The 61st International Film Festival, organized by the Biennale di Venezia and presided over by Davide Croff, will be held at the Lido from 1st to 11th September 2004, directed for the first time by Marco Müller and we have a slew of photos from some of the largest titles at the festival including a couple titles that may have slid under your radar.
Starting off we have Nicole Kidman in the upcoming New Line release Birth also starring Lauren Bacall, Anne Heche, Peter Stormare, Ted Levine and Cameron Bright. The film follows Anna (Nicole Kidman) ten years after the sudden death of her beloved husband. Anna is moving on with her life and as she is preparing to marry Joseph (Danny Huston) an unexpected visitor comes into her life. A young boy played by Cameron Bright suddenly appears in Anna’s life and during a dinner party with close friends, just days after her engagement party the young man takes Anna aside and declares that he is her dead husband Sean and warns her not to marry Joseph.
The film sounds a little off the wall, but to get more of the story and check out seven pics from the film including Nicole in her new hair-do click the image below.
If you like leading ladies you are going to also want to take a peek at our preview of Vanity Fair starring Reese Witherspoon. The film is an adaptation of the massive classic novel by William Makepeace Thackeray introducing the beautiful, funny, passionate, and calculating Becky (Witherspoon). Yearning for a glamorous life she sets out to conquer English society. To check out the trailer, pics and the rest of the cast/crew click the pic of Reese below.
From leading women we go to leading men starting off with Al Pacino, fresh off his Golden Globe win for the HBO mini-series Angels in America he now stars in the latest adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice alongside Joseph Fiennes, Jeremy Irons and Lynn Collins. To check out the first four pics from the flick click the teaser poster below.
One more leading man and a RopeofSilicon favorite as Johnny Depp stars in Finding Neverland based on the story of James Barrie, the real-life author of the children’s classic Peter Pan. I have already checked out this film and must say audiences all around are going to love Depp once again as he proves he can transform himself into any character making you believe you are no longer looking at Johnny Depp, but the character he is playing. Depp’s co-stars are just as amazing as Kate Winslet, Dustin Hoffman, Julie Christie, and Freddie Highmore who we will also see with Depp in 2005 as he plays Charlie to Depp’s Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for Tim Burton.
To get more on Finding Neverland click on the pic of Depp and Highmore below.
From live action we go to animation with two films you probably haven’t heard of but will be interested in once you check out both of the huge galleries.
First up we have Steamboy from Columbia Pictures in which an inventor prodigy named Ra Stim who receives a mysterious metal ball containing a new form of energy capable of powering an entire nation must use it to fight evil, redeem his family, and save London from destruction. we have a trailer for the film as well as a gallery of 16 photos, click the pic below for them all.
And finally the film you probably didn’t even know it was being made, and may or may not care, but there is no denying the animation looks amazing. I am talking about Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children a film following the 1996 PlayStation game Final Fantasy VII in a world where Shinra, Inc. draws out the planet’s life force and uses it as an energy source, gaining overwhelming power and conquering the world. We have 19 awesome looks at the film, just click the banner below to check them out along with the rest of the story.
For more on the 61st International Film Festival click here.
