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Jake Sully (voiced by Sam Worthington) riding the Great Leonopteryx Toruk in James Cameron’s Avatar Photo: Twentieth Century Fox It’s somehow become a meme in the popular consciousness that Avatar, the highest-grossing movie of all time worldwide, is remembered by nobody, had no lasting impact on pop culture,...

Directors James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte discuss the movies that inspired them while making The Big Conn.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Boogie Nights (1997)

Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Happiness (1998)

World’s Greatest Dad (2009)

Windy City Heat (2003)

Ocean’s 11 (1960)

Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Bad Boys (1995)

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

Munich (2005)

Fargo (1996)

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Delicatessen (1991)

The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013)

The Hole (2009) – Joe Dante’s U.S. trailer commentary, Joe Dante’s Italian trailer commentary, Joe Dante’s British trailer commentary, Dennis Cozzalio’s review

Dial M For Murder (1954) – Mark Pellington’s trailer commentary

Jaws 3D (1983)

Cave Of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012)

U2 3D (2008)

The Pink Panther (1963) – Dan Ireland’s trailer commentary

Goodfellas (1990) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary

Children of Men (2006)

The Imposter (2012)

Other Notable Items

The Big Conn podcast (2022)

The Big Conn docuseries (2022)

Bronzeville...

As the first film from the director of “Amélie” in nearly a decade, “Bigbug” is kind of a big deal. Sadly, it’s also a big disappointment — easily the most obnoxious Netflix original in some time, owing to the company’s trust in a director whose overactive imagination demands some kind of boundaries.

At precisely the moment pandemic-confined audiences want to get out and breathe fresh air, Jean-Pierre Jeunet gives them a suffocating scenario in which a squabbling French family is trapped in their retro-modern home with several android assistants. The result is an aggressively unfunny look at human-robot relations in a garish, cartoonishly rendered future — one in which all the houses look exactly the same on the outside, but are maintained by eccentric AI indoors (where the film spends 98% of its time).

In “No Exit,” Jean-Paul Sartre surmised that “hell is other people.” In this zany sci-fi riff on that idea,...

Big Bug

It’s been close to a decade since his last feature The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet premiered, and so the Netflix folks aren’t wasting much time putting Jean-Pierre Jeunet‘s Big Bug out there in 2022. Written by Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant, this stars Elsa Zylberstein, Alban Lenoir, Isabelle Nanty and André Dussollier.

Gist: This unfolds in a quiet residential neighbourhood in 2050 and follows four people whose domestic robots take them hostage during a robot uprising. Locked together, a not-quite-so-blended family, an intrusive neighbour and her enterprising sex-robot are forced to put up with each other in an increasingly hysterical atmosphere.…...

BAFTA winner Jean-Pierre Jeunet is known for phantasmic dark comedies with memorable characters and untethered imagination like "Delicatessen" and "City of Lost Children," films so offbeat that Jeunet has had a long journey in finding those brave enough to fund his "quirky" movies. Following the botched 2015 release of "The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet," the French director has since found backing from streaming giant Netflix, which has no problem taking a leap of faith on Jeunet's meditations in surreal mundanity, backed by his animation experience and bonkers sense of humor. Just this year, Jeunet's work was cited on /Film's...

The post BigBug Teaser: The Quirky New Film From the Director of Amélie Comes to Netflix appeared first on /Film.

We told you. Remember the rules. You didn’t listen. Now we’re Back with an all new batch of guest recommendations featuring Blake Masters, Julien Nitzberg, Floyd Norman, Tuppence Middleton and Blaire Bercy.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Wild Angels (1966)

Spirits of the Dead (1966)

The Trip (1967)

Mooch Goes To Hollywood (1971)

Stalker (1979)

The Candidate (1972)

The Parallax View (1974)

Network (1976)

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Ace In The Hole (1951)

Margin Call (2011)

Death Wish (1974)

Death Wish (2018)

Seconds (1966)

Soylent Green (1973)

Rage (1972)

Assault on Wall Street (2013)

Repo Man (1984)

Elmer Gantry (1960)

The Train (1965)

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)

Strange Brew (1983)

To Have And Have Not (1944)

Singin’ In The Rain (1952)

Easter Parade (1948)

The Band Wagon (1953)

Guys And Dolls (1955)

On The Town (1949)

Casablanca (1942)

The Dirt Gang (1972)

Back To The Future (1985)

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Big Sleep (1946)

Bomba, the Jungle Boy (1949)

My Man Godfrey...

Jean-Pierre Jeunet is going back to his roots. While visiting Los Angeles for a retrospective of several of his films at the American Cinematheque and the USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, the idiosyncratic French director shared details of his plans to make a mockumentary about the production of his beloved 2001 romantic comedy “Amelie” in anticipation of the movie’s 20th anniversary.

Jeunet, whose last completed feature was 2013’s “The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet,” also revealed that he was in the early stages of developing a sci-fi animated feature and a futuristic comedy.

“The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet” received a botched released in the U.S. in 2015 after distributor Harvey Weinstein decided to shelve it as retaliation for the director’s refusal to make cuts.

Since then, Jeunet has been trying to get a project off the ground with mostly discouraging results. “I’ve been fighting to make a...

Boespflug co-founded Pyramide and was managing director of Warner France.

French producer Francis Boespflug, best known as the co-founder of historic Paris-based production and distribution company Pyramide and the former managing director of Warner France, has died aged of 70.

Boespflug first became involved in cinema in his native city of Strasbourg in north-eastern France, working as a student volunteer at a cinema-club aimed at under-privileged, difficult teenagers.

It was through this volunteer work he met his future wife and life-long collaborator, the late producer Fabienne Vonier, who at the time was the manager of Le Club, the arthouse theatre founded...

Deals in Germany, Italy, Spain, Asia for film co-starring Kristin Scott Thomas.

Source: TF1 Studio

‘In Your Hands’

TF1 Studio has announced first sales on French director Ludovic Bernard’s drama In Your Hands starring Jules Benchetrit as a talented young pianist, with a tearaway streak, struggling to fulfil his full potential.

The feature has sold to Germany (Neue Visionen), Italy (Cinema), Spain (Avalon), Belgium (Splendid Film), Switzerland (Pathé), Japan (Ccc), South Korea (Cinema de Manon) and Taiwan (Creative Century Entertainment).

TF1 Studio film team, led by Sabine Chemaly, kicked off sales on the production at the Afm last November.

Screen can also reveal a first look of Benchetrit in the lead role of Mathieu, a troublemaker from a poor background with a special talent for the piano.

Lambert Wilson co-stars as a music school director, who is captivated by Mathieu’s playing on a public piano in a train station in Paris and decides to help him...

“The Star Shards Chronicles” is heading to TV.

Gaumont has optioned the global rights to best-selling author Neal Shusterman’s dark Ya trilogy and is developing it as an animated series, Variety reports.

In the books, six teenagers who don’t know each other unwittingly share one key moment: they were conceived at the same moment when a star explodes light-years away. For some reason, they’re all suffering from a mental or physical affliction that gives them extraordinary but horrifying powers. Only when they come together can they defeat the mysterious forces that are devouring them from the inside and save the world while they’re at it.

Read More: 15 Young Adult Fiction Properties That Could Be the Next ‘Twilight’ or ‘Hunger Games’

“Neal’s characters have feelings and experiences that all kids can understand and this is what draws them to his books,” said Nicolas Atlan, the Los...

If the films of 2015 have a common denominator it’s the fearlessness with which filmmakers approached the medium and took it in new directions proving that innovation is still possible and that not everything, both in content and form, has been explored. From a comedy shot entirely on an iPhone starring transgender actresses, to a film in sign language designed to be screened without subtitles, to a stop-motion animated feature that emanates more humanity than most live-action efforts, to a new immersive vision of the Holocaust from an emerging auteur, or a Brazilian hand-drawn musical odyssey about the dangers of the modern world, all granted us experiences unlike anything we've previously seen.

It’s hard to tell how many films I watched this year but I’m sure they were many. From that vast pool of cinematic works the 30 films below are the ones that stood out the most and remained ingrained in my memory as rewarding, delightful, moving, and even harrowing accomplishments. There were also films that simply didn't connect as strongly with me as they did with other journalists and audiences, thus they don't appear here. This is after all, like all of them, a very personal and subjective list of the films I loved.

Even with such an extensive list there are still other great films that deserve to be mentioned such as "The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet," "Christmas, Again," "Mistress America," "Entertainment," "Felix and Meira," "Victoria," "Mustang," "The Wolfpack," "Xenia," Estonia's Oscar-nominated "Tangerines," "Buzzard," "The Salt of the Earth," "Guidance," "Cheatin'," "Black Souls,""The Mend," "Shaun The Sheep Movie," or "'71." One can only hope audiences will discover them and be compelled by their singular perspectives.

What were your favorite films of 2015?

Special Mention: "World of Tomorrow"

Don Hertzfeldt's thought-provoking and visionary Sundance-winning short "World of Tomorrow" is easily the best short film of the year, animated or otherwise. This 17-minute science fiction journey is a mind-bending study on the essence of humanity and how technology’s ferocious advances to know and control it all endanger our ability to notice what’s truly meaningful.

Read More: 'The 17th Annual Animation Show of Shows' is One of the Most Profound Cinematic Experiences of 2015

30. "It Follows"

The best horror film of the year proves that an intriguing premise embedded into an intelligently written screenplay can bring a refreshing point of view absent in most studio productions. Director David Robert Mitchell takes classic genre conventions and twists them into a terrifying tale with morally ambiguous undertones.

29. "The Gift"

Wearing multiple hats Joel Edgerton demonstrated his storytelling and acting talents in an unpredictable psychological thriller that’s as unassuming as it’s disconcerting. An old friend reappears in a married man’s life apparently seeking to rekindle their past bond, but soon enough his good intentions will unveil much more sinister motives that makes us question who the real villain is. A stunning and perversely brilliant film that thrives on its misguiding simplicity.

28. "Heaven Knows What"

An accomplishment both in technique and emotional power, “Heaven Knows What” is an eye-opening experience brimming with unflinching truth. From the streets to the screen, the unbelievable story of Arielle Holmes is a fascinating example of the rare occurrence when cinema and reality blend almost seamlessly.

Read More: 'Heaven Knows What' Directors Josh and Benny Safdie Are Addicted to the Truth

27. "Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet"

Spearheaded by producer Salma Hayek, director Roger Allers and 8 of the world's most talented independent animators took Gibran's timeless poems and assembled a cinematic out-of-body experience that deconstructs our existential yearnings and translates them into mesmerizing animated wisdom.

Read More: Why 'Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet' is a Cinematic Out-Of-Body Experience Brimming with Animated Wisdom

Read More: Salma Hayek on 'Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet': 'His Poetry Talks About the Simple Things in Life That Unite Us All'

26. "James White"

This emotionally devastating character study put Josh Mond in the director’s chair for the first time and allowed Christopher Abbott and Cynthia Nixon to delve into career-defining roles as a mother and a son struggling to accept each other’s shortcomings in the face of impending tragedy. Mond’s debut is an unforgettable portrait of unconditional love

25. "The Big Short"

The financial crisis and the white-collar criminals behind it are examined in an outrageously humorous and dynamically constructed adaptation of Michael Lewis's book. Director Adam McKay crafted his own visual language to paint a picture of capitalism in America that’s as brutally honest as it’s infuriating. His entire cast, in particular Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and Steve Carell, play along in this satirical exposé.

24. "The Second Mother"

Anna Muylaert’s crowd-pleasing, yet thematically complex gem delves into the intricacies of class in Brazilian society through the eyes of an endearing live-in maid. Regina Casé, in an Oscar-worthy performance, becomes Val, a diligent and humble housekeeper that has worked with the same wealthy family in Sao Paulo for many years and who only questions her role within this environment when her strange daughter comes to visit.

Read More: Anna Muylaert on Why the Protagonist of 'The Second Mother' is a Super Hero

23. "Kumiko The Treasure Hunter"

Losing grip on reality Kumiko, a solitary Japanese woman, leaves her monotonous and life and her adorable bunny Bunzo behind to search for the money Steve Buscemi’s character hides in the Cohen Brothers’ film “Fargo.” Knowing very little English and with no American contacts, she ventures in the Minnesotan wilderness. Armed with Rinko Kikuchi ’s outstanding performance, David Zellner and Nathan Zellner managed to create an endearing and poignant adventure at the intersection between fiction and reality.

22. "When Marnie Was There"

Notably current while still unequivocally timeless, Studio Ghibli’s latest film was confected with equal doses of heart-rending drama and life-affirming beauty. More than just a visually delightful tearjerker, "When Marnie Was There" is an animated lullaby that reassures our broken hearts will eventually heal- even from the most indomitable tricks of fate.

Read More: Review: Wondrous 'When Marnie Was There' is One of Ghibli's Most Profoundly Moving Works

21. "The Hateful Eight"

Sharp dialogue and the search for violent retribution are Tarantino staples, and in his latest Western the revered director channels these through a group of deceitful characters confined to a single location. Race relations are examined via the peculiar interactions of the murderous bunch - each with their ulterior motives and frightening reputation. With a magnificent score by Ennio Morricone, impeccable cinematography by Robert Richardson, and tonally perfect performances by the ensemble cast, in which Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kurt Russell are the highlights, “The Hateful Eight” is a highly entertaining addition to Tarantino's selective filmography.

20. "What We Do in the Shadows"

This masterful mockumentary capitalizes on the general public’s obsession with reality shows and the allure of vampirism and its promise of eternal life. Four ancient bloodsuckers share a house in Wellington, New Zealand and decide to let a crew film their day-to-day routines as vampires living in the modern world. What ensues are a series of intelligently written occurrences that transform every known convention about these creatures of the night into hysterical gags.

19. "The Revenant"

To say Alejandro González Iñárritu’s latest is breathtaking would be an understatement. Emmanuel Lubezkii’s work is absolutely astonishing. No other film this year captured this much beauty in every single frame. The Mexican-born Oscar-winning director has reached a new level of artistry here. Leonardo DiCaprio, in one of the best performances of his career, plays Hugh Glass, a man who escapes death to take revenge on the man who killed his son.

18. "Inside Out"

Pixar ventured into the difficult task of decoding the complexity of the human psyche in one of their best features to date. Emotions take on humanoid form in the brain of a young girl adjusting to life in anew city. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust must work together to shape her blossoming personality. “Inside Out” also gifted us Bing Bong, who will go down as one of the most memorable animated characters to ever grace the screen.

17. "Ex Machina"

Artificial intelligence crosses the boundaries of mere functionality to become self-aware and to replicate the behaviors of mortals in Alex Garland “Ex Machina.” The provocative screenplay evolves into a fascinating and often unsettling dissection of what it means to be a human being and the seemingly godlike power that comes from creating technology that resembles such qualities. Alicia Vikander is riveting as Ava - a mysterious female A.I.

16. "The Diary of a Teenager Girl"

Bel Powley is this year’s acting revelation and Marielle Heller the woman behind this charming, uncompromising, and original coming of age film, is one of most exciting new directors to emerge in recent memory. Burgeoning female sexuality is treated without moral judgment or shame, and it’s instead embraced in an empowering manner that overflows with truthfulness and charisma. Both Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgård are outstanding in substantial supporting roles.

15. "Taxi"

Despite being banned from filmmaking by the Iranian government, Jafar Panahi continues to bravely expose the political and social problems of his home country with films shot in secrecy. “Taxi” takes the director through the streets of Tehran as he picks up an array of passengers with distinct concerns, beliefs, and opinions on the Islamic nation’s current situation: a young girl trying to make a “distributable” film, a guy who considers selling pirated films a cultural campaign, or a pair of elderly women whose fate depends on the survival of a couple fish. Though scripted, each encounter exudes honesty.

14. "The Duke of Burgundy"

Intoxicatingly atmospheric and full of evocative imagery, Peter Strickland’s follow up to his similarly unusual debut “Berberian Sound Studio” looks at the psychology of sexual desires with a seductive gaze. The line dividing power and submission is blurred and interchangeable between two lovers whose turbulent relationship is juxtaposed with the nature of butterflies. Eroticism derived from degradation and punishment is elegantly approached that suggest more than it explicitly shows.

13. "Phoenix"

The final sequence in this new collaboration between writer/director Christian Petzold and actress Nina Hoss is one of the best conclusions ever written. It’s subtle, yet strikingly revelatory. Departing from a Hitchcockian mistaken identity plot from the point of view of a concentration camp survivor, Petzold delves into Germany’s post war sentiments of guilt and the beginning of the long road to rebuild a superficially and morally shattered nation. “Phoenix” is also a love story coated in betrayal and the harsh realization that, when tested, even the strongest bond can be destroyed. Hoss gives an awards-deserving, restrained and perfectly nuanced performance.

Read More: Christian Petzold's 'Phoenix' is a Deeply Moving Film About Survivors Rebuilding Their Lives

12. "Timbuktu"

Today, perhaps more than ever, a film like Abderrahmane Sissako’s spellbinding “Timbuktu” is imperative. Capturing some of the most beautiful African landscapes ever seen on film and delicately arranging his stories to create a tapestry of human experiences, Sissako’s latest doesn’t abide by any political or religious dogma. Instead, his vision preaches openness and denounces the terrifying absurdity of the world according to extremist.

Read More: Promoting Tolerance: Abderrahmane Sissako on 'Timbuktu' and a Different Kind of Islam

11. "The Voices"

Playing Jerry, the most charming serial killer you’ll ever meet, Ryan Reynolds gives the best performance of his career in Marjane Satrapi’s wonderfully insane horror comedy. Adding to his already outstanding work as the lovable, if unstable young man, Reynolds also voices both of his character's opinionated pets. Stay tuned after the film for one of the most ridiculous credit sequences ever.

Read More: Too Insane To Ignore: Marjane Satrapi On Her Fascinating Sundance Horror-Comedy 'The Voices'

10. "Güeros"

Using one of the most cosmopolitan and complex cities in the world as his canvas, Mexican filmmaker Alonso Ruizpalacios delivered an audaciously original story that delves into many unique aspects of Mexican society wrapped up into a road trip adventure that helps two estrange brothers reconnect.

It’s a revitalizing work, and one of the best Mexican films of the last decade.

Read More: In 'Güeros' Dir. Alonso Ruizpalacios Rediscovered Mexico City Via a Unique Road Trip

9. "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"

Read More: How Alfonso Gomez-Rejon Used Determinación to Go From a Small Town to Nyu to Sundance

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's Sundance champion is a tonally nuanced and visually inventive work that ingeniously beguiles you to fall in love with every instant of its strangely imaginative magic. This tragicomedy invokes tropes from a familiar realm and deconstructs or tailors them to the uniquely poignant circumstances of it's characters. It's nothing short of a cinephile's dream come true.

Read More: This is the Review That Tells You Why 'Me and Earl and the Dying Girl' is a Cinephile's Dream Come True

8. "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence"

Constructed of gorgeously understated vignettes, which guide us through the grandeur of life by methodically focusing on the smallest but most resonant instants of it, "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence" by Swedish writer/director Roy Andersson won the Golden Lion at last’s year’s Venice Film Festival. Delving into a wide range of quotidian dilemmas via darkly comedic exploits, this episodic tour de force is as insightful as it’s blissfully entertaining and distinctively stylized.

Read More: 7 Reasons Why Roy Andersson's Latest Film is a Must-See Philosophical Wonder

7. "Tangerine"

Sean Baker's riotous and perfectly acted latest film shot on an iPhone “Tangerine” centers on Alexandra (Mya Taylor) and Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez), two transgender sex workers on Santa Monica Boulevard who struggle to get by while dealing with heartbreak, revenge, and their dreams.

Baker captured an unseen side of Los Angeles through the eyes of two equally underrepresented characters who get a chance to showcase their comedic brilliance.

Read More: How Sean Baker Used Beautiful Accidents and New Talent to Deliver one of the Best Films of the Year

6. "The Look of Silence"

For “The Look of Silence,” the indispensable companion piece to "The Act of Killing," director Joshua Oppenheimer focused on the survivors, specifically on a brave family that persevered through the immeasurable pain that quietly permeates Indonesian society even half a century after the genocide. The subjects here are often quiet and contemplative, but their anguish transcends even when words fail to describe their tumultuous sentiments.

Read More: 12 Things Joshua Oppenheimer Wants You to Know About 'The Look of Silence'

5. "Anomalisa"

In "Anomalisa," a delicately melancholic observation on loneliness and the flawed human condition, acclaimed writer-director Charlie Kaufman and co-director Duke Johnson use stop-motion animation to tell a story of small proportions and big ideas. These existential observations include our fears, failures, insecurities and our desperate need to be loved by someone who can look pass our conspicuous scars.

Read More: Human at the Seams: Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson Make Yearning Tangible in 'Anomalisa'

4. "The Tribe"

“The Tribe,” by Ukrainian debutant Miroslav Slaboshpitsky, is a film that communicates with its audience in a non-verbal manner. There are no subtitles or any other way to know exactly what the characters on screen are saying, but that’s never an issue for it to powerfully make its message heard. It’s the purest form of cinema because it can be shown anywhere in the world without modification, and the devastating result would be the same.

Read More: Interviewing Yana Novikova, Star of 'The Tribe,' Was a One-of-a-Kind Experience

3. "Boy and the World"

Alê Abreu’s “Boy and the World” is unequivocally the best animated film of the year. Drawn with the finest ends of an artist's heartstrings and painted with the colorful essence of undefeatable hope, Abreu’s utterly lyrical, visually captivating, musically driven, and extraordinarily sophisticated treasure is the animated equivalent of a childhood dream that thrives on sweet innocence and the pure ability to see the world truthfully for its dazzling beauty and its man-made dangers. As it continues to spellbind the globe with its unconventional artistry and thought-provoking observations, an Oscar nomination would be a more than deserved crown jewel.

Read More:Review: Why Alê Abreu's Sublime 'Boy and the World' is the Best Animated Film of the Year

Read More: How "Boy and the World" Director Alê Abreu Handcrafted His Heartfelt & Dazzling Animated Masterpiece

2. "Carol"

Exquisitely photographed and fueled by the two best performances of the year, Todd Haynes “Carol” depicts an ethereal and ravishing romance that’s sure to take your breath away. Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett play two women from opposite worlds that meet serendipitously and fall madly in love for each other in a time yet unwilling to accept them. Carol (Blanchett) is a wealthy mother and wife whose desires are used against her threatening to stripped her of what she loves the most. On the other hand Therese (Mara) is a working class girl discovering herself and who finds the strength to follow her true instincts in Carol. Heartbreak has rarely been portrayed with such a delicate touch, thoughtfulness, and sincerity. Beneath the glossy Christmas-tinted frames is a story as universal as it is particular in which a single pleading look disarms you. Few films will make you feel such tangible and pure yearning to connect with another soul as Haynes masterwork does.

1. "Son of Saul"

First-time director László Nemes decided to look at the terrifying apparatus behind the Holocaust from the perspective of the Sonderkommando, a group of men whose experience was exponentially more harrowing than that of the average victim. Nemes focuses on a particular man, Saul (Géza Röhrig), a fictional character created from the limited information available on this special group and the filmmaker’s artistic sensibilities.“Son of Saul” is not only the best film of the year, but also the most ambitious debut in ages. Both conceptually and visually, the dynamic, yet organically contemplative vision of one man’s ordeal as he walks through the gates the hell is the work of a master auteur.

Read More: 12 Things Director László Nemes and Star Géza Röhrig Want You to Know About 'Son of Saul'...

There's an expression a dog wears when it's done something wrong that you haven't found out about yet, as it slinks over to cower in its basket, hoping you won't notice. For some reason, that's kind of what it feels like when films like this week's John Cusack-starrer "Shanghai," or last month's Jean-Pierre Jeunet-directed "The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet" limp into theaters after a long time out of sight, presumably spent chewing on your dress shoes upstairs. Both those titles were Mia for a long time after they'd been finished and even released in other territories; both come pre-infused with an almost palpable aura of defeat; and neither has received much in the way of a marketing push. And there's one other thing both films share—they are being put out (in the sense of both "distributed" and "doused as one would a fire") by The Weinstein Company.

An object is never just an object in a Jean-Pierre Jeunet film, every artifact visible in his frames represents a piece of his wondrous imagination transmuted into its tangible form. Assertively, Jeunet refers to the collection of elements that compose a film not as a toolbox, but as a toy box in which every vibrant component serves a purpose to create a greater treasure. The auteur revels in the enchanting playfulness of his craft and propels it to new inventive heights with painstaking artistry. Each magical thought populates his worlds like unexpected gifts waiting to be continuously discovered with every viewing.

Such meticulously devotion for detail is as prevalent in the physical elements that construct his narrative as in the characters that emanate from his boundless ingenuity. Delightfully offbeat and adorned with endearingly eccentric qualities, they are all idiosyncratic children of his dark preoccupations and uplifting fantasies. From Amélie Poulain and her mission to spread joy, to Louison’s quirky quest for love in “Delicatessen,” or Mathilde’s unbreakable hope in “A Very Long Engagement," and even T.S. Spivet’s desire to use his genius for practical purposes to bond with his family. Each one struggling to achieve a triumph much bigger than themselves, while roaming Jeunet’s sublimely beautiful spaces.

Jeunet is magician who channels his visionary powers into stylistic marvels and poignant storytelling. Therefore, when after several years of arduous work he releases a new feature, it becomes a major event for cinema lovers around the world. Unsurprisingly, when I found out his most recent film was finally being in released stateside an overwhelming feeling of excitement took over me. However, it was strange that I had not heard anything about this release until the week of. It was only when searching that week’s releases that “The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet” appeared – two years after its original release in most countries.

On The Weinstein Company’s official site there was no mention of the film, neither on their Facebook page, YouTube channel, or Twitter account. It was as if they had no association with Jeunet’s film, yet it was well known that the company had acquired the rights early on. The director had been verbal about the uncertainty of the film’s U.S. release due to Harvey Weinstein’s desire to create his own cut of the film. Still, I refused to believe that a film by such an important filmmaker could simply be quietly dumped into theaters without any effort to promote it.

TWC never replied to any of my emails, and every PR person and fellow journalist I asked had no idea the film was even scheduled to open that week on Friday July 31st. After tracking down Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s French representatives, they pointed me to Gaumont, the French distributor and sales agent that handled the film. Both mentioned that neither they nor Mr. Jeunet were even aware of the U.S. release. “As you know, the worst or the best can happen with TWC. For this release we definitely face the worst,” added one them.

It’s outrageous and insulting to think that a filmmaker of Jeunet’s caliber still has to endure a distributor’s pressures to reedit a film or face retribution that directly affects the release of his work in a major market. Unfortunately, in the spectrum of Harvey Weinstein’s vengeful antics this has not been the worst. Regardless of whether or not critics dislike Olivier Dahan's “Grace of Monaco,” it’s ludicrous to think that the film that opened the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, starring Nicole Kidman, and bought by one of the U.S. most important distributors, could end up premiering on Lifetime. This paints a scary picture for filmmakers, as it seems that in order to receive a successful release from certain distributors they must compromise their artistic integrity.

To discuss this terrible occurrence and the film itself, Mr. Jeunet graciously agreed to speak with me via Skype from Europe. Despite the circumstances, it was a dreamlike experience to have the opportunity to chat with one of cinema’s greatest directors, whose films have filled so many with mesmerizing wonder.

Once I had introduced myself and thanked him for his time, Mr. Jeunet began the interview inquiring about the release of his latest film "The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet," which is ironically his most American work to date and has been blatantly disowned by its U.S. distributor.

Read More: Jeunet's Disarmingly Imaginative 'The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet' Analyzes American Duality with Dark Undertones and Awe-Inspiring 3D Cinematography

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Have you seen the film?

Aguilar: Yes, I've seen it twice now.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Did you see it in 3D?

Aguilar: Yes, I was lucky enough to be able to see it on the big screen and in 3D

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Where did you see it?

Aguilar: I went to the only theater in L.A. playing the film in 3D, the Downtown Independent.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: How many theaters in L.A. are playing "T.S. Spivet"? Is it only playing in one theater?

Aguilar: I think about 4 or 5 theaters in total, but only one of those played it in 3D.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: But there was no advertisement, no commercials, no promotion, no nothing, right? So I suppose the theaters were empty.

Aguilar: Yes, sadly there were only a few people there. I'm not sure if you are aware but the U.S trailer for the film came out on Thursday July 30th, just a day before the release. Nobody knew about the release as there were no press screening, a press release, or even any mention of the film in The Weinstein Company’s website. I found out the film was opening by chance. TWC was not replying to any press inquiries related to your film. Were you aware of any of this?

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Absolutely not. We learned about this by chance because they have a contract with Netflix. The contract says that you have to release the film in 100 theaters, no more and no less. This is the only reason they released the film, to keep that contract and keep a good relationship with Netflix. It's also probably because Harvey Weinstein is still pissed off because I refused to reedit my film. "T.S. Spivet" is a fake American movie because it's a movie produced in Europe and Canada, so I have the final cut. I always choose this specifically to avoid this kind of problem, but with Mr. Weinstein you never avoid this kind of problem, of course [Laughs]. You know, we had exactly the same story with "Delicatessen," a long time a go. With "Amelie" he wanted me to reedit it, but because it was a success he decided to release the film in the same version as Europe. He wanted Caro and me to reedit "Delicatessen" but we said, "Ok. We have another idea for a modification, you cut our names out of the credits," so they never cut "Delicatessen" either. However, "Delicatessen" only became a success on video because it had a very bad theatrical release. But this release of "T.S. Spivet" is just a caricature. [Laughs].

Aguilar: This is your most American film, which could have had a better chance with audiences here in the U.S. It's in English and you have big names like Helena Bonham Carter and Judy Davis. It's a shame the release took so long and was handled like this.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: It was an American movie. Kyle Catlett, the kid, is from New Jersey. He is an American kid. It's a pity because this is my only American movie and it was not distributed in the U.S. Now it's being distributed but not under good conditions. It's also a pity because when Harvey Weinstein signed the deal he said, "We will do something even better than with 'Amelie'" and when he learned I didn't want to modify the film he gave up because he wanted to reedit the film. He needs that to survive. He is like a dog who needs to pee on a tree.

Aguilar: What did he want you to cut or modify? Was it about the darker undertones in the film?

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: We don't know! It's a question of principle. He doesn't even know it himself probably. He needs to give the film to an American editor and say, "Do something!" There is not a specific problem, he just needs to reedit the film. He does that with every movie except "The Artist." You know why? Michel Hazanavicius told me it was because the score was part of the entire film and matched the entire film. If Harvey Weinstein had reedited the film he would have had to rerecord the whole score one more time and it would have been very expensive. So he didn't reedit the film [Laughs]. It was very clever of Hazanavicius in fact.

Aguilar: Were you angry that the film wasn't getting released in the U.S. for so long?

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: I was very sad, not angry, but very sad. Now it's been two years and I accept it. You can never deal with Mr. Weinstein. Of course I didn't do that, it was Gaumont the French distributor. Other U.S. distributors wanted "T.S. Spivet" and when they told me that Weinstein wanted it I told them, "Be careful, because we know him and he will want to reedit." They said, "No, no, he will respect your film. He knows that. He won't touch a frame." Of course, he cheats all the time.

Aguilar: Now tell me about the film. I know it's been two years, so hopefully you remember the details. But since you never got the chance to do any U.S. press for the films, I'm sure people want to know more. How did you become aware of the book? It feels like a perfect match. It's like if the book was written exactly for your sensibilities.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: I have a reader. He read the book and said it was for me. I was in Australia shooting some commercials and he send me the book and told me, "Read as soon as as possible because it's a book for you." Maybe it was a book too much for me because it's very close to my own preoccupations. I knew it wasn't going to be too easy because the main character is a kid and it's not a film for kids. That's probably the reason it wasn't a huge success everywhere. It's always the same story with films with kids, like the Stephen Daldry movie,"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," or the Terry Gilliam's movie, "Time Bandits." Every time that you have the main character be a kid it's not so easy.

Aguilar: I feel there's a connection between T.S. Spivet and Amelie Poulain. They both have this broken relationship with their parents after a tragic event and they are both incredibly creative. Is that something that drew you into the book?

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Yeah. You know, when I met Reif Larsen, the author of the novel, he told me, "When I saw 'Amelie' I had the feeling that someone had scratched my head." We have he same feelings, we use the same references, and we are now very close. He is kind of like a son to me.

Aguilar: Do you feel like you gravitate to these type of characters and stories whether you are writing them or adapting them?

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: It's very difficult to find a story for a feature because you are going to spend 3 or 4 years of your life on it. In some ways the story of T.S is always the same story of all my films. It's a story of a kid fighting against a monster. That's the theme of all my films. But this one was an opportunity to make something different for me because it was in English and with big American landscapes. It was also the opportunity to shoot in 3D because T.S. Spivet's objects or creations were an opportunity to create something original in 3D, so I was very happy to make this adaptation.

Aguilar: Tell me about working in 3D. It feels like today films use it in a gratuitous way or simply for commercial purposes, but in "T.S. Spivet" there is a specific reason for its use and it's always motivated by the story.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Absolutely, it was part of the concept from the beginning. During the writing and during the storyboard process I was thinking about 3D. It wasn't just a commercial reason because it's complicated, especially when you are picky. You spend a lot of time on it and you lose some time on set, you lose some time during the post-production to fix every detail to avoid, for example, anything that could cause headaches. We made something, I would say, almost perfect technically, although it's never perfect but it's not bad. We had the stereographer Demetri Portelli, he worked on "Hugo," the Scorsese movie.

Aguilar: So you got the best of the best in terms of 3D

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Yes, and we got every award related to 3D. We got three or four awards. One from the Advance Imaging Society, one from Camerimage, one Lumiere Award, and we got the French César for the Cinematography. We got a lot of awards for both the cinematography and the use of 3D.

Aguilar: For me the film is about a certain American duality, the one driven by intellectual pursuits, modernity, and invention, and the other that's more traditional, rural, and almost mythical. T.S.'s father is a cowboy and his mother is a scientist, but he is in between these two realities. .

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Yes. In someways I am T.S. Spivet because, like him, I love to draw sketches and to create some inventions. Sometimes I win an award like he does. I don't take the train - I'm afraid of trains - but I take an airplane to get my award and, like T.S., I like to go back to my ranch to draw sketches because I love doing that. I'm a lot like T.S. Spivet, but I'm not a genius.

Aguilar: It's also a film about American culture and some of its negative aspects. There is evidently a certain commentary about the culture of guns in this country, but there is also the talk show sequence, which is very much about how the media seeks conflict and exploits emotions as an spectacle.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: The guns especially are very American, but I didn't think about that when I made the film. But then, when you have an accident or a event involving guns happening in the U.S. almost every week, I realized I was speaking about that. The TV aspect is not only in the U.S., it's everywhere, even in France now. They are interested in controversy, scandal, polemic. That's everywhere now.

Aguilar: Tell about the production design, which is always perfect in your films. Every frame in every film you make is packed with so many whimsical details.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: I love that. I love to spend a lot of time to prepare and to create some objects just for the film. Now all these things are in my office in Paris. I have a collection of objects from all my films. I love details and I love to invent and be picky with everything. It's a kind of toy box. Orson Welles spoke about his electric train. It's kind of like a Meccano set in which everything is about making the most beautiful film you can. In this box you have the costumes, the dialogue, the music, the production design, you have everything, and the game is to use everything to build this toy.

Aguilar: Regarding "T.S. Spivet," were you concerned about the fact that one of the main plot points in the story is a young boy's death? Did you worry about how this would be perceived by the audience?

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: That was something in the book that I knew from the beginning wouldn't be easy. Of course, when you speak about the death of a kid it's not easy, especially for kids. But I accepted that because I was very moved by the speech at the end of the novel. That was a big moment to shoot with Kyle Catlett.

Aguilar: Dominique Pinon is in this film as in every one of your films. You always find a great role to include him.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: He can speak like an American because he was a student in the U.S, so I didn't see any reason not to include Dominique Pinon because he surprises me every time. This time it was very difficult because he only had two days and he came from Paris to do it. We shot for two nights and he came back for the premiere of the film in Paris tight before his theater play. Just in case Ron Perlman was ready to replace Dominique Pinon.

Aguilar: Kyle Catlett is incredibly charming in the film. How did you find the ideal young actor to play T.S. Spivet?

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: It's always the same story. You see thousands of kids and suddenly you have a surprise in front of you, by Skype now of course. My first reaction was, "He is too small, too little, too young. He is not T.S. Spivet" But when you have a kid who is a world champion in martial arts, he speaks five languages, and who is able to cry on command, you think, " Oh my God, this is an interesting kid. I have to meet him!" Little by little he became T.S. Spivet

Aguilar: Can you tell me about shooting the Amazon TV pilot, "Casanova."? I can't wait to see what you did with this story.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Yes. It's finished. They are be close to releasing it on Amazon. If I understand the rules of the game, if the spectators are happy with it they vote on the internet and say, "We want to see the first season of the series." If they don't say that it will be dead [Laughs]. Those are the rules of the game with Amazon, they are used to doing that. It's strange because they spent $10 million dollars to make something beautiful, and it's a project that makes me think about "Barry Lyndon" or "Dangerous Liaisons." I shot it like if it was a feature, thinking about the details, the costumes, and it was with my usual crew, almost everybody, and we made something beautiful. The director of photography is Pierre Gill, who was in charge of Second Unit in "T.S Spivet."

Aguilar: Diego Luna is the protagonist of "Casanova," and this is your first time working with him. How did that go?

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: I had a great relationship with him. We became friends. Every night we were watching soccer together - the Champions League. He is a great actor and a good guy.

Aguilar: Are you working on a new feature film at all or are you waiting for the right project?

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: I was expecting an idea from you [Laughs].

Aguilar: You've worked in French and English, now you need to make a Jean-Pierre Jeunet film in Spanish.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Sure [Laughs]. I'm looking for something but it's very difficult because I would like to surprise myself. I always try to find something new and it's not so easy.

Aguilar: What's your take on the current state of cinema? TV is becoming more important and cinema is changing rapidly.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: There are so many movies now. When you want to watch a movie on VOD you have some many films to chose from, it's crazy. Now it's so difficult to make something that will endure like "Delicatessen" or "Amelie." Now it's very difficult because you have so many films. But I continue to think that I have to work just for my pleasure, which is very selfish in fact.

Aguilar: After so many years making films and facing all the struggles it involves, why are you still in love with cinema?

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: It's a pleasure to make. I also make something else just for the pleasure of it, and you can find it on my official site, which is English as well. In the news section you will find some pictures of animals I make with stuff found in nature. My wife finds some sticks, wood, or leaves, and I make animals out of them and it's the same process. It's a pleasure to make. Except with my animals I don't need financiers, I don't need money, I don't need a producer, and I don't need Harvey Weinstein to kill it. It's just a pleasure to make.

Aguilar: It's so unfortunate that the "T.S. Spivet" didn't get the released it deserved becasue of someone's control issues

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: It's a question of honor for him. He wants to reedit. He needs to reedit.

Aguilar: At least those lucky enough to see it will see your version. You've kept your creative integrity.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: Exactly. People will see it on Netflix maybe, in 2D unfortunately, but it will be my film. It won't be Harvey Weinstein's movie.

"The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet" is still playing in select theaters around the country.

Galloping into America’s heartland on a one-of-a-kind mechanical horse forged out materialized magical-realist fantasies, and wearing idiosyncratic boots drenched in saturated hues, French auteur Jean-Pierre Jeunet hand-crafted an adorably bittersweet and disarmingly imaginative odyssey in his most recent feature. Adapted from Reif Larsen's debut novel, "The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet" is imprinted with the director's unmistakable stylistic signature and it's thematically in sync with most works in his singular oeuvre. His whimsical eye for composition, production design, and overall aesthetic are magnified by the use of 3D cinematography in a story that touches on the duality of American identity via a heartwarming title character.

There was no one between than T.S. Spivet to serve as Jeunet’s exploratory vehicle into the United States, and given the filmmaker’s incomparable track record of visually marvelous journeys, he has the ideal sensibilities for the task of turning the book’s pages into live-action wonders. T.S. (Kyle Catlett) is a 10-year-old prodigy living an isolated Midwestern ranch with his atypical family. Like the director's most widely beloved character, Amélie Poulain, T.S. also feels disconnected from his parents after a tragic accident that killed his dizygotic twin Layton (Jakob Davies).

Obsessed with discovering a rare insect known as the “tiger monk beetle,” his mother Dr. Claire (Helena Bonham Carter) is emotionally out of touch with the family and finds refuge in her possibly-purposeless search. Meanwhile, T.S.’s father (Callum Keith Rennie), a straight-faced macho cowboy, is even less expressive. He refuses to discuss the incident or reassure his remaining son that he shouldn't feel guilty. The boy’s sister, Gracie (Niamh Wilson), is also not a reliable a source of comfort,as she a teenager captivated by the appeal of beauty pageants regardless of how these objectify women - a fact that her mother constantly reiterates.

Finding practical uses for abstract scientific concepts is T.S.’s strength, yet his extraordinary intelligence also alienates him from his loved ones. Not only does he live near the town of Divide, Montana, but his whole existence is marked by a divisive duality that places him at the intersection between academic brilliance and the unassuming rural lifestyle. His brother Layton was a country boy like his father, and together they enjoyed shooting their rifles, riding horses, and working the land. Being T.S.’s interest the opposite of that and more in tune with his mother’s pursuits, he feels ostracized.

Instinctively, when the Smithsonian’s Baird Award comes calling after Tecumseh Sparrow - which is what T.S. stands for - designs the first-ever perpetual motion machine, the young inventor has to lie about his age to Ms. Jibsen (a deliciously evil Judy Davis), the museum’s fame-hungry representative. Without informing his clueless family, T.S. embarks on a cross-country voyage to claim the prestigious decoration. Carrying a suitcase full of essential research tools, the skeleton of a dead sparrow that is said to have been found on the floor when he was born, a teddy bear, and his mother’s diary, the young Spivet is ready to catch a train ride This is by far not a conventional children’s adventure.

By employing his masterful ability to embed detailed imagery into all elements within the frame, Jeunet transforms every person and landscape T.S. encounters in his trip into an opportunity to juxtapose two versions of America. There is an America that thrives on innovation and another one that prides itself in tradition. The tiny hero leaves behind endless grasslands for geometrically perfect skyscrapers but finds himself perpetually stuck between the place where he needs to go to fulfill his potential and the place he calls home.

Polarizing concepts are not only visible in T.S. complex personal struggle, but they are also reflected in the way the director handles the risky tone of the film. Moments that veer into sentimental territory are countered balance with dark undertones that might prove harsh for some viewers, but which are necessary to paint a sophisticated picture of childhood without relying on simplistic and Disney-approved conventions. Death is real, guns are dangerous objects, parents are imperfect beings, and those who dare to challenge the norm are often misunderstood. But for all its truthful blows, Jeunet’s film is always adorned with gleeful innocence. Even its occasional plot missteps are redeemed by the genuinely delightful protagonist and the filmmaker’s decision to stay true to his playful nature.

It took a while for Jean-Pierre Jeunet and 3D cinematography to come together, but now that it’s happen it’s clear this technology was created for his wildly inventive mind. As T.S. dishes out incredibly specific facts about his world, nature’s processes, or unbelievable discoveries, these come to life in the form of animated diagrams that are prime material for cleverly used 3D. Though “The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet” is as astonishingly beautiful in 2D, when watched through the stereoscopic viewers (the more technical denomination for 3D glasses that T.S. would probably use), the artist’s intention is even more spectacular. It’s a luscious visual delicacy with a vibrant color palette and endless surprises along the way.

Inspired and in full form, Jeunet’s eye-popping elegance is unforgettable, but it wouldn’t be as touching without the correct sparrow looking for his pine tree thousands of miles away. Catlett’s performance is endearing, offbeat, and without the slightest sign of cynicism. T.S. is not an improbably naïve caricature, but a compassionate kid troubled by burdens beyond his age. He feels guilty over his brother’s death and doesn’t believe his father will ever love as much. Those emotional turn him from an inapproachable erudite into a child in need of guidance not from books but his unconditional family.

As the eternally distracted Dr. Claire, Bonham Carter delivers a handful of high notes, as does the rest of the supporting cast. However, a standout cameo comes from Dominique Pinon. He makes an appearance as a drifter by the name of “Two Clouds," to relay some rudimentary knowledge to T.S. only to have his thoughts pragmatically dismantled by the boy genius. Their shared screen time is brief but truly noteworthy. Pinon is perhaps Jeunet's favorite thespian as he has appeared in every single one of his features to date.

Boundless originality within a familiar framework defines “The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet,” and while it will certainly be as schismatic as the notion is confronts, it’s certain to be a rewarding pleasure for those fascinated with the director’s unorthodox filmmaking approach. Heartfelt storytelling and precise technique can coexist, just as scientific achievements and rural wisdom are not mutually exclusive. Intellectual obscurity only occurs in the indiscriminate separation of the two. Jeunet wants to find that utopian balance in which even the most theoretical of concepts can be connected to the more preciously mundane and often irrational aspects of life. Under Jeunet’s brush even T.S.’s most impressive invention eventually serves a functional purpose that ties his passion for empirical knowledge to the inner strength of his untainted heart.

Early in the film a museum lecturer (Mairtin O'Carrigan) asks his audience, “Those who pushed the boundaries of science were they not all poets? What if imagination started when science ended?” He asks those questions to prove that though most innovations feel implausible at first, there is always someone with enough disregard for impossibility to pursue such ventures. The dreamer and the scientist are one and the same.That’s how one can understand a visionary like Jeunet, as one of cinema’s finest Da Vincis whose voice manages to make the cerebral and the visceral sing in unison.

"The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet" is now playing across the U.S.

The End Of The Tour, A24’s Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel pic about writer David Foster Wallace and a reporter profiling him, got off to a solid beginning with a launch in 4 New York and L.A. theaters, one of a handful of new specialty movies this weekend. A couple of high profile Sundance docs also performed well in their openings. Magnolia’s Gore Vidal/William F. Buckley doc Best Of Enemies did fine in three theaters, and Showtime Documentary Listen To Me Marlon had a respectable debut in two cinemas. A Lego Brickumentary opened slow but built some blocks on demand. And Broad Green expanded Samba by 20 additional theaters in its second frame.

James Ponsoldt’s The End Of The Tour grossed $126,459, averaging $31,615. That’s an impressive per screen debut for a Sundance 2015 acquisition, beating Fox Searchlight’s Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’s opening weekend...

The last time Jean-Pierre Jeunet made a film in English, it didn't work out so well. Hot off cult hits "Delicatessen" and "The City Of Lost Children" (co-directed with Marc Caro), Jeunet was picked by 20th Century Fox to helm "Alien: Resurrection," the fourth film in one of the most important franchises. The result was the worst entry in the series, one admittedly hampered by studio interference, but also one that seemed to prove a uniquely poor match to Jeunet's particular skill set. The Gallic helmer bounced back, next going on to make the most beloved film of his career with "Amelie," but it's taken him seventeen years to return to the U.S. for another English-language picture, and this time, it's much more on his terms: an adaptation of Reif Larsen's acclaimed "The Selected Works Of T.S. Spivet," variably retitled ""The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet." The results,...

French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet is an established auteur, with modern classics like Delicatessen and Amélie making a case for him as one of the most visually clever and narratively audacious filmmakers out there, which makes it all the more frustrating that The Weinstein Company has utterly botched its release of The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet.

You may have heard about this one – it opened in Europe way back in 2013 and was warmly received over there. But for some reason, TWC has continually delayed its release up until this summer.

Now, the plan is to quietly drop the film in theaters next week, and as more of an obligatory move than a show of confidence in the pic, the company has put out a new trailer, showcasing what looks to be an endearingly quirky and fun little adventure. Why it’s been treated so poorly, I have no idea.

Here’s the full synopsis:

T.

"They think I'm an adult." The Weinstein Company has put out a last minute new Us trailer for Jean-Pierre Jeunet's The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet. You've probably heard of this one before, because it opened in Europe two years ago, in 2013, and has been delayed by The Weinstein Company for release until now. They're quietly dumping the new Jeunet film in select theaters this weekend. We've posted at least one trailer for this a few years ago, but another brand new trailer has just debuted for this week's opening. Kyle Catlett (who went on to star in Poltergeist after making this) plays T.S. Spivet in this quirky adventure about a ten-year-old cartographer who travels solo across the country. I might still check it out sometime. The official Us trailer for Jean-Pierre Jeunet's The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet, via YouTube: The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet...

★★☆☆☆After his lacklustre previous film Micmacs (2009) proved that high levels of visual ingenuity are nothing without a decent narrative, Jean-Pierre Jeunet returns with The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013), an adventure film based on Reif Larsen's 2009 book The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet. Somewhat known for taking known literary works and adapting the written word into vivid worlds of meticulously designed wonderment, Jeunet takes Larsen's novel and the artwork therein and brings them illustriously to life. Kyle Catlett stars as the titular Spivet, a precocious 10-year-old with a passion for cartography and scientific invention, who lives on a Montana ranch with a family indifferent to his talents.

Isabelle Huppert will add to her trophy case of lifetime achievement honors when the Munich International Film Festival presents the legendary French actress with its CineMerit Award. Huppert, whose numerous accolades include a Bafta, two acting Palm d'Ors in Cannes, a Cesar and numerous European Awards, will attend the Munich Fest to present her latest feature, Paris Follies from director Marc Fitoussi. Photos Gone Too Soon: 8 Oscar Winners and Nominees Who Met Tragic Ends The 2014 Munich festival kicks off Friday with Jean-Pierre Jeunet's The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet. Jeunet will attend the German premiere of

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★★★★☆French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet has demonstrated a deft ability for creating fantastical worlds, as previously seen in Delicatessen (1991), The City of Lost Children (1995) and his big crossover hit, Amélie (2001). All of these showed a gift for aesthetically-pleasing oddities, and his new work, The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013), is no exception. It's also his second American feature, his last being the poorly-received Alien Resurrection (1997). It seems the source material, a beautifully illustrated tome by Reif Larsen about a cartography-obsessed boy genius, is a perfect fit, redeeming him of past sins and creating a plush, modern fairytale with strains of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.

The first 45 minutes or so of The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (hereon shortened to plain T.S. Spivet, for the sake of my sanity) are actually pretty wonderful. We’re thrown into a world of saturated colors and rootsy Americana, a pastel-soaked idyll dropped right in the middle of the picturesque American wilderness. It’s a steady downhill slip from there, but those opening phrases will stick with me as some of the most interesting and memorable family movie fare I’ve sat through in a good long while.

The titular T.S. (Kyle Catlett) is a ten year old genius born and raised on a ranch in rural Montana. His mother is a melancholic entomologist (Helena Bonham Carter), his father a latter-day cowboy wreathed in nostalgia. It isn’t as much The Ranch That Time Forgot as The Ranch That Forgot Time – a place that’s constantly slipping...

Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s beautiful T.S. Spivet is released to UK cinemas on Friday 13th June and to celebrate, we’ve got a very special package to giveaway to one lucky winner. The package includes the Director’s previous films Amelie and Micmacs on Blu-ray, a copy of the novel and a T.S. Spivet film poster signed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet himself!

T.S. Spivet lives on a remote ranch in Montana with his parents, his sister Gracie and his brother Layton. A gifted child with a passion for science, he has invented a perpetual motion machine, for which he has been awarded the prestigious Baird Prize by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

He leaves a note for his family and hops a freight train to make his way across the United States and receive his prize.

But no one there suspects that the lucky winner is a ten-year-old child with a very dark secret…...

Avid filmgoers likely have a handle already on what emotions director Jean-Pierre Jeunet stirs up, as over distinctive efforts like “Amelie," “The City of Lost Children," and “Delicatessen” he’s fashioned a completely unique perspective that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But Jeunet’s latest work, “The Young And Prodigious T.S. Spivet," strays into new territory — being entirely family friendly and in 3D for a start — and close to the film’s German premiere and UK release, we have a new clip to share. Adapted from the novel by Reif Larson, the film also breaks from Jeunet’s wheelhouse by placing the action outside of Europe and places it in rural Montana. The story follows 10-year-old T.S. Spivet (Kyle Catlett), a child prodigy who lives with his scientist mother (Helena Bonham Carter), ranch owner father (Callum Keith Rennie), and two siblings (Niamh Wilson and Jakob Davies). He...

French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet will open this year's Munich International Film Festival with his latest, The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet. Jeunet last opened the Munich Festival in 2001 with his global hit Amelie. His new film, adapted from the novel of the same name by Reif Larsen, stars Kyle Catlett as the 10-year-old cartographer of the film's title who leaves his eccentric family in Montana to secretly travel by freight train to receive an award at the Smithsonian Institute. Review: The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet: San Sebastian Review The film premiered last year

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• Lionsgate has purchased the North American rights for Dark Blood, the last film starring River Phoenix (My Own Private Idaho) before he passed away in 1993. Directed and written by George Sluizer (The Vanishing), the upcoming thriller follows the story of Boy (Phoenix), a young widower living as a hermit on a nuclear testing site in the desert. While traveling solo on his “second” honeymoon, Boy discovers a stranded Hollywood couple. Desiring the woman, Boy decides to hold them captive because he finds himself under the impression that he can create a better world with her. The upcoming drama, set to be released via VOD,...

"The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet," the upcoming offering from "Amelie" director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, appears to be as colorful, imaginative, and heartwarming as his Oscar-nominated 2002 hit.

In the film, an adaptation of Reif Larsen's 2009 debut novel "The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet," 12-year-old inventor T.S. Spivet sets out on a solo adventure to Washington, D.C. after winning a Smithsonian Institute contest. Kyle Catlett, best known for his recurring role on the Fox serial killer series "The Following," stars as T.S. -- a "gifted child and scientist," as he describes himself in the following trailer.

"This trip scares me, but that's that. I'm leaving tomorrow for Washington, D.C.," the boy genius says before setting off on his incredible journey to claim his prize.

Also starring Helena Bonham Carter, Callum Keith Rennie, Judy Davis, and Niamh Wilson, "The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet" opens in France...

During the hustle and bustle of the Cannes Film Festival you may have missed it, but Jean-Pierre Jeunet's upcoming 3D English-language film "The Young And Prodigious Spivet" recently dropped a pretty charming trailer and it seemed to impress the right people. Over the weekend, Deadline reported that none other that Harvey Weinstein swooped in to grab the U.S. rights to the picture for his The Weinstein Company and now a few more pics have emerged for the movie. Based on the best-selling novel "The Selected Works Of T.S. Spivet" by Reif Larsen, the film features Helena Bonham-Carter, Callum Keith Rennie, Judy Davis, Kathy Bates, Dominique Pinon with newcomer Kyle Catlett, and it follows a young amateur cartographer, the titular Spivet, who travels cross-country on a freight train to visit the Smithsonian Institute. Of course that is merely the start of an adventure told the way only Jeunet can tell it.

Exclusive: As the Cannes Film Festival announces the winners of the fest’s competing films, the big winner in the market portion of the festival is Harvey Weinstein, hands down. Weinstein has just closed two more acquisition deals, leaving Cannes with six films under his arm, and another two for his multi-platform arm Radius-twc. The Weinstein Company has completed a deal for U.S. distribution rights to Carol, a film that shoots in the fall, directed by Far From Heaven helmer Todd Haynes for HanWay Films. TWC has also just completed the acquisition of U.S. rights to The Young And Prodigious Spivet, the 3D film that reunites Weinstein with Amelie helmer Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Carol stars Cate Blanchett and Mia Wasikowska and is based on a Patricia Highsmith novella adapted by Phillis Nagy. It tells the dual stories of two women: a twenty-something woman working in a department store hoping...

A trailer from Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "The Young and Prodigious Spivet" has emerged, and it seems seems that the director is once again aiming to capture the lovely and curious quirks of an introspective mind, as he did with "Amelie." Adapted from Reif Larsen's debut novel, "The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet," it follows a brilliant 12-year-old cartographer who hitchhikes alone from his home in Montana to Washington D.C. to accept a prestigious award. The text was praised for its extensive use of maps, charts, sketches, and images accompanying the text--a visual device that the film seems to employ as well. The movie stars Helena Bonham Carter, Kathy Bates, Dominique Pinon, and newcomer Kyle Catlett as the young Spivet.  Then two trailers from Cannes give a glimpse of two competition features on the Riviera. Arnaud Desplechin's talky "Jimmy P," stars Benicio del Toro as a Native...

Here's a wonderfully beautiful trailer for Jean-Pierre Jeunet's new film The Young and Prodigious Spivet. The movie is based on the novel The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, which is the debut novel by Reif Larsen.

The story follows a 12-year-old cartographer who "secretly leaves his family's ranch in Montana where he lives with his cowboy father and scientist mother and travels across the country on board a freight train to receive an award at the Smithsonian Institute."

If you're not immediately familiar with who Jean-Pierre Jeunet is, he's the director of the amazing French film Amelie. The movie stars Kyle Catlett (The Following) in the lead role, Helena Bonham Carter, Judy Davis, and more.

This is an international trailer. There's no word on when the movie will be released in the U.S., but is looks fantastic! I love Jeunet's visual style.

Here's a description of the...

Late last year we got our first look at The Young and Prodigious Spivet, a family film based on The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, the debut novel by American author Reif Larsen. Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, Micmacs) co-wrote and directs the film which follows a 12-year old mapmaker named T.S. Spivet, who lives on a ranch in Montana, as he receives a prestigious award and accepts it, hitch-hiking on a freight train for the acceptance speech in Washington D.C. Kyle Catlett ("The Following") leads the film which also features Helena Bonham Carter, Judy Davis and more. It looks original and quite charming Watch! Here's the first trailer for Jean-Pierre Jeunet's The Young and Prodigious Spivet from YouTube: The Young and Prodigious Spivet is directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who also co-wrote the film with his Amelie and Micmacs writer Guillaume Laurant. A 12-year-old cartographer (Kyle Catlett of...

Given that his sole film in the English-language to date was "Alien: Resurrection," it's not surprising that French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet has preferred to stick to homegrown fare in the fifteen years since (bar a brief flirtation with making "Life of Pi," eventually filmed to great success by Ang Lee). But the director's back Stateside at last, with "The Young And Prodigious Spivet," and a trailer's just arrived, courtesy of The Film Stage. Based on Reif Larsen's "The Selected Works Of T.S. Spivet," the story follows a young inventor who leaves his eccentric family after being invited to the Smithsonian. And fingers crossed, this looks like a much more successful venture into the English language than his 'Alien' movie -- there's a real sense of Americana, but it's also clearly a Jeunet film, with the promo looking closer to his most celebrated hour, "Amelie," than anything he's made since.

#79. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s The Young and Prodigious Spivet

Gist: Spivet is a 12 year-old prodigy with a passion for cartography and scientific inventions. One day, he receives an unexpected call from the Smithsonian museum telling him that he is the winner of the very prestigious Baird prize for his discovery of the perpetual motion machine and that he is invited to a reception where he is expected to give a speech. Without telling anyone, he sets out on a freight train across the U.S.A. to reach Washington DC. Cast includes Helena Bonham Carter, Judy Davis, Rick Mercer and Callum Keith Rennie.

Prediction: This promises to be more along the vein of Amelie (which the festival Gilles Jacob regretfully passed up on when it was offered to the Croisette in an uncompleted form) and though Jeunet doesn’t make regular appearances at the festival (his first was 95′s The City of Lost Children...

The Young and Prodigious Spivet

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Writer(s): Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant

Producer(s): Frédéric Brillion and Gilles Legrand

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

Cast: Helena Bonham Carer (T.S.’s mom), Callum Keith Rennie as his dad, Judy Davis as the head of the Smithsonian, along with Rick Mercer, Niamh Wilson, Robert Maillet, Jakob Davies, and Dominique Pinon.

A cousin of sorts to Scorsese’s Hugo (same 3D team worked on both features), Jeunet appears to be the go-to guy for rich, fable-like worlds full of childlike wonder. After conquering adults that are still young at heart with Amelie (less so with A Very Long Engagement) Jeunet did an admirable job merging goofiness, surrealism and politics with Micmacs, and our thinking is Reif Larsen’s novel should play out well in a 3D scapes.

Gist: Based on the bestselling Reif Larsen novel The Selected Works of T.

“Tracking Shot” is a monthly featurette here on Ioncinema.com that looks at a dozen or so projects that are moments away from lensing and with June being a major production month we’ve got a slew of projects that we feel are worth signaling out. Music appears to be a common narrative theme surrounding several items – we find it infused in Once‘s John Carney’s U.S. production debut – a 10 million dollar production about a dejected music business executive forms a bond with a young singer-songwriter new to Manhattan. Scarlett Johansson was formerly attached to Can a Song Save Your Life?, now Knightley appears to be on board. Rock documentary filmmaker Stephen Kijak (Stones in Exile) is looking to make his second fictional feature based on the true story of a The Smiths fans who lost his bearings when the group announced its break-up. Shoplifters of the World...

Acclaimed, Oscar nominated French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, Alien: Resurrection, Amélie) is set to direct his next feature after Micmacs, following in the footsteps of Martin Scorsese and taking on an adaptation that's a family film. Deadline reports that production company Gaumont has Jeunet set to direct an adaptation of Reif Larsen's 2009 novel The Selected Works Of T.S. Spivet, about a 12-year-old cartographer who one day receives a call from The Smithsonian informing him he's won a prestigious prize. Shooting will start in Spring 2012 in Canada with a release later in 2013. The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet is the debut novel by American author Reif Larsen. The book follows the exploits of a 12-year old mapmaker named T.S. Spivet, who lives on a ranch in Montana, as he receives a prestigious award and accepts it, hitch-hiking on a freight train for the acceptance...

Amelie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet has got a new project in the works, with the French auteur set to bring an adaptation of Reif Larsen novel The Selected Works Of T.S. Spivet to the big screen. The novel follows the exploits of the flamboyantly named Tecumseh Sparrow Spivet, a twelve-year-old cartographer struggling to cope with the failure of his parent’s marriage and the death of his brother. Seeking solace in intellectual pursuits, the story follows the events that ensue when he receives a call from the Smithsonian Institute...

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At this stage of the 3D game there are very few directors who I am particularly interested in seeing try out the technology. Jean Pierre Jeunet is one of them. And he's going to.French website Allocine are reporting that Jeunet is gearing up his next project, an adaptation of Reif Larsen's The Selected Works Of T.S. Spivet, to be shot in English, in 3D, in Canada, in 2012. Here's how Us publisher Penguin describes the novel:When twelve-year-old genius cartographer T.S. Spivet receives an unexpected phone call from the Smithsonian announcing he has won the prestigious Baird Award, life as normal-if you consider mapping family dinner table conversation normal-is interrupted and a wild cross-country adventure begins, taking T.S. from his family ranch just north of Divide,...

It has been a couple of years now since "Micmacs," the last film from "Amelie" director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and as he generally takes a few years between pictures, now is about the time for the helmer to start gearing up make another. Over the summer it was revealed that the helmer had acquired the rights to two books for possible future projects: Reif Larsen's 2009 novel "The Selected Works Of T.S. Spivet" and Thomas H. Cook's crime tome "Red Leaves." It was assumed the former would go in front of cameras first, and indeed that is the case and few more details have arrived today about the project.