Monday musing

I know the world's going to pot (financially, environmentally, et al) but did Fast & Furious really make more than $100 million this past weekend?

Apparently so.

Timecrimes

Finally caught up with Timecrimes the other day on DVD — it's out May in the UK and I'll be reviewing it in greater detail nearer release — and have to report it's as good as I'd hoped it would be having read the Sundance reviews. Don't think much of this trailer, though, which gives a little too much away for my liking. But that's me. It some ways it reminded me of Primer — another low budget, big imagination, Sundance time twister.

Waiting for the Wild Things

If, like me, you're counting the days until Spike Jonze's movie version of Maurice Sendak's classic Where The Wild Things Are finally arrives, here's something to tide you over.



And here's the trailer for Jonze's movie.

Magician With A Movie Camera: Nicolas Roeg

Yesterday's BAFTA tribute to Nicolas Roeg was a fitting reward for one of the two greatest directors that Britain has ever produced. (The other being Michael Powell, in case you're wondering.)

The evening was the brainchild of Danny Boyle and was designed to celebrate Roeg's illustrious career not through the contributions of those who have worked with him, but those filmmakers whom Roeg has inspired and influenced. On stage to talk about their love and admiration for a filmmaker who Boyle equates to Picasso were three Oscar-winning directors — Boyle, Kevin Macdonald, and James Marsh — as well as Stephen Frears and novelist Richard T Kelly.

There were also filmed contributions from Todd Haynes, Guillermo Del Toro, Terry Gilliam, Chris Nolan, Paul Greengrass, Mike Figgis, and cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, as well as the world premiere of a Roeg-inspired short from Steven Soderbergh.

In the audience were Julie Christie, James Fox, Amanda Donohue, Jeremy Thomas, Sandy Lieberson and Allan Scott who joined Roeg, assorted family members, and the various presenters on stage at the end for a group photo.

Everyone talked about Roeg's remarkable skill as as cinematographer, director and all round cinematic artist, his masterful and experimental editing technique, his use of montage, of sound, and his movies' fractured timelines which laid the groundwork for so much of what we take for granted in movies today. Without Roeg, claimed Nolan, there wouldn't be a Memento. What he produced, Boyle, Del Toro and others insisted, was Pure Cinema, plain and simple.

Boyle had his editor Chris Dickens cut together a four minute condensed version of Don't Look Now which was brilliant; Marsh showed a clip from the same film in which Donald Sutherland falls from the platform in the church he's renovating in Venice that was an inspiration for him during the making of Man On Wire; Madonald said the third shot in Touching The Void was of a lizard, in homage to Walkabout; Frears, who lives down the road from Roeg, wanted him to come on stage to explain how he created the astonishing opening sequence of Don't Look Now. Roeg declined.

The event culminated in Roeg being presented with a BAFTA ("the first award I've ever won," Roeg quipped) from Walkabout stars Jenny Agutter and Roeg's producer son Luc.

All in all it was a splendid evening. Congratulations to everyone involved. And to Nic, of course.

Funday

Off to a screening. Followed by a tribute to the genius that is Nic Roeg at BAFTA this evening.

What I've been watching...

The Small Back Room (1949)

Seven Pounds (2008)

Martyrs (2008)

Fellowship Of The Rid

Last night I had the good fortune to be present at the BFI Southbank for a Conversation With Sir Ridley Scott that marked the conclusion of a special Blade Runner Day (which included discussions, documentaries and a Q&A with Rutger Hauer).

The BFI used the occasion to bestow upon Scott a BFI Fellowship which was handed to him on stage by BFI Governor Stephen Frears who revealed that Scott had asked him to direct Thelma & Louise back in the day but, of course, he'd turned it down.

During the hour-long celebration of his career, Scott discussed his first film, Boy And Bicycle, which he made for £65 while a student at the Royal College of Art (he shot it over one summer with his younger brother Tony as star and crew), his time at the BBC working as art director and director, and his years in advertising, before breaking into Hollywood.

Scott said that he starts shooting Robin Hood a week tomorrow and has his next three films already planned, following Robin Hood with Gucci, before moving on to an adaptation of Tom Rob Smith's novel Child 44 and then his version of Joe Haldeman's science fiction book The Forever War. Scott also revealed that James Cameron had shown him some footage from Avatar and it was so amazing he was probably going to have to film Forever War in 3D.

Wherefore art thou?

Answer: I'm still here.

Sort of. I'm juggling several deadlines at the moment, meaning my attention is elsewhere. Sorry.

Alice In Wonderland

I have article in the premier issue of new Disney publication D23 (Disney twenty-three) regarding a film you might interested in — Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. It's the first article anywhere on Alice and features an interview with Tim as well as the first official look at the movie, with concept art and a photo of Mia Wasikowska's Alice. Scans of the feature and the art have already appeared online.


Disney twenty-three subscriptions are only available by becoming a member of D23: The Official Community for Disney Fans. Individual issues retail for $15.95 and are exclusively available at all U.S. Barnes & Noble booksellers, Disneyshopping.com, all domestic Disney Stores, Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. Back issues will be available at Disneyshopping.com.

The French Action Hero

Back in the 80s and 90s I was a big fan of Luc Besson. Le Dernier Battle, Nikita, The Big Blue, Leon (aka The Professional) all rocked my world to varying degrees and I even liked The Fifth Element. But then Besson decided he wanted to be a producer instead of director and run his own studio to boot. He's been very successful at it, churning out a series of internationally successful movies, among them the Transporter series and Taken which has been a sleeper hit in the US this year. Here's how he did it, in the words of screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen who's written most of them.

Tony Gilroy

The New Yorker has a great interview with Tony Gilroy, writer-director of Michael Clayton and the forthcoming Duplicity.

Monday musing

So Watchmen made in excess of $55 million at the US box office at the weekend, plus an additional $27 million internationally, and yet it's been pegged as a disappointment by certain sections of the media. I know Watchmen cost a sizeable amount and the marketing budget in the US was said to be $50 million. But still people. Come on. Then again, maybe I shouldn't be surprised after seeing some of the harsh reviews that the film generated from some quarters. I know it's flawed, I know it's not wholly successful and, just to repeat myself, they might have helped themselves but not being so reverential, so slavishly faithful to the source material. Maybe they should have "adapted" it a little bit more. But it's not the worst film of all time, as I read one critic call it. Snyder's no idiot. And he's no hack. The man's talented and I really do believe he tried to do right by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' creation. And did. Sure, I'd like to have felt a bit more emotional connection to the characters but did you notice the decor in Dr Manhattan's bedroom? It was straight out of 2001. Personally, I loved that. And I, for one, can't wait for Snyder's promised Director's Cut. I think it was Devin from chud.com who likened Watchmen the movie to Blade Runner, in that it will find both fans and acceptance on DVD and Blu-ray. Let's hope so. But it would be great if it made even more money theatrically first. If only so that big Hollywood studios will continue to make dark, decidedly unmainstream material, then promoting the hell out of it.

And speaking of Stanley Kubrick as I was, tangentially, it was the tenth anniversary of his death on Saturday. Shame on me for not mentioning earlier...

Looking good

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.