Café Society (Woody Allen, 2016)

[Dylan]

This will be Woody Allen's first film shot digitally.

[Dylan]

Storaro on how he won Allen over to digital.

[The Narrator Returns]

Amazon Studios has acquired it

[domino harvey]

Wow, first non-Sony Allen title since, what, Cassandra's Dream?

[The Narrator Returns]

Vicky Cristina Barcelona, actually.

[Ribs]

I find the terms listed fascinating:

"Following its theatrical run, it will become available exclusively to Prime members through Prime Video. A source says the film will not break the three-month theatrical window. The only difference is that Prime customers will be able to view the film faster than any other streaming partner would have been able to pull off."

That seems different from Amazon's release strategy so far; am I reading this wrong, or does it indicate the film will just outright NOT be available in traditional VOD format?

[TMDaines]

Just sounds like it comes to Prime before Netflix et al.

[mfunk9786]

It will only come to Prime, is how I read that. You'll likely either be able to purchase it digitally through Amazon or stream it free via Prime, and I believe Lionsgate handles Amazon's DVD/Blu releases. But I wouldn't hold my breath for other VOD/streaming services to have it available at all.

[domino harvey]

The only thing I can guarantee is that it will play at the Charles in Baltimore for four months just like every other Woody Allen movie

[Ribs]

Amazon paid $15M for this, which is 3x what SPC paid for Irrational Man

[Jeff]

It's got a title and a date on the Croisette. It will premiere out of competition, possibly in the opening night slot.

[ShellOilJunior]

I believe the title is a nod to the progressive New York nightclub where Billie Holliday sang "Strange Fruit" in 1939.

[Ribs]

Will be opening Cannes.

Here's the premise:

Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg, Blake Lively, Parker Posey, Steve Carell and Corey Stoll star in the story of a young man who arrives in Hollywood during the 1930s hoping to work in the film industry. There, he falls in love, and finds himself swept up in the vibrant café society that defined the spirit of the age.

[ShellOilJunior]

Vittorio Storaro: I loved the fact that this is really a Woody Allen movie in the sense that he’s the narrator. I recognised his personality in it. He is deciding if it will actually be his voice doing the narration, and I hope it will.

[Professor Wagstaff]

French Trailer
Looks beautiful and seems charming, very Bullets Over Broadway

[captveg]

Looking forward to it. I really didn't like Irrational Man, but that's the wonderful thing about Allen making one film a year - quickly moving on to the next possibility.

[The Narrator Returns]

It looks like Storaro really pushed Allen visually on this one. There are practically more camera movements and separate color schemes in these two minutes than there were in all of the films Allen has made this decade combined.

[The Narrator Returns]

And the streak of Allen movies having awful posters is finally broken.

[knives]

As is that image.

[The Narrator Returns]

Should be fixed, god willing.

[Dylan]

It is indeed very clear, as The Narrator Returns pointed out, that Storaro pushed Allen visually. Storaro demands complete creative freedom on the films he shoots - one of the reasons he and Bertolucci stopped working together - and because Storaro himself is a very strong visual director I was anticipating the look of this film to be set apart from the look of other Allen films. And from the trailer I can already see that they developed an extraordinary aesthetic together that remarkably bears the imprints of each of their respective styles. Allen has made some of the most beautiful-looking films of all-time, but Cafe Society looks almost groundbreaking for him. In every way it seems like there was an enormous amount of trust and inspiration between Allen and Storaro here.

[Trees]

Jesse Eisenberg is a lackluster leading man.

[Dylan]

A fascinating Film and Digital Times interview with Storaro, including comments from Allen and Storaro's crew.

And it was recently announced that Cafe Society will have its North American premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 19th, where it will be the opening night film.

[mfunk9786]

Jesse Eisenberg is a lackluster leading man.

Amen. This is the first time I've agreed with Trees on here

[Lemmy Caution]

But he has that hesitating stammering delivery that Woody patented.
Not to mention a related ability to seem nervous/unsure and smug/smart at the same time.
A classic little brother type ...