After debuting at Cannes, Wes Anderson's latest offering Moonrise Kingdom hits limited release in New York and Los Angeles this week. You've seen the twee snippets previewing the tale of young puppy love in flight, circa 1965. You've pored over the visual charm assault that is its poster. Now let co-star Bill Murray be your guide — wearing patchwork madras pants, with a little bit o' rum in his belly — through the New England set of Moonrise Kingdom.
Among Murray's observational insights: Anderson's characters wear their pants flooded because that's how the director dresses himself! It's all clicking into place. "He likes everyone in the film to wear their pants really short to look just a little bit like the kind of person you'd like to mug." Wes Anderson Chic, whittled down to its base elements.
Moonrise Kingdom is really quite lovely and charming and sweet, but then I'm a sucker for Wes Anderson and angsty adolescents and little girls who listen to Francoise Hardy. The synopsis:
Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore -- and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl's parents. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the boy and girl.
Also in this afternoon's edition of Biz Break: Woody Allen's next adds another actor to its growing ensemble, Kathryn Bigelow picks up another cast member of her own for Zero Dark Thirty, and more...
Penn State Doc Gets Green Light From A&E Indie Films
Amir Bar-Lev and John Battsek, the director and producer who previously collaborated on The Tillman Story and My Kid Could Paint That, will re-team for the just-announced A&E Indie Films project Happy Valley. The documentary will look back at the trials and tribulations of the titular community during the child sexual abuse scandal that rocked its beloved Penn State football program. Production begins this month.
Around the 'net...
Natalie Portman/Lynne Ramsay Western Stirs Buzz at Cannes A bidding war is underway for Jane Got a Gun, screenwriter Brian Duffield's tale of a woman who turns to an ex-lover for protection when her outlaw husband returns home nearly dead from gunshots. Portman would play the lead with director Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin) behind the camera. THR reports.
Cannes Auteurs Take a Shine to Americana In related news, while studios may embrace the world downplaying American culture in order to win global box-office cash, auteurs outside the studio system are embracing the United States' cultural flavor in such Cannes offerings as Lawless, Mud and Beasts of the Southern Wild. LAT's 24 Frames reports.
Mark Duplass Boards Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty The filmmaker (Jeff, Who Lives at Home) and actor (Your Sister's Sister) will have a "key supporting role" in the Oscar-winning filmmaker's drama about the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Deadline reports.
Bobby Cannavale Added to Woody Allen Project He'll star along with Cate Blanchett, Bradley Cooper and Alec Baldwin in the comedy, Deadline reports.
Ken Loach and The Angels' Share star Paul Brannigan in Cannes Tuesday.
Cannes has a soft spot for Scottish director Ken Loach. His latest film, The Angels' Share, is his eleventh film in competition and he even won the Palme d'Or for The Wind That Shakes the Barley back in 2006. His latest, a comedy — or perhaps more precisely a dramatic-comedy — is a rarity of sorts for the director who is accustomed to critical acclaim though his well-crafted films can leave audiences depressed. But The Angels' Share involves a pack of offenders hoping to turn good, a last ditch crime, and a whole lot of high brow whiskey. The story serves as one more canvas for the plight of the working class. And for this screening, Cannes used subtitles to guide audiences through the characters' thick Scottish brogue.
"I'd rather have subtitles so people can understand what's going on," said writer Paul Laverty. "It's much [preferable] to diluting the local language and Americanizing it so you miss some of the local [nuance] of the film."
In the film, newcomer Paul Brannigan plays Robbie who is part of a posse of hooligans who are ordered to enter a community payback program. Harry (John Henshaw) oversees Robbie and his fellow Scottish brood. One day, Harry offers Robbie a taste of rare whiskey to celebrate the birth of his son, which gives him an idea. If he can get his hands on a single barrel of the malt, the cash would be enough to erase their financial problems allowing them to start over.
"I'm familiar with what Robbie came from," Brannigan said Tuesday in his thick Scottish lingo. "I came from a rough neighborhood in Glasgow where there are thousands of unemployed." Brannigan said he had a chance meeting with Laverty who had found him walking out of a community center in a scene that would not have been unfamiliar in the film and the two started talking. The result was simply life-altering for Brannigan who didn't hold back words.
"He saved me — he saved me! It was tough. I had no money. Hands up, I think he saved my life because who knows what I would have done to get money — who knows." Though Brannigan said that after this film comes out he'll again be unemployed, he did manage a part in the upcoming Scarlett Johansson starrer Under the Skin and hopes to continue acting. Though he kept pretty quiet about details, he apparently gets naked in front of Johansson's character in the movie, which he did with some anxiety. "She's an absolutely fantastic girl and once I got to talking with her, I felt much more at ease," he said.
Never inclined to sugar-coat language, Loach and Laverty embraced the inner-city vernacular that surrounds Robbie. The festival offered up subtitles during Monday night's premiere and similarly to the recent Weinstein Company documentary Bully in the U.S., Angels' Share ran into conflict with the U.K.'s MPAA counterpart for excessive language, receiving the equivalent of an R-rating in Britain, though unlike Bully's F-bombs, it was the C-word that ran afoul of censors.
"We were allowed seven 'cunts' but only two of them could be aggressive 'cunts,'" said Loach, laughing. "You get into the realm of surrealism here in terms of language. The British middle class is obsessed with what they call 'bad language.' But the manipulative and deceitful language of politics is accepted. I'd call those bad words. Embracing the ancient swear words that have gone back for centuries and words we all enjoy should be embraced."
Per LaDonna Harris, president and founder of Americans for Indian Opportunity (ahem): "'Johnny is reprising the historic role of Tonto, and it seemed like a natural fit to officially welcome him into our Comanche family. [...] I reached out, and Johnny was very receptive to the idea. He seemed proud to receive the invitation, and we were honored that he so enthusiastically agreed. [...] Welcoming Johnny into the family in the traditional way was so fitting,' Harris said. 'He’s a very thoughtful human being, and throughout his life and career, he has exhibited traits that are aligned with the values and worldview that Indigenous peoples share.'" [Indian Country TMN via THR]
As much as I hate the movie theater talkers, cell phone texters, loud popcorn-chewers, backseat-kickers, nervous leg-jigglers, smelly food-eaters, and armchair hogs who combine evil forces to make going to the movies these days a distracting, living hell, I stop myself short of physical violence when it comes to laying down the law of theater etiquette. Which is what one enraged theater patron in the Seattle area did not do when he caught a case of theater rage and slapped an offending movie talker in the face. Making matters worse: The talker was a ten-year-old kid.
King County prosecutors contend 21-year-old Yong Hyun Kim knocked out one of the boy’s teeth after the child and several other youths refused to quiet down and stop throwing popcorn in April.
According to charging documents, Kim admitted to hitting the boy and appeared ashamed when confronted by police with the boy’s age. Kim allegedly said he thought the boy was an adult when he slapped him in the face.
Kim has been charged with a felony assault and probably feels terrible, not to mention he might have to go to jail for slapping a child in the face. The offending kid may or may not have learned a lesson in unruly theatergoing, but he's missing a tooth. Who's also to blame, IMO? The management at said AMC Theater who did not stop a bunch of children from ruining another patron's movie before theater rage took hold.
Theater chains, take note: Policing bad behavior is on you, not your ticket-buyers.
(And let this be a reminder: Encouraging texting in theaters is still an awful idea.)
Politics lurched to the forefront Tuesday in Cannes as director Andrew Dominik's Killing Them Softly took its turn as the spotlighted world premiere here. But this isn't just any world premiere: This one featured Brad Pitt, who manages to still excite even some otherwise jaded festival attendees.
Mobs climbed over each other as the actor entered and exited the morning press conference for his new film about a group of criminals and mobsters vying for self-interest. One can only choose which bad guy to root for. Based on George V. Higgins' '70s-era novel Cogan's Trade, Dominik adapted the story, setting his mob-infused drama against the backdrop of the economic crisis and the election of President Obama in 2008.
"What I liked about the book was that it had great characters," said Dominik, who previously directed Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford in 2007. "But when I was adapting it, I realized it was a book about economic crisis. I always feel crime films are about capitalism. All the characters are motivated by money only, and I realized also that people in America are concerned about money - and people in Hollywood are motivated by that... I was."
Brad Pitt plays Cogan, a pragmatic hit man whose job is to whack armed robbers who held up a gambling session packed with mobsters. Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Johnny (Vincent Curatola) pull off the heist in a dingy back room brimming with scowling gangsters. Though a messy job, they manage to take off with the loot, humiliating their otherwise intimidating victims.
"[While] reading this story, I realized it is a commentary on the times now, the foreclosure debacle and the economic crisis," said Pitt, who also serves as a producer on the film. "It wasn't until the end of the story that I saw it was in fact a microcosm of what's happening now as a [manifestation] of the macro world."
As with John Hillcoat's Lawless, which premiered here Saturday, the use of violence - and there certainly is a good amount of it in Killing Them Softly - became a momentary hot topic in the packed press conference with both Dominik and Pitt defending it as necessary and a reflection of society generally.
"I don't understand the obsession with violence," Dominik said. "It's like people who don't want to show children fairy tales. But fairy tales dramatize children's concerns and emotions." Added Pitt: "Violence is an accepted part of the gangster world. It's an accepted possibility when dealing in crime. I'd have a much harder problem playing a racist for instance than, say, shooting someone right in the face."
Continuing, Pitt related violence to everyday life and perhaps inadvertently ushered in 10 minutes of conversation about politics and even his personal life — some of which is bound to generate standalone headlines including rumors about his marriage, how he is likely to vote and even gay marriage.
"We live in such a violent world," he said. "I grew up hunting. If you have a hamburger... Have you seen how they butcher a cow? It's so violent, it's morbid. It's part of the everyday. So violence has a place in film. I don't see a world without it."
Pitt's character in the film, which drew early mixed reactions here today, is centered on self-interest. He doesn't particularly crave violence, but uses it as a means to an end. He's not bloodthirsty nor does he particularly find murder palatable, but he's willing to do it as painlessly as possible in order to get ahead. "It's a metaphor for business — it's cutthroat but has to be done," he said.
"I'd love someone to develop a documentary about what makes a Democrat or a Republican," Pitt added. "How do people vote against their own self-interest? I lean Democrat and to the left, but I am interested in how all people think."
At one point, the conversation meandered way off the Killing Them Softly script and the titillating subject of Pitt's pending marriage to Angelina Jolie came out. He said there is no truth to the rumors that they've set a date, but a wedding is in the future, but added, "I'm still hoping we'll figure out the marriage equality situation in the States before that happens." Pitt had said some years ago he and Jolie would marry once gays were allowed to be married. He also said they'd "love to do a movie together again sometime."
Despite the film's not-so-subtle metaphors about the economic crisis and President Obama's election, Dominik and Pitt said its planned Stateside rollout this September had nothing to do with the pending fall presidential campaign in the US. Pitt did, however, take a jab at the financial fallout that began in '08 — as well as those responsible: "The economic crisis was criminal, by the way, and there have been no repercussions from that criminality."
Read more of Movieline's Cannes 2012 coverage here.
"'Yeah, Romney. He's just such a disappointment, an embarrassment. Chin up, hair up. He's just one of those guys, one of those guys who says he's going to change everything. [...] And he'll get in there, and they'll smile at him and introduce themselves: "We're Congress, we make sure nothing changes." He won't do it. He can't. Everybody wants to be Barack Obama. And what did he change?'" [Esquire]
"Midnight showings were conceived as a way to reward the most ravenous consumers and offer a two hour block in which their anticipated movie could be enjoyed alongside the small contingent of people who actually gave a shit as much as they did. They were niche activities, like nudist weekends or snake-handling conventions. Every fat dude with a Jabba The Hutt mask in a thirty mile radius was honored for one night with an evening to argue about who shot first, and within that small window of time, those fat dudes with stains on their signed R2D2 medium t-shirt didn’t have to feel like the weirdos. They were among friends. Sadly, over the past few years, the policy that allowed that escape has changed to welcome every Han, Luke and Lando with even a passing interest into the screenings. The result is an atmosphere filled with people who, on average, care far less." [Cinema Blend]
Last week we wondered if, as reported by the band Here We Go Magic during its ongoing tour, filmmaker John Waters was in fact hitchhiking his way across America. We had little reason to doubt that he was (who would lie about picking up John Waters in Ohio?), and now, with photographic evidence of Waters cropping up via Twitter, we have definitive answers at last. To wit, he's in... Kansas?
Shout out to Movieline commenter "Knoob," who sent up this tweeted flare at Movieline's original post:
Wow, this just sent to us from a sweet gal, Sarah Trimble, in Kansas!! Look who she found... yfrog.com/nttpyypj
Brilliant. Hats off to the guy for taking his time in the heartland, too; I once stopped in Salina, Kansas, just long enough to do laundry and get sick at a Sonic. (Which reminds me: Thanks for nothing, Salina.)
So says Rufio himself! Chatting with Crave Online, Hook actor Dante Basco waxed nostalgic about imaginary food fightin' with Robin Williams in the 1991 cult flick and let slip that he's attached to produce a Rufio prequel, with Zorro director Rpin Suwannath at the helm. Of course, the project is A) currently only in development and B) going the indie route, so take it with a grain of salt. That said, in the spirit of the Lost Boys, let your inner kid dream big. Ru-fi-OOO!
According to Basco, who appeared in two films at the Los Angeles Asian Film Festival, the Rufio film will be based on a musical that comedy troupe The Younger Statesmen wrote in college. "These guys have a whole storyline of how he gets the mohawk," Basco told Crave. "The whole story’s crazy. These guys came with the script, I’m like, 'You guys wrote this?'"
"Not only did they write this, they did the musical in their college. They were going to go off Broadway with it and then they lost their insurance and they came to Hollywood. If anyone saw their play it’s that, but the newer version is pretty intense. They added more action. I never saw the play but I think they added more backstory to Rufio, like how he became Rufio which I was impressed by."
So: Good idea or bad idea? The original film made money but tanked with critics (though it did garner five Oscar nods), but ask any kid of the '90s and I'd bet they'd watch a Rufio spin-off in a heartbeat.
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