About a week ago, France held its annual César Awards ceremony. The 2020 edition of the event was overshadowed by the controversy leading up to the evening, with Roman Polanski’s film “An Officer and a Spy” earning the most César nominations with 12. And though Polanski and the rest of the cast and crew from the film didn’t appear at the ceremony, the night still proved to be controversial, as Polanski secured the win for Best Director, prompting folks like actress Adèle Haenel to walk out of the festivities.

Continue reading Casting Director Says Adèle Haenel Has A “Well-Deserved Dead Career” After Awards Protest Of Roman Polanski at The Playlist.

Recently, the César Awards announced its 2020 nominations. And there has been a bit of controversy since the announcement, after it was shown that Roman Polanski’s film “An Officer and a Spy” earned 12 nominations (the most of any film), including Best Director and Best Film. Considering the César Awards are the French equivalent to the Oscars, there was outrage from people upset that the organization was giving a convicted sexual abuser such recognition.

Continue reading Adèle Haenel Says The César Noms For Roman Polanski’s Latest Film Is Like “Spitting In The Face Of All Victims” at The Playlist.

The nominations for the 2019 European Film Awards were announced on Saturday morning at the Seville Film Festival and in no surprise, Pedro Almodovar’s “Pain and Glory” took four nods including European Film, European Director (Almodovar), European Actor (Antonio Banderas) and European Screenwriter (Almodovar). Two other films surprised with four nominations including the top prize; Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and A Spy” and Marco Bellocchio’s “The Traitor.”  And, thanks to a unique qualification calendar, Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite” earned three nods including European Film.

Continue reading ‘Pain & Glory,’ ‘Les Miserables,’ & ‘The Traitor’ Get 2019 European Film Awards Boost at The Playlist.

You know, that Roman Polanski guy may not be a nice guy after all. The Oscar-winning director who fled to France instead of facing up to the sentence on a charge of statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl, charges which he had pleaded guilty to, is now facing more accusations. French actress Valentine Monnier accused Polanski of raping her at a ski chalet in Switzerland in 1975, when the actress was 18.

Continue reading Roman Polanski Accused Of “Extremely Violent” Rape Of A French Actress In 1975 When She Was 18 at The Playlist.

He who laughs last, laughs best, right? That’s probably the case for director Todd Phillips, whose much-anticipated “Joker” had perhaps the most contentious film festival premiere in recent memory. While comic book fans were excited to see an infamous—and, let’s face it, beloved—character receive a prestige treatment, not everyone regarded “Joker” as a joyful combination of populist and auteurist filmmaking. Our own Jessica Kiang was a little skeptical, praising the film while also half-seriously noting that it’s the kind of movie that may inspire “background checks and a mandatory three-day waiting period” at movie theaters across the country.

Continue reading Todd Phillips’s ‘Joker’ Takes Home The Golden Lion At The 2019 Venice Film Festival at The Playlist.

Roman Polanski’s latest film, “An Officer and a Spy,” tells the real-life story of the infamous Dreyfus affair that rocked France in the 1890s. When espionage was discovered within the ranks of the French military, the higher-ups fingered the wrong man – who happened to be the only Jewish soldier in the bunch. Alfred Dreyfuss (played by Louis Garrel) was accused, arrested, and sentenced to life in a hellish penal colony thousands of miles from France, but in the years to come, a committed, righteous Colonel by the name of Picquart (Jean Dujardin) uncovers documents that categorically prove the spy is someone else entirely.

Continue reading ‘An Officer And A Spy’: Polanski’s Controversial Film Is A Well-Crafted, But Middling, Historical Drama [Venice Review] at The Playlist.

Yesterday, comments made by filmmaker, and current Venice Film Festival jury president, Lucrecia Martel caught fire, after she seemingly criticized director Roman Polanski. The reason Martel’s words became headline news is that she said she couldn’t separate the “man from the art” and wouldn’t “congratulate” the controversial director when his film premieres at this year’s Italian festival. As you might imagine, the president of the jury that is set to judge Polanski’s film calling into question the filmmaker’s personal life and criminal history might lead some to believe that she might have a bit of bias.

Continue reading Producer On Polanski’s New Film Threatened To Pull It From Venice If Jury President Didn’t Apologize For Recent Comments at The Playlist.

In a post-#MeToo world, accused folks have a few different paths they can take when confronted with allegations of sexual misconduct. You can apologize and try to make it right. You can disappear and hope that everything blows over. Or, you can fight it. And in the case of Roman Polanski, he’s firmly set up in the latter camp. And in a new interview ahead of the Venice premiere of his latest film “An Officer and a Spy,” the controversial filmmaker doesn’t back down regarding his current situation.

Continue reading Roman Polanski Talks “Neofeminist McCarthyism” & Blames “Absurd Stories By Women” For His Perceived “Persecution” at The Playlist.

UPDATE: Martel released an official statement to clarify her comments. You can read the entire statement at the bottom of the original article.

Ever since the official lineup was announced weeks ago, the big discussion surrounding this year’s Venice Film Festival is more to do with just a few of the films selected for the official competition. Namely, the new project from filmmaker Roman Polanski, and the only two films (out of more than 20) to be directed by females.

Continue reading Venice Jury President Lucrecia Martel Has Complicated Feelings About Polanski’s Inclusion: “I Don’t Separate The Man From The Art” [UPDATED] at The Playlist.

Let’s get right to it. The Venice Film Festival is about to pop off this week which means, welcome to the madness of fall and the annual season when we lose our minds. It’s a terrific time to be a movie lover, a festival goer especially, maybe not so much as movie critic or writer trying to stay on top of it all, but we suppose that’s our problem.

READ MORE: 2019 Fall Preview: The 45 Most Anticipated Films

As per usual, the Lido kicks things off first.

Continue reading 2019 Venice Film Festival Preview: 15 Must-See Movies at The Playlist.

We are currently in the dog days of summer, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look forward to the fall, specifically the best time of year for film fans — fall film festival season. And kicking it off right is perhaps the biggest fest of the season, Venice. With the initial lineup of films hitting Venice coming next week, we are starting to get word on which projects are likely going to Italy.

Continue reading ‘Joker,’ ‘Rambo,’ ‘Ad Astra,’ ‘Against All Enemies’ & More Are Poised For Venice Premieres at The Playlist.

Recently, it was announced that Warner Bros. is sitting out this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. This is especially interesting because the studio has multiple comic book properties on the slate, with the highly-anticipated “Joker” coming in October. However, according to a new report, it appears that WB might have bigger aspirations for the villainous film.

Deadline is reporting that there’s “chatter” that says Todd Phillips’ upcoming “Joker,” which stars Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, and Robert De Niro, might actually be primed for a Venice Film Festival appearance.

Continue reading ‘Joker’ & The New Roman Polanski Film Could Be Heading To Venice Later This Year at The Playlist.