CzechRepublic Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Israel and Czech Republic Choose Their Oscar Candidates
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Foreign Language », Sony Classics », Oscar Watch », Toronto International Film Festival », Cinematical Indie »
As we've reported on various countries' candidates for the Best Foreign Language Film category at next year's Oscars, we've observed that many of them are longshots at best. Countries like the Philippines and Singapore have never even secured a nomination in the category, let alone a win. That's not to say it won't happen this year; just that it's not as likely. But now two countries with solid Oscar track records have announced their entries: Israel is putting up The Band's Visit, while the Czech Republic offers I Served the King of England. Israel has submitted a film every year since 1977 and fairly regularly before that, earning six nominations but no wins so far. The Czech Republic had six nominations including two wins back when it was Czechoslovakia; since the split in 1993, Czech Republic has had three nominations, with a win in 1996.
Israel's The Band's Visit (Bikur Ha-Tizmoret) automatically became its Oscar entry when it took the top prize at the Israeli Film Academy Awards on Thursday. The comedy, about an Egyptian police band that gets lost in Israel, won the audience award at the Sarajevo Film Festival and the Jury Coup Du Coeur in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. It also played at Toronto, where Cinematical's lovely and talented James Rocchi reviewed it favorably. Sony Pictures Classics is set to release it in the U.S.; Variety says the amount they paid was a record for an Israeli film.
I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále) is based on an epic novel and spans years before and after World War II. It was directed by Jiri Menzel, whose film Closely Watched Trains won the Oscar back in 1968.
Don't Even Feign Surprise: Hostel 3 is Coming
Filed under: Horror », Lionsgate Films », Remakes and Sequels »
It's no secret that I'm a pretty big fan of Eli Roth's flicks. I see the guy as a rookie baseball player who, with only two trips to the plate, hit a pair of terrifically entertaining triples, which (to me) indicates a guy who's worked hard and managed to turn his lifelong passion into something worth watching. (If you happen to disagree with me on the value of movies like Cabin Fever and Hostel, that's cool. I'm just trying to set up a small but interesting story, and this paragraph is what we call "intro filler.")Basically, in this Variety article that focuses on film productions in Prague and the Czech Republic, a few hints are dropped that a Hostel Part 3 is almost definitely on the way -- but that it'd most likely come after Roth is finished adapting Stephen King's Cell for the Weinstein boys.
The article also gives us just a little more info on the plot of Hostel: Part 2: Instead of it focusing on three horny bastards on the hunt for loose women, the sequel will deal with three young women on the hunt for a really exotic spa in Slovakia -- and boy do they find it. As you're no doubt aware by now, the ladies will be played by Heather Matarazzo, Bijou Phillips and Lauren German.
Roth's H2 is presently scheduled for an April 5 release date. Previous fanboy blather on this flick can be found here and here and here. Sue me, I like horror movies.
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Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
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