Tag: Julianne Moore

  • Julianne Moore leads red carpet protest for jailed Iranian filmmaker

    By AFP

    Julianne Moore led a flash-mob protest on the Venice red carpet on Friday in support of filmmakers detained around the world, as the festival premiered the new movie from imprisoned Iranian director Jafar Panahi. 

    Panahi, who won the top prize Golden Lion in Venice in 2000, was jailed in July along with two other filmmakers in the latest crackdown on Iranian civil society. 

    Moore, who is leading the jury at this year’s festival, was joined for the protest by dozens of other artists, including British director Sally Potter and last year’s Golden Lion winner, France’s Audrey Diwan. 

    They held posters that also highlighted the detention of Myanmar filmmaker Ma Aeint and Turkish producer Cigdem Mater. 

    Despite years of attempts to silence him, Panahi’s new film “No Bears” shows that he has lost none of his searing political critique and wry sense of humour. 

    The film is partly focused on Iranians in Turkey, trying desperately to emigrate to Europe. 

    ALSO READ | Iran film-maker Jafar Panahi convicted in propaganda case, to serve six-year sentence

    But it also follows Panahi himself in a fictionalised version of his real life, as he struggles to make the film from across the border in Iran, which he was already banned from leaving.

    One of the film’s stars, Mina Kavani, told reporters in Venice she was inspired by his focus, despite having to direct by phone and internet.  

    “He was in such concentration, he had such perfectionism — as an actress, I couldn’t let myself get sentimental,” said Kavani, who lives in exile in France. 

    “All that counted for him was cinema. He just wanted to make his movie. I thought: ‘I know now why he’s Mr Panahi.’”

    – ‘Survival’ –

    In 2010, Panahi was sentenced to six years in prison for “propaganda against the system” following his support for anti-government protests. 

    As can often happen in Iran, the sentence was never carried out but hung over him — and was only enacted in July when he went to enquire about two other filmmakers, Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Aleahmad, who had just been arrested.

    Panahi and Rasoulof issued a defiant statement via the Venice organisers last week, vowing to continue making art. 

    “The history of Iranian cinema witnesses the constant and active presence of independent directors who have struggled to push back censorship and to ensure the survival of this art,” they wrote.

    Panahi has won the top prizes in Venice (for 2000’s “The Circle”) and Berlin (2015’s “Taxi”), as well as best screenplay at Cannes (2018’s “Three Faces”) — but was unable to accept either of the last two prizes in person.

    The crackdown on civil society has worsened even further under President Ebrahim Raisi, an ultra-conservative former judiciary chief who came to power last year. 

    ALSO READ | ‘We must tell better stories than the tyrants’: Revisiting Salman Rushdie’s speech months before fatal attack on him

    Yet Iran’s independent filmmakers continue to punch above their weight, in spite of the pressure. 

    A second Iranian film is competing for the Golden Lion this week — “Beyond the Walls” by Vahid Jalivand — a grim look at Iran’s security state and those trapped within it.

    Jalivand was cautious in his words at a press conference on Thursday, saying “a balance between the two sides” was needed in Iran today.

    “In this movie the hero of the movie is a security official himself. We have unfortunately reached a perspective where it is totally bipolar,” he told reporters.

    “If we can create the sense of brotherhood, dialogue will become much easier, there will be less violence. This is my true belief and I would still believe this even if I were living in Europe or the United States.”

    Julianne Moore led a flash-mob protest on the Venice red carpet on Friday in support of filmmakers detained around the world, as the festival premiered the new movie from imprisoned Iranian director Jafar Panahi. 

    Panahi, who won the top prize Golden Lion in Venice in 2000, was jailed in July along with two other filmmakers in the latest crackdown on Iranian civil society. 

    Moore, who is leading the jury at this year’s festival, was joined for the protest by dozens of other artists, including British director Sally Potter and last year’s Golden Lion winner, France’s Audrey Diwan. 

    They held posters that also highlighted the detention of Myanmar filmmaker Ma Aeint and Turkish producer Cigdem Mater. 

    Despite years of attempts to silence him, Panahi’s new film “No Bears” shows that he has lost none of his searing political critique and wry sense of humour. 

    The film is partly focused on Iranians in Turkey, trying desperately to emigrate to Europe. 

    ALSO READ | Iran film-maker Jafar Panahi convicted in propaganda case, to serve six-year sentence

    But it also follows Panahi himself in a fictionalised version of his real life, as he struggles to make the film from across the border in Iran, which he was already banned from leaving.

    One of the film’s stars, Mina Kavani, told reporters in Venice she was inspired by his focus, despite having to direct by phone and internet.  

    “He was in such concentration, he had such perfectionism — as an actress, I couldn’t let myself get sentimental,” said Kavani, who lives in exile in France. 

    “All that counted for him was cinema. He just wanted to make his movie. I thought: ‘I know now why he’s Mr Panahi.’”

    – ‘Survival’ –

    In 2010, Panahi was sentenced to six years in prison for “propaganda against the system” following his support for anti-government protests. 

    As can often happen in Iran, the sentence was never carried out but hung over him — and was only enacted in July when he went to enquire about two other filmmakers, Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Aleahmad, who had just been arrested.

    Panahi and Rasoulof issued a defiant statement via the Venice organisers last week, vowing to continue making art. 

    “The history of Iranian cinema witnesses the constant and active presence of independent directors who have struggled to push back censorship and to ensure the survival of this art,” they wrote.

    Panahi has won the top prizes in Venice (for 2000’s “The Circle”) and Berlin (2015’s “Taxi”), as well as best screenplay at Cannes (2018’s “Three Faces”) — but was unable to accept either of the last two prizes in person.

    The crackdown on civil society has worsened even further under President Ebrahim Raisi, an ultra-conservative former judiciary chief who came to power last year. 

    ALSO READ | ‘We must tell better stories than the tyrants’: Revisiting Salman Rushdie’s speech months before fatal attack on him

    Yet Iran’s independent filmmakers continue to punch above their weight, in spite of the pressure. 

    A second Iranian film is competing for the Golden Lion this week — “Beyond the Walls” by Vahid Jalivand — a grim look at Iran’s security state and those trapped within it.

    Jalivand was cautious in his words at a press conference on Thursday, saying “a balance between the two sides” was needed in Iran today.

    “In this movie the hero of the movie is a security official himself. We have unfortunately reached a perspective where it is totally bipolar,” he told reporters.

    “If we can create the sense of brotherhood, dialogue will become much easier, there will be less violence. This is my true belief and I would still believe this even if I were living in Europe or the United States.”

  • Check out! 23 films competing for Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival

    By AFP

    ROME: The 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival will run from August 31 to September 10. These are the 23 films in the running for the top prize Golden Lion, to be chosen by a jury led by actor Julianne Moore.

    Opening film: “White Noise” by Noah Baumbach (US) with Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle.

    “The Whale” by Darren Aronofsky (US) with Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Samantha Morton

    “Blonde” by Andrew Dominik (US) with Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale

    “Tar” by Todd Field (US) with Cate Blanchett

    “Bardo” by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Mexico)

    “Bones and All” by Luca Guadagnino (US) with Taylor Russell, Timothee Chalamet, Mark Rylance

    “The Son” by Florian Zeller (Britain) with Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Hopkins

    “The Eternal Daughter” by Joanna Hogg (US/Britain) with Tilda Swinton

    “Beyond the Wall” by Vahid Jalilvand (Iran) with Navid Mohammadzadeh, Diana Habibi, Amir Aghaee

    “The Banshees of Inisherin” by Martin McDonagh (Ireland/Britain/US) with Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson

    “No Bears” by Jafar Panahi (Iran) with Jafar Panahi, Naser Hashemi, Vahid Mobaseri

    “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” by Laura Poitras (US)

    “L’Immensita” by Emanuele Crialese (Italy) with Penelope Cruz

    “Saint Omer” by Alice Diop (France) with Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda

    “Love Life” by Koji Fukada (Japan/France) with Fumino Kimura, Kento Nagayama

    “Athena” by Romain Gavras (France) with Dali Benssalah, Sami Slimane

    “Argentina, 1985” by Santiago Mitre (Argentina) with Ricardo Darin, Peter Lanzani

    “Chiara” by Susanna Nicchiarelli (Italy/Belgium) with Margherita Mazzucco, Andrea Carpenzano

    “Monica” by Andrea Pallaoro (US/Italy) with Trace Lysette, Patricia Clarkson, Adriana Barraza

    “A Couple” de Frederick Wiseman (France/US) with Nathalie Boutefeu

    “Les Miens” by Roschdy Zem (France) with Sami Bouajila, Roschdy Zem, Maiwenn

    “Other People’s Children” by Rebecca Zlotowski (France) with Virginie Efira, Roschdy Zem

    “The Lord of the Ants” by Gianni Amelio (Italy) with Luigi Lo Cascio, Elio Germano

    ROME: The 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival will run from August 31 to September 10. These are the 23 films in the running for the top prize Golden Lion, to be chosen by a jury led by actor Julianne Moore.

    Opening film: “White Noise” by Noah Baumbach (US) with Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle.

    “The Whale” by Darren Aronofsky (US) with Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Samantha Morton

    “Blonde” by Andrew Dominik (US) with Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale

    “Tar” by Todd Field (US) with Cate Blanchett

    “Bardo” by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Mexico)

    “Bones and All” by Luca Guadagnino (US) with Taylor Russell, Timothee Chalamet, Mark Rylance

    “The Son” by Florian Zeller (Britain) with Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Hopkins

    “The Eternal Daughter” by Joanna Hogg (US/Britain) with Tilda Swinton

    “Beyond the Wall” by Vahid Jalilvand (Iran) with Navid Mohammadzadeh, Diana Habibi, Amir Aghaee

    “The Banshees of Inisherin” by Martin McDonagh (Ireland/Britain/US) with Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson

    “No Bears” by Jafar Panahi (Iran) with Jafar Panahi, Naser Hashemi, Vahid Mobaseri

    “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” by Laura Poitras (US)

    “L’Immensita” by Emanuele Crialese (Italy) with Penelope Cruz

    “Saint Omer” by Alice Diop (France) with Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda

    “Love Life” by Koji Fukada (Japan/France) with Fumino Kimura, Kento Nagayama

    “Athena” by Romain Gavras (France) with Dali Benssalah, Sami Slimane

    “Argentina, 1985” by Santiago Mitre (Argentina) with Ricardo Darin, Peter Lanzani

    “Chiara” by Susanna Nicchiarelli (Italy/Belgium) with Margherita Mazzucco, Andrea Carpenzano

    “Monica” by Andrea Pallaoro (US/Italy) with Trace Lysette, Patricia Clarkson, Adriana Barraza

    “A Couple” de Frederick Wiseman (France/US) with Nathalie Boutefeu

    “Les Miens” by Roschdy Zem (France) with Sami Bouajila, Roschdy Zem, Maiwenn

    “Other People’s Children” by Rebecca Zlotowski (France) with Virginie Efira, Roschdy Zem

    “The Lord of the Ants” by Gianni Amelio (Italy) with Luigi Lo Cascio, Elio Germano

  • Check out the 23 films competing for Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival

    By AFP

    ROME: The 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival will run from August 31 to September 10. These are the 23 films in the running for the top prize Golden Lion, to be chosen by a jury led by actor Julianne Moore.

    Opening film: “White Noise” by Noah Baumbach (US) with Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle.

    “The Whale” by Darren Aronofsky (US) with Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Samantha Morton

    “Blonde” by Andrew Dominik (US) with Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale

    “Tar” by Todd Field (US) with Cate Blanchett

    “Bardo” by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Mexico)

    “Bones and All” by Luca Guadagnino (US) with Taylor Russell, Timothee Chalamet, Mark Rylance

    “The Son” by Florian Zeller (Britain) with Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Hopkins

    “The Eternal Daughter” by Joanna Hogg (US/Britain) with Tilda Swinton

    “Beyond the Wall” by Vahid Jalilvand (Iran) with Navid Mohammadzadeh, Diana Habibi, Amir Aghaee

    “The Banshees of Inisherin” by Martin McDonagh (Ireland/Britain/US) with Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson

    “No Bears” by Jafar Panahi (Iran) with Jafar Panahi, Naser Hashemi, Vahid Mobaseri

    “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” by Laura Poitras (US)

    “L’Immensita” by Emanuele Crialese (Italy) with Penelope Cruz

    “Saint Omer” by Alice Diop (France) with Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda

    “Love Life” by Koji Fukada (Japan/France) with Fumino Kimura, Kento Nagayama

    “Athena” by Romain Gavras (France) with Dali Benssalah, Sami Slimane

    “Argentina, 1985” by Santiago Mitre (Argentina) with Ricardo Darin, Peter Lanzani

    “Chiara” by Susanna Nicchiarelli (Italy/Belgium) with Margherita Mazzucco, Andrea Carpenzano

    “Monica” by Andrea Pallaoro (US/Italy) with Trace Lysette, Patricia Clarkson, Adriana Barraza

    “A Couple” de Frederick Wiseman (France/US) with Nathalie Boutefeu

    “Les Miens” by Roschdy Zem (France) with Sami Bouajila, Roschdy Zem, Maiwenn

    “Other People’s Children” by Rebecca Zlotowski (France) with Virginie Efira, Roschdy Zem

    “The Lord of the Ants” by Gianni Amelio (Italy) with Luigi Lo Cascio, Elio Germano

    ROME: The 79th edition of the Venice Film Festival will run from August 31 to September 10. These are the 23 films in the running for the top prize Golden Lion, to be chosen by a jury led by actor Julianne Moore.

    Opening film: “White Noise” by Noah Baumbach (US) with Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle.

    “The Whale” by Darren Aronofsky (US) with Brendan Fraser, Sadie Sink, Samantha Morton

    “Blonde” by Andrew Dominik (US) with Ana de Armas, Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale

    “Tar” by Todd Field (US) with Cate Blanchett

    “Bardo” by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Mexico)

    “Bones and All” by Luca Guadagnino (US) with Taylor Russell, Timothee Chalamet, Mark Rylance

    “The Son” by Florian Zeller (Britain) with Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Hopkins

    “The Eternal Daughter” by Joanna Hogg (US/Britain) with Tilda Swinton

    “Beyond the Wall” by Vahid Jalilvand (Iran) with Navid Mohammadzadeh, Diana Habibi, Amir Aghaee

    “The Banshees of Inisherin” by Martin McDonagh (Ireland/Britain/US) with Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson

    “No Bears” by Jafar Panahi (Iran) with Jafar Panahi, Naser Hashemi, Vahid Mobaseri

    “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” by Laura Poitras (US)

    “L’Immensita” by Emanuele Crialese (Italy) with Penelope Cruz

    “Saint Omer” by Alice Diop (France) with Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda

    “Love Life” by Koji Fukada (Japan/France) with Fumino Kimura, Kento Nagayama

    “Athena” by Romain Gavras (France) with Dali Benssalah, Sami Slimane

    “Argentina, 1985” by Santiago Mitre (Argentina) with Ricardo Darin, Peter Lanzani

    “Chiara” by Susanna Nicchiarelli (Italy/Belgium) with Margherita Mazzucco, Andrea Carpenzano

    “Monica” by Andrea Pallaoro (US/Italy) with Trace Lysette, Patricia Clarkson, Adriana Barraza

    “A Couple” de Frederick Wiseman (France/US) with Nathalie Boutefeu

    “Les Miens” by Roschdy Zem (France) with Sami Bouajila, Roschdy Zem, Maiwenn

    “Other People’s Children” by Rebecca Zlotowski (France) with Virginie Efira, Roschdy Zem

    “The Lord of the Ants” by Gianni Amelio (Italy) with Luigi Lo Cascio, Elio Germano

  • Briana Middleton boards Julianne Moore’s ‘Sharper’

    By Express News Service

    Apple Studios’ con-artist feature Sharper has added Briana Middleton as a lead character. She will join actors Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan, and Justice Smith in the lead.

    Sharper revolves around a con artist, played by Moore, set in the world of Manhattan’s billionaire society. Middleton will play Sandra, a young woman who finds herself in over her head when she enters the complex world of con artists.

    Emmy and BAFTA Award-nominated filmmaker Benjamin Caron, who is famous for working in The Crown and Sherlock, will helm this project. The feature has a script written by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka.

    Moore is producing the film alongside Bart Freundlich, Gatewood, Tanaka and Erik Feig and Jessica Switch of Picturestart. Julia Hammer of Picturestart will serve as an executive producer.

    Middleton was earlier announced as the female lead in the Beauty and the Beast prequel series. She will make her feature film debut in the upcoming George Clooney-directed adaptation of The Tender Bar. She also recently completed shooting the lead in The Last Will and Testament of Charles Abernathy.

    Meanwhile, Williams is set to star in the upcoming film Marked Man and is currently filming Secret Headquarters. The actor is best known for his roles on titles like Grey’s Anatomy, The Cabin in the Woods, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Band Aid, and Selah and the Spades. 

  • The term ‘ageing gracefully’ is ‘totally sexist’, says Academy Award-winner Julianne Moore

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Academy Award-winning actor Julianne Moore has criticised the term “ageing gracefully” as it applies to women, saying it is “totally sexist”.

    “There’s so much judgment inherent in the term ‘ageing gracefully’. Is there an ungraceful way to age? We don’t have an option of course. No one has an option about ageing, so it’s not a positive or a negative thing, it just is,” the actor told As If magazine.

    The “Still Alice” star said, “(ageing is) part of the human condition, so why are we always talking about it as if it is something that we have control over?” Moore said she takes to heart a quote from Helen Mirren with regards to her philosophy on ageing: “Ageing is a requirement of life: You either grow old or die young.”

    The actor said, “We are given a narrative as children that we keep growing through school, maybe go to college then, after school is finished, the idea of growth is done. But we have all this life left to live. How do we continue to challenge ourselves, to interest ourselves, learn new things, be more helpful to other people, be the person that your friends and family need or want? How do we continue to evolve? How do we navigate life to have even deeper experiences?” 

    The 60-year-old actor is set to reunite with her “Far From Heaven” director Todd Haynes for the film “May December”, which also features Natalie Portman.

  • Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman to star in ‘May December’

    By Express News Service
    Actors Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore have been roped in to headline director Todd Haynes’ drama film May December.

    May December tells the story of a Hollywood actor (Portman) who travels to Maine to study a woman (Moore), who she’s set to play in a film.

    The woman was the subject of a tabloid scandal, two decades prior, for marrying a man who is 23 years younger than her. As she and her husband ready their twin girls off to college, their family dynamic begins to unravel under the actor’s lens.

    The film will have a script by Samy Burch, based on a story from herself and Alex Mechanik. The shooting of the film is expected to begin in 2022. Rocket Science will launch the international sales of the project at Virtual Cannes Market this year, while the domestic sales will be handled by UTA Independent Film Group and CAA Media Finance. Jessica Elbaum and Will Ferrell of Gloria Sanchez Productions and Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler of Killer Films will produce alongside Portman and Sophie Mas under their MountainA banner.

    Portman, a three-time Oscar nominee, just completed production on Marvel’s upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder. Moore is a five-time Academy Award nominee, is currently playing in Apple’s Lisey’s Story.