marie-antoinette Tagged Articles at Cinematical

As workers roll out the famous red carpet, and attendees dust off their formal wear, the Hollywood Reporter's Anne Thompson has a great write up on the market at Cannes, which she characterizes as a "seller's market". Most of the films with big buzz, Thompson reports, already have distrib going into the fest, leaving hungry buyers scouring the lesser known films, hoping to find that perfect film. Cannes, Thompson says, has "plenty of world class cinema on view -- but prcious little commercial titles to buy."

The list of buzzed-about films already with distrib is pretty long, from Sofia Coppola's Marie-Antoinette (I'm still not sure about the wisdom of casting Kirsten Dunst in the title role in this film, but I'll withhold my judgment until I get to see the film firsthand), Pedro Almodovars' hotly-anticiapted Volver, Babel, starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Gael Garcia Bernal, and Richard Linklater's Cannes duel entries - Fast Food Nation and A Scanner Darkly.

There are, of course, a slew of lesser known films without distribution from a major house, but which, if any, of those films might end up getting picked up is anyone's guess at this point. Warner Independent acquistions exec Paul Federbush, who also kept a low profile at Sundance, told Thompson he only has two films on his priority radar, and other buyers seem equally cautious at this point, holding out to see which films will generate the most buzz. As Thompson notes, there are a lot of good foreign films at Cannes, but American audiences haven't been coming out in droves to see foreigns lately, which is too damn bad, because it means that distribs will be understandably cautious about investing in bringing some really good films stateside.

Now that it's been announced Sofia Coppola's Marie-Antoinette will screen at Cannes, a new international trailer for the film has popped up online. While some of the same footage from the first teaser remains, as well as another dose of indie rock in the background, this new version features dialogue and, well, a little bit of nudity; although it's a very quick shot, be aware that Kirsten Dunst does flash her fanny.

Based on Antonia Fraser's biography, Marie-Antoinette will tell the Queen's tragic tale, from her early years as an Austrian princess, through her marriage to Louis XVI. Then, from what I understand of the story, something really bad happens to her in the end. But, just in case you don't know, I won't tell you how she whispers in Bill Murray's ear and then walks off into the sunset. Wait ... wrong film. I'm pushing for Coppola's version to entertain, though I really have my doubts about Dunst. Even in the brief snippets of dialogue featured here, I found myself wincing in agony. With just a few weeks before it surfaces across the Atlantic, my fingers are crossed that a better trailer shows up soon.

Though the competition slate for Cannes won't be announced for another month, rumors and mumblings from those in the know have already named a handful of films that are thought to be virtual sure things. Included on the list is Sofia Coppola's Marie-Antoinette, which stars the incredibly cute and widely-loathed Kirsten Dunst, as well as Pedro Almodóvar's eagerly awaited Volver and The Caiman, a "skewering of Italian media mogul and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi" by Cannes veteran Nanni Moretti.

Also expected to screen at the festival, though not necessarily in competition, are Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes the Barley and, if they can be finished in time, Richard Linklater's Fast Food Nation and Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain. David Lynch, too, is rumored to be struggling to finish his Inland Empire, a film that was once considered a competition lock.