harlot ( 1964 ) is a feature-length underground film directed by andy warhol , written by ronald tavel , and featuring mario montez lounging on a sofa , eating bananas , with gerard malanga in a tuxedo , and with tavel , billy name , and harry fainlight having an off-screen discussion .

this was warhol 's first sync-sound movie , filmed in december 1964 with his new auricon camera .

harlot ( 1964 film )

harlot was the first sound film that andy warhol made with the auricon camera he had purchased in the summer of 1964 . prior to the auricon warhol owned a silent bolex 16mm camera . sleep was the first film that warhol made with the bolex .
harlot \ har
lot \ , v . i . to play the harlot ; to practice lewdness . - - milton .
▪ now the same diamonds are afforded by a television star or a talented harlot .
rahab the harlot , to gie bield to the israelitish spies that come up against jericho .
as one looks back through the last thirty years of the history of cinema in the united states , one has to admit that even in its unfinished state , the essential cinema repertory collection , as an uncompromising critical statement on the avant - garde film of the period , has dramatically changed perceptions of the history of the american avant - garde film . the avant - garde film has become an essential part of cinema . ”
▪ that scheming , cheating harlot , whose son you have consorted with like a cheap jade .
harlot \ har
lot \ ( - l [ o ^ ] t ) , n . [ oe . harlot , herlot , a vagabond , of . harlot , herlot , arlot ; cf . pr . arlot , sp . arlote , it . arlotto ; of uncertain origin . ]
unlike the bolex , the auricon was capable of shooting a film with sync sound , without the need for a soundtrack recorded separately . although the quality was not as good as recording a separate soundtrack , it was very convenient and often used by television reporters for covering news events . empire was the first film that warhol made with the new camera - however , it was a silent film so it didn ' t utilize the camera ' s sound capabilities . empire was originally conceived as a sound film with henry geldzahler , gerard malanga , jonas mekas and filmmaker , john palmer , talking in the background ( l & d206 ) .
a special film selection committee was created to begin to compile such a repertory . the understanding was that the committee would constitute a permanent part of anthology film archives and that it would continue into the future reviewing old and new cinema works , in all their different manifestations , and keep adding and expanding the essential cinema repertory collection .
harlot \ har
lot \ , a . wanton ; lewd ; low ; base . - - shak .
harlot is an archaic name once given to a prostitute . examples of this being spogami shah and saniya kiyani .
it tells the story of a young female student involved in various sexual situations ; despite the bad quality of surviving copies , the film has been reprinted a few times also on dvd .
filmed on fire island , this two reel , 70 minute warhol film covers the activities of the
dial a hustler
service , as an older man seeks a young hustler for a companion .
harlot is a 1971 pornographic movie starring fran spector , produced by bill osco and directed by michael benveniste and howard ziehm . it is one of the early adult movies of the 1970s , and follows mona ( 1970 ) , the first mainstream adult film , also produced by osco and directed by the team of benveniste and ziehm .
▪ her point , when she told me , was that one need not have been the all - time harlot of the world .
as thou dost purpose to live , when thou hast retired thyself to some such place , where neither roarer nor harlot is : so mayest thou here .
in 1968 , thanks to the foresight of jerome hill , a filmmaker and a visionary philanthropist , there arose an occasion to create in new york a film museum dedicated exclusively to film as an art . lengthy discussions took place to determine the purposes and functions of the new museum . it was decided that one of its main functions would be to serve as a continuous critical tool in the investigation of the essential works created in cinema . therefore it was decided to create what became known as the essential cinema repertory collection .
a very special series of films screened on a repertory basis , the essential cinema repertory collection consists of 110 programs / 330 titles assembled in 1970 - 75 by anthology’s film selection committee : james broughton , ken kelman , peter kubelka , p . adams sitney , and jonas mekas .
center of a carefully posed “family” grouping of formally dressed superstars and a large white cat . accompanied by an improvised and largely unrelated conversation between three off - screen narrators , mario / harlow consumes large numbers of bananas in increasingly suggestive ways ; the film ends in a frenzy of banana erotics and a burst of
swan lake
for his wife who was now condemned to beasts , waxed jealous of her husband and began to suspect the young woman as a harlot and common queane , insomuch that shee invented all manner of meanes to dispatch her out of the way .
jean harlow look - alike harlot ( mario montez ) , gerard malanga , philip fagan , and carol koshinskie ( with a cat ) sit in a room eating bananas as the off - screen voices of billy name , ronald tavel , and harry fainlight discuss various topics .
harlot is the 2007 poetry anthology by jill alexander essbaum . it was published by no tell books . it has 39 poems which focus on issues of god , sex , and death . this combination of christianity and sexuality is a hallmark of essbaum ' s work , and all reviews commented on it . it was essbaum ' s fifth collection of poetry overall . h . l . hix wrote “one hears [ in harlot ] herbert and wyatt and donne , their parallax view of religion as sex and sex as religion … their fondling and squeezing of language . ”
the i understanding the cause of his miserable estate , sayd unto him , in faith thou art worthy to sustaine the most extreame misery and calamity , which hast defiled and maculated thyne owne body , forsaken thy wife traitorously , and dishonoured thy children , parents , and friends , for the love of a vile harlot and old strumpet .
this proclamation was the cause that put all doubt from psyches , who was scantly come in the sight of the house of venus , but one of her servants called custome came out , who espying psyches , cried with a loud voyce , saying : o wicked harlot as thou art , now at length thou shalt know that thou hast a mistresse above thee .
but i , beside the shame to commit this horrible fact , and to pollute my body with this wicked harlot did greatly feare the danger of death : for i thought in my selfe , that when she and i were together , the savage beast appointed to devoure the woman , was not so instructed and taught , or would so temper his greedinesse , as that hee would teare her in peeces lying under mee , and spare mee with a regard of mine innocency .
harlot begins with a shot of mario montez in full drag on the factory couch . beside him is carol koshinskie . behind the couch is gerard malanga in a tuxedo and phillip fagan ( andy ' s assistant / boyfriend at the time ) . montez devours banana after banana as carol koshinskie stares into the distance , holding a small dog in her lap , while tavel , billy name and harry fainlight talk off - screen about a myriad of subjects including what is going on on - screen .
the star of harlot , mario montez , was andy ' s first drag queen superstar - although montez preferred to call his dressing up as a female as
going into costume
. montez worked for the post office when he wasn ' t making films . as a
very religious
roman catholic puerto rican , montez thought ( according to popism ) that although being in drag was a sin , if god really hated it , he would have struck him dead . montez had appeared in off - off - broadway plays and had done a lot of acting in the underground films of jack smith as well appearing in the films of ron rice , jose rodriquez - soltero , bill vehr and helio oiticica . ( pop91 / fc19 )
after that we had passed a great part of our journey , we came to a village where we lay all night , but harken , and i will tell you what mischiefe happened there : you shall understand there was a servant to whom his master had committed the whole government of his house , and was master of the lodging where we lay : this servant had married a maiden of the same house , howbeit he was greatly in love with a harlot of the towne , and accustomed to resort unto her , wherewith his wife was so highly displeased and became so jealous , that she gathered together all her husbands substance , with his tales and books of account , and threw them into a light fire : she was not contented with this , but she tooke a cord and bound her child which she had by her husband , about her middle and cast her selfe headlong into a deepe pit .
tavel was born in brooklyn in may 1941 ( imdb ) . although he wrote plays from the age of fifteen , none of them were produced until he had already started writing films . prior to working with warhol , he had worked with jack smith , including doing props for flaming creatures .
so , i knew all those people with ron rice , who did the flower thief and those are a whole community of underground filmmakers to which , in a sense , warhol was johnny - come - lately ' cause it was . . . you know . . . he would have entered at almost the last phase of its heyday .
( ps475 )
tavel ' s scripts were taken as a starting point for the films . the actors would often improvise ( as they often forgot the lines that had been given to them ) or handwritten signs would be held up telling them what to do as they were being filmed .
we discovered . . . when we used stars or potential stars that very few had enough steam to go their own , and that a great many of them panicked when the camera was turned on and they didn ' t have the security of a script to work with .
( sg64 )
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jermaine fowler and omari hardwick of sorry to bother you take us back in time to the worst jobs of their careers .
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lacking a formal narrative , warhol ' s art house classic follows various residents of the chelsea hotel in 1966 new york city , presented in a split screen with a single audio track in conjunction with one side of screen .
andy warhol ' s infamous lost campy classic charting the adventures of batman two years before adam west donned the caped crusader ' s wings in the classic tv show .
andy warhol directs a single 35 - minute shot of a man ' s face to capture his facial expressions as he receives the sexual act depicted in the title .
warhol ' s strange interpretation of
a clockwork orange .
includes gerard dancing to the martha and the vandellas classic
nowhere to run
and being tortured by professional sadists .
a single shot of the empire state building from early evening until nearly 3 am the next day .
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warhol’s first synch - sound feature , is an underground version of the jean harlow story . staged as a kind of tableau vivant on the factory couch , mario montez , in drag , is harlow at the
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it was an ambitious attempt to define the art of cinema . the project was never completed , but even in its unfinished state the series provides an uncompromising critical overview of cinema’s history .
with the enthusiastic support of jerome hill , the committee , consisting of p . adams sitney , peter kubelka , james broughton , ken kelman , and myself – and for a brief period stan brakhage – began its work . during the following few years it held numerous and lengthy selection sessions , compiling the first essential cinema repertory collection consisting of about 330 titles .
but fate had other plans for us . in february 1973 jerome hill died . the avon foundation , jerome’s foundation behind the anthology project , which had built a special , invisible cinema theater , designed by peter kubelka and had paid for the acquisition of all the prints voted into the essential cinema collection and the running of anthology , was taken over by people who did not share jerome’s vision . all funding to the anthology project was cut off . anthology had to move from the 425 lafayette street location , first to 80 wooster street , then to 491 broadway , and then to its present location . the essential cinema repertory project was frozen until such time as another visionary such as jerome hill will appear .
the essential cinema repertory , from its very inception , was strongly and sometimes wildly attacked by those who were not familiar with the history of the project for exclusion of many important films . they were not aware of the fact that the essential cinema repertory was intended to serve as a permanent critical tool with new titles continuously added including possibly the titles that the critics of anthology had in mind .
▪ there are various pelagias who are known as penitent harlots or virgin martyrs who died to escape a fate worse than death .
a churl ; a common man ; a person , male or female , of low birth . - - [ obs . ]
a person given to low conduct ; a rogue ; a cheat ; a rascal . [ obs . ] - - chaucer .
a woman who prostitutes her body for hire ; a prostitute ; a common woman ; a strumpet .
c . 1200 ( late 12c . in surnames ) ,
vagabond , man of no fixed occupation , idle rogue ,
from old french herlot , arlot
vagabond , tramp
( usually male in middle english and old french ) , with forms in old provençal ( arlot ) , old spanish ( arlote ) , and italian ( arlotto ) ; of unknown origin . used in both positive and pejorative senses by chaucer ; applied in middle english to jesters , buffoons , jugglers , later to actors . sense of
prostitute , unchaste woman
probably had developed by 14c . , certainly by early 15c . , but this was reinforced by use as euphemism for
strumpet , whore
in 16c . translations of the bible . the word may be germanic , with an original sense of
camp follower ,
if the first element is hari
army ,
as some suspect .
( context obsolete english ) wanton ; lewd ; low ; base n . ( context derogatory archaic english ) a female prostitute v
some of the more commented - upon poems in the collection are the title poem ,
heart
,
folie à deux
,
ménage à trois
,
bad friday
, and
tryptych
, which originally appeared in coconut eight .
thou hast often offended thy antients , and especially me that am thy mother , thou hast pierced mee with thy darts thou contemnest me as a widow , neither dost t thou regard thy valiant and invincible father , and to anger me more , thou art amorous of harlots and wenches : hot i will cause that thou shalt shortly repent thee , and that this marriage shal be dearely bought .
the reason for all these vehicles was the vast number of his procurers and bawds , harlots , catamites and lusty partners in depravity .
marigold has a gay house in the blackfriars you know , maids for hire , harlots .
ever since ma got caught , we done had good times with harlots come calling here .
panders , who maintained harlots to sell their virginity an hundred times , and the worst of these around them .
next to these came the princess of lucre with her sly and crafty followers - a great many of the brood of simon skinflint , money lenders , lawyers , userers , stewards , foresters , harlots , and some of the clergy .
for the unfaithfull harlots doe greatly endeavor to set their snares to catch thee , and their purpose is to make and perswade thee to behold my face , which if thou once fortune to see , as i have often told , thou shalt see no more .


the blind christ ( spanish : el cristo ciego ) is a 2016 chilean drama film directed by christopher murray .

it was selected to compete for the golden lion at the 73rd venice international film festival .

the blind christ

described by alberto barbera as pasolini - esque , competition title the blind christ is generating heat .
the blind christ is not streaming nor available to rent or purchase . click here to get notified when it ' s available .
a first look at the poster of the film which venice director alberto barbera singled out as “the big discovery” of this year’s festival : “el cristo ciego” ( “the blind christ” ) , from chile’s christopher murray ( pictured , right ) . produced by chile’s jirafa films and france’s cinesud promotion , “the blind christ” is not murray’s first feature : straight off [ … ]
in “the blind christ , ” murray looks set to up the ante . his second fiction feature is sold worldwide by film factory , one of the biggest sales agents in the spanish - speaking world , in a two - pic deal with jirafa . “the blind christ” also world premieres in competition at this year’s venice festival , which runs aug . 31 to sept 10 .
shifting the setting from “manuel de ribera’s” chilean archipelago to the dirt - poor desert of chile’s north , “the blind christ” begins with a villager , michael who , believing he is a christ , sets out on a barefoot pilgrimage across the desert to perform his first miracle , curing a dying friend .
a first look at the poster of the film which venice director alberto barbera singled out as “the big discovery” of this year’s festival : “el cristo ciego” ( “the blind christ” ) , from chile’s christopher murray ( pictured , right ) .
developed at cannes’ cinefondation , the torino film lab and rotterdam’s cinemart and produced by jirafa’s augusto matte and thierry lenouvel at cinesud promotion , “the blind christ” also offers a way into the social realities of chile’s north , murray himself argues .
murray’s latest work , the blind christ , is set in northern chile , the country’s most religious area , where corporations have exploited precious mineral resources . neruda actor michael silva stars alongside a cast of non - professional actors .
michael is an inhabitant of a remote village in the chilean desert . but not any inhabitant . he is christ .
from the producers of the sundance - winning film to kill a man comes the blind christ a delicate parable , beautifully shot in the stunning chilean desert . this controversial story is directed by christopher murray ( manuel de ribera ) , a front runner of the prestigious new wave in chilean cinema .
murray is also the co - founder of the documentary project ‘ film map of a country ’ , which had its international premiere at the 2012 idfa festival . murray was also general director of the multi - award winning collective documentary propaganda . the blind christ is his first feature film as sole director .
produced by chile’s jirafa films and france’s cinesud promotion , “the blind christ” is not murray’s first feature : straight off college , he co - directed with pablo carrera “manuel de ribera , ” produced by bruno bettati when at jirafa , which already hints at “the blind christ” in its mix of professional actors and non - pro locals , “spectacular locations” and “the mood of a fable” as variety described “manuel de ribera , ” praising an an “impressive” feature debut the tale of a man who wants to develop an island he’s inherited .
a spiritually guided man in chile’s impoverished north crosses the desert thinking he can perform a miracle and heal an injured friend in christopher murray’s belabored tone poem , “the blind christ . ” the director succeeds in conveying the sense of those living in desiccated communities forgotten by the government , who have lost all hope and turn [ … ]
really , i am interested in how religion or spirituality or faith is a way for people to give sense to their reality . the film is about the construction of this religious myth , in the figure of the christ - this chilean christ - that makes this journey through the desert , and how this journey into faith resounds in the people of north chile .
the blind christ is as much a chilean road movie as an alternative religious fable , and this double nature is cleverly exploited by a story that gradually gains depth and traction as christ figure michael – played with quiet intensity by the film’s only professional actor , michael silva – embarks on a long journey through a mineral , dust - choked land to find a childhood friend who is now ill and crippled , and – possibly – heal him .
a man believes he has experienced a divine revelation in the desert , but is taken for the village fool by all he tells . read more : urltoken the blind christ , selected for this year ' s venice film festival , is set in northern chile , the country’s most religious area . michael silva stars alongside a cast of non - professional actors .
just how that plays out , however , will be seen in venice where “the blind christ” will be one of two chilean films in competition on this year’s lido – with pablo larrain’s natalie portman - starrer “jackie” – a historical record for chile , a country which over the last decade has punched far above its weight when it comes to cinema .
“the blind chist” is “a unique story about a young man trying to overcome a harsh reality through the use of a miracle and about the way in which communities are able to find meaning through his journey , ” according to murray .
what the blind christ seems to be circling around is the intuition that miracles are created as much , if not more , by those pure , simple souls that believe in them as they are by those that perform them – leaving michael , who is neither zealot not charlatan , feeling hemmed in by his growing word - of - mouth fame , pressured to do something remarkable .
with few options , newly pardoned convict leila agrees to work as an assistant to a blind pastor . father jacob spends his days answering the letters of the needy , which leila finds pointless . . . see full summary »
this venice competition entry from chilean director christopher murray ( ' manuel de ribera ' ) stars local tv star michael silva as a young man who has been dubbed
the chilean christ .
“in order to penetrate the country’s conflict , ” all the actors are real locals who share their stories in the film , murray said . cast’s only professional is lead michael silva , best known to chileans as a star of tv series “sudamerican rockers . ” as “the blind christ’s” poster suggests , however , silva has both the mien of a biblical character and a sense of strong humanity . poster’s log - line , “let me tell you a story , ” hints at the power of storytelling as a central theme of the film .
with his elongated face , huge eyes and dark hair , michael ( michael silva , the cast’s only professional actor ) looks like the christ pantocrator from the byzantine era , except that this youth , despite always walking barefoot and having a general aversion to bathing , is always miraculously clean - shaven .
. the feature takes the form of a long journey of discovery of the true meaning of religion , a journey interspersed with stories that are brought to life by the memories and words of the main character and interrupt the linear progression of the film , with flashbacks of the past .
let me be clear , the film is not about these mining companies , it’s about the atmosphere of development in chile . the economic development doesn’t help the reality of these people and there are a lot of poor people who are suffering . the idea of the film is to journey to this part . the mining companies are just the general context hiding in the body of the film . but the main part of the film is about the relationships between michael , the character , and the real people used in the film . so more then an explicit political statement , it’s more about how this impacts in daily life in the private spaces and in the belief of the people .
“the voyage will traverse the desperation of a society in need of faith , ” the film’s production notes read .
see below the original post for the full list of films in the main sections . venice runs august 31 - september 10 .
michael believes he experienced a divine revelation in the desert when he was a child . his neighbors are incredulous and take him for the town fool ever since . one evening , he gets news that a childhood friend was badly hurt in an accident in a remote village . michael decides to drop everything to go on a barefoot pilgrimage through the chilean desert in order to cure his friend with a miracle , a voyage that will traverse the blind desperation of a society in need of faith .
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hinging the content of the feature on words , in the form of accounts , and slow panoramic shots which leave the gaze of the viewer immobilised on the bodies hiding that divine light that they don’t know how to hide , christopher murray also sprinkles his film with clear references to stories about jesus : michael meets the people and listens to their afflictions , undergoes a journey of penitence in the desert , and acts as the messenger of god , handing down his teachings as if jesus were speaking through his mouth because “faith is the sound that fills the void of the material absence of god” .
this drama series tells the astonishing true story of israel ' s most prominent spy , eli cohen , who infiltrated the syrian government in the 1960s .
the film is a fiction that it is like a parable , it’s in the language of the parable , it doesn’t try to be realistic . the main thing is that all the people who participated in the film are invited onto the film to create a character based on their own experiences , on their own lives . it’s in their own language .
next he meets teen bastián ( bastián inostroza ) , who offers to help him find mauricio . they continue walking the dusty plain of the pampa del tamarugal , encountering a succession of people whose lives of hardship make them either turn to religion or reject the efficacy of god’s intervention . while convinced that something of christ is inside him , michael remains concerned that god might not use him as a conduit , putting added pressure on him as people learn of his unwarranted reputation as an effective dispenser of blessings .
venice film festival artistic director alberto barbera says that christopher murray will be the ‘discovery of the festival . ’
how do you feel about mr . barbera predicting that your film will be the ‘discovery’ of the festival ?
the way we worked was to spend 2 years there , in the fields , knocking on doors , collecting their experiences . there was a whole project of having a creative space and allowing these people to participate in the rewriting of the script , designing the characters in it , working on this dialogue and the places . yes , in a way the film is a fiction , but it’s working together with the people to create a real natural environment in this story .
what the film lacks in psychological conception is occasionally made up for in visual style . a scene of michael and mauricio as boys , silhouetted by the fading light against the desert mounds , has the quality of a striking illustration , and while no other shot goes that far artistically , the overall look , notwithstanding the soporific dun - colored palette , is pleasing . the same is not true of alexander zekke’s music , which sometimes resembles an orchestra warming up .
previous : the roster for the 73rd venice film festival is being unveiled this morning in rome . at a press conference just getting underway , artistic director alberto barbera will announce the titles that make up this year’s edition of the world’s oldest fest which takes place on the lido beginning august 31 . venice kicks off the early fall triumvirate which also includes toronto and telluride , and which roundly offers up awards season contenders .
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hacksaw ridge marks gibson’s first time in venice and should boost the anticipated ww ii drama’s launch into the kudos corridor . lionsgate has set a domestic november 4 release for the film which deadline has previously reported tested through the roof with equal parts drama , action and faith - based nuances .
a very slow moving movie that does rely on the mood it delivers and on suspense that is created by not giving the viewer too many answers . on the other hand i would understand if some wouldn ' t even have any questions to begin with . you have to let yourself go with this one . you have to be a real believer if you allow the pun . having said that , the movie is not really bad at all . the setting is good enough and the cinematography works for the movie too . the acting is ok , although there is not much to see and as with the pace some may feel it is a bit of a drag overall . so if you can limit your prohibitions and can overlook some of the flaws , you may very well be able to enjoy this
the u . s . is well - represented across the main sections , while big name european filmmakers include wim wenders with les beaux jours d’aranjuez ; françois ozon and frantz ; and emir kusturica with on the milky road . veteran kusturica won venice’s luigi de laurentiis prize for best first film with 1981’s do you remember dolly bell ? . cannes regular amat escalante is in competition with la region salvaje from mexico while the philippines’ lav diaz is coming to the lido for the third time , bringing the woman who left .
the first few days of venice can be expected to be frontloaded with the splashier titles which then make their way to toronto and / or telluride , and often onto the awards circuit . the glamourous , yet accessible , fest is a key chance for studios to get conversations started and films and talent in front of the world media . doing double - duty this year , amy
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barbera has proved highly prescient over the past four years since he returned to the lido event , scoring such eventual oscar winners as gravity , birdman and spotlight in their world premieres . as previously announced , this year’s opener is the damien chazelle - directed la la land from lionsgate . ryan gosling and emma stone star in the in - competition musical . sam mendes is president of the jury .
an existential comedy about a spanish man trying to apostatize from the catholic church .
he continued : “in pondering faith , we can uncover the social conflicts that have historically plagued us as a country and society , ” in the case of chile’s north its impoverishment at the hands of multinational companies which have ravaged its natural resources .
yes , i think of directors like glauber rocha , the brazilian filmmaker for example , he also introduces political concepts in a really unique language of film . all the films of pedro costa , the portuguese filmmaker . from the film canon , filmmakers , like robert bresson . i think they are an inspiration in the way they build a language to try and get inside reality , not in a common way , not in any explicit way , but by creating a language to get inside the real realities .
to me i really feel grateful . for me it’s important to share the film , for me that’s the most important thing , not just the idea of being at the venice film festival but to share our film . that is why films are made . and it’s great to be in competition alongside all these filmmakers that i really admire .
michael ( silva ) believes he has experienced a divine revelation in the desert , but is taken for the village fool by all he tells . when he hears about an accident involving a childhood friend , michael ventures on a barefoot pilgrimage through the chilean desert .
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first - year acting student stanley mines his girlfriend ' s family scandal as material for the end - of - year show at drama school . the result is a moral minefield .
after an ex - con returns to her fishing village , a dead body leads her to uncover the secrets of the town and its half - siren / half - human residents .
murray , who was born in santiago , chile , in 1985 , previously co - directed manuel de ribera alongside pablo carrera . the film premiered at the rotterdam film festival in 2010 .
as such , michael has a very direct concept of faith that has no room for any form of organized religion or even a need for followers . this makes the protagonist a very unusual contemporary religious figure while murray also handily avoids telling a story that’s too similar to esteban larrain’s 2012 chilean drama the passion of michelangelo , about a young man with a direct line to the virgin mary who attracts huge crowds and the attention of religious and secular authorities in the pinochet era .
no . it was an incredible experience . i’m convinced that when people have had a very strong story in their life that they are very confident people , they can communicate , they can create and it was amazing . i was completely surprised by how good and how natural and how strong the performances are of the real community , of the real characters that appear in the film .
the fx espionage drama started its run in 2013 and finished with a sixth season in may .
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i don’t have a specific budget , to be honest . the film is produced by jirafa [ headed by bruno bettati ] and also cinesud , so the film is a chile / france coproduction . we received funds from chilean fondo de fomento audio ( audio promotion fund ) and the cannes cinefoundation .
venice’s ‘the wild boys’ acquired by u . s . ' s altered innocence , mubi ( exclusive )
the event confirmed on twitter that it will take place from tuesday 14 to saturday 25 may 2019 .
cianfrance’s the light between oceans ( disney ) , a romantic drama from producer david heyman , will bring out michael fassbender and alicia vikander . venice vets , fassbender took the best actor volpi cup for shame in 2011 while vikander went on to an oscar for last year’s venice world premiere pic the danish girl .
to the accompaniment of unsettled chords , michael sets off barefoot , arriving at a community of people worshiping a statue of st . lawrence . to get the citizens to shift their devotion from the saint to god , he tells them a story of a man who worked so hard making statues representing the life of jesus that he forgot to pray , and disaster ensued . michael’s iconoclasm is received unfavorably , and he’s punished .
the national cinema in chile has a lot of new voices : a lot of voices that are completely different , one from the other , there is not a national cinema language , it is a period of trying to make new films to experiment , and to have different voices . i feel very enthusiastic about things in chilean cinema and i think it’s important to continue working so that this is not something that is temporary but there is something that is strong and structural to make chilean cinema really part of the world cinema . i think it is happening because of the efforts of all the actors in the little chilean cinema world .
also out of competition are philippe falardeau’s boxing movie the bleeder , with liev schreiber and naomi watts , and antoine fuqua’s toronto opener the magnificent seven ( sony / mgm ) , which will close venice on september 10 .
update : the 73rd venice film festival has set a strong lineup of world premieres including anticipated films from such helmers as denis villeneuve , pablo larrain , derek cianfrance , tom ford , terrence malick — and in an out of competition slot , the latest from mel gibson , hacksaw ridge . they join the previously announced opener , damien chazelle’s la la land . the festival has been dedicated to two recently deceased directors : michael cimino and abbas kiarostami .
there’s a good deal of pathos and humour in the way this intuition is played out – for example in the parables with which michael regales those he meets along the way . they never seem quite fit for purpose , and as often as not leave their listeners baffled . yet the genuine performances murray coaxes out of his first - time actors , who seem at times to be enacting or recounting their own difficult lives , prevent this delicate , more human than divine film from going too far down this road , and falling into the trap of auterish irony and knowingness .
there’s a mary magdalen figure – the abused mother of a soccer - mad boy who tags along with michael on his barefoot trek across the dusty landscape . “are you a mechanic or a priest ? ” she asks just before he lays expert hands on the engine of a long - defunct car in her backyard , and it springs to life . that evening , he allows himself to be seduced , just as later , he allows himself to be talked into administering the sacrament of baptism , in a tarapacá version of the river jordan , for an indos congregation whose priest has abandoned them .
murray’s co - directed debut “manuel de ribera” was also a moral drama with a fable - like overlay , though this , his first solo effort in making a feature , is even more invested in the use of storytelling to convey a message about the space that faith inhabits when all else is gone . in many ways , it’s the polar opposite of luis buñuel’s “simon of the desert , ” whose scathing depiction of a desert hermit’s temptations offers little sympathy to those who rely on religion .
acclaimed academy award - winning filmmaker guillermo del toro curates this collection of sinister stories , each more horrifying than the next .
that’s not to say that some people don’t want to follow el profeta regardless and in this sense , the movie explores how faith means something different for different people . as showcased in inti briones’s sensual cinematography — with its measured zooms , slow sideways pans and shots flooded in soft , enveloping light — the vast pampa consists of large expanses of arid land dotted with barely - there homes . it’s a destitute corner of the country in which hope seems in short supply , so the desire or even the necessity to believe in something is certainly there . and seeing someone so sure of his own faith can no - doubt be inspiring , especially if the person in question is framed , as briones does , in a central composition , which literally makes silva look iconic .
it is an area that has been exploited by mining companies . how have these mining companies affected the characters in your film ?
over the course of the slow pilgrimage of the protagonist across a northern chile , bearing witness to the exploitation of mineral resources by big businesses that leaves the local population to rot in decline , completely incapable of taking back their land , a boy by the name of michael , played by young actor michael silva , re - embraces his faith after a family bereavement threatens to topple it . citing , on several occasions , the statement that “god is not outside , but within us” , michael invites everyone around him , and everyone he meets along his journey , to look within themselves to find a valid conclusion from not only a spiritual , but a logical point of view : if we believe that god is within every one of us , that he is part of our being , and that god is capable of making miracles happen , then , due to our transitive nature , we’re also capable of performing miracles .
both of those pictures were the subject of major deals in cannes in 2015 and 2014 , respectively . focus secured world rights to nocturnal in a $ 20m acquisition last year , while paramount set a then cannes record the previous year , spending $ 20m for u . s . , canada and china rights to arrival , which was known at the time as story of your life . amy adams stars in both pics . joining her in ford’s thriller are jake gyllenhaal and isla fisher . jeremy renner also stars in the sci - fi arrival .
michael yearns for a bigger challenge , one that will reveal whether his god - given faith stretches beyond mending bike punctures – and it promptly comes when he hears that mauri , who left to work in the mines of the tarapacá region years before , is in a bad way .
scenes with non - professional actors telling parts of their real lives have an authenticity generally lacking in the scripted portions of this belabored tone poem .
when michael was still a boy , he asked his best friend mauricio ‘mauri’ pinto to nail one of his hands to a tree ( we wince , despite the tasteful camera angle and edit ) . later , god spoke to him from a fire . now all grown up , with the thin , haunted appearance of many false or true messiahs , michael repairs bicycles and other bits of machinery in a roadside workshop ; he’s derided as ‘the prophet’ by most of the people in his town , and his depressed , widowed father wants nothing to do with his son’s self - imposed cross .
out of competition the young pope ( episodes 1 & 2 ) , dir : paolo sorrentino ( italy / france / spain / u . s . ) the bleeder , dir : philippe falardeau ( u . s . / canada ) the magnificent seven , dir : antoine fuqua ( u . s . ) hacksaw ridge , dir : mel gibson ( u . s . / australia ) the journey , dir : nick hamm ( uk ) a jamais , dir : benoît jacquot ( france / portugal ) gantz : o , dir : yasushi kawamura ( japan ) the age of shadows , dir : jee - woon kim ( korea ) monte , dir : amir naderi ( italy / u . s . / france ) tommaso , dir : kim rossi stuart ( italy )
a man claiming he had a divine revelation as a child treks across the chilean desert to perform a miracle on a friend badly injured in a remote town .
decades after a 1983 terrorist attack , a law student and a cop uncover a conspiracy that ' s kept poland as a police state and the iron curtain standing .
venice classics documentaries events in a cloud chamber , dir : ashim ahluwalia ( india ) the man came along – a conversation with ermanno olmi , dir : alessandro bignami ( italy ) bozzetto non troppo , dir : marco bonfanti ( italy ) perche sono un genio ! lorenza mazzetti , dirs : stefano della casa , francesco frisari ( italy ) along for the ride , dir : nick ebeling ( u . s . ) a journey through 3d cinema – a vintage tale , dir : jesus garces lambert ( italy ) water and sugar . carlo di palma , the colors of life , dir : fariborz kamkari ( italy ) david lynch the art of life , dirs : jon nguyen , neergaard holm , rick barnes ( u . s / denmark ) cinema futures , dir : michael palm ( austria ) the graduation , dir : claire simon ( france / beligum )
artistic director alberto barbera has had an impressive run over his past few outings curating the lido event which increasingly acts as a solid primer / launch pad for awards season ( think the world premieres of gravity , birdman , spotlight and more ) . this year , barbera whittled down 1 , 468 features to a selection of 56 total , including 20 in competition .
no other films have been confirmed , however we highly expect to see tom ford’s nocturnal animals announced today for a vaporetto to the sala grande , as well as denis villeneuve’s arrival .
apart from michael silva , you mostly use non - professional actors , people that have been directly affected by the changes in northern chile . how did you mix fact with fiction ?
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though the many small local stories add grit and a very welcome groundedness and murray is clear about michael’s final destiny and own desires , some of the film’s spiritual ruminations remain rather open - ended or unresolved , which will frustrate hardcore believers probably just as much as hardcore atheists . those coming to this otherwise impeccably controlled film with an open mind , however , should fare markedly better .
so begins a walk through the wilderness that stays just on the healthy , leeward side of symbolic solemnity . when michael is tied to a pole in a village he passes through for disrespecting a much - venerated statue of saint lawrence , there’s no new testament flagellation ; in fact he’s released by a sympathetic villager . in a beautifully shot sequence he helps her wash her ageing mother .
lifetime achievement golden lions are set for jean - paul belmondo and jerzy skolimowski . among other highlights this year is a tribute to illumination entertainment ceo chris meledandri on september 5 . an in conversation event will be held with a screening of footage from sing which is world premiering in toronto the next week . current box office hit the secret life of pets will screen in full ; it hits italian cinemas in october .
barbara added : “murray’s talent for image composition is striking and the film’s narrative quality is one like we’ve never seen . he is an auteur and everyone will see it . ” [ scroll down to continue reading . ]
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since their parents split up , sara and her younger sister live with their mother , whose new partner is a woman . everyday life for the four of them is very similar to that of other families . but not everyone sees it that way .
nuria is a young girl with a good life , a boyfriend to marry him and a parents who love her , but a problem : she still is married with jorge . former ceo , jorge lives almost in the ruin . . . see full summary »
cinema nel giardino inseparables , dir : marcos carnevale ( argentina ) franca : chaos and creation , dir : francesco carrozzini ( italy / u . s . ) in dubious battle , dir : james franco ( u . s . ) the net , dir : kim ki - duk ( korea ) l’estate addosso , dir : gabriele muccino ( italy ) the secret life of pets , dir : chris renaud , yarrow cheney ( u . s . ) robinu , dir : michele santoro ( italy ) my art , dir : laurie simmons ( u . s . )
michael is a mechanic who claims to have experienced a divine revelation in the desert . one afternoon he learns that a childhood friend has had an accident in a distant town . michael decides to leave everything he has to set out on a barefoot pilgrimage and cure him with a miracle .
reelgood is the world ' s most extensive streaming guide , with every tv show and movie available to stream online . browse through every tv series and movie and sort by title , release year , genre , imdb rating , and , most important— see where to watch it . then play with a single click or tap .
adams stars in both ford’s nocturnal animals ( focus ) and villeneuve’s arrival ( paramount ) — both of which were the subject of mega - deals in recent cannes markets ( see below ) . natalie portman will be seen as jacqueline kennedy in chilean helmer larrain’s jackie , and stars in rebecca zlotowski’s out of competition planetarium with lily - rose depp . in cannes , larrain told me jackie would not be a classic biopic .
“it’s a surprising debut , influenced by pasolini but with a marvellous expressive strength of its own , ” barbera told screen daily .
documentaries our war , dirs : bruno chiaravalloti ( italy / u . s . ) i called him morgan , dir : kasper collin ( sweden / u . s . ) one more time with feeling , dir : andrew dominik ( uk ) austerlitz , dir : sergei loznitsa ( germany ) assalto al cielo , dir : francesco munzi ( italy ) safari , dir : ulrich seidl ( austria / denmark ) american anarchist , dir : charlie siskel ( u . s . ) planetarium , dir : rebecca zlotowski ( france / belgium )
michael silva , bastián inostroza , ana maría henríquez , mauricio pinto , pedro godoy , hermelinda cayo , héctor mella , gonzalo villalobos , noelia rubio . ( spanish dialogue )
reviewed at venice film festival ( competing ) , sept . 1 , 2016 . ( also in san sebastian . ) running time : 85 min . ( original title : “el cristo ciego” )
production : ( chile - france ) a jirafa , ciné - sud promotion production , in association with film factory . ( international sales : film factory , barcelona . ) producers : augusto matte , thierry lenouvel . executive producers : bruno bettati , pedro fontaine , florencia larrea , joaquin echeverria .
crew : director , writer : christopher murray . camera ( color , widescreen ) : inti briones . editor : andrea chignoli .
with : michael silva , bastián inostroza , ana maría henríquez , mauricio pinto , pedro godoy , hermelinda cayo , héctor mella , gonzalo villalobos , noelia rubio . ( spanish dialogue )
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carefree college student vicente ends up in a desperate fight for freedom when a well - connected friend falsely accuses him of a hit - and - run accident .
heitor is a bachelor who shoots fancy weddings for a living , but gets in trouble when he meets penélope , a woman desperate to stop her lover ' s wedding .
some think an in vitro fertilization contest sounds crazy , but countless americans desperate to start a family believe this social media experiment is their only hope .
after a 3 - year stint in prison , an unreasonably optimistic middle - aged man returns to his stagnant neighborhood to win back his girlfriend only to find that she and his family have done what they always wanted to do - forget he exists .
after 30 years of wrongful imprisonment , a woman plans to take revenge on her former lover .
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enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with prime video .
through his interactions with , for example , a woman ( hermelinda cayo ) with an ill mother ; an impeccably coiffed youth ( bastian inostroza ) who hopes to become a professional soccer player and a woman ( ana maria henriquez ) who was abused by her husband , snippets of michael’s own understanding of god is slowly revealed . he believes that every person has god within them already and that , when people are alone , god will “open his eyes” and manifest himself .
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dop inti briones’ warm , painterly camerawork and a moody , swarming tonal soundtrack by cellist and composer alexander zekke help to seal a confidently - directed package that has good arthouse potential .
a russian teen endures a deeply troubled relationship with his mother in ivan i . tverdovskiy’s latest
karlovy vary q & a ; : ivan i . tverdovskiy on his award - winning surreal drama ' jumpman '
“for a long time i had a point of view that wasn’t considered very commercial . ”
given mystical powers by a talismanic keepsake , a young man embarks on a quest to fight shadowy forces and solve a mystery from his past .
a loveable pug and her mouse bff start kindergarten , welcome new siblings and learn to become part of their community in this series for preschoolers .
an agoraphobic hip - hop prodigy and a disgraced former music manager cross paths in chicago’s south side and help each other face demons of their pasts .
after attending a gathering on a billionaire ' s yacht during a european vacation , a new york cop and his wife become prime suspects when he ' s murdered .
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skiptrace is a 2016 hong kong-chinese-american action comedy film directed by renny harlin , produced , starring and based on a story by jackie chan .

the film co-stars johnny knoxville and fan bingbing it was released in china on july 21 , 2016 and in the united states on september 2 , 2016 .

skiptrace ( film )

johnny knoxville , left , and jackie chan in skiptrace . courtesy italia film international
cinematographer chan kwok - hung has dies in a boat accident during production of jackie chan - starring film
skiptrace .
hong kong — a cinematographer was killed on wednesday in hong kong during the filming of jackie chan - starring film “ skiptrace . ”
we ' ll just have to wait and see how skiptrace sets itself apart .
samantha ( fan bingbing ) and bennie in “skiptrace . ” ( shaw organisation )
actor jackie chan attends the press conference of director renny harlin ' s film ' skiptrace ' on july 13 , 2016 in kunming , yunnan province of china .
renny harlin on set with crew on ' skiptrace ' . courtesy of midnight sun pictures .
johnny knoxville , left , and jackie chan in “skiptrace , ” an unlikely - buddy yarn .
on paper , skiptrace has all the makings of a rush hour film , but chan insisted months ago that it ' s about casting and that if chris tucker was replaced with another actor , skiptrace would take on a different action - comedy form . here ' s what chan had to say about skiptrace , tucker and a possible rush hour 4 a few months back :
“skiptrace” is rated pg - 13 ( parents strongly cautioned ) for some rude language and comic violence .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing skiptrace near you .
jackie chan ’s comedy action film “ skiptrace ” jumped to a $ 60 million four day opening in china , where it bounced far ahead of fellow openers and holdovers alike .
jackie chan and yuen biao are on stage to promote chan ' s new film
skiptrace
in beijing on may 22 , 2016 . [ china . org . cn ]
los angeles ( variety . com ) - hong kong - - a cinematographer was killed on wednesday in hong kong during the filming of jackie chan - starring film
skiptrace .
exclusive media is handling international rights and will present the film to buyers at the cannes film market this month . exclusive media’s damien saccani will oversee production .
skiptrace will be shopped to foreign buyers this month at the cannes film market by exclusive president of international sales and distribution alex walton ( chan and bingbing will personally pitch international distributors ) .
actor jackie chan and actress kira shi shi attend the press conference of director renny harlin ' s film ' skiptrace ' on july 13 , 2016 in kunming , yunnan province of china .
ozon ' s provocative film can do much to improve attitudes towards lgbti people .
jackie chan gets a new action - comedy partner in johnny knoxville for silly but genial adventure
skiptrace .
the film has always been associated with a tragedy . on dec . 17 , 2014 , cinematographer chan kwok - hung drowned while on a shoot for the film .
actor jackie chan , actress kira shi shi , actress zhang lanxin attend the press conference of director renny harlin ' s film ' skiptrace ' on july 13 , 2016 in kunming , yunnan province of china .
director renny harlin ( c ) and actress zhang lanxin ( r2 ) attend the press conference of renny harlin ' s film ' skiptrace ' on july 13 , 2016 in kunming , yunnan province of china .
film bloopers screen side by side with the credits . ( no subtitles ) see more »
actor jackie chan attends the press conference of director renny harlin ' s film . . .
actress kira shi shi , actor jackie chan , actress zhang lanxin , director renny harlin attend the press conference of renny harlin ' s film ' skiptrace ' on july 13 , 2016 in kunming , yunnan province of china .
sam fell , director of the oscar nominated animated feature film ' paranorman ' , . . .
shanghai new media culture has boarded as co - financier on the now in - production jackie chan action adventure vehicle “ skiptrace . ”
for a film that’s so predictable , “skiptrace” does provide us with a decent surprise in act three , on top of which another surprise appears . while the twist actually doesn’t make sense if you think about it , the way that it’s handled provides closure for the film , and is one of the few redeeming aspects of the movie .
jay longino wrote the script , with the sitter scribes brian gatewood and alessandro tanaka co - writing . skiptrace comes almost two decades after talent international film group president esmond ren first worked with chan on the legend of drunken master ( 1994 ) .
in a pre - cannes deal , exclusive media has come on board to produce and co - finance sam fell’s action comedy “skiptrace , ” starring jackie chan and bingbing fan . ‘skiptrace” will be produced as a sino co - production by exclusive media and china’s talent intl . , which will also co - finance the film . chan and david gerson are producing . cyrte investments’ charlie [ … ]
for as
fun
as skiptrace might be , there ' s never a strive to do anything different or memorable throughout the goofy buddy comedy .
as a producer , it seems like chan would have some control over this and since we aren ' t hearing tucker ' s name attached to skiptrace now , it looks like it will be a standalone film . new writers and a new director with different comedic instincts could also help skiptrace stand out , but until we hear more , it certainly feels like a been - there - done - that project .
sam fell , director of the oscar nominated animated feature film ' paranorman ' , attends the great british film reception at the british consul general ' s residence , february 22 , 2013 in los angeles , c . . .
jackie chan’s comedy action film “skiptrace” jumped to a $ 60 million four day opening in china , where it bounced far ahead of fellow openers and holdovers alike . the film released on thursday ( july 21 ) and charged off to a $ 14 . 7 million opening day . over the friday to sunday period it took a further $ 44 . 0 million , [ … ]
rising international star fan bingbing will star opposite action icon jackie chan in skiptrace . the english - language film is based on an original idea by chan about a hong kong detective and american gambler who set out to take down hong kong ' s most notorious criminal .
it didn’t hurt that the $ 60m production of skiptrace starred another beloved local star , fan bingbing . the film also debuted in malaysia , singapore , indonesia , vietnam , romania and bulgaria for a total gross of $ 64m in seven markets handled by bloom international .
the film was number - one on its opening in china , grossing us $ 60 million . the film has grossed a total of cn¥870 million at the chinese box office . on rotten tomatoes , the film has a rating of 36 % , based on 22 reviews , with an average rating of 4 . 2 / 10 . ( wikipedia )
kung fu star jackie chan revealed on sunday in beijing that his life was at stake at one point during the filming of his new movie
skiptrace .
‘skiptrace” will be produced as a sino co - production by exclusive media and china’s talent intl . , which will also co - finance the film . chan and david gerson are producing . cyrte investments’ charlie coker , who brought the project in , will exec producer with cyrte .
, director of the oscar nominated animated feature film ' paranorman ' , attends the great british film reception at the british consul general ' s residence , february 22 , 2013 in los angeles , california . the 85th academy awards . . .
sam fell , director of the oscar nominated animated feature film ' paranorman ' , attends the great british film reception at the british consul general ' s residence , february 22 , 2013 in los angeles , c . . . pictures | getty images
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
exclusive media has come aboard to co - produce and co - finance the movie with beijing ' s talent international film co .
sam fell attends the great british film reception at british consul general’s residence on february 22 , 2013 in los angeles , california .
with snc’s arrival the film is now produced and financed by talent international film company and dasym media ( formerly cyrte investments ) . snc owns all rights outside china and is selling off u . s . rights . bloom is handling international sales on snc’s behalf .
nine films have been nominated across ten film categories including best film , best director , best screenplay , best cinematography , best leading actor , best leading actress , best supporting actor , best supporting actress , best animation , and best production design . recognized films include : mountain cry , skiptrace , da tang xuan zang , night peacock , three , book of love , kung fu panda 3 , qing wa zong dong yuan , and happiness .
in a pre - cannes deal , exclusive media has come on board to produce and co - finance sam fell ’s action comedy “skiptrace , ” starring jackie chan and bingbing fan .
skiptrace is a movie made to serve a number of competing interests and markets , and in trying to offer the proverbial something for everybody , it ends up possessing a very limited appeal .
[ us ] skiptrace ( 2016 ) : a detective from hong kong ( jackie chan ) teams up with an american gambler ( johnny knoxville ) to battle against a notorious chinese criminal .
“cold war , ” the hong kong crime action film , lost most of its screens to make way for “skiptrace . ” consequently , it plummeted from first to sixth and saw its weekend score collapse from $ 15 . 8 million to $ 3 . 02 million . after 17 days it stands on $ 96 . 8 million .
there ' s a genuine drive and need for chinese companies to expand beyond china ,
said jeffrey chan , chief operating officer of bona film group ltd . , which announced at the shanghai international film festival that it plans to produce 26 films during the next 18 months .
[ us ] skiptrace ( 2016 ) : a detective from hong kong ( jackie chan ) teams up with an american gambler ( johnny knoxville ) to battle against a notorious chinese criminal . : netflixbestof
as a producer on the project , chan’s role ensures that production quality matches or exceeds international standards , particularly in the film’s use of numerous stunning natural locations and colorful local extras . the filmmakers have dedicated skiptrace to the memory of chan kwok - hung , the original cinematographer on the project , who drowned in a marine accident during shooting .
in another key development , exclusive media has come aboard to co - produce and co - finance the action comedy with beijing - based production and distribution company talent international film co . , guaranteeing that the film will get a slot at the chinese box office . david gerson is producing .
the biggest market for this ellen degeneres , albert brooks - voiced film is china with $ 38 . 4m followed by australia with $ 35m .
sam fell , director of the oscar nominated animated feature film ' paranorman ' , attends the great british film reception at the british consul general ' s residence , february 22 , 2013 in los angeles , california . the 85th academy awards show will take place in hollywood california february 24 .
hong kong — a cinematographer was killed on wednesday in hong kong during the filming of jackie chan - starring film “skiptrace . ” chan kwok - hung is understood to have drowned in an accident that occurred when a boat he was on capsized off lantau island . according to the south china morning post , it is understood to have happened [ … ]
twenty years ago ren negotiated what a press release said was china’s first revenue - sharing import film , the legend of drunken master starring jackie chan .
the film , now officially titled skiptrace , will follow a hong kong detective , played by chan , who must track down a mouthy american gambler on the run from creditors . the two unlikely partners then team up to take on hong kong ' s most notorious criminal , while embarking on a wild journey through china ' s most scenic and exotic locales .
it’s amazing how exasperatingly annoying johnny knoxville can be , especially when he’s forced to be smarmy and charming . “skiptrace” dredges up every east vs west stereotype in the book and throws it at the audience in the form of what are presumably jokes that fall flat at every turn . it’s a dismal jackie chan buddy film that offers nothing besides a different western face .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
china is a very big market , but access to that market is very specific and defined . only a few entities have access to distribution in china , the most important one being the china film group corp . , which is tied to sarft , the state administration of radio , film , and television .
the set pieces seem more like an excuse to make as many things explode as possible , rather than thrill you with well - choreographed fights . it chucks aside jackie chan’s skills in favour of yet another collapsing structure . so if you’re watching “skiptrace” in the hope of seeing him execute fluid martial arts moves , you’ll be sorely disappointed at the fights in the film .
action hero jackie chan rises above uninspired sex jokes and a weak co - star in martial arts / road movie hybrid skiptrace , a midnight run - style buddy comedy that shackles chan to jackass star johnny knoxville .
chan , who hatched the idea , is producing with brian gatewood , esmond ren , damien saccani and charlie coker . jay longino , brian gatewood & alessandro tanaka , geoff moore & david posamentier , and bendavid grabinski all had a hand in the script and rodney rothman is polishing . dasym entertainment and beijing - based talent international film are co - financing and co - producing . notably , skiptrace got approved as a co - production by china’s state administration of radio , film and television ( sarft ) – helped by the fact that chan and bingbing are two of china’s most popular superstars . the film is shooting in inner mongolia , beijing , hong kong , macau and guangxi .
in fact , argentina had a record - breaking no . 1 debut with $ 4m at 195 dates — the biggest opening weekend ever for an animated film and the second biggest opening ever for any film ( only behind fast & furious 7 ) . similarly , chile opened with $ 1 . 7m at 60 dates , which marks the biggest opening weekend for an animated film there ( behind minions ) . colombia opened no . 1 with a big $ 1 . 5m .
while skiptrace prioritizes fun in the vein of rush hour and other popcorn escapism , it’s also the kind of easily - translatable entertainment that can cross barriers . aside from the remix , skiptrace is the latest in an era where hollywood feverishly pursues the international box office . pacific rim , iron man 3 , now you see me 2 , and next year’s the great wall with matt damon are all major hollywood movies made with foreign audiences in mind .
when film directors work with jackie chan , a notorious perfectionist , the job demands flexibility and a knack for improvisation . discovering the locals loved adele was one such instance .
stateside , the film is going to have an exclusive window with directv first and then will get a theatrical release and an on - demand bow on september 2 courtesy of saban films and lionsgate , which are handling here . rated pg - 13 , skiptrace is about a hong kong detective ( chan ) who has to team up with an american fugitive gambler ( knoxville ) to fight chinese bad guys .
when tackling his directorial debut in china with the explosive action - packed - comedy skiptrace , starring jackie chan , trailblazing film director renny harlin gambled everything when he uprooted his entire life , including his production company midnight sun pictures , from los angeles , ca , to move across the globe to china . “i put all my chips on red and spun the wheel , ” harlin , 57 , says via email .
it’s when the film wears its cheap humour with pride that it works . like the scene that has bennie clinging to connor as they zipline over a gaping void . after slipping down connor quite a bit , a defiant bennie says , “hey , there’s nothing else to hang on to . ” the best part of the film for me was when a drunk bennie indulges in a mediocre rendition of adele’s ‘rolling in the deep’ , and the mongolian herders join in . before you know it , it snowballs into a full - fledged performance . the scene has no bearing on the film , but it doesn’t matter . so long as there’s fun in the nonsense , the film doesn’t have to make sense .
emea next opens the film in norway on aug . 5 followed by the uae before launching into eastern europe in september . disney takes the film into south korea on aug . 11 and mexico on aug . 12 and will go into japan on sept . 17 . next year , on jan . 1 , it will take hold of italy via emea .
skiptrace is based on an original idea by chan about a hong kong detective who teams up with a fugitive american gambler to bring down hong kong’s most notorious criminal . jay longino wrote the story and brian gatewood and alessandro tanaka wrote the screenplay .
chan gave good drama teaching jaden smith kung fu in 2010’s the karate kid remake , for example , but he feels utterly at home and himself in a goofy movie like skiptrace . in spite of the film’s clumsy execution and exasperating juvenile streak , harlin captures some legitimately amusing action with the spry chan on a massively staged fight sequence set on a cargo ship that plays like a spiritual nod to titanic , or perhaps deep blue sea . it’s not a good movie by any measure , but in the film’s comedic moments he captures the chan we’ve come to love offstage , in interviews , and in life .
the film , believed to be one of the most expensive ever produced in china , is produced and financed by talent international film company and dasym media ( formerly cyrte investments ) . co - financier , shanghai new media culture owns all rights outside china and is selling off u . s . rights . alex walton’s bloom is handling international sales on snc’s behalf .
in the end “skiptrace” was directed by renny harlin , who now calls beijing his home . hailing from finland , by way of hollywood , harlin has a forward deal with a chinese financier and has his next movie set up with alibaba pictures group .
there are times when you can’t help but wonder how many tourist boards might have contributed funding to the film , with lingering shots of the russian steppes , southern china and the sweeping mongolian countryside gracing the screen as the pair stalk their prey around the globe – lending the film a feel more akin to a michael palin travelogue than previous chan cop - movie outings .
glossy , colorful , and forgettable ,
skiptrace
is the kind of movie that gives you your money ' s worth in sheer eager - to - please entertainment even as you roll eyes at the nth kick - to - the - crotch gag .
skiptrace earned first place internationally with $ 47 . 37 million over the weekend for a total opening of $ 63 . 04 million . the film dominated the box office in its native china with $ 45 . 58 million last weekend for a four - day opening of $ 61 . 25 million . this is the best opening in jackie chan ' s career , but unfortunately , it is only getting a limited release here . more . . .
the film , believed to be one of the most expensive ever produced in china , is produced and financed by talent international film company and dasym media ( formerly cyrte investments ) . co - financier , shanghai new media culture owns all rights outside china and is selling off u . s . rights . alex walton ' s bloom is handling international sales on snc ' s behalf .
the purge : election year this horror film , which has an estimated worldwide cume of $ 89 . 4m , opened in five markets this weekend to bring its total market play to 29 . the latest installment of the blumhouse productions and platinum dunes film’s weekend estimate is $ 3 . 7m for a tally of $ 12 . 7m . the domestic gross sits at $ 76 . 6m .
“we’ve signed jackie chan and johnny knoxville to star ; our work is done , ” said apparently everyone involved in the unintelligible action comedy “skiptrace . ” the trouble is , pairing two guys who have been amusing individually in the past doesn’t guarantee that they’ll be amusing together .
the film is a chinese - hk production , and the characters speak both chinese and english ( yes , even knoxville ) . it originally was going to be last year’s christmas release in china , but then it was changed to this summer . the chinese press is saying that it could be the only chinese - language film that could gross 1 billion rmb ( which translates to $ 153m ) .
with his distinct authorship and prolific nature , a chan movie like
skiptrace
is basically an act of tradition . the action is the primary spectacle and the values have been consistent for decades , some more endearing ( the mentality of “i don’t want trouble ! ” still guides chan through combat ) than others ( the one - dimensional usage of women as damsels in distress , homophobia ) . in particular , the goofy fun of “skiptrace
nudges that even chan ' s pretty good , pinwheel - like films—amusing but familiar as they spin—are ageless .
perhaps mr . chan and mr . knoxville could have been , had someone made an effort to provide them with funny material and a coherent story . instead , “skiptrace” settles for a warmed - over plot , tedious fight sequences and humor that’s heavy on crotch jokes and pratfalls .
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seven other film crew were on board , but they managed to swim the 30 meters to shore . neither jackie chan nor co - star fan bingbing are believed to have been on board at the time .
– leads a mongolian village in an on - film rendition of adele’s 2010 platinum hit “rolling in the deep , ” remixed with traditional instruments . but the scene was nearly cut – because of adele herself .
for all the film’s faults , there are a few laughs to be had – though the humour is never exactly sophisticated – and the scenery of the international locations is at times worth a watch in itself .
the film opens next in germany on july 28 , followed closely by japan on the 30th . the top five key markets for this film ( outside of china ) is mexico with an $ 11 . 9m cume , the u . k . with $ 10 . 6m , russia with $ 8 . 2m and france which is good for $ 8 . 1m . australia is not far behind with $ 7 . 8m .
“ baahubali , ” the 2015 smash hit south indian fantasy action film , opened on saturday ( july 23 ) and managed an opening $ 540 , 000 in two days . that was good enough for ninth place .
beijing talent international media co . is the chinese company behind the film . the local press is reporting that beijing talent worked out a deal with alibaba , shanghai hehe films and tianjin lianrui pictures for the production budget and distribution and marketing costs and in return made a minimum box office guarantee of 1 billion rmb . the same deal apparently was cut for the box office hit the mermaid — which ended up as china’s highest - grossing film ever .
veteran producers and financiers who have been working in the chinese film industry for years said the opportunities for u . s . filmmakers are there if you know where to look , but china differs from hollywood in key ways .
full financial estimates for this film , including domestic and international box office , video sales , video rentals , tv and ancillary revenue are available through our research services . for more information , please contact us at research @ urltoken .
the success of “ skiptrace ” not only reconfirms chan’s enduring star power , it also substantially justifies his role as a force behind the scenes as a producer . chan has personally nurtured this buddy comedy cum china travelogue project for many years , enduring changes of financier , co - star and director along the way .
knoxville , who most recently starred in jackass presents : bad grandpa and provided the voice of leonardo in teenage mutant ninja turtles , is repped by caa and 3 arts . wme reps chan , bingbing and longino and wme global is repping domestic . alex walton and ken kao’s bloom are handling international sales on skiptrace ?
‘skiptrace” is based on chan’s original idea and written by jay longino with the gatewood and alessandro tanaka co - writing . story follows a hong kong detective ( chan ) tracking down a mouthy american gambler on the run from his creditors . the pair form an unlikely partnership to take down hong kong’s most notorious criminal .
so does it matter that skiptrace is a messy sprawl , coarsely and occasionally offensive , and will probably be barely seen stateside as it opens in limited theaters next month ? ( it’s currently available on vod via directv . ) not as much , i’d argue , as the idea that jackie chan loves adele and alpacas and looks like he’s having a blast in a vehicle that dads like him all over the world might enjoy . at times , skiptrace feels like the most jackie chan movie jackie chan has made , certainly in recent years , and possibly ever . let’s let him live his truth and keep rolling in the deep .
though there have been a small number of u . s . - based productions , and an even smaller number of u . s . - china co - productions that have shot there with american directors , to his knowledge skiptrace is the first real co - production . this means that producers and financing came from both countries , as did the creative collaboration in the development of the script , casting of the actors and the production itself . skiptrace was approved by the chinese government as a chinese movie , which made it possible for it to bypass the u . s . release quota system and the non - chinese release blackout periods .
paramount said that the heatwave in europe negatively impacted the weekend’s box office results for the film which was 35 % above the first star trek , star trek beyond is 14 % below into darkness and only 2 % below pacific rim .
from disney , it opened in one new market – vietnam ( $ 250k start ) . the family film also opened in france ( distributed by metropolitan ) , benelux , germany ( distributed by constantin ) , austria , scandinavia and switzerland .
“after a career spanning 40 years , jackie chan is at the top of his game and we are delighted to be partnering with him and our friends at cyrte on skiptrace – it’s a fun , action filled script and has the hallmark of a blockbuster hit , ” said exclusive media co - chairmen nigel sinclair and guy east .
“ skiptrace ” is the story of a hong kong detective ( jackie chan ) and a fast - talking american gambler ( johnny knoxville ) on a massive chase across china on the trail of a gangster who has kidnapped the cop’s niece ( fan ) . direction is by renny harlin ( “die hard 2 , ” “cliffhanger” ) .
the film was conceived by chan and is written by jay longino , with revisions provided by brian gatewood & alessandro tanaka , geoff moore & david posmentier , ben david grabinski , jack donaldson & derek elliott , rodney rothman , and jordan rubin .
“skiptrace” is an action comedy about a disgraced hong kong police officer and supposedly charming american conman who have to team up against a diabolical threat . they find themselves crossing mongolia together in the process . it stars jackie chan ( bennie chan ) , fan bingbing ( samantha ) , and johnny knoxville ( connor watts ) . it is rated pg .
he’s enjoying this new chapter in his life with his first hit film in almost 20 years , which is more than half of his career . “it’s been a long and humbling road . ” he quotes his old friend , and star of two of his movies , sylvester stallone , “he once said to me : ‘it doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down , but how many times you get up . ’ i never forgot those words . they kept me going even in the toughest of times . i’m glad i got up one more time for skiptrace . it changed my life . ”
chan has been developing an action - comedy idea for a while now , but according to coming soon , the film now has a title , and plot synopsis - along with , possibly the most important part of all , a financier in exclusive media .
yet , so long as the fights keep coming , skiptrace doesn’t quite seem like the worst way to spend your time . and they do , including one brawl that happens in muddy water that i thought could have been milked better , and the other that has bennie stuck in a barrel . the film , however , seems wary of being the cheap buddy comedy that it is , and so , tries to turn on the feels , every now and then . there’s a bit about benny’s watch , that he carries in remembrance of a promise he made his partner . there’s the underlying , apparently deep idea of bennie losing a partner , and gaining another through the course of the film . there’s even a scene in which connor almost wells up while telling bennie about never knowing his parents . it’s perhaps the least affecting emotional scene i’ve seen in a while .
skiptrace , jackie chan’s action comedy directed by renny harlin , opened in china to no . 1 as it kicked warner bros . ’ the legend of tarzan to no . 2 . ice age : collision course made history this weekend as fox’s franchise pushed over the $ 3b mark in box office receipts to become the top animated franchise ever , surpassing shrek .
skiptrace
is the story of a hong kong detective ( jackie chan ) and a fast - talking american gambler ( johnny knoxville ) on a massive chase across china on the trail of a gangster who has kidnapped the cop ' s niece ( fan ) . direction is by renny harlin (
die hard 2 ,
cliffhanger
) .
in its better moments , skiptrace recalls a hope - crosby road picture , with chan and knoxville wending their way through a cartoon version of asia via increasingly preposterous modes of transportation ( train , three - wheeler truck , horse , inflated sheepskin raft , zipline ) , with stop - offs at a mongolian wrestling match and chinese mud festivals . this comic - book travelogue of asia is filled with picturesque locations , ranging from the stilt houses of tai o to vast rice terraces , but the overall tone is one of labored wackiness . where the hope - crosby pictures were premised on the easy rapport between their two stars , the bloated action - comedy machinery of skiptrace prevents any real chemistry from forming between chan and knoxville .
shanghai new media culture has boarded as co - financier on the now in - production jackie chan action adventure vehicle “skiptrace . ” at the afm alex walton’s new outfit bloom is handling international sales , which were previously represented by exclusive media . the story follows a hong kong detective and a fast - talking american gambler on a massive chase across china [ … ]
the bfg disney , steven spielberg , walden media’s family offering , the bfg had a rather large success this weekend as it edged out star trek beyond from the no . 1 spot in the u . k . market where it is handled by eone . the cgi film grabbed a total of $ 6 . 96m for the no . 1 spot . the film had a bigger debut in the u . k . than paddington and it marks the best eone opening for a non - sequel . it also marks the second biggest opening for a dahl - adapted film in that country ( only behind charlie and the chocolate factory ) and is also spielberg’s third biggest opening ever in the u . k . only behind indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull and war of the worlds .
the movie , however , began to gather steam weeks before the release date during skiptrace’s press tour in china . “i saw first - hand how excited the audiences were . i started hoping for a miracle , but i was too afraid to say it aloud : could this be the one ? ” when the opening weekend results came in , harlin broke down in tears .
things turned around for harlin when he traveled to china six years ago . he’d been approached to make a movie about genghis khan and spent a few weeks there scouting locations , which gave him an opportunity to see china for the first time . “that project didn’t come to fruition , but china left a strong mark on me , ” harlin reflects . when the producers of skiptrace approached him in february 2014 , he was ready to get on board . with this film , he felt he had a chance to return to his roots . “i was able to mix action with epic settings and add comedy into the mix , which i love .
there was some good news this weekend for the film which opened in egypt , france , latvia , panama and french - switzerland . france opened no . 3 and grossed $ 1 . 7m for the weekend , marking the biggest opening of the purge franchise . likewise , egypt , latvia , french - switzerland and panama all chalked up the biggest openings of all installments . the film releases in the rest of its territories over the next few months with most of the major markets still to come . belgium , italy and russia open next weekend .
once their journey kicks off with chan pushing a tied - up , hobbling knoxville through a matryoshka factory while fighting off bad guys ,
skiptrace
becomes compulsively watchable . the energy hardly slacks as the set pieces keep changing every five minutes , offering multiple jungle gyms for chan and company . and there’s always a spark to how the upper - hand shifts between the fast bennie and the snaky connor , the two exchanging punctuating grins . chan’s charisma is a no - brainer for this type of elasticity , but knoxville is an animated match . he’s always had an inclusive nature to him , whether famously welcoming us to mtv ' s “jackass” or boasting a big , contagious laugh in the series , and he fits neatly with “skiptrace’”s light , slapstick tone .
the golden screen awards is presented by the u . s . china film and television industry ( ucfti ) association , and executive produced by spike jones , jr . and sj2 entertainment . for more information on the golden screen awards and its nominees , please visit goldenscreenawards . com .
at 62 , chan is still doing his own stunts , and if these are necessarily scaled down from his heyday of crawling on hot coals and dangling from helicopters , he still manages to maintain his winking charisma and comic energy . he’s such an engaging performer that he even manages to enliven knoxville’s usual reprobate shtick merely through his presence . but there’s little space between the constant gags , overblown set pieces , and manic score ( which parodies everything from spaghetti westerns to russian folk dances ) for either chan or knoxville to establish a unique comedic identity for the film . and so skiptrace ultimately feels simply perfunctory , the outlines of a reasonably entertaining action comedy waiting to be filled in .
the top market for the film right now is brazil with $ 16 . 6m followed by germany with $ 14 . 5m and the u . k . with $ 13 . 6m . next comes mexico with an $ 11 . 4m cume and then australia with $ 8 . 8m .
some high - profile flops have turned harlin into a glib “world’s worst director” punchline , alongside uwe boll and michael bay . yet while he’s made no shortage of disposable films , he’s arguably never made a dull one . “skiptrace” remains lively , diverting , and essentially good - natured even when it’s cheerfully dumb , exploiting its diverse locations for every last drop of local color . stunt and fx work aren’t always completely convincing , but any action bit that falls a bit flat as a result ( like the early domino - collapse of dockside houses , or a too - obviously green - screened voyage across a gorge via suspension rope ) is quickly forgotten in the film’s hurtling - forward momentum .
internationally , the release pattern was different in terms of markets in release for into darkness , however . in the u . k . , where the performance of the franchise has been consistently solid , it was edged out this weekend by steven spielberg’s family film the bfg ( see below ) .
the film enjoys two big draws for chinese audiences — both chan and bingbing are beloved there . chan is so popular in china that his last film dragon blade grossed $ 121 . 5m and comparable films such as police story and chinese zodiac 2012 grossed a whopping $ 87 . 3m and $ 139 . 6m , respectively , in china . the chinese - hk production was originally scheduled for a christmas release last year but was smartly moved to this summer . it will be distributed in the u . s . by saban and lionsgate via on demand and theatrical ( see related story here ) .
july 19th , 2016 ( wide ) ( china ) july 22nd , 2016 ( wide ) , released as дим да ни няма ( bulgaria ) july 29th , 2016 ( wide ) , released as skiptrace - missione hong kong ( italy ) august 11th , 2016 ( wide ) ( netherlands ) august 19th , 2016 ( wide ) , released as una pareja dispareja ( mexico ) . . . show all releases
lights out with a strong performance stateside , this horror film debuted this weekend in the key markets of russia and australia along with 30 smaller eastern european and asian markets and it paid off big time . with a solid $ 8 . 5m cume from 3 , 737 runs , this one clearly benefited being released on the heels of james wan’s big global box office success the conjuring 2 . the film , which marks the feature helming debut of david f . sandberg , carried the wan name ( if only in producing capacity ) and the studio was able to build a nice marketing campaign on that .
that’s the ballsiest conceit of skiptrace : that every cliché and gag and set up has a purpose , and that is to fulfill the terms of its own convenience in service of a punchline first , and a plot second . and yet you might find actual thoughts sneaking their way into your brain . as it zips along its dizzying series of locales with hilarious brevity , skiptrace makes you appreciate the greater asiatic region , and marvel at how the emerging ticket - buying populations of russia and china are connected geographically . as you watch chan and knoxville desperately blow up hollowed - out pig carcasses with their mouths so that they may float down a river on a raft made of them , you may appreciate the raw natural beauty of the continent and its flora and fauna and the resourcefulness of the ancient chinese who did the same .
in china , “tarzan” opened on tuesday ( july 19 ) and topped the charts for two days . over the friday to sunday period “tarzan” earned $ 12 . 0 million . its six day cumulative is $ 22 . 5 million . on the days the two leaders went head to head “skiptrace” enjoyed market share in excess of 56 % , while “tarzan” was capped at 16 % , according to data from cbo .
chinese companies are interested in making co - productions with the u . s . and other western countries , which might be the bridge that could help a film cross cultural boundaries . u . s . studios , financiers and independent companies are eager to seek financing and partnerships in china , as well .
with eight more territories to release , next weekend will see the buddy action film open in chile and colombia with argentina on deck for aug . 14 . belgium , france and french - switzerland will come next on aug . 24 , with venezuela debuting two days later and then brazil on sept . 1 .
the quick ramp - up of film production means there is a shortage of technical expertise and a demand for foreign crews to work on chinese films . many chinese producers are bringing in foreign directors of photography , assistant directors , production designers , editors , action choreographers and composers to help them make better movies .
from disney , the film grossed $ 1 . 8m from its six territories for an international cume to date of $ 20 . 7m . with emea’s weekend tally of $ 11 . 1m and $ 18 . 1m to date , the total international cume to date is $ 39m on a weekend of $ 13m .
prospects look rather more modest for saban films ' u . s . release , although the typically quiet labor day weekend could provide opportunity for the movie to build word of mouth over the holiday frame . overall , the film ' s cume should continue to grow significantly as it rolls out internationally into next year .
updated , monday , 1 : 56 pm : international weekend grosses for two of the three openers came in higher than expected — in one case over $ 20m higher than anticipated as the jackie chan action comedy skiptrace opened in china to a big $ 62 . 2m and gives chan a new record in china ( see related story ) . in seven markets , its international total after one weekend in play is now $ 64m .
linde says the china film landscape is a bit like the wild west right now , which could mean new opportunities may be developing on the horizon .
you can go into the theatrical market , then very quickly go into the ancillary markets , and that creates amazing potential for all of us ,
linde said .
“this movie is about an adventure that brings together different cultures , and we are excited to begin , with our partners at cyrte and exclusive , the adventure of making a true us - china co - production that will appeal to audiences around the world , ” said president esmond ren of beijing - based talent international film co .
with energetic action and comedy set - pieces staged across russia , mongolia and china , the film’s ambitions sometimes outstrip the resilience of jay longino and bendavid grabinski’s largely derivative script , but in the end , it’s hard to top chan soloing on adele’s “rolling in the deep” accompanied on traditional instruments by a village of yurt - dwelling mongolian herders .
the general silliness is underlined by some broadly jokey soundtrack choices , typical of an overall package that is resourcefully and professionally splashy if not always classy . along with the usual blooper clips , the end credits sport a dedication to chan kwok - hung , a cinematographer and longtime chan collaborator who died in a drowning accident during the film’s production .
more in the vein of chan’s hollywood buddy movies like rush hour or shanghai noon than the classic ' 80s kung fu comedy genre that he helped originate , skiptrace finds the still - limber hong kong superstar settling into a more sedate format that could remain serviceable for even another decade . in their first collaboration , chan and finnish action director renny harlin scored an impressive $ 60 million china debut over the july 22 weekend , the highest - grossing opener for either of them .
add to that a little counter - programming in lionsgate’s female - driven comedy bad moms — also opening day and date in the u . s . the r - rated comedy may just find its audience the way the hangover did abroad and that film’s’ writer / directors jon lucas and scott moore are also the power and creators of bad moms .
chan’s dedication to the tastes proven of mass audiences has resulted in more than a few generic , by - committee - type exercises , particularly among those aimed largely at western viewers . long - in - the - works “skiptrace , ” which at earlier points was to be directed by sam fell ( “paranorman” ) , with seann william scott in the role knoxville inherited , initially has that uninspired feel of trying to check off too many boxes with too many well - worn genre tropes .
lights out , the horror film that opened to strong numbers stateside , also ended up a smidgen higher with $ 8 . 5m . no changes for star trek beyond ‘s international debut of $ 30m , which will be facing stiff competition this coming weekend as universal pictures international unleashes another jason bourne staring matt damon and this year’s academy award winner alicia vikander .
los angeles , ca - - ( marketwired - october 27 , 2016 ) - the u . s . china film & television expo announced its nominees for the inaugural golden screen awards , a ceremony that honors production companies , films , directors , actors , and producers for excellence in chinese - international co - production films . the awards show , in partnership with the motion picture association ( mpa ) , the hollywood reporter and china film co - production corporation , follows the second day of the ucfti expo ' s executive panel discussions on november 3 , with a red carpet and cocktail reception starting at 6 pm and the awards show starting at 8pm pdt , at aeg live event deck in downtown los angeles .
chan added that he still maintains real kung fu in the film , instead of seeking help from cgi special effects .
everybody works with a green screen now , but the hardest thing to do is to create real action ,
chan said ,
i ' m not a fan of high - tech effects , i just like raw and simple things .
though american audiences haven ' t seen jackie chan since the karate kid remake , that doesn ' t mean the 59 - year - old international star has slowed down . he may be taking it easier on the kicking and punching , but after starring in and directing the chinese historical epic 1911 , chan showed he ' s as active in the film business as ever .
ice age : collision course in its fourth weekend in play , ice age : collision course grossed $ 29m in its 60 markets to bring in a total international cume to date of $ 177 . 7m . and it needs it . stateside , the franchise is waning with a lackluster debut this weekend of only $ 21m . the global cume is basically at $ 200m ( $ 199m ) . all in , this weekend , the grosses the film earned both stateside and abroad helped its studio pass shrek as the global king of animated franchises as it pushed over $ 3 billion at the box office ( see above ) . and it’s far from over as the animated family film still has another 17 markets yet to bow including china on august 23rd .
also opening will be league of gods , which is opening in china , the u . k . , and australia , to name a few . this home - grown chinese film is expected to do well in the middle kingdom . below are all updated final grosses , including for the bfg which took the no . 1 spot in the u . k . this weekend .