On June 20th, I flew to San Francisco to visit Barsoom Studios, in an office building minutes sown the road from Pixar Animation Studios, to see the first footage from John Carter, a big screen adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic sci-fi novel A Princess of Mars.
In a screening room, Finding Nemo/Wall-E director Andrew Stanton gave us a powerpoint presentation explaining why and how he became involved in the project, and the unique methods they used to “shoot” the film (you can read a transcript of Andrew’s complete presentation and Q&A elsewhere on /Film). We screened a couple scenes from the movie, and the teaser trailer which will be attached to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II (expect to see it online on Thursday, July 14th).
After the jump you can read my brief thoughts, followed by a video blog I recorded with Frosty from Collider (who admits he knows nothing about the source material) and Eric Vespe (better known as Quint from Ain’t It Cool, who knows way way way more than I will ever know about the source material). So we have a good spread of opinions based on a wide range of expectations and knowledge of the source material.
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Posted on Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 by Angie Han
An international English-language trailer has dropped for Studio Ghibli‘s Arrietty, the directorial debut of animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi. The new spot features the UK voice cast, which includes Saoirse Ronan as Arrietty, Olivia Coleman, Tom Holland, and Mark Strong.
Based on Mary Norton‘s classic children’s series The Borrowers, the film revolves around a 14-year-old girl named Arrietty Clock, who is one of a group of tiny people who secretly reside in the homes of regular-sized people and “borrow” supplies from them as needed. When Arrietty is discovered by a human boy, the two strike up a friendship that has big repercussions for the Clocks’ lives. Watch the trailer after the jump.
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Posted on Thursday, June 30th, 2011 by Angie Han
I’ve been looking forward to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy since I first heard that Let the Right One In director Tomas Alfredson had been tapped to direct from Peter Morgan‘s (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) script. My excitement has only increased with each new casting announcement — Gary Oldman! Colin Firth! Tom Hardy! Mark Strong! Now a first teaser has dropped for the film, and though we don’t get to see a whole lot, what we do see looks frankly fantastic. See if you agree with me after the jump.
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Posted on Tuesday, June 21st, 2011 by Angie Han
Gossip Girl actor Penn Badgley has been tapped to star as Jeff Buckley in a new biopic about the singer-songwriter. No, not that one — the other one. In true Hollywood fashion, there are currently two Buckley-based projects in the works: the one Jake Scott’s making with Buckley’s mother Mary Guibert as executive producer, and this one, directed by Daniel Algrant (Naked in New York). Scott’s film will be look at Buckley’s (tragically brief) life and career arc, whereas Algrant’s will focus on Buckley’s breakthrough performance at a 1991 tribute concert for his father, the late Tim Buckley. According to The Playlist, Algrant’s will also include a romance between Buckley and a working at the concert.
I really only know Badgley from Easy A and the handful of Gossip Girl episodes I’ve seen, and I can’t say he’s ever left a strong impression on me. (Well — I hated his Gossip Girl character, but that’s probably less his fault than the writers’.) So I can’t say whether this will be a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, there’s a chance he’ll be going up against fellow teen heartthrob Robert Pattinson, who’s still rumored to be circling the corresponding role in Scott’s movie. [24 Frames]
After the jump, rising star Andrea Riseborough wins the female lead in Welcome to the Punch, and Fairly Legal‘s Sarah Shahi signs on for Walter Hill’s next project.
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Much has been made of the fact that Disney and director Andrew Stanton decided to change the title of John Carter of Mars to simply John Carter. Here was my assessment at the time:
The title John Carter means nothing. It could be anything from a courtroom drama to romantic comedy to porn film. It has zero style or substance and I hope Disney realizes that John Carter Of Mars at least lets the audience know what they are in for: an epic sci-fi fantasy movie.
One of the film’s stars, Mark Strong, disagrees. He’s out stomping for another big, sci-fi epic (Green Lantern) and told Movies.com why he loves the new title. Read More »
The first screening of Martin Campbell‘s Green Lantern happened on Sunday night in Hollywood, and the early response so far has been very positive. Read some tweets and quotes after the jump.
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One of my most anticipated films of the year is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. That’s in part because it is the new film, at last, from Let the Right One In director Tomas Alfredson. And in part because the cast is about as good as they come (if quite skewed towards the male): Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciaran Hinds, Mark Strong, Svetlana Khodchenko, Toby Jones, John Hurt, Stephen Graham and Kathy Burke. Whew. That is a mad bastard of a cast list.
Now the film will be released on November 18 by Focus Features. Read More »
Why studios are releasing 3D trailers online and calling them “3D trailers” when we can’t watch them in 3D is beyond me. Paramount did it earlier today with Transformers: Dark of the Moon and now Warner Bros. has done it with Green Lantern. But, unlike the Transformers trailer, this Green Lantern trailer is totally different from the previous one and, like almost everything that’s been released from this film, it’s even better looking than the last thing. Case in point: Ryan Reynolds doesn’t even appear for a minute and a half into this one. It’s all about the Corps. Check it out after the jump. Read More »
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