Berlinale - Which films will Meryl Streep soon be judging?
Thursday, December 17, 2015 at 1:17PM
Murtada here to talk Berlinale which runs February 11th through the 21st. The Berlin Film Festival just announced titles for its Panorama section. These are possibly movies we will be talking about all through 2016, as we are still talking about 45 Years which made its debut there all the way back in February.
Gerwig and Hawke in Maggie's Plan
Among the titles is TIFF and NYFF entry Maggie’s Plan from director writer Rebecca Miller and starring Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke and Julianne Moore. Gerwig has admitted during a Q&A at NYFF that she based her character’s look on Miller’s style. That got us fantasizing that the movie is a roman a clef about how Miller married Daniel Day Lewis soon after he was involved with Isabelle Adjani. After all Moore is playing a sorta crazy European.
Firth and Law in Genius
But more importantly who does Meryl get to judge as president of the jury?
First is Michael Grandage’s Genius which stars the man who presented her with that 3rd Oscar and her co-star from The Hours. Genius tells the true story of the relationship between famous American novelist Thomas Wolfe (played by Jude Law) and iconic editor Max Perkins (Colin Firth). Nicole Kidman is playing Aline Bernstein a costume designer who was in a romantic relationship with Wolfe. Other literary greats depicted in the film are Ernest Hemingway (Dominic West ) and F Scott Fitzgerald (Guy Pearce).
Previously thought to be premiering at SXSW, Jeff Nichols' Midnight Special will now premiere first at Berlin. Starring Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton and Kirsten Dunst, it’s the tale of a boy who may have supernatural powers and all the bad guys in his pursuit.
Actor/Director Vincent Perez (Queen Margot) rallied up Brendan Gleeson and Emma Thompson to play a couple who start working against the Nazis after the death of their only son during WWII in Alone in Berlin. Daniel Bruhl is the SS Officer on their tail in the first of two 2016 movies where he plays a member of that infamous group, the other being the Jessica Chastain vehicle The Zookeeper’s Wife. (Not at Berlinale).
These titles join the previously announced opening film “Hail, Caesar!” which will be playing out of competition. Yes it's the latest from Joel and Ethan Coen but more importantly has Tilda Swinton giving Dame Helen Mirren (Trumbo) a run for her money by playing a version of Hedda Hopper. Who will be Capote and who becomes Infamous?
Kidman, Thompson, Moore, Swinton. Who’s first on your list based on these descriptions?
Reader Comments (10)
And Bruhl's third movie in 2016 is playing Baron Helmut Zemo (the grandson or age-defying son of a Nazi who inherited belief in the Nazi cause) in Captain America: Civil War. I love Bruhl and am sure he'll bring his all to all three of those, but that's all three of his 2016 movies that amount to playing Nazis. Basically: I wish he turned down one of those and did something that affirmed to people that he's more than just a Nazi guy. (Not Civil War, though. Bruhl (an actor noted primarily for subtlety and humanity) doing a big, theatrical, nakedly evil comic book villain? Too interesting to pass up.) Another actor could have drawn that card for one of the true life stories.
I saw a copy of "Hail, Caesar" that a friend of mine who translated the movie gave me.
And the movie, although not a masterpice like the best Coens, is hell as funny with colorful characters in the same vein of "Burn After Reading" and "Raising Arizoza".
The MVP for me is Ralph Fienes, with another masterful comedy acting.
And Tilda portray twins, giving us two versions of Hedda Hopper. In one word... delightful!
Oh, and the Channing Tatum/Gene Kelly dance scene is a-m-a-z-i-n-g!
I could go on and on with all the cameos, really,
Wich begs the question...why the movie will be realeased in february?
I hope Streep finds this experience to be refreshing. I hope she gets to see a lot of movies by international directors and may work with some of them. When Isabelle Huppert was president of the jury in Cannes she gave a prize to Billante Mendoza and the starred in one his movies. I'd love to see Streep stretching in movie by a filipino director, for example.
Meryl Streep appreciates the risk other actresses take in auteur vehicles. It does not mean she is envious of the material or wants to work with the filmmaker responsible esp when she receives critical acclaim and award season notices without every having to endure what auteur chasing actresses endure onset and some of the more bizarre moments immortalized in film she would be completely embarrassed by despite admiring the audacity of it.
So /3rtful when did Meryl personally tell you all that?
Summer - Lol
Le Corruptor - I envy you! But you're probably doing something illegal... not cool
I expect Swinton to be light years out ahead of Mirren's Hopper.
I hope Midnight Special is special. There's a lot of talk about a huge resurgence for post-Fargo Kirsten Dunst (after years of being criminally underrated despite breathtaking performances in Melancholia, All Good Things, Bachelorette). Here's hoping the Dunst-aissance happens!
Too bad Hail Caesar is playing out of competition. Channing Tatum gets my vote for best sailor in any medium. And Meryl loves him too!