robert zemeckis Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Gabe Sunday's John Lennon 'Yellow Submarine' Audition Tape
Filed under: Music & Musicals », Casting », RumorMonger », Fandom »
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In the past couple days some news reports have surfaced that would make it seem as if Robert Zemeckis has begun the casting process for his Yellow Submarine remake, which is apparently going under the name of The Fab Four Project or The Untitled Fab Four Project for reasons we do not know (perhaps to either mask the real production or perhaps they've decided to go in a different direction and are between titles). Jim Hill noted that they're holding open auditions at a Beatles convention in Stamford, Connecticut this weekend, and The Sun already claims actor Stephen Graham has landed the part of Ringo in the mo-capped feature (though I'd take that piece of news with a huge grain of salt).
It also looks like Zemeckis is considering a wide range of folks for the role of John Lennon, including one of our favorite up-and-coming actors, Gabe Sunday. I first saw Sunday in the buzzed-about indie flick My Suicide and instantly knew he was heading in the right direction. The guy isn't just another wannabee actor -- he's a true artist and collaborator who likes to be involved in the entire filmmaking process. Not only is he working on a narrative film about the great Daniel Johnston, but he apparently threw together a John Lennon audition tape for Zemeckis that's pretty spot-on in terms of becoming the young, experimental Lennon who pals around with buddies and enjoys impromptu jam sessions. No doubt Sunday's usual cronies are behind the look and feel of this audition tape since it squarely belongs in their wheelhouse, and I hate to say it but I'd rather see more of this than whatever colorful mo-capped version Zemeckis has planned.
Either way I truly hope he gives Sunday a shot. The guy is ready to explode onto the scene; he just needs more opportunities to do just that. Watch the video after the jump. Good luck Gabe!
Robert Zemeckis to Adapt 'The Nutcracker' Next?
Filed under: Animation », Deals », RumorMonger », Family Films »
Here's the thing about Bob Zemeckis and all his newfangled motion-capture outings. When put to more mythic use in Beowulf, I was more drawn in by the adventure and less distracted by the characters. However, between The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol, I couldn't help but be re-struck time and time again but that unfortunate uncanny valley, especially when the characters look so much like the real thing (see: Gary Oldman as Cratchit) that I'd just as soon watch them give live-action performances that would then go surrounded by countless effects (you know, the way they used to make movies).That disappointing truth, combined with last weekend's good-not-great opening for Carol, isn't getting Zemeckis down, though. According to Pajiba, he's pursuing The Nutcracker as his next holiday adaptation to be 'enhanced' by mo-cap technology. (I think it's fairly safe to assume after Carol and Express that this will likely end up in 3-D as well.) The site says that he'll be working from E.T.A. Hoffman's original novel over the Tchaikovsky ballet, "a period piece, set in 19th century Russia, which will explore how the cursed Nutcracker character came to be and the battle between the dolls and the mice."
Well, that shows how much I remember of the original tale (a war between dolls and mice?). Personally, I just want this one to go on the busy man's back burner if it means getting that Roger Rabbit sequel done sooner. At least the bunny doesn't creep me out with his lifeless eyes...
Review: A Christmas Carol
Filed under: Animation », New Releases », Disney », Theatrical Reviews », Family Films »
The fear many of us had when it was announced Jim Carrey would play Ebenezer Scrooge and other parts in Robert Zemeckis' adaptation of A Christmas Carol was that Carrey's clowning would turn the story into a goofy farce. This fear turns out to have been unfounded. If anything, the opposite is true: The film has no personality at all, not Carrey's or anyone else's.
Charles Dickens' holiday classic has already been adapted for movies and TV dozens of times, but Zemeckis noticed something peculiar: Somehow, none of the previous incarnations had managed to be in 3-D! He sought to rectify this oversight with that newfangled motion-capture technology he's been so excited about the last several years, where actors' movements are translated into animation. The Polar Express and Beowulf demonstrated that for as neat-o as the technology is for action scenes, characters' faces -- especially their eyes -- look dead and soulless. Some improvement has been made in that respect, but most of the people in A Christmas Carol still look like creepy robots.
Roger Rabbit Sequel Will Contain Both 2D and Mo-Cap Animation
Filed under: Animation », Comedy », Noir », RumorMonger », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels »
As Peter reported a few days ago, Robert Zemeckis is going forward with a Roger Rabbit sequel. We all seem to be intrigued by the possibility of returning to Toontown, but Zemeckis' obsession with motion capture really casts a Judge Doom-like shadow over the project. Will he motion capture Roger Rabbit and his Toontown friends? Or will Zemeckis return to the old school of hand-drawn animation?MTV caught up with Zemeckis, who was quick to assure fans of the bumbling Roger that he will remain his cuddly 2D self. "I wouldn't use it for the cartoon characters, because I think they should stay two-dimensional because that's what - I wouldn't dimensonalize Roger," he said. "And I couldn't dimensonalize Jessica even if I wanted to because she doesn't have a nose. We wouldn't want to give her a nose." But motion capture will be a part of Roger Rabbit 2. The technology is like Zemeckis' whale, and he's determined to exploit every possibility with it. His current plan appears to involve using motion-capture for the human performances. "All the other characters that [the cartoons] would sort of have fun with would be magnificent in performance capture technology."
There's that Judge Doom shadow again. The clumsy way humans and toons interacted was the point of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? It was the contrast that was interesting and fun. Having animated humans just seems to take it on a trip into the Uncanny Valley. The project is still in its early stages, so maybe Zemeckis will surprise us, and have the technology be part of the story. Everyone on the interwebs seems to be championing the idea of the toons having to deal with technological advances. We can hope for that, and not that Zemeckis will just shove in a motion-captured cast just because he can't stop himself.
Bah, Humbug. It's Too Early For 'A Christmas Carol'!
Filed under: Animation », New Releases », Disney », Fan Rant »
We've all lamented the way that Christmas decorations, candies, and wrapping paper start appearing on store shelves between fake pumpkins and cheesecloth ghosts. In some stores, the Christmas stuff appears as early as July or August. But when it comes to our local multiplex, we're generally safe from holly and plum pudding until it's actually cold outside. Not this year.Being entertainment fiends, I'm sure that the last week found most of you were tuning into AMC, IFC, and other assorted channels to check out their horror selections. You were also undoubtedly watching your favorite television shows, football teams, and following the World Series. I'll bet that you saw the tv spots for A Christmas Carol around ten times a day. Possibly more than that given all the games. Did you feel a cold chill run down your spine?
I did, and it wasn't caused by a pocky Jim Carrey or the possibility of Robert Zemeckis' mo-cap dead eyes. It was the fact that my jack o'lantern was flickering on my kitchen counter, bell jars of bones were decorating the top of my television, and Shadow of the Vampire was beckoning from my DVR. It was Halloween weekend. Even after October ticked down to its last gasp and we fell back, it was still autumn. It's harvest time. It's heartwrenching drama time, the real start of the Oscar race. It's time for The Road, The Men Who Stare At Goats and the Coens. It is not Christmastime. I don't care what the Three Spirits try to tell me, or whether Tiny Tim wants God to bless us, every one. I'm not going to listen until December 1. Perhaps I'll miss a great 3D thrill ride and the velvet voice of Colin Firth, but I'm not ready for snow and Dickensian morality just yet. Are you?
'Roger Rabbit' Sequel Finally Moving Forward
Filed under: Animation », Comedy », Disney », Fandom », Scripts », Family Films »
To misquote Jessica Rabbit: "Sequels to beloved animated / live-action classics aren't all bad. They're just motion-captured that way." As our own Elisabeth Way back when, Seaman and Price adapted Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, a novel by Gary K. Wolff. The hard-boiled mystery drew upon the history of the Los Angeles transit system and provided a strong framework for a dazzling mixture of traditional cell animation and live-action period footage. Wolff wrote a sequel, Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit?, and other follow-up ideas have been discussed over the years, but Zemeckis says he wasn't involved in any of them.
Of course, any sequel script would need to be very, very good on its own merits to have any hope of living up to the original. In view of Zemeckis' fascination, nay, obsession with performance capture digital tools, I share Elisbeth's fear that a new Roger Rabbit will be "a dead-eyed motion capture and not a lovable toon." The original was a mystery, a comedy, and a thriller, but it was the idea of brightly-colored cartoons living side by side with humans in a mundane real world that gave the film its distinctive flavor. Whose performances will be computer-animated in the sequel -- humans, 'toons, or both?
Shelf Life: Contact
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Warner Brothers », Fandom », Shelf Life »
Admittedly, a big part of the appeal of "Shelf Life" (as a film writer, anyway) is having a legitimate excuse to go back and watch a lot of movies we remember loving, partially for the hell of it, and partially because we wonder if our feelings have changed significantly over time. Interestingly, this has thus far not begat a lot of pure reassurance, nor transformed initial or even evolved/ devolved reactions; rather, it's given us a window into – and more specifically, a stronger argument for – some of the appetites and interests we've developed as our sensibilities as moviegoers (much less critics) has evolved.
This week's case in point is Contact, Robert Zemeckis' 1997 film about humankind's first contact with extraterrestrial intelligence. Released during the summer after my college graduation, when I was at the height of my pretentiousness as a cinephile, it nevertheless knocked my socks off when I saw it, combining a sense of wonder with technical proficiency and an emotional sophistication that wouldn't register with yours truly until much later. If it still has – which is precisely why it's this week's "Shelf Life" subject. (Well, that and the fact it's just been released on Blu-ray by Warner Home Video.)
London Says Bah, Humbug to Disney's 'A Christmas Carol'
Filed under: Animation », Classics », Disney », Celebrities and Controversy », Family Films », Newsstand », Movie Marketing »
If you thought America was the only place where Christmas displays popped up in July, you can take some comfort that England is also suffering from holiday fatigue. But there's one corner of London that has proudly held out against decking the halls too soon: The West End. Until this year. The Independent reports that Disney has struck a deal with London's Mayor Boris Johnson to turn on Oxford and Regent's Christmas lights on November 3, nine days earlier than they're normally on, in order to coincide with London's world premiere of A Christmas Carol. While some early Christmas lights aren't the end of the world, it's a rather sad state of affairs. Not only is it frightening to see a venerable city become a marketing tool, but the West End lights are famous, and always pick a unique decorating scheme from the rest of the city. For the first time, they'll not only follow the City of London's switch-on schedule, but they'll share the city's theme. Of course, that city wide theme is A Christmas Carol, and Disney has spent a million pounds in order to deck the halls of Oxford and Regent with Scrooge related decorations. From Leicester Square and beyond, Mayor Johnson promises lights and Dickensian events will provide "one of the biggest festive celebrations the capital has ever seen."
Disney's plans are causing quite a commotion in England, and many Londoners are dismayed to see the West End tradition fall prey to such overwhelming marketing. Dickens' scholars are even weighing in as to what the author himself would think, and the surprising consensus is that he would heartily approve of anything that inspired gift giving and commerce.
Continued below the jump ...
Exclusive Final Poster for Disney's 'A Christmas Carol'
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Disney », Fandom », Exhibition », Family Films », Posters »
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Click image below to view full poster
Cinematical has received this exclusive final poster for Disney's A Christmas Carol, Robert Zemeckis' newest dive into the pioneering world of motion capture animation. The Polar Express and Beowulf director's spin on Charles Dickens' timeless tale of a bitter old man, Ebenezer Scrooge, who is taken on a midnight journey of self-redemption by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Christmas Yet to Come, stars Jim Carrey as not only the cranky Scrooge, but all three apparitions as well.
As you might have guessed from the poster, Zemeckis' take promises to be the most wondrous adaptation of Dickens' original story to date. Substituting the dour introversion found in countless other cracks at the tale with a sense of adventure is a perfect fit for the man who created Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. If there is any doubt that Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol is going to be anything less than a must see exhibition this November 6th, just take a look at the roll call at the bottom of the poster: Disney Digital 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D. That's every flavor the cutting edge tech has to offer.
And if the above poster doesn't sell you on the Disney sponsored trip to a magical, Victorian-era wonderland, I'm sure the below trailer will.
Gallery: 'A Christmas Carol' Final Poster
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Disney and Robert Zemeckis Live on a 'Yellow Submarine'
Filed under: Animation », Classics », Comedy », Music & Musicals », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Disney », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Remakes and Sequels »
Robert Zemeckis just can't get enough of his 3D motion capture, and clearly no film or concept will elude his grasp. According to Variety, Zemeckis and Disney are in the middle of a complicated deal that will allow them to remake the Beatles' psychedelic cartoon Yellow Submarine. It's been a long time since I saw Yellow Submarine and if I need a refresher on the plot, you might as well. The trippy adventure takes place in Pepperland, a magical undersea place protected by Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The music-hating Blue Meanies attack, seal the band in a bubble, and turn the citizens into statues. The Mayor seeks out the help of the Fab Four, who travel in a yellow submarine through several musical interludes. The power of the Beatles restores Pepperland to its colorful, musical self before returning to London. Naturally, it's enjoyed best if you're on drugs.
The remake negotiations have been taking place for months, as Zemeckis wants to use all the original Submarine tunes and spin it off into an original Broadway musical, but meanwhile the Beatles catalog is a complicated thing. The goal is to have it filmed, and in theaters by the 2012 Summer Olympics, which are taking place in London. Zemeckis is hoping that a 3D motion-capture approach will introduce the Beatles to a new generation, who are already enjoying a surge of youth interest thanks to the upcoming The Beatles: Rock Band.
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