Enigmatic goth icon Siouxsie Sioux has released her first new recording in nearly a decade — a new cover of Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger,” recorded as a duet with Iggy, for an ice cream commercial.
Siouxsie is of course plenty familiar with “The Passenger,” covering the song in 1987 with Siouxsie and the Banshees. The new version is unlike either the band’s horn-fueled cover, or Iggy Pop’s thrumming punk original; instead, it’s a moody, downtempo ballad that erupts with cinematic and orchestral splendor as Siouxsie and Iggy deliver fittingly dramatic vocal performances.
Siouxsie is of course plenty familiar with “The Passenger,” covering the song in 1987 with Siouxsie and the Banshees. The new version is unlike either the band’s horn-fueled cover, or Iggy Pop’s thrumming punk original; instead, it’s a moody, downtempo ballad that erupts with cinematic and orchestral splendor as Siouxsie and Iggy deliver fittingly dramatic vocal performances.
- 4/30/2024
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
"The next time he Rifts, he will die." HaZimation has revealed the first official trailer for the animated sci-fi action thriller movie titled Max Beyond, the latest creation from VFX filmmaker Hasraf 'HaZ' Dulull. We've been a fan of HaZ for years, posting his short films way back when before he broke out into making features and more. Max Beyond uses the latest real-time animation technology in Unreal Engine, allowing HaZ to take a "transmedia view" to expand the story and universe of Max Beyond into a video game. This s sort of a proof of concept movie for the video game, connecting the story in here eventually in your own hands. A Ptsd marine goes to extreme measures to rescue his 8-year-old brother from a science research facility, where he is being experimented on for his special ability to tap into multi-dimensions across space and time (yet another multiverse...
- 2/7/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Denis Lavant, the iconic French actor of Claire Denis’ “Beau Travail” and Leos Carax’ “Holy Motors,” stars in “Redoubt,” the feature debut of rising contemporary artist-turned-director John Skoog.
Currently in post, the black-and-white film is produced by Plattform Produktion, the Goteborg-based banner run by two-time Palme d’Or winning director Ruben Ostlund (“Triangle of Sadness”) and Erik Hemmendorff. Skoog previously directed the California-set documentary short “Shadowland” which completed for a Golden Bear at the Berlinale.
“Redoubt” (“Reduit”) is a narrative film that expands on Skoog’s video installation by the same name which won the prestigious Baloise Art Prize in 2014, and is also part of the artist’s exhibition “Walls.”
Lavant’s reclusive character in “Redoubt” is inspired by Karl-Göran Persson, a farmer known as a good samaritan on the verge of madness, who lived near Skoog’s home town Kvidinge during WWII. After receiving a warning by the Swedish...
Currently in post, the black-and-white film is produced by Plattform Produktion, the Goteborg-based banner run by two-time Palme d’Or winning director Ruben Ostlund (“Triangle of Sadness”) and Erik Hemmendorff. Skoog previously directed the California-set documentary short “Shadowland” which completed for a Golden Bear at the Berlinale.
“Redoubt” (“Reduit”) is a narrative film that expands on Skoog’s video installation by the same name which won the prestigious Baloise Art Prize in 2014, and is also part of the artist’s exhibition “Walls.”
Lavant’s reclusive character in “Redoubt” is inspired by Karl-Göran Persson, a farmer known as a good samaritan on the verge of madness, who lived near Skoog’s home town Kvidinge during WWII. After receiving a warning by the Swedish...
- 2/4/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin International Film Festival has confirmed its full juries for the 2024 edition (February 16-24), with Italian actress Jasmine Trinca and German filmmaker Christian Petzold among those joining president Lupita Nyong’o on the main international jury.
Also on the jury are filmmakers Ann Hui (Hong Kong) and Albert Serra (Spain) alongside Ukrainian novelist and poet Oksana Zabuzhko.
The international jury will select the winners of the Golden and Silver Bears from the 20 films playing in Competition.
The three-member jury for the Encounters strand comprises filmmakers Lisandro Alonso (Argentina), Denis Côté (Canada) and Tizza Covi (Italy).
The Encounters jury will choose the winners of best film,...
Also on the jury are filmmakers Ann Hui (Hong Kong) and Albert Serra (Spain) alongside Ukrainian novelist and poet Oksana Zabuzhko.
The international jury will select the winners of the Golden and Silver Bears from the 20 films playing in Competition.
The three-member jury for the Encounters strand comprises filmmakers Lisandro Alonso (Argentina), Denis Côté (Canada) and Tizza Covi (Italy).
The Encounters jury will choose the winners of best film,...
- 2/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
Exec has previously headed sales for HanWay, Protagonist and eOne.
Lemming Film, the Netherlands-based producer of festival titles including Sweet Dreams and Milk, has appointed Charlotte van Weede as managing director.
Van Weede was previously sales director for ITV Studios’s global entertainment division whose catalogue includes formats such as The Voice and Love Island.
Before that, she worked at Anton Capital as head of distribution and Global Road as president of international sales. Van Weede has also worked as a feature film consultant at the Dutch Film Fund and spent four years as SVP of eOne Features in London...
Lemming Film, the Netherlands-based producer of festival titles including Sweet Dreams and Milk, has appointed Charlotte van Weede as managing director.
Van Weede was previously sales director for ITV Studios’s global entertainment division whose catalogue includes formats such as The Voice and Love Island.
Before that, she worked at Anton Capital as head of distribution and Global Road as president of international sales. Van Weede has also worked as a feature film consultant at the Dutch Film Fund and spent four years as SVP of eOne Features in London...
- 12/7/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
On July 19, the MPA ratings board handed an Nc-17 rating to “Passages,” Ira Sachs’s acclaimed drama about a very unusual love triangle. The film was set to be released just two weeks later; Sachs and his distributor, Mubi, were understandably upset. The scene that triggered the Nc-17 rating, as is often the case in situations like this one, was an extended sex scene (the MPA does not like things that are long). As almost always happens, the filmmaker and the distributor immediately committed themselves to releasing the movie unrated. “There’s no untangling the film from what it is,” Sachs told the Los Angeles Times. “It is a film that is very open about the place of sexual experience in our lives. And to shift that now would be to create a very different movie.”
He’s totally right, of course. Yet in the days that followed, as I...
He’s totally right, of course. Yet in the days that followed, as I...
- 8/13/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
††† (Crosses) — the band featuring singer Chino Moreno (Deftones) and producer/multi-instrumentalist Shaun Lopez — have announced their first full-length album in nine years. The LP, titled Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete., arrives October 13th, and features this just-released single “Invisible Hand.”
The album features two prominent guests: rapper El-p on the song “Big Youth” and The Cure’s Robert Smith on the tune “Girls Float † Boys Cry.”
“When we started working on Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete., there was so much more light coming in my life, for numerous reasons,” said Moreno in a press release. “There’s a lot more optimism. Even the darker themes are more romanticized and not coming from a place of despair.”
While Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete. marks the proper full-length follow-up to Crosses’ self-titled 2014 debut album, the band has been active the past couple years, releasing a number of singles,...
The album features two prominent guests: rapper El-p on the song “Big Youth” and The Cure’s Robert Smith on the tune “Girls Float † Boys Cry.”
“When we started working on Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete., there was so much more light coming in my life, for numerous reasons,” said Moreno in a press release. “There’s a lot more optimism. Even the darker themes are more romanticized and not coming from a place of despair.”
While Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete. marks the proper full-length follow-up to Crosses’ self-titled 2014 debut album, the band has been active the past couple years, releasing a number of singles,...
- 8/4/2023
- by Spencer Kaufman
- Consequence - Music
Pleasure to Burn: Petzold Stokes the Flames in Diffident Drama
A fragile male ego finds itself dismantled in Afire (Roter Himmel), the second chapter in Christian Petzold’s elemental themed trilogy, following the aquatic infused Undine (2020). Smaller in scale, though not necessarily substance, than Petzold’s greatest hits, he also reunites for the third time with Paula Beer, assuming the centrifugal focal point previously occupied by Nina Hoss in the majority of his earlier works.
There’s also an expression of the experimental this time around, focusing on a trio of intelligent creatives who are at a specific transitional precipice during one quiet summer soon to be consumed by a raging forest fire.…...
A fragile male ego finds itself dismantled in Afire (Roter Himmel), the second chapter in Christian Petzold’s elemental themed trilogy, following the aquatic infused Undine (2020). Smaller in scale, though not necessarily substance, than Petzold’s greatest hits, he also reunites for the third time with Paula Beer, assuming the centrifugal focal point previously occupied by Nina Hoss in the majority of his earlier works.
There’s also an expression of the experimental this time around, focusing on a trio of intelligent creatives who are at a specific transitional precipice during one quiet summer soon to be consumed by a raging forest fire.…...
- 7/13/2023
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Janelle Monáe has announced her first album in five years, The Age of Pleasure, with a new single, “Lipstick Lover.” On Wednesday, she teased the single with a short clip of her emerging from a shallow pool as the track played in the background. The video — where she wore a soaked see-through T-shirt with the word Pleasure plastered across it — quickly gained traction online.
“As we enter into The Age Of Pleasure Lipstick Lover is our freeassmothafucka anthem inspired by f.a.m. for f.a.m,” Monáe wrote in a statement about the album,...
“As we enter into The Age Of Pleasure Lipstick Lover is our freeassmothafucka anthem inspired by f.a.m. for f.a.m,” Monáe wrote in a statement about the album,...
- 5/11/2023
- by Mankaprr Conteh
- Rollingstone.com
Feist Opens Up About Leaving Arcade Fire Tour Amid Win Butler Allegations: ‘It Was Deeply Difficult’
Feist has faced hard choices in the last year.
In September, the Canadian artist penned a statement announcing she was departing Arcade Fire’s tour after allegations of sexual misconduct against frontman Win Butler.
Read More: Feist Exits Arcade Fire Tour Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Frontman Win Butler
This week, in an interview with The Irish Times, Feist opened up about coming to the decision after playing as opener on the first two dates of the tour amid the scandal.
“I was having an out-of-body experience,” she said. “Not to mention, I had brought all of these new songs. I thought, ‘Okay, maybe I’ll go do this tour and workshop how to play these songs in a bigger context.’”
She continued, “It took me until the second show where all of the practical discomfort of having to dismantle this crazy machine and fold it back up and lose...
In September, the Canadian artist penned a statement announcing she was departing Arcade Fire’s tour after allegations of sexual misconduct against frontman Win Butler.
Read More: Feist Exits Arcade Fire Tour Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Frontman Win Butler
This week, in an interview with The Irish Times, Feist opened up about coming to the decision after playing as opener on the first two dates of the tour amid the scandal.
“I was having an out-of-body experience,” she said. “Not to mention, I had brought all of these new songs. I thought, ‘Okay, maybe I’ll go do this tour and workshop how to play these songs in a bigger context.’”
She continued, “It took me until the second show where all of the practical discomfort of having to dismantle this crazy machine and fold it back up and lose...
- 4/3/2023
- by Corey Atad
- ET Canada
Video Movie Review: Pleasure (2021): It’s a Brave Picture, a Flawed one, but One that Should be Seen
Pleasure Review Video — Pleasure (2021) Video Movie Review, a movie directed by Ninja Thyberg, written by Ninja Thyberg and Peter Modestij, and starring Sofia Kappel, Zelda Morrison, Evelyn Claire, Dana DeArmond, Kendra Spade, Jason Toler, John Strong, Aiden Starr, Axel Braun, Bill Bailey, and Chris Cock. Plot Synopsis Pleasure‘s plot synopsis: “19-year-old [...]
Continue reading: Video Movie Review: Pleasure (2021): It’s a Brave Picture, a Flawed one, but One that Should be Seen...
Continue reading: Video Movie Review: Pleasure (2021): It’s a Brave Picture, a Flawed one, but One that Should be Seen...
- 2/26/2023
- by Thomas Duffy
- Film-Book
Mato Wayuhi, a 25-year-old Oglala Lakota artist and composer from South Dakota, has signed with CAA for representation.
Los Angeles-based Wayuhi works in both movies and TV as a music composer and producer, and makes his own albums that reflect in part his Lakota roots. He gained industry attention for his work as a composer on the first two seasons of Reservation Dogs, created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi for FX and Hulu.
He also scored the film War Pony, an intimate film by Riley Keough that premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and won the Caméra d’Or award for best debut feature. A version of the Oglala Lakota tribe story, War Pony, which follows the lives of two young men on the Pine Ridge Reservation, sees spirits lure humans from their underground lodgings to Earth’s surface before the Creator is finished.
Like Reservation Dogs, War Pony...
Los Angeles-based Wayuhi works in both movies and TV as a music composer and producer, and makes his own albums that reflect in part his Lakota roots. He gained industry attention for his work as a composer on the first two seasons of Reservation Dogs, created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi for FX and Hulu.
He also scored the film War Pony, an intimate film by Riley Keough that premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and won the Caméra d’Or award for best debut feature. A version of the Oglala Lakota tribe story, War Pony, which follows the lives of two young men on the Pine Ridge Reservation, sees spirits lure humans from their underground lodgings to Earth’s surface before the Creator is finished.
Like Reservation Dogs, War Pony...
- 2/14/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Feist is offering up a sampling of songs from her sixth studio album, Multitudes, which is set to arrive on April 14 via Interscope Records.
The singer-songwriter previewed the album with three new songs: “Hiding Out in the Open,” “In Lighting,” and “Love Who We Are Meant To.” Feist will also play some of these new songs during a free Valentine’s Day live-streamed mini concert, airing tonight at 7 p.m. Et.
Multitudes will mark Feist’s first album in six years, following 2017’s Pleasure. The LP was largely written on...
The singer-songwriter previewed the album with three new songs: “Hiding Out in the Open,” “In Lighting,” and “Love Who We Are Meant To.” Feist will also play some of these new songs during a free Valentine’s Day live-streamed mini concert, airing tonight at 7 p.m. Et.
Multitudes will mark Feist’s first album in six years, following 2017’s Pleasure. The LP was largely written on...
- 2/14/2023
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
While I can confidently say for all of us who make up the team here at Directors Notes that the daily mix of watching and curating films is a constant joy, what really makes the work that we do each and every day at Dn special is getting to speak to the filmmakers behind our favourite pieces of cinema. 2022 was a bumper year for those conversations, with filmmakers generously taking us deep into their processes; from new filmmakers who have appeared as exciting fresh voices on the scene, to regular Dn alums whose project-to-project development as artists we’ve tracked closely on our pages, to filmmakers we haven’t seen for over a decade making triumphant returns with some of their most vital work to date. Last year we continued to scout out new gems from film festivals around the globe with the continuation of our popular Best of Fest collections,...
- 1/31/2023
- by MarBelle
- Directors Notes
We usually share the official "reminder" list for Academy voters but it's been so busy we forgot. Apologies. If you'd like to look it up it's here. 301 films are eligible for Best Picture this year. This list is a handy guide each year to clear up any doubts that remain about what actually got released in theaters, and in which calendar year. All of this becomes harder and harder to track each year with theatrical releases barely advertised and in theaters for increasingly short durations.
The biggest area of curiousity for us, is seeing which of the annual submissions for Best International Feature Film are eligible outside of that race and which were released but didn't submit for general eligibility...
The biggest area of curiousity for us, is seeing which of the annual submissions for Best International Feature Film are eligible outside of that race and which were released but didn't submit for general eligibility...
- 1/14/2023
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
The ten best films of 2022, in five double features:
10. “Benediction” and 9. “Bros”
How does one become a fully integrated member of society — an artist, a lover, a participant in the marketplace of ideas — when that society constantly rejects your very presence and participation? Two of this year’s best took very different looks at gay creatives looking for love and fulfillment, about a century apart; “Benediction,” Terence Davies’ haunting biopic of WWI poet Siegfried Sassoon (Jack Lowden) takes a much different path than the raucous rom-com starring and co-written by Billy Eichner, but both films followed men seeking their heart’s desire in a world that judges that desire. (The exceptional LGBTQ films “Fire Island” and “The Inspection” fit this category as well.)
8. “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” and 7. “Women Talking”
Laura Poitras’ searing documentary about artist Nan Goldin and Sarah Polley’s screen adaptation of the novel by...
10. “Benediction” and 9. “Bros”
How does one become a fully integrated member of society — an artist, a lover, a participant in the marketplace of ideas — when that society constantly rejects your very presence and participation? Two of this year’s best took very different looks at gay creatives looking for love and fulfillment, about a century apart; “Benediction,” Terence Davies’ haunting biopic of WWI poet Siegfried Sassoon (Jack Lowden) takes a much different path than the raucous rom-com starring and co-written by Billy Eichner, but both films followed men seeking their heart’s desire in a world that judges that desire. (The exceptional LGBTQ films “Fire Island” and “The Inspection” fit this category as well.)
8. “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” and 7. “Women Talking”
Laura Poitras’ searing documentary about artist Nan Goldin and Sarah Polley’s screen adaptation of the novel by...
- 12/20/2022
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
The film has been a hit at the Swedish box office.
TrustNordisk has closed a number of new deals for its Swedish horror feature Feed, including for Germany (Plaion), Middle East (Oceana Studios), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Vertigo Media) and Hungary (Ads).
Since its release in Halloween week in Sweden, the film has had 110,800 admissions and box-office takings of 1.4m (€1.4m).
Paolo Vacirca, whose credits include The Hypnotist, wrote the script with Henry Stenberg, and Johannes Persson directs his debut feature.
Alexander Eriksson and Paolo Vacirca produce for Scandinavian Content Group, with co-producers Nordisk Film, Ninetone and TV4. Sofia Kappel,...
TrustNordisk has closed a number of new deals for its Swedish horror feature Feed, including for Germany (Plaion), Middle East (Oceana Studios), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Vertigo Media) and Hungary (Ads).
Since its release in Halloween week in Sweden, the film has had 110,800 admissions and box-office takings of 1.4m (€1.4m).
Paolo Vacirca, whose credits include The Hypnotist, wrote the script with Henry Stenberg, and Johannes Persson directs his debut feature.
Alexander Eriksson and Paolo Vacirca produce for Scandinavian Content Group, with co-producers Nordisk Film, Ninetone and TV4. Sofia Kappel,...
- 12/2/2022
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
The return of Ethan Hunt isn’t the only franchise worth getting excited for in 2023. Seven years after leading one of the best sequels of all-time, Mike Lane—aka Magic Mike—makes his triumphant comeback with Magic Mike’s Last Dance. Featuring Steven Soderbergh back in the director’s chair after skipping out on helming duties for Xxl, Channing Tatum is also joined by Salma Hayek. Ahead of a Valentine’s Day weekend release from Warner Bros., the first trailer has now arrived.
The official synopsis reads: “‘Magic’ Mike Lane (Tatum) takes to the stage again after a lengthy hiatus, following a business deal that went bust, leaving him broke and taking bartender gigs in Florida. For what he hopes will be one last hurrah, Mike heads to London with a wealthy socialite (Hayek Pinault) who lures him with an offer he can’t refuse…and an agenda all her own.
The official synopsis reads: “‘Magic’ Mike Lane (Tatum) takes to the stage again after a lengthy hiatus, following a business deal that went bust, leaving him broke and taking bartender gigs in Florida. For what he hopes will be one last hurrah, Mike heads to London with a wealthy socialite (Hayek Pinault) who lures him with an offer he can’t refuse…and an agenda all her own.
- 11/15/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Italy’s theatrical box office is finally showing some encouraging signs after long lagging behind other European countries in terms of post-pandemic returns.
“Don’t Worry Darling,” segueing from its Venice launch, opened better in Italy than in France and Germany last weekend when the Harry Styles and Florence Pugh-starrer scored €965,000 from Italian screens in the frame ending September 25, landing in the number two spot.
The “Avatar” re-release weighed in at number one in Italian theaters with €1.65 million (1.61 million), a better opening than Germany.
The same frame saw three Italian films – all Venice launches – among the top ten. Most notable of these is Gianni Amelio’s “Lord of the Ants,” a biopic of Italian poet and playwright Aldo Braibanti, who was jailed in 1968 due to a Fascist-era anti-gay law. “Ants” has now scored a decent more than €1.4 million (1.36 million) since bowing on Sept. 8 and briefly reaching the numero uno slot.
“Don’t Worry Darling,” segueing from its Venice launch, opened better in Italy than in France and Germany last weekend when the Harry Styles and Florence Pugh-starrer scored €965,000 from Italian screens in the frame ending September 25, landing in the number two spot.
The “Avatar” re-release weighed in at number one in Italian theaters with €1.65 million (1.61 million), a better opening than Germany.
The same frame saw three Italian films – all Venice launches – among the top ten. Most notable of these is Gianni Amelio’s “Lord of the Ants,” a biopic of Italian poet and playwright Aldo Braibanti, who was jailed in 1968 due to a Fascist-era anti-gay law. “Ants” has now scored a decent more than €1.4 million (1.36 million) since bowing on Sept. 8 and briefly reaching the numero uno slot.
- 9/30/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
‘Drive My Car’, ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ among nominees.
The World Soundtrack Awards (Wsa) has unveiled the second and final wave of nominees for its 22nd edition, which takes place on October 22 in Ghent, Belgium.
Composers nominated for the Discovery award include Eiko Ishibashi for Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar-winning Drive My Car and Isobel Waller-Bridge for spy thriller Munich: The Edge Of War.
Also nominated is post-rock electronica band Son Lux, which worked on the score for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Scroll down for the full list of nominations
Nainita Desai’s score for 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible...
The World Soundtrack Awards (Wsa) has unveiled the second and final wave of nominees for its 22nd edition, which takes place on October 22 in Ghent, Belgium.
Composers nominated for the Discovery award include Eiko Ishibashi for Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar-winning Drive My Car and Isobel Waller-Bridge for spy thriller Munich: The Edge Of War.
Also nominated is post-rock electronica band Son Lux, which worked on the score for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Scroll down for the full list of nominations
Nainita Desai’s score for 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible...
- 9/16/2022
- by Melissa Kasule
- ScreenDaily
Plot: Academy Award® winner Robert Zemeckis directs this live-action and CGI retelling of the beloved tale of a wooden puppet who embarks on a thrilling adventure to become a real boy. Tom Hanks stars as Geppetto, the woodcarver who builds and treats Pinocchio (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as if he were his real son.
Review: Disney’s remakes of their classic animated masterpieces come in two distinct flavors: reinventions that play with the conventions of the original story in a new way like Maleficent and Alice in Wonderland or they are almost beat-for-beat reenactments of the original with photo-realistic animation or live actors like in The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. Occasionally, these new films are refreshingly unlike the films that inspired them, like Cruella or even Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book, while still maintaining the heart and soul that earned the originals the title of “masterpiece”. The...
Review: Disney’s remakes of their classic animated masterpieces come in two distinct flavors: reinventions that play with the conventions of the original story in a new way like Maleficent and Alice in Wonderland or they are almost beat-for-beat reenactments of the original with photo-realistic animation or live actors like in The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. Occasionally, these new films are refreshingly unlike the films that inspired them, like Cruella or even Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book, while still maintaining the heart and soul that earned the originals the title of “masterpiece”. The...
- 9/8/2022
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
[Editor’s note: The following story contains light spoilers for “Sharp Stick.”]
There’s been a lot of panic lately about whether or not Gen Z is having enough sex. Based on a few studies that first appeared in 2016, the handwringing headlines include BuzzFeed declaring Gen Z Is Having Less Sex Than Previous Generations, Newsweek asking What’s Driving Gen Z’s Aversion to Sex?, and The Guardian dubbing it Gen Z’s Sex Recession.
Gen Z encompasses those born between 1996 and 2012, making the youngest Zoomers 10 and the oldest 26 years old, which also means that the evolving reasons for this supposed downturn are mostly still conjecture. The Guardian suggests it’s a good thing, with a growing awareness around consent leading to a “quality over quantity” attitude. One study found a correlation between reduced alcohol consumption and reduced casual sex. Others have blamed helicopter parents.
As the unofficial documentarian of Millennial sexuality, especially as it pertained to young women with her hit HBO show “Girls,...
There’s been a lot of panic lately about whether or not Gen Z is having enough sex. Based on a few studies that first appeared in 2016, the handwringing headlines include BuzzFeed declaring Gen Z Is Having Less Sex Than Previous Generations, Newsweek asking What’s Driving Gen Z’s Aversion to Sex?, and The Guardian dubbing it Gen Z’s Sex Recession.
Gen Z encompasses those born between 1996 and 2012, making the youngest Zoomers 10 and the oldest 26 years old, which also means that the evolving reasons for this supposed downturn are mostly still conjecture. The Guardian suggests it’s a good thing, with a growing awareness around consent leading to a “quality over quantity” attitude. One study found a correlation between reduced alcohol consumption and reduced casual sex. Others have blamed helicopter parents.
As the unofficial documentarian of Millennial sexuality, especially as it pertained to young women with her hit HBO show “Girls,...
- 7/28/2022
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Gina Gammell and Riley Keough’s “War Pony,” Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” and Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s “The Silent Twins” are among the several female-driven anticipated feature debuts slated for the Deauville American Film Festival’s competition.
Eight titles out of 13 features set to compete at Deauville as first films. “War Pony” world premiered at Un Certain Regard in Cannes and won the Camera d’Or for best debut. “War Pony” is a collaborative experience portraying two young Oglala Lakota men who are torn between traditions and the consumer culture surrounding them. “The Silent Twins,” which also bowed at Un Certain Regard, is a biopic of troubled twin writers June and Jennifer Gibbons starring Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance.
“Aftersun,” meanwhile, world premiered at Cannes’ Critics Week where it won the French Touch Prize and was acquired by A24. The melodrama stars Paul Mescal and newcomer Frankie Corio as a young father...
Eight titles out of 13 features set to compete at Deauville as first films. “War Pony” world premiered at Un Certain Regard in Cannes and won the Camera d’Or for best debut. “War Pony” is a collaborative experience portraying two young Oglala Lakota men who are torn between traditions and the consumer culture surrounding them. “The Silent Twins,” which also bowed at Un Certain Regard, is a biopic of troubled twin writers June and Jennifer Gibbons starring Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance.
“Aftersun,” meanwhile, world premiered at Cannes’ Critics Week where it won the French Touch Prize and was acquired by A24. The melodrama stars Paul Mescal and newcomer Frankie Corio as a young father...
- 7/27/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
When director Anita Rocha da Silveira felt paralyzed by the rise of conservatism and the ultra-right advance in her native country of Brazil, she transformed this paralysis into a fantastical metaphor of a comatose house, which serves the setting for her new horror-satire film, “Medusa.”
“Medusa,” which opens in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles July 29, follows Mari, who preaches purity and perfection through evangelical songs with her friends while harboring a deep rage. By night, the young women form a masked, vigilante girl gang who condemn sinners through violence and humiliation.
After an attack goes wrong and Mari is fired from working at a plastic surgery center due to a scar on her face, she gets a job as nurse at an institution for comatose patients in hope of encountering Melissa — a beloved celebrity figure who went into hiding after becoming one of the vigilante’s victims.
“Medusa,” which opens in select theaters in New York and Los Angeles July 29, follows Mari, who preaches purity and perfection through evangelical songs with her friends while harboring a deep rage. By night, the young women form a masked, vigilante girl gang who condemn sinners through violence and humiliation.
After an attack goes wrong and Mari is fired from working at a plastic surgery center due to a scar on her face, she gets a job as nurse at an institution for comatose patients in hope of encountering Melissa — a beloved celebrity figure who went into hiding after becoming one of the vigilante’s victims.
- 7/25/2022
- by Loree Seitz
- The Wrap
Sophie Vukovic’s narrative feature film project “My Best Friend’s Baby,” her take on non-traditional love and family, won the top Works in Development prize of Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s industry section, Eastern Promises, this week. The project, budgeted at Euros1.65 million (1.68 million), is produced by Eliza Jones and Markus Walta’s Grand Slam Film, whose porn industry drama “Pleasure” – produced alongside Erik Hemmendorff at Plattform Produktion – was selected by Sundance and was distributed in the U.S. by Neon.
Vukovic’s story centers on Damir, a gay man in Sweden and his roommate, Sara, a lesbian friend from Croatia, who’s intent on becoming a single mom. When they embark on a trip to more traditional Balkan surroundings for the wedding of Damir’s cousin, things get complicated fast.
Vukovic says the story is not autobiographical, but definitely built on personal experiences.
“The idea for the film...
Vukovic’s story centers on Damir, a gay man in Sweden and his roommate, Sara, a lesbian friend from Croatia, who’s intent on becoming a single mom. When they embark on a trip to more traditional Balkan surroundings for the wedding of Damir’s cousin, things get complicated fast.
Vukovic says the story is not autobiographical, but definitely built on personal experiences.
“The idea for the film...
- 7/9/2022
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Stars: Sofia Kappel, Revika Anne Reustle, Evelyn Claire, Chris Cock, Dana Dearmond, Kendra Spade, Jason Toler, Lance Hart, Mark Spiegler | Written by Ninja Thyberg, Peter Modestij | Directed by Ninja Thyberg
A great feature debut for Ninja Thyberg. An honest, and often brutal look at the porn industry. Pleasure is shown through the eyes of a woman torn between her ambition and the reality of the harsh and cutthroat lifestyle of being a porn star.
A young woman from Sweden arrives in LA with ambitions to be the next big star in the adult film industry, it sounds like the plot from one of the porn films this girl will end up staring in, but the film is so much more than that. The woman is Bella Cherry, played by the new and brilliant Sofia Kappel who makes her debut in this complex role. It’s through her eyes we get to discover this world,...
A great feature debut for Ninja Thyberg. An honest, and often brutal look at the porn industry. Pleasure is shown through the eyes of a woman torn between her ambition and the reality of the harsh and cutthroat lifestyle of being a porn star.
A young woman from Sweden arrives in LA with ambitions to be the next big star in the adult film industry, it sounds like the plot from one of the porn films this girl will end up staring in, but the film is so much more than that. The woman is Bella Cherry, played by the new and brilliant Sofia Kappel who makes her debut in this complex role. It’s through her eyes we get to discover this world,...
- 6/21/2022
- by Alex Ginnelly
- Nerdly
Mixed fortunes for titles amid hot weather for much of the territory.
RankFilm (distributor) Three-day gross (June 17 - 19)Total gross to date Week 1. Jurassic World Dominion (Universal) £5.7m £21.8m 2 2. Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount) £4.2m £57.4m 4 3. Lightyear (Disney) £3.7m £3.7m 1 4. Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (Lionsgate) £189,597 £239,000 1 5. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (Disney) £169,578 £41.9m 7
Universal blockbuster Jurassic World: Dominion held top spot at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, as Disney’s franchise title Lightyear opened in third place below Top Gun: Maverick.
With large parts of the territory recording annual high temperatures on Friday and Saturday, Jurassic World: Dominion...
RankFilm (distributor) Three-day gross (June 17 - 19)Total gross to date Week 1. Jurassic World Dominion (Universal) £5.7m £21.8m 2 2. Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount) £4.2m £57.4m 4 3. Lightyear (Disney) £3.7m £3.7m 1 4. Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (Lionsgate) £189,597 £239,000 1 5. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (Disney) £169,578 £41.9m 7
Universal blockbuster Jurassic World: Dominion held top spot at the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, as Disney’s franchise title Lightyear opened in third place below Top Gun: Maverick.
With large parts of the territory recording annual high temperatures on Friday and Saturday, Jurassic World: Dominion...
- 6/20/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Further new releases include ’Good Luck To You Leo Grande’ and ‘Pleasure’.
Lightyear will be hoping to blast to the top of the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, with Disney releasing the animation at 654 locations.
Pixar’s Buzz Lightyear origin story has had a lukewarm reception from critics, but the Angus MacLane-directed title will hope to capitalise on the enduring influence of the Toy Story franchise. When Toy Story 4 was released in 2019, it broke a record for the highest ever three-day opening for an animated title in the UK, opening in 668 venues, and taking £13.3m.
Chris Evans takes...
Lightyear will be hoping to blast to the top of the UK-Ireland box office this weekend, with Disney releasing the animation at 654 locations.
Pixar’s Buzz Lightyear origin story has had a lukewarm reception from critics, but the Angus MacLane-directed title will hope to capitalise on the enduring influence of the Toy Story franchise. When Toy Story 4 was released in 2019, it broke a record for the highest ever three-day opening for an animated title in the UK, opening in 668 venues, and taking £13.3m.
Chris Evans takes...
- 6/17/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Whatever your opinions on the subject, pornography is an industry worth an estimated 15bn a year and is very much a mainstay of our world. Whilst there are undoubtedly dark seams which permeate all facets of the adult entertainment industry, Swedish Writer-Director Ninja Thyberg has worked tirelessly over a decade to offer a revelatory and intimate snapshot of the industry which doesn’t pander to preconceived prejudices about those for whom porn is a job. Her debut feature Pleasure (which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival) is both shocking and captivating, taking audiences inside the mechanics of the extraordinarily explicit scenes available for all to stream at the click of a button, yet at its heart, tells the story of a young woman trying to succeed in her chosen career and the day to day struggles which embody any climb up the proverbial ladder.
Thyberg’s 2013 Cannes-winning short film of...
Thyberg’s 2013 Cannes-winning short film of...
- 6/16/2022
- by Sarah Smith
- Directors Notes
Two premiere screenings of rock documentary Freakscene: The Story Of Dinosaur Jr
grossed over 19K this weekend with a single Saturday show at iconic music venue The Opera House in Williamsburg, Brooklyn taking in north of 17K. Independent distributor Utopia worked with Murmrr, which produces live music events, and art shingle Mondo, which created a limited edition poster only for sale in person.
Tickets ranged from 30 (balcony seating) to 50. The band’s frontman J Mascis played a solo set for the nearly sold-out 600-seat venue.
Utopia’s VP of marketing and distribution Kyle Greenberg said the audience was 65 male with a strong 35-44+ turnout, although there was no shortage of Utopia’s signature younger demos. The turnout was “a testament to Dinosaur Jr. ‘s impact, with the band also continuing to find new audiences on the heels of a new album and international tour ahead this summer.”
“This is just classic alternative programming.
grossed over 19K this weekend with a single Saturday show at iconic music venue The Opera House in Williamsburg, Brooklyn taking in north of 17K. Independent distributor Utopia worked with Murmrr, which produces live music events, and art shingle Mondo, which created a limited edition poster only for sale in person.
Tickets ranged from 30 (balcony seating) to 50. The band’s frontman J Mascis played a solo set for the nearly sold-out 600-seat venue.
Utopia’s VP of marketing and distribution Kyle Greenberg said the audience was 65 male with a strong 35-44+ turnout, although there was no shortage of Utopia’s signature younger demos. The turnout was “a testament to Dinosaur Jr. ‘s impact, with the band also continuing to find new audiences on the heels of a new album and international tour ahead this summer.”
“This is just classic alternative programming.
- 5/29/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Tom Cruise can’t come to the rescue too soon. Despite some good holds and a decent showing for the older-audience “Downton Abbey: A New Era” (Focus), grosses remain in the doldrums.
Only two weeks after Marvel and Disney got summer off to a strong start with “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” attendance has returned to its anemic state. This weekend will amass around 74 million for yet another sub-100 million total — virtually unprecedented for May.
That’s half of the same weekend in 2019, reducing our ongoing four-week comparison to 58 percent for the same 2019 period. That’s close to the all-time low for this year.
“Top Gun: Maverick” has an anticipated four-day take of 100 million; considerably more is possible. It should lead Memorial Day weekend to 2019 parity, when “Aladdin” took in 116 million. For the month overall, we’re looking at 75 percent. Strong individual results don’t make up for...
Only two weeks after Marvel and Disney got summer off to a strong start with “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” attendance has returned to its anemic state. This weekend will amass around 74 million for yet another sub-100 million total — virtually unprecedented for May.
That’s half of the same weekend in 2019, reducing our ongoing four-week comparison to 58 percent for the same 2019 period. That’s close to the all-time low for this year.
“Top Gun: Maverick” has an anticipated four-day take of 100 million; considerably more is possible. It should lead Memorial Day weekend to 2019 parity, when “Aladdin” took in 116 million. For the month overall, we’re looking at 75 percent. Strong individual results don’t make up for...
- 5/22/2022
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Half a dozen Sweden pics and co-prods are set to storm the Croisette, flagships of the solid public support system in place, and fully or partly shot in a foreign language. Headlining the slate are the completion entries “Triangle of Sadness” by former winner Ruben Östlund (“The Square”), shot in the English language, and the Arabic-speaking thriller “Boy From Heaven” by Tarik Saleh (“The Nile Hilton Incident”), set in Cairo. Meanwhile, the Iranian/Danish Ali Abbasi (“Border”) is debuting in the main competition with the Farsi-language “Holy Spider,” majority-Danish produced with Sweden among co-production partners.
Elsewhere, the parallel section Acid is showcasing the Swedish doc “How to Save a Dead Friend” by Russia’s Marusya Syroechkovskaya, and three Swedish co-prods are bowing at Un Certain Regard: “Godland” by Iceland’s Hlynur Pálmason, “Sick of Myself” by Norway’s Kristoffer Borgli and “Butterfly Vision” by Ukrainian Maksym Nakonechnyi.
“Swedish filmmakers are...
Elsewhere, the parallel section Acid is showcasing the Swedish doc “How to Save a Dead Friend” by Russia’s Marusya Syroechkovskaya, and three Swedish co-prods are bowing at Un Certain Regard: “Godland” by Iceland’s Hlynur Pálmason, “Sick of Myself” by Norway’s Kristoffer Borgli and “Butterfly Vision” by Ukrainian Maksym Nakonechnyi.
“Swedish filmmakers are...
- 5/22/2022
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Pleasure Review — Pleasure (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by Ninja Thyberg, written by Ninja Thyberg and Peter Modestij and starring Sofia Kappel, Zelda Morrison, Evelyn Claire, Dana DeArmond, Kendra Spade, Jason Toler, John Strong, Aiden Starr, Axel Braun, Bill Bailey and Chris Cock. Filmmaker Ninja Thyberg doesn’t waste a lot of time in [...]
Continue reading: Film Review: Pleasure (2021): Sofia Kappel Stars in a Very Intriguing Drama About the Adult Film Industry...
Continue reading: Film Review: Pleasure (2021): Sofia Kappel Stars in a Very Intriguing Drama About the Adult Film Industry...
- 5/17/2022
- by Thomas Duffy
- Film-Book
After nearly two weeks of play, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (Disney) sits at 688 million worldwide. It is headed to around 1 billion ultimately in theaters, a fine achievement, more so for a Marvel entry that clearly has not achieved the level of satisfaction that top entries like “Spider-Man: No Way Home” did.
The biggest opening of the year has hit its mark, but won’t exceed it. A 67 percent second weekend domestic drop, at the high end for comic book blockbusters, assures that. With 292 million in, look for it to easily surpass “The Batman,” currently at 369 million in U.S./Canada returns.
…but only because it opened with 52 million more than the D.C. Comics’ hit. Matt Reeves’ blockbuster made 66.5 million its second weekend, off 50 percent. Among recent start-of-summer Marvel releases, the drop has been within a lower, steady range of 55 to 59 percent. Last December, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” also fell 67 percent,...
The biggest opening of the year has hit its mark, but won’t exceed it. A 67 percent second weekend domestic drop, at the high end for comic book blockbusters, assures that. With 292 million in, look for it to easily surpass “The Batman,” currently at 369 million in U.S./Canada returns.
…but only because it opened with 52 million more than the D.C. Comics’ hit. Matt Reeves’ blockbuster made 66.5 million its second weekend, off 50 percent. Among recent start-of-summer Marvel releases, the drop has been within a lower, steady range of 55 to 59 percent. Last December, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” also fell 67 percent,...
- 5/15/2022
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Roadside Attractions’ faith-based family comedy Family Camp opened to 1.42 million and is no. 9 of the top 10 ten this weekend on 854 screens. One of the strongest specialty openings this year, the film saw a release campaign led by Wta Media lean heavily into the faith-based audience with strong grassroots marketing to churches and ministry organizations, an active digital and social presence and partnerships with the K-love and Air1 faith-based radio networks.
Star Tommy Woodard and Eddie James (The Skit Guys) have promoted the film at their live events for the past six months.
Top performing markets were centered in the Midwest and South and include LA/Orange County, Dallas-Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Nashville, and Sacramento for the story of two polar-opposite families that find themselves reluctantly sharing a cabin for a week away at church camp. With a highly coveted camp trophy at stake, dads Tommy and Eddie...
Star Tommy Woodard and Eddie James (The Skit Guys) have promoted the film at their live events for the past six months.
Top performing markets were centered in the Midwest and South and include LA/Orange County, Dallas-Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Nashville, and Sacramento for the story of two polar-opposite families that find themselves reluctantly sharing a cabin for a week away at church camp. With a highly coveted camp trophy at stake, dads Tommy and Eddie...
- 5/15/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
This review for “Pleasure” was first published on Feb. 3, 2021, after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
“Pleasure” examines the toll of putting ambition before friendship, and of a career woman who endures the worst of her industry only to perpetrate it herself once she has climbed the ladder. Ninja Thyberg’s film happens to be set in Los Angeles’ adult-film industry, but it’s a tale that could just as easily be set at a law firm, brokerage house, or Hollywood studio.
Granted, Thyberg doesn’t shy away from the specifics of her milieu — the film’s premiere last year at the Sundance Film Festival shocked audiences with its graphic, and sometimes grueling, sexual content — but it’s not an exposé on what pornography does to women as much as a harrowing examination of what the workplace expects and allows from women and men.
The director and co-writer (with...
“Pleasure” examines the toll of putting ambition before friendship, and of a career woman who endures the worst of her industry only to perpetrate it herself once she has climbed the ladder. Ninja Thyberg’s film happens to be set in Los Angeles’ adult-film industry, but it’s a tale that could just as easily be set at a law firm, brokerage house, or Hollywood studio.
Granted, Thyberg doesn’t shy away from the specifics of her milieu — the film’s premiere last year at the Sundance Film Festival shocked audiences with its graphic, and sometimes grueling, sexual content — but it’s not an exposé on what pornography does to women as much as a harrowing examination of what the workplace expects and allows from women and men.
The director and co-writer (with...
- 5/13/2022
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
There’s a lot of talk about authenticity in Hollywood these days. Whether it’s media about the lives of people of color, LGBTQ folks, first-generation immigrants, or another marginalized group, the industry has finally learned that authentic storytelling starts with, though it seems obvious, who is actually telling the story. Perhaps a white creator isn’t the best choice to lead a show about inner-city youth, and a trans film should have trans people working on and in it. Though this is far from prohibitive — plenty of straight white guys have earned praise and success for telling other people’s stories — both audiences and critics are starting to pay closer attention.
Why should the sex industry be any different?
In “Pleasure,” Swedish writer/director Ninja Thyberg dives head-first into the Los Angeles porn industry to tell the story of 19-year-old Bella Cherry (Sofia Kappel), who dreams of becoming the next big porn star.
Why should the sex industry be any different?
In “Pleasure,” Swedish writer/director Ninja Thyberg dives head-first into the Los Angeles porn industry to tell the story of 19-year-old Bella Cherry (Sofia Kappel), who dreams of becoming the next big porn star.
- 5/13/2022
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
It’s one of busiest opening weeks in some time for indie releases with Neon (Pleasure), Bleecker Street (Montana Story), IFC Midnight (The Innocents) and Roadside Attractions (Family Camp) in theaters — even as the imminent closure of the Landmark Pico underscores just how arthouses are struggling to win back core demos.
Also out, Grasshopper Films presents Michelangelo Frammartino’s Venice Special Jury Prize-winner Il Buco; Greenwich Entertainment documentary Mau is the first feature-length treatment on design visionary Bruce Mau; and Trafalgar Entertainment offers a remastered version of Lasse Hallstrom’s Abba: The Movie, which follows the group’s hugely successful 1977 Australian tour.
Roadside’s faith-based comedy Family Camp is the widest specialty release on over 850 screens. It’s the first feature from The Skit Guys — Tommy Woodard and Eddie James – targeting “family member from eight to eighty.” Two polar-opposite families find themselves sharing a cabin and vying for a coveted...
Also out, Grasshopper Films presents Michelangelo Frammartino’s Venice Special Jury Prize-winner Il Buco; Greenwich Entertainment documentary Mau is the first feature-length treatment on design visionary Bruce Mau; and Trafalgar Entertainment offers a remastered version of Lasse Hallstrom’s Abba: The Movie, which follows the group’s hugely successful 1977 Australian tour.
Roadside’s faith-based comedy Family Camp is the widest specialty release on over 850 screens. It’s the first feature from The Skit Guys — Tommy Woodard and Eddie James – targeting “family member from eight to eighty.” Two polar-opposite families find themselves sharing a cabin and vying for a coveted...
- 5/13/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
The adaptation of Deborah Levy’s novel will be directed by Justin Anderson.
Ariane Labed, Christopher Abbott and Mackenzie Davis have signed to star in Justin Anderson’s directorial debut Swimming Home, which Bankside Films is introducing to international buyers at Cannes. US rights are being co-repped by UTA Independent Film Group and WME Independent.
The film is an adaptation of the Man Booker Prize-nominated novel of the same name by Deborah Levy and is a dark comedy about a troubled married couple and their teenage daughter whose holiday is transformed by the naked stranger they find floating in the pool of their villa.
Ariane Labed, Christopher Abbott and Mackenzie Davis have signed to star in Justin Anderson’s directorial debut Swimming Home, which Bankside Films is introducing to international buyers at Cannes. US rights are being co-repped by UTA Independent Film Group and WME Independent.
The film is an adaptation of the Man Booker Prize-nominated novel of the same name by Deborah Levy and is a dark comedy about a troubled married couple and their teenage daughter whose holiday is transformed by the naked stranger they find floating in the pool of their villa.
- 5/13/2022
- by Louise Tutt
- ScreenDaily
Swedish director Ninja Thyberg is the winner of this year’s annual Women in Motion Young Talent Award, bestowed by the Kering Group and the Cannes Film Festival to a standout first-time female director.
Thyberg is being honored for directing several shorts and a feature all centered around the theme of “sexuality as a prism for viewing passion in society,” the award’s organizers said in a statement.
In 2013, Thyberg’s short “Pleasure” was presented in Cannes’ Critics’ Week section. The short was then expanded into her first feature by the same title which was chosen in the Cannes official selection in 2020 and then screened in 2021 at Sundance, and was also awarded the jury prize in 2021 at Deauville.
“‘Pleasure” jerks the skeevy, compulsive porn world out of the closet in a way that few movies have,” wrote Variety critic Owen Gleiberman in his review. “That’s a brave thing to,...
Thyberg is being honored for directing several shorts and a feature all centered around the theme of “sexuality as a prism for viewing passion in society,” the award’s organizers said in a statement.
In 2013, Thyberg’s short “Pleasure” was presented in Cannes’ Critics’ Week section. The short was then expanded into her first feature by the same title which was chosen in the Cannes official selection in 2020 and then screened in 2021 at Sundance, and was also awarded the jury prize in 2021 at Deauville.
“‘Pleasure” jerks the skeevy, compulsive porn world out of the closet in a way that few movies have,” wrote Variety critic Owen Gleiberman in his review. “That’s a brave thing to,...
- 5/13/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
After premiering at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, Rebeca Huntt’s feature directorial debut, the documentary “Beba,” is now bound for a movie theater near you. Acclaimed on the festival circuit and poised for a summer sleeper release as only Neon can mount, this hypnotic portrait takes no prisoners and leaves no casualties in its director’s searching portrait of her own NYC-born, Afro-Latina roots.
The film will next screen at the Tribeca Film Festival before its nationwide opening, and follows Huntt as she undertakes an unflinching exploration of her own identity through the format of a cinematic memoir. Reflecting on her childhood and adolescence in New York City as the daughter of a Dominican father and Venezuelan mother, Huntt investigates the historical, societal, and generational trauma she’s inherited and ponders how those ancient wounds have shaped her, while simultaneously considering the universal truths that connect us all as humans.
The film will next screen at the Tribeca Film Festival before its nationwide opening, and follows Huntt as she undertakes an unflinching exploration of her own identity through the format of a cinematic memoir. Reflecting on her childhood and adolescence in New York City as the daughter of a Dominican father and Venezuelan mother, Huntt investigates the historical, societal, and generational trauma she’s inherited and ponders how those ancient wounds have shaped her, while simultaneously considering the universal truths that connect us all as humans.
- 5/12/2022
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
In an explicit and uncompromising new drama, a Swedish woman tries to work her way to the top of LA’s patriarchal porn industry
Swedish film-maker Ninja Thyberg certainly did not take the easy route with her first feature. Pleasure, which arrives in US theaters this weekend, takes on a subject rife for denigration or moralism: ambitious 19-year-old Bella Cherry, played by Swedish newcomer Sofia Kappel, trying to break into the American porn industry in the late 2010s. Based on years of research in the Hollywood-adjacent world of Los Angeles adult film, Thyberg’s debut portrays female friendship, pragmatic striving and power dynamics in an industry as liable for abuse – and professionalism – as any other. Pleasure often lingers on the quotidian aspects of the business – contracts, pre-shoot douches, set lighting, gossip with co-workers. The unrated film, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance festival, opens on Bella’s bare crotch, as she...
Swedish film-maker Ninja Thyberg certainly did not take the easy route with her first feature. Pleasure, which arrives in US theaters this weekend, takes on a subject rife for denigration or moralism: ambitious 19-year-old Bella Cherry, played by Swedish newcomer Sofia Kappel, trying to break into the American porn industry in the late 2010s. Based on years of research in the Hollywood-adjacent world of Los Angeles adult film, Thyberg’s debut portrays female friendship, pragmatic striving and power dynamics in an industry as liable for abuse – and professionalism – as any other. Pleasure often lingers on the quotidian aspects of the business – contracts, pre-shoot douches, set lighting, gossip with co-workers. The unrated film, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance festival, opens on Bella’s bare crotch, as she...
- 5/12/2022
- by Adrian Horton
- The Guardian - Film News
This upcoming weekend, Marvel Studios’ latest superhero epic, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” will continue to run rampant at the box office, and it’s likely to be the #1 movie for quite some time, or at least until “Top Gun: Maverick” opens over Memorial Day weekend.
On Friday, Universal Pictures is releasing Blumhouse Pictures’ take on Stephen King’s best-selling thriller “Firestarter,” but it’s not just opening in roughly 3,300 theaters – it will also get a day-and-date release on its Peacock streaming service. The new movie stars Ryan Kiera Armstrong from “American Horror Story” as young Charlie McGee, the titular girl with pyrokinetic powers, while Zac Efron plays her father. It’s directed by Keith Thomas, who helmed the previous Blumhouse movie, “The Vigil.”
The decision for Universal to do day-and-date streaming is an odd one, just because there isn’t much direct competition other than “Doctor Strange.
On Friday, Universal Pictures is releasing Blumhouse Pictures’ take on Stephen King’s best-selling thriller “Firestarter,” but it’s not just opening in roughly 3,300 theaters – it will also get a day-and-date release on its Peacock streaming service. The new movie stars Ryan Kiera Armstrong from “American Horror Story” as young Charlie McGee, the titular girl with pyrokinetic powers, while Zac Efron plays her father. It’s directed by Keith Thomas, who helmed the previous Blumhouse movie, “The Vigil.”
The decision for Universal to do day-and-date streaming is an odd one, just because there isn’t much direct competition other than “Doctor Strange.
- 5/11/2022
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
Fast-rising film production and investment company Logical Pictures has acquired The Jokers Films, a well-respected French distribution company boasting long-term bonds with Bong Joon-ho and Nicolas Winding Refn, among other filmmakers.
Under the deal, The Jokers Films, which is presided over by Manuel Chiche, will be integrated within Logical Pictures. Chiche, a forward-thinking French industry veteran who’s been one of the country’s top distributors for Asian and independent American films, will also become a partner in Logical Pictures while continuing to lead The Jokers Films.
Headed by Frédéric Fiore, Logical Pictures was founded in 2016 as a financial and co-production banner and has now expanded into different entertainment fields through key investments in banners such as Pulsar Content, Marie Garrett and Gilles Sousa’s sales company whose recent titles include Elie Grappe’s “Olga” and Stephen Fingleton’s “Nightride;” Loveboat, an advertising and branded content outfit; Black Mic Mac,...
Under the deal, The Jokers Films, which is presided over by Manuel Chiche, will be integrated within Logical Pictures. Chiche, a forward-thinking French industry veteran who’s been one of the country’s top distributors for Asian and independent American films, will also become a partner in Logical Pictures while continuing to lead The Jokers Films.
Headed by Frédéric Fiore, Logical Pictures was founded in 2016 as a financial and co-production banner and has now expanded into different entertainment fields through key investments in banners such as Pulsar Content, Marie Garrett and Gilles Sousa’s sales company whose recent titles include Elie Grappe’s “Olga” and Stephen Fingleton’s “Nightride;” Loveboat, an advertising and branded content outfit; Black Mic Mac,...
- 5/5/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov — the director of Cannes competition titles “Leto” and “Petrov’s Flu” — has left the country following the end of a three-year travel ban, and arrived in Paris on Sunday. He’s currently in Germany where he will be based for the foreseeable future, Variety has learned.
A picture of the iconoclastic Russian helmer popped up on social media on Wednesday. In the pic, Serebrennikov wears a T-shirt that reads “I turn the TV off,” which alludes to the propaganda flooding Russian TV since the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Serebrennikov was sentenced in June 2020 to a three-year suspended prison sentence and was also issued a fine over trumped-up charges of embezzlement. A Moscow court canceled the suspended sentence after questioning the filmmaker twice last week.
“The Russian government had already given him back his passport in January so that he could travel to Germany for a play,...
A picture of the iconoclastic Russian helmer popped up on social media on Wednesday. In the pic, Serebrennikov wears a T-shirt that reads “I turn the TV off,” which alludes to the propaganda flooding Russian TV since the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Serebrennikov was sentenced in June 2020 to a three-year suspended prison sentence and was also issued a fine over trumped-up charges of embezzlement. A Moscow court canceled the suspended sentence after questioning the filmmaker twice last week.
“The Russian government had already given him back his passport in January so that he could travel to Germany for a play,...
- 3/30/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSAbove: Fatal Attraction (1987)The next season of Karina Longsworth's podcast You Must Remember This will focus on the thorny and sumptuous erotic films of the 1980s and 1990s, including films by Adrian Lyne, Brian De Palma, and Stanley Kubrick. The two-part season will start on April 5. Ahead of its theatrical release, the long-delayed Top Gun: Maverick will play at a special screening in Cannes for the 75th edition of the festival in May. This year's Cannes Film Festival also has a new official partner: TikTok. The partnership will include exclusive festival-related content for users and an in-app competition called #TikTokShortFilm. James Morosini's I Love My Dad and Rosa Ruth Boesten's documentary Master of Light lead this year's SXSW Film Festival awards. Actor William Hurt has died at the age of 71. Hurt was known...
- 3/16/2022
- MUBI
by Jason Adams
I hope you'll forgive me since I'm the member of Team Tfe that pays the scantest attention possible to Awards Season, but when I watched half of the Independent Spirits this past weekend I was extremely confused to see that Ninja Thyberg's porn industry drama Pleasure had been nominated for a few awards, and it threw me down a rabbit hole of confusion with regards to that movie's release. I saw it at Sundance last year (that is in 2021) and I was blown away by it, and I had been waiting, waiting, waiting, for news of a release...
I hope you'll forgive me since I'm the member of Team Tfe that pays the scantest attention possible to Awards Season, but when I watched half of the Independent Spirits this past weekend I was extremely confused to see that Ninja Thyberg's porn industry drama Pleasure had been nominated for a few awards, and it threw me down a rabbit hole of confusion with regards to that movie's release. I saw it at Sundance last year (that is in 2021) and I was blown away by it, and I had been waiting, waiting, waiting, for news of a release...
- 3/9/2022
- by JA
- FilmExperience
Movies such as “Boogie Nights” have attempted to depict the porn industry in a feature film, but no film has ever shown just how raw, shocking and disturbing porn can be quite like Ninja Thyberg’s “Pleasure.” The movie is based on Thyberg’s 2013 short film about a young woman from Sweden who moves to Los Angeles and tries to become a porn star. “Pleasure” originally premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, but it’s finally coming to theaters this year courtesy of Neon.
Sofia Kappel stars in the leading role of Linnéa, who works as a porn star under the stage name “Bella Cherry.” Many of the actors in “Pleasure” come from the real porn industry, and Thyberg has said she researched the film by immersing herself in the porn scene. According to the director, most of the shocking incidents viewers see in the movie are based on things she witnessed.
Sofia Kappel stars in the leading role of Linnéa, who works as a porn star under the stage name “Bella Cherry.” Many of the actors in “Pleasure” come from the real porn industry, and Thyberg has said she researched the film by immersing herself in the porn scene. According to the director, most of the shocking incidents viewers see in the movie are based on things she witnessed.
- 3/9/2022
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
"Are you ready to make a banana happy?" Neon has dropped the first official trailer for Pleasure, an acclaimed, spicy new critical drama about the porn industry in Los Angeles. The film initially premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year to a number of rave reviews (ours here). The feature debut of filmmaker Ninja Thyberg, Pleasure is an extremely explicit journey deep in the pornography industry, a story about a young Swedish woman who thinks she can make it big in the industry and heads to Los Angeles. But she learns there's many issues with the porn industry above all the sex and debauchery. Sofia Kappel stars, with a cast including Revika Anne Reustle, Evelyn Claire, Dana DeArmond, Kendra Spade, and Jason Toler. As sultry as it looks, I think this film is a biting criticism of how most industries operate, and how fame and glory is impossible without losing your integrity.
- 3/9/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
On the surface, there are two ways to look at the film “Pleasure.” One, an explicit drama that made waves at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020. Or two, a hot potato so hot, an edgy film studio lost its nerve and passed it on to another edgier studio. That’s kinda the story of “Pleasure,” a titillating drama in and around the Los Angeles porn/adult film industry, sold to A24 out of Sundance, but after some potential buyers remorse, they sold the movie to Neon, a rival studio with a similar reputation for releasing edgy or even transgressive art house films (but not that transgressive I guess).
Continue reading ‘Pleasure’ Red Band Trailer: Neon’s Controversial Porn Drama Is Finally Coming For You at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Pleasure’ Red Band Trailer: Neon’s Controversial Porn Drama Is Finally Coming For You at The Playlist.
- 3/9/2022
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
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