Guy Maddin’s “Gossip” premieres in Winnipeg

From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York, the new film by a trio of Manitoba directors graced international film festivals with great pomp and circumstance.

Now, in the collaborators’ homeland, the premiere of the dark comedy “Gossip” directed by Guy Maddin, Galen Johnson and Evan Johnson will take place.

“It’s just too good to be true,” Maddin said of the film’s huge success in an interview with CTV Morning Live Winnipeg on Tuesday.

It stars Oscar winners Cate Blanchett and Alicia Vikander, along with Ontario’s Roy Dupuis. “Rumors” follows the seven world leaders of the world’s richest democracies attending the annual G7 summit. Disaster strikes when they get lost in the forest, trying to make a statement on a global crisis, in the face of growing danger.

The film had its first screening Wednesday in Winnipeg before a wider release later this month.

While this is Maddin’s first collaboration with Blanchett, she shared her adoration for the director in a viral moment in 2022. The actress visited the Criterion Collection, a video distribution company that restores classic and contemporary films. In the popular web series, directors and actors shop floor-to-ceiling stacks of the company’s releases at the Criterion Closet, pulling out their favorite films and taking them home.

While sifting through stacks of DVDs with director Todd Field, Blanchett pulled out a copy of Maddin’s “My Winnipeg,” praising it.

Maddin was stunned by the mention.

“I thought, ‘Do you love the Maddin guy?’ I didn’t know she had heard of Guy Madidna,” recalls the director.

Denis Menochet (from left), Rolando Ravello, Cate Blanchett, director Evan Johnson, director Guy Maddin and director Galen Johnson pose for photographers after arriving at the premiere of the film “Gossip” at the 77th Cannes International Film Festival, southern France, Saturday, 18 May 2024 (Photo: Daniel Cole/Invision/AP)

Blanchett and Maddin eventually teamed up through Ari Aster, the film phenom behind “Midsommar” and “Legacy,” who produced “Gossip.”

As Blanchett climbed aboard, the doors began to open.

“There was a huge push for casting. We just got everyone, number one on all our wish lists and we have a dream cast.”

The film is the latest in a series of collaborations between Maddin and the Pinawa-born Johnson brothers.

The collaboration began in the classrooms of the University of Manitoba. Evan was the top student in Maddin’s evening classes. The film school student would often stay after class to get Maddin’s ear.

Directors Guy Maddin (from left), Galen Johnson and Evan Johnson pose for photographers during a photo shoot for “Gossip” during the 77th Cannes International Film Festival, southern France, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (Photo by Daniel Cole /Inwizja /AP)

He then became Maddin’s assistant, doing dry cleaning and equipment installation.

Currently, he and his brother Galen co-direct several projects with Maddin, and the number of them continues to grow.

“They are really smart guys with great taste. Our Venn diagrams are really interesting – there’s a lot of overlap, but there’s a lot of complementary stuff going on,” he said.

“We surprise each other and make each other laugh a lot, which is quite important.”

“Rumours” premieres in Canada on October 18.

– With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagacé