Off The Wire: What Chris Nolan Could Bring To Superman
Posted on Tuesday February 9, 2010, 17:22 by James White in Off The Wire
It’s been a tough few years for Clark Kent and his superhero alter ego (or is it the other way round, as Quentin Tarantino had David Carradine argue?) but with the recent speculation that Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan will be helping to oversee Superman’s return to the screen, things might finally be looking up.
Like any decision regarding the Man of Steel, it’s bound to be a controversial one: the character has been around for so long and so many people (including Richard Donner and, more recently, Bryan Singer) have tried their hand at making a movie based on him, to varying levels of success, that no one can seemingly please everyone.
But Nolan has a solid, proven track record with DC/Warners’ other heavy hitter, Batman and while he has no plans to ditch Gotham City for Metropolis (he has his brother and David Goyer are currently working on the scr... Continue reading... Comment Now (5 comments)
Back To TopOff The Wire: David Brown 1916-2010: A Tribute
Posted on Thursday February 4, 2010, 10:41 by Ian Freer in Off The Wire
As a huge Spielberg-phile in general and Jaws-freak in particular, I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of producer David Brown aged 93 this week. It seems to me that Brown was a dying breed of gentleman producer. As Ron Howard, who worked with Brown on Cocoon, put it Brown was "less the wheeler-dealer than the great judge of content. He knows that story drives everything. He loves writing, and he know what ideas will translate and what won't." Which didn’t mean that Brown wasn’t above the odd gimmick or two. Spielberg had made up some Jaws T-shirts at the start of production. When the director turned up for a meeting with Brown and producing partner Richard Zanuck with every intention to quit, the pair were sporting the Spielberg-sponsored Jaws T-shirts, guilt-tripping the director into returning to work. Having the nous and foresight to give Spielberg his feature film directing break The Sugarland Express, Brown supported Spielberg... Continue reading... Comment Now (1 comment)
Back To TopOff The Wire: The Oscar Back-And-Forth
Posted on Tuesday February 2, 2010, 19:31 by Helen O'Hara in Off The Wire
Helen: Well, here we are – and it feels like it’s a pretty predictable mix. Avatar and The Hurt Locker lead the way, both with nine, with Inglourious Basterds, Precious and Up In The Air snapping at their heels. This year’s awards feel suspiciously like a two horse race between Bigelow and Cameron’s movies (will Oscar reward the money, the scale and technical innovation or the sheer ability?) but perhaps I am unwisely discounting Tarantino and Reitman too early. Precious, I feel, is a lock only for Best Supporting Actress, which will go to Mo’Nique or there is no justice.
But let’s focus on Best Picture to begin with. We can discount any film that didn’t also get a Best Director nod from winning, I think. So goodbye (but well done for joining the party) District 9, The Blind Side (definitely the WTF nomination there), An Education, A Serious Man and (the mig... Continue reading... Comment Now (17 comments)
Back To TopUnder The Radar: Sundance 2010: The Awards
Posted on Sunday January 31, 2010, 16:28 by Damon Wise in Under The Radar
The awards were announced last night at an awards show that saw David Hyde Pierce rapping, and a film considered to be one of the most critically savaged in the competition – Mark Ruffalo's Sympathy For Delicious – getting a special award for its "fearlessness". The top two awards, which last year went to Precious and We Live In Public, surprised no one by going to Restrepo (pictured) and Winter's Bone. Surprisingly, the popular Michelle Wiliams/Ryan Gosling two-hander Blue Valentine went home empty-handed. It was quite a good night for the Brits and the Irish, however. Four Lions failed to explode, but a suprise winner was Lucy Walker, who was actually at the bar when the Audience Award for her inspirational documentary Waste Land was announced. Exec-produced by City Of God director Fernando Meirelles, Waste Land follows Brazilian artist Vik Munez as he puts together his latest art proje... Continue reading... Comment Now (1 comment)
Back To TopUnder The Radar: Sundance 2010: Twelve Mini-Reviews
Posted on Saturday January 30, 2010, 01:00 by Damon Wise in Under The Radar
 ONE FESTIVAL DARLING
I wanted to like the much-hyped Howl (pictured), but though I was dazzled by James Franco's great and very plausible portrayal of Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, I think this experimental docudrama went in a few too many different directions. Primarily, it's an account of the 1957 trial in which San Francisco bookshop owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti was taken to court for publishing and selling obscene material, namely Ginsberg's 1955 poem Howl, a semi-autobiographical tribute to his peers. The courtroom scenes were funny and quite insightful, but the filmmakers chose to weave in three extra elements: a faux 'interview', in which Ginsberg talks to an unseen journalist; a recreation of the poem's first ever public reading in 1955; and, most mystifying of all, some animated sections seeking to replicate the poem's jazzy, freeform imagery. Beat aficionados will find elements to enjoy, but, personally, I think this won't serve the experts and casual viewers may well find them... Continue reading... Comment Now
Back To TopEmpire States: What Did Miramax Ever Do For Us?
Posted on Friday January 29, 2010, 11:54 by Chris Hewitt in Empire States
The scene: The Empire offices, Friday. Chris Hewitt is leading a news meeting (yes, we have news meetings).
Chris: So, Miramax has been closed down by Disney.
Helen O’Hara: We should do something on that. A celebration or something.
Chris: A celebration? Of Miramax? Are you mad? What have they ever given us?
Pause.
Ali Plumb: [meekly] Quentin Tarantino?
Chris: What?
Ali: Quentin Tarantino?
Chris: Oh yeah, Quentin Tarantino. After all, Harvey and Bob Weinstein were the guys who took a chance on him with Reservoir Dogs, and then partnered with him throughout his illustrious career. You could make a case that Miramax is the House That Quentin Built, so yeah, they did give us that.
Phil de Semlyen: And they introduced world cinema to a wider audience.
Helen: Oh yeah, world cinema, Chris. Rememb... Continue reading... Comment Now (3 comments)
Back To TopOff The Wire: The Oscar Race: What Upsets Would You Like To See?
Posted on Friday January 29, 2010, 02:11 by Damon Wise in Off The Wire
 Taking a break from the Sundance marathon, I found myself watching the SAG awards telecast on Sunday night, which is actually a much bigger event that I'd ever realised. Quite a few things went through my mind as I watched, one of them being that I really think the Oscar race is taking shape now, and, if you haven't already put your money on Jeff Bridges for Best Actor, I think you should do so now, ditto for Mo'Nique (Precious) and Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), since they too seem to have a lock on their respective supporting-actor categories. But the thing that surprised me most was the award for Best Ensemble cast; like many others, I'd have bet the farm on Nine, for pedigree alone, so I was actually quite shocked – in a good way – to see the guys from Inglourious Basterds win the day. It proved to me that there are still some upsets possible along the way.
So this got me to thinking about the upsets I'd like to see. For Best Acto... Continue reading... Comment Now (11 comments)
Back To TopUnder The Radar: Sundance 2010: Get Ready For Buried!
Posted on Thursday January 28, 2010, 19:20 by Damon Wise in Under The Radar
 Sundance has a habit of turning up a genuine oddity that either goes supernova or becomes a niche cult item for those who've heard of it. Into the former category I'd put The Blair Witch Project and Donnie Darko; into the latter, I'd put The Machinist, Fido and Primer. The thing about Buried is that I don't know which way it will go: at the screening I attended, director Rodrigo Cortes announced, “It's about a guy in a coffin. You're still here? I said, it's about a guy in a coffin!” He's right. But I think part of the appeal of this film is seeing how it's done. Because, although there is a surprisingly extensive cast list, Buried is a 90-minute movie about a single, solitary man that never once moves away from the situation it's showing.
And that situation is intense; Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds), a contract lorry driver working in Iraq, wakes up to find himself in a wooden box, several feet under the ground. He struggles to get free, but the soil i... Continue reading... Comment Now (3 comments)
Back To TopOff The Wire: He’s Back, He’s Bad, He’s Black, He’s Mad
Posted on Thursday January 28, 2010, 12:13 by Chris Hewitt in Off The Wire
 For my money, Shane Black may just be the best commercial screenwriter in Hollywood. From the first two Lethal Weapons through to The Monster Squad to The Long Kiss Goodnight, The Last Boy Scout and his wonderful directorial debut, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, nobody else in Hollywood – not even Tarantino – boasts Black's knack for tweaking genre tropes with an ear for tough-guy dialogue worthy of Chandler, Ellroy, Leonard.
So, naturally, I’m delighted by the news that he’s set to reteam with Mel Gibson on the spy thriller, Cold Warrior. And so should you. In case you need some persuasion, here are ten lines of dialogue that will make you glad that Black is back…
1. “Touch me again, and I’ll kill ya.”
Bruce Willis warns Kim Coates’ slap-happy henchman of the consequences of violating his personal bubble in The Last Boy Scout. It’s a laconic threat worthy of Bob Mitc... Continue reading... Comment Now (18 comments)
Back To TopUnder The Radar: Sundance 2010: Is Cyrus this year's Juno?
Posted on Thursday January 28, 2010, 00:39 by Damon Wise in Under The Radar
 The Duplass brothers, Mark and Jay, first came to Sundance in 2005 with The Puffy Chair, a film that established them as leading lights of the emerging mumblecore scene, an ultra low-budget genre typified by extensive use of hand-held camera, semi-professional acting, lots of improvised action and even more talking, usually between people with relationship issues. With Cyrus they have technically sold out, since this Fox Searchlight production was not only bankrolled by The Man, it also boasts some serious mainstream stars in the central power trio of John C Reilly, Marisa Tomei and Superbad's Jonah Hill. If you've seen Lynn Shelton's rather awesome Humpday – wwhich featured Mark, the younger Duplass brother, in an acting capacity as a straight guy who sets out to make a gay porno movie with his best friend in order to make a “beautiful” art statement – you'll know what to expect. Though perhaps a little more sentimental than Shelton's f... Continue reading... Comment Now
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