Update: Disney has finally gotten back tyo us and say that the film will not be released as a “Pixar” branded film, but instead a “Walt Disney Picture”. So basically, the trades messed up.
When it was announced that Finding Nemo and WALL-E helmer Andrew Stanton would be directing a big screen live-action adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ John Carter of Mars, there was a lot of speculation that the film would be Pixar’s first live-action production. Pixar co-founder and president Ed Catmull quickly quashed the rumors, telling the attendees of the SIGGRAPH computer graphics conference that Pixar would not be entering the special effects business.
“We’ve got two projects coming where there’s a live action element. But our view is not that we’re trying to diversify; it’s more that we’ve got a creative vision to try something different, and we want to support that vision,” Catmull said. “Whether or not it goes beyond that we don’t know, but we don’t want to turn Pixar into a live action studio. In fact, the intent is that the special effects will not be done at Pixar… We are not trying to become a special effects company.”
But the newest casting announcement in the Hollywood trade-papers suggests otherwise: John Carter of Mars will be the first live-action feature from Pixar.
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For Hunter’s reviews/wrap-ups of the previous two episodes of Breaking Bad leading up to last Sunday’s divisive finale, click here for ep 11 (”Mandala”) and here for ep 12 (”Phoenix”).
Now that most everyone has caught up with the season finale of Breaking Bad, entitled “ABQ,” on their TiVo and what not, let’s take a look at what went…down. Actually, for the sake of disclosure, the mini-delay of this write-up is also due to the episode being a surprising disappointment in my eyes. For a series that is deftly founded on madcap realism, the natural awes of science, and the odds of consequence, I found “ABQ” to stretch way beyond the show’s established believability (and viewers’ trust therein).
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Our recap and mini-essay for last week’s Breaking Bad proved surprisingly popular. We’re glad to see so many /Film readers tuning in to this superb AMC series; it’s a show that frantically cooks up smart debate…as well as predictions for several main characters that are exceedingly bleak and exciting. Today, we discuss “Phoenix,” the 12th episode leading up to next Sunday’s whoa-insured finale. Beware of major spoilers below. Feel free to share your theories on the end of season two, or opinions on the show’s growing comparisons with The Wire, in the comments.
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Geez. Breaking Bad is breaking our innocent heart like the fourth grade. How about yours? With last Sunday’s episode, “Mandala,” the show tapped a pungent high too strong for /Film to ignore. Indeed, the latest ep in the best crystal meth drama outside of Wasilla, Alaska seemed to Ziploc the destinies of several main characters. Spoilers and tear drops ahead. If you’re a fan, please chime in below. If you’re not, what are you? A fan of Two and a Half Men? Do you know how much money that fat kid makes?!! Or, even worse, are you a fan of NBC’s Mark (competing time slot)? Update: Discussion over the ominous body bags has started in the comments.
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Mad Men certainly deserves all of the praise thus far received in its first two seasons on AMC, but I always thought it a tad disconcerting that AMC’s Breaking Bad has purred in the background like colorful dry ice. Not only is the series as entertaining, well-produced, and agreeably shrewd with its layered characters, but creator Vince Gilligan has given a daring, nutty jolt to themes long mastered by others shows i.e. the drug war (The Wire) and the rapport between money and mortality (The Sopranos).
At last year’s Emmys, when lead actor Bryan Cranston beat out Dexter’s Michael C. Hall and Mad Men’s Jon Hamm, the underdog bite in the W mirrored that of Walter White’s, the cancer-stricken, primo meth-cooking family man he plays. Season Two begins tonight at 10 p.m. EST. and picks up immediately where the first left off. If you’re a fan, it’s been a friggin’ longtime coming, eh? Almost a year to the day. If you haven’t been following, recommended. This is easily one of the best shows going…
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