Andrew Niccol's Next Project Will Blow My Mind
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Newsstand
I have a few obscure heroes in show business. One of them, as I note here from time to time, is Vincenzo Natali, best known for Cube, but also for an awesome little techno-thriller called Cypher, an offbeat, surreal comedy called Nothing, and the forthcoming Splice (which I would commit atrocities to see right now). He shares my fascination with the unknown and otherworldly, and expresses it on the screen in unfailingly creative and intelligent ways. Another example along the same lines is Don McKellar, whose Last Night is one of the most perfect little movies I've ever seen (though his participation in last year's godawful Blindness shall not go unpunished).
A third hero of mine is Andrew Niccol. I didn't think much of Lord of War, but all of his other projects have been conceptually brilliant in ways that are very much on my wavelength: The Truman Show (which Peter Weir directed from Niccol's screenplay) is probably my favorite film of the 90s (though that changes from week to week); Gattaca is deservingly becoming a sci-fi classic; and Simone is tragically underrated. He's smart, he's careful, and he has a wonderful imagination. Oh, and his just-announced next project, The Cross, is destined to rock my world.
I say that without even really knowing what the film is about. All we know of the plot is that it involves a man, played by Orlando Bloom, who, in the near future, is trying to be the first to cross a mysterious "border," while a guard (Vincent Cassel) will go to any lengths to stop him.
What's beyond the Border? I've read one sentence and I'm dying to know. And the reason that Niccol, Natali and McKellar are such terrific filmmakers, to my mind, is that they share this impulse -- to know what's beyond the Border, or who's behind the Cube, or what will happen when the world ends -- and exploit it, brilliantly.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-06-2009 @ 10:54AM
Dan said...
If the movie is as engaging as your article (was), I think it will blow everyone's mind. I'm VERY intrigued.
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2-06-2009 @ 11:08AM
Brian said...
I agree with you on Cypher, Cube & Gattica, and I would give more credit for Lord of War, as it's getting increasingly hard to make a even a good movie with Nicholas Cage as the star, so that movie gets some bonus points in my book.
Still, I disagree with you on Blindness, while not the best movie ever, there were some really important character studies, and themes in that movie that make the harshness of the whole situation more bearable. Even more to the point, it was based on a book, so the source material is to blame for some of it's shortcomings. I don't think anyone should be punished for that movie, it was worth watching once.
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2-06-2009 @ 11:34AM
Chris said...
Why do you guys insist on linking to Moviefone ? It's shizen. Why not just IMDB ?
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2-06-2009 @ 12:11PM
Brian said...
Cinematical is part of the AOL networks along with Moviefone. So it's part of the parent company thing.
They have started to link IMDB in certain spots, but they still need to honor the Moviefone link.
2-06-2009 @ 5:34PM
Ben said...
Very true. It has been brought up by many people and it doesn't seem to matter to the writers that the readers don't like it. They are doing what they want in the name of "corporate unity".
I have a feeling that there was a meeting near the beginning of the year or just before where all the writers were told to link to moviefone in all cases unless it was absolutely necessary. If you look, since the beginning of the year, all the writers have been linking to moviefone on a pretty consistent basis. They haven't used imdb very often lately.
Cinematical, do you write for us or AOL? Users are what drive the revenues. Do what the user likes and you will have more users. More users means more advertising dollars. More advertising dollars means higher paychecks, more writers, more film festivals, and greater access. All that adds more users. Repeat.
Please, listen to the readers. At least put up a poll and ask what they want. Personally, I get tired clicking on a link to find out more information and ending up somewhere with very little or less than where I came from.
Maybe one of you guys should work for moviefone to make it better. As it is, it's irritating.
2-06-2009 @ 3:48PM
Holly said...
Could this be River Road in a new form? Niccol worked on this screenplay several years back.
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/clarke/38/scripts/RiverRoad.txt
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2-16-2009 @ 5:44PM
William said...
Looking forward to "The Cross" as well, been too long since Niccol brought a great thought provoking film to the screen.
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