Once in awhile a movie comes along which captivates and entertains on so many levels; a real laugh-out-loud gem! Multi-award winner Up in the Air, is one of those movies. Jason Reitman's (Oscar® nominated director of Juno,) latest brainchild stars Oscar® winner George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and after he's met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams. Anyone who does alot of flying absolutely must see this movie! You'll be dazzled by the brilliant, fast-paced dialogue and references.
Ryan Bingham is the Organization Man for the 2000s. He never comes to the office. Technically, he doesn't have an office, he has an address where his employer has an office. His life is devoted to visiting other people's offices, and firing them. The movie opens with interviews of real people who have been fired. “Up in the Air” takes the trust people once had in their jobs and pulls out the rug; a film about the reality of today's world.
“To know me is to fly with me,” Bingham says in an early voice-over, choosing his words, as ever, to sound like an advertising campaign. Last year, he says, three hundred and twenty-two days were spent travelling, leaving “forty-three miserable days at home,” in Omaha. Now and then, we see his apartment, and it’s just like a hotel suite, minus the personal warmth—no room service, no express checkout, not even a chocolate on the pillow. Bingham seea no purpose nor profit in being at rest. “The slower we move, the faster we die,” he says to a business gathering. “We are not swans. We’re sharks.”
He bumps into his twin soul, Alex played by Vera Farmiga. They get talking in a hotel bar and, before long, they are comparing the contents of their wallets. Not money but credit cards, room keys, memberships, privileges, and points. “I’ll bet it’s huge,” Alex says. “You have no idea,” Bingham replies. He means his tally of air miles, of course, or rather his goal as a miles collector: ten million. He sleeps with Alex that night, but he still can’t divulge the magic number. Alex calls Bingham and confides, “I am the woman you don’t have to worry about. Just think of me as yourself, only with a vagina.” Alex is a fellow-shark. After sex they sit at their laptops and find a common gap in their schedules for the next encounter. Reitman shot the scene from the side showing each opening and closing their laptops in sync with one another. Each becomes a mirror of the other. Bingham and Alex hurl sharp wit at each other like skillfully tossed knives.
Natalie played by multi-award nominee Anna Kendrick has joined the company with a plan to transform the act of termination into an iChat. Rather than travel to another town and fire people, you could stay in one spot and use videoconferencing screens. Bingham is appalled, on two grounds: first, his footloose habits would have to stop, and, second, he does, despite everything, retain some principles—the least you can offer, when you’re destroying a human being, is to do it face to face. Natalie joins Bingham on a string of trips to observe what he does first-hand.
Bingham is both a wise guy and dork. He he tells Natalie, to always stand behind Asians while going through airport security because they wear slip-on shoes, a stereotype he shares in order to facilitate rapid boarding. We are here to make limbo tolerable,” he says of his profession.
Prior to the two being pulled back to corporate headquarters, Bingham decides to attend the wedding of his sister (Melanie Lynskey), taking Alex as his unexpected date. Bingham has always laughed at love but in this scene we can sense his real emotions beginning to surface.
Up in the Air opened with a kick-ass song and then the score went downhill from there. I would have accentuated the bleakness of the movie with an austere score by a different composer. The indie guitar plucking was annoying in parts and diluted the intensity. Hey, its not a big deal if you don't notice it, eh?
Up in the Air is everything a fast-faced paced laugh-out-loud dramadey should be...witty, hilarious, dark, romantic, tugs at your heart-strings and ends ultimately on a tragic high note, if there's such a thing. Clooney, Kendrick and Farmiga are outstanding in their roles. A "must see" movie this holiday season!
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. as Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock Holmes"
Sherlock Holmes has made his reputation finding the truth at the heart of the most complex mysteries. With the aid of Dr. John Watson, his trusted ally, the renowned "consulting detective" is unequaled in his pursuit of criminals of every stripe, whether relying on his singular powers of observation, his remarkable deductive skills, or the blunt force of his fists.
But now a storm is gathering over London, a threat unlike anything that Holmes has ever confronted...and just the challenge he's looking for.
After a string of brutal, ritualistic murders, Holmes and Watson arrive just in time to save the latest victim and uncover the killer: the unrepentant Lord Blackwood. As he approaches his scheduled hanging, Blackwood--who has terrorized inmates and jailers alike with his seeming connection to dark and powerful forces--warns Holmes that death has no power over him and, in fact, his execution plays right into Blackwood's plans.
And when, by all indications, Blackwood makes good on his promise, his apparent resurrection panics London and confounds Scotland Yard. But to Holmes, the game is afoot.
Racing to stop Blackwood's deadly plot, Holmes and Watson plunge into a world of the dark arts and startling new technologies, where logic is sometimes the best crime-fighting weapon...but where a good right hook will often do the job.
In a dynamic new portrayal of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous character, Robert Downey Jr. plays the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. Revealing fighting skills as powerful as his famous intellect, Holmes employs his own unique methods to get to the heart of a case, traveling where no one else would think to go to find what others cannot see.
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. as Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock Holmes"
Jude Law portrays Watson, Holmes's longtime colleague, who is joining him in what may be their last case before the doctor starts a new life as a married man.
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. as Sherlock Holmes and JUDE LAW as Dr. John Watson in "Sherlock Holmes"
Rachel McAdams is Irene Adler, a woman from America, who is as alluring as she is dangerous, and whose tempestuous relationship with the detective has become the one puzzle he cannot solve.
RACHEL McADAMS as Irene Adler in "Sherlock Holmes" Photo by Alex Bailey
Mark Strong plays Lord Blackwood, whose own intellect, combined with merciless ambition, makes him a formidable adversary. Eddie Marsan appears as Scotland Yard's Inspector Lestrade, who is both impressed and frustrated by the great Sherlock Holmes.
Check out the cool "Are you wearing a false nose?" clip (below).
Guy Ritchie directed the film from a screenplay by Michael Robert Johnson and Anthony Peckham and Simon Kinberg, screen story by Lionel Wigram and Michael Robert Johnson. Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin produced the film, with Michael Tadross and Bruce Berman serving as executive producers and Steve Clark-Hall co-producing.
Director GUY RITCHIE on the set of "Sherlock Holmes" Photo by Alex Bailey
The accomplished behind-the-scenes creative team includes Oscar®-winning director of photography Philippe Rousselot ("A River Runs Through It"), Oscar®-nominated production designer Sarah Greenwood ("Atonement," "Pride & Prejudice"), editor James Herbert ("RocknRolla"), and Oscar®-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan ("A Room With a View"). The music is by Oscar® winner and multiple Oscar®-nominated composer Hans Zimmer ("The Lion King," "Gladiator").
MARK STRONG (hooded) as Lord Blackwood "Sherlock Holmes"
Sherlock Holmes will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures. In Theatres Friday, December 25
Official Sherlock Holmes Trailer (below)
The film has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense sequences of violence and action, some startling images and a scene of suggestive material.
Sherlock Holmes, is a Warner Bros. Pictures' and Village Roadshow Pictures' production and , distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Photos by Alex Bailey; courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Sam Worthington as Jake Sully and Zoe Saldana as Neytiri in 'Avatar'
Oscar-winning director James Cameronof Titanic and Terminatorfame was honored yesterday with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the same day his extraordinary 3D Avatar event, a sci-fi epic thriller, opened in theaters around the world. The immersiveness is a step forward for cinema as a visual experience; the lifelike animation has an expressiveness and a vitality surpassing anything we’ve ever seen. The visual detailing alone warrants repeat viewings.
Director James Cameron received a new star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, Friday, Dec. 18, 2009 Photo: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
Avataris all about an evil corporation using USA military to exploit the natural resources of a foreign planet. It delivers a good "green" message.
Avatar is set in 2154 and takes place on the faraway new world called Pandora inhabited by noble savages called Na'vi. With the Earth depleted of energy sources the human race arrives on Pandora with the goal to mine an elusive and criminally profitable mineral at $20 million a kilo, that the Earth desperately needs. Pandora represents no threat to Earth. We send in the military to attack and conquer them with armored hover ships and machine guns, just like modern day politics.
Pandora's atmosphere is not breathable by humans. To venture out on Pandora we use avatars--Na'vi lookalikes grown organically (DNA of humans mixed with Na'vi). The avatar clones are mind-controlled by their humans who remain wired up in a trance-like state in chambers. While acting as avatars, they see, fear, taste and feel like Na'vi.
Sam Worthington as Jake Sully; his avatar in the background
Sam Worthington plays Jake Sully a paraplegic ex-Marine who is recruited to aid the rare mineral mining expedition on the distant jungle moon of Pandora. Only his DNA will bond with the expensive avatar that was created for his recently deceased twin brother. In avatar state he can walk again. The military leader strikes a deal with Sully to infiltrate and betray the Na'vi in exchange for restoring movement to his legs. Sully is in no danger, because if his avatar in destroyed, his human form remains untouched. The only danger is evident when his avatar goes limp and lifeless while he functions outside the chamber, as a human.
Zoe Saldana as Neytiri
Every great epic movie has a love story and complications ensue when Sully falls in love with the beautiful, seductive Neytiri played by Zoe Saldana. There are many Na'vi clans scattered around Pandora, but the one Sully comes to know is the Omaticaya Clan, who have lived inside of the 1000 foot tall Hometree for 10,000 years. The Omaticaya clan uses the different tiers of the tree's interior structure as their village. The Na’vi and the humans clash and Sully is forced to choose which side of the battle he’s on.
Zoe Saldana as Neytiri (no this isn't Beyonce and her new look)
Giovanni Ribisi plays Parker Selfridge a heartless corporate type whose only loyalty is to the shareholders of the elusive mineral found on the Na'vi's scared grounds of Pandora. Sigourney "cigarette" Weaver plays Dr. Grace Augustine a fiery, impatient, chain-smoking botanist.
Giovanni Ribisi and Sigourney Weaver in a scene from Avatar
Stephen Lang embodies the macho military leader Col. Miles Quaritch. His overacting and cliche dialogue kicked me right out of Pandora a few times. I would have loved to see Col. Quaritch portrayed as a deliciously, wicked, immoral and evil military character comparable to Col. Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds, who is played by multi-award winning Austrian actor Christop Waltz.
Stephen Lang as Col. Miles Quaritch
Pandora harbors a visually stunning, luscious, exotic never-before-experienced tropical rainforest inhabited peacefully by the Na'vi, a blue-skinned, golden-eyed race of 10 feet tall slender giants. The rainforest resembles a giant coral reef with trees measuring over one thousand feet, with giant ferns, fronds and mountains that somehow float. It lights up magically at night with a plethora of flourescent rainbow colored flora. A gentle tap on a giant neon spiral frond closes it and shrinks it to the ground. A smaller and gentler Pandoran species is the jellyfish-like Woodsprite, which waves silky tendrils to move gracefully through the night air. Called Atokirina by the Na'vi, they are actually seeds of the sacred Utraya Mokri "Tree of Voices," and thus an important part of the "soul" of the rainforest. When they land upon Sully, Neytiri interprets this as an important sign, and things take an unexpected turn.
Pandora's floating mountains
Pandora's diverse fauna menagerie includes the deer-like Hexapede; the ferocious Hammerhead Titanothere, a rhinoceros-like herbivore with a bad attitude and a head like a sledgehammer; and the Leonopteryx, the king predator of the sky, striped scarlet, yellow and black, with an 80-foot wingspan. The most fearsome of Pandoran creatures is the Thanator. "The Thanator could eat a T-Rex and have the Alien for dessert. It's the "panther from hell". Then there are the Viperwolves, hairless with shiny skin that looks like overlapped armor. Most disturbing are its paws, which are like leathery hands. Pandora's Direhorses resemble six-legged alien Clydesdale with moth-like antennae.
A winged creature known as the Banshee is a key figure in Sully's journey; in a Na'vi rite of passage, he must dominate and ride a banshee to assume a rightful position in the clan community. The test's stakes are further heightened by the fact that the banshee that most wants to kill him is the "chosen one" he must capture.
Pandora's many wonders include the world's neural network, through which all its plant and animal life are connected. Akin to a human nervous system, this network enables all life on Pandora to function as a single harmonious system. The center of this network - and the moon's heart and brain -is a massive, gnarled and ancient willow tree that is the Na'vi epicenter, an extension of their lifeblood, and a place of regeneration and knowledge. This "Tree of Souls" is situated at the center of Pandora's most powerful magnetic field, the Flux Vortex. Eons ago the invisible field created the unusual geological formations of arches that form rainbows of stone, above a deep caldera, with the Tree of Souls at its center.
Eric Saindon a visual effects supervisor for Weta Digital in New Zealand, said the scale of Avatar was the most challenging part. “There were so many shots and so much to do in this,” Saindon said. “It was pretty much a full-generated jungle and planet, basically. And we had three years to do it.” About 10 years ago Saindon landed his job at Weta Digital, the special effects brainchild of a group of New Zealanders including director Peter Jackson. Weta Digital just began work on Stephen Spielberg’sThe Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, and the crew also plans to return to Middle Earth with Guillermo Del Toro’sThe Hobbit.
The movie showcases a notable advance for performance capture, which is how the Na'vi were created. As was done with Gollumin The Lord of the Rings and King Kong in King Kong, the Na'vi were made with cameras and sensors recording the movements of the actors and transposing them onto the CGI Na'vi creatures. All newfangled 3-D has ways of capturing the movement of the actors, the shape of the faces, but Cameron went much further. His process, solved the problems of dead eyes.
"Jim actually used the pupil of the eye as a tracking point, and he's able to track all of the subtleties and high frequency movement of the eyes," producer Jon Landau said. "He was even able to record and reproduce the moisture level on the surface of the eye, a key to conveying emotion."
Cameron's technology captures the actor's facial performance - it's not a computer model of a static face manipulated by animators. Other directors have bragged that their computer modeling technology may replace actors, but Cameron has no such goal. "We're enabling them to play characters they would not otherwise play," Landau said.
He offered the example of a young actor playing an old man. The reason it usually looks so phony, he said, is that makeup artists can only add layers. They can't shrink a face, which is what happens when a person ages. Cameron's facial mapping can capture a face and resize it, even as animators tweak the skin composition.
An actor can be realistically old, or he can be a 10-foot-tall blue alien, like the ones Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana play in "Avatar." "We're not replacing actors," Landau said. "We're liberating them."
Avatar's stunning visuals deliver! The 3-D world he created cost $230 million, the kind of investment that studios usually expect to be repaid, with interest. A sequel is rumored. It would be far less expensive to produce. All of the complex computer models, the entire roster of characters, are alive in some hard drive in New Zealand, waiting for marching orders. Cameron's sequel will no doubt focus on further character development and more on the story itself now that the characters and 3-D technology have been perfected.
Avatar is an extraordinary movie with the essence of love, family, relationship, humanity, action, and adventure. It is destined to become a cult classic much like that of Lord of the Rings. The out-of-this-world Pandora adventure totally immerses and captivates for an entire 2 hours and 40 minutes. James Horner's sumptuous score takes the mystical and spiritual experience to a whole new level. Be prepared to leave the theater awestruck, bedazzled, and mesmerized. A truly unforgettable jaw-dropping trip!
Bravo James... we can hardly wait for the sequel!
MPAA rated PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking. Rated 4.5 stars (out of 5)
HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION 2010 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS
The nominations for the Golden Globes – the glitzy awards ceremony that are constantly proclaimed as indicators of where the Oscars might go, even though they’re not really – have been announced, with Up In The Air leading the way.
Casting is scheduled to begin on the upcoming MGM Studios feature film The Hobbit Part 1 in London, LA and New Zealand. Peter Jackson says they are throwing a large net and casting for every role apart from the one of Gandalf which is spoken for. Principal photography on this two-part project is tentatively scheduled to begin in New Zealand around May or June 2011.
“What we’ve done over the years is discover a lot of interesting actors, like Orlando Bloom (in ‘Rings’), Kate Winslet (in ‘Heavenly Creatures’), Saoirse Ronan (in ‘The Lovely Bones’). So if you start looking and auditioning seriously, it’s amazing what incredible talent you’ll find out there.”
When asked about the rumors of James McAvoy being chased for the part of Bilbo Baggins he said they had not settled on any actors.
“Apart from Ian McKellen, who we obviously want to return as Gandalf, we are not really offering any roles to anybody until we’ve done a casting sweep,” Jackson said.
He also went on to say he felt no pressure to cast stars in for any of the main characters in The Hobbit explaining he sees Tolkien as the real star.
“(These movies) have never been a star-driven vehicle. The star is (author J.R.R.) Tolkien and the world he created. We are not under any pressure. We want to find the right people. Casting someone to portray a hobbit is not as easy as you might imagine. They have to have a particular type of physical appearance and a sensibility. And the same with an elf or a dwarf. These are fantastical characters, but you’ve got to find the right people to play them, the right humans to translate these characters.”
NEW ZEALAND CASTING INFORMATION
Please submit photos and resumed by mail only. No phone calls or personal drop-offs (you will simply annoy people and get your file thrown in the trash).
PRINCIPAL ACTOR CASTING Liz Mullane Casting 17 Taipakupaku Road Karaka Bay Wellington, New Zealand 6022
EXTRAS CASTING Miranda Rivers PO Box 6479 Marion Square Wellington, New Zealand 6022
PRODUCTION COMPANIES Do NOT send photos and resumes to the production companies (they will most likely end up in the trash can). They do not cast the films. They hire casting directors who sort through the thousands of submissions and hold the acting auditions.
MGM Studios 10250 Constellation Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90067
New Line Cinema 116 N. Robertson Blvd. Ste 200 Los Angeles, CA 90048
Key Creatives Creating, LLC 9595 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 800 Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Wingnut Films / Necropia PO Box 15-208 Miramar Wellington, New Zealand 6003
STORY The adaptation of JRR Tolkien'sThe Hobbitwill be made into two live action films. Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who wanted to be left alone in quiet comfort. But the wizard Gandalf came along with a band of homeless dwarfs. Soon Bilbo was drawn into their quest, facing evil orcs, savage wolves, giant spiders, and worse unknown dangers. Finally, it was Bilbo alone and unaided who had to comfort the great dragon Smaug, the terror of an entire countryside.
Good luck...may you land the Hobbilicious role of your dreams! When you do, drop us a line to let us know!
Director Guillermo del Toro recently sent a little message to TheOneRing updating Tolkien fans about the upcoming two-part film adaptation of The Hobbit. The film has yet to get a official green light and there is an explanation of why below. GDT and Peter Jackson are still doing everything they can to get ready to shoot the movie.
Here is what GDT had to say:
One of the most read members of TORn’s message boards dropped by to update us on “The Hobbit”. How reliable is this guy? Well, since he happens to be directing the two-movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s first published book in Middle-earth and is living in New Zealand to do so, we think trusting Guillermo del Toro’s information is rock solid. But, we are going to make you click inside to see what he had to say. (It was a lot) You can also follow the link to his post on our message boards and join in the conversation.
The highly decorated director writes: So, now that PJ’s Lovely Bones tour is almost over, I thought it wise- seeing how some can whip up into a frenzy- to drop by and chat a bit.
A) About ONLY 3 actors returning: I think the emphasis on “only” is what slant the news the wrong way. I cannot imagine Gollum being played by anyone but Andy and in the second script there is still much in discussion to lock everything for now. Both PJ and I chime in on things “as they are at the moment” and, of course, things change.
I, for one, understand where Peter’s coming from since 30% of my STRAIN tour questions, HELLBOY II, ORPHANAGE promotion questions, etc, etc where about the Hobbit. At different time we have been closer in locking on a piece of casting or hoping to get a script delivered, etc and things simply changed as we went along. So, don’t etch this in stone or anything we both have said in the past, in stone since we communicate what we can when the window of exposure to the press and fans happens.
I still prefer to keep the dialogue open- inexact as it may get- that to remain mum or one-sided with the community that can really understand this project.
B) The target for production. Its simple: we may say what we want but until there are two scripts delivered and budgets and schedules to support them we will be all under a yellow light of development. THAT we have not stopped. As I have reported in the past, we are scouting, designing (my last 3 hour meeting with Weta was this morning) and will not stop. BUT the greenlight and thus commencement can only be granted by the studio. Pete as producer and me as director will do everything we can in the meantime.
C) Is there any trouble brewing with WB? Not at all. All I can say is that they reacted to our delivered script with great delight and we have been receiving strong support in our development.
Smaug is being animation tested, we are editing the previs, doing final selections on Dwarven War Artifacts and Gear and starting many fabrication tests for armies, prosthetics and wardrobes, etc
However, I do plan to be less and less in the public spotlight for two simple reasons: One: I am damn busy prepping this two Behemoths. Two: quite likely, I’ll have very limited, if any, promotional time for Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark or The Fall (Second Strain Book) myself but fear not- I will drop in as much as possible, as always.
Love GDT
The Strain Trilogy's The Fall (Strain Trilogy 2) and The Night Eternal (Strain Trilogy 3) will be out in June 2010 and 2011, respectively.
The excitement continues to build. I can’ wait until we actually find out who ends up being cast and seeing the creature designs for the film. Be prepared to be blown away!
After the success of No Country For Old Men it was only a matter of time before more Cormac McCarthy novels were adapted for the big screen.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Road film adaptation stars Viggo Mortensen who turns in a performance worthy of an Oscar® nomination. He just may take home the hardware this year!
Mortensen leads an all-star cast featuring Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce and young newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee in this epic post-apocalyptic tale of the survival of a father (Mortsensen) and his young son (Smit-McPhee) as they journey across a barren America that was destroyed by a mysterious cataclysm.
The Road is an emotionally charged masterpiece adventure set in a post-apocalyptic world. It boldly imagines a future in which men are pushed to the worst and the best that they are capable of—a future in which a father and his son are sustained by love. Shot in real environment and "playing it for keeps emotionally" emotionally the tough journey unravelled in The Road is both beautiful to look at and believable, with an uplifting ending. In conclusion, being kind is the most important thing.
Check out the new UK (international) trailer below.
We highly recommend you experience The Road, a soon to become favorite 21st century classic. Looks like Harvey and Bob have another Oscar® contender to add to their slate of Oscar® Buzz films this year: NINE, A Single Man, and Inglorious Basterds! The Weinstein Company'sThe Road is currently playing in theaters across North America.
Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy, will be a special guest Friday night at Secret Headquarters, the UberCool comics store and pop-culture gallery in Silver Lake. An exhibit of the Eisner Award-winning artist's work will be on display, including pages from The Corpse and The Third Wish and an assortment of covers, including the striking image from the Wake the Devil trade paperback.
Photo: Jennifer S. Altman/The Times
Mike's Hollywood adventures continue with Guillermo del Toro, who directed both Hellboy films and has brought Mignola down to New Zealand to do design work on The Hobbit.
Tonight, Secret Headquarters will have a limited-edition letterpress print made by Mignola specifically for this show; the three-color print, made by Aardvark Letterpress, is a never-before-seen Hellboy piece with color supervision by Dave Stewart. It will be an awesome event! Check it out!
Secret Headquarters is at 3817 W. Sunset Blvd., and the free event begins at 8 p.m.
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