Beauty Break: The Men of Cannes

Vasilli Schneider & Niels Schneider

Remember French-Canadian Niels Schneider, the object of affection for both the male and female leads of Xavier Dolan's Heartbeats? Apparently he's but one of 4 (!) Schneider brothers -- there was a 5th who died very young :( -- who all appear to be in showbiz: actor/models/musicians whatnot. And here's Vasilli and Niels together at the premiere of Knife + Heart at Cannes. 

In our enthusiastic relentlessness about actresses we invariably ignore actors so before the final ceremony let's not let Cannes end without a visual tribute to the best snacks at Cannes...

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Cannes begins. Is this the most stylish jury ever?

This blog post's title is rhetorical. We all know it is.

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Beauty Break: Cannes 2018 Jury

by Nathaniel R

"Avengers Cannes Jury Assemble!" Australia's champion actress Cate Blanchett, as you know, is presiding (and only the 9th actress to have the honor) but who will be joining her on the Croisette? The beautiful people are after the jump...

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Oscar's Foreign Race Pt 4: "Hey, I know that face!"

"everything u ever wanted to know about the foreign film category
*...but were afraid to ask"
Pt 1 All 81 Trailers | Pt 2 Women Directors & Debut Filmmakers | Pt 3 Zoology 

Actors You Know & Possibly Love
Successful actors really rack up the frequent flyer miles. The savvy ones cultivate relationships wherever they go. The very smartest of them pick up a second or third or fourth language and actually use those languages in their careers. Viggo Mortensen doesn't have quite the Hollywood career he deserves but notice that he doesn't settle - he's truly in love with his craft and uses his Spanish, English, Danish, and French in films all over the world. When the Danish Connie Nielsen was starting to look basic after lots of unsatisfying American films, she reminded everyone that she was actually gifted by going international with France's demonlover and returning home for Brothers. Actors who are bilingual and never use that onscreen are a mystery. It would be fun to see Sandra Bullock in a German movie or Hugh Jackman or Bradley Cooper in a French flick... even if it was only cameos since we know none of them are hurting for work. Why did Mira Sorvino not really capitalize on her Mandarin during her long dry spell? It's no accident that Charlotte Rampling and Carmen Maura never stopped working or that Kristin Scott Thomas only quit working when she wanted to; they speak multiple languages and make films outside their home countries often.

Let's look at the actors with a strong international presence that pop up in this year's Oscar submitted foreign-language films after the jump...

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NYFF: The (Prettiest) Assassin

Nathaniel returning to life, albeit to watch a film about someone who ends it, on the closing weekend of the 53rd New York Film Festival

If you believe in cinema as a reflection of reality then every college should offer at least undergraduate courses in Becoming an Assassin because that profession is always hiring! According to the movies, there are more assassins in the world than accountants. Full disclosure: I'm no fan of this overflowing subgenre. Assassin movies, like their counterparts Gangster Dramas and Serial Killer Thrillers, often glorify death-dealing or at least cast their protagonists as noble "anti-heroes" or admirably gifted / committed to their criminal art. [More...]

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