Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in Richard Linklater's Before Midnight

Berlin adds latest Linklater, final River Phoenix film to lineup
With less than a month until the 63rd annual Berlin International Film Festival, the festival now has 19 of its 24 films lined up, according to Indiewire. Two highlights include Richard Linklater’s latest work, Before Midnight, almost 20 years after we first met Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy), and River Phoenix’s final film, George Sluizer’s Dark Blood.

“Young talents and established film artists will present films in which reality and fiction are bafflingly similar. Worldwide independent cinema is undergoing a resurgence. Fast and turbulent: life is hard and unfair—yet still a lot of fun,” said Festival Director Dieter Kosslick.

Check out all 24 films, represented by 22 countries, at Indiewire. The Berlin International Film Festival runs Feb. 7-17.


The Rambler. Photo: Indiewire

Anchor Bay purchases The Rambler
Calvin Lee Reeder’s The Rambler has yet to be seen by the public (World Premiere is January 21 at Sundance), but Anchor Bay has already acquired theatrical, home entertainment, television, and digital distribution rights in North America, the U.K. and Australia, according to Indiewire.

The Rambler stars Dermot Mulroney as a man just released from prison and searching for his brother. Co-starring Lindsay Pulsipher and Natasha Lyonne, The Rambler is based on Reeder’s short film, which also premiered at Sundance in 2008.

“Anchor Bay is the perfect partner for Calvin’s film],” said Anchor Bay executive vice president Kevin Kasha. “It has all the elements that our fans truly love and we look forward to working with Calvin.”


James Franco, Jay Sebring. Photo: Empire Online

Franco to star, direct Sebring biopic
James Franco is involved with three films at the current Sundance Film Festival (Kink, Interior. Leather Bar., and Lovelace), but that isn't slowing him down a bit. His next project, Beautiful People, looks at the life of playboy hairstylist Jay Sebring, according to Empire. Franco will play Sebring, who styled the locks of Warren Beatty, Steve McQueen, and Jim Morrison, all the while dating Sharon Tate, which led to his playboy status and, ultimately, to his murder by the Manson family in 1969. 

Details of the screenplay, by first-timer Lauren Wild, are yet to be revealed.