It was one of the biggest weeks of the year yet for film news, largely due to the Cannes Film Festival’s impending lineup announcement which was finally released as expected on April 18. The days leading up to the announcement were filled with the usual anticipation, with Indiewire’s staff chiming in on our 40 most hoped for films to see in Cannes this May, as well as an anonymous tip on the lineup that arrived the day before the release. Meanwhile, the Tribeca Film Festival kicked off this week and with it came our list of the 10 actors to watch for in this year’s installment, “Mad Men,” continued its sixth season with mixed results, and two highly anticipated series released trailers and full episodes ahead of their upcoming releases.
Check out all of these stories and more as we take a look at the ten most viewed news, reviews, and features from this week at Indiewire:
Cannes Wish List: 40 Films We Hope Make The Festival’s 2013 Lineup
With Cannes’ lineup officially arriving this week, anticipation for the announcement reached an undeniable fever pitch, with many taking the time to revisit our list of the 40 films we hoped to see on the lineup from last month.
Could This Be The Leaked 2013 Cannes Competition Lineup?
Just a day before the official release, Indiewire received an emailed pdf document from one “Monsieur Hulot” with a lineup that looked a hell of a lot like the real thing. Filled with expected selections from the Coens, Nicholas Winding Refn, Jim Jarmusch and other Cannes favorites, the possible leak was eventually proven to be false with the next day’s announcement, but this accepted possibility didn’t stop readers from first taking a look and deciding for themselves.
Soderbergh, Payne, Polanski and the Coens Lead 2013 Cannes Film Festival
Thursday finally saw the lineup of the festival’s Official Selection, Out of Competition, and Un Certain Regard selections released, filled with big named directors, a few shocking omissions and inclusions, and no small amount of controversy revolving around the decidedly small (read: one) amount of female directors included on this year’s Official Selection.
The Tribeca Springboard: Indiewire Picks 10 Actors to Watch From the New York
Meanwhile back in the New York, another festival was kicking off its 2013 installment. With Tribeca’s giant lineup a little hard to sift through, our annual Tribeca Springboard was released, giving our picks for the 10 actors most likely to break out at this year’s festival. Ranging from relative unknowns to cult favorites, it was a list that spoke to this year’s extremely varied schedule, offering more than a few suggestions along the way.
20 Films We Want To See at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival
For a more general list of what we were personally looking forward to during Tribeca, various staff writer contributed to this list of the 20 films we’re looking forward to the most premiering or receiving their first U.S. screenings at this year’s festival, with a list ranging from Neil Jordan’s vampire thriller “Byzantium,” to Lance Edmands’ directorial debut “Bluebird,” among many other films to check out over the next week.
Watch: Red Band Trailer for Netflix Horror Series ‘Hemlock Grove’ Promises ‘Heavy Cocaine Use, Lesbian Necrophilia’
With any new release from director Eli Roth, a certain amount of gore, sex, and drugs should probably be expected, and if there was one purpose of this week’s red band trailer for his upcoming Netflix series “Hemlock Grove,” on which he has a producer credit, it seemed to be one of reassurance. Promising viewers “mild fornication, fellatio, heavy cocaine use, lesbian necrophilia, (and) violent hemorrhaging,” the trailer delivered the goods and may have secured its viewership in the process.
8 Gadgets For Low-Budget Filmmaking at the National Association of Broadcasters
With more than 1,600 exhibits at this week’s National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB) convention, it’s damn near impossible to hit all of
them up. But Indiewire made sure to run the thousands of square footage
at the Las Vegas Convention Center just so you’d have a few choice
gadgets to choose from that could change your low-budget filmmaking
life.
A ‘Mad Men’ in Which Every Relationship is Just a Business Arrangement at Heart
One of television’s most talked about shows finally returned last week, and while “Mad Men”‘s season opener received a largely positive response from critics, this week’s installment seems to be garnering much less enthusiasm from critics and fans alike. Indiewire’s Alison Willmore echoed many of these thoughts in her recaps on this week’s Jon Hamm-directed episode “Collaborators,” calling it one of the series’ low points and citing some of its thematic decisions as “in danger, at times, of seeming like low-key parody of itself.”
Sebastian Junger on the Value and Cost of War Reporting and Making a Film About His Late ‘Restrepo’ Co-Director Tim Hetherington
Alison Willmore’s interview with war reporter and documentarian Sebastian Junger provided an in depth look back at the current state of reporting on the front line upon the release of his film “Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington,” a tribute to his late friend, fellow filmmaker, and reporter. In an extremely passionate Q&A, Junger celebrates the work of Tim in addition to elaborating on the changes need in today’s reporting, as well as what can and is being done to increase safety in his RISC program.
The Best Indie Movies of 2013 So Far, According to Criticwire (UPDATED)
Criticwire’s weekly update of the best reviewed indie films of the year so far received some major shake ups this week, with Derek Cianfrance’s “The Place Beyond the Pines,” removed from the list after its further expansion heralded less than stellar critical reactions, while Dave Grohl’s rock doc “Sound City,” has gained a surprising amount of late traction, receiving an “A-” average and currently sitting firmly at #5. Meanwhile, Pablo Lorrain’s “No,” remains in the top spot, with few upcoming films looking like they’ll be able to take its spot.
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