ournews

The 73rd Berlinale has come to an end and a documentary film has won the Golden Bear.

Many critic favorites like Past Lives and Totem went away empty-handed. After two years of COVID the festival is a success, the big stars are back on the red carpet.

Once again, the Berlinale has proven that it wants to explore the intersection between topicality, politics and cinema. 18 films competed for the Golden and Silver Bears. A total of productions from 19 countries were shown - 15 films celebrated their premiere in Berlin.

Berlinale 2023: The winners at a glance
Golden Bear for Best Film: "Sur l'Adamant"

Silver Bear, Grand Jury Prize: "Red Sky" by Christian Petzold

Silver Bear Jury Prize: “Mal Viver” by João Canijo

Silver Bear for Best Director: Philippe Garrel (“Le grand chariot”)

Silver Bear for Best Actor in a Leading Role: Sofia Otero (“20,000 especies de abejas”)

Silver Bear for Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Thea Ehrlich ("Until the End of the Night")

Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: "Music" by Angela Schanelec

Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Achievement in the Camera, Editing, Music, Costume or Set Design categories: "Disco Boy" by Hélène Louvart

The first winners of the 73rd Berlinale 2023 were announced even before the big award ceremony on February 25:

Steven Spielberg receives the Honorary Bear for his life's work

Panorama Audience Award 2023 for the best feature film: "Sira" by Apolline Traoré

Panorama Audience Award in the "Documentary" category: "Kokomo City" by D. Smith

Compass Perspective Prize: "Seven Winters in Tehran" by Steffi Niederzoll

According to reports, Warner Bros. is working on new movies for "The Lord of the Rings" franchise. Company Co-Chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy have expressed their excitement about launching new projects based on J.R.R. Tolkien's books, as they believe that the author's universe "remains largely unexplored in film."

In a statement, the studio said, "Twenty years ago, New Line embarked on an unprecedented venture to bring the incredible stories, characters, and world of The Lord of the Rings to life on the big screen. The result has been a seminal series of films embraced by generations of fans. However, for all the scope and detail lovingly packed into the two trilogies, J.R.R. Tolkien's vast, complex, and dazzling universe remains largely unexplored in film. The opportunity to take fans deeper into the cinematic world of Middle-earth is an honor, and we're excited to be collaborating with Middle-earth Enterprises and Embracer on this adventure."

Peter Jackson directed the 2001-2003 "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which starred Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett, and Sir Ian McKellen, among others. He also directed the films in "The Hobbit" trilogy from 2012 to 2014.

Minutes of applause for Steven Spielberg: The cult director was honored at the Berlinale for his life's work. In his acceptance speech, the 76-year-old also spoke about his personal relationship with Germany.

Steven Spielberg was honored for his life's work at the Berlin Film Festival. The Hollywood director - whose films have made more money than the works of any other filmmaker worldwide - received a minute-long ovation from the audience on Tuesday evening when the Berlinale directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatria presented him with the Honorary Golden Bear.

"Germany has done a lot to deal with xenophobia, anti-Semitism and the Holocaust"
He owes a lot to German cinema, Spielberg explained in a speech afterwards. Directors such as Ernst Lubitsch, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Werner Herzog had shaped him, which is why his work is "somehow at home in Germany". As a Jewish filmmaker, this is particularly important for him. "Germany has done a lot to deal with xenophobia, anti-Semitism and the Holocaust," said the 76-year-old. Many nations could learn from Germany's determination not to let its own past be forgotten. But according to Spielberg, it is also important in Germany to continue to uphold the memory: "No country should sit back and righteously."

With films like 'Indiana Jones' (1981), 'Jurassic Park' (1993) and 'Schindler's List' (1994), Spielberg brought countless great stories to the screen over the course of his career. Now he's telling his own, so to speak: "The Fabelmans" (theatrical release: March 9), a family portrait and at the same time a homage to the cinema, is strongly inspired by the youth of the Hollywood star, who was born in Ohio in 1946, and who directed and wrote the screenplay wrote down. He has a chance of winning an Oscar in both categories in the near future - the drama received a total of seven nominations.

The stars of the legendary 'Back to the Future' trilogy reunited at a fan convention over the past weekend. Actress Lea Thompson shared some lovely pictures from the gathering.

Over 35 years ago, the time travel classic 'Back to the Future' was released in cinemas, introducing an extremely successful film trilogy and making its stars, such as Michael J. Fox (61), world famous. Last weekend, on the occasion of the Fan Expo Portland Convention in Portland, Oregon, cast members Christopher Lloyd (84), Thomas F. Wilson (63), Lea Thompson (61), and Fox reunited once again. Thompson, who portrayed Marty McFly's mother Lorraine in the film series, shared some adorable pictures of the cast's reunion on her Instagram channel.

"Lea Thompson had 'the best time'

with her Back to the Future family, as she captioned a selfie with the four actors. Michael J. Fox, who starred in 'Back to the Future,' also shared a picture of the four cast members on his Instagram story and wrote, 'I love being at these FanExpo events and seeing some of my favorite people like Lea, Tom, and Chris, as well as all you Back to the Future fans. Seriously.'

Actress Thompson shared two videos that also feature her co-stars, Lloyd and Wilson. In the first clip, Thompson warmly embraces Doc Brown actor Lloyd and says, 'Who do we have here?' Wilson, who portrayed the antagonist Biff in the Back to the Future films, recalls his iconic character in the second video as he playfully smacks Thompson on the skull and, in the character's style, asks, 'Hello, anyone home?'

Returning behind the camera after directing the two previous installments, Peyton Reed takes us back to one of the plot twists in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' - SPOILER ALERT!!!

"WARNING - The article below contains spoilers as it discusses one of the plot twists in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'. Please refrain from reading if you haven't seen the movie yet and do not wish to know the details."

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which was released in theaters on Wednesday, February 15, marks the beginning of Phase V of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie introduces the new main villain, Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors, who was previously seen in the first season finale of Loki.

Although he is expected to be the future adversary of the Avengers, Kang the Conqueror is not the only antagonist in the movie. As revealed in the trailers, M.O.D.O.K. is also in the game. M.O.D.O.K. is an acronym for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, and is a character with a disproportionately large head compared to his small arms and legs.

In the comic books, his real name is George Tarleton, a technician employed by the criminal organization A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) who volunteers to be transformed into a powerful being capable of analyzing the Cosmic Cube, which was seen in the first Captain America movie. This transformation results in him becoming the unique being known as M.O.D.O.K. who possesses telepathic abilities and can generate a psychic ray.

This is what is shown in the comic books or the stop-motion animated series, which is available on Disney+. Unfortunately, the series only had one season, most likely because it was independent from the plans of the MCU. Nevertheless, it was a small gem due to its handmade look, dark humor, violence, and the unlikable nature of its anti-hero.

In the movie, M.O.D.O.K. has a different identity. As some viewers had guessed from the brief shots in the trailers, the character is actually Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) in costume. Cross was the main villain in the first Ant-Man movie and was thought to have shrunk to death. In reality, he was propelled into the quantum world where he now seeks revenge against Scott Lang.

When we started developing the story, we liked the idea of M.O.D.O.K. lurking in the shadows of the MCU, and we wondered how it would make its appearance in live action," explained Peyton Reed when we asked him about the reason for this twist. "During our discussions about Kang and how he might be connected to Scott Lang, we thought he might need a henchman."

"I came up with the idea that at the end of the first Ant-Man film, we saw Darren Cross being defeated, but mostly shrinking into a trickle as he twisted. We had assumed he was dead...but what if he actually landed in the Quantum Realm, where he was found by Kang's forces and transformed into something entirely different?

Corey Stoll liked the idea of returning to the Ant-Man saga but in a different way and context.

I remember the day I called Corey Stoll to pitch the idea to him. He was laughing on the other end of the line. Corey was a fan of comic books when he was younger, so he knew exactly who I was talking about. He liked the idea of returning to the Ant-Man saga, but in a different way and context, so we went in that direction."

"If you're unfamiliar with the character and his presence in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania intrigues you (which is understandable), you can turn to the comic books or the animated series dedicated to M.O.D.O.K. to learn more about him.