Independents
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Film Fest Musical Chairs: Tribeca, Sundance, LAFF
It's no shock that after six seasons of programming the Tribeca Film Fest, Peter Scarlet is moving on. Rumors of his exit had started to circulate at the Indie Spirit Awards. And word is Scarlet was getting antsy with Robert DeNiro and partner Jane Rosenthal's push for a smaller, event-oriented festival with less room for esoterica even before he learned that Geoff Gilmore, after 19 years running the higher-profile Sundance Film Festival, was coming in to supervise him. (When he announced the job switch, Gilmore told me that he was planning to let Scarlet run this year's Tribeca festival.) But while Scarlet could have opted to stay on board t...
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Indie Spirits Photo Gallery
On a bright Saturday afternoon at the Santa Monica Beach, I mingled with the presenters, nominees, media and guests at the Independent Spirit Awards. On the way in, I photographed waiters with free booze and Michael Barker, co-president of Sony Pictures Classics, which won best actress (Frozen River's Melissa Leo), best foreign film (The Class) and best first feature and ensemble cast (Synecdoche, New York). On the blue carpet, I grabbed a shot of Mad Men star Jon Hamm; Dana Delany; At the Movies co-host Ben Mankiewicz; Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi; Film Independent's Dawn Hudson; and IFC's Matt Singer; and then spent a good hour hobnobbing ou...
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Twilight Sequel: Who's Next for New Moon?
The Catherine Hardwicke story continues. Still at issue are: why she didn't get the gig on New Moon, the Twilight sequel, and who will take her place.
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Trailer Preview: The Wrestler
Fox Searchlight will send out its first trailer for The Wrestler today. Their mission: to make filmgoers want to see a movie that looks very male--Mickey Rourke plays a down-on-his-luck, aging wrestler facing the end of his career who suddenly needs to reach out to his daughter, poignantly played by...
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Weekend Viewing: Appaloosa, Nick and Norah, Religulous
The younger generation--even smart cinephiles--doesn't like westerns anymore. The period is just too far away for them, they don't relate. It's a genre that isn't surviving. It had its place in American history: basically, western tropes have been absorbed into other genres like action adventures an...
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Toronto Winners and Losers
So far, the big winner on the fall fest circuit, based on critical, audience and exhib reaction, is Slumdog Millionaire, the pic that Warners let get away.
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Toronto Watch: Actresses Weisz, Hawkins, Williams Will Pop
Given the hundreds of movies unspooling in Toronto, key press in LA and NY are getting a head start on some of the screenings that will get piled up there. It's impossible to see everything.
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Cannes Update: Tarantino, Soderbergh's Che, Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York, Egoyan's Adoration, Hame
At the Adoration dinner-party on the roof of the Palais Thursday night, Sony Pictures Classics execs were huddling in the corner talking deals. But producer Robert Lantos and Cinetic Media's John Sloss were relaxed and enjoying the balmy moonlit evening.
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Summer Begins: Iron Man, Speed Racer, and Superheroes
Let the summer games begin. The LAT's Ken Turan takes on summer blockbuster syndrome, while The Huffington Post addresses summer superheroes.
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Los Angeles Film Fest: Preview
The Los Angeles Film fest is looming large; tickets went on sale Monday. Fest director Rich Raddon and programmer Rachel Rosen are offering a wide swath of entertainment designed to pull in moviegoers of every stripe.
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