The Playlist

Göteborg Interview: 'Something In The Air' Director Olivier Assayas On Rebellion, Memory & Godard Vs. Truffaut

By Jessica Kiang
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February 6, 2013 4:05 PM
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Interviews

With “Something in the Air,” French director Olivier Assayas (“Carlos,” “Summer Hours,” “Irma Vep,” “Cold Water”) turned in his most autobiographical work to date. A coming-of-age tale set against a backdrop of radical student politics, sex and drugs in 1970s France, we reviewed the film out of Venice and then caught up with the director at NYFF to talk about it. All of which meant when we recently got to meet him again, at the Göteborg International Film Festival, we could afford the luxury of letting the conversation range off-topic from the revolutionary politics of the film’s era to the idea of storytelling in film as an act of rebellion, to the problems in film criticism (Assayas himself wrote for Cahiers du Cinema) and even briefly to the Beatles vs the Stones.

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Göteborg Interview: 'A Hijacking’ & 'The Killing' Star Søren Malling Shares His Thoughts On The American Remake & Much More

By Jessica Kiang
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February 5, 2013 4:58 PM
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Festivals

So if asked to put an actor’s name to the Scandinavian drama tsunami of recent years, yes, most might point to Mads Mikkelsen, or maybe Stellan Skarsgård -- two Nordic actors who crop up not only in homegrown fare, but also increasingly in Hollywood productions. But one name that might not come so handily to mind, precisely because of his contrasting lack of U.S. credits, is Søren Malling’s. No matter, if you’ve been paying any sort of attention of late, you know his face. We got to meet the “A Hijacking,” the original “The Killing” and “Borgen” star at the Göteborg International Film Festival, where “A Hijacking” was close to wrapping up its stellar festival run.

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Writer Tobias Lindholm To Reteam With 'The Hunt' Collaborator Thomas Vinterberg For 'The Commune'

By Jessica Kiang
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February 4, 2013 12:25 PM
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Festivals

It can seem to outsiders that every new film and TV show coming out of Scandinavia features at least a few of the same names, both behind and in front of the camera. And undoubtedly, on the foot of his co-writing gig on the excellent “The Hunt,” his writer/director work on the acclaimed “A Hijacking” as well as regular writing/showrunning duties on “Borgen,” the latest Danish TV show to have blown everyone away (apparently Stephen King’s favourite TV show of 2012), Tobias Lindholm’s name is becoming one of those -- so much so were going to include a handy pronunciation guide so you can correct your friends when it crops up: it’s Tob-EE-ass. You’re welcome. Anyway, we had the distinct pleasure of talking with Lindholm at the Göteborg International Film Festival, and while we’ll run a fuller take soon, he did let drop some details on one of his upcoming projects that will see him reteam with Thomas Vinterberg, his co-writer on, and director of, “The Hunt,” and 2010’s “Submarino.”

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Director Volker Schlöndorff To Return To U.S. With Colm Toibin Co-Written 'Montauk'

By Jessica Kiang
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February 2, 2013 12:01 PM
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1 Comment

Festivals

Legendary German director Volker Schlöndorff, who won an Oscar and a Palme d’Or for “The Tin Drum” back in 1979, has been in and out of critical favor ever since, last releasing a film in 2007 (“Ulzhan”). He’s back, on the European cinema scene at least, with France-set World War II story “Calm at Sea,” which played yesterday at the Göteborg International Film Festival (review to come), and when we spoke with the director here earlier, he told us in a little more detail about his upcoming projects, one of which will mark a return to the U.S. for the first time since 1998’s potboiler noir “Palmetto,” starring Woody Harrelson, Gina Gershon and Chloe Sevigny.

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Göteborg Interview: Directors Rønning & Sandberg On 'Kon-Tiki,' Scandinavian Cinema & Their Oscar Nomination

By Jessica Kiang
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February 1, 2013 7:03 PM
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Festivals

There’s a great temptation to draw parallels between directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg’s epic journey in making “Kon-Tiki” (reviewed here) and the expedition it chronicles. And it’s a temptation we’re going to give in to; when we met the co-directors during the Göteborg International Film Festival recently, they had the air of men who had finally come in to port after a long stormy voyage. They too embarked on a hugely ambitious project that had no guarantee of success or even completion, and encountered myriad unforeseen problems along the way – there’s no doubt the film had to be something of a labor of love for them both.

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Gemma Arterton On The "Dirty, Filthy Underworld" Of 'Runner, Runner' & The Difficulty Of Finding Quality Roles For Women In Hollywood

By Jessica Kiang
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December 13, 2012 3:18 PM
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1 Comment

Festivals

Last week at the Marrakech Film Festival, we got to sit down in a small press group with jury member Gemma Arterton. She’s an actress who for a while seemed to be following a fairly standard route, especially for a British starlet, following up her first film “St Trinian's” with some period TV before landing a Bond girl role in “Quantum of Solace.” However, since that breakout, while she’s done studio fare (“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” the upcoming “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters”), we’ve also seen her skew more eccentric with some of her choices, taking small, British films like “Tamara Drewe” and “Song for Marion" along with edgy indie thriller "The Disappearance Of Alice Creed," and she boasts a forthcoming lineup that promises much more interesting fare to come.

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Interview: James Gray Talks Working With Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix & The Central Crisis Of American Cinema

By Jessica Kiang
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December 12, 2012 3:50 PM
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Festivals

A definite high point of our Marrakech International Film Festival was not only getting the chance to talk with director James Gray (“Two Lovers,” “We Own The Night,” “Little Odessa,” “The Yards”) about his upcoming directorial and writing projects (see our previous coverage here and here), but also having the time to let the conversation spin off, through some of his past experiences, and into a more general discussion about the state of contemporary U.S. cinema. Gray’s perspective as a commentator is of course informed by the kind of filmmaker he is: in his assessment of U.S. cinema being in a state of deep crisis, it is hard not to see a man arguing forcefully for his own livelihood.

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Terence Stamp Talks Destiny, Vanity & His Thoughts On Michael Shannon Playing General Zod In 'Man Of Steel'

By Jessica Kiang
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December 11, 2012 10:05 AM
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6 Comments

News

One of the most whimsical and enjoyable interviews of our time at the Marrakech International Film Festival came courtesy of iconic British actor Sir Terence Stamp (“Superman II,” “Far from the Madding Crowd,” “The Limey,” among many others), who was in town to present his latest film “Song for Marion” (our review from TIFF is here), in which he stars with fellow Marrakech jury member Gemma Arterton and Vanessa Redgrave. Stamp’s career stretches back to the early ‘60s, when his otherworldly handsomeness saw him teamed, professionally and romantically, with some of the most beautiful women of the age. And in recent times, he's become a reliable presence in Hollywood, ranging from “Yes Man” to “Get Smart” from “Wanted” to “The Adjustment Bureau."

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Marrakech '12: James Gray Still Hoping To Visit 'Lost City of Z,' Talks 'Blood Ties' & Jeremy Renner's Steve McQueen Biopic

By Jessica Kiang
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December 10, 2012 11:18 AM
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6 Comments

News

Thoughtful and erudite, there are few filmmakers as fascinating to listen to as they talk about film than James Gray. So whenever we get the chance to catch up with him, it's a treat, and we managed to spend some time with the helmer at the Marrakech International Film Festival where he was serving on the jury. We spoke at some length about his upcoming, immigrant period drama "Lowlife," (formerly "The Nightingale" -- read all about it here), but we also wondered about some of the movies he's got brewing and what may or may not be next.

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Marrakech '12: Zhang Yimou Talks Working With Christian Bale, The Growing Chinese Box Office & More

By Jessica Kiang
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December 8, 2012 9:23 AM
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News

Zhang Yimou ("Raise the Red Lantern," "Ju Dou," "Hero," "House of the Flying Daggers") has been making movies in his homeland of China, from within the system, for the past two and a half decades. During this time, he has witnessed, and participated in, the gradual, incremental thawing of Chinese relations with the West, and the partial loosening of the viselike grip of governmental control over film production. Honored with a tribute at the Marrakech International Film Festival, and presenting his newest film "The Flowers of War", Zhang spoke, through two translators (Mandarin-French, French-English) to a small group of journalists about his filmmaking life under a notoriously repressive regime, the themes he revisits, and working with Christian Bale. Here are five highlights from that conversation.

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