Paris Eiffel Tower

Alexander Payne says he only finished postproduction last Friday on his Cannes competition entry Nebraska, which had its press screening this morning and will premiere tonight. Reviews coming in so far are largely mixed to very good. Even though Paramount won’t release it until November 22, Payne likes to take awhile in post to get everything right. There was initial concern about even making the Cannes date, so that is why until just a week before this year’s official lineup was announced did Paramount and Payne even decide to take a shot. He brought the film to Paris, showed it to Thierry Fremaux with only two days to spare, and landed tonight’s slot. Payne is becoming somewhat of a Cannes regular — although other than 2002′s About Schmidt, this is only his second film in competition. He has served on the juries of both Un Certain Regard and, last year, the main selection. Nebraska, which will be one of Paramount’s Oscar hopes this year, played well to nice but brief applause from the press at the screening and at the press conference that followed (especially when stars Bruce Dern and Will Forte were introduced). It’s pure Payne in its humanist, gently funny style and ... Read More »

Paris-based sales agent Other Angle is celebrating its fifth birthday at Cannes with a flurry of deals across its slate, and a pickup. “The Big Bad Wolf,” a French comedy starring Benoit Poelvoorde (“Coco Before Chanel”), Kad Merad (“Welcome to the Sticks”) and Charlotte Le Bon (“Yves Saint Laurent”), sold to Canada (Christal), Switzerland (Frenetic) and... Read more »