And what’s that zooming toward the multiplex? Why, it’s yet another true-life sports film, and it’s comin’ in hot. Yes, it’s a whole lot faster than the rowing movie, as it is set in the world of auto racing. And unlike the other racing flick this year, GRAN TURISMO, there’s no video gaming involved as the bulk of it takes place over sixty-five years ago. Oh, and the director of this new film has been making some of the most interesting and stylish action epics over the last five decades. He’s focused on one year in a man’s life synonymous with the sport, so it could be considered a biography. Even after all this time that name resonates throughout the world in general. Sure it’s now a brand name, but behind all the iconic autos was the man named Enzo FERRARI.
This profile begins with newsreel-style footage of Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) churning up the dirt raceway in the 1920s. Flash forward to 1957, as he awakens and joins Lina (Shailene Woodley) for breakfast with their eight-year-old son Piero. He says goodbye but doesn’t go directly to his auto factory. Instead, he stops at the crypt of his late son Alfredo (‘Dino’) and the home he shares with his wife Laura (Penelope Cruz). Of course, she knows nothing of Enzo’s second family, perhaps owing to Italy’s ban on divorce in the day. Enzo’s arrival precedes a heated argument ending with her firing a pistol (later one would end with kitchen tabletop lovemaking). It’s a big day at Ferrari S.p.A, as a new racer, Alfonso De Portiago (Gabriel Leone) joins the company team before the next big road race. And much to Enzo’s chagrin, his movie starlet girlfriend Linda Christian (Sarah Gadon) steals some of the fanfare. He appears to have a complex relationship with the press. Enzo despises the “paparazzi” for trying to pry into his personal life, but uses them to plant rumors, like a possible merger with Ford Motors, in order to generate much-needed cash. Seems the company is teetering toward bankruptcy, which forces Enzo to make risky loans with banks and even barter with Laura over shares of the family company. Ah, but all will work out when his team wins the highly-touted race, Mille Miglia, which runs over several miles of public roads throughout Italy. But what would happen if disaster and death take the wheel?
In the title role, Driver (nice coincidence) is quite intimidating as the looming, passionate auto maven. he conveys a man completely focused on his profession, down to the smallest bit of machinery, while also juggling every penny of his company’s dwindling funds. But his best juggling is in his double life. With Lina and Piero he’s a warm nurturing patriarch, doting on his boy while frustrating his mother. But with Laura, he never quite knows what’s behind their home’s front entrance. Like the old fable, is it “the lady or the tiger”? As Laura, Cruz has a fierce bite along with her ultra-sharp claws, as she suspects that Enzo has “something on the side”, while she she to reign in his spending excesses. But Cruz also shows us that the wounds of losing a son have never healed as she lashed at him to unload her smothering grief. As the “other woman” Woodley shows us the defiant attitude that is tempered with a lingering affection for Enzo, paired with a sense of shame for having to exist “in the shadows”.As for team Ferrari, Leone oozes with machismo charm as the new “darling of the tabloids, while another charmer, Patrick Dempsey, conveys an easygoing demeanor as veteran “pedal man” Piero Taruffi.
Oh, the director mentioned above (who also serves as co-producer and “script doctor”) is the talented Michael Mann in his first sports biopic since ALI. He’s worked in many movie genres, but Mann may be best known for his action epic. That skill suits him well in this true tale, particularly in the “signature scene” that will leave audiences stunned. Some critics of auto racing believe it’s an excuse to witness a disaster, and since the film is based on real events, it happens here. Kudos to Mann for not “sugarcoating” the shocking horror of it all by “cutting away” or making it abstract or “dreamy”. The ‘blink of an eye” carnage and its aftermath will have viewers gasping and perhaps a bit shaken. Hopefully, the power of this sequence doesn’t detract from the strength of the quieter scenes like Enzo talking about racing skills with as son, or the haunting montage of the drivers preparing “goodbye letters’ for their loved ones on the night before the big race (and finding a spot for the envelopes to be discovered). The verbal sparring between Enzo and Laura verges on becoming a repetitive cycle, and we’re often not sure of Enzo’s intentions, especially in his relationship with Lina (despite the brawling there’s more heat with Laura). this is offset by the superb cinematography by Erik Messerschmidt, the expert period recreations (fashion, decor, and hairstyles), the gorgeous Italian locations, and some terrific insider info on the sport (I wasn’t aware of the two-man driving teams). Though it occasionally veers off the track, there is lots of super-charged power in the world of FERRARI.
3 out of 4
FERRARI opens in theatres everywhere on Christmas Day 2023
NEON has released the brand new trailer for FERRARI.
It is the summer of 1957. Behind the spectacle of Formula 1, ex-racer Enzo Ferrari is in crisis. Bankruptcy threatens the factory he and his wife, Laura built from nothing ten years earlier. Their volatile marriage has been battered by the loss of their son, Dino a year earlier. Ferrari struggles to acknowledge his son Piero with Lina Lardi. Meanwhile, his drivers’ passion to win pushes them to the edge as they launch into the treacherous 1,000-mile race across Italy, the Mille Miglia.
From director Michael Mann (“Heat,” “The Insider” and “The Last of the Mohicans.”), the film stars Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gordon, Gabriel Leone, Jack O’Connell and Patrick Dempsey.
In an interview with Variety, Mann says of a certain scene with Cruz.
“There is a memorable scene where Ferrari and Laura visit Dino’s grave on the same morning, but separately. The usually emotionally shut-down Ferrari breaks as he has a conversation with his dead boy. Laura then arrives. She has a silent conversation with her son, her face full of joy, and then it crumples as she knows he cannot answer back.
“Penélope connected with Laura on almost a primordial level from the first day,” says Mann. The director and actress were completely in sync. He says, “We would have the same thoughts about Laura on the same night.”
One night, they both wrestled with how to give Laura a hint of her burden through a physical trait. “We both came in the next morning saying Laura should wear orthopedic shoes to give her a waddle,” recalls Mann.”
FERRARI will have its North American Premiere as the Closing Night selection at the 61st New York Film Festival and will have its World Premiere in competition at the 80th Venice Film Festival on August 31. FERRARI opens December 25th, exclusively in theaters.
Beyond Fest announces a city-wide presence with a slate including the US Premiere of HALLOWEEN KILLS, the West Coast premieres of THE BLACK PHONE, LAMB, VORTEX and Palme d’Or winner TITANE on 35mm, the world premiere of NEW YORK NINJA, 50th anniversary of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, and a salute to the legendary Michael Mann.
Beyond Fest, the highest-attended genre film festival in the US, is excited to announce its complete slate of 2021 programming comprising 39 features, including 8 world premieres, 4 US premieres, and 17 West Coast Premieres. Following a sold-out residency at the Mission Tiki Drive-In in 2020, Beyond Fest returns to theaters for 10 days of cinematic excess from Wednesday, September 29th – Monday, October 11th. Built in partnership with the American Cinematheque, Beyond Fest will screen at the Legion Theatre, Aero Theatre, and Los Feliz 3 with all ticket sales going to the 501c3 non-profit film institution. Attendance to all screenings require physical proof of vaccination and guests must follow mandatory mask mandates.
With a diverse slate celebrating the most transgressive cinema, Beyond Fest is proud to open with the West Coast Premiere of Julia Ducornau’s Palme d’Or Winner TITANE at the historic Hollywood Legion Theater with the director in attendance. This screening also represents two world-firsts with TITANE playing in-theater for the first time on a never-before-seen 35mm print, while a drive-in screening simultaneously takes place outside.
Horror heroes Blumhouse return to Beyond Fest with two of the year’s most-anticipated features: HALLOWEEN KILLS and THE BLACK PHONE. Director David Gordon Green and producer Jason Blum will join in-person for the US Premiere of HALLOWEEN KILLS and participate in a post-screening Q&A that will be livestreamed globally as the culmination of the super-producers’ annual Blumfest. The latest shocker from power duo Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, THE BLACK PHONE, delivers the scares in their adaptation of Joe Hill’s beloved ghost story. Director Scott Derrikson will be attending the films’ West Coast Premiere.
Following it’s electrifying Cannes debut, jaw-drop cinema LAMB, will receive its West Coast Premiere with director Valdimar Jóhannsson and star Noomi Rapace joining in person, and agent provocateur Gaspar Noé is once-again championed with the West Coast bow of his devastating VORTEX featuring an astonishing performance from the maestro, Dario Argento. Lucile Hadžihalilović promises to shake the audience to its core with the US Premiere of her hallucinatory and mesmerising EARWIG, and acclaimed director Bernard Rose will be in attendance with his cast and crew for the world premiere of his latest film, TRAVELLING LIGHT. We descend into the frighteningly brilliant world of V/H/S with the West Coast Premiere of the brand new V/H/S 94 with talent in attendance, and an incredibly rare 35mm screening of the franchise’s original shockfest, V/H/S.
“Despite all of the adversity of the last 18 months, we’re incredibly thankful to have built a program that is as diverse and progrogressive as anything we’ve accomplished in our past nine years,” said Beyond Fest Head of Programming, Evrim Ersoy. “Recognizing this adversity, the generous support of filmmakers, studios, distributors, and our partners has also given us the opportunity to make over half of the program free to the film community of Los Angeles. It’s so good to be back in theaters where we belong.”
Icons of Cinema will be honored via a series of screenings over the course of the festival with the first being a celebration of four-time Academy Award® nominee Michael Mann with screenings of COLLATERAL and the 40th anniversary of THIEF with the director in attendance. VFX master Phil Tippett is joining us for a career-spanning Q&A between the West Coast debut of his highly-anticipated, magnum opus MAD GOD and his sci-fi-chef’s-kiss, STARSHIP TROOPERS. Also screening is the West Coast Premiere of the 4K restoration of Stanley Kubrick’s A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, and the legendary Udo Kier will discuss one of his most audacious roles with the theatrical World Premiere of the newly restored BLOOD FOR DRACULA. For the duration of the festival the Aero Theatre will be rebranded as the ‘MUBI Theatre’ in-keeping with the streamers’ mission to help cinema-lovers discover and watch beautiful, interesting, incredible films
Celebrating repertory classics from the beloved to the newly-discovered with a series of screenings, Beyond Fest will be home to the West Coast Premiere of the new 4K Restoration of Andrzej Żuławski seminal work, POSSESSION, the World Premiere of the newly-discovered, never-finished until now(!) 80’s Kung-fu-ploitation NEW YORK NINJA from the brilliant minds at Vinegar Syndrome with cast members Leon Isaac, Cynthia Rothrock, and original cast member Adrienne Meltzer in attendance, and the World Premiere of the new 4K Restoration of ‘ALISON’S BIRTHDAY’ as part of a folk horror double-bill, and a very special screening of 2020’s cult sensation THE EMPTY MAN with the director David Prior on-stage for an extended Q&A.
As a give-back to the film community of Los Angeles, all Beyond Fest programming at the Los Feliz 3 Theatre will be 100% free to all guests courtesy of our friends at ‘Shudder’,the premium streaming service for horror, thriller and supernatural films and series. Rebranded as the ‘Shudder Theatre,’ we will be screening a series of hotly anticipated titles spanning the World Premieres of Aharon Keshales tough-as-nails neo-noir SOUTH OF HEAVEN starring Jason Sudekis and Evangeline Lilly and Sam Walker’s eye-popping midnight sci-fi chiller THE SEED, to the highly anticipated West Coast Premieres of SXSW sensation THE FEAST, Ruth Paxton’s bone-chilling THE BANQUET, Dasha Nekrasova’s hallucinatory Berlin winnerTHE SCARY OF SIXTY-FIRST (on brand-new 35mm with the director in attendance), extreme horror THE SADNESS, Kier-La Janisse’s definitive folk-horror doc WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED, the Midnight Madness breakout SALOUM, in addition to three shorts blocks celebrating up-and-coming filmmakers. The Los Feliz 3 will also be home to a very special secret screening of XXXXXXXXX from the legendary director XXXX
Celebrating a commitment to the most transgressive cinema we have curated the ultimate late night sidebar with IFC Midnight to commemorate their 10-year anniversary. Reflecting their endlessly provocative slate, six free screenings, courtesy of IFC Midnight, will begin at the stroke of midnight: the brand-new restoration of Lars von Trier’s ANTICHRIST, THE BABADOOK, KILL LIST, MANIAC, THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE, and BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO.
Another significant 20-year anniversary is that of the world’s leading genre website, BLOODY DISGUSTING, who have joined us to program a day dedicated to three of the most important films in their celebrated history hosted by Bloody Disgusting’s The Boo Crew Podcast. Opening the day is the battle between the king of the monsters, FREDDY VS. JASON with writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift in-person, genre superheroes Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett will be on hand to discuss YOU’RE NEXT after a rare 35mm screening, and closing out the event will be Fede Álvarez with world’s first theatrical screening of his uncut EVIL DEAD in all its glory.
“As an institution that values and champions the communal theatrical experience above all, it’s a joy to bring Beyond Fest back to our theaters,” said American Cinematheque Creative Director, Grant Moninger. “With the Aero Theatre, the Los Feliz 3, and our partnership with the Hollywood Legion Theater, film lovers across LA can experience Beyond Fest‘s incredible immersion of cinema together and on the big screen.”
In the digital space, Beyond Fest is presenting with Amazon Studios and Blumhouse Television the virtual panel ‘Women In Horror: The Female Perspective.’ Featuring an all-female roster of filmmakers including Gigi Saul Guerrero (Writer/Director, BINGO HELL), Axelle Carolyn (Writer/Director, THE MANOR), Maritte Lee Go (Director, BLACK AS NIGHT), Marcella Ochoa (Writer, MADRES), and Lisa Bruce (Blumhouse Television), ‘Women In Horror’ delves deep into the process, challenges, and cause for celebration experienced by female genre filmmakers. The panel will be available to watch for free online from 1st October on beyondfest.com and americancinematheque.com
Beyond Fest will continue to support the filmmaking community with the help of Final Draft who will be presenting three dedicated short blocks and supplying the selected films with a copy of Final Draft 12 as well as giving free entry for each of the selected budding screenwriters into Final Draft’s Big Break Screenwriting Contest.
See below for the full lineup of newly announced feature film titles for Beyond Fest 2021. Tickets will be on sale via americancinematheque.com on September 17th at 10AM PST. Visit beyondfest.com and the American Cinematheque for details.
Attendees will need to present both proof of vaccination and a valid ID at the theatre to be admitted into the event. (Last vaccination must be recorded as 2 weeks prior to the event). Reasonable accommodations will be provided to those needing it for religious or medical reasons with proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test, taken within 72 hours of the screening. For more information regarding requirements, visit americancinematheque.com.
BEYOND FEST 2021 PROGRAM
LEGION THEATRE
TITANE
West Coast Premiere
Director: Julia Ducournau
Country: France, Belgium
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2021
GUESTS: Director Julia Ducournau in person
HALLOWEEN KILLS
US Premiere
Director: David Gordon Green
Country: USA
Runtime: 106 Minutes
Year: 2021
GUESTS: Director David Gordon Green and producer Jason Blum in person
———————————————————————————————————–
MUBI THEATRE at the Aero Theatre
LAMB
West Coast Premiere
Director: Valdimar Jóhannsson
Country: Iceland, Sweden, Poland
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 2021
GUESTS: Director Valdimar Jóhannsson and actor Noomi Rapace in person
NEW YORK NINJA
World Premiere
Director: John Liu
Country: USA
Runtime:
Year: 1984
GUESTS: Actors Cynthia Rothrock, Leon Isaac and Adrienne Meltzer, Producer Kurtis Spieler and Brad Henderson in person
FREDDY VS. JASON
Repertory Screening
Director: Ronny Yu
Country: USA
Runtime: 97 minutes
Year: 2003
GUESTS: Writers Mark Swift and Damian Shannon in person
YOU’RE NEXT
Repertory Screening
Director: Adam Wingard
Country: USA
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 2011
GUESTS: Director Adam Wingard and Writer Simon Barrett in person
EVIL DEAD
Repertory Screening
Director: Fede Álvarez
Country: USA
Runtime: 96 minutes
Year: 2013
GUESTS: Director/Co-Writer Fede Álvarez in person
V/H/S/94
West Coast Premiere
Director: Jennifer Reeder, Simon Barrett, Timo Tjahjanto, Chloe Okuno, Ryan Prows
Country: USA
Runtime: 101 minutes
Year: 2021
GUESTS: Director Simon Barrett, Chloe Okuno, Ryan Prows, Producers Brad Miska, Josh Goldbloom and composer Greg Anderson in person
V/H/S
Repertory Screening
Director: Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, Radio Silence
Country: USA
Runtime: 116 minutes
Year: 2012
GUESTS: Director Simon Barrett in person
MAD GOD
West Coast Premiere
Director: Phil Tippett
Country: USA
Runtime: 83 minutes
Year: 2021
GUESTS: Director Phil Tippett in person
STARSHIP TROOPERS
Repertory Screening
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Country: USA
Runtime: 129 minutes
Year: 1997
GUESTS: Phil Tippett in person
COLLATERAL
Repertory Screening
Director: Michael Mann
Country: USA
Runtime: 120 minutes
Year: 2004
GUESTS: Director Michael Mann in person
THIEF
Repertory Screening
Director: Michael Mann
Country: USA
Runtime: 122 minutes
Year: 1981
GUESTS: Director Michael Mann in person
VORTEX
West Coast Premiere
Director: Gaspar Noé
Country: France
Runtime: 144 minutes
Year: 2021
GUESTS: Director Gaspar Noé in virtual Q&A
POSSESSION
West Coast Premiere – 4K Restoration
Director: Andrzej Żuławski
Country: France, Germany
Runtime: 124 minutes
Year: 1981
THE EMPTY MAN
Repertory Screening
Director: David Prior
Country: USA
Runtime: 137 minutes
Year: 2020
GUESTS: Director David Prior in person
THE BLACK PHONE
West Coast Premiere
Director: Scott Derrickson
Country: USA
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2021
GUESTS: Director Scott Derrickson in person
BLOOD FOR DRACULA
Repertory Screening
Director: Paul Morrisey
Country: Italy, France
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 1974
GUESTS: Actor Udo Kier in person
————————————————————————————————-
SHUDDER THEATRE athe Los Feliz 3
WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED: A HISTORY OF FOLK HORROR
West Coast Premiere
Director: Kier-La Janisse
Country: USA
Runtime: 194 minutes
Year: 2021
ALLISON’S BIRTHDAY
World Premiere – 4K Restoration
Director: Ian Coughlan
Country: Australia
Runtime: 97 minutes
Year: 1981
SOUTH OF HEAVEN
World Premiere
Director: Aharon Keshales
Country: USA
Runtime: 120 minutes
Year: 2021
GUESTS: Director Aharon Keshales in person
THE SPINE OF NIGHT
West Coast Premiere
Director: Morgan Galen King, Philip Gelatt
Country: USA
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 2021
CODE NAME: NAGASAKI
West Coast Premiere
Director: Fredrik Hana
Country: Norway
Runtime: 70 minutes
Year: 2021
DR. CALIGARI
US Premiere – 4K Restoration
Director: Stephen Sayadian
Country: USA
Runtime: 80 minutes
Year: 1989
GUESTS: Director Stephen Sayadian, Writer Jerry Stahl, Director of Photography Ladi von Jansky
TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD
West Coast Premiere – Uncut Restoration
Director: Amando de Ossorio
Country: France, Portugal
Runtime: 101 minutes
Year: 1972
THE FEAST
West Coast Premiere
Director: Lee Haven Jones
Country: UK
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 2021
SALOUM
West Coast Premiere
Director: Jean Luc Herbulot
Country: Senegal, Congo
Runtime: 84 minutes
Year: 2021
THE SCARY OF SIXTY-FIRST
US Premiere
Director: Dasha Nekrasova
Country: USA
Runtime: 81 minutes
Year: 2021
THE SEED
World Premiere
Director: Sam Walker
Country: UK
Runtime:
Year: 2021
THE BETA TEST
West Coast Premiere
Director: Jim Cummings
Country: USA
Runtime: 93 minutes
Year: 2021
THE MEDIUM
US Premiere
Director: Banjong Pisanthanakun
Country: Thailand, South Korea
Runtime: 131 minutes
Year: 2021
EARWIG
US Premiere
Director: Lucile Hadžihalilović
Country: France, Belgium, UK
Runtime: 114 minutes
Year: 2021
HOMEBOUND
West Coast Premiere
Director: Sebastian Goodwin
Country: UK
Runtime: 75 minutes
Year: 2021
SECRET SCREENING
xxxxxxxx Premiere
Director: xxxx xxxxxxxxx
Country: xx
Runtime: xxxxx minutes
Year: 2021
THE SADNESS
West Coast Premiere
Director: Rob Jabbaz
Country: Taiwan
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 2021
A BANQUET
West Coast Premiere
Director: Ruth Paxton
Country: UK
Runtime: 97 minutes
Year: 2021
AFTER BLUE (DIRTY PARADISE)
West Coast Premiere
Director: Bertrand Mandico
Country: France
Runtime: 127 minutes
Year: 2021
TRAVELLING LIGHT
World Premiere
Director: Bernard Rose
Country: USA
Runtime: 90 minutes
Year: 2021
GUESTS: Director Bernard Rose, Actor Danny Houston, Tony Todd, Olivia D’Abo, Stephen Dorf and Matthew Jacob in person
—————————————————————————-
IFC MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
ANTICHRIST
Director: Lars Von Trier
Country: Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2009
THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE
Director: André Øvredal
Country: USA, UK
Runtime: 86 minutes
Year: 2016
KILL LIST
Director: Ben Wheatley
Country: UK
Runtime: 95 minutes
Year: 2011
BABADOOK
Director: Jennifer Kent
Country: Australia
Runtime: 91 minutes
Year: 2014
BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO
Director: Peter Strickland
Country: UK
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 2014
MANIAC
Director: Franck Khalfoun
Country: USA
Runtime: 89 minutes
Year: 2012
Attend Beyond Fest:
Tickets will be on sale via Eventbrite on September 17th at 10 AM PST. Visit BeyondFest.com and the American Cinematheque for details.
We are now accepting press credential applications for Beyond Fest 2020. To apply, please send your name and outlet as well as a letter of assignment from your editor or a business card to Katrina Wan at katrina@katrinawanpr.com for consideration. Please note all applications are subject to approval.Beyond Fest
Beyond Fest is the highest-attended genre film festival in the U.S. and exists to serve the genre community of Los Angeles. Beyond Fest is built in partnership with American Cinematheque and Death Waltz Recording Co.. A not-for-profit entity, Beyond Fest raises funds for the 501C3 non-profit film institution, American Cinematheque. Its favorite film is Jaws.
Established in 1981, the American Cinematheque is a 501C3 non-profit viewer-supported film exhibition and cultural organization dedicated to the celebration of the Moving Picture in all of its forms. The American Cinematheque renovated and reopened (on Dec. 4, 1998) the historic 1922 Hollywood Egyptian Theatre. This includes a state-of-the-art 616-seat theatre housed within Sid Grauman’s first grand movie palace on Hollywood Boulevard. The exotic courtyard is fully restored to its 1922 grandeur. The Egyptian was the home of the very first Hollywood movie premiere in 1922. In January 2005 the American Cinematheque expanded its programming to the 1940 Aero Theatre on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica.
Founded in 2011 by music industry veteran Spencer Hickman, Death Waltz Recording Co. have been at the forefront of the vinyl soundtrack resurgence. Working with directors & composers such as David Lynch, Richard Kelly, John Carpenter, Fabio Frizzi & Steve Moore to produce definitive versions of classic soundtracks to films both old and new. Recently venturing into both digital and CD territory DWRC remain the leading lights of the soundtrack scene. In 2015 DWRC joined Mondo Tees and Hickman now runs both The Mondo Music Label and DWRC.
Paramount will release Academy Award-nominated director Michael Mann’s (HEAT, THE INSIDER, COLLATERAL) ENZO FERRARI, starring Academy Award-winner Christian Bale (DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY, THE FIGHTER, AMERICAN HUSTLE) as Ferrari.
It takes place in one pivotal year, 1957. It is the personal story of a passionate man and his sprawling world, at times hilarious and at the next moment devastating, as he faces a brutal challenge to his survival.
Vendian Entertainment and YooZoo Bliss Film Fund have come on to finance the heavily-anticipated project, which will shoot next summer in Italy. Mann will produce along with Vendian and YooZoo Bliss. YooZoo Pictures also will distribute ENZO FERRARI in China. Vincent Maraval’s Insiders will commence international sales on selected territories at next month’s American Film Market.
ENZO FERRARI was written by Troy Kennedy-Martin (THE ITALIAN JOB, KELLY’S HEROES, EDGE OF DARKNESS), revised by David Rayfiel (THE FIRM, SABRINA) and Michael Mann and based on the Brock Yates book, “Enzo Ferrari, The Man, the Cars, the Races.” Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which represents Mann, arranged financing for the film and brokered the distribution deals. Production partners also include Vittorio Cecchi Gori and Gabrielle Israeliovici.
Vendian Entertainment’s first release was Scott Cooper’s crime drama, BLACK MASS, starring Johnny Depp. Other upcoming films include Garry Ross’ Civil War thriller, THE FREE STATE OF JONES, starring Matthew McConaughey, and Oliver Stone’s biopic SNOWDEN, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Doug Liman’s crime thriller, MENA, starring Tom Cruise.
YooZoo Pictures and Bliss Media recently launched YooZoo Bliss Film Fund as an equity fund designed to finance projects for the global marketplace. In addition, YooZoo Pictures recently acquired the Chinese distribution rights to the Mel Gibson-directed HACKSAW RIDGE, and is in active development on THE DRAGON & THE PHOENIX.
Even just an average Michael Mann film is still a Michael Mann film – which isn’t a bad thing in my book. The man has a unique style that has developed over his career that’s often described as gritty, in your face, and just plain cool. This is mainly in part due to his more recent use of digital photography that he embraced starting with the movie COLLATERAL. It’s a storytelling choice that has produced a mixed bag of films but nevertheless feel like Mann films (though “man films” would be appropriate as well due to his knack for tough guy stories). BLACKHAT gives fans of Mann’s macho style what they have come to expect: a cold but mainly likable anti-hero, a world of elite cops and criminals, intense shoot-outs, and skylines lit with neon lights at night. All of this mind you, filmed with shaky camera work and layered with digital noise. BLACKHAT doesn’t serve as the most exciting crime game board Mann has played on, but it does give him the chance to show off all his usual tricks he’s learned over the years. He’s clearly a talented filmmaker that demands to be seen – especially since it has been 6 years since his last film – I just wish he might have waited for some material that was a little more engaging.
After a Chinese nuclear plant attack and a rapid rise and decline of specific goods in the stock market is ruled to be from the same attacker by Chinese investigator Chen (Wang Leehom), the Chinese government is forced to work with the American government to take down a cyber criminal who is using the same code that a famous cyber criminal developed long ago as a class project. This criminal is the often shirtless Thor – I mean Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth). With the help of a couple of US cyber security experts (Viola Davis and John Ortiz) and Chen’s kid sister (Wang Tei), Hathaway and Chen fight their way across the globe including Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Jarkata.
In the cyber crime world of BLACKHAT, hacking isn’t just two guys sitting across the world from each other punching keys on a keyboard in a virtual game of Battleship. Mann and first-time screenwriter Morgan Davis Foehl attempt to craft something more akin to a MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE adventure story. Our crack team of perfectly mixed, multi-ethnic crime fighters land in a different country almost every 30 minutes. Tracking criminals through HTML coding is no doubt tedious and boring for even the IT crowd, so instead we have chases through countries and gun fights in the streets. Of course the idea of all this is absolutely absurd, but Mann grounds it in such a way that you feel like your watching a techie Indiana Jones solve puzzles instead of an overweight kid in his mom’s basement. Some level of believability just has to be thrown out the window, even if that’s contrary to what Mann often proposes with his films.
Michael Mann has always been a director that’s connected with realism. His shoot-outs feel almost too real. It’s as if you’re right there in the action and it’s always incredibly loud. The intimacy of his conversations between characters feels too real. Like for example the beginning of COLLATERAL where Jada Pinkett Smith and Jamie Foxx discuss their lives and life goals in the cab. It’s weird than that Mann is attune to this in some cases in BLACKHAT (like the police procedural stuff) and yet other times he’s not (by structuring a story about hackers that are just as good at kicking ass and being Calvin Klein models). Yes, some of it works, others times though it feels far-fetched. For example, how does someone who works for the NSA just download an encrypted file to his or her computer without checking the legitimacy of it first?
Hemsworth follows in the footsteps of Mann’s previous tough guys: James Caan, William Petersen, Robert DeNiro, and Tom Cruise. He grimaces through most of his scenes and talks with an accent that sounds like someone from upstate New York with a mouthful of chili-dog. He’s barely audible at times, but then again, so many scenes go in and out due to terrible sound mixing. Viola Davis does shine when she’s on camera. There’s a gravitas to her performance, and she even gives the film a bit of humor as we witness her rule some of the boys with an iron fist. Nothing nice can be said of Tang Wei and the blossoming relationship that transpires between her and Hemsworth. If you take Colin Farrell’s love detour in the middle of MIAMI VICE, then double that agony and screen time but stick with the same lack of chemistry, than you’re about there.
BLACKHAT is another “Mannly” film through and through. Cars explode, bullets riddle bodies, blood is ceremoniously spilt, and bright lights ignite Asian streets, all in a way that only Michael Mann can produce. There’s an art to his films. No, it’s not high-art, but there’s still a level of calculated artistry to his crime-ridden worlds. BLACKHAT might be one of his least absorbing and least thrilling ventures into crime, but I can’t quite dismiss the confident and macho cool Mann has to offer.
Opening in theaters on January 16, catch the new trailer for BLACKHAT.
Set within the world of global cybercrime, Legendary’s BLACKHATfollows a furloughed convict and his American and Chinese partners as they hunt a high-level cybercrime network from Chicago to Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Jakarta.
Directed and produced by Michael Mann, the film stars Chris Hemsworth, Viola Davis, Tang Wei and Wang Leehom, and it is written by Morgan Davis Foehl and Mann. Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni produce alongside Mann, while Alex Garcia and Eric McLeod serve as the executive producers.
Hitting theaters at the beginning of 2015, here’s a look at the brand new trailer for BLACKHAT, starring Chris Hemsworth and Viola Davis.
Set within the world of global cybercrime, Legendary’s BLACKHAT follows a furloughed convict and his American and Chinese partners as they hunt a high-level cybercrime network from Chicago to Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Jakarta.
Directed and produced by Michael Mann (HEAT, THE INSIDER), the film also stars Tang Wei and Wang Leehom, and it is written by Morgan Davis Foehl and Mann.
Iconic filmmakers and A-list stars attended the 2012 Governors Awards at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, CA, Saturday, December 1. The biggest names in Hollywood gathered to celebrate the indelible contributions of honorees D.A. Pennebaker, George Stevens Jr., Hal Needham, and Jeffrey Katzenberg to filmmaking and the world. The guest list included Seth MacFarlane, host of the upcoming 85th Academy Awards ceremony, as well as the show’s producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. Also on hand were Richard Gere, Amy Adams, Helen Hunt, Bradley Cooper, Will Smith, Ewan McGregor, David O. Russell, Kathryn Bigelow, John Lasseter, Robert Zemeckis, Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann, Kristen Stewart, Christopher Nolan and many more.
Writer/director/producer George Lucas (left), Oscar-winning director/producer Steven Spielberg (center) and Oscar-winning director/writer/producer Robert Zemeckis.
LINCOLN filmmakers – Oscar®-nominated writer Tony Kushner, Oscar®-winning director/producer Steven Spielberg and Oscar winning cinematographer Junusz Kaminski.
A video clip kicked off the evening saluting the history of the Academy’s Honorary Award, which was begun in 1948 to honor achievements outside the categories of the existing Oscars. This year, three honorees received Honorary Awards for their work, which ranged from Needham’s death-defying stunts to Pennebaker’s groundbreaking documentaries and Stevens’ landmark film preservation, while Katzenberg was recognized for his trailblazing philanthropic efforts.
The Academy blogged the ceremony live and concluded with, “As the night’s four honorees reunited for a group photo on the stage at the close of the evening, each man’s words continued to resound and providing an inspiring example to future generations of filmmakers and benefactors to come.”
Here’s a glimpse of the awards presentations in these various videos below.
The Governors Awards ceremony was produced by Don Mischer, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Charlie Haykel, and Julianne Hare, and highlights from the evening will also be presented when the recipients appear as part of the 85th Academy Awards on February 24, 2013.
Actress Kristen Stewart and Actress Quvenzhane Wallis.
Oscar®-nominated director/writer/producer David O. Russell (left), Oscar-winning actor Warren Beatty (center) and journalist Tom Brokaw.
Actor Dwight Henry (left), Governors Awards producer Cheryl Boone Isaacs (center) and actress Quvenzhane Wallis.
Oscar®-winning director/producer Steven Spielberg (left) and Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper.
Actress Leslie Mann (left), Oscar®-nominated writer Tony Kushner (center) and producer/writer/director Judd Apatow.
Oscar®-winning director/producer Steven Spielberg (left), Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper (left center), actor Badley Cooper (right center) and Oscar-winning producer Bruce Cohen (center).
Oscar®-winning actor Kirk Douglas (left) with wife Anne (right) and Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks.
Oscar®-winning actress Annette Bening (left), Honorary Award recipient George Stevens Jr. (center) and actor Richard Gere.
Oscar®-nominated composer Alexandre Desplat (left), Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (left center), actor
Édgar Ramírez (right center) and Oscar-winning writer/producer Mark Boal.
Oscar®-nominated actress Amy Adams.
Oscar®-winner Helen Hunt.
Oscar®-nominated actress Jackie Weaver (left), Oscar-nominated director/writer/producer David O. Russell (center) and actor Bradley Cooper.
Actress Emayatzi Corinealdi (left) and actor David Oyelowo.
Oscar®-nominated actress Virginia Madsen.
Actor Ewan McGregor.
85th Academy Awards host Seth MacFarlane.
Oscar®-winning writer/director Quentin Tarantino.
Oscar®-winning actor Tom Hanks, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient Jeffrey Katzenberg and Oscar®-nominated actor Will Smith.
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient Jeffrey Katzenberg and Oscar®-nominated actor Will Smith.
Oscar®-nominated actor John Hawkes.
Oscar®-nominated Director Michael Mann and Oscar®-nominated writer/director/producer Christopher Nolan.
Oscar®-winning director/producer John Lasseter (right) and wife Nancy.
85th Academy Awards producers Neil Meron (left) and Craig Zadan.
Directed by Ami Canaan Mann, watch the new trailer for TEXAS KILLING FIELDS. The film is the true story about one man’s quest to end thirty years of unsolved murders in a frightening modern day Gomorrah – the toxic waste land of oil refineries known as the Killing Fields. With his NY transplant partner, Jake (Sam Worthington) starts to unravel the web of conspiracy and closes in on the killer and the truth. Ultimately, he will risk everything and stop at nothing to save the next innocent from becoming the last victim.
The film’s cast also includes Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chloe Moretz and Jessica Chastain.
From producers Michael Mann and Michael Jaffe & writen by Don Ferrarone, TEXAS KILLING FIELDS will have it’s world premiere at the 68th Venice International Film Festival (Aug 31 – Sept 10, 2011) and then released in theaters October 7, 2011.
Sam Worthington’s goal of being a part of every high concept project continues, as, according to Variety, he is officially set to star in THE TEXAS KILLING FIELDS, which may be going through a name change to simply THE FIELDS. The film is set to be produced by Michael Mann with Mann’s daughter, Ami Canaan, stepping in as the film’s director.
Worthington will be taking the lead role as one of two cops who realize a local murder may be connected to a series of unsolved murders around the oil refineries in coastal Texas. Those murders number anywhere from 60 to 70 victims with more surfacing over the past 30 years. The film is loosely based on a true story with Donal Ferrarone (producer on MAN ON FIRE and DEJA VU) serving as screenwriter.
Pajiba announced back in November that both Worthington and Bradley Cooper were in talks to star, but there is no word on whether Cooper was up for the role of the other detective or the role that ultimately went to Worthington.
Shooting is set to begin in April in Louisiana. Worthington can next be seen in the remake of CLASH OF THE TITANS.
