BERLINdaily | Scorsese Rumors Dashed, Leo at Cinema for Peace, Khan and the Mexican Revolution
This would have been an interesting combination: Variety and The Guardian reported that Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro and Lars Von Trier were hooking up to do a remake of the 1976 classic “Taxi Driver.”
According to the article by Gunnar Rehlin in Variety, “The idea behind the project is similar to the film “The Five Obstructions” that Von Trier and Danish helmer Jorgen Leth made in 2003. But indieWIRE’s Eugene Hernandez touched base with Scorsese’s publicist who put a stop to the rumors… Scorsese himself did tell a gathering of journalists in Berlin ahead of the premiere of his latest, “Shutter Island” that he’s been exploring a DeNiro collaboration that would be a post-view of his earlier work, commenting, ““Bob DeNiro and I have been talking about something in that world, but it would be from the vantage of old men looking back. ‘Good Fellas’ was a style and ‘Casino’ was something different on a higher level.”
Documentary “Crude” may have been passed up in the latest rounds of Awards Season, but director Joe Berlinger received a high level round of recognition Monday night in the German capital. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Leonardo DiCaprio presented Berlinger a prize at the Cinema for Peace gala, which took place alongside the Berlin International Film Festival. “Crude” profiles the case by tens of thousands of Ecuadorans against Chevron over contamination of the Ecuadorean Amazon. “”To stand on a stage in Berlin and shake the hand of the man who brought down the Berlin Wall -Mikhail Gorbachev – is truly an honor,” Berlinger told indieWIRE about the evening from Berlin.
“Peace” wasn’t the entire focus of the evening, however. OK online splashed photos on its site to Leo sharing some special moments with his girlfriend Bar Refaeli who may be sporting an engagement ring? DiCaprio’s mother also joined in on the evening’s fun, which gathered European celebs including Catherine Deneuve.
The Mexican Revolution received a contemporary look with 10 directors from the Latin American country giving their take on one of Mexico’s most tumultuous periods. Made up of 10 short films, “Revolucion” analyzes through the eyes of the directors what is the revolution today and what it means to the young minds of Mexico. The Mexican embassy threw a party for the film, complete with margaritas, Corona and tequila, and afterward, the directors took the party to a large flat in East Berlin where a stylish crowd raged into the wee hours.
One of the world’s biggest stars, Shah Rukh Khan was in Berlin over the weekend for Karan Johar’s “My Name is Kahn. In the film, Kahn plays a Mumbai-born Muslim with Asperger’s who marries a Hindu single mother, Mandira, in San Francisco. After 9/11, Rizwan is detained by authorities at LAX who mistake his disability for suspicious behavior. Following his arrest, he meets Radha, a therapist who helps him deal with his situation and his affliction. Rizwan then begins a journey to meet US President Obama to clear his name.
And finally, check out indieWIRE‘s first weekend round up of the film’s playing at the Berlinale, and “The Guardian also gives its take as well.
