-
🛑Hello, this board in now turned off and no new posting.
Please REGISTER at Anabolic Steroid Forums, and become a member of our NEW community! 💪 -
🔥Check Out Muscle Gelz HEAL® - A Topical Peptide Repair Formula with BPC-157 & TB-500! 🏥
Gregzs on Movies & Entertainment
- Thread starter Gregzs
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
Zack Snyder Talks 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE And Pushing It To March 2014
Zack Snyder Talks 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE And Pushing It To March 2014
Talking with SuperHeroHype while promoting Man Of Steel, Zack Snyder talks about Warner Bros.' upcoming sequel 300: Rise Of An Empire, the follow-up to his hit 2007 Frank Miller adaptation. While Snyder directed the first film, he only co-wrote and produced the second. He says that Rise Of An Empire was pushed from August 2013 to March 2014 to finish up the visual effects (since "every single thing" is green screen), and he also comments on how "lucky" they were to push it to next March since the first 300 opened in that month. "Yeah, they're working right now to finish it up. With visual effects, I mean, honestly we moved our date to March because we literally had no materials ready to show because we were doing the visual effects and for how "300ey" it is--every single thing is green screen and there's just nothing? Now, a lot of movies you see early footage and a lot of the stuff there's real footage that they shot against whatever, but we just don't have any of that, so it was really lucky that we were able to move it back to March, which is the "300" date normally. I know before that, I remember everyone was going like, "Why are we opening in March? Nothing ever comes out in March." All our people were mad about that, and I didn't even know that "Dawn of the Dead" came out in March. I was just like, "I think March is okay." They were like, "No, it's a disaster. No one releases movies in March." To check out SHH's full interview with Snyder (in which he discusses Man Of Steel and his interest in continuing its universe), click the source link below.
300: Rise Of An Empire stars Rodrigo Santoro, Eva Green, Lena Heady and Sullivan Stapleton. The film is set to hit theaters March 7th, 2014.
Zack Snyder Talks 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE And Pushing It To March 2014
Talking with SuperHeroHype while promoting Man Of Steel, Zack Snyder talks about Warner Bros.' upcoming sequel 300: Rise Of An Empire, the follow-up to his hit 2007 Frank Miller adaptation. While Snyder directed the first film, he only co-wrote and produced the second. He says that Rise Of An Empire was pushed from August 2013 to March 2014 to finish up the visual effects (since "every single thing" is green screen), and he also comments on how "lucky" they were to push it to next March since the first 300 opened in that month. "Yeah, they're working right now to finish it up. With visual effects, I mean, honestly we moved our date to March because we literally had no materials ready to show because we were doing the visual effects and for how "300ey" it is--every single thing is green screen and there's just nothing? Now, a lot of movies you see early footage and a lot of the stuff there's real footage that they shot against whatever, but we just don't have any of that, so it was really lucky that we were able to move it back to March, which is the "300" date normally. I know before that, I remember everyone was going like, "Why are we opening in March? Nothing ever comes out in March." All our people were mad about that, and I didn't even know that "Dawn of the Dead" came out in March. I was just like, "I think March is okay." They were like, "No, it's a disaster. No one releases movies in March." To check out SHH's full interview with Snyder (in which he discusses Man Of Steel and his interest in continuing its universe), click the source link below.
300: Rise Of An Empire stars Rodrigo Santoro, Eva Green, Lena Heady and Sullivan Stapleton. The film is set to hit theaters March 7th, 2014.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
Joss Whedon's AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Filmed On Location In Paris, France
Joss Whedon's AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Filmed On Location In Paris, France
They've just posted the interview today but GQ(Uk) caught up with Joss Whedon back in February to discuss a number of topics but for our purposes, the most interesting parts of the conversation pertain to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Joss confirmed that some of the show was shot on location in Paris, France. "I was in Paris last week finishing shooting the S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot, edited the entire thing, sent it to the network, and then came here. So basically I'm a wreck," said Whedon of his busy February schedule. Whedon also bluntly states that Agent Coulson is the focus of the show. "[Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.] basically opens with the idea that since The Avengers things have changed. Now everybody knows that there are gods and monsters, and what is the world like," asked Whedon. He continued, "[Clark Gregg] is the star of the show. It was part of the genesis of it: you know what makes this tick is this guy. And then there was all the "but didn't you make him stop ticking?" But all will be revealed?"
There's a bit more talk about Joss' role as Phase II Consultant but it's mostly rhetoric we've heard before. He acknowledges that he has some input in the other Phase II films but admits that the broad elements of Avengers II are already in place while plotting the other Phase II films so much of the coordinating has already been completed. When the conversation turned to Star Wars and director J.J. Abrams, Whedon offered up, "I have to say, I think [J.J. Abrams'] perfect to be doing Star Wars and I don't think he needs my advice." He continued, comparing Star Wars and Avengers, acknowledging that, "They're different beasts. Star Wars you have an "in" that is not even based on the characters. With the Marvel movies, I give a lot of credit to them for getting people in theatres to see a film like Thor, because who knows about Thor that isn't a comic book geek or Norse?" Whedon went on to elaborate, "You still have to earn it [with a Marvel film]. With Star Wars, if the prequel proved anything it's that you don't have to earn it. I think JJ is the kind of guy who will know where the line is: where you must be completely faithful and when you must bring in something completely new."
Joss Whedon's AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Filmed On Location In Paris, France
They've just posted the interview today but GQ(Uk) caught up with Joss Whedon back in February to discuss a number of topics but for our purposes, the most interesting parts of the conversation pertain to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Joss confirmed that some of the show was shot on location in Paris, France. "I was in Paris last week finishing shooting the S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot, edited the entire thing, sent it to the network, and then came here. So basically I'm a wreck," said Whedon of his busy February schedule. Whedon also bluntly states that Agent Coulson is the focus of the show. "[Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.] basically opens with the idea that since The Avengers things have changed. Now everybody knows that there are gods and monsters, and what is the world like," asked Whedon. He continued, "[Clark Gregg] is the star of the show. It was part of the genesis of it: you know what makes this tick is this guy. And then there was all the "but didn't you make him stop ticking?" But all will be revealed?"
There's a bit more talk about Joss' role as Phase II Consultant but it's mostly rhetoric we've heard before. He acknowledges that he has some input in the other Phase II films but admits that the broad elements of Avengers II are already in place while plotting the other Phase II films so much of the coordinating has already been completed. When the conversation turned to Star Wars and director J.J. Abrams, Whedon offered up, "I have to say, I think [J.J. Abrams'] perfect to be doing Star Wars and I don't think he needs my advice." He continued, comparing Star Wars and Avengers, acknowledging that, "They're different beasts. Star Wars you have an "in" that is not even based on the characters. With the Marvel movies, I give a lot of credit to them for getting people in theatres to see a film like Thor, because who knows about Thor that isn't a comic book geek or Norse?" Whedon went on to elaborate, "You still have to earn it [with a Marvel film]. With Star Wars, if the prequel proved anything it's that you don't have to earn it. I think JJ is the kind of guy who will know where the line is: where you must be completely faithful and when you must bring in something completely new."
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
UPDATE: New Suit In CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER Spotted In Latest Set Photos
UPDATE: New Suit In CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER Spotted In Latest Set Photos
UPDATE: New Suit In CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER Spotted In Latest Set Photos
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
Is This The Image Of CHRISTOPHER REEVE In MAN OF STEEL?
Is This The Image Of CHRISTOPHER REEVE In MAN OF STEEL?
Earlier today I wrote an editorial exploring that I thought I had caught a brief glimpse of Christopher Reeves in Zack Snyder's incredible Man of Steel. A few hours later a few low resolution images surfaced. Hit the jump to make up your own mind...
Is This The Image Of CHRISTOPHER REEVE In MAN OF STEEL?
Earlier today I wrote an editorial exploring that I thought I had caught a brief glimpse of Christopher Reeves in Zack Snyder's incredible Man of Steel. A few hours later a few low resolution images surfaced. Hit the jump to make up your own mind...
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
John Hurt Joins The Cast Of Guillermo del Toro's THE STRAIN As 'Professor Abraham Setrakian'
John Hurt Joins The Cast Of Guillermo del Toro's THE STRAIN As 'Professor Abraham Setrakian'
Deadline reports that John Hurt has joined the cast of The Strain (FX's small screen adaptation of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's vampire novel trilogy) as 'Professor Abraham Setrakian'. They go on to describe his character as, "a holocaust survivor who immigrated to the United States after World War II and now runs a pawn shop in Spanish Harlem. As the outbreak spreads, he may be the only one with answers ? if anyone will listen." Hurt will be the co-lead opposite Corey Stoll and Mia Maestro. "I am incredibly happy to be reunited with John, who is one of the greatest actors in the world and one of my favorite people ever," said del Toro. "Chuck and I always visualized him while writing The Strain novels and he is absolutely perfect for the part!" The series has a pilot order (which will be helmed by the Pacific Rim director) but is being eyed for a full 13-episode pickup according to various outlets.
John Hurt Joins The Cast Of Guillermo del Toro's THE STRAIN As 'Professor Abraham Setrakian'
Deadline reports that John Hurt has joined the cast of The Strain (FX's small screen adaptation of Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's vampire novel trilogy) as 'Professor Abraham Setrakian'. They go on to describe his character as, "a holocaust survivor who immigrated to the United States after World War II and now runs a pawn shop in Spanish Harlem. As the outbreak spreads, he may be the only one with answers ? if anyone will listen." Hurt will be the co-lead opposite Corey Stoll and Mia Maestro. "I am incredibly happy to be reunited with John, who is one of the greatest actors in the world and one of my favorite people ever," said del Toro. "Chuck and I always visualized him while writing The Strain novels and he is absolutely perfect for the part!" The series has a pilot order (which will be helmed by the Pacific Rim director) but is being eyed for a full 13-episode pickup according to various outlets.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
Stephen Amell Says Bigger Characters Than Green Arrow Appearing In ARROW Season 2
Stephen Amell Says Bigger Characters Than Green Arrow Appearing In ARROW Season 2
"The thing that makes me most excited about the show is that when we were up shooting the pilot, Andrew Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim came to me with ideas for Season One - 'Here's where we're looking at taking Season One.' All of these things happened, all of these fleshed out ideas ended up taking place. They sat me down [again] after my last post-production work for Season One back in Los Angeles and Andrew Kreisberg sat me down and gave me the big pitch and then after I got the pitch he went 'OK, here's the game-changer.' And the game-changer is a 'game-changer.' I can't say [specifics] but it's something and some people that aren't just familiar to DC Comics fans...they're like...more familiar than Green Arrow."
Now Amell was careful not to give away any specifics but his words and his body language leads me to believe that we're going to see some MAJOR DC Comics characters in Season Two. With the first season being such a success, it's entirely possible that Warner Bros. has decided to become more lenient with who's available and who's off the table in terms of their DC characters. Remember, there currently isn't a Batman film in the works and the network is already actively retooling their Wonder Woman pilot. It's entirely possible that Diana of Themyscira is being retooled to spin more organically out of Arrow. Either way, I'm hoping we'll have more definitive reveals at this year's San Diego Comic Con which producer Andrew Kreisberg has confirmed to me that they'll be attending.
Stephen Amell Says Bigger Characters Than Green Arrow Appearing In ARROW Season 2
"The thing that makes me most excited about the show is that when we were up shooting the pilot, Andrew Kreisberg and Marc Guggenheim came to me with ideas for Season One - 'Here's where we're looking at taking Season One.' All of these things happened, all of these fleshed out ideas ended up taking place. They sat me down [again] after my last post-production work for Season One back in Los Angeles and Andrew Kreisberg sat me down and gave me the big pitch and then after I got the pitch he went 'OK, here's the game-changer.' And the game-changer is a 'game-changer.' I can't say [specifics] but it's something and some people that aren't just familiar to DC Comics fans...they're like...more familiar than Green Arrow."
Now Amell was careful not to give away any specifics but his words and his body language leads me to believe that we're going to see some MAJOR DC Comics characters in Season Two. With the first season being such a success, it's entirely possible that Warner Bros. has decided to become more lenient with who's available and who's off the table in terms of their DC characters. Remember, there currently isn't a Batman film in the works and the network is already actively retooling their Wonder Woman pilot. It's entirely possible that Diana of Themyscira is being retooled to spin more organically out of Arrow. Either way, I'm hoping we'll have more definitive reveals at this year's San Diego Comic Con which producer Andrew Kreisberg has confirmed to me that they'll be attending.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
SUPERNATURAL Star Jim Beaver Joins The Cast Of Guillermo del Toro's CRIMSON PEAK
Jessica Chastain, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mia Wasikowska and Charlie Hunnam have all signed up to star in Legendary Pictures and Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak, and now Supernatural and Justified star Jim Beaver has confirmed that he has also joined the cast. You can read his full statement on the casting by clicking on the link in the Tweet below. Del Toro wrote the haunted house thriller - which is set to begin production in February 2014 - with Matthew Robbins and Lucinda Coxon, and is expected to make this his first movie after the epic looking Pacific Rim.
Jessica Chastain, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mia Wasikowska and Charlie Hunnam have all signed up to star in Legendary Pictures and Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak, and now Supernatural and Justified star Jim Beaver has confirmed that he has also joined the cast. You can read his full statement on the casting by clicking on the link in the Tweet below. Del Toro wrote the haunted house thriller - which is set to begin production in February 2014 - with Matthew Robbins and Lucinda Coxon, and is expected to make this his first movie after the epic looking Pacific Rim.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
UPDATE: Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) On The Set Of X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
UPDATE: Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) On The Set Of X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
UPDATE: Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) On The Set Of X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
Awesome MAN OF STEEL Concept & Style Guide Art For Superman, General Zod & Faora
Awesome MAN OF STEEL Concept & Style Guide Art For Superman, General Zod & Faora
Conceptual illustrator, Warren Manser, has contributed on past comic book movies, like Thor and Daredevil, and now he has released his concept and style guide art for Zack Snyder's Man of Steel.
Awesome MAN OF STEEL Concept & Style Guide Art For Superman, General Zod & Faora
Conceptual illustrator, Warren Manser, has contributed on past comic book movies, like Thor and Daredevil, and now he has released his concept and style guide art for Zack Snyder's Man of Steel.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
James Franco Gives His Thoughts On MAN OF STEEL; While Taking A Few More Shots At TASM
James Franco Gives His Thoughts On MAN OF STEEL; While Taking A Few More Shots At TASM
On The Amazing Spider-Man:
"I too have been in comic-book films?the Spider-Man trilogy directed by Sam Raimi. I mention the director because this distinction is now necessary in the wake of the new Spider-Man series that arose even before there was time to bury the corpse of the old one and enshroud it in the haze of nostalgia. Indeed there are still young children who approach me as fans of the original (boy, it seems weird to say that) series. I don?t have a huge emotional attachment to the Spider-Man franchise as a subject, my biggest sentimental ties are to the people I worked with on those films: Sam, Toby, Kirsten, the late and great Laura Ziskin, and the hundreds of others who worked with us. I don?t really feel much distress over its being remade, for many reasons, but what is interesting to me is that it has been remade so quickly?and the reasons why. The answer is, of course, money."
On Possible Bad Feelings Between He And Cavill
?Years ago we worked on a film together called Tristan and Isolde. I played Tristan and he played my backstabbing sidekick. My hunch is that he didn?t like me very much. I don?t know this for certain, but I know that I wouldn?t have liked myself back then because I was a difficult young actor who took himself too seriously.?
His Thoughts On Man Of Steel
"So, what did we watch? A great film.....Man of Steel is great because it delivers everything it should. It made Superman cool again. It delivered great action and interesting characters with a plot that was grounded enough to make us care a little....We love these movies because they?re so big, and damn, they?re all that we have. They aren?t going away, so we just have to keep hoping that they are, at the very least, well made."
What do you guys think? Is Franco right? There's no denying that TASM was VERY similar to Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man, while arguably not really improving on any aspects. Anyway, click on the link below for Franco's thoughts in full -- including a story about how passionate Henry Cavill was about playing Superman all those years ago when working with Franco.
'Man of Steel': The Super Movie | VICE United States
Last week I was asked to attend the London premiere of Man of Steel, so after working on my forthcoming little thriller at Pinewood studios, I went over to Leicester Square to see the latest filmic take on the superhero.
Many things went through my head, both subjective and objective, or rather as a person on the inside of the film business and as an indiscriminate viewer of the film. I too have been in comic-book films?the Spider-Man trilogy directed by Sam Raimi. I mention the director because this distinction is now necessary in the wake of the new Spider-Man series that arose even before there was time to bury the corpse of the old one and enshroud it in the haze of nostalgia. Indeed there are still young children who approach me as fans of the original (boy, it seems weird to say that) series. I don?t have a huge emotional attachment to the Spider-Man franchise as a subject, my biggest sentimental ties are to the people I worked with on those films: Sam, Toby, Kirsten, the late and great Laura Ziskin, and the hundreds of others who worked with us. I don?t really feel much distress over its being remade, for many reasons, but what is interesting to me is that it has been remade so quickly?and the reasons why.
The answer is, of course, money. We are in the film business, and the studios are owned by large corporations who want to make money. And in this art form, where so much is spent and so much profit can be made, one criterion for success is inevitably the financial. And when movies become so big that they can make $200 million in one weekend like The Avengers did, everyone from studios to filmmakers are going to want to get in on making comic-book movies. And when great directors like Sam Raimi and Christopher Nolan show that equally great characters can live within special-effects-laden films, then the comic-book genre becomes legitimized and great actors will follow. But the biggest reason, we cannot forget, is money. For all involved, it?s about being able to work with the biggest toys and the best people, because the product can support paying for them. And that isn?t necessarily a bad thing. If you want to make a movie about a man who can fly and tear spaceships in half with his hands, then you need lots of money to make it look good. Otherwise you might as well keep the story in the comic books, where it costs much less to make superhuman feats look cool.
I was also at Leicester Square earlier this year for the premiere of my film Oz, when the red carpet was a yellow brick road, but the night I saw the new Superman, I arrived incognito: 1) because it wasn?t my film, and 2) because I don?t think Henry Cavill would have wanted to see me there. Not that we?re enemies. Years ago we worked on a film together called Tristan and Isolde. I played Tristan and he played my backstabbing sidekick. My hunch is that he didn?t like me very much. I don?t know this for certain, but I know that I wouldn?t have liked myself back then because I was a difficult young actor who took himself too seriously.
What Henry took seriously back then was Superman. He wanted to be Superman more than anything in the world. Personally, I?m not sure why. I missed the whole Superman-film phenomenon. I was more a fan of director Richard Donner?s Goonies and Lethal Weapon. I can understand the appeal the original Superman comics had for the WWII generation and its need for a hero to rid the world of evil, but in my days as a young man, this appeal was long outstripped by the cheesiness of the character?s suit and his douchey invincibility. But Henry was dying to do the Bryan Singer version of Superman that was being put together as we were shooting Tristan in Ireland and the Czech Republic in 2005. Henry was in the running but, in the end, he was passed over for Brandon Routh.
The night of the premiere I saw Henry from afar on the red carpet and knew this was the moment his whole life had been building toward. His dream had come true, and I was happy for him. It was the role he would have killed to do, with the right director (Zack Snyder: 300, Watchmen) and the right producer (Chris Nolan: The Dark Knight)?people who would keep the story and the characters focused, grounded by Chris?s regular team of David S. Goyer and Emma Thomas. If anything this was a project that must have made the people who made it very happy.
So, what did we watch? A great film. But what makes me say this? Is it the nerd revolution that has brought our public taste to the point where comic-book characters and video games are now cool? Are these huge comic-book films the way for the world at large to embrace the subjects of these forms that are traditionally relegated to the nerd niche? Yes, in a way. But in another way, we are just wowed by the money that brings them to fruition. Kids like comic-book-style heroes, teens like flashy action and sex, and therefore these films make money. Adults?the third audience?respect money. So these films are made. Again and again. And if Brandon Routh doesn?t work as Superman, or if Sam Raimi can?t agree on the villain for a fourth Spider-Man, they will just make new versions without them. Man of Steel is great because it delivers everything it should. It made Superman cool again. It delivered great action and interesting characters with a plot that was grounded enough to make us care a little.
In addition, to be fair, movies are fighting for their lives. With all the great television that is increasingly monopolizing good drama, and the video games that allow people to actively engage rather than sit back as passive viewers, movies need to offer something that these other forms can?t: big effects, 3D, and money, money, money.
But, in the end, why did I really walk away liking it? It wasn?t because of the film?s message. Maybe I sound na?ve going to a film like this for a message, but images and themes are being thrown at me in 3D, so I want to know what I?m swallowing. One of the main reasons I liked it was because in this film, Superman?s S symbol stands for ?hope? on the planet Krypton. Viewers discover that Superman is the symbol of hope for his dead race and simultaneously the symbol of hope for the human race. He hides his powers for the first 30 years of his life on Earth because his adopted father (Kevin Costner) believes that humans won?t be ready for him. In this way Superman is presented as a kind of Christ figure, given to Earth to save humanity. (A parallel that has been made many times before, I?m sure. Jesus Christ Superstar, anyone?) But sadly this Christ doesn?t teach any fishermen how to fish. He just does all the heavy lifting himself. If we are supposed to have hope in anything, it?s hope that Superman keeps fighting for good. If he doesn?t, we have no way of stopping him.
I guess that sounds a bit like the movie itself. We love these movies because they?re so big, and damn, they?re all that we have. They aren?t going away, so we just have to keep hoping that they are, at the very least, well made.
James Franco Gives His Thoughts On MAN OF STEEL; While Taking A Few More Shots At TASM
On The Amazing Spider-Man:
"I too have been in comic-book films?the Spider-Man trilogy directed by Sam Raimi. I mention the director because this distinction is now necessary in the wake of the new Spider-Man series that arose even before there was time to bury the corpse of the old one and enshroud it in the haze of nostalgia. Indeed there are still young children who approach me as fans of the original (boy, it seems weird to say that) series. I don?t have a huge emotional attachment to the Spider-Man franchise as a subject, my biggest sentimental ties are to the people I worked with on those films: Sam, Toby, Kirsten, the late and great Laura Ziskin, and the hundreds of others who worked with us. I don?t really feel much distress over its being remade, for many reasons, but what is interesting to me is that it has been remade so quickly?and the reasons why. The answer is, of course, money."
On Possible Bad Feelings Between He And Cavill
?Years ago we worked on a film together called Tristan and Isolde. I played Tristan and he played my backstabbing sidekick. My hunch is that he didn?t like me very much. I don?t know this for certain, but I know that I wouldn?t have liked myself back then because I was a difficult young actor who took himself too seriously.?
His Thoughts On Man Of Steel
"So, what did we watch? A great film.....Man of Steel is great because it delivers everything it should. It made Superman cool again. It delivered great action and interesting characters with a plot that was grounded enough to make us care a little....We love these movies because they?re so big, and damn, they?re all that we have. They aren?t going away, so we just have to keep hoping that they are, at the very least, well made."
What do you guys think? Is Franco right? There's no denying that TASM was VERY similar to Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man, while arguably not really improving on any aspects. Anyway, click on the link below for Franco's thoughts in full -- including a story about how passionate Henry Cavill was about playing Superman all those years ago when working with Franco.
'Man of Steel': The Super Movie | VICE United States
Last week I was asked to attend the London premiere of Man of Steel, so after working on my forthcoming little thriller at Pinewood studios, I went over to Leicester Square to see the latest filmic take on the superhero.
Many things went through my head, both subjective and objective, or rather as a person on the inside of the film business and as an indiscriminate viewer of the film. I too have been in comic-book films?the Spider-Man trilogy directed by Sam Raimi. I mention the director because this distinction is now necessary in the wake of the new Spider-Man series that arose even before there was time to bury the corpse of the old one and enshroud it in the haze of nostalgia. Indeed there are still young children who approach me as fans of the original (boy, it seems weird to say that) series. I don?t have a huge emotional attachment to the Spider-Man franchise as a subject, my biggest sentimental ties are to the people I worked with on those films: Sam, Toby, Kirsten, the late and great Laura Ziskin, and the hundreds of others who worked with us. I don?t really feel much distress over its being remade, for many reasons, but what is interesting to me is that it has been remade so quickly?and the reasons why.
The answer is, of course, money. We are in the film business, and the studios are owned by large corporations who want to make money. And in this art form, where so much is spent and so much profit can be made, one criterion for success is inevitably the financial. And when movies become so big that they can make $200 million in one weekend like The Avengers did, everyone from studios to filmmakers are going to want to get in on making comic-book movies. And when great directors like Sam Raimi and Christopher Nolan show that equally great characters can live within special-effects-laden films, then the comic-book genre becomes legitimized and great actors will follow. But the biggest reason, we cannot forget, is money. For all involved, it?s about being able to work with the biggest toys and the best people, because the product can support paying for them. And that isn?t necessarily a bad thing. If you want to make a movie about a man who can fly and tear spaceships in half with his hands, then you need lots of money to make it look good. Otherwise you might as well keep the story in the comic books, where it costs much less to make superhuman feats look cool.
I was also at Leicester Square earlier this year for the premiere of my film Oz, when the red carpet was a yellow brick road, but the night I saw the new Superman, I arrived incognito: 1) because it wasn?t my film, and 2) because I don?t think Henry Cavill would have wanted to see me there. Not that we?re enemies. Years ago we worked on a film together called Tristan and Isolde. I played Tristan and he played my backstabbing sidekick. My hunch is that he didn?t like me very much. I don?t know this for certain, but I know that I wouldn?t have liked myself back then because I was a difficult young actor who took himself too seriously.
What Henry took seriously back then was Superman. He wanted to be Superman more than anything in the world. Personally, I?m not sure why. I missed the whole Superman-film phenomenon. I was more a fan of director Richard Donner?s Goonies and Lethal Weapon. I can understand the appeal the original Superman comics had for the WWII generation and its need for a hero to rid the world of evil, but in my days as a young man, this appeal was long outstripped by the cheesiness of the character?s suit and his douchey invincibility. But Henry was dying to do the Bryan Singer version of Superman that was being put together as we were shooting Tristan in Ireland and the Czech Republic in 2005. Henry was in the running but, in the end, he was passed over for Brandon Routh.
The night of the premiere I saw Henry from afar on the red carpet and knew this was the moment his whole life had been building toward. His dream had come true, and I was happy for him. It was the role he would have killed to do, with the right director (Zack Snyder: 300, Watchmen) and the right producer (Chris Nolan: The Dark Knight)?people who would keep the story and the characters focused, grounded by Chris?s regular team of David S. Goyer and Emma Thomas. If anything this was a project that must have made the people who made it very happy.
So, what did we watch? A great film. But what makes me say this? Is it the nerd revolution that has brought our public taste to the point where comic-book characters and video games are now cool? Are these huge comic-book films the way for the world at large to embrace the subjects of these forms that are traditionally relegated to the nerd niche? Yes, in a way. But in another way, we are just wowed by the money that brings them to fruition. Kids like comic-book-style heroes, teens like flashy action and sex, and therefore these films make money. Adults?the third audience?respect money. So these films are made. Again and again. And if Brandon Routh doesn?t work as Superman, or if Sam Raimi can?t agree on the villain for a fourth Spider-Man, they will just make new versions without them. Man of Steel is great because it delivers everything it should. It made Superman cool again. It delivered great action and interesting characters with a plot that was grounded enough to make us care a little.
In addition, to be fair, movies are fighting for their lives. With all the great television that is increasingly monopolizing good drama, and the video games that allow people to actively engage rather than sit back as passive viewers, movies need to offer something that these other forms can?t: big effects, 3D, and money, money, money.
But, in the end, why did I really walk away liking it? It wasn?t because of the film?s message. Maybe I sound na?ve going to a film like this for a message, but images and themes are being thrown at me in 3D, so I want to know what I?m swallowing. One of the main reasons I liked it was because in this film, Superman?s S symbol stands for ?hope? on the planet Krypton. Viewers discover that Superman is the symbol of hope for his dead race and simultaneously the symbol of hope for the human race. He hides his powers for the first 30 years of his life on Earth because his adopted father (Kevin Costner) believes that humans won?t be ready for him. In this way Superman is presented as a kind of Christ figure, given to Earth to save humanity. (A parallel that has been made many times before, I?m sure. Jesus Christ Superstar, anyone?) But sadly this Christ doesn?t teach any fishermen how to fish. He just does all the heavy lifting himself. If we are supposed to have hope in anything, it?s hope that Superman keeps fighting for good. If he doesn?t, we have no way of stopping him.
I guess that sounds a bit like the movie itself. We love these movies because they?re so big, and damn, they?re all that we have. They aren?t going away, so we just have to keep hoping that they are, at the very least, well made.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
Release Date Of Robert Rodriguez's MACHETE KILLS Pushed Back
Release Date Of Robert Rodriguez's MACHETE KILLS Pushed Back
It has today been revealed that Open Road have pushed back the release date of Machete Kills from September 13th, 2013 to October 4th, 2013. Directed by Robert Rodriguez, this is the second of his movies to suffer a release date delay this week (the other being Sin City: A Dame to Kill For which was shifted all the way to next August). Thankfully, the wait for Machete Kills is nowhere near as bad.
Release Date Of Robert Rodriguez's MACHETE KILLS Pushed Back
It has today been revealed that Open Road have pushed back the release date of Machete Kills from September 13th, 2013 to October 4th, 2013. Directed by Robert Rodriguez, this is the second of his movies to suffer a release date delay this week (the other being Sin City: A Dame to Kill For which was shifted all the way to next August). Thankfully, the wait for Machete Kills is nowhere near as bad.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
FOX Moves Up X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Release
FOX Moves Up X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Release
Twentieth Century Fox has announced, through its updated 2014 release schedule, new dates for the studios' major tent-poles. One of the notable changes reveal that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has swapped summer release dates with X-Men: Days of Future Past. While the Apes sequel is now set for release on July 18, 2014, the X-Men "In-between-quel" will unleash on May 23, 2014, which is just three weeks after Sony premieres The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on May 2, 2014. In the meantime, X-Men: Days of Future Past is currently filming in Montral, Canada, and the Bryan Singer-directed mutant ensemble stars Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Patrick Stewart, Michael Fassbender, Ian McKellen, Nicholas Hoult, Omar Sy, Peter Dinklage, Halle Berry, Adan Canto, Fan Bingbing, Anna Paquin, Evan Peters, Daniel Cudmore, Ellen Page and Booboo Stewart.
FOX Moves Up X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Release
Twentieth Century Fox has announced, through its updated 2014 release schedule, new dates for the studios' major tent-poles. One of the notable changes reveal that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has swapped summer release dates with X-Men: Days of Future Past. While the Apes sequel is now set for release on July 18, 2014, the X-Men "In-between-quel" will unleash on May 23, 2014, which is just three weeks after Sony premieres The Amazing Spider-Man 2 on May 2, 2014. In the meantime, X-Men: Days of Future Past is currently filming in Montral, Canada, and the Bryan Singer-directed mutant ensemble stars Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Patrick Stewart, Michael Fassbender, Ian McKellen, Nicholas Hoult, Omar Sy, Peter Dinklage, Halle Berry, Adan Canto, Fan Bingbing, Anna Paquin, Evan Peters, Daniel Cudmore, Ellen Page and Booboo Stewart.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
ARROW Showrunner to Direct Sci-Fi FIlm EPSILON for Sony
ARROW Showrunner to Direct Sci-Fi FIlm EPSILON for Sony
Sony has hired ARROW show runner, Greg Berlanti, to helm their upcoming robo-revolution film EPSILON. The film is described as being set in a world where robots have taken refuge on a space station after a failed revolution on Earth, which is strangely absent of most electrically powered devices. The robots begin raising humans for experimentation and condition them to act as their agents. Conflict arises when the primary character "is a man who discovers he is more human than he thought".
Berlanti has several credits including executive producer and showrunner for ARROW and the CW's upcoming remake of TOMORROW PEOPLE. Berlanti also wrote for movies GREEN LANTERN and WRATH OF THE TITANS. EPSILON is to be produced by Jonathan Kadin and written by ZOMBIELAND scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.
ARROW Showrunner to Direct Sci-Fi FIlm EPSILON for Sony
Sony has hired ARROW show runner, Greg Berlanti, to helm their upcoming robo-revolution film EPSILON. The film is described as being set in a world where robots have taken refuge on a space station after a failed revolution on Earth, which is strangely absent of most electrically powered devices. The robots begin raising humans for experimentation and condition them to act as their agents. Conflict arises when the primary character "is a man who discovers he is more human than he thought".
Berlanti has several credits including executive producer and showrunner for ARROW and the CW's upcoming remake of TOMORROW PEOPLE. Berlanti also wrote for movies GREEN LANTERN and WRATH OF THE TITANS. EPSILON is to be produced by Jonathan Kadin and written by ZOMBIELAND scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
Will Smith Not Returning for Independence Day 2, Director Says Movie Star is "Too Expensive" | Comcast
Will Smith Not Returning for Independence Day 2, Director Says Movie Star is "Too Expensive"
you were anticipating seeing Will Smith in the upcoming sequel to Independence Day, well, it looks like you might be out of luck.
While it was recently announced that a follow-up to the hugely successful 1996 alien-invasion flick is slated to hit theaters on July 3, 2015, director Roland Emmerich has revealed that it will not feature the megastar.
"Will Smith cannot come back because he's too expensive, but he'd also be too much of a marquee name," Emmerich told the New York Daily News . "It would be too much."
Then again, the exclusion of Smith might be a blessing in disguise for the 44-year-old actor.
After all, while chatting earlier this month with Digital Spy about his latest film, After Earth, Smith hinted at his desire to scale back on making big-budget movies.
"I've been really focused and it's been an absolute necessity that the movie be a blockbuster," he said, referring to After Earth. "But I think I'm going to start moving out of that and finding more danger in my artistic choices."
Meanwhile, Emmerich's new movie White House Down, starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, hits theaters on Friday.
Will Smith Not Returning for Independence Day 2, Director Says Movie Star is "Too Expensive"
you were anticipating seeing Will Smith in the upcoming sequel to Independence Day, well, it looks like you might be out of luck.
While it was recently announced that a follow-up to the hugely successful 1996 alien-invasion flick is slated to hit theaters on July 3, 2015, director Roland Emmerich has revealed that it will not feature the megastar.
"Will Smith cannot come back because he's too expensive, but he'd also be too much of a marquee name," Emmerich told the New York Daily News . "It would be too much."
Then again, the exclusion of Smith might be a blessing in disguise for the 44-year-old actor.
After all, while chatting earlier this month with Digital Spy about his latest film, After Earth, Smith hinted at his desire to scale back on making big-budget movies.
"I've been really focused and it's been an absolute necessity that the movie be a blockbuster," he said, referring to After Earth. "But I think I'm going to start moving out of that and finding more danger in my artistic choices."
Meanwhile, Emmerich's new movie White House Down, starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, hits theaters on Friday.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
'I Am Legend' author Richard Matheson dies at 87 | Comcast
'I Am Legend' author Richard Matheson dies at 87
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Richard Matheson, the prolific sci-fi and fantasy writer whose "I Am Legend" and "The Shrinking Man" were transformed into films, has died. He was 87.
A spokesman for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films said Matheson died Sunday in Los Angeles. No other details were provided.
With a career spanning more than 60 years, Matheson crafted stories that deftly transitioned from the page to both the big and small screens. Several of his works were adapted into films, including 1953's "Hell House," 1956's "The Shrinking Man," 1958's "A Stir of Echoes" and 1978's "What Dreams May Come."
Matheson's 1954 sci-fi vampire novel "I Am Legend" inspired three different film adaptations: 1964's "The Last Man on Earth" starring Vincent Price, 1971's "Omega Man" starring Charlton Heston and 2007's "I Am Legend" starring Will Smith.
Matheson was also responsible for writing several episodes of "The Twilight Zone," as well as editions of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," ''Rod Serling's Night Gallery," ''The Martian Chronicles" and "Amazing Stories." His "Twilight Zone" installments included "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," which featured William Shatner as an airplane passenger who spots a creature on a plane's wing, as well as "Steel," which inspired the 2011 film "Real Steel" starring Hugh Jackman.
"I loved Richard Matheson's writing, and it was a huge honor getting to adapt his story 'Button, Button' into a film," posted "Donnie Darko" and "The Box" director Richard Kelly on Twitter on Monday.
Matheson influenced several generations of storytellers. Among them were Stephen King, who dedicated his 2006 novel "Cell" to Matheson, and Steven Spielberg, whose first feature-length film was the made-for-TV movie "Duel," based on the Matheson short story of the same name.
"Richard Matheson's ironic and iconic imagination created seminal science-fiction stories and gave me my first break when he wrote the short story and screenplay for 'Duel,'" said Spielberg in a statement. "His 'Twilight Zones' were among my favorites, and he recently worked with us on 'Real Steel.' For me, he is in the same category as (Ray) Bradbury and (Isaac) Asimov."
Matheson was scheduled to receive the visionary award at the Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Films' Saturn Awards on Wednesday. The organization said the award will be presented posthumously and the 39th annual ceremony would be dedicated to Matheson.
"We are heartbroken to lose a writer of towering talent, unlimited imagination and unparalleled inspiration," said Robert Holguin, the academy's president. "Richard was a genius whose visions helped bring legitimacy and critical acclaim to science fiction and fantasy. He was also a longtime supporter of the academy, and everyone associated with the Saturn Awards feels emptier today to learn of this enormous loss."
Matheson is survived by his wife and four children.
'I Am Legend' author Richard Matheson dies at 87
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Richard Matheson, the prolific sci-fi and fantasy writer whose "I Am Legend" and "The Shrinking Man" were transformed into films, has died. He was 87.
A spokesman for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films said Matheson died Sunday in Los Angeles. No other details were provided.
With a career spanning more than 60 years, Matheson crafted stories that deftly transitioned from the page to both the big and small screens. Several of his works were adapted into films, including 1953's "Hell House," 1956's "The Shrinking Man," 1958's "A Stir of Echoes" and 1978's "What Dreams May Come."
Matheson's 1954 sci-fi vampire novel "I Am Legend" inspired three different film adaptations: 1964's "The Last Man on Earth" starring Vincent Price, 1971's "Omega Man" starring Charlton Heston and 2007's "I Am Legend" starring Will Smith.
Matheson was also responsible for writing several episodes of "The Twilight Zone," as well as editions of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," ''Rod Serling's Night Gallery," ''The Martian Chronicles" and "Amazing Stories." His "Twilight Zone" installments included "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," which featured William Shatner as an airplane passenger who spots a creature on a plane's wing, as well as "Steel," which inspired the 2011 film "Real Steel" starring Hugh Jackman.
"I loved Richard Matheson's writing, and it was a huge honor getting to adapt his story 'Button, Button' into a film," posted "Donnie Darko" and "The Box" director Richard Kelly on Twitter on Monday.
Matheson influenced several generations of storytellers. Among them were Stephen King, who dedicated his 2006 novel "Cell" to Matheson, and Steven Spielberg, whose first feature-length film was the made-for-TV movie "Duel," based on the Matheson short story of the same name.
"Richard Matheson's ironic and iconic imagination created seminal science-fiction stories and gave me my first break when he wrote the short story and screenplay for 'Duel,'" said Spielberg in a statement. "His 'Twilight Zones' were among my favorites, and he recently worked with us on 'Real Steel.' For me, he is in the same category as (Ray) Bradbury and (Isaac) Asimov."
Matheson was scheduled to receive the visionary award at the Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Films' Saturn Awards on Wednesday. The organization said the award will be presented posthumously and the 39th annual ceremony would be dedicated to Matheson.
"We are heartbroken to lose a writer of towering talent, unlimited imagination and unparalleled inspiration," said Robert Holguin, the academy's president. "Richard was a genius whose visions helped bring legitimacy and critical acclaim to science fiction and fantasy. He was also a longtime supporter of the academy, and everyone associated with the Saturn Awards feels emptier today to learn of this enormous loss."
Matheson is survived by his wife and four children.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
TRANSFORMERS 4: Michigan Filming Updates In Detroit, Pontiac & Fairfield Township
TRANSFORMERS 4: Michigan Filming Updates In Detroit, Pontiac & Fairfield Township
Production on Transformers 4 has already begun in Texas. Many set photos have already appeared both here on ComicBookMovie.com and across the Internet showing actor Mark Wahlberg on set along with other actors. While crews are in Texas filming, another unit is building and preparing sets in Michigan for the alien robot film.
According to MLive.com, a small town is being built in Downtown Detroit at Washington Blvd. at Clifford.
"A guard watching the site, representing Wolverine Security, [said] ... the Transformer's crew is building a town, surrounding existing buildings like the old United Artists Theater and David Whitney, that will be a part of the film.
"The security guard, who declined to identify himself, said work on the "town" is expected to be complete by crews sometime in July."
Also being reported is Transformers 4 will film a bulk of the movie at Michigan Motion Picture Studios just north of Detroit in Pontiac. Another filming location has been revealed as well.
The Associated Press, via MLive.com, is reporting Transformers 4 will film in Fairfield Township. Located on the southern border of Michigan and along the Ohio border, Fairfield Township is a somewhat remote location located approximately 30-40 miles northwest of Toledo, Ohio.
"The makers of the next installment of the 'Transformers' movie franchise plan to shoot an action sequence this month along a wheat field-lined stretch of Michigan state highway near Adrian."
More to come as Transformers 4 is scheduled to continue its production through the summer months.
TRANSFORMERS 4: Michigan Filming Updates In Detroit, Pontiac & Fairfield Township
Production on Transformers 4 has already begun in Texas. Many set photos have already appeared both here on ComicBookMovie.com and across the Internet showing actor Mark Wahlberg on set along with other actors. While crews are in Texas filming, another unit is building and preparing sets in Michigan for the alien robot film.
According to MLive.com, a small town is being built in Downtown Detroit at Washington Blvd. at Clifford.
"A guard watching the site, representing Wolverine Security, [said] ... the Transformer's crew is building a town, surrounding existing buildings like the old United Artists Theater and David Whitney, that will be a part of the film.
"The security guard, who declined to identify himself, said work on the "town" is expected to be complete by crews sometime in July."
Also being reported is Transformers 4 will film a bulk of the movie at Michigan Motion Picture Studios just north of Detroit in Pontiac. Another filming location has been revealed as well.
The Associated Press, via MLive.com, is reporting Transformers 4 will film in Fairfield Township. Located on the southern border of Michigan and along the Ohio border, Fairfield Township is a somewhat remote location located approximately 30-40 miles northwest of Toledo, Ohio.
"The makers of the next installment of the 'Transformers' movie franchise plan to shoot an action sequence this month along a wheat field-lined stretch of Michigan state highway near Adrian."
More to come as Transformers 4 is scheduled to continue its production through the summer months.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
How WORLD WAR Z Originally Ended
How WORLD WAR Z Originally Ended
SPOILERS ahead
I wasn't a huge fan of World War Z but not because it seemed in any way patched together (which many feared it would after the re-shoots) in fact I thought the climactic scenes in the research center were probably the strongest in the movie. My biggest problem was just how by-the-numbers it all seemed. This movie contained not a single surprise for me, but reading through Movies.com's report on the original ending I can see not only why re-shoots were called for, but that there was a much ballsier, more compelling film in there somewhere. The theatrical ending of World War Z sees Gerry (Brad Pitt) and Segen (Daniella Kertesz) manage to find a cure (or sorts) to the Zombie outbreak, and travel meet Gerry's family, where everything ends with hugs and kisses while we await the inevitable sequel. Safe, but exactly very surprising right? But have a read of this, which occurs after Gerry and Segen board that doomed plane from Jerusalem.
OE
"The plane Gerry and Segen board is bound for Moscow. Upon safely landing, everyone on board is rounded up by the military. The elderly and the sick are executed and the healthy people, including a very shaken Gerry, are immediately drafted into armed service, though not before one particularly nasty Russian soldier takes Gerry's cell phone. The story then jumps forward an unknown amount of time and we catch up with Gerry, who now has a full beard and has been a part of Russia's zombie-clearing squad at least long enough for it to have changed to winter. He looks almost dead inside, but the reality is that over this time he's become an experienced and ruthless zombie killer, and he's the leader of his own equally capable unit.
Gerry's unit is tasked with clearing subway tunnels of zombie hordes. This is the first time we see the Lobo, a perfected zombie-killing tool that's sort of a shovel/battle axe that would have been one of the few things from the book to make it into the movie. Gerry and his team use them to slice their way through every poor zombie that tracks them through the tunnels by following their sounds. It's all routine work for them, and when they're not in the tunnels killing, they're basically just preparing to go back in. During this downtime we see a bit of bonding between Gerry and another English-speaking friend, Simon. The two play a guessing game of what celebrities would have survived the outbreak.
We get a couple intense scenes of tunnel combat (at one point Gerry has to kill one of his own after being bitten), and eventually they emerge above ground and are right in the middle of The Battle of Red Square (pictured in the banner above, though this is likely not from the movie and was created just for marketing purposes). This is a much, much larger set piece that involves several different front lines constantly fighting the hordes. There's a kind of weird plot point of Gerry's team now getting re-assigned to different front lines based on what their religion is (Gerry and Simon are atheists), the logic being that people would fight harder alongside people of the same faith. But they're segregated and Gerry tries to convince the General in charge that his elite, tunnel-sweeping crew should be allowed to teach those other people how to fight with Lobos and makeshift shields and what not.
There's arguing with this Russian General, but eventually Gerry convinces him to let him teach some of the other front lines how to fight, but this involves having to go back into the tunnels with Simon so they can sneak past the zombies on the other side. It's there that Gerry notices the zombies are having a hard time dealing with the severe Russian winter by remembering just how fast they were in Jerusalem, and so it occurs to him that the way to defeat the zombies is to let their bodies freeze.
Gerry and Simon are now on a mission to inform the Russian command to extinguish all fires and move their battle lines so as to keep as many of the zombies in the cold as possible, but then they run into a generator room where the nasty Russian soldier who took his phone upon arrival in the country is boozing it up with some very reluctant girls. One of those girls is Segen. Gerry grabs a belt of grenades and tosses one into the room. He, Segen and Simon duck behind a couch to survive the blast before making a break for it.
Once again Gerry meets up with the General and convinces him to use Russia's cold to their advantage, as they have done in past homeland wars. This works and he orders everyone to extinguish all of their fires. Eventually this gives them the upper hand in the battle. Gerry takes this turn toward the offensive to retreat. He takes a couple of shots of vodka, then picks up the phone he retrieved from the soldier and calls his wife, Karin.
Even beyond the entire Russian battle sequence, it's this call to his wife that's the real game changer for the (aborted) tone of World War Z.
Gerry reaches Karin. He explains to her that the cold is the way they'll win battles, which does her no good because it just so happens she and the kids are in a refugee camp in the sweltering heat of the Everglades. They're in the type of camp where you have to have something to trade to survive, and it just so happens the one thing Karin had to trade was herself. She doesn't explicitly tell Gerry this, but after she hastily hangs up the phone we see that she's in some kind of reluctantly consensual relationship with the soldier who rescued them from the rooftop at the beginning of the movie.
Did you happen to notice that soldier on the helicopter was played by Matthew Fox? Did you wonder why they bothered to cast someone as recognizable as him in a role that was pretty inconsequential and had almost no lines? That's because his real payoff wasn't until the end.
Fox' parajumper soldier then calls Gerry back and explains to him that he should just stay wherever he is and start a new life like he and Karin have. Gerry refuses to accept this, though, and he embarks on a rage mission to get back to his wife and daughters. Trouble is the nearest port that won't be frozen is thousands of miles away, so there's a montage of Gerry, Simon and Segen crossing various terrain until they ultimately end up on a boat. They're now off of the Oregon Coast and they attack the American shore like it's D-Day. And that's how the movie ends. Not with Gerry having discovered a cure, but with him storming across the United States of America to get Karin back."
How WORLD WAR Z Originally Ended
SPOILERS ahead
I wasn't a huge fan of World War Z but not because it seemed in any way patched together (which many feared it would after the re-shoots) in fact I thought the climactic scenes in the research center were probably the strongest in the movie. My biggest problem was just how by-the-numbers it all seemed. This movie contained not a single surprise for me, but reading through Movies.com's report on the original ending I can see not only why re-shoots were called for, but that there was a much ballsier, more compelling film in there somewhere. The theatrical ending of World War Z sees Gerry (Brad Pitt) and Segen (Daniella Kertesz) manage to find a cure (or sorts) to the Zombie outbreak, and travel meet Gerry's family, where everything ends with hugs and kisses while we await the inevitable sequel. Safe, but exactly very surprising right? But have a read of this, which occurs after Gerry and Segen board that doomed plane from Jerusalem.
OE
"The plane Gerry and Segen board is bound for Moscow. Upon safely landing, everyone on board is rounded up by the military. The elderly and the sick are executed and the healthy people, including a very shaken Gerry, are immediately drafted into armed service, though not before one particularly nasty Russian soldier takes Gerry's cell phone. The story then jumps forward an unknown amount of time and we catch up with Gerry, who now has a full beard and has been a part of Russia's zombie-clearing squad at least long enough for it to have changed to winter. He looks almost dead inside, but the reality is that over this time he's become an experienced and ruthless zombie killer, and he's the leader of his own equally capable unit.
Gerry's unit is tasked with clearing subway tunnels of zombie hordes. This is the first time we see the Lobo, a perfected zombie-killing tool that's sort of a shovel/battle axe that would have been one of the few things from the book to make it into the movie. Gerry and his team use them to slice their way through every poor zombie that tracks them through the tunnels by following their sounds. It's all routine work for them, and when they're not in the tunnels killing, they're basically just preparing to go back in. During this downtime we see a bit of bonding between Gerry and another English-speaking friend, Simon. The two play a guessing game of what celebrities would have survived the outbreak.
We get a couple intense scenes of tunnel combat (at one point Gerry has to kill one of his own after being bitten), and eventually they emerge above ground and are right in the middle of The Battle of Red Square (pictured in the banner above, though this is likely not from the movie and was created just for marketing purposes). This is a much, much larger set piece that involves several different front lines constantly fighting the hordes. There's a kind of weird plot point of Gerry's team now getting re-assigned to different front lines based on what their religion is (Gerry and Simon are atheists), the logic being that people would fight harder alongside people of the same faith. But they're segregated and Gerry tries to convince the General in charge that his elite, tunnel-sweeping crew should be allowed to teach those other people how to fight with Lobos and makeshift shields and what not.
There's arguing with this Russian General, but eventually Gerry convinces him to let him teach some of the other front lines how to fight, but this involves having to go back into the tunnels with Simon so they can sneak past the zombies on the other side. It's there that Gerry notices the zombies are having a hard time dealing with the severe Russian winter by remembering just how fast they were in Jerusalem, and so it occurs to him that the way to defeat the zombies is to let their bodies freeze.
Gerry and Simon are now on a mission to inform the Russian command to extinguish all fires and move their battle lines so as to keep as many of the zombies in the cold as possible, but then they run into a generator room where the nasty Russian soldier who took his phone upon arrival in the country is boozing it up with some very reluctant girls. One of those girls is Segen. Gerry grabs a belt of grenades and tosses one into the room. He, Segen and Simon duck behind a couch to survive the blast before making a break for it.
Once again Gerry meets up with the General and convinces him to use Russia's cold to their advantage, as they have done in past homeland wars. This works and he orders everyone to extinguish all of their fires. Eventually this gives them the upper hand in the battle. Gerry takes this turn toward the offensive to retreat. He takes a couple of shots of vodka, then picks up the phone he retrieved from the soldier and calls his wife, Karin.
Even beyond the entire Russian battle sequence, it's this call to his wife that's the real game changer for the (aborted) tone of World War Z.
Gerry reaches Karin. He explains to her that the cold is the way they'll win battles, which does her no good because it just so happens she and the kids are in a refugee camp in the sweltering heat of the Everglades. They're in the type of camp where you have to have something to trade to survive, and it just so happens the one thing Karin had to trade was herself. She doesn't explicitly tell Gerry this, but after she hastily hangs up the phone we see that she's in some kind of reluctantly consensual relationship with the soldier who rescued them from the rooftop at the beginning of the movie.
Did you happen to notice that soldier on the helicopter was played by Matthew Fox? Did you wonder why they bothered to cast someone as recognizable as him in a role that was pretty inconsequential and had almost no lines? That's because his real payoff wasn't until the end.
Fox' parajumper soldier then calls Gerry back and explains to him that he should just stay wherever he is and start a new life like he and Karin have. Gerry refuses to accept this, though, and he embarks on a rage mission to get back to his wife and daughters. Trouble is the nearest port that won't be frozen is thousands of miles away, so there's a montage of Gerry, Simon and Segen crossing various terrain until they ultimately end up on a boat. They're now off of the Oregon Coast and they attack the American shore like it's D-Day. And that's how the movie ends. Not with Gerry having discovered a cure, but with him storming across the United States of America to get Karin back."
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
First Official Stills From CURSE OF CHUCKY
First Official Stills From CURSE OF CHUCKY
Nica (Fiona Dourif) is grieving over the gruesome suicide of her mother when her domineering older sister Barb (Danielle Bisutti) arrives with her young family in tow to help settle their mother?s affairs. As the sisters butt heads over Nica?s plans for the future, Barb?s young daughter comforts herself with a grinning, red-haired talking doll named Chucky (Brad Dourif) that recently arrived mysteriously in the mail. But as a string of brutal murders begins to terrorize the household, Nica suspects the doll may hold the key to the bloodshed. What she doesn?t know is that Chucky has a personal score to settle. He?s determined to finish a job he started more than 20 years earlier, and this time he?s going to see it through to the bloody and shocking end.
Curse of Chucky hits Blu-ray and DVD later this fall.
First Official Stills From CURSE OF CHUCKY
Nica (Fiona Dourif) is grieving over the gruesome suicide of her mother when her domineering older sister Barb (Danielle Bisutti) arrives with her young family in tow to help settle their mother?s affairs. As the sisters butt heads over Nica?s plans for the future, Barb?s young daughter comforts herself with a grinning, red-haired talking doll named Chucky (Brad Dourif) that recently arrived mysteriously in the mail. But as a string of brutal murders begins to terrorize the household, Nica suspects the doll may hold the key to the bloodshed. What she doesn?t know is that Chucky has a personal score to settle. He?s determined to finish a job he started more than 20 years earlier, and this time he?s going to see it through to the bloody and shocking end.
Curse of Chucky hits Blu-ray and DVD later this fall.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
- 14,048
- Reaction score
- 681
- Points
- 113
More From Director Shane Black On DOC SAVAGE
More From Director Shane Black On DOC SAVAGE
Signing up to direct the upcoming Doc Savage adaptation after the highly successful Iron Man 3, Shane Black recently spoke to Collider about the 1930's setting in which the film will take place, and what the character means to him.
We?re shooting it as though it?s in the 30s, including all the Capra-esque elements of 1930s films like You Can?t Take It With You. The idea of ?What if Jimmy Stewart were a stone-cold killer?? basically. It?s that kind of combination which we enjoy. Doc Savage is a personal film to me. It?s a 1930s pulp character so it hasn?t been around for 75 years or so, but people if they?re introduced to it they?ll get to know, hopefully, what I came to love as a kid. I?ve read those series for 43 years and always wanted to figure out how to crack it.
No release date has been confirmed for the upcoming project, but due to Black's love for the classic hero, it wouldn't be a surprise if we got some news soon regarding shooting dates and such. Stay tuned.
More From Director Shane Black On DOC SAVAGE
Signing up to direct the upcoming Doc Savage adaptation after the highly successful Iron Man 3, Shane Black recently spoke to Collider about the 1930's setting in which the film will take place, and what the character means to him.
We?re shooting it as though it?s in the 30s, including all the Capra-esque elements of 1930s films like You Can?t Take It With You. The idea of ?What if Jimmy Stewart were a stone-cold killer?? basically. It?s that kind of combination which we enjoy. Doc Savage is a personal film to me. It?s a 1930s pulp character so it hasn?t been around for 75 years or so, but people if they?re introduced to it they?ll get to know, hopefully, what I came to love as a kid. I?ve read those series for 43 years and always wanted to figure out how to crack it.
No release date has been confirmed for the upcoming project, but due to Black's love for the classic hero, it wouldn't be a surprise if we got some news soon regarding shooting dates and such. Stay tuned.