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May 13, 2008
Cannes-y
Interesting Cannes kick-off from Tony & The Man at the NY Times…
It is a reminder that even the folks with the most secure job slots who are at the top of the group interested in a lot more than marketability are focusing on more than The Movie these days. Fortunately, they do a pretty darned good job laying it all out.
They said goodbye to Picturehouse and Warner Indie, though in their remembrance of the four most successful films from the companies, they are kind not to point out than none of these films were Cannes pick-ups anyway, though one of the films premiered at the fest.
The said goodbye to paid film criticism, though they gave critics a little too much credit for indie successes, since the Dependents have become dominant and rely on ads much the same way that the Majors do.
They said goodbye to the notion that there is a market for higher profile films that start in Cannes and actually have success in America based on that launching platform.
And they say hello to the four highest profile films for Americans, put together by high profile American directors Eastwood, Soderbergh, and writer-turned-director Charlie Kaufman… but not before giving a nod to films likely to play a lot of US fests and a week or two in NY and L.A. from The Dardennes, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, and Lucrecia Martel. Perfect.
And more kindness and restraint in not pointing out that Cannes is opening with an already-Miramaxed film from the great Fernando Meirelles, closes with Sundance also-ran What Just Happened?, and that there will be highly-covered out-of-competition films include such natural Cannes fare as Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, Kung Fu Panda, and Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
I sincerely applaud the restraint and thought that went into that. Why complain and smack the easy targets? Instead, the duo leads towards the idea of journalists embracing what they feel is really important and not just get drawn to the brightest light like free-booze-seeking moths.
What would be really, really interesting to read at festival’s end is just how many films the duo really think are worth worldwide attention. That might be the saddest column of them all, as the number, I’m afraid, will be as low as it has been at most other festivals in recent years.
Posted by poland at May 13, 2008 09:03 PM
Comments
Kung Fu Panda opens Cannes.
What more do we need to see before everyone agrees that Cannes has jumped the shark?
Posted by: a1amoeba ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/nav-commenters.gif)
at May 14, 2008 12:16 PM
a1amoeba,
Kung Fu Panda did NOT open Cannes. It does not screen until tomorrow night. BLINDNESS opens the festival this evening. It is not within the control of the festival organizers as to who (pandas) or what (Jack Black) decides to promote their film down on the beach.
Posted by: The Pope at May 14, 2008 12:54 PM
The problem is, Pope, that the media, which drives the hype, seems to think that Kung Fu Panda is the first major event of the fest. No?
Posted by: David Poland at May 14, 2008 04:23 PM
I guess it depends what you're looking for. When Cannes rolls around every year, for me it's a pleasure to read the reviews of the films I've been excited about; like Arnaud Desplechin's A Christmas Tale or the new Dardennes Brothers films or the new Woody or the new Kaufman or the new Fernando Meirelles, Blindness (which apparently isn't so hot, according to Variety).
I think the majority of the coverage of this fest will focus on Spielberg, Lucas, pandas, Che and communism and film length, all that stuff that the majority of people want to see and read about. But like I said, I enjoy the coverage of Cannes simply to hear about the films that I'm excited about. Unfortunately, as David has pointed out, we don't hear ENOUGH about the films that actually need the support.
Posted by: Noah at May 14, 2008 04:34 PM
When does "Changeling" *drop*? I assume Turan's at Cannes, so can't wait to read his inevitable 42-page fawning report in The Times, to be followed later in the year by his near-daily trumpeting of it... at least until "Gran Torino" comes out.
Don't get me wrong, HUGE Eastwood fan, but Turan's impassioned fanaticism reads like Amy Adams just popped out of a cake at the Film Critics Association dinner.
Posted by: LexG at May 14, 2008 04:54 PM
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