With Black Water Transit no longer tied up in a legal tussle, though we gladly take in a Tony Kaye double bill, if we had to choose, we'd go with Detachment - a film that could send buyers into one of those legendary Park City frenzies. Filmed over the summer, if ready in time, we could get a school drama from the POV of the teachers and principles: Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks, James Caan, Lucy Liu, Marcia Gay Harden, Bryan Cranston, William Petersen, Blythe Danner and Tim Blake Nelson star.
Presented at last year's TIFF as a soon to be lensed project, Leaves of Grass returns as a full fledged offering with Edward Norton to the power of two (see still). Tim Blake Nelson got to present his last picture as a director The Grey Zone two days after 9/11. Also in the special presentation category we find Neil Jordan's Ondine, a fantasy pic that might remind some people out there of Splash.
Saint John of Las Vegas received its festival debut in...you guessed it. I'm not sure how it faired as the opening film for CineVegas, but I'm a fan of the casting line-up (Steve Buscemi, Sarah Silverman and Peter Dinklage which trickles down to a wheelchair-bound stripper (Emmanuelle Chriqui), a nude militant (Tim Blake Nelson), a park Ranger (Jesse Garcia), and a carnival human torch (John Cho). The film is pegged to receive a Fall release, several months after we forget about The Hangover.
Following the showcase for his sophomore film Old Henry (2021) at the Venice Film Festival, Potsy Ponciroli next landed on Greedy People (formerly titled...
The thrill of meeting Marjane Satrapi reminded me of being 6 years old at Disney Land when I met the living, breathing Cinderella. Except Cinderella was an actress with a blond wig and Marjane is the real woman behind her autobiographical graphic novel, turned movie, “Persepolis”. The distinctive mole on her nose and her dark sultry eyes rose off the page and appeared in front of me, smoking and speaking with a French accent.