January 2008 - Film Peek

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filmpeek - January 2008

TWO OSCAR SHOWS PLANNED

January 31st 2008 07:59

In case the writers’ strike isn’t over by Oscars night on the 24th February, academy president Sid Ganis has formed a contingency plan. Gannis stated there will be two Oscar shows, ‘The show we would love to do and ... a show that we would prefer not to do’.

If the strike is over, then the Oscars will follow its usual format of glitz, glamour and thankful speeches. If not, a show consisting of, ‘history and packages of film and concepts that are not normally ones that we would have for the show if we were moving straight ahead,' will be aired.

Either way, both viewers and media will have some sort of Oscars celebration to look forward to watching and talking about with the usual zeal.

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FREDDY KRUEGER RETURNS

January 31st 2008 05:59

It seems that Freddy Krueger’s scare-mongering days could be coming back. Daily Variety reported that New Line and production company Platinum Dunes were discussing the possibility of a new series of Nightmare on Elm Street films based on the 1980s knife-riddled character. Freddie has been retired for 24 years after making eight films and two television spin-offs beginning in 1984.

Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form are believed to be involved in overseeing the remake.

It may not be safe to dream any more...

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BEYONCÉ TO PLAY ETTA JAMES

January 28th 2008 23:17

Beyoncé Knowles’ next acting step is as Etta James, the renowned American blues, soul, R&B, jazz singer and songwriter. The movie, unnamed as yet, focuses on 1950s Chicago, portraying the lives of American musical legends such as Muddy Waters and Elvis Presley.

Etta’s 1961 ballad, ‘At Last’, is recognised as a timeless classic that has featured in many movies and television commercials since its release. Etta’s ability to adjust her style as musical trends changed set her apart from other soul singers. Hence, decades on, she still has a strong and loyal following.

This is Beyoncé’s next role after Dreamgirls in 2006. Adrien Brody and Jeffrey Wright will also star in the film. Beyoncé stated she is honoured to undertake the role as she is a huge fan of Etta’s.

Filming will begin will begin in Mississippi and New Jersey later in the year.

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GIFF 2008 - HERZOG, SUICIDE AND KID ART

January 27th 2008 23:16

As you know I attend the Gothenburg Film Festival 2008, and so far it's been quite entertaining.

The last couple of days, Saturday and Sunday, I saw two documentaries and a very low budget movie from Chile. The idea with festivals is to catch movies that you regularly never would've had the chance to see, at least on the big screen.

So the first documentary is made by a director I'm sure most of you know about, Werner Herzog. The man behind Grizzly Man which was Oscar nominated and collected quite some buzz, both mouth to mouth and in the media. His new film, and the one I saw, is called Encounters at the End of the World [IMDB].

In Encounters at the End of the World the director himself, Herzog, travels to Antarctica in order to capture the unique landscape and learn more about the people living there. I wanted this to be at least as good as Grizzly Man, but unfortunately that hope resulted in a tiny bit of disappointment. Not to say it wasn't good, but far too plain. No emotions or wow-experiences. However, some really nice images makes it worth watching and definitely renting. If I had to rate it from 1-10, it would get a 7.

The next film is not a documentary, but a movie from Chile/USA. It's called Take the Bridge, by Sergio M. Castilla [IMDB]. I actually only saw this due to lack of other interesting screenings, but I'm glad I did. Not least because of the fact that the director attended and was able to make a Q&A after it.

Take the Bridge is about four youngsters who try to commit suicide, fail, and meet in the hospital where they become friends. Well out of there, they share their dreams and talk about the adventures they sometime wanna make. The layout of the movie is pretty original here, cause I couldn't separate any clear plot, it was more "follow the kids as they do normal stuff and just add some spice for the sake of the movie". Luckily, and this is the part I really enjoyed, there's a woman in between scenes commenting what's going on, and what she says is completely improvised but oh so fun! Take the Bridge is the definition of independent film, but it sadly was done in such low budget that it quickly became boring from a technical point of view. The colors, the image quality and even the acting didn't reach far enough to become a great experience. In a scale from 1-10 I would give it 5.

So we arrive to today, Sunday. I only had the ability to watch one film, because of my schedule, but I'm happy this is the one I saw, My Kid Could Paint That [IMDB]. If you live in the USA or UK you might have heard about the genious paintings of 4-year old Marla Olmstead that sold for over 25.000 dollars each.

If you haven't seen it there was a big discussion going on back in the days this happened, 2005-2006, if the paintings actually were done by Marla herself or if her father helped her or even made them completely. What's interesting and unique with My Kid Could Paint That is that the director himself gets personally involved in this whole story and his own film.

All began with the promise to document the success of this very young girl painting beautiful abstract artwork, and in the middle of it everything changed and became a huge conspiracy. The filmmaker didn't know what to do, depict what he himself thought or listen to the parents pleads about making the documentary into something that could clean their name? The director made a wise decision and simply let the audience decide by showing all evidences from both sides, always with honesty and reality.

I think everyone should see this, especially those who make films as a living or hobby, because it's more than just a story about a girl who made expensive art. It's also the issues of documentaries in general. To what extent will you let yourself get involved in the lives of these people, that you after all follow for months and months? The rating from 1-10 would be 8,5.

All in all I caught 4 movies so far (the first one was Lars and the Real Girl). Tomorrow I'm gonna see Funny Games, an American horror remake.

Until laters!

//peeker

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SMART PEOPLE TRAILER

January 27th 2008 04:41

Canadian actor, Ellen Page (Hard Candy, Juno) chooses roles that allow her to show her quick wit, firm use of dialogue and strong acting abilities. In Smart People it looks as though she continues that path.

Ellen plays Vanessa, the daughter of professor Lawrence Wetherhold Dennis Quaid), a self-absorbed, non-aware father who knows little about his children until circumstances force him to look at his life. As expected, this is uncomfortable and as reluctant as he feels about making any changes, he knows he must.

Smart People has a motivating mix of actors including, Sarah Jessica Parker (Failure to Launch, The Family Stone), Thomas Haden Church (Sideways, Spanglish) and Ashton Holmes (A History of Violence, Peaceful Warrior).

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GÖTEBORG INTERNATIONAL FILMFESTIVAL

January 25th 2008 20:21

I'm currently in Sweden, at the International Filmfestival of Göteborg (aka Gothenburg), which took off today. I've managed to see one movie, before the big opening party.

The movie is Lars and the Real Girl, with Ryan Gosling amongst others. Its screenplay is also Academy Award nominated for best screenplay, so I had ok expectations. The concept was interesting, about a guy who falls in love with a doll because of social issues... At least there's a fair share of originality.

So, how did Lars and the Real Girl do? Amazing. Seriously, very well done and I can clearly see why its script is nominated. It's gonna be a close fight between this and Juno.

Well, much to say no time. Until laters.

//peeker

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HEATH LEDGER FOUND DEAD

January 22nd 2008 22:42

This could be a sick joke, but I'm afraid it's completely true. I still can't believe it, due to his success and as a big fan it caught me unprepared.

Heath Ledger, known from several movies and not least for his part as the Joker in the new Batman, The Dark Knight, was found dead at his apartment.

CNN reports the cause is still unknown, however sleeping pills near his bed are probably it.

Heath Ledger recently separated from Michelle Williams who he met during Brokeback Mountain, and also has a daughter with her named Matilda Rose, 2.5 years old.

Sad indeed, first for his family and friends, and secondly for film-history. Here's from what we'll remember him:

* 1999 - 10 Things I Hate About You
* 1999 - Two Hands
* 2000 - The Patriot
* 2001 - A Knight's Tale
* 2001 - Monster's Ball
* 2002 - The Four Feathers
* 2003 - The Sin Eater
* 2003 - Ned Kelly
* 2005 - Lords of Dogtown
* 2005 - Brothers Grimm- Jake Grimm
* 2005 - Brokeback Mountain - Ennis Del Mar
* 2005 - Casanova - Casanova
* 2006 - Candy - Dan
* 2008 - The Dark Knight - Joker

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OSCARS 2008 - ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEES

January 22nd 2008 16:30

Exciting times again, Academy Awards 2008 are closing in and the nominees are officially out. We have some good films, which proves we had a good year. Take a look and judge by yourselves. I've had the pleasure of catching most of them, so I marked the ones I find most probable to win in blue.

What do you think of this year's list? Discuss about this in the forums.

Performance by an actor in a leading role
George Clooney - “Michael Clayton”
Daniel Day-Lewis - “There Will Be Blood”
Johnny Depp - “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Tommy Lee Jones - “In the Valley of Elah”
Viggo Mortensen - “Eastern Promises”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Casey Affleck - “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Javier Bardem - “No Country for Old Men”
Philip Seymour Hoffman - “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Hal Holbrook - “Into the Wild”
Tom Wilkinson - “Michael Clayton”

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett - “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Julie Christie - “Away from Her”
Marion Cotillard - “La Vie en Rose”
Laura Linney - “The Savages”
Ellen Page - “Juno”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Cate Blanchett - “I’m Not There”
Ruby Dee - “American Gangster”
Saoirse Ronan - “Atonement”
Amy Ryan - “Gone Baby Gone”
Tilda Swinton - “Michael Clayton”

Best animated feature film of the year
“Persepolis” - Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
“Ratatouille” - Brad Bird
“Surf’s Up” - Ash Brannon, Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction
“American Gangster” - Arthur Max, Beth A. Rubino
“Atonement” - Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
“The Golden Compass” - Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” - Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
“There Will Be Blood” - Jack Fisk, Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” - Roger Deakins
“Atonement” - Seamus McGarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” - Janusz Kaminski
“No Country for Old Men” - Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood” - Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design
“Across the Universe” - Albert Wolsky
“Atonement” - Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” - Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie en Rose” - Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” - Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” - Julian Schnabel
“Juno” - Jason Reitman
“Michael Clayton” - Tony Gilroy
“No Country for Old Men” - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” - Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature
“No End in Sight” - Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” - Richard E. Robbins
“Sicko” - Michael Moore, Meghan O’Hara
“Taxi to the Dark Side” - Alex Gibney and Eva Orner
“War/Dance” - Andrea Nix Fine, Sean Fine

Best documentary short subject
“Freeheld” Cynthia Wade, Vanessa Roth
“La Corona (The Crown)” - Amanda Micheli, Isabel Vega
“Salim Baba” Tim Sternberg, Francisco Bello
“Sari’s Mother” - James Longley

Achievement in film editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum” - Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” - Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild” - Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men” - Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood” - Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year
“Beaufort” from Israel
“The Counterfeiters” from Austria
“Katyn” from Poland
“Mongol” from Kazakhstan
“12? from Russia

Achievement in makeup
“La Vie en Rose” - Didier Lavergne, Jan Archibald
“Norbit” - Rick Baker, Kazuhiro Tsuji
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” - Ve Neill, Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Atonement” - Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner” - Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton” - James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille” - Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma” - Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Falling Slowly” from “Once” - Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted” - Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
“So Close” from “Enchanted” - Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted” - Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year
“Atonement”
“Juno”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country for Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood”

Best animated short film
“I Met the Walrus”
“Madame Tutli-Putli”
“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)”
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)”
“Peter & the Wolf”

Best live action short film
“At Night”
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)”
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)”
“Tanghi Argentini”
“The Tonto Woman”

Achievement in sound editing
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“No Country for Old Men”
“Ratatouille”
“There Will Be Blood”
“Transformers”

Achievement in sound mixing
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“No Country for Old Men”
“Ratatouille”
“3:10 to Yuma”
“Transformers”

Achievement in visual effects
“The Golden Compass”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
“Transformers”

Adapted screenplay
“Atonement” - Christopher Hampton
“Away from Her” - Sarah Polley
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” - Ronald Harwood
“No Country for Old Men” - Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” - Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay
“Juno” - Diablo Cody
“Lars and the Real Girl” - Nancy Oliver
“Michael Clayton” - Tony Gilroy
“Ratatouille” - Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
“The Savages” - by Tamara Jenkins

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THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG - FIRST PICTURES

January 15th 2008 03:12

I like the look of this new Walt Disney film, The Princess and the Frog. It’s a while away from being finished yet, its date being 2009, but Walt Disney just released a picture for audiences to gain a taste.

The Princess and the Frog is a fairy tale musical set in New Orleans and is written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements (Hercules, Aladdin), and features music by Randy Newman. It regales the story of Princess Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), a young African-American girl living in the charming elegance of the mythical French Quarter in New Orleans.

This is the first time since 2004’s Home on the Range, that Disney will be using the 2-D, hand-drawn method of film-making.

I’m looking forward to its release, I like a good fairy tale.

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Posted By: Tracy - Category: Pictures

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HARRY POTTER AND DEATHLY HALLOWS – TWO FILMS

January 14th 2008 23:22

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – TWO FILMS

It seems that the seventh and final Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be divided into two parts. The reason behind the change is simple, the books have grown in length and splitting the story is the only way to do it justice.

The first Harry book, The Philosopher's Stone is 223 pages long compared to Deathly Hallows which is 776 pages, as you can see there is quite a big difference.

Fans are waiting to see the much anticipated final confrontation between Harry and Lord Voldemort which is expected to be spectacular. Audiences would not be happy if vital scenes were omitted.

JK Rowling stated on her website: ‘It is simply impossible to incorporate every storyline into a film under four hours long.'

That makes sense to me. I think we can expect something interesting from this film, especially if Guillermo del Toro is given the opportunity to direct.

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Posted By: Tracy - Category: News

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2008 GOLDEN GLOBES ARE CANCELLED

January 8th 2008 15:03

Well, it’s happened. The Hollywood scriptwriters strike has led to the cancellation of next Sunday's Golden Globe awards ceremony and it looks as though they are now threatening to disrupt the Oscars.

According to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which sponsors the show, the results of the awards will instead be revealed at an hour-long press conference, screened live in America on NBC News.

Jorge Camara, the HFPA president, said that he was, 'very disappointed' that, 'millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favourite stars celebrating 2007’s outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television.’

As yet, there is no end in sight for the 9-week strike by 10,500 members of the Writers Guild of America demanding appropriate pay for work distributed on the Internet.

The next concern is whether the Oscars will go ahead as usual on the 24th February 2008. Hopefully a resolution that suits all parties will be achieved by then.

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Posted By: Tracy - Category: News

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YES MAN – NEW PICTURES RELEASED

January 8th 2008 14:26

Warner Bros has just released the first two shots from the new impending Jim Carrey comedy, Yes Man.

Carrey stars as Carl Allen, a man who joins a self-help program based on one simple belief: say yes to everything and anything.

Initially, unleashing the power of yes transforms Carl's life, in remarkable and unexpected ways, but soon he discovers that opening up his life to infinite possibilities can definitely have its disadvantages. I can imagine it would. Things don't tend to be simple for too long in both the real and movie world.

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Posted By: Tracy - Category: Pictures

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NEW BOND FILM - ON-SET PICTURES

January 8th 2008 07:50

Here are some new on-set pictures of Bond man Daniel Craig outside The Water Gardens in London where filming for Bond 22 was taking place. Bond 22 is the sequel to Casino Royale as well as Daniels’ second 007 film.

The new Bond adventure is expected to be released on the 7th November 2008. It will continue where Casino Royale finished and will be loosely based on the Ian Fleming short story Risico, where Bond’s task is to infiltrate a drug ring taking over Britain with massive amounts of heroin.

Martin Campbell will again direct with screenwriters Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade also returning for the sequel.

As with Casino Royale, the traditional characters of Q and Miss Moneypenny will not be reappearing. Dame Judy Dench will be back in the helm as M, joined by 21-year old Gemma Arterton as one of the Bond girls called Fields.

As an aside, a new James Bond computer game is scheduled to be released to tie-in with the launch of this movie.

Enjoy...

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Posted By: Tracy - Category: Pictures

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DANIEL RADCLIFFE'S NEW FILM - JOURNEY

January 2nd 2008 08:02

Daniel Radcliffe is definitely leaving his Potter days behind and moving towards more mature film pastures.

Britain’s daily tabloid, The Daily Star has reported that Radcliffe, now 18, will play the role of Dan Eldon, a photographer who was stoned to death while working in Somalia during the civil war in 1993.

The film,Journey will be based on Eldon's diaries entitled. The Journey is the Destination,published in 1997.

Daniel’s competition for the role included Hollywood stars such as Heath Ledger, Joaquin Phoenix, Ryan Phillippe and Orlando Bloom.

Eldon's family was able to decide who they thought would be the best actor for the part and they chose Radcliffe.

Eldon’s mother stated: ‘We resisted a lot of older actors because Dan was a boy emerging into manhood. The timing is right and the person is right and I couldn't ask for more... There are parallels in the two Dans' lives... Daniel Radcliffe is a poet, he keeps journals and he is half Jewish. He has a sense of humour and energy inside him which reminds me of Dan.’

Eldon was only 22 years old when he was murdered in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.

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