The Los Angeles Film Festival is always known to add a few big names and events at its leisure, usually with a week's notice to remind locals that yes, this fest is happening, and you might consider checking it out. And 2010 is no different, with a cluster of pretty high-profile visitors announced late Wednesday -- and plenty of tickets still on sale (for now).
Have you completed a film this year that could be tomorrow's fishy documentary, woman-pulverizing drama, or emo-fascist awards contender? You're in luck, as submissions opened today for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Here's hoping you're more Precious than Hamlet 2. [Sundance]
Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker -- and recent Cannes lightning rod -- Jafar Panahi is reportedly leaving jail today on $200,000 bail. The director of The White Balloon was said to have been imprisoned for his support of the country's opposition party and begun a hunger strike last week. His cause was publicized in part by a petition boasting signatures by Robert Redford and Steven Spielberg, while also noted at a festival press conference by compatriot Abbas Kiarostami. Developing... UPDATED 9:15 a.m. EDT: Panahi's wife confirmed he's free: "We are taking him to the doctor." [AFP]
As perhaps the quietest Cannes Film Festival in recent memory came to a close on Sunday, jury president Tim Burton and his colleagues sorted through 19 selections and handed out awards at the Palais du Festival -- and Movieline nailed it.
No films in competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival look to be breakouts, thus, picking the winner of the prestigious Palme d'Or is a huge challenge. Have no fear, Movieline is up to the task at hand.
The 63rd Cannes Film Festival may be nearing its end, but IFC Films' Croisette buying spree isn't. The distributor today announced its acquisition of Gregg Araki's hot-and-heavy "comical thriller" Kaboom as well as the Mexican cannibal flick We Are What We Are. Neither have release dates as of yet, though We Are will appear in theaters and on VOD under the distributor's new IFC at Midnight platform.
As the bleary press descended on the Palais this morning to screen Rachid Bouchareb's controversial film Hors La Loi (Outside of the Law), they were welcomed by hundreds of gun-toting gendarmes and subjected to extra pat-downs.
Doug Liman's Fair Game -- about the CIA agent Valerie Plame and the byzantine goings-on surrounding her infamous outing -- underscores the incredibly weak selection of competition films this year at Cannes.
If an award were to be given at Cannes for the audience's favorite film, it just might go to director Stephen Kijak's Stones in Exile, which premiered here at Director's Fortnight. It didn't hurt that Mick Jagger himself dropped in to revisit those hazy days of nearly 40 years past.
Pity poor Carlos the Jackal. More than a decade after a nearly 25-year reign of terror as arguably the world's foremost terrorist and assassin, the incarcerated criminal is frustrated today by a sprawling, 321-minute biopic about him currently earning raves at Cannes. And he's taking to the airwaves to let everybody know about it.
I don't know what it means that Tribeca and Cannes are running about even on their 2010 festival acquisitions to date, but there you have it: Alex Gibney's terrific Untitled Eliot Spitzer Doc and Mike Leigh's Palme d'Or front-runner Another Year are both spoken for, according to announcements this afternoon.
Having conquered Sundance (or at least gotten an earful from the critics), director Derek Cianfrance, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling have now descended on the Cannes Film Festival with their film Blue Valentine -- screened in Un Certain Regard. Hey, wait a minute -- hasn't Movieline covered this film before? Like, viciously?
The legendary Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami returned on Tuesday to Cannes, where he won the Palme d'Or in 1997 for his film Taste of Cherry. Judging by the largely favorable critical response, he may have a another shot at an award with his much-loved and debated Juliette Binoche–starring Copie Conforme (Certified Copy). But a topic more important than filmmaking was on Kiarostami's mind -- he addressed the plight of jailed fellow Iranian director Jafar Panahi.
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Forget the VFX controversy -- it's time to parse the Oscar candidates among this year's Cannes standout! Or so says Pete Hammond, who shares our Man in Cannes' impressions that Another Year's Lesley Manville and Biutiful's Javier Bardem are virtual nomination locks. (Or is that just the films' prospective buyer Harvey Weinstein working his LAT magic again?) Also: Carey Mulligan may have a Supporting Actress shot for Wall Street 2. Here's hoping -- and for a little more effort on her behalf, if so. [LAT]
As our Man in Cannes alluded earlier, there's a dearth of quality films to hold the interest of this year's festival attendees. And now there's also a dearth of quality filmmakers to hold their interest -- led by the legendary Jean-Luc Godard, who was hilariously a no-show for the press conference and premiere of his fest entry Film Socialisme. Oh, and for those keeping score at home, Sean Penn isn't coming either.
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