Negromancer News Bits and Bites from February 21st to 28th, 2021 - Update #21

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   The winner of the 2/26 to 2/28/2021 weekend box office is the animated "Tom & Jerry" with an estimated take of 13.7 million dollars, the second highest pandemic opening weekend.

GOLDEN GLOBES - From Deadline:  "Deadline" is live-blogging the Golden Globes, which will allow readers to keep up with the announcement of winners.

From Deadline:   Ellen Pompeo penned an open letter the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and “White Hollywood” a day before the 2021 Golden Globes.

From Deadline:  The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which puts on the Golden Globes, does not have a single voting member who is black.  The Directors Guild of America has joined the chorus of voices castigating the HFPA for this.

SCANDAL - From Deadline:  "Justice League" actor Ray Fisher and Warner Bros. still having a public feud.

COVID-19 - From YahooEntertainment:  Oscar-nominated actress, Abigail Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine), has revealed that her father, Michael, recently died of complications of COVID-19.

MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:  Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Lee Daniels, talks about creating his own lane in Hollywood and why he still independently finances his films.

COMICS TO FILM - From Deadline:   Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and producer J.J. Abrams prep "Superman" reboot for Warner Bros.  There is no word on whether Henry Cavill, who has been playing Superman since "The Man of Steel" will be back.

SPORTS - From YahooSports:  The WNBA finally rids itself of its worst owner, former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler, with a new ownership group.  One of the owners is a player, Renee Montgomery, whom Loeffler once disparaged.

STREAMING - From Deadline:   Winston Duke ("Black Panther") is in talks to play African-American historical figure, Marcus Garvey," in Amazon's "Marked Man."

MOVIES - From IndieWire:   No longer involved in the Marvel's "Blade" franchise, Wesley Snipes is developing his own "Blade-killer" movie.  It is a supernatural action movie with elements of shapeshifters and time travel.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Steve Soderbergh will direct Zoe Kravitz in New Line's "KIMI" for HBO Max.

STREAMING - From THR:   ViacomCBS makes its pitch for the streaming service, "Paramount+" which is a rebranding of CBS All Access. There will be sports, reboots, sequels, and spinoffs.

COMICS TO FILM - From VanityFair:  The true history of "Justice League: The Snyder Cut."

SCANDAL - From THR:   Revered and controversial French actor, Gerard Depardieu, was charged by French authorities with rape this past December.  The news just broke recently, and the charge relates to an accusation of the rape of a young actress back in December 2018.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   BET has renewed "Tyler Perry's The Oval" for a third season after its Season 2 premiere.

STREAMING - From Deadline:   Netflix has won the auction for a story pitch for a film called, "The Bluff," which would be a vehicle for Zoe Saldana.

COVID-19 - From WebMD:  500,000 Americans now dead from COVID-19

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:   The winner of the 2/19 to 2/21/21 weekend box office is "The Croods: A New Age" with an estimated take of 1.7 million dollars.

SCANDAL - From YahooEntertainment:  Actress Gina Carano says that she is not going down without a fight after "devastating" firing from Disney-Lucasfilm, where she was an actress on the Disney+ series, "The Mandalorian."

BLM - From TheRoot:  African-American St. Louis Officer Luther Hall has secured a $5 million settlement agreement in his lawsuit against the city, related to his alleged assault by white members of the St. Louis Police Department while he was working undercover as a demonstrator during protests against police violence.

SCANDAL - From Deadline:  Fired-from-Lucasfilm actress, Gina Carano, says that she has some shocking stuff to say about Lucasfilm.

2016 Cesar Award Nominations

First given out in 1975, the César Award is the national film award of France.  Some even think of the César Award as the French equivalent of the American Academy Awards (Oscars). The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, and the award ceremony is held in Paris each February.  The name of the award comes from the late sculptor César Baldaccini, and the trophies are actual sculptures of the artist.

The 41st Cesar Awards ceremony will take place on Friday, February 26, 2016 at the Theatre du Chatelet in central Paris presided over by Florence Foresti over by French comedian and actress Florence Foresti. Hollywood star Michael Douglas is due to receive an honorary Cesar for his career at the ceremony.

The 2016 / 41st Cesar Award nominees (for the year in 2015):

BEST FILM
Dheepan, dir: Jacques Audiard
Fatima, dir: Philippe Faucon
La Loi Du Marché, dir: Stéphane Brizé
Marguerite, dir: Xavier Giannoli
Mon Roi, dir: Maiwenn
Mustang, dir: Deniz Gamze Erguven
La Tete Haute, dir: Emmanuelle Bercot
Trois Souvenirs De Ma Jeunesse (aka My Golden Days), dir: Arnaud Desplechin

BEST FIRST FILM
L’Affaire SK1, dir: Frédéric Tellier
Les Cowboys; dir: Thomas Bidegain
Mustang, dir: Deniz Gamze Erguven
Ni Le Ciel Ni La Terre, Clément Cogitore
Nous Trois Ou Rien, dir: Kheiron

BEST DIRECTOR
Jacques Audiard, Dheepan
Stéphane Brizé, La Loi Du Marché
Xavier Giannoli, Marguerite
Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Mustang
Emmanuelle Bercot, La Tête Haute
Arnaud Desplechin, My Golden Days
Maïwenn, Moi Roi

BEST ACTOR
Jean-Pierre Bacri, La Vie Très Privée De Monsieur Sim
Vincent Cassell, Mon Roi
François Damiens, Les Cowboys
Gérard Depardieu, Valley Of Love
Antonythasan Jesuthasan, Dheepan
Vincent Lindon, La Loi Du Marché
Fabrice Luchini, L’Hermine

BEST ACTRESS
Loubna Abidar, Much Loved
Emmanuelle Bercot, Mon Roi
Cécile de France, La Belle Saison
Catherine Deneuve, La Tête Haute
Catherine Frot, Marguerite
Isabelle Huppert, Valley Of Love
Soria Zeroual, Fatima

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michel Fau, Marguerite
Louis Garrel, Mon Roi
Benoit Magimel, La Tête Haute
André Marcon, Marguerite
Vincent Rottiers, Dheepan

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sara Forestier, La Tête Haute
Agnès Jaoui, Comme Un Avion
Sidse Babett Knudsen, L’Hermine
Noémie Lvovsky, La Belle Saison
Karin Viard, 21 Nuits Avec Pattie

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Adama; dir: Simon Rouby
Le Petit Prince, dir: Mark Osborne
Avril Et Le Monde Truqué, dirs: Christian Desmares, Franck Ekinci

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Birdman, dir: Alejandro G Inarritu
Son Of Saul, dir: Laszlo Nemes
Je Suis Mort Mais J’ai Des Amis, dirs: Guillaume Malandrin, Stéphane Malandrin
Mia Madre, dir: Nanni Moretti
Taxi Tehran, dir: Jafar Panahi
The Brand New Testament, dir: Jaco van Dormael
Youth, dir: Paolo Sorrentino

BEST NEWCOMER (FEMALE)
Lou Leroy-Collinet, My Golden Days
Diane Rouxel, La Tête Haute
Zita Hanrot, Fatima
Sara Giraudeau, Les Bêtises
Camille Cottin, Connasse, Princesse Des Coeurs

BEST NEWCOMER (MALE)
Swann Arlaud, Les Anarchistes
Quentin Dolmaire, My Golden Days
Félix Moati, A trois On Y Va
Finnegan Oldfield, Les Cowboys
Rod Paradot, La Tête Haute

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Eponine Momenceau, Dheepan
Glynn Speeckaert, Marguerite
David Chizallet, Mustang
Irina Lubtchansky, My Golden Days
Christophe Offenstein, Valley Of Love

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
David Oelhoffen, Frédéric Tellier, L’Affaire SKI
Samuel Benchetrit, Asphalte
Vincent Garenq, Stéphan Cabel, L’Enquete
Philippe Faucon, Fatima
Héléne Zimmer, Benoît Jacquot, Journal D’Une Femme De Chambre

BEST EDITING
Juliette Welfing, Dheepan
Cyril Nakache, Marguerite
Simon Jacquet, Mon Roi
Mathilde Van De Moortel, Mustang
Laurence Briau, My Golden Days

BEST SOUND
Daniel Sobrino, Valérie Deloof, Cyril Holtz, Dheepan
François Musy, Gabriel Hafner, Marguerite
Nicolas Provost, Agnès Ravez, Emanuel Croset, Mon Roi
Ibrahim Gök, Damien Guillaume, Olivier Goinard, Mustang
Nicolas Cantin, Sylvain Malbrant, Stéphane Thiébaut, My Golden Days

BEST SHOR FILM
La Contre Allée, dir: Cécile Ducrocq
Le Dernier Des Céfrans, dir: Pierre-Emmanuel Urcun
Essaie De Mourir Jeune, dir: Morgon Simon
Guy Moquet, dir: Demis Herenger
Mon Héros, dir: Sylvain Desclous

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
Raphaël, Les Cowboys
Ennio Morricone, En Mail, Fais Ce Qu’Il Te Plaît
Stephen Warbeck, Mon Roi
Warren Ellis, Mustang
Grégoire Hetzel, My Golden Days

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Noé Debré, Thomas Bidegain, Jacques Audiard, Dheepan
Xavier Giannoli, Marguerite
Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Alice Winocour, Mustang
Emmanuelle Bercot, Marcia Roman, La Tête Haute
Arnaud Desplechin, Julie Peyr, My Golden Days

BEST COSTUMES
Anaïs Romand, Journal D’Une Femme De Chambre
Pierre-Jean Larroque, Marguerite
Selin Sözen, Mustang
Catherine Leterrier, L’Odeur De La Mandarine
Nathalie Raoul, My Golden Days

BEST SET DECORATION
Michel Barthélémy, Dheepan
Katia Wyszkop, Journal D’Une Femme De Chambre
Martin Kurel, Marguerite
Jean Rabasse, L’Odeur De La Mandarine
Toma Baqueni, My Golden Days

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
La Nuit Américaine D’Angélique, dirs: Pierre-Emmanuel Lyet, Joris Clerté
Le Repas Dominical, dir: Céline Devaux
Sous Tes Doigts, dir: Marie-Christine Courtès
Tigre A La Queue Leu Leu, dir: Benoît Chieux

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Le Bouton De Nacre, dir: Patrico Guzman
Cavanna, dirs: Denis and Nina Robert
Tomorrow, dirs: Cyril Dion, Mélanie Laurent
The Missing Picture, dir: Rithy Panh
Une Jeunesse Allemande, dir: Jean-Gabriel Periot

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Review: Entire Cast Powers "The Return of Martin Guerre" (Happy B'day, Gerard Depardieu)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 43 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Le Retour de Martin Guerre (1982)
The Return of Martin Guerre (1983) – U.S. title
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: France; Language: French
Running time: 122 minutes (2 hours, 2 minutes)
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Daniel Vigne
WRITERS: Jean-Claude Carrière, Natalie Zemon Davis, and Daniel Vigne (from the novel The Wife of Martin Guerre by Janet Lewis)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: André Neau
EDITOR: Denise de Casabianca
COMPOSER: Michel Portal
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/MYSTERY/HISTORICAL

Starring: Gérard Depardieu, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Nathalie Baye, Roger Planchon, Maurice Jacquemont, Isabelle Sadoyan, Rose Thiéry, Maurice Barrier, Stéphane Peau, Sylvie Méda, and Tchéky Karyo

The subject of this movie review is Le Retour de Martin Guerre, a 1982 French film directed by Daniel Vigne and starring Gérard Depardieu. The film was released as The Return of Martin Guerre in the United States in 1983.

Gérard Depardieu plays a man who returns home to his village after being absent for nine years. He claims to be Martin Guerre, who left as a selfish boy (Stéphane Peau) and has returned older and also more caring towards his wife, Bertrande de Rols (Nathalie Baye), whom he abandoned nearly a decade before. The villagers, especially Martin’s relatives, have their doubts as to whether this man who claims to be Martin Guerre is really who he says he is. But when Martin stakes a claim on his rightful inheritance and property, his Uncle Pierre Guerre (Maurice Barrier) makes an attempt on Martin’s life and files a formal complaint with authorities. What follows is an intense trial that must reveal all the truths.

Le Retour de Martin Guerre or The Return of Martin Guerre may not be remembered as the best of French cinema, but Daniel Vigne’s (a French television series director whose credits also include the TV series, “Highlander”) film captures its medieval French setting with stunning results. The rural atmosphere of the 16th Century village is palatable even as digital images. The costumes and sets are so convincing that they’re on the same level as the art direction and costumes in big, expensive Hollywood productions.

The actors all give bravura performances, and even Depardieu, screen hog that he is, is unable to steal the spotlight from his supporting performers, especially Roger Planchon as the justice Jean de Caros and Maurice Barrier as Martin’s uncle. I did, however, find the script a bit soft. Much of the story is told second hand, even some parts that would work better visually, and the romantic center of this film remains unrequited and oblique. But what is on the screen is so well done, so accomplished, and is as mesmerizing as the most intense mysteries and courtroom dramas that you can’t take your eyes off the screen. I recommend this to anyone who doesn’t mind reading subtitles because it’s as good as the best big Hollywood studio dramas.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1984 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Costume Design” (Anne-Marie Marchand)

1985 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign Language Film” (Daniel Vigne of France)

1983 César Awards, France: 3 wins: “Best Music-Meilleure musique” (Michel Portal), Best Original Screenplay-Meilleur scénario original et dialogues” (Jean-Claude Carrière and Daniel Vigne), and “Best Production Design-Meilleurs décors” (Alain Nègre); 1 nomination: “Most Promising Actor-Meilleur jeune espoir masculine” (Dominique Pinon)

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Queen Latifah Lovely in "Last Holiday"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 28 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


Last Holiday (2006)
Running time: 112 minutes (1 hour, 52 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some sexual references
DIRECTOR: Wayne Wang
WRITERS: Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman (based upon the screenplay by J.B. Priestley)
PRODUCERS: Laurence Mark and Jack Rapke
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Geoffrey Simpson, ACS
EDITOR: Deirdre Slevin

COMEDY with elements of adventure/drama/romance

Starring: Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Timothy Hutton, Gerard Depardieu, Alicia Witt, Giancarlo Esposito, Susan Kellermann, Jascha Washington, Michael Nouri, and Ranjit Chowdhry

Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah) lives a quiet life in New Orleans, La., where she is a shy cookware salesman for Kragen department store. Suddenly, one day, a company doctor diagnoses her with a rare and terminal disease of the brain, and she only has three weeks to live. Georgia, who has always lived her life in a box tucked inside her big dreams, decides to go out with a bang. She quits her job, cashes in her bonds and retirement accounts, and embarks on a vacation to the central European resort village of Karlovy Vary.

Georgia arrives at the Grandhotel Pupp having undergone a metamorphosis that, in turn, affects everyone around her, and her new, uninhibited personality shakes up hotel staff and guest alike. Georgia makes a bond with the hotel’s venerated chef, Didier (Gerard Depardieu), and even attracts the attention a Louisiana Congressman, Senator Dillings (Giancarlo Esposito), who is from her neighborhood. Coincidentally, Georgia also runs into her old retail magnate boss, Matthew Kragen (Timothy Hutton), and his besieged assistant/lover, Ms. Burns (Alicia Witt), who are both convinced that she is a business rival. In spite of all the attention she draws, Georgia enjoys the hotel’s snowy slopes, spectacular spas, delectable dinners, and midnight balls. Living a lifetime in the span of a few weeks, Georgia is about to get an even bigger surprise on New Years Day, as an old coworker, Sean Matthews (LL Cool J), arrives with a shocking announcement.

Last Holiday, a remake of a 1950 starring Sir Alec Guinness, is the perfect vehicle for Queen Latifah’s talents. Her abilities as a comic actress and her friendly, opening personality shine in this film, which might seem like piffle, but has some meat on it. Director Wayne Wang, known for his independent films like Smoke and Chinese Box, and for such mainstream, family friendly fare as Maid in Manhattan and Because of Winn-Dixie, smartly plays up to Latifah’s strengths, so where the film might falter on script or characters, it revives whenever the Queen is on stage.

And there are some weak characters. Timothy Hutton’s Matthew Kragen is the typical narcissistic antagonistic billionaire wannabe who, of course, has lost sight of what really matters in life; heck, it would be nice if he could just be nice to people. It’s no surprise that it is Georgia Byrd who will eventually help him see the light. Alicia Witt’s Ms. Burns is Kragen’s typically put upon assistant and sweet stuff on the side. I’ve always liked Alicia, and she does indeed give Ms. Burns, as she does with any character she plays, a bit of her distinctive personality. That’s kind of the same thing LL Cool J does. He may not be an A-list movie star, but the man is a good actor and belongs in movies. Giancarlo Esposito also makes the most of his underutilized character, Senator Dillings, just by doing his usual good work.

Ultimately, this is Queen Latifah’s show, and if you like her, you’ll really dig the charming Georgia Byrd with her effervescent personality. You’ll probably get a champagne kick out of this poignant, but more-sweet-than-sad film. The drama in Last Holiday might come across as a bit phony, but there is something honest and true about Georgia’s plight to finally stop waiting for life to happen and try to at least live part of her fondest wishes.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, February 4, 2006