Manfred von Richthofen - the Red Baron - was the most celebrated fighter pilot of the First World War, and was given Germany's highest military decoration. He was credited with 80 victories in the air before being shot down in disputed circumstances at the age of 26. Playing von Richthofen is young German actor Matthias Schweighoefer.

The new film will be helmed by German director Nikolai Müllerschön.

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"At one stage, the project was planned as a much more expensive project with US partners and Val Kilmer cast as von Richthofen," recalls writer-director Niki Muellerschoen, whose filmmaking career saw him spend 13 years working in Hollywood. "But then we went back to the original basic idea of thinking that it must be possible to produce big cinema out of Germany, to make a summer movie about our history in a form that is internationally marketable. With this new strategy we would be able to keep the project under our control which would not have been possible if we had continued pursuing the project with a US cast and a budget of $50 million."

Director Tom Kalin is very specific about the kind of movies he makes. In Swoon, he created a puzzling, enigmatic and unforgettable tale of two gay lovers who kidnapped and murdered a child in the early 1920s, just for kicks. In his latest offering, he transforms Julliane Moore into a character few people would identify with, much less be able to feel sympathy for. He also puts Eddie Redmayne in the spotlight in portraying Moore's disturbed son.

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“Savage Grace”, based on the award-winning book of the same name, tells the incredible true story of Barbara Daly, who marries out of her class. Her husband, Brooks Baekeland, is the dashing heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune. Beautiful, red-headed and charismatic, Barbara is still no match for her well-bred husband. The birth of the couple’s only child,Tony, rocks the uneasy balance in this marriage of extremes. Tony is a failure in his father’s eyes. As he matures and becomes increasingly close to his lonely mother, the seeds for a tragedy of spectacular decadence are sown.

Spanning 1946 to 1972, the film unfolds in six acts. The Baekeland's pursuit of social distinction and the glittering “good life” propels them across the globe. We follow their heady rise and subsequent tragic fall against the backdrop of New York, Paris, Cadaques, Mallorca and London.

Like Minds is a psychological drama/thriller that started as a research project for writer-director Gregory Read. Always fascinated by the notion of what makes people tick and how people construct their own reality, Read became intrigued by ‘what it takes to create someone like a Ted Bundy (the notorious American serial killer). What were they like before they became killers? What were they like at 12 or 13 years old – or 17?’

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Thus began his research for what was supposed to be a documentary feature which turned into a featured film instead.

Like Minds: A Short Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Alex Forbes (Eddie Redmayne) is placed in a juvenile remand centre after he is charged with the shotgun death of his schoolmate Nigel Colby (Tom Sturridge). With mounting pressure from Alex’s influential father (Patrick Malahide) to have the murder charges dropped. Detective McKenzie (Richard Roxburgh) appoints forensic psychologist Sally Rowe (Toni Collette) to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to find Alex culpable.

Sally begins to unravel the truth behind Nigel’s death.

Earning critical acclaim in the recent Cannes Filmfest, Control is one of tMFs 10 most anticipated films for 2007.

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Control: A Short Synopsis- Ian Curtis (played by Sam Riley) has aspirations beyond the trappings of small town life in 1970’s England. Wanting to emulate his musical heroes, such as David Bowie and Iggy Pop, he joins a band, and his musical ambition begins to thrive. Soon though, the everyday fears and emotions, that fuel his music, slowly begin to eat away at him.

Married young, with a daughter, he is distracted from his family commitments by a new love and the growing expectations of his band. The strain manifests itself in his health. With epilepsy adding to his guilt and depression, desperation takes hold. Surrendering to the weight on his shoulders, Ian’s tortured soul consumes him.

Laughing Pitt: While anticipating the release of Silk, Michael Pitt goes wild and wacky with Steve Buscemi in Tom DiCillo’s Delirious. Steve Buscemi stars as “Les Galantine”, a small-time celebrity photographer aching to take just one great picture. Les befriends Toby Grace (Pitt), a homeless young man with no direction except a vague desire to become an actor. When by chance sparks fly between Toby and K'Harma Leeds (played by Alison Lohman), the hottest pop star of the moment, Les grows jealous and plots a darkly comic revenge.

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Peace Arch Entertainment Group Inc press release follows: "Delirious" will have its North American premiere in Sundance's exclusive Spectrum Program, which pays tribute to the abundance of compelling voices and the creative spirit of independent filmmaking.

"Delirious" had its world premiere at the 54th Annual San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain, where it received three sought-after prizes. Writer-director Tom DiCillo ("Living In Oblivion" "Double Whammy" "The Real Blonde") earned both the Silver Shell for Best Director and the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay, and the film also received the SIGNIS Award from the festival's global jury."

[ more of Delirious ] [ Steve Buscemi Blog and Delirious ]

Daniel Radcliffe in December Boys: Taking a respite from the Harry Potter series and passing the buck to Jamie Bell in Equus, Daniel Radcliffe proves he knows what he wants from his movie career. At the same time as proving his critics wrong, Radcliffe offers his fans a chance to watch him take on diverse and challenging roles. While other young actors seem to struggle to find that elusive box office success, Radcliffe’s choice of roles and the media mileage that goes with it proves he know how to take care of his career.

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The “December Boys” are a close knit group of four adolescent orphans who were all born in December. The boys' hopes of ever being adopted grow slimmer with each passing year, and it isn’t until their first summer away from the orphanage that the fading hope of finding parents becomes a real possibility – but only for one of them. The boys make friends with a young couple who are unable to become pregnant and decide to adopt a child. The four compete to be the most adoptable, severely testing their friendships when long gestating feelings of rejection erupt to the surface.

[ The December boys blog ] [ Dan Radcliffe.com ] [ Warner Independent Pictures ]

Romain Duris stars as Molière: Paris, 1644. 22-year-old Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also known as Molière, is not yet the writer that history will recognize as the father and true master of comic satire, as the author of the Misanthrope and Tartuffe, and as a dramatist who will rank alongside Shakespeare and Sophocles. Far from it. He is, in fact, a failed actor.

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His theatre company, L'Illustre Théâtre, founded the previous year, is bankrupt. Hounded by creditors, Molière is thrown into jail, released, and then swiftly imprisoned again. When the jailors finally let him go, he disappears. The combined efforts of historians have unearthed no trace of him before his reappearance, several months later, when his troupe began touring the provinces - a tour that lasted thirteen years, and culminated in Molière's triumphant return to Paris in 1658.

But what happened to Molière during these mysterious lost months? The events are explored in the film in witty, delicious and wicked ways. Boasting an extraordinary cast (Romain Duris: The Beat My Heart Skipped; Ludivine Sagnier: Swimming Pool, 8 Women; Laura Morante: The Son's Room; Edouard Baer: L'Appartement), sumptuous production values and a witty and sophisticated script in the tradition of Shakespeare In Love, director Laurent Tirard's romantic period drama reveals the tantalizing mystery behind the birth of France's greatest dramatist.

[ official website ] [ wiki on Moliere ] [ Moliere at Sony Pictures Classics ]