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The 82nd Academy Awards went off without any major glitches this year. Hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin with various presenters from newcomers Kristen Stewart and Zac Efron to veterans such as Kate Winslet and Tom Hanks giving speeches that ranged from confusing and choppy to almost perfection. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but it had its memorable moments.
Neil Patrick Harris opened the 82nd Academy Awards with a song and dance which was rather thrilling for all people who thought that he may have been the best choice as the host of the event and Martin and Baldwin went on to address each person that was nominated for an award in the evening. It was smooth sailing from there as one by one each of the awards were presented and the winners gave their speeches.
It was a battle coming into this night between two fantastic films: The Hurt Locker and Avatar. One directed by James Cameron and the other by his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow. The ex- husband and wife just added to the tension and the excitement of who would walk away with the most awards. Both came into the night with nine nominations including Best Director and Best Picture.
Avatar walked away with three statues including Art Direction, Cinematography, and Visual Effects and The Hurt Locker took home 6 including the coveted Best Picture along with Directing, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Original Screenplay. I wouldn?t call it a knock out fight, but when so many thought that Avatar was going to sweep the awards they must have felt the sting a little.
Not at the awards this evening was Nicholas Chartier a producer of The Hurt Locker who was banned from attending the awards after he sent out an email to the voting members urging them to vote for The Hurt Locker and not the ?$500 million dollar movie? which clearly is in reference to Avatar. The sweep of The Hurt Locker makes one think that maybe this tactic worked. I would have been shocked if Avatar did not take home the statue for Visual Effects as would most of the world, but I was not so sure on all the other fronts. It was a nail biter, but in the end the underdog rose to the challenge.
Jeremy Renner got the only acting nomination for either movie for his role in The Hurt Locker, but he lost the Leading Actor Oscar to a well deserving Jeff Bridges for his role in Crazy Heart. This was not a surprise to individuals who follow the awards circuit as he previously won the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild for the same role. Mo?Nique won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Precious: Based on the Novel ?Push? by Sapphire which was no surprise to the viewers either and Christoph Waltz won Supporting Actor for his role in Inglourious Basterds.
The most touching and humble moment of the night went to Sandra Bullock for her Best Leading Actress win over sixteen-time-nominee Meryl Streep. Not only did Bullock acknowledge her fellow nominees, but she said wonderful things about all of them. Calling Gabourey Sidibe exquisite, Carey Mulligan graceful beautiful and elegant, Helen Mirren family, and Meryl Streep ?such a good kisser. ? As her role in The BlindSide was about being a mother she spoke about her own mother and there could not have been a dry eye in the house when she was done. She thanked her for teaching her ?that there was no race, no religion, no class system, no colour, nothing. No sexual orientation that makes us better than anyone else we are all deserving of love.?
There were a few changes this year in the live show which included not having the Original Song nominees perform on the night. Instead they had a dance piece constructed around each of the nominees for Original Score. This was probably to make room for the 10 nominees for Best Picture that were highlighted throughout the night by different presenters.
The tribute to John Hughes who passed away last year may have been a highlight for anyone who grew up watching 80?s classics like The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller?s Day Off. Molly Ringwald, Matthew Broderick, Jon Cryer, Macaulay Culkin among others all came on stage and spoke after the tribute to Hughes had played. It was a wonderful reunion of the stars of the past and a great tribute to a man and his family who had such a big impact on a genre of film.
The annual ?In Memoriam? that the producers of the show put together of all the stars that had passed away in the last year left out two very loved actresses : Farrah Fawcett who passed away after a long battle with cancer last year and Bea Arthur who was on the long time running show Golden Girls. It is common for the producers to miss someone in this tribute, but stars as big as Fawcett and Arthur being excluded shocked many of the viewers. This may end up being the most talked about blemish on an otherwise well executed program.
Not ending on a sour note however, all the females in the film industry, particularly in the directing area of film, pumped their fists tonight when Kathryn Bigelow won her Best Director award becoming the very first female to take home that trophy. Whenever there is a first at the Academy Awards it feels like history is being made.
After wrapping up a smooth night with one last joke from Martin and Baldwin the show was over. People all over the continent turned off their televisions and most likely chatted about whether or not The Hurt Locker was deserving of the final award and half an hour later it was probably out of their minds completely. So until next year and another movie battle, this has been an Oscars review ? over and out.
Best Picture The Hurt Locker
Director Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
Leading Actor Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
Leading Actress Sandra Bullock - The Blindside
Supporting Actor Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
Supporting Actress Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Original Screenplay The Hurt Locker
Adapted Screenplay Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Alice in Wonderland, written by English author Lewis Carroll in 1865, became an instant hit with readers, so it isn't surprising how many film versions have been made of it. The first film that came out was silent back in 1903. Two more silent films were made following this. In 1931, the first film with speech was made patched together by a cast of amateur actors.
Most notably, Disney came out with an animated version of its own and caught the hearts of many viewers in 1951. Over the years, numerous film and television adaptations have been created, so it?s about time that an Alice In Wonderland, possibly closest to the Lewis Carroll vision, came out and who best to make this effort but enigmatic Tim Burton! Evidently, Marilyn Manson is currently creating a horror version of the film as well. Hmmm....
Alice in Wonderland can be viewed as a family friendly classic, but there are many aspects in the story that can be easily interpreted as a dark tale which targets an older audience, hence this films PG rating. For those who are not familiar with this classic tale, Alice follows the white rabbit through a hole and ends up in a mysterious world that is full of dangers and adventures.
Alice experiences potions that can shrink her to the size of a mouse or make her tall enough to put a T-rex to shame. There are animals that talk and a cat that appears out of thin air. It features the evil Queen of Hearts who likes to decapitate anyone, making people suffer for her pleasure, and plays croquet with live flamingos. The material is prime for a director such as Burton to tackle, who has previously brought Sweeney Todd, Beetlejuice, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and Sleepy Hollow to the big screen. In this sequel, 19 year old Alice will be returning to Wonderland to folllow her destiny. Hopefully.
Over time, many films have adapted the symbols presented in Alice in Wonderland and cleverly snuke into our own psyche.The Matrix quoted, ?follow the white rabbit?, taking Neo (Keanu Reeves) into a completely different world from his own. The book's interpretation, with its many mind-bending and illogical moments, and so many iconic images, can be played around with to the delight of creative Directors like Burton and Actors like Johnny Depp.
So who is this Tim Burton? Burton is known to make movies that have a gothic atmosphere, dark sense of humour and likes to focus on characters that can be easily misunderstood by the realm of "normalacy". Burton likes to change our definition of what the outsider is and clearly many feel like outsiders as most of his films have been excessively successful.
Another trademark of Burton's films is his frequent collaborations with Johnny Depp. Their relationship started with the filming of Edward Scissorhands. Since then, Depp has teamed up with Burton to make Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, the remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the 3D animated Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd and now, Alice in Wonderland.
When Depp was approached by Burton to take on this role as the Mad Hatter, Depp jumped right on board the film project. Depp told the Vancouver Sun, ?To be honest, he [Burton] could have said Alice and I would have done it. I would have done whatever character Tim wanted. But yes, certainly the fact that it was the Mad Hatter was a bonus ? because of the great challenge.?
In Burton?s past films, Johnny Depp has always played characters that are misunderstood, as mentioned, is one of Burton's primary themes. In Edward Scissorhands, he was an outsider because he was clearly not a normal human being. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he was the anti-social Willy Wonka who drifted from his father because of his love for candy. Finally, in Sweeney Todd, he was a vengeful serial killer who fed human remains to customers with the help of Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter).
In all those films, Depp had outrageous hair and very pale makeup that would make Marilyn Manson proud. In Alice in Wonderland, the same can be expected, weird hair and pale makeup with a bizarre personality. So does Depp mind putting on these bizarre costumes? In the Vancouver Sun he said, ?I don?t care, I?ll put anything on, it doesn?t matter to me obviously, look at me!?
Who else can we expect to see in Burton?s Alice in Wonderland? For sure, we will see his fiancée Helena Bonham Carter, who has shown up in every single one of his movies since they met on the set of Planet of the Apes back in 2001. In this film, she will portray the Queen of Hearts. And what has been done to her head? Not decapitated of course, but it is huge! Almost heart-shaped in fact!
More familiar faces who have a tendency to show up in Burton?s movies make appearances in Alice. This includes Timothy Spall who plays Bayard, Alan Rickman as the blue caterpillar, Michael Gough as the Dodo Bird, and Christopher Lee as the Jabberwocky. New faces to this movie will be Anne Hathaway who will be the White Queen, the opposite of Helena?s role and Mia Wasikowska will be the one to don the blue dress of Alice.
We can look to see some other Burton trademarks, like the vibrant colourful scenery, similar to what we saw in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Will the film start with a winter scene? After all, in all of Burton?s films, it starts off with a quiet snowy scene. Again, Danny Elfman will team up with Burton for the captivating soundtrack.
Will Alice feature dead or dismembered dogs? With the big-headed Queen of Hearts who wants to behead everything, there probably will be a dismembered something lying around somewhere, as morbid as it sounds.
Depp also commented that he will provide a deeper version of the Mad Hatter, so perhaps Burton will slip in a series of flashback scenes of when the Hatter was a child or maybe some father-son problems. After all, his films tend to feature sequences and characters of this sort. We cannot expect to see all these trademarks, but they are ones to definitely keep an eye out for.
With only the trailer and movie posters to look at, it is still clear that Tim Burton continues to wear the crown for creativity and uniqueness. With a star-studded cast, mesmerizing movie sets and the magical touch of Burton himself, we can expect another imaginative, captivating, edge of your seat, amazing film. Burton fans will sure to be adding this to their list of favourites.
Alice in Wonderland will be hitting theatres on March 5th, so if you want to break away from the real world and fall down the rabbit hole, make sure you check out Burton?s latest!
Every year a DC superhero and Marvel superhero crashes into the box office and see who can beat out each by winning the hearts and money of the viewers. Whether the hero is known or unknown to the audience, it all comes down to one thing, DC versus Marvel. The war has been raging on in comic books and now on the big screen. This year, the long awaited Ironman 2 will be flying into theatres on May 7 and the Green Hornet fights his way onto the big screen for the first time on December 22.
Robert Downey Jr. again joins forces with director Jon Favreau for long waited Ironman 2. Downey Jr. portrays the one and only Tony Stark. Continuing where Ironman ended off, Tony is enjoying his celebrity status after revealing his identity, and runs into Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. He finds out he is just a small part of another world, the world of superheroes. This time, he faces the threat of a new super villain, the Whiplash, played by Oscar-winner Mickey Rourke, who uses Stark?s reactor technology to create himself a pair of powerful electric whips. Stark is joined again by James ?Rhodey? Rhodes who this time is portrayed by Don Cheadle, not Terrance Howard. Rhodey even gets his chance to fight alongside Ironman this time around. The beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow will be returning as Stark?s love interest and the new CEO of Stark Industries. New faces to look for are Scarlett Johansson who plays Black Widow, S.H.I.E.L.D?s undercover spy and Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer.
Green Hornet, is surprisingly portrayed by the funnyman Seth Rogen. Do not expect this to be a comedy, it is indeed another fictional masked crime fighting movie. For those who are not familiar with the comic side of things, you must be asking yourself who the Green Hornet is. He is in fact a newspaper publisher by day and goes by the name of Britt Reid. By night, he is the Green Hornet and fights alongside with Kato (Jay Chou), his asian sidekick who drives ?Black Beauty?, a car that can rival James Bond?s Aston Martin or Batman?s Tumbler. The Green Hornet has no superpowers, but he possesses hand-to-hand combat skills and carries an awesome gun that sprays a gas to knock anyone out. Let?s see how Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz) takes this! Cameron Diaz will star alongside with Rogen and will be his love interest in this crime fighting flick.
Who will rack up the numbers at the box office this year, will it be contestant number one, the iron clad Tony Stark in Ironman 2 or contestant number two, the crime fighting Green Hornet?
With two new superhero flicks in 2010, let?s take a look back at some of the best and worst and comic-based movies ever made in the last decade.
The Winners
Batman Begins ? Batman suffered a horrible image after the Batman & Robin movie, but Christopher Nolan brought the dark back in the dark knight. Batman, (aka Bruce Wayne) is portrayed as Christian Bale, who played the character extremely well. Michael Caine as the butler Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as the young Lieutenant Gordan and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox add to the quality ensemble. Liam Neeson plays Henri Ducard/Ras Al Ghul who trained Bruce Wayne to become a fearless crime fighter.
The Dark Knight ? Christopher Nolan does it again, and even better! Included in the equation this time is Heath Ledger who put on a memorable act. And to think that so many of us thought he was a bad choice to play the Joker! He made Joker even more psychotic and darker to match Bale?s portrayal of Batman. The legendary Caine, Oldman (with a promotion) and Freeman again return in this movie to aid our favourite dark knight.
X-men & X2: X-men United ? Too bad Bryan Singer didn?t direct the third X-men film as well, instead he decided to turn his back on Marvel and go with a DC movie only to disappoint viewers with Superman Returns. The first two X-men movies were very well made and good choices were made to introduce some of the supporting mutants, and we all know how many mutants there are! That?s like half the population of this world if you?re looking through Professor X?s eyes. The storyline was well thought out, though Rogue?s character seemed weak when in the comic she is stronger and has a mind of her own. The movies had a huge cast too, with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Patrick Steward as Professor X, Ian McKellan as Magneto, Anna Paquin as Rogue, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique and many more.
Spiderman 1 & 2 ? Being Spiderman, you ought to have a shipload of enemies waiting to destroy your web, so to decide on which enemy to introduce is quite a task the director has to take on. A wise choice made with Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) in the first instalment and Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) in the second. Tobey McGuire put on a good act playing a nerdy schoolboy Peter Parker and your ?friendly neightbourhood Spiderman? (or even nuisance) as quoted by Spiderman himself.
Ironman ? How can the sequel create so much hype if the first one wasn?t good? The first one was awesome! Robert Downey Jr. battled his addictions and made a come back as a superhero that is not only rich, but smart and made a fighting suit that puts all of James Bonds gadgets to shame. Can?t wait for the sequel!
Hellboy II: The Golden Army ? The first movie was not great, but the sequel was surprisingly good. Though unrecognizable, Ron Perlman plays Hellboy and the sexy Selma Blair played Liz who is his love interest. Doug Jones plays the CG looking character Abe Sapien. You won?t know what he looks like but he was also the Silver Surfer in the second Fantastic 4 movie. The acting was above average and the movie was well made.
The Losers
Spiderman 3 ? With the first two movies being so good, expectations for the third one soared only for it to be dropped from the Burj (tallest building in the world) and splatter on the concrete. Well, not that bad, but it was a huge disappointment. Tobey McGuire is again Peter Parker and this time he?s up against himself, his best friend, Venom and Sandman. Venom is a favourite villain but the movie itself just didn?t flow and there was too many unnecessary touches.
Fantastic 4 & Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer ? The only thing that sells these films is Jessica Alba playing the Invisible Woman. The humour was childish and it looks like the movie was made just for the sake of putting Fantastic 4 out there in the market. With the sequel, the Silver Surfer was the only good thing about the movie; in fact they should have made a Silver Surfer movie against world-eater Galactus, but decided to introduce the Surfer into the Fantastic 4 movie. Was it because they were afraid that Silver Surfer wouldn?t sell as much as Fantastic 4? After all, the Surfer is less known, but if it was well made, he would have been a hit. He?s already a hit with comic readers and he looks cool enough to sell to everyone else.
Superman Returns ? As stated above, Bryan Singer should have stuck with directing the third X-men rather than ditching the team of mutants. Though you have to admit Brandon Routh does look an awful lot like Christopher Reeve, but besides that, the movie was a big let down. Superman left earth for a reason.
Elektra ? Can I say boring?! Okay, so besides Jennifer Garner in a tight leather outfit with a pair of sai, what else is good about that movie? The plot was horrible, the acting was below average and it was just a waste of time.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine ? As much I love Wolverine and action, I thought the movie wasn?t very well thought-out. The action and acting was good but they got so many facts wrong and that just completely ruined the story of Wolverine. It had an excellent cast though; Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Dominic Monaghan as Bolt and Live Schreiber as Sabretooth (who is not supposed to be Wolverine?s blood brother).
Comic-based movies have become a hit, and to see your favourite superhero come onto the big screen is exciting, but sometimes it may not be worth the hype. Some superheroes should just stay on the pages rather than coming to life on the big screen. With the never-ending battle between Marvel and DC comics, when a Marvel movie is made, it can expect to go up against a DC movie. Have you also noticed that a superhero always paves way for a strong line up of films starting in the spring? It seems that the dawn of the superhero trend is catching on.
Some comic-based movies to look forward to in the future would be Marvel?s own Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth), a God sent to Earth as punishment. It will be directed by Kenneth Branagh, who has starred in Hamlet and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from the Ironman movies will be returning in this ?godly? movie like Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson. Anthony Hopkins will be joining the all star cast as Odin, the ruler of Asgard and Natalie Portman will be Thor?s love interest. Look for this in a theatre near you on May 6, 2011!
Following Thor, in June 2011, DC?s own Green Lantern will be flying onto the big screen to battle out Thor. Ryan Reynolds, who was also Deadpool will be Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern. The one problem about this is that Reynolds played a Marvel character and now he is also a DC character. With the on-going battle, how well will this work out for him? Usually, if one were to play a Marvel universe character, they will stay away from the DC universe. Let?s just see how well Reynolds uses his ring of power in this DC flick. Yes, the Green Lantern possesses a ring that grants him godlike powers. Check it out and see who is better, the Green Lantern or Thor.
Hints of hero movies that would be coming are the third Batman (with the whole cast returning), Captain America, Deadpool: Origin, Wonder Woman and Justice League.
It's weeks away from the penultimate awards ceremony in the film industry. What does that mean? It means a nice Sunday dinner, a pleasant television experience, and a few exchanges of, ?Oh, that was a surprise.?
The Oscars are, regardless of the outcome, a great day. The faculty of film congregates to celebrate the achievements of their peers from the past year. From the red carpet ceremony to Jack Nicholson announcing the Best Picture, it?s hard not to be intrigued. Who wins and who loses often becomes more predominant than the actual work of the nominees. In that vein, let us take a trip back and focus on some of the greatest films in Oscar history.
1973
In Chinese New Year terms, it?s the year of The Godfather. Francis Ford Coppola offered the Academy a film that couldn?t refuse. If someone were to consider it the best ever made, it is one of a handful of films that should not be argued otherwise. End of discussion.
1975-77
Talk about stacked. Three straight years with three or more legit contenders for Best Picture. Just to blow your mind, here is a chronological list: The Godfather: Part II (1975), The Conversation (1975), and Chinatown (1975), One Flew Over The Cuckoo?s Nest (1976), Barry Lyndon (1976), Dog Day Afternoon (1976), Jaws (1976), and Nashville (1976), Rocky (1977), All The Presidents Men (1977), Network (1977), and Taxi Driver (1977).
I know, I know. Ridiculous lineup. Twelve movies were released in three years that could have contended or won in any year. Not just a few years. Any year. To truly fathom the scope of this three-year period, let?s look at the people involved. Directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Roman Polanski, Sidney Lumet, Steve Spielberg, Robert Redford, Robert Altman, Milos Forman, Martin Scorsese, and Stanley Kubrick directed one or more of these films. Actors like Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Gene Hackman, Diane Keaton, John Cazale, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Harvey Keitel?. I?m going to stop. Honestly, need I go on?
1978
The year of the hunter. The Deer Hunter to be exact. The Oscars are famous for their upsets. One can stretch back all the way to 1978 to find the first true, clear-cut deserving winner for Best Picture. This isn?t to say every year since then has been stacked. This is to say that The Deer Hunter was so superior a film to it?s competitors it would have been a near criminal offence not to award it.
The Deer Hunter is the story of a group of friends in Vietnam-era Pittsburgh. Three of them enlist and go to war and everyone is forever changed. Robert DeNiro is sensational as the natural leader of the group. As was the case during his heyday, DeNiro commands every scene with both ease and power. The famous Russian roulette scene is a harrowing example. Christopher Walken took home a Best Supporting Actor award for a role that epitomizes the destruction of character through trauma. Compared with his performances nowadays, The Deer Hunter is almost a eulogy to a once-great actor. The late John Cazale (who?s resume is and will likely always be the most sterling of any actor ever) is excellent, as is Meryl Streep.
The Deer Hunter is a heartbreaking tribute to the relationships that the United States was built upon. While we as Canadian criticize Americans for their relentless patriotism, we forget that they nearly had their country taken from them on a number of occasions. That builds passion. The Deer Hunter is a wonderful example of this. The first hour of the film focuses on a wedding. The characters don?t even arrive in Vietnam for more than a third of the film. Director Michael Cimino builds a relationship between the viewer and the characters to the point we feel for them on a near-personal level.
1980
Arguably one of the most debated Best Picture results in history. It exceeded the controversy of Shakespeare In Love over Saving Private Ryan or Dances With Wolves over Goodfellas. Martin Scorsese?s anti-hero masterpiece Raging Bull was upset by Robert Redford?s family tragedy Ordinary People. Raging Bull lost Best Picture. That actually happened? It did and it?s hard to believe. Few would argue that Scorsese is one of the best filmmakers of our time and yet his best work, or at least character work, was overlooked.
The question I most often ask people when this debate arises is: have you seen Ordinary People? The answer is usually no. Granted, people deserve the benefit of the doubt. Raging Bull is one of the most riveting performances by an actor in Robert DeNiro and thus a riveting portrait of a disputed figure. It?s easy to be shocked that it did not win.
Ordinary People is no slouch by comparison. Starring Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, and Timothy Hutton, Ordinary People was the American Beauty of the 80?s. It is about how tragedy can expose the differences between family members. It was Robert Redford?s first foray as a director. Known as a light, comedic actor, Redford was handling serious material. It was an acting-heavy piece and garnered a number of nominations.
Ordinary People will always go hand-in-hand with Raging Bull. Mention Scorsese and likely you will hear how he should have won for Raging Bull but didn?t. Bring up DeNiro and you will likely hear how greatest performance was Raging Bull, but how did that movie not win Best Picture? It?s unfortunate but true. The world of film will always remember Raging Bull before Ordinary People.
Their relationship is similar to pitting The Beatles against the Who. The Who are great, just not in the same league as The Beatles. Focusing on the negative only does a disservice to both films. To say so is unfair. Ordinary People is not in the same league, but the question should be, ?How many are??
1999
The return to prominence. Count the number of excellent films up for Best Picture in this year and it rivals any. American Beauty, The Green Mile, The Insider, The Sixth Sense. Phew. What a lineup. The problem? How many other excellent films were left out? Fight Club, The Matrix, Being John Malkovich, Magnolia, Eyes Wide Shut, Dogma, Toy Story 2, Go, Three Kings, and more. You could make the argument that at least three of the previously named flicks were good enough to bump The Cider House Rules from the fifth spot for Best Picture.
1999 offered an embarrassment of riches. It?s packed full of unique, genre-breaking pictures. Think of the influence films like Fight Club and Magnolia have had. How many films have emulated their style of storytelling? Think of the impact The Matrix had on the action genre. It literally rewrote it. Try to argue Being John Malkovich is not one of the most original films ever conceived. Toy Story 2 provided the blueprint for CGI films today and made Pixar a major player every year because of it. Eyes Wide Shut is the last film of one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick, and is sadly underrated. That?s not even taking into account the films that were up for Best Picture, which all took filmmaking and turned it on its head.
Come Oscar weekend, take a few hours out of your time and watch a flick that didn?t come out in 2009. A number of those films will have their chance to stand the test of time. Take the opportunity to remember the films that have and deserve the attention.
Dreams start at a young age. I'm not talking about dreams that one has when asleep, but rather ones where as a child you would share with family and friends the dream of what you want to be when you grow up. For some people dreams change over time and for others they actually get to live out their dreams as grown ups.
For Stewart Hendler, the director of Sorority Row starring Briana Evigan, Leah Pipes and Rumer Willis, getting to be a director started at a young age. Stewart says of himself, ?I was the prototypical nerdy kid with a camcorder from the age of eight and upward and basically did everything I could to be around film, so weddings, football games in high school, [etc.]. I made a short film [One, 2001] that went to Sundance and won an award [...] and that kick started my professional career.?
As for encouragement from his family on his dream he says, ?once they figured out I was serious about it they did [encourage me].? Talking more about his family (his mom in particular) and leading into his directing horror movies, "My mom is crazy supportive. She?s never seen a horror movie before and is now a hard convert. She?s said, 'it?s great! There?s just enough blood and nudity. Good job!'?
Stewart then discussed how he became the director of Sorority Row. He wasn?t sure if it was interesting but shares that, ?I did a first movie [Whisper, 2007] which was a horror/supernatural thriller, and you get sent a ton of horror scripts after that. I read the title and wasn?t familiar with the original ?80s movie, and I was pretty dismissive. I didn?t read it for awhile and finally picked it up, because I had a free night. I got five pages in it and thought, 'oh my god. This is like the horror version of Mean Girls.' The script needed a little bit of work but had that sarcastic kind of tongue-in-cheek vibe to it. I went to the studio and said, 'you know you could make this just boobs and blood, and a B-level movie nobody cares about or you could really make it a send up of the crazy sorority system making it witty, sarcastic and fun.' And they said 'cool.'?
After touching on the beginnings of Stewart?s directing career and how Sorority Row came to fruition, the topic of influences came to the forefront. When asked if he is a fan of and has any favourite horror/slasher movies and whether these movies had any influence on the making of Sorority Row, he responded with some of his favourites being ?the ?80s kind of key campy slasher films like Friday the Thirteenth and Camp Sleep Away. Scream in the ?90s, as well as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legend.?
He goes on to say, ?in the last 10 years I like some of the supernatural horror that has come out like The Ring and The Grudge, but haven?t been a huge fan of the Saw movies and Hostel. I?m not all about the torture movies.? With regards to whether the aforementioned favourites had any influence on making Sorority Row, the response was a definite yes as he explains, ?Sorority Row was fun because it definitely unabashedly uses all the clichés of the ?80s horror movies. That was the goal of let?s go back to that kind of fun way of making movies and make this movie self-aware that it?s playing with all those clichés."
Being able to work with a great cast is a dream come true for directors. In Sorority Row the cast is comprised of young actresses and an established Hollywood icon Carrie Fisher. Stewart shares what it was like working with these actresses by saying that, ?I was really lucky with all the girls. They were total troopers, they were there to work. There was no personality conflicts and everybody got along great.? Stewart has nothing but praise for Fisher, saying, ?she has endless stories about Hollywood and the crew listened transfixed when she tells her story so she?s awesome to work with.?
The movie does hold its own and has interesting scenes, especially its kill scenes. Each scene is creative but there are a couple cliché moments such as when one character goes off by herself. Putting those aside, Stewart did share his favourite kill scene as being ?definitely Chugs with the bottle just because it was something that I?ve never seen before and it still gets me, and I?ve seen the movie 400 hundred times, and I still flinch when I see it.?
The trend, especially with movies, in the last decade or so has been sequels, sequels and more sequels. Horror movies are not immune to this trend and when asked his thoughts on and whether there would be a sequel to Sorority Row, Stewart replied that ?the decision isn?t mine, but if the studio wanted to make one I would absolutely be interested if the script was right. The writers and I really loved working with each other. So if I got the opportunity that would be awesome.?
Until the script fits the bill for Stewart Hendler for a possible sequel to this send-up of ?80s horror film fare, audiences will have to settle (for now) with the DVD of Sorority Row.
As Yves Saint Laurent once said, "fashion fades, style is eternal.? Perhaps the only person to make Laurent quake in his stylish and unaffordable boots would be Anna Wintour. Wintour: the only person more important than all the great fashion designers of this generation put together is the editor-in-chief of the American magazine Vogue. If Wintour doesn?t like something the fashion industry grinds to a halt, if she loves it, then that is a one way ticket to billions. Many perceive Wintour as a rigid elitist, not helped by the alleged prototype of her in The Devil Wears Prada, but many more perceive her in the fashion industry as the guiding light shining a way to this years? newest fashionable path. Wintour may decide what is fashionable, but the woman is all style.
Filmmaker R.J. Cutler seems to have been enraptured by Wintour. ?My interest was in Anna Wintour and in the world of Vogue and in telling her story. I was compelled about the subject and I was curious about her.? Audiences will see that the documentary The September Issue is part observation, part admiration.
Cutler continues, ?Anna Wintour is a singular figure in the fashion and publishing industry globally. People like Anna come along so rarely, these figures who dominate an industry so much so that it is hard to believe anyone would succeed in that industry without this person's blessing. I have always said you can make a film without Steven Spielberg?s blessing, you can create software without Bill Gates blessing, but you cannot really succeed [in fashion] without Anna Wintour?s blessing. She is successful, powerful woman, unflinchingly, uncompromisingly successful at what she does for two decades now. You can like her or not like her, you can think the fashion industry is ridiculous or a 300 billion dollar industry, whatever you think, Anna Wintour is a force to be reckoned with.?
The film is about the making of Vogue?s most prestigious issue in the year, the launch of the fall/winter season in the fashion industry. The September Issue documents the 2007 publication that was an astounding 840 pages, weighing in at almost 5 pounds, and was the largest issue ever released.
The September Issue follows not just Wintour on her endless meetings where she must make hundreds of decisions daily, but also follows her team of creators that are equally as important to the making of the September issue. Grace Coddington, a model-turned-creative director of the magazine, who started at the same time as Wintour at the US Vogue, is a hot mess of brilliance. She is a true fighter and it is delightful to see a woman such as Grace work daily to get her own vision into the publication. You can see by The September Issue that Wintour ensures a good issue will be turned out every month by the people she trusts and has worked with for many years.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of Anna Wintour and The September Issue is the influence on the fashion industry. The documentary highlights this and Cutler explains, ?I was struck by the extent of Anna?s influence throughout the industry. It is surprising to see Jean Paul Gautier and Oscar De La Renta shaking in their boots seeking her approval. It is startling that the chairman of Neiman Marcus asks for her to facilitate him getting product on the shelves in a timely manner. There is the traditional role of an editor-in-chief and then there is Anna Wintour and the gap between those two things was what was the most surprising to me.?
Not too many films take on the Fashion industry in such a big way as Cutler does in The September Issue, but another very famous film about the Fashion industry was Robert Altman?s 1994 black comedy Pret-A-Porter shot during Paris Fashion Week. Cutler says ?The September issue is not a film like Pret-A-Porter. Although I am a huge fan of Altman?s films, he didn?t respect the fashion world, and that is the fundamental difference between Pret-A-Porter and The September Issue. I couldn?t make a film about people I don?t admire and respect.?
Cutler has an intriguing perception as to what films he was influenced by for The September Issue. ?I was influenced by films like The Philadelphia Story and Woody Allen?s Crimes and Misdemeanors. They were my two touchstones when making this film. Mostly, Cinema Verite played a large part for me in The September Issue.? The Philadelphia Story in particular (starring Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart) has the same timeless style, elegance and sophistication that Anna Wintour will be known for. Parallels can also be drawn with Wintour?s predecessing female icon and game-changer of the fashion industry - Coco Chanel.
What is on the horizon for the film business? What stars will stay strong as the years go by? Let?s take a stroll down fiction lane and make some bold predictions for the 87th Academy Awards in 2015.
Best Picture
Dats My Seat, Fool: The Rosa Parks Story directed by Spike Lee
Spike Lee produces, writes, and directs, Nas composes the score, and Lil? Kim performs the nominated song "The Right To Sit, Fool" for the biopic, Dats My Seat, Fool: The Rosa Parks Story. Peter Travers says, ??I couldn?t stay seated!?
Bloody Bloody Sunday directed by Quentin Tarantino
Tarantino returns from a self-imposed exile to helm his first work since he stormed the Oscar stage following his Best Director loss to Kathryn Bigelow and began an ironic, profanity-laced rant regarding the feminism of Hollywood. Joel Seigel says, ?Bloody Bloody Sunday is bloody, bloody good!?
The Rapper directed by Darren Aronofsky
Aronofsky revives the career of a forgotten star?.again. Joaquin Phoenix returns from a failed rap career in an Oscar nominated role as a poor, disheveled, white man trying to make it?as a rap star. The film also stars Aranofsy?s wife Rachel Weisz in her Oscar nominated turn as a stripper love interest named Roxy Hearts. Ben Mankiewicz remarks, ?The Rapper is true to da streets; Compton unite!?
Love In The Time of Facebook directed by Nora Ephron
Starring Meg Ryan as a divorced 40-something who joins the Facebook group "Welcome To Dumpsville, Population: You" and falls in love with an aging lothario played by Tom Hanks. New York Times critic Manohla Dargis exclaims, ??I laughed, I cried, I tweeted!?
Prius directed by Clint Eastwood
Eastwood strikes gold by starring and directing as a sexist old man who lends his beloved Prius to a kind-hearted waitress played by Best Actress nominee Hillary Swank. Morgan Freeman becomes the first person nominated for an acting award without a single second of screen time in his turn as the films narrator. Morgan Freeman narrates, ?People like the sound of my voice.?
A Helping Hand directed by Robert Redford
Daniel Day-Lewis is a shoe-in for Best Actor for his turn as a blind, deaf, and dumb former I.R.A. bomber with no hands who learns to play the piano with his feet. His burning desire to perform at Carnegie Hall is nearly sidetracked by a raging case of athlete?s foot. Roger Ebert quips, ?Once again, Day-Lewis proves you don?t need hands to accept an Oscar!?
Standard Fare directed by Brett Ratner
Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr. star as best friends who make a cross-country trip to track down the cheerleader they had a crush in high school only to find she?s a prostitute single mom with a heart of gold. Sandra Bullock aims for Oscar number two in a performance Ben Lyons declares, ?The feel-good performance of feel-good performances!?
The following is a list of some the most cherished duos that have graced the silver screen. It?s easy enough to cast two leading actors in a romance movie, but the fire created by the some of the most influential players holds a special place in our minds and our hearts. From Clark Gable to Ryan Gosling and Vivien Leigh to Rachel McAdams, we love to watch the magical chemistry that Hollywood creates.
Hollywood casting directors work hard in conjunction with the actors they cast in order to create an idealized romance that we all love to buy into. It?s a fantasy that perhaps one day, we too can be one half of a dynamic duo. With Valentine?s Day right around the corner, let?s explore the guilty pleasure of Hollywood?s hot onscreen couples.
Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling
This steamy Canadian couple first made waves in the timeless and instant classic The Notebook, an adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks love story. Their onscreen chemistry was undeniable and the movie had all of the ingredients that make the perfect love story (kissing in the rain, still in old age together, and following your heart).
The Notebook, along with the two talented leads, had audiences swooning and gave men a reason to give the romance genre another chance. It didn?t hurt that Gosling and McAdams were a real-life couple, too. The combination of Gosling?s boyish charm and McAdams? classic beauty gave women and men eye candy and heart candy.These two young actors easy hold their own against Bogart, Gable, Bergman, and Leigh, a distinction that actors work for their whole career to achieve.
Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey
Dirty dancing away from the arms of daddy and into the arms of a sexy and mysterious dance teacher, this 80s classic was a great coming of age story. Dirty Dancing embodies the fantasy of summer romance and a meaningful first love. Combine these aspects with a great soundtrack and you have one of the most compelling and heartwarming couples in romance history.
The sincerity and dedication of Swayze?s teaching balances well with Grey?s determination and self-discovery. The movie gave women something to look at with Swayze?s bad boy ambiance and his well sculpted body, while giving them a sense that challenges and risks are essential to falling in love, and discovering purpose in life. Although the movie was made over thirty years ago, it?s as timeless as the dance moves and summer romance. ?Nobody puts baby in the corner?.
Ali McGraw and Ryan O?Neil
Love Story has it all: a famous soundtrack and a famous line. The handsome Harvard boy from the right side of the tracks and the intellectual beauty from the wrong side of the tracks coincide in star-crossed love ending in death. ?Love means never having to say you?re sorry.? Need I say more?
Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder
In Edward Scissorhands, forbidden love is the name of the game and Depp and Ryder are the players in a bizarre and ambiguous landscape filled with struggle and teenage angst. The story is heartbreaking on several different levels but when it all boils down, this kooky Tim Burton film is a love story for the eclectic and arty kid in all of us.
With the beautiful iconography in every frame and the meaningful and deep development of the story and characters, Edward Scissorhands is a story of purpose, intent, and above all else, love. Although there are no steamy sex scenes or passionate kissing in the rain, the sensitive and pure love between Edward and Kim is beautifully portrayed. A combination of an insightful director and talented actors makes this movie a favourite for anyone interested in the basics of love.
Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal
The rustic wilderness and mountainous landscape made the perfect setting for this story of unconditional love and loyalty. Ledger and Gyllenhaal are breathtaking as a couple who are forced to subdue their feelings and experience the constraints of conformity and social pressure. This movie was ahead of its time in terms of content and cinematography, honoring the picture high honors by film critics and lovers alike. It?s a beautiful and stunning depiction of forbidden romance that displays the endurance of love.
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman
1942 was the year of Casablanca, a movie that won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay at the Academy Awards. Bogart and Bergman have amazing chemistry. Their exchanges and the film's dialogue contain some of the best known lines of cinema history. Whether you have or haven?t seen the movie or even heard of the two romantic leads, ?Here?s lookin? at you, kid? and ?We?ll always have Paris? have transcended generations of film lovers and students.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet
A list of the top ten onscreen couples would be nothing without this charismatic couple. Titanic was a visually stunning movie and a feat of cinematic genius. The movie took viewers on an emotional rollercoaster filled with laughter, anger, frustration, and above all else, love. DiCaprio and Winslet were at the beginning of this career, much like the leads out of The Notebook, and the two enjoyed the spoils of fame instantly upon completion of the film.
Titanic held the title of Highest Grossing Movie Ever at a whopping $600 million, only to lose the title to this year?s visual treat Avatar, another movie by the same director. Although both actors have remained prominent in Hollywood and have graced the silver screen many times and in many different roles since Titanic, I think that they were always been seen as Rose and Jack, the couple that swept audiences away.
Hugh Grant, Renee Zellweger, and Colin Firth
Although threesomes are a fantasy of many men and women, this trio defines the term ?three?s a crowd.? In the hilarious and feel-good romantic comedy, the three leading actors have audiences on the floor with their clever and quick dialogue. The combination of ever-so-charming Grant and the underdog favourite Firth split audiences down the middle for who are unconventional heroine should end up with.
The movie stays true to real life as Bridget, as played by Zellweger, experiences low self-esteem, frustration family drama, and endless lies coming from both men in her life. But the plot is lightened up with fantastic comedic acting, hilarious situations, and hope that Bridget will finally find ?the one?. The writers, directors, and Zellweger depicted a character in Bridget that was easily to relate to, creating identification between the audience and the movie which allowed for the perfect romantic comedy. Although this onscreen relationship is unconventional, it provided more than enough humor and passion to earn itself a place on this list.
Vivenne Leigh and Clark Gable
This classic couple is the epitome of onscreen chemistry. Vivienne Leigh as Scarlett O?Hara gets a run for her money when faced up against Rhett Butler as played by Clark Gable in the 1939 epic Gone with the Wind. The movie takes place during the American civil war, a time when money was all-important and the nation was divided. Scarlett and Rhett have a problematic love affair and through her own selfishness and stubborn outlook on her relationship with Rhett, Scarlett eventually loses the man she has fallen in love with.
Gone with the Wind was years ahead of its time, and for 1939, the relationship between the main couple was risky and modern. Vivienne Leigh and Clark Gable are the reigning king and queen of Hollywood romance and will forever symbolize the grace and class of old Hollywood.
Michael Cera and Ellen Page
Juno was not only a box office hit and an award winning success, but there was a certain charm and beauty to this eclectic story about a teenage pregnancy. The movie took critics and filmgoers by surprise when a 16-year old girl named Juno, as played by Page, stole the hearts of audiences and made us all burst into laughter. Her quick humor and fearless presence made Juno an instant hit amongst men and women. Juno?s boyfriend, and father of her baby, Bleeker, as played by Cera, is a little less confident than his girlfriend, but holds strong where it counts, as he continuously supports Juno through her trying and emotional circumstance.
The movie also features Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman as the adoptive parents of Juno?s unborn child, but the true stars of this movie are the offbeat and unconventional couple of Juno and Bleeker. Much like Edward Scissorhands, Michael Cera and Ellen Page gave eccentric voice and different spin on the conventional love story, earning them a distinct role in the romance genre. In 2007, Juno was the cheese to every filmlover?s macaroni.
The best way to celebrate Valentine?s Day is to snuggle up close to your sweetheart and enjoy one (or more!) of these ten fantastic movies. I encourage viewers to try some of the older movies I have listed such as Gone with the Wind, Love Story, and Casablanca. I promise you won?t be disappointed.
Romance is in the air, and if you can?t smell it, then perhaps you can see all the window displays with bulging red hearts and half naked cherubs with a bow and large supply of arrows. Of course, Valentine's Day happens but once a year but love, true love can have a lasting presence; one that challenges decades and as Shakespeare aptly put it, ?Love is not love/Which alters when it alteration finds/Or bends with the remover to remove.? Love is much more acceptable in all its forms in present day, but once upon a time culture, religion and status played paramount roles to who you were and were not allowed to marry. Perhaps this Valentine?s Day you pass by the yearly condensed ?happily ever after? Hollywood churrns out to turn a profit and instead head for the romantic love story Love & Savagery.
Set in Ireland at the end of the 1960s, Love & Savagery explores the love story of a Newfoundland geologist and poet, Michael McCarthy, and a local Irish girl, Cathleen O'Connell, who is destined to become a nun. The film is written by Des Walsh and based on a collection of his poems. After seeing Love & Savagery I have decided that it makes a lot of sense that a good love story on celluloid would emerge out of the art form of poetry. Cathleen and Michael are connected on a deeper level, like the love has coursed through their veins before ever setting eyes on each other. It is culture, religion and the fact that Michael is an outsider which makes their love impossible and worth the interference the community puts in. This is not a quiet love story, though Michael fights for Cathleen and she fights the system in her own way. Love & Savagery has a magnificence about it as the film tends to harken back to films like The Way We Were, that delve into a relationship and intimacy above any cliché that involves star-crossed lovers or fairytale happily-ever-afters.
?The film's theme is primarily centred around the question ?was it better to have loved and lost then to never have loved at all??? says Love & Savagery director, John N. Smith, who was also the man behind the Canadian film Boys of St. Vincent and the American film Dangerous Minds (starring Michelle Pfeiffer). Love & Savagery will be theatrically released on February 12th and I discover in our conversation that John N. Smith is a delight to speak with; he is very deliberate in his answers and displays a great deal of thought and intelligence in his responses.
Smith continues to discuss Love & Savagery?s larger themes: ?It had to deal with the magnificence of falling in love and finding the person you feel is one's true love, and at the same time facing circumstances that create an enormous amount of pain. So, from that idea, I asked Des (Walsh) to write me a story. We based the story on a trip Des made with a friend to Ireland, from which Des is a descendent, and a specific location he visited, a place called 'The Burren.'"
The film is beautifully shot with stunning images of the rugged, untarnished cliffs that have been windswept and waves-washed for centuries. The Burren?s mythic presence, with innumerable archeological sites and echoes of love stories like Joseph Conrad?s Amy Foster staring out to the ocean and asking for it to bring her a love, seems an absolutely ideal location for Love & Savagery. The location and imagery is used as a ?third character in the film,? says Smith, ?as a very poetic use of visuals.?
John N. Smith sees many parallels between Ireland and Newfoundland, as the two cultures are featured in Love & Savagery. ?This was very much a part of the film. I do see a heralding back to Ireland in Newfoundland, but they are very much their own people in Newfoundland as well. I am very curious to see how the film will be received in Ireland after the Canadian release.? Smith has discovered his own close connection to Newfoundland, and in 2002 directed a TV miniseries called Random Passage.
Love & Savagery is a love story and the two leads are relative newcomers to film, but have a fantastic rapport with each other and the camera. Allan Hawco, now known for his hit TV series The Republic Of Doyle, plays Michael as unabashedly in love with Cathleen, who is played by Irish actress Sarah Greene.
Smith says of the actors, ?A love story depends on the two leading characters, so it was a very long process to find the two actors we did get. I look for actors who have very good theatre training. Even though these are relative unknowns on film they are very well-trained, which I find tremendously helpful. These two people just seemed to have a spark, and seemed to really embody who these characters were. Part of that was because I had a Newfoundlander play a Newfoundlander and an Irish actress play an Irish character.? These two actors do indeed have that ?spark,? the indefinable connection two actors can have onscreen that sets the screen ablaze.
The film took a decade to make and once completed, Smith takes a back seat to let the experts in the field of promotion bring the film to audiences. ?I worry about making a movie. I leave the selling of the movie to other people,? says Smith. Producer Kevin Tierney describes Love & Savagery as ?a drop-dead great love story; the challenge is to make a story about love and spirituality and ?sell it? to a modern audience.? I suspect the film's authenticity will speak for itself and draw an audience that enjoys seeing a more developed and heartfelt love story on screen.
Of course, Canadians have the facility to support our films and when asked how Canadian audiences can connect with films like Love & Savagery, Smith tells me, ?Ask the video store 'where are the Canadian films?' It is tough because we live next door to a colossal giant of the film industry ? the US film industry. We are generally very unsupportive of our films. Think of places like France and England that put a lot of support behind their films in comparison.? So when Love & Savagery comes to theatres on February 12th, seek this Canadian gem out for your Valentine?s date night.
What makes an original character? How does a filmmaker explore the avenues that this quirky personality will venture to? Joshua Peace gave Press+1 answers about the absurd world of Robert Mutt in You Might as Well Live.
Joshua Peace is an established Canadian actor who has performed in front of the camera for years. Joshua has worked alongside Bruce Willis, Ryan Gosling and Drew Barrymore, and in this feature he find himself alongside Michael Madsen. You Might as Well Live is co-written by and starring Peace, a film framed as a comedic character study with cult B-movie overtones.
Joshua provided a valuable commentary about the creative process in making this comedic character film.
Press+1 (Benjamin Hayden): Robert Mutt seems like a common man with common ambitions. How is this different from the usual, archetypal, protagonist-driven films we see?
JP: What differentiates him from other protagonists is that lots of comedies are about the guy simply going to get the girl, or the guy needing to win the big game. We grabbed a bunch of those tenets and decided, what quest is he on? Robert Mutt is after the girl, some money, and a championship ring. As far as his hero is concerned, those are the only things a person needs. These three seemingly arbitrary things operate as a vehicle to get Robert Mutt into a ton of problematic circumstances.
Press+1: That?s interesting; especially since other feature films are wholly based around one of the three tenets you?ve mentioned. In a way, I see that you are already working above the single one, identifying the common man?s trinity of contemporary sustenance.
JP: You wouldn?t believe how aware someone has to be about what?s going on around their medium, based on what other people are putting forward and exploring in their narratives. We omitted certain sections because it may have made the film taste too much like another film, which came out that very year. Although it was coincidental, it led to us reworking the story because we want a story that we can call our own, and reworking just goes to show that. It?s a matter of set pieces, we identify a situation that stands apart from other things you?ve seen, we change a detail like location, and explore from there.
Press+1: With regard to fiscal filmmakers early in their careers like Robert Rodriguez or Kevin Smith; do you find that even at your level of filmmaking where your production budget is workable ? but certainly not big budget ? that you still must be resourceful when looking for creative solutions to make the best film out of the money given?
JP: When it comes to filmmakers like Robert Rodriguez who edited El Mariachi on two VCR?s, or Kevin Smith leaving Vancouver Film School to produce Clerks; both were bare bones movies, and we were going to produce You Might as Well Live in a similar bare bones fashion if we had to. Fortunately, we had producers who loved the project, and they funded us to make what we wanted to make with a couple million dollars.
That being said, we had to cut corners every single step of the way. It?s ridiculous how much you have to watch your budget, no matter what how much money you?re given. We still had to beg, borrow, and steal, not necessarily in that order, to make You Might as Well Live. In short, favors were pulled.
Press+1: It?s good to know that at any level of filmmaking, being resourceful is a skill that always comes into play. I see this as a lesson for growing filmmakers who make due with smaller budgets. These resourceful filmmakers don?t feel burgeoned by the reality of low-budget filmmaking, and should embrace seeking creative solutions in filmmaking.
JP: Resourcefulness comes easier, as a producer can identify costly pieces of the filmmaking puzzle that involves counting beans while still maintaining artistic quality along the way.
Press+1: Robert Mutt is the name of this film?s protagonist, and at the same time, ?R. Mutt? is the name signed to Marcel Duchamp?s ?sideways-tipped urinal-statue? called ?Fountain?. The statue shocked the art world in 1917. Why is the protagonist named after a urinal?
JP: The director of You Might as Well Live, Simon Ennis, is behind that one. Ennis came from film school, and myself from theatre school. Ennis had this idea for a character, Robert Mutt: a gawky, bespectacled geek. Ennis, being a fan of Marcel Duchamp, inserted the name most likely as homage to this early Dadaist conceptual artist that he admired.
Press+1: What are your two favorite cult films?
JP: A difficult question. Oh! The Parents, with Randy Quaid, about a kid who discovers that his parents are feeding him human flesh. Directed by Bob Balliban, it was only feature he ever made.
The other is Eating Raoul, another about eating human flesh, those are the only two that come to mind right now.
Press+1: You co-wrote the script with Simon Ennis. Was it easy to maintain both of your visions for the film, since you both co-wrote it?
JP: Absolutely! We did so much work together in the writing process. We both sat down and hammered out the story together. When we come into moments of character action, I would get up and go ?I think Robert?s begging this person about this issue because of this!? Based on our grasp of who this character is, by the time we go to shoot, we?ve worked together enough that we?re on the same page, having done thorough rehearsals.
The tone of Robert?s character is intricate because it was possible to see Robert doing a myriad of strange things in this world of his. We found that maintaining the tone of his character was a balancing act where we wouldn?t want to go to far. Through our collective writing, we had a dead set idea of who Robert Mutt is as a character. After that, for me, there was not a lot of strain to project who Robert Mutt is.
Press+1: Tell me about Simon and your creative partnership.
JP: As far as collaboration, Simon Ennis and myself have certainly developed a short-hand creative relationship and we can go to each other for future productions. In fact, we have developed short-hands with a lot of talented people who we want to work with again. The rapport just makes working together easier.
Press+1: Many other filmmakers have short-hands and rapports with creative partners who they return to work with again and again. These groups evolve creatively together with their films, as a group.
JP: Totally, Looking at Scorsese or P.T Anderson, they have their groups of people who they work with, they understand each other, and if you can find that group, it?s a great thing. You find that you come up together, and that is the case with a lot of the creative personnel in this film.
The cinematographer, two of the producers, and the editor went to school with the director ? some all the way back to high school ? and over the course of a decade we all continue to work together as storytellers in a partnership.
Press+1: A bonus feature for the upcoming DVD release is ?Weather Reports?. What?s so significant about the weather and why is it worth reporting in the case of this film?
JP: J. Amberson is the local weatherman in this film, played by Dan Lett. He?s based upon a pleasant and wacky CTV weatherman who recently retired. We wanted to show Robert idolizing this weatherman. In featuring this ?wacky? weatherman, our version of him is subsequently into S&M and narcotics; we all have a vice, right?
Press+1: So these ?Weather Reports? are segments that the viewer can browse in addition to the movie?
JP: Yes, and they are entertaining in their own right. We also shot variances of these ?Weather Reports? based on what the weather was going to be like during that day of shooting.
Press+1: That is a clever way to make use of an otherwise annoying issue of continuity! Lastly, What?s your advice to the guy who nobody likes?
JP: Beware of your own strengths, and don?t try to impress everyone in the room. Find one ally, and stick with them. One of four people in a room may not like you, and you?ll sense it. My advice is to identify your allies and side with them, don?t worry about the other jerk.
Press+1: In other words, collaborate with your allies!
You Might as Well Live will be available on DVD for purchase on February 16th, 2010. Enter the world of Robert Mutt. You might as well!
Alice in Wonderland, written by English author Lewis Carroll in 1865, became an instant hit with readers, so it isn't surprising how many film versions have been made of it. The first film that came out was silent back in 1903. Two more silent films were made following this. In 1931, the first film with speech was made patched together by a cast of amateur actors. 
likes to decapitate anyone, making people suffer for her pleasure, and plays croquet with live flamingos. The material is prime for a director such as Burton to tackle, who has previously brought Sweeney Todd, Beetlejuice, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and Sleepy Hollow to the big screen. In this sequel, 19 year old Alice will be returning to Wonderland to folllow her destiny. Hopefully. 
Every year a DC superhero and Marvel superhero crashes into the box office and see who can beat out each by winning the hearts and money of the viewers. Whether the hero is known or unknown to the audience, it all comes down to one thing, DC versus Marvel. The war has been raging on in comic books and now on the big screen. This year, the long awaited Ironman 2 will be flying into theatres on May 7 and the Green Hornet fights his way onto the big screen for the first time on December 22.
Batman Begins ? Batman suffered a horrible image after the Batman & Robin movie, but Christopher Nolan brought the dark back in the dark knight. Batman, (aka Bruce Wayne) is portrayed as Christian Bale, who played the character extremely well. Michael Caine as the butler Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as the young Lieutenant Gordan and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox add to the quality ensemble. Liam Neeson plays Henri Ducard/Ras Al Ghul who trained Bruce Wayne to become a fearless crime fighter.
Fantastic 4 & Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer ? The only thing that sells these films is Jessica Alba playing the Invisible Woman. The humour was childish and it looks like the movie was made just for the sake of putting Fantastic 4 out there in the market. With the sequel, the Silver Surfer was the only good thing about the movie; in fact they should have made a Silver Surfer movie against world-eater Galactus, but decided to introduce the Surfer into the Fantastic 4 movie. Was it because they were afraid that Silver Surfer wouldn?t sell as much as Fantastic 4? After all, the Surfer is less known, but if it was well made, he would have been a hit. He?s already a hit with comic readers and he looks cool enough to sell to everyone else. 
be Marvel?s own Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth), a God sent to Earth as punishment. It will be directed by Kenneth Branagh, who has starred in Hamlet and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from the Ironman movies will be returning in this ?godly? movie like Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson. Anthony Hopkins will be joining the all star cast as Odin, the ruler of Asgard and Natalie Portman will be Thor?s love interest. Look for this in a theatre near you on May 6, 2011!
The year of the hunter. The Deer Hunter
The return to prominence. Count the number of excellent films up for Best Picture in this year and it rivals any. American Beauty, The Green Mile, The Insider, The Sixth Sense.
Written by: Felicia Chow
eer and how Sorority Row came to fruition, the topic of influences came to the forefront. When asked if he is a fan of and has any favourite horror/slasher movies and whether these movies had any influence on the making of Sorority Row, he responded with some of his favourites being ?the ?80s kind of key campy slasher films like Friday the Thirteenth and Camp Sleep Away. Scream in the ?90s, as well as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legend.? 
The movie does hold its own and has interesting scenes, especially its kill scenes. Each scene is creative but there are a couple cliché moments such as when one character goes off by herself. Putting those aside, Stewart did share his favourite kill scene as being ?definitely Chugs with the bottle just because it was something that I?ve never seen before and it still gets me, and I?ve seen the movie 400 hundred times, and I still flinch when I see it.?
Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet
Romance is in the air, and if you can?t smell it, then perhaps you can see all the window displays with bulging red hearts and half naked cherubs with a bow and large supply of arrows. Of course, Valentine's Day happens but once a year but love, true love can have a lasting presence; one that challenges decades and as Shakespeare aptly put it, ?Love is not love/Which alters when it alteration finds/Or bends with the remover to remove.? Love is much more acceptable in all its forms in present day, but once upon a time culture, religion and status played paramount roles to who you were and were not allowed to marry. Perhaps this Valentine?s Day you pass by the yearly condensed ?happily ever after? Hollywood churrns out to turn a profit and instead head for the romantic love story Love & Savagery.
Smith continues to discuss Love & Savagery?s larger themes: ?It had to deal with the magnificence of falling in love and finding the person you feel is one's true love, and at the same time facing circumstances that create an enormous amount of pain. So, from that idea, I asked Des (Walsh) to write me a story. We based the story on a trip Des made with a friend to Ireland, from which Des is a descendent, and a specific location he visited, a place called 'The Burren.'"
John N. Smith sees many parallels between Ireland and Newfoundland, as the two cultures are featured in Love & Savagery. ?This was very much a part of the film. I do see a heralding back to Ireland in Newfoundland, but they are very much their own people in Newfoundland as well. I am very curious to see how the film will be received in Ireland after the Canadian release.? Smith has discovered his own close connection to Newfoundland, and in 2002 directed a TV miniseries called Random Passage.
What makes an original character? How does a filmmaker explore the avenues that this quirky personality will venture to? Joshua Peace gave Press+1 answers about the absurd world of Robert Mutt in You Might as Well Live.
