By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
CANNES, France (AP) --Jeff Nichols' quiet drama about the profound and simple love that toppled interracial marriage restrictions in the United States made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday.
The film, "Loving," stars Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton as Mildred and Richard Loving, whose marriage got them jailed and exiled from Virginia but ultimately led to a landmark 1967 Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality.
"Loving," which will open theatrically in the heart of awards season in November, is an unconventional civil rights drama in that it doesn't swell with amplified Hollywood moments or a heroic courtroom climax. Instead, it's a straightforward portrait of the couple.
"I wanted to make a movie about two people in love," said Nichols, the Arkansas director of "Mud" and "Midnight Special." ''I truly believe this is one of the most pure love stories in American history."
Nichols said he wanted to make the film outside of politics, though he referenced the story's obvious resonance to today. Lost in the pitched political battles, he said, are the lives of the individuals.
"We can talk about bathroom laws and all of this ridiculousness because it's not attached to people," he told reporters, referring to the North Carolina bill that restricts public facility use by transgender individuals to their biological sex. "It's just these politics ideas and I think that's a waste of time."
The Lovings were humble, reluctant heroes, themselves. Their tender marriage was famously photographed by Life magazine's Grey Villet (Michael Shannon in the film) in 1967 with the headline: "The Crime of Being Married."
For Negga, the Ethiopian-Irish actress of AMC's upcoming "Preacher," the role was a personal and professional culmination.
"It was like being with a friend for two years," she said of Mildred. "I fell deeply in love with Mildred and Richard and their story. I think we all just wanted to do them justice."
"One of the things that struck me while working on this film is, what happens between two individuals is nobody else's business," Edgerton said.
Focus Features will release "Loving" in North America on Nov. 4.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More