Looking at the upcoming fall festival lineups, we see many artful indie movies, and many without distributors. Where are the bigger titles? Maybe two Warner Bros. sequels, “Joker: Folie a Deux” and Tim Burton’s Venice opener “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” will pop.
We certainly look forward to seeing the reunion of Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton. But will Joaquin Phoenix join Lady Gaga on the red carpet and at the press conference? Will he settle with the Todd Haynes film he ditched five days before filming, leaving the cast and crew in the lurch? “Gaga could do the red carpet solo,” said People’s Nigel M. Smith, our special guest.
“Wolfs” will add George Clooney and Brad Pitt to the star wattage at Venice this year; Pitt will be separated by three days at the festival from his ex-wife Angelina Jolie, star of Pablo Larrain’s “Maria,” a portrait of opera singer Maria Callas. And at TIFF, we will see Jennifer Lopez, who plays a supporting role in true story “Unstoppable,” produced by her soon-to-be-ex-husband Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. We will also see “Nightbitch” star Amy Adams, who is long overdue for an Oscar after six nominations; she’s a TIFF tribute honoree.
Also expected to walk the carpet at TIFF is Pamela Anderson, star of Gia Coppola’s “The Last Showgirl” (Utopia). Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton will support Pedro Almodovar’s first English-language movie “The Room Next Door” at Venice, TIFF, and NYFF. Possible Oscar titles from Netflix include Cannes musical “Emilia Perez,” which won a collective Best Actress prize, as well as Malcolm Washington’s August Wilson film adaptation “The Piano Lesson,” produced by his father, Denzel Washington, and starring Samuel L.
Jackson, John David Washington, and Danielle Deadwyler. Also expected to get Oscar attention is NYFF opening night Amazon/MGM entry “Nickel Boys,” adapted by 2019 documentary Oscar nominee RaMell Ross (“Hale County This Morning, This Evening”) from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Colson Whitehead, starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. Steve McQueen’s “Blitz” will open the London Film Festival, as well as play as a centerpiece gala at NYFF.
Another British veteran, Mike Leigh, returns to the big screen with “Hard Truths,” rejoining his “Secrets & Lies” star Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Opening in theaters this weekend is Zoe Kravitz’s well-directed directorial debut “Blink Twice” (MGM Amazon) starring Naomi Ackie, Alia Shawkat, and Kravitz’s producer fiance Channing Tatum. The film’s ending is controversial; Kravitz opted not to use an alternate ending she tested with audiences.
As we predicted, the vendor behind the “Megalopolis” trailer using fake critics’ quotes from past Francis Coppola movies has been fired. We are also seeing far too many disappointing sequels, from “Alien: Romulus” to “The Crow.” Watch the full episode above or listen to it below.
Screen Talk is produced by Azwan Badruzaman and available on Apple Podcasts , Stitcher, and Spotify, and hosted by Megaphone. Browse previous episodes here , subscribe here , and be sure to let us know if you’d like to hear the hosts address specific issues in upcoming editions of Screen Talk ..
