World’s first film poster for auction
A poster promoting the first public screenings of film, providing glimpses of late 19th-century Paris life, is coming up for auction. Sotheby’s in london is selling 164 rare film posters including one that can lay claim to be the world’s first, one advertising the world-changing cinematography of the lumière brothers. The poster shows a throng of people going in to the first-ever public screening of a film, on the December 28, 1895.
It is a momentous event in cinema history, marking the beginning of one of the most significant cultural developments of the 20th century. At the time it attracted fewer than 30 people to a room where 100 chairs had been laid out. Newspapers had been invited but chose not to attend.
The historic 20-minute screening was in the Salon Indien, in the basement of the Grand Café on the Boulevard des Capucines. A white canvas was hung at one end of the room and a selection of lumière short films was screened showing scenes that included workers leaving the lumière factory, an infant “fishing” for goldfish in a glass bowl and a man doing a forward roll over a blanket held by four of his mates. There was also a short film called l’Arroseur Aross, which is regarded as the first film comedy if not the world’s first fiction film. It shows a boy stepping on the hose of a gardener and then, hilariously, taking his foot off when the gardener is peering confusedly at the end of the hose.
Robot as lead actor in Tony’s next
American History X director Tony Kaye is hoping to cast an artificial intelligence actor as the lead of his new film. According to Deadline, the British filmmaker has made the unprecedented decision to employ a robot over a human for his next project, titled 2nd Born. The android will be trained in various techniques and a variety of acting methods and Kaye hopes it will lead to recognition by the Screen Actors Guild which could also lead to awards consideration.
The idea is a joint effort from Kaye and producer Sam Khoze.
The film is a sequel to comedy 1st Born starring Val Kilmer and Denise Richards, the first ever Iranian-American co-production.
Set to be released this year, it tells the story of a newlywed couple who encounter problems conceiving.
Kaye’s career has included a combination of music videos for artists such as Johnny Cash and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a string of feature films. His directorial debut was 1998’s American History X starring Edward Norton but Kaye asked for his name to be taken off the credits after battles over the final cut. Since then he has directed the acclaimed abortion documentary lake of Fire and school-set drama Detachment. He was recently attached to direct a crime thriller set in 70s New York and is reportedly working on a #MeToo-era film called Hollywhore.
Johansson highest-paid female star
Scarlett Johansson has been named as the world’s highest-paid female actor after earning $40.5m (£31.2m) in the year to June 2018. Johansson did not feature in Forbes magazine’s top 10 last year, and the actor’s newfound earning power has been ascribed to her role as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The second part of Avengers: Infinity War is due for release next spring.
Angelina Jolie is in second place, with $28m, based on her contract for the Disney sequel Maleficent II, which began shooting in May with a projected release date of May 2020.
Jennifer Aniston is third with $19.5m, which, according to Forbes, is less for her acting earnings than for endorsements for brands such as Emirates, SmartWater and Aveeno.
Demonstrating the volatility of Hollywood, Emma Stone, who led last year’s ranking with $26m, does not feature this year, while other notable dropouts include Charlize Theron and Emma Watson.
