Set in alternate-universe present day versions of frozen-over Russia and the Manhattan theatrical intelligensia (the latter resembling something Charlie Kaufman might have come up with, minus the self-deprecating suspicion of success that leads him to mock the careerist stars of Needleman in a Haystack), Sophie Barthes‘ very strong first feature Cold Souls stars Paul Giamatti as an actor named Paul Giamatti, a movie star struggling to get into the character of Uncle Vanya on the stage. His agent points him to an article in the New Yorker about an extraction and cold storage facility for souls on Roosevelt Island. At the end of his rope, Paul goes through the procedure, but find that soulless, his performance is even worse — imagine Vanya as interpreted by a handsy William Shatner. It’s when Giamatti attempts to get back his original soul (shaped, in one of the film’s best running jokes, like a chick pea) that he discovers that the pristine New York clinic where he had the procedure is a front for a roiling Russian soul black market, and with the help of an attractive female soul mule (Dina Korzun), embarks on a journey to St. Petersberg.
In an interview at the Sundance Film Festival last week, Barthes discussed reading Jung, dreaming about Woody Allen, and why she hopes Putin doesn’t read film blogs.
So why would Paul Giamatti’s soul look like a chickpea?
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CHICAGO – It wasn’t that long ago when Ben Affleck was an unknown. Fortune eventually smiled upon him and along came quality performances in independents and an Academy Award for screenwriting.
Then came “Armageddon,” “Pearl Harbor” and a series of nauseating tabloid stories involving something called “Bennifer”. Affleck’s public image as either a true filmmaker or a hack is riding heavily on his directorial debut of “Gone Baby Gone”.
Without fail, he falls easily into the category of true talent. Following the path that fellow actor-turned-director Clint Eastwood did with “Mystic River,” Affleck elevated a crime thriller by author Dennis Lehane to the big screen.
Click here to read the full review by Dustin Levell…
This film premiered as part of the Chicago International Film Festival on Oct. 10, 2007.
The Chicago International Film Festival on Oct. 14 announced its 2007 award winners.
Mexico, China, Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States took top honors in the festival’s 43rd iteration.
Chicago audiences selected from 102 feature films, 14 documentaries and 33 shorts and student films spanning 43 countries. Films showcased both well-known and promising new filmmakers.
The festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, which was coined after the mythological god of discovery. When perusing the awardees, notice “Chicago 10” and “America the Beautiful,” which I mentioned back on Sept. 19.
Click here for the full list of awardees…
Michael Clayton shows on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. at AMC River East as part of the 2007 Chicago International Film Festival. This review was first published on HollywoodChicago.com.
CHICAGO – Don’t be fooled by its formulaic, Hollywoodspeak tagline.
“The truth can be adjusted” is the Michael Clayton way of saying this film has rammed in a whole hell of a lot more than you might first presume and is about to blindside you with everything a picture-perfect Hollywood product should be.
George Clooney in Michael Clayton.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
An opulent, all-star cast as in The Departed sometimes yields the film of the year. At other times, the failure of that resolve can make financiers suicidal.
In the case of Michael Clayton, writer/director Tony Gilroy weaves the commanding George Clooney, flawlessly fanatical (and sometimes streaking) Tom Wilkinson, tautly corporate Tilda Swinton and the always-on-top-of-his-game Sydney Pollack into a film that pays its weight in gold.
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CHICAGO – Producers, writers and actors all took a backseat on Thursday night as the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) kicked off its 43rd year with a moving tribute to legendary film critic Roger Ebert.
Roger Ebert and wife, Chaz Hammelsmith, at the
Chicago International Film Festival on Oct. 4, 2007.
Photo by Evan O’Donnell/HollywoodChicago.com
The scores of people gathered around the Chicago Theatre were raring to see the major players involved with the making of one of the most anticipated films of the year: The Kite Runner.
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The Chicago International Film Festival begins today, and we’re excited to announce that we’ll have coverage here on SpoutBlog courtesy of Adam Fendelman and the crew from HollywoodChicago.com. Check back tomorrow morning for a report from the opening night gala for Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner, and much more.
The 43rd Chicago International Film Festival begins on Thursday with the U.S. premiere of Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner. Roger Ebert has a preview of this year’s lineup, a remembrance of CIFFs past, and an anecdote on the Festival’s rumored origin story:
Legend has it that Orson Welles is responsible for the founding of the festival. Kutza, then fresh out of college, was at Cannes in 1963 and met the great man himself.
“Chicago?” Welles said. “That’s almost my hometown. Why doesn’t it have a film festival?” Kutza told Welles that he would personally start one if the director promised to attend it. Welles promised, Kutza delivered, and Welles never came.
