On the occasion of the release of his new movie “The Raven,” the 45-year-old actor talks to The Observer about his life in pictures. I grew up watching Cusack on screen. And his movies are a part of the territory of my adolescence and young adulthood. It’s nice to have that kind of relationship with an artist.
Here’s the nut graf:
“I’m still here, desperately groping in the dark,” he says of his career. “Increasingly, I feel it’s about just trying to remain relevant enough to do good work. Sometimes I think I’m in control, but more and more I realise that it’s just a complete farce. It’s true, it used to be that if you did a big, big movie then you could leverage it and make some smaller, cooler ones, and I got away with that for a few years. But now, they just want you to put on tights – if you don’t put on the tights, they just want to get rid of you. And I’m not putting on the tights, so you know…”
That sonic boom you hear would be the sound of fanboys’ heads exploding.
Zoe Saldana (“Star Trek“) and Megan Fox (“Transformers” and being Megan Fox) are set to star together in a heist movie called “Swindle,” Brit film mag Empire reports.
Here’s the nut graf:
“The original idea to team up came from Saldana and Fox, who have been looking for something to work on together. Spotting the possibilities (they both have plenty of box office appeal and aren’t exactly hard on the eyes), Paramount acted quickly to snatch Enzo Mileti and Scott Wilson’s script from the bargaining table before Universal could get its hands on it.
We don’t yet know what exactly it’s about, beyond the heist concept. The only solid detail Deadline could ferret out was that Moneyball producer Michael De Luca will oversee the development process.”
Speaking to The Guardian, “The Hunger Games” starlet has a few words about her turn as the lead in the big screen version of author Suzanne Collins’ wildly successful YA series. The movie opens stateside on March 23.
Here’s the nut graf:
“Lawrence plays resourceful heroine Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers as a tribute in order to spare her younger sister Prim. Hailing from Panem’s impoverished District 12, Katniss isn’t expected to last long in the arena, but her prodigious hunting skills, developed during an adolescence spent fending for her family, and her grim-faced determination to survive prove invaluable. “She’s a warrior,” is Lawrence’s more succinct take on the character. “She’s this hero that doesn’t mean to be a hero. She’s a symbol of revolt, and freedom, and hope … a futuristic Joan of Arc.”
Here’s your first look at the Japanese trailer for the third installment of the sci-fi/comedy series. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reprise their roles as intergalactic immigration agents. Josh Brolin signs on. The movie hits theaters May 25.
The site Immersed in Movies caught Wilkinson at 5D/Flux conference at the University of Southern California, where he spoke about his work on the Zack Snyder-helmed reboot of the Last Son of Krypton. Here’s the key point:
“Wilkinson explained that since they created a “neo-medieval” back story for Krypton (which included the creation of a new language), it made sense to utilize the suit design as part of the mythology. “Everyone on Krypton wears this suit,” he suggested. Using ZBrush and rapid prototyping, Wilkinson came up the blue/gray color and chainmail look. “It has function and purpose and a logic to this fantastical world,” he added.
Strange as it may seem, we’re now onto the third installment of the “Riddick” series starring Vin Diesel.
Here’s a couple of shot from the new movie, simply called “Riddick.” David Twohy returns to direct.
First up, it’s former “Battlestar Galactica” star Katee Sackhoff.
And here’s Diesel himself:
And a synopsis:
“The latest chapter of the groundbreaking saga that began with 2000′s hit sci-fi film Pitch Black and 2004′s The Chronicles of Riddick reunites writer/director David Twohy (A Perfect Getaway, The Fugitive) and star Vin Diesel (the Fast and Furious franchise, xXx). Diesel reprises his role as the antihero Riddick, a dangerous, escaped convict wanted by every bounty hunter in the known galaxy.
The infamous Riddick has been left for dead on a sun-scorched planet that appears to be lifeless. Soon, however, he finds himself fighting for survival against alien predators more lethal than any human he’s encountered. The only way off is for Riddick to activate an emergency beacon and alert mercenaries who rapidly descend to the planet in search of their bounty.
The first ship to arrive carries a new breed of merc, more lethal and violent, while the second is captained by a man whose pursuit of Riddick is more personal. With time running out and a storm on the horizon that no one could survive, his hunters won’t leave the planet without Riddick’s head as their trophy.”
Look, I get it. You look at the books authored and drawn by the late Theodore Seuss Geisel and you see box office gold.
Their technicolor hues and soft, rounded angles fairly scream: Family movie. And with revenues being what they are these days, I can hardly blame you for planning ahead for overseas receipts, DVD/streaming/rental revenues and the inevitable toys and fast-food tie-ins. Who wouldn’t want to drink a Truffula shake after all?
But, please, as a guy who grew up reading the books and couldn’t wait to start reading them to my now six-year-old daughter, please stop.
This isn’t because I don’t want to see Dr. Seuss’ madcap adventures come to life. Anyone who reads the books knows that there’s so much potential in them if they’re done right. The problem is, every single Seuss movie you’ve brought the the Multiplex so far has just absolutely stunk.
“The Grinch” with Jim Carrey? Oy … where do I begin?
“The Cat in the Hat” with Mike Meyers? The less said the better.
“Horton Hears a Who?” At least you had the common sense to realize that Seuss’ stories are better rendered through animation than live action actors. But it was a swing and a miss.
And “The Lorax?” What the hell is it with the whole Zach Effron/Taylor Swift love-story you’ve shoe-horned into the film? Doesn’t need it. It’s not convincing.
Stop. Now. And the Geisel estate? You stop it, too. You’re polluting a beloved legacy.
But I realize these pleas are probably falling on deaf ears. So, if you must adapt these movies for a new generation — and what the heck happened to coming up with original ideas? I could write a book on the creative bankruptcy in Hollywood these days — then do two things:
Read the damned books. They work because they have a rhythm and poetry to them utterly absent from the ploddingly paced, hit-you-over-the-head obviousness of the books. The books work because they pull you in and put you into the imaginary universe contained within their pages.
How does this happen?
Though they’re filled with bright colors and vibrant colors, the books are, at their heart, minimalist. They make you do the work of imagining what it might be like to live in such fantastical places where there are two kinds of Sneetches: the plain-bellied and those with stars on thars.
And when they’re done doing that, they make you think about whether there’s such a big difference between those with stars or those without. Or whether it’s possible for someone’s heart to grow two sizes too big because of the kindness of a child. When I left your adaptations, I was just left wondering why I’d put down my $8.50. The only lesson: Don’t get fooled again.
And when you’re done reading the books, do this:
Go back and watch the original Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng cartoons from the late 1960s and early 1970s . No one since has come close to capturing Seuss’ whimsical spirit or the sense of magic his books evoked.
Why do they work? Simple.
They’re not stuffed to the gills with special effects, rounded cornices or nauseating technicolor. The cartoons work because they look like the books.
Here’s the original Lorax:
Notice anything?
How about the purity of the lines? The simplicity of the art? And the narration from Eddie Albert. The cartoon starts with the opening scene at The Onceler’s tower and ends there. Just as the book did. It said what it needed to say and did it in its allotted 30 minutes. There’s an economy there missing from every single adaptation since.
Or The Grinch?
Ditto. And don’t tell me that Boris Karloff’s narration isn’t the high point of this one either. And don’t you just want to take Max the dog home with you and give him dinner?
Dear Hollywood, look I get it. Nostalgia sells. Especially in The Great Recession, when people are looking for comfort in a time of uncertainty. You’re rebooting everything from “Dark Shadows” to the “Lone Ranger.” Someone, God knows who, thought “John Carter” was a good idea. And you’re even making a movie out of a freaking board game with “Battleship.”
All of them will no doubt be overstuffed spectacles, chock-a-block with eye candy. But sometimes, when it comes to adapting much-beloved children’s books for the big screen, less is more. I bet Berkeley Breathed is still kicking himself over what he let you do to “Mars Needs Moms,” which still makes my wife cry every single time she reads it to our daughter.
Jesus Marimba, what a disaster that was. You took one of the most moving books about motherhood I’ve ever read and totally destroyed it.
So bottom line:
Stick to the essence of the books. It’s what worked with “Harry Potter” and it’s apparently what’s poised to turn “The Hunger Games” into a smashing success as well. And it’s why Hemingway, with the exception of the Gary Cooper version of “A Farewell to Arms,” hated every single filmed versions of his books.
And don’t get Alan Moore started on “Watchmen.” I’ll be reading Seuss books to my grandchildren by the time he’s done.
I hope we don’t have to have this conversation again. But I’m sure we will. Just promise me you’ll think about it, ok?
Here’s your first look at director Tim Burton’s adaptation of the American 1960s horror soap, which is still well-beloved by fans. My first exposure came during a 1990s reboot starring Ben Cross (“Chariots of Fire“) as the troubled vampire Barnabas Collins and Joanna Going as his lady love.
This time out, Johnny Depp and Eva Green lead the cast of New England vampires. Burton, as expected, lends his traditional goth flair to the proceedings.
The eagerly anticipated big-screen adaptation of author Suzanne Collins’ best-selling “Hunger Games” trilogy doesn’t open stateside for another week. But it has opened overseas to rapturous reviews — more on that later.
But for American fans, here’s another look at the movie, which stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks and Lenny Kravitz.
Now, about those foreign reviews. Here’s one from TotalFilm. There are spoilers: So don’t read more unless you want to know what happens.
Ready?
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And here’s a sample:
“If not wholly true to Collins’ words (missing in action: the mayor’s daughter, the Avox girl), it gets the spirit bang on; like its source, this is both credible science fiction and a teen tale that doesn’t patronise or pander to its audience.
What’s more, the grit, gravity and empathy on display fuse into something fresh. There’ve been many, many survival-as-sport movies – The Most Dangerous Game, Punishment Park, Battle Royale, Series 7: The Contender – but The Hunger Games finds new ways to play.”
The Cineaste's Lament. 