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NEWS
Above: Marlon Brando and Willy Kurant on the set of The Night of the Following Day (1969).
- The great Belgian cinematographer Willy Kurant has died. During his illustrious career, Kurant worked on films including Agnès Varda's The Creatures, Jean-Luc Godard's Masculin Feminin, and Orson Welles' The Immortal Story.
- David Cronenberg has confirmed the title of his next feature film, Crimes of the Future. Sharing the same title as his film from 1970, the film is set to star Kristen Stewart, Lea Seydoux, and Viggo Mortensen.
- Robert Haller, the Anthology Film Archives Director of Libraries (as well as a writer, photographer, and programmer), has also died. As AFA points out in its tribute to Haller, "with 35 years at Anthology all told, only AFA’s founder Jonas Mekas could claim seniority over Haller!"
- After more than 100 years, Technicolor Post has announced its integration into Streamland Media's postproduction services, marking the end of an era.
- Rai Cinema will be producing the latest pictures by Pietro Marcello and Alice Rohrwacher. Marcello's film L’Envoi is an adaptation by of Alessandro Manzoni's 1840 novel I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed), and Rohrwacher's La Chimera follows a group of archaeologists and the black market of historical artifacts.
RECOMMENDED VIEWING
- It's the official trailer for Paul Verhoeven's long-awaited period drama Benedetta, which is set to premiere in competition at Cannes this July. The film is based on Judith C. Brown's 1986 book Immodest Acts: The Life Of A Lesbian Nun In Renaissance Italy.
- IFC's trailer for Undine, Christian Petzold's mermaid fairytale set in modern Berlin. The film, about a young historian in Berlin with a secret curse, will play in theatres (and on VOD) on June 4. Read our review here.
- Jia Zhangke's documentary, Swimming Out Till The Sea Turns Blue, is also headed to select theatres on May 28. Read our review of the film here, and an interview with the director here.
RECOMMENDED READING
Above: Terms of Endearment (1983)
- Slate has published an excerpt of Michael Koresky's Films of Endearment: A Mother, a Son and the ’80s Films That Defined Us, which is out now. The book follows Koresky and his mother as they rewatch women-led films from the 1980s from his childhood, including James L. Brooks' tearjerker Terms of Endearment.
- The new issue of Senses of Cinema contains postcards for the future that reflect on what will become of cinema from contributors including Dan Salitt, Andréa Picard, and Mariano Llinás. Also in this issue, Nandana Bose examines Bong Joon-ho and Song Kang-ho's collaborative efforts, Sofie Cato Maas interviews Morgan Quaintance, and Carmen Gray reports on the 71st Berlinale.
- In an interview with Electric Ghost, critic Nick Pinkerton delves into the writing process behind his new book, a monograph on Tsai Ming-Liang’s Goodbye, Dragon Inn.
- In memory of the great cinematographer Willy Kurant, we're returning to Duncan Gray and Quentin Quentin Carbonell's 2016 conversation with Kurant on his career and his love for high contrast.
- Sight & Sound has republished an extended interview with the late Monte Hellman from 2010, in which the director looks back on his relationships with Roger Corman and Jack Nicholson, his approach to compositions and editing performances, and the idea of a "road movie."
- For Vulture, Josef Adalian investigates the paradoxes and benefits of Netflix's new shuffle feature, which aims to eliminate its users' "decision fatigue."
RECENTLY ON THE NOTEBOOK
- A career-spanning conversation with Alex Ross Perry, whose films The Color Wheel, Listen Up Philip, and Queen of Earth are now showing until May 31, 2021 in the UK and Ireland in the series Alex Ross Perry: Egos, Neuroses, and Other Delights.
- In an interview with Adam Nayman, David Prior discusses the many ambiguities of his horror film The Empty Man.
- Robert Drucker provides a useful introduction to the state of digital film restoration today, and why the look of a film can change dramatically over the years.
- For The Current Debate, Leonardo Goi considers the historic victories at the 2021 Oscars and claims that these wins reflect a cultural shift within the Academy.
EXTRAS
- From actor Dirk Blocker comes this fascinating image from the set of Alan Rudolph's unmade film adaptation of the Far Side comics.
- The poster for Paul Verhoeven's Benedetta, courtesy of Pathé International.
- And a lovely poster for Céline Sciamma's Petite Maman, set to be released in French cinemas on June 2.
