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One of the original concepts for Saturday Night Live was to have a series of rotating hosts that included iconic stand-up comedians George Carlin, Lily Tomlin and Richard Pryor. What happened to that plan? “Perhaps I poisoned the well a little,” Carlin wrote in his book Last Words. “I certainly was full of cocaine. (Though I was far from the only one.)”

What else did Carlin do to sour NBC on having the comic as a semi-regular?

Honestly, Carlin doesn’t recall all of the details. Journalist Bob Woodward said someone had to break down Carlin’s hotel room door because he was so coked up. Did it actually happen? “I don’t remember,” he confessed. “It may be true. Maybe I went missing the day before or after the show, crashed after being up all week.”

One thing Carlin does remember is refusing to participate in any comedy sketches...

In the world of anime adaptation censorship has affected the stories in one way or the other. Because of that fans don’t mind getting a reboot of their favorite series, as certain scenes are often padded or censored. The recent revelation of the successful One Piece remake has ignited fans of other popular franchises to get the same treatment. Among the popular franchises, Tite Kubo’s Bleach stands out as a frontrunner for getting a remake.

Monkey D. Grap immense power | Credit: Toei Animation

Fans believed that the hope of reimagining classic anime series with uncensored modern animation skills would gain significant attraction for the creators’ original visions. While the remake of One Piece gained much traction for its faithful adaptation, Tite Kubo’s comments also have sparked anticipation among fans for its series’ potential reboot.

Tite Kubo Might be Interested in Making a Bleach Remake Yamamoto during the...

Bigg Boss Ott Season 3 Review: Anil Kapoor’s Maiden Season Is Not Jhakas ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Bigg Boss Ott Season 3 Review Rating: 3/ 5

Host: Anil Kapoor

Contestants: Sai Ketan Rao, Vishal Pandey, Ranvir Shorey, Deepak Chourasia, Chandrika Dixit, Love Kataria, Sana Makbul, Shivani Kumari, Munisha Khatwani, Sana Sultan Khan,

Production: Endemol Shine India

Streaming On: Jio Cinema

Language: Hindi

Runtime: 4 Hours For The Grand Premier

After so much anticipation and back and forth, Bigg Boss Ott Season 3 is finally here! While the excitement was palpable, it was fizzling out! Anil Kapoor took on the as the host, and despite his best effort, his charm doesn’t seem to transfer to the premier in a more significant sum. Watching Bigg Boss Ott 3 is like returning home but finding that strangers have replaced your family. The feeling of the drama and tension is the same, but it gets weirder.

The show...

Diljit Dosanjh Plays Amar Singh Chamkila In His Biopic Directed By Imtiaz Ali ( Photo Credit – YouTube; Instagram )

Amar Singh Chamkila is a name that might have been alien a few weeks back but is now known to most of us, thanks to Imtiaz Ali, who directed a biopic of the late Punjabi singer. Diljit Dosanjh played Chamkila in the film, and Parineeti Chopra played his wife.

Now, for the unversed, Chamkila was criticized a lot for his outrageous lyrics that involved commentaries about illicit relationships, objectifying women, and talking about their fantasies in general.

Some of the most lewd songs by Amar Singh Chamkila talked about women in particular and their assets suggestively. A couplet in the song Baapu saada Gum ho gaya says, “Teri maa di talashi lehni ni bapu sada gum ho gaya.”

Trending Amar Singh Chamkila Brought The Same Gifts For Both Wives? 1st Wife Recalled Her...

A dramatic reboot of the ’60s hit Bewitched is officially in the works with writer-producer Judalina Neira who is teaming with Sony Pictures Television through her newly-launched production company, Famous Last Words, for the project. Written by Neira, whose credits include The Boys and Daisy Jones & the Six, the new Bewitched is described as an hour-long reimagination of the classic series, according to Deadline. Also set to executive produce the title, Neira will be joined by Doug Robinson and Lauren Moffat. (Credit: Ivan Nagy / TV Guide / courtesy Everett Collection) “Judalina joined the Sony family with her work on The Boys, and we are incredibly proud of her contributions to supporting creator Eric Kripke’s vision,” said Lauren Stein, Head of Creative, Sony Pictures Television in a statement shared by Deadline. “She brings passion and authenticity and has been such a champion for the representation and growth of Latinx writers — we...

Get ready to revisit the New York indie music scene circa 2008, because the soundtrack for Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist is receiving its first-ever vinyl reissue. Celebrating the movie’s 15th anniversary, it will be out on April 7th via Real Gone Music.

Pressed on yellow vinyl to match the color of Michael Cera’s Yugo in the film, the 2xLP release will be housed in a “scrapbook” gatefold jacket featuring production stills from Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Pre-orders are ongoing.

In case you forgot, the soundtrack is stacked with songs from indie mainstays like Vampire Weekend, Devendra Banhart, We Are Scientists, Band of Horses, and Richard Hawley, as well as Big Star’s Chris Bell and Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo.

Directed by Peter Sollett from a screenplay by Lorene Scafaria, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist starred Cera as Nick and Kat Dennings as Norah, who meet at the...

Exclusive: Three-time Oscar nominee Nick Nolte is set to star in Eugene the Marine, a psychological thriller due to begin production this fall.

Nolte will play Gene, a widower and former Marine who finds his highly regimented life deteriorating after his son begins pressuring him to sell his longtime home. When a mysteriously familiar woman appears in his life, Gene starts to loosen up, until his nightmares and reality begin to blur.

Hank Bedford will direct the script he co-wrote with Cesare Gagliardoni. Bedford’s 2015 feature debut, Dixieland, starred Riley Keough and Faith Hill and was released by IFC Films.

Eugene the Marine is being produced by Stephen Vincent. Matthew Shreder of Concourse Media is executive producing and handling worldwide sales rights.

Golden Globe winner Nolte, well known for movies including Cape Fear, 48 Hrs. and his Oscar-nominated roles in The Prince of Tides, Affliction and Warrior, recently starred in series...

Patrick Carlin, author, actor, podcaster, comedy writer and brother of stand-up legend George Carlin, has died. He was 90.

Carlin’s death was confirmed by Kelly Carlin, daughter of George Carlin, yesterday via Twitter.

“My dear Uncle Patrick has moved onto the spirit world. He’s currently spinning tunes, smoking a jay with my Aunt Marlane and shooting the shit with his brother. He was a philosopher and a tough mofo all wrapped up in one,” Kelly wrote in a tribute to her uncle.

My dear Uncle Patrick has moved onto the spirit world. He’s currently spinning tunes, smoking a jay w/my Aunt Marlane and shooting the shit w/ his brother.

He was a philosopher & a tough mofo all wrapped up in one. pic.twitter.com/DyY0WupZGv

— Kelly Carlin (@kelly_carlin) April 17, 2022

Patrick Carlin wrote for 1994’s The George Carlin Show, the one-season Fox sitcom that starred the namesake stand-up comic,...

Patrick Carlin, a comedy writer and performer who was a major influence on his younger brother George Carlin, died Saturday at Kaiser Permanente hospital in Hollywood. He was 90.

Carlin’s death was confirmed by Kelly Carlin, his niece and daughter of George Carlin. George Carlin died at age 71 in June 2008.

“His uniqueness was that he was a philosopher and a tough mofo,” Carlin told Variety about her uncle, who was her father’s only sibling. She described Patrick as a protector of George during their years growing up in a tough Irish neighborhood on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

“Pat was the street fighter and my dad was the jester,” Carlin observed. George Carlin dedicated a chapter to his brother in his postumously published 2009 memoir “Last Words, A Memoir.” The chapter was titled “The Ace of Aces, the Dude of Dudes.”

“He was my dad’s hero,” Kelly Carlin said.

If you could find only one other person at the end of time, Nick Nolte would be a near-optimal individual to encounter, especially if he ran Earth’s last movie theater. Alas, while “Last Words” has initial intriguing fun with that premise, it eventually sends its two protagonists on a post-apocalyptic odyssey that’s defined by stasis, not to mention an abundance of half-baked themes. Despite a collection of A-list luminaries, writer-director Jonathan Nossiter’s drama is , and thus seems likely to enchant only the most charitable of viewers.

Based on a novel by Santiago Amigorena (who co-wrote the script), “Last Words” revolves around Kal (Kalipha Touray), who in 2085 believes himself to be the final survivor of a global climate-change catastrophe that spawned ecological decay, war, famine and disease. After losing his pregnant sister to a mob of young French children, Kal — motivated by film canisters found in Paris — decides...

It’s a strange thing to watch a movie that truly (and almost literally) believes it will never be seen; a movie that was written, financed, and shot with the bone-deep conviction that it would eventually be released to great silence; a movie that isn’t just at peace with its uncommerciality, but also consciously draws its power from the advance knowledge that it’s destined to disappear amid the boundless ocean of streaming content, not dumped into the water so much as scattered along its surface like ashes. A post-apocalyptic cri de coeur that suggests the death of cinema and the end of human civilization are two sides of the same coin, Jonathan Nossiter’s “Last Words” (adapted from the Santiago Amigorena novel “Mes Derniers Mots”) offers an end-of-the-world lament for the natural beauty that we’ve surrendered to consumerism, and for the shared experiences we’ve forfeited in the name of personal convenience.

Stellan Skarsgård is an actor that has popped up in nearly every recent major franchise. Whether it’s the beloved Eric Selvig of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the dreadful and ominous Baron Harkonnen in “Dune,” you’ve likely seen his face on your screen rather recently. In this episode of The Discourse, Stellan Skarsgård sits down to talk about his latest film “Last Words,” which features Stellan as a reluctant leader of the last human community at the end of the world.

Continue reading Stellan Skarsgård Talks ‘Last Words,’ ‘Dune: Part 2’ & Joining The ‘Star Wars’ Franchise [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

It's not hard to imagine the end of humanity these days; between the pandemic and environmental disaster, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has, at least in their head, made plans if those days shoudl arrive in their lifetime, where they would go, who they would want to be with, what they would do if there truly was no future. Would you stay where you are? Try to travel somewhere that meant something to you, or seek out loved ones? What would be the last memories you want to have? American filmmaker Jonathan Nossitor is the latest director to tackle the apocalypse world in his first fiction feature in a decade. Last Words takes a somewhat intimate look at...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

FilmBookCast Ep. 162 — FilmBookCast is the official podcast of FilmBook. FilmBookCast is an entertainment news podcast on the latest movie and television show news. Each week, FilmBook contributor Chris Banks discusses that breaking Hollywood news. In FilmBookCast Ep. 162, Chris looks at movie previews including: Nightmare Alley, Marry Me, and Last Words. TV previews include Pam & Tommy [...]

Continue reading: FilmBookCast Ep. 162 – Last Night In Soho (2021)...

"These people... They still believed." Gravitas Ventures has unveiled an official US trailer for an indie sci-fi drama titled Last Words, an Italian production with multiple languages. It was initially chosen as a 2020 Cannes Film Festival premiere last year before the festival was cancelled. It showed at a few other festivals, and is finally getting a US release on VOD in December. It is 2085. A young man, one of the few survivors of the human community of old, embarks on a long voyage to find others. He carries an enigmatic treasure: multiple reels of film, all bearing the inscription "Cineteca di Bologna". In the ruins of the cinemathèque, he encounters Shakespeare. The projection of the last fragments of films, provides the old man a renewed will to live while the boy discovers the meaning of shared joy. The journey to Athens now includes the dream of making a camera to...

Tony Hendra, a British satirist who worked as a top editor with National Lampoon and Spy magazines and is best known from “This Is Spinal Tap” as the band’s manager Ian Faith, has died. He was 79.

Hendra died on Thursday in Yonkers, N.Y., of Lou Gehrig’s disease, his wife Carla told the New York Times. He was diagnosed with the disease in 2019.

Hendra got his start at Cambridge University in the ’60s and worked alongside John Cleese and Graham Chapman just before Monty Python hit it big. He eventually took his comedy act to the U.S. and partnered with comedian Nick Ullett to perform stand-up and work as a writer and editor for various publications. In that time, he and Ullett opened for Lenny Bruce at the Cafe Au Go Go, and Hendra became a frequent guest on “The Merv Griffin Show” and “The Ed Sullivan Show.

Steve Earle shared a trio of songs from his new album, J.T., on his second appearance on Rolling Stone’s In My Room series.

J.T., which was released earlier this month, finds Earle paying tribute to his son, Justin Townes Earle, who died from a probable drug overdose in August at the age of 38. Setting up in the kitchen of his New York City home, Earle spoke earnestly about the devastating loss, but said making J.T. — which features covers of 10 Townes Earle songs — turned out to be...

Debut film was one of 15 titles feted with a Cannes 2020 label selection last year.

Kino Lorber has acquired US and English-speaking Canada rights to French filmmaker Charlène Favier’s drama Slalom and plans to release it theatrically in April.

Set against the ski resorts of the French Alps, the debut feature stars rising French actress Noée Abita as a young alpine skiing champion who falls prey to her coach, played by Jérémie Renier.

The film was one of 15 first features to be feted with a Cannes 2020 label selection last year.

”Slalom may thrill with hyper ski action but it wins...

Steve Earle and the Dukes performed a lively cover of his son Justin Townes Earle’s “Harlem River Blues” on Thursday night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. The recorded version appears on the newly released album J.T., a tribute to the late singer-songwriter, who died in August.

Strumming an octave mandolin, Earle leads his full band through a rollicking, pedal-steel drenched interpretation of the tune, which had traces of gospel harmony in its original incarnation. It’s all in stark contrast to the younger Earle’s lyrics, which...

Steve Earle has announced details for his album of songs dedicated to his late son, the singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle, who died this past August at the age of 38.

Following in the traditions of tribute albums Earle has recorded to honor close friends like his son’s namesake, Townes Van Zandt, with 2009’s Townes, and Guy Clark with 2019’s Guy, Earle will release J.T. on January 4th — what would have been his son’s 39th birthday.

“The record is called J.T. because Justin was never called anything else until he was nearly grown,...

Several major distributors return to UK cinemas this weekend.

France, opening Wednesday, October 21

A dozen new films opened in France this week into a complex reality for the country’s distributors and exhibitors following the introduction of a night-time curfew for Paris and eight other major cities on October 17. It was announced yesterday (Oct 22) that the measure will be extended to more than half the country this Saturday (Oct 24) following a further surge in cases over the past week.

Prior to the announcement, a dozen distributors had taken the plunge to release films on Wednesday against already difficult odds. In the backdrop,...

Festival spearheaded by Cannes chief Thierry Frémaux set to run in Lyon October 10 to 18.

France’s Lumière Film Festival will host 23 titles from the Cannes Film Festival’s special 2020 Official Selection at its 12th edition running October 10 to 18 in Lyon.

The festival spearheaded by Cannes delegate general Thierry Frémaux, in his other role as head of the Institut Lumière, is pushing on with the 2020 edition in the face of rising Covid-19 restrictions in France following a surge in cases in the country.

The Lumière showcase represents just under half the 56 titles selected for Cannes’s special 2020 Official Selection that it...

Jonathan Nossiter, one of the few American directors who was able to attend the Deauville Film Festival this year, didn’t make the trip for the Normandy seaside red carpet. He intended to shake people up with “Last Words,” a post-apocalyptic film set in 2086 which seems eerily prophetic.

Competing in Deauville, “Last Words” was part of the Cannes 2020 Official Selection and would have likely sparked some heated debate on the Croisette if the festival hadn’t been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Conceived as an allegory on the impact of the climate crisis, “Last Words” unfolds in a planet that has been ravaged. Europe is a vast desert and its population has been decimated by a virus. Survivors are living isolated, and while nature has perished and culture has disappeared from the world. It will take a young African refugee, played by newcomer Kalipha Touray, to bring joy and...

One of several high-profile guests scheduled to attend the Lumière Festival in October, Oliver Stone will be screening a newly restored copy of 1989’s “Born on the Fourth of July” at its world premiere in the French city of Lyon.

Other guests of honor include actor Viggo Mortensen, Danish director Thomas Vinterberg (1998’s “Festen”), Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher and Oscar winning composer Gabriel Yared. Sofia Coppola, whose father Francis Ford picked up the Lumière Prize last year, is bringing her latest film, “On the Rocks”, starring Bill Murray and Rashida Jones, to Lyon.

Run by film director Bertrand Tavernier and Cannes Festival head Thierry Frémaux, Lumière is one of the world’s leading film heritage events. This 12th edition will also feature contemporary works including 20 films originally scheduled to run in Cannes before the festival had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. Titles include Vinterberg’s “Drunk”, “Last Words” by Jonathan Nossiter,...

Italy’s Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival – which has long seen thousands of heritage film lovers and distributors flock to the city of Bologna in summer – officially kicked off Tuesday with a freshly restored version of Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Cronaca di un amore” (pictured). It’s an emblematic opener in various ways. The now freshly restored pic stars late great Italian actor Lucia Bosé who died last March, having contracted coronavirus. Antonioni’s 1950 drama is also among titles in the Venice Film Festival’s Venice Classics section, which has migrated to Bologna this year due to the impact of Covid-19 constraints on Lido screening space.

Variety spoke to Il Cinema Ritrovato chief Gian Luca Farinelli, who also heads the Bologna Film Archives and its globally renown film restoration lab, about this year’s collaboration with Venice and Cannes. Excerpts from the conversation.

How did it happen that you and Venice chief...

One of the rare festivals to be hosting physical edition in the coronavirus era, the Deauville American Film Festival is set to world premiere 10 anticipated movies that are part of Cannes’s 2020 Official Selection.

The Deauville roster of Cannes pics was curated by the Normandy-set festival’s artistic director Bruno Barde out of the 56 films selected by Cannes’ director Thierry Fremaux.

These include many prestige French films, notably Maïwenn’s “Adn,” Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar’s “A Good Man,” Lucas Belvaux’s “Home Front,” Bruno Podalydès’ “French Tech,” Charlène Favier’s “Slalom,” alongside Farid Bentoumi’s “Rouge,” Ludovic & Zoran Boukherma’s “Teddy” and Farid Bentoumi’s “Red Soil.”

Other non-u.S. pics from Cannes set for Deauville include Francis Lee’s British film “Ammonite” and Yeon Sang-ho’s South Korean movie “Peninsula.” The only American movie of the pack, Jonathan Nossiter’s “Last Words,” will play in competition.

“A town, beaches, views?...

The September festival will be one of the public film events to take place in France for four months.

The Deauville American Film Festival has announced that it will screen 10 of the 56 titles selected for the Cannes Film Festival’s special 2020 Official Selection, at its upcoming edition running September 4-13 in France.

The titles include UK director Francis Lee’s period drama Ammonite, French filmmaker Maïwenn’s semi-autobiographical tale DNA and Korean director Yeon Sang-ho’s zombie horror Peninsula, which is already proving a smash hit at home and in other Asian territories.

The Cannes Film Festival, which was forced...

The Deauville American Film Festival this year will screen 10 titles from the official Cannes 2020 selection in a separate sidebar, giving the titles, which would have premiered on the Croisette before Cannes canceled due to coronavirus, a proper theatrical screening.

Francis Lee's romantic period drama Ammonite, the director's follow-up to his cross-over hit God's Own Country; Yeon Sang-ho's Peninsula, an action-packed sequel to his zombie success Train to Busan; Jonathan Nossiter's end-of-world drama Last Words, starring Charlotte Rampling, Nick Nolte, and Stellan Skarsgard; and DNA, directed by and starring French filmmaker Maïwenn (Polisse) are among the Cannes 2020 titles that ...

The Deauville American Film Festival this year will screen 10 titles from the official Cannes 2020 selection in a separate sidebar, giving the titles, which would have premiered on the Croisette before Cannes canceled due to coronavirus, a proper theatrical screening.

Francis Lee's romantic period drama Ammonite, the director's follow-up to his cross-over hit God's Own Country; Yeon Sang-ho's Peninsula, an action-packed sequel to his zombie success Train to Busan; Jonathan Nossiter's end-of-world drama Last Words, starring Charlotte Rampling, Nick Nolte, and Stellan Skarsgard; and DNA, directed by and starring French filmmaker Maïwenn (Polisse) are among the Cannes 2020 titles that ...

Deauville will be one of the first film festivals to take place physically in France since March.

Kelly Reichardt’s period drama First Cow, Miranda July’s crime comedy caper Kajillionaire and Jonathan Nossiter’s dystopian drama Last Words will be among 14 US titles playing in competition at the Deauville American Film Festival this year.

The festival, unfolding in the upmarket beach resort of Deauville on France’s Normandy coast, will take place September 4-13.

It will be one of the first film festivals to take place physically in France since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early March, alongside the Angouleme Francophone Festival,...

The Italian film and TV industry was on a roll when the pandemic hit the country particularly hard. It’s now starting to bounce back as movie theaters reopen and productions prepare to shoot, while the Venice Film Festival, set to physically take place in September, may become a symbol of the global entertainment industry recovery effort.

Besides the festival, Venice in September is expected to host Tom Cruise on the Grand Canal as Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible 7” is scheduled to restart filming — one of roughly 40 shoots, which includes 17 feature films, 19 TV series and some shorts — that ground to a halt in March when Italy went into lockdown.

Since March, the Italian government has been quite supportive of the entertainment industry, providing a roughly $145 million aid package for exhibitors, distributors and producers. And Netflix and Italy’s film commissions have launched a fund to provide short-term emergency support to...

It’s 2085. There is no more electricity or machines on Earth. The planet is mostly a vast desert. Crops no longer grow. Children have not been born for a decade and there are very few people left alive due to a virus that debilitates people’s lungs. A young African finds a cache of film reels in a Paris apartment, all bearing the inscription “Cineteca di Bologna.” He will become the world’s last moviemaker after traveling across Europe to Athens. In “Last Words,” Italy-based U.S. director Jonathan Nossiter tackles the climate crisis while also addressing concerns over the impending death of cinema and has fun doing so with a stellar ensemble cast comprising Nick Nolte, Charlotte Rampling, Alba Rohrwacher and Stellan Skarsgaard. The Cannes Label film, produced by Italy’s Donatella Palermo (“Fire at Sea”), has “an urgency” these days, he tells Variety. This is undeniable. If nothing else,...

The Italian film and TV industry was on a roll when the pandemic hit the country particularly hard. It’s now starting to bounce back as movie theaters reopen and productions prepare to shoot, while the Venice Film Festival, set to physically take place in September, may become a symbol of the global entertainment industry recovery effort.

Besides the festival, Venice in September is expected to host Tom Cruise on the Grand Canal as Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible 7” is scheduled to restart filming — one of roughly 40 shoots, which includes 17 feature films, 19 TV series and some shorts — that ground to a halt in March when Italy went into lockdown.

Since March, the Italian government has been quite supportive of the entertainment industry, providing a roughly $145 million aid package for exhibitors, distributors and producers. And Netflix and Italy’s film commissions have launched a fund to provide short-term emergency support to...

The Cannes Marché du Film, along with a sales initiative led by Hollywood agencies, is hosting the first major virtual market since the start of pandemic, starting on June 23. Distributors and sales agents are looking forward to it: the turn-up for the online Cannes Marché du Film is significant with more than 7,000 accredited participants as of mid-June.

“As nobody can leave their house, a virtual market is the next best thing. It’s a valid and worthwhile effort … people need something to initiate interactions. If this virtual market can help in some way to stimulate business that’s a great thing,” says Dylan Leiner at Sony Pictures Classics.

Here’s a look at some key titles for sale:

“Balestra”

Director: Nicole Dorsey

Producers: Pierre Even

A disgraced competitive fencer (Tessa Thompson) is aiming for her Olympic comeback. She receives a prototype device allowing her to extend her training into her...

French sellers will market premiere a number of Cannes 2020 label titles.

MK2 Films is launching Carine Tardieu’s romantic drama The Young Lovers, starring Fanny Ardant opposite Melvil Poupaud as a 70-year-old woman who embarks on an affair with a married doctor 25 years her junior, and Ratatouille screenwriter Jim Capobianco’s stop-motion animation feature The Inventor about the life of Leonardo da Vinci, featuring Stephen Fry and Daisy Ridley in the voice cast. It will also market premiere Cannes 2020 titles The Big Hit by Emmanuel Courcol and Israeli filmmaker Nir Bergman’s father-and-son tale Here We Are.

Charades is running...

Standing out on the line-up are Slalom by Charlène Favier, Josep by Aurel, Last Words by Jonathan Nossiter and Home Front by Lucas Belvaux, all bearing the Official Selection label. Founded in February following the merger of the international sales teams at Jour2Fête and Doc & Film (see the news), The Party Film Sales will be moving things up a gear at the Marché du Film Online (22-26 June) of the Cannes Film Festival, as the company managed by Sarah Chazelle and Etienne Ollagnier, and headed up by sales directors Clémence Lavigne and Samuel Blanc, will be negotiating deals for four films bearing the Cannes 73 Official Selection label. Two of them will be screened at the market. Slalom by Charlène Favier will be wagering everything on its pair of lead actors (Noée Abita and Belgium’s Jérémie Renier) and on its moving story (about a young woman trying to escape.

Adding more value to their June 3rd unveiling, what went into this selection process and to be frank, some of these short descriptions will clue us in on the DNA of what we can expect to see from specific titles (including Maïwenn’s own DNA) that for the most part would have been included in the Un Certain Regard section. Here are some value added descriptions which will help figure out what the fall film festival might look like for Telluride, Tiff, Nyff.

The Faithful (or at least selected once before)

The French Dispatch by Wes Anderson (USA) – 1h43

ÉTÉ 85 by François Ozon (France) – 1h40

Asa Ga Kuru (True Mothers) by Naomi Kawase (Japan) – 2h20

Lovers Rock by Steve McQueen (United Kingdom) – 1h08

Mangrove by Steve McQueen (United Kingdom) – 2h04

Druk (Another Round) by Thomas Vinterberg – (Denmark) – 1h55

Adn (DNA) by Maïwenn (France / Algeria) – 1h30

Last Words by Jonathan Nossiter...