Trailer for "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger"

While I'm not as excited as I was while this was being cast/filmed, there's always the chance that this will be more in the vein of Vicky Cristina Barcelona and less in the vein of Whatever Works. I like the cast a lot, and depending on the execution, it could be a breezy, enjoyable romp. However, some of the word from Cannes was that the film was quite somber, though to what degree was never specified.

Cannes Review Round-Up: Woody Allen's "You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger"

Welcome to the second installment of the hopefully many-part series detailing the "results" of the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Up next is Woody Allen's latest star-studded ensemble piece, You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger. Even though Nicole Kidman left the project, dashing the first possible chance for her to work with BFF Naomi Watts, it is the latest from Woody, which good or bad, usually means interesting. Continuing his European phase after Match Point, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, now Allen's in London. Judging from the first handful of reviews, the response has been nice, but nothing spectacular. The Hollywood Reporter calls the film "A serviceable Woody Allen comedy that trifles with its characters rather than engaging with them." Vanity Fair has a slightly different take; content-wise, that is. Julian Sancton says the film "is perhaps the most somber screening at Cannes." However, Sancton goes on to say that, like the film's press conference, the film was "the funniest and darkest at Cannes." Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman is less kind right from the get go; his article/post is titled "Mike Leigh scores and Woody Allen bores". The review doesn't let up, with such comments as, "The atrociously titled You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is one of Woody Allen’s “fables” — which is practically code, at this point, for the flavorless, dry- cookie thing that results when he writes and directs a comedy on autopilot," and, "There should, by now, be an award for worst actor forced to impersonate Woody Allen in a Woody Allen film. I would probably give the award to Kenneth Branagh in Celebrity (with Scarlett Johansson as a close runner-up in Scoop). But if Josh Brolin, in You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, doesn’t quite enter the make-it-stop stratosphere of whiny fumbling stuttering embarrassment, he’s still got to be the least likely actor yet to play a faux-Woody neurotic intellectual." Ouch.

[current] Cannes Verdict: A routine Woody Allen comedy/drama that is by no means essential viewing.

Clip from "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger"

There isn't a lot of personality in the clip, which was the opposite of when clips from Vicky Cristina Barcelona made their way to the internet, but I'm still interested in seeing this. Obviously Allen loves his neurosis-ridden protagonists, but I hope the film isn't 90 minutes of Watts and Banderas stammering awkwardly to each other. A little of that goes a llllllooooooooooooooong way. And is it wrong the the single-take-conversation shot sort of reminds me of this? Very different in tone, but something struck me as oddly similar...

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.

First poster for the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, featuring Juliette Binoche

With addition information on some prominent films that will be making appearences:

Source: FirstShowing.net

With the Cannes Film Festival only 45 days away from kicking off (I will be attending again this year), buzz about the line-up has started to build. Last week it was officially announced that Ridley Scott's Robin Hood would open the festival, the same honor that Pixar's Up had last at last year's fest. Anne Thompson at indieWIRE also names a few titles that she's heard will be heading to Cannes: Oliver Stone's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Woody Allen's You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, and of course, Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, which we've talked plenty aboutbefore, although none of them are official yet.

This will be the first time an Oliver Stone film has played at the festival, as far as I know, so congratulations to Stone. And although she mentions Tree of Life, apparently Malick still hasn't shown the film to Cannes yet (even though it's supposedly finished), but he will get in no matter what when/if he does show them. To go along with the debut of the official poster for the 63rd Cannes Film Festival, other prospectives (via The Playlist) include: Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, Bruce Robinson's The Rum Diary with Johnny Depp, and Amores Perrosdirector Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's film Biutiful.

There's also a rumor that because Juliette Binoche is on the poster this year, it may mean that her new film Certified Copy from Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami might show as well. Although we only know one film that is officially playing this year (Robin Hood), if the rest of this turns out to be accurate, it looks like it'll be a great year at Cannes this year. I had a amazing time last year and I'm already very excited about the prospective line-up this year. We'll be bringing you coverage of the fest along with SlashFilm, so although not many of you will be in Cannes with us, we'll do our best to report back on the must see films of the fest.

Read more: http://www.firstshowing.net/2010/03/28/cannes-prospectives-wall-street-2-woody-allen-tree-of-life/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+firstshowing+%28FirstShowing.net%29#ixzz0jZVgyPZ0film

First official still from Woody Allen's "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger"

For other pictures of the cast, including Anthony Hopkins, go here.

This is the case year by year with Woody Allen films, details are generally scant at first. But really, as much as we love the guy, the general stories of his films are never a big surprise by this point and such is the case with the newly revealed synopsis for "You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger." You can read the barebones studio-supplied description below:

"A little romance, some sex, some treachery and apart from that, a few laughs. The lives of a group of people whose passions, ambitions and anxieties force them all into assorted troubles that run the gamut from ludicrous to dangerous."

The vague synopsis of course also applies to more than a handful of Allen's films throughout his career and you could add some marital infidelity and neuroticism to the list. The title reportedly refers to a visit to a scene from early in the movie in which Naomi Watts' character visits a gypsy fortune teller who tells of her future romantic acquaintances. Perhaps we'll get some of the same light-hearted goofy mysticism that Allen presented in "Scoop" and "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion"?

As previously reported, the film also features Josh Brolin (playing the Allen character type) as a writer who enters an extra-marital affair. Allen described the film as "being amusing and also serious," so you can expect the sort of mixed moods that Allen often employs. In addition to Watts and Brolin, the London-set film features Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Freida Pinto, Lucy Punch, and Anna Friel. 'Stranger' is slated for a September 23rd release date with a rumored Cannes premiere.

Woody Allen's 2010 Project finally gets a title

Source: The Hollywood Reporter/Spill.com


The Hollywood Reporter says that the title of Woody Allen's new film is You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger.

The film stars Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Gemma Jones, Freida Pinto and Lucy Punch as different members of a family struggling with their tangled love lives and their attempts to try to solve their problems.

You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger is slated for release in fall 2010.