Register

    Director Jeff Nichols Makes “Loving” Debut At Cannes

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments5533 Views
    Actors Joel Edgerton, from right, Ruth Negga and director Jeff Nichols pose for photographers during a photo call for the film Loving at the 69th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

    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.

    Category:News
    Tags:Cannes Film FestivalJeff NicholsLoving



    Is “Glicked” The New “Barbenheimer”? “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” Hit Theater Screens

    Thursday, November 21, 2024

    "Barbenheimer" was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But, more than a year later, that hasn't stopped people from trying to make "Glicked" — or even "Babyratu" — happen.

    The counterprogramming of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" in July 2023 hit a nerve culturally and had the receipts to back it up. Unlike so many things that begin as memes, it transcended its online beginnings. Instead of an either-or, the two movies ultimately complemented and boosted one another at the box office.

    And ever since, moviegoers, marketers and meme makers have been trying to recreate that moment, searching the movie release schedule for odd mashups and sending candidates off into the social media void. Most attempts have fizzled (sorry, "Saw Patrol" ).

    This weekend is perhaps the closest approximation yet as the Broadway musical adaptation "Wicked" opens Friday against the chest-thumping sword-and-sandals epic "Gladiator II." Two big studio releases (Universal and Paramount), with one-name titles, opposite tones and aesthetics and big blockbuster energy — it was already halfway there before the name game began: "Wickiator," "Wadiator," "Gladwick" and even the eyebrow raising "Gladicked" have all been suggested.

    "'Glicked' rolls off the tongue a little bit more," actor Fred Hechinger said at the New York screening of "Gladiator II" this week. "I think we should all band around 'Glicked.' It gets too confusing if you have four or five different names for it."

    As with "Barbenheimer," as reductive as it might seem, "Glicked" also has the male/female divide that make the fan art extra silly. One is pink and bright and awash in sparkles, tulle, Broadway bangers and brand tie-ins; The other is all sweat and sand, blood and bulging... Read More

    MySHOOT Profiles


    Add A Comment