In Contention

Tag: Robert Zemeckis

  • Friendly competition

    I would put it on the Lennon-McCartney level. Look how healthy that competition was even when it was unhealthy. Look at the results of it. Different approaches and personalities and each makes the other better. There’s this dialogue right now and I would throw Spielberg into it too. There’s a dialogue among a generation of filmmakers. I would say Spielberg is out ahead of it at the forefront, I’d say, being older and with what he carved out with George Lucas and the creation of the summer blockbuster. But to answer your question, of course, between Zemeckis and Cameron, yes, there’s a tremendous awareness of what the other is doing. It’s like Beatles and the Stones. And I’m so pleased that they are doing this; to be in their 50s and forging new avenues, to be taking risks and putting this much work in to it — and to be taking a certain amount of flack. Both Cameron and Zemeckis have remained true to their visions and gone places that people would rather they not go…

    From this Geoff Boucher interview with production designer Rick Carter, one of the creative minds behind many of the most successful works from Spielberg, Zemeckis and now, with “Avatar,” James Cameron.

  • 11/9 Oscarweb Round-up

    Max Records in Where the Wild Things Are• Colin Firth and Robert Zemeckis on making a surreal, stylized “A Christmas Carol.” [The Guardian]

    • A.O. Scott on darker thematic rhythms in recent children’s films. [New York Times]

    • Roger Ebert revisits “Hoop Dreams,” considers it “the great American documentary.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

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  • REVIEW: “A Christmas Carol” (***1/2)

    A Christmas CarolFilmmaker Robert Zemeckis’s allegiance to performance-capture technology these last few years has begun to wear thin for some.  But the fascinating thing to note is an artist improving his craft before our very eyes over the course of three separate productions.

    “The Polar Express” in 2004 didn’t hit the mark for a great many, the “uncanny valley” of its characters’ glossy, somewhat lifeless expressions a considerable liability.  But it was the beginnings of a new process Zemeckis was bound and determined to master.

    “Beowulf” in 2007 was a big step forward, though the director perhaps got a little carried away with consistent, gimmicky elements meant to emboss the 3D aspect of the film.  But you could see the improvement.

    A typical complaint of the technology is that it comes off a bit arbitrary, or that it drowns out the work of actors.  But the value of the process that is too hastily dismissed is that it allows an artist to tell a story in ways rather unfathomable under traditional filmmaking techniques.

    With “A Christmas Carol,” a performance-capture adaptation of Charles Dickens’s classic tale, Zemeckis proves that point explicitly.  And as far as refining his medium of choice goes, I have to say he’s close.  VERY close.

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  • COMIC-CON: Disney showcases ‘Carol,’ ‘Alice,’ ‘Tron’

    (from left) Patton Oswalt and Tim Burton at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con InternationalThe first opening day studio panel has just concluded as Walt Disney Pictures brought Robert Zemeckis (“A Christmas Carol”), Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland”) and the “Tron: Legacy” principals to Hall H for a hefty three-dimensional dose.

    The “Christmas Carol” footage, which was an extended version of the Marley’s ghost sequence Disney has been showing for a few months, seemed to leave the audience dizzy with glee.

    Patton Oswalt sat down with Zemeckis before the unveiling for a brief Q&A, leading by questioning the director’s reason for tackling the Charles Dickens classic after so many incarnations have already been filmed.

    “If you read the actual novel, it’s very, very trippy,” Zemeckis said.  “It’s very surreal and it’s really cool, and it’s very cinematic.  I think we now have the filmmaking tools to film what Dickens wrote.”

    Oswalt addressed the issue of “dead eyes” in the performance capture technique and a term applied to the uneasy visceral feeling it summons: “the uncanny valley.”

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  • 3D presentations ready for their close ups at Comic-Con

    Jim Carrey in A Christmas CarolAs I look out my 29th floor window I can see the Hall H line, peppered with air matresses and tents, is already at epicly ridiculous proportions, but most of those nutcases are “Twilight” obsessives hoping to a secure a spot for Summit’s panel later today.  The big stuff, however, will revolve around the 3D presentations of Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” and James Cameron’s “Avatar.”

    Over at the LA Times, John Horn has previewed today’s festivities, coming at it from the angle of 3D being perhaps a last ditch effort to cash in for a business that sees profits slipping yearly.  The buzz studios and filmmakers are aiming to drum up here in San Diego is crucial.  Horn talked to a number of artists involved with today’s unveilings, among them, “Christmas Carol” director Robert Zemeckis.

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  • Could ‘Mr. Fox,’ ‘Carol’ join toon Best Pic hopefuls?

    Fantastic Mr. FoxJoBlo has an exclusive first look today at the central character from Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” a Scott Rudin-produced animated Roald Dahl adaptation.  The film was recently shifted from Fox over to Fox Searchlight for the purposes of distribution, lest a small, niche film such as this be lost in the shuffle.  But I have also heard murmurs (none of them confirmed, mind you) that the film will be pushed for a Best Picture nomination now that there are 10 slots up for grabs.

    What is confirmed, however, is that Henry Selick’s “Coraline” will be campaigned for the top prize by Focus Features (while Richard Curtis’s “The Boat That Rocked,” recently speculated in this space as being primed for Oscar, will not).  And of course, Disney/Pixar will be hitting the pavement in favor of “Up.”  Before long, the question becomes, “Well if they’re going for it, we should, too.”  Which leads me to wonder…

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  • Disney sends all-star auteur team to Comic-Con

    Tim BurtonWell, this is impressive. Hayao Miyazaki, John Lasseter, Tim Burton and Robert Zemeckis have all lined up to help represent Walt Disney Studios at Comic-Con in San Diego later this month, in the interests of showcasing a range of new and/or revived Disney features at the geek mecca. This is the first Comic-Con for all four filmmakers, so it’s quite a coup for Disney to assemble them in one place.

    Burton and Zemeckis will be joining a panel on 3D filmmaking (the first time Comic-Con has broached the subject), which will include discussion, not to mention exclusive footage, of their respective upcoming 3D features “A Christmas Carol” and “Alice in Wonderland.”

    Meanwhile, Miyazaki and Lasseter are set to participate in an animation panel (which also includes such veterans of  hand-drawn Disney animation as “The Little Mermaid” duo Ron Clements and John Musker), in which a range of upcoming animated titles — including “Toy Story 3,” “The Princess and the Frog” and “Ponyo” — will all be previewed.

    Both sound likely to be hot tickets. Kris, of course, will be on site in San Diego and covering the whole shebang for your reading pleasure. Lucky man. (Full press release after the cut.)

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  • Disney sneaks a little ‘Christmas’ into June

    A Christmas CarolEvery hour on the hour until 7:00pm today, Walt Disney Pictures is screening a pair of scenes from Robert Zemeckis’s upcoming “A Christmas Carol” over at the Universal City IMAX theater as part of the excited, long-winded publicity build-up for the film.  Currently a cross-country train tour is parked in Sacramento, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the making of process as well as the scenes exhibited today.  Next weekend it’ll be on to Oakland and will continue through its five-to-six month odyssey until it pulls into New York’s Grand Central station just days prior to the film’s November 6 release.

    For details on when the exhibition will be in your neck of the woods, check out the tour’s schedule.

    As for the footage itself, the scenes are strikingly different.  The first is something of a character initiation for Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey), in case you’re somehow unaware of his place in literary lore.  It isn’t the best scene for showing off the film’s 3D particulars but it is, however, a great indication of the detail and textured artistic direction of the film.  The sets are rendered as beautifully as Zemeckis’s “Beowulf,” though there is more of a glimmer of existence in the “lifeless eyes” that many were so loathe to observe in “The Polar Express.”  We also get a look at Bob Cratchit in this scene, one of actor Gary Oldman’s three gigs on the production.

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  • ‘Christmas Carol’ promo

  • ‘A Christmas Carol’ poster

    I was a big fan of Robert Zemeckis’s “The Polar Express” in 2004, but “2007’s “Beowulf” didn’t work for me very much.  I had some major issues with the way 3D was used in the film.  But I’ve been very excited for “A Christmas Carol” ever since the project was announced.

    I’ve stood on the sidelines and watched Jim Carrey’s career spiral out of control in the wake of his career-best performance in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”  2005’s “Fun with Dick and Jane” and last year’s “Yes Man” are just incredibly impotent comedies that didn”t give Carrey, a bona fide star, the chance to shine.  “The Number 23,” meanwhile — well, just don’t get me started on that unfortunate project.  It’s all very sad.  Maybe this film will light up his career once again.

    The poster for “A Cristmas Carol” has finally hit, and I expect it to be the first of many (since Carrey will be taking on four characters in the film — great opportunity for marketing).  Take a look:

    A Christmas Carol

  • ‘Slumdog,’ ‘WALL-E,’ ‘Wire’ win big at the Eddies

    ACE Eddie AwardUPDATED: Alright, back from the show and it seems “Slumdog” also predictably won the ASC award, which brings me to a possibility that has come up in a number of conversations recently: could the film sweep all its Oscar categories in one week’s time?  It is the film of the year and truthfully, there seems to be a ripple through the industry hinting at a nine Oscar outcome (since it can’t exactly win two Oscars in the Original Song category — but wouldn’t a tie just be hilarious?).

    Anyway, this was my second time reporting from the ACE Eddie Awards ceremony and it’s generally a good time, for those who can keep up with the inside baseball, of course.  Note to self: maybe not bring the girlfriend next time.

    Beyond the quick dash of kudos-dishing there were a trio of special awards handed out tonight.  For starters, the Career Achievement Eddies went to Arthur Schmidt and Sidney Katz (father of ACE member Virginia Katz).  Watching Schmidt’s reel play before Robert Zemeckis handed him his honor was a treat, of course, considering the nearly three decades of movie magic the man has been partially responsible for: “Back to the Future,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” “The Last of the Mohicans,” “Forrest Gump,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” “The Birdcage,” etc.  He seems to have taken a break the last four years.

    Mel Gibson, meanwhile, joined Stuart Baird in presenting Richard Donner with the Golden Eddie Award (which last year went to Norman Jewison).  Donner’s speech was a highlight, despite the rambling (which was done with trademark Donner endearment).  He put a bow on the thing with a trio of political points, the first being an anti-fur declaration (to go along with an anti-fur button pinned to his lapel).  Then he encouraged us all to adopt puppies rather than buy, and whether you voted for Barack Obama or not, he said, “we’re going through a lot of shit and he needs all of your support now.”  Each of them were met with big applause in a West L.A. ballroom, but of course.

    But again, the highlight reel = movie magic: “Superman,” “The Omen,” “Lethal Weapon,” “The Goonies” — GREAT call by ACE this year, I have to say.  But the one thing that stuck in my mind was Gibson’s weird cavalier facial hair…thing.  An evil Robin Hood, that’s what he looked like up there.  Or a “V for Vendetta” mask.

    Anyway, the big awards went to “Slumdog” and “WALL-E,” of course (as well as “Man on Wire”), the newsy news of which you can find after the jump.  I think the Pixar win is a bit of a surprise and in a way, a refreshing one.  It’s nice to see this guild really break down the barrier for animated films in this way, since no other toon has taken the Eddie in the past despite numerous nominations in the comedy category.  The former, however, and Chris Dickens (looking quite Moby-esque, I have to say), seems to be on an unstoppable Oscar trajectory.

    Much to the chagrin of some, the enthusiasm of others.  Such is the season…

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