Cannes Film Festival 2014 Day 3: Ryan Reynolds' 'The Captive' Is a Bust; Sony Pictures Classics Takes Rights to Argentinean Film 'Wild Tales'
The third day of the Cannes Film Festival saw the premiere of Atom Egoyan's latest film, and the results were dismal.
The film, entitled "The Captive," stars Ryan Reynolds and Rosario Dawson and follows the case of little girl's disappearance and how it affects the girl's family. Some Critics said the movie made "Grace of Monaco" look like a good film and that it was an amateurish and ill-conceived film. Meanwhile other critics stated, if audiences were looking for a good mystery drama, they should turn to 2013's "Prisoners," which was critically acclaimed. The movie marks the second festival for Egoyan in the past eight months and also marks his second film to be critically abhorred. In September Egoyan premiered "Devil's Knot" at the Venice Film Festival and the movie obtained terrible reviews. With "The Captive" scoring such bad reviews, there is an unlikely possibility this movie has any chance of scoring any major awards at the end of the festival. Additionally it marks the second major film at Cannes to disappoint in the first three days.
However the movie obtained some good news. Before the premiere, the one year-old distributor A24 acquired distribution rights for the movie. The company stated that it would be releasing the film in the fall and would later release it on VOD on Direct TV.
A24 also picked up the Ewan McGregor starrer "Son of a Gun." The film is directed by first time filmmaker Julius Avery and also stars Alicia Vikander and Brenton Thwaites.
Another competition film was also picked up. Sony Pictures Classics took distribution rights for the Argentinean film "Wild Tales." The movie is a comedy about six separate stories and is directed by Damien Szifron. Agustin and Pedro Almodovar produced the film under El Deseo, and it stars Ricardo Darin, Oscar Martinez and Dario Grandinetti. The acquisition is no surprise as the Almodovars have had a steady relationship with Sony throughout the last decade and the past 10 of Almodovar's films have been released through Sony. The movie is the second acquisition for Sony Pictures Classics as it also took rights for the competition film "Saint Laurent." "Wild Tales" is scheduled to make its world premiere on Saturday, May 17.
Meanwhile at the Un Certain regard sidebar, "Party Girl" opened. The French film directed by three first-time filmmakers about an aging nightclub hostess who decides to settle down and get married, scored mixed reviews. Most critics admired the realism in the film but stated that it was subpar. Others praised the performances and said it was unique and fascinating movie.
"Amour Fou" also premiered at the sidebar to better reception. The movie was met with mostly positive reviews and critics were praising the subtlety from filmmaker Jessica Hausner. The period drama tells the story of German Romantic writer Heinrich von Kleist and his friend Henriette Vogel and the steps that took them to their suicides. The movie has not obtained a U.S. distribution, but it has already scored deals to be released in Sweden, Germany and Austria.
Screening out of competition, the highly anticipated summer animated film "How to Train Your Dragon 2" was unveiled. A day after Dreamworks showcased inflatable dragons on the Crosiette, the movie screened for critics, and the results were very good for the studio. While critic Robbie Collin of Telegraph stated that it can't compete with Disney films, Collin did say it was a lot of fun. Variety's critic Peter Debruge also gave the movie a great review and even stated the movie was much better than recent Disney films "Brave" and "Frozen." The Cannes launch bodes well for this movie as many animated films have used the festival to create buzz and word of mouth. Recent films include "Up," "Kung fu Panda" and "Puss in Boots."
In the market Indomina and Pantelion announced their plans to release Spanish language films. Variety is reporting that the two companies will team up to co-finance and distribute several predominantly Spanish language films internationally.
Weinstein Co. also announced that it will showcase some of the company's fall slate. Harvey Weinstein will host an exclusive reception at the majestic hotel and will present new teasers to "Macbeth," "Begin Again," "The Giver," "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For," "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby," "St. Vincent de Van Nuys," "Big Eyes," "The Imitation Game," "Suite Francaise" and "Paddington." This will be the third year in a row that company does the event, and it is mainly targeted to start buzz for the upcoming awards race.
A couple of casting notices came out as well. Helen Mirren will join Aaron Paul and Colin Firth on the cast of "Eye in the Sky." The movie will be directed by Gavin Hood who is best known for the Oscar winner "Tsotsi." Meanwhile Glenn Close will join "The Wife," which will be directed by Swedish director Bjorn Runge. The film is an adaptation of the Meg Wolitzer novel, and production on the film is set to begin in the winter or spring of 2015.
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