Entries from July 2008 ↓

The final trailer for The Dark Knight has just been released to the public. It was initially shown at Wizard World ‘07. Enjoy.

Warner Brothers has announced their lineup of events at Comic-Con. if you’re lucky enough to be there, be sure to tell us how it was.

Thursday, July 24th:

Dark Castle Presentation: Rocknrolla, Ninja Assassin, The Hills Run Red, Ferryman (comic book) 6:00pm – 7:00pm in Hall H Expected Talent: Joel Silver (producer) and Susan Downey (producer)

• Rocknrolla: Guy Ritchie (director & writer), Chris Bridges, Jeremy Piven (tbd) additional cast tba,
• Ninja Assassin: James McTeigue (director), Ji Hoon Jung (“Rain”) and Naomie Harris
• The Hills Run Red: Sophie Monk and Tad Hildenbrink
• Ferryman: Marc Andreyko (“Ferryman” writer) and Jonathan Wayshak (“Ferryman” artist)

Friday, July 25th: Watchmen 11:55am – 1:00pm in HALL H Expected Talent: Zack Snyder (director) and Cast (tba) Star Wars: The Clone Wars 4:00pm – 5:00pm in Hall H Expected Talent: Dave Filoni (director) and Catherine Winder (producer) Saturday, July 26th: Terminator Salvation 1:15pm – 2:15pm in Hall H Expected Talent: McG (director) and Cast (tba) Sunday, July 27th:

Friday the 13th Remake 1:00pm – 1:30pm in Room 20 Expected Talent: Jared Padalecki, Derek Meaks, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form (producers)

“Normal criminals usually have logical motives, but the Joker’s insane schemes make sense to him alone.”

-Batman in The Laughing Fish by Paul Dini.

Only eleven more days left…

FUN FACT: The Joker was inspired by Gwynplaine, the title character with the deformed grin, in The Man Who Laughs. He was played by Conrad Veidt. Smile everyone!

This sumptuously lurid play, by Peter Greenaway, on depravity, sexual oblivion, and revenge remains the most accessible and compelling of his filmography. It is also one of the few films I hold closest to my heart. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, And Her Lover is simultaneously simple and deceptive with the film’s title. The main characters could stand for an angry allegory about greedy Thatcher-inspired bullies exploiting the working class citizens of Britain. Then again, perhaps this tale of excess, rape, and cannibalism is a heightened account about deeply wounded souls.

Le Hollandaise is a grotesquely bourgeois restaurant where the thief Albert Spica (Michael Gambon - Gosford Park, 2001), his wife Georgina (the indispensable Helen Mirren - Gosford Park and Last Orders, 2001), and his goons (Tim Roth and Ciarán Hinds) dine every night. We are introduced to Albert as he force-feeds a lowly member of the kitchen staff owing money his excrement, and elaborating on its value: “I eat the very best and that’s expensive!”

The cook, Richard Borst (Richard Bohringer - Rembrant, 1999) stands up to the thief’s boorish threats concerning his offered “protection” with a collected reserve that masks deep rage - “If you button your expensive jacket, Mister Spica, you feel less…empty inside, Mister Spica.” Seated in the center of the operatic dining room, Albert’s hostility extends toward everyone around him, including the patrons. Georgina, who Albert crudely dubs, “Georgie”, often berated and beaten by her husband, is quietly defiant. She makes eye contact with Michael, a quiet intellectual (Alan Howard - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003) as he eats and reads in the corner. Their infatuation leads to many excuses for a rendezvous in the opulent lavatory, where she and tender, love-handled Michael make desperate, explicit love as a means of escape.

Their sexual escapades take them behind closed doors in the kitchen, a secret quietly kept by the restaurant’s workers. Albert, obvious to being a cuckold, continues displaying his virtuoso nastiness with loud, arrogant (albeit darkly hilarious) commentary punctuated by violence: “I think Ethiopians like starving!” “Human milk should be considered a delicacy.” Everyone around him is reduced to frightened submission. One night, he invites Michael to his table where he picks on his reading habits, “Does this stuff make money?” After having badly-bruised Georgina dictate how wonderful her life is (“Tell Michael you live in a big house and you spend a thousand pounds a week on clothes!”), she retaliates with news about her gynecology appointments (“Being infertile makes me a safe bet for a good screw.”) Albert drags her across the parking lot for that one.

The thief eventually discovers his wife’s deception is consumed by jealous rage. Searching for them, he invades the ladies’ lavatory and trashes the kitchen while screaming under satanic lighting, “I’ll kill him and then I’ll eat him!” Georgina, having been pushed beyond all measure, is transformed from tragic victim to arresting seducer, to tortured lunatic, and finally to avenging mastermind. There’s much to savor when the cook offers to prepare Georgina’s proposed meal for her husband. Albert’s comeuppance is satisfying and extreme, though perhaps not excruciating enough.

Every actor performs excellently with their given roles. In particular, Michael Gambon’s portrayal of the thief remains one of the most criminally overlooked performances of a great villain. He could stand alongside the likes of Hannibal Lector; after all, they have some things in common. Helen Mirren and Alan Howard exhibit astonishing bravery and tact in playing nude and suggesting real human depth with roles that might not initially suggest.

Sacha Vierny’s fantastical and painterly cinematography captures a surreal and heighten reality. The nightmarish sets include a large dining space saturated with blood red walls, furnishings and dominating curtains along with the towering, sickly-green industrial kitchen. The panoramic widescreen capitalizes on the vast stage-like compositions, panning from the parking lot, the kitchen, and the dining room in one deceptively continuous take. The color of the characters’ clothing changes to match the given settings. Costume designer Jean-Paul Gaultier fuses seventeenth century sensibilities along with warped contemporary ones. The unreality of the film’s look utilizes the melodramatic and farcical elements of the story. There are visual quotations of the painting “The Banquet of the Officers of the St. George Militia of Haarlem” (1616) by Frans Hals as though the oily aristocracy are staring at their more uncouth counterparts centuries later.

Michael Nyman’s thunderous music suggests decadence and savagery. Hellish chorus howls, shrieking violins, and saxophones dominate the exceptional soundtrack. Rarely have saxophones sounded like they have slobbery, wet tongues inside.

When released in 1990, the film was given the NC-17 rating that rallied a demand for a working adults-only rating reserved for more serious and sophisticated films. Helen Mirren spoke up against the ludicrousness of the MPAA ratings system. After eighteen years, it is still an uphill battle against maddeningly vague, studio-influenced hypocrites who keep films like this from the mainstream cinema. Peter Greenaway, who began his career as a serious painter and a student of anatomy, is uninhibited about regarding the naked human form of both sexes before the camera. Written with exacting intelligence and perversion, Greenaway’s portrayal of violence and sexuality is a conscious indictment of it. The extremity of the film is not without merit or thought, as it is not for the faint of heart. Order wisely from the menu, this is uncompromised satire of the highest order.

A couple months after the UK’s take on Gremlins, Film4 has paid homage to Stanley Kubrick (“You haven’t a dook of an idea how to comport yourself public-wise, O my brother!”), one of the most studied and revered filmmakers. To kick off the Film4 channel’s seasonal tribute to the highly guarded auteur, their production house Channel 4 Creative Services concocted a TV spot in homage to The Shining (1980). The following promotional clip takes you through The Shining set in one continuous 65-second tracking shot, a film aesthetic long favored by Kubrick since Paths of Glory (1957), from the director’s point of view.

Come play with us, Danny.

The attention to detail is absolutely terrific from the recreated sets that look exactly like the original Overlook Hotel corridors and hedge maze from thirty years ago to the lighting and lens choice - a 25mm Cooke lens that was favored by Kubrick. The amount of visual in-jokes will have die-hard Shining enthusiasts viewing it several times before none have escaped their close attention.

I marvel at the prospect that the filmmakers even cast Kubrick’s crew to look like the real-life counterparts including John Alcott, the director of production. Watch out carefully for a half-dozen dead ringers of The Shining’s most prominent characters. Oh, and the tricycle that appears at the end is the real deal. This is the type of work ethic that makes me beam with joy.

Citizen Kubrick, a new documentary by Jon Ronson will head off the ten selected movies from Kubrick’s generous filmography. The chosen films range from the most famous (Lolita, 1962; 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968; Barry Lyndon, 1975) to the most obscure (Killer’s Kiss, 1955; The Killing, 1956). After watching the documentary Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001) by Jan Harlan, one of Kubrick’s closest producers, I’m still very curious about the secretive genius. I am also relishing the published 304-page diary by Matthew Modine (Short Cuts, 1993) on the making of Full Metal Jacket (1989) - in my opinion, the first fifty minutes of the film is a masterpiece but the remainder is not unfortunately.

Adrants points us to a new documentary currently being by filmmaker Joel Christian McEwan called American Dream which will examine America’s obsession with instant-gratification and material possessions as well as the corporate force which feeds and profits from that obsession. Featuring Danny Glover, Ed Begley Jr., Jean Kilbourne, Howard Zinn and many others, American Dream will try to make sense America’s consumer culture, it’s causes and its effects.

What is interesting is that the filmmakers have approached Adrants in order to secure material for the film. Adrants are looking for:

-Funny, ridiculous advertisements
-Lewd, suggestive ads/commercials
-Ads/Commercials that make you want to buy something
-Ads/Commercials that you dislike and want to see removed

So for anyone with a few ideas or examples… head over to Adrants and help the guys out. You can mail your submissions to americandream@adrants.com

: Adrants, American Dream, Documentary, Joel Christian McEwan

“The vision of Frank Miller’s universe that Zack Snyder brought to the screen in ‘300′ is unlike anything ever seen before,” said Thomas Tull. “We want to be certain that the story originates with Frank and be as compelling as the first.”

ariety says that Legendary Pictures has confirmed last week’s reports that it is developing a 300 follow-up for Warner Bros. that Frank Miller is writing and Zack Snyder is intended to direct.

Miller is writing the graphic novel the project will be based upon, although at this point it’s not clear whether it will be a prequel or spin-off.

Snyder won’t officially commit until after he sees Miller’s take, but he’s definitely interested, says the trade.

This should be a very interesting project. I hope the story line is more compelling and than 300. I liked the movie but I always felt that something was missing, although I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Could be anything from Soundtrack to acting. blah.

The Hobbit and HellBoy II: The Golden Army Director, Guillermo Del Toro, has named the person he thinks should play the part of Frankenstein when he does his take on the Frankenstein story. In an interview with ShockTillYouDrop.com, Del Toro mentioned that …

“For the monster I would love to have Doug Jones,” he revealed. Jones has worked for the director as a creature performance since Mimic and plays Abe Sapien in the Hellboy films. “I think he can do a fantastic job. Ron looks seven feet tall in Hellboy, but he’s not. I think we could do that with Doug, but I would love to do it with him. The only vision of the Frankenstein monster I’ve ever latched onto is Berni Wrightson’s. He’s lanky and long and it’s gorgeous in a tragic way. Doug has all of those qualities.”

In terms of the movie itself Del Toro says he’s been bouncing back and forth to London lately for the Hobbit films. There are no scripts yet, however, “We already started notes and underlining and e-mailing back and forth. A few lines have been written here and there, but we will have the big pow-wow [soon] - bad pizza, take-out food in a sort’ve a pressure cooker [meeting] in about two weeks.”

I think a Del Toro adaptation of Frankenstein would be awesome. I love his work, Dark and beautiful at the same time.