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#Post#: 107--------------------------------------------------
Jojo Rabbit
By: Sylwia Date: January 16, 2018, 9:56 am
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Jojo Rabbit, by Taika Waititi, production companies: Defender
Films, Unison Films (New Zealand, US)
There's been rumours about Jojo Rabbit since 2011. First it was
only known as a 'WW2 comedy'
According to IndieWire (Dec 19, 2011), it was among the 36
projects that were selected for Rotterdam’s 29th co-production
market CineMart.
The films, selected from 465 entries, were presented to
approximately 850 potential co-financiers during the event,
which took place January 29 – February 1, 2012.
HTML http://www.indiewire.com/2011/12/cinemart-announces-36-projects-including-new-ones-from-kelly-reichardt-and-malcolm-murray-50441/
[quote]The first co-production market of its kind, CineMart
offers filmmakers the opportunity to launch their ideas to the
international film industry and to find the right connections to
get their projects launched. Launching about 35 new projects in
need of additional financing, CineMart also heralds an important
start of the ‘film year’.[/quote]
HTML http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118049592
[quote]Chelsea Winstanley, of New Zealand's Defender Films, came
to Rotterdam looking for German or Austrian co-producers for
Taika Waititi's "Jojo Rabbit," about a 10-year-old boy in
wartime Vienna who aspires to be the world's best Nazi. The
response has been very positive, she said. "We're in the
fortunate position of being able to choose." [/quote]
Jojo Rabbit was also presented at the Berlinale. The
Co-Production Market was between 12-14 February, 2012
FestivalScope on fb,
[quote]Do not miss the opportunity to support Taika Waititi’s
next project JOJO RABBIT which participates also in the
Co-Production Market at Berlin International Film
Festival![/quote]
Taika was very confident he'd make this movie very soon. When I
asked him about it during one of Reddit AMAs 5 years ago, he
replied,
HTML https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/qd7nk/i_am_a_writer_director_and_other_things_too_boy/c3wop9f/
[quote]Yo yo. Jojo has been getting a lot of support and I'm
confident we'll shoot this year sometime. Or after Euro Winter
in '13. [/quote]
Later I've heard that law and regulations about how much time
children can work in Germany are very strict and it was quite an
obstacle, so probably that's one of the reasons why we haven't
seen this film yet.
#Post#: 108--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jojo Rabbit
By: Sylwia Date: January 16, 2018, 10:19 am
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Jojo Rabbit is actually a book adaptation. I haven't read the
book yet.
HTML https://www.christineleunens.com/bio.html
[quote][Christine Leunens]'s second novel, Caging Skies, was
published by Random House New Zealand in 2008 and received
praise in the New Zealand Listener, NZ Women’s Weekly, El País,
La Stampa, Le Nouvel Observateur, Le Monde, etc. Film rights
were sold to Defender Films Ltd and the adaptation, Jojo Rabbit,
is being structured as a New Zealand - German - American
Production to be filmed by Taika Waititi in 2013.[/quote]
HTML https://www.christineleunens.com/caging-skies.html
[quote]Press reviews for Caging Skies
“Christine Leunens’ novel Caging Skies begins in Austria at the
time of its annexation to the German Reich. Narrator Johannes
Betzler is [. . .] a boy who innocently embraces the Nazi dream.
He becomes a member of the Hitler Youth but soon makes a
devastating discovery: his parents are hiding Elsa, a young
Jewish woman, behind a false wall in their house. That parents
became afraid of their children is an electrifying element of
the time. It’s rich ground for fiction. The Betzler family is a
vital, believable group. For the reader, drawn into the subtle
interactions of the Betzler house, Leunens’ clear, elegant prose
and sometimes blackly comic tone, this would be satisfying
enough. There is more to come, however. The madness of the war
has entered Johannes.”
Charlotte Grimshaw in the New Zealand Listener
“The opening lines of Christine Leunens’s novel are more like
poetry than prose. Certainly, it presents a fascinating
psychological study in self-justification. Leunens has an ear
for language and the ability to create a vividly sensual world
for her characters that I found highly satisfying.”
Cushla McKinney in the Otago Daily Times
“Totally compelling.”
Woman’s Weekly (NZ)
“Leunens has created a powerful, imaginative and clever
psychological drama. In dealing with obsessive love and
self-delusion, she views truth and lies at the political and
personal level.”
Nelson Mail (NZ)
“A novel that breaks all the rules. In spite of this, or maybe
because of it, the result is a disturbing and gripping novel
that has haunted me ever since I finished reading it.”
New Zealand Books
“Leunens is a practised hand at quarrying the strange and
powerful.”
David Cohen in the New Zealand Listener
“A fine range of psychological relationships going on through
this big story. It is a major ambition and significant
accomplishment as a book. Leunens does a remarkable job
capturing the nature of the two people and the complicated
relationships among them. An imaginative novel, daring,
singular, adventurous. I’m commending it as much as recommending
it.”
David Hill on Nine to Noon, Radio NZ National
“So vividly written about that appeal Hitler Youth had on these
young vulnerable kids.”
Lynn Freeman on The Arts Programme, Radio NZ National
“The best part of this interesting novel is its ability to show
parts of our history which others dismiss: why suffering can
make some people more sensitive but others more cruel, and how a
war, such an outrage to human dignity, blurs the line between
the victorious and defeated.”
Elle
“A complex story of dark love.”
R. Garzon in El País
“An analysis of the uncontrollable fecundity of a lie, which
gives way to life and concrete experience. The lie doesn’t
mystify or disown reality, but rather becomes the plasma of
one’s desires and the adjusting to one’s necessities. The liar
himself falls into a spiral of self deception until he
consciously cages himself in a virtual universe, whereby the
internal truth and false, fiction and authentic constitute one.”
Ruggero Bianchi in La Stampa
“Rare. Powerful. Keep an eye on this writer.”
RadioRai2
“The writing of Christine Leunens is a real pleasure to read and
boasts beautiful stylistic finds. Caging Skies is a successful
autopsy of the empire of passions. It is impossible to never
recognise oneself in the setbacks of the protagonist.”
Aurélia di Donato in Evene
“One wonders why this beautiful, strange and terrible subject
had never been taken before. A little shorter, it would have
been a masterpiece. But as it is, the book fascinates and leaves
a rare impression of strangeness and power.”
Dominique Fernandez in Le Nouvel Observateur
“It is a beautiful novel, powerful, different, and ambitious. It
explores a less rare from of relationship, it appears, than one
believes: love so total that it locks up, isolates and colonises
the partner until destruction; annihilates the outside world.
This kind of passion naturally implies the lie, the dressing up
of realities and the construction of a wall to protect itself.
It’s without a doubt in the malaise one feels when reading
Caging Skies that one recognises the surprising, surprising
power of the novel. A profound malaise, which lasts well after
the read, sign of a very rare power, that of a truly good book,
which knows how to carry the reader into a story. Christine
Leunens [. . .] always has the immense merit of surprising and
captivating. Caging Skies is one of these books that cannot be
forgotten.”
Jean Soublin in Le Monde [/quote]
#Post#: 109--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jojo Rabbit
By: Sylwia Date: January 16, 2018, 10:22 am
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From the International Film Festival Rotterdam website from
2012. The link is broken now.
HTML http://www.filmfestivalrotterdam.com/professionals/cinemine/cinemart-projects-2012/?projectid=1e899eec-ecd7-47af-a7a2-179f73b1d06b
[quote]Jojo Rabbit
Taika Waititi
New Zealand, USA
Taika Waititi is a writer, director, actor, and visual artist,
who hails from the Raukorekore region on the east coast of New
Zealand. He has been involved in the film industry for several
years, initially as an actor, and now focusing on writing and
directing. He wrote, directed and acted in his first feature
film Eagle vs. Shark which was screened in Rotterdam in 2007.
The same goes for his second feature, Boy (2010), which was
presented at CineMart in 2009, and premiered in competition at
the Sundance Film Festival. Boy later became New Zealand’s
highest grossing local film of all time.
Introduction
Ten year old Jojo Betzler is going to be the best Nazi in the
world. The only thing standing in his way are his mother, a
hand-grenade, and the girl in the attic.
Synopsis
It's 1944 and ten year-old Jojo is an avid member of the
Viennese Hitler Youth. He tries to be the best Nazi he can be
but he's clumsy, timid, and lacks the necessary discipline.
After a rousing pep-talk from his fantasy friend, Adolf Hitler,
Jojo accidentally blows himself up with a hand-grenade, thus
destroying his dreams of being a soldier. He resigns himself to
handing out propaganda around the city and collecting junk for
the war effort. Jojo's world gets turned upside down again when
he discovers his mother has been hiding a young Jewish girl,
Elsa, in their attic. Getting questionable advice from his
fantasy friend Hitler, Jojo starts learning more about this
strange creature, visiting every day in the hope that he can
find out more about Jews and their secrets for his new book
'Yoohoo Jew'. Jojo soon finds himself falling for the girl, and
is now torn between his loyalty to Hitler and his obsession with
this beautiful, but untouchable Jew.
And so begins a relationship of clouded loyalties and twisted
obsessions. Jojo tries to make Elsa’s life more comfortable,
more bearable, whilst watching the great German empire slowly
crumble around him. His loyalties are pushed to breaking point
when he discovers the cruel reality of war, no matter what side
you are on. He is confronted with the disturbing discovery of
his mother, hanged with resistance member in the street. This
shared loss brings Jojo and Elsa together, thus plummeting Jojo
even deeper in love with her. Elsa is now becoming weaker and
caring less and less about living. Food is scarce, the Russians
are coming.
When the Allies liberate Vienna, the war is over and Jojo’s Nazi
dreams are shattered. Jojo can’t face the idea of losing Elsa so
he tells the ultimate lie - Hitler has won the war. She must now
live in the house with him forever.
The lie doesn’t last long. However, after experiencing prejudice
and cruelty at the hands of the new Soviet rulers and realizing
that everyone can become a victim, he understands he cannot keep
Elsa caged forever. He sets her free, and in doing so, releases
himself from Hitler’s grip. He ends his friendship with the
fantasy Hitler, and although we do not know what the future
holds for the children, we know that no matter what, Jojo will
survive and be better off.
Director's statement
I have a fascination with the Second World War and, coming from
a Jewish heritage, have always wanted to explore how the
persecuted survived and who it was that helped them. I am
interested in how the insanity of war brings out and influences
different human behaviours, especially those of children. This
story asks many questions about the loss of innocence and the
things we do to survive within the chaos and hysteria of war.
The themes of adults becoming children and children parenting
adults are common in my work, I find this dynamic interesting
and when you tell a story from a child’s point of view you open
up a world of creative possibilities. This story concentrates
more on children parenting each other, guiding one another
through a chaotic and often surreal landscape where life and
death are at every turn. I’ve always wanted to do a love story
between two enemies, to explore how diametrically opposed minds
can slowly change and become one, while setting this
relationship against the intense and dangerous backdrop of war.
As can be seen in my previous work I am particularly interested
in seeing the world of adults through children’s eyes. I love
how children see the world, how they make sense of the crazy way
that adults fumble their way through life. It is a view often
unclouded and uncomplicated, children tell it like it is while
reinventing the world to suit their own needs, using imagination
and a kind of spontaneous logic. There is no doubt that the
Second World War was a time where common sense went out the
window; war turns society and sanity upon their heads. It is
within this world that Anne Frank once wrote “I live in a crazy
time”. How does a child make sense of the world around them
plunged into war? What do they think of a world where grown-ups
have become lunatics and behave like insane people?
So here we have a story of two children, deprived of their
innocence, forced to enter into a bizarre world where they must
take part in an absurdist play written by grown-ups. And this is
the story I’m excited by; a situation that we understand as
deeply wrong, played out by the innocent. Comedy is life’s great
counterbalance. Without it we would live in a world of drama and
depression. When you can find a balance between comedy and drama
in a story, you recreate life, because life is always a
combination of the two. I know this film can be told in a number
of ways but to see the subject matter through a comic lens
emphasizes dramatic beats, highlights innocence of character,
and subverts the underlying message that war is absurd. I do not
see it as trivializing the holocaust or making light of the
savage brutality of the Nazi regime; this is a tale about a ten
year-old torn between his love of Hitler, and a Jewish girl. If
anything this story promotes love, loyalty and the strange
journeys we make towards finding truth within ourselves. After
reading the novel ('Caging Skies' by Christine Leunens), the
story of Johannes and Elsa stuck in my head and I became
obsessed with making it into a film. I am excited by the subject
matter, characters, and narrative; it is the kind of story that
fits perfectly with my style and sensibility and I see it as a
fantastic development in my career.
Company Profile
Defender Films
Defender Films is a New Zealand based company which has been at
the forefront of Taika Waititi’s career. Defender is the company
behind the Oscar nominated short film Two Cars One Night (2004)
and the international award winning Tama Tu (2005). Defender
also developed the screenplays Eagle vs Shark (2007) and Boy
(2010), the latest was presented at CineMart 2009. Boy went on
to become New Zealand’s highest grossing locally made film of
all time. Most recently Chelsea Winstanley has joined the
company as a delegate producer and along with Taika Waititi they
aim to bring Jojo Rabbit to the world.
Unison Films
Unison Films is a New York based film and distribution company
founded in 2004 by producer Emanuel Michael. Through Unison,
Emanuel Michael has produced over ten feature films, upcoming
releases include Fernando Meirelles 360 (2011), Mike Newell's
Great Expectations (2012) and Yaron Zilberman's A Late Quartet
(2011). Unison Films have co-produced both Taika Waititi's
previous feature films BOY (2010) and Eagle vs. Shark (2007),
which premiered at Sundance, and was selected for several
international film festivals including the IFFR and Berlinale.
Current Status
Second draft of the script available. 30% funding secured from
the New Zealand Film Commission and 35% financing secured from
Unison Films.
Goals at the CineMart
We are looking for co-production partners, distribution and
world sales. Particularly interested in Germany and Austria as
co-production partners.
Previous work
The feature film Boy (2010) by Taika Waititi is available in the
Video Library and on Festival Scope.[/quote]
#Post#: 110--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jojo Rabbit
By: Sylwia Date: January 16, 2018, 10:33 am
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[quote]A dream came true today, covering a script by my idol
@TaikaWaititi instagr.am/p/JQla3Eirif/
— Thespi Guatieri (@thespiguatieri) April 11, 2012
HTML https://imgur.com/6WBHc9f.jpg[/quote]
Jojo Rabbit made The Black List 2012
The Black List is where moviemakers find great scripts to make
and scripts find moviemakers to make them.
The 2012 Black List was just unveiled via the group’s Twitter
account on Dec 17, 2012. It was compiled from the suggestions
over 290 film executives, each of whom contributed the names of
up to ten of their favourite scripts that were written in, or
are uniquely associated with, 2012 and will not have completed
principal photography during this calendar year. It means it’s
the list of the hottest unproduced screenplays of the year.
Taika’s script got 12 votes and made the list!
HTML https://twitter.com/theblcklst/status/280731589321834497
HTML https://worldoftaika.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/blcklist2012-jr.jpg
#Post#: 111--------------------------------------------------
Re: Jojo Rabbit
By: Sylwia Date: January 16, 2018, 10:37 am
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And then we finally hear about poor Jojo again in 2017! Taika
Waititi will finally begin production in May 2018
HTML https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/fox-searchlight-executives-disney-fox-merger
[quote]In May, Taika Waititi, the director of Disney’s
four-quadrant comic-book movie hit Thor: Ragnarok, will begin
production on a much tinier film, a World War II satire about a
10-year-old boy trying to fit in in fascist Germany with the
help of an imaginary friend. Executives at Fox Searchlight, the
specialty division of 21st Century Fox, green-lit Waititi’s
subversive script, Jojo Rabbit, months ago. In the wake of
Disney’s blockbuster new deal for Fox announced on Thursday,
Jojo Rabbit becomes an unintended example of what a Disney-owned
arthouse division might do.
“We believe in Taika as a filmmaker, and we felt like this was a
movie where we can make it on our scale and the right way . . .
He doesn’t have to sand off the edges, doesn’t have to change
the humor,” said Matthew Greenfield, who heads up production for
Fox Searchlight with David Greenbaum. The two executives spoke
with Vanity Fair at their offices in early December, at a time
when the Disney-Fox deal was just a rumor—but one propelling
nervous conversations around their Century City lot. “We hope
that any company will value what we do,” Greenfield said of the
potential deal. “We feel like the filmmakers we work with . . .
[could] then go on to make big movies for the main
division.”[/quote]
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