As Vincent Cassel's ballet director Thomas Leroy paces a rehearsal space filled with dozens of dancers, stretching and unsure whether to be overjoyed or fearful of a tap on the shoulder, he announces to his company his choice of what they will soon be performing: "'Swan Lake' - done to death, I know. But not like this." A guiding principle for Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan," a complete reinvention of Tchaikovsky's famed ballet was assured when the director hired the New York City Ballet's Benjamin Millepied as his choreographer. A sample is here:
"Dance films don't come around that often and they're not usually that good," admitted Millepied, which is probably just as well since he hasn't had much time to spare since studying under Jerome Robbins in his teens to gone on to become one of the world's most prolific and accomplished dancers. However, as a fan of...
"Dance films don't come around that often and they're not usually that good," admitted Millepied, which is probably just as well since he hasn't had much time to spare since studying under Jerome Robbins in his teens to gone on to become one of the world's most prolific and accomplished dancers. However, as a fan of...
- 12/7/2010
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
We finally really did it!
Well the first half of the season came to an end. What is it we thought we saw? What do you BeLIEve? Let’s go!
And I think it's gonna be a long long timeTill touch down brings me round again to findI'm not the man they think I am at homeOh no no no I'm a rocket manRocket man burning out his fuse up here aloneRocket Man lyrics by Elton John
Taking the Nestea Plunge
An interesting scene the meeting of Thomas, Isabelle, Sophia and Simon gathered around the table. The classic tea ceremony. A part of the tradition in Chinese culter people make serious apologies to others by pouring tea for them. For example, children serving to their parents is a sigh of regret and submission. How telling is it that Thomas is willing to put on such a show of such cultural...
Well the first half of the season came to an end. What is it we thought we saw? What do you BeLIEve? Let’s go!
And I think it's gonna be a long long timeTill touch down brings me round again to findI'm not the man they think I am at homeOh no no no I'm a rocket manRocket man burning out his fuse up here aloneRocket Man lyrics by Elton John
Taking the Nestea Plunge
An interesting scene the meeting of Thomas, Isabelle, Sophia and Simon gathered around the table. The classic tea ceremony. A part of the tradition in Chinese culter people make serious apologies to others by pouring tea for them. For example, children serving to their parents is a sigh of regret and submission. How telling is it that Thomas is willing to put on such a show of such cultural...
- 12/3/2010
- by iowa card
Gilles Paquet-Brenner’s “Sarah’s Key” has been selected to open the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The French film, starring Kristin Scott Thomas, will screen on Thursday, Jan. 27, at the Arlington Theatre. Both director and star are expected to be in attendance.
Due to open in the spring, “Sarah’s Key” is a Hugo Production of a Weinstein Company film.
Based on the international bestselling novel by Tatiana de Rosnay, the film interweaves two seemingly different stories, illustrating a remarkable connection between the past and present. The first story is that of Sarah Starzynski (Mélusine Mayance), a 10-year-old Jewish girl living in Paris during World War II. After the Vichy government and Nazi occupiers begin arresting Jews, Sarah attempts to save her family by locking her 4-year old brother in a cupboard. Seen through her eyes, Sarah and her parents are taken from their home and eventually sent to the Nazi death camps.
Due to open in the spring, “Sarah’s Key” is a Hugo Production of a Weinstein Company film.
Based on the international bestselling novel by Tatiana de Rosnay, the film interweaves two seemingly different stories, illustrating a remarkable connection between the past and present. The first story is that of Sarah Starzynski (Mélusine Mayance), a 10-year-old Jewish girl living in Paris during World War II. After the Vichy government and Nazi occupiers begin arresting Jews, Sarah attempts to save her family by locking her 4-year old brother in a cupboard. Seen through her eyes, Sarah and her parents are taken from their home and eventually sent to the Nazi death camps.
- 11/29/2010
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Jake Pavelka is not stopping at "Drop Dead Diva", he is now invading "The Bold and the Beautiful". Like in the former show, Pavelka is going to portray a character not far from his real life. The commercial pilot, who recently went back to flying planes for Delta after his "The Bachelor" stint, will be none other than a pilot in the soap drama.
His job is to transfer Katherine Kelly Lang's Brooke Logan and Adam Gregory's Thomas Forrester from Paris to Los Angeles using a private jet. His appearance is set as a one-episode only and he had shot it on Friday, November 19. The episode will then air on January 14.
Jake Pavelka previously starred as a reality show contestant who became involved in a scam case on "Drop Dead Diva". In real-life, he was the former "Bachelor" who infamously broke up with his final choice, Vienna Girardi,...
His job is to transfer Katherine Kelly Lang's Brooke Logan and Adam Gregory's Thomas Forrester from Paris to Los Angeles using a private jet. His appearance is set as a one-episode only and he had shot it on Friday, November 19. The episode will then air on January 14.
Jake Pavelka previously starred as a reality show contestant who became involved in a scam case on "Drop Dead Diva". In real-life, he was the former "Bachelor" who infamously broke up with his final choice, Vienna Girardi,...
- 11/20/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
He won't need to dig too deep to play this part. Former airline pilot turned reality star Jake Pavelka (The Bachelor, Dancing With the Stars) will guest star on The Bold and the Beautiful as the pilot of a private jet carrying Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Thomas Forrester (Adam Gregory) from Paris to L.A.
Pavelka, who previously played a reality show contestant on Drop Dead Diva, shoots the one-episode role...
Read More >...
Pavelka, who previously played a reality show contestant on Drop Dead Diva, shoots the one-episode role...
Read More >...
- 11/19/2010
- by Michael Logan
- TVGuide - Breaking News
A Costco in San Juan put out copies of Ricky Martin’s Me ahead of Tuesday's official release date, so the details are starting to leak out as fast as people can read and put up quotes. What struck me was his story of coming out via his website.
And then all that fear I felt, the fear many people have at the moment they come out of the closet, it was just in my head. I know that maybe this is not the case with other when they decide to do it - there are those who are faced with a painful wall of misunderstanding and rejection - but I can say my own experience was nothing but positive and empowering.
Easily the most important thing in the history of the universe was the Rally To Restore Sanity and/or Fear today on the National Mall. The place was packed,...
And then all that fear I felt, the fear many people have at the moment they come out of the closet, it was just in my head. I know that maybe this is not the case with other when they decide to do it - there are those who are faced with a painful wall of misunderstanding and rejection - but I can say my own experience was nothing but positive and empowering.
Easily the most important thing in the history of the universe was the Rally To Restore Sanity and/or Fear today on the National Mall. The place was packed,...
- 10/31/2010
- by Ed Kennedy
- The Backlot
Robert Gudiguian’s Army Of Crime is a new fact-based French thriller that recounts the guerilla-style exploits of the ‘Manouchian Group’, Paris-based Jews, communists, and immigrants who waged an armed struggle against Nazi occupation in the early 1940’s. These were a famed group of Resistance fighters; men and women who constantly risked their lives to murder Germans who were occupying their country led by an Armenian poet and factory worker named Missak Manouchian (played by Simon Abkarian). There is so much inherent drama in what the Germans did during the The Holocaust that it’s not surprising that it’s such an oft-visited topic for many filmmakers. While Army Of Crime doesn’t break any new ground it’s a rousing political thriller that, at nearly 2 ½ hours, is always absorbing and tense.
Army of Crime opens with the major characters captured and being driven to a show trial that...
Army of Crime opens with the major characters captured and being driven to a show trial that...
- 10/22/2010
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Reviewed at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Film Festival.
The steamier side of sympathizing with your captor gets showcased in "In Your Hands," a guilty pleasure of a Gallic drama that's the second feature from writer/director Lola Doillon (the daughter of filmmaker Jacques Doillon). Kristin Scott Thomas, demonstrating once again her ability to act just as dexterously in French as in English, plays the brittle Anna Cooper, an aloof surgeon who lives for her work, and lives alone in Paris. At the film's outset, she's hurriedly making her way back to her chic apartment, looking distressed and starting at the smallest sounds. Home, she plugs her drained phone in order to check her voice mail. She was abducted and held prisoner for days, but none of the messages -- from her mother, from her boss at the hospital, from her married lover -- are concerned or urgent. No one noticed she...
The steamier side of sympathizing with your captor gets showcased in "In Your Hands," a guilty pleasure of a Gallic drama that's the second feature from writer/director Lola Doillon (the daughter of filmmaker Jacques Doillon). Kristin Scott Thomas, demonstrating once again her ability to act just as dexterously in French as in English, plays the brittle Anna Cooper, an aloof surgeon who lives for her work, and lives alone in Paris. At the film's outset, she's hurriedly making her way back to her chic apartment, looking distressed and starting at the smallest sounds. Home, she plugs her drained phone in order to check her voice mail. She was abducted and held prisoner for days, but none of the messages -- from her mother, from her boss at the hospital, from her married lover -- are concerned or urgent. No one noticed she...
- 10/16/2010
- by Alison Willmore
- ifc.com
French actor famed for his long-running role as Simenon's Maigret
Georges Simenon described his creation Jules Maigret, the gruff, pipe-smoking, Parisian police inspector, thus: "His build was plebeian. He was enormous and bony. Hard muscles stood out beneath his jacket… Above all, he had his very own way of planting himself in a spot… He was a solid block and everything had to break against it." Simenon could have been describing the French actor Bruno Crémer, who has died of cancer aged 80. Crémer, who played Maigret on French television in 54 episodes over 14 years (from 1991 to 2005), had hard acts to follow in Pierre Renoir, Jean Gabin and Jean Richard in France, but the role fitted him as perfectly as the hat and heavy overcoat he wore most of the time.
Maigret was the hero of 75 novels, 28 short stories, many films and endless TV series in numerous languages, including Japanese. In the two British series,...
Georges Simenon described his creation Jules Maigret, the gruff, pipe-smoking, Parisian police inspector, thus: "His build was plebeian. He was enormous and bony. Hard muscles stood out beneath his jacket… Above all, he had his very own way of planting himself in a spot… He was a solid block and everything had to break against it." Simenon could have been describing the French actor Bruno Crémer, who has died of cancer aged 80. Crémer, who played Maigret on French television in 54 episodes over 14 years (from 1991 to 2005), had hard acts to follow in Pierre Renoir, Jean Gabin and Jean Richard in France, but the role fitted him as perfectly as the hat and heavy overcoat he wore most of the time.
Maigret was the hero of 75 novels, 28 short stories, many films and endless TV series in numerous languages, including Japanese. In the two British series,...
- 8/25/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Director: Robert Guédiguian Writer: Robert Guédiguian, Serge Le Péron, Gilles Taurand Starring: Virginie Ledoyen, Simon Abkarian “They were twenty-three when the rifles blossomed Twenty-three who gave their hearts before their time Twenty-three foreigners but still our brothers Twenty-three who loved life to death Twenty-three who cried out “France!” as they fell.” (Louis Aragon, Strophes pour se souvenir) The phrase "army of crime" is a reference to a caption on the Affiche Rouge ("red poster"), a propaganda poster campaign with which the Nazis sought to present French resistance fighters as criminals: "Liberators? Liberation by the army of crime." Based on the true stories of the Francs-tireurs et partisans - Main-d'œuvre immigrée (Ftp-moi), Army of Crime begins with an Altman-esque intertwining of the very individual narratives concerning a multifarious hodgepodge of anti-fascists operating clandestinely and individually in occupied Paris (a city that seems to have accepted German occupation and the mass deportations...
- 8/21/2010
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
When "Other Desert Cities" opens in December at Lincoln Center's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater in New York, it will signal the return of Jon Robin Baitz, who left the theater world for a few years for the small screen and his creation, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters." But before that happens, Baitz is fine-tuning his latest play with a workshop performance this week at the Ojai Playwrights Conference—a path Baitz took twice before, with "The Paris Letter" and "Chinese Friends." A public reading of "Other Desert Cities" is featuring Mary McCormack ("In Plain Sight," "The West Wing"), Holland Taylor ("Two and A Half Men"), Concetta Tomei, and Thomas Higgens.Baitz considers the workshop process a valuable tool leading up to a full-scale production, and he likes the fit of Ojai, thanks in large part to its producer and artistic director, Robert Egan. "Robert and I started working together 22 years ago," Baitz says.
- 8/12/2010
- backstage.com
'Love the Way You Lie' video star is a longtime fan of Slim Shady.
By Rochell Thomas, with reporting by James Lacsina
Dominic Monaghan
Photo: MTV News
Dominic Monaghan didn't meet Eminem when he showed up to shoot the "Love the Way You Lie" video. But Slim Shady and the Hobbit go way back — in Monaghan's mind at least.
The 33-year-old "Lost" star told MTV News that he first met Eminem in Paris in a time "before iPods" when a friend handed him a bootleg cassette copy of The Marshall Mathers LP.
"I was completely blown away," he said. "It was one of those moments in music like the first time you hear DJ Shadow or the Beatles. It was a real breath of fresh air."
A self-described "big rap fan" (old-school stars Rakim, Public Enemy and Krs-One are among his faves), Monaghan said he was drawn to the album,...
By Rochell Thomas, with reporting by James Lacsina
Dominic Monaghan
Photo: MTV News
Dominic Monaghan didn't meet Eminem when he showed up to shoot the "Love the Way You Lie" video. But Slim Shady and the Hobbit go way back — in Monaghan's mind at least.
The 33-year-old "Lost" star told MTV News that he first met Eminem in Paris in a time "before iPods" when a friend handed him a bootleg cassette copy of The Marshall Mathers LP.
"I was completely blown away," he said. "It was one of those moments in music like the first time you hear DJ Shadow or the Beatles. It was a real breath of fresh air."
A self-described "big rap fan" (old-school stars Rakim, Public Enemy and Krs-One are among his faves), Monaghan said he was drawn to the album,...
- 8/6/2010
- MTV Music News
Shakespearean actor who played many familiar roles on film and television
Few actors can claim to have played most of Shakespeare's clowns and made some of them funny, but Geoffrey Hutchings, who has died of meningitis aged 71, did just that. An associate artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company, he played Launce, Bottom, Feste, one of the Dromios and even the impossible Lavache in Trevor Nunn's great "Crimean war" All's Well That Ends Well, with Peggy Ashcroft making her RSC farewell as the Countess of Rousillon. Hutchings brought an individual quality of asperity and crackle to everything he did, and was noted early on as a character actor of uncommon personality: small, slight, but always ferocious, he was like a terrier with a dangerous bark.
He grasped Autolycus, for instance, that wandering snapper-up of unconsidered trifles, in Ronald Eyre's 1981 The Winter's Tale at Stratford-upon-Avon, and transformed him into a...
Few actors can claim to have played most of Shakespeare's clowns and made some of them funny, but Geoffrey Hutchings, who has died of meningitis aged 71, did just that. An associate artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company, he played Launce, Bottom, Feste, one of the Dromios and even the impossible Lavache in Trevor Nunn's great "Crimean war" All's Well That Ends Well, with Peggy Ashcroft making her RSC farewell as the Countess of Rousillon. Hutchings brought an individual quality of asperity and crackle to everything he did, and was noted early on as a character actor of uncommon personality: small, slight, but always ferocious, he was like a terrier with a dangerous bark.
He grasped Autolycus, for instance, that wandering snapper-up of unconsidered trifles, in Ronald Eyre's 1981 The Winter's Tale at Stratford-upon-Avon, and transformed him into a...
- 7/11/2010
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
It looks like the talented Coppola clan keeps getting bigger and bigger. Director Sofia Coppola (daughter of director Francis Ford Coppola) and husband Thomas Mars recently welcomed their second child, Cosima. Lil' Cosima, who was reportedly born in New York City, will join her big sister Romy, who is 3. Sofia and Thomas have been dating since 2005 and divide their time between Paris, France and the States. Thomas is currently on tour for his Grammy-winning album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoneix while Sofia is preparing for the release of her fourth film, Somewhere. Congratulations to the happy family!
- 6/27/2010
- by Celebuzz
- Celebuzz.com
By Bob Fisher
Hollywoodnews.com: Put “Inception” on your list of must see summer films. Cinematographer Wally Pfister, Asc teamed up with writer/ director Chris Nolan and producer Emma Thomas for the sixth time to create this imaginative and breathtaking adventure. Their collaborations began with Memento in 2000 when they were in the dawns of their careers. It was Nolan?s first turn at the helm on a long form feature. He earned an Oscar nomination for the script, and the DGA named him director of the year.
Pfister, Nolan and Thomas encored with “Inception.”
Their next three films, “Batman Begins,” “The Prestige” and “The Dark Knight”, resonated at the box office and with critics. Pfister earned three Oscar nominations in four years for those endeavors.
“Inception” takes it to the next level. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a criminal mastermind who invents a way to invade people’s dreams and steal their most valuable secrets.
Hollywoodnews.com: Put “Inception” on your list of must see summer films. Cinematographer Wally Pfister, Asc teamed up with writer/ director Chris Nolan and producer Emma Thomas for the sixth time to create this imaginative and breathtaking adventure. Their collaborations began with Memento in 2000 when they were in the dawns of their careers. It was Nolan?s first turn at the helm on a long form feature. He earned an Oscar nomination for the script, and the DGA named him director of the year.
Pfister, Nolan and Thomas encored with “Inception.”
Their next three films, “Batman Begins,” “The Prestige” and “The Dark Knight”, resonated at the box office and with critics. Pfister earned three Oscar nominations in four years for those endeavors.
“Inception” takes it to the next level. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a criminal mastermind who invents a way to invade people’s dreams and steal their most valuable secrets.
- 5/16/2010
- by Bob Fisher
- Hollywoodnews.com
FilmoFilia photo gallery has been updated with 21 new photos from the upcoming Robert Pattinson’s next film Bel Ami. You can check out bigger versions of each by clicking them below.
Along with Pattinson the film also stars Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Colm Meaney and Christina Ricci.
The film tells the story of George Duroy (Pattinson), a young journalist who rose from poverty to become one of the most successful men in Paris via the ruthless and calculating bedding of the city’s most glamorous and influential women.
Bel Ami Photos
Thurman plays the wife of Duroy’s friend, a woman who is extremely involved and connected in the goings-on of Parisian society. She helps Duroy in his ascent, later becoming his wife. Thomas plays a socialite who falls for Duroy, becoming clingy in the process.
Colm Meaney on set of Bel Ami
Bel Ami Photos
Directed by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod,...
Along with Pattinson the film also stars Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Colm Meaney and Christina Ricci.
The film tells the story of George Duroy (Pattinson), a young journalist who rose from poverty to become one of the most successful men in Paris via the ruthless and calculating bedding of the city’s most glamorous and influential women.
Bel Ami Photos
Thurman plays the wife of Duroy’s friend, a woman who is extremely involved and connected in the goings-on of Parisian society. She helps Duroy in his ascent, later becoming his wife. Thomas plays a socialite who falls for Duroy, becoming clingy in the process.
Colm Meaney on set of Bel Ami
Bel Ami Photos
Directed by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod,...
- 4/19/2010
- by Allan Ford
- Filmofilia
British actress Kristin Scott Thomas will be the mistress of ceremonies for the 63rd Cannes Film Festival that begins on May 12. Thomas will host the opening ceremony, introducing the president of the jury, American director Tim Burton, and the other members of his team, as well as the inaugural movie, Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchet. Thomas will also preside over the closing ceremony on May 23, when Burton will announce the prizes. The actress, who now lives in Paris, was once considered no more than a tea-sipping British aristocrat, her ...
- 4/13/2010
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
After last week’s recap, there was an interesting debate in the post-recap postings about the show’s handling of Cuddlybear’s sexuality so far.
Some people appreciated how subtle it’s been and acknowledge the show’s clearly building toward something, while others seem to think it’s been so subtle that it’s easily missed completely.
Well, the show’s producers have obviously heard this complaint and taken it seriously. Which is why they’ve agreed to broadcast this week’s episode in “Gaydar-Vision.” I’m sure you saw all the promotions this past week telling you to go pick up your “Official Southland Gaydar Glasses” at any participating Bed, Bath & Beyond.
“Wear them during the show,” the promos promised, “and you’ll see exactly how gay Cuddlybear and his friends are acting in any given moment.”
Fortunately for those of you who weren’t able to get to B,...
Some people appreciated how subtle it’s been and acknowledge the show’s clearly building toward something, while others seem to think it’s been so subtle that it’s easily missed completely.
Well, the show’s producers have obviously heard this complaint and taken it seriously. Which is why they’ve agreed to broadcast this week’s episode in “Gaydar-Vision.” I’m sure you saw all the promotions this past week telling you to go pick up your “Official Southland Gaydar Glasses” at any participating Bed, Bath & Beyond.
“Wear them during the show,” the promos promised, “and you’ll see exactly how gay Cuddlybear and his friends are acting in any given moment.”
Fortunately for those of you who weren’t able to get to B,...
- 3/24/2010
- by Steven Frank
- The Backlot
Nighy Lends Voice to Dawn Treader: Bill Nighy revealed to David Frost he will be replacing Eddie Izzard as the voice of Reepicheep in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Izzard Reepicheep is the large talking mouse that was seen slitting throats throughout the PG-rated Prince Caspian. Video is provided to the right. [Narnia Web]
Cassel Set for Monk: Vincent Cassel (Eastern Promises) will star in the suspense feature The Monk for French-German director Dominik Moll. Set in the 18th century, the film is based on Matthew Lewis' novel depicting the rise and tragic downfall of Capucin Ambrosio, a respected Spanish monk. Cassel joins Deborah Francois (The First Day of the Rest of Your Life), Sergi Lopez (Leaving) and Geraldine Chaplin (The Orphanage). Filming will begin in April for 12 weeks. Cassel will next be seen in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan and Andrew Niccol's The Cross.
Cassel Set for Monk: Vincent Cassel (Eastern Promises) will star in the suspense feature The Monk for French-German director Dominik Moll. Set in the 18th century, the film is based on Matthew Lewis' novel depicting the rise and tragic downfall of Capucin Ambrosio, a respected Spanish monk. Cassel joins Deborah Francois (The First Day of the Rest of Your Life), Sergi Lopez (Leaving) and Geraldine Chaplin (The Orphanage). Filming will begin in April for 12 weeks. Cassel will next be seen in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan and Andrew Niccol's The Cross.
- 2/19/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Ah, the romantic horror flick! It's just so easy to fall in love with a psycho nowadays. Just ask my girlfriend! Anyway there's a new murderous thriller on the way for those of you looking to enjoy a bit of death with your sex!
Variety reports that both Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas have been signed to star in a big screen adaptation of the Douglas Kennedy novel The Woman In The Fifth from Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski.
More soon. In the interim dig on the plot crunch!
Synopsis
Harry Ricks (Hawke) is a man who has lost everything. A romantic mistake at the small American college where he used to teach has cost him his job, his marriage and his relationship with his only child. And when the ensuing scandal threatens to completely destroy him, he votes with his feet and flees... to Paris. He arrives in the...
Variety reports that both Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas have been signed to star in a big screen adaptation of the Douglas Kennedy novel The Woman In The Fifth from Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski.
More soon. In the interim dig on the plot crunch!
Synopsis
Harry Ricks (Hawke) is a man who has lost everything. A romantic mistake at the small American college where he used to teach has cost him his job, his marriage and his relationship with his only child. And when the ensuing scandal threatens to completely destroy him, he votes with his feet and flees... to Paris. He arrives in the...
- 2/19/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Literary biopics cater not to the boring truth, but to the illusion that writers are drunk, mad, sex-obsessed geniuses
"Why does the writing make us chase the writer? Why can't we leave well enough alone? Why aren't the books enough?" Julian Barnes poses these questions in Flaubert's Parrot, his fictional biography of Gustave Flaubert. Perhaps, as readers, we enjoy the amateur detective work that literary biographies offer. We like to excavate the lives of famous authors and uncover the experiences that might have shaped their stories.
The problem is, writers' lives don't always make for great cinema. If writers are any good, it's usually because they spend weeks alone, in a room, with a computer (or paper if they're old-school).
Literary biopics usually cater to the fantasy that writers are drunk, mad, sex-obsessed geniuses inspired by the holy spirit (50% proof). Think Henry Miller (Henry and June), William Burroughs (Naked Lunch...
"Why does the writing make us chase the writer? Why can't we leave well enough alone? Why aren't the books enough?" Julian Barnes poses these questions in Flaubert's Parrot, his fictional biography of Gustave Flaubert. Perhaps, as readers, we enjoy the amateur detective work that literary biographies offer. We like to excavate the lives of famous authors and uncover the experiences that might have shaped their stories.
The problem is, writers' lives don't always make for great cinema. If writers are any good, it's usually because they spend weeks alone, in a room, with a computer (or paper if they're old-school).
Literary biopics usually cater to the fantasy that writers are drunk, mad, sex-obsessed geniuses inspired by the holy spirit (50% proof). Think Henry Miller (Henry and June), William Burroughs (Naked Lunch...
- 2/16/2010
- by Evan Maloney
- The Guardian - Film News
Hawke and career hotter than an iron Kristin Scott Thomas will take on the lead roles in a film that should signify the return of Pawel Pawlikowski (he has been dabbling on many projects that never came to fruition (see here). Shooting is set to start in April for The Woman in the Fifth. - I still remember when Ethan Hawke took a sabbatical from acting and took on writing - his next role might not be much of stretch. Hawke and career hotter than an iron Kristin Scott Thomas will take on the lead roles in a film that should signify the return of Pawel Pawlikowski (he has been dabbling on many projects that never came to fruition (see here). Shooting is set to start in April for The Woman in the Fifth. Sounds like the real deal folks! Based on Douglas Kennedy’s novel - a set in Paris supernatural thriller,...
- 2/12/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
A period piece typically means serious business when it gets the most pressing question the audience can possibly have out of the way right at the start. Robert Guédiguian's Army of Crime begins by letting the viewer know what ultimately happened within the first couple of minutes; things did not turn out well, and a great many of the cast aren't going to be around when the credits roll.
The film gets some tremendous performances out of this constant sense of impending doom but is fairly badly hamstrung by the general sense that, having got this sorted out, Guédiguian isn't entirely sure what to do with the rest of the running time.
It's understandable, at least, that he would approach the material this way given Army of Crime's story is far more well known in France. The film dramatises the exploits of the Manouchian Group, a loosely-knit band of...
The film gets some tremendous performances out of this constant sense of impending doom but is fairly badly hamstrung by the general sense that, having got this sorted out, Guédiguian isn't entirely sure what to do with the rest of the running time.
It's understandable, at least, that he would approach the material this way given Army of Crime's story is far more well known in France. The film dramatises the exploits of the Manouchian Group, a loosely-knit band of...
- 1/20/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Christina Ricci will play one of Robert Pattinson’s lovers in Bel Ami, an adaptation and expansion of the short story by Guy de Maupassant. She joins the cast already inhabited by the Twilight star, Uma Thurman, and Kristin Scott Thomas. Nicole Kidman was rumored, but falsely linked to the project.
The news comes from a Tweet by the always reliable Production Weekly.
The story focuses on a young, impoverished reporter named George Duroy (Pattinson) who essentially slept his way to the top by “bedding” the most influential women in Paris. Ricci plays Clotilde, a promiscuous young housewife who shares a fling with the man. Thurman plays the wife of Duroy’s friend, a connected socialite who helps him on his way up the ladder. Thomas plays a clingy woman Duroy seduces. That’s such a stretch for Pattinson, playing a heartthrob who gets girls. As long as he doesn’t try another ridiculous mustache,...
The news comes from a Tweet by the always reliable Production Weekly.
The story focuses on a young, impoverished reporter named George Duroy (Pattinson) who essentially slept his way to the top by “bedding” the most influential women in Paris. Ricci plays Clotilde, a promiscuous young housewife who shares a fling with the man. Thurman plays the wife of Duroy’s friend, a connected socialite who helps him on his way up the ladder. Thomas plays a clingy woman Duroy seduces. That’s such a stretch for Pattinson, playing a heartthrob who gets girls. As long as he doesn’t try another ridiculous mustache,...
- 1/9/2010
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
Christina Ricci is joining Robert Pattinson ("The Twilight Saga"), Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott Thomas in the Declan Donnellan-directed Bel Ami , an adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's short story which starts filming next month. The movie tells the story of George Duroy (Pattinson), a young journalist who rose from poverty to become one of the most successful men in Paris via the ruthless and calculating bedding of the city's most glamorous and influential women. Thurman plays the wife of Duroy's friend, a woman who is extremely involved and connected in the goings-on of Parisian society. She helps Duroy in his ascent, later becoming his wife. Thomas plays a socialite who falls for Duroy, becoming clingy in the process.
- 1/7/2010
- Comingsoon.net
In 2009, the number of leading lesbian characters on primetime broadcast TV doubled — from one to two.
Out of the estimated 600 lead and supporting characters on network TV, seven of them of are lesbian or bisexual. And of those seven, five of them kissed women last year. And of those five, three of them made out during Sweeps.
Things looked bleak at the beginning of the year, but with the growing trend of lesbian brides getting gunned down or cheating on their wedding days, and the continued trend of bisexual characters only expressing their same-sex attraction during Sweeps, and the loss of Showtime's lesbian drama The L Word, we're ending the year on a downward spiral in terms of lesbian visibility.
Scripted Television: Broadcast
Primetime
The most surprising story in 2009 was the relationship between Callie Torres (played by Sara Ramirez) and Arizona Robbins (played by Jessica Capshaw) on Grey's Anatomy.
When...
Out of the estimated 600 lead and supporting characters on network TV, seven of them of are lesbian or bisexual. And of those seven, five of them kissed women last year. And of those five, three of them made out during Sweeps.
Things looked bleak at the beginning of the year, but with the growing trend of lesbian brides getting gunned down or cheating on their wedding days, and the continued trend of bisexual characters only expressing their same-sex attraction during Sweeps, and the loss of Showtime's lesbian drama The L Word, we're ending the year on a downward spiral in terms of lesbian visibility.
Scripted Television: Broadcast
Primetime
The most surprising story in 2009 was the relationship between Callie Torres (played by Sara Ramirez) and Arizona Robbins (played by Jessica Capshaw) on Grey's Anatomy.
When...
- 12/16/2009
- by stuntdouble
- AfterEllen.com
Uma Thurman will soon snuggle up to Robert Pattinson in Declan Donnellan's upcoming big-screen adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's "Bel Ami." Kristin Scott Thomas also officially jumped on board.
The film chronicles the life and controversial career of Georges Duroy (Pattinson), a journalist who became one of the most successful men in Paris by seducing the most influential and glamorous women.
The Hollywood Reporter says Thurman will play the wife of one of Duroy's friends. She's got her foot inside the Parisian society, and she later becomes Duroy's wife. Thomas is a socialite who falls for him as well.
The film chronicles the life and controversial career of Georges Duroy (Pattinson), a journalist who became one of the most successful men in Paris by seducing the most influential and glamorous women.
The Hollywood Reporter says Thurman will play the wife of one of Duroy's friends. She's got her foot inside the Parisian society, and she later becomes Duroy's wife. Thomas is a socialite who falls for him as well.
- 11/22/2009
- by Franck Tabouring
- screeninglog.com
For some reason, producers felt this weekend was the prime time to release any and all Robert Pattinson related news during the frenzy of headlines surrounding The Twilight Saga: New Moon. That’s the best time for this announcement to get noticed. When fans are busy with something else…
Uma Thurman is joining Pattinson in Bel Ami, an adaptation and expansion of the short story by Guy de Maupassant. London theater director Declan Donnellan is making his feature film debut. Kristin Scott Thomas is also a member of the cast, according to THR.
Nicole Kidman was falsely reported as the lead, but she quickly denied any involvement in the film. It’s possible she’s booked solid with Botox appointments.
The story focuses on a young, impoverished reporter named George Duroy who essentially slept his way to the top by “bedding” the most influential women in Paris. Thurman plays the wife of Duroy’s friend,...
Uma Thurman is joining Pattinson in Bel Ami, an adaptation and expansion of the short story by Guy de Maupassant. London theater director Declan Donnellan is making his feature film debut. Kristin Scott Thomas is also a member of the cast, according to THR.
Nicole Kidman was falsely reported as the lead, but she quickly denied any involvement in the film. It’s possible she’s booked solid with Botox appointments.
The story focuses on a young, impoverished reporter named George Duroy who essentially slept his way to the top by “bedding” the most influential women in Paris. Thurman plays the wife of Duroy’s friend,...
- 11/21/2009
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
Uma Thurman has signed on to star opposite Robert Pattinson in an adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's short story "Bel Ami." According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kristin Scott Thomas also has joined the cast. The film follows George Duroy (Pattinson), a young journalist who rose from poverty to become one of the most successful men in Paris by sleeping with the city's most glamorous and influential women. Thurman plays the well-connected wife of Duroy's friend. She later becomes Duroy.s wife. Thomas plays a clingy socialite who falls for Duroy. London theater director Declan Donnellan will make his feature film directorial debut with the film. Uberto Pasolini is producing through his Redwave Films production company. The movie is scheduled...
- 11/21/2009
- by Adnan Tezer
- Monsters and Critics
Robert Pattinson has yet to conclusively prove that he has acting chops beyond soulfully staring at teenage girls, but there is one thing we all know he can do: seduce and influence people. Those skills will come in handy for him in Bon Ami, an upcoming adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's short story, in which Pattinson will star opposite Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott Thomas. THR is reporting that Thurman has signed on to star opposite Pattinson, who plays journalist George Duroy as he makes his way up in the Paris social scene through the ruthless tactic of sleeping with the most influential women he can find. Thurman stars off as a friend and co-conspirator but later becomes his wife, while Thomas is a clingy socialite who falls for Duroy. Uma Thurman seems to be moving in to a full-time second career as a screen cougar, which suits me...
- 11/20/2009
- cinemablend.com
The rumor mill was buzzing earlier this month with news that Nicole Kidman was going to, once again, go for the younger guy and star opposite Robert Pattinson in the adaptation of Guy De Maupassant's Bel Ami. While it turns out that Kidman is not taking the project on, another famous blonde is. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Uma Thurman will star opposite Pattinson, and Kristin Scott Thomas has also joined the roster.
The film will star Pattinson as George Duroy, an aspiring journalist who finds his success by bedding many of Paris' rich and powerful women. Thurman will play Mme Forestier, the married woman who sparks his ascension and later marries him, while Thomas comes into the picture as "a socialite who falls for Duroy, becoming clingy in the process."
Now, much has been said, or argued, about Pattinson's talents as an actor, and I'd say this...
The film will star Pattinson as George Duroy, an aspiring journalist who finds his success by bedding many of Paris' rich and powerful women. Thurman will play Mme Forestier, the married woman who sparks his ascension and later marries him, while Thomas comes into the picture as "a socialite who falls for Duroy, becoming clingy in the process."
Now, much has been said, or argued, about Pattinson's talents as an actor, and I'd say this...
- 11/20/2009
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
Uma Thurman soon will making time with Rob Pattinson.
The actress has signed to star opposite the "Twilight" star in an adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's short story "Bel Ami."
Kristin Scott Thomas also has joined the cast.
"Ami" tells of George Duroy (Pattinson), a young journalist who rose from poverty to become one of the most successful men in Paris via the ruthless and calculating bedding of the city's most glamorous and influential women.
Thurman plays the wife of Duroy's friend, a woman who is extremely involved and connected in the goings-on of Parisian society. She helps Duroy in his ascent, later becoming his wife.
Thomas plays a socialite who falls for Duroy, becoming clingy in the process.
London theater director Declan Donnellan is making his film debut on "Ami," which Uberto Pasolini is producing through his shingle Redwave Films. The movie is scheduled to shoot next year in Paris.
The actress has signed to star opposite the "Twilight" star in an adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's short story "Bel Ami."
Kristin Scott Thomas also has joined the cast.
"Ami" tells of George Duroy (Pattinson), a young journalist who rose from poverty to become one of the most successful men in Paris via the ruthless and calculating bedding of the city's most glamorous and influential women.
Thurman plays the wife of Duroy's friend, a woman who is extremely involved and connected in the goings-on of Parisian society. She helps Duroy in his ascent, later becoming his wife.
Thomas plays a socialite who falls for Duroy, becoming clingy in the process.
London theater director Declan Donnellan is making his film debut on "Ami," which Uberto Pasolini is producing through his shingle Redwave Films. The movie is scheduled to shoot next year in Paris.
- 11/19/2009
- by By Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With the images from Robert Guediguian’s Army of Crime recurring in my dreams several weeks after I first saw it, it is time to write a review. Guediguian, son of a German mother and an Armenian father, is best known for his gritty films depicting working class and immigrant life in Marseille, where he was born in 1953. He grew up hearing the story of Manouchian the Armenian, one of the principal characters in Army of Crime. So it is perhaps not surprising that he turned his gaze on the wartime French underground movement, a group of foreign partisans which became known as the Army of Crime. The film opens with dozens of prisoners being carted to their execution in 1944, while a voice on the soundtrack reads out a long list of names each followed by: “Mort pour la France.” What is striking is that hardly any of the names are French.
- 11/16/2009
- by Julia Kollewe
- t5m.com
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy They came to bury a superstar: Lisa Marie Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, Macaulay Culkin, Chris Tucker and Mila Kunis arrived at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif., on Thursday for the funeral for Michael Jackson. On a hot Southern California night, the skies still smoky from mountain brush fires, the famous friends joined Jackson’s family, including his parents, brothers and sisters and three children, to say goodbye. Jackson’s backup dancers served as ushers. His brothers, wearing black armbands and a sequined glove on one hand,...
- 9/4/2009
- by Mike Fleeman
- PEOPLE.com
Hometown: Raleigh, N.C.Album: The Love LanguageBand Members: Kate Thompson, Jordan McLamb, Stuart McLamb, Missy Thangs, Junis Beefmonth and Thomas SimpsonFor Fans Of: Eels, Neutral Milk Hotel
"I always wondered what kind of situations benefit a songwriter,” recalls 28-year-old Stuart McLamb. “Do you need to just do a bunch of drugs and hole up in some seedy hotel room in Paris? Is that how it happens?” Not exactly, as the North Carolina tunesmith recently learned. His eponymous release as The Love Language stems from moving back in with his parents a few years ago after several sordid run-ins with the booze beast.
"I always wondered what kind of situations benefit a songwriter,” recalls 28-year-old Stuart McLamb. “Do you need to just do a bunch of drugs and hole up in some seedy hotel room in Paris? Is that how it happens?” Not exactly, as the North Carolina tunesmith recently learned. His eponymous release as The Love Language stems from moving back in with his parents a few years ago after several sordid run-ins with the booze beast.
- 5/18/2009
- Pastemagazine.com
Here's your dose of quick news bits for Jan. 12, 2009...
• Focus Features today announced a bunch of release dates for some of their 2009 films. For starters, Rob Marshall's musical "Nine" will open Nov. 25. Joel and Ethan Coen's "A Serious Man" will open in limited release Oct. 2, while Mikael Håfström's John Cusack vehicle "Shanghai" is set for Sept. 4. Sam Mendes' comedy "Away We Go" will start June 5.
• Legendary French filmmaker Claude Berri died Monday in Paris. He was 74. Some of Berri's notable directing efforts include "Germinal," "Jean de Florette" and "Lucie Aubrac." He also established a fabulous career as producer, developing successful films such as "Welcome to the Sticks" and "The Secret of the Grain." He will be greatly missed. (The Hollywood Reporter)
• The folks at Bloody-Disgusting today landed some "Scream 4" news. Although none of this has been confirmed yet, Kevin Williamson is apparently on board to write a draft.
• Focus Features today announced a bunch of release dates for some of their 2009 films. For starters, Rob Marshall's musical "Nine" will open Nov. 25. Joel and Ethan Coen's "A Serious Man" will open in limited release Oct. 2, while Mikael Håfström's John Cusack vehicle "Shanghai" is set for Sept. 4. Sam Mendes' comedy "Away We Go" will start June 5.
• Legendary French filmmaker Claude Berri died Monday in Paris. He was 74. Some of Berri's notable directing efforts include "Germinal," "Jean de Florette" and "Lucie Aubrac." He also established a fabulous career as producer, developing successful films such as "Welcome to the Sticks" and "The Secret of the Grain." He will be greatly missed. (The Hollywood Reporter)
• The folks at Bloody-Disgusting today landed some "Scream 4" news. Although none of this has been confirmed yet, Kevin Williamson is apparently on board to write a draft.
- 1/13/2009
- by Franck Tabouring
- screeninglog.com
By Michelle Orange
I can count on one hand the number of times the sight of a woman has completely taken my breath away: my aunt, drinking coffee in our home when I was a child; a teenage friend laughing in a parking lot, at night; a tired-looking French woman buying cotton balls in a Paris department store; my cousin, walking down the aisle at her Florence wedding; and Kristin Scott Thomas, turning from the window of a Manhattan hotel room to greet me. I don't know what I was expecting -- certainly not the drably dressed, makeup-less, slightly crabbed figure she cuts as Juliette, the tormented ex-con at the center of Phillipe Claudel's "I've Loved You So Long" -- but if, at 48, her beauty remains surpassing on screen, it's a little crushing in person. Standing about six inches taller than her wont in an astounding set of black patent leather platform stilettos,...
I can count on one hand the number of times the sight of a woman has completely taken my breath away: my aunt, drinking coffee in our home when I was a child; a teenage friend laughing in a parking lot, at night; a tired-looking French woman buying cotton balls in a Paris department store; my cousin, walking down the aisle at her Florence wedding; and Kristin Scott Thomas, turning from the window of a Manhattan hotel room to greet me. I don't know what I was expecting -- certainly not the drably dressed, makeup-less, slightly crabbed figure she cuts as Juliette, the tormented ex-con at the center of Phillipe Claudel's "I've Loved You So Long" -- but if, at 48, her beauty remains surpassing on screen, it's a little crushing in person. Standing about six inches taller than her wont in an astounding set of black patent leather platform stilettos,...
- 10/23/2008
- by Michelle Orange
- ifc.com
By Maud Newton
Adapting fiction for the screen has always been a tricky endeavor. For every "Apocalypse Now," "The Big Sleep" or "Rebecca," there are scores of butchered classics and box office duds, and in recent years, Hollywood has only continued to perfect its reverse-alchemy process, transforming narrative gold into the dullest, heaviest lead, topped off with a giant packet of saccharine.
For details, see Roland Joffe's "The Scarlet Letter," featuring a pearl-bedecked, shiny-bodiced, utterly vacuous Hester Prynne, or the soul-sucking "Love in the Time of Cholera," which drove the Guardian's John Patterson to call for a ban on the making of all movies based on books. It's easy to sympathize. We're talking, after all, about the machine that reduced Zoë Heller's brilliantly satirical "Notes on a Scandal" -- a teacher's obsessive chronicle of her female colleague's affair with her young male student -- to a cautionary tale with...
Adapting fiction for the screen has always been a tricky endeavor. For every "Apocalypse Now," "The Big Sleep" or "Rebecca," there are scores of butchered classics and box office duds, and in recent years, Hollywood has only continued to perfect its reverse-alchemy process, transforming narrative gold into the dullest, heaviest lead, topped off with a giant packet of saccharine.
For details, see Roland Joffe's "The Scarlet Letter," featuring a pearl-bedecked, shiny-bodiced, utterly vacuous Hester Prynne, or the soul-sucking "Love in the Time of Cholera," which drove the Guardian's John Patterson to call for a ban on the making of all movies based on books. It's easy to sympathize. We're talking, after all, about the machine that reduced Zoë Heller's brilliantly satirical "Notes on a Scandal" -- a teacher's obsessive chronicle of her female colleague's affair with her young male student -- to a cautionary tale with...
- 8/1/2008
- by Maud Newton
- ifc.com
What's so special about May?
Of course, it's the grande dame of film festivals, the Festival de Cannes, which has been held in May for the past 60 years. But Thomas Mallory's hoary observation about the "lusty month of May" also applies to the global boxoffice, with summer tentpoles now staking out their day-and-date claims to the month with unprecedented gusto.
Internationally, the May syndrome received a major lift early this month when Sony Pictures' "Spider-Man 3" set all-time international opening records of $176.6 million for a conventional weekend opening and $231 million for a six-day blast.
DreamWorks Animation/Paramount's animated sequel "Shrek the Third" gets off the ground in four international markets this weekend. Then, on WednesdayMay 23, Disney/Bvi's third film in the "Pirates" franchise -- "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" -- lifts off in France and explodes around the globe by the end next week.
Even before "Spidey 3" ratified...
Of course, it's the grande dame of film festivals, the Festival de Cannes, which has been held in May for the past 60 years. But Thomas Mallory's hoary observation about the "lusty month of May" also applies to the global boxoffice, with summer tentpoles now staking out their day-and-date claims to the month with unprecedented gusto.
Internationally, the May syndrome received a major lift early this month when Sony Pictures' "Spider-Man 3" set all-time international opening records of $176.6 million for a conventional weekend opening and $231 million for a six-day blast.
DreamWorks Animation/Paramount's animated sequel "Shrek the Third" gets off the ground in four international markets this weekend. Then, on WednesdayMay 23, Disney/Bvi's third film in the "Pirates" franchise -- "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" -- lifts off in France and explodes around the globe by the end next week.
Even before "Spidey 3" ratified...
- 5/18/2007
- by By Hy Hollinger
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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