Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes trailer

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo teaser

Dear Joe Wright, Please direct more action movies. Thank you.

Saw Joe Wright's Hanna last night. Very impressive. Crisp, elegant, with clean, coherent action, a striking central performance from Saoirse Ronan and a pulsating synth score by the Chemical Brothers, all artfully shot by Alwin Kuchler. At the Q&A that followed, Wright bemoaned the budgetary constraints that meant the originally scripted ending needed major revision, but, that aside, this comes highly recommended.

Eric Bana

Out now and totally free, providing you have an iPad (which I don't), is the latest issue of PROJECT magazine which features my Eric Bana cover story. So, if you have an iPad click here. Load your issue and come back and tell me how it is.

"Kat Dennings is perfect"

Well, we knew that already. Here she is in the trailer for Daydream Nation.

Dante Ferretti

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of moderating a BAFTA Masterclass with legendary production designer Dante Ferretti. We only had an hour-and-a-half to get through a career spanning forty odd years, but I could have quite easily chatted for another hour or two. I certainly didn't get round to all my questions, nor all the planned clips.

"Such is the depth — and weight — of production designer Dante Ferretti’s CV, a full day at BAFTA wouldn’t have been long enough," wrote ScreenDaily. "Instead the packed house for his afternoon masterclass received tantalising extracts from a life spent setting the stages, from his days as an assistant to Pier Paolo Pasolini to six films with Fellini and on to an enduring collaboration with Martin Scorsese and beyond (Baron Munchausen, Interview With The Vampire, the Name Of The Rose — any one of these films would be the crowning glory of another art director’s career). Appearing with his wife and frequent collaborator, the set decorator Francesca Lo Sciavo - they met on the set of La Pelle in 1981 — Ferretti barely scratched the surface of 42-odd years as a production designer (on Fellini’s Medea in 1969, although he had been an assistant for five years by then, starting on Pasolini’s The Gospel According To St Matthew)."

Anonymous trailer

I was on the set of this Roland Emmerich's Shakespearian thriller last year. You can read that piece here.

New Super 8 trailer

Gone. But not forgotten.

New Thor trailer

I was slightly underwhelmed by the first Thor trailer but this looks much more promising.

MIA

Apologies once again for the lack of regular posting. I've been embroiled in several writing projects that have taken up pretty much all my time and energies of late. I haven't abandoned the blog and something resembling normal service will start again soon. In the meantime, you can find me on twitter (@mark_salisbury).

Superbowl spots

Beginners trailer

I'm a big fan of Mike Mills' promos and documentary work, and yet for some inexplicable reason I never got round to seeing his debut, Thumbsucker. I plan on rectifying that immediately cos this, his second feature, looks right up my street. And he's married to Miranda July.

I love this

Monster maker

Danny Boyle In His Own Words

I haven't yet read Amy Raphael's book, but having done one of these myself and being a huge fan of Danny Boyle (I've visited many of his sets down the years and interviewed him countless times) it's a must-read for me. Not sure why they didn't call it Boyle On Boyle, though. 

F.A.B.

I walked into my local Post Office the other day and the following conversation took place between myself and the bloke behind counter.

BBC: "Do you like Gerry Anderson?"

Me: "Who, the Thunderbirds guy?"

BBC: "You're the only person who's known that."

Beat.

BBC (contd): "Would you like to see the presentation pack?

Me: "Yes please."

They're very nice, too. Especially the moving ones above.

I'm lovin' it

First batch of images from X-Men: First Class hit yesterday and it sure looks good so far. If you like that kind of thing. Which I do.

Coming soon

I would consider myself a big fan of Brian De Palma. He's made a few masterpieces and many truly memorable movies, and even when he's not quite firing on all cylinders, a De Palma picture will always include several moments pure, cinematic genius. And so I welcome the arrival of Blow Out to the Criterion Collection in April with open arms. Extras include a restored digital transfer, a new hour long interview with De Palma by Noah Baumbach, and Garrett Brown discussing the film's Steadicam shots. Can't wait.

April also brings Kes and White Material to Criterion. A stellar month.

Heady brew

Finally watched Amer.

BAFTA 2011 nominations

I have shared my thoughts on this year's BAFTA nominations on twitter throughout the day, so please check them out there if you feel so inclined. In retrospect, the final list wasn't all that surprising, aside from some very high profile and shocking omissions that is.

Here is the list of nominations in full. Peruse it at your leisure.

The Golden Globes

Not much to say, really. I didn't stay up and do that live blog/tweet thing — here's Hadley Freeman's liveblog from The Guardian in its entirety should you wish to catch up — but I woke up this morning thrilled that The Social Network won four — count 'em — Globes: Best Film (Drama), Best Director (David Fincher — hurray!), Best Screenplay (Sorkin) and Best Score (Reznor & Ross). Thrilled too that Paul Giamatti's work in Barney's Version was recognised but fear that, as in recent times, any surprise winner on the acting Oscars has now gone. It's going to be Firth, Portman, Leo and Bale, guarantee it folks.

Here's the full list of winners.

First look: Andrew Garfield's Spidey

"Ever since I was 4 years old, I wanted someone to call me up and say, 'We want to employ you to pretend to be Spider-Man,'" Garfield told me last year. "It's an extension of a childhood fantasy and that's how I'm treating it. But I feel greatly responsible as well. I feel genuinely honored to be taking on this myth. It's a really sacred thing and I'm fully aware of that."

Fincher's girl with the dragon tattoo

Read about Rooney Mara's transformation into Lisbeth Salander at the hands of David Fincher here.

Peter Yates, 1928-2011

The Friends Of Eddie Coyle (1973)


Bullitt (1968)

A new year, a new look

I have been meaning to tweak the look of the site for some time now, particularly in regard to posting bigger photos and trailers than the previous template allowed. And while I haven't settled on this look, I'm slowly warming to it.

Thoughts, anyone? Like? Dislike?

Belatedly

My films of the year: 2010

Twenty in total and the first five on the list are in order. After that it gets a bit fuzzy...

The Social Network (Dir. David Fincher) I've seen it twice and if it wasn’t for all the other screeners I’ve had to watch over the last few weeks, I would have seen it several more times. Absolutely brilliant and ultimately wins out over Inception by virtue of the fact that I’m still thinking and talking about it on a daily basis.

Inception (Dir. Christopher Nolan) See review.

Never Let Me Go (Dir. Mark Romanek) I read the book, I went on set twice, I interviewed all the key talent behind and in front of the camera and yet it took me a good half hour to speak after seeing this extraordinary and extraordinarily moving film. I still don’t understand why this isn’t more loved and why it’s been pretty much overlooked for awards consideration.

Senna (Dir. Asif Kapadia) Whether you’re a Grand Prix fan or not (I am), this astounding and very thrilling documentary is a must-see, not only for the astonishing behind-the-scenes footage and gladiatorial rivalry between the late Ayrton Senna and French driver Alain Prost, but for the smart editorial decision to have Senna “tell” his own story rather than use talking heads.

Toy Story 3 (Dir. Lee Unkrich) See review.

A Prophet (Dir. Jacques Audiard) See review.

Monsters (Dir. Gareth Edwards) Believe the hype. What first-time filmmaker Edwards achieved for the budget was almost miraculous. Jurassic Park meets Before Sunrise/Sunset.

How To Train Your Dragon (Dir. Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders) The Avatar of kids films, I saw this in 3D at the cinema and was blown away. At home, on DVD, the story and characters hit home the more times I see it. And I’ve seen it a few.

The Scouting Book For Boys (Dir. Tom Harper) Harper’s debut feature was an exquisitely performed, lyrically shot tale of young love turned sour, from a script by Skins’ Jack Thorne.

The Disappearance Of Alice Creed (Dir. J. Blakeson) A terrifically taut and twisty low-budget thriller with the year’s best Gemma Arterton performance.

The Killer Inside Me (Dir. Michael Winterbottom). Perfect Jim Thompson adaptation and nowhere near as violent as some press suggested.

Blue Valentine (Dir. Derek Cianfrance) A gutsy, raw and honest look at love and marriage with blistering performances from Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling.

The Town (Dir. Ben Affleck) See review.

The Kids Are Alright (Dir. Lisa Cholodenko) Smart, adult entertainment. Nicely scripted, wonderfully played.

127 Hours (Dir. Danny Boyle) This stripped-to-basics survival story grips like the rock that trapped Aron Ralstron’s arm. Not Boyle’s best but damn fine filmmaking nevertheless.

The Illusionist (Dir. Sylvain Chomet) Not as immediately toe-tapping as Belleville Rendezvous, but a delicate, moving, and lovingly crafted tale.

True Grit (Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen) The Dude in a western shot by Roger Deakins. What’s not to like. Thought Hailee Steinfeld was terrific too.

Winter’s Bone (Dir. Debra Granik) Powerful performances from Jennifer Lawrence and John Hawkes.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Dir. Niels Arden Oplev) See review. 

Scott Pilgrim Versus The World (Dir. Edgar Wright) Visually dazzling and a definite grower.


Stuff I've really enjoyed but which didn't make the list for a variety of reasons: Get Low, Four Lions, Exit Through The Gift Shop, The King's Speech, The Crazies, Tron: Legacy, I Am Love, Unstoppable and The Way Back.

Performances I loved in films I remain on the fence about, but in the case of the first one will give another go: Natalie Portman in Black Swan, Javier Bardem in Biutiful, Christian Bale in The Fighter.


Films I wish I’d seen but haven't got around to them yet: Animal Kingdom, Carlos, Tiny Furniture, Greenberg and Barney’s Version (watching the latter later!)

Merry Christmas!

Have a good one. And I'll see you soon.

Rango behind-the-scenes featurette

Consider it a Christmas treat from me to you.