“Pandamonium” broke out in Cannes Tuesday as Jack Black arrived at the Carlton Hotel pier with about 40 true-to-size pandas, promoting the upcoming release of DreamWorks’ latest animated comedy “Kung Fu Panda.”
Black lends his voice to lead character Po, a fat panda who struggles to study the art of kung fu in order to fulfill an ancient prophecy. The film also features the voices of Angelina Jolie, David Cross, Seth Rogen, Dustin Hoffman and Jackie Chan.
Last year in Cannes, DreamWorks pulled off a stunt with Jerry Seinfeld for the release of “Bee Movie.” Black’s appearance along his pandas is just one of many publicity stunts the company has in store for worldwide fans during the festival. Watch out for more.
'Blindness' reviewed
The 61st Cannes Film Festival opened its doors Wednesday, kicking off with the premiere of Fernando Meirelles’ mystery drama “Blindness,” in which an epidemic of blindness descends upon a large city. Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Danny Glover star in the adaptation of Jose Saramago’s acclaimed novel. Here are some first reactions:
Early reviews show critics didn’t hate the film, although they didn’t give it a warm welcome either. Kirk Honeycutt at The Hollywood Reporter calls it “a visually energetic and morally provocative film that ultimately is too cerebral and premeditated.”
James Rocchi over at Cinematical finds himself “asking questions not of character and metaphor, but, rather, of plot logic and possibility…”
At Joblo, The Arrow thinks the flick started well but then “dropped to the bottom of the river like a pigeon wearing concrete boots.”
And Variety critic Justin Change says despite a solid performance by Julianne Moore, the film “rarely achieves the visceral force, tragic scope and human resonance of Saramago's prose.”
Deals
Here is some more information on early pickups from the festival:
IFC has acquired the U.S. rights to “A Christmas Tale” (“Un Conte de Noel”), Arnaud Desplechin’s drama about a dysfunctional couple struggling to stay together after the death of their sick child. The film is in competition at the festival and stars Catherine Deneuve and Jean-Paul Roussillon. (via The Hollywood Reporter)
Magnolia Pictures snatched rights to distribute Jennifer Lynch’s crime drama “Surveillance,” which stars Bill Pullman, Julia Ormond and Pell James. The film centers on a FBI agent who hunts down a serial killer with the help of three of his would-be victims.
That’s all we have for today’s coverage of day one in Cannes. The Screening Log could unfortunately not be there in person this year, but we will definitely pay the festival a visit again in 2009. Join us tomorrow for information about day two and what the critics had to say about the latest premieres.