It is interesting to note that the release date follows just six days after the closing ceremonies of this year's Cannes Film Festival-- the full line-up of which has not yet been revealed. May 31 is also 12 days after the series finale of Game Of Thrones will air on HBO-- providing a smooth transition and ample time for Coster-Waldau and Carice van Houten to shift promotional gears.

We’re not exactly sure what version of "Domino" will be released. Is this the film that De Palma worked on and finished, thus his de facto director’s cut? Or is this the version that the filmmaker washed his hands of, handed to producers, and doesn’t recognize as something he is proud of?

While it is true that De Palma has previously said, "Domino is not my project, I did not write the script," all De Palma means by that is that Domino falls into the same category in his filmography as Scarface, The Untouchables, and The Black Dahlia, among several others-- movies in which he is interpreting someone else's voice on the page with his visual acumen. The quotes Barfield uses are from interviews De Palma did with press in France last June. Last June, I posted about several interviews from France, which clear up the whole non-question about the cut of the film:

June 2, 2018 - Brian De Palma has been asked about Domino several times over the past few days in Paris, and usually ends with some variation of "I have no idea when this movie will be released," such as, "I'll find out when I read it in the papers like everybody else," which is kind of a way of saying it's out of his hands now. In more than one interview, including the one with AFP, he mentioned that filming on Domino was completed just last week:

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The director did not abandon the cinema. He is currently working on a new feature film, Domino. "I do not know yet when the film will come out, we had a lot of problems with the financing", laments Brian De Palma. But finally, after many starts and stops, "the last stroke of the crank took place last week".

In the interview with Le Parisien's Catherine Balle, De Palma said that while the making of Domino was an awful experience, the film itself is good. "It was a horrible experience," De Palma said. "The film was underfunded, it was far behind, the producer did not stop lying to us and did not pay some of my crew. I don't know at all if this feature will be released." Yet when asked if he likes the movie, De Palma replies, "Yes, it is good." Susan Lehman then adds, "It's very good."

Speaking of which, De Palma and Lehman were at the Fnac des Ternes bookstore yesterday, and you can watch the interview from that on YouTube. At one point, De Palma is asked about Domino, and responds, "Oh boy... a very difficult situation. A film that was underfinanced. I was in many hotel rooms waiting for the money so that we could continue shooting. I was in many fabulous cities, waiting in hotel rooms. I was here a hundred days in Europe, and shot thirty. However, somehow we managed to make a movie out of this completely chaotic production situation, and hopefully you'll be seeing it in your local cinemas sometime in the future."

"For the first time in Italy," states the article, "the entire world of the film industry is united in a compact way to team up and relaunch cinema as a form of cultural entertainment throughout the year. Distribution companies will guarantee the programming of spectacular and quality cinema from January to December, without interruption, with theaters open twelve months a year. The institutions will make a contribution to supporting the initiative."

While Moviement began this past Christmas season (2018) and will run all through the year, the summer season offers a great marketing opportunity for the project. "The distributors, from the majors to the independents, all the exhibitors, from the art rooms to the multiplexes, the producers, the institutions and the talents, move together for the first time and are coordinated," the article states. "The first objective is to create the summer market starting in 2019 with a three-year plan that aligns Italy with the rest of the world with a cinema active 12 months a year."

While the article adds that the list of summer films included will be enhanced once the entire upcoming Cannes line-up is announced, it seems there may still be an opportunity for Domino to have its world premiere at Cannes, either in or out of competition... sounds crazy, perhaps, after all the speculation a year ago, but it remains, for the moment, a film unseen.

-Cristian, why did you choose acting?
-When I was a kid, I always locked myself in the room and, for hours, imitated the actors in the movies. I didn't know why, but I enjoyed it very much. Then, when I took my first acting class, I felt it was what I wanted to dedicate my whole life to.

-What have been your first jobs as an actor?
-The first job opportunity was in the series 'The Ministry of Time'. Then I shot two films, 'Domino', the latest film by Brian De Palma, and 'Sin ti', by the Alenda brothers, with Javier Rey and María León. And, last year, I started working in Mexico on the 'Luis Miguel' series of Netflix. And very happy.

- How did it feel working with Brian De Palma?
-It was the best experience of my life. I came across a casting that I did not expect at all. It was an incredible shoot and very special days for me. The action scene I had to do was complicated. We needed a specialist. When we finished, Brian De Palma told us that he was very happy with how the scene turned out, given that he was very worried about the little time he had. It was night and there were a lot of extras, not to mention the difficulty involved. So we had to solve it with few takes. And we got it. Therefore, the director congratulated us.

Secci talks enthusiastically to Atzeni about working on this scene: "I'm still in disbelief I got this role, albeit small. I was already happy to make the appearance, let alone now! It was a very important experience. I had never filmed a scene until then, without having tried it before and for a long time. The test, as mentioned, went very well, then the final part was shot. I found myself at ease in a set so big for me, with experienced and famous actors. Everything has been encouraging and enlightening: really anything can happen. I had fun and felt enriched."

(Thanks to Patrick!)

You have not told us where this pessimistic view of politics comes from.

I was in my twenties during the 1960s, the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. These last two were killed in 1968 and, with our stagnation in Vietnam, I think that my idealism disappeared forever at that time. Kennedy's death fascinates me, I had to read 27 different books behind the scenes of his murder and it always fascinated me. Since Vietnam, I have never believed in the justifications of our elected for these wars led by America and based on lies. When I do Casualties Of War or Redacted, they are metaphors about how we violate those countries where we go to war. I watch on TV these wars, the thousands of refugees they provoke and I feel helpless to stop that, like the heroes of my films. And I am angry to see that this is where my tax dollars go to.

But ... are not the wars against Al Qaeda then the Islamic State inevitable since they themselves are declaring war on us?

No, but ... pfff ... how was the Islamic State born? How long have we been [making a mess] in the Middle East?

Are you going to discuss this topic in your next movie Domino?

Domino is not my project, I did not write the script. This is the story of revenge of a cop duo against terrorists who killed another cop. But the whole political aspect will be very little exploited, the film was more for me a new opportunity to explore a visual narrative. In the fim, terrorists are obsessed with the idea that their actions are instantly visible live on the Internet or on TV.

Domino, could it be to Brian De Palma what Frenzy was to Hitchcock, that of the unexpected big comeback?

(laughs!) Only in the sense that, like Hitchcock on Frenzy, I had all the trouble in the world to finance this film. I have never had such a horrible experience, a large part of the team was not paid by the Danish producers, the film is finished and ready to go out, but I have no idea of ​​its future, it's in the hands of the producers. This was my first experience in Denmark and most likely my last.

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The director did not abandon the cinema. He is currently working on a new feature film, Domino. "I do not know yet when the film will come out, we had a lot of problems with the financing", laments Brian De Palma. But finally, after many starts and stops, "the last stroke of the crank took place last week".

Speaking of which, De Palma and Lehman were at the Fnac des Ternes bookstore yesterday, and Nowayfarer Guitarist posted five videos from the event and discussion on YouTube. In part 5, De Palma is asked about Domino, and responds, "Oh boy... a very difficult situation. A film that was underfinanced. I was in many hotel rooms waiting for the money so that we could continue shooting. I was in many fabulous cities, waiting in hotel rooms. I was here a hundred days in Europe, and shot thirty. However, somehow we managed to make a movie out of this completely chaotic production situation, and hopefully you'll be seeing it in your local cinemas sometime in the future."