The Cannes Film Festival is in full swing, and that means lots of deals, attachments, signings, news and yes, first looks. And there’s a bunch. First up is probably our most anticipated of the lot because of the filmmakers involved. Here’s a first look at “Mississippi Grind” from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the directors of “Half Nelson” and “Sugar.” They stumbled a little with “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” but everyone can stumble when your taste seems to be as omnivorous and diverse as theirs (they’ve done a drama, a sports film and a mental illness comedy so far). In a movie about con-men and gamblers, Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn feature as a pair of “oddball strangers” who hit the road together to try to make a high-stakes poker tournament in New Orleans. Evidently the influences included ‘70s classics like Robert Altman’s “California Split” and Jerry Schatzberg’s “Scarecrow.” That is music to our ears frankly, so we’re all in.
“It’s very much a character piece,” Fleck told EW. “They both have different agendas. Gerry wants to win his money and change his life and pay off his debts. Curtis’ motivations are a lot more mysterious. We don’t know why he’s going on this journey till it reveals itself later on in the movie.” It has no release date yet, but the movie also stars Sienna Miller, Analeigh Tipton, and Alfre Woodard. We smell a debut at TIFF.
Here’s your first image of Nicholas Hoult in the dark satirical comedy “Kill Your Friends.” Directed by Owen Harris, the character is said to be someone “slashing and burning his way through the music business,” and the movie also co-stars James Corden, Joseph Mawle, Tom Riley, Georgia King, Craig Roberts, Ed Hogg, Jim Piddock and Osy Ikhile. [ScreenDaily]
Here’s a first look at “The Man From Carrion Road.” It’s directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego and stars Patrick Wilson, Ian McShane, Jim Belushi, Lynn Collins, and John Leguizamo. Relativity International’s Camela Galano is handling international sales in Cannes. The crime drama follows a retired sheriff (McShane) and his replacement (Wilson) as they investigate a cartel deal gone wrong, while hunted by a vicious hit man (Leguizamo).
“The Keeping Room” is directed by Daniel Barber and stars Hailee Steinfeld, Sam Worthington, Brit Marling, Amy Nuttall, and Ned Dennehy. The movie follows three Southern women – two sisters and one African American slave – who, left without men in the dying days of the Civil War, are forced to defend their home from the onslaught of a band of soldiers who have broken off from the fast approaching Union Army. [LiveForFilm]
Here’s the first photo from “The Driftless Area” starring Anton Yelchin and Zooey Deschanel. The movie co-stars Frank Langella, John Hawkes, Ciaran Hinds, Alia Shawkat and and tells the tale of an unconventional romance about death, love and fate. Pierre’s life is saved by a beautiful stranger, and their pasts catch up with them in a violent and transcendent finale.
“This Is Where I Leave You” has a huge cast. Directed by Shawn Levy (“Cheaper by the Dozen,” “The Internship“) and based on the novel by Jonathan Tropper, the film stars Jane Fonda, Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Rose Byrne, Adam Driver, Kathryn Hahn, Corey Stoll, Connie Britton, Ben Schwartz, Timothy Olyphant, Aaron Lazar, Debra Monk, Abigail Spencer and Dax Shepard. Said to be a bittersweet family comedy, Levy tends to go rather broad there so buyer beware. [EW]
“American Splendor” directors Bob Pulcini and Shari Berman have a new movie. It’s called “Ten Thousand Saints“ and it stars Ethan Hawke and Asa Butterfield (“Hugo,” “Ender’s Game”). Co-written by the duo, its story is a sweeping, multi-generational one set against the backdrop of the raw, roaring New York City of the late 1980s; adoption, teen pregnancy, drugs, hardcore punk rock, the unbridled optimism and reckless stupidity of the young—and old—are all major elements in this heart-aching tale of the son of diehard hippies and his strange odyssey through the extremes of late-20th-century youth culture.
The cast of “Testament of Youth” is terrific and includes “Game Of Thrones” star Kit Harington, Alicia Vikander (“Anna Karenina”), Hayley Atwell, Emily Watson, Dominic West and Miranda Richardson. Directed by James Kent (the TV movie “Margaret”), it’s about a British woman (Vikander) who recalls coming of age during World War I. [ScreenDaily]
Director David Robert Mitchell’s follow-up to the dreamy “The Myth Of The American Sleepover” marks the noted young U.S. director’s second outing in Cannes Critics’ Week. Titled “It Follows,” the movie chronicles the story of a young woman’s bizarre sexual encounter that leads her to believe she is being pursued. Maika Monroe from “At Any Price” stars.
Shooting has wrapped in London on “Absolutely Anything,” the new comedy starring Simon Pegg from Monty Python’s Terry Jones and this is the first image from the movie. The movie also stars Kate Beckinsale, comedian Rob Riggle and Robin Williams who voices Pegg’s dog. The movie is about an a disillusioned school teacher (Pegg) who suddenly finds he has the ability to do anything he wants, a challenge bestowed upon him by a group of power-crazed aliens watching him from space. Sounds fairly amusing. [Screen Daily]
Lastly, the romance “Swung” starring “The Skin I Live In” lead Elena Anaya, Elizabeth McGovern and Owen McDonnell. Directed by Colin Kennedy (a second-unit director on “Starred Up,” and “Hallam Foe“), when an encounter with the swinging scene has an unexpected impact on David’s (McDonnell) impotence, Alice (Anaya) thinks she might have found the solution to all their problems, but the poly-amorous world is a difficult place for a love story to flourish. [ScreenDaily]
Here’s a a first look at Katherine Heigl in “Your Right Mind.” Directed by Ami Canaan Mann (Michael Mann‘s daughter who helmed “Texas Killing Fields“), the movie co-stars Clea DuVall (“Argo“), Sheryl Lee (“Winter’s Bone“), Emily Alyn Lind (“J. Edgar“), and Academy Award-winning musician/actor Ryan Bingham (“Crazy Heart“).
Here’s the first photo from director Tom Vaughan‘s (“What Happens In Vegas“) romantic comedy “How To Make Love LIke An Englishman” a starring Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek and Jessica Alba.