Category: News

(Photograph credit: Warner Bros.)

Keanu Reeves is a beloved on the internet and among the public. He has recently spoken about his admiration for the safety protocols in Berlin, Germany while filming “The Matrix 4”. As Filmiere.com reported recently, this is a challenging year and the filming of the movies will not be the same again until the world will get back to normal somehow someday.

A certain part of budgets will be going to safety issues and Germany is very attentive in this case. “There are some really thoughtful, effective protocols in place, and the rhythm of filmmaking has not been really impacted or interrupted, in the sense of filming,” Reeves told the Associated Press.

“That’s because of the hard work and organization, and again the thoughtfulness that has gone into the protocols.” Production began in in February and moved to Berlin in March, but cameras did not as coronavirus swept the world.

Reeves and his “Matrix” series, directed by Wachowskis are very beloved and the fans are looking forward to seeing the end result. Many countries are taking safety measures in their movie industries. We’ll see which ones are doing it right and which ones are doing it wrong.

Those films that get filming this year will reveal a lot about the current standards of filmmaking. Meanwhile coming back to “The Matrix”, it seems Laurence Fishburne won’t be back. “I have not been invited. Maybe that will make me write another play.

I wish them well. I hope it’s great,” Fishburne told Magazine (as covered by The Wrap). “It is probably the role that I’ll be best remembered for, which is great; it’s not the only thing I’ll be remembered for, which is better,” he added of Morpheus.

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(Photograph credit: The Film Stage)

John Hughes’ “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” starring the great Steve Martin and John Candy is one of the most beloved comedies of the 1980s and arguably the most famous Thanksgiving-themed comedy in American cinema, however, it’s a film that is well known and celebrated everywhere.

Now there’s remake news. It’s a bit interesting that they’re going to remake this because many other films just decided to make a road movie with a similar formula and did fine box office just like Todd Phillips’ “Due Date”, filmiere.com reports.

They may rely on the name recognition but it can actually be off-putting for some because it’s a well-known film and there’s a growing number of complaints around remakes on the internet in recent years. Will Smith and Kevin Hart are huge stars enough to draw attention to themselves.

Anyways, there’s no need to complain. As always, hoping for more good films to come – remake or not and even if not, fans of the original should know that the original will forever exist. Hopefully, they’ll make a good update on the subject, and Smith and Hart will get a fine material to deal with.

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(Photograph credit: STX Entertainment)

It’s possible “Tenet” doing a good box business because the box results of the recent weeks are pretty solid. While local titles have dominated the box since the country’s cinemas reopened in late June, the weekend saw the first chart-topper for a US live-action film in this period.

“Greenland” (pictured), starring Gerard Butler, Filmiere.com can confirm. The news is good in many other places. In Korea for example, the local film “Deliver Us From Evil” is doing pretty great. South Korean box rose 68% at the weekend, thanks to the arrival of the film, directed by Hong Won-Chan.

Russell Crowe movie “Unhinged” was also always expected to be the first film to get a release post-quarantine in many countries and it didn’t disappoint; since it topped six markets including a large one that is Russia.

Cinemas are opening (and closing) around the world, but even though it seems like a success for several films and their cinemas, it’s still unpredictable to see what’s going to happen. This year will be interesting to follow the cinema news around the world.

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(photograph credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Yes, it seems, it’s finally happening. “Tenet” kept pushing back during this summer and it took a lot of place on our news since it’s a huge film kept delaying itself only by two weeks and Christopher Nolan is probably the director with the biggest fan base around the world, up there with Quentin Tarantino on making an “event” film.

So this is huge news for movie industry because since we know that embargo will be lifted on Friday, that means yes, it’ll be finally out in many areas of the world, according to Filmiere.com. Why the “Tenet” release is interesting because we’ll see how much critics focus on the film and how much their worries on public events will affect that.

Also since it makes it sure that “Tenet” is finally getting released, first starting with the previews on Australia (where people are also urged to pre-buy the tickets to avoid lines) and then with some other parts of the world. That means its box results and its impact on COVID-19 spread will be an example for other films to follow.

Other than that, yes, we’ll finally get to know what critics think of Christopher Nolan’s latest feature. Most of his films, especially the latest “Dunkirk” were raved by critics while films like “The Prestige” and “Interstellar” got a more mixed reception in comparison. We’ll see how this turns out.

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(Photograph credit: Paramount Pictures)

“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.

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(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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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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