Latest news with #HardTruths'
Gulf Today
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
Mike Leigh talks about his new film, life and career
Like the action in his widely acclaimed new film 'Hard Truths,' veteran British director Mike Leigh swings between gratitude and despair as he reflects on his life and career. The 82-year-old is aware of the great fortune he has had to make more than a dozen films over a glittering five-decade run, including 'Secrets and Lies' and 'Vera Drake.' But he is also conscious of the difficulties for the younger generations coming through — and is scared by the 'profoundly worrying' changes underway in the world under US President Donald Trump. 'It's a privilege to be able to make films and it's a privilege which is getting tougher to experience,' he told AFP during a retrospective of his work at the prestigious Cinemateque in Paris. 'I consider myself very lucky. Filmmaking is a joyous experience.' Already working on his next project despite his growing mobility problems — he suffers from a genetic muscular disease called myositis — Leigh says he is troubled by a sense of the world being on the brink. 'It feels like World War Three may be around the corner. 'Now, I never thought I'd say that and I'm old enough to remember the end of World War Two, just about. I was born in the war,' he added. 'It's profoundly worrying and one feels helpless.' 'Hard Truths', praised as one of the Leigh's strongest recent films, is a poignant and sometimes darkly comic story of two sisters that whiplashes viewers with similarly contrasting emotions. Lead character Pansy is a clearly depressed, anxious and aggressive married mother-of-one, played with brio by British actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Her sister Chantelle (Michele Austin) is friendly, sociable and easy-going, with a home and family life that stands in sharp contrast. The film reunites the two black British actors from 'Secret and Lies', nearly 30 years after it won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes festival and a host of Oscar nominations. While the 1996 hit was about family and identity, 'Hard Truths' is a study in what makes some people pessimists and self-pitying, while others seem to glide through life's difficulties with smiles on their faces. As is his custom, Leigh offers no obvious answers on screen — and he dodges a question about his thoughts on the issue. 'You're asking me what's the secret of life? I'm not so pretentious or so self-opinionated as to pontificate about how to live,' he replied. 'I've worked very hard. I've used my imagination. I was engaged. For me, it's about engaging with people.' 'Hard Truths' is the first time Leigh has worked with an almost all-black cast, portraying London's vibrant Caribbean-origin community. He has no time for suggestions that he, a white director, should hesitate about taking on such a challenge. 'It seemed a natural thing to do. It's not a quantum leap. 'I raised my kids in north London and they were at school there and black kids were always running in and out of our house,' he explained. 'But on the other hand, it goes without saying, I couldn't sit in a room and write a conventional script for such a film.' He used the same collaborative approach he has deployed throughout his career, starting out with an idea, and then running workshops with the actors to develop the characters, dialogue and plot. 'In making the decision to centre on black characters. 'One of the deliberate things that I've very consciously done is to say: 'This is not going to be a film that deals in tropes and stereotypes and troubles with the law and drug issues and all the gang stuff',' Leigh continued. 'The main issues in the film are universal and are not endemic or exclusive to black people,' he added. He declines to talk about his next project but says finding financing is becoming increasingly difficult because backers — particularly the streaming platforms — want so much say in the final product. Agence France-Presse
New York Times
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘Bob Trevino Likes It' Review: From a Stranger to Found Family
There are two Bob Trevinos in 'Bob Trevino Likes It.' One of them makes Marianne Jean-Baptiste's character in 'Hard Truths' look like parent of the year. The other starts out as a stranger, and grows into found family. The movie, written and directed by Tracie Laymon and based on her own experiences, centers on Lily Trevino (Barbie Ferreira), a lonely 20-something in Kentucky who friends Bob on Facebook. She was hoping to connect with her father (French Stewart), a deadbeat recently gone AWOL. Instead, she and Bob the introvert (John Leguizamo) develop a tender intergenerational bond. Setting aside the datedness of the technology — Lily often posts 2010s-era Facebook statuses littered with hashtags — 'Bob Trevino Likes It' is a middling indie tear-jerker. It suffers from an overwritten script chock-full of tropes and artificial dialogue. 'You don't have any tools,' Bob exclaims to Lily at one point, meaning a literal toolbox, but also, you know, a metaphorical, emotional one. Any genuine feeling emanates from Lily. Ferreira pitches herself into the trite story line with enthusiasm, and her verve breathes life into even the most leaden lines. On a handful of occasions, Laymon has her protagonist gaze into the camera in shallow focus with a swirling effect around her head. The moments viscerally convey a feeling of belonging by making use of a considerable asset: Ferreira's wide open face. Bob Trevino Likes It Rated PG-13 for family crises. Running time: 1 hour 42 minutes. In theaters.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Black Mirror season seven to air next month with ‘mind-expanding' tech story
Black Mirror season seven is to air next month with a story about 'mind-expanding' technology and a follow-up to the show's popular USS Callister episode. The new series will launch on April 10, with Guardians Of The Galaxy's Will Poulter, Hard Truths' Michele Austin and People Just Do Nothing's Asim Chaudhry among the latest cast members to be announced. In a new trailer released on Thursday, characters can be seen putting on technology which alters their 'neural structure', playing violent video games and working with artificial intelligence (AI). The clip also shows the USS Callister ship from the show's fourth series, which will be part of a new story, having been at the centre of a tale about a sci-fi video game and misuse of power in its first appearance. Further cast members announced on Thursday include Ben Bailey Smith (Andor), Josh Finan (Say Nothing), James Nelson-Joyce (A Thousand Blows), Jay Simpson (The Day Of The Jackal), and Michael Workeye (This Is Going to Hurt). Speaking about the new series of the dystopian show at a Netflix event in September last year, creator Charlie Brooker said: 'You can expect a mix of genres and styles. 'We've got six episodes this time, and two of them are basically feature-length. Some of them are deeply unpleasant, some are quite funny, and some are emotional.' Season six of the Netflix show included episodes such as Joan Is Awful, which saw a woman discover that the events of her life were being retold in a TV show, and Beyond The Sea, about astronauts who are able to transfer their consciousness to replicas of their bodies on Earth when not needed in space. Famous faces including Salma Hayek, Aaron Paul, Kate Mara, Rob Delaney, Michael Cera, John Hannah, Josh Hartnett and Zazie Beetz appeared in Black Mirror's sixth series.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mike Leigh to Shoot Next Film This Year
On the day that 'Hard Truths' opens in U.K. cinemas, news of the next feature from Mike Leigh — a filmmaker not exactly known for his prolific output — has been announced. As per usual with the iconoclastic British director, details are scare, but the new project will shoot this year and see Leigh reunite with his 'Hard Truths' collaborators Cornerstone, Bleecker Street, Studiocanal and financier Film4. Bleecker Street again will release in the U.S., while StudioCanal has U.K. rights. More from Variety 'Hard Truths' Co-Stars Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Michele Austin Pull Back the Curtain on Mike Leigh's Unique Directing Process Dick Pope, Oscar-Nominated Cinematographer of 'Mr. Turner' and 'The Illusionist,' Dies at 77 As Bleecker Street Turns 10, Indie Studio Stays Committed to Making Movies for Grown-Ups Georgina Lowe of Leigh's production company Thin Man Films will again produce. Desmar will join the project as an equity financier. The news comes ahead of the European Film Market, where Cornerstone will be launching the new title to buyers. Much like with 'Hard Truths,' at this stage there's no information regarding the plot, cast or title. As is customary with Leigh, the new film will shoot as 'Untitled 2025.' 'Hard Truths' – which Bleeker Street released earlier in January – stars Marianne Jean-Baptiste as a woman wracked by fear, tormented by afflictions and prone to tirades against her husband, son and anyone who looks her way. It received BAFTA nominations for outstanding British film and leading actress for Jean-Baptiste, reuniting with Leigh for the first time since 'Secrets & Lies,' but was snubbed by Oscars voters. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Netflix in February 2025 What's Coming to Disney+ in February 2025
