The jury’s out: “The White Ribbon” won the Palme. But here’s some fun gossip on the deliberations, care of a comment by Shane Danielsen on this AV Club wrap up.. apparently Huppert “remained ‘Antichrist’s biggest champion on a bitterly divided and fractious jury” and that she was “riding roughshod over everyone, and James Grey reportedly calling her a “fascist bitch” in their final meeting.” Juicy. Danielsen notes his sources too: “two highly-placed friends in the (French) industry, at least one of whom was being kept appraised of jury movements and deliberations, in order to co-ordinate the possible return of talent to accept awards, if necessary. Though my buddy Manohla Dargis told me, as we sat in the Debussy, that, like a good journalist, she’d gotten two separate sources of confirmation in the four hours since I’d mentioned it to her.”
Last night in Cannes, Montrealer Xavier Dolan surprised many by winning three of four prizes in the DIrector’s Fortnight for his film “I Killed My Mother.” Dolan stars in, wrote and directed the semi-autobiographical film which is about a 16-year-old boy just discovering his homosexuality and fighting with his mother, who constantly annoys him (“C.R.A.Z.Y.” 2009?). It apparently got a massive standing ovation (10 minutes, by the estimate of the friend I know who was there), and I suspect this is the beginning of a healthy life for the film on the festival circuit… I’d be shocked if it isn’t in the Toronto lineup (and personally disappointed… I’m kind of dying to see it at this point).
He has a really interesting bio… He was born in March, 1989, making him barely 20 years old. He’s the son of Quebec actor Manuel Tadros, and has been acting since he was 12 (this seems like a bit of a trend in Canada… think Sarah Polley and Jacob Tierney, both child actors that went on to direct acclaimed works in their 20s). He was the star of Jean Coutu commercials (a big Quebec drugstore… I’m actually in Montreal right now and many folks I know you grew up here remember the commercials vividly), recently starred in “Martyrs,” and does the Quebecois dubbing for the characters of Ron Weasley in Harry Potter, Justin in High School Musical 3, and Jacob Black in Twilight, among others.
And, well, not to take the superficial route.. but he’s also gay and really cute:
I’m a sucker for awards prognosis, and even though I’m not in Cannes, writing daily round ups has forced me to scour daily coverage, and made me feel close enough to wager a mildly educated guess at this years awards - despite the fact that I haven’t seen the films, and that they are notoriously difficult to predict. There’s still two days left (and two movies to screen), but I’m heading off to the France of the West tomorrow for a weekend of poutine and Celine Dion sing-a-longs, so this is (hopefully) my last few moments online for a day or two. I’m going with some pretty standard choices (except for maybe Lars, but I’m thinking Asia Argento might have enough say to get him something), so I’ll likely be very wrong:
Palme d’Or: “The White Ribbon,” directed by Michael Haneke
Grand Prix (runner-up): “A Prophet,” directed by Jacques Audiard
Prix de la Mise en Scene (best director): Lars Von Trier for “Antichrist”
Prix du Scenario (best screenplay): Jane Campion for “Bright Star”
Camera d’Or (best first feature): “Precious,” directed by Lee Daniels
Prix du Jury (jury prize): “Fish Tank,” directed by Andrea Arnold
Prix d’interpretation feminine (best actress): Giovanna Mezzogiorno for “Vincere”
Prix d’interpretation masculine (best actor): Tahar Rahim for “A Prophet”
After premiering at Cannes today, The Weinstein Company has unleashed three new clips from Quentin Tarantino’s Brad Pitt-huntin’-Nazis movie, which, according to indieWIRE’s review, “lacks the crackly excitement of Tarantino’s other efforts, mainly because he can’t seem to tie the whole package together.”
Even with all that jazz that went down yesterday with Von Trier, today was the day I was most jealous I wasn’t in Cannes… It was Pedro day! Mixed reviews be damned, “Broken Embraces” will more than likely be the film out of Cannes 2009 I’m most excited to see at subsequent fests. Those likely in agreement (and anyone else), should check out this essay by Pedro Almodovar, entitled “Declaration of Love,” that indieWIRE published today. An outtake:
I feel it’s the first time I’ve made such an express declaration of love to cinema; not with a specific sequence, but with a whole film. To cinema, to its materials, to the people who give all they’ve got around the spotlights, to the actors, editors, narrators, those who write, to the screens which show the images of intrigues and emotions. To films as they were made at the moment they were made. To something that, although you can make a living from it, is not only a profession but also an irrational passion.
Syndicate this site