Set Visit Interview: 'Tron' Creator Steven Lisberger
Filed under: Fandom, Interviews
As perhaps the most highly-anticipated movie of the year, Tron: Legacy continues to build interest from longtime fans and newcomers alike thanks to Disney's successful viral marketing campaigns, provocative images, and exciting clips of footage. But none of that effort would make a difference if it weren't for Steven Lisberger, the creator of the 1982 film Tron. Although Lisberger's directorial debut was met with only modest critical acclaim and commercial success, it went on to earn a reputation as a groundbreaking pioneer effort in computer-generated effects, and spawned a loyal legion of fans that have provided a solid foundation for the hopeful success of director Joe Kosinski's forthcoming sequel.
Last summer, Cinematical joined a small group of online and print journalists to visit the set of Tron: Legacy, where we toured sets and talked to various members of the filmmaking team, including Lisberger (read our interview with star Jeff Bridges). Talking in the film's craft services tent, Lisberger talked about returning to the film franchise that he launched almost 30 years ago, and reflected on why he was happy to turn over the reins to a new filmmaker and give his ideas new life for a new generation of film fans.
The number one question I have for you is, why not create this yourself?
SXSW Review: Life 2.0
Filed under: Documentary, Theatrical Reviews
Much press has been given to Second Life, the virtual world/social network "game" in which participants can live out their fantasies in a polygonal wonderland, free of the restrictions that come with real life. Imagine a perfectly visualized chat room, only with its own user-created socio-economic structure. Companies have found clever ways to monetize the free experience, while over 15 million users work virtual jobs, buy virtual items, have virtual sex, and dance the night away in virtual nightclubs.
Life 2.0, a new documentary by Jason Spingarn-Koff, finds a human story within the world of Second Life, by focusing his attention on the experiences of four of its users. One is a young woman working from her basement, making a six-figure salary designing clothing and houses for sale in Second Life. A male Second Life addict tries to make sense out of his relationship with his created avatar, an eleven-year old girl that he feels controls him through the game, not vice versa. In another thread, a couple tries to bring their Second Life romance into the real world, despite being committed to other partners.
By putting a human face on the participants, Spingarn-Koff is able to help us understand the society of Second Life, while creating an incredibly compelling human drama. I don't have an addictive personality, so it's hard for me to relate to the desire to spend countless hours living out a fantasy in a "fake" world. Spingarn-Koff makes it real to me, by making the people real to me.
Read the rest over at SciFi Squad
Bryan Singer May Direct 'X-Men 4' and 'Wolverine 2'
Filed under: Action, RumorMonger, Fandom, Scripts, 20th Century Fox, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
I'm not particularly enthusiastic to see X-Men going backwards into prequels instead of venturing into a glorious future, but I'm happy to see Bryan Singer return to the franchise. The director sat down with Hero Complex and Lauren Shuler-Donner to discuss the past, the present, and the future of the X-Men franchise. It's a very enjoyable read, but it's also full of maddening off-the-record moments that are going to set the rumor mill churning.Singer casually mentions he met with Hugh Jackman recently to discuss a project, and drops strong hints that Jackman wants him to direct Wolverine 2. Naturally, they're also trying to find a way to work Wolverine into X-Men: First Class. Continuity holds no weight with Old Canucklehead anymore, so why the heck not? Singer half laments his commitments to Warner Bros and Jack the Giant Killer: "I wish I could be four people," he moans. "I could make everybody happy."
Shuler Donner is also open about having offered X-Men 4 to Singer, and the director is quite determined he'll take the job at some point. During the interview, he tells Donner to "Hold that one off for just a little, I'm fixated on the other one right now", and she agrees. "I will, I will ... I'm holding it open with high hopes. It's totally different [from 'First Class'] and it will be so interesting for you." At that point, Hero Complex notes the conversation went off record, but hints there's more than just vague ideas being tossed around. It's as if Singer had a taste of the world outside of the X-Men, and didn't like it, so he's selling them his soul. And that's okay by me. I could use another X2 to make me appreciate my favorite superhero team again. Maybe he could even rescue Movie Wolverine.
Rumor Alert: Neill Blomkamp Directing a Music Video
Filed under: Music & Musicals, RumorMonger, Fandom
If you are a happy mutant (i.e. a daily reader of BoingBoing.net), you'll have experienced the awesomely bizarre, funky, danceable beats of Die Antwoord. Ninja (Waddy Jones) and Yo-Landi, who sing and rap in both English and Afrikaans, have become a literal Internet sensation since being exposed to the world on BB via photographer Clayton Cubitt. Their videos are equally visually striking, especially "Enter the Ninja," which was co-directed by Rob Malpage (who was a cinematographer on the direct-to-video Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove, which stars Beau Bridges and Bindi Irwin).Now that Die Antwoord are taking over, they've signed with Interscope and told Xeni Jardin exclusively that they are working on a film (no word if it's a doc or feature) and their next music video will be directed by fellow South African, District 9's Neill Blomkamp. They also met up with with David Lynch while they were in Los Angeles earlier in March; Ninja credits Lynch's Twin Peaks character Dale Cooper with inspiring the rapper to quit smoking weed.
The band told BB:
"Ninja called David [Lynch] 'Dad'. David said, 'You turned out alright son.' David also said, 'I was a bit worried about you for a while there, but you turned out alright.' Ninja said, 'I'm a lucky duck.' David said, 'You're a good guy.'"When Die Antwoord's videos started "taking over the interweb," as their site's tagline says, no one knew if they were for real or not. NME posited DA is a more high-concept version of previous comedy/music/video projects by Jones, referring to him as "The District 9 Ali G." As for me, I agree with all the other writers online who insist, fake or not, they're still one of the most interesting things to come along in a while. (See also Pitchfork, New York Magazine, and Brooklyn Vegan.)
After the jump, check out their video for "Enter the Ninja." Would you watch a two-hour film about them? I'd love to see Die Antwoord collaborate with their fellow futuristic South African, Neill Blomkamp, or David Lynch, or any of their other sci-fi samurai inspirations.
(Photo by Sean Metelerkamp)
SXSW in 60 Seconds: Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Filed under: SXSW, Festival Reports
Celebrity Sightings: SXSW gives off the vibe that chatting with the random star about town is a lot more likely than hordes of flashy celeb pictures. However, IMDb has a decent gallery going with the star-studded photos broken down by day, like the shot of Kristen Wiig above. Just Jared, meanwhile, shares pictures of the round-faced Val Kilmer, and Twilight's Ashley Greene joins a group hug while at SXSW for Skateland.
Our Coverage: Rather than list it all here, you should check out our SXSW Mid-Way Roundup, which outlines our killer, 30+ lineup of interviews, reviews, and SXSW buzz. Also, be sure to stay tuned for an interview with The Ride director Meredith Danluck and a review of The Canal Street Madam at Cinematical, a review of Amer at Horror Squad, and a review of Life 2.0 at SciFi Squad, plus more goodies in the days to come.
Deals: Magnet Releasing was attracted to the sci-fi pic Monsters, holding true to its name. Hours after the screening, they scooped up both U.S. and Mexico distribution rights.
Ivan Reitman + Ashton Kutcher + Natalie Portman = 'Friends with Benefits'
Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Casting, Scripts
I don't think there is anything that could keep Ashton Kutcher down, or out, or away from the world of crappy romcoms. It doesn't matter if they're successful or a mess, he just keeps getting more and more. (Oh, the power of the producer!) After being the main, flower-centric dude of Valentine's Day, we've got Killers on the way with Katherine Heigl, and now, Variety reports that he's gearing up for romcom currently titled Friends with Benefits. (No link to this 2006 project.)Ivan Reitman will jump behind the camera for his first feature since My Super Ex-Girlfriend (Ghostbusters III aside), and Natalie Portman will co-star. Written by Elizabeth Meriwether, the plot is under wraps, but "generally revolves around the ease with which men and women become sexually involved, but have a far more difficult time establishing emotional bonds." Reitman says: "It's an issue ripe for discussion."
A discussion-worthy issue + romcom aren't ideas that usually get merged, so that has me minimally intrigued. I'm more, however, wondering about Natalie Portman. Just when it seems like she's solidly in the plus column, she picks a terribly random, or just plain terrible role. With Hesher out this year, two more in post-production, one filming, one in pre-production, and another five movies on her plate ... it's not like she's hurting for work. But maybe, with all it's ripe discussion, this flick will pack more of a punch than we can imagine. ...or maybe not. Stay tuned! Production is scheduled to kick off this May, and a release date is already set -- January 7, 2011.
Doc Talk: 'Good Hair' and the Accessibility of Funny Documentaries
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Independent, Michael Moore, George Clooney, Columns, Cinematical Indie
Have you seen Chris Rock's Good Hair yet? Sorry, that's Jeff Stilson's Good Hair. Have you seen it yet? If so, was it because you're really interested in the subject of black women's hair? Or, was it because you knew with Rock hosting and guiding us through the documentary that it'd be at least a funny movie? I finally caught up with Good Hair, which was released to DVD last month, and I can honestly say that I wouldn't have bothered with it had Rock not been involved so prominently. The funny thing is, though, the film isn't as hilarious as I had hoped -- yet I came away from it gladly informed about such things as relaxer, weaves and the fact Nia Long prefers to be on top during sex so as not to disturb her hair.
Scott had a similar reaction when he reviewed the film from Sundance a year ago. Though he acknowledged that he mainly saw this doc he'd otherwise "have little to no interest in" because it was a requisite of his festival coverage, he also had this to say about the film's star: "I suspect that the subject matter would still be fairly interesting without Rock's involvement, but the comedian brings a accessibility to the material that no amount of facts and figures can replace."
I think the key, though, is that the accessibility is not because Rock is a familiar face so much as a funnyman. If all it took was a celebrity to make a documentary appeal to audiences who don't normally watch non-fiction films, bigger box office draws than Rock, such as Leonardo DiCaprio (his voice anyway) and George Clooney, would bring outsiders into films like The 11th Hour and Darfur Now, respectively. Perhaps you could argue there is a matter of subject matter, as the topic of black women's hair is much lighter than global warming and the crisis in Darfur.
SXSW, the Mid-Way Roundup
Filed under: SXSW, Festival Reports
Struggling to keep up with the hordes and reviews that Cinematical and sister sites SciFi Squad and Horror Squad are pushing? Here's your handy round-up by day:
Thursday, March 11
Erik Childress talks to The People Vs. George Lucas director Alexandre O. Philippe.
Friday, March 12
Todd Gilchrist on Kick-Ass at Cinematical: "Unfortunately, as a full-length film, Kick-Ass is a great comic book come to life, but not much else."
Erik Childress talks to Elektra Luxx director Sebastian Gutierrez at Cinematical.
Erik Childress talks to Greenlit director Miranda Bailey at Cinematical.
Saturday, March 13
Jette Kernion on Micmacs at Cinematical: "Its playfulness is engaging and contagious and takes over any seriousness of story or plot."
Erik Childress talks to American Grindhouse director Elijah Drenner at Cinematical.
Todd Gilchrist checks out the Predators preview at Cinematical.
Scott Weinberg talks the Alamo Drafthouse's Tim League at Cinematical.
Todd Gilchrist talks to Happy Poet writer-director-star Paul Gordon at Cinematical.
SXSW Interview: 'Red, White & Blue' Director Simon Rumley
Filed under: Horror, Independent, SXSW, Interviews
If I had to come out swinging for anything at SXSW, it would have to be Simon Rumley's (The Living and the Dead) new film, Red, White & Blue (review). It's far and away my favorite of the fest thus far, which is odd because usually I don't assign a favorite label to things that make me feel physically battered and emotionally bruised afterwards. But I can't help but respect a film that can pull that off without ever being outright exploitative. So, if you're at SXSW, keep an eye out for it. If not, know that we here at Cinematical will definitely be keeping an eye out for news on the distribution front.Cinematical: When you were first coming up with Red, White & Blue, what was your sales pitch, so to speak, to producers and friends wanting to know about it?
Simon Rumley: I guess when I first wrote it, I was looking to do a specific story about this girl who used her body as a weapon. I did a few drafts of that and it didn't really work, so I thought that if it was going to work, it would have to be a character study first and foremost. And then once we have sympathy for the character, you can take it other places. So once I had that worked out myself, it became a bit more clear in my mind how it would progress and then the structure came.
By the time I had finished writing the script, in my own mind it was a slacker-revenge movie. The first half is very much a Richard Linklater / Larry Cohen film and then the second half becomes a lot harder and more extreme. So that's actually how I ended up selling it to people, as 'slacker-revenge'. And some people would say, 'slasher-revenge? What's so cool about that?' and I was going, "No, Slacker!" and they'd go, 'Oh, that's interesting.' Really I figured there aren't any other slacker-revenge films around, so I took two elements from stuff I like in films and put them in one.
Pitch of the Day: 'Gods and Monsters 2'
Filed under: Remakes and Sequels
I can see Gus Van Sant making a Twilight movie if he's allowed to do it in his minimalist "death trilogy" style. And maybe if Sofia Coppola made Breaking Dawn she could use the money she makes on a more interesting film later. But Bill Condon? He's the one director in Summit's wish list that I can't see doing the thing. Sure, he did a Candyman movie so he can do horror -- which the Oscars told us Twilight is. And he also got spooky and paranormal more than 20 years ago with his directorial debut, Sister, Sister, as well as with his early scripts for Strange Behavior and Strange Invaders. But otherwise he's mainly a biopic guy these days. And this is why I hope he at least takes a meeting regarding this Twilight offer and turns his gathered research into a film about the series' creator, Stephanie Meyer. I'm only calling it Gods and Monsters 2 because it's 2 for Tuesday, and because it would also deal with a person behind a very successful horror franchise. I guess better titles associated with the James Whale-centered film might be Bride of Gods and Monsters or simply Gods and Monsters Too. I just love the ridiculousness of those "Too" sequels. Anyway, I honestly don't really know much about Meyer other than her religious background and the fact that she never thought she'd make it as an author. Whatever, I'm sure the guy who gave us Kinsey and Dreamgirls and who will give us a serviceable Richard Pryor biopic in the near future can figure out an angle.
All I'm going to say is, age issue aside, Gods and Monsters costar Lolita Davidovich for the lead. And to Summit: once your cash cow has dried up, milk the cow's mom for something related, like a biopic, might still get the fans in the seats. Just get the Twilight kids to show up as themselves for cameos.
Bryan Singer May Direct 'X-Men 4' and 'Wolverine 2'
SXSW, the Mid-Way Roundup
Exclusive Sneak Peek at the 15th Annual Gen Art Film Festival
The Greatest Scenes Ever Shot?
Conan O'Brien Heads for the Big Screen
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