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Projector Compiled by
Ruwini Jayawardana
Pining for 'Julia'
Ruwini Jayawardana
Nadeesha and
Charith
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'Julia', the debut film of popular young actor Sampath Sri Roshan,
produced by Charith Abeysinghe has begun shooting in Sri Lanka. The film
had concluded shooting in UK in picturesque areas like London, Essex and
the Buckingham Palace.
The movie stars Ravindra Randeniya, Robin Fernando, Veena Jayakody,
Rex Kodipilli, Shriyantha Mendis, Sandun Wijesiri, Teddy Vidyalankara,
Sanath Dikkumbura, Bandula Sooriyabandara, Nadeesha Hemamali, Sasanthi
Jayasekara, Achala Walpola, Harsha Bulathsinhala, Dinuli Malawarachchi
and Sampath Sri Roshan. Charith Abeysinghe will mark his entry to cinema
with "Julia".
Sampath and Sasanthi |
Donald Karunaratne is the cameraman and make up is by Ranjith
Mathangaweera. Namal Attygalle is the line producer, Jagath Nissanka is
the executive producer and Teddy Vidyalankara is the fight director for
"Julia". Indika Mallawarachchi is the still photographer for the film.
The story is centred on a fun-loving young girl whose actions take
her on a voyage from prosperity to decadence and vice versa. The film
will be edited at Pinewood Studio, England.
The story and script is by Sarath Samaranayake and Ranga Dasanayake
will enter the field as music director through "Julia". Kasun Kalhara,
Greshan Ananda, Bathiya Jayakody and Uresha Ravihari will contribute in
vocals.
Two Interesting American Films
K.S. SIVAKUMARAN
Two interesting films I saw at the IFFI in Panaji, Goa last year were
"The Jane Austen Book Club" and "Quarter Life Crisis".
The Jane Austen Book Club
Robin
Swicord is a talented woman screenwriter. She wrote the screenplay and
directed the film about the Book Club in the name of the famous English
writer, Jane Austen.
Six readers (five of them are understandably women and the other a
man) meet and form a club for their favourite writer. They are
cotemporary readers but find affinities relating to their own lives as
related in the 18th century novels of Jane Austen. The director has
based her screenplay on the novel by Karen Joy Fowler.
Each member reads each of the novels by the illustrious novelist and
discusses it and the characters aloud, forming their own experience and
judgment. The movie very interesting as the method of filming is dynamic
and quick editing, cutting across the scenes. The cinematography is by
John Toon. Although the film is about contemporary views of a few
readers, it is not about Jane Austen.
What do we know about the characters of the six people involved?
Sylvia, after 20 years of marriage leaves her husband and three
children. Her best friend is Jocelyn who breeds dogs to distract herself
from loneliness.
The young French teacher, Prudie, is married to a nice husband but
she fancies having sex with another man in a fantasy world. Bernadette
had married several times and yet looks forward to achieving happiness
through another marriage. Allerga, daughter of Sylvia, is a Lesbian.
She stops talking to her husband. And the only man, Greg, is a young
science fiction fan and computer whiz. He finds himself out of place
among the company of women readers. The film is in some regard a
de-construction of Jane Austen's novels. I may not agree with
interpretation of the filmmaker, but I did enjoy the film, as it is
thoroughly entertaining.
Mega-Cannes in store Final line-up unveiled
The
final line-up for this year's Cannes film festival sees veteran
directors Clint Eastwood, Steven Soderbergh and Brazil's Fernando
Meirelles face off against lesser-known talent for its coveted Palme
d'Or for best movie.
Bumping up the number of films to compete for the top prize from 19
to 22, organisers said in a surprise announcement that this year's award
will be handed out by Robert de Niro.
Cannes' mix of old and new, of Hollywood glitz and auteur fare, has
proven a recipe for success as the film industry's paramount festival
gears up for its 61st edition from May 14 to May 25.
After viewing 1,792 films from 96 countries, organisers selected 22
movies to compete for the Palme with the countdown per continent at Asia
(three), Europe (eight), Latin America (four), the United States (four),
and a film each from Israel, Canada and Turkey.
A yearly 12-day extravaganza of exclusive parties, red-carpet
screenings, and wheeling and dealing, the festival this year expects
movie celebs Harrison Ford, Angelina Jolie, Penelope Cruz and Woody
Allen - not to mention sporting giants Mike Tyson and Diego Maradona.
Kicking off the event is "Blindness" by Meirelles, best-known for his
Oscar-nominated "City of God" or more recent "The Constant Gardener",
which stars Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Danny Glover as residents
of a city mysteriously struck by creeping blindness.
Also added at the last-minute to compete for the Palme is James
Gray's "Two Lovers" starring Joaquin Phoenix as a New Yorker torn
between Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw, a first sentimental drama by
the maker of mafia crime chronicles such as "Little Odessa" and "We Own
The Night."
Eastwood's "Changeling" is a thriller set in the 1920s starring
Angelina Jolie as a mother grieving for a kidnapped son. Soderbergh,
best known for his "Ocean's" movies, will be presenting a four-hour
two-part movie entitled "Che" about the revolutionary hero's life and
times that stars Benicio Del Toro, who played in the director's 2000 hit
"Traffic".
Much-awaited also are the movies selected to be screened out of
competition and getting their world release, including the latest from
top-name directors Woody Allen and Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg will be bringing the year's most-awaited movie, "Indiana
Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" - the fourth installment in
the box office-busting series starring Harrison Ford as the
archaeologist adventurer who had his first outing way back in 1981
"Raiders of the Lost Ark".
Woody Allen, a longstanding favourite at the Cannes filmfest, brings
his Spanish-set "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", along with its stars
Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem for a walk up the
red carpet.
A kicking and punching "Kung-Fu Panda" - an animated comedy-adventure
from Dreamworks with a voice cast boasting Jack Black, Jolie, Lucy Liu
and Dustin Hoffman - has also been selected out of competition, along
with "The Good, The Bad, The Weird", a "kimchi" Western from South
Korea's Kim Jee-Woon.
High profile documentaries screening out of competition include an
Emir Kusturica film about Maradona, a film on Tyson by James Toback and
"Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" by Marina Zenovich. All three VIPs
are expected to show. AFP
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