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Ides of March

Toronto – THE FILMS Day #1

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Hello Everyone,

I’m gonna keep this ever-so-slightly short.  It’s already after midnight…and I made the most of today.  Get ready.  I saw 5 films!!

First off, I saw Lars von Trier’s MELANCHOLIA.  I’ll start by saying I love DANCER IN THE DARK and I’m quite fond of DOGVILLE.  That said, I’m not a fan of MELANCHOLIA!  There is some truly beautiful photography and there are a couple wonderful moments.  In addition, the themes are compelling…but von Trier’s “meditation” on the collision of worlds (both figuratively and literally) is a serious story with lots of dark, comedic moments…and the two parts of the film (part one focuses on the marriage night of Kirsten Dunst’s character…the second focuses on the fear that  Charlotte Gainsbourg’s character has about a planet crashing into earth) are actually quite disjointed. Ultimately, I felt quite aggravated by most of the time – and not in a good way.

Next I saw Nadine Labaki’s new film WHERE DO WE GO NOW (she made the film CARAMEL – which I love).  Though there are a couple moments that caused me to raise an eyebrow, I ultimately found this film quite wonderful.  The women are absolutely delightful.  The story is about a small village that has essentially been shut off from the rest of the world (except for a small path/bridge that is quite scary to cross).  The village, inhabited by Muslims & Christians, have learned to live in harmony.  When they find out that there is unrest in the surrounding world, they begin to fight again…and the women decide they’ll do whatever necessary to keep their men alive.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NO_8Nyk-qQ’]

Next I saw THE IDES OF MARCH.  This will get a wide release in the coming weeks.  I mostly saw it because I had time, because it was shot in Cincinnati, and because I’ll be at a party with George Clooney on Saturday night (he directed it).  Except for the slight tabloid-feeling story, I actually think the film is quite solid.  The performances are good (I love Gossling) and the dialog is well-written.  For the first 30 minutes of the film, I was ready to vote for Clooney for president.  (there is also a Dayton connection)

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McCt-_yYLpo’]

For the fourth film, I saw PINA.  I posted a trailer to this film last night.  PINA was today’s highlight.  The film, under the direction of Wim Wenders (responsible for PARIS, TEXAS and WINGS OF DESIRE) is complete magic.  I’ve been moved by dance before…but never like this!  (Here is yesterday’s POSTING if you want to check out that trailer.)  Wenders introduced the film, and he put the piece into perspective.  He and Pina had been talking about making this film for 20 years.  She died before it could happen, but people twisted Wenders’ arms and he decided to move forward.  This film acts at once as a eulogy…and also a way to keep Pina alive.

Lastly, I saw RESTLESS – the new film from Gus Van Sant – starring Mia Wasikowska (from THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT and JANE EYRE) and Henry Hopper (Dennis Hopper’s son).  The story is about a boy obsessed with funerals who meets a girl (full of life) with terminal Cancer.  Mia glows at every turn, and there are a couple very good moments…but ultimately, this film had me sighing numerous times.  It’s over-scored, it has a moment of archival footage that totally doesn’t work, and the characters seem to only exist in their quirkiness – there’s not a lot of depth.  That said, some people really seemed to enjoy the film (it was a sold-out auditorium that seats 1250).  Van Sant, Mia and the producer and screenwriter were there.

Other sightings today:  Roger Ebert, Atom Egoyan, and one of my favorite film writers/critics – Peter Knegt of indiewire.

Well…it’s 1:30 now.

5 Hours sleep….then off again tomorrow morning quite early.

Thanks for reading,

Jonathan

Farragut North Becomes Ides of March

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Beau Willimon - Playwright

In a surprising turn of events, the eagerly anticipated film adaptation of Brooklyn playwright Beau Willimon’s riveting political drama “Farragut North,” the winner of the 2005 Dayton Playhouse FutureFest, has a new name: “The Ides of March.”

Despite the darker yet catchier revamping, Willimon’s engrossing material, which brilliantly contains shades of David Mamet, still chronicles the downfall of an arrogant press secretary of a governor-turned-Democratic presidential candidate during the frenzied Iowa Caucus. According to Deadline.com, Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling (“Half Nelson”) will star as brazen hotshot Stephen Bellamy, a juicy role previously linked to such Hollywood heavyweights as Leonardo DiCaprio and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Joining Gosling, who appeared in “The Notebook,” “Lars and the Real Girl” and is currently garnering Oscar buzz for his performance in the indie hit “Blue Valentine,” will be Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei (“My Cousin Vinny”) as a New York Times reporter, Emmy Award winner Paul Giamatti (“John Adams”) as a rival campaign manager, and indie darling Evan Rachel Wood (“Across the Universe,” “Once and Again,” “Thirteen,” “The Wrestler,” “True Blood”) as a campaign intern.

In addition to directing “The Ides of March,” Academy Award winner George Clooney (“Syriana”) will appear as the aforementioned candidate and co-write the script along with Willimon and Grant Heslov. Clooney and Heslov’s script for “Good Night, and Good Luck” received a 2005 Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

“The Ides of March,” which has the potential to be a major contender at the 2012 Golden Globe Awards and Academy Awards, is inspired by Willimon’s service as a staff member within Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign. Production is reportedly scheduled to begin in February in Michigan and Ohio.

“There will indeed be some shooting of ‘Ides of March’ in Ohio,” said Willimon, 33. “I have no idea what the shooting schedule is, or where, but it would certainly be cool if Clooney shot some scenes in Dayton!”

Willimon’s credits include the Hurricane Katrina-themed drama “Lower Ninth” and the gripping character study “Spirit Control,” an incredibly authentic account of an air traffic controller haunted by a tragedy.