MANON, ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AN DESIRED Screening

This evening, UCLA’s James Bridges Theater will be screening Henri-Georges Clouzot’s (right) modernized version of Manon (1949) at 5 p.m., and, at 7:30 p.m., Marina Zenovich’s now much-discussed documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008), about the circus surrounding the legal (and at times apparently illegal) maneuverings throughout Roman Polanski’s trial for having sex with a minor in the late 1970s. Admission is free.
I’m assuming that Wanted and Desired will be packed. So, be ready to stand in line. Also, it should be noted that one of the prosecutors in the case, David Wells, has just recently recanted the story he told Zenovich, which revealed unethical behavior on the part of the judge assigned to Polanski’s case. Wells now says [...]

by Andre Soares | October 1, 2009   
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Penélope Cruz, Bernardo Bertolucci, Gael García Bernal Sign Polanski Petition

Actor Gael García Bernal, Academy Award-winning actress Penélope Cruz, veteran director Mario Monicelli, veteran screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr, and Academy Award-winning filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci and Ethan Coen are a few of the latest additions to the list of signatories demanding freedom for filmmaker Roman Polanski, currently being held by Swiss authorities.
Among the other new signatories of the petition organized by France’s Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (SACD) are:
Author Ariel Dorfman; actor-screenwriter Buck Henry; composer Vangelis; actors Sylvia Kristel and Anne Consigny; filmmakers Fatih Akin, Juan Antonio Bayona, Djamel Bennecib, Giuseppe Bertolucci, Alain Berliner, Guillermo del Toro, Michel Deville, Sam Gabarski, Diane Kurys, Tonie Marshall, Brett Ratner, and Jerry Schatzberg; World Cinema Foundation director Kent [...]

by Andre Soares | September 30, 2009   
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Roman Polanski: Lifetime Achievement Ceremony to Proceed

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The Zurich Film Festival, which runs until Oct. 4, has released the following statement following the arrest of the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award honoree Roman Polanski:
"The planned ‘A Tribute to …’ Award ceremony for film maker Roman Polanski will go ahead in his absence. Roman Polanski, one of the greatest film directors of our time would have received an award for his life’s achievement at the Zurich Film Festival. However, he was detained by the police upon his entry at Zurich Airport. His detention is linked to the demand by US-authorities to a warrant for his arrest in 1978.
"The festival directors have received this news with great consternation and shock. They have decided that the ‘A Tribute to … Roman [...]

by Andre Soares | September 27, 2009   
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Roman Polanski Arrested

Roman Polanski, who won a best director Oscar for the Holocaust drama The Pianist in 2003, was arrested at the Zurich airport last night. According to reports, the 76-year-old filmmaker could face extradition to the United States for charges of having sex with a minor in the late 1970s.
Polanski, who was in Switzerland to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival, was apparently arrested at the behest of the U.S. Justice Department, following a lead from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. He would be held until a decision was made regarding his extradition to the US.
In 1977, Polanski was accused of using champagne and a Quaalude tablet to have sex with a 13-year-old [...]

by Andre Soares | September 27, 2009   
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Sundance 2008: Roman Polanski, Eduardo Noriega, Gay Zombies

Variety’s Justin Chang on The Great Buck Howard:
"A smoothly turned-out entertainment centered around an Amazing Kreskin-style mentalist comes down with an unfortunate case of the warm-and-fuzzies in The Great Buck Howard. Behind-the-curtains comedy reps an amusing showcase for John Malkovich’s diva-like theatrics in the title role, but writer-director Sean McGinly’s decision to frame the story as a relationship movie, as Buck’s impressionable young assistant deals with some very familiar life issues, tilts the comic seesaw toward sentiment over satire."
Also in the cast are Colin Hanks (co-producer’s Tom Hanks‘ son), Emily Blunt, and Steve Zahn.
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Mary Milliken on Marina Zenovich’s Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired in Reuters/The Vancouver Sun:
"Zenovich told Reuters her documentary does not apologize for the French-Polish director, but [...]

by Andre Soares | January 21, 2008   
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Sundance 2008: Documentary Competition

Sundance 2008: Documentary Competition
 

I.O.U.S.A. by Patrick Creadon

Film information from the Sundance Film Festival press release
AN AMERICAN SOLDIER (Director and Screenwriter: Edet Belzberg)—Uncle Sam really wants you! A compelling exploration of army recruitment in the United States told through the story of Louisiana Sergeant, First Class Clay Usie, one of the most successful recruiters in the history of the U.S. Army. World Premiere
AMERICAN TEEN (Director and Screenwriter: Nanette Burstein)— This irreverent cinema vérité chronicles four seniors at an Indiana high school and yields a surprising snapshot of Midwestern life. World Premiere
BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER (Director: Christopher Bell; Screenwriters: Christopher Bell, Alexander Buono, Tamsin Rawady)—A filmmaker explores America’s win-at-all-cost culture by examining his two brothers’ steroids use…and his own. World Premiere
FIELDS OF FUEL [...]

by Andre Soares | December 7, 2007   
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