Indian-born filmmaker Mira Nair said that 9/11 formed part of the inspiration for her latest film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist , which kicked off the Venice Film Festival Wednesday evening. Just days before the attacks, Nair won the festival’s top prize, the Golden Lion, for her much praised Monsoon Wedding and she left the fabled Italian city for the Toronto International Film Festival to promote the film when the attacks happened. Like other New York residents, she was stranded in the Canadian city following the tragic event, taking her a week to get back to NYC and her husband and son. When she did make it back, she felt an “otherness” in the post-9/11 period, a theme she explores in her latest feature. “It was quite shocking when I got back because it felt like images I had seen in my part of the world, refugee camps, helicopters, a sense of war, a war zone, and it was in our backyard,” she said in Venice Wednesday as reported by A.P. “And so suddenly, (New York) became a place where people who looked like us were ‘the other.’ And that was painful, and that was also part of the inspiration to try to make this film.” Based on the novel by Mohsin Hamid, British-born musician and actor Riz Ahmed plays Changez a gifted financial analyst whose allegiance to America is questioned following the 9/11 attacks. Changez travels to the Pakistani city of Lahore re-connecting with his routes. Liev Schreiber plays a journalist who interviews him in Lahore as a kidnapping crisis rages. Kate Hudson plays his girlfriend and Kiefer Sutherland plays his former Wall Street mentor in NYC flashback scenes. “[The novel is] essentially a dialogue between East and West,” Nair said in Venice. “”We all know there has been an enormous schism, a wall between East and West, since, in this last decade. So I sought very much in the dialogue between America and the Islamic world in The Reluctant Fundamentalist to really bring some sense of bridge-making, some sense of healing, a sense of community that goes beyond the stereotypes, goes beyond the myopia, goes beyond the ignorance.” [ Source: A.P. ]
Watching the trailer for Brian De Palma’s upcoming film Passion , I get the feeling that he could be a fan of SCTV ‘s classic Whispers of the Wolf Ingmar Bergman parody. Yes, I know that De Palma’s erotic thriller is based on the late Alain Corneau’s final film Love Crime (2010 ), about two international business women locked in a power struggle — but there’s something about Noomi Rapace’s vacant stare in the first scenes of the trailer that reminds me of the great Andrea Martin’s performance in the SCTV comedy gem. (You can see both videos after the jump.) And Rapace’s co-star Rachel McAdams strikes me as a more vulpine version of the also-great Catherine O’Hara. I couldn’t help but notice that both clips feature masks, by the way, although based on the contents of the sex drawer that gets opened in the Passion trailer, De Palma’s movie is going to be way kinkier than anything that ever ran on Count Floyd’s Monster Chiller Horror Theater. Here’s the trailer for Passion , which is going to premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September and screen that same month at the Toronto Film Festival: Watch It on YouTube. Now check out Whispers of the Wolf . Enjoy! Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Also in Thursday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs thriller Maniac is heading to North American theaters. An Icon Productions exec joins The Weinstein Company as head of acquisitions. And an Artist actress will replace Marion Cotillard in Oscar-winner Asghar Farhadi ‘s follow-up project. Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land Set for Late December Release Two-time Oscar nominee Gus Van Sant’s contemporary drama Promised Land will open in theaters in L.A. and New York December 28th and expand further in January. Starring Rosemarie DeWitt, Oscar nominee Hal Holbrook ( Into the Wild ), Scoot McNairy ( Killing Them Softly ), Titus Welliver ( The Town ), and Academy Award winner Frances McDormand, the film revolves around Steve Butler, a corporate salesman who arrives in a rural town with his sales partner, Sue Thomason. The duo hope to persuade the economically down and out town to go for an offer of drilling rights. But things get complicated when a school teacher objects with support from a grassroots campaign led by another man. The film’s original screenplay was written by John Krasinski and Matt Damon, based on a story by Dave Eggers. Franck Khalfoun’s Thriller Maniac Heading to Theaters Elijah Woods stars in the remake of William Lustig’s 1980 film of the same title. The film revolves around Frank who develops an obsession with a young artist when he decides to help her with an exhibition. But the obsession unleashes a compulsion to stalk and kill a la a 21st century Jack the Ripper. IFC Midnight picked up rights to the Cannes out of competition title for North America. Mark Gooder Joins The Weinstein Company Gooder, who served as CEO for Icon Productions for six years, will serve as President of Acquisitions/ Australian Operations. Gooder’s new role involves the day-to-day running of the acquisitions department and leading the charge of bringing in projects for the company, from scripts through finished films. He will also attend major markets and festivals including the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival. Around the ‘net… Ang Lee Tops Sony’s List for Cleopatra Columbia Pictures has begun courting the Life of Pi director for its project that will star Angelina Jolie. No formal offer has been made yet, however, THR reports via Vulture. Mireille Enos Set for David Ayer’s Ten Enos ( The Killing ) will star in the feature that will star Arnold Schwarzenegger. She will play a member of the elite DEA team and married to co-star Sam Worthington’s character, Deadline reports . Bérénice Bejo To Replace Marion Cotillard In Oscar-Winner’s Next Project Bejo ( The Artist ) will join Oscar winning director Asghar Farhadi’s next untitled project set to begin shooting in October in Paris. She will replace Cotillard due to scheduling conflicts. The storyline is secret but is apparently in the vein of his award-winning A Separation with “an element of suspense,” Deadline reports .
Fittingly lavish, new images from Anna Karenina , the splendor of imperial Russia is merely the backdrop for a scandalous love affair. But strict rules and mores adhered to (and then broken) by high society have long been enticing setting for 99 per centers (and their friends) throughout the ages to witness aristocratic crash and burns through fleshly indulgences. And the screen version of Leo Tolstoy’s novel appears to not hold back. Keira Knightley , Jude Law , and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (aka Aaron Johnson) star in the 19th century epic, directed by Joe Wright ( Atonement , Pride & Prejudice ) and adapted by Oscar-winner Tom Stoppard ( Shakespeare in Love ). Oscar is undoubtedly on filmmakers’ minds not to mention distributor Focus Features, which will debut Anna Karenina at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival, the annual September event that is the virtual launch-pad of the annual awards race. Anna Karenina has graced the big screen and small screen throughout the decades. Greta Garbo played the titular Russian aristocrat who falls in love with the dashing Count Vronsky, jeopardizing her social standing and not to mention her aristocratic husband’s displeasure. Jude Law plays the wronged husband in the latest Anna Karenina and Aaron Johnson’s Count Vronsky is the object of desire. [ GALLERY: Check out the latest photos from Anna Karenina ] ( Anna Karenina trailer is below along with the film’s official log-line) Acclaimed director Joe Wright’s bold, theatrical new vision of the epic story of love is stirringly adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s great novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard (“Shakespeare in Love”). The film marks the third collaboration of the director with Academy Award-nominated actress Keira Knightley and Academy Award-nominated producers Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Paul Webster, following their award-winning box office successes “Pride & Prejudice” and “Atonement.” The creative team also includes cinematographer Seamus McGarvey (“The Avengers”), three-time Academy Award-nominated production designer Sarah Greenwood (“Sherlock Holmes”), film editor Melanie Ann Oliver (“Jane Eyre”), hair and make-up designer Ivana Primorac (“Hanna”), Academy Award-winning composer Dario Marianelli (“Atonement”), and two-time Academy Award-nominated costume designer Jacqueline Durran (“Pride & Prejudice”). The timeless story powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart while illuminating the lavish society that was imperial Russia. The time is 1874. Vibrant and beautiful, Anna Karenina (Ms. Knightley) has what any of her contemporaries would aspire to; she is the wife of Karenin (Jude Law), a high-ranking government official to whom she has borne a son, and her social standing in St. Petersburg could scarcely be higher. She journeys to Moscow after a letter from her philandering brother Oblonsky (Matthew Macfadyen) arrives, asking for Anna to come and help save his marriage to Dolly (Kelly Macdonald). En route, Anna makes the acquaintance of Countess Vronsky (Olivia Williams), who is then met at the train station by her son, the dashing cavalry officer Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). When Anna is introduced to Vronsky, there is a mutual spark of instant attraction that cannot – and will not – be ignored. The Moscow household is also visited by Oblonsky’s best friend Levin (Domhnall Gleeson), an overly sensitive and compassionate landowner. Levin is in love with Dolly’s younger sister Kitty (Alicia Vikander). Inopportunely, he proposes to Kitty but she is infatuated with Vronsky. Devastated, Levin returns to his Pokrovskoe estate and throws himself into farm work. Kitty herself is heartbroken when, at a grand ball, Vronsky only has eyes for Anna and the married woman reciprocates the younger man’s interest. Anna struggles to regain her equilibrium by rushing home to St. Petersburg, where Vronsky follows her. She attempts to resume her familial routine, but is consumed by thoughts of Vronsky. A passionate affair ensues, which scandalizes St. Petersburg society. Karenin is placed in an untenable position and is forced to give his wife an ultimatum. In attempting to attain happiness, the decisions Anna makes pierce the veneer of an image-obsessed society, reverberating with romantic and tragic consequences that dramatically change her and the lives of all around her. Director: Joe Wright (“Atonement,” “Pride & Prejudice,” “Hanna”) Writer: Tom Stoppard (“Shakespeare in Love”); Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy Cast: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kelly Macdonald, Matthew Macfadyen, Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson, Alicia Vikander, Olivia Williams, Emily Watson MPAA Rating: R
Fan Dies From Cardiac Arrest At Toronto Blue Jays Game Thursday’s game between the White Sox and Blue Jays was delayed after a fan went into cardiac arrest down the left-field line at Rogers Centre. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. According to “the man in white,” who was tweeting from the game, a fan performed CPR on the ailing man first and then medics took over after reaching his location. Medics continued to perform CPR as he was carted off the field, and the game resumed after he was taken off. City-TV reported after the game that he died in the hospital. The White Sox were on the field before the game was delayed. “It was not a good sight,” White Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis said afterwards. “I saw some medics jump out around the dugout and run over. Then I saw a doctor or whoever was going, just pushing on the chest over and over and over. I thought maybe they were reviving him and then they next thing you know, they kept going and going.” The identity of the man has yet to be released. Source
Report says movie will premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, but a rep tells MTV News ‘no announcements have been made.’ By James Montgomery Jay-Z and Kanye West Photo: Jason Squires/WireImage
TDKR will likely rule the big box office for a third weekend in a row and Total Recall is a re-make that should bring out a decent mass of humanity. But there are a number of new specialty releases also braving the theaters this weekend that are more than worth your $$. Among this weekend’s new “”indie/specialty/limited release” newcomers are 360 with Rachel Weisz, Jude Law and Anthony Hopkins. The Babymakers with Paul Schneider and Olivia Munn and Celeste and Jesse Forever , starring Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Elijah Wood and Ari Graynor and Soldiers of Fortune with Christian Slater, Sean Bean, Ving Rhames and Dominic Monaghan. Also on tap are Girlfriend Boyfriend by China/Taiwan/Hong Kong specialty outfit China Lion and doc Sushi: The Global Catch . 360 Directed by Fernando Meirelles Written by Peter Morgan (screenplay), Arthur Schnitzler Cast: Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins, Ben Foster, Lucia Siposová Opens: New York and Los Angeles and will reach more cities over the next two weeks. Directed by Fernando Meirelles and written by Oscar-nominated writer Peter Morgan ( The Queen ), specialty distributor Magnolia Pictures picked up 360 out of last year’s Toronto International Film Festival in part due to its pedigree of filmmakers and actors. “It’s a sophisticated team of filmmakers and a lovely cast,” said Magnolia exec Matt Cowal. “It’s a smart and elegant movie that will appeal to the classic art-house audience. It’s an ensemble character-driven film and we’ve been pushing this online.” Synopsis: From two acclaimed artists: director Fernando Meirelles (City of God, The Constant Gardener) and writer Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon). With a stellar international cast that includes Rachel Weisz, Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law, Ben Foster, Jamel Debbouze and Moritz Bleibtreu, 360 is a moving and exciting dramatic thriller that dazzlingly weaves together the stories of an array of people from disparate social backgrounds through their intersecting relationships. The Babymakers Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar Written by Peter Gaulke, Gerry Swallow Cast: Paul Schneider, Olivia Munn, Kevin Heffernan, Noureen DeWulf, Aisha Tyler] Opens: Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Milwaukee, Denver, San Diego, Phoenix and San Francisco and will continue from there. Director Jay Chandrasekhar said that the big studios have all but abandoned comedies that fall in the $5 million to $30 million range and noted that his film’s distributor Millennium Films is filling the vacuum left. “”With Smaller films like American Beauty – who knows if that would be green-lit today,” he said, adding, “”We made it independently and cast it how we wanted it to be. We sold it to Millennium at this year’s SXSW Film Festival.” The film, which centers on a couple high-outta-luck in getting pregnant take some unconventional matters into their own hands. The guy grabs his buddies and plots to steal his own sperm – from a sperm bank. “”I think there’s a real relationship at the center of this movie,” said Chandrasekhar. “The goal is to have a baby and you can feel for them, but there is a lot of comedy centered around the sperm bank heist,” said Chandrasekhar. “He has to get his only good sperm left. It’s wild but also grounded.” Synopsis: After failing to get his wife pregnant, a guy (Schneider) recruits his pals to steal the deposit he left at a sperm bank years ago. Celeste And Jesse Forever Directed by Lee Toland Krieger Written by Rashida Jones, Will McCormack Cast: Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Elijah Wood, Ari Graynor, Eric Christian Olsen, Rob Huebel, Shira Lazar, Will McCormack Opens: New York and Los Angeles with more cities coming over the summer. [ Movieline’s Review of Celeste and Jesse Forever ] After a roller-coaster beginning with the project and landing at at least two companies before the filmmakers found financing through an individual, Celeste and Jesse Forever finally hit production. “We finally ended up making the movie for under $1 million and took it to Sundance,” said producer Jennifer Todd. Director Lee Toland Krieger came on board after Todd sent him the script and he “fell in love with it” after reading. Krieger said that he had initially only been meant to read it. “This is a real labor of love that took so long to get to the screen,” he said about the film, which stars Rashida Jones (who co-wrote the film) about a divorcing couple who try to maintain a close friendship even as they move on romantically. Synopsis: Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) met in high school, married young and are growing apart. Now thirty, Celeste is the driven owner of her own media consulting firm, Jesse is once again unemployed and in no particular rush to do anything with his life. Celeste is convinced that divorcing Jesse is the right thing to do — she is on her way up, he is on his way nowhere, and if they do it now instead of later, they can remain supportive friends. Jesse passively accepts this transition into friendship, even though he is still in love with her. As the reality of their separation sets in, Celeste slowly and painfully realizes she has been cavalier about their relationship, and her decision, which once seemed mature and progressive, now seems impulsive and selfish. But her timing with Jesse is less than fortuitous. While navigating the turbulent changes in their lives and in their hearts, these two learn that in order to truly love someone, you may have to let them go. Girlfriend Boyfriend Directed by Ya-che Yang Written by Ya-che Yang Cast: Joseph Hsiao-Chuan Chang, Lun Mei Gwei, Rhydian Vaughan Opens: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Toronto and New York with targeted locations added later. Distributor China Lion specializes on Chinese, Taiwanese and Hong Kong films for the North American market, typically targeting audiences of Chinese descent, but for Girlfriend Boyfriend , it is also hitting gay audiences. The story focuses on three rebellious students to leave their hometown for the big city. Their relationships face pressure as the ’80s era socio-political reformation movement unfolds in Taiwan. “It’s a drama and a rom-com,” said China Lion CEO Milt Barlow. “It’s a great real life story and found that young Chinese audiences are keen to have more modern stories. Synopsis: When three rebellious students leave their hometown to pursue their lifelong dreams in the big city, their relationships start to face the pressures of real life as the 1980s Taiwanese sociopolitical reformation movement unfolds in the background. Soldiers of Fortune Directed by Maxim Korostyshevsky Written by Robert Crombie, Alexandre Coscas, Joe Kelbley Cast: Christian Slater, Sean Bean, Ving Rhames, Dominic Monaghan, Colm Meaney, James Cromwell, Freddy Rodriguez Opens: In select locations now. Synopsis: A former U.S. special forces soldier is reluctantly appointed to protect a group of millionaires who want to experience the thrills of war first-hand. But when their excision goes horribly awry, the unlikely team must band together in order to get out alive. Sushi: The Global Catch Directed by Mark Hall Opens: New York only with targeted locations throughout the country to follow. The Global Catch won a a special jury award last year at the Seattle International Film Festival, which brought the film to the attention of Kino Lorber Films. In 2011, the New York-based distributor released Gereon Wetzel’s El Bulli: Cooking In Progress, which went on to make over $237K domestically, enough incentive for the company to crave more food docs. “We found that combining the culinary aspect of the [film] with the conservancy issue was really compelling to us,” Kino Lorber VP Elizabeth Sheldon said. “It appeals to people who care about environmental issues and care about food.” Synopsis: In this meticulously researched documentary, filmmaker Mark Hall traces the origins of sushi in Japan to its status today as a cuisine that has spawned a lucrative worldwide industry. This explosion in demand for sushi over the past 30 years has brought with it problems of its own, as fish stocks have steadily depleted, threatening the balance of the ocean’s ecosystems. Through extensive interviews with prominent industry representatives and environmental activists, Hall carefully presents the various solutions being proposed to the vexing issue of overfishing. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival, Sushi: The Global Catch raises some pressing questions that all sushi lovers should seek to address.
According to HipHopDX, Drake has been tapped by Aaliyah’s estate to executive produce a posthumous album from Aaliyah. Moreover, it’s also reported that Drake will sample the deceased singer on his new single, which he will reportedly premiere this weekend at Toronto’s OVO Fest… Continue
“I didn’t just want to come here and say I made a record in Jamaica and grew some dreadlocks,” insists rapper Snoop Dogg in the trailer for Reincarnated , announced today as an official selection of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. “Rastafari called me.” Watch the trailer for Reincarnated for your first glimpse of Snoop Dogg — or rather, Snoop Lion, his newly minted reggae identity — leaving hip-hop behind to sing and smoke up a storm in his new rasta life. The doc, a co-production of Vice Films and Snoop’s own Snoopadelic Films, probably isn’t a terribly incisive or objective look at the musician’s musical shift, and it’s unclear how fleeting an alter ego “Snoop Lion” will be in the long run. But as the trailer speeds through a montage of Snoop’s past, it makes a case for why the erstwhile Calvin Broadus might have sought spiritual rebirth after a decades-long career in the rap game that has seen friends and collaborators pass on, sometimes violently. Beyond the personal loss of figures like Tupac and Nate Dogg, Snoop’s musical career has seemed to plateau in the last decade; how did the slim (with the tilted brim) rapper behind 1993’s “Doggystyle” wind up phoning in verses on Katy Perry Top 40 hits, writing rap songs about True Blood and roasting Donald Trump? Seizing the opportunity for Ali-esque cross-cultural/getting-in-touch-with-his-roots drama, Reincarnated came about when Snoop traveled to Jamaica to record with the producer Diplo. “While there,” explains the synopsis, “Snoop finds himself embraced by the Jamaican people, is positively impacted by Rastafarian culture, and becomes reincarnated as Snoop Lion.” Verdict: It all sounds so perfectly calculated. And yet, compared to Snoop’s post-fame exploits, it might also be his most sincere artistic expression in years. Reincarnated will screen at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. See more titles in the line-up here . Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
