Film Seekers Boards VR Therapy Revenge Thriller ‘ClearMind’ – Cannes Market

EXCLUSIVE: Half of the 46 projects currently in the California film incentives program have submitted “force majeure” requests seeking waivers to extend their mandated start-date requirements due to the ongoing Writers Guild strike, according to the California Film Commission, which administers the tax credits program. The number of approved film and TV projects seeking force majeure delays is expected to grow as the strike, now in its 25th day, grinds on.

A Los Angeles County judge on Thursday said she will dismiss a lawsuit that the stars of 1968’s Romeo and Juliet filed over the film’s nude scene, which they said involved them being subjected to fraud, and sexual abuse and harassment when they were in their teens. Superior Court Judge Alison Mackenzie ruled in favour of a motion from defendant Paramount Pictures to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Olivia Hussey, who played Juliet at age 15 and is now 72, and Leonard Whiting, who played Romeo at 16 and is also 72.

Cannes Film Festival, auteur Quentin Tarantino revealed more about his upcoming 10th (and possibly final) feature film, “The Movie Critic.” All audiences have known so far is that it would follow a titular film reviewer in the 1970s, which many speculated would be about famous female critic Pauline Kael. But he confirmed in an interview with Deadline that the story will focus on a male film critic living in California, based on a real person who wrote reviews in a porno magazine in 1977. “He wrote about mainstream movies and he was the second-string critic,” Tarantino said.

Suzanne Somers’ Palm Springs pad is back on the market, with a $12.9 million asking price.

Frameline announced the full program for the 47th annual San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline47). Running June 14–24, with a streaming encore to follow from June 24–July 2, Frameline47 returns with nearly 90 film screenings, including 12 World, 16 North American, and 9 U.S. premieres. In celebration of the Festival’s 47th iteration, Frameline will host 47 screenings at the Castro Theatre, which equates to an average of four screenings per day throughout the 11-day event.

EXCLUSIVE: Quiver Distribution has boarded recently wrapped holiday film Christmas Actually, starring Malin Akerman (Billions), Ryan Hansen (Party Down) and Amy Smart (Stargirl).

EXCLUSIVE: New indie film financier Mizzel Media is launching in Cannes with what we understand to be a healthy six-figure investment in feature The Girl From Köln, the next film from Holy Spider and The Tale outfit One Two Films.

It was a great night for Disney as Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny had a smash debut in its World Premiere Thursday evening at the Cannes Film Festival where the June 30th release received a warm 5 minute standing ovation, especially for Harrison Ford in his swan song in the title role he started playing 40 + years ago. There noticeably to witness the French love and affection was none other than Disney boss Bob Iger attending his first-ever Cannes Festival (believe it or not) and even taking his own photos during the ovation for the movie. At the Carlton Beach after party I told him Deadline had just been the first to post its review, a rave (from our colleague Stephanie Bunbury) and you could see the absolute relief on his face. “You have made me very happy to hear that, ” he told me, and he meant it. All this came on the same day Disney took another shot at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by announcing the cancellation of a plan to move several thousand California employees to Florida. The Cannes respite must have been nice.

Sony Pictures has made updates to their domestic release calendar, pushing back the dates for some films by nearly a year. Newly added dates include: “Psycho Pass: Providence” —July 14, 2023 (Limited Release)“My Ex-Friend’s Wedding” —May 10, 2024“Horrorscope” —June 28, 2024 Release dates that have been moved include: “Harold and the Purple Crayon” —Aug. 2, 2024 (previously June 30, 2023)“They Listen” —Aug. 30, 2024 (previously Aug. 25, 2023) The Producers Guild of America has set its awards timeline for the 35th Producers Guild Awards with ceremony set to take place on Feb. 25, 2024, at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, CA.

EXCLUSIVE: Maika Monroe (It Follows) and Troy Kotsur (CODA) have been cast as leads in crime thriller In Cold Light which will mark the English-language debut of French-Canadian director Maxime Giroux (Felix And Meira).

EXCLUSIVE: Eddie Izzard, Antonia Thomas, and John Hannah have joined Emile Hirsch in the psychological thriller Past Life from director and Grimmfest head Simeon Halligan.

EXCLUSIVE: Benedict Cumberbatch has signed to star in Dylan Southern’s adaptation of Max Porter’s acclaimed novel Grief is the Thing With Feathers about a father and his two young sons dealing with the sudden death of their wife and mother.

Halle Bailey delivered a mesmerizing performance of “Part of your World” as she sang “The Little Mermaid” track live for the first time post-production.

EXCLUSIVE: New Europe Film Sales has unveiled fresh deals for Danish director Ulaa Salim’s sci-fi drama Eternal.

Naman Ramachandran Juno-winning and Grammy-nominated Canadian pop singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes’ original song “Something Big” will feature on the soundtrack of upcoming 3D animated family feature, “Butterfly Tale.” Montreal and Madrid-based international sales and distribution company Pink Parrot Media will represent the film at the upcoming Cannes film market. “Butterfly Tale” is set along the diverse, picturesque, and ever-changing backdrop of the great Monarch butterfly migration. It tells the tale of Patrick, a gutsy and loveable yet inept, one-winged butterfly who stows away in a milkweed trailer in order to be part of the journey of a lifetime. With his best friend, a goofy caterpillar named Marty, and Jennifer, a butterfly who is afraid of heights, Patrick becomes an unlikely hero. But first, he must face his fear, embrace his uniqueness and triumph over adversity while battling changing weather patterns, humans and three evil birds bent on revenge.

EXCLUSIVE: Cinephil has come aboard to represent worldwide sales rights to Polish director Maciek Hamela’s In The Rearview, which will make its debut in the Cannes Film Festival next week as part of the ACID (Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema) program. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent U.S. director and artist Harmony Korine, whose films include “Gummo,” “Spring Breakers” and “Beach Bum” – which stars Matthew McConaughey as a stoner poet named Moondog – is being honored by the Locarno Film Festival with its Pardo d’onore Manor lifetime achievement award. Born in Bolinas, California, in 1974, Harmony Korine broke out in the filmmaking world in 1995 when he wrote the screenplay for Larry Clark’s controversial “Kids.” In 1997 he made his directorial debut with “Gummo,” a realistic look at youth alienation in America, for which he won awards at the Venice Film Festival’s Critics’ Week and at the Rotterdam fest. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Memento International has closed major deals on Martin Provost’s “Bonnard, Pierre And Marthe” ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Slated for Cannes Premiere, the period film revolves around the colorful relationship and epic love between renowned French painters Pierre and Marthe Bonnard who are played by Vincent Macaigne (“Irma Vep”) and Cecile de France (“Lost Illusions”). The film has been pre-sold by Memento International to key distributors in Italy (I Wonder), Canada (Sphère Films), Latin America (California Filmes), South Korea (AUD), Taiwan (Flash Forward), Airlines (Skeye), Poland (Hagi), Hungary (Vertigo), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo), Czech Republic (Cinemart), Bulgaria (Beta Film), Ex-Yugoslavia (Demiurg).

Sophia Scorziello editor Mammoth Lakes Film Festival has announced the lineup of its ninth installment, held in-person from May 24-28 at venues throughout the California mountain town. Notably, the opening and closing films will feature stories from transgender individuals around the world. “Two of the most compelling documentaries we came across this year happened to be transgender stories, highlighting characters living in circumstances that threaten their survival, and we are so thrilled to showcase ‘Queendom’ and ‘Kokomo City’ as our opening and closing spotlight films,” said Paul Sbrizzi, director of festival programming. Opening film “Queendom,” by Agniia Galdanova, is a window into the life of Gena, a transgender Russian performance artist, and the radical acts that put her life in danger. The closing film “Kokomo City” by D. Smith explores the lives of four Black transgender sex workers as they consider what their existence means within the Black community. Koko Da Doll, who was one of the documentary’s four subjects, was fatally shot in Atlanta last month.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Anonymous Content has come on board California surf-themed animated feature adapted from illustrator AJ Dungo’s celebrated graphic memoir, “In Waves.” Produced by Paris-based Silex Films, “In Waves” marks the feature debut of Phuong Mai Nguyen (“Brazen”), and is being penned by Fanny Burdino and Samuel Doux, whose screenwriting credits include “After Love” and “The Origin of Evil.” The feature is produced by Priscilla Bertin and Judith Nora, co-Founders of Silex Films, alongside Charades and Nick Shumaker, Garrett Kemble, and David Levine who will executive produce on behalf of Anonymous Content.