Natalie Related News

Xavier Dolan film tidbits

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With the maelstrom of the latest releases in Venice and Toronto, we had forgotten a bit the next film by Xavier Dolan: The Death and Life of John F. Donovan. According to the young Canadian director, the movie is not presented in Cannes next year because the filming will continue in the spring and will not end until June 2017:

The Playlist: Xavier Dolan Says He Won’t Be Taking ‘John F. Donovan’ To Cannes

“I don’t think I’d present a film like this at Cannes,” the director told the Montreal Gazette. “It’s a film about an American TV star who is framed by the American media system. There are bits in it that are so much like what I lived in Cannes, and I’m afraid that people would think it’s my revenge project. Except that I wrote it five years ago (with Jacob Tierney).”

In addition to Dolan’s concerns about going to Cannes with the movie, it’s an open question as to whether or not ‘Donovan’ will be ready for next year. Filming was originally scheduled to wrap in November, but instead, the production (which the director has called “stressful”) that started this summer will go on hiatus and resume next spring.

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Planetarium Tiff Review

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Here’s another TIFF review! Critics have been a bit hard on this French-Belgium production, and after viewing the film, I can unfortunately see why.
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Rebecca Zlotowski is known for pushing boundaries, especially with 2013’s Grand Central. At 36, she has a future ahead of her. With the premise of Planetarium being leaked earlier this year, that film seemed like her future. Two sisters who are mediums being channeled by an early film maker? Sign us up! However, it isn’t once you watch the film that reality sets in. If anything, the first half an hour or so is actually spectacular and even magical. It is, instead, after this segment of the film that you find out how it really is. Planetarium has imaginative concepts, but you would have to lunge yourself to reach where the potential sits from where the film takes you. Planetarium had such promise, but it gets lost amidst its own ambitions.
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Even More TIFF Portraits

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The last round (though I’m sure there are a few more stragglers) of portraits of Natalie taken during the Toronto International Film Festival, starting with these two shots taken by Caitlin Cronenberg at W‘s on-site studio:

A behind-the-scenes ‘Gram and more after the jump! (more…)

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Jackie Film Review

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Hey everyone. It’s been a while since I’ve written for this site. I attended both Jackie and Planetarium at the Toronto International Film Festival, and I am going to review both of these releases. First, here’s Jackie!

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When Billy Crudup’s journalist character asks Jackie Onassis what it sounded like when the bullet went through her late husband’s head, you know you’re getting a grizzly depiction of how the John F. Kennedy assassination went down. Jackie is co-produced by Darren Aronofsky, who was originally slated to direct this film and have his ex parter Rachel Weisz star as the titular former First Lady. Aronofsky and Weisz abandoned their posts, but the former stayed with the project while Chilean director Pablo Larrain got put in charge. Aronofsky’s dismal filmmaking definitely can be felt here, as Larrain’s perception of the tragic event is almost unsettlingly real. Natalie Portman, also an Aronofsky affiliate, was selected for the main role, and the rest is history.
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