In Contention

Tag: J.J. Abrams

  • Super h8ed it

    Where to begin on “Super 8?” It’s so clearly the kind of film directors tend to make, unmolested, after a major hit, the kind where someone really needed to be pulling the strings and smoothing the edges and seeing the forest through the trees. “But I’m J.J. f***ing Abrams.” (I’m sure he’s a splendid chap.)

    It’s a nostalgia wank, but you already knew that. I find myself wondering if the pitch meeting was little more than Abrams promising Steven Spielberg that the famed director’s oeuvre would be all but gilded and bronzed right there on the screen. But that can be forgiven…if there’s a story.

    And there’s not. Well, there’s not a complete story. There’s a lot of mayhem that feels injected into a coming-of-age yarn that itself needed some tinkering, and then there’s a climax that is meant to bring it all together, but ultimately whiffs worse than Begbie’s scratch in “Trainspotting.”

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  • Who should be on Christopher Nolan’s ‘Superman’ shortlist?

    My RSS feed was absolutely stuffed to the brim with the clamoring re-reporting of the geek press’s favorite story of the week yesterday: OMG! Christopher Nolan is meeting with a shortlist of potential “Superman” directors!

    Except the list is all wrong. The names: Tony Scott, Matt Reeves, Jonathan Liebsman, Duncan Jones and Zack Snyder.  Now, I love Reeves and Jones (the two getting most people excited) as much as the next guy. But they don’t feel thematically right for this material. And Superman boasts a scope that these directors, however talented on a smaller scale, have yet to prove capable of navigating.

    Liebsman, meanwhile, is the intriguing up-and-comer pick, and though I haven’t seen “Battle: Los Angeles,” I feel like this is just a way to insert some in-house cross-promoting potential (“from the director of ‘Clash of the Titans 2,’” you know?). And Snyder, well, I wouldn’t be entirely against it, but I’d know from the start that it would be a stylistic divergence unsuitable to the character.

    Scott is really the most interesting pick of the bunch, and if this were pre-frenetic filmmaking Scott (i.e. pre-“Enemy of the State”), I’d be all about it. I’d say the guy who copped Scott’s early style would be a better pick…

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  • 9/10 Oscarweb Round-up

    • Jeffrey Wells, meanwhile, re-posts his thoughts on James Solomon’s screenplay. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Pete Hammond reports extensively from Wednesday’s “Tangled” event on the Disney lot. [Deadline]

    • Tim Gray on Venice’s unique role in film history. [Variety]

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  • Comic-Con 2010 on the way

    Well, the inbox is getting stuffed with this and that regarding breakfasts and panels and viral marketing and yada, yada, yada.  That can mean only one thing: Comic-Con is around the corner.  And as I poured over the recently released schedule over the weekend, I found myself excited for…very little.

    DreamWorks Animation will make its first appearance with the Will Ferrell-starrer “Megamind.” Disney will pretty much take over the place as “TRON Legacy” makes its third trip in as many years to San Diego.  Sony will be in Hall H two days, first offering up action fare with “Salt” (which opens the Friday of the convention) and “Battle: Los Angeles,” then coming back with comedies “The Other Guys” and “The Green Hornet.”

    Warner Bros. will tease “Green Lantern,” “Sucker Punch” and the new “Harry Potter” while Overture will have “Let Me In.”  Lionsgate will break out “The Expendables” and Universal is planning some hijinks for “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” to go along with Hall H presentations for the new Greg Mottola film “Paul” and the more appropriately positioned “Cowboys & Aliens.”

    Oh, and fresh off of giving Edward Norton the heave-ho for, I imagine, deigning to try and make “The Avengers” a better movie than it’s likely to be, Marvel Studios will strut its stuff with “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger.”

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  • TECH SUPPORT INTERVIEW: The crafts of ‘Star Trek’

    Eric Bana in Star TrekOne of the year’s biggest blockbusters redefined a franchise and even made it palatable to those unfamiliar with or uninterested in its vibrant history. The film, of course, was “Star Trek,” and as below-the-line craftsmanship goes, it was one of the most impressive efforts of the year.

    Director J.J. Abrams’s mandate was “to renew and refresh, give it back some life,” makeup designer Mindy Hall says. “I had never seen any of the movies, but I grew up watching the series. If we were going to use any reference, it was going to come from that. But I didn’t want my perspective to be too crowded by looking at the archive stuff.”

    With a background in watercolors and ceramics, Hall one day happened upon a documentary on the making of Arthur Penn’s 1970 film “Little Big Man,” which aged Dustin Hoffman nearly 100 hundred years.

    A light bulb went off for the young artist. All she knew was that she wanted to do that, to bring that illusion to life.

    Hall worked in tandem with costume designer Michael Kaplan on the film. A lot of their references were more fashion related, she says. They flipped through European design books and placed a certain emphasis on emulating on the clean and slick look of science-fiction films of the 1950s and 1960s.  “We weren’t trying to do period,” she says. “We were just trying to get the flavor of it.”

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  • DGA on the way

    J.J. Abrams on the set of Star TrekTomorrow the Directors Guild of America will chime in with its list of nominees for the 2009-2010 film awards season.  Long considered to be the best “predictor” of the Oscar game (as in, the DGA winner typically wins the Oscar for Best Director, and Best Director often matches up with Best Picture), this guild’s shenanigans makes for a heavily anticipated harbinger of the season.

    Then again, maybe not.  In the last few years, names like Christopher Nolan, Sean Penn, Julian Schnabel and Bill Condon have popped up on the list, almost as if the guild was concerned with predicting the Best Picture race as it had done, five-for-five, for four straight years prior.  Those picks reflected the buzz of the early-year hour in each case, but ultimately, the Academy went a different direction with its Best Picture slate.

    That said, “the 10” makes for an entirely different dynamic.  I actually expect (or maybe “hope” is the word) tomorrow’s announcement to inject some intrigue into the proceedings.  I think there will be someone shortlisted who catches a great many off guard.  But who will it be?

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  • 8/12 Web Round-up

    Cover of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger• Kevin Kelly digs into the J.J. Abrams “Dark Tower” project. [Cinematical]

    • In honor of “Julie & Julia,” 10 blogs that could be movies. [Film School Rejects]

    • Liam Neeson walks his first red carpet since the death of wife Natasha Richardson. [Associated Press]

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  • 5/28 Web Round-up

    Kate Winslet in Romance & Cigarettes• Kim Voynar goes deep on a male-dominated film world. [Movie City News]

    • Brooks Barnes on an anti-smoking Hollywood effort.  “Thank God we invented the…whatever device.” [The Carpetbagger]

    • Nine straight critical and financial successes.  How does Pixar do it? [CNN]

    • Gina McIntyre talks to horror helmer Sam Raimi. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Ditto Scott Bowles, with some “Spider-Man 4” talk. [USA Today]

    • Ronald Bergan: Why the second coming of 3D is overrated (thank you!). [The Guardian]

    • An open letter to J.J. Abrams concerning the “Star Trek” sequel. [Newsarama]

    • These guys are list machines lately: 10 movie houses you’d love to live in. [Premiere]

    • 10 TV stars who should be in more movies. [Cinematical]

  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Star Trek’

    Star Trek

    If you were disappointed last weekend, hopefully you’ll get a kick out of this weekend’s big release, which had me at hello.  Like I said in my review, try to catch it on the loudest screen possible.  Come on back here and give us your thoughts on J.J. Abrams’s reboot of the “Star Trek” mythos once you see it.

  • J.J. Abrams, a.k.a., JJ Cool J

    Check out the full interview here.

  • REVIEW: “Star Trek” (****)

    Star TrekFrom pulse-pounding beginning to edge-of-your-seat end, J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” moves at a break-neck pace that never lets up, never misses a beat and shockingly, never loses itself in its labyrinthine story.  It is a near-perfect action thrill ride that ticks off every box on the ultimate movie experience checklist and perhaps adds a few more.

    Fans of Gene Roddenberry’s series may or may not be impressed by Abrams and screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman’s re-imagining of a sacred geek mythos, but they’ll do well to understand that their beloved universe is in tact.

    Despite the expectation that Gen-Y casting across the board would make for a moan-inducing CW-style prequel, the filmmakers have smartly devised a way to launch their own “B” timeline in a series that could go a million different directions from here.  That their brilliant scheme makes for a stand-alone classic with something for everyone is unexpected to say the least, and exhilarating as a result.

    Chris Pine stars as famed Federation Captain James Tiberius Kirk, though particulars of the story (which I dare not spoil here) put him on a different universal plane than William Shatner’s incarnation that has delighted audiences for decades.  A wildcat that seemingly breaks the hell-raiser mold, Kirk is born under chaotic circumstances in the film’s initial sequence.  We soon catch up to him as a youth racing through the fields of Iowa to the sounds of a then centuries-old Beastie Boys track before zipping ahead to encounter his bar-hopping mid-20s self in the form of Pine’s cock-sure stud.

    Intercut with the Kirk story is the equally brief introduction of the Vulcan Spock who, as a result of being half-Vulcan, half-human, is seen as disadvantaged by a society that demands a sense of perfection.  Zachary Quinto (television’s “Heroes”) takes the reins of the character, who enlists in the United Federation of Planets as one of the top minds in the corps before meeting Kirk and developing a relationship that will ultimately rest at the heart of the film.

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  • 5/4 Web Round-up

    Brad Pitt in Inglourious Basterds• Premiering a Brad Pitt character poster from “Inglourious Basterds.” [Ain’t It Cool News]

    • Digging into the world of fan-made films across the pond. [The Guardian]

    • John Hiscock talks to J.J. Abrams about selling a re-imagined “Star Trek” to classic stars and fans alike. [Daily Telegraph]

    • Peter Knegt kicks of “(123) Days of Summer: An Indie Film Guide.” [indieWIRE]

    • Grady Hendrix looks at the comic book history of this weekend’s box office champ: Wolverine. [Slate]

    • Pointless Megan-Fox-looking-hot video that is bound to sell more issues.  I gladly watched. [Esquire]

    • Meanwhile, test your Wolverine wisdom. [USA Today]

    • “Daniel Craig: ‘I’ll keep doing Bond until my knees go’” [The Independent]

    • Mark Olsen talks to the principles on Fox Searchlight’s summer rom-com, “(500) Days of Summer.” [Los Angeles Times]

    • Celebrating Swine Flu in style with a list of 13 deadly movie outbreaks. [Premiere]

  • J.J. Abrams on keeping secrets

    J.J. AbramsI enjoyed this J.J. Abrams editorial in this month’s issue of WIRED magazine for the most part.  But even with his somewhat noble point (that spoilers, cheating and the “age of immediacy” have dulled the satisfaction we get out of the “process” of doing, watching or experiencing something), I can’t help but sense a heavier condoning of twists and “surprises” as a necessity in the film and television world.  Maybe it’s just me.

    Anyway, Abrams starts out like so:

    …why does it feel like the world has been ripped open, all parts exposed? Why does so much seem absolutely and thoroughly demystified? These days we can leap, all of us, from a casual curiosity about anything to a sense of satisfying understanding. Instantly. Want to fold origami? There are more than 200,000 Google results on that subject available to you, now. Need to know the capital of Mauritania? A recipe for sticky buns? How to pick a bicycle lock? You could answer all these questions in less time than it will take you to finish reading this article (which, for a second time, I suggest you skip. Remember: You know how it ends, so why are you still here?).

    What I’m getting at is hardly news to anyone: We’re smack dab in the middle of the Age of Immediacy.

    True understanding (or skill or effort) has become bothersome—an unnecessary headache that impedes our ability to get on with our lives (and most likely skip to something else). Earning the endgame seems so yesterday, especially when we can know whatever we need to know whenever we need to know it.

    After having bookended the piece with a great story about how he and his friend tried to beat Super Mario Bros. 2 (I’ve certainly never done this — anyone?), he closes thusly:

    Perhaps that’s why mystery, now more than ever, has special meaning. Because it’s the anomaly, the glaring affirmation that the Age of Immediacy has a meaningful downside. Mystery demands that you stop and consider—or, at the very least, slow down and discover. It’s a challenge to get there yourself, on its terms, not yours.

    It’s a good read. Check out the rest here.

  • Oh yeah…reactions to those ‘Star Trek’ screenings

    Star TrekJ.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” is pretty low on my “to-do” list, I have to say.  Ever since the CW/Young Guns approach was announced (not to mention an underlying disinterest in the material that goes back decades), it’s been a bit difficult to keep the yawns down.  What can I say?  I’m no Trekkie.

    But even I have to admit the positive notices, coming out of screenings in Austin (where Paramount has AICN in its back pocket and can offer up the goods in fanboyland) and Sydney (where the film held a world premiere at the Sydney Opera Hosue) have been getting my attention.  Here are a handful of reactions…

    Moises Chiullan, Hollywood Elsewhere:

    …an unrelenting, slam-bang naval war movie that rarely catches its own breath.  Shades of swashbucklers and submarine thrillers alike are all over the storytelling and smash-bam-kaboom stuff going on throughout. It’s packed to the gills with escapist heroism with a healthy dose of optimism. There’s plenty of room for interpretation for those who want to look for some allegory that is or isn’t intended. The key is that Abrams and his team have bottled that ’77 stuff of legend.”

    Harry Knowles, Ain’t It Cool News:

    There’s some powerful thoughts about the future of our people in STAR TREK. That we as a people could be those people in a hundred, two hundred, three hundred years. If we can put away childish notions of borders and differences. If we can culturally keep our differences and celebrate our commonalities. At our best, STAR TREK is our future. Not BLADE RUNNER. Not TERMINATOR. Not any other Science fiction that I’ve seen, but STAR TREK. It’s where I HOPE we’re headed.”

    Neil Miller, Film School Rejects:

    This is a big, fast-paced, sleek version of Star Trek that is unlike anything we’ve seen before — a new brand of space film that stretches what we thought possible in the realm of visual effects, and I don’t think that’s going to bother anyone.”

    And Peter Sciretta at /Film wrangled up some early Twitterers on the Austin occasion.  Dare I say it, my interest is piqued on a “Star Trek” movie.