The Playlist

Pedro Almodovar Says Daniel Day-Lewis Can't Do Comedy (And Neither Could Marlon Brando)

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 6, 2013 9:22 AM
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23 Comments

News

3-time Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis is known for his intensely focused, meticulously researched performances that mark him as one of the few actors of his generation who can truly claim to fully transform themselves from role to role, movie to movie. There is no doubt that he is a dramatic powerhouse, whether he's earnestly arguing for the abolition of slavery in "Lincoln," threatening to slice up whoever gets in his way in "Gangs Of New York" or embodying someone stricken with cerebral palsy in "My Left Foot." His talent can't be denied, but can he tell a joke on the big screen? At least one major director doesn't think so.

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Cannes Lineup: Woody Allen & Pedro Almodovar Skipping Festival, 'Twelve Years A Slave' Not Expected, 'Nebraska' Courted & More

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 2, 2013 10:00 AM
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4 Comments

News

A few weeks ago, we took out our crystal ball and speculated on what movies might be appearing at the Cannes Film Festival when it kicks off in about six weeks or so. We made some educated guesses, ruled some other movies out and tossed some ideas around as we wait for the official announcement from organizers later this month. Well, it appears a bit of a clearer picture is emerging -- sort of -- as a handful of titles have been ruled out.

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Cabin Full Of New Photos From Pedro Almodovar's 'I'm So Excited' Plus Listen To Alberto Iglesias' Score

By Kevin Jagernauth
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February 19, 2013 2:36 PM
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1 Comment

News

While we're in the last throes of the winter season cinematic blahs, there is a lot to look forward to this spring and summer, and we're not just talking eyeball-bursting blockbusters. New films from Park Chan-Wook, Woody Allen, Richard Linklater and Terrence Malick are on the horizon, and joining those auteurs is none other than Pedro Almodovar, and a bigger bite of his upcoming "I'm So Excited" has landed.

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Limited Release Dates: 'Before Midnight' Opens May 24th, Woody Allen's 'Blue Jasmine' Hits July 26th; Dates For Almodovar's 'I'm So Excited' & More

By Edward Davis
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February 6, 2013 8:07 PM
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1 Comment

News

It's release date time with one change and three new films to add to the 2013 slate. Sony Picture Classics is getting its house in order for the summer, and CBS Films is making one change late in the year. Break out the pencils and put them in your calendar now.

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Inspired By 'Body Snatchers,' Pedro Almodovar Plots Sci-Fi Movie

By Edward Davis
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November 19, 2012 5:35 PM
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6 Comments

News

Is Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar going all genre on us? One could argue the filmmaker is already knee-deep in it. Though the first half of his career was marked by colorful and irreverent comedic melodramas, of late, his films have been taking on a more thriller-ish tone and these kinds of elements have been around for years. "Volver" definitely sports a mystery vibe with some Hitchcock-ian notes (filtered through Almodovar's distinct personality of course), "Broken Embraces" is like a '40s noir, "Bad Education" has many a thriller moments and even "Talk To Her" has moments of intrigue outside of just melodrama.

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'The Headless Woman' Director Lucrecia Martel To Return With 'Zama'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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September 11, 2012 10:00 AM
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0 Comments

News

We might start writing about long-absent directors more often. In the three months since we picked out five foreign-language filmmakers who've been M.I.A. for several years, three of them have resurfaced in a big way. Arnaud Desplechin ("A Christmas Tale") is shooting "Psychotherapy Of A Plains Indian" with Benicio Del Toro and Mathieu Amalric in Detroit, and "Pulse" helmer Kiyoshi Kurosawa aired his TV epic "Penance" in Venice before announcing plans only yesterday to make historical epic "1905" with Tony Leung.

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Who Got Snubbed? 10 Directors Who Surprisingly Aren't On The Sight & Sound Top 50 Greatest Films List

By The Playlist Staff
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August 2, 2012 2:02 PM
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37 Comments

Blogs

So many auteurs, so little time... It's less than 24 hours since the unveiling of Sight & Sound's once-a-decade extensive poll of film critics to find the quote-unquote greatest film of all time, which for the first time ever, saw Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" fall off the top spot and replaced by Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo." And as ever, the list has already inspired extensive and fervent debate.

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Photos & New Details From Pedro Almodovar's 'I'm So Excited' Aka 'Los Amantes Pasajeros'

By Edward Davis
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July 10, 2012 4:22 PM
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2 Comments

News

An ensemble comedy that takes place mostly on a plane, Pedro Almodovar's 19th feature-length effort "I'm So Excited" ("Los Amantes Pasajeros" which translates more literally into "The Passenger's Love"), looks as if it's going to harken back to his early days of camp, kitsch and outrageous humor. At any rate, it definitely appears that it's going to pop with the director's usual riot of color. While the film was originally said to be set against a plane accident with various characters fearing for the lives and confessing their inner secrets, few other details have been provided since.

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Antonio Banderas Will Cameo In A Scene With Penelope Cruz In Pedro Almodovar's 'Standby Lovers'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 13, 2012 9:17 AM
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0 Comments

News

When Antonio Banderas and Pedro Almodovar unveiled "The Skin I Live In" in 2011, it marked their first collaboration in over twenty years, in a film that was excitingly new territory for both director and actor. We wondered how long it would be before the duo paired up again, and thankfully, the wait will be shorter than two decades.

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Paz Vega Reunites With Pedro Almodovar For 'Standby Lovers'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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June 4, 2012 3:59 PM
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1 Comment

News

Pedro Almodovar likes to use talent who have worked with him before, from picture to picture if possible, and his next film, "Standby Lovers," ("Los amantes pasajeros") is proving to be no different. Thus far Lola Duenas ("Volver"), Cecilia Roth ("All About My Mother") and Javier Camara ("Talk To Her") are all part of the cast with Spanish comedians Carlos Areces and Raul Arevalo along with Jose Maria Yazpik rounding things out. But Almodovar isn't done putting together the actors for his movie, and once again he's gone into his contacts.

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