Stephen Frears Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Having dipped into the seductive waters of sexy courtesans, Stephen Frears is now looking towards the future, and the future's got lots of gambling. The trades are reporting that Frears is set to direct Lay the Favorite, a dramedy that will rejoin him with High Fidelity scribe D.V. De Vincentis. The project stems from an upcoming memoir by Beth Raymer called Lay the Favorite, Take the Dog, which will be published this Spring.

Now, why did I say trades and not pick one? That's because it's time to play Pick the Plot.

In one corner, we've got The Hollywood Reporter, who says that this is a world of "geeky gamblers" who "figure out how to work the sportsbook system in Las Vegas for their own profit. It centers on a woman in her early thirties who has made a series of bad choices but achieves a redemption of sorts when she meets and then becomes involved with the gamblers." De Vincentis says: "This is the version of 50-year-old math geeks from Queens in basketball shorts who have pet guinea pigs."

In the other corner, we've got Variety describing the story as a "young woman's journey into the world of sports gambling. She starts out as a cocktail waitress but gets caught up in gambling until falling in love," calling it a cross between High Fidelity and The Grifters.

So, geek fest with gambling and a little romance thrown in for good measure, or a romantic world where a cocktail waitress can gamble her way to money ... and love. Which do you choose?

At the beginning of the summer we told you how this year our theme was Summer Appreciation, hence the Our Favorite Summers series and our very cool director's series. Our intention was to speak to as many directors with films coming out during the summer and not only chat about their particular movie, but the summer movie season in general. What were some of their favorite summer moviegoing experiences, or favorite summer movies, etc ...

Though we're still not done shoveling out all those interviews, we wanted to drop in with a little recap of the ones we've already conducted in case you're looking for something to browse through this weekend as we segue into the last month of the summer, August. Links to all our special summertime director interviews below, along with some choice quotes.

McG, Terminator Salvation
"Raiders. That was a time when I would characterize the big movies as the best movies, and so rarely is that the case. That was the case last summer with Iron Man and The Dark Knight, which were the biggest movies of the year and arguably the best movies of the year. So I would welcome that sort of summer moviemaking coming back, and I'm a child of [Star Wars] Episodes IV, V and VI, and that's just where my head is. Those are the seminal moments of my life."

Pete Docter, Up
"I kind of look at it as everybody at the studio has a really unique set of skills. Like, if I was building a house, for example, I could probably do it myself to some degree, or at least teach myself, but why not get the greatest craftsmanship that I possibly could for every part of that house?"

Sam Raimi, Drag Me to Hell
"The point to make it in the first place is to make a horror story – to entertain, thrill and scare the bejeezus out of the audience, if I can, and make them jump and shout, and if I can, make them have a good laugh too."

Much more after the jump

Multiple Oscar nominee Stephen Frears is a tough nut to crack. Amiable but terse, his excellent multilayered films do the talking for him, from his first collaboration with Christopher Hampton and Michelle Pfeiffer on 1998's Dangerous Liaisons to 2007's The Queen. In his latest film, Cheri (read Cinematical's review here), Frears turns his lens onto the cloistered and often duplicitous world of wealthy courtesans. Frears' films often focus on subversive outsiders who must make their own "family," as it were, such as Dirty Pretty Things, The Grifters, and My Beautiful Laundrette. But Cheri's delicious spin on sex, love, and aging is typical of its source material from author Colette, whose books Cheri and The Last of Cheri present a world of upside-down relationships and self-sufficient, frankly sexual women.

Michelle Pfeiffer leads the cast as the stunning Lea de Lonval, a famous courtesan whose friend Madame Peloux, played with busty abandon by Kathy Bates, encourages Lea to have an affair with Peloux's louche son Cheri, the pale and effeminate Rupert Friend. Neglected as a child while his mother was dealing with her affairs, Cheri is hardly likeable or loveable, but somehow their affair becomes less about sex and more about the love both he and Lea have lacked in their lives. Peloux throws a wrench into the whole thing when she plans a wedding for Cheri to another courtesan's child, Edmee, played by newcomer Felicity Jones. What happens after that surprises them all.

Cheri opens June 26th in limited cities. Visit the official website for more information.

Cinematical: What's the difference between releasing a movie like Cheri during Oscar season as opposed to the summer blockbuster season? Is it more or less stressful?

Stephen Frears: The problem with competing for the Oscars is it's very tough, so in a way it's quite a relief being [released] at another time of the year. You're all right if you've got the one that gets everybody's attention, but fighting for attention is quite difficult. I've released films in that season that have been just overlooked.

The French writer Colette, born Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873 - 1954), lived one of those witty, charming lives you've read about, doing things like performing at the Moulin Rouge and having affairs with Josephine Baker, while marrying several rich husbands. She wrote, among many other things, what would become the famous musical Gigi, which Director Vincente Minnelli turned into a dull, immobile Oscar-winning hit in 1958. The English film director Stephen Frears would have been 13 when Colette died, though at that age, he had most likely never heard of her. But now, 55 years later, the two have teamed up for the new movie Cheri, based on Collete's 1920 novel about a passionate affair between an aging courtesan and a spoiled younger man.

Frears seems like the right man for the job. After all, his similarly sexy costume drama Dangerous Liaisons (1988) was another Oscar-winning hit. And in his Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) he dealt with issues of sexuality and censorship on the stage, so he seems prepped to make something really sexy and full of wit and charm, especially given that he's re-teamed with his Dangerous Liaisons star Michelle Pfeiffer. It's a win-win scenario that quickly turns lose-lose. For some reason, Cheri is dead on arrival, a cold fish. It just lies there, too lethargic to be funny and too timid to be sexy, but not deep enough for any real drama.

When Stephen Frears' The Queen came out in 2006, all the buzz emphasized Helen Mirren's icy performance as London's reclusive royal highness. The ubiquitous praise lead to her Oscar win, but it overwhelmed recognition of the movie's secret weapon: Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, quietly pressuring his Majesty to face the public in the wake of Princess Diana's untimely demise. There's a reason why Sheen conveyed the nuances of Blair's role in the event, which transpired a mere three months after the Prime Minister rose to power -- he had practice. The Deal, a fantastic made-for-TV movie Frears directed in 2003, tracked Blair's cunning (and morally questionable) instincts in the years leading up to his position at the top of the Labor Party.

Sheen played Blair in The Deal first, and it's both a superior performance and a superior film. Whereas The Queen had a tabloid hook and only tangentially explored the deeper political ramifications of a reclusive national leader, The Deal delves into precisely how Blair managed to emerge at the top of British politics with a series of calculated maneuvers. Political drama at its finest, The Deal hit DVD in the United States last month, where it has been touted as "the prequel to The Queen." That's not quite fair; The Queen is the sequel to The Deal, and the two movies ought to be seen as a single, wholly fascinating package depicting British politics in the 1990s.

By far, one of my absolute favorite movies is Stephen Frear's adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons. So, you can imagine that my expectations will be pretty high for Frears' latest French period piece, Cheri. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Rupert Friend (The Young Victoria) and Kathy Bates have joined the cast of Frears' take on the book by famed French novelist Collette. Friend will play the male lead, and Bates is in negotiations to play his overbearing "maman".

Originally published in 1920, Chéri was the story of an affair between an aging retired courtesan, Léa, and a pampered young man, Chéri. When it comes time for Chéri to make good on the promise of an arranged marriage, he is forced into a loveless union and then I would assume it's your usual array of romantic suffering. I mean, just look at the guy, he's got that 'romantic squint' down pat.

Just last month, Michelle Pfeiffer signed to play the aging courtesan and Friend's love interest, Lea de Lonval. Frears also wrote the adaptation with Liaisons screen writer, Christopher Hampton, which means it really is a Dangerous Liaisons reunion (if only they could have gotten Uma Thurman, Glen Close, and John Malkovich; making it the complete set). Now that all the distribution deals between Pathé and Miramax have been sorted out Cheri is ready to start production in France early this April.

While I've been itching for Uma Thurman to do more period work, there's another famous tow-headed actress hopping in a time machine. Variety reports that Miramax and Pathe are about to close a deal on a big-screen adaptation of Colette's Chéri, for Michelle Pfeiffer to headline. What makes this project even better -- it'll be a Dangerous Liasons reunion. Aside from its star and sexy material, Christopher Hampton penned the script and Stephen Frears will direct it.

Set in 1920s Paris, Chéri focuses on the affair between an older, retired courtesan and a young man some 25 years younger than her, one who is the son of a fellow courtesan. For 6 years they are together until they must part for Chéri to make good on an arranged marriage. However, he doesn't get over his older lover, and as Variety describes it, he "retreats into a fantasy world." Madame de Tourvel has come a long way!

There have been some bumps in the road, but as things stand now -- the deal will give Miramax North American control, and Pathe will get the overseas territories -- much like the deal made for Frears' last film, The Queen. Should everything move along from here, production will start this April in France. Now we just need a young man itching for Pfeiff. Any ideas?

Every year at Telluride, they do three Tributes. In recent years, at least, they've tended to have one film person who's well-known in his or her own country, but not widely known and appreciated, one film person who is well-known pretty much everywhere, and one person who's made a significant contribution to film, even though you may not recognize their name. This year's tributes are Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal (first category), French composer Michel Legrand, and actor Daniel Day-Lewis, whose tribute was held tonight at the Sheridan Opera House.

Thankfully, I had a Patron Pass to get into it, because the venue only holds 250, and between the patrons and priority line (for the Sheridan, every pass has two numbers shaded in that correspond to the film's program numbers -- a shaded number means you get priority seating there for that particular show) the house was packed. I doubt very much that any passholders who weren't lucky enough to have the number "1" shaded on their passes made it into this event.

Daniel Day-Lewis doesn't do a lot of interviews, so the chance to see him in person and hear him speak was too good to resist. I lucked out and got a perfect seat on the floor, thanks to a fellow journalist who had an extra seat next to him that he very kindly offered to me. The evening kicked off (after an intro by fest co-director Gary Meyer -- who, like all the staff at this fest, is so nice and engaging, you just want to sit down and hang out with him over coffee) with a one-hour compilation of clips from Day-Lewis' impressive filmography, from his uncredited role as a child vandal in Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) to The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005), which his wife, Rebecca Miller, wrote and directed. The clips were nicely edited, showing Day-Lewis' range as an actor and the wide variety of roles he's chosen throughout his career.

More on the tribute, plus some pics, after the jump ...

It might be the strangest description I've ever heard, but right now they're calling this one "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid meets Snow White." Apparently, a new book about Princess Diana was all the rage in Cannes last week, sparking an all-out, balls-to-the-wall bidding war with plenty of folks (including Paramount, who is said to be "desperate for the rights") itching for some of what got Helen Mirren that Oscar. Diana and the Paparazzi, according to its cover, reveals "the true stories we have never dared tell, until now ... " Dun Dun Dun! And, as the title of this post suggests, Keira Knightley's name is currently circling atop everyone's wishlist. That said, this is tough ground to cover as it's so easy to fall into made-for-TV territory; a fear a lot of critics (including me) had when first sitting down to watch The Queen. Thus, pic's cast will depend heavily upon who ultimately ends up with the rights, as well as who decides to step behind the camera.

The only one talking the film up to the press has been producer Quentin Reynolds, whose only producing credit to date was as an exec producer on the ultra campy horror flick Evil Aliens. Um, yeah. Said to be among those bidding for the project, Reynolds notes: "Already the word in Hollywood is 'get Knightley!' It's a story that has everything; pathos, tragedy, comedy, adventure ... and Princess Diana. For every pound The Queen makes, a film about Diana would make 10." Really? I don't know if I'd go that far; The Queen made most of its money based off Mirren's Oscar-winning performance. Sure, Peter Morgan's script was exceptional and Stephen Frears always does good work behind the camera, but Mirren enticed people into buying tickets. In order for Diana and the Paparazzi to do the same, it would have to include Knightley (or someone of her caliber). End of story. But even with Knightley, do we even want another Diane-esque soap opera to hit the big screen? Maybe this kind of stuff is like crack for those across the pond, but here in the states the subject is beginning to feel a little played out. What do you think?

The 60th annual Festival de Cannes has concluded, and the Palme D'Or goes to ... not the Coens? Despite all the praise and hype, No Country for Old Men was passed over for the prize in favor of 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days, an abortion drama that our own James Rocchi called "incredibly affecting, magnificently acted and superbly made." Looks like he called that one. The Grand Prix, which is second prize, went to Naomi Kawase's The Mourning Forest, a French-Japanese co-production that Variety says "had viewers and critics streaming for the exits." The 60th anniversary prize, which is third place, went to Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park, a drama about a teen skateboarder in denial over having caused someone's death. James reviewed that one too, but wasn't exactly blown away by it. "I have to wonder when -- or if -- the fierce filmmaking of [Van Sant's] earlier career will return," he wrote.

Julian Schnabel took the best directing prize for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which has been snapped up by Miramax. Get a load of this line, again from Variety: "Perhaps imagining he was at the Oscars, Schnabel overstayed his welcome at the spotlight at least three times over, shaking the hand of every jury member, making his cast stand up and rambling as he thanked everyone he could think of." The screenplay prize went to The Edge of Heaven, from a Turkish-German filmmaker, while the best actress prize went to Jeon Do-yeon, a South Korean actress who appeared in Lee Chang-dong's Secret Sunshine. Best actor went to Konstantin Lavronenko for The Banishment. The jury prize was a tie vote between Persepolis, a French-U.S. production and Silent Light, about a mennonite community in Mexico.

At the jury press conference following the prizes, Stephen Frears was asked how Javier Bardem didn't win the best actor prize, Frears joked: "He's terrible, absolutely dreadful ... he's a wonderful actor. Why did we not give it to Javier? He owes me 500 pounds." Sarah Polley and Toni Collette were also asked to defend their odd choices, with Polley saying "I've never seen so many people listen to each other so closely." The jury also included Maggie Cheung, Maria de Medeiros, Abderrahmane Sissako, Marco Bellocchio and Orham Pamuk. If you want the full rundown, you can go to Variety and check it out.