JimJarmusch Tagged Articles at Cinematical

We already learned that Keanu Reeves is ready to tap into his foodie side for David Fincher's Chef, but could this culinary fan take it a step further? Contact Music reports that Reeves has become enamored with Herve This and his book Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavour. The actor said: "I'm dabbling in it and looking at becoming a chef. He is fantastic. I didn't really cook before but this book may be changing my life." Jesus... Talk about jumping right in. For those unfamiliar, molecular gastronomy is cooking by means of science -- not exactly the ease of a fried egg.

I can't help but wonder if this is all just part of his prep for Chef, and if it is, that makes me a bit more interested in the whole production. The thought of Reeves taking on a food-loving comedy was hurting my foodie heart, but if he is actually learning the subtle and intricate science of food? My interest is piqued.

Meanwhile, you can head through the jump to see a spoof video about what it might look like if Werner Herzog hosted a cooking show, and got a little help from Jim Jarmusch. The infamous shoe is present, but this time he's whipping up something more palatable.

Bon appetit!

A man with no name sits down at an outdoor cafe and orders two espressos in separate cups. A flock of birds gently take flight. A helicopter briefly whirls overhead. The man sips espresso. Silence. Calm.

A man with no name sits down at an outdoor cafe and orders two espressos in separate cups. A flock of birds gently take flight. A helicopter briefly whirls overhead. The man sips espresso. Silence. Calm. He is approached by another person, who sits down. The other person says "You don't speak Spanish, right?" The other person says something more, in Spanish or in another language. The man removes a matchbox from his pocket. The other person places a matchbox with the same design, but a different color, on the table. The matchboxes are exchanged. The other person says something more, and leaves. The man opens the newly-exchanged matchbox, takes out a tiny piece of paper, unfolds it, reads the coded, hand-written message on it, puts it in his mouth, and swallows it along with another sip of espresso.

A man with no name sits down at an outdoor cafe ...

So goes Jim Jarmusch's The Limits of Control, the perfect summer movie for people who prefer museums to amusement parks. Wearing a multitude of enigmas on its well-coifed sleeve, the film is cool, dark, mysterious, and altogether refreshing. Isaach De Bankolé plays The Man With No Name (actually identified as "Lone Man" in the credits), and if that moniker calls forth memories of Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns, so much the better, though Lone Man's espressos, matchboxes, and chastity place him firmly within the realm of post-modern masculinity.

Click image below to view full poster

Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for The Limits of Control, which premiered a bizarre-yet-intriguing trailer the other day and comes from acclaimed director Jim Jarmusch (Stranger Than Paradise, Broken Flowers, Ghost Dog). Starring Isaach De Bankolé, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Gael Garcia Bernal and John Hurt (not a bad cast if you ask me), The Limits of Control follows a mysterious loner (and criminal) who's in the process of completing a job. Not a whole lot to go on there, but the best kept secrets are the ones that are, well, best kept secret.

Also, the music in the film is getting a lot of buzz; the Japanese trip Boris wrote and performed most of the songs, while Jarmusch wrote and performed -- along with Carter Logan (drums, percussion) and Shane Stoneback (carillon, organ) -- the music in the trailer. (Read more about that here.) The film marks the fourth time Jarmusch has collaborated with De Bankolé, not to mention the other cast members who've found themselves drifting through a Jarmusch flick at some point. Really looking forward to this one; the film hits theaters on May 22. Check out the full poster by clicking the image below.

I regret to say that I don't feel that I've seen enough of Jim Jarmusch's work to determine whether or not I'm a capital-f Fan, but I do know that I do like what I have seen -- namely, Broken Flowers, much of Coffee and Cigarettes, and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.

That last title seems to be the one to which his new film, The Limits of Control, merits the most comparison, if this new trailer (watch at Apple or below) is any indication. This time, though, our stoic assassin (Isaach De Bankole) has a bit more of an ensemble to work with on the streets of Spain, including Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Gael Garcia Bernal and melonfarmin' Bill Murray.

Normally, I'd be put off by the hipper-than-thou fortune-cookie banter we're treated to here, but I've got a feeling that there might be more than meets the eye (namely, the other 98 minutes of the movie), and speaking of 'meets the eye,' it certainly never hurts when cinematographer Christopher Doyle (Hero) is lensing your latest.

The Limits of Control goes into limited release on May 1st.

When news broke about Jim Jarmusch's next film back in November, The Limits of Control, it was said that JJ regular Isaach De Bankolé would star, along with "an international collection of bankable stars." Well, they're certainly living up to the promise so far. Reuters reports that the filmmaker has once again grabbed Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton for roles, both of whom appeared in Broken Flowers, as well as Gael Garcia Bernal. That fills the old comedy contingent, the drama power, and the young Mexican boy-crazy crowd.

It turns out that this will be a road movie of sorts -- how, they're not saying. We know that De Bankolé will play an outlaw doing some sort of job in Spain, and Reuters adds that he's a loner, but that's it. Since the road comes into play, I imagine either he'll try to hook on to some innocent roadtrippers to escape the area, or maybe they'll be his accomplices -- but that latter doesn't work with the loner deal. The film shoots this month in Spanish cities like Seville, Madrid, and Almeria, so hopefully we'll hear more soon.

Meanwhile: Swinton has been busy all over the literary world, from filming Burn After Reading, to some Narnia, to Lewis Carroll and a stint as Lady Macbeth, Bill's spent some time getting Smart and leading the City of Ember, and Bernal has been busy with a number of foreign projects from Mammoth to Pedro Paramo.

There's nothing like a little Jim Jarmusch to get the blood flowing.There's Johnny Depp traveling the frontier in Dead Man. Or, perhaps some Coffee & Cigarettes with the wonderful Tom Waits. Or even something like Broken Flowers that has Bill Murray looking for a long-lost son while Jeffrey Wright goes nuts with the channeling of Nancy Drew. (I would love a whole movie with Wright as a zany sleuth.) Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Jarmusch is teaming up with Focus Features again, who will deal with the film's worldwide distribution, for his next project -- the currently-titled The Limits of Control.

The movie focuses on "a secretive, mysterious outlaw" played by Jarmusch pro Isaach De Bankolé, who is "in the process of completing an undisclosed criminal job around Spain." Like Flowers, the actor will be teamed with "an international collection of bankable stars" to up the appeal to wider audiences. He has, however, had his own share of high-profile flicks, nabbing parts as Steven Obanno in Casino Royale, and Neptune in Miami Vice. (Although my favorite role of his is his stint as Timothy in Manderlay -- iffy movie, good role.) Either way, the casting plan worked last time, as Flowers nabbed the Grand Prix award at Cannes, and was the filmmaker's highest-grossing film. Production begins in Spain this February.

Forget a singing career, American Idol appears to be a better jumping ground for acting. So far, one Idol contestant has gone on to win an Oscar, and now Season 5 runner-up Katherine McPhee is building up a movie career. Currently, she's working on the comedy I Know What Boys Like (aka the Anna Faris Playboy Bunny movie), in which she plays a pregnant hippie in need of a makeover, and she just told MTV that she already has her next project lined up. Titled Success, the indie drama begins shooting in November, and the singer-actress compared its dark style to that of the Coen Brothers and Jim Jarmusch. She also said it features great writing and well-developed, quirky characters. Unfortunately, she couldn't give away any of the film's plot or much else, really, but she did reveal a bit about her character, which she says is a nice, sweet girl who seems to end up having to compete for the attention of a guy, though she admits it is much more complicated than that. Could Success be the same thing as "the dark romantic comedy" The Last Caller, which was announced back in June as McPhee's big-screen debut? Maybe.

McPhee isn't about to concentrate solely on her acting career, though, and already has plans for her second album, with which she wants to become the female John Mayer. Of course, Mayer doesn't do movies in addition to making music, even though he should (he was a great Henry Higgins in 6th grade -- I should know, I played his butler -- hmm, I wouldn't mind playing McPhee's butler, but in real life ... ). Meanwhile, Season 5 winner Taylor Hicks probably won't last as long in the limelight, considering he had the lowest-selling Idol debut, and doesn't seem to be trying for a film career. I have to salute McPhee, who was also rumored to be considered for the role of Wonder Woman, for being able to transcend her Idol loss -- if for nothing else, hers and Jennifer Hudson's success with movies should certainly make everyone dismiss From Justin to Kelly as a reason not to go from Idol to Hollywood.

Museums haven't been completely separate from film, especially in the art world, where modern art installations often include video imaging. So, it wouldn't be surprising to hear that two leading museums are involving themselves in film. However, I'm not talking about art installations, but full-length films. Both Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre, Paris' leading museums, are joining the cinematic world by underwriting films by internationally-acclaimed directors.

For Musee d'Orsay's 20th anniversary, the museum has chosen to work with four filmmakers to create a series that includes different plots, but centers around the museum. The filmmakers in question: American Jim Jarmusch, France's Olivier Assayas, Chilean Raoul Ruiz and Chinese director Hou Hsia-Hsien. Each will star veteran French actress Juliette Binoche and will range from a tribute to the French classic, The Red Balloon, that has the balloon sailing into d'Orsay, to a film about what the building was before -- a train station and hotel.

The Louvre is being a little more secretive for its first foray into film financing. Out of the three upcoming films they plan to co-produce and co-finance, only one has been discussed in any detail -- Faces by Taiwan's Tsai Ming Liang, who was a winner at the Berlin film festival for The River. Jean-Pierre Leaud will star, and the film will take place completely in the museum.

This is, obviously, a great way for museum's to advertise themselves abroad and keep their names on the tips of the world's tongues -- the same motivation that drove Greece to allow Vardalos to be only the second director to shoot at the Acropolis (the last being Coppola for New York Stories). What are your thoughts? Should museums dip their toes in this area?

No one likes to be called "aging" or, God forbid, "old," but it happens to the best of us eventually. The years go by and your mind gets a little fuzzy, the music gets a little too loud from those darn kids next door and if your an independent filmmaker, you might start to wonder why you struggle each year, barely making a living, producing or directing films most people may never see. At some point it has to hit you that doing this for the rest of your life is a much shorter trip than it used to be.

A recent New York Times story takes a good look at the "aging" independent filmmakers out there who, with their work, and struggle to find work, help define exactly what it means to be an independent filmmaker. As the article states, many of them toil in virtual obscurity, producing films that are lucky to find a home on the festival circuit, let alone a place at the local multiplex or in your DVD player. Even the ones that have achieved some measure of success in the past are having a much harder time of it in the modern filmmaking world.

People like Hal Hartley, Mary Harron, Todd Solondz, Lisa Cholodenko, Jim Jarmusch and even indie-godfather John Sayles (his Lone Star and Matewan, both featuring the fantastic Chris Cooper, are two of my favorite films of all time) are having to make films for far less money than before, take jobs doctoring scripts for others (in Sayles' case) or they are forced to leave the business completely. Some directors, like Cholodenko and Harron, are even resorting to -- gasp -- directing TV to make ends meet. It's not exactly in keeping with their indie film street cred but heck, it pays the bills. And according to Harron, directing TV is also a great "corrective" for a director's ego. Something that many directors could probably use every so often.

The news that arthouse legend Hsiao-hsien Hou is working on his first film outside Asia has been drifting around the web for a few weeks now, but details about the project are few and far between. Currently shooting in Paris, the film is reportedly called Orsay and revolves around a little boy and his Chinese student babysitter "who inhabit the same imaginary world. Throughout their adventures they are followed by a strange red balloon." The film's working title was Ballon Rouge, and the presence of the balloon is clearly a tribute to 1955's Le Ballon rouge; Juliette Binoche will play the boy's mother.

Interestingly, the film is apparently not a stand-alone project. In fact, it's the first installment in a four-film series, created to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Paris' Musee d'Orsay. The other directors involved? Oh, no one important -- only Olivier Assayas, Jim Jarmusch and Chilean director Raoul Ruiz. Damn, that's a museum with some pull! Hopefully the films will at least get limited runs here in the US.