Madonna: Ready to Film in the French Riviera  celebrity-gossip.net 28 Jul 10 Continuing to work on her project "W.E.," Madonna was spotted making her way around Villefranche-sur-Mer, France on Wednesday (July 28). The "Material Girl" had just landed at the Nice Airport, as she headed off to look for proper filming locales in the French Riviera commune ahead of shoots scheduled for Thursday. Aside from her movie ambitions, the Daily Mirror is reporting that Madge is plotting a six-month tour as we speak. “It’s going to be her biggest, most unexpected tour to date,” the Mirror's source said. “Madonna is in peak conditions so the gruelling aspect of life on the road isn’t a problem." Hollywood Gossip.

Besson boards 'French Riviera'  Variety.com 09 Jun 10 Two of Europe's biggest toon players, Luc Besson's EuropaCorp and Didier Brunner's Les Armateurs, are teaming on animation feature "French Riviera." The pair are sharing development costs on the €15 million pic. EuropaCorp has a first option to French and international distrib rights. "Riviera" is "a vintage thriller using 3D CGI animation with an art deco rendering," Brunner said. Screenplay is by Bruno Benchetrit with the collaboration of French graphic artist, Richard Zielenkiewicz, better known as Monsieur Z. John Hopewell / Elsa Keslassy.

Cannes winner splits critics  tvnz.co.nz 25 May 10 Not enough good movies, too few stars and a choice of winner that had many scratching their heads - the 2010 Cannes film festival is unlikely to be remembered as a classic. Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, one of 19 entries in competition, took the coveted Palme d'Or for best picture, delighting some critics but angering others. 'Uncle Boonmee', Palm of Boredom was the headline in French daily Le Figaro, which called the slow-paced examination of reincarnation by Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul dull, incomprehensible and hallucinatory. Reuters.

Cannes Film Festival Awards List For 2010  worldof22.com 23 May 10

Cannes Film Festival 'ready' after freak storm  bbc.co.uk 05 May 10 Cannes Film Festival organisers have said the French resort will be ready for the start of the event after it was hit by severe weather. Freak waves caused millions of Euros of damage to waterfront cafes on the town's landmark Croisette. "We will need several days to clean up, but it should all be ready on time," said city councillor David Lisnard. The film festival runs from 12-23 May and will attract thousands of people to the south of France. Some 10,000 film industry people and an additional 4,000 journalists are expected to attend the event.

Cannes struggles to prepare for festival as unseasonal wind and waves batter coast  guardian.co.uk 05 May 10 The Côte d'Azur was struggling to retain its seasonal spirit after huge waves and strong winds left the coastline badly damaged a week before the world's rich and famous are due to arrive for the 63rd Cannes film festival. Waves between 4 and 10 metres high crashed into the Promenade des Anglais in Nice and the Croisette in Cannes Tuesday afternoon, overturning cars and battering seafront restaurants. Teams of workers laboured through the night to sweep away the displaced sand, clean the pavements and clear the detritus. The deputy mayor of Cannes said the cost of the damage would run into millions of euros. Lizzy Davies.

Cannes ’10 – The Line Up: Godard, Woody, Kitano, Araki, Leigh & more  Indiewire.com 15 Apr 10 While a big budget Hollywood production will open the 63rd Cannes Film Festival next month, cinema’s most important annual event will debut an array of new films by acclaimed auteurs from around the world. Filmmakers ranging from Jean Luc Godard, Woody Allen and Oliver Stone to Takeshi Kitano, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Gregg Araki will premiere anticipated movies at the annual festival along the French Mediterranean coast. An incomplete lineup for the 2010 event was unveiled Thursday morning in Paris by festival chief Thierry Fremaux. Sixteen films are in competition, so far. Eugene Hernandez & Brian Brooks.

News agencies boycott Cannes briefing over access  Reuters.com 14 Apr 10 News agencies Agence France-Press, Associated Press, Getty Images and Reuters said on Wednesday they would boycott a press conference announcing the line-up at this year's Cannes film festival due to a dispute over video access. The briefing, to be held in Paris on Thursday, is the most important ahead of the May 12-23 event, the world's largest film festival. The new limitations are linked to a contract between the Cannes film festival and French broadcaster Canal Plus and pay-TV service Orange.Reuters.com 14 Apr 10 News agencies Agence France-Press, Associated Press, Getty Images and Reuters said on Wednesday they would boycott a press conference announcing the line-up at this year's Cannes film festival due to a dispute over video access. The briefing, to be held in Paris on Thursday, is the most important ahead of the May 12-23 event, the world's largest film festival. The new limitations are linked to a contract between the Cannes film festival and French broadcaster Canal Plus and pay-TV service Orange.

Photo Agencies Seeing Red Over Cannes Festival Deal  abcnews 09 Apr 10 Agencies are crying foul over the Cannes film festival's exclusive deal with French broadcasters that may cause restrictions on video coverage. Festival organizers informed several of the agencies that  severe restrictions on access to red carpets and news conferences might prevent them from providing their usual coverage. Reuters, AFP, Getty TV and AP TV News are in negotiations with festival authorities to ensure comprehensive coverage for their clients across the globe. These restrictions stem from deals signed with Canal Plus and Orange for exclusive video coverage of the red carpets and other official events. Rebecca Leffler / Hollywood Reporter.

Ridley Scott epic Robin Hood to open Cannes Film Festival  Earth Times 26 Mar 10 British director Ridley Scott's epic Robin Hood has been chosen to open this year's Cannes Film Festival, organizers of the event said Friday. The film stars Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett and will be screened at Cannes on May 12. It will be released in theatres in France on the same day, and will hit the screens worldwide two days later. The 72-year-old Scott was previously represented at the Cannes festival with his 1977 film The Duellists, which received an award for Best First Work, and the ground-breaking road movie Thelma and Louise, which was presented out of competition in 1991. Scott is perhaps best known for two classic science fiction films, Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982). He has had three Oscar nominations for Best Director. The Cannes Film Festival runs from May 12 to May 23. DPA.

Stella Artois 4% backs Cannes Film Festival sponsorship with media campaign  talkingretail.com 19 Mar 10 Stella Artois is launching a global advertising and social media campaign to support its sponsorship of the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, strengthening the brand's ties with cinema, the glamorous French Riviera and further developing the story of the legendary character at the heart of its program, Jacques d'Azur, the 'King of Cannes'. The online experience on www.stellaartois.com centers around 60-second web films extolling the fabulousness of D'Azur's Cannes lifestyle and will run across social networks including Twitter, Flickr and Facebook. Online video content will deepen consumer's engagement with the brand and help them become part of the Jacques D'Azur story. Alexander Lambrecht, global marketing manager, Stella Artois said: "New media is changing the way consumers discover, create and share information.

Selena Gomez to Star in New Movie 'Monte Carlo'  jsyk.com 04 Mar 10 Selena Gomez might have to brush up on her French skills. According to Ace Showbiz, the 17-year-old Disney star has been tapped to star in Monte Carlo, a film that takes place in Paris and the French Riviera city Monaco. The movie is an adaptation of is Jules Bass' novel 'Headhunters,' but with a younger twist. The story follows three American girls (two in college, one just out of high school), who decide to amp up their ho-hum Paris trip by fronting as wealthy ladies vacationing in Monaco.

Romance, comedy a winning match in "Heartbreakers"  Reuters 16 Feb 10

With a bright and extremely good-looking cast headed by Romain Duris and Vanessa Paradis and the splashy backdrop of Monte Carlo, "Heartbreakers" ("L'arnacoeur") mixes its ingredients into a frothy cocktail of Gallic risibility. Universal Pictures and Working Title reportedly have snapped up English remake rights to "Heartbreakers". Television director Pascal Chaumeil, making a winning feature debut, keeps the comic flow in Laurent Zeitoun, Jeremy Doner and Yohan Gromb's screenplay moving at a rapid pace. Veteran cinematographer Thierry Arbogast takes full advantage of Monte Carlo's glamour to fill the screen with eye-pleasing images. Kirk Honeycutt / Hollywood Reporter.

French singing icon Gainsbourg's life hits the big screen  France 24 20 Jan 10 A biopic of Serge Gainsbourg, the French singer best known abroad for his raunchy 1969 classic "Je t'aime, moi non plus," hits cinemas across Europe this week but its release is overshadowed by the suicide of the British actress who played his muse. "Serge Gainsbourg: Vie Heroique (A Heroic Life)" takes a poignant look at the hard-drinking and lascivious life of a singer who defined music and pop culture in France from the 1960s until his death at the age of 62 in 1991. AFP.

Variety Review: Both evocative and faithful in its depiction of the famed French singer's lascivious life, "Gainsbourg (vie heroique)" offers up a feast of memorable chansons and an almost endless parade of drop-dead-gorgeous muses. Debut feature by bestselling comicbook artist Joann Sfar traces its subject's career from the jazz-influenced melodies of the early '60s to the electronic ramblings of the '80s -- in episodic bursts that combine flesh-and-blood lookalikes with cartoons, puppetry and flashbacks to a childhood marked by the German Occupation. Solidly entertaining biopic opened strong Jan. 20, with rosy overseas prospects. Jordan Mintzer.

Nice - Riviera Studios… Silence… Action!  Investincotedazur.com 13 Jan 10 130 episodes of Cinq Sœurs shot in HD at the Studios Riviera on the site of the fabled Victorine film studios. The series is co-produced by the Marathon Group International along with technical support from SFP and public financing from the city of Nice as well as the Conseil général des Alpes-Maritimes' new film fund. Shot on three sound stages at the Studios Riviera, the series also took advantage to film the Nice region’s wonderful natural beauty. The daily 26-minute series that has 130 episodes  will run over the coming 12 months, providing work for more than 300 technicians, actors and extras.

France debuts foreign pic tax rebate  Variety 28 Dec 09 Lionsgate's "Five Killers" and 3D toonpic "Despicable Me," which is produced by Chris Meledandri, are among the first five recipients of France's tax rebate for international shoots. Paris VFX house Mac Guff handled animation modeling, texturing, rendering and compositing on "Despicable Me," which is the first film from Universal's family film unit Illumination. "Killers," which toplines Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl, shot this spring on the French Riviera. John Hopewell & Elsa Keslassy.

USHER VIP FRAGRANCE COMMERCIAL BEHIND THE SCENES SIZZLE

Usher heads to the French Riviera for his new fragrance commercial  Drug Store News 02 Dec 09 Recording artist Usher traveled to the French Riviera to film the new commercial for his latest fragrance, Elizabeth Arden announced on Tuesday. Filmmaker Pierre Morel directed to television spot showing Usher and his female companion being chased by paparazzi through the streets of Monte Carlo. The debut of Usher VIP comes in anticipation of the release of his new album due out in early 2010. Antoinette Alexander.

Watch the commercial here.

South African director scoops six awards  eyewitnessnews.co.za 08 Dec 09 South African film director Regardt van den Bergh on Monday scooped six accolades for his movie Tornado and the Kalahari Horse Whisperer at this year’s Monaco Film Festival. The Cape Town based film-maker was informed about the news on Monday at the end of the festival in Monte Carlo. The film received six Angel Awards for among other things, Best Director, Humanitarian Award and Best Sound Track.

Monaco fest: Peace, love, movies  Hollywood Reporter 19 Nov 09 A Tarantino film is as unwelcome at the Monaco International Film Festival -- set for Dec. 3-6 -- as the latest from Lars Von Trier, Chan-Wook Park or any other auteur whose work features onscreen violence. That's because the Monte Carlo-based festival and its Angel Film Awards were started seven years ago by Rosana Golden and Dean Bentley to showcase nonviolent films. "We wanted to go back to a more 1960s feel," Golden says. "To have a glamorous festival without all that onscreen stabbing, mutilation and so on." Golden and Bentley personally select the 20-odd films that screen each year. While a little sex is permitted, violence in all its forms is taboo. "The worst you'll hear is a few f-yous onscreen," Golden says. Scott Roxborough.

The Monte Carlo Comedy Film Festival is the only one of the three movie fests in the Principality to be under the High Patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco. The 9th annual edition took place at the Grimaldi Forum 24-28 Nov 09. Primarily a Franco-Italian event, the festival has become more international in recent years. The winning movie this year was the Spanish comedy Pagafantas directed by Borja Cobeaga and starring Gorka Otxoa & Sabrina Garciarena. The British movie The Be All and End All directed by Bruce Webb and starring Eugene Byrne and Josh Bolt won the best debut movie award. Screening out of competition was the Jason Reitman directed Up In The Air starring George Clooney. The festival was presented by Italian comic actor Ezio Greggio and Rachel Legrain Trapani (Miss France 2007.)

Cinéma des Antipodes Festival of Australian & New Zealand Cinema  12 - 18 Oct 09 Saint Tropez. The Cinema des Antipodes Festival is held every October in Saint-Tropez and is now in its 11th year. Festival director Bernard Bories founded the festival after being inspired by Peter Weir's movie Picnic At Hanging Rock. The opening night featured the movie Dean Spanley directed by Toa Fraser and starring Peter O'Toole & Sam Neil. Other movies include Accidents Happen, a black comedy starring Geena Davies; Samson and Delilah by aboriginal director Warwick Thornton and the out of competition Lucky Country directed by Kriv Stenders. Jane Campion's Bright Star which debuted at Cannes, closed the Festival.

Winning Movie

LaPaglia blown away by low-budget Australian 'masterpiece' The Australian 19 Oct 09 The US-based Australian actor knows that it is not in his interests to praise the film, but he said yesterday that he cannot help calling it a masterpiece. The outback romance about two Aboriginal teenagers is competing with Balibo, in which LaPaglia stars, for a swath of Australian film honours, and yet he chaired a jury of judges at a French festival of Australian and New Zealand films which yesterday gave all its major awards to Sampson & Delilah. The low-budget film by indigenous director Warwick Thornton won the best feature film award at Saint-Tropez's Cinema des Antipodes Festival and its young stars, Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson, took out the male and female acting awards. "It is just incredible," he told The Australian. "I don't like to throw this word around, but I really think it's a masterpiece. Peter Wilson.