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Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence and Stanley Tucci as Cardinal Bellini in ‘Conclave’ (Photo Courtesy of Focus Features. © 2024)

The 51st Telluride Film Festival announced its lineup just days ahead of the festival’s opening on Friday, August 30, 2024. The festival, which runs through Monday, September 2nd, will include the world premieres of Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, Edward Berger’s Conclave, and Malcolm Washington’s The Piano Lesson.

This year’s festival includes 60 feature films, shorts, and revival programs.

“This brief weekend of cinematic bliss reminds us every year that movies really are magic,” stated Telluride Film Festival director Julie Huntsinger. “The process of assembling our line-up is both daunting and rewarding, and it never fails to bring the most fantastic sense of satisfaction once we’re finished. Our anticipation matches that of the audience. We’re delighted to now share what we found to be the most exciting, interesting and...

Telluride Film Festival has announced the line-up before the festival starts on Friday, with world premieres for Edward Berger’s Conclave, RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys, and Robbie Williams musical biopic Better Man.

Also making the cut in the main programme are documentaries Leonardo Da Vinci from Ken Burns, Kevin Macdonald’s One To One: John & Yoko, and R. J. Cutler’s Martha Stewart film.

Tim Fehlbaum’s September 5 and Joshua Openheimer’s The End are in the main programme, alongside Cannes favourites Anora, The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, All We Imagine As Light, and Emilia Pérez.

The 51st...

Unless you’re a major studio or willing to pay for a rent-spiked ski lodge––and even then––few festivals ring more exclusive than Telluride, which has the distinction / misfortune of firing the starting gun for fall festivals and that ever-deleterious phenomenon we call “Oscar buzz.” Their 2024 lineup nevertheless features some films of note: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson’s Rumours; Alain Guiraudie’s Misericordia; Payal Kapadia’s All That We Imagine as Light; Sean Baker’s Anora; and Alfonso Cuarón’s Apple series Disclaimer.

On a repertory end, Kenneth Lonergan’s been anointed this year’s Guest Director and has programmed the following: Arch of Triumph, Barry Lyndon, Doctor Zhivago, Grand Hotel, and My Darling Clementine. And Telluride’s 2024 Special Medallion goes to Les Films du Losange, who will represent Misericordia and have their history celebrated with the following screenings: Beauty and the Beast; Charles, Dead or...

The world premieres of “The Piano Lesson,” “Conclave” and “Saturday Night” will take place at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival, which begins on Friday in the Colorado mountain town.

“The Piano Lesson” is an August Wilson adaptation directed by Malcolm Washington and starring Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington; it will be released by Netflix. “Conclave” is a Focus Features drama set admidst the election of a new pope, and the first film for German director Edward Berger since his Oscar-winning “All Quiet on the Western Front.” And Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night,” a Sony release, tells the story of the first episode of the long-running comedy series “Saturday Night Live.”

Other films in this year’s Telluride lineup include “The End,” a dystopian sci-fi musical starring Tilda Swinton and marking the narrative debut of “The Act of Killing” director Joshua Oppenheimer; “Nickel Boys,” a Colson Whitehead adaptation from RaMell Ross; and “The Friend,...

It's an election year, which means everyone and everything is focused on politics—even the season's major festivals. Colorado's Telluride Film Festival just unveiled its 2024 lineup, and it has as much of an eye toward the White House as anything else this time of year.

According to The Hollywood Reporter,...

Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan & Pathaan Create History Competing Against $291 Million Mission Impossible 7 & $100 Million John Wick 4 Budgeting At Almost 90% Lesser ( Photo Credit – IMDb )

Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan & Pathaan were not just two back-to-back 1000 crore grossers for Shah Rukh Khan; they were undoubtedly one of the slickest films to come out of Bollywood. Yes, both had some flaws, but credit where due; looking beautiful throughout wasn’t an issue these films faced. That’s also majorly because of how their action stunts were choreographed, and that’s finally getting recognized across the globe.

Paying tribute to the stunt performers around the world, Vulture’s 2023 Annual Stunt Awards are here, in which the magazine shortlists the best actioners from the film industries across the globe. Yrf & Red Chillies’ Shah Rukh Khan films have found their place amidst biggies like Tom Cruise‘s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One & Keanu...

John Wick: Chapter 4 is a masterclass in action cinema. Despite being nearly three hours long, the action extravaganza maintains momentum by letting the audience breathe between intense set pieces as we follow Keanu Reeves’ John Wick fighting for survival yet again. But it is the French-set action set pieces that electrify the last third of the movie in incredible ways, and were my focus of conversation with stunt coordinator and second-unit director Scott Rogers.

With the film earning much-deserved acclaim in year-end consideration, I caught up with Rogers to discuss what his role is in layman’s terms, how they shot the Arc de Triomphe sequence, the experience of working with Keanu Reeves, and whether he sees a future in directing.

The Film Stage: How are you today?

Scott Rogers: I’m great. How are you?

I can’t complain. I got to watch John Wick 4 again last night.

John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski explains why two installments in the hit action franchise feature the doors being broken off of a vehicle that Keanu Reeves is driving. Released in 2014, the first John Wick became something of a surprise hit, starring Reeves as an aging assassin who's brought out of retirement after mobsters kill his puppy. Each installment in the franchise features Reeves shooting his way through scores of enemies, but vehicle stunts have also been an important part of the action series from the beginning.

In a recent video for Vanity Fair in which he breaks down the action sequences in John Wick: Chapter 4, Stahelski goes in depth regarding the film's jaw-dropping Arc de Triomphe set piece. Both of the doors to Wick's car are broken off fairly early in the sequence, mirroring a similar moment in John Wick: Chapter 2, and the director reveals that there's an important reason for this.

John Wick: Chapter 4 visual effects artists reveal some surprising VFX shots featured in the film's opening desert sequence, including some involving Keanu Reeves' horse stunt. Directed by franchise veteran Chad Stahelski, John Wick: Chapter 4 sees Reeves return as the titular assassin, this time facing off against Bill Skarsgård's new villain, the Marquis. The film has achieved success both critically and commercially, with audiences lauding the sequel's impressive action sequences.

In a recent interview with befores & afters, visual effects supervisors Jonathan Rothbart and Janelle Croshaw Ralla break down John Wick: Chapter 4's visual effects, including the "invisible" effects featured in the film's opening sequence. According to Rothbart and Croshaw, the desert sequence was mostly filmed on location in Jordan with additional pick-ups shot in California, all of which featured environmental VFX, including sky replacements and sand work. Check out their full comments below:

Rothbart: "We were really there, and...

The action sequence montage that was "John Wick: Chapter 4" has cemented the series' status as a serious blockbuster franchise (even though the movie has only slightly outdone the third entry's domestic box office). Director Chad Stahelski's approach recalls that of George Lucas when he conceived of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" as a series of adventure set pieces, then hired writer Lawrence Kasdan to connect them all together narratively. But in Stahelski's case, his John Wick movies are basically a series of insane gun-fu action scenes threaded together with a much more loose narrative and bolstered by multi-layered lore.

And with the latest entry, those action scenes took even more precedence, as Stahelski and his team pushed themselves to outdo previous entries. With a final act that is basically a full hour of non-stop combat and stunt choreography, the director and his team certainly managed to fill the...

A newly-released John Wick: Chapter 4 behind-the-scenes video provides a look at a brutal car hit Keanu Reeves' stunt double took for the movie's Arc de Triomphe sequence. Released last month to rave reviews from audiences and critics, John Wick: Chapter 4 continues the story of Reeves' titular hitman as he faces off against the High Table. Directed once more by Chad Stahelsk, the sequel features the best action in the franchise yet, including a number of standout scenes in Paris.

Now, Vincent Bouillon, Reeves' stunt double for the film, shares a behind-the-scenes look at how one big car hit during John Wick: Chapter 4's Arc de Triomphe sequence was filmed.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vɪɴᴄᴇɴᴛ ʙᴏᴜɪʟʟᴏɴ (@vincent_bouillon)

While attempting to make his way to the Sacré-Cœur for his duel against the Marquis (Bill Skarsgård), Wick is set upon by waves of assassins,...

Warning! Contains Spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4!John Wick: Chapter 4 has a very deep meaning for the story of its title character. In John Wick: Chapter 4, the legendary assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is fighting to escape the High Table's grip for good, and finds himself in his most harrowing war yet. With his old friend Caine (Donnie Yen) forced to hunt John in order to save his daughter, John learns through Winston (Ian McShane) that he might just be able to overcome the High Table and their chosen representative the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) for good through a "High Table duel."

The ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 takes an unexpected twist when John dies after his duel with Caine, but there is a lot more going on than meets the eye. Underneath its breathtaking stunts and action sequences, John Wick: Chapter 4 is about John's ultimate goal...

"John Wick: Chapter 4" is the culmination of everything the franchise has attempted and achieved so far. It shows how you properly build an expansive universe and it introduces incredible new side characters all while, of course, having bombastic action that should (and does) shame the entire American action movie industry.

Despite the movie being almost three hours long, it flies by, in no small part due to the nonstop action that feels like a Greek myth brought to life. This is particularly true of the film's last hour, which is a spectacular action scene filled with moments that rival "Mad Max: Fury Road" in terms of how unbelievable it is that no one died making those scenes.

And yet, there can be too much of a good thing, at least if you ask Keanu Reeves himself. Speaking to Variety, the actor pondered the question of whether the team had...

John Wick: Chapter 4 second unit director and stunt coordinator Scott Rogers explains how Keanu Reeves was trained to be able to pull off the driving required for the movie's Arc de Triomphe sequence. John Wick: Chapter 4 hit theaters last week, earning rave reviews and pulling in a franchise-best opening weekend box office haul. The sequel, which is again directed by Chad Stahelski, features some of the franchise's most impressive action sequences ever, including a standout car chase/ shootout around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

In a recent interview with IndieWire, Rogers breaks down Reeves' role in bringing the exceptional John Wick: Chapter 4 sequence to life. Considering Reeves would be doing most of his own driving for this sequence behind the wheel of a 500-horsepower muscle car, the actor was actually paired with professional race car driver Tanner Foust in order to hone his skills. Much of this...

"John Wick: Chapter 4" is still a few weeks away, but critics (including myself) are calling it the best "Wick" film yet. That's no small praise for a fourth movie in a popular franchise, but director Chad Stahelski and his team have pulled it off, largely because they wouldn't have made the movie if they didn't think they could top themselves.

"You can't just go bigger," Stahelski explained to me in my conversation with him about the film. "You can't just go more explosions. You have this circumference of excellence that if everybody does their one inch of growth, you get a bigger circumference. And that's what I think we keep doing in the 'Wicks' is, if we all trust each other to get a little bit better at what we do, the synergistic effect is much greater than any one person trying to do a bigger explosion."

That's not...

The John Wick franchise features Keanu Reeves pulling off an array of impressive stunts and pieces of fight choreography, and the star now reveals which scenes were the most challenging to shoot. First getting its start in 2016, the world of John Wick has continued to expand with each new film as Reeves' titular assassin faces off against bigger and more powerful enemies. The series of films has earned critical acclaim for its devotion to technically challenging and intricately coordinated action set pieces, which Reeves often does himself.

In a recent interview with Collider ahead of the John Wick: Chapter 4 release date, Reeves shares what he found to be the most difficult scenes in the franchise to film. Reeves chooses a few notable highlights across all four films, with two from John Wick: Chapter 4 making the list. Check out Reeves' full comment below:

"Oh my gosh! [Laughs] Let's see, the first one...

In a little less than three weeks, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) will be back in theaters doing what he does best, which mostly revolves around killing dozens of baddies at once with anything and everything he can get his hands on. As you might imagine, the first reactions to John Wick: Chapter 4 are full of praise for the sequel’s incredible action and magnificent set pieces, with some even calling it the best of the franchise. The nearly three-hour runtime also didn’t deter fans, as it seems that every minute is packed with something phenomenal.

Check out some John Wick: Chapter 4 first reactions below!

#JohnWick4 is epic! The fight sequences are electrifying. Reeves owns Wick, and the addition of Bill Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada, Scott Adkins, and Donnie Yen bring this impressive feature to an operatic finale! Fastest 2 hours and 38 minutes ever!

— JoBlo.com (@joblocom) March 7, 2023

Brawny, bold & badass,...

This post contains spoilers for the "John Wick" films.

In the first three "John Wick" films, the stunts and the stakes kept getting more intense. At the end of the first chapter, Wick (Keanu Reeves) has defeated the Tarasov Mob, the Russian criminal organization indirectly responsible for taking out his dog in a brutal fashion and stealing his high-performance Ford Mustang. The hitman hotel, The Continental, is also introduced showing a secret society of killers that adhere to a strict code. In "John Wick: Chapter 2," Wick gets his car back, then gets pulled right back into the world of an assassin when an old colleague, Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio), uses his Marker to force Wick to kill his sister in order take over her seat at the High Table.

When "John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum" was filming, Reeves and director Chad Stahelski wanted to keep expanding the mythology of The Continental and the High Table,...

A German, possibly a Jew, is on the run from occupation forces through wartime France in Christian Petzold’s Transit. Is he a hero? This is a difficult question, and one muddied all the more by the German director’s at once bold and simple concept of transposing of Anna Seghers’ novel, written and set during the Second World War, to today’s Marseille—all the while retaining the plotting and references to Germany’s invasive path through France. Stranded in the French port and trying to find a way out of the country, Georg (Franz Rogowski) is mistaken for a dead writer who has been granted a visa to Mexico. Flustered at first, the refugee soon takes advantage of this other identity, but while waiting for his boat to leave Georg is drawn to the son of his dead comrade, a half German, half African boy, as well as...

I attended the Viennale for the first time this year, both because I was already in Vienna and had been there since the summer with the purpose of improving my German and because the festival was presenting my own film, Short Stay. Below are some fading impressions written in the days following the festival of films I was happiest to have seen.In Memory of Zsóka Nestler (Metrokino, 16mm & Dcp)Up the DanubeThe only other Nestler film with which I am familiar is Ödenwaldstetten (1964), a documentary shot in Bayern in static, black and white images profiling people who live and work in the German countryside, speaking in a variety of dialects. In a tribute to Nestler’s recently deceased collaborator and wife, Zsóka, the festival screened a program of three films the two had directed together: I Budapest (In Budapest,1969), Uppför Donau (Up the Danube, 1969) and Zeit (Time, 1992). When I Budapest began with a brief,...

We’ve got questions, and you’ve (maybe) got answers! With another week of TV gone by, we’re lobbing queries left and right about shows including Masters of Sex, The Last Ship, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Under the Dome and Top Model!

1 | Was Sunday’s wedding-themed, family-focused Ray Donovan the best episode of the show’s entire run? We’ll go ahead and answer that one for you: Yes. Yes, it was.

2 | Do any Masters of Sex fans have a genius research idea that will keep Josh Charles’ Dan in town longer? (Because we need him to stay.

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: July 15, 2014

Price: DVD $24.95, Blu-ray $29.95

Studio: Olive Films

Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman in Arch of Triumph.

The 1948 wartime drama-romance movie Arch of Triumph stars Charles Boyer (The Earrings of Madame de…), Charles Laughton (Island of Lost Souls) and Ingrid Berman (Casablanca).

In 1938, Paris has become a haven for refugees trying to escape growing Nazi power. Boyer plays Dr. Ravic, a German surgeon practicing medicine illegally in France. Always one step away from being discovered and sent back to Germany, he seeks revenge on his enemy, a Nazi officer (Laughton), who tortured him.

One night, he saves Joan Madou (Bergman), a woman cast adrift after the death of her lover. He finds her a job singing at a nightclub, and eventually they begin an affair, only to be separated when Ravic is found out and deported.

An adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel directed by Lewis Milestone...

1. The term "gaslight." The Ingrid Bergman thriller "Gaslight" -- released 70 years ago this week, on May 4, 1944, wasn't the original use of the title. There was Patrick Hamilton's 1938 play "Gas Light," retitled "Angel Street" when it came to Broadway a couple years later. And there was a British film version in 1939, starring Anton Walbrook (later the cruel impresario in "The Red Shoes") and Diana Wynyard.

Still, the glossy 1944 MGM version remains the best-known telling of the tale, with the title an apparent reference to the flickering Victorian lamps that are part of Gregory's (Charles Boyer) scheme to make wife Paula (Bergman) think she's seeing things that aren't there, thus deliberately undermining her sanity in order to have her institutionalized so that he'll be free to ransack the ancestral home to find the missing family jewels.

This version of Hamilton's tale was so popular that it made the word "gaslight"into a verb,...

1938 was a year of mistakes and misunderstandings. Many people believed in the Munich settlement, and the public thought Bringing Up Baby was stupid. The film lost around $300,000 and helped edge Katharine Hepburn closer to the category of "box-office poison". When you walk under the ladder of history, expect the whitewash to fall on you.

That's about the only mishap that doesn't hit Cary Grant's David Huxley as he bumps into Susan Vance (Hepburn). The sequence I want you to look at is the extended second meeting of this demented couple made in heaven (or is it hell?).

The encounter is an extraordinary sequence of physical comedy, one calamity adding to another until the finale where, in a crowed clubhouse of American sophisticates, David (in tatters) has to step so closely behind Susan to get away that he uses his top hat to mask the fact that her derriere is...

Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon make a decent fist of South African accents in Invictus. But they are the latest in a long line of actors trying too hard

As someone who was born and brought up in South Africa, I was particularly interested to discover how Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon managed with the notoriously difficult South African accent in Clint Eastwood's Invictus. Actually, there are many South African accents, so a distinction has to be made between Nelson Mandela (Freeman), an English-speaking Xhosa, and François Pienaar (Damon), an English-speaking Afrikaner. The two Americans had a fairly good shot at it, despite sometimes betraying their origins, and Freeman slipping occasionally into Dalek mode. For most audiences, however, who don't have an ear especially attuned to the nuances of South African accents, Freeman and Damon will sound authentic enough.

This follows worthy but inconsistent efforts by Denzel Washington and...