Crazy Blood

Italian director Marco Tullio Giordana (above) has begun filming his next project Sangue pazzo, a film set in fascist Italy following WWII. The film is about two famous actors who were part of the Salò Republic, were accused of collaboration and were later tortured and shot.
It stars hottie Monica Bellucci (left), Luca Zingaretti and Alessio Boni. Filming is slated for a 13-week run in Venice, Milan, turn and Rome. "Sangue pazzo" translates literally as "Crazy Blood".
The €10 million film received €1 million in funding from Eurimages and was deemed of cultural interest by Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita Culturali – General Direction For Cinema, according to cineuropa.com.
It’s scheduled for a spring 2008 distribution. The €1 million is the largest amount granted by Eurimages this year.
Eurimages also funded Palestinian helmer Suleiman $500,000 for "The Time That Remains"; Michael Glawogger's "Das Vaterspiel"; Helma Sanders-Brahms' biopic on composer couple Clara and Robert Schumann, "Clara"; psychotherapy thriller-drama "Dorothy Mills" by France's Agnes Merlet; Denmark's Madsen for "Flammen & Citronen," with Mads Mikkelsen; "Ljubav i drugi zlocini" (Love and Other Crimes) by Serb director Stefan Arsenijevic; and music drama "Fados" from Portuguese director Carlos Saura.

Speed Racer Gets Cash Crash

The German Federal Film Fund is granting $12.3 million to the producers of “Speed Racer,” which will be produced at Babelsberg Studios near Berlin this summer.
Based on Tatsuo Yoshida’s hit cartoon series of the ‘60s, this version will be live-action. Joel Silver is producing and it’s his second film at Babelsberg. V for Vendetta was his first.
The film stars Emile Hirsch (left) as Speed along with Christina Ricci, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon and is slated for May 2008 opening.
Also slated for the fund is the Leo Tolstoy bio, "The Last Station," starring Anthony Hopkins and Meryl Streep.

Jack Valenti Dies

Jack Valenti, the Houston native born of Sicillian parents and former LBJ assistant who made a name for himself as the unapologetic lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association of America, died yesterday at 85. His biggest contribution likely was the introduction of the ratings system.

As we've worked to communicate with our international counterparts for the upcoming Lone Star International Film Festival, featuring the FWSCI Film Series, we've spent time recently reviewing the MPAA ratings system and comparing that to those of other countries.

The current MPAA movie ratings consist of:
G - General Audiences - All ages admitted
PG - Parental guidance suggested Some material may not be suitable for children
PG-13 - Parents strongly cautioned Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
R - Restricted Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
NC-17 No one 17 and under admitted.
If a film has not been submitted for a rating, the label NR (Not Rated) is often used; however, NR is not an official MPAA classification. Films that have not yet received MPAA classification, but are expected to, are often advertised with the notice "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" or "Rating Pending."

The Kirby Dick documentary This Film Not Yet Rated, takes a look at the ratings system. According to the Independent Film Channel's website, "The documentary asks whether Hollywood movies and independent films are rated equally for comparable content; whether sexual content in gay-themed movies is given harsher ratings penalties than their heterosexual counterparts; whether it makes sense that extreme violence is given an R rating while sexuality is banished to the cutting room floor; whether Hollywood studios receive detailed directions as to how to change an NC-17 film into an R, while independent film producers are left guessing; and finally, whether keeping the raters and the rating process secret leaves the MPAA entirely unaccountable for its decisions."

Filmies Meeting, 6 p.m. May 8

Funimation will be our guests at the next Filmies group meeting Tuesday, May 8, 2007, at the PourHouse, 209 W. Fifth St. in downtown Fort Worth.
In case you don't know, Funimation folks brought us Dragonball Z, Basilsk and other great anime via Cartoon Network and other media, plus the live-action film Shinobi on DVD, which I wrote about in February. Anime is Japanese animation.

Debra J. Kennedy, Funimation vice president of marketing and a University of Texas at Austin alumnae, will be the guest speaker.

Funimation is a Tarrant County-based company -- who knew? -- and they're doing a lot of cool things. So come out to the PourHouse and get the inside scoop.

Filmies is a Fort Worth Sister Cities International Film Special Interest Group. We meet monthly to hang out, talk about movies and have a beer after work.

Learn about our upcoming international film series that will be held simultaneously and in partnership with the Lone Star International Film Festival in Nov. 8-11, 2007.

RSVP to Lisa Gail Barnes at Sister Cities (lisa@fwsistercities.org), or request more information.

Kala Premiers

Joko Anwar’s new film Kala (Dead Time) hit theaters in Jakarta last weekend to raves.

“The reviews have been overwhelming. The buzz on the Internet and from filmgoers has been great,” Anwar told Filmies over the weekend.

Anwar’s film blends Indonesian culture and classic Indonesian horror films with film noir to create a film unlike any seen by audiences, according to the review in the Jakarta Post. The film evokes Dark City and Naked Lunch, the review says.

This is Anwar's second directorial project. His first was 2005's Janji Joni (Joni's Promise). Previously he wrote the script for the hit Indonesian film Arisan!.

Anwar cast his Kala with popular Indonesian stars, including Shanty, Fachri Albar and Fahrani.

The trailers look great, with cool cinematography. Hope we get to see it.

This Just In: New DVDs

Masaya Kato

The Last Supper, 2005, (Saigo no Bansan), Japan, Director: Osamu Fukutani

One night, talented plastic surgeon Dr. Yuji Kotorida (Masaya Kato) takes home some leftover fat from a liposuction procedure and fries it up for dinner. This taste of forbidden flesh fuels his desires, and he soon embarks on a killing spree to acquire fresh meat. Obsessed with eating human flesh, he devises ever more imaginative methods to indulge his appetites in this cannibalistic chiller based on a story by renowned horror writer Kei Oishi.

MTY Extremo, 2006, Mexico, Director: Marcelino Calzada
Vacationing Marcos Puentes's trip to Monterrey, Mexico, becomes a nightmare when he's mistaken for a prominent organized crime boss and murder suspect. With rival mobster Franco putting a price on Puentes's head, the innocent man must fight to clear his name -- and save his life. Directed by Marcelino Calzada, this stylish thriller from Mexico stars Renán Moreno, Antonio Craviotto, Mauricio Atri and Veronica Mabel Carrizales.

The Living Coffin, 1958, (El Grito de la muerte), Mexico, Director:Fernando Mendez Manuel San Fernando
Cowboy Gastón (Gastón Santos) and his sidekick, Coyote Loco (Pedro de Aguillón), travel to a hacienda to get information about a stone figure of a crying woman. The statuette is that of a mother grieving the deaths of her children and whose vengeful ghost haunts the residents. Soon, Gastón discovers the truth behind the eerie legend. Fernando Méndez directs this Mexican chiller inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's "The Premature Burial."

The Man and the Monster, 1958, (El Hombre y el Monstruo), Mexico, Director: Rafael Baledon
Greedy for international success, a concert pianist sells his soul to the devil in this Mexican horror film. The musician makes a deal with Satan, unaware that the cursed pact will transform him into a bloodthirsty monster whenever he plays his masterpiece. The body count rises, and a packed concert house sets the stage for the tortured pianist's most unforgettable performance. Enrique Rambal, Abel Salazar and Martha Roth star.

The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes, 2006, Germany, Director: Stephen Quay and Timothy Quay
After murdering opera singer Malvina van Stille (Amira Casar) onstage, the sinister Dr. Droz (Gottfried John) absconds with her corpse. At his villa, Droz enlists the help of the Piano Tuner of Earthquakes (César Saracho) in creating a performance starring the reanimated Malvina. Assumpta Serna co-stars in this haunting tale of obsession by groundbreaking fantasists the Brothers Quay.

Festival de Cannes Announcement

With the usual fanfare, Festival de Cannes announced the lineup for the 60th edition of the granddaddy of them all. The festival runs May 16-27 in Cannes, France.
At least eight films from our seven Sister City countries made it into the festival. There may be more, but Cannes doesn’t identify all “home” countries of the films or directors.
I’m lifting info here from the best web site I could find on Cannes: “Cannes – A Festival Virgin’s Guide”.
Also, Cannes has a new web site of its own with a lot of info.
Here for starters are films from our countries that made the cut. First I’ll give a category description, a la Virgin’s Guide, and underneath I’ll list our films. But go to there site, because it’s cool.

Compétition: The competition is the festival's main event and this is where you'll find all the glamour and glory. Films screening in this section are referred to as being "in competition" and vie for an assortment of awards. The Holy Grail is of course the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) for best picture, one of the most prestigious film awards on the planet. Winning the Palme d'Or generally gives the film a massive lift: for art-house films, it can bring in millions of extra dollars at the international box-office, for foreign films it means worldwide distribution. Historically, the competition has only been open to narrative films, although occasionally a documentary is slipped in (such as Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" which won the top prize in 2004). The competition welcomes both features and shorts, and there are different awards in each category.
Germany - Fatih AKIN, Auf de Anderen Seite 2h02
Japan - Naomi KAWASE , Mogari No Mori (The Mourning Forest) 1h37
Mexico - Carlos REYGADAS, Stellet Licht 2h22
Hungary - Béla TARR, The Man From London 2h12
SHORT FILMS IN COMPETITION
Mexico - Elisa MILLER, Ver Llover

Un Certain Regard: Created in 1978 to absorb several ambiguous sidebars, Un Certain Regard is now the main showcase section of the festival and is intended to be a "survey of current world cinema". Historically there were no awards attached to Un Certain Regard, but in recent years the festival has created the Prix Un Certain Regard to help the best film in the sidebar achieve distribution in France. Occasionally other awards are made in this section as well.
Italy - Valeria BRUNI-TEDESCHI, Le Reve de la Nuit d'Avant, 1h47
Italy - Daniele LUCHETTI, Mio Fratello e Fiblio Unico 1h48
Germany - Robert THALHEIM, Am Ende Kommen Touristen 1h22

Cinéfondation: Added in 1998, Cinéfondation is the festival's competition for short and medium-length films made at film schools around the world. The Cinéfondation sidebar has its own jury and there are three awards (which include a cash prize) for the best films in this section.
Germany - Nicolas WACKERBARTH, Halbe Stunden

The most prestigious award given out at Cannes is the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) for the best film. The jury of the festival, made of a small international selection of movie professionals, grants other awards, including the Grand Prix (Grand Prize) — the second most prestigious award.