Festival de Cannes 2012 - Part 2

I continue following the most interesting premieres and other events of this year's Cannes Film Festival. This post will tell you what happened on 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th days in a beautiful French city, where the weather played some evil tricks, causing downpours and even roof collapses.

Read about Days 1, 2, 3 of the 65th Cannes Film Festival!

One of the surprises of those days was a film about a section of the Los Angeles County Jail reserved for homosexuals, AIDS patients and transsexuals. This drama is called "K-11", and is directed by Jules Mann-Stewart, Kristen Stewart's mother. It sounds like a hard story, which definitely shouldn't be mistaken with a 1990s comedy "K-911", starring James Belushi.

Brad Pitt arrived to present his latest thriller "Killing Them Softly". I was hoping to see him and Angelina Jolie on the red carpet, but it wasn't meant to be. He was there along director Andrew Dominik, who has almost the same hairstyle and beard as Pitt, and it makes them look like brothers. By the way, this film has been already named "this year's Drive", which makes me even more excited to see it!

Another film I'm anxious to see is "Lawless". It was presented by the whole crew, including Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and Jason Clarke, who play three brothers with a dangerous bootlegging business. They say Hardy was in a great mood, joking and telling about funny behind-the-scenes moments. Director John Hillcoat told the journalists that this films was inspired partly by Sergio Leone's westerns.



23-years-old director Xavier Dolan traditionally presented his third film at the Cannes Film Festival. His "Laurence Anyways" is 3-hours long love story between a man and a woman, which becomes even more complicated after the first one decides to change his sex. His previous works, "J'ai tué ma mère" and "Les amours imaginaires", were highly appreciated at this Festival. This time there was a standing ovation for 5 minutes after its premiere.



Michael Haneke has already got 7 prizes from Cannes, ans his new drama "Amour" may bring him another one. It turns out to be very touching, many journalists were in tears after they watched it. This film is about love of two old people. The wife is dying and husband tries to comfort her, while their daughter insists to put her mother into the nursing home. It has to be also heartbreaking, so all critics loved it so far!



There will be another post about a few last days of the 65th Cannes Film Festival, and a few entries while I will watch the closing ceremony!

Oscar 2012 - All Nominees

The full list of the nominees of the 84th Annual Academy Awards was announced this morning by Jennifer Lawrence, who was nominated for her performance in "Winter's Bone" in 2011.

"Hugo" has 11 chances to get an award; "The Artist" has 10 nominations; "Moneyball" and "War Horse" were honored with 6; "The Descendants" and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" have 5 nominations each.

I'm going to see "The Artist" these days (it will be finally out in my country!), but I already know that I will hope it gets the Oscar in a month for Best Picture. My other predictions are selected with blue colour, but some nominations I left untouched, because I have no idea how they will choose winners for Film Editing, Best Documentary (I haven't watched none of them), Best Short Film or Sound Editing.

More about Oscar 2012!

Billy Crystal  is the Host, and the winners you will know on February 26.

The full list of nominees:

Best Picture
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"
"The Help"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Moneyball"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"

Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius ("The Artist")
Alexander Payne ("The Descendants")
Martin Scorsese ("Hugo")
Woody Allen ("Midnight in Paris")
Terrence Malick ("The Tree of Life")

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
George Clooney in "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis in "The Help"
Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer in "The Help"

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
"Hugo" Screenplay by John Logan
"The Ides of March" Screenplay by George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
"Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)
"The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
"Bridesmaids" Written by Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
"Margin Call" Written by J.C. Chandor
"Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen
"A Separation" Written by Asghar Farhadi

Animated Feature Film
"A Cat in Paris"
"Chico and Rita"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"

Art Direction
"The Artist" Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
"Hugo" Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"Midnight in Paris" Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
"War Horse" Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography
"The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Jeff Cronenweth
"Hugo" Robert Richardson
"The Tree of Life" Emmanuel Lubezki
"War Horse" Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design
"Anonymous" Lisy Christl
"The Artist" Mark Bridges
"Hugo" Sandy Powell
"Jane Eyre" Michael O'Connor
"W.E." Arianne Phillips

Best Documentary (Feature)
"Hell and Back Again" Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front" Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Pina" Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
"Undefeated" TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Best Documentary (Short Subject)
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement" Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
"God Is the Bigger Elvis" Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
"Incident in New Baghdad" James Spione
"Saving Face" Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom" Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing
"The Artist" Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Kevin Tent
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
"Hugo" Thelma Schoonmaker
"Moneyball" Christopher Tellefsen

Best Foreign Language Film
"Bullhead" Belgium
"Footnote" Israel
"In Darkness" Poland
"Monsieur Lazhar" Canada
"A Separation" Iran

Best Make-up
"Albert Nobbs" Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
"The Iron Lady" Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Best Original Score
"The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams
"The Artist" Ludovic Bource
"Hugo" Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse" John Williams

Best Original Song
"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from "Rio" Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Short Film (Animated)
"Dimanche/Sunday" Patrick Doyon
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
"La Luna" Enrico Casarosa
"A Morning Stroll" Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
"Wild Life" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Best Short Film (Live Action)
"Pentecost" Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
"Raju" Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
"The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George
"Time Freak" Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
"Tuba Atlantic" Hallvar Witzø

Best Sound Editing
"Drive" Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Ren Klyce
"Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
"War Horse" Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Best Sound Mixing
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
"Hugo" Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
"Moneyball" Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
"War Horse" Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Best Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
"Hugo" Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
"Real Steel" Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

What are we waiting for? Fall 2011

Top-10 movies, which you should watch in the movie theaters this fall.

1. "CONTAGION"

Tagline - "Don't talk to anyone. Don't touch anyone."

There is a virus, but no zombies? That's something new. With good cast and Steven Soderbergh's talent it is a new drama that shows how people act in such critical worldwide situation. And it looks like there is going to be no second, third or forth part. I hope.

Release date - September 9, 2011

2."DRIVE"

Tagline - "Get in. Get out. Get away."

I bet you heard about it many times. But haven't you seen it? Even 'big and scary' critic from The Rolling Stone magazine, Peter Travers, loved it! It looks like the story about a stunt driver by day and a getaway driver by night, who is played by handsome and talented Ryan Gosling, is worth of every bit of your attention.
Everything you need to know about it is here.

Release date - September 16, 2011

3."MONEYBALL"

Tagline - "What are you really worth?"

Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill are teamed up to make a basketball dream team. Based on a true story it is going to be an interesting drama about how to achieve your dream despite financial problems.

Release date - September 23, 2011

4. "THE IDES OF MARCH"

Tagline - "Is this man our next president?"

Another drama with Ryan Gosling, this time not about drivers, but about politicians. Directed and co-stared by George Clooney, this movie got many positive reviews. With those two it couldn't be another way.

Release date - October 7, 2011

5. "THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN"

Tagline - "This year, discover how far adventure will take you."

Have you heard about Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson? Do you know that they're very talented men and they've filmed a bunch of great movies? Now they're going to present an animated story about a boy, treasures, lost ships etc.
You can watch trailer and read the whole synopsis here.

Release date - October 26, 2011 (UK)

6. "THE RUM DIARY"

Tagline - "One part outrage. One part justice. Three parts rum. Mix well."

Johnny Depp isn't playing a Captain Jack Sparrow, but he still drinks lots of rum. He is a journalist now and he goes to Puerto Rico, falls in love with married girl, drinks again, sometimes writes for a local newspaper and has to choose between money and truth.
Read everything about this upcoming drama here.

Release date - October 28, 2011

7. "PUSS IN BOOTS"

Tagline - "Nine lives. One destiny."

The voices of Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek will be heard in this new Dreamworks' animation. It is a deserved spin-off from "Shrek" story about a very self-confident and brave cat.
Trailer is here.

Release date - November 4, 2011

8. "MY WEEK WITH MARILYN"

Tagline - "An incredible true story, which happened with a legend of 20th century."

Michelle Williams is the Marilyn. Simon Curtis is the director and Kenneth Branagh is the Sir Laurence Olivier, who is rumored to have some tense relationship with miss Monroe. My bonus is Emma Watson in an episodic role of a wardrobe girl Lucy.

Release date - November 4, 2011

9. "HUGO"

Tagline - "One of the most legendary directors of our time takes you on an extraordinary adventure."

Young actor Asa Butterfield scares me a bit, but there is Chloe Moretz, Jude Law, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory and Sacha Baron Cohen to make me more comfortable to watch it. This is new Martin Scorsese's fantastic story, which tell us how living in a Paris train station looks like.

Release date - November 23, 2011

10. "A DANGEROUS METHOD"

Tagline - "Freud vs Jung."

Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender and between them a patient played by Keira Knightley. Unusual and not surely romantic. With such cast it couldn't be bad, so I will definitely see it in the nearest future.

Release date - November 23, 2011

"Moneyball" (2011) - Trailer and synopsis

What are you really worth?

Based on a true story, "Moneyball" is a movie for anybody who has ever dreamed of taking on the system. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's and the guy who assembles the team, who has an epiphany: all of baseball's conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs. The onetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) in an unlikely partnership, recruiting bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all of whom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games. It's more than baseball, it's a revolution - one that challenges old school traditions and puts Beane in the crosshairs of those who say he's tearing out the heart and soul of the game. (iTunes movie trailers) Starring also Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Moneyball" is directed by Bennett Miller.

Official website - http://www.moneyball-movie.com/

Какова твоя настоящая цена?

Основанный на реальных событиях, "Человек, который изменил все" - это фильм для каждого, который когда-либо мечтал изменить систему. Брэд Питт играет Билли Бина, главного менеджера Оклендской бейсбольной команды, который вдруг прозревает: вся бейсбольная тактика никуда не годится. Вынужденному заново собрать команду, что бы она соответствовала более скромному бюджету, Бину придется перехитрить более обеспеченные клубы. Он объединяется с выпускником Лиги Плюща Питером Брэндом (Джона Хилл), что бы завербовать тех, кого другие посчитали непригодными, но кто все еще может вовремя добраться до базы, зарабатывать очки и выигрывать игры. Это больше, чем просто бейсбол, это революция – один человек бросает вызов традициям и оказывается под перекрестным огнем тех, кто считает, что Бин разрушает смысл игры. Также в фильме играет Филип Сеймур Хоффман, а режиссером выступил Беннетт Миллер.