criterionforum.org

First official image from the film has been released. It's expected to play at Cannes if von Trier gets his wish.



Cast:
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Stellan Skarsgard
Shia LaBeouf
Jamie Bell
Christian Slater
Connie Nielsen
Willem Dafoe
Uma Thurman

There will be a version containing explicit sex scenes and one without. No word on U.S. distribution yet, but Artificial Eye already has it wrapped up in the U.K.

Curious to see whether Cannes lets him back or not. Their statement denouncing him was certainly vague enough for them to back track.

Last spring the word was that the story would be broken up into two movies which would be released concurrently; as far as I can tell that's still the plan.

It seems like there's some confusion in those press reports about whether it will be two different cuts or two different films. I'll be curious to see exactly how he creates both versions. Will there be an R-rated version in the U.S., or at least an attempt at one? Or just a hardcore and softcore cut? Will either of them use other alternate takes or additional non-sex scenes? Still, I can't imagine the MPAA giving an obscure art film with a title like this and a story that revolves around recounting the entire history of the protagonist's sexual dalliances anything less than an NC-17 -- full-on penetration shots or not.

warren oates wrote:It seems like there's some confusion in those press reports about whether it will be two different cuts or two different films.

Back when the film was first announced, both von Trier and the producer(s) said that it would be split into two parts, each available in a "hard" and "soft" version, for a total of four films. However, it's entirely possible that either part of this plan was scrapped: von Trier originally claimed that Antichrist would arrive in both "good Catholic" and "naughty Protestant" (his terminology) variations, yet only one cut ever materialized.

In addition to the actors listed in mfunk's original post, Udo Kier is also confirmed. He mentioned in an interview that he had just finished working on a new film for von Trier with "that nice boy from Transformers."

Another image from the film:

Is von Trier using body doubles and CGI, or did he actually get this many name actors to agree to have sex on camera? You'd have to think it was the former.

He uses body doubles.

Some quite amusing news articles have popped up recently (in Denmark) about the film's hair stylist making 'pubic wigs' for the actors to get a more authentic look of the era (80's & 90's). Apparently it's a bit of a problem to von Trier and the producers that women nowadays can't just "let it grow" in the months prior to the shooting because they've had laser hair removals.

I know there are a lot of more eye-catching elements in the Gainsbourg Picture, and that stills might not be exactly representative of how a scene will play in the finished film, but I've got to say that I'm loving the Greenaway-esque symmetry and that busy geometrical wallpaper on display there!

I'd prefer that it was Greenaway who was actually doing it.

John Cope wrote:I'd prefer that it was Greenaway who was actually doing it.

what he said

Didn't Greenaway describe his new film "Goltzius and the Pelican Company" as some sort of 'renaissance porn film' somewhere? So that's what you might be looking for. Always assuming anyone ever gets to see it, which is not a given with Greenaway these days, alas.

tavernier wrote:

John Cope wrote:I'd prefer that it was Greenaway who was actually doing it.

what he said

Hasn't Greenaway already "done it" to death? At this point I think I would prefer Triers presumabely darkly comic and Fassbindery retread of the genre.

Film won't make it to Cannes according to the producer Peter Albaek Jensen. Zentropa have confirmed that despite 4 editors working round the clock to try finish the picture for the fest it wasn't manageable. Script is 268 pages long, filming took 11 weeks and they've got over 100 hours of material. Not confirmed as yet where it'll premiere but it will be this year, Toronto or Venice likely.

Picked up by Magnolia Pictures in the U.S.

By the way, re: the discussion above, are we sure that LVT is using body doubles in this film? Didn't he insist that the folks he cast send him sex tapes or something along those lines?

A quote from The Hollywood Reporter back in August has the producers saying that sex scenes will be shot "with the help of body doubles and visual effects." Shia Labeouf said he sent in a sex tape to audition and claimed the scenes would be genuine, but his history of hyperbolic statements makes the statement suspicious. I'm not aware of other cast members speaking out on either points.

I suspect that von Trier will be doing the same thing Rammstein did in one of their videos a few years back: filming real sex scenes with body doubles and using CGI to place the heads of the actors overtop the heads of the doubles.

Yes, Lars hires porno actors... imo it's much ado about nothing.
But I guess it's a gimmick that works for him.

Does anyone know the story?
I'm wondering if it will fit along my favorites BREAKING THE WAVES and DANCER IN THE DARK as a tragic tale.

Wow.

Oh, a vagina.

On the other hand, how many movies can you shorthand in two characters? I think I'm kind of looking forward to ()

Still not as bold as )) <> ((

It may have a tough time competing with Haneke's 8====D

matrixschmatrix wrote:It may have a tough time competing with Haneke's 8====D

Von Trier's saving that one for his male-centred sequel.

swo17 wrote:Still not as bold as )) <> ((

True Story: After seeing that movie one of my sisters sequels in joy whenever I repeat that line because she found the kid that adorable.