04.27.17: This list is now final. While I may in the future see additional films that were released in the awards year of 2016, no more films will be added to this list. (I may add links to reviews of films listed here.)
This ranking includes only new theatrical releases viewed for the awards year of 2016 (for eligibility for the Academy Awards and the Ofcs and Awfj awards); some films released in the UK without Us releases (and so ineligible for those awards this year) may also be included, for my own bookkeeping purposes. Links go to my review. Numbers after each entry are Date First Viewed/NYC Release Date/London Release Date; year is 2016 unless otherwise noted.
worth paying multiplex prices for
[5 stars]
Arrival (10.10/11.11/11.10)
La La Land (10.07/12.09/01.13.17)
A Monster Calls (10.06/12.23/01.01.17)
The Lobster (07.16.15/05.13/10.16.15)
Zootropolis (aka Zootopia) (02.22/03.04/03.25)
A Bigger Splash (10.08.15/05.04/02.12)
Miss Sloane (11.20/11.25/05.12.17)
London Road (06.03.15/09.09/06.12.15)
The Girl with All the Gifts (07.26/02.24.17/09.23)
I, Daniel Blake...
This ranking includes only new theatrical releases viewed for the awards year of 2016 (for eligibility for the Academy Awards and the Ofcs and Awfj awards); some films released in the UK without Us releases (and so ineligible for those awards this year) may also be included, for my own bookkeeping purposes. Links go to my review. Numbers after each entry are Date First Viewed/NYC Release Date/London Release Date; year is 2016 unless otherwise noted.
worth paying multiplex prices for
[5 stars]
Arrival (10.10/11.11/11.10)
La La Land (10.07/12.09/01.13.17)
A Monster Calls (10.06/12.23/01.01.17)
The Lobster (07.16.15/05.13/10.16.15)
Zootropolis (aka Zootopia) (02.22/03.04/03.25)
A Bigger Splash (10.08.15/05.04/02.12)
Miss Sloane (11.20/11.25/05.12.17)
London Road (06.03.15/09.09/06.12.15)
The Girl with All the Gifts (07.26/02.24.17/09.23)
I, Daniel Blake...
- 4/27/2017
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
MaryAnn’s quick take… A 90-minute shootout that never makes us care who lives and who dies. In attempting to send up a cinematic cliché, this only becomes a tedious example of same. I’m “biast” (pro): love the cast
I’m “biast” (con): increasingly not a fan of Ben Wheatley
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Eight people walk into an abandoned warehouse in Boston in 1978. There’s Chris (Cillian Murphy: Anthropoid, In the Heart of the Sea), whom we can presume is Ira because he has an Irish accent and he’s there to buy enough guns to supply a small army. There’s Justine (Brie Larson: Kong: Skull Island, Room), who has brokered the deal with Ord (Armie Hammer: The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Entourage)… or is it Ord who has brokered the deal with seller Vernon (Sharlto Copley: Chappie,...
I’m “biast” (con): increasingly not a fan of Ben Wheatley
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Eight people walk into an abandoned warehouse in Boston in 1978. There’s Chris (Cillian Murphy: Anthropoid, In the Heart of the Sea), whom we can presume is Ira because he has an Irish accent and he’s there to buy enough guns to supply a small army. There’s Justine (Brie Larson: Kong: Skull Island, Room), who has brokered the deal with Ord (Armie Hammer: The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Entourage)… or is it Ord who has brokered the deal with seller Vernon (Sharlto Copley: Chappie,...
- 4/17/2017
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Exclusive: F&Me slate includes two projects with Ida writer Rebecca Lenckiewicz; plus Streetkids United III.
UK co-production specialists Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) have boarded films to shoot in 2017 including The Dream Girl written and directed by Maurizio Braucci, best known for writing Matteo Garrone’s Gomorra and Reality.
Braucci co-wrote the film with Ida writer Rebecca Lenckiewicz and the UK-Ireland co-production is set to shoot from September. F&Me are working with accountants Grant Thornton in Ireland to access the section 481 tax credit. Windmill Lane is on board for post-production services.
F&Me are also working with Lenkiewicz on The Disciple, to be directed by Ivan Ostrochovsky and written by Lenkiewicz, Marek Lescak and Ostrochovsky. The film looks at two friends who go to a seminary in Communist Slovakia.
Also shooting by the end of 2017 will be the documentary Streetkids United III – The Road to Moscow. As with the past two films in the...
UK co-production specialists Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) have boarded films to shoot in 2017 including The Dream Girl written and directed by Maurizio Braucci, best known for writing Matteo Garrone’s Gomorra and Reality.
Braucci co-wrote the film with Ida writer Rebecca Lenckiewicz and the UK-Ireland co-production is set to shoot from September. F&Me are working with accountants Grant Thornton in Ireland to access the section 481 tax credit. Windmill Lane is on board for post-production services.
F&Me are also working with Lenkiewicz on The Disciple, to be directed by Ivan Ostrochovsky and written by Lenkiewicz, Marek Lescak and Ostrochovsky. The film looks at two friends who go to a seminary in Communist Slovakia.
Also shooting by the end of 2017 will be the documentary Streetkids United III – The Road to Moscow. As with the past two films in the...
- 2/11/2017
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Ten projects from South-East Europe, Middle East and North Africa comprise Sarajevo’s Work in Progress section.
Sarajevo Film Festival’s (Aug 12-20) Works in Progress strand is set to present the line-up of projects, which will compete for three awards during the festival’s Industry Days on Aug 17-18.
Ten projects in post-production - from Southeast Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus region - will be screened to about 40 industry decision-makers who are active on the supply end of the chain: funders, sales agents, distributors, broadcasters and festival programmers.
Prizes will include the traditional post-production in-kind awards from Slovenia’s Restart (€20,000) and Berlin-based The Post Republic (€50,000), as well as a newly established €30,000 cash prize from Turkish broadcaster Trt.
The jury is comprised of Jan Naszewski of New Europe Film Sales, Giona A. Nazzaro from the Venice Film Festival Critics’ Week, Michael Reuter of The Post Republic and a representative from the Trt.[p...
Sarajevo Film Festival’s (Aug 12-20) Works in Progress strand is set to present the line-up of projects, which will compete for three awards during the festival’s Industry Days on Aug 17-18.
Ten projects in post-production - from Southeast Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus region - will be screened to about 40 industry decision-makers who are active on the supply end of the chain: funders, sales agents, distributors, broadcasters and festival programmers.
Prizes will include the traditional post-production in-kind awards from Slovenia’s Restart (€20,000) and Berlin-based The Post Republic (€50,000), as well as a newly established €30,000 cash prize from Turkish broadcaster Trt.
The jury is comprised of Jan Naszewski of New Europe Film Sales, Giona A. Nazzaro from the Venice Film Festival Critics’ Week, Michael Reuter of The Post Republic and a representative from the Trt.[p...
- 8/17/2016
- by vladan.petkovic@gmail.com (Vladan Petkovic)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: London-based production outfit introduces 10 films to the market, including Mariam Khatchvani’s Dede.
London-based production house Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) has unveiled a 10-strong slate of films that it is introducing to buyers at the Efm.
Dede [pictured], the debut feature of Mariam Khatchvani, stars George Babluani and Natia Vibliani in the story of a woman who marries a man in defiance of her family’s wishes.
The Georgia-uk-Croatia-Dutch co-pro wrapped at the end of last month. Developed at the Sundance Lab, the project featured in Les Arcs’ works-in-progress strand and has support from the Doha Film Institute and the Georgian National Film Centre.
Another title the company has in Berlin is I Want To Be Like You. Written and directed by Konstantin Bojanov (Ave), the road movie follows a young artist’s journey to meet his hero. The cast includes 2015 Screen Star of Tomorrow Barry Keoghan (’71), Kim Bodnia (Pusher) and Thure Lindhardt (Into The Wild). The...
London-based production house Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) has unveiled a 10-strong slate of films that it is introducing to buyers at the Efm.
Dede [pictured], the debut feature of Mariam Khatchvani, stars George Babluani and Natia Vibliani in the story of a woman who marries a man in defiance of her family’s wishes.
The Georgia-uk-Croatia-Dutch co-pro wrapped at the end of last month. Developed at the Sundance Lab, the project featured in Les Arcs’ works-in-progress strand and has support from the Doha Film Institute and the Georgian National Film Centre.
Another title the company has in Berlin is I Want To Be Like You. Written and directed by Konstantin Bojanov (Ave), the road movie follows a young artist’s journey to meet his hero. The cast includes 2015 Screen Star of Tomorrow Barry Keoghan (’71), Kim Bodnia (Pusher) and Thure Lindhardt (Into The Wild). The...
- 2/12/2016
- ScreenDaily
London-based production outfit introduces 10 films to the market, including Mariam Khatchvani’s Dede.
London-based production house Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) has unveiled a 10-strong slate of films that it is introducing to buyers at the Efm.
Dede [pictured], the debut feature of Mariam Khatchvani, stars George Babluani and Natia Vibliani in the story of a woman who marries a man in defiance of her family’s wishes.
The Georgia-uk-Croatia-Dutch co-pro wrapped at the end of last month. Developed at the Sundance Lab, the project featured in Les Arcs’ works-in-progress strand and has support from the Doha Film Institute and the Georgian National Film Centre.
Another title the company has in Berlin is I Want To Be Like You. Written and directed by Konstantin Bojanov (Ave), the road movie follows a young artist’s journey to meet his hero. The cast includes 2015 Screen Star of Tomorrow Barry Keoghan (’71), Kim Bodnia (Pusher) and Thure Lindhardt (Into The Wild). The...
London-based production house Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) has unveiled a 10-strong slate of films that it is introducing to buyers at the Efm.
Dede [pictured], the debut feature of Mariam Khatchvani, stars George Babluani and Natia Vibliani in the story of a woman who marries a man in defiance of her family’s wishes.
The Georgia-uk-Croatia-Dutch co-pro wrapped at the end of last month. Developed at the Sundance Lab, the project featured in Les Arcs’ works-in-progress strand and has support from the Doha Film Institute and the Georgian National Film Centre.
Another title the company has in Berlin is I Want To Be Like You. Written and directed by Konstantin Bojanov (Ave), the road movie follows a young artist’s journey to meet his hero. The cast includes 2015 Screen Star of Tomorrow Barry Keoghan (’71), Kim Bodnia (Pusher) and Thure Lindhardt (Into The Wild). The...
- 2/12/2016
- ScreenDaily
★★☆☆☆Coming to you from a newly autonomous republic somewhere in the vast plains of the Caucasus is a real oddity. Lost in Karastan - the latest offering from British filmmaker Ben Hopkins - is difficult to pin down. Modelling itself as a satirical black comedy interrogating the nature of creativity, art vs. love, and what constitutes national identity, Hopkins ventures into unknown Eastern European territory and gets completely lost. Without a map, or any semblance of a plan, he leaves his audience helplessly stranded there. Despite apparently noble intentions, and what must constitute a healthy dose of personal experience from the film-within-a-film scenario chosen by the director and his co-screenwriter Pawel Pawlikowksi, Lost in Karastan is a frustratingly fruitless endeavour.
- 1/28/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Much like the title suggests, Ben Hopkins’ Lost in Karastan is having an identity crisis. At times appearing like a bonafide romantic comedy, we are continuously distracted by the narrative concerning the ignorance of a young and desperate filmmaker. While there are some noteworthy, comedic moments, implemented with a certain subtlety, the tone remains frustratingly inconsistent.
The post Lost in Karastan Review appeared first on HeyUGuys.
The post Lost in Karastan Review appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 1/22/2016
- by Guest
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The Assassin | The Big Short | Our Brand Is Crisis | The 5th Wave | Ride Along 2 | Lost In Karastan | The Last Diamond | The Visit: An Alien Encounter
A feast for the eyes and a mild ache for the brain, Hou’s ancient Chinese fable unfolds in ravishing images, graceful movements and bursts of action. When it comes to working out exactly what’s going on, though, good luck. The bare bones of the story are clear enough: Shu’s silky, silent killer is tested when she’s ordered to kill her former fiance. The finer details are wilfully opaque, but somehow that only adds to the spell this extraordinary film casts.
Continue reading...
A feast for the eyes and a mild ache for the brain, Hou’s ancient Chinese fable unfolds in ravishing images, graceful movements and bursts of action. When it comes to working out exactly what’s going on, though, good luck. The bare bones of the story are clear enough: Shu’s silky, silent killer is tested when she’s ordered to kill her former fiance. The finer details are wilfully opaque, but somehow that only adds to the spell this extraordinary film casts.
Continue reading...
- 1/22/2016
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Snarky humor and a wonderfully put-on Matthew Macfadyen are the best reasons to see a satire that ultimately seems to forget where it was heading. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Emil Forester (Matthew Macfadyen: Anna Karenina) makes, in the words of his cleaning lady, “strange films”; his last one was shot entirely on a container freighter in the middle of an ocean. But he’s stumped for an idea for his next one. Will an invitation to a film festival in the “Autonomous Republic of Karastan” — motto: “land of inspiration” — give him the spark he needs to start a new project? In fact, he won’t have any choice: President Abashiliev (Richard van Weyden) insists that Emil direct an epic film about a historic Karastani national hero, and despite the fact that Emil doesn...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Emil Forester (Matthew Macfadyen: Anna Karenina) makes, in the words of his cleaning lady, “strange films”; his last one was shot entirely on a container freighter in the middle of an ocean. But he’s stumped for an idea for his next one. Will an invitation to a film festival in the “Autonomous Republic of Karastan” — motto: “land of inspiration” — give him the spark he needs to start a new project? In fact, he won’t have any choice: President Abashiliev (Richard van Weyden) insists that Emil direct an epic film about a historic Karastani national hero, and despite the fact that Emil doesn...
- 1/22/2016
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
From North Korea kidnapping Shin Sang-ok to Richard Burton being hired by Tito, fame-hungry demagogues have always understood the power of the movies. But, as new comedy Lost in Karastan shows, working with tyrants can be tiring
There were many reasons why Apocalypse Now fell behind schedule. Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos was just one of them. He was happy to loan his helicopters, but then he wanted them back – the better to crush pesky rebellions. But his martial law did at least mean locals were braced for another formidable taskmaster: the film’s director, Francis Ford Coppola. These people were prepped for high-maintenance leaders. “Coppola was God,” the director’s Filipino liaison later said. “Our mantra was, if he asks for a pink elephant, you shout: ‘Coming!’ and figure it out later.”
Related: Draft excluder: Napoleon - the greatest movie never made?
Continue reading...
There were many reasons why Apocalypse Now fell behind schedule. Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos was just one of them. He was happy to loan his helicopters, but then he wanted them back – the better to crush pesky rebellions. But his martial law did at least mean locals were braced for another formidable taskmaster: the film’s director, Francis Ford Coppola. These people were prepped for high-maintenance leaders. “Coppola was God,” the director’s Filipino liaison later said. “Our mantra was, if he asks for a pink elephant, you shout: ‘Coming!’ and figure it out later.”
Related: Draft excluder: Napoleon - the greatest movie never made?
Continue reading...
- 1/15/2016
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
In other Cottbus news, F&Me boards The Disciple and Macedonia backs Sugar Kid.
Projects from Ukraine and Georgia were the award-winners at this year’s edition of the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus (November 5-6).
Ukrainian filmmaker Max Ksjonda’s feature debut Tank received the CoCo Best Pitch Award sponsored by Eurotape Medien Service to the tune of €1,500 plus a free accreditation to the Producers Network at next year’s Cannes Film Festival, while a jury of Film Repubic’s Xavier-Henry Rashid, Sarajevo Film Festival’s Elma Tataragic and The Post Republic’s Jan-Philip Lange chose Rusudan Chkonia’s [pictured] black comedy Venice for the CoCo Post Pitch Award offering a colour correction and Dcp worth €25,000.
Tank, which will be produced by Max Serdiuk’s Kiev-based production outfit Noosphere Films, already has in-kind investment of equipment by Ukraine’s TechnoRent and private equity investment from Cyprus-based Pride Capital.
The project was previously pitched at the Odessa Film Festival...
Projects from Ukraine and Georgia were the award-winners at this year’s edition of the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus (November 5-6).
Ukrainian filmmaker Max Ksjonda’s feature debut Tank received the CoCo Best Pitch Award sponsored by Eurotape Medien Service to the tune of €1,500 plus a free accreditation to the Producers Network at next year’s Cannes Film Festival, while a jury of Film Repubic’s Xavier-Henry Rashid, Sarajevo Film Festival’s Elma Tataragic and The Post Republic’s Jan-Philip Lange chose Rusudan Chkonia’s [pictured] black comedy Venice for the CoCo Post Pitch Award offering a colour correction and Dcp worth €25,000.
Tank, which will be produced by Max Serdiuk’s Kiev-based production outfit Noosphere Films, already has in-kind investment of equipment by Ukraine’s TechnoRent and private equity investment from Cyprus-based Pride Capital.
The project was previously pitched at the Odessa Film Festival...
- 11/6/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
In other Cottbus news, F&Me boards The Disciple and Macedonia backs Sugar Kid.
Projects from Ukraine and Georgia were the award-winners at this year’s edition of the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus (November 5-6).
Ukrainian filmmaker Max Ksjonda’s feature debut Tank received the CoCo Best Pitch Award sponsored by Eurotape Medien Service to the tune of €1,500 plus a free accreditation to the Producers Network at next year’s Cannes Film Festival, while a jury of Film Repubic’s Xavier-Henry Rashid, Sarajevo Film Festival’s Elma Tataragic and The Post Republic’s Jan-Philip Lange chose Rusudan Chkonia’s [pictured] black comedy Venice for the CoCo Post Pitch Award offering a colour correction and Dcp worth €25,000.
Tank, which will be produced by Max Serdiuk’s Kiev-based production outfit Noosphere Films, already has in-kind investment of equipment by Ukraine’s TechnoRent and private equity investment from Cyprus-based Pride Capital.
The project was previously pitched at the Odessa Film Festival...
Projects from Ukraine and Georgia were the award-winners at this year’s edition of the East-West co-production market connecting cottbus (November 5-6).
Ukrainian filmmaker Max Ksjonda’s feature debut Tank received the CoCo Best Pitch Award sponsored by Eurotape Medien Service to the tune of €1,500 plus a free accreditation to the Producers Network at next year’s Cannes Film Festival, while a jury of Film Repubic’s Xavier-Henry Rashid, Sarajevo Film Festival’s Elma Tataragic and The Post Republic’s Jan-Philip Lange chose Rusudan Chkonia’s [pictured] black comedy Venice for the CoCo Post Pitch Award offering a colour correction and Dcp worth €25,000.
Tank, which will be produced by Max Serdiuk’s Kiev-based production outfit Noosphere Films, already has in-kind investment of equipment by Ukraine’s TechnoRent and private equity investment from Cyprus-based Pride Capital.
The project was previously pitched at the Odessa Film Festival...
- 11/6/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
The biggest deals of this year’s Cannes Marché du Film and how the Competition titles sold throughout the festival.
Behind the glamour of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, business was booming at the Marché du Film (May 13-22), with representatives from 120 countries in attendance - up four on 2014.
A total 3,300 films were on offer this year, around 1,000 at the project stage, with an estimated 11,000 film professionals in attendance, in line with last year.
In the opening days, Marché chief Jérôme Paillard told Screen: “Acquisition agents are telling me that it’s the first time in a number of years that there are so many big projects. I’ve been told there are around 50 high profile projects on offer.”
North AmericaHOT Projects
Universal Pictures and Focus Features took worldwide rights to Tom Ford’s upcoming thriller Nocturnal Animals, starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal, in a deal reportedly worth $20m. [Story]
Open Road paid...
Behind the glamour of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, business was booming at the Marché du Film (May 13-22), with representatives from 120 countries in attendance - up four on 2014.
A total 3,300 films were on offer this year, around 1,000 at the project stage, with an estimated 11,000 film professionals in attendance, in line with last year.
In the opening days, Marché chief Jérôme Paillard told Screen: “Acquisition agents are telling me that it’s the first time in a number of years that there are so many big projects. I’ve been told there are around 50 high profile projects on offer.”
North AmericaHOT Projects
Universal Pictures and Focus Features took worldwide rights to Tom Ford’s upcoming thriller Nocturnal Animals, starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal, in a deal reportedly worth $20m. [Story]
Open Road paid...
- 5/22/2015
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) have pacted with Tbilisi-based 20 Steps Productions and The Caucasian Film Service on a three-picture deal to be shot in 2015/16.
The arrangement follows the three companies’ partnership shooting and co-producing in Georgia on Pawel Pawlikowski scripted Lost in Karastan, starring Matthew Macfadyen, and Venice opener The President, directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
First up to start later this year is How to Sell a War, scripted by Tim Price and director Rudolph Herzog. Producers are Sam Taylor, Mike Downey and Vladimer Katcharava.
Development of the project is being co-financed with Creative England. Following an initial recce to the Caucasus earlier in the year, a first draft is due soon after this year’s Cannes market.
The film tells the story of Peggy, a naïve but ambitious young woman with a crippling physical disability, who gets thrown into the deep end when she starts her new career in PR at a high-profile company...
The arrangement follows the three companies’ partnership shooting and co-producing in Georgia on Pawel Pawlikowski scripted Lost in Karastan, starring Matthew Macfadyen, and Venice opener The President, directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
First up to start later this year is How to Sell a War, scripted by Tim Price and director Rudolph Herzog. Producers are Sam Taylor, Mike Downey and Vladimer Katcharava.
Development of the project is being co-financed with Creative England. Following an initial recce to the Caucasus earlier in the year, a first draft is due soon after this year’s Cannes market.
The film tells the story of Peggy, a naïve but ambitious young woman with a crippling physical disability, who gets thrown into the deep end when she starts her new career in PR at a high-profile company...
- 5/17/2015
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Political satire starring Matthew Macfadyen co-written by Ida’s Pawel Pawlikowski.
Black comedy Lost in Karastan has been picked up by Bulldog Films for a UK theatrical release this autumn alongside a simultaneous digital rollout.
Michael Cowan’s Phoenix World Entertainment handles international sales on the political satire, which stars Matthew Macfadyen (Anna Karenina) as a British filmmaker hired by the president of Karastan to make an epic movie about the European region.
Ben Hopkins directs from a script he co-wrote with Ida director Pawel Pawlikowski.
The film, which opened the London Comedy Festival in January, is also being released this month across Germany by Piffl Medien as Welcome to Karastan, following its award winning success at the Hamburg Film Festival.
A release in the Cis territories will begin on May 15 through 20 Steps, and further summer festival dates for the film are being lined up including Motovun and Cluj following recent screenings in Prague and Sofia...
Black comedy Lost in Karastan has been picked up by Bulldog Films for a UK theatrical release this autumn alongside a simultaneous digital rollout.
Michael Cowan’s Phoenix World Entertainment handles international sales on the political satire, which stars Matthew Macfadyen (Anna Karenina) as a British filmmaker hired by the president of Karastan to make an epic movie about the European region.
Ben Hopkins directs from a script he co-wrote with Ida director Pawel Pawlikowski.
The film, which opened the London Comedy Festival in January, is also being released this month across Germany by Piffl Medien as Welcome to Karastan, following its award winning success at the Hamburg Film Festival.
A release in the Cis territories will begin on May 15 through 20 Steps, and further summer festival dates for the film are being lined up including Motovun and Cluj following recent screenings in Prague and Sofia...
- 5/12/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
London Comedy Film Festival to open with a satirical comedy starring Matthew Macfadyen.
Loco, the London Comedy Film Festival, will open Jan 22 with Ben Hopkins’ Lost In Karastan (fka Epic), a satirical comedy starring Matthew Macfadyen as Emil Forester, a down-at-heel British director who is flattered when the president of Karastan invites him to film their national epic.
The festival presents Discovery Awards for shorts and features. The feature nominees are SuperBob by Jon Drever, Mle by Sarah Warren and The Fitzroy by Andrew Harmer. These films will be showcased on Curzon Home Cinema.
Other film selections include The Bubonic Play (world premiere); Dutch dark comedy Farewell To The Moon; Czech selection Totally Talking; and Onur Tukel’s vampire comedy Summer of Blood.
The classic films showing include Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Fisher King, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and Abigail’s Party, paired with a 1970s-themed drinks party. Kids’ screenings include Aladdin at the BFI IMAX...
Loco, the London Comedy Film Festival, will open Jan 22 with Ben Hopkins’ Lost In Karastan (fka Epic), a satirical comedy starring Matthew Macfadyen as Emil Forester, a down-at-heel British director who is flattered when the president of Karastan invites him to film their national epic.
The festival presents Discovery Awards for shorts and features. The feature nominees are SuperBob by Jon Drever, Mle by Sarah Warren and The Fitzroy by Andrew Harmer. These films will be showcased on Curzon Home Cinema.
Other film selections include The Bubonic Play (world premiere); Dutch dark comedy Farewell To The Moon; Czech selection Totally Talking; and Onur Tukel’s vampire comedy Summer of Blood.
The classic films showing include Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Fisher King, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and Abigail’s Party, paired with a 1970s-themed drinks party. Kids’ screenings include Aladdin at the BFI IMAX...
- 11/20/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: London-based company have brought the first four features of their ten film $30m slate to Cannes.
Mike Downey and Sam Taylor’s Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) are in Cannes with the first four completed features of their 2014 slate.
The ten film $30m slate is led by Julien Temple’s Rio 50 Degrees, broadcasts today [May 18] on the BBC, and is sold in Cannes by Metro International Entertainment. Produced by Downey and Taylor, the film will broadcase on Arte after its German theatrical release in June.
Downey commented: “The F&Me team have been working on the picture up until Friday afternoon to fine tune it for the Sunday broadcast, and the workd is a testament to the brilliant editing of Caroline Richards.
“The film has great chances of an international theatrical and festival life prior to settling down into ancillaries prior to the Olympic games.”
F&Me has also just delivered Ben Hopkins’ Welcome to Karastan to Stealth...
Mike Downey and Sam Taylor’s Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) are in Cannes with the first four completed features of their 2014 slate.
The ten film $30m slate is led by Julien Temple’s Rio 50 Degrees, broadcasts today [May 18] on the BBC, and is sold in Cannes by Metro International Entertainment. Produced by Downey and Taylor, the film will broadcase on Arte after its German theatrical release in June.
Downey commented: “The F&Me team have been working on the picture up until Friday afternoon to fine tune it for the Sunday broadcast, and the workd is a testament to the brilliant editing of Caroline Richards.
“The film has great chances of an international theatrical and festival life prior to settling down into ancillaries prior to the Olympic games.”
F&Me has also just delivered Ben Hopkins’ Welcome to Karastan to Stealth...
- 5/19/2014
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Mohsen Makhmalbaf started pre-shooting Wednesday in Tbilisi, Georgia, on his first fiction feature in 5 years, The President.
Principal photography starts Feb 13.
Partners on the film are Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me), Bac Films, and 20 Steps Productions; and Germany’s Herzog and Bruemmer co-produce. The film now has Eurimages financing. The film is an official UK-German-Georgia-French co-production.
Bac handles international sale and will distribute in France. Mike Downey, Sam Taylor and Vladimer Katcharava produce with Bac’s Mathieu Robinet co-producing with Rudolph Herzog and Henning Bruemmer.
As is customary all of the Makhmalbaf family is working on the film, his wife and son Marzieh and Maysam will handle editing duties and as well as film-maker daughters Hana and Samira occupying key support positions on the crew.
The story is set in a fictional Caucasus country and is about a dictator whose regime is brought down by a coup d’etat. He and his...
Principal photography starts Feb 13.
Partners on the film are Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me), Bac Films, and 20 Steps Productions; and Germany’s Herzog and Bruemmer co-produce. The film now has Eurimages financing. The film is an official UK-German-Georgia-French co-production.
Bac handles international sale and will distribute in France. Mike Downey, Sam Taylor and Vladimer Katcharava produce with Bac’s Mathieu Robinet co-producing with Rudolph Herzog and Henning Bruemmer.
As is customary all of the Makhmalbaf family is working on the film, his wife and son Marzieh and Maysam will handle editing duties and as well as film-maker daughters Hana and Samira occupying key support positions on the crew.
The story is set in a fictional Caucasus country and is about a dictator whose regime is brought down by a coup d’etat. He and his...
- 2/8/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Mohsen Makhmalbaf started pre-shooting Wednesday in Tbilisi, Georgia, on his first fiction feature in 5 years, The President.
Principal photography starts Feb 13.
Partners on the film are Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me), Bac Films, and 20 Steps Productions; and Germany’s Herzog and Bruemmer co-produce. The film now has Eurimages financing. The film is an official UK-German-Georgia-French co-production.
Bac handles international sale and will distribute in France. Mike Downey, Sam Taylor and Vladimer Katcharava produce with Bac’s Mathieu Robinet co-producing with Rudolph Herzog and Henning Bruemmer.
As is customary all of the Makhmalbaf family is working on the film, his wife and son Marzieh and Maysam will handle editing duties and as well as film-maker daughters Hana and Samira occupying key support positions on the crew.
The story is set in a fictional Caucasus country and is about a dictator whose regime is brought down by a coup d’etat. He and his...
Principal photography starts Feb 13.
Partners on the film are Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me), Bac Films, and 20 Steps Productions; and Germany’s Herzog and Bruemmer co-produce. The film now has Eurimages financing. The film is an official UK-German-Georgia-French co-production.
Bac handles international sale and will distribute in France. Mike Downey, Sam Taylor and Vladimer Katcharava produce with Bac’s Mathieu Robinet co-producing with Rudolph Herzog and Henning Bruemmer.
As is customary all of the Makhmalbaf family is working on the film, his wife and son Marzieh and Maysam will handle editing duties and as well as film-maker daughters Hana and Samira occupying key support positions on the crew.
The story is set in a fictional Caucasus country and is about a dictator whose regime is brought down by a coup d’etat. He and his...
- 2/8/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Creatives have always punctured power by exposing its funny side, welcoming those who might shy away from controversy
• Jonathan Wakeham's top 10 satirical comedies
Fifty years ago, Stanley Kubrick co-wrote and directed the film Dr Strangelove. It's now a comedy classic, but it was adapted from a book called Red Alert by an Raf officer named Peter George – an entirely serious indictment of the supposedly failsafe systems designed to prevent nuclear war.
Kubrick was fascinated by nuclear conflict. But the more he read about the situation, the more he became convinced that a realistic treatment simply couldn't dramatise the absurdity of the situation: that each side possessed enough weaponry to destroy the world several times over; that winning a nuclear war was like winning a suicide race.
What emerged was not the serious drama that Peter George had intended, but a dark and brilliant comedy that still informs the way we look at global conflict.
• Jonathan Wakeham's top 10 satirical comedies
Fifty years ago, Stanley Kubrick co-wrote and directed the film Dr Strangelove. It's now a comedy classic, but it was adapted from a book called Red Alert by an Raf officer named Peter George – an entirely serious indictment of the supposedly failsafe systems designed to prevent nuclear war.
Kubrick was fascinated by nuclear conflict. But the more he read about the situation, the more he became convinced that a realistic treatment simply couldn't dramatise the absurdity of the situation: that each side possessed enough weaponry to destroy the world several times over; that winning a nuclear war was like winning a suicide race.
What emerged was not the serious drama that Peter George had intended, but a dark and brilliant comedy that still informs the way we look at global conflict.
- 1/17/2014
- The Guardian - Film News
Exclusive: The President is one of a record eight features on 2014 production slate from Film & Music Entertainment.
Mike Downey & Sam Taylor’s London-based Film & Music Entertainment is launching a record eight features in 2014, representing total production budgets of $21m. This comes after six features totalling $12m in 2013.
Bac Films has come on board to handle international sales and serve as French co-producer for one of those eight, Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The President, which is casting now for a February start of shoot in Georgia. As with their recent Georgian shoot for Ben Hopkins’ Epic, F&Me are partnering in Georgia with Vladimer Katcharava’s 20 Steps Productions as well as the Caucasian Film Service. Germany’s Herzog and Brümmer co-produces the $1.95m project.
Also in February, sequel documentary Streetkids United II – The Girls from Rio will start its shoot in Brazil, with a budget of $995,000 and directed by Mara Mourao. The Brazilian co-producer is Walkiria Barbosa of Total...
Mike Downey & Sam Taylor’s London-based Film & Music Entertainment is launching a record eight features in 2014, representing total production budgets of $21m. This comes after six features totalling $12m in 2013.
Bac Films has come on board to handle international sales and serve as French co-producer for one of those eight, Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The President, which is casting now for a February start of shoot in Georgia. As with their recent Georgian shoot for Ben Hopkins’ Epic, F&Me are partnering in Georgia with Vladimer Katcharava’s 20 Steps Productions as well as the Caucasian Film Service. Germany’s Herzog and Brümmer co-produces the $1.95m project.
Also in February, sequel documentary Streetkids United II – The Girls from Rio will start its shoot in Brazil, with a budget of $995,000 and directed by Mara Mourao. The Brazilian co-producer is Walkiria Barbosa of Total...
- 12/4/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: F&Me to produce The President, set to shoot in Georgia in early 2014.
Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) will produce Award-winning Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s first English-language feature.
The President will shoot in Georgia in early 2014, marking Makhmalbaf’s first fiction feature since The Man Who Came with the Snow in 2009.
The story is set in a fictional Caucasus country and is about a dictator whose regime is brought down by a coup d’etat. He and his young grandson have to travel across the country disguised as street musicians, and he gets to know the ordinary people he ruled in a new light.
“After the Arab Spring, a number of dictators fell: Ben Ali, Mubarak, Gadhaffi,” said writer/director Makhmalbaf, “but statistics show that there are over 40 dictators of this kind still in power.
“In the course of the Arab Spring and in the search for democracy, we have witnessed...
Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) will produce Award-winning Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s first English-language feature.
The President will shoot in Georgia in early 2014, marking Makhmalbaf’s first fiction feature since The Man Who Came with the Snow in 2009.
The story is set in a fictional Caucasus country and is about a dictator whose regime is brought down by a coup d’etat. He and his young grandson have to travel across the country disguised as street musicians, and he gets to know the ordinary people he ruled in a new light.
“After the Arab Spring, a number of dictators fell: Ben Ali, Mubarak, Gadhaffi,” said writer/director Makhmalbaf, “but statistics show that there are over 40 dictators of this kind still in power.
“In the course of the Arab Spring and in the search for democracy, we have witnessed...
- 8/16/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
• Louis C.K. is in negotiations for an unspecified role in Silver Linings Playbook director David O. Russell’s upcoming drama that once held the title American Bulls—. Costarring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, and Amy Adams, the film is based on the true story of a con artist to who aided the F.B.I. in a massive corruption sting operation. Eric Singer (The International) wrote the screenplay. [THR]
• Matthew Macfadyen (Pride & Prejudice, Robin Hood) will star in Epic, a U.K. comedy about a touched-in-the-head filmmaker who teams up with the head of the (fictitious) Autonomous Republic of Karastan...
• Matthew Macfadyen (Pride & Prejudice, Robin Hood) will star in Epic, a U.K. comedy about a touched-in-the-head filmmaker who teams up with the head of the (fictitious) Autonomous Republic of Karastan...
- 1/12/2013
- by Adam B. Vary
- EW - Inside Movies
London -- Matthew Macfadyen, the star of BBC's Ripper Street, Myanna Buring and Noah Taylor have signed to star in Ben Hopkins' Epic, a U.K.-Germany-Russia-Georgia co-production. Co-written by Hopkins along with BAFTA winner Pawel Pawlikowski, the movie is billed as "gentle black comedy." Story: BBC America Lines Up Winter Premiere Dates for New Originals It details the story of a washed-up Oscar winning British film director, named Emil Forester (Macfadyen), who gets invited to make a national epic in an obscure Caucasus Republic called Karastan. Scheduled to shoot in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi at
read more...
read more...
- 1/11/2013
- by Stuart Kemp
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Godzilla
"Kick Ass" star Aaron Johnson has been offered the lead role in Gareth Edwards' "Godzilla" reboot at Legendary Pictures.
Johnson reportedly wants to wait to read Frank Darabont's upcoming rewrite before he makes a decision. [Source: Vulture]
21 Jump Street 2
Dave Franco says his character could return for at least a cameo in the proposed sequel to "21 Jump Street".
I've heard little things... They claim I'll be around. Who knows how much they can use me because I'm in jail at this point but I'm hoping they can find a creative way to have me be a pivotal part of the story." [Source: Collider]
Epic
Matthew Macfadyen, MyAnna Buring and Noah Taylor will star in Ben Hopkins' black comedy "Epic" which begins shooting mid-January in the Republic of Georgia.
The story follows a down-on-his-luck and mentally unstable indie filmmaker (Macfadyen) who is invited by the President of the Autonomous Republic of...
"Kick Ass" star Aaron Johnson has been offered the lead role in Gareth Edwards' "Godzilla" reboot at Legendary Pictures.
Johnson reportedly wants to wait to read Frank Darabont's upcoming rewrite before he makes a decision. [Source: Vulture]
21 Jump Street 2
Dave Franco says his character could return for at least a cameo in the proposed sequel to "21 Jump Street".
I've heard little things... They claim I'll be around. Who knows how much they can use me because I'm in jail at this point but I'm hoping they can find a creative way to have me be a pivotal part of the story." [Source: Collider]
Epic
Matthew Macfadyen, MyAnna Buring and Noah Taylor will star in Ben Hopkins' black comedy "Epic" which begins shooting mid-January in the Republic of Georgia.
The story follows a down-on-his-luck and mentally unstable indie filmmaker (Macfadyen) who is invited by the President of the Autonomous Republic of...
- 1/11/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
We hoped when Bill Murray appeared on "The Late Show with David Letterman" earlier in the week that he might have something important to say about "Ghostbusters 3," but the funnyman didn't throw us much of a bone about the possible horror-comedy. When host Dave asked about the film, which mastermind Dan Aykroyd has been trying to get off the ground for some time now, Murray had this to say:
"That's about all they want to know at Cannes, too... But, um... They just don't have a really good script. It's hard. Even the second 'Ghostbusters' wasn't as much fun for me as the first one. It's hard to make a sequel. That first one was really funny. It was just so darn funny, it's hard for me... I always drag my feet on it, but you know, we'll try again."
Please don't tell us this is stuck in development hell forever,...
"That's about all they want to know at Cannes, too... But, um... They just don't have a really good script. It's hard. Even the second 'Ghostbusters' wasn't as much fun for me as the first one. It's hard to make a sequel. That first one was really funny. It was just so darn funny, it's hard for me... I always drag my feet on it, but you know, we'll try again."
Please don't tell us this is stuck in development hell forever,...
- 6/14/2012
- by Alison Nastasi
- MTV Movies Blog
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