Chloé Zhao’s Eternals sounds different from anything else in the MCU; a first look at Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos; David Fincher’s video essays about film; more film festival news. All in today’s Movie News Rundown.
But First: Chloé Zhao’s Marvel film Eternals premiered last night, and while reviews are embargoed, The Hollywood Reporter has this roundup of initial Twitter reactions. “Hands down the most different of any of their films,” writes THR‘s own Aaron Couch. Fandango‘s Erik Davis also found it to be different, calling it “spectacularly weird & rich w/ a new MCU mythology that makes it feel separate from everything else. It’s honestly refreshing.” This is the first big-budget studio film for Zhao, whose Nomadland won Best Picture.
Variety‘s Huge Spoiler: MCU fans are freaking out over what appears to be a big spoiler about Eternals tweeted by Variety film reporter Matt Donnelly. Many fans were upset to see it tweeted a month before the movie is released, and if you don’t want to be among them, don’t go looking. But if you do, Matt is @mattdonnelly.
I Love Teasers: Writer-director and walk-and-talk connoisseur Aaron Sorkin follows up The Trial of the Chicago 7 with another trip to the middle of the 20th Century. Being the Ricardos follows married couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz on their journey to becoming the iconic Lucy and Ricky Ricardo in I Love Lucy, which ran for six seasons from 1951-57. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem play the married duo, and those who initially doubted Kidman’s casting may be pleasantly surprised by how she disappears into the role. Here’s the teaser trailer:
Island Cinema: The small island country of Malta has been featured in many a Hollywood blockbuster, but with Luzzu, the country now gets a story of its own. Margeaux Sippell speaks with Luzzu director Alex Camilleri about the fishing drama that was shot with local, non-professional actors.
Bleak but Aspirational: Keeping Company co-writer, producer and star Devin Das explores his journey through Hollywood’s development hell with his writing partner Josh Wallace and how the genre-bending thriller they eventually made is very bleak as a result. “Keeping Company provides a brutal, bleak look at society and humanity without much hope in sight. But the point of showing that dark reflection is to remind us how important it is to live collectively, selflessly, and empathetically,” Das says.
Old News: Along with Sundance and Rotterdam, Berlin Film Festival is one of the larger festivals that help kick off the festival season each year. Variety reports that Old writer-director M. Night Shyamalan will serve as jury president for the international competition.
A New Film Festival: Leda Monologues is a new international film festival with a wholly unique angle: It focuses on “cinematic monologues.” The first edition was held this past May and submissions open this month for the sophomore edition next May in Agrinio, Greece. Festival founder George Louridas explains the monologue focus: “It makes it easier for people, who have no budget to make large-scale cinema, to shoot a monologue even with a cheap camera, or even with their smartphones.”
More Festivals: The always stellar AFI Fest announced its lineup last week and the narrative slate is largely international festival circuit favorites like Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car. There are also some U.S. films in the Gala section, including Reinaldo Marcus Green’s King Richard and the world premieres of Halle Berry’s directorial debut Bruised, and Swan Song starring Mahershala Ali.
Essays by David Fincher: Also of note in that AFI lineup is the David Fincher and David Prior executive produced-film-essay series Voir. Prior’s film The Empty Man became a cult hit after its initially quiet release last year. He got his start directing behind-the-scenes videos for David Fincher films. AFI Fest runs from Nov. 10-14 in Hollywood.
Also: Over at Criterion’s The Daily, David Hudson provides a brief history of the film essay form.
Another New Film Festival: Deadline reports that Joe Russo has teamed up with festival veteran Ania Trzebiatowska to launch a new film festival in St. Andrews, Scotland. The inaugural edition is March 17-25, 2022.
A Quick Round Between Screenings?: St. Andrews is notable as the birthplace of golf.
Also Notable: Besides directing the epic Avengers films Infinity War and Endgame — as well as Captain America: Winter Soldier — Joe Russo and his brother Anthony are currently working on the action thriller The Gray Man, which is currently the most expensive original film from Netflix.
How Expensive?: A cool $200 million, per Deadline.
Best Sitcom?: I Love Lucy got me thinking about my favorite Emmy-winning sitcom, which ran for 11 seasons to Lucy‘s six (take that!). What’s your favorite sitcom? Let us know in the comment section below.
Share:
