Father Geek here with Edgard and his Euro-crew and their Euro-AICN Column for this week...

EURO AICN

Hi folks... Edgard here with the latest edition of the Euro AICN news.... This week Robert reports for us on the Venice Film Festival so now you know what to avoid or what not to miss... then a few news from UK, Ireland or Denmark (the movie "In China they eat Dogs" is actually quite funny... I look forward for the sequel), and to conclude a brand new review of AMELIE as the French hit (still in the French weekly top ten, 4 months after release !!) starts now the international release... I'm very curious to see what kind of success this film will meet outside France (a decent "art" success or a real "blockbuster" success ??)... we will find out soon... so anyway, here it is and enjoy !

VENICE FILM FESTIVAL REPORT

by Robert

* The Venice Film Festival started monday with Dust, a film by Milcho Manchewski (who won the Golden Lion in the 1994 with his debut feature Before the Rain). Everyone had great expectations (Manchewski waited seven years to follow his acclaimed first movie). Unfortunately, Dust was a mess. Our Venice correspondent Nicola Martinelli wrote that "the screenplay, written by the director himself, was full of metaphors, stereotypes, genres and quotations. It was quite hard to understand the meaning of the pic". Some other journalist talked about "a devasting failure for Manchewski".

Anyway, if you wanna take a first glimpse at Dust, just click to see some pictures at: This Location

Monday Venice was excited for Nicole Kidman (who will introduce his latest The Others on saturday). Even Charlize Theron and Helen Hunt (The Curse of Jade Scorpion) were surrounded by paparazzi. Instead, Joseph Fiennes (Dust), Gene Hackman (Heist) and Steven Spielberg (A.I.) announced they won't be at the Festival.

* The first three movies presented in the competitive section “Venezia 58” stirred a lot of controversy. Let’s start with Bully, which received the worst reviews so far. Even if his mix of sex, drugs, videogames and violence was able to create a large debate in the press conference, our correspondent Micola Martinelli talks about “a boring and pointless movie”. It’s quite hard to believe there wasn’t best pic from the States to swow instead of Bully. Even more difficult to watch was Kim Ki-Duk latest feature Address Unknown. The south-corean director describes his country during the seventies, with horrible scenes of a butcher who tortures dogs to sell their meat (even if, as the helmer carefully pointed out, no animal was harmed during the shooting). A tough film not for everybody, but nevertheless interesting. But the most acclaimed movie so far was the mexican Y Tu Mamá También, realised by director Alfonso Cuaron. A sexy road movie with three great actors, including Gael Garcia Bernal, which was already appreciated in the wonderful Amores Perros. Probably Y Tu Mamá También won’t win the Golden Lion as best movie, but many journalists see it as a serious contender for the best screenplay prize or for the Coppa Volpi (which awards the best actors seen in competition) for the charming Maribel Verdú. You can see some pictures (including a very explicit one) at: Our Site

Out of competition was showed Fausto 5.0, the movie realised by the spanish group theater La Fura Del Baus. A very strange and disturbing movie, as you can see in our pictures: Just Click Here

Bye and good work

Robert

DENMARK

* From Screendaily :

The follow-up to the first and so far only Danish action-comedy In China They Eat Dogs, which was well received by audiences and critics alike in 1999, Old Men In New Cars (In China They Eat Dogs 2), is getting ready to shoot in Sweden, after regional fund Film I Vast provided the final piece of the $1.8m (DKR14.5m) budget. Like the first film, which scooped an impressive 220.000 admissions domestically and had offers for English-language remakes, the script for Old Men In New Cars is by the very talented young writer-director, Anders Thomas Jensen (Flickering Lights). Ex-stuntman Lasse Spang Olsen is back as director after completing the family-pirate-movie Jolly Roger. Technically a prequel, the film promises to have the same winning combination of snappy dialogue, humour and action, and popular Danish actors Kim Bodnia, Tomas Villum Jensen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas will reprise their parts from the first film. (...) Old Men In New Cars puts another feather in the cap of Film I Vast and its head Tomas Eskildsson. In recent years Film I Vast has turned into a major player in the financing of Nordic features. Among other projects are Dogville, the upcoming new film from Denmark’s maverick Lars von Trier, as well as new films from Sweden’s Lukas Moodysson and veteran Rikard Hobert. The latter’s Alle Alskar Alice (Everybody Loves Alice) is produced by Sonet Film and shoots in September, while Moodysson’s as yet untitled project is produced by Memfis Film and will shoot later in the year.

IRELAND

* Various news from our pals at www.ShowbizIreland.com :

#1: Richard Harris' Potter versus The Lord of the Rings... : Christmas looks set to be a bumper season for new movies, with two films vying for box office supremacy. Veteran Irish actor Richard Harris is set to star in another one of the worlds biggest blockbusters which will be released this November. Harris (Gladiator) is one of the stars of the eagerly awaited Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, based on the book by JK Rowling and Steven Kloves and directed by Chris Columbus. Unknown child actor Daniel Radcliffe will play Harry, while a host of supporting actors will include such luminaries as Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane and John Cleese will join Harris in the movie. Then following that December will see the arrival of the first installment of the Tolkien trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Irish actor Stewart Townsend was in the film but left after a falling out with the films director. JRR Tolkien's epic was voted the greatest book of the 20th century and the film version is set to capture the imagination of a new generation of fantasy lovers. The film's director Peter Jackson says of the forthcoming head-to- head: "Harry Potter opens at least a month before we do, and I hope it's a great movie. I just think that if people love Harry Potter and they get into wizards and magic, then hopefully they can move on into Tolkien."

#2: Cate Blanchett to Chase the Dragon... : Lord of the Rings star Cate Blanchett is to begin work on a new film about the life of the late Sunday Indo journalist Veronica Guerin. The Irish Independent online reported yesterday that Blanchett has been chosen to play the part of Veronica in the production, which has the working title Chasing the Dragon: The Veronica Guerin Story. Many other actors associated with the role in the media have been Jodie Foster and Winona Ryder. She will come to Dublin in two weeks with director Joel Schumacher to meet people who knew and worked with Veronica. Both of them will familiarise themselves with the various locations where they will be shooting the film. The movie is being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, who has produced many of the biggest-grossing movies of all times, and his involvement was instrumental in bringing the Disney studio on board with the finance for the project. Bruckheimer has produced Pearl Harbour, Armageddon, Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun and Con Air. Armageddon alone earned more than $500m at the box office. Asked what attracted him to this project, Bruckheimer said that, on hearing of Veronica's death and subsequently reading an article in Q magazine, he knew that Veronica was a special person and felt her story should be told. According to the Irish Independent following publication of the article, Disney bought the rights to it and then commissioned Hollywood-based Dublin woman Carol Doyle to produce a script. At this stage, because of the abundance of working projects that Disney had, the project was shelved, but with their agreement it was taken on board by Bruckheimer's production company, Jerry Bruckheimer Films. They had a rewrite done by Mary Agnes O'Donoghue and this script was shown to Joel Schumacher, who straight away agreed to take on the film. Described in Hollywood as the "actress of the moment", she received an Oscar nomination and Bafta award for her role as Queen Elizabeth in the film Elizabeth. It was this role that brought her to the attention of her peers. Now Belfast writer Marie Jones is preparing a final script and it is expected that this will be ready shortly. The filming will start in Dublin in February 2002. Bruckheimer was always anxious that the matters before the courts be completed prior to filming and, now that this is the case, it's full steam ahead for the project which has a target release date of late 2002. The Independent writes that Bruckheimer is confident that the film will show Veronica as she really was, a courageous woman who fought to expose drug lords who were exploiting the weakest in our society.

#3: Alicia Silverstone goes from the Gaiety to Broadway... : Clueless star Alicia Silverstone has taken the Theatre full time after her stint behind the bar in Dublin recently with Woody Harrelson. The actress, who was in the bar of Dublin's Gaiety Theatre last weekend is to make her Broadway debut starring opposite Kathleen Turner in the stage adaptation of The Graduate. Silverstone, whose films include Batman and Robin and Love's Labour's Lost, will play the daughter Elaine to Turner's Mrs Robinson in the story of a hard-drinking, middle-aged woman who seduces her daughter's boyfriend. The show is based on the 1967 film of the same name which starred Anne Bancroft and Katherine Ross as the mother and daughter and Dustin Hoffman in the title role. Turner starred in last year's London version and made headlines for her nude scene. Jerry Hall and Anne Archer also played the role.

UK

* From Screendaily :

"I Capture The Castle", BBC Films' adaptation of the acclaimed book by The Hundred And One Dalmatians author Dodie Smith, is to start shooting in three weeks after nearly six years in development. Subject to casting, the £5.7m project has finally come together a patchwork of independent financing from operations including Distant Horizon, UK tax fund Baker Street Take 3 and incentives from the Isle of Man. Icon is also expected to come on board, possibly taking some rights from Distant Horizon. Rising newcomer Romola Garai, whose TV credits include The Last Of The Blonde Bombshells and Attachments, has landed the lead part of Cassandra, the 17 year-old daughter of an aristocratic English family in the 1930s who fall on hard times and sell their castle to Americans. Directed by newcomer Tim Fywell and produced by David Parfitt, who won an Academy Award for Shakespeare In Love, the project co-stars Bill Nighy, who most recently received kudos for his turn in Lucky Break. The UK veteran plays Cassandra's writers-blocked father, while Australia's Rose Byrne appears as her sister. The US' Marc Blucas, whose credits include upcoming Mel Gibson film We Were Soldiers, plays one of the two handsome young American landlords, with the other to be confirmed. Fywell is scheduled to start shooting September 24 in London, Wales and the Isle Of Man from a script by Heidi Thomas, with whom he collaborated on TV production Madame Bovary. The project, at one time linked to Miramax Films, was previously at the UK arm of Mike Newell and Alan Greenspan's erstwhile production company, Dogstar, which was run by Parfitt. Newell is taking an executive producer credit, while Parfitt is producing for his own UK production outfit, Trademark Films. "The script brought it all together," said Parfitt. "I've been involved for four years, and there have been a number of drafts, but it started really coming together when Tim Fywell came on board 18 months ago." Executive producer credits also go to BBC Films chief David Thompson, Distant Horizon's Anant Singh, the Isle Of Man's Steve Christian, Baker Street's Keith Evans, Perpetual Motion's Mark Shivas and Icon's Bruce Davey. Mark Cooper is co-producing.

REVIEW - AMELIE IN MONTMARTRE

Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain
by Cafeman

Written by Guillaume Laurant and Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Some of you may know I stopped writing reviews a few months ago. I felt that I have reached my prime in the medium and besides, I felt like a scavenger, bitter and mean, tearing apart movies many people have worked very hard on. I wasn`t sure if I`ll ever go back to it, wasn`t sure if it was a stop or just a pause. Just when I thought it was definitely a stop, along came a movie that simply compelled me to sit down, write a review and spread the word about the most magical movie experience I`ve ever had, a movie called “Le Fabuleux Destin d`Amelie Poulain”.

Coming from one of the greatest directors of all times, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, that we have grown so accustomed to getting grotesque science fiction films from, “Amelie” is the biggest breath of fresh air into the ever-terrible genre of romantic comedy that has ever happened. I don`t see myself enjoying any other romantic comedy ever in my life after seeing “Amelie”.

“Amelie” is a movie from dreamers, for dreamers. Just like all dreamers, Amelie lives in her own universe, where even the smallest things can mean the world. It is a magical universe, full of wonders and beauty, where absolutely nothing is evil, and if it is, it can be dealt with easily. It is the kind of universe only movies can create, but rarely do. It is Amelie`s privilege to be living in a movie, and all the way through, the audience is grateful to be handed the passport to it, if only for a few hours. “Amelie” is simply one of the most charming and gracious movies ever, giving off the fragrance of love and happiness, no matter what your job, intelligence or emotional state is like. No matter how many flaws people in Amelie`s universe have it`s OK, so long as they`re not mean. What “Amelie” says, among so many other things, is that people are, after all, just people, with as many pros as cons, just happy to be living their lives and making what`s best of it. Amelie is a big pat on the shoulder of all people under-equipped or afraid to take full part in the life of the world we live in.

Amelie`s fantasies of helping people and making the world a better place are so vivid you have no problems connecting to her. It all makes perfect sense. This is one to be approached with an open mind without saying the very popular “Yeah, like that`s gonna happen!” You`ve noticed that so far, I said absolutely nothing about cast or crew. It is simply because they did exactly what every cast and crew should do-depict a parallel universe we absolutely believe exist and often dream we could be a part of without ever letting us notice them. When you`re watching the movie, you`re not thinking about how this person is playing that character, you`re absolutely believing their existence as real people. The peak of genius and versatility is, of course, Amelie herself, Audrey Tautou. Audrey Tautou is an angel. Casting her was a stroke of genius. Her magnetically attractive eyes look so surrealistically deep, you almost find yourself feeling like you`re sinking into them, immersing yourself into all that Amelie is about. It`s a difficult thing to explain on paper. if you`ve seen the movie, you know what I`m saying.

I tried imagining Amelie being made in the USA. I couldn`t. Seeing movies like Amelie earning the title blockbuster, warms up my hope of the survival of good taste among the movie-goers. I`m not generalizing, I know a lot of people from the USA who are very likely going to love this movie, but it is a sad minority. The triumph of Jurassic Parks over Amelies of the world is the triumph of stupidity over wit. As a closing, if you see one movie this year ,please make it Amelie. The only way to dislike this movie is by having no soul. I hope none of you belong to that category.

So there you have it.

Au Revoir,

Igor Stanojevic aka CafeMan
www.cineserb.8k.com

Well that's about it for this week... keep sending us your reviews, questions, and whatever you want to our warm and sunny Euro offices in Paris at euroaicn@yahoo.com