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CJ Enter HC D3 05_16_08
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Page 1
3 daily
day
the
> from Cannes
Friday,
May 16,
2008
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the
q&a
with Walter Salles
See page 8
> from Cannes
Friday,
May 16
2008
THR.com
Paramount to reign in Spain
By Pamela Rolfe
and Stuart Kemp
P
aramount Pictures
International is ramping up its overseas
activities with the
launch of a Spanish
operation and a 12-picture theatrical output deal with veteran
producer Andres Vicente
Gomez and his A. Zeta banner.
The move by the Hollywood
major is part of its ongoing initiative to set up standalone distribution outfits in key territories around the globe in the
wake of its split from UIP two
years ago. A similar operation
will be set up in Germany in
January 2009.
The 12 handpicked titles from
Gomez are split between six
U.S. pick-ups and six Spanish
productions. First out of the
block will be “Manolete,” starring Adrien Brody and Penelope
Cruz.
Highlights from the U.S. half
dozen include “Young People
Fucking,” “She Found Me” and
“Before the Devil Knows You’re
Dead.”
PPI’s Spanish operation,
which will be up and running
this July, will be headed by former Paramount Home Entertainment marketing chief in
Madrid Pierre Auger, PPI president Andrew Cripps said.
Cripps told THR that the deal
with Gomez was central to the
company’s ambitions. He said
that PPI has sat down with
Gomez and his team to choose
Paramount continues on page 90
Outsider gets period projects
By Rebecca Leffler
rench banner Outsider
Prods. will give audiences
an inside look at postWorld War II Germany and
16th-century France with two
new projects from directors Billie August and Bertrand Tavernier, both set to start shooting
early next year.
The production powerhouse
behind 2005 boxoffice hit “Sky
Fighters” — the French take on
“Top Gun,” which drew more
F
“KUNG FU PANDA” PHOTO: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
BELLY UP:
Jack Black and
Angelina Jolie on the
“Kung Fu Panda” red
carpet Thursday night.
‘Kung Fu Panda’
By Kirk Honeycutt
M
artial arts movies have always had a
REVIEW
certain cartoonish element, so DreamWorks’ martial-arts cartoon “Kung Fu Panda” makes
perfect sense. Taking full advantage of Cinemascope’s wide
screen to splash quicker-than-the-eye action across striking
Chinese landscapes, animators led by directors John Stevenson
and Mark Osborne deliver a movie that is as funny as it is frantic.
Though aimed primarily at youngsters, “Panda” embraces
humor that plays well across age groups and nationalities.
“Kung Fu Panda” on page 16
Hyde Park pumps up
Asia ops with fund
By Liza Foreman
shok Amritraj’s Hyde Park
Entertainment is expanding its Asian operations
with a multimillion dollar film
fund.
Launching this fall, the fund
will provide upward of $70 milHyde Park continues on page 90
A
than 1.3 million
admissions in
France — is back
with a new slate
of projects.
August’s “Le
Juge” (The
Judge), based in
August
Berlin in 1944, is
co-produced by Ilann Girard’s
Arsam and will start shooting
during the first quarter of 2009.
The €10 million-€15 million
($15 million-$23 million) English-language film is based on
Outsider continues on page 90
WHAT’S INSIDE
>Reviews. PAGE 12, 16, 74, 84
>Screening guide. PAGE 18
>Atelier feature. PAGE 25
>About Town. PAGE 96
SPECIAL REPORT
Italian Cinema
50th Anniversary.
(right) PAGE 31
Japan. PAGE 61
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Robosapien: Rebooted
Currently in production
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THR.com/cannes
Friday, May 16, 2008 | day 3
Going to extremes
Leconte provokes with ‘Jerks’docu
By Charles Masters
D
o we have the right to
caricature God? This
and other questions
involving religion and
freedom of speech
raised by the controversial Danish cartoons depicting the
prophet Mohammed are examined by “It’s Tough Being Loved
by Jerks,” a documentary by
Frenchman Daniel Leconte
which unspools today as a special screening.
Leconte says his aim is to
provoke healthy debate, even if
that upsets some people due to
their faith. “We have to have
this debate, because when we
do, we win the argument,” he
said. “As soon as you explain
‘Totally,’ dude: Teen
spies going big screen
By Gregg Goldstein
ames Bond will get a run
for his money when
French production powerhouse Marathon Media
and Studio 37, the film arm
of Gallic telecom Orange,
bring Beverly Hills
teenagers-turned-secret
agents “Totally Spies!” to
the big screen.
The €8 million ($12 million) production based on
the hit series is being targeted for a summer 2009
release date in Gaul,
through Mars Distribution.
The mix of traditional animation and 3D, tentatively
titled “Totally Spies! The
Movie,” already has been
pre-sold to Benelux (films
de l’Elysée), Italy (Mikado)
and Eastern Europe (SPI).
Daniel Marquet’s Groupe
Spies continues on page 92
rystal Sky
Pictures has
signed “XMen” scribe
David Hayter to
make his directorial debut with
two genre films
Hayter
he will write. It
also has nabbed ultimate fighting champ Roger Huerta for its
Hayter continues on page 92
THR.com
|
‘Leonera’ lineup
Cast members, from left, Elli Medeiros, Rodrigo Santoro and Martina Gusman join
director Pablo Trapero on the red carpet for Thursday afternoon’s premiere.
Maybury’s ‘Wuthering’has its Heathcliff
By Stuart Kemp
Hayter mutates
into helmer role
By Rebecca Leffler
J
“LEONERA” PHOTO: FRANCOIS DURAND/GETTY IMAGES
that it’s not Muslims that are targeted (in the caricatures), but
those who kill in
the name of that
religion, it’s difLeconte
ferent. It’s like
the difference
between the Inquisition and all
other Catholics. I wouldn’t put
Torquemada in with Francis of
Assissi. The extremists know
they’ll lose in debate, so they
spread terror to widen the gap
between East and West,
between Islam and democracy.”
The film follows the unprecedented 2007 trial of a French
newspaper for allegedly insulting the Muslim people, and with
“Jerks” continues on page 92
A
t least one half of the
casting crisis facing
John Maybury’s
“Wuthering Heights” has
been solved in the wake of
Natalie Portman’s sudden
decision to pull out of the
headline role of Cathy.
Ecosse Films, the production house run by Robert
Bernstein and Douglas Rae,
which is producing the picture, said they have secured
Michael Fassbender for the
role of Heathcliff.
Fassbender stars in Steve
McQueen’s “Hunger,” which
heralded the beginning of
C
Cannes sidebar Un Certain
Regard on Thursday.
Bernstein described the
Heathcliff role as “one of the
most powerful and iconic
romantic roles” in cinema.
Finance and sales outfit
HanWay reps the title here.
Portman’s exit left the financiers, sellers and producers
rattled just days before the fest.
HanWay Films is hoping to
have a replacement for Portman “within days” in the role
of Cathy.
Written by Olivia Hetreed
(“Girl With a Pearl Earring”),
the new adaptation plans to
steer away from “the stuffy
costume drama” format.∂
‘Get Low’picks up financing from K5 Int’l
By Stuart Kemp
aron Schneider’s “Get Low”
starring Robert Duvall and
Sissy Spacek has sealed a cofinancing deal with K5 International, the Germany and U.K.based worldwide sales and
financier run by Bill Stephens,
A
Duvall
Spacek
Daniel Baur and Oliver Simon.
Produced by Richard Zanuck,
Dean Zanuck and Harrison Zanuck,
“Low” is written by Schneider,
C.Gaby Mitchell and Chris Provenzano and details the story of reallife recluse Felix Bush.
The movie is being pre-sold
internationally by K5 here. ∂
lo s a n ge les 3 2 3 . 5 2 5 . 2 0 0 0 | n ew yo r k 6 4 6.65 4. 5 0 0 0 | lo n d o n + 4 4. 2 07.42 0.6 1 3 9 | b e i j i n g + 8 6.1 0.65 1 2 . 5 5 1 1 (ext . 1 2 1 )
5
day 3 | friday, may 16, 2008
| news
Bavaria back to basics
digest
Ritter eyes return to firm’s successful formula
High spirits at Ko Lik Films
By Scott Roxborough
Edinburgh-based stop-frame animation outfit Ko Lik Films has
drawn backing from BBC
Scotland and executive producer
Bob Last for a feature-length version of the half-hour adventures
of ghost hunters Jeff and
Thurston, who debuted on the
Beeb’s Scottish outlet. The film
version will feature the return of
Peter Capaldi and Alex Norton,
who voiced the original shorts.
The as-yet-untitled comedy will
be helmed by the writer-producer
team of Cameron Fraser and Neil Jack.
fter a turbulent couple of
years that have seen the
loss of two top executives
and the rise of such local competitors as the Match Factory
and Beta Cinema, Germany’s
Bavaria Film International is
going back to its roots.
Thorsten Ritter, the sole head
of Bavaria since the February
exit of co-director Thorsten
Schaumann, is moving to refocus the company by returning to
the kind of “accessible art
house” and “ambitious mainstream” films that made its
reputation.
“If you look back at the history of Bavaria, our biggest successes have been with titles
that, while they may have an
art-house sensibility, have more
crossover appeal. Films like
‘Run Lola Run,’ ‘Goodbye,
Lenin!’ or ‘The Man Without a
A
Quartet join Celluloid on ‘Rabia’
Celluloid Dreams is teaming with Spain’s Telecinco Cinema
and Monfort Producciones, Colombia’s Dynamo and Mexico’s
Tequila Gang on “Rabia,” written and directed by Sebastian
Cordero, whose previous film, “Cronicas,” was presented at
Un Certain Regard in 2004. The $5.3 million romantic thriller
began principal photography in May on locations near San
Sebastian, for eight weeks. Mexican actor Gustavo Sanchez
Parra and Colombian actress Martina García lead the cast.
Huston, Ribisi take
walk in ‘Forest’
Whitton rolls dice on new shingle
Anjelica Huston, Giovanni Ribisi,
Sean Austin and Ron Perlman
are lending their voices to the
English version of Dygra Films’
animated “Spirit of the Forest.”
Huston
Ribisi
Manga Films will handle distribution in Spain, with a release date set for Sept. 5.
Hollywood Fantastic Films International handles international sales of “Spirit,” with its environmentally aware message.
The film already has sold to 30 countries.
By Stuart Kemp
veryone knows investing in
moviemaking is more dangerous than even real
estate, but U.K. property entrepreneur Robert Whitton is up
for a gamble.
Whitton has teamed with producer Jo Gilbert (“Closing the
Ring”) to launch new banner the
Real Holywood Production with
some £20 million ($39 million)
behind it, based in Holywood,
Belfast in Northern Ireland.
E
Myriad operating at full ‘Capacity’
Myriad Pictures has picked up
worldwide rights to Terry
Kinney’s “Diminished Capacity”
starring Matthew Broderick, Alan
Alda, Virginia Madsen, Dylan
Baker and Bobby Cannavale. The
comedy centers on a man with
memory problems who heads on
Madsen
a sick-leave road trip with his
senile uncle. IFC holds U.S. rights
to the film and Myriad will rep it in Cannes.
By Stuart Kemp
ustralia’s fledgling film cofinancing market and the
country’s only one held
during a festival — 37 South:
Bridging the Gap — is launching
a new section to cater to local
screenwriters and directors hoping to meet the event’s handpicked 70 producers from across
Australia and New Zealand.
Organizers are extending the
highly targeted meet and greet
as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival. The
A
Pay TV group Canal Plus has grabbed multiyear broadcasting
rights in France for catalog titles from Disney-ABC and New
Line Cinema. Canal Plus will hold rights for TV, VOD and its
new “catch-up TV” online viewing service broadcast for all
upcoming titles from Disney, Miramax and Touchstone
Pictures in addition to future seasons of its ABC series such as
“Desperate Housewives.” The pay TV network also will inherit
rights to air New Line’s latest titles including “The Golden
Compass” and “Sex & The City: The Movie.” The deal complements Canal Plus’ previous pacts with Universal, Fox,
Paramount, Dreamworks and Sony-Columbia.
|
The first production will be
Gerry Lively’s “Yankee King,”
starring Bill Campbell, Claire
Forlani and Rosemary Harris.
The shingle’s debut slate
includes the directorial debut of
British thesp Simon Callow,
with a big-screen version of
stage play “That Good Night.”
Callow also is lined up to direct
“In the Wings,” with Derek
Jacobi on the roster to star.
The company aims to produce three movies a year alongside TV dramas and docs. ∂
Oz market bridges gap for scribes
Broderick
Canal Plus sews up Dis, NL titles
THR.com
Past,’ ” Ritter
said.
Ritter points to
upcoming literary epic “Buddenbrooks —
Decline of a Family” starring
Ritter
Armin MuellerStahl as examples of this new
mainstream approach, while
Dorris Dorrie’s “Cherry Blossoms” and Daniel Burman’s
Argentinean hit “Empty Nest”
exemplify the kind of art-house
crossover Bavaria plans to do
more of.
Ritter says that Bavaria also is
looking to regain its position as
the “No. 1 sales agent of choice
for German filmmakers,”
recently extending its longrunning association with HansChristian Schmid by picking up
the director’s new doc with the
working title “The Wonderful
World of Washing.” ∂
event will kick off a day before
the festival begins on July 25.
The new section will be titled 37
South: Postscript & Direct.
Organizers also told THR it
has given Mark Hartley’s “Not
Quite Hollywood” finishing
funding from its Victoria statebacked Premiere film fund.
Premiere fund manager Mark
Woods is currently in Cannes to
speak to sales agents about the
co-production event, but
stresses that only decisionmakers with cash get on the invitation list for the event. ∂
6
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q&a
THR.com/cannes
may have seen in Brazilian
cinema about drug-dealing, or
where there’s a conflict between
police and kids. If you look at
Brazil, the temptation for violence and crime is there because
there’s a high rate of unemployment. But only a very small percentage will opt for violence and
crime — yet these are the ones
who are portrayed. We wanted
to make a movie about the kids
who save themselves.
THR: So there’s a kind of socially
conscious element to it?
SALLES: What films like “City
of God” did is very important
because it brought to the surface
a complex drama and created
awareness for problems that
were there but were not seen by
many people. But if all films
resemble “City of God,” you’ll
end up with a biased understanding of a society that’s
much more complex. I liked that
film a lot. But it reflected a certain reality, and the reality of
Brazil changes every two days.
THR: One of your previous films,
“The Motorcycle Diaries,” tracked
a Latin America that was in a
sense also under construction.
How do Latin Americans view that
period now?
SALLES: “Motorcycle Diaries”
was about the story that preceded history. But the position
we’re in now is not that different
from the one 50 years ago. When
we shot, we were able to inhabit
scenes as if we were doing the
films in the ’50s. We didn’t have
to re-enact anything. It’s a
country that still needs to be
discovered. At the same time,
that affords a wealth of cinematic opportunities.
alter Salles’ career has been characterized by implausibilities.
In 1998, a small Brazilian drama he directed called “Central
W
Station” came out of nowhere to become an indie sensation and
garner two Oscar noms, including one for best actress. His foreignlanguage “The Motorycle Diaries” defied the odds and earned
nearly $17 million in more than four months of U.S. release. And
next he’s taking on an iconic book, “On the Road,” that no U.S.
director has succeeded in getting made. The Hollywood
Reporter’s Steven Zeitchik spoke to the director Thursday morning after an all-night subtitling session in Paris for his latest movie,
“Linha de Passe,” a picture he co-directed with Daniela Thomas
about four brothers facing challenges in modern day Sao Paulo.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:
First off, we should say congratulations for getting the film done in
time for the festival.
WALTER SALLES: I hope we did
get it done. I hope we put the
subtitles all in the right places.
Otherwise, it’s going to become
more of an experimental film.
That could make for a very
interesting review in the Cahiers
du Cinema.
tries to go back to the roots of
Brazilian film. It’s about four
brothers trying to break social
barriers in four very different
ways, and all four stories are
based on real events. It’s a story
we wanted to do with real spontaneity, and that’s why you’ll
find 95% of the actors are making their screen debut. It aims
for the urgency and freshness of
youth trying to find a way out.
THR: That would be a problem. Of
course, this film is not experimental but a slice of life in modernday Brazil.
SALLES: This is a project that
THR: But it doesn’t revel in those
conditions as much as other
movies have.
SALLES: This isn’t a film that
can be linked to other films you
THR.com
|
THR: Such as Steven Soderbergh’s Che movies, which take on
the same character you did and
will be at the festival, too. How do
you feel about his undertaking?
SALLES: I don’t know Steven. I’d
like to applaud the fact that he
did these movies in Spanish,
because Ernesto Guevara fought
for cultural independence and
language is a big part of that.
Very few directors would have
vital stats
Walter Salles
Nationality: Brazilian
Born: April 12, 1956
Festival Entry: “Linha de
Passe,” In Competition
Selected Filmography: “A
Grande Arte” (1991), “Central
Station” (1998), “Midnight”
(1998), “Behind the Sun” (2001),
“The Motorcycle Diaries” (2004),
“Dark Water” (2005)
Notable Awards: BAFTA for
best non-English-language film;
Spain Film Critics Assn. Award for
“Central Station” (1999); Little
Golden Lion at Berlin for “Behind
the Sun” (2002); Prize of the
Ecumenical Jury at Cannes for
“The Motorcycle Diaries” (2004);
BAFTA for best non-English-language film for “The Motorcycle
Diaries” (2005).
taken that courageous step.
THR: Switching gears, do you look
back at the earlier part of your career, especially “Central Station,”
and find yourself surprised by how
it’s all gone?
SALLES: The funny thing is that
when we were shooting “Central
Station” in the middle of nowhere, Fernanda Montenegro and
I would look at each other and say
‘will anyone be interested? I hope
our families will watch.’ It was a
nice surprise to see the impact
the film had. ... Cinema is linked
to risk and instability, and the
desire for discovery.
THR: That discovery is something
that seems to happen a lot here.
SALLES: If there is one place that
still fights for and preserves a
cinema with vision, it’s Cannes.
It’s a place where you have a
much better understanding of
the world. Sometimes I wish
politicians could stop what
they’re doing and come. They’d
watch films from Iran and Turkey
and China and maybe go back
and do their jobs differently.
For more Q&A
with Walter
Salles, go to THR.com/cannes
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Page 12
reviews
THR.com/cannes
‘Leonera’
By Deborah Young
A
dmittedly, its womenin-prison story is not
an instant attraction,
but it doesn’t take
more than a few minutes into “Leonera” (Lion’s Den)
to realize this film is several cuts
above the genre standard. Versatile Argentine helmer Pablo
Trapero shakes off the leisurely
lethargy of his recent “Born and
Bred” in a riveting, high-pitched
drama blessed by the extraordinarily edgy performance of
actress/producer Martina Gus-
> IN COMPETITION
BOTTOM LINE
Powerful, emotional filmmaking
and acting give a lift to the familiar
women-in-prison film.MAGNIS.
CAST: Martina Gusman, Elli Medeiros,
Rodrigo Santoro. DIRECTOR: Pablo
Trapero. SCREENWRITERS: Alejandro
Fadel, Martin Mauregui, Santiago Mitre,
Pablo Trapero. PRODUCERS: Pablo
Trapero, Youngjoo Suh, Walter Salles.
man as a middle-class college
girl who finds herself pregnant
and in prison for murder.
Remake rights could be attractive, though this Spanish-lingo
film co-produced by Argentina,
Brazil (with the involvement of
Walter Salles) and South Korea
works perfectly with its own
authorial blend of police procedural, documentary realism and
engrossing drama.
Julia (Gusman) wakes up one
morning beside two blood-covered bodies. Her boyfriend has
been stabbed to death and his
male lover Ramiro (Rodrigo Santoro) is barely alive. Julia, pretty
beaten up herself, can't remember what happened, and both
she and Ramiro are arrested on
suspicion of murder. This lightning-swift opener is an able
hook that ushers viewers into
the main body of the story,
which takes place in the filthy
but colorful chaos of a special
prison for female inmates with
babies and small children. On
the outside, it could pass for a
friendly place, if every mother
didn’t know that her child would
be taken away when he or she
turns four. Trapero’s fascination
with the nitty-gritty horrors of
this open-cell Third World jail,
whose immense dimensions are
not revealed until the last
scenes, link it to a long tradition
of Latin American cinema, not
least his own police story “El
Bonaerense.”
As important as the prison is
as a backdrop, with its cursing,
lustful, hair-pulling inmates
and their hordes of tiny tots,
Julia remains a solid axis for the
story. Gusman, who has been
involved on the production side
of all Trapero’s films since “El
Bonaerense” and who also
played in “Born and Bred,” has a
modern intensity that blows
away the rest of the cast. She is
never banal as she evolves from
a helpless victim who hates her
“Four NIghts With Anna”
BOTTOM LINE: Three nights
too many.
las, even fans of legendary
Polish director Jerzy
Skolimowski (1982’s “Moonlighting”), who’ve been waiting since 1991 for the master’s
next film, will be disappointed
by “Four Nights With Anna,”
the barren fruit of that long
gestation period.
A hyper-minimalist story
A
THR.com
|
about Leon Okrasa, a sad sack
who works in the crematorium
of a hospital in a small Polish
town, the film is an exercise in
tedium marked by only the
Martina Gusman is a
middle-class college girl
imprisoned for murder.
unborn child, to a survivor who
finds happiness in little Tomas
once he is born. When her own
estranged mother (Elli
Medeiros) suddenly turns up
and tries to take him away from
her, Julia brings out her claws
and makes the toughness she
has learned in prison pay off.
Unexpected touches include a
sprightly opening children's
tiniest of redeeming moments.
Okrasa develops an obsession with Anna, a nurse whom
he spies on from afar. He finally decides to make his move,
but unfortunately he can only
approach the object of his
desire when she is in a state of
drugged sleep.
During each of his four clandestine visits, Okrasa marks
his presence by a little gift,
such as sewing a button on her
sweater, painting her toenails,
song and an engaging parade of
baby strollers through the prison
as the proud moms escort their
offspring to kindergarten class.
Guillermo Nieto's hand-held
camerawork mimics Julia's
nervous energy and keeps the
audience locked up along with
her, working in symbiosis with
Federico Esquerro’s forcefully
realistic sound design. ∂
or fixing her cuckoo clock. But
these dramatic highlights are
so sparse that they come to
seem like manna in the desert,
greedily scooped up by a famished audience.
Some narrative “experimentation” with chronology
(it is difficult to tell whether
they are flashbacks or flashforwards) only serve to underline all that the film lacks in
energy or dash.
— Peter Brunette
12
S C R E E N I N G T O DAY
FIRST CUT - ONE SCREENING ONLY
FRIDAY 16TH MAY
4:00 PM - OLYMPIA 2
RSVP ESSENTIAL:
[email protected]
or +33 (0) 4.97.06.85.34
A new film by Palme D’Or winning
director Roland Joffé, starring
Mischa Barton (The OC, St Trinian’s),
Anton Yelchin (Charlie Bartlett, Star Trek,
Terminator 4) & introducing
Shantel VanSanten (Final Destination 4).
CANNES SALES OFFICE:
RAMCO™
Hotel Majestic, Room 128
Marius Vilunas
[email protected]
Tel: +33 (0) 4.97.06.85.34
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| reviews
PANDA FU:
Sweet, clumsy Po must transform
into a warrior capable of saving a
threatened village.
‘Kung Fu Panda’
continued from page 1
Certainly the sustained
applause at its Palais debut here
in Cannes bodes well for international boxoffice success.
The stroke of genius is, of
course, the film’s hero — the
big, lovable bear that is the Chinese panda. Sweet looking, perhaps a bit clumsy, seemingly
unflappable, what could be an
odder hero for a kung fu movie?
Transforming a panda named
Po — voiced by big, lovable Jack
Black — into a kung fu fighter to
save a threatened village in
ancient times is essentially the
entire movie.
He does not start with a lot of
promise, only a boundless
enthusiasm for the discipline
and a seeming inability to per-
> OUT OF COMPETITION
BOTTOM LINE
Yes, Virginia, a panda can become a
kung fu hero!
PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Paramount
Pictures, DreamWorks Animation
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Jack Black, Dustin
Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Seth
Rogen, Ian McShane, David Cross.
DIRECTORS: John Stevenson, Mark
Osborne. SCREENWRITERS: Jonathan
Aibel & Glenn Berger. STORY BY: Ethan
Reiff & Cyrus Voris. PRODUCER: Melissa
Cobb. EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Bill
Damaschke; Rated PG, 90 minutes.
form its simplest tasks. His dad,
a goose named Mr. Ping (James
Hong) — that discrepancy is
never clarified — runs a noodle
shop and expects his son to follow in his web steps.
But Po longs to train under
Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman)
and alongside his heroes, the
Furious Five: Tigress (Angelina
Jolie), Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis
(Seth Rogen), Crane (David
Cross) and Monkey (is that
Jackie Chan?). He miraculously
fulfills this impossible dream
when the inventor of kung fu,
Oogway the turtle (Randall Duk
Kim), anoints him the longprophesied Dragon Warrior.
Comic calamities pile on top
of one another until Shifu recognizes Po’s true driving force
— his insatiable appetite.
A bun or a cookie snatched
from his grasp has Po performing
feats of remarkable agility and no
little ferocity. He is soon ready to
face the villainous Tai Lung (Ian
McShane), a snow leopard who
descends on the fearful village to
exact revenge for his own rejection as the Dragon Warrior.
Like most chop-socky
movies, “Panda” strays not at
“The Guard Post”
rounding an investigation of
the bizarre deaths of an entire
platoon.
It can stir up expectations
among European buyers for
DVD release through its superficial resemblance to “JSA.”
However, it has but a fraction of
the latter’s piercing political
insight and powerful characterization. Instead, it goes in for
the easy thrill of mind-numbing bloodshed and violence.
The tension starts to falter
BOTTOM LINE: Thriller set at a
Korean border guard post pours
bucketfuls of blood but throws
scant light on psyche of
North-South divide.
horror-thriller that takes
place entirely in the confines of one of many guard
posts dotted along the NorthSouth Korean border’s DMZ,
“The Guard Post” effectively
conveys a murderously claustrophobic atmosphere sur-
A
THR.com
|
all from its twin goals of action
and comedy. Whatever points
the script by Jonathan Aibel &
Glenn Berger wants to make to
children about pursuing goals, it
does so quickly and gets back to
the fights. A battle along a rope
bridge between the Furious Five
and Tai Lung and Po’s showdown with his adversary dominate the final third of the film
after the mostly comic run-up
to those battles.
The animation is clean and
vivid: Backgrounds and sets are
appreciative tributes to Chinese
landscape art and architecture;
the fighting style of each animal, whether a snake, a tiger or
a monkey, is subtly rendered;
and the filmmakers have clearly
studied the best Asian martial
arts films to spark inspiration
for those gravity-defying
stunts. ∂
after the initial enigma of the
deaths gives way to a viral
infection plot that steals from
the formula of the zombie film,
literally going out with a blast
that wipes out any logical
explanation. This is exacerbated by the confusing structure
of cutting back and forth in
time, when the cast is made
indistinguishable by the same
uniform, haircuts and even the
same facial outbreaks.
— Maggie Lee
16
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1:05 PM
Page 1
>>>>festival+market
screenings
In Competition screenings in gold: * Private screening
> friday
08:30 Moscow, Belgium,
Belgium, Critics Week,
Bavaria Film International,
Bunuel; Un Conte De Noel,
France, In Competition,
Wild Bunch, Lumiere
09:00 Boogie, Romania,
Directors’ Fortnight,
Maximum Films
International, Palais
Stephanie
09:15 The Viceroys, Italy,
Rai Trade, Star 3; The 3
Little Pigs (Les 3 P’tits
Cochons), Canada, Christal
Films, Palais B; Female
Agents (Les Femmes De
L’ombre), France, TF1
International, Arcades 1; The
True Story of Puss’n Boots,
France, MK2 S.A, Palais K
“Bory”
09:30 Paris, France,
Studiocanal, Arcades 2;
Khalass, Lebanon, MedScreen, Palais F; Promos
Pathe, Pathe International,
Palais J; Promoreel, Films
Distribution, Gray 2; A
Simple Heart (Un Coeur
Simple), France, Rezo,
Arcades 3;
Valley of Angels, USA, ITN
Distribution, Palais D
My Way, Spain, Intramovies,
Palais H; La Rabia,
Argentina, Bavaria Film
International, Riviera 4; The
Photograph, Indonesia,
Filmsharks Int’l, Gray 4; The
American Way, USA, Da
Starz, Gray 3; Khalass,
France, Wide Management
Enterprise, Palais F;
According to the Plan (Frei
Nach Plan), Germany, MDC
International, Riviera 2
09:45 Chomsky And Co.
THR.com
|
THR.com/cannes
(Chomsky et compagnie),
France, Les Mutins De
Pangée, Gray 5; Forever the
Moment, South Korea,
Golden Network Asia Ltd,
Riviera 1; Mr 73, France,
Gaumont, Star 2;
Jerusalema, South Africa,
Moviehouse Entertainment,
Star 1; Melody’s Smile (La
Chambre Des Morts),
France, BAC Films, Palais C
Miramar; Soi Cowboy,
Thailand, Un Certain Regard,
Co-production Office,
Debussy
11:15 Adhen (Dernier
Maquis), France, Directors’
Fortnight, Umedia, Palais
Stephanie
11:30
The Escapist, U.K., Goalpost
Film, Arcades 1; Promos
Pathe Unknown, Pathe
International, Palais J;
Programme Onf, Short Film
Corner, Palais F; Southern
Gothic, USA, Strategic Film
Partners, Gray 2; Down to
the Dirt, Canada, Newfound
Films, Palais B; Calling An
Angel (Llamando A Aun
Angel), Mexico, Filmsharks
Int’l, Gray 4; Black, France,
Wide Management
Enterprise, Palais D;
Apocalypse Code, Russia,
Central Partnership, Riviera
4; Summer (Sommer),
Germany,Telepool Gmbh,
Riviera 2; Days And Clouds
(Giorni E Nuvole), Italy,
Adriana Chiesa Enterprises,
Star 3; Tunnel Rats,
Germany, Boll Ag, Star 4;
Nothing To Lose,
Netherlands, High Point
10:00 My Mighty Princess,
South Korea, Prime
Entertainment, Olympia 9;
Destiny Ride (Sans etat
d’ame/La Donna di nessuno), France, Filmexport
Group, Olympia 3;
Borderline, Canada, Max
Films Inc., Lerins 2; Gold
Diggin’: For Love of Money
(The Motherlode), USA,
Brass Ring Enterprises, Gray
3; Chaotic Ana (Caótica
Ana), Spain, Sogecine &
Sogepaq, Palais G; Summer,
U.K., The Works International,
Olympia 6; Midnight Meat
Train*, Mandate
International, Olympia 7;
Lemon Tree, France, Films
Distribution, Lerins 1; Inju,
The Beast in the Shadow
(Inju, La Bête Dans
L’ombre), France, UGC
International, Palais I; Son of
a Lion, Australia, Fortissimo
Films, Olympia 5; Rebirth
(Tavallodi Digar), Iran,
Farabi Cinema Foundation,
Palais E; Angels Inc
(Angeles S.A.), Spain,
Imagina International Sales,
Riviera 3; Quid Pro Quo,
USA, Magnolia Pictures &
Magnet Releasing, Gray 1;
The Great Alibi (Le grand
alibi), France, UGC
International, Olympia 1
Media Group, Palais H
12:00 Incendiary, U.K.,
Capitol Films, Olympia 3;
Fugitive Pieces, Canada,
Maximum Films
International, Olympia 9; The
Lucky Ones (The Return),
USA, QED International, Star
1; Louise-Michel, France,
Funny Balloons, Arcades 2;
Hello Goodbye, France,
SND/M6 Da, Riviera 3; Man
On Wire, U.K., The Works
International, Gray 1; Three
Monkeys, Turkey, In
Competition, Pyramide
International, Lumiere; The
11:00 The Stranger In Me
(Das Fremde In Mir),
Germany, Critics Week,
Girl By the Lake (La
Ragazza Del Lago), Italy,
Intramovies, Riviera 1;
Miracle At St. Anna, USA,
TF1 International, Star 2;
Young@Heart, U.K., Le
Pacte, Palais C; O’Horten,
Norway, Un Certain Regard,
The Match Factory, Olympia
5; Kill Theory*, USA,
Mandate International,
Olympia 7; CSNY/Deja Vu,
USA, Fortissimo Films, Palais
I; The Lena Baker Story,
USA, American World
Pictures, Gray 3; New
Serbian Films
(Compilation of films currently in production or
postproduction), Serbia Montenegro, Film Center
Serbia, Gray 5; According to
the Plan (Frei Nach Plan),
Germany, MDC International,
Palais G; That Man Came
(An Mard Amad), Iran,
Farabi Cinema Foundation,
Palais E; Jolene, USA,
Intandem Films, Olympia 4;
A No-Hit No-Run Summer
(Un Été Sans Point Ni Coup
Sûr), Canada, Max Films Inc.,
Lerins 2; 2 Alone In Paris
(Seuls Two), France, TF1
International, Palais K “Bory”;
The Coffin By Ekachai
Uekrongtham, Thailand,
Easternlight Films, Lerins 1;
Kung Fu Panda, USA, Out
Of Competition, Paramount
Pictures/Dreamworks
Animation Skg, Salle Du
60eme
13:30 Madrid En Corto
2007, Short Film Corner,
Palais F; Bustin’ Down the
Door, USA, IM Global, Gray 4;
Art Of The Devil 3, Thailand,
Five Star Production
(Thailand), Palais B;
Investigation
(Razsledvane), Bulgaria,
Eastwest Filmdistribution
Gmbh, Palais H; Low Quality
18
day3_018_screenings
5/15/08
1:05 PM
Page 2
>>>>festival+market
screenings
In Competition screenings in gold: * Private screening
People (Gente De Mala
Calidad), Spain, Notro
Films, Star 3; Beautiful
Bitch, Germany, Sola
Media/Atrix Films, Riviera 2;
When a Man Comes Home,
Denmark, Celluloid Dreams,
Arcades 1; Carl Gustav Jung,
Spain, Notro Films, Palais D;
Running the Sahara, USA,
Porchlight Entertainment,
Gray 2; Casual Day, Spain,
Latido, Arcades 3; It’s Hard
To Be Nice, BosniaHerzegovina, Fortissimo
Films, Star 4; Black Ice
(Musta Jää), Finland,
Riviera 4; Gnomes and
Trolls - The Secret
Chamber, Sweden, Nonstop
Sales AB, Palais J
14:00
My Friends, My Loves (Mes
Amis, Mes Amours),
France, Pathe Distribution,
Olympia 4; Creek*, USA,
Mandate International,
Olympia 7; Crossfire (Les
Insoumis), France, TF1
Outlander, USA, Wild
Bunch, Star 1; Wonderful
Town, Thailand, Memento
Films, Riviera 1; What If...?
(Notre Univers
Impitoyable), France, Films
Distribution, Olympia 3;
Chef’s Special (Fuera De
Carta), Spain, Imagina
International Sales, Riviera 3;
Tranquility, Hungary, Bunyik
Enterprises Inc., Palais C;
The Seven of Daran, Battle
of Pareo Rock, Netherlands,
AAA Pictures, Palais G; Le
Voyage Aux Pyrénées,
France, Directors’ Fortnight,
Celluloid Dreams, Palais
Stephanie; 4 Nights With
Anna (4 Noce Z Anna),
Poland, Directors’ Fortnight,
Elle Driver, Olympia 5; Prince
Of The Himalayas
THR.com
|
THR.com/cannes
“Un Conte De Noel”
(Ximalaya Wangzi), China,
Longtale, Olympia 6; Shoot
On Sight, U.K., American
World Pictures, Lerins 1; The
Investigator (A Nyomozo),
Hungary, Trustnordisk, Star 2;
A Light In t
he Fog, Iran, Documentary
And Experimental Film
Center, Palais E; Planet 51,
Spain, Handmade Films
International, Gray 3; Exit
Mer), France, Certain
Regard, Pyramide
International, Debussy
Speed, USA, Vision
Films/Vision Music, Palais K
“Bory”; The Desert Within
(Desierto Adentro), Mexico,
Mexican Film Institute
(Imcine), Palais I; Waltz With
Bashir, Israel, In
Competition, The Match
Factory, Salle Du 60eme;
Sunny Spells (Le Bruit Des
Gens Autour), France, Rezo,
Arcades 2; Death In Love,
USA, Katapult Film Sales,
Gray 5
Week, MK2 S.A, Miramar
15:00 Hunger, U.K., Un
Certain Regard, Icon
Entertainment International,
Bazin; Baby(Ies), France,
Studiocanal, Palais J; Toei
Tremendous Trailers, Toei
Company, Ltd., Palais D;
Rumba, Belgium, Critics
15:30 A Bird In the Mouth
(Un Oiseau Dans La
Bouche), France, Rusty
Production, Palais E;
Mozart’s Magic Flute
Diaries, Canada, Sullivan
Entertainment Inc, Gray 2; 48
Hours A Day (48 Heures
Par Jour), France, Pyramide
International, Riviera 4;
Mona Lisa Has Vanished
(La Joconde A Disparu),
France, Umedia, Gray 4;
Clubbed, U.K., Av Pictures
Limited, Star 3; Lady Jane,
France, Films Distribution,
Arcades 3; Bad Biology,
14:30 Un Conte De Noel,
France, In Competition,
Wild Bunch, Lumiere; Salt
Of This Sea (Le Sel De La
USA, Horizon Motion
Pictures, Palais J; Another
Love Story (Maré, Nossa
Historia De Amor), Brazil,
Wide Management
Enterprise, Palais B; Every
Night, Loneliness (Har
Shab, Tanhaii), Iran, Cima
Media International (Cmi) Irib, Palais F; Quiet Chaos
(Caos Calmo), Italy,
Fandango Portobello Sales,
Palais H; Rabbit Without
Ears (Keinohrhasen),
Germany, Bavaria Film
International, Riviera 2;
Bigger, Stronger, Faster,
USA, Magnolia Pictures &
Magnet Releasing, Star 4;
Frozen River, USA, Rezo,
Arcades 1; Red, USA,
Bleiberg Entertainment Inc.,
Palais D
16:00 The Guitar, USA,
Maximum Films
International, Gray 5;
Cowards (Cobardes),
Spain, Filmax International,
continues on page 78
19
American Cinema D3 05_16_08.indd1 1
5/8/08 12:00:29 PM
Cannes 2008
The Deal
The Babysitters
Winged Creatures
GUNS
Watching The Detectives
Delirious
Contact info at Cannes Film Festival
The Riviera, Hall Lerins S9
Toronto 416.783.8383
Los Angeles 310.776.7200
Telephone: +33 (0) 4 92 99 32 45
Ne w York 646.822.9229
Vancouver 604.688.3937
w w w. p e a c e a r c h . c o m
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credits not contractual
SCREENING TODAY
FRIDAY, 16TH MAY, 12NOON, OLYMPIA 4
Relais de la Reine Apartments, 42/43 La Croisette (next to The Grand Hotel) Block C, Apartments C-21 & C-22 T: +33 4 93 06 70 03
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day3_Atelier_25, 28-29_c
5/15/08
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Page 25
atelier
THR.com/cannes
“Qu’un seul tienne et
les autres suivront”
Work
Progress
in
By Charles Masters
The 15 projects in
the Atelier are
hoping for a leg up
from their presence
in Cannes.
THR.com
|
T
he Cannes Atelier, or workshop,
swings open the doors for its
fourth edition as an increasingly
integral part of the festival fabric. This year’s 15 projects range
from those by filmmakers with an established reputation to those who’ve flirted
with international recognition to outright
newcomers. No fewer than eight are by
first-time directors.
“Once again this year, the Atelier wishes
to help professionals at Cannes discover
projects whose thematic diversity, creative
inventiveness and varied geographical distribution come together to sketch out the
cinema of tomorrow,” said Gilles Jacob,
president of the Festival de Cannes and
the Cinéfondation, the section dedicated
to up-and-coming and graduate directors
that runs the Atelier.
The thematic diversity Jacob refers to
does not, however, stretch to include
much upbeat subject matter this year. The
selected films variously tackle themes of
death, exile, terminal illness, suicide,
insanity, the Israel/Palestine conflict and
cloning one’s dead lover. Georges Goldenstern, director of the Cinéfondation, concedes that this year’s projects tend to be a
somber bunch.
“It’s true, the world is not a very reassuring place, and the inspiration for these
films appears in sync with that. We would
have liked a cheerful comedy in the lineup,
but we didn’t find one,” he said. The one
exception he points to for a bit of light
relief is “First Page Taipei,” a Taiwan/U.S.
Atelier continues on page 28
25
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL GROUP presents
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FOR TORONTO!
The Sales & Industry Office provides the networking,
information and support you need to make the most
of your Festival experience.
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service is open!
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[email protected]
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Transforming the way people see the world
TorontoFilm_D3_05_16_08.indd 1
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Page 28
feature |
atelier
Atelier
co-production from U.S.-born Arvin Chen,
a nightlong caper through the Taiwanese
capital against a backdrop of romance and
gangsters.
The Atelier was launched in 2005, the
idea being to give directors and their producers an opportunity to indulge in 12 days
of intensive networking with potential partners on the Croisette. To qualify for inclusion, all projects must have a completed
script, the commitment of a first producer
and usually a proportion of financing in
place, although there are exceptions.
“I think the Atelier is a very prestigious
section to be in,” said Richard Lormand,
who is one of the producing team for Lee
Isaac Chung’s “Lucky Life,” one of two U.S.
projects in this year’s Atelier. “The people
who make the selection are people who
know quality art house cinema. It’s the first
recognition a project can have, and that
means a lot, especially to a writer-director.
It can only make you feel more confident
about the artistic choices that you make.”
“Lucky Life” tells of a trip made by a
group of friends, one of whom is dying,
which becomes more of a journey to their
“Bi, Don’t
Be Afraid”
“Womb”
inner selves. The producers are aiming to
meet potential distributors and sales agents
in Cannes, ahead of a planned shoot in late
summer.
The film, Chung’s second, is budgeted at
$600,000, which is a six-fold increase on
his debut effort, the Rwandan-set story of
teenage friendship “Munyurangabo,” which
screened in Un Certain Regard here last year.
The Atelier filmmakers all have their
projects detailed in a brochure that is sent
out to market attendees before the start of
the festival so that meetings can be set up in
advance. Invited films each have a spot
throughout the market at the Atelier headquarters in the International Village, where
directors and producers can get together.
Typically, the event comprises about 500
meetings between the filmmakers and other
interested parties.
The Atelier’s characteristic globe-trotting
approach sees a first appearance by a project
from Estonia, in this case “One More Croissant,” directed by Ilmar Ragg, one of two
pictures in the Atelier which would be partially shot in Paris. The other is “Bitch,” from
Chinese helmer Lou Ye, the most experienced filmmaker in this year’s lineup, with
five previous features to his credit, including
2006 In Competition title “Summer Palace.”
Adapted from an autobiographical novel,
“Bitch” is about a teacher from Beijing who
follows a lover to the French capital only to
find herself exiled in the unfamiliar city.
“There is so much on offer in Cannes that
the Atelier is very useful for providing some
visibility to a project which will hopefully
bring in curious parties,” said Kristina
“The Stoplight Society”
“There is so much on offer in
Cannes that the Atelier is
very useful for providing
some visibility to a project,
which will hopefully bring in
curious parties.
— Kristina Larsen,
Les Films du Lendemain
Larsen of French outfit Les Films du Lendemain, which is producing Lou’s film.
“In France right now, it’s not very easy to
finance films, so the more potential partners you meet, the better. It’s all to be done,
we’re just starting on this project with no
finance in place,” said Larsen, who is hoping to meet European co-producers,
notably from Germany, and sales agents. As
a Chinese film shot in France, “Bitch” could
capture the interest of the international
marketplace, said Larsen, who previously
produced Hou Hsiou Hsien’s Paris-set
“Flight of the Red Balloon.”
The African continent is represented at
the Atelier through “Queleh,” a largely
autobiographical film from Somalia-born
director Abdi Ismael Jama. Mark Aardenburg of Amsterdam-based Movietron is coproducing “Queleh” with French company
Arizona Films.
“We already have part of the budget in
place, and through the Atelier we hope to
find the missing financing. If we came
away with a completed budget, that would
be fantastic,” said Aardenburg, a producer
and director of documentaries for whom
“Queleh” is a first feature venture. “The
organizers will invite potential co-producers from all over the world, which is
“Here”
THR.com
|
28
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11:12 AM
Page 29
feature |
atelier
The Directors
Ben Hackworth
Australia
“Cure for Serpents”
An eccentric older woman
enlists her young gardener
to plan a bizzare carnival for death so she
can be reunited with her long-lost
Portuguese lover.
why I think it’s good to take part. It also gives the
film some international profile.”
The film is about a boy growing up in Somalia
whose father is taken away by government troops,
forcing the family into refugee status. The producers plan to shoot in the northern region of
Somaliland using mainly local crew, and already
have about 10% of the $1.4 million budget.
The workshop has an impressive track record of
helping projects move from development to production. “About 60% of last year’s participating
projects have now been shot, and all of them
should be made by the end of the year, barring
mishaps,” Goldenstern said.
Among notable success stories at last year’s
edition was Colombian Ciro Guerra’s project
“The Wind Journeys,” a road movie told around a
wandering musician, which secured its entire $1.5
million budget in Cannes last year. Another,
“Ahasinwitai” (The Fallen), directed by Sri
Lankan Vimukthi Jayasundara, whose first feature
“The Forsaken Land” won the Camera d’Or in
Cannes in 2005, has just finished shooting after
completing financing at the Atelier last year.
For anyone wondering whether the Atelier formula works as a nursery for Cannes-friendly
projects, you need only take a glance at this year’s
Croisette selections.
Four ex-Atelier titles made it into this year’s
Directors’ Fortnight and one into Critics Week,
Goldenstern said. Among them, Frenchman
Bertrand Bonello sees his fourth picture, “De La
Guerre” (On War), an Atelier participant last year,
unspool in Directors’ Fortnight. The same sidebar
is also providing a berth for Argentine helmer
Pablo Aguero’s “Salamandra.”
Aguero developed the script for the Patagonian-set film during a stay at the Cannes Residence, the 18-week live-in script development
program held in Paris and run by the Cinéfondation, and a perfect illustration of Cannes’ ambition to accompany projects from development to
world premier screening. ∂
Lou Ye
China
“Bitch”
A young teacher quits her job
in Beijing to join her French
lover, but when she gets to Paris things
don’t go according to plan.
Reuben Mendoza
Colombia
“The Stoplight Society”
Raul is set on using his limited knowledge and cleverness to control the traffic lights so that
street artists and vendors working at the
lights can perform longer.
Ilmar Raag
Estonia
“One More Croissant”
Two women with very different experiences are brought
together when they realize you can’t hate
somebody whom you understand.
Braden King
United States
“Here”
A meditation on geography,
relationships, time, culture,
politics and exploration in the age of GPS,
Google Maps and globalization.
Lee Isaac Chung
United States
“Lucky Life”
A terminally ill man begins to
wonder if miracles are possible when he takes a final trip with friends.
Lea Fehner
France
“Qu’un seul tienne et
les autres suivront”
Two women, one man, three
journeys that all end up in the visiting
room of a prison near Paris.
Benedek Fliegauf
Hungary
“Womb”
When the love of her life dies
in a car accident, a woman
decides to have him cloned, give birth to
him and raise him as her own child.
THR.com
|
Nadav Lapid
Israel
“The Policeman”
A study of the rage and
feelings of abuse
caused by the vast economic gap and
class conflict in Israel.
Razvan
Radulescu &
Melissa de Raaf
Romania
“First of All, Felicia”
A woman has to come
to terms with her
feelings about 19 years
of separation from her
family.
Oleg
Novkovic
Serbia
“White, White
World”
An aging boxer and a wild, beautiful
young girl are intertwined in a fatal
love story.
Abdi Ismael
Jama
Somalia
“Queleh”
A personal tale that
tells the story of those who’ve had to
flee the violence in Somalia.
Arvin Chen
Taiwan/
United States
“First Page Taipei”
Love-struck Kai seeks
passage to Paris to visit his girlfriend
by agreeing to deliver a package for a
gangster.
Juan
Pittaluga
Uruguay
“Punta del Este”
A love story between
a pool boy and an upper class girl
that shows the contradictions in
the region based on money,
poverty, corruption and the
joys of living.
Phan
Dang Di
Vietnam
“Bi, Don’t Be Afraid”
Six-year-old Bi is witness as all the people in his life have
to face up to their desires.
29
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special report:
world
Italian
International
Film’s 50th
THR.com/cannes
ALL SMILES
From left, Fulvio Lucisano
and Italian film icon
Alberto Sordi share a laugh
on New Year’s Eve in New
York, 1986.
Roman
Emperor
By Eric J. Lyman
ROME — In a small office in Rome in
Fulvio Lucisano’s
Italian International
Film hits the
half-century mark
the late ’50s, a 30-year-old lawyer
named Fulvio Lucisano set up shop to
distribute Hollywood fare from famed
B-movie producers American International Pictures. He chose a name for his
company inspired by his colleagues
from Tinseltown: Italian International
Film.
Now, half a century later, the company best known as IIF has become one
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of the most storied in Italian cinema
history, producing more than 400 films
that together have garnered two Oscar
nominations, four David di Donatellos,
four Nastri d’Argento (Silver Ribbons)
and the hearts of millions of viewers.
Lucisano, now approaching 80, has
become one of the deans of the Italian
film industry and has helped it evolve
into what it is today. “Back in 1958,
could I have imagined I’d have reached
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HORIZON MOTION PICTURES
PREMIERE SCREEENING
SCREEENING
The Red Awn
light and the sufferer
Drama / 101 min /
Mandarin with English sub. / China / 2007
Director: Cai Shangjun
Sci-Fi Drama / 75 min / English / USA / 2007
Director: Christopher Peditto
May 17, 2008
4:00 pm - Lerins 1
May 17, 2008
10:00 am - Gray 3
Cannes Contact: Booth #G20, Riviera, +33 (0)4 92 99 33 22
1271 Howe Street, Suite 111 Vancouver, B.C. V6Z 1R3 Canada
Tel. 604.632.1707 Fax.604.632.1711
[email protected] www.horizonmotionpictures.com
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PASTA PALS
Lucisano with Marcello Mastroianni on the set of 1975’s “Per le antiche
scale” (Down the Ancient Staircase); below, with Spaghetti Western star
Bud Spencer
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italian international film’s 50th |
friday, may 16, 2008
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world
this point? No, I couldn’t,” says Lucisano, who works with his daughters,
Federica and Paola, in a spacious set of offices adjacent to his apartment
near Rome’s famous Piazza del Popolo. “But looking back, I also couldn’t
imagine having done anything else.”
Although Lucisano always loved movies — he fondly recalls 1938’s
“The Adventures of Robin Hood” and 1939’s “Stagecoach” — he first
became aware of the importance that film would have for him during
World War II. Although too young to serve in uniform, he was used as a
translator by the 5th Armored
Division, U.S. G.I.s heading north
out of Rome. “American films
were barred from Italy starting
just before the war started,” he
recalls. “And so by the time the
war was winding down in 1945, I
couldn’t get enough of the stories
about all the films I was missing
and all the big Hollywood stars I
knew almost nothing about.”
The adventure lasted four
months, until his father made him
return to Rome. There, the young
Lucisano attended law school and
went to work in his father’s legal
— Lina Wertmueller,
studio. His interest in cinema led
filmmaker
him to offer legal counsel to film
companies, and he became a collaborator and close friend of American
International Pictures legends James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z.
Arkoff. Before long, IIF was born. “Those were exciting times to be
working in Italy,” Lucisano says.
In the half-century since he started, Lucisano has earned the admiration
and respect of many of the most important figures in the business.“What
Fulvio Lucisano helps us realize is that a good film producer is just as
“What Fulvio Lucisano
helps us realize is
that a good film
producer is just as
important, just as
much of an artist, as
the writer or the
director or any of
the actors.”
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important, just as much
of an artist, as the
writer or the
director or any of the
actors,” says filmmaker Lina
Wertmueller, who has worked with Lucisano
on nearly a dozen occasions.“He has the
same passion as the more visible figures
involved in a film project.”
For Fausto Brizzi, who has worked with
Lucisano on two of the production house’s
biggest hits, “Notte prima degli esami”
(Night Before Finals) and its sequel, “Notte
prima degli esami — Oggi” (Night Before
Finals — Today), IFF represents a refreshing
contrast to many other studios. “They’re
like a small major: big enough to do things
world
suffocating the big screen” — and that
technological advances have a downside.
“Some say that modern technology can
make it easier for young filmmakers to make
their films, and I guess that’s true,” he says.
“But it’s also much more of a business
today. Without a reputation, a filmmaker
can’t get the money he needs. But without
the money, he can’t earn a reputation. I
don’t know how young producers get a start
these days.”
As for his own career, he doesn’t waste
energy looking back. “There is a certain
nostalgia, but I’m still very excited about
this business,” he says. “I get excited about
the idea of making interesting films. I’m
still looking to the future.” ∂
right but not so
big for people to
get lost inside it,” he says.
“There are no layers of authority with
IFF, no decisions by committee. They know what they
like and what they don’t like.
If I have an idea, I just call Fulvio and Federica, and they tell
me right away if they like it or
not. That’s all there is to it.”
Looking back over the past
50 years, Lucisano attests that
the film business has changed
From left, Lucisano, TV personality
more than he could have imagPippo Baudo, actress Nancy Brilli and
ined. He maintains that televiwriter Valerio Massimo Manfredi
sion has transformed the busicelebrate Lucisano’s nomination for the
ness immeasurably — “The
prestigious Knight of Labor honor.
small screen runs the risk of
Technicolor S.p.A. Via Tiburtina 1138, Via Urbana 172 - Roma Tel: +39 06 418881
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CANNES MARKET 2008 - LINE UP
GARDENS OF THE NIGHT (Berlin Film Festival Competition 2008)
Director: Damian Harris (Mercy, Bad Company, Deceived)
Principle Cast: Gillian Jacobs, Evan Ross,Tom Arnold, John Malkovich, Jeremy Sisto, Kevin Zegers
Logline: A 17 year old girl, abducted and brainwashed as a child, struggles to hold on to her innocence
and humanity.
Status: Completed
Delivery: Ready for Delivery
US Release: October 2008, City Lights Pictures Releasing
BURNING BRIGHT (SCRIPT available PDF)
Director: Carlos Brooks (Quid Pro Quo – Sundance 2008)
Principle Cast: TBC
Logline: Trapped in a house with a ravenous tiger during a hurricane, a young woman must decide
whether to sacrifice her autistic younger brother to save her own life.
Status: Preproduction – Start of Principal Photography June 2, 2008
Delivery: December 2008
US Release: TBA
ANYA (working title) (SCRIPT available PDF)
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak (Street Fighter,: the Legend of Chun-Li, Romeo Must Die, Cradle to the Grave,
Exit Wounds)
Principle Cast: TBC
Logline: A girl trained as a KGB operative from a young age hides in Berlin but is tracked down by the
‘new KGB’ to be killed if she will not return to service in Moscow.
Status: Preproduction – Start of Principal Photography Fall, 2008
Delivery: 2009
US Release: TBA
RELAPSE (SCRIPT available PDF)
Director: Paul Schrader (Auto Focus, Affliction, Light Sleeper, American Gigolo)
Principle Cast: TBC
Logline: Tracy, a young widow and recovering addict, turns to Arthur, another recovering addict, to
investigate her husband’s brutal murder. As the pair relapses into addiction,Tracy discovers that Arthur
isn’t a former cop with an alcohol or drug problem, but a “recovering” serial killer who relishes his fall off
the wagon.
Status: Preproduction – Start of Principal Photography Winter, 2008
Delivery: 2009
US Release: TBA
SOBINI FILMS IN CANNES
Majestic Room 107 • Phone: +33 (0) 49 298 7700 • Attending: Todd Olsson,VP International • +310-689-6826
MAIN OFFICE
2700 Colorado Blvd 3rd Floor, Santa Monica CA 90404 +310-255-5006 [email protected]
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world
Camp Lucisano
OME — Italian International
Film, which turns 50 this year,
began as the Italian distribution
arm of iconic American International
Pictures, the company that turned
camp into an art form. Soon IIF
started producing its own version of
the genre, and many have gone on to
become classics. IIF’s Fulvio
Lucisano, nearly 80, reminisced with
The Hollywood Reporter about some
of the most memorable projects during his company’s five decades.
R
THR.com
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The founder and president
of Italian International Film
hits the highlights from his
50-year career
“La guerra continua”
(Warriors Five) (1962)
An American G.I. (Jack Palance) behind World War II enemy lines convinces five
Italian ex-cons and a sexy partisan (Giovanna Ralli) to help him blow up a German bridge.
LUCISANO RECALLS: “This was IIF’s first film with a big international
name — Jack Palance — and it was also one of the first Technicolor films in Italy.”
“Terrore nello spazio”
(Planet of the Vampires) (1965)
In what is perhaps IIF’s best-known classic, two spaceships land on a planet
inhabited by bloodless alien vampires, and the crews start to attack each other.
LUCISANO RECALLS: “They say that Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’ (1979) is
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FULL LOVE
A Film by Jean-Claude Van Damme
Coming 2009
SALES CONTACT:
[email protected]
FullLoveProd_D1_05_14_08.indd 1
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Dearest Fulvio Lucisano and IIF
Congratulations on 50 wonderful and successful years.
From all your friends at Nu Image
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man), but he got his start with this coming-ofage story set in historic Naples.
LUCISANO RECALLS: “This was a big
success at the boxoffice, but I remember it best
as Troisi’s first film. I saw him and knew he had
great talent.”
“Il tassinaro”
(The Taxi Driver) (1983)
In the first of two films about a very
Roman taxi driver (Alberto Sordi), the
main passenger is Giulio Andreotti, Italy’s
former prime minister and the subject of
a docu at Cannes this year (“Il divo”).
LUCISANO RECALLS: “These are
classic Sordi films, and this one was Andreotti’s
only acting credit ever. It took a lot of work to
convince him to make the film.”
“Il tassinaro”
(The Taxi Driver)
based in part on this story. The special effects
were very advanced for its day.”
“Due marines e un generale”
(War Italian Style) (1966)
Two Italian-American soldiers search for a German general (Buster Keaton) in the deserts of
North Africa.
LUCISANO RECALLS: “A great comedy
and Buster Keaton’s last film. What isn’t apparent at first is that Keaton never speaks.”
“Aragosta a colazione”
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(Lobster for Breakfast) (1979)
“L’inchiesta”
Poor Enrico (Enrico Montesano) has
gone through nearly two dozen jobs in
two years, and he manages to save his last
one by posing as the husband of an old schoolmate’s lover.
LUCISANO RECALLS: “This one
launched the career of Enrico Montesano.”
(The Inquiry) (1986)
“Ricomincio da tre”
(I’m Starting From Three) (1981)
Massimo Troisi went on to garner two Oscar
nominations for 1994’s “Il postino” (The Post-
A Roman official (Keith Carradine) is sent
to Palestine to question Pontius Pilate
(Harvey Keitel) about the resurrection of
Christ. IFF loosely remade the film in 2006 as
“The Final Inquiry,” with Daniele Liotti in the
role of the Roman investigator.
LUCISANO RECALLS: “This was an
important film when it was made, looking
at the Biblical Passion from a new
perspective.”
— Eric J. Lyman
48
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Lightning Entertainment
is proud to announce
A CALL FOR WORLD PEACE AND HARMONY
IN PRODUCTION
Credits not contractual
In Cannes
Home Office
301 ARIZONA AVENUE, SUITE 400
SANTA MONICA, CA 90401
TEL: 310-255-7999 FAX: 310-255-7998
LERINS R7/S8
TEL +334 9299 3314
[email protected]
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www.lightning-ent.com
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Palais 21.01
EXIT SPEED
Ten strangers aboard a bus are forced off the road by a nomadic biker gang. Taking refuge
in an abandoned scrap yard, they use improvised weapons, adrenalin and sheer guts to
mount a defense against the bikers. As their numbers dwindle, they realize that their
survival depends on doing the unthinkable - fighting for their lives!
STARRING: Lea Thompson (Back to the Future, Caroline in the City), Fred Ward (Tremors,
The Player, Sweet Home Alabama), Alice Greczyn (Lincoln Heights, House of Fears)
and Desmond Harrington (Wrong Turn, We Were Soldiers)
SCREENING
May 16th, 14:00, Palais K
•
May 17th, 11:30, Palais J
MAMA, I WANT TO SING!
Inspired by the off-Broadway play, a preacher's daughter, Arama (Ciara) on the verge of pop
stardom,is launched into the limelight. After the untimely death of her father, stronger
family bonds ensue, and her love for pop music is at odds with her family's wishes.
When tragedy strikes again, Amara and her mother must work through their differences,
both learning that we all dance to the music, but to the beat of our own drum.
STARRING: Ciara (GRAMMY Award Winner), Billy Zane (Titanic),
Patti LaBelle (GRAMMY Award Winner) and Lynn Whitfield (The Josephine Baker Story, Stepmom)
SCREENING
Palais 21.01
DIAMOND DOG CAPER
A notorious diamond thief and two dim-witted accomplices think they have found the
perfect suburban neighborhood to hide out and the perfect place to stash $5 million in
stolen diamonds - on a golden retriever. But Owen, a clever young boy, falls in love with the dog
and discovers their secret. He immediately takes action and à la HOME ALONE, and a terrific battle
ensues between man's best friend and America's most wanted.
STARRING: French Stewart (3rd Rock from the Sun), Luke Benward (How to Eat Fried Worms),
Brittany Curran (13 Going on 30, Akeelah and the Bee), Denyse Tontz, Kelly Perine (One on One)
and Kevin Farley (Tommy Boy, The Waterboy)
SCREENING
May 18th, 17:30, Palais J
WHAT WE DO IS SECRET
The captivating story that captures the explosive and tumultuous life of Darby Crash,
the seminal singer and songwriter of The Germs. Driven by drugs, music and rebellion,
The Germs became a vehicle that virtually launched punk rock in the US.
STARRING: Shane West (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, ER),
Bijou Phillips (Almost Famous), Rick Gonzales (War Of The Worlds) and Noah Segan
SOUNDTRACK PRODUCED BY: Pat Smear (The Germs, Nirvana, Foo Fighters)
May 15th, 12:00, Palais C
•
SCREENING
May 17th, 14:00, Palais C
May 19th, 17:30, Palais H
NECESSARY EVIL
A young investigative reporter finds herself entangled in a supernatural web of intrigue while
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Psychiatric Institute. But what she doesn't know is that the evil she is trying to stop is within her.
STARRING: Lance Henriksen (When a Stranger Calls, AVP: Alien vs. Predator),
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SCREENING
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VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.VISIONFILMS.NET
14945 VENTURA BLVD. STE. 306, SHERMAN OAKS, CA 91403, USA
PHONE: 818-784-1702 FAX: 818-788-3715 [email protected] WWW.VISIONFILMS.NET
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FILM SPOTLIGHT
‘Night
Before
Finals —
Today’
Italian
International
Film’s ‘Notte
prima degli
esami’ franchise
rings a bell with
audiences
“Night Before Finals — Today”
ROME — Italian International Film has
had a hand in more than 400 productions
in its long history, including some of the
best-known films in Italian cinema history. But to many young people in Italy, the
venerable company is primarily known for
the “Notte prima degli esami” (Night
Before Finals) franchise. These films have
introduced a new generation of moviegoers to the production company that made
the films that entertained their parents
and grandparents.
So far, the series includes two films: the
2006 original and last year’s follow-up,
“Notte prima degli esami — Oggi” (Night
Before Finals — Today). Both films are
coming-of-age stories set in the nervous
period between the last day of high school
and the comprehensive final exam Italians
must pass in order to graduate. The first,
set in the late ’80s, struck a chord with
youngsters familiar with the dreaded exam
®
ADRIANA CHIESA ENTERPRISES
congratulations to
Italian International Film
on its 50th Anniversary
congratulations to
one of our most respected and dedicated producers
Fulvio Lucisano
I am happy to be among your friends today and in the future
my most affectionate wishes for your continued success
Adriana Chiesa Di Palma
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A D V E RT I S E M E N T
A TOUCH OF ASPEN
IN NORTH CAROLINA
Discover breathtaking Grey Rock at Lake Lure surrounded by
North Carolina’s world famous Blue Ridge Mountains.
By Adrienne Papp
Imagine for a moment discovering a resort
location that offers all the scenic beauty
of Aspen, Colorado, but without the over
development and a much greater upside
for investment, which should be long term,
stable and steady.
That description fits a relatively undiscovered luxury resort located in North
Carolina’s beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains
called Grey Rock. This 4,000-acre development offers all the scenic wonders of a
national park, and tremendous potential
for homeowners and investors. It’s an area
that’s been compared to Aspen in terms
of natural splendor, but with a mountainous location that makes it immune from
invasive development.
Grey Rock is located in southwestern
North Carolina near Asheville. It’s a
landscape of scenic waterfalls, numerous
streams and what National Geographic
called “one of the most beautiful manmade lakes in the world,” Lake Lure.
“The area also has a mild climate, four distinct seasons and some of the most breathtaking views in the country,” says Ron Berg,
managing partner of investment consulting
firm RnR Solutions, which has been active in Grey Rock.
With its national park-like atmosphere, it’s no surprise that Home
and Garden selected Grey Rock for their Dream Home of the
Year. Filmmakers have also used the area to shoot movies like
Dirty Dancing, The Last of the Mohicans and many others.
Grey Rock will include two clubhouses, multiple pools,
Adrienne Papp 05_16_08_V2.indd 1
tennis courts, an equestrian center, three
helipads, parks, pavilions, libraries and
a multitude of hiking, biking, and horse
trails. There are also approximately 50
nearby golf courses and great ski slopes
within an hour’s drive. Nearby Asheville,
a 30-minute drive from Grey Rock, offers
all the fine dining and nightlife anyone
could want.
From an investment point of view, the
story only gets better. “We’re excited about
the returns Grey Rock has generated,”
says Berg. “Most have exceeded 100%,
with the lowest being 40% on a property
for a 7-month hold period. Another big
advantage at the resort is that there are no
requirements to build, no minimum hold
period, and no restrictions on resales.”
With those advantages, it’s especially attractive for Europeans who are benefiting from
advantageous exchange rates these days.
Grey Rock is shaping up to have the potential that Aspen had thirty years ago. It’s
a place that attracts buyers not only for its
beauty and sense of serenity and privacy,
but also for its economic potential. And,
with its mountainous location, the area
will never have to worry about being spoiled by over development
or crowds.
Courtesy weekend getaways are currently offered to the
HGTV Dream Home for interested parties and investors.
For more information please call 201.723.5171
or visit www.rnr-solutions.com
5/12/08 6:15:48 PM
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From left, Andrea De Rosa, Cristiana Capotondi and Nicolas
Vaporidis star in “Night Before Finals.”
“When I saw the script of the
first film, I told my daughter
(and the films’ co-producer
Federica Lucisano) not to let
it get away, no matter what
the cost.”
— Fulvio Lucisano,
IIF founder and president
and older viewers who grew up during
that period. The sequel tells a similar
story in a contemporary setting and features most of the same cast.
Both were huge successes at the boxoffice and with critics. “Notte prima degli
esami” was the third-top-grossing Italian
film in 2006, taking in $24 million total,
earning more in Italy than Hollywood
films such as the animated hit “Cars” and
Woody Allen’s “Match Point.” The sequel
world
also did well, finishing among the top 10
films of the year, becoming the first Italian film to earn more than $1 million on
opening night and earning just under $20
million before its run was finished.
“When I saw the script of the first film,
I told my daughter (and the films’ co-producer Federica Lucisano) not to let it get
away, no matter what the cost,” recalls IIF
founder and president Fulvio Lucisano.
“But I can’t say I knew it would be as popular as it was.” The film is even being
remade in France, according to Lucisano.
Producers in other markets have also
inquired about the rights.
Fausto Brizzi, the writer and director of
both films, was also surprised by the films’
massive success.“I had in mind a kind of
‘Italian Graffiti,’ ” he says, referring to
George Lucas’ classic 1973 film.“I knew the
story was a good one. But you never know
what is going to resonate with the public.”
Neither Lucisano nor Brizzi rule out the
possibility of a third installment in a few
years. “At first, Brizzi said he didn’t want
to make a sequel,” Lucisano says, “but
then, when I started to go ahead with the
project using a different writer and director, he changed his mind and came along,
which is what we wanted all along.”
— Eric J. Lyman
Congratulations
to
Fulvio Lucisano
for his achievement
in 50 years
of showbiz
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special report:
Japan
THR.com/cannes
FIRESTORM
The controversy surrounding Li Ying’s
“Yasukuni” could impact future government
financing of risky film projects.
Asian
Provocateurs
TOKYO — In 1997, when she was just 27 years old, Naomi
Kawase won the Camera d’Or at Cannes with “Moe No Suzaku,” making her the youngest filmmaker to ever receive the
award. With “Suzaku” also taking prizes at the Rotterdam and
Singapore festivals, the future looked rosy for the talented
young director.
Kawase, by her own admission, is not the most accessible
director, and her films, with their deliberate pacing and complex, introspective themes, are unlikely to ever have real massmarket appeal. Yet despite being feted by the national media
for her Cannes win, Kawase struggled to find backing and support for her projects over the next decade.
“It’s probably easier to get money from abroad for less
mainstream films than it is to raise it in Japan,” says Azusa Soya
of UniJapan (Japan Association for International Promotion of
the Moving Image), a government-backed nonprofit that promotes the Japanese film industry abroad. “Backers are, of
By Gavin J. Blair
Are edgy Japanese
filmmakers being
marginalized by a lack
of government support?
THR.com
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WORLD
PREMIERE
Sci-Fi Action
Part ALIEN part EVIL DEAD – A spine-chilling, high velocity Sci-Fi thriller
Mutant creatures are unleashed when researchers made the wrong
discovery. Eight survivors must be rescued from outpost beneath the
earth. One survivor has a deadly surprise.
¢
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May 17 @ 12:00 hr. – PALAIS E
May 19 @ 16:00 hr. – PALAIS E
2008 CANNES – Market Stand: Palais 20.04A
Booth Phone: +33 4.92.99.80.69 • CANNES Mobile: +33 6.34.49.32.42
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[email protected] • US Phone: +1 626.737.8357 • Fax: + 1 626.737.8642
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course, concerned about getting a return on
their investment, and with the funding for
so many films decided by committees or
consortiums, it can be difficult to get the
go-ahead for many projects.”
Despite these difficulties Kawase’s
“Mogari No Mori” — a France-Japan coproduction — took the 2007 Grand Prix at
Cannes, the first Japanese film to win the
award in 17 years. The film had been set to
open on only 10 screens in Japan, and even
after her second Cannes triumph, this
increased to only 28. In France, meanwhile,
the film opened at more than 70 theaters.
On her return to Japan, Kawase met with
the minister of economy, trade and industry
to present the case for more support of
domestic filmmakers. “I told the minister
that I am a filmmaker but that I can’t make
a living from films,” she later explained at a
press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. “The fact that I won
the Grand Prix in Cannes means it will be
easier for me in the future to raise money for
my next film — but what I want for the
japan |
“Compared to other countries, Japanese filmmakers
have a hard time getting any public funding. Only the
Agency for Cultural Affairs provides government
money for domestic productions.”
— Azusa Soya, UniJapan
Japanese movie industry is a system where
it is easier for people to get funding and to
have a movie distributed abroad.”
Neither Kawase, nor any other Japanese
director, had a film selected for competition
at this year’s Cannes festival.
“Compared to other countries, Japanese
filmmakers have a hard time getting any
public funding. Only the Agency for Cultural Affairs provides government money
for domestic productions,” UniJapan’s Soya
says. “If it’s an international co-production,
then they can also get help from J-Pitch,
another public body.”
Although some of the money comes from
the Agency for Cultural Affairs, private
“Tekkon Kinkreet”
Western Star
California-born filmmaker Michael Arias makes his
mark in the close-knit Japanese film sector
outhern California native Michael Arias has firmly established himself in the insular world
of Japanese anime, and now the former software designer is trying his hand at live-action
filmmaking with a version of the 1997 German movie “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”
A resident of Tokyo for most of the last 16 years, Arias worked on special effects for Hollywood
movies like 1989’s “The Abyss” before making the move to Japan. After studying Japanese in college, Arias ended up working in CG animation and spent six years writing software. His big break
came when his Softimage Toon Shaders software was used on director Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997
blockbuster “Princess Mononoke.” The package, which helps CG look like hand-drawn and painted
images, was also picked up by DreamWorks for 1998’s “The Prince of Egypt” and used again by
Miyazaki for 2001’s “Spirited Away,” which won an Oscar and remains Japan’s highest-grossing film.
“The software being used for ‘Mononoke’ gave me an inroad into the Japanese anime world —
it’s a kind of cottage industry centered round a relatively small group of people,” Arias says.
S
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world
companies can also donate. In such cases
the money is distributed by another quasigovernmental body, the Japan Arts Council,
which also decides who receives grants. Out
of the entire JAC 2007 budget of ¥65.2 billion ($629 million), movies, animation and
documentaries collectively received a total
of ¥159 million ($1.5 million).
One project that was able to receive
assistance through this channel is “Yasukuni,” Li Ying’s documentary about the controversial Shinto shrine, which is dedicated
to the memory of Japan’s war dead. The
Chinese-born, Tokyo-based director
received a ¥7.5 million ($72,000) grant from
the Japan Arts Council to help make the
After working on a number of projects, including
producing 2003’s “The Animatrix,” Arias was able
to make 2006’s “Tekkon Kinkreet,” based on a
manga of which he was a longtime fan. As well as
being the first foreigner to take the helm of a
Japanese anime feature, Arias took some novel
approaches to creating a unique look for the film.
“We had a set of tools that allowed us to simulate hand-held camera work, dolly and aerial
shots, and so on,” explains Arias. “Although
anime purists reject some of this as an imitation
of live-action.”
“As for being the first foreign director of an
anime, it was a nonissue to me until we began
showing ‘Tekkon’ at international festivals,” continues Arias, adding that he was baffled at the
reaction of some U.S. anime fans who didn’t regard
it as real Japanese anime. “It’s a bizarre argument
— like saying only Italians can cook pasta.” Perhaps
surprisingly to some, the attitude back in Japan
was more accepting: In February “Tekkon” won the
Japan Academy Award for best animated film.
With an impressive résumé and experience in
Hollywood, a big-budget U.S. animated film would
appear be the next logical step, but Arias says he
isn’t interested. “There aren’t that many projects
that I think worthy of such a time-consuming and
potentially draining enterprise as longform animation. ‘Tekkon,’ for example, was a three-year project
— that’s a significant chunk of your life — so it has
to be something inspiring,” he says.
Instead, Arias has made “Heaven’s Door,” an
adaptation of the road move starring German
heartthrob Til Schweiger. While shooting the film,
which has been rewritten and set in Japan, Arias
says he encountered some inevitable challenges
in making the leap to live-action. “There are
many shots you just can’t pull off because of
physical limitations. In animation, one doesn’t
have those sorts of restrictions,” he observes. “In
the end, though, I think the task of directing —
live-action or animation — is not so different. The
technology is worlds apart, of course, but the
grammar of film is the same.” – Gavin J. Blair
64
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documentary, which was shot over 10 years. The film intertwines
scenes of a swordsmith who made samurai swords carried by WWII
Japanese Imperial Army officers with footage of people and events
linked to the shrine. The souls of nearly 2.5 million people, including
14 Class-A war criminals, are said to be enshrined at Yasukuni.
Critically acclaimed abroad, including winning the best documentary award at the Hong Kong Filmart in March, “Yasukuni” has
courted as much controversy in Japan as the shrine itself. Right-wing
groups have threatened Li and his staff, while politicians have
attacked the film as anti-Japanese. Many have publicly questioned
why the film received public funding.
“We were approached by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to arrange
a screening of the film for politicians before it was released,” reports
Aki Nagamuro of Argo Pictures, the film’s distributor. A group from
the ruling Liberal Democratic Party asked to see the movie in March
and voiced concern about its contents. Tomomi Inada, an LDP member who was one of the leading critics of the film, then questioned
the Agency for Cultural Affairs about its funding of the project.
“Had the film not received funding from the Agency for Cultural
Affairs, it’s difficult to say how we would have responded to their
request,” says Nagamuro of a move that was widely seen as an
attempt at censorship.
A number of cinemas that had been planning to show the documentary pulled screenings in the wake of the controversy, despite protests
in support of the film by the Mass Media Information and Culture
Union and the Directors Guild of Japan, of which Li is a member.
“This is the first time that a film that has received public funding
has become so controversial. There’s now a question as to whether
the grant for English subtitles for ‘Yasukuni’ will be provided,” says
an insider familiar with the project. “This is bound to make public
bodies think twice about funding projects that could face similar
troubles in the future.” ∂
world
“A Taste of Fish”
FILM SPOTLIGHT
‘A Taste of Fish’
aving worked as a producer with leading director Yoji Yamada for over
two decades, Hiroshi Fukasawa now hopes his latest project, “A Taste
of Fish” (Tsukiji Uogashi Sandaime), will emulate the longevity of
Yamada’s hugely popular “Tora-san” movies.
Fukasawa worked on the “Tora-san” films from 1987 to 1995, the final
years of the world’s longest-running cinematic series, which began life in
1969. In all, there were 48 movies in the series about a traveling salesman —
all starring Kiyoshi Atsumi — who never quite got the girl.
Having joined Shochiku straight out of university in 1982, Fukasawa’s first
project as a producer was Yamada’s “Kinema no Tenchi” in 1986. He now
confesses to being in some awe of the veteran director. “Yamada-san is
Shochiku’s — and I think Japan’s — top director. So while it’s great to work
with him, it also makes me kind of nervous. I’m always conscious of the fact
that my name appears alongside his on the movies we produce.”
“Most human beings get to a point with anything where they think, ‘OK,
this is good enough.’ With Yamada-san, it’s like that point doesn’t exist. I’ve
worked with him for about 22 years — he’s now 76 — and his level of passion
for filmmaking hasn’t changed a bit in that time,” declares Fukasawa.
On “A Taste of Fish” Fukasawa is working with director Shingo Matsubara
on a story, like so many over the years, taken from a popular manga. The film
tells the story of a ‘salaryman’ (Takao Osawa) who ends up leaving his safe
career to work at his fiance’s family business — the Tsukiji fish market.
“There have always been film adaptations of manga. However, their
number has increased recently, and I think one of the main reasons is that
the quality of these comics has improved so much in terms of themes and
stories,” he explains. “When I was younger, people in the film business definitely looked down their noses at manga. But these days nobody can do
that, with the depth of the content that now appears in them.”
While Fukasawa is hopeful that “Fish” can approach the remarkable
longevity of the “Tora-san” series, he concedes that there won’t be any
sequels unless he and director Matsubara get the first one right.
“We do plan to turn ‘Tsukiji’ into a series, but of course that depends on
the success of the first film,” says Fukasawa at Shochiku’s headquarters, just
up the road from the real Tsukiji, the world’s largest fish market. “It’s not just
about the individual qualities of the story, but how well it can continue to be
related to by contemporary audiences,” he says of the project, which is
scheduled to be released in Japan on June 7.
— Gavin J. Blair
H
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AMERICAN WORLD PICTURES
World Premiere Screenings
Wednesday 14 May 13:30 Riviera 2 Friday 16 May 14:00 Lerins 1
Executives Attending:
Mark L. Lester (President )
Dana Dubovsky (President of Production)
Judy Gold (Exec. VP Worldwide Sales)
Jeffrey Goldman (VP Worldwide Sales)
Adam Singer (VP Acquisitions & Co-Production)
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Tel: + 33 0(4) 92 99 88 04
www.americanworldpictures.com
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Page 74
| reviews
DREAM STATE:
The soldiers in Folman’s
tale are haunted in
their sleeping hours.
‘Waltz with Bashir’
By Peter Brunette
n this self-styled “animated
documentary,” written,
directed and produced by Ari
Folman, the Israeli television
director has added his voice to
the maelstrom that has
swarmed through Middle Eastern politics for decades, with
heartfelt intentions and mixed
results. Festival programmers
and television buyers should
definitely have a look, but a theatrical release in other territories is a longshot.
Disturbed by an old army
buddy’s recounting of a persistent nightmare in which he’s
being chased by 26 enraged
dogs, Folman determines that
the nightmares are related to
their service in the first Lebanon
war in the early 1980s. Since the
director seems to have repressed
his own memories of that conflict, he sets out to interview old
friends, psychotherapists and
other veterans to help him regain
what’s been lost.
His sources speak of their own
wartime experiences or attempt
to interpret Folman’s. The entire
film is rendered in animation, a
clever gesture that allows the
director to restage horrifically
violent encounters that otherwise would have cost millions
to reproduce realistically.
For unknown reasons, however, and though he videotaped
all the interviews, Folman
decided to forego the rotoscoping method used in Richard
Linklater’s “Waking Life,” in
I
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which live-action footage is
turned directly into strikingly
lifelike animation.
Instead, Folman decided to
have his illustrators redraw the
scenes of the interviews themselves, frame by frame, using
their imaginations to render
the wartime memories that are
dredged up. The results are
mixed.
Scenes of violence (or more
frequently, scenes of scared
young Israeli soldiers) often
have a visceral, poetic power
that could only come from a
draftsman’s imagination. The
largely monochromatic palette
Folman insists upon, however,
unfortunately works in the
opposite direction.
In addition, the method visually abstracts the scenes that
haunt Folman and his former
comrades, making them less
emotionally immediate. Furthermore, during the interviews
themselves, the chosen style of
animation leads to a distracting
choppiness that renders the
movements, gestures and facial
expressions of the interviewees
unconvincing. The other problem is that, memory naturally
being something that returns in
fits and starts, the film is rarely
able to sustain any consistent
narrative thrust.
Though the film is being promoted as an examination of the
Christian Phalangist massacres
of Palestinians in the Sabra and
Shatila refugee camps, these are
not mentioned until one hour
into the film. Nor does it break
any ground politically, since the
“Gospel Hill”
BOTTOM LINE: A heartfelt
glimpse at race relations in a
small Southern town.
he racial divide in a small
South Carolina town is
moving closer to half full than
half empty in this heartfelt
social drama. Using the 40year anniversary of the death
of a local Civil Rights leader,
“Gospel Hill” percolates with
warmth and human insight.
With a cast featuring
Angela Bassett, Danny Glover
and Nia Long, it may garner
some appreciative applause on
the festival circuit domesti-
T
cally and would be a
solid selection for BET
during Black History
Month.
With a storyline as
hardscrabble as the
small town’s residents, “Gospel Hill” is
smartly devoid of
social preaching or
guilt-trippings. Under director Giancarlo Esposito’s intelligent hand, this spare yet
radiant film brims with the
fears, frustrations and dreams
of the town’s individuals.
Accordingly, it is much more
than a neat sociological/historical treatise. The joys and
> IN COMPETITION
BOTTOM LINE P
Though occasionally striking
visually, this “animated documentary” about war never quite
comes together narratively or
psychologically.
DIRECTOR-SCREENWRITERPRODUCER: Ari Folman; ART DIRECTOR AND ILLUSTRATOR: David
Polonsky; MUSIC: Max Richter; EDITOR:
Nili Feller; SALES: The Match Factory
GMBH; No rating, 87 minutes
culprit who is rather mildly
rebuked, Ariel Sharon, was condemned by an official government committee decades ago
for his part in allowing the massacres to happen.
After a dramatic shift to actual newsreel footage of wailing
Palestinian women and heaps of
Palestinian bodies — which presumably represents the return of
Folman’s repressed memories —
the film suddenly ends, with no
further exploration of his psychological state. ∂
messiness of life in this small
town, while influenced by its
racist past, are no longer
cemented in racial divisions.
More naturally, people now
divide on personalities, over
music and the sundry of life’s
other distinctions.
— Duane Byrge
74
CinemaMngmt_D3_05_16_08.indd 1
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PRESENT
THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2008
CANNES, FRANCE
CO-SPONSORS
EVENT CHAIRS
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EVENT CO-CHAIRS
SATJIV S. CHAHIL
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FOR INFORMATION OR TICKETS:
+33 (0)4 97 06 31 33 OR [email protected]
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IS ALEISTER
A FILM BY
CRoWLEY
Bruce Dickinson & Julian Doyle
WARNER MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS A BILL & BEN / DUELLIST FILM / FOCUS FILMS PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH E-MOTION / BIG RED PIXEL UK
SIMON CALLOW “CHEMICAL WEDDING” KAL WEBER JOHN SHRAPNEL LUCY CUDDEN PAUL MCDOWELL JUD CHARLTON PRODUCTION DESIGNER MARK TANNER COSTUME DESIGNER TABITHA DOYLE MUSIC PRODUCER BRUCE DICKINSON EDITOR BILL JONES DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY BRIAN HERLIHY
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Olympia 4; 8th
Wonderland, France, M.A.D.
Films, Palais K “Bory”; Sorry
If I Love You (Scusa ma ti
chiamo amore)*, Italy,
Adriana Chiesa Enterprises,
Olympia 8; The Elder Son,
USA, Shoreline
Entertainment, Gray 3;
Seven Days (Les Sept
Jours), France, Critics Week,
Les Films Du Losange,
Riviera 1; Repo! The
Genetic Opera*, Mandate
Stone Of Destiny, U.K.,
Arclight Films, Palais C;
Knife Edge, U.K., Telepool
Gmbh, Olympia 6; Jack
Hunter: The Lost Treasure
Of Ugarit, USA, American
Cinema International, Palais
E; French Film, U.K., The
Works International, Palais I;
Dunya & Desie,
Netherlands, Holland Film,
Palais G; Berlin-Buenos
Aires (The Tears Of My
Mother), Germany, Kevin
Williams Associates (Kwa
S.L.), Riviera 3; Snakes And
Earrings, Japan, Gaga
Communications Inc,
Olympia 1; Tokyo!, Japan,
Un Certain Regard, Wild
Bunch, Olympia 5; Promo
Screening - The Divine
Weapon, South Korea, CJ
Entertainment Inc., Arcades
2; Artefacts, Belgium,
Cinemavault, Gray 1; Dragon
Hunters, France, Futurikon,
Lerins 1; Forever Strong,
USA, Lightning
Entertainment, Star 1; Finn
On the Fly, Canada, Amaze
Film Television, Lerins 2;
Summer Hours (L’heure
D’ete), France, MK2 S.A,
Olympia 3; Lion’s Den
(Leonera), Argentina, In
Competition,
Finecut/Cineclick Asia,
Salle Du 60eme
You And I, Tatu, Olympia 2
17:00 Tokyo!, Japan, Un
Certain Regard, Wild Bunch,
Bazin; Soi Cowboy,
Thailand, Un Certain Regard,
Coproduction Office,
Debussy; Boogie, Romania,
Directors’ Fortnight,
Maximum Films
International, Palais
Stephanie
17:30 The Wild Soccer
Bunch 5 (Dwk5 - Die
Wilden Kerle), Germany,
Telepool Gmbh, Riviera 2;
Karma - Crime, Passion,
Reincarnation, India,
Picture Perfect, Gray 2; Som
Tum, Thailand,
Sahamongkolfilm
International Co. Ltd., Palais
H; Eskalofrio (Shiver),
Spain, Coach 14, Star 4; The
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screening guide
Unforgettable, India,
Idream Independent
Pictures, Gray 4; Lilly The
Witch - The Dragon And
The Magic Book (Hexe
Lilli), Germany, Telepool
Gmbh, Gray 1; Heart Of Fire
(Feuerherz), Germany,
Beta Cinema, Palais J;
Strangers, Israel, 6 Sales,
Star 3; Rita Cadillac, The
Lady Of The People, Brazil,
Olhar Imaginário, Palais D;
Dying Breed, Australia,
Darclight Films, Palais F;
They Wait, Germany, Boll
Ag, Arcades 1; The Stranger
In Me (Das Fremde In Mir),
Germany, Critics Week,
Miramar; Private
Screening, Pony Canyon
Inc., Arcades 3; Personal
Belongings, Cuba,
Latinofusion, Palais B
18:00 The Other End Of
The Line, USA, Hyde Park
International, Star 1; Hansel
And Gretel (Hansel Gwah
Gretel), South Korea,
Finecut/Cineclick Asia,
Lerins 1; Green Flash, USA,
Curb Entertainment
International Corp, Gray 1;
The Lovebirds, Portugal,
APC - Cinema Producers
Association, Lerins 2; A-Kite
International Version,
Japan, Gold View Co. Ltd.,
Palais E; The Easy Way
(Sans Arme Ni Haine Ni
Violence), France, Studio
37, Olympia 3; Fate (SookMyung), South Korea, CJ
Entertainment Inc., Riviera 3;
Intervention, USA, New
Films International, Palais I;
Via Darjeeling, India,
National Film Development
Corporation Nfdc, Riviera 1;
Ben X, France, Films
Distribution, Arcades 2;
Butterfly (Bolboreta,
Mariposa, Papallona),
Spain, Kevin Williams
Associates (Kwa S.L.),
Palais G; Made In Italy,
France, Pyramide
International, Palais C; I’ve
Loved You So Long (Il Y A
Longtemps Que Je
T’aime), France, UGC
The Wave (Die Welle),
Germany, Celluloid Dreams,
Olympia 6; Takumi-Kun:
June Pride (Takumi-Kun
Series), Japan, Open
Sesame Co, Ltd, Gray 5; La
Extranjera (The Stranger),
Argentina,
Ministere Des
Affaires
Etrangeres,
More festival
Gray 3; Sleep
and market
Dealer, USA,
screening
Fortissimo
guide online.
Films, Palais K
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| reviews in brief
“The Gift”
BOTTOM LINE: A cyberspace thriller for the male action crowd.
r. Peterson’s got a better cell phone than you. His cool gizmo
tells him winning slot machines, leads him to babes and alerts
him to hot stocks. That’s the too-good-to-be-true premise of this
taut sci-fi/horror thriller, which cagily meshes new technology with
proven genres.
“The Gift” is a male-fantasy story trip that blasts through international hot spots, techno-charged with quick cuts, sound salvos
and testosterone-fueled action. It may score solid numbers overseas
with the teenage action crowd, but in the U.S. it seems best fit for an
outlet such as cable channel Spike TV, whose viewers will be pleased
with its cut-to-the-chase storytelling.
That old horror storyline staple — that man’s hubris leads him to
scientific creations that turn on him —provides a solid story infrastructure. In this case, the U.S. National Security folk have created a
veritable monster through cyberspace and Big Brother will be everywhere, unless our hero and the F.B.I. can thwart the system.
Greg Marcks’ apt fast-forward direction is invigorated by the
sharp technical team’s aesthetic expertise and the crisp lead performances of Shane West, Edward Burns and Ving Rhames. “The
Gift” blazes over plot holes and holds aloft its cyber mumbo-jumbo
narrative. As the National Security chief, Martin Sheen’s sonorous
barking lends credibility to the film’s urgent premise.
M
— Duane Byrge
“Body”
BOTTOM LINE: A horror that’s more arresting in its psychological development than bloodcurdling scenes.
ased on the real case of a doctor who killed his wife and flushed her
remains down toilets across Bangkok,“Body” is a gripping anatomy
of murder with psycho-sexual underpinnings and a supernatural overlay. One of the finer specimens of Thai horror, the film
has remake potential given its
sensational subject and a
tightly coiled script written
by, among others, Thai upand-comer Chookiat Sakweerakul. The brand name of
production house GTH,
which chilled spines with
such international hits as
“Shutter” and “Alone,” could
command notice overseas.
A tad too long and intricate, the narrative is no easy viewing.
Director Paween Purijitpanya tries to match the spiritual complexity
in the characterizations with a corporeal experience of fear. However, his MTV and TVC background steered him toward stock images
of gore and glossy CGI effects. Still, he is sometimes capable of visual virtuosity. The music also effectively shapes the mood on a subliminal level until its significance reveals itself climactically.
B
— Maggie Lee
“Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon”
BOTTOM LINE: Too many leaps of imagination make this adaption of a
Chinese classic a cinematic mutant.
uppose the Armada defeated the British in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age.” That’s the equivalent in poetic license that Daniel Lee (“A
Fighter’s Blues”) took in his adaptation of a Chinese classic. This,
added to an uneven narrative rhythm and — on a more nuts and bolts
level — untidy camerawork and a jagged editing style that blur and
mangle Sammo Hung’s action choreography, deny “Three Kingdoms” the stature it tried to achieve with an expensive production.
The film performed above average in China, Taiwan and Korea. In
the West, it may give audiences a feeling of “armor overkill” from
watching a surfeit of Chinese war spectacles.
Maggie Q as a wily female commander looks gorgeous and does
stunts well, but her Eurasian looks and noticeable lip-synching seem
too exotic for such a specific epoch. ∂
S
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news
Name: Laura Hastings-Smith
Born: Feb. 27, 1960
Nationality: British
Selected Filmography: “Hunger” by Steve McQueen
with Blast! Films; “The Lives of the Saints” by Rankin
and Chris Cottam with Dazed Film and TV; “The Love
Doctor” by Jon Sen (TV drama)
EVENTS PROGRAMME
astings-Smith was an established documentary director
H
and producer before setting up
Dazed Film & TV with publishers
Jefferson Hack and photographer
Rankin. Between 2000 and 2005,
she produced a slate of projects
for TV, Internet, mobile phone, live
concert and theatrical platforms,
ranging from the short film
“Perfect” to a spoof-documentary
featuring the cartoon band
Gorillaz plus their creators Damon
Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. In
2005, Laura produced what would be her final project with Dazed
Film & TV, the movie “The Lives of the Saints,” written by Tony
Grisoni and directed by Rankin and Chris Cottam. As an indie producer, “Hunger” is her first movie, co-produced with Robin Gutch and
directed by Turner Prize winner Steve McQueen.
SATURDAY 17 MAY
HOW MICRO CAN YOU GO?
11:00 - 12:00
Essential guide on making low/micro budget films
presented in association with FDMX and Alan Harris of
the Atlantic Film Group.
FINANCE BY TENON MEDIA
11:00 - 13:00
Book 1-2-1 meetings at the information desk.
UK TAX CREDITS AND LOW BUDGET FILMS
13:30 - 14.30
James Bramsdon, a Senior Tax Manager with Tenon Media,
explains the UK Tax Credit system, focusing
on issues relevant to low budget films.
LEGAL BY HILL DICKINSON LLP
What has been the most challenging production you’ve worked on?
I think “Hunger” had many challenges really. It has been an
absolute delight but we had to build a very large set, which wasn’t
really what our budget had planned for. We also just happened to be
shooting in Belfast (Northern Ireland) when there were five other
productions shooting there and that was a challenge.
14:00 - 16:00
Book 1-2-1 meetings at the information desk.
FILM DISTRIBUTION AND THE INTERNET
A LEGAL GUIDE FOR THE MEDIA INDUSTRY
15:00 - 16:00
Lawyer and author Andrew Sparrow’s guide to the legal
implications of new technologies on the TV and film industries.
BIRDS EYE VIEW PRESENTS...
CANNES 2008: THE WOMEN
What project are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of “Hunger” really. I think because it attempts to be
about something that I believe matters and I feel the film has a
tremendous amount of humanity within it.
16:30 - 17:30
Top tips and inspiration from a panel featuring some of the
talented women showing work at Cannes. Followed by
Women in Film and Television reception at 18:30
(Kodak Pavillion).
How do you think being part of Producers on the Move will benefit you?
It’s always hard to know. Cannes is such a fantastic platform. One is
getting exposure that one would otherwise not get. It gives me a
huge opportunity to meet other producers from across Europe.
SUNDAY 18 MAY
• FDMX NETWORKING BREAKFAST
• MINORITY FILMS FOR MAJORITY AUDIENCES
• MAXIMISING YOUR RIGHTS
• FINANCE BY TENON MEDIA
• DEVELOPING AND FUNDING
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
• SECRETS OF CO-PRODUCTION SUCCESS
EMERGING COUNTRIES
• LEGAL BY HILL DICKINSON LLP
• HOW TO QUALIFY AS A BRITISH FILM
08:00 - 10:00
10:30 - 11:30
11:00 - 13:00
The lead character, Irish Republican hunger striker Bobby Sands, is
played by German-born actor Michael Fassbender. How did that come
about?
His father is from Germany and his mother from Northern Ireland
and he was brought up in the south (of Ireland). Liam Cunningham
and Fassbender come from the south and all the other actors are
from the north. They all know the story well from whatever (political) direction they are coming from.
11:00 - 13:00
12:00 - 13:00
14:00 - 15:00
14:00 - 16:00
16:00 - 18:00
Seats are not bookable in advance. If you are interested please come along.
The 1-2-1 surgeries are bookable in person through the UK Film Council desk.
Information available on:
Opening hours 09:00 to 18:30
Pitch me your next project.
I’ve got a number of scripts in development at the first and second
draft stage. Tony Grisoni (writer of “Lives of the Saints”) and I are
looking to begin the development process, and I hope Tony and I
work together again.
UK companies and delegates
British films on sale in Cannes
Tel: +33 (0) 4 93 99 86 17
—Stuart Kemp
www.ukfilmcentre.org.uk
THR.com
|
86
CANNES LINE-UP 2008
BREATH
INTERNATIONAL CRITICS’ WEEK
(short film)
Dir: Margien Rogaar
Prod: BosBros. Film-TV Productions
Wed May 21, 15:00 Espace Miramar
CANNES MARKET SCREENINGS
NOTHING TO LOSE
BLOOD BROTHERS
DUNYA & DESIE
SKIN
Dir: Pieter Kuijpers
Sales: High Point Films & Television
Fri May 16, 11:30 Palais H
Sat May 17, 15:30 Palais H
Mon May 19, 15:30 Palais H
Dir: Arno Dierickx
Sales: NonStop Sales
Wed May 14, 14:00 Palais K
Dir: Dana Nechushtan
Sales: Delphis Films inc.
Fri May 16, 16:00 Palais G
Mon May 19, 16:00 Lerins 2
Dir: Hanro Smitsman
Sales: High Point Films &
Television
Sat May 17, 10:00 Gray 1
Tue May 20, 12:00 Gray 1
2KM2 – A SQUARE VIEW THE SEVEN OF DARAN LEFT
Dir: Carel van Hees, André van der
Hout
Prod: De Aanpak
Wed May 21, 20:00 Palais F
Dir: Lourens Blok
Prod: AAA Pictures
Fri May 16, 14:00 Palais G
Sun May 18, 13:30 Palais H
Wed May 21, 16:00 Palais I
Dir: Froukje Tan
Prod: Fighting Windmills
Tue May 20, 20:00 Palais J
WHERE IS WINKY’S
HORSE?
Dir: Mischa Kamp
Sales: Delphis Films inc.
Sun May 18, 18:00 Palais I
Holland Film at the Cannes Market • Holland Film Pavilion nr. 106 • Ph. +33 492 590 255 • [email protected], www.hollandfilm.nl
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Film Center Serbia proudly presents
| news
Herzog,Lynch bear ‘Son’
Famous helmers double-team murder drama
By Gregg Goldstein
FILMS W
PROJECTS
& TALENTS
Today at the Market
NEW SERBIAN FILMS
Compilation of previews of feature films currently in
production or post production (80 min)
The Ambulance / Hitna pomoć, drama by Goran
Radovanović
Aphocalypse Now / Afokalipsa danas,
documentary by Boris Mitić
The Belgrade Phantom /
Beogradski fantom, thriller by Jovan Todorović Edith & Me /
Edit i ja, animated by Aleksa Gajić
Here and There /
Tamo i ovde, drama/comedy by Darko Lungulov If the Seed
Doesn’t Die / Ako zrno ne umre, drama by Siniša Dragin
Skinning / Šišanje, drama by Stevan Filipović St. George
Shoots the Dragon / Sveti Georgije ubiva aždahu, drama by
Srdjan Dragojević The Tour / Turneja, war comedy by Goran
Marković
Market screening: Gray 5 / May 16th, 12:00
Hotel Gray d’Albion, 38, rue des Serbes
erner Herzog and David
Lynch are teaming for
“My Son, My Son,” a
horror-tinged murder drama
based on a true story.
Herzog and his
longtime assistant director
Herbert Golder
co-wrote “Son,”
loosely based on
the story of a San
Diego man who
Herzog
acts out a Sophocles play in his mind and kills
his mother with a sword. The
low-budget feature will flash
back and forth from the murder
scene to the disturbed man’s
story. A guerrilla-style digital
video shoot on Coronado Island
is set for next March.
In a separate development,
Lynch’s Absurda production
shingle has attached Asia
Argento and Udo Kier to star
with Nick Nolte in Alejandro
Jodorowsky’s metaphysical
gangster movie “King Shot.”
Marilyn Manson also may
appear as a
prophet in the
“Sin City”-style
film, which producer Eric Bassett said has
enough sex and
violence to guarLynch
antee an NC-17
rating.
Lynch is exec producing both
projects, and Absurda is repping
sales rights in Cannes.
“Son” is produced by Bassett,
who also is producing “King”
with his Absurda colleague
Norm Hill and Clavis Films’
Simon Shandor. ∂
Norway film hosts a tent revival
By Scott Roxborough
he Norwegian film industry has arrived in force in
Cannes, riding high on the
recent boxoffice surge of local
titles and accompanied by an
odd, teepee-like structure now
pitched on the lawn outside the
Grand Hotel.
The traditional structure —
called a “sami lavvo” in case
you’re wondering — is part of a
marketing gimmick to promote
Nils Gaup’s historical saga “The
Kautokeino Rebellion,” which
has been a huge hit at home. But
T
it is also emblematic of a new
sense of confidence pouring out
of Norway.
The country’s three main film
financing bodies merged last
month to form a single centralized body to divvy up about $60
million in production subsidies
every year and Norway’s oilrich government has set ambitious growth targets.
By 2010, Norway wants local
films to account for a quarter of
the national boxoffice — up from
last year’s 16% — and to double
the international sales revenue
for Norwegian titles. ∂
Spain’s Pataky looks to steal Vergara’s ‘Thunder’
To meet directors & producers,
join us today at 17:00
Film Center Serbia
Village International, Pavilion 136
Tel: 04 93 99 85 52
Cell: 06 14 65 49 26
[email protected] / www.fcs.rs
THR.com
|
By Pamela Rolfe
panish
actress Elsa
Pataky has
been cast as the
hero’s girlfriend,
Sigrid of Thule,
in Maltes’ $30
million “Captain Pataky
Thunder.”
“It would be difficult to find a
more perfect actress for the part
of Sigrid,” producer-director
Pau Vergara said. “Elsa is bilin-
S
gual, she even physically resembles Captain Thunder’s girlfriend and she’s a tremendously
popular actress in Spain and
known in Europe.”
Walt Disney Motion Pictures
Iberia holds Spanish rights and
first option on U.S. distribution
for the movie based on Spain’s
popular comic book hero, known
as “Captian Trueno” in Spanish.
Captain Thunder is a 12thcentury knight-errant who
wanders the world fighting
injustice. ∂
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| news
Outsider
Vladimir
Volkoff’s novel
“L’interrogatoire” and producers are seeking an
Anglo-Saxon Alist cast. A twoTavernier
time Palme d’Or
winner, August’s most recent
director credit was the Nelson
Mandela prison guard story
“Goodbye Bafana.”
Tavernier’s “The Princess of
Montpensier,” co-produced by
Paris-based companies Ocean
Films and Paradis Films, also is
set to start shooting in early
2009. “Princess,” described by
Outsider president Laurent
Brochand as “a 16th-century
‘Indochine,’ ” is expecting a
star-studded Gallic cast. Tavernier recently completed the
James Lee Burke adaptation
“In the Electric Mist” starring
Tommy Lee Jones.
Elsewhere, Outsider will
kick off shooting on Olivier
Doran’s comedy “Le Coach”
Hyde Park
lion of equity and debt for the
production of feature films.
Hyde Park Asia’s offices will be
based in Singapore.
“Singapore is the perfect
city to base our new Asian
offices,” Amritraj said. “Asia
has wonderful talent and facilities, along with great growth
potential.”
MDA CEO Christopher
Chia, said that he expects the
production fund to boost Singapore’s status as a global
media city and attract more
“Singapore is the
perfect city to base our
new Asian offices. Asia
has wonderful talent
and facilities, along
with great growth
potential.”
— Ashok Amritraj
exciting film projects and talents. Hyde Park Asia will produce or co-produce three to
four films per year, consisting
THR.com
Page 90
|
Tavernier recently
completed the James
Lee Burke adaptation
“In the Electric Mist”
starring Tommy Lee
Jones.
on July 15 in Paris. The €6.8
million ($10.5 million) project
about a life coach guiding both
his patients through sports,
politics, business and love,
stars Jean-Paul Rouve and
Richard Berry alongside “Welcome to the Sticks” star Anne
Marivin.
Released by Mars Distribution in France, “Coach” is coproduced by Canal Plus and
mobile operator Orange’s film
arm, Studio 37, which also is
handling international sales.
Outsider also will be heading to the Canadian slopes
soon to shoot skiing comedy
“Hors Piste,” a €6 million-€8
million ($9.3 million -$12.4
million) Franco-Canadian coproduction from director Eric
Delcourt and starring
Stephane Rousseau. ∂
of a mixture of major Hollywood films and cross-cultural
titles aimed at a global
audience.
Hyde Park already has various films shooting in Asia
including “Street Fighter: The
Legend of Chun-Li,” which is
based on the Japanese “Street
Fighter” video game franchise;
and “The Other End of the
Line,” a romantic comedy that
recently wrapped and will be
released by MGM.
As an East/West conduit,
Hyde Park Asia will discover
new talent throughout the
continent and will provide a
platform for actors and filmmakers to segue into
Hollywood films.
In India, Amritraj already
has a three-picture deal with
Adlabs Films, the movie arm of
the conglom Reliance Entertainment. Adlabs also may be
involved in co-financing films
with Hyde Park Asia.
Hyde Park International,
the foreign sales arm of the
Hyde Park Entertainment
Group, headed by sales
veteran Lisa Wilson, will
handle all foreign territories.
Hyde Park Asia will arrange
North American distribution
for the company’s pics. ∂
Paramount
the films PPI could do well with
theatrically.
“We are hoping that this relationship becomes a long-term
thing,” Cripps said. “We’re
delighted to have this deal in
place right before we even open
our offices in Spain.”
PPI’s new office in Spain follows
the carve-up of UIP’s distribution
network, when Par and Universal
broke up their international distribution joint venture in 2006.
“This is part of our strategy as
we set up international offices.
We want to be in business with
local filmmakers, and Gomez is
one of the best,” Cripps said.
The local Par outfit is expected
to get into business with other
Spanish producers once the
operation is up and running.
A. Zeta signed a distribution
“We are hoping that this
relationship becomes a
long-term thing. We’re
delighted to have this
deal in place right before
we even open our offices
in Spain.”
— Andrew Cripps
pact with Universal in September
2007 to handle video and DVD distribution that won’t be immediately affected by the pact with PPI.
Gomez is one of Spain’s most
established producers, with past
credits including “Belle Epoque,”
“The Dancer Upstairs” and “The
Common Wealth.”
A major figure on the Spanish
scene, Gomez has recently
jumped on the 3-D bandwagon,
with a €40 million animated
musical feature called “Genies,”
which forms part of the PPI theatrical deal.
“Genies” is set up at Gomez’s
RadioPlus production house, a
company he co-owns with Spanish journalist Concha GarciaCampoy. India’s Toonz Animation and Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom
TV are backing the project.
“I’m getting more interested in
animation,” Gomez said. “The
project was inspired by Saudi
Arabia’s King Abdullah National
Gardens.”
“Genies” enters the fantasy
world of Geniland that encompasses all civilizations, with original versions being produced in
English, Spanish and Hindi. ∂
Cannes
Daily Edition
Hotel Palais Stéphanie
(formerly the Noga Hilton)
50 boulevard de la Croisette
phone: 04.93.38.29.01
fax: 06.92.99.69.36
Eric Mika,
Publisher
Elizabeth Guider,
Editor
E D I T O R I A L
David Morgan (Deputy Editor),
Gregg Kilday (Film Editor),
Stuart Kemp (U.K. Bureau Chief),
Scott Roxborough (Germany Bureau
Chief), Charles Masters (Associate
Editor), Gregg Goldstein (N.Y. Film
Reporter), Steven Zeitchik (N.Y. Senior
Writer), Pamela Rolfe (Spain Bureau
Chief), Rebecca Leffler (France
Correspondent), Eric J. Lyman (Italy
Correspondent), Chad Williams
(Int’l News Editor), Ralf Ludemann
(Copy Editor), Isabelle Ramsden
(Proofreader)
A R T + D E S I G N
Deeann J. Hoff (Director – Art+Design),
Emily Johnson (Senior Designer)
R E V I E W S
Kirk Honeycutt (Chief Film Critic),
Ray Bennett (U.K. Film Critic),
Deborah Young (Chief Int’l Film Critic),
Duane Byrge (Film Critic),
Maggie Lee (Film Critic),
Peter Brunette (Film Critic)
A D V E R T I S I N G
Tommaso Campione (International
Executive Director), Alison Smith
(International Sales Director),
Damjana Finci Baskot (Account
Manager, Eastern Europe), Ivy Lam
(Asia Sales & Marketing Manager),
Andrew Goldstein (Acct. Manager,
Independent Films), Nina Pragasam
(International Marketing Manager)
O P E R A T I O N S + I T
Kelly Jones (Production Director),
Gregg Edwards (Senior Production
Manager), Armen Sarkisian
(Network Administrator)
G E N E R A L
Sylvie Tucker (Office Manager),
Julie Brown (Office Manager)
Gerry Byrne
Senior Vice President,
The Entertainment Group
Copyright ©2008 Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval
system or transmitted, in any form or by any
means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise — without the
prior written permission of the publisher.
90
E N T E R T A I N M E N T
presents
7
Heather G RA HAM
John CO RBE TT
Jerry O’CO NNE LL
Lara FLY NN BOY LE
Surprises come in small packages
ENTERTAINMENT 7 PRESENTS BIG SHOOT PRODUCTIONS IN ASSOCIATION WITH A PLUS PRODUCTIONS BABY ON BOARD
HEATHER GRAHAM JOHN CORBETT JERRY O’CONNELL AND LARA FLYNN BOYLE
PRODUCTION DESIGNER LISA WOLFF MANDZIARA DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY DENIS MALONEY
CASTING LOUIS DIGIAIMO EDITOR ROSS ALBERT WRITTEN BY RUSSELL SCALISE&MICHAEL HAMILTON WRIGHT
PRODUCED BY RUSSELL SCALISE PRODUCED BY EMILIO FERRARI DIRECTED BY BRIAN HERZLINGER
SCREENINGS:
MAY 17, 9:30 PALAIS G
MAY 19, 9:30 PALAIS G
CANNES 2008. CARLTON, ROOM 264
CORPORATE: 15030 VENTURA BLVD., SUITE 762. SHERMAN OAKS, CA 91403
TEL: 818/709-9595 FAX: 818/709-9597 [email protected] www.ent7.com
Entertainment7_D3_05_16_08.indd 1
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‘Jerks’
radical Islam a hot topic for
international media, it is bound
to attract interest from buyers.
The movie’s starting point is
the publication of 10 caricatures by Danish paper Jyllands
Posten, which prompted
protests and flag-burning in
sections of the Arab/Muslim
community worldwide.
When the caricatures were
subsequently printed by Gallic
paper Charlie Hebdo, the satirical weekly added a front-cover
cartoon portraying Mohammed
weeping into his hands and
declaring: “It’s tough being
loved by jerks,” in specific
refer-=ence to Islamic fundamentalists.
The publication prompted the
Paris Mosque and other Muslim
organizations to start legal pro-
Hayter
videogame adaptation of the
martial arts-filled “Tekken.”
Steven Paul’s CSP will
finance, produce and rep Cannes
sales for the Hayter films. The
first, to begin production later
this year, will follow a young
hero’s quest, and the second, set
for 2009, will center on a high
school with a “Harry Potter”esque superhero. Each is budgeted at about $30 million.
CSP’s Cannes slate also
includes CGI-filled robot boy
adventure “Robosapien: Re-
Spies
Un is handling international sales
at the Cannes film market where
producers Marathon and Studio
37 hope to finalize their budget.
Based on the TV series about
three average Beverly Hills
teenage girls who accidentally
become international secret
agents, the film will explain
what the series has yet to
address, namely how the heroines became secret agents to
begin with.
“It’s ‘Clueless’ meets ‘James
Bond,’ ” Marathon Media CEO
and general manager David
Michel said. “We didn’t want to
just make a long episode of the
series. Our job is to make a good
film for fans and also show parTHR.com
|
| news
ceedings for “insult towards a
group of people on grounds of
their religion” — interpreted by
the plaintiffs as racism.
“If the plaintiffs win this case,
we won’t wake up in the same
France,” “Shoah” director
Claude Lanzmann, who testified
at the trial, comments in the film.
Leconte, who was also called
as a witness, produced “It’s
Tough” through his production
banner Films En Stock. Paychannel Canal Plus came on
board as did French independent Pyramide, which took
French theatrical rights and
international sales, with all
other territories available going
into Cannes.
The film follows the build up
to the trial and recreates the
arguments that were presented
in court through interviews with
many of the principal protagonists. The verdict cleared Charlie Hebdo of the charges. ∂
booted”; the “Freaky Friday”style comedy “Opposite Day”; a
sequel to John Woo’s “HardBoiled”; videogame adaptation
“Castlevania”; and Giuseppe
Tornatore’s “The Lady.”
A Cannes vet, “Ghost Rider”
producer Paul was just 22 when
he first arrived repping worldwide sales for his 1980 directorial debut “Falling in Love Again,”
starring Elliott Gould and
Susannah York. He quickly
returned to Cannes with his
1982 adaptation of his friend
Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slapstick,”
which was titled “Slapstick (Of
Another Kind)” and starred Jerry
Lewis and Madeline Kahn. ∂
ents they won’t be bored.”
The TV series “Totally
Spies!” is on air in more than
166 territories and is the toprated TV toon in France on TF1.
With five seasons and more
than 130 episodes under its
belt, “Spies!” ranks among the
top five highest-rated children’s
programs in the world.
The film marks Marathon
Media’s first feature film effort
and Studio 37’s second animated production after “Les Lascars,” which will hit Gallic
screens in May of 2009.
Marathon Media, co-run by
Vincent Chalvon Demersay, has
two other original animated
features in development, but is
waiting to see how “Spies” performs before investing heavily
in projects. ∂
92
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| news
A new red carpet view,if you can afford it
By Charles Masters
nyone having trouble
finding a room on the
Croisette will be pleased to
hear that 45 brand new suites
are being built at the Majestic
Barriere. The rub is, they won’t
be on stream until the 2010 festival.
But once completed, the huge
building site opposite the Palais
des Festivals will be transformed into luxury hotel space
with an unrivaled view over the
red carpet.
“It’ll be the best view of the
Palais steps you can get,” said
Dominique Desseigne, president of Groupe Lucien Barriere,
which owns the Majestic.
The extension, built on the
site of the former Bank of
France building, will comprise a
range of suites including two
vast ones that feature a private
pool and solarium, costing a
cool $50,000 per night.
A
“It’ll be the best view of
the Palais steps you
can get.”
— Dominique Desseigne,
president, Groupe
Lucien Barriere
budgeted at more than $110
million.
VIP guests at the hotel this
year include jury members Natalie Portman and Marjane Satrapi,
“Che” star Benicio del Toro and
“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
director Woody Allen.
Groupe Lucien Barriere has
The new wing also will house
a conference facilities, boutiques and a beauty spa.
Mercifully for those staying
in the hotel this year, construction work has been called to a
halt for the duration of the
festival.
Desseigne said he expects the
new rooms to be snapped up for
future Croisette campaigns.
“We could rent the rooms 10
times over during the festival,”
he said.
The extension follows a major
renovation of the existing 305
rooms and the rest of the hotel.
The total Majestic overhaul is
long-standing links with cinema, playing a leading role in
organizing the Festival of
American Cinema in Deauville,
Normandy. The group also
owns Le Fouquet’s restaurant on
the Champs Elysees, which
hosts the annual post-Cesar
Awards dinner. ∂
‘Butterfly’kiss from BenderSpink,FilmEngine
By Gregg Kilday
enderSpink and FilmEngine will produce the third installment of “The Butterfly Effect” along with After Dark
Films, which will distribute it theatrically stateside as part
of its After Dark Horrorfest “8 Films to Die For” series.
After Dark CEO Courtney Solomon will executive produce
along with the company’s Laura Ivey and Stephanie Caleb. Ellen
Wander’s FilmBridge is handling foreign sales in Cannes.
Holly Brix (“The Lost Girls”) wrote the screenplay about a
young man, with the power to time-travel, who attempts to
solve the mystery of his high school girlfriend’s death. Production will start Sept. 1 in Vancouver.
B
“CON I NOSTRI MIGLIORI AUGURI”
Thank you very much, let me know if all is O.K.
Laura Indiveri
THR.com
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about town
THR.com/cannes
friday, may 16, 2008 | day 3
Capers on the Croisette
Kung Fu Panda
PHOTO CALL
Actor Jack Black marches down the red carpet flanked
by beaucoup bears at the “Kung Fu Panda” photocall
Wednesday at the Palais.
Blindness PREMIERE
Leonera PHOTO CALL
Actress Elli Medeiros, director Pablo Trapero, and
actress Martina Gusman blow air kisses during the
“Leonera” photo call Thursday.
THR.com
|
Actress Julianne Moore and actor
Gael Garcia Bernal pose as
they arrive to attend the
opening ceremony and
the premiere of “Blindness.”
More about
town online.
96
KUNG FU PANDA, DAVE HOGAN/GETTY IMAGES; SEAN PENN, FRANCOIS DURAND/GETTY IMAGES; LEONERA, SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES; BLINDNESS, FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
TAKE A CHANCE ON ART:
Sean Penn took the mic
opening day to urge distributors
to pay attention to the films
here — even those that don’t
take home the awards.
Promoted by
Main partner
THE
Produced by
BUSINESS STREET
THIRD EDITION
AUTUMN IN ROME
THE
KEY
PLACE FOR YOUR
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MEET US AT THE
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MIPCOM - The world’s audiovisual content market
13 - 17 October 2008
Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France
www.mipcom.com
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CJ Enter HC D3 05_16_08

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