French cinema rarely ventures into full-blown sci-fi — a genre largely dominated by deep-pocketed U.S. productions — but filmmaker Aude Lea Rapin (“Heroes Don’t Die”), rose to the challenge with “Planet B,” a dystopian thriller headlined by Adele Exarchopoulos and Souheila Yacoub (“Dune 2”) playing rebels with a cause. The movie world premieres at Venice where it kicks off the Critics’ Week section.
Like many sci-fi movies, “Planet B” has a politically charged storyline, centering on hardcore climate activists who get locked up in a virtual prison in a seemingly idyllic location. Among the hot-button topics explored in the movie are immigration, police brutality, the limits of radical activism and threats to democracy.
Yacoub and Exarchopoulos star alongside an ensemble cast of up-and-comers, including India Hair, Jonathan Couzinié, Yassine Stein, Paul Beaurepaire and Eliane Umuhire.
Exarchopoulos plays Julia, the leader of the group of eco-activists who are imprisoned and tortured psychologically,...
Like many sci-fi movies, “Planet B” has a politically charged storyline, centering on hardcore climate activists who get locked up in a virtual prison in a seemingly idyllic location. Among the hot-button topics explored in the movie are immigration, police brutality, the limits of radical activism and threats to democracy.
Yacoub and Exarchopoulos star alongside an ensemble cast of up-and-comers, including India Hair, Jonathan Couzinié, Yassine Stein, Paul Beaurepaire and Eliane Umuhire.
Exarchopoulos plays Julia, the leader of the group of eco-activists who are imprisoned and tortured psychologically,...
- 8/29/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Venice Critics’ Week, the Venice Film Festival sidebar dedicated to first-time filmmakers, unveiled the selection of seven competition features and two out-of-competition titles for its 39th edition, which runs Aug. 28-Sept. 7.
Among the more timely entries is Homegrown from U.S. director Michael Premo. The documentary follows three far-right activists as they campaign for Donald Trump during the tumultuous 2020 election.
U.S-French filmmaker Alexandra Simpson makes her Venice debut with No Sleep Till, a drama set against the backdrop of a Florida coastal town in the lead-up to a hurricane. Other Venice Critics’ Week competition highlights include Paul & Paulette Take A Bath, from UK-French director Jethro Massey, about an American photographer and a French girl who bond over a dark game involving the reenactment of notorious crimes at their original locations; Anywhere Anytime, from Iranian-Italian director Milad Tangshir, a modern-day immigrant story inspired by Italian neorealist classic Bicycle Thieves; and Don’t Cry Butterfly,...
Among the more timely entries is Homegrown from U.S. director Michael Premo. The documentary follows three far-right activists as they campaign for Donald Trump during the tumultuous 2020 election.
U.S-French filmmaker Alexandra Simpson makes her Venice debut with No Sleep Till, a drama set against the backdrop of a Florida coastal town in the lead-up to a hurricane. Other Venice Critics’ Week competition highlights include Paul & Paulette Take A Bath, from UK-French director Jethro Massey, about an American photographer and a French girl who bond over a dark game involving the reenactment of notorious crimes at their original locations; Anywhere Anytime, from Iranian-Italian director Milad Tangshir, a modern-day immigrant story inspired by Italian neorealist classic Bicycle Thieves; and Don’t Cry Butterfly,...
- 7/22/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
U.S. journalist and filmmaker Michael Premo’s doc “Homegrown,” which follows a group of Donald Trump supporters from the 2020 campaign trail all the way to the attack on the U.S. Capitol, is among titles set to world premiere at the Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week.
Brooklyn-born Premo played a significant role in Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Sandy’s hurricane response effort.
The out-of-competition opener of the section dedicated to first works is French director Aude Léa Rapin’s “Planet B,” a cyberpunk sci-fi film starring Adèle Exarchopoulos (“Blue Is the Warmest Color”) about a group of political activists in 2039 France who, pursued by the state, vanish without a trace only to reawaken “trapped in an entirely unfamiliar world,” according to the provided synopsis.
Besides “Homegrown,” the seven-title competition comprises Italian drama “Anywhere Anytime,” directed by Iran-born helmer Milad Tangshir. The film riffs off Vittorio De Sica’s “Bicycle Thieves,...
Brooklyn-born Premo played a significant role in Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Sandy’s hurricane response effort.
The out-of-competition opener of the section dedicated to first works is French director Aude Léa Rapin’s “Planet B,” a cyberpunk sci-fi film starring Adèle Exarchopoulos (“Blue Is the Warmest Color”) about a group of political activists in 2039 France who, pursued by the state, vanish without a trace only to reawaken “trapped in an entirely unfamiliar world,” according to the provided synopsis.
Besides “Homegrown,” the seven-title competition comprises Italian drama “Anywhere Anytime,” directed by Iran-born helmer Milad Tangshir. The film riffs off Vittorio De Sica’s “Bicycle Thieves,...
- 7/22/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Ennui (aka boredom) is an interesting new emotion that Inside Out 2 could've utilized more.
Ennui's inclusion in the Pixar sequel has made many wonder how the personified emotion will fit. The character is voiced by French actress Adèle Exarchopoulos best known for her roles in Blue Is the Warmest Colour, The Last Face, and Passages.
As one of Riley's new emotions, the trailer showed a glimpse of Ennui's dynamic with the rest of the new and old characters and her "couldn't care less" attitude in Disney's Inside Out 2.
Read full article on The Direct.
Ennui's inclusion in the Pixar sequel has made many wonder how the personified emotion will fit. The character is voiced by French actress Adèle Exarchopoulos best known for her roles in Blue Is the Warmest Colour, The Last Face, and Passages.
As one of Riley's new emotions, the trailer showed a glimpse of Ennui's dynamic with the rest of the new and old characters and her "couldn't care less" attitude in Disney's Inside Out 2.
Read full article on The Direct.
- 6/14/2024
- by Aeron Mer Eclarinal
- The Direct
AMC+ is a unique streaming service because it offers great original dramas and access to three smaller streamers: horror hub Shudder, and independent films from IFC Films Unlimited and Sundance Now. Normally, those three smaller streamers would cost nearly $19/month on their own, but they come free with AMC+.
We’ll break down all the ways to watch AMC+, including a brand new option that is a great choice for fans of live TV.
7-Day Free Trial $4.99+ / month amc+ via amazon.com
What Can You Watch on AMC+?
How Much Does AMC+ Cost?
What Are Your AMC+ Subscription Options?
What Can You Watch on AMC+?
AMC+ includes originals like “Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire,” Anne Rice’s “Mayfair Witches,” “Gangs of London,” “Dark Winds,” “The North Water,” “Monsieur Spade,” “Parish,” and “Snowpiercer.”
Subscribers also get classic shows that first aired on AMC: “Mad Men,” “Killing Eve,” “The Killing,...
We’ll break down all the ways to watch AMC+, including a brand new option that is a great choice for fans of live TV.
7-Day Free Trial $4.99+ / month amc+ via amazon.com
What Can You Watch on AMC+?
How Much Does AMC+ Cost?
What Are Your AMC+ Subscription Options?
What Can You Watch on AMC+?
AMC+ includes originals like “Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire,” Anne Rice’s “Mayfair Witches,” “Gangs of London,” “Dark Winds,” “The North Water,” “Monsieur Spade,” “Parish,” and “Snowpiercer.”
Subscribers also get classic shows that first aired on AMC: “Mad Men,” “Killing Eve,” “The Killing,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Ben Bowman
- The Streamable
It might have taken almost a decade, but we finally have a follow up to the much-loved Pixar animation Inside Out (2015). The original film received huge acclaim on its release for its ability to portray the essence of childhood through Riley, a young girl who must learn to navigate changes in her young life after she is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to the big city.
Directed by Kelsey Mann, in his feature directorial debut, Inside Out 2 sees the return of SNL favourite Amy Poehler as the voice of Joy, one of Riley’s most dominant emotions. Elsewhere, Lewis Black, Maya Hawke (Asteroid City), Ayo Edebiri (The Bear), Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue Is The Warmest Colour) and Paul Walter Hauser all lend their voices to old and new emotions.
Puberty takes centre stage at Riley (Kensington Tallman) HQ when old emotions are set aside in order to make room for brand new emotions,...
Directed by Kelsey Mann, in his feature directorial debut, Inside Out 2 sees the return of SNL favourite Amy Poehler as the voice of Joy, one of Riley’s most dominant emotions. Elsewhere, Lewis Black, Maya Hawke (Asteroid City), Ayo Edebiri (The Bear), Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue Is The Warmest Colour) and Paul Walter Hauser all lend their voices to old and new emotions.
Puberty takes centre stage at Riley (Kensington Tallman) HQ when old emotions are set aside in order to make room for brand new emotions,...
- 6/12/2024
- by Linda Marric
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
A History of Unsimulated Sex Scenes in 17 Cannes Films, from ‘Mektoub’ to ‘Antichrist’ to ‘Caligula’
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in May 2019 and has been updated several times since.
Deserved or not, French cinema has a reputation for being a little racy. From classics like “Belle de Jour” to controversial modern films like “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” French film has consistently pushed the boundaries of sexuality and sensuality onscreen. So it’s perhaps no surprise that the country’s premier film festival Cannes is such an oasis for sexually explicit films, ones that have frequently generated controversy over its history — especially when these films feature unsimulated sexual acts.
Unsimulated sex onscreen at Cannes dates back to at least 1973, when the film “Thriller — a Cruel Picture,” featuring several acts of hardcore unsimulated porn, played at the festival. In the years afterwards, particularly provocative and avant-garde works like “Sweet Movie” and “The Idiots” caused shock at Cannes by presenting audiences with real, unvarnished sexual content.
Deserved or not, French cinema has a reputation for being a little racy. From classics like “Belle de Jour” to controversial modern films like “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” French film has consistently pushed the boundaries of sexuality and sensuality onscreen. So it’s perhaps no surprise that the country’s premier film festival Cannes is such an oasis for sexually explicit films, ones that have frequently generated controversy over its history — especially when these films feature unsimulated sexual acts.
Unsimulated sex onscreen at Cannes dates back to at least 1973, when the film “Thriller — a Cruel Picture,” featuring several acts of hardcore unsimulated porn, played at the festival. In the years afterwards, particularly provocative and avant-garde works like “Sweet Movie” and “The Idiots” caused shock at Cannes by presenting audiences with real, unvarnished sexual content.
- 5/23/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
This evening the Cannes Film Festival welcomed another world premiere of an ambitious French title with Beating Hearts (L’Amour Ouf). Gilles Lellouche’s competition entry from Studiocanal was greeted with a 15-minute standing ovation inside the Grand Théâtre Lumière.
The modern Romeo and Juliet tale co-stars François Civil, who featured as D’Artagnan in last year’s Three Musketeers reboot, and Blue is the Warmest Color’s Adèle Exarchopoulos. The pair play former childhood sweethearts from different sides of the tracks.
Having gone their separate ways when the boy gets caught up in gang violence and lands in jail on trumped-up murder charges, the couple reconnects against the odds years later.
Further cast includes Raphaël Quenard, Benoît Poelvoorde, Elodie Bouchez, Vincent Lacoste, Alain Chabat and Jean-Pascal Zadi.
The film is adapted from Irish writer Neville Thompson’s 1997 novel Jackie Loves Johnser Ok? which unfolded against the backdrop of Dublin’s tough...
The modern Romeo and Juliet tale co-stars François Civil, who featured as D’Artagnan in last year’s Three Musketeers reboot, and Blue is the Warmest Color’s Adèle Exarchopoulos. The pair play former childhood sweethearts from different sides of the tracks.
Having gone their separate ways when the boy gets caught up in gang violence and lands in jail on trumped-up murder charges, the couple reconnects against the odds years later.
Further cast includes Raphaël Quenard, Benoît Poelvoorde, Elodie Bouchez, Vincent Lacoste, Alain Chabat and Jean-Pascal Zadi.
The film is adapted from Irish writer Neville Thompson’s 1997 novel Jackie Loves Johnser Ok? which unfolded against the backdrop of Dublin’s tough...
- 5/23/2024
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast is a mesmerising and thought-provoking cinematic experience that blends elements of intelligent sci-fi, romance, and psychological thriller. Bonello’s distinct directorial style, combined with a compelling narrative and strong performances, makes this a standout in the sci-fi genre.
Set in a dystopian future where emotions have come to be regarded as dangerous liabilities, The Beast stars Léa Seydoux as Gabrielle, a troubled young woman grappling with her intense feelings in a society that prioritises rationality over feelings.
1917 and True History of the Kelly Gang star George MacKay plays Louis, Gabrielle’s enigmatic love interest, whose presence complicates her path to freedom from her own inner turmoil and doubts about her future.
Through a series of scenarios taking place throughout the ages – Paris at the turn of the 20th century and LA, 100 years later – the lovers’ interactions are fraught with tension, desire, and existential dread as...
Set in a dystopian future where emotions have come to be regarded as dangerous liabilities, The Beast stars Léa Seydoux as Gabrielle, a troubled young woman grappling with her intense feelings in a society that prioritises rationality over feelings.
1917 and True History of the Kelly Gang star George MacKay plays Louis, Gabrielle’s enigmatic love interest, whose presence complicates her path to freedom from her own inner turmoil and doubts about her future.
Through a series of scenarios taking place throughout the ages – Paris at the turn of the 20th century and LA, 100 years later – the lovers’ interactions are fraught with tension, desire, and existential dread as...
- 5/22/2024
- by Linda Marric
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
As the 77th Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25) arrives at its halfway point, here is THR executive editor of awards Scott Feinberg’s assessment of the awards prospects — at the Cannes closing ceremony and later in the fall — of the films that have screened at the fest so far.
The Two That Popped
One cannot know what the specific preferences and priorities of the Greta Gerwig-led main competition jury are, but one can categorically state that two competition films — both of which are so original and out-there that they have to be seen to be believed — have been particularly well received. Both garnered nine-minute standing ovations and rave reviews, including particular praise for their leading lady.
The first is The Substance, a body-horror flick from French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat that might be described as Sunset Blvd. meets Freaks, and an instant classic. Demi Moore, in a gutsy career-best turn...
The Two That Popped
One cannot know what the specific preferences and priorities of the Greta Gerwig-led main competition jury are, but one can categorically state that two competition films — both of which are so original and out-there that they have to be seen to be believed — have been particularly well received. Both garnered nine-minute standing ovations and rave reviews, including particular praise for their leading lady.
The first is The Substance, a body-horror flick from French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat that might be described as Sunset Blvd. meets Freaks, and an instant classic. Demi Moore, in a gutsy career-best turn...
- 5/20/2024
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The anarchic spirit of Julia Ducournau’s Palme d’Or winner Titane lives on in Emma Benestan’s Critics’ Week closer Animale, the genre-busting debut of a director who cites Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, and the naturalist films of Chloé Zhao as influences. More surprisingly, she also credits Abdellatif Kechiche, since her first break was as assistant editor on his 2013 Palme d’Or winner Blue Is the Warmest Color.
Emma Benestan
Benestan — who would later take a full-blown editor credit on Kechiche’s 2017 feature Mektoub, My Love — was then finishing her studies at France’s prestigious La Fémis film school, but observing Kechiche’s directorial style, and witnessing his penchant for mixing professional and amateur actors, was an education in itself. “It’s the way he marries professionals and amateurs that gives his films a certain spontaneity,” she explains. “I’d been taught the director had to control everything,...
Emma Benestan
Benestan — who would later take a full-blown editor credit on Kechiche’s 2017 feature Mektoub, My Love — was then finishing her studies at France’s prestigious La Fémis film school, but observing Kechiche’s directorial style, and witnessing his penchant for mixing professional and amateur actors, was an education in itself. “It’s the way he marries professionals and amateurs that gives his films a certain spontaneity,” she explains. “I’d been taught the director had to control everything,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The AMC Networks June 2024 schedule has been announced and includes the premiere of the new AMC series Orphan Black: Echoes, starring Krysten Ritter and Keeley Hawes, the new Sundance Now supernatural drama Domino Day, and the return of Acorn TV’s popular My Life Is Murder, starring Lucy Lawless.
AMC+ continues film premieres every week, including the thriller No Way Up, starring Colm Meaney, Shudder’s Korean supernatural horror film Exhuma, and period psychological thriller The Devil’s Bath.
AMC+ also celebrates Pride Month with a collection of programming featuring signature series such as Interview with the Vampire, Orphan Black, Killing Eve, Portlandia, and This Is Going To Hurt, and a curated selection of feature films and documentaries, including Monica, Bad Things, Blue is the Warmest Color, and Weekend.
These films, series, and more join an extensive catalog of compelling dramas, beloved franchises, popular films, and timely collections on AMC+, Acorn TV,...
AMC+ continues film premieres every week, including the thriller No Way Up, starring Colm Meaney, Shudder’s Korean supernatural horror film Exhuma, and period psychological thriller The Devil’s Bath.
AMC+ also celebrates Pride Month with a collection of programming featuring signature series such as Interview with the Vampire, Orphan Black, Killing Eve, Portlandia, and This Is Going To Hurt, and a curated selection of feature films and documentaries, including Monica, Bad Things, Blue is the Warmest Color, and Weekend.
These films, series, and more join an extensive catalog of compelling dramas, beloved franchises, popular films, and timely collections on AMC+, Acorn TV,...
- 5/17/2024
- by Mirko Parlevliet
- Vital Thrills
Cannes regular Léa Seydoux joined playful press conference for fest opener The Second Act, where talk occasionally turned serious as the actress was peppered with several questions from the international press about her thoughts on the #MeToo era.
“I have been a very fortunate person as an actress. At the beginning of my career, I worked with people who respected me, more or less,” said Seydoux. “Some women were really victims. But in my case, I can’t compare with someone women who really went through and experienced very serious things.”
#MeToo is a contentious issue in France, where the perception is the entertainment industry has been slow to evolve. Seydoux has previously spoken about challenging conditions on Blue is the Warmest Color, her 2013 Palme d’Or winner that landed her international fame, and featured a 7-minute lesbian sex scene that took 10 days to shoot, while the film involved upwards...
“I have been a very fortunate person as an actress. At the beginning of my career, I worked with people who respected me, more or less,” said Seydoux. “Some women were really victims. But in my case, I can’t compare with someone women who really went through and experienced very serious things.”
#MeToo is a contentious issue in France, where the perception is the entertainment industry has been slow to evolve. Seydoux has previously spoken about challenging conditions on Blue is the Warmest Color, her 2013 Palme d’Or winner that landed her international fame, and featured a 7-minute lesbian sex scene that took 10 days to shoot, while the film involved upwards...
- 5/15/2024
- by Aaron Couch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A first clip has been unveiled for Emma Benestan’s “Animale,” which closes the Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week strand this year.
The film is set in the Camargue region of the south of France, where daring youths participate in the local tradition of bull running. Only one woman, 22-year-old Nejma, takes her place in the arena. Taunting and evading the animals with increasing boldness, Nejma seeks to prove herself the equal of the men – inside and outside of the arena. But both situations put Nejma at risk, as a different threat looms over the community of riders: a bull is on the loose and young men are being killed. The film is designed as a supernatural fable that blends with the classic body horror, and the revenge thriller.
After several shorts and a documentary, “Animale” is Benestan’s second fiction feature after the acclaimed “Fragile” aka “Hard Shell, Soft Shell...
The film is set in the Camargue region of the south of France, where daring youths participate in the local tradition of bull running. Only one woman, 22-year-old Nejma, takes her place in the arena. Taunting and evading the animals with increasing boldness, Nejma seeks to prove herself the equal of the men – inside and outside of the arena. But both situations put Nejma at risk, as a different threat looms over the community of riders: a bull is on the loose and young men are being killed. The film is designed as a supernatural fable that blends with the classic body horror, and the revenge thriller.
After several shorts and a documentary, “Animale” is Benestan’s second fiction feature after the acclaimed “Fragile” aka “Hard Shell, Soft Shell...
- 5/15/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The stormy clouds outside the Palais might have dampened some spirits as the credits rolled on the opening night film of the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Or maybe it was the movie itself.
“The Second Act,” Quentin Dupieux’s talky French comedy about the making of the first movie directed by AI, mustered a lukewarm 3.5-minute standing ovation on Tuesday night in Cannes.
Dupieux attedned the premiere along with his French cast of Léa Seydoux, Louis Garrel, Vincent Lindon and Raphaël Quenard. The four actors all politely stood as a camera quickly passed by through the tepid applause.
In the meta film, these French stars play actors making a romantic comedy they know is pointless, as it’s the first movie written and directed by AI. In the opening scenes, we learn that Florence (Seydoux) wants to take things to the next level with David (Garrel), but he is no...
“The Second Act,” Quentin Dupieux’s talky French comedy about the making of the first movie directed by AI, mustered a lukewarm 3.5-minute standing ovation on Tuesday night in Cannes.
Dupieux attedned the premiere along with his French cast of Léa Seydoux, Louis Garrel, Vincent Lindon and Raphaël Quenard. The four actors all politely stood as a camera quickly passed by through the tepid applause.
In the meta film, these French stars play actors making a romantic comedy they know is pointless, as it’s the first movie written and directed by AI. In the opening scenes, we learn that Florence (Seydoux) wants to take things to the next level with David (Garrel), but he is no...
- 5/14/2024
- by Ramin Setoodeh and Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Natalie Portman has joined the voice cast for French director Ugo Bienvenu’s upcoming animated feature Arco about a boy who uses rainbows to travel through time and his adventures as he gets stuck in the wrong era.
Portman is also producing with Sophie Mas under their joint Paris and New York banner MountainA with Félix de Givry at Paris-based Remembers.
Taking its cue from the fantasy premise that rainbows are time machines, the movie revolves around 10 year old rainbow-child Arco, who lives in the distant future, 2932.
His maiden journey in his multi-colored suit does not go to plan. He loses control and veers off course to land in a near future, 2075, where Iris, a girl the same age as Arco, witnesses his fall and then makes it her mission to get him home.
Arco
Arco is the first feature for Bienvenu after short films Maman and L’entretien and comic books.
Portman is also producing with Sophie Mas under their joint Paris and New York banner MountainA with Félix de Givry at Paris-based Remembers.
Taking its cue from the fantasy premise that rainbows are time machines, the movie revolves around 10 year old rainbow-child Arco, who lives in the distant future, 2932.
His maiden journey in his multi-colored suit does not go to plan. He loses control and veers off course to land in a near future, 2075, where Iris, a girl the same age as Arco, witnesses his fall and then makes it her mission to get him home.
Arco
Arco is the first feature for Bienvenu after short films Maman and L’entretien and comic books.
- 5/13/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
One of the year’s most anticipated films will be on sale for independent buyers at the upcoming Cannes market. We can bring you news that French sales company Goodfellas has boarded Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis ahead of the movie’s world premiere in Competition at the festival.
Also confirmed today is the film’s French deal with Le Pacte and the involvement of longtime Coppola collaborator Paul Rassam.
Speculation has been rife around rollout plans for the $120M self-financed epic ever since Coppola showed it for the first time to buyers at L.A.’s Universal CityWalk Imax Theater at the end of March, with the screening followed shortly after by news of its Cannes selection.
Adam Driver stars as an idealistic architect attempting to rebuild New York as an American Utopia, with the ensemble cast also featuring Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voigt,...
Also confirmed today is the film’s French deal with Le Pacte and the involvement of longtime Coppola collaborator Paul Rassam.
Speculation has been rife around rollout plans for the $120M self-financed epic ever since Coppola showed it for the first time to buyers at L.A.’s Universal CityWalk Imax Theater at the end of March, with the screening followed shortly after by news of its Cannes selection.
Adam Driver stars as an idealistic architect attempting to rebuild New York as an American Utopia, with the ensemble cast also featuring Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voigt,...
- 4/30/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow and Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Léa Seydoux (Dune: Part Two) is attached to star opposite Josh O’Connor (Challengers) in Separate Rooms, an upcoming film from Luca Guadagnino, multiple sources tell Deadline.
An adaptation of the 1989 novel by the late author Pier Vittorio Tondelli, the film is a non-chronological examination of the romance between the Italian iconoclast writer, Leo (O’Connor), and his translator, Thomas. Details as to the role Seydoux is playing haven’t been disclosed.
The script comes from Francesca Manieri, who collaborated with Guadagnino on his Sky/HBO series We Are Who We Are. Lorenzo Mieli will produce for Fremantle, following his work with Guadagnino on his cannibal romance Bones and All, starring Timothée Chalamet, which won Guadagnino the prize for Best Director at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.
Best known for starring in the Bond films Spectre and No Time to Die, as well as Abdellatif Kechiche’s Palme d’Or winner Blue Is the Warmest Color,...
An adaptation of the 1989 novel by the late author Pier Vittorio Tondelli, the film is a non-chronological examination of the romance between the Italian iconoclast writer, Leo (O’Connor), and his translator, Thomas. Details as to the role Seydoux is playing haven’t been disclosed.
The script comes from Francesca Manieri, who collaborated with Guadagnino on his Sky/HBO series We Are Who We Are. Lorenzo Mieli will produce for Fremantle, following his work with Guadagnino on his cannibal romance Bones and All, starring Timothée Chalamet, which won Guadagnino the prize for Best Director at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.
Best known for starring in the Bond films Spectre and No Time to Die, as well as Abdellatif Kechiche’s Palme d’Or winner Blue Is the Warmest Color,...
- 4/3/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The Wages of Fear is a French film directed by Julien Leclercq starring Franck Gastambide and Ana Girardot.
“The Wages of Fear” is a film based on Georges Arnaud’s novel, which, as you may already know, had a previous adaptation in 1953, directed by H.G. Clouzot. This has become a classic of French cinema and one of the best thrillers in film history.
In these current times, Julien Leclercq dares to create a new version of this story, modernizing it entirely and trying to maintain the character tension in this updated plot, although we’re not fully sure if it’s for the better.
It’s always a risk to compare yourself to a classic, but Julien Leclercq has the courage to try it.
Plot
To save a village during an oil extraction, four people must escort a convoy loaded with nitroglycerin in a desolate place, surrounded by armed gangs.
“The Wages of Fear” is a film based on Georges Arnaud’s novel, which, as you may already know, had a previous adaptation in 1953, directed by H.G. Clouzot. This has become a classic of French cinema and one of the best thrillers in film history.
In these current times, Julien Leclercq dares to create a new version of this story, modernizing it entirely and trying to maintain the character tension in this updated plot, although we’re not fully sure if it’s for the better.
It’s always a risk to compare yourself to a classic, but Julien Leclercq has the courage to try it.
Plot
To save a village during an oil extraction, four people must escort a convoy loaded with nitroglycerin in a desolate place, surrounded by armed gangs.
- 3/29/2024
- by Martin Cid
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
Channeling the French approach of having a female protagonist and focusing almost exclusively on her, as seen in films like “Blue is the Warmest Color” and “L'evenement”, Elena Naveriani turns the whole thing on its head, by having a middle-aged, plain-looking woman as her protagonist instead of a gorgeous young woman. Her approach is both refreshing and functions as a kind of meaningful irony regarding cinema standards, in a script based on a 2020 novel by feminist author Tamta Melashvili.
Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival
One morning, a 48-year-old shopkeeper named Etero is out foraging wild blackberries near her small Georgian village when the sighting of a blackbird causes her to slip and fall down a ravine. Her near-death experience has her seeing various instances of herself dead, but also makes her contemplate her life, and particularly her single status, despite the fact that she was happy with it until now.
Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival
One morning, a 48-year-old shopkeeper named Etero is out foraging wild blackberries near her small Georgian village when the sighting of a blackbird causes her to slip and fall down a ravine. Her near-death experience has her seeing various instances of herself dead, but also makes her contemplate her life, and particularly her single status, despite the fact that she was happy with it until now.
- 3/4/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Justine Triet became the second female filmmaker in the Cesar Award’s 49-year history to win the best director trophy for “Anatomy of a Fall,” which also won best film, original screenplay, actress for Sandra Huller, supporting actor for Swann Arlaud and editing at the French film industry’s big night. Thomas Cailley’s supernatural drama “The Animal Kingdom” also dominated the race, picking up a raft of prizes, including cinematography, costumes, visual effects and music. The ceremony unfolded at the Olympia Theater in Paris on Friday evening and aired lived on Canal+.
Triet’s movie, which is vying for five Oscars, stars Hüller as a novelist who is put on trial following the mysterious death of her husband at their remote chalet. The movie is produced by Marie-Ange Luciani at Les Films de Pierre and David Thion at Les Films Pelleas.
Triet dedicated her best film award to all women,...
Triet’s movie, which is vying for five Oscars, stars Hüller as a novelist who is put on trial following the mysterious death of her husband at their remote chalet. The movie is produced by Marie-Ange Luciani at Les Films de Pierre and David Thion at Les Films Pelleas.
Triet dedicated her best film award to all women,...
- 2/23/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The French horror film The Animal Kingdom has been making the festival rounds for the last year, and after reaching theatres in its home country last October it ended up earning 12 Nominations at this year’s César Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor. We’ll have to wait a couple weeks to find out if it’s going to win those César Awards (the ceremony is set to be held on February 23rd), but in the meantime a trailer for the film’s American release has made its way online and can be seen in the embed above. Magnet Releasing will be giving The Animal Kingdom a theatrical and VOD release on March 15th.
Directed by Thomas Cailley, who also wrote the screenplay with Pauline Munier, The Animal Kingdom, which is described as “a visionary thriller”, drops viewers into an extraordinary world where mutations...
Directed by Thomas Cailley, who also wrote the screenplay with Pauline Munier, The Animal Kingdom, which is described as “a visionary thriller”, drops viewers into an extraordinary world where mutations...
- 2/8/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Thomas Cailley’s supernatural drama “The Animal Kingdom” and Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall” are leading the race at the 49th Cesar Awards with 12 and 11 nominations, respectively.
Triet’s movie, which just garnered an impressive five Oscar nominations, and “The Animal Kingdom,” which opened at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and won a prize, will vie for top Cesar awards including best director and film.
“The Animal Kingdom” is an ambitious film that marks a departure from France’s cinema tradition of social realism. It’s both a creature-filled dystopia and a father-and-son drama, weaving some contemporary concerns over the future of mankind. It’s produced by Pierre Guyard at Nord Ouest Films and co-produced by Artemis.
“Anatomy of a Fall,” meanwhile stars Sandra Hüller — the German actor nominated for Cesar, Oscar and BAFTA awards — as a novelist who is put on trial following the...
Triet’s movie, which just garnered an impressive five Oscar nominations, and “The Animal Kingdom,” which opened at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and won a prize, will vie for top Cesar awards including best director and film.
“The Animal Kingdom” is an ambitious film that marks a departure from France’s cinema tradition of social realism. It’s both a creature-filled dystopia and a father-and-son drama, weaving some contemporary concerns over the future of mankind. It’s produced by Pierre Guyard at Nord Ouest Films and co-produced by Artemis.
“Anatomy of a Fall,” meanwhile stars Sandra Hüller — the German actor nominated for Cesar, Oscar and BAFTA awards — as a novelist who is put on trial following the...
- 1/24/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
By now, even the most hardcore fans of French cuisine and “Chocolat” star Juliette Binoche can agree that Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” — rather than Tran Anh Hung’s “The Taste of Things” — was the one movie that could have given France its first Oscar win for best international feature in over 30 years, since Régis Wargnier’s “Indochine.”
Over the last three decades, a number of French movies have earned Oscar recognition, but none have been the official French Oscar submission. Michael Haneke’s “Amour” earned five Oscar noms in 2013 and even won the best foreign-language Oscar but it represented Austria. A year before, “The Artist,” a French-directed and produced silent movie, won five Oscars out of 10 nominations, including best picture. But the movie had come out in theaters in October, past the former Sept. 30 deadline (which has since then been extended in France) to submit films for...
Over the last three decades, a number of French movies have earned Oscar recognition, but none have been the official French Oscar submission. Michael Haneke’s “Amour” earned five Oscar noms in 2013 and even won the best foreign-language Oscar but it represented Austria. A year before, “The Artist,” a French-directed and produced silent movie, won five Oscars out of 10 nominations, including best picture. But the movie had come out in theaters in October, past the former Sept. 30 deadline (which has since then been extended in France) to submit films for...
- 1/24/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
‘Cuts deep… reminiscent of Cronenberg’s freaky ’80s masterpiece The Fly… delightfully provocative…’
★★★★
NME
‘Akin to David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return… Thoughtful, poignant, confusing, funny, sexy, gross – it’s a lot… long live the new flesh’
Little White Lies
From the auteur of body horror himself – visionary director David Cronenberg – comes the critically acclaimed Crimes Of The Future in a brand-new Limited Edition Dual 4K/Blu-ray Box Set.
The 2022 sci-fi epic has been lauded as ‘provocatively feverish stuff from the dearly missed vintage annals of Cronenberg’ (Rogerbert.com), and bears the Canadian maestro’s hallmarks, delving into the depths of dystopia to bring audiences fresh iterations of horror and now Crimes of The Future is available now from the masters in the field Second Sight Films.
The box set comes as a dual format edition, including both Uhd and Blu-ray versions, with the main feature and bonus features...
★★★★
NME
‘Akin to David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return… Thoughtful, poignant, confusing, funny, sexy, gross – it’s a lot… long live the new flesh’
Little White Lies
From the auteur of body horror himself – visionary director David Cronenberg – comes the critically acclaimed Crimes Of The Future in a brand-new Limited Edition Dual 4K/Blu-ray Box Set.
The 2022 sci-fi epic has been lauded as ‘provocatively feverish stuff from the dearly missed vintage annals of Cronenberg’ (Rogerbert.com), and bears the Canadian maestro’s hallmarks, delving into the depths of dystopia to bring audiences fresh iterations of horror and now Crimes of The Future is available now from the masters in the field Second Sight Films.
The box set comes as a dual format edition, including both Uhd and Blu-ray versions, with the main feature and bonus features...
- 1/4/2024
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
Mad Solutions has acquired world sales rights to Osn’s first-ever original feature, “Yellow Bus,” which world premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.
As well as world sales, Mad Solutions will handle Middle East and North Africa theatrical distribution, while Osn will handle all other Mena rights. Sikhya Entertainment will handle distribution in the Indian subcontinent.
In U.S. filmmaker Wendy Bednarz’s feature debut, an Indian woman living in the Arabian Gulf embarks on a search for truth and accountability after her daughter is left to die on a school bus in the sweltering desert heat.
The film stars Syrian actress Kinda Alloush, alongside Indian star Tannishtha Chatterjee, who was nominated for best actress at the British Independent Film Awards for “Brick Lane,” as well as fellow prominent Indian actor Amit Sial, who is known for the series “Inside Edge,” and Aarushi Laud, who plays the daughter.
The film...
As well as world sales, Mad Solutions will handle Middle East and North Africa theatrical distribution, while Osn will handle all other Mena rights. Sikhya Entertainment will handle distribution in the Indian subcontinent.
In U.S. filmmaker Wendy Bednarz’s feature debut, an Indian woman living in the Arabian Gulf embarks on a search for truth and accountability after her daughter is left to die on a school bus in the sweltering desert heat.
The film stars Syrian actress Kinda Alloush, alongside Indian star Tannishtha Chatterjee, who was nominated for best actress at the British Independent Film Awards for “Brick Lane,” as well as fellow prominent Indian actor Amit Sial, who is known for the series “Inside Edge,” and Aarushi Laud, who plays the daughter.
The film...
- 12/6/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Mathieu Kassovitz has quit the Paris Has Fallen television series citing creative differences. He has been replaced by Spiral actor Tewfik Jallab.
Deadline can reveal the casting switch as StudioCanal has released first-look images from the series, which is based on Gerard Butler‘s Has Fallen film franchise and is shooting in London and Paris.
The eight-part drama is made by StudioCanal, War of the Worlds producer Urban Myth Films, and two companies behind the film franchise: Millennium Media and Butler’s G-Base. Eclectic Pictures is also attached.
Kassovitz, best known for his 1995 film La Haine, is recovering from a motorbike accident last month, though his departure from Paris Has Fallen was for creative reasons. In his place, Jallab will play Vincent Taleb, a protection officer to a French Minister, who is the target of a terror group led by villain Jacob.
Vincent works with MI6 operative Zara (Ritu Arya...
Deadline can reveal the casting switch as StudioCanal has released first-look images from the series, which is based on Gerard Butler‘s Has Fallen film franchise and is shooting in London and Paris.
The eight-part drama is made by StudioCanal, War of the Worlds producer Urban Myth Films, and two companies behind the film franchise: Millennium Media and Butler’s G-Base. Eclectic Pictures is also attached.
Kassovitz, best known for his 1995 film La Haine, is recovering from a motorbike accident last month, though his departure from Paris Has Fallen was for creative reasons. In his place, Jallab will play Vincent Taleb, a protection officer to a French Minister, who is the target of a terror group led by villain Jacob.
Vincent works with MI6 operative Zara (Ritu Arya...
- 10/13/2023
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Directed by award-winning French-Tunisian actor-turned-screenwriter, Abdellatif Kechiche, Blue is the Warmest Colour won the coveted Palme D’Or (Golden Palm) at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Based on a graphic novel by French illustrator, Jul Maroh, this heart-warming movie was well-received by critics, as well as being a box office smash. But its release also generated some controversy. Why? Because its central theme – lesbian love – unfolds so vigorously. The central character, Emma (Léa Seydoux), an aspiring artist with striking blue hair, enjoys a passionate relationship with Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a quiet, much younger, high school student. It wasn’t the age-gap aspect of their love affair that grabbed the headlines – after all, a disparity in ages between leading actors is as old as moviemaking itself. It had more to do with the explicit girl-on-girl sex scenes. To understand why this excellent film might have ever been thought of as contentious, it...
- 10/4/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
French director Justine Triet’s film grossed approximately €1.9m over its opening five-day weekend.
The August 2023 box office in France reached 16m admissions, up 1.6% on the pre-pandemic 2017-2019 average for the month and a whopping 52.1% on the same month in 2022, fuelled by Barbie, Oppenheimer and Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall, released by Le Pacte.
As the month ended, Triet managed to break into the five-week “Barbenheimer” bonanza with Anatomy Of A Fall garnering 263,000 admissions during its opening five-day weekend and 346,500 admissions in its first week in theatres for local distributor Le Pacte.
Based on...
The August 2023 box office in France reached 16m admissions, up 1.6% on the pre-pandemic 2017-2019 average for the month and a whopping 52.1% on the same month in 2022, fuelled by Barbie, Oppenheimer and Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall, released by Le Pacte.
As the month ended, Triet managed to break into the five-week “Barbenheimer” bonanza with Anatomy Of A Fall garnering 263,000 admissions during its opening five-day weekend and 346,500 admissions in its first week in theatres for local distributor Le Pacte.
Based on...
- 9/5/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
To celebrate the release of Crimes Of The Future releasing on Limited Edition 4K Uhd /Blu-Ray Box set & Standard Edition 4K/Uhd and Standard Edition Blu-Ray on 11th September 2023, we have a Limited Edition 4K Uhd /Blu-Ray Boxset to give away!
From the auteur of body horror himself – visionary director David Cronenberg, This box set comes as a dual format edition, including both Uhd and Blu-ray versions, with the main feature and bonus features on both discs and is presented in a stunning rigid slipcase box with new artwork by Marko Manev. It comes complete with a 120-page book featuring new essays and includes a host of fantastic special features.
In the not-too-distant future, humanity has been forced to adapt to a synthetic environment and the human body has undergone new transformations and mutations. In a world where diseases and physical pain no longer exist, one man, Saul Tenser, has...
From the auteur of body horror himself – visionary director David Cronenberg, This box set comes as a dual format edition, including both Uhd and Blu-ray versions, with the main feature and bonus features on both discs and is presented in a stunning rigid slipcase box with new artwork by Marko Manev. It comes complete with a 120-page book featuring new essays and includes a host of fantastic special features.
In the not-too-distant future, humanity has been forced to adapt to a synthetic environment and the human body has undergone new transformations and mutations. In a world where diseases and physical pain no longer exist, one man, Saul Tenser, has...
- 9/3/2023
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
After braving a massive backlash over her fiery political speech at the Cannes Film Festival, French director Justine Triet has succeeded in luring wide audiences in local theaters with her Palme d’Or winning film “Anatomy of a Fall.”
A courtroom drama exploring the collapse of a marriage and a mother-son relationship, “Anatomy of a Fall” has scored the best B.O. score at the French box office for a Palme d’Or winner since “Blue is the Warmest Color,” the 2013 erotic drama starring Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos.
The movie, which was bought by Neon at Cannes, is hotly tipped to represent France is the Oscar race. The other French films that will likely be shortlisted by this year’s French committee include “The Taste of Things”; and “Jeanne du Barry,” Maiwenn’s Versailles-set period starring Johnny Depp as Louis Xv. “The Taste of Things” and “Jeanne du Barry...
A courtroom drama exploring the collapse of a marriage and a mother-son relationship, “Anatomy of a Fall” has scored the best B.O. score at the French box office for a Palme d’Or winner since “Blue is the Warmest Color,” the 2013 erotic drama starring Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos.
The movie, which was bought by Neon at Cannes, is hotly tipped to represent France is the Oscar race. The other French films that will likely be shortlisted by this year’s French committee include “The Taste of Things”; and “Jeanne du Barry,” Maiwenn’s Versailles-set period starring Johnny Depp as Louis Xv. “The Taste of Things” and “Jeanne du Barry...
- 8/29/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The French star of Blue Is the Warmest Colour and new film Passages talks sex scenes, avoiding Hollywood and eating Toblerones in Jane Birkin’s bath
For Adèle Exarchopoulos, her first taste of film stardom was the literal taste of Toblerone. Then 13 years old, the young Parisian had just been cast in her first film, Jane Birkin’s autobiographical directing debut Boxes, and was invited round to the icon’s home. “I went to the bathroom to wash my hands,” Exarchopoulos recalls. “And I saw for the first time in my life a claw-foot tub. With a bowl of mini Toblerones next to it. And I was like: ‘Why are you eating chocolate when you’re taking a bath? This is so cool.’ And Jane said: ‘You want to sleep over? You can take a bath and eat some chocolate.’”
She beams at the memory. We’re talking, via Zoom,...
For Adèle Exarchopoulos, her first taste of film stardom was the literal taste of Toblerone. Then 13 years old, the young Parisian had just been cast in her first film, Jane Birkin’s autobiographical directing debut Boxes, and was invited round to the icon’s home. “I went to the bathroom to wash my hands,” Exarchopoulos recalls. “And I saw for the first time in my life a claw-foot tub. With a bowl of mini Toblerones next to it. And I was like: ‘Why are you eating chocolate when you’re taking a bath? This is so cool.’ And Jane said: ‘You want to sleep over? You can take a bath and eat some chocolate.’”
She beams at the memory. We’re talking, via Zoom,...
- 8/20/2023
- by Guy Lodge
- The Guardian - Film News
Isabelle Adjani on the ‘Great Violence’ of ‘Possession’: ‘It’s Something I Could Never Accept Again’
Isabelle Adjani considers herself a “survivor” after controversial thriller “Possession.”
The film, which places among IndieWire’s list of top ’80s films, was directed by Andrzej Żuławski and stars Adjani as a woman who decides into madness after running away from her marriage, causing her husband (Sam Neill) to discover the sinister nature of her infidelities. Adjani won the Best Actress award at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival but allegedly attempted suicide following the film’s release due to the extreme emotional and psychic demands of her performance.
Adjani revisited the legacy of “Possession” during an Interview magazine discussion alongside “Passages” and “Blue Is the Warmest Color” star Adèle Exarchopoulos.
“I often wonder, when a person is an actress, if they’re capable of overcoming everything that’s inflicted on them,” Adjani said. “I remember — if you’ll allow me to offer a comparison from my own career and some situations...
The film, which places among IndieWire’s list of top ’80s films, was directed by Andrzej Żuławski and stars Adjani as a woman who decides into madness after running away from her marriage, causing her husband (Sam Neill) to discover the sinister nature of her infidelities. Adjani won the Best Actress award at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival but allegedly attempted suicide following the film’s release due to the extreme emotional and psychic demands of her performance.
Adjani revisited the legacy of “Possession” during an Interview magazine discussion alongside “Passages” and “Blue Is the Warmest Color” star Adèle Exarchopoulos.
“I often wonder, when a person is an actress, if they’re capable of overcoming everything that’s inflicted on them,” Adjani said. “I remember — if you’ll allow me to offer a comparison from my own career and some situations...
- 8/14/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
On July 19, the MPA ratings board handed an Nc-17 rating to “Passages,” Ira Sachs’s acclaimed drama about a very unusual love triangle. The film was set to be released just two weeks later; Sachs and his distributor, Mubi, were understandably upset. The scene that triggered the Nc-17 rating, as is often the case in situations like this one, was an extended sex scene (the MPA does not like things that are long). As almost always happens, the filmmaker and the distributor immediately committed themselves to releasing the movie unrated. “There’s no untangling the film from what it is,” Sachs told the Los Angeles Times. “It is a film that is very open about the place of sexual experience in our lives. And to shift that now would be to create a very different movie.”
He’s totally right, of course. Yet in the days that followed, as I...
He’s totally right, of course. Yet in the days that followed, as I...
- 8/13/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Ira Sachs’ Passages, which is expanding its release this weekend, has become known for its sex scenes, but the filmmaker believes audiences are drawn to it for a different reason.
The story of a married gay couple in Paris whose relationship unravels when one partner (Franz Rogowski) begins an affair with a woman (Adèle Exarchopoulos) includes crucial moments of intercourse that ignited discussion about the state of intimacy in American cinema, especially following the news that the MPA gave the film an Nc-17 rating. The version seen now in theaters is unrated.
But, in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sachs argues that audiences are drawn to the film less because of the sex and more because of the emotional density of its subject matter. “I feel like people are happy to see an adult film, to be honest,” Sachs says. “I’m not sure the sex is what...
The story of a married gay couple in Paris whose relationship unravels when one partner (Franz Rogowski) begins an affair with a woman (Adèle Exarchopoulos) includes crucial moments of intercourse that ignited discussion about the state of intimacy in American cinema, especially following the news that the MPA gave the film an Nc-17 rating. The version seen now in theaters is unrated.
But, in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sachs argues that audiences are drawn to the film less because of the sex and more because of the emotional density of its subject matter. “I feel like people are happy to see an adult film, to be honest,” Sachs says. “I’m not sure the sex is what...
- 8/11/2023
- by Esther Zuckerman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The film series Adèle Exarchopoulos: Fire Starter begins showing exclusively on Mubi in many countries on August 10, 2023.Zero Fucks Given.Cassandre (Adèle Exarchopoulos) is not having it. She’s listening to someone invisible, someone with authority, addressing her and a few other flight attendants in unplaceably accented English. This is their manager, instructing them how to sell the duty-free in the air, how to push the pricey alcohol—a little snippet of the very alienated, very feminized service labor that makes contemporary convenience industries run. We know it’s a cheap airline because they wear bright, synthetic-looking uniforms; one of them looks intently at the off-camera speaker, nodding in a serious, brown-nosing kind of way. But Cassandre, wearing lots of makeup—very red lips, winged black eyeliner—is blank, petulant, distracted, looking back and forth from her coworker and manager, definitely thinking something like, “I don’t give a shit...
- 8/10/2023
- MUBI
When the companies behind Ira Sachs’ new drama about the shifting currents of intimacy in a troubled love triangle submitted Passages to the Motion Picture Association ratings board, they probably anticipated an R.
But the MPA came back with an Nc-17 rating, forcing the distributor to release the film (which premiered at Sundance earlier this year) unrated rather than risk commercial marginalization or impose cuts that would diminish its intensity. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sachs painted the MPA as an outmoded relic of the 1950s, detecting a strong whiff of dangerous cultural censorship and possible homophobia behind the seldom issued Nc-17.
Let’s be clear: Passages — which Mubi opened Aug. 4 in Los Angeles and New York before expanding to other cities in the weeks to come — is a movie with a generous amount of sex, both gay and straight. But it’s neither particularly explicit nor remotely gratuitous,...
But the MPA came back with an Nc-17 rating, forcing the distributor to release the film (which premiered at Sundance earlier this year) unrated rather than risk commercial marginalization or impose cuts that would diminish its intensity. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sachs painted the MPA as an outmoded relic of the 1950s, detecting a strong whiff of dangerous cultural censorship and possible homophobia behind the seldom issued Nc-17.
Let’s be clear: Passages — which Mubi opened Aug. 4 in Los Angeles and New York before expanding to other cities in the weeks to come — is a movie with a generous amount of sex, both gay and straight. But it’s neither particularly explicit nor remotely gratuitous,...
- 8/9/2023
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix has got a lot of movies and shows in its library, but if you want to watch some sexual shows or movies, you might have to look a bit deeper into the streamer. So, to make things easy for you we have created a list of the most sexual TV shows and movies on Netflix you can binge right now.
The Naked Director (Series) Credit – Netflix
Synopsis: As the new Japanese Heisei era began in 1989, Muranishi (Takayuki Yamada) stood at the summit of the adult video world, putting out a large number of videos in his themed series. However, none of them reached the legendary status of “I Like It S&m Style,” the masterpiece he produced with Kuroki (Misato Morita). Kuroki yearns to produce another work with Muranishi, but this desire is left unfulfilled as a gap slowly forms between them. During this time, Muranishi is urged to expand into satellite broadcasting.
The Naked Director (Series) Credit – Netflix
Synopsis: As the new Japanese Heisei era began in 1989, Muranishi (Takayuki Yamada) stood at the summit of the adult video world, putting out a large number of videos in his themed series. However, none of them reached the legendary status of “I Like It S&m Style,” the masterpiece he produced with Kuroki (Misato Morita). Kuroki yearns to produce another work with Muranishi, but this desire is left unfulfilled as a gap slowly forms between them. During this time, Muranishi is urged to expand into satellite broadcasting.
- 8/8/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Festivals past are populating a busy specialty market this weekend with films from Sundance and Venice. Sony Pictures Classics is giving Randall Park’s Shortcomings a substantial 400+ screen release. See Deadline review. Mubi is out with Passages in New York and LA – both premiered to critical acclaim in Park City.
There’s been some drama around the latter after the MPA gave the Ira Sachs film an Nc-17 rating, which Mubi “officially rejected.” The distributor/streamer/producer said it “remains committed to releasing Passages nationwide in its original version as the filmmaker intended, with our full backing, unrated and uncut.” Rates a 94% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes, Deadline review here.
Casey Affleck and Noah Jupe-starring Dreamin’ Wild from Roadside Attractions on 400 screens follows the life of singer-musician brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson. Deadline review. Magnolia’s A Compassionate Spy, coming in the wake of blockbuster Oppenheimer, is an espionage...
There’s been some drama around the latter after the MPA gave the Ira Sachs film an Nc-17 rating, which Mubi “officially rejected.” The distributor/streamer/producer said it “remains committed to releasing Passages nationwide in its original version as the filmmaker intended, with our full backing, unrated and uncut.” Rates a 94% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes, Deadline review here.
Casey Affleck and Noah Jupe-starring Dreamin’ Wild from Roadside Attractions on 400 screens follows the life of singer-musician brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson. Deadline review. Magnolia’s A Compassionate Spy, coming in the wake of blockbuster Oppenheimer, is an espionage...
- 8/4/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Ira Sachs’ latest feature, “Passages,” has already garnered a hefty amount of attention, particularly for being given an Nc-17 rating due to its frank depiction of sexuality (while continuing to showcase the double standard in ratings often given to LGBTQ films). In a way, there’s an irony to everyone focusing on the film’s overt, shall we say extra, sexuality at the expense of its characters because, after all, this is the story of a narcissist who uses sex as a weapon.
“Passages” is the story of Tomas (Franz Rogowski), a film director whose enthusiasm for life and fun is tempered by his husband, the quiet Martin (Ben Whishaw). When Tomas finds himself drawn to the exuberant Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos), he decides to leave his husband for her. But that’s only the start of a tangled web of relationships that sees the three still seeking solace in each other.
“Passages” is the story of Tomas (Franz Rogowski), a film director whose enthusiasm for life and fun is tempered by his husband, the quiet Martin (Ben Whishaw). When Tomas finds himself drawn to the exuberant Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos), he decides to leave his husband for her. But that’s only the start of a tangled web of relationships that sees the three still seeking solace in each other.
- 8/4/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
You can find hundreds of egotistical monsters who’ve graced movie screens (don’t get us started on the ones working behind the scenes; that’s a whole other piece), but few of them can compare to Tomas Freiburg. A renowned filmmaker who’s a tyrant on set — his volatile Rainer Werner Fassbinder vibe is strong, and he will scream at an extra to walk down stairs and swing his hands the exact right way until He. Gets. What. He. Wants! — Tomas is a genuine terror when it comes to his personal relationships.
- 8/4/2023
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Normally at the top of these Don’t-Miss Indies round-ups, we like to make a little joke that’s somewhat topical. But if you’ve been paying attention to what’s been going on in Hollywood for the past couple of months, you’ll know that the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are no laughing matter (unless we’re talking about the writers’ signs.) In fact, right at press time not one but two of this months featured titles have been pushed, due to strike-related issues.
And while our blog deadlines being imperiled by the inhuman machinery of Late Capitalism is certainly a headache, our real concern is the wellbeing of our filmmaking community during this lean, labor-conscious strike period. Please consider donating to artist support funds like this or this.
Shortcomings
When You Can Watch: August 4
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Randall Park
Cast: Justin H. Min,...
And while our blog deadlines being imperiled by the inhuman machinery of Late Capitalism is certainly a headache, our real concern is the wellbeing of our filmmaking community during this lean, labor-conscious strike period. Please consider donating to artist support funds like this or this.
Shortcomings
When You Can Watch: August 4
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Randall Park
Cast: Justin H. Min,...
- 8/3/2023
- by Su Fang Tham
- Film Independent News & More
Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, has bought U.S. rights to “The Animal Kingdom,” Thomas Cailley’s creature-filled dystopian thriller which world premiered as the opening night selection of Cannes Un Certain Regard.
Produced by Pierre Guyard at Nord-Ouest Films, “The Animal Kingdom” was financed and co-produced by Studiocanal, which handles French distribution and international sales. The film is set in a world where mutations in human genetics cause people to transform into hybrid creatures. It boasts stellar performances by Roman Duris (“Final Cut”), Adèle Exarchopoulos (“Blue Is the Warmest Color”) and Paul Kircher (“Winter Boy”). Magnet will release the film next year.
Duris stars as François, who sets off to save his wife, who has been affected by this mysterious condition. As some of the creatures disappear into a nearby forest, François embarks with Emile (Kircher), their 16-year-old son, on a quest to find her with...
Produced by Pierre Guyard at Nord-Ouest Films, “The Animal Kingdom” was financed and co-produced by Studiocanal, which handles French distribution and international sales. The film is set in a world where mutations in human genetics cause people to transform into hybrid creatures. It boasts stellar performances by Roman Duris (“Final Cut”), Adèle Exarchopoulos (“Blue Is the Warmest Color”) and Paul Kircher (“Winter Boy”). Magnet will release the film next year.
Duris stars as François, who sets off to save his wife, who has been affected by this mysterious condition. As some of the creatures disappear into a nearby forest, François embarks with Emile (Kircher), their 16-year-old son, on a quest to find her with...
- 7/20/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Ira Sachs’ sexy Sundance drama “Passages” has received an Nc-17 rating by the MPA but will be released unrated by Mubi, the distributor confirms to Variety. Mubi called the rating “unexpected” and said it was “deeply disappointed by the MPA’s decision.”
“Mubi has officially rejected this Nc-17 rating,” the distributor added. “Mubi remains committed to releasing ‘Passages’ nationwide in its original version as the filmmaker intended, with our full backing, unrated and uncut.”
“Passages” centers on a love triangle in Paris between a movie director (Franz Rogowski), his artist husband (Ben Whishaw) and a grade-school teacher he meets out one night. The film includes several sex scenes in which the actors are fully nude, but none of them are salacious or gratuitous. One scene centers on the husbands having sex and is shot in an unbroken long take that runs just over two minutes.
“There’s no untangling...
“Mubi has officially rejected this Nc-17 rating,” the distributor added. “Mubi remains committed to releasing ‘Passages’ nationwide in its original version as the filmmaker intended, with our full backing, unrated and uncut.”
“Passages” centers on a love triangle in Paris between a movie director (Franz Rogowski), his artist husband (Ben Whishaw) and a grade-school teacher he meets out one night. The film includes several sex scenes in which the actors are fully nude, but none of them are salacious or gratuitous. One scene centers on the husbands having sex and is shot in an unbroken long take that runs just over two minutes.
“There’s no untangling...
- 7/19/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
I shouldn’t be the one to tell you about this book: I’m the wrong gender, the wrong orientation, the wrong nationality, the wrong generation. So don’t trust me.
Blue Is the Warmest Color is a graphic novel by Julie Maroh – that’s what the edition I read says; I see indications that the author goes by Jul Maroh now and is transgender and nonbinary, which adds another wrinkle to the story. But this presents itself as fiction, even if, like anyone’s first big story in public, we suspect there are autobiographical elements in the mix.
Maroh is French; so is her cast. I found the story to be in a older mode than I expected: a frame story, coming out amid self-loathing, the clear tragedy of older gay/lesbian stories. It wasn’t nearly as 21st century as I was hoping from a book published in...
Blue Is the Warmest Color is a graphic novel by Julie Maroh – that’s what the edition I read says; I see indications that the author goes by Jul Maroh now and is transgender and nonbinary, which adds another wrinkle to the story. But this presents itself as fiction, even if, like anyone’s first big story in public, we suspect there are autobiographical elements in the mix.
Maroh is French; so is her cast. I found the story to be in a older mode than I expected: a frame story, coming out amid self-loathing, the clear tragedy of older gay/lesbian stories. It wasn’t nearly as 21st century as I was hoping from a book published in...
- 7/12/2023
- by Andrew Wheeler
- Comicmix.com
Mubi has debuted the trailer for Ira Sachs’ intimate drama ‘Passages.’
Set in Paris, this seductive drama tells the story of Tomas (Rogowski) and Martin (Whishaw), a gay couple whose marriage is thrown into crisis when Tomas begins a passionate affair with Agathe (Exarchopoulos), a younger woman he meets after completing his latest film.
Directed by Ira Sachs (Love is Strange, Little Men) and produced by Saïd Ben Saïd (Elle, Bacarau) and Michel Merkt (Toni Erdmann), the film stars BAFTA-winner Ben Whishaw (Skyfall, Paddington, Women Talking), Franz Rogowski (Great Freedom, Transit, Victoria), and Palme d’Or-winner Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Colour, The Five Devils).
Also in trailers – That wasn’t me…” John Boyega stars in full trailer for ‘They Cloned Tyrone’
The film will open theatrically in the UK and Ireland on 1 September 2023.
The post Trailer lands for Ira Sachs’ ‘Passages’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
Set in Paris, this seductive drama tells the story of Tomas (Rogowski) and Martin (Whishaw), a gay couple whose marriage is thrown into crisis when Tomas begins a passionate affair with Agathe (Exarchopoulos), a younger woman he meets after completing his latest film.
Directed by Ira Sachs (Love is Strange, Little Men) and produced by Saïd Ben Saïd (Elle, Bacarau) and Michel Merkt (Toni Erdmann), the film stars BAFTA-winner Ben Whishaw (Skyfall, Paddington, Women Talking), Franz Rogowski (Great Freedom, Transit, Victoria), and Palme d’Or-winner Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Colour, The Five Devils).
Also in trailers – That wasn’t me…” John Boyega stars in full trailer for ‘They Cloned Tyrone’
The film will open theatrically in the UK and Ireland on 1 September 2023.
The post Trailer lands for Ira Sachs’ ‘Passages’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 6/16/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
by Nathaniel R
Jane Fonda handed the Palme to Justine Triet "Anatomy of a Fall". Photo © Andreas Rentz / Getty Images
The 76th edition of Cannes has wrapped. The closing ceremony brought an end to a week plus of speculation about prizes. French auteur Justine Triet, of Sybiil fame, took the coveted Palme d'Or for her fourth narrative feature, Anatomy of a Fall. She's only the third female director to win the prize (after Jane Campion for The Piano and Julia Ducornau for Titane) though the fifth woman (Actresses Léa Seydoux and Adele Exarchopolous shared the Palme with their director in a non-traditional jury decision the year of Blue is the Warmest Colour).
A whole slew of awards are after the jump...
Jane Fonda handed the Palme to Justine Triet "Anatomy of a Fall". Photo © Andreas Rentz / Getty Images
The 76th edition of Cannes has wrapped. The closing ceremony brought an end to a week plus of speculation about prizes. French auteur Justine Triet, of Sybiil fame, took the coveted Palme d'Or for her fourth narrative feature, Anatomy of a Fall. She's only the third female director to win the prize (after Jane Campion for The Piano and Julia Ducornau for Titane) though the fifth woman (Actresses Léa Seydoux and Adele Exarchopolous shared the Palme with their director in a non-traditional jury decision the year of Blue is the Warmest Colour).
A whole slew of awards are after the jump...
- 5/27/2023
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
A bold departure from France’s cinema tradition of social realism, Thomas Cailley’s widely ambitious sophomore outing “The Animal Kingdom” is equally a creature-filled dystopia, an emotionally charged father-and-son drama and a coming-of-age tale.
The character-driven film world premiered to warm reviews at the Cannes Film Festival where it bowed the Un Certain Regard section. “The Animal Kingdom” is represented in international market by Studiocanal and was produced by Pierre Guyard at Nord Ouest Films, and co-produced by Artemis.
“The Animal Kingdom” takes place in an undetermined future in France which has been swept by a genetic disease causing people to transform into creatures that are being hunted down and killed or institutionalized by authorities. Kircher, the breakout star of Christophe Honoré’s “Winter Boy,” plays 16-year-old Emile whose mother was institutionalized after showing first signs of a genetic mutation. He lives with his father Francois (Romain Duris) who is struggling to overcome grief.
The character-driven film world premiered to warm reviews at the Cannes Film Festival where it bowed the Un Certain Regard section. “The Animal Kingdom” is represented in international market by Studiocanal and was produced by Pierre Guyard at Nord Ouest Films, and co-produced by Artemis.
“The Animal Kingdom” takes place in an undetermined future in France which has been swept by a genetic disease causing people to transform into creatures that are being hunted down and killed or institutionalized by authorities. Kircher, the breakout star of Christophe Honoré’s “Winter Boy,” plays 16-year-old Emile whose mother was institutionalized after showing first signs of a genetic mutation. He lives with his father Francois (Romain Duris) who is struggling to overcome grief.
- 5/21/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Orange Studio is launching several French projects at the Cannes Film Market, including Simon Bouisson’s “Drone,” a thriller produced by Haut et Court (“The Night of the 12th”), and “Miss Violet,” a period drama directed by Eric Besnard (“Delicious”) and starring Alexandra Lamy (“Rolling to You”).
Bouisson, who is directing “Drone,” previously penned and directed the short-format series “Stalk” which was hit on France Televisions’ youth-centered service and has been optioned for a remake in the U.S. The thriller stars Marion Barbeau, the dancer-turned-actor who broke through in Cedric Klapisch’s “Rise,” as well as Eugénie Derouand (“Paris Police”), Cédric Kahn (“November”) and Stefan Crepon (“Peter Von Kant”)
“Drone” follows Emilie who has freshly arrived in Paris to study architecture. At night, to make ends meet, she works as a cam-girl, something which she keeps to herself. One evening, a mysterious drone appears at her apartment window. From then on,...
Bouisson, who is directing “Drone,” previously penned and directed the short-format series “Stalk” which was hit on France Televisions’ youth-centered service and has been optioned for a remake in the U.S. The thriller stars Marion Barbeau, the dancer-turned-actor who broke through in Cedric Klapisch’s “Rise,” as well as Eugénie Derouand (“Paris Police”), Cédric Kahn (“November”) and Stefan Crepon (“Peter Von Kant”)
“Drone” follows Emilie who has freshly arrived in Paris to study architecture. At night, to make ends meet, she works as a cam-girl, something which she keeps to herself. One evening, a mysterious drone appears at her apartment window. From then on,...
- 5/12/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Picturehouse and the non-profit Sundance Institute have announced the lineup of feature fiction and documentary films, a specially curated programme of UK-produced short
films and a Gregg Araki retrospective for the 10th edition of Sundance Film Festival: London 2023, taking place from 6 to 9 July at Picturehouse Central.
The Festival will present 11 feature films that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort in January, specially curated for London by the Sundance Institute programming team in collaboration with Picturehouse. The festival will close on 9 July with the UK premiere of You Hurt My Feelings, from acclaimed filmmaker Nicole Holofcener. The Brooklyn-set comedy-drama stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies (The Crown) as a couple whose marriage is suddenly upended when she overhears his honest
reaction to her latest book.
The Festival previously announced that it will open on 6 July with the UK premiere of Scrapper,...
films and a Gregg Araki retrospective for the 10th edition of Sundance Film Festival: London 2023, taking place from 6 to 9 July at Picturehouse Central.
The Festival will present 11 feature films that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort in January, specially curated for London by the Sundance Institute programming team in collaboration with Picturehouse. The festival will close on 9 July with the UK premiere of You Hurt My Feelings, from acclaimed filmmaker Nicole Holofcener. The Brooklyn-set comedy-drama stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies (The Crown) as a couple whose marriage is suddenly upended when she overhears his honest
reaction to her latest book.
The Festival previously announced that it will open on 6 July with the UK premiere of Scrapper,...
- 5/5/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
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