Posts tagged Tom tykwer at Cinematical

Posts with tag tom tykwer

Clive Owen Talks 'Duplicity,' 'International,' and Career Options

Posted Apr 28th 2008 2:32PM by Eric Kohn
Filed under: Casting, New Releases, RumorMonger, Celebrities and Controversy, Scripts

Like many of the characters he plays, Clive Owen was reserved, astute and insightful throughout his public appearance at the Apple store in downtown Manhattan on Friday. Interviewed by American Psycho director Mary Harron as a part of a series of conversations co-hosted by Apple and indieWIRE, taking place during the Tribeca Film Festival, Owen touched on two of his recent projects while fielding broad questions about his professional interests.

Although not currently starring in any theatrical releases, Owen was in town performing opposite Julia Roberts in the corporate spy thriller Duplicity, the sophomore feature from Michael Clayton director Tony Gilroy (a special guest at the store the following night). "I read the script and thought it was brilliant," Owen said, adding that shooting was halfway done. "I'd met Tony already, and he screened Michael Clayton for me. Obviously, when I saw that, it was a no-brainer." Meanwhile, Owen has another thriller in his queue: He plays an Interpol agent fighting global arms dealing in The International, which finished shooting in New York last January and hits theaters next year. Directed by Run Lola Run visionary Tom Tykwer, The International has provided Owen with "as good a director as I've ever come across. He's incredibly on top of every aspect of filmmaking."

Continue reading Clive Owen Talks 'Duplicity,' 'International,' and Career Options

Michelle Williams Joins Moodysson's 'Mammoth'

Posted Oct 29th 2007 12:32PM by Christopher Campbell
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Casting, Newsstand, Cinematical Indie

If you've ever quickly passed by the DVD for Lilya 4-ever in 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).

Indies on DVD: The Host, Cashback, Perfume

Posted Jul 24th 2007 11:04AM by Peter Martin
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Foreign Language, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New on DVD, Cinematical Indie

If you missed The Host during its theatrical run, now you can catch up with one of the best movies of the year. it's been well covered at Cinematical (reviews by James Rocchi and Jeffrey M. Anderson, interview with director Bong Joon-ho by Scott Weinberg, brief comments by yours truly) and Magnolia has issued a collector's edition, packed with features, on DVD, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. The single-disk regular edition on DVD includes only deleted scenes and an audio commentary by the director. Don't expect a straightforward monster movie; there's plenty of dysfunctional family melodrama and a cracked sense of humor popping up at unexpected moments.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'll again beat the drum for Sean Ellis' Cashback, which I mentioned yesterday in the Indie Weekend Box Office report. It's also from Magnolia, but unlike The Host, Cashback is part of Magnolia's 'limited theatrical release slightly in advance of the DVD to generate some publicity' program; I don't know how successful the program has been, but I'm glad that more people may be checking out this dryly humorous, dreamy fantasy of a young single man. The disk includes the short film that the feature was based on, as well as a "making of."

Tom Tykwer's Perfume: The Story of a Murderer struck me as a pretty picture whose glittering charms lay entirely on the surface. But Kim Voynar had a different reading altogether, calling it "a deeply mesmerizing exploration of one man's desperate search for his own humanity ... very much more than your average serial-killer story." On balance, I think this is a film that generates discussion; therefore I recommend it. The Dreamworks DVD is skimpy on the features, with only "The Story of Perfume" on board, so a rental may be best.

Naomi Watts Joins Clive Owen in 'The International'

Posted Jul 13th 2007 10:31AM by Monika Bartyzel
Filed under: Action, Thrillers, Casting

It was back in April that Clive Owen became The International, switching things up after his time as a bank robber on Inside Man. Now he's finally got a co-star in Naomi Watts. Word over at The Hollywood Reporter is that she just signed onto the action thriller, which will head into production this fall at the hands of Run Lola Run helmer Tom Tykwer, from a script by first-time-scribe Eric Singer. The movie is about an "obsessive Interpol agent," played by Owen, who is leading an investigation into one of the most powerful banks in the world. His aim -- to expose their penchant for world-wide arms brokering, corruption and murder. Watts will be an assistant district attorney from the Big Apple who teams with Owen to bring the bank down.

This is an old, oft-used story -- the evil big business that must be brought down by the unstoppable and honest good guy, but I'm hoping that Tykwer infuses it with some Lola energy. I'm actually one of those people who liked both The Princess and the Warrior and Winter Sleepers, so I'm not too worried. Watts should be ready for the task -- she just finished hunting down answers against the Russian mob for Eastern Promises. As for Owen, I'm sure he'll be great, as long as the script is nothing like Derailed -- a movie that even he couldn't pull from the stinky depths of crap.

Clive Owen is The International

Posted Apr 16th 2007 7:08PM by Christopher Campbell
Filed under: Action, Drama, Independent, Thrillers, Casting, Mystery & Suspense, Sony

http://www.cinematical.com/images/2005/09/09-clive-owen-inside.jpg

It's usually only a matter of time before any filmmaker makes a bad film, but early in many careers it is easy to think certain directors can do no wrong. Currently I feel this way about Tom Tykwer, who has been solid since his debut film, Deadly Maria. I have to confess I haven't yet gotten around to viewing the two films he made prior to his breakthrough, Run Lola Run, but I mean to really soon (if only watching movies was my first priority these days). The thing that is so special about Tykwer, though is, visible just with his last four features: He keeps improving upon his visual style while constantly changing things up a bit. Following last year's beautifully enchanting Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, I am very eagerly awaiting his next film.

That film has just been officially announced as The International, and it is set to star Clive Owen. And, from the sound of what little there is to know about the plot, it sounds like this is a film for anybody who still wishes Owen could play James Bond. It is an action-thriller about an Interpol agent (Owen, I assume) working on a case involving corruption and arms-dealing within a powerful banking institution, one which his own agency seems to be protecting. Tykwer is expected to begin shooting from Eric Singer's script this September.

This news is exciting because Owen's involvement could expose Tykwer to a bigger audience. Run Lola Run should have made the director a big name, but unfortunately too few people saw his even better subsequent films. Of course, we all saw recently with Children of Men that Owen isn't exactly the big draw that he should be either. Whether or not people see the film, though, is their own business. For me, I am only a bit worried about this film's script. It seems to be Singer's first screenplay, so it is hard to be prejudiced, but that doesn't mean I'm not wary. That said, though, the director's last two films were based on the work of others (he was fortunate enough to work off of Kieslowski on one of those) and were still great, so hopefully this won't be a problem.

Interview: Perfume Director Tom Tykwer

Posted Dec 27th 2006 1:02PM by Kim Voynar
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, Paramount, Interviews, Cinematical Indie

Director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) is everything you would expect him to be, if you're familiar with his films. German, impeccably groomed, dressed all in black, he is fierce and passionate. He appears relaxed at first, but then you realize that's just a well-practiced cover for the nervous energy underneath, which comes springing out unleashed when he gets talking enthusiastically about something -- like his latest film, the bizarre, dark fable Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, adapted by Tykwer from the enormously popular Patrick Süskind book of the same title. Tykwer was in town recently on a press tour for his film, and sat down with Cinematical to chat about the intricacies of making a film about scent.

Continue reading Interview: Perfume Director Tom Tykwer

Film Clips: Fur, Perfume, and Promoting Artsy Films

Posted Nov 10th 2006 4:05PM by Kim Voynar
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Romance, Telluride, Box Office, Distribution, Dreamworks, Movie Marketing, Columns, Film Clips, Cinematical Indie

Fur: An Imaginary Portrait Diane Arbus opens today in limited release, and I have to wonder how many people have even heard of it. I hadn't really planned on seeing Fur at Telluride; at least, it wasn't on my radar as a "must see" film. Then I heard so many people buzzing about it, I decided to add it to my schedule at the last minute. It was one of those polarizing films with very little middle ground: People were either very Pro-Fur or very Anti-Fur -- so I had to see it. About a third of the way into the film, I was thinking to myself, "This film is not going to play well to mainstream movie audiences, but I love it." Then again, I'm the sort of filmgoer who actually likes weird. I enjoy having my expectations turned on their ear, and Fur definitely does that.

Another upcoming artsy film that leans sharply toward the bizarre is Perfume: Story of a Murderer. I caught a screening of Perfume, helmed by Run, Lola, Run director Tom Tykwer, the other night. Perfume opens in limited release at the end of December, with a wider release slated for January. Like Fur, Perfume is a dark, almost hallucinatory film with the air of a fable about it. I thought when I saw Fur that I'd seen the most curious film I was likely to see all year; Perfume managed to surpass it -- in a really good way.

Continue reading Film Clips: Fur, Perfume, and Promoting Artsy Films

Full Perfume Trailer

Posted May 16th 2006 5:06PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Drama, Horror, Romance, Thrillers, Movie Marketing

I posted several months ago about the first, tension-filled teaser for Tom Tykwer's Perfume. For those of you who, understandably, haven't been following along, the movie is based on a German novel (For what it's worth, it's been "hailed as one of the most influential works of German literature in the past two decades" -- are you suitably impressed?) about a guy with the earth's best sense of smell but also, sadly, no personal aroma whatsoever. Ah, irony. He becomes obsessed with bottling the scent of a virgin and, while it's unclear whether he's got a specific virgin in his sights or is after a more general smell, the trailer makes it clear that some of the ladies don't live through the extraction process. (Of course, given that the novel's full title is Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, the deaths aren't exactly shocking.)

Though the movie doesn't come out in Germany until September, the first full trailer has emerged and, despite the fact that I understand not one word (it's in German, you see), it retains the eerie intensity of that early teaser, and does nothing to reduce my (fearful) eagerness to see the film. There's a lot more to see here than in the teaser -- we get a greater sense of the supporting characters (including Dustin Hoffman, who I think plays a non-violent perfumer, and Alan Rickman, who seems to be involved with one of the unlucky ladies, and looks very funny in a period wig), as well as further confirmation that the movie is going to be creepy as hell (was that a girl in a life-sized test tube?).

Perfume comes out in the US in December.

[via AICN]

Teaser for Tykwer's Perfume

Posted Feb 20th 2006 3:04PM by Martha Fischer
Filed under: Drama, Thrillers, Movie Marketing

We haven't heard much about Tom Tykwer's Perfume: The Story of a Murderer since the cast was announced last March. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman, and Ben Whishaw, the film is an adaptation of a German novel of the same name that has been "hailed as one of the most influential works of German literature in the past two decades." The novel tells the unendingly bizarre story of an 18th century man (Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, played by Whishaw) who has remarkably sensitive sense of smell but lacks any discernible personal scent. His career as a perfume artist "take a dark turn" when he becomes obsessed with bottling the scent of "a young virgin." I don't want to spoil anything here, but what with the title and everything, I'm a little worried about the virgin's lifespan.

Out of nowhere, a German teaser for the film has emerged, and it's creepy as hell. Something about the way she pauses before screaming makes it much, much scarier than the normal shrieking any woman would do when she finds she's being sniffed by a random guy she didn't even know was there. Yikes.

The movie opens in Germany in September and in other European territories in the late fall and early winter. There is currently no US distributor.

[via AICN]

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Monika Bartyzel	168	0
2	Erik Davis	118	47
3	Elisabeth Rappe	82	0
4	Eugene Novikov	69	20
5	Scott Weinberg	43	26
6	Jessica Barnes	41	0
7	Kim Voynar	39	18
8	Eric Kohn	29	3
9	Peter Martin	23	9
10	Eric D. Snider	20	0
11	Jeffrey M. Anderson	17	0
12	James Rocchi	13	2
13	Matt Bradshaw	13	2
14	Joel Keller	13	1
15	Christopher Campbell	10	7
16	Patrick Walsh	4	1
17	Richard von Busack	3	0
18	Jette Kernion	3	0
19	Patricia Chui	2	0
20	Nick Schager	1	0

Serial bottom-pincher on the run in England The tradition of pigeon feeding in Venice's St. Mark's Square is over Photo of the Day (5-9-08)	Review: Newman's Own Organic Sweet Dark Chocolate Espresso Bar 100 Mysteries of fresh, Ayurvedic tea Last minute Mother's Day gifts
American Idol might lower age requirements TV Obits: Arnold, Iselin, Key AI OD: A farewell to Jason Castro - VIDEOS	Chicken fight Break the fast We Love To Gawk At Fit Celebs Weekly Roundup: May 9, 2008
Ron Perlman Isn't Always the Good Guy Lionsgate Making a 'Deal with the Devil' 'V' Director Signs on for 'X-Files'-Like 'Revelation'	Toshiba aims to deliver laptops with Cell-based graphics this year Man kills neighbor over missing PS3 Microsoft to appeal $1.35B EU antitrust fine

Clive Owen Talks 'Duplicity,' 'International,' and Career Options

Michelle Williams Joins Moodysson's 'Mammoth'

Indies on DVD: The Host, Cashback, Perfume

Naomi Watts Joins Clive Owen in 'The International'

Clive Owen is The International

Interview: Perfume Director Tom Tykwer

Film Clips: Fur, Perfume, and Promoting Artsy Films

Full Perfume Trailer

Teaser for Tykwer's Perfume

Cinematical Features

RESOURCES

RSS NEWSFEEDS

Featured Stories

Sponsored Links

Recent Theatrical Reviews

Cinematical Interviews

Cinematical bloggers (30 days)

Most Commented On (60 days)

Weblogs, Inc. Network