WonderCon 2012 took over the Anaheim Convention Center this year, so more Hollywood studios were in attendance than in previous San Francisco-based editions. While there wasn’t a lot of newsworthy bits to come out of the panels this year, we did get to see a lot of footage from upcoming films: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Prometheus, Snow White and the Huntsman, Battleship and Rian Johnson‘s Looper.
After the con closed its doors, I recorded a video blog with /Film writers Germain Lussier and Adam Quigley, joined by Alex Billington from FirstShowing.net. We give reactions to all the footage we saw (with exception of The Amazing Spider-Man, since it was the same sizzle reel I posted about last month). We try not to go into descriptions, and instead just give you our reactions. Watch it now embedded after the jump.
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Besides the Prometheus trailer, the other highlight of WonderCon on Saturday was the world premiere of the teaser trailer for Rian Johnson‘s highly anticipated sci-fi action film Looper. Featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Wills as the same character, the film explores a world where time travel is possible, but highly illegal. The only people who use it are mobsters who send people back in time 30 years to be killed by assassins called “loopers.” One day a looper (Gordon-Levitt) is faced with the ultimate decision as his future self (Willis) is sent back in time.
The trailer, which might not be online for a few weeks, showed a lot of that, but also high-octane, noir action set in a decidedly gritty, realistic world. This is something more akin to a Christopher Nolan movie than a Rian Johnson movie. Speed-bikes flying through streets, people disappearing and reappearing out of thin air, and the film’s star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, looking radically different in a setting that’s decidedly un-sci-fi. After the jump, get your first glimpse of Levitt in the film and read a bit more about the transformation. Read More »
It didn’t take much deliberation at all for me to crown Rian Johnson‘s third film Looper as my most anticipated movie of 2012. After making Brick and The Brothers Bloom, Johnson has penned and directed a sci-fi thriller in which time travel is used as an assassination tool in the not-too-distant future.
A few people have seen the film in incomplete form, and written very positive things about it. But most of us know very little. We know the cast includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt, and we’ve seen a single image of Willis firing a rifle. Unless you read all the reviews that came out of one early screening, that’s probably all you know.
Now, as a New Year’s present, Johnson has offered up a photo of himself sitting in the film’s giant iron womb of a time machine. The image should give you the idea that this is no simple, slick thriller, but hopefully something with a more convincing approach. Check the image in full below. Read More »
Enough about 2011; let’s look ahead to 2012. This past year was good about offering a diverse set of films that catered to many tastes, especially crowds that wanted something out of the range of standard multiplex fare. But 2012 looks like a much stronger year. We can almost always look ahead to a new year and say that there is a great batch of new films from established favorite filmmakers, movies with wonderful casts, giant event movies and promising indies. But 2012 looks like it has more of those than usual. It’s going to be a good year for movie watchers.
After some deliberation (which no doubt has still allowed me to overlook something for which I’ll facepalm later) here is a list of ten films that I’m very excited to see in 2012, followed by a full page of discussion about a whole bunch of other movies that didn’t make my personal cut but are still bright spots on the 2012 calendar for various reasons. This list could change a lot in the next couple weeks, as Sundance (and then Cannes in May) could reveal a good many new films that will be bright spots on the calendar in ’12.
I’ve also exercised a certain hopefulness here, as there are a few films that don’t yet have official 2012 release dates. Let’s hope they don’t slip. Read More »
One of our most anticipated 2012 releases is Looper, which comes from Brick and The Brothers Bloom director Rian Johnson. The movie shot some time ago, but will not be distributed until next year, and the wait is one I’m not suffering patiently.
Looper is a time travel movie, of sorts. It stars Bruce Willis (in the first still from the film, above) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as two men on opposite ends of a timeline. The central conceit is that there is a society in which time travel exists and is banned. Time-travel tech is still in use, however, as an execution tool: gangsters send targets back in time. When the target lands in the past, specialized hit men, ‘loopers,’ make the kill. But what happens when a target escapes the execution? And what further complications ensue when the target is the future self of the looper meant to pull the trigger?
New reports from a Looper test screening are not going to make the wait any easier. A few high profile web writers caught the film, and their opinion of the film, which was shown in unfinished form, is extremely high. Read More »
Posted on Sunday, October 16th, 2011 by David Chen
On Sunday morning, director Rian Johnson sent out a vague tweet, saying that “things have been quiet on the feud front. I have an update. It’s long.” Evidently he was referring to a (nonexistent?) longtime feud with director Jason Reitman, and his attempt to bury the hatchet with him. As with most things that Johnson writes, things don’t exactly go according to plan.
[Update: Commenter Greg points out the following: "The 'feud' was initiated by Johnson last week. He laid out the ground rules first. He wanted to pick a director more talented than himself so that he could be the underdog. And he wanted someone who didn't tweet a lot so it wouldn't be a lot of work for him. Reitman had not tweeted in over a year, but within a day or two of Johnson egging him on, he responded."]
The resulting tweets were multitudinous and spread out over many hours. Taken together, they clearly represent the deranged ramblings of a half-demented, syphilitic mind. I’ve compiled Johnson’s tweets for maximum readability and reprinted them after the jump without his permission. Enjoy.
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The /Filmcast: After Dark is a recording of what happens right after The /Filmcast is over, when the kids have gone to bed and the guys feel free to speak whatever is on their minds. In other words, it’s the leftover and disorganized ramblings, mindfarts, and brain diarrhea from The /Filmcast, all in one convenient audio file. In this episode, David Chen, Devindra Hardawar, and Adam Quigley chat with director Rian Johnson about filming his upcoming Looper, starring Bruce Willis, as well as what it was like to direct an episode of Breaking Bad. Also, more talk about theater texters, video games, and Game of Thrones.
You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993. We’ll be back on Slashfilm’s live page on Sunday (6/19) to review Green Lantern.
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This week, Dave, Devindra, and Adam continue their discussion about Tree of Life, find something redeemable about the Pirates sequels, and get excited about Darren Aronofsky’s next project. Special guest director Rian Johnson returns. Check out Rian’s films on Netflix and Amazon. His newest film, Looper, will be in theaters September 2012.
You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993. Join us for our next live broadcast on Sunday, June 19th, at Slashfilm’s live page where we’ll be discussing The Green Lantern.
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