Editor of FILMdetail
Professor Eric Faden of Bucknell University has made a clever mashup of Disney movies to make a few points about copyright:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo[/youtube]
> Find out more about copyright at Wikipedia
> Link to the video at Stanford law school
(Link via Boing Boing)
This is the latest Transformers trailer, which shows a lot more action and transformations.
It opens in the US on July 4th and in the UK on July 27th.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjbjyxdQfBQ[/youtube]
For those of you unfamiliar, the Cannes Film Festival is the biggest and most important in the world.
Although Toronto, Berlin, Venice and Sundance are all important in their own right, nothing can quite match Cannes for the glamour, deals and networking.
It is estimated that between three to four thousand journalists attend every year, which probably makes it the most covered annual event in the world (the Olympics gets more, but that is every four years).
Although its roots remain in the film competition that culminates in a big awards ceremony, it has grown over the years into the most important marketplace for the film industry.
Filmmakers, distributors, sales agents and other people from all over the world meet up here every year to show their films, cut deals and make contacts for future projects.
So, if you are not familiar with the festival here is a guide to the history and importance of the festival.
HISTORY
The first ever Cannes Film Festival started in September 1939, but World War II and the not inconsiderable business of Nazis invading France got in the way of things.
It was only years later during the 1950s that it revived itself and gradually started to become what it is today. In 1955, the Palme d’Or was introduced as a prize and was won by the US drama Marty.
Coincidentally, that film also won the Best Picture Oscar and to date it is the only time that a film has won both – perhaps a sign of just how different tastes still can be on each side of the Atlantic.
With the scenic backdrop of the Cote d’Azur in late May and stars like Brigitte Bardot and Grace Kelly making celebrated appearances, the festival soon became established as the most high profile in the world.
THE COMPETITION
Despite the glitz, glamour and business surrounding it, the core of the actual film festival is about films from around the world getting screened and competing for recognition from an international jury.
There are several sections to this side of the Festival: In Competition, Out of Competition, Un Certain Regard, Cinefondation,Critics’ Week and Directors’ Fortnight. The most important strand of these are the films screening In Competition as they are all up for the coveted Palme d’Or prize.
Usually around 20 films are entered each year each year and victory can significantly boost the profile of a film and guarantee it distribution around the world.
Sometimes it can help launch a career such as Steven Soderbergh (who won in 1989 for Sex, Lies and Videotape) or Quentin Tarantino (who upset the odds in 1994 by winning for Pulp Fiction).
It might also give exposure to smaller and more artistic fare like L’Enfant, which scooped the prize in 2005 for the Belgian film making pair, the Dardenne Brothers.
At other times it can propel a film into a global news story, which was the case in 2004, when Michael Moore’s documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, which won and went on to unlikely success at the global box office.
Whilst the films in the official competition get the red carpet treatment and a crack at the Palme d’Or, many other films come to the festival to screen out of competition.
They are here essentially for the exposure the festival provides. Some films will be looking for a distributor in a certain territory, some big Hollywood style films will be here to use Cannes as a launch pad for their European release, whilst others are just here hoping to make waves at such a huge festival.
In recent years huge blockbusters like Star Wars Episode III and The Da Vinci Code have had high profile ‘out of competition’ screenings. Reaction has been decidedly mixed as true cineastes feel the Festival proper gets tainted by such overtly commercial films.
However, the festival organisers (though wary of being mere stooges to Hollywood) know that the presence of big stars helps keep the status of Cannes in the news and could even help shine a light on the more uncommercial films screening here.
The other strands of the festival include Un Certain Regard which was set up in the late 70s to showcase more world cinema and to absorb smaller aspects of the festival. Although there are no prizes it is still a prominent strand to showcase films.
The french have a great tradition of film criticism with publications like Cahiers Du Cinema and Critics’ Week was founded way back in 1962. Run by the Union of French Film Critics, films in this section compete for the Grand Prix and it has often given new filmmakers their first taste of the limelight.
Directors’ Fortnight was established in 1968 after the famous strikes all over France that year shut down the festival. Features and shorts are shown together and it can often be the place to find a hidden gem away from the glare of the main competition.
Cinefondation came in to being in 1998 as a program to help young film makers. It shows several films selected by from all around the world and has its own jury which select three awards for the best films.
THE BUSINESS
Gradually the exposure of the film festival led to the growth of the business side of Cannes. Almost anyone of note in the film world comes to town to network and do deals of various shapes and sizes.
The Marche du Film (or “The Film Market“) is the largest event of its kind in the world and it is where films and projects in development are pitched, bought and sold. For distributors and sales agents from around the world it is a vital place to meet as key rights in different territories are traded.
Although differing levels of business is done at other film festivals around the world, Cannes is unique in terms of its scale and importance.
The Marche is based next to the Palais du Festivals (the central venue where films are screened) and market screenings are held in smaller rooms within the same complex that also shows the bigger films in competition.
The business action also spreads out all over town as meetings are held on boats in The Old Port, hotels like The Grand (where many film companies book entire suites throughout the festival) and The International Village which is a series of small white pavilions situated on the beach near the Palais and stretches along the seafront of Cannes.
Many countries from all over the world have their small bases here. Delegates attend seminars, interviews and meetings during the day and later on they often hold drinks and receptions to promote various aspects of their country’s film industry.
I’ll be posting more photos and interviews from the festival but in the meantime check out the links below to find out more.
> Official site for the Cannes Film Festival
> Wikipedia entry for this year’s Cannes Film Festival
> A Beginner’s Guide to Surviving Cannes
> IMDb entry for The Cannes Film Festival
> Tales of Cannes from previous years
Sicko screened earlier today at the Cannes film festival.
The new documentary by Michael Moore explores the US health care system and screens at the festival 3 years after he won the Palme D’or with Fahrenheit 9/11.
Mike Collett-White of Reuters reports from Cannes:
Director Michael Moore says the U.S. health care system is driven by greed in his new documentary “SiCKO”, and asks of Americans in general, “Where is our soul?”
He also said he could go to jail for taking a group of volunteers suffering ill health after helping in the September 11, 2001 rescue efforts on an unauthorised trip to Cuba, where they received exemplary treatment at virtually no cost.
The controversial film maker is back in Cannes, where he won the film festival’s highest honour in 2004 with his anti-Bush polemic “Fahrenheit 9/11”.
In “SiCKO” he turns his attention to health, asking why 50 million Americans, 9 million of them children, live without cover, while those that are insured are often driven to poverty by spiralling costs or wrongly refused treatment at all.
But the movie, which has taken Cannes by storm, goes further by portraying a country where the government is more interested in personal profit and protecting big business than caring for its citizens, many of whom cannot afford health insurance.
Stephen Robb of BBC News quotes Moore about his Cuba trip:
“The point was not to go to Cuba, it was to go to American soil, to Guantanamo Bay, to take the 9/11 rescue workers there to receive the same healthcare that they are giving the al-Qaeda detainees. No film-maker should ever have to be talking about jail or fines or where he or she can travel.”
Moore told a Cannes press conference: “I know a lot of you have written: ‘How dumb are they to give us all this publicity?’ But I am the one who is personally being investigated, and I am the one who is personally liable for potential fines or jail so I don’t take it lightly.”
Slashfilm has a rundown of the early critical reaction (which seems mostly positive) and also has a very interesting story about Moore (apparently) paying the medical bills of one of his fiercest critics. (Moore even left a voicemail for him).
> Sicko at the IMDb
> BBC News on Sicko opening at Cannes
> Moorewatch on Sicko
> Slashfilm on the early reactions
Gregg Goldstein of The Hollywood Reporter says that Robert De Niro and Al Pacino will team up again for the first time since Heat in 1995.
But unlike that film they will share a lot of screen time together:
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are teaming to play New York police investigators hunting a serial killer in Jon Avnet’s $60 million thriller “Righteous Kill” for Avi Lerner’s Millennium Films and Emmett/Furla Films.
The independently financed feature written by Russell Gewirtz (“Inside Man,” the upcoming “Labyrinth”) unites the longtime friends on screen for some 90% of the film — unlike their one shared scene in Michael Mann’s “Heat” and no shared scenes in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather Part II.”
“You see those two icons onscreen together for virtually the whole film,” Lerner said at his Festival de Cannes offices, “(something) never seen before in the history of cinema. It’s one of the hardest deals we’ve ever done to put these two actors together.”
Lerner and Randall Emmett closed negotiations on the CAA-packaged project late Thursday morning during the festival.
Righteous Kill starts shooting in Connecticut on August 6th.
In the meantime check out their scene in Heat:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYSzx_zy-98[/youtube]
Images © Copyright 1995 – Warner Bros
At the beginning of every episode of The Simpsons there is a couch gag as the family rush to sit in front of the TV.
Check out the edited videos below to see how they have evolved over the years.
From Seasons 1 to 5:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqlY86nJoUs[/youtube]
From Seasons 6-10:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC2wMyttvoY[/youtube]
From Seasons 11-16:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qv7TffEe0Q[/youtube]
Stephen Robb of BBC News is reporting good things about Control, a new film about former Joy Division singer Ian Curtis.
It is the directorial debut of Anton Corbijn and seems to have gone down well after opening the Director’s Fortnight strand of the Cannes Film Festival:
A British film about the life and death of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, starring a first-time actor, has earned a rapturous reception in Cannes. Unknown Sam Riley said he was “working in a warehouse in Leeds folding shirts” when he was cast to star in Control.
Debut film director Anton Corbijn said the newcomer had brought “an innocence and freshness that I was hoping for but never thought I would find”. This is a very hard role for anybody to play, because it is very hard to fit in somebody’s shoes who has become an icon in many people’s eyes,” said the Dutch director.
“I can’t think of the movie without Sam, to be very honest – I think he gave everything to that role. It was his first film, it was my first film – in a way we had nothing to lose.”
Control, which also stars Samantha Morton as Curtis’s wife, follows the singer’s rise with Joy Division until his suicide in 1980, aged 23.
Find out more about Control at the following links:
> Official site for Control
> BBC News article on Control at Cannes
> Find out more about Ian Curtis at Wikipedia
Andrew Pulver of The Guardian has a short profile piece on David Fincher in today’s edition about Zodiac at Cannes:
“I never really thought about film festivals before,” he says. “I don’t think of myself as making festival pictures. I was shocked when they said they wanted the movie for competition. I thought it was a little too … lurid.”
Fincher says he initially offered Zodiac, his account of the serial killer who terrorised northern California in the 1960s and 70s, to Cannes for an out-of-competition screening, thinking that’s where they normally dump product they sneer at but want the stars to decorate the red carpet. But no: with his sixth feature film, Fincher was in. “I don’t know. It’s an odd choice. It doesn’t seem arty enough.”
Zodiac may or may not be arty, but it’s certainly artful. Fincher’s source material was a book written in the mid-1970s by Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist on the San Francisco Chronicle, the newspaper to which the Zodiac sent a number of his mocking, threatening letters. Mindful of his past form – in the shape of his second feature Seven, one of the best-known serial-killer thrillers of the 1990s – Fincher went out of his way to establish clear water between that undeniably lurid carve-em-up and his far more sober true-crime project.
“I knew people would think: why would you make another fucking serial killer movie? There’s plenty of reasons not to. When I sent it out, I just said, read this, tell me what you think. It’s not that Seven thing. We already did that.”
Read the rest of the interview here.
Zodiac (15)
Director David Fincher finally returns after a 5 year absence with this terrific police procedural drama about the Zodiac killings that plagued San Francisco in the late 1960s.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist on the San Francisco Chronicle, which was the newspaper a serial killer sent cryptic cyphers based on the Zodiac.
Robert Downey Jnr plays the paper’s reporter assigned to the case and Mark Ruffalo is the detective who has to solve it. Ambitious and meticulously filmed it is one of the best films to come out this year.
> Official website for Zodiac
> Find out showtimes for Zodiac via Google Movies
> Read other reviews of Zodiac at Metacritic
Black Snake Moan (18)
A strange drama about a nymphomaniac (Christina Ricci) in a Southern town who is heartbroken when her soldier boyfriend (Justin Timberlake) goes off on a tour of duty.
After sleeping around she ends up beaten up by the side of a road where a religious divorced man (Samuel L Jackson) takes her in. The only catch is that he chains her to the radiator in order to cure her of her wild sexual impulses.
Directed by Craig Brewer (who was behind last year’s Hustle and Flow) this is a strange but engaging drama. It features Jackson’s best role in quite some time with a character who is more rounded than you might think and Ricci manages to convey a heart beneath her crazy exterior.
> Official website for Black Snake Moan
> Read more reviews at Metacritic
> Get local showtimes in you local area via Google Movies
Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten (15)
An illuminating and hugely engaging documentary about the late Clash frontman Joe Strummer. Directed by Julien Temple (who was also behind the excellent 2001 Sex Pistols documentary The Filth and the Fury) it examines his early life, his time in the seminal rock band and his later ‘wilderness’ years.
Many friends and luminaries such as Mick Jones, Bono, John Cusack and Jim Jarmusch are interviewed (usually around a campfire). A heartfelt and moving portrait, it is essential viewing for music fans. For those who aren’t, it is still well worth a look.
> Official website for Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten
> Get local showtimes via Google Movies
Listen to The Cinema Review podcast here:
[audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2007-05-18-94570.mp3]> Subscribe to our Review Podcast via iTunes
> Download this podcast as an MP3 file (just right click, save as and rename the file)
Jake Gyllenhaal returns to UK screens this week in Zodiac, the terrific new drama directed by David Fincher, which is about the Zodiac killings that took place in San Francisco in the late 1960s.
Jake plays Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist on the San Francisco Chronicle who becomes obsessed with the case and tries to solve the puzzles and cyphers the serial killer uses to taunt the police with.
I spoke to him recently about his role and what it was like working with Fincher.
You can listen to the interview here: [audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2007-05-17-95193.mp3]
> Subscribe to the Interview Podcast via iTunes
> Download the interview as an MP3 file (just right click, save as and rename the file)
> Find showtimes for Zodiac at your loacl cinema via Google Movies
> Find out more about the real life Zodiac killings at Wikipedia
> IMDb entry for Zodiac
[Image courtesy of Warner Bros.]
This CNN video of Christopher Hitchens on the death of Jerry Falwell is currently No.2 on the Viral Video Chart:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkAPaEMwyKU[/youtube]
> Find out more about Jerry Falwell at Wikipedia
> Christopher Hitchens writes more about Falwell in his latest at Slate column
> Read more about the Hustler Magazine vs Falwell case that appeared in The People vs Larry Flynt
The new Michael Moore documentary Sicko premieres at Cannes this week and it has already been making waves.
It deals with the US healthcare system and below is a clip from a ABC News item from Channel 7 in New York:
[youtube]TugwEOxdG8g[/youtube]
It opens in the US on June 29th and probably in the UK soon after
> Michael Moore’s official site
> Sicko at the IMDb
> Anne Thompson of Variety interviews Moore about the film
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Mischa Barton is the latest star to join the cast of British comedy St Trinians.
This is from the official press release:
Ealing Studios today announced that Mischa Barton, star of acclaimed US TV drama ‘The OC’, has been confirmed to appear alongside International pop stars Girls Aloud (school band) and the all star cast of ST TRINIAN’S.
The 21 year old British actress plays JJ French and joins well known names such as Rupert Everett (Shrek, My Best Friend’s Wedding), Colin Firth (Nanny McPhee, Bridget Jones’ Diary), Lena Headey (300), Caterina Murino (Casino Royale) Stephen Fry (V for Vendetta, Stormbreaker), Jodie Whittaker (Venus), Celia Imrie (Bridget Jones’ Diary, Calendar Girls), Anna Chancellor (Four Weddings and a Funeral), comedian Russell Brand, Toby Jones (Infamous, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) and Internationally renowned model Lily Cole on the set of the eagerly anticipated new British comedy.
The film which commenced principal photography on March 25 on location in and around London also stars a host of rising talent playing the new breed of St Trinian’s girls. These include fresh out of RADA new face Gemma Arterton, Talulah Riley (Pride And Prejudice), Tamsin Egerton (Keeping Mum), Amara Karan (soon to be seen in the upcoming The Darjeeling Limited), Lucy Punch (Hot Fuzz, Being Julia) singer Paloma Faith and Antonia Bernath.
ST TRINIAN’S is produced and directed by Oliver Parker (The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband) and Barnaby Thompson (Wayne’s World 1 & 2, Spiceworld, An Ideal Husband) and is written by Piers Ashworth and Nick Moorcroft.
The film is scheduled for UK release on Friday 21st December.
> St Trinian’s IMDb Entry
> The Mischa Barton Experience – Extensive Fansite
> Find out more about the history of St Trinian’s at Wikipedia
The Cannes Film Festival kicks off today and here is a preview of what’s happening in the South of France.
It is the 60th Festival and there will be films from the likes of Wong Kar-Wai, Michael Moore, The Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, Anton Corbjin and Michael Winterbottom, amongst others.
We’ll be out at the festvial in the next few days so keep a look out for regular updates.
Listen to the preview podcast here:
[audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2007-05-16-26574.mp3]> Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes
> Download it as an MP3 file
> A beginners guide to the Cannes Film Festival
James McAvoy is one of the most promising actors currently working in the UK today and he stars in The Last King of Scotland which is out on DVD this week.
I spoke with him back in January when the film came out at UK cinemas and we talked about his role, acting alongside Forest Whitaker and the deeper themes of the film.
Listen to the interview here:
[audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2007-05-15-74137.mp3]> Subscribe to the Interview Podcast via iTunes
> Download the interview as an MP3 file (just right click, save as and rename the file)
> Buy The Last King of Scotland on DVD from Amazon UK
> James McAvoy at the IMDb
Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight
The Pursuit of Happyness is out this week on DVD and tells the remarkable true life tale of Chris Gardner.
He was a salesman in San Francisco during the early 80s and battled through numerous personal and financial hardships as he tried to become a stockbroker.
Will Smith was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Gardner in the lead role and was instrumental in hiring Italian director Gabriele Muccino.
I spoke with Gabriele about the film around its UK release in January and you can listen to the interview here:
[audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2007-05-15-72834.mp3]> Subscribe to the Interview Podcast via iTunes
> Download the interview as an MP3 file (just right click, save as and rename the file)
> Buy The Pursuit of Happyness on DVD from Amazon UK
Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures
On the DVD Review this week we examine the following releases:
The Last King of Scotland – Forest Whitaker stars as 70s Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in this adaptation of the Giles Foden novel about a young Scottish doctor (James McAvoy) who befriends him.
The Pursuit of Happyness – Will Smith plays Chris Gardner, a single father who has to cope with living on the poverty line in early 80s San Francisco whilst he tries to become a stockbroker.
My So Called Life – The mid-90s TV show about the trials and tribulations of teenage life starring Claire Danes finally gets released in the UK as a 5 disc set.
Deja Vu – A daft but enjoyable thriller from director Tony Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer see Denzel Washington try to solve a crime in New Orleans two days after it actually happened.
Little Children – One of the best films of last year sees Kate Winslet on great form as a frustrated suburban housewife who has an affair with a neighbour (Patrick Wilson) in this intelligent adaptation of Tom Perotta’s novel.
Listen to the DVD Review podcast here:
[audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2007-05-15-33580.mp3]> Subscribe to our Review Podcast via iTunes
> Download this podcast as an MP3 file (just right click, save as and rename the file)
> Check out this week’s releases at Amazon UK
This is the trailer for A Mighty Heart – the new film about the life and death of journalist Daniel Pearl, who was murdered in 2002 by Islamic militants.
It stars Angelina Jolie as his wife Mariane Pearl, is directed by Michael Winterbottom and premieres at the Cannes Film Festival next week.
[youtube]A15l_F4ndKI[/youtube]
> Official site for A Mighty Heart
> Find out more about Daniel Pearl at Wikipedia
Blue Blood is a new documentary about a group of students at Oxford University who join the Varsity boxing team.
Exploring their backgrounds and determination to make the annual fight against Cambridge, it is an unusual but compelling film.
I recently spoke to the director Stevan Riley about how he came up with the idea for it and what kind of documentary he wanted to make.
You can listen to the interview here:
[audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2007-05-11-88735.mp3]Blue Blood is out at selected UK cinemas from today
> Subscribe to the Interview Podcast via iTunes
> Download the interview as an MP3 (just right click, save as and rename the file)
> Check out if your local cinema is showing Blue Blood with Google Movies
> Article from The Telegraph on the film
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty came to fame in the UK earlier this year when she won Celebrity Big Brother.
She now stars in the new film Life in a Metro, which examines the lives of a group of different people in Mumbai, India.
I recently spoke to her about the character she plays, how Big Brother affected her career and what Western audiences can expect from the film.
Listen to the interview here:
[audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2007-05-11-31392.mp3]Life in a Metro is out at UK cinemas from today
> Subscribe to our Interview Podcast via iTunes
> Download this interview as an MP3 file
28 Weeks Later is out today and we speak to four of the key people involved in bringing the sequel to 28 Days Later to the screen.
The new film explores what happens when the rage virus of the previous film has seemingly died out and citizens return to London with US troops in charge of the operation.
Robert Carlyle tells us about Don, the character he plays in the film and the difficult choices he has to make and how this is more of a companion piece to 28 Days Later.
He also explains what it was like working with his old friend Danny Boyle when the director of the original did some 2nd unit work on this film. Plus, we also find out if he’d be up for reuniting with the old Trainspotting team again.
Harold Perrineau and Jeremy Renner are two US actors you might have seen in other things recently.
Harold has played Michael Dawson in the first three seasons of Lost, whilst Jeremy was recently in North Country with Charlize Theron and will soon be seen alongside Brad Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James.
In this film they play two US troops who have to help people escape from London after the infection returns to the city. I spoke with them about filming in London and how this might compete against all the sequels out this summer.
Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo came to a lot of people’s attention a few years ago with the brilliant Spanish thriller Intacto.
That film persuaded Danny Boyle and DNA Films to hire him and he tells us about his thoughts once he got asked to do it, his concepts for the sequel and the problems of shooting in major city like London.
Listen to interviews here:
28 Weeks Later is out at cinemas today in the UK and US
> Subscribe to the Interview Podcast via iTunes here
> Download the interviews as an MP3 file (just right click, “save as” and rename the file as you want)
The classic 1966 war film The Battle of Algiers gets a welcome re-release in UK cinemas this week and I recently spoke to Saadi Yacef who produced and starred in the film.
He was one of the leaders of Algeria’s National Liberation Front during his country’s war of independence and, whillst imprisoned by the French, wrote his memoir of the actual Battle of Algiers, which was published in 1962.
After the war Saadi helped produce Gillo Pontecorvo‘s film and he even stars in it as a character based on his own experiences.
With its strikingly realistic depiction of modern warfare and terrorism the film has gone on to become highly influential. So much so that the The Pentagon screened it in 2003 as a useful illustration of the problems faced in Iraq.
Saadi is currently a Senator in Algeria’s People’s National Assembly.
Listen to the interview here:
> Subscribe to the Interview Podcast via iTunes
> Download the interview as an MP3 file (just right click, save as and rename the
file)
> Find local showtimes for The Battle of Algiers at a cinema near you via Google Movies
> Buy The Battle of Algiers on DVD from Amazon UK
Check out this fantastic post from Alan Bacchus over at Daily Film Dose of the greatest long tracking shots in cinema.
Touch of Evil is probably the most famous one but my personal favourites include Goodfellas, Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Children of Men.
> The original post at Daily Film Dose (complete with YouTube footage)
> Listen to our interview with Children of Men director Alfonso Cuaron (he talks about the other extraordinary long take towards the end of the interview)
Cinematical report a worrying story about fellow movie website IESB.
Apparently it was shut down yesterday for a short period after leaking those Iron Man photos (and some footage of the shoot):
You may have noticed that, about an hour ago, prominent movie website IESB.net came back to life after being down for an extended period of time. Here’s what happened in a nutshell: After IESB posted some spy video and images of Iron Monger on the set of Iron Man, Paramount Pictures went ballistic and sent a legal letter to the IESB host demanding the site be shut down for copyright infrigement.
That much was pretty much common knowledge, but I got a more detailed account today from IESB’s Stephanie Sanchez. “We were not notified in any way, or asked to take it down,” Stephanie says. “We were literally in the middle of posting a story and all of a sudden our server was gone. We called our hosting company, they transferred us to legal and we were forwarded the letter that was sent from Paramount on Friday that demanded the shut down. Note, this is a letter we were never sent and weren’t given any warning about.”
Stephanie continues: “Here’s the kicker. The video and pictures that were in question were in no way property of Paramount. Both were shot from a parking lot of a 24 hour fitness center across the street from the Iron Man shoot that was taking place on a public street in Long Beach, CA. There was no violation of copyright whatsoever. After hours on the phone yesterday with Paramount reps (who had no clue about it) they completely apologized and said this should have never happened. It was the idiots in the Paramount legal department who did this.”
If true, it would appear to be a huge PR blunder. Don’t the legal guys get the idea that leaks like this help build buzz for the film? As I write, the most popular story on Digg in the last 24 hours was the hi-res shots of the Iron Man suit. But now, the story of the IESB shutdown is rapidly gaining momentum on the same site.
Legal tactics like this just make large companies look meanspirited and out of touch. To make matters even worse for Paramount, this follows the episode in which The Movie Blog was wrapped around the legal knuckles for posting images from the new Transformers movie.
It is true that bad buzz can be created from leaks and it is reasonable that a studio wants to control who sees what from productions they have invested a lot of money in. But surely by doing this, aren’t they just alienating the target audience for these films?
> See how many diggs the IESB story gets (441 as I write this link at 16.40 GMT)
> Film School Rejects chip in with their angle
SlashFilm has posted two high resolution photos from the new Iron Man film which is currently in production.
One features Robert Downey Jnr as Tony Stark:
…whilst the other is of him in the Iron Man suit:
It is scheduled for release by Paramount on May 2nd, 2008.
> Go to SlashFilm for the hi-res images
> Iron Man entry at the IMDb
> Find out more about the Iron Man character at Wikipedia
After winning the Best Documentary Oscar in 2003 with The Fog of War, director Errol Morris is tackling a more recent chapter in America’s past.
His new film S.O.P: Standard Operating Procedure is an examination of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.
Last November Participant Productions issued a press release that said:
Errol Morris, Academy Award winning director of “The Fog of War,” is at work on a new documentary about the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, it was confirmed today jointly by Sony Pictures Classics’ co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard and by Participant Productions’ President, Ricky Strauss.
Tentatively titled “S.O.P.” (vintage military slang for “Standard Operating Procedure”), the film will examine the unintended consequences of the Iraqi war with a focus on events at Abu Ghraib prison, notorious for the apparent abuse and torture of inmates by
troops as revealed to the world in 2004, when shocking photos began to appear in global media. It is the story of soldiers who believed they were defending democracy but found themselves plunged into an unimagined nightmare.
“I feel this is one of the most significant films I have ever worked on,” said Morris. “There is a mystery about the war in . Not just how and why it started, but what it is ultimately about. It is a mystery that I am trying to investigate.”
And now critic Scott Feinberg has seen an early (unfinished) cut of the film. He writes on his site:
Morris says he has a longstanding fascination with “iconic images,” including the photo of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima that inspired Clint Eastwood’s two films this past year (Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima), and most recently the photos of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, which are the basis of this film.
As always, Morris manages to get all the principle figures—Lynndie England, et al—to open up quite candidly about the roles they played in interviews that are made even creepier because they are shot using Morris’ Interrotron camera, which enables interview subjects to look directly into the camera while answering his questions.
The film also features slow-motion reenactments of several incidents, just as The Thin Blue Line did, as well as a first-rate, haunting musical score by Danny Elfman, rather than Morris’ regular collaborator Philip Glass.
It sounds like it could be very interesting indeed.
(Link courtesy of Hollywood Elsewhere)
> IMDb Link for S.O.P.
> David Pepose with more about the film after a screening of some footage
Spider-Man 3 continues its record breaking run at cinemas around the globe with a $375 million box office haul.
In the US it also broke the 3-day record (set last summer by Pirates 2) by grossing $148 million.
Ian Mohr of Variety reports:
“Spider-Man 3” swung into theaters over the weekend with $148 million in ticket sales, according to estimates, shattering records for biggest opening weekend ever at the North American B.O., as well as biggest opening day on Friday.
Third in the Spidey series easily surpassed the previous record holder for biggest first day and weekend, Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man’s Chest,” which raked in $55.8 million in a single day when it bowed last July for a three-day tally of $135.6 million.
Opening-day for “Spider-Man 3” on Friday was a whopping $59 million domestically.
Pic was the biggest worldwide weekend ever as well, with $375 million overall.
After some of the rather snarky reviews it got (many of them bleating the same predictable tune), I’m sure Sam Raimi and his team are glad that audiences are responding to the film.
> Original story at Variety
> Latest numbers from Box Office Mojo
Grindhouse will be split in two for UK audiences (Deathproof arrives in September), but in the meantime check out some rather brilliant spoof posters of regular films done in the grindhouse style over at Something Awful.
My favourites include:
and The Prestige:
(Thanks to Boing Boing for the link)
> Check out more grindhouse style posters at SomethingAwful
> Find out more about grindhouse cinema at Wikipedia
Despite mixed reviews Spider-Man 3 has broken the opening day box office record with an estimated haul of $59 million in just 24 hours.
David Germain of the AP reports:
Hollywood’s biggest superhero now has the biggest box-office debut. “Spider-Man 3” took in a record $59 million domestically on opening day Friday, breaking the previous all-time high of $55.8 million for “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” in its first day last summer.
Sony Pictures, the studio behind the “Spider-Man” franchise, also reported Saturday that the movie took in an additional $45 million overseas on Friday for a worldwide total of $104 million, a record for single-day grosses globally.
Sony spokesman Steve Elzer said executives at the studio declined to comment until estimates for the full weekend are available Sunday morning.
By then, the “Spider-Man” franchise could reclaim the record for best three-day opening ever. The first “Spider-Man” pulled in $114.8 million domestically in its debut weekend in 2002, a record that stood until “Dead Man’s Chest” shattered it with $135.6 million last July.
In a news release, Sony said it expects “Spider-Man 3” will come in around the $135 million to $145 million range for its first weekend.
Did you see it this weekend? And if so, what did you think?
> AP article on Spidey’s record breaking opening
> Box Office Mojo with more analysis
Variety reports that DreamWorks have snapped up the rights to Peter Jackson‘s next film, The Lovely Bones:
Peter Jackson will make his next movie at DreamWorks.
Committing at least $65 million, DreamWorks in association with Film 4 has won the bidding for Jackson’s bigscreen adaptation of Alice Sebold’s best-selling 2002 tome “The Lovely Bones.”
Announcement came early Friday evening, capping a weeklong auction that had three other majors vying for Jackson’s project as well-Warner Bros Pictures, Universal and Sony.
Jackson is set to begin lensing in October in Pennsylvania and New Zealand from a script he co-wrote with “Lord of the Rings” collaborators Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh. Paramount, which owns DreamWorks, will distribute “Bones” worldwide, with Jackson promising to deliver the film by the fourth quarter 2008.
The book is about a 14-year-old who has been raped and killed, but then watches over her family and killer from the afterlife.
It is a departure from the epic stories he told in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, and would appear to be more similar to a an earlier Jackson drama like 1994’s Heavenly Creatures.
> The IMDb entry for The Lovely Bones
> The story in full over at Variety
> More on Jackson’s future projects at Wikipedia
The first blockbuster of the summer season creaks under the weight of several subplots but is a rousing finale to what has been a magnificent comic book trilogy.
Taking up after the trials and tribulations of the first two films, this starts off with things going very well for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire). He’s finally settled down with his sweetheart Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and the public love his superhero alter ego Spider-Man. But when an alien substance infects his suit, he starts to become a darker person. If that wasn’t enough, three different villains – the New Goblin (James Franco), Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church) and Venom (Topher Grace) – want to kill him for their own reasons, things get difficult.
The first thing to you’ll probably notice about Spider-Man 3 is the sheer scale of everything. After the success of the first two movies, almost every element is expanded to bursting point. Not only are there multiple plot strands, but a whole host of new characters thrown in to the mix. Added to that, the action sequences are longer, the visual effects more detailed and the running time of 140 minutes indicates that director Sam Raimi is squeezing a lot in here.
After the lean, character driven origin story of the first film and the pitch perfect blend of love story and action in the second, this third instalment does at times feel like 3 and 4 combined. But that is precisley why this film is such a joy for most of its running time. Unlike some other bloated blockbusters, this ducks and weaves with such energy and abandon that I found it a dizzying but satisfying ride.
However, the key here is that Sam Raimi along with screenwriter Alvin Sargent have retained the emotional core – and occasional goofy humour – of the previous films. They also cleverly mine a key plotline and theme from the original film in a way that dovetails nicely with what has gone before. Although it will inevitably make a ton of money, it is likely to divide viewers. With so much plot and some characters confined to the margins (most notably Gwen Stacy, played here by Bryce Dallas Howard), people will grumble that the only thing missing is the kitchen sink.
There also seems to be a resentment, even within the industry, as to how much money has been spent on this. The gargantuan budget is rumoured to be around $250 million and that (probably) makes it the most expensive film ever made. But to be fair to Sony and the filmmakers, it is a figure they’ve earned with the success of the first two films.
Like those, the action scenes and visual effects are pulled off with an ingenious intensity and the emphasis on character is what gives the story a greater emotional depth than most mainstream blockbusters. At the time of the first film I was surprised that a director like Sam Raimi (who CV includes The Evil Dead trilogy) was allowed to make a comic book franchise on this scale. But now that he has, I think audiences and fans of the comic have reason to be very grateful indeed.
> Check out local showtimes for Spider-Man 3 via Google Movies
> Visit the official Spider-Man 3 site
> Read other reviews of Spider-Man 3 at Metacritic
> Check out the IMDb entry for Spider-Man 3
David Poland of The Hot Blog reports that the excellent awards site Oscarwatch is getting sued.
Whilst I have to confess that I’m not overly familiar with the full legal details of this particular case, part of me just feels sad that AAMPAS felt they had to resort to this.
I understand why they feel the need to protect their brand, especially if other sites are making ad money off the back of it.
But let’s look at it another way: aren’t sites like Oscarwatch helping promote awareness of the Oscars and the overall brand? Is the site really doing that much damage (if any) to the Academy Awards?
What do you think? Feel free to post your comments below.
> David Poland with more analysis at The Hot Blog
> Webpronews with more on the Oscarwatch lawsuit
Anne Thompson of Variety posts a smart and lucid piece on how blogs are reshaping film coverage:
Bloggers come in many shapes and sizes. Some are professional journalists. Others are amateur fanboys. A few create original content, but most riff on other people’s blogs. (At thompsononhollywood.com, I do both.) Some are erudite and write with charm and brio. Others suck.
But for better or worse, blogs are here to stay. And they’re reshaping the coverage of films today. Movie publicity may never be quite the same.
Until very recently, studio information gatekeepers and press agents could to some degree control the flow of information about their movies and clients. They could confirm and deny facts and spin stories to a select list of reporters who played by the accepted rules of engagement that went along with their privileged access.
But the Internet has changed all that.
Early Web leaks and misinformation are giving the PR community headaches.
When something incorrect is posted, it spreads like wildfire. Too many viral postings from too many unfamiliar sources make it impossible for anyone to return calls, much less ferret out the source of the infection.
And then there’s the problem of timing. Bloggers typically reveal nuggets of film info — usually casting announcements — long before agents and studios are prepared to release the information, often because the deals aren’t done.
In October 2004, when LatinoReview.com announced newcomer Brandon Routh as the star of “Superman Returns,” it forced Warner Bros. to reluctantly confirm his casting a few days later. And when TMZ.com went full speed ahead and claimed that Emile Hirsch was in talks to star in “Speed Racer,” it turned out to be true. Warners was not happy about either breach.
The line between traditional journalism and indie purveyors of buzz continues to blur.
If you have ever wondered about the impact the internet is having on the film industry, then you should check out the rest of her article here.
Also check out her Variety colleague Peter Bart with his latest “Back Lot” column about blogs and the the film world.
> Anne’s blog at Variety
> Some other movie blogs at About.com
Spider-Man 3 is out this Friday and I recently caught up with three of the key people who helped bring the film to the screen.
Director Sam Raimi is the main man behind all three Spider-Man films. He emerged in the early 1980s with cult horror The Evil Dead and went on to direct films like Darkman and A Simple Plan.
When the Spider-Man character was finally released from the legal problems that had prevented any film version getting made, Sam was the inspired choice to bring the iconic Marvel superhero to the screen.
We spoke about the different story lines, the new villains and the technology behind the visual effects. We also discuss his friend Bruce Campbell (who again returns in a cameo), the “classic” yellow car that appears in all his movies and whether or not he’ll return for a fourth Spider-Man film.
James Franco has has played Harry Osborn in all three Spider-Man films. The first film in 2002 was his big breakthrough but you may have seen him in a TV movie biopic about James Dean or more recently in The Company and Tristan and Isolde.
In Spider-Man he was Peter Parker’s friend who also happened to have a scientist father known as The Green Goblin. The second film saw him thirst revenge when he realised his father died in a fight with Spidey and he also discovered the Goblin’s extensive weapons stash.
James discusses his role, where this film picks up after the last film, the challenge of acting against a green screen and what director Sam Raimi has brought to the trilogy.
Topher Grace is the new kid on the Spidey block. He plays Eddie Brock and the eagerly anticipated villain Venom. You might remember him from the TV series That 70s Show, Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven and Ocean’s Twelve (where he has uncredited cameos as himself!).
More recently he has starred in films like Win a Date With Tad Hamilton, P.S. and In Good Company in which he starred alongside Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson.
That film helped him win his current role in the latest Spider-Man film. The character of Venom is a big fan favourite and we chatted about how he got the role, the secrecy surrounding the film and the differences between the character in the comic and this film.
Listen to Sam, James and Topher in the interview podcast here:
[audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2007-05-03-26056.MP3]> Subscribe to the Interview Podcast via iTunes
> Get local showtimes for Spider-Man 3 via Google Movies
Congratulations to Picturehouse and Deep Focus for their work on the official website for Pan’s Labyrinth, which has just scooped the Webby Award for Best Movie and Film website.
Not only was it one of the best films of last year, but it had an online presence to complement the marvellous work on screen.
Congratulations should also go to NPR who won in the Best Podcast category. Their range of podcasts is superb and the NPR Movies podcast is worth a special mention as it is excellent roundup of all that is going on in the movie world.
> The winners at this year’s Webby Awards
> Interesting article at iMediaConnection on the work Deep Focus did on the Pan’s Labyrinth website
> Subscribe to NPR Movies podcast via iTunes
Roger Ebert recently appeared at his Overlooked Film Festival in Champaign.
The folks over at The Hot Button have posted a video of him addressing the audience with a little electronic help:
[youtube]4xhmnOqOk9E[/youtube]
He has recently undergone complications after treatment for cancer so it is good to see him back.
Sorry for the delay in posting this, but in case you hadn’t heard Grindhouse is going to be split in two for UK audiences.
The plan is to release Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof in September and then Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror at some point in the future.
Here is the official press release from the film’s UK distributor, Momentum Pictures:
Tarantino’s Death Proof will be released via Momentum Pictures/Dimension Films on September 21 with Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror released at a later date to be confirmed shortly.
Death Proof will screen In Competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, May 16-27 2007 continuing the festival’s long and successful collaboration with the filmmaker whose 1994 movie Pulp Fiction won the coveted Palme D’Or.
Tarantino’s Death Proof is a white knuckle ride behind the wheel of a psycho serial killer’s roving, revving, racing death machine.
Rodriguez’s Planet Terror is a heart-pounding trip to a town ravaged by a mysterious plague.
Inspired by the unique distribution of independent horror classics of the sixties and seventies, these are two shockingly bold features replete with fake trailers, missing reels and plenty of exploitative mayhem.
Rodriguez and Tarantino set out to make two very different, very complete movies which will be distributed separately internationally where the culture of grindhouses grinding out movies back to back is not familiar.
Harvey Weinstein stated, “We are very proud of “Grindhouse,” which earned overwhelming rave reviews for its audaciousness and boldness. Based on US audience’s positive reactions to Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Death Proof’ and Robert Rodriguez’s ‘Planet Terror’ combined with their resistance to the three-hour running time, we’ve revised our UK release plans to allow audiences the chance to see the films separately, like they will be shown in all international territories. We are really excited about launching the new version of ‘Death Proof’ in Cannes and about the international release for both movies.”
Harvey and Bob Weinstein were clearly devastated by Grindhouse’s disappointing opening in the US, especially after all the great buzz and reviews it got. But September feels a little late – won’t it already be out on Region 1 DVD by then?
> Official site for Grindhouse
> Reviews for Grindhouse at Metacritic
Interesting news on the ‘proper’ director’s cut of Blade Runner.
Film Ick reports:
The director’s cut of Blade Runner is finally due later this year. Not the so-called director’s cut – the real director’s cut. The film the way, at last, Ridely Scott wanted it.
Joanna Cassidy’s official site has broken the news that she has completed reshoots of her scenes: “Joanna has just finished re-shooting her scenes from the original Blade Runner movie. Joanna is wearing her original outfit (which she kept over from the first production). These new scenes will be part of the upcoming special Blade Runner DVD re-release. Check back for more details”.
Plus, they have more information from another source about the re-shoots for the DVD:
The shots are for the sequence in which Cassidy’s character Zhora is chased through the streets. In the original film, the chase shows Zhora in flat boots but previously we saw her put on heels – the reshoots feature heels; the control wires for the squib that released Zhora’s blood was previously visible – not any longer; a wound make-up that was missing in some angles is now in place;
Zhora gets a second shot in the chest now, whereas she didn’t before; the lighting is much improved; several new angles have been taken and, depending on the edit, the sequence could end up looking rather different overall.
All very interesting but it makes you wonder how much longer we’ll have to wait for this landmark film to be available as Ridley Scott intended it.
> Find out more about the Blade Runner at Wikipedia
> Extensive Blade Runner fansite
The Painted Veil is out at UK cinemas this week and I recently spoke to director John Curran and actor Edward Norton about the film.
Listen to the interview here:
[audio:https://www.filmdetail.com/podcast/get.php?fla=podcast-2007-04-28-17682.mp3]> Listen to it via iTunes
> Download the interview as an MP3
> Read our review of the film
A polished and moving adaptation of Somerset Maugham’s 1925 novel features two excellent lead performances from Naomi Watts and Edward Norton.
Dr Walter Fane (Edward Norton) is an expert in infectious diseases who is posted to China. When his mismatched, funloving wife Kitty (Naomi Watts) has an affair it drives them apart. But as they struggle to adapt to their rural location amidst a cholera outbreak, they begin to see each other in a new light.
Often literary adaptations can be restrained and stodgy affairs, but director John Curran has crafted a sensitive and moving film. Watts and Norton dovetail each other nicely and bring a powerful sense of passion lurking beneath their cool social exteriors. Watch out too for the excellent Toby Jones in a supporting role as a fellow ex-pat worker in the Chinese village.
The rural locations (it was shot around Guilin) are frequently used to beautiful effect, often proving an effective counterpoint to the disease and emotional suffering of the principal characters. Special mention should also go to Alexandre Desplat who contributes a lush score that mixes Eastern and western melodies.
> Check out our interview with John Curran & Edward Norton
> Visit the official site
> IMDb entry for The Painted Veil
> Reviews for The Painted Veil at Metacritic
> SoundtrackNet review the score by Alexandre Desplat
> Check out the showtimes for The Painted Veil at your local cinema