Lars Von Trier Tagged Articles at Cinematical

What does Willem Dafoe's junk, a talking fox, and a dead child all have in common? Well, they're going to star in a video game adaptation of Lars von Trier's Antichrist courtesy of Morten Iversen, a developer with some serious credentials in the world of game geekery. Formerly of Io Interactive, Iversen now works at von Trier's Zentropa production company.

Russ Frushtick over at MTV Multiplayer tracked down Iversen to ask him what the hell is up with this project, so to speak, and here's what he had to say.

"Von Trier has been extremely fond of video games for ages, and has been an avid player of 'Alone in the Dark,'" explained Iverson. "He's been circulating the idea internally... that making games would be a good idea." He describes it as "a nightmarish version of 'Myst.'"

("Alone in the Dark"? Really? Come on, Lars!)

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Nothing like a little war movie to bookend a day at the Cannes Film Festival. Lines began forming at the crack of dawn to see the first screening of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds this morning, and, still, many were shut out. (Erik Davis rounded up the first reactions from those who did manage to gain admittance.) Evening brought the glamour, as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie led a parade of celebrities down the fabled red carpet for the black-tie and gown gala presentation. As a cherry on top, Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell screened at midnight.

Films Sold. Amazingly -- or maybe not, when you consider all the free publicity it's already accrued -- Lars Von Trier's highly controversial and divisive Antichrist sold to IFC Films. The company says they will release the same version as the one screened in Cannes, according to indieWIRE. Specific release plans were not announced, but expect it this fall, in order to capitalize on the buzz. Also, I suggest a poster highlighting Willem Dafoe's previous, religiously-titled movie: "From The Last Temptation of Christ to ... Antichrist!"

Much less controversially, IFC also picked up Ken Loach's Looking for Eric, which the company describes as the director's "most accessible, crowd pleasing film." More details at indieWIRE.

Key Screenings. Competition: Alain Resnais' drama Wild Grass, starring Mathieu Amalric (the reviews so far, collected by David Hudson at IFC's The Daily, range from reserved to rave). Un Certain Regard: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's supernatural-tinged drama Nymph (Todd Brown at Twitch reviews), Luc Mullet's Land of Madness. Directors' Fortnight: Axelle Ropert's The Wolberg Family (a small town mayor's obsession with his family), Ho Tzu Nyen's Here (a middle-aged man deals with life as a patient in a medical institution).

The uproar about Lars Von Trier's Antichrist spurred interest even higher for attendees who wanted to decide the film's merits for themselves. (For one thing, rumor is circulating that the Cannes version will never be seen again. For another, Mick Jagger hated it, calling it "horrible.") During this morning's screening, however, the "projector broke thirty seconds in," says Todd Brown at Twitch, and this afternoon's was "shut down by a major power outage." His conclusion? "God hates Lars."

Robert Pattinson flew in from filming New Moon in Canada and posed on the beach. He confirmed that the fourth film in the Twilight saga, based on Breaking Dawn, will be made as soon as possible. Penelope Cruz suffered food poisoning last night, but recovered sufficiently to promote the new Almodovar flick (see below). She's also talking about her upcoming musical Nine.

Key Screenings. Competition: Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces (a writer / director grieves for his lost love), Marco Bellocchio's Vincere (Mussolini's secret wife and son). Un Certain Regard: Tales From the Golden Age (urban myths of ordinary people during the Communist era in Romania), Denis Dercourt's Tomorrow at Dawn (one brother tries to save another who is lost in his addiction to historical battles). Directors' Fortnight: Cherien Dabis' Amerrika (Palestinians try to find their place after emigrating to America). Special Screenings: the Dardenne Brothers' Lecon de Cinema.

Films Sold. IFC Films picked up Francois Ozon's "fantastical thriller" Ricky and plans a 2010 release, according to indieWIRE. The flick follows a "unique little boy and the struggles of a working-class single parent in contemporary France." Oscilloscope Pictures will re-release Jules Dassin's 1959 drama The Law in theaters later this year. Check the description at indieWIRE. The film stars Gina Lollobrigida (va-va-voom!) and Yves Montand.

After the jump: Choice Review Quotes!

And on the fifth day of the Cannes Film Festival, it snowed (actually, part of a promotion for Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey, due out in November). Meanwhile, Rachel Weisz walked the red carpet and talked about her role as a fourth century astronomer, and Lars Von Trier's Antichrist provoked both boos and applause.

Key Screenings. Out of Competition: Alejandro Amenabar's Egyptian historical epic Agora (with the aforementioned Rachel Weisz). Press screening: Lars Von Trier's polarizing Antichrist. Competition: Johnny To's Vengeance (with Johnny Hallyday as a French chef with a murderous past), Brillante Mendoza's crime-themed drama Kinatay. Robert Guediguian's tale of Nazi resistance during World War II, The Army of Crime. Un Certain Regard: Pavel Lounguine's Russian historical drama Tzar. Directors' Fortnight: Denis Villeneuve's school shooting recreation Polytechnique, Riad Sattouf's teen coming of age flick Les Beaux Gosses.

Films Sold. The festival is a great time to conclude and/or announce distribution deals. indieWIRE brings word that Regent Releasing / Here Media have acquired Lucia Puenzo's The Fish Child and Eran Merav's Zion and His Brother. The former, from the director of XXY, tells of a romance between an upper-class teenage girl in Argentina who falls in love with her family's 20-year-old Paraguayan maid. The latter, from a debut director, is a coming-of-age drama about two brothers, "set in a gritty neighborhood in Haifa, Israel." Look for both films in theaters early next year.

Thomas Balmes' doc Baby(ies) is still in post-production, but Focus Features has seen enough; they picked up US and other rights to the film in a deal announced today. They plan a release in 2010. The film "simultaneously follows four babies, in Mongolia, Namibia, San Francisco, and Tokyo, respectively, from birth to first steps," according to indieWIRE.

After the jump: The critics divide on Antichrist.

When it was revealed that Tim Burton and Dorian Gray ( I mean Johnny Depp) would be taking us all down Lewis Carroll's rabbit hole in 2010's 3D IMAX adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, a million bat-filled brains exploded with joy. Burton, who could perhaps be held personally responsible for the popularity of black-and-white striped stockings, has stocked his fantasia with a panoply of freaky faves, from Crispin Glover ("I can kick high!") and baby mama Helena Bonham Carter to Hammer Horror super-spook Christopher Lee. Anticipation is already running high just from the names attached and the few photos floating around the Internet. Empire Magazine has an interview with Burton in its issue coming out Thursday in the UK, along with a few photos from the movie.

But what about the other flicks that are getting our fishnets in a tangle? Naturally, Burton has a slew of projects coming up, including a big-screen adaptation of Dark Shadows with Depp rumored to be Barnabas Collins, and a full-length version of Frankenweenie, but there are a few other films coming out or in production (or in perpetual production) that make it a good time to get your goth on.

Finally we can see a little more than just a sexy snapshot of Willem Dafoe bonking Charlotte Gainsbourg on a mass of tree roots that are sprouting human arms. In other words, the trailer for Lars Von Trier's Antichrist is here.

Besides being a Von Trier fan, I've been eager for him to take the chills of The Kingdom and throw them up on the big screen. The man has got a way to make simplicity super creepy, much like David Lynch's Twin Peaks, and Antichrist seems to deliver. The basics seem almost too typical -- the cabin in the woods, the crows, the isolation, the creepy wind -- but that subdued and creepy filmmaking is front and center. I say anything that can make those oft-used images seem creepy, in the confines of an all-too-brief trailer, is worth the effort.

Many blogs, like Spout and CHUD say the same thing: creepy, but conventional. However, The Guardian's Xan Brooks remains unconvinced. In fact, he says: "The omens for Antichrist are not encouraging," and goes on to describe it as "oddly uninspired."

Are those recognizable tropes too much for you? Or, are you falling for Von Trier's horror eye?


Lars von Trier's Antichrist - Official Trailer from Zentropa on Vimeo.

We've had to wait a few years to see it come to fruition, but Lars von Trier's Antichrist is finally making its way to Cannes this year, with one sexy first still. According to the indieWIRE folks, that smooth and muscley back you see above is Willem Dafoe, getting carnal with his co-star Charlotte Gainsbourg.

You might remember that Antichrist will deal with "a couple who retreat to a cabin in the woods to recover from the death of their child," and if this image is any indication, they definitely find a way to recover. Then again, this is a psychological horror film, so I wonder if this is just a flashback to the sex that brought their doomed child, and if copulating amongst an orgy of roots and disembodied arms leads to Antichrist babies.

Whatever the case, it's not only a pleasure to see von Trier return to strange chills, but also see him put aside the minimalism and simplicity for visually rich filmmaking. Between this still, memories of The Kingdom, and von Trier mixed with Dafoe and Gainsbourg, this should be one sweet thrill.

Lars Von Trier has been talking up his psychological thriller/horror film Antichrist since two years ago, at one point claiming to be too depressed to get it off the ground. But good news for those who've been curious to see what Von Trier would do with a genre film: Antichrist begins shooting this month, with Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg in the lead roles. As previously announced, they play a couple who retreat to a cabin in the woods after losing a child, and run into some "terrifying occurrences." Von Trier co-wrote the screenplay with Anders Thomas Jensen, a remarkably prolific Danish screenwriter who's had a hand in some of the most prominent films to come out of that country, including Brothers and The King is Alive. He also co-wrote the forthcoming The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley.

I doubt, somehow, that Von Trier is going to come up with something that resembles what we think of as a horror film, or a psychological thriller. Anyone who saw his idea of a comedy knows what I'm talking about. I'm hit-and-miss on Von Trier in general -- loved Dancer in the Dark, viscerally disliked Dogville -- but always intrigued enough to keep watching. I can only hope the Antichrist will actually show up in Antichrist; Von Trier's take on Satan is definitely something I'd pay to see.

• Evelyn Keyes (1916-2008) - Actress - Played Scarlett O'Hara's little sister, Suellen, in Gone With the Wind. She also co-starred in The Seven Year Itch, The Jolson Story, in which she also sings, Mrs. Mike, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Union Pacific, Before I Hang, A Thousand and One Nights, The Prowler, Johnny O'Clock, Enchantment and A Return to Salem's Lot and made a cameo appearance in the 1956 version of Around the World in Eighty Days, produced by her then-boyfriend Michael Todd. Her husbands included Artie Shaw, John Huston and Charles Vidor, who directed her in The Desperadoes, The Lady in Question and Ladies in Retirement. She died of uterine cancer July 4, in Montecito, California. (Variety)

• Henry Beckman (1921-2008) - Actor - Appears in The Brood, Niagara, The Wrong Man, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Marnie, Sweet Charity, Silver Streak, I Love You to Death, Death Hunt and Kiss Me, Stupid. He died June 17 in Barcelona. (Variety)
• James "Jimbo" Breen (1955-2008) - Greensman, Carpenter, Actor - Worked on M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense, Signs, Unbreakable and The Village, appears in Lady in the Water and can be heard in The Happening. He also worked on Beloved, In Her Shoes, Two Bits and Annapolis. He died of cancer July 3, in Pennsylvania. (Philly.com)

• Claus Nissen (1938-2008) - Actor. Played "The Perfect Man" in Jørgen Leth's The Perfect Human, which was featured in and updated for Leth and Lars von Trier's documentary The Five Obstructions. He also played the character "Jensen" in von Trier's miniseries The Kingdom and The Kingdom II and appears in Susanne Bier's Family Matters, Bernard Girard's The Happiness Cage, Erik Balling's Olsen Gang series and Leth's Notes on Love and Good and Evil. He died April 29. (Danske Film)

• Carl Belfour (1952-2008) - Chief projectionist for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He died of a brain aneurysm April 23, in Los Angeles. (Variety)
• Nino Candido (1942-2008) - Property master and actor. Worked on Bull Durham, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, Smile, Timescape, Night Game and TV's My Name is Earl. He appears in Hud and I Come in Peace. He died April 26, in Laughlin, Nevada. (IATSE Local 44)