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Berlin: Download THR's Day 6 Daily
Berlin: Download THR's Day 6 Daily
D A ILY
6
THR.COM/BERLIN
A L O N E
I N B E R L I N
The cast and director
discuss one of the Berlinales
most anticipated titles
P L U S
Theater director
Michael Grandage
dishes on his film
debut, Genius
THRs critics on
the best of the fest
(so far)
From left, Brendan Gleeson,
Emma Thompson, Vincent
Perez and Daniel Bruhl were
photographed exclusively for
The Hollywood Reporter on
Feb. 15 at Borchardt in Berlin
by Fabrizio Malteze.
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YOUNG
WRESTLERS
by Mete Gmrhan
Screenings:
Sun Feb 14 14:30
Wed Feb 17 09:30
CinemaxX 10 (EFM)
Zoo Palast 1
Filmtheater am
Friedrichshain
Sat Feb 20
CinemaxX 3
11:30
NEED FOR
MEAT
by Marijn Frank
Screenings:
Wed Feb 17 19:30 MGB
Thu Feb 18 19:00 CineStar IMAX
2/11/16 12:12 PM
TODAY
BERLIN
WEATHER
AND HIGH 39 F
TEMPS
4 C
BE R L IN
TOMORROW
39 F
4 C
Buyers Knock
Down Doors
for Suburbicon
By Rebecca Ford
Intl Buyers
Pounce on
Fords Secrets
By Alex Ritman
ne of the high-profile
offerings at Berlins
European Film
Market has attracted a number of international buyers.
Political thriller Official
Secrets, being directed by
Justin Chadwick (Mandela:
Long Walk to Freedom), has
been snapped up by SND for
France, Notorious Pictures
for Italy, Corbi for Spain and
Swen Group International for
Latin America. Elsewhere,
deals were signed with Times
Media Films for South Africa,
Cinemundo for Portugal,
Eagle Films for the Middle
East, Tanweer for Greece
C O N T I N U ED O N PA G E 2
From left: Julianne Moore, director Rebecca Miller, Greta Gerwig and producer Damon Cardasis attend
the photo call Monday for the Panorama Special screening of the relationship drama Maggies Plan.
Traditional players like Paramount, Focus and EuropaCorp scored major titles with A-list talent,
pushing back hard against potential disruptors Amazon and Netflix By Rebecca Ford
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C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 2
2/15/16 8:31 PM
theREPORT
HEAT INDEX
CORENTIN FILA
The newcomer shines in Andre Techines
competition entry Being 17, about the
awakening of gay adolescent desire, with
THRs review calling him a gifted natural.
T E R E N C E DAV I E S
The special gala screening of A Quiet
Passion, the directors biopic about poet
Emily Dickinson, draws buzz for star
Cynthia Nixon amid mixed reviews.
Studios
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Suburbicon
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
NADINE DE BARROS
Official Secrets
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
D6_Berlin_news1+2_E.indd 2
Dormer
2/15/16 8:30 PM
2/4/16 12:58 PM
theREPORT
BERLIN IN BRIEF
HBO Eyes Scandi Originals
DEBORAH YOUNG
Being 17
This quiet stunner represents
a return to peak form for
French filmmaker Andre Techine.
Depicting the awakening of gay
adolescent desire and self-knowledge, the director has crafted an
intimate epic about high school
classmates Damien (Kacey Mottet
Klein) and Thomas (Corentin
Fila) navigating an eruption
of confused feelings for each
another. The performance of
Sandrine Kiberlain as Damiens
doctor mother cant be overpraised, and the drama builds
in wholly unexpected ways to a
final act of searing poignancy.
DAVID ROONEY
Midnight Special
In his fourth feature, Jeff Nichols
(Mud) pays transporting
homage to the rich tradition,
spanning the late 1970s through
the mid-80s, of intelligent sci-fi
emotionally grounded in relatable human dynamics. Built
around a performance of formidable gravitas from Michael
Shannon as a father on the run
to protect his enigmatic young
son (Jaeden Lieberher), the film
confirms the director as among
the most compelling storytellers in American cinema today.
Kirsten Dunst, Joel Edgerton and
Adam Driver round out a superb
supporting cast. D.R.
Things to Come
For her impressive fifth feature, French writer-director
Mia Hansen-Love follows the quotidian travails of a 50-something
philosophy teacher played
effortlessly and with plenty of
verve by Isabelle Huppert who is
dumped by her longtime husband, burdened with a growingly
senile mother and suddenly
forced to face the onset of old
age by herself. The filmmaker
tackles the subject in a manner
both deeply intellectual and
compassionately playful, mixing
witty reflections with a surprising
number of cat jokes. J.M.
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DRAMA
SERIES DAYS
1516 FEB 2016
15
MONDAY, 15 FEB
16
TUESDAY, 16 FEB
GROPIUS MIRROR
10:0010:30 Official Opening*
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
10:0013:00 CoPro Series Pitching*
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
10:4511:45 CLEVERMAN Case Study
International Co-Production of a Series
MGBCINEMA
13:10 14:10 Showcase TV Drama Vision
Scandinavia presented by Goteborg Film Festival
BERLINALE TALENTS at HAU1
17:00 18:30 Take a Long Look:
The Cinematography of Game of Thrones
MEET THE DOCS TALKS at MGB
17:30 18:00 Documentary Series
* by invitation only
www.efm-berlinale.de
EFM 2016_DSD_THR_245x330_RZ.indd 1
EFM D4 021416.indd 1
12.02.16 11:44
2/12/16 1:44 PM
theREPORT
THR AT BERLIN
n
H i d d eS
GEM
NEWS
Kevin Cassidy
kevin.cassidy@thr.com
+1 213 840 1896
Patrick Brzeski
patrick.brzeski@thr.com
+81 (0) 80 5900 0233
Rebecca Ford
rebecca.ford@thr.com
+1 310 929 7054
Alex Ritman
alex.ritman@thr.com
+44 79 3000 3017
Scott Roxborough
scott.roxborough@thr.com
+49 (0) 172 587 5075
Georg Szalai
georg.szalai@thr.com
+44 777 137 0103
Etan Vlessing
etan.vlessing@sympatico.ca
+1 416 578 8276
REVIEWERS
Jon Frosch
jon.frosch@thr.com
+1 310 773 7191
Deborah Young
dyoung@mclink.it
David Rooney
drooney@nyc.rr.com
Jordan Mintzer
jpmintzer@mac.com
Boyd van Hoeij
filmboyd@gmail.com
COPY
Mike Barnes
mike.barnes@thr.com
ART
Kelsey Stefanson
kelsey.stefanson@thr.com
Christopher Hawkins
christopher.hawkins@thr.com
PRODUCTION
Maya Eslami
maya.eslami@thr.com
PUBLISHER
Lynne Segall
lynne.segall@thr.com
SALES
Alison Smith
alison.smith@thr.com
+44 7788 591 781
Debra Fink
debra.fink@thr.com
+1 213 448 5157
Lourdes Costa
lourdes.costa@thr.com
+44 7516 386 360
Frederic Fenucci
frederic.fenucci@thr.com
+44 7985 251 814
Tommaso Campione
tommaso.campione@thr.com
+44 7793 090 683
Ivy Lam
ivy.lam@thr.com
+852 617 692 72
replica of the J.R. Ewing bunkhouse from the show that was
built by a newly rich capitalist in
Romania in the 1990s. At first, it
attracted hordes of tourists and
Dallas fans, but now its more of
a run-down shell, says Huang.
A lot of Romanians are kind of
embarrassed about the place.
In the film, Ungur stars as a
Dallas-obsessed Romanian
who, like her country, is haunted
by the show and its impact. The
characters of Bobby and J.R.
inspire the 1989 Romanian revoappear only as ghostly apparitions
lution that toppled Ceausescu.
in voice-overs. Initially, Huang
For years, Larry Hagman would
had planned to voice the Bobby
tell me how he took personal
parts himself but, on a whim, he
credit for defeating commusent a copy of the nearly finished
nism, Duffy told The Hollywood
film to Duffy.
Reporter. I used to take that
I admit, at first I didnt
with a grain of salt, but over
understand it, says Duffy.
the years, I had the strangIt wasnt the kind of
est series of coincidences.
movie Im used to seeing.
I was at the Washington
So I showed it to my sons,
Duffy
correspondents dinner and the
who said, This is brilliant,
Romanian ambassador ran over
you have to get involved. The
to shake my hand and tell me how actor waived his usual fee, asking
important Dallas was to defeating only for a good bottle of wine to
the communist regime. Then just
revisit the career-defining role.
last June I was in Monte Carlo
Huang says hes ambivalent
with my wife and the same thing
about the shows influence on the
happened: the Romanian ambascountry and its people.
sador there came over, his eyes
If you look at the brand of corwelled up with tears, and he took
rupt crony capitalism embodied
his pin of the Romanian flag
by J.R. in the show, its very much
and pinned it on my jacket.
the kind of capitalism running
For Ungur and Huang, the
things in Romanian now, he says.
impetus for the film was the
So the legacy of Dallas is a comactual Hotel Dallas, a life-sized
plicated thing.
Co-director Ungur also stars
as a Romanian obsessed with
all things Dallas.
ANDREAS ROTHBAUER
Managing director,
Picture Tree International
The one thing you cant
live without during the
festival (not including
your phone)
Coffee and tea. I fill up a
thermos can with tea every
morning to take to the market and keep me caffeinated.
Favorite place to take
clients
Rutz Wine Bar in Chausseestrasse. Its got a great
D6_Berlin_Gem_HotelDallas_G.indd 6
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PRO MOT IO N
at the
CANNES
INTERNATIONAL
FILM FESTIVAL
CANNES PREVIEW ISSUE 5/4
CLOSE: 4/27
MATERIALS: 4/29
THR.COM/CANNES
LIVE MAY 2016
thrhaff_FPBerlin_Cannes_Coverage_2016.indd 1
2/8/16 12:06 PM
Q&A DIRECTOR
Michael
Grandage
10
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2/15/16 4:32 PM
P RO M OT I O N
THE INSURGENTS
WHATS UP WITH
WONDER WOMAN?
SUMNERS 92ND
BIRTHDAY BASH
AGENCY
19cover_l [P]{Print}.indd 2
WARS
The Breakfast Club The ball-busting quartet sitting in the corner by the window in the
dining commissary at the MPTF Country Houses Fran and Ray Stark Villa started as a table for two:
David Kramer, 81, began dining with Mickey Callan, 79, soon after the latter moved to the campus. Then
Bridget [Swackhamer] showed up and Mickey hit on her and then changed his mind, then I hit on her
and I wasnt going to let her go, Kramer says. We left our original table and took a place where the
three of us could be together, and Stuart [Damon] asked one day, Could I join your table? and we just
stood up and we applauded and he sat down and that was it. The four (three stars and a press agent,
says former publicist Kramer of his retired actor pals) have met every weekday since. At 8 a.m., the
game is on: This is the table of hooligans, says Damon, 78. Sarcasm reigns. We dont listen to each
other we also dont hear each other! Notes Callan, We talk about our ex-wives. Swackhamer,
74, jumps in to object: No ex-wife here. Damon: Thats OK, we can always talk about your name; it
looks great on a marquee. Callan, as is often the case, has the last word: Two marquees!
5/28/15 6:22 PM
Mickey Callan
PREVIOUS SPREAD: BUILDING: WESLEY MANN. THIS PAGE: POOL: WESLEY MANN. HOPE, OPENING, AERIAL, GARDEN, KRAMER, SAMBERG: COURTESY OF MPTF. CALLAN:
COLUMBIA PICTURES/PHOTOFEST. DAMON, HANLEY: EVERETT COLLECTION. GROOMING BY MISHELLE PARRY AND ASHLEY DONOVAN AT CELESTINE AGENCY.
A Broadway star
(West Side Story) and
Columbia contract
actor, he appeared in
Cat Ballou with Jane
Fonda in 1965, among
other film and TV roles.
Wesley Mann
13fea_MPTF_L [P]{Print}.indd 67
Stuart Damon
Bridget Hanley
Swackhamer
David Kramer
He worked as a
publicist for stars
including Leslie Nielsen
(right, with Kramer in
the 1980s), Tony Curtis,
Farrah Fawcett
and Richard Harris.
| 67
4/17/15 8:39 PM
18 WINS
2/5/16 10:04 AM
Alone
in Berlin
R O U N D T A B L E
The all-star cast and director of the Berlinale
competition entry discuss why the real-life story of
an ordinary German couple who fought back against
the Nazis needs to be told now more than ever
BY SCOTT ROXBOROUGH
T S TA K EN N E A R LY 70 Y E A R S TO BR I NG ALONE IN BERLIN TO
D6_Berlin_roundtable_I.indd 10
Fabrizio Maltese
2/15/16 6:27 PM
THIS STORY
HAPPENED IN
GER M A N Y, BU T I T
COULD HAPPEN
IN FRANCE, IT
COULD HAPPEN
A N Y W HER E .
Perez
Read THRs
review of
Alone in Berlin
on page 16.
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2/15/16 6:28 PM
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Shochikus Creepy
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2/15/16 2:39 AM
R E V I E WS
Alone in Berlin
GER M A N COU PL E
dedicate themselves
to tiny acts of civil
disobedience in
Nazi Germany in
Alone in Berlin, an adaptation
of the 1947 Hans Fallada novel
inspired by a true story and
published in the U.S. in 2009
as Every Man Dies Alone. After
several Mitteleuropean productions, including a 1975
West German version starring
Hildegard Knef, Swiss-born
actor-turned-helmer Vincent
Perez (Queen Margot) is the
unlikely director of this Germanaccented Anglophone version
starring Emma Thompson and
Brendan Gleeson.
They play the Quangels, a
working-class German couple
who formed a private resistance
movement of two after they lost
their son in the war. Handsomely
packaged, the film unfortunately
is also too well-behaved and
lacking in psychological depth
to really set itself apart from
countless other WWII dramas
theatrically, even if pockets
of older audiences might be
responsive. Locally, Alone in
Berlin should do decent business,
aided by the presence of local
star Daniel Bruhl (Rush),
who plays the improbably mustachioed inspector charged
with finding these middle-aged
Sophie Scholls.
At first sight, Otto and Anna
Quangel dont seem like the
types who would like to draw
attention to themselves in early
1940s Berlin. Otto is a foreman at a factory where wood is
transformed into practical and
in-demand objects such as coffins, while Anna gets dragged
along to house calls made by
the National Socialist Womens
League, whose members knock
on the doors of women not (yet)
dedicated to the war effort. Otto
D6_Berlin_rev_alone+sarajevo_I.indd 16
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2/15/16 6:30 PM
Death in Sarajevo
The latest from Danis Tanovic revisits Bosnias war-torn past to little dramatic effect
BY STEPHEN DALTON
ISTORY IS A HOT EL T H AT YOU CA N
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REVIEWS
Iconic Japanese actor Beat Takeshi is a mysterious voyeur in Wayne Wangs stylish psycho noir
BY DEBORAH YOUNG
N OV ER LY CU R IOUS
3 Questions With
Wayne Wang
by Gavin J. Blair
THE
THEHOLLYWOOD
HOLLYWOODREPORTER
REPORTER18
18
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2/15/16 4:24 PM
Crosscurrent
T
Al Banawi (left)
and Fageeh meet
cute in the
Middle East.
BY NEIL YOUNG
H ER E L I T T L E F E A R S GROW GR E AT, GR E AT L OV E
grows there, as Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, an allmale production of which provides the backdrop for
Mahmoud Sabbaghs Saudi Arabian romantic comedy Barakah
Meets Barakah (Barakah yoqabil Barakah). Surely one of the more
conventional films ever to enjoy a premiere at the Berlinales riskembracing Forum parallel section, its of considerable interest
as a very rare cinematic export from a country where nearly all
manifestations of cinema have been officially banned since 1979.
A suitable pick for any festival or platform favoring humanrights themes, this easygoing crowd-pleaser is rendered rich and
strange by its unlikely origins, arriving 3 1/2 years after Haifaa
Al-Mansours German-produced, Oscar-submitted Wadjda. And
screen-debutante leading lady Fatima Al Banawi, who plays wellheeled, immaculately attired Instagram celebrity Bibi, displays a
winning combination of beauty and personality.
Fashion-forward Bibi is taking part in a photo shoot on the
Djeddah waterfront when municipal law-enforcement officer
Barakah (Hisham Fageeh) turns up to check on permits. Bibi
and Barakahs paths cross on several further occasions, with a
palpable romantic spark quickly taking hold between two twentysomethings who hail from very different social strata. Bibi has
been brought up in Western-style luxury by her adoptive parents;
amateur-dramatics enthusiast Barakah resides in a ramshackle
neighborhood notable for its strong community spirit. Hes the
beneficiary of daily advice from two elderly locals: his shishapuffing uncle Daash (Sami Hifny) and foghorn-voiced midwife
Saadiya (Khairia Nazmi), who lives in his buildings rooftop apartment and is an ebulliently abundant source of folklore remedies.
The ever-watchful holy cops are the main obstacle to Bibi and
Barakah spending any private time together, with all public spaces
governed by inflexible laws that forbid contact between unmarried
men and women. Writer-director-producer Sabbagh largely plays
such hindrances for laughs in a picture so impeccably chaste that
the lovebird couple never even get to kiss.
The development of the relationship between Barakah and
Bibi whose actual name also turns out to be Barakah, surprise,
surprise is only patchily engaging, however. Fageehs stiff earnestness underscores the virginal Barakahs hesitancy in matters
of the heart, but the business of him playing Ophelia in the Hamlet
production never clicks into proper comic gear. The picture fizzles
in its third act, rather than building to a properly satisfying finale.
Forum
Cast Hisham Fageeh, Fatima Al Banawi, Sami Hifny
Director Mahmoud Sabbaghe // 88 minutes
H E W I N T ER JOU R N EY OF
becomes apparent when she magically turns up in distant places
a small cargo boat up
along the river, is a spirit. In one
the Yangtze River, from
of her incarnations, shes a devout
Shanghai to its source in the high
Buddhist living in a remote
mountains, becomes the excuse
temple, though she doesnt shave
for a process of inner discovery
her head like the other nuns.
in writer-director Yang Chaos
She belongs to no man and
Crosscurrent (Chang Jiang Tu).
refuses no one who comes to her.
Much like his previous film
So much for Chuns longing to
Passages, which won a Camera
have a woman of my own.
dOr at Cannes in 2004, its all
Whatever the films clear limiabout metaphor and mood, while
tations, as the ultimate romantic
the storytelling is so lightweight
Chinese travelogue it does deliver
it might not exist. Alas, this
aesthetic pleasures. The Yangtze
drunken boat sailing on poetry
increasingly becomes a major
cant hold interest for its entire
character. Many of the scenic
two-hour running time.
towns along the river have been
Drifting through seas of
gutted by flooding, and many old
romantic doubt and yearning,
buildings have been relegated to
the scenically beat-up cargo boat
a watery grave with the construccommanded by young Captain
tion of the controversial Three
Gao Chun (Qin Hao) chugs its
Gorges Dam, whose sluice gates
way upriver. Chuns father, the
provide a breathtaking scene of
boat owner, has died, and Chun
passage for the little boat.
keeps a black fish in an incense
Ancient Buddhist temples
bowl, waiting for it to die so Dads
and statues dot the shore,
spirit can be released. This is the
captured in stunning long shots
first intimation of the mystical/
by Mark Lee Ping-Bing, a DP
traditional/Buddhist themes
on Wong Kar-wais In the Mood for
that will turn viewers on or off,
Love. Echoing his work on Hou
depending on their persuasion.
Hsiao-Hsiens The Assassin are
The film follows the rhythm of
poems written by some long-gone the strongly affecting landscapes
that seem to leap out of Chinese
deckhand who voiced his melpaintings. Meanwhile, An Weis
ancholy and feelings of despair
subdued soundtrack is exceptionin a secret diary. When Chun
ally lovely.
stumbles across the hand-written
book, he is captivated. From that
Competition
point on, he charts his course by
Cast Qin Hao, Xin Zhilei,
the river ports in the poems, and
Wu Lipeng, Wang Hongwei,
in each place he finds the same
Jiang Hualin
woman waiting for him.
Director Yang Chao
While his crew of two, kindly
116 minutes
old alcoholic Uncle Xiang (Jiang
Hualin) and needHao plans a
lessly resentful young
journey of both
deckhand Wu Sheng
body and soul.
(Wu Lipeng), is still
moored in the fog of
Shanghai harbor, Chun
first catches sight of
the beautiful An Lu
(Xin Zhilei), who stares
back at him from a boat
even more decrepit
than his own. When
he approaches her, she
shares her bed without
further preliminaries.
An Lu, as gradually
THEHOLLYWOOD
HOLLYWOODREPORTER
REPORTER19
19
THE
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2/15/16 4:24 PM
HE EIGHTH EDITION
of the Berlin
International Film
Festival, held in 1958,
came at a time of transition for
Germanys most prestigious cinema event. In a speech delivered
at the opening ceremony, Berlins
new mayor Willy Brandt who
would become chancellor of
Germany, serving from 1969-74
urged the fest to embrace a new
spirit of open-mindedness. The
cinematic standards of different
nations differ from one another
no less than the languages and
customs of different peoples, he
said. But that cant allow us to
be narrow-minded. I trust in the
cosmopolitanism of this city.
The mayors message was
reflected throughout the festival that year. For the first time,
the Soviet Union was sent an
invitation to participate in the
Berlinale, and after years of
focusing mostly on European
fare, the competition selection
included titles from Uruguay,
Egypt, Iran, Japan, India and
Mexico. More significant for
Hollywood, the festival broke the
racial barrier by awarding a best
actor Silver Bear to Sidney Poitier
for his performance in The Defiant
Ones, Stanley Kramers film
noir classic about two escaped
prisoners one black (Poitier),
one white (Tony Curtis) who
are chained together and must
cooperate to survive. It was the
first time the honor was extended
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2/15/16 12:03 PM
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