2023 was a miraculous year for German actress Sandra Huller. Not only did she receive critical acclaim for her riveting portrayal of a woman on trial for murdering her husband in France’s “Anatomy of a Fall,” she was also praised for her role as the wife of a Nazi commander in the United Kingdom’s German-language “The Zone of Interest.” Indeed, there was much interest in Huller and her two films. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for “Anatomy.” And both “Anatomy” and “Zone” landed slots for Best Picture, as well as Best Director bids for Justine Triet and Jonathan Glazer, respectively.
As I was speaking to academy members ahead of last Sunday’s ceremony, I detected a surprisingly robust amount of support for Huller. And many of those who had voted for her mentioned her work in “The Zone of Interest.” It really did seem...
As I was speaking to academy members ahead of last Sunday’s ceremony, I detected a surprisingly robust amount of support for Huller. And many of those who had voted for her mentioned her work in “The Zone of Interest.” It really did seem...
- 3/14/2024
- by Tariq Khan
- Gold Derby
The 96th Academy Award Ceremony is approaching, and the buzz around the Oscars has evolved to an astounding height. Looking back at history, the Oscars have created several significant moments elevating actor’s career. However, all stars don’t have the same blessing.
Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club
Who wouldn’t want to win an Oscar? The award has been one of the most prestigious accolades for achievement in almost every category related to movies. However, in another turn of events, winning an Oscar may not be as good as you might think. An idea called the Oscars Curse has altered the fate of several celebrities, including Matthew McConaughey and Halle Berry.
Oscars Curse Victims, Matthew McConaughey, and Halle Berry Are Among Prominent
Halle Berry in Monster’s Ball
Several actors have witnessed the downfall of their careers after winning an Oscar. Of course, any filmmaker and actor or anyone...
Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club
Who wouldn’t want to win an Oscar? The award has been one of the most prestigious accolades for achievement in almost every category related to movies. However, in another turn of events, winning an Oscar may not be as good as you might think. An idea called the Oscars Curse has altered the fate of several celebrities, including Matthew McConaughey and Halle Berry.
Oscars Curse Victims, Matthew McConaughey, and Halle Berry Are Among Prominent
Halle Berry in Monster’s Ball
Several actors have witnessed the downfall of their careers after winning an Oscar. Of course, any filmmaker and actor or anyone...
- 3/9/2024
- by Lachit Roy
- FandomWire
David Pérez Sañudo (“Ane is Missing”) and Carlos Vila Sexto (“Motivos Personales”) are ready for a different kind of hero in “Detective Touré.”
A six-episode series, backed by Spanish public broadcaster Rtve, Detective Touré Aie, Tornasol Media, DeAPlaneta and Basque state TV Eitb, the series is based on stories by Jon Arretxe.
The series first caught attention when selected as a project at Series Mania’s 2022 Co-Pro Pitching Sessions. Sneak-peaked at Content Americas in January, it was one of the highlights at its Spain Content Goldmine.
Set in Bilbao’s neighborhood San Francisco, it sees an immigrant from Guinea – with acute skills of deduction – who becomes immersed in a complex investigation, with the Nigerian mafia on his trail.
“We are used to having police officers involved in these kinds of shows, but an illegal immigrant? That’s something we have never seen before, at least in Spain,” says Vila Sexto.
A six-episode series, backed by Spanish public broadcaster Rtve, Detective Touré Aie, Tornasol Media, DeAPlaneta and Basque state TV Eitb, the series is based on stories by Jon Arretxe.
The series first caught attention when selected as a project at Series Mania’s 2022 Co-Pro Pitching Sessions. Sneak-peaked at Content Americas in January, it was one of the highlights at its Spain Content Goldmine.
Set in Bilbao’s neighborhood San Francisco, it sees an immigrant from Guinea – with acute skills of deduction – who becomes immersed in a complex investigation, with the Nigerian mafia on his trail.
“We are used to having police officers involved in these kinds of shows, but an illegal immigrant? That’s something we have never seen before, at least in Spain,” says Vila Sexto.
- 3/6/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Had first-time Senegalese actors Seydour Sarr and Moustapha Fall seen a Matteo Garrone film like “Gomorrah” before being scout-cast in his Italian Oscar nominee “Io Capitano,” they might’ve blinked twice. The 2008 film followed two teens from the Campania slums and into a life of organized crime, ending with them both dead in the mouth of a tractor. “Io Capitano” also follows two teens on a journey — here as African refugees making their way from Dakar to Europe in search of adventure — and as with Garrone’s crowning movie, the Italian filmmaker did not share the full script with his non-professional actors. In other words, Sarr and Fall, who in “Io Capitano” play cousins, had no idea whether their characters would survive the journey across the Mediterranean Sea.
Their voyage to Europe is marked by great danger and peril that Garrone masterfully stages and never dilutes — including a final scene...
Their voyage to Europe is marked by great danger and peril that Garrone masterfully stages and never dilutes — including a final scene...
- 2/22/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are emerging in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track. So we’re going to do the hard work for you.
This week we explore Italian movie hit There’s Still Tomorrow, which begins rolling out on cinema screens worldwide this spring with other key deals underway after a stellar release back home last fall, where it is now the ninth highest-grossing film in the history of the country’s box office.
Name: There’s Still Tomorrow
Country: Italy
Producer: Wildside
Seller: Vision Distribution
Where you can watch: In cinemas worldwide (see distributor list below)
For fans of: Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful, Ettore Scola’s A Special Day,...
This week we explore Italian movie hit There’s Still Tomorrow, which begins rolling out on cinema screens worldwide this spring with other key deals underway after a stellar release back home last fall, where it is now the ninth highest-grossing film in the history of the country’s box office.
Name: There’s Still Tomorrow
Country: Italy
Producer: Wildside
Seller: Vision Distribution
Where you can watch: In cinemas worldwide (see distributor list below)
For fans of: Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful, Ettore Scola’s A Special Day,...
- 1/24/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
French President Emmanuel Macron made history on Tuesday as he appointed 34-year-old politician Gabriel Attal as France’s youngest ever prime minister.
Macron has a complex relationship with France’s cinema industry, where his pension reforms, attitude to cultural funding and support of Gérard Depardieu have come under fire from some quarters, but his new prime minister comes with interesting film world connections.
The new rising star of French politics is the son of late lawyer and film producer Yves Attal, who took credits on Pedro Almodóvar’s High Heels, Roberto Benigni’s The Monster and Bernardo Bertolucci’s Stealing Beauty.
Attal’s mother Marie de Couriss also worked in a production company.
As a teenager, Attal had a small role in Christophe Honoré’s 2008 drama The Beautiful Person co-starring Louis Garrel and Léa Seydoux.
But Attal chose not to follow in his parents’ footsteps.
After private schooling at Paris’s prestigious École Alsacienne,...
Macron has a complex relationship with France’s cinema industry, where his pension reforms, attitude to cultural funding and support of Gérard Depardieu have come under fire from some quarters, but his new prime minister comes with interesting film world connections.
The new rising star of French politics is the son of late lawyer and film producer Yves Attal, who took credits on Pedro Almodóvar’s High Heels, Roberto Benigni’s The Monster and Bernardo Bertolucci’s Stealing Beauty.
Attal’s mother Marie de Couriss also worked in a production company.
As a teenager, Attal had a small role in Christophe Honoré’s 2008 drama The Beautiful Person co-starring Louis Garrel and Léa Seydoux.
But Attal chose not to follow in his parents’ footsteps.
After private schooling at Paris’s prestigious École Alsacienne,...
- 1/9/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
January 1999. One quarter of a century ago. I attended the Golden Globe Awards for the first time (as an accredited member of the press) — and it was a night that I’ll never forget.
Interestingly enough, the most memorable moment of the night for me wasn’t having Best TV Supporting Actress co-winner Camryn Manheim (“The Practice”) quiz me on lines from 1997’s hit comedy “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion.”
Rather, it was when I was practically escorted out of the backstage press room for expressing my shock when Lauren Bacall announced Jim Carrey as the year’s Best Drama Actor for “The Truman Show,” beating out the likes of Tom Hanks in “Saving Private Ryan,” Ian McKellen in “Gods and Monsters” and Nick Nolte in “Affliction.” (My money had been on McKellen.)
Even Carrey himself was in a state of disbelief, wisecracking that the Globe made him a...
Interestingly enough, the most memorable moment of the night for me wasn’t having Best TV Supporting Actress co-winner Camryn Manheim (“The Practice”) quiz me on lines from 1997’s hit comedy “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion.”
Rather, it was when I was practically escorted out of the backstage press room for expressing my shock when Lauren Bacall announced Jim Carrey as the year’s Best Drama Actor for “The Truman Show,” beating out the likes of Tom Hanks in “Saving Private Ryan,” Ian McKellen in “Gods and Monsters” and Nick Nolte in “Affliction.” (My money had been on McKellen.)
Even Carrey himself was in a state of disbelief, wisecracking that the Globe made him a...
- 1/7/2024
- by Tariq Khan
- Gold Derby
Three decades after the 1915 Armenian Genocide, an optimistic American Armenian returns to his Sovietized homeland, only be thrown in prison under flimsy circumstances. From his squalid jail cell, he peers daily into the home and inner life of one of his Armenian prison guards, and inadvertently finds the cultural connection he’d been searching for. This broad premise informs the sentimental comedy-drama of “Amerikatsi” (or “The American”), Armenia’s shortlisted international Oscar submission. Written and directed by Michael A. Goorjian, who also stars in the leading role, it’s a moving work about diasporic yearning, coming to us as history repeats itself, after more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians were forced to flee Nagorno-Karabakh earlier this year.
The movie’s dreamlike prologue follows a young Armenian boy escaping the brutality of the Ottoman Army during World War I, peering out of a tiny hole in an ornate luggage trunk. The interior of...
The movie’s dreamlike prologue follows a young Armenian boy escaping the brutality of the Ottoman Army during World War I, peering out of a tiny hole in an ornate luggage trunk. The interior of...
- 12/28/2023
- by Siddhant Adlakha
- Variety Film + TV
The current Oscar frontrunners for Best Actor and Best Actress according to the combined predictions of Gold Derby users are Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”) and Emma Stone (“Poor Things”). However, they both face serious competition from the stars of “Maestro,” Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan. If the co-stars both win, “Maestro” would be the first film since “As Good As It Gets” to win both lead acting Oscars.
SEEBradley Cooper (‘Maestro’) makes Critics Choice Awards history
“Maestro” chronicles the decades-long relationship between conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein (Cooper) and actress Felicia Montealegre (Mulligan). Their love story spans over 30 years from the time they met at a party in 1946 and continuing through their quarter-century marriage. But winning matching Oscars isn’t easy. To date only seven films have won both lead acting awards. They are:
“It Happened One Night” (1934) – Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975) – Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher...
SEEBradley Cooper (‘Maestro’) makes Critics Choice Awards history
“Maestro” chronicles the decades-long relationship between conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein (Cooper) and actress Felicia Montealegre (Mulligan). Their love story spans over 30 years from the time they met at a party in 1946 and continuing through their quarter-century marriage. But winning matching Oscars isn’t easy. To date only seven films have won both lead acting awards. They are:
“It Happened One Night” (1934) – Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975) – Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher...
- 12/27/2023
- by Jeffrey Kare
- Gold Derby
Roberto Benigni, whose film “Life Is Beautiful” won three Oscars in 1999, has come out of the woodwork to support Matteo Garrone’s Golden Globe-nominated “Io Capitano,” which is Italy’s current Oscar candidate for best international feature film.
The revered yet reclusive Italian actor/director, whose most recent big screen role is playing Geppetto in Matteo Garrone’s hit 2019 live-action adaptation of “Pinocchio,” is clearly a big fan of “Io Capitano” (the title translates to “Me Captain”). The movie narrates the Homeric journey of two young African men, Seydou and Moussa, who decide to leave Dakar to reach Europe.
Garrone’s immigration drama realistically depicts their plight through the pitfalls of the desert, the horrors of detention centers in Libya and the dangers of the sea. Variety critic Guy Lodge in his review called “Io Capitano” the director’s “most robust, purely satisfying filmmaking since Garrone’s international breakthrough with ‘Gomorrah’ 15 years ago.
The revered yet reclusive Italian actor/director, whose most recent big screen role is playing Geppetto in Matteo Garrone’s hit 2019 live-action adaptation of “Pinocchio,” is clearly a big fan of “Io Capitano” (the title translates to “Me Captain”). The movie narrates the Homeric journey of two young African men, Seydou and Moussa, who decide to leave Dakar to reach Europe.
Garrone’s immigration drama realistically depicts their plight through the pitfalls of the desert, the horrors of detention centers in Libya and the dangers of the sea. Variety critic Guy Lodge in his review called “Io Capitano” the director’s “most robust, purely satisfying filmmaking since Garrone’s international breakthrough with ‘Gomorrah’ 15 years ago.
- 12/21/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
White Bird.The repeatedly delayed film White Bird, based on the 2019 graphic novel by R.J. Palacio, follows an elderly Jewish woman looking back on her youth in France during World War II, particularly the time she spent hiding from the Nazis. The framing is odd: She is telling this tale to impart a lesson to her grandson, a bully character from a different, earlier novel by Palacio, Wonder. Both stories are part of a wider fictive universe authored by Palacio, the “World of Wonder,” which comprises spinoff books, film adaptations, and merchandise, all branded with the poptimistic slogan/hashtag “Choose Kind.” A friendly schoolmate refusing to persecute White Bird’s protagonist for being Jewish is implicitly an example of “choosing kind,” divorced from any historically based understanding of solidarity or resistance to fascism. More problematically, White Bird has as its epigraph George Santayama’s famous quote “Those who can’t...
- 11/28/2023
- MUBI
Is this the year of Sandra Hüller?
The German actress is currently starring in not one, but two high-profile projects that might have the goods to carry her through awards season.
Hüller’s versatility is on display in Neon’s Palme d’Or-winning courtroom thriller “Anatomy of a Fall,” where she plays a woman accused of murdering her husband, and A24’s Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest,” where she plays a woman whose husband was one of history’s most notorious murderers. In the former, Hüller speaks English, with a smattering of French; in the latter, she appears as Hedwig Höss, the wife of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, registering her evil in her native German. The roles couldn’t be more distinctive, and the rare double act is already earning Hüller comparisons to international screen sirens like Ingrid Bergman, Isabelle Huppert and Liv Ullmann.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit...
The German actress is currently starring in not one, but two high-profile projects that might have the goods to carry her through awards season.
Hüller’s versatility is on display in Neon’s Palme d’Or-winning courtroom thriller “Anatomy of a Fall,” where she plays a woman accused of murdering her husband, and A24’s Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest,” where she plays a woman whose husband was one of history’s most notorious murderers. In the former, Hüller speaks English, with a smattering of French; in the latter, she appears as Hedwig Höss, the wife of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, registering her evil in her native German. The roles couldn’t be more distinctive, and the rare double act is already earning Hüller comparisons to international screen sirens like Ingrid Bergman, Isabelle Huppert and Liv Ullmann.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit...
- 11/16/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
It isn’t easy directing a major Hollywood feature film. It’s perhaps equally challenging starring in one. But to do both is perhaps the most daunting task of all. This helps explain why, in nearly a century of Oscar ceremonies, only 19 times has a performer directed himself to an Academy Award acting nomination – a feat that could be repeated this year by either Bradley Cooper for “Maestro” or Ben Affleck for “Air.” Cooper is among the frontrunners for Best Actor, while Affleck is in the running for Best Supporting Actor. If the latter were to pull off the feat, he would be the first ever to direct himself to a nom in supporting.
See Oscar Best Actor gallery: Every winner in Academy Award history
Yes, typically performers who are also directing their projects all contend in lead. Laurence Olivier did it three times, Warren Beatty and Clint Eastwood twice apiece.
See Oscar Best Actor gallery: Every winner in Academy Award history
Yes, typically performers who are also directing their projects all contend in lead. Laurence Olivier did it three times, Warren Beatty and Clint Eastwood twice apiece.
- 10/18/2023
- by Ray Richmond, Chris Beachum and Misty Holland
- Gold Derby
“The Zone of Interest” is a remarkable fourth film from Jonathan Glazer. The film, which A24 releases in the US on December 8, follows Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) as they try to live a normal life just outside of the concentration camp.
The movie is about the banality of evil — how monstrous people live almost boringly while, in the background, some of the worst horrors in human history are being carried out. Daring is probably the best word to describe this film, particularly with one very late sequence that throws the film forward to modern-day Auschwitz, wherein we see women cleaning the buildings and grounds of the camp. Critics have hailed Glazer for his work.
David Rooney (The Hollywood Reporter) called the film a “devastating Holocaust drama like no other, which demonstrates with startling effectiveness [director Jonathan Glazer]’s unerring control of tonal and visual storytelling.
The movie is about the banality of evil — how monstrous people live almost boringly while, in the background, some of the worst horrors in human history are being carried out. Daring is probably the best word to describe this film, particularly with one very late sequence that throws the film forward to modern-day Auschwitz, wherein we see women cleaning the buildings and grounds of the camp. Critics have hailed Glazer for his work.
David Rooney (The Hollywood Reporter) called the film a “devastating Holocaust drama like no other, which demonstrates with startling effectiveness [director Jonathan Glazer]’s unerring control of tonal and visual storytelling.
- 10/13/2023
- by Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
After premiering at the Venice Film Festival, Netflix’s awards season pony “Maestro,” the Leonard Bernstein biopic from sophomore director Bradley Cooper, in which he also stars, is gearing up for its next major stop at the New York Film Festival on Monday.
Ahead of its New York bow, the streamer invited a small group of journalists and friends of the Bernstein family to the Academy Museum on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. The famed composer’s daughters, Jamie Bernstein and Nina Maria Felicia Bernstein, introduced the screening, followed by an intimate discussion with some of the filmmaking team, including Oscar-nominated producer Kristie Macosko Krieger (“The Fabelmans”) and three-time nominated sound mixer Steven Morrow.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
“Maestro” follows Bernstein through decades of creating music and teaching while he’s married to Felicia Montealegre, played fiercely by Carey Mulligan.
The...
Ahead of its New York bow, the streamer invited a small group of journalists and friends of the Bernstein family to the Academy Museum on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. The famed composer’s daughters, Jamie Bernstein and Nina Maria Felicia Bernstein, introduced the screening, followed by an intimate discussion with some of the filmmaking team, including Oscar-nominated producer Kristie Macosko Krieger (“The Fabelmans”) and three-time nominated sound mixer Steven Morrow.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
“Maestro” follows Bernstein through decades of creating music and teaching while he’s married to Felicia Montealegre, played fiercely by Carey Mulligan.
The...
- 9/27/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Just a reminder that tomorrow, September 18, is the Regular Deadline to submit your 2023 features and episodic projects to the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards. The extended Member Deadline is Tuesday, October 3. See you in Santa Monica!
Well, look at you. The independent filmmaker, your project completed. Sitting there utterly dazed, short of breath, atop of a pile of warm DCPs—a ticker tape Elder’s scroll of SVOD rental receipts choking your ankles like a low coastal fog. You ask yourself: What the hell just happened? And: How did we pull that off? And possibly: What’s next? Well, just when you thought your obligations as a steward of cinema were nearing the finish line, there’s still a long and winding road to travel paved with awards season gold, glass and bronze.
Basically that’s our fancy way of saying Submissions For The 2024 FiLM iNDEPENDENT Spirit Awards Are Still Open.
Well, look at you. The independent filmmaker, your project completed. Sitting there utterly dazed, short of breath, atop of a pile of warm DCPs—a ticker tape Elder’s scroll of SVOD rental receipts choking your ankles like a low coastal fog. You ask yourself: What the hell just happened? And: How did we pull that off? And possibly: What’s next? Well, just when you thought your obligations as a steward of cinema were nearing the finish line, there’s still a long and winding road to travel paved with awards season gold, glass and bronze.
Basically that’s our fancy way of saying Submissions For The 2024 FiLM iNDEPENDENT Spirit Awards Are Still Open.
- 9/18/2023
- by Matt Warren
- Film Independent News & More
Actor Sandra Hüller could be the critical darling of awards season with two acclaimed performances in two high-profile international feature contenders, France’s “Anatomy of a Fall” from Justine Triet and United Kingdom’s “The Zone of Interest” from Jonathan Glazer.
The German performer has opted to campaign her work in Glazer’s Holocaust-era drama for best supporting actress, Variety can reveal exclusively, greatly increasing her chances for possible double acting recognition this year. Her work in Triet’s French Oscar hopeful will be submitted for lead actress consideration.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
Both “Anatomy” and “Zone” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where the former won the prestigious Palme d’Or prize, marking the third time a woman director has won the award. The two films are coming off screening at the Telluride Film Festival and will stop...
The German performer has opted to campaign her work in Glazer’s Holocaust-era drama for best supporting actress, Variety can reveal exclusively, greatly increasing her chances for possible double acting recognition this year. Her work in Triet’s French Oscar hopeful will be submitted for lead actress consideration.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
Both “Anatomy” and “Zone” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, where the former won the prestigious Palme d’Or prize, marking the third time a woman director has won the award. The two films are coming off screening at the Telluride Film Festival and will stop...
- 9/7/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
A lot of Academy Award winners get weepy, sentimental and downright ugly in their speeches. One such Oscar winner is Gwyneth Paltrow, who gave an over-the-top speech that began humbly enough before it quickly turned into a sobfest that is often cited as one of the cringiest acceptance speeches ever.
On the Call Her Daddy podcast, Gwyneth Paltrow discussed both the origins of her emotions and the backlash she faced after winning Best Actress for Shakespeare in Love. “I cried and people were so mean about it and I just thought, ‘Wow there’s this big energy shift that’s happening. I think I’m going to have to learn to be less openhearted and much more protective of myself and filter people out better.’…I remember I was working in England…and I remember the British press being so horrible to me because I cried. And they didn’t...
On the Call Her Daddy podcast, Gwyneth Paltrow discussed both the origins of her emotions and the backlash she faced after winning Best Actress for Shakespeare in Love. “I cried and people were so mean about it and I just thought, ‘Wow there’s this big energy shift that’s happening. I think I’m going to have to learn to be less openhearted and much more protective of myself and filter people out better.’…I remember I was working in England…and I remember the British press being so horrible to me because I cried. And they didn’t...
- 5/7/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Brendan Fraser took the prize for Best Actor at the 95th Academy Awards. He was nominated for his performance as the 600-pound Charlie in Darren Aronofsky's "The Whale" — not everyone liked the movie, but seemingly everyone liked his performance in it. But this isn't the first Oscar winner featuring Fraser that had a "whale" as its subject. What was the first one? "Gods and Monsters," a 1998 biopic about James Whale (played by Ian McKellen), the director most famous for giving the world the first two Universal "Frankenstein" films.
Directed by Bill Condon, the film adapted "Father of Frankenstein," a speculative novel by Christopher Bram about Whale's death in the 1950s. Condon's script won Best Adapted Screenplay at the 71st Academy Awards. Bizarrely enough, "Gods and Monsters" actually does have some similarities to "The Whale" other than Fraser's presence and the cetacean-inspired naming. True to history, Whale is a lonely,...
Directed by Bill Condon, the film adapted "Father of Frankenstein," a speculative novel by Christopher Bram about Whale's death in the 1950s. Condon's script won Best Adapted Screenplay at the 71st Academy Awards. Bizarrely enough, "Gods and Monsters" actually does have some similarities to "The Whale" other than Fraser's presence and the cetacean-inspired naming. True to history, Whale is a lonely,...
- 3/14/2023
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Piovani composed the Oscar-winning soundtrack to Roberto Benigni’s ’Life Is Beautiful’.
Italian composer Nicola Piovani will receive a lifetime achievement at the 2023 World Soundtrack Awards, held at Film Fest Ghent on October 21.
Piovani is best known for composing the score to Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful for which he won the Oscar in 1999.
The composer began his career in 1971 with Silvano Agosti’s N.P. Il Segreto and has gone on to compose the music to more than 200 films and series.
He worked with Federico Fellini on a number of his films including Ginger & Fred (1986), Intervista (1987) and...
Italian composer Nicola Piovani will receive a lifetime achievement at the 2023 World Soundtrack Awards, held at Film Fest Ghent on October 21.
Piovani is best known for composing the score to Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful for which he won the Oscar in 1999.
The composer began his career in 1971 with Silvano Agosti’s N.P. Il Segreto and has gone on to compose the music to more than 200 films and series.
He worked with Federico Fellini on a number of his films including Ginger & Fred (1986), Intervista (1987) and...
- 3/1/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Veteran auteur Mario Martone, whose Naples-set drama “Nostalgia” launched last year from Cannes, has quite a lot in common with Massimo Troisi, Italy’s beloved late comic actor-director who is best known internationally as the star of Oscar-winning film “Il Postino.”
Which is why Martone was well-suited to direct the multi-layered doc about Troisi’s legacy “Somebody Down There Likes Me” that is screening in the Berlinale Special sidebar.
For starters, they are both Neapolitan, and were born only a few years a part. Troisi – who in “Il Postino” played the simple postman who rides his bicycle on a sandy Italian island to deliver mail to his sole client, the Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda – died tragically of congenital heart failure at age 41 in June 1994, the day after “Il Postino” finished shooting at Rome’s Cinecittà studios.
Martone in Berlin spoke to Variety about capturing Troisi’s combination of humor,...
Which is why Martone was well-suited to direct the multi-layered doc about Troisi’s legacy “Somebody Down There Likes Me” that is screening in the Berlinale Special sidebar.
For starters, they are both Neapolitan, and were born only a few years a part. Troisi – who in “Il Postino” played the simple postman who rides his bicycle on a sandy Italian island to deliver mail to his sole client, the Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda – died tragically of congenital heart failure at age 41 in June 1994, the day after “Il Postino” finished shooting at Rome’s Cinecittà studios.
Martone in Berlin spoke to Variety about capturing Troisi’s combination of humor,...
- 2/22/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
In hoping producers continue the lengthy tradition of inviting last year’s acting winners to return… let’s hope Jessica Chastain, Troy Kotsur and Ariana DeBose are already signed up. Will Smith will not be returning to present Best Actress.
Whenever there has needed to be a replacement, the general tradition for the last 30+ years is that someone from the same category would be chosen. Assuming that means they are narrowing down to a previous Best Actor winner, who should present Best Actress on March 12?
Nominees are Cate Blanchett (“Tar”), Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”), Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”) and Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”).
SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
Here is a list of all the living Best Actor winners. Make you case for your top 2-3 choices in our special forums thread.
Gene Hackman (71) — retired
Jack Nicholson — retired...
Whenever there has needed to be a replacement, the general tradition for the last 30+ years is that someone from the same category would be chosen. Assuming that means they are narrowing down to a previous Best Actor winner, who should present Best Actress on March 12?
Nominees are Cate Blanchett (“Tar”), Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”), Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”) and Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”).
SEEOscar Best Actor Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Award History
Here is a list of all the living Best Actor winners. Make you case for your top 2-3 choices in our special forums thread.
Gene Hackman (71) — retired
Jack Nicholson — retired...
- 2/20/2023
- by Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Exclusive: Italian director Mario Martone, who has been on the festival and awards circuit over the past year with Oscar submission and Cannes title Nostalgia, is at the Berlinale with his passion project Somebody Down There Likes Me.
The documentary pays tribute to late Italian actor and fellow Neapolitan Massimo Troisi who died tragically young at the age of 41 in 1994, just hours after filming wrapped on Michael Radford’s Il Postino (The Postman).
Selected for the Berlinale Specials sidebar, the documentary plays at a sold-out screening on Saturday, on the eve of what would have been the actor’s 70th birthday on February 19. Deadline can reveal a trailer.
Martone says he wants to shed light on the popular actor who he believes has never been properly celebrated.
“Massimo has always remained alive in the collective consciousness because he was a great actor and a great artist,” says the director.
Il Postino,...
The documentary pays tribute to late Italian actor and fellow Neapolitan Massimo Troisi who died tragically young at the age of 41 in 1994, just hours after filming wrapped on Michael Radford’s Il Postino (The Postman).
Selected for the Berlinale Specials sidebar, the documentary plays at a sold-out screening on Saturday, on the eve of what would have been the actor’s 70th birthday on February 19. Deadline can reveal a trailer.
Martone says he wants to shed light on the popular actor who he believes has never been properly celebrated.
“Massimo has always remained alive in the collective consciousness because he was a great actor and a great artist,” says the director.
Il Postino,...
- 2/18/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Claudia Squitieri with her mother Claudia Cardinale on Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo: “it’s one of her most adventurous experiences.” Photo: courtesy of Claudia Squitieri
In the second instalment with Claudia Squitieri we discuss more of the films her mother, Claudia Cardinale, starred in. Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Mick Jagger, Jason Robards, Thomas Mauch, My Best Fiend, and filming Fitzcarraldo; encountering Fernando Trueba (The Artist And Model) in Deauville and reconnecting with Jean Rochefort; Manoel de Oliveira and an “atmosphere of mysticality” during the making of Gebo and the Shadow with Jeanne Moreau and Michael Lonsdale, shot by Renato Berta; Blake Edwards and The Pink Panther, the problem with sequels and playing Roberto Benigni’s mother in Son Of The Pink Panther all came up in our conversation.
Claudia Squitieri from Paris on Roberto Benigni with Claudia Cardinale: “He was going “Claudia!!!!” Jumping around every time he saw my mother.
In the second instalment with Claudia Squitieri we discuss more of the films her mother, Claudia Cardinale, starred in. Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Mick Jagger, Jason Robards, Thomas Mauch, My Best Fiend, and filming Fitzcarraldo; encountering Fernando Trueba (The Artist And Model) in Deauville and reconnecting with Jean Rochefort; Manoel de Oliveira and an “atmosphere of mysticality” during the making of Gebo and the Shadow with Jeanne Moreau and Michael Lonsdale, shot by Renato Berta; Blake Edwards and The Pink Panther, the problem with sequels and playing Roberto Benigni’s mother in Son Of The Pink Panther all came up in our conversation.
Claudia Squitieri from Paris on Roberto Benigni with Claudia Cardinale: “He was going “Claudia!!!!” Jumping around every time he saw my mother.
- 2/11/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Delivering a great Oscar acceptance speech requires a bit of magic, with the winner having to strike just the right balance of charm and humility.
However, often the speeches most remembered are those that end in disaster.
Over the years, many actors have been booed, pitied or laughed at for their podium faux pas. Some speeches are too saccharine, others too long. The worst are when an actor thinks only of themselves.
Despite Frances McDormand’s empowering speech about Hollywood’s gender imbalance a few years back, attempts to inject the ceremony with political messaging haven’t always been handled so well. Oscars history is peppered with the uncomfortable silences and jeers that have invariably greeted bad political jokes and clumsy protests.
As the clock counts down to the 94th awards ceremony, all of the nominees will be hoping to bring home a statue. But more than that, should they win,...
However, often the speeches most remembered are those that end in disaster.
Over the years, many actors have been booed, pitied or laughed at for their podium faux pas. Some speeches are too saccharine, others too long. The worst are when an actor thinks only of themselves.
Despite Frances McDormand’s empowering speech about Hollywood’s gender imbalance a few years back, attempts to inject the ceremony with political messaging haven’t always been handled so well. Oscars history is peppered with the uncomfortable silences and jeers that have invariably greeted bad political jokes and clumsy protests.
As the clock counts down to the 94th awards ceremony, all of the nominees will be hoping to bring home a statue. But more than that, should they win,...
- 2/3/2023
- by Louis Chilton
- The Independent - Film
Delivering a great Oscar acceptance speech requires a bit of magic, with the winner having to strike just the right balance of charm and humility.
However, often the speeches most remembered are those that end in disaster.
Over the years, many actors have been booed, pitied or laughed at for their podium faux pas. Some speeches are too saccharine, others too long. The worst are when an actor thinks only of themselves.
Despite Frances McDormand’s empowering speech about Hollywood’s gender imbalance a few years back, attempts to inject the ceremony with political messaging haven’t always been handled so well. Oscar history is peppered with the uncomfortable silences and jeers that have invariably greeted bad political jokes and clumsy protests.
As the clock counts down to the 93rd awards ceremony, all of the nominees will be hoping to bring home a statue. But more than that, should they win,...
However, often the speeches most remembered are those that end in disaster.
Over the years, many actors have been booed, pitied or laughed at for their podium faux pas. Some speeches are too saccharine, others too long. The worst are when an actor thinks only of themselves.
Despite Frances McDormand’s empowering speech about Hollywood’s gender imbalance a few years back, attempts to inject the ceremony with political messaging haven’t always been handled so well. Oscar history is peppered with the uncomfortable silences and jeers that have invariably greeted bad political jokes and clumsy protests.
As the clock counts down to the 93rd awards ceremony, all of the nominees will be hoping to bring home a statue. But more than that, should they win,...
- 2/3/2023
- by Louis Chilton
- The Independent - Film
The most fun moments of watching the Oscars are always the surprises.
The unexpected wins from dark horses are always so much more thrilling than predictable outcomes.
It's not that the winners were undeserving -- it's often that their wins seemed to come out of nowhere.
With prognosticators having Oscar predictions down to a science, anything remotely surprising is a rare treat.
Here are some of the most shocking wins that left us with our jaws on the floor!
Adrien Brody (Best Actor In A Leading Role) in The Pianist
Brody was the only Oscar-less member of his cohort when he won for his role as Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman.
Up against Jack Nicholson, Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, and Daniel Day-Lewis, Brody's win made him the youngest Best Actor in the history of the Oscars, at age 29.
Unfortunately, his behavior is what most people remember about his win -- when...
The unexpected wins from dark horses are always so much more thrilling than predictable outcomes.
It's not that the winners were undeserving -- it's often that their wins seemed to come out of nowhere.
With prognosticators having Oscar predictions down to a science, anything remotely surprising is a rare treat.
Here are some of the most shocking wins that left us with our jaws on the floor!
Adrien Brody (Best Actor In A Leading Role) in The Pianist
Brody was the only Oscar-less member of his cohort when he won for his role as Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman.
Up against Jack Nicholson, Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine, and Daniel Day-Lewis, Brody's win made him the youngest Best Actor in the history of the Oscars, at age 29.
Unfortunately, his behavior is what most people remember about his win -- when...
- 1/30/2023
- by Mary Littlejohn
- TVfanatic
The character of Pinocchio has been popular since the 1883 book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Carlo Collodi – but for most people these days, the model for the little wooden marionette who wants to become a real boy was formed by Walt Disney’s 1940 film version. That Pinocchio, more likable than the one in the original novel, has survived as the Pinocchio through a bevy of subsequent films, from the 1965 Belgian-American “Pinocchio in Outer Space” to 21st century adaptations by Roberto Benigni, Matteo Garrone and Robert Zemeckis.
But the newest “Pinocchio,” which Netflix released only three months after Zemeckis’ film, comes from Guillermo del Toro, who pulled the character out of Disney’s world and put him squarely in del Toro’s land (a move that helped avoid any sticky copyright issues).
“The Disney movie Is a masterpiece, one of the great animated movies of all times,” said del Toro, whose...
But the newest “Pinocchio,” which Netflix released only three months after Zemeckis’ film, comes from Guillermo del Toro, who pulled the character out of Disney’s world and put him squarely in del Toro’s land (a move that helped avoid any sticky copyright issues).
“The Disney movie Is a masterpiece, one of the great animated movies of all times,” said del Toro, whose...
- 1/3/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
In a year full of Pinocchio adaptations, 1996’s Pinocchio’s Revenge stands the test of time as a dark, disturbing update to the living wooden boy narrative.
“I wish you were a real boy. Then I wouldn’t be all alone.”
Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio was first published in 1883 and for more than a century it’s proven to be an evergreen text that’s fascinated so many diverse storytellers and filmmakers. Disney’s animated Pinocchio is getting close to celebrating its 100th birthday, but audiences have no lack of options when it comes to Pinocchio adaptations. There’s 1996’s unintentionally-terrifying The Adventures of Pinocchio with Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Roberto Benigni has been responsible for two separate Pinocchio movies, and 2022 alone has marked the release of two new feature-film adaptations: Robert Zemeckis’ live-action Pinocchio and Guillermo del Toro’s somber stop-motion take on the classic tale. Pinocchio...
“I wish you were a real boy. Then I wouldn’t be all alone.”
Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio was first published in 1883 and for more than a century it’s proven to be an evergreen text that’s fascinated so many diverse storytellers and filmmakers. Disney’s animated Pinocchio is getting close to celebrating its 100th birthday, but audiences have no lack of options when it comes to Pinocchio adaptations. There’s 1996’s unintentionally-terrifying The Adventures of Pinocchio with Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Roberto Benigni has been responsible for two separate Pinocchio movies, and 2022 alone has marked the release of two new feature-film adaptations: Robert Zemeckis’ live-action Pinocchio and Guillermo del Toro’s somber stop-motion take on the classic tale. Pinocchio...
- 12/5/2022
- by Daniel Kurland
- bloody-disgusting.com
Adapting literary fairy tales from the page to the screen is a colossal task because it presents the filmmaker with a challenge to capture the spirit of the source material while bringing their own brand of imagination. Based on Carlo Collodi's 1883 novel "The Adventures of Pinocchio," the story of a wooden boy coming to life has had so many different interpretations across so many different mediums. Although when most people think of the story, the 1940 animated Disney film is the one that will likely pop into your head first.
Even when it strayed from Collodi's story, the film has endured across the decades because the signature Disney animation has been cemented in our minds. Roberto Benigni's "Pinocchio" has also been cemented in my head, albeit for a more terrifying reason. The story persists because the best fairy tales are timeless metaphors for the lessons we must learn in life,...
Even when it strayed from Collodi's story, the film has endured across the decades because the signature Disney animation has been cemented in our minds. Roberto Benigni's "Pinocchio" has also been cemented in my head, albeit for a more terrifying reason. The story persists because the best fairy tales are timeless metaphors for the lessons we must learn in life,...
- 10/10/2022
- by Matthew Bilodeau
- Slash Film
Oscar winner Roberto Benigni is attached to Paramount+ original Francesco Il Cantico, as the global streamer prepares to launch in Italy tomorrow with more than 8,000 hours of content.
Benigni will front the show, which is billed as “an immersive reading of one of the most iconic texts dedicated to love.” Its announcement came at a star-studded blue carpet event at the iconic Cinecittà Studios in Rome this evening, with Paramount+ still gathering pace following launches in countries such as the UK and South Korea.
Further production details of Francesco Il Cantico are understood to be following at a later date.
Also unveiled on the evening was a new season of comedy Vita Da Carlo, in which comedian and actor Carlo Verdone plays himself, revealing his difficult relationship with Italy’s capital Rome. Verdone also directs the show, which bills its plot as “showing the frugal private life of a man...
Benigni will front the show, which is billed as “an immersive reading of one of the most iconic texts dedicated to love.” Its announcement came at a star-studded blue carpet event at the iconic Cinecittà Studios in Rome this evening, with Paramount+ still gathering pace following launches in countries such as the UK and South Korea.
Further production details of Francesco Il Cantico are understood to be following at a later date.
Also unveiled on the evening was a new season of comedy Vita Da Carlo, in which comedian and actor Carlo Verdone plays himself, revealing his difficult relationship with Italy’s capital Rome. Verdone also directs the show, which bills its plot as “showing the frugal private life of a man...
- 9/14/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Paramount+, the streaming service from Paramount Global, launches in Italy on Thursday with more than 8,000 hours of entertainment and a slate of local originals shining a spotlight on women’s voices and stories.
Among them are the previously unveiled original series Miss Fallaci, set to premiere in 2023, which will detail “the true story of one of the most controversial Italian and international journalism icons ever,” Oriana Fallaci, as well as the previously announced Corpo Libero, a teen drama-thriller series set in the world of gymnastics that is based on a novel by Ilaria Bernardini.
Meanwhile, the series Circeo recounts the events surrounding an infamous court case in 1975 that changed Italian society: two teenage girls were found in the trunk of a car in Rome, naked, wrapped in blankets and drenched in blood; one was dead, the other one alive.
The streaming service is...
Paramount+, the streaming service from Paramount Global, launches in Italy on Thursday with more than 8,000 hours of entertainment and a slate of local originals shining a spotlight on women’s voices and stories.
Among them are the previously unveiled original series Miss Fallaci, set to premiere in 2023, which will detail “the true story of one of the most controversial Italian and international journalism icons ever,” Oriana Fallaci, as well as the previously announced Corpo Libero, a teen drama-thriller series set in the world of gymnastics that is based on a novel by Ilaria Bernardini.
Meanwhile, the series Circeo recounts the events surrounding an infamous court case in 1975 that changed Italian society: two teenage girls were found in the trunk of a car in Rome, naked, wrapped in blankets and drenched in blood; one was dead, the other one alive.
The streaming service is...
- 9/14/2022
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Ukrainian cast and crew of Luxembourg, Luxembourg — premiering in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival — today used their Lido photo call as a powerful call for support of Ukraine’s families.
In connection with the theme of the movie, director Antonio Lukich and team held up a series of pictures from classic films featuring a strong father and son relationship, and in which the father’s image was obscured. This while posing with banners that read “Imagine movies without fathers” and “Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, thousands of Ukrainian children have been left without parents.”
Luxembourg, Luxembourg follows twin Ukrainian brothers who set out on a journey to the titular country upon learning their long-absent father is sick in the capital.
In a statement, the filmmakers said, “We want to attract the attention to the problem with which we, as Ukrainians, will be faced after...
In connection with the theme of the movie, director Antonio Lukich and team held up a series of pictures from classic films featuring a strong father and son relationship, and in which the father’s image was obscured. This while posing with banners that read “Imagine movies without fathers” and “Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, thousands of Ukrainian children have been left without parents.”
Luxembourg, Luxembourg follows twin Ukrainian brothers who set out on a journey to the titular country upon learning their long-absent father is sick in the capital.
In a statement, the filmmakers said, “We want to attract the attention to the problem with which we, as Ukrainians, will be faced after...
- 9/7/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Italian auteur Mario Martone, who was recently in Cannes with “Nostalgia,” is set to direct a high-profile doc about the late Massimo Troisi, one of Italy’s most beloved comic actors who starred in the Oscar-winning film “Il Postino.”
Troisi, who played the simple postman who rides his bicycle on the sandy terrain of an Italian island to deliver mail to his sole client, the Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda, died tragically of congenital heart failure at age 41 in June 1994, the day after “Il Postino” finished shooting at Rome’s Cinecittà studios.
The film directed by Michael Radford, which also starred Maria Grazia Cucinotta and Philippe Noiret, became an arthouse sensation one year later when it opened in the U.S. distributed by Miramax.
“Il Postino” went on to win an Oscar in 1996 for best dramatic score, having earned five nominations, including for best film, as well as best director for Radford,...
Troisi, who played the simple postman who rides his bicycle on the sandy terrain of an Italian island to deliver mail to his sole client, the Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda, died tragically of congenital heart failure at age 41 in June 1994, the day after “Il Postino” finished shooting at Rome’s Cinecittà studios.
The film directed by Michael Radford, which also starred Maria Grazia Cucinotta and Philippe Noiret, became an arthouse sensation one year later when it opened in the U.S. distributed by Miramax.
“Il Postino” went on to win an Oscar in 1996 for best dramatic score, having earned five nominations, including for best film, as well as best director for Radford,...
- 7/28/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The Venice Film Festival will honor U.S. director and screenwriter Paul Schrader, a key figure of New Hollywood cinema, with its 2022 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
Schrader wrote Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” and “The Last Temptation of Christ” and co-wrote “Raging Bull.” He has directed dozens of films, including “American Gigolo,” “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters,” “The Comfort of Strangers” and “First Reformed.” The director was in Venice last year with “The Card Counter,” starring Oscar Isaac and Tiffany Haddish, which has been a critical and box office success.
In accepting the honor Schrader stated: “I am deeply honored. Venice is the Lion of my heart.”
Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera in a statement praised Schrader for having “revolutionized the imagination, aesthetics, and language of American film,” starting in the late 1960s.
“It is not an exaggeration to affirm that he is one of the most important American filmmakers of his generation,...
Schrader wrote Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” and “The Last Temptation of Christ” and co-wrote “Raging Bull.” He has directed dozens of films, including “American Gigolo,” “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters,” “The Comfort of Strangers” and “First Reformed.” The director was in Venice last year with “The Card Counter,” starring Oscar Isaac and Tiffany Haddish, which has been a critical and box office success.
In accepting the honor Schrader stated: “I am deeply honored. Venice is the Lion of my heart.”
Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera in a statement praised Schrader for having “revolutionized the imagination, aesthetics, and language of American film,” starting in the late 1960s.
“It is not an exaggeration to affirm that he is one of the most important American filmmakers of his generation,...
- 5/4/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Welcome back to Oscars Playback, in which Gold Derby editors and Experts Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng revisit Oscar ceremonies and winners of yesteryear. This week, we draw battle lines for the 71st Academy Awards in 1999, honoring the films of 1998.
One of the most infamous ceremonies in recent history, this contentious Best Picture contest culminated with “Shakespeare in Love” upsetting “Saving Private Ryan,” thanks to Harvey Weinstein‘s aggressive tactics, which ushered in the modern Oscar campaign. While Weinstein’s downfall and subsequent rape conviction in recent years have marred the period romance’s win, the film was saddled with the “undeserving winner” label long before that. We discuss why “Shakespeare’s” victory is not a bad win at all — even though “Saving Private Ryan” is the favorite movie of one of us.
See Revisiting the 1998 ceremony when ‘Titanic’ was king of the world
Weinstein’s Miramax was also behind “Life Is Beautiful,...
One of the most infamous ceremonies in recent history, this contentious Best Picture contest culminated with “Shakespeare in Love” upsetting “Saving Private Ryan,” thanks to Harvey Weinstein‘s aggressive tactics, which ushered in the modern Oscar campaign. While Weinstein’s downfall and subsequent rape conviction in recent years have marred the period romance’s win, the film was saddled with the “undeserving winner” label long before that. We discuss why “Shakespeare’s” victory is not a bad win at all — even though “Saving Private Ryan” is the favorite movie of one of us.
See Revisiting the 1998 ceremony when ‘Titanic’ was king of the world
Weinstein’s Miramax was also behind “Life Is Beautiful,...
- 4/28/2022
- by Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Direct from France, please welcome longtime reader / first time contributor Arnaud Trouvé to talk about the Cannes festival and share the new lineup... uPDATE 04/23: new additions indicated below under red headlines
Ruben Östlund's "Triangle of Sadness" © Sf Studios
by Arnaud Trouvé
My first encounter with the Cannes Film Festival was in 1998, when Roberto Benigni kissed Martin Scorsese’s feet after winning the Grand Prix for Life is Beautiful (which he mistakenly took for the Palme d’Or). Cannes ceremonies are always broadcast live on French TV and my interest grew rapidly over the years. Flash-forward to 2009: the Paris visual effects company I’m working for had to deliver over a hundred shots for an upcoming production destined for the Croisette. "It has to be ready for Cannes," was the motto as we worked on a very tight schedule. This production happened to be Gaspar Noé’s Enter The Void...
Ruben Östlund's "Triangle of Sadness" © Sf Studios
by Arnaud Trouvé
My first encounter with the Cannes Film Festival was in 1998, when Roberto Benigni kissed Martin Scorsese’s feet after winning the Grand Prix for Life is Beautiful (which he mistakenly took for the Palme d’Or). Cannes ceremonies are always broadcast live on French TV and my interest grew rapidly over the years. Flash-forward to 2009: the Paris visual effects company I’m working for had to deliver over a hundred shots for an upcoming production destined for the Croisette. "It has to be ready for Cannes," was the motto as we worked on a very tight schedule. This production happened to be Gaspar Noé’s Enter The Void...
- 4/14/2022
- by Arnaud Trouvé
- FilmExperience
Italian director Matteo Garrone, who was at the 2020 Berlinale with Roberto Benigni-starrer “Pinocchio,” is set to return to the director’s chair in March with coming-of-age adventure drama “Io Capitano,” on which France’s Pathé will be handling international distribution.
Garrone’s new pic, whose title translates as “I, Captain,” will be shot in Italy, Morocco and Senegal, marking the first time, Garrone –– a two-time Cannes jury prize-winner, with “Gomorrah” in 2008 and “Reality” in 2012 –– sets a feature film outside of Italy.
As is customary with Garrone, story details of “Io Capitano” are being kept under wraps, besides the fact that he wrote the screenplay with regular collaborators Massimo Gaudioso and Andrea Tagliaferri and actor Massimo Ceccherini (“Pinocchio”), who also contributed to the “Pinocchio” screenplay.
Rai Cinema chief Paolo Del Brocco told Variety that the film is “a coming-of-age adventure drama,” but declined to disclose further details, saying that Garrone does not want them disclosed.
Garrone’s new pic, whose title translates as “I, Captain,” will be shot in Italy, Morocco and Senegal, marking the first time, Garrone –– a two-time Cannes jury prize-winner, with “Gomorrah” in 2008 and “Reality” in 2012 –– sets a feature film outside of Italy.
As is customary with Garrone, story details of “Io Capitano” are being kept under wraps, besides the fact that he wrote the screenplay with regular collaborators Massimo Gaudioso and Andrea Tagliaferri and actor Massimo Ceccherini (“Pinocchio”), who also contributed to the “Pinocchio” screenplay.
Rai Cinema chief Paolo Del Brocco told Variety that the film is “a coming-of-age adventure drama,” but declined to disclose further details, saying that Garrone does not want them disclosed.
- 2/12/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Along with being one of the favorites in the best picture category, “Belfast” shepherded producer, writer and director Kenneth Branagh into Oscars history books.
With nominations for best picture (as one of the film’s producers) and original screenplay, Branagh is the first person to be nominated in seven individual Oscar categories, surpassing George Clooney, Alfonso Cuarón and Walt Disney, who were recognized in six.
In addition, Branagh joins Clooney and Warren Beatty as the only people to have received noms in every eligible major category — picture, director, lead or supporting acting and both original and adapted screenplay.
Prior to nominations, he received five noms over his respectable career, across different categories — director (“Henry V”), actor (“Henry V”), supporting actor (“My Week With Marilyn”), adapted screenplay (“Hamlet”) and live-action short (“Swan Song”).
Branagh has been a respected actor and director for over three decades. He took on the words of...
With nominations for best picture (as one of the film’s producers) and original screenplay, Branagh is the first person to be nominated in seven individual Oscar categories, surpassing George Clooney, Alfonso Cuarón and Walt Disney, who were recognized in six.
In addition, Branagh joins Clooney and Warren Beatty as the only people to have received noms in every eligible major category — picture, director, lead or supporting acting and both original and adapted screenplay.
Prior to nominations, he received five noms over his respectable career, across different categories — director (“Henry V”), actor (“Henry V”), supporting actor (“My Week With Marilyn”), adapted screenplay (“Hamlet”) and live-action short (“Swan Song”).
Branagh has been a respected actor and director for over three decades. He took on the words of...
- 2/8/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The public considers the Academy Awards as a Hollywood event. True, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is headquartered in Southern California, and most of the best pic contenders are American and/or in the English language. But Oscar history proves they have been an international event from the beginning.
In the first year (1927-28), there were nominations for directors Herbert Brenon (born in Ireland) and Lewis Milestone (born in Moldova), plus a special award to Charlie Chaplin (from the U.K.).
The next five years saw two noms apiece for directors Ernst Lubitsch (Germany) and Josef von Sternberg (Austria). And the second best actress Academy Award was given to Canadian Mary Pickford.
The early years of Oscar featured a slew of non-Americans. Aside from mega-star Chaplin, the list of early Academy Award winners includes Emil Jannings, George Arliss (U.K.), Claudette Colbert (raised in the U.S. but...
In the first year (1927-28), there were nominations for directors Herbert Brenon (born in Ireland) and Lewis Milestone (born in Moldova), plus a special award to Charlie Chaplin (from the U.K.).
The next five years saw two noms apiece for directors Ernst Lubitsch (Germany) and Josef von Sternberg (Austria). And the second best actress Academy Award was given to Canadian Mary Pickford.
The early years of Oscar featured a slew of non-Americans. Aside from mega-star Chaplin, the list of early Academy Award winners includes Emil Jannings, George Arliss (U.K.), Claudette Colbert (raised in the U.S. but...
- 1/22/2022
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Denzel Washington has two Oscars, a SAG award and over 270 other accolades. One honor he doesn’t have yet over his 40-year career is a single nomination from the BAFTA Awards. With somewhat of a home-field advantage for taking on the words of the Brits’ greatest dramatist William Shakespeare, could Washington finally receive his first nom for “The Tragedy of Macbeth”?
BAFTA is continuing to make a conscious effort to widen their net for diversity, both within its own membership and the films it honors. However, with a new voting method introduced last year following the results of their diversity review, the group threw the awards season for a loop with surprise selections. Instituting a jury into the voting process, performances such as Radha Blank (“The Forty-Year-Old Version”) and Adarsh Gourav (“The White Tiger”) managed to make the cut in favor of “safer” picks like eventual Oscar nominees Carey Mulligan...
BAFTA is continuing to make a conscious effort to widen their net for diversity, both within its own membership and the films it honors. However, with a new voting method introduced last year following the results of their diversity review, the group threw the awards season for a loop with surprise selections. Instituting a jury into the voting process, performances such as Radha Blank (“The Forty-Year-Old Version”) and Adarsh Gourav (“The White Tiger”) managed to make the cut in favor of “safer” picks like eventual Oscar nominees Carey Mulligan...
- 1/3/2022
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical film “Belfast” is opening in theaters this week and has already attracted an immense amount of Oscar buzz, currently sitting as the frontrunner for best picture, director and several other categories. With honors and audience awards from various festivals, the Focus Features black-and-white drama has the famed filmmaker on a path to make Oscar history.
For “Belfast,” Branagh serves as one of the producers, which makes him eligible to be nominated for best picture, along with director and original screenplay. He’s received five nominations during his career, all across different categories – director, actor, supporting actor (“My Week with Marilyn”), adapted screenplay (“Hamlet”) and live action short (“Swan Song”).
Pending any unforeseen catastrophe, Branagh is on track to add two new categories to his arsenal (picture and original screenplay). This possibility could set a couple of records for the Ireland native. First, he would tie George Clooney,...
For “Belfast,” Branagh serves as one of the producers, which makes him eligible to be nominated for best picture, along with director and original screenplay. He’s received five nominations during his career, all across different categories – director, actor, supporting actor (“My Week with Marilyn”), adapted screenplay (“Hamlet”) and live action short (“Swan Song”).
Pending any unforeseen catastrophe, Branagh is on track to add two new categories to his arsenal (picture and original screenplay). This possibility could set a couple of records for the Ireland native. First, he would tie George Clooney,...
- 11/8/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
“Finch,” which debuts on Apple TV+ on November 5, is a cinematic showcase for two-time Oscar champ Tom Hanks. He plays the titular character, who embarks on a perilous journey into the desolate American West following a cataclysmic solar event. Accompanied by his dog Goodyear and a robot named Jeff (Caleb Landry Jones), Finch must navigate the dangers of a new world while convincing his non-human companions to get along. Could “Finch” be Hanks’ vehicle to a seventh Oscar nomination and his first for Best Actor since 2000’s “Cast Away”?
See Miguel Sapochnik (‘Finch’ director) on his ‘partnership’ with Tom Hanks and creating a futuristic American West
Critics are lavishing praise on the Hollywood vet. “You’re probably not coming to Finch for lessons, you’re coming to Finch for Hanks,” writes Lindsey Bahr (Associated Press). “The good news is that he’s not just the reason to show up, he...
See Miguel Sapochnik (‘Finch’ director) on his ‘partnership’ with Tom Hanks and creating a futuristic American West
Critics are lavishing praise on the Hollywood vet. “You’re probably not coming to Finch for lessons, you’re coming to Finch for Hanks,” writes Lindsey Bahr (Associated Press). “The good news is that he’s not just the reason to show up, he...
- 11/5/2021
- by Denton Davidson
- Gold Derby
As its title suggests, “Nothing to Laugh About” addresses a serious subject.
The Norwegian film, directed by Petter Næss, centers on a 40-year-old successful stand-up comedian whose entire life changes in one single day: not only is his show cancelled, but he splits up with his girlfriend and also has to deal with a devastating diagnosis from his doctor – bone cancer.
“Nothing to Laugh About” had its international premiere last week at the Zurich Film Festival, having earlier launched in cinemas in Norway in the number two spot behind “Dune.”
Rather than focus on the cancer aspect of the film, the festival’s program notes describe the film as a “charming, heart-warming and humorous story of a man who sets out to rediscover his laughter.”
And this is exactly the kind of film that Næss – best known for directing Norway’s 2002 Oscar entry “Elling” – set out to make.
“When we were about to release it,...
The Norwegian film, directed by Petter Næss, centers on a 40-year-old successful stand-up comedian whose entire life changes in one single day: not only is his show cancelled, but he splits up with his girlfriend and also has to deal with a devastating diagnosis from his doctor – bone cancer.
“Nothing to Laugh About” had its international premiere last week at the Zurich Film Festival, having earlier launched in cinemas in Norway in the number two spot behind “Dune.”
Rather than focus on the cancer aspect of the film, the festival’s program notes describe the film as a “charming, heart-warming and humorous story of a man who sets out to rediscover his laughter.”
And this is exactly the kind of film that Næss – best known for directing Norway’s 2002 Oscar entry “Elling” – set out to make.
“When we were about to release it,...
- 10/3/2021
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers had Venice Film Festival attendees on their feet in the Sala Grande this evening, giving the opening night world premiere a nine-minute standing ovation. The movie, which traces the complicated relationship of two women (Penélope Cruz and newcomer Milena Smit) who meet in a hospital room where they are going to give birth, was screened for the press this morning and has received resoundingly positive reviews.
There are political undercurrents to Parallel Mothers which add drama to the melodrama while the comedic turns of some of Almodóvar’s work are eschewed — there are the trademark candy-colored flourishes, however. In Deadline’s review of the film, Stephanie Bunbury called Parallel Mothers “profoundly and sincerely about deep love and loss” and “a triumphant choice” for the opening night of the world’s oldest film festival.
Almodóvar was last on the Lido with his adaptation of Jean Cocteau...
There are political undercurrents to Parallel Mothers which add drama to the melodrama while the comedic turns of some of Almodóvar’s work are eschewed — there are the trademark candy-colored flourishes, however. In Deadline’s review of the film, Stephanie Bunbury called Parallel Mothers “profoundly and sincerely about deep love and loss” and “a triumphant choice” for the opening night of the world’s oldest film festival.
Almodóvar was last on the Lido with his adaptation of Jean Cocteau...
- 9/1/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The 78th Venice Film Festival opened on Wednesday with the world premiere of Pedro Almodóvar’s “Parallel Mothers,” starring Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit, who strutted down the walled-in red carpet alongside other top talent, and Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella.
Venice has been forced to place a wall-like outer barrier shielding the long catwalk entirely, in order to avoid close-knit crowds. But that did not diminish the balmy evening’s glamorous mood, pervaded with a spirit of restart.
Jury president Bong Joon Ho, after taking the stage, said, “We all believe the Corona Covid [crisis] will be over soon, yet the cinema will remain with us forever.”
The ceremony was hosted by Italian actor and singer Serena Rossi, who in her opening speech paid tribute to the crisis in Afghanistan.
“My thoughts to Afghan mothers, to those skinny arms on the barbed wire; to mothers ready with an extreme gesture to separate from their children,...
Venice has been forced to place a wall-like outer barrier shielding the long catwalk entirely, in order to avoid close-knit crowds. But that did not diminish the balmy evening’s glamorous mood, pervaded with a spirit of restart.
Jury president Bong Joon Ho, after taking the stage, said, “We all believe the Corona Covid [crisis] will be over soon, yet the cinema will remain with us forever.”
The ceremony was hosted by Italian actor and singer Serena Rossi, who in her opening speech paid tribute to the crisis in Afghanistan.
“My thoughts to Afghan mothers, to those skinny arms on the barbed wire; to mothers ready with an extreme gesture to separate from their children,...
- 9/1/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli and Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Bong Joon-ho was emotional and Jane Campion was touching but the evening belonged to Roberto Benigni.
The 78th Venice International Film Festival got off to an emotional start Wednesday night with host, Italian actor Serena Rossi, dedicating opening night to Afghan mothers forced to separate from their children in an attempt to save them from the Taliban. “We want to say to them: you are not alone,” said Rossi.
Initially, the scene at the Sala Grande, Venice’s gala theater, seemed oddly somber, a mood that wasn’t helped by images of a half-empty gallery —Covid-19 social distancing regulations meant ...
The 78th Venice International Film Festival got off to an emotional start Wednesday night with host, Italian actor Serena Rossi, dedicating opening night to Afghan mothers forced to separate from their children in an attempt to save them from the Taliban. “We want to say to them: you are not alone,” said Rossi.
Initially, the scene at the Sala Grande, Venice’s gala theater, seemed oddly somber, a mood that wasn’t helped by images of a half-empty gallery —Covid-19 social distancing regulations meant ...
Bong Joon-ho was emotional and Jane Campion was touching but the evening belonged to Roberto Benigni.
The 78th Venice International Film Festival got off to an emotional start Wednesday night with host, Italian actor Serena Rossi, dedicating opening night to Afghan mothers forced to separate from their children in an attempt to save them from the Taliban. “We want to say to them: you are not alone,” said Rossi.
Initially, the scene at the Sala Grande, Venice’s gala theater, seemed oddly somber, a mood that wasn’t helped by images of a half-empty gallery —Covid-19 social distancing regulations meant ...
The 78th Venice International Film Festival got off to an emotional start Wednesday night with host, Italian actor Serena Rossi, dedicating opening night to Afghan mothers forced to separate from their children in an attempt to save them from the Taliban. “We want to say to them: you are not alone,” said Rossi.
Initially, the scene at the Sala Grande, Venice’s gala theater, seemed oddly somber, a mood that wasn’t helped by images of a half-empty gallery —Covid-19 social distancing regulations meant ...
Pedro Almodóvar’s new film “Parallel Mothers,” starring Penelope Cruz, will open the upcoming Venice Film Festival in September.
Almodóvar’s hotly anticipated pic, which was shot during the pandemic, will world premiere on the Venice Lido in competition on September 1.
The film sees the Spanish auteur reuniting with Cruz, a frequent collaborator, most recently in Almodóvar’s 2019 “Pain and Glory” opposite Antonio Banderas. “Mothers” also stars former San Sebastián fest best actress winner Aitana Sánchez Gijón (“Volaverunt”) and newcomer Milena Smit (“No matarás”).
Almodóvar’ latest work centers on three mothers — portrayed by Cruz, Gijón and Smit — and expands his previous depictions of womanhood, by turning his focus on imperfect mothers, in a departure from his prior works exploring mothers and motherhood which include “All About My Mother” and “Pain and Glory.”
Sony Pictures Classics has rights for North America, Australia and New Zealand on the film which is produced...
Almodóvar’s hotly anticipated pic, which was shot during the pandemic, will world premiere on the Venice Lido in competition on September 1.
The film sees the Spanish auteur reuniting with Cruz, a frequent collaborator, most recently in Almodóvar’s 2019 “Pain and Glory” opposite Antonio Banderas. “Mothers” also stars former San Sebastián fest best actress winner Aitana Sánchez Gijón (“Volaverunt”) and newcomer Milena Smit (“No matarás”).
Almodóvar’ latest work centers on three mothers — portrayed by Cruz, Gijón and Smit — and expands his previous depictions of womanhood, by turning his focus on imperfect mothers, in a departure from his prior works exploring mothers and motherhood which include “All About My Mother” and “Pain and Glory.”
Sony Pictures Classics has rights for North America, Australia and New Zealand on the film which is produced...
- 7/19/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
After going virtual last year and not handing out any prizes due to the Covid pandemic, the 2021 Cannes Film Festival returned to form by announcing its winners on July 17. How many of these will figure in the upcoming Oscar race? We recap the results from the 74th edition of this foremost of film festivals and review its history as a forecaster of the Academy Awards.
The top award at Cannes is the Palme d’Or. Over the years, 40 winners of this prize have amassed 135 Academy Award nominations. Seventeen of these have claimed a combined 32 Oscars. This year, the Palme d’Or went to French filmmaker Julia Ducournau‘s “Titane.” Her dramatic thriller centers on a father reunited with his son who was missing for a decade during which several unexplained crimes were committed. Ducournau is the second woman to take this top prize following Jane Campion‘s breakthrough in 1993 with “The Piano.
The top award at Cannes is the Palme d’Or. Over the years, 40 winners of this prize have amassed 135 Academy Award nominations. Seventeen of these have claimed a combined 32 Oscars. This year, the Palme d’Or went to French filmmaker Julia Ducournau‘s “Titane.” Her dramatic thriller centers on a father reunited with his son who was missing for a decade during which several unexplained crimes were committed. Ducournau is the second woman to take this top prize following Jane Campion‘s breakthrough in 1993 with “The Piano.
- 7/18/2021
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
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