In Contention

Tag: Warner Bros. Pictures

  • 9/26 Oscarweb Round-up

    John Wayne• David Poland takes stock 22 weeks out, and somehow thinks early buzz on Sean Penn’s “Milk” performance is “soft.” [Movie City News]

    • Warner Bros. sends out a mailer offering Academy members the choice of a Blu-ray “Dark Knight” awards screener.  Wally Pfister’s nomination moves further into place. [The Hollywood Reporter]

    • In a nutshell, “Little Children” author Tom Perrotta wonders whether John Hughes was full of shit. [The Guardian]

    • An A.O. Scott overview of the New York Film Festival. [New York Times]

    • Susan King digs into the legacy of John Wayne. [Los Angeles Times]

    • Alright, this is getting out of hand — and just stupid.  Reporting on an alleged bet on the test screening score of “The Reader” for its release prospects? [The Big Picture]

    • Top 10 tear-jerkers. [Premiere]

  • Newman at his best, ‘Luke’ gets a deluxe edition

    Cool Hand Luke Deluxe EditionWith the news some weeks back that Paul Newman had left the hospital to go home to be with his family as he approached the end, I have found myself watching more and more of his films, perhaps stunned that the world will soon be deprived of his talent.

    Newman, who I had the pleasure of interviewing in 1999, has been able to balance stardom with talent in such films as “The Hustler” and “The Towering Inferno” over and over again in his career.

    There is little doubt he owned the 1960s with a string of performances that should have earned him award after award, and one such portrayal is getting a special edition DVD treatment from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment: “Cool Hand Luke.”

    All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you. The chance to see this great film again, with Newman at his very best, was a welcome respite from the barrage of terrible DVDs that have been arriving recently. Cleaned up digitally, the film looks terrific, and Newman is so extraordinary as a petty crook, sent to a hard labor southern prison where he locks horns with the warden. The “failure to communicate” line became important in the 1960s, as the youth of America felt that way towards the establishment

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  • How ‘The Dark Knight’ beat ‘Titanic’…and scored big at the Oscars

    Warner Bros. Pictures' The Dark KnightI’ve been beating a loud drum around these parts for some time.  Backed with inarguable examples set by the Academy in the past and the knowledge that Warner Bros. isn’t one of the Oscar-grubbing studios in this town, I’ve maintained that Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” would disappoint the hordes in January when it fails to nab the big nods so many are expecting in the wake of boffo box office and critical success.

    Just yesterday I had a conversation with a publicist involved in some manner.  “So, what do you think of a major Oscar push for ‘The Dark Knight,’” I asked.  “What do you think,” she responded playfully, not offering much to go on.

    Well, here is what Warner Bros. thinks about it, and a clear show of awards-hungry support is all I really needed to jump on board here.

    Does a calculated move like this guarantee placement in major categories for the film?  Absolutely not.  But it does prove that the studio — which certainly doesn’t need the extra revenue that awards success would bring — is willing to play ball in order to ensure more than simple monetary milestones.

    Speaking of which, re-releasing the film into IMAX theaters for an exclusive run in January — “See it again, for the first time!” — could provide the right boost to push the film into truly historic territory.  About 80 million more bucks and this film surpasses “Titanic” after a decade of domestic box office reign from the James Cameron power romance.

    Here is Carl DiOrio’s mouth-watering lede:

    Batman wants an Oscar.

    To be precise, Warner Bros. wants a statuette — or 10 — for “The Dark Knight.” So the studio plans to re-release its blockbuster Batman sequel in January, the height of Academy Awards voting season.

    “It’s just a matter of bringing it back as a reminder for people,” a studio insider explained.

    Read the rest at Reuters.  And more on the chart updates next week.

  • New ‘Appaloosa’ stills — Jeremy Irons!

    Warner Bros. released a slew of new pics from Ed Harris’s “Appaloosa” today, including this rockin’ shot of Jeremy Irons:

    Jeremy Irons in Appaloosa

    Check out the gallery for more.  This film can’t get here soon enough!

  • WB fall preview…nothing for ‘Gran Torino’

    Rope of Silicon beat us to the punch and posted the new shots from Warner Bros. Pictures’ fall preview press kit. There are new shots from “Appaloosa,” “Body of Lies” and “Yes Man,” among others. Then you get to the one we’re all foaming at the mouth for in anticipation, Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino,” and there’s nothing. Just this bit of prose:

    Clint Eastwood stars in the drama “Gran Torino,” marking his first film role since his Oscar-winning “Million Dollar Baby.” Eastwood also directs the film in which he plays Walt Kowalski, an iron-willed veteran living in a changing world, who is forced by his immigrant neighbors to confront his own long-held prejudices.

    Wow. Thanks, WB.

    Anyway, I especially dig this new “Appaloosa” image:

    (from left) Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris in Appaloosa

  • Oh yeah, the ‘Half-Blood’ bump

    Michael Gambon in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceI received the press release regarding Warner Bros. pushing “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” to 2009 earlier today when I was out and about. And frankly, four hours later, it had already slipped my mind.

    So what does this mean in the awards landscape? I’m not sure, since WB isn’t one of the awards-obsessive studios that makes decisions based only on “the season.”

    Maybe the movie is crap and needs some work. Maybe the studio smells blood after “The Dark Knight” and feels that “Terminator Salvation” isn’t enough of an ace in the hole next summer. I don’t know. But the wizard’s out of the derby now and that frees up some budget dollars for “Knight” and “Body of Lies.”

    That’s all I’m saying…

    Anyway, bravo to Steve Kloves for whoring it out on seven straight projects after an artistic showcase like “Wonder Boys.” The checks must be substantial. And his cut-and-paste function must be wearing out by now.

  • New ‘Body of Lies’ trailer drops

    The latest trailer for Ridley Scott’s “Body of Lies” is a giant step up from the first crack Warner marketing took at it.  It simultaneously injects complexity and amplifies the scale of the pic.  The concentration on the DiCaprio/Crowe dynamic is certainly front and center here, showing us more of the material Crowe has to chew on.

  • OFF THE CARPET: Calm before the storm

    Sean Penn in MilkThe season is upon us.  One month from today the industry’s first major stepping stone on the way to the Kodak Theater will arrive in the form of the Toronto International Film Festival: 10 days of put up or shut up by a number of the year’s prospective contenders.

    Oddly enough, however, there will be a few considerable no-shows at this year’s festivities.  In a business increasingly proving the precariousness of an early “frontrunner” status, studios and publicists seem to be slowing the machine down…but a few hands have been forced this season.

    Heavily anticipated entries like “Revolutionary Road” and “Milk” will be absent at Toronto next month.  Neither is expected to be ready, actually.  Sam Mendes has been hard at work on “Farlanders,” while Focus Features would probably prefer to take the slow road after emerging from Toronto as the “frontrunner” in 2005 and 2007, but ultimately coming up short on Oscar night.

    This is probably for the best on both.  Gotta maintain those expectations.  Early raves are as dangerous as early pans.

    Meanwhile, the lineup is currently littered with modest independent efforts that depend on the festival circuit to find their groove: “Happy-Go-Lucky,” “The Other Man,” “Rachel Getting Married,” “The Secret Life of Bees,” etc.  The major stuff — so far — seems to be steering clear.

    Regardless, we’ve got one more month of full blown speculation before the season begins to settle into a tangible state…so let’s get to it.

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  • Zack Snyder at odds with WB over ‘Watchmen’ running time

    Billy Crudup in WatchmenVariety’s Anne Thompson is hitting the turf as always, this time down in San Diego for the annual Comic-Con International.

    She snagged “Watchmen” director Zack Snyder for some quick dishing prior to today’s Warner Bros. panel in Hall H (probably the most anticipated panel of the weekend).  She pressed Snyder about running time concerns, content issues and what seems to be an ambivalence on the part of the studio to give this prestige product the breathing space it deserves.

    Here’s the bit about running time:

    Zack Snyder is currently battling with Warners over the ultimate running time of the movie, which is three hours. He’s trying to cut it down, but doesn’t want to lose a character like Hollis, [SPOILER OMITTED]. “”I’m not ready for that yet. If Dark Knight got two and a half hours, Watchmen should get fifteen minutes more,” he pleads. “I’m trying to be reasonable.”

    And on content concerns:

    But the studio still thinks Watchmen is too “too long, too sexy, and too violent,” says Snyder. For him, “that’s a reason to go. That’s the why. If you take that out you take out the why.” Otherwise it’ll just be another “watered down version of Watchmen, and then you might as well make another superhero movie. There’s a million characters out there you could do instead.”

    I think it has been rather clear from the start that Snyder has been aware of the importance of a project like this in the eyes of the fans.  I first crossed paths with him at last year’s Con, and the guy has a solid head on his shoulders.  He understands both the burden and the potential of the adaptation and, what’s more, he keeps a light skip in his step about it all.  He knows…he just seems to be saying, “Look, get out of my way and I’ll do this thing justice.”

    Anyway, it’s a really solid interview from Thompson.  There’s plenty to chew on, from costume designs on the film to the maturation of comic books.  Give it a read here.

  • Comic-Con…here we go

    San Diego Comic-ConTomorrow night, the entertainment press will descend upon San Diego for preview night at this year’s annual Comic-Con International. My feelings on this glut-fest are well documented, but even with that in mind, there is simply little to pique my interest as a comic fan.

    Friday’s Warner Bros. panel may have some interesting additives for “Watchmen” (which already launched a trailer last week) and “Terminator: Salvation” (ditto).

    Lionsgate’s “Spirit” presentation can’t possibly offer much more than we’ve already seen in a blanket advertising campaign. And Frank Miller doesn’t exactly dig the festivities in any case.

    Fox’s Thursday presentation offers nothing worth a second glance (though I have an odd interest in “Max Payne”), while Saturday’s offering of a “Pineapple Express” panel is evidence of the Con’s loss of perspective. Not that I’m not interested in the film, mind you, but the studios sank their fangs into the demographic by pushing anything passably Con-worthy on the event years ago, increasingly sucking it dry of life. It all makes me sad.

    But there’s nothing wrong with a giant room full of comics and action figures, not to mention Lou Ferrigno peddling photos for $20 a pop!

    There will be a “Tropic Thunder” screening tomorrow night, while the aforementioned “Pineapple Express” will go before a few critics and journos as well. Be on the look-out for knee-jerk reactions.

    For me, the parties have become the only reason to bother with the convention in recent years. With that in mind, I’ll be heading down Saturday for the Wrath of Con shin-dig — the party of the week. Maybe I’ll corner David Goyer and settle this Two-Face thing once and for all.

  • ‘Watchmen’ series on iTunes

    Watchmen available on iTunes

    It looks like the “Watchmen” marketing plan is kicking into high gear. The trailer landed last week and is attached to prints of “The Dark Knight.” Meanwhile, the panel with Zack Snyder and company is one of the most anticipated Hall H gatherings of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

    Well now it looks like WB and Detective Comics have transferred the Alan Moore graphic novel to an animated endeavor, currently available on iTunes. The animation is really simple — just frames from the book set to motion — and it’s a great primer for anyone who hasn’t read “the ‘Citizen Kane’ of comic books” yet.

    And the first episode is FREE! Can’t beat that. Go check out your iTunes store now!

  • Good

    I’m really glad Jeffrey Wells joins my sentiments in calling Terry Gilliam out on his idiotic comments from last week regarding Warner Bros’ position on Heath Ledger in the marketing of “The Dark Knight.” Calls him a “bonehead.” Perfect.

  • Terry Gilliam should be ashamed of himself

    Terry Gilliam and Heath LedgerTo say nothing of the fact that he has proven to be painfully irrelevant for over a decade, director Terry Gilliam has crossed the line with his recents comments chastizing Warner Bros. for what he feels is “tasteless” capitalization on the death of Heath Ledger.

    From Yahoo! News (via WENN and The Movie Blog):

    …the moviemaker fears that the producers of Ledger’s second to last picture, The Dark Knight, are shamelessly capitalising on rumours that the late star will be awarded a posthumous Oscar for his role as evil villain The Joker.

    He says, “That’s what Warner Brothers are saying, but they’ll do anything to publicise their film. That’s just what they do and you can’t get upset because it’s bulls**t.

    “They’re like a great white shark which devours whatever it can.”

    “Bullshit” doesn’t begin to say it, Mr. Gilliam.  Any time I hear someone go on about how the studio has disrespectfully gone out of its way to plaster Ledger’s image on the promotional materials for “The Dark Knight,” I immediately controlled the urge to wrap my fingers around a roll of quarters and smash a number of teeth entering the double digits out of their skull.

    What would you have them do?  The Joker was always going to be a focal point of marketing.  This is the “it” role of the film.  It is the character any marketing whiz would be a fool to ignore or even modestly exploit in the build-up to a release such as this.  And because poor Terry Gilliam has so many years of trouble with studios digging into his side, he goes and joins the chorus of ignorance with comments such as this.

    Give me a fucking break.

  • Things I care about at this year’s Comic-Con: part one

    I really won’t be caught dead at another San Diego Comic-Con so long as I live (though I will be attending what should be a fun after party Friday night).  But studios are beginning to announce their line-ups and I guess it’s time to start rooting through what would be worth checking out.

    Warner Bros. has apparently revealed its schedule, though the only thing I’m interested in is “Watchmen” and “Terminator Salvation.”

    But let’s face it, the “Terminator” thing will be a whole lot of hot air, much like the “Watchmen” thing was last year.  In any case, I’m hoping Zack Snyder has some schnazzy stuff to reveal this time around.  I have high hopes (and a really good feeling) about this thing.

  • Revamping Superman for 2011?

    Two posts at /film and Obssessed with Film have me spinning my wheels this morning, wondering just who in the heck has approached comic scribe Mark Millar to revamp Superman for the screen in three years.

    The whole story started with a Daily Record interview that quoted Millar as saying he “always wanted to reinvent Superman for the 21st century.”  He then went on to reveal that he had his “director and producer set up” and that there was even a target year in mind: 2011.

    This, of course, sent the Web geek community into a bit of a tizzy.  In response, Millar (creator of “Wanted” and author of “Superman: Red Son”) had this to say:

    PS: That Superman news is interesting, isn’t it? In the interests of clarity (because I’m sure this will be picked up somewhere) a very well known American action director heard about my love of Superman, approached my (sic) and asked me to team up with he and his producer to make a pitch for this. We’ve been talking for several weeks now and, if this is going to happen, we’ll know by Christmas. He has huge pull at WB so fingers crossed. But this is nothing more than a huge US name pulling me into his fold and making me part of a package.

    The first name that leaps to my mind is Wolfgang Petersen, but he’s obviously German.  However, you may recall Petersen was signed on to direct a Superman vs. Batman film for Warner Bros. way back in 2002.  That was, of course, way before Christopher Nolan unleashed his reboot of the Batman franchise on the marketplace.  Peterson might be construed as having “huge pull at WB” since he releases most of his films through the studio and has managed a few considerable hits there (“The Perfect Storm, “Troy”) despite the occasional clunker (“Poseidon”).

    The filmmaker was also quoted as recently as two years ago — during the build-up to Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns” — expressing an interest in pitting the two superheroes on the screen together.  Sure seems like a possibility to me.

    Who else could Millar be hinting at?  The Wachowski Brothers have sure made a bundle of money for the studio in recent years.  “Watchmen” helmer Zack Snyder has also been welcomed with open arms in Burbank after delivering big on “300,” and he seems just the sort of person who’d be interested in reimagining the Superman character for a new franchse.

    Francis Lawrence?  “Constantine” didn’t really find its footing, but “I Am Legend” (thanks to Will Smith, of course) made a killing worldwide.

    McG?  The “Charlie’s Angels” films made bank at Sony, but he still convinced Warners to hand him the key to a massive franchise in the form of “Terminator Salvation.”  He’s also been here before and, according to rumor at the time, had one hell of a mind to revamp the franchise with casting speculation such as Beyoncé Knowles and Johnny Depp floating about.

    And surely Tim Burton — a WB staple through the years with “huge pull” indeed — isn’t treading these waters yet again.  Or is he?  He certainly had a unique vision of the character once upon a time.

    Thoughts?  As long as it isn’t Brett Ratner, I’m happy.

  • Letterman’s top 3 reasons to see ‘The Dark Knight’

    1) Everyone dies in the end.
    2) The motorcycle.
    3) Heath Ledger.

    Yes, it seems late night king of comedy David Letterman got an early look at “The Dark Knight,” and while he pokes fun at the anticipation and, of course, the “keep it under wraps” mentality of the studio, there seems to be some genuine adoration for the effort in there.

    Money quote for Ledger:

    Heath Ledger…oh my God is he great in this one…I’m telling you, this is a tremendous performance.  That’s the reason people ought to go see this film.

    Check it out:

    httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=6-sXBkQ13EQ

    The new TV spot, featuring spooking Joker narration (after the jump):

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  • ‘Dark’ weekend coming up

    Alright folks…we’re getting close.  Judging by that poll a few weeks ago, “The Dark Knight” is far and away the most anticipated film of the summer with the IC readership, so I expect you won’t mind my further indulgence in the lead-up to the release.

    But there’s actually something to talk about now.  The film is junketing this weekend in Los Angeles and I expect there might be an embargo in place, but if reviews and/or opinions start to drift out into cyberspace by this time next week, you’ll know they are legit.  There was already a supposed review at this UK outlet, but I can’t be sure of the veracity given how vague the copy is.

    (I’m still trying to line up a London screening, but dealing with WB’s international publicity has been a painfully slow process.  You’d think being such a friend to the franchise MIGHT count for some diligence and/or returned emails.  Oh well…)

    In the meantime, here’s a clip featuring some of the new score.  It’s pretty dark, expectedly taking off from the themes of “Batman Begins,” but with a harder, more immediate and eerily agressive edge.  I can’t wait to hear the stuff cooked up for the Joker.  Have a listen:

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehSAqruwRtQ

    (More neat-o YouTube DK discoveries after the jump.)

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  • Oh, and FYI…

    I swear I’m done with Batman talk after this, but I know there’s an insider screening of “The Dark Knight” happening tonight on the Warner lot. If any sort of “review” pops up somewhere, it’s going to be from someone who gets checks signed by studio brass. That said, I’m anticipating a report from a trustworthy acquaintance and my fingers are SO crossed.