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Tag: Film Festival

  • Kristen Stewart Wows at Cannes Debut of “Clouds of Sils Maria”

    Kristen Stewart wowed fans and critics alike at this year’s Cannes Film Festival as she promoted her new film, Clouds of Sils Maria. The 24-year-old actress received a standing ovation for her role as Valentine in the new Olivier Assayas’ drama, heading to select theaters and the IFC network later this year.

    Clouds of Sils Maria shows a complicated relationship between an aging actress (Juliette Binoche) and her assistant (Stewart). In the film, the actress’s life falls apart as she takes a role in the re-staging of a play that made her famous 20 years ago, only this time, she playing the middle-aged character.

    Chloe Grace Moretz plays the Hollywood starlet that takes the younger role in the play, the role Binoche had 20 years ago; a complicated love triangle between Juliette, Chloe, and Kristen ensues.

    Clouds of Sils Maria promises to show a different side of Kristen than the big-budget Hollywood flicks we’ve seen her in, such as Twilight and Snow White and the Huntsman. Kristen was also excited to take on a role that was a complete reversal of her everyday life – playing the lowly assistant instead of the Hollywood star. “For Kristen to play the assistant was hilarious,” said Binoche. “Those kind of details she knows more than I do, in a way, because she’s really in a world of paparazzi and all that. We had a lot of discussions about that.”

    Adds director Assayas about the making of the provocative Sils Maria: “Movies are exciting to make if they’re outside how they’re usually made — if you’re trying to invent a new way, or have a new take on something that no one thought was possible to reinvent.”

    Kristen wasn’t the only Twilight star to represent at Cannes this year; ex-boyfriend Robert Pattinson was there as well, promoting two films: Maps to the Stars and The Rover, both of which are earning Robert rave reviews as well. However there was no awkward run-in between the two; Robert made sure to leave the French Riveria before Kristen even arrived!

    Check out the trailer for Clouds of Sils Maria below – do you think it’ll be Kristen’s best performance to date?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Sal Mineo, James Franco’s New Film, Debuts Trailer

    Sal, the new film from James Franco, has just released its first trailer. The film will be a biopic about the actor Sal Mineo, who’s most well-known performance was when he appeared in the 1955 film, Rebel Without A Cause. Many people might have overlooked his performance with the standout performances given by both James Dean and Natalie Wood in the film, but Mineo was actually nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his part in the film.

    James Franco has been racking up all sorts of credits lately and has turned to being a director, in an effort to seem more artsy in the industry maybe? In any case, he has been very busy and in addition to this project, he is also working on adapting novels by both Cormac McCarthy and William Faulkner, according to Entertainment Weekly. He is adapting McCarthy’s Child of God and As I Lay Dying by Faulkner.

    The biopic will focus on the end of Mineo’s life, who was also a homosexual, and was one of the first major Hollywood actors to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality. He was born in the Bronx and was enrolled in dancing and acting school at a young age. He had his first stage appearance in The Rose Tattoo, a play by Tennessee Williams and also appeared opposite Yul Brynner in the stage musical The King And I. Mineo was stabbed and killed at the age of 37. Mineo rose to fame at a young age as a teen idol, much like his co-star James Dean, but was never recognized in the same way.

    Franco’s biopic about the legendary actor is simply titled Sal and will focus on the end of his life. Deadline Hollywood mentions that the film follows Mineo in his final hours as he struggles to regain career momentum. He was on the way home from a rehearsal for the play P.S. Your Cat Is Dead, on the night that he died. The film stars Val Lauren as Sal. Tribeca Films will release the film on VOD and itunes on October 22, with a limited theatrical run on November 1st.

    James Franco will also play a small role in the film, portraying director Milton Katselas. The film is finally being released to the public, after its original premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2011.

    Image via Youtube

  • Wentworth Miller Comes out of the Closet

    Wentworth Miller Comes out of the Closet

    Wentworth Miller, the former “Prison Break” star, has come out of the closet as a gay man. The 41-year-old announced the news in a letter addressed to the Petersburg International Film Festival director Maria Averbakh. Averbakh had recently invited him to attend the event.

    He responded to the invitation with a letter, declining to attend due to the mistreatment of gay individuals in Russia. Russian President, Vladimir Putin, signed a legislation that will ban “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations”. This ban will carry fines, jail time, and, for those who are not a Russian native, deportation.

    This is what Wentworth’s response said:

    Re: St. Petersburg International Film Festival / “Guest of Honor” Invitation

    Dear Ms. Averbakh:
    Thank you for your kind invitation. As someone who has enjoyed visiting Russia in the past and can also claim a degree of Russian ancestry, it would make me happy to say yes.

    However, as a gay man, I must decline.

    I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government. The situation is in no way acceptable, and I cannot in good conscience participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly.

    Perhaps, when and if circumstances improve, I’ll be free to make a different choice.

    Until then.

    Wentworth Miller

    Member, HRC
    Member, GLAAD
    Member, The ManKind Project

    GLAAD spokesman, Wilson Cruz, made a statement saying: “Wentworth’s bold show of support sends a powerful message to LGBT Russians, who are facing extreme violence and persecution: you are not alone. As people from across the globe continue to speak out against Russia’s horrific law, more celebrities and corporations should follow his courageous lead in openly condemning Russia’s anti-LGBT law.”