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Cannes 2012: Oscilloscope Acquires Matteo Garrone's 'Reality'

Steve Pond — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:43:00 +0000

Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired U.S. rights to Matteo Garrone's "Reality," a film in the Cannes main competition about an Italian fishmonger whose life is turned upside-down when he thinks he's going to appear on a reality-television show.

Cannes 2012: IFC Midnight Acquires Erotic Korean Drama 'Taste of Money'

Steve Pond — Sat, 26 May 2012 18:33:25 +0000

IFC Midnight has acquired the North American rights to "The Taste of Money," a film from Korean writer-director Im Sang-soo that premiered this week in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Cannes 2012: 'Despues de Lucia' Wins Top Prize in Un Certain Regard

Steve Pond — Sat, 26 May 2012 18:27:28 +0000

"Despues de Lucia," a drama from Mexican director Michel Franco, was named the best film of Cannes' Un Certain Regard section at a ceremony on Saturday night.

The film deals with a young woman and her father who move to a new town, leaving their old lives behind.

Cannes 2012: 'In the Fog,' 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' Win Critics Awards

Steve Pond — Sat, 26 May 2012 17:17:08 +0000

FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics, has given its top Cannes prizes to Sergei Loznitsa's "In the Fog," Benh Zeitlin's "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and Rachid Djaidani's "Rengaine" ("Hold Back").

The organization selects winners from two of the main sections at Cannes, and a third winner from two independent sections.

Cannes 2012: 'Mud' Director Jeff Nichols Steals the Spotlight from Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon

Dana Kennedy — Sat, 26 May 2012 18:52:02 +0000

Indie director Jeff Nichols hardly seems like the kind of guy to grab attention from Reese Witherspoon and Matthew McConaughey, but that's exactly what the young filmmaker did at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

Nichols, 33, was at Cannes for the second time with only his third film, "Mud," and the aw-shucks director so captivated the media at the film's news conference that they almost totally ignored the two gorgeous Hollywood A-list stars in his film.

'Men in Black 3' $18M Friday On Track to Whack 'The Avengers' at Box Office

Todd Cunningham — Sat, 26 May 2012 17:32:52 +0000

"Men in Black 3" got off to a fast start with $18 million Friday at the box office, positioning itself for a four-day Memorial Day weekend in the $75 million to $80 million range.

That will enable Sony's second sequel in the franchise to knock Disney's "The Avengers" out of the top spot for the first time in a month. "MIB 3" is on 4,248 screens this weekend, 278 of them Imax and 3,000 in 3D.

Cannes 2012: Does the Palme d'Or Race Come Down to Naughty vs. Nice?

Steve Pond — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:37:19 +0000

"Amour" or "Holy Motors?" Michael Haneke or Jacques Audiard? Marion Cotillard or Nicole Kidman?

Relativity Media CEO's Father Ordered to Pay Damages in Art Fraud Case

Lucas Shaw & Brent Lang — Sat, 26 May 2012 03:15:32 +0000

A Los Angeles jury on Friday found that Jack Kavanaugh, father of Relativity Media CEO Ryan Kavanaugh, defrauded his former friend Victor Sands in the sale of a phony Picasso. It awarded Sands close to $3.5 million in damages.

Jack Kavanaugh was ordered to pay Sands $250,000 in punitive damages, and the jury awarded Sands an additional $3.2 million in compensatory damages.

'American Idol's' Phillip Phillips Had 8 Kidney Surgeries on His Way to Victory

Kasia Anderson — Fri, 25 May 2012 23:53:01 +0000

"American Idol" winner Phillip Phillips had kidney surgery eight times during his journey to victory, his father revealed after Wednesday's finale. And he's not done with the doctors just yet.

Phillips was plagued by kidney stones as he strummed and sang his way to the "Idol" title, though his chronic health issues nearly knocked him out of the running.

Cannes 2012: Sharon Waxman & Steve Pond Debate the Contenders (Video)

Sharon Waxman — Sat, 26 May 2012 17:14:02 +0000

The Cannes Film Festival heads into its final weekend with people on the Croisette buzzing about Jeff Nichols' "Mud" and Leo Scarax's "Holy Motor" -- but are they good enough for the Palme d'Or? That buzz is still circling around Michael Haneke's love story "Amour."

Wrap editor Sharon Waxman and columnist Steve Pond debate the contenders at the august film festival.

We're All Worker Ants in Facebook's Ad Scheme

Edward Jay Epstein — Fri, 25 May 2012 21:48:47 +0000

The brilliance of Facebook is its ability to beguile its 900 million-odd users into building digital heaps. Some of them are called "fan pages" and are devoted to celebrities, TV programs, political causes, commercial products, and so on. (Brands do this as well, but that's another column.)

'Chernobyl Diaries' Review: Creepy, Spooky and Altogether Nuke-y

Alonso Duralde — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:56:30 +0000

"Chernobyl Diaries" isn't going to do the Russian National Tourist Office any favors, but it's a solidly suspenseful (if somewhat disposable) horror movie that makes a haunted house out of a real-life disaster area.

Jon Favreau Won't Direct 'Iron Man 3,' But He Will Play Happy Hogan Again

Brent Lang — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:31:06 +0000

Jon Favreau may have ceded directing duties on "Iron Man 3" to Shane Black, but the man who helped launch Tony Stark onto movie screens will still be involved in the upcoming sequel.

'Hatfields & McCoys': Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton on Guns, Grit and Feud for Thought

Chris Willman — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:20:19 +0000

Long before we had Trump vs. Rosie, Tupac vs. Biggie, Carson vs. Rivers, or Axl vs. Slash, there was the biggest celebrity beef of them all: Hatfields vs. McCoys. The bloodletting of that late-19th-century Appalachian family feud became the stuff of international legend … but until now, remarkably, never a major mass entertainment.

Cannes 2012: 'No' Wins Top Prize at Directors Fortnight

Steve Pond — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:33:35 +0000

The Directors Fortnight section at Cannes has said yes to "No," Chilean director's Pablo Larrian's look at the referendum that ended Pinochet's reign in that country. On Friday, the film won the top prize at the Directors Fortnight, a section that runs concurrently with the Cannes Film Festival.

Tim McGraw Giving Away 25 Houses to Military Vets During His Summer Tour

Kimberly Potts — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:20:20 +0000

Here's a celebrity who's walking the walk this Memorial Day weekend: country star Tim McGraw is launching HomeFront, a national program that will award mortgage-free homes to wounded military vets in the 25 cities on McGraw's summer tour.

Cannes 2012: 'The Anti-Semite' Is Banned From Cannes Marketplace

Steve Pond — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:02:10 +0000

The Cannes marketplace has banned a film called "The Anti-Semite" for being, well, anti-Semitic.

The film, by controversial French comedian Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala, has been pulled from the Cannes Marche du Film, the marketplace that takes place concurrently with the Cannes Film Festival.

Lee Rich, Producer of 'The Waltons' and 'Dallas,' Dies

Tim Molloy — Fri, 25 May 2012 21:11:13 +0000

Lee Rich, the Emmy-winning TV and film executive who produced such shows as "The Waltons," "Eight Is Enough" and "Dallas," has died. He was 93.

Oscar Nominee Randall Wallace to Direct 'The Conscientious Objector'

Lucas Shaw — Fri, 25 May 2012 18:15:07 +0000

EXCLUSIVE

"Braveheart" writer Randall Wallace will direct "The Conscientious Objector" for Walden Media, Walden confirmed to TheWrap.

The film tells the story of Desmond Doss, a medic during World War II and the first conscientious objector to win the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Cannes 2012: Russian Student Film 'Doroga Na' Wins Cinefondation Award

Steve Pond — Fri, 25 May 2012 17:59:38 +0000

Student films from Russia, Cuba and New York's NYU have won prizes in the 15th Cinefondation section at the Cannes Film Festival, organizers announced on Friday.

"Doroga Na" ("The Road to"), a Russian film from Taisia Igumentseva of the VGIK school, was awarded first place, which carries with it a 15,000 Euro prize.