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Interviews

Hal Hartley To Close Off 'Henry Fool' Trilogy With 'Ned Rifle,' Louis Leterrier Reteaming With Luc Besson For 'Sea At War'

By Ken Guidry
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May 16, 2013 12:40 PM
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0 Comments

News

Hal Hartley’s recent work hasn’t been as high profile as his films back in the ‘90s, but it looks like the director is back in action yet again, with a continuation of one of his best known pictures. This time, the project is “Ned Rifle,” which is a follow-up to his previous films “Henry Fool” and “Fay Grim.” Parker Posey, Liam Aiken, and Thomas J. Ryan are all returning to reprise their characters, starring alongside Gemma Arterton. Production on the film is slated to begin later this year with Fortissimo Films taking on sales rights in Cannes.

By Oliver Lyttelton
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October 8, 2012 11:59 AM
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2 Comments

Features

Few massive hits of the last few years came out of the blue in the way that "Taken" did. The Luc Besson-produced actioner starring Liam Neeson had performed decently internationally, but clearly hopes weren't especially high: Neeson hadn't toplined a hit on his own for at least a decade, if ever, and the film was snuck into theaters months after it played in the rest of the world, on Superbowl weekend 2009, the place where action movies go to die.

By Gabe Toro
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October 4, 2012 7:00 PM
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3 Comments

Reviews

There’s diminishing returns, and then there’s “Taken 2,” the next, and probably last installment of the “Taken” franchise. Of course, it’s a piece of a whole, only the latest in the body of work from producer Luc Besson (again sharing screenwriting duties with Robert Mark Kamen). But Besson’s intriguing late-career activity as a producer of savvy action trash reaches it’s nadir in this monotone punch-fest that is tirelessly rote in it’s stubborn desire to refuse any sense of ingenuity.

By Gabe Toro
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October 27, 2011 1:40 AM
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1 Comment

David Belle Will Reprise His Role From The Original FilmWhile Paul Walker has had an incredible career despite possessing the charisma of a park bench, he really wasn't going anywhere until the 'Fast and Furious' franchise picked him back up for the fourth installment in the series. Were it not for the fourth film's mammoth box office take (soon eclipsed by the monstrous performance of the fifth film), Walker was well on his way to fronting a sea of direct-to-DVD efforts, and not performing death-defying car stunts for action fans worldwide. Being the co-lead for a movie that makes $626 million worldwide does seem to open doors that previously seemed closed, as "Fast Five" proves.

By Benjamin Wright
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October 26, 2011 2:58 AM
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1 Comment

With the American Film Market just around the corner, producers and filmmakers are going to be looking to get financing together and distribution deals in place for their projects, and noted French filmmaker Luc Besson is wasting little time by using his production company EuropaCorp’s AFM mailout to announce that he is producing an English remake of the Parisian-set “Banlieue 13” (aka "District 13").

By Edward Davis
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August 8, 2011 6:02 AM
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2 Comments

Plus New Photos Of 'The Descendants' & Luc Besson's 'The Lady'Michael Bay's loss is the indie world's gain. Megan Fox may no longer be part of the "Transformers" franchise, but her next big screen role will be in Jennifer Westfeldt's "Friends With Kids," an ensemble indie that stars Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd and Edward Burns. Not too shabby and it pays to have famous friends.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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December 20, 2010 3:44 AM
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1 Comment

Film Is Being Made Without Aung San Suu Kyi's PermissionAung San Suu Kyi has become an icon for democratic freedom. After spending fifteen years under house arrest in Burma after leading the National League for Democracy in an election victory of the ruling military junta in 1990, her struggle gained international attention and last month, she was finally released from house arrest. That's a pretty simple summary for a battle that over the years has mobilized student groups, human rights advocates and more as they leaned on Burma (and any corporations doing business with the nation) to do the right thing and recognize the injustice being perpetrated on Suu Kyi. So it's not a complete surprise that her story is being prepped for the big screen.

By Kevin Jagernauth
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December 10, 2010 3:02 AM
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0 Comments

Word has been kicking around about the project for the last couple of days and now the trades have confirmed that Luc Besson is currently hard at work shooting "Into The Light," a biopic on Burmese pro-democracy politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.