The Playlist

5 Great & 5 Disappointing English-Language Debuts By Foreign-Language Directors

By The Playlist Staff
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February 28, 2013 11:01 AM
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11 Comments

Features

This Friday sees the release of the much-anticipated "Stoker." The melodrama would probably be of note just because it stars Mia Wasikowksa and Nicole Kidman, but it's even more so because it marks the English-language debut of acclaimed Korean filmmaker Park Chan-Wook, the man behind "Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance," "Oldboy" and "Thirst," among others. The film lands hot on the heels of "The Last Stand," from Park's countryman Kim Ji-Woon, and a few months from the English-language debut of another Korean filmmaker, Bong Joon-Ho's "Snowpiercer." The three are only the latest international filmmakers to seek wider audiences and acclaim by making a film in the English language.

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Fire Your Agent? 5 Directors Who May Need To Rethink Their Career Choices

By Oliver Lyttelton
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November 8, 2012 2:26 PM
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20 Comments

Features

In his seminal book "Making Movies," Sidney Lumet wrote, "I've done two movies because I needed the money. I've done three because I love to work and couldn't wait anymore. Because I'm a professional, I worked as hard on those movies as on any I've done. Two of them turned out to be good and were hits." As with any freelance job, few filmmakers are in full control of their destiny -- they're at the behest of what they're offered, what they can actually get made, and, even once a film is in production, any number of factors that can make the difference between a creatively successful or creatively lacking film.

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Jose Padilha, Director Of 'RoboCop' Remake, Says Despite Rumors That He's "Happy" With Film

By Drew Taylor
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September 5, 2012 8:59 AM
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3 Comments

News

Just a few days ago, Fernando Meirelles, director of "City of God," was quoted as saying that his friend Jose Padilha, currently hard at work on his Hollywood debut, a remake of "RoboCop," was having a terrible time on the film. "For every 10 ideas he has, 9 are cut," Meirelles told a South American website. But wait! A Brazilian newspaper interviewed Padilha and it seems that he's actually totally fine, so just chill.

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Review: Fernando Meirelles' International Love Story '360' May Leave His Fans Heartbroken

By Cory Everett
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July 31, 2012 10:01 AM
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0 Comments

Reviews

In a photo studio in Vienna, a sleazy photographer (Johannes Krisch) is coaxing a young Slovakian woman, Mirkha (Lucia Siposová), into posing for her first nude pictures. We soon find out this man is also a pimp, and the pictures are for luring clients on the internet. Her younger sister Anna (Gabriela Marcinkova) tries to persuade her to reconsider but Mirkha has her mind made up. She needs the money and wants to change her life. Her sister intones through darkly humorous voiceover, “If there’s a fork in the road, take it.” It’s a highly provocative opening for what ends up being just a so-so anthology of interwoven tales, even though director Fernando Meirelles ("City Of God," “The Constant Gardener”) assembles an impressive international cast for stories spanning Vienna, Paris, London, Bratislava, Rio, Denver and Phoenix.

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Watch: New Clips For Fernando Meirelles' Relationship Drama '360' Starring Jude Law & Rachel Weisz

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 29, 2012 1:00 PM
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0 Comments

News

Infidelity, heartbreak, sex and more unspool and reverberate in Fernando Meirelles' "360," an ensemble drama looking at men and women and how they love. With the movie now available on VOD, a couple of clips have landed online to give you a sneak peek at what you can expect.

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Fernando Meirelles Starts Work On Onassis Biopic 'Nemesis,' Teases Michael Fassbender For Role Of Bobby Kennedy

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 3, 2012 4:12 PM
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2 Comments

News

With his multi-threaded relationship drama "360" now finished and headed to theaters at the tail end of the summer, Fernando Meirelles appears to be moving on this next effort, and it's no less grand in scope.

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Fernando Meirelles Confirms Biopic 'Onassis' Is His Next Film, Plans To Shoot Fall 2012

By Oliver Lyttelton
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October 13, 2011 1:17 AM
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1 Comment

'360' Director Came Close To Making 'Collateral'; Says He's Out Of Janis Joplin BiopicFernando Meirelles might not have yet topped his incredible debut, "City of God," but even in his less satisfying work, like his 2008 picture "Blindness," there are enough brilliant directorial choices to make it more than worth watching. Since he broke through internationally, he’s taken on a diverse array of projects that have been offered to him, but when we spoke to the director yesterday ahead of his latest film, “360,” opening the BFI London Film Festival, he confirmed that for the first time since his favela epic, he’s developing something from scratch, and intends to shoot next year.

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TIFF '11 Review: Fernando Meirelles' International Love Story '360' May Leave His Fans Heartbroken

By Cory Everett
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September 13, 2011 3:00 AM
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15 Comments

In a photo studio in Vienna, a sleazy photographer (Johannes Krisch) is coaxing a young Slovakian woman Mirkha (Lucia Siposová) into posing for her first nude pictures. We soon find out this man is also a pimp and the pictures are for luring clients on the internet. Her younger sister Anna (Gabriela Marcinkova) tries to persuade her to reconsider but she has her mind made up. She needs the money and wants to change her life. Her sister intones through darkly humorous voiceover “If there’s a fork in the road, take it.” It’s a highly provocative opening for what ends up being just a so-so anthology of interweaving tales, even though director Fernando Meirelles ("City Of God," “The Constant Gardener”) assembles an international cast with interwoven stories spanning Vienna, Paris, London, Bratislava, Rio, Denver and Phoenix.

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First Look: Jude Law & Rachel Weisz In Fernando Meirelles' Dramatic Thriller '360'

By Edward Davis
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July 26, 2011 4:20 AM
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0 Comments

The Toronto International Film Festival just announced their 2011 line-up this AM, a deluge of cinematic riches and thanks to their website, we have an overabundance of first look riches too. So here's your first look at Jude Law and Rachel Weisz in "360," the new film by Fernando Meirelles, known for "City of God" and "The Constant Gardener."

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Look Out Camelot, Fernando Meirelles Developing Biopic 'Onassis'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 18, 2011 10:03 AM
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1 Comment

While it didn't get more glamorous when John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Lee Bouvier tied the knot, after the President passed on she entered another high profile power marriage with Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. And now it looks he's about to get his own movie that will profile his touchy relationship with the Kennedys.

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