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TIFF Picks 09: Jesper Ganslandt’s The Ape
Ganslandt is being dubbed as part of the new wave of Swedish provocateur filmmakers - he is mentioned along the sides of Ruben Östlund, Tomas Alfredson and Fredrik Wenzel and Henrik Hellström (Burrowing). A self-taught filmmaker who works in the commerical and music video formats, what sounds especially nifty about this project and acts as an indicator that the Swede is working from a unique curriculum is that the lead actor had no clue what would occur from one scene to the next.
Last Minute Venice Surprises: Hana Makhmalbaf, Joe Dante’s 1968 Orgy and Peter Greenaway’s The Marriage
Joe Dante will be presenting not one, but two films at the Lido. The Venice Film Festival will be presenting Dante's latest film - the 3D supernatural called The Hole and will include a re-cut showing for The Movie Orgy - Ultimate Version. The stitched together pic, that Dante made during his student days, is a back-breaking 280-minute look at the B films from the 50's and 60's which I'm sure would be a blast for folks like Quentin Tarantino.
Gus van Sant is Getting ‘Restless’?
I've witnessed tales of scripts making it up the ladder in more obscure ways, but if this does get a greenlight you'll be sure that this will be mentioned in the press notes. The Hollywood Reports reports that Jason Lew's first screenplay made it into the hands of the great Gus Van Sant via actress Bryce Dallas Howard. If Van Sant is looking on making this studio project his next, then what does this tell us about the status of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and How Starbucks Saved My Life?
Luna Makes Helming Debut with ‘Abel’
He'll be inevitably compared in both his acting and now, directing career to Y tu mamá también/Rudo Y Cursi counterpart Gael Garcia Bernal. Bernal who made his social class structure, pool yard debut with Déficit, has since fallen back to playing in front of the camera, while Diego Luna's film schooling has included Julian Schnabel, Julie Taymor, Steven Spielberg, Harmony Korine, the Cuaron brothers and most recently, Gus Van Sant.
TIFF Picks 09: Samuel Maoz’s Lebanon
Another Golden Lion option at Venice this year, there are obvious comparisons between this debut and such recent examples as Beaufort and Waltz with Bashir, the difference is this first time filmmaker actually remembers the war.
