Watchmen thoughts

Seeing Watchmen this weekend? I'd love to know what you think.

Red Riding trilogy

May I direct UK readers to Red Riding which begins today on Channel 4 at 9pm. Brilliantly directed by Julian Jarold, Arnaud Tucker and James Marsh, this three-part series based on David Pearce's quartet of cult novels 1974, 1977, 1980 and 1983, has been adapted by Tony Grisoni, produced by Andrew Eaton and Michael Winterbottom's Revolution Films, and is some of the best television you're likely to see this or any year.



For more info click here.

Mann-size

I'm a huge Michael Mann fan. Throw Depp into the mix and you've got a movie that can't come soon enough. This first look at Public Enemies only confirms my expectations and excitement, and I love the way Mann's brought his Hi Def style to a period piece.

Monday musing

I have been mostly absent here of late and for that I'm sorry. Life intervened in such a way that I wasn't able to devote much if any time to this site during the last couple of weeks, but a corner has been turned and with it a more regular service will resume.

It seems that some of you have been waiting on my thoughts regarding Watchmen. 

In lieu of a proper review, I offer you these thoughts to be getting on with. 

Watchmen is a superior film to 300 in every way and while it's not without flaws, it's probably the closest, most slavishly faithful approximation of Moore and Gibbons' work that we were ever likely to see on screen. 

Director Zack Snyder deserves credit for just putting it up there. It's bold, it's dazzling at times, and it doesn't pander to the mainstream in anyway. 

And there are moments in it that are quite simply breathtaking. The Dr Manhattan back story, for instance, which almost completely, frame for frame, adheres to the book, works best of all. Effects wise, emotion wise,and  dramatically.

Will people unfamiliar with the source material find it confusing? Probably.

Would I have preferred it had been adapted more, and not so rigidly followed the comic book? Perhaps. But considering the fuss made over the squid (or lack thereof) can you imagine the reaction.

Do I wish it had been longer? Definitely. 

Talking to Snyder and Gibbons at the premiere party last week about the scenes they'd had to snip to make the theatrical cut, and therefore the scenes that will be included in the Director's Cut, I wish I'd seen that version. 

That said, for sheer ambition it can't be faulted. 

Watching Watchmen

I'm seeing Watchmen today and this afternoon I will be hosting the first ever filmmaker Q&A in PlayStation Home with Zack Snyder and Dave Gibbons.

Here's the release:

At 4pm GMT on 23rd February, Paramount Pictures International (PPI) will be staging the first ever filmmaker Q&A to take place in the groundbreaking new virtual world PlayStation Home, promoting the international release of WATCHMEN on March 6th 2009.

An audience of ten guests – made up of journalists, bloggers and fans from around the world – will be given a unique opportunity to put questions to WATCHMEN director Zack Snyder and the graphic novel’s artist Dave Gibbons as part of this ambitious invitation-only event.

The event will be streamed live across the Internet, commencing a comprehensive WATCHMEN webcast which will include integrated film footage and a post event edit with coverage of the red carpet at the World premiere in London’s Leicester Square.

The Q&A forms part of a broader initiative promoting WATCHMEN within PlayStation Home. This comprises opportunities to watch exclusive footage in Home’s cinema, and, from February 27th, to choose from a variety of WATCHMEN virtual merchandise including character costumes, t-shirts and even your very own Doomsday clock, from the Home store.

As a first of its kind in PlayStation Home this activity signals PPI’s continuing commitment to innovative and experimental film marketing. It is being co-ordinated by specialist film marketing agency Picture Production Company and Deluxe Corporation, who previously worked with PPI to give films including IRON MAN and TRANSFORMERS an extra dimension in virtual world Second Life.

Heath Tyldesley, Director, Interactive Marketing, Paramount Pictures International, commented: “WATCHMEN’s presence in PlayStation Home is a continuation of our commitment to using cutting edge platforms as media to bring fans and film-makers closer together and create a deeper engagement with movie audiences”.

Visit the Picture Production Company Silverscreen blog (http://www.theppc.com/silverscreen) for up to date information about this initiative as it unfolds.

Monday musing

Rourke was robbed. That's all I have to say.

And the Oscar goes to...

Tonight, for the first time in years, I shall not be watching the Oscars live. Not that I'm boycotting them. Rather, I no longer subscribe to Sky Movies and that's the only way one can watch them at home in the UK. Not that I mind too much. I am, as I have mentioned here before, somewhat apathetic about this year's event which looks to be too predictable for its own good. What's the fun, if you already know who's going to win what. In fact, the only nominee I'm really rooting for is Mickey Rourke whose speech at last night's Independent Spirit Awards was priceless...

Monday musing

I'm going to be offline for the next three or four days dealing with family matters, but I hope to be back here by the end of the week. Normal service will, as they say, be resumed as soon as possible...

Mindblowing

According to this article by Kim Masters on the Daily Beast: "Since 1984, Spielberg has collected 2 percent of the money from all Universal theme parks outside Southern California—Orlando, Japan, Hong Kong, etc. An executive familiar with the terms says this is a “humongous deal” for Spielberg, who is very involved with the parks and visits them and provides his notes on the attractions. The deal also includes a provision allowing Spielberg to demand that Universal buy him out altogether—meaning that Universal would have to cough up hundreds of millions of dollars."

Just think about that for a moment...

Two per cent.

Of all money taken.

Monday musing

Off to interview Ron Howard in a moment so not much time to get into last night's BAFTAs. All in all it was a fine evening's prize-giving with Slumdog taking home the majority of the masks. But there was enough of a spread to make it feel like a truly democratic event.

For me, it was gratifying to see Button not leave empty handed (although I'd like to have seen it pick up one or two of the "big" awards), although I probably cheered loudest at Man On Wire scooping Best British Film and comeback kid Mickey Rourke winning Best Actor for The Wrestler. Loved Rourke's acceptance speech; it'll going to be interesting to see what he says, should he win the Oscar, it being live and all.



Happy too that Steve McQueen (nice kilt!) picked up the Carl Foreman Award for the remarkable Hunger and Martin McDonagh won Best Original Screenplay for the riotously funny In Bruges. And what a wonderful speech from Danny Boyle.

The full list of winners can be found here.

BAFTA rambling

It's the BAFTAs tonight and expect lots of homegrown love for Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire on its ways to Oscar glory in a fortnight's time. I am, I must admit, ambivalent about Slumdog's success. On one hand, I'm a huge fan of Danny. He's enormously talented and a genuinely nice guy to boot, but as try as I might I can't muster the sense of national pride to totally cheer Slumdog on. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like Slumdog. Far from it. I've seen it twice and it's a terrifically entertaining, well-crafted piece of cinema. It looks great, has the energy and propulsive drive associated with Boyle's work, a gripping narrative, and a great story behind it (I'm talking about it being dumped by its original US distributor Warner Independent, being picked up by Fox Searchlight etc). So why am I not feeling the love? Perhaps it's simply because I don't think it's Danny's best film. (A similar thing happened with The Departed which, as good as it was, wasn't the film Scorsese should have won his Oscar for.) Not that I begrudge him any of the acclaim or awards he's picked up thus far, and will continue to get tonight and on February 22. I'm thrilled for him. After all, it's proof that good guys do triumph. Which, I suppose, is the the theme of the film...

Total Film

The new Total Film is out now with a massive comic book movie preview to which I contributed.

Even more Watchmen

Every day brings us a day closer to Watchmen. And every day, it seems, brings another Watchmen related treat to get us in the mood, if we weren't already.



Zack Synder's already promised us a director's cut Blu-ray/DVD down the line that will feature all the stuff he's had to cut from the theatrical release, including the animated The Tales Of The Black Freighter comic-within-the comic which features the voices of 300 star Gerard Butler and Jared Harris and which will be available on disc from March 24 along with the faux live-action documentary Under The Hood, based on the memoirs of Hollis Mason, the original Nite Owl.


Also available on DVD and Blu-ray from March 3 will be the complete Watchmen Motion Comic.


Titan Books have just published three delectable Watchmen tie-ins books, all which turned up in the post the other day making this Watchmen fan very happy indeed. The three are Watchmen: The Official Film Companion, Watchmen: The Art Of The Film and, my favourite, Watchmen: The Portraits, a collection of glorious black and white character shots by photographer Clay Enos.


And if that wasn't enough Watchmen, check this out.

Who's that girl?

It's Jude Law, actually. As he appears in Sally Potter's latest, Rage, which premieres at the Berlin Film Festival this month.

David Fincher Guardian Interview

The transcript of my onstage interview with David Fincher is now online. Check it out here.

Favourite Film

Now available on DVD for US viewers as part of a Michael Powell double feature, A Matter Of Life And Death is a life-affirming masterpiece and should be essential viewing for everyone, committed film fan or casual viewer. I first saw it on TV as a very young boy and for years thought I'd dreamed this film that was partly in black and white, partly in colour, and it was only in my teens when I realised I hadn't, although it does have a very dreamlike quality. If you haven't seen it, shame on you. Get yourself a copy immediately. 

From the director of The Mummy

Normally the above phrase would send me running for the hills. I hated The Mummy so much that I went directly home after seeing it and watched Raiders Of The Lost Ark to eradicate the experience from my memory. Didn't bother with Mummy 2 and the less said the better about Van Helsing which I couldn't bring myself to watch so put off was I by the CGI inflated trailers and clips. (I did try when it ended up on free TV but gave up after around six minutes.) 

But, I have say, the Superbowl teaser for the Steve Sommers-directed GI Joe looks bleedin' awesome. Finally, though, it looks like Sommers has found a subject that completely suits his hyper approach. Damn, if I'm not incredibly excited to see the final film having repeatedly watched those 30 odd seconds this morning. 

Check them out here.

Not long now

The final countdown has begun. Press screenings will be starting soon. The wait is almost over. 

Tintin Tuesday

I love Herge's Tintin and have been eagerly awaiting more news regarding the Spielberg/Jackson-directed trilogy of movies. A while ago it was revealed that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost had joined the cast as the Thompson Twins and now we have official confirmation that  Jamie Bell has replaced Thomas Sangster as the intrepid reporter and Daniel Craig will play the nefarious Red Rackham. Coooool! Additional cast members include Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook. 

Filming has apparently already started in LA on the first movie, The Secret Of The Unicorn, from a script by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish. I'd heard that Cornish was rewriting the script, but Wright's involvement is news to me. Then again, they have written together before. 

Can't bleedin' wait.

Monday musing

Season 5 of Lost began here in the UK last night and continued the high standard of season 4. You can tell they're pleased to have an end date now, as there's less tease and more WTF revelations. 

With its flashforwards, "three years earlier/later" time frames, confirmed time travel, time skipping, Jack's rehabilitation of sorts, Ben Linus' murky machinations, Ana-Lucia's ghostly cop, the hint that maybe Locke might not necessarily be dead dead, it was a masterful opening two episodes. Once again, EW.com's Jeff Jensen provides a fine commentary. 

All of which meant I recorded but have yet to see Wire creator David Simon's latest Generation Kill, although that's going to have to wait until another day since I'm at the BFI Southbank tonight watching Encounters At The End Of The World followed by a Q&A with Werner Herzog. 

Should be interesting... 

Torso trouble

Last Sunday, interviewing David Fincher, I asked him what he was planning on doing next, since his name was attached to a host of cool sounding projects, among them Ness aka Torso, Heavy Metal, Black Hole and a cooking movie said to star Keanu Reeves. Fincher said his most immediate concern was a rest — since he'd made Zodiac and Benjamin Button one after the other. 

Of all the projects Fincher's been linked to, Ness is arguably the most interesting, based on a terrific true life crime comic by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Andreyko, and was the closest to going; although there was a pressing, time sensitive issue with the rights lapsing and Paramount having to re-up on them in order to greenlight the movie which had Matt Damon and Casey Affleck attached. 

Well, according to this Hollywood Reporter article, Paramount didn't renew its option, plunging the project into limbo. 

Last month, Paramount's ability to extend the rights option as part of the original deal expired, which would have then required the studio to purchase the rights outright to retain them -- a price the studio apparently was unwilling to shell out. While the studio still owns Kruger's screenplay, it is in discussions potentially to strike a new option agreement with the comic's writers, to whom the rights reverted. (Fincher and the producers remain attached.)

Given the Ness story line's basis in reality, one could argue that a public-domain version of it could be developed using similar material. But in the age of the industry-shaking legal tussle between Warner Bros. and Fox over "Watchmen," it's unlikely that Paramount would take that type of risk.

One source indicated that Fincher has been keen on making the project and expressed confusion as to why Paramount would dither. But given the projects and personnel that the belt-tightening Brad Grey-run studio shed last year, it's not surprising that it would balk at committing to another big-budget production at year's end.

"It's a weird and odd situation," Bendis said. "We heard it was greenlit one day, then the next we heard it wasn't. Hopefully, it'll have a happy ending."

Button love

So, 13 nominations for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button was an impressive if perhaps expected haul, and included one for Best Visual Effects which considering the balls up that had been perpetrated on Zodiac was very welcome indeed. 

But today's Oscar nominations threw up a few surprises, not least The Reader picking up five noms, including Film, Director and Actress for Kate Winslet who had widely been tipped to be nominated for her role in Revolutionary Road, a film which managed only two in total, for Costume Design and Art Direction. And no nomination for Kristin Scott Thomas? What's that all about then...

Slumdog Millionaire was the other big winner, scoring 10 nominations, followed by Milk with eight, The Dark Knight with seven, and Frost/Nixon and The Reader on five apiece. 

It was great to see both Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei nominated for The Wrestler even if the film didn't get anything else, not even for Bruce Springsteen for Best Song, Melissa Leo being recognised in the Best Actress category for Frozen River which also scored an Original Screenplay nomination for Courtney Hunt, Man On Wire up for Documentary Feature, Martin McDonagh recognised for his script for In Bruges and kudos to the Doubt mob who nabbed four acting nominations as well as an Adapted Screenplay one for John Patrick Shanley.

And it was another good year for the Brits, with Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry picking up Directing noms, Working Title nabbing a Best Film for Frost/Nixon, The Duchess nabbing a handful of technicals, Simon Beaufoy getting an Adapted Screenplay nob for Slumdog, and Mike Leigh getting an Original Screenplay one for Happy-Go-Lucky.

Strange, though, that Waltz With Bashir gets nominated for Best Foreign Language Film but didn't warrant a Best Animated Feature nod. 

As for that early favourite, The Dark Knight picked up a host of technical nominations but, apart from Heath Ledger who was deservedly nominated for Best Supporting Actor and who died a year ago today, didn't feature in any of the major categories. 

Here are the nominations in full.

And how did I do? Well, I managed 19 1/2 from a possible 30 points which is about average for me for this kind of thing. No Eastwood. No Michael Sheen. No Sally Hawkins.

Nomination day

This year's Oscar nominations are announced today at 1.30pm UK time, 5.30am LA time. I'm not normally 100% accurate in my predictions, since I tend to go by my heart rather than my head on occasions such as these, but I'm prepared to give it a go and choose on what I think the Academy will plump for. At least in the top six categories: Film, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress.

Best Film
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

Frost/Nixon

Best Director
Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight)
Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Gus Van Sant (Milk)

David Fincher (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button)

Best Actor
Sean Penn (Milk)
Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino)

Best Actress
Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road)
Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky)
Kristin Scott Thomas (I've Loved You So Long)
Meryl Streep (Doubt)

Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)

Best Supporting Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon)

Eddie Marsen (Happy-Go-Lucky)

Josh Brolin (Milk)

Best Supporting Actress
Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
Viola Davis (Doubt)

Penelope Cruz (Vicky Christina Barcelona)

Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)

Lena Olin (The Reader)

Oscar predicting isn't an exact science and these are not necessarily my favourites, but we'll see how well (or how badly) I did later.

Ton up

Quietly and with, it seems, the minimum of fuss, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button cracked $100 million at the US box office this past weekend* which for a two hour 40 mins film isn't bad going and might just be a sign of good things to come at tomorrow's Oscar nominations.

* Only just noticed, in case you were wondering why I posted this today.

Today is...

... mostly transcribing an interview I did yesterday and then writing it up.

Although I was amused to see that one of my old Premiere muckers, Glenn Kenny, has a role as a "sleazy erotic website guy" in Steven Soderbergh's latest lo-fi effort, The Girlfriend Experience, which stars porn queen Sasha Grey, and has been drawing favourable notices for it. Well done, Glenn.

Tuesday thoughts

I've been remiss, again, in terms of posting, but in case you were wondering the Fincher thing went well.

He was typically smart, engaging, very funny and wonderfully candid and we managed to rattle through topics ranging from Benjamin Button, his early filmmaking influences, his time making promos, the nightmare that was Alien 3 and the lessons learned from that particular experience, Seven, Fight Club, through to the importance of sound in his movies in under an hour. As soon as the transcript is posted on The Guardian's website, I will, of course, link to it.

Onto other matters...

It's now President Obama, thank you very much.


And here's a snappy, new Watchmen TV spot