Author: ADMIN

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“As a young man seeing Linda Manz in Days of Heaven, her performance, it stayed with me. Opened my eyes to the idea of not losing your deepest self in performance. I believe it affected all actors in that same way back then.” That’s how the great actor Vincent D’onofrio shared his thoughts on Linda Manz’ passing, Filmiere.com can confirm based on his own tweet.

Manz was best known for her part in Terrence Malick’s “Days of Heaven”, one of the most accomplished and celebrated works of the auteur. Manz then appeared in the 1979 film The Wanderers, directed by Philip Kaufman, and played the lead in Dennis Hopper’s influential cult film Out of the Blue. She chose not to do many films until a small role in David Fincher’s thriller The Game and a larger part in Harmony Korine’s Gummo in 1997.

But her performance in “Days of Heaven” alone would be enough to remember her as her performance was crucial to film’s success. Manz died on August 14, 2020, six days shy of her 59th birthday, of pneumonia and lung cancer.

Credit: Mensur Zeinal

(Photograph credit: A24/Netflix)

Again the Netflix is a big force when it comes to actors’ payment because some of the names on the new Forbes list of highest-paid actors include a lot of Netflix names. Of course, it’s a bit hard to realize where did they get earnings from, what they were contracts were like but Forbes is often sourced to be reliable information for such things, Filmiere.com can claim.

The list again includes Netflix regulars like Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Adam Sandler. The highest-paid actors of 2020 are as following:  1: The Rock – $87.5M 2: Ryan Reynolds – $71.5M 3: Mark Wahlberg – $58M 4: Ben Affleck – $55M 5: Vin Diesel – $54M 6: Akshay Kumar – $48.5M 7: Lin-Manuel Miranda – $45.5M 8: Will Smith – $44.5M 9: Adam Sandler – $41M 10: Jackie Chan – $40M.

Since the list consists of only male actors, it sure will raise questions around the equal payment between genders and how many opportunities actresses have in the industry to achieve careers like their male counterparts.

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(Photograph credit: SPC)

Unlike Telluride, New York Film Festival is not stopping and it just confirmed its line-up which has a lot of Berlin titles and some Cannes. Filmiere.com already reported that “Nomadland” will be the center film and “French Exit” will be the closing film. Opening Night film will be Steve McQueen’s “Lovers Rock”. It’s also notable for its lack of American films since there will be only five US produced titles on the main slate so far. Korean director Hong Sang-soo is also back with a new film. The full line-up other than those mentioned:

Atarrabi and Mikelats  (Dir. Eugène Green)
Beginning   (Dir. Dea Kulumbegashvili)
The Calming  (Dir. Song Fang)
City Hall  (Dir. Frederick Wiseman)
Days  (Dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
The Disciple  (Dir. Chaitanya Tamhane)
Gunda  (Dir. Victor Kossakovsky)
I Carry You with Me (Te Llevo Conmigo)  (Dir. Heidi Ewing)
Isabella  (Dir. Matías Piñeiro)
Malmkrog  (Dir. Cristi Puiu)
Mangrove  (Dir. Steve McQueen)
MLK/FBI  (Dir. Sam Pollard)
Night of the Kings (La Nuit des Rois) (Dir. Philippe Lacôte)
Notturno (Dir. Gianfranco Rosi)
Red, White, and Blue (Dir. Steve McQueen)
The Salt of Tears (Dir. Philippe Garrel)
Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue ( Dir. Jia Zhangke)
Time  (Dir. Garrett Bradley)
Tragic Jungle (Dir. Yulene Olaizola)
The Truffle Hunters (Dir. Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw)
Undine  (Dir. Christian Petzold)

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(Photograph credit: Netflix)

Now it’s time to talk about American films that got a trailer. First of all, “Devil All the Time” from Netflix is a much-hyped film since the book it based on is popular enough. Directed and co-written by Antonio Campos and produced by Jake Gyllenhaal and Randall Poster.

The film features an ensemble cast including Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Sebastian Stan, Haley Bennett, Eliza Scanlen, Mia Wasikowska and Robert Pattinson will have a lot to deal with including serial killer couple, fake priest and a war veteran.

Another trailer of the week was “War with Grandpa”. Anjelica Huston criticized legendary actors taking on light or gross comedies but one can forgive De Niro for making a family film like this as it was shot before his recent streak with “Joker”, “The Irishman” and possible David O.Russell/Martin Scorsese/James Gray collaborations.

This seems like a light-hearted funny family entertainment though and it only helps that he collaborates with another legend Christopher Walken here. Filmiere.com would be glad to report De Niro and Walken on another prestigious picture again but it’s a joy to see them together in anything anyway.

Trailers are available everywhere.

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(photograph credit: The Film Stage)

2020 is not the best year for cinema, so far but Filmiere.com should remind Asian cinema fans that Chinese and Hong Kong cinema are going strong. It was only a few months ago we got the trailer for Zhang Yimou’s forthcoming crime drama Under the Light and it looks like the director has been working at breakneck speed to finish his next film, the period spy thriller Impasse, which recently resumed shooting and is now in post-production.

It’s expected to come out in 2021 in China but was rumored to appear in Venice. Not sure why it was pulled out  Beyond “Impasse,” Zhang will also be executive producing a new propaganda film backed by the faltering studio Beijing Culture, which will debut during China’s National Day holiday on Oct. 1.

The film, whose Chinese title roughly translates to “Me and My Hometown,” is modeled on last year’s National Day propaganda juggernaut “My People, My Country.” Since Wong Kar-Wai is also working non-stop, Asian cinema fans will get plenty to look forward to.

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(photograph credit: Sony Pictures Classics)

Michelle Pfeiffer doesn’t do many movies for a few years, then she suddenly comes back with tons of great projects. Recently being terrific in “Where Is Kyra?” and “mother!”, also bringing her star power to Marvel Universe and Disney films, she’s now back again with an independent film project.

Set in New York City and Paris the novel follows a dysfunctional mother and son duo who are forced to relocate after their fortunes fall, Filmiere.com reports about the plot of the film “French Exit” but the film, which also co-stars Lucas Hedges and Tracy Letts is not only notable for how good it sounds but also because it’ll be the closing film of New York Film Festival which means that despite the outbreak, NYFF is eager to go on.

“Now, we’re honored that he’ll make his NYFF debut with closing night selection French Exit, a tour-de-force collaboration with Michelle Pfeiffer that we can’t wait to share with audiences in NYC and beyond,” NYFF festival director Eugene Hernandez added in a statement.

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(Photograph credit: Matthew McConaughey/Twitter)

Filmiere.com informs you that 2020 was full of great memoirs if you’re interested in American cinema. Woody Allen finally managed to publish his much-discussed autobiography “Apropos of Nothing” where he gives his account on famous allegations, as well as stories about his childhood, his comedy start times, and then subsequent movie career.

Oliver Stone also just recently published his memoir “Chasing the Light” which chronicles how he rose to fame with “Platoon”. There are also books that are not necessarily memoirs but feel like it; similar to “Picturing Peter Bogdanovich”, a large interview with legendary Peter Bogdanovich.

Actors were also publishing stuff; such as Val Kilmer’s great, inspirational book. Matthew McConaughey joins the trend now. “Ever since I learned to write, I’ve been keeping a journal, writing down anything that turned me on, turned me off, made me laugh, made me cry, made me a question, or kept me up at night,” McConaughey says in a video message to his social media followers.

“Two years ago, I worked up the courage to take all of those journals off into solitary confinement just to see what the hell I had, and I returned with a book.” The book is called “Greenlights” and will be on sale on 10.20.20.  Those who are going to quarantine or spends time at home have plenty to read this year.

Credit: Mensur Zeinal

(Photograph credit: Walt Disney Studios)

“For larger films, and epic stories like Tron, you are more dependent. It’s not quite as possible as with a small group of filmmakers. It’s a different art form.”, Filmiere.com quotes Olivia Wilde on what she said back in time on why we’re waiting for the third Tron film, fanboy favorite sci-fi starring Jeff Bridges.

Both of previous “Tron” films have received acclaim for their technical details and their blockbuster fun side but criticized the storylines as basic and not too interesting. The first film was a box office disappointment that later got a huge cult following, and the second one did over nearly 400 million dollars on the box office.

Now the third part is going strong. Garth Davis, who made his feature directing debut with 2016’s fact-based drama “Lion,” has signed on to direct a new “Tron” movie for the studio. It is supposed to be more of a new version rather than a direct sequel and it’s said to star Jared Leto.

Leto signed on to star in a new “Tron” movie, but until Monday, there hadn’t been much forward momentum for the franchise. We’ll keep you updated about the project.

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(Photograph credit: SPC)

Filmiere.com would be glad to report news that is not COVID-related finally but unfortunately, it’s the effect on cinema and the world is enormous and it doesn’t stop. Not only it postponed or canceled many film projects and releases but also many cinema people are actually diagnosed with the disease including losses like the great film composer Adam Schlesinger’s sad passing.

This time Spanish movie star Antonio Banderas who’s fresh off his first Oscar nomination for his incredible turn in “Pain and Glory” has announced that he got diagnosed with coronavirus. He said there’s nothing too much to worry about as he’s recovering, but he had to spend his birthday on quarantine.

He added that he only feels a little more tired than usual but generally doing, fine. Wishing him a speedy recovery. Banderas will next to appear in “Uncharted”, “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” (with a good friend of his; Salma Hayek) and “Lamborgini – The Legend” as Ferrucio Lamborghini, that will add another bio role to his resume which just recently included stand-in for Almodovar in “Pain and Glory”, Ramon Fonseca in “The Laundromat” and Pablo Picasso in “Genius”.

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(Photograph credit: Tokyo International Film Festival)

Unlike canceled festivals like Telluride, some are still planning to move ahead just like Toronto and Venice. In Asia, it’s Tokyo Film Festival who has plans to go on in physical form like every year but there will be some changes. Due to obvious reasons, they will make some changes to its structure, and the festival has also announced a tie-up with Japan’s leading indie film festival, Tokyo Filmex.

Filmiere.com reports that the festival will take place from October 31 to November 9. “By staying physical, TIFF will enable audiences to re-experience the joy of watching films on the big screen, which will light a beacon of hope for the future of film,” the festival said in a statement.

“We also believe this will help strengthen international solidarity in the global film industry and reexamine our understanding of visual culture after Covid-19.” Certainly good news for the Asian movie industry and Japanese cinema.

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