Tag Archives: Peter Jackson

Movie News & Opinions

CCI 2012: Neill Blomkamp Talks Elysium, District 10 & Something Called Chappie

Leave a comment

First off let’s talk about Elysium a little bit since it’s the next of his films to come out and we will be hearing more about it soon. Also 6,000 fans were treated to a seven minute clip of Elysium at CCI (More on that later). The film stars Matt Damon as an Earth resident determined to infiltrate the secure space paradise, and Jodie Foster plays an Elysium leader determined to stop him. District 9 star Sharlto Copley returns, this time as a villain, which is very interesting.

The seven-minute clip shows Damon working to escape the filthy planet, enduring a mysterious mechanical brain-implant procedure that leaves him with machinery protruding from the back of his head and encasing his arms.

Previous articles on Elysium;

‘Elysium’ from the director of ‘District 9’: Plot & Images

So what about Neill Blomkamp sequels? Well he did talk a little about future District 9 sequels. Not a great deal given away but still we have hope he comes up with a great idea for a sequel.

“The obvious place to work with him [Peter Jackson] again,” Blomkamp said, “is on ‘District 10,’ or ‘District 8,‘ whatever you wanna call it, however, I’m not sure I’m making that film. It would be cool, but these films take two or three years to make, and the investments are so extreme, you can’t accurately predict where you’ll be a few years from now, I believe. If you’re not creatively invested in it, you’re making a mistake, and that creative investment happens day to day. So I don’t know when that feeling for a ‘District Whatever’ film happens.”

Finally something about a Sci-Fi comedy film Neill Blomkamp is making with Terri Tatchell which I have not heard about before but apparently is going to be his next project. It’s called ‘Chappie’ and Blomkamp spoke a little about it below:

“I wrote ‘Elysium’ on my own, but I wrote ‘Chappie’ with Terri [Tatchell], that was written at the same time. It’s like a fundamentally more simple story, a comedy, a heartfelt story, in a science fiction setting. And it’s f***ing hilarious, it’s a really cool film. I can say that with confidence … It’s a smaller film, a more esoteric one.  It may very well be my next project.  It probably will be. But A) I wanna take some time off, and B) you need to know for sure that that’s what you’re going to do for X number of years. I have another idea for a horror, and for a comedy, but they’re way less fleshed out than ‘Chappie.’ ‘Chappie”s ready to go, and I think ‘Chappie”s what I’m making. But I’m gonna take some time to make sure.”

Check out more Comic-Con coverage here, more pics on our Tumblr and follow the action at the Con over on our Twitter!

Movie News & Opinions

The Hobbit in 48fps Demos Film Evolution, Pissed Some People Off

2 Comments

As you can tell, we here at Grizzly Bomb take our snobbish film elitist roles very seriously (duh, we’re on the internet immediately judging and shoving our opinion into people’s throats because we’re empowered by the web). We are also major geeks/nerds that will drool at the prospect of seeing The Hobbit hit the screen in two films. Sometimes these two things do not work in harmony though. We have the capacity to geek out, but news has come out today that will definitely be a talking point until The Hobbit comes out in December. What’s the issue? Peter Jackson has embraced the ‘evolution’ of filmmaking and filmed in 48fps. He decided to screen 10 minutes of the film to various critics at CinemaCon 2012. The problem? Everyone thinks it looks like it was filmed for television. Not even like good television. Like the afternoon soap opera with the motionflow on 120hz TVs. This…is an issue.

According to EW and FilmDrunk, many critics have taken to twitter to give their thoughts on the change and it’s easy to say that most have been very mixed. Kind of like a good news, bad news deal. Here are some thoughts:

“Saw ten minutes of Hobbit in 48fps 3D. Very exciting, but I’m now very unsure about higher framerates #CinemaCon” -Peter Sciretta, SlashFilm

“Great Scott, THE HOBBIT in 48 frames-per-second is a thing to behold. Totally different experience. Not all will like the change” – Josh Dickey, Variety

“Saw 10 min of THE HOBBIT in 48fps. It’s def a drastic change from 24fps and many are not going to be on board with it. #thehobbit” -Steve Weintraub, Collider

“Oh no. Not a fan of 48fps. Oh no no no. […] Listening to Cinemacon people – theater owners – this 48fps demo sold NOBODY. […] THE HOBBIT, frankly, did not look cinematic.” “Here’s what The Hobbit looked like to me: a hi-def version of the 1970s I, Claudius. It is drenched in a TV-like — specifically ’70s-era BBC — video look. People on Twitter have asked if it has that soap opera look you get from badly calibrated TVs at Best Buy, and the answer is an emphatic YES,” -Devin Faraci, BadassDigest

“It’s literally like being on the set next to the actors as they’re performing. […] Once audiences get to seeThe Hobbit screened at the 48 frames per second rate when it’s released in theaters on December 14, 2012, I can guarantee moviegoers are going to demand all films be presented at 48 fps.”- Rebecca Murray, About.com

“Saw the 10 minutes of raw The Hobbit footage in 48FPS 3D. Intriguing, the footage looks amazing, but the 48FPS experience is an odd change” – Alex Billington, Firstshowing.com

Soooo yeah. Let’s tackle the apparent good first. This is huge for film because this was done to make the picture as crisp and realistic as possible and from all apparent signs, it has accomplished that. Film is usually filmed in 24fps so it has a certain look to it where it does not look real life in terms of movements with the camera and the action. Everyone says it is the sharpest picture they have ever seen. However, you are also undoing the look of film over the last several decades. Film has a certain quality to it and to change that look completely is completely jarring. So much so that Peter Jackson himself said he screened 10 minutes because it takes the eyes awhile to adjust to the new look.

Now let me add, I have not seen the footage and can only judge on my experience on watching movies with the motionflow feature. If it is anything like that, which some people on twitter have compared it to, I will have a conniption. Motionflow is great for smoothing out high movement shows like sports. It is terrific for hockey and basketball in my opinion because you want to feel like you are there in the bleachers without having any artifacting or stutters on the screen. However, watching Saving Private Ryan or Thor with this feature on feels…off. It does have a soap opera feel and takes you out of the experience. Storming the beach at Normandy felt like it was filled on a flip cam. It did not feel like a movie. Again, I do not doubt that this will look beautiful, or that this is probably the way filmmaking may go. But we are so used to having one thing and we all know how we all react to change. It is going to divide people and that is good. Filmmaking will always be debated down to the details and it will help “evolve” film whether by frames per second or certain details like film vs digital. I look forward to witnessing this for myself as will the rest of you. I also look forward to the debate at Dennys with Dr. Kronner after the midnight showing on whether it looked great, looked like garbage, and whether films should move in that direction or not. As it should be. Then we will probably get in a fight with someone at Dennys too. Because that’s how we roll at Grizzly Bomb.

Uncategorized

Dr. Sleep: Stephen King Writes Sequel to ‘The Shining’

Leave a comment

The Shining is a classic movie by all accounts, and bridges the gap between horror and thriller genres allowing it to be heralded by geeks, fiends and “the thinking man” alike.  It’s a movie that is extremely quotable and therefore quite often lampooned and even though it was a product of the 80’s it is still watchable and relevant today. The Shining came in at #29 on AFI’s “Top 100 Thrills” list and more importantly is #2 on The Grizzly Bomb’s list of “Top Horror Movies of the 1980’s”.

The Shining was of course based on Stephen King’s book of the same name and it seems that King has finally returned to the Torrance family with the announcement of his new book Dr. Sleep. According to Wikipedia and other online rumor millings Dr. Sleep follows a grown up Danny Torrance who is using his mental powers to help terminally ill patients move to the beyond. On his current promotional tours Stephen King has been reading the first chapter of Dr. Sleep which catches up to an 8-year old Danny Torrance. Danny and his Mom have moved to Florida where they keep in touch with fellow Overlook survivor Dick Hallorann {he doesn’t get axed in the back in the book} and, as we soon find out, the woman from room 217 haunts more than one bathroom in the world. By doing some quick math we can extrapolate that Dr. Sleep will likely be a modern tale. The Shining takes place in 1977 and Danny is four and if Dr. Sleep follows him at age forty, as rumored, that would set the tale in 2013.

In a separate reading King reveals a little more of the Dr. Sleep story this time focusing on “The Tribe” a group of vampire-like  octogenarians who mask their youthful vitality and nefarious ways under the guise of  America’s RV crowd.

After listening to the two chapters it seems clear that Dr. Sleep will have little similarities to The Shining except for the involvement of  it’s characters. The Overlook has been destroyed so there’s no returning there, and although Jack Nicholson is old enough to play a ghost it’s wholly unlikely King will be going down that road. The title Dr. Sleep seems to reference Danny Torrance’s new vocation, but there is assuredly some other parallel to be made in what we expect is the eventual battle between Danny and his vampiric tormentors led by the woman from Room 217.

As King has not even released a date for the books debut it’s unlikely the inevitable “Shining sequel” will be headed for the big screen anytime relatively soon. Worthy or not, you know that the sequel will be made. It’s too bad that Stanley Kubrick is no longer with us to put his masterful stamp on Dr. Sleep, but based on the preliminary plot line is seems more like the kind of movie that will be helmed by the likes of James Cameron, Michael Bay or some other action junkie. If we’re lucky maybe it will fall into the hands of a Guillermo del Toro or a Peter Jackson where it can get the intellectual horror vibe it will hopefully warrant.

Movie News & Opinions

Peter Jackson and His ‘Hobbit’ Video Blogs

Leave a comment

Just watched another riveting behind the scenes video of The Hobbit franchise as Peter Jackson gave us his 6th installment, and the first we’ve seen in quite some time.  After the longest 12 minutes I’ve experienced since right before I walked out of Star Wars: Episode One, I learned virtually nothing about the film, but a lot about New Zealand.  Like they have thorn bushes.  And floods.  And everything is pretty.  It kind of felt like I was watching a really boring old dude’s vacation with his family Dungeons and Dragons buddies.

Continue reading Peter Jackson and His ‘Hobbit’ Video Blogs →

Movie News & Opinions

Some Stills & Speculation on The Hobbit and Prometheus

Leave a comment

Film Drunk dropped this still from Prometheus featuring Noomi Rapace gazing awestruck at something out of frame, which is interesting considering the most intriguing part of the photo is the pair of space jockeys behind her:

Here’s the photo again, lightened considerably to show the jockeys more clearly:

While the mysterious aliens and the tunnel surrounding them recapture H.R. Giger’s iconic style from the original Alien series, Rapace’s spacesuit looks wildly out of place in the gloomy environment. It could just be my obsessive love for Mass Effect talking, but I think the outfit’s looking very much like something Cerberus might design.

Update: Cinema Blend now reports that actress Kate Dickie supposedly spilled some mildly spoilerish plot details in a UK Tabloid, but as they mention, those types of magazines aren’t exactly the picture of accuracy. Keep that in mind while you read on, but remember there are potential spoilers:

Continue reading Some Stills & Speculation on The Hobbit and Prometheus →

POP CULTURE

Benedict Cumberbatch on The Hobbit, Star Trek 2, and ‘Sherlock’ Season 3?

1 Comment

Benedict Cumberbatch is becoming quite the commodity. He just appeared in the acclaimed Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and he’s quickly becoming a phenomenon in the UK. with the success of Sherlock. In addition, he’ll show up later next year in the 2nd movie of The Hobbit series, which we’ll get back to in a minute. First let’s address the fact that it’s been recently reveled that he (along with Doctor Who’s Noel Clarke) will appear in J.J. Abrams’ next Star Trek movie.

Cumberbatch will play the villain in the much-anticipated sequel, and that’s about all we know. When he was asked about it by Collider at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, this is what he said:

There’s a lawyer standing here saying that I can’t say anything. I’m hugely, hugely excited and I’m very, very flattered. I’m very, very excited, but obviously I’m not here to talk about that. I will, in the future, I’m sure. I’m just getting my head around the fact that it’s happened. If you’ll forgive me, I’ll pass on that. But, my headline is that I’m over the moon.

Not a lot to go on there, but rumors have been flying for months that the secret villain will in fact be Kirk’s nemesis Kahn. This was compounded by all the previous casting news had revolved around Latino actors trying out for the part…

Concerning his involvement in The Hobbit (which stars his Sherlock co-star Martin Freeman as the lead), Cumberbatch may have recently let something slip he wasn’t supossed to…

“I’m playing Smaug through motion-capture and voicing the Necromancer, which is a character in the Five Legions War or something which I’m meant to understand. He’s not actually in the original Hobbit. It’s something [Peter Jackson]’s taken from Lord Of The Rings that he wants to put in there.”

 

Now Empire had some thoughts on said quote, this is their theory…

Now those familiar with the book will notice immediately the big new piece of information here. Assuming that Cumberbatch does mean the Battle of Five Armies (which seems safe), then this points to one way that Peter Jackson and co. have expanded the book’s story to fill two films, and provide a more seamless link to The Lord Of The Rings.

Readers will know that the Necromancer is Sauron, and that Gandalf disappears halfway through (the book of) The Hobbit to lead a coalition force and drive the Necromancer out of his Mirkwood stronghold. But in the book they dispatch the Necromancer back to (as it turns out) Mordor well before the Battle of Five Armies. Here, however, it looks like he’s going to turn up to the finale in person, presumably at the head of the goblin and Warg army, and face Gandalf’s team there.

If that is the case, it’s a narratively neat way to combine the two story threads, that of Bilbo and the dwarves and the other following Gandalf and his team. It also gives the goblins a stronger motivation to suddenly turn up: in the book, they’re avenging the earlier death of one of their leaders and (like all the other armies present) hoping to get their grubby hands on the dragon’s hoard. If they’re incited or led by Sauron, however, their actions will hang more coherently with their behaviour later in Lord Of The Rings.

Interesting theory, and one I guess we will have confirmed or denied December 14th of this year. Anyhow, Benedict was also asked about a return for a 3rd Season of Sherlock, a question which he eluded and said only that he would ‘like’ to do another one, scared of what he could or could not confirm, but lucky for us one of his producers (Rebecca Eaton) stepped in and confirmed just moment later that we will get another dose of Holmes and Watson in the form of a 3rd season.

So appears to be good news all around as far as I’m concerned. Cumberbatch is owning…