Following the phenomenal success of both The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, writer/director Stephen Sommers, has returned to the multiplexes with a movie that reinvents the classic movie monsters: Dracula, the Wolfman and Frankenstein. The $US170 million action blockbuster Van Helsing, starring Australian actors Hugh Jackman and David Wenham, also boasts some strong Australian talent behind the scenes.Industrial Light & Magic’s Ben Snow one of the visual effects supervisors responsible for creat...
OCEAN CITY FILM FESTIVAL June 4,5,6This year’s film festival promises to have something for everyone’s taste, including the Opening Night Film on Friday, June 5th at 7:15 PM – “Salem’s Lot”. Based on the best-selling Stephen King novel and starring Rob Lowe (Golden Globe, Emmy nominated for NBC’s “The West Wing”), Andre Braugher (Emmy-winner for NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street”), Donald Sutherland (Emmy, Golden Globe winner for HBO’s “Citizen X”, best remember...
The Krakow festival of short and documentary films is one of the oldest and most prestigious events of its kind in the world. Launched in 1961, the 44th installment of the festival, was held here from May 28 to June 1st. There are two competition sections, one for international films and one for indigenous Polish films.Retrospectives are another strong feature of the festival while, in many cases, the filmmakers are present to discuss their work with the audience and press.The distinguished gue...
Maui film festival line upJune 16-20 2004 FAMILY FILMS: TWO BROTHERS (Opening Night at the Celestial Cinema. Keiki under 6 FREE) THE BLUE BUTTERFLY (William Hurt stars in this family drama shot in the jungles of Central America) FARTHER THAN THE EYE CAN SEE (A blind mountain climber takes on Mt. Everest -- spectacular!) ROMANTIC COMEDY: DANNY DECKCHAIR (Sweet unpredictable love story from Australia) SEDUCING DR. LEWIS (A sleeper hit in Canada about a small town's attempt to woo a doctor to open ...
VISIONFEST 04: The Other Festival (VF04) has announced its partial line-up for this year’s film festival, which runs June 23-27, 2004, at the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Film Center (36 East Eighth Street, in the heart of the NYU campus, in Manhattan). The event will kick off its opening night with Able Edwards, which festival co-director Bruno Derlin described as “a truly groundbreaking sci-fi feature.” Created on an ultra low-budget and employing the use of green screens and desktop digital ...
As predicted, Michael Moore takes home the Palme d'or for 'Fahrenheit 911',"the temperature in which freedom burns", the first documentary film to win the highest award at Cannes since Jacques Costeau's 'Silent World' in 1956.Upon receiving the honor Moore exclaimed: "What have you done? I'm completely overwhelmed by this. Merci."The film is an unusual documentary with interviews, news clips and free lance journalism, that reports the news that doesn't get reported by major networks about the Bu...
As predicted, Michael Moore takes home the Palme d'or for 'Fahrenheit 911',"the temperature in which freedom burns", the first documentary film to win the highest award at Cannes since Jacques Costeau's 'Silent World' in 1956.Upon receiving the honor Moore exclaimed: "What have you done? I'm completely overwhelmed by this. Merci."The film is an unusual documentary with interviews, news clips and free lance journalism, that reports the news that doesn't get reported by major networks about the Bu...
By now it should be clear that the selections in the official selection are carefully chosen for matching themes each day. 'Motorcycle Diaries' and 'Exils' both deal with returning to the past through landscape and cinema, mentalities of the time. For Walter Salles, its a return to 1952 and the diaries of Che Guavara, but also a way of looking at the exploited and underdeveloped Latin America of today. Tony Gatlif returns to present day Algeria as a way of coming to terms with his life in France...
With two days away to the Palmarès, and two films left to screen, here is the official selection which has commanded the press attention for over a week - with comments by the directors. No one can ever predict what a jury with a chemistry of its own will decide. We have some ideas though from the day one press conference: Benoît Poelvoorde is going to take revenge on the films because he's never won an award (prompted by Bob Hope and Billy Crystal). Tilda Swinton and Quentin Tarantino will po...
"To Laugh or Not to Laugh"A FILM FESTIVAL***********************************The role of Humor in French Film about the HolocaustFull program of events in the festival.Friday, May 21st3:00 pm Screening of "Almost Peaceful," Dartmouth Hall 105 Followed by a discussion led by André Colombat, author of "The Holocaust in French Film," Dartmouth Hall 105Almost Peaceful (Un Monde Presque Paisible), 2002Directed by Michelle DevilleStarring Simon Abkarian, Lubna Azabal, Zabou Breitman, Clotilde Courau a...
1st Margarita International Film FestivalVenezuelaOctober 29 to November 7, 2004THE WORLD CINEMA MEETING IN THE CARIBBEANFinally the Caribbean area will have a really universal film encounter when, from October 29 to November 7, the first edition of Margarita International Film Festival, will takes place in Venezuela. Approximately forty-five new movies will meet in this beautiful island to compete and to participate in a World Cinema “fiesta”. On May 12 in Caracas a cooperation agreement am...
The 2004 Los Angeles Film Festival includes:• New films from Jean-Jacques Annaud, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, Mike Hodges, Patrice Leconte, Richard Linklater, Guy Maddin, Tsai Ming-liang, and Zhang Yimou;• Coffee Talks with Anne V. Coates, Danny Elfman, Thomas Newman, Alexander Payne, and David O. Russell, among others;• A sing-along of the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine in the Festival Courtyard;• An under-the-stars presentation of Zhang Yimou’s Hero at the Ford Amphitheatre;• An...
NEWMARKET FILMS SET TO RELEASE "DIRECTOR'S CUT" OF RICHARD KELLY'S CULT FAVORITE DONNIE DARKO Film to Premiere at 2004 Seattle Film Festival on May 29th, 2004 LOS ANGELES - Newmarket Films, the distribution arm ofthe Newmarket Entertainment group of companies, will premiere the director's cut of Richard Kelly's critical and cult favorite Donnie Darko at the Seattle Film Festival on May 29th, it was announced today jointly by Newmarket Films' partners William Tyrer, Chris Ball and Bob Berney.Wri...
The Tribeca Film Festival - the Success of DiversityThough pundits have frequently called Tribeca a festival in search of an identity, its founders Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff, or the co-chair Martin Scorcese are not concerned at all with that question. Nor does the third edition show an emerging branding of the festival. Tribeca is developing very well without the reputation of representing a particular programming philosophy, genres, or niche in the festival market. Co...
THE HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AND indieWIRE SET TO TOAST MARCIE BLOOMThe Hamptons International Film Festival is presenting its 12th anniversary season this October 20th – 24th, 2004. The Hamptons Festival is a celebration of film – its art, its excitement, its people. This year, the Festival partners with indieWIRE to inaugurate a new event where we celebrate a person or persons who best exemplifies the spirit of the independent film world and whose energy, vision, and acumen ...
Former Film fest directors Jon Fitzgerald and Mitch Levine announce the launch of Festival Consulting Group (FCG), a company devoted to serving the film festival community. Supported by a comprehensive website, FestivalConsulting.com, the Company will offer a complete range of services – from Sponsorship to Strategic Planning to Production Services – and virtually everything in between. The announcement was made at a reception at the Plage des Palmes Café in Cannes, co-hosted by Film Find...
France entered the competition of this 57th edition with Look at Me (Comme une image) from director Agnès Jaoui, a film that belittles power and fame. Another female director was honoured, Lucrecia Martel from Argentina presented The Holy Girl (La Niña Santa), a film that deals with religious and love constraints and choices. Quentin Tarantino took a break from jury duty to present Kill Bill: Volume 2 out of competition, accompanied by Uma Thurman and David Carradine. Three other events punctu...
Jury president Quentin Tarantino and Tilda Swinton locked horns over their conceptions of cinema when presented to the press on day one. The jury president asked Swinton if Hollywood was so bad why did so many British actors leave and come to Tinseltown. "Now Hollywood can be presented as the bad guy", he complained. People become stars and they get the hell out of there and go to Hollywood." Personally he believes that audiences just want to see the stars, which is why the American, Hong Kong...
Films Day 4Nominees for the Golden PalmOLD BOY by PARK Chan-wook SHREK 2 by Andrew ADAMSON, Kelly ASBURY and Conrad VERNON Out of CompetitionDAWN OF THE DEAD by Zack SNYDER Z CHANNEL: A MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION by Xan CASSAVETES EPREUVES D'ARTISTES by Gilles JACOB A Certain RegardMOOLAADE by Ousmane SEMBENENELLY by Laure DUTHILLEUL Cannes ClassicsTHE BATTLE OF ALGIERS by Gillo PONTECORVO COLLEGE by James HORNE starring Buster Keaton!...
Cannes lanced the battlefield world of 'Troy' set for worldwide release on Friday, following suit with "Matrix Revolutions" of last year. The event of the day was of course the arrival of Brad Pitt, nicely snagged, with the woman who snagged him Jennifer Aliston. It is Brad Pitt's first time in Cannes, and he hoped to visit 'the haunts of old artists". Question from a critic at the press conference: "is your Greek wife as difficult as fighting a Trojan war?" "She liked the pith helmet and asked ...
Today's films from the official selection are:Nominees for the Golden PalmNobody Knows (Daremo Shiranai) is by Kore-Eda Hirokazu (Japan), and his film Distance was in the official selection in 2001. His fourth feature treats the true story that took place in 1988 "Affair of the Four Abandoned Children of Nishi-Sugamo" where four children fathered by different men and abandoned by their mother learn how to survive and talk care of each other.Consequences Of Love (Le Conseguenze Del...
The Cannes International Film Festival is officially open. Protesters from the french shobiz industry were invited to walk up the stairs, which they did rather peacefuly, without disturbing the festival protocole, (Gilles Jacob's baby).It was Pedro Almodovar and his film crew representing Bad Education (La Mala educación) who had the honors of being the first to do the red carpet walk for this 57th edition. Despite the raindrops, the celebrities arriving for the opening ceremony did not cower, ...
The Cannes International Film Festival is officially open. Protesters from the french shobiz industry were invited to walk up the stairs, which they did rather peacefuly, without disturbing the festival protocole, (Gilles Jacob's baby).It was Pedro Almodovar and his film crew representing Bad Education (La Mala educación) who had the honors of being the first to do the red carpet walk for this 57th edition. Despite the raindrops, the celebrities arriving for the opening ceremony did not cower, ...
VIP Suite Returns to Cannes Ready to Pamper the Festival's A-List asOfficial Sponsor of Cannes Film Festival-Buyers Lounge VIP Suite, the exclusive pampering haven, returns to Cannes and is once again set to host A-List celebrities attending the legendary Cannes Film Festival. Although lavish in concept, VIP Suite is still classically simple. Before all the festival parties and premieres, VIPs are treated to opulent treatments, which include royal services from celebrity stylist Leslie Halpin, e...
TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2004The third edition of New York’s newest film cultural event, the Tribeca Film Festival, came to a star-studded finale this weekend as a host of celebrities honored the winners of top Festival awards at a gala ceremony and party in lower Manhattan. THE GREEN HAT, a film exploring its characters struggles to transcend traditional definitions of love in the new China, won two awards for Best Narrative Film and Best New Filmmaker for first-time Chinese director Liu Sen Dou...
