Angel-A Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Odds and ends from Friday:

• Though the President has left the building, he's currently making plans to stick around town a little while longer. Martin Sheen, who played TV President on The West Wing, will take on a role in the film Talk to Me for Focus Features. Pic, which will be set in 1960s Washington D.C., tells the real-life story of a radio station owner (Sheen) who hires controversial black on-air personality Ralph Waldo "Petey" Green (Don Cheadle). Green would ultimately go on to be somewhat of an icon in radio at a time when racial tension was at its peak across the country.
• Universal Pictures have teamed up with Boom Entertainment to bring the horror comic book Tag to the big screen. Talk about an intense and deadly way to play the game tag, story revolves around some average Joe who, while out with his girlfriend one night, falls victim to an ancient curse when a random stranger "tags" him. The curse makes it so this poor dude slowly begins to die, his body literally decomposing, forcing him to either give up and move on to a higher place or find someone else to pass on the curse to. Yikes, imagine explaining that one to your girlfriend: "Um, honey, I'm dying to see you tonight but, well, I'm actually dying ... so, yeah -- rain check?"
• Luc Besson is one of those directors who likes to float somewhere between worlds of crime and fantasy, giving us films like The Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita, Angel-A and the upcoming Arthur and the Minimoys. While Fifth Element was probably his most commercial hit here in the States, Besson's Léon (or The Professional) has garnered a large following and some think it's his best film. Besson recently squashed rumors of a sequel to Léon saying he has no plans to make one and is pissed people keep sending him scripts for an idea that's not theirs. He does admit, however, if there is going to be a sequel, he will write it. Damn, I guess my script for The Not So Professional will have to remain in my draw, where it belongs.

Though we keep hearing about how there wasn't much particularly impressive available at this year's Cannes market, news of pretty darn exciting distribution deals nevertheless keep trickling out of France. The latest examples will bring a pair of much-hyped movies to the states (though one of them might be a lot better than the other).

First is Luc Besson's Angel-A, the Frenchman's first directorial effort in seven years. Filmed entirely in black and white and under a strict veil of secrecy, the film was greeted by somewhat mixed reviews when it was released in France earlier this year. Though the movie's look and subject matter (Who goes to Besson for sweet comedy?) will perhaps drive away those looking for the action-fests more typical of the director, Sony Pictures Classics has nevertheless decided to take a chance on releasing it in the US. Huzzah!

The second sale is a more surprising one: Festival darling Red Road, deemed risky for distribution because of its unusual style and frank sexual content, was snatched up for the American market -- even before it took the Special Jury Prize -- by the brave folks at Tartan US. No details yet, though, on a timeline for release.

As we all now know thanks to The Fog, movies that aren't offered to critics before their release dates are generally assumed to be huge piles of crap that humiliate everyone involved in their creation. As with every rule, though, there's an exception even to this one: Angel-A, Luc Besson's eagerly awaited return to directing, opened quietly in France this week without the benefit of any press screenings. And guess what - it's good!

A couple of reviews have turned up on line, and they both describe the film as beautiful and charming. The movie is reportedly anchored by the performance of Jamel Debbouze (a well-known French comedian) as Andre, a "a sympathetic sleazebag." While the film's refreshingly brief running time (it's less than 90 minutes long) will surely be something of a draw, the fact that it's a sweet comedy that was shot in black and white means that Besson's core audience might not be interested in the film. This is significant to his American fans because Angel-A has still not been picked up for distribution here, and if its box office potential is seen as limited, the likelihood of it ever showing up on screens here is greatly reduced. Dammit.