Hollywood
Five Asian world premieres compete at Tokyo fest
NEW DELHI: Five Asian films will have their world premieres in competition at the 26th Tokyo International Film Festival next month. The Festival will be held from 17-25 October.
The entries include two films from Japanese directors, Fukada Koji’s Au revoir l’été and actor-turned-director Sakaki Hideo’s Disregarded People based on George Akiyama’s novel.
Fukada’s debut film, Hospitalité (2010), debuted at the Tokyo festival three years ago in a now-retired section for local indies. His new film stars Nikaido Fumi as a teenager having a holiday romance.
Non-Japanese Asian films competing are Ning Ying’s To Live and Die in Ordos from China, Jun Robles Lana’s dramaBarber’s Tales from the Philippines, and the Kim Ki-duk produced black comedy Red Family.
Non-Asian films in the 15-strong competition include Daniele Luchetti’s drama Those Happy Days from Italy, Levan Koguashvili’s comedy Blind Dates from Georgia and Richard Ayoade’s thriller The Double from the UK.
The jury, headed by Chinese director Chen Kaige, is comprised of South Korean actress Mun So-ri, Japanese actress Terajima Shinobu, UK-Australian producer Chris Brown and American director Chris Weitz.
They are 22 Japanese feature films in the lineup, representing more than half the Asian titles. There are also six films from Taiwan, part of an already-announced special focus, and three each from China and Philippines.
The Special Screenings section includes films by Shinjo Takehiko, Kumazawa Naoto and Motoki Katsuhide alongside films directed by Luc Besson, Sofia Coppola and Steven Soderbergh.
Dante Lam’s Unbeatable and Vicki Zhao’s So Young screen in the World Focus section with Alex van Warmerdam’s Borgman (Netherlands), Amal Escalante’s Heli (Mexico) and Ulrich Seidl’s Love trilogy (Austria).
Two new competitive sections have been introduced this year, Asian Future and Japanese Cinema Splash, to replace the long-running Winds of Asia-Middle East (2007-2012) and Japanese Eyes (2004-2012) respectively.
The new Asian Future section for first- and second-time directors includes Juno MAK’s Rigor Mortis, Mikhail RED’s Rekorder and Kim Jeong-hun’s Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA) graduation feature Stray Dogs.
Japanese Cinema Splash, includes new films by Ogata Akira, Saito Hisashi and Matsui Daigo. It will also screen the winning film of the 35th Pia Film Festival (14-20 September 2013).
Hollywood
Did the ballet and opera controversy cost Timothée Chalamet his Oscar?
The actor’s ‘dying art forms’ comments may have danced away his Oscar chances.
LOS ANGELES: Last night, the 98th Academy Awards delivered a performance that wasn’t in the script, as Michael B. Jordan clinched the Best Actor statue, leaving Timothée Chalamet’s widely predicted win to pirouette away into the night. While Chalamet was long considered the frontrunner for his starring turn in Marty Supreme, many are whispering that a singular, ill-timed performance, not on screen but on the campaign trail, may have rewritten the finale.
For months, the narrative surrounding the race had a singular star, Chalamet, the critics’ darling and the bookies’ bet. However, the closing numbers saw a dramatic plot twist. Chalamet found himself upstaged not just by his fellow nominees but by the ghost of public opinion, following remarks he made during a Variety and CNN actor-on-actor conversation in February.
What started as a breezy discussion turned distinctly frosty when Chalamet, the conversation’s designated trendsetter, took aim at some classical institutions. “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, where no one is interested anymore,” he said, before branding them “dying art forms.”
The backlash was swift and, unfortunately for Chalamet’s campaign, star-studded. For the film industry, an establishment that often fancies itself as the glamorous custodian of the high arts, the actor’s comments didn’t just strike a bum note. They sounded like a discordant symphony. Academy heavyweights, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Whoopi Goldberg and Steven Spielberg, publicly voiced their disapproval. Spielberg himself countered that the “cinematic experience” and classical performance are bound by a similar dedication to audience engagement, effectively suggesting that Chalamet’s view was perhaps a bit too modern for its own good.
The conversation quickly became a media maelstrom. In a masterstroke of high-culture clapback, renowned ballerina Misty Copeland didn’t just issue a statement. The Academy even choreographed a surprise performance by her for the ceremony itself, a powerful, wordless rebuttal that many saw as a direct riposte to Chalamet’s dismissive claims. Even regional arts institutions joined the choreography. The Seattle Opera offered a cheeky “TIMOTHEE” discount, granting a 14 percent markdown to prove that people do, in fact, care.
Did this cultural counterpoint truly cost Chalamet his win? While some industry insiders argue that Michael B. Jordan’s complex dual performance in Sinners, a performance that also swept the SAG Awards, had simply built up too much momentum, the timing of Chalamet’s comments was undeniably poor. Coming as final Oscar voting began, they arguably soured his narrative and made a vote for him feel, to some, like a vote against artistic unity.
Even the ceremony itself wasn’t finished with the narrative. Host Conan O’Brien, whose sharp tongue is a celebrated feature of these galas, didn’t miss a beat. “Security is extremely tight tonight,” O’Brien jibed during his opening monologue, glancing toward the front row. “I’m told there are concerns about attacks from both the opera and ballet communities. They’re just mad you left out jazz!”
The laughter that followed was pointed, a final public curtain call for a controversy that Chalamet likely wished had closed weeks ago. Whether it was a case of genuine peer disapproval, a sudden surge in support for Jordan’s powerhouse performance, or simply a case of poor footwork on the campaign stage, the ballet and opera debacle has now cemented its place in Oscar history. Chalamet’s experience serves as a clear memo to future contenders. Even when you are the headline act, a solo performance can still fall flat if you forget to play to the entire house.
