Exclusive: The Murtha Skouras Agency, representing top below-the-line talent, has elevated longtime agents Hillary Cook and Karen Berch to Partner, founding partners Ann Murtha and Spyros Skouras announced on Friday.
Created in 2016 following the mergers of The Murtha Agency and The Skouras Agency, The Murtha Skouras Agency has had Cook and Berch serving in the film and television arm ever since.
“Hillary and Karen, longtime agents of The Murtha Skouras Agency, have been indispensable, passionate members of our team. Both possess a wealth of knowledge, experience and a deep commitment to promoting and celebrating the art of film,” Murtha and Skouras said in a joint statement. “They are also known for their honesty, integrity, unwavering dedication, exceptional work ethic, commitment to excellence, and professionalism. With these promotions, we are delighted to recognize their accomplishments – and future achievements.”
Recently, Cook and Berch saw client Arthur Max receive his fourth Oscar nomination...
Created in 2016 following the mergers of The Murtha Agency and The Skouras Agency, The Murtha Skouras Agency has had Cook and Berch serving in the film and television arm ever since.
“Hillary and Karen, longtime agents of The Murtha Skouras Agency, have been indispensable, passionate members of our team. Both possess a wealth of knowledge, experience and a deep commitment to promoting and celebrating the art of film,” Murtha and Skouras said in a joint statement. “They are also known for their honesty, integrity, unwavering dedication, exceptional work ethic, commitment to excellence, and professionalism. With these promotions, we are delighted to recognize their accomplishments – and future achievements.”
Recently, Cook and Berch saw client Arthur Max receive his fourth Oscar nomination...
- 3/15/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The New Boy — the story of a young Aboriginal Australian orphan boy that was written, directed and lensed by Warwick Thornton — collected the Golden Frog in the main competition of the 31st EnergaCamerimage international cinematography film festival, which closed Saturday night in Torún, Poland.
Cinematographer Ed Lachman received the Silver Frog for Pablo Larraín’s El Conde, which positions Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet as a vampire. Robbie Ryan’s lensing of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, the story of a young woman (Emma Stone) brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, claimed the Bronze Frog as well as the Audience Award. (Ryan collected the Golden Frog two years ago, for Mike Mills’ C’mon C’mon, and Lachman won the Golden Frog in 2015, for Todd Haynes’ Carol.).
The Fipresci Prize was awarded to Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, a chilling look at the life of Auschwitz concentration camp commander Rudolf Höss and his family,...
Cinematographer Ed Lachman received the Silver Frog for Pablo Larraín’s El Conde, which positions Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet as a vampire. Robbie Ryan’s lensing of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, the story of a young woman (Emma Stone) brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, claimed the Bronze Frog as well as the Audience Award. (Ryan collected the Golden Frog two years ago, for Mike Mills’ C’mon C’mon, and Lachman won the Golden Frog in 2015, for Todd Haynes’ Carol.).
The Fipresci Prize was awarded to Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, a chilling look at the life of Auschwitz concentration camp commander Rudolf Höss and his family,...
- 11/18/2023
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The "Fast and Furious" series has never shied away from using CGI, mostly because its increasingly extravagant stunts can't all be done practically. Believe it or not, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker didn't actually drive a Lykan Hypersport out the 50th-floor window of a skyscraper in "Fast and Furious 7." And if you've seen the behind-the-scenes footage from the scene in "Fast X" where Jason Momoa's Dante blows up the armored truck carrying Diesel's Dom Toretto, you'll have seen plenty of blue screens all over the place.
But that doesn't mean everything in the "Fast" franchise is a digital fabrication. In fact, the series has used practical effects whenever possible, causing a hell of a lot of damage along the way. With "Fast X," director Louis Leterrier wanted things to be relatively grounded, especially after "F9" sent Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Tyrese Gibson into space. This is why you'll...
But that doesn't mean everything in the "Fast" franchise is a digital fabrication. In fact, the series has used practical effects whenever possible, causing a hell of a lot of damage along the way. With "Fast X," director Louis Leterrier wanted things to be relatively grounded, especially after "F9" sent Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Tyrese Gibson into space. This is why you'll...
- 5/29/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
The Florian Hoffmeister lensed thriller Tár from director Todd Field topped the Camerimage main competition, collecting the Golden Frog during the closing ceremony of the cinematography film festival Saturday.
The Focus Features pic follows the fictional orchestra conductor Lydia Tár, considered one of the greatest at her craft and the first female chief conductor of a major German orchestra, as her life starts to unravel after she is embroiled in a swirl of #MeToo scandals.
The Golden Frog win gives cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister a new boost in the 2023 Oscars race, with three out of the last five Golden Frog winners going on to earn Oscar nominations in cinematography. Those titles include Lion (2016), Joker (2019), and Nomadland (2020).
In other main competition awards, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s latest Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, lensed by Darius Khondji, took home the Silver Frog and Living from cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay and...
The Focus Features pic follows the fictional orchestra conductor Lydia Tár, considered one of the greatest at her craft and the first female chief conductor of a major German orchestra, as her life starts to unravel after she is embroiled in a swirl of #MeToo scandals.
The Golden Frog win gives cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister a new boost in the 2023 Oscars race, with three out of the last five Golden Frog winners going on to earn Oscar nominations in cinematography. Those titles include Lion (2016), Joker (2019), and Nomadland (2020).
In other main competition awards, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s latest Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, lensed by Darius Khondji, took home the Silver Frog and Living from cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay and...
- 11/19/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Sam Mendes was the guest of honor at the opening of the 30th EnergaCamerimage Film Festival Saturday evening, where he picked up the Krzysztof Kieslowski career award and introduced a special screening of his latest film, Empire of Light.
Accepting the award in Toruń, Poland, Mendes praised the festival for its dedication to celebrating the art of cinematography and paid tribute to the cinematographers he has worked with throughout his career, describing them as the key to his success.
Mendes gave special mention to Conrad Hall, who shot his first two films, American Beauty and Road To Perdition. Hall won the best cinematography Oscar for his work on both films.
“Conrad was my guide, and ever since Conrad, cinematographers have always been my guide,” Mendes said before paying tribute to veteran cinematographer Roger Deakins. The pair have worked together on five films over 15 years, including Skyfall and 1917.
Mendes said...
Accepting the award in Toruń, Poland, Mendes praised the festival for its dedication to celebrating the art of cinematography and paid tribute to the cinematographers he has worked with throughout his career, describing them as the key to his success.
Mendes gave special mention to Conrad Hall, who shot his first two films, American Beauty and Road To Perdition. Hall won the best cinematography Oscar for his work on both films.
“Conrad was my guide, and ever since Conrad, cinematographers have always been my guide,” Mendes said before paying tribute to veteran cinematographer Roger Deakins. The pair have worked together on five films over 15 years, including Skyfall and 1917.
Mendes said...
- 11/13/2022
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Sam Mendes spoke of his collaborations with cinematographers from Conrad Hall to Roger Deakins, while also voicing support for Ukraine, during the opening ceremony of the 30th EnergaCamerimage international cinematography film festival.
Saturday in Toruń, Poland, the Academy Award-winning helmer accepted the Special Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for a Director while acknowledging that “it’s difficult to speak of celebration” after hearing from and seeing images of those in Ukraine that were presented during the ceremony. “I made a movie (1917) with Roger [Deakins] about two young men caught up in a senseless war. The question I got asked over and over again is, ‘Is this relevant?’ I’m afraid to say, it is and it will always be. We stand with everyone in Ukraine.”
He acknowledged the cinematographers with whom he has worked, starting with the late Hall, who won Oscars for Mendes’ first two movies,...
Sam Mendes spoke of his collaborations with cinematographers from Conrad Hall to Roger Deakins, while also voicing support for Ukraine, during the opening ceremony of the 30th EnergaCamerimage international cinematography film festival.
Saturday in Toruń, Poland, the Academy Award-winning helmer accepted the Special Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for a Director while acknowledging that “it’s difficult to speak of celebration” after hearing from and seeing images of those in Ukraine that were presented during the ceremony. “I made a movie (1917) with Roger [Deakins] about two young men caught up in a senseless war. The question I got asked over and over again is, ‘Is this relevant?’ I’m afraid to say, it is and it will always be. We stand with everyone in Ukraine.”
He acknowledged the cinematographers with whom he has worked, starting with the late Hall, who won Oscars for Mendes’ first two movies,...
- 11/12/2022
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Acclaimed writer/director David Lowery joins Josh and Joe to discuss the films that inspired The Green Knight.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Green Knight (2021)
Peter Pan & Wendy (2022)
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
The Old Man And The Gun (2018)
A Ghost Story (2017)
Pete’s Dragon (1977)
Pete’s Dragon (2016) – Glenn Erickson’s review
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (2013)
Ghost Story (1974)
Sword of the Valiant (1984)
Gawain and the Green Knight (1973)
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)
Masters of the Universe (1987) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Andrei Rublev (1966) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review, Dennis Cozzalio’s Muriel Awards blurb
War And Peace (1966) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Heaven’s Gate (1980)
The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (1928) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review
The Devils (1971)
Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Conjuring (2013)
Jubilee (1978)
Benedetta (2021)
Dune (1984)
Dune (2021)
Hard To Be A God (2013)
Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013)
Moby Dick (1956) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary,...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The Green Knight (2021)
Peter Pan & Wendy (2022)
Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
The Old Man And The Gun (2018)
A Ghost Story (2017)
Pete’s Dragon (1977)
Pete’s Dragon (2016) – Glenn Erickson’s review
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (2013)
Ghost Story (1974)
Sword of the Valiant (1984)
Gawain and the Green Knight (1973)
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)
Masters of the Universe (1987) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Andrei Rublev (1966) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review, Dennis Cozzalio’s Muriel Awards blurb
War And Peace (1966) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review
Heaven’s Gate (1980)
The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (1928) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review
The Devils (1971)
Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Conjuring (2013)
Jubilee (1978)
Benedetta (2021)
Dune (1984)
Dune (2021)
Hard To Be A God (2013)
Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013)
Moby Dick (1956) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary,...
- 8/31/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Universal City, California, March 20, 2020 – Let there be light! Dive deeper into the electric true story behind one of the greatest unknown battles in American invention and ingenuity in The Current War: Director’S Cut, available on Digital now and on Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand on March 31, 2020, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. This suspenseful “smart historical drama” gives an inside look at one of the most impactful events in history as it set the foundation for modern life – the creation of electricity. With “vivid performances” from an all-star cast including Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult and Tom Holland, the film from director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and with a script by Michael Mitnick provides a compelling tug-of-war story that is enhanced through both the immersive visual style and powerful cast performances. Full of emotionally gripping moments from beginning to end, audiences can see the fascinating The Current War: Director’S Cut when the film arrives on Digital,...
- 3/21/2020
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
"The Current War", based on true events, is a period drama about the greatest inventors of the nineteenth century industrial age -- Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch) and George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon). It captures the passion, charisma and genius of these visionaries. It also throws a light on the advent of commercial and domestic electrical systems during that era.
Set in the 1880s, the film tells us about how the duo engaged in a battle of technology and ideas to determine whose electrical system was superior. While Edison ruthlessly promotes his direct-current technology, George Westinghouse sees the limitation in Edison's work, so he begins working successfully with alternating current, allowing him to forge ahead in the game of supremacy.
The complicated lives and work habits of these two innovators reflects a lot of what we see in today's complex entrepreneurs. You admire them for their foresight to change the course of...
Set in the 1880s, the film tells us about how the duo engaged in a battle of technology and ideas to determine whose electrical system was superior. While Edison ruthlessly promotes his direct-current technology, George Westinghouse sees the limitation in Edison's work, so he begins working successfully with alternating current, allowing him to forge ahead in the game of supremacy.
The complicated lives and work habits of these two innovators reflects a lot of what we see in today's complex entrepreneurs. You admire them for their foresight to change the course of...
- 11/2/2019
- GlamSham
Hollywood, Calif. – “Totally riveting” (Bill Zwecker, Fox-tv) and filled with “heart pounding excitement” (Pete Hammond, Deadline), the thrilling and eye-popping Ghost In The Shell arrives on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand July 25, 2017 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. The future comes early on Digital HD July 7.Set in a world where people are enhanced with technology, Ghost In The Shell follows Major (Scarlett Johansson), who believes she was rescued from near death. The first of her kind, Major is a human mind inside an artificial body designed to fight the war against cyber-crime. While investigating a dangerous criminal, Major makes a shocking discovery – the corporation that created her lied about her past life in order to control her. Unsure what to believe, Major will stop at nothing to unravel the mystery of her true identity and exact revenge...
- 5/30/2017
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
The Major will make house calls this summer with Paramount Home Media Distribution's 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD release of the live-action Ghost in the Shell movie on July 25th, following its Digital HD debut on July 7th.
Press Release (via Broadway World): “Totally riveting” (Bill Zwecker, Fox-tv) and filled with “heart pounding excitement” (Pete Hammond, Deadline), the thrilling and eye-popping Ghost In The Shell arrives on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand July 25, 2017 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. The future comes early on Digital HD July 7.
Set in a world where people are enhanced with technology, Ghost In The Shell follows Major (Scarlett Johansson), who believes she was rescued from near death. The first of her kind, Major is a human mind inside an artificial body designed to fight the war against cyber-crime.
Press Release (via Broadway World): “Totally riveting” (Bill Zwecker, Fox-tv) and filled with “heart pounding excitement” (Pete Hammond, Deadline), the thrilling and eye-popping Ghost In The Shell arrives on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand July 25, 2017 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. The future comes early on Digital HD July 7.
Set in a world where people are enhanced with technology, Ghost In The Shell follows Major (Scarlett Johansson), who believes she was rescued from near death. The first of her kind, Major is a human mind inside an artificial body designed to fight the war against cyber-crime.
- 5/30/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 cyberpunk opus, “Ghost in the Shell,” was one of the first Japanese anime titles to cross over to Western audiences, and it’s been reissued and repackaged so often since the millennium that it’s scant surprise studio execs seized upon it as reproducible property. Possibly it was a matter of waiting: for digital effects houses to get up to spec, the right deals to be struck, and any accusations of cultural appropriation to blow over. Paramount’s all-new live-action “Ghost,” powered by hefty reserves of American and Asian money, emerges as a dazzling logistical display with a missing file where the human interest might once have been stored.
Fans need not blubber unduly. As overseen by “Snow White and the Huntsman” director Rupert Sanders, this transliteration would seem faithful enough to satiate those who just want to see favorite scenes and characters redrawn on the biggest screen imaginable.
Fans need not blubber unduly. As overseen by “Snow White and the Huntsman” director Rupert Sanders, this transliteration would seem faithful enough to satiate those who just want to see favorite scenes and characters redrawn on the biggest screen imaginable.
- 3/28/2017
- by Mike McCahill
- Indiewire
Ahead of its release on March 31st, 2017, Paramount Pictures' live action Ghost in the Shell movie is briefly teased in several videos, including a few featuring Scarlett Johansson as the extremely skilled—and deadly—cyborg known as Major.
From the Previous Press Release: Hollywood, Calif.-- Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures have announced that production is underway on “Ghost In The Shell,” starring Scarlett Johansson (“Avengers: Age Of Ultron,” “Lucy”) and directed by Rupert Sanders (“Snow White And The Huntsman”). The film is shooting in Wellington, New Zealand.
Paramount Pictures will release the film in the U.S. on March 31, 2017.
The film, which is based on the famous Kodansha Comics manga series of the same name, written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow, is produced by Avi Arad (“The Amazing Spider-man 1 & 2,” “Iron Man”), Ari Arad (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”), and Steven Paul (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”). Michael Costigan...
From the Previous Press Release: Hollywood, Calif.-- Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures have announced that production is underway on “Ghost In The Shell,” starring Scarlett Johansson (“Avengers: Age Of Ultron,” “Lucy”) and directed by Rupert Sanders (“Snow White And The Huntsman”). The film is shooting in Wellington, New Zealand.
Paramount Pictures will release the film in the U.S. on March 31, 2017.
The film, which is based on the famous Kodansha Comics manga series of the same name, written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow, is produced by Avi Arad (“The Amazing Spider-man 1 & 2,” “Iron Man”), Ari Arad (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”), and Steven Paul (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”). Michael Costigan...
- 9/22/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
"The Furniture" is our weekly series on Production Design. Here's Daniel Walber...
Sally Potter’s Orlando is a work of otherworldly character. It does not take place in a fantasy land or on a distant planet, but all the same it does not really seem to take place in our own reality. This might seem an obvious thing to say about a movie whose protagonist is an Elizabethan nobleman (Tilda Swinton) who lives for centuries and abruptly becomes a woman midway through the story, but there’s more to it than that. Its mood is one of near-anachronistic magic, built with a narrative logic that resists the strict signposts of linear storytelling, and lit by a shimmering queer sensibility.
Each of the film’s changing atmospheres has something quite specific to say. The central Istanbul section, filmed in the ancient walled city of Khiva, Uzbekistan, uses architecture to isolate...
Sally Potter’s Orlando is a work of otherworldly character. It does not take place in a fantasy land or on a distant planet, but all the same it does not really seem to take place in our own reality. This might seem an obvious thing to say about a movie whose protagonist is an Elizabethan nobleman (Tilda Swinton) who lives for centuries and abruptly becomes a woman midway through the story, but there’s more to it than that. Its mood is one of near-anachronistic magic, built with a narrative logic that resists the strict signposts of linear storytelling, and lit by a shimmering queer sensibility.
Each of the film’s changing atmospheres has something quite specific to say. The central Istanbul section, filmed in the ancient walled city of Khiva, Uzbekistan, uses architecture to isolate...
- 6/20/2016
- by Daniel Walber
- FilmExperience
Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures have released the first photo of Scarlett Johansson as Major in their co-production live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. Shooting has started in Wellington, New Zealand, and the press release came with this official synopsis:
Based on the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi property, “Ghost In The Shell” follows the Major, a special ops, one-of-a-kind human-cyborg hybrid, who leads the elite task force Section 9. Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotic’s advancements in cyber technology.
I've never read the original manga series or seen the anime feature, so I'm going into this one with very little context. Hopefully director Rupert Sanders (Snow White and The Huntsman) will focus more heavily on the story this time around; I'm still interested in seeing him put his visual skills to good use,...
Based on the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi property, “Ghost In The Shell” follows the Major, a special ops, one-of-a-kind human-cyborg hybrid, who leads the elite task force Section 9. Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotic’s advancements in cyber technology.
I've never read the original manga series or seen the anime feature, so I'm going into this one with very little context. Hopefully director Rupert Sanders (Snow White and The Huntsman) will focus more heavily on the story this time around; I'm still interested in seeing him put his visual skills to good use,...
- 4/14/2016
- by Ben Pearson
- GeekTyrant
Production has begun in New Zealand on Ghost in the Shell—the live action film adaptation of the groundbreaking manga series of the same name—and the first photo of Scarlett Johansson as the cyborg Major has been revealed ahead of the film’s March 31st, 2017 release.
Press Release: Hollywood, Calif.– Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures have announced that production is underway on “Ghost In The Shell,” starring Scarlett Johansson (“Avengers: Age Of Ultron,” “Lucy”) and directed by Rupert Sanders (“Snow White And The Huntsman”). The film is shooting in Wellington, New Zealand.
Paramount Pictures will release the film in the U.S. on March 31, 2017.
The film, which is based on the famous Kodansha Comics manga series of the same name, written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow, is produced by Avi Arad (“The Amazing Spider-man 1 & 2,” “Iron Man”), Ari Arad (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”), and Steven Paul (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance...
Press Release: Hollywood, Calif.– Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures have announced that production is underway on “Ghost In The Shell,” starring Scarlett Johansson (“Avengers: Age Of Ultron,” “Lucy”) and directed by Rupert Sanders (“Snow White And The Huntsman”). The film is shooting in Wellington, New Zealand.
Paramount Pictures will release the film in the U.S. on March 31, 2017.
The film, which is based on the famous Kodansha Comics manga series of the same name, written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow, is produced by Avi Arad (“The Amazing Spider-man 1 & 2,” “Iron Man”), Ari Arad (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”), and Steven Paul (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance...
- 4/14/2016
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Photograph by Jasin Boland
© Mmxvi Paramount Pictures and Storyteller Distribution Co. All rights Reserved.
Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures have announced that production is underway on Ghost In The Shell, starring Scarlett Johansson (Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Lucy) and directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White And The Huntsman). The film is shooting in Wellington, New Zealand.
Paramount Pictures will release the film in the U.S. on March 31, 2017.
The film, which is based on the famous Kodansha Comics manga series of the same name, written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow, is produced by Avi Arad (“The Amazing Spider-man 1 & 2,” “Iron Man”), Ari Arad (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”), and Steven Paul (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”). Michael Costigan (“Prometheus”), Tetsu Fujimura (“Tekken”), Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, whose animation studio Production I.G produced the Japanese Ghost In The Shell film and television series, and Jeffrey Silver (“Edge Of Tomorrow,” “300”) will executive produce.
Based on the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi property,...
© Mmxvi Paramount Pictures and Storyteller Distribution Co. All rights Reserved.
Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures have announced that production is underway on Ghost In The Shell, starring Scarlett Johansson (Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Lucy) and directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White And The Huntsman). The film is shooting in Wellington, New Zealand.
Paramount Pictures will release the film in the U.S. on March 31, 2017.
The film, which is based on the famous Kodansha Comics manga series of the same name, written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow, is produced by Avi Arad (“The Amazing Spider-man 1 & 2,” “Iron Man”), Ari Arad (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”), and Steven Paul (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”). Michael Costigan (“Prometheus”), Tetsu Fujimura (“Tekken”), Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, whose animation studio Production I.G produced the Japanese Ghost In The Shell film and television series, and Jeffrey Silver (“Edge Of Tomorrow,” “300”) will executive produce.
Based on the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi property,...
- 4/14/2016
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures have announced that production is underway on “Ghost In The Shell,” starring Scarlett Johansson (“Avengers: Age Of Ultron,” “Lucy”) and directed by Rupert Sanders (“Snow White And The Huntsman”). The film is shooting in Wellington, New Zealand.
Paramount Pictures will release the film in the U.S. on March 31, 2017.
The film, which is based on the famous Kodansha Comics manga series of the same name, written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow, is produced by Avi Arad (“The Amazing Spider-man 1 & 2,” “Iron Man”), Ari Arad (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”), and Steven Paul (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”). Michael Costigan (“Prometheus”), Tetsu Fujimura (“Tekken”), Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, whose animation studio Production I.G produced the Japanese "Ghost In The Shell” film and television series, and Jeffrey Silver (“Edge Of Tomorrow,” “300”) will executive produce.
Based on the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi property, “Ghost In The Shell” follows the Major, a special ops,...
Paramount Pictures will release the film in the U.S. on March 31, 2017.
The film, which is based on the famous Kodansha Comics manga series of the same name, written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow, is produced by Avi Arad (“The Amazing Spider-man 1 & 2,” “Iron Man”), Ari Arad (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”), and Steven Paul (“Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance”). Michael Costigan (“Prometheus”), Tetsu Fujimura (“Tekken”), Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, whose animation studio Production I.G produced the Japanese "Ghost In The Shell” film and television series, and Jeffrey Silver (“Edge Of Tomorrow,” “300”) will executive produce.
Based on the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi property, “Ghost In The Shell” follows the Major, a special ops,...
- 4/14/2016
- by Kellvin Chavez
- LRMonline.com
With Good Kill in UK cinemas this week, Ryan looks back at writer-director Andrew Niccol’s classic sci-fi debut, 1997's Gattaca...
It’s all there in that swooning opening music: Gattaca isn’t just another sleek film about the future. The feature debut of New Zealand-born director Andrew Niccol, the smart, elegant, intensely moving Gattaca may just be his finest film to date.
The film introduces us to Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), who’s in the process of a carrying out a painstaking daily ritual: shaving every stray hair from his body, exfoliating his skin and burning the material left behind - it’s as though Vincent’s treating himself as a crime scene.
Vincent lives in a future where genetic profiling has divided society into Valids - those whose DNA has been fettled to perfection by scientists before birth - and In-valids - those conceived naturally, with all potential genetic flaws it involves.
It’s all there in that swooning opening music: Gattaca isn’t just another sleek film about the future. The feature debut of New Zealand-born director Andrew Niccol, the smart, elegant, intensely moving Gattaca may just be his finest film to date.
The film introduces us to Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), who’s in the process of a carrying out a painstaking daily ritual: shaving every stray hair from his body, exfoliating his skin and burning the material left behind - it’s as though Vincent’s treating himself as a crime scene.
Vincent lives in a future where genetic profiling has divided society into Valids - those whose DNA has been fettled to perfection by scientists before birth - and In-valids - those conceived naturally, with all potential genetic flaws it involves.
- 4/8/2015
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
This year’s Saturn Award nominations have been announced and include a number of horror movie and TV releases, such as The Conjuring and The Walking Dead:
“Los Angeles – February, 2014 – Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity and Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug both received 8 nominations as the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films today announced nominations for the 40th Annual Saturn Awards, which will be presented in June.
Other major contenders that packed a real punch were The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, Star Trek into Darkness, The Book Thief, Her, Oz The Great and Powerful and Ron Howard’s Rush. Also making a strong showing was the folk musical fable Inside Llewyn Davis, which proves that the Coen Brothers are a genre onto their own. And Scarlett Johansson was the first Best Supporting Actress to be nominated for her captivating...
“Los Angeles – February, 2014 – Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity and Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug both received 8 nominations as the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films today announced nominations for the 40th Annual Saturn Awards, which will be presented in June.
Other major contenders that packed a real punch were The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, Star Trek into Darkness, The Book Thief, Her, Oz The Great and Powerful and Ron Howard’s Rush. Also making a strong showing was the folk musical fable Inside Llewyn Davis, which proves that the Coen Brothers are a genre onto their own. And Scarlett Johansson was the first Best Supporting Actress to be nominated for her captivating...
- 2/26/2014
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Here’s all the information you need to secure your copy of Keanu Reeves latest action adventure, 47 Ronin. If you need a refresher on the amazing warrior tale, here’s the trailer, followed by the official press release.
Trailer: 47 Ronin
Keanu Reeves Stars In The 3D Epic Action-Adventure 47 Ronin Be The First To Own It On Digital HD March 18, 2014 And Bring Home The Blu-ray™ Combo Pack Including Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD With Ultraviolet™ On April 1, 2014 Now Movie Fans Can Watch 47 Ronin Anywhere On Their Favorite Devices
Universal City, California, February 4, 2014— Keanu Reeves (The Matrix trilogy, The Day The Earth Stood Still) stars in a reimagining of one of Japan’s timeless tales, 47 Ronin, available on Blu-ray™ 3D and Blu-ray™ Combo Packs, DVD, Digital HD including UltraViolet™ and On Demand on April 1, 2014, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
Based on an epic story, this extraordinary tale of inspiring courage has its...
Trailer: 47 Ronin
Keanu Reeves Stars In The 3D Epic Action-Adventure 47 Ronin Be The First To Own It On Digital HD March 18, 2014 And Bring Home The Blu-ray™ Combo Pack Including Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD With Ultraviolet™ On April 1, 2014 Now Movie Fans Can Watch 47 Ronin Anywhere On Their Favorite Devices
Universal City, California, February 4, 2014— Keanu Reeves (The Matrix trilogy, The Day The Earth Stood Still) stars in a reimagining of one of Japan’s timeless tales, 47 Ronin, available on Blu-ray™ 3D and Blu-ray™ Combo Packs, DVD, Digital HD including UltraViolet™ and On Demand on April 1, 2014, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
Based on an epic story, this extraordinary tale of inspiring courage has its...
- 2/19/2014
- by Jess Orso
- ScifiMafia
Universal City, California, October 3, 2013— The latest blistering addition to one of Hollywood’s greatest action-movie franchises, Fast & Furious 6, roars into the holiday season as the unbeatable choice for “Highest-Octane action yet!” (Meriah Doty, Yahoo!) A transcontinental caper that reunites fan-favorite stars from the blockbuster franchise’s earlier films, Fast & Furious 6 earned almost $800 million at the box office worldwide. Fast & Furious 6 comes to Blu-ray™ Combo Pack including Blu-ray™, DVD & Digital HD with UltraViolet™ and On Demand on December 10, 2013, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The film will also be available on Digital November 19, 2013. Found exclusively only on the Blu-ray™ is a special Extended version with even more intense action, as well as over an hour of exclusive behind-the-scenes bonus features, only available for a limited time in collectible Steel Book packaging
Click here to view the embedded video.
Fast veterans Vin Diesel (Riddick, xXx), Paul Walker (Takers, Flags of Our Fathers...
Click here to view the embedded video.
Fast veterans Vin Diesel (Riddick, xXx), Paul Walker (Takers, Flags of Our Fathers...
- 10/4/2013
- by ComicMix Staff
- Comicmix.com
Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of all-stars as the global blockbuster franchise built on speed races to its next continent in Fast & Furious 6. Reuniting for their most high-stakes adventure yet, fan favorites Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Sung Kang, John Ortiz, Gal Gadot and Elsa Pataky are joined by badass series newcomers Luke Evans and Gina Carano.
Since Dom (Diesel) and Brian’s (Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin’s empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe. But their inability to return home and living forever on the lam have left their lives incomplete.
Meanwhile, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Rodriguez). The only way to...
Since Dom (Diesel) and Brian’s (Walker) Rio heist toppled a kingpin’s empire and left their crew with $100 million, our heroes have scattered across the globe. But their inability to return home and living forever on the lam have left their lives incomplete.
Meanwhile, Hobbs (Johnson) has been tracking an organization of lethally skilled mercenary drivers across 12 countries, whose mastermind (Evans) is aided by a ruthless second-in-command revealed to be the love Dom thought was dead, Letty (Rodriguez). The only way to...
- 5/10/2013
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Director Carl Erik Rinsch' upcoming 3D fantasy 'samurai' action feature "47 Ronin", stars Keanu Reeeves as an 18th century warrior who seeks to avenge his master’s death.
"47 Ronin", inspired by ancient Japan’s story about the 'Samurai', stars Reeves as 'Kai', an outcast who joins 'Oishi'. the leader of the '47 Ronin'.
"...Together they seek vengeance on the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors..."
Production on the film started early in 2012, with the building of sets @ England's Shepperton studio sound stages and backlot, recreating 18th century Japan with a castle, fortress, tournament arena and village.
"Pinewood and Shepperton have seen some relatively big productions come through its gates in recent years, although few rival the scale and ambition of '47 Ronin',...
"47 Ronin", inspired by ancient Japan’s story about the 'Samurai', stars Reeves as 'Kai', an outcast who joins 'Oishi'. the leader of the '47 Ronin'.
"...Together they seek vengeance on the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors..."
Production on the film started early in 2012, with the building of sets @ England's Shepperton studio sound stages and backlot, recreating 18th century Japan with a castle, fortress, tournament arena and village.
"Pinewood and Shepperton have seen some relatively big productions come through its gates in recent years, although few rival the scale and ambition of '47 Ronin',...
- 1/25/2013
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
The new short shows off the future of war.
The video shows the members of the Alpha Squadron, members of the U.S. armed forces, going after a war criminal in the near future Eastern Europe (which is in part where Ghost Recon Future Soldier will be set).
Publisher Ubisoft put this short together alongside Little Minx films, which acts a prequel to the upcoming game, featuring the four playable characters from Future Soldier as members of the cast of characters here. The location in the film will be a multiplayer map from the game and if you look carefully, there's a secret weapon unlock code somewhere in the Ghost Recon Alpha's running time.
Here's the synopsis:
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Alpha boasts a line-up of top Hollywood talent. The film was directed by Academy Award winners Hervé de Crécy and François Alaux, who won an Oscar in 2010 for Logorama,...
The video shows the members of the Alpha Squadron, members of the U.S. armed forces, going after a war criminal in the near future Eastern Europe (which is in part where Ghost Recon Future Soldier will be set).
Publisher Ubisoft put this short together alongside Little Minx films, which acts a prequel to the upcoming game, featuring the four playable characters from Future Soldier as members of the cast of characters here. The location in the film will be a multiplayer map from the game and if you look carefully, there's a secret weapon unlock code somewhere in the Ghost Recon Alpha's running time.
Here's the synopsis:
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Alpha boasts a line-up of top Hollywood talent. The film was directed by Academy Award winners Hervé de Crécy and François Alaux, who won an Oscar in 2010 for Logorama,...
- 5/14/2012
- by Charles Webb
- MTV Multiplayer
The UK's Pinewood and Shepperton Studios complex, reports that filming is now underway @ Shepperton on Universal’s upcoming, 3D fantasy-adventure, "47 Ronin" and "Dark Shadows" has started @ Pinewood.
"47 Ronin", inspired by ancient Japan’s most enduring story about the 'Samurai', stars Keanu Reeves as 'Kai', an outcast who joins 'Oishi' (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the '47 Ronin' :
"...Together they seek vengeance on the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors..."
Production on the film started early in the New Year, building sets on Shepperton’s sound stages and backlot, recreating 18th century Japan in the form of a castle, fortress, tournament arena and village.
"47 Ronin" is directed by Carl Erik Rinsch ("The Gift").
"Pinewood and Shepperton have seen some relatively big...
"47 Ronin", inspired by ancient Japan’s most enduring story about the 'Samurai', stars Keanu Reeves as 'Kai', an outcast who joins 'Oishi' (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the '47 Ronin' :
"...Together they seek vengeance on the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors..."
Production on the film started early in the New Year, building sets on Shepperton’s sound stages and backlot, recreating 18th century Japan in the form of a castle, fortress, tournament arena and village.
"47 Ronin" is directed by Carl Erik Rinsch ("The Gift").
"Pinewood and Shepperton have seen some relatively big...
- 6/4/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Universal Pictures announced today that principal photography begins March 14 on 47 Ronin, the new epic 3D fantasy-adventure inspired by ancient Japan’s most enduring tale. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the 47 Ronin. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.
47 Ronin is helmed by visionary director Carl Erik Rinsch (The Gift). Inspired by styles as diverse as Miyazaki and Hokusai, Rinsch will bring to life the stunning landscapes and enormous battles that will display the timeless Ronin story to global audiences in a way that’s never been seen before.
Joining Reeves in the cast are a who’s who of Japanese superstars, including Hiroyuki Sanada (The Twilight Samurai,...
47 Ronin is helmed by visionary director Carl Erik Rinsch (The Gift). Inspired by styles as diverse as Miyazaki and Hokusai, Rinsch will bring to life the stunning landscapes and enormous battles that will display the timeless Ronin story to global audiences in a way that’s never been seen before.
Joining Reeves in the cast are a who’s who of Japanese superstars, including Hiroyuki Sanada (The Twilight Samurai,...
- 3/2/2011
- by Allan Ford
- Filmofilia
4 new actors added to the roster of the upcoming epic 3D fantasy-adventure inspired by ancient Japan's most enduring tale,
Total Videos: (0)
Total Images: (1)');">47 Ronin, they are going to costar Keanu Reeves: Hiroyuki Sanada, Kou Shibasaki, Tadanobu Asano, and Rinko Kikuchi.Here is the statement released by Universal Pictures giving the latest development on the movie:Universal Pictures announced today that principal photography begins March 14 on 47 Ronin, the new epic 3D fantasy-adventure inspired by ancient Japan's most enduring tale. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the 47 Ronin. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.47 Ronin is helmed by visionary director Carl Erik Rinsch (The Gift...
Total Videos: (0)
Total Images: (1)');">47 Ronin, they are going to costar Keanu Reeves: Hiroyuki Sanada, Kou Shibasaki, Tadanobu Asano, and Rinko Kikuchi.Here is the statement released by Universal Pictures giving the latest development on the movie:Universal Pictures announced today that principal photography begins March 14 on 47 Ronin, the new epic 3D fantasy-adventure inspired by ancient Japan's most enduring tale. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the 47 Ronin. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.47 Ronin is helmed by visionary director Carl Erik Rinsch (The Gift...
- 3/2/2011
- Films N Movies
Universal Pictures announced today that principal photography begins March 14 on 47 Ronin, the new epic 3D fantasy-adventure inspired by ancient Japan’s most enduring tale. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the 47 Ronin. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.
47 Ronin is helmed by visionary director Carl Erik Rinsch (The Gift). Inspired by styles as diverse as Miyazaki and Hokusai, Rinsch will bring to life the stunning landscapes and enormous battles that will display the timeless Ronin story to global audiences in a way that’s never been seen before.
Joining Reeves in the cast are a who’s who of Japanese superstars, including Hiroyuki Sanada (The Twilight Samurai,...
47 Ronin is helmed by visionary director Carl Erik Rinsch (The Gift). Inspired by styles as diverse as Miyazaki and Hokusai, Rinsch will bring to life the stunning landscapes and enormous battles that will display the timeless Ronin story to global audiences in a way that’s never been seen before.
Joining Reeves in the cast are a who’s who of Japanese superstars, including Hiroyuki Sanada (The Twilight Samurai,...
- 3/2/2011
- by Kevin Coll
- FusedFilm
Universal Pictures announced today that principal photography begins March 14 on 47 Ronin, the new epic 3D fantasy-adventure inspired by ancient Japan's most enduring tale. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the 47 Ronin. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors. 47 Ronin is helmed by visionary director Carl Erik Rinsch (The Gift). Inspired by styles as diverse as Miyazaki and Hokusai, Rinsch will bring to life the stunning landscapes and enormous battles that will display the timeless Ronin story to global audiences in a way that's never been seen before.Joining Reeves in the cast are a who's who of Japanese superstars, including Hiroyuki Sanada (The Twilight Samurai,...
- 3/2/2011
- LRMonline.com
[Update: This original story has been updated with an official press release, plot description, character names and high resolution cast photo. Check it all out after the jump.] With Keanu Reeves set to star in Carl Erik Rinsch [1]'s 47 Ronin, by my math, still leaves about 46 Ronin to be cast. The 3D production is heating up and Variety is reporting that four more roles have been cast. Japanese actors Tadanobu Asano, Kou Shibasaki, Rinko Kikuchi and Hiroyuki Sanada have all joined the film. Asano is familiar to film geeks for his roles in Ichi the Killer, Mongol and Zatoichi among many others, plus he's got a two big movies coming up, Thor and Battleship. Shibasaki was in Go, Battle Royale and the original One Missed Call. Kikuchi is known to American audiences from her leading roles in Babel and The Brothers Bloom and Sanada is best known for roles in The Last Samuari, Sunshine and as Dogen in the final season of Lost. Ken Watanabe was rumored to be a part of the film, but that is still just a rumor.
- 3/1/2011
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
With Russell Brand hogging the limelight this week by getting married and having Get Him To The Greek released on 1st November (I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but it’s more than coincidental, right?), director Nicholas Stoller sat down and had a chat about working with Mr. Brand on his loose sequel to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which as we all know, featured the cinematic debut of a certain Mr. Aldous Snow.
So sit back, relax and read all about the making of this rock comedy!
I would imagine there are a lot of extra things for the DVD:
Stoller: There is a lot of stuff on the DVD.
Are you like Judd Apatow who shoots a lot of extra footage?
Actually, I think I shoot even more than Judd. Jonah told me that. Many times with the concert we would have eight cameras and I would just be rolling,...
So sit back, relax and read all about the making of this rock comedy!
I would imagine there are a lot of extra things for the DVD:
Stoller: There is a lot of stuff on the DVD.
Are you like Judd Apatow who shoots a lot of extra footage?
Actually, I think I shoot even more than Judd. Jonah told me that. Many times with the concert we would have eight cameras and I would just be rolling,...
- 10/26/2010
- by FilmShaft Staff
- FilmShaft.com
The Art Directors Guild announced its nominees for the 2008 Excellence in Production Design Awards. The much beloved "The Dark Knight" is one of the nominees in the Fantasy film category.
Adg members will vote for the winners by Feb. 12th, and the awards gala will be a Valentine for the top dogs for it will be held Feb. 14th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Click Read More to see the complete list of nominees for the best Production Design in 2008.
13th Annual Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design Awards
Nominations
Period Films
Changeling
Production Designer: James J. Murakami
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt
Doubt
Production Designer: David Gropman
Frost/Nixon
Production Designer: Michael Corenblith
Milk
Production Designer: Bill Groom
Fantasy Films
The Dark Knight
Production Designer: Nathan Crowley
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
Production Designer: Guy Hendrix Dyas
Iron Man...
Adg members will vote for the winners by Feb. 12th, and the awards gala will be a Valentine for the top dogs for it will be held Feb. 14th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Click Read More to see the complete list of nominees for the best Production Design in 2008.
13th Annual Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design Awards
Nominations
Period Films
Changeling
Production Designer: James J. Murakami
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt
Doubt
Production Designer: David Gropman
Frost/Nixon
Production Designer: Michael Corenblith
Milk
Production Designer: Bill Groom
Fantasy Films
The Dark Knight
Production Designer: Nathan Crowley
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
Production Designer: Guy Hendrix Dyas
Iron Man...
- 1/11/2009
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
This review was written for the festival screening of "The Hunting Party".As he did with his previous feature, "The Matador", writer-director Richard Shepard assembles all the elements for a dark suspense comedy only to lose his way in a surfeit of plot mechanics and unlikely behavior. There's a potentially funny political story in "The Hunting Party" about war criminals that the United Nations, NATO and the U.S. all say they want to find but really don't. Unfortunately, Shepard's approach takes the movie into Jason Bourne territory and away from the black comedy he seemingly wants to make, making the film fall between the cracks in terms of boxoffice appeal.
Richard Gere and Terrence Howard make an excellent pair of conflict journalists who get off on the adrenaline rush of war zones. And Jesse Eisenberg of "The Squid and the Whale" comes along as a very young stooge/sidekick. The secondary characters, a few based on real-life hard cases in Bosnia and Serbia, are nothing if not colorful. Meanwhile, the production takes terrific advantage of the war-torn city of Sarajevo and the middle-of-nowhere look of the treacherous mountains nearby, where a war criminal can easily hide. So the movie's surfaces are wickedly alive, giving MGM and the Weinstein Co. plenty to market.
Gere and Howard play the aptly named Hunt and Duck, a TV news reporter and cameraman, respectively, who have dashed through the world's worst war zones, from Somalia to El Salvador. Hunt is forever on the hunt for hot action footage, while cameraman Duck must duck all the bullets and explosions coming at him as a consequence. Then, in Bosnia, in a village brutally ravaged by ethnic cleansing, Hunt suffers an on-camera meltdown during a live feed on network television.
Five years later, Duck, on a quickie assignment to Sarajevo with anchor Franklin Harris (James Brolin), meets up with Hunt, reduced to peddling stories to whomever will buy. Hunt dangles a major exclusive in front of Duck: He knows where a Bosnian Serb war criminal known as the Fox is hiding. Eventually, Duck bites, so along with rookie reporter Benjamin (Eisenberg), the son of a network exec, the three go on a Fox hunt.
And here is where the story goes astray. On a mountain road in a stolen vehicle, Hunt makes it clear that he aims not to interview the Fox but to capture him. With suspense music worthy of the next James Bond film to encourage them, the trio assume the guise of CIA agents and eventually start to believe in that identity. But unlike a Bond or Bourne movie, which slams from A to B to C to D, this hunting party goes from A to B and back to A again. Wild goose chases and dead ends introduce a host of rustic villains but serve only to alert the Fox to their presence. And would these war vets be foolish enough to talk loudly in restaurants about their plans so that all may hear?
Shepard insists that the quest is personal for Hunt. The Fox's men murdered his pregnant girlfriend in that village, and he means to "wipe that smile off his face." Which is OK if that's the story you want to tell, but there goes any comedy. The movie is now a revenge melodrama filled with lame comedic moments that work against the suspense. Shepard actually does a good job of pumping up these suspense sequences, yet the repeated 11th hour rescues stretch credibility beyond the breaking point.
There is credibility, though, in Gere's burned-out case, who looks haggard even after a good night's sleep and maintains a simmering frenzy that borders on true insanity. Howard, on the other hand, looks too well rested, having traded war zones for a cushy job in New York. Back in Bosnia, he comes alive again. Eisenberg gets a few laughs as a scared Harvard grad over his head in the real world, but the film goes to that well once too often.
Production values are terrific, especially David Tattersall's cinematography and Jan Roelfs' production design. They conspire to make Bosnia still look like a very scary place.
THE HUNTING PARTY
MGM
The Weinstein Co. presentsa QED International/Intermedia production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Richard Shepard
Based on an article by: Scott Anderson
Producers: Mark Johnson, Scott Kroopf
Executive producers: Adam Merims, Bill Block
Director of photography: David Tattersall
Production designer: Jan Roelfs
Music: Rolfe Kent
Costume designer: Beatrix Pasztor
Editor: Carole Kravetz-Aykanian
Cast:
Simon Hunt: Richard Gere
Duck: Terrence Howard
Benjamin: Jesse Eisenberg
Franklin Harris: James Brolin
Fox: Ljubomir Kerekes
Magda: Kristina Krepela
Mirjana: Diane Kruger
Duck's Girlfriend: Joy Bryant
Running time -- 104 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Richard Gere and Terrence Howard make an excellent pair of conflict journalists who get off on the adrenaline rush of war zones. And Jesse Eisenberg of "The Squid and the Whale" comes along as a very young stooge/sidekick. The secondary characters, a few based on real-life hard cases in Bosnia and Serbia, are nothing if not colorful. Meanwhile, the production takes terrific advantage of the war-torn city of Sarajevo and the middle-of-nowhere look of the treacherous mountains nearby, where a war criminal can easily hide. So the movie's surfaces are wickedly alive, giving MGM and the Weinstein Co. plenty to market.
Gere and Howard play the aptly named Hunt and Duck, a TV news reporter and cameraman, respectively, who have dashed through the world's worst war zones, from Somalia to El Salvador. Hunt is forever on the hunt for hot action footage, while cameraman Duck must duck all the bullets and explosions coming at him as a consequence. Then, in Bosnia, in a village brutally ravaged by ethnic cleansing, Hunt suffers an on-camera meltdown during a live feed on network television.
Five years later, Duck, on a quickie assignment to Sarajevo with anchor Franklin Harris (James Brolin), meets up with Hunt, reduced to peddling stories to whomever will buy. Hunt dangles a major exclusive in front of Duck: He knows where a Bosnian Serb war criminal known as the Fox is hiding. Eventually, Duck bites, so along with rookie reporter Benjamin (Eisenberg), the son of a network exec, the three go on a Fox hunt.
And here is where the story goes astray. On a mountain road in a stolen vehicle, Hunt makes it clear that he aims not to interview the Fox but to capture him. With suspense music worthy of the next James Bond film to encourage them, the trio assume the guise of CIA agents and eventually start to believe in that identity. But unlike a Bond or Bourne movie, which slams from A to B to C to D, this hunting party goes from A to B and back to A again. Wild goose chases and dead ends introduce a host of rustic villains but serve only to alert the Fox to their presence. And would these war vets be foolish enough to talk loudly in restaurants about their plans so that all may hear?
Shepard insists that the quest is personal for Hunt. The Fox's men murdered his pregnant girlfriend in that village, and he means to "wipe that smile off his face." Which is OK if that's the story you want to tell, but there goes any comedy. The movie is now a revenge melodrama filled with lame comedic moments that work against the suspense. Shepard actually does a good job of pumping up these suspense sequences, yet the repeated 11th hour rescues stretch credibility beyond the breaking point.
There is credibility, though, in Gere's burned-out case, who looks haggard even after a good night's sleep and maintains a simmering frenzy that borders on true insanity. Howard, on the other hand, looks too well rested, having traded war zones for a cushy job in New York. Back in Bosnia, he comes alive again. Eisenberg gets a few laughs as a scared Harvard grad over his head in the real world, but the film goes to that well once too often.
Production values are terrific, especially David Tattersall's cinematography and Jan Roelfs' production design. They conspire to make Bosnia still look like a very scary place.
THE HUNTING PARTY
MGM
The Weinstein Co. presentsa QED International/Intermedia production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Richard Shepard
Based on an article by: Scott Anderson
Producers: Mark Johnson, Scott Kroopf
Executive producers: Adam Merims, Bill Block
Director of photography: David Tattersall
Production designer: Jan Roelfs
Music: Rolfe Kent
Costume designer: Beatrix Pasztor
Editor: Carole Kravetz-Aykanian
Cast:
Simon Hunt: Richard Gere
Duck: Terrence Howard
Benjamin: Jesse Eisenberg
Franklin Harris: James Brolin
Fox: Ljubomir Kerekes
Magda: Kristina Krepela
Mirjana: Diane Kruger
Duck's Girlfriend: Joy Bryant
Running time -- 104 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
As he did with his previous feature, The Matador, writer-director Richard Shepard assembles all the elements for a dark suspense comedy only to lose his way in a surfeit of plot mechanics and unlikely behavior. There's a potentially funny political story in The Hunting Party about war criminals that the United Nations, NATO and the U.S. all say they want to find but really don't. Unfortunately, Shepard's approach takes the movie into Jason Bourne territory and away from the black comedy he seemingly wants to make, making the film fall between the cracks in terms of boxoffice appeal.
Richard Gere and Terrence Howard make an excellent pair of conflict journalists who get off on the adrenaline rush of war zones. And Jesse Eisenberg of The Squid and the Whale comes along as a very young stooge/sidekick. The secondary characters, a few based on real-life hard cases in Bosnia and Serbia, are nothing if not colorful. Meanwhile, the production takes terrific advantage of the war-torn city of Sarajevo and the middle-of-nowhere look of the treacherous mountains nearby, where a war criminal can easily hide. So the movie's surfaces are wickedly alive, giving MGM and the Weinstein Co. plenty to market.
Gere and Howard play the aptly named Hunt and Duck, a TV news reporter and cameraman, respectively, who have dashed through the world's worst war zones, from Somalia to El Salvador. Hunt is forever on the hunt for hot action footage, while cameraman Duck must duck all the bullets and explosions coming at him as a consequence. Then, in Bosnia, in a village brutally ravaged by ethnic cleansing, Hunt suffers an on-camera meltdown during a live feed on network television.
Five years later, Duck, on a quickie assignment to Sarajevo with anchor Franklin Harris (James Brolin), meets up with Hunt, reduced to peddling stories to whomever will buy. Hunt dangles a major exclusive in front of Duck: He knows where a Bosnian Serb war criminal known as the Fox is hiding. Eventually, Duck bites, so along with rookie reporter Benjamin (Eisenberg), the son of a network exec, the three go on a Fox hunt.
And here is where the story goes astray. On a mountain road in a stolen vehicle, Hunt makes it clear that he aims not to interview the Fox but to capture him. With suspense music worthy of the next James Bond film to encourage them, the trio assume the guise of CIA agents and eventually start to believe in that identity. But unlike a Bond or Bourne movie, which slams from A to B to C to D, this hunting party goes from A to B and back to A again. Wild goose chases and dead ends introduce a host of rustic villains but serve only to alert the Fox to their presence. And would these war vets be foolish enough to talk loudly in restaurants about their plans so that all may hear?
Shepard insists that the quest is personal for Hunt. The Fox's men murdered his pregnant girlfriend in that village, and he means to "wipe that smile off his face." Which is OK if that's the story you want to tell, but there goes any comedy. The movie is now a revenge melodrama filled with lame comedic moments that work against the suspense. Shepard actually does a good job of pumping up these suspense sequences, yet the repeated 11th hour rescues stretch credibility beyond the breaking point.
There is credibility, though, in Gere's burned-out case, who looks haggard even after a good night's sleep and maintains a simmering frenzy that borders on true insanity. Howard, on the other hand, looks too well rested, having traded war zones for a cushy job in New York. Back in Bosnia, he comes alive again. Eisenberg gets a few laughs as a scared Harvard grad over his head in the real world, but the film goes to that well once too often.
Production values are terrific, especially David Tattersall's cinematography and Jan Roelfs' production design. They conspire to make Bosnia still look like a very scary place.
THE HUNTING PARTY
MGM
The Weinstein Co. presentsa QED International/Intermedia production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Richard Shepard
Based on an article by: Scott Anderson
Producers: Mark Johnson, Scott Kroopf
Executive producers: Adam Merims, Bill Block
Director of photography: David Tattersall
Production designer: Jan Roelfs
Music: Rolfe Kent
Costume designer: Beatrix Pasztor
Editor: Carole Kravetz-Aykanian
Cast:
Simon Hunt: Richard Gere
Duck: Terrence Howard
Benjamin: Jesse Eisenberg
Franklin Harris: James Brolin
Fox: Ljubomir Kerekes
Magda: Kristina Krepela
Mirjana: Diane Kruger
Duck's Girlfriend: Joy Bryant
Running time -- 104 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Richard Gere and Terrence Howard make an excellent pair of conflict journalists who get off on the adrenaline rush of war zones. And Jesse Eisenberg of The Squid and the Whale comes along as a very young stooge/sidekick. The secondary characters, a few based on real-life hard cases in Bosnia and Serbia, are nothing if not colorful. Meanwhile, the production takes terrific advantage of the war-torn city of Sarajevo and the middle-of-nowhere look of the treacherous mountains nearby, where a war criminal can easily hide. So the movie's surfaces are wickedly alive, giving MGM and the Weinstein Co. plenty to market.
Gere and Howard play the aptly named Hunt and Duck, a TV news reporter and cameraman, respectively, who have dashed through the world's worst war zones, from Somalia to El Salvador. Hunt is forever on the hunt for hot action footage, while cameraman Duck must duck all the bullets and explosions coming at him as a consequence. Then, in Bosnia, in a village brutally ravaged by ethnic cleansing, Hunt suffers an on-camera meltdown during a live feed on network television.
Five years later, Duck, on a quickie assignment to Sarajevo with anchor Franklin Harris (James Brolin), meets up with Hunt, reduced to peddling stories to whomever will buy. Hunt dangles a major exclusive in front of Duck: He knows where a Bosnian Serb war criminal known as the Fox is hiding. Eventually, Duck bites, so along with rookie reporter Benjamin (Eisenberg), the son of a network exec, the three go on a Fox hunt.
And here is where the story goes astray. On a mountain road in a stolen vehicle, Hunt makes it clear that he aims not to interview the Fox but to capture him. With suspense music worthy of the next James Bond film to encourage them, the trio assume the guise of CIA agents and eventually start to believe in that identity. But unlike a Bond or Bourne movie, which slams from A to B to C to D, this hunting party goes from A to B and back to A again. Wild goose chases and dead ends introduce a host of rustic villains but serve only to alert the Fox to their presence. And would these war vets be foolish enough to talk loudly in restaurants about their plans so that all may hear?
Shepard insists that the quest is personal for Hunt. The Fox's men murdered his pregnant girlfriend in that village, and he means to "wipe that smile off his face." Which is OK if that's the story you want to tell, but there goes any comedy. The movie is now a revenge melodrama filled with lame comedic moments that work against the suspense. Shepard actually does a good job of pumping up these suspense sequences, yet the repeated 11th hour rescues stretch credibility beyond the breaking point.
There is credibility, though, in Gere's burned-out case, who looks haggard even after a good night's sleep and maintains a simmering frenzy that borders on true insanity. Howard, on the other hand, looks too well rested, having traded war zones for a cushy job in New York. Back in Bosnia, he comes alive again. Eisenberg gets a few laughs as a scared Harvard grad over his head in the real world, but the film goes to that well once too often.
Production values are terrific, especially David Tattersall's cinematography and Jan Roelfs' production design. They conspire to make Bosnia still look like a very scary place.
THE HUNTING PARTY
MGM
The Weinstein Co. presentsa QED International/Intermedia production
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Richard Shepard
Based on an article by: Scott Anderson
Producers: Mark Johnson, Scott Kroopf
Executive producers: Adam Merims, Bill Block
Director of photography: David Tattersall
Production designer: Jan Roelfs
Music: Rolfe Kent
Costume designer: Beatrix Pasztor
Editor: Carole Kravetz-Aykanian
Cast:
Simon Hunt: Richard Gere
Duck: Terrence Howard
Benjamin: Jesse Eisenberg
Franklin Harris: James Brolin
Fox: Ljubomir Kerekes
Magda: Kristina Krepela
Mirjana: Diane Kruger
Duck's Girlfriend: Joy Bryant
Running time -- 104 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/31/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"The Astronaut's Wife" puts a sci-fi twist on "Rosemary's Baby", but that's where the ingenuity in Rand Ravich's film begins and ends. Slow-moving and solemn as a funeral, the movie is getting a quickie release by New Line without benefit of a media screening or much marketing. The film's lack of genuine chills may additionally hamper it in ancillary markets.
Ravich the writer has given Ravich the director a tough task. A bare-bones script puts a terrific burden on his ability to create suspense through purely visual means. Toward this end, the producers have helpfully surrounded the first-time director with a superb below-the-line staff.
Veteran cinematographer Allen Daviau's moody lighting of Jan Roelfs' cool interiors of chrome and glass and Isis Mussenden's basic black costumes evoke an ominous atmosphere. But Ravich fails to take advantage. A little editing-room trickery and innumerable flashbacks can't overcome a tired story line.
Johnny Depp plays a NASA astronaut, and Charlize Theron is his schoolteacher wife. They're terribly in love, but something has come between them.
That "something" is a two-minute episode during Depp's last shuttle mission. Following an explosion on the spacecraft, he and his partner (Nick Cassavetes) lose contact with Earth. Both astronauts survive, but Depp's partner dies of a massive stroke within days and the man's wife, who behaves strangely, commits suicide.
Depp abruptly quits NASA, moves himself and his wife to a new corporate job in New York and impregnates Theron with twins, all in a matter of weeks. Theron soon comes to realize that something is wrong with her husband -- if indeed it is her husband. And what are these life forms growing inside her?
The audience -- pretty much ahead of the curve on this one thanks to many previous movies -- tediously drum their fingers on seat rests waiting for Theron to catch up. She eventually does, then runs around in circles to little effect.
At this stage in her career, Theron can't carry a movie, as she is required to do here. And certainly not a quasi-horror film. Depp is a fine actor, but playing a bogeyman doesn't suit him. He struggles to remain low-key with snide remarks and sinister eye movements rather than histrionics. But none of this is convincing.
In the only other key role in this underpopulated film, Joe Morton goes nicely crazy as the one NASA official who suspects the truth, and Clea DuVall is appropriately dim-witted as Theron's sister, who inadvertently does all the wrong things.
Ravich's writing has a labored quality. The plot frequently would falter if Depp didn't materialize at all the wrong moments for his poor wife. And his ending is also a puzzler. The only explanation is that the filmmakers were deluded into thinking a sequel would be in order.
THE ASTRONAUT'S WIFE
New Line Cinema
Mad Chance Prods.
Producer: Andrew Lazar
Writer-director: Rand Ravich
Executive producers: Mark Johnson, Brian Witten, Donna Langley
Director of photography: Allen Daviau
Production designer: Jan Roelfs
Music: George S. Clinton
Costume designer: Isis Mussenden
Editors: Steve Mirkovich, Tim Alverson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Spencer Armacost: Johnny Depp
Jillian Armacost: Charlize Theron
Sherman Reese: Joe Morton
Nan: Clea DuVall
Natalie Streck: Donna Murphy
Alex Streck: Nick Cassavetes
Doctor: Samantha Eggar
Shelly McLaren: Blair Brown
Jackson McLaren: Tom Noonan
Running time -- 110 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Ravich the writer has given Ravich the director a tough task. A bare-bones script puts a terrific burden on his ability to create suspense through purely visual means. Toward this end, the producers have helpfully surrounded the first-time director with a superb below-the-line staff.
Veteran cinematographer Allen Daviau's moody lighting of Jan Roelfs' cool interiors of chrome and glass and Isis Mussenden's basic black costumes evoke an ominous atmosphere. But Ravich fails to take advantage. A little editing-room trickery and innumerable flashbacks can't overcome a tired story line.
Johnny Depp plays a NASA astronaut, and Charlize Theron is his schoolteacher wife. They're terribly in love, but something has come between them.
That "something" is a two-minute episode during Depp's last shuttle mission. Following an explosion on the spacecraft, he and his partner (Nick Cassavetes) lose contact with Earth. Both astronauts survive, but Depp's partner dies of a massive stroke within days and the man's wife, who behaves strangely, commits suicide.
Depp abruptly quits NASA, moves himself and his wife to a new corporate job in New York and impregnates Theron with twins, all in a matter of weeks. Theron soon comes to realize that something is wrong with her husband -- if indeed it is her husband. And what are these life forms growing inside her?
The audience -- pretty much ahead of the curve on this one thanks to many previous movies -- tediously drum their fingers on seat rests waiting for Theron to catch up. She eventually does, then runs around in circles to little effect.
At this stage in her career, Theron can't carry a movie, as she is required to do here. And certainly not a quasi-horror film. Depp is a fine actor, but playing a bogeyman doesn't suit him. He struggles to remain low-key with snide remarks and sinister eye movements rather than histrionics. But none of this is convincing.
In the only other key role in this underpopulated film, Joe Morton goes nicely crazy as the one NASA official who suspects the truth, and Clea DuVall is appropriately dim-witted as Theron's sister, who inadvertently does all the wrong things.
Ravich's writing has a labored quality. The plot frequently would falter if Depp didn't materialize at all the wrong moments for his poor wife. And his ending is also a puzzler. The only explanation is that the filmmakers were deluded into thinking a sequel would be in order.
THE ASTRONAUT'S WIFE
New Line Cinema
Mad Chance Prods.
Producer: Andrew Lazar
Writer-director: Rand Ravich
Executive producers: Mark Johnson, Brian Witten, Donna Langley
Director of photography: Allen Daviau
Production designer: Jan Roelfs
Music: George S. Clinton
Costume designer: Isis Mussenden
Editors: Steve Mirkovich, Tim Alverson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Spencer Armacost: Johnny Depp
Jillian Armacost: Charlize Theron
Sherman Reese: Joe Morton
Nan: Clea DuVall
Natalie Streck: Donna Murphy
Alex Streck: Nick Cassavetes
Doctor: Samantha Eggar
Shelly McLaren: Blair Brown
Jackson McLaren: Tom Noonan
Running time -- 110 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 8/30/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In the near future, racial, sexual and social discrimination will be out -- that's the good news.
In the near future, genetic evaluation will rule -- that's the bad news in this cautionary glimpse into a future time when your genetic code will be your resume.
Stylishly scoped with ice-blue hues and smartly visualized with a forbiddingly cold design, "Gattaca" is an intelligently-conceived sci-fi chiller starring Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. Sony will find strong appeal among college students. Unfortunately, like many of this species, the characters are an icy-veined and largely unemotional species that ultimately squander this provocative premise, reducing it to the status of visual essay rather than full-blooded human story.
Splicing together notions of a master race and the generic story form of man's arrogance in messing with divine planning, screenwriter and director Andrew Niccol has concocted a zesty story potion.
Catalyzing the yarn is the rivalry of two brothers, Vincent (Hawke) and Anton William Lee Scott). Vincent's future is limited, based on his inferior genetic code, while Anton's is dazzling. Indeed, in this futuristic society, one's future is determined seconds after birth, when a single blood sample can foretell everything from IQ to approximate time and cause of death. It's a predetermined world, where those with inferior genetics are referred to as "de-generates," classified as invalids, and, essentially, sentenced to a life of low-level drudgery.
What of the human spirit, what of hope? That is the beguiling core of Niccol's drama. In his scenario, Vincent dreams of being a deep-space navigator but with his makeup it will never come to be. But there are ways get around this unalterable fact; happily, there is a black market for the right genetic stuff. Vincent deals to get the essence of a brilliant young man, Jerome (Jude Law) who has been crippled in an accident.
With the help of Jerome's perfection genes, Vincent takes on Jerome's identity, winning the navigational job he has long sought.
While Niccol's theme is a winning one, and his premise perceptively brainy, "Gattaca" is of inferior stock in its narrative backbone. Once past its razzle-dazzle procedurals of Vincent getting a new genetic identity, it degenerates into a mid-section of lethargic tedium: essentially, the second half of the film is mired in the flat dramatic dynamic question of whether or not Vincent/Jerome will be found out.
Unfortunately, given his stoic, almost autonomic nature, we don't really care. While Niccol makes calculated and perfunctory expositional references to "hope," there is no passion in the characterizations. You'd have to watch "Star Trek" reruns to encounter a more soul-less gaggle of stiffs, or view documentaries on Hitler Youth to see such mechanical arrogance.
While the narrative decomposes, the visuals are altogether superior. Admittedly, former commercials director Niccol is terrific at composing looks; however, an assemblage of glossy, gelid sequences does not necessarily add up to a satisfying cohesive film.
Still, the technical team is undeniably elite. Cinematographer Slawomir Idziak's stylishly cold scopings are magnificent, heightened by composer Michael Nyman's unsettling sounds. Jan Roelfs' production design is sensational -- it's as if Albert Speer commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to create the physical universe. It's human-unfriendly, to say the least.
Given the constraints of the writing, Hawke is fine as the ambitious Vincent/Jerome. As the uber-girl, Thurman is shrewdly chosen; alas, her portrayal is confined to mannequin dimension. Fortunately, the minor characters have more human blood in them: Alan Arkin is entertaining as a Columbo-ish investigator, while Gore Vidal is well-cast as a haughty man of science.
The most full-blooded performance is served up by Law, the young man whose promising life was shattered by an accident and who has chosen to give his genetic code to Vincent: we feel his anguish and exult in his vicarious joys.
GATTACA
Sony Pictures Releasing
Columbia Pictures Presents
A Jersey Films Prod.
A film by Andrew Niccol
Producers	Danny DeVito,
Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher
Screenwriter-director	Andrew Niccol
Director of photography	Slawomir Idziak
Produciton designer	Jan Roelfs
Editor	:Lisa Zeno Churgin
Costume designer	Colleen Atwood
Music	Michael Nyman
Co-producer:	Gail Lyon
Sound mixer	Stephan Von Hase-Mihalik
Color/stereo
Cast:
Vincent/Jerome	Ethan Hawke
Irene	Uma Thurman
Director Josef	Gore Vidal
Lamar	Xander Berkeley
Antonio	Elias Kotas
Delivery nurse	Maya Rudolph
Head nurse	Una Damon
Pre-school teacher	Elizabeth Dennehy
Geneticist	Blair Underwood
Jerome/Eugene	Jude Law
Detective Hugo	Alan Arkin
Anton	William Lee Scott
Running time -- 112 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
In the near future, genetic evaluation will rule -- that's the bad news in this cautionary glimpse into a future time when your genetic code will be your resume.
Stylishly scoped with ice-blue hues and smartly visualized with a forbiddingly cold design, "Gattaca" is an intelligently-conceived sci-fi chiller starring Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. Sony will find strong appeal among college students. Unfortunately, like many of this species, the characters are an icy-veined and largely unemotional species that ultimately squander this provocative premise, reducing it to the status of visual essay rather than full-blooded human story.
Splicing together notions of a master race and the generic story form of man's arrogance in messing with divine planning, screenwriter and director Andrew Niccol has concocted a zesty story potion.
Catalyzing the yarn is the rivalry of two brothers, Vincent (Hawke) and Anton William Lee Scott). Vincent's future is limited, based on his inferior genetic code, while Anton's is dazzling. Indeed, in this futuristic society, one's future is determined seconds after birth, when a single blood sample can foretell everything from IQ to approximate time and cause of death. It's a predetermined world, where those with inferior genetics are referred to as "de-generates," classified as invalids, and, essentially, sentenced to a life of low-level drudgery.
What of the human spirit, what of hope? That is the beguiling core of Niccol's drama. In his scenario, Vincent dreams of being a deep-space navigator but with his makeup it will never come to be. But there are ways get around this unalterable fact; happily, there is a black market for the right genetic stuff. Vincent deals to get the essence of a brilliant young man, Jerome (Jude Law) who has been crippled in an accident.
With the help of Jerome's perfection genes, Vincent takes on Jerome's identity, winning the navigational job he has long sought.
While Niccol's theme is a winning one, and his premise perceptively brainy, "Gattaca" is of inferior stock in its narrative backbone. Once past its razzle-dazzle procedurals of Vincent getting a new genetic identity, it degenerates into a mid-section of lethargic tedium: essentially, the second half of the film is mired in the flat dramatic dynamic question of whether or not Vincent/Jerome will be found out.
Unfortunately, given his stoic, almost autonomic nature, we don't really care. While Niccol makes calculated and perfunctory expositional references to "hope," there is no passion in the characterizations. You'd have to watch "Star Trek" reruns to encounter a more soul-less gaggle of stiffs, or view documentaries on Hitler Youth to see such mechanical arrogance.
While the narrative decomposes, the visuals are altogether superior. Admittedly, former commercials director Niccol is terrific at composing looks; however, an assemblage of glossy, gelid sequences does not necessarily add up to a satisfying cohesive film.
Still, the technical team is undeniably elite. Cinematographer Slawomir Idziak's stylishly cold scopings are magnificent, heightened by composer Michael Nyman's unsettling sounds. Jan Roelfs' production design is sensational -- it's as if Albert Speer commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to create the physical universe. It's human-unfriendly, to say the least.
Given the constraints of the writing, Hawke is fine as the ambitious Vincent/Jerome. As the uber-girl, Thurman is shrewdly chosen; alas, her portrayal is confined to mannequin dimension. Fortunately, the minor characters have more human blood in them: Alan Arkin is entertaining as a Columbo-ish investigator, while Gore Vidal is well-cast as a haughty man of science.
The most full-blooded performance is served up by Law, the young man whose promising life was shattered by an accident and who has chosen to give his genetic code to Vincent: we feel his anguish and exult in his vicarious joys.
GATTACA
Sony Pictures Releasing
Columbia Pictures Presents
A Jersey Films Prod.
A film by Andrew Niccol
Producers	Danny DeVito,
Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher
Screenwriter-director	Andrew Niccol
Director of photography	Slawomir Idziak
Produciton designer	Jan Roelfs
Editor	:Lisa Zeno Churgin
Costume designer	Colleen Atwood
Music	Michael Nyman
Co-producer:	Gail Lyon
Sound mixer	Stephan Von Hase-Mihalik
Color/stereo
Cast:
Vincent/Jerome	Ethan Hawke
Irene	Uma Thurman
Director Josef	Gore Vidal
Lamar	Xander Berkeley
Antonio	Elias Kotas
Delivery nurse	Maya Rudolph
Head nurse	Una Damon
Pre-school teacher	Elizabeth Dennehy
Geneticist	Blair Underwood
Jerome/Eugene	Jude Law
Detective Hugo	Alan Arkin
Anton	William Lee Scott
Running time -- 112 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Making his first big-screen outing since 1988's "Stormy Monday", Sting plays a devious butler who wreaks havoc in an odd British household in the provocatively titled "Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets".
Produced by and co-starring Trudie Styler (Mrs. Sting), the darkly satirical yarn conjures up works ranging from Joseph Losey's "The Servant" to Pasolini's "Teorema" to Sting's "Brimstone and Treacle".
While the influences are all readily apparent, "Gentlemen", marking the feature debut of documentary filmmaker John-Paul Davidson, struggles throughout to find the right black-comic pitch and never really gets there.
The half-baked proceedings nevertheless remain watchable thanks to a couple of sharply amusing performances by seasoned pros Alan Bates and Anna Massey, but the LIVE Entertainment release will unlikely work up much of an appetite during its select-site run.
Set in a crumbling rural English estate circa 1949, the picture inhabits a world where all its characters bear quaintly bizarre names and exhibit similarly eccentric traits.
The lord of the dusty manor, Sir Hugo Coal (Bates), is an amateur paleontologist whose radical theories of evolution consume his daily routine at the expense of his neglected American wife, Harriet (Theresa Russell).
But that routine is about to be rudely interrupted with the arrival of the new butler, the diabolic but charismatic Fledge (Sting), and his quiet, alcoholic wife, Doris (Styler).
In short order, Fledge attends to Sir Hugo's wife's long-overlooked amorous needs and seduces Sidney Giblet (Steven Mackintosh), a sensitive poet and intended betrothed of Sir Hugo's daughter, Cleo (Lena Headey).
Soon after, Giblet goes missing, and an investigation is launched by his mother (Massey) and her friend Livinia Freebody (Maria Aitken).
Their findings aren't pretty. Giblet was murdered and his remains fed to Sir Hugo's pigs, who were subsequently slaughtered and served to the Coals and their dinner guests.
Cleo suspects Fledge, although Sir Hugo has never made secret his disdain for the late poet.
There's certainly a willing cast. Sting more or less sneers his way through his restrained performance, and Russell seems to be working out her accent as she goes along.
But Bates is terrific as the obsessed Sir Hugo, taking the self-consciously quirky dialogue and making it unmistakably his own. Hearing him spit out the word "poet" with utter disgust is a particular hoot. Likewise, Massey, as the unflappable, not-exactly-grieving mother of the deceased, has fun with the language, knowing how to mine humor out of the most innocent of adjectives.
The look of the film is also amusing, thanks to the imaginative work of Oscar-nominated production designer Jan Roelfs and Oscar-nominated costumer Colleen Atwood.
GENTLEMEN DON'T EAT POETS
LIVE Entertainment
Producer Trudie Styler
Director John-Paul Davidson
Screenwriter Patrick McGrath
Based on a novel by Patrick McGrath
Executive producer Stephen Evans
Director of photography Andrew Dunn
Production designer Jan Roelfs
Editor Tariq Anwar
Costume designers Colleen Atwood,
Graham Churchyard
Music Anne Dudley
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sir Hugo Coal Alan Bates
Lady Harriet Coal Theresa Russell
Fledge Sting
Cleo Coal Lena Headey
Sidney Giblet Steven Mackintosh
Mrs. Giblet Anna Massey
Doris Fledge Trudie Styler
Livinia Freebody Maria Aitken
Sir Edward Cleghorn Sir John Mills
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Produced by and co-starring Trudie Styler (Mrs. Sting), the darkly satirical yarn conjures up works ranging from Joseph Losey's "The Servant" to Pasolini's "Teorema" to Sting's "Brimstone and Treacle".
While the influences are all readily apparent, "Gentlemen", marking the feature debut of documentary filmmaker John-Paul Davidson, struggles throughout to find the right black-comic pitch and never really gets there.
The half-baked proceedings nevertheless remain watchable thanks to a couple of sharply amusing performances by seasoned pros Alan Bates and Anna Massey, but the LIVE Entertainment release will unlikely work up much of an appetite during its select-site run.
Set in a crumbling rural English estate circa 1949, the picture inhabits a world where all its characters bear quaintly bizarre names and exhibit similarly eccentric traits.
The lord of the dusty manor, Sir Hugo Coal (Bates), is an amateur paleontologist whose radical theories of evolution consume his daily routine at the expense of his neglected American wife, Harriet (Theresa Russell).
But that routine is about to be rudely interrupted with the arrival of the new butler, the diabolic but charismatic Fledge (Sting), and his quiet, alcoholic wife, Doris (Styler).
In short order, Fledge attends to Sir Hugo's wife's long-overlooked amorous needs and seduces Sidney Giblet (Steven Mackintosh), a sensitive poet and intended betrothed of Sir Hugo's daughter, Cleo (Lena Headey).
Soon after, Giblet goes missing, and an investigation is launched by his mother (Massey) and her friend Livinia Freebody (Maria Aitken).
Their findings aren't pretty. Giblet was murdered and his remains fed to Sir Hugo's pigs, who were subsequently slaughtered and served to the Coals and their dinner guests.
Cleo suspects Fledge, although Sir Hugo has never made secret his disdain for the late poet.
There's certainly a willing cast. Sting more or less sneers his way through his restrained performance, and Russell seems to be working out her accent as she goes along.
But Bates is terrific as the obsessed Sir Hugo, taking the self-consciously quirky dialogue and making it unmistakably his own. Hearing him spit out the word "poet" with utter disgust is a particular hoot. Likewise, Massey, as the unflappable, not-exactly-grieving mother of the deceased, has fun with the language, knowing how to mine humor out of the most innocent of adjectives.
The look of the film is also amusing, thanks to the imaginative work of Oscar-nominated production designer Jan Roelfs and Oscar-nominated costumer Colleen Atwood.
GENTLEMEN DON'T EAT POETS
LIVE Entertainment
Producer Trudie Styler
Director John-Paul Davidson
Screenwriter Patrick McGrath
Based on a novel by Patrick McGrath
Executive producer Stephen Evans
Director of photography Andrew Dunn
Production designer Jan Roelfs
Editor Tariq Anwar
Costume designers Colleen Atwood,
Graham Churchyard
Music Anne Dudley
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sir Hugo Coal Alan Bates
Lady Harriet Coal Theresa Russell
Fledge Sting
Cleo Coal Lena Headey
Sidney Giblet Steven Mackintosh
Mrs. Giblet Anna Massey
Doris Fledge Trudie Styler
Livinia Freebody Maria Aitken
Sir Edward Cleghorn Sir John Mills
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 3/17/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Making his first big-screen outing since 1988's "Stormy Monday", Sting plays a devious butler who wreaks havoc in an odd British household in the provocatively titled "Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets".
Produced by and co-starring Trudie Styler (Mrs. Sting), the darkly satirical yarn conjures up works ranging from Joseph Losey's "The Servant" to Pasolini's "Teorema" to Sting's previous "Brimstone and Treacle". While the influences are all readily apparent, "Gentlemen", marking the feature debut of documentary filmmaker John-Paul Davidson, struggles throughout to find the right black-comic pitch and never really gets there.
The half-baked proceedings nevertheless remain watchable thanks to a couple of sharply amusing performances by seasoned pros Alan Bates and Anna Massey, but the LIVE Entertainment release will unlikely work up much of an appetite during its select-site run.
Set in a crumbling rural English estate circa 1949, the picture inhabits a world where all its characters bear quaintly bizarre names and exhibit similarly eccentric traits. The lord of the dusty manor, Sir Hugo Coal (Bates), is an amateur paleontologist whose radical theories of evolution consume his daily routine at the expense of his neglected American wife, Harriet (Theresa Russell).
But that routine is about to be rudely interrupted with the arrival of the new butler, the diabolic but charismatic Fledge (Sting), and his quiet, alcoholic wife, Doris (Styler). In short order, Fledge attends to Sir Hugo's wife's long-overlooked amorous needs and seduces Sidney Giblet (Steven Mackintosh), a sensitive poet and intended betrothed of Sir Hugo's daughter, Cleo (Lena Headey).
Soon after, Giblet goes missing, and an investigation is launched by his mother (Massey) and her friend Livinia Freebody (Maria Aitken). Their findings aren't pretty. Giblet was murdered and his remains fed to Sir Hugo's pigs, who were subsequently slaughtered and served to the Coals and their dinner guests. Cleo suspects Fledge, although Sir Hugo has never made secret his disdain for the late poet.
There's certainly a willing cast. Sting more or less sneers his way through his restrained performance, and Russell seems to be working out her accent as she goes along. But Bates is terrific as the obsessed Sir Hugo, taking the self-consciously quirky dialogue and making it unmistakably his own. Hearing him spit out the word "poet" with utter disgust is a particular hoot. Likewise, Massey, as the unflappable, not-exactly-grieving mother of the deceased, has fun with the language, knowing how to mine humor out of the most innocent of adjectives.
The look of the film is also amusing, thanks to the imaginative work of Oscar-nominated production designer Jan Roelfs and Oscar-nominated costumer Colleen Atwood.
GENTLEMEN DON'T EAT POETS
LIVE Entertainment
Producer Trudie Styler
Director John-Paul Davidson
Screenwriter Patrick McGrath
Based on a novel by Patrick McGrath
Executive producer Stephen Evans
Director of photography Andrew Dunn
Production designer Jan Roelfs
Editor Tariq Anwar
Costume designers Colleen Atwood,
Graham Churchyard
Music Anne Dudley
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sir Hugo Coal Alan Bates
Lady Harriet Coal Theresa Russell
Fledge Sting
Cleo Coal Lena Headey
Sidney Giblet Steven Mackintosh
Mrs. Giblet Anna Massey
Doris Fledge Trudie Styler
Livinia Freebody Maria Aitken
Sir Edward Cleghorn Sir John Mills
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Produced by and co-starring Trudie Styler (Mrs. Sting), the darkly satirical yarn conjures up works ranging from Joseph Losey's "The Servant" to Pasolini's "Teorema" to Sting's previous "Brimstone and Treacle". While the influences are all readily apparent, "Gentlemen", marking the feature debut of documentary filmmaker John-Paul Davidson, struggles throughout to find the right black-comic pitch and never really gets there.
The half-baked proceedings nevertheless remain watchable thanks to a couple of sharply amusing performances by seasoned pros Alan Bates and Anna Massey, but the LIVE Entertainment release will unlikely work up much of an appetite during its select-site run.
Set in a crumbling rural English estate circa 1949, the picture inhabits a world where all its characters bear quaintly bizarre names and exhibit similarly eccentric traits. The lord of the dusty manor, Sir Hugo Coal (Bates), is an amateur paleontologist whose radical theories of evolution consume his daily routine at the expense of his neglected American wife, Harriet (Theresa Russell).
But that routine is about to be rudely interrupted with the arrival of the new butler, the diabolic but charismatic Fledge (Sting), and his quiet, alcoholic wife, Doris (Styler). In short order, Fledge attends to Sir Hugo's wife's long-overlooked amorous needs and seduces Sidney Giblet (Steven Mackintosh), a sensitive poet and intended betrothed of Sir Hugo's daughter, Cleo (Lena Headey).
Soon after, Giblet goes missing, and an investigation is launched by his mother (Massey) and her friend Livinia Freebody (Maria Aitken). Their findings aren't pretty. Giblet was murdered and his remains fed to Sir Hugo's pigs, who were subsequently slaughtered and served to the Coals and their dinner guests. Cleo suspects Fledge, although Sir Hugo has never made secret his disdain for the late poet.
There's certainly a willing cast. Sting more or less sneers his way through his restrained performance, and Russell seems to be working out her accent as she goes along. But Bates is terrific as the obsessed Sir Hugo, taking the self-consciously quirky dialogue and making it unmistakably his own. Hearing him spit out the word "poet" with utter disgust is a particular hoot. Likewise, Massey, as the unflappable, not-exactly-grieving mother of the deceased, has fun with the language, knowing how to mine humor out of the most innocent of adjectives.
The look of the film is also amusing, thanks to the imaginative work of Oscar-nominated production designer Jan Roelfs and Oscar-nominated costumer Colleen Atwood.
GENTLEMEN DON'T EAT POETS
LIVE Entertainment
Producer Trudie Styler
Director John-Paul Davidson
Screenwriter Patrick McGrath
Based on a novel by Patrick McGrath
Executive producer Stephen Evans
Director of photography Andrew Dunn
Production designer Jan Roelfs
Editor Tariq Anwar
Costume designers Colleen Atwood,
Graham Churchyard
Music Anne Dudley
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sir Hugo Coal Alan Bates
Lady Harriet Coal Theresa Russell
Fledge Sting
Cleo Coal Lena Headey
Sidney Giblet Steven Mackintosh
Mrs. Giblet Anna Massey
Doris Fledge Trudie Styler
Livinia Freebody Maria Aitken
Sir Edward Cleghorn Sir John Mills
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 3/14/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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