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Post by Leo_The_Last on Dec 3, 2018 15:09:26 GMT
It's just fantastic they finally got to actually start shooting on this project. Certainly didn't become easier to get it going in the wake of #metoo.
As others have said, perfect material for Polanski. Really plays to his strength. It's like a logic conclusion to his career. All his themes are there.
Still kinda mixed if I would have prefered it as an english language movie. Bigger budget, maybe less creative freedom. I don't know. Probably not. Now a french story in french. Nothing to complain about. If it's still true what Polanski has said about the project, in terms of the size of its cast, here's still hoping for an Auteuil or a Depardieu.
The english language version would have probably gone with the Brits-as-French route à la Hugo.
Still wondering who the star was Polanski was waiting for all these years.
Depp makes the most sense. Maybe DiCaprio? He certainly is very aware of film history and how he wants to position himself in it. So working with a true legend would have fit his career path so far. But with all the growing controversy around Polanski he probably would have chickened out. DiCaprio isn't exactly the most adventurous in selecting his directors, to say the least.
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Post by pacinoyes on Dec 4, 2018 9:30:39 GMT
One of the rather great things about Polanski's work is that in his "7 masterpieces" - or the films that most often get tagged with that term - just one is based on a major "known" historical event of course - The Pianist (the other 6: Knife in the Water, Rosemary's Baby, Repulsion, The Tenant, Tess, Chinatown). That means that often in his best work the events within his best films are never based on what you know but rather what you don't know or can't comprehend - you never feel sure of the "facts" - his fictional narratives plagued with unreliable narrators, shifting perspectives and divergent POV are his facts.
That means he conveys brilliant and elusive ideas that for other filmmakers are difficult - hypocrisy, madness, irony (very few filmmakers are as ironic as Polanski and that's a Polish characteristic!). It is particularly exciting that in his 80s - 80s! - he would take this on - and have to present the facts in a clear and precise way because the Dreyfus Affair is seemingly just about facts and could be quite dry.
But he is telling a story where to him the facts matter more and less than ever simultaneously. For him the facts are a vehicle to convey well you know other things ...........madness, hypocrisy, irony and implicitly and metaphorically his own story. For the film to work it has to be about the elusive nature of a lot of things - truth, justice, the individual vs. the collective...........the elusive nature of Life.
The things that other filmmakers have difficulty expressing at all that he has made a whole career of......I'd argue that on paper, especially if it's his last film, there's never been one quite like it for a major director, certainly not within its twisted trajectory of personal, professional, thematic.
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Post by Leo_The_Last on Dec 4, 2018 13:52:24 GMT
Well put pacinoyes! This are exactly the reasons him doing this story is so exciting.
His personal connection to the thematic undercurrents of the tale is central. But it's exactly HOW Polanski tells his storys which could elevate this one above just the historical and political weight of its source material.
It's one thing having a director dealing with themes that resonate with his own history. But, as you perfectly put it, Polanski has always been about more, at least in his best work, than just what's on the page.
The whole Dreyfus affair alone brings a lot of potential to tell a powerful story, but in the hands of most directors, even the good ones, you would probably get a gripping tale, which at best packs a punch, weaves you in emotionally, gets you thinking etc. Good story well told. (Or you would get, in 9 out of 10 times, the same old "this happened, then that happened, then that...")
But what makes Polanski so great as a filmmaker is that he finds ways to spin his story that lift the material up and make it universal, beyond just what the movie seems to be about. That's exactly why The Pianist turned out to be such a great film. It was not just Polanski doing an "important" prestige picture, or doing (kind of) his story, or Szpilman's story or even the holocaust, it's him showing man lost in the ocean of life, of history, with all the interplay of fate and luck. (Sorry, that's as good as I can put it, my english used to be better, it's just good enough for a Swiss in Switzerland to get along 😄).
I hope he still has kept his keen intelligence, his ability to see/think beyond the material itself. With all that in mind, this movie could turn out as something really special.
It's funny, sometimes I scratch myself, thinking: "Good god, I'm lucky!! What have I done?!"
Polanski, in his 80s, finally doing this, and then Scorsese with Paint Houses, which, if you think about it, was (STILL IS) just so unlikely getting made, with stars mostly remembered for the great things they've done over 20 years ago or longer etc. etc.
December 2018, it's good to be a movie lover 😂😂
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Post by Leo_The_Last on Dec 24, 2018 3:48:05 GMT
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Post by Leo_The_Last on Dec 24, 2018 3:49:21 GMT
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Post by Leo_The_Last on Dec 24, 2018 3:50:41 GMT
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Post by Leo_The_Last on Dec 24, 2018 3:52:03 GMT
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Post by Leo_The_Last on Dec 24, 2018 3:53:04 GMT
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Post by Mattsby on Dec 24, 2018 4:08:10 GMT
Great pics.
I wonder who else is in the cast, we have like eight names so far but Polanski said there's "50 important roles" - gimme Depardieu and Auteuil, then Anglade, Cluzet, Duris, Luchini, etc!
also, wondering..... since the producers just finished production on a miniseries The Spy in partnership with Netflix, could that be a viable option for this in the US? What studio would pick up a French period-piece from Polanski? Netflix offers such a large viewership with little visible backlash (such as pickets outside of theaters, though I'd obviously want to see this in theaters) . Worth noting this already has a release date in France, I'm just thinking where/how this will end up released in the US....
Sony bought US rights to Based on a True Story in Feb '17 ,but they're still sitting very mum on it....
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Post by pacinoyes on Dec 24, 2018 13:15:04 GMT
What studio would pick up a French period-piece from Polanski? Netflix offers such a large viewership with little visible backlash (such as pickets outside of theaters, though I'd obviously want to see this in theaters) . Worth noting this already has a release date in France, I'm just thinking where/how this will end up released in the US.... Sony bought US rights to Based on a True Story in Feb '17 ,but they're still sitting very mum on it.... This is of course also an opportunity (if possible) for a Netflix-Cannes reconciliation too since Polanski has a connection to the festival and this is a film of course that is a big deal in France - so a US distributor that stands up for it would be.......something. Polanski has spoken (wisely, smartly) about Netflix in the past iirc. It's a tough spot for a distributor because even Polanski's older, great work has been reassessed by such pillars of common decency as Paramount's marketing department (sarcasm) who for Rosemary's Baby treated it like the film was directed by an absentee ghost - and of course, that's not even the same as a new, controversial film by an 85 year old that you can kick like soda can to the curb while flashing your SJW junior G-man badge. It's an interesting case because Netflix may not want the controversy or.........in a weird way, they may actually court it too. There's many intersections in 2019 of Art and commerce and Polanski - and he will be highly visible from this film, and the QT film will keep his name in discussions in certain circles as well etc.
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Post by Leo_The_Last on Dec 27, 2018 4:39:42 GMT
Nothing spectacular, just a new picture posted by Dujardin on christmas eve. That's a good question. I mean, so far there are only 12 listed cast members on IMDB. And as Polanski has said in the past, a chamber piece it ain't. The whole climate is poisoned at the moment. In France, it seems the discussion around sexism and violence is a little bit more balanced, certainly compared to the US. But still, distribution will be a hot topic, even for Netflix. At least the film is a reality. That alone is a reason to celebrate. (It's going to be tough for Woody Allen to go forward with anything he has in mind. And Eastwood is lucky the press isn't all over him about what he did to Sondra Locke over 25 years ago, particularly in the light of her recent passing.) According to the french press they're shooting until march 7th. So there's plenty of time for a few more (prominent) actors to be announced as part of the cast. And I guess up until after New Year's Eve they're all having a break anyway. Dujardin is a big star in France and he surely knows how he is exposing himself with this film, collaborating with Polanski. Maybe that makes it easier for some other bigger names to take that risk too. Depardieu, at least, gives a shit what others think about him. That's for sure.
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Post by HELENA MARIA on Dec 27, 2018 18:42:03 GMT
Nothing spectacular, just a new picture posted by Dujardin on christmas eve. View AttachmentThat's a good question. I mean, so far there are only 12 listed cast members on IMDB. And as Polanski has said in the past, a chamber piece it ain't. The whole climate is poisoned at the moment. In France, it seems the discussion around sexism and violence is a little bit more balanced, certainly compared to the US. But still, distribution will be a hot topic, even for Netflix. At least the film is a reality. That alone is a reason to celebrate. (It's going to be tough for Woody Allen to go forward with anything he has in mind. And Eastwood is lucky the press isn't all over him about what he did to Sondra Locke over 25 years ago, particularly in the light of her recent passing.) According to the french press they're shooting until march 7th. So there's plenty of time for a few more (prominent) actors to be announced as part of the cast. And I guess up until after New Year's Eve they're all having a break anyway. Dujardin is a big star in France and he surely knows how he is exposing himself with this film, collaborating with Polanski. Maybe that makes it easier for some other bigger names to take that risk too. Depardieu, at least, gives a shit what others think about him. That's for sure. "Depardieu, at least, gives a shit what others think about him. That's for sure." Nope, he doesn't. Never did and never will. He's the very definition of a free sprited person.
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Post by Leo_The_Last on Dec 27, 2018 23:40:08 GMT
Yes, @mariahelena
for better or worse, Depardieu goes his own way, always has, always will.
I'm Not Like Everybody Else, The Kinks's song, that's him
And I don't want to ball about like everybody else And I don't want to live my life like everybody else And I won't say that I feel fine like everybody else 'Cause I'm not like everybody else I'm not like everybody else
...and a lot to booze and a lot to bite...
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Post by Leo_The_Last on Jan 4, 2019 1:33:59 GMT
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Post by jimmalone on Jan 12, 2019 13:07:12 GMT
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Post by wilcinema on Jan 12, 2019 13:22:50 GMT
Jean's second Oscar confirmed
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Post by theycallmemrfish on Jan 12, 2019 14:38:20 GMT
Jean's second Oscar confirmed Not in today's climate.
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Post by RiverleavesElmius on Jan 26, 2019 19:23:46 GMT
Wow, he truly is the "one true genius," and I'm rooting for the man instead of just his film. ...here's hoping that she/it takes the bait.
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Post by HELENA MARIA on Jan 29, 2019 14:13:08 GMT
Jean's second Oscar confirmed A César ? Maybe. An Oscar??? Hell no 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣
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Post by pacinoyes on Jan 29, 2019 17:38:02 GMT
I mentioned in some other threads that Dujardin is going to get nailed in 2019 - a BA winner, who can not plead ignorance (ala Malek or Streep), who will have to say nothing or give a forthright statement and not waiver (like "I stand by his artistic right. I have nothing else to add") - this film will for him be like the MJ documentary in a way (an odd way, since he is not a perpetrator).
But the Academy itself is going to go through this too and not with Dujardin but something far more uncomfortable than a BA nod - Polanski very well could be making a great film and they better hope he is not. If he is, he's working with great social implications in plot and the Academy who this year is trying to balance being socially conscious, and progressive about film (streaming, Netflix etc) and on the side of Art (if Roma wins).
Polanski doing something great will put them in the excruciating position of ignoring Art, ignoring its (own) film history, and simplifying (several) social implications rather than leading them. It's a potential minefield and the Academy you would imagine is then literally hoping for a film by a major filmmaker to outright fail ..........which of course makes them more like like members of our Movie Awards board than the organization with the stated goals of advancing the Art form. It's a messssssssssssssssss of a project and perfect storm of moral relativism.
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Post by stephen on Jan 29, 2019 17:42:06 GMT
I mentioned in some other threads that Dujardin is going to get nailed in 2019 - a BA winner, who can not plead ignorance (ala Malek or Streep), who will have to say nothing or give a forthright statement and not waiver (like "I stand by his artistic right. I have nothing else to add") - this film will for him be like the MJ documentary in a way (an odd way, since he is not a perpetrator). But the Academy itself is going to go through this too and not with Dujardin but something far more uncomfortable than a BA nod - Polanski very well could be making a great film and they better hope he is not. If he is, he's working with great social implications in plot and the the Academy who this year trying to balance being socially conscious, and progressive about film (streaming, Netflix etc) and on the side of Art (if Roma wins). Polanski doing something great will put them in the excruciating position of ignoring Art, ignoring its (own) film history, and simplifying (several) social implications rather than leading them. It's a potential minefield and the Academy you would imagine is then literally hoping for a film by a major filmmaker to outright fail ..........which of course makes them more like like members of our Movie Awards board than the organization with the stated goals of advancing the Art form. It's a messssssssssssssssss of a project and perfect storm of moral relativism. I think Jean Dujardin benefits largely from being relatively obscure despite being a recent-ish Best Actor winner. He doesn't do a whole lot of Hollywood films, and the ones he did were immediately following his Oscar win, when people tried to capitalize on that. He'll get hit for it, and probably hard, but I don't think it'll taint his career the way that it might for a more well-established, well-known, marketable name. Dujardin is still a jobbing actor, even if he is popular in France (and from what I've heard, he's not all that well-respected there, either; people were saying in 2011 that he was seen as more of a Jim Carrey type than a George Clooney), and he's more or less removed from the Hollywood scene. It will be interesting to see his response, because he had to know that taking the role would mean a lot of criticism/controversy coming his way.
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Post by wilcinema on Jan 29, 2019 18:31:22 GMT
The Academy won't touch this movie with a stick. If Roman delivers, and I strongly believe he will, the critics will do the work before the Academy. I can already sense the knives being sharpened for the butchering.
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Post by Leo_The_Last on Jan 30, 2019 21:36:19 GMT
New pictures, including some with Vincent Grass, Mathieu Amalric, Denis Podalydès and my fellow countryman Vincent Perez.
(The pictures I upload on here seem to be pretty bad, quality wise. Might has something to do with my hundred year old smartphone. Or just plain stupidity. So, sorry about that.)
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Post by Leo_The_Last on Jan 30, 2019 21:38:41 GMT
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Post by Leo_The_Last on Jan 30, 2019 21:39:50 GMT
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