Our reporters on the continent have just filed their forth Euro-AICN column from our Paris Offices and Father Geek is happy to post it up for all our readers that are interested in the Euro-news. Interest in this column has been running high and our editors in Paris are beginning to receive scoops from all corners of the continent, but enough of me, here's the word from East of the Atlantic...
Greetings, welcome to our fourth EuroAICN directly from EuroAICN HQ in Paris. Before we begin with our column I just want to say thanks to those people who have emailed us with scoops, info and comments, we really appreciate your help. Okay, now onto...
EuroAICN #4
By Edgard & Darth Bond
-Darth Bond here with a good scoop: You probably heard about Alejandro Amenabar's (the Spanish director who did Open your Eyes, Abre los Ojos) new project, The Others, Starring Nicole Kidman and being produced by a certain Tom Cruise production company, right? Well, it seems that this little project has come to halt because the story is too similar to The Sixth Sense. This will put it months behind schedule as they rewrite everything:
- For those of you who liked Catherine Breillat's controversial sex tale "Romance" last year, you will be happy to know she started to work on her next movie : "Fat Girl". It will be the story of a 12 years old fat girl (hence the movie title I guess) living her first love story by proxy (more precisely by watching her beautiful sister flirting around). I doubt that Rocco Siffredi will be in that one.
- Cannes Festival news : Roland Joffé's "Vatel" will open the Festival. The opening ceremony will also include a short from New Wave's master Jean-Luc Godard called "L'Origine du 21eme siècle" (The 21st Century's origin). Hopefully for the public this will be very short.
- "The Three Musketeers" are back once again.... Jean Becker (L'été meurtrier, Elisa) is planning a new version of the much adapted book from Alexandre Dumas. No casting has been announced yet but the plans are to release the film in 2002 to celebrate the bicentennial of the author's birth (Becker will first direct the remake of the 1951 french thriller movie "La poison" with Jacques "The Dinner Game" Villeret)
- Maybe you already know this : Steven Spielberg is looking for 1000 extras (men, between 18 and 35) to create an WWII American military unit for the TV serie "Band of Brothers" that he will produce with Tom Hanks. Shooting should start mid-April around London and in Hatfield, and you must live in the UK to apply. Euro AICN would like to hear from you if you can take part in this.... so contact us !!
- Luc Besson is a happy producer : "Taxi 2" just had a better opening day on Paris than "The Phantom Menace" (which was already a record)... the future will tell if it can keep the rhythm over the weeks.
- Tony brings some news for the Trekkies (and they're not many across Europe, UK excepted) : the first EVER Star Trek convention in France was held in Paris on March 4th. Guests were : Aron Eisenberg (Nog, DS9), Max Grodenchik (Rom, DS9), Mark A. Altman & Robert MEyer Burnett (writer/producer/director of "Free Enterprise), Richard Arnold and from "Earth Final Conflict" : Leni Parker, Von FLores, Richard Chevolleau (respectively Da'an, Sandoval and Augur) as well as Eugene Roddenberry who's currently working on this show and on "Andromeda". For pictures, check : http://www.unification-online.org/constellation/
- Mole found us some musical info on the next Lars Von Trier film, "Dancer in the Dark". As we wrote before, this one will be first presented in the Cannes Festival, it is not a "Dogme" movie but a musical with the singer Bjork and french actress Catherine Deneuve among others. Bjork has written and performs some 90% of the material on the soundtrack, with Von Trier himself contributing several tracks. She has also recorded a duo with Thom Yorke. In the movie, she plays Selma, a Czech immigrant and single mother struggling to make ends meet in a factory in the US.
- Amsterdam-Pat informs us about the 16TH FESTIVAL OF THE FANTASTIC FILM AMSTERDAM (April 6, 2000 / April 13, 2000 - http://www.fff2000.nl). The one week festival will screen the usual films that haven't been released here in Holland yet, along with two special programmes. One is a retrospective of Tim Burton films, where they'll screen ALL his films (as a director), including the shorts Vincent and Frankenweenie and some of the movies he produced. (James and the Giant Peach). The second programme is a retrospective of Spanish Horror and Fantasy films including: La Residencia / The Boarding School (Narcisco Ibanez Serrador, 1969); Quien Puede Matar A Un Nino? / Who Can Kill A Child? (Narcico Ibanez Serrador, 1975); Gritos en la Noche / The Awful Dr. Orloff (Jesus Franco, 1962); Tras el Cristal / In a Glass Cage (Augustin Villaronga, 1985) and some more recent Spanish films: Los Sin Nombre / The Nameless (Jaume Balaguero, 1999); 99.9 (Augustin Villaronga, 1998); Memorias del Angel Caido / Memories of the Fallen Angel (1997); Todas Hieren / The Interior Scar (Pable Llorca, 1998); Abre Los Ojos / Open Your Eyes (Alejandro Amenebar, 1997); La Mujer Mas Fea del Mundo / The Ugliest Girl in the World (1999) Also Tony Timpone & Michael Gingold (Fangoria magazine), Dario Argento (The Phantom of the Opera), Narciso Ibanez Serrador (The Boarding School, Who Can Kill a Child?) are expected as guests.
- Just a confirmation for some of you : the movie "Takedown" about everyone's favourite hacker hero Kevin Mitnick with Skeet Ulrich and Russell Wong has been released last month in France (under the title "Cybertraque")... but it disappeared as quickly and quietly as it arrived... so if one of our reader had the chance to see it, please report to the principal office.
Scythe brings us the following news from Germany :
Scythe here with more news from the land of the Goethe, Schiller, Wenders and Tykwer.......*g*
- X-Filme, the production company of Tom Tykwer ("Run, Lola, Run") and Dani Levy ("Silent Night") has a lot of nice films coming up. Besides of Tykwers "Der Krieger & die Kaiserin" there's Wolfgang Becker's "Goodbye Lenin" about a woman with a heart-disease which awakes after several month in a coma. The funny thing is that the movie is set in Berlin of 1990, the woman is a convinced socialist and has no knowledge of the things that happenend the last few month. She doesn't know about the fall of the Wall... and people don't want her to know. Her doctor told them that she can't stand any excitement.... The other movie is Dani Levy's "Zucker" (Sugar), about two brothers that do not like each other. One lives in Berlin, the other in Los Angeles. The funeral of their mother forces them to meet again.
- Shooting has begun last month on the based-on-reality tv-movie "Der Tunnel" (The Tunnel). As I've told you before director Roland Suso Richter is helming the project together with producer Nico Hofmann, who is also a brilliant director. The two-parter, who is expected to air in the fall, features Heino Ferch ("Comedian Harmonists", "Straight Shooter" a.s.o.) and Nicolette Krebitz ("Bandits", "The Long Hello And Short Goodbye" a.s.o.). The story is based on an incident that happenend in 1961 when the Berlin Wall was erected by the eastern government. Four young men dug a tunnel from West-Berlin to East-Berlin which was 135 meters long. They were able to bring 29 people with them. (Some of them got caught, if I remember that correctly....) This movie is the most expensive tv-film from Germany to date with about 13 Million Marks (about 6,5 Mio. $). (Please remember that Germany is a small country. We're just about as big as Florida!) The set the crew is working in is located in the famous Potsdam/Babelsberg-Studios, where a 60 meters long tunnel was built. Most scenes will be filmed in this tunnel, which is not higher than 1,60 meters. (Heino Ferch says: "It's hard not to get a slipped disc.")
- After the success of "Anatomie", the horrorflick of "Lola" Franka Potente, talks have started to do a sequel. (This would fit into the tendency of German studios doing more horror movies. Ugh!)
- The latest issue of "Cinema", the biggest European movie-magazine (and it's German folks!), has several stories about German movies, problems with funding and upcoming projects. The article about funding is really interesting as it deals in part with the problems of Til Schweiger (famous German "actor", please note the hyphens, that is also directing and producing. He played also a killer in "Replacement Killers"). Schweiger needs funding to lift off his project "Auf Herz und Nieren", a story about unorthodox organ transplantations. (I think it will be a comedy.) Check out this magazine.
- Contrary to my last report I heard that Annaud has difficulties in shooting "Enemy At The Gates". He was supposed to get to Cottbus this week to shoot the water-fight-scenes of the movie but now it seems that he has delayed quite a bit. Expect the shooting in Potsdam to be extended a week or two. (Annaud is always shooting in order, that's why he's making the producer kind of crazy. *g*)
- "Every Man For Himself" will be shot in Berlin, New York, Jerusalem and Prague during the next month. David Frankenheimer will direct Debra Winger, Tim Roth, Ryan Philippe and writer/actor Chaim Alexander Barsuhn. (No idea what this will be.)
- 70's book and tv-series "Timm Thaler" is made into an animated tv-series. The story deals with a boy who sells his laughter. The series will consist of 26 parts of 24 minutes each. (The book by James Kruess and the former tv-series were huge hits back in all those years.)
- Juergen Prochnow (Only good movie role in "Das Boot") will go to sea again. He will play the role of an general in the movie adaption of the sinking of the "Estonia". The "Estonia" was a ferry that sunk a few years ago between Estland and Finland. 852 people lost their lives and until tody it isn't known if it was a plot or sloppiness. The current title for the movie is "Code: Baltic Storm". (Sidenote: Finland and Estland refused filming approvals.)
- Nothing really noteworthy (I think), but of interest for those 007 James Bond lovers: Since BMW decided to get rid of the Britisch Motor Company Rover a lot of voices in the UK got loud saying that is not acceptable that the british icon Bon could drive around in a car like that. (Those Brits really have a problem with Germany.....)
- "Mortel Transfert" is the new movie by Jean-Jacques Beineix ("Diva", "Betty Blue"). It's a story about a psychoanalyst whose normal life gets caught in the bizarre fantasies of his patients. Benoît Delhomme ("Cyclo") will be the DP and Jean-Hugues Anglade will star.
- "Gott und die Welt" (God and the World) is the new project of Oliver Korritke, the star of "Die Musterknaben" and "Bang, Boom, Bang". He plays a comic-book-artist who is determined to replace the last god of earth who has ruled for the last 1000 years and fucked it up a bit. The only problem is that the artist has just found a new love and doesn't want to go to heaven. Thierry Van Werveke ("Knockin' On Heaven's Door") plays God and Heike Makatsch ("Maennerpension", "Liebe Deine Naechste") is an angel. (This project is devoloping now for some time and as undergone some name changes, from "Jonathan 2000" to "Jonathan 2001" and now to "God and the World". This movie has a very funny script and the soundtrack will feature Herbert Groenemeyer as well as the Guano Apes. This one could be a real winner!)
- Word of mouth says that some people are developing a bio-pic about Leni Riefenstahl, the infamous directress that made the movies about the 1936 Olympic Games and the movie "Triumph des Willens" (Triumph Of Will). Although the distinct art of her directing is mostly well received she got and is still getting a lot of flames for her relationship to Adolf Hitler. No idea who will play her, pen the script or directs the movie.
-This month finally "Dogma" hits the German screens and it gets a lot of positive buzz over here. No major magazine who's not giving it the full marks. "Magnolia" is also receiving good marks, but "Dogma" seems to be very very well received by all critics. Finally Kevin Smith gets some recognition here too. I was really looking forward to that.....
And finally for those who are interested..... the German movie charts:
1. Otto - Der Katastrofenfilm
2. The Story Of Us
3. The Cider House Rules
4. American Beauty
5. Sleepy Hollow
6. The Green Mile
7. Toy Story 2
8. Snow That Falls On Cedars
9. Marlene
10. Anatomie
- This week a new movie called "Harte Jungs" (Hard Boys) hits the theatres. It's described as the German "American Pie", except that the guy doesn't fuck a pie, I think. It deals with this young boy who is growing up and finds out one morning that his penis is talking to him. Of course his schoolmates all think he's crazy and there are a lot of embarrassing scenes, when he talks to his dick. One particular scene is often shown in TV, where the parents of the boy try to explain to him where the babies come from. (I really don't know what to think about this movie. Although test-screenings, who are NOT very common in Germany, gave the film an A+.)
- In the German Rolling Stone magazine is an article about the German cinema and it sure doesn't have a lot of friendly words. (Correct, as I may remark.) It basically says that after "Lola rennt" only a few films went well at the box-office, movies like "Sonnenalle", "Anatomie" and some animated films. All the others failed miserably, including "Marlene". The article also says that the German producers are now trying to make the movie more "American", and it shows. Movies like "Harte Jungs", "Fandango" and "I love you, Baby" are so clearly Americanised, that it hurts. (It seems like they avoid new ideas and produce more shit, that looks like it is from America.)
- Just a remark from me to all those German readers (or maybe American distributors): Get in the videostore and rent that damn "Bang Boom Bang"-movie!!! It was the best movie of last year and deserves to do better on video than on the big screen. The fucking distributor should be slashed for having this fabulous comedy so badly advertised.
Now, just to cite Ringo Starr, I've got blisters on my fingers.
C ya! Scythe
- Pablolobo gives us a review from a new Danish film called 'På Fremmed Mark' about two Danish soldiers "peacekeeping" in Bosnia: The film is about a new idealistic soldier named Jacob (Pelle Hvenegaard) who is shipped off to Serbia as part of the peacekeeping forces. There he meets Søren (Nicolaj Coster Waldau) his hardened and somewhat off-balanced field commander. Jacob is exposed to the familiar horrors of war (done the European Film way quiet and subtle nothing splashy). There are raped and murdered children (the act is not shown only the limp naked body lying on the floor), rebels drunkenly killing civilians in the streets, and soldiers of war childishly wasting ammo. Halfway through the movie our heroes, Jacob and Søren, take a nice weekend off into the country per Søren's recommendation where they pick up some heavily armed "tourists" at a helicopter drop for an adventure trip across the border. After a short hike to a village over the border the tourists begin to open fire at the inhabitants, in a sick game of snipe. Jacob our young and idealistic hero takes offence to this but does nothing to stop it, as he fears the consequences from his C.O. the leader of this escapade. The villagers quickly retaliate, firing automatic weapons and mortar rounds at the tourists, who begin a mad dash to their drop point. The Helicopter that dropped them off, is destroyed before their eyes, leaving our heroes to fend for themselves in hostile territory. This is where I get off the plot, as I don't want to spoil the film. Despite having a way too long beginning with almost no dialog the movie is well acted, beautifully directed and well written. Pelle gives a convincing performance in this film and I hope to see a lot more of him in the future. Nicolaj Coster Waldau was incredible. Shaving his head and growing a rat ass goatee made this guy go from James Bond handsome to Gary Oldman scuzzy. He really impressed me and hopefully has more in-store for filmgoers. Overall I have to put this in the must see column.
Euro-Pick of the Week
After "Man Bites Dog" I decided to introduce you to another trashy violent but very fun cult movie from around here : "DOBERMANN". The plot is extremely simple : on one hand, you have a group of bank robbers, lead by the Dobermann (Vincent Cassel from "La Haine" and "The Messenger / Joan of Arc"). On the other side, a group of cops lead by the very mean Cristini (Tchéky Karyo from "Nikita", "Bad Boys"). Basically not much happens : you get to see the bank robbers having fun fooling the police, while the inspector Cristini shows no mercy to stop the Dobermann (the "baby sequence" is terrifying of cruelty). The great thing of this movie is the creativity of the direction (French director Jan Kounen comes from the video/commercial school, he made some great short movies too : check "Vibroboy" or "The last red ridding hood") and the craziness of the characters. The last fight between the Dobermann and Cristini is really gruesome (the film was banned in some countries) still I think this is nothing more than a "comic book" style of film : fun, fast, furious... And more important : Monica Bellucci !!! (Salma and Milla can go home) When it came out in France it made a little (and totally unjustified) scandal for its violence and that was partly responsible for the small success of the movie. Too bad because it showed that France has a potential to make real "pop corn" movies (and not only drama or stupid comedies)... then we will have to wait that another director dares to make something different.
To learn more about Dobermann and Kounen.
Euro-question of the week
Nobody got the answer last week, I think I did do the question too hard, so I'm just going to simplify it: What year was "the day of the beast" shoot? C'mon, it's easy, just stick your guesses in Talk Back.
Okay, that wraps it up for yet another week. As always, remember that you can send your Euro-scoops, premier tickets, info, offers of set visits, premier dates, comments and flames to EuroAICN@yahoo.com.
