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Cannes 2013: Surprises & Notable Absence ...

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Interviews

Charlie Kaufman To Co-Direct Animated 'Anomalisa,' Jennifer Jason Leigh & David Thewlis Among Voice Cast

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 13, 2013 9:01 AM
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2 Comments

News

It's funny how the complaints subside if a Kickstarter project is taken on by someone you like. For example: last summer screenwriter/director Charlie Kaufman and former "Community" writer/producer Dan Harmon (two pretty successful guys in their own right) hit the crowdfunding site looking for backers to help get the stop-motion animated "Anomalisa" off the ground. And they certainly didn't face Zach Braff-ian levels of discontent and went on to quietly double their $200,000 goal. And with some cash already in hand, they're headed to Cannes hoping that the movie industry will now front the rest.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 11, 2011 6:50 AM
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4 Comments

Sure, we'll be happy to agree to disagree with people on most movies, but we honestly just can't vibe with folks who didn't dig Todd Haynes' "Mildred Pierce." It's the kind of story and filmmaking that just isn't being made at studios big or small. Haynes recently told IndieWire's Eric Kohn, "...not that material in 'Mildred' would be too racy or challenging for the indie film world, but just that it’s increasingly harder to find financing these days for serious dramas, domestic stories, female-driven narratives—everything we already know. The recent record profits of studio productions one would hope would have the effect of broadening, not narrowing, the possibilities—since they can afford it—but, unfortunately, it’s having the reverse effect, and that anxiety impacts independent financing as well." So we hope people voted with their television and tuned in. There is a lot to love in Haynes film, from the sumptuous period detail to the ace acting across the board from Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, Evan Rachel Wood, Melissa Leo and Mare Winningham, so it's probably no surprise that the series' film score is aces too. And it's getting an official release.

By Simon Dang
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January 7, 2011 2:39 AM
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4 Comments

Oscar Winning Joe Wright Regular Dario Marianelli To Score 'Jane Eyre'; Asche & Spencer Work Again With Marc Forster On 'Machine Gun Preacher'Coen Brothers and Spike Jonze regular collaborator Carter Burwell is set to return to the 'Twilight' since working on the first film to perform scoring duties for the final installment of the series, the two parter "Twilight: Breaking Dawn."

By Oliver Lyttelton
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December 21, 2010 2:40 AM
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9 Comments

The trouble with the Academy awards, and indeed in putting too much stock in them, is that you're relying on the decisions being made by a relatively small, aging group of people. In many ways, things are improving -- Academy membership is getting younger, and it's starting to show: we can't imagine "The Hurt Locker" winning Best Picture even a decade ago. But in some categories, and some branches, there's still a frustrating conservatism at work; the Foreign Language branch, for instance, have a long history of picking safe choices over other, more worthy films.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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December 11, 2010 4:03 AM
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0 Comments

Is this the year -- ok, at the least the month -- of the arthouse film? It would certainly seem that way. Big glossy studio pictures like "The Tourist" (opening this weekend), the forthcoming "Tron: Legacy" and "How Do You Know" are arriving with tepid buzz while auteur driven work such as "Black Swan" and the Coens' "True Grit" are riding a huge wave of anticipation. And we are certainly looking forward to it. The film boats the usual pedigree of high talent in front of the camera -- Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld -- and once again, the directors have assigned scoring duties to composer and longtime collaborator Carter Burwell.