In today’s episode, Daniel D’Addario, Variety’s chief correspondent, details for our Cover Story segment how Channing Tatum and director Derek Cianfrance revisited a true-crime tale for our times in “Roofman.” And international editor Elsa Keslassy breaks down the important buzz for the biz coming out of the Venice Film Festival.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and
analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Wednesday, September three, twenty
twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton. I am co
editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm in
la He's in New York, and Variety has reporters around
the world covering the business entertainment. In today's episode, we'll
(00:30):
talk with Variety Chief correspondent Daniel Diderio about his cover
story on Channing Tatum and director Derek c and France
and their new movie Roofman. Variety's cheeky cover line for
this is I don't want to grow up, and Dan
will explain why. We'll also hear from the one and
only Elsa Caslasi, Variety's international editor, on what was happening
(00:53):
at a busy and buzzy Venice Film Festival. But before
we get to that, here are a few headlines just
in this morning that you need to know. Google shares
are up in early trading. The search giant had been
facing pressure to sell off its Chrome browser division as
a result of an antitrust decision against parent company Alphabet
last year. The judge's ruling, issued Tuesday, allows Google to
(01:17):
keep Chrome, but it will have to share more data
with rivals. Good news for the paper, It's been renewed
for season two, and that comes one day before season
one premieres on Peacock. It's the New Venture in the
Vein of the Office from Greg Daniels in Universal Television.
All of these stories and so much more can be
(01:38):
found on Variety dot com right now. Now we turn
to conversations with Variety journalists about news and trends in
show business. Dan Didario joins me to talk about a
movie that tells the story of a modern day crime
that is emblematic of our times. Before we hear from Dan,
(01:58):
let's hear a clip from Varieties cover story video. Here,
Channing Tatum and Derek san Franz explain how they forged
a working partnership on roof Man, the Dark comedy from
Paramount Pictures, premiere Saturday at the Toronto Film Festival.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I didn't really know what to expect about because I've
seen his other movies, and I talked to Bradley Cooper
about Like Your Style. He kind of prepped me a
little bit for Like The Long, The Long takes and
like really unorthodox things. He told me about the silent take,
and so I had at least a little bit of knowledge.
But it again like when you think it's done, you're
you're halfway there, Like you're when you're like, we've done everything.
(02:36):
I think we've done everything. I don't have any more ideas.
We've only gotten halfway there. And because you were just
a relentless digger.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
If you're making a film, there's no greater ally than
Channing For a filmmaker. When you're making a movie, you
need someone to believe in your delusion as much as
you do, and Channing was just always there, always games.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Daniel Dedario, thanks for joining.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Me, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
You are our ace cover story writer. You are so
good at getting people to open up and talk about
their craft and their lives, and you certainly did not
disappoint with this great cover story tied to the Toronto
Film Festival about one of the falls most intriguing new films,
roof Man. Tell me where you found the star, Channing
(03:26):
Tatum and director Derek san France in their lives and
in their careers. As you all sat down to tell
the story of this film, This was a really.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Interesting story to report because Channing Tatum I think of
as the guy from Magic Micro twenty one, Jump Street, Fun,
Loving a Goofball. No, he's lived a lot of life
since then. Those movies were almost fifteen years ago, and
at forty five, he is extremely reflective about the kind
of career he wants to have and the kind of
work he wants to be doing, not least because he
(03:55):
is a dad and any job means time away from
his daughter, whom he cherishes, So he wants to do
stuff that is not just formulaic and the stuff he'd
been offered. At the same time, Derek cian France, his director,
who lives in New York, also took a bit of
a break and also had been reflecting on what kind
of stories he wanted to tell, after having told a
(04:16):
bunch of stories that struck a similar note of parent
child inheritance. So two people for whom being a dad
is a big part of their identity coming together to
tell this story about a man who is motivated by
the love of his daughter to go on a kind
of rollicking crime spree, and I think people will be surprised.
It allows Tatum to be funny, which we know he
(04:36):
can do, but also he's very melancholy and thoughtful, and
it's just a real star turn in the best way.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Channing Tatum speaks so openly about what it's like to
be a working actor and also trying to be a
dad at the same time. It really sounds like he
was quite emotional in talking about this.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
It's hard not to be, as any parent knows get
a little emotional when talking about your kids. But he
was very interested in connecting about our respective experiences as parents.
Obviously my life and his are very different, but there's
a certain leveling effect. Having a child who his daughter
is now twelve, has prompted him to do some real
reflection about the kind of work he wants to be doing.
(05:15):
Or so, she took four years off the business entirely
and didn't work, and I think coming back happily, he
was able to be in a couple things that connected,
and this feels like his big reassertion of this is
phase two of my career. This is the kind of
work I want to be doing.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Also, when you sat down with as you say in
the story, and he's still dealing with a significant leg
injury to.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Not acknowledge the passage of time is a fool's errand
he told me, you know, when I look at myself
in the mirror, I see a twenty six year old.
I feel like I'm twenty six. But he was significantly
injured while working on the next Avengers film, which comes
out next year. He walked in with a very heavy
limp and sat with his leg outstretch, and it was
just a reminder that being forty five five is different
(06:00):
than being twenty six or being thirty. I will always
see him as the actor from Magic Mike and from
twenty one Jump Street and Fox Catcher, But is that
in fact limiting for him and for me as an
audience member, And so Roofman being the reinvention that it
is is exciting. He says that he feels like it's
going to kick off a decade long run of great
roles for him, which would take him into the heart
(06:22):
of middle age. So that should be very interesting to
see what he does next.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Remind us, now he's in Avengers world now for a
couple of more films.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
He has been filming Avengers Doomsday, featuring the return of
Robert Downey Junior. It should be very interesting to see
because he's playing a character that he's wanted to play
for a very long time. One of the X Men
named Gambit.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Let's talk about Derek the director. There's a great passage
in the story where the two of you walk around Brooklyn.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
He is a very interesting guy to speak to because
he puts a great deal of thought into his work,
and like Tatum, he took a significant break. So after
working very hard to build up his early career, working
very hard to bring Blue Valentine to the screen, he
made a few films in quick succession, made a TV
series for HBO, and then felt as though, as he
(07:13):
put a sit his will was empty. He didn't have
an idea and he didn't want to force it, and
so speaking to him about the ways in which this
true life story slowly dawned on him as a potential
beature film and the ways in which he could make
it feel like his own was a really interesting conversation.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
As you report in the story, he as a director,
he has a very specific working style and it's very spare.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
He takes pride in the fact, for instance, that he
does not use trailers on the set. He doesn't believe
in them. He believes it creates a hierarchy, so everyone's
just on set. The added benefit of this is that
when actors are just on set, they often find themselves
working in ways they didn't expect. A key comic set
piece in the film has Tatum dressed up in all
(07:57):
the gear that he finds around the Toys r Us
roller skates big sunglasses boa and that just happened because
Tatum was bored sitting around and just wanted to play.
It made its way into the film. So he's very
used to working lean and rapidly on a very tight budget.
He refurbished and abandoned Toys r Us in North Carolina
(08:20):
to look as though it were it's Toys Rs Heyday
twenty years ago, back before the company had gone filed
for bankruptcy. So it's that authenticity. They're not doing half
a set and doubling it.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Truth really is stranger than fixed. This is about a
man named Jeffrey Manchester who robbed McDonald's locations and lived
covertly in a working Toys r Us story. He burrowed
himself in and lived there, slept there at night. It's
a wild story, and it's also seemed somehow emblematic of
our times.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
The economy is a huge part of the film of
Jeff Manchester does his crimes because he can't get ahead economic.
He wants his daughter to have toys, he wants his
daughter to stuff, and he's not able to do that
on his salary, and so he knocks over forty to
sixty McDonald's franchises. He just feels like he can never
get ahead and he wants so badly to impress his kid.
And I think that's a really moving and compelling element
(09:13):
of the story.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Dan, thank you for diving in and going to get
a lot of attention at Toronto this week.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Thank you for having me. This was a really fun
story to report.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Now here's Elsa Caslass from Paris. She's just back from
covering the Venice Film Festival, which launched a lot of
ships into the fyc C after the Hunt Bogonia, the
Smashing Machine and Wizard of the Kremlin all got an
award season boost at Venice. Julia Roberts, Dwayne Johnson, and
Emma Stone were among the stars who lit up the Lido.
(09:48):
Listen all the way to the end of this episode
for a choice bite from Julia Roberts. From her after
the Hunt presser at Venice, Elsa Caslas, our international editor
in Paris, are just back from Venice, Elsa. Tell us everything.
What was it like on the leado this year? Hi,
or may I say hao?
Speaker 5 (10:08):
It was, you know, magical as always to be in Venice.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
You had a big, big.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
Line up, so it was really cool. It's still a
smaller festival as always than Can just because you don't
have the whole of the industry in town. The red
carpet is not as crazy as it is in Can.
I don't have the film market as you have in
Can so it doesn't draw as much of the industry,
but it certainly draws all the stars.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
There is no question that Hollywood has seized this as
a huge launch pad and for obvious reasons. What were
people talking about in terms of the business of making movies?
Speaker 5 (10:47):
That was definitely one of the topics that were addressed
during the festival, at press conferences and in interviews was
how difficult it is today to finance an independent film
and Yogoslantimo's mentioned it during his press conference talking about Bugunia,
which is a remake of a South Korean movie, and
he talked about how it is difficult to finance original
(11:10):
independent movies that are not based on like huge franchises.
And it's interesting because for someone like him, who's had
such critical acclaim, who's been at the osgard, even for
someone like him, it's not easy to finance a movie
without a studio on board. And I also talked to
some French filmmakers. I spoke to Francoisson and to Olivia Sayas,
(11:34):
who both have movies in competition, and they both say
that they really really.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Struggled to make their movies. To hear that from boldface
name is really significant from my vantage point. In La
it was also very clear that Gaza was a big
issue in Venice.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
So there was actually a protest in Venice that was
pretty impressive to show support for GAZA. I think it
was one of the most impressive protest I've seen at
a festival for GAZA so far, even comparing it to Berlin.
It really filled the lidos.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
And climate change is definitely bearing down on the festival.
Last year, you were all boiling. This year was a
different climactic condition.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
The funny thing is, although the two years were so different,
the common thing that happened is that I could not
blow dry my hair at all, so I looked like
a crazy woman the entire festival, because last year was
incredibly humid and hot, it was insane, and this year
it was like a torrential rain that I've never.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Seen before, never ever seen. It was like a.
Speaker 5 (12:45):
Tropical kind of rain, and so no one was prepared
because everyone had PTSD from last year.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Let's talk about the movies that impressed.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
You now, I would say the first one is Yogostantemus
movie Bug with Emma Stone. That one you know almost
for sure it's going to show up in multiple categories,
I would say. And the other one is Benny Satzfeast
movie is a Smashing Machine with Joanne Johnson. Because that
one got more than ten minutes of standing ovation. The
(13:16):
other movie that really impressed me is Olivia Sayas's movie
The Wizard of the Kremlin, which is a political thriller
starring Jude Law as Vladimir Putin and Paul Denno who's
his former right hand man and spin doctor. And that
movie earned like a hugely enthusiastic standing ovation, and it
(13:37):
really impressed me.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
That is a bold subject to take on in this world.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
I will say, even for someone who has no interest
in Russian politics and Vladimir Puttin. You know, it is
really hugely entertaining.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Let me conclude by asking you, Julia Roberts after the Hunt.
I read everything that was written about this. I'm endlessly
fascinated by her. This was a real springboard for this movie.
How was it received?
Speaker 5 (14:03):
So it was received, you know, with a standing ovation
that lasted six minutes. People were really enthusiastic. Some of
them were.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Very puzzled that.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
I spoke to different critics who interpreted the ending very
different ways. It's a threader that will really get people talking,
for sure, especially because it's a controversial. Look at me
too and Drelia Roberts, she was in tears at the premiere.
She was extremely moved.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
You know.
Speaker 5 (14:31):
It's really a big comeback to dramatic roles. We haven't
seen her like that since Erin Brockovic. So it's really
a movie that could propel her in the awards race
for sure.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
I was like, where are you headed next?
Speaker 5 (14:45):
I'm headed to Doville, actually, the Doville American Film Festival.
They're launching an industry program and they have a lot
of big titles. This year, and I'm going to see
Pamela Anderson, who's going to get an award there.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Our Christie Stewart.
Speaker 5 (15:02):
Is going to present her movie that was in ken Also,
Kim Novak, who just got an award in Venice, will
be in Doville.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
ELSA, thank you so much for working tirelessly for a Variety.
Thank you. As we close out today's episode, here's a
few things we're watching for. If you love Variety's seventieth
anniversary feature on Disneyland in July, you need to keep
an eye out for Disneyland Handcrafted. The documentary appears to
(15:30):
have amazing, rarely seen footage capturing the construction of the
Happiest Place on Earth out of orange Fields in Anaheim
in the early fifties. The project from filmmaker Leslie Ieworks
that's a name that has resonance in Disney Lore, comes
to Disney Plus and Disney YouTube this winter. Here's a
documentary made for my colleague Carol Horst. Saquon, a feature
(15:53):
doc about Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, premiere's October ninth
on Amazon's Prime Video. Comedian ver Das has set a
residency at Lincoln Center Theater. His new show, Hey Stranger
will run October twenty ninth to November ninth. It's a
milestone for an Indian comedian. My colleague nomin Ramachandron has
(16:14):
the scoop that you can find on Variety dot com
right now before we go concrats to Jesse Abbott. She's
joined A and E Studios as VP of Creative Affairs.
She spent the past decade at Aaron Kaplan's Capital Entertainment,
working her way up from assistant to VP. Also special
birthday shout out going out today to one Lauren van Asdale.
(16:38):
Thanks for listening. This episode was written and reported by
me Cynthia Littleton, with contributions from Dan Didario and Elsa Caslasi.
It was edited by Aaron Greenwald, Styx Nix Hick Picks.
Please leave us a review at the podcast platform of
your choice, and please tune in tomorrow for another episode
of Daily Variety.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
You realize what you believe in strongly and what your convictions.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Are because we stir it all up for you.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
So you're welcome
Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and
analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Wednesday, September three, twenty
twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton. I am co
editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm in
la He's in New York, and Variety has reporters around
the world covering the business entertainment. In today's episode, we'll
(00:30):
talk with Variety Chief correspondent Daniel Diderio about his cover
story on Channing Tatum and director Derek c and France
and their new movie Roofman. Variety's cheeky cover line for
this is I don't want to grow up, and Dan
will explain why. We'll also hear from the one and
only Elsa Caslasi, Variety's international editor, on what was happening
(00:53):
at a busy and buzzy Venice Film Festival. But before
we get to that, here are a few headlines just
in this morning that you need to know. Google shares
are up in early trading. The search giant had been
facing pressure to sell off its Chrome browser division as
a result of an antitrust decision against parent company Alphabet
last year. The judge's ruling, issued Tuesday, allows Google to
(01:17):
keep Chrome, but it will have to share more data
with rivals. Good news for the paper, It's been renewed
for season two, and that comes one day before season
one premieres on Peacock. It's the New Venture in the
Vein of the Office from Greg Daniels in Universal Television.
All of these stories and so much more can be
(01:38):
found on Variety dot com right now. Now we turn
to conversations with Variety journalists about news and trends in
show business. Dan Didario joins me to talk about a
movie that tells the story of a modern day crime
that is emblematic of our times. Before we hear from Dan,
(01:58):
let's hear a clip from Varieties cover story video. Here,
Channing Tatum and Derek san Franz explain how they forged
a working partnership on roof Man, the Dark comedy from
Paramount Pictures, premiere Saturday at the Toronto Film Festival.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I didn't really know what to expect about because I've
seen his other movies, and I talked to Bradley Cooper
about Like Your Style. He kind of prepped me a
little bit for Like The Long, The Long takes and
like really unorthodox things. He told me about the silent take,
and so I had at least a little bit of knowledge.
But it again like when you think it's done, you're
you're halfway there, Like you're when you're like, we've done everything.
(02:36):
I think we've done everything. I don't have any more ideas.
We've only gotten halfway there. And because you were just
a relentless digger.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
If you're making a film, there's no greater ally than
Channing For a filmmaker. When you're making a movie, you
need someone to believe in your delusion as much as
you do, and Channing was just always there, always games.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Daniel Dedario, thanks for joining.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Me, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
You are our ace cover story writer. You are so
good at getting people to open up and talk about
their craft and their lives, and you certainly did not
disappoint with this great cover story tied to the Toronto
Film Festival about one of the falls most intriguing new films,
roof Man. Tell me where you found the star, Channing
(03:26):
Tatum and director Derek san France in their lives and
in their careers. As you all sat down to tell
the story of this film, This was a really.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Interesting story to report because Channing Tatum I think of
as the guy from Magic Micro twenty one, Jump Street, Fun,
Loving a Goofball. No, he's lived a lot of life
since then. Those movies were almost fifteen years ago, and
at forty five, he is extremely reflective about the kind
of career he wants to have and the kind of
work he wants to be doing, not least because he
(03:55):
is a dad and any job means time away from
his daughter, whom he cherishes, So he wants to do
stuff that is not just formulaic and the stuff he'd
been offered. At the same time, Derek cian France, his director,
who lives in New York, also took a bit of
a break and also had been reflecting on what kind
of stories he wanted to tell, after having told a
(04:16):
bunch of stories that struck a similar note of parent
child inheritance. So two people for whom being a dad
is a big part of their identity coming together to
tell this story about a man who is motivated by
the love of his daughter to go on a kind
of rollicking crime spree, and I think people will be surprised.
It allows Tatum to be funny, which we know he
(04:36):
can do, but also he's very melancholy and thoughtful, and
it's just a real star turn in the best way.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Channing Tatum speaks so openly about what it's like to
be a working actor and also trying to be a
dad at the same time. It really sounds like he
was quite emotional in talking about this.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
It's hard not to be, as any parent knows get
a little emotional when talking about your kids. But he
was very interested in connecting about our respective experiences as parents.
Obviously my life and his are very different, but there's
a certain leveling effect. Having a child who his daughter
is now twelve, has prompted him to do some real
reflection about the kind of work he wants to be doing.
(05:15):
Or so, she took four years off the business entirely
and didn't work, and I think coming back happily, he
was able to be in a couple things that connected,
and this feels like his big reassertion of this is
phase two of my career. This is the kind of
work I want to be doing.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Also, when you sat down with as you say in
the story, and he's still dealing with a significant leg
injury to.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Not acknowledge the passage of time is a fool's errand
he told me, you know, when I look at myself
in the mirror, I see a twenty six year old.
I feel like I'm twenty six. But he was significantly
injured while working on the next Avengers film, which comes
out next year. He walked in with a very heavy
limp and sat with his leg outstretch, and it was
just a reminder that being forty five five is different
(06:00):
than being twenty six or being thirty. I will always
see him as the actor from Magic Mike and from
twenty one Jump Street and Fox Catcher, But is that
in fact limiting for him and for me as an
audience member, And so Roofman being the reinvention that it
is is exciting. He says that he feels like it's
going to kick off a decade long run of great
roles for him, which would take him into the heart
(06:22):
of middle age. So that should be very interesting to
see what he does next.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Remind us, now he's in Avengers world now for a
couple of more films.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
He has been filming Avengers Doomsday, featuring the return of
Robert Downey Junior. It should be very interesting to see
because he's playing a character that he's wanted to play
for a very long time. One of the X Men
named Gambit.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Let's talk about Derek the director. There's a great passage
in the story where the two of you walk around Brooklyn.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
He is a very interesting guy to speak to because
he puts a great deal of thought into his work,
and like Tatum, he took a significant break. So after
working very hard to build up his early career, working
very hard to bring Blue Valentine to the screen, he
made a few films in quick succession, made a TV
series for HBO, and then felt as though, as he
(07:13):
put a sit his will was empty. He didn't have
an idea and he didn't want to force it, and
so speaking to him about the ways in which this
true life story slowly dawned on him as a potential
beature film and the ways in which he could make
it feel like his own was a really interesting conversation.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
As you report in the story, he as a director,
he has a very specific working style and it's very spare.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
He takes pride in the fact, for instance, that he
does not use trailers on the set. He doesn't believe
in them. He believes it creates a hierarchy, so everyone's
just on set. The added benefit of this is that
when actors are just on set, they often find themselves
working in ways they didn't expect. A key comic set
piece in the film has Tatum dressed up in all
(07:57):
the gear that he finds around the Toys r Us
roller skates big sunglasses boa and that just happened because
Tatum was bored sitting around and just wanted to play.
It made its way into the film. So he's very
used to working lean and rapidly on a very tight budget.
He refurbished and abandoned Toys r Us in North Carolina
(08:20):
to look as though it were it's Toys Rs Heyday
twenty years ago, back before the company had gone filed
for bankruptcy. So it's that authenticity. They're not doing half
a set and doubling it.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Truth really is stranger than fixed. This is about a
man named Jeffrey Manchester who robbed McDonald's locations and lived
covertly in a working Toys r Us story. He burrowed
himself in and lived there, slept there at night. It's
a wild story, and it's also seemed somehow emblematic of
our times.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
The economy is a huge part of the film of
Jeff Manchester does his crimes because he can't get ahead economic.
He wants his daughter to have toys, he wants his
daughter to stuff, and he's not able to do that
on his salary, and so he knocks over forty to
sixty McDonald's franchises. He just feels like he can never
get ahead and he wants so badly to impress his kid.
And I think that's a really moving and compelling element
(09:13):
of the story.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Dan, thank you for diving in and going to get
a lot of attention at Toronto this week.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Thank you for having me. This was a really fun
story to report.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
Now here's Elsa Caslass from Paris. She's just back from
covering the Venice Film Festival, which launched a lot of
ships into the fyc C after the Hunt Bogonia, the
Smashing Machine and Wizard of the Kremlin all got an
award season boost at Venice. Julia Roberts, Dwayne Johnson, and
Emma Stone were among the stars who lit up the Lido.
(09:48):
Listen all the way to the end of this episode
for a choice bite from Julia Roberts. From her after
the Hunt presser at Venice, Elsa Caslas, our international editor
in Paris, are just back from Venice, Elsa. Tell us everything.
What was it like on the leado this year? Hi,
or may I say hao?
Speaker 5 (10:08):
It was, you know, magical as always to be in Venice.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
You had a big, big.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
Line up, so it was really cool. It's still a
smaller festival as always than Can just because you don't
have the whole of the industry in town. The red
carpet is not as crazy as it is in Can.
I don't have the film market as you have in
Can so it doesn't draw as much of the industry,
but it certainly draws all the stars.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
There is no question that Hollywood has seized this as
a huge launch pad and for obvious reasons. What were
people talking about in terms of the business of making movies?
Speaker 5 (10:47):
That was definitely one of the topics that were addressed
during the festival, at press conferences and in interviews was
how difficult it is today to finance an independent film
and Yogoslantimo's mentioned it during his press conference talking about Bugunia,
which is a remake of a South Korean movie, and
he talked about how it is difficult to finance original
(11:10):
independent movies that are not based on like huge franchises.
And it's interesting because for someone like him, who's had
such critical acclaim, who's been at the osgard, even for
someone like him, it's not easy to finance a movie
without a studio on board. And I also talked to
some French filmmakers. I spoke to Francoisson and to Olivia Sayas,
(11:34):
who both have movies in competition, and they both say
that they really really.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Struggled to make their movies. To hear that from boldface
name is really significant from my vantage point. In La
it was also very clear that Gaza was a big
issue in Venice.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
So there was actually a protest in Venice that was
pretty impressive to show support for GAZA. I think it
was one of the most impressive protest I've seen at
a festival for GAZA so far, even comparing it to Berlin.
It really filled the lidos.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
And climate change is definitely bearing down on the festival.
Last year, you were all boiling. This year was a
different climactic condition.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
The funny thing is, although the two years were so different,
the common thing that happened is that I could not
blow dry my hair at all, so I looked like
a crazy woman the entire festival, because last year was
incredibly humid and hot, it was insane, and this year
it was like a torrential rain that I've never.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Seen before, never ever seen. It was like a.
Speaker 5 (12:45):
Tropical kind of rain, and so no one was prepared
because everyone had PTSD from last year.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Let's talk about the movies that impressed.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
You now, I would say the first one is Yogostantemus
movie Bug with Emma Stone. That one you know almost
for sure it's going to show up in multiple categories,
I would say. And the other one is Benny Satzfeast
movie is a Smashing Machine with Joanne Johnson. Because that
one got more than ten minutes of standing ovation. The
(13:16):
other movie that really impressed me is Olivia Sayas's movie
The Wizard of the Kremlin, which is a political thriller
starring Jude Law as Vladimir Putin and Paul Denno who's
his former right hand man and spin doctor. And that
movie earned like a hugely enthusiastic standing ovation, and it
(13:37):
really impressed me.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
That is a bold subject to take on in this world.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
I will say, even for someone who has no interest
in Russian politics and Vladimir Puttin. You know, it is
really hugely entertaining.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Let me conclude by asking you, Julia Roberts after the Hunt.
I read everything that was written about this. I'm endlessly
fascinated by her. This was a real springboard for this movie.
How was it received?
Speaker 5 (14:03):
So it was received, you know, with a standing ovation
that lasted six minutes. People were really enthusiastic. Some of
them were.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Very puzzled that.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
I spoke to different critics who interpreted the ending very
different ways. It's a threader that will really get people talking,
for sure, especially because it's a controversial. Look at me
too and Drelia Roberts, she was in tears at the premiere.
She was extremely moved.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
You know.
Speaker 5 (14:31):
It's really a big comeback to dramatic roles. We haven't
seen her like that since Erin Brockovic. So it's really
a movie that could propel her in the awards race
for sure.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
I was like, where are you headed next?
Speaker 5 (14:45):
I'm headed to Doville, actually, the Doville American Film Festival.
They're launching an industry program and they have a lot
of big titles. This year, and I'm going to see
Pamela Anderson, who's going to get an award there.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Our Christie Stewart.
Speaker 5 (15:02):
Is going to present her movie that was in ken Also,
Kim Novak, who just got an award in Venice, will
be in Doville.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
ELSA, thank you so much for working tirelessly for a Variety.
Thank you. As we close out today's episode, here's a
few things we're watching for. If you love Variety's seventieth
anniversary feature on Disneyland in July, you need to keep
an eye out for Disneyland Handcrafted. The documentary appears to
(15:30):
have amazing, rarely seen footage capturing the construction of the
Happiest Place on Earth out of orange Fields in Anaheim
in the early fifties. The project from filmmaker Leslie Ieworks
that's a name that has resonance in Disney Lore, comes
to Disney Plus and Disney YouTube this winter. Here's a
documentary made for my colleague Carol Horst. Saquon, a feature
(15:53):
doc about Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, premiere's October ninth
on Amazon's Prime Video. Comedian ver Das has set a
residency at Lincoln Center Theater. His new show, Hey Stranger
will run October twenty ninth to November ninth. It's a
milestone for an Indian comedian. My colleague nomin Ramachandron has
(16:14):
the scoop that you can find on Variety dot com
right now before we go concrats to Jesse Abbott. She's
joined A and E Studios as VP of Creative Affairs.
She spent the past decade at Aaron Kaplan's Capital Entertainment,
working her way up from assistant to VP. Also special
birthday shout out going out today to one Lauren van Asdale.
(16:38):
Thanks for listening. This episode was written and reported by
me Cynthia Littleton, with contributions from Dan Didario and Elsa Caslasi.
It was edited by Aaron Greenwald, Styx Nix Hick Picks.
Please leave us a review at the podcast platform of
your choice, and please tune in tomorrow for another episode
of Daily Variety.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
You realize what you believe in strongly and what your convictions.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Are because we stir it all up for you.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
So you're welcome
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