Le Journal

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran comic Bruce Bruce has taped a new special, I Ain’t Playin’, which will premiere on Netflix on March 13. Filmed at the Old Vic Theater in Chicago, the hour is Bruce Bruce’s first for Netflix, and first for any platform in 14 years. Full of anecdotes and observations on the craziness of people […]

Three New York men are accused of using a fake military identification card in a Maine bank fraud scheme. George Mendez, 66, Miguel Molinar, 35, and Leigh Jackson, 34, all from Brooklyn, New York, have been charged with theft by deception, misuse of identification and criminal conspiracy, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. Those charges come after one of the men entered First National Bank in Wiscasset, where he allegedly impersonated a customer using that person’s information on a fake military ID about 1:30 p.m. Friday. He allegedly tried to withdraw $6,700, but after failing to answer security questions, left the bank. Police learned the same suspect had attempted a similar transaction at a bank in Boothbay Harbor 30 minutes earlier. The suspect was spotted not long after entering a black SUV near a Brunswick bank. When police stopped the vehicle, officers found the three men had fake IDs, including passports, military ID cards and state driver’s licenses, as well as notes with sensitive customer information, the sheriff’s office said Monday. Police believe there may be other victims. The trio is being held on $10,000 bail at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.

The ‘Save Tony and Ziva’ campaign came to Paris today. Organized by an NCIS fans account, the stunt saw a mobile digital billboard drive through the streets and past the most famous landmarks in France’s capital with the message “Save Tony and Ziva” and an accompanying QR code on the side. The van first stopped […]

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s your first U.S. trailer for music doc-biopic Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It, which Abramorama is releasing stateside from February 20. The film, which overcame a legal challenge on the eve of its 2024 SXSW debut, charts the story of legendary keyboardist and Grammy winner Preston who played with The Beatles, Rolling Stones, […]

The Sundance Film Festival may be a little bittersweet this year. It will be familiar in some ways as it kicks off on Thursday in Park City, Utah. There will be stars, from Natalie Portman to Charli XCX, and breakout discoveries, tearjerkers, comedies, thrillers, oddities that defy categorization and maybe even a few future Oscar nominees. The pop ups and sponsors will be out in full force on Main Street. The lines to get into the 90 movies premiering across 10 days will be long and the volunteers will be endlessly helpful and cheery in subfreezing temperatures. But the country’s premier showcase for independent film is also in a time of profound transition after decades of relative stability. The festival is bidding farewell to its longtime home and forging forward without its founder, Robert Redford, who died in September. Next year, it must find its footing in another mountain town, Boulder, Colorado. Celebrating the legacy of Robert Redford and his creation It’s no surprise that legacy will be a through-line at this year’s final edition in Park City. There will be screenings of restored Sundance gems like “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Mysterious Skin,” “House Party” and “Humpday” as well as Redford’s first truly independent film, the 1969 sports drama “Downhill Racer.” Many will also pay tribute to Redford at the institute’s fundraising event, where honorees include Chloé Zhao, Ed Harris and Nia DaCosta. “Sundance has always been about showcasing and fostering independent movies in America. Without that, so many filmmakers wouldn’t have had the careers they have,” said “Mysterious Skin” filmmaker Gregg Araki. He first attended the festival in 1992 and has been back many times, including at the labs where Zhao was one of his students. Quite a few festival veterans are planning to make the trip, including “Navalny” filmmaker Daniel Roher. His first Sundance in 2022 might have been a bit unconventional (made fully remote at the last minute due to the pandemic) but ended on a high note with an Oscar. This year he’s back with two films, his narrative debut “Tuner,” and the world premiere of “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist,” which he co-directed with Charlie Tyrell. “We’re going through a weird moment in the world … There’s something that strikes me about an institution that has been evergreen, that seems so entrenched going through its own transition and rebirth,” Roher told The Associated Press. “I’m choosing to frame this year as a celebration of Sundance and the institute and a future that will ensure the festival goes on forever and ever and ever and stays the vital conduit for so many filmmakers that it has been.” Over the past four decades, countless careers have been shaped and boosted by the festival and the Institute. Three of this year’s presumed Oscar nominees — Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler and Zhao — are among those the Institute supported early in their careers. Jay Duplass, who first came to Sundance in 2003 with his brother, Mark, with what he calls a “$3 film” said it was the place where his career was made. “I’d probably be a psychologist right now if it wasn’t for Sundance,” Duplass said. While he’s been to “probably 15 Sundances” since, it hasn’t lost its luster. In fact, when a programmer called him to tell him that his new film “See You When I See You” was selected, he cried. The film is based on a memoir in which a young comedy writer (Cooper Raiff) attempts to process the death of his sister (Kaitlyn Dever). It’s one of many films that finds humor amid grim subjects. Bold swings, comedies and Hollywood stars As always, the lineup is full of starry films as well, including Cathy Yan’s art world satire, “The Gallerist,” starring Portman, Jenna Ortega, Sterling K. Brown, Zach Galifianakis and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. The romantic drama “Carousel,” from Rachel Lambert, features Chris Pine and Jenny Slate as high school exes who rekindle their romance later in life. Araki is also bringing a new…