Weekly Roundup – Hellman on wheels, the subtle art of endings, and Annette announces its arrival

Your weekly one-stop-shop for film news, interviews, articles, and videos from the week that was.

The film world lost another legend this week as Monte Hellman, maverick director of cult films Two-Lane Blacktop and The Shooting, passed away at the age of 91. Writing for The New York Times, William Grimes reflects on Hellman’s life and revisits how Blacktop truly represented a shot across the establishment’s bow when it was released 50 years ago.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times has asked several filmmakers to share their thoughts on the significance of the iconic and endangered ArcLight Hollywood and the need for its preservation. In the words of Sean Baker (who knows a thing or two about the cinematic experience), “Over the years, ArcLight Hollywood has been near and dear to my cinephile heart. The ArcLight has been a place of comfort, support and more. I have seen countless films there, had two of my features play there and even discovered a lead actor in my next feature there. Not only has the ArcLight Hollywood been my favorite cinema to see new releases, it has been one of the reasons I have continued to live in Los Angeles — Yep, it’s that deep.”

In the lead up to a certain awards show this Sunday, Vulture’s Dan Reilly talks to six screenwriters about the art of bringing a story to a close. As Sofia Coppola shares of her experiences with On the Rocks, “Endings are tricky. I usually have an idea of the starting point and where it’s going, but I don’t really find the ending until I get there, as I write it… My dad always talked about act structure. In all my scripts, there’s a loose three-act structure: ‘In the first act, the characters go up the tree. The second act, you throw rocks at them, and in the third act, they come down from the tree.’ That’s my basic template.”

Continuing to draw up plans for their summer edition, Cannes has announced Leos Carax’s Annette as their opener. After seeing projects with Jacques Tati and Tim Burton never reach fruition, Sparks have finally realized their ambition of scoring a big screen musical. And the trailer suggests that we’re in for quite the spectacle.