News

Update with more information. Nine women have provided explicit, on-the-record accounts of being molested or assaulted by Israel Horovitz, a screenwriter whose credits include My Old Lady, Author! Author! and Sunshine, as well as some of the most produced plays in the American canon, including The Indian Wants The Bronx, the 1968 off-Broadway hit that launched the career of Al Pacino. The New York Times reported this morning that the nine women came forward in light of…...

Exclusive: Two Canadian partners have joined Dana Lerer’s first feature.

Robert Lantos, the producer of David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises and Richard J. Lewis’s Barney’s Version, is on board to produce the feature directing debut of emerging Israeli actress-filmmaker Dana Lerer.

Lerer, a Tel Aviv University graduate, has directed five shorts to date, including The Fine Line, which played at Jerusalem Film Festival in 2015, winning a special mention from the short film competition jury and going on to be nominated for an Israeli Oscar. Lantos saw that film, and their collaboration began after that.

With a working title of Seven Nights, Lerer’s feature debut is being made with two Canadian partners: Lantos’ Serendipity Point Films and Julia Rosenberg, whose credits include István Szabó’s Sunshine, from January Films.

With writer Tamara Berger working on a draft of the script, the film follows a young Canadian journalist who comes to Tel Aviv for a story...

All of a sudden the scary decline at the indie box office has reversed. Through the first five months of 2017, only four films opening limited in the standard four New York/Los Angeles theaters opened with a per theater average of $20,000. In the last four weeks, four films have opened strong as “Beatriz at Dinner” (Roadside Attractions), “The Big Sick” (Lionsgate) and “The Beguiled” (Focus) opened well and reached crossover crowds.

This week’s addition, Sundance comedy hit “The Little Hours” (Gunpowder & Sky) is the latest surprise. Loosely inspired by the bawdy 14th-century Boccaccio classic “The Decameron” (The Hollywood version starred Joan Fontaine while Pasolini shocked in 1971), this tale is set in the Medieval Italian countryside with bawdy contemporary dialogue as a randy peasant hides out at a convent after his master catches him with his wife. It did strong business at four theaters on two coasts.

This comes the...

After the best surprise possible to kick off the new year — the announcement that Claire Denis would be imminently beginning production on a new drama, one starring Juliette Binoche, Gérard Depardieu, and Xavier Beauvois — the Beau travail director was also able to finish it in in times for Cannes. Now set to open Directors’ Fortnight, the first look has arrived.

Adapted from Roland Barthes‘ A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments, which deconstructs the language of love, the film also has a new title after initially going by Dark Glasses. Screen Daily reports the English title is Let the Sunshine In (aka Un Beau Soleil Intérieur). Also starring Bruno Podalydès and Josiane Balasko, Directors’ Fortnight Artistic director Edouard Waintrop, says of the film. “What touched us is that it marks a radical change in tone for Claire Denis. We like it when film-makers try something new.”

See the Amazon synopsis for Barthes...

Every year, IndieWire looks beyond the countless top 10 lists written by critics to widen the field. We turn to friends and colleagues in the independent film community — programmers, distributors, publicists and others — to give them the opportunity to share their favorite films and other media from the past 12 months. We also invited them to share their resolutions and anticipated events for 2017.

The Best of 2016: IndieWire’s Year in Review Bible

Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival

I’m limiting my list to films that had Us and Canadian theatrical releases in 2016. I saw far more than 10 this year that I liked, but if I have to be brutal, I’ll limit it to the films that lifted me.

1. “Moonlight”

2. “Julieta”

3. “Toni Erdmann”

4. “Cemetery of Splendor”

5. “Arrival”

6. “Fences”

7. “13th”

8. “American Honey”

9. “Things to Come”

10. “Moana”

Michael Barker, Co-President, Sony Pictures Classics

“Now is the winter of our discontent.

Ralph Fiennes is never going to win an Oscar.

He’s too slippery, too snake-like, too hard to pin down. He plays cruelty for laughs, and uses humor to break your heart. He plays supporting roles with the all-consuming intensity of a lead, and lead roles with the evasiveness of someone who’s just passing through. He’s human category fraud.

But if Fiennes gets overlooked for his irrepressible work in Luca Guadagnino’s “A Bigger Splash,” it won’t be because he was submitted in the wrong race; it’ll be because he appears to be having way too much fun for a drama. Nevertheless, his electric turn as barnstorming bon vivant Harry Hawkes is one of 2016’s best performances. It’s a dance-worthy distillation of everything that has made Fiennes such an enduring star over the last two decades, and — for all of its seeming frivolity — it will...

Atom Egoyan and Robert Lantos with Anne-Katrin Titze at the Museum of Tolerance

Robert Lantos, the producer of Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated films; David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises (Naomi Watts, Viggo Mortensen, Armin Mueller-Stahl); Richard J. Lewis's Barney’s Version (Paul Giamatti, Rosamund Pike); István Szabó's Being Julia (Annette Bening, Jeremy Irons, Michael Gambon) and Sunshine (Ralph Fiennes, Rosemary Harris, Rachel Weisz) joined Atom Egoyan for a post screening conversation on Remember. He is also the executive producer of Atom's double Oscar nominated The Sweet Hereafter (Ian Holm, Sarah Polley). Remember, written by Benjamin August, stars Christopher Plummer and Martin Landau with Bruno Ganz, Heinz Lieven, Dean Norris and Jürgen Prochnow.

Christopher Plummer as Zev Gutman: "I've worked with Chris on Ararat"

Wheelchair user Max Rosenbaum (Landau), who has a horrible cough, has prepared a letter for his friend Zev Gutman (Plummer), which is much more than a memory aide,...

We’ve reached the near mid-point of this Definitive List; 20 down, 30 to go. As we move forward, the story of “boy meets girl” becomes more complicated, as plenty of stumbling blocks stand in the way: lack of experience, insecurity, unsupportive parents, and, as in most cases, ego. So, when we watch all these films, what do we learn? Hundreds of romantic comedies end happily, but none end in the same way. Perhaps there’s a method to the madness, but the more we tread through these highlights, the more it’s clear that to make an impact, you have to change the game or perfect the existing one.

#30. Bull Durham (1988)

Baseball movies had worn out their welcome a bit in the mid-80s and audiences weren’t clamoring for a romantic comedy based around the national pastime. Enter writer/director Ron Shelton, who decided to write a film based on...

Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.

BAMcinématek

Out 1, “the great cinematic happening of 2015,” is finally in theaters, with tickets for weekend-long marathon sessions (the ideal viewing method) available.

Museum of Modern Art

“To Save and Project” begins its 13th year of bringing audiences essential, under-the-radar cinema. The first highlight: Samuel Fuller‘s Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street, the director’s cut...

Jonathan Short/AP

Known by the younger generation for his role as Voldemort in the Harry Potter film series, Ralph Fiennes has been gracing our stages and our screens since the mid-eighties. He was trained in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, achieved prominence with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and first made a name in films with his role of Amon Goeth in Steven Spielberg’s Schlindler’s List in 1993. And since then he’s starred in a wide variety of films, with major pictures including the James Bond Series (starring as M), The Constant Gardener, The English Patient, and Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Fiennes’ film work has ranged from thrillers (Spider) to animated Biblical epic (The Prince Of Egypt) to camp nostalgia (The Avengers) to romantic comedy (Maid in Manhattan) to historical drama (Sunshine). Oh – and in 2011, Fiennes also made his directorial debut with his film...

We've been voting for our favourite films of the year. The countdown starts here, with the films that ranked from 20 to 11...

Over the past few weeks, our writing team has been voting for their choice of their favourite film of the year. It's all very democratic, with everyone getting their chance to rank films from 5 to 1, with weighing applied appropriately. We have not reinvented the wheel here.

Still, over the coming week or two, we're going to be talking about the films that made the top 20, and we're kicking off with the ones just on the outside of the top 10. Democracy, as you are about to find out, has its drawbacks, as we'd imagine that one or two of these would be breaking into the top 10 had a few more seen the movie in question. Without further ado, though...

20. Locke

Steven Knight's second film as director showed an expertise...

Two music videos for Conor Oberst's songs from solo album "Upside Down Mountain" tackle what is a disastrous dystopian future. In May, he dropped the visuals for upbeat and smart single "Zigzagging Toward the Light." Part 2 arrived this week, for track "Common Knowledge." Watch both in succession below. This second part of the depressing suite also takes place in New York, 10 years after some sort of cataclysm took place on Earth and knocked out all the electricity. An artificial intelligence force took control and speaks to the world's subjects like a calm and outward-interested singularity from "Her." Oberst here is dealing with the consequences, by wandering the halls of his record home Nonesuch and fondly recalling memories from before the fall. Here are 5 observations about his next little journey in "Common Knowledge": 1. In a dystopian future, you can smoke indoors again. Zing! 2. In a dystopian future, record labels...

The History Channel has released a full trailer for their new four-hour Houdini miniseries. The show will follow the life of the legendary magician from his beginnings in desperate poverty to the worldwide fame that he gained. The series stars Adrien Brody, and it looks like it's going to be pretty damn good. 

Before David Blaine and David Copperfield, there was one man whose name was synonymous with being the master of illusion and escape - Harry Houdini. Houdini follows the man behind the magic as he finds fame, engages in espionage, battles spiritualists and encounters the greatest names of the era, from U.S. presidents to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Grigori Rasputin. The drama will chronicle the life of a man who can defy death through his stunts, his visions and his mastery of illusion.

Houdini stars Academy Award winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist) as the ace magician...

Warning; this post is long... if you watch all the links, you'll have an hour of entertainment.

When I was 10, my school screened a 16 mm print of the The Mark of Zorro - 1940 version, starring the dashing Tyrone Power. The clash of steel, the dynamic yet graceful athleticism of the hero as he righted wrongs, attracted me, as it did many boys of my age... I wanna do that. Luckily my next school offered fencing lessons from an instructor at the nearby Sandhurst Military Academy, and my inner Basil Rathbone was set free to ultimately Captain the school team. I saw every sword fighting movie I could and still do. Yet the only duel I have ever filmed had to be shot in 3 hours... The history of the genre could fill many volumes, but here is a short introduction to Sword Cinema.

La physician reverts to childhood - La filmmaker never left…...

Some of my favorite movies are about Paris! How I loved “Funny Face” which made me love everything Audrey Hepburn did. How I loved “American in Paris” and Gene Kelly forever after. And the classic French films of Paris, from René Clair’s “The Rooftops of Paris”, “Modigliani of Montparnasse”, “Elevator to the Scaffold” to “Amelie”…oh la la!

Now a new Paris classic is in the making! If only they would change title to reflect the love of Paris transforming a couple of sad victims of their scandalously delicious parents’ love affair into lovers. Kevin Kline, a luminous Kirsten Scott Thomas and a decrepit but spirited Dame Maggie Smith star in a film, to be released September 10, which I only hope will come out with a different title.

Now entitled, “My Old Lady” (what’s that supposed to mean?) Dame Maggie Smith as Mathilde belongs to no one. A free spirit who had a dalliance with no less than …., at 92 she cannot be evicted from the apartment Kevin Kline comes to Paris to sell, an apartment hidden behind walls in Paris we wish we could penetrate and which Kevin Kline, in the character of Mathias Gold, cannot see, so intent is he on selling to procure some filthy lucre. I kept waiting for Kevin to embody his Academy Award winning hilarity in “A Fish Called Wanda”, but he played it straight, an unhappy, intellectual with great talent on the piano, three unpublished novels, three divorces and not a cent in his pocket. Angry, self-righteous Mathias Gold discovers that real-estate and relationships send him into a turmoil that he never imagined.

Adapted for the screen and directed by Israel Horowitz from his 2002 of-Broadway production, “My Old Lady” the property was further developed into a screenplay with Kevin Kline himself who dropped by the playwright’s Greenwich Village residence for intermittent readings as the film script branched out from its theatrical roots.

Dame Maggie Smith read the script and was the first actor to officially sign on to the film version. Israel Horovitz traveled to London to meet with her and she accepted the part amid 25 competing scripts offered to her at the time. Horovitz recalls Smith joking during the meeting that it was the only script in the stack that didn’t end with her character dying. Adds Horovitz: “To my knowledge, it’s the first time Dame Maggie’s done a movie in which she doesn’t wear a wig.”

Produced by the writer-director’s own daughter, the well-known-in-our-circles- from-her-days-at-New Line (and later at Revolution Studios), who began her career as a publicist of Dino De Laurentiis on the film “Blue Velvet” which I happened to foster as the acquisitions executive at Lorimar when we acquired it: Rachael Horovitz (“Moneyball”, HBO’s “Grey Gardens”) and Gary Foster (“The Soloist”, “Sleepless in Seattle”), got the script to Kristin Scott Thomas who immediately signed on to play Mathilde’s confrontational daughter Chloé. The main casting was complete.

Chloé takes the story away from the developing and deepening relationship between Mattias and Mathilde and makes it her own…thus the misplaced title of the movie. It is no longer Mattias and “his old lady” Mathilde’s story but the threesome’s, and what a great story it is.

Complex and compelling, the story of two people who have been destroyed by the same love affair understand each other’s problems better than any fourth party could ever understand, and we, as the fourth party, are given access to their journey towards love…in Paris. Only in Paris could these events unfold with such panache.

The other supporting actors are those veteran French actors you have seen and loved in other Parisian settings. Dominique Pinon as the helpful real-estate agent Lefebre who explains the complex codes of the “viager” system” appears like an old friend to those of us who saw and loved Jean-Jacques Beineix’s “Diva”, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “Amelie” and “A Very Long Engagement”, “City of Lost Children” and Jeunet’s and Marc Caro’s 1991 film “ Delicatessen”. Noémi Lvovsky, the writer-director-actress who plays Mme. Girard’s physician, actor-director Stéphane Friess (“Welcome to the Sticks”) and the rapacious property developer Francois Roy who wants to buy Mathias’ apartment and turn it into a sleek hotel – as his father tried to do a generation earlier (how French!) -- round out a great supporting cast.

But without Paris, this familiar and yet totally unfamiliar Paris, the film would never have played out with such love. As a Paris habituée of many years, I kept searching for signs to tell me where this apartment was located. Was it a hotel particulière of the Marais?

Here is a little known secret of Paris: It was shot in la Manufature, located in les Gobelins in Paris’s 13th Arrondisement, operated and maintained by the French Ministry of Culture. A vast complex comprising several main buildings and a slew of apartments (now used to house government functionaries), la Manufacture is the historical site of tapestry manufacturing for French royalty dating from the 17th century to the present day. Because there is no longer a huge demand for artisan tapestries in France, la Manufacture doubles as an ersatz soundstage for film and television productions, in this case standing in for the more central and tourist trod Marais, where Mme. Girard and Chloé reside. The Girard’s sprawling residence, overlooking a verdant garden came to life. Israel Horovitz and his crew jumped at the opportunity to film there.

He says, “Almost the entire movie was shot inside the compound. At one point in its history, la Manufacture was its own city within the city, with a thousand people living there. We could park our trucks inside the gated compound and shoot in a way we never could in the busy Marais. Finding the apartment we used, with its creaky floors and general disrepair, was really what made the movie possible. It was like having our own little studio.” The film shot in Paris for 24 days in autumn 2013.

At 75, Horovitz -- a veteran playwright who wrote “The Strawberry Statement” which won the Jury Prize at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival and who collaborated with István Szabó on the 1999 historical drama “Sunshine” about a Jewish family living in Hungary during the turbulent first half of the 20th century –decided to direct this, his first, film as he wrote the screenplay.

How was it working for your father? One might ask Rachael. Her answer: “He was the most prepared director I’ve ever worked with.” She praises Horovitz pére for his professionalism, sense of humor and grace under pressure, each one a boon for the intimate, familial-themed “My Old Lady”. “There is real humanity in this film thanks to those factors, “ she concludes. “Working with a family member is always a pleasure because there is the shorthand of communication you have with very few others.”

Producer Gary Foster also praises Israel Horovitz for his human touch, including his considerable grasp of human nature and conflict. “This movie is at its core about family and how people deal with the many challenges of their lives, “Foster states. “Everyone has harbored secrets at some point. ‘My Old Lady’ examines how people with secrets reveal themselves emotionally in order to locate truth. What’s special about Israel’s craft is how organic and truthful it feels. So much of this movie depends on the actors working with dialogue-rich scenes set inside cramped rooms with little action and no special effects – you have to buy into the dimensionality of these characters. Israel is at his best writing and directing scenes that feel real, al though you were a fly on the wall amid the revealing of this family’s secrets. He’s not afraid of being overly sentimental and open with emotions, and I think that’s hugely valuable.”

I completely agree. This is a marvelous movie, filled with marvels of France and family.

The Jewish side of this film is never touched on, but I must touch on it here because in these days of turmoil over the Jewish state and the state of the Jews living in the Diaspora, those in France are also in fearful flux. But this shows a France at its splendid best today and I think it is because of the love the filmmakers have for the story, the craft and the country. Producer David C. Barrot produced “ Eyes Wide Open” the 2009 Cannes’ Un Certain Regard film that dared open the subject of homosexuality in Jerusalem’s Orthodox community. I cannot speak of the provenance of Daniel Battsek the Executive Producer who between 1985 and 1991, was managing director of Palace Pictures where he was involved in all aspects of marketing, distribution and acquisitions in the U.K. and Ireland. He began his industry career at The Hoyts Film Corporation in Sydney where he quickly rose through the ranks to general manager in Victoria State overseeing distribution.

Battsek was first introduced to Disney in 1991, when he was asked to start up a U.K. Company as part of the worldwide distribution network for Buena Vista International. In 1992, he officially joined The Walt Disney Studios. Battsek was quickly promoted to vice president/managing director where he handled all aspects of theatrical film distribution in the U.K. He was later promoted to vice president, managing director and European acquisitions director of Bvi (U.K.) Limited. His responsibilities also included involvement in the acquisition of distribution rights across numerous territories for such films as “Muriel's Wedding”, “Shine”, “Central Station”, “Kolya”, and “ Ice Storm”. In 1998, he was promoted to senior vice president, Bvi (U.K.) Limited where he oversaw approximately 35 films per year from the Disney, Touchstone and Miramax labels. With his expanding role, Battsek began acquiring and developing British film projects for worldwide distribution. He created the Bvi U.K. Comedy Label which produced four films, likeHigh Heels and Low Lifes,Hope Springs,Calendar Girls, and Kinky Boots.

On 24 July 2005, he was named President of Miramax Films, after Harvey and Bob Weinstein left the company, due to creative and financial differences with Disney exec, Michael Eisner. Since he took control of the company, Miramax released such films asThe Queen,No Country for Old Men or Doubt, refocusing on producing films of high quality but low budget and was instrumental in acquiring, green-lighting or distributing such renowned and award winning films as “Tsotsi” winner of Best Foreign Language Oscar, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”, “There will be Blood” among others. On 20 January 2010, Battsek became President of National Geographic Films where he brought in the Oscar-nominated “Restrepo”. He is now President of Cohen Media Group where he plays a key role.

Nor can I speak authoritatively of Producer, Nitsa Benchetrit, and Executive Producers, Raphaël Benoliel, Russ Krasnoff, but I have my suspicions. Certainly the Executive Producer, President and CEO of Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation, one of the country’s most important commercial real estate owners/ developers s well as an influential patron, innovator and visionary of culture and the arts, Charles S. Cohen (also founder of The Cohen Media Group in 2008, on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Contemporary Art (Moca) in Los Angeles, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, The Lighthouse International Theater, The Public Theater, the Stella Adler Studio and the Film Society of Lincoln Center) is living up to his name.

Even Kevin Kline suddenly seems to land inside this charmed circle of Diaspora Jews whose development and dedication to the finest

arts of the 21 st century must be praised and seen as a flowering of culture today.

While this is in no way a film which may ever be shown in the Jewish film festival circuit, it should be remarked that it is, in its way, a Jewish film because of the credentials of the filmmakers, because of the loving treatment of the neurotic family members and because it shows the natural habituation of people allowed to live in freedom in a society which values life.

I bring all this up in light of the reevaluation occurring today in the worlds of gender and religions and I want to go on record as pointing out that this film is an example of the flowering of culture; this is part of the culmination of centuries of developing a humane, forgiving and civilized way of life.

I say this as I contemplate the state of the world today to remind myself that art, not war, is my choice for my life and I believe the film is an affirmation of life above all.

Chapeau, Hats Off to the team that brought this film to life. Just change the title if you want to attract more people!

We’ve reached the near mid-point of this Definitive List; 20 down, 30 to go. As we move forward, the story of “boy meets girl” becomes more complicated, as plenty of stumbling blocks stand in the way: lack of experience, insecurity, unsupportive parents, and, as in most cases, ego. So, when we watch all these films, what do we learn? Hundreds of romantic comedies end happily, but none end in the same way. Perhaps there’s a method to the madness, but the more we tread through these highlights, the more it’s clear that to make an impact, you have to change the game or perfect the existing one.

#30. Bull Durham (1988)

Baseball movies had worn out their welcome a bit in the mid-80s and audiences weren’t clamoring for a romantic comedy based around the national pastime. Enter writer/director Ron Shelton, who decided to write a film based on...

As Alfonso Cuaron’s mega-hit Gravity continues to rack up praise and big box office dollars, it’s a good time to take a critical look at the weakest aspect of the film, which is the lead acting performance of Sandra Bullock.

It’s widely known that Cuaron’s first choice, Angelina Jolie, fell through and there were reported meetings with Marion Cotillard, Scarlett Johansson, Blake Lively, and Natalie Portman among other candidates, before Bullock was ultimately chosen.

These other contenders are clearly talented but they are still part of a group that could easily be called Hollywood Casting 101.

While the film’s financiers would disagree, Gravity is not a film that needed big stars, as the presence of George Clooney and Sandra Bullock is far less a contributor to its enormous success than the film’s suspense thriller concept and visually striking execution.

Obviously, a director on a big-budget...

Odd List Greg Foster 18 Oct 2013 - 06:16

We look at 20 former A-list actors, and the interesting film choices they've made...

There comes a time in every A-list actor's life when they gather their thoughts and take a step back into smaller budget or more leftfield fare - and for a variety of reasons. They may want to work with a certain director or an emerging directing talent. They might be taken by a fantastic script. They might fancy a new artistic direction. They may even have a spiritual epiphany and decide to eschew Hollywood and all its decadent trappings, or they may simply just not have a choice, since the big roles have long since dried up for them.

The reason for this list then, is to look at some of those shining lights, the household names, and at the films they took up as proof of their artistic integrity.

Line-up includes Memories Of The Sword, set to star Lee Byung-hun.

South Korea’s Lotte Entertainment is launching sales on three new additions to its line-up at Busan’s Asian Film Market. The slate is led by Park Heung-shik’s highly anticipated Memories Of The Sword, starring Lee Byung-hun [pictured] from Red 2 and Masqeurade and Jeon Do-youn from The Housemaid and Secret Sunshine.

Set at the turbulent end of the Goryeo dynasty, the martial arts piece also stars Kim Go-eun, the ingenue from Eungyo, and Lee Joon-ho – also known as Junho from the K-pop group 2Pm - who recently featured in surveillance thriller Cold Eyes. The film is set for release in the second half of 2014.

Lotte’s second new addition is The King’s Wrath (working title), a historical action piece about palace intrigues during King Jeong-jo’s reign in the Joseon dynasty. The film is directed by Lee Jae-gyu, well-known for hit...

Protagonist Pictures has concluded sales in several territories for Israel Horovitz’s feature debut My Old Lady, starring Maggie Smith, Kevin Kline and Kristin Scott Thomas; shooting to begin in Paris on Sept 26.

The film has sold to the UK (Curzon Film World), Australia and New Zealand (Hopscotch/eOne), Germany and Switzerland (Ascot Elite), Scandinavia (Svensk), Benelux (Imagine), South Africa (Nu Metro), Israel (Lev Films), Greece and Cyprus (Feelgood), Middle East (Front Row), Portugal (Lusomundo), and Airlines (Eim).

Cohen Media Group’s acquistition of the film for North America was announced last week.

The cast is led by Maggie Smith, Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas and Dominique Pinon.

BBC Films is backing the project.

The film is written by Horovitz, on whose award-winning play the screenplay is based. Horovitz’ screenwriting credits include Istvan Szabo’s Sunshine, Author! Author!, and Cannes Prix du Jury winner The Strawberry Statement.

In My Old Lady, Kline plays Mathias...

HBO’s Girls is going Instagram-wild in its new promo.

The following teaser for the acclaimed comedy’s upcoming Season 3 (bowing in 2014) is made up of an abundance of behind-the-scenes photos, seemingly pulled from the beloved iPhone app.

Press Play below for tons of little glimpses at Lena Dunham & Co. in action, then hit the comments with your snappy judgements.

Ready for more of today’s TV dish? Well…

• The Young and the Restless will pay tribute to late suds vet Jeanne Cooper’s Genoa City dame Katherine Chancellor with two alumni-packed episodes airing Sept. 3 and 4. Per TV Guide Magazine,...

Given its impeccable track record so far with megahits Hatfields & McCoys and The Bible, a miniseries greenlight at History is big news. The cable channel’s latest long-form project to go into production is Houdini, a four-hour miniseries about the famous magician. Oscar winner Adrien Brody, who had been attached to the mini since the development stage, will play the title character, joined by Kristen Connolly (House Of Cards) as Houdini’s wife Bess. The mini, from Lionsgate and A+E Studios, the recently launched A+E Networks in-house studio headed by Bob DeBitetto, will trace the arc of Houdini’s life from desperate poverty to worldwide fame. Filming is slated to begin this fall. “It’s not magic that History has established a strong track record with its high-quality historical dramas from quality auspices,” said History’s Evp and general manager Dirk Hoogstra. “We’re excited to build on that tremendous momentum with Houdini.

History is officially in business with Houdini. The cable network announced Monday that it has ordered a four-hour miniseries about the famed magician and his wife. Adrien Brody (The Pianist) will play Houdini in the Lionsgate/A&E Studios co-production, with House of Cards' Kristen Connolly playing his wife, Bess. Oscar nominee Uli Edel will direct the project, which hails from exec producers Gerald W. Abrams (Nuremberg, Modern Marvels) and Andras Hamori (Sunshine). Nicholas Meyer (The Seven-Per-Cent Solution) will pen the series, with Patrizia von Brandenstein (Amadeus) on board as production designer. Karl Walter Lindenlaub will serve as cinematographer.  The

read more...

Kevin Kline and Maggie Smith will star in the Paris-set dramedy "My Old Lady," the feature directorial debut of Israel Horovitz, who adapted the film from his play. Protagonist Pictures will take the film to international buyers at Cannes next week. In "My Old Lady," French-speaker Kevin Kline (last seen in "Darling Companion" and heard as a voice on Fox's animated series "Bob's Burgers") will play Mathias, a New Yorker who goes to Paris to deal with his estranged father's assets. But he finds old lady Mathilde (Maggie Smith of "Downton Abbey") living in dad's apartment with her daughter (Jane Birkin) and learns he must wait until she dies to gain possession of the apartment. Horovitz's screenwriting credits include Istvan Szabo's "Sunshine" (1999), which won a European Film Award for best screenplay, and "The Strawberry Statement," winner of the 1970 Jury Prize at Cannes. Principal photography for "My Old Lady" begins in Paris on September 9th.

We're getting to know The Film Experience community. Today we're talking to Lucio in Argentina.

When did you start reading Tfe?

Lucio: I started reading in early 2004 after I began to get crazy about the Academy Awards, so I looked up for some sites in order to help me to predict them. I remember reading about the Shohreh vs. Renée battle here. I was glad when Renée finally won the Oscar but my relationship with the website became closer over the years.

Your three favorite actresses

Lucio: Meryl Streep: She can do anything, no matter what. Kate Winslet: she is a great dramatic actress. Made me cry in The Reader, smile in Eternal Sunshine and think in Revolutionary Road; Nicole Kidman: The Hours… probably the Best Performance by an Actress in History. “Always the years between us, always the love…always the hours”. Brilliant!

How often do you go to the movies?...

After spending last week at the BFI's festival of short gay films, Jack Cullen feels qualified to list the top 10 cliches of the genre – from the ironing mother to the very long shower scene …

Artistic shots of trees

Nothing conveys the gay psyche like a bleak sky glimpsed through a dizzying rush of distant poplars – the type gay boys stare at longingly from the homophobic inferno of the school bus. It's fairly cheap and easy to capture, too: best shot from a moving Peugeot 207, with the camera balanced on the sill of a half-opened side window. The short film Sunshine Sparkling in My Eyes has plenty of this.

The ironing mother

She is angsty, sombre, frayed, yet just a tiny bit fabulous. Think of a fat Joan Rivers cast in a John Osborne play. She's probably 30th in line to being the next Sheila Hancock. She needs to be watching...

Few genres of film inspire more personal responses than the romantic comedy. Given how much of our lives is spent on love and romance (falling into it, falling out of it, chasing it, giving up on it), it's no surprise that the rom-com has remained one of the most popular formulas since the dawn of cinema, and while the genre has undisputed classics, you can end up cherishing certain films purely because of their connection to your own life. They can help pull you out of a post break-up tailspin, they can comfort you through unrequited love, and, if a film hits you at the height of your passion for someone, they can end up associated forever, even blinding you to the movie's flaws -- seeing "Elizabethtown" in the midst of first love left this writer swooning after exiting the theater (thankfully, a subsequent rewatch put me straight as to how terrible it is.

With six children, his parents struggled to make ends meet. Now Ralph Fiennes is the toast of Hollywood – and making his directorial debut with Coriolanus. He tells Xan Brooks his story

Ralph Fiennes's trailer sits on a patch of wasteland beside the river and near the airport, in a neck of east London that's barely London. The cabbie can't find it and keeps driving in circles, his irritation rising as the planes rumble overhead. Either the satnav is scrambled or the address does not exist. "It's meant to be here but there's nothing there," he grumbles. "It's not a place, it's off the map."

It's only later, safely arrived, that it strikes me that the non-place may well be the best place to meet Ralph Fiennes, an actor who does not so much inhabit his roles as hide out in them and a man who approaches press interviews with...

DVD Playhouse—August 2011

By Allen Gardner

High And Low (Criterion) Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 adaptation of Ed McBain’s novel King’s Ransom is a multi-layered masterpiece of suspense and one of the best portraits ever of class warfare in post-ww II Japan. Toshiro Mifune stars as a wealthy businessman who finds himself in a moral quandary when his chauffer’s son is kidnapped by ruthless thugs who think the boy is Mifune’s. Beautifully realized on every level. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Commentary by Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince; Documentary on film’s production; Interview with Mifune from 1984; Trailers and teaser. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 4.0 surround.

Leon Morin, Priest (Criterion) One of French maestro Jean-Pierre Melville’s rare non-crime-oriented films, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo as a devoted cleric who is lusted after by the women of a small village in Nazi-occupied France. When Fr. Morin finds himself drawn to a...

The employers in this weekend's hit comedy "Horrible Bosses" are rotten to their employees in varying ways, so "Extra" decided to rank the top 12 bad bosses in film and TV.

Top 12 Bad Bosses12. Katharine Parker, 'Working Girl'

Type of boss: Corporate backstabber Katharine (Sigourney Weaver) is one of those corporate climbers who has no qualms stepping on those beneath her to get what she wants. The tricky thing about Katharine is, she makes...

The Itch of The Golden Nit, Falling Skies, The Killing and Teen Wolf all turn up in the UK this week. Plus, there are some top films, too...

A healthy start for a week of new programming begins tomorrow, with a 30 minute animated film that could serve as strong inspiration to encourage children's budding creativity and interest in film and animation. A joint project of Tate galleries and Aardman Animations, the film involved thousands of children and a few million pounds to produce.

Entitled The Itch Of The Golden Nit, the story surrounds superheroes and other fantastical characters, drawing on the original ideas, illustrations and sound effects of contributing children, and the vocal talents of comedians and performers, including David Walliams, Miranda Hart, Harry Enfield, Catherine Tate, Vic Reeves, Rick Mayall, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Ralf Little, Miriam Margolyes, Lucy Montgomery, and Alexei Sayle.

It's all part of the Cultural Olympiad, a...

With Drive Angry out now on DVD and Blu-ray, we take a look back over the finest work of co-star and acting legend, William Fichtner...

William Fichtner might not have achieved the status of household name yet, but to those familiar with his work, he inspires as much loyalty from fans as he does from the directors and producers that have repeatedly cast him in their films over the years.

Focusing on his more geek-centric films, I'll let his body of work and the sheer range and variety of his performances sell the quality of the man. He's certainly an actor I've admired and followed for many years now.

I'll freely admit that The Perfect Storm quite possibly should have made this list, but while I enjoyed the film and Fichtner's performance, there wasn't much I could find to write about it, other than that it's a solid enough drama,...

Samuel L. Jackson will star in The Samaritan, with Luke Kirby and Ruth Negga; a neo-noir thriller which starts production next week in Toronto and Rio de Janeiro. David Weaver directs from a script he wrote alongside Alone in the Dark screenwriter Zelan Mastai. In The Samaritan, Jackson stars as Foley, a former swindler who, after serving 20 years in prison, intends on turning his life around. After meeting an elusive young woman (played by Negga), he is soon asked by the son of a former partner for help with an ingenious plan. Kirby plays the son. Andras Hamori (Sunshine) produces The Samaritan along with Suzanne Cheriton and Tony Wosk. Mark Musselman (Barney's Version) executive produces with Weaver, Mastai and Jackson as well as Eli Selden, James Atherton, Jan Pace, Mark Horowitz, Geoffrey Brandt and Lacia Kornylo...

Samuel L. Jackson will star in The Samaritan, with Luke Kirby and Ruth Negga; a neo-noir thriller which starts production next week in Toronto and Rio de Janeiro. David Weaver directs from a script he wrote alongside Alone in the Dark screenwriter Zelan Mastai. In The Samaritan, Jackson stars as Foley, a former swindler who, after serving 20 years in prison, intends on turning his life around. After meeting an elusive young woman (played by Negga), he is soon asked by the son of a former partner for help with an ingenious plan. Kirby plays the son. Andras Hamori (Sunshine) produces The Samaritan along with Suzanne Cheriton and Tony Wosk. Mark Musselman (Barney's Version) executive produces with Weaver, Mastai and Jackson as well as Eli Selden, James Atherton, Jan Pace, Mark Horowitz, Geoffrey Brandt and Lacia Kornylo...

As if the already announced cast wasn't big enough, several more stars have signed on to be a part of Steven Soderbergh's upcoming thriller, Contagion.

According to the Playlist Demetri Martin (Taking Woodstock), Jennifer Ehle (Sunshine, Possession), Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") and Elliott Gould (Ocean's Eleven trilogy) have all joined the previously announced Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, John Hawkes, Chin Han and Josie Ho.

Soderbergh (pictured right) will be directing Contagion from the white-hot script by Scott Z. Burns. While details aren't in abundance, we do know that the story centers on an outbreak of a deadly disease and that the film will have many different plot strings just like Soderbergh's award-winning effort Traffic.

Look for it in theaters October 21, 2011 from Warner Bros. Pictures.

- Uncle Creepy

Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Stay sick in the comments section below!

Demetri Martin (Taking Woodstock), Jennifer Ehle (Sunshine, Possession ), Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") and Elliott Gould (Ocean's Eleven trilogy) have joined the massive cast for Steven Soderbergh's Contagion, which already boasts Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, John Hawkes, Chin Han and Josie Ho, reports The Playlist. The film will be shot on the Red. Gag. In theaters October 21, 2011 from Warner Bros. Pictures, as a deadly virus spreads throughout the world, doctors battle to find a cure. But the fear and disinformation that spreads along with the disease proves to be an equally formidable problem.

Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired all Us rights to Barney's Version from producer Robert Lantos ( Eastern Promises , Being Julia , Sunshine ). Barney's Version is directed by Richard J. Lewis and based upon Mordecai Richler's prize-winning comic novel. The film is In Competition at the Venice Film Festival and will be featured as a Gala Presentation at this year's Toronto Film Festival. Barney's Version stars Academy Academy Award nominees Paul Giamatti and Minnie Driver, Award winner Dustin Hoffman, Rosamund Pike, Rachelle Lefevre and Scott Speedman. In the film, Barney Panofsky (Giamatti) is a seemingly ordinary man who lives an extraordinary life. Barney's candid confessional spans three decades and two continents, and includes three wives,...

Park Jin Pyo, Korean director of “Voice of a Murderer” and “You are my Sunshine” returns to the subject of romance in the face of terminal illness with “Closer to Heaven”, a hard hitting depiction of the devastating effects of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Although the premise may suggest simple melodrama and tugs at the heartstrings, Park instead achieves a powerful realism, thanks in no small part to an amazing lead performance from popular actor Kim Myung Min (recently in the television series “Beethoven Virus”), who lost over 40 pounds during filming for his role, winning himself Best Actor at the Blue Dragon and Daejong Film Awards in the process. Female lead Ha Ji Won (“Haeundae”) is similarly remarkable as his loving, much put upon wife, and herself won Best Actress at the Blue Dragon Awards. The film proved equally popular with audiences and critics, sitting atop the domestic box office for an impressive three weeks.

Cinema Of Brazil: Music And Rhythm; Sound In Cinema – Music In Film: UK Portuguese Film Festival, London

One of the themes of this year's City Of London festival is the music of the Portuguese-speaking world, which is good news for cinemagoers, as these parallel festivals deliver more genres than you can shake a hip at. On the Brazilian side, there's the birth of bossa nova in the 1960s-set Os Desafinados, Crouching Tiger-style capoeira action in Besouro, or streetwise girl groups in São Paolo drama Antônia, plus documentaries on Tropicalia figureheads Arnaldo Baptista (of Os Mutantes) and Caetano Veloso, Wilson Simonal and Vinícius de Moraes. Representing Portugal, there's fado legend Amália Rodrigues in 1943's Fado, Story Of A Singer and Manuel de Oliveira's Buñuelesque Os Canibais.

Barbican Screen, EC2, Ritzy Picturehouse, SW2, Fri to 8 Jul, visit barbican.org.uk, picturehouses.co.uk

Steve Rose

Check The Gate: Hungarian Film Showcase,...

A couple of weeks ago it was reported that Rachel Weisz would be re-teaming with "The Fountain" director (also, her real-life husband) Darren Aronofsky on "Jackie," from TV producer Noah Oppenheim. We learned from the original report that the story would follow Weisz as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the aftermath of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

And that's it. Not a whole lot of detail there. Lucky for us, MTV's Josh Horowitz spoke with Weisz recently about her upcoming summer release "Agora" and he got her to reveal a few details about the project and how she intends to tackle the challenge of playing such an iconic individual.

"It’s a very beautiful script," she said. "I think it’s the four or five days after the assassination and how [Jackie] deals with the assassination and the funeral. It’s not a biopic. Its about that short period of time.

Happy Valentine's Day, kids. Hope you've all got loved ones to squeeze today, and have better things planned than to see schmaltzy, unchallenging romance flicks like, er, Valentine's Day. Submitted for your approval is a list of movies in the spirit of love that aren't your typical rom-coms or melodramas—the unusual suspects with something a little strange accompanying the couplings.

Rather than just list movies with romance between quirky characters, though, since many people would be quick to name unconventional couples like Harold and Maude or Bonnie and Clyde, how about we seek the more trying scenarios? Here are some movies that attain sweet, robust romance even in situations that are normally hard to swallow. But you don't need to make sense of love to get it.

• • •

Oasis (2002)

Why it's weird? It begins with rape.

In most relationships, when the man rapes the woman, what follows is usually the end.

Dear middle America,

As you peruse your local movie listings this Martin Luther King Day weekend, you may find yourself considering Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, which opens in 'wide release' (your neck of the woods,) after over a month of 'limited release' (elite coastal movie theaters.) Red Staters, we've never really seen eye to eye. You probably think I'm a homosexual just for having a blog. But in the spirit of bipartisanship, nah, hell, call it patriotism, I'm warning y'all: Stay away from these Lovely Bones.

Here, for your entertainment, is an awful mess. It's the story of Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan,) a fourteen year-old girl murdered on her way home from school. Following her death, Susie tours "the in-between," a region neither heaven nor hell (though for me it was decidedly on the 'hell' side,) all while trying to communicate with her grieving parents Mark Wahlberg & Rachel Weisz,...

This list has more repeat offenders than the male list yesterday. Please give these 45 talented women one last round of applause before we take a break from the decade stuff to embark on the 2009 awards. As with the male list, I didn't include any 2009 performances (let the year settle first) though there is at least one that would obviously (x 50) be here if I did...

"And it's time my luck changed. And it's time something went right for me!"

-"Julia" makes a plea for a surprise Tilda Swinton nomination this year.

Please Note: This list should not be mistaken for an updated 'Actresses of the Aughts' chart. [editors note: I may attempt to return to that massive project in a definitive way after this year's Oscar race is complete]. How you feel about someone's entire career can be markedly different than how you feel about individual turns and an actress whose skill you may admire might not hit you as hard emotionally as she hits others. Then there are actresses I...

Not sure what to watch? We can help with our comprehensive guide to the best films on TV this Christmas and new year

Choose a date

Saturday 19 December | Sunday 20 December | Monday 21 December | Tuesday 22 December | Wednesday 23 December |Christmas Eve | Christmas Day | Boxing Day | Sunday 27 December | Monday 28 December | Tuesday 29 December | Wednesday 30 December | New Year's Eve | New Year's Day

Saturday 19 December

Yes Man (Peyton Reed, 2008)

10am, 8pm, Sky Movies Premiere

Remember Jim Carrey in Liar, Liar, where he forces himself to tell the truth for 24 hours? Well, here Jim Carrey forces himself to answer yes to any request, for a year. Which is upping the ante somewhat, but doesn't make it a better film. This is a return to the manic, gurning, not-very-funny Carrey, as if The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine etc hadn't happened. Just say no.

The Golden Compass (Chris Weitz, 2007)

11.40am, 8pm, Sky Movies Family

What with Harry Potter, Narnia, Lemony Snicket and all,...

  Toronto -- Now it's getting personal. Canadian filmmaker John Greyson's decision to pull his short film from the Toronto International Film Festival has provoked a growing feud among Canadian filmmakers.

Veteran Canadian documentary maker Simcha Jacobovici, who was born in Israel, said Greyson should test his sympathy for the Palestinians by screening his short film about the 2008 Sarajevo Queer Festival in Tel Aviv and on the West Bank.

"He will be invited to screen the film at the local (Tel Aviv) cinematheque. He can then walk around with the same sign down the streets of Palestinian Ramallah. He should document the experience on video and then enter it into next year's Tiff -- posthumously," Jacobovici said.

Veteran Canadian film producer Robert Lantos ("Sunshine," "Being Julia") was equally dismissive Thursday of Greyson's protest as he defended the Toronto festival's decision to spotlight Tel Aviv and Israeli filmmakers.

"I have no...

Who would have thought a dust old film could revive a career? Liam Neeson (Taken) is on a role has he'll now be starring as a warring god alongside Ralph Fiennes (Spider, Red Dragon, Sunshine) in Warner Bros. and Legendary's Clash Of The Titans, the Greek-god epic directed by Louis Leterrier. Neeson is playing Zeus, the wise yet sometimes ill-tempered king of the gods and father of Perseus (Sam Worthington). F Fiennes will play Hades, ruler of the underworld who aims to overtake Zeus and rule over all. The two actors join Mads Mikkelsen, Gemma Arterton and Alexa Davalos in the production, which begins shooting later this month in the U.K. The storyline will still revolve around Perseus' journey to save the Princess Andromeda, during which he must complete various tasks set out by Zeus, including capturing Pegasus and slaying Medusa.

Some wonderful things that come in tiny packages:

cupcakes, old fashioned letters, gifts, reese's peanut butter cups, glitter, gift certificates, fortunes, mp3s, rings, cream filling, Kristin Chenowith, eyeshadow, matches, pills, kittens...

And something else, too: performances. There are no small parts. I'm thinking of this today because my friend Tom told me about a spill Lena Olin took at a Variety screening of The Reader recently. She was descending the insanely steep steps of the Sunshine Cinema in huge heels. He describes

As she was about half way down, Lena stumbled... she was only saved from a serious fall by running smack into Ralph Fiennes's back (his strong, silent, brooding back). She was clearly startled and embarrassed...and probably saw her whole life flash before her eyes...plummeting to her death at the Sunshine Cinemas. How pathetic would that have been...to die for a Q&A? And...

The Slamdance competition is open only to under-$1 million budgeted films from first-time filmmakers and runs at the same time as Sundance (in Utah) to show a more truer "independent" film style. This year they've got some great looking films, including a sweet looking vampire flick which has the Karate Kid Ralph Macchio himself, Rosencantz and Guildenstern are Undead. I Sell the Dead which was well received at Tad will be opening the fest. Also playing will be The Broken Lizard's latest film The Slammin' Salmon, and Mum and Dad.

Checkout the full lineup after the break!

Narrative Feature Competition

The Ante

Max Perrier (Director), Danek S. Kaus, James Chancellor & Simon Perrier (Writers)

West Coast Premiere, Black Comedy/Thriller, 2006, Canada, 82 minutes

An innocent man becomes the killer everyone wants him to be when he gambles with his freedom in order to save it.

A Quiet Little Marriage

Mo Perkins (Director/Writer)

Utah Premiere,...

"I Sell the Dead," Glenn McQuaid's darkly comic horror tale about bumbling grave robbers starring Dominic Monaghan and Ron Perlman, will serve as the opening-night film of the 15th annual Slamdance Film Festival, which runs Jan. 15-23 in Park City.

The fest will screen 29 narrative and documentary features, 20 of which come from the U.S. and 31% of which were directed by women. The 100-film lineup also includes shorts and, for the first time, music videos.

"This year we look forward to increasing our audience through new online formats we believe have the ability, in the long run, to level the playing field for the independent filmmaker," Slamdance president and co-founder Peter Baxter said.

Bringing the fest to a worldwide audience for the first time, the films also will stream live at a new Web site, indieroad.net/slamdance, part of Slamdance's newly formed online venture with Indieroad.net.

The...