W hat a film! I was absolutely thrilled by and loved Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - it truly is an Epic Super hero film in every sense. I haven't felt this excited about a comic film since Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins and I have to say all things considered Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice might just be my favourite DC film!
This is the first of two posts concerning Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman in this one I discuss my thoughts on the film and why I loved it so much. In my second post things get more interesting as I go a bit deeper and look at the set-up scenes; Knightmare, Ding, ding, ding, ding, Communion and Cyborg's birth and discuss what they could mean and their impact on the DC film universe.
Batman v Superman has very quickly settled into my minds eye as part of the mainstream continuity of the world created by the comics. Partly because Zack Snyder and writers Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer make such a such a great film that is respectful to the spirit of the characters and the source material, adding depth in such ingenious ways whilst taking it in new and surprising directions that I cant wait to see where they take us next.
And partly because this is the world I have wanted to see on screen for a very long time. Earth's mightiest heroes on screen in a credible modern world. 30 years in the making since Frank Miller's 1986 iconic The Dark Knight Returns mini series laid the framework for the clash of Earth's mightiest heroes.
Batman v Superman Frank Miller The Dark Knight Returns [+]
Prior to that, since there first meeting in 1956 (and subsequent first meetings) Batman and Superman have maintained a good, even close relationship. Batman recognising that a seemingly all powerful man, whose greatest power was never his strength but that he was the living embodied of idealistic hope never faltering in his belief that humanity was at its core good and needed to be protected, an alien that was always the best of us.
Superman acutely understood his friends loss and why he pushed himself past the point of breaking to fulfil his quest of protecting his city, and always maintained that he was the most courageous man he knew - despite not having any powers he put himself in harms way time after time to protect the innocent.
This friendship resulted in the the world's mightiest heroes teaming up as the World's Finest and eventually the Justice League. But as our world changed and readers needs transformed our heroes as they underwent their own character development. Resulting in idealogical differences. With Batman v Superman we explore what would happen if these two different characters were to meet for the first time in our modern world?
BEN AFFLECK as Batman and HENRY CAVILL as Superman in Warner Bros. Pictures' action adventure "BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE," a Warner Bros. Pictures release.[ZOOM]
If you take one thing away from reading this it is that Zack Snyder clearly loves the characters and has made a film for those who love the material, as well as those who want to come along and experience a thrilling and fantastical world filled with exceptional beings.
I wasn't bowled over by Man of Steel. There were many elements I really enjoyed and some I really didn't. But it is clear that Man of Steel had to exist to give us the characters that take the story forward in Batman v Superman. Zack Snyder is playing a long game and its paying off.
There are some spoilers below, even more in my second upcoming post – but for this post I've tried not to be explicit about the story.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hacked poster [ZOOM]
I had hoped to end last year with what I would consider a proverbial bang discussing a my cinematic highlight of 2015, instead I'm kicking off 2016 with that bang of a standard that will hopefully continue throughout the year.
There are many reasons as to why it was my cinematic event of the year if you read The Establishing Shot you'll probably be aware that I am all about the immersive experience and it's unlikely that I'll have as great viewing of a film for a very long time, if ever.
For better or worse I often struggle to appropriately articulate some of what I consider highlight or milestone experiences - words don't fail me rather I feel that these experiences are somewhat diminished when curating them for a broader audience. I have been fortunate to enjoy a number of extremely exceptional experiences that I have kept to/for myself as I have felt that in the end - they mean more to me personally than they would as just another blog post on the web. The irony being that was one of the reasons I started The Establishing Shot in the first place (add something here about moving over the festive season and losing a laptop with the original draft of this post).
Towards the end of last year I was extraordinarily fortunate along with a handful of others to see Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight as it was meant to be seen in all it's gloriousness. That staggering experience was a highlight of 2015 for me and further turned into a milestone memory when I got to chat with Quentin Tarantino about the making of The Hateful Eight.
It has to be said that I have sadly seen too few trailers of late that differentiate themselves, elevate the game or mean anything. That doesn't necessarily mean that there aren't many good films on the way just that - I haven't seen many exciting trailers. But late last year I was bowled over by the trailer for Terrence Malick's Knight of Cups in fact the first five shots from the trailer had me absolutely stunned as his use of sound and visuals enthralled me.
First a little context as to how we got here may be in order Knight of Cups is the third in Malick's epical (in the true sense of the word) allegorical exploration - of modern man in the throes of existential angst as he comes to terms to modern life and moves down a path further from nature or Supernature and himself.
We have had Jessica Chastain, Brad Pitt and Sean Penn in The Tree of Life (2011) symbolically bridging the generational gap (from The Thin Red Line 1998) and heralding Malick's move into the modern era. Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams and Javier Bardem in To the Wonder (2012), Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman and Christian Bale in Knight of Cups set for release this year followed up by his currently untitled project Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender and Natalie Portman Texas Music film.
Terrence Malick's Knight of Cups Film Poster
SYNOPSIS
Knight of Cups
A screenwriter living in LA tries to make sense of the strange events occurring around him.
Director: Terrence Malick Writers: Terrence Malick Stars: Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Imogen Poots
The former farmer turned M.I.T. philosophy professor, started in film as a writer for hire working on films like Don Siegel's Dirty Harry (rumour has it Malick's ideas became the plot for the sequel Magnum Force) and Jack Nicholson's Drive, He Said before writing the screenplays for the Paul Newman, Lee Marvin starrer Pocket Money and the Robert Duvall, Donald Sutherland - Lady Ice around this point Malick decided that he would only work on projects he felt he could bring something to.
Which led to Malick independently making his seminal feature Badlands in 1973 starring Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen.
I am acutely aware that Malick has worked on 4 films in the last 5 years (not including his upcoming IMAX documentary - Voyage of Time), for a man that averaged a film every 5 years with a 20 year gap between his second film Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line, whilst Malick was seemingly went missing, more likely wandering, living and writing.
There were even reports that he might be dead, depressed, or just holed up in some back corner of the world.
The point here being I suspect that this prolific run may end at any time and Malick may disappear to ponder his next film, so sooner rather than later would be an appropriate time for me to explore the poetic genius of Terrence Malick or least try take a look at the the first five attention grabbing shots from the trailer of Knight of Cups and let my stream of consciousness freestyle as it scrapes the surface of Malicks works. Terrence Malick's films always have my curiosity, but after the first five shots, Knight of Cups has my attention.
To accompany your reading of this post I have embedded a playlist of tracks inspired by Terrence Malick's the Knight of Cups soundtrack. It is comprised of some of the tracks from the Extended Soundtrack of Knight of Cups, available alternate versions of some of the tracks as well as periphery music. More information on the Knight of Cups extended soundtrack can be found in the playlists description on YouTube.
Zack Snyder's Man of Steel will be in cinemas in just under one month on June 14, 2013. Back in 2009 Zack Snyder made it clear that he was interested in bringing the DC Universe to life when he brought Alan Moore's epic The Watchmen to screen.
The Wolverine trailer is expected to be unleashed at 1pm today so I thought I would put some thoughts to paper on the bits we have seen so far, that I am sure could be extrapolated into understanding the the full trailer and what can be expected from The Wolverine.
The Wolverine International Poster (Click to enlarge)
Before that here is some context to frame The Wolverine that like me you may have missed or werent interested enough to follow. Last October Wolverine Director James Mangold and star Hugh Jackman spoke with Marvel's Agent_M (Ryan Penagos) and let us know the following key points
OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THE WOLVERINE Hugh Jackman - The Wolverine felt different and fresh from development through to shooting and he knows the fans are going to be surprised and dig it.
I'm guessing that Hugh Jackman is talking about his fans,the afternoon matinee screen idol fans rather than fans of the comic character The Wolverine as he pretty much said the same thing for X-Men Origins: Wolverine as he toured the world promoting the hell out of the worst comic book adaptation in years. In all honesty the team have got a lot of work to do to turnaround the damage caused by X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Or do they? X-Men Origins: Wolverine was reportedly made for £99 Million and had takings of around £250 Million 252% Return, placing it financially below Batman Forever (£53 vs £176 Million - 332% Return) but ahead of the far superior X-Men: First Class (£105.5 vs £233 Million - 221% Return). Don't hate me I'm just the messenger.
But things get interesting and promising from here out!
It might not be the BAFTAs but the Oscars can still draw a crowd and I finally got around to watch the Awards ceremony over the weekend. Like a good film it was full of personal dream quests, romance, humour, nudity, subterfuge, violence and the tale of a little man overcoming the odds (again). I am a bit late to the game but after finally watching the Oscars in the full I thought I would get my 11 most memorable moments from the 2013 Academy Awards up online.
1. Joseph Gordon-Levitt photo bombs presenters on the Red Carpet
Need I say anything more? @hitRECordJoeJoseph Gordon-Levitt continues to impress.
If like me you disagreed with some of the winning choices for the EE BAFTTAs and the Oscars here is your chance to go some of the way to setting the record straight with the fan vote driven 18th Jameson Empire Awards So head over to www.empireonline.com/awards2013 to vote for your choice of the best talent for this year.
Sam Mendes’ Skyfall, recently crowned the biggest-ever UK box-office hit, leads the pack with six nominations for the Jameson Empire Awards 2013, it is announced today.
Joss Whedon’s Marvel Avengers Assemble and Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey follow closely behind with five nominations apiece, while British indie hit Sightseers keeps pace with Hollywood with four nominations.
Now in its 18th year, the Jameson Empire Awards has come of age and is firmly established in the ‘Awards Season’ calendar as an antidote to more formal, industry-voted awards. The Jameson Empire Awards are voted for entirely by the cinemagoing public, who have been voting in their thousands for their favourite films and performances of the past year. The public can now vote on the final shortlisted nominees and acknowledge films that may have missed out at other awards ceremonies. Film fans across the globe can vote at: www.empireonline.com/awards2013
Cloud Atlas is in cinemas today, I saw Tom Tykwer, Lana & Tom Wachowski's Cloud Atlas just over a week ago and still haven't quite got it out of my head. You can read my rather underwhelming review over here! It felt like I was watching a Spielberg movie back when he was making fantastical entertaining movies rather than the responsible historical epics he is currently making. It was like watching E.T., Always or Indiana Jones - a little forced but incredibly entertaining and heart warming.
However Cloud Atlas doesn't seem to be getting the credit it deserves; lower than expected Box Office returns, only 1 Golden Globe nomination and that was for Best Original Score (mindbogglingly Director Tom Tykwer also wrote the score), it was ignored by BAFTA and the Academy Awards. At a bear minimum surely Tykwer's score should have got a nod and what about Best Adapted Screenplay? Although I haven't read it, it is generally accepted that David Mitchell's novel was unfilmable.
How many more times are we going to have to hear that with Ang Lee and the Wachowski's out there? I think I have reached the point where we I now understand the term "the book is unfilmable" to actually mean "it's too risky for a studio to commit to a decent adaptation" something that knee capped comic adaptations for years. The Guardian believes a large part of Cloud Atlas not fulfilling its potential lies at the door of Warner Bros for not fully getting behind the film more here!
I suspect that like many great films (and art) that are not initially accepted on release Cloud Atlas may connect with its audience in the years after its home release and viewers can immersive themselves in it at their own leisure and discover its treasure for themselves. There is some referential irony here - in Cloud Atlas a prophetic discussion covering a very similar topic takes place between publisher Timothy Cavendish (Jim Broadbent) and disgruntled gangster cum Author Dermot Hoggins (Tom Hanks).
Timothy Cavendish: Never forget Herman Melville, writes a ripping yarn about a big white whale which is summarily dismissed, and yet today it is lugged around in the backpacks of every serious student of literature in the world.
Dermot Hoggins: I don't give a f*ck what happens when I'm dead, I want people to buy me book now!
So why am I bothering to put my thoughts to pixels for a film that isn't even in my Top 131 Greatest Films of all time list? Well, you see, I love film, especially films that think out of the box, address big ideas and big issues and have their heart in the right place and can entertain. Sometimes these films don't have to be good for me to love the concepts conveyed and I can't shake the feeling that if I was 15 years younger that my mind would have been completely blown away by Cloud Atlas and that it would have had the same impact on me as; Blade Runner, The Matrix, Fight Club or Glory (Man I love that film) and make my visits into a dark cinema an unforgettable experience as someone's imagination sparks my own and we connect on a level that sometimes words or visuals cannot bridge and I would have left the cinema my mind ablaze with the endless possibilities of imagination and the magic of cinema. Without films like Cloud Atlas younger generations would miss out on inspirational big idea films as we are all slowly spoon fed less risky more formulaic and un-inventive dross that seems to make its way onto the screen more often these days.
In a couple of hours I will be heading to the Royal Opera House, well, to the exterior of the Royal Opera House to cover the Red Carpet arrivals for the jewel in the crown of the British film year from what is promised to be a good view of the red carpet arrivals. - The EE British Academy Film Awards.
I have attempted to watch every BAFTA nominated film over the last couple of months and only missed a handful so I could chat about the BAFTA nominations with some credibility. Below are my thoughts on this year’s nominees and my hopes for the winners.
Hopefully I’ll be getting some great shots of the talent as they arrive and chat films with some of the nominees and guests. After the arrivals I’ll be heading to the official screening of the Awards Ceremony with a number of my esteemed colleagues for an evening sure to be filled with much debate over the nominees, winners, losers, those not nominated all as it happens - I’ll be clogging up twitter using the official hashtag #EEBAFTAs – much hilarity ensues.
6 First time performance nominees this year:
- Ben Affleck
- Bradley Cooper
- Hugh Jackman
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Anne Hathaway
- Helen Hunt
EE RISING STAR NOMINEES 2013 Nominees: Elizabeth Olsen, Andrea Riseborough, Suraj Sharma, Juno Temple, Alicia Vikander Most Social Media Buzz*: Andrea Riseborough
2012 Winner: Adam Deacon beating Chris Hemsworth, Chris O'Dowd, Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston
Previous winners have included Tom Hardy, Kristen Stewart, Noel Clarke, Eva Green and James McAvoy, with 2012’s nominees including Chris Hemsworth, Chris O’Dowd, Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston and winner Adam Deacon.
I have not seen any of Elizabeth Olsen’s films so this sadly precludes from my summary. Surprisingly the buzz and I are in agreement I think recognition for Andrea Riseborough has been a long time coming and hope she moves onward and upward but Alicia Vikander talent and charisma is undeniable, like a bolt out of nowhere shining brightly in both A Royal Affair and Anna Karenina, sadly I have not seen Pure as yet. Alicia truly deserves all the credit she gets and I hope she takes the EE Rising Star Award home.
It’s not easy creating an advert that is engaging, entertaining, captures the imagination of your audience whilst raising their aspirational lifestyle hopes and selling them that sweet product that will get them there. As we live in a post-modern world that has caught up and overtaken our shared vision of the future and we have seen everything at least once. So when I saw Southern Comfort’s Whatever's Comfortable Beach advert a couple of weeks ago in a cinema it stuck with me.
I maintain that there are two types of creative genius those that look at all the same pieces we see on the table but puts them together in a completely unpredictable and unexpected way. The other type is the kind that sees all the same pieces as us, knows what is missing and how to add it to the construct. Southern Comfort’s Whatever's Comfortable vision takes the existing pieces and presents them to us in a fresh vision that challenges us. It is the anti-hero of adverts.
I was digging the dude’s beach swagger and his complete confidence whilst sticking out like a sore thumb. How could I not? He walks his own path and has an affinity for mob displeasing speedos. This dude pawns the pretensions of Pitt's Chanel No. 5 advert.
If you have seen Skyfall you probably felt that there were some similarities to Christopher Nolan’s films as I did and I have been bemused when others have said that Skyfall is The Dark Knight to Casino Royale’s Batman Begins but couldn’t really substantiate the point past trying to draw a link between The Dark Knight and Sam Mendes's quote regarding The Dark Knight - see below. So I thought I would throw out some thoughts on possible parallels and synchronicity I see between Skyfall and Christopher Nolan’s
films. I would suggest that if you have not seen Skyfall yet you stop reading this now.
In discussion with Drew Taylor of
The Playlist
regarding parallels between Nolan's Batman films and
Skyfall Sam Mendes has
said:
”In terms of what [Nolan] achieved, specifically ‘The Dark Knight,’ the second
movie, what it achieved, which is something exceptional. It was a game changer
for everybody," he explained about how it influenced his approach.
We’re now in an industry where movies are very small or very big and there’s
almost nothing in the middle," he continued. "And it would be a tragedy if all
the serious movies were very small and all the popcorn movies were very big
and have nothing to say. And what Nolan proved was that you can make a huge
movie that is thrilling and entertaining and has a lot to say about the world
we live in, even if, in the case with ‘The Dark Knight,’ it’s not even set in
our world. It felt like a movie that was about our world post-9/11 and played
on our fears and discussed our fears and why they existed and I thought that
was incredibly brave and interesting. That did help give me the confidence to
take this movie in directions that, without ‘The Dark Knight,’ might not have
been possible.
Because also, people go, ‘Wow, that’s pretty dark,’ but then you can point to
‘Dark Knight’ and go ‘Look at that – that’s a darker movie, and it took in a
gazillion dollars!’ That’s very helpful. There’s also that thing – it’s
clearly possible to make a dark movie that people want to see”
So in essence it sounds like Mendes is saying that The Dark Knight’s influence on Skyfall was all about the tone and how it
was as a measure for whether a dark film could still make a profit at a
blockbuster level.
Whilst I agree that The Dark Knight may not have been the biggest
influence on the story of Skyfall - as The Dark Knight Rises
is clearly more of an influence I felt I identified further synchronicity
and references to Nolan’s works past the tone and couldn't help wonder if the
Bond team were giving Christopher Nolan a little of his own - as he has
openly admitted to plundering from Bond films over time for his own needs - or
if it was more of an acceptance of Nolan’s not so subtle request to direct a
Bond film?
It is here! Finally with just under 3 months until James Bond unleashes hell for his 23rd outing in Sam Mendes' Skyfall. An absolutely riveting Skyfall trailer has been released.
With Daniel Craig reprising the role of James Bond for a third time it looks like this one may rival Casino Royale for sheer intensity. I haven't given the trailer a proper look saving some for the screening. But following on from the teaser trailer and the trailer preview released yesterday we get to see that indeed as they alluded to, James Bond looks to be back from the dead and he is looking for revenge.
In the countdown to the epic conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy - The Dark Knight Rises I was invited down to the plush screening room of Warner Bros. to reacquaint myself with Christopher Nolan’s Batman.
Here are some thoughts on the highs and lows of Batman Begins the film that started the most epic of super hero tales. I’m not going to do an in-depth analysis as there are countless books out there discussing Batman’s origins, history, legacy, the psychology of the man and the mask, Jungian archetypes and Freudian like discourses on the relationships of Batman. Besides a proper analysis would take more time and patience than you have. This post is some thoughts off the top of my head given the opportunity to re- watch Batman Begins.
“They told me there was nothing out there, nothing to fear. But the night my parents were murdered I caught a glimpse of something. I've looked for it ever since. I went around the world, searched in all the shadows. And there is something out there in the darkness, something terrifying, something that will not stop until it gets revenge... Me.”
First off I have to say re-watching Batman Begins I was reminded of how much it is a cinematic experience that needs to be enjoyed on the big screen with a decent audio system backing it up. I have watched the Batman Begins Blu-ray countless times (on my not too shabby big screen projection & 7.1 surround system) format and seeing it in a proper cinema again it was obvious it was really designed to be seen in a large format. But this post starts almost a decade ago… the year was 2004 the comic to screen adaptation landscape was dominated by family friendly fare standing tall above the graveyard littered with comic based films unable to take their graphic roots seriously enough to commit to the budget needed to bring a comic to life appropriately. As much as the technology to create credible effects debate is brought up – I still believe story is king and everything else can be built around it.
With 5 months to go till Sony's Skyfall is in cinemas, the first signs of motion picture action from Skyfall arrived yesterday in the form of a 1 minute 15 second teaser trailer - and blimey has it been worth the wait - as it doesn't disappoint with James Bond exploding into action for the 23rd time.
Before I get into my thoughts about the trailer I have to say Sam Mendes makes it look very easy to make a decent teaser trailer. Start with an engaging personal scene, tease us with exciting visuals and sounds, show a mysterious figure (but not too much) and end with clean and simple dialogue that sets the tone of what to expect whilst raising Bond to where he should be - ruthless and very dangerous when prodded with a stick. All coming together in a tight little package leaving us hanging for more.
This spectacular teaser trailer makes me sad for all the rest as the Bond team again prove nobody does it better and this teaser trailer sets the bar. But what exactly does the teaser trailer tell us apart from: we can expect one cool and suave Bond, some astoundingly beautiful visuals and lighting (that leave the Bond novelty factor behind as we are given some serious gravitas) and this all leading to the almost familiar strains of the Bond theme at the end teasing us? Skyfall! Teaser trailer! Job done!
Video: Establishing Shot: Skyfall Teaser Trailer in HD
According to my Bat Countdown on my Bat phone or rather my Nokia Lumia 800The Dark Knight Rises Edition we are still 115 Days or 4 months away from seeing Christopher Nolan’s finale in his Batman trilogy – the decidedly epic The Dark Knight Rises.
Recently Christopher Nolan showed his first four hour rough cut of The Dark Knight Rises to Warner Bros. executives and I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about their thoughts as information is leaked. But until then, I thought I would finish my analysis of The Dark Knight Rises trailer which I started way back when it was released - but have been time poor so didn’t really get around to finishing it. As I’ve been fairly busy of late with no end in sight and cant really write up new stuff (of which there is much) I dusted off my analysis and thought I would get it out.
I was asked a little while back the amount of effort required to analyse bits from the The Dark Knight Rises and whilst it is an effort. I'm a long time fan of Batman and knowing the complexity that Christopher Nolan puts into his films and trailers taking the time to analyse them properly goes some of the way to fully comprehend them and appreciate them.
The Dark Knight Rises offers up a surprising amount of information to a Bat fan as well as raises many questions. Which is why we love Christopher Nolan and I have to say kudos to him and his team for keeping as much of the film under wraps despite the very public filming.
As I say the Dark Knight Rises offers up a lot of subtext and semiotics for us to engage with. And you don’t have to be a Detective to figure it out.
Batman Begins (2005)
[Thomas Wayne carrying a young Bruce back to Wayne Manor]
Alfred Pennyworth: Took quite a fall, didn't we, Master Bruce?
Thomas Wayne: And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.
[as Wayne Manor is burning down]
Bruce Wayne: What have I done, Alfred? Everything my family... my father built...
Alfred Pennyworth: The Wayne legacy is more than bricks and mortar, sir.
Bruce Wayne: I wanted to save Gotham, I failed
Alfred Pennyworth: Why do we fall sir? So we might learn to pick ourselves up
Bruce Wayne: You still haven't given up on me?
Alfred Pennyworth: Never
I’m guessing those quotes from Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins way back in 2005 will be all the more poignant with The Dark Knight Rises.
Bear in mind that although I mention Christopher Nolan’s name a lot below, some of the credit should be going to his brother Jonathan Nolan who wrote the screenplay along with Batman familiar David S. Goyer I use Nolan's name as a hold all for the team.
Also this is all educated speculation rather than based on any inside knowledge of the production or any unofficial spoilery media floating around the web.
and here we go...
The Establishing Shot: The Dark Knight Rises Trailer Analysis The Dark Knight Rises Trailer is 2:04 minutes long and rather than doing a frame by frame analysis it makes more sense if we break it down by scene.
The Prometheus Viral game is afoot! Or at least it was. I was a bit slow on this. I noticed people were posting pics from Sir Ridley Scott’s Prometheus but in an effort to keep fresh for the films release 1 June 2012 I ignored them. During lunch today I was reading some of the comments on my YouTube channel regarding The Peter Weyland 2023 Ted Talk - Prometheus Viral. Which takes place 50 years before events in Prometheus.
Video: The Establishing Shot: WATCH THE PETER WEYLAND 2023 TED TALK - Prometheus Viral
One of the comments is – “no one is going to be tweeting in 2023 come on”. Which made me think of that elusive older crowd, those guys with their slippers on sipping a tea whilst IRC’ing. Whilst there I thought I would check out the official Prometheus hash tag #weylandinvestors and website www.weylandindustries.com to see what I had been missing. One of the tweets with the #weylandinvestors hashtag caught my eye.
"i'm keeping an open mind b/c may/may not be morse code. even adjustd 4 contrast. more discussion on unf forums :)"
So I immediately headed over to www.weylandindustries.com to their ABOUT US page to have a look around.
With only 8 months to go till the sky falls & Skyfall is unleashed onto the big screen. Amidst production popping up all over London - evoking a sense of pride before jetting out to shoot internationally. We were treated to the release of a second official Skyfall picture M and the first video blog from Skyfall Director Sam Mendes.
The picture isn’t all that new as it was revealed by Empire Magazine back in February. But interesting none the less. The on set picture shows legendary Cinematographer Roger Deakins using a Digital Arri Alexa (on a Centre Mount rented from J.L.Fisher obvs.) to shoot over Dame Judi Dench’s shoulder at her laptop screen. Deakins' long time First Assistant Cameraman (since Fargo) Andy Harris pulling focus and checking the picture on a monitor, whilst Sam Mendes directs. I have updated this info as I was initially respecting Mr Harris's privacy as he is not currently listed on the IMDB Skyfall page, but some eagle eyed readers forced my hand.
This is the second post of a John Carter special from an Exclusive Disney John Carter Preview Event. The first, An introduction to the World of John Carter and our thoughts on Disney’s upcoming adaptation can be found here!
After Producer Kevin Kurtz’s presentation introducing us to the world of John Carter we got to see 5 2D clips from John Carter. Unfortunately Director Andrew Stanton was still in post production at Skywalker Ranch so each clip was introduced by him via recorded video. Apologies in advance if the below reads like I’m gushing but I was surprised at just how good John Carter looked, my thoughts on why further below.
John Carter Clip 1 – Enter John Carter
The cameras POV is from the inside of a dark saloon focused on the saloon’s doors. Through it a shadowy figure walks through wearing a dark wide brimmed hat drooping at the ends. The sun streaming in from behind him.
Initially I assume this a villain of sorts - but it turn out to be a badass John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) and we are on earth. Now he’s at the bar and a couple of armed Yankee soldiers burst in led by Bryan Cranston’s Powell (a reference to John Carter’s prospecting partner in Burroughs’s original tale). Cornered and outnumbered Carter is given a stand down ultimatum. But instead rushes at them. We almost seamlessly cut see him being thrown into a chair handcuffed. Whilst Powell is talking Carter rushes for a window and jumps out of it. Again we almost seamlessly cut to Carter looking rough lying in a stockade cell.
Powell trying to reason with Carter and lets us know via discussion that John Carter is a decorated Confederate soldier and the right man to help out as they are having a problem with Indians killing the homesteaders.
Video: John Carter - Exclusive Ten Minute Scene
John Carter’s not interested and wants no part of it. Powell assumes he’s gone native. Carter tells him the Indians can go to hell too and that as soon as Carter has struck it rich with gold he is going to disappear forever. Powell tells him that he owes his country. Carter looks at his wedding ring and says something to the effect of any debt he had has been paid in full and then some.
Thoughts: OK! It was tricky to place the scene in context until I had seen all the other clips and by then I loved it. Initially I got a bit worried that it seemed to be a bit similar to Cowboys and Aliens, but that was soon gone. It doesn’t come cross very well in my dry description but the scenes of Carter trying to escape and seamlessly cutting to his next attempt were very entertaining and raised chuckles from the audience –which is difficult straight out the gate. It also gave us an idea of the kind of man John Carter is – Tenacious, resourceful with a haunted past. Which ties into our first look at Carter when he enters the saloon - in any other western film, everything about him screamed would have screamed bad guy. John Carter seems to be a stone cold bad ass with issues. He is an anti hero who steps up to the challenge. This is a strong fun start for John Carter. John Carter Clip 2 – John Carter on Mars or Barsoom and meeting Tars Tarkas
Andrew Staton set this clip up by saying John Carter finds himself on Mars, discovers his new abilities, an incubator and meets the local inhabitants.
John Carter has just arrived on Mars he is now semi dressed as we see in most of the clips and media, he’s confused and disorientated. Mar looks mostly desert and hot as we see in the trailers and posters.
Carter is clamoring over some rocks and finds some symbols engraved in the sand or rock wiping across them reveals a layer of glass under it. The glass is revealed to be a window seemingly with a view into the rock. Carter looks down into an incubator where he sees 100s of baby Thark hatchlings and I have to say as much as I dislike the cutesy aspects of Disney films these guys were adorable. Drooling and climbing over one another and being generally cute.
Last Thursday evening I was fortunate enough to go along to an Exclusive Disney John Carter Preview Event. During the hour or so we were seated at The Apollo Piccadilly. Where we got an introduction to the world and heritage of John Carter from Producer Kevin Kurtz, saw 5 exclusive clips from John Carter, the new John Carter 3D trailer and sit in on a QA session with Special Effects Supervisors Sue Rowe & Eamonn Butler and the star of the film Taylor Kitsch.
I have split the session over 3 posts to make it less cumbersome and an easier read. In this first post I’ll cover the Introduction to John Carter presentation we got from Producer Kevin Kurtz, in the second the exclusive clips we got to see and the third the QA session that followed.
Firstly some thoughts on John Carter. Like any informed fan of Science Fiction of course I know Edgar Rice Burroughs. I am a huge fan of one of Burroughs’s other characters - Tarzan, so much so that Burne Hogarth’s, way ahead of it’s time 1972 Graphic Novel Tarzan of the Apes is in my Top 10 Comics of all time and I highly recommend it. In my youth I had a huge collection of books and amongst them - most of the John Carter of Mars or Barsoom series. However to my shame never read all of them favouring Asimov, Clarke, Wells, Verne or Dick for my literary Sci-Fi needs over the more fantastical Mars based stories. Also I had read most of the Marvel John Carter comics as well as the modern reinterpretations and John Carter themes that proliferated comics in some shape or form at the time and still do. So despite Burroughs's books being the source I felt quite saturated as far as John Carter style tales went.
In an odd quirk, all the authors I mention above bar Wells where influenced by Burroughs and I was well aware of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ influence on not only Sci-Fi but broader culture. So in short even though I grew up with John Carter of Mars but wasn’t a big fan.
When I first heard John Carter of Mar was being made into a film I wasn’t particularly interested in another overly manufactured mediocre big screen blockbuster focusing on spectacle rather than story, the disappointments over the years marring my excitement. Also I had thought John Carter was probably going to be aimed at a much younger age group than myself, how else could they make sense of the extreme fantastical nature (characters & creatures) of the material? But not overly familiar with John Carter I was not very precious about it and my expectations were pretty low so in all fairness I could only be pleasantly surprised.
Last July I managed to catch an early preview of the teaser trailer, which didn’t show a whole lot but my interest was piqued in seeing more – the quickly edited visuals and Peter Gabriel’s cover of Arcade Fire’s My Body is a Cage evoking Johnny Cash’s Hurt seemingly combined for that very reason.
Well after this preview event I can safely say I have seen enough to shift me from ambivalent to John Carter being one of my most anticipated films of 2012. And I’m hoping that Disney continue the momentum and create the same depth of immersive experience of the great TRON: Legacy which I absolutely loved, whilst entertaing both adults and kids.
John Carter The Film
John Carter the newest movie from Academy Award – winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton is an action adventure story set on Barsoom, the exotic and mysterious planet we know as Mars. Based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs classic novel, John Carter is the story which inspired many of the most imaginative and well known Hollywood movies, past and present.
The movie tells the tale of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly involved in a conflict of epic proportions between the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins).
In a world on the brink of collapse, John Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.
Guide to the World Of John Carter and it’s heritage
Master of ceremonies Chris Hewitt introduced the event and welcomed Producer Kevin Kurtz (any relation to Gary Kurtz?) to the podium. Where he delivered a quick presentation about Edgar Rice Burroughs’s John Carter series, its heritage and importance to modern Science Fiction, some insight into the cast and team behind John Carter and ended by taking us through some of the characters, creatures, geography and architecture of John Carter’s Mars also known as Barsoom.
Early last week on the back of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy being shortlisted in almost every category on the BAFTA Film Awards Longlist (which can be viewed over here! ) and the home release coming up soon. I had the pleasure of being invited along to a BAFTA screening of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and QA session with Producers Tim Bevan and Robyn Slovo, writer Peter Straughan and production designer Maria Djurkovic – taking place at Working Title Films, and I have to say it was a thrill just being in the building never mind the frank and informative discussion that followed. The QA gave me some insight into decoding some of the enigma of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Particulary interesting bits from the talk were Writer Peter Straughan discussing his writing process of adapting Tinker Tailor for screen which is like a master-class for writers and Production Designer Maria Djurkovic gives us insight into the design of The Circle. Between them the motif of a circular maze that permeates Tinker Tailor is slowly revealed.
Other highlights from the talk include: Producer Tim Bevan on the inception of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Producer Robyn Slovo on when she became involved in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tim Bevan on finding the right Director and why Tomas Alfredson was the right choice, Writer Peter Straughan on getting involved in Tinker Tailor and working with Tomas Alfredson, Robyn Slovo on choosing the right Production Designer, Tim Bevan on the pressures of making an intelligent film that is profitable, Peter Straughan on the process of adapting a complex story for screen, on hidden easter eggs and the Harry Potter speculation, Tim Bevan on the casting of Gary Oldman and Tim Bevan on the status of the Tinker Tailor sequel.
I've been getting a couple of requests for my thoughts on The Dark Knight Rises prologue, some, from guys nowhere near an IMAX so below I’ve tried to give as much detail as I can. My post is split into 3 segments; the first outlining why The Dark Knight Rises could be good, the second running through the footage of the prologue and 1 minute montage from The Dark Knight Rises with commentary and the third some thoughts. So you can skip to the bits that interest you.
Early on Friday I accepted the challenge and made my way to the BFI IMAX the biggest screen in the UK to see some exclusive and never before seen footage from this year's mega action blockbuster and fourth in the series Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.
I arrived at the IMAX Waterloo and was immediately directed to a lift where I overheard the security guy saying I’m sending another one up in the lift into his shirt sleeve all very hi-sec.
The Paramount made a quick introduction and let us know that we should stay on after the initial 2 clips as they had a special treat for us. And boy did they! If you have access to the internet and are a film fan you are probably aware that recently some US blogs were hand picked to see two scenes from Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and like me you possibly slightly envious. Well for us Paramount unrolled a staggering 30 minutes of footage from six clips for us to watch that have not been publicly seen before. So thank you Paramount.
Blamed for the terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, IMF operative Ethan Hunt is disavowed along with the rest of the agency when the President initiates "Ghost Protocol". Left without any resources or backup, Ethan must find a way to clear his agency's name and prevent another attack. To complicate matters further, Ethan is forced to embark on this mission with a team of fellow IMF fugitives whose personal motives he does not fully know.
Sadly Chris Nolan's epic finale to his Batman - The Dark Knight Trilogy is a year away from being released into cinemas on 20 July 2012. The bulk of London based filming has now finished and this week we were treated to the release of the first 1:29 minute The Dark Knight Rises teaser trailer. For those who aren't familiar with the Batman mythology, it may seem as mysterious as the first Inception imagery to be released however for those who know the Batman mythology, although visually engaging as all Nolan's work the narrative shown seems to be fairly clear.
Having said that as always Nolan has more tricks up his sleeve than the Joker at a card game. After reading a particularly bad and uninformed discussion of the teaser trailer earlier on a national paper's website I thought I would do a quick analysis over lunch so those less familiar with Batman mythos can be brought up to speed.
Here at TheEstablishingShot.com we love film making competitions, not only do we occasionally participate in competition but we try to get the word out to as many people as possible when an opportunity comes up.
We feel competitions are good because with relatively little effort, they allow you to flex your film making muscles, practise new techniques, indulge in an interesting subject matter or as Oscar winning Director Tom Hooper once said to us “have a go. I think to know whether you are good at doing it, you can only find out if, you are doing it” – and the bonus of possible recognition or great prizes. But rarely do we get the opportunity to see behind the scenes of a competition or get insight into the thinking behind entries and the passion of the young challengers involved.
A while back as part of their make.believe ethos Sony held a competition for young film makers to remake the trailer for Priest 3D. The competition was open to the public as well as to a film school where students were given the chance to pitch their approach to re-editing the Priest 3D trailer. From their video pitch, 3 students were selected to edit the Priest 3D overnight using assets supplied by Sony and then flown out to LA to pitch their trailer to a Priest 3D panel.
With the final winner getting the once in a lifetime opportunity to hang around the Sony Studios, visit different film making departments, drop in on sets, meet people in the business and get an idea the bigger picture of film making. An awesome prize for any aspiring film maker.
Priest 3D is a Sony Pictures’ production embodying Sony’s make.believe (pronounced make-dot-believe) based on a popular Korean genre bending futuristic, western, martial arts, supernatural graphic novel series Priest by Hyung Min-woo. And follows a warrior priest who returns from hiding to rescue his abducted niece from a group of ancient vampires who are intent on turning her into one of them!
Dustin Diehl loves Star Wars and the huge expanded universe that has stemmed from the original Star Wars Trilogy.
In his Ignite You'll Never Watch Star Wars The Same Way Again talk, he explains a few hidden subplots that might bring new life to your next viewing experience. Covering:
1. The Rebel Alliance Symbol - it's origins and Darth Vader's apprentice Starkiller
2. Operation Skyhook - Han Solo's ex-girlfriend and how Greedo bore the brunt of his anger. And what happens to Greedo after Han Solo shot first.
3. How Boba Fett saved the universe from IG-88 and how it was saved again when the 2nd Death Star was blown up.
Ignite is a geek event in over 100 cities worldwide. At the events Ignite presenters share their personal and professional passions, using 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds for a total of just five minutes.
OK! I'm going to skip the arriving at the IMAX and how we got to this point preamble (catch up here!) and cut straight to the good stuff:
On entry to the IMAX we each got a Flynn Lives T-Shirt. Apparently there is a code hidden on one? of the shirts that may be revealed under a black light. The code should be entered over here > http://www.flynnlives.com/derez/ .Please check peeps. I'm guessing that the 5 fields correspond to the 5 cities that the trailer is screening in and once the codes have been entered the trailer will be available for all.
My memory may be a bit sketchy as the trailer was over before my synapse could process the aural and visual stimulus before me and I'm writing this after passing by the Secret Banksy Cinema, the entrance to the disused tube station used in Die Another Day and a walk along the river.
If you are unfamiliar with Tron below is a synopsis (adapted from Daniel Williamson's) of the original 1982 classic Tron. Also it's probably worth noting that Tron was as much of a game changer in it's day as Avatar is today (without the global success) as it was one of the first films from a major studio to use computer graphics extensively.
Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) was one of the top programmers at ENCOM. After being let go under dubious circumstances he finds himself running a games arcade - Flynn's Arcade. Flynn has been trying to hack into ENCOM's mainframe computer to find evidence that ENCOM's senior executive Ed Dillinger stole four video games he created. The huge ongoing success of these games ensured ENCOM's success and fuelled Dillinger's rise to the top. But Dillinger's supercomputer "Master Control Program" foils Flynn's efforts and dictates and controls most of the computer systems.
One night, Flynn's former girlfriend Lora and her boyfriend, ace computer programmer Alan Bradley helps Flynn break into ENCOM to shut down the MCP with Alan's security program "TRON". But the MCP uses Lora's matter transmission program and converts Flynn into data and sends him into the computer. Flynn finds himself in a electronic world ruled by the MCP and his evil chief henchman Sark, where computer programs are the alter-egos of their creators and are forced to compete in gladiatorial games. With help from Tron, a heroic and fearless security program and his lover, Yori, Flynn sets out destroy the MCP and help Tron liberate the system from the MCP's control, by destroying the MCP is Flynn's only way of returning to the real world.
Before you read the trailer breakdown watch the TRON: Evolution trailer below. It gives a really good feel for the new world of Tron. The Lightcycles and Recognizer ships are very similar to the Tron Legacy vehicles. I should mention that there were no sightings of the yellow suited villain and the Tron suits in the Legacy are way better.
My narrative may be stilted as I am dashing this down and may not convey the superb sound quality and visual spectacle that made this trailer awesome. The screen lights up (not using the full towering height of the IMAX). What follows is 150 seconds of cinema that is going to be the next biggest thing.
We open on the 3D logo of Walt Disney that derezs into a 2D modern day LA and moves quickly into a discussion between a now older Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) (http://encominternational.com/people.htm) from the original Tron and a edgy/gritty Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) think James Franco without the pot.
The discussion they are having is something to the effect of:
Alan Bradley: I told you if I ever heard anything about what happened to your father, I would let you know. Something weird happened yesterday, I received a mysterious call. The call came from your father's office above his arcade, a number that has been unused/disconnected for 20/25 years.
Sam Flynn: He's been missing for 20/25 years It's like you think I'm going to get there and find him working frantically on his computer saying something like "Sorry kiddo I've been working late".
Alan Bradley: Your father wouldn't have just left he called me 2 days before he disappeared to tell me he was working on something, something that would change computers, economics, religion, the world everything. Something happened to him.
Cut to Sam Flynn getting onto what looked like a Ducati motorbike. Some sort of quick chase on "LA" highways ending with Sam pulling off a jump into an exit road like an 80s BMX'er. OK! So we know that Sam Flynn can handle a bike in the real world. That will probably be handy later on.
Sam arrives at a dilapidated Flynn's Arcade.
Walking around on the interior we see a dusty arcade, games under dust covers.
This is a pretty faithful re-creation of the original Flynn's Arcade. Sam fiddling with an arcade game and a slo-mo of a token falling out of the coin mechanism on the floor with a clink.
More looking around. Ending on a lone arcade game away from the others. After some checking and fiddling the Arcade game comes away from the wall on a hinge. Much the set up (but in much higher quality and cooler) as the San Diego Tron event a while back. Click the image below for the video.
The game comes away from the wall revealing a secret room. We see Sam Flynn looking around and finding what looks like his fathers old a secret room/office, computer turning on, etc, and entering a code/IP Address 200..
We enter the world of Tron in 3D. This is an ultra slick, stylised black glass world featured in the Tron Legacy VFX footage (only better) and the Tron: Evolution video game trailer and we see: Sam walking along a tunnel (visualised in the Pitcell image) jump cut with scenes from the world of Tron; Sam coming to terms with the suit, a Tron version of Olivia Wilde lying down on a chaise lounge, digital lightning storms, a slo-mo of a yellow disc activating and being thrown by someone in a fight scenario, some sort of all white/yellow long haired character air guitaring (this maybe Michael Sheen villanious Tron character - think one of the abino twins from The Matrix, Ziggy Stardust, Wez from the Road Warrior, Gorshin's Riddler and Bowie from Labyrinth), Kevin Flynn's face close up and he may be watching the playing arena from his jail above
the playing area as in the VFX footage, Sam controlling an AWESOME Recognizer, Sam and Olivia Wilde's character getting up and close as seen in the image released earlier,
a voice-over of Sam saying: "Dad is that you? You've been gone along time" or "it's been a long time" Kevin Flynn responding : "Yea, you have no idea", a scene of Tron warriors lining up for some sort of face off including a young Clu (Kevin Flynn's Tron alter ego) - this echoes the previous VFX footage and a lightcycle contest from eye level and arcade POV from above, zipping and glass shattering smashes.
At this point Sam comes to the end of the tunnel and I think there was a voice over "Welcome to the Pitcell". Tron Legacy titles rez up. My initial thoughts after the trailer are:
Too quick and too short
This film is going to be cool, I mean really cool.The kind of cool that made the Matrix popular (which was an adapted version of the original Tron). Disney please don't drop the ball from now to the December release this may be my new favourite film
Avatar may have changed the game but Tron has the benefit of moving ahead unhindered by the barrier that Avatar had to steam roll.
On the negative side:
The trailer was way too short and we should have got another screening.But Disney are obviously employing the first taste is free, treat them mean and keep them keen tactic.
I don't recall any Daft Punk sounding music.
What do you remember, have I missed anything, have I added stuff, what are your thoughts? Please leave comments below. I'm off to check my 2 T-Shirts under a make do blue light.
Tron: Legacy trailer breakdown from the first screening.
W hat a film! I was absolutely thrilled by and loved Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - it truly is an Epic Super hero film in every sense. I haven't felt this excited about a comic film since Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins and I have to say all things considered Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice might just be my favourite DC film!
