Exclusive: Here’s some more intriguing casting for Luc Besson’s big-budget reimagining of the Dracula story, Dracula – A Love Tale.
Zoë Bleu (Gonzo Girl), daughter of actress Rosanna Arquette, is joining as Elisabeta/Mina, while rising Italian actress Matilda De Angelis, who plays the lead in Agbo and Amazon’s upcoming Citadel: Diana, will play Mina’s friend Maria. These are the roles played by Winona Ryder and Sadie Frost, respectively, in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 version (though Mina’s friend in that film and the book is called Lucy).
As we revealed in February, Caleb Landry Jones (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri) is playing Dracula and two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) is understood to be playing the role of a priest.
Lucy and Leon filmmaker and Taken creator Besson is in pre-production on the movie, which will shoot next month in France. Additional casting is underway.
Zoë Bleu (Gonzo Girl), daughter of actress Rosanna Arquette, is joining as Elisabeta/Mina, while rising Italian actress Matilda De Angelis, who plays the lead in Agbo and Amazon’s upcoming Citadel: Diana, will play Mina’s friend Maria. These are the roles played by Winona Ryder and Sadie Frost, respectively, in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 version (though Mina’s friend in that film and the book is called Lucy).
As we revealed in February, Caleb Landry Jones (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri) is playing Dracula and two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) is understood to be playing the role of a priest.
Lucy and Leon filmmaker and Taken creator Besson is in pre-production on the movie, which will shoot next month in France. Additional casting is underway.
- 4/5/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: CBS’ Elsbeth will count on three additional guest stars for its Season 1 cast: Elizabeth Lail (Five Nights At Freddy’s), Arian Moayed (Succession) and Laura Benanti (The Gilded Age). Following a brief hiatus, the show returns April 4 with two episodes.
Elsbeth follows the titular Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston), an astute but unconventional attorney who utilizes her singular point of view to make unique observations and corner brilliant criminals alongside the NYPD following her successful career in Chicago. The character first appeared in The Good Wife and later in The Good Fight spinoff.
In addition to Preston, Wendell Pierce and Carra Patterson round out the series regular cast as Captain Wagner and Kaya Blanke, respectively. Gloria Reuben recurs as Wagner’s wife, Claudia Payne. The cast is small as the police procedural dramedy depends on a healthy supply of guest stars like Stephen Moyer, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Linda Lavin and Blair Underwood,...
Elsbeth follows the titular Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston), an astute but unconventional attorney who utilizes her singular point of view to make unique observations and corner brilliant criminals alongside the NYPD following her successful career in Chicago. The character first appeared in The Good Wife and later in The Good Fight spinoff.
In addition to Preston, Wendell Pierce and Carra Patterson round out the series regular cast as Captain Wagner and Kaya Blanke, respectively. Gloria Reuben recurs as Wagner’s wife, Claudia Payne. The cast is small as the police procedural dramedy depends on a healthy supply of guest stars like Stephen Moyer, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Linda Lavin and Blair Underwood,...
- 4/1/2024
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Oscar-nominated actor Willem Dafoe is set to join the ensemble cast of of Sony Pictures’ SNL 1975 (working title), which will be directed by Jason Reitman and based on the real-life behind-the-scenes accounts of the opening episode of Saturday Night Live. Reitman and Gil Kenan penned the script.
Dafoe will play David Tebet, who was VP Talent Relations at NBC when SNL launched.
On October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. SNL 1975 is the true story of what happened behind the scenes that night in the moments leading up to the first broadcast of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. It depicts the chaos and magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, counting down the minutes in real time to the infamous words, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”
The screenplay is based on an extensive series of interviews conducted by...
Dafoe will play David Tebet, who was VP Talent Relations at NBC when SNL launched.
On October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. SNL 1975 is the true story of what happened behind the scenes that night in the moments leading up to the first broadcast of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. It depicts the chaos and magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t, counting down the minutes in real time to the infamous words, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”
The screenplay is based on an extensive series of interviews conducted by...
- 3/29/2024
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
The long wait is over: Patricia Arquette finally explained David Lynch’s “Lost Highway.” Kind of.
“I would ask David: ‘Am I playing two characters, am I playing a ghost?’ He would say: ‘What do you think, Patrish?’ It’s a woman looked at through the distorted view of a psychotic misogynist,” she said at Series Mania.
“He hates women, he doesn’t quite trust her, even though she is his wife. He kills her but can’t remember it, then he recreates himself as this virile young man and meets her again. And now, she actually wants to fuck him and she is in love with him. But even in this version, she is a dirty whore.”
“In this man’s mind, a woman is always the monster. No matter what. I thought about Jezebel and Salomé for this part, all these bad girls of the Bible.”
More explicit scenes in the cult classic,...
“I would ask David: ‘Am I playing two characters, am I playing a ghost?’ He would say: ‘What do you think, Patrish?’ It’s a woman looked at through the distorted view of a psychotic misogynist,” she said at Series Mania.
“He hates women, he doesn’t quite trust her, even though she is his wife. He kills her but can’t remember it, then he recreates himself as this virile young man and meets her again. And now, she actually wants to fuck him and she is in love with him. But even in this version, she is a dirty whore.”
“In this man’s mind, a woman is always the monster. No matter what. I thought about Jezebel and Salomé for this part, all these bad girls of the Bible.”
More explicit scenes in the cult classic,...
- 3/21/2024
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Patricia Arquette has been unveiled as this years Series Mania guest of honor and will deliver a masterclass.
The Oscar-winning Boyhood star will look back on her career during the Lille fest, which kicks off in just over two weeks.
Arquette is a decorated American actress who has won a multitude of awards including for Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, in which she played Mason’s mum Olivia. Other major past credits include True Romance, Stigmata and Medium.
More recently, Arquette has turned to TV and portrays Harmony Cobel in Apple TV+ hit drama Severance. She also starred in Apple dramedy High Desert, which she developed with Nancy Fichman, Katie Ford, and Jennifer Hoppe, 3 Arts Entertainment, Ben Stiller and Red Hour.
She recently made her directing debut with Gonzo Girl, a feature film based on the best-selling novel by Cheryl Della Pietra, which starred Willem Dafoe, Camila Morrone and Ray Nicholson.
The Oscar-winning Boyhood star will look back on her career during the Lille fest, which kicks off in just over two weeks.
Arquette is a decorated American actress who has won a multitude of awards including for Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, in which she played Mason’s mum Olivia. Other major past credits include True Romance, Stigmata and Medium.
More recently, Arquette has turned to TV and portrays Harmony Cobel in Apple TV+ hit drama Severance. She also starred in Apple dramedy High Desert, which she developed with Nancy Fichman, Katie Ford, and Jennifer Hoppe, 3 Arts Entertainment, Ben Stiller and Red Hour.
She recently made her directing debut with Gonzo Girl, a feature film based on the best-selling novel by Cheryl Della Pietra, which starred Willem Dafoe, Camila Morrone and Ray Nicholson.
- 3/1/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn headline single location drama Daddio, and the first trailer has landed: more here.
It would be fair to say that Dakota Johnson hasn’t had the best month. It began with a press tour that seemed to be doing more harm than good in trying to promote Sony’s Spiderman spin-off Madame Web, in which her comments during the tour generated a huge amount of press. This was swiftly followed by a slew of vitriolic reviews – we gave Madame Web a firm but fair one star.
Still, Johnson has many films in the pipeline, the next one to be released will be single location philosophical drama Daddio. For reference, this is the film Johnson was talking about when she described Hollywood as “heartbreaking” and “fucking bleak” – a conclusion she came to because Daddio took “a lot of fighting to get made.”
At any rate, Daddio...
It would be fair to say that Dakota Johnson hasn’t had the best month. It began with a press tour that seemed to be doing more harm than good in trying to promote Sony’s Spiderman spin-off Madame Web, in which her comments during the tour generated a huge amount of press. This was swiftly followed by a slew of vitriolic reviews – we gave Madame Web a firm but fair one star.
Still, Johnson has many films in the pipeline, the next one to be released will be single location philosophical drama Daddio. For reference, this is the film Johnson was talking about when she described Hollywood as “heartbreaking” and “fucking bleak” – a conclusion she came to because Daddio took “a lot of fighting to get made.”
At any rate, Daddio...
- 2/23/2024
- by Jake Godfrey
- Film Stories
Paul Thomas Anderson is lining up the cast for his latest film, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Regina Hall set for the feature.
The film is set up at Warner Bros., whose studio’s picture group heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy worked with Anderson on his last film, Licorice Pizza, during their time at MGM.
Anderson wrote the script and is set produce the film with Adam Somner and Sara Murphy, who worked with the director on Licorice Pizza.
The logline for this feature is being kept under wraps, but it is due to begin filming soon in California. An ensemble cast is expected for the feature.
Licorice Pizza was nominated for three Oscars, including writing and directing for Anderson, and grossed north of $33 million at the box office. Anderson’s career Oscar nominations now total 11.
DiCaprio was last seen in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon,...
The film is set up at Warner Bros., whose studio’s picture group heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy worked with Anderson on his last film, Licorice Pizza, during their time at MGM.
Anderson wrote the script and is set produce the film with Adam Somner and Sara Murphy, who worked with the director on Licorice Pizza.
The logline for this feature is being kept under wraps, but it is due to begin filming soon in California. An ensemble cast is expected for the feature.
Licorice Pizza was nominated for three Oscars, including writing and directing for Anderson, and grossed north of $33 million at the box office. Anderson’s career Oscar nominations now total 11.
DiCaprio was last seen in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon,...
- 1/10/2024
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Warner Bros has Paul Thomas Anderson set to direct Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn as well as Regina Hall in an untitled film that will begin production this year in California. Anderson wrote the script, and he will produce the film with Sara Murphy and Adam Somner.
The film is currently untitled and they’re keeping the logline under wraps. We have learned that it is a contemporary setting and it is the most commercial one PTA has attempted, with commensurate budget. It came out of a relationship that Warner Bros Picture Group co-chairs/CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy built making PTA’s last film, Licorice Pizza, while they ran MGM. That film got three Oscar noms for Best Picture, and Best Screenplay and Best Director for PTA.
While DiCaprio, Penn and Hall are the leads, the new film will have a big ensemble cast...
The film is currently untitled and they’re keeping the logline under wraps. We have learned that it is a contemporary setting and it is the most commercial one PTA has attempted, with commensurate budget. It came out of a relationship that Warner Bros Picture Group co-chairs/CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy built making PTA’s last film, Licorice Pizza, while they ran MGM. That film got three Oscar noms for Best Picture, and Best Screenplay and Best Director for PTA.
While DiCaprio, Penn and Hall are the leads, the new film will have a big ensemble cast...
- 1/10/2024
- by Justin Kroll and Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
When Willem Dafoe receives his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Jan. 8, the distinction will commemorate more than just a four-time Oscar nominee, but an actor so versatile that he has embodied everything from a conflicted messiah in “The Last Temptation of Christ” to the tortured father figure of “Antichrist.” Is there an actor working today with greater range?
With his deep-set eyes, sharp nose and broad smile, Dafoe has depicted his share of devils, from creepy “Nosferatu” star Max Schreck in “Shadow of the Vampire” to comic-book villain the Green Goblin in “Spider-Man 2.” But he also excels at the other end of the spectrum, as when he plays God in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things,” a Frankensteinian surgeon charitably committed to reanimating dead creatures, like Emma Stone’s Bella.
“My character has this beautiful predicament, because he adores her so much and she adores him, but what she needs,...
With his deep-set eyes, sharp nose and broad smile, Dafoe has depicted his share of devils, from creepy “Nosferatu” star Max Schreck in “Shadow of the Vampire” to comic-book villain the Green Goblin in “Spider-Man 2.” But he also excels at the other end of the spectrum, as when he plays God in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things,” a Frankensteinian surgeon charitably committed to reanimating dead creatures, like Emma Stone’s Bella.
“My character has this beautiful predicament, because he adores her so much and she adores him, but what she needs,...
- 1/8/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Jack Nicholson Isn’t Retired Yet, Says Director James L. Brooks: ‘I Don’t Buy’ That He’s Done Acting
Thirteen years after last appearing onscreen, and Jack Nicholson might still be open to working.
The Oscar winner most recently starred in 2010 rom-com “How Do You Know,” directed by his “Terms of Endearment” helmer James L. Brooks decades after first collaborating on the 1983 drama. Brooks told The Wrap that despite rumors, Nicholson is not retired.
“I don’t think he’s retired,” Brooks said. “I don’t buy that he’s retired.”
He continued, “I remember there was once a friend of mine who one of these raging, alcoholic-driven arguments [with me] about who was the greatest actor at the time. This was at Dustin Hoffman’s height and everything like that. I’m saying Jack Nicholson. He’s saying Dustin Hoffman. I went with [Nicholson] because I said Jack could play either in ‘The Odd Couple.'”
Brooks called it “miracle casting” that Nicholson starred in “Terms of Endearment,” thanks to actress...
The Oscar winner most recently starred in 2010 rom-com “How Do You Know,” directed by his “Terms of Endearment” helmer James L. Brooks decades after first collaborating on the 1983 drama. Brooks told The Wrap that despite rumors, Nicholson is not retired.
“I don’t think he’s retired,” Brooks said. “I don’t buy that he’s retired.”
He continued, “I remember there was once a friend of mine who one of these raging, alcoholic-driven arguments [with me] about who was the greatest actor at the time. This was at Dustin Hoffman’s height and everything like that. I’m saying Jack Nicholson. He’s saying Dustin Hoffman. I went with [Nicholson] because I said Jack could play either in ‘The Odd Couple.'”
Brooks called it “miracle casting” that Nicholson starred in “Terms of Endearment,” thanks to actress...
- 11/15/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
With SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP reaching a tentative agreement on a new contract, our industry’s biggest stars, previously forbidden from participating in the promotion of movies distributed and made by struck studios and streamers, are finally joining the party.
The timing couldn’t have been better for Poland’s EnergaCamerimage Film Festival, which opened last night, and one of the buzzy names here on the ground in Torun is Willem Dafoe, who has stepped out to promote Poor Things, his wacky, darkly comic Golden Lion winner from Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos.
“I assume things will just go back to the way they were, but the terms will be different,” Dafoe told Deadline when quizzed on how he thinks the prolonged strike might shape the industry’s future, adding he didn’t hold all the details of the negotiations.
“I’m a worker bee. I work a lot. And I...
The timing couldn’t have been better for Poland’s EnergaCamerimage Film Festival, which opened last night, and one of the buzzy names here on the ground in Torun is Willem Dafoe, who has stepped out to promote Poor Things, his wacky, darkly comic Golden Lion winner from Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos.
“I assume things will just go back to the way they were, but the terms will be different,” Dafoe told Deadline when quizzed on how he thinks the prolonged strike might shape the industry’s future, adding he didn’t hold all the details of the negotiations.
“I’m a worker bee. I work a lot. And I...
- 11/12/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Emmy nominee Camila Morrone has signed with Brillstein Entertainment Partners for representation.
Morrone is coming off the hit Amazon limited series Daisy Jones & The Six, for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Emmy nomination for her role as Camila Dunne, and the Patrica Arquette-directed Gonzo Girl, which recently premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Up next she can be seen starring opposite Joe Keery in the independent film Marmalade, directed and written by Keir O’Donnell.
She received critical praise for her starring role as a Montana teenager caring for her father, a veteran with a substance abuse problem, in Annabelle Attanasio’s indie film Mickey and the Bear. She also starred in A24 and Augustine Frizzell’s comedy Never Goin’ Back and in Death Wish, the Eli Roth-directed remake of the 1974 Charles Bronson film for MGM.
Morrone continues to be repped by WME, Nue Group, Hansen,...
Morrone is coming off the hit Amazon limited series Daisy Jones & The Six, for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Emmy nomination for her role as Camila Dunne, and the Patrica Arquette-directed Gonzo Girl, which recently premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Up next she can be seen starring opposite Joe Keery in the independent film Marmalade, directed and written by Keir O’Donnell.
She received critical praise for her starring role as a Montana teenager caring for her father, a veteran with a substance abuse problem, in Annabelle Attanasio’s indie film Mickey and the Bear. She also starred in A24 and Augustine Frizzell’s comedy Never Goin’ Back and in Death Wish, the Eli Roth-directed remake of the 1974 Charles Bronson film for MGM.
Morrone continues to be repped by WME, Nue Group, Hansen,...
- 11/7/2023
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Sly Exhibit. Courtesy of the author.Take the elevator to the fourth floor of the TIFF Bell Lightbox theater and follow the sounds of proggy synthesizers. You’ll find a small gallery containing about a dozen neo-expressionist paintings; many depict solitary wanderers against backdrops of stormy neutrals. But before you have a chance to revel in these angsty brushstrokes, you’ll have to encounter the artist—it’s not optional. His image is plastered all over the elevators, lobby, and on an enormous cube in the center of this room: stare into the smirking visage of Sylvester Stallone, sequestered in an art-filled living room. “Sly Exhibit,” reads the text on the poster. A red “N”—the classier, minimalist version of the Netflix logo—is stamped at the bottom like a seal of approval.I wasn’t familiar with Stallone’s visual art before Netflix and TIFF shared it with me.
- 9/27/2023
- MUBI
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The "Nightmare on Elm Street" film series was a hotbed for emerging talent. Many of the directors in the franchise would go on to prolific or interesting careers. Chuck Russell, director of "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" would go on to make Hollywood blockbusters like "The Mask," "Eraser," and "The Scorpion King." Renny Harlin, who directed "A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master" would likewise enter the Hollywood mainstream with films like "Predator 2," "Die Hard 2," "Cliffhanger," and "Cutthroat Island." Jack Sholder, Stephen Hopkins, and Rachael Talalay also emerged from the series' directors pool.
One can also find a few rising actors at the start of their careers throughout the Freddy Krueger movies. Famously, a young Johnny Depp starred in Wes Craven's 1984 original, and, for "Dream Warriors," Patricia Arquette made her cinematic debut.
The "Nightmare on Elm Street" film series was a hotbed for emerging talent. Many of the directors in the franchise would go on to prolific or interesting careers. Chuck Russell, director of "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" would go on to make Hollywood blockbusters like "The Mask," "Eraser," and "The Scorpion King." Renny Harlin, who directed "A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master" would likewise enter the Hollywood mainstream with films like "Predator 2," "Die Hard 2," "Cliffhanger," and "Cutthroat Island." Jack Sholder, Stephen Hopkins, and Rachael Talalay also emerged from the series' directors pool.
One can also find a few rising actors at the start of their careers throughout the Freddy Krueger movies. Famously, a young Johnny Depp starred in Wes Craven's 1984 original, and, for "Dream Warriors," Patricia Arquette made her cinematic debut.
- 9/25/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts is honoring three artists at its annual Visibility Awards in D.C. on Wednesday, at an event designed to advance Latino representation in film and television.
Ángel Manuel Soto, director-producer of the Latino superhero movie Blue Beetle, is being recognized with the organization’s Raul Julia Award for Excellence. “Ángel’s work advances the presence of Latinos in film and highlights studies demonstrating that Latino directors are more likely to bring Latino talent to their projects,” the foundation said.
Ramón Rodríguez, recipient of the Spotlight Award, produces and stars in the adaptation of the Karin Slaughter crime novel Will Trent. “Ramón has been a leading voice in continued efforts to open doors for Latino talent in the industry,” the foundation said.
Camila Morrone, honored with the Horizon Award, is starring with Willem Dafoe in Patricia Arquette’s, Gonzo Girl, based on Cheryl Della Pietra’s semi-autobiographical novel,...
Ángel Manuel Soto, director-producer of the Latino superhero movie Blue Beetle, is being recognized with the organization’s Raul Julia Award for Excellence. “Ángel’s work advances the presence of Latinos in film and highlights studies demonstrating that Latino directors are more likely to bring Latino talent to their projects,” the foundation said.
Ramón Rodríguez, recipient of the Spotlight Award, produces and stars in the adaptation of the Karin Slaughter crime novel Will Trent. “Ramón has been a leading voice in continued efforts to open doors for Latino talent in the industry,” the foundation said.
Camila Morrone, honored with the Horizon Award, is starring with Willem Dafoe in Patricia Arquette’s, Gonzo Girl, based on Cheryl Della Pietra’s semi-autobiographical novel,...
- 9/18/2023
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
The 48th Toronto International Film Festival, from which I just returned, technically runs through Sunday, but by this point, virtually every film in the lineup has screened at least once. So, I thought I’d seize this opportunity to share some impressions of this year’s fest and the awards hopefuls that played there and also offer some informed speculation about which film could pick up some wind behind its award season sails on Sunday when the fest announces the winner of its TIFF Audience Award.
What was the vibe at this year’s fest?
Given the ongoing strikes of actors and writers, red carpets and pre-screening introductions were far less star-studded than in other years. My concern was that this — and the fact that very few of the award season’s most highly anticipated films had elected to premiere at TIFF — could really depress attendance. That, in turn, might...
What was the vibe at this year’s fest?
Given the ongoing strikes of actors and writers, red carpets and pre-screening introductions were far less star-studded than in other years. My concern was that this — and the fact that very few of the award season’s most highly anticipated films had elected to premiere at TIFF — could really depress attendance. That, in turn, might...
- 9/16/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s been a Toronto Film Festival like few others. The writers and actors strikes meant that many A-listers opted not to touch down in Canada this year, depriving the gathering of film lovers of the star-studded red carpets and Q&As that make Toronto so memorable. Even if this year’s festival was starved for glamour, it was still a good opportunity to get a clearer picture of the awards race — and to check the pulse of Hollywood at a tumultuous time for the industry.
1. ) Venice and Telluride Stole Some Thunder
Toronto, which has the misfortune of appearing last on the calendar, is in danger of being seriously overshadowed by the other late summer and early fall festivals. Between them, Venice and Telluride played host to “Ferrari,” “Poor Things,” “The Bikeriders” and “Priscilla” — which emerged as likely Oscar contenders. But these films opted to skip Toronto, preventing it from...
1. ) Venice and Telluride Stole Some Thunder
Toronto, which has the misfortune of appearing last on the calendar, is in danger of being seriously overshadowed by the other late summer and early fall festivals. Between them, Venice and Telluride played host to “Ferrari,” “Poor Things,” “The Bikeriders” and “Priscilla” — which emerged as likely Oscar contenders. But these films opted to skip Toronto, preventing it from...
- 9/13/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Patricia Arquette's new movie has been inspired by Hunter S. Thompson.The 55-year-old actress is making her directorial debut with a film adaptation of 'Gonzo Girl', which is based on the novel by Cheryl Della Prieta, and Patricia has now revealed that the movie has actually been inspired by the legendary writer, who died in February 2005, aged 67.Patricia told Collider's Perri Nemiroff: "I always loved Hunter S. Thompson, and it's inspired by his spirit and him."It's different, also. It's fiction, it's based on a book. But I love Hunter S. Thompson, and I love that world, and I loved the ‘90s growing up as a young woman."The film centers on a young woman and the struggles that she faces as she begins her life after college.Patricia added: "I like this idea that it was some kind of a mix between a ‘90s movie and the ‘60s,...
- 9/13/2023
- by Josh Evans
- Bang Showbiz
Willem Dafoe thinks something “radical” like an industry “collapse” is possible if the negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP don’t get resolved.
The Poor Things and Pet Shop Days star spoke to Vanity Fair for a story published Monday promoting the new Patricia Arquette-directed Gonzo Girl, which was granted a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement and held its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. During the conversation, Dafoe opened up about the experience of having four films running during the fall film festival season but only being able to promote one due to the ongoing actors strike, which began July 14 after the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA did not reach an agreement.
“To be in Venice with three films and not be able to go broke my heart. But then I thought, ‘Is it just because you want to have a good time?’ I live in Italy, and it’s exciting to see friends,...
The Poor Things and Pet Shop Days star spoke to Vanity Fair for a story published Monday promoting the new Patricia Arquette-directed Gonzo Girl, which was granted a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement and held its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. During the conversation, Dafoe opened up about the experience of having four films running during the fall film festival season but only being able to promote one due to the ongoing actors strike, which began July 14 after the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA did not reach an agreement.
“To be in Venice with three films and not be able to go broke my heart. But then I thought, ‘Is it just because you want to have a good time?’ I live in Italy, and it’s exciting to see friends,...
- 9/12/2023
- by Abbey White
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Pedro Almodóvar, Spike Lee and Patricia Arquette were among those accepting honors at the Toronto International Film Festival Tribute awards Sunday night: George Pimentel photographed the red carpet and inside the show for TheWrap.
Thanks to SAG-AFTRA strike waivers, several actors including Willem Dafoe and Ethan Hawke, were also on hand. “Sing Sing” and “Rustin” actor Colman Domingo was also able to collect his Tribute Performer Award in person, as was “The Dead Don’t Die” star Vicky Krieps.
Enjoy these shots of Lee, who was there to receive the Ebert Director Award, and more awards recipients and presenters.
Photo by George Pimentel
Willem Dafoe plays a Hunter S. Thompson-esque writer in “Gonzo Girl” from director Patricia Arquette.
Photo by George Pimentel
“Daisy Jones & the Six” actress Camila Morrone co-stars with Willem Dafoe in “Gonzo Girl,” the directorial debut of Patricia Arquette.
Photo by George Pimentel
Patricia Arquette went...
Thanks to SAG-AFTRA strike waivers, several actors including Willem Dafoe and Ethan Hawke, were also on hand. “Sing Sing” and “Rustin” actor Colman Domingo was also able to collect his Tribute Performer Award in person, as was “The Dead Don’t Die” star Vicky Krieps.
Enjoy these shots of Lee, who was there to receive the Ebert Director Award, and more awards recipients and presenters.
Photo by George Pimentel
Willem Dafoe plays a Hunter S. Thompson-esque writer in “Gonzo Girl” from director Patricia Arquette.
Photo by George Pimentel
“Daisy Jones & the Six” actress Camila Morrone co-stars with Willem Dafoe in “Gonzo Girl,” the directorial debut of Patricia Arquette.
Photo by George Pimentel
Patricia Arquette went...
- 9/12/2023
- by Sharon Knolle
- The Wrap
Yorgos Lanthimos’ new film Poor Things has just been given the Golden Lion prize at the 80th Venice Film Festival. The dark fairy tale comedy beat out some pretty stiff competition this year, which included Michael Mann’s Ferrari, David Fincher’s The Killer and Bradley Cooper’s Maestro. The reactions to the film have been glowing and they’ve been doing their best to prepare audiences for what’s to come. Additionally, many see this as an Oscar-winning performance for star Emma Stone, as she takes on the most ambitious role in her career.
Stone’s co-star, Willem Dafoe, has not only Poor Things, but also Pet Shop Boys and Finally Dawn that played at the festival. With multiple films being featured at one of the most prestigious film events, it’s certainly a bummer to not be able to celebrate them. IndieWire reports that Dafoe spoke with Vanity Fair during this time.
Stone’s co-star, Willem Dafoe, has not only Poor Things, but also Pet Shop Boys and Finally Dawn that played at the festival. With multiple films being featured at one of the most prestigious film events, it’s certainly a bummer to not be able to celebrate them. IndieWire reports that Dafoe spoke with Vanity Fair during this time.
- 9/11/2023
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
Willem Dafoe had Fomo on the fall festival circuit.
The star of Venice’s Golden Lion winner “Poor Things” led four films between Venice, Telluride, and TIFF but TIFF-premiering “Gonzo Girl” is the only film with a SAG-AFTRA strike waiver that allows for Dafoe to promote it; hence, TIFF is the only festival the actor was in attendance for.
Dafoe told Vanity Fair that it “broke” his heart to not be present for the premieres of all the respective films, including “Poor Things,” “Pet Shop Days,” and “Finally Dawn.”
“To be in Venice with three films and not be able to go broke my heart,” Dafoe said. “But then I thought, ‘Is it just because you want to have a good time?’ I live in Italy and it’s exciting to see friends, it’s exciting to dress up. ‘Does the film fly or not in real time?’ That’s fun.
The star of Venice’s Golden Lion winner “Poor Things” led four films between Venice, Telluride, and TIFF but TIFF-premiering “Gonzo Girl” is the only film with a SAG-AFTRA strike waiver that allows for Dafoe to promote it; hence, TIFF is the only festival the actor was in attendance for.
Dafoe told Vanity Fair that it “broke” his heart to not be present for the premieres of all the respective films, including “Poor Things,” “Pet Shop Days,” and “Finally Dawn.”
“To be in Venice with three films and not be able to go broke my heart,” Dafoe said. “But then I thought, ‘Is it just because you want to have a good time?’ I live in Italy and it’s exciting to see friends, it’s exciting to dress up. ‘Does the film fly or not in real time?’ That’s fun.
- 9/11/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
At the 2023 TIFF Tribute Awards hosted at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto presenters Barry Jenkins and Chaz Ebert went off-script to emphasize how much it meant to hand the Ebert Director Award to Spike Lee.
The Oscar-winning “Moonlight” director went first, sharing how he was one of two Black men in his film program at a predominantly white college. While his peer would say he wanted to be the next Spike Lee, he said, “‘I want to be the first Barry Jenkins,’ and I would qualify that by saying I think that’s the way Spike would want it.” In town serving as one of the judges for the festival’s Platform programming block, Jenkins continued, “So Spike I just wanted to say you’ve carried so much weight for so many of us for so damn long that I’m on this jury and I’m tired as hell.
The Oscar-winning “Moonlight” director went first, sharing how he was one of two Black men in his film program at a predominantly white college. While his peer would say he wanted to be the next Spike Lee, he said, “‘I want to be the first Barry Jenkins,’ and I would qualify that by saying I think that’s the way Spike would want it.” In town serving as one of the judges for the festival’s Platform programming block, Jenkins continued, “So Spike I just wanted to say you’ve carried so much weight for so many of us for so damn long that I’m on this jury and I’m tired as hell.
- 9/11/2023
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Toronto — When the crowd settles in, the lights go down and the movie starts, this year’s Toronto International Film Festival is more or less business as usual.
The rest of the time, not so much.
This is a TIFF with fewer stars, fewer studio movies and more films up for sale but fewer buyers willing to commit during the writers’ and actors’ strikes. That’s a distinctly different beast from the TIFF that would normally host a parade of movie stars on an array of red carpets every day, particularly during the opening weekend that concludes on Sunday.
And yet, this year’s festival has had a familiar assortment of potential awards movies, crowd-pleasers, bold indies, star vehicles, international projects and weirdo midnight romps. And in the theaters when those movies play, the number of movie stars in the seats can be beside the point for at least a couple of hours.
The rest of the time, not so much.
This is a TIFF with fewer stars, fewer studio movies and more films up for sale but fewer buyers willing to commit during the writers’ and actors’ strikes. That’s a distinctly different beast from the TIFF that would normally host a parade of movie stars on an array of red carpets every day, particularly during the opening weekend that concludes on Sunday.
And yet, this year’s festival has had a familiar assortment of potential awards movies, crowd-pleasers, bold indies, star vehicles, international projects and weirdo midnight romps. And in the theaters when those movies play, the number of movie stars in the seats can be beside the point for at least a couple of hours.
- 9/11/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Despite the first simultaneous strikes of actors and writers since 1960 — 16 years before the first edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, or, as it was known then, the Festival of Festivals — a host of big names came out to present and receive honors Sunday evening at the fifth annual TIFF Tribute Awards.The gala dinner fundraiser for the fest’s philanthropic efforts — and an occasional harbinger of Oscar recognition — is held each year at Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
This year’s highest-profile Tribute Award honoree, Spike Lee, has no ties to the ongoing awards season. Lee was presented with the Ebert Director Award by TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey, filmmaker Barry Jenkins (who called Lee “one of the best filmmakers of our time” and thanked him for carrying “so much weight for so many of us [Black filmmakers] for so damn long”) and the late film critic Roger Ebert‘s widow Chaz Ebert...
This year’s highest-profile Tribute Award honoree, Spike Lee, has no ties to the ongoing awards season. Lee was presented with the Ebert Director Award by TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey, filmmaker Barry Jenkins (who called Lee “one of the best filmmakers of our time” and thanked him for carrying “so much weight for so many of us [Black filmmakers] for so damn long”) and the late film critic Roger Ebert‘s widow Chaz Ebert...
- 9/11/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Spike Lee blasted critics who suggested that “Do The Right Thing” would spark riots when it opened in 1989, while honoring one of the reviewers who came to the film’s defense. The remarks came as Lee received the Ebert Director Award, named for the late film critic Roger Ebert, at the Toronto International Film Festival Tribute Awards on Sunday.
“Your husband got behind me when those mother f–kers in the press were saying that ‘Do the Right Thing’ was going to incite Black people to riot,” Lee said, as he accepted his prize from Chaz Ebert, the late critic’s wife. “That this film should not be shown in the United States.”
Lee cited David Denby and Joe Klein as two of the most prominent critical voices against the film, which has gone to be considered one of the greatest films ever made. The pair wrote, Lee recalled, that...
“Your husband got behind me when those mother f–kers in the press were saying that ‘Do the Right Thing’ was going to incite Black people to riot,” Lee said, as he accepted his prize from Chaz Ebert, the late critic’s wife. “That this film should not be shown in the United States.”
Lee cited David Denby and Joe Klein as two of the most prominent critical voices against the film, which has gone to be considered one of the greatest films ever made. The pair wrote, Lee recalled, that...
- 9/11/2023
- by Brent Lang and Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The Toronto International Film Festival is in full swing with a bevy of titles competing both for global distribution and awards prestige. The festival has had its share of lumps in the last month, losing their 28-year-sponsor, Bell Telephone, back in August, as well as being enmeshed in the on-going SAG-AFTRA/WGA duel strike. It is that strike that is the most insurmountable goal for the event, as actors and writers are unable to attend and promote their films, though some have with a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement.
And while the movie landscape is looking different, with movies switching release dates (in the wake of both the strike and Taylor Swift’s Eras tour), this year’s TIFF is showcasing what amazing movies are still being made. Here are 25 of the hottest titles to be excited for at this year’s TIFF.
Courtesy of TIFF
“Dumb Money” (Sony)
Craig Gillespie’s...
And while the movie landscape is looking different, with movies switching release dates (in the wake of both the strike and Taylor Swift’s Eras tour), this year’s TIFF is showcasing what amazing movies are still being made. Here are 25 of the hottest titles to be excited for at this year’s TIFF.
Courtesy of TIFF
“Dumb Money” (Sony)
Craig Gillespie’s...
- 9/9/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland says the Hollywood actors strike might well go into 2024 but insisted the major studios and streamers could push forward a resolution.
“We hope it doesn’t go into next year, but our members are standing strong. The union is secure and stable. We have emergency assistance funds available for our members and crew members in the industry,” Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director of the American actors union, told The Hollywood Reporter on Saturday.
His comments came as SAG-AFTRA and Actra, the Canadian actors union, held a joint rally outside the Toronto headquarters of Amazon and Apple to rally support for labor action by performers on both sides of the border. Patricia Arquette, who is screening her directorial debut, Gonzo Girl, at TIFF was also at the rally.
Crabtree-Ireland insisted the prospect of an early resolution to the actors strike lay with the major studios and streamers...
“We hope it doesn’t go into next year, but our members are standing strong. The union is secure and stable. We have emergency assistance funds available for our members and crew members in the industry,” Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director of the American actors union, told The Hollywood Reporter on Saturday.
His comments came as SAG-AFTRA and Actra, the Canadian actors union, held a joint rally outside the Toronto headquarters of Amazon and Apple to rally support for labor action by performers on both sides of the border. Patricia Arquette, who is screening her directorial debut, Gonzo Girl, at TIFF was also at the rally.
Crabtree-Ireland insisted the prospect of an early resolution to the actors strike lay with the major studios and streamers...
- 9/9/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
SAG-AFTRA’s presence at TIFF continued into Saturday with a special picket outside Amazon offices here in Toronto with Canada’s commercial actors union Actra, who’ve been in a 501 day contract lockout with the country’s advertising agencies org.
Patricia Arquette, whose feature directorial debut Gonzo Girl, played on Friday night at the fest, showed up to show her support alongside SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, who praised the Oscar winner for having a project under a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement.
Arquette described the current standoff between actors and studios:
“What we got is a low-functioning dynamic, which is ‘I’m gonna get mine, and I don’t care what happens to you’ and have to shift to a high functioning dynamic which is ‘This is what I’d like, but I don’t want it, if it really hurts you.'”
“And this is really hurting people,...
Patricia Arquette, whose feature directorial debut Gonzo Girl, played on Friday night at the fest, showed up to show her support alongside SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, who praised the Oscar winner for having a project under a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement.
Arquette described the current standoff between actors and studios:
“What we got is a low-functioning dynamic, which is ‘I’m gonna get mine, and I don’t care what happens to you’ and have to shift to a high functioning dynamic which is ‘This is what I’d like, but I don’t want it, if it really hurts you.'”
“And this is really hurting people,...
- 9/9/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland says fate of US work stoppage lies in hands of Hollywood companies.
Representatives from SAG-AFTRA and Canadian actors union Acrta were joined by Patricia Arquette in a protest outside the Toronto headquarters of Amazon and Apple on Saturday morning.
Arquette, who is in Toronto to promote her feature directorial debut Gonzo Girl, which she was cleared to promote through a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement a week before TIFF kicked off, addressed the crowd in support of the work stoppage alongside the union’s executive national director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.
The SAG-AFTRA executive said the fate of the...
Representatives from SAG-AFTRA and Canadian actors union Acrta were joined by Patricia Arquette in a protest outside the Toronto headquarters of Amazon and Apple on Saturday morning.
Arquette, who is in Toronto to promote her feature directorial debut Gonzo Girl, which she was cleared to promote through a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement a week before TIFF kicked off, addressed the crowd in support of the work stoppage alongside the union’s executive national director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.
The SAG-AFTRA executive said the fate of the...
- 9/9/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
“It’s like asking a woman when she’s crowning, ‘Do you want to give birth, again?’ ” explains Patricia Arquette of being asked about future directing ambitions while still waiting to screen her debut. “You’re like, ‘Not now!’ ”
Arquette’s feature, Gonzo Girl, is an adaptation of the book by Cheryl Della Pietra, who drew on her time as Hunter S. Thompson’s assistant in the 1990s for a fictionalized story about an aspiring writer who is tasked with extracting the latest novel from a drug-addled iconoclast. The script first came to the Oscar-winning actress, who had begun talking to her agents about nascent directorial aspirations, as an offer to star. In reading it, she saw the chance to explore themes, according to Arquette, that included — but were not limited to — “celebrity distortion, co-dependence, addiction, unhealed wounds, art, joy, life, sexuality.”
Arquette was also drawn to the ’90s time period,...
Arquette’s feature, Gonzo Girl, is an adaptation of the book by Cheryl Della Pietra, who drew on her time as Hunter S. Thompson’s assistant in the 1990s for a fictionalized story about an aspiring writer who is tasked with extracting the latest novel from a drug-addled iconoclast. The script first came to the Oscar-winning actress, who had begun talking to her agents about nascent directorial aspirations, as an offer to star. In reading it, she saw the chance to explore themes, according to Arquette, that included — but were not limited to — “celebrity distortion, co-dependence, addiction, unhealed wounds, art, joy, life, sexuality.”
Arquette was also drawn to the ’90s time period,...
- 9/9/2023
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Deadline launched its photo studio, hosting talent from Sept 8-11 at the Toronto Film Festival, as cast members of TIFF-premiering films stopped by including Harmony Korine for Aggro Dr1ft; Billy Bryk, Finn Wolfhard, Fred Hechinger, Abby Quinn from Hell of a Summer; Viggo Mortensen, Vicky Krieps from The Dead Don’t Hurt; Kristoffer Borgli & Nicolas Cage for Dream Scenario; Neve Campbell, from Swan Song; Bowen Yang, Arron Jackson, Josh Sharp for Dicks The Musical; Camila Morrone, Patrica Arquette, Willem Dafoe for Gonzo Girl; Elliot Page for Backspot; Wim Wenders and Koji Yakusho from Perfect Days and many more.
Related: 2023 Toronto Film Festival Photos: Premieres, Red Carpet And Parties
Stay tuned for more photo galleries from the Deadline studio at TIFF 2023.
Related: 2023 Toronto Film Festival Photos: Premieres, Red Carpet And Parties
Stay tuned for more photo galleries from the Deadline studio at TIFF 2023.
- 9/8/2023
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
Willem Dafoe had nothing but praise for Patricia Arquette when speaking about her directorial debut, “Gonzo Girl”.
Dafoe — who stars as Walker Reade in the flick — chatted to Et Canada’s Morgan Hoffman at the movie’s TIFF premiere.
As the host asked about Arquette, Dafoe gushed, “She really took care of us. She’s great with actors.
“It was a film that wasn’t easy to make, not a big budget movie. A lot of actors with very important roles coming for very short periods of time. Good material but difficult to adapt. She did beautifully.”
“It was a film that wasn’t easy to make, not a big budget movie.”
Read More: Patricia Arquette Reveals Her Daughter Bought Her A Stuffed Animal Because She Was ‘Having A Rough Patch’ Ahead Of ‘Gonzo Girl’ TIFF Premiere
As Hoffman commented on Dafoe’s alleged “crazy experimental rehearsals,” the star laughed and said,...
Dafoe — who stars as Walker Reade in the flick — chatted to Et Canada’s Morgan Hoffman at the movie’s TIFF premiere.
As the host asked about Arquette, Dafoe gushed, “She really took care of us. She’s great with actors.
“It was a film that wasn’t easy to make, not a big budget movie. A lot of actors with very important roles coming for very short periods of time. Good material but difficult to adapt. She did beautifully.”
“It was a film that wasn’t easy to make, not a big budget movie.”
Read More: Patricia Arquette Reveals Her Daughter Bought Her A Stuffed Animal Because She Was ‘Having A Rough Patch’ Ahead Of ‘Gonzo Girl’ TIFF Premiere
As Hoffman commented on Dafoe’s alleged “crazy experimental rehearsals,” the star laughed and said,...
- 9/8/2023
- by Becca Longmire
- ET Canada
When Patricia Arquette decided to make her feature film directing debut with “Gonzo Girl,” she made a promise to her cast.
“I told them that I would always edit everything for the acting — even if the camera work wasn’t the best in that take or some thing didn’t match from a continuity perspective,” she says a week before the movie’s big premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. “I don’t think someone has ever edited my performance directly for the acting, so I wanted to do this greedy, delicious thing for my ensemble. I wanted to create a space for great acting.”
It helps, of course, that the star of “Gonzo Girl” is none other than Willem Dafoe, a four-time Oscar nominee, as well as rising talents such as Camila Morrone of “Daisy Jones & the Six.” And that kind of creative freedom, and not big salaries,...
“I told them that I would always edit everything for the acting — even if the camera work wasn’t the best in that take or some thing didn’t match from a continuity perspective,” she says a week before the movie’s big premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. “I don’t think someone has ever edited my performance directly for the acting, so I wanted to do this greedy, delicious thing for my ensemble. I wanted to create a space for great acting.”
It helps, of course, that the star of “Gonzo Girl” is none other than Willem Dafoe, a four-time Oscar nominee, as well as rising talents such as Camila Morrone of “Daisy Jones & the Six.” And that kind of creative freedom, and not big salaries,...
- 9/8/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Patricia Arquette had a very special date for the TIFF 2023 premiere of her directorial debut, “Gonzo Girl”.
Arquette chatted to Et Canada’s Morgan Hoffman on the red carpet, gushing over how kind her daughter Harlow Jane — who accompanied her mom to the premiere — had been on her big day.
Arquette said of the 20-year-old, who she called her “superpower”, “She bought me a stuffed animal today, okay? That’s how sweet she is.
“I was having a little rough patch this morning. She brought me that stuffed animal, it changed the game.”
“I was having a little rough patch this morning. She brought me that stuffed animal, it changed the game.”
Harlow Jane confirmed she’d got her mom “a stuffed alpaca.”
Patricia Arquette and Harlow Jane at the “Gonzo Girl” screening at the 48th Annual Toronto International Film Festival held at the Roy Thomson Hall on September 7, 2023 in Toronto,...
Arquette chatted to Et Canada’s Morgan Hoffman on the red carpet, gushing over how kind her daughter Harlow Jane — who accompanied her mom to the premiere — had been on her big day.
Arquette said of the 20-year-old, who she called her “superpower”, “She bought me a stuffed animal today, okay? That’s how sweet she is.
“I was having a little rough patch this morning. She brought me that stuffed animal, it changed the game.”
“I was having a little rough patch this morning. She brought me that stuffed animal, it changed the game.”
Harlow Jane confirmed she’d got her mom “a stuffed alpaca.”
Patricia Arquette and Harlow Jane at the “Gonzo Girl” screening at the 48th Annual Toronto International Film Festival held at the Roy Thomson Hall on September 7, 2023 in Toronto,...
- 9/8/2023
- by Becca Longmire
- ET Canada
Patricia Arquette used ‘Gonzo Girl’ to explore the “nebulous nature of addiction and co-dependency”.The actress made her directorial debut taking charge of the new film which is based on the book of the same name by Cheryl Della Pietra and is inspired by the story of the author’s time spent working as assistant to writer Hunter S. Thompson - and Arquette has insisted she wanted to use the movie to bring a fresh perspective to his life story.Speaking at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada, she said the movie questions “What is the commodity of beauty?” She added: “[It was] a look at the nebulous nature of addiction and co-dependency and how your move through your boundaries.”The director went on to say: “I thought it was interesting to be an artist and trapped in your own celebrity. The world wants to keep you in that box and doesn...
- 9/8/2023
- by Louise Mary Randell
- Bang Showbiz
For a writer whose specialty was his mad rush of words — careening, excessive, gloriously offensive and thoroughly “gonzo,” to use a word he may well have coined — Hunter S. Thompson has long been an irresistible image to put on screen. He was played by Johnny Depp in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” Bill Murray in “Where the Buffalo Roam” and a few others, and now it’s Willem Dafoe’s turn in Patricia Arquette’s directorial debut, “Gonzo Girl.”
Rather, it’s Dafoe’s turn to play somebody like Hunter S. Thompson. In the movie, which had its world premiere on Thursday night as one of the opening-night attractions of the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, Dafoe is “Walker Reade,” a wild-eyed journalist and author who lives in Woody Creek, Colorado and loves guns, drugs, alcohol and messing with people — not necessarily in that order. The fact that all of...
Rather, it’s Dafoe’s turn to play somebody like Hunter S. Thompson. In the movie, which had its world premiere on Thursday night as one of the opening-night attractions of the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, Dafoe is “Walker Reade,” a wild-eyed journalist and author who lives in Woody Creek, Colorado and loves guns, drugs, alcohol and messing with people — not necessarily in that order. The fact that all of...
- 9/8/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The actor makes an underwhelming first feature as film-maker, a thinly etched adaptation of Cheryl Della Pietra’s semi-autobiographical book
There’s a certain image associated with gonzo journalism – daring, confessional, subversive, male. For all its successes and groundbreaking candor, it’s a style conflated with male ego and excess, the extremes of drugs, adventure and eccentricity that men could afford to pursue.
Gonzo Girl, the directorial debut of the actor Patricia Arquette, seems, at least on the surface, to be interested in complicating that image, or at least adding some footnotes. The 107-minute film, written by Rebecca Thomas and Jessica Caldwell and based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Cheryl Della Pietra, focuses on a young female assistant to a stand-in for Hunter S Thompson in the summer of 1992. Like her real-life counterpart, Alley Russo (Camila Morrone) is a bookish recent grad with literary aspirations who takes a gig assisting...
There’s a certain image associated with gonzo journalism – daring, confessional, subversive, male. For all its successes and groundbreaking candor, it’s a style conflated with male ego and excess, the extremes of drugs, adventure and eccentricity that men could afford to pursue.
Gonzo Girl, the directorial debut of the actor Patricia Arquette, seems, at least on the surface, to be interested in complicating that image, or at least adding some footnotes. The 107-minute film, written by Rebecca Thomas and Jessica Caldwell and based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Cheryl Della Pietra, focuses on a young female assistant to a stand-in for Hunter S Thompson in the summer of 1992. Like her real-life counterpart, Alley Russo (Camila Morrone) is a bookish recent grad with literary aspirations who takes a gig assisting...
- 9/8/2023
- by Adrian Horton
- The Guardian - Film News
If you were looking for stars at opening night of the Toronto Film Festival at a time when there aren’t that many available, they were at the world premiere of Gonzo Girl, with four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe and director-star Patricia Arquette receiving a standing ovation Thursday at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.
Arquette was drawn to Cheryl Della Pietra’s novel about author’s tortured yet creative time as Hunter S. Thompson’s assistant because she was a die-hard fan of the gonzo journalist. But it was more than that.
Arquette was also fascinated with the ’90s backdrop, and the notion of one being lost in the celebrity. Also, themes of “what is the commodity of beauty? (It was) a look at the nebulous nature of addiction and co-dependency and how your move through your boundaries,” she said in introducing the film.
“This is theme of my life. Tada!
Arquette was drawn to Cheryl Della Pietra’s novel about author’s tortured yet creative time as Hunter S. Thompson’s assistant because she was a die-hard fan of the gonzo journalist. But it was more than that.
Arquette was also fascinated with the ’90s backdrop, and the notion of one being lost in the celebrity. Also, themes of “what is the commodity of beauty? (It was) a look at the nebulous nature of addiction and co-dependency and how your move through your boundaries,” she said in introducing the film.
“This is theme of my life. Tada!
- 9/8/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro and Natalie Sitek
- Deadline Film + TV
It is never a normal “opening night” when it comes to the Toronto Film Festival, which is offering numerous films including the much anticipated Hayao Miyizaki film The Boy and the Heron, which is the key opening-night gala. But there are others including two exceptional directorial debuts from celebrated veteran stars Kristin Scott Thomas and Patricia Arquette making it all a very memorable kickoff for TIFF on many fronts.
In fact this is a festival this year featuring numerous premieres of films either marking the first time an actor has gone behind the camera as Thomas and Arquette have done, respectively, with Special Presentation North Star, and the Discovery Section opener Gonzo Girl, or taking their latest shot as a director. In the coming days we will also have Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour; Viggo Mortensen’s sophomore feature The Dead Don’t Hurt; Ethan Hawke’s Wildcat; Chris Pine...
In fact this is a festival this year featuring numerous premieres of films either marking the first time an actor has gone behind the camera as Thomas and Arquette have done, respectively, with Special Presentation North Star, and the Discovery Section opener Gonzo Girl, or taking their latest shot as a director. In the coming days we will also have Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour; Viggo Mortensen’s sophomore feature The Dead Don’t Hurt; Ethan Hawke’s Wildcat; Chris Pine...
- 9/8/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
The slimmed-down TIFF 2023 is not exactly unfolding as the return to a full-bore robust international film festival that CEO Cameron Bailey had envisioned. He has made the best of a tough situation, as combined actors and writers strikes reduced the number of players willing to walk the red carpet and do the media junkets that have long made the festival a launchpad for the fall movie season. While the usual stargazing on King Street was diminished, the city of Toronto nonetheless shut down the thoroughfare for the opening night of the festival and the atmosphere was festive.
On opening night, Bailey was all smiles. He knew that master storyteller Hayao Miyazaki’s return from retirement, “The Boy and the Heron,” possibly his last film, was screening for the first time for moviegoers outside Japan, where the renowned director refused to preview or promote the movie before it hit theaters. Of...
On opening night, Bailey was all smiles. He knew that master storyteller Hayao Miyazaki’s return from retirement, “The Boy and the Heron,” possibly his last film, was screening for the first time for moviegoers outside Japan, where the renowned director refused to preview or promote the movie before it hit theaters. Of...
- 9/8/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Domestic distributor Bleecker Street is in negotiations to acquire rights to “Fackham Hall,” a British spoof of “Downton Abbey” and other costume dramas. Sales outfit The Veterans is pre-selling international territories. And as international buyers face a potential drought of Hollywood product due to strikes, the market is offering other promising presale titles.
WME Independent is pre-selling James Madigan’s “The Beast,” with Samuel L. Jackson in negotiations to star. He’ll play a U.S. president who fights a coup in his battle-ready, bomb-proof limousine with grenades and shotguns. As he rides through a violent wasteland of chaos and unrelenting carnage, he must learn to control The Beast — and the monster inside himself — to save his life, the life of a Secret Service agent (Joel Kinnaman of “Suicide Squad” fame) and his country. Unified Pictures’ Keith Kjarval, Fifth Season, Film 44’s John Logan Pierson and Peter Berg are producing...
WME Independent is pre-selling James Madigan’s “The Beast,” with Samuel L. Jackson in negotiations to star. He’ll play a U.S. president who fights a coup in his battle-ready, bomb-proof limousine with grenades and shotguns. As he rides through a violent wasteland of chaos and unrelenting carnage, he must learn to control The Beast — and the monster inside himself — to save his life, the life of a Secret Service agent (Joel Kinnaman of “Suicide Squad” fame) and his country. Unified Pictures’ Keith Kjarval, Fifth Season, Film 44’s John Logan Pierson and Peter Berg are producing...
- 9/7/2023
- by Gregg Goldstein
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar–winning actor and women’s rights activist Patricia Arquette will receive the TIFF Groundbreaker Award during the 48th edition of the Toronto Film Festival.
The honor will come during the 2023 TIFF Tribute Awards on Sept. 10 and is inspired by TIFF’s Share Her Journey initiative to spotlight women creators. Oscar–winning actor Michelle Yeoh received the tribute last year. “Being one of Hollywood’s most audacious talents, Patricia consistently challenges conventions and elevates the discourse on salary equity for women through her influential platform,” TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said Wednesday.
Arquette is known for roles in Tony Scott’s True Romance, Tim Burton’s Ed Wood, David Lynch’s Lost Highway and Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, for which she won the best supporting actress Oscar. She also earned one Emmy for Medium and two Golden Globes for Boyhood and Escape at Dannemora.
Arquette has also campaigned over the years for equal pay for women,...
The honor will come during the 2023 TIFF Tribute Awards on Sept. 10 and is inspired by TIFF’s Share Her Journey initiative to spotlight women creators. Oscar–winning actor Michelle Yeoh received the tribute last year. “Being one of Hollywood’s most audacious talents, Patricia consistently challenges conventions and elevates the discourse on salary equity for women through her influential platform,” TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said Wednesday.
Arquette is known for roles in Tony Scott’s True Romance, Tim Burton’s Ed Wood, David Lynch’s Lost Highway and Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, for which she won the best supporting actress Oscar. She also earned one Emmy for Medium and two Golden Globes for Boyhood and Escape at Dannemora.
Arquette has also campaigned over the years for equal pay for women,...
- 9/6/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Arquette’s directorial debut Gonzo Girl premieres at fst on September 7.
Patricia Arquette will receive TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award at the festival’s 48th edition and is the final honouree announced ahead of the TIFF Tribute Awards fundraiser gala on September 10.
The award, presented by Bulgari, recognises “a woman who is a leader in the film industry and has made a positive impact on women throughout their career”. It is inspired by TIFF’s Share Her Journey initiative addressing gender parity in the film industry. Michelle Yeoh was honoured at last year’s Awards.
“Being one of Hollywood’s most audacious talents,...
Patricia Arquette will receive TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award at the festival’s 48th edition and is the final honouree announced ahead of the TIFF Tribute Awards fundraiser gala on September 10.
The award, presented by Bulgari, recognises “a woman who is a leader in the film industry and has made a positive impact on women throughout their career”. It is inspired by TIFF’s Share Her Journey initiative addressing gender parity in the film industry. Michelle Yeoh was honoured at last year’s Awards.
“Being one of Hollywood’s most audacious talents,...
- 9/6/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Willem Dafoe once got down and dirty for the sake of art.
The “Inside” and “Poor Things” actor recalled during the “Smartless” podcast an experimental theater piece titled “Hula” that he performed with New York City’s The Wooster Group troupe in 1982.
Dafoe explained that the group “needed to do something light and easy” after director Elizabeth LeCompte lost her father. Dafoe and his co-stars “took an old Hawaiian record from the ’50s — really corny, y’know, Hawaiian music — and we got some grass skirts and some leis, and someone painted a backdrop, and we invented these dances, we just made them up, and we’d do the dances to this music, you know?”
He continued, “The gag was, to make it stick, under our grass skirts, we weren’t wearing anything, so it was two men and a woman, and she was also not wearing anything, and bare-breasted. So we did this show,...
The “Inside” and “Poor Things” actor recalled during the “Smartless” podcast an experimental theater piece titled “Hula” that he performed with New York City’s The Wooster Group troupe in 1982.
Dafoe explained that the group “needed to do something light and easy” after director Elizabeth LeCompte lost her father. Dafoe and his co-stars “took an old Hawaiian record from the ’50s — really corny, y’know, Hawaiian music — and we got some grass skirts and some leis, and someone painted a backdrop, and we invented these dances, we just made them up, and we’d do the dances to this music, you know?”
He continued, “The gag was, to make it stick, under our grass skirts, we weren’t wearing anything, so it was two men and a woman, and she was also not wearing anything, and bare-breasted. So we did this show,...
- 8/31/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Patricia Arquette encouraged her cast to get a little gonzo on the set of “Gonzo Girl.”
Arquette makes her feature directorial debut with the adaptation of Cheryl Della Pietra’s 2015 novel of the same name, which is inspired by journalist Pietra’s experience working as Hunter S. Thompson’s assistant. Willem Dafoe stars as the Thompson stand-in, named Walker Reade in the book, with “Daisy Jones and the Six” Emmy nominee Camila Morrone as the author-slash-aforementioned assistant, Alley Russo. The film is premiering at TIFF and also stars Ray Nicholson and Elizabeth Lail, as well as director Arquette.
Morrone told Interview magazine that Arquette cast her after a single audition tape and before meeting via Zoom or in-person. Arquette encouraged co-stars Morrone and Dafoe to do “crazy experimental rehearsals” to hone in on the tumultuous relationship onscreen.
“Willem is such an experienced artist. I just thought, ‘How the hell am...
Arquette makes her feature directorial debut with the adaptation of Cheryl Della Pietra’s 2015 novel of the same name, which is inspired by journalist Pietra’s experience working as Hunter S. Thompson’s assistant. Willem Dafoe stars as the Thompson stand-in, named Walker Reade in the book, with “Daisy Jones and the Six” Emmy nominee Camila Morrone as the author-slash-aforementioned assistant, Alley Russo. The film is premiering at TIFF and also stars Ray Nicholson and Elizabeth Lail, as well as director Arquette.
Morrone told Interview magazine that Arquette cast her after a single audition tape and before meeting via Zoom or in-person. Arquette encouraged co-stars Morrone and Dafoe to do “crazy experimental rehearsals” to hone in on the tumultuous relationship onscreen.
“Willem is such an experienced artist. I just thought, ‘How the hell am...
- 8/28/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
What does it mean to be one of the “hottest” or “buzziest” titles in a film festival sales market if there’s no stars drum up that excitement? Or if there’s little likelihood of an all-night bidding war by a streamer spending in the 7-figures to land their next Oscar contender?
As we reported earlier today, those are all ways in which the strike threatens to weigh on the film markets at Venice, Telluride, and Toronto. A handful of those films are directorial debuts by famous actors-turned-filmmakers, and some even have interim agreements from SAG-AFTRA that will let them promote. But all these films should stand on their own merits and could catch the eyes of the many non-amptp distributors that need creative ways to fill out their slates.
In part because of the strikes, the Venice and TIFF slates are loaded with independent movies without U.S. distribution,...
As we reported earlier today, those are all ways in which the strike threatens to weigh on the film markets at Venice, Telluride, and Toronto. A handful of those films are directorial debuts by famous actors-turned-filmmakers, and some even have interim agreements from SAG-AFTRA that will let them promote. But all these films should stand on their own merits and could catch the eyes of the many non-amptp distributors that need creative ways to fill out their slates.
In part because of the strikes, the Venice and TIFF slates are loaded with independent movies without U.S. distribution,...
- 8/28/2023
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi, 2023).The lineup is being unveiled for the 2023 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, starting with 60 selections from the Gala and Special Presentations programs. The festival takes place from September 7–17, 2023.Gala PRESENTATIONSConcrete Utopia (Um Tae-Hwa)Dumb Money (Craig Gillespie)Fair Play (Chloe Domont)Flora and Son (John Carney)Hate to Love: Nickelback (Leigh Brooks)Lee (Ellen Kuras)Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi)Nyad (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin)Punjab ’95 (Honey Trehan)Solo (Sophie Dupuis)The End We Start From (Mahalia Belo)The Movie Emperor (Ning Hao)The New Boy (Warwick Thornton) The Royal Hotel (Kitty Green)The Holdovers.Special Presentationsa Difficult Year (Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache)A Normal Family (Hur Jin-ho)American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)Close to You (Dominic Savage)Days of Happiness (Chloé Robichaud)The Rescue (Daniela Goggi)Ezra (Tony Goldwyn)Fingernails (Christos Nikou)Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania...
- 8/14/2023
- MUBI
Toronto — The Toronto International Film Festival® is thrilled to announce the 2023 selections for the Discovery and Midnight Madness programmes. The infamous Midnight Madness lineup features 10 titles, 7 of which are World Premieres. The Discovery lineup, which primarily boasts World and International Premieres, includes 26 titles. Notably, 13 female filmmakers representing 50% of the total programme are featured in this year’s Discovery programme.
Midnight Madness and Discovery provide a cornucopia of original and unexpected work. Midnight Madness is a fan favourite, iconoclastic programme highlighting the weird and the wicked, while the Discovery programme offers a window to contemporary international cinema and introduces the public to first and second feature films from gifted new filmmakers.
“We’re excited to be showcasing new voices, audacious vision, and genre-bending cinema,” said Anita Lee, TIFF Chief Programming Officer. “TIFF’s Discovery and Midnight Madness programmes for 2023 will once again prove to be the ultimate destination for tastemakers and experience seekers.
Midnight Madness and Discovery provide a cornucopia of original and unexpected work. Midnight Madness is a fan favourite, iconoclastic programme highlighting the weird and the wicked, while the Discovery programme offers a window to contemporary international cinema and introduces the public to first and second feature films from gifted new filmmakers.
“We’re excited to be showcasing new voices, audacious vision, and genre-bending cinema,” said Anita Lee, TIFF Chief Programming Officer. “TIFF’s Discovery and Midnight Madness programmes for 2023 will once again prove to be the ultimate destination for tastemakers and experience seekers.
- 8/3/2023
- by Movies Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
TIFF announces the lineups for its 2023 Midnight Madness and Discovery programs today, following documentary, Platform, as well as gala and special presentation titles. 10 films make up the Midnight Madness roster this year, featuring seven world premieres. Larry Charles’s Dicks: The Musical will serve as the opening night film, while Weston Razooli’s Riddle of Fire, which we covered out of Cannes, will close out the program. This year’s Discovery slate is comprised of 26 films, 23 of which are world premieres, across 25 different countries. The opening night Discovery title will be actress Patricia Arquette’s directorial debut Gonzo Girl. […]
The post TIFF Reveals 2023 Midnight Madness and Discovery Lineups first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post TIFF Reveals 2023 Midnight Madness and Discovery Lineups first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 8/3/2023
- by Natalia Keogan
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
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