Deli of Champions

CRUEL SUMMER: The Reviews Are In…

After a grueling few months, some chilling in the desert, generally not sleeping, and helping build a pyramid on the french riviera, CRUEL SUMMER debuted in Cannes on 5/23 (my Cannes debut as a screenwriter as well)

The response? Let’s just say glowing is a nice way of putting it ;)

MTV:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1685715/kanye-west-cruel-summer-premiere.jhtml

“Kanye West is nothing if not ambitious. “Cruel Summer,” which had its premiere during a splashy party Wednesday night during the Cannes Film Festival…”Cruel Summer” plays like an extended music video, in a similar way to ‘Ye’s 2010 film for “Runaway,” with sparse dialogue and striking slow-motion images set to a rocking soundtrack.”

ROLLING STONE:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kanye-west-debuts-short-film-cruel-summer-at-cannes-20120524

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/25/showbiz/movies/kanye-west-film-cannes-rs/index.html

“Reactions to the music have been overwhelmingly positive, with MTV calling it “rocking” and GQ senior editor Logan Hill tweeting from the premiere that the music “was the best part – big complex production, huge beats.” The Hollywood Reporter noted multiple instances of chair-dancing in the audience.”

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kanye-west-kim-kardashian-cannes-jay-z-premiere-328795

“Kanye West Debuts Groundbreaking Film…It turns out Kanye West didn’t just want to make a short film — he wants to completely change the way movies are watched…The film is heavy on the use of music and sound, the seats often shaking from the bass. Several times during the under-30-minute clip, the audience would sway to the beat of the songs, including those from the upcoming debut album from his G.O.O.D. Music label.”

NEW YORK MAGAZINE:

http://www.vulture.com/2012/05/kanye-west-cruel-summer-cannes-2012.html?mid=twitter_vulture

“When Kanye does a movie, you’d best believe he goes big…The seat-rattling bass thumps were more powerful than anything Michael Bay could have produced…if people want to give Kanye money to do something like this, let them. He’s got a great visual sense. Particular highlights were the gorgeous close-ups of a bird of prey, stretching over two screens as it took off, and one of horses’ feet galloping along the sand, played on all five eye-level screens at once. The movie is all Kanye’s vision…”

LA TIMES:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2012/05/kanye-west-cannes-movie-theaters-cruel-summer.html?track=icymi

“Kanye West, auteur? For years, Hollywood actors would get under the skin of musicians by cutting an album between movie shoots. Now Kanye West is returning the favor. On Wednesday night at a swanky party at the Cannes Film festival, the rapper debuted the movie, which plays somewhere between a narrative featurette and an extended music video…with new music from West and a thumping surround-sound quality that makes a 3-D Michael Bay effort feel like an iPad short.”

GQ:

http://www.gq.com/entertainment/tv/blogs/the-stream/2012/05/kanye-big-sean-kid-cudi-and-others-on-kanyes-7-screen-cannes-film.html#ixzz1vnugXpjd

“Kanye West’s 25-minute film “Cruel Summer” wasn’t a part of the official selection of the festival, but it made a lot of noise on Wednesday night in the south of France…The film felt like a mash-up of high-gloss Doug Aitken-style video installations, concert video backing panels, and narrative, big-budget music-videos.”

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1685780/kanye-west-cruel-summer-reviews-cannes.jhtml

“Critics agree the film’s seven-screen display is a unique experience that hooks audiences.”

SPIN:

http://www.spin.com/#articles/kanye-west-unveils-new-music-cruel-summer-cannes-debut

“Kanye West premiered Cruel Summer, a seven-screen art film inspired by the rapper’s upcoming G.O.O.D. Music label compilation of the same name, yesterday at the Cannes Film Festival in France. Much of what has come out about the debut involves the lavish setting and the celebrities in attendance… Beneath all the the glitz, glamor, and spectacle, though, multiple reports confirm the presence of something arguably most exciting of all: new music.”

HUFFINGTON POST:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/23/cruel-summer-kanye-west_n_1541190.html

“Kanye West Debuts Ambitious Film At Cannes…Kanye West has eighteen Grammys, but on Wednesday night in Cannes, the rapper-designer-director placed his bets on seven screens.”

USA TODAY:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/livefrom/post/2012/05/kim-kardashian-supports-kanye-west-at-his-movie-premiere/1

“Kayne West premiered his seven-screen movie experience Cruel Summer during the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday night…Kardashian was one of the first to stand and give her boyfriend a standing ovation at the end of the half-hour movie experience.”

SCREEN DAILY:

http://www.screendaily.com/home/blogs/kanye-west-brings-his-visionary-cruel-summer-to-cannes/5042652.article?blocktitle=Diary-Blog&contentID=2048

“I thought there was a lot to admire – the ambitious scale of it, the immersive screens, the seat-shakingly-loud music, and some very striking imagery…There were car chases (very cool on the seven screens), falcons flying, horses riding through the desert and music coming to life in colours. Kanye spoke charmingly before and after the screening about some of his inspirations…The immersive seven-screen concept worked really well for me, it does make you think that more films could be made like this, and as Kanye said, it could keep audiences coming back for more views to concentrate on a screen they missed on first viewings. Sounds a potentially good monetary move for the film world as well as a creative one.”

GRANTLAND:

http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/50117/kanye-wests-cannes-movie-debuts-camels-lamborghinis-hawks-horses-mummy-kid-cudi

“McQueen. Tarsem. Cirque du Soleil. Disney. Kanye West. Get into it…The big takeaway here for the average Kanye fan is that there’s new music involved…as a vocal, unashamed fan of ‘Ye’s “Runaway” movie, I actually can’t wait to see this, Kid Cudi-leading-blind-girl-around-by-strings and everything. Will it be released online? In movie theaters? Or will there be a traveling seven-screen beach pyramid that you and I can one day immerse ourselves in? Dare to dream. Dare to dream.”