James Cameron Interview

MTV.com has a wide ranging interview with James Cameron. There's lots on Avatar of course, including details of the home video release and inevitable sequel, but Cameron also talks at length about the wider industry, including his thoughts on Terminator sequels, superhero movies and the future of 3d. Cameron is particularly interesting when talking about the process of 'retrofitting' 3d to existing films and the use of the technique purely as a marketing process, as can be seen in this clip

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Source: Slashfilm

Taxi Driver 2

Lars Von Trier producing partner has moved quickly to debunk yesterday's story that Von Trier was working on a new version of Scorsese's 1970's classic Taxi Driver.

Speaking to Screen Daily, Peter Aalbaek Jensen stated that the story was without foundation Whilst he confimed that Scorsese and Von Trier had met at the Berlinale he said rumours that the latter wanted to re-make Taxi Driver were “rubbish”.

Whilst many will breathe a sigh of relief at this news, a part of me was intrigued at what the Danish provocateur would have produced.

Whilst the Wolfman update has done better than expected at the box office with a $32 million opening weekend, reviews have not been kind. Stories have abounded about this being a troubled shoot, with numerous writers, a last minute change of director and extensive reshoots, and many critics have claimed that this is clearly reflected in the final product.

Joe Johnson, who replaced Mark Romanek as director, has given an interview to Time Out magazine in which, whilst not expressing displeasure with the final result, he is unusually candid about the difficulties in bringing the film to the screen. Amongst his choice quotes:-

“One of the issues with the previous director was that he had said he needed another 20 days, [...] and that became one of the areas of disagreement that led to [the studio] looking for a new director.”

Johnson goes on to state that whilst he initially brought the film in on the timescale set out by the studio, this was at the expense of jettisoning several sequences for time and budget reasons, including "a much longer sequence at the end and one in London where the wolfman is loose"

After cutting the film together it became apparent that the film did not work without these sequences, necessitating five further weeks of reshoots and significant delays in the film's release.

Whilst this is only the latest in a number of tales of films which have gone wildly over time and budget as a result of creative disagreements and studio politics, unfortunately for Universal The Wolfman looks to be another Last Action Hero rather than the next Titanic.

Miramax

The Guardian reports that the Weinstein Brothers may again be back in the running to purchase recently shuttered Miramax from Disney.

The story originally surfaced at the start of the year before the closure of the studio was announced. However Disney's decision to wind down the studio appeared to put an end to the rumours.

However sources now suggest that the Weinsteins have now been approached by two hedge funds with a proposal to purchase Miramax as a joint venture.

The LA Times reports that the Weinsteins are not the only people seeking to salvage Miramax, with reports that between seven to 10 bidders were interested in purchasing the studio, including Summit Entertainment, currently rolling in money due to the success of teen vampire franchise Twilight.

Miramax RIP

Industry website The Wrap reports that Disney is closing down it's Miramax subsidiary for good, with the loss of 80 jobs in the process.

Founded by brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the studio scored success with 'indie' films such as Clerks, The English Patient and, most famously, Pulp Fiction.

Bob and Harvey have of course long since left to form The Weinstein Company and the studio lost a lot of it's credibility and appeal with their departure. Nonetheless the news comes as a surprise and a sense of sadness that one of the most famous names in modern cinema is no more.

Kevin Smith, who had a number of films distributed and/or financed by Miramax, writes :-

"I was never a brand-name whore in my life, except when it came to indie film. And from the moment I knew I wanted to be in film, there was one label I wanted on my ass: Miramax.

What Harvey and Bob built from scratch resembled an old studio star-factory; but this time, the stars were the filmmakers. It was a gang (of New York), and like any good gang, it was dripping with street cred. Just being a part of that gang sent a message: I run with rebels.

But Miramax wasn't just a bad-boy clubhouse, it was a 20th century Olympus: throw a can of Diet Coke and you hit a modern-day deity. And for one brief, shining moment, it was an age of magic and wonders.

I'm crushed to see it pass into history, because I owe everything I have to Miramax. Without them, I'd still be a New Jersey convenience store register jockey. In practice, not just in my head."

US Box Office

This weekends box office, courtesy of IMDB, shows Harry Potter making over $150 million in it's first week of release. The film looks set to become the highest grossing of the franchise.

Mixed reviews and controversy over the content have led to a substantial drop in takings for Bruno, which will struggle to reach Borats success. Meanwhile The Hangover is now the highest grossing R rated comedy of all time, a title owned for over 20 years by Beverly Hills Cop.

The full chart is below

Dreamworks / Disney

Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks Pictures has found a new home at Disney, who have agreed a distribution deal to release six Dreamworks pictures a year. Here's the press release

The Walt Disney Studios Enters Exclusive Long-Term Distribution Agreement With DreamWorks Studios; Steven Spielberg & Stacey Snider Align With Disney to Distribute and Market Their Live-Action Motion Pictures

BURBANK, Calif., Feb. 9 — The Walt Disney Studios has agreed to enter into an exclusive long-term distribution arrangement with filmmaker and DreamWorks Studios co-founder Steven Spielberg, and partner Stacey Snider, chief executive officer of DreamWorks, to distribute all upcoming live-action motion pictures produced by DreamWorks under their partnership with Reliance BIG Entertainment, part of The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, it was announced today by Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios.

Under the terms of this arrangement, Disney will handle distribution and marketing for approximately six DreamWorks films each year. The first DreamWorks motion picture to be released under the Touchstone Pictures banner is scheduled to hit theaters in 2010.

DreamWorks principals Spielberg and Snider partnered with Reliance BIG Entertainment last fall to form a new motion picture company. In addition to being a partner in DreamWorks, Reliance will also distribute the new company’s projects in India.

Commenting on the announcement, Cook said, “We’re both thrilled and honored to be marketing and distributing all of DreamWorks’ signature upcoming live-action motion pictures, and to begin a new relationship with such respected colleagues as Steven, Stacey, and their creative team at DreamWorks. Steven has made some of the biggest and most loved films of all-time, and continues to be one of the great icons of our industry. Stacey has an impeccable reputation and a phenomenal track record for making a wide variety of quality films. Their motion pictures will be the perfect complement to the already robust slate of Disney and Touchstone films being made by Oren Aviv and his team.”

Bob Iger, president and CEO, The Walt Disney Company, added, “We are tremendously pleased to join forces with Steven Spielberg, whose artistic vision and commitment to quality filmmaking are legendary. DreamWorks has had a great creative and commercial track record under the leadership of Steven and Stacey Snider and I am delighted they’re now associated with Disney.”

Spielberg said, “Disney is the birthplace of imagination and has always been as close to the worldwide audience as any company ever has. I am so pleased that industry leaders like Bob Iger and Dick Cook reached out to become our distribution partner. This is a major step forward for us and Reliance.”

Stacey Snider added, “Under Bob Iger and Dick Cook’s leadership, The Walt Disney Company represents the highest standard of quality in our industry. Everyone at DreamWorks is thrilled to be embarking upon this new and exciting partnership and we look forward to our future with their great team.”

Watchmen

Fox and Warner may be getting closer to settling the legal dispute which threatened to delay the March release of Zack Snyder's superhero movie.

A court had previously ruled that Fox owned distribution rights to the movie as a result of a previous development deal.  Now  Variety report that -

"Attorneys for the studios agreed Friday to delay a federal court hearing until Monday in order to continue settlement talks.

The hearing had been set to take place Friday before the US District Court to rule on Warner's request for an expedited hearing on the key issue -- whether to grant Fox's demand to block Warner's plans to release "Watchmen" on March 6."

IMDB

The Internet Movie Database, WWW.IMDB.COM now has a wide selection of TV shows and movies available for free screenings. At the moment this service is available in the USA only. Those out of the USA wishing to partake may wish to google Hotshield.

Babylon AD

Ouch...

Babylon AD director Mathieu Kassovitz has given a no hold barred interview with AMC in which he discusses the troubled production, which gets an American release Friday. Amongst the choice quotes are Kossovit stating that "I never had a chance to do one scene the way it was written or the way I wanted it to be. The script wasn't respected. Bad producers, bad partners, it was a terrible experience." Of the final film the director believes that "It's pure violence and stupidity [...] instead parts of the movie are like a bad episode of 24."

Source: Cinematical

Zack and Miri

After a successful appeal, Kevin Smiths next film has been awarded an 'r' classification. The film originally garnered an NC-17 rating for language and nudity.

Whilst this guarantees the film a wide release, in one sense it is a shame as this could have been an opportunity for a mainstream film distributor to attempt to overturn the stigma related to the NC-17 rating. The continued refusal of cinemas and some DVD retailers to handle NC-17 films limits filmmakers and prevents the industry from developing movies aimed at an adult audience.

Source: www.newsaskew.com

Source: www.newsaskew.com

Wolfman

Ouch. Rick Baker isnt known for speaking his mind, which makes this interview with Aint it Cool News all the more worrying, and suggests further problems with an already troubled production. CGI in werewolf movies just doesnt work, as anyone unfortunate to see Van Helsing and An American Werewolf in Paris will testify.


It's been coming up on 30 years since we had an entirely successful werewolf movie (although 1994's Wolf had some interesting ideas), and hopes were high for this. The trailer and early posters looked promising and we may yet be surprised, but there seems to be a bad feeling surrounding this film.

Source: Aint It Cool News

The Weinstein Company

Interesing article at The Telegraph (via cinematical) regarding the current state of the Weinstein Brothers new production company, formed in 2005 following their split from Disney and Miramax

RIP Tartan Films

Variety reports that Tartan Films has gone out of business after more than 26 years.  Tartan were responsible for an eclectic range of DVD releases, and were responsible for bringing a wide variety of Japanese and Korean action and horror movies (including the works of Takashii Miike and Park Chan Wook) to a western audience, together with introducing a new generation to classic 70's horror and exploitation with it's 'Grindhouse' label.

This is a great loss for fans of genre and foreign cinema, and hopefully someone will step up to the plate and ensure that UK and USA audiences still have access to this material.

Leatherheads

Leatherheads, the George Clooney directed commentary released this weekend has caused some controversy, with Clooney cutting back his membership with the Writers Guild of America due to a dispute over authorship of the film.

Clooney suggests that he rewrote the majority of the script, and requested a co-writing credit. Under WGA rules a director must be responsible for at least 50% of the script, and they felt that he had not passed this threshold. Sole credit therefore went to the original authors, Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly.

Clooney has not quit the guild entirely, as this would leave him effectively unable to work as a screenwriter in Hollywood, but has instead gone 'Fi Core'.

According to Variety, going fi-core means a member is still technically a member of the WGA, but has limited rights within the guild. Fi-core members have to pay dues and are covered by the health and pension plans. However they are not entitled to vote, or have any of the other benefits afforded to guild members.

Clooney has in the past being a solid advocate of Unions, indicating he would not attend the Oscars if the WGA strike was not resolved, and is also instrumental in attempting to begin negotiations on new contracts for actors and directors.


Source: Variety

Fanboys

The saga of 'Fanboys' continues with the news that we will now be seeing not one but two versions of the film.

Fanboys tells the tale of a group of friends and Star Wars fans. When one of the friends is diagnosed with terminal cancer the group attempt to break into George Lucas's ranch in order to obtain a pre release print of 'The Phantom Menace' for hiim to view before his death.

The film was picked up by the Weinstein company, who decided that the whole cancer sub plot was a potential audience turn off and re-edited the movie to remove all references to it. Both versions were test screened and received almost identical scores. Despite this the Weinsteins' were all set to go with the new melanoma light version.

One thing they didnt count on was that a film called Fanboys would attract a lot of, well, fanboys, who have expressed their displeasure at the editing of the film.

As a result of the furore the Weinstein Company have now announced that both versions of the film will be released on DVD.

There is no word yet as to which, if any, version will see a cinema release, nor any indication of a release date. Given the Weinstein's previous track record this could be an indication that they are preparing to dump the film out there as cheaply as possible and cut their losses. In this instance though the presence of Seth Rogen amongst the cast pretty much guarantees a reasonable audience for any cinema release.

Source: Aint it Cool News, Cinematical

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Variety reports that the new Indiana Jones film will premiere at the Cannes film festival on May 18th, four days before it's worldwide release.

Whilst some lament the takeover of the film festival as a launching pad for summer blockbusters, premiering the film at Cannes guarantees a shed load of publicity for both the film and the festival.

Source: Variety

New Line Cinema calls it quits

Following disappointing box office on their recent films, New Line Cinema has announced it will be no longer exist as a seperate entity but will instead operate in a 'much smaller' capacity as a unit of Warner Brothers. Chairmen Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne will be stepping down from their roles

From Pink Flamingos to A Nightmare on Elm Street and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, New Line has been responsible for some of the most memorable cinema of the last 30 years , however they have struggled with their recent release slate and their attempt to move into blockbuster territory (Rings notwithstanding...). Many people have been speculating that the studio was in serious trouble following the failure of The Golden Compass last year and it appears this is the end result.


Source: Cinematical

BBFC bans 'Murder Set Pieces'

The BBFC have refused a DVD certificate for psycho thriller 'Murder Set Pieces' stating that "to issue a certificate to Murder Set Pieces, even if statutorily confined to adults, would involve risk of harm within the terms of the Video Recordings Act, would be inconsistent with the Board’s Guidelines, and would be unacceptable to the public."

according to the BBFC press release "Murder Set Pieces is a feature with a single-minded focus on the activities of a psychopathic sexual serial killer, who, throughout the film, is seen raping, torturing and murdering his victims. Young children are among those terrorised and killed, and their inclusion in this abusive context is an added concern. In relation to the adult victims, there is a clear focus on sex or sexual behaviour accompanied by non-consensual pain, injury and humiliation."

They go on to state that the content of the film "also raises potential legal questions, for instance in relation to the Protection of Children Act 1978, as well as possible breaches of other legislation such as that on obscenity."

In recent years the outright banning of a film in the UK is a rare event, and even then is mostly confined to 'adult' titles. However the BBFC has been under pressure in recent weeks and this may be the first sign that they are taking a tougher stance in an attempt to head off further calls for a reform of the censorship system.

Source: Variety

Odeon Says No To Rambo

The UK's largest cinema chain, Odeon, is apparently refusing to screen this weekend's major new release Rambo. Variety quotes the chain as stating:-

“Owing to commercial reasons, Odeon has made the decision not to screen the film ‘Rambo’ across its cinemas in the U.K.,”[...] “As the U.K.’s largest cinema chain, Odeon offers its guests a wide range of film genres to appeal to many different audiences. As such the decision not to screen ‘Rambo’ will free up screens to show alternative popular new films such as ‘Jumper,’ ‘Be Kind Rewind’ and ‘Juno’.”

Whilst other theatre chains will still be showing the film, this move will no doubt hurt Rambo's commercial prospects in the UK. It is assumed the argument is over the split of revenues between the cinema and distributor, but there is nothing to suggest this is being handled differently to other movies. In any event cinema's have long made their money from concession stands rather than ticket sales, as this recent article shows .

Source: Variety