News

Exclusive: Last month, Michael Sheen’s appearance on new BBC interview series The Assembly popped on social media, and now Australia’s biggest and brightest names will get the chance of a similar experience.

We can reveal public broadcaster the ABC has ordered an Australian version of The Assembly (aka The A Talks), with Mark Fennessy’s Helium Pictures attached to produce a six-part series. The production was announced at the ABC’s upfront today in Sydney.

The Assembly is being adapted from French hit Les Rencontres du Papotin, which launched two years ago on France 2. Helium began production yesterday, and will continue for six weeks with a potential network premiere date in Q3.

The Australian show will follow a group of autistic student journalists, as they prepare to interview six of the nation’s biggest names, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The other stars are under wraps, but...

Newly-launched Carrousel Studios has appointed French film industry veteran Cécile Gaget as its CEO, with effect from May 1.

Billed as an artists-first European independent studio and media company, Carrousel Studios was launched in March by actor-producer Omar Sy, producer-director Louis Leterrier and entrepreneur/producer Thomas Benski.

Their aim is to develop and produce multi-generational, high quality and high-concept entertainment for the global audience.

In her new role, Gaget will utilize her sales and film finance expertise to help expand and grow upon the Carrousel’s founders’ capabilities.

Based out of Paris, her mission will be to ramp up a local and global production slate, forge strategic partnerships and more specifically oversee development, production, financing and distribution strategies.

“I am very grateful to Omar, Louis, and Thomas for their trust in my abilities to help build and lead this studio to its fullest potential. I’m thrilled to embark on this journey with Carrousel Studios,...

Nick Cave has released “Song for Amy,” a new track appearing on both his score and the soundtrack for the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black. Stream it below.

On “Song for Amy,” Cave sings over a gorgeous arrangement of piano, flute, and strings while delivering somber lyrics like, “I’d give you anything for you to stay/ But if you go now, I won’t stay in your way.”

In addition to “Song for Amy,” the Back to Black soundtrack features highlights from Winehouse’s discography and several songs from artists who inspired her, including Billie Holliday and The Shangri-Las. The film’s score was composed by Cave and his longtime collaborator Warren Ellis. Stream both albums below.

Back to Black has already opened in the UK, but won’t arrive in US theaters until May 17th. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson off a script penned by Matt Greenhalgh, the...

Mediawan Kids & Family, a leading European youth animation studio working with filmmakers Sylvain Chomet (“The Triplets of Belleville”) and Joann Sfar (“The Rabbi’s Cat”), is ramping up its international distribution pipeline with the acquisition of three premium series: “Maddie + Triggs,” “The Specials” and “Idefix and the Indomitables.”

“Maddie + Triggs” is an inclusive preschool musical comedy series produced by Turnip + Duck, an award-winning Irish studio. A spinoff of a popular podcast aimed at children aged 4 to 7, the series was pitched at Cartoon Forum in 2022 and commissioned by the BBC’s kids’ network CBeebies in the U.K. and RTÉjr Ireland’s Children’s broadcast service. The series is animated by the Bristol-based indie Sun & Moon Studios. “Maddie+ Triggs” follows the adventures of Maddie, a visually impaired 7-year-old girl, and her dog Triggs, who find music through the sounds of everyday life.

“Today, there is more awareness and appreciation of difference than ever before,...

Playtime has boarded sales on Francois Ozon’s upcoming feature film When Fall Is Coming and released fresh details about the production which has largely been under wraps.

When Fall Is Coming marks the prolific French director’s 24th feature and follows hot on the tail of hit dramaThe Crime Is Mine which was one of Ozon’s most successful movies at the French box office to date.

Ozon has said previously cryptically said that When Fall Is Coming is inspired by a childhood memory and revolves around a crime family dinner.

As per a new synopsis sent out in a wide release by Playtime on Wednesday, the film revolves around grandmother, Michelle, who is enjoying a peaceful retirement in a charming Burgundy village, close to her long-time friend Marie-Claude.

She is looking forward to her grandson spending the school vacation. However, when her Parisian daughter, with whom she has a conflictual relationship,...

Playtime (“Son of Saul”) is reteaming with celebrated French directors François Ozon (“By the Grace of God”) and sister duo Delphine and Muriel Coulin (“17 Girls”) on their respective upcoming films, “When Fall Is Coming” and “The Quiet Son.”

“When Fall is Coming” marks Ozon’s follow up to “The Crime Is Mine.” The film stars Hélène Vincent (“The Specials”), Josiane Balasko (“Back to Mom’s”), Ludivine Sagnier (“Lupin”) and Pierre Lottin (“Notre-Dame on Fire”).

The film tells the story of Michelle, who is enjoying a peaceful retirement in a charming Burgundy village near her longtime friend Marie-Claude. She eagerly anticipates her grandson Lucas spending the school vacation with her, but things don’t go as planned. Feeling lonely, Michelle loses her sense of purpose, until Marie-Claude’s son gets out of prison.

The film is self-produced by Ozon through his vehicle Foz. Diaphana Distribution will release it in France.

In the vast tapestry that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies — based on the comics by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning — filled the role of "quirky outsiders." This is a gargantuan feat, given the number of gods, aliens, monsters, and other extraordinary beings found throughout the series. The team consisted of a single human being, Peter (Chris Pratt) who was abducted by a UFO as a child, and had eventually fallen into a family-like relationship with a team of mutants and alien warriors. There was Rocket Raccoon (voice of Bradley Cooper), a talking tree named Groot (Vin Diesel), a deadly assassin named Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), her mostly-mechanical sister Nebula (Karen Gillen), a literal-minded bruiser named Drax (Dave Bautista), and the gentle psychic Mantis (Pom Klementieff).

While Gunn had previously worked with much edgier material (he wrote the aggressively filthy "Tromeo & Juliet" back...

Director James Gunn, over the course of his career, has taken a long and circuitous path through the superhero genre. Back in 2000, he wrote the screenplay for a low-budget superhero film called "The Specials," which saw superheroes on their day off. It seems that a lot of them were less noble and far greedier than one might assume. A decade later, Gunn was still deconstructing superhero tropes with his aggressively depressing film "Super," a film that linked superhero instincts to violent madness. It was very curious, then, that 2013 should bring him to "Guardians of the Galaxy," a PG-13-rated chapter in the high-profile, ultra-safe Marvel Cinematic Universe. Gunn replaced danger with sentimentality, while retaining his off-kilter sense of humor. "Guardians" became deeply beloved.

While Gunn worked his way through a TV special and two sequels with the Guardians (the second sequel is due in theaters on May 5), he also crept...

Fun fact: James Gunn is actually in this picture—he’s the tiny guy on Thomas Haden Church’s shoulder. Left: The Specials (Screenshot: YouTube), Right: Super (Screenshot: YouTube) Fair to say that this past week has been the biggest one of James Gunn’s career: Eight years after making...

International sales and production veteran Cécile Gaget has been appointed as Head of Film at leading European indie studio Wild Bunch, as it expands under the leadership of CEO Ron Meyer and co-ceo Sophie Jordan.

Gaget, who takes up her role today (September 1), will lead the studio’s film group and report to Meyer and Jordan.

Her focus will be overseeing French acquisitions, distribution and local production as well as building an international production slate including English-speaking projects for Wild Bunch, which will act as producer and financier.

The appointment comes amid a period of great change for the company following the surprise arrival of veteran studio chief and CAA co-founder Meyer and former beIN Media Group executive Jordan as CEO and co-ceo last November.

“I am very excited to join Wild Bunch and work along with Sophie and Ron to be part of the company’s dynamic next chapter.

French film executive previously spent a decade at Gaumont.

Cecile Gaget has been appointed head of film at European studio Wild Bunch, stepping down from her senior role at UK-based producer and financier Anton.

The French executive takes up the new role from today (September 1), joining from Anton where she was president of international production and distribution for nearly two years. She previously spent a decade on the executive team of French studio Gaumont as head of international production and distribution, setting up the company’s US film division during her tenure.

Based in Paris, Gaget will lead Wild Bunch...

The annual St. Louis Jewish Film Festival has returned, again in a virtual format, March 6 -13 but shifted to a new spring season instead of its previous summer slot. Being virtual means all the exciting lineup of films, including documentaries on an array of subjects plus comedy and drama narrative films, are available to view anytime during the festival, through March 13, from the comfort of your own home. For tickets and more information, visit their website https://jccstl.com/arts-ideas/st-louis-jewish-film-festival.

The 27th annual festival, which is virtual like the last two, has an array of 13 international and U.S. films with Jewish themes, with five outstanding documentaries on varied topics, and eight engrossing narrative features including dramas, comedies, historical films and thrillers, plus a trio of enticing discussions and a pre-festival bonus short film, “Touch the Sky,” which is available to stream starting Jan. 17.

Countries represented include Israel, France,...

Cedric Jimenez’s action thriller “The Stronghold” won the Cesar Award which was voted on by nearly 2,000 students from French high schools in France, the U.K., Mayotte and Japan.

The Studiocanal film, which was produced by Hugo Sélignac at Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, a Mediawan company, was nominated for seven Cesar Awards, including best film and two actor nods. Both Jimenez and Selignac were honored at the ceremony which was attended by the Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer and Veronique Cayla, the president of the Cesar Academy.

Headlined by a French cast comprising Gilles Lellouche, Francois Civil, Karim Leklou, Adele Exarchopoulos (“Blue Is the Warmest Color”) and Kenza Fortas, “The Stronghold” is inspired by a true story and follows a police brigade in a crime-ridden neighborhood of Marseille.

After world premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, the film was released in French theaters by Studiocanal and became one of 2021’s rare local box office hits,...

The 14th annual ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York kicks off April 7 and runs through April 13 as a hybrid with both in-person and virtual events. ReelAbilities is dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expression of people with disabilities.

The 2022 edition boasts a dozen features and more than 25 shorts, plus post-screening discussion, presented by Pfizer, and other events aimed at opening dialogue and discussion.

“The Specials” (pictured above), starring Vincent Cassel, Reda Kateb, Helene Vincent and Brian Mialoudama opens the festival. The drama, from acclaimed duo Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano (“The Intouchables”) tells the story of two close friends who have combined their nonprofits to train youth in underprivileged areas to be caregivers for autistic children and teens. Although the program runs into challenges the power of unity, compassion and acceptance within the program prove exceptional.

Closing night film is Brian Malone and Regan Linton’s documentary “Imperfect,...

Liz Phair has released the music video for “Spanish Doors,” the latest single from her upcoming album Soberish. The LP is her first studio release in 11 years, following 2010’s Funstyle, and arrives June 4th via Chrysalis Records.

“Spanish Doors” addresses the emotional struggle of divorce and finding a “ghost in the mirror” when faced with one’s own shortcomings in a relationship, reflected in the music video with mirror-like visual effects. Phair herself appears while singing against a Spanish-style house, and later on the beach, where she edits the opacity...

Operation Ivy only existed for two years, from May 1987 through May 1989, but in that time, the Berkeley, California, band forever altered the future of both punk and ska. They weren’t the first to mix these genres, but the band — made up of singer Jesse Michaels, drummer Dave Mello, and future Rancid members Tim “Lint” Armstrong and Matt “McCall” Freeman, on guitar and bass, respectively — completely changed the rules for what was possible in each, inspiring thousands of others to follow their lead.

The band didn’t exist in a...

Angèle Mac, Clément Penhoat, Ahmed Abdel Laoui and Kylian Larmonie star in the genre film. A production bringing together Les Films du Worso and Unité, sold by Elle Driver. Since 12 April, in the Paris region, Guillaume Nicloux has been filming La Tour d’Assitan, his 16th feature film after, among other titles, Thalasso (in competition at San Sebastian in 2019), To the Ends of the World (Directors’ Fortnight 2018), Valley of Love (in Cannes competition in 2015) and The Nun (in competition in Berlin in 2013). Starring in this film, at the border between fantasy and horror, are Angèle Mac (making her feature film debut), Clément Penhoat (better known under his rapping name Hatik and revealed on screen in the series Validé), Ahmed Abdel Laoui (seen in The Specials and Just Kids) and Kylian Larmonie. Written by the director, the script begins one morning, when the inhabitants of a housing...

Karin Viard, Darren Muselet and Samir Guesmi stand out among the cast of this feature debut, produced by Tripode and Incognita, and sold by France TV Distribution. After kicking off on 18 February, the shoot for An Ordinary Mother, the feature-length directorial debut by actress Sylvie Audcoeur, is due to wrap today. The feature is toplined by Karin Viard, rising star Darren Muselet (who turned heads in The Specials and was popular in Bro) and Samir Guesmi. This trio is flanked by such names as Oscar Kopp and Farida Ouchani.The story, written by the director...

’Beautiful Minds’ is inspired by the real-life experiences of co-director Alexandre Jollien who was born with cerebral palsy but overcame his disabilities to study philosophy

Elle Driver has launched sales on Bernard Campan and Alexandre Jollien’s pioneering French comedy-drama Beautiful Minds, about a workaholic funeral director and a solitary vegetable delivery man and philosopher born with cerebral palsy, who embark on a road trip in a hearse.

It is inspired by the real-life experiences of Jollien who was born with cerebral palsy but overcame his disabilities to study philosophy and become became a major thinker and spiritual teacher, who has written several best-selling books.

French cinema saw its international box office receipts fall to €86.6 million ($105.4 million), a near 70% drop, in 2020, according to a study unveiled by French promotion org UniFrance during the virtual Rendez-Vous market.

The drastic decline is explained by the fact that theaters worldwide were closed for several months due to the pandemic. The number of French films released in foreign theaters fell by 30% to 611 titles.

International ticket sales, meanwhile, fell to 13.7 million, down 69.8% on 2019. The extent of the drop in overseas admissions mirrors the decline in admissions for French films at home, which were down 60.7% compared with 2019 levels. UniFrance also points to the absence of a major hit and the downturn in emerging markets such as China.

Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy” and Ladj Ly’s “Les Miserables” were the three French films that sold the most admissions overseas...

Reda Kateb and Naidra Ayadi also star in the cast of Thomas Kruithof’s second feature film, which is produced by 24 25 Films and sold by Elle Driver. Thomas Kruithof has kicked off filming in the Paris region on his second full-length work: Promises. Discovered via The Eavesdropper (2017), the filmmaker has drawn together a cast composed of Isabelle Huppert (recently well-received in Mama Weed and whom we’ll be seeing next year in Joan and Caravaggio’s Shadow), Reda Kateb and Naidra Ayadi (crowned Best Female New Hope at the 2012 Césars thanks to Poliss; likewise drawing attention in the series Black Spot). Written by Thomas Kruithof and Jean-Baptiste Delafon (of the series Baron...

Netflix has acquired world rights to French director Just Philippot’s Cannes Critics’ Week 2020 Label horror thriller “The Swarm.”

Written by Jérôme Genevray (“Vieux con”) and Franck Victor (“Philosophie”), the film is set in rural France. It stars French actress Suliane Brahim (“The Specials”) as a single mother who is struggling to get her grasshopper farm off the ground until she discovers her livestock thrive on human blood. She develops a connection with her demanding swarm, which distances her from her two children and puts her at odds with local farmers.

Netflix’s deal for the film was overseen by Wild Bunch Intl., and includes all territories excluding France, Spain and China.

“The Swarm” will stream on Netflix from Dec. 4. Producers Capricci Films and The Jokers Films will release it theatrically in France Nov. 4, while Capricci’s Spanish arm will launch it in Spain on Nov. 20.

“The Swarm” was among...

Former Cnc and Arte chief Véronique Cayla promises transparency, democracy and gender equality.

Véronique Cayla and Eric Toledano have been voted president and vice president of France’s Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques for a two-year term, in the body’s first democratic, gender-equal election of its governing board.

The French film industry is hoping their election will mark the end of a torrid period for the troubled body which went into meltdown earlier this year amid growing criticisms over its lack of transparency, gender equality and inclusion.

Cayla has wide experience of France’s film and TV world...

Veronique Cayla, the well-respected film and TV executive who recently stepped down from the leadership of Franco-German public culture channel Arte France, will preside the Cesar Academy, which distributes France’s equivalent to the Oscars. Eric Toledano, the popular co-director of smash-hit “The Intouchables” and a key member of the film guild Arp, will be vice-president of the Cesar Academy.

Both Cayla and Toledano were elected for a two-year mandate by the new administration board of the Academy, which includes 42 reps from 21 different fields within the film industry, from actors to crew members, screenwriters, directors and producers. Gender parity has been applied with a man and a woman representing each branch.

The new administration board includes the actors Marina Fois and Antoine Reinartz, the directors Pascale Ferran and Cédric Klapisch, the screenwriters Olivier Gorce and Julier Peyr, the producers Alain Attal and Marie-Ange Luciani, the agents Sébastien Cauchon and Elisabeth Tanner,...

Longtime Gaumont sales chief Cecile Gaget is joining Euro producer-financier Anton as President of International Production and Distribution from October 1, 2020.

Gaget most recently served as Gaumont’s Head of International Production and Distribution, overseeing international acquisitions, English and local-language productions and foreign remakes. She also set up the company’s U.S. film division.

In her new role at Anton, the French pro will work closely with Anton founder Sebastien Raybaud and the Anton team to expand the company’s film production and distribution arm.

During her 10-year tenure at Gaumont, Gaget acquired the U.S. remake rights to the iconic Korean zombie hit Train to Busan set up at New Line. She handled sales on hit features including The Intouchables, C’est La Vie, and The Specials from directors Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. She also oversaw sales and distribution on Nicolas Winding Refn’s films Only God Forgives, starring Ryan Gosling,...

Look Out! The Specials are coming to Blu-ray! First time in HD on Blu-Ray! The hilarious 2000 cult film The Specials starring Rob Lowe, Thomas Hayden Church, Jamie Kennedy and Paget Brewster arrives on Blu-ray in a world premiere “special” 20th Anniversary limited edition on July 14 from La-La Land Entertainment! “A darkly funny portrait..!” …

The post Look Out! The Specials are coming to Blu-ray! First time on HD on Blu Ray! appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.

Yesterday, the César Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, were handed out. Taking the top prize, in somewhat of a surprise, was Les Misérables from Ladj Ly. Clearly a top contender for the award, it faced stiff competition from An Officer and a Spy, as well as especially from Portrait of a Lady on Fire. However, France’s submission to the Academy Awards had that upper hand, and in the end, it led the way here. Of course, what was most noteworthy was actress and nominee Adèle Haenel (from Portrait of a Lady on Fire) walked out of the ceremony when it was announced that Roman Polanski had won the Best Director prize for An Officer and a Spy. Her protest made waves throughout the industry, and even thought Polanski was not in attendance, it was a powerful statement, to be sure… Here now are the Cesar Award results: Best Film “La Belle Epoque,...

France’s Oscars unfold amid politically charged atmosphere following protests over nominations for Polanski’s An Officer And A Spy.

Ladj Ly’s explosive social drama Les Misérables won best film at a politically charged 45th Cesar awards on Friday evening which also saw Roman Polanski feted with best director for historical drama An Officer and A Spy.

The ceremony for France’s equivalent of the Oscars in the Salle Pleyel concert hall in central Paris unfolded in an atmosphere of heightened tension.

It has been a rocky six weeks for the awards, following a backlash by female rights activists...

France’s Oscars unfold amid politically charged atmosphere following protests over nominations for Polanski’s An Officer And A Spy.

Ladj Ly’s explosive social drama Les Misérables won best film at a politically charged 45th Cesar awards on Friday evening which also saw Roman Polanski feted with best director for historical drama An Officer and A Spy.

The ceremony for France’s equivalent of the Oscars in the Salle Pleyel concert hall in central Paris unfolded in an atmosphere of heightened tension.

It has been a rocky six weeks for the awards, following a backlash by female rights activists...

France’s Oscars unfold amid politically charged atmosphere following protests over nominations for Polanski’s An Officer And A Spy.

Ladj Ly’s explosive social drama Les Misérables won best film at a politically charged 45th Cesar awards on Friday evening which also saw Roman Polanski feted with best director for historical drama An Officer and A Spy.

The ceremony for France’s equivalent of the Oscars in the Salle Pleyel concert hall in central Paris unfolded in an atmosphere of heightened tension.

It has been a rocky six weeks for the awards, following a backlash by female rights activists...

France’s Oscars unfold amid politically charged atmosphere following protests over nominations for Polanski’s An Officer And A Spy.

Ladj Ly’s explosive social drama Les Misérables won best film at a politically charged 45th Cesar awards on Friday evening which also saw Roman Polanski feted with best director for historical drama An Officer and A Spy.

The ceremony for France’s equivalent of the Oscars in the Salle Pleyel concert hall in central Paris unfolded in an atmosphere of heightened tension.

It has been a rocky six weeks for the awards, following a backlash by female rights activists...

France’s Oscars unfold amid politically charged atmosphere following protests over nominations for Polanski’s An Officer And A Spy.

Ladj Ly’s explosive social drama Les Misérables won best film at a politically charged 45th Cesar awards on Friday evening which also saw Roman Polanski feted with best director for historical drama An Officer and A Spy.

The ceremony for France’s equivalent of the Oscars in the Salle Pleyel concert hall in central Paris unfolded in an atmosphere of heightened tension.

It has been a rocky six weeks for the awards, following a backlash by female rights activists...

The stormiest and most beleaguered Cesar Awards ever took place in Paris on Friday, with “Les Miserables” being named 2019’s best French film while protesters lined the streets outside the Salle Pleyel protesting the nominations for Roman Polanski’s “J’accuse,” which is known as “An Officer and a Spy” outside France.

Despite the furor, Polanski won two Cesar awards, one for best director and another for adapted screenplay, which he shared with his co-writer Robert Harris. His film also won for its costumes.

It was Polanski’s fifth Cesar in the directing category, the most of any director. His previous awards were for “Tess,” “The Pianist,” “The Ghost Writer” and “Venus in Fur.”

Despite all the attention on Polanski, the Oscar-nominated “Les Miserables” was the big winner of the night, taking home four awards. In addition to the best-film prize, director Ladj Ly’s taut drama also won for most...

France’s César Academy members’ support for Polanski’s film unswayed by rape allegations.

France’s Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences unveiled the nominations for the 45th edition of the César awards at its traditional news conference at Fouquet’s restaurant in Paris on Wednesday morning.

Roman Polanski’s historic drama An Officer And A Spy – about the infamous 19th Century Alfred Dreyfus affair - topped the list with nominations in 12 categories, including best film and best director.

The French release of the film, which won the grand jury prize at the Venice Film Festival last September, was hit...

Updated: Nominations for the 45th César Awards were unveiled this morning in Paris, led by Roman Polanski’s Dreyfus Affair drama An Officer And A Spy with 12 including Best Film, Director and Actor (for Jean Dujardin). While Polanski remains a controversial figure owing to his 1977 child sex conviction and subsequent flight from the United States, as well as a more recent allegation (which he has denied), there has been a divide between U.S. and European perspectives in the #MeToo era. An Officer And A Spy premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2019, winning the Grand Jury Prize. In November, it opened No. 1 at the French box office.

France’s equivalent to the Oscars, the Césars are handed out by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma. In 2017, the Académie made headlines over its appointment of Polanski as President of that year’s ceremony. The move was followed by...

In 2011, producer Marc Obéron launched Le Temps Presse, an activist film festival dedicated to uniting socially minded filmmakers with an equally impassioned public in order to engage with the concerns of sustainable development and related issues facing the global community.

Now entering its ninth edition (Jan. 22-26), Le Temps Presse will introduce a new component this year. On Feb. 7, organizers will launch Cinema for Change, a daylong industry forum in Paris dedicated to the development and production of what Obéron calls “social impact entertainment.”

“In the United States, over the past few years, we’ve seen a strong trend towards civic-minded content,” says Obéron. “Questions of diversity, inclusion, climate change and other environmental concerns have not only informed documentaries, but many narrative features as well. With our first Cinema for Change forum, we want to bring together members French industry who are interested in the same questions.”

“Though there’s...

"His organization responds to acute needs." Madman Films out of Australia has debuted an official English-subtitled trailer for the acclaimed, beloved French drama (originally) called The Specials. Apparently for the Australian release they've retitled it to The Extraordinary, which sort of still works I guess, but okay whatever. No need for a new name. This is from the same two talented French filmmakers who made The Intouchables, and this time they tell the story of two based-on-real-people social support caregivers for autistic children and teens. Vincent Cassel and Reda Kateb star as two of the most caring, loving guys you'll ever meet - as Bruno and Malik. The full cast also includes Hélène Vincent, Bryan Mialoundama. Alban Ivanov, Benjamin Lesieur, Marco Locatelli, and Catherine Mouchet. It's a wonderful film. I saw it at the San Sebastian Film Festival and loved everything about it - read my glowing review. It truly is a "special", warm,...

Disparaging remarks by Francis Ford Coppola have further inflamed the debate sparked by Martin Scorsese and his criticism of Marvel and other comic book films.

At a press conference in Lyon, France, where he was being honored at the Lumiere festival, the “Godfather” director said he fully agreed with Scorsese’s assessment and went even further in criticizing Marvel-type movies. “Martin was being kind when he said it wasn’t cinema,” Coppola said. “He didn’t say it was despicable, which is what I say.”

Coppola’s comments brought a rapid retort from James Gunn, the writer-director of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise and the upcoming “The Suicide Squad.” Gunn, who had also taken issue with Scorsese’s remarks, said on his Instagram account that “many of our grandfathers thought all gangster movies were the same, often calling them ‘despicable.’ Some of our great grandfathers thought the same of westerns,...

The Istanbul-based gathering will screen 83 films from around the world, and will host a national and an international competition, while Brillante Mendoza will chair one of the juries. The seventh edition of the Bosphorus International Film Festival is ready to kick off. Running from 18-25 October in Istanbul, the festival will bring 83 films from 25 countries to audiences in the city’s Atlas, Beyoğlu and Kadıköy theatres. Organised by the Bosphorus Cinema Association and the Istanbul Media Academy, the festival “has an outstanding programme, underlining the significance of the seventh edition”, as Bosphorus artistic director Emrah Kılıç pointed out. This year's Bosphorus International Film Festival will open with Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano’s The Specials. Based on a real-life story, the social comedy starring Vincent Cassel and Reda Kateb, which brought the 72nd Cannes Film Festival to a close, will be screened after the opening ceremony on 18 October....

San Sebastian — Blessed by sun, a steady sustenance of Donostia winning stars and a stream of production announcements, the San Sebastian Film Festival rounded its final bend on Friday after a robust 67th edition. San Sebastian’s status as the highest-profile movie event in the Spanish-speaking world remains unquestioned. The maelstrom of change – imminent global platforms. markets, Latin American politics -could not but play out over events, forging a festival of sharp contrasts and little granularity about how major pivots in the global business could impact the Spanish-language arthouse business and new directors, its stock in trade. Following seven takeaways from this edition:

1. The Winners: Spanish Svod Platforms

You could hear a proverbial pin drop as HBO España unveiled first footage from its first announced series in Spain: “Patria,” a multi-time-period set chronicle on the human impact of the Basque conflict. It left San Sebastian with the status of a must-see show.

Awww wow, The Specials is really something wonderful. Instantly one of my favorite films of the year. The Specials is the latest feature from writers / directors Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano, the same two French filmmakers who made the hit film The Intouchables a few years back. This originally premiered as the Closing Night film at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, but I missed it there. I finally caught up with it at the San Sebastian Film Festival and oh my goodness, I love it with all my heart. A spectacular film across the board, delivering in every sense - profound performances, engaging storytelling, energetic music, sincere moments of empathy and understanding. It's a film with a hard-hitting message (that we must take care of every last human – especially those that society rejects), yet one of the finest examples of a message film in years. It will move you...

Other films on the submission short list were Celine Sciamma’s Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and Alice Winocour’s Proxima.

Ladj Ly’s explosive social drama Les Miserables, capturing the tensions in a tough Paris housing estate, will represent France as the country’s submission to the Academy Awards’s rebranded international feature film category in the 2019-20 Oscar race.

The film made waves when it premiered in Competition in Cannes this year, winning the Jury Prize (in a tie with Bacurau).

It is a first feature for Ly, who has spent most his filmmaking career capturing the...

With prominent uses in not one but two films released so far this year, it’s been a big year for The Specials’ song Ghost Town – and the haunting, decline-riddled conception of modern Britain it attempts to illustrate. In Joanna Hogg’s exceptional Sundance favourite The Souvenir, it is a subtle reference to a busy, unhappy 1980s outside the ornate Knightsbridge inhabited by the film’s primary characters. But in Karim Sayad’s new documentary My English Cousin, which tells the story of Sayed’s cousin Fahed, Ghost Town serves as very much the timely anthem for a society that still hasn’t arrested those years of decline.

Fahed is introduced (somewhat ironically) as an eminent Englishman, the wearer of Arsenal and England football shirts, who strolls around his now-native Grimsby with his hands in his pockets. Like his director cousin, Fahed was born in Algeria, but stands out within...

Following the French box office hit “Rolling to You,” Gaumont is re-teaming with the film’s stars, Franck Dubosc and Alexandra Lamy, on “Family Swap,” a comedy about a dysfunctional family whose members swap bodies.

The film will start shooting in September, with Jean-Patrick Benes (“Ugly Melanie”) directing. The story follows the Morels, including two teenagers and a 7-year-old kid who are driving their parents out of their minds. One morning, they all wake up inside each other’s bodies.

Gaumont worked with Dubosc on his directorial debut, “Rolling to You,” which was one of France’s highest-grossing local films in 2018, with about $20 million locally, and $25 million abroad. Karé Prods. is producing “Swap,” and Gaumont is co-producing, distributing in France and handling international sales.

Gaumont, which is in Cannes with Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s closing night film “The Specials,” has also boarded “Heart of Oak,” a music-filled, 4K-lensed...

Awards to be presented on Sunday, May 19.

Chinese actress Gong Li and German director Eva Trobisch will receive awards at Cannes 2019 from Women In Motion, an initiative designed to highlight women’s contribution to the film industry that runs as part of the official programme of the festival (May 14-25).

For the fifth edition of the awards, Li is awarded the Women In Motion prize, previously won by Jane Fonda in 2015, Isabelle Huppert in 2017 and Patty Jenkins last year.

She has previously appeared at Cannes in films including Chen Kaige’s 1993 joint Palme d’Or winner Farewell My Concubine, and...

’Meet The Streamers’ will be held on Tuesday May 21 from 3-5pm.

The Marché du Film has launched a new event for the 2019 market called ’Meet The Streamers’, to connect key VOD players with international sales agents and producers.

Taking place on Tuesday, May 21 from 3pm to 5pm Cest at the Plage des Palmes, the event will run via a 20-minute speed-meeting format, introducing representatives from seven platforms to a rotating selection of attendees.

The representatives present will include Anaïs Lebrun, programming director – international at global streamer Mubi; Pawel Wieszczecinski, founder, executive director and head of distribution at New York-founded service Kinoscope; Joan Sala,...

The Specials, the latest feature from The Intouchables filmmaking duo Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, has been set to close out the 72nd Cannes Film Festival — just don’t call it the “Closing Film.” Cannes organizers said today that they’re doing away with the distinction, preferring to brand the final pic of the Riviera shindig as the “Last Screening.” There are a couple of pop culture winks in the switch: In French, the final movie will henceforth officially be referred to as “La Dernière Séance” which is the local title of Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 Oscar winner The Last Picture Show, as well as a tune by French actor/singer Eddy Mitchell.

The Specials, a social comedy that was submitted at the last minute to the selection committee, will screen in the Lumière Theater after the Closing ceremony on Saturday May 25.

Vincent Cassel and Reda Kateb star alongside a cast...

The Specials from The Intouchables directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano will be the final film at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

It will screen after the festival's closing ceremony May 25 and the announcement of the Palme d'Or, with Pedro Almodovar, Bong Joon-ho, Xavier Dolan and Celine Sciamma among the filmmakers in competition.

The French dramedy stars Vincent Cassel and Reda Kateb leading a cast of nonprofessional actors in the world of autistic teens and social workers. It elaborates on the themes the duo delved into on their French box office smash The Intouchables. That film,...