Today is Friday, some of us have already left the office and when we read Max Dana’s latest post published on her blog yesterday, we thought it would make a perfect Friday update. Max talks about a great short movie directed by Claude Lelouch in 1976. And we agree, if you have never seen it before, go buy or rent the DVD!

“How did I forget to mention ‘Rendezvous’? I enjoy gun scenes in movies (From Scarface to Smokin’ Aces: the art of the gun scene) and also car chases in movies (Car chases in movies: Bullitt, Terminator 2, Mad Max 2…). That was two years ago, when I shared with you my favorites car chases scenes in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Thelma & Louise, The Blues Brothers, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, The French Connection, Grindhouse/Death Proof but also in The Fast and the Furious, Ronin, Taxi, Gone in 60 Seconds. And last but not least, Bullitt (Steve McQueen: Bullitt chase scene GPS tracked). In fact I didn’t really forget to mention Claude Lelouch’s ‘Rendezvous’ short movie because it doesn’t really feature a car chase scene, although it’s definitely one of the most famous motoring footage of all time.

If you have never heard of this movie before, maybe you would be interested by a little introduction to it. In 1976, French director Claude Lelouch (the maker of ‘A Man and A Woman’) made a short movie: ‘C’était un rendez-vous’ known as ‘Rendezvous’in the U.S., a high-speed drive through the empty streets of Paris. No dialogue, no script, no plot, no special effects, no editing… The film was shot in a single take, and shows an eight-minute drive through Paris at dawn, from Porte Dauphine to the Sacré Coeur. The speed of the car (a Mercedes-Benz 450SEL driven by Lelouch himself) is said to be over 150mph, and it was filmed from a camera mounted on the front of the car, with an added sound track (exhaust note and missed gear changes) coming from the director’s own Ferrari 275 GTB. All sorts of questions surrounded this insane sprint across Paris, such as: who was driving the car? Was the speed really over 150mph?

Whatever are the answers, it doesn’t change the fact that ‘Rendezvous’is an amazing piece of film footage and an absolute must see for any racing fan. The film has been re-mastered and released on DVD in 2003 by SpiritLevel; buy it to fully enjoy the speed, images and sound. So yes it could have put in danger pedestrians, many red lights were crossed and the speed was insane. Don’t ever do that even if I wish the traffic in Paris could be as smooth all day long. But it became a masterpiece of cinéma vérité and since I already talked about the car chases scenes, I couldn’t not mention ‘Rendezvous’.

Watch the movie and you will know why the driver was going so fast (very Lelouch’ style)

“

I recently saw the comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman: Up In The Air. I was said it was a dry comedy with George Clooney, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman and Vera Farmiga. So I came for a lot of fun and I left a little disappointed. See, I am really into the environment stuff so I was a bit disturbed when I realized the character played by Clooney, Ryan Bingham, was a businessman on the verge of reaching five million frequent flyer miles. Imagine: one aircraft take-off can burn thousands of pounds of fuel. And the pollution from just one, two-minute 747 takeoff is equal to operating 2.4 million lawnmowers simultaneously (read more facts).

So, seriously, reaching five million frequent flyer miles? No way! There is an UN climate summit in Copenhagen taking place right now! I like Jason Reitman (Thank you for smoking and Juno) and Vera Farmiga is sexy. The overall movie is great, the romance not so much. Now we’re done with the pollution thing, let’s have a look at product placement: it’s pretty blatant here, it’s everywhere! American Airlines and Hilton are always on screen, one way or another. Too much advertising is ruining the film. We are used to product placement in movies, but there was too much in Up In The Air. The film has been polluted by advertising…

The good news is for Reitman and Clooney: Up in the Air leads Golden Globe film contenders with six nominations. I vote for the Sama Gazette Award of the most anti-environmental movie of the year. Fun fact: I took a plane to see the movie and took another one to go back home. I am Green with dust on the shoulders. Anyway. Up in the Air is a bittersweet drama addressing contemporary issues, I liked the strong chemistry between Clooney and Farmiga. It will be out in February in France.

As for George Clooney himself, he is good. But I couldn’t help to say to myself: ‘Is he the same guy coming back from Darfur some years ago?‘. He is. Maybe he should take a plane and go back there, there is still some work to be done out there. Because you know, like Max Dana said on her Blog: “Most of the people I know only discovered the crisis in Darfur in late 2006 early 2007 when George Clooney came back from Sudan“. So true, my girlfriend perfectly illustrates that fact. Now I can’t wait she watches Up in the Air when it will be out in France, and tells me how sexy can be a romance starting in an airport.

“Coco Before Chanel”, the biopic of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, hit theaters last month in the U.S. Audrey Tautou (Amélie, Da Vinci Code) stars as legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel in this biopic penned by director Anne Fontaine, and based on the Chanel biography L’Irrégulière (The Nonconformist) by author Edmonde Charles-Roux. This is the story of a poor girl who transformed into a legendary fashion designer…

We don’t want to talk about the movie itself (it received mixed reviews when it came out in France in April) and we want to focus on costume design. Elle Magazine had an interesting interview with the film’s costume designer, Catherine Leterrier. If you’re into costume/fashion design, don’t miss this article published on the online edition of Elle Magazine:

“When I did all this research on her younger period, I saw how stunning she was, and how modern. She could be in ELLE magazine now! Madeleine Vionnet, Jeanne Lanvin—they were divine designers, but nobody wanted to look like them. Chanel was a star immediately, even before she was really successful, because she was so good-looking. Everything she had on herself, everybody wanted to have immediately.”

Photo: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

In case you want to know more about “Coco Before Chanel”, here is the Official Trailer [HD]:

Since he was arrested last Saturday in Switzerland while on his way to Zurich Film Festival, which is holding a tribute to him, the least we can say is that regarding the ‘Roman Polanski case’, public opinion is divided, even among the Sama Team. The legal fate of director Roman Polanski shows there are still major cultural differences between Europe and the U.S…

The facts are these (from CNN):

The director pleaded guilty in 1977 to a single count of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, acknowledging he had sex with a 13-year-old girl, but fled the U.S. before he could be sentenced [...] Now married and known as Samantha Geimer, she filed court papers in January saying, “I am no longer a 13-year-old child. I have dealt with the difficulties of being a victim, have surmounted and surpassed them with one exception [...] Geimer, now 45, and a mother of three, sued Polanski and received an undisclosed settlement. She long ago came forward and made her identity public — mainly, she said, because she was disturbed by how the criminal case had been handled

Some people (let’s say Government officials, movie industry personalities and small amount of French public opinion) have a clear opinion about Roman Polanski’s situation, and some have even spoken publicly about it, like Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Justice Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie and French Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand, quoting:

“To see him thrown to the lions and put in prison because of ancient history. And he was traveling to an event honoring him, it is absolutely horrifying [...] There’s an America we love and an America that scares us, and it’s that latter America that has just shown us its face.”

In France, Roman Polanski is regarded as one of the finest directors of his generation, critically acclaimed for his films such as “Rosemary’s Baby“, ”Tess” and “The Pianist“. He is married to French actress Emmanuelle Seigner and they have two children. Many people think it’s a thirty-years old case, and even say it’s ‘acharnement judiciaire’ (judicial harassment) since Polanski acknowledged he had sex with a 13-year-old girl, and since Geimer herself (the victim) wants to move on. Justice Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie is even wondering why the U.S. is still seeking his extradition…

But some others think Roman Polanski should be brought to justice since he fled the U.S. before he could be sentenced. Arguing all men, regardless of talent, are equal before the law and that he is finally getting what he deserves after running away and hiding for so many years.

No wonder why these two points of view regarding Roman Polanski’s situation are being the subject of controversy. We exposed the two sides, as it is also how we see the situation here at the Sama Team. One common question though: what will happen next?

Let us know what is your opinion on that.

Photo credit:

‘Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired’

Actor Patrick Swayze has passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Very sad news. He was best known for his roles in hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and I was shocked (but sadly not surprised…) when I read the news early this morning when I arrived at the office. He was a great actor and a great dancer too, his films are among my favorites.

In March 2008 he announced he was suffering from an especially deadly form of cancer but he continued working despite the diagnosis; he was an extraordinary fighter in his battle with cancer.

Swayze told ABC’s Barbara Walters in early 2009: “I’d say five years is pretty wishful thinking. Two years seems likely if you’re going to believe statistics. I want to last until they find a cure, which means I’d better get a fire under it.” He fought as long as he could, but still no cure for cancer…

Thanks for what you did and for what you were. A great human being.

R.I.P Patrick Swayze.

The Sama Team is talking about it since it’s been officially online last Friday: Avatar’s international teaser trailer has arrived and it’s huge. James Cameron’s newest creation takes us to a spectacular new world beyond our imagination. The trailer gives the world its first glimpse of the alien world dreamed up by the famous director. Synopsis:

Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people.

The much anticipated sci-fi movie is starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Peter Mensah… I was very impressed by the trailer and I can’t wait to see the movie when it opens in theaters (conventional 3D theaters and IMAX 3D) everywhere December 18, 2009.

Twentieth Century Fox announced that the Avatar teaser trailer has become the most-viewed trailer ever on the popular iTunes Movies Trailer section of apple.com. The teaser registered over four million streams in its first day on the site, shattering the previous record of 1.7 million. In case you missed the trailer (which I doubt), watch below. You can also visit Avatar’s Official Website.