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)
I was first introduced to Lars von Trier through the horror and thrills of The Kingdom (Riget). I had never even heard of Lars before, but for some reason, I let myself be talked into buying the DVD -- at full, foreign import price -- and it was worth it. I was quickly engulfed in the strange world and hungered for more chills, von Trier style. Unfortunately, I've had to wait a good decade. Now, through the haze of depression, and reports that trickled out all the way back in September of 2006, Variety tells us that the English-language Antichrist is still on, Lars is still shooting it, and it will launch production in Germany this summer. Yes, that means von Trier is traveling to Germany -- a big step for the filmmaker.
Early reports were tight-lipped on the plot, but now there's a few nibbles. The film will focus on "a couple who retreat to a cabin in the woods to recover from the death of their child." Cabin in the woods, ooo, cabin in the woods, yeah. Oh, there's nothing like a cabin in the woods. But that's not all that's being said about it. Talking to the Telegraph back in February, the filmmaker said that it's a "psychological thriller that evolves into a horror film."
If this can even tap into some of the essence of The Kingdom, this should become one sweet cinematic journey. Thoughts?
Edward Klosinski(1943-2008) - Cinematographer who shot Lars Von Trier's Europa, Krzysztof Kieslowski's series The Decalogue and his Three Colors: White, many of Andrzej Wajda's films, including Man of Iron and Man of Marble,and Rolf Schübel's Gloomy Sunday. He is also credited as a co-writer on Kieslowski's Three Colors: White and on Felkis Falk's Szansa. He died of lung cancer January 5, in Milanówek, Poland. (NY Times)
Christopher Bowman(1967-2008) - Champion ice skater who also worked as a stunt man on Lost Boys, License to Drive and Surf Nazis Must Die. He also plays an assistant football coach in Brian DePalma's next film, Down and Disturbance, coming out this year. He died January 10 in Mission Hills, California. (LA Times)
Grace Cianciotta (c.1964-2008) - Marketing expert who worked for Alliance Atlantis and Maximum Films. She died of breast cancer January 7, in Toronto. (Variety)
Dusty Cohl (1929-2008) - Founder of the Toronto International Film Festival. Read Kim's full obit post here.
Alexandre de Paris(c.1922-2008) - French celebrity hairdresser who styled Elizabeth Taylor's hair for Cleopatra. He also worked as a hair stylist on the 1980 Agatha Christie adaptation The Mirror Crack'd and on Claude Sautet's César & Rosalie. His date and cause of death are unknown. (BBC)
If you've ever quickly passed by the DVD for Lilya 4-everin a store, you might have had to do a double take, thinking the girl on the cover was Michelle Williams -- a very young Michelle Williams, that is. The lead actress in that film, Oksana Akinshina, doesn't exactly look like Williams, but there are a few shots where you can see a resemblance. Take a look at this still, and this one, to see what I mean. With this in mind, I wonder if Lukas Moodysson, the writer-director of Lilya, was also thinking of Akinshana when he cast Williams to co-star in his next film, Mammoth. According to Variety, the Oscar-nominated actress will play the wife of Gael Garcia Bernal, who we previously learned would appear in Mammoth, which will be Moodysson's English-language debut. The film, about a couple "facing a crisis", begins shooting next week in Thailand. Filming will also take place in the Philippines, Sweden and New York.
Though the exact plot is still unclear, I previously made the prediction that it involved an affair between the husband played by Garcia and his 8-year-old daughter's nanny played by Filipino actress Marife Necesito. But then, I just assume all movies these days are about infidelity. The most I've read about the story so far is that Bernal's character is on a business trip to Thailand when he decides to seriously alter his life. I guess that could very well mean something other than cheat with the nanny. Whatever the plot, I'm excited. I am typically dubious regarding a favorite foreigner making an English-language film, but with Bernal and Williams on board, I am imagining great things. And this is even without the involvement of Lars von Trier, who had previously been named as a producer. However, Lars Jönsson, who has produced much of the work of both von Trier and Moodysson, is still attached, as is regular von Trier-producers Vibeke Windeløv and Peter Aalbæk Jensen and long-time Tom Tykwer-producer Maria Köpf. Sounds like it could be one of the best non-foreign-language foreign films to come out next year (so far it's set for Swedish release in August, but hopefully it will be easily picked up for the U.S., too).
Back in high school, I was one of those kids who wore mostly band t-shirts. Now that I'm older and more interested in movies than music, I've filled my wardrobe with movie t-shirts instead. But what if I could combine the two? Well, I kinda already have with my Un Chien Andaloushirt, which I sometimes tell people is a Pixies shirt (it only has the eyeball-cutting shot, with no title mentioned). However, I could also sport these excellent designs, made and sold by CineFile Video in Los Angeles. They combine the names of four of our favorite foreign filmmakers with the logos/fonts of heavy metal bands. There's Von Trier in the Van Halen font, Fassbinder in the Metallica font, Ingmar Bergman in the Iron Maiden font and Herzog in the Danzig font. What better way to pay homage to your favorite filmmaker while also appearing pretentiously hip?
Hopefully CineVideo will design some more, possibly utilizing non-metal logos. I don't know who would work with this, but someone has to be applied to the AC/DC font. And I know it's a bit long, but couldn't Kurosawa be done up with the Kiss logo? Here are some other ideas that I'd be interested in buying: Buñuel as Boston; Wenders as Weezer, Antonioni as Aerosmith; De Sica as Def Leppard; Ozu as Ozzy Jean-Luc Godard as Journey; Jean Renoir as Judas Priest (or the last two the other way around). Okay, some of these are stretching, and I still can't find good ones for Truffaut, Fellini, or Eisenstein. Any ideas? Unfortunately, CineFile is only selling these shirts at their store on Santa Monica Blvd. Anybody want to ship one to NYC for my birthday (ps: I like the Herzog one best).
This year, fresh off two comedic scripts (one of which he directed), Lars von Trier announced that he was suffering from depression and had lost his urge to make films. The director has always challenged the typical and the 'normal,' so it's a bit fitting that his ailment would come after the comedy, and not after the heavy, dramatic films like Dogville and Manderlay. Perhaps he became troubled when he tapped into his youth; Lars von Trier is also Erik Nietzsche -- the man who wrote Jacob Thuesen's new comedy Erik Nietzsche -- The Early Years.
The comedy focuses on a young man named Erik Nietzsche, and is based on von Trier's memories of film school. As the film starts, Erik is a nice, gentle young man trying to find his path in life. Unfortunately, his efforts aren't leading to success, and he gets rejected from every school he applies to. Then, however, he submits a leaf-loving short film to the Danish National Film School. Before he can get rejected yet again, lascivious chance slips his application into the accepted pile and Erik becomes a film student amongst a motley collection of wannabe filmmakers -- from the feminist to the ego-maniacal control freak. As time passes, Erik barely holds onto his spot as he struggles for his alternative, cinematic eye to be accepted by his stubborn school. He shocks his principal and professors with forays into The Decameron and a daring screenplay adaptation of some Marquis de Sade.
Now an official rule in filmmaking, if you want to break out in America -- cast Gael García Bernal (Babel) in your film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, this is what Lukas Moodysson is doing for his next pic, titled Mammoth. The Swedish writer-director, who gave us the brilliant teen-trafficking drama Lilya 4-everand the very sweet lesbian film Show Me Love, has cast Bernal in the domestic drama, about a young couple, their child and their nanny. Knowing how most domestic dramas go, we can assume Bernal's husband character has an affair with the nanny, who will be played by Filipino actress Marife Necesito (Evolution of a Filipino Family). Bernal, who may have helped the Stateside successes of many Latin American filmmakers, possibly appeals to foreign directors because he speaks English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese. After shooting Mammoth, he should be able to pick up some Swedish and Filipino.
I typically frown upon foreign directors making the leap to filming in English. Sure, a ton of great filmmakers have done it well, but too many have not. However, because Lukas Moodysson didn't hit so well with his previous two Swedish films (A Hole in My Heart; Container), it is perhaps time for him to try something different. This isn't the usual immigration to Hollywood, though; Mammoth is still technically a foreign film, co-produced by Swedish, Danish and German companies and financiers. It may be better to think of this as similar to Lars von Trier's English-language work since the Dogville director is producing Mammoth with Peter Aalbaek Jensen (Breaking the Waves) and Maria Kopf (Heaven), both of whom work for von Trier's company Zentropa Entertainments -- Kopf being head of the new division Zentropa Berlin. Jensen also co-produced many of Moodysson's Swedish work, including Lilya 4-ever. Moodysson will shoot in Sweden, New York, Thailand and the Philippines.
In May, Christopher Campbell posted about Lars von Trier's depression, and how the director fears it will hurt or kill his career. See, the director was hospitalized earlier this year, and while he's now out, he can't focus on movies and the affliction has left him "like a blank sheet of paper." It's a bit ironic that this comes in the midst of von Trier's comedies, and not his emotionally heavy work like Dogville and Manderlay. The Boss of it All was recently released in the states, and Cinematical's Ryan Stewart described it as a "success, a refreshing change from the ponderous 'Grace trilogy,'" and that "Danish subtitles do nothing to slow down the laughs."
And there's even another comedy on the way, which proves that he's still got a sense of humor, even in the throes of depression. Erik Nietzsche, The Early Years is a comedic drama about Erik Nietzsche, "an intelligent, but in many ways inexperienced, shy young man who is convinced he wants to be a film director." He enrolls in the Danish National Film School, entering "a world of angry, unhelpful tutors, weird fellow students and unwritten rules," which make Erik feel "like a foreigner in the film industry." As Twitch recaps -- the director was originally tapped only to write the film, which is based on his own experiences. Now does the premise make sense? The original director, Lone Schefig has since dropped out and new director Jacob Thuesen has taken over the helm, but Lars is no longer credited as screenwriter -- Erik Nietzsche is. Ah, Lars, keep fighting. We need your entertaining, von Trier view of the world.
I'm not sure if Lars von Trier's new film, The Boss of it All, is intended to follow strict Dogme dogma, but it doesn't seem to. The very first thing we see is the director himself, rising up on a camera dolly outside of the office building where the action will take place, introducing the film to the audience and giving us an overview of what we're about to see. That would seem to be a violation of both rule number six, discouraging superficiality, and rule number ten, advising against crediting the director. Whatever the philosophy, though, the film is a success, a refreshing change from the ponderous 'Grace trilogy' of which the third part, Wasington, has apparently been shelved pending either a script rewrite or Nicole Kidman's recommitment to the main role. With The Boss of it All, von Trier turns his attention back to his own side of the Atlantic and finds his faith in humanity just as lacking, and his comic timing as sharp as its ever been. The Danish subtitles do nothing to slow down the laughs.
We begin inside the office building, with a non-disclosure agreement being signed between two men, one a smiling corporate suit, Ravn (Peter Gantzler) and the other an actor, Kristoffer, (Jens Albinus) who is clearly down on his luck. It turns out that Ravn wants to hire Kristoffer to play the titular 'boss of it all' -- the fictional head of the company of which Ravn is a director. Up until now, Ravn has been telling his increasingly disgruntled employees that the real decision maker of the company -- the guy they should be angry at, instead of him -- is this 'boss' who is running things from far away in the U.S. Now Ravn is on the verge of selling his company for a big profit, but the buyer understandably insists on meeting this much talked-about 'boss' and having him show up to sign the papers himself. The buyer is a bitter, stone-faced Icelander, while Kristoffer is a blubbery Danish softy who, owing to his profession, is given to long-winded speeches, as opposed to getting down to business.
Here's some action, child star news and opera for you:
Columbia Pictures is looking to get into the bounty hunter action. According to The Hollywood Reporter, they've just grabbed a pitch from screenwriter Sarah Thorp for an action thriller that will be produced by Neal H. Moritz. The premise: a bounty hunter is hired to track and capture his ex-wife. Apparently "Moritz fell for the idea of a troubled relationship at the core of a movie surrounded by humor and action." Thorp is the female pen behind Ashley Judd's Twisted, so what are the chances that Judd will be the ex-wife? She'd definitely fit the part.
This next bit of news might have you jumping for joy, or sobbing: "Why, lord!? WHY?" Mary-Kate Olsen is leaving movies for the time being and heading back to television. Unfortunately, she's heading to Weeds, one of the more entertaining shows out there. She'll play Silas' latest love interest and appear in almost all of the next season's episodes. According to creator Jenji Kohan: "We're confident Mary-Kate is right for the role. She came in and read with Hunter and was absolutely charming and real and seemed like a great fit. Audiences have seen only one side of Mary-Kate, but here we'll see her in a whole new light." Maybe, maybe not. They haven't disappointed in the past, but I'm not sure that they couldn't be wrong now. Well, at least we won't be New York Minute 2 for the time being!
Finally, we've got the next movie to be adapted into a musical, theatrical extravaganza: Lars von Trier's 2000 Bjork-starring flick, Dancer in the Dark, is being made into an opera by Denmark's Royal Theater. If anything would be morphed into an opera, I'd say that was a good bet, since the film contains a bunch of musical numbers. Poul Ruders (a Danish composer) is writing the music, and Henrik Engelbrecht (head of dramaturgy at the theater) will write the libretto. Although the opera isn't set to premiere until the 2010-2011 season, Swedish soprano Ylva Kihlberg is already slated to play Selma. Now we've just got to wait 3 years...
Could Lars von Trier's filmmaking career be over? Earlier this year, the director was hospitalized for depression, and he is still suffering from it -- enough that it is affecting his work. He told the newspaper Politiken that he can't make a film while he's so depressed, and he's unsure if he will be able to start work on his next project, the horror film Antichrist, as planned. He didn't exactly say that he'd never make another film, but he does seem pretty worried. He told the paper that normally he is thinking about at least three projects in his head at one time, but right now he can't even focus on one. According to the award-winning filmmaker, depression has left him, "like a blank sheet of paper."
While this might be good news for some people, it has me terribly upset. Von Trier may not be the most appealing filmmaker, but at least he keeps things interesting. He really needs to keep working, if only to finish the "America the Beautiful" trilogy, which so far consists of Dogvilleand Manderlayand is supposed to end with a film called Wasington. I have to say that I'm actually surprised that anything, even depression, could bring von Trier away from making films. After all, this is the man who said that film should be like a rock in your shoe. I think that he meant this for himself as much as for the audience, because he always seems to be challenging himself with each new project. I would have thought that depression could actually drive his work in the way that it has motivated other artists throughout history. But if not, I really hope that he gets well soon. Von Trier's latest film, The Boss of it All, is scheduled to open in the U.S. next week.
As far as reliability goes, Howard may be the better choice, but as for acting talent, I'd honestly rather have Lohan. Howard has so far done awful things for the films she's starred in, and she nearly damaged my faith in one of my favorite filmmakers, Lars von Trier. I'm hoping that Sam Raimi actually gets smart and cuts most of her performance from Spider-Man 3 -- she was almost completely absent from the trailer -- although it might help him to keep her just to make Kirsten Dunst look better. I think for Williams' fans, spoiled with the memories of great actors starring in film versions of A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Glass Menagerie, among others, as well as in his previously filmed screenplays like my personal favorite, Baby Doll, Howard will be a horrible addition to Teardrop Diamond's cast.
Earlier this month, I posted about a secret film debuting at the Cannes Film Festival. All that was known at the time was that it would be a compilation of 30 shorts, each about three minutes long and directed by an internationally respected filmmaker, and that it wouldn't be shown to the public. Now, thanks to an official press release, we learn that there are in fact 33 shorts from 35 filmmakers (including two pairs of brothers) and that the film, titled To Each his Own Cinema, will air on French television on May 20 following its premiere at the festival. So now I don't have to wish I could attend Cannes; I have to wish I got Canal +.
Also revealed are the names of the 35 participants, all of whom were supposed to be kept secret until the film's unveiling, and a few details about the project. Each director was assigned the task of filming, "their current state of mind as inspired by the motion-picture theater." The only individual specifics mentioned in the press release, which was written by festival head Giles Jacob, are that Wim Wenders shot in the Congo, Tsai Ming Liang shot in Kuala Lumpur and David Cronenberg shot "in the ... toilet!" (probably meaning the bathroom, not the bowl). But anyone familiar with the directors involved can imagine the kind of diversity that will be seen in the film.
See the names of the 35 collaborators after the jump.
For its 60th year anniversary, the Cannes Film Festival will premiere new films from many past winners of the Palme d'Or. It isn't known how many of these winners will have new material this year, but apparently festival president Gilles Jacob and artistic director Thierry Frémaux tried to get many of the living "Golden Palm" vets -- winners and nominees, both -- to contribute to a special project.
Each participating filmmaker has directed a short film of 2-3 minutes in length that will be shown together as a feature-length film at a gala event on May 20. Variety reports that those known to be included are Ken Loach ('06: The Wind That Shakes the Barley), Gus Van Sant ('03: Elephant), Lars von Trier ('00: Dancer in the Dark), Theodoros Angelopoulos ('98: Eternity and a Day), Abbas Kiarostami ('97: Taste of Cherry), Chen Kaige ('93: Farewell My Concubine), Wim Wenders ('84: Paris, Texas) and non-winners (though often-nominated) Wong Kar-Wai, Michael Cimino, Amos Gitai, Manoel de Oliveira, Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang. There are 30 shorts in all, so obviously a lot of other contributors are as yet unknown. Only Pedro Almodóvar (also a non-winner, and never a nominee) is known to have declined the offer.
Lars Von Trier seems to have a large tree in his back yard filled with fantastical film ideas, elements and techniques. I can almost see him grabbing his morning coffee, biting into a piece of toast, and seeing where his morning climb would take him. Sometimes he grabs onto a musical branch or maybe a sparse set branch, but recently, he found one hell of a comedic branch that flung him to some Automavision and Lookey branches. All of these techniques falling into a dark comedy might just make it the most creatively-fuelled comedy of recent years.
If you're wondering if he could pull off funny, a trailer has finally arrived online. Sure, for English-speaking audiences it only has half the impact, but it looks like The Boss of it All might just be a lot of fun. There's some sort of height-changing desk that throws in some weird hijinks, awkward, half-dressed moments, and a ride on a merry-go-round by grown men. If you're looking for a familiar face, you might recognize Iben Hjejle, who played John Cusack's love interest in High Fidelity. As for his creative bits... the trailer includes a lot of short shots, so it's hard to tell how well his automated cameras worked (did he have a hell of a time in the editing room?). The trailer also seems to be free of Lookeys, so it doesn't look like anyone can get a head start on the game. Although the film is now out in Denmark, US audiences will have to wait for its limited release on May 9. If anyone has viewed the film in Denmark, I'd love to hear how it is, if there are Lookeys, and just what in the hell does a Lookey look like?
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) 
I was first introduced to 
Back in high school, I was one of those kids who wore mostly band t-shirts. Now that I'm older and more interested in movies than music, I've filled my wardrobe with movie t-shirts instead. But what if I could combine the two? Well, I kinda already have with my 
Now an official rule in filmmaking, if you want to break out in America -- cast 
In May, 
.jpg)
Here's some action, child star news and opera for you:
Could 
Whether she's losing roles because 
Earlier this month, 
For its 60th year anniversary, the Cannes Film Festival will premiere new films from many past winners of the Palme d'Or. It isn't known how many of these winners will have new material this year, but apparently festival president 
Lars Von Trier seems to have a large tree in his back yard filled with fantastical film ideas, elements and techniques. I can almost see him grabbing his morning coffee, biting into a piece of toast, and seeing where his morning climb would take him. Sometimes he grabs onto a 
Insert Caption: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian_thumbnail.jpg)
SCOOP: Spider-Man 4 and 5 Might be Shot at the Same Time!
Cinematical Seven: Disney's Awesome Live-Action Kid Adventures
