entertainment - latimes.com

Cannes 2013: Alexander Payne's 'Nebraska' draws strong notices

By John Horn — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:57:00 PDT

Alexander Payne’s new movie, “Nebraska,” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to largely favorable yet occasionally qualified reviews.

Cannes 2013: Leonardo DiCaprio space flight goes for $1.5 million

By Rebecca Keegan — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:35:00 PDT

A guest at a charity auction at Cannes has paid 1.2 million euros ($1.5 million) for a trip into space with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Cannes 2013: Jerry Lewis' awkward press conference

By Steven Zeitchik — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:27:00 PDT

CANNES, France — Jerry Lewis is premiering his new film — his first in 18 years — in Cannes on Thursday night, as the Daniel Noah-directed “Max Rose” plays for festgoers. But the octogenarian was creating a little in-person drama at the festival Thursday afternoon, when he let loose at a press conference with a barrage of hammy material that didn’t always land.

Cannes Film Festival: J.C. Chandor's 'All Is Lost' is unusual survival tale

By Steven Zeitchik, Los Angeles Times — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:25:00 PDT

The 'Margin Call' director's new film has one character, played by Robert Redford, who speaks little during a struggle to survive on a damaged sailboat.

CANNES, France — For his 2011 Wall Street drama "Margin Call," writer-director J.C. Chandor put an ensemble of stars including Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore and Zachary Quinto into corporate offices and had them talk furiously as a crisis at their characters' firm climbed up to the executive suites.

Weinstein Co. acquires Stephen Frears' latest, 'Philomena'

By Susan King — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:13:00 PDT

"Philomena," the latest film from Academy Award-nominated director Stephen Frears (“The Queen,” “The Grifters”), has been acquired by Weinstein Co. for distribution in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Spain after a bidding war with several studios.

Cannes 2013: Reviewers onboard for 'All Is Lost'

By John Horn — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:16:00 PDT

Some called it “Life of Pi” without the tiger.

Cannes Notebook 2013: A hotbed of criminal activity too?

By Kenneth Turan and Steven Zeitchik, Los Angeles Times — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 PDT

Plus, at Le Marche, movies from across the globe are for sale; and, dumpster-diving for festival-related trash.

CANNES, France — Visitors exiting the Carlton hotel's front door on this city's beachfront main street this week can't help but see a giant map of France with Cannes listed as being a "Safe Zone." "This Is the Safest Place to Be," one poster insists, though another implores the public, "Stay Off the Streets."

Alexander Payne feels at home with 'Nebraska'

By Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times Film Critic — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:05:00 PDT

The script for the impressive film resonated with the director, who put off the project for years — a delay that deepened the material for him.

CANNES, France — Writer-director Alexander Payne has been nominated for three screenplay Oscars and has won two. So what did the man responsible for films including "Election," "Sideways" and "The Descendants" feel about working with someone else's script for the first time?

Cannes 2013: Mutant sushi, Hitler and giant gorilla at Le Marche

By Kenneth Turan — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:15:00 PDT

CANNES, France -- A trip to Le Marche, the film market at Cannes, is always a tonic experience. The energy created by the unabashed desire to make large sums of money is a refreshing change of pace after the more rarefied experiences of other parts of the festival.

Cannes: 6 Things to know about Ryan Gosling's 'Only God Forgives'

By Steven Zeitchik — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:14:00 PDT

CANNES -- The Ryan Gosling-Nicolas Refn collaboration “Only God Forgives” premieres to the media at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday morning before playing in a public gala Wednesday night. The movie, which reunites the star and director of the 2011 hit “Drive,” examines Julian (Gosling), an American boxing-gym operator and mid-level drug dealer in Bangkok who is thrust into a difficult spot when a brutal crime boss and dark angel of sorts (Vithaya Pansringarm) kills his brother. Should Julian seek justice or stay silent in the name of self-preservation?