Monthly Archives: May, 2011

"Hidden within its creepy strata is a thorough – and often humorous - skewering of Washington politics and the manipulative, but fragile egos of beltway ideologues. The notion of brainwashing is a conceptual driver, and the film contains a biting and resonant message: the most resilient and dangerous form of mind control is invariably self-induced."

We complete our look at the key players in the Cannes market with the sales agent that has the most number of highly anticipated film projects. Wild Bunch came to the fest with popular items such as Polisse, The Artist and The Kid With a Bike, and it looks like they might outfit Venice and TIFF with some premium titles with Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmasters being one of the most sought after titles this coming August/September.

If I hadn't of missed out on the slate unveiling during the festival, I would have been extremely curious about what the Weinstein Co. had to show for for Jim Field Smith's Butter. With the distribution rights pick-up of The Iron Lady and The Artist, the Weinsteins are now more focused then ever in sticking to what they know best. The distribution and Prod co. had several items that have already been released and are selling, but in the titles that are getting ready for the fall, we look forward the most to Simon Curtis' My Week with Marilyn starring Emma Watson (see above) and Michelle Williams (aka Harvey's new Paltrow) as Monroe.

With European auteurs Stefan Ruzowitzy (Blackbird) and Tomas Alfredson (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) (see pic of Gary Oldman) moving into more mainstream items, Studiocanal have a strong pair for the Fall festival season that we can look forward to.

The U.S based Sales Agent and Production Co. company comes to Cannes with items for sale and surprisingly enough, they've got a Main Comp entry in Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive. We've got big eyes for a title Sierra/Affinity is repping in Oren Moverman's Rampart which I predict great things for, and Matt Piedmont directorial debut film which might confirm the genius I found in his Sundance winning short films.