Blue Is The Warmest Colour Archives

Blue Is The Warmest Colour (DVD)

March 18, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Lea Seydoux, Adele Exarchopoulos, Salim Kechiouche
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Running Time: 179 mins
Certificate: 18
Release Date: March 17th 2014

Not many three-hour foreign movies arrive with as much adulation and controversy as Blue Is The Warmest Colour. With incredibly glowing reviews and the Cannes Palm d’Or in in its pocket, it then managed to gain extra notoriety due to a falling out between the lead actresses and the director over how difficult it was to work with him. The controversy was slightly manufactured as a few comments made about the intensity of both Kechiche and the how he makes his movies became a major bust-up in the press, which the director then made 10 times worse by taking it far more personally than it was ever meant to be. [Read more…]

Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Hand Top Awards To 12 Years a Slave & Blue is the Warmest Color

January 22, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

After the recent announcement of the nominations, GALECA (Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association) has announced the winners of its annual Dorian Awards. They have handed Steve McQueen’s tragic slavery-era drama 12 Years a Slave the gong for Film of the Year, while Film Performance of the Year – Actor went to Matthew McConaughey for his work in Dallas Buyers Club as AIDS affected Ron Woodroof, and Cate Blanchett took Film Performance of the Year – Actress for her turn as a troubled socialite in Blue Jasmine.

GALECA also had plenty of love for Palm d’Or winner Blue is the Warmest Color. The French lesbian romance took both Foreign Language Film of the Year and LGBT Film of the Year. There was praise too for the extremely moving Bridegroom, which took Documentary of the Year. The film is a heartfelt and eye-opening expose of how inequalities in the legal system only add to the grief of LGBTs who have lost their life partner.

In the more unusual film categories, Kill Your Darlings, the fact-based biopic involving a young and wild Allen Ginsberg (played by Daniel Radcliffe) and Short Term 12, the provocative drama set at an at-risk center for teens, tied for Unsung Film of the Year. Gravity was chosen as Visually Striking Film. And Pedro Almodovar’s retro romp I’m So Excited! took Campy Flick honours.

On the TV front, GALECA picked Netflix’s women-in-prison dramedy Orange is the New Black in a tie along with HBO’s Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra as TV Drama of the Year. Orange also nabbed LGBT Drama of the Year, and one of its stars, Laverne Cox, was bestowed the group’s We’re Wilde About You Rising Star Award.

As previously announced, the group chose Lily Tomlin as the recipient of its special Timeless star tribute, given to ‘an actor or performer whose exemplary career is marked by character, wisdom and wit.’

Take a look at the complete list of Dorian Award winners (in bold) below:

Film of the Year
American Hustle (Sony)
Blue is the Warmest Color (Sundance Selects)
Dallas Buyers Club (Focus)
Gravity (WB)
Her (WB)
Laurence Anyways (Breaking Glass)
12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight)

Film Performance of the Year – Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount)
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight)
James Franco, Spring Breakers (A24)
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyesr Club (Focus)
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club (Focus)

Film Performance of the Year – Actress
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine (Sony Classics)
Sandra Bullock, Gravity (WB)
Judi Dench, Philomena (Weinstein)
Adele Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Color (Sundance Selects)
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight)

LGBT Film of the Year
Blue is the Warmest Color (Sundance Selects)
Dallas Buyers Club (Focus)
Kill Your Darlings (Sony Classics)
Laurence Anyways (Breaking Glass)
Philomena (Weinstein)

Foreign Language Film of the Year
Blue is the Warmest Color (Sundance Selects)
The Great Beauty (Janus)
The Hunt (Magnolia)
I’m So Excited! (Sony Classics)
Laurence Anyways (Breaking Glass)
Out in the Dark (Breaking Glass)

Documentary of the Year
(theatrical release, TV airing or DVD release)
The Act of Killing (Drafthouse)
Blackfish (Magnolia, CNN)
Bridegroom (Own, Virgil Films)
I Am Divine (Automat, Wolfe)
20 Feet from Stardom (Radius-TWC)

Campy Flick of the Year
August: Osage County (Weinstein)
The Canyons (Sundance Selects)
Carrie (Screen Gems)
The Great Gatsby (WB)
I’m So Excited! (Sony Classics)

Unsung Film of the Year
Frances Ha (Sundance Selects)
In A World . . . (Roadside Attractions)
Kill Your Darlings (Sony Classics) (tie)
Short Term 12 (Cinedigm) (tie)
The Spectacular Now (A24)

Visually Striking Film of the Year
(honoring a production of stunning beauty, from art direction to cinematography)
Frozen (Disney)
Gravity (WB)
Inside Llewyn Davis (CBS Films)
Laurence Anyways (Breaking Glass)
The Great Gatsby (WB)

TV Drama of the Year
American Horror Story: Coven (FX)
Behind the Candelabra (HBO) (tie)
Breaking Bad (AMC)
Mad Men (AMC)
Orange is the New Black (Netflix) (tie)

TV Comedy of the Year
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Getting On (HBO)
Girls (HBO)
Ja’mie: Private School Girl (HBO)
Modern Family (ABC)
Veep (HBO)

TV Performance of the Year – Actor
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra (HBO)
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards (Netflix)

TV Performance of the Year – Actress
Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel (A&E)
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven (FX)
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black (BBC America)
Taylor Schilling, Orange is the New Black (Netflix)
Kerry Washington, Scandal (ABC)
Robin Wright, House of Cards (Netflix)

TV Musical Performance of the Year
Shirley Bassey, “Goldfinger,” 82nd Academy Awards (CBS)
Neil Patrick Harris, “Bigger,” 67th Annual Tony Awards (CBS)
Jane Krakowski, “Theme from Rural Juror,” 30 Rock (NBC)
Jessica Lange and cast, “The Name Game,” American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
Lea Michele, “To Make You Feel My Love,” Glee (Fox)

LGBT TV Show of the Year
Behind the Candelabra (HBO)
Bridegroom (Own)
Modern Family (ABC)
Orange is the New Black (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (Logo)

Campy TV Show of the Year
American Horror Story: Coven (FX)
Behind the Candelabra (HBO)
House of Versace (Lifetime)
Sharknado (Syfy)
Smash (NBC)

Unsung TV Show of the Year
Broadchurch (BBC America)
The Carrie Diaries (CW)
Cougar Town (TBS)
Getting On (HBO)
Mom (CBS)
Orphan Black (BBC America)

The We’re Wilde About You (Rising Star Award)
Adele Exarchopoulos
Dane DeHaan
Laverne Cox
Lupita Nyong’o
Tatiana Maslany

Wilde Wit of the Year
(honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
Rachel Maddow
Bill Maher
Kate McKinnon
Dan Savage
Amy Schumer

Wilde Artist of the Year
(honoring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theater and/or television)
Alfonso Cuaron
Xavier Dolan
James Franco
Spike Jonze
Steve McQueen

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett FILMS: 12 Years A Slave, Blue Is The Warmest Colour, Kill Your Darlings, Bridegroom

The BAFTA Nominations Are Revealed, With LGBT Films Doing Pretty Well

January 8, 2014 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

The BAFTA nominations are out, with Gravity getting the most nods with 11 nominations. 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle are each nominated in ten categories, while Captain Phillips has nine nominations. Behind the Candelabra and Saving Mr. Banks are each nominated five times.

Gravity will compete in the Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Director for Alfonso Cuarón, Original Screenplay, Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Sound, Special Visual Effects and Leading Actress.

The nominees for the EE Rising Star Award, which is always an interesting category to watch, were announced earlier this week. They include are Dane DeHaan, George MacKay, Lupita Nyong’o, Will Poulter and Léa Seydoux. This audience award is voted for by the British public and presented to an actor or actress who has demonstrated exceptional talent and promise.

On the LGBT front, Behind The Candelabra did well with five nominations in the Adapted Screenplay, Production Design, Costume Design and Make Up & Hair categories. Matt Damon is nominated for Supporting Actor. As it premiered on TV in the US, it’s not eligible for the Oscars, but its British cinema release allows it to compete at the BAFTA film awards.

The lesbian-themed Blue is the Warmest Colour, which won the Palm d’Or, is nominated for Film Not in the English Language. Philomena, which includes a gay subtheme, will compete for Best Film line-up, with three further nominations in Outstanding British Film, Adapted Screenplay and Leading Actress for Judi Dench.

The EE British Academy Film Awards take place on Sunday 16 February at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.

Take a look below for the full list of nominations. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Matt Damon FILMS: Gravity, 12 Years A Slave, Philomena, Behind The Candelabra, Blue Is The Warmest Colour

Blue Is The Warmest Color Director Is ‘Humiliated’ & Unsure The Film Should Be Released

September 25, 2013 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Back in May, Blue Is The Warmest Color hit one of cinema’s biggest highs, scoring the Palm d’Or and the Cannes Film Festival. However since then there has been a fair amount of controversy, much of it surrounding an explicit 10-minute lesbian sex scene between the two main characters.

The sex itself hasn’t been the issue, but how it was filmed. It apparently took 10 days to shoot, and while the actresses used prosthetics so it’s not quite a real as it might look, it was gruelling and difficult for the women – something they haven’t been shy talking about.

The controversy has apparently taken it toll on director Abdellatif Kechiche, who told Telerama (via Huffington Post), “I think this film should not go out, it was too dirty. The Palme d’Or was a brief moment of happiness, then I felt humiliated, disgraced. I felt a rejection of me, I live like a curse.”

That certainly fits the description many have given of Kechiche being a temperamental (and rather hyperbyolic) man. For example, Actress Lea Seydoux has talked about a scene where they were asked for over a hundred takes. “I walked by Adele and laughed a little bit, because we had been walking by each other doing this stare-down scene all day. It was so, so funny,” she says. “And [Kechiche] became so crazy that he picked up the little monitor he was viewing it through and threw it into the street, screaming, ‘I can’t work under these conditions!”

Co-star Adele Exarchopoulos has talked about the difficulties of the sex scene and how the actresses were unprepared for it. “Once we were on the shoot, I realized that he really wanted us to give him everything,” Exarchopoulos says. “Most people don’t even dare to ask the things that he did, and they’re more respectful — you get reassured during sex scenes, and they’re choreographed, which desexualizes the act.”

Kechiche has previously attacked both women’s version of event, not saying it wasn’t difficult, but saying they should shut up because it’s “Indecent to talk about pain when doing one of the best jobs in the world”. Now he seems a bit more defeated, with some suggesting this is because while the Cannes win initially seemed like a major boost for Abdellatif Kechiche, the ensuing controversy over his actions on the set (and his rather petulant, slight chauvinistic response to them) may actually end up meaning it would have been better for him if he hadn’t won the Palm d’Or at all.

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Adele Exarchopoulos, Lea Seydoux DIRECTORS: Abdellatif Kechiche FILMS: Blue Is The Warmest Colour

New Blue Is The Warmest Color Trailer – Take a look at the lesbian-themed Palm d’Or winner

September 21, 2013 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Blue Is The Warmest Color is definitely an intriguing film. It won the Palm d’Or, but garnered controversy over its graphic lesbian sex scenes. Even the film’s two main actresses have sometimes seemed to be in two minds about the movie – proud of its success but finding it incredibly difficult to ignore how tough it was to make.

An October US release is set, with the film coming to the UK in November.

Ahead of that, a new trailer has arrived – and as is the way with both foreign film and gay themed movies, there’s no dialogue (because apparently nobody would watch anything that wasn’t in English) and it’s unclear whether the characters are straight or not (because nobody would watch a movie about two women in love if it wasn’t purely about titillating straight men). If you can’t tell, we’re not desperately impressed with this promo, even if the images are pretty.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘At 15, Adele doesn’t question it: a girl goes out with boys. Her life is turned upside down the night she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks herself, loses herself, finds herself…’ Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopolis star in the movie, and it was a lengthy sex scene between the two that got people talking at Cannes [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Lea Seydoux, Adele Exarchopoulos DIRECTORS: Abdellatif Kechiche FILMS: Blue Is The Warmest Colour

Blue Is the Warmest Colour Trailer – Take a look at the lesbian-themed Cannes Palm d’Or winner

August 21, 2013 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Two of the films that caused the most buzz at this year’s Cannes featured graphic gay sex, but it was the lesbian-themed Blue If The Warmest Colour walked off with the Palm d’Or. The film has just been given an NC-17 rating in the US, which suggests that while director Abdellatif Kechiche though he might have to cut the movie for a US release, it’s actually going to be released uncut when it hits cinemas on October 25th.

You can taker a look at the trailer above.

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Lea Seydoux DIRECTORS: Abdellatif Kechiche FILMS: Blue Is The Warmest Colour

Graphic Novel Author Criticises Cannes Palm d’Or Winning Lesbian-Themed Film Based On Her Book

May 31, 2013 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

A few days ago it was revealed that Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue Is The Warmest Colour had won the prestigious Cannes Palm d’Or, with much comment about the movie’s lengthy, explicit lesbian sex scene. While some heralded it as a new benchmark for showing female love on-screen as part of a complex, emotional relationship, it appears Julie-Maroh disagrees.

Her opinion is more interesting than most, as she wrote the graphic novel the movie is based on. The movie is about 15-year-old Adele (Adele Exarchopoulos), and her her burgeoning relationship with Emma (Lea Seydoux).

In a blog post, Maroh writes about the sex scene, “I don’t know the sources of information for the director and the actresses (who are all straight, unless proven otherwise) and I was never consulted upstream… Maybe there was someone there to awkwardly imitate the possible positions with their hands, and/or to show them some porn of so-called ‘lesbians’ (unfortunately it’s hardly ever actually for a lesbian audience).

“Because – except for a few passages – this is all that it brings to my mind: a brutal and surgical display, exuberant and cold, of so-called lesbian sex, which turned into porn, and [made] me feel very ill at ease. Especially when, in the middle of a movie theatre, everyone was giggling.

“The heteronormative laughed because they don’t understand it and find the scene ridiculous. The gay and queer people laughed because it’s not convincing, and [they] found it ridiculous. And among the only people we didn’t hear giggling were the potential guys [sic] too busy feasting their eyes on an incarnation of their fantasies on screen.”

However she adds, “As a feminist and lesbian spectator, I cannot endorse the direction Kechiche took on these matters… I’m also looking forward to what other women will think about it. This is simply my personal stance.”

It’ll be interesting to see what others think as the film is released around the world, although due to its explicit nature, the director has suggested it may be cut down in some places, if it becomes a bar to getting distribution. (Via PinkNews)

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Lea Seydoux DIRECTORS: Abdellatif Kechiche FILMS: Blue Is The Warmest Colour

Lesbian Drama Blue Is the Warmest Colour Wins The Cannes Palm d’Or

May 27, 2013 By Tim Isaac 1 Comment

While some described the race for the Cannes Palm d’Or as one of the most open fields for years, there been no doubt that for the past few days, Blue Is The Warmest (aka La Vie d’Adele – Chaptire 1 & 2) had emerged as the favourite. The only question was whether the jury would shy away from giving the award to a movie with graphic, unsimulated lesbian sex.

It turns out the likes of Steven Spielberg, Lynn Ramsay, Nicole Kidman, Ang Lee and Christoph Waltz, who were among those choosing the winner, weren’t put off by that (and looking at how LGBT friendly those names have been, it’s not too much of a surprise).

Blue Is The Warmest Colours is about, ‘At 15, Adele doesn’t question it: a girl goes out with boys. Her life is turned upside down the night she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks herself, loses herself, finds herself…’

Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopolis star in the movie. Jury Chairman Spielberg commented, “The film is a great love story… We were absolutely spellbound by the two brilliant young actresses, and the way the director observed his young players.”

France wasn’t just about Cannes this weekend, as hundreds of thousands took to the streets to march against gay marriage. However Spielberg added on the debate, “Many brave [US] states are resolving in way that those of us in favour of gay marriage are happy about.”

Lynn Ramsay, the British director of We Need to Talk About Kevin, said: “Everyone on the jury saw behind the gay relationship, it was just a love story, and it didn’t matter if it was gay or straight.”

Spielberg also had great praise for the leads, saying “It was an obvious conclusion that without Léa and Adèle, the synergy could not have happened. If the casting had been even slightly different, if anything had been a little left of centre, it wouldn’t have worked. It was the perfect choice from a sensitive film-maker.”

There have been some suggesting that despite its Cannes success, Blue Is the Warmest Colour may have difficulty finding distribution unless Abdellatif Kechiche agrees to cuts, due to the ‘shocking’ (a word that’s been used quite a lot, unfortunately) lesbian sexuality in the movie, including one particularly graphic, unsimulated scene (the fact it’s three hours long may also limit its commercial appeal).

Kechiche does appear to be amenable to cuts if it’s a deal-breaker, saying “We wouldn’t want the film not to be screened because of one scene. But of course that wouldn’t apply if it were the whole thing.”

What no one seems to be in doubt about is that it’s a very involving and emotional movie.

Other awards included the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis getting the Grand Prix, while Berenice Bejo (The Artist) nabbed Best Actress for Asghar Farhadi’s The Past, and Bruce Dern picked up Best Actor for Alexander Payne’s Nebraska.

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FILMS: Blue Is The Warmest Colour