News

Geneviève Page, the alluring French actress who starred in such films as Belle de Jour, El Cid and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, died Friday. She was 97.

Page died at her home in Paris, her granddaughter, actress Zoé Guillemaud, told the Afp news agency.

In a career of more than 50 years, Page appeared in other notable films including Fanfan la Tulip (1952); Foreign Intrigue (1956), opposite Robert Mitchum; The Silken Affair (1956), with David Niven; John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix (1966); Mayerling (1968), directed by Terence Young; and Charles Vidor’s Song Without End (1960), where the director died mid-shoot and was replaced by George Cukor.

In 1967, Spanish director Luis Buñuel cast Page as Madame Anais, the owner and operator of the high-class brothel in Belle de Jour, an adaptation of Joseph Kessel’s 1928 novel.

The film centers on Severine Serizy (Catherine Deneuve), whose sexless marriage pushes her into prostitution — but only between the hours of 2 and 5 p.

Provocative French filmmaker Bertrand Blier, who scored hits with transgressive comedies featuring Gerard Depardieu and Isabelle Huppert such as “Going Places” and “Get Out Your Handkerchiefs,” has died. He was 85.

Blier died on Monday night at his home in Paris surrounded by his wife and children, his son Leonard Blier told French news agency Afp.

“It is with great sadness that I learn of the death of Bertrand Blier. He was a genius of dialogue, in the tradition of Prévert and Audiard,” French Culture Minister Rachida Dati said on X.

Born in 1939 in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt, Blier was the son of actor Bernard Blier and grew up was steeped in film and theatre. He made his directing debut with cinema-verité documentary “Hitler—Never Heard of Him” in 1963 which earned critical kudos.

“Going Places,” which came out in 1974 and involved two brutal young men who drift about France in...

Bertrand Blier, the irreverent French film director behind Oscar-winning romantic comedy Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, has died aged 85.

Blier left his mark on 1970s and 1980s French cinema with films known for their dark humour and cynicism.

He helped to launch the international career of now controversial actor Gerard Depardieu, who starred in the director’s 1974 comedy drama Going Places (Les Valseuses) with Miou-Miou and Patrick Dewaere, about two aimless thugs on a crime and sex spree across the country.

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (Préparez Vos Mouchoirs),about a ménage-à-trois, won the best foreign-language film Oscar for France in 1979 and...

Bertrand Blier, the irreverent French film director behind Oscar-winning romantic comedy Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, has died aged 85.

Blier left his mark on 1970s and 1980s French cinema with his films known for their dark humour and cynicism. His helped to launch the international career of now controversial actor Gerard Depardieu who starred in the director’s 1974 comedy drama Going Places (Les Valseuses) with Miou-Miou and Patrick Dewaere about two aimless thugs on a crime and sex spree across the country.

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (Préparez Vos Mouchoirs) about a ménage-à-trois won the best foreign-language Oscar for France in 1979 and...

NBC News is considering whether its venerable “Today” morning show might also serve as an all-day streaming-video outlet.

In a memo issued Monday, NBC News Digital staffers were told that the company plans to explore streaming opportunities for “Today” and intends to shift some employees assigned to video “to focus on preparing for a streaming experience.” A person familiar with the matter says NBC News is mulling such an initiative, but cautioned that it is in its earliest days and is not guaranteed to come to fruition.

NBC News declined to elaborate on the memo, which was sent by Ashley Parrish, vice president of strategic content and Today Digital.

Such an effort could, if fully realized, amount to a vast expansion of the relationship “Today” has with its audience. The program, which launched in 1952, has long served as a cultural touchstone to many American A.M. viewers, but a robust...

Paris — In his first feature since 2010’s “The Clink of Ice,” filmmaker Bertrand Blier returns with a somber, existentialist farce reminiscent of the last century’s most celebrated absurdist theater.

Vladimir and Estragon, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, meet Taupin and Foster (Gérard Depardieu and Christian Clavier). One is homeless, the other well off, though that dynamic eventually flips. As they ramble the streets of Brussels, the two are constantly met by legions of script supervisors, who deliver them the latest pages and revisions that will inform their next steps.

As in “The Truman Show,” an all-seeing showrunner lies behind the scenes; as in “Six Characters in Search of an Author,” our protagonists sometimes bristle at the roles they have been cast into.

Still, the film’s premise is less an existential treatise than a malleable platform for a series of monologues, dialogues and testy exchanges. More than anything else, “Heavy Duty...

Convoi exceptionnel

The soon-to-be 80-year-old Bertrand Blier breaks a ten-year hiatus from directing with Convoi exceptionnel (Wide Load), a comedy which reunites him with Gerard Depardieu, who headlined some of the director’s most memorable early works, such as the exceptional Going Places in 1974, 1978’s Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, 1979’s Buffet Froid, 1986’s Menage, 1989’s Too Beautiful for You, and 2005’s How Much Do You Love Me? Depardieu is joined by his old co-star Christian Clavier in the project, produced by Olivier Delbosc of Curiosa Films, Clavier’s company Ouille Productions, Belgium’s Versus Productions, with co-production from Orange Studio.…...

Hello, good evening and welcome back to This is Our Design. Is it not the evening for you? Wrong! It’s the eternal night for Hannibal with this episode, which redefines creepy.

We couldn’t find three people with strong stomachs and high tolerances for horror to discuss this episode. Instead, you’ll have to settle for co-hosts Sean Colletti and Kate Kulzick as they take turns peeking from behind corners to see if anything is under the bed across the hallway. Joining them in paralytic fear is Libby Hill from NPR and Midwest Spitfire. Is Jack Crawford bedrock? How prevalent is mental illness in this series? Is it taken seriously? All the questions–and more–will be answered. If you aren’t too terrified, you might be around long enough to catch “Kate’s Classical Corner,” “The Devil in the Details” and “Spoiled Meat,” but we can already sense...

Willem Dafoe and Gael Garcia Bernal also among those called up for jury service at the 67th Cannes Film Festival.

The Cannes Film Festival has named the jury for its 67th edition, comprising eight world cinema names from China, Korea, Denmark, Iran, the Us, France and Mexico.

Jane Campion, the New Zealand filmmaker who won the Palme d’or for The Piano, was previously announced as the president of the jury, which will include five women and four men.

Cannes 2014: films

Those selected include Nicolas Winding Refn, the Danish director, screenwriter and producer who won Best Direction at Cannes in 2011 with Drive. His most recent film, Only God Forgives, played in Competition at Cannes last year.

Also chosen is Sofia Coppola, the Us director and screenwriter whose debut The Virgin Suicides was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 1999. Coppola, who won a screenwriting Oscar for Lost in Translation, made it into...

Odd List Den Of Geek 20 Dec 2013 - 07:00

As nominated by Den of Geek writers, here are our favourite individual TV episodes of 2013…

Contains mild spoilers for some episodes.

A fortnight ago, Den of Geek's writers were asked to channel their inner Rob Gordon and select their top five favourite TV episodes of 2013 so far (anything airing in the second half of December wouldn't be eligible). Now, after much arduous mathematics and tallying up, the results are in.

So broad was the range of nominations, we've bumped up the top ten to a top fifteen this year, and included a bonus extra list at the end of every programme that appeared on the writers' lists of personal favourites.

Here we are then, the Den of Geek writers' favourite fifteen TV episodes of 2013...

15. Arrow – Sacrifice

What our reviewer said:

"But this was as entertaining and satisfying a finale as Arrow could ever have delivered,...

There is an embarrassment of horror riches on TV these days. In some ways, that makes it easier to choose ten best episodes, because you have a ton of options to choose from. In other ways, it makes it more difficult because there are so many options to choose from, and you have to sift through the bad (like Under the Dome and the disappointing final season of Dexter) to get to the good. Last year a fair amount of series made my list; this year, I limited it to an episode or two. Sometimes that is because I thought a season as a whole was not worthy of being “best of;” sometimes it is because the whole season was good, but there was one or two episodes that really stood out.

Enough yammering. Let’s get to the picks. In no particular order....

Hannibal Episode 109: “Buffet Froid”

I...

Odd List Shiromi Arserio 3 Oct 2013 - 07:00

Shiromi talks us through ten of the least expected sci-fi crossovers in the geek TV world...

Who would win in a fight? The crew of Babylon 5 or the crew of Deep Space Nine? While often reserved for the realm of fan fiction, two established franchises crossing over does happen from time to time. Typically you'll see this when the properties are owned by the same company, like Superman meeting Batman. While other times it's an intentional crossover of two very different properties like Star Trek characters crossing over into the X-Men universe. Yes, you read that right.

This list is devoted to the top franchise crossovers. I've tried to steer clear from shows that obviously exist in the same universe, like Tng characters showing up on DS9, or Buffy appearing on Angel, and instead focus on crossovers from separate franchises. Some of...

Review Laura Akers 10 Jun 2013 - 07:30

Eddie Izzard returns in this week's layered episode of Hannibal, and is Dr Du Maurier what she seems? Here's Laura's review of Roti...

This review contains spoilers.

1.11 Rôti

“Poke around a psychopath’s mind, you’re bound to get poked back.”

One of the themes of the universe created by Thomas Harris in his Hannibal Lecter novels is that when we entrust psychiatrists to use the skills at their disposal to help improve our mental health, we are also placing ourselves in jeopardy because those same skills can be used in nefarious ways. The mind is a delicate thing; in the hands of the wrong person, it can be easily destroyed.

Of course, the vast majority of mental health professionals are extremely ethical in their work. But much of the horror of the Hannibal stories comes from exploring the basic question of what happens...

Review Laura Akers 3 Jun 2013 - 07:34

This week's Hannibal sheds light on Dr Lecter's real feelings towards Agent Graham. Here's Laura's review of Buffet Froid...

This review contains spoilers.

1.10 Buffet Froid

The other shoe finally drops, with NBC announcing this week that it's renewing Hannibal for another thirteen episodes. And thank goodness because with everything going on on the show, another three episodes just weren’t going to be enough.

This week’s Buffet Froid was certainly chilly.

First, there’s the case: a girl who’s literally rotting away and already thinks she’s dead - nothing colder than a walking corpse. This week’s psycho stood out both in terms of her particular mental illness and how the writers used her to tease out more about what Will’s been going through.

Unlike most of the killers we’ve seen on Hannibal, Will isn’t the only one...

A weekly feature in which we spotlight shining stars

The Performer | Hugh Dancy

The Show | Hannibal

The Episode | “Buffet Froid”

The Airdate | May 30, 2013

It’s tough to pull focus from a series’ titular character, especially when that character is a cannibalistic sociopath who views murder as the highest art form. But in Thursday’s episode, Hannibal’s exploits took a back seat to Hugh Dancy’s portrayal of the killer’s fragile pawn, Will Graham.

Related | TV Season in Review: Breaks Are Bad, Gore Is Good and More Lessons Learned

The genius-as-prickly-recluse thing has been done before; Hugh Laurie as...

It will be a Hannibal event when Ellen Muth comes to town. The upcoming episode of the stylish, killer, late night NBC series is titled “Relevés” and is happening on June 13 with special guest star Ellen Muth. Muth was the star of Bryan Fuller’s Showtime dramedy Dead Like Me, and her Hannibal character is a tribute to her previous one. That’s right, she’s still a dead girl. We have pictures!

This may be the most intriguing development since Hannibal kicked off its freshman season this April, introducing audiences to the newest incarnation of Hannibal Lecter, as slickly played by Mads Mikkelsen and the brilliant, but tormented investigator Will Graham cast by Hugh Dancy.

So, if you’re a real Hannibal fan, already know a thing or two about Ellen Muth’s character, Georgia Madchen. She cropped up in the May 30th edition, “Buffet Froid”. And she’s not actually dead.

Hannibal Season 1, Episode 10 ‘Buffet Froid’

Directed by John Dahl

Written by Andy Black & Chris Brancato and Bryan Fuller

Airs Thursdays at 10pm Et on NBC

(Randy is filling in for Ricky this week – you can read Randy’s reviews for other Hannibal episodes at Processed Media.)

Underneath the dense psychology of ‘Buffet Froid’ is a pretty fantastic little ghost story, albeit one told in Hannibal fashion, where the mind of the ghost proves to be more interesting than her gory actions. Maybe I’m just reeling from the great news that NBC renewed Hannibal for a second season (seriously: good fucking job, NBC), but ‘Buffet Froid’ was a beautiful little hour of drama, a bit hard to follow at times, but ultimately a satisfying – and oddly, emotionally touching – episode.

Our crime of the week material comes in the form of a girl named Georgia – a decrepit girl who possibly is...

It’s fitting that on a night when the episode dealt with a killer who, because of a mental illness, believes herself to be dead and needs to be constantly reminded otherwise, we learned NBC had finally made a second season order for Hannibal – effectively telling the show’s devoted fans that the series was, in fact, not dead either.

Great news aside, ‘Buffet Froid’ is an unusual episode that gives a distinctive look at what happens when Hannibal decides to tell its own version of a ghost story. To do this, the series brought in director John Dahl to perform the marriage of the show’s unique visual storytelling and heavy ...

Click to continue reading ‘Hannibal’ Season 1, Episode 10 Review – Great Discoveries To Be Made...

Hannibal Episode 109

“Buffet Froid”

Written By: Andy Black & Chris Brancato and Bryan Fuller

Directed By: John Dahl

Original Airdate: 30 May 2013

In This Episode...

In Greenwood, Delaware, a woman named Beth Labeau comes home, feeds her bird, and goes to bed. She is in bed for moments before she discovers her roof is leaking. In the attic, she finds a hole in the roof, which is letting in lots of snow. She patches it the best she can for the night and goes back to bed. As she approaches her bedroom, Beth notices wet footprints on the floor. She proceeds slowly, but finds no one there. That is because whoever is there is hiding under the bed. A hand reaches out, grabs Beth, and pulls her under. Blood sprays as the monster under the bed kills Beth.

Will comes home from fishing and sets about gutting his catch. The fish spills...

"Buffet Froid" was one of the harder episodes of Hannibal to wrap my mind around, but as I thought about it more, I’m beginning to think that was the entire point... aside from Will’s Advanced Encephalitis and the shocking ending.

Will’s Encephalitis that has taken over one entire half of his brain is a development on its own. The kind of situations Will is investigating for the Bau is deeply traumatic for him already and his hallucinations are only growing worse. While there’s no real knowledge at this point if Will’s job is the cause of the Encephalitis, it’s still interesting to ponder if his body is fighting against him each time he puts himself in the head of the killers.

But the biggest development is that only Lecter knows about the disease. He continues his sympathetic, good guy persona, but his manipulations of Dr.

A quick review of tonight's "Hannibal" — which, in case you missed the joyous news earlier this evening, was renewed by NBC for season 2 — coming up just as soon as I'm officially concerned about you... "Buffet Froid" was a mixed bag of an episode. On the one hand, the material about Will's increasing mental problems — both the way his lost time was depicted, and then the realization that Lecter and Dr. Sutcliffe intended to keep his true diagnosis from him — was chilling. Even though the show has played with Will's lost time before, I'm not sure I've ever...

And the angels sing... or scream... or whatever they do around serial killers. We just got word that NBC has given a 13-episode second-season renewal to its critically applauded drama “Hannibal.” Show NBC some love and be sure to tune in tonight!

From the Press Release:

“Hannibal” is based on the characters from the novel Red Dragon by Thomas Harris and was developed for television by Bryan Fuller, who also serves as writer and executive producer. The announcement was made by NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke.

“We’re so proud of Bryan’s vision for a show that is richly textured, psychologically complex, and very compelling,” Salke said. “There are many great stories still to be told.”

Critics have strongly embraced the series, which stars Hugh Dancy as expert criminal profiler Will Dancy, who has a unique ability to peer into the mind of serial killers. Mads Mikkelsen stars as Dr.

Looking for a sneak peek of Hannibal Episode 10 before it airs tonight? We have a brand new clip, along with the previously released synopsis, photos, and preview video.

Hannibal Episode 10- Buffet Froid: “Bau investigates a murder in which two victims’ faces are similarly mutilated; given a “Glasgow Smile.” For the first time, Will (Hugh Dancy) contaminates a crime scene thinking he committed the first murder and an Mri shows he suffers from Advanced Encephalitis. But Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) intimidates the attending physician, Dr. Sutcliffe, (John Benjamin Hickey into telling Will he’s okay. Meanwhile, the team doubts Will who says, while revisiting the crime scene alone, he saw a mysterious, “dead-looking” woman (Ellen Muth) who may be involved. With his fears fed by Hannibal, Will returns to Dr. Sutcliffe for more mental health tests, when the doctor is murdered.Hilary Jardine, Krista Bridges guest.

The post New Clip...

Despite nothing but silence from NBC with regard to renewing "Hannibal," it looks like the network hasn't completely forgotten about it because they've released a new still and a clip from tomorrow night's Episode 1.10, "Buffet Froid."

"Hannibal" Episode 1.10 - "Buffet Froid" (airs 5/30/13)

Bau investigates a murder in which two victims' faces are similarly mutilated: given a “Glasgow Smile.” For the first time Will (Hugh Dancy) contaminates a crime scene, thinking he committed the first murder, and an Mri shows he suffers from Advanced Encephalitis. But Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) intimidates the attending physician, Dr. Sutcliffe (John Benjamin Hickey), into telling Will he's okay.

Meanwhile the team doubts Will, who says, while revisiting the crime scene alone, he saw a mysterious, “dead-looking” woman (Ellen Muth) who may be involved. With his fears fed by Hannibal, Will returns to Dr. Sutcliffe for more mental health tests, when the doctor is murdered.

Hilary Jardine and Krista Bridges guest star.

If you’re looking for a sneak peek of Hannibal Episode 10, we have photos and the preview video from “Buffet Froid.”

Hannibal Episode 10- Buffet Froid: “Bau investigates a murder in which two victims’ faces are similarly mutilated; given a “Glasgow Smile.” For the first time, Will (Hugh Dancy) contaminates a crime scene thinking he committed the first murder and an Mri shows he suffers from Advanced Encephalitis. But Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) intimidates the attending physician, Dr. Sutcliffe, (John Benjamin Hickey into telling Will he’s okay. Meanwhile, the team doubts Will who says, while revisiting the crime scene alone, he saw a mysterious, “dead-looking” woman (Ellen Muth) who may be involved. With his fears fed by Hannibal, Will returns to Dr. Sutcliffe for more mental health tests, when the doctor is murdered.Hilary Jardine, Krista Bridges guest.

HBO has revealed a new True Blood season 6 promo called "Governor Burrell's Address."  Burrell is played by series newcomer Arliss Howard and it looks like he's cracking down on vampires.  The new season begins June 16th.

Meanwhile, a promo for Hannibal's 10th episode, "Buffet Froid," awaits.  Here, Bau investigates a murder in which two victims' faces are similarly mutilated; given a "Glasgow Smile." For the first time, Will (Hugh Dancy) contaminates a crime scene thinking he committed the first murder and an Mri shows he suffers from Advanced Encephalitis. But Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) intimidates the attending physician, Dr. Sutcliffe, (John Benjamin Hickey into telling Will he's okay. Meanwhile, the team doubts Will who says, while revisiting the crime scene alone, he saw a mysterious, "dead-looking" woman (Ellen Muth) who may be involved. With his fears fed by Hannibal, Will returns to Dr. Sutcliffe for more mental health tests, when the doctor is murdered.

Next on the menu on NBC's "Hannibal" are some cold cuts... what "meat" they'll be made of we don't really want to think about. Check out a preview of Episode 1.10, "Buffet Froid," along with a handful of stills.

We're still waiting on word of the show's renewal status, but given the fact that the network didn't even bother to release a clip from tonight's episode, things don't look too rosy. If you're a fan, show your support by emailing, tweeting, liking, etc.; social media can have a lot of impact these days!

"Hannibal" Episode 1.10 - "Buffet Froid" (airs 5/30/13)

Bau investigates a murder in which two victims' faces are similarly mutilated: given a “Glasgow Smile.” For the first time Will (Hugh Dancy) contaminates a crime scene, thinking he committed the first murder, and an Mri shows he suffers from Advanced Encephalitis. But Hannibal (Mads Mikkelsen) intimidates the attending physician, Dr. Sutcliffe...

The Critics' Week selection (La Semaine de la Critique) has unveiled its selection for its 52 edition (16 to 24 May) at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Week will open with Suzanne, the second feature by Kateil Quillévéré, a young director who came to attention with her debut feature Poison Violent. According to Critics' Week director Charles Tesson, it is in the gritty tradition of Maurice Pialat.

The other French titles in the section are Nos Héros Son Morts Ce Soir, a black and white nod to the thrillers of the Fifties, and Les Rencontres D'Après Minuit by Yann Gonzalex which is said to recall the first films by Betrand Blier who made Buffet Froid. It stars Eric Cantona and Alain-Fabien Delon.

Paul Wright's Irish-set For Those In Peril represents the UK, a story of a shipwreck and the guilt of a survivor. From Italy comes Salvo by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza.

Yesterday I reviewed Hellacious Acres: The Case of John Glass for all my independent-minded Sf cohorts here at Boomtron. Today I am thrilled to bring you an exclusive and extensive interview with the film’s director, Pat Tremblay.

Before we jump into the Q&A, I invite you to check out the official movie trailer, which gives a great tease for the delights and horrors that await you on those hellacious acres of post-apocalyptic ground….

Elena Nola: What’s your background with science fiction in general and Sf movies in particular? For ex., did you grow up watching b-side campy stuff with your parents, or was it a genre you came to in adulthood?

Pat Tremblay: Well, I remember clearly at 7 years old going to my school on a couple of Sundays in what seemed to be a heavy winter, just to go see films they were playing in 16Mm in the gymnasium.