Month: May 2022

Jeffrey Cooper, an architect and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has been convicted after a jury trial on three counts of felony child molestation, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. The jury’s verdict came May 20 at Los Angeles Superior Court in Van Nuys. Cooper was arrested four years ago

The title is not, in the end, some kind of code for “Romania.” But if it were, it would be appropriate: The enormous, troubling, intricately pessimistic “R.M.N.” from director Cristian Mungiu, probably the pre-eminent filmmaker of the Romanian New Wave, is little less than a pared-back state of the nation, a microcosmic analogy for an

SPOILER ALERT: Minor plot points for Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness” are discussed below. Cannes attendees waiting for David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future” to give the festival a stomach-churning shock got an electrifying surprise with the world premiere of Ruben Östlund’s latest social satire, “Triangle of Sadness.” The movie earned an uproarious eight-minute standing

Mia Hansen-Løve, the French writer-director whose previous film “Bergman Island” competed at last year’s Cannes, is back at the festival with “One Fine Morning,” a romantic drama headlined by Lea Seydoux. The movie world premiered at Directors’ Fortnight and has earned stellar reviews, with Variety‘s Guy Lodge describing it as a “wistful, wandering character study”

The closer you look at the subject of beauty, the uglier it appears. Meanwhile, wealth is obscene from practically every angle. Irreverent Swedish satirist Ruben Östlund gets right up in there, probing the pores of the elitist worlds of supermodels and the mega-rich in “Triangle of Sadness,” which takes its name from a fashion-world term

Netflix is wrapping up a deal for “Pain Hustlers,” a conspiracy film from David Yates that is set to star Emily Blunt. The pact, which is for global rights to the package, is said to be in the $50 million range, according to a knowledgable insider. The sale is the biggest one so far out

From the 100-second tracking shot to building pulse music that opens “The Realm” to the slug-fest finale of “May God Save Us,” Oscar-nominated Rodrigo Sorogoyen (“Mother”) has filmed some of the most exhilarating shots in recent Spanish cinema. His status as a filmmaker consolidated by a series, Movistar Plus’ “Riot Police,” “The Beasts” (“As Bestas”),

Brazil’s Habanero Film Sales has brought a slate of new films marking their debut at Cannes’ Marché du Film. Leading the pack is Cuban filmmaker Carlos Lechuga’s latest drama, “Vicenta B” as well as Cuba-U.S.-Canada co-production “Corrosive” and Brazilian coming-of-age drama “Bittersweet Rain” (“Saudade Fez Morada Aqui Dentro”), currently in post. “Resistance, migration, those who

New voices were given center stage at the Canada Docs-in-Progress Showcase, part of the Cannes Festival’s Film Market, with four first feature-length docs in the final stages of production presented to an industry crowd on Friday. The showcase was brought by Telefilm Canada, in partnership with RIDM (Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal) and in collaboration with Hot Docs.

Scoot McNairy, Kit Harington and Josh Lucas are set to star in “Blood for Dust,” an upcoming action thriller that will be directed by Rod Blackhurst. Former friends Cliff (McNairy), a traveling salesman struggling to make a living, and Ricky (Harington), an illegal-weapons dealer making serious money, reconnect one fateful day. Hoping to make some

A multinational panel gathered on the first day of Cannes Docs, the Cannes Film Market sidebar, to discuss how having a strong, international, diverse and expert network is more important than ever to succeed as a documentary filmmaker today. Moderated and curated by Brigid O’Shea, co-director and co-founder of the Documentary Assn. of Europe, the

The “Doctor” is still in, as Marvel’s newest film continues to lead the box office against some very proper competition. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” added another $8.5 million to its box office total on Friday, bumping its cumulative gross up to $318 million. Meanwhile, “Downton Abbey: A New Era” is estimated to

European Film Academy president Agnieszka Holland has criticized the Cannes Film Festival for welcoming a Russian movie to the main competition. The Polish-born director – who fled to France in 1981 when Communist authorities imposed martial law – said now was the time to stand up to Russian aggression in Ukraine. That demanded a total

If Larry Clark had ever found his way onto the Pine Ridge Reservation, he probably would have come away with a film like “War Pony,” which observes its young Native American characters hustling, skating and stealing drugs from otherwise distracted adults. Presenting such behavior without judgment, first-time directors Gina Gammell and Riley Keough developed this

Harry Styles just released his third studio album “Harry’s House,” but it’s his acting that everyone will be talking about this fall. The singer has two movies set for release, Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling” and Michael Grandage’s “My Policeman.” He has sex scenes in both movies, but it’s only in “My Policeman” where the

Gaumont has locked major territory deals on “Father & Soldier,” Mathieu Vadepied’s WWI action-drama about headlined by “Lupin” star Omar Sy. The movie world premiered on opening night of Cannes’ Un Certain Regard. “Father & Soldier” has sold to Latin America (Sofa Digitale), Germany and Austria (Weltkino), Switzerland (Ascot Elite), Spain (A Contracorriente), Italy (Minerva),

It’s quite the Cannes Film Festival for first-time director Riley Keough. Not only is she debuting her first movie as a filmmaker (“War Pony,” which she co-directed with her producing partner Gina Gammell), but her family history is the subject of Baz Luhrmann’s starry film, “Elvis,” which will make its world premiere next week at

The U.K. production boom, while good news for crews (and audiences), has not necessarily proved a boon for independent filmmakers. Largely generated by the streamer wars, film and high-end television production spend in the U.K. hit $7.6 billion in 2021. A closer look at the figures, however, revealed that the majority of that spend was

Despite the cuts to federal tax incentives in recent years, Brazil remains a good source of production mechanisms. “The major platforms led by Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video have production service agreements with Brazilian production companies to take advantage of these funding possibilities,” says FestCampos Talks producer-curator Fernanda Martins. Jose Mauricio Fittipaldi, a partner

Long established as a venue for festivals devoted to music and the performing arts, Brazil’s alpine city of Campos do Jordão has also hosted audiovisual industry events, led by the annual showcase of upcoming releases, the Winter Show. Now on its 13th year, it was paused for two years because of the pandemic. With the launch

Taking place over May 13-22 in Brazil’s highest city, the verdant mountain resort town of Campos do Jordão, more akin to a northern European city thanks to its architecture and pine tree forests, the maiden FestCampos Cultural has launched this year in tandem with the 13th Winter Show, an annual Brazilian audiovisual industry event not unlike

REinvent Intl. Sales has scored sales across its slate, including Alex Herron’s horror film “Leave” and Sanna Lenken’s “Comedy Queen.” “Comedy Queen,” which world-premiered at Berlin and won the Crystal Bear in the Generation section, has sold to Benelux (In the Air), France (Les Films Du Preau), Spain (Yoda Films), Poland (Vivarto), Hungary (ADS Service),

Busy Australian production company Aquarius Films has partnered with Irish production company Port Pictures to produce the feature film, “The Good People.” The film is based on the award-winning novel by Hannah Kent, who also wrote the adapted screenplay. “The Good People” is set in 19th century Ireland at a time when the Catholic church was waging war

Riding the high of a production-servicing boom, Estonia’s domestic industry has likewise shown no signs of slowing down. Here’s a roundup of top local productions in the pipeline, from producers who are searching for international partners in Cannes: The Invisible FightDirector: Rainer SarnetProducers: Katrin Kissa, Homeless Bob Production (Estonia), Alise Gelze, White Picture (Latvia), Amanda

On the outskirts of Budapest, a big-budget period drama is recreating the fateful day that sparked the Hungarian war of independence in 1848. Construction is underway at the state-owned Mafilm studio complex on a massive set that will stand in for the Hungarian capital in the 19th century. With 100-plus shooting days planned through September,