Exclusive: Mike Goodridge has been on a rare journey. Not many in the industry can boast a CV that includes running a trade publication, an international sales company, a film festival and being the producer of multiple Cannes Film Festival movies.
Goodridge, the former editor of Screen International, CEO of Protagonist, and artistic director of the Macao Film Festival, is on the Croisette this year with Un Certain Regard thriller Santosh. In the UK-Germany-France co-production by filmmaker Sandhya Suri, a government scheme sees newly widowed Santosh (Shahana Goswami) inherit her husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of Northern India. When a low-caste girl is found raped and murdered, she is pulled into the investigation under the wing of charismatic feminist inspector Sharma.
Filming begins this summer in Asia on Good Chaos/Nine Hours production for Netflix The Ballad Of A Small Player, Ed Berger’s...
Goodridge, the former editor of Screen International, CEO of Protagonist, and artistic director of the Macao Film Festival, is on the Croisette this year with Un Certain Regard thriller Santosh. In the UK-Germany-France co-production by filmmaker Sandhya Suri, a government scheme sees newly widowed Santosh (Shahana Goswami) inherit her husband’s job as a police constable in the rural badlands of Northern India. When a low-caste girl is found raped and murdered, she is pulled into the investigation under the wing of charismatic feminist inspector Sharma.
Filming begins this summer in Asia on Good Chaos/Nine Hours production for Netflix The Ballad Of A Small Player, Ed Berger’s...
- 5/16/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard have both officially entered the Oscar race for their extraordinary performances in Michel Franco’s “Memory.” However, the awards campaign has announced that Sarsgaard’s riveting turn as a man suffering from Alzheimer’s disease will be submitted for supporting actor consideration at the major ceremonies, including the Golden Globes, SAG and Academy Awards. His Oscar-winning co-star Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”) will vie for lead actress.
Written and directed by Franco, the film was recently acquired by Ketchup Entertainment for North American distribution and will receive an Oscar-qualifying run in December. It premiered at the 80th Venice Film Festival, where Sarsgaard received the Volpi Cup for best actor from the Jury, joining the ranks of past honorees such as Brad Pitt (“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) and River Phoenix (“My Own Private Idaho”). It was later screened at the Toronto,...
Written and directed by Franco, the film was recently acquired by Ketchup Entertainment for North American distribution and will receive an Oscar-qualifying run in December. It premiered at the 80th Venice Film Festival, where Sarsgaard received the Volpi Cup for best actor from the Jury, joining the ranks of past honorees such as Brad Pitt (“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) and River Phoenix (“My Own Private Idaho”). It was later screened at the Toronto,...
- 10/28/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore are splitting up their Oscar campaigns for awards season.
Although Todd Haynes’ delicious drama “May December” is interpreted by many as a two-hander, Netflix confirms to Variety exclusively that Portman will be submitted for lead actress consideration, while Moore will vie for supporting actress.
Co-leads from awards contenders are seldom campaigned alongside one another. One of Haynes’ most beloved films, the love story “Carol” (2015) starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, was famously criticized for separating its two presumed leading performers for its respective awards season. Blanchett was nominated in lead with Mara in supporting. While it can be debated for awards enthusiasts, there are only five instances of two women being nominated for the same movie in the Oscars’ 95-year history. The last was Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon for “Thelma & Louise” (1991).
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
Although Todd Haynes’ delicious drama “May December” is interpreted by many as a two-hander, Netflix confirms to Variety exclusively that Portman will be submitted for lead actress consideration, while Moore will vie for supporting actress.
Co-leads from awards contenders are seldom campaigned alongside one another. One of Haynes’ most beloved films, the love story “Carol” (2015) starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, was famously criticized for separating its two presumed leading performers for its respective awards season. Blanchett was nominated in lead with Mara in supporting. While it can be debated for awards enthusiasts, there are only five instances of two women being nominated for the same movie in the Oscars’ 95-year history. The last was Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon for “Thelma & Louise” (1991).
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Oscars predictions in all categories.
- 9/20/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
It’s time for Peter Sarsgaard to finally shatter the Oscar glass.
Once upon a time, actor Peter Sarsgaard won the most precursors prizes during the 2003-2004 awards season for his supporting turn in Billy Ray’s “Shattered Glass.” In the film, he plays Charles Lane, a newly promoted editor who suspects one of his revered writers (played by Hayden Christensen) could have fabricated some of his stories. It was a breakout performance in the early days of online Oscar punditry that had everyone buzzing. However, when it came time for the major televised ceremonies, he was only able to muster a Golden Globe nod, then to be followed by shocking snubs from SAG, BAFTA and eventually the Academy Awards.
It was one of the few times in recent awards history where the leader of critics’ acting prizes failed to nab Oscar recognition (others include Ethan Hawke for “First Reformed...
Once upon a time, actor Peter Sarsgaard won the most precursors prizes during the 2003-2004 awards season for his supporting turn in Billy Ray’s “Shattered Glass.” In the film, he plays Charles Lane, a newly promoted editor who suspects one of his revered writers (played by Hayden Christensen) could have fabricated some of his stories. It was a breakout performance in the early days of online Oscar punditry that had everyone buzzing. However, when it came time for the major televised ceremonies, he was only able to muster a Golden Globe nod, then to be followed by shocking snubs from SAG, BAFTA and eventually the Academy Awards.
It was one of the few times in recent awards history where the leader of critics’ acting prizes failed to nab Oscar recognition (others include Ethan Hawke for “First Reformed...
- 9/10/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Vachon is resolutely pragmatic about the future of indie cinema in the face of the growing primacy of the streamers and the high-end TV drama.
The blissful ignorance of youth allowed Christine Vachon to turn up at her first Sundance Film Festival in the late 1980s with a small suitcase suspiciously light in warm clothes.
“It didn’t occur to me I needed to dress for the snow,” she recalls now. “I just didn’t know much about the place.”
Vachon was in a ”cold and wintry” Park City with some short films she had directed and smiles now to say,...
The blissful ignorance of youth allowed Christine Vachon to turn up at her first Sundance Film Festival in the late 1980s with a small suitcase suspiciously light in warm clothes.
“It didn’t occur to me I needed to dress for the snow,” she recalls now. “I just didn’t know much about the place.”
Vachon was in a ”cold and wintry” Park City with some short films she had directed and smiles now to say,...
- 6/8/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: The shocking success of Squid Game has created an appetite for survival projects. Tristar Pictures just preemptively acquired Ultra, a survival thriller spec script by Colin Bannon. Sugar 23’s Sukee Chew is producing.
They are keeping the details under wraps, and Bannon wrote this well before Squid Game. But sources tell me that the protagonist is an ultra marathon runner involved in a deadly race. Bannon is fast becoming the go-to writer for survival thriller/horror projects, having previously sold his Black List script First Ascent to Netflix in a frenzied bidding war. Jake Scott is directing. The plan is to put Ultra into production by the middle of next year.
Chew most recently joined Sugar23 and before that she founded Hopscotch Pictures. Her other projects include the Helen Keller drama Helen & Teacher written by Laetitia Mikles and Wash Westmoreland with Millie Simmonds and Rachel Brosnahan starring, and Westmoreland set to direct.
They are keeping the details under wraps, and Bannon wrote this well before Squid Game. But sources tell me that the protagonist is an ultra marathon runner involved in a deadly race. Bannon is fast becoming the go-to writer for survival thriller/horror projects, having previously sold his Black List script First Ascent to Netflix in a frenzied bidding war. Jake Scott is directing. The plan is to put Ultra into production by the middle of next year.
Chew most recently joined Sugar23 and before that she founded Hopscotch Pictures. Her other projects include the Helen Keller drama Helen & Teacher written by Laetitia Mikles and Wash Westmoreland with Millie Simmonds and Rachel Brosnahan starring, and Westmoreland set to direct.
- 11/18/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Director Wash Westmoreland (Still Alice) has tapped rising star Millicent Simmonds (A Quiet Place) and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), to star in Helen & Teacher about famous Deafblind activist Hellen Keller and Anne Sullivan, her committed yet controlling translator and companion.
Simmonds, who will star as Keller, is in fact a distant cousin of the author and disability rights advocate.
Set during the early 1900’s, the movie will follow Keller’s tumultuous time at Radcliffe College of Harvard University when her rapidly expanding worldview and sexual awakening brings her into direct conflict with the more conservative Sullivan. When Ms. Sullivan is courted by the young and brilliant publisher, John Macy, tensions escalate between the two women threatening the bonds of their friendship.
Cornerstone will handle international sales and distribution and will commence sales at next month’s American Film Market. UTA Independent Film Group and WME are overseeing the U.
Simmonds, who will star as Keller, is in fact a distant cousin of the author and disability rights advocate.
Set during the early 1900’s, the movie will follow Keller’s tumultuous time at Radcliffe College of Harvard University when her rapidly expanding worldview and sexual awakening brings her into direct conflict with the more conservative Sullivan. When Ms. Sullivan is courted by the young and brilliant publisher, John Macy, tensions escalate between the two women threatening the bonds of their friendship.
Cornerstone will handle international sales and distribution and will commence sales at next month’s American Film Market. UTA Independent Film Group and WME are overseeing the U.
- 10/14/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Jesse Garcia and Victor Gojcaj have boarded Michael Bay’s Endeavor Content-Universal action feature Ambulance.
The two join the growing cast which includes
Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza Gonzalez, Garret Dillahunt, A Martinez, Keir O’Donnell, Moses Ingram. rapper Wale Folarin, Cedric Sanders, Jackson White, Colin Woodell and Olivia Stambouliah.
Ambulance is based on the original Danish Film Ambulancen and is in the spirit of such 1990s action pics as Speed and Bad Boys. Chris Fedak wrote the original screenplay. Bay, Bradley Fischer of New Republic Pictures, James Vanderbilt, Will Sherak and Ian Bryce are producing. Michael Kase and Mark Moran are EPs.
Garcia recently wrapped the new season of Narcos and was attached to the Marvel/Hulu series Ghost Rider before it was stalled. Garcia plays Ranger Freddie Gonzalez in the El Rey Network’s From Dusk Till Dawn. He is also known for the award-winning film Quinceañera...
The two join the growing cast which includes
Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza Gonzalez, Garret Dillahunt, A Martinez, Keir O’Donnell, Moses Ingram. rapper Wale Folarin, Cedric Sanders, Jackson White, Colin Woodell and Olivia Stambouliah.
Ambulance is based on the original Danish Film Ambulancen and is in the spirit of such 1990s action pics as Speed and Bad Boys. Chris Fedak wrote the original screenplay. Bay, Bradley Fischer of New Republic Pictures, James Vanderbilt, Will Sherak and Ian Bryce are producing. Michael Kase and Mark Moran are EPs.
Garcia recently wrapped the new season of Narcos and was attached to the Marvel/Hulu series Ghost Rider before it was stalled. Garcia plays Ranger Freddie Gonzalez in the El Rey Network’s From Dusk Till Dawn. He is also known for the award-winning film Quinceañera...
- 2/5/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Talent invited to join membership includes British producers, directors and writers as well as a casting director and cinematographer.
The filmmakers behind Oscar-winner 1917 are among a raft of UK talent invited to join the Us’ Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
Producer Pippa Harris, writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns and star George MacKay are among 819 artists and executives who have been invited to join the Academy as part of its 2020 intake. Further invitees who worked on the World War One drama include set decorator Lee Sandales, sound editor Rachael Tate and VFX supervisor Richard Little.
UK executives and behind-the-scenes talent...
The filmmakers behind Oscar-winner 1917 are among a raft of UK talent invited to join the Us’ Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
Producer Pippa Harris, writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns and star George MacKay are among 819 artists and executives who have been invited to join the Academy as part of its 2020 intake. Further invitees who worked on the World War One drama include set decorator Lee Sandales, sound editor Rachael Tate and VFX supervisor Richard Little.
UK executives and behind-the-scenes talent...
- 7/1/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Talent invited to join membership includes British producers, directors and writers as well as a casting director and cinematographer.
The filmmakers behind Oscar-winner 1917 are among a raft of UK talent invited to join the membership of AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences).
Producer Pippa Harris, writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns and star George MacKay are among 819 artists and executives who have been invited to join the Academy as part of its 2020 intake. Further invitees who worked on the World War One drama include set decorator Lee Sandales, sound editor Rachael Tate and VFX supervisor Richard Little.
UK executives and behind-the-scenes...
The filmmakers behind Oscar-winner 1917 are among a raft of UK talent invited to join the membership of AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences).
Producer Pippa Harris, writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns and star George MacKay are among 819 artists and executives who have been invited to join the Academy as part of its 2020 intake. Further invitees who worked on the World War One drama include set decorator Lee Sandales, sound editor Rachael Tate and VFX supervisor Richard Little.
UK executives and behind-the-scenes...
- 7/1/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Oscars Academy Class of 2020: Natasha Lyonne and 11 More Stars We’re Shocked Weren’t Already Members
It’s become a tradition every year when the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences invites its new members that we pour through the list of stars and Hollywood legends and look in amazement at how many big names were somehow not already part of the Oscars club.
This year, the Academy invited 819 new members, including a 2020 class that’s 45% women, 36% underrepresented ethnic/racial communities and 49% international from 68 countries.
The diversity is always welcome, and the Academy has done loads in recent years to attempt to diversify its ranks. In fact, we count 10 different actors and below-the-line crew members involved with the Best Picture winner “Parasite” joining the Academy this year. And other emerging stars like Awkwafina, Zendaya, Zazie Beetz, Brian Tyree Henry, Cynthia Erivo and more are all among those who will vote on the upcoming Oscars.
Also Read: Oscars Finally Give Agents the Vote
But then there...
This year, the Academy invited 819 new members, including a 2020 class that’s 45% women, 36% underrepresented ethnic/racial communities and 49% international from 68 countries.
The diversity is always welcome, and the Academy has done loads in recent years to attempt to diversify its ranks. In fact, we count 10 different actors and below-the-line crew members involved with the Best Picture winner “Parasite” joining the Academy this year. And other emerging stars like Awkwafina, Zendaya, Zazie Beetz, Brian Tyree Henry, Cynthia Erivo and more are all among those who will vote on the upcoming Oscars.
Also Read: Oscars Finally Give Agents the Vote
But then there...
- 6/30/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
It’s been a year of change for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has responded not only to the pandemic, pushing back the global ABC Oscars telecast from February 28 to April 25, 2021 — setting a new award season calendar as other award shows have followed suit — but the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement.
In its continuing push to swell the Academy membership ranks, 819 artists and executives from 68 countries have been invited to join this year. The branches have increasingly actively sought eligible people to become Academy members, but the Board of Governors makes the final call. People from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities (36 percent) and women (45 percent) are among the many invites, as the Academy continues to address its long-term white-male dominance. As always, actors make up the largest branch of the Academy, but many new members (49 percent) also come from overseas.
In 2019, the Academy invited 842 new members,...
In its continuing push to swell the Academy membership ranks, 819 artists and executives from 68 countries have been invited to join this year. The branches have increasingly actively sought eligible people to become Academy members, but the Board of Governors makes the final call. People from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities (36 percent) and women (45 percent) are among the many invites, as the Academy continues to address its long-term white-male dominance. As always, actors make up the largest branch of the Academy, but many new members (49 percent) also come from overseas.
In 2019, the Academy invited 842 new members,...
- 6/30/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
It’s been a year of change for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has responded not only to the pandemic, pushing back the global ABC Oscars telecast from February 28 to April 25, 2021 — setting a new award season calendar as other award shows have followed suit — but the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement.
In its continuing push to swell the Academy membership ranks, 819 artists and executives from 68 countries have been invited to join this year. The branches have increasingly actively sought eligible people to become Academy members, but the Board of Governors makes the final call. People from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities (36 percent) and women (45 percent) are among the many invites, as the Academy continues to address its long-term white-male dominance. As always, actors make up the largest branch of the Academy, but many new members (49 percent) also come from overseas.
In 2019, the Academy invited 842 new members,...
In its continuing push to swell the Academy membership ranks, 819 artists and executives from 68 countries have been invited to join this year. The branches have increasingly actively sought eligible people to become Academy members, but the Board of Governors makes the final call. People from underrepresented ethnic/racial communities (36 percent) and women (45 percent) are among the many invites, as the Academy continues to address its long-term white-male dominance. As always, actors make up the largest branch of the Academy, but many new members (49 percent) also come from overseas.
In 2019, the Academy invited 842 new members,...
- 6/30/2020
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Inernational membership swells nearly 200% over four years.
The Us Academy has achieved its goal of doubling the number of female members and those from under-represented ethnical and racial groups in the last four years, the organisation said as it announced the latest list of invitees on Tuesday (June 30).
The 819 people invited to join from all areas of the film industry include Cannes head Thierry Fremaux, Cynthia Erivo, Florence Pugh, Atlantics director Mati Diop, Les Misérables director Ladj Ly, and Iranian filmmaker Samira Makhmalbaf.
Directors Lulu Wang and Wash Westmoreland have been invited, as have producers Tarak Ben Ammar (Black Gold...
The Us Academy has achieved its goal of doubling the number of female members and those from under-represented ethnical and racial groups in the last four years, the organisation said as it announced the latest list of invitees on Tuesday (June 30).
The 819 people invited to join from all areas of the film industry include Cannes head Thierry Fremaux, Cynthia Erivo, Florence Pugh, Atlantics director Mati Diop, Les Misérables director Ladj Ly, and Iranian filmmaker Samira Makhmalbaf.
Directors Lulu Wang and Wash Westmoreland have been invited, as have producers Tarak Ben Ammar (Black Gold...
- 6/30/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Inernational membership swells nearly 200% over four years.
The Academy has achieved its goal of doubling the number of female members and those from under-represented ethnical and racial groups in the last four years, the organisation said as it announced the latest list of invitees on Tuesday (June 30).
The 819 people invited to join from all areas of the film industry include Cannes head Thierry Fremaux, Cynthia Erivo, Florence Pugh, Atlantics director Mati Diop, Les Misérables director Ladj Ly, and Iranian filmmaker Samira Makhmalbaf.
Directors Lulu Wang and Wash Westmoreland have been invited, as have producers Tarak Ben Ammar (Black Gold), Pippa Harris...
The Academy has achieved its goal of doubling the number of female members and those from under-represented ethnical and racial groups in the last four years, the organisation said as it announced the latest list of invitees on Tuesday (June 30).
The 819 people invited to join from all areas of the film industry include Cannes head Thierry Fremaux, Cynthia Erivo, Florence Pugh, Atlantics director Mati Diop, Les Misérables director Ladj Ly, and Iranian filmmaker Samira Makhmalbaf.
Directors Lulu Wang and Wash Westmoreland have been invited, as have producers Tarak Ben Ammar (Black Gold), Pippa Harris...
- 6/30/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Inernational membership swells nearly 200% over four years.
The Academy has achieved its goal of doubling the number of female members and those from under-represented ethnical and racial groups in the last four years, the organisation said as it announced the latest list of invitees on Tuesday (June 30).
The 819 people invited to join from all areas of the film industry include Cynthia Erivo, Florence Pugh, Atlantics director Mati Diop, Les Misérables director Ladj Ly, and Iranian filmmaker Samira Makhmalbaf.
Directors Lulu Wang and Wash Westmoreland have been invited, as have producers Tarak Ben Ammar (Black Gold), Pippa Harris (1917), Jessica Elbaum (Booksmart...
The Academy has achieved its goal of doubling the number of female members and those from under-represented ethnical and racial groups in the last four years, the organisation said as it announced the latest list of invitees on Tuesday (June 30).
The 819 people invited to join from all areas of the film industry include Cynthia Erivo, Florence Pugh, Atlantics director Mati Diop, Les Misérables director Ladj Ly, and Iranian filmmaker Samira Makhmalbaf.
Directors Lulu Wang and Wash Westmoreland have been invited, as have producers Tarak Ben Ammar (Black Gold), Pippa Harris (1917), Jessica Elbaum (Booksmart...
- 6/30/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Jack Huston has signed with CAA.
Huston first gained recognition for his portrayal of the disfigured hitman Richard Harrow in HBO’s Emmy-winning series Boardwalk Empire, sharing a SAG Award for best ensemble cast. Most recently, his film roles have included Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman and Wash Westmoreland’s The Earthquake Bird with Alicia Vikander and Riley Keough, both for Netflix. Huston’s other credits include David O. Russell’s American Hustle (which earned him a second SAG Award for ensemble), Kill Your Darlings, the David Chase-directed Not Fade Away and Mathew Weiner’s The Romanoffs. Huston recently wrapped the new season of Fargo for broadcast later this year and will next be seen starring in the Lionsgate social thriller Antebellum and Philip Noyce’s Above Suspicion opposite Emilia Clarke. In theatre, Jack starred in Hitchcock’s Strangers On A Train on London’s West End.
Huston,...
Huston first gained recognition for his portrayal of the disfigured hitman Richard Harrow in HBO’s Emmy-winning series Boardwalk Empire, sharing a SAG Award for best ensemble cast. Most recently, his film roles have included Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman and Wash Westmoreland’s The Earthquake Bird with Alicia Vikander and Riley Keough, both for Netflix. Huston’s other credits include David O. Russell’s American Hustle (which earned him a second SAG Award for ensemble), Kill Your Darlings, the David Chase-directed Not Fade Away and Mathew Weiner’s The Romanoffs. Huston recently wrapped the new season of Fargo for broadcast later this year and will next be seen starring in the Lionsgate social thriller Antebellum and Philip Noyce’s Above Suspicion opposite Emilia Clarke. In theatre, Jack starred in Hitchcock’s Strangers On A Train on London’s West End.
Huston,...
- 5/27/2020
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
The narrative feature “Minari” and the documentary “Boys State” have won the top prizes from the U.S. jury at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, which announced its winners at an awards ceremony on Saturday night. “Minari,” director Lee Isaac Chung’s coming-of-age story about a Korean-American boy, also won the festival’s audience award.
The only other films to win more than one award were “Identifying Features” (“Sin Senas Particulares”), Fernanda Valadez’s drama about a Mexican woman searching for a son who disappeared while attempting to cross the border; and “I Carry You With Me,” in which documentary director Heidi Ewing makes her narrative feature debut about an aspiring Mexican chef whose life changes when his sexuality becomes public. “Identifying Features” won the audience award in the World Cinema Dramatic section and a jury award for its screenplay, while “I Carry You With Me” won the audience award in...
The only other films to win more than one award were “Identifying Features” (“Sin Senas Particulares”), Fernanda Valadez’s drama about a Mexican woman searching for a son who disappeared while attempting to cross the border; and “I Carry You With Me,” in which documentary director Heidi Ewing makes her narrative feature debut about an aspiring Mexican chef whose life changes when his sexuality becomes public. “Identifying Features” won the audience award in the World Cinema Dramatic section and a jury award for its screenplay, while “I Carry You With Me” won the audience award in...
- 2/2/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The Sundance Film Festival concluded with the announcement of its grand jury awards, honoring Lee Isaac Chung’s “Minari,” a semi-autobiographical glimpse into the Korean American director’s Arkansas upbringing, and “Boys State,” an immersive vérité look at an impassioned class of politically inclined Texas teens who participate in an annual mock-government competition.
Ethan Hawke and his fellow U.S. dramatic competition jurors Wash Westmoreland and Rodrigo Garcia gave the directing prize to Radha Blank for her “The 40-Year-Old Version.”
Caught off-guard by the award, Blank riffed, “Anybody who feels there’s an expiration on a passion, f— that shit. If it’s in you to be a rapper, a parent, a director in your 40s, do that sh–.” Many of the night’s speeches reflected similar attitudes, as directors who’d confronted discrimination in order to make their films shared their experiences from the podium.
The U.S. dramatic...
Ethan Hawke and his fellow U.S. dramatic competition jurors Wash Westmoreland and Rodrigo Garcia gave the directing prize to Radha Blank for her “The 40-Year-Old Version.”
Caught off-guard by the award, Blank riffed, “Anybody who feels there’s an expiration on a passion, f— that shit. If it’s in you to be a rapper, a parent, a director in your 40s, do that sh–.” Many of the night’s speeches reflected similar attitudes, as directors who’d confronted discrimination in order to make their films shared their experiences from the podium.
The U.S. dramatic...
- 2/2/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
It’s the last year for longtime Sundance Film Festival creative director John Cooper so it’s not surprising that some of his more notable alumni were announced as jurors for the 2020 edition of the festival later this month. Jurors selected include Ethan Hawke, Dee Rees, Isabella Rossellini, Rodrigo Garcia, Greg Araki and “Fleabag’s” Sian Clifford. 25 jurors will award 21 prizes in sex selection juries.
Read More: Sundance 2020 Lineup Revealed: Films by Josephine Decker, Miranda July, Viggo Mortensen and more
Hawke, Rees, Rossellini, Garcia and Wash Westmoreland will head the prestigious U.S.
Continue reading Ethan Hawke, Dee Rees & Isabella Rossellini Set For 2020 Sundance Film Festival Juries at The Playlist.
Read More: Sundance 2020 Lineup Revealed: Films by Josephine Decker, Miranda July, Viggo Mortensen and more
Hawke, Rees, Rossellini, Garcia and Wash Westmoreland will head the prestigious U.S.
Continue reading Ethan Hawke, Dee Rees & Isabella Rossellini Set For 2020 Sundance Film Festival Juries at The Playlist.
- 1/14/2020
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
When she was a young girl in Gothenburg, Alicia Vikander dreamt of a life in tutus. At 15, she moved to Stockholm and attended the Royal Swedish Ballet School, where she would dance seven hours a day, six days a week. Eventually, a chronic back injury put paid to her ambitions, but not before it had equipped her for Hollywood. “I’m very good with pain,” the Oscar-winning star of The Danish Girl explains. Moments later, she rolls up her trousers to reveal a recent scar on her knee. “Skiing,” she says in a stage whisper, gesturing towards her management team across the room. “But don’t tell them.”
A high pain threshold helped the 31-year-old with the 2018 Tomb Raider reboot, for which she put on 12 pounds of muscle through weight training, rock climbing, swimming and Mma fighting. Her Lara Croft tempered being a badass with bruised vulnerability; her running, jumping...
A high pain threshold helped the 31-year-old with the 2018 Tomb Raider reboot, for which she put on 12 pounds of muscle through weight training, rock climbing, swimming and Mma fighting. Her Lara Croft tempered being a badass with bruised vulnerability; her running, jumping...
- 11/2/2019
- by Patrick Smith
- The Independent - Film
Wash Westmoreland’s crime-mystery about a love triangle turned obsessive, starring Alicia Vikander, delivers a few real tremors
The Earthquake Bird is the critically admired and prizewinning 2001 mystery novel by the British author Susanna Jones, which has now been turned into an intriguing, if sometimes redundant, psychological noir for Netflix by the writer-director Wash Westmoreland.
The setting is Tokyo in the late 1980s, where the threat of intermittent earthquakes is treated as a fact of life. Alicia Vikander plays Lucy, a reserved and professional young woman from Sweden with fluent Japanese (and English) who works as a translator. She is disconcerted one day when a very handsome Japanese man, Teiji (played by the actor and J-pop star Naoki Kobayashi) who is photographing the reflections that buildings make in puddles of rainwater, turns his camera on her in the street and takes her picture.
The Earthquake Bird is the critically admired and prizewinning 2001 mystery novel by the British author Susanna Jones, which has now been turned into an intriguing, if sometimes redundant, psychological noir for Netflix by the writer-director Wash Westmoreland.
The setting is Tokyo in the late 1980s, where the threat of intermittent earthquakes is treated as a fact of life. Alicia Vikander plays Lucy, a reserved and professional young woman from Sweden with fluent Japanese (and English) who works as a translator. She is disconcerted one day when a very handsome Japanese man, Teiji (played by the actor and J-pop star Naoki Kobayashi) who is photographing the reflections that buildings make in puddles of rainwater, turns his camera on her in the street and takes her picture.
- 11/1/2019
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
When it comes to showing their dedication to a role, actors have been known to gain weight, hit the gym, shave their heads and even have a tooth pulled. But those are all signs of physical commitment. Far more challenging is going out of your way to learn a foreign language — or faking it well enough that audiences can’t tell the difference. In “Earthquake Bird,” Alicia Vikander plays Lucy Fly, a Western woman who’s buried herself in all things Japanese as a way of escaping a traumatic past, only to see the trail of fatalities continue all the way in Tokyo.
“Death follows me,” Vikander says at one point, delivering the line in perfectly convincing Japanese. Here, she plays a Brit so desperate to reinvent herself that she finds herself at the center of a missing persons case. Her friend Lily Bridges (Riley Keough), also an expat, but...
“Death follows me,” Vikander says at one point, delivering the line in perfectly convincing Japanese. Here, she plays a Brit so desperate to reinvent herself that she finds herself at the center of a missing persons case. Her friend Lily Bridges (Riley Keough), also an expat, but...
- 10/30/2019
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Take a look at the new mystery feature "Earthquake Bird", written and directed by Wash Westmoreland and produced by Ridley Scott, based on the novel of the same name by Susanna Jones, starring Alicia Vikander ("Tomb Raider"), Riley Keough, Naoki Kobayashi and Jack Huston, streaming on Netflix November 15, 2019:
"...set in 1989 Tokyo, 'Lucy Fly' (Vikander), a young female expat, is suspected of murder when her friend 'Lily' goes missing in the wake of a tumultuous love triangle with 'Teiji', a handsome local photographer..."
Cast also includes Kiki Sukezane as 'Natsuko' and Ken Yamamura as 'Oguchi'.
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Earthquake Bird"...
"...set in 1989 Tokyo, 'Lucy Fly' (Vikander), a young female expat, is suspected of murder when her friend 'Lily' goes missing in the wake of a tumultuous love triangle with 'Teiji', a handsome local photographer..."
Cast also includes Kiki Sukezane as 'Natsuko' and Ken Yamamura as 'Oguchi'.
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Earthquake Bird"...
- 10/21/2019
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Alejandro Landes’ flick has won the top prize in the UK capital, while Atlantics scooped Best First Feature, White Riot pocketed Best Documentary and Fault Line came out on top in the shorts category. Monos has won the Best Film Award in the Official Competition of the London Film Festival. Giving out the prize, Wash Westmoreland, the Official Competition jury president, called Alejandro Landes’ movie a “stunning cinematic achievement, marrying dynamic visuals, faultless performances and groundbreaking storytelling. It’s a masterpiece!” Monos, which tells the story of child soldiers in Colombia, is a co-production between Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and the USA. France’s Le Pacte is handling its international sales. Monos debuted at Sundance, where Cineuropa praised the film as an “exhilarating nightmare”. The Official Competition jury also gave out Special Commendations to Rose Glass’ Saint Maud and Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy. Atlantics by Mati Diop won.
- 10/14/2019
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Susanna Jones's haunting novel Earthquake Bird is being adapted for the big screen thanks to Netflix and producer Ridley Scott, and the film's tense and twisty movie trailer will make you understandably paranoid. (You've been warned.)
Tomb Raider star Alicia Vikander takes the lead in Wash Westmoreland's atmospheric psychological thriller as Lucy Fly, an expat who moves to Tokyo in 1989 in an effort to escape a painful past. She soon strikes up a romance with the intense Teiji (Naoki Kobayashi), a local photographer who's obsessed with taking photos of her, and becomes close friends with fellow transplant Lily (Riley Keough). As her relationships with both individuals deepen, Lucy finds herself questioning reality, especially when Lily goes missing and the police arrive at Lucy's door.
Did Lucy kill her? Can she be trusted? Watch the trailer above to see if you can untangle the mystery, and then be sure...
Tomb Raider star Alicia Vikander takes the lead in Wash Westmoreland's atmospheric psychological thriller as Lucy Fly, an expat who moves to Tokyo in 1989 in an effort to escape a painful past. She soon strikes up a romance with the intense Teiji (Naoki Kobayashi), a local photographer who's obsessed with taking photos of her, and becomes close friends with fellow transplant Lily (Riley Keough). As her relationships with both individuals deepen, Lucy finds herself questioning reality, especially when Lily goes missing and the police arrive at Lucy's door.
Did Lucy kill her? Can she be trusted? Watch the trailer above to see if you can untangle the mystery, and then be sure...
- 10/13/2019
- by Quinn Keaney
- Popsugar.com
Alejandro Landes’ Colombian survival thriller Monos was presented with the best film award of the Official Competition at the BFI London Film Festival tonight (October 12).
The film is Colombia’s entry for the best international film at the Oscars, and has already won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury award at Sundance. Picturehouse acquired UK rights from Le Pacte for a release later this month.
Wash Westmoreland, the Official Competition jury president, said: “Monos is a stunning cinematic achievement; marrying dynamic visuals, faultless performances and groundbreaking storytelling. It’s a masterpiece!
The film is Colombia’s entry for the best international film at the Oscars, and has already won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury award at Sundance. Picturehouse acquired UK rights from Le Pacte for a release later this month.
Wash Westmoreland, the Official Competition jury president, said: “Monos is a stunning cinematic achievement; marrying dynamic visuals, faultless performances and groundbreaking storytelling. It’s a masterpiece!
- 10/12/2019
- by 1101184¦Orlando Parfitt¦38¦
- ScreenDaily
“Monos,” an unsettling thriller about teenage soldiers that one critic described as “like ‘Lord of the Flies’ in hell,” has won the award for best film at the BFI London Film Festival.
Mati Diop’s “Atlantics,” which premiered in Cannes, took home the prize for best debut feature, while “White Riot,” about a 1970s reggae protest movement, was named best documentary. The awards were unveiled Saturday, on the eve of the festival’s closing.
Directed by Alejandro Landes, “Monos” premiered at Sundance. To an evocative score by Mica Levi, the Spanish-language film follows a group of teenage soldiers and their hostage, an American doctor, as they retreat farther into the jungle.
“‘Monos’ is a stunning cinematic achievement, marrying dynamic visuals, faultless performances and groundbreaking storytelling,” director Wash Westmoreland (“Colette”), the president of the official competition jury, said. “It’s a masterpiece.”
The jury also awarded special commendations to Sundance title...
Mati Diop’s “Atlantics,” which premiered in Cannes, took home the prize for best debut feature, while “White Riot,” about a 1970s reggae protest movement, was named best documentary. The awards were unveiled Saturday, on the eve of the festival’s closing.
Directed by Alejandro Landes, “Monos” premiered at Sundance. To an evocative score by Mica Levi, the Spanish-language film follows a group of teenage soldiers and their hostage, an American doctor, as they retreat farther into the jungle.
“‘Monos’ is a stunning cinematic achievement, marrying dynamic visuals, faultless performances and groundbreaking storytelling,” director Wash Westmoreland (“Colette”), the president of the official competition jury, said. “It’s a masterpiece.”
The jury also awarded special commendations to Sundance title...
- 10/12/2019
- by Henry Chu
- Variety Film + TV
The BFI London Film Festival has revealed its 2019 winners, which include lauded Colombian co-production Monos and Mati Diop’s well-received Atlantics.
Monos, the Sundance thriller about child soldiers, took home the best film award in official competition, with jury president Wash Westmoreland saying, “Monos is a stunning cinematic achievement; marrying dynamic visuals, faultless performances and groundbreaking storytelling. It’s a masterpiece!”
The competition jury gave special commendations to Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy and Rose Glass’s Saint Maud.
Mati Diop’s Senegal-set love story drama Atlantics took home the Sutherland Award in the first feature competition. There was a special commendation in the same category for Bora Kim’s House Of Hummingbird.
Meanwhile, the Grierson Award in the documentary competition went to Rubika Shah’s documentary White Riot, about multicultural punk and reggae gigs in London in the 1970s.
The competition winners received their awards on stage from...
Monos, the Sundance thriller about child soldiers, took home the best film award in official competition, with jury president Wash Westmoreland saying, “Monos is a stunning cinematic achievement; marrying dynamic visuals, faultless performances and groundbreaking storytelling. It’s a masterpiece!”
The competition jury gave special commendations to Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy and Rose Glass’s Saint Maud.
Mati Diop’s Senegal-set love story drama Atlantics took home the Sutherland Award in the first feature competition. There was a special commendation in the same category for Bora Kim’s House Of Hummingbird.
Meanwhile, the Grierson Award in the documentary competition went to Rubika Shah’s documentary White Riot, about multicultural punk and reggae gigs in London in the 1970s.
The competition winners received their awards on stage from...
- 10/12/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
The BFI London Film Festival on Saturday unveiled its award winners for 2019.
Alejandro Landes' Monos took home best film honors. The survival thriller about child soldiers, which premiered at Sundance, was acquired by Neon for the U.S. and was recently named Colombia's submission for consideration in the international feature film Oscar competition.
"Monos is a stunning cinematic achievement; marrying dynamic visuals, faultless performances and groundbreaking storytelling. It’s a masterpiece!" said Wash Westmoreland, head of the main jury, which also awarded special mentions to Alma Har'el's Honey Boy and Saint Maud from Rose Glass.
Mati Diop'...
Alejandro Landes' Monos took home best film honors. The survival thriller about child soldiers, which premiered at Sundance, was acquired by Neon for the U.S. and was recently named Colombia's submission for consideration in the international feature film Oscar competition.
"Monos is a stunning cinematic achievement; marrying dynamic visuals, faultless performances and groundbreaking storytelling. It’s a masterpiece!" said Wash Westmoreland, head of the main jury, which also awarded special mentions to Alma Har'el's Honey Boy and Saint Maud from Rose Glass.
Mati Diop'...
- 10/12/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The BFI London Film Festival on Saturday unveiled its award winners for 2019.
Alejandro Landes' Monos took home best film honors. The survival thriller about child soldiers, which premiered at Sundance, was acquired by Neon for the U.S. and was recently named Colombia's submission for consideration in the international feature film Oscar competition.
"Monos is a stunning cinematic achievement; marrying dynamic visuals, faultless performances and groundbreaking storytelling. It’s a masterpiece!" said Wash Westmoreland, head of the main jury, which also awarded special mentions to Alma Har'el's Honey Boy and Saint Maud from Rose Glass.
Mati Diop'...
Alejandro Landes' Monos took home best film honors. The survival thriller about child soldiers, which premiered at Sundance, was acquired by Neon for the U.S. and was recently named Colombia's submission for consideration in the international feature film Oscar competition.
"Monos is a stunning cinematic achievement; marrying dynamic visuals, faultless performances and groundbreaking storytelling. It’s a masterpiece!" said Wash Westmoreland, head of the main jury, which also awarded special mentions to Alma Har'el's Honey Boy and Saint Maud from Rose Glass.
Mati Diop'...
- 10/12/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
We’ve got the first full trailer for you to check out from the Netflix indie thriller Earthquake Bird. The film is directed and adapted by Wash Westmoreland from a novel written by Susanna Jones. The film stars Alicia Vikander, Riley Keough (Logan Lucky), Jack Huston (The Irishman), Kiki Sukezane (Westworld), and Ken Yamamura (Godzilla). Here’s the synopsis:
A psychologically unsettling and atmospheric thriller set in 1989 Tokyo from director Wash Westmoreland, Earthquake Bird follows Lucy Fly (Alicia Vikander), an enigmatic expat haunted by a painful past, who enters into an intense relationship with Teiji (Naoki Kobayashi), a handsome local photographer. Lucy’s imperturbable exterior begins to crack when a naive newcomer, Lily Bridges (Riley Keough), becomes entangled in their lives and ends up missing — suspected dead.
This looks kind of creepy and weird and probably has twists and turns, but I just don’t know if I’m sold on the trailer alone.
A psychologically unsettling and atmospheric thriller set in 1989 Tokyo from director Wash Westmoreland, Earthquake Bird follows Lucy Fly (Alicia Vikander), an enigmatic expat haunted by a painful past, who enters into an intense relationship with Teiji (Naoki Kobayashi), a handsome local photographer. Lucy’s imperturbable exterior begins to crack when a naive newcomer, Lily Bridges (Riley Keough), becomes entangled in their lives and ends up missing — suspected dead.
This looks kind of creepy and weird and probably has twists and turns, but I just don’t know if I’m sold on the trailer alone.
- 10/10/2019
- by Jessica Fisher
- GeekTyrant
Earthquake Bird Trailer Wash Westmoreland‘s Earthquake Bird (2019) movie trailer has been released and stars Alicia Vikander, Riley Keough, Naoki Kobayashi, Jack Huston, and Kiki Sukezane. Plot Synopsis Earthquake Bird‘s plot synopsis: “A psychologically unsettling and atmospheric thriller set in 1989 Tokyo from director Wash Westmoreland, Earthquake Bird follows Lucy [...]
Continue reading: Earthquake Bird (2019) Movie Trailer: Alicia Vikander is an English Translator & Murder Suspect in Toyko...
Continue reading: Earthquake Bird (2019) Movie Trailer: Alicia Vikander is an English Translator & Murder Suspect in Toyko...
- 10/9/2019
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
In the trailer for her new film “Earthquake Bird,” Alicia Vikander is being questioned as one of the top subjects in the disappearance of a missing woman and one of her best friends.
And Vikander stands out in the crowd as a suspect because she’s an expat living in Tokyo in 1989, where just the act of walking around is enough for Japanese residents to stare or take your photo.
“It’s weird how everyone stares at you. It’s like being famous,” Vikander’s friend played by Riley Keough says in the trailer.
Also Read: Alicia Vikander's 'Tomb Raider' Sequel Sets 2021 Release With Director Ben Wheatley
That’s the premise of “Earthquake Bird,” which is a psychological thriller directed by Wash Westmoreland and is produced by Ridley Scott and plays on the fish-out-of-water cultural differences of the late 1980s.
In “Earthquake Bird,” Vikander plays Lucy, an enigmatic...
And Vikander stands out in the crowd as a suspect because she’s an expat living in Tokyo in 1989, where just the act of walking around is enough for Japanese residents to stare or take your photo.
“It’s weird how everyone stares at you. It’s like being famous,” Vikander’s friend played by Riley Keough says in the trailer.
Also Read: Alicia Vikander's 'Tomb Raider' Sequel Sets 2021 Release With Director Ben Wheatley
That’s the premise of “Earthquake Bird,” which is a psychological thriller directed by Wash Westmoreland and is produced by Ridley Scott and plays on the fish-out-of-water cultural differences of the late 1980s.
In “Earthquake Bird,” Vikander plays Lucy, an enigmatic...
- 10/9/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Alicia Vikander returns for her first major leading film role since 2018’s “Tomb Raider” with the Netflix neo-noir “Earthquake Bird.”
Adapted from a novel by Susanna Jones, the film stars Vikander as Lucy, an American expat living in 1980s Tokyo who falls into a dangerous relationship with a native photographer, played by Naoki Kobayashi. Vikander meets Lily, played by Riley Keough. Lily is new to Japan, but just as soon vanishes under eerie circumstances. The film also stars Jack Huston.
“Earthquake Bird” is written and directed by Wash Westmoreland, whose “Colette” earned acclaim for Keira Knightley in 2018, while his “Still Alice” won Julianne Moore an Academy Award for Best Actress. Westmoreland spoke with Entertainment Weekly, which had the exclusive trailer, about making “Earthquake Bird” on-location, including at Toho Studios, where many of the contemporary and classic “Godzilla” films were shot.
“Working with Alicia was kind of a dream,” the filmmaker...
Adapted from a novel by Susanna Jones, the film stars Vikander as Lucy, an American expat living in 1980s Tokyo who falls into a dangerous relationship with a native photographer, played by Naoki Kobayashi. Vikander meets Lily, played by Riley Keough. Lily is new to Japan, but just as soon vanishes under eerie circumstances. The film also stars Jack Huston.
“Earthquake Bird” is written and directed by Wash Westmoreland, whose “Colette” earned acclaim for Keira Knightley in 2018, while his “Still Alice” won Julianne Moore an Academy Award for Best Actress. Westmoreland spoke with Entertainment Weekly, which had the exclusive trailer, about making “Earthquake Bird” on-location, including at Toho Studios, where many of the contemporary and classic “Godzilla” films were shot.
“Working with Alicia was kind of a dream,” the filmmaker...
- 10/9/2019
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
This year’s edition of the BFI London Film Festival, which starts today, marks Tricia Tuttle’s first in an official capacity as artistic director after she stood in last year while her predecessor was on sabbatical. So what does she have planned?
Tuttle looks back at last year’s performance with satisfaction when, with a total audience of more than 200,000, per screen attendance rose by 12% to an average paid occupancy of 72%, and overall capacity of 84%. This she ascribes to “a strong year for films driving audience interest,” which she believes she’s matched this year with, among 229 feature films, “The Personal History of David Copperfield” opening the festival, and “The Irishman” closing it, and gala screenings including “Knives Out,” “Ford v Ferrari,” “The King” and “Jojo Rabbit.”
Among the festival’s world premieres are Wash Westmoreland’s “Earthquake Bird,” starring Alicia Vikander, Gerard Johnson’s “Muscle,” Michael Caton-Jones’ “Our Ladies,...
Tuttle looks back at last year’s performance with satisfaction when, with a total audience of more than 200,000, per screen attendance rose by 12% to an average paid occupancy of 72%, and overall capacity of 84%. This she ascribes to “a strong year for films driving audience interest,” which she believes she’s matched this year with, among 229 feature films, “The Personal History of David Copperfield” opening the festival, and “The Irishman” closing it, and gala screenings including “Knives Out,” “Ford v Ferrari,” “The King” and “Jojo Rabbit.”
Among the festival’s world premieres are Wash Westmoreland’s “Earthquake Bird,” starring Alicia Vikander, Gerard Johnson’s “Muscle,” Michael Caton-Jones’ “Our Ladies,...
- 10/2/2019
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The Tokyo International Film Festival will this year give over most of its competition section to films from outside East Asia. This contrasts to previous editions with a strong presence from the region.
The festival, which will hold its 32nd edition next month, announced its lineup Thursday. Of the 14 announced films for competition, only two – Wang Rui’s “Chaogtu With Sarula” (China) and Paul Soriano’s ”Mananita” (Philippines) – are from East Asia.
Korean films are noticeably absent this year, a situation that may reflect the acute political tensions between Tokyo and Seoul.
Others in the competition are Valentyn Vasyanovych’s “Atlantis” and Jorunn Myklebust Syversen’s “Disco,” which both screened at Toronto. The competition also includes Saeid Rustai’s “Just 6.5,” Jayro Bustamante’s “La Llorona,” Nunzia De Stefano’s “Nevia” and Dominik Moll’s “Only the Animals,” which were all pickups from Venice.
The two Japanese films in the competition...
The festival, which will hold its 32nd edition next month, announced its lineup Thursday. Of the 14 announced films for competition, only two – Wang Rui’s “Chaogtu With Sarula” (China) and Paul Soriano’s ”Mananita” (Philippines) – are from East Asia.
Korean films are noticeably absent this year, a situation that may reflect the acute political tensions between Tokyo and Seoul.
Others in the competition are Valentyn Vasyanovych’s “Atlantis” and Jorunn Myklebust Syversen’s “Disco,” which both screened at Toronto. The competition also includes Saeid Rustai’s “Just 6.5,” Jayro Bustamante’s “La Llorona,” Nunzia De Stefano’s “Nevia” and Dominik Moll’s “Only the Animals,” which were all pickups from Venice.
The two Japanese films in the competition...
- 9/26/2019
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
Wash Westmoreland Heads Lff Jury; Polanski Added To Efa List; Tokyo Fest Competition — Global Briefs
Colette director Wash Westmoreland will head this year’s BFI London Film Festival (Lff) main jury. He will be joined by Game Of Thrones actress Lena Headey, Egyptian writer and producer Mohamed Hefzy, I, Daniel Blake actress Hayley Squires, director Sudabeh Mortezai (whose Joy won last year’s Lff Competition) and magazine editor Jane Crowther. The Lff First Feature Competition jury will be led by Jessica Hausner, whose Little Joe screens at this year’s fest. Joining her are filmmaker Shola Amoo, whose The Last Tree was at Sundance this year, playwright Theresa Ikoko, and Lilting director Hong Khaou. The festival’s Documentary Competition will be overseen by Strong Island director Yance Ford, with outgoing DocLisboa head Cintia Gil, soon to take over at Sheffield Doc/Fest, and Skate Kitchen producer Julia Nottingham. Finally, the short film jury consists of filmmakers Amrou Al-Kadhi and Mark Jenkin, actor Alex Lawther, and actress and writer Marli Siu.
- 9/26/2019
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Colette director Wash Westmoreland will lead the official competition jury.
Colette and Still Alice director Wash Westmoreland heads the official competition jury at this year’s BFI London Film Festival. His latest film Earthquake Bird screens in this year’s event.
The jury for the first feature competition (Sutherland award) will be led by Austrian director Jessica Hausner, whose Little Joe is also playing at Lff.
Strong Island director Yance Ford and producer Jacqui Davies head the documentary and short film competition juries respectively.
The other jurors are:
Official competition: Jane Crowther, editor of Total Film; Hayley Squires, actress; Sudabeh Mortezai,...
Colette and Still Alice director Wash Westmoreland heads the official competition jury at this year’s BFI London Film Festival. His latest film Earthquake Bird screens in this year’s event.
The jury for the first feature competition (Sutherland award) will be led by Austrian director Jessica Hausner, whose Little Joe is also playing at Lff.
Strong Island director Yance Ford and producer Jacqui Davies head the documentary and short film competition juries respectively.
The other jurors are:
Official competition: Jane Crowther, editor of Total Film; Hayley Squires, actress; Sudabeh Mortezai,...
- 9/26/2019
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Wash Westmoreland, director of Keira Knightley starrer “Colette,” and Jessica Hausner, helmer of Cannes pic “Little Joe,” are among the jury heads at this year’s BFI London Film Festival.
Westmoreland’s latest movie, “Earthquake Bird,” is part of the festival lineup; “Colette” screened at the fest last year. He will head the official competition jury. “In a world of endless reboots and franchises, the BFI London Film Festival is more important than ever, screening original, uncompromising movies that showcase brilliant new voices in filmmaking,” he said.
Rounding out the main competition jury are film journalist Jane Crowther; “I, Daniel Blake” actress Hayley Squires; director Sudabeh Mortezai, who helmed last year’s wining movie, “Joy”; “Game of Thrones” star Lena Headey; and Mohamed Hefzy, producer and director of the Cairo Film Festival.
Austrian director Hausner will oversee the First Feature competition, also known as the Sutherland Award. Her genre-bending movie “Little Joe,...
Westmoreland’s latest movie, “Earthquake Bird,” is part of the festival lineup; “Colette” screened at the fest last year. He will head the official competition jury. “In a world of endless reboots and franchises, the BFI London Film Festival is more important than ever, screening original, uncompromising movies that showcase brilliant new voices in filmmaking,” he said.
Rounding out the main competition jury are film journalist Jane Crowther; “I, Daniel Blake” actress Hayley Squires; director Sudabeh Mortezai, who helmed last year’s wining movie, “Joy”; “Game of Thrones” star Lena Headey; and Mohamed Hefzy, producer and director of the Cairo Film Festival.
Austrian director Hausner will oversee the First Feature competition, also known as the Sutherland Award. Her genre-bending movie “Little Joe,...
- 9/26/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
British filmmaker Wash Westmoreland has been named president of the official competition jury for the BFI London Film Festival.
The Colette and Still Alice director will be joined on the main jury by I, Daniel Blake star Hayley Squires; Sudabeh Mortezai, who won the top prize in London last year with her film Joy; Game of Thrones star Lena Headey, whose directorial debut short The Trap is in the festival lineup; prolific Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy; and Total Film editor Jane Crowther.
Among the pics to vie for best film honors are Haifaa Al Mansour's Saudi-shot The Perfect Candidate, Shia Labeouf's semi-autobiographical ...
The Colette and Still Alice director will be joined on the main jury by I, Daniel Blake star Hayley Squires; Sudabeh Mortezai, who won the top prize in London last year with her film Joy; Game of Thrones star Lena Headey, whose directorial debut short The Trap is in the festival lineup; prolific Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy; and Total Film editor Jane Crowther.
Among the pics to vie for best film honors are Haifaa Al Mansour's Saudi-shot The Perfect Candidate, Shia Labeouf's semi-autobiographical ...
- 9/26/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
British filmmaker Wash Westmoreland has been named president of the official competition jury for the BFI London Film Festival.
The Colette and Still Alice director will be joined on the main jury by I, Daniel Blake star Hayley Squires; Sudabeh Mortezai, who won the top prize in London last year with her film Joy; Game of Thrones star Lena Headey, whose directorial debut short The Trap is in the festival lineup; prolific Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy; and Total Film editor Jane Crowther.
Among the pics to vie for best film honors are Haifaa Al Mansour's Saudi-shot The Perfect Candidate, Shia Labeouf's semi-autobiographical ...
The Colette and Still Alice director will be joined on the main jury by I, Daniel Blake star Hayley Squires; Sudabeh Mortezai, who won the top prize in London last year with her film Joy; Game of Thrones star Lena Headey, whose directorial debut short The Trap is in the festival lineup; prolific Egyptian producer Mohamed Hefzy; and Total Film editor Jane Crowther.
Among the pics to vie for best film honors are Haifaa Al Mansour's Saudi-shot The Perfect Candidate, Shia Labeouf's semi-autobiographical ...
- 9/26/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
But Vue CEO criticises the decision to programme ‘The Irishman’ as the closing night gala.
Vue and Odeon, two of the UK’s major exhibitors and key partners of the BFI London Film Festival (Lff) have confirmed they will be showing films to which Netflix or Amazon have UK rights at the festival, ensuring the event will avoid the scheduling challenges experienced by the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) earlier this month.
Tiff exhibition partner Cineplex, which operates the Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, refused to screen any festival films, including to press and industry, distributed by companies not planning to adhere...
Vue and Odeon, two of the UK’s major exhibitors and key partners of the BFI London Film Festival (Lff) have confirmed they will be showing films to which Netflix or Amazon have UK rights at the festival, ensuring the event will avoid the scheduling challenges experienced by the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) earlier this month.
Tiff exhibition partner Cineplex, which operates the Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, refused to screen any festival films, including to press and industry, distributed by companies not planning to adhere...
- 9/19/2019
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Netflix and writer/director Wash Westmoreland have set Jack Huston to play the male lead in an adaptation of the Susanna Jones novel The Earthquake Bird. He stars alongside previously set Alicia Vikander and Riley Keough. The Earthquake Bird is a Tokyo-set female-driven noir thriller that tells the story of young female expat who is suspected of murder after her friend goes missing in the wake of a tumultuous love triangle with a handsome local photographer. Huston, best known for Boardwalk Empire, plays the photog. Pic shoots this May in Tokyo and Sado Island.
Scott Free’s Kevin Walsh and Michael Pruss will produce alongside Ann Ruark and Twenty First City’s Georgina Pope. Ridley Scott will be exec producer.
The Earthquake Bird won several awards including the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the Crime Writers’ Association New Blood Dagger Award for newly published authors. Westmoreland seems a strong...
Scott Free’s Kevin Walsh and Michael Pruss will produce alongside Ann Ruark and Twenty First City’s Georgina Pope. Ridley Scott will be exec producer.
The Earthquake Bird won several awards including the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and the Crime Writers’ Association New Blood Dagger Award for newly published authors. Westmoreland seems a strong...
- 4/19/2018
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Netflix will partner with Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions, to adapt author Susanna Jones' Tokyo-set female-driven 'noir' thriller "The Earthquake Bird" (2001) for director Wash Westmoreland ("Still Alice"), starring Alicia Vikander ("Tomb Raider") and Riley Keough:
"... in a Tokyo police station, 34 year old 'Lucy Fly' is questioned over the murder of her friend 'Lily Bridges'.
"Lucy has been in Tokyo ten years and is fluent in Japanese and employed in translating manuals into English. She is evasive in her answers to the police but recounts to the readers what led to her current situation including her estrangement from her family back in England, her relationship with photographer 'Teiji and the recent arrival of 'Lily', who like Lucy comes from East Yorkshire..."...
Click the images to enlarge...
"... in a Tokyo police station, 34 year old 'Lucy Fly' is questioned over the murder of her friend 'Lily Bridges'.
"Lucy has been in Tokyo ten years and is fluent in Japanese and employed in translating manuals into English. She is evasive in her answers to the police but recounts to the readers what led to her current situation including her estrangement from her family back in England, her relationship with photographer 'Teiji and the recent arrival of 'Lily', who like Lucy comes from East Yorkshire..."...
Click the images to enlarge...
- 3/23/2018
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
The Earthquake Bird: Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider, above) and Riley Keough (Logan Lucky) are finalizing their deals to star in The Earthquake Bird. The noir thriller is based on Susanna Jones' novel about a young expatriate in Tokyo who is suspected of murder after her friend goes missing. Wash Westmoreland (Still Alice) wrote the screenplay and will direct. Production will begin in May. [Deadline] Jet Trash: Before she appeared in big Hollywood productions like The Mummy and Atomic Blonde (above), Sofia Boutella costarred in Jet Trash, which had its world premiere in 2016. Now the action thriller will finally surface in the U.S. Indican Pictures has acquired rights to distribute the film and plans a limited spring release this year. Set in India, the story...
- 3/23/2018
- by Peter Martin
- Movies.com
Exclusive: Netflix has teamed with Scott Free on an adaptation of the Susanna Jones novel The Earthquake Bird. Alicia Vikander and Riley Keough are finishing deals to star for Wash Westmoreland, who wrote the script and will direct. The Earthquake Bird is a Tokyo-set female-driven noir thriller that tells the story of young female expat who is suspected of murder after her friend goes missing in the wake of a tumultuous love triangle with a handsome local photographer…...
- 3/22/2018
- Deadline
Sneak Peek new images of actress Keira Knightley in the March 2018 issue of "Elle" (France) magazine wearing fashions by Chanel, photographed by Jan Welters:
"I was meant to be named 'Kiera', after a Russian ice skater who was on the TV one day," said Knightley.
"My dad fancied her and nicked her name for me.
"But it was my mum who went to register my birth, and she accidentally spelled 'ei' instead of 'ie' because my mum's crap at spelling.
"Apparently, when she came back he said: 'What The Fuck? You’ve spelt her name wrong!' What were they going to do, though? Once it’s on the piece of paper, it’s on the piece of paper. And that’s me. A spelling error..."
Knightley is the official 'face' for Chanel since 2007 and continues to rep the company including 'Coco Mademoiselle' fragrances.
New films for Knightley include an...
"I was meant to be named 'Kiera', after a Russian ice skater who was on the TV one day," said Knightley.
"My dad fancied her and nicked her name for me.
"But it was my mum who went to register my birth, and she accidentally spelled 'ei' instead of 'ie' because my mum's crap at spelling.
"Apparently, when she came back he said: 'What The Fuck? You’ve spelt her name wrong!' What were they going to do, though? Once it’s on the piece of paper, it’s on the piece of paper. And that’s me. A spelling error..."
Knightley is the official 'face' for Chanel since 2007 and continues to rep the company including 'Coco Mademoiselle' fragrances.
New films for Knightley include an...
- 3/17/2018
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Bleecker Street has announced a cluster of 2018 release dates including Sundance hits Colette starring Keira Knightley, and Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace.
Bleecker Street has announced a cluster of 2018 release dates including Sundance hits Colette starring Keira Knightley, and Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace.
Bleecker Street and 30West acquired Colette shortly after its world premiere in Sundance last month and the period drama about the pioneering Parisian writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette gets a prime awards season slot in limited release on September 21. Wash Westmoreland he co-wrote with his late partner Richard Glatzer, and Rebecca Lenkiewicz.
Leave No Trace, Debra Granik’s follow-up to Jennifer Lawrence breakout Winter’s Bone, will open in limited release on June 29 and stars Ben Foster and newcomer Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie as a father and daughter living off the grid who set out to return to their idyllic life after they are placed into social services. Bleecker Street pounced...
Bleecker Street has announced a cluster of 2018 release dates including Sundance hits Colette starring Keira Knightley, and Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace.
Bleecker Street and 30West acquired Colette shortly after its world premiere in Sundance last month and the period drama about the pioneering Parisian writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette gets a prime awards season slot in limited release on September 21. Wash Westmoreland he co-wrote with his late partner Richard Glatzer, and Rebecca Lenkiewicz.
Leave No Trace, Debra Granik’s follow-up to Jennifer Lawrence breakout Winter’s Bone, will open in limited release on June 29 and stars Ben Foster and newcomer Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie as a father and daughter living off the grid who set out to return to their idyllic life after they are placed into social services. Bleecker Street pounced...
- 2/16/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Tamika Lamison felt on top of the world when, at 28, she headed to Hollywood to pursue a filmmaking career. But when the bogus $112,000 check she received for the sale of her first script bounced, she knew that she wanted something far different than the typical industry experience.
“I started thinking about ways to make a difference. I didn’t want to spend all my energy on the grind, going for the brass ring,” Lamison, now 48, tells People. “I started mentoring and teaching kids filmmaking and I literally fell in love with watching youth fall in love with making films and sharing their stories.
“I started thinking about ways to make a difference. I didn’t want to spend all my energy on the grind, going for the brass ring,” Lamison, now 48, tells People. “I started mentoring and teaching kids filmmaking and I literally fell in love with watching youth fall in love with making films and sharing their stories.
- 2/15/2018
- by Erin Hill
- PEOPLE.com
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