Sony grabbs “The prophet”

“The prophet”

Sony pictures Classics has grabbed multi-territorial rights to “The prophet” by French director  Jaques Audiard’s .

The French-Arabic language thriller was  a hit in Cannes and  has received critical acclaimed as well as the the “Grand Prix du Jury”. SPC snapped the rights for North-american, Latin american and Australian rights. Audiard had already received 3 césars (the french Awards and a Bafta for his “The beat that my heart skipped” featuring Romain Duris who gave an amazing performance  in this movie.

by F.poller

Robert Pattinson as Dali in Paul Morrisson’s new movie

 

Madrid in 1922 is a city wavering on the edge of change as traditional values are challenged by the dangerous new influences of jazz, Freud and the avant-garde. Salvador Dalí arrives at university at the age of 18 years old, determined to become a great artist. His bizarre blend of shyness and rampant exhibitionism attracts the attention of two of the university’s social elite — Federico García Lorca and Luis Buñuel.

Salvador is absorbed into their decadent group and for a time he, Luis and Federico become a formidable trio, the most ultra-modern group in Madrid.

Cannes Festival 2009: The Winners

Francois Durand/Getty Images

 

Cannes Film Festival:  the top actors at the Cannes Film Festival. Charlotte Gainsbourg was named best actress for her role in “Antichrist,” and Christopher Waltz was recognized for his work in “Inglourious Basterds.” Michael Haneke’s “the White Ribbon won the 2009 Palme d’Or.

 

Director Michael Haneke’s work saw off competition from past winners including Britain’s Ken Loach and Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.

Fellow Austrian Christoph Waltz won best actor for playing an SS officer in Tarantino’s World War II epic.

Charlotte Gainsbourg was named best actress for her role in Lars Von Trier’s controversial film Antichrist.

The Danish film-maker’s work did not go down well due to its brutal and frank scenes of domestic violence. 

Gainsbourg, the 37-year-old daughter of French musician Serge, said she wanted to share her honour with Von Trier, calling the making of the movie “the most intense, the most painful, and most exciting experience of my life”.

The prize for best director was awarded to Brilliante Mendoza of the Philippines for his dark film Kinatay.

British film-maker Andrea Arnold jointly won the jury prize for her film Fish Tank, the second time she has won the Cannes honour.

South Korean director Park Chan-Wook shared the prize with Arnold for Thirst, about a priest-turned-vampire.

Haneke’s film, shot in black and white, studies the chilling, malicious atmosphere gripping a German village on the eve of World War I.

Other award winners included Portugal’s Joao Salaviza for best short film and Chinese writer Feng Mai for best screenplay.

The award ceremony brings the Cannes Film Festival to a close, which has attracted film-making talent from Hollywood and around the world.

One of the biggest media draws was the red carpet appearance of Brad Pitt – star of Inglourious Basterds – along with his actress wife Angelina Jolie.

• Palme d’Or: The White Ribbon directed by Michael Haneke
• Grand Prix: A Prophet by Jacques Audiard
• Special Jury Prize: Alan Resnais director of Wild Grass
• Prix du Jury (Jury Prize): Fish Tank directed by Andrea Arnold & Thirst directed by Park Chan-Wook
• Best Director: Kinatay by Brillante Mendoza
• Best Screenplay: Spring Fever by Lou Ye
• Best Actor: Christopher Waltz for Inglourious Basterds
• Best Actress: Charlotte Gainsbourgh for Antichrist
• Camera d’Or: Samson and Delilah directed by Warwick Thorton
• Camera d’Or (Special Mention): Ajami
• Short Film Palme d’Or: Arena directed by Joao Salaviza

Un Certain Regard

• Prize of Un Certain Regard: Dogtooth directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
• Jury Prize: Police, Adjective, directed by Corneliu Porumboiu
• Special Prize: No One Knows About Persian Cats directed by Bahman Ghobadi & Father of my children directed by Mia Hansen-Love

Cannes 2009: La Palme d’or

The Palme d’Or was awarded to Michael Haneke for The White Ribbon.

The Palme d’Or Prize was awarded at the hands of Isabelle Huppert and Michael Haneke accepted the distinction for The White Ribbon with these words, “Thank you very much. Sometimes my wife asks me a very feminine question: that is, am I happy. Well, let me say that at this moment in time, I am very happy. Much thanks also to Thierry Frémaux for including me in this prestigious competition; to my producers, for letting me do what I wanted; to the funding sources which financed the film, and to the children, who were an enormous gift to me. A thousand thanks!”

Cannes: j’connais pas la crise!!

Eric Gaillard/Reuters

CANNES, France — Economic downturn? What economic downturn? There are no hard times on the red carpet at Cannes, where they know how to party like it’s 1788 or at least like the prerecessionary days of 2008. On Wednesday the 62nd Cannes Film Festival opened with the customary smiles and patrician waves as the stars and auteurs promenaded into the world premiere of Pixar’s“Up.” It was all très chic, if very de rigueur, save for the awe-inspiring moment when the 80-year-old French director Agnès Varda, busy photographing the photographers, nimbly dodged being knocked over by a posing and blissfully oblivious Tilda Swinton.

Given the throb of bad news preceding the festival (“Economic Woes at Cannes” read a typical headline), you might even think that Pixar’s latest, a 3-D charmer directed by Pete Docter (“Monsters, Inc.”), about an old man who takes literal and emotional flight with the help of a child, had been chosen for its title alone, as a way to buoy the down attendees. At least for the first few days, there were more empty seats at the press screenings and breathing room in the hallways. But the mood in the Palais, the festival’s headquarters, was cautiously optimistic, or perhaps just realistic. You couldn’t help wondering, Is this thinned population the recession or a sign of a correction — an indication that there might be fewer movies clogging screens?

It’s too early to tell, of course, though the idea that there might be a silver lining to the dark clouds, particularly for the kinds of nonstudio movies that make their way from Cannes to American specialty screens, was a theme that emerged from a highly unscientific poll I conducted by e-mail before the festival kicked off. James Schamus, the chief executive of Focus Features, a specialty division ofNBC Universal that recently released Jim Jarmusch’s “Limits of Control,” put the larger economic woes into pragmatic, film-world perspective.

The Evil Mr Trier

Cannes Film Festival

Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe in “Antichrist,” a film directed by Lars von Trier and showing at the Cannes festival.CANNES, France — There’s no question that Lars von Trier knows how to get a rise out of the Cannes press — along with its rapt attention, its incredulous laughter and this year at least, its lusty jeers. The Danish middle-aged enfant terrible, who has been shaking up both the festival and world cinema for more than a decade with films like “Breaking the Waves” and “Dogville,” is clearly intent on holding on to his provocateur status, even if it means alienating (dividing, baffling) his audience further. This, in any event, seems one explanation for his latest, “Antichrist,” an alternately deadly serious and highly ironic exploration of psychosexual trauma, with Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a couple grieving the death of their only child.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cannes: 41st Directors’ Fortnight

Francis Ford Coppola is to open the 41st edition of Directors’ Fortnight (May 14-24) with his Argentina-set family drama “Tetro.” The self-financed production stars Vincent Gallo as an exiled writer who’s visited in Buenos Aires by his estranged younger brother. Helmer will self-distribute the movie in the U.S. through his own American Zoetrope Releasing.

Pic was originally offered a non-competing slot by Thierry Fremaux in this year’s Official Selection, which Coppola declined. Fortnight topper Olivier Pere then stepped in with his own offer — arguably snagging one of the biggest names for the Cannes sidebar in recent memory.

“After Coppola announced that he wouldn’t show ‘Tetro’ out of competition, we asked to screen it for the Quinzaine,” Pere told Daily Variety. “We loved it! And our enthusiasm convinced Coppola that an opening Fortnight slot would be the ideal place to debut his film.”

With five features, including “Tetro,” U.S. directors have a stronger presence in the Fortnight than in Cannes’ Competition. Two are sexually edgy comedies that already screened at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Jim Carrey-Ewan McGregor starrer, “I Love You Phillip Morris,” an openly gay romcom directed by freshmen duo Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, has yet to find a distributor Stateside. Pic was co-produced by Gaul’s EuropaCorp, who will handle the French release.

Writer-director Lynn Shelton’s lowbudget comedy, “Humpday,” about two straight friends who attempt to make an amateur gay porno, was picked up by Magnolia at Sundance. Stateside release is skedded for mid-July.

“Contemporary American comedies have grown more and more interesting in recent years,” Pere told Daily Variety. “The Fortnight always goes for films that reflect contemporary reality, but this year we leaned more towards movies that approach the subject with a sense of distance and humor.”

The U.S. selection also includes another lowbudget, mumblecore-brand film, Josh and Benny Safdie’s “Go Get Some Rosemary.” Josh Safdie’s previous feature, “The Pleasure of Being Robbed,” was in the 2008 Fortnight.

American presence is rounded out by a third Sundance title, U.S.-born Palestinian/Jordanian director Cherien Dabis‘ immigrant indie dramedy “Amreeka.” Critically acclaimed debut was picked up by National Geographic Entertainment, who plans a fall release Stateside.

Aside from Coppola, the sidebar, which unveiled its lineup in Paris on Friday, also includes other auteurs more usually associated with Cannes’ Official Selection.

Portuguese arthouse fave Pedro Costa – whose “Colossal Youth” competed in the fest’s 2006 edition — will preem his docu, “Ne change rien.” The French-Portuguese co-prod trails Gallic thesp/singer Jeanne Balibar through rehearsals and concerts across the globe.

South Korean helmer and Cannes regular Hong Sang-soo will present his new film “Like You Know It All.” Hong competed twice for the Palme d’Or in 2004 and 2005.

Fortnights’ closing film is debuting duo Yaron Shani’s and Scandar Copti’s fast-paced and violent youth drama, “Ajami.” Jaffa-set story relates the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through multiple viewpoints as characters clash throughout the city’s dangerous streets. Shani is Israeli and Copti is Palestinian. German salesco Match Factory will handle international sales.

Francophone films from Gaul and Canada are another staple in this year’s selection. French vet Luc Moullet will preem his docu, “Land of Madness,” about the over-abundance of violent family crime in his native Southern Alps region.Arthouse comic director Alain Guiraudie will present his latest romp, “Le roi de l’evasion.” Popular local comic book artist Riad Sattouf debuts with “Les beaux gosses,” a teenage comedy about a sex-obsessed loner who can’t manage to get a date.

Two French co-prods include the Franco-Japanese family drama “Yuki & Nina,” co-directed by Japanese auteur Nobuhiro Suwa and Gallic thesp Hippolyte Girardot, who makes his helming debut; and Axel Ropert’s Franco-Belgian dramedy “La Famille Wolberg,” about a family coming apart over their daughter’s upcoming 18th birthday party.

Quebecois films rep their strongest Fortnight presence in recent years, with three titles, including 19-year old thesper Xavier Dolan’s helming debut, “J’ai tue ma mere” (I Killed My Mother). Director Denis Villeneuve’s “Polytechnique” dramatizes the 1989 massacre of several female engineering students by a gun-wielding misogynist in Montreal’s Polytechnique School.

“Carcasses,” the third feature by scriber-helmer Denis Cote, is an intimate drama set in a monumental junkyard of rusting automobiles.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had this many Quebecois films in the selection, which gives the Quinzaine a more Francophone feel than usual,” explained Pere.

Non-North American or European titles are, as in the Official Selection, less present than in previous years. The Bulgarian race-crime drama “Eastern Plays,” by freshman helmer Kamen Kalev, and the Singaporean experimental narrative “Here” by contemporary artist Tzu-Nyen Ho are two such examples.

Both films will be vying for the Camera d’Or, along with the Mexican director Michel Franco’s “Daniel & Ana,” about two teenagers whose lives are thrown into turmoil by a kidnapping.

Other Camera d’Or contenders are closer “Ajami,” “Les beaux gosses” and “J’ai tue ma mere.”

“I think the variety of this year’s selection will surprise our audience,” quipped Pere, who’s overseeing his sixth and last edition before taking the reins at Locarno later this year.

“I hope to continue the auteur-driven work I’ve been doing during six years at the Fortnight, but with more ambition and a greater scope.”

As for his successor, the SRF (Societe des Realisateurs de Films, which runs the Fortnight) is currently reviewing a short list of remaining candidates, and plans for an announcement once the fest hits the Croisette.

 

DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT LINEUP
“La Pivellina,” Austria, Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel 
“The Alasness of Things,” Belgium-Netherlands, Felix van Groeningen 
“Eastern Plays,” Bulgaria-Sweden, Kamen Kalev 
“Carcasses,” Canada, Denis Cote 
“J’ai tue ma mere,” Canada, Xavier Dolan 
“Polytechnique,” Canada, Denis Villeneuve 
“Navidad,” Chile, Sebastian Lelio
“Oxhide II,” China, Liu Jia Yin
“La famille Wolberg,” France-Belgium, Axelle Ropert 
“Land of Madness,” France, Luc Moullet 
“Le roi de l’evasion,” France, Alain Guiraudie 
“Les beaux gosses,” France, Riad Sattouf 
“Yuki & Nina,” France-Japan, Nobuhiro Suwa, Hippolyte Girardot
“Ajami,” Israel-Germany, Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani (closer) “Daniel & Ana,” Mexico-Spain, Michel Franco 
“Karaoke,” Malaysia, Chan Fui (Chris) Chong
“Ne change rien,” Portugal-France, Pedro Costa 
“Here,” Singapore-Canada, Tzu-Nyen Ho 
“Like You Know It All,” South Korea, Hong Sang-soo 
“Amreeka,” U.S., Cherien Dabis 
“Go Get Some Rosemary,” U.S.-France, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
“Humpday,” U.S., Lynn Shelton 
“I Love You Phillip Morris,” U.S.-France, Glenn Ficarra, John Requa 
“Tetro,” Argentina-Spain-Italy, Francis Ford Coppola (opener) 

Box office helps drive US Economy

LAS VEGAS — While other American industries look for cover during the economic crisis, Motion Picture Assn. of America chair-CEO Dan Glickman believes the thriving worldwide box office makes the U.S. film biz a powerful growth engine

Glickman had plenty of positive stats to rattle off during his annual state-of-the-industry address at exhib confab ShoWest thanks to the current surge in moviegoing.

He did, however, take some heat from the media for not following tradition and including the average cost of producing and marketing a studio pic in the MPAA’s annual report.

Insisting there was no move to deliberately withhold those stats, Glickman said that it has become nearly impossible to calculate average costs when studios have so many co-financing deals.

Glickman and National Assn. of Theater Owners prexy John Fithian, who shared the stage with Glickman, said going to the movies is a relatively inexpensive form of entertainment compared with the cost of going to concerts, sporting events and Broadway shows.

“Movies have become an extraordinary escape valve. It’s a communal experience,” Glickman said.

That could explain why movie admissions have soared so far this year, by as much as 9%.

The average ticket price in the U.S. was $7.18 in 2008, up 4.4% from $6.88 the year before. That’s a far slimmer increase than tickets to sporting events or touring Broadway shows saw. The average price of a ticket for a Major League Baseball game jumped 10.1% to $25.43, while an NFL game ducat jumped 7.9% to $72.20.

So far this year, box office revenue is up both domestically and overseas. That follows a record-breaking 2008, when worldwide box office revs clocked in at $28.1 billion, up 5% over the previous year. International receipts made up a hefty 65% of the pie at $18.3 billion, up 7.1%. Domestic revs of $9.8 billion rose 1.7%.

But whether that provides enough cushion to make up for a downturn in the homevid sector remains to be seen.

NATO stats released Tuesday showed that DVD revenues for the top 10 pics at the box office were down 15%.

Fithian noted that it may have been a blessing in disguise that the major studios released 27 fewer pictures in 2008 — 162 vs. 188 in 2007. He said it’s a trend that should continue since it allows films more room to breathe at the B.O.

At the same time, Fithian said he recently canvassed studios to see how much they intend to cut back in the future. He said only two anticipate a leaner release slate but did not disclose which two studios.

The MPAA’s report also noted the sharp 33% year-to-year rise in the number of digital screens available worldwide. The growth spurt comes as Hollywood is increasingly embracing cutting-edge 3-D production techniques.

Also during his address, Glickman had a message for President Obama as the commander-in-chief flew to Europe for the G-20 Economic Summit: Fight to keep international markets open. He said Hollywood provides more than 50% of the films that play at the international box office.

Glickman also said there’s a perception problem in Washington that the film biz is all about fattening studios. He said it’s not, and that the movie industry generates jobs for thousands of middle-class workers, supports the exhibition industry and stimulates local economies.

In January, Republican lawmakers successfully removed a provision from the stimulus bill that would have provided studios with certain tax incentives, arguing that if the box office was doing so well, Hollywood didn’t need any aid.

Glickman said he will continue to fight to have those incentives included in upcoming legislation.

By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK

German film industry in jeopardy

BERLIN — The German film industry could be facing a catastrophe if lawmakers don’t speed up a new legal framework for the country’s federal film subsidy program.

A federal court ruled last month that the levy industryites pay to the German Federal Film Board (FFA) is unconstitutional because theatrical exhibs and home entertainment distribs are legally required to pay while TV broadcasters’ contributions are voluntary.

With no new legal system in sight, the Berlin-based Alliance of German Producers Monday issued a warning that unless a solution is found, film production in Germany could drop by half this year and a slew of production companies may sink into bankruptcy.

This could also affect international productions. Among recent pics that have received FFA coin are Stephen Daldry’s Oscar-winning “The Reader” and Michael Hoffman’s upcoming Leo Tolstoy biopic “The Last Station,” starring Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer.

Before the court ruling, a number of exhibs had decided to pay the levy under caveat — a legal notice stipulating objections and blocking the FFA from spending the millions it receives until the matter is settled.

The producers’ alliance said more exhibs, distribs and possibly even TV broadcasters may do the same thing until new legislation is written.

If this happens, the FFA will be forced to cut its overall subsidy budget, currently around $90 million a year, which the producers’ alliance says would have “catastrophic effects on film production.”

Theatrical exhib body HDF Kino is set to meet today and expected to advise its members on any further action, while FFA officials will gather Friday to discuss the impending crisis and possibly rule on releasing emergency funds.

Ed Meza

Screen test:Will Ferrell