I’m yanking this from Devin Faraci’s Comic-Con wrap-up column because, as I mentioned Friday, it was one of those so-cute-I-could-kill-myself moments. Had to share:
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‘Never Let Me Go’ poster
One of the year’s most mysterious projects for me is Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go.” I haven’t read the book (though I’m wondering whether I should), the trailer left me bewildered, I didn’t read Guy’s Page to Screen column on the source material and I’ve basically just kept my nose out of it for some reason. It’s not that I’m not intrigued. I just haven’t gotten around to investigating. But I know it’s a hotly anticipated film for the readership so the new poster will surely be welcome, so check it out after the jump.
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On the sound of ‘Salt’
The most recent predictions update substituted “The Last Airbender” (which failed miserably with critics) with “Salt” in the sound categories, and it wasn’t blind speculation. After all, the sound crew consists of such multi-lauded talents as Scott Millan and Greg P. Russell. Russell, as you know, has racked up some 13 nominations without a win.The trusty folks at SoundWorks Collection have once again produced a stellar featurette that really puts you into the world of the sound mixers and editors on the project. There’s plenty of discussion about blending the various elements together as well as discussion of James Newton Howard’s score, which is another great pulse-pounding effort form the composer.
At the end of the day, this could be a surprise pair of nods akin to the “Wanted” one-two punch in 2008. So watch out. Head on over to SoundWorks Collection to see the 6-minute video, or click on through to watch an embed after the jump.
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Taymor’s ‘Tempest’ to bookend Venice fest
Days after naming Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” as the festival’s curtain-raiser, the Venice Film Festival’s have picked another not-entirely-expected title to close the fest on September 11: Julie Taymor’s long-delayed Shakespeare adaptation, “The Tempest.”The decision to bookend proceedings with highly anticipated U.S. productions suggests the Venice brass are aiming for higher star wattage on the Lido than at last year’s low-key edition, which opened with Giuseppe Tornatore’s misfire “Baaria” and closed with the little-seen Chinese portmanteau pic “Chengdu, I Love You.” More strategically, this choice of closer seems calculated to compel journalists to stay for the full duration of the fest — something of a challenge when Toronto begins but a few days earlier.
I admit I hadn’t counted on seeing Taymor’s film, which stars Helen Mirren as a gender-switched Prospero in the director’s typically loose interpretation of the Shakespeare standard, in the fall festival pack — though distributor Disney (picking up where Miramax left off) had already confirmed a December release date.
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‘Margaret’ will see light of day, says Searchlight
Last year, I dedicated a couple of posts to the mysterious case of “Margaret,” Kenneth Lonergan’s seemingly terminally delayed follow-up to his 2000 directorial debut “You Can Count on Me.” The film, a character drama starring Anna Paquin as a traumatised witness to a bus accident, with Mark Ruffalo and Matt Damon in support, was shot in 2005 — but has been stuck in the editing suite ever since.Working from a vast, ambitious 168-page script, Lonergan has reportedly been unable in four years to complete a cut of the film that pleases him. (This extensive LA Times report details the financial and legal consequences of his creative blockage.) However, just as the issue had slipped from memory — with many assuming the film would never be released at all — Anne Thompson dropped this brief but encouraging update from distributor Fox Searchlight a few days ago:
Searchlight states: “we do have a finished cut by Lonergan and we plan to release the film sometime in 2011.”
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COMIC-CON: Wrapping it up…are we getting through?
My Comic-Con experience ended a bit sooner than I expected this morning when I woke up and decided whatever was on the Sunday docket wasn’t as fetching as a three-hour ride in traffic back to LA. That’s how exhausting the convention was this year.Here’s the thing. We all know Comic-Con and its 125,000-plus attendees form nothing more than a marketing bonanza in this day and age. No need to preach down to those who were there if you decided to remain back on your high horse and wait it out. You’re not enlightened. We get it. The event’s roots had a completely different shade and Hollywood has invaded the territory. But at the same time, as Hero Complex’s Geoff Boucher shrewdly pointed out before Saturday’s Warner Bros. presentation, Comic-Con — or comics, in general — has also invaded Hollywood.
So what we have is a symbiosis that plays right into the hands of studio marketing chiefs. No one can fault businessmen for making business decisions, but I think it would be worth it for Comic-Con brass (whoever they are) to take stock of what’s happening here. A craven desire to sell as many passes as possible, secure as many big names as possible and bloat the festivities with dubious material has taken things far from where they started, yes. But the thing is so stressful, people are stabbing each other!
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SUNDAY CENTS: ‘Inception’ shakes ‘Salt’
*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.Despite the collective nerd consciousness being zeroed in on the events happening in San Diego, there were enough nerds elsewhere to propel “Inception” to a second week at the top of the box office. Actually that’s unfair, it’s not just nerds who are seeing the movie as Christopher Nolan’s dreamscape now looks to be the leggy, late summer blockbuster that nerds and Warner Bros. always hoped it would be. If it gets my Mom to go, then it’ll be a downright phenomenon, but the last non-animated film she saw was probably “Mamma Mia!.”
Alright, “Inception” dropped a petite 31% to $43.5 million and easily walked away with what I predicted would be a close race at the box office. For comparison, “The Dark Knight” dropped 53% in its second weekend, but that was coming off a much, much higher figure and it eventually settled into 35-40% drops after that. If “Inception” continues at this pace or better, it could make a decent pass at $300 million. To put those legs into perspective, you would have to go back six years to “Meet the Fockers” to find a film that crossed that threshold with a debut under $65 million.
“The Other Guys” will take a bit of the audience away, but other than that, I don’t see much in terms of competition. While remakes and sequels continue to post one and done weekend numbers and get people talking, it’s nice to see “Avatar” and “Inception” showing that original properties are the ones that keep them talking.
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COMIC-CON: ‘Scott Pilgrim’ preaches to an enthusiastic choir
Perhaps the most ubiquitous presence at Comic-Con this year has been Universal’s “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” The film held a traditional panel Thursday evening, was screened three times to audiences including the public, was fully visible with a massive ad on the north side of the Hilton Bayfront and took over the Hilton Gaslamp with “The Scott Pilgrim Experience,” a smörgåsbord of marketing mojo fit with T-shirt printing, video game test drives and autograph sessions.I saw the film at the first screening Thursday. Following the Hall H panel, director Edgar Wright led the march from the convention center through downtown San Diego as a hundred or so lucky fans got the chance to partake in the event at the Balboa Theatre.
Inside, Dan the Automator and Kid Koala were filling everyone’s eardrums with funky beats as the crowd filed in. It was interesting to note that many didn’t even seem to realize they were witnessing a show people would pay good money to see, assuming it was just another DJ set or something. Hardly.
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COMIC-CON: ‘Let Me In’ trailer
I’m back from San Diego and will wrap things up throughout the afternoon, but this trailer for “Let Me In” hit during the convention and it goes a long way toward explaining my new-found excitement over the remake. Head on over to MTV by clicking the image below or check out the embed (and yet another poster) on the jump.
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COMIC-CON: ‘Captain America’ teases, ‘Thor’ hammers, ‘Avengers’ assemble
Hall H was humming by the time Marvel Entertainment honcho Kevin Feige took the stage for the highly anticipated “Captain America” and “Thor” panels this afternoon. And for the comic book masses waiting with bated breath for any sliver of info, it was ecstasy. For me…not so much.Director Joe Johnston and stars Chris Evans and Hugo Weaving were on hand to talk all things Cap. Johnston had a quick preview reel full of graphics that ended with a few shots of Evans in the test costume, which frankly looked like a Halloween get-up. But hopefully it’ll all come out in the wash.
Later there was a scene featuring Weaving (who plays villain Red Skull). It was largely important to the audience for its revelation of the Cosmic Cube being in the film. (Read up on that more here and here.) Naturally, there were geeky gasps throughout the hall, but the scene itself had a nice atmosphere. I’m cautiously optimistic for this one.
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COMIC-CON: Universal brings ‘Paul’ and ‘Cowboys & Aliens,’ oh my
With its “Scott Pilgrim” presence already dominating the scene here at Comic-Con, Universal publicity didn’t need to do much else to be top of the nerd mountain this weekend. Then they went and blew the roof off.The studio first offered up a sizzle reel for Greg Mottola’s sci-fi comedy “Paul,” which went over well with its tip of the hat to the Con (early scenes show a recreated convention). The director and most of the cast were here to discuss the road trip movie with a twist, but that was just an hors d’oeuvre.
The roof-blowing was owed completely to Harrison Ford’s first-ever appearance at the convention. It was a geek’s wet dream as Han Solo/Indiana Jones took to the stage at Hall H in handcuffs (which we all thought was making light of an earlier incident where a stabbing occurred in the hall, but was actually a pre-planned gag, as in Favreau had to drag Ford to the convention in shackles). Ford was there to help promote Jon Favreau’s “Cowboys & Aliens,” which had a surprisingly robust presence during the presentation.
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COMIC-CON: Ruffalo and Renner a go for ‘Avengers’
I’ll get to today’s Marvel’s “Avengers” presentation later tonight, but the news worth conveying is that Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner were on hand to be confirmed as Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk and Hawkeye, respectively. The announcement was made by Robert Downey Jr., who was here with Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson and director Joss Whedon, making for one hell of a photo op. Chew on that for now.
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COMIC-CON: Red band ‘Machete’ trailer
In all the back and forth and panel coverage, I’ve been trying to find time to post tid-bits like this. With a few minutes’ rest before Marvel comes into Hall H and owns the joint, I figured I’d finally get to the recently released red band “Machete” trailer, courtesy of IGN. Robert Rodriguez was here Thursday with some of his cast members serving tacos in downtown San Diego. It was a modest but, I think, effective presence. And now we get more blood and guts. Click the image below to take a look or watch the embed on the jump.
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COMIC-CON: ‘Let Me In’ isn’t just the rally cry of Hall H lines
As far as Matt Reeves’s “Let Me In” is concerned, I’ll freely admit a sense of hesitation. Based on one of the best films of 2008, it has had an air of arbitrary remake-itis around it. But much of that started to disappear as marketing materials were unveiled throughout the last few weeks, and following a panel for the film today, I’m feeling even better about things.Reeves was on hand, along with stars Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz and Richard Jenkins. He had a pair of clips with him and they went a long way toward dispelling all of that ambivalence.
First and foremost, I was rather struck by how patient the filmmaking is here. That was a key element of “Let the Right One In,” this kind of lingering camerawork and moody elegance that was largely responsible for helping the film hit the sweet spot when it could have easily been another dip in the typical vampire well.
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COMIC-CON: WB brings ‘Green Lantern,’ ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Sucker Punch’ to San Diego
One of the most anticipated events at this year’s convention was Warner Bros. Pictures’ presentation of footage from Martin Campbell’s upcoming “Green Lantern” adaptation. Starring Ryan Reynolds as test-pilot-turned-intergalactic-enforcer Hal Jordan, the film is the first big screen adaptation of the superhero to date.Comics writer and head of DC Entertainment Geoff Johns said during the panel discussion, moderated by Hero Complex‘s Geoff Boucher, that there was a time he thought an adaptation would never see the light of day. Working as an intern with Richard Donner over a decade ago, the project had begun to pick up some momentum. When he heard a studio exec ask if the film could be done without the ring, his heart sank and he figured it was a doomed property.
Today Johns is one of the key architects of the new DC universe on the page, having spent five years re-inventing and streamlining the world of Green Lantern as well, and for him, the film is a dream come true.
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FRIDAY FORECAST: Pass the ‘Salt’
*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.Laziest headline ever? It’s that kind of Friday folks.
Hey boys! Anything you can do, Angelina Jolie can make look sexier and she’s here to prove it with “Salt.” Originally a vehicle for Tom Cruise, Jolie stepped in and is literally the only woman in Hollywood who can have action scripts rewritten and re-gendered to fit her interest. She’s also the only woman in Hollywood who is currently sleeping with Brad Pitt, so let me just add this up; Angelina Jolie-2, every other woman in Hollywood-0.
This clout came from solid performances for “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “Wanted.” The last of which opened to a very strong and surprising $56.4 million back in 2008. Sure, it was based on a comic book and had other recognizable faces in it, but the marketing really didn’t have much going for it other than the promise of Jolie shooting ridiculous weapons and leaning out of cars.
She’s had less success when dipping into dramatic territory, with “Changeling” and “A Mighty Heart” earning her rave reviews but fizzling at the box office. Nobody wants to see those hit lips quivering like a victim. We want to see fights and just enough skin to warrant a PG-13 rating!
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TECH SUPPORT: Best Cinematography — Volume I
Of the so-called “tech” categories, Best Cinematography is one of the most popular, certainly for me. The invention of the camera took us beyond radio and literature and set modern art on a path aimed toward the moving picture, and this field recognizes those behind the lens.Cinematography obviously has a massive impact on a film, everything unfolding within a frame and any nuance specific to the tone, atmosphere and theme of the piece. It is unimaginable to think of a good movie not having a good Director of Photography (DP).
“Pretty” films with beautiful landscapes and memorable, postcard-like shots shots are a regularity (and tend to win). But war films also show up regularly. And being a Best Picture contender never hurts. Innovative lighting that creates unique mood is frequently rewarded, at least with nominations, as well.
While this branch does at times play favorites (Robert Richardson and Roger Deakins being the most notable), it always tends to find room for one, two or three first-time nominees every year. From this vantage point, I’m curious who they will be because, the way I see it, most of the obvious contenders have been nominated before.
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COMIC-CON: ‘The Expendables’ injects some testosterone into the geek Mecca
We’re only a day in, but the star of Comic-Con so far, if it isn’t Scott Pilgrim, has to be Sylvester Stallone. The muscle-bound action star hit Hall H yesterday with a few scenes from his new film “The Expendables” in tow and couldn’t have had more swagger and charisma.Ain’t It Cool News poobah Harry Knowles moderated a panel consisting of stars Terry Crews, Steve Austin, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Sly himself. Bruce Willis, who was on hand earlier in the day for a “RED” panel, stopped by for a few moments as well. Early on, Knowles caught himself in the moment: “Can I just say something? HOW F**KING COOL IS THIS??”
It wasn’t really a hyperbolic statement. It WAS pretty damn cool to see that much testosterone on stage. And it was the right crowd for this kind of film, echoed by one of the Q&A questioners later on: “I just wanted to say that you guys are responsible for my upbringing, more so than my parents.”