The_Hollywood_Reporter__February_07_2018

Clockwise from top left: A Million Little
Pieces star Aaron Taylor-Johnson; Vox
Lux’s Portman; Reeves, returning for John
Wick: Chapter 3; Moss, who will play a
self-destructive punk rocker in Her Smell;
Spider in the Web star Bellucci; and Ali,
who plays a jazz musician in Green Book.
THE MISEDUCATION OF
CAMERON POST
SALES Elle Driver
DIRECTOR Desiree Akhavan
CAST Chloe Grace Moretz,
Jennifer Ehle, Quinn Shephard
Akhavan’s comic drama, about
Christian teens wrestling with
gay-conversion therapy, picked up
the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance
and won acclaim for its delicate
treatment of a hot-button topic.
STATUS Finished
MONSTER FAMILY 2
SALES Timeless Films
DIRECTOR Holger Tappe
The sequel to the 2017 animated
movie, which featured the
voice talents of Emily Watson,
Nick Frost and Jason Isaacs and
grossed more than $26 million
internationally, returns with the
Wishbones, an ordinary family
who transform into monsters
to save their friends and the world
from an evil Monster Huntress.
STATUS Preproduction
MRS LOWRY & SON
SALES The Little Film Co.
DIRECTOR Adrian Noble
CAST Timothy Spall,
Vanessa Redgrave
British acting treasures Spall
and Redgrave headline this
biopic about the relationship
between early 20th century
British painter L.S. Lowry and
his mother, Elizabeth.
STATUS Filming
ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE US
SALES Global Screen
DIRECTOR Ozgur Yildirim
CAST Moritz Bleibtreu
The crossover success of Fatih
Akin’s In the Fade could bode
well for this German thriller, set
on the mean streets of Frankfurt
and featuring Bleibtreu (Run Lola
Run) as a gangster trying to
make a final score in order to
escape his life of crime.
STATUS Finished
SPIDER IN THE WEB
SALES Film Constellation
DIRECTOR Eran Riklis
CAST Ben Kingsley, Monica Bellucci,
Itay Tiran
This espionage thriller from the
award-winning Israeli director
of The Lemon Tree centers on an
aging spy (Kingsley) on the trail
of a supposed chemical weapons
sale to a Middle East dictatorship
while being followed by an ambitious
Mossad agent (Tiran).
STATUS Shoots in the spring
VOX LUX
SALES Sierra/Affinity
DIRECTOR Brady Corbet
CAST Natalie Portman, Jude Law
Corbet’s drama about the rise
of a singer from national tragedy
to pop superstar is back on
track, with Oscar winner Portman
replacing Rooney Mara in the
leading role. Sia provided original
songs for the soundtrack.
STATUS Filming
Berlin Rolls Out the
Red Carpet for Diversity
From an anti-harassment ‘safe space policy’ to
industry panels on gender equality, the Berlinale
is getting woke for the #MeToo era
Berlin wears its politics on its sleeve. In 2002, his first year
as Berlinale director, Dieter Kosslick made “Accept
Diversity” the festival motto. “And we meant it,” Kosslick
tells THR. “Diversity of all sorts: all colors, all sexualities, all cultures.”
This year, in the wake of Harvey Weinstein, #MeToo and Time’s
Up, Berlin is trying to live up to that pledge. The fight for equality,
whether based on gender, race or sexuality, will be in focus at both
the festival and Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM).
At the festival, Berlin will introduce what it calls a “safe space
policy” that will include coordinating a hotline for visitors to report
cases of discrimination or harassment they experience or witness.
Sundance took a similar tack this year, updating its code of conduct
to try and prevent any inappropriate behavior and introducing
a new 24-hour hotline to report offenses.
The policy’s urgency was brought home by the recent case of
German director Dieter Wedel. Several women have accused the
famed film and TV helmer of abuse — ranging from harassment
to assault — going back decades. Wedel denied the initial charges
brought forth by three women but since has gone
silent and has resigned from his job as artistic director
of the Bad Hersfeld Theater Festival, citing health
concerns resulting from excessive media attention
Wedel
Wouter Knol
on his case.
At the EFM, the focus will be on analyzing the
problem of discrimination and presenting workable
solutions for the industry. Vivian Yvonne Hunt of
consulting firm McKinsey & Co. will present the latest
finding of her study “Delivering Through Diversity,”
originally unveiled in late January at the Davos World
Economic Forum in Switzerland. In a debate hosted by THR on
Feb. 17, Hunt will break down her analysis of the diversity gap and
what it means for the global film business.
At Berlin’s Co-Production Market, the Austrian Film Institute
will present a case study of its remarkably successful initiative to
address the gender gap among film producers by boosting subsidy
support for projects with higher female participation.
The Swedish Film Institute, a leader in the push for gender
equality, will also present in Berlin the latest findings in its 50-50
initiative, which, in just three years, achieved gender parity in terms
of film funding between men and women directors.
“We are a market — we are interested in the business, not
the politics,” says EFM director Matthijs Wouter Knol. “And when
it comes to audiences, there are a lot of people out there, a lot
of groups, who see themselves underrepresented in the content
onscreen. What’s changed is that these groups are becoming more
outspoken and, most importantly, have shown they are willing to
pay for more diverse content.” — S.R.
Illustration by Wren McDonald
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
61
FEBRUARY 7, 2018