Steven Soderbergh’s “Che” Teaser Trailer
A teaser trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s movie ”Che” (”The Argentine” and “Guerilla“, two-part biopic with a total running time of 268 minutes) is online. Benicio Del Toro, who played the title in Soderbergh’s “Che” won the prize for best actor at Cannes Film Festival 2008.
Each of the two films will focus on a different episode in Che’s life:
“The Argentine” dramatises the struggle of Che and Fidel Castro to topple Cuba’s Batista regime in 1956, and “The Guerrilla” will chart the episode when, eight years later, Che travelled to New York to address the United Nations.
Two Lovers Trailer, Poster, Synopsis
Trailer for the romance/drama “Two Lovers,” premiered at Cannes Film Festival 2008, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw, has been released. Check out also the French poster for the movie.
“Two Lovers” is a romantic drama set in New York City. It tells the story of Leonard, an attractive but depressed young man who moves back in with his parents following a recent heartbreak. An aspiring photographer, Leonard works part-time at his father’s dry-cleaners. His concerned parents try to set him up with Sandra, the sweet and caring daughter of a close family friend. A big family dinner serves as their introduction and Leonard arranges to see her again.
Then late one night Leonard looks out his bedroom window and notices a ravishing young woman he’s never seen before. Michelle recently moved into an apartment in his family’s building – an apartment paid for by the wealthy married man she’s seeing.
Phoenix reunites for the third time with director James Gray. The two have collaborated on “The Yards” and “We Own the Night.”
“Two Lovers” has recently been picked up for distribution and has been scheduled to hit theaters on January 9th, 2009.
First Soderbergh’s “Che” (”Guerilla”) International Trailer
A pair of films by Steven Soderbergh about the life of Argentinian revolutionary Che Guevara
debuted at Cannes Film Festival 2008.
Benicio Del Toro as “Che” won the best actor prize at Cannes Film Festival 2008 for his role.
“Che” – “The Argentine” and “Guerilla,” are two-part biopic with a total running time of 268 minutes.
Each of the two films will focus on a different episode in Che’s life:
“The Argentine” dramatises the struggle of Che and Fidel Castro to topple Cuba’s Batista regime in 1956, and “Guerrilla” will chart the episode when, eight years later, Che travelled to New York to address the United Nations.
Benicio Del Toro discussed Soderbergh’s “Che” with Castro
Benicio Del Toro has revealed that he discussed playing Che Guevara in an upcoming biopic with Fidel Castro.
Del Toro, who won the best actor prize at Cannes Film Festival 2008 for his role in Steven Soderbergh’s ”Che,” met the former president of Cuba briefly to talk about his friendship with revolutionary Che Guevara.
“I met Fidel Castro for five minutes and he knew about the project, he knew about the work we were doing. And he said to me that he was very happy that we had spent so much time researching the subject,”
Del Toro said.
“I would like for him to see it. I would take his comments. No-one probably knew Che better than he did.”
‘Maradona by Kusturica’ Trailer
We previously wrote about Kusturica’s ‘Maradona‘ movie and short interview with Diego Maradona at Cannes Film Festival.
YouTube has a bunch of clips and trailers for this documentary. I thought you might enjoy this.
George Lucas on Indiana Jones 5!
Fox News caught up with George Lucas at the Cannes Film Festival who revealed there’s more than a strong possibility there will be a fifth “Indiana Jones” movie.
He says that he and director Steven Spielberg have left the door open for a sequel to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
“I haven’t even told Steven or Harrison this,” he told. “But I have an idea to make Shia LaBeouf the lead character next time and have Harrison Ford come back like Sean Connery did in the last movie. I can see it working out.
“And it’s not like Harrison is even old. I mean, he’s 65 and he did everything in this movie. The old chemistry is there, and it’s not like he’s an old man. He’s incredibly agile; he looks even better than he did 20 years ago, if you ask me.”
Lucas says he’s not concerned about early mixed buzz on “Crystal Skull.”
“This movie is the exact same experience as the other three were. The difference is, the novelty of discovery is gone. I get worried when I hear fans say they’re expecting something different that will change their lives. This is ‘Indiana Jones’ just as you remember him.”
“But these movies, the ‘Indiana Jones’ ones, were never big hits right away. They were always slow starters that built up to big numbers,” Lucas said.
Cannes 2008 – Robert de Niro Present the Palme d’or
The following films are to complete the 2008 selection for the Festival de Cannes:
Opening the Festival, and in Competition, on Wednesday May 14th: ‘Blindness‘ by Fernando Mereilles, with Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover, Gael García Bernal.
A third French film in Competition: ‘Entre les murs‘ by Laurent Cantet, with François Begaudeau.
Another film in Competition: ‘Two Lovers‘ by James Gray, with Joachim Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Furthermore, ‘Hunger‘ by Steve McQueen will open Un Certain Regard, on Thursday May 15th.
The Jury, presided by Sean Penn, welcomes two new members, the French actress Jeanne Balibar and the Iranian author-director Marjane Satrapi.
Finally, Robert de Niro will present the Palme d’or, awarded by the Jury, on Sunday May 25th.
At this occasion, and to close the Festival, will be screened ‘What Just Happened‘ by Barry Levinson with Robert de Niro, Bruce Willis, Robin Wright Penn, John Turturro and Sean Penn.
Cannes Film Festival Updated Competition Lineup / ‘Blindness’ opener and ‘What Just Happened?’ closer – confirmed
Fernando Meirelles‘ Blindness will open the Cannes Film Festival and will join the Competition line-up, it was confirmed today.
The film, about a city hit with a plague causing most of the population to go blind, was adapted by Don McKellar from the novel by Jose Saramago.
The cast is led by Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover and Gael Garcia Bernal.
Last week, when the official line up was announced, many industry observers questioned why ‘Blindness’ had not been included.
Cannes has added two other titles to the Competition:
- Laurent Cantet’s ‘Entre Les Murs‘, based on the book by Francois Begaudeau, is the third French film in competition promised by Fremaux last Wednesday,
-James Gray’s ‘Two Lovers‘, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow.
‘Two Lovers’ is NYC romantic drama toplines Joaquin Phoenix as an aspiring photographer and Gwyneth Paltrow as the attractive girl next door.
The main competition jury has added two members – French actress Jeanne Balibar (“Va savoir”) and Iranian author-director Marjane Satrapi – under the presidency of Sean Penn.
Satrapi took the Jury Prize at Cannes last year for her ‘Persepolis‘.
Finally, the festival announced that Barry Levinson’s ‘What Just Happened?‘ will be the event’s closing night film.
Updated competition line-up (22 films)
Laurent Cantet – Entre Les Murs (France)
Nuri Bilge Ceylan – Three Monkeys (Turkey-France-Italy)
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne – Le Silence De Lorna (Belgium-France-Italy-Germany)
Arnaud Desplechin – A Christmas Story (France)
Clint Eastwood – Changeling (US)
Atom Egoyan – Adoration (Canada)
Ari Folman – Waltz With Bashir ( Israel-France-Germany )
Philippe Garrel – La Frontiere De L’Aube ( France )
Matteo Garrone – Gomorra ( Italy )
James Gray – Two Lovers (US)
Charlie Kaufman – Synecdoche, New York (US)
Eric Khoo – My Magic (Singapore)
Lucretia Martel – La Mujer Sin Cabeza (Argentina-Spain)
Brillante Mendoza – Serbis (The Philippines)
Fernando Meirelles – Blindness (Brazil)
Kornel Mondruczo – Delta (Hungary-Germany)
Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas – Linha De Passe (Brazil)
Paolo Sorrentino – Il Divo (Italy)
Pablo Trapero – Leonera (Argentina-South Korea)
Wim Wenders – The Palermo Shooting (Germany-Italy)
Jia Zhangke – 24 City (China )
Steven Soderbergh – Che (US-Spain-France)
Cannes Film Festival – 40th Directors’ Fortnight
The Cannes Film Festival’s 40th Directors’ Fortnight, announced Friday in Paris.
Twelve of the 22 films are either French pics or co-productions.
There is also a good showing from Spain and Latin America, with five films. Just one U.S. pic will be presented at the Directors’ Fortnight, “The Pleasure of Being Robbed,” which closes the section.
Like the Official Selection and Critics’ Week, the section focuses on rising talent, with a particular emphasis on European filmmaking.
Directors’ Fortnight opens with “Four Nights With Anna,” the return to filmmaking of celebrated Polish auteur Jerzy Skolimowski.
International rights on the film, Skolimowski’s first since 1991’s “30 Door Key,” have been taken by Paris-based sales company Elle Driver.
“Four Nights With Anna” chronicles one man’s voyeuristic relationship with a woman.
Shot in Poland, “Anna” stars Polish thesps Kinga Preis and Artur Steranko. Pic is produced by Paolo Branco and Skolimowski.
Since 1991, Skolimowski has dedicated his time to painting and acting, appearing as Uncle Stepan in David Cronenberg’s “Eastern Promises.”
The section bows May 15, one day after the main festival, and runs through May 25.
DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT
“Four Nights With Anna,” France-Poland, Jerzy Skolimowski (opener)
“The Pleasure of Being Robbed,” U.S., Josh Safdie (closer)
“Acne,” Uruguay-Spain-Argentina-Mexico, Federico Veiroj
“Aquele querido mes de agosto,” Portugal-France, Miguel Gomes
“Boogie,” Romania, Radu Muntean
“Les Bureaux de Dieu,” France, Claire Simon
“El Cant dels ocells,” Spain, Albert Serra
“De la guerre,” France, Bertrand Bonello
“Le Dernier Maquis,” France-Algeria, Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche
“Eldorado,” Belgium-France, Bouli Lanners
“Eleve libre,” Belgium-France, Joachim Lafosse
“Liverpool,” Argentina-France-Netherlands-Spain-Germany, Lisandro Alonso
“Monsieur Morimoto,” France, Nicola Sornaga
“Knitting,” China, Yin Lichuan
“Now Showing,” Philippines-France, Raya Martin
“Il Resto della notte,” Italy, Francesco Munzi
“Salamandra,” Argentina-France-Germany, Pablo Aguero
“Shultes,” Russia, Bakur Bakuradze
“Blind Loves,” Slovakia, Juraj Lehotsky
“Lonely Tune of Tehran,” Iran, Saman Salour
“Tony Manero,” Chile-Brazil, Pablo Larrain
“Le Voyage aux Pyrenees,” France, Jean-Marie Larrieu, Arnaud Larrieu
Cannes Film Festival 2008 – official selection will be unveiled on April 23
+ UPDATE
The official selection for the 61st edition of the Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25) will be unveiled on Wednesday April 23, in the late morning, at the traditional press conference and rumours are circulating about the 2008 Palme d’Or contenders.
With just four days left before fest topper Thierry Fremaux is due to announce the lineup for the Cannes Film Festival (May 14-28).
The list is subject to change, as Thierry Frémeaux’s team have still to evaluate numerous films that are scarcely completed.
The International Critics’ Week (SIC) will thus be the first to unveil its programme on Monday April 21, followed by the Directors’ Fortnight on Tuesday April 22.
On the same day, there will be a screening of Olivier Jahan’s documentary 40×15 (co-produced by MK2 and France 4), which retraces the history of the Cannes sidebar and includes interviews with around 30 filmmakers (including Michael Haneke, Stephen Frears, Théo Angelopoulos, Atom Egoyan).
One certainty is that the Hollywood presence will be significantly reduced from 2007 – “No Country for Old Men,” “Zodiac,” “Paranoid Park” and “Death Proof“.
At the moment, the only US competition entry is Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut, “Synecdoche, New York,” in which Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a theater director.
Joining the previously announced “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” in a special noncompeting premiere, on May 18, slot will be DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda,” starring Jack Black and directed by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson. Film bows May 15.
UPDATE 18/05
‘Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull’ First Reviews
Clint Eastwood’s film “The Changeling“, starring Angelina Jolie as a woman searching for her missing son in 1920s Los Angeles and “Synechdoche, New York,” screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut.joins a competition list.
Steven Soderbergh, who took the top Cannes award in 1989 for “Sex, Lies and Videotape“, won a race against time to complete his four-hour epic “Che“, on the life of the revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara in time for the festival.
Unlike last year, when so many top directors had films in Cannes, the timing of the production cycle seems not to be working entirely to the American filmmakers.
Hollywood will also be repped on closing night with Barry Levinson’s “What Just Happened,” an industry insider tale starring Robert De Niro.
After its debut at the Sundance Film Festival, the Hollywood satire “What Just Happened?” will get a second chance at Cannes – closing night, but we are not sure yet because organizers said they would announce the movies that open and close the festival in a few days.
Robert De Niro stars an embattled Hollywood producer whose life falls apart during one turbulent week. In a life-imitating-art turn, the film’s climactic scene takes place at the Cannes Film Festival, with the producer’s fictional movie-within-a-movie opening the event.
“What Just Happened?” also stars Catherine Keener as a tough-as-nails studio chief and features a number of stars, including Sean Penn and Bruce Willis, playing themselves in self-parodying roles. Barry Levinson directs from an adaptation of “Into the Wild” producer Art Linson’s memoir.
The film generated strong buzz going into January’s Sundance Film Festival, and was expected to sell for a significant seven-figure sum. But the movie received a mixed critical.
Steven Soderbergh’s inclusion looks like a last-minute decision. He competes with two pic ”Che” bio – “The Argentine” and “Guerrilla”
Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” was also widely expected to make its international splash in Cannes.
UPDATE - ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ Trailer!
UPDATE 05/18 – Vicky Cristina Barcelona Reviews
On the other hand, numerous familiar names will be on hand with new works:
