"Rabbit Hole" trailer

Very interesting, which is good considering the length of the trailer and the heavy subject matter. What also surprises me is the the subdued yet somehow still intriguing use of "real life" colors. Funny, because the two clips released last month seemed so limited and almost drab in their color scheme. Regardless, Kidman, Eckhart, and Wiest all look really strong, and it will be exciting to see how this film factors into awards season. The big question mark will be whether Kidman can break into the crowded best actress field after such a long absence. AMPAS does love a "comeback" performance, even though Kidman was never really gone...

Toronto Review Round Up: "Rabbit Hole"

Despite turning in some strong work in the past few years, Nicole Kidman has unfortunately found herself in that category of recent Oscar winners who just can't seem to catch a break. Ever since Cold Mountain (2003) and Dogville (2003/4 depending on your preference), nearly everything film she's been part of has been met with either mixed or negative reviews (which is a shame; I actually liked Birth and Australia quite a bit). Her latest attempt to get back on everyone's good side is Rabbit Hole, John Cameron Mitchell's (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) directorial adaptation of David Lindsey-Abaire's critically acclaimed play (which won Cynthia Nixon a Tony). After missing out on the Cannes and Venice film festivals, the film, also starring Dianne Wiest, and Sandra Oh, has finally been shown before the public, and if you've been waiting for the start of a "Kidman comeback," you can finally breathe a sigh of relief, if the first reviews and audience reactions are any indication.

Cinema Blend's Katey Rich gets things off to a glowing start, praising Mitchell's direction for "[opening] up the story without ever overdoing it. Most importantly, he leaves room for his stupendous actors to take over." And as for flaws, Rich points them out, but makes them seem minor at most. She writes that "Not everything in Rabbit Hole avoids cliche - the one screaming and crying scene between Becca and Howie feels a little forced," and "while Lindsey-Abaire's writing can put too fine a point on things in some scenes, it frequently takes your breath away with its insight." The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt isn't quite as positive, claiming that the film is "a little too self-conscious for its own good" in that nearly every scene involves the tragedy that sets off the film. Still, he praises much of the writing, despite some of it being "heavygoing" in subject matter.

Of the performances he has much nicer things to say, especially of Kidman, whose performance he calls "riveting because she essentially plays the entire film at two levels." Over at Variety, Peter Debruge calls the film "refreshingly positive-minded" in its treatment of the grim subject matter, and praises the film's use of humor. Debruge also highlights Kidman and Eckhart's work, which he calls "expert [and] understated." Like Rich, Debruge says that the film has been "adroitly expanded" from the stage version, which certainly helps to erase those fears that the film's stage origins might feel too obvious. Finally, the Seattle Times' Moira Macdonald writes in her late-night festival summary, "Saw my last TIFF '10 movie this morning and it was a stunner: Rabbit Hole."

Additional Reviews:

RopeofSilicon: "These characters feel real and so does their sadness and the way they go about trying to cope. Instead of their grief wearing on you, you want to reach out and give them a hug."

Toronto Verdict: A largely successful transition from stage to screen, thanks in large part to Mitchell's direction, Lindsey-Abaire's adaptation of his own work, and an ensemble filled with terrific performances led by Kidman and Eckhart.

2010 Cannes Lineup

Sadly, no Tree of Life, though according to the SF article, there's a chance it could slip in as a last minute addition. After that extensive preview of what was likely to make it in, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that The Tempest, Rabbit Hole, and Black Swan aren't on the list. And wait a sec, weren't The Rum Diary and The Expendables supposed to be screened at Cannes (out of competition)?

Source: SlashFilm

IN COMPETITION

“Another Year,” U.K., Mike Leigh “Biutiful,” Spain-Mexico, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu “Burnt by the Sun 2,” Germany-France-Russia, Nikita Mikhalkov “Certified Copy,” France-Italy-Iran, Abbas Kiarostami “Fair Game,” U.S., Doug Liman “Hors-la-loi,” France-Belgium-Algeria, Rachid Bouchareb “The Housemaid,” South Korea, Im Sang-soo “La nostra vita,” Italy-France, Daniele Luchetti “La Princesse de Montpensier,” France, Bertrand Tavernier “Of Gods and Men,” France, Xavier Beauvois “Outrage,” Japan, Takeshi Kitano “Poetry,” South Korea, Lee Chang-dong “A Screaming Man,” France-Belgium-Chad, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun “Tournee,” France, Mathieu Amalric “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives,” Spain-Thailand-Germany-U.K.-France, Apichatpong Weerasethakul “You, My Joy,” Ukraine-Germany, Sergey Loznitsa

UN CERTAIN REGARD

“Adrienn Pal,” Hungary-Netherlands-France-Austria, Agnes Kocsis “Aurora,” Romania, Cristi Puiu “Blue Valentine,” U.S., Derek Cianfrance “Chatroom,” U.K., Hideo Nakata “Chongqing Blues,” China, Wang Xiaoshuai “The City Below,” Germany-France, Christoph Hochhausler “Film Socialisme,” Switzerland-France, Jean-Luc Godard “Ha Ha Ha,” South Korea, Hong Sang-soo “Les Amours imaginaires,” Canada, Xavier Dolan “Life Above All,” France, Oliver Schmitz “Los labios,” Argentina, Ivan Fund, Santiago Loza “Octubre,” Peru, Daniel Vega “Qu’est-il arrive a Simon Werner?,” France, Fabrice Gobert “Rebecca H.,” France, Lodge Kerrigan “R U There,” Taiwan, David Verbeek “The Strange Case of Angelica,” Portugal, Manoel de Oliveira “Tuesday, After Christmas,” Romania, Radu Muntean “Udaan,” India, Vikramaditya Motwane

OUT OF COMPETITION

“Robin Hood,” U.S.-U.K., Ridley Scott “Tamara Drewe,” U.K., Stephen Frears “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps,” U.S., Oliver Stone “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger,” U.K.-Spain, Woody Allen

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS

“Kaboom,” U.S.-France, Gregg Araki “L’autre monde,” France, Gilles Marchand

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

“Abel,” Mexico, Diego Luna “Chantrapas,” France, Otar Iosseliani “Draquila — L’Italia che trema,” Italy, Sabina Guzzanti “Inside Job,” U.S., Charles Ferguson “Nostalgia de la luz,” France, Patricio Guzman “Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow,” Netherlands, Sophie Fiennes

Read more: Cannes 2010 Lineup Announced; Terrence Malick’s ‘The Tree of Life’ Not on the List | /Film http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/04/15/cannes-2010-lineup-announced-terrence-malicks-the-tree-of-life-not-on-the-list/#ixzz0lBNVsOXL

Cannes 2010 Line Up: UPDATE

I'm kind of saddened to learn that both Black Swan and Rabbit Hole might not be totally ready; I was really eager to hear something about those two. Still, there are plenty of likely candidates which I'm more than a little interested in, especially Miral, Biutiful, The Fighter, and now Little White Lies, which I've only heard about just now, but the title and presence of Marion Cotillard have my interest piqued.

Source: IndieWire

Which other films are most likely to debut at the May fest? Sight unseen, I rank each of the indieWIRE 40 from 1 (least likely) to four (most likely) stars to wind up in the Cannes official selection. We will soon know.

Mike Leigh’s Another Year is a likely UK competition title. ****

Oren Peli’s follow-up to Paranormal Activity, Area 51, seems outside the Cannes sight lines to me, unless it fits into a midnight show or Director’s Fortnight. It’s hard to imagine it in competition. *

Aurora, directed by Cristi Puiu (The Death of Mr. Lazarescu a must-see) is a likely Romanian competition title. ****

The Beaver is not a far-fetched idea, because the Cannes programmers would want director Jodie Foster and star Mel Gibson on the red carpet, adding star lustre to their line-up—out of competition though. Summit will decide whether it serves their purposes to launch the film in Cannes: they won’t spend unless they believe the cash will come back. **

Biutiful from director Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu (now separated from Babel, Amores Perros and 28 Gramswriter Guillermo Arriaga, Inarritu wrote this with Armando Bo), is a natural for inclusion in the competition. I can’t wait. This is Focus International, not domestic. So Cannes makes sense as a strong launch pad for a North American distributor. And the fest will want Javier Bardem on the steps. ****

Darren Aronofsky’s $18-million Black Swan started shooting in December in Manhattan for Fox Searchlight and is nowhere close to ready, my sources say.*

French director Olivier Assayas (the fab Summer Hours) is a Cannes regular, so expectCarlos—a series of three 90-minute features—to be in the competition. IFC acquired the films at the AFM. ****

While it’s true that Cannes has played Sylvester Stallone movies in the past—I’ll never forget following Stallone up the Palais red carpet steps as he ascended to meet Elizabeth Taylor at the top, white dog in her arms, for Renny Harlin’s Cliffhanger—I highly doubt that his comeback bid The Expendables, which also stars Jason Statham and Jet Li, is on their must-see list. While I could imagine Lionsgate and all the foreign distributors wanting to make a market/press splash by showing some footage, the movie isn’t due to break worldwide until August. *

Is Doug Liman a Cannes auteur? Well, this political indie effort might fit the bill, and the fest might want to get Fair Game stars Penn and Naomi Watts for the Palais steps. Participant and River Road could use Cannes to find a distributor willing to pay for the film, although Bill Pohlad’s Apparition could do the honors. **

David O. Russell’s Flirting With Disaster did play Cannes in 2007 1996 in Un Certain Regard, so the fest could smile on Paramount’s The Fighter** (Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams). Long-delayed Nailed* (Jake Gyllenhaal-Jessica Biel), which lacks a distributor, could be tied up in bankruptcy court.

The Grand Master would be a natural competition title if Wong Kar-Wai is finished, but it’s slated for 2011 release in Hong Kong. **

Here, directed by documentarian-turned-feature-helmer Braden King and starring The Messenger’s Ben Foster, sounds like a strong candidate for Director’s Fortnight or Un Certain Regard. **

Clint Eastwood likes to bring his films to Cannes, so Hereafter could join Changelingand Mystic River there. And the Cannes brass would also be eager for Matt Damon to show. ***

Is Gregg Araki ready to make the transition to the Cannes competition (Smiley Faceshowed in Director’s Fortnight in 2007)? Kaboom could be it—or wind up back in the Fortnight. ***

Guillaume Canet’s Little White Lies starring Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard seems like a competition shoo-in. ****

While Director’s Fortnight discovered Xavier Dolan (Canadian Oscar submission I Killed My Mother), it’s hard to imagine the festival bumping him up with his follow-up, Love Imagined. It would help if he had notable cast. (It’s all about those Palais steps!) **

Robert Rodriguez was in Cannes competition with Sin City, but the fest wanted Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof without Rodriguez’s gorey Grindhouse contribution, Planet Terror. So Machete would seem to be in that vein and thus not a likely Cannes entry—except for one mitigating factor: Robert DeNiro. That could bring the movie into midnight contention. **

Meek’s Cutoff director Kelly Reichardt is just the sort of global critics’ darling that Cannes could bump from Un Certain Regard (Wendy and Lucy) to main competition. She’s due. ****

Julian Schnabel is already in the auteur club. If he’s finished with Jerusalem-set Miral, he’s in. ****

I loved Anh Hung Tran’s The Scent of Green Papaya. I agree with Brian Brooks:Norwegian Wood, starring Rinko Kikuchi, looks like a shoo-in for a competition slot.****

Francois Ozon’s Potiche looks likely too. ****

Word is that neither John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole* nor Bruce Robinson’s Rum Diary* will be done in time.

Danish director Susanne Bier should be a Cannes auteur; she was on the jury in 2008, but has never been in the competition. It’s time to redress that omission: she’ll be back in her native language with The Revenge. ***

Spain’s Julio Medem (the excellent Sex and Lucia) has also never been in the Cannes competition, but Room in Rome could change that, too. UPDATE: Word is this one won’t make it.*

If Cam Archer’s Shit Year, starring Ellen Barkin, ends up in the Cannes selection, it would probably be in Director’s Fortnight. *

In France, what Jean Luc Godard wants, he gets, so if he wants Socialisme, starring Patti Smith in this year’s fest, he’ll be in. ***

Somewhere starring Stephen Dorff, is directed by Cannes favorite Sofia Coppola, but she is due to give birth in late May, so Focus may debut this semi-autobiographical L.A. film at Venice and Telluride instead. *

Stephen Frears’ Tamara Drewe starring Gemma Arterton, would seem a natural (he’s had two films in competition), but the UK director would need to finish it in time. *

Julie Taymor may be ready to make her Cannes debut at long last with her latest Shakespeare film, The Tempest, starring Helen Mirren as Prospera. But Disney/Miramax is the distributor, which could be a problem. **

Three, from Germany’s Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola, Run) seems a likely competition entry, as it wasn’t finished in time for Berlin. ****

Showing animated features like last year’s opener Up out-of-competition is an honorable tradition at Cannes, and Pixar’s 3-D Toy Story 3 easily fits that niche. UPDATE: But it looks like it’s not happening.*

Assuming Terrence Malick feels ready to show The Tree of Life in May, it should be in the competition, with Pitt and Penn lending starry support. ***

Bela Tarr screened a rough cut of The Turin Horse in Budapest before Berlin, so signs look promising for a Cannes competition berth. ****

Gus Van Sant is always welcome on the Croisette, so assuming he’s done with his latest untitled film starring Mia Wasikowska, he’s a likely returning regular. ***

La Vida Util, from Federico Veiroj, would mark the Uruguayan director’s second Cannes entry, so signs looks good. ***

Oliver Stone’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps starring Michael Douglas and Carey Mulligan is in; Fox wants it out of competition. Too bad, Stone should be in with the auteurs with his first Cannes entry.****

Peter Weir marks his first film since Master & Commander with the 40s war prisoner-escape film The Way Back, starring Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, Ed Harris and Saoirse Ronan. Produced by Scott Rudin and National Geographic Films (now led by ex-Miramax chief Daniel Battsek), it is not clear who is distributing the film. The decision on Cannes has not yet been made. But it could be a strong launch for an eventual awards contender. UPDATE: Distribution uncertainty is undermining Cannes showing.*

Milk screenplay Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black makes his directorial debut withWhat’s Wrong with Virginia? That makes him a new kid on the block at Cannes—ripe for adoption and mentorship if the film is right. Ed Harris stars. ***

Word is, Woody Allen’s romantic comedy You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger starring Josh Brolin and Naomi Watts is definitely in. Allen usually screens out of competition.

New picture and article on "Rabbit Hole" (2010), including a first look at Aaron Eckhart

Source: The New York Times

WATCHING Nicole Kidman stroll unencumbered through the streets of Queens is like seeing an out-of-place apparition, Marilyn Monroe on the subway platform instead of on the grate above. Yet there she was, walking down Bell Boulevard in Bayside in a long flax-colored cardigan, hardly noticed by the locals one bright morning this summer.

No, Ms. Kidman doesn’t come to Queens often. But she gladly spent a few weeks around the borough filming “Rabbit Hole,” an adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer prize-winning drama about a fraying family. In the film version Douglaston stands in for Westchester, and Ms. Kidman toned down her glamour to play a suburban mother dealing with the loss of a child.

She took on another demanding new role as well, as a producer of the movie, the first from her production company, Blossom Films. With a modest budget of less than $10 million, a brisk 28-day shoot, a surprising director in John Cameron Mitchell, few frills (no trailers for the stars) and many interns, “Rabbit Hole” is more like an indie than a Hollywood production. Make no mistake: it was Ms. Kidman’s wattage that got it made, and quickly. But it does not yet have distribution.

“This is a passion project for Nicole,” Aaron Eckhart, who plays her husband, said after shooting a scene at Papazzio restaurant in Bayside. “The reason why I’m in the movie is Nicole. If she wants to work with somebody, then that’s what happens.”(Dianne Wiest, Tammy Blanchard and Sandra Oh are also in the cast.)

Mr. Mitchell noted that he received the call to direct in February and began working soon after. “That never happens,” he said, “but it was a priority for her.”

A downtown actor known for adapting his own often raucous and sexually explicit work — “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and “Shortbus” — Mr. Mitchell was an unorthodox choice to direct an intimate story about the differing ways a couple cope with the accidental death of their young son. (In fact he was the second unorthodox choice: Sam Raimi was originally attached, but withdrew to do the next “Spider-Man.”) And it was strange for him to want to do it. “It’s the first thing since ‘Hedwig’ 10 years ago that made me drop everything,” Mr. Mitchell said.

He was attracted by Mr. Lindsay-Abaire’s taut script, and by a personal connection. “When I was 14,” he said, “we lost our brother, who was 4, to a heart problem. It was a sudden, unexpected event. It defined a family forever and recovering from it was something we’re still doing.”

But Ms. Kidman said Mr. Mitchell hardly needed to pitch her to get the job. “He already had it,” even before the phone call when he told her his story, she said. “Talking to someone, I don’t think words and talking is ultimately the way that you choose to do a piece,” she added over a cappuccino in the back of the set. “It’s all based on a sensation, on an instinct. That’s what my whole life’s been based on, a gut instinct. And either it goes way off and it’s something else, or it’s exactly what I thought it would be, or it’s way more.”

Her instincts have not always served her well lately. Ms. Kidman’s last three big-budget films, “Australia,” “The Golden Compass” and “The Invasion” were box-office disappointments, and an auteur-directed indie, Noah Baumbach’s “Margot at the Wedding,” was a moderate success at best. So while her red-carpet appeal is undiminished (her life in Nashville with her husband, the country star Keith Urban, and their daughter, Sunday Rose, is still tabloid worthy), her big-screen clout may be. That there are fewer boutique studios releasing the “odd stories” Ms. Kidman says she’s interested in — Paramount Vantage, which distributed “Margot,” is much diminished, for example — means she may have a harder time following her gut.

“It’s definitely a rough time,” said Bob Berney, the former president of Picturehouse, a division of Time Warner that was shut down last year. “There’s fewer buyers than ever before. On the other hand, I think the market in terms of audience is stronger than ever, in terms of the number of theaters there are, in terms of people who are interested in something unique or different.” (Mr. Berney has just opened a new distribution company, Apparition.)

Blossom Films has a first-look deal with 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight specifically for “Rabbit Hole.” “We get to finish at the pace that we want to,” Ms. Kidman said, “and then if people respond to it, we get to place it somewhere, with people that we feel are as passionate about it as we are.”

Ms. Kidman did not see “Rabbit Hole” on Broadway in 2006, but after reading a review, she called Per Saari, Blossom Films’ producer, and he flew to New York from Los Angeles that night, he said. He saw the show, for which Cynthia Nixon won a Tony in the role of the grieving mother, and set up a meeting with Mr. Lindsay-Abaire. Ms. Kidman read the play and later saw an Australian production.

“When I first responded to it, it was because I read it, and it was about grief, which fascinates me,” she said. “Loss and love seem to be themes that run through my work.” This film is about “a marriage and the way that people fuse through pain, that you can either be pulled apart or you can come together. In the same way that ‘Birth,’ a film that I did, was about loss of the loved one who’s your partner in life, this is the most profound loss, and it’s the worst place to tread. And so my nature tends to be to explore something that I’m terrified of.”

Shooting a tense scene at the restaurant, Ms. Kidman and Mr. Eckhart remained in character between takes, continuing their conversation as husband and wife or staring intently down in concentration. Ms. Kidman didn’t deviate from the text, but made subtle changes in her inflection, giving the moment, in which she reveals that she no longer wants to attend a support group for grieving parents, a tinge of sadness or bitter resignation.

Asked if making a smaller-scale movie was a refreshing change, Ms. Kidman seemed to bristle. “I’ve always done them,” she said. “I mean, I won the Academy Award” — in 2003, for “The Hours” — “and I went straight into making ‘Birth.’ ”

True: for an A-list star, her career is a patchwork of quirky choices. And in conversation she was personable and down to earth, asking for recommendations of things to do in New York. “A good jazz club is what I need,” she said, “something that is really underground.”

Mr. Saari said she reminded him of his last boss, Robert Redford. “Redford has always had one foot outside of Hollywood,” he said. “I think Nicole, although she’s known to be a movie star, she has this independent spirit to her. It’s the same part of her that lives in Nashville and has a farm. She brings in these giant squash, and says, ‘Look what I grew in my garden.’ She wanted to enter them in a competition.”

Ms. Kidman said her goal with Blossom Films was to promote the vision of directors like Mr. Mitchell and writers like Mr. Lindsay-Abaire, who was surprised to find himself a part of the production even after he submitted his draft. “They haven’t changed anything without my permission, which in my experience never happens,” he said.

Of course vanity production companies in Hollywood are nothing new, nor are pet projects. Most of the films that Blossom is developing, including “The Danish Girl,” based on a novel about the first man to have a sex change operation, have roles for Ms. Kidman. (One that doesn’t is a remake of “How to Marry a Millionaire” in which a man is the gold digger; Ms. Kidman said it was her idea.) But surprise: Ms. Kidman said she has no plans to direct, though she would like to write. “I’m not interested in just producing movies,” she said. “I’m actually interested in protecting the material, because you don’t want this stuff to get hacked to pieces and commercialized and taken into a place that isn’t authentic and real.”

That may be true as an actor, but as a producer, doesn’t she want her films to be commercially successful? Ms. Kidman dismissed the question.

“Films are so ephemeral,” she said. “You can have all of the components and still miss horribly. That’s the beauty of art.”

John Cameron Mitchell talks about "Rabbit Hole" (2010)

First shots of Nicole Kidman on the set of "Rabbit Hole" (2010)

Still no available pictures of Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest, or anyone else for that matter.

Dianne Wiest and Tammy Blanchard join Kidman and Eckhart in "Rabbit Hole"

Source: TheaterMania.com

Oscar winner Nicole Kidman will be joined by Aaron Eckhart, Tammy Blanchard and fellow Oscar winner Dianne Wiest in the big-screen version of David Lindsay-Abaire's play Rabbit Hole, according to Variety. The film will be directed by John Cameron Mitchell, while Lindsay-Abaire will write the screenplay. No release date has been announced.

Rabbit Hole concerns a middle-aged couple whose life is destroyed when their young son is killed in a car accident.

The play, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, was seen on Broadway in 2006, starring Cynthia Nixon, who won the Tony Award for Best Actress.

Aaron Eckhart and Nicole Kidman go down "The Rabbit Hole"

Source: Variety

Aaron Eckhart is in talks to star opposite Nicole Kidman in the bigscreen adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire's Broadway play "Rabbit Hole."

John Cameron Mitchell ("Shortbus") is directing and Kidman's producing through her Fox-based Blossom Films banner. The deal for Eckhart comes two years after Kidman signed on (Daily Variety, Jan. 5, 2007).

More than one option

• (Co) Daily Variety
  Filmography, Year, Role
• (Co) Daily Variety

Olympus Pictures and Odd Lot Entertainment are financing and producing with Blossom. Besides Kidman, Per Saari will produce with Leslie Urdang and

Dean Vanech of Olympus and with Gigi Pritzker of Odd Lot. Bill Lischak and Linda McDonough will exec produce. A spring start is planned.

Lindsay-Abaire's adapting his story of a happily married couple whose lives are disrupted after their 4-year-old son is killed in a traffic accident and the redemptive journey they must undertake to regain happiness.

Eckhart's starring in "Rum Diary" alongside Johnny Depp, Richard Jenkins and Giovanni Ribisi.