French filmmaker Olivier Assayas is still riding high off the reception to his latest work, “Clouds Of Sils Maria." In February, the film's star, Kristen Stewart, became the first American actress to win France’s Cesar Award for her performance. "Clouds Of Sils Maria" seemed to confuse some critics at Cannes last year, but almost ironically, it’s been American critics who have been most receptive to this stageplay-like, mirror-reflecting film about time, aging, and identity. It's a layered, intimate movie, and had things gone according to plan, last fall, Assayas would've changed gears to work on a completely different kind of project.
The director was ready to mount his first American-financed film, the crime story “Idol’s Eye” starring Robert Pattinson, Robert De Niro, and Rachel Weisz, when financiers Benaroya Pictures pulled out at the last minute. The reasons that the film shut down at the time were somewhat cryptic, but obviously...
