Rejoice! Awards season is upon us. Both the Telluride and Venice Film Festivals are under way and several prominent Oscar hopefuls are receiving world premieres. Black Mass starring Johnny Depp has screened and word is it’s his best performance to date. Trailers for Macbeth, The Danish Girl and Netflix’s Beasts of No Nation have all ben unveiled.
Perhaps the biggest news this week was the AMPAS announcing the producers of the 88th Academy Awards. Have a look at the round up of this week’s news, see what you missed.
- The poster for Freeheld was unveiled. Freeheld stars Julianne Moore and Ellen Page. It’s based on the documentary short of the same title and tells the true story of Laurel Hester and Stacie Andree, domestic partners fighting to ensure that Stacie will receive Laurel’s pension benefits after Laurel is diagnosed with cancer.
- Shout Gladi Gladi, a new documentary from Adam Friedman with narration from Meryl Streep, highlighting the work of Freedom From Fistula Foundation in Africa will be released in October. Awards Daily spoke with Friedman earlier this year. Read the interview here.
- The Venice Film Festival has commenced. Everest starring Jake Gyllenhaal had its world premiere and thus far received mixed reviews. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it 2 stars and said, “Everest is a frustrating movie in many ways – despite some lurches and shocks, it doesn’t quite deliver the edge-of-your-seat thrills that many were hoping for, and all those moderately engaging characters mean that there is no centrally powerful character: the women are drippy and the men not much less so.”
Indiewire rated Everest B+ saying, “In “Everest,” the kids are backpack-clad thrill-seekers giddy with excitement about conquering the world, until they get buried by it.”
The Hollywood Reporter says, “A gripping and immersive dramatization of a tragic trek.”
US audiences will be able to make their own trek to Everest when the film opens on September 18.
- The Lobster trailer was unveiled. The film stars Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz. Recently separated, Farrell’s character goes to a secluded hotel where he and other hotel guests have 45 days to find a new mate. If they fail, they are transformed into animals.
The film won the Jury Prize and was an audience favorite when it screened at Cannes earlier this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bemcHBqng4o
- Sasha is at the Telluride Film Festival and will be reporting from there. The line-up was announced this week. Steve Jobs, Black Mass, and Suffragette will all have premiere screenings. Carol’s Rooney Mara will be honored, as will Danny Boyle. Be sure to follow Sasha’s adventures on Twitter and Instagram .
- Straight Outta Compton is set to be the Number one film again, its current box office gross to date is $137,930,025.
- We have new Oscar producuers, the Academy announced Reginald Hudlin and David Hill will produce the 88th Academy Awards. Hours after the announcement was made, they declared this year’s Oscars will have two hosts.
- Black Mass made its debut and Director Scott Cooper confirmed that Sienna Miller’s part had been cut from the film, he said, “It came down to narrative choices.” Miller was to have played Whitey Bulger’s girlfriend in the film. Here’s a photo of Miller on set:
- And finally…a video of Angelina Jolie as a 25 -Year-old actress was unearthed. The video shows the young Jolie in acting class running the gamut of emotions as she hones her craft in class.
Jolie went on to win an Oscar for Girl Interrupted. Everyone starts somewhere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiD0wRt8jQQ
