Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
Last night, the Academy of Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films held the 35th annual Saturn Awards. The Dark Knight was the big winner of the night, taking home five awards, including Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film, Best Supporting Actor (Ledger), Best Writer, Best Music and Best Special Effects. Iron Man, Battlestar Galactica, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button each won three awards. A full listing of winners is available after the jump
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Contest: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Criterion DVD
Posted on Thursday, May 28th, 2009 by David Chen
I can scarcely believe that it’s been almost one year since we first launched the /Film movie podcast, the /Filmcast. Many actors, filmmakers, and bloggers have made their way through our podcast doors and it’s been a blast to chat with all of them about movies and movie news. To celebrate, we’ve been giving away a bunch of cool stuff and announcing winners during our show, which airs on Monday nights at 9 PM EST / 6 PM PST at Slashfilm’s live page.
This week we’ll be giving away two copies of the Criterion DVD of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Those of you familiar with Criterion DVDs know that they’re always jampacked with high-quality extras and this DVD is no exception. Regardless of whether or not you liked the film, the DVD offers a fascinating look into Button’s creative process and its spectacular visual effects.
In keeping with the shamelessly masturbatory spirit of celebrating a show’s one-year anniversary, here are the instructions to enter the contest:
1) Simply answer one of the two following questions:
a) What is your favorite moment/memory from the /Filmcast this past year? OR…
b) What is your favorite moment/memory from your life this past year, that you had while listening to the /Filmcast?
2) E-mail slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com with your answers. Having an answer longer than one or two sentences will increase your chances of winning. Put the phrase “Button Contest” in your subject line and include your mailing address.
3) Please note that unless you say otherwise, I will assume your stories are free to share on the air, on /Film, or elsewhere. I will probably write a separate post compiling some of the best answers, but I will only use your initials to identify where each story came from.
That’s it! Winners will be chosen through some hybridized selection process incorporating randomness, weighted averages, the quality/humor/earnestness of the answers, etc., and will be announced live on the air on Monday night at 9 PM EST / 6 PM PST when we broadcast the /Filmcast live.
As always, feel free to subscribe to the /Film movie podcast using the following links:
This Week in DVD: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Last Chance Harvey
Posted on Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 by Adam Quigley
This Week in DVD is a column that compiles all the latest info regarding new DVD releases, sales, and exclusive deals from stores including Target, Best Buy and Fry’s.
Please don’t take the commentary on the movies and TV shows too seriously, as they’re meant not to be reviews but rather previews that include the general thoughts and ramblings of a twice-committed DVD addict. The categories represent solely the author’s intentions towards the DVDs at hand, and are in no way meant to be a reflection on what he thinks other people should rent or buy. So if he ends up putting a movie you like in the “Skip it” section without having seen it, please keep in mind that the time you could spend leaving a spiteful but ultimately futile comment could instead be used for more pleasant things in life. Like buying DVDs.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
(Available as single-disc and 2-Disc Criterion Edition)
David Fincher is a director who’s responsible for a number of my all-time favorite films… The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, however, is not one of them. This is a movie that I’d recommend more for its technical merits than its story, which uses its excellent “backwards aging” premise primarily as a gimmick; remove it, and you have yourself a fairly standard ’sprawling’ tale of a disabled man’s life, as he experiences love, loss, sorrow and all that other wonderful tear-jerky, Oscar-baity goodness. This should come as no surprise, really, given that screenwriter Eric Roth basically just recycled most of the major story beats from Forrest Gump.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: There are no extras on the single-disc, while the 2-disc Criterion Edition includes a commentary by director David Fincher and a 4-part The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button documentary.
| BEST PRICE* | ||
|---|---|---|
| Target | Best Buy | Fry’s |
| $16.99 | $15.99 | $14.99 |
| Amazon – $15.99 | ||
*Does not include 2-Disc Criterion Edition, which costs $22.99 at each of the listed stores (including Amazon).
/Filmcast Ep. 43 - Duplicity (GUEST: Alison Willmore from IFC)
Posted on Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 by David Chen
In this episode of the /Filmcast, David Chen, Devindra Hardawar and Adam Quigley discuss the criteria for getting chosen for the Criterion Collection, and reflect on the state of I Love You, Philip Morris. Special guest Alison Willmore from IFC and the Indie Eye blog joins us this evening, and reports from the SXSW film festival.
You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993. Join us next Monday night at Slashfilm’s live page at 9 PM EST / 6 PM PST as we review Monsters vs. Aliens.
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on Criterion?!
Posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
You know a filmmaker has a lot of pull when he can force a big movie studio to allow him to release his film on DVD/Blu-ray through The Criterion Collection — the distributor and label of choice of film snobs around the world. Paramount Home Entertainment has announced that David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will be released in a two disc Criterion edition dvd and blu-ray on May 5th 2009. Full press release after the jump.
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As a kid I was obsessed with those movie magic specials. It was kind of like finding out how a magician did his magic tricks. As digital special effects have taken over, I feel the movie magic reveal has become less fun. Watching the special effects featurette on a DVD is usually one of the least interesting things on the disc. So it’s great when a video like this comes along.
Digital Domain’s Executive Vice President Ed Ulbrich gave a talk at TED2009, explaining “How Benjamin Button Got His Face.” TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader. The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes). Ulbrich explains the Oscar-winning technology that allowed his team to digitally create older versions of Brad Pitt’s face for David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This talk was recorded in February 2009 in Long Beach, California. Watch the video after the jump.
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What if The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Dark Knight were combined into one movie, starring… Jimmy Kimmel? No need to wonder “What If?”, check out The Curious Case of Benjamin Batman embedded after the jump.
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AMC Wants You To See All Five Best Picture Nominated Films In One Day
Posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 by Kevin Kelly
Are you way behind on your movie watching? The Oscars are approaching faster than you think. In case you hadn’t realized, they’re on this Sunday. Still haven’t seen Milk, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, or Slumdog Millionaire? Not doing anything this Saturday? Well then, you’re in luck. If you have $30 bucks to spare, you can catch every single one of these films in a row, starting with Milk at 10:30am, all the way up to Frost/Nixon at 9:45pm. It boils down to almost 11 complete hours of film time, and AMC is tossing in a large popcorn with free refills all day to boot. Plus you’ll be able to come and go as you please… like during the last hour or so of Benjamin Button.
Over 97 different AMC theaters across the U.S. are participating in this showcase, and you can check on their website to see if this is happening near you. While it might not be all three Lord of the Rings movies in a row (which is almost as long with those extended editions), it’s still a pretty serious way to geek out on some quality movies. Just make sure you eat your weight in popcorn to really squeeze some extra value out of your thirty bucks. That’s what I’m planning on doing (I’ll be at the one in Anaheim), and now I just have to figure out how to smuggle in a tank full of soda.
The Science Behind The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Posted on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Paramount Pictures has launched BenjaminButtonFX.com, a website that reveals some of the secrets behind the visual effects magic that was used to create The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. From a man aging backwards, to a city’s development over decades, the website features a bunch of different interactive displays of how the visual effects magic was created. It’s definitely one of those websites that you’ll have fun exploring. I’m wondering why it took them so long to get this site up? And I have to say I love the evolution progression on the loading bar (seen above). They should have used that image on a theatrical teaser poster.
2008 British Academy Film And Television Awards Winners
Posted on Sunday, February 8th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
/Film reader Jordan (JordanFRAV) has e-mailed us with the complete list of winners from the British Academy Film And Television Awards. Slumdog Millionaire cleaned-up, winning 7 Awards. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button took home 3 Awards. Check out the full list of award winners after the jump.
For all the /Film readers who absolutely loved The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, now is your chance to own a piece of movie history.
Button was a beautiful film, with breathtaking production design and brilliantly realized settings. One of the most memorable locations was the nursing home that Benjamin Button grew up in, which was staffed by his mother Queenie (the now-Oscar-nominated Taraji P. Henson). According to Sotheby’s, that exact house is now on sale for $2.85 million. At a spacious 7,800 feet, the mansion located at 2707 Coliseum St. in New Orleans boasts 6 bedrooms, a music room, a library, and a reception hall. Hit the jump for some more details, plus a few more photos of the house.
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Despite Oscar Nominations and Box Office Buzz, Benjamin Button May Not Be Profitable
Posted on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 by David Chen
Anyone watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will know that the film was not a cheap one to make. Paramount chose to co-finance the film’s production with Warner Brothers (who will release the film worldwide) for $150 million, and you really see every dollar of it on screen. Lavish production design and incredible aging effects led Fincher’s film to a bunch of technical nominations at the Oscars this year. But with an already-existing domestic box office take north of $100 million, plus a wave of publicity from its Oscar nominations, plus international distribution and DVD sales still in the future, the film has got to make a profit for Paramount, right? Maybe not.
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