Sony Pictures Classics Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Sony Classics Buys Haneke's Latest Effed-Up Movie
Filed under: Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », Romance », Deals », Cannes », Distribution », Newsstand »
Sony Pictures Classics didn't waste any time hob-nobbin' on la Croisette or catching a 3D showing of Up before buying shelling out some francs for new movies on the opening day of Cannes. SPC snatched up Michael Haneke's latest discomfort-fest The White Ribbon (which is also in competition for the Palme d'Or), as well as the dramatic romance Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky. According to IMDb, The White Ribbon's plot is as follows:"Strange events happen at a rural school in the north of Germany during the year 1913, which seem to be ritual punishment. Does this affect the school system, and how does the school have an influence on fascism?" Creepy!
The official Cannes site has more information:
"A village in Protestant northern Germany. 1913-1914. On the eve of World War I. The story of the children and teenagers of a choir run by the village schoolteacher, and their families: the baron, the steward, the pastor, the doctor, the midwife, the tenant farmers. Strange accidents occur and gradually take on the character of a punishment ritual. Who is behind it all?"
Haneke most recently remade his own movie Funny Games in English just in case us dumb Americans didn't fully grasp our own preoccupation with violence and our own culpability in violence just by watching it. Previous films include The Piano Teacher, an adaptation of the book by Elfriede Jelinek starring Isabelle Huppert as a piano teacher who likes to self-harm her hoo-hoo, among other things, and Benny's Video, starring one of the actors from the original version of Funny Games as a teen who films himself shooting a girl with a pig-slaughtering gun.
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky will probably be the better date movie of the two, but hey, I'm not here to judge what you see on your dates.
Fan Rant: Give Sony Pictures Classics Some Credit
Filed under: New Releases », Fandom », Fan Rant »
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Back at this year's Sundance Film Festival, a bunch of folks were "losing it" over Jonathan Levine's The Wackness -- saying, to a certain extent, that it was the dopest flick of the fest. And that's cool. Support those films you love, right? Well, not long after the film premiered at Sundance, it was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics. Wonderful! A film a lot of people loved was picked up and would hit theaters at some point later in the year. Ah, but all was not well in blogger land -- see, a few bloggers were disgusted that SPC picked it up, going so far as to send an email around trying to get other people to either join their cause and/or write about it. Their reasoning was that SPC had a poor track record when it came to promoting indie films, and were afraid The Wackness would become yet another casualty. That it would disappear in limited release ... and be eaten by a Cabbage Patch Kid, or whatever.
And so it was. Some folks agreed with their cause, while others couldn't understand why they'd be upset when, in reality, their favorite film WOULD eventually hit theaters. You can't say that about every Sundance film, or festival film for that matter, and so the simple act of being picked up for distribution is, well, kind of a big deal. After a flurry of posts from a few different blogs which attacked the deal, attacked the teaser poster and then attacked the first teaser trailer, it all seemed to fizzle out. From that point on, SPC continued to poor on the Wackness marketing: We got roughly four or five different trailers, a poster, a viral campaign, a dope website, TV spots and a slick soundtrack.
Was SPC botching it all up? Hardly ... but then came the film's box office debut this past weekend ...
'Waltz with Bashir' Goes Where it Belongs
Filed under: Animation », Documentary », Independent », Deals », New Releases », Cannes », Sony Classics », Distribution », DIY/Filmmaking », Cinematical Indie »
Among the handful of titles Sony Pictures Classics snatched up for American distribution at the conclusion of the Cannes Film Festival, the animated Israeli documentary Waltz with Bashir makes the most sense. While Tyson certainly has potential to alter the public perception of the country's infamous boxer, and Lorna's Silence has appeal for crime fans and art house aficionados alike, both movies could perform well regardless of which distributor picked them up (more or less). Bashir, on the other hand, has SPC written all over it: Relentlessly downbeat and frequently unsettling, Bashir is director Ari Folman's account of his 1982 experience in the Israeli military during the infamous massacre of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The animated approach sometimes has a gimmicky feel to it, but that's probably the point; Folman's memories are so foggy that his reconstructions of them seem plausibly unrealistic. Bashir isn't easy to get into, but you could say that about Thomas Pynchon, too. What we have here is an animated movie for grown-ups, which puts it squarely in SPC's line of expertise. The company has guided many mature animated films to audiences in a manner unparalleled by their colleagues. Last year, talented SPC co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard commandeered the releases of the outlandish anime Paprika and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, and the latter film very nearly won an Oscar. Remember The Triplets of Belleville? That was them, too. These people know their stuff. Listen up, guys: I hear Bill Plympton's new movie is quite good.
EXCLUSIVE: First Poster for 'The Jane Austen Book Club'
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Romance », Sony Classics », Images »
Our pals over at Sony Pictures Classics just sent us the first and only planned poster for The Jane Austen Book Club, a romantic dramedy hitting theaters on September 21. Based on the popular 2005 novel by Karen Joy Fowler, which the Washington Post described as something more than just "elegant chick-lit," the film revolves around a group of Californians who start what the title suggests -- a Jane Austen book club -- and then start to see parallels between the works of Austen and their own lives. The leads are Maria Bello as Jocelyn, rising star Emily Blunt as Prudie and Hugh Dancy as Grigg. There's also a supporting cast of well-known names, and the whole thing is being directed by Robin Swicord, who wrote the script for Memoirs of a Geisha and the Sandra Bullock romcom Practical Magic. Click on the image above to get the full-sized poster.
EXCLUSIVE: New Poster for Sienna Miller's 'Interview'
Filed under: Drama », New Releases », Sundance », Sony Classics », Politics », Images »
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Our pals over at Sony Pictures Classics just sent Cinematical a new poster for Interview, directed by Steve Buscemi and starring himself and Sienna Miller. The film is a remake of Dutch director Theo van Gogh's 2003 film of the same title, and is about a political journalist (Buscemi) who is forced by his boss to interview a popular but vapid soap star, played by Miller, even though there's a big White House scandal going on at the time that he'd rather be covering. Thus begins a sort of psychological duel between the two, but since I haven't seen the film yet, there's no more I can tell you. Those interested in learning more can check out Erik's Berlinale review of the film; Interview is opening in theaters on July 13.
Review: The Quiet
Filed under: Drama », Independent », Thrillers », New Releases », Mystery & Suspense », Sony Classics », Theatrical Reviews », Cinematical Indie »
Nina Deer's (Elisha Cuthbert) life is infused with sex. At school, she is attached at the hip to her best friend Michelle (Katy Mixon), a girl who is seemingly unable to talk about anyone without announcing that she wants to "f*ck him," or demanding that know if Nina thinks he wants to do the same to her. When not talking specifically about sex, Michelle wonders aloud about the genitalia of the boys in the area, specifically that of basketball star Connor (Shawn Ashmore) who, yes, she also wants to do. At home, meanwhile, it's clear that Nina is being sexually abused by her father, a fact that dominates virtually every moment of her life. With Michelle, she plays the part of the easily-shocked, virginal friend. With her father (a miscast Martin Donovan, looking uncomfortable and out of place), she's something else entirely, and finds herself deeply conflicted about their relationship. She knows she's being abused, and fantasizes in great detail about killing her father, both to punish him and free herself. On the other hand, though, she's profoundly aware of her sexual power over him, and takes secret, forbidden pleasure in the way he responds to her. Throw into this mix a mother (Edie Falco) who prefers the oblivion of painkillers to the reality of her own household and a newly-arrived deaf and dumb godchild (Dot, played by Camilla Belle), and you've got the The Quiet, a movie seething with unrealized potential.
SPC Picks up Zhang's Latest
Filed under: Action », Drama », Foreign Language », Romance », Deals », Sony Classics », Distribution », Cinematical Indie »
Because they just can't get enough Zhang Yimou, Sony Pictures Classics have picked up the North and Latin American rights to his latest project, Curse of the Golden Flower (you may have heard of it back when it was called The City of Golden Armor). Despite the distributor's history with Zhang (they've work with him on eight previous films, including House of Flying Daggers and Hero), in the face Hollywood's growing trepidation about the market strength of Chinese action-romance films, the fact that the buy has been made before the film is even finished shooting seems like a major vote of confidence, both for Zhang and the Chinese industry. That said, of course, the presence of stars Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li probably didn't hurt, either, since the pair of them are among the most recognizable stars in Asian cinema, at least to American eyes.If you buy the press release blather about the film, it's apparently going to be the Best! Movie! Ever! "From Gong Li's stunning performance to Chow Yun Fat's commanding presence to opulence one has rarely ever seen on screen, this movie will have it all: Brilliantly executed action set pieces as well as compelling intimate drama against the most colorful historical canvas imaginable." Mmm ... hyperbole.
SPC Grabs Original Before Farrellys Remake It
Filed under: Comedy », Foreign Language », Deals », Sony Classics », Distribution », Newsstand », Dreamworks », Remakes and Sequels », Cinematical Indie »
Back in April we reported on yet another remake of a foreign film, this one to be directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly from a smash-hit French comedy called The Valet. Today, in an unusual twist (at least for non J-horror films), we hear that Sony Pictures Classics will bring the original film to these shores, a move that might have DreamWorks, the studio making the remake, a little nervous. After all, how many remakes are better than the originals? I mean, what if people see and actually like the French film? So much pressure for those poor Farrellys! That said, however, I'm not sure there's a significant overlap in the audiences for their films and those for subtitled comedies ...In case you've forgotten, The Valet (both versions, one assumes) is about a "multimillionaire tycoon photographed kissing his famous mistress. To prevent his wife from seeking divorce, he bribes a parking valet to pose as his mistress' lover." In the French film, the tycoon is played by the completely wonderful Daniel Auteuil, while his wife, surprisingly, is played by Kristin Scott Thomas. The film was directed by Francis Veber, remakes of whose works -- The Birdcage primary among them -- have been fairly successful with American audiences; it'll be interesting to see how people react to the real thing when it's released here early next year.
SPC To Distribution The Quiet
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Deals », Sony Classics », Distribution », Newsstand », Cinematical Indie »
Who doesn't love "a Lifetime movie on crack?" That's what Variety's David Rooney called The Quiet when he reviewed its Toronto screening last year and, though he clearly didn't mean it as a compliment, Sony Pictures Classics (showing reassuring faith in both Lifetime and crack) acquired North American distribution rights to the film last week. The film is described as a "sexually charged dramedy," which stars Camilla Belle as a teenager who, in addition to being deaf, hasn't spoken since she was seven, when her mother died. Orphaned, she is sent to live with her godparents (played by Edie Falco and Martin Donovan) who turn out to be just as messed up as you might expect in Lifetime movies on crack: Drug use, infidelity, and cheerleader fetishes are just a few of the quirks on display. The whole thing sounds not unlike The Opposite of Sex to me -- I wonder what it is about Donovan that gets him cast in dark, sexually frank movies about teenage girls.
SPC already has the film set up for release in LA and NY at the end of August; they're surely hoping for box office success, something that Rooney says is totally dependent upon "Teens dumb enough to buy [the movie's premise] or adults stoned enough to find it funny." Yikes. Hey, a voice-over has been added (again with The Opposite of Sex) since he saw it -- will that help, David?
More Distribution Deals from Cannes: Angel-A, Red Road
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Foreign Language », Independent », Romance », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Cannes », Mystery & Suspense », Sony Classics », Distribution », Cinematical Indie »
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.
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