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It's Official: Lars Von Trier Won't Go To Jail For Those Comments He Made At Cannes

By Kevin Jagernauth
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December 7, 2011 4:29 PM
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4 Comments

News

Just when we thought the whole overblown "controversy" about Lars Von Trier's admittedly unfortunate comments this spring at Cannes -- which at the end of the day were the result of a joke gone horribly, horribly awry -- this fall police in Denmark launched an investigation into the incident. They were looking into whether or not he had broken French laws against "justifying war crimes," a ludicrous claim no matter where you stand on what he said. Forget what this tempest in a teapot was all about?

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The Films Of Lars von Trier: A Retrospective

By Oliver Lyttelton
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November 12, 2011 11:22 AM
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7 Comments

Features

What with all his provocations and (usually) self-manufactured controversies, it's sometimes easy to forget that Lars von Trier is a truly gifted filmmaker, who yes, is a prankster and trickster as well, but also a man who imbues his characters with a rich sensitivity, even if the conditions they face can be cruel and harsh. Not all his films are masterpieces, but he's been turning heads at home and abroad for getting on 30 years now with films like "Europa," "Dancer in the Dark," "Breaking the Waves" and "Dogville" making some of the biggest waves internationally. Never easy watches, but always rewarding, he's slowly been assembling one of the most interesting back catalogues in recent memory -- ranging from period dramas to musicals to comedies -- even if accusations of misogyny and misanthropy aren't easily dismissable.

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Lars Von Trier Will No Longer Speak To Press Or Do Interviews; Faces Charges Over Cannes Comments

By Kevin Jagernauth
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October 5, 2011 4:15 AM
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7 Comments

It wasn't that long ago that troublemaking director Lars Von Trier was poking fun at his Person Non Grata status bestowed upon him after his bungled comments in Cannes this spring. With a U.K. poster for "Melancholia" bearing an image of the director with a hilarious and fake official seal from Cannes in the top left corner, it seemed the director was putting the events on the Croisette behind him in good spirits. But it appears his saga is far from over as the director made a surprising announcement today.

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With Rights To 'Nymphomaniac' Selling Like Crazy, Does Lars Von Trier's Non-Apology Really Matter?

By Kevin Jagernauth
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September 21, 2011 2:22 AM
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7 Comments

Oh, Lars Von Trier. The director, who seriously needs to be put in the hands of a good publicist, continues to shoot off this mouth and stack the deck against himself. While he's not exactly Mel Gibson, watching the helmer lately is akin to seeing a sub-Andrew Dice Clay comedian bomb terribly somewhere in the Catskills. His comments, both at Cannes and in the latest issue of GQ, aren't so much offensive (though we can understand how someone might be offended) as they are a series of poorly selected words. Before we get to the latest statement that has ruffled feathers, let's rewind a bit to the Croisette -- here's what he said at the time in answer to a question about his Germanic roots that caused festival organizers to bar him from the Palais:

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Lars Von Trier Can't Stop Talking About Nazis; Isn't Sure 'The Five Obstructions' Will Happen

By Kevin Jagernauth
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September 7, 2011 4:55 AM
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6 Comments

Before Lars Von Trier left Cannes this spring, banned from ever attending again due to his unfortunate comments during the "Melancholia" press conference, the director made waves for a much more positive reason. It was announced that he was teaming with Martin Scorsese to do another version of "The Five Obstructions" with reports indicating it would shoot in early 2012.

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Stellan Skarsgard May Reunite With Lars Von Trier For 'Nymphomaniac'

By Simon Dang
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September 5, 2011 1:40 AM
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0 Comments

Film Described As "Messy" And Dialogue-Heavy With "A Lot Of Different Diversions And Strange Ideas"If anyone understands the implacable Lars von Trier, it would be Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard. Topped only by Udo Kier in terms of the number of collaborations with the filmmaker, Skarsgard's partnership with von Trier began back in 1994 with the television series"The Kingdom," which led to the feature run of "Breaking The Waves," "Dancer In The Dark," "Dogville" and "Melancholia." The Scandinavian pair's fruitful partnership may yield yet another picture, as Skarsgard has revealed that the controversial von Trier has offered him the lead for the upcoming, sure-to-be-headline-making soft-core film "Nymphomaniac."

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Unbowed Lars Von Trier To Shoot 'Nymphomaniac' In Summer 2012

By Oliver Lyttelton
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August 1, 2011 1:03 AM
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3 Comments

Plus Von Trier Responds As 'Dogville' Is Named The Favorite Film Of Norway Killer Anders Behring Breivik Danish enfant terrible Lars Von Trier managed to top even his own record of being a complete jackass at the Cannes Film Festival this year when, at the premiere of his latest film, the apocalyptic drama "Melancholia," he made a string of comments, including describing himself as "a Nazi," which saw the long-time supporters on the Croisette declare him "persona non grata." Was this the undoing of one of the film world's most provocative directors?

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Uwe Boll Calls 'The Tree Of Life' A "Piece Of Shit" And Lars Von Trier A "Retard"

By Gabe Toro
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July 1, 2011 8:00 AM
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27 Comments

Before we begin, let's just say that the discourse of films can be varied and fascinating, with many critics and academic writers offering their measured takes on everything from the new "Transformers" film to "The Tree of Life." We would like to urge you to find these discussions that are actively going on at various websites and are likely more fruitful than hearing the opinion of a crackpot provocateur like Uwe Boll.

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Beef Watch: Nicolas Winding Refn 'Repulsed' By Lars Von Trier! Von Trier Says 'Fuck Him'! Porno!

By Gabe Toro
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May 20, 2011 3:52 AM
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6 Comments

Another day, another right turn to the ridiculously stupid fall-out from Lars Von Trier's "nazi" statements. Good old humorless reporters at Cannes loved raking noted provocateur Lars Von Trier over the coals for his joking "pro-Nazi" stance before the organization dubbed him persona non grata. The next step, of course, is the reaction from other filmmakers. This should be fun.

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Cannes Organizers Sink To Lars Von Triers' Level, Ban Director From Festival With Immediate Effect

By Oliver Lyttelton
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May 19, 2011 12:15 PM
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20 Comments

Wow, Lars-Von-Trier-Is-A-Dick-At-A-Press-Conference-Gate just keeps running and running, doesn't it? The troublemaking director managed to totally overshadow the quality, or otherwise (the film's attracted the most divisive reaction of a festival that's already seen little consensus on its films) of "Melancholia" by behaving in his usual provocative manner at the film's press conference yesterday. The headline-happy helmer told assembled reporters that "Ok. I’m a Nazi... For a long time I thought I was a Jew and I was happy to be a Jew... I found out I was actually a Nazi. Which also gave me some pleasure. My family were German. What can I say? I understand Hitler…I sympathize with him a bit... I don’t mean I’m in favor of World War II and I’m not against Jews, not even Susanne Bier. In fact I’m very much in favor of them. All Jews. Well, Israel is a pain the ass but…"

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