Baz Luhrmann and Leonardo DiCaprio at Cannes with The Great Gatsby. Photo: AFP
Gatsby to Open a Wet Cannes
Following a press conference earlier today, director Baz Luhrmann and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan are braving the weather in a blustery Cannes. The Great Gatsby, which opened to solid box office numbers Stateside, will have its European premiere at the 66th Festival de Cannes tonight, marking its European premiere. Noted Luhrmann at the press conference earlier today in Cannes: “I just care that people are going out seeing it, I really do. It was a very nervous weekend for all of us and we're just very grateful to the audience.” Check out FilmLinc Daily's expanded coverage of The Great Gatsby.
Werner Herzog to Receive Locarno Film Festival Honors
The German-born director, screenwriter, producer and actor will receive the Pardo d'onore Swisscom at the 66th Festival del film Locarno, taking place August 7 – 17. A selection of Herzog's films, which include Grizzly Man and Encounters at the End of the World, will screen at the festival and he will take part in a conversation with Grazia Paganelli, co-author of a study of the filmmaker, which will be open to the public. Said Locarno's Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian: “Over the course of his long career, Herzog has proved adept at moving between fiction and documentary, low-budget productions and films featuring major stars but without ever losing a clear sense of identity. If awards are not only recognitions but also a way of signaling the future, I think that Werner Herzog is the most appropriate person to signpost the way forward the Festival wishes to take.”
Thomas Vinterberg Wins Prix Media Honor in Cannes
Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg will be honored with the 2013 European Union Prix MEDIA prize. The award is given to the best new film project with “box-office potential” and is eligible for support from the EU Media program for cinema. The award will be presented to Vinterberg by Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday May 19, which is also Vinterberg's 44th birthday. He will share the award with co-writer Tobias Lindholm (A Hijacking) and producer Sisse Graum (Zentropa) for their new project Kollektivet (The Commune), which tells the story of life in a Danish commune in the 1970s and which is due to go into production next year.
Nantucket Film Festival Launches Academy Partnership
Nantucket and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will partner on an initiative with Haiti's Ciné Institute to promote a young filmmaker outreach program with Ciné students and the local Nantucket Teen View participants. Oscar-winning filmmakers Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine, through the Academy's Visiting Artists program, will attend NFF to present their Oscar winning short film Inocente and lead a roundtable discussion with the Ciné and Nantucket student filmmakers about the craft of documentary filmmaking, covering topics such as story development, production, editing and financing. The Fines will also present their current release, Life According to Sam, as part of this year's programming. Additionally, students will present projects from their respective programs this past year and will engage in a conversation moderated by Ben Stiller.
Fisher Stevens, Malcolm Gladwell & Leonard Lopate Join Tropfest Jury
Stevens is the Oscar-winning producer of The Cove. He will be joined on the jury by journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell and WNYC host Leonard Lopate at Tropfest New York on June 22 in Brooklyn's Prosepect Park, which will be hosted by Live Schreiber. The event began 21 years ago in Sydney, Australia, becoming one of the world's largest short film festivals, and launched similar events last year in Las Vegas and New York. Film Society of Lincoln Center is proud to again be a partner on TropFest New York.
