Glenn Kendrick Ackermann will kick off worldwide sales in Cannes through his V International Media on the supernatural drama Can You Hear Me starring Peter Facinelli from The Twilight Saga.
Charlotte Radford, who starred alongside Daryl Hannah in The American Connection, also stars and wrote the screenplay.
The cast includes James Cosmo from Game Of Thrones, John Standing from The Crown, Matt Barber of Downton Abbey, and Jane Thorne from Night Train To Lisbon.
Simon Hunter, who helmed Mutant Chronicles, directs the story about the whirlwind romance and marriage between Annabel and Samuel, an American soldier who is severely wounded in the first World War.
Charlotte Radford, who starred alongside Daryl Hannah in The American Connection, also stars and wrote the screenplay.
The cast includes James Cosmo from Game Of Thrones, John Standing from The Crown, Matt Barber of Downton Abbey, and Jane Thorne from Night Train To Lisbon.
Simon Hunter, who helmed Mutant Chronicles, directs the story about the whirlwind romance and marriage between Annabel and Samuel, an American soldier who is severely wounded in the first World War.
- 4/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Glenn Kendrick Ackermann will kick off worldwide sales in Cannes through his V International Media on the supernatural drama Can You Hear Me starring Peter Facinelli from The Twilight Saga.
Charlotte Radford, who starred alongside Daryl Hannah in The American Connection, also stars and wrote the screenplay.
The cast includes James Cosmo from Game Of Thrones, John Standing from The Crown, Matt Barber of Downton Abbey, and Jane Thorne from Night Train To Lisbon.
Simon Hunter, who helmed Mutant Chronicles, directs the story about the whirlwind romance and marriage between Annabel and Samuel, an American soldier who is severely wounded in the first World War.
Charlotte Radford, who starred alongside Daryl Hannah in The American Connection, also stars and wrote the screenplay.
The cast includes James Cosmo from Game Of Thrones, John Standing from The Crown, Matt Barber of Downton Abbey, and Jane Thorne from Night Train To Lisbon.
Simon Hunter, who helmed Mutant Chronicles, directs the story about the whirlwind romance and marriage between Annabel and Samuel, an American soldier who is severely wounded in the first World War.
- 4/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Oscar winner Jeremy Irons has joined the cast of Palme d’Or-winning director Bille August’s prestige limited series “The Count of Monte Cristo,” which also stars Sam Claflin.
A sprawling adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel, the English-language series is produced by Mediawan’s banner Palomar, the leading Italian company behind “That Dirty Black Bag” and “The Name of the Rose,” in collaboration with another Mediawan label, France’s Demd Productions. The series’ five-month shoot will wrap in Malta in December, after having lensed in France and Italy.
The show underscores Mediawan’s strategy to pursue prestige scripted projects with strong international potential under its €100 million co-investment agreement signed earlier this year with private equity film Entourage Ventures.
“The Count of Monte Cristo” marks Irons’ third collaboration with August, who directed him in “Night Train to Lisbon” and “The House of Spirits.” A revered Danish filmmaker, August previously won...
A sprawling adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel, the English-language series is produced by Mediawan’s banner Palomar, the leading Italian company behind “That Dirty Black Bag” and “The Name of the Rose,” in collaboration with another Mediawan label, France’s Demd Productions. The series’ five-month shoot will wrap in Malta in December, after having lensed in France and Italy.
The show underscores Mediawan’s strategy to pursue prestige scripted projects with strong international potential under its €100 million co-investment agreement signed earlier this year with private equity film Entourage Ventures.
“The Count of Monte Cristo” marks Irons’ third collaboration with August, who directed him in “Night Train to Lisbon” and “The House of Spirits.” A revered Danish filmmaker, August previously won...
- 11/20/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Keshet International has secured rights to Cuba Libre, a buzzy drama about a follower of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara that’s being billed as one of Portugal’s most ambitious television series ever. The six-part biopic, based on the life of Ana Maria Silva Pais, will form part of Ki’s slate at Mipcom Cannes next month.
Produced by Hop! Films for Portugal’s public service broadcaster Rtp, the drama follows newcomer Beatriz Gordinho in the lead role of Annie, a young Portuguese woman joined the Cuban revolution and gave everything to Che Guevara. The show debuts on Rtp tomorrow (September 21) and you can watch the trailer below, with English subtitles.
Pais, whose story is told against the backdrop of the Cold War, was the only daughter of the Director General of Portugal’s secret service, the Pide. Considered a culture lover and legendary beauty, she often clashed with...
Produced by Hop! Films for Portugal’s public service broadcaster Rtp, the drama follows newcomer Beatriz Gordinho in the lead role of Annie, a young Portuguese woman joined the Cuban revolution and gave everything to Che Guevara. The show debuts on Rtp tomorrow (September 21) and you can watch the trailer below, with English subtitles.
Pais, whose story is told against the backdrop of the Cold War, was the only daughter of the Director General of Portugal’s secret service, the Pide. Considered a culture lover and legendary beauty, she often clashed with...
- 9/20/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Swiss-American actress Dominique Devenport believes in luck. “I was having a beer with a friend of mine in a canteen in Munich and talking about how I felt a connection to Sisi,” she explained to Variety in a one-on-one conversation.
“What I didn’t realize was that the next day, he was meeting the film’s casting director. He told her about me, and she called.”
Word had spread that the six-hour period drama was in the works in acting circles, and Devenport studied acting in Munich at the Otto Falckenberg Schule. She originally got into acting through singing, she explains. “I was one of two little girls asked to run across a stage for a director and I thought it was really cool,” she said.
As for “Sisi”: “I auditioned and was cast but it takes even more luck than that because then it has to work with the actor cast opposite Sisi,...
“What I didn’t realize was that the next day, he was meeting the film’s casting director. He told her about me, and she called.”
Word had spread that the six-hour period drama was in the works in acting circles, and Devenport studied acting in Munich at the Otto Falckenberg Schule. She originally got into acting through singing, she explains. “I was one of two little girls asked to run across a stage for a director and I thought it was really cool,” she said.
As for “Sisi”: “I auditioned and was cast but it takes even more luck than that because then it has to work with the actor cast opposite Sisi,...
- 10/13/2021
- by Liza Foreman
- Variety Film + TV
Beta Film has closed a raft of major deals for the period drama “Sisi” ahead of its world premiere in Cannes on Monday. In addition, Rtl Deutschland has given the green light for the second season of the series.
“Sisi” will bow in Germany later this year on the streaming platform Rtl Plus and then on linear channel Rtl.
The six-hour period drama, produced by Story House Pictures, will be broadcast by Mediaset in Italy, Globoplay in Brasil, Npo in the Netherlands, Rtl in Hungary, Rtvs in Slovak Republic and Viasat World on its Epic Drama channel throughout Eastern Europe, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey.
Most recently, Beta Film signed a contract with Vtm Belgium. Previously, TF1 for France and Austrian pubcaster Orf joined as broadcasting partners. Numerous negotiations are ongoing.
The coming-of-age story of the Austrian Empress will celebrate its world premiere at the TV festival Canneseries on Monday, playing out of competition.
“Sisi” will bow in Germany later this year on the streaming platform Rtl Plus and then on linear channel Rtl.
The six-hour period drama, produced by Story House Pictures, will be broadcast by Mediaset in Italy, Globoplay in Brasil, Npo in the Netherlands, Rtl in Hungary, Rtvs in Slovak Republic and Viasat World on its Epic Drama channel throughout Eastern Europe, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey.
Most recently, Beta Film signed a contract with Vtm Belgium. Previously, TF1 for France and Austrian pubcaster Orf joined as broadcasting partners. Numerous negotiations are ongoing.
The coming-of-age story of the Austrian Empress will celebrate its world premiere at the TV festival Canneseries on Monday, playing out of competition.
- 10/11/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Format
Survey says!… Hong Kong is getting its own “Family Feud” remake as Fremantle and Tvb team to bring a local format of the historic game show to the island’s airwaves. Local broadcaster Tvb will host the show on its Tvb Jade Channel starting Aug. 29 of this year. The new version of the series will be hosted by popular actor, producer and comedian Johnson Lee.
“Family Feud” Hong Kong is the latest in a string of Fremantle properties to land on the island, following in the footsteps of “America’s Got Talent,” “Britain’s Got Talent,” “Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals” and “Great Railway Journeys,” among others.
“The ‘Family Feud’ format has proved to be irresistible to over 70 international markets, and now audiences in Hong Kong can see what the survey says,” said Fremantle senior VP of distribution Asian and international Haryaty Rahman. “There are endless possibilities for humorous and outrageous answers...
Survey says!… Hong Kong is getting its own “Family Feud” remake as Fremantle and Tvb team to bring a local format of the historic game show to the island’s airwaves. Local broadcaster Tvb will host the show on its Tvb Jade Channel starting Aug. 29 of this year. The new version of the series will be hosted by popular actor, producer and comedian Johnson Lee.
“Family Feud” Hong Kong is the latest in a string of Fremantle properties to land on the island, following in the footsteps of “America’s Got Talent,” “Britain’s Got Talent,” “Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals” and “Great Railway Journeys,” among others.
“The ‘Family Feud’ format has proved to be irresistible to over 70 international markets, and now audiences in Hong Kong can see what the survey says,” said Fremantle senior VP of distribution Asian and international Haryaty Rahman. “There are endless possibilities for humorous and outrageous answers...
- 8/17/2021
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Beta Film has closed pre-sales with two leading European broadcasters, France’s TF1 and Austria’s Orf, on Rtl Group’s series about iconic Austrian Empress Sisi.
Shooting of the six-hour series has just started in the Baltics and will continue in Austria, Hungary and Germany. Today we can reveal a first look on set. Rtl Group’s streaming service Tvnow plans to release Sisi at the end of this year. Further negotiations with several international broadcasters are said to be underway.
Empress Elisabeth, nicknamed Sisi, whose fictional character was portrayed by Austrian actress Romy Schneider in the 1950s, was a pop star and influencer of her time at the end of the 19th century, and an icon in Europe and beyond.
The series circles around the tomboy and Bavarian princess, who, after her marriage with Franz Joseph I., Emperor of Austria, has to realize that life at the...
Shooting of the six-hour series has just started in the Baltics and will continue in Austria, Hungary and Germany. Today we can reveal a first look on set. Rtl Group’s streaming service Tvnow plans to release Sisi at the end of this year. Further negotiations with several international broadcasters are said to be underway.
Empress Elisabeth, nicknamed Sisi, whose fictional character was portrayed by Austrian actress Romy Schneider in the 1950s, was a pop star and influencer of her time at the end of the 19th century, and an icon in Europe and beyond.
The series circles around the tomboy and Bavarian princess, who, after her marriage with Franz Joseph I., Emperor of Austria, has to realize that life at the...
- 5/7/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Before Bridgerton, before The Crown, there was Sisi.
The real-life, 19th-century royal romance between Elizabeth “Sisi” of Bavaria and her husband, Austrian-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph, was turned into a series of iconic films in the 1950s, starring legendary Austrian actress Romy Schneider as Sisi.
Now, leading German commercial broadcaster Rtl Group and Beta Film, a producer on Babylon Berlin, are rebooting the Sisi story for a new generation.
Swiss-American actress Dominique Devenport (Night Train to Lisbon) will star as Sisi, a tomboy princess who falls head over heels for Franz Joseph but finds the Hapsburg court in Vienna to be a backstabbing viper ...
The real-life, 19th-century royal romance between Elizabeth “Sisi” of Bavaria and her husband, Austrian-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph, was turned into a series of iconic films in the 1950s, starring legendary Austrian actress Romy Schneider as Sisi.
Now, leading German commercial broadcaster Rtl Group and Beta Film, a producer on Babylon Berlin, are rebooting the Sisi story for a new generation.
Swiss-American actress Dominique Devenport (Night Train to Lisbon) will star as Sisi, a tomboy princess who falls head over heels for Franz Joseph but finds the Hapsburg court in Vienna to be a backstabbing viper ...
- 3/24/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Before Bridgerton, before The Crown, there was Sisi.
The real-life, 19th-century royal romance between Elizabeth “Sisi” of Bavaria and her husband, Austrian-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph, was turned into a series of iconic films in the 1950s, starring legendary Austrian actress Romy Schneider as Sisi.
Now, leading German commercial broadcaster Rtl Group and Beta Film, a producer on Babylon Berlin, are rebooting the Sisi story for a new generation.
Swiss-American actress Dominique Devenport (Night Train to Lisbon) will star as Sisi, a tomboy princess who falls head over heels for Franz Joseph but finds the Hapsburg court in Vienna to be a backstabbing viper ...
The real-life, 19th-century royal romance between Elizabeth “Sisi” of Bavaria and her husband, Austrian-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph, was turned into a series of iconic films in the 1950s, starring legendary Austrian actress Romy Schneider as Sisi.
Now, leading German commercial broadcaster Rtl Group and Beta Film, a producer on Babylon Berlin, are rebooting the Sisi story for a new generation.
Swiss-American actress Dominique Devenport (Night Train to Lisbon) will star as Sisi, a tomboy princess who falls head over heels for Franz Joseph but finds the Hapsburg court in Vienna to be a backstabbing viper ...
- 3/24/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
British actor to serve as president of the international jury.
British actor Jeremy Irons is to serve as president of the international jury at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 20-Mar 1).
The Oscar-winning screen and theatre actor has appeared in more than 50 features, including David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and Ridley Scott’s Kingdom Of Heaven. He also provided the voice of Scar in Disney classic The Lion King.
Irons first attended the Berlinale as a guest of the festival in 2011 with J.C. Chandor’s Margin Call, which played in competition. He returned in...
British actor Jeremy Irons is to serve as president of the international jury at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 20-Mar 1).
The Oscar-winning screen and theatre actor has appeared in more than 50 features, including David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and Ridley Scott’s Kingdom Of Heaven. He also provided the voice of Scar in Disney classic The Lion King.
Irons first attended the Berlinale as a guest of the festival in 2011 with J.C. Chandor’s Margin Call, which played in competition. He returned in...
- 1/9/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Schwesterlein
It’s been ten years since the narrative debut of Swiss directing duo Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond, 2010’s The Little Bedroom (though they’ve worked in documentary and television since then). They’ve managed to lasso a formidable cast for their sophomore narrative Schwesterlein, with Nina Hoss, Lars Eidinger, Marthe Keller, and Jens Albinus in this Swiss-German co-production. Filip Zumbrunn serves as Dp on the title, which is produced by Vega Film. Chaut & Reymond’s 2010 debut The Little Bedroom premiered in competition at Locarno, and was also selected as the submission for Best Foreign Language feature (it took four years to receive a theatrical release in the Us in 2014).…...
It’s been ten years since the narrative debut of Swiss directing duo Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond, 2010’s The Little Bedroom (though they’ve worked in documentary and television since then). They’ve managed to lasso a formidable cast for their sophomore narrative Schwesterlein, with Nina Hoss, Lars Eidinger, Marthe Keller, and Jens Albinus in this Swiss-German co-production. Filip Zumbrunn serves as Dp on the title, which is produced by Vega Film. Chaut & Reymond’s 2010 debut The Little Bedroom premiered in competition at Locarno, and was also selected as the submission for Best Foreign Language feature (it took four years to receive a theatrical release in the Us in 2014).…...
- 1/1/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
As we go through the terrific lineup for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, we’re continually being pleasantly surprised by the smaller movies making an appearance — ones that don’t necessarily land in the headlines. One such picture that’s caught our attention is “55 Steps.”
Directed by Bille August (“Night Train To Lisbon,” “The House Of The Spirits,” “Smilla’s Sense Of Snow“) and starring Helena Bonham Carter, Hilary Swank, and Jeffrey Tambor, the film tells the true story of Eleanor Riese, who fought for the rights of mentally ill patients to weigh in on their treatment.
Continue reading First Look & Clip: ’55 Steps’ Starring Helena Bonham Carter & Hilary Swank at The Playlist.
Directed by Bille August (“Night Train To Lisbon,” “The House Of The Spirits,” “Smilla’s Sense Of Snow“) and starring Helena Bonham Carter, Hilary Swank, and Jeffrey Tambor, the film tells the true story of Eleanor Riese, who fought for the rights of mentally ill patients to weigh in on their treatment.
Continue reading First Look & Clip: ’55 Steps’ Starring Helena Bonham Carter & Hilary Swank at The Playlist.
- 8/16/2017
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Unravel the truth when the suspenseful drama, based on the acclaimed novel, The Sense of an Ending, arrives on Digital HD May 23 and DVD and On Demand June 6 from Lionsgate.
“The Sense of an Ending maintains intrigue and emotional magnetism as its mystery unfolds.” – Glenn Kenny, The New York Times
Unravel the truth when the suspenseful drama, based on the acclaimed novel, The Sense of an Ending, arrives on Digital HD May 23 and DVD and On Demand June 6 from Lionsgate. Academy Award® winner Jim Broadbent (Best Supporting Actor, Iris, 2001) shines in “an outstanding performance” (Vanity Fair) as a man who becomes haunted by his past when given a mysterious legacy. The all-star cast also includes Academy Award® nominee Charlotte Rampling (Best Actress, 45 Years, 2015), Golden Globe® (Best Actress, Television – Drama, “Downton Abbey”, 2013) and Emmy® nominee Michelle Dockery, as well as Emily Mortimer and Harriet Walter. Adapted for the screen by the award-winning playwright,...
“The Sense of an Ending maintains intrigue and emotional magnetism as its mystery unfolds.” – Glenn Kenny, The New York Times
Unravel the truth when the suspenseful drama, based on the acclaimed novel, The Sense of an Ending, arrives on Digital HD May 23 and DVD and On Demand June 6 from Lionsgate. Academy Award® winner Jim Broadbent (Best Supporting Actor, Iris, 2001) shines in “an outstanding performance” (Vanity Fair) as a man who becomes haunted by his past when given a mysterious legacy. The all-star cast also includes Academy Award® nominee Charlotte Rampling (Best Actress, 45 Years, 2015), Golden Globe® (Best Actress, Television – Drama, “Downton Abbey”, 2013) and Emmy® nominee Michelle Dockery, as well as Emily Mortimer and Harriet Walter. Adapted for the screen by the award-winning playwright,...
- 5/17/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Jack Huston on taking the lead role in Ben-HurJack Huston on taking the lead role in Ben-HurChristian Aust8/15/2016 4:36:00 Pm
Meeting Jack Huston always feels a bit like travelling back in time. He has the looks, and old-fashioned manners, of a classic Hollywood star of the 1950s.
He’s polite, considerate and remembers our last interview, which took place in an old palace in Lisbon before his 2013 movie Night Train to Lisbon came out. “That was nice,” he recalls. “But it also reminds me of how quickly time is flying by.”
A lot of things have happened since then. Huston, who by that time was already known as disfigured former soldier Richard Harrow from TV’s "Boardwalk Empire", subsequently appeared in the movies Kill Your Darlings, American Hustle, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Hail, Caesar!
In April 2013 he and his girlfriend Shannan Click had a baby girl named Saga Lavinia Huston,...
Meeting Jack Huston always feels a bit like travelling back in time. He has the looks, and old-fashioned manners, of a classic Hollywood star of the 1950s.
He’s polite, considerate and remembers our last interview, which took place in an old palace in Lisbon before his 2013 movie Night Train to Lisbon came out. “That was nice,” he recalls. “But it also reminds me of how quickly time is flying by.”
A lot of things have happened since then. Huston, who by that time was already known as disfigured former soldier Richard Harrow from TV’s "Boardwalk Empire", subsequently appeared in the movies Kill Your Darlings, American Hustle, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Hail, Caesar!
In April 2013 he and his girlfriend Shannan Click had a baby girl named Saga Lavinia Huston,...
- 8/15/2016
- by Christian Aust
- Cineplex
Exclusive: UK film and TV outfit to be led by Vivien Muller-Rommel.
The Studio Hamburg Production Group has launched a UK production arm, which will be overseen by former BFI executive Vivien Muller-Rommel.
The German production and services centre is now looking to develop and produce a slate of English-language film and TV projects for the international market out of the UK with the former BFI executive in place as its local MD.
Muller-Rommel, a former Universal Pictures International and TWC int’l production and acquisitions assistant, spent five years at the BFI working in the Film Fund and the international department.
She will be building a team out of the company’s Soho office to produce around two features and two-three TV projects per year and will report to chairman of the Studio Hamburg management board, Michael Lehmann.
“We want to make high quality commercially viable English-language film and TV content,” Muller-Rommel told Screen...
The Studio Hamburg Production Group has launched a UK production arm, which will be overseen by former BFI executive Vivien Muller-Rommel.
The German production and services centre is now looking to develop and produce a slate of English-language film and TV projects for the international market out of the UK with the former BFI executive in place as its local MD.
Muller-Rommel, a former Universal Pictures International and TWC int’l production and acquisitions assistant, spent five years at the BFI working in the Film Fund and the international department.
She will be building a team out of the company’s Soho office to produce around two features and two-three TV projects per year and will report to chairman of the Studio Hamburg management board, Michael Lehmann.
“We want to make high quality commercially viable English-language film and TV content,” Muller-Rommel told Screen...
- 7/6/2016
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Seven international series projects have been selected to pitch at the Berlinale Co-Production Market.
The Berlinale Co-Production Market is to host the second edition of its CoPro Series event on Feb 16, featuring seven high-end TV projects that are looking for co-production and financing partners.
Among the selection are The Illegal from Canada, a dystopian story by author and director Clement Virgo (The Book Of Negroes) and the Danish miniseries Lucky Per, which will be directed by Oscar-winner Bille August (Night Train To Lisbon).
These are joined by German project The Disappearance by Hans-Christian Schmid (Home for the Weekend), Norwegian crime series Brotherhood, Dutch family drama Avrupa and Israeli newsroom-based drama Wars Inc.
One project will be presented in cooperation with series festival and co-production forum Séries Mania Paris, which is organised by Forum des Images, headed by Laurence Herszberg.
From its 2015 edition, the series DNA by author and creator Torleif Hoppe (The Killing) is invited to Berlin...
The Berlinale Co-Production Market is to host the second edition of its CoPro Series event on Feb 16, featuring seven high-end TV projects that are looking for co-production and financing partners.
Among the selection are The Illegal from Canada, a dystopian story by author and director Clement Virgo (The Book Of Negroes) and the Danish miniseries Lucky Per, which will be directed by Oscar-winner Bille August (Night Train To Lisbon).
These are joined by German project The Disappearance by Hans-Christian Schmid (Home for the Weekend), Norwegian crime series Brotherhood, Dutch family drama Avrupa and Israeli newsroom-based drama Wars Inc.
One project will be presented in cooperation with series festival and co-production forum Séries Mania Paris, which is organised by Forum des Images, headed by Laurence Herszberg.
From its 2015 edition, the series DNA by author and creator Torleif Hoppe (The Killing) is invited to Berlin...
- 1/20/2016
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Gambit: Recently we heard an unconfirmed report claiming Channing Tatum's deal to star in Marvel's Gambit was in jeopardy and that he might be exiting the project. Now, however, another source says that the actor has closed his deal and will indeed be playing the Southern card shark and ladies' man. Still to be determined is whether the actor will appear in other X-Men universe projects coming from 20th Century Fox. The movie is due in theaters on October 7, 2016. [Heat Vision] Robin Hood: Origins: Young stars Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Jack Huston (Night Train to Lisbon), Jack Reynor (Transformers: Age of Extinction), and Dylan O'Brien (The Maze Runner) are all under consideration to play the lead role in Robin Hood: Origins. The...
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- 8/3/2015
- by Peter Martin
- Movies.com
Thriller marks Emma Watson’s first lead role since Harry Potter.
Pincipal photography is about to begin on thriller Colonia, from German director Florian Gallenberger (John Rabe).
The film stars Emma Watson in her first lead role since the Harry Potter franchise and Daniel Brühl, the German star of Rush and The Face of an Angel.
The film will shoot in Luxembourg, Munich, Berlin and South America, until the end of the year.
Colonia tells the story of Lena and Daniel, a young couple, who become entangled in the Chilean military coup of 1973.
Daniel is abducted by Pinochet’s secret police and Lena tracks him to a sealed off area in the South of the country, called Colonia Dignidad.
The Colonia presents itself as a charitable mission run by lay preacher Paul Schäfer but, in fact, is a place nobody ever escaped from. Lena decides to join the cult in order to find Daniel.
Gallenberger is directing...
Pincipal photography is about to begin on thriller Colonia, from German director Florian Gallenberger (John Rabe).
The film stars Emma Watson in her first lead role since the Harry Potter franchise and Daniel Brühl, the German star of Rush and The Face of an Angel.
The film will shoot in Luxembourg, Munich, Berlin and South America, until the end of the year.
Colonia tells the story of Lena and Daniel, a young couple, who become entangled in the Chilean military coup of 1973.
Daniel is abducted by Pinochet’s secret police and Lena tracks him to a sealed off area in the South of the country, called Colonia Dignidad.
The Colonia presents itself as a charitable mission run by lay preacher Paul Schäfer but, in fact, is a place nobody ever escaped from. Lena decides to join the cult in order to find Daniel.
Gallenberger is directing...
- 9/29/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Thriller marks Emma Watson’s first lead role since Harry Potter.
Pincipal photography is about to begin on thriller Colonia, from German director Florian Gallenberger (John Rabe).
The film stars Emma Watson in her first lead role since the Harry Potter franchise and Daniel Brühl, the German star of Rush and The Face of an Angel.
The film will shoot in Luxembourg, Munich, Berlin and South America, until the end of the year.
Colonia tells the story of Lena and Daniel, a young couple, who become entangled in the Chilean military coup of 1973.
Daniel is abducted by Pinochet’s secret police and Lena tracks him to a sealed off area in the South of the country, called Colonia Dignidad.
The Colonia presents itself as a charitable mission run by lay preacher Paul Schäfer but, in fact, is a place nobody ever escaped from. Lena decides to join the cult in order to find Daniel.
Gallenberger is directing...
Pincipal photography is about to begin on thriller Colonia, from German director Florian Gallenberger (John Rabe).
The film stars Emma Watson in her first lead role since the Harry Potter franchise and Daniel Brühl, the German star of Rush and The Face of an Angel.
The film will shoot in Luxembourg, Munich, Berlin and South America, until the end of the year.
Colonia tells the story of Lena and Daniel, a young couple, who become entangled in the Chilean military coup of 1973.
Daniel is abducted by Pinochet’s secret police and Lena tracks him to a sealed off area in the South of the country, called Colonia Dignidad.
The Colonia presents itself as a charitable mission run by lay preacher Paul Schäfer but, in fact, is a place nobody ever escaped from. Lena decides to join the cult in order to find Daniel.
Gallenberger is directing...
- 9/29/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
German helmer Florian Gallenberger won an Oscar for his 2000 short film Quiero Ser (I Want To Be…) and followed that up with such features as Honolulu and City Of War: The Story Of John Rabe. Both those films starred Daniel Bruhl with whom the director is reteaming on Colonia. Principal photography is about to begin on the thriller that has Emma Watson opposite Bruhl in a tale inspired by true events. They play a young couple who become entangled in the Chilean military coup of 1973. Daniel (Bruhl) is abducted by Pinochet’s secret police and Lena (Watson) tracks him to a sealed-off area in the south of the country called Colonia Dignidad. The Colonia presents itself as a charitable mission run by a lay preacher, but is in fact a place from which no one has ever escaped. In order to find her beloved, Lena decides to join the cult.
- 9/29/2014
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline
Based on the best selling novel by Pascal Mercier, Night Train To Lisbon sees critically acclaimed director Billie August (The House of Spirits) bring together a star cast, including Jeremy Irons, Jack Huston, Melanie Laurent, and Christopher Lee, for an enthralling mystery that spans decades, as Iron's Raimund Grigorius embarks on a life changing quest to discover the truth behind a mysterious author. The below trailer looks absolutely beautiful, and the cast are on top form, unsurprising considering the amount of talent they all process. Check it out below. Released: October 24th ...
- 9/27/2014
- by noreply@blogger.com (Tom White)
- www.themoviebit.com
"Weekend" director Andrew Haigh, who has been taking on helming and executive producing duties on the HBO series "Looking," has a new project in the works. Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay are set to star Haigh's "45 Years," which is eyeing a spring start date. Per Variety, the film follows one Kate Mercer (Rampling) in the five days leading up to her 45th wedding anniversary. All is fine until an unnerving letter arrives from her husband: the body of Kate's first lover has been found frozen and perfectly preserved in a glacier in the Swiss Alps. This of course sets an altogether different mood for the imminent wedding anniversary. The story was adapted by Haigh from a short story by poet David Constantine. Rampling was nominated for a Primetime Emmy last year for "Restless," and her recent big-screen credits include Francois Ozon's "Jeune et Jolie" and Bille August's "Night Train to Lisbon,...
- 2/13/2014
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay have been cast in 45 Years.
Weekend director Andrew Haigh is adapting the film from a short story by David Constantine, reports Variety.
It centres around a couple preparing for their 45th anniversary party.
But when the body of the husband's first love is discovered, frozen and preserved in the Swiss Alps, suddenly it looks as if they might not make it to their anniversary.
British writer-director Haigh recently debuted his HBO show Looking.
Rampling was recently seen in The Sea, Jeune & Jolie and Night Train to Lisbon, in which Courtenay also appeared.
45 Years will enter into production in the spring.
Weekend director Andrew Haigh is adapting the film from a short story by David Constantine, reports Variety.
It centres around a couple preparing for their 45th anniversary party.
But when the body of the husband's first love is discovered, frozen and preserved in the Swiss Alps, suddenly it looks as if they might not make it to their anniversary.
British writer-director Haigh recently debuted his HBO show Looking.
Rampling was recently seen in The Sea, Jeune & Jolie and Night Train to Lisbon, in which Courtenay also appeared.
45 Years will enter into production in the spring.
- 2/12/2014
- Digital Spy
It is death and only death that gives each moment beauty and horror.
Citizen Kane (1941), known by some as the best movie of all time, gave the world the plot device of an intrepid investigator who brings out the story through a series of flashbacks. Each flashback is a piece of the puzzle, framing the story and slowly filling in the center until the final piece unsatisfyingly drops into place to resolve the whole. It has be used and re-used until today we are faced with Night Train to Lisbon (2013), a film destined for repeated use as schedule filling on cable television or Netflix inventory-building, loved by some attracted by the name of Jeremy Irons and ignored by everyone else. Though rather existential and thinky, it is ultimately charming. As Anthony Blanche once said to Charles Ryder, “Charm is the great English blight...it warps and k-kills anything it touches.
Citizen Kane (1941), known by some as the best movie of all time, gave the world the plot device of an intrepid investigator who brings out the story through a series of flashbacks. Each flashback is a piece of the puzzle, framing the story and slowly filling in the center until the final piece unsatisfyingly drops into place to resolve the whole. It has be used and re-used until today we are faced with Night Train to Lisbon (2013), a film destined for repeated use as schedule filling on cable television or Netflix inventory-building, loved by some attracted by the name of Jeremy Irons and ignored by everyone else. Though rather existential and thinky, it is ultimately charming. As Anthony Blanche once said to Charles Ryder, “Charm is the great English blight...it warps and k-kills anything it touches.
- 1/13/2014
- by Jason Ratigan
- JustPressPlay.net
Ride on Time: August and Another Puerile Adaptation
It’s evident that Danish director Bille August favors helming adaptations of challenging novels, though the end result isn’t always praiseworthy, such as his infamous 1993 adaptation of Isabel Allende’s House of the Spirits, which rankled many for its brazen casting of white actors in expressly Latin source material (though this was only one of many issues in the film). August returns with a cast of many international colors for an adaptation of Pascal Mercier’s novel, Night Train to Lisbon, and the result is a gratingly stilted endeavor, a muddled miasma of vapid, historical based intrigue that dilutes its own specific political angles with its pan-European blandness.
Raimond Gregarius (Jeremy Irons) lives a dull existence as a classical studies teacher in Bern, Switzerland. One dismal day on his way to work, he saves a young woman (Sarah Buhlmann) about to jump off a bridge.
It’s evident that Danish director Bille August favors helming adaptations of challenging novels, though the end result isn’t always praiseworthy, such as his infamous 1993 adaptation of Isabel Allende’s House of the Spirits, which rankled many for its brazen casting of white actors in expressly Latin source material (though this was only one of many issues in the film). August returns with a cast of many international colors for an adaptation of Pascal Mercier’s novel, Night Train to Lisbon, and the result is a gratingly stilted endeavor, a muddled miasma of vapid, historical based intrigue that dilutes its own specific political angles with its pan-European blandness.
Raimond Gregarius (Jeremy Irons) lives a dull existence as a classical studies teacher in Bern, Switzerland. One dismal day on his way to work, he saves a young woman (Sarah Buhlmann) about to jump off a bridge.
- 12/14/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
In the very finest tradition of Euro-pudding, director Bille August's "Night Train To Lisbon" adapts an international bestselling book, takes place against the picturesque backdrop of a European capital, is half-told in flashback through a turbulent and dramatic period of history, and stacks the cast with notable European thesps. These include: Jeremy Irons, Jack Huston, Charlotte Rampling, Christopher Lee, Tom Courtenay representing the U.K.; from Germany, Martina Gedeck and August Diehl; Bruno Ganz of Switzerland; Lena Olin of Sweden; and Mélanie Laurent from France. However, bar Irons, this Babel tower of actors all play Portuguese nationals, and so while the films is told through English, they all speak with Portuguese accents. Irons, however, plays Swiss, which obviously means he employs his usual mellifluous British tones. A little silly though all this is, it's not actually particularly injurious to our understanding of the story, but it does give you an idea of the messiness.
- 12/7/2013
- by Jessica Kiang
- The Playlist
Respected actor Jeremy Irons is set to co-star in the Edward R. Pressman/ Prashita Chaudhary’s Cinemorphic Entertainment Company production of The Man Who Knew Infinity, the biographic film on the life of Srinivasa Ramanujan with Dev Patel starring as the revered Indian mathematician. Irons will play G.H. Hardy, the English mathematician who plucked Ramanujan from obscurity in Edwardian India and installed him in the hallowed halls of Cambridge University.
The film will be directed by Matthew Brown, who also wrote the screenplay based on the biography The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan by Robert Kanigel. Edward R. Pressman and Prashita Chaudhary of Cinemorphic are producers along with Jim Young under his Animus Films banner and Sofia Sondervan of Dutch Tilt Film.
Announcing the casting, Pressman said, “I am delighted to be working with Jeremy again. Our last collaboration on Reversal of Fortune earned an Oscar for Jeremy,...
The film will be directed by Matthew Brown, who also wrote the screenplay based on the biography The Man Who Knew Infinity: A Life of the Genius Ramanujan by Robert Kanigel. Edward R. Pressman and Prashita Chaudhary of Cinemorphic are producers along with Jim Young under his Animus Films banner and Sofia Sondervan of Dutch Tilt Film.
Announcing the casting, Pressman said, “I am delighted to be working with Jeremy again. Our last collaboration on Reversal of Fortune earned an Oscar for Jeremy,...
- 12/7/2013
- by Stacey Yount
- Bollyspice
Bille August, now in his mid-60s, makes films for the aging genteel — perhaps a shrewd choice, demographically, as our great many boomers march ahead into antiquity.
His latest, Night Train to Lisbon, is the sort of picture probably best enjoyed over a pipe and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, the better to savor its dry, full-bodied taste.
August, a two-time winner of the Palme d'Or, has long since fallen out of critical favor, and it isn't especially difficult to understand why: The pallid sensibility he clings to simply isn't fashionable these days — particularly in his native Denmark, where enfants terribles like Nicolas Winding Refn and Lars von Trier have found success through provocation.
Night Train to Lisbon has no intention of...
His latest, Night Train to Lisbon, is the sort of picture probably best enjoyed over a pipe and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, the better to savor its dry, full-bodied taste.
August, a two-time winner of the Palme d'Or, has long since fallen out of critical favor, and it isn't especially difficult to understand why: The pallid sensibility he clings to simply isn't fashionable these days — particularly in his native Denmark, where enfants terribles like Nicolas Winding Refn and Lars von Trier have found success through provocation.
Night Train to Lisbon has no intention of...
- 12/4/2013
- Village Voice
Ghita Nørby stars in family drama to be shot on Danish island of Funen.
While preparing two German features – new adaptions of Russian author Vladimir Nabokov’s Laughter in the Dark and Austrian author Stefan Zweig’s Beware of Pity - Danish Oscar-winning director Bille August will on Monday start principal photography for a new Danish family drama, Quiet Heart (Stille hjerte), on the island of Funen.
From an original story by Christian Torpe, the Jesper Mothorst production for Sf Film willl reunite August with Danish actress Ghita Nørby, who played the lead in his Ingmar Bergman film from 1992, The Best Intentions (Den goda viljan), which received the Palme d’Or in Cannes.
August also won the top prize in Cannes for Pelle the Conqueror (Pelle Erobreren/1988), which went on to collect the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Foreign-Language Feature.
Quiet Heart follows three generations of a family, gathered for a weekend...
While preparing two German features – new adaptions of Russian author Vladimir Nabokov’s Laughter in the Dark and Austrian author Stefan Zweig’s Beware of Pity - Danish Oscar-winning director Bille August will on Monday start principal photography for a new Danish family drama, Quiet Heart (Stille hjerte), on the island of Funen.
From an original story by Christian Torpe, the Jesper Mothorst production for Sf Film willl reunite August with Danish actress Ghita Nørby, who played the lead in his Ingmar Bergman film from 1992, The Best Intentions (Den goda viljan), which received the Palme d’Or in Cannes.
August also won the top prize in Cannes for Pelle the Conqueror (Pelle Erobreren/1988), which went on to collect the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Foreign-Language Feature.
Quiet Heart follows three generations of a family, gathered for a weekend...
- 11/14/2013
- by jornrossing@aol.com (Jorn Rossing Jensen)
- ScreenDaily
Ghita Nørby stars in family drama to be shot on Danish island of Funen.
While preparing two German features – new adaptions of Russian author Vladimir Nabokov’s Laughter in the Dark and Austrian author Stefan Zweig’s Beware of Pity - Danish Oscar-winning director Bille August will on Monday start principal photography for a new Danish family drama, Quiet Heart (Stille hjerte), on the island of Funen.
From an original story by Christian Torpe, the Jesper Mothorst production for Sf Film willl reunite August with Danish actress Ghita Nørby, who played the lead in his Ingmar Bergman film from 1992, The Best Intentions (Den goda viljan), which received the Palme d’Or in Cannes.
August also won the top prize in Cannes for Pelle the Conqueror (Pelle Erobreren/1988), which went on to collect the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Foreign-Language Feature.
Quiet Heart follows three generations of a family, gathered for a weekend...
While preparing two German features – new adaptions of Russian author Vladimir Nabokov’s Laughter in the Dark and Austrian author Stefan Zweig’s Beware of Pity - Danish Oscar-winning director Bille August will on Monday start principal photography for a new Danish family drama, Quiet Heart (Stille hjerte), on the island of Funen.
From an original story by Christian Torpe, the Jesper Mothorst production for Sf Film willl reunite August with Danish actress Ghita Nørby, who played the lead in his Ingmar Bergman film from 1992, The Best Intentions (Den goda viljan), which received the Palme d’Or in Cannes.
August also won the top prize in Cannes for Pelle the Conqueror (Pelle Erobreren/1988), which went on to collect the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Foreign-Language Feature.
Quiet Heart follows three generations of a family, gathered for a weekend...
- 11/14/2013
- by jornrossing@aol.com (Jorn Rossing Jensen)
- ScreenDaily
iNumber Number appears to ber the film that keeps on giving. After having its remake rights picked up by Universal, THR reports that Wrekin Hill Entertainment has acquired North American rights to the South African-set pic that was recently showcased at the ’13 edition of the Toronto Int. Film Festival. The distribution co. which has Night Train to Lisbon in the pipeline, will release the film as a limited theatrical day-and-date release in the Spring of 2014.
Gist: When Chili Ngcobo, an honest but ambitious undercover cop, is cheated out of a major reward by his corrupt superiors, he infiltrates a cash-in-transit heist gang, and instead of busting them, he decides to participate in a one off score. He must face off against his partner who refuses to let him do it and one of the gang members who recognizes him as a cop.
Worth Noting: Marsh is a fan of helmers David O Russell,...
Gist: When Chili Ngcobo, an honest but ambitious undercover cop, is cheated out of a major reward by his corrupt superiors, he infiltrates a cash-in-transit heist gang, and instead of busting them, he decides to participate in a one off score. He must face off against his partner who refuses to let him do it and one of the gang members who recognizes him as a cop.
Worth Noting: Marsh is a fan of helmers David O Russell,...
- 10/31/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The Audience Award went to Destin Daniel Cretton’s Us festival hit Short Term 12; The Athens International Film Festival wrapped with Blue Is The Warmest Colour.
Yann Gonzalez’s debut feature You and the Night was named Best Film at the 19th Athens International Film Festival (Aiff) which ran September 19-29.
A Modern day retelling of Sade’s Philosophy In The Bedroom, the film, written by Gonzalez, stars Alain-Fabien Delon alongside Eric Cantona, Kate Moran, Fabienne Babe and Niels Schneider.
It was chosen by a jury made up of film school students, aged 18-25.
The Best Director Award went to second timer American Sam Fleischner for Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors, a coming of age story about a 13 years-old autistic boy, son of an illegal Mexican immigrant mother in New York.
French debutant Antonin Peretjako picked up the Best Screenplay award for The Rendez-vous of Deja-Vu, about the adventures of a group of young Parisians...
Yann Gonzalez’s debut feature You and the Night was named Best Film at the 19th Athens International Film Festival (Aiff) which ran September 19-29.
A Modern day retelling of Sade’s Philosophy In The Bedroom, the film, written by Gonzalez, stars Alain-Fabien Delon alongside Eric Cantona, Kate Moran, Fabienne Babe and Niels Schneider.
It was chosen by a jury made up of film school students, aged 18-25.
The Best Director Award went to second timer American Sam Fleischner for Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors, a coming of age story about a 13 years-old autistic boy, son of an illegal Mexican immigrant mother in New York.
French debutant Antonin Peretjako picked up the Best Screenplay award for The Rendez-vous of Deja-Vu, about the adventures of a group of young Parisians...
- 10/1/2013
- by alexisgrivas@yahoo.com (Alexis Grivas)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Wrekin Hill has acquired North American rights from Gfm Films to the 3D Dolph Lundgren film Legendary, which shot in China earlier this year.
The $14m film recounts the story of a trophy hunter who clashes with a crypto-zoologist over the hunt for a dragon-like creature in the jungle. The UK’s Scott Adkins also stars.
Wrekin Hill plans a day-and-date early 2014 release. CFO Rene Cogan and director of acquisitions Alex Mandell brokered the deal with Gfm’s Fred Hedman.
Gfm is currently in pre-production on director Asger Leth’s The Job with producer Lucas Foster, as well as animation Secret Defenders based on the Slinky toy.
Wrekin Hill has a multi-year Us home entertainment distribution deal with Lionsgate and a three-year multi-platform output deal with Canadian distributor eOne.
The company’s upcoming slate includes Bille August’s Night Train To Lisbon starring Jeremy Irons, Melanie Laurent and Charlotte Rampling, as well as...
The $14m film recounts the story of a trophy hunter who clashes with a crypto-zoologist over the hunt for a dragon-like creature in the jungle. The UK’s Scott Adkins also stars.
Wrekin Hill plans a day-and-date early 2014 release. CFO Rene Cogan and director of acquisitions Alex Mandell brokered the deal with Gfm’s Fred Hedman.
Gfm is currently in pre-production on director Asger Leth’s The Job with producer Lucas Foster, as well as animation Secret Defenders based on the Slinky toy.
Wrekin Hill has a multi-year Us home entertainment distribution deal with Lionsgate and a three-year multi-platform output deal with Canadian distributor eOne.
The company’s upcoming slate includes Bille August’s Night Train To Lisbon starring Jeremy Irons, Melanie Laurent and Charlotte Rampling, as well as...
- 9/19/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Some directing news to get y'all over that midweek hump. Screen Daily has two pieces of intriguing news for us: first up, Tobias Lindholm, director of the absolutely stellar “A Hijacking," has announced his new project, “The War,” about Danish soldiers in Afghanistan. Lindholm likes simple titles, it seems, and simple set-ups: “The War” will form the third part of a thematic trilogy about “desperate men in small rooms”, following on from “A Hijacking” and the even simpler “R” from 2010. This third film will also feature "Borgen" star Pilou Asbaek, as the previous two did. (Lindholm is a writer on that show).In more Danish directing news, Bille August, of “Night Train To Lisbon” and “Goodbye Bafana” fame has announced his new project, “Beware of Pity,” based on the Stefan Zweig novel of the same name about a young lieutenant in the 1930s who falls for a paralyzed aristocrat. Greg Latter will write the script,...
- 9/18/2013
- by Ben Brock
- The Playlist
Pedro Almodóvar Set For Career Honor From European Film Academy Pedro Almodóvar will receive the European Achievement in World Cinema award at the 26th European Film Awards in December. The European Film Academy is feting the filmmaker for his body of work, including Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown – his 1988 breakout film – All About My Mother, Talk To Her and this year’s I’m So Excited. “I am very thankful for this award,” Almodóvar said in a statement. “From its creation, the European Film Academy has been very generous with me and my closest collaborators. I share with them the joy of this award.” He will receive the award December 7 at the the Efa Awards in Berlin. Senator Film To Finance Bille August’s ‘Beware Of Pity’ Germany’s Senator Film is backing the latest feature adaptation of Stefan Zweig’s Beware Of Pity. Danish helmer Bille August will direct.
- 9/17/2013
- by NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor
- Deadline TV
Bille August ("The House of the Spirits," "Smilla's Feeling for Snow") is attached to direct an adaptation of Stefan Zweig's 1938 novel "Beware of Pity" at Senator Films.
August and scribe Greg Latter, who previously worked together on "Goodbye Bafana" and "Night Train to Lisbon," are re-teaming on the English language project which will sport a German and international cast.
The story follows a young lieutenant invited to dine at at a Hungarian aristocrat’s castle. There he meets a parylysed young woman who falls in love with him.
Lars Sylvest and Helge Sasse will produce. Filming takes place next year in Bavaria, Austria and Hungary ahead of a 2015 release.
Source: Screen Daily...
August and scribe Greg Latter, who previously worked together on "Goodbye Bafana" and "Night Train to Lisbon," are re-teaming on the English language project which will sport a German and international cast.
The story follows a young lieutenant invited to dine at at a Hungarian aristocrat’s castle. There he meets a parylysed young woman who falls in love with him.
Lars Sylvest and Helge Sasse will produce. Filming takes place next year in Bavaria, Austria and Hungary ahead of a 2015 release.
Source: Screen Daily...
- 9/16/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Senator backing adaptation of 1938 novel.
Bille August is attached to direct an adaptation of Stefan Zweig’s novel Beware of Pity for UK producer Lars Sylvest and Senator Film’s Helge Sasse of Germany.
Hallstrom’s frequent collaborator Greg Latter will write the script. The pair previously worked together on Goodbye Bafana and Night Train to Lisbon.
The 1938 novel by the Vienna-born author is about a young lieutenant who is invited to dine at at a Hungarian aristocrat’s castle, where he meets a parylysed young woman who falls in love with him.
The film will be in the English language with a German and international cast. It will shoot in 2014 in Bavaria, Austria and Hungary. Senator will release in 2015.
Bille August is attached to direct an adaptation of Stefan Zweig’s novel Beware of Pity for UK producer Lars Sylvest and Senator Film’s Helge Sasse of Germany.
Hallstrom’s frequent collaborator Greg Latter will write the script. The pair previously worked together on Goodbye Bafana and Night Train to Lisbon.
The 1938 novel by the Vienna-born author is about a young lieutenant who is invited to dine at at a Hungarian aristocrat’s castle, where he meets a parylysed young woman who falls in love with him.
The film will be in the English language with a German and international cast. It will shoot in 2014 in Bavaria, Austria and Hungary. Senator will release in 2015.
- 9/16/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Canadian distributor Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired E L Katz’s SXSW premiere following a deal with Films Distribution.
The film recently won the New Flesh Award for best first feature at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.
Vancouver-based Pnp will release Cheap Thrills theatrically in Canada day-and-date with Drafthouse Films’ Us release, planned for first quarter 2014.
Cheap Thrills tells the story of a new father facing eviction whose life is turned upside-down when he meets a wealthy couple who offer a path to a better life.
David Koechner, Pat Healy, Ethan Embry and Sara Paxton star. Trent Haaga wrote the screenplay and Gabriel Cowan, Travis Stevens and John Suits produced.
Pnp’s current slate includes the forthcoming mystery-thriller Night Train To Lisbon starring Jeremy Irons and Mélanie Laurent and Cas & Dylan, the directorial debut from Jason Priestley that stars Richard Dreyfuss and Tatiana Maslany.
The film recently won the New Flesh Award for best first feature at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.
Vancouver-based Pnp will release Cheap Thrills theatrically in Canada day-and-date with Drafthouse Films’ Us release, planned for first quarter 2014.
Cheap Thrills tells the story of a new father facing eviction whose life is turned upside-down when he meets a wealthy couple who offer a path to a better life.
David Koechner, Pat Healy, Ethan Embry and Sara Paxton star. Trent Haaga wrote the screenplay and Gabriel Cowan, Travis Stevens and John Suits produced.
Pnp’s current slate includes the forthcoming mystery-thriller Night Train To Lisbon starring Jeremy Irons and Mélanie Laurent and Cas & Dylan, the directorial debut from Jason Priestley that stars Richard Dreyfuss and Tatiana Maslany.
- 8/28/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
This is the first fan-made trailer that I've seen for Zack Snyder's Man of Steel sequel, Batman Vs. Superman. It features Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Bryan Cranston as Lex Luthor, and Amy Adams as Lois Lane. I've included the list of films that were used to make this fake trailer below. Check it out, and let us know if you like what you see!
List of movies used:
Man Of Steel Fan Opening
Breaking Bad
Trouble With The Curve
The Lincoln Lawyer
The Cold Light Of Day
Total Recall 2012
Man Of Steel
State Of Play
Hannibal TV Series
The Haunting
Night Train To Lisbon
Nikita TV Series
Daredevil
Batman Seeds Of Arkham
Elysium
The Prestige
The Prototype
Iron Man 2
The Dark Knight
Batman vs Deadpool Fan Film
...
List of movies used:
Man Of Steel Fan Opening
Breaking Bad
Trouble With The Curve
The Lincoln Lawyer
The Cold Light Of Day
Total Recall 2012
Man Of Steel
State Of Play
Hannibal TV Series
The Haunting
Night Train To Lisbon
Nikita TV Series
Daredevil
Batman Seeds Of Arkham
Elysium
The Prestige
The Prototype
Iron Man 2
The Dark Knight
Batman vs Deadpool Fan Film
...
- 8/27/2013
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Today's MPAA ratings bulletin is a little busier than some of those we've seen recently and even includes an R-rating for Alexander Payne's Nebraska which Paramount will be appealing. If I remember correctly there are a couple uses of the word "f**k" but nothing else. If I had a guess the R-rating for some language will soon be changed to a PG-13 rating for some strong language. We wait patiently... I posted a trailer only an hour or so ago for the Vince Vaughn dramedy Delivery Man and now it has a PG-13 rating, Ryan Coogler's excellent Fruitvale Station starring Michael B. Jordan received a not-so-surprising R-rating and the Selena Gomez and Ethan Hawke thriller Getaway received a PG-13. Stuart Beattie's graphic novel adaptation I, Frankenstein starring Aaron Eckhart will be rated PG-13 when it arrives January 2014 and August opener The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones...
- 7/2/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Photos from Only God Forgives, Queen of the Night, The F Word, The East, The Hangover Part III, and After Earth.
AMC has released the first official still from the fourth season of The Walking Dead and the third season of The Killing. HBO has released new photos from the upcoming sixth season of True Blood.
Posters for The Lone Ranger, Red 2, Hell Baby, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Europa Report, R.I.P.D., Baggage Claim, Inside Llewyn Davis, As I Lay Dying, Redemption, Fruitvale Station, Grown Ups 2, and some beautiful artwork for the cover of a 300: Rise of an Empire coffee book.
Set photos of Spider-Man vs. The Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Andy Serkis in mo-cap riding a horse on the set of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and Joel Kinnaman doing reshoots on Robocop.
"Joe Wright is reported Out of the...
AMC has released the first official still from the fourth season of The Walking Dead and the third season of The Killing. HBO has released new photos from the upcoming sixth season of True Blood.
Posters for The Lone Ranger, Red 2, Hell Baby, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Europa Report, R.I.P.D., Baggage Claim, Inside Llewyn Davis, As I Lay Dying, Redemption, Fruitvale Station, Grown Ups 2, and some beautiful artwork for the cover of a 300: Rise of an Empire coffee book.
Set photos of Spider-Man vs. The Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Andy Serkis in mo-cap riding a horse on the set of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and Joel Kinnaman doing reshoots on Robocop.
"Joe Wright is reported Out of the...
- 5/13/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Wrekin Hill Entertainment has picked up U.S. rights to Bille August’s thriller Night Train to Lisbon from K5 International. Based on the novel by Pascal Mercier, with a screenplay by Gregg Latter and Ulrich Herrmann, the film follows a Swiss professor, played by Jeremy Irons, who meets a beautiful and mysterious young Portuguese woman, played by Sarah Spale-Buhlmann, and then decides to seek out a new life in Lisbon. The cast also includes Jack Huston, Melanie Laurent, Martina Gedeck, August Diehl, Bruno Ganz, Lena Olin, Christopher Lee and Charlotte Rampling. Berlin Review: Night Train to Lisbon Studio
read more...
read more...
- 5/10/2013
- by Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Wrekin Hill Entertainment is acquiring U.S. rights to Bille August’s thriller "Night Train to Lisbon," which debuted at the Berlin Film Festival, and plans a release later this year. Gregg Latter and Ulrich Herrmann adapted the bestseller by Pascal Mercier about Swiss professor Raimund Gregorius (Jeremy Irons) who learns of a mesmerizing book by Portuguese author Amadeu de Prado, which compels him to ditch his boring life and embark on an adventure in Lisbon. The sprawling international cast also includes Jack Huston, Melanie Laurent, Martina Gedeck, August Deihl, Bruno Ganz, Lena Olin, Christopher Lee and Charlotte Rampling. August also directed "Pelle the Conqueror," "The Best Intentions," "House of the Spirits" and "Smilla's Sense of Snow." Studio Hamburg FilmProduktion and C-films Ag Zuerich produced the film, in co-production with C-Films Deutschland GmbH, Cinemate Portugal and with Tele Muenchen Group. The film has already been performed well in several...
- 5/9/2013
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Wrekin Hill Entertainment acquired U.S. rights to the Bille August-directed thriller Night Train To Lisbon from K5 International. Pic is an adaptation of the Pascal Mercier novel starring Jeremy Irons, Jack Huston, Melanie Laurent, Martina Gedeck, August Deihl, Bruno Ganz, Lena Olin, Christopher Lee and Charlotte Rampling. It premiered at Berlin. The plot follows follows Swiss professor Raimund Gregorius (Irons), who meets a beautiful and mysterious young Portuguese woman in Berne. Through her, he learns of a mesmerizing book by Portuguese author Amadeu de Prado, which compels him to spontaneously abandon the boring life he has led and to embark on an enthralling adventure in Lisbon. The film has already been released successfully in several foreign territories including Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy and in Germany, where the film’s German distributor Concorde has seen the film surpass the $5 million mark at the box office. K5 is handling international sales.
- 5/9/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Wrekin Hill Entertainment has picked up domestic distribution rights to Night Train to Lisbon, directed by BIll August. The film is adapated by Greg Latter and Ulrich Herman from Pascal Mercier's novel, and also includes Martina Gedeck, August Deihl, Bruno Ganz, Lena Olin, Christopher Lee and Charlotte Rampling. The film premiered on February 13th, 2013 at the Berlin International Film festival. Night Train to Lisbon follows an aging classical languages Swiss professor who, after meeting a Portuguese woman in a chance encounter, drops his job and heads off to Lisbon to find an author, a doctor and poet who fought against Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, the Portuguese dictator.
- 5/9/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Boardwalk Empire's Jack Huston has signed on to star in director David O Russell's Abscam project.
Huston joins Silver Linings Playbook actors Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in the drama.
The Kill Your Darlings actor has boarded the project in an unknown role, Deadline reports.
Huston will also star alongside Christian Bale (The Dark Knight Rises), Amy Adams (Man of Steel) and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker).
O Russell's latest project - based on true events - centers on a con artist and his partner, who are forced to work with a federal agent to help take down other con artists, mobsters, and politicians.
Huston is best known for his role as Richard Harrow in Boardwalk Empire. The actor is also attached to star in Night Train To Lisbon and Posthumous.
Watch a clip of Jack Huston in Boardwalk Empire below:...
Huston joins Silver Linings Playbook actors Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in the drama.
The Kill Your Darlings actor has boarded the project in an unknown role, Deadline reports.
Huston will also star alongside Christian Bale (The Dark Knight Rises), Amy Adams (Man of Steel) and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker).
O Russell's latest project - based on true events - centers on a con artist and his partner, who are forced to work with a federal agent to help take down other con artists, mobsters, and politicians.
Huston is best known for his role as Richard Harrow in Boardwalk Empire. The actor is also attached to star in Night Train To Lisbon and Posthumous.
Watch a clip of Jack Huston in Boardwalk Empire below:...
- 3/27/2013
- Digital Spy
Exclusive: Boardwalk Empire‘s Jack Huston has just joined the cast of David O. Russell‘s untitled corruption drama, the one that has been known as American Bullshit and more recently the Abscam project. Huston joins Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence. Huston, who plays the scarred Wwi vet Richard Harrow who continues to be one of the most riveting characters in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, will next be seen starring opposite Daniel Radcliffe, Elizabeth Olsen and Dane DeHaan in Kill Your Darlings, which Sony Pictures Classics acquired at Sundance. He also stars in the Bille August-directed Night Train To Lisbon, which screened at Berlin, and Posthumous opposite Brit Marling. Huston was last seen onscreen in the David Chase-directed Not Fade Away. He’s repped by UTA, Untitled and Ken Mcreddie Associates. The Russell-helmed pic (he has been working with original scribe Eric Warren Singer...
- 3/26/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
The Berlinale has come and gone so quickly, so intensely. Everyone was catching the flu or a cold, and I was left with the sniffles. My last two days I was lucky to be able to catch some films. Before that I only saw Don Jon’s Addiction which I was charmed by. Scarlett Johanssen played the best role of her life, she is a great comedienne. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt was delightful. Upstream Color bit off more than it could chew. The reviews express my feelings about it better than I can.
A quick list of films seen by me and by other discerning women:
Concussion, starring Catherine Deneuve, a bored house wife story has been told before. This time, the two protagonists were attractive lesbian women and it was beautifully filmed, but nothing beats Belle de Jour also starring Catherine Deneuve.
The Weimar Touch is a series of films from the Weimar era in Germany which preceded the Nazi era and films which were influenced by filmmakers of the Weimar era. MoMA Chief Curator of Film, Rajendra Roy and Laurence Kardish, the former Senior Curator of Film at MoMA were members of the Curatorial Board (along with Rainer Rother, Artistic Director of the Deutsche Kinemathek, Connie Betz (Deutsche Kinemathek, Programme Coordinator Retrospective, and Hans-Michael Bock (Cinegraph, Hamburg). Maybe I could catch more of these fantastic sounding films in New York.
Hangmen Also Die! by Fritz Lang sounded so great. I got the ticket, but damn I missed the film because of a meeting. The notes written for Hangmen Also Die by Rainer Rother of the Deutsche Kinemathek, "Prague 1942. Following the assassination of Nazi Reich Protector Heydrich...a professor’s daughter hides the culprit in her parents’ apartment…sadistic, elegant and effeminate." Doesn’t that sound great? The gender bending in Vicktor Viktoria was charming and funny. Julie Andrews saw this actress and copied her style perfectly. They look like twins. Other films in the Restrospective had me going to the Film Museum to ask for the boxed set, but the prints are from so many places, the clearance on them would be nearly impossible I guess…no boxed set. Other films in The Weimar Touch were so enticing! I had seen A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Max Reinhardt himself and William Dieterle, (U.S. 1935) the last time when I was in high school and then didn’t know who Max Reinhardt was. Car of Dreams was a favorite of those who saw it. Casablanca in which Victor Lazlo and Ilse Lund play out their doomed love was directed by Hungarian born director Mihaly Kertesz (Michael Curtiz) and Humphrey Bogart is almost the only “real” American in the ensemble. I had never been aware of how The Weimar Touch formed that film. Others: The Chase, Confessions of a Nazi Spy, Le Corbeau – what a great film that is, a film that was saved only by Sartre and Cocteau’s speaking out in favor of director Henri-Georges Clouzot. This is a film Michael Haneke saw when he created The White Ribbon. A Dutch film, Somewhere in the Netherlands by Ludwig Berger in 1940, Gerhard Lamprecht’s Einmal Eine Grosse Dame Sein, British film, First a Girl, by Victor Saville, Fury by Fritz Lang, Gado Bravo from Portugal 1934, Gluckskinder from Germany in 1936, The Golem, The Mystery of Moonlight Sonata, Hitler’s Madman, How Green Was My Valley by John Ford in 1941 which was influenced by his friend F.W. Murnau, Max Ophuls’ Comedy About Gold, Letter from an Unknown Woman by Max Ophuls, M by Joseph Losey, Mollenard by Robert Siodmak, None Shall Live by Andre de Toth, Out of the Past by Jacques Tourneur, Peter, Pieges, The Queen of Spades, The Small Back Room, Some Like it Hot, To Be or Not to Be by Lubitsch, Touch of Evil by Orson Welles, Cabaret by Bob Fosse, Dial M for Murder, On the Waterfront, The Student of Prague, Tokyo Story were all touched by The Weimar Touch. What a collection!
Tokyo Kazoku (Tokyo Story) by Yoji Yamada was sweet and sad as the parents travel from their hometown of Hiroshima to visit their grown children in Tokyo – different from Ozu’s Tokyo Story, but “the story of family estrangement and the isolation inherent in modern society” as expressed in the story notes of Rainer Rother along with the reminders of the recent tsunami and its losses make this story deeply touching.
Interesting was Dark Blood by George Sluizer. It was not as spooky as The Vanishing, but to see River Phoenix, so beautiful in this role with such a sexy Judy Davis was a treat, if a bit dated. Elle s’en va with a Catherine Deneuve, aged after Umbrellas of Cherbourg and perhaps the same character takes a funny tour through rural France that I enjoyed. I missed Pourquoi Israel, part of the Homage to Claude Lanzmann but got to see Sobibor, 14 Octobre 1943 which was astounding. The bravery of the hero who was on screen the entire time, Yehuda Lerner, looked like a movie star. The entire story was so unexpected for me; how did it happen that I had never heard the story of the uprising at Sobibor before? I know Shoah and sat through it without a minute of disinterest – but that was in college. Claude Lanzmann justifiably said that this story was too unique and special to include in Shoah.
An odd Romanian film, the comedy A Farewell to Fools directed by Goodan Dreyer and starring child actor Boodan Iancu, Gerard Depardieu, Harvey Keitel and a cruelly beautiful Laura Morante, (and dubbed!) it is being sold in the market by Shoreline. It stands out in contrast to the Golden Bear Winner, the Romanian film Child’s Pose directed by Calin Peter Netzer and produced by Ada Solomon. This feisty portrayal of the nouveau riche seems like a fictional continuation of the doc her husband directed and which she produced in 2010: Kapitalism: Our Improved Formula.
Ada Solomon’s speech at the Awards Ceremony Closing Night deserves an award itself. Starting with the comment that she is more used to fighting than to winning, she pointedly thanked not only those who helped her but also those who did not help her whose resistance to her making this film made her stronger and more powerful. She pointed out the great need to have equal representation of women in the ranks of directors and producers as well, a theme which has been expressed repeatedly during this festival in many forms. (Read Melissa Silverstein’s blog on the joint meeting of women's films festivals initiated in Berlin by The International Women's Film Festival Dortmund|Cologone and the Athena Film Festival entitled "You Cannot Be Serious" in which women from many countries discussed the statistics and the status of women directors and other positions in the industry and continued the creation of a worldwide network pushing towards a more level playing field. Check out The International Women's Film Festival Network for more information).
Child's Pose, good in the vein of Separation, went head to head with the Chilean critic's choice, Gloria whose star Paulina Garcia, won the Best Actress Award. Could have gone both ways. The two older women were both great.
By the Way, Gloria was produced by Fabula, the Chilean company of the Lorrain Brothers who produced No as well as Crystal Fairy and director Sebastian Silva’s other films.
Jay Weissberg of Variety describes Child's Pose best as a "dissection of monstrous motherly love" and a "razor-sharp jibe at Romania's nouveau riche (the type is hardly confined to one country), a class adept at massaging truths and ensuring that the world steps aside when conflict arises."
I would like to suggest to the festival event planners that next year the Awards Ceremony’s onscreen presentation (which goes on simultaneously with the announcements of the prize winners) post the name of the winner along with the film title in its own language and in English as well as the country of origin. It’s difficult enough to follow the film with simultaneous translation in English via earphones; at least put the film titles in English for us foreigners.
A friend of mine remarks that the 2 most prestigious prizes at the festival went not to American or West European films, but to those from smaller countries with developing film cultures, Child’s Pose from Romania and Denis Tanovic’s Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker from Bosnia/ Herzogovina.
She goes on with her commentary of what she saw:
"Competition film Gold by Thomas Arslan provoked mixed response, but I liked it – Nina Hoss as the lead is excellent, plus there are long passages of the group on horseback trekking thru Alaska to the Klondike amidst spectacular landscapes. And the camerawork is wonderful. So that’s enough to keep me in my seat.
Night Train to Lisbon has been panned by virtually every trade publication critic as boring at the least. Nevertheless I enjoyed all the famous actors –Jeremy Irons, Lena Olin, Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, and yes Bruno Ganz. It is a story about the oppressive regime and a secret resistance group of in 1970s Portugal. Circles is a powerful and tough film by Srdan Folubovic about the revelations amidst survivors of a terrible event 12 years after the end of the war in Yugoslavia. Terrific performances support a complex and tough tale of how history permeates memory and behavior down thru the generations. Cold Bloom is the 4th feature of Atsushi Funahashi, who made last year’s powerful Nuclear Nation documentary about the effects if the tsunami. A drama about how the tsunami affected young workers and small businesses in the region is told thru the tragedy of a young couple. The title refers to a fantastic closing sequence under the cherry trees at night illuminated by street lamps, at once beautiful and bizarre. Gloria winner of the Golden Bear was clearly everyone’s favorite (although I could not get into the screening). Portrait of a middle aged woman in Chile (and winner of Best Actress award) it will hopefully make it across the ocean to these shores.
And finally, it is worth noting that the Forum Expanded section was extensive this year, showing diverse kinds of work including off site installations from every corner of the globe. Probably it is the single most important showcase for artists work in the film festival world. Kudos to the curators and the artist/filmmakers for keeping this exciting new work in front of the public year after year!"
Another friend who can’t decide whether to be credited here, a transplanted Los Angeleno who was born in Germany and lives in Berlin now had a very interesting insight into Two Women, wondering out loud if the two women and the two boys were transferring their homosexual feelings upon their cross parental lovers and likewise whether the two mothers were not actually acting out their lesbian affinities.
She also noted the sexual complexities of many of the films was of great interest to her. Examples she sites are the homosexual (But Not) pedophiliac feelings of a priest as depicted in In The Name Of; Gloria – not breaking news that a 58 woman is sexually alive – this film has a popular crowd pleasing charm which almost disqualifies it from the “festival” seriousness of a film like Child’s Pose, but both women are stellar.
My unnamed friend also said that, Camille Claudel failed to engage as did The Nun.
I would like to take this further, but it is very late for Berlin and now on to Guadalajara, a fascinating city and the seat of international, Iberoamerican co-productions which I think will become my obsession for the rest of the year.
Adios!
A quick list of films seen by me and by other discerning women:
Concussion, starring Catherine Deneuve, a bored house wife story has been told before. This time, the two protagonists were attractive lesbian women and it was beautifully filmed, but nothing beats Belle de Jour also starring Catherine Deneuve.
The Weimar Touch is a series of films from the Weimar era in Germany which preceded the Nazi era and films which were influenced by filmmakers of the Weimar era. MoMA Chief Curator of Film, Rajendra Roy and Laurence Kardish, the former Senior Curator of Film at MoMA were members of the Curatorial Board (along with Rainer Rother, Artistic Director of the Deutsche Kinemathek, Connie Betz (Deutsche Kinemathek, Programme Coordinator Retrospective, and Hans-Michael Bock (Cinegraph, Hamburg). Maybe I could catch more of these fantastic sounding films in New York.
Hangmen Also Die! by Fritz Lang sounded so great. I got the ticket, but damn I missed the film because of a meeting. The notes written for Hangmen Also Die by Rainer Rother of the Deutsche Kinemathek, "Prague 1942. Following the assassination of Nazi Reich Protector Heydrich...a professor’s daughter hides the culprit in her parents’ apartment…sadistic, elegant and effeminate." Doesn’t that sound great? The gender bending in Vicktor Viktoria was charming and funny. Julie Andrews saw this actress and copied her style perfectly. They look like twins. Other films in the Restrospective had me going to the Film Museum to ask for the boxed set, but the prints are from so many places, the clearance on them would be nearly impossible I guess…no boxed set. Other films in The Weimar Touch were so enticing! I had seen A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Max Reinhardt himself and William Dieterle, (U.S. 1935) the last time when I was in high school and then didn’t know who Max Reinhardt was. Car of Dreams was a favorite of those who saw it. Casablanca in which Victor Lazlo and Ilse Lund play out their doomed love was directed by Hungarian born director Mihaly Kertesz (Michael Curtiz) and Humphrey Bogart is almost the only “real” American in the ensemble. I had never been aware of how The Weimar Touch formed that film. Others: The Chase, Confessions of a Nazi Spy, Le Corbeau – what a great film that is, a film that was saved only by Sartre and Cocteau’s speaking out in favor of director Henri-Georges Clouzot. This is a film Michael Haneke saw when he created The White Ribbon. A Dutch film, Somewhere in the Netherlands by Ludwig Berger in 1940, Gerhard Lamprecht’s Einmal Eine Grosse Dame Sein, British film, First a Girl, by Victor Saville, Fury by Fritz Lang, Gado Bravo from Portugal 1934, Gluckskinder from Germany in 1936, The Golem, The Mystery of Moonlight Sonata, Hitler’s Madman, How Green Was My Valley by John Ford in 1941 which was influenced by his friend F.W. Murnau, Max Ophuls’ Comedy About Gold, Letter from an Unknown Woman by Max Ophuls, M by Joseph Losey, Mollenard by Robert Siodmak, None Shall Live by Andre de Toth, Out of the Past by Jacques Tourneur, Peter, Pieges, The Queen of Spades, The Small Back Room, Some Like it Hot, To Be or Not to Be by Lubitsch, Touch of Evil by Orson Welles, Cabaret by Bob Fosse, Dial M for Murder, On the Waterfront, The Student of Prague, Tokyo Story were all touched by The Weimar Touch. What a collection!
Tokyo Kazoku (Tokyo Story) by Yoji Yamada was sweet and sad as the parents travel from their hometown of Hiroshima to visit their grown children in Tokyo – different from Ozu’s Tokyo Story, but “the story of family estrangement and the isolation inherent in modern society” as expressed in the story notes of Rainer Rother along with the reminders of the recent tsunami and its losses make this story deeply touching.
Interesting was Dark Blood by George Sluizer. It was not as spooky as The Vanishing, but to see River Phoenix, so beautiful in this role with such a sexy Judy Davis was a treat, if a bit dated. Elle s’en va with a Catherine Deneuve, aged after Umbrellas of Cherbourg and perhaps the same character takes a funny tour through rural France that I enjoyed. I missed Pourquoi Israel, part of the Homage to Claude Lanzmann but got to see Sobibor, 14 Octobre 1943 which was astounding. The bravery of the hero who was on screen the entire time, Yehuda Lerner, looked like a movie star. The entire story was so unexpected for me; how did it happen that I had never heard the story of the uprising at Sobibor before? I know Shoah and sat through it without a minute of disinterest – but that was in college. Claude Lanzmann justifiably said that this story was too unique and special to include in Shoah.
An odd Romanian film, the comedy A Farewell to Fools directed by Goodan Dreyer and starring child actor Boodan Iancu, Gerard Depardieu, Harvey Keitel and a cruelly beautiful Laura Morante, (and dubbed!) it is being sold in the market by Shoreline. It stands out in contrast to the Golden Bear Winner, the Romanian film Child’s Pose directed by Calin Peter Netzer and produced by Ada Solomon. This feisty portrayal of the nouveau riche seems like a fictional continuation of the doc her husband directed and which she produced in 2010: Kapitalism: Our Improved Formula.
Ada Solomon’s speech at the Awards Ceremony Closing Night deserves an award itself. Starting with the comment that she is more used to fighting than to winning, she pointedly thanked not only those who helped her but also those who did not help her whose resistance to her making this film made her stronger and more powerful. She pointed out the great need to have equal representation of women in the ranks of directors and producers as well, a theme which has been expressed repeatedly during this festival in many forms. (Read Melissa Silverstein’s blog on the joint meeting of women's films festivals initiated in Berlin by The International Women's Film Festival Dortmund|Cologone and the Athena Film Festival entitled "You Cannot Be Serious" in which women from many countries discussed the statistics and the status of women directors and other positions in the industry and continued the creation of a worldwide network pushing towards a more level playing field. Check out The International Women's Film Festival Network for more information).
Child's Pose, good in the vein of Separation, went head to head with the Chilean critic's choice, Gloria whose star Paulina Garcia, won the Best Actress Award. Could have gone both ways. The two older women were both great.
By the Way, Gloria was produced by Fabula, the Chilean company of the Lorrain Brothers who produced No as well as Crystal Fairy and director Sebastian Silva’s other films.
Jay Weissberg of Variety describes Child's Pose best as a "dissection of monstrous motherly love" and a "razor-sharp jibe at Romania's nouveau riche (the type is hardly confined to one country), a class adept at massaging truths and ensuring that the world steps aside when conflict arises."
I would like to suggest to the festival event planners that next year the Awards Ceremony’s onscreen presentation (which goes on simultaneously with the announcements of the prize winners) post the name of the winner along with the film title in its own language and in English as well as the country of origin. It’s difficult enough to follow the film with simultaneous translation in English via earphones; at least put the film titles in English for us foreigners.
A friend of mine remarks that the 2 most prestigious prizes at the festival went not to American or West European films, but to those from smaller countries with developing film cultures, Child’s Pose from Romania and Denis Tanovic’s Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker from Bosnia/ Herzogovina.
She goes on with her commentary of what she saw:
"Competition film Gold by Thomas Arslan provoked mixed response, but I liked it – Nina Hoss as the lead is excellent, plus there are long passages of the group on horseback trekking thru Alaska to the Klondike amidst spectacular landscapes. And the camerawork is wonderful. So that’s enough to keep me in my seat.
Night Train to Lisbon has been panned by virtually every trade publication critic as boring at the least. Nevertheless I enjoyed all the famous actors –Jeremy Irons, Lena Olin, Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, and yes Bruno Ganz. It is a story about the oppressive regime and a secret resistance group of in 1970s Portugal. Circles is a powerful and tough film by Srdan Folubovic about the revelations amidst survivors of a terrible event 12 years after the end of the war in Yugoslavia. Terrific performances support a complex and tough tale of how history permeates memory and behavior down thru the generations. Cold Bloom is the 4th feature of Atsushi Funahashi, who made last year’s powerful Nuclear Nation documentary about the effects if the tsunami. A drama about how the tsunami affected young workers and small businesses in the region is told thru the tragedy of a young couple. The title refers to a fantastic closing sequence under the cherry trees at night illuminated by street lamps, at once beautiful and bizarre. Gloria winner of the Golden Bear was clearly everyone’s favorite (although I could not get into the screening). Portrait of a middle aged woman in Chile (and winner of Best Actress award) it will hopefully make it across the ocean to these shores.
And finally, it is worth noting that the Forum Expanded section was extensive this year, showing diverse kinds of work including off site installations from every corner of the globe. Probably it is the single most important showcase for artists work in the film festival world. Kudos to the curators and the artist/filmmakers for keeping this exciting new work in front of the public year after year!"
Another friend who can’t decide whether to be credited here, a transplanted Los Angeleno who was born in Germany and lives in Berlin now had a very interesting insight into Two Women, wondering out loud if the two women and the two boys were transferring their homosexual feelings upon their cross parental lovers and likewise whether the two mothers were not actually acting out their lesbian affinities.
She also noted the sexual complexities of many of the films was of great interest to her. Examples she sites are the homosexual (But Not) pedophiliac feelings of a priest as depicted in In The Name Of; Gloria – not breaking news that a 58 woman is sexually alive – this film has a popular crowd pleasing charm which almost disqualifies it from the “festival” seriousness of a film like Child’s Pose, but both women are stellar.
My unnamed friend also said that, Camille Claudel failed to engage as did The Nun.
I would like to take this further, but it is very late for Berlin and now on to Guadalajara, a fascinating city and the seat of international, Iberoamerican co-productions which I think will become my obsession for the rest of the year.
Adios!
- 3/10/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
In the very finest tradition of europudding, director Bille August's "Night Train To Lisbon" adapts an international bestselling book, takes place against the picturesque backdrop of a European capital, is half-told in flashback through a turbulent and dramatic period of history, and stacks the cast with notable European thesps. These include, Jeremy Irons, Jack Huston, Charlotte Rampling, Christopher Lee, Tom Courtenay representing the U.K.; from Germany, Martina Gedeck and August Diehl; Bruno Ganz of Switzerland; Lena Olin of Sweden; and Mélanie Laurent from France. However, bar Irons, this Babel tower of actors all play Portuguese nationals, and so while the films is told through English, they all speak with Portuguese accents. Irons, however, plays Swiss, which obviously means he employs his usual mellifluous British tones. A little silly though all this is, it's not actually particularly injurious to our understanding of the story, but it does give you an.
- 2/17/2013
- by Jessica Kiang
- The Playlist
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