Adam Scott and Joel Bissonnette portray reunited brothers in the day-in-the-life road movie “Passenger Side,” directed by Matt Bissonnette (”Looking for Leonard”), and debuting currently at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“Amreeka” director Cherien Dabis chats to Michael Archer of Guernica about “her feel-good (sort of) movie, Palestinians in the Windy City, and how personal experiences can trump political arguments.” “Amreeka,” which stars Nisreen Faour and Melkar Muallem as a mother and teenage son who move from the West Bank to rural Illinois, will continue to open in wider release throughout North America in September and October.
For “Rage,” an intimate glimpse into the fashion world, filmmaker Sally Potter (“Orlando”) assembled a superlative cast, including Steve Buscemi, Judi Dench, Eddie Izzard, David Oyelowo, and Dianne Wiest. But special awe must be bestowed on the stunning, almost unrecognizable Jude Law. Described as “the world’s first multi-venue interactive premiere,” the film debuts later this month, even on phones.
In a wonderful, wide-ranging interview with Kira Cochrane of The Guardian, Judi Dench says she was drawn to “Rage” because “I like to do something that’s not expected, or predictable. I had to learn to smoke a joint, and I set my trousers alight.”
One Film Wonder: Born in Paris in 1942, Claudine Longet moved to Las Vegas in 1960 as the lead dancer in the Folies Bergère revue. Married to singer Andy Williams from 1961 to 1975, she made intermittent guest appearances on American television shows until she was cast as Michelle Monet, the sweet Hollywood newcomer who befriends Peter Sellers’ smitten Hrundi Bakshi in Blake Edwards’ 1968 romp, “The Party.” Later the same year, she had a role in a film titled “Massacre Harbor,” before returning to television parts in shows such as “Love, American Style” and “The Streets of San Francisco.” She also enjoyed a modestly chart-successful singing career during the late 60s. Her final appearance was in the 1975 made-for-TV movie “The Legendary Curse of the Hope Diamond,” as Marie Antoinette.
On March 21, 1976, Longet shot and killed her boyfriend, former U.S. Olympic ski racer Vladimir “Spider” Sabich, in Aspen, Colorado. Charged with reckless manslaughter, she was convicted of a lesser offense, misdemeanor criminal negligence, and served 30 days in jail. Longet would later marry her defense attorney.
