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Jessica Hausner with Anne-Katrin Titze on Sylvie Testud’s Christine, Léa Seydoux’s Maria, Bruno Todeschini’s Kuno, and Gilette Barbier’s Frau Hartl in Lourdes: “I was thinking about the story of Heidi [by Johanna Spyri].”

In the first installment with Jessica Hausner on three of her feature films before her latest, the bewitching Club Zero (European Film Award Best Original Score to Markus Binder), we start the conversation with Lourdes, costumes, as always, designed by Tanja Hausner, cinematography by Martin Gschlacht, sound design by Erik Mischijew, and production design by Katharina Wöppermann (Shirin Neshat and Shoja Azari’s Women Without Men).

Kuno (Bruno Todeschini) with Christine (Sylvie Testud), Frau Hartl (Gilette Barbier) and Cécile (Elina Löwensohn)

Maria (Léa Seydoux), a newcomer to the...

Sandra Hüller rose to fame in the acclaimed Toni Erdmann, showcasing her versatility in comedy-drama acting. Her recent Best Picture-nominated roles highlight her range, from legal drama to historical tragedy. While the tone may differ, Hüller's authenticity shines through, captivating audiences worldwide.

Sandra Hüller is finally earning some much-deserved international recognition for her starring roles in the Best Picture-nominated Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest, but her breakout role came way back in 2016. In Anatomy of a Fall, Hüller plays Sandra Voyter, a famous writer who’s put on trial for murder following her husband’s mysterious death. In The Zone of Interest, she plays Hedwig Höss, the wife of Nazi commandant Rudolf Höss, who tries to build an idyllic life for her family next door to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Hüller is one of the few actors to appear in two Best Picture nominees in the same year.

That Sandra Hüller is no ordinary actress became clear to a wide swath of critics and cinephiles with “Toni Erdmann.” Maren Ade’s global breakout 2016 comedy tracked the relationship of a hard-driving professional woman and her scruffy, anarchic father (the late Peter Simonischek), who wants to push her out of her comfort zone and make her reconnect with her inner child. Over the course of this delightful father-daughter journey, the uptight executive winds up belting out Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All” and sauntering around a party völlig nackt (totally nude).

But even after rave reviews, an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and multiple Hollywood meetings, the actress stayed in Germany, continuing to pursue roles in European theater and film that kept her close to her daughter, who is now 12.

This year, though, she is on the festival circuit with two Cannes prize-winners: French filmmaker Justine Triet...

Peter Simonischek, the Austrian actor who rose to international prominence late in life through Oscar-nominated feature Toni Erdmann, has died. He was 76.

He passed away surrounded by family in Vienna, according to a statement released by Austria’s national theater, the Burgtheater. No cause of death was given.

Simonischek was a well-known actor in the German-speaking world and performed at the Salzburg Festival. He played the title role in Austrian play Jedermann several times, appeared in TV movies such as Years of Love and features such as Franz Seitz Jr.’s Success.

He joined the Burgtheater in 1999, according to the institution, and was made an honorary member in 2019.

However, it was in 2016 when he played ageing prankster Winifred Conradi in the Austrian film Toni Erdmann that he gained international popularity. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Oscars,...

Austrian actor most recently starred in Berlinale title ‘Measures Of Men’

Austrian actor Peter Simonischek, the star of acclaimed film Toni Erdmann, has died aged 76.

Simonischek was well known as a theatre, TV and film actor in the German-speaking world before making his international breakthrough playing alongside Sandra Hüller in Maren Ade’s father-daughter comedy Toni Erdmann which premiered at Cannes in 2016.

Simonischek played an ageing, cranky music teacher with a penchant for pranks who wants to win the love of his daughter.

The Cannes Competition title topped Screen’s Jury Grid at the festival and went on to be...

Celebrated in Austria for his theatre work, the actor made his international breakthrough aged 69 in the Oscar-nominated film about an ageing prankster

Austrian actor Peter Simonischek, who played a whimsical patriarch in the Oscar-nominated film Toni Erdmann, has died in Vienna aged 76, a spokeswoman for the Austrian Federal Theatres said on Tuesday.

Born in Graz in 1946, Simonischek received great acclaim in the German-speaking world for his performances, including numerous appearances at the famous Salzburg festival.

Peter Simonischek, the Austrian actor who starred in the movie Toni Erdmann and was known for his work on theatre stages, in films and on TV, has died at the age of 76.

Austrian public broadcaster Orf, German news agency dpa, and other media outlets in Austria and Germany reported the news on Tuesday without immediately detailing a cause of death. The Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria also tweeted that Simonischek, a member of its ensemble and an honorary member of the theater, had died overnight.

The actor regularly appeared at the Salzburg Festival, where he was known for playing the title role in the play Jedermann (Everyman), which the festival has put on regularly, numerous times. For his role in Maren Ade’s 2016 oddball dramedy and Oscar nominee Toni Erdmann, opposite Sandra Hüller, Simonischek won the German Film Award, or Lola, and the European Film Award for best actor. Among others,...

Picture Tree Intl. has boarded Berlin Film Festival title “Measures of Men,” which focuses on the genocide committed by the German army against the Ovaherero and Nama tribes in Southwestern Africa. The trailer debuts (below).

The film is written and directed by Lars Kraume, whose credits include Berlin’s “The Silent Revolution” and Toronto’s “The People vs. Fritz Bauer.” It stars Leonard Scheicher, Namibian actor Girley Charlene Jazama and “Toni Erdmann” star Peter Simonischek.

The film has its world premiere on Feb. 22 in the Berlinale Special section, and will be released in Germany by Studiocanal in late March.

The film begins in Berlin at the end of the 19th century when a delegation of the Ovaherero and Nama tribes travels to the city. Alexander Hoffmann, a student of ethnology, is impressed by the intellect of their translator Kezia Kambazembi, and begins to question the racial theories of white supremacy.

Click here to read the full article.

Stateside, German actor Til Schweiger has become a “that guy” of action thrillers, a supporting player who turns up —in Atomic Blond, King Arthur or Inglourious Basterds — for a memorable line (“Say auf Wiedersehen to your Nazi balls!”) or some high-energy action scene.

The parts Schweiger gets offered — Medieval, Highland Film Group’s new period actioner screening at AFM, in which he co-stars alongside Ben Foster and Sophie Lowe is a case in point — tend to be hunky heavies and tough guys. In the parts he writes for himself — in the string of German box office hits which he also directed, including Barefoot (2005), Rabbit Without Ears (2007) and Kokowääh (2011) — Schweiger favors the cocky, cynical outsider whose heart eventually gets melted by the charms

of a smart-alecky kid or the love of a wary woman.

Occasionally, Schweiger also dips into darker territory. His 2014 dramedy success...

Despite his exit from Warner Bros’ big-screen DC movie universe, director Zack Snyder isn’t done with shared universes just yet. And while his tenure as the creative lead of the Dceu, which culminated with this year’s Snyder Cut of Justice League, may have been polarizing to say the least, the Army of the Dead director may actually be just what Netflix needed.

After years of chasing ways to build its own coveted blockbuster shared universe, such as with its failed attempt to launch a superhero universe based on Mark Millar’s Jupiter’s Legacy, the streaming service finally seems to have the foundation it was looking for with Snyder’s return to the genre that turned him into an A-lister back in 2004. In fact, Army of the Dead was originally conceived as a sequel to Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake, but almost two decades later, it’s grown much bigger than that.

Return to the action-packed world of Army of the Dead in the first trailer for Netflix's upcoming prequel, Army of Thieves. The footage teases the kind of high-octane, fast-paced heist shenanigans that fans of the first outing enjoyed as Matthias Schweighöfer's Ludwig Dieter takes center stage and puts his safe-cracking skills to good use during the early years of the zombie outbreak.

In this prequel to Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, small-town bank teller Dieter gets drawn into the adventure of a lifetime when a mysterious woman recruits him to join a crew of Interpol's most wanted criminals, attempting to heist a sequence of legendary, impossible-to-crack safes across Europe.

Zack Snyder is on board as a producer for this one, with lead actor Matthias Schweighöfer taking on directing duties. Working from a screenplay by Shay Hatten, from an original story co-written by Snyder and Hatten, Army...

Director Zack Snyder's balls-to-the-wall zombie heist movie is gearing up to explode onto Netflix next week, and now, more details have been revealed about the upcoming prequel, Army of Thieves. Directed by one of the stars of Army of the Dead, Matthias Schweighöfer, Army of Thieves will offer some insight into the early days of the zombie outbreak, with the new logline revealing that it will involve, wait for it, another heist!

"A mysterious woman recruits bank teller Dieter to assist in a heist of impossible-to-crack safes across Europe."

Matthias Schweighöfer will be directing the project from a screenplay by Shay Hatten and a story by Zack Snyder and Hatten, with Zack Snyder and Deborah Snyder also on board as producers. Along with directing duties, Schweighöfer will reprise his Army of the Dead role as Ludwig Dieter, and will be joined by Game of Thrones and Fast and Furious star Nathalie Emmanuel as Gwendoline.

The Army Of The Dead prequel is officially titled Army Of Thieves. Zack Snyder, co-writer, director and cinematographer of Army of the Dead, announced the name of the prequel to his zombie-heist film during a Q&a session concerning the recently released trailer for Army Of The Dead.

Army Of Thieves will be centered around the character of Ludwig Dieter, played by actor Matthias Schweighöfer, who will also take over directorial duties from Zack Snyder for the prequel. The film is set to explore the initial days of the Las Vegas zombie outbreak. Matthias Schweighöfer will be joined by Nathalie Emmanuel, Guz Khan, and Stuart Martin as new cast members, while Zack Snyder will be producing with his wife Debroah Snyder.

Busy here in LA editing #Aotd. Meanwhile in Germany/Prague, the prequel starts filming this week! Nathalie Emmanuel, Stuart Martin, Matthias Schweighöfer, Guz Khan, Ruby O´Fee - and additionally: Jonathan Cohen,...

The film stars Toni Erdmann’s Peter Simonischek as a world-famous conductor who accepts the job of creating an Israeli-Palestinian youth orchestra.

Global Screen has added France and Japan to the line-up of territories which have now picked up Dror Zahavi’s drama Crescendo #makemusicnotwar.

Deals were signed on the eve of this year’s European Film Market (Efm) with France’s Bodega Films and Japan’s Shochiku, with the film’s inflight distribution rights being acquired by Encore.

Global Screen had previously concluded deals with Menemsha Films for the USA and Canada as well as with Satine (Italy), Adso...

A loving tribute to Studio Babelsberg, the story of a family’s escape from Nazi Germany, a moving drama about young Palestinians and Israelis working together, and an adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s children’s novel “The Amazing Maurice” are among a wide-ranging selection of German films on offer at Afm this year.

Leading sales companies are presenting the gamut of romantic dramas, arthouse works, high-profile literary adaptations, family films and animated pics.

Picture Tree Intl. presents Martin Schreier’s “Traumfabrik,” a period-piece love letter to East Germany’s famed Defa film studios, now known as Studio Babelsberg. Produced by the late Tom Zickler, the romantic drama follows a young studio extra’s ambitious efforts to reunite with the French girl he loves after being separated by the construction of the Berlin Wall. The film, which opens the 50th Goa Film Festival on Nov. 20, has already sold in major territories around the world,...

Global Screen has sold the distribution rights for North America for “Crescendo#makemusicnotwar” to Menemsha Films. The film, loosely inspired by the story of the formation of Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, toplines “Toni Erdmann” star Peter Simonischek.

Global Screen also closed deals on the film for Spain (Adso Films International Management), Italy (Satine), Korea (Tcast) and Taiwan (Swallow Wings Films). Strong interest has also been signalled by distributors in other territories, Global Screen said.

The film, helmed by Dror Zahavi (“Everything for My Father”), was recently presented with the Rheingold Audience Award at the 15th Festival of German Cinema in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. Zahavi received a 1988 Student Oscar nomination for “Alexander Penn – Ich will allein sein.”

Simonischek plays world famous conductor Eduard Sporck, who accepts the job to create an Israeli-Palestinian youth orchestra, but is quickly drawn into a tempest of seemingly unsolvable problems. Having grown up in a state of war,...

As the weekend hits, it’s time to bring back the review round-up in order to cover a few more titles arriving in theaters. Today, we’ll be briefly discussing two particular genre efforts, each of them quite different from the other. The movies in question are the true life drama The Command (formerly known as Kursk on the festival circuit) as well as the anthology horror tale Nightmare Cinema. Both of these flicks offers up something different and may or may not be worth your time. That question is something I’ll attempt to answer right now, so let us dive in! The Command It’s impossible not to currently think about HBO’s miniseries Chernobyl while watching The Command. A high profile Russian tragedy that could have, if not been prevented, then reduced with less bureaucracy and corruption? Yeah, there are parallels. However, while the cable prestige program has drawn raves,...

Saban Films has released a trailer for their upcoming Russian submarine thriller called The Command. The movie stars Collin Firth and tells the true story of the K-1412 Kursk.

The K-1412 Kursk was “a Russian flagship nuclear powered submarine that sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea in August 2000. As 23 sailors fought for survival aboard the disabled sub, their families desperately battled bureaucratic obstacles and impossible odds to find answer and save them.”

The movie, which looks like intense, was directed by Thomas Vinterberg and also stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Léa Seydoux, Peter Simonischek, and Max von Sydow.

The movie will be released on Direct TV on May 23rd and in theaters on June 21st.

Take a look at the feature "Kursk", directed by Thomas Vinterberg, based on author Robert Moore's "A Time to Die", about the true story of the 2000 'Kursk Submarine' disaster, starring Matthias Schoenaerts, Colin Firth, Léa Seydoux, Peter Simonischek, Max von Sydow, Matthias Schweighöfer and Michael Nyqvist:

"...based on the 2000 'K-141' 'Kursk' submarine disaster, with 118 sailors dying, Kursk sank during a naval exercise in the Barents Sea. 

"Twenty-three sailors survived, trapped in the sub, desperately waiting for help to arrive, while their oxygen ran out minute-by-minute. 

"But the government refused help for five days before agreeing to aid from the Brits and Norwegians..."

Cast also includes Martin Brambach, Guido De Craene, Geoffrey Newland, Danny Van Meenen, Kristof Coenen, Matthias Schweighöfer and Lars Brygmann.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Kursk"...

This year's Made In Prague film festival will mark the start of celebrations for the London Czech centre, which under the banner Czech100 will also present art, design, fashion, theatre and music to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia.

The film showcase will run from November 2 to 4 and feature UK premieres and new releases, including this year's Czech and Slovak nominations for the foreign language Oscar.

Czech entry, Winter Flies, is a coming-of-age comedy road trip. Written and directed by Olmo Omerz, it charts to youngsters' misadventures and mischief as they navigate the Czech countryside in a stolen Audi. Slovak entry The Interpreter, directed by Martin Sulik, also sees an odd couple go on a road trip. Toni Erdmann's Peter Simonischek and Closely Observed Trains director Jiri Menzel star as the son of an SS officer...

For many of us of an impressionable age and frame of mind in the year 2000, the Kursk submarine disaster occupies a uniquely chilling part of the imagination. Even far removed and only getting updates via news reports, the real-time experience of the excruciating 7-day delay between the explosions that sent the Russian nuclear submarine to the bottom of the Barents Sea and the rescue mission divers finally opening its hatch, caught international attention in the same way imperiled space missions used to, or, a decade later, a Chilean mine collapse would.

This is both a blessing and a burden for Thomas Vinterberg’s expensive, glossy recreation of the disaster and its immediate aftermath, “Kursk.” On the one hand, it’s a story everyone knows, and on the other hand, it’s a story everyone knows. How to make it feel new and exciting while being respectful of the real lives...

Kursk International Trailer Thomas Vinterberg‘s Kursk (2019) international movie trailer stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Colin Firth, Léa Seydoux, Peter Simonischek, and Max von Sydow. Kursk‘s plot synopsis: based on the 2000 Russian submarine disaster, “The film follows the 2000 K-141 Kursk submarine disaster and the governmental negligence that followed. As the sailors fight for survival, their families [...]

Continue reading: Kursk (2018) International Movie Trailer: Matthias Schoenaerts & Léa Seydoux Cope with a Submarine Disaster...

The first trailer for Thomas Vinterberg real-life adaptation of the submarine disaster in which the men were left to die, Kursk has been released.

Based on Robert Moore’s book A Time to Die, about the true story of the 2000 Kursk submarine disaster, the film stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Colin Firth, Léa Seydoux, Peter Simonischek, Max von Sydow, Matthias Schweighöfer and Michael Nyqvist in one of his final film roles.

Also in trailers – Harrowing new trailer for Paul Greengrass’s 22 July is released by Netflix

The film premiered in Toronto this week and goes on general release in November.

Kursk Synopsis

The film follows the 2000 K-141 Kursk submarine disaster and the governmental negligence that followed. As the sailors fight for survival, their families desperately battle political obstacles and impossible odds to save them.

The post Colin Firth attempts to save Matthias Schoenaerts in first trailer for Kursk appeared first on HeyUGuys.

After breaking through with his Dogme 95 films, Thomas Vinterberg has blossomed into quite the dexterous filmmaker, from harrowing drama like The Hunt to heart-tugging period dramas like Far From the Madding Crowd. For his next feature he’s entering the submarine thriller subgenre with Kursk. Ahead of a Tiff world premiere, the first international trailer has now arrived.

Based on the 2000 disaster, Matthias Schoenaerts, Colin Firth, Léa Seydoux, Peter Simonischek, Max von Sydow, Matthias Schweighöfer and the late Michael Nyqvist lead the film, which captures the true story that led to the death of 118 Russian sailors. Featuring cinematography from Anthony Dod Mantle and a score by Alexandre Desplat, see the first trailer below and return for our review soon.

Kursk premieres at Tiff.

Screen’s regularly updated list of foreign language Oscar submissions.

Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are not until Tuesday January 22, but the first submissions for best foreign-language film are now being announced.

Last year saw a record 92 submissions for the award, which were narrowed down to a shortlist of nine. This was cut to five nominees, with Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama A Fantastic Woman ultimately taking home the gold statue.

Screen’s interview with Mark Johnson, chair of the Academy’s foreign-language film committee, explains the shortlisting process from submission to voting.

Submitted films must be released theatrically...

Screen’s regularly updated list of foreign language Oscar submissions.

Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are not until Tuesday January 22, but the first submissions for best foreign-language film are now being announced.

Last year saw a record 92 submissions for the award, which were narrowed down to a shortlist of nine. This was cut to five nominees, with Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama A Fantastic Woman ultimately taking home the gold statue.

Screen’s interview with Mark Johnson, chair of the Academy’s foreign-language film committee, explains the shortlisting process from submission to voting.

Submitted films must be released theatrically...

Screen’s regularly updated list of foreign language Oscar submissions.

Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are not until Tuesday January 22, but the first submissions for best foreign-language film are now being announced.

Last year saw a record 92 submissions for the award, which were narrowed down to a shortlist of nine. This was cut to five nominees, with Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama A Fantastic Woman ultimately taking home the gold statue.

Screen’s interview with Mark Johnson, chair of the Academy’s foreign-language film committee, explains the shortlisting process from submission to voting.

Submitted films must be released theatrically...

Screen’s regularly updated list of foreign language Oscar submissions.

Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are not until Tuesday January 22, but the first submissions for best foreign-language film are now being announced.

Last year saw a record 92 submissions for the award, which were narrowed down to a shortlist of nine. This was cut to five nominees, with Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama A Fantastic Woman ultimately taking home the gold statue.

Screen’s interview with Mark Johnson, chair of the Academy’s foreign-language film committee, explains the shortlisting process from submission to voting.

Submitted films must be released theatrically...

Screen’s regularly updated list of foreign language Oscar submissions.

Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are not until Tuesday January 22, but the first submissions for best foreign-language film are now being announced.

Last year saw a record 92 submissions for the award, which were narrowed down to a shortlist of nine. This was cut to five nominees, with Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama A Fantastic Woman ultimately taking home the gold statue.

Screen’s interview with Mark Johnson, chair of the Academy’s foreign-language film committee, explains the shortlisting process from submission to voting.

Submitted films must be released theatrically...

Estonia has selected drama “Take It or Leave It” as its submission for the Oscar for best foreign-language film – the third time in five years that the country has put forward a movie from producer Ivo Felt, whose 2014 “Tangerines” received Estonia’s only Academy Award nomination.

“Take It or Leave It” beat six other contenders under consideration by a selection committee led by Edith Sepp, CEO of the Estonian Film Institute, which announced the selection Thursday. Five members of the seven-person panel picked “Take It or Leave It” as their choice for submission to the Academy.

Director Liina Triškina-Vanhatalo’s film tackles themes of responsibility, single parenthood and economic inequality. It tells the story of a 30-year-old construction worker who suddenly finds himself a single parent when his ex-girlfriend, whom he hasn’t seen for six months, has a baby girl and informs him that she’ll put the child...

Screen’s regularly updated list of foreign language Oscar submissions.

Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are not until Tuesday January 22, but the first submissions for best foreign-language film are now being announced.

Last year saw a record 92 submissions for the award, which were narrowed down to a shortlist of nine. This was cut to five nominees, with Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama A Fantastic Woman ultimately taking home the gold statue.

Screen’s interview with Mark Johnson, chair of the Academy’s foreign-language film committee, explains the shortlisting process from submission to voting.

Submitted films must be released theatrically...

The english-language adaptation of German comedy sensation “Toni Erdmann” is still alive at Paramount, TheWrap has learned, but with some key changes in housekeeping.

Jack Nicholson is no longer attached to star as an errant father to a joyless daughter, despite reports to the contrary on Wednesday, one insider familiar with the project said. Kristen Wiig is still attached to star as the daughter, career-driven until her dad teaches her chaotic lessons about what matters most in life.

Lisa Cholodenko is now stepping up to direct the project in addition to writing the adaptation — a role she took this Spring after former producing team Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner dropped out.

Also Read: 'Wonder Woman 1984': First Look at Kristen Wiig as Barbara Minerva (Photo)

Nicholson spent a long time on the fence during early development, which would have brought him out of an 8-year movie hiatus. He...

Slovakia has selected Martin Sulik’s tragic war comedy The Interpreter to represent it in the Foreign Language Oscar race.

The film, directed by Gypsy director Sulik, stars Toni Erdmann’s Peter Simonischek and Jiří Menzel. Menzel stars as 80-year-old translator Ali Ungár, who comes across a book written by a former SS officer recounting his war experiences in Slovakia. Ali realises that one of the chapters may well describe his own parents’ execution. And so, armed with a pistol, he sets off to Vienna to look for the SS man and take his revenge. But once there, the only person he encounters is the man’s 70-year-old son Georg, a former teacher played by Simonischek, who has spent his whole life avoiding his father and suffering from an addiction to alcohol.

The translator’s visit arouses Georg’s curiosity and he decides to invite Ali on a trip through Slovakia.

Screen’s regularly updated list of foreign language Oscar submissions.

Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards are not until Tuesday January 22, but the first submissions for best foreign-language film are now being announced.

Last year saw a record 92 submissions for the award, which were narrowed down to a shortlist of nine. This was cut to five nominees, with Sebastián Lelio’s transgender drama A Fantastic Woman ultimately taking home the gold statue.

Screen’s interview with Mark Johnson, chair of the Academy’s foreign-language film committee, explains the shortlisting process from submission to voting.

Submitted films must be released theatrically...

Former “Girls” collaborators Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner will not make their studio screenwriting debut with Paramount’s English-language take on “Toni Erdmann.” Last June, the duo was negotiating to adapt Maren Ade’s 2016 dramedy of the same name, which vied for the Palme d’Or and Best Foreign Language Film Oscar (Germany). However, co-producer Adam McKay told IndieWire that “it didn’t work out with them.”

Paramount confirmed that the new writers are Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, Oscar nominees for their “The Kids Are All Right” screenplay. Cholodenko, who directed that film, will also direct “Toni Erdmann.” “We just got our first draft of it,” said McKay.

He added that the project is “on track” and lead producer Jessica Elbaum — who conceptualized Gloria Sanchez Productions as the female-centric counterpart to McKay and Will Ferrell’s Gary Sanchez Productions — is “really happy” with the initial script, which now requires McKay’s notes.

Simonschek plays the son of a former Nazi officer.

The first trailer for The Interpreter starring Peter Simonischek has been released exclusively to Screen International ahead of the film’s premiere in the Berlinale Special section on Friday 23.

Simonischek, who won the 2016 European Film Award for Best European Actor for Toni Erdmann, plays Georg, a retiree living in Vienna who is visited by Ali, an interpreter looking for the Nazi officer who may have killed his parents in Slovakia. The two men find a common interest, and begin a journey across Slovakia to find surviving witnesses of the wartime tragedy.

Ali is played by renowned Czech actor and director Jiří Menzel, who won the Academy Award for best foreign language film in 1968 for his film Closely Watched Trains

The film is directed by Slovakian Martin Šulík who made Gypsy, the Slovak Republic’s entry to the Academy Awards in 2011. He also won two Czech Lions for directing...

Rupert Everett’s The Happy Prince and Pernille Fischer Christensen’s Unga Astrid picked for Berlinale Special.

Source: Wiki Commons

Steven Soderbergh, José Padilha

Five more films have joined the main lieups of the 2018 Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 15 - 25). A further six films have been selected for the programme of the Berlinale Special.

Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane will get an out of competition world premiere. It stars Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah and Juno Temple and was reportedly shot on iPhone.

Also premiering out of competition is José Padilha’s true story thriller 7 Days In Entebbe, starring Rosamund Pike, Daniel Brühl and Eddie Marsan.

New films from Lav Diaz and Alonso Ruizpalacios will play in competition.

Rupert Everett’s Oscar Wilde biopic The Happy Prince and Becoming Astrid by Pernille Fischer Christensen have been added to the Berlinale Special Gala section.

Read more: Robert Pattinson, Christian Petzold movies join Berlin Film Festival Competition

23 of the 24 titles...

Much has been made about the dearth of strong female roles in contemporary cinema, and the problematic depictions of women in many recent movies, but the past two decades have provided plenty of counterexamples. While the onus is on writers and directors to craft strong female characters, the actresses themselves bring these figures to life, and they’re often the main reason we keep being drawn back to these works.

In no particular order, our favorite — and we’d like to think the best — female performances of the 21st century.

Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”

Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle” begins with a laugh that catches in your throat: A wide-eyed cat looks off-screen to the screams of a man and woman in apparent orgiastic bliss. Then comes the cutaway, which reveals a far more nefarious incident: Middle-aged Michéle (Isabelle Huppert), in the process of getting raped by a masked assailant on the floor of her home.

Maren Ade’s parent-child comedy is a triumph, while Asghar Farhadi’s domestic suspense film doesn’t match his best

I am writing this week’s column in the balmy rosé-and-Nurofen glow of the Cannes film festival, where Pedro Almodóvar’s jury is about to dish out its prizes. If things go as they usually do, critics will feel alternately vindicated and perplexed by the winners, and a masterpiece or two will go entirely ignored and be just fine anyway – just ask Toni Erdmann (Soda, 15). This time last year, Maren Ade’s ingenious, elastic twist on the parent-child comedy earned the most ecstatic reviews of the festival, while George Miller and his jurors gave it nada.

Trust the critics on this one. Running from dizzily absurd farce to laceratingly honest heartbreak across nearly three exhilarating hours, this story of a tightly wound businesswoman torn between severing and mending relations with her lonely,...

Editor’s Note: Click here for more information about the indie films available from Movies on Demand.

The 2017 Cannes Film Festival is about to begin, so what better way to celebrate than with last year’s breakout darling? “I, Daniel Blake” may have won the Palme d’Or, but Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” was the undisputed hit of the festival, earning multiple mid-screening applauses and rave reviews across the board. The movie would go on to be nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, and now it’s On Demand just in time to bring a piece of the Cannes Film Festival to your television or computer.

Peter Simonischek and Sandra Hüller star as a father and daughter whose cordial relationship comes to a head when he drops in on her in Bucharest for an unannounced extended visit. His affinity for practical jokes wears on her more straitlaced sensibilities,...

Our resident VOD expert tells you what's new to rent and/or own this week via various Digital HD providers such as cable Movies On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical Gold (action-drama; Matthew McConaughey, Edgar Ramirez, Bryce Dallas Howard; rated R) Rings (horror sequel; Matilda Lutz, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki, Vincent D'Onofrio; rated PG-13) A Dog's Purpose (family comedy; Britt Robertson, K.J. Apa, Dennis Quaid; rated PG) The Comedian (comedy; Robert De Niro, Leslie Mann; rated R) The Red Turtle (animation; voices: Peter Simonischek, Sandra Huller; rated PG) Growing Up Smith (family comedy; Jason Lee, Anjul Nigam; rated PG-13) The...

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Maren Ade named best director as female filmmakers flourish.

Toni Erdmann continued its triumphant run at the German Film Awards on Friday night, taking home six coveted Lola statuettes in an evening dominated by strong women filmmakers.

Maren Ade’s tragicomedy received the Golden Lola for Best Feature Film as well as double honours for Ade (pictured at left) herself as director and screenwriter, plus statuettes for her lead actors Sandra Hueller (pictured at right) and Peter Simonischek, and a Lola for the film’s editor Heike Parplies.

Handled internationally by The Match Factory, Toni Erdmann began winning the hearts of critics and audiences around the globe following its premiere in Cannes’ Official Competition last year.

It picked up five European Film Awards in Poland’s Wroclaw last December – in the same categories as the Lolas except for editing – as well as Golden Globe and Oscar nominations.

Hours before Friday night’s ceremony in Berlin, the film’s...

After being snubbed at the BAFTAs and the Oscars, Maren Ade's tragicomedy Toni Erdmann cleaned up Friday night at home, winning best film at the German Film Awards, or Lolas, which were held in Berlin.

Toni Erdmann picked up a total of six awards, including Lolas for Ade for best director and screenwriter, best actor honors for Peter Simonischek, a best actress prize for Sandra Huller and the trophy for best editing, for Heike Parplies.

The film, which looks at the strained relationship between a career-oriented daughter and her hippie dad, was one of the most critically acclaimed films at...

Toni Erdmann was snubbed at its premiere in Cannes, at the BAFTAs and, just last month, at the Oscars, where it failed to win in the foreign-language category.

But the German comedy, about a workaholic daughter and her worried, and intrusive, prankster father, looks a shoo-in for the top prize at Germany's version of the Academy Awards, the Lolas.

Toni Erdmann is the clear Lola favorite following the nominations, unveiled Thursday, with 6 noms, including ones for best film, best director, best screenplay, best editing and, in the acting categories, for stars Sandra Huller and Peter Simonischek. Ade also picked...

IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast is an exploration of how good movies get made through in-depth conversations with filmmakers about their artistic process. This fall and winter we were fortunate to host guests whose films are favorited to take home Academy Awards this weekend. As we get ready for the Oscars, here’s a look back at some of what we learned from the writers, directors and editors behind this year’s best films.

The Filmmaker Toolkit podcast is available on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play Music.

“Arrival” Screenwriter Eric Heisserer

Ted Chiang’s “The Story of Your Life” is a beloved sci-fi short story, but no one thought it was natural fit for the big screen. Well, nobody besides Eric Heisserer, who was emotionally devastated the first time he read Chiang’s 32 page story. He wanted to find a way to capture that feeling in a movie, but...

German comedy wins five awards, including best picture and director.

Toni Erdmann won five awards from the 14th International Cinephile Society on Sunday (19 Feb).

The film won best picture, best director for Maren Ade, best actor for Peter Simonischek, best original screenplay and best foreign film.

Other big winners included Isabelle Huppert, who won best actress for Elle, Andre Holland (Moonlight) and Lily Gladstone (Certain Women) in the supporting actor categories, and Elle again for adapted screenplay.

The Red Turtle won the animated film prize and Fire At Sea won best documentary.

The awards also honoured films that critics saw in festivals but did not get a theatrical release in 2016, including The Lost City Of Z, Brothers Of The Night and The Death Of Louis Xiv.

The International Cinephile Society was formed in 2003 and is made up of around 100 journalists, film scholars and other industry professionals.

'Toni Erdmann' producers Jonas Dornbach and Janine Jackowski and director Maren Ade (r). Image courtesy of Komplizen Film.

Berlin-based producer Janine Jackowski is speaking to If at the tail-end of a working holiday in Oz..

She.s been travelling with her husband and two children for three months, fitting in promotional duties for her new film, Maren Ade.s wildly acclaimed Toni Erdmann, as she goes.

The German feature, out in Australian cinemas today via Madman, was the toast of last year.s Cannes, and an American remake is on the way — set to star Jack Nicholson and Kristen Wiig..

This is Jackowski.s third time in Sydney, after a visit at 14 — .I fell in love with Sydney and always wanted to come back. — and a trip to the Sydney Film Festival with Ade.s previous film, Everyone Else, in 2010.

Jackowski met Ade at film school in Munich,...

Nicholson is coming out of retirement for the English-language remake of Maren Ade’s Oscar-nominated comedy.

Screen sources have confirmed that Jack Nicholson and Kristen Wiig are attached to star in an English-language remake of Oscar-nominated German comedy Toni Erdmann.

Nicholson will play an elderly music teacher who invents the Toni Erdmann alter-ego to give his daughter – played by Wiig – invaluable life lessons.

If the project goes ahead it will be the first acting role for the 79-year-old Nicholson since 2010’s How Do You Know.

Paramount Pictures has reportedly acquired remake rights to the film, which was directed by Maren Ade.

No director or writer is attached but Adam McKay (Anchorman) is producing alongside Jessica Elbaum of Gloria Sanchez Productions. Ade will exec produce the film alongside Jonas Dornbach and Janine Jackowski.

The original, starring Sandra Huller and Peter Simonischek, is nominated for best foreign feature at the Academy Awards and the Baftas.

The news was...

Author: Zehra Phelan

German comedy and Oscar-nominated Toni Erdmann took everyone by surprise last year, largely because it shows that the Germans really do have a delightful sense of humour. Only five days after its general cinema release in the UK, an English language remake has been announced.

Related: Toni Erdmann Review

So who could be taking up the helm of the embarrassing parent Toni Winfried (played in the German language version by Peter Simonischek)? None other than Jack Nicholson, who will be coming out of a self-inflicted retirement after his seven-year hiatus from the movie world. Playing opposite him as his daughter will be Ghostbusters’ very own Kristen Wiig, with rumours circulating that Paramount Pictures have acquired the rights for the remake – this has yet to be confirmed.

The word on the street is that the remake was actually the idea of Nicholson’s after becoming a fan of...

The actor is coming out of retirement to star opposite Kristen Wiig in a remake of the Oscar-tipped German film. Terrific casting – but how badly can they botch it?

On seeing the Cannes premiere of Maren Ade’s Oscar-nominated German tragicomedy Toni Erdmann – starring Peter Simonischek as the ageing, jape-addicted dad who suffers a late-life crisis and sets out to embarrass his daughter at work – I wondered aloud who would play the lead in a Hollywood remake.

Related: Maren Ade: ‘Toni Erdmann’s humour comes out of a big desperation’

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