The hottest stars stepped out for the 2017 Latin Grammy Awards to celebrate the biggest night in Latin music at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Thursday night.
The three-hour show, hosted by Roselyn Sanchez and Jaime Camil, included sizzling performances by Luis Fonsi, Steve Aoki, Alessia Cara, J Balvin, Maluma and Person of the Year Alejandro Sanz, among others.
Juanes and Luis Fonsi were among the first winners of the night, with the "Despactio" singer taking home all four awards he was nominated for, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Shakira, who is currently on vocal rest and absent from the ceremony, won Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album for her latest record, El Dorado.
Et caught up with Fonsi, who was nominated for four Latin GRAMMYs, before the ceremony, where he expressed how much the awards show means to him.
Exclusive: Luis Fonsi on His Influential 20-Year Career and His Mission...
The three-hour show, hosted by Roselyn Sanchez and Jaime Camil, included sizzling performances by Luis Fonsi, Steve Aoki, Alessia Cara, J Balvin, Maluma and Person of the Year Alejandro Sanz, among others.
Juanes and Luis Fonsi were among the first winners of the night, with the "Despactio" singer taking home all four awards he was nominated for, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Shakira, who is currently on vocal rest and absent from the ceremony, won Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album for her latest record, El Dorado.
Et caught up with Fonsi, who was nominated for four Latin GRAMMYs, before the ceremony, where he expressed how much the awards show means to him.
Exclusive: Luis Fonsi on His Influential 20-Year Career and His Mission...
- 11/17/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
There’s a side of Gabrielle Union that her fans have never seen. In her new memoir, We’re Going to Need More Wine, which is out Tuesday, the 44-year-old actress gives readers an inside look at her life.
From growing up in Pleasanton, California, and spending summers in Omaha, Nebraska, where she and her cousin snuck boys into the house (unbeknownst to her grandmother) to becoming an actress, and even building a friendship of sorts with Prince (she landed invites to more than one of his epic parties), Union doesn't hold back. She also shares tidbits her love life, from old boyfriends to prenup negotiations with her husband, Dwyane Wade, as well harder-hitting topics like colorism, ageism, fertility struggles, and the importance of women owning their sexuality.
Although reliving parts of her past was understandably “terrifying," Union faced the tough stories in order to discover her “authentic self.” Whether it’s celebrating her triumphs, or shedding light on...
From growing up in Pleasanton, California, and spending summers in Omaha, Nebraska, where she and her cousin snuck boys into the house (unbeknownst to her grandmother) to becoming an actress, and even building a friendship of sorts with Prince (she landed invites to more than one of his epic parties), Union doesn't hold back. She also shares tidbits her love life, from old boyfriends to prenup negotiations with her husband, Dwyane Wade, as well harder-hitting topics like colorism, ageism, fertility struggles, and the importance of women owning their sexuality.
Although reliving parts of her past was understandably “terrifying," Union faced the tough stories in order to discover her “authentic self.” Whether it’s celebrating her triumphs, or shedding light on...
- 10/18/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
There have been a lot of takes on “The Wizard of Oz,” a lot of different points-of-view on the fantastical world originally created by the novels of L. Frank Baum in 1900. But NBC’s “Emerald City” is, to the best of my knowledge, the first one that transforms the flying monkeys of the classic 1939 musical adaptation into steampunk drones. They’re still recognizably flying monkeys, but to the residents of Oz, they’re just a random bit of technology, accepted as normal in a world that’s anything but.
There is something genuinely special about NBC’s “Emerald City,” premiering tonight — and not just because of its complicated journey to television, which included at least one total shutdown during the development phase before being reborn as a 10-episode series directed in its totality by Tarsem Singh, in a wide variety of exotic locations around the world.
Read More: The 24 Most...
There is something genuinely special about NBC’s “Emerald City,” premiering tonight — and not just because of its complicated journey to television, which included at least one total shutdown during the development phase before being reborn as a 10-episode series directed in its totality by Tarsem Singh, in a wide variety of exotic locations around the world.
Read More: The 24 Most...
- 1/6/2017
- by Liz Shannon Miller
- Indiewire
Keep up with the glitzy awards world with our weekly Awards Roundup column.
– Megan Ellison will receive the Producers Guild of America’s 2017 Visionary Award at the PGA Awards on January 28, 2017 in Los Angeles. The award recognizes television, film, or new media producers for their unique or uplifting contributions to our culture through inspiring storytelling or performance.
Ellison is being recognized with the award for her work as a fierce supporter of distinctive and creative voices in films such as “American Hustle,” “Her,” “The Master,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Foxcatcher,” and most recently “20th Century Women.”
Read More: Annette Bening to Receive Career Achievement Award, Ridley Scott Honored By Directors Guild and More
“Megan Ellison joined our industry when she founded Annapurna Pictures just over six years ago, and she got here just in time,” PGA awards chairs Donald De Line and Amy Pascal said in a statement. “Megan and her...
– Megan Ellison will receive the Producers Guild of America’s 2017 Visionary Award at the PGA Awards on January 28, 2017 in Los Angeles. The award recognizes television, film, or new media producers for their unique or uplifting contributions to our culture through inspiring storytelling or performance.
Ellison is being recognized with the award for her work as a fierce supporter of distinctive and creative voices in films such as “American Hustle,” “Her,” “The Master,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Foxcatcher,” and most recently “20th Century Women.”
Read More: Annette Bening to Receive Career Achievement Award, Ridley Scott Honored By Directors Guild and More
“Megan Ellison joined our industry when she founded Annapurna Pictures just over six years ago, and she got here just in time,” PGA awards chairs Donald De Line and Amy Pascal said in a statement. “Megan and her...
- 12/9/2016
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Plus: Production wraps in Canada on ‘The Stakelander’; and more…
Upcoming Hollywood releases Ghostbusters, The Legend Of Tarzan, and Mr. Church will screen at the 14th Ischia Global Film and Music Festival, which runs from July 10-17.
“We are truly pleased and excited that our friends at Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros Italy have chosen to screen three of their most important summer releases at Ischia Global,” said festival founder Pascal Vicedomini.
The festival will honour Bruce Beresford with the Ischia Legend Award. Beresford directs the Cinelou films production Mr. Church.
Revolution has acquired from Dallas-based Tango Films worldwide rights to five titles produced by Gk Films: Hugo, The Tourist, Edge Of Darkness, The Rum Diary, and The Young Victoria.The National Association Of Latino Independent Producers will present their annual Nalip Latino Media Awards on June 26 at the Nalip Media Summit in Hollywood. Oscar-winning director Juan José Campanella, who won the...
Upcoming Hollywood releases Ghostbusters, The Legend Of Tarzan, and Mr. Church will screen at the 14th Ischia Global Film and Music Festival, which runs from July 10-17.
“We are truly pleased and excited that our friends at Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros Italy have chosen to screen three of their most important summer releases at Ischia Global,” said festival founder Pascal Vicedomini.
The festival will honour Bruce Beresford with the Ischia Legend Award. Beresford directs the Cinelou films production Mr. Church.
Revolution has acquired from Dallas-based Tango Films worldwide rights to five titles produced by Gk Films: Hugo, The Tourist, Edge Of Darkness, The Rum Diary, and The Young Victoria.The National Association Of Latino Independent Producers will present their annual Nalip Latino Media Awards on June 26 at the Nalip Media Summit in Hollywood. Oscar-winning director Juan José Campanella, who won the...
- 6/21/2016
- by govi2016@lawnet.ucla.edu (Alec Govi)
- ScreenDaily
Visual consultant Haskell Wexler prior to a screening of “American Graffiti,” presented at Oscars® Outdoors by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday, August 2, 2013. credit: Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Haskell Wexler, one of Hollywood’s most famous and honored cinematographers and one whose innovative approach helped him win Oscars for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and the Woody Guthrie biopic “Bound for Glory,” died Sunday. He was 93.
From the AP:
Wexler died peacefully in his sleep, his son, Oscar-nominated sound man Jeff Wexler, told The Associated Press.
A liberal activist, Wexler photographed some of the most socially relevant and influential films of the 1960s and 1970s, including the Jane Fonda-Jon Voight anti-war classic, “Coming Home,” the Sidney Poitier-Rod Steiger racial drama “In the Heat of the Night” and the Oscar-winning adaptation of Ken Kesey’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Haskell Wexler, one of Hollywood’s most famous and honored cinematographers and one whose innovative approach helped him win Oscars for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and the Woody Guthrie biopic “Bound for Glory,” died Sunday. He was 93.
From the AP:
Wexler died peacefully in his sleep, his son, Oscar-nominated sound man Jeff Wexler, told The Associated Press.
A liberal activist, Wexler photographed some of the most socially relevant and influential films of the 1960s and 1970s, including the Jane Fonda-Jon Voight anti-war classic, “Coming Home,” the Sidney Poitier-Rod Steiger racial drama “In the Heat of the Night” and the Oscar-winning adaptation of Ken Kesey’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
- 12/27/2015
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Just a few years ago, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg surprised audiences with their rapturous chemistry, when they teamed up in the hilarious comedy "The Other Guys." Leaving fans like myself wanting more, it was just a matter of time before we would see them pair up in yet another comedy. That opportunity presented itself, when the script for 'Daddy's Home" came Will's way. The characters in the film had Will and Mark written all over them, which is precisely why Will thought Mark would be perfect for the other "dad" part in the film. It was also apparent at the recent NYC press conference for the film, that the two have a genuine, trusting friendship off-screen, which resonates onscreen and affirms why Mark follow's Will's guidance in being open and taking risks in comedy. Not that he needs much help, as Mark appears to be quite natural and comfortable in a comedy setting.
- 12/24/2015
- by Jenny Karakaya
- LRMonline.com
The George Lucas Family Foundation is giving a $10 million endowment to USC for students of color in the film school. The grant is aimed at recruiting students from underrepresented communities — particularly black and Latino ones — and represents the single largest donation for student support in the school's history, according to USC News. Starting in the fall of 2016, selected film students — both undergraduate and graduate — will be either George Lucas Scholars (for the boys) or Mellody Hobson scholars (for the girls). (Mellody Hobson is George Lucas's wife.) “Hispanic and African-American storytellers are underrepresented in the entertainment industry," said George Lucas, a USC alum. "It is Mellody’s and my privilege to provide this assistance to qualified students who want to contribute their unique experience and talent to telling their stories.” This isn't Lucas's first major gift: Back in 2006, he donated $175 million to USC's film...
- 10/28/2015
- by E. Alex Jung
- Vulture
A master at crafting popcorn-friendly fare, director Matthew Vaughn shows off a newfound range with The Kingsman: The Secret Service.
The throwback spy flick centers on a street kid (Taron Egerton) who is recruited by a top-notch spy organization. Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson also star in what proves to be a thrilling yet light-hearted adventure.
The Kingsman reunites Vaughn with his Kickass collaborator Mark Miller, who penned the comic book along with Dave Gibbons.
A distinguished filmmaker in his own right, Vaughn has a track record that ranges from indie gems like Layer Cake to much-hyped blockbusters such as X-Men: First Class.
Latino-Review had the chance to sit down with the London native to discuss how he handles criticism, his influences and how he hopes to grow as a director.
The Kingsman has been generating a lot of positive reviews. Is critical reception something that you pay attention to at all?...
The throwback spy flick centers on a street kid (Taron Egerton) who is recruited by a top-notch spy organization. Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson also star in what proves to be a thrilling yet light-hearted adventure.
The Kingsman reunites Vaughn with his Kickass collaborator Mark Miller, who penned the comic book along with Dave Gibbons.
A distinguished filmmaker in his own right, Vaughn has a track record that ranges from indie gems like Layer Cake to much-hyped blockbusters such as X-Men: First Class.
Latino-Review had the chance to sit down with the London native to discuss how he handles criticism, his influences and how he hopes to grow as a director.
The Kingsman has been generating a lot of positive reviews. Is critical reception something that you pay attention to at all?...
- 2/14/2015
- by Justine Browning
- LRMonline.com
Final Update, Sunday Am: Warner Bros. is reporting that American Sniper will raise its domestic cume to $200.1M through Sunday after a massive $64.4M weekened at 3,705 theaters, the third-highest weekend ever in January, behind Sniper’s opening last weekend, and Avatar’s third Fss of $68.5M.
That figure, should it hold into tomorrow, marks a mere 28-percent slip – the best second-week hold for a wide release ever for a film that debuted with more than $85M. Previous to this, the best big debuts to hold an audience were 2004’s Shrek 2 (down 33 percent in its second frame) and 2002’s Spider-Man (down 38 percent). American Sniper is marching toward $300M, a mark only six Warner Bros. films have passed.
“Many exhibitors are hearing from their theater managers that the infrequent moviegoers who go only two to three times a year, are coming out to see this movie,” said Warner Bros. distribution chief Dan Fellman.
That figure, should it hold into tomorrow, marks a mere 28-percent slip – the best second-week hold for a wide release ever for a film that debuted with more than $85M. Previous to this, the best big debuts to hold an audience were 2004’s Shrek 2 (down 33 percent in its second frame) and 2002’s Spider-Man (down 38 percent). American Sniper is marching toward $300M, a mark only six Warner Bros. films have passed.
“Many exhibitors are hearing from their theater managers that the infrequent moviegoers who go only two to three times a year, are coming out to see this movie,” said Warner Bros. distribution chief Dan Fellman.
- 1/25/2015
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures has released a lineup, along with new photos and dates, of their upcoming movies for 2015.
From dinosaurs to fairy tales, super heroes to galaxies far, far away, one of the most anticipated films next year is from director Steven Spielberg.
©DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Tom Hanks (left) stars in Spielberg’s (right) Untitled Cold War spy thriller, which is the true story of James Donovan, an attorney who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible mission to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot.
“This is one of the more astonishing stories about the Cold War I’d ever heard. James Donovan is a hero to me and Tom made him so completely accessible. I’ve always wanted to make a spy...
From dinosaurs to fairy tales, super heroes to galaxies far, far away, one of the most anticipated films next year is from director Steven Spielberg.
©DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Tom Hanks (left) stars in Spielberg’s (right) Untitled Cold War spy thriller, which is the true story of James Donovan, an attorney who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible mission to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot.
“This is one of the more astonishing stories about the Cold War I’d ever heard. James Donovan is a hero to me and Tom made him so completely accessible. I’ve always wanted to make a spy...
- 12/30/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Cyrus and Jeff, Who Lives At Home filmmaker Mark Duplass will return to South by Southwest to keynote the 2015 edition of the annual Austin film conference, organizers announced today. Like 2014’s popular keynote speaker Lena Dunham, Duplass is making a homecoming of sorts to SXSW where he launched his career in 2005 by winning the SXSW Audience Award with brother Jay for The Puffy Chair. Last year at SXSW he and director/co-writer/co-star Patrick Brice debuted their microbudget horror Creep which Radius-twc and Blumhouse Tilt jointly acquired.
Also stopping by the Austin fest held from March 13-21, 2015 will be Bollywood actor and director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth, The Four Feathers), who will lead a Conversation session. Over 150 keynotes, conversations, panels, and mentor sessions are in the works for the annual confab, which has yet to announce its full lineup.
As for film panels, I’ll be talking shop at “So You...
Also stopping by the Austin fest held from March 13-21, 2015 will be Bollywood actor and director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth, The Four Feathers), who will lead a Conversation session. Over 150 keynotes, conversations, panels, and mentor sessions are in the works for the annual confab, which has yet to announce its full lineup.
As for film panels, I’ll be talking shop at “So You...
- 10/21/2014
- by Jen Yamato
- Deadline
They're extra-ordinary so better be wary
Because they come in every shape and size
- size - size - size
He What?: It’s a column on Star Wars news and rumors and therefore contains Spoilers and Speculation. If you’re not into those things: I appreciate you clicking on this post, but I think it will just make you mad.
This Week: We’re in an Episode VII tailspin! I’ve been dropping some stuff, people on the internet disagree and some people on the internet have a lot more to say. And - Hey! We’re a community! And a community listens to each other.
Your Weekly Rebels Moment
Sometimes I hear rumors about things and I hold my head in my hands asking: where’s Star Wars: Rebels when you really need it?
This week saw the official release of A New Dawn, the first...
Because they come in every shape and size
- size - size - size
He What?: It’s a column on Star Wars news and rumors and therefore contains Spoilers and Speculation. If you’re not into those things: I appreciate you clicking on this post, but I think it will just make you mad.
This Week: We’re in an Episode VII tailspin! I’ve been dropping some stuff, people on the internet disagree and some people on the internet have a lot more to say. And - Hey! We’re a community! And a community listens to each other.
Your Weekly Rebels Moment
Sometimes I hear rumors about things and I hold my head in my hands asking: where’s Star Wars: Rebels when you really need it?
This week saw the official release of A New Dawn, the first...
- 9/5/2014
- by Da7e
- LRMonline.com
Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Big Bang, Sleepy Hollow, Once, P'hood, NCIS, Reign, Mindy Project and More
Got a scoop request? An anonymous tip you’re dying to share? Send any/all of the above to askausiello@tvline.com
Question: Any info on the Big Bang Theory season premiere? —Joey
Ausiello: For those curious about Sheldon’s whereabouts all summer, I can confirm that he did, in fact, get on that train (vs. just squatting in the station, as some have speculated). The bigger question you should be asking yourself is whether he ever stepped foot outside the train during his epic journey.
Related Big Bang Shutdown Averted as Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco Score...
Question: Any info on the Big Bang Theory season premiere? —Joey
Ausiello: For those curious about Sheldon’s whereabouts all summer, I can confirm that he did, in fact, get on that train (vs. just squatting in the station, as some have speculated). The bigger question you should be asking yourself is whether he ever stepped foot outside the train during his epic journey.
Related Big Bang Shutdown Averted as Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco Score...
- 8/5/2014
- TVLine.com
The large cast for J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII may have already been announced, but that hasn’t stopped new casting rumors from finding their way online. They originated with Latino Review, who suggested that Carrie Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd would be joining the production in a cameo role. That would certainly make sense, considering that George Lucas himself found cameos for his own children in the Star Wars prequels. But is there more here than meets the eye?
It didn’t take long for other rumors to trickle in, suggesting that Lourd’s part would be bigger than originally anticipated. According to The Daily Mail, she will be playing a younger version of Princess Leia, presumably in flashbacks:
“Although her daughter Billie Lourd, 21, is a relative unknown, director J.J. Abrams is said to have chosen her to play a young version of her mother’s character because of their visual similarities.
It didn’t take long for other rumors to trickle in, suggesting that Lourd’s part would be bigger than originally anticipated. According to The Daily Mail, she will be playing a younger version of Princess Leia, presumably in flashbacks:
“Although her daughter Billie Lourd, 21, is a relative unknown, director J.J. Abrams is said to have chosen her to play a young version of her mother’s character because of their visual similarities.
- 7/2/2014
- by James Garcia
- We Got This Covered
Um.
Did we break it?
All it took was one week of Star Wars: Episode VII news for me to completely turn around on how I view this production. If you try to form a narrative out of the production so far, all the rumors of infighting and tribulations really make this look like the end, not the pinnacle of Jj Abrams dependability as a blockbuster storyteller.
Somewhere around Alias, he wasn’t the Regarding Henry guy anymore and somewhere around Mi:3 everyone was eating up his storytelling philosophy like the “mystery box.” Then, Super 8 happened and the collective fandom was a bit disappointed in how that movie aped old Amblin movies without successfully planting the heart that made old Amblin films so successful.
Then, George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney and Lucas passed off his notes to Kathleen Kennedy who got Lawrence Kasdan, writer of the Original Trilogy sequels,...
Did we break it?
All it took was one week of Star Wars: Episode VII news for me to completely turn around on how I view this production. If you try to form a narrative out of the production so far, all the rumors of infighting and tribulations really make this look like the end, not the pinnacle of Jj Abrams dependability as a blockbuster storyteller.
Somewhere around Alias, he wasn’t the Regarding Henry guy anymore and somewhere around Mi:3 everyone was eating up his storytelling philosophy like the “mystery box.” Then, Super 8 happened and the collective fandom was a bit disappointed in how that movie aped old Amblin movies without successfully planting the heart that made old Amblin films so successful.
Then, George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney and Lucas passed off his notes to Kathleen Kennedy who got Lawrence Kasdan, writer of the Original Trilogy sequels,...
- 6/27/2014
- by Da7e
- LRMonline.com
Who will be this generation's Luke Skywalker? With J.J. Abrams now kicking off a new trilogy with "Star Wars: Episode 7," one that looks back at George Lucas' franchise and starts with the inclusion of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, while also looking forward with a cast of young up and comers that includes Oscar Isaac, John Boyega and Domhnall Gleeson (with Adam Driver reportedly the villain), who will be our new hero? Well Latino Review believes they have the answer (along with being "75% sure I know how 'Star Wars: Episode VII' ends"). Anyway, they claim that Boyega's character—who is not a Jedi or Padawan—will tie "into Star Wars’ greater universe" and "has echoes of Luke’s arc in 'A New Hope.' " Meaning, he's probably another everyman who doesn't realize the gifts he has. Other morsels include a suggestion that there will...
- 6/10/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
This Friday April 25th The Filadelfia celebrates its third annual edition with an impressive line up of the best of Latino film from Mexico to Chile to Colombia, The Us and even a film made with the youth of Philly. Opening night film will be the super 1943 classic ‘Maria Candelaria’ starring Dolores Del Rio. For those near the city of brotherly amor we’ve done ya homework and listed their films below!
Opening Night: Maria Candelaria (Mexico)
Starring Dolores del Rio and Pedro Armendáriz, Maria Candelaria was the first Mexican film to be screened at the Cannes International Film Festival, and the first Latin American film awarded the Gran Prix. Gabriel Figueroa, the film’s cinematographer, was nominated for an Academy Award for The Night of the Iguana, and is often referred to as “the Fourth Muralist” of Mexico.
A young journalist presses an old artist (Alberto Galán ) to show a portrait of a naked indigenous woman that he has in his study. The body of the movie is a flashback to Xochimilco, Mexico, in 1909. The film is set right before the Mexican Revolution, and Xochimilco is an area with beautiful landscapes inhabited mostly by indigenous people.
The woman in the painting is María Candelaria (Dolores del Rio), a young Indian woman who is constantly rejected by her own people for being the daughter of a prostitute. She and her lover, Lorenzo Rafael (Pedro Armendariz), face constant struggles throughout the film. They are honest and hardworking, yet nothing ever goes right for them. Don Damian (Miguel Inclán), a jealous Mestizo store owner who wants María for himself, prevents them from getting married. He kills a piglet that María and Lorenzo plan to sell for profit and he refuses to buy vegetables from them. When María falls ill with malaria, Don Damian refuses to give the couple the quinine medicine necessary to fight the disease. Lorenzo breaks into his shop to steal the medicine, and he also takes a wedding dress for María. Lorenzo goes to prison for stealing, and María agrees to model for the painter to pay for his release. The artist begins painting a portrait of María, but when he asks her to pose nude she refuses.
The artist finishes the painting with the nude body of another woman. When the people of Xochimilco see the painting, they assume it is María Candelaria and stone her to death.Finally, Lorenzo escapes from prison )to carry María's lifeless body through Xochimilco's canal of the dead.
Bad Hair/Pelo Malo (Venezuela)
The third film from the filmmaker and plastic artist Mariana Rondón, Pelo Malo stars Junior, a 9 year-old with "bad hair". He wants to have it straightened for his yearbook picture, like a fashionable pop singer. This puts him at odds with his mother Marta. The more Junior tries to look sharp and make his mother love him, the more she rejects him, until he is cornered, face to face with a painful decision.
To Kill A Man/Matar A Un Hombre (Chile)
Read the Review
Read the Interview with Dir. Alejandro Fernandez Almendras
A thriller about a hardworking family man Jorge who is just barely making ends meet. When he gets mugged by Kalule, a neighborhood delinquent, Jorge's son decides to confront Kalule, only to get himself shot in the process. Sentenced to a scant 2 years in prison for the offense, Kalule, released and now intent on revenge, goes on the warpath, terrorizing Jorge's family. With his wife, son and daughter at the mercy of a thug, Jorge has no choice but to take justice into his own hands, and live with the emotional and psychological consequences.
Lines of class and masculinity ignite friction in this rugged thriller, adeptly shot with a discerning eye. Director Alejandro Fernández Almendras elevates raw grit to a new level with a tone that is both elemental and prophetic. Rife with unnerving tension, To Kill a Man is ultimately a surprising exploration of the heavy burden of what it takes to do what the title suggests.
Anina (Colombia)
Read the Review
Anina Yatay Salas is a ten-year-old girl. All her names form palindromes, making her the butt of her classmates’ jokes, and especially of Yisel’s, who Anina sees as an “elephant.” One day, fed up with all the taunting, Anina starts a fight with Yisel during recess. The incident ends with the principal penalizing the girls and calling their parents.Anina receives her punishment inside a sealed black envelope, which she is told not to open until she meets with the principal again a week later.She is also forbidden to tell anyone about the envelope. Her classmates pressure her to find out what the punishment will be, while they imagine cruel physical torture.
Anina, in her anxiousness to find out what horrible punishment awaits her in the mysterious black envelope, will get mixed up in a series of troubles, involving secret loves, confessed hatreds, close friendships, dreadful enemies, some loving teachers, and also some evil teachers.Without her realizing it, Anina’s efforts to understand the content of the envelope turn into an attempt to understand the world and her place in it.
The Devil’S Music (USA)
When the new sound of jazz first spread across America in the early twentieth-century, it left delight – and controversy – in its wake.As jazz's popularity grew, so did campaigns to censor "the devil's music." This documentary classic has been hailed by the New York Times as a documentary that "addressing the complex interaction of race and class… engages viewers in a conversation as vigorous as the art it chronicles,” featuring timeless performances by artists such as Louis Armstrong and vocalist Rachelle Ferrelle, plus interviews with giants of social and musical criticism such as Albert Murray, Marian MacPartland, Studs Terkel, and Michael Eric Dyson. The Devil's Music is Written, Produced and Directed by Maria Agui Carter and Calvin A. Lindsay Jr., and Narrated by Dion Graham.
I, Undocumented/Yo, Indocumentada (Venezuela)
Yo Indocumentada (I, Undocumented) , exposes the struggles of transgender people in Venezuela. The film, Andrea Baranenko’s first feature-length production, tells the story of three Venezuelan women fighting for their right to have an identity.
Tamara Adrián, 58, is a lawyer; Desirée Pérez, 46, is a hairdresser; and Victoria González, 27, has been a visual arts student since 2009. These women share more than their nationality: they all carry identifications with masculine names that do not correspond to their actual identities. They are transgender women, who long ago assumed their gender and now defend it in a homophobic and transphobic society.
The House That Jack Built (USA )
Jack Maldonado is an ambitious Latino man who fueled by misguided nostalgia, buys a small apartment building in the Bronx and moves his family into the apartments to live rent-free. His parents, Carlos and Martha, sister Nadia, brother Richie and his wife Rosa, Grandmother/Abuela and cousins Hector and Manny, all under one roof. Tension builds quickly as Jack imposes his views on everyone around him, including his fiancée, Lily. All the while, he hides the fact that his corner store is a front for selling marijuana but soon has to deal with new unwanted competitive forces. It's only a matter of time before Jack's family and 'business' lives collide in tragic fashion.
Aqui Y Alla Crossing Borders (USA)
The “Aquí y Allá’ transnational public art project explored the impact of immigration in the lives of Mexican immigrant youth in Philadelphia in connection with youth in Chihuahua, Mexico. The documentary highlights the testimonials of the youth on both sides of the border working towards the creation of a collaborative mural in South Philadelphia.
Cesar’S Last Fast (USA)
Read the Review
In 1988, Cesar Chavez embarked on what would be his last act of protest in his remarkable life. Driven in part to pay penance for feeling he had not done enough, Chavez began his “Fast for Life,” a 36-day water-only hunger strike, to draw attention to the horrific effects of unfettered pesticide use on farm workers, their families, and their communities.
Using never-before-seen footage of Chavez during his fast and testimony from those closest to him, directors Richard Ray Perez and Lorena Parlee weave together the larger story of Chavez’s life, vision, and legacy. A deeply religious man, Chavez’s moral clarity in organizing and standing with farm workers at risk of his own life humbled his family, friends, and the world. Cesar’s Last Fast is a moving and definitive portrait of the leader of a people who became an American icon of struggle and freedom.
La Camioneta (Guantemala)
Every day dozens of decommissioned school buses leave the United States on a southward migration that carries them to Guatemala, where they are repaired, repainted, and resurrected as the brightly-colored camionetas that bring the vast majority of Guatemalans to work each day. La Camioneta follows one such bus on its transformative journey: a journey between North and South, between life and death, and through an unfolding collection of moments, people, and places that serve to quietly remind us of the interconnected worlds in which we live.
Forbidden Lovers Meant To Be (USA)
Working with talented high school students from North Philadelphia at Taller Puertorriqueño’s Youth Artist Program, filmmakers Joanna Siegel, Melissa Beatriz Skolnick, and Kate Zambon sought to capture the personal and artistic journeys of the youth through film. While facilitating collaborative film workshops with the students, themes of race/ethnicity, cultures, language, and identity emerged. Throughout this process of engaging in story development and visual representation, the students created a video of their own, while the filmmakers documented the process using metafilm techniques. The students' short film, Forbidden Lovers Meant to Be, highlights the talent and creativity of these youth. Forbidden Lovers Meant to Be was created by the spring 2012 Youth Artist Program participants: Amy Lee Flores, Ricardo Lopez, Michael Mendez, Zayris Rivera, Tashyra Suarez, Nestor Tamayo, Yoeni Torres, Karina Ureña Vargas, and Kara Williams. (Amy Lee Flores, Ricardo Lopez, Michael Mendez)
Tire Die (Argentina)
The first film of the first Latin American documentary film school (The Escuela Documental de Santa Fe), this documentary focuses on the children in the neighborhood known as Tire Dié in the city of Santa Fe, Argentina, who wait daily for the passing train to ask for money from the passengers, shouting “Tire dié!” (Toss me a dime!).
Dubbed as the father of the New Latin American Cinema, Fernando Birriwas one of the first filmmakers to document poverty and underdevelopment. Tire Dié was part of the exhibition, Latin American Visions, produced by International House, 1989-1991.
The Illiterates/Las Analfabetas (Chile)
Ximena, played by the incomparable Paulina García (Gloria) is an illiterate woman in her fifties, who has learned to live on her own to keep her illiteracy a secret. Jackeline, is a young unemployed elementary school teacher, who tries to convince Ximena to take reading classes. Persuading her proves to be an almost impossible task, till one day, Jackeline finds something Ximena has been keeping as her only treasure since she was a child: a letter Ximena’s father left when he abandoned her many years before. Thus, the two women embark on a learning journey where they discover that there are many ways of being illiterate, and that not knowing how to read is just one of them.
For the schedule please visit: http://flaff.org/
Written by Juan Caceres . LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow [At]LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook...
Opening Night: Maria Candelaria (Mexico)
Starring Dolores del Rio and Pedro Armendáriz, Maria Candelaria was the first Mexican film to be screened at the Cannes International Film Festival, and the first Latin American film awarded the Gran Prix. Gabriel Figueroa, the film’s cinematographer, was nominated for an Academy Award for The Night of the Iguana, and is often referred to as “the Fourth Muralist” of Mexico.
A young journalist presses an old artist (Alberto Galán ) to show a portrait of a naked indigenous woman that he has in his study. The body of the movie is a flashback to Xochimilco, Mexico, in 1909. The film is set right before the Mexican Revolution, and Xochimilco is an area with beautiful landscapes inhabited mostly by indigenous people.
The woman in the painting is María Candelaria (Dolores del Rio), a young Indian woman who is constantly rejected by her own people for being the daughter of a prostitute. She and her lover, Lorenzo Rafael (Pedro Armendariz), face constant struggles throughout the film. They are honest and hardworking, yet nothing ever goes right for them. Don Damian (Miguel Inclán), a jealous Mestizo store owner who wants María for himself, prevents them from getting married. He kills a piglet that María and Lorenzo plan to sell for profit and he refuses to buy vegetables from them. When María falls ill with malaria, Don Damian refuses to give the couple the quinine medicine necessary to fight the disease. Lorenzo breaks into his shop to steal the medicine, and he also takes a wedding dress for María. Lorenzo goes to prison for stealing, and María agrees to model for the painter to pay for his release. The artist begins painting a portrait of María, but when he asks her to pose nude she refuses.
The artist finishes the painting with the nude body of another woman. When the people of Xochimilco see the painting, they assume it is María Candelaria and stone her to death.Finally, Lorenzo escapes from prison )to carry María's lifeless body through Xochimilco's canal of the dead.
Bad Hair/Pelo Malo (Venezuela)
The third film from the filmmaker and plastic artist Mariana Rondón, Pelo Malo stars Junior, a 9 year-old with "bad hair". He wants to have it straightened for his yearbook picture, like a fashionable pop singer. This puts him at odds with his mother Marta. The more Junior tries to look sharp and make his mother love him, the more she rejects him, until he is cornered, face to face with a painful decision.
To Kill A Man/Matar A Un Hombre (Chile)
Read the Review
Read the Interview with Dir. Alejandro Fernandez Almendras
A thriller about a hardworking family man Jorge who is just barely making ends meet. When he gets mugged by Kalule, a neighborhood delinquent, Jorge's son decides to confront Kalule, only to get himself shot in the process. Sentenced to a scant 2 years in prison for the offense, Kalule, released and now intent on revenge, goes on the warpath, terrorizing Jorge's family. With his wife, son and daughter at the mercy of a thug, Jorge has no choice but to take justice into his own hands, and live with the emotional and psychological consequences.
Lines of class and masculinity ignite friction in this rugged thriller, adeptly shot with a discerning eye. Director Alejandro Fernández Almendras elevates raw grit to a new level with a tone that is both elemental and prophetic. Rife with unnerving tension, To Kill a Man is ultimately a surprising exploration of the heavy burden of what it takes to do what the title suggests.
Anina (Colombia)
Read the Review
Anina Yatay Salas is a ten-year-old girl. All her names form palindromes, making her the butt of her classmates’ jokes, and especially of Yisel’s, who Anina sees as an “elephant.” One day, fed up with all the taunting, Anina starts a fight with Yisel during recess. The incident ends with the principal penalizing the girls and calling their parents.Anina receives her punishment inside a sealed black envelope, which she is told not to open until she meets with the principal again a week later.She is also forbidden to tell anyone about the envelope. Her classmates pressure her to find out what the punishment will be, while they imagine cruel physical torture.
Anina, in her anxiousness to find out what horrible punishment awaits her in the mysterious black envelope, will get mixed up in a series of troubles, involving secret loves, confessed hatreds, close friendships, dreadful enemies, some loving teachers, and also some evil teachers.Without her realizing it, Anina’s efforts to understand the content of the envelope turn into an attempt to understand the world and her place in it.
The Devil’S Music (USA)
When the new sound of jazz first spread across America in the early twentieth-century, it left delight – and controversy – in its wake.As jazz's popularity grew, so did campaigns to censor "the devil's music." This documentary classic has been hailed by the New York Times as a documentary that "addressing the complex interaction of race and class… engages viewers in a conversation as vigorous as the art it chronicles,” featuring timeless performances by artists such as Louis Armstrong and vocalist Rachelle Ferrelle, plus interviews with giants of social and musical criticism such as Albert Murray, Marian MacPartland, Studs Terkel, and Michael Eric Dyson. The Devil's Music is Written, Produced and Directed by Maria Agui Carter and Calvin A. Lindsay Jr., and Narrated by Dion Graham.
I, Undocumented/Yo, Indocumentada (Venezuela)
Yo Indocumentada (I, Undocumented) , exposes the struggles of transgender people in Venezuela. The film, Andrea Baranenko’s first feature-length production, tells the story of three Venezuelan women fighting for their right to have an identity.
Tamara Adrián, 58, is a lawyer; Desirée Pérez, 46, is a hairdresser; and Victoria González, 27, has been a visual arts student since 2009. These women share more than their nationality: they all carry identifications with masculine names that do not correspond to their actual identities. They are transgender women, who long ago assumed their gender and now defend it in a homophobic and transphobic society.
The House That Jack Built (USA )
Jack Maldonado is an ambitious Latino man who fueled by misguided nostalgia, buys a small apartment building in the Bronx and moves his family into the apartments to live rent-free. His parents, Carlos and Martha, sister Nadia, brother Richie and his wife Rosa, Grandmother/Abuela and cousins Hector and Manny, all under one roof. Tension builds quickly as Jack imposes his views on everyone around him, including his fiancée, Lily. All the while, he hides the fact that his corner store is a front for selling marijuana but soon has to deal with new unwanted competitive forces. It's only a matter of time before Jack's family and 'business' lives collide in tragic fashion.
Aqui Y Alla Crossing Borders (USA)
The “Aquí y Allá’ transnational public art project explored the impact of immigration in the lives of Mexican immigrant youth in Philadelphia in connection with youth in Chihuahua, Mexico. The documentary highlights the testimonials of the youth on both sides of the border working towards the creation of a collaborative mural in South Philadelphia.
Cesar’S Last Fast (USA)
Read the Review
In 1988, Cesar Chavez embarked on what would be his last act of protest in his remarkable life. Driven in part to pay penance for feeling he had not done enough, Chavez began his “Fast for Life,” a 36-day water-only hunger strike, to draw attention to the horrific effects of unfettered pesticide use on farm workers, their families, and their communities.
Using never-before-seen footage of Chavez during his fast and testimony from those closest to him, directors Richard Ray Perez and Lorena Parlee weave together the larger story of Chavez’s life, vision, and legacy. A deeply religious man, Chavez’s moral clarity in organizing and standing with farm workers at risk of his own life humbled his family, friends, and the world. Cesar’s Last Fast is a moving and definitive portrait of the leader of a people who became an American icon of struggle and freedom.
La Camioneta (Guantemala)
Every day dozens of decommissioned school buses leave the United States on a southward migration that carries them to Guatemala, where they are repaired, repainted, and resurrected as the brightly-colored camionetas that bring the vast majority of Guatemalans to work each day. La Camioneta follows one such bus on its transformative journey: a journey between North and South, between life and death, and through an unfolding collection of moments, people, and places that serve to quietly remind us of the interconnected worlds in which we live.
Forbidden Lovers Meant To Be (USA)
Working with talented high school students from North Philadelphia at Taller Puertorriqueño’s Youth Artist Program, filmmakers Joanna Siegel, Melissa Beatriz Skolnick, and Kate Zambon sought to capture the personal and artistic journeys of the youth through film. While facilitating collaborative film workshops with the students, themes of race/ethnicity, cultures, language, and identity emerged. Throughout this process of engaging in story development and visual representation, the students created a video of their own, while the filmmakers documented the process using metafilm techniques. The students' short film, Forbidden Lovers Meant to Be, highlights the talent and creativity of these youth. Forbidden Lovers Meant to Be was created by the spring 2012 Youth Artist Program participants: Amy Lee Flores, Ricardo Lopez, Michael Mendez, Zayris Rivera, Tashyra Suarez, Nestor Tamayo, Yoeni Torres, Karina Ureña Vargas, and Kara Williams. (Amy Lee Flores, Ricardo Lopez, Michael Mendez)
Tire Die (Argentina)
The first film of the first Latin American documentary film school (The Escuela Documental de Santa Fe), this documentary focuses on the children in the neighborhood known as Tire Dié in the city of Santa Fe, Argentina, who wait daily for the passing train to ask for money from the passengers, shouting “Tire dié!” (Toss me a dime!).
Dubbed as the father of the New Latin American Cinema, Fernando Birriwas one of the first filmmakers to document poverty and underdevelopment. Tire Dié was part of the exhibition, Latin American Visions, produced by International House, 1989-1991.
The Illiterates/Las Analfabetas (Chile)
Ximena, played by the incomparable Paulina García (Gloria) is an illiterate woman in her fifties, who has learned to live on her own to keep her illiteracy a secret. Jackeline, is a young unemployed elementary school teacher, who tries to convince Ximena to take reading classes. Persuading her proves to be an almost impossible task, till one day, Jackeline finds something Ximena has been keeping as her only treasure since she was a child: a letter Ximena’s father left when he abandoned her many years before. Thus, the two women embark on a learning journey where they discover that there are many ways of being illiterate, and that not knowing how to read is just one of them.
For the schedule please visit: http://flaff.org/
Written by Juan Caceres . LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow [At]LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook...
- 4/23/2014
- by Juan Caceres
- Sydney's Buzz
Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn was speaking at the Tribeca Film Festival today in New York and had much to say about the new upcoming Star Wars trilogy.
Check out the video courtesy of Bloomberg TV
Interesting. For those at work who can’t watch the video Alan Horn said the following:
In terms of casting, Horn says they’re almost completly cast, yet not ready to announce. Good. Gives us more time to hunt casting scoops!
“We’re not prepared to announce it yet but we will be very shortly announcing what we’re doing….We did some second unit work in Abu Dhabi and other places, because we have all these locations we have to film and we have to give it that “Star Warsian,” if I can use that as an adjective, look. So we needed to go to different places that give us the right...
Check out the video courtesy of Bloomberg TV
Interesting. For those at work who can’t watch the video Alan Horn said the following:
In terms of casting, Horn says they’re almost completly cast, yet not ready to announce. Good. Gives us more time to hunt casting scoops!
“We’re not prepared to announce it yet but we will be very shortly announcing what we’re doing….We did some second unit work in Abu Dhabi and other places, because we have all these locations we have to film and we have to give it that “Star Warsian,” if I can use that as an adjective, look. So we needed to go to different places that give us the right...
- 4/22/2014
- by El Mayimbe
- LRMonline.com
Jawas, Tusken Raiders, Hutts, Mos Eisley, Toshi Station, you know, Tatooine.
Looks like the first installment in the latter trilogy, Jj Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII is going to movie production to Abu Dhabi. The Capitol of the United Arab Emirates, because it’s better than just building a green screen only as tall as Liam Neeson, George Lucas.
THR reports:
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Star Wars: Episode VII will shoot in and around the city-state, which is part of the United Arab Emirates, beginning mid-May. Sources also say it would be a four-week shoot.
It’s hard to drum up an opinion about a location, but I suppose it’s nice to feel some symmetry to the new installment, considering going to Tatooine is more a tradition in these films than a chance. Empire is the only one without it.
Wait…The Empire Strikes Back is awesome.
Looks like the first installment in the latter trilogy, Jj Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII is going to movie production to Abu Dhabi. The Capitol of the United Arab Emirates, because it’s better than just building a green screen only as tall as Liam Neeson, George Lucas.
THR reports:
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Star Wars: Episode VII will shoot in and around the city-state, which is part of the United Arab Emirates, beginning mid-May. Sources also say it would be a four-week shoot.
It’s hard to drum up an opinion about a location, but I suppose it’s nice to feel some symmetry to the new installment, considering going to Tatooine is more a tradition in these films than a chance. Empire is the only one without it.
Wait…The Empire Strikes Back is awesome.
- 4/11/2014
- by Da7e
- LRMonline.com
prej·u·dice
ˈprejədəs
noun
1. preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.
With the knowledge that the Star Wars crew has been to Tatooine and is heading back to Pinewood Studios, this from THR’s Heat Vision blog:
All of these many parallels between projects speaks to a continuity between the relaunched franchise and its original incarnation that is likely to calm the nerves of many an anxious fan.
But it also may point to Abrams’ own Star Wars fandom — he has spoken on numerous occasions about the impact George Lucas’ original trilogy had on him — and bring a nostalgia to the new series that could overwhelm its forward momentum if left unchecked. (Disney chief Alan Horn, in an interview with THR‘s Stephen Galloway on April 2, had admitted problems with getting the script right and revealed that the film is already shooting.)
As much as...
ˈprejədəs
noun
1. preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.
With the knowledge that the Star Wars crew has been to Tatooine and is heading back to Pinewood Studios, this from THR’s Heat Vision blog:
All of these many parallels between projects speaks to a continuity between the relaunched franchise and its original incarnation that is likely to calm the nerves of many an anxious fan.
But it also may point to Abrams’ own Star Wars fandom — he has spoken on numerous occasions about the impact George Lucas’ original trilogy had on him — and bring a nostalgia to the new series that could overwhelm its forward momentum if left unchecked. (Disney chief Alan Horn, in an interview with THR‘s Stephen Galloway on April 2, had admitted problems with getting the script right and revealed that the film is already shooting.)
As much as...
- 4/9/2014
- by Da7e
- LRMonline.com
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that the production crew for J.J. Abrams’s Star Wars: Episode VII is preparing to rebuild, and recreate, the fictional planet of Tatooine in anticipation of some principal photography that takes place on that world. This won’t be the first time that Tatooine has been remade. Aside from its appearance in the original trilogy, Lucas brought it back to life for the prequels. But, as Lucas was known to do the second time around, a great deal of it was digitally-rendered in the prequels.
It would appear Abrams wants to take a more authentic approach, and is having the Tatooine set constructed in the middle of a Morocco-like desert. The report says that the recreation will be extensive, as the new film will once again visit the home world of the Skywalker clan.
As of now, there’s no information on which desert will...
It would appear Abrams wants to take a more authentic approach, and is having the Tatooine set constructed in the middle of a Morocco-like desert. The report says that the recreation will be extensive, as the new film will once again visit the home world of the Skywalker clan.
As of now, there’s no information on which desert will...
- 4/9/2014
- by Mario-Francisco Robles
- LRMonline.com
It's been a pretty wild few days for fans of the "Indiana Jones" franchise. Late Tuesday night, word dropped that Disney was considering a reboot of the beloved series, and had Bradley Cooper down on their list of names of potential people to take over the role. The Internet collectively freaked, and it wasn't long for industry folks associated with the franchise to weigh in, with producer Frank Marshall calling the rumors "ridiculous." Now another name associated in the Indiana Jones report has taken the denial a step further. Frank Darabont, who had previously written installments of "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (and penned "Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods" as the proposed fourth movie before it was rejected by George Lucas) was said by Latino Review to have apparently pitched an idea for a new feature film to Disney suits. Well, according to him, that never happened.
- 3/28/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
We know where he can get the satchel.
Update: Slashfilm contacted a high-placing source who told them the below story is not true. Stay tuned.
Let’s face some hard facts people, Harrison Ford is 71 years old and movie studios don’t give up on making money. Disney and Lucasfilm might be looking at the James Bond approach when it comes to Indians Jones, that is having a different actor take the helm when it’s time. That time is usually determined by bank-ability and the actor’s contract.
Can Ford still swing by the whip and hang from a moving vehicle? With some good camera work, stunt people and timing I bet he can. I for one would love to see Ford as Indiana Jones one last time, a fantastic send off with Spielberg and without Lucas and CGI. We all have dreams.
Latino-Review reports that Bradley Cooper...
Update: Slashfilm contacted a high-placing source who told them the below story is not true. Stay tuned.
Let’s face some hard facts people, Harrison Ford is 71 years old and movie studios don’t give up on making money. Disney and Lucasfilm might be looking at the James Bond approach when it comes to Indians Jones, that is having a different actor take the helm when it’s time. That time is usually determined by bank-ability and the actor’s contract.
Can Ford still swing by the whip and hang from a moving vehicle? With some good camera work, stunt people and timing I bet he can. I for one would love to see Ford as Indiana Jones one last time, a fantastic send off with Spielberg and without Lucas and CGI. We all have dreams.
Latino-Review reports that Bradley Cooper...
- 3/26/2014
- by Graham McMorrow
- City of Films
Art by Mathew Reynolds
An interesting rumor surrounding Indiana Jones has hit, and it originates from our friends at Latino Review. They say that Disney and Lucasfilm are preparing to develop a new Indiana Jones trilogy if their sequel with Harrison Ford doesn't work out.
There is still a chance that Ford will make a fifth film, but according to the site, "the window of making that happen is getting smaller and smaller. There is a date and if Indiana Jones 5 is not moving forward by then, the studios are 100% prepared to recast a younger Dr. Jones and ready up a new trilogy."
The new films won't necessarily be a reboot of the franchise, they are looking at it as more of a James Bond type situation. This means they are just planning to recast the role and continue the adventures the same way that Sean Connery, Roger Moore,...
An interesting rumor surrounding Indiana Jones has hit, and it originates from our friends at Latino Review. They say that Disney and Lucasfilm are preparing to develop a new Indiana Jones trilogy if their sequel with Harrison Ford doesn't work out.
There is still a chance that Ford will make a fifth film, but according to the site, "the window of making that happen is getting smaller and smaller. There is a date and if Indiana Jones 5 is not moving forward by then, the studios are 100% prepared to recast a younger Dr. Jones and ready up a new trilogy."
The new films won't necessarily be a reboot of the franchise, they are looking at it as more of a James Bond type situation. This means they are just planning to recast the role and continue the adventures the same way that Sean Connery, Roger Moore,...
- 3/26/2014
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have plans to continue their lucrative “Indiana Jones” franchise with Harrison Ford reprising his iconic role at least one more time, but they also have a contingency plan, according to the newest rumor going around courtesy of Latino Review. The Lr guys report Disney have a specific start date in mind for “Indiana Jones V,” and if a new film starring Ford as Indy won’t come together by then, they are prepared to recast the role with a young actor able to relaunch the franchise with a brand new iteration of the franchise. And they [...]
The post Bradley Cooper Rumored to Be Top Choice for ‘Indiana Jones’ Reboot appeared first on Up and Comers.
The post Bradley Cooper Rumored to Be Top Choice for ‘Indiana Jones’ Reboot appeared first on Up and Comers.
- 3/26/2014
- by Linda Ge
- UpandComers
News Simon Brew 26 Mar 2014 - 07:06
If Indiana Jones 5 doesn't get moving soon, it looks as if Harrison Ford may be replaced in the title role...
The current state of play with Indiana Jones 5 is that it's now a wholly Disney-owned project, with the studio having snapped up the remaining rights to it from Paramount towards the end of last year. Furthermore, Harrison Ford remains interested.
George Lucas? Less so, it seems, as he's in semi-retirement now. Steven Spielberg? It's feasible he's done with Indy too, having suggested that his own action movie directing days are done. But one way or another, he's still got a huge influence over Indiana Jones 5, whether he directs it or not.
The issue though is that Harrison Ford isn't getting younger, and it's already looking like he's committed to doing at least one Star Wars film in the year or two ahead.
If Indiana Jones 5 doesn't get moving soon, it looks as if Harrison Ford may be replaced in the title role...
The current state of play with Indiana Jones 5 is that it's now a wholly Disney-owned project, with the studio having snapped up the remaining rights to it from Paramount towards the end of last year. Furthermore, Harrison Ford remains interested.
George Lucas? Less so, it seems, as he's in semi-retirement now. Steven Spielberg? It's feasible he's done with Indy too, having suggested that his own action movie directing days are done. But one way or another, he's still got a huge influence over Indiana Jones 5, whether he directs it or not.
The issue though is that Harrison Ford isn't getting younger, and it's already looking like he's committed to doing at least one Star Wars film in the year or two ahead.
- 3/26/2014
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
(The illustrated art above is by Mathew Reynolds, which you can check out more of his stuff Here)
Before we get into this nugget of info, let’s give you a quick cinematic history lesson.
Uncle George and Spielberg took a little trip to Hawaii in May 1977 during the release of Star Wars. While soaking up the sun and drinking Mojitos on the beach, Spielberg mentioned how much he’d love to direct a James Bond movie.
The man in flannel (Lucas) hit him with an idea he was toying with based upon the cliffhanger adventure serials of the 1930s. Three years later, Spielberg was directing Raiders of The Lost Ark and the rest is history.
You see Spielberg and Lucas always saw Indy as their own James Bond type movies and now it appears that they might look like 007 even more.
Our ever reliable sources (same folks who told...
Before we get into this nugget of info, let’s give you a quick cinematic history lesson.
Uncle George and Spielberg took a little trip to Hawaii in May 1977 during the release of Star Wars. While soaking up the sun and drinking Mojitos on the beach, Spielberg mentioned how much he’d love to direct a James Bond movie.
The man in flannel (Lucas) hit him with an idea he was toying with based upon the cliffhanger adventure serials of the 1930s. Three years later, Spielberg was directing Raiders of The Lost Ark and the rest is history.
You see Spielberg and Lucas always saw Indy as their own James Bond type movies and now it appears that they might look like 007 even more.
Our ever reliable sources (same folks who told...
- 3/26/2014
- by Kellvin Chavez
- LRMonline.com
Today Disney CEO Bob Iger talked to shareholders, which – since Disney is the home of a ton of high priced franchises – also resulted in an info dump on a bunch of projects.
Things that aren’t as important? From Pixar there’s gonna be an Incredibles 2 (snore) and another Cars (car-snore), don’t expect any hand-drawn 2D animation from Disney anytime soon, Pirates of the Caribbean 5 actually hasn’t been green-lit yet, Marvel is awesome.
But – we did get official word on Star Wars Episode VII, which is rare these days. One of the things discussed was an official start date: May 2014. Which we were reporting as of July last year.
The other news is that despite George Lucas constantly defining Episode VII as 10-20 years past Return of the Jedi, whatever version of the story that’s actually going before cameras in May will take place a full...
Things that aren’t as important? From Pixar there’s gonna be an Incredibles 2 (snore) and another Cars (car-snore), don’t expect any hand-drawn 2D animation from Disney anytime soon, Pirates of the Caribbean 5 actually hasn’t been green-lit yet, Marvel is awesome.
But – we did get official word on Star Wars Episode VII, which is rare these days. One of the things discussed was an official start date: May 2014. Which we were reporting as of July last year.
The other news is that despite George Lucas constantly defining Episode VII as 10-20 years past Return of the Jedi, whatever version of the story that’s actually going before cameras in May will take place a full...
- 3/18/2014
- by Da7e
- LRMonline.com
Heavy breathing, hammering heart and outrageous enthusiasm in the form of tiny little squeals were just some of the things I experienced right after receiving a text from my editor last summer asking me If I was available and wanted to attend a set visit for Xmen. Umm, let’s not kid ourselves. Considering the film has an amazing all-star A-list cast and the prequel, First Class is pretty kick-ass, naturally it was a no-brainer. However, when I discovered Michael Fassbender, Hugh Jackman and James McAvoy would be filming on set that day. I jumped on the chance like a cheetah on its prey.
Soon after that, this over-heated and grateful gal, flew out to Montreal on a very hot August day, to join a select group of equally curious and enthusiastic reporters. The morning after our arrival, we met our sweet Fox rep, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, to be driven...
Soon after that, this over-heated and grateful gal, flew out to Montreal on a very hot August day, to join a select group of equally curious and enthusiastic reporters. The morning after our arrival, we met our sweet Fox rep, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, to be driven...
- 2/20/2014
- by Jenny Karakaya
- LRMonline.com
Once the dust settled in the wake of Disney’s acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, many movie geeks sat back and started thinking about all the possibilities for the future. One of the most intriguing of the bunch was the idea that maybe the House of Mouse would farm out some work in a “galaxy far, far, away” to its friends over at Pixar. Well, according to Latino review, that’s what’s happening now. With work already underway on Star Wars: Episode VII, and several other projects in various stages of development, Lr’s sources say that Disney has given Pixar the opportunity to add its own animated tale to Lucas’ universe. Of course, every good movie rumor comes with naysayers – and the folks over at Bleeding Cool are...
Read More...
Read More...
- 1/23/2014
- by Mike Bracken
- Movies.com
Actor who played Princess Leia reports that she, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford will return, though Hamill himself refuses to be drawn
• More on Star Wars
The three iconic actors at the centre of the original Star Wars trilogy will begin shooting Jj Abrams' Episode VII in April, according to Carrie Fisher.
Fisher, who played Princess Leia in 1977's Star Wars and its two sequels, told TV Guide not only that the key leads would return, but that filming was due to start later this spring. She added that she was looking forward to getting back into character. "I'd like to wear my old [cinnamon buns] hairstyle again – but with white hair," the Press Association reported her as saying. "I think that would be funny."
Mark Hamill, who portrayed Luke Skywalker, yesterday refused to be drawn on rumours he will return to his best known role. In a Q&A session on Reddit,...
• More on Star Wars
The three iconic actors at the centre of the original Star Wars trilogy will begin shooting Jj Abrams' Episode VII in April, according to Carrie Fisher.
Fisher, who played Princess Leia in 1977's Star Wars and its two sequels, told TV Guide not only that the key leads would return, but that filming was due to start later this spring. She added that she was looking forward to getting back into character. "I'd like to wear my old [cinnamon buns] hairstyle again – but with white hair," the Press Association reported her as saying. "I think that would be funny."
Mark Hamill, who portrayed Luke Skywalker, yesterday refused to be drawn on rumours he will return to his best known role. In a Q&A session on Reddit,...
- 1/23/2014
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
We knew the marriage of Disney and LucasFilm would lead to exciting projects, most tied to George Lucas’ universe. J.J. Abrams is hard at work on Episode VII, and the rumors of spin-off movies abound. But we never thought that Star Wars would or could combine with Disney’s other partners… until now. Pixar, according to reports, has been given a Star Wars movie. At least, that’s what fanboy site Latino-Review is reporting (and the site has been trustworthy in the past). Details on the potential project are scarce, though the site mentions the ongoing project happening behind the scenes to line up all the Star Wars canon into a workable narrative. “Once the canon-purge is over and Episode VII is in production,...
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- 1/22/2014
- by affiliates@fandango.com
- Fandango
Because Disney's "Star Wars" plans are massive, with sequels and spinoffs already planned, the rumor mill won't just be churning around the upcoming J.J. Abrams-directed "Star Wars: Episode VII" (though yes, since it's due in 2015, it will be taking center stage of the news cycle). Indeed, fans are most curious about the side movies that aren't part of the main saga, and the other opportunities Disney will exploit to keep milking the money train that is George Lucas' franchise. And now comes an intriguing morsel that is potentially quite exciting. According to Latino Review, Pixar will be getting its own "Star Wars" movie... and that's about all the details right now. But the move isn't entirely shocking, even if Pixar has long been perceived as a rebellious outsider operating within the Disney machine. Later this year, Disney Animation is bringing the (little-known) Marvel property "Big Hero 6" to multiplexes,...
- 1/22/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
For longtime Star Wars fans, there’s always been somewhat of an unspoken boundary between the properties. Essentially, everything that happened in the movies was considered canon while anything in the books, comics, video games, or television shows was pretty much its own thing. Under George Lucas’s supervision, his movies more or less stood their own. This probably proved disheartening for folks that sunk tons of time and money into things like spin-off novels, hoping the creative work of those writers would somehow be incorporated into the overall tapestry of Star Wars.
Now that LucasFilm is under new management, though, it looks like that philosophy is about to change. Leland Chee recently took to Twitter to explain how he and Pablo Hidalgo are part of brain-trust that will seek to unify all facets of Star Wars to create one cohesive canon.
@pauldunahoo@rwknopp Star Wars Canon is now determined...
Now that LucasFilm is under new management, though, it looks like that philosophy is about to change. Leland Chee recently took to Twitter to explain how he and Pablo Hidalgo are part of brain-trust that will seek to unify all facets of Star Wars to create one cohesive canon.
@pauldunahoo@rwknopp Star Wars Canon is now determined...
- 1/9/2014
- by Mario-Francisco Robles
- LRMonline.com
It’s an early Christmas for the House of Mouse.
Walt Disney Studios announced yesterday it reached a marketing and distribution agreement with Paramount Pictures for the future of the “Indiana Jones” franchise.
With the Star Wars franchise, now two of the largest George Lucas’ franchises are under one umbrella. (So what’s going on with “Howard the Duck” and “Willow?”)
Paramount will be allowed to financially participate in future firms and receive undisclosed cut of the business. This studio will retain the distribution rights of the first four Indiana Jones series.
Although actor Harrison Ford would love to reprise his role, signs point towards rebooting the franchise rather than using the aging relic.
Let the speculations begin.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
Sponsored Content
The post ‘Indiana Jones’ Film Rights Transferred to Disney appeared first on Latino-Review.com.
Walt Disney Studios announced yesterday it reached a marketing and distribution agreement with Paramount Pictures for the future of the “Indiana Jones” franchise.
With the Star Wars franchise, now two of the largest George Lucas’ franchises are under one umbrella. (So what’s going on with “Howard the Duck” and “Willow?”)
Paramount will be allowed to financially participate in future firms and receive undisclosed cut of the business. This studio will retain the distribution rights of the first four Indiana Jones series.
Although actor Harrison Ford would love to reprise his role, signs point towards rebooting the franchise rather than using the aging relic.
Let the speculations begin.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
Sponsored Content
The post ‘Indiana Jones’ Film Rights Transferred to Disney appeared first on Latino-Review.com.
- 12/7/2013
- by Gig Patta
- LRMonline.com
It should go without saying that there’s a lot of pressure on J.J. Abrams these days. He’s been tasked with relaunching the Star Wars cinematic universe. His Star Wars: Episode VII is intended to be the first in a massive line of movies based on that galaxy far, far away. On October 24th, that pressure only intensified when it was announced that he and Lawrence Kasdan were effectively taking over writing duties from Academy Award-winning writer Michael Arndt. With a new script needing to be written, the word on the street was that Disney was adamant about keeping its projected “Summer 2015″ release for the project- despite the creative shake-up.
Many began to wonder if the film would be terribly rushed and undercooked heading into principal photography. Abrams, himself, was said to be hoping for a change in the release schedule and, weeks later, he got his wish. Disney...
Many began to wonder if the film would be terribly rushed and undercooked heading into principal photography. Abrams, himself, was said to be hoping for a change in the release schedule and, weeks later, he got his wish. Disney...
- 11/26/2013
- by Mario-Francisco Robles
- LRMonline.com
Star Wars fans who can’t wait until December 18, 2015 to see their favorite characters return to the silver screen can rejoice. It has been announced that a few characters from a galaxy far, far away will appear in The Lego Movie. While the specifics of which characters made the cut have been kept under wraps, we know they’ll be joining a roster that also includes DC superheroes Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman.
This is all according to the Wall Street Journal, who have reportedly spoken with a person close to the movie. They also point out that this arrangement is unusual since the movie is coming from Warner Bros, meanwhile Star Wars is owned by rival, Disney. It’s possible that this deal was made before Disney purchased Star Wars from George Lucas last year. The inclusion of DC characters, though, should come as no surprise since...
This is all according to the Wall Street Journal, who have reportedly spoken with a person close to the movie. They also point out that this arrangement is unusual since the movie is coming from Warner Bros, meanwhile Star Wars is owned by rival, Disney. It’s possible that this deal was made before Disney purchased Star Wars from George Lucas last year. The inclusion of DC characters, though, should come as no surprise since...
- 11/21/2013
- by Mario-Francisco Robles
- LRMonline.com
Robert Rodriguez is a paradox. He makes extremely violent action movies and he makes extremely saccharine kids’ movies. He doesn’t want to work in the studio system, but you could argue that his output is incredibly studio-friendly: Sequels, spin-offs, comic book adaptations. Over the last decade, Rodriguez has created an infrastructure around himself that would theoretically allow him to make any movie he wants — and in 2011, he really wanted to make Spy Kids 4.
Rodriguez was a pioneer in HD filmmaking and digital backlots and 3-D technology, which also makes him a pioneer in Things Film Lovers Despise. He is...
Rodriguez was a pioneer in HD filmmaking and digital backlots and 3-D technology, which also makes him a pioneer in Things Film Lovers Despise. He is...
- 10/17/2013
- by Darren Franich
- EW.com - PopWatch
In a humorous slip of the tongue at Nycc this weekend, Anthony Daniels- after first claiming he would reveal Nothing about Star Wars: Episode VII- let it slip that he will, indeed, be reprising C-3Po in the next film.
“Walls have ears. And we know what they look like. They’re very big ears…” was how he began things, when initially questioned about Episode VII. But then later, in an unguarded moment, answering a question about how he was the only actor to appear in all six, “maybe seven,” films Anthony responded with, “Yes, I am the only actor to be in all seven because I feel -” then caught himself. “Six! Whatever” he added, before eluding back to his “big ears” comment from earlier. Oops!
In all honesty, though, this is hardly an earth shattering admission. George Lucas has long maintained that C-3Po and R...
“Walls have ears. And we know what they look like. They’re very big ears…” was how he began things, when initially questioned about Episode VII. But then later, in an unguarded moment, answering a question about how he was the only actor to appear in all six, “maybe seven,” films Anthony responded with, “Yes, I am the only actor to be in all seven because I feel -” then caught himself. “Six! Whatever” he added, before eluding back to his “big ears” comment from earlier. Oops!
In all honesty, though, this is hardly an earth shattering admission. George Lucas has long maintained that C-3Po and R...
- 10/16/2013
- by Mario-Francisco Robles
- LRMonline.com
As of right now, pretty much everything that we know about Star Wars Episode VII is limited to the fact that the project exists, and that Disney is eyeing a 2015 release slot for the anticipated blockbuster.
Beyond that, things are largely limited to speculation for the time being, with J.J. Abrams naturally keeping quiet about newcomers to the cast, familiar faces reprising their roles, and everything in between.
In an interesting new development, Latino Review is reporting that George Lucas was contemplating two working titles for the first instalment in the new trilogy before Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm – Return of the Sith and Rise of the Jedi.
These working titles were reportedly turned over during the sale, but of course, whether Disney, Abrams, and screenwriter Michael Arndt choose to use either of them is another matter altogether.
To a certain extent, it might well depend on the direction that...
Beyond that, things are largely limited to speculation for the time being, with J.J. Abrams naturally keeping quiet about newcomers to the cast, familiar faces reprising their roles, and everything in between.
In an interesting new development, Latino Review is reporting that George Lucas was contemplating two working titles for the first instalment in the new trilogy before Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm – Return of the Sith and Rise of the Jedi.
These working titles were reportedly turned over during the sale, but of course, whether Disney, Abrams, and screenwriter Michael Arndt choose to use either of them is another matter altogether.
To a certain extent, it might well depend on the direction that...
- 10/12/2013
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The current talk on the internet is that we are weeks, if not days, away from an official "Star Wars" announcement of some kind. It's all very vague, without any named sources, just whispers been bloggers and editors on news sites.
In the meantime, Latino-Review has posted another potential piece of info that could have a big effect on "Episode VII."
According to the site, when George Lucas sold off Lucasfilm to Disney, he included outlines for the new trilogy, which included two working titles for "Episode VII."
Those working titles are reportedly "Rise of the Jedi" and "Return of the Sith."
Don't worry. We are underwhelmed too.
The first thing that we notice is that this story is believable based solely on the mediocrity of those titles. They read very much like Lucas-penned titles, but not necessarily ones Disney will use. Latino-Review makes it clear that...
In the meantime, Latino-Review has posted another potential piece of info that could have a big effect on "Episode VII."
According to the site, when George Lucas sold off Lucasfilm to Disney, he included outlines for the new trilogy, which included two working titles for "Episode VII."
Those working titles are reportedly "Rise of the Jedi" and "Return of the Sith."
Don't worry. We are underwhelmed too.
The first thing that we notice is that this story is believable based solely on the mediocrity of those titles. They read very much like Lucas-penned titles, but not necessarily ones Disney will use. Latino-Review makes it clear that...
- 10/11/2013
- by Kevin P. Sullivan
- MTV Movies Blog
In the next two years, there's a plethora or blockbusters coming, and two of the biggest ones will be Star Wars: Episode VII and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. And with big sequels like this, it's been customary that they each have their own subtitles, especially in the case of the iconic sci-fi saga. Well, Latino Review has word on some potential working titles for the sequel, but the problem is that they come from a time when George Lucas was the only one working on a treatment for a new trilogy, before Disney had even bought Lucasfilm and J.J. Abrams had signed on to direct the sequel. So what are these titles? Supposedly Rise of the Jedi and Return of the Sith were the two titles that Lucas had gestating in his mind. But of course, since Lucas isn't in control of the franchise, don't count on either of these titles to stick.
- 10/11/2013
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
We.ve been hearing for awhile now that Disney might announce the full, official title for Star Wars Episode VII this week. That official announcement hasn.t happened yet, so rumor.s taking over where press releases have failed. Though it.s a little unclear where they.ve gotten their information the good folks over at Latino Review are floating these possible Episode VII titles. Star Wars Episode VII: Return of the Sith Star Wars Episode VII: Rise of the Jedi The rumor is that these were the working titles George Lucas had in mind for his next Star Wars movie before he turned the franchise over to Disney and Jj Abrams. While Disney and Abrams are under no obligation to use George.s titles now, it.s worth remembering that earlier this week we learned that Lucas has Episode VII director Jj Abrams' ear and talks to him...
- 10/11/2013
- cinemablend.com
Another day, another morsel of "Star Wars" rumors, which is basically how it's going to go until 2015, so just deal with it. So what do we have today? How about the actual name of "Star Wars: Episode 7"? If you've been around the interwebs the last few days, you've likely seen the "news" that George Lucas had been working on the treatments for the "Star Wars" sequel before the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney. But, that knowledge has been out there for a while. Last fall, Disney CFO Jay Rasulo revealed during a press conference following the sale that, “What we’re buying, along with the overall company, is a pretty extensive and detailed treatment for what would be the next three movies. The trilogy.” And apparently, they included titles. Latino Review is reporting today that the rumored working titles for 'Episode 7' were/are "Return of the Sith" and "Rise of the Jedi.
- 10/11/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
A couple days ago, Jeff Lucas, the son of George Lucas, revealed that his father had been working on a new Star Wars trilogy a year before Disney bought Lucasfilm. During that time it is safe to assume that George thought up some working titles for at least one of those three sequels. Now, Latino-Review is claiming that they know two working titles for Star Wars: Episode VII. They are Rise of the Jedi and Return of the Sith. Keep in mind, that working titles are primarily used when an official title has not bee decided upon yet, or it is used to deceive the public about the film's true storyline. Although in the case of a ruse, the working title is usually pretty obvious in it's outlandishness. Thoughts?...
- 10/11/2013
- ComicBookMovie.com
Alright, boys and girls, we have some juicy information for you today!!
Remember in that interview that Jett Lucas recently (Click Here) did where he confirmed that his dad, George Lucas, was working on the treatments to the Sequel Trilogy before Disney approached him for the sale? Of course you do.
I was exclusively told that during that time, it seems that George had two working titles for Star Wars: Episode VII that were competing in his mind: Return of the Sith and Rise of the Jedi! These working titles were turned over to the Disney Company through the sale, But, there is no guarantee whatsoever that Disney will use these titles for the movie.
Now, personally, I like Rise of the Jedi a lot better for the movie over Return of the Sith. I think that Return of the Sith is too close to both Return of the Jedi...
Remember in that interview that Jett Lucas recently (Click Here) did where he confirmed that his dad, George Lucas, was working on the treatments to the Sequel Trilogy before Disney approached him for the sale? Of course you do.
I was exclusively told that during that time, it seems that George had two working titles for Star Wars: Episode VII that were competing in his mind: Return of the Sith and Rise of the Jedi! These working titles were turned over to the Disney Company through the sale, But, there is no guarantee whatsoever that Disney will use these titles for the movie.
Now, personally, I like Rise of the Jedi a lot better for the movie over Return of the Sith. I think that Return of the Sith is too close to both Return of the Jedi...
- 10/11/2013
- by Kellvin Chavez
- LRMonline.com
The "Star Wars" rumor mill is spinning fast and furious this week. First came word that Disney was about to announce the casting and title of "Star Wars: Episode VII." Today, Latino Review claims that there are two working titles for the new movie: "Rise of the Jedi" and "Return of the Sith."
There's a big caveat, though: A source tells the site that George Lucas came up with those working titles before he sold Lucasfilm to Disney. And now, the newest "Star Wars" projects sits in the hands of director J.J. Abrams.
Still, Lucas's son, Jett, recently revealed that his father is still very much involved with "Star Wars."
"He's constantly talking to J.J. Obviously J.J. was handpicked," Jett Lucas said. "[George Lucas] is there to guide, whenever, he'll help where he can. At the same time, he wants to let it go and become its new generation.
There's a big caveat, though: A source tells the site that George Lucas came up with those working titles before he sold Lucasfilm to Disney. And now, the newest "Star Wars" projects sits in the hands of director J.J. Abrams.
Still, Lucas's son, Jett, recently revealed that his father is still very much involved with "Star Wars."
"He's constantly talking to J.J. Obviously J.J. was handpicked," Jett Lucas said. "[George Lucas] is there to guide, whenever, he'll help where he can. At the same time, he wants to let it go and become its new generation.
- 10/11/2013
- by Kelly Woo
- Moviefone
Star Wars will forever be George Lucas’ baby, and because of that, it’s understandable that he would be a little bummed out about letting go of his “40-year-old brainchild.” Fortunately for Lucas, he’s still somewhat involved in the pre-production process of Episode VII, which is being direct by J.J. Abrams. And according to Lucas’ son, Jett, he and Abrams are “constantly talking” about the upcoming film.
Jett Lucas told the YouTube channel Flicks and the City that his father was “torn” about the Disney deal (heard round the world).
“Yeah, as any parent watching their kid going to college would. He’s constantly talking to J.J. [Abrams, director of Episode VII]. Obviously J.J. was handpicked. He [Lucas] is there to guide, whenever, he’ll help where he can. At the same time, he wants to let it go and become its new generation.”
Even though Star Wars is no longer officially his,...
Jett Lucas told the YouTube channel Flicks and the City that his father was “torn” about the Disney deal (heard round the world).
“Yeah, as any parent watching their kid going to college would. He’s constantly talking to J.J. [Abrams, director of Episode VII]. Obviously J.J. was handpicked. He [Lucas] is there to guide, whenever, he’ll help where he can. At the same time, he wants to let it go and become its new generation.”
Even though Star Wars is no longer officially his,...
- 10/9/2013
- by Laura Frances
- LRMonline.com
Late as usual. People are attending Mipcom in Cannes and in November Afm in Santa Monica, and I’m only now getting around to writing about my own private Toronto. I chose films I would not be able to see soon in a theater near me and I chose films because my schedule permitted me to see them. Occasionally I chose films my friends were going to and that happened when my time was not demanding other things be done.
I wish I could have seen 100 other films too but for some reason or another I could not fit them in.
I moderated a wonderful panel (and we did blog on that!) on international film financing with Sffs’ Ted Hope, UTA’s Rena Ronson, Revolution’s Andrew Eaton, and Hollywood-based Cross Creek’s Brian Oliver, and Paul Miller, Head of Film Financing, from the Doha Film Institute, Qatar's first international organization dedicated to film financing, production, education and two film festivals.
I also spoke with Toronto Talent Lab filmmakers and then I filled my days with films – I did get an interview with Gloria’s director Sebastian Lelio and Berlin Best Actress winner Paulina Garcia and with Marcela Said, director of The Summer of Flying Fish but mostly I watched film after film after film – up to five a day, just like in the old days when I had to do it for my acquisitions jobs. This was pure pleasure. Friends would meet before the film, we would watch and disperse. And we would meet again at the cocktail hour or the dinner hour and then disperse again.
My partner Peter had lots of meetings with the Talent of Toronto from the Not Short on Shorts and the Talent Lab Mentoring Programs.
Parties like the Rotterdam-Screen International party gave us the chance to catch up with our Dutch friends whom we have not seen for the last two years. Ontario Media Development Corporation’s presenting the International Financing Forum luncheon gave us the chance to talk to lots of upcoming filmmakers and old friends again who were mentoring them. The panel Forty Years On: Women’s Film Festivals Today, moderated by Kay Armatage, former Tiff programmer, Professor Emeritus University of Toronto, and featuring Debra Zimmerman, Executive Director of Women Make Movies, NYC, Melissa Silverstein, Do-Fojnder an dArtistic Director of the Athena Film Festival in NYC and blogger of Women in Hollywood, So-In Hong, Director of Programming of the International Women’s Film Festival in Seoul had a rapport and didn’t hesitate to challenge each other. It felt like a party even though the subject was quite serious. The SXSW party was crowded as always, filled with everyone we could possibly know. It is always a great party we all want to attend.
One of the great dinners was that of The Creative Coalition Spotlight Awards Dinner honoring Alfre Woodard (12 Years a Slave), Hill Harper (1982, CSI: NY), Sharon Leal (1982), Matt Letscher (Scandal, The Carrie Diaries), Brenton Thwaites (Oculus, Maleficient), Tommy Oliver (1982, Kinyarwanda – I am a great fan of Tommy’s!), Tom Ortenberg (CEO, Open Road Films which has a coventure with Regal Theaters and AMC Theaters recently acquired by the richest man in China), and David Arquette (The Scream series). Our hostess, Robin Bronk is so welcoming and so dedicated to furthering the cause of universal education as a human right, education in the arts as a must. I admire her presence and her good work.
Here is a list of the great (and not so great, but never bad) films I got to see. I also list those I continue to hear about even now. I do not list all the films which were picked up during the festival and later. For that, you can go to SydneysBuzz.com and buy the Fall Rights Roundup 2013 and see all films whose rights were acquired (and announced) and by whom with links to all companies and Cinando for further research. For buyers it will, by deduction, show what is still available for Afm and for programmers, it will show who is in charge of the film for specific territories. The second edition will be issued two weeks after Afm.
One of the first films I saw and still retaining its place as one of my favorites was the documentary Finding Vivian Maier which begins with the discovery of photographs by an unknown woman named Vivian Maier by filmmaker John Maloof. As the mystery of this woman is uncovered, the audience is treated to her stunning work and the story of who she was.
One of my favorite films was by one of my favorite directors, Lucas Moodyson. We Are The Best (Isa: Trust Nordisk) was a great surprise, the story of three teeny-bopper punk-influenced girls who loved getting into unusual situations. It was loving and fun, darling and funny. I would take my children to see it and would delight in seeing it again. It was the biggest surprise for me. I can see why Magnolia snapped it up for the U.S. I thank programmer Steve Gravenstock for giving me the ticket for this film which I would have missed otherwise.
I had missed Jodorowsky’s Dune in Cannes. I am a great fan of El Topo and was eager to see this film. I was surprised at the elegance and skill of Jodorowsky in explaining his vision. Afterward, Gary Springer, our favorite publicist, arranged a wonderful reception at a classic comic book store where we loaded up on some fascinating graphic novels and Gary showed us his depiction on an old issue of Mad Magazine discussing the making of Jaws which he was in. picture here.
A totally unique and unexpected film about the African Diaspora, Belle, written and directed by Amma Asante was not talked about much to my surprise, perhaps because Fox Searchlight acquired all rights worldwide from Bankside before the festival. It is a stunningly beautiful British period piece of the 18th century about a mixed race aristocratic beauty.
My favorite film, on a par with The Patience Stone last year was Bobo (Isa: Wide) by Ines Oliveira starring Paula Garcia Aissato Indjai, produced by my friend Fernando Vendrell who gave me a ticket when I could not get one myself. This story of a woman who does nothing except go to work is forced to accept a claning woman and her young sister from Guinea-Bissau. Together they face down their demons. I love the cross-cultural understanding which results in their shared situations. I recently saw Mother of George and found the same warm connection across great cultural divides, though this one was of generations.
I wish I could have seen Pays Barbare/ Barbaric Land, the Italian/ French doc in Wavelengths about Mussolini’s attempted subjugation of Ethiopia (the only country in Africa never colonized). It sounds like great political poetry.
1982 which had previously won the prize of the jury I served on for Us Works in Progress held in July at the Champs Elysees Film Festival in Paris. It was deeply moving and disturbing film which depicts the shattering and the healing of a family. It also helps feed the pipeline begun with Lee Daniels producing Monster’s Ball who went on to direct to such films as Precious and The Butler. If the African American experience can continue to be expressed so eloquently by such filmmakers as Tommy Oliver, Rashaad Ernesto Green (Sundance 2012’s Gun Hill Road), Ava DuVernay (Middle of Nowhere), then a film literate audience will foster greater growth of even more talent in the coming generation. While I didn’t see All Is By My Side by U.K.’s John Ridley which is about Jimi Hendrix nor (yet!) the most highly acclaimed film of the festival, 12 Years a Slave by U.K.’s Steve McQueen, but I would include them in this discussion of the African American Experience.
On the subject of Africa, where last Sundance God Loves Uganda shocked and upset me, this year Mission Congo (Cinephil) revealed much of the same cultural divide only these two films show the negative impact of the Christian right upon already besieged Africans. What is done in the name of a righteous G-d is cause for dialogue and oversight.
Israel and the Middle East
No major turmoil or denunciations this year (Thank G-d, Allah, or whoever She may be). Katriel Schory, head of the Israeli Film Fund told me that if I could only see one film, then it should be Bethlehem which is the country’s submission for Academy Award Consideration for the Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. It was a sad and clear eyed microcosmic view of the issues of trust and betrayals played out among every level of the society. People compared it to Omar by Hany Abu-Assad,the filmmaker of a favorite of mine, Paradise Now, but I did not see Omar.
Rags and Tatters at first seemed like a documentary, and does have doc footage, but it is a circular story that ends where it began but with much more understanding of the chaotic events in Cairo. Really worth watching.
Latino
Of the Latino films two Chilean films, Gloria (Chile) and The Summer of Flying Fish (Review), were accompanied by interviews which you can read on my previous blogs here and here. El Mudo from Peru by the Vega brothers was in the odd vien of their previous film, October. Not sure at the end just what the film was saying…
Toronto Film Fest Programmer Diana Sanchez’s official count of Latino films in the festival is 16. Of these, 5 are by women; 30% is a strong number. Venezuela and Chile are strong with year with two films each. Two other films might have been chosen except they went to San Sebastian for their world premieres. Especially hot this year was Mexico. 4 films are here but she might have chosen 10 if she could have. Costa Rica is making a showing with All About the Feathers and Central America is making more movies. There is lots of industry buzz coming from the good pictures from Brazil like A Wolf at the Door from Sao Paolo production
She is not counting Gravity by Alfonso Cuaron as as Latino film but as a U.S. film.
And Our White Society
The Dinner (Isa: Media Luna) by Menno Meyjes ♀ (Isa: Media Luna), a Dutch film deals with the personal and political as two families disintegrate when the affluent sons kill a homeless woman. Deeply disturbing social issues on the other side of the spectrum from those of 1982 and yet very much the same. How a society can foster such dissonance in class structure today which results in the disintegration of family and even a nation’s political life is, as I said, deeply disturbing. Based on the N.Y. Times best selling book which sold over 650,000 in The Netherlands, and is published in 22 countries, it stars four of Holland’s most renowned actors, Jacob Derwig, Thekla Reuten, Daan Schuurmans, and Kim van Kooten. This is a story that could be remade in America and still maintain its strength. The writer-director Menno Meyjes wrote the Academy Award nominee The Color Purple and collaborated with director Steven Speilberg on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In 2008 he directed Manolete with Penelope Cruz and Adrien Brody.
The Last of Robin Hood was a romp which thrilled us because Peter Belsito, my own dear husband, had a moment on screen (as the director of Errol Flynn’s last film Cuban Rebel Girls). He got the part because he had had an equally small role in the original Cuban Rebel Girls when it filmed in Cuba in 1959, four months after the Revolution. He happened to be there on vacation with his family including his 18 year old sister and his crazy aunt because Puerto Rico was full that year and Cuba had plenty of room. Directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland invited him to play in their film. The film actually had more meaning than merely a romp as it revealed what lays below the June-September love affair between Errol Flynn and 15 year old Beverly Aadland, the nature of fame (“a religion in this godless country” to quote Flynn himself) and ambition. Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandan and Dakota Fanning were all great in the repertoire piece.
Can a Song Save Your Life? garnered great praise as the film that followed the simple pure Once. I found it a bit flat though it kept my interest enough that I was not contemplating leaving. But it lacked the simplicity of Once.
Fading Gigolo proves that a Woody Allen Film is a Genre. John Turturro makes a Woody Allen middle-aged man fantasy of a wished for love affair with a Hasidic woman. Turturro is always lovable on screen, but his directing has something inauthentic about it…the only authentic thing was the twice-stated thought that somewhere in his heritage he was really Jewish. When I saw his previous film Passione, about Italians and passion, the opening song, being one of the first Cuban songs I ever heard, turned me off because again, it was inauthentic. It was Cuban, not Italian. I think he is not comfortable in his Italian guise.
Other films at Tiff I have seen previously:
Only Lovers Left Alive by Jim Jarmusch (Isa: HanWay, U.S. Spc). If you can see it as a dream of night, then the vampires dreaminess might appeal to you. I personally was ready to fall into my own stupor after watching this 123 minute movie of Vampires who have seen it all. Zzzzzz.
Don Jon is sexy and sweet. Scarlett Johansson is a superb comedienne, equal to Claudette Colbert in this film about two totally media mesmerized young lovers. ___ and his father are also great straight men. I loved this film, so funny and sweet and all about sex. Loved it!
Borgman Darkest humor, or is it humor? Creepy and definitely engrossing. Dutch filmmaker Alex van Warmerdam at his best. This is the Netherlands' Official Academy Awards Submission.
What I hear was good:
Aside from the ones that got snapped up for lots of money and are covered in all the trades already, there are films which I keep hearing about even now and will see:
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon
12 Years a Slave (Isa: Summit, U.S. Fox Searchlight)
The Lunchbox (Isa: The Match Factory)
Prisoners (Isa: Summit/ Lionsgate, U.S.: Warner Bros)
Dallas Buyers Clubs (Isa: Voltage, U.S. Focus Features)
Life of Crime (Isa: Hyde Park, U.S.: )
A Touch of Sin (Isa: MK2, U.S. Kino Lorber)
Gravity (Isa: Warner Bros. U.S. Warner Bros.)
Enough Said (Isa: Fox Searchlight, U.S. Fox Searchlight)
La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty) (Isa: Pathe, U.S. Criterion) Italy’s submission for Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film
Violette (Isa: Doc & Film, U.S.: ?)
Omar (Isa: The Match Factory, U.S.: ?)
Le Passe (The Past) (Isa: Memento, U.S. Spc) Iran’s submission for Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
To the Wolf (Isa: Pascale Ramonda)
The Selfish Giant (Isa: Protagonist, U.S. IFC)
At Berkeley by Frederick Wiseman (Isa: Doc & Film, U.S. Zipporah)
The Unknown Known (Isa: Entertainment One, U.S. Radius-twc)
Ain’t Misbehavin (Un Voyager) by Marcel Ophuls (Isa: Wide House)
Faith Connections by Pan Nalin (Isa: Cite Films). This Indian French film, produced by Raphael Berduo among others is written about here.
Civil Rights (?)
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
12 Years a Slave (Isa: Summit, U.S. Fox Searchlight)
Belle (Isa: Bankside, all rights sold to Fox Searchlight)
Lgbt
Kill Your Darlings: The youthful finding of himself by Alan Ginsburg as he enters Colombia University and meets Lucien Carr, Jack Kerouac and Alan Bourroughs revolves around a murder which actually happened. The period veracity and Daniel Radcliffe’s acting carry the film into a fascinating character study. (U.S. Spc)
Dallas Buyers Club (Isa: Voltage, U.S. Focus Features)
Tom a la ferme / Tom at the Farm by Xavier Dolan Isa: MK2, U.S.:)
L’Armee du salut/ Salvation Army by Abdellah Taia (Isa: - U.S.:-)
Eastern Boys (Isa: Films Distribution)
Pelo Malo/ Bad Hair (FiGa Films)
The Dog (Producer Rep: Submarine)
Ignasi M. (Isa: Latido)
Gerontophilia (Isa: MK2, U.S. Producer Rep: Filmoption)...
I wish I could have seen 100 other films too but for some reason or another I could not fit them in.
I moderated a wonderful panel (and we did blog on that!) on international film financing with Sffs’ Ted Hope, UTA’s Rena Ronson, Revolution’s Andrew Eaton, and Hollywood-based Cross Creek’s Brian Oliver, and Paul Miller, Head of Film Financing, from the Doha Film Institute, Qatar's first international organization dedicated to film financing, production, education and two film festivals.
I also spoke with Toronto Talent Lab filmmakers and then I filled my days with films – I did get an interview with Gloria’s director Sebastian Lelio and Berlin Best Actress winner Paulina Garcia and with Marcela Said, director of The Summer of Flying Fish but mostly I watched film after film after film – up to five a day, just like in the old days when I had to do it for my acquisitions jobs. This was pure pleasure. Friends would meet before the film, we would watch and disperse. And we would meet again at the cocktail hour or the dinner hour and then disperse again.
My partner Peter had lots of meetings with the Talent of Toronto from the Not Short on Shorts and the Talent Lab Mentoring Programs.
Parties like the Rotterdam-Screen International party gave us the chance to catch up with our Dutch friends whom we have not seen for the last two years. Ontario Media Development Corporation’s presenting the International Financing Forum luncheon gave us the chance to talk to lots of upcoming filmmakers and old friends again who were mentoring them. The panel Forty Years On: Women’s Film Festivals Today, moderated by Kay Armatage, former Tiff programmer, Professor Emeritus University of Toronto, and featuring Debra Zimmerman, Executive Director of Women Make Movies, NYC, Melissa Silverstein, Do-Fojnder an dArtistic Director of the Athena Film Festival in NYC and blogger of Women in Hollywood, So-In Hong, Director of Programming of the International Women’s Film Festival in Seoul had a rapport and didn’t hesitate to challenge each other. It felt like a party even though the subject was quite serious. The SXSW party was crowded as always, filled with everyone we could possibly know. It is always a great party we all want to attend.
One of the great dinners was that of The Creative Coalition Spotlight Awards Dinner honoring Alfre Woodard (12 Years a Slave), Hill Harper (1982, CSI: NY), Sharon Leal (1982), Matt Letscher (Scandal, The Carrie Diaries), Brenton Thwaites (Oculus, Maleficient), Tommy Oliver (1982, Kinyarwanda – I am a great fan of Tommy’s!), Tom Ortenberg (CEO, Open Road Films which has a coventure with Regal Theaters and AMC Theaters recently acquired by the richest man in China), and David Arquette (The Scream series). Our hostess, Robin Bronk is so welcoming and so dedicated to furthering the cause of universal education as a human right, education in the arts as a must. I admire her presence and her good work.
Here is a list of the great (and not so great, but never bad) films I got to see. I also list those I continue to hear about even now. I do not list all the films which were picked up during the festival and later. For that, you can go to SydneysBuzz.com and buy the Fall Rights Roundup 2013 and see all films whose rights were acquired (and announced) and by whom with links to all companies and Cinando for further research. For buyers it will, by deduction, show what is still available for Afm and for programmers, it will show who is in charge of the film for specific territories. The second edition will be issued two weeks after Afm.
One of the first films I saw and still retaining its place as one of my favorites was the documentary Finding Vivian Maier which begins with the discovery of photographs by an unknown woman named Vivian Maier by filmmaker John Maloof. As the mystery of this woman is uncovered, the audience is treated to her stunning work and the story of who she was.
One of my favorite films was by one of my favorite directors, Lucas Moodyson. We Are The Best (Isa: Trust Nordisk) was a great surprise, the story of three teeny-bopper punk-influenced girls who loved getting into unusual situations. It was loving and fun, darling and funny. I would take my children to see it and would delight in seeing it again. It was the biggest surprise for me. I can see why Magnolia snapped it up for the U.S. I thank programmer Steve Gravenstock for giving me the ticket for this film which I would have missed otherwise.
I had missed Jodorowsky’s Dune in Cannes. I am a great fan of El Topo and was eager to see this film. I was surprised at the elegance and skill of Jodorowsky in explaining his vision. Afterward, Gary Springer, our favorite publicist, arranged a wonderful reception at a classic comic book store where we loaded up on some fascinating graphic novels and Gary showed us his depiction on an old issue of Mad Magazine discussing the making of Jaws which he was in. picture here.
A totally unique and unexpected film about the African Diaspora, Belle, written and directed by Amma Asante was not talked about much to my surprise, perhaps because Fox Searchlight acquired all rights worldwide from Bankside before the festival. It is a stunningly beautiful British period piece of the 18th century about a mixed race aristocratic beauty.
My favorite film, on a par with The Patience Stone last year was Bobo (Isa: Wide) by Ines Oliveira starring Paula Garcia Aissato Indjai, produced by my friend Fernando Vendrell who gave me a ticket when I could not get one myself. This story of a woman who does nothing except go to work is forced to accept a claning woman and her young sister from Guinea-Bissau. Together they face down their demons. I love the cross-cultural understanding which results in their shared situations. I recently saw Mother of George and found the same warm connection across great cultural divides, though this one was of generations.
I wish I could have seen Pays Barbare/ Barbaric Land, the Italian/ French doc in Wavelengths about Mussolini’s attempted subjugation of Ethiopia (the only country in Africa never colonized). It sounds like great political poetry.
1982 which had previously won the prize of the jury I served on for Us Works in Progress held in July at the Champs Elysees Film Festival in Paris. It was deeply moving and disturbing film which depicts the shattering and the healing of a family. It also helps feed the pipeline begun with Lee Daniels producing Monster’s Ball who went on to direct to such films as Precious and The Butler. If the African American experience can continue to be expressed so eloquently by such filmmakers as Tommy Oliver, Rashaad Ernesto Green (Sundance 2012’s Gun Hill Road), Ava DuVernay (Middle of Nowhere), then a film literate audience will foster greater growth of even more talent in the coming generation. While I didn’t see All Is By My Side by U.K.’s John Ridley which is about Jimi Hendrix nor (yet!) the most highly acclaimed film of the festival, 12 Years a Slave by U.K.’s Steve McQueen, but I would include them in this discussion of the African American Experience.
On the subject of Africa, where last Sundance God Loves Uganda shocked and upset me, this year Mission Congo (Cinephil) revealed much of the same cultural divide only these two films show the negative impact of the Christian right upon already besieged Africans. What is done in the name of a righteous G-d is cause for dialogue and oversight.
Israel and the Middle East
No major turmoil or denunciations this year (Thank G-d, Allah, or whoever She may be). Katriel Schory, head of the Israeli Film Fund told me that if I could only see one film, then it should be Bethlehem which is the country’s submission for Academy Award Consideration for the Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. It was a sad and clear eyed microcosmic view of the issues of trust and betrayals played out among every level of the society. People compared it to Omar by Hany Abu-Assad,the filmmaker of a favorite of mine, Paradise Now, but I did not see Omar.
Rags and Tatters at first seemed like a documentary, and does have doc footage, but it is a circular story that ends where it began but with much more understanding of the chaotic events in Cairo. Really worth watching.
Latino
Of the Latino films two Chilean films, Gloria (Chile) and The Summer of Flying Fish (Review), were accompanied by interviews which you can read on my previous blogs here and here. El Mudo from Peru by the Vega brothers was in the odd vien of their previous film, October. Not sure at the end just what the film was saying…
Toronto Film Fest Programmer Diana Sanchez’s official count of Latino films in the festival is 16. Of these, 5 are by women; 30% is a strong number. Venezuela and Chile are strong with year with two films each. Two other films might have been chosen except they went to San Sebastian for their world premieres. Especially hot this year was Mexico. 4 films are here but she might have chosen 10 if she could have. Costa Rica is making a showing with All About the Feathers and Central America is making more movies. There is lots of industry buzz coming from the good pictures from Brazil like A Wolf at the Door from Sao Paolo production
She is not counting Gravity by Alfonso Cuaron as as Latino film but as a U.S. film.
And Our White Society
The Dinner (Isa: Media Luna) by Menno Meyjes ♀ (Isa: Media Luna), a Dutch film deals with the personal and political as two families disintegrate when the affluent sons kill a homeless woman. Deeply disturbing social issues on the other side of the spectrum from those of 1982 and yet very much the same. How a society can foster such dissonance in class structure today which results in the disintegration of family and even a nation’s political life is, as I said, deeply disturbing. Based on the N.Y. Times best selling book which sold over 650,000 in The Netherlands, and is published in 22 countries, it stars four of Holland’s most renowned actors, Jacob Derwig, Thekla Reuten, Daan Schuurmans, and Kim van Kooten. This is a story that could be remade in America and still maintain its strength. The writer-director Menno Meyjes wrote the Academy Award nominee The Color Purple and collaborated with director Steven Speilberg on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In 2008 he directed Manolete with Penelope Cruz and Adrien Brody.
The Last of Robin Hood was a romp which thrilled us because Peter Belsito, my own dear husband, had a moment on screen (as the director of Errol Flynn’s last film Cuban Rebel Girls). He got the part because he had had an equally small role in the original Cuban Rebel Girls when it filmed in Cuba in 1959, four months after the Revolution. He happened to be there on vacation with his family including his 18 year old sister and his crazy aunt because Puerto Rico was full that year and Cuba had plenty of room. Directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland invited him to play in their film. The film actually had more meaning than merely a romp as it revealed what lays below the June-September love affair between Errol Flynn and 15 year old Beverly Aadland, the nature of fame (“a religion in this godless country” to quote Flynn himself) and ambition. Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandan and Dakota Fanning were all great in the repertoire piece.
Can a Song Save Your Life? garnered great praise as the film that followed the simple pure Once. I found it a bit flat though it kept my interest enough that I was not contemplating leaving. But it lacked the simplicity of Once.
Fading Gigolo proves that a Woody Allen Film is a Genre. John Turturro makes a Woody Allen middle-aged man fantasy of a wished for love affair with a Hasidic woman. Turturro is always lovable on screen, but his directing has something inauthentic about it…the only authentic thing was the twice-stated thought that somewhere in his heritage he was really Jewish. When I saw his previous film Passione, about Italians and passion, the opening song, being one of the first Cuban songs I ever heard, turned me off because again, it was inauthentic. It was Cuban, not Italian. I think he is not comfortable in his Italian guise.
Other films at Tiff I have seen previously:
Only Lovers Left Alive by Jim Jarmusch (Isa: HanWay, U.S. Spc). If you can see it as a dream of night, then the vampires dreaminess might appeal to you. I personally was ready to fall into my own stupor after watching this 123 minute movie of Vampires who have seen it all. Zzzzzz.
Don Jon is sexy and sweet. Scarlett Johansson is a superb comedienne, equal to Claudette Colbert in this film about two totally media mesmerized young lovers. ___ and his father are also great straight men. I loved this film, so funny and sweet and all about sex. Loved it!
Borgman Darkest humor, or is it humor? Creepy and definitely engrossing. Dutch filmmaker Alex van Warmerdam at his best. This is the Netherlands' Official Academy Awards Submission.
What I hear was good:
Aside from the ones that got snapped up for lots of money and are covered in all the trades already, there are films which I keep hearing about even now and will see:
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon
12 Years a Slave (Isa: Summit, U.S. Fox Searchlight)
The Lunchbox (Isa: The Match Factory)
Prisoners (Isa: Summit/ Lionsgate, U.S.: Warner Bros)
Dallas Buyers Clubs (Isa: Voltage, U.S. Focus Features)
Life of Crime (Isa: Hyde Park, U.S.: )
A Touch of Sin (Isa: MK2, U.S. Kino Lorber)
Gravity (Isa: Warner Bros. U.S. Warner Bros.)
Enough Said (Isa: Fox Searchlight, U.S. Fox Searchlight)
La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty) (Isa: Pathe, U.S. Criterion) Italy’s submission for Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film
Violette (Isa: Doc & Film, U.S.: ?)
Omar (Isa: The Match Factory, U.S.: ?)
Le Passe (The Past) (Isa: Memento, U.S. Spc) Iran’s submission for Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
To the Wolf (Isa: Pascale Ramonda)
The Selfish Giant (Isa: Protagonist, U.S. IFC)
At Berkeley by Frederick Wiseman (Isa: Doc & Film, U.S. Zipporah)
The Unknown Known (Isa: Entertainment One, U.S. Radius-twc)
Ain’t Misbehavin (Un Voyager) by Marcel Ophuls (Isa: Wide House)
Faith Connections by Pan Nalin (Isa: Cite Films). This Indian French film, produced by Raphael Berduo among others is written about here.
Civil Rights (?)
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
12 Years a Slave (Isa: Summit, U.S. Fox Searchlight)
Belle (Isa: Bankside, all rights sold to Fox Searchlight)
Lgbt
Kill Your Darlings: The youthful finding of himself by Alan Ginsburg as he enters Colombia University and meets Lucien Carr, Jack Kerouac and Alan Bourroughs revolves around a murder which actually happened. The period veracity and Daniel Radcliffe’s acting carry the film into a fascinating character study. (U.S. Spc)
Dallas Buyers Club (Isa: Voltage, U.S. Focus Features)
Tom a la ferme / Tom at the Farm by Xavier Dolan Isa: MK2, U.S.:)
L’Armee du salut/ Salvation Army by Abdellah Taia (Isa: - U.S.:-)
Eastern Boys (Isa: Films Distribution)
Pelo Malo/ Bad Hair (FiGa Films)
The Dog (Producer Rep: Submarine)
Ignasi M. (Isa: Latido)
Gerontophilia (Isa: MK2, U.S. Producer Rep: Filmoption)...
- 10/8/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
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