"Sexy Bisexual Cannibal" Movie, from the Director of Notorious Underage-Gay-"Romance" Film, Receives Longest Standing Ovation in Venice Film Festival History

Speaking of movies which are just wowwing 'em on the European festival circuit, a "sexy bisexual cannibal movie" received the longest standing ovation ever at the Venice Film Festival because of course it did, it is mandatory that it must.

Timothee Chalamet had all of Venice seeing red on Friday night at the world premiere of "Bones and All." The actor donned a sparkling backless jumpsuit in a blood-red shade -- a cheeky wink to the drama's central protagonists, two cannibals in love.

The film, which reunites Chalamet with his "Call Me By Your Name" director Luca Guadagnino, lives up to its title with gory attacks and scenes that involve limb-chewing and eating. But despite the uncomfortable subject matter, the audience at the Venice premiere for the movie devoured "Bones and All." The film received a 8.5-minute standing ovation, the longest and most enthusiastic of the festival so far. (It handily beat the previous record holder "Tar," a drama starring Cate Blanchett as a tortured composer, which had a 6-minute ovation.)

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As the crowds inside the Sala Grande cheered "Luca! Luca!," the Italian director wiped tears from his eyes. Chalamet and the cast -- including Taylor Russell, who plays the film's anti-heroine Maren -- walked down the steps of the theater's mezzanine to welcome the crowd in the orchestra showering them with so much applause. And Chalamet encouraged the clapping to continue as he held up pieces of paper with Guadagnino and Russell's names on them, meant to reserve their seats, to cue more applause.

The director's previous film, Call Me By Your Name, explored the rich complexities of an adult gay man having sex with a teenaged boy. It was similarly hailed as a breakthrough.

I wonder why!

By virtually all accounts, Call Me By Your Name, a new film directed by Italian director Luca Guadagnino, is a masterpiece--more than one critic has used that word to describe it.

The movie, adapted by James Ivory from the book of the same name by Andre Aciman, is a classic and tender love story that encompasses larger themes, amounting to "a ravishment of the senses," according to the New York Times. It tells the story of a 17-year-old Italian boy, Elio (Timothée Chalamet), who falls in love with a 24-year-old American doctoral student, Oliver (Armie Hammer), who is boarding with his family for six weeks in their summer home. Variety calls it a "Proustian account of an Italo-American 17-year-old's transformative summer" that advances the canon of gay films by not being a gay film at all.

In completely unrelated news -- I'm sure -- the British group which owns Regal Cinemas has filed for bankruptcy.

For some reason, they can't seem to sell what Hollywood has on offer.

Well, actually, it's about debt they've accrued, including the debt acquired just to purchase Regal Cinemas, but it's also about lower audience attendance:

While the movie industry has been struggling to recover from the pandemic, which has led to fewer blockbusters, lower theater attendance and increased popularity of streaming, Cineworld's specific issue is the amount of debt it has amassed over the years.

posted by Ace at 05:12 PM

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