Japan's Kitano surprises Venice with wacky new film

Japanese cult director Takeshi Kitano baffled and enthralled Venice on Friday with the premiere of "Takeshis,"' a surreal send-up of his eclectic career which weaves together the lives of a TV celebrity and his lookalike. The surprise addition to a list of 19 films vying for the Venice Film Festival's top Golden Lion prize is a bewildering jaunt from smoky mah-jong parlors and noodle bars to showdowns between gun-slinging yakuza gangsters. Clara Ferreira-Marques reports for Reuters. 
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Gay cowboy film conquers Venice

A groundbreaking movie about forbidden love between two cowboys in the American West, "Brokeback Mountain" by Taiwan-born director Ang Lee, has conquered critics at the 62nd Venice International Film Festival even before its world premiere. Featuring strong performances by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in the leading roles, the film is a sensitive study of the homosexual relationship between two cowboys who meet while working on a ranch in 1963. Agence France Presse reports. 
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Toronto leader 'Water' lands at Fox Searchlight

A week before the launch of the Toronto International Film Festival, Fox Searchlight Pictures has acquired the opening-night world premiere, writer-director Deepa Mehta's "Water." Nicole Sperling reports in the Hollywood Reporter. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Acquisitions, Toronto ]

Clooney brings politics to Venice with "Good Night"

George Clooney brought political controversy to the Venice Film Festival on Thursday with "Good Night. And, Good Luck," a black-and-white tale of broadcasting courage during the McCarthy-era witch hunts of the 1950s. Clooney, who acts in and directs the film, is the first of several A-list Hollywood stars due to walk the red carpet at the sun-soaked Lido, host to days of waterfront parties. Clara Ferreira-Marques reports in Reuters. 
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Sundance Channel Acquires 12 Films From 2005 Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Channel announced today the acquisition of the pay television rights to 12 films (features, documentaries, and shorts) from the 2005 Sundance Film Festival: Gregg Araki's "Mysterious Skin"; Adrienne Weiss' "Love, Ludlow"; Mercedes Moncada Rodríguez' "El Immortal"; Vicente Ferraz's "I am Cuba, the Siberian Mammoth"; David Redmon's "Mardi Gras: Made in China"; Jun Ichikawa's "Toni Takitani"; Stephen Marshall's "This Revolution"; Tim Kirkman's "Loggerheads"; Simone Bitton's "Wall"; plus the short films Susan Kraker and Pi Ware's "The Act" and Miguel Arteta's "Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?". The films are scheduled to premiere on Sundance Channel in 2006. For more information, visit the Sundance Channel website.  
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Uniting the Two Koreas, in Animated Films At Least

It is the most Korean of folk tales. A young girl, Shim Chung, gives her life to a sea dragon so that her blind father may see again - and is rewarded for her filial piety by becoming an empress. Now Shim Chung has earned another reward for her selfless sacrifice: an animated version of her ancient tale has become the first film to be released at the same time in North and South Korean movie theaters. "Empress Chung" opened on 51 screens in South Korea on Aug. 12, followed by 6 screens in North Korea on Aug. 15. Mark Russell reports in the New York Times (free subscription required to view full article). 
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Hurricane hits Hollywood shoots

Movie crews were forced to abandon several major film productions to escape Hurricane Katrina, which has devastated part of the southern US. "Deja Vu," starring Denzel Washington, and "The Guardian," with Kevin Costner, were among the films preparing to shoot in New Orleans, BBC reports. 
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Poor films explains box office slump - survey

The main reason for the box office slump is the quality of the movies themselves, according to a survey of moviegoers' opinions found in Internet chat rooms and posted on message boards. Even when moviegoers cite other reasons for going to theaters less often than they used to, they still circle back to the quality of films as the root cause for their disaffection, according to research company Brandimensions. Paul Bond reports in the Hollywood Reporter. 
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Venice rolls out red carpet with martial-arts epic

The Venice Film Festival was set to open on Wednesday with Hong Kong martial-arts spectacular "Seven Swords," underlining the prominence given Asian cinema at this year's event. The line-up at the world's oldest cinema competition was slimmed down to just 56 films after organizers came under fire for overloading the 2004 edition of the festival. Clara Ferreira-Marques reports for Reuters. 
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INDUSTRY MOVES: Leggat Named Head of SF Film Society

Graham Leggat from the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York has been named Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society, effective October 17, 2005. Leggat has been Director of Communications for the FSLC there since 1999, has served as Associate Publisher of Film Comment, and a member of the programming board for the cutting-edge New York Video Festival. He has previously worked for MoMA, the Museum of the Moving Image and Gen Art. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Industry Moves ]

Redford and Newman might reunite for a Walk

Robert Redford and Paul Newman may soon be reunited on screen, more than 20 years after "The Sting" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". And it won't be for a sequel. The something in question is a film adaptation of "A Walk in the Woods". The Guardian reports. 
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African Divide

"That's not a shot. It's a statement," says Fernando Meirelles. He's describing a particular image in his new movie, "The Constant Gardener," that speaks volumes about the disparity between Africa's haves and have-nots. Hugh Hart reports in the San Francisco Chronicle. 
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"Kung Fu Hustle" Director Plans Sequel

Hong Kong comic actor and director Stephen Chow said Tuesday he'll start filming the sequel to his action film "Kung Fu Hustle" either late this year or early 2006. Chow called the movie's US$17.1 million (€14.0 million) box office take in America as of Aug. 18 "not bad," but said, "I hope I can do better in the future." A.P. reports. 
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Venice prepares for film fest with Asian flavour

Venice's Lido is a favorite venue for stars from Hollywood but as the red carpet is rolled out for this year's festival, the flavour is distinctly Asian, from a martial arts-themed opening to Japanese cartoons. And after a blunder-prone, overloaded 2004, organisers of the world's oldest cinema competition say they have a sleeker line-up which will appeal to art house film buffs and star-watchers alike. Clara Ferreira-Marques reports for Reuters. 
[permalink]   [ filed under Press Coverage, World Cinema ]

Amazon/Tribeca Film Fest Short Film Competition

Amazon.com, the Tribeca Film Festival and its founding partner Amercian Express present the opening of the Tribeca Screening Room. Until September 23, Amazon.com customers will be able to view and rate short film submissions from novice and established filmmakers. Then, on October 3, the five top-rated films will begin to debut on the Amazon.com home page. The grand prize winner as selected by Amazon.com customers will be announced in November and will receive a $50,000 award from American Express towards his or her next film project.  
[permalink]   [ filed under Events, New York ]

INDUSTRY MOVES: Burnett Tapped to Head Weinstein Co. PR

Bob and Harvey Weinstein have hired Liza Burnett from Klores and Associates to head their film PR operations at The Weinstein Company. Burnett, who will join the company as Executive Vice President of Publicity on September 12th, will lead the domestic publicity department, overseeing the entire PR staff for TWC and its Dimension Films label. Longtime Miramax PR exec Dani Weinstein has been named SVP of Publicity, supervising the TWC slate, with the company expected to announce an exec to supervise Dimension slate soon. Other staffing appointments in the department are still come. "Liza is everything we are looking for in a leader. Her energy and experience make her the ideal person to lead our PR team," said the Weinsteins in a statement. "We are thrilled to have her onboard." 
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Buyers Market or Marketers Dream?

Ian Mohr looks at upcoming festivals for Variety, in particular Toronto and Venice, exploring the increased focus on these fall fests as marketing launch pads for new fall films, perhaps at the expense of the events as markets for buying new movies. Mohr opens by noting, "Frustrated with the summer's ticket sales, studio marketers are marshalling their resources to mount a major assault on the Toronto Film Festival." And continues:

"The fall festival circuit used to engender more anxiety among acquisitions execs than marketers. But as studios concentrate more on their own productions and pre-buys rather than finished film fare, the acquisitions market at these events is losing its luster."

 
[permalink]   [ filed under Press Coverage, Toronto ]