u-571 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Jonathan Mostow is one of the "that guys" of the directing world: you almost always recognize his handiwork, but you're not quite sure who he is, because his films maintain a more assertive sense of themselves than they do of him (and we mean that as a compliment). Although he did some smaller films before then, 1997's Breakdown was his calling card as a filmmaker, and contained all of the elements that would signify something made by him – namely, an interesting idea that was executed with mastery of form and a comfortable grasp on genre conventions. Subsequently he directed the submarine thriller U-571 and Terminator 3, and his latest, Surrogates, is another example of high-concept storytelling streamlined to maximize its entertainment potential.

Cinematical recently sat down with Mostow in Los Angeles for an exclusive interview about the ins and outs of the film, which follows Bruce Willis as a cop investigating a murder in a futuristic society where humankind interacts through android proxies of themselves, called surrogates. In addition to explaining the film's world and surrogates' place within it, Mostow talked about his technique as a director marrying interesting ideas to effective storytelling, and reflected on his expansive career both as a director and producer.

Cinematical: What is the point of the surrogates for the people in this film? How does it revolutionize their lives?

Well, this looks like fun. I really like Duncan Jones' directorial debut Moon -- coming soon to a discerning theater near you! -- but I really like submarine movies. Who doesn't? Only fools.

Jones -- a commercial vet, and David Bowie's son! Did you know that? I totally didn't know that. Next you'll be telling me Freddie Mercury begat Sofia Coppola -- will be moving on to Escape from the Deep, the true story of a World War II submarine that trapped itself at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, 180 feet below the surface, where it proceeded to be assaulted by enemy charges.

I'm pretty sure Escape from the Deep will rule, as I'm not sure I've ever disliked a submarine movie. Das Boot? Duh. Crimson Tide? Yeah. The Hunt for Red October? Gimme gimme gimme. Those are non-controversial. How about: U-571? Yep, McConaughey be damned. K-19: The Widowmaker? Never understood the widespread dislike for that terrifically suspenseful little action flick. And if you want to go a bit more obscure, try the underseen Below.

And spawn of Bowie or no, Jones is a talented chap. Moon is terrific science-fiction, in a confined space, on a shoestring budget -- and that's hard. Oh, and here's to hoping Jones is able to recruit Clint Mansell for both Escape from the Deep, and his other new project, the sci-fi thriller Mute. If you want to get a sense of Mansell's typically awesome work on Moon, give this trailer a look and listen. Suffice it to say the score is a large part of the reason I can't wait to see the movie again.

Once again, I'm going to pretend like I made something happen. Two days ago, on this very Cinematical program, I declared that there can be only one Snake Plissken in movieland, and he shall be forever played by Kurt Russell. Well, perhaps Gerard Butler agrees with me, because he's now dropped out of the remake of Escape from New York, according to Variety. The trade says the decision was due to creative differences, which could very well mean that New Line wants to go with the Snake Plissken name, while Butler sided with me in saying that was a bad idea. Of course, I don't want to be responsible for Butler quitting a gig; after all, I implied that it was okay for the 300 star to do the remake, just that he needed another, less-iconic character name. Regardless, though, Butler's departure follows news that Brett Ratner is no longer or was never attached to direct the movie, which had followed news that Len Wiseman was also not involved. And suddenly the project is empty of talent. But for those three of you who are looking forward to it, the remake is not dead yet. New Line has hired Jonathan Mostow to script a rewrite and has apparently offered him the option to direct as well.

Mostow, who interestingly enough directed Russell in Breakdown, will be revising the current script penned by Ken Nolan. Back in July, Aint it Cool News posted a review of the earlier draft; revealing that it was relatively faithful to John Carpenter's original while also being modernized with timely relevance to the Middle East conflicts. The script also was said to feature flashbacks to Snake's military career in order to show background for his imprisonment. We'll have to wait and see if Mostow changes much of the details from that version, but I think we can trust the project in his hands. Sure, he's been known to play with history, substituting Americans for British in significant WWII plots, and he seemed to piss off a lot of fans with his direction of Terminator 3: Rise o the Machines (not me, though; I enjoyed it), but Mostow is a heck of a lot better than Wiseman and Ratner. So, should he direct? Is it like choosing the lesser of evils? Do you wish New Line would just scrap the whole thing altogether (they won't -- they paid too much for it)? And most importantly, who should play Snake, or "guy who isn't called Snake" as I suggested the character to be named, now that Butler is out?

Successful screenwriter David Ayer got his first on-screen credit with Universal's war movie U-571, an ensemble submarine adventure that was (very) loosely based on actual events. With some slick direction by Jonathan Mostow and a cast that includes Harvey Keitel, Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey and David Keith, I thought the movie was a fairly fine piece of matinee-style entertainment.

But my buddies over in England were pretty damn pissed about the changes made between the world of reality and the realm of cinema. Basically, the movie states that American servicemen were the ones who acquired that mega-important "Enigma" code machine from the Nazis, while actual history dictates that it was British men who did the heroic deed. And those who respect British Naval History were seriously (not to mention justifiably) displeased with what they saw in U-571. (It'd be like someone making a biopic of Frenchman John Wayne.)

Anyway, it's six years later, and Mr. Ayer now has something to say regarding U-571, and that something comes in the form of a semi-apology. "It was a distortion... a mercenary decision to create this parallel history in order to drive the movie for an American audience," is what the filmmaker told the BBC recently, as if we didn't already know the scoop on the movie. Still, it's very cool to hear the guy own up to the misstep, even if it was only his very first project for Universal and he probably didn't have much say in the matter one way or the other.

For his part, David Ayer followed up U-571 with the goofy The Fast and the Furious, the intense Training Day, the underappreciated Dark Blue, and the guiltily pleasurable S.W.A.T. Also due very soon is Ayer's directorial debut: Harsh Times, starring Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez, is, in my opinion, the best work he's ever done. (And although I do consider myself a fan of Mr. Ayer's work, I must now throw down a large gauntlet of skepticism regarding his next project: an alleged remake of The Wild Bunch.)