Director Costa-Gavras: European Cinema Could Not Survive Without State Protection
June, 18, 2013 4:39 pm | Comments On #Capital, Costa-Gavras, film festivals, Los Angeles Film Festival, Mark Boal, MoviesFilmmaking could not exist in Europe without the support of governments, veteran director Costa-Gavras told an audience at the Los Angeles Film Festival on Monday night.
At the same time, the Greek director of such politically-charged films as "Missing" and the Oscar-winning "Z," said that he supports French exclusionary laws that limit the amount of American television that can be shown on the air.
"If the state doesn't help, cinema cannot survive in Europe," the 80-year-old director said in a conversation with "The Hurt Locker" and "Zero Dark Thirty" screenwriter Mark Boal prior to a screening of his new...
David O. Russell Vows No More War Movies: 'I Don't Want to Make a Movie About Guns'
June, 17, 2013 1:41 pm | Comments On #American Hustle, David O. Russell, film festivals, Los Angeles Film Festival, Movies, Silver Linings Playbook, Three KingsDirector David O. Russell, introducing his 1999 Gulf War film “Three Kings” at the Los Angeles Film Festival Sunday night, said that he would never make another war film, and that all the armed conflicts in the last 50 years have been pointless.
“I don’t think there’s been a war in my lifetime that is worth a damn,” Russell, who was born in 1958, said in a LAFF interview with Elvis Mitchell. “They’ve all been stupid, and they just make a handful of people rich.”
He paused and shrugged. “And they’ve enriched our cinema and literature.”
“Three Kings,” which stars George Clooney, Mark...
Read MoreHow the L.A. Film Fest Wooed Hollywood
June, 12, 2013 4:23 pm | Comments On #David Ansen, film festivals, Los Angeles Film Festival, Movies, Stephanie AllainHollywood is finally embracing the Los Angeles Film Festival.
Studios once reluctant to showcase top films at LAFF, which officially opens on Thursday night in downtown L.A. after a pre-festival screening of “Man of Steel” on Wednesday night, have begun to see its value as a low-pressure showcase for movies with awards aspirations.
The turnaround comes after careful wooing by festival organizers and successful debuts of films including "The Kids Are Alright," "Animal Kingdom" and "A Better Life," all of which went on to earn Oscar nominations. Those films helped overcome studio resistance to the festival and bring talent such as Woody Allen for "To...
Hollywood Foreign Press Association Votes for Change, Elects Theo Kingma President
June, 10, 2013 8:23 pm | Comments On #Aida Takla O'Reilly, Ali Sar, Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globes, HFPA, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Movies, philip berk, Theo KingmaDutch photojournalist Theo Kingma has been elected president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
The news was first reported by TheWrap on Monday evening, and confirmed by the HFPA on Tuesday morning.
In the election held late Monday afternoon, Kingma defeated Russian journalist Ali Sar, the other candidate for the position. One HFPA member told TheWrap that the vote was 44-33, giving Kingma a much larger margin of victory than his predecessor, Aida Takla-O'Reilly.
The organization has 85 voting members and three non-voting "lifetime members."
While both Kingma and Sar were seen as potential agents of change in the controversial organization, Sar had the support of the old guard that has run the HFPA in recent years, while the 46-year-old Kingma was seen as a more aggressive advocate for a new approach.
He succeeds Takla-O...
Read MoreWill the New Election Help the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. Clean Up its Mess?
June, 10, 2013 5:54 am | Comments On #Aida Takla-O'Reilly, Ali Sar, Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globes, HFPA, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Movies, Theo KingmaAfter a few messy years, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association - which runs the Golden Globe awards - is facing a crucial election.
At a time when the organization is beset by grumbling by members and studios who pamper the 80-odd journalists who make up the HFPA, that membership will go to the polls late Monday afternoon to elect a new president.
The election will end the reign of Aida Takla-O’Reilly. Members will choose between Dutch photographer Theo Kingma and Russian journalist Ali Sar. As is HFPA custom, Takla-O'Reilly will remain involved as chairman of the board of directors – and there’s no telling if the policies that have embroiled the...
Student Academy Awards Go to USC, Ringling, Occidental and U of Texas
June, 08, 2013 10:32 pm | Comments On #Academy Awards, Awards, Bob Saget, Student Academy AwardsStudents from Occidental College, the University of Southern California, the Ringling College of Art and Design and the University of Texas at Austin won the top awards at the 40th Student Academy Awards on Saturday night, taking home gold medals and qualifying for next year’s Oscars.
In the Foreign Film category, a film from the UK’s National Film and Television School won the top prize.
The Academy announced the 15 winning films in five categories in May, but the student filmmakers didn’t know whether they’d won gold, silver or bronze medals until Saturday night’s ceremony, which was hosted by comedian and 1978 Student Oscar winner Bob Saget...
The 10 Funniest Lines from AFI's Mel Brooks Tribute - From Robert De Niro to Cloris Leachman
June, 07, 2013 9:42 am | Comments On #afi life achievement award, Awards, Carl Reiner, Cloris Leachman, Jimmy Kimmel, Martin Scorsese, Martin Short, Mel Brooks, MoviesThe American Film Institute's three-hour honoring of Mel Brooks with a Life Achievement Award Thursday night at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood proved that it’s pretty easy to put on a wildly entertaining show when you’ve got a roomful of comedians and a body of work that includes “The Producers,” “Young Frankenstein” and the campfire scene in “Blazing Saddles.”
“Tonight the AFI honors the arts, and the farts, of ... Mel Brooks,” said Sony Pictures chairman Howard Stringer at the beginning of the night, which will be broadcast June 15 on TNT, with which the AFI has entered into a new partnership.
Some editing will be required and will be useful.
The audience that included Dustin Hoffman, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jay Roach, Zack Galifianakis, Vince Gilligan, Judd Apatow and many more was treated...
Read More15 Little Movies You Shouldn't Miss This Summer (Photos)
May, 23, 2013 9:30 pm | Comments On #independent film, indies, MoviesHollywood’s eyes will be on behemoths like “Iron Man 3,” “Star Trek” and “Pacific Rim” this summer, but the next few months are also a strong time for smaller films. Here are 15 reasons why smart moviegoers should look away from the multiplexes and check out some arthouses.
Also read: Indies Fight for a Foothold in Season of Caped, Masked Superheroes
Read MoreIndies Fight for a Foothold in Season of Caped, Masked Superheroes
May, 23, 2013 9:29 pm | Comments On #Before Midnight, independent film, indies, Movies, Richard Linklater, Sony Pictures Classics, Tom BernardSummer is the busiest time of year at the multiplexes, with the major studios throwing wannabe blockbusters at every open date and big-budget sequels gobbling up all available screens.
For indie films, it's the perfect time of the year.
"People are in the moviegoing habit during the summer, but there's a smart audience out there that wants more than the latest superhero or another alien invasion," Sony Pictures Classics Co-President Tom Bernard told TheWrap.
See photos: 15 LIttle Movies You Shouldn't Miss This Summer
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Read More'Before Midnight's' Director, Stars Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke Celebrate 'the Lowest-Grossing Trilogy Ever'
May, 23, 2013 4:13 pm | Comments On #Before Midnight, before sunrise, before sunset, Ethan Hawke, independent film, indies, Julie Delpy, Movies, Richard Linklater"The Hangover Part III" may be the biggest three-quel to hit movie screens this Memorial Day weekend, but in indie circles that tale of Vegas debauchery will have to take a decided back seat to a man and a woman who’ll spend an hour and a half having conversations.
"Before Midnight" is the third installment in an unlikely trilogy that began with "Before Sunrise" in 1995 and continued with "Before Sunset" in 2004. Every nine years, it seems, director Richard Linklater gets back together with actors Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke to tell more of the story of Celine and Jesse, a couple who met on a train heading for Vienna in the first movie, reunited in Paris in the second, and now find themselves a married couple with kids and tensions on a Greek vacation.
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Description
Steve Pond, author of the L.A. Times bestseller The Big Show, has been covering entertainment for more than two decades. He also writes on the awards circuit for TheWrap, in his column "The Odds."
