BLINDNESS to Open Cannes Film Festival

As reported earlier, the Toronto Star has announced that BLINDNESS has earned the opening night slot at the Cannes Film Festival and will screen on May 14. While there has yet to be an official announcement from Paris, the fact that this has been reported in the Toronto press is a strong indication of what's going on. It's also unusual that the Star reports that BLINDNESS will be in competition; something that is apparently rare for the Opening Night film.

This truly international film has a joint production between Canada, Brazil and Japan, with a cast and crew from all three countries. Directed by Fernando Mereilles, with a screenplay adapted by Don McKellar, the cast is led by Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo, with support from Gael Garcia Bernal, Alice Braga, Yusuke Iseya and Danny Glover. The buzz is strong. Let's hope it lives up to its expectations!

BLINDNESS Still Coming to Cannes?

After posting the announcement about the Cannes Film Festival line-up the other day, there has been some speculation among Chlotrudis members about the absence of Fernando Meirelles' BLINDNESS. There's been a lot of talk about BLINDNESS on Mewsings (here, here and here), largely because of Chlotrudis Advisory Board member Don McKellar adapting the screenplay from Jose Saramago's novel, and the general thought was that it would premiere at Cannes. Then the line-up was announced, and no BLINDNESS! While we would love to see the film premiere at Toronto in September (mainly because many of us would be there) we were left wondering why it wasn't at Cannes.

Well apparently others were wondering the same thing, and the Hollywood Reporter has a piece about that very subject. Basically, they suggest that there are still announcements to be made about the Cannes line-up, and any speculation on there absence of BLINDNESS are still premature. So while it would be great for us to see the premiere of BLINDNESS at TIFF, it would be pretty cool for both McKellar and Egoyan to strut the red carpet at Cannes.

Cannes 2008 Line-Up Announced

Twitch has the first official line-up announcement for the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, and there are some interesting films from the Chlotrudis point-of-view. ADORATION is Atom Egoyan's first film since 2005's WHERE THE TRUTH LIES. In his latest work, Atom shifts his attention to high schoolers and in a logical progression from his fascination with video, he looks at how kids' relationships are affected by the Internet. ADORATION stars Scott Speedman, Rachel Blancard, and Arsinée Khanjian. Charlie Kaufman, writer of such mind-bending films as ADAPTATION and BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, will be screening his directorial debut, SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK. Other Chlotrudis-worthy directors include Nuri Blige Ceylan (CLIMATES), Arnaud Desplechin (KINGS & QUEEN), Lucretia Martel (THE HOLY GIRL), Wim Wenders (WINGS OF DESIRE), Ji-Woon Kim (A TALE OF TWO SISTERS), Jia Zhangke (THE WORLD) and Stephen Soderbergh (BUBBLE).

Here's the full list:

Competition
Nuri Bilge Ceylan - Three Monkeys (Turkey-France-Italy)
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne - Le Silence De Lorna (France-Belgium)
Arnaud Desplechin - A Christmas Story (France)
Clint Eastwood - Changeling (US)
Atom Egoyan - Adoration (Canada)
Ari Folman - Waltz With Bashir (Israel)
Philippe Garrel - La Frontiere De L’Aube (France)
Matteo Garrone - Gomorra (Italy)
Charlie Kaufman - Synecdoche, New York (US)
Eric Khoo - My Magic (Singapore)
Lucretia Martel - La Mujer Sin Cabeza (Argentina-Spain)
Brillante Mendoza - Serbis (The Philippines)
Kornel Mondruczo - Delta (Hungary-Germany)
Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas - Linha De Passe (Brazil)
Paolo Sorrentino - Il Divo (Italy)
Pablo Trapero - Leonera (Argentina-South Korea)
Wim Wenders - The Palermo Shooting (Germany)
Jia Zhangke - 24 City (China)
Steven Soderbergh - Che (US-Spain-France)—one four-hour competion title comprised of Guerrilla and The Argentine

Out of competition
Steven Spielberg - Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (US)
Mark Osborne and John Stevenson - Kung Fu Panda (US)
Ji-Woon Kim - The Good, The Bad, The Weird (South Korean)
Woody Allen - Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Spain-US)

Special screenings
Marina Zenovich - Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (US)
Wong Kar-wai - Ashes Of Time Redux (Hong Kong-China-Taiwan)
Daniel Leconte - C’est Dur D’etre Aime Par Des Cons (France)
Marco Tullio Giordana - Sangue Pazzo (Italy-France)
Terence Davies - Of Time And The City (UK)

Midnight Screenings
Emir Kusturica - Maradona (Spain)
Jennifer Lynch - Surveillance (US)
Hong-Jin Na - The Chaser (South Korea)

Cinema Treasures

Stop me if you've already heard this, but I just found out about a very cool site via a favorite librarian blog. Cinema Treasures is focused on all those classic movie theaters that are (or were) in operation around the globe. There's even a theater guide in case you wanted to check out what there is to see when you go traveling. Check it out. There are entries (naturally) for my two favorites, Coolidge Corner and The Brattle with a really active set of comments on each!

Of course, if you already knew about this site, don't I feel stupid?

Peter Keough and Popcorn 'N Roses Report on Awards

Peter Keough, our pal from the Boston Phoenix, had some lovely things to say about our Annual Awards Ceremony earlier this week on his blog, Outside the Frame. (And no, it was not an April Fool's Joke.) Chlotrudis member TC also commented on the Awards at the IndieFilmSpotlight on his Popcorn N Roses website.

Take a look at the trailer for BLINDNESS

So a lot has already been said here and here about BLINDNESS, the new film due out this year by Fernando Meirelles, adapted from a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Jose Saramago. Lots of people are looking forward to Meirelles' follow-up to CITY OF GOD. Others are excited about Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, or Gael Garcia Bernal, three of the more well-known cast members. Of course, Chlotrudis is all over BLINDNESS because it was adapted for the screen by our pal, and Chlotrudis Advisory Board member, Don McKellar, who also appears in the film, as does our other Canadian pal, Tracy Wright!(And to sweeten the Chlotrudis punch just that much more, it also features appearances by Sandra Oh, Maury Chaykin, Martha Burns (form "Slings & Arrows"), AFTER LIFE's Yusuke Iseya, Susan Coyne (also from "Slings & Arrows"), and Chlotrudis Award winner Nadia Litz! What more could you possibly ask for?

How about a creepy trailer? While you're vibrating with anticipation about everything I just told you, take a peek at the trailer for this film which is due to open this fall in the U.S. Originally we had thought the film would premiere at Cannes (and it still might) but it sure looks like they're setting it up for Toronto as well. Whooee! Wouldn't that be fun?