News

Blood Simple: Canet’s English Language Debut an Enjoyably Prostrate Epic

For his English language debut, actor/director Guillaume Canet arrives with Blood Ties, a remake of Rivals, a 2008 French film of which he was the star, from director Jacques Maillot. While it’s original running time has been cut by about half an hour after a premiere at Cannes (aligning it with its predecessor’s running time), the film is undeniably a slow burn. Set in 1974 vintage heavy Brooklyn, Canet’s film has drawn mostly unfavorable comparison to the works of Sidney Lumet and Martin Scorsese that were actually made in the era. While it’s not on par with similar masterworks it evokes (maybe more of a Harold Robbins version of Lumet), it does manage to be an engrossing faux saga, nonetheless, despite a handful of foibles that work against its success.

After serving a 12 year prison...

I caught Guillaume Canet's Blood Ties at the Cannes Film Festival last year and was not impressed, beginning my review as follows: There are so many secondary plot threads and a multitude of characters in Blood Ties the film finds itself sputtering along, stopping and starting every 5-10 minutes as characters are introduced and re-introduced. There's absolutely no way for the story to work within the confines of a two-and-a-half-hour movie as it either needs to be cut down to two hours or less or extended into a five-to-six-hour miniseries or more. It's a shame, really, because there are some fantastic moments within this film just as much as there are some moments and casting decisions I really could have done without, but all-in-all the end result is a bit of a mess. Well, fast forward to the Toronto Film Festival four months later and Canet apparently cut something...

The last time we talked about Guillaume Canet‘s crime thriller Blood Ties, we shared some pretty cool set pics with Clive Owen and Mila Kunis, remember? Today, we’re here to give you an official (red band) trailer, the very first (also red band) clip from the whole thing, and to add 20 more images to our little gallery. Hope you’ll enjoy… Canet directed the pic from a script he co-wrote with James Gray, but as we previously reported, the movie is a remake of Jacques Maillot‘s 2008 French thriller Les liens du sang. It follows two brothers, on either side of the law, who face off...

Click to read original and full article: Red Band Trailer & Clip From Blood Ties, Starring Clive Owen And Mila Kunis (Plus 20 New Pics!) on http://www.filmofilia.com...

Roadside Attractions will distribute crime drama Blood Ties in N. America, starring Clive Owen Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard and Zoe Saldanha. The film seen at this year's Cannes Film Festival is directed by Giullaume Canet, who also writes with James Gray. Based on the story by Jacques Maillot which is set in Brooklyn in the 1970s and tells of two brothers, on either side of the law, who face off over organized crime. Matthias Schoenaerts, Lili Taylor, Noah Emmerich, Griffin Dunne and Charlie Tahan also star.

Once upon a time, two brothers called Bruno and Michel Papet wrote a book called Les Liens Du Sang. In 2008, this was adapted into a movie by Jacques Maillot called Les Liens Du Sang, and now, in 2013, actor-turned-director Guillaume Canet (of Tell No One and Little White Lies fame) has taken the French tale and transported it to 1970s New York for his English language debut, Blood Ties, casting Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, Mila Kunis, James Caan, Zoe Saldana and Marion Cotillard (his missus) in the process.Owen plays Chris, an ex-con who's just come out of prison to be greeted by his grumpy cop brother Frank (Crudup) and his happy-but-not-long-for-this-world father (Caan). Chris' ex-wife, Monica (Cotillard), is a prositute and a drug user, somehow keeping their two kids in cereal and underwear despite her shaky situation. Instead of making up with Monica, Chris begins a relationship with Natalie (Kunis...

A trailer has been released for Blood Ties Blood, the upcoming thriller by French director Guillaume Canet and co-written by James Gray. The film is a remake of 2008 French thriller Les liens du sang by Jacques Maillot, itself adapted from the French novel of the same name by Bruno and Michel Papet. Canet has assembled a hugely impressive cast for his English-language debut, including Clive Owen, Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup, Zoe Saldana, Matthias Schoenaerts, Mila Kunis, Noah Emmerich and Sound On Sight favourite James Caan. Set in New York, 1974, the story largely follows two brothers; Frank (Billy Crudup) a police officer and Chris (Clive Owen) his ex-con brother who’s just been let out of jail and desperately tries to find work that won’t lead him back behind bars. Surprisingly the film is being shown out of competition at the Cannes Film festival, and despite some lukewarm reviews, both...

Making its world premiere out at Cannes this week, Blood Ties sees acclaimed French director Guillaume Canet making his English language debut, bringing together one of the best casts of the year for the upcoming thriller.

Led by Clive Owen and Billy Crudup as two brothers in 1970s New York, the film has screened Out of Competition at Cannes, and now Mars, its French distributor, have debuted the first red-band international teaser trailer and a very cool, retro-looking poster.

New York, 1974. Fifty year-old Chris has just been released on good behavior after several years in prison following a gangland murder. Waiting for him reluctantly outside the prison gates is his younger brother, Frank, a cop with a bright future. Chris and Frank have always been different, and their father, Leon, who’d raised them alone, seems strangely to prefer Chris – this, despite all his troubles.

Yet blood ties are the ones that bind.

The first poster and the trailer has arrived for Blood Ties, starring Clive Owen Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard and Zoe Saldanha in the Giullaume Canet film, currently at the Cannes Film Festival. Canet also scripts with James Gray, based on the story by Jacques Maillot which is set in Brooklyn in the 1970s and tells of two brothers, on either side of the law, who face off over organized crime. The film also includes Matthias Schoenaerts, Lili Taylor, Noah Emmerich, Griffin Dunne and Charlie Tahan. Catch the trailer below for Blood Ties...

There was a bit of rude awakening for French director Guillaume Canet when he went to the States to make Blood Ties (an adaptation of a Gallic gangster film by Jacques Maillot in which he had taken one of the main roles).

The liberty he experienced in making films on his home ground was not forthcoming in the collaboration with an American crew who had adhere to strict union guidelines. “I am used to working with same technicians in France and we have a complicity between us,” he told a media gathering at the Cannes Film Festival. “In the States many of the crew were working on other projects besides my film – and at the same time. They did not know me and I had to gain their confidence.

“There were other quirks such as the fact that as a director I was not allowed to...

There are so many secondary plot threads and a multitude of characters in Blood Ties the film finds itself sputtering along, stopping and starting every 5-10 minutes as characters are introduced and re-introduced. There's absolutely no way for the story to work within the confines of a two-and-a-half-hour movie as it either needs to be cut down to two hours or less or extended into a five-to-six-hour miniseries or more. It's a shame, really, because there are some fantastic moments within this film just as much as there are some moments and casting decisions I really could have done without, but all-in-all the end result is a bit of a mess. Adapted by director Guillame Canet and co-writer James Gray, the film is based on Jacques Maillot's 2008 French film Rivals (Les liens du sang). Set in New York, 1974, the story largely follows two brothers; Frank (Billy Crudup) a police...

Top Ten Most Anticipated Movies at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival As you read this I am just about to land in New York, before hopping on a plane to Nice as I make my way to the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, something I would not have been able to do had it not been for the generous contributions from the RopeofSilicon readers. It's almost impossible to tell you how much more energized I am to cover this year's festival due to the help from the readers and I have to say, it's quite a line-up I'll be reviewing for you this year, which brings us to the following list. If you haven't yet had a look at this year's line-up I have the complete list right here where you'll find the list of 20 films competing for this year's Palme d'Or, the films selected for the Un Certain Regard, those playing Out of Competition,...

#20. Guillaume Canet’s Blood Ties

Gist: Written by James Gray, with the ensemble cast of Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, Mila Kunis, James Caan, Marion Cotillard, Zoe Saldana, Matthias Schoenaerts and Lily Taylor owning the screen, this is a remake of Jacques Maillot’s Les lien du sang. Canet’s Blood Ties is about 2 brothers, one a criminal, the other a cop, face off over organized crime in Brooklyn in the 1970s.

Prediction: Un Certain Regard but leaning toward the Main Comp if Gray’s Lowlife somehow does not crack the line-up, Canet – the actor who moonlights as a director would be making his first trip to Cannes after monster domestic successes of the mention worthy Tell No One (2006) and Little White Lies (2010). Blood Ties is tagged with a June 13th release, so this would be a timely launching pad.

prev next...

Blood Ties

Director: Guillaume Canet

Writer(s): Canet, James Gray, Jacques Maillot, Pilar Anguita-MacKay, Frank Urbaniok

Producer(s): Alain Attal, John Lesher, Hugo Sélignac, Christopher Woodrow

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

Cast: Mila Kunis, Zoe Saldana, Marion Cotillard, Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, James Caan, Lili Taylor, Matthias Schoenaerts

Who knew that the veteran French actor Guillaume Canet would establish himself as a top ranking director, and more recently a working relationship with a man who the French audiences/critics adore in James Gray. In his filmography of four films – Tell No One claimed critical acclaim and made crazy box office in the U.S. (I recall seeing the film in its 4th month playing in NYC) and I’m one of the very few who connected with his previous item – a saga in itself called Little White Lies – an ensemble drama, hell bent on exploring every possible mid-life...

We're deep into it now as we venture into my Top 20 Most Anticiapted Movies of 2013 with numbers 11-20. If you haven't checked out Parts One, Two or Three just yet, don't worry, every installment is linked on Page Three of this post as well as directly below, so check these out and then go check out any you may have missed. Most Anticipated 2013 Navigation #1-10 | #11-20 | #21-30 | #31-40 | #41-50 As for today's ten we have a 1920s magician, a new le Carre thriller, a scary Kidman, prescription drugs, the capper to the "Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy", 1970s organized crime in Brooklyn, art thieves, the mountains of North Carolina, a priest and a New York fashionista coupled with a neurotic. Maybe some of those hints tip you off as to what's in store over the next couple of pages, but hopefully I can offer a few surprises. Either way, I...

Despite a fairly illustrious acting and directorial career back home, Gallic actor-writer-director Guillaume Canet is probably better known stateside simply as the partner of Marion Cotillard, even after the international success of his taut-thriller "Tell No One." That is all likely to change very soon, however, with Canet set to tackle his English-language debut, "Blood Ties."

The project is set to begin lensing at the end of this month with indie-scene regular Lili Taylor and "The Wire" star Domenick Lombardozzi now rounding out the films cast while Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts (star of Oscar nominated "Bullhead" and Jacques Audiard's upcoming "Rust & Bone" opposite Cotillard) is confirmed as well.

Co-scripted by Canet and James Gray, the '70's New York-set story follows two brothers, on either side of the law, who face off over organized crime in Brooklyn and is loosely based on Jacques Maillot's 2008 film "Rivals," which itself starred Canet.

Here are a few interesting and/or noteworthy projects that were recently added to IMDbPro's database of development titles:

Untitled Taylor Lautner/Gus Van Sant Project – There's something eerily Entourage-like about Lautner approaching Van Sant for his next project -- especially after Abduction's box office disappointment. But props to TL for nabbing the rights to this New Yorker article and going the indie route to make it happen. We're eager to find out what that article is.

Jamal and Tyrell and Omar and Brick and Michael's Wack-Ass Weekend – Eddie Murphy's recent media blitz for Tower Heist has revealed that the funny man is currently writing this ensemble comedy, which has piqued our interest, despite knowing nothing about it.

The Grandmothers – One of two projects on Naomi Watts' busy schedule (the other, Sunlight Jr., began shooting this week). She's in talks to star opposite Robin Wright as a pair of lifelong pals who fall in a sort-of-forbidden love with eachother's (married!) sons. Coco Before Chanel director Anne Fontaine directs the Gaumont production.

Blood Ties – French thesp and Tell No One director Guillaume Canet's next film will be an English-language adaptation of Jacques Maillot's 2008 film Rivals, which starred Canet as a cop at odds with his criminal brother. Marion Cotillard, Mark Whalberg and Zoe Saldana are rumored to be circling the project.

Untitled Rise of the Planet of the Apes Sequel – Hail Caeser? Hail Sirkis! Master of MoCap, Andy Sirkis, has secured a spot in the sequel to Fox's simian summer hit with screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver already assigned to write the follow-up.

If you know of something in the works, you can submit it via our online submission form.

For Moving Image Source, David Phelps has conducted a rare and remarkable interview with Masahiro Shinoda in which the director addresses, among other things, the making of Double Suicide (1969): "Because we, the artists, auteurs living in the 20th century, were going to tell the story of a love affair taking place in the 17th century in Osaka, and because we were not just approaching the play, but approaching it through the author, Chikamatsu, and approaching it through his inner landscape, I feel the way we were able to bring the classic into modern times was itself a trip, and one that left very different tracks from the normal way you would recreate a classic for contemporary times."

Cullen Gallagher introduces a two-week series at Not Coming to a Theater Near You: "Charles Bronson belongs to that rare breed of artists whose very presence defines an entire genre."

Performa 11 is...

French actor Guillaume Canet (Love Me If You Dare) has made waves in his homeland by moving on to directing films such as Tell No One (which will be remade by Ben Affleck) and his most recent film Little White Lies. Now ScreenDaily reports the filmmaker is set to make his English-language directing debut with the help of filmmaker James Gray (We Own the Night) working with him to write a remake of Jacques Maillot's 2008 film Blood Ties a film in which Canet originally starred in back in 2008. In addition, Canet's partner, the lovely Marion Cotillard, Zoe Saldana and Mark Wahlberg are all slated to star. Though Canet starred in the original film, it's not clear if he'll step in front of the camera again to tell the story of two brothers, one a cop, the other a pimp and convicted criminal fresh out of prison who somehow manages...

We were all holding our breath to see which film would be included in this year's Main Comp (there were rumors that Brillante Mendoza and Andrey Zvyagintsev respective films were fighting for a final spot) it is the filmmaker behind Oss 117 spoofs that will see his Out of Comp selected The Artist make the odd jump from "not good enough" to "perfectly suited to accompany the masters of cinema" slot. And while Zvyagintsev's Elena didn't make the Main Comp cut -- it has thankfully been accepted as the closing film in the Un Certain Regard category -- which basically means the Russian filmmaker who gave us The Return (Venice 2003) and The Banishment (Cannes 2007) will be working the film until the very last minute with the story of an elderly woman who has lived with her rich husband in a large, comfortable home tries to rescue her alcoholic son from poverty...

The 2011 Cannes Film Festival has added the Michel Hazanavicius-directed The Artist to the competition roster, which is now made up of 20 films. The festival has named the Andrey Zvyagintsev-directed Elena to screen at the closing night ceremony of the Un Certain Regard category. The Un Certain Regard jury has been set, with Emir Kusturica presiding, and French actress Elodie Bouchez, UK Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw, Tribeca Enterprises chief creative officer Geoffrey Gilmore and Morelia Festival director Daniela Michel making up the jury. As for the Camera d'or jury, Bong Joon-Ho will preside over a jury that consists of French critic Daniele Heymann, Magyar Filmunio head Eva Vezer, cinematographer Robert Alazraki, Cinedia laboratory manager Daniel Colland, director Jacques Maillot, and critic Alex Masson.

Guillaume Canet’s excellent thriller Tell No One was so well received that it’s getting the now-typical Us remake. And now he is too – or at least, he’s working on his first English-language film, Rivals.He’s teamed up with American director James Gray on the script for the film, which, according to Variety, has been loosely adapted from Jacques Maillot's 2008 thriller Les Liens du sang (Blood Ties, translated literally), which centres on two brothers, a cop and a former prisoner.While some elements will be similar, the setting switches from France to Philadelphia while retaining the ‘70s period, and the new movie is taking more from the true story that Maillot’s film used as inspiration. “Rivals is not really a remake, it's a completely different story, set in a completely different environment," says StudioCanal’s chairman Olivier Courson.Since Gray and Canet have yet to finish the script,...