Father Geek here, catching up on posting after Minn./St. Paul's wonderfully laidback ConVergence Sci-Fi/Fantasy Convention were Harry, Quint, and I sat on various panels and entertained informally hundreds of fellow geeks from the comfort of the large poolside 7 room/3 patio, food and drink stuffed, cabana/suite we were provided with for the last 5 days. We sat around sharing tons of insider info, audio interviews, artwork, and film clips on LOTR, Spiderman, Matrix 2, Enterprize, Star Wars, The Aint It Cool TV Show, etc... till about 5am each morning. Met lots of cool people, and sampled the area's very best ethnic food (Cuban, German, Italian, Chinese, Australian, etc...) buuuuuut enough of that, and on with Edgard and his Euro-crew's regular Monday column...
EURO AICN
Hello folks... Edgard here... still the Summer (hopefully), still no real "event film" (except maybe SHREK), and still very slow on the news side.. in a way it's good, when it's hot outside you don't really feel like spending hours reading stuffs on Internet (at least I don't)... So here comes today a small and bad review of French comedy "Le Placard" (from Francis "The Dinner Game" Veber); some words from Moretti on Jeunet; some new Bond rumours (although the Bill Clinton rumour is not new, I read that somewhere on a French site 6 months ago); some Irish words on Lara Croft and Jim Sheridan; some British words on Lewis Gilbert and an announcement of the future First World Soundtrack Award (next October in Belgium). And finally a link to a very short DAREDEVIL film. Quite interesting for the fun of it... so here it comes & enjoy !
ITALY
* Hey Edgard, some interesting information about Nanni Moretti and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. My colleague Francesco Alò was at Taormina for the International FilmFest and had the chance to chat with Nanni Moretti:
Click Here for all the story.
He asked him about Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (which will be distributed in the States with the title Amelie), which seems to be his most dangerous adversary for the next oscar for best foreign film. Moretti first pointed out that he is not yet the official candidate for Italy (It's true, but it is just a formality, as I suppose it will be in France for Amelie), but he also gives his opinion about Jeunet. "I didn't see Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain yet, but there was a large word of mouth at Cannes during the Festival. I missed the chance to see it when opened in Paris because I was too busy with the interviews for my movie. I didn't see Alien 4, but i saw Delicatessen, which is not the kind of movie I like. I'm not moved or amused by it. In short, Jeunet is not among the directors I love", the italian director says. While The Son's Room received the Golden Palm at the recent Cannes Film Festival, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain was refused by the organizers. Curiously, both these movies will be distributed in the States by Miramax, which was a great supporter for recent Oscar winners as Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful. The question, in fact, is which movie Miramax will promote better: the award winner (and dramatic) The Son's Room or the french smash hit Amelie (which seems to have more chances at the U.S. boxoffice)? And there will be some problem between the two directors, even considering Moretti's - not too much kind - words? We'll see what the Weinstein will do...
See you,
Robert
IRELAND
* "D" reports on the following rumour : A report on an Irish daytime tv show (Open House) (5-July-2001) said that Bill Clinton has been approached by the makers of Bond 20 with a view to him playing the role of the president in the film.
We can add to this rumor that the French website "Allociné" announces that the female boxer Daisy Lang (from Bulgary) could be a new vilain Bond girl in the next secret agent film.
Then here comes the usual pack of news from ShowBiz Ireland :
* Having failed to land Ewan McGregor and Kate Winslet for the romantic leads in his semi-autobiographical film East of Harlem, Irish filmmaker Jim Sheridan has cast the Irish actors Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton in the lead roles. McGregor, although interested, reportedly had other commitments and Winslet instead decided to appear in an adaptation of Francois Girard's The Magician's Wife, which shoots this summer. Sheridan wrote the script and will also direct and produce East of Harlem, a romantic drama centreing on a couple who emigrate from Ireland to make a life in New York. Filming is due to begin at the end of this month in both Ireland and New York.
* Ass-kicking, hot-pant wearing archeologist Lara Croft is fighting her way on to our screens in one of this summer's most-hyped films, but does Angelina Jolie have what it takes to make Tomb Raider a success? Reese Esposito meets the controversial actress in LA.
(...) Possibly one of the biggest hyped movies of the whole year, apart, perhaps, from Bridget Jones, Jolie had her work cut out for her, so did she find any similarity between the character and herself. "Every character I play is like me. As you grow up, you discover more sides of yourself," she reveals. "This was a side of myself that I didn't think was in me. But it wasn't a surprise to people who know me. You spend so much time as an actor in your head that you forget to be free." But while previous films may have been mentally exerting, the physicality of Tomb Raider was undoubtedly daunting. Jolie was forced to endure a gruelling training regime that included kickboxing and street-fighting. "The physical challenges were great," she tells me, "it was such a great feeling to just jump into something. During the first few weeks of this film, I had one night where I was sitting in the bathtub with all my bruises, crying, thinking, 'What am I doing?' I thought 'I'm not going to be able to do this. I'm not going to pull it off'. I couldn't get the guns straight on my sides. But I just kept pushing myself to do it. When you finally accomplish it, it feels so good."
Following the mould of stars, such as Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible II, Jolie was determined to do her own stunts. "Even if it's just for the crew around you, you want to impress them. You walk in with the holsters on. You can't fall off the giant log. You have to be the one who can do it." Physical challenges aside, Jolie still had to face the more artistically demanding problem of translating a video character to the screen. "The funny thing is that there's nothing to her. She's a video game," she comments. At times she even felt she knew more about this larger-than-life character than some of the other roles she's played, for example: Croft has a birthday, places she went to school and certain skills. "That part was challenging," continues Jolie, "she has an extreme body type, which I couldn't do. But the thing that was most appealing to me about her was that she was friendly. Anyone who wants to join her can travel with her on an adventure. She's not trying to compete with anyone. She won't like you if you're a bad person. She's open and a bit silly. She would be a friend to you."
(...) Tattooed several times over, most recently with Billy Bob's name, Jolie faced more of a problem trying to physically emulate a woman whose breasts are more prominent than Marilyn Monroe's. "We wanted to give her those things; her braids, her breasts, her boots, all the things about her that are her, but at the same time, we didn't want to go to the extreme that the game had gone to, and we didn't want to make it look stupid. We wanted to make her athletic and strong and so we tried to find a happy medium. It was a lot of work from a lot of people to try and figure out outfits that were sexy, but also practical. I had to be able to stretch and jump, move around and get wet, as well as showing the holsters." The tan was the other problem and Jolie is not known for her mahogany-coloured skin. "I've never been tanned before and I was in the middle of England, so that was difficult." By all accounts, being in the middle of England wasn't the only difficult part. Filming also took place in Cambodia, which Jolie appeared to adore, "Cambodia is the most beautiful place that I've been to. I discovered so many things about what's happening in the world. I learned so much about the Cambodians and they were so generous and open and kind and spiritual. There are areas we filmed in that we had to fly into, then we could only go into specific spots because they hadn't been de-mined past a certain radius. And to know that there are hospitals there because kids are still stepping on landmines everyday was horrifying." Jolie intends to return to Cambodia this July, once the movie is released. Filming also brought her to the rather more chilly, desolate location of Iceland. "Iceland was just strange," Jolie laughs. "It's a strange kind of magical place. I think there were actually more sheep than people where we were." (...)
So with the blockbuster hitting cinemas, Jolie will most likely be lining up to appear on a TV talk shows, but is it her thing? "Do I like it? I suppose I do and I don't. Sometimes there's a lot of ridiculousness and shallowness because you've got a few minutes of 'Lets be cute,' but I like being able to speak for myself. It's nice to just be able to be me and I can honestly respond to something without it being manipulated in any way."
This interview is much longer, check the full article at : This Location
UK
* UK actress Julie Walters is re-teaming with Lewis Gilbert, director of Educating Rita, the film which won her a Best Actress nomination at the 1983 Oscars. The Memory Of Water is currently shooting on the Isle Of Man before moving to Twickenham Studios in London. The film, which wraps on August 3, tells the story of three sisters coming to terms with their mother’s death. Walters stars as the obsessively-vacuuming elder sister. Produced by Pacificus and Big Fish Films, The Memory Of Water co-stars Joanne Whalley, Victoria Hamilton and John Hannah. Shelagh Stephenson scripted the film, which is backed by Arkangel, Capitol Films, Entertainment Film Distributors and the Isle of Man Film Commission. Capitol Films is handling international sales. (...) Lewis Gilbert has directed such enduring British films as Alfie, You Only Live Twice and Shirley Valentine. (Source : Screendaily)
BELGIUM
* From Screendaily : The first ever World Soundtrack Awards will take place on Oct 18 at the Flanders International Film Festival in Ghent, Belgium. The ceremony, at which six awards will be presented, will precede a gala concert by Oscar winning composers Gabriel Yared and Elmer Bernstein Launched by the World Soundtrack Academy, the World Soundtrack Awards will be presented in the following categories - best original film score of the year, best original song written directly for a film, most creative use of existing material on a soundtrack (music supervisor), film composer of the year, best score of the year not released on an album and discovery of the year. An award for Lifetime Achievement will be given to composers who have reached a milestone in their career on a non-annual basis, and film music fans can vote for their favorite score/composer in the Public Choice Award (based on international album sales) via the World Soundtrack Awards website. Founding members of the World Soundtrack Academy which aims to “organise and oversee the educational, cultural and professional aspects of the art of film music and sound” include Elmer Bernstein, Alan & Marilyn Bergman, Elliot Goldenthal, Lalo Schifrin, Hans Zimmer, Jean-Claude Petit, Tan Dun and Trevor Jones.
REVIEW
THE CLOSET ("Le Placard")
by Ethan
When I checked the schedule of upcoming American releases I noticed Francis Veber`s THE CLOSET (LE PLACARD in French). This film was released in my Fatherland a couple of months ago and I went to see it when we had electricity restrictions. This description tells all about the movie. It`s the kind of movie that you see in state of utter desperation. Even though, I believe it will get some nice reviews from mature American critics because it is delicate and gross-free. These elders won`t notice the fact that THE CLOSET lacks the radical approach which turns a potent social subject into a successful comedy. While being terribly unfunny, the movie is too simplified to work without laughs. The story follows an honest and simple clerk of the condom factory who gets fired simply because of being boring. His divorce adds to the despair and he tries to commit suicide but neighbour prevents him doing so and advises him to pretend he`s gay so that wouldn`t be fired...
The attitude about the issue is inteligent and mature. Authors take no easy solutions and the movie makes you rethink the whole concept of gay culture in contemporary society. Yet the execution is tired and sloppy. Francis Veber`s direction is routine and Auteuil and Depardieu simply roam through this flick on auto-pilot. I`m so sorry that American audience gets to see such an ambivalent European release. Forgive us, Europeans, on this one and wait for something better.
God bless,
Ethan
SHORT FILM - DARE DEVIL
« Dare Devil the teaser » is available since 4th july on www.cine-courts.com, we invite you to discover this small incursion (3mins) in the universe of the worldknown comics.
The comic book : Created in 1964 By Stan Lee and Bill Everett, Dare devil « the man without fear » was a man like others. Exactly, he was a student named Matt Murdock. Blinded to life by some radioactive waste , Matt discovered himself new abilities. Since then, with the help of his father and his mentor Matt learned how to develop his skills and martial arts…
years later after avenging his father he became the fighter of evil Dare Devil…
The Movie : Format: 35mm - Length: 3mins (without titles)
Produced with a 5000$ budget , Dare Devil the teaser was directed by David Sarrio a young French director found of American comics. Even if it has big flaws, Dare devil in the french short film market succeed in being original since it proposes an ambitious vision of cinema. Shot in Paris France, Dare Devil needed the work of twenty people to be completed during weeks.
You can see the movie by clicking the link below. Just Click Here Now
If you need any info please feel free to contact me: guillaume.l@cine-courts.com
Well that's it for this new Euro week... don't forget to send us reports & news to our Euro AICN offices in Paris at euroaicn@yahoo.com
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