The Berlin Film Festival: Why Still Matters for Hollywood

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The Berlin Film Festival: Why Still Matters for Hollywood By Scott Roxborough February 7, 2012 Photo by Berlin Worldwide Film Festival It may be the sun and rain. It may be the frigid Berlin winter that inspires experts to repeat the identical bitter litany each year in regards to the Berlinale, that might be no stars, bad films, no new ideas.Several wags referred to as 2011's fest "the worst Berlinale ever." Really? A festival that incorporated Wim Wenders' groundbreaking 3d documentary "Pina," J.C. Chandor's furious financial drama "Margin Call" and also the astounding Iranian film "A Separation" -- which selected up Oscar nominations on Jan. 24?When the 62nd Berlinale opens Feb. 9, expect professionals being just like disgruntled. And basically as wrong. Berlin's broad, eclectic purchasing process helps it be harder to select which game game titles will be the large breakouts, but due to the festival's history, you will notice some. A combination part of possible standouts includes china imperial epic "White-colored Deer Plain" from Golden Bear champion Wang Quan'an ("Tuya's Marriage") "Home for your Weekend," a shattered-family drama within the always excellent German helmer Hendes-Christian Schmid ("Requiem") and Billy Bob Thornton's sixties period drama "Jayne Mansfield's Vehicle," featuring John Hurt, Kevin Sausage, Robert Duvall and Thornton themselves.Undertake and don't, however, will most likely return home while using Golden Bear. Berlin juries reserve the most effective prize for politically flavored cinema, so a betting guy would put his chips on Brillante Mendoza's "Taken" (about people using their company nations kidnapped by Filipino terrorists), Benedek Fliegauf's gypsy-focused thriller "Just the Wind" or Kim Nguyen's "Rebelle," which follows Komona, a 14-year-old soldier in Africa who's expecting a youthful child.There'll not substantially studio muscle on show in Berlin this year -- Warner Bros.' "Very Noisy & Incredibly Close," directed by Stephen Daldry, and Jason Reitman's "Youthful Adult" from Vital will be the only studio game game titles screening, neither of those competing. But Berlin never remains a studio launchpad and, since the Oscar nominations gone after mid-The month of the month of january in 2004, the studios' prestige films are starting earlier around, to the benefit of the fall fests and hindrance of Berlin. "Moneyball" bowed in Toronto, "The Descendants" in Telluride and "Hugo" in the surprise screening within the NY Film Festival. A far more compact studio presence means less stars, so Berlin has required to get creative to make sure sufficient red-colored-colored-carpet wattage. Since the only public festival of Europe's large three (Cannes and Venice are industry-only), Berlin needs its stars.Festival director Dieter Kosslick has needed to brushing the indie ranks for additional compact features, frequently directorial debuts, with large-title casts. And this year, Berlin gets the world premiere of "Bel Ami," a period of time piece from first-timers Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod that counts Rachelle Lefervre, Christina Ricci, Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott Thomas among its A-list talent James Marsh's Sundance entry "Shadow Dancer" with Clive Owen and Gillian Anderson and Steven Soderbergh's "Haywire," featuring Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender and Antonio Banderas. Jennifer Aniston will attend a distinctive screening of her directorial debut, "Inside the Land of Blood stream and Honey," and Meryl Streep will get a pre-Oscar Golden Bear in recognition of her life's work.For your industry, however, Berlin's real draw is its market. Again offered out and reserved solid, Berlin's European Film Companies are forecasted to become blockbuster, no less than in contrast while using staid and low-volume American Film Market in November.Pre-buys of in-development projects will probably be where the large money is, but expect a brisk business in pick-ups of finished films -- specially the more audience-friendly fare that screens in Berlin's Decades and Panorama sidebars. In Panorama, be cautious for "Iron Sky," in addition to-over-blown, extended- in-development Finnish "Nazis wideInch spoof, and "Cherry," an indie drama featuring Louise Graham just like a porno film director and James Franco just like a coke-addled lawyer.If the all systems Feb. 19, professionals likely will say it absolutely was an inadequate Berlinale and talk within the "amazing" selection likely to Cannes. The, meanwhile, will convince accumulate its deal memos and prebook Berlin's Grand Hyatt for 2013. The Hollywood Reporter The Berlin Film Festival: Why Still Matters for Hollywood By Scott Roxborough February 7, 2012 PHOTO CREDIT Berlin Worldwide Film Festival It may be the sun and rain. It may be the frigid Berlin winter that inspires experts to repeat the identical bitter litany each year in regards to the Berlinale, that might be no stars, bad films, no new ideas.Several wags referred to as 2011's fest "the worst Berlinale ever." Really? A festival that incorporated Wim Wenders' groundbreaking 3d documentary "Pina," J.C. Chandor's furious financial drama "Margin Call" as well as the astounding Iranian film "A Separation" -- which acquired Oscar nominations on Jan. 24?When the 62nd Berlinale opens Feb. 9, expect professionals being much like disgruntled. And basically as wrong. Berlin's broad, eclectic purchasing process helps it be harder to select which game game titles will be the large breakouts, but due to the festival's history, you will notice some. A combination part of possible standouts includes china imperial epic "White-colored Deer Plain" from Golden Bear champion Wang Quan'an ("Tuya's Marriage") "Home for your Weekend," a shattered-family drama within the always excellent German helmer Hendes-Christian Schmid ("Requiem") and Billy Bob Thornton's sixties period drama "Jayne Mansfield's Vehicle," featuring John Hurt, Kevin Sausage, Robert Duvall and Thornton themselves.Undertake and don't, however, will most likely return home while using Golden Bear. Berlin juries reserve the most effective prize for politically flavored cinema, so a betting guy would put his chips on Brillante Mendoza's "Taken" (about people using their company nations kidnapped by Filipino terrorists), Benedek Fliegauf's gypsy-focused thriller "Just the Wind" or Kim Nguyen's "Rebelle," which follows Komona, a 14-year-old soldier in Africa who's expecting a youthful child.There'll not substantially studio muscle on show in Berlin this year -- Warner Bros.' "Very Noisy & Incredibly Close," directed by Stephen Daldry, and Jason Reitman's "Youthful Adult" from Vital will be the only studio game game titles screening, neither of those competing. But Berlin never remains a studio launchpad and, since the Oscar nominations gone after mid-The month of the month of january in 2004, the studios' prestige films are starting earlier around, to the benefit of the fall fests and hindrance of Berlin. "Moneyball" bowed in Toronto, "The Descendants" in Telluride and "Hugo" in the surprise screening within the NY Film Festival. A far more compact studio presence means less stars, so Berlin has required to get creative to make certain sufficient red-colored-colored-carpet wattage. Since the only public festival of Europe's large three (Cannes and Venice are industry-only), Berlin needs its stars.Festival director Dieter Kosslick has needed to brushing the indie ranks for additional compact features, frequently directorial debuts, with large-title casts. And this year, Berlin gets the world premiere of "Bel Ami," some time piece from first-timers Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod that counts Rachelle Lefervre, Christina Ricci, Uma Thurman and Kristin Scott Thomas among its A-list talent James Marsh's Sundance entry "Shadow Dancer" with Clive Owen and Gillian Anderson and Steven Soderbergh's "Haywire," featuring Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender and Antonio Banderas. Jennifer Aniston will attend a distinctive screening of her directorial debut, "Inside the Land of Blood stream and Honey," and Meryl Streep will get a pre-Oscar Golden Bear in recognition of her life's work.For your industry, however, Berlin's real draw is its market. Again offered out and reserved solid, Berlin's European Film Companies are forecasted to become blockbuster, no less than in contrast while using staid and low-volume American Film Market in November.Pre-buys of in-development projects will probably be where the large money is, but expect a brisk business in pick-ups of finished films -- specially the more audience-friendly fare that screens in Berlin's Decades and Panorama sidebars. In Panorama, be cautious for "Iron Sky," in addition to-over-blown, extended- in-development Finnish "Nazis wideInch spoof, and "Cherry," an indie drama featuring Louise Graham just like a porno film director and James Franco just like a coke-addled lawyer.If the all systems Feb. 19, professionals likely will say it absolutely was an insufficient Berlinale and talk within the "amazing" selection likely to Cannes. The, meanwhile, will convince accumulate its deal memos and prebook Berlin's Grand Hyatt for 2013. The Hollywood Reporter