What a week for gorgeous trailers! First THE HOBBIT and now LIFE OF PI! After seeing the second trailer for Peter Jackson's re-visitation to Middle-earth I was suitably impressed. One of the best trailers I have ever seen. Then comes along this beast of a trailer! WOW.
Which do you think is better? Tough, tough choice and certainly they are totally different movies but the imagery in both astound.
Ang Lee's LIFE OF PI has done nothing but impress me from the start of their marketing push. Each successive drop of visual splendor has been better than the last and this tells me we are in for a treat opening night. Same for THE HOBBIT. It's hard not to compare these trailers.
And the comparisons don't stop at just the trailers. The 3D is going to look amazing and we have some bragging rights at stake here too: THE HOBBIT is being shot using 3ality Technica rigs and LIFE OF PI is utilizing Cameron | Pace Group rigs! Clearly both productions are going to have cutting edge, best of the best native 3D - combine that with the content we have seen thus far in these trailers and then throw it up on the largest 3D screen available and... sheer movie immersion.
Here's the storyline for LIFE OF PI: Director Ang Lee (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON) creates a groundbreaking movie event about a young man who survives a tragic disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While marooned on a lifeboat, he forms an amazing and unexpected connection with the ship’s only other survivor — a fearsome Bengal tiger. What do you think of the trailer? I can't stop watching it. Both of these trailers this week in fact. I must have watched them both a dozen times and I still feel as though I've missed something and want to revisit them. LIFE OF PI hits theaters on November 21.
Sylvester Stallone has owned the movie rights to James Byron Huggins' HUNTER for some time now and at one point was interested in using the material as fodder for RAMBO 5. Now he is thinking of a standalone movie and Lionsgate seems to agree.
The target for release is 2014. Stallone would be writing, directing and starring in the sci-fi action thriller which will apparently stay loyal to the book (from Amazon):
Nathaniel Hunter could track anyone -- or anything -- on earth. Now the military desperately needs him for a mission that his ultrasensitive instincts tell him he should refuse. A beast is loose somewhere north of the Arctic Circle. It has already decimated a secret research facility and annihilated a squad of elite military guards. And the raging creature is headed south toward civilization, ready to wreak bloody devastation. It's a job that Hunter can't turn down, but he soon discovers that his prey is terror incarnate, a half-human abomination created by a renegade agency through a series of outlawed genetic experiments. It has man's cunning, a predator's savageness, and a prehistoric power that has transcended the ages. And even if Hunter survives its unrelenting hunger for human blood, he'll still have to confront the grim reality that it may have grown immortal.
This sounds like a perfect vehicle for Stallone and I'd be very interested to see this in 3D. The potential of blowing snow enveloping us as an audience while immersed in the movie sounds amazing. Really hoping this gets made. More when I get it.
Below, the trailer for "42," a biopic of Jackie Robinson (why haven't there been at least sixty of these by now??) with newcomer Chadwick Boseman in the lead and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey. It looks good. The only thing worrying is the April release date - the pedigree (biopic, issue-oriented, aging legend playing historical figure in showy supporting part) practically screams "Oscar movie!!!;" so why is it opening after this years show and so long before next years.
In any case, the film is due in April and they're already running trailers starting today; which means I will be called about 10 to 15 times between now and then by my dad to ask if I've seen this yet and if it's any good.
I'm inclined to believe (at least partially) Clint Eastwood when he says that his surreal performance at the Republican Convention was mostly him fucking around at the expense of both the President and the people "dumb enough" to invite him to their convention. Okay, fine.
That said, his "Invisible Obama" sketch has, intentionally or not, given Republicans a new racist effigy it can use to get it's point across i.e. rage at the Scary Black Man in the White House and long, long, long overdue un-bleaching of America he represents to them.
And, sad to say... yeah, this shit does probably get to be part of Eastwood's legacy now - live by The Right, fall by The Right.
I'm disappointed with this move simply because I believe that it's a holiday movie. Especially for the New Years crowd. Oh well, we knew it was happening and I'm sure THE GREAT GATSBY will do well kicking off the summer with a new release date of May 10, 2013.
Despite the new date, I still think it will be nominated for awards just based on marketing materials alone. Baz Luhrmann looks like he has hit another home run.
Here's the storyline for the movie: THE GREAT GATSBY follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without of the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.
For all of our coverage on THE GREAT GATSBY, click here.
In EPISODE 75: "EASY DOES IT", we examine the modern controversy over "Easy Modes": do they really - as the lead designer of "Assassin's Creed III"recently claimed - "ruin games," or is there a vital place for them? In addition, we proudly announce that the next episode will be "Ask Ivan!" - wherein Ivan the Intern will answer questions to posted to the comments sections under the video itself or to this blog post (see episode for details, no anonymous questions please.)
ALSO! You'll see The OverThinker's favorite watering hole, discover the history of The OmegaThinker, witness the shocking origin of RoboThinker, learn something new about Ivan the Intern and watch ME gradually figure out how to properly use my new green-screen! (in all sincerity, I know some folks run hot or cold on the skits, but I'm pretty psyched with how the "ending" bookend for this one turned out tone, FX and timing-wise.)
Embedded episode and spoiler-y discussion after the jump!
*NOTE: QUESTIONS FOR "ASK IVAN" SHOULD BE POSTED EITHER TO THE COMMENTS UNDER THE VIDEO AT SCREWATTACK OR TO THIS POST AT THE "OVERTHINKER" BLOG; *NOT* TO THIS BLOG.
Yeah, I'm proud of this one. The Hutchinson quote kind of fell into my lap as a perfect sort of topic-starter for my little niche here, and it gave me some room to A.) flesh out exactly what it is Ivan is supposed to be doing most of the time and B.) bring RetroThinker back into the picture and try out what might become his new status-quo as "resident old-timey expert guy." He's a fun "voice" to write for, and his "costume" isn't as cumbersome as some others...
As to RoboThinker's origin? I really like how it came out, overall, but it was a winding road to get here.
When I sat down during the "planning stages" for the revamped show as the AntiThinker business was coming to an end, a robot villain named "RoboThinker" was the very first thing I wrote down after deciding to continue the "____Thinker" naming-scheme schtick, but for the longest time that was all I had for him. (FYI, you have been spared the appearance of non-starter ideas like an enviro-terrorist called "Eco-Thinker," a white or yellow ninja tagged as "ElectroThinker" and a flatulence-powered one-off villain named "OverStinker.")
Believe it or not, for a long time my plan was for him to either resemble Robocop or The Borg - which would've been highly unfortunate since this is hitting so soon after "To Boldly Flee." Ultimately, I wanted him to look like a less specific parody, and the final concept ("Super-Sentai Terminator," basically) turned out to be best within my budget/abilities AND to fit best with OmegaThinker's DBZ/Trunks angle (that being DBZ's "Terminator" spoof and all.)
In any case, I hope everyone enjoys this one; and I'm already enjoying seeing people getting into the spirit of "Ask Ivan." If all goes well, you'll get those answers, an explanation of WHY OmegaThinker doesn't want OverThinker doing the fighting and your first taste of RoboThinker's voice and personality next time. Until then, let's hear those questions for Ivan!
*NOTE: QUESTIONS FOR "ASK IVAN" SHOULD BE POSTED EITHER TO THE COMMENTS UNDER THE VIDEO AT SCREWATTACK OR TO THIS POST AT THE "OVERTHINKER" BLOG; *NOT* TO THIS BLOG.
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