlos director told me today. “There are a series of fixes I’ll make. I might shorten some parts and lengthen others. The running time won’t change considerably, but it’s about gaining fluidity.
- 9/9/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
A few days ago, on my first dispatch from the Lido, I wrote that Venice was grappling with some sort of identity crisis. Having long been a fortunate platform for awards season hopefuls—and with Cannes and Netflix's disagreement over releasing films in French cinemas, a new favorite turf for the streaming giant—the festival needs to juggle its role as window for large studio productions, and the arguably far more important one it plays as launchpad for smaller-budget, unconventional and daring works from old and new auteurs. By the time you’ll read this, Joker’s Golden Lion will be old news. Minutes after the Joaquin Phoenix vehicle nabbed a most unexpected statuette, festival director Alberto Barbera went on to hail Todd Philipps’ triumph, claiming that the jury’s verdict spoke to the goal the festival has been working toward: “to reconcile a rigorous, research-oriented auteur cinema with...
- 9/9/2019
- MUBI
Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” — — wants you to know that it takes place in the world of today. In fact, it wants you to know that it wants you to know. Hardly a minute goes by without some reference to the here and now of it all. When legendary crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead the morning after his 85th birthday, it’s as if the past dies with him and the present comes rushing in to replace it, eager to claim the inheritance to which it always felt entitled.
Walt (Michael Shannon), who runs his late father’s publishing house, can be heard yammering on about selling all the movie rights to Netflix; technically that moment takes place in one of the film’s many seamless flashbacks, but it’s not as if Harlan’s kids were ever shy about their intentions. When famed detective Benoit...
Walt (Michael Shannon), who runs his late father’s publishing house, can be heard yammering on about selling all the movie rights to Netflix; technically that moment takes place in one of the film’s many seamless flashbacks, but it’s not as if Harlan’s kids were ever shy about their intentions. When famed detective Benoit...
- 9/8/2019
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Hollywood decamps for Canada this week hoping that this year’s Toronto International Film Festival will help define the coming awards race and give it a better sense of studios’ appetites for making movies that are aimed at adults.
Splashy, star-studded premieres of “Joker” and “Ford v Ferrari” will command the lion’s share of the press attention and will serve as a reminder that nobody can put on a party like the movie business. But most studio executives and agents have more on their minds than rubbing shoulders with “Joaquin” or “Christian” or “Matt.” They see an industry in transition, one hit hard by the rise of streaming services and declining box office returns. As Toronto gets ready to kick off on Thursday, here are five burning questions that the festival may answer.
1. Will the Streamers Come to Play and Pay?
Agents are licking their chops over the prospect...
Splashy, star-studded premieres of “Joker” and “Ford v Ferrari” will command the lion’s share of the press attention and will serve as a reminder that nobody can put on a party like the movie business. But most studio executives and agents have more on their minds than rubbing shoulders with “Joaquin” or “Christian” or “Matt.” They see an industry in transition, one hit hard by the rise of streaming services and declining box office returns. As Toronto gets ready to kick off on Thursday, here are five burning questions that the festival may answer.
1. Will the Streamers Come to Play and Pay?
Agents are licking their chops over the prospect...
- 9/5/2019
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Penelope Cruz proved this week she knows how to make an entrance. The 45-year-old Oscar-winning Spanish actress stunned in a white Ralph & Russo gown at the premiere of her new thriller film Wasp Network at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday. Cruz’s dress, which she paired with Swaroswki jewels, was adorned with crystals and feathers. Wasp Network is […]
The post Penelope Cruz Stuns In Ralph & Russo Gown For ‘Wasp Network’ Premiere At Venice Film Festival appeared first on uInterview.
The post Penelope Cruz Stuns In Ralph & Russo Gown For ‘Wasp Network’ Premiere At Venice Film Festival appeared first on uInterview.
- 9/4/2019
- by Pablo Mena
- Uinterview
“Bad Education”
Perhaps one of the biggest titles for sale, “Bad Education” stars Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Ray Romano and Alex Wolff and is based on the real-life events that took place at writer Mike Makowsky’s high school.
“Citizen K”
Following his critically lauded “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley,” Alex Gibney is back with “Citizen K,” a documentary about Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who went from communist to political prisoner in a 20-year battle with Putin.
“The Friend”
Based on the award-winning Esquire article of the same name, the film follows a man (Jason Segel) who puts his life on hold to help his friends though a terminal cancer diagnosis. Dakota Johnson and Casey Affleck also star in the Gabriela Cowperthwaite (“Blackfish”) film.
“How to Build a Girl”
Everyone is obsessed with Beanie Feldstein following her performance in “Booksmart,” so naturally, this film has become a buzzy title for Tiff buyers.
Perhaps one of the biggest titles for sale, “Bad Education” stars Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Ray Romano and Alex Wolff and is based on the real-life events that took place at writer Mike Makowsky’s high school.
“Citizen K”
Following his critically lauded “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley,” Alex Gibney is back with “Citizen K,” a documentary about Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who went from communist to political prisoner in a 20-year battle with Putin.
“The Friend”
Based on the award-winning Esquire article of the same name, the film follows a man (Jason Segel) who puts his life on hold to help his friends though a terminal cancer diagnosis. Dakota Johnson and Casey Affleck also star in the Gabriela Cowperthwaite (“Blackfish”) film.
“How to Build a Girl”
Everyone is obsessed with Beanie Feldstein following her performance in “Booksmart,” so naturally, this film has become a buzzy title for Tiff buyers.
- 9/3/2019
- by Beatrice Verhoeven and Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Andrew Dominik has spent the better half of the decade trying to get his Marilyn Monroe biopic off the ground and, thanks to Netflix, it’s now becoming a reality. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford director found his star in Ana de Armas this past spring and now production is getting underway in Los Angeles.
THR has details on the full cast which includes two of Monroe’s husbands–Adrien Brody as Arthur Miller and Bobby Cannavale as Joe Dimaggio–as well as Julianne Nicholson, Caspar Phillipson, Toby Huss, Sara Paxton, David Warshofsky, Lily Fisher, Evan Williams, and Xavier Samuel. Cinematographer Chayse Irvin (BlacKkKlansman) has also come on board to shoot the film.
Based on the Joyce Carol Oates novel, Dominik told us, “Blonde‘s interesting because it has very little dialogue in it. My previous three movies have relied on a lot of talking...
THR has details on the full cast which includes two of Monroe’s husbands–Adrien Brody as Arthur Miller and Bobby Cannavale as Joe Dimaggio–as well as Julianne Nicholson, Caspar Phillipson, Toby Huss, Sara Paxton, David Warshofsky, Lily Fisher, Evan Williams, and Xavier Samuel. Cinematographer Chayse Irvin (BlacKkKlansman) has also come on board to shoot the film.
Based on the Joyce Carol Oates novel, Dominik told us, “Blonde‘s interesting because it has very little dialogue in it. My previous three movies have relied on a lot of talking...
- 9/2/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
It’s hard to think of another working director who encompasses the range and moods of Olivier Assayas, from beautifully crafted minor-key notes covering major issues like “Non-Fiction,” to films of mysterious, introspective ambiguity like “Personal Shopper,” to the sweeping symphonic feast of “Carlos.” That latter epic will be the most common reference point when people discuss “Wasp Network,” a meaty true-story group portrait of a bunch of Cuban spies who infiltrated anti-Castro networks in Florida in the 1990s. Yet , engaging with major characters and events that are dropped in or out with an unsatisfying degree of regularity.
One suspects the original conception was closer to the length of “Carlos,” and though “Wasp Network” will be easier to distribute, with the potential for reaching audiences not usually attuned to the director’s work, it leaves viewers gratified by the filmmaking bravura and the sheer pleasure of watching this superb cast in top form,...
One suspects the original conception was closer to the length of “Carlos,” and though “Wasp Network” will be easier to distribute, with the potential for reaching audiences not usually attuned to the director’s work, it leaves viewers gratified by the filmmaking bravura and the sheer pleasure of watching this superb cast in top form,...
- 9/1/2019
- by Jay Weissberg
- Variety Film + TV
Oliver Assayas’ “Wasp Network“ is an intriguing caper-style political drama, featuring a starry ensemble cast and some compelling material, which, unfortunately, outstays its welcome in a major way. Focusing on a contentious era of Cuban espionage during the 1990s, its main characters are several real-life members of the Cuban Five, who infiltrated anti-Castro groups to take down terrorists in the name of Fidel. The Us government looked the other way, for the most part—until it suited them not to.
Continue reading ‘Wasp Network’: The Cuban Five Spy For Castro In Filmmaker Olivier Assayas’ Uneven Espionage Thriller [Venice Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Wasp Network’: The Cuban Five Spy For Castro In Filmmaker Olivier Assayas’ Uneven Espionage Thriller [Venice Review] at The Playlist.
- 9/1/2019
- by Christina Newland
- The Playlist
It’s unusual for a Western film to present spies for Fidel Castro as the heroes. And that novelty, alas, is one of the few selling points of “Wasp Network,” a surprising disappointment from Olivier Assayas, one of the more interesting and eclectic filmmakers working today.
Assayas previously teamed with Edgar Ramírez on the gripping “Carlos,” but this time, the true-story aspect of this docudrama seems to have bogged down the filmmaker. When he has occasion to put the plot aside and focus on the characters, “Wasp Network” comes to life, but these moments are too few and far between.
The story itself is fascinating — in the 1990s, Cuban pilots René González (Ramírez) and Juan Pablo Roque made headlines by escaping Cuba and defecting to the United States. (González flew out in a small plane in 1990; Roque swam to Guantanamo Bay two years later.)
Also Read: Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia...
Assayas previously teamed with Edgar Ramírez on the gripping “Carlos,” but this time, the true-story aspect of this docudrama seems to have bogged down the filmmaker. When he has occasion to put the plot aside and focus on the characters, “Wasp Network” comes to life, but these moments are too few and far between.
The story itself is fascinating — in the 1990s, Cuban pilots René González (Ramírez) and Juan Pablo Roque made headlines by escaping Cuba and defecting to the United States. (González flew out in a small plane in 1990; Roque swam to Guantanamo Bay two years later.)
Also Read: Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia...
- 9/1/2019
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Even Wayne Gretzky missed the net a couple of times over the course of his career. An overstuffed espionage thriller that bites off more than it can chew and never manages to find its footing, Olivier Assayas’ “Wasp Network” is . Even so, his restless genius can still be felt percolating below the surface and struggling to come up for air. While this scattered, staccato dramatization of Cuba’s most infamous spy ring struggles to dramatize its tangled web of defections and double-crosses, the movie’s underlying strengths are the stuff of vintage Assayas; its best moments allow the French auteur to explore some of his oldest infatuations against a backdrop made of quicksand. The personal toll of political currents, the friction between analog and digital worlds, hot people looking super hot together — so many of Assayas’ favorite things are trying so hard to poke through this convoluted true story, but...
- 9/1/2019
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
It's a big ask to expect an audience to grasp all the intricacies in the history surrounding the dozen Cuban intelligence officers operating in South Florida in the '90s to thwart anti-Castro terrorist attacks at home. Drawing from Fernando Morais' meticulously reported book The Last Soldiers of the Cold War, writer-director Olivier Assayas struggles to streamline the mountain of details into a dramatic throughline in which motivations and movements acquire lucidity. Wasp Network is a big, handsomely shot movie with a strong cast and stunning location work. But it's also a knotty tangle of endless back and forth between ...
It's a big ask to expect an audience to grasp all the intricacies in the history surrounding the dozen Cuban intelligence officers operating in South Florida in the '90s to thwart anti-Castro terrorist attacks at home. Drawing from Fernando Morais' meticulously reported book The Last Soldiers of the Cold War, writer-director Olivier Assayas struggles to streamline the mountain of details into a dramatic throughline in which motivations and movements acquire lucidity. Wasp Network is a big, handsomely shot movie with a strong cast and stunning location work. But it's also a knotty tangle of endless back and forth between ...
Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network has been generating strong word of mouth here at the Venice Film Festival where it premieres in competition tonight. The spy drama, based on Fernando Morais’ book The Last Soldiers Of The Cold War, stars Penelope Cruz, Edgar Ramírez, Ana de Armas and Gael Garcia Bernal.
It tells the true story of a group of Cuban spies sent to Florida in the 1990s by then-president Fidel Castro, revealing the tentacles of a terrorist network with ramifications in Central America and with the consent of the U.S. government. The men were convicted in 2001 in Miami on charges that included conspiracy. They are known as the Cuban Five in America, and go by Cuban Heroes at home.
Of the politics involved, Assayas noted the position of the U.S. “is extremely ambivalent and ambiguous. The FBI ends up monitoring the most dangerous terrorist groups and are somehow very lenient with them.
It tells the true story of a group of Cuban spies sent to Florida in the 1990s by then-president Fidel Castro, revealing the tentacles of a terrorist network with ramifications in Central America and with the consent of the U.S. government. The men were convicted in 2001 in Miami on charges that included conspiracy. They are known as the Cuban Five in America, and go by Cuban Heroes at home.
Of the politics involved, Assayas noted the position of the U.S. “is extremely ambivalent and ambiguous. The FBI ends up monitoring the most dangerous terrorist groups and are somehow very lenient with them.
- 9/1/2019
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
No matter the venue, whether it’s the Venice Film Festival or you friend’s basement, if there’s a chance to check out a new film from filmmaker Olivier Assayas, you jump on it. Luckily for the safety of film fans worldwide, there’s no need to go to someone’s basement to check out “Wasp Network,” the latest from the director. Instead, you just have to be in Venice.
Continue reading ‘Wasp Network’ Exclusive Clip: Olivier Assayas’ Latest Film Debuts At Venice And Stars Edgar Ramirez, Penelope Cruz & More at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Wasp Network’ Exclusive Clip: Olivier Assayas’ Latest Film Debuts At Venice And Stars Edgar Ramirez, Penelope Cruz & More at The Playlist.
- 8/31/2019
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
French director/writer Olivier Assayas is working with perhaps his most high-profile cast yet for his latest film, “Wasp Network,” competing at the Venice Film Festival and starring Penélope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez, and Gael García Bernal.
The film pivots on the true story of five Cuban spies held as political prisoners from the late 1990s up until 2014, and it’s based on the book “The Last Soldiers of the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five” by Fernando Morais. Assayas — acclaimed for films including “Personal Shopper,” “Irma Vep,” and most recently “Non-Fiction,” as well as the Golden Globe Award-winning miniseries “Carlos” — wrote the script himself, but the actual production of the film proved to be a challenge, as revealed in a recent interview with Variety out of the Venice Film Festival.
Assayas said that, initially, Cuban authorities refused to let him shoot “Wasp Network” in the country where, despite...
The film pivots on the true story of five Cuban spies held as political prisoners from the late 1990s up until 2014, and it’s based on the book “The Last Soldiers of the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five” by Fernando Morais. Assayas — acclaimed for films including “Personal Shopper,” “Irma Vep,” and most recently “Non-Fiction,” as well as the Golden Globe Award-winning miniseries “Carlos” — wrote the script himself, but the actual production of the film proved to be a challenge, as revealed in a recent interview with Variety out of the Venice Film Festival.
Assayas said that, initially, Cuban authorities refused to let him shoot “Wasp Network” in the country where, despite...
- 8/31/2019
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Headlined by Penelope Cruz and Edgar Ramirez, “Wasp Network” is world premiering and competing in Venice, but the Cuba-set film was a long-shot to get made because of its political subject and the difficulties in raising financing, director Olivier Assayas said.
“Wasp Network” centers on the true story of Cuban spies in American territory during the 1990s, when anti-Castro groups based in Florida carried out military attacks on Cuba and the Cuban government struck back with the Wasp Network to infiltrate those organizations. Assayas wrote the screenplay, which is based on Fernando Morais’ book, “The Last Soldiers of the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five,” published by Companhia das Letras.
Assayas, whose credits include the Golden Globe-winning miniseries “Carlos” and “Personal Shopper,” which won him the best director prize at Cannes, told Variety that Cuban authorities had initially refused to let the film shoot there.
“They first refused...
“Wasp Network” centers on the true story of Cuban spies in American territory during the 1990s, when anti-Castro groups based in Florida carried out military attacks on Cuba and the Cuban government struck back with the Wasp Network to infiltrate those organizations. Assayas wrote the screenplay, which is based on Fernando Morais’ book, “The Last Soldiers of the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five,” published by Companhia das Letras.
Assayas, whose credits include the Golden Globe-winning miniseries “Carlos” and “Personal Shopper,” which won him the best director prize at Cannes, told Variety that Cuban authorities had initially refused to let the film shoot there.
“They first refused...
- 8/31/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Orange Studio has pre-sold Olivier Assayas’ “Wasp Network” – the Cuban spy thriller headlined by Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia Bernal and Edgar Ramirez – to a number of European territories.
Set to world premiere Saturday in competition at the Venice Film Festival, “Wasp Network” centers on the true story of Cuban spies in American territory during the 1990s, when anti-Castro groups based in Florida carried out military attacks on Cuba and the Cuban government struck back with the Wasp Network to infiltrate those organizations. Assayas wrote the screenplay, which is based on Fernando Morais’ book, “The Last Soldiers on the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five.”
The film, which wrapped shooting in May, has been picked up for Italy (Bim Distribuzione); Israel (Shoval); Greece (Spentzos); Portugal (Nos Lusomundo); Russia (Mauris Film); Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania (Prorom); former Yugoslavia (McF); Baltics (Acme); and airlines (Cinesky).
CG Cinema’s...
Set to world premiere Saturday in competition at the Venice Film Festival, “Wasp Network” centers on the true story of Cuban spies in American territory during the 1990s, when anti-Castro groups based in Florida carried out military attacks on Cuba and the Cuban government struck back with the Wasp Network to infiltrate those organizations. Assayas wrote the screenplay, which is based on Fernando Morais’ book, “The Last Soldiers on the Cold War: The Story of the Cuban Five.”
The film, which wrapped shooting in May, has been picked up for Italy (Bim Distribuzione); Israel (Shoval); Greece (Spentzos); Portugal (Nos Lusomundo); Russia (Mauris Film); Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania (Prorom); former Yugoslavia (McF); Baltics (Acme); and airlines (Cinesky).
CG Cinema’s...
- 8/30/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Three weeks from now, a bunch of these people will be in the thick of the 2019 Oscar race: Joaquin Phoenix, Meryl Streep, Jamie Foxx, Tom Hanks, Eddie Murphy, Renée Zellweger, Cynthia Erivo, Adam Driver, Matt Damon, Kristen Stewart, Steven Soderbergh, Noah Baumbach and Taika Waititi.
And at least a few of them will probably have been quietly ushered out of the Oscar race.
As always, the fall film festivals will bring the first big moment of truth for dozens of awards contenders and wannabes, this year including “Joker,” “The Laundromat,” “Just Mercy,” “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” “Dolemite Is My Name,” “Judy,” “Harriet,” “Marriage Story,” “Ford v Ferrari,” “Seberg,” “Jojo Rabbit” and many more.
The festivals in Venice, Telluride and Toronto annually turn into a launching pad for some awards movies and a junkyard for others. Last year, for instance, “Roma,” “A Star Is Born,” “The Favourite” and the...
And at least a few of them will probably have been quietly ushered out of the Oscar race.
As always, the fall film festivals will bring the first big moment of truth for dozens of awards contenders and wannabes, this year including “Joker,” “The Laundromat,” “Just Mercy,” “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” “Dolemite Is My Name,” “Judy,” “Harriet,” “Marriage Story,” “Ford v Ferrari,” “Seberg,” “Jojo Rabbit” and many more.
The festivals in Venice, Telluride and Toronto annually turn into a launching pad for some awards movies and a junkyard for others. Last year, for instance, “Roma,” “A Star Is Born,” “The Favourite” and the...
- 8/27/2019
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.