Father Geek here with our new Euro-AICN Column for this Monday. Sooooo you think you'll escape Sundance coverage by diving in to this report? Not so! Robert as included previews of several Euro films in this week's edition that are featured at this year's Sundance Festival. Among them are: MIRANDA, CRUSH, BIRTHDAY GIRL, GERRY, and LUCKY BREAK. There's also informative talk of other Fests like The Dead By Dawn Festival, The Edinburgh International Film Festival, and a uber cool little festival of John Carpenter Films in London early next month...

Hi people.

Even if in the States January doesn't offer many great movies, in Italy it's quite different, but simply because there are presented many movies that you probably have already seen in December (or even before). Thus, I've seen yesterday the intriguing little Belgian movie called Pauline et Paulette, I'll see Amelie this evening and LOTR tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, this Euro Aicn column has a lot of interesting information, about such movies as Spirited Away, Constantine, Spiderman, 007 and people as Holly Hunter, Jude Law, Sean Connery, Richard E Grant, Famke Janssen and John Carpenter.

Enjoy

From ShowbizIreland (http://www.showbizireland.com/)

Northern Irish actor Jimmy Nesbitt attended the first screening of the Bloody Sunday movie in Derry at the weekend, the city where the killings originally took place.

The Cold Feet and Waking Ned star attended the movie along with 450 relatives of Bloody Sunday victims. Nesbitt plays civil rights leader Ivor Cooper in the movie, whose attempts to keep the march from turning violent when marchers went off course and into the hands of waiting paratroopers. On January 30, 1972 British paratroopers opened fire and killed 14 civil rights marchers on the streets of Derry. British director Paul Greengrass said Bloody Sunday was "the worst mistake the British government was responsible for."

Holly Hunter in My Boy

Hollywood actress Holly Hunter is confirmed to play the role of Philomena Lynott, the mother of Phil Lynott in the film about his life My Boy. The film is being made by Irish director Noel Pearson the man behind the Oscar winning film My Left Foot and Dancing at Lughasna. Over the weekend Hunter was expected to jet into Dublin for the annual Vibe for Philo tribute show in Dublin's Submarine Bar near to where Phil grew up. However, the star failed to show up but word from the set is that she has signed the dotted line and is expected within the next few weeks. One tabloid report suggests that the reason behind her absence of is the fact she is currently going through a divorce in LA with husband Januez Kaminski, who has been married to the actress for six years. Hunter won an Oscar for her role in The Piano in 1993 and will play an older Philomena. While Irish actress Elaine Cassidy will play a young Philomena. Omero Mumba, Samantha Mumba's little brother is expected to play a young Phil Lynott. The actor who will play Phil when he joins Thin Lizzy is still to be named. Filming of the 10 million pound films will be done in Ardmore Studious in Wicklow.

A few news bits from Greigg:

The site I write for (www.entfirst.com) has just put up its writers' top films of 2001 lists.

Jude Law and Sean Connery

There are persistent rumours in the Scottish press that Jude Law and Sean Connery have been signed to a Bonnie Prince Charlie production to be shot in Scotland in the summer. Haven't been able to get anything concrete on this though.

Edinburgh International Film Festival

The Edinburgh International Film Festival is spreading its wings and has announced a new initiative. Early Spring is a showcase of seven films over seven nights. Starting in the Filmhouse in Edinburgh on 6th March before moving on to Glasgow and then London. The first film to be shown will be acclaimed Australian effort Lantana. Starring Geoffrey Rush and Anthony Lapaglia Lantana is a murder mystery which cleaned up at the Australian Film Institute awards. Full programme details can be found on edfilmfest.org.uk.

Film Four at Sundance

Film Four has announced which of its films will be heading to Sundance. Marc Munden's MIRANDA, starring Christina Ricci, Kyle MacLachlan, John Hurt and fast rising young British actor John Simm, receives its world premiere. Ricci plays the enigmatic Miranda, whose appearance in the life of a daydreaming librarian propels him into a chaotic world where nothing is what it seems.

Also receiving its world premiere is GERRY, the eagerly anticipated new project from Gus Van Sant, which reunites Van Sant with Matt Damon and Casey Affleck. Events turn sinister when two life-long friends lose their way on a hiking trip and their friendship is put to the ultimate test.

CRUSH, a comedy about what happens when good sex, bad behaviour and a sexy younger man tests three women's friendship, receives its North American premiere. Written and directed by John McKay and produced by Lee Thomas, the film stars Andie MacDowell, Imelda Staunton, Anna Chancellor and Kenny Doughty.

LUCKY BREAK receives its North American premiere. Director Peter Cattaneo, Oscar-nominated for his international hit The Full Monty, brings together a strong ensemble British cast, including James Nesbitt, Olivia Williams, Timothy Spall and Christopher Plummer, to play a bunch of loveable prison inmates who stage an amateur musical as a smoke screen for an elaborate escape plan.

BIRTHDAY GIRL has also been selected for a North American premiere. Nicole Kidman stars as a too hot-to-handle mail order bride, alongside Ben Chaplin, Mathieu Kassowitz and Vincent Cassel. Directed by Jez Butterworth and written by Jez and Tom Butterworth.

Dead By Dawn Film Festival

Finally Dead By Dawn the UK's only horror film festival has confirmed it will once again be running over a whole weekend in March. Split between the Filmhouse and Cameo in Edinburgh programme details have not yet been announced but keep an eye on deadbydawn.co.uk as the line up should be announce in the next week or so.

And here comes Ratbert, with his stuff:

Richard E Grant and Famke Janssen are set to star in a new black comedy. They will play sparring dot.com lovers in the as-yet-untitled movie. The firm is loosely based on the rise and fall of Boo.com. The company was set up by Swedish model Kajsa Leander and was once valued at £200 million. But after an 18 month long rollercoaster business ride, the organisation crashed with massive debts. Working Title hopes to go into production next autumn with the project, which is based on a book by Charles Drazin, Ernst Malmsten and Eriuk Portanger.

Alan Bates and Brian Cox in Anima

Alan Bates and Brian Cox are set to team up with an all-star French cast to make the period epic Anima. Tilda Swinton may also join them in the fantasy thriller, which has been written and is being directed by Christophe Pascal. The quirky story is set against the backdrop of war torn France and the Netherlands in the 17th century. The three central characters are an artist who specialises in Delft pottery, one of his models and a French police captain. Anima, which will also feature Richard Bohringer and Kiera Chaplin, is due to be made in the late summer

And here we are with Grozilla's report, with very important information about Constantine, Tarsem and Nic Cage, plus reviews of Spirited Away and 8 Femmes:

First a scoop : get ready to hear about some « Creative differences » bullshit on Constantine. I had a chat with some very buzzed about director, who asked to remain anonymous, in which he told that Warner has called him to know if he was interested to get on board on this comic-book adaptation. Tarsem has left the job, it seemed that he and Nic Cage didn’t get along very well. The studio is looking for hiring a director fast: they planned to shoot this film from late may.

Spirited Away Review

Now I’ve seen Spirited away, I assumed I owe some apologies to Buena Vista people (who knows, maybe some of’em are Aicn readers…). We all are aware of some bad faith used in the way Disney works on Ghibli films, especially Miyazaki’s films (just look at the disrepect they’re showing about the release of Mononoke’s Z2 DVD still and again delayed). I thought the French release of Spirited away, delayed again and again, was in that mood, but now I can say this film needed indeed some very subtle work on the dubbing to be understood by kids, the core audience for Disney. Spirited Away is definitely a masterpiece, but has some deep links to Japanese culture who need to be soften for outside audiences. In a way, this a revert version of Monsters inc. In both films a small girl enter some monsters world, but in Pixar’s one Monsters learn from the girl, in Miyazaki’s it’s a bit the opposite. Spirited away is very connected to Alice in Wonderland stuff. Of course all main Miyazaki’s topics are there: tale of initiation, relationship to working class, relationship between industrialized world and mother nature, flying objects… But is goes, to my opinion, deeper than his previous films, by freeing some poetic imagination. Particulary with all the variety of ghosts here who are not just here to be scary. I was deeply moved by this “spirit with no face”, just some black shape with a mask, who’s as sweet as terryfing. It resumes well what appears to me as the main subject of this film : learning to be oneself, by accepting his own dichotomies. This deeply philosophical tale could be a bit boring for young kids, but any else audience should definitely be overwhelmed by this wonderful piece of work. Spirited away is now (and it’s for sure) scheduled to be released in France on april 10th.

François Ozon's "8 Femmes" review

François Ozon is one of the most under estimated young French filmmakers theses days. I never was very fond of his work , but I has to acknowledge he’s daring in his movies. And if I found his Sitcom, Les amants criminals very lousy, I admit Sous le sable was a very moving mix between Auteur film and classic ghost story. Ozon’s next film is gonna be the huge event of February here. 8 femmes ( 8 women) is adapted from some Agatha Christie’s like play. A house, eight women in it, all linked to a man who has been murderered. Who’s guilty ? Forget the script, any fan of Whodunit genre will find very fast what it’s all about. The twist here is behind the script : Ozon has convinced most of French female stars to act in his film : Catherine Deneuve, Fanny Ardant, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Béart, Virgine Ledoyen, …

All these women means a lot to film fans for many years. They worked with all the greatests directors from sixties ( even well before with Danielle Darrieux who’s also in it) to now.

8 femmes is for sure more than a cluedo game, a loving homage to cinema. The game here is more about to search for all the hints Ozon spread about his love for decades of movies. On this side it’s very well built, each frame, each costume, each line, each camera movement having a meaning. And that’s maybe what avoided me to really enjoyed this film. When you hear Gaby saying “I’m beautiful and rich, you’re poor and ugly” to her sister Augustine, I couldn’t help to see Deneuve and Huppert, with all they represent for film fan, instead of the characters. Same thing when two female characters are deeply kissing each other. It’s provocative because of the stars acting it more than the characters. Some scenes are beautifully made but I can’t tell why I enjoyed’em. Because of what they tell or me because of their subtextual meaning ?

Ozon is a smart guy, but he’s to my opinion, showing it too much. 8 femmes is still a good film, and a very unusual one who will for sure be able to please the non-cinephlic audience, as the cinephilic one.I’ve heard 8 femmes was bought for huge money by an American distributor. So I guess this will soon be marketed there as the French sensation du jour…

Grozilla's Top five smaller French films

I hesitated a long time before submit what follows. I ‘ve never been a big fan of Top ten lists. But as 2001 seemed to be the year French cinema new awakening (most the hits there were French, some films ­Amelie, The closet, Brotherhood of the wolf­ are very well received in outside countries), I’ve thought about some Top five smaller French films to be definitvely seen -to my opinion- if they’re screening near your place.

La maîtresse en maillot de bain, By Lyèce Boukhitine

The funny adventures of three pals from childhood. If you need some comparaison, it’s a kind of French cousin for Wes Anderson’s Bottle rocket. Very well casted, written, acted, this bitter sweet comedy is wonderful. It’s just failed on French box-office, maybe because of its release (Jan 2nd) almost no press was released about it, all being focused on LOTR and Harry Potter storms. Too bad.

Trois Huit, By Philippe Leguay

A tale about moral harassment in work. Using the world of work in factory for a kind of moral thriller, very daring. Gerald Laroche and Marc Barbé, are amazing in some very ambiguous submit-dominate relationship.

Le soleil au dessus des nuages, By Eric Le Roch

A twisted version of Amelie. As in Jeunet’s film, it ‘s about someone who discovers that he need to care for people to be happy, but here’s the main character is some dickhead learning to be better. Made in a more modest way than Amelie, Le soleil is a small but very moving film. Especially because of Daniel Prevot (known here as an absurd stand up comedian) who gives a powerfully heartbreaking performance. This film crashed because of being in Amelie’s shadow, but even it fails on artistic point of view, it still worth to be seen for the moving tale it tells.

Trouble every day, By Claire Denis

You probably heard much about this, when it was screened in many festivals. It’s more than a vampire story in an auteur way. Claire Denis illustrated with this film, the very deep meaning of devouring love. Much more than a genre film, Trouble every day is a powerful metaphoric tale about love. Of course it has very graphic gory scenes, but if they’re disturbing, it’s more because of their animal sensuality. Beatrice Dalle (Betty Blue) is giving here one of her most astonishing acting. Beautifully shot, quite mesmerizing, Trouble every day is a specie of a kind : some adult horror film.

Sur mes lèvres, By Jacques Audiard

Another film about mankind condition in work. But mixed with some delicate love story. Emmanuelle Devos and Vincent Cassel better than ever as a deaf secretary and an ex-con discovering each other along this brilliantly written story. Jacques Audiard explained that he was inspired by Honeymoon killers for this film. Well, he managed to tell another twisted romance made with all his heart.

Have you ever heard about a Spiderman Song?

This is what I received: We've come across the #1 downloaded Spider-Man song on the internet. It's already been featured on the top six Spider-Man web sites online. The song has been downloaded over 8000 times and counting, by Spider-Man fans in 10 different countries. The song was written for the up-coming Spider-Man movie, by an awesome band called Spirit Creek. You can listen to the song by clicking here: Check It Out Now

Spirit Creek was recently selected out of 5300 bands Nationwide as the winner of Yahoo's 2001 Online Music Award for the "Best Unsigned Artist in America." MTV Online also selected them as the "Band To Watch In 2000." They've already performed with 27 National acts including Creed, Nickelback, 3 Doors Down, and Bush to name a few. They've received press in Hits Magazine's Wheels and Deals section as well as features in Lip Service Magazine, and the up-coming March issue of Yahoo's Internet Life Magazine. All the feedback from Spider-Man fans is unanimous: THIS SONG NEEDS TO BE ON THE SPIDER-MAN MOVIE SOUND TRACK!!

Please help get exposure for this awesome song! Forward the link to all! If you'd like a copy of the song please e-mail me, and I'll gladly send you a copy.

Eric Addeo, The Equinox Network

Kris Kriffin, with a John Carpenter homage:

There's a John Carpenter all-nighter at the Curzon cinema in Leicester Square in London showing They Live, Escape From New York, Dark Star and The Thing - WOW!!! Runs Sat 2nd Feb 11.55pm to Sun 3rd Feb 7.20am includes snacks and drinks and breakfast - £20. Box Office is 020 7734 2255 (overseas i think +44 (0) 7734 2255).

I'm all booked up but I asked and there are loads of tickets left. On the Friday night they are showing all 4 Alien films - but I couldn't handle that - not 3 and 4 anyway!

Kevro send us the title of James Bond next (at least this is his suggestion): 007:Death Waits For One Man. It's not the actual title - that isn't decided upon - BUT the movie producers want suggestions, and this is mine. Death Waits For One Man, i.e. Bond. It fits in with the old style titles which were sayings with one word changed. You Only Live Once, Live and Let Live, etc. I think it's pretty cool, don't you? KevRo

That's all for today, folks See you next week

Robert Bernocchi

euroaicn@yahoo.com

http://www.caltanet.it/frm/cinema/