From space opera to classical opera, that’s the trajectory of filmmaker James Gray over the next 12 months. His new sci-fi epic, Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt as a man who travels through the solar system in search of his father, is currently slated to open May 24 — and, he hopes, could be preceded by a premiere at Cannes — and then he will step behind the scenes at Los Angeles Opera to direct a new version of the Mozart classic, The Marriage of Figaro, which will bow in June, 2020.
“My job, I think, honestly, is to do as little harm as possible to this magnificent creation, get my ego out of the way and not have it be me rethinking Mozart. To me, that’s folly,” Gray tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s my job to build on what is magical and great about Mozart and not screw it up.”
Gray has competed for Cannes’ Palme d’Or on four consecutive films dating to his sophomore effort, The Yards, through his 2013 film, The Immigrant. Will he get to the Cote d’Azur again this spring?
So, will Ad Astra bow at Cannes?
We’re trying, we’re certainly hopeful. The issue is a little bit out of our hands because the shots come in from the VFX houses and right now our delivery date is late April, early May, which is really, really cutting it close. You want your visual effects to be so good that nobody thinks about them, that people don’t think of them as visual effects. We have hopes, but the whole team, Plan B and Brad [Pitt] and, thankfully, New Regency, have been fantastic through this. We’re all just anxious to put out the very best movie, and whether we actually get to make Cannes on May 18 — or whatever the hell the day is — is of secondary concern to getting the film to look exactly right. And I’ve been wonderfully blessed with great support from them. That’s where the focus is now and we’re just sort of keeping our fingers crossed.
Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jane Fonda and Jim Gianopulos were among those who welcomed the art fair Frieze to Los Angeles at the Paramount lot.
Not even yesterday’s torrential downpour could keep the throngs of visitors away from the inaugural edition of Frieze L.A., somewhat ironically situated in the “Blue Sky” tank of the Paramount Pictures lot. The global art fair, which launched in London in 2003 and expanded to New York in 2012, highlights artwork from more than 70 of the top galleries in the world (a third of them from L.A.), inside a — thankfully waterproof — 62,000-square-foot tent. Frieze L.A. is open to ticketed visitors through Sunday.
“What a great way to spend the morning,” Late Late Show host James Corden told THR, as he examined a piece by Gabriel Orozco called The Samurai Tree. “I’ll do anything to wander around looking at great art. I just want to see it all.”
In the first hour of the VIP preview, THR caught up with Ari Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, which took a majority ownership of Frieze in 2016, as he snaked throughout the crowded booths in his sneakers with Frieze co-founder Amanda Sharp, shaking hands and accepting congratulations on the turnout.
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One of the most important roles on a film set is, undeniably, filming the movie. Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuaron tweets cinematography and editing two of the most important categories Comes after a slew of missteps by Academy trying to improve telecast Unfortunately, if you are watching the Oscars this year you might not catch who is actually considered the best cinematographer, according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In an effort to shorten its telecast and win back viewers after a record-low 26.5 million people watched in 2018, the Academy decided to present four statues during ad breaks. This week it was announced those awards are make-up and hairstyling, live action short, editing and cinematography, with “emotionally resonant” moments of the winners’ acceptance speeches shown later in the broadcast. The decision did not go down well, with a host of Oscar winners and nominees publicly denouncing the move.
A new documentary film centered on the life of Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell is in the works, Variety has learned. The film will be produced by Cornell’s widow, Vicky, along with Brad Pitt and Peter Berg’s Film 45 production company, which focuses on non-scripted entertainment and branded content. Berg (“Lone Survivor,” “Deepwater Horizon”) will direct. Cornell was the lead singer of Soundgarden from the band’s incarnation in 1984 until they broke up in 1997. He went on to front Audioslave with members of Rage Against the Machine before Soundgarden reunited in 2011. The band was in the middle of touring when, on May 18, 2017, Cornell died after a show in Detroit. His death was ruled a suicide. In January, Vicky Cornell and a number of the grunge icon’s fellow musicians, including Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, threw a benefit concert, “I Am the Highway: A Tribute to Chris Cornell” at the Forum in Los Angeles. Guest performers included Miley Cyrus, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Brandi Carlile and Chris Stapleton. Pitt also made an appearance.
BP Press has been updated with two recent interviews about Breitling. The accompanying pictures were added to the BP Gallery.
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