Well movie geeks it had to happen, Euro-AICN has finally turned in two full length colorful columns covering a single day of the festival. Whats next hourly reports? You guys and gals appear to really be getting into the groove of: see a flick, go to a party, type... grab a bite to eat, see a flick, go to a party, type... see a flick, chase down a star, type... Toooooo Coooooool!!!
Speaking of COOL, Ol' Father Geek just picked Harry up at the airport here in Austin. He flew over to CANNES to catch the Director's screening of SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE, an incredible film that will be one of this Fall's most enjoyable and well made motion pictures. He will be detailing it and his adventures in the South of France later tonight, if jet-lag doesn't overtake him. Two 20 hour flights in less than a 60 hour period has been known to lay waste the best of us after all. Now to Euro-AICN's Edgard ...
Hello People... Edgard here with our daily report # 2 for Wednesday from
Cannes... H.G. Wells just joined us to report on this
crazy festival... no one we know has seen Harry yet... why ?
Is his mission SO secret? Mmmmh... I am curious to
know more... Maybe tomorrow we will hear about him...
Meanwhile here's first H.G. Wells, with a more
"technical" review from Cannes, and with some reports
on films:
Hello People... Edgard here with our daily report # 2 for Wednesday from Cannes... H.G. Wells just joined us to report on this crazy festival... no one we know has seen Harry yet... why ? Is his mission SO secret? Mmmmh... I am curious to know more... Maybe tomorrow we will hear about him... Meanwhile here's first H.G. Wells, with a more "technical" review from Cannes, and with some reports on films:
Hi there, this is H.G. Wells...
I am sorry I haven't visited talkback for ages, but I have been damn busy setting my own productions recently so I barely had time to say hi to you guys... Anyway, I have been in Cannes, not only to check the obvious attractions (DANCER IN THE DARK, O' BROTHER, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE, etc...), but mostly to check the MITIC pavillion with new high tech gadgets for the cutting edge avant garde filmmaker with not much dough to get his thing done right... My major interest has been pretty much the digital-to-film transfers by Sony HD Center, Swiss FX, Digital Film Lab in Copenhagen and the productions shot in HD or DV per se.... Conclusions?
Yep.
Boys and Girls: THERE'S NO TURNING BACK. I AM NOT TOUCHING FILM ANYMORE (except for shooting high speed stuff for action sequences or Fx plates- water and fire explosions). If you want to do a drama with intense drama plus dialogues go for digibeta or hd, because there's absolutely no difference between hd and film no longer, man (only if you pan across the room too fast)
... Saw SCARLET DIVA, the first film directed by actress Asia Argento (kinda of pseudo-autobiographical stuff of actress deluded by life, drugs, sex stuff- you know, the usual heavy stuff to scare normal people in festivals). Aparently, the pic was shot in DigiBeta with help from Sony Italy, and digital transfer was gorgeous (they just need to reedit good chunk of the film itself though, because the Trainspotting-like stuff is just a little bit too disjointed and laughable-after all, chopping twenty minutes off this final version would actually improve the film overall... but the chick at least shows some signs of talent, not as mature as Sophia Coppola (like daughter like father type quote) in relation, but she must do a second film to improve as filmmaker overall...
... on the CineAlta demo (the name of the high def camera given by Sony and Panavision), they showed several tests done by David Tatersall (DP of Episode One and Episode Two) with a blonde model in several framing positions and lensing setups- apparently, these were the tests showed to Lucas before going ahead to use the 24p camera for shooting Epis. 2....
... Ironincally, Pitof, visual effects supervisor of Alien Ressurrection and ASTERIX AND OBELIX VS. CAESAR, shot tests of a BRUNETTE model in medieval costumes for VIDOCQ, probably the first official big budget production done under HD 24p, the images were so spectacular with smoke, fog, yet the images were so sharp and colors so vivid (through the digital projector) devoid of grain and scratches that one can dare and risk of saying that HD IS GONNA ROCK OVER FILM, and that's for those for who understand the new visual language, specially people with digital fx background like Pitof. Visual Effects of VIDOCQ are gonna be done at Duboi, Paris.
let me say one thing: IT'S APPLES AND ORANGES: FILM AND HD, but ultimately HD will prevail, because HD doesn't tire your eyes at all. Colors are far richer through the new digital projection system shown at Cannes 2000.
... What also impressed me was the HD test transfer of the Starship Troopers: Roughnecks animated show. the fx kids rendered the animated stuff at high res (1200 by 960) and now I understand why Pixar and PDI are the early proponent of the digital projection as regarding full CGI movies, and also why the film exhibitors are bitching about it... that's because the traditional stupidly invested millions of dollars in old tech shit and realized the mistake badly and now they don't know how to recoup the investment in a faster pace...
Note for the Dogme Films in presentation in Cannes: Saw THE KING IS ALIVE, directed by Kristian Levring, although script is brilliant (cramming Shakespeare in a desert is not for everyone), audience for this piece will be limited. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Bruce Davison shine throughout the production...
DANCER IN THE DARK: I am checking this in the next hour at the Salle Lumiere(no word about it, critics have been damn busy with daily interviews at the Variety pavillion and the American Pavillion in the International Village...)
As for other films:
FAMOUS: a DV mockumentary directed by Griffin Dunne and produced by Mira Sorvino about fame viewed from the two most "unfamous" actors in the film industry.... lots of cameos (I won't tell who, sorry) but unfortunately, pic gives a sense a deja vu thing (but Mira is a real yaba-dadoo babe seen live from the beach in a blast-off interview yesterday...)
SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE:
The "surprise" hit of this crazed CANNES circus of a Film Festival. Saw this last night at the Director's Forthnight at the Noga Hilton, with presence of director plus Willem Dafoe and producer Jeff Levine, Nicholas Cage's partner. So far, it's the picture that audiences have enjoyed the most, laughing and laughing , specially with the brilliant performance of Willem Dafoe as Max Schreck during recreation of filming of NOSFERATU... A must see, even MORE than the Coen Brothers O' BROTHER WHERE ARE THOU? (O' BROTHER was a technical dazzle, a feast in cinematography and digital color correction, but I admit that film has too many ups and downs- however, you MUST check it anyway, it's George Clooney's fun place and fun time)
HAPPY END from Korea- another well-made movie about adultery but nothing else. If O.J. Simpson was a member of the Jury, he would name this one the best film of 2000...
I'll be watching HONEST from Dave Stewart, right after DANCER IN THE DARK (damned!!! no tickets anymore for THE HOUSE OF MIRTH and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM...)
Tomorrow Thursday:
I'll be checking STARDOM, new of Denys Arcand, PARANOID, with babe Jessica Alba and Jeanne Triplehorn, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON with Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat, plus IVANXTSC, the experimental drama of Bernard Rose (Immortal Beloved) shot with the Sony HDCam 24p at Salle Universal in the Port od Cannes at 10 am...
I'll drop more news if you want by late thursday...
Ciao, bon soiree,
H.G. Wells
PS: Death to All Cell Phones turned on during the sweaty screenings!!!!!! Can you guys at least close movie deals outside the movie sessions...#@$*%!!!!
And now, Eva is back... not really for news, but just for some... personal views on Cannes... things you want to know more about like... PARTY !!!
Just a quick word about the parties, since you ask. The are incredible. There is always tons of booze but no food. The ones I've been enjoying the most have been the villa parties because they are usually contained within well, a villa. Gorgeous huge houses with beautiful views of the sea, pools, tents, etc. It is literally impossible not to go to at least 2 parties every night. I've found myself getting home at around 5 am each day - and I'm not really much of a partier....
Later,
eva
And to conclude today's 2nd report, who else other than... OZYMANDIAS !!!
* Thora Birch, fresh from her critically acclaimed role in 'American Beauty', isn't hanging around and has been telling Popcorn about her next project. Entitled 'The Hole' and based on the novel 'After The Hole', Birch describes the movie as a "psychological teen thriller". The plot centres on four English public school students who, after finding a deserted bomb shelter, decide to have a three-day party in it. But things don't quite turn out that way. "They end up staying down there for 18 days and only one of them comes out alive," explains the actress. The movie is to be shot outside London, and although no one else has officially been cast yet, Birch let us in on a rumour she has heard that Embeth Davidtz is up for a role - a prospect Birch describes as "awesome". The interview is available in full at this site .
* The Full Monty's writer, Simon Beaufoy, has said he cannot come up with a plot for a much anticipated sequel to his worldwide cinema hit. Movie bosses are keen to repeat the success of the movie - about a group of unemployed men who turn to stripping - which took more than £50 million in the UK alone. But he told Channel 4's Big Breakfast that even three years on, he did not know where to take the characters next. Beaufoy, nominated for an Oscar for his script, said: "It's a question I get asked once a week. "Fox are still trying to persuade me. I've got to have an idea but I don't know what to do with these men. "They've taken their clothes off and I don't know what to do next."
* Fine Line Features has hooked up with Granada Films to co-finance ``Roofworld,'' an $18 million futuristic thriller set on the roofs of London. ``Roofworld'' is based on Christopher Fowler's novel. Commercials helmer Ollie Blackburn has been signed up to write the screenplay, but will not direct. No director is yet attached. Plan is to shoot the pic in spring 2001.
* Columbia TriStar is in advanced negotiations to take worldwide rights outside Spain and Italy on the Salma Hayek starrer ``La gran vida.'' The film is in post-production. ``La gran vida'' (The Great Life) marks Hayek's first incursion into Spanish (as opposed to Mexican) filmmaking. In his bigscreen debut, Spanish TV director Antonio Cuadri began shooting the picture in January in Madrid. Columbia TriStar, which has been tracking the project closely, is making the purchase on the strength of the rushes, the script and the cast. The $4.3 million budget is high by Spanish standards. The picture is about a man on the brink of suicide, who falls for a waitress (Hayek) and finds he's got something to live for. Although sexy, the comedy is relatively innocent by the standards of Spain's often priapic cinema. This means Sony will be able to pitch it to a family audience, a demographic that the studio could be especially interested in exploring in the U.S. Hispanic market.
