Exclusive: Film Movement has acquired U.S. and Canadian distribution rights to the acclaimed documentary Obsessed with Light, which explores the influence of one of the most remarkable figures in American arts – dancer-choreographer Loïe Fuller.
Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum directed the film, which premiered at the 2023 Rome Film Festival and has screened at Doc NYC, Hamptons Doc Fest, the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and the Cleveland International Film Festival. Tony Award winner Cherry Jones provides the voice of Fuller, while actress Erin Anderson provides the voice of Isadora Duncan, another pioneer of American dance.
Loïe Fuller
Fuller became a cultural sensation through her innovative use of lighting techniques in her stage performances.
“Obsessed with Light is a meditation on light and the enduring obsession to create,” notes a description of the documentary. “The film...
Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum directed the film, which premiered at the 2023 Rome Film Festival and has screened at Doc NYC, Hamptons Doc Fest, the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and the Cleveland International Film Festival. Tony Award winner Cherry Jones provides the voice of Fuller, while actress Erin Anderson provides the voice of Isadora Duncan, another pioneer of American dance.
Loïe Fuller
Fuller became a cultural sensation through her innovative use of lighting techniques in her stage performances.
“Obsessed with Light is a meditation on light and the enduring obsession to create,” notes a description of the documentary. “The film...
- 4/18/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
After Blue (Bertrand Mandico)
In the post-apocalyptic nightmare of After Blue, humanity—or what’s left of it—roams a former paradise turned wasteland. The Armageddon that wrecked the Earth in some undetermined past left no machines behind, no screens, and, perhaps most conspicuously, no men. In the distant planet the human race fled to, and which writer-director Bertrand Mandico’s film is named after, “they were the first to die,” we’re warned early on: “their hairs grew inside them, and killed them.” As it was for its predecessor, The Wild Boys, After Blue is suffused in a feverish ecstasy, that wild excitement that comes from a watching one world crumble and another jutting into being from scratch, a vision of...
After Blue (Bertrand Mandico)
In the post-apocalyptic nightmare of After Blue, humanity—or what’s left of it—roams a former paradise turned wasteland. The Armageddon that wrecked the Earth in some undetermined past left no machines behind, no screens, and, perhaps most conspicuously, no men. In the distant planet the human race fled to, and which writer-director Bertrand Mandico’s film is named after, “they were the first to die,” we’re warned early on: “their hairs grew inside them, and killed them.” As it was for its predecessor, The Wild Boys, After Blue is suffused in a feverish ecstasy, that wild excitement that comes from a watching one world crumble and another jutting into being from scratch, a vision of...
- 3/22/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Step into the enchanting world of dance with the legendary Dame Darcey Bussell as she takes center stage in “Darcey Bussell on The Magic of Dance.” Set to grace the screens at 11:10 Pm on Monday, January 1, 2024, on BBC Four, this special episode is a journey into the BBC’s dance archives, featuring the timeless gem, The Magic of Dance, originally transmitted in 1979 and hosted by the iconic Margot Fonteyn.
Dame Darcey, herself a renowned ballet dancer, guides viewers through her favorite moments of the series, unveiling the magic of dance through the lens of celebrated performances. From the cool tap masterclass with Sammy Davis Jr. to the exquisite routine by the Latvian virtuoso Mikhail Baryshnikov, and a glimpse into the innovative world of modern dance with Isadora Duncan, the episode promises a captivating exploration of the art form’s rich history. For dance enthusiasts and novices alike, “Darcey Bussell...
Dame Darcey, herself a renowned ballet dancer, guides viewers through her favorite moments of the series, unveiling the magic of dance through the lens of celebrated performances. From the cool tap masterclass with Sammy Davis Jr. to the exquisite routine by the Latvian virtuoso Mikhail Baryshnikov, and a glimpse into the innovative world of modern dance with Isadora Duncan, the episode promises a captivating exploration of the art form’s rich history. For dance enthusiasts and novices alike, “Darcey Bussell...
- 12/26/2023
- by Posts UK
- TV Everyday
Celebration of the legendary New York hotel and haven for actors, artists and musicians that spills secrets of squalor, celebrity and death
Earlier this year saw the release of Dreaming Walls, an interesting if meanderingly vague film about New York’s legendary Hotel Chelsea; the place which is actually an apartment building and artist colony, famous for residents and habitués including Andy Warhol, Sid Vicious, Isadora Duncan, Dylan Thomas and Arthur Miller. That rather downbeat film emphasised the efforts of longterm residents to stay in the building after it was bought by new owners who allegedly wanted to sanitise and gentrify it. Here is a second documentary which is far more celebratory, with far more interviewees, far more sexy name-dropping and more uproarious anecdotes, especially about the friendly ghosts who allegedly roam its corridors.
Again, this film pays tribute to the building’s manager Stanley Bard, who cultivated its reputation...
Earlier this year saw the release of Dreaming Walls, an interesting if meanderingly vague film about New York’s legendary Hotel Chelsea; the place which is actually an apartment building and artist colony, famous for residents and habitués including Andy Warhol, Sid Vicious, Isadora Duncan, Dylan Thomas and Arthur Miller. That rather downbeat film emphasised the efforts of longterm residents to stay in the building after it was bought by new owners who allegedly wanted to sanitise and gentrify it. Here is a second documentary which is far more celebratory, with far more interviewees, far more sexy name-dropping and more uproarious anecdotes, especially about the friendly ghosts who allegedly roam its corridors.
Again, this film pays tribute to the building’s manager Stanley Bard, who cultivated its reputation...
- 10/5/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Award
British actor Vanessa Redgrave will receive the European Lifetime Achievement award for her outstanding body of work at the European Film Awards.
Hailing from an illustrious family of actors, Redgrave’s first lead in “Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment” (1966), by Karel Reisz, won her best actress at Cannes and scored BAFTA and Oscar nominations. She returned to Cannes in the following year as Jane, the mysterious woman in the park in “Blow Up” by Michelangelo Antonioni.
More Oscar nominations followed – in 1969 for her performance as Isadora Duncan in “Isadora” by Reisz, which again won her best actress at Cannes, and in 1972 for “Mary, Queen of Scots, by Charles Jarrott – which won her a special David at Italy’s David di Donatello Awards. Her performance in Fred Zinnemann’s “Julia” (1978) won her an Oscar, and she scored further nominations for James Ivory’s “The Bostonians” (1985) and “Howards End” (1993). In...
British actor Vanessa Redgrave will receive the European Lifetime Achievement award for her outstanding body of work at the European Film Awards.
Hailing from an illustrious family of actors, Redgrave’s first lead in “Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment” (1966), by Karel Reisz, won her best actress at Cannes and scored BAFTA and Oscar nominations. She returned to Cannes in the following year as Jane, the mysterious woman in the park in “Blow Up” by Michelangelo Antonioni.
More Oscar nominations followed – in 1969 for her performance as Isadora Duncan in “Isadora” by Reisz, which again won her best actress at Cannes, and in 1972 for “Mary, Queen of Scots, by Charles Jarrott – which won her a special David at Italy’s David di Donatello Awards. Her performance in Fred Zinnemann’s “Julia” (1978) won her an Oscar, and she scored further nominations for James Ivory’s “The Bostonians” (1985) and “Howards End” (1993). In...
- 9/20/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Award will be presented at European Film Awards in Berlin on December 9.
The European Film Academy is to present Dame Vanessa Redgrave with its European Lifetime Achievement Award at the 36th European Film Awards in Berlin on December 9.
Redgrave’s first lead film role was in Morgan: A Suitable Case For Treatment (1966) by Karel Reisz which won her the best actress award in Cannes saw her nominated both the BAFTAs and the Oscars.
Redgrave returned to Cannes the following year as Jane, the mysterious woman in the park in Blow Up by Michelangelo Antonioni.
She won best actress again at...
The European Film Academy is to present Dame Vanessa Redgrave with its European Lifetime Achievement Award at the 36th European Film Awards in Berlin on December 9.
Redgrave’s first lead film role was in Morgan: A Suitable Case For Treatment (1966) by Karel Reisz which won her the best actress award in Cannes saw her nominated both the BAFTAs and the Oscars.
Redgrave returned to Cannes the following year as Jane, the mysterious woman in the park in Blow Up by Michelangelo Antonioni.
She won best actress again at...
- 9/20/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
We know the traumatized need the sense of safety to properly heal. But does art about trauma benefit from feeling safe?
That’s the nagging question that comes close to undermining the effect of “Drift,” the title referring to the unmoored state of mind in a homeless survivor of war-ravaged Liberia wandering the coastal edges of a blithely touristy Greece. Her portrayer Cynthia Erivo, however, is only ever a magnetic anchor in “Ilo Ilo” filmmaker Anthony Chen’s quietly compassionate if ultimately predictable drama.
Adapted from the 2013 novel “A Marker to Measure Drift” by Alexander Maksik (also a credited co-screenwriter with Susanne Farrell), the film follows refugee Jacqueline (Erivo), who in the beginning we see cadging food (or just sugar packets) from vacated tables at restaurants, staring at the rippling sea for long stretches and sleeping in a cave on a makeshift mattress made from plastic bags of sand. As...
That’s the nagging question that comes close to undermining the effect of “Drift,” the title referring to the unmoored state of mind in a homeless survivor of war-ravaged Liberia wandering the coastal edges of a blithely touristy Greece. Her portrayer Cynthia Erivo, however, is only ever a magnetic anchor in “Ilo Ilo” filmmaker Anthony Chen’s quietly compassionate if ultimately predictable drama.
Adapted from the 2013 novel “A Marker to Measure Drift” by Alexander Maksik (also a credited co-screenwriter with Susanne Farrell), the film follows refugee Jacqueline (Erivo), who in the beginning we see cadging food (or just sugar packets) from vacated tables at restaurants, staring at the rippling sea for long stretches and sleeping in a cave on a makeshift mattress made from plastic bags of sand. As...
- 1/22/2023
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
Quentin Tarantino exploded onto the filmmaking scene in 1992 with "Reservoir Dogs," a hang-out film in which eight gangsters hole up in a warehouse after a diamond heist gone horribly wrong. His gift for profane dialogue riddled with pop-culture references was pitched straight to the wheelhouse of Gen X couch potatoes who grew up on syndicated TV series and MTV, but it was his penchant for casual brutality that drew the admiration/ire of critics and moviegoers. People were howling one second and aghast the next. Who was this weirdo? What warped his brain to such a degree that he thought people would get off on this macabrely funny collision of sensibilities?
It was, as he's explained hundreds of times throughout his career — but never more cogently than in his just-released book "Cinema Speculation" — trips to the movies. His mother partially encouraged his cinephilia, but Tarantino was largely a self-taught movie buff.
It was, as he's explained hundreds of times throughout his career — but never more cogently than in his just-released book "Cinema Speculation" — trips to the movies. His mother partially encouraged his cinephilia, but Tarantino was largely a self-taught movie buff.
- 11/17/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
When the Soyuz Ms-19 spaceship blasts off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome on Oct. 5, bound for the International Space Station, Vadim Vereschagin – CEO of production and distribution giant Central Partnership – believes his company’s prospects will likewise lift into the stratosphere.
Onboard the ship will be director Klim Shipenko and actor Yulia Peresild, who are setting out on a 12-day mission to film scenes from the upcoming drama “The Challenge” aboard the station. Produced by public broadcaster Channel One and leading studio Yellow, Black and White, in collaboration with the Russian space agency Roscosmos, the first-of-its-kind feature will be distributed by Central Partnership.
Vereschagin says the cosmic shoot is a “dream” for him personally, as well as a fitting milestone for a company that’s celebrating its quarter-century anniversary this year. “This project, for us, is the pinnacle of all the 25 years that we’ve done so far,” he says.
Onboard the ship will be director Klim Shipenko and actor Yulia Peresild, who are setting out on a 12-day mission to film scenes from the upcoming drama “The Challenge” aboard the station. Produced by public broadcaster Channel One and leading studio Yellow, Black and White, in collaboration with the Russian space agency Roscosmos, the first-of-its-kind feature will be distributed by Central Partnership.
Vereschagin says the cosmic shoot is a “dream” for him personally, as well as a fitting milestone for a company that’s celebrating its quarter-century anniversary this year. “This project, for us, is the pinnacle of all the 25 years that we’ve done so far,” he says.
- 10/4/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Russian production and distribution powerhouse Central Partnership and the Latin American film group Bf Films have announced their first co-production, Variety can reveal.
“Schizophrenic” is a psychological horror film set in the real world of severe mental disorder. Dark stories of real patients will serve as inspiration, and a variety of schizophrenia symptoms are part of the script, including conspiracy theories and altered reality perception.
The story was created by J.P. Jacobsen, and the script is being written by Hernany Perla whose scripts have twice been featured on Hollywood’s Black List. Perla is represented by Verve, Anonymous Content and attorney Marios Rush.
The film’s director and cast are currently being scouted and will be announced in the coming months. The project will be shot in English by an international team working in Russia in late 2021 or early 2022. Executive producing are Bf Films partner and CEO Carlos Hansen...
“Schizophrenic” is a psychological horror film set in the real world of severe mental disorder. Dark stories of real patients will serve as inspiration, and a variety of schizophrenia symptoms are part of the script, including conspiracy theories and altered reality perception.
The story was created by J.P. Jacobsen, and the script is being written by Hernany Perla whose scripts have twice been featured on Hollywood’s Black List. Perla is represented by Verve, Anonymous Content and attorney Marios Rush.
The film’s director and cast are currently being scouted and will be announced in the coming months. The project will be shot in English by an international team working in Russia in late 2021 or early 2022. Executive producing are Bf Films partner and CEO Carlos Hansen...
- 6/8/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Production in Russia has continued apace throughout much of the coronavirus pandemic, and a broad slate of titles launching at the virtual edition of this year’s European Film Market — from high-concept period dramas to psychological thrillers to horror pics — will look to tap into international interest in the fast-growing industry. “For us, it’s business as usual — boosting that potential,” says Vadim Vereshchagin, CEO of Central Partnership.
During EFM, Vereshchagin’s production and distribution outfit will launch sales on a raft of titles including “The World Champion,” a drama based on the legendary 1978 chess match between Soviet world champion Anatoly Karpov and the dissident Viktor Korchnoi. The co-production with Nikita Mikhalkov’s Studio TriTe and pubcaster Russia-1 is directed by Alexey Sidorov, who helmed the WWII blockbuster “T-34.”
Set in the noir atmosphere of 1920s Russia, “December” follows the last days of Sergey Yesenin, a famous Russian poet and...
During EFM, Vereshchagin’s production and distribution outfit will launch sales on a raft of titles including “The World Champion,” a drama based on the legendary 1978 chess match between Soviet world champion Anatoly Karpov and the dissident Viktor Korchnoi. The co-production with Nikita Mikhalkov’s Studio TriTe and pubcaster Russia-1 is directed by Alexey Sidorov, who helmed the WWII blockbuster “T-34.”
Set in the noir atmosphere of 1920s Russia, “December” follows the last days of Sergey Yesenin, a famous Russian poet and...
- 3/4/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Soaring local box office has pushed the Russian film industry to new heights in recent years, even despite a downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but Vadim Vereshchagin, CEO of leading production and distribution company Central Partnership, says introducing fresh Russian talent to the world remains his outfit’s top priority.
“For us, it’s business as usual—boosting that potential,” Vereshchagin tells Variety. “We’re getting more experience on which titles we should be making. Right now, every big-budget title we make, we’re thinking about the international market as well.” The challenge, he says, “is to get the right stories being made which would be appealing to general international audiences.”
With a library that includes films from top U.S. and European studios, as well as an extensive catalog of arthouse and commercial Russian movies, Central Partnership has been a leading distributor for nearly two decades. After ramping up production in recent years,...
“For us, it’s business as usual—boosting that potential,” Vereshchagin tells Variety. “We’re getting more experience on which titles we should be making. Right now, every big-budget title we make, we’re thinking about the international market as well.” The challenge, he says, “is to get the right stories being made which would be appealing to general international audiences.”
With a library that includes films from top U.S. and European studios, as well as an extensive catalog of arthouse and commercial Russian movies, Central Partnership has been a leading distributor for nearly two decades. After ramping up production in recent years,...
- 2/18/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
For our most comprehensive year-end feature we’re providing a cumulative look at The Film Stage’s favorite films of 2020. We’ve asked contributors to compile ten-best lists with five honorable mentions—a selection of those personal lists will be shared in the coming days—and after tallying votes, a top 50 has been assembled.
It should be noted that, unlike our other year-end features, we placed no requirement on a selection being a U.S theatrical release, so you may see some repeats from last year and a few we’ll certainly discuss more over the next twelve months. So: without further ado, check out our rundown of 2020 below, our ongoing year-end coverage here (including where to stream many of the below picks), and return in the coming weeks as we look towards 2021.
50. The Metamorphosis of Birds (Catarina Vasconcelos)
The most purely, incandescently beautiful movie of the year is a...
It should be noted that, unlike our other year-end features, we placed no requirement on a selection being a U.S theatrical release, so you may see some repeats from last year and a few we’ll certainly discuss more over the next twelve months. So: without further ado, check out our rundown of 2020 below, our ongoing year-end coverage here (including where to stream many of the below picks), and return in the coming weeks as we look towards 2021.
50. The Metamorphosis of Birds (Catarina Vasconcelos)
The most purely, incandescently beautiful movie of the year is a...
- 12/24/2020
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
A version of this story about Jim Parsons and “Hollywood” first appeared in the Emmy Hot List issue of TheWrap’s Emmy magazine.
When Jim Parsons was first offered the role of talent agent Henry Willson in Ryan Murphy’s limited series “Hollywood,” he was in what he figured would be a slow, contemplative stretch in his career. “I kind of had been preparing myself for the vast desert of ‘What’s next?’ that I knew was going to come after ‘The Big Bang Theory’ ended,” he said. “And I kind of looked forward to wandering around and figuring out more precisely, ‘What do you want?'”
But during the shooting of the upcoming, Murphy-produced and Joe Mantello-directed Netflix adaptation of the Broadway play “The Boys in the Band,” Murphy derailed Parsons’ plans for some time off by pitching him on “Hollywood.” The miniseries, which was nominated for a dozen Emmys,...
When Jim Parsons was first offered the role of talent agent Henry Willson in Ryan Murphy’s limited series “Hollywood,” he was in what he figured would be a slow, contemplative stretch in his career. “I kind of had been preparing myself for the vast desert of ‘What’s next?’ that I knew was going to come after ‘The Big Bang Theory’ ended,” he said. “And I kind of looked forward to wandering around and figuring out more precisely, ‘What do you want?'”
But during the shooting of the upcoming, Murphy-produced and Joe Mantello-directed Netflix adaptation of the Broadway play “The Boys in the Band,” Murphy derailed Parsons’ plans for some time off by pitching him on “Hollywood.” The miniseries, which was nominated for a dozen Emmys,...
- 8/20/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Jim Parsons really knows how to play lecherous and repugnant.
Just take a look at his work as Henry Willson in “Hollywood,” a new Netflix drama from Ryan Murphy. Wilson, a ruthless powerbroker whose clients included Rock Hudson, Lana Turner, Robert Wagner and Tab Hunter, was a sexual predator who preyed on young men trying to make it in show business.
Despite the makeup and fake teeth, hair and eyes, Parsons is far from physically unrecognizable in the role. Still, the actor says he had never felt such “freedom” in front of the camera while portraying Wilson.
“I had a friend watch it. She wrote me and said — and I thought this was very well put — ‘It’s not that it doesn’t look like you. It’s not like anybody would notice that and say, ‘Who the hell is that?’ It’s like you were shot through a spider web covered creepy filter,...
Just take a look at his work as Henry Willson in “Hollywood,” a new Netflix drama from Ryan Murphy. Wilson, a ruthless powerbroker whose clients included Rock Hudson, Lana Turner, Robert Wagner and Tab Hunter, was a sexual predator who preyed on young men trying to make it in show business.
Despite the makeup and fake teeth, hair and eyes, Parsons is far from physically unrecognizable in the role. Still, the actor says he had never felt such “freedom” in front of the camera while portraying Wilson.
“I had a friend watch it. She wrote me and said — and I thought this was very well put — ‘It’s not that it doesn’t look like you. It’s not like anybody would notice that and say, ‘Who the hell is that?’ It’s like you were shot through a spider web covered creepy filter,...
- 5/28/2020
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
It would be a great mistake, sight unseen, to pigeonhole Ulrike Ottinger’s “Paris Calligrammes” as just another nostalgia-filled personal documentary about how amazing life was in Paris in the 1960s. Where others self-servingly wax lyrical about being in the nexus of the Left Bank’s Golden Age of hipness and activism, Ottinger takes us through this formative time of her life in a way that deftly balances past and present to paint a picture of a threshold era of both positives and negatives.
Recounted in the director’s own measured voiceover (the English version features Jenny Agutter while the French version has Fanny Ardant) and largely composed of found footage, film clips and home movies, the film reflects the director’s generosity of spirit as well as the period’s bubbling cauldron of syncretic and opposing movements. Promoted together with a handsome book tie-in, “Paris Calligrammes” should spark renewed...
Recounted in the director’s own measured voiceover (the English version features Jenny Agutter while the French version has Fanny Ardant) and largely composed of found footage, film clips and home movies, the film reflects the director’s generosity of spirit as well as the period’s bubbling cauldron of syncretic and opposing movements. Promoted together with a handsome book tie-in, “Paris Calligrammes” should spark renewed...
- 3/6/2020
- by Jay Weissberg
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Gersh has signed Canadian-American actress Lauren Glazier, a series regular in season two of Netflix’s crime drama Mindhunter.
Glazier plays the character of Kay Manz in the hit series from creator Joe Penhall and director David Fincher. She also has a recurring arc on See, the new Apple TV+ show, and she appeared in Jennifer Lawrence action-thriller pic Red Sparrow.
The actress has also played on stage as Isadora Duncan at the The Arena Stage, Los Angeles, and in musicals West Side Story and Cabaret.
Glazier plays the character of Kay Manz in the hit series from creator Joe Penhall and director David Fincher. She also has a recurring arc on See, the new Apple TV+ show, and she appeared in Jennifer Lawrence action-thriller pic Red Sparrow.
The actress has also played on stage as Isadora Duncan at the The Arena Stage, Los Angeles, and in musicals West Side Story and Cabaret.
- 11/11/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Damien Manivel's fourth feature film, Isadora's Children, is as lucid and delicate as the three that came before it, but with its premiere in the competition of the Locarno Film Festival, and the French filmmaker's subsequent win of the Best Director award, it should prove to be the film that will bring him greater international exposure. Isadora's Children simply but beautifully explores two simultaneous ideas: that of the transmission of art from person to person, in this case from a dancer to a choreographer and performer to an audience member; and that of the art itself, a semi-autobiographical piece composed by preeminent American dancer Isadora Duncan about a mother's mourning her dead child. In the first part, effectively a solo, Agathe Bonitzer plays a lithe young dancer reading about Duncan's life, her personal tragedy, and her unique notation system for choreography. She slowly learns this dance, that of an older woman,...
- 11/3/2019
- MUBI
The 72nd Locarno Film Festival, a longtime beacon of the international indie filmmaking community, is being shaken up under new artistic director Lili Hinstin. She is the Swiss event’s second female chief since it was founded in 1946 and one of the few women to head an A-list fest.
Hinstin takes the reins from Italy’s Carlo Chatrian who went on to become Berlinale co-director after six years at Locarno’s helm, his last edition characterized by movies with women at their center. The Swiss fest will run Aug. 7-17.
In announcing her selection, Hinstin, who previously headed France’s Entrevues Belfort Intl. Film Festival, says she’s aiming to “surprise, perturb and raise questions” and points out that “the choices you make for your first festival all tend to become a kind of manifesto.”
The Locarno opener is clearly significant: “If Only,” a partly autobiographical sentimental comedy about three kids of divorced parents,...
Hinstin takes the reins from Italy’s Carlo Chatrian who went on to become Berlinale co-director after six years at Locarno’s helm, his last edition characterized by movies with women at their center. The Swiss fest will run Aug. 7-17.
In announcing her selection, Hinstin, who previously headed France’s Entrevues Belfort Intl. Film Festival, says she’s aiming to “surprise, perturb and raise questions” and points out that “the choices you make for your first festival all tend to become a kind of manifesto.”
The Locarno opener is clearly significant: “If Only,” a partly autobiographical sentimental comedy about three kids of divorced parents,...
- 8/6/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Manivel’s fourth feature is a dance-themed drama.
Screen can exclusively reveal the first trailer for Isadora’s Children, Damien Manivel’s dance-themed drama which premieres in the international competition at Locarno Film Festival (August 7 - 17).
In the film, following the death of her two children in April 1913, legendary dancer Isadora Duncan creates a solo dance called ‘Mother’, in which a mother cradles her child one last time before letting him go. A century later, four women encounter the heartrending dance.
Isadora’s Children is produced by Manivel and Martin Bertier for Mld Films. It stars Agathe Bonitzer, Manon Carpentier,...
Screen can exclusively reveal the first trailer for Isadora’s Children, Damien Manivel’s dance-themed drama which premieres in the international competition at Locarno Film Festival (August 7 - 17).
In the film, following the death of her two children in April 1913, legendary dancer Isadora Duncan creates a solo dance called ‘Mother’, in which a mother cradles her child one last time before letting him go. A century later, four women encounter the heartrending dance.
Isadora’s Children is produced by Manivel and Martin Bertier for Mld Films. It stars Agathe Bonitzer, Manon Carpentier,...
- 8/2/2019
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Italian director Ginevra Elkann’s directorial debut, “If Only,” about kids with divorced parents, will open the 72nd Locarno Film Festival, its first edition under new artistic director Lili Hinstin, who has assembled an edgy mix of promising titles from young auteurs and more established names.
“If Only” and the fest closer, iconic Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Uzbekistan-set “To the Ends of the Earth” will both premiere in Locarno’s 8,000-seat Piazza Grande.
Also set for a launch from the Piazza Grande is Amazon’s terrorist drama “7500,” directed by Patrick Vollrath, with star Joseph Gordon-Levitt in tow; Valerie Donzelli’s comedy “Notre Dame”; and fellow French director Stephane Demoustier’s “The Girl With a Bracelet,” in which a teenager stands trial for murdering her best friend.
Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” which premiered in Cannes, will also screen on the Piazza (without talent in...
“If Only” and the fest closer, iconic Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Uzbekistan-set “To the Ends of the Earth” will both premiere in Locarno’s 8,000-seat Piazza Grande.
Also set for a launch from the Piazza Grande is Amazon’s terrorist drama “7500,” directed by Patrick Vollrath, with star Joseph Gordon-Levitt in tow; Valerie Donzelli’s comedy “Notre Dame”; and fellow French director Stephane Demoustier’s “The Girl With a Bracelet,” in which a teenager stands trial for murdering her best friend.
Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” which premiered in Cannes, will also screen on the Piazza (without talent in...
- 7/17/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
When you watch the silent-screen star Louise Brooks in one of the films that made her a legend, most spectacularly the glittering femme-fatale drama “Pandora’s Box” (1929), it’s shocking to see how contemporary she looks. Haircuts that were once cutting edge — punk spikes, a ’50s ducktail, Jane Fonda’s “Klute” shag — look, almost inevitably with time, less radical than they once did, but Brooks’ girl-in-a-black-helmet look is nearly 100 years old, and in its Joan of Arc of the Jazz Age way it still looks like something out of a sci-fi fantasy. It’s the sharpness of the angles — they look like they could slice you — and the jet-black lacquered sheen of it.
And, of course, it’s the ivory-skinned siren who wore it. Brooks, unlike every other actress of the silent era, even the greatest ones, didn’t go in for grand displays; she understated her smiling freedom and sensuality,...
And, of course, it’s the ivory-skinned siren who wore it. Brooks, unlike every other actress of the silent era, even the greatest ones, didn’t go in for grand displays; she understated her smiling freedom and sensuality,...
- 3/30/2019
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Hollywood has been rewarding portrayals of real people ever since George Arliss won the best actor Oscar for 1929’s “Disraeli,” but lately, it has been handing out the statuettes like swag bags.
In the 18 years since the clock struck 2000, 18 actors and actresses have won Oscars for portraying real people. In the preceding seven decades, the Academy Awards for lead performances in biographical films went to a total of just 25 actors — 17 men and eight women. The math underscores the contrast: 50 percent of Academy Awards for leading roles in this century have gone to actors for biographical portrayals compared to just 17 percent in all of the last one.
The gender gap has closed dramatically, too, with 10 wins for men and eight for women, with solid opportunities for more this year. Certainly, there will be many nominees, as many as four on the Best Actor ballot and three among women.
The Screen Actors...
In the 18 years since the clock struck 2000, 18 actors and actresses have won Oscars for portraying real people. In the preceding seven decades, the Academy Awards for lead performances in biographical films went to a total of just 25 actors — 17 men and eight women. The math underscores the contrast: 50 percent of Academy Awards for leading roles in this century have gone to actors for biographical portrayals compared to just 17 percent in all of the last one.
The gender gap has closed dramatically, too, with 10 wins for men and eight for women, with solid opportunities for more this year. Certainly, there will be many nominees, as many as four on the Best Actor ballot and three among women.
The Screen Actors...
- 12/26/2018
- by Jack Mathews
- Gold Derby
As we make our way through April, we’ve got more spring season performances to be inspired by than we can add to our calendar! This is an exceptionally exciting week as the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Tickets to the Joyce are selling fast as The Martha Graham Dance Company and The Joffrey Ballet will also be joining this company to celebrate this incredible milestone. Happy dancing, artists! PERFORMANCESLar Lubovitch Dance Company will be celebrating their 50th anniversary at The Joyce April 17–22 with a world premiere and signature works by the revered master choreographer. The Martha Graham Dance Company and the Joffrey Ballet will also appear to present works by Lubovitch in honor of this rare milestone. (Tickets start at $10) Caterina Rago Dance Company will be holding their gala performance April 19 at the Martha Graham Dance Studio Theater. All proceeds will benefit the creation of...
- 4/16/2018
- backstage.com
Considering how many talented filmmakers, actors, and more pass through A24’s doors, it was only a matter of time that the independent distributor launched their own podcast. The first episode has now arrived, which pairs Barry Jenkins, whose Best Picture-winning Moonlight was released by the distributor last year, and Greta Gerwig, whose Lady Bird has been nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and much more (and, of course, was also released by A24).
In the 40-minute discussion the filmmakers talk about how Gerwig plans an entire quartet of Sacramento-set films, how she was inspired by Amarcord, working with cinematography Sam Levy to get the precise look for the film, Grey Gardens, and much more. Listen below or subscribe on iTunes, and for more discussions of films, including many A24 releases, subscribe to The Film Stage Show.
A conversation between the writers/directors of Moonlight and Lady Bird. Topics covered include: Elena Ferrante,...
In the 40-minute discussion the filmmakers talk about how Gerwig plans an entire quartet of Sacramento-set films, how she was inspired by Amarcord, working with cinematography Sam Levy to get the precise look for the film, Grey Gardens, and much more. Listen below or subscribe on iTunes, and for more discussions of films, including many A24 releases, subscribe to The Film Stage Show.
A conversation between the writers/directors of Moonlight and Lady Bird. Topics covered include: Elena Ferrante,...
- 2/28/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Stéphanie Di Giusto on The Dancer: "The movie is always in movement." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Stéphanie Di Giusto's The Dancer (La Danseuse), screenplay in collaboration with Les Cowboys director Thomas Bidegain, based on the book Loïe Fuller: Danseuse De La Belle Époque by Giovanni Lista, stars Soko as Fuller with Lily-Rose Depp as Isadora Duncan. The supporting cast includes Gaspard Ulliel, Mélanie Thierry, François Damiens, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Amanda Plummer, and Denis Ménochet.
I met up with the director at the restaurant inside the Marlton Hotel the day before her debut film opened in New York. We discussed how Nick Cave and Warren Ellis got involved through Andrew Dominik's The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, her costume designer Anaïs Romand who won a César, working with cinematographer Benoît Debie, seeing Soko in Alice Winocour's Augustine, and Harvey Weinstein's reaction after seeing The Dancer at Cannes.
Stéphanie Di Giusto's The Dancer (La Danseuse), screenplay in collaboration with Les Cowboys director Thomas Bidegain, based on the book Loïe Fuller: Danseuse De La Belle Époque by Giovanni Lista, stars Soko as Fuller with Lily-Rose Depp as Isadora Duncan. The supporting cast includes Gaspard Ulliel, Mélanie Thierry, François Damiens, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Amanda Plummer, and Denis Ménochet.
I met up with the director at the restaurant inside the Marlton Hotel the day before her debut film opened in New York. We discussed how Nick Cave and Warren Ellis got involved through Andrew Dominik's The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, her costume designer Anaïs Romand who won a César, working with cinematographer Benoît Debie, seeing Soko in Alice Winocour's Augustine, and Harvey Weinstein's reaction after seeing The Dancer at Cannes.
- 12/4/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
From RedBand.Ca, Sneak Peek restricted 'red band' footage from the award-winning drama "The Dancer" (aka "La Danseuse") written and directed by Stéphanie Di Giusto, based on the novel by author Giovanni Lista, starring Soko, Gaspard Ulliel, Mélanie Thierry, Lily-Rose Depp, François Damiens, Louis Garrel and William Houston:
"...in 1887, after the death of her father, 25-year-old 'Marie-Louise' leaves her life in the American West to join her mother in New York and pursue her dream of becoming an actress.
"On stage one night, she avoids falling by spinning the fabric of her long dress in a graceful gesture,and the 'Serpentine Dance' is born. The dazzled audience calls out for more.
"Marie-Louise becomes 'Loïe Fuller' and leaves New York for Paris, where imitators try to steal her radical innovations in modern dance, including Isadora Duncan' ..."
Cast also includes Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Denis Ménochet, Amanda Plummer and Shimehiro Nishikawa.
"...in 1887, after the death of her father, 25-year-old 'Marie-Louise' leaves her life in the American West to join her mother in New York and pursue her dream of becoming an actress.
"On stage one night, she avoids falling by spinning the fabric of her long dress in a graceful gesture,and the 'Serpentine Dance' is born. The dazzled audience calls out for more.
"Marie-Louise becomes 'Loïe Fuller' and leaves New York for Paris, where imitators try to steal her radical innovations in modern dance, including Isadora Duncan' ..."
Cast also includes Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Denis Ménochet, Amanda Plummer and Shimehiro Nishikawa.
- 11/23/2017
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
"We'll drag this place into the new century." Palace Films has unveiled a new trailer from Australia for the release of the indie drama The Dancer, also known as La danseuse in French, a period set drama about a rivalry between two dancers. This originally premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival, and is just getting a release in Us theaters this December. Lily-Rose Depp stars as Isadora Duncan, the protégé and rival of dancer Loïe Fuller, played by French actress/musician Soko, the "toast of the Folies Bergères at the turn of the 20th century and an inspiration for Toulouse-Lautrec and the Lumière Brothers." The full cast includes Gaspard Ulliel, Mélanie Thierry, François Damiens, Denis Ménochet, Amanda Plummer, and Louis-Do de Lencquesaing. This seems like a very passionate, intense, dance film to watch. Check it out. Here's the official Australian trailer (+ old poster) for Stéphanie Di Giusto's The Dancer,...
- 11/21/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The Werewolf of Washington Heights Written by Christie Perfetti Williams Directed by Charmaine Broad Presented by Carnival Girls Productions at The Kraine Theater, NYC October 11-22, 2017
Many readers these days probably know the feeling of anxiety about what appallingly reactionary new story will leap out at them every time that they set eyes or ears on a news source. To take just the latest in an interminable series of examples, as this review is being written, the head of the U.S. government is threatening to end aid to Puerto Rico, whose American citizens are denied governmental representation, a mere three weeks after an incredibly devastating natural disaster. As it happens, the production of Christie Perfetti Williams' new play, The Werewolf of Washington Heights, will donate one dollar of every online ticket sale to The Boys and Girls Club of Puerto Rico. It also focuses on the political effects (keeping...
Many readers these days probably know the feeling of anxiety about what appallingly reactionary new story will leap out at them every time that they set eyes or ears on a news source. To take just the latest in an interminable series of examples, as this review is being written, the head of the U.S. government is threatening to end aid to Puerto Rico, whose American citizens are denied governmental representation, a mere three weeks after an incredibly devastating natural disaster. As it happens, the production of Christie Perfetti Williams' new play, The Werewolf of Washington Heights, will donate one dollar of every online ticket sale to The Boys and Girls Club of Puerto Rico. It also focuses on the political effects (keeping...
- 10/15/2017
- by Leah Richards
- www.culturecatch.com
Scarlett has a massive clash with director Damien George over the sexualization of women on this week’s Nashville — while making The Exes’ new music video. Watch the preview clip below as Scarlett (Clare Bowen) puts her foot down, refusing to move the way he wants her to during filming. When Damien asks why, she says it’s “degrading”. He then does his best to convince her that she can be empowered by “embracing” her sexuality on her own terms. He gives her the examples of Isadora Duncan and Madonna, but Scarlett refuses to budge on the issue. He places his...read more...
- 1/26/2017
- by Julian Cheatle
- Monsters and Critics
The Toronto International Film Festival kicks off this week, and with it, the rest of a very busy fall festival season. In preparation for the Canadian festival, we’ll be rolling out a series of previews to point you in the direction of all the movies you have to see (or at least, all the movies you have to start anticipating right now). First up, we’re looking at all the up-and-coming talents who just might break through at this year’s festival. Keep your eyes peeled, this batch just might end up being the brightest one yet.
Alex Lehmann, director, “Blue Jay”
Director Alex Lehmann cut his teeth as a cinematographer on short films and horror movies before landing his feature film directorial debut, “Blue Jay.” A comedic drama starring Sarah Paulson and Mark Duplass, who also wrote the screenplay for the film, “Blue Jay” centers on a pair...
Alex Lehmann, director, “Blue Jay”
Director Alex Lehmann cut his teeth as a cinematographer on short films and horror movies before landing his feature film directorial debut, “Blue Jay.” A comedic drama starring Sarah Paulson and Mark Duplass, who also wrote the screenplay for the film, “Blue Jay” centers on a pair...
- 9/6/2016
- by Kate Erbland, Steve Greene, Graham Winfrey, Chris O'Falt and David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Following a premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, the first trailer has been released for Stéphanie Di Giusto‘s The Dancer (La Danseuse), half in English, half in French. However, it features some striking imagery to combat any loss of comprehension in its latter half for U.S. viewers not fluent in French. The film follows dancer Loïe Fuller (Soko) and her complex relationship with her protègè and rival (Gaspard Ulliel). Fuller was an inspiration for the Lumière Brothers, among others, and was the toast of the Folies Bergères at the turn of the 20th century.
We said in our review: “The cast is solid all-around. In the lead role, Soko has both the willful masculinity and a feminine vulnerability down. Playing Louis, Ulliel is his usual charismatic self, exuding an effortless, pansexual allure that enriches a rather underwritten character infinitely. And though she only appears later in the film,...
We said in our review: “The cast is solid all-around. In the lead role, Soko has both the willful masculinity and a feminine vulnerability down. Playing Louis, Ulliel is his usual charismatic self, exuding an effortless, pansexual allure that enriches a rather underwritten character infinitely. And though she only appears later in the film,...
- 7/25/2016
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
On this day in history as it relates to the movies...
1828 Feral teenager Kaspar Hauser is discovered wandering Nuremberg, claiming to have been raised in total isolation. Theories abound and the story inspires many artists down the road including Werner Herzog in the film The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974).
1877 Influential dancer Isadora Duncan is born. Vanessa Redgrave gets an Oscar nomination playing her in Isadora! (1968)
1886 Al Jolson is born. Will later star in the first "talkie" The Jazz Singer (1927)
1894 Silent film star Norma Talmadge is born
1897 Bram Stoker's epistolary novel "Dracula" is published. Never stops being adapted for film and television but our hearts will always belong to Francis Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) despite the aggravating double possessive
1907 John Wayne was born. Did he always talk like that?
1913 Peter Cushing is born in England. Later stars in Hammer Horror films with his irl best friend Christopher Lee, the Dracula to his Van Helsing.
1828 Feral teenager Kaspar Hauser is discovered wandering Nuremberg, claiming to have been raised in total isolation. Theories abound and the story inspires many artists down the road including Werner Herzog in the film The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974).
1877 Influential dancer Isadora Duncan is born. Vanessa Redgrave gets an Oscar nomination playing her in Isadora! (1968)
1886 Al Jolson is born. Will later star in the first "talkie" The Jazz Singer (1927)
1894 Silent film star Norma Talmadge is born
1897 Bram Stoker's epistolary novel "Dracula" is published. Never stops being adapted for film and television but our hearts will always belong to Francis Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) despite the aggravating double possessive
1907 John Wayne was born. Did he always talk like that?
1913 Peter Cushing is born in England. Later stars in Hammer Horror films with his irl best friend Christopher Lee, the Dracula to his Van Helsing.
- 5/26/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Exclusive: Ken Loach’s Cannes Competition title has sold to multiple territories.
French sales powerhouse Wild Bunch has closed a slew of deals on Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or contender I, Daniel Blake, capturing life on the breadline in contemporary Britain, following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Loach’s 13th film in Competition, I, Daniel Blake centres on a carpenter, who finds himself unemployed after a heart attack and single mother battling bureaucracy nightmare in the UK welfare system.
The film has sold to Germany (Prokino), Spain (Caramel), Greece (Feelgood), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Hungary (Vertigo), the Czech Republic (Film Europe), Former Yugoslavia (McF Megacom), Romania (Independenta) and the Middle East (Teleview), Turkey (Filmarti Film) and Balkans (Iriku)
Uruguay’s Sun Distribution Group has taken all Latin America rights apart from for Brazil, which has been acquired by Imovision.
“They were all closed here during the early days of the festival, which is what...
French sales powerhouse Wild Bunch has closed a slew of deals on Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or contender I, Daniel Blake, capturing life on the breadline in contemporary Britain, following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
Loach’s 13th film in Competition, I, Daniel Blake centres on a carpenter, who finds himself unemployed after a heart attack and single mother battling bureaucracy nightmare in the UK welfare system.
The film has sold to Germany (Prokino), Spain (Caramel), Greece (Feelgood), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Hungary (Vertigo), the Czech Republic (Film Europe), Former Yugoslavia (McF Megacom), Romania (Independenta) and the Middle East (Teleview), Turkey (Filmarti Film) and Balkans (Iriku)
Uruguay’s Sun Distribution Group has taken all Latin America rights apart from for Brazil, which has been acquired by Imovision.
“They were all closed here during the early days of the festival, which is what...
- 5/15/2016
- ScreenDaily
Lily-Rose Depp popped up at the photocall for her film La Danseuse at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday. The 16-year-old model and actress struck a series of poses in a cozy Chanel hoodie and shorts set and linked up with her costars Mélanie Thierry, Gaspard Ulliel, and Kristen Stewart's ex-girlfriend Soko. Lily-Rose plays the role of famed dancer Isadora Duncan in the 19th century drama, and looked every bit the burgeoning movie star when she arrived on the red carpet for the big premiere later that evening. Also on hand for the fun in Cannes is Lily-Rose's mom, Vanessa Paradis; the French native is one of this year's jury members at the festival along with Kirsten Dunst, Donald Sutherland, and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen. Vanessa and Lily-Rose have yet to hit the red carpet together this week, but how stunningly similar the teenager looks to her mom is...
- 5/13/2016
- by Brittney Stephens
- Popsugar.com
Lily-Rose Depp isn't your average 16-year-old. With a Chanel contract, a film selected for this year's Cannes Film Festival, and 1.4 million (and growing) Instagram followers, the daughter of Johnny Depp and French star Vanessa Paradis has just added a Vanity Fair cover to her burgeoning résumé. Appearing in the latest issue of the glossy's French edition, the "icon in the making," as Vanity Fair France dubbed her, says she's plunged head-first into French cinema after tenuous steps in two Kevin Smith films"For me, it's simple: I like to act," she tells the magazine. "It frees me. I want to make it my craft.
- 4/20/2016
- by Peter Mikelbank
- PEOPLE.com
★★★★☆ British director Ken Russell passed away in 2011 leaving behind a life's work devoted to filmmaking at its most exuberant and vital. Russell made a number of films in the early part of his career which depicted artists brimming with the same enthusiasm of expression as the director himself. The Great Passions is one of two collections which the BFI are releasing to honour his distinctive approach to the biographical form. The three films collected here are dedicated to Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Dante's Inferno), Isadora Duncan (Isadora) and Henri Rousseau (Always On Sunday) - three artists whose eccentricity provide a perfect foil to Russell's own bravura style.
- 3/31/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Exclusive: Company to launch Radu Mihaileanu’s The History of Love and Studio Ghibli co-production The Red Turtle.
Paris-based sales powerhouse Wild Bunch will kick off sales on Radu Mihaileanu’s saga The History of Love, starring John Hurt, Gemma Arterton and Sophie Nélisse at the Cannes Marché next month.
The mainly New York-set saga, spanning three continents and a period running from just before the Second World War to the present day, is based on Us writer Nicole Krauss’s international bestseller.
Hurt will play Leo, an elderly Polish Jewish immigrant still mourning the loss of his childhood sweetheart in the chaos of war, who is strangely linked to a teenage girl through a long, lost book on love… subtitled ‘the most loved woman in the world’.
“It’s a love story spanning 65 years… revolving around three friends in Poland whose destinies change forever when war breaks out,” Wild Bunch chief Vincent Maraval told ScreenDaily.
It marks...
Paris-based sales powerhouse Wild Bunch will kick off sales on Radu Mihaileanu’s saga The History of Love, starring John Hurt, Gemma Arterton and Sophie Nélisse at the Cannes Marché next month.
The mainly New York-set saga, spanning three continents and a period running from just before the Second World War to the present day, is based on Us writer Nicole Krauss’s international bestseller.
Hurt will play Leo, an elderly Polish Jewish immigrant still mourning the loss of his childhood sweetheart in the chaos of war, who is strangely linked to a teenage girl through a long, lost book on love… subtitled ‘the most loved woman in the world’.
“It’s a love story spanning 65 years… revolving around three friends in Poland whose destinies change forever when war breaks out,” Wild Bunch chief Vincent Maraval told ScreenDaily.
It marks...
- 4/24/2015
- ScreenDaily
They were music megastars, and they all opened up to him. As Tony Palmer's best films resurface, the documentarian talks to Phelim O'Neill about Leonard Cohen's tears, John Lennon's fake beard – and the day Liberace invited him into his hot tub
Reading this on mobile? Click here to view video
Tony Palmer was studying moral sciences at Cambridge University in the 1960s when a moderately famous band arrived in town. "I got a call to attend this press conference the Beatles were holding, to cover it for the college paper," he recalls. "They'd had a No 1 single or two by then, so they were very well known – but not yet intergalactic. Afterwards, John Lennon came up and asked me why I hadn't asked them any questions. I told him I found the whole thing pretty silly. He laughed, and when I told him I was studying moral sciences,...
Reading this on mobile? Click here to view video
Tony Palmer was studying moral sciences at Cambridge University in the 1960s when a moderately famous band arrived in town. "I got a call to attend this press conference the Beatles were holding, to cover it for the college paper," he recalls. "They'd had a No 1 single or two by then, so they were very well known – but not yet intergalactic. Afterwards, John Lennon came up and asked me why I hadn't asked them any questions. I told him I found the whole thing pretty silly. He laughed, and when I told him I was studying moral sciences,...
- 7/28/2013
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
They were music megastars, and they all opened up to him. As Tony Palmer's best films resurface, the documentarian talks to Phelim O'Neill about Leonard Cohen's tears, John Lennon's fake beard – and the day Liberace invited him into his hot tub
Reading this on mobile? Click here to view video
Tony Palmer was studying moral sciences at Cambridge University in the 1960s when a moderately famous band arrived in town. "I got a call to attend this press conference the Beatles were holding, to cover it for the college paper," he recalls. "They'd had a No 1 single or two by then, so they were very well known – but not yet intergalactic. Afterwards, John Lennon came up and asked me why I hadn't asked them any questions. I told him I found the whole thing pretty silly. He laughed, and when I told him I was studying moral sciences,...
Reading this on mobile? Click here to view video
Tony Palmer was studying moral sciences at Cambridge University in the 1960s when a moderately famous band arrived in town. "I got a call to attend this press conference the Beatles were holding, to cover it for the college paper," he recalls. "They'd had a No 1 single or two by then, so they were very well known – but not yet intergalactic. Afterwards, John Lennon came up and asked me why I hadn't asked them any questions. I told him I found the whole thing pretty silly. He laughed, and when I told him I was studying moral sciences,...
- 7/28/2013
- by Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
We are down to the top twelve singers in this boundary-breaking Armory Show, and my God, it has become a font of passive aggression. The judges seem actually annoyed at each other, and one wonders how, because don’t they have other lives in which they are famous divas? Why do they even care about this? Luckily, Bill Clinton/Carson Daly was dispensing all sorts of hugs. Perhaps the heat made tensions run high.Vedo, “Rock With You”Vedo really does have a beautiful tone, but he occasionally has severe pitch problems, which definitely surfaced in the middle of his “Rock With You.” To be fair, Michael Jackson is super hard to sing, but still. He is a good dancer, though! He was the only one that actually benefitted from Usher’s deeply serious choreographer, Isadora Duncan. Holly Tucker, “A Broken Wing”She was really pitchy on “A Broken Wing,...
- 5/14/2013
- by Rebecca Harrington
- Vulture
Chicago – Two mercurial and classic film actors appeared last summer at the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, and between them have a wealth of impressive film titles on their resumes. Sean Young (“Bladerunner”) and Dean Stockwell (“Blue Velvet”) also represent different eras of cinema history.
While making an appearance at the event they talked to HollywoodChicago.com, and sat for portraits with photographer Joe Arce. This year’s Wizard World Chicago Comic Con will take place August 8th-11th, 2013, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.
Sean Young of “Bladerunner,” “Stripes,” “No Way Out”
Sean Young has had both an exceptional career and one laced with controversy. She was born in Kentucky, but eventually found her way to the School of American Ballet in New York City. She began her show business ambitions as a dancer and a model, before landing a role in “Jane Austin in...
While making an appearance at the event they talked to HollywoodChicago.com, and sat for portraits with photographer Joe Arce. This year’s Wizard World Chicago Comic Con will take place August 8th-11th, 2013, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.
Sean Young of “Bladerunner,” “Stripes,” “No Way Out”
Sean Young has had both an exceptional career and one laced with controversy. She was born in Kentucky, but eventually found her way to the School of American Ballet in New York City. She began her show business ambitions as a dancer and a model, before landing a role in “Jane Austin in...
- 3/13/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Last week my colleague Ms. Thomases and I were sharing a movie experience at a Manhattan multi-mega-complex. Running the gauntlet of promotional material we passed the familiar poster advertising the franchise-saving event, Man of Steel. Once we were settled in the theater and the obnoxiously repulsive commercials started playing – most were for television shows – I mentioned to Martha that the new management of Warner Bros. hasn’t truly green-lit the Justice League movie. “They’re waiting to see how Man of Steel works out.”
Her Oh-Oh Sense flared up. While both of us were hoping for a killer Superman flick, nothing we have seen thus far has promoted any sense of confidence. Do we need another origin story filled with the Els and the Kents? Most of us have cable teevee or DVDs or streaming video or all three, and there’s plenty of filmed presentations of that origin story.
Her Oh-Oh Sense flared up. While both of us were hoping for a killer Superman flick, nothing we have seen thus far has promoted any sense of confidence. Do we need another origin story filled with the Els and the Kents? Most of us have cable teevee or DVDs or streaming video or all three, and there’s plenty of filmed presentations of that origin story.
- 2/6/2013
- by Mike Gold
- Comicmix.com
I’ve got Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino on my mind these days. It’s a product of the end-of-year hurrahs for Scorsese’s Hugo. The film goes into the Academy Award ceremonies with 11 Oscar nominations – the most of any film this year – including a Best Director nod for Scorsese. Win or lose, Marty’s on a roll having already taken a Golden Globe for his work on the film, and selection as Best Director by the National Board of Review (the Board also named Hugo Best Picture). And that doesn’t include the film’s placing on any number of critic’s Year’s Best lists.
What does all this have to do with Tarantino? It brings to mind a statement the younger filmmaker had made about Scorsese some years ago.
They’ve always been linked, these two. Tarantino had been anointed by more than a few as “the...
What does all this have to do with Tarantino? It brings to mind a statement the younger filmmaker had made about Scorsese some years ago.
They’ve always been linked, these two. Tarantino had been anointed by more than a few as “the...
- 12/18/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
They said it couldn’t happen. They said it wouldn’t happen. They said it shouldn’t happen. But it’s happened. Smash, the second most important television variety hour of our time, is finally coming back! A slotted spoon can catch the potato!Tantalizing bits of information about the rebooted second season helmed by former Gossip Girl showrunner Josh Safran (Theresa Rebeck, much like modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan, having been fatally injured in a horrific scarf-wearing accident) have been leaking out for months, but a new, official, extended sneak peek of season two aired during The Voice last night (or rather, an edited teaser telling you to go watch the actual extended sneak peek at Yahoo did), which means we can also have an extended season-two-sneak-peek recap! It’s like our preshow warm-up. Take a deep breath, and let it out on sound. And what new information did...
- 11/20/2012
- by Rachel Shukert
- Vulture
On July 28, 2012 National Dance Day the U.S. Postal Service will pay tribute to four influential choreographers who changed the art of dance Isadora Duncan, Jos Limn, Katherine Dunham, and Bob Fosse. Designed to look like posters advertising a performance, the stamp art captures the luminosity and mystery of a live dance performance.The stamp design for Isadora Duncan reflects her interest in classical Greek dance forms and shows the seemingly effortless style that she developed. Radical for its time, her linking of movement and expressiveness garnered her worldwide critical acclaim.
- 7/27/2012
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
We’ve always thought that Vogue U.K. was far ahead of the pack, and they’ve proved us right by putting our girl crush, the generally amazo Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine, on their January 2012 cover. And the shot, by Mario Testino, has her looking like herself (or as much as a Vogue cover could allow) in a pleated silk Chloe gown. By that we mean, they haven’t styled the f— out of Flo, and she looks as statuesque as ever. Of the experience, she told the magazine, ”It was really fun. It was quite energetic, ’cause I had to do lots of … We were kind of going for an Isadora Duncan meets Patti Smith thing and so it involved a lot of jumping … and wind! That’s kind of good for me ’cause it keeps your energy going so I got to just run around a lot.
- 12/7/2011
- by Ambika Muttoo
- TheFabLife - Movies
Oscar-nominated maverick found inspiration for his work in music and literature
After a film career full of wild drama, gaudy conflagrations and operatic flourishes, the director Ken Russell died quietly in hospital on Sunday afternoon at the age of 84, after suffering a series of strokes. – effecting a quiet, discreet exit from the comfort of his hospital bed. "My father died peacefully," said his son Alex Verney-Elliott. "He died with a smile on his face."
Known for his flamboyant, often outrageous brand of film-making, Russell made movies that juggled high and low culture with glee and invariably courted controversy. His 1969 breakthrough, the Oscar-winning Women in Love, electrified audiences with its infamous nude wrestling scene, while 1971's The Devils – a torrid brew of sex, violence and Catholicism – found itself banned across Italy and was initially rejected by its backer, Warner Bros. His other notable films include Altered States, The Boy Friend and Tommy,...
After a film career full of wild drama, gaudy conflagrations and operatic flourishes, the director Ken Russell died quietly in hospital on Sunday afternoon at the age of 84, after suffering a series of strokes. – effecting a quiet, discreet exit from the comfort of his hospital bed. "My father died peacefully," said his son Alex Verney-Elliott. "He died with a smile on his face."
Known for his flamboyant, often outrageous brand of film-making, Russell made movies that juggled high and low culture with glee and invariably courted controversy. His 1969 breakthrough, the Oscar-winning Women in Love, electrified audiences with its infamous nude wrestling scene, while 1971's The Devils – a torrid brew of sex, violence and Catholicism – found itself banned across Italy and was initially rejected by its backer, Warner Bros. His other notable films include Altered States, The Boy Friend and Tommy,...
- 11/29/2011
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
Ken Russell, who has died aged 84, was so often called rude names – the wild man of British cinema, the apostle of excess, the oldest angry young man in the business – that he gave up denying it all quite early in his career. Indeed, he often seemed to court the very publicity that emphasised only the crudest assessment of his work. He gave the impression that he cared not a damn. Those who knew him better, however, knew that he did. Underneath all the showbiz bluster, he was an old softie. Or, perhaps as accurately, a talented boy who never quite grew up.
It has, of course, to be said that he was capable of almost any enormity in the careless rapture he brought to making his films. He could be dreadfully cruel to his undoubted talent,...
It has, of course, to be said that he was capable of almost any enormity in the careless rapture he brought to making his films. He could be dreadfully cruel to his undoubted talent,...
- 11/28/2011
- by Derek Malcolm
- The Guardian - Film News
"Ken Russell, the British director whose daring and sometimes outrageous films often tested the patience of audiences and critics, has died," reports the AP. "He was 84."
"Known for a flamboyant style that was developed during his early career in television, Russell's films often courted controversy," writes Henry Barnes for the Guardian. "Women in Love, released in 1969, became notorious for its nude male wrestling scene between Alan Bates and Oliver Reed, while Tommy, his starry version of The Who's rock opera, was his biggest commercial success, beginning as a stage musical before being reimagined for the screen in 1976. But Russell fell out of the limelight in recent years, as some of his funding resources dried up and his proposed projects ever more eclectic. He returned to the public eye in 2007, when he appeared on the fifth edition of Celebrity Big Brother, before quitting the show after a disagreement with fellow contestant Jade Goody.
"Known for a flamboyant style that was developed during his early career in television, Russell's films often courted controversy," writes Henry Barnes for the Guardian. "Women in Love, released in 1969, became notorious for its nude male wrestling scene between Alan Bates and Oliver Reed, while Tommy, his starry version of The Who's rock opera, was his biggest commercial success, beginning as a stage musical before being reimagined for the screen in 1976. But Russell fell out of the limelight in recent years, as some of his funding resources dried up and his proposed projects ever more eclectic. He returned to the public eye in 2007, when he appeared on the fifth edition of Celebrity Big Brother, before quitting the show after a disagreement with fellow contestant Jade Goody.
- 11/28/2011
- MUBI
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.