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Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Russell Crowe remembers shooting 'Gladiator' at Mediterrane Film Festival's Festive Awards ceremony
Actor and film director Russell Crowe made a surprise appearance at the Mediterrane Film Festival's Golden Bee Awards, returning to the island where he shot "Gladiator" more than two decades ago, reported Variety. Actor and film director Russell Crowe made a surprise appearance at the Mediterrane Film Festival's Golden Bee Awards, returning to the island where he shot "Gladiator" more than two decades ago, reported Variety. "If you want to know what I love about Malta, it's everything," said Crowe, who was given the Malta Film Legend Award. "26 years ago, in a funny way, I became a man in Malta," he said, "For whatever films I had done before then, nothing had the majesty, ambition and budget and ultimately reach of 'Gladiator.' It wasn't an easy production. I had to fight every day for the integrity of the character I was playing, just like the journey of the character himself in the movie. And sometimes, you get lucky enough to make something that resonates with people." Crowe talked about a young man who asked him for a photo last week while he was travelling in Italy. "I shook his hand and he started to cry. His friends told me later he's the head lifeguard of the local beach, he's got muscles on they'd never seen him like that. I ended up hugging him. When he got himself together, he said, 'You don't understand, when I was 8 years old, my mother sat me in front of a TV and put on a videocassette of "Gladiator" and told me, 'If you are ever wondering what type of man your mother expects you to be, it's this type of man. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Adidas Three Shorts With 60% Discount, Limited Stock Available Original Adidas Shop Now Undo ' The honor, the integrity, the faith - a man made in Malta," reported Variety. "I did so much research before I got here," she said, "It's rich with history." Ferreira's upcoming projects include "Mile End Kicks," which is premiering at TIFF, and she said she enjoyed playing a music journalist who is "an insufferable girl, which is always the best part." 'The Last Emperor' producer Jeremy Thomas received the Lifetime Achievement award, while Pierre Agius and Joseph Formosa Randon were honoured with the Career Achievement awards for their extensive location work on films shot in Malta. The festival's top Golden Bee award for best feature film went to Tunisia's "Where the Wind Comes From," with the film's star Eya Bellaga winning best performance. Julio Medem won best screenwriting for his film "8," which also received the Jury's Choice award. The Mare Nostrum award went to "Miyazaki: Spirit of Nature," reported Variety. While the festival welcomed numerous industry guests to network, screen their recent work and check out famous film locations on land and by boat, locals and industry members alike turned out for outdoor screenings of several films shot in Malta, from "Popeye" and "Troy" to "Gladiator II," "Clash of the Titans" and the classic "Malta Story," reported Variety.
Mint
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
Russell Crowe remembers shooting Gladiator at Mediterrane Film Festivals Festive Awards ceremony
Washington DC [US], June 30 (ANI): Actor and film director Russell Crowe made a surprise appearance at the Mediterrane Film Festival's Golden Bee Awards, returning to the island where he shot "Gladiator" more than two decades ago, reported Variety. "If you want to know what I love about Malta, it's everything," said Crowe, who was given the Malta Film Legend Award. "26 years ago, in a funny way, I became a man in Malta," he said, "For whatever films I had done before then, nothing had the majesty, ambition and budget and ultimately reach of 'Gladiator.' It wasn't an easy production. I had to fight every day for the integrity of the character I was playing, just like the journey of the character himself in the movie. And sometimes, you get lucky enough to make something that resonates with people." Crowe talked about a young man who asked him for a photo last week while he was travelling in Italy. "I shook his hand and he started to cry. His friends told me later he's the head lifeguard of the local beach, he's got muscles on they'd never seen him like that. I ended up hugging him. When he got himself together, he said, 'You don't understand, when I was 8 years old, my mother sat me in front of a TV and put on a videocassette of "Gladiator" and told me, 'If you are ever wondering what type of man your mother expects you to be, it's this type of man.' The honor, the integrity, the faith - a man made in Malta," reported Variety. "I did so much research before I got here," she said, "It's rich with history." Ferreira's upcoming projects include "Mile End Kicks," which is premiering at TIFF, and she said she enjoyed playing a music journalist who is "an insufferable girl, which is always the best part." 'The Last Emperor' producer Jeremy Thomas received the Lifetime Achievement award, while Pierre Agius and Joseph Formosa Randon were honoured with the Career Achievement awards for their extensive location work on films shot in Malta. The festival's top Golden Bee award for best feature film went to Tunisia's "Where the Wind Comes From," with the film's star Eya Bellaga winning best performance. Julio Medem won best screenwriting for his film "8," which also received the Jury's Choice award. The Mare Nostrum award went to "Miyazaki: Spirit of Nature," reported Variety. While the festival welcomed numerous industry guests to network, screen their recent work and check out famous film locations on land and by boat, locals and industry members alike turned out for outdoor screenings of several films shot in Malta, from "Popeye" and "Troy" to "Gladiator II," "Clash of the Titans" and the classic "Malta Story," reported Variety. (ANI)
Hamilton Spectator
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Montreal-set rom-com ‘Mile End Kicks' among world premieres at TIFF's 50th edition
TORONTO - A rom-com about a love triangle set in Montreal's music scene is among the films making their world premieres at the 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. 'Mile End Kicks,' from Toronto director Chandler Levack, stars Barbie Ferreira as a young music critic who moves to Montreal in 2011 to write a book about Alanis Morissette's album 'Jagged Little Pill.' Her plans take a turn when she falls for two members of the same fledgling indie rock band and decides to become their publicist. The film portrays the music scene in Montreal's Mile End neighbourhood, which gave rise to acts including Arcade Fire, Grimes and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It's one of five special presentations announced by TIFF, including Steven Soderbergh's 'The Christophers,' about siblings who hire a forger to finish their late father's art. TIFF runs from Sept. 4 to 14 and will open with 'John Candy: I Like Me,' a documentary on the late Canadian comic. The taste of the lineup revealed Thursday also includes Alejandro Amenábar's 'The Captive,' which tells the story of 'Don Quixote' author Miguel de Cervantes. Meanwhile, 'Hedda,' by 'The Marvels' director Nia DaCosta, is a reimagining of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's play 'Hedda Gabler,' about the daughter of a general who is trapped in a loveless marriage. Another premiere at TIFF is 'Good News,' a drama by South Korean director Sung-hyun Byun about a covert mission to land a hijacked airplane. TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said in a statement that this first wave of world premieres reflects the 'innovation, heart, and global perspective' that have defined the festival for the last five decades. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2025.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Montreal-set rom-com ‘Mile End Kicks' among world premieres at TIFF's 50th edition
Director Chandler Levack poses for a photograph at the Houndstooth in Toronto, ahead of the premier for her film "I Like Movies," as part of the Toronto International Film Festival, on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. Her new film, the rom-com "Mile End Kicks," will premiere this fall at TIFF. (Tijana Martin/The Canadian Press) A rom-com about a love triangle set in Montreal's music scene is among the films making their world premieres at the 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. 'Mile End Kicks,' from Toronto director Chandler Levack, stars Barbie Ferreira as a young music critic who moves to Montreal in 2011 to write a book about Alanis Morissette's album 'Jagged Little Pill.' Her plans take a turn when she falls for two members of the same fledgling indie rock band and decides to become their publicist. The film portrays the music scene in Montreal's Mile End neighbourhood, which gave rise to acts including Arcade Fire, Grimes and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. It's one of five special presentations announced by TIFF, including Steven Soderbergh's 'The Christophers,' about siblings who hire a forger to finish their late father's art. TIFF runs from Sept. 4 to 14 and will open with 'John Candy: I Like Me,' a documentary on the late Canadian comic. The taste of the lineup revealed Thursday also includes Alejandro Amenábar's 'The Captive,' which tells the story of 'Don Quixote' author Miguel de Cervantes. Meanwhile, 'Hedda,' by 'The Marvels' director Nia DaCosta, is a reimagining of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's play 'Hedda Gabler,' about the daughter of a general who is trapped in a loveless marriage. Another premiere at TIFF is 'Good News,' a drama by South Korean director Sung-hyun Byun about a covert mission to land a hijacked airplane. TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said in a statement that this first wave of world premieres reflects the 'innovation, heart, and global perspective' that have defined the festival for the last five decades. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2025. Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cameron Bailey On TIFF World Premiere Title ‘Mile End Kicks' & Why The Festival Is Now Focused On 'Celebrating Canada'
EXCLUSIVE: 'We are all about celebrating Canada right now,' TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey explains on a Zoom call with us ahead of his festival's latest lineup announcement this morning. 'But only in the sense that I'm very focused on how Canadian stories speak to the whole world. There is a thriving culture that I think is somewhat unique to Canadian cinema because it is supported by public bodies. Nearly all Canadian cinema is independent cinema, unlike some countries with big commercial industries.' More from Deadline TIFF 50th Edition Kicking Off With Colin Hanks & Ryan Reynolds' New Documentary 'John Candy: I Like Me' Details Of Toronto Film Festival's C$23M Market Revealed: Name & Dates Set As More Heavyweight Industry Advisors Join Ahead Of 2026 Launch Doc Talk: Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger On Staging "Attempted Coup" Within The GOP, And More From Toronto Film Festival Mile End Kicks, the sophomore feature from Toronto native Chandler Levack (I Like Movies), is one of those independently produced titles set to come out of Canada this year, and it was included as a world premiere in this morning's TIFF announcement. Levack joined us on the call with Bailey. Written and directed by Levack, the film follows a 24-year-old female music critic who moves to Montreal to write a book about Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill. But her plans take an unexpected turn when she becomes intertwined with a struggling indie rock band and decides to become their publicist. Starring are Barbie Ferreira (Euphoria), Jay Baruchel (BlackBerry), Devon Bostick (Oppenheimer), Stanley Simons (The Iron Claw), and Juliette Gariépy (Société distincte). Bailey tells us that he 'fell in love with the film' after seeing an early, unfinished cut. 'I was a film critic for an alternative weekly paper in Toronto for many years. I never got to live in Montreal like the character in the movie, but I know that world,' Bailey says. 'And Mile End Kicks is telling this incredible story of what it's like to exist as a young woman in that world, which is an alternative cultural world, but still has a lot of hazards for women. That plays out in the film with great insight, humor, and candor.' Bailey adds that he believes Levack, who for some time worked on the editorial team at TIFF and debuted her first feature, I Like Movies, at the festival in 2022, represents 'the very best of what Canadians can do.' 'I think of the early work of Patricia Rozema and Patricia Rozema, Clement Virgo, and then in Montreal, people like Philippe Falardeau and Denis Villeneuve, those early independent features that really feel like they're immersed in a world, and speak to the experience of young people at that time — Chandler's in that lineage,' Bailey says. 'So I want the world to know about her, and that's why we're giving this film that kind of platform.' In a similar vein to I Like Movies, a film about a socially awkward teenage cinephile who gets a job at a video store, Mile End Kicks is inspired by Levack's own life experiences. 'I left Blockbuster and became a magazine writer in my early 20s. I wrote for magazines like Spin and Village Voice,' she explains. 'It was tremendously exciting. But looking back at those years, I would think about how all my bosses were men in their 40s, and how maybe there was something weird about that. And maybe the way I was being singled out as special and talented had a deeper meaning to it.' The film is set against the indie music scene in the titular Mile End neighborhood of Montreal, where acts such as Grimes, Mac DeMarco, and Arcade Fire first found acclaim. Montreal rock band TOPS have recorded two original songs for the film's soundtrack. 'This is a movie that should be of enormous interest to buyers,' Bailey adds. When you look at what's out there, what's succeeding in art house distribution and awards season, it's fresh voices and filmmakers who are connected to where the culture is right now. Mile End Kicks is exactly in line with that.' Titles also announced this morning as part of TIFF's Official Selection were Alejandro Amenábar's The Captive, Steven Soderbergh's The Christophers, Sung-hyun Byun's Good News, and Nia DaCosta's Hedda. They join the previously announced opening night flick, John Candy: I Like Me. On the wider TIFF lineup, which will be announced in August, Bailey adds: 'We've been in close conversation with all of our usual partners, the studios, streamers, sales companies, and independent producers. There's no let up it just all depends on what films are available, both in terms of what they present to us and what we end up choosing. Thankfully, we're still seeing some great movies.'TIFF 2025 runs from September 4–14. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery Everything We Know About 'My Life With The Walter Boys' Season 2 So Far Everything We Know About The 'Reminders of Him' Movie So Far
