July, August 2001

Here is a collection of observational tidbits on various items in the production of films.

 

8/14/01 - I'll tell you right now which trailer out in theaters is the best (other than The Fellowship of the Ring of course): Ice Age. Rather than being a montage of what are perhaps the best individual scenes in the film combined to form an adrenaline pumping two minutes, this teaser does something entirely different. They've actually used a two minute section of the film. This was last done with Disney's Dinosaur to fantastic effect, creating some of the most glorious five minutes of cinema I saw last year. The same could be said about this Ice Age clip, albeit its shorter length. It's spunky, quick-moving fun. The animation is spectacular, but what makes it a special couple of minutes are the facial expressions on the creature. They're absolutely golden. See it.

8/10/01 - Caught Planet of the Apes last night. After seeing Tim Burton's inability to create an interesting story behind all the great visuals, I began thinking about the complete lack of directors who are able to really make a good movie with a big budget. I'm talking about a movie that actually succeeds on a multitude of levels rather than just special effects and art direction. In this time in Hollywood, big budgets are a key to having a financially successful movie but there is an almost complete lack of directors who seem to be capable of handling them. Who are the ones who can do it? Well, basically it comes down to Steven Spielberg and Michael Mann, with the possible inclusion of Robert Zemeckis. There are others names that we could toss about: David Fincher, The Wachowski brothers, Peter Jackson, Martin Scorsese, but the verdict is out on them as they're all currently working on their big budget flicks. I'm still waiting for the next James Cameron. I think I'll be waiting a while.

8/1/01 - The Spiderman teaser played in front of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. You wouldn't know its a Spiderman clip until the last thirty seconds or so. I'm pretty ho-hum about the footage. To me it seems rather unfocused until we see our main man dangling about Manhattan's skyline. He sure moves fast and it's great looking once he finally does. But as a whole it's a bit less thrilling than I had hoped it would be.

7/29/01 - Are you telling me that Ridley Scott is doing an Alexander The Great biopic now? That makes two in development. Why do we need two of them? We don't. Ridley Scott once tossed around the idea of being the director of Stanley Kubrick's Napolean script, but it seems now that he's changed his mind to another great conqueror. Seems absurd to me, given that Christopher McQuarrie has already begun development on his Alexander flick. I'm not sure which will be better, as both directors place emphasis on different things. McQuarrie might not be able to handle the film visually, but Ridley might not be able to get the audience into the mindset of the legendary character. What we need is Michael Mann to do an Alexander or Napolean film. That would be something to look forward to.

7/10/01 - Those of you who pondered the inspiration of Steven Spielberg's A.I Artificial Intelligence, look no further. HERE is the short story, written by Brian Aldiss which Stanley Kubrick and Spielberg brought to life through their discussions and storyboards and eventually in Spielberg's film. It's entitled Super-Toys Last All Summer Long. It's a short piece but with high societal implications. I can see why Kubrick was brought into the story, it fits his film history perfectly. Aldiss and Kubrick actually discussed the project at one point, with Aldiss expressing suprise at Kubrick's emphasis on the Pinnochio-like aspects of the story. This short story is just one more piece in the ever-growing legacy of two of history's most accomplished directors.

7/9/01 - Stanley Kubrick once dreamed of making an epic biopic on one of history's greatest conquerors. The film was to be entitled Napolean, and was to follow the general's life from birth until death. The script, which has been on this site in the Multimedia section, is huge in its scope and controversial in its characterizations. For information on the preparations that were made for the film, as well as some insight into what the famed director might have brought to the screen if it was feasible, click HERE after reading Kubrick's script.

7/8/01 - We'll soon be seeing teaser trailers for next summers big films. Talk about advance hype. Before Final Fantasy there will be a Spiderman teaser. Before Planet of the Apes there's rumored to be Star Wars: Episode II and The Matrix Reloaded clips. Hyping a film a full year before it's released is a pretty new thing, only having been done before by Godzilla and The Fellowship of the Ring. We can expect it to happen more and more often. In my opinion it's just too early.

7/7/01 - Those who were as enthralled as I was by Memento, click HERE for an in-depth analysis of the film. It's a fantastic article, clearly written by a Memento-fanatic. Films that enable such an article to be written are few and far between, so you'd be best run out and catch it.

7/5/01 - Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone has a new full trailer and it's actually quite good. I think I may be jumping the gun a bit, but could we be seeing a better, more sophisticated Chris Columbus? I'm suprised by the overall darkness of the film, but having not read the books I can't compare the imagery to the source material. The teaser and now full trailer definitely heighten my anticipation for the flick, due in mid-November.

 

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