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VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
DAY 2
FRIDAY, SEPT. 30, 2019
shooting at the Malta Film Studios 40% CASH REBATE
0830 VD Malta_CVR1.indd 1 8/23/19 10:51 AM watch the trailer
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DAY 2
FRIDAY, AUG. 30, 2019
EXCLUSIVE ‘Story’ Time at Venice EXCLUSIVE
MK2 Sets Women of the World Polanski’s Laura Dern and Scarlett Johansson chat on the Sales of red carpet before the ‘Spy’ Marks premiere of “Marriage Prestige Story,” in which they star. Strong Docs Sales
By ELSA KESLASSY By ELSA KESLASSY
paris-based mk2 films, although its inclu- which is in Venice with sion in Venice’s competi- three films including Rob- tion has stirred some con- ert Guédiguian’s competi- troversy, Roman Polanski’s tion entry “Gloria Mundi,” “An Officer and a Spy” has is bowing sales on a raft lured buyers in several of prestige documenta- key markets ahead of its ries, notably Jia Zhang- world premiere on Friday. ke’s “So Close to My Land” Since unveiling the and Jacques Loeuille’s film’s first footage at “Birds of America.” Cannes, Paris-based sales “So Close to My Land” company Playtime has marks the sixth collabo- pre-sold it to Japan (Lon- ration between MK2 and gride); Spain (Caramel the Chinese auteur. “So Films); Greece (Odeon); Close to My Land” is the Portugal (Midas Filmes); third installment in a tril- Israel (United King Films); ogy focusing on differ- Denmark, Finland, Nor- → MK2, P.11 → POLANSKI, P.11 MARKET OPENS
VENICE COMPETITION REVIEW Al-Mansour Venice Offers Bigger Gray’s ‘Ad Creates Astra’ Decidedly ‘Candidate’ Bridge to Production Down to Earth for Change By OWEN GLEIBERMAN By NICK VIVARELLI sell-and-buy market, like Cannes and Ber- By NICK VIVARELLI lin,” said Diot. But Diot has built the mar- In the opening the venice production Bridge, as the ket by providing something for produc- sequence of “Ad Astra,” Trailblazing Saudi Venice Film Festival’s market is known, is ers at every stage of the development cycle. Roy McBride (Brad Pitt), a Arabian filmmaker Haifaa kicking off with more producers, distrib- There is the book adaptation rights mar- veteran U.S. astronaut, is Al-Mansour doesn’t want utors and sales agents attending this year ket “for the IP,” he says, and then the core on top of a space antenna, to talk politics. — especially from Asia, even though its gap financing platform for more than 50 an elaborate piece of tech- The oil-rich kingdom’s core remains firmly European. selected projects, including VR productions. nological scaffolding that first female director, who There are roughly 2,400 industry attend- And, finally, Venice provides post-produc- juts up from the earth in 2012 broke taboos with ees accredited, which is around 200 more tion support for select works from the Mid- into the outer void. Sud- watch the trailer ”Wadjda,” about a 10-year- than last year. Market chief Pascal Diot not- dle East and North Africa region through denly, there’s a mysterious old girl who wants to flout ed that roughly half are from Europe. its Final Cut in Venice section. power surge, which sends the rules and ride a bicy- As in past editions, the main focus of Pics with roughly 70% of their bud- dozens of astronauts tum- cle, is back in Venice with the Venice market is production. get in place seeking partners at the Ven- bling off the antenna. competition pic “The Per- Due to scarce infrastructure and prox- ice Production Bridge include new works Roy bounds down a few → CANDIDATE, P.11 imity to Toronto, Venice “can never be a big → PRODUCTION, P.11 → ‘AD ASTRA,’ P.10
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Lion of Cinema EXCLUSIVE
Winged Victory Böss Heads to Filmmaker Pedro Almodovar holds his Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, which Constantin he received Aug. 29 at the Venice Film Festival. By LEO BARRACLOUGH
rüdiger böss will join German giant Constantin Film. At Constantin, he will act as a producer of theatrical films, TV movies and TV series. He will also be joining the manage- ment team at Constantin Pic- tures, a subsidiary of Constan- tin Film Intl., and will be one of its managing directors. Until last year, Böss served at ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, one of Germany’s leading broadcast networks, as exec VP of group content acquisitions and sales, a position he held for 11 years. In recent years, Constan- tin has been ramping up its TV production slate. Among its TV lineup are “We Children From Bahnhof Zoo” for Amazon and Uli Edel’s “Master’s Butcher.”
FOCUS ON WOMEN Karimi Defies Odds With Kabul Drama By CHRISTOPHER VOURLIAS Rasoulof to the world. enjoyed special access from vil- wishes, about their dreams.” Inspired by a longing to deep- lagers who “were so happy some- With peace talks between the As the daughter of refu- en her understanding of Afghani- body different came from out- U.S. and Taliban under way to gees who fled Afghanistan for a stan, where she has also shot two side” to listen to them. end the nearly 18-year war, the new life in Iran, Sahraa Karimi documentaries, the film reflects The experience was cathar- filmmaker said “it’s an important never lost touch with her par- Karimi’s desire to “go beyond tic for many. “Women don’t share time” to show movies like hers in ents’ homeland, whose culture [Western] clichés, and to find new their secret lives with their fam- the country. and traditions were kept alive in stories, new perspectives” about ilies or their communities, “We don’t want to return to her Tehran household. But as the life as an Afghan woman. because they’re scared of rumors, that dark time [under Taliban years passed, and her pursuit of “Hava, Maryam, Ayesha” is a gossip,” said Karimi. But with rule],” she said. “We don’t want a career in filmmaking took her triptych of loosely connected sto- the director, they began to speak Afghan women’s stories to be to Europe, the distance between ries about three women living in “about their suffering, about their invisible.” Karimi and Afghanistan grew. Kabul — it’s a statement about Suddenly, the director was faced the universal challenges facing with a difficult choice. women in Afghanistan. “Those “Somehow, from a storytell- women that are able to bring ing perspective, I don’t belong to some significant changes in their this part of the world,” she said, lives, they’re not welcome very recalling her studies in Slovakia. much there,” said Karimi. “I belong to Afghanistan.” Karimi collected the sto- Karimi returned to Kabul to ries that inspired her film after
VARIETY.COM shoot “Hava, Maryam, Ayesha,” more than two years of traveling her fiction feature debut that has around the country while work- its world premiere in the Hori- ing with UNICEF. “All the wom- zons section of the Venice Film en, especially all the village wom- Festival. The film is produced en, they really welcomed me, and Take Flight by Katayoon Shahabi (Noori Pic- they really wanted to speak about Sahraa Karimi’s “Hava, Maryam, Ayesha”
AUGUST 30, 2019 AUGUST tures), who has helped intro- their stories,” she said. As an explores women’s lives in duce Iranian filmmakers such as Afghan woman who was raised contempo Afghanistan.
2 Asghar Farhadi and Mohammad and educated abroad, Karimi ONORATI/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK; CLAUDIO ALMODOVAR:
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What are the styles of ani- making the film, Cinestaan mation and art that you stood by steadfastly and we have explored in “Bombay managed to complete it in Rose”? two years. With regards to The film has four styles challenges during produc- that seamlessly merge into tion, the task of creating each other. The reality is such a huge volume of work constructed in an impres- and to keep to its quality sionistic style characteristic in such a small time (yes 21 of my earlier short film months is small for anima- “TrueLoveStory.” But within tion) was a mammoth one. Gitanjali Rao that I go into the mindscape But my team at Paperboat of my protagonist Kamala, Animation Studios, and who hails from Madhya everyone involved in its ‘Maybe [this film will] make Pradesh, using the Kangra production, gave it their miniature painting style. For everything, so the challeng- Salim, the hero of the film es became surmountable people more open to Indian who hails from Kashmir and and even enjoyable. Toward is a truck driver’s son, I have the end, the last three or used the truck art style of four months, the team was stories in animation.’ Pakistan. The other import- working Sundays and even ant character in the film nights to complete in time. indian filmmaker Gitanjali Rao found global fame when she won is an Anglo-Indian woman Life and leisure was sacri- three awards at Cannes for her 2006 animated short “Printed Rain- who used to be an dancer in ficed by one and all. bow.” Another animated short, 2014’s “TrueLoveStory,” also received Hindi films from the 1950s, considerable festival play. In 2018, she debuted as an actress with so for her my style changes You made quite an impact “October.” And now, her feature debut, “Bombay Rose,” the story of a into the black-and-white with your performance in flower seller who has to make the choice between protecting her fam- vintage style of an older “October.” Did the experi- ily or allowing herself to fall in love, opens Critics’ Week at the Venice Bombay. ence help in any way as a film festival, and will continue its festival journey at Toronto. director? It has been a six-year jour- Not really the experience Interview by NAMAN RAMACHANDRAN ney for “Bombay Rose,” of this film, but yes, my and now you are open- training in theater under ing Venice Critics’ Week. Satyadev Dubey has helped What were the challeng- me a lot with my filmmaking. es you faced in your jour- I do concentrate a lot on ney to bring the film to the acting of my characters and world? this is done without using The biggest challenge was live actors as reference, the the financing of the film. way Disney, Pixar or any Running from pillar to post big studio does. I push my would be an understate- animators to act themselves ment. Trying to make an and bring that into the artistic, socially relevant, not animation. It is far more dif- for children alone, animation ficult but sometimes much film with no star voices or more richer. big names as a debut is in itself a challenge for any one In what way will the world- interested to bet their mon- wide exposure for “Bom- ey on. So I used the time bay Rose” help in the in between to make one growth of the Indian ani- story from the feature into a mation industry? short film, “TrueLoveStory,” Only time can predict that, which premiered in Cannes not really me. I’d love to Critics’ Week. That brought believe that this will set conviction into the style a precedent in a kind of of animation and the film’s animation film never seen emotional connect. By then, before but easy to digest, I had secured my French enjoy, recommend and producers Les Films d’Ici. revisit again after a few
VARIETY.COM Then over various script years. Maybe [this film will] labs and co-production make people more open to markets, I managed to find Indian stories in animation Cinestaan to partner with. not restricted to mythology Or rather they found me, or fantasy or superheroes. to be exact, and they loved Stories about common
AUGUST 30, 2019 AUGUST the script enough to believe people that work for all ages in supporting it. As funds and stages as well as class 4 faltered in the process of of people. REVIEWS | VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
he doesn’t know. The scene in Fractured Family Scarlett Johansson, which Johansson’s Nicole relates Azhy Robertson and the story of their marriage to Adam Driver are a family her lawyer is a blistering tour de undergoing divorce in “Marriage Story.” force. The action she has taken may be brutal, but it’s right for her. This is a movie about New York vs. L.A. that’s really about the battle between the 20th-centu- ry cult of the Creative Dude and the 21st-century reality that wom- en have many more choices than they once did. Yet one of the powerful sub- tleties of “Marriage Story” is that the divorce process, flawed as it is, becomes the vehicle through which Charlie and Nicole con- front the underlying reality of their marriage. Baumbach’s brilliant screen- play never falters or hits a wrong note. He has come up with smart, witty, saddened and searching characters whose ability to artic- ulate their feelings is never less than lifelike, and he writes scenes that are like verbal arias. When Nicole shows up at the gener- ic apartment Charlie has rented, REVIEW marriage living Charlie’s dream the two try to “work things out,” and putting hers on hold. There but as they descend into a zone of are ways to solve this kind of con- raw accusation, the dialogue is like flict, of course; that’s what the Bergman in media-age overdrive, ‘Marriage Story’ growing pains of a good marriage and Johansson and Driver deliv- are about. But Baumbach has cap- er it in such a fiercely connected By OWEN GLEIBERMAN son), who’ve been married for 10 tured how taste, personality, and fit of anger that the scene wounds, years and have an 8-year-old son, ego can add up to one stubborn enthralls and moves you to tears. “Marriage Story” is the Noah Henry (Azhy Robertson). As the road block. The supporting actors, in their Baumbach movie we’ve been two take turns describing what There are two sides to every way, are every as memorable, from waiting for. It’s better than good; each one cherishes about the oth- divorce, and in “Marriage Story,” Laura Dern’s tough-clawed femi- it’s more than just accomplished. er, their lists are accompanied Baumbach divides our sympa- nist crusader to Ray Liotta’s beady- After 10 features, released over a by a montage of moments from thies in a most ingenious way. eyed truth-teller to Mary Hollis quarter century of filmmaking, their domestic life. The mon- More than half of the 2-hour-and- Inboden’s scene-stealing perfor- this, at long last, is Baumbach’s tage tells us something vital (that 16-minute drama is told from mance as a family-court evaluator. breakthrough into the dramatic Charlie and Nicole have never Charlie’s point of view, so it seems Late in the film, there are stratosphere. At once funny, scald- stopped loving each other), and as if the divorce is all happening two scenes built around Ste- ing and stirring, built around two it therefore raises a question: to him. And since Adam Driver phen Sondheim songs from the bravura performances of incred- Why are they getting divorced? is an intensely sympathetic actor, great 1970 musical “Company.” ible sharpness and humanity, it’s Couldn’t they work it out? we can feel, as Charlie gets buried “You Could Drive a Person Cra- the work of a major film artist, Nicole instigated the split. under circumstances beyond his zy” is performed by Nicole and one who shows that he can cap- She’s an actress, raised in Los control, that we’re “on his side.” her mother and sister at a party, ture life in all its emotion and Angeles, and then, after falling in But Baumbach peels back the while Charlie does a rendition of complexity — and, in the process, love with Charlie, moved to New truth of this marriage, layer by “Being Alive” in a piano bar after make a piercing statement about York to marry him and become layer. And we start to see that work. They add up to a haunting how our society now works. the star of his downtown exper- Charlie, for all his affection and yin-and-yang of male and female The movie is a drama of imental theater company. As far intelligence, doesn’t know what perception. Driver’s wistful per- divorce, and when it’s over you as Charlie is concerned, he’s living formance of “Being Alive” could may feel that you know the lives the dream. But Nicole had peri- almost stand in for anyone’s it’s about as well as you know odic stirrings about relocating view of marriage. Yet marriage, your own. Yet “Marriage Sto- to L.A., which Charlie “discussed” though it can feel to those of us VARIETY.COM ry” isn’t just the tale of a mari- but never took seriously. That’s who cherish it like the difference tal breakdown and its aftermath. because he’s a New York guy all between being alive and being It’s a film about divorce: how it the way. nowhere, isn’t always enough. operates, what it means, its larger Nicole, however, has the Baumbach’s brilliant “Marriage Story” captures that consequences. chance to star in a TV pilot that screenplay never falters truth with such an exquisite com-
As the movie opens, we hear could lead to a series. And what or hits a wrong note … he bination of love and heartbreak 30, 2019 AUGUST the voices of Charlie (Adam Driv- she realizes is that though she writes scenes that are like that it leaves you at once chas- er) and Nicole (Scarlett Johans- loves her family, she has spent the verbal arias.” tened and enraptured. 5 Untitled-29 1 8/23/19 4:17 PM Untitled-29 2 8/23/19 4:17 PM Untitled-29 1 8/23/19 4:17 PM Untitled-29 2 8/23/19 4:17 PM VENICE FILM FESTIVAL | FEATURES
Into the Woods Film helmer Paolo Sorrentino’s TV series “The New Pope” continues the tale he started with “The Young Pope.”
FEATURES no’s “The New Pope” and Stefano Sollima’s “ZeroZeroZero,” are both bowing out of competition and emblematic of top local direc- tors effortlessly criss-crossing Cross-Over Talent Appeal between film and TV. Italian cinema auteurs dive into TV while Hollywood embraces local market “For me, there is no difference between directing for film and By NICK VIVARELLI incidentally, partly shot in Venice television,” Sorrentino said at a — and “Secret Life of Pets 2” day- recent Rome film presentation. the italian contingent and-date. Spearheaded by Hol- “I’ve never learned the language at Venice this year reflects an lywood, Italy’s summer season of TV series.” industry in flux, with high-end effort, which is known as Movie- “This year we received 186 Ital- TV draining top talent, while on ment, is also seeing local distrib- ian movies, which is 10% of all the film side local producers are utors changing their entrenched submissions, and more than half doing their best to adapt, with habits and harvesting positive of these where unwatchable first mixed results. Getting local mov- results that local motion picture works,” says fest chief Alberto Bar- ies onto screens is probably the association ANICA will be trum- bera. Barbera goes on to lament Italian film industry’s biggest peting during a Venice confab. that “in general, most of the Ital- challenge. Ironically, Hollywood is “The question is: Is it pos- ian works were very low quality. coming to the rescue. sible for Italian cinema to be You wonder: Why produce this Italy’s total theatrical admis- released only eight months a stuff? What’s the purpose? With sions last year dropped to a year? We have to work on that,” few exceptions, these films will 10-year low just shy of 86 mil- says Nicola Maccanico, who is Sky never get seen anywhere.” lion, mainly due to the low num- Italia’s executive vice president There are 29 Italian titles ber of summer releases, when of programming. He also heads spread around the various Venice
VARIETY.COM Italians historically hit the beach. the streamer’s Vision Distribu- sections. The three Italian entries The resulting glut of releases tion unit, which releases movies in competition are somewhat during the rest of the year causes theatrically in Italy and will be The question is: Is it esoteric offerings with strong cannibalization, which has been programming more summer out- possible for Italian auteur imprints, all set against choking the industry as a whole. ings going forward. cinema to be released the backdrop of Southern Italy. But this summer the Holly- At Venice, Sky has a strong only eight months a year? Mario Martone, who was in AUGUST 30, 2019 AUGUST wood studios took the plunge, presence, with two Italian TV We have to work on that.” Venice last year with “Capri Rev- releasing blockbusters such as shows that are targeted at the Nicola Maccanico, executive vice olution,” is back with “The Mayor
8 “Spider-Man: Far From Home” — global audience: Paolo Sorrenti- president of programming, Sky Italia of Rione Sanità,” a contempo- GIANNI FIORITO FEATURES | VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
rary adaptation of the play about and plays in Toronto’s Discovery FEATURE organized crime by late Nea- section. Another promising first politan playwright Eduardo De work is Ascanio Petrini’s timely Filippo. immigration-themed “Tony Fellow Neapolitan Pietro Mar- Driver,” launching in Critics’ Week. cello, known for arty hybrid It’s based on the true story of an Italian Cinema docs such as “Lost and Beauti- Italian who, after living in the ful,” is premiering “Martin Eden,” U.S. for 40 years, is deported back an adaptation of Jack London’s to Italy, from where he plots his novel about a young self-taught return to America. Section chief in the Pipeline American sailor struggling to Giona Nazzaro describes the become a writer transposed to result as something between a By NICK VIVARELLI a fable-like 19th century Naples. documentary, a mockumentary And Sicily’s Franco Maresco has and a fiction film. THESE ARE CHALLENGING times for Italian filmmakers, who a slot with “La Mafia non è più The Italian movie that may are being compelled to come up with narratives that can appeal quella di una volta” (which trans- have the greatest international to broader audiences just as budgets are often being slashed due to box-office contraction. lates as “The Mafia Isn’t What prospects is Giuseppe Capo- Still, lots of promising titles will be ready in coming months, It Used to Be”), billed as a gro- tondi’s English-language heist including new works by auteur heavyweights Matteo Garrone, tesque look at present-day Pal- thriller “The Burnt Orange Her- whose “Pinocchio” will bow in December; Nanni Moretti, who ermo through the eyes of famed e sy,” selected as the festival has “Three Floors Up” now in in post; and Gianni Amelio, whose “Hammamet,” the biopic of disgraced late Italian prime minister photographer Letizia Battaglia, closer. Mick Jagger plays a reclu- Bettino Craxi, is expected in early 2020. Other promising who chronicled Palermo’s Mafia sive art dealer alongside Eliza- productions follow: wars in the 1970s and ’80s. beth Debicki (“Widows”), Claes Other Italian standouts at Ven- Bank (“The Square”) and Don- “If Only” ice include Neapolitan noir “5 Is ald Sutherland. It marks Capo- After opening Locarno in August, this assured debut directed by producer Ginevra Elkann looks set to grab distribution by specialty the Perfect Number,” directed by tondi’s first time back at Venice players around the world. The good-humored family drama stars the Italian graphic artist known since 2009, when his debut fea- Alba Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”), Riccardo Scamarcio as Igort, known for his New ture, the taut thriller “The Dou- (“Loro”) and France’s Céline Sallette (“Les Revenants”) as well as a Yorker magazine covers. Toplined ble Hour,” made a splash on the trio of talented children, who are all making their screen debuts. by Toni Servillo (“The Great Lido. Since then Capotondi has “The Immortal” Beauty”) as a hit man, it will bow worked mostly in TV, on Netflix’s This pic is a pequel of the “Gomorrah” TV series being directed in Venice Days. First-timer Carlo Italian original “Suburra” and on by “Gomorrah” star Marco D’Amore, who plays ruthless central Sironi’s social drama “Sole,” about Epix’s espionage drama “Berlin character Ciro Di Marzio on the mob show. It marks his feature a surrogate mother, is in Horizons Station.” film debut after his turn behind camera in Season 4 of the TV show. Ciro’s back story, which will be fodder for the film, is that he survived the 1980 Naples earthquake that killed his family, then grew up in an orphanage, a formative experience for his cold- hearted criminal ways. Sky Italia, which has a film distribution unit, Local Talent will release the drama as a bridge between the fourth and the Italian films “Martin Eden” fifth seasons of “Gomorrah.” In what is being touted as a unique (top) and “5 Is the Perfect cross-media distribution plan, fans of the show will have to see Number” both unspool at the Venice festival. the “Immortal” movie to fully understand the show’s fifth season. Slated for a December release in Italy.
“Mob Girl” Paolo Sorrentino is currently in L.A. prepping to shoot this English- language adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning true-crime story by U.S. author Teresa Carpenter, which will topline Jennifer Lawrence as mob wife turned police informant Arlyne Brickman. Pic marks Sorrentino’s first foray in Hollywood. Lawrence is also producing, as is Sorrentino alongside Lorenzo Mieli of Italy’s Wildside. The principal production company is Brad Weston’s Makeready.
“Into the Labyrinth” Best-selling Italian author-turned-director Donato Carrisi is in post on this follow-up to his debut thriller hit “The Girl in the Fog.” “Labyrinth,” similarly based on one of his novels, toplines Dustin Hoffman and Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty”). It’s the tale of a woman played by Valentina Bell (“Catch 22”) who with the help of a doctor and a special investigator tries to recall the circumstances of her abduction and imprisonment. In English and Italian.
“Miss Marx” This English-language biopic starring Romola Garai as Karl Marx’s younger daughter Eleanor, who was a social activist, from Italian VARIETY.COM director Susanna Nicchiarelli (“Nico, 1988”) will soon start shooting at Cinecittà.
“The Life Ahead” Living legend Sophia Loren returned to the backlot in July for her first feature film in a decade — a project directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. She plays Madame Rosa, a Holocaust survivor who
forges a bond with a 12-year-old Senegalese immigrant boy named 30, 2019 AUGUST Momo. Pic, which is an adaptation of Romain Gary’s novel “La vie
5 IS THE PERFECT NUMBER: MARTURANA GIORGIO 5 IS THE PERFECT devant soi,” is expected for delivery in March. 9 VENICE FILM FESTIVAL | NEWS
←‘AD ASTRA,’ FROM P.1 played by Pitt as a stoic loner of a tery commander who had his rea- 21st-century space cowboy, is sent sons — as a version of Col. Kurtz. levels to shut off the power, then on an enigmatic mission to Nep- Gray’s films have often looked makes his own escape, leaping tune to hunt down his father, a Watching ‘Ad Astra,’ you may back to the New Hollywood ’70s, off the structure and plunging to famous astronaut named Clif- think you’ve signed on for which is not a bad place to take the earth below — an ultimate ford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones), a journey that’s out of this inspiration from. But I would sug- sky-dive that takes him from the who 30 years before, led Earth’s world, but its concerns are gest that there’s a bit of chutzpah blackness of space to the blueness first voyage into deep space on a somberly tethered to Earth.” to his flagrant evocation of a mov- of the atmosphere, until at long mission known as the Lima Proj- ie like “Apocalypse Now.” The “Heart last, he pulls his parachute strap. ect. Sixteen years into the mis- of Darkness” template is, of course, It’s a bedazzling and terrify- sion, the ship, along with every- anyone’s to draw on, but what ing sequence, one that sets the bar one on it, disappeared; Clifford made Francis Ford Coppola’s film literally sky-high for the sort of has never been heard from since. tears and reconciliation. great is that he used Joseph Con- excitement we want from a lavish- But the power surge that disabled Roy’s journey to Neptune rad’s classic as a frame on which to ly scaled FX-driven space adven- the space antenna was part of involves stopping at a series of hang his lacerating vision of con- ture. James Gray, the director and a larger destructive surge that’s manned way stations — first on temporary combat. In “Ad Astra,” co-writer of “Ad Astra,” is about now threatening the stability of the moon, then Mars — that echo “Apocalypse Now” is the frame on the furthest thing you could imag- the solar system. And guess what? the expository sections of “2001: which Gray hangs … another frame. ine from a space dude; he’s a rig- The surge is emanating from the A Space Odyssey.” Fifty years after We’re still talking about “Apoc- orous indie filmmaker known region around Neptune. the 1969 moon landing, Gray’s alypse Now” 40 years later, but I for such fine-grained fare as “The Roy has been chosen for the vision of human space exploration doubt if we’ll be talking about “Ad Lost City of Z,” “The Immigrant” mission because he’s a fear- is defiantly unromantic; the most Astra” in four weeks. and (my favorite Gray film) “Two less trouble-shooter, but mostly memorable shot of the moon col- Yet the movie, for what it is, Lovers.” But in taking on his first because he’s in the unique posi- ony reveals that there’s a Subway isn’t a cheat. At heart, it’s a short blockbustery sci-fi project, he han- tion of being able to send a mes- there — not an underground trav- story set in space, decorated with dles the vast visual challenges of sage out to his father with the el system, but the sandwich chain. major FX, held together by Pitt’s staging an epic space adventure hope that he’ll respond. When Clif- There’s also a mining war being stalwart presence. This actor rare- with a sure hand and a sense of ford disappeared, he didn’t just played out among Earth’s powers, ly makes a wrong move, and the detail, pace and control that are abandon his mission, his country, and Roy has to go through a Mad fact he’s now having a moment — notably accomplished, if not exact- his duty; he abandoned the young Max-on-the-lunar-surface road bat- the well-deserved “Once Upon a ly Kubrickian. Gray proves beyond Roy. And Roy has been suffer- tle that suggests the jumping-off Time … in Hollywood” Oscar buzz measure that he’s got the chops ing from it ever since. In an early point for a hell of an action movie. — could help “Ad Astra” at the to make a movie like this. He also scene, his wife, played by Liv Tyler, This, however, is not that mov- box office. Yet what would help has a vision, of sorts — one that’s walks out on him. The reason? ie. Roy endures prickly situations more is if the movie had a genu- expressed, nearly inadvertently, in He’s too distant, too preoccupied in space, but, through that char- ine wow factor baked into its retro the metaphor of that space anten- with his disconsolate demons. “Ad acter’s solemn voice-over pro- sci-fi aesthetic. I hope James Gray, na. Watching “Ad Astra,” you may Astra” is a Latin phrase that means nouncements about his father, as a director, continues to explore think you’ve signed on for a jour- “to the stars,” and in case you’re the director isn’t just aping “2001.” uncharted worlds, but even his ney that’s out of this world, but it wondering where all this is head- He thinks he’s making “Apoca- cult of fans may find it hard to feel turns out the film’s concerns are ing, the literal answer is Neptune, lypse Now” in space, with Roy as thrilled by a movie that, beneath somberly tethered to Earth. but the real answer is: toward a the benumbed Willard figure and its sprawling outer-space canvas, is The movie is about how Roy, highly standard drama of pain, Jones’s Clifford — the fallen mys- this conventional.
Space Cowboy Brad Pitt ponders his father’s short existance in James Gray’s “Ad Astra.” VARIETY.COM AUGUST 30, 2019 AUGUST
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←CANDIDATE, FROM P.1 Lyon Lumiere Milestone ←MK2, FROM P.1 fect Candidate.” The new film ent artistic disciplines in Chi- focuses on a female Saudi doc- na, after “Dong” (2006), about an tor who challenges the patriar- acclaimed painter, and “Useless” chal system there by running as a (2007), about the fashion and candidate in municipal elections clothing industry. in a tight race against a male An 18-chapter symphony opponent. about Chinese society since the But asked whether politics Communist takeover in 1949, have affected Saudi’s embryonic “So Close to My Land” wrapped film industry since a 35-year ban shooting in July and is now in on moviegoing was lifted in 2017, post-production. she said: “No matter what the “So Close to My Land” reunites political situation is ... art should Jia with his longtime cinematog- Cinema Celebration always prevail and be given top rapher, Yu Lik-Wai (“Mountains Sardinia Film Fest founder priority, because it is … what Tiziana Rocca, Venice’s Alberto May Depart”). The movie is pro- pushes for civilization to grow, Barbera presented an award duced by Zhao Tao, along with what shapes people’s minds and Aug. 29 to Thierry Frémaux Jia’s XStream Pictures, Huayi for the 10th anniversary of his hearts. It’s important not to give Lyon Lumiere Film Festival. Brothers Media, Shanxi Film up on that.” She declined to be Group and Huaxia Film Group. drawn into specifics. International sales on “So Al-Mansour is vocal about Close to My Land” are being female empowerment in Sau- ←PRODUCTION, FROM P.1 includes Toei Animation, Gaga handled by MK2, except in Chi- di Arabia, where women were and Aeon Entertainment, some nese-speaking territories (China, recently granted the right to from name directors such as of which are screening fresh Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau). travel abroad without permis- Agnieszka Holland, Russia’s product at the market. Loeuille’s “Birds of America” sion of their male relatives and Alexey German Jr. and Cana- As has become customary, unfolds along the banks of the were allowed to drive. Both steps da’s Bruce LaBruce. there is also a large contingent Mississippi and traces now-ex- are considered to be the result Just like last year, stream- from China. tinct birds that were painted by of years of activism. Significant- ing platforms are on the Lido Italian motion picture asso- renowned 19th century artist ly, “The Perfect Candidate” starts in full force, with Netflix, Ama- ciation ANICA is hosting a John James Audubon. The fea- with the protagonist driving a car. zon, Disney Plus and Hulu all Focus on China event with sev- ture documentary shines a light Asked what the next steps are, represented. But the difference eral panels on Sunday, to be on the dramatic environmental she said that change needs to this year is that they are “really attended by Charles H. Rivkin, changes that the U.S. has known, come from within Saudi women looking for IP,” said Diot. chairman and CEO of the MK2 said. “Birds of America” was themselves. “We are programmed Which is why Diot this year Motion Picture Assn. of Amer- produced by Météores Films and since we were kids to shy away has raised the number of inter- ica, alongside Liu Chun, presi- is set for delivery in 2020. Interna- from the spotlight or from voic- national publishers pitch- dent of the China Film Co-Pro- tional sales are being handled by ing our opinions, and that it’s ing book rights from 20 to 25. duction Corp. and ANICA’s mk2 films. more honorable to be completely Imprints on the Lido include Roberto Stabile. The company’s documentary veiled,” she said. New York-based Abrams/The The number of U.S. compa- slate also includes Jean-Stéphane It is a huge challenge for wom- Overlook Press, Sweden’s Salo- nies at Venice is increasing due Bron’s “The Brain,” about artificial en to wrest themselves out of that monsson Agency, the U.K.’s the the VR component of the intelligence, and Mariana Otero’s way of thinking. “It has to do with Andrew Nurnberg Associ- market, which Venice, being the “Looking for Gilles Caron.” a woman’s psychology,” she said. “I ates, Italy’s Rizzoli and Japan’s only major fest with a VR com- Along with “Gloria Mundi” in think the next step is to empower Kadokawa. petition, has pioneered. competition, MK2 is attending women to feel that it’s OK to do Kadokawa Pictures is part “In the VR world, Venice has Venice with Manele Labidi’s “Arab that. And now is the time to move of a large delegation from now positioned itself as the No. Blues” and Bartabas’ “Time of the forward.” Japan at the market that also 1 market,” said Diot. Untamed” at Venice Days. On a broader level, she says that “The Perfect Candidate” sim- ply champions individualism. ←POLANSKI, FROM P.1 Dujardin and Mathieu Amalric. times find moments I have expe- “We all dress [the] same — the The inclusion of “An Offi- rienced myself, I can see the same men dress the same, the women way, Sweden and Iceland cer and a Spy” has been criti- determination to deny the facts dress the same,” Al-Mansour said. (Future Film); Lithuania, Esto- cized by some because in 1978, and condemn me for things I have “It’s, like, tribal. And individual- nia, Latvia and CIS (Top Film); Polanski fled the U.S. while not done. Most of the people who ism is something that we need to Poland (Gutek Film); and for- awaiting final sentencing after harass me do not know me and cultivate and start building.” mer Yugoslavia (Fivia). Playtime pleading guilty to unlawful sex- know nothing about the case.” Unlike with “Wadjda,” Al-Man- is in negotiations to close sever- ual intercourse with a minor. Polanski also said the film sour is confident that her new al more deals in major markets. Although Polanski isn’t was timely because it talks about VARIETY.COM film will actually screen in her With a €25.5 million ($28 mil- expected to turn up in Ven- anti-Semitism. country, though not without lion) budget, “An Officer and a ice, he gave an extensive inter- “Big stories often make great some challenges. “We definite- Spy” is France’s biggest-budgeted view to French novelist Pascal films, and the Dreyfus Affair is an ly have movie theaters now, and film slated for theaters this year. Bruckner. In the interview, pub- exceptional story,” he said. “The sto- it will be seen,” she said. “But dis- Gaumont will release the thrill- lished in the press notes of the ry of a man unfairly accused is
tributors are still trying to figure er Nov. 13. It’s based on Robert movie, Polanski said the film, always fascinating, but it is also 30, 2019 AUGUST out how to market and position a Harris’ novel about the Dreyfus which took seven years to make, very much a current issue, given Saudi art film.” Affair and headlined by Jean was highly personal. “I some- the upsurge in anti-Semitism.” 11 VENICE FILM FESTIVAL | REVISIT
VARIETY.COM ‘Star’ Might on the Lido
Lady Gaga straightens Bradley Cooper’s tie on the Venice red carpet last year as the two launched the highly anticipated “A Star Is Born” at the festival, the first of its many global stops. The pair’s affec- AUGUST 30, 2019 AUGUST tion and chemistry also set off worldwide swooning and speculation about their true relationship,
12 which culminated in a steamy Oscarcast performance of the film’s blockbuster hit song “Shallow.” BABIRADPICTURE/SHUTTERSTOCK
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