News

Candid Broads Productions and 222 Pictures have signed a transatlantic multi-picture co-pro deal.

Candid Broads Productions is a female-pioneering prod-co based in London and founded by Oriane Pick while 222 pictures is led by creative producer Sean Patrick Burke and executive producer Tiffany Burke.

The first project out of the gate is Mena Suvari starrer “Anatomy of the Sun,” a psychological thriller which also features Antoine Olivier Pilon. Written and directed by Steven Richter, the film stars Pilon as a music producer haunted by visions of his dead sister while Suvari plays his mother.

“222 Pictures has always prided itself on the collaborators we choose to work with. We are ecstatic about the opportunity to align visions with Candid Broads Productions and excited about years of amazing stories being told working with tremendous actors and filmmakers around the world,” said Sean Patrick Burke and Tiffany Burke.

Candid Broads Productions was launched...

Mena Suvari and Antoine Olivier Pilon (“French Girl”) have been cast as the leads in psychological drama “Anatomy of the Sun.”

The film, from writer and director Steven Richter, also features Iman Karram in a supporting role.

“Anatomy of the Sun” follows Alex (Pilon), a music producer who is haunted by visions of his dead sister as he tries to understand the details of her untimely demise. Suvari plays his mother Carol, who is also in the throes of grief.

Casting is underway for the role of Alex’s step-father Hector. Alexis Allen is overseeing casting for the project, which is in pre-production and scheduled to start shooting in the fall.

Richter’s 2011 feature “Center of Gravity” was nominated as Raindance’s Film of the Festival.

“I think of ‘Anatomy of the Sun’ as an immersive visual and sonic narrative experience that blurs reality and the natural dreamscapes of the mind,...

"Pop the question before she switches teams again!" Paramount Movies has revealed an official trailer for a romantic comedy called French Girl, a Canadian feature about a distinctly Canadian problem - what if you move up to a new city and almost everyone there speaks French, and you don't. Adorable. Or as they say in French, adorablé. Gordon, a hopeless romantic, finds his proposal plans are thrown into chaos when his girlfriend is swept away to Quebec City by a job offer from her ex, a sophisticated celebrity chef. Determined to keep their love alive, Gordon leaves Brooklyn for her hometown, only to find himself hilariously out of his depth in attempting to charm her hard-to-impress, French-speaking family. Zach Braff stars with Evelyne Brochu as his girlfriend Sophie, plus Luc Picard, Antoine Olivier Pilon, Isabelle Vincent, Charlotte Aubin, Muriel Dutil, with William Fichtner and Vanessa Hudgens. This looks mildly amusing...

The new romantic comedy feature “French Girl" is written and directed by James A. Woods and Nicolas Wright, starring Zach Braff, Evelyne Brochu, Luc Picard, Antoine Olivier Pilon, Isabelle Vincent, Charlotte Aubin, Muriel Dutil, with William Fichtner and Vanessa Hudgens, releasing March 15, 2024:

“….’Gordon’, a hopeless romantic, finds his proposal plans are thrown into chaos when his girlfriend is swept away to Quebec by a job offer from her ex, a sophisticated celebrity chef.

“Determined to keep their love alive, Gordon leaves Brooklyn for her hometown, only to find himself hilariously out of his depth in attempting to charm her hard-to-impress, French-speaking family.”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Lille, France – Producers, commissioning editors and creative talents from across La Belle Province took the spotlight at a Series Mania showcase of the best of recent Quebecois scripted offerings. Below are the seven series that drew whoops and appreciative hollers from a room full of international buyers.

Late summer doldrums, young adult love, and the generally placid rhythms of suburban life take on additional heft and resonance for a group of friends all suffering from cystic fibrosis – especially once one’s condition takes a turn for the worst. Far from jerking tears, the offbeat comedy “Thin Air” finds irreverent and life-affirming humor following young adult characters that feel the pangs of mortality more acutely than most. Produced by Urbania and created by acclaimed writer Jean-Christophe Réhel, the bittersweet series offers another plum role to “Mommy” star Antoine Olivier Pilon.

Produced by Saint Laurent TV and directed by Jean-Francois Rivard and Mathieu Cyr,...

Among authors who didn’t live to witness their own success, Louis Hemon is a particularly unfortunate case — his novel “Maria Chapdelaine” was published in 1913, the same year as his train-struck death. Thus he didn’t see it become an early Quebec-lit classic taught to generations of schoolchildren, published in translation worldwide or adapted into many other media over the past century. Among prior screen versions were two made in his native France, the 1934 one notable as Julien Duvivier’s first collaboration with Jean Gabin.

The slim book, drawing on adventure-seeking Hemon’s own experiences briefly working as a farmhand in the Lac Saint-Jean region, has been treated with less-than-strict fidelity by previous dramatists. Sebastien Pilote’s new film is probably the most faithful to date by far — though that isn’t entirely a plus. . It’s a well-produced episodic tale whose incidents and personalities remain too modest to sustain nearly three hours’ illustration,...

Roster includes Lantern’s Lane, Flee The Light.

Montreal-based WaZabi Films will launch sales on Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) world premiere selections Maria Chapdelaine from Sébastien Pilote and Ivan Grbovic’s Drunken Birds (Les Oiseaux Ivres).

Maria Chapdelaine will screen in Contemporary World Cinema and takes place in rural Quebec in the early 20th century where a teenage girl must choose one of three suitors. Pilote adapted the screenplay from Louis Hémon’s 1913 novel. WaZabi represents worldwide rights excluding Canada, where MK2|Mile End will distribute.

Pierre Even (War Witch) of Item 7 and Sylvain Proulx produced the film, which...

Antoine Olivier Pilon and Josh Hartnett are on good form as a heroin addict caught in police trap and the journalist who reports on the case

Pulpy, structurally a touch otiose, but eminently watchable throughout, this based-on-real-events crime drama tells two entwined stories. One is about a French-Canadian drug addict called Daniel Legér, a stand-in for actual historical figure Alain Olivier, who becomes the entrapped fall guy for a disastrous drug sting organised by Vancouver police officers in Thailand. The other half, snipped together via tricksy editing to disguise which events are taking place before the stories converge, is about the determined if showboaty journalist Victor Malarek (a role flatteringly filled by Josh Hartnett) who delved into Legér’s case.

Related: Josh Hartnett: 'People genuinely thought I'd been thrust on them'...

We are in Toronto 1989. Meet floppy haired, bearded Josh Harnett as Victor Malarek – an investigative reporter who isn’t afraid of following any story he thinks worthy and the type of man who would swerve a car out of the way of a cat – at face value a nice chap. After missing the birth of his daughter due to a lead, he becomes obsessed in exposing a heroin bust coordinated by bend coppers to frame an innocent man and ultimately leaving him to rot in a Thai prison. The man oozes confidence, knows what he wants and we quickly get a sense that he will expose this story no matter what it takes.

Daniel Roby, known for TV series Versailles takes on this inspired by real events narrative. Much like the pace of Versailles, Target Number One is dialogue heavy with lingering scenes which, in the main, keep you engaged.

Universal has debuted a new trailer for real-life crime actioneer ‘Target Number One’ starring Josh Harnett.

Inspired by true events, the film tells the shocking story of small-time drug addict, Daniel who naively took a minor job from dealer Glen Picker (played by stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan) and ends up unfairly thrown into a Thai prison with a 100-year sentence. The suspicious circumstances of his conviction grabs the attention of investigative Canadian journalist, Victor (Josh Hartnett; Penny Dreadful. 30 Days Of Night) who decides to take matters into his own hands. Unbeknown that he has a national scandal at his fingertips, when disturbing details of police corruption emerge, Victor must play a dangerous game to expose the twisted truth and fight for Daniel’s freedom.

Directed by Daniel Roby, the film stars Josh Harnett, Antoine Pilon and Jim Gaffigan.

Also in trailers – Vampires try to muscle in on The Bronx...

Saban Films is closing a deal for North American distribution rights to Love, Weddings & Other Disasters, a romantic comedy starring Oscar winners Diane Keaton and Jeremy Irons. Dennis Dugan wrote and directed the film, which is about the people who work on weddings to create the perfect day for a loving couple – while their own relationships are outlandish, odd, crazy, and far from perfect.

Maggie Grace, Jesse McCartney, Chandra West, Diego Boneta, Andrew Bachelor, and Veronica Ferres round out the cast.

Dugan produced the film along with Align’s Adrian Politowski and Martin Metz, and Fortitude International’s Nadine de Barros. Executive Producer is SquareOne Entertainment’s Al Munteanu.

Bill Bromiley and Jonathan Saba negotiated the deal for Saban along with The Gersh Agency and Endeavor Content on behalf of the filmmakers. Fortitude International is handling foreign rights.

In addition to Love, Weddings & Other Disasters, Saban’s upcoming...

Jim Gaffigan and Antoine Olivier Pilon dissect their roles in the new crime drama, Most Wanted, and how they related to them in a new uInterview. The movie is based on a true story of an innocent man (Pilon) who had been wrongly taken down by dirty cops as a powerful drug kingpin, and the […]

The post Video Exclusive: Jim Gaffigan & Antoine Olivier Pilon Explain Why They Relate To Their ‘Most Wanted’ Characters appeared first on uInterview.

There’s a frustrating element to watching a film that is only partly effective. Certain elements draw you in, while others push you away. Sometimes that can be a content issue, but in the case of Most Wanted, it’s more just in how the story is being told. The dramatic elements, the crime elements, the thriller elements, they’re all there. They just never get the full attention that they deserve. In telling a split narrative, filmmaker Daniel Roby doesn’t give any element enough focus, presenting them as pieces, which prevents them from landing with their intended impact. Undoubtedly, the intentions here were good, but that alone does not a good bit of cinema make, sadly. The movie is a crime drama/thriller, based on a true story. Told in fragments, we follow three plot strands that eventually come together. For ex heroin junkie Daniel Léger (Antoine Olivier Pilon), staying clean is hard,...

Directed and penned by Daniel Roby, Most Wanted centers on Daniel Léger (Antoine Olivier Pilon), a drug addict who becomes the victim of a drug deal that lands him in a Thai prison. With corrupt drug dealers (Jim Gaffigan) and agents (Stephen McHattie) using him as a pawn, it’s up to journalist Victor Malarek (Josh [...]

The post Antoine Olivier Pilon Explores New Acting Challenges With ‘Most Wanted’ Journey appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

It feels like a good time to release a film that depicts a deeply corrupt, miscalculated miscarriage of justice perpetrated by law enforcement officials. Most Wanted, written and directed by Daniel Roby, tells the real-life (though fictionalized for dramatic purposes) story of Alain Olivier and his tragic stint in Bang Kwang prison after being arrested for selling drugs. You see, young Alain was a victim of entrapment by the Rcmp (Royal Canadian Mounted Police).

Roby renames his Olivier character Daniel Leger, played with heavy pathos by Antoine Olivier Pilon. Set in British Columbia, Daniel is a young man with a drug addiction and no money, who soon gets roped into a low-level criminal enterprise led by Picker. Some time later, investigative journalist Victor Malarek (Josh Hartnett) sniffs out something rotten in the Leger story the Rcmp are selling. Ambitious to a fault, Malarek barely convinces his editor (J.C. MacKenzie) to pursue the lead.

Saban Films has acquired the North American and U.K. rights to Jared Cohn’s “Reactor,” starring Bruce Willis. The Exchange is handling international sales at the Cannes Market.

“Reactor” follows a former soldier as he takes down a gang of mercenaries whose leader’s (Willis) lust for revenge leads to him holding a nuclear power plant hostage.

Cohn (“Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash”) wrote the script along with Cam Cannon (“USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage”), and Stephen Cyrus Sepher (“Heist”).

Almost Never Films’ Danny Chan and Danny Roth, 308 Entertainment’s Corey Large and Johnny Messner are producing with executive producer Steven Eads.

The film marks Saban’s second collaboration with Willis, Roth and Large in the past year, having recently acquired “Breach.”

Saban’s Bill Bromiley commented: “Bruce continues to be a leader in the action genre, and we could not be more...

The trailer for “Most Wanted” brings up two major questions. What the hell happened to Antoine Olivier Pilon after “Mommy?” And whatever happened to Josh Hartnett? Well, the long answer is, Pilon, after his breakout role in the Xavier Dolan film, never seemed to bag any major roles until now. And Harnett is an interesting tale of almost-super-stardom. A young actor offered countless major roles at the height of his fame, including infamously turning down “Superman Returns.” His career never really recovered — though there are some films like “Lucky Number Slevin,” “Pearl Harbor” and perhaps most famously, “Virgin Suicides” to speak of.

Continue reading ‘Most Wanted’ Trailer: ‘Mommy’s’ Antoine Olivier Pilon & Josh Hartnett Track The Drug Deal From Hell at The Playlist.

In today’s film news roundup, film commissioners have teamed up to launch a production resource service with information related to the Covid-19 pandemic, Dave Franco’s “The Rental” finds a home, Saban Films will release “Most Wanted” in the summer and the Sun Valley Film Festival unveils its winners.

Initiative

The Association of Film Commissioners International is launching the Afci Global Production Alert service, providing updated information on coronavirus-related policies and restrictions worldwide.

The organization, which represents more than 300 film commissions on six continents, unveiled the initiative Thursday on its website. The goal is to ensure that film and TV production industry decision makers have the information they need to make informed decisions during and following the pandemic along with preventing misinformation, speculation and confusion about Covid-19’s impact. Information in the Global Production Alert is provided directly by Afci-member film offices

“Afci’s new Global Production Alert provides...

Caramel Films serves as producer.

Saban Films will distribute in the Us the Josh Hartnett crime thriller Most Wanted, which the company boarded at script stage with previously unannounced Highland Film Group.

The latter handles international sales on the film, which Daniel Roby wrote and directed, and André Rouleau and Valérie d’Auteuil produced through their Caramel Films.

In Most Wanted, previously known as Gut Instinct, Hartnett plays an investigative journalist who tries to free a man from a Thai jail after he was coerced by undercover police into carrying out a drug deal. Jim Gaffigan and Antoine Olivier Pilon round out the key cast.

Caramel Films serves as producer.

Saban Films will distribute in the Us the Josh Hartnett crime thriller Most Wanted, which the company boarded at script stage with previously announced Highland Film Group.

The latter handles international sales on the film and partnered with Saban Films at script stage.

Hartnett plays an investigative journalist who tries to free a man from a Thai jail after he was coerced by undercover police into carrying out a drug deal. Jim Gaffigan and Antoine Olivier Pilon round out the key cast.

Daniel Roby wrote and directed Most Wanted, and André Rouleau and Valérie d’Auteuil produced through their Caramel Films.

Saban Films has acquired the Daniel Roby-directed Most Wanted starring Josh Hartnett, Antoine Olivier Pilon (Mommy) and Jim Gaffigan (Chappaquiddick). The crime-thriller will debut in the U.S. this summer. André Rouleau and Valérie d’Auteuil produce the film under their Caramel Films banner. Saban Films teamed with Highland Film Group on the project.

Inspired by a true story and written by Roby, Most Wanted follows an investigative journalist (Hartnett) as he unravels a twisted case of entrapment wherein a guy from the wrong side of the tracks, Daniel (Pilon), is forced into a dangerous drug deal against his will and is sentenced to 100 years in a Thai prison. As Daniel endures torture and abuse, the journalist must track down the shady undercover cops benefiting off the conspiracy, while also fighting for Daniel’s freedom.

Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley said, “We are so proud to have been involved with this film since its early stages. Our audiences will be captivated by every twist and turn of this gripping story as Daniel Roby does a brilliant job bringing it to life.”

Bill Bromiley and Jonathan Saba negotiated the deal for Saban Films along with Highland Film Group’s Arianne Fraser on behalf of the filmmakers. Executive Producers are Highland Film Group’s Delphine Perrier, Arianne Fraser and Henry Winterstern, Goldrush Entertainment’s Eric Gozlan and Richard Iott, Les Films Seville’s Patrick Roy and Anne-Claire Villeneuve, Daniel Roby, Yvann Thibaudeau and Marc Côté. Highland Film Group is handling international sales.

Saban Films has acquired the rights to the crime-thriller “Most Wanted,” which stars Antoine Olivier Pilon, Jim Gaffigan and Josh Hartnett, the distributor announced Thursday. It will distribute the film in the U.S. this summer.

Daniel Roby wrote and directed the thriller that’s based on a true story. André Rouleau and Valérie d’Auteuil produced under their Caramel Films banner. Executive producers are Highland Film Group’s Delphine Perrier, Arianne Fraser and Henry Winterstern, Goldrush Entertainment’s Eric Gozlan and Richard Iott, Les Films Seville’s Patrick Roy and Anne-Claire Villeneuve, Daniel Roby, Yvann Thibaudeau and Marc Côté.

“Most Wanted” follows an investigative journalist (Hartnett) as he unravels a twisted case of entrapment in which Daniel (Pilon) is forced into a dangerous drug deal and is sentenced to 100 years in a Thai prison. As he endures torture and abuse, the journalist has to track down the shady cops and fight for Daniel’s freedom.

Corey Marr, Marie-Claude Poulin, Martina Niland produce comedy-drama inspired by work of Leonard Cohen.

Brian Gleeson has boarded Corey Marr Productions’ Death Of A Ladies’ Man, which Celluloid Dreams is introducing to worldwide buyers in Cannes next week.

Matthew Bissonnette will direct and the producers have earmarked an autumn start in Montreal and the West Coast of Ireland.

Gleeson joins Antoine Olivier Pilon and Gabriel Byrne on the comedy drama inspired by the work of Leonard Cohen and featuring many of his most popular songs.

Byrne will play Samuel O’Shea, a university poetry professor whose life of exuberant womanising,...

Title taken from 1977 album by Leonard Cohen, who gave blessing to the project before his death.

Celluloid Dreams has acquired world sales rights on Matt Bissonnette’s Death Of A Ladies’ Man starring Irish actor Gabriel Byrne as a hard-drinking, womanising, university poetry professor who unexpectedly finds love when he retreats to a shack in Ireland after discovering he has a brain tumour.

Bissonnette, whose credits include the 2009 comedy drama Passenger Side, will direct from his own script. Other cast members include Quebecois actor Antoine-Olivier Pilon, best-known for his award-winning performance in Mommy.

The film is a Canadian-Irish co-production produced by Bissonnette’s long-time collaborator Corey Marr, respected Canadian producer Marie-Claude Poulin and Ireland’s Martina Niland.

Byrne’s character Samuel O’Shea has seen better days as the film opens. His second marriage is ending and he has started seeing strange things such Frankenstein sidling up to him in a bar, or his much-missed...

Title taken from 1977 album by Leonard Cohen, who gave blessing to the project before his death.

Celluloid Dreams has acquired world sales rights on Matt Bissonnette’s Death Of A Ladies’ Man starring Irish actor Gabriel Byrne as a hard-drinking, womanising, university poetry professor who unexpectedly finds love when he retreats to a shack in Ireland after discovering he has a brain tumour.

Bissonnette, whose credits include the 2009 comedy drama Passenger Side, will direct from his own script. Other cast members include Quebecois actor Antoine-Olivier Pilon, best-known for his award-winning performance in Mommy.

The film is a Canadian-Irish co-production produced by Bissonnette’s long-time collaborator Corey Marr, respected Canadian producer Marie-Claude Poulin and Ireland’s Martina Niland.

Byrne’s character Samuel O’Shea has seen better days as the film opens. His second marriage is ending and he has started seeing strange things such Frankenstein sidling up to him in a bar, or his much-missed...

Exclusive: As the Afm gears up, Highland Film Group has boarded worldwide rights on Josh Hartnett-starrer Gut Instinct. Directed and written by Daniel Roby (Versailles), the crime thriller also stars Antoine-Olivier Pilon (Mommy). Based on a true story, the film follows an investigative journalist (Hartnett) who unravels a twisted entrapment case wherein a guy from the wrong side of the tracks, Daniel (Pilon), is forced into a dangerous drug deal and then sentenced to…...

A coming-of-age sports movie meets a tale of cyberbullying, sexuality and even a homemade bomb in actor-director Yan England’s well-performed feature debut, 1:54. Anchored by a fierce lead turn from Mommy star Antoine Olivier Pilon, this timely Quebecois drama can sometimes creep too far into afterschool special territory, but the intense emotions on display give it a certain raw staying power. Opening in France after a minor festival run, the film could find more theatrical action in Francophone markets and relays on the small screen throughout the world.

It’s not always easy to tell where things are headed in 1:54....

Antoine Olivier Pilon has a naturally defensive presence. Previously the breakout from Xavier Dolan’s caustic melodrama Mommy, his body language is less reactionary than compensatory. When he responds, it’s like the pull of a slingshot, a persistent clenching that the audience worries will never unleash. From the first moment he’s seen on screen in Yan England’s debut, 1:54, he’s fighting at unseen expectations of the universe.

Unfortunately, Pilon’s performance is by far the most engaging part of the film, a restless but ultimately familiar crossbreeding of coming-out experience, after school special, and sports achievement story. As the film begins, Tim (Pilon) spends his days in social isolation, creating science experiments with his best friend, Francis (Robert Naylor), in the hopes that they will impress their classmates. But Tim is developing other feelings for Francis, as seen in a charged moment where Tim hovers over the sleeping Francis,...

Exclusive: Film starring Xavier Dolan collaborator Antoine Olivier Pilon has just opened in French-speaking Canada to strong reviews and box office.

TF1 Studio (previously TF1 International) has acquired world sales rights for Canadian actor and director Yan England’s bullying drama 1:54.

It is the debut feature film of England who was nominated for an Oscar in 2013 in the best live action short film category for Henry.

Canadian actor Antoine Olivier Pilon, best known internationally for his performance in Xavier Dolan’s Mommy, plays 16-year-old Tim, a shy, young man gifted with a natural athletic ability for running.

His time at school has been difficult, however, due to the bullying behaviour of some of his team mates on the school athletics team lead by Jeff and his followers. Sick of feeling like a loser, Tim decides to stand up to Jeff and dethrone him in the 800-metre race, a track event in which Jeff has always championed...

La tête haute (Standing Tall)

Directed by Emmanuelle Bercot

Written by Emmanuelle Bercot, Marcia Romano

France, 2015

Perhaps it’s an unfortunate coincidence for the festival opener, French social drama La Tête Haute, that it follows but a year after the adulation apparently garnered by Xavier Dolan’s Mommy at last year’s festival – while the flamboyant Quebec drama received 10 minutes’ standing ovation, this year’s press screening of the more down-to-earth underprivileged mother-son duo from Dunkerque was met by a total of two claps and a single boo…

The film stars newcomer Rod Paradot as Malony, a delinquent ‘white-trash’ teenager, Sara Forestier as his rotten-tooth semi-junkie mother, Catherine Deneuve as an infinitely patient, rational but clement children’s judge, and Benoît Magimel as a badly-aging social worker. We first meet Malony as a six-year old in the judge’s office, where his own mother declares him a monster and abandons...

[Editor's Note: This post is presented in partnership with Time Warner Cable Movies On Demand in support of Indie Film Month. Today's pick, "Mommy" is available now On Demand. This interview originally ran in January.] Since winning the Jury Prize at Cannes this past year, you'd think Xavier Dolan would be happy to take a break. After all, the 25-year-old French-Canadian, whose latest endeavor "Mommy" is finally making its way stateside after garnering raves and becoming a box office success in Canada, has written and directed five films since turning 19; he's starred in a couple as well. But, it looks like he has no plans to stop.  Read More: Cannes Review: Is Xavier Dolan's 'Mommy' His Best Film? "Mommy," which opens in the U.S. on January 23, explores at the relationship between a struggling, widowed mother (Anne Dorval), her volatile son (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) and a neighbor (Suzanne Clément) who is eager to help. In...

Our resident VOD expert tells you what's new to rent and/or own this week via various Digital HD providers such as cable Movies On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical exclusives for rent, priced from $3-$10, in 24- or 48-hour periods The Boy Next Door (cougar-in-peril thriller; Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman; rated R) The Gambler (drama; Mark Wahlberg, Jessica Lange, Brie Larson; rated R) Paddington (family; Nicole Kidman, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville; rated PG) The Wedding Ringer (comedy; Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting; rated R) Mommy (drama; Anne Dorval, Antoine-Olivier Pilon; rated R)   Streaming/Digital Download: Rent from $4-$7 or own...

Read More...

Director: Xavier Dolan; Screenwriter: Xavier Dolan; Starring: Anne Dorval, Antoine-Olivier Pilon, Suzanne Clément; Running time: 139 mins; Certificate: 15

Xavier Dolan, the 25-year-old wunderkind with four Cannes-nominated gems under his belt, made his 2009 debut with the audacious bio-drama J'Ai Tué Ma Mère (translation: I Killed My Mother). While the theme of maternal violence looms large in his brash, bold new Mommy, its direction is more ambiguous, with an aggressive son pushing his equally fiery mother well past the end of her tether.

Anne Dorval (who also starred in Dolan's debut) is captivating as Diane, a widowed single mother struggling beneath the burden of raising her Adhd-afflicted son Steve (Antoine Olivier Pilon) who has been expelled from yet another juvenile detention facility. An opening title card pointedly sets the story in a near-future Canada, where a controversial law has been passed allowing parents to easily have their unruly children committed to brutal government custody.

In this excerpt from the Guardian film show, Henry Barnes, Catherine Shoard and Peter Bradshaw review Mommy, Xavier Dolan's romantic drama about a hyperactive teenager who is home-schooled by his mum after setting fire to a juvenile facility. Mommy, which stars Anne Dorval and Antoine-Olivier Pilon and won the jury prize at last year's Cannes, is released in the UK on Friday Continue reading...

★★★★★ Prodigious Canadian director Xavier Dolan returned to Cannes last year with his most accomplished film to date, the marvellously cinematic spectacle Mommy (2014), which now arrives on British screens. Set in Canada in 2015, where laws have been changed to make it easier for parents to institutionalise their problem children, Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) is one such case. Like a young Jamie Oliver on amphetamines, Steve is diagnosed with Adhd and is a boisterous, aggravating, self-destructive, amusing and occasionally dangerous teenager. Expelled from a home due to a particularly nasty arson attack which saw another inmate severely burned, Steve is taken home by mother Diane (Anne Dorval).

We got a first look at festival favourite Xavier Dolan’s latest, Mommy, at last year’s Cannes. It’s taken nearly a year for the film to reach our cinemas, but it’s due next month and there’s a trailer online to prove it. Mommy is the story of Diane “Die” Després (Anne Dorval), a Quebec widow who, at the beginning of the film, collects her son Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) from a care home. Steve is a dropout and a delinquent, it seems, but soon we learn that he suffers from an extreme case of Adhd, which poses greater and greater and problems for Diane. It’s a tough time for both of them at least until shy neighbour Kyla (Suzanne Clément) gains Steve’s trust and becomes a close friend and helper. Dolan, who serves as writer, producer, director, editor and costume designer here, shoots everything in...

March 6

Chappie

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Dev Patel

Running time: Tbc

Certificate: Tbc

Kill the Messenger

Director: Michael Cuesta

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Robert Patrick

Running time: 112 mins

Certificate: 15

Still Alice

Director: Wash Westmoreland, Richard Glatzer

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Julianne Moore

Running time: 101 mins

Certificate: 12A

Unfinished Business

Director: Ken Scott

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Dave Franco

Running time: Tbc

Certificate: Tbc

White Bird in a Blizzard

Director: Gregg Araki

Starring: Eva Green, Shailene Woodley

Running time: 91 mins

Certificate: 15

March 13

Far from the Madding Crowd

Director: Thomas Vinterberg

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts

Running time: Tbc

Certificate: Tbc

Run All Night

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Starring: Liam Neeson, Joel Kinnaman

Running time: Tbc

Certificate: Tbc

Suite Française

Director: Saul Dibb

Starring: Margot Robbie, Michelle Williams

Running time: 107 mins

Certificate: 15

Top Five

Director: Chris Rock

Starring: Chris Rock, Rosario Dawson

Running time: 102 mins

Certificate: 15

March 20

Insurgent

Director: Robert Schwentke

Starring: Shailene Woodley,...

Alain Guiraudie’s Stranger by the Lake leads the pack in this year’s International Cinephile Society Awards with nine nominations, while Xavier Dolan’s Mommy (a film considered a 2014 release but landed theatrically last month) places 2nd, with eight total noms. The Grand Budapest Hotel, Under the Skin and Boyhood all placed well and should effectively land wins in the multiple categories below. The winners of the 12th Ics Awards will be announced on the 20th. Here are the noms:

Picture

• Boyhood

• The Grand Budapest Hotel

• Goodbye to Language

• The Immigrant

• Inherent Vice

• Mommy

• Mr. Turner

• Only Lovers Left Alive

• Stranger by the Lake

• Two Days, One Night

• Under the Skin

Director

• Xavier Dolan – Mommy

• Jonathan Glazer – Under the Skin

• Jean-Luc Godard – Goodbye to Language

• Alain Guiraudie – Stranger by the Lake

• Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Film Not In The English Language

• Force Majeure

• A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night...

Manuel here trying to turn this wet and slushy frown upside down with some help from the movies.

Um...

As Nat noted this weekend, that might be one of the better responses to an alleged Oscar snub in recent memory but as with all "snubs," we have the films and boy has Xavier Dolan's Mommy seared itself into my brain. And so I'm using it today to help me brave this icy, cold, rainy weather we're having in the North East today (anyone buried under lots of snow?)

One of the best scenes in Dolan's film is set to Céline Dion's "On Ne Change Pas" and that song has been in constant rotation on my Spotify ever since (actually all of the songs from that film have!) Dolan has quite the gift for pairing radio-stamped hits with transgressively appealing scenes that don't just work as stylistic juxtapositions but as helpful characterizations.

Chicago – One of the odd unexplainable quirks of human existence is the shaping, variations and thoughts of our inner being. The physicality in the structure of the grey matter of the brain, with the slightest imperfection, can make the difference in a lifetime of behavior and perspective. Sometimes it can work out, and sometimes different consequences are created or destroyed, like the story of Diane Després in “Mommy.”

Rating: 4.0/5.0

This is an amazing story, based on a true incident, involving the Canadian mental health system. Diane “Die” Després raised a mentally maladjusted son, who was institutionalized with severe hyperactivity disorder, until his ejection from the system forced her to make a decision. At 15, a mother and child reunion takes place, a last ditch attempt to socialize her difficult boy. The story that writer/director Xavier Dolan fashions is about the value of fellow travelers and the freedom of looking at things differently.

It’s hard not to empathize with this troubled teen and his equally mercurial mother, but the writer-director undercuts his characters by wallowing in classist squalor

The artist shows us the world and demands that we face its injustices and explore our own role in perpetuating them. The brat, meanwhile, sulks in his room and grumbles, “The world sucks, man.”

Writer-director Xavier Dolan wears both hats in his latest film, “Mommy,” which wavers between gritty, poignant drama and a wallow in how much it sucks to be poor and to wear unattractive clothes. (It’s the same kind of classist...

If one examines the women and young men that take part in Xavier Dolan's often luscious, but always beautifully hard-hitting emotional adventures, it’s not difficult to come to the conclusion that his cinema is a choreographed dance between energy and truth. His dosage is precise, although it looks absolutely spontaneous. Every move is fueled by his characters unavoidable necessity to live on the edge of self-destruction while holding on tight to their very unique version of what it means to be loved. His actors are fully exposed showing a raw sensibility, which is only possible because Dolan is himself unapologetic and brutally sincere.

In his latest passionate frenzy, “Mommy,” the young filmmaker assembles a film that is purely intoxicating by aligning his talent to mold performances with an exotically rich audiovisual palette. Celine Dion, Lana del Rey, and Oasis’ music have never felt more poetic than when Dolan uses them to make heartbreaking, memorable moments in his protagonists' lives. Die (Anne Dorval), an unconventional mother, and her unstable son Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon), befriend their gentle neighbor Kyla (Suzanne Clément). Out of this concoction of distinct personalities a rare, delicate potion emerges that brims with hope, hate, disappointment, and indomitable love.

We recently had the chance to talk to the talented director about his internationally acclaimed, but very personal film.

Carlos Aguilar: You’ve worked with Anne Dorval before, and in that previous occasion she also played a mother who had an unusual relationship with his son. What did you envision when casting her for the role in “Mommy”?

Xavier Dolan: The motivation or what I wanted to achieve with that character was to offer a vehicle for [Anne Dorval] to explore completely different things to those she had explored in “ I Killed My Mother” and that she’s been exploring her entire life. As a director you want to have actors, not only surpassing themselves, but also going somewhere, going different places. A lot of choices were made in order to create a character as different as possible from the character she played in “I Killed My Mother.”

Aguilar: The music choices in the film fit perfectly with its tone and the emotional sensibility of the characters. They are pop songs that are transformed into something more profound through their ordeal.

Xavier Dolan: I think the idea was to just please people. I wanted to have music that made sense for the characters, emotionally speaking. It’s music that would elicit emotion without trying too hard. The music all comes from this mix-tape that’s been given by the father. Steve’s father made a mix-tape based on whatever songs they heard while driving on a road trip in California. The three of them went on this road trip before he died and he made a mix-tape with all the songs from that road trip. That’s what Die explains in that Celine Dion scene. That’s where the songs come from. It’s a way to use music that’s diagetic. It’s not me playing music on the film. It’s music playing in the film. The characters are in sole control of that soundtrack.

Aguilar: Besides writing and directing, you’ve acted in several of your films before. How do you differentiate between your roles as a director and as an actor? Which one is the most rewarding?

Xavier Dolan: I don’t need to over think that. A lot of people have asked me that question, but the truth is there is no such thing as dividing your brain into two halves. I don’t think, “Now I’m a director” or “Now I’m an actor.” You are all at once. As much as I’m a director I’m also a costume designer and an editor. I’m editing the movie as I’m directing the movie. I’m simultaneously editing the movie thinking,” Is this going to work?” Acting is just another field, but it’s the most important and largest field in filmmaking to me. It occupies the most space in my heart and my brain. Acting is everything to me and it’s at the core of every decision. Whatever importance costumes, details, lights, camera, dialogue and everything else have, if the acting is bad, cheap, or overdone everything else is just gone.

Aguilar: On that note, can you tell about the work you do with your actors? Do you put yourself in their position and wonder how you would bring that certain character to life?

Xavier Dolan: We create the characters together. I give them all of my ideas as an actor myself. I share all of my idea. I direct a scene not as I would direct it but as I would act it. What motivates every other decision artistically or technically is the acting. This is what motivates everything. Never can a camera move be incompatible with the emotion of the actor at that moment. The movement, the style, the atmosphere, everything is dictated by the actor. Everything has to be compatible with what the actor is feeling and what the actor is doing. It’s got to be symbiotic.

Aguilar: Among the narrative devices you utilize the notable manipulation of the aspect ratio is definitely a brilliant stand out.

Xavier Dolan: It mirrors how he feels and how the story feels. I would have never done that in a moment where it would have been only about me as a director or an artist doing that. There is no point in that. I’m not doing it, he is doing. The character is doing it.

Aguilar: It seems like your characters are driven by uninhibited emotion, does this decision come from a personal place? How much of yourself is in your characters, particularly in Steve?

Xavier Dolan: Steve is the character that is most like me. I can be very violent and very angry. I have a lot of angst in me and sometimes I don’t know how to dispose of that angst and anger.

Aguilar: “The Death and Life of John F. Donovan” will be your English-language debut and you will also be working with a bigger budget. Are you afraid of having less creative freedom?

Xavier Dolan: Is not about freedom. I couldn’t afford to do something in a context in which I would have less freedom. I wouldn’t want to do whit typical clichéd mistake of the foreign director or actor venturing into new, foreign territory and trying to go American. I want to do things my way, with the people I love, and who I’ve been working with for a long time. I think of it as my next film, not as an American movie. I treat this movie like I treat every other movie.

Aguilar: Despite their evidently flawed relationships with others and with themselves, your characters exude honesty. The unapologetic way with which they take on their imperfect lives is an intense thing to witness.

Xavier Dolan: Yes, I try to be honest. I try to treat the characters in an honest way. They fully embrace who they are and they fully accept it. They have no shame. They’re fierce. I don’t treat characters like figurines that you can mock or place in a corner and observe, or prey on like you are camera looking at an animal in a cage. I hate treating characters like that.

Aguilar: Is there room for improvisation in your approach?

Xavier Dolan: Of course, constantly. Whether is on my end as both a director and an actor who is giving cues to other actors to add a certain line or to do things a certain way like looking at through the window, and sighting, and whispering, and then furrowing their brow. There is always improvisation whether is on my end or their end.

Aguilar: What would you like to do as an actor? What kind of films would you like to pursue?

Xavier Dolan: Act, just act. I’d like to do something meaningful in the smallest ways, not just words or idiotic writing. I’d love to perform with other actors and act with actors, true actors. I would like to be in a movie and have full room for acting. I’d like to be taken in charge of as an actor, not to be abandoned with asinine dialogue and meaningless actions or stereotyped characters. I’d like to feel like I’m in a character driven story.

Aguilar: What directors would you like to work with?

Xavier Dolan: I’d like to work with Alfonso Cuaron, Inarritu, Paul Thomas Anderson, or Scorsese. Directors who are not afraid of emotions.

Aguilar: “Mommy” is a devastating emotional experience. It’s exhilarating, touching, and often inspiring. Don’t you wish every film was like this, so full of vivid emotions?

Xavier Dolan: If a film doesn’t reach people, then what is it? If it doesn’t touch people what sort of movie is it? Is it a movie? What sort of experience is an experience that is not emotionally engaging? Whether it’s an exciting way or a touching way. What is it if there are no emotions? Emotions are not only tears and pain, is many different things. A movie that is unable to elicit emotion isn’t a movie. If nothing is striking you as either touching, or hilarious, or interesting, or compelling, or troubling, what is it? It’s got to be a sensorial experience. It’s got to be an experience.

Aguilar: The passionate way in which you speak about your films makes it clear that you put a lot of yourself into your films.

Xavier Dolan: All of me. It’s always the same emotions, but they are presented differently. Is always the same problem, the same story about characters whoa are trying to communicate, trying to love each other and whose lives separate in the end.

Aguilar: What’s the origin of your affinity for films about mothers and sons?

Xavier Dolan: Moms, more than moms and sons. Obvious reasons I guess, I’ve had a very special relationship with my mom. Is it very special or is it completely ordinary? I don’t know, but it’s inspired me. If I knew exactly why I probably wouldn’t be writing about it.

Aguilar: What does your mom think about your films?

Xavier Dolan: She loves the films. In a very cute way she’s been bullying her friends into going to the theaters to see the movie once, and twice, and trice.

"Mommy" opens January 23, 2015...

Awards season is tailor-made for disappointment, but you can add Anne Dorval to the list of actresses who clearly did not get the praise they were due. The 54-year-old French Canadian collaborated with writer/director Xavier Dolan for the fourth time with "Mommy," a drama which finally hits U.S. theaters on Friday and, boy, she's pretty damn great in it. Dorval gives a charismatic and heartbreaking turn as the film's title character, a woman trying to deal with an almost uncontrollable teenage son (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) thrust unexpectedly back on her doorstep. After the film took home a jury prize at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival there was some faint hope that perhaps a critics' group here or there might give Dolan enough year-end love to thrust her into the Oscar field, but all of her kudos (so far at least) have come from north of the border. That being said,...

Since winning the Jury Prize at Cannes this past year, you'd think Xavier Dolan would be happy to take a break. After all, the 25-year-old French-Canadian, whose latest endeavor "Mommy" is finally making its way stateside after garnering raves and becoming a box office success in Canada, has written and directed five films since turning 19; he's starred in a couple as well. But, it looks like he has no plans to stop.  Read More: Cannes Review: Is Xavier Dolan's 'Mommy' His Best Film? "Mommy," which opens in the U.S. on January 23, explores at the relationship between a struggling, widowed mother (Anne Dorval), her volatile son (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) and a neighbor (Suzanne Clément) who is eager to help. In honor of its release, Indiewire sat down with Dolan to not only discuss the film, but also his next project, the English-language "The Death and Life of John F.

Members of the Vancouver Film Critics Circle have finished up their annual barroom vote and settled on Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" as the year's best film. They went out on a respectable limb in the Best Actress race, however, opting for Tilda Swinton's "Only Lovers Left Alive" performance. Meanwhile, Stéphane Lafleur's "Tu dors Nicole" cleaned up in the Canadian categories. Check out the nominees here, the full list of winners below and the rest at The Circuit. International Best Film "Boyhood" Best Director Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Birdman" Best Actor Jake Gyllenhaal, "Nightcrawler" Best Actress Tilda Swinton, "Only Lovers Left Alive" Best Supporting Actor J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash" Best Supporting Actress Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood" Best Screenplay Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" Best Foreign Language Film "Force Majeure" Best Documentary "The Overnighters" Canadian Best Canadian Film "Tu dors Nicole" Best Director of a Canadian Film Denis Villeneuve, "Enemy" Best Actor...

The year has finally drawn to a close. They're celebrating 2015 already in some parts of the globe (I guess our troops in Afghanistan are popping champagne right about now). But before really send 2014 off into the the sunset, a last look at the best of what silver screens had to offer this year...in one guy's opinion, anyway. Following up on yesterday's "If I Had an Oscar Ballot" post, I've run down my top picks in each standard Oscar category below. On the second page, you'll find a list of supplementary awards, stuff that the Academy doesn't recognize (but in a few cases, perhaps should). Feel free to offer up your own favorites in the comments section. And allow me to wish you a Happy New Year as the clock turns. *** Best Visual Effects: "Under the Skin" (Runner-up: "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes") It's a shame this branch can't see past internal politics,...

The Vancouver critics have just joined the party, always offering an interesting assortment of nominations given their practice of splitting off a whole separate section for Canadian films. "Birdman" led the way in the international list, while Xavier Dolan's "Mommy" led the way in the Canadian section (which will probably be cold comfort after his film was unceremoniously snubbed by the Academy's foreign film committee). Check out the full list of nominees below. Winners will be announced on Jan. 5. And, you know: The Circuit. International Best Film "Birdman" "Boyhood" "Whiplash" Best Director Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Birdman" Richard Linklater, "Boyhood" Best Actor Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game" Jake Gyllenhaal, "Nightcrawler" Michael Keaton, "Birdman" Best Actress Marion Cotillard, "The Immigrant" Tilda Swinton, "Only Lovers Left Alive" Reese Witherspoon, "Wild" Best Supporting Actor Edward Norton, "Birdman" Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher" J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash" Best Supporting Actress Patricia Arquette,...

Burning Down the House –Talking Heads, Nymphomaniac

It makes sense that an auteur as provocative and anarchic as Lars von Trier would use something as lyrically anarchic as the Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House”, a track whose title is taken relatively literally as we watch Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) burn the car of her sex addiction therapist. Von Trier, to his credit, is a bit more clever than to use the track merely as an on the nose piece of revenge on Joe’s part; her burning the car comes immediately after her self-proclamation of being a Nymphomaniac, a title she finds empowering. She’s not only burning down that car, she’s burning down the entire paradigm of how we think about female sexuality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVv94T5LF0c

Six Zero Two, We Are the Best!

Sung by the most reserved member of adolescent...

Here’s the final entry in my annual assessment of movies that have a chance to pass the first stage of the Foreign Language Oscar race. We expect the shortlist to come out tomorrow and I’m expecting a number of the films I’ve profiled below, and here and here, will make the grade. I spoke with the directors of the films about their inspirations and expectations and I also checked in with the U.S. distributors about why they bought the movies. Below is a look at the final five titles that have generated serious buzz over the past several weeks of screenings, Q&As and consulate lunches (and there are also a handful of special mentions). The films are in no particular order:

Wild Tales (Argentina), U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics

A runaway success at home in Argentina, Wild Tales is director Damián Szifrón’s third feature.

Birdman is clearly a favorite this awards season, at least when it comes to nominations as it once again tops a list of nominees, this time the 2015 Critics Choice Awards as it leads the field with 13 total nominations followed by The Grand Budapest Hotel, which continues to surge this awards season with 11 nominations, and Boyhood with eight. Full disclosure, I'm part of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (Bfca), which nominates and votes on these awards, but I'm a little nervous my nominees this year weren't counted as I mistakenly missed the deadline by a few hours thinking it was on Saturday, not Friday. Oops, though looking at these nominations it doesn't seem as if it would have mattered. For example, I don't see Locke anywhere, Carrie Coon (Gone Girl) didn't get a supporting actress nomination, A Most Wanted Man didn't get an adapted screenplay nomination, no nomination for The Raid 2 in Best Action Movie,...