Keanu Reeves is set to perform at Rock For People in the Czech Republic with his band Dogstar, it was announced today.The trio formed in the early 1990s, and became a firm cult favourite, with their alternative rock style and impressive tours alongside the likes of David Bowie and Bon Jovi.After two studio albums and 20 inactive years, the band reunited earlier this year, with their new studio album ‘Somewhere Between The Power Lines And Palm Trees’ being released last month. They are currently touring the US, with their final show taking place in Nashville, Tennessee on December 20.In a statement, Michal Thomes, the Festival Director at Rock For People spoke on the forthcoming performance by the John Wick star, saying: “Having Dogstar perform with the stellar Keanu Reeves on bass is a real dream come true for me.”And it isn’t the first time the group were sought after by the festival.
Petr Jancarek’s ‘Havel Speaking’ Captures Czech Ex-President’s Bittersweet Foray into Film Directing
24.10.2023 - 20:11 / variety.com
Will Tizard Contributor Petr Jancarek’s chronicle of the last years of Vaclav Havel’s life, “Havel Speaking, Can You Hear Me?,” screening in its world premiere at the Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival, is as naturalistic and down to earth as its subject.
The director, who filmed the former Czech president for nearly a decade in various capacities, says Havel was unlike any national leader he ever knew. “I could see this modest person who is incredibly hardworking,” Jancarek recalls, “a true director of everything, standing by his beliefs, despite discomfort or loss of personal freedom.” In the years before Havel’s death in 2011, Jancarek filmed hundreds of hours behind the scenes as the one-time dissident playwright, who found himself leading then Czechoslovakia in the wake of the 1989 Velvet Revolution, endeavored to complete his life dream, directing a feature film.
Havel was adapting his own play, “Leaving,” a biting satire of politics and the forces of crass commercialism inspired by both “King Lear” and Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard,” for the screen just a year before losing his battle with advancing illness in 2011. Ever the creative and intellectual, Havel was no born president, Jancarek says.
“He was not a typical politician but the artist who answered the need of a historical era. And only at the end of his life, he fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a film director.” Jancarek’s film, chosen to open the 27th Ji.hlava fest, is filled with disarming moments from Havel’s daily life, from his struggles to get the attention of his film cast and crew to his efforts to keep his villa, Hradecek, tidy and vacuumed.
Emma Corrin & Lucie Zhang To Star As Best Friends Who Scam Sugar Daddies In Hong Kong-Set Comedy ‘Peaches’; Cate Blanchett’s Dirty Films Produces & MK2 Handles Sales
EXCLUSIVE: Golden Globe winner Emma Corrin (The Crown) and Cesar nominee Lucie Zhang (Paris, 13th District) are set to star in Jenny Suen’s English language feature debut Peaches, which Coco Francini (Fingernails) will produce and Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton will executive-produce for Dirty Films.
Ruben Östlund To Mentor Emerging Directors At France’s Les Arcs Film Fest Along Euro Industry Pros Katrin Pors, Gaia Furrer & Olivier Barbier
Swedish director Ruben Östlund has been announced as a guest of honor at the 15th edition of France’s Les Arcs Film Festival, in the role of its Talent Village Ambassador.
How the ‘Poor Things’ Production Designers Turned Yorgos Lanthimos’ Madcap, Macabre, Ecstatic Vision Into an Oscar Frontrunner
Christopher Vourlias When director Yorgos Lanthimos approached production designers James Price and Shona Heath with a vision for his latest feature, “Poor Things,” the Venice sensation and Golden Lion winner that’s landed the filmmaker and lead actress Emma Stone at the forefront of this year’s Oscar race, the notoriously meticulous and demanding director had no shortage of notes for the duo. Nor did he have any reservations about the scale of what he wanted to achieve.
James McAvoy, Lucas Bravo, Aisling Franciosi & Almudena Amor Set For Thriller ‘Turn Up The Sun!’, Filming Underway In UK — AFM
EXCLUSIVE: James McAvoy (X-Men franchise), Lucas Bravo (Emily In Paris), Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale) and Almudena Amor (The Good Boss) have been set for thriller Turn Up The Sun! which has begun production in the UK under an Equity PACT agreement.
DJ Shadow announces first full tour in seven years, including UK dates
DJ Shadow has shared details of 2024 international tour in support of his new album ‘Action Adventure‘ – find ticket information below.The DJ and producer, real name Joshua Paul Davis, heads out on his first full tour in seven years next year with a handful of dates scheduled before the end of 2023.One of the dates will see the artist perform at Outernet’s HERE venue in central London (March 23, 2024).Tickets go on general sale this Friday (November 3) at 10am local time here.
Czech Scientist’s Plan to Save the World Drove Docmaker Daughter to Film for Five Years
Will Tizard Contributor Czech punk rocker visual artist Marta Kovarova says it was becoming a mother that made her realize she had to do something radical to fight climate change. So, five years ago, she embarked on making “The World According to My Dad,” which won the Czech Joy student jury prize at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival on Saturday. “When my children were born, environmental grief fell upon me,” she says.
Matej Bobrik Gets Close to Migrant Family From Nepal in Jihlava-Winning ‘Distances’: ‘We Wondered Why They Never Said Stop! to Us’
Marta Balaga During the making of his Jihlava Film Festival winning film, “Distances” director Matej Bobrik walked right into the middle of an argument. “Actually, I was standing a bit to the side. It was my cinematographer Filip [Drożdż] who was at the center of it all,” he jokes, recalling heated discussions of his protagonists: a Nepali family who moved to Warsaw in search of a better life.
Guillermo Del Toro Says His Jabba The Hutt Film Would Have Been A ‘Scarface’-Style Crime Epic
Just last month, “Star Wars” fans were treated to the news that Guillermo del Toro was working with Lucasfilm, at least at one point, on a couple of projects, including a solo film about the villainous Jabba the Hutt. Obviously, that was during a time where “Star Wars” was in a state of flux and Lucasfilm was desperately trying to figure out the way of the world under Disney’s ownership.
Picture Tree Int’l Boards Alireza Golafshan’s ‘Everything’s Fifty Fifty’ & Posts Deals For German B.O. Hit ‘Weekend Rebels’ – AFM
EXCLUSIVE: Picture Tree International (PTI) has boarded sales on German Iranian director Alireza Golafshan’s comedy Everything’s Fifty Fifty about a divorced couple who embark on a family vacation, ahead of the AFM.
Elvis Lenic’s ‘Ship,’ About Croatian Shipyard, Wins at Ji.hlava Documentary Festival
Will Tizard Contributor From hulks of collective ruins to immigrant family struggles, marginalized communities and climate crises, the 27th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival wrapped Saturday with honors for work from diverse perspectives on a myriad of pressing subjects. The Opus Bonum main prize went to Elvis Lenic’s Croatian doc “Ship,” an exploration of an unintentional monument to socialist worker collectives in the form of the Uljanik shipyard, once the country’s largest.
Producer Pierre-Olivier Bardet, Honored at Ji.hlava, Relishes Filmmakers Who Go Their Own Way
Will Tizard Contributor Producer Pierre-Olivier Bardet has become a hero to filmmakers who rock the boat – feature and documentary revolutionaries who work in ways that he says are “completely unique,” as he puts it: Albert Serra, Frederick Wiseman, Wang Bing and Alexandr Sokurov. And it’s hard to imagine anyone else who would have agreed to produce an English version of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” directed by Kenneth Branagh (after Francis Ford Coppola and several luminaries declined the project), set in World War I.
‘Star Wars’: Shawn Levy Says He Has An Early Idea For His Film In Development: “I Really Want To Make That Movie”
With “All The Light We Cannot See” hitting Netflix next week, Shawn Levy is making the press rounds to promote his miniseries. And that gives him a chance to talk about his upcoming projects, too, like “Deadpool 3” and the “Star Wars” project he has in development.
‘107 Mothers’ Director Péter Kerekes Talks Upcoming ‘Marathon,’ Debuts Teaser: ‘It’s Not Just About People Who Run’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Marta Balaga Péter Kerekes will follow “107 Mothers” – which won Venice’s Horizons Award for best screenplay – with “Marathon,” currently in production and eyeing a winter 2024 release. Set in his Slovak hometown and revolving around the Košice Peace Marathon, established in 1924, the doc will clock in at exactly 2 hours and 7 minutes, mirroring its current record. “It’s not just about people who run, get to the finish line and that’s it, end credits.
Czech Republic’s Ji.hlava Doc Fest Launches Its Mission to Explore ‘What Images Can We Trust?’
Will Tizard Contributor Launching an ambitious program of compelling global and Czech work, the 27th edition of the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival opened on Tuesday, kicking off six days of more than 350 film screenings by veteran and new filmmakers. Fest head and founder Marek Hovorka, who launched the event in his hometown in 1997, introduced what is now Central and Eastern Europe’s main event for docs, defining the fest mission as “a celebration of films, image, sound, gestures and diversity.” The films selected this year are “all very original,” he told the opening gala audience, and show filmmakers “perceive the world very differently.” The fest, raising its curtain in the location that remains its home, the communist-era DKO “house of culture,” as the pre-1989 regime dubbed such multi-purpose spaces, attracts for its launch hundreds of guests seated at white-decked tables, sipping local wine.
‘Star Wars’: Shawn Levy Says Lucasfilm Has Encouraged Him To Make A Shawn Levy Movie That Reflects His Voice & “Taste”
As you’re probably aware, “Star Wars” and Lucasfilm are at an inflection point. Having pivoted towards streaming for several years, “The Mandalorian,” etc., “Star Wars” Celebration earlier this year indicated that the new future would return to cinemas, announcing three “Star Wars” movies by Dave Filoni, one formerly from Damon Lindelof that will include Daisy Ridley’s Rey Skywalker, and a prequel set in ancient Jedi times from filmmaker James Mangold.
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Co-Conspirators announce 2024 world tour
Slash and Myles Kennedy and The Co-Conspirators have announced a 2024 world tour set to take place in January.The 32-date run titled ‘The River Is Rising – Rest of the World Tour ’24’ will see the rock icon travel across 21 countries. Kicking off on January 23 at the Pepsi Center WTC in Mexico City, they will then head to Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile.
BBC Returns To ‘Marie Antoinette’; ‘Planet Earth III’ Sells To Australia, China; ‘The Piano’ Plays Around Europe — Mipcom Briefs
‘Marie Antoinette‘ Back On The BBCThe BBC has announced that it has acquired the second season of Canal+ Creation Originale Marie Antoinette. Sue Deeks, head of acquisitions for the BBC, said the first season of Deborah Davis’ drama had been a “great success” for the corporation. Marie Antoinette is produced by Claude Chelli and Margaux Balsan for Capa Drama, Stéphanie Chartreux for Banijay Studios France, as well as Bedside Productions. Season 2 is currently in production.
‘Hunger Games’ Director ‘Got So Much S—‘ for Dividing ‘Mockingjay’ Into Two Parts, Says He ‘Totally Regrets’ It and ‘Would Never’ Split Prequel
Michaela Zee The odds weren’t in director Francis Lawrence‘s favor after splitting “Hunger Games: Mockingjay” into two parts. In a recent interview with People magazine, Lawrence admitted he wouldn’t divide the final book into two films if he had the opportunity. “I totally regret it.
LevelK’s Stop-Motion Animation ‘Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light,’ an Annecy Contrechamp Winner, Wards Off the Darkness in Multiple Territories (EXCLUSIVE)
Marta Balaga “Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light” continues to ward off the darkness. LevelK’s Czech stop-motion animation has sold to over 40 territories, including Germany (Eksystent Distribution), France (Eurozoom /Panoranime), Spain (MODIband Projectes Culturals), Italy (Just Wanted), Portugal (Film4you), Israel (New Cinema), Slovenia (Demiurg), MENA (Empire Networks), Switzerland (Out-side the Box), Estonia (Estin Film) Sweden (Njutafilms) and Denmark (Angel Distribution). “From the first moment we watched it, we saw its uniqueness and quality.