In Contention

Tag: Peter Jackson

  • COMIC-CON: It all ends

    Well, like I said. Another year, another Con.

    For a convention I expected to be a bit more laid-back than usual, it sure was anything but. I guess I put that on myself by hustling back to LA for a concert and back down again to wrap things up, but even having covered just a sliver of the event (compared to the thorough coverage from outlets with multiple on-hand correspondents, who do it so well), boy am I glad it’s over.

    If you’ve read the coverage then you know my extended thoughts, but here’s a recap nevertheless.

    The highlight of the entire weekend was, for me, finally seeing Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive.” The film is an invigorating experience, an artful meditation that takes the most simplistic of narratives and turns it into a thorough character study.

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  • COMIC-CON: Paramount brings Spielberg, Jackson and a taste of ‘Tintin’

    Before I ducked out of town for the day yesterday, I hit up Paramount Pictures’ panel for Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.” The Beard was on hand to discuss the film (and pick up this year’s Inkpot Award), and a surprise appearance by Peter Jackson got the crowd buttered up nicely for the footage.

    So let’s start with that. We were first shown test footage from six years ago featuring Jackson as Captain Haddock and an animated Snowy. This was back when Spielberg was still trying to decide what the best filmmaking technique on the film would be. After that, it was a collage of scenes from the film (which Spielberg noted represented some of the earliest renderings out of Weta).

    My immediate reaction was that the film is Spielberg through and through. In other words, it has the energy, the cinematic thumbprint of a Spielberg film, the in-scene pacing and editorial signature of so much of his work. I wasn’t fully expecting that, but the truth is, they wanted a system of performance capture that would allow the director to be right in the middle of things.

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  • Peter Jackson’s King Kong…again

    I must say, I’m kind of amped for the new Peter Jackson-directed King Kong 360/3D ride at Universal Studios.  The old, classic attraction, you might recall, went up in flames along with much of the historic lot when the area caught fire in the summer of 2008.  Here’s one of the many commercial spots that have caught my eye as of late.  A five-minute making-of featurette after the jump.  More goodies over at Universal’s YouTube page.

    Oh, and here’s a March 4 Geek Tyrant post with details on the ride that I stumbled across with some brief, wholly unrefined Google searching out of sheer curiosity.

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  • Del Toro hobbles ‘Hobbit’

    You’ve probably heard the news by now, but in case you haven’t, here’s a précis via Variety:

    Guillermo Del Toro has dropped out directing “The Hobbit” movies due to the ongoing delays in getting the films greenlit. Del Toro made the surprise announcement Sunday on The One Ring web site, adding that he will continue to co-write the screenplays based on J.R.R Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.”

    “It’s not greenlit,” he told reporters. “That’s categorical. We’ve been caught in a very tangled negotiation. There cannot be any start dates until the MGM situation gets resolved. They do hold a considerable portion of the rights.”

    I appear to be the only — well, maybe not the only — person on the internet not crushed by this news, so feel free to vent and speculate in the comments. Who would you like to see take up the reins? I hear rumors it’s a close-run thing between Béla Tarr and Brett Ratner.

  • 1/14 Oscarweb Round-up

    Mark Boal• Buzz Aldrin, Willie Nelson and more comment on the accuracy of a number of the season’s contenders. [Variety]

    • Peter Jackson and Stanley Tucci talk “The Lovely Bones.” [FearNet]

    • Brooks Barnes Q&As “The Hurt Locker” writer Mark Boal. [The Carpetbagger]

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  • 1/1 Oscarweb Round-up

    Zoe Saldana in AvatarHappy New Year!

    • Jeffrey Wells wants a Best Actress nomination for “Avatar” star Zoe Saldana. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • David Poland calls for the same, amid a number of other history-making Oscar moments that could be in the cards this season. [Movie City News]

    • Steve Pond finds a nifty way of revealing his top 10 list: via official AMPAS ballot. [The Odds]

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  • 12/31 Oscarweb Round-up (NEW YEAR’S EVE EDITION)

    Neill Blomkamp on the set of District 9• Tom O’Neil serves some crow up to a few colleagues while failing to understand that his prize pony needed a few films to underwhelm in order to be in the position it’s in. [Gold Derby]

    • David Poland crunches the “Avatar” numbers yet again.  The film is still…almost…breaking records. [The Hot Blog]

    • Neill Blomkamp don’t need no stinkin’ big-budget blockbusters. [Hero Complex]

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  • THR’s directors roundtable

  • INTERVIEW: Saoirse Ronan

    Saoirse RonanStill fully engaging at the end of a long day of interviews, actress Saoirse Ronan seems as eager to dive into the particulars of Peter Jackson’s latest film, “The Lovely Bones,” as she might have been before being asked every question in the book. Her energy is undeniable, as well as her poise, a young actress grounded but hungry for challenging work.

    Her performance in Jackson’s film is a considerable notch in the 15-year-old’s early career. As Susie Salmon, the ill-fated youth at the center of Alice Sebold’s best-selling novel, Ronan had to go places she certainly never has as a performer. But the working environment and relationship her director developed on the set deserves a great deal of the credit, she says.

    “I don’t think I could really label what I’ve learned from Pete,” Ronan says. “I was with him for about nine months and being with someone like that every day that gets the best performance out of you that I can give makes you work hard as an actor and therefore makes you grow as an actor, and hopefully makes you a better actor. So I suppose you could say he’s made me a better actor.”

    Ronan was particularly fond of Jackson’s upbeat, energetic approach to the work. And it is fair to say it was, as far as she is concerned, a non-traditional environment, but at the start of her career, she embraces the idea of eschewing the typical, just as Jackson has.

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  • 12/9 Oscarweb Round-up

    Johnny Depp in Public Enemies• Just in time for BFCA and SAG balloting, Dennis Lim takes a second look at “Public Enemies.” [Los Angeles Times]

    • Steven Zeitchik reports casting news before it’s official: Josh Brolin is being considered for “Men in Black 3.”  I’m down. [Hero Complex]

    • David Poland talks “The Lovely Bones” with Peter Jackson. [The Hot Blog]

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  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 13 — NBR, awards season party circuit and ‘Complicated’ awards prospects

    Oscar TalkWelcome to a belated edition of Oscar Talk, your weekly kudocast featuring yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood.

    On the docket today:

    • With the National Board of Review having kicked off the awards season, Anne and I discuss the big winners and implications for the season.

    • Tis the season and the party circuit is alight, so with that in mind, we talk about a few of the taste-makers around town this week, including…

    • Peter Jackson, Saoirse Ronan and Stanley Tucci in an intimate cocktail party for “The Lovely Bones.”

    • Fox Searchlight’s holiday shin-dig in Century City with “Crazy Heart” principals in attendance.

    • An “Inglourious Basterds” DVD release party at producer Lawrence Bender’s home.

    • And a Summit holiday party with the folks from “The Hurt Locker” burning the midnight oil.

    • Finally, no reviews of “It’s Complicated” are allowed yet, but Anne and I discuss how we think it will fare in the awards race.

    Have a listen to this week’s podcast below, with a taste of Hans Zimmer’s score for “Sherlock Holmes” to start you off. As always, you can subscribe to Oscar Talk via iTunes here.

    [display_podcast]

    Subscribe to Oscar Talk

  • 12/4 Oscarweb Round-up

    Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones• Peter Knegt talks to “Up in the Air” supporting actress hopeful (and newly minted NBR award recipient) Anna Kendrick. [indieWIRE]

    • Stanley Tucci and how to (reluctantly) play a pervert. [The Carpetbagger]

    • Peter Jackson, meanwhile, doesn’t much care about an Oscar campaign but does hope that people look closely at Tucci and Saoirse Ronan’s performances. [Vulture]

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  • ‘Lovely Bones’ reviews begin to trickle in

    Saoirse Ronan in The Lovely BonesSpeaking of Peter Jackson’s latest, the film screened for the Royals tonight across the pond.  The Guardian has doused it:

    The screen version, by contrast, is so infuriatingly coy, and so desperate to preserve the modesty of its soulful victim that it amounts to an ongoing clean-up operation…Jackson turns up with his eyes averted, spraying cloying perfume to the left and right.

    The Sun, in a clunky example of “writing,” has raved it:

    [Jackson] creates something even more amazing than his Middle-earth fantasy. The effects are breathtaking.

    Total Film has a rave up:

    It deals with loss, grief, rage, familial breakdown and love, most of all love. But it’s also energetic and entertaining, the camera already moving whenever Jackson cuts into a scene and the horror/thriller elements given just enough fizz to recall the director’s early genre forays (minus the splatter) but not so comic book as to undercut the drama.

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Field of adaptations

    Amy Adams in Julie & JuliaAs always, the year’s adapted screenplay race is much more competitive than the original screenplay race. But what’s intriguing to note is that of the anticipated “big four” still to be widely screened, three of them are right in the thick of this discussion.

    In the case of “Nine,” there is a chance for Anthony Minghella to receive his second posthumous Oscar nomination in as many years, something I don’t think we’ve seen since James Dean. But sometimes the razzle-dazzle of a movie musical can overshadow what craft there might be on the page, so it’s no slam dunk. Michael Tolkin is co-writer on the script, and even though I’ve seen the film, I’m prohibited from offering my thoughts on the work.

    “The Lovely Bones,” meanwhile, is adapted from a beloved novel, looks to feature a more reserved and refined Peter Jackson than we’ve seen in recent years and could see the lovable trio (Jackson, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh) back in Oscar’s good graces. We’ll know when we see it.

    The Royals and invited British press get their look on the 24th. Harry Knowles has received his typical peek (as Paramount continues to nurture the relationship as if it’s 2002 and AICN still moves the needle). The rest of the US press corps has to wait until the other side of the holiday on the 27th to judge. Hopefully we’ll still care by then. I heard some scathing criticisms out of an exhibitor screening last week.

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  • ‘Bones’ panders to audience bloodlust

    Stanley Tucci in The Lovely BonesOkay, this story has been doing the round for a day or so, but I only got to it now. Let me say upfront that if you haven’t read Alice Sebold’s “The Lovely Bones,” and wish to remain innocent of any major plot developments in Peter Jackson’s upcoming film, stop reading now.

    I mean it.

    MAJOR SPOILER ALERT.

    Still with me? Good. Those familiar with the novel will know that it ends with the heroine’s rapist-murderer (to be played in the film by Stanley Tucci) falling to his death into a ravine, after being freakishly hit on the head by a falling icicle.

    I always thought it a rather crass, unintentionally amusing resolution, but was at least grateful that Sebold refrained from something more lurid.

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  • Stanley Tucci on his “multiple personalities”

    Stanley Tucci in Julie & JuliaI recently rewatched “Julie & Julia” at an industry screening, and came to a pair of conclusions that I hadn’t quite reached the first time. The first is that, as grandly as Meryl Streep holds up her end of the film, it’s Amy Adams’s half of the story, curiously enough, that I found more compelling.

    The second is that the truly great performance of the film is given by Stanley Tucci.

    Tucci’s dry-sweet delineation of Paul Child is an actor’s masterclass in making a silk purse from a sow’s ear of a character: it’s difficult to imagine any of his lines or gestures popping on the scripted page, but he listens to Streep’s performance with such intelligence and compassion that his listening becomes compelling in and of itself.

    And his crisp, unexpected exclamation of “Fuck them!” deserves a line-delivery award of its own.

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  • Which Peter Jackson will show up for ‘Lovely Bones?’

    The Lovely BonesAs we begin to count down the days to the official unveiling of “The Lovely Bones” in London later this month (yes, I’m as stunned as you are to realize it’s November already), the film still stands as the biggest wild-card of the season’s prestige offerings.

    The trailer for “Invictus” confirmed it’s (for better or worse) the model of film we had in mind, and we have some idea what to expect from “Nine” … but even a lavish trailer didn’t answer half the questionmarks lingering over Jackson’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s decidedly tricky source novel (discussed here).

    What emerges dominant in the story’s strange genre fusion of fantasy, serial killer thriller and domestic drama? How has Saoirse Ronan’s lead role been beefed up from Susie Salmon’s passive presence in the novel? How will Jackson’s effects-heavy imagery mesh with the novel’s more delicate dramatics? And will the novel’s millions of fans be appeased or alienated by his wilder stylistic impulses? It seems to me the film stands little chance of a middling reception — it’ll hit or miss big.

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  • Royal premiere for ‘Lovely Bones’

    Mark Wahlberg in The Lovely BonesSorry for getting to this news a day late, but you may have heard by now that “The Lovely Bones” has been selected as this year’s Royal Film Performance, an annual British charity event that entails a world premiere in London in late November, with the Royal Family in attendance. Peter Jackson states in the press release:

    I am honoured that The Lovely Bones has been selected to be this year’s Royal Gala film, in support of the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund. This film has been an extraordinary journey, for myself as a filmmaker and for all of those who worked on it. On behalf of everyone involved, we are thrilled that Their Royal Highnesses and the CTBF audience will be amongst the first people in the world to see it.

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