The trailer for The Butler, Lee Daniels's follow-up to The Paperboy, looks like a giant, ripe piece of Oscar bait, and we had to watch it TWICE to make sure we caught all of the names attached to this sprawling production that is "inspired by true events." Oprah. Forrest Whittaker. Jane Fonda. John Cusack. Liev Schrieber. Robin Wiliams. Cuba Gooding Jr. Vanessa Redgrave. Alan Rickman. The list goes on...
And no, it's not about Wadsworth from Clue (although that would be pretty awesome). Take a peek at the historical drama that's bound to draw up some buzz later this year:
It’s been over 20 years since Keanu Reeves first achieved
superstardom for his laid back, original
bro-style and fiercely brooding screen presence in classics like Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure, My Own Private Idaho, Point Break and of course, Speed. Reeves has been somewhat quiet
recently, but his fans know that every few years, they can count on the
reclusive superstar to swing his orbital Hollywood’s way; a veritable Halley’s
Comet of good hair and smoldering charisma.
His latest project, Generation Um, is a James Toback-meets-Paul Morrissey, verite-style tribute to lost souls, New
York City, and filmmaking itself -- written and directed by the talented Mark Mann. I was fortunate enough to sit for roundtable discussions, first with the
superstar and his director, and then with his charismatic young costars, Boyana
Novacovic and Adelaide Clemons. I’d be lying though, if I said it wasn’t all
about Neo, at least at first…
Tell us about your
character…
“I steal a camera and some chocolate”, the actor says with
youthful passion, still possessed of all his boyish charm. “Stealing the camera
for John (his character) was the only thing he could do in order to have that
camera. He’s felt trapped in his life. In this moment of watching this group of
people do this improvisational dance in this park in the Lower East Side of New
York, he sees an opportunity for something that he’s interested in and it’s one
of the times that he steps out of himself and he takes it. And as for the candy
bar, he’s hungry, and he wants chocolate, and
he’s depressed. “
What was the most
intimidating scene to shoot?
“The scariest scene was the scene where John and Violet
(Novacovic) come together,” Reeves declares without a moment’s hesitation,
“because playing John, I had no idea how that could actually happen. How could
this person who felt so vulnerable and insular and wanted to reach out, how
could he help someone? How could these two possibly hug each other? And then, a
lot of film rolled…”
The actor is of course, jokingly referring to the
thoughtful, anything but rushed style
that Mann brought to this project, only his second feature film. But the shy,
probing writer-director readily cops to his scrupulous process and deliberate
nature. “(The 'hug scene') is one of the longest hug scenes ever on film, at over five inutes. It was the hardest scene in the movie to cut and I struggled with it
the most, it was the last piece of the puzzle, and just, finding that level of
intimacy was extremely hard.”
Mark, was that what
you were mainly thinking about when you set out to write this script, finding
closeness and connection?
“I was thinking about how
do you change your life?” he says matter of factly. “Often times, you have
to make a bold move and do something that people don’t necessarily congratulate
you for, to give yourself what you need to move forward. Then, when you start
to inject hope, optimism and love inside a wrapper of disassociation and
alienation (as is the case with Reeve’s character, after his petty theft),
things get very complicated and ultimately, that’s what makes the film”.
Is that what the camera
symbolizes, a catalyst for uncompromising change?
“I make films on some
level about what I know, and both my films are about the filmmaking process.
That’s my thing. The first feature I did was a documentary about the narrative
filmmaking and editing process, and now this one is a narrative that
incorporates a man learning how to use a camera and document the world around
him,” Mann responds passionately.
Keanu, can you talk a
bit about your director and costars?
“When you make a movie, one of the coolest things is when
artists come together in like mind about the work, and Mark kind of fostered
that.He was so collaborative about
sharing his perspective and always asking us, the actors, for ours, (which
brought about) a real (on-set) camaraderie.
Both Keanu’s
character and Sarita’s Choudhury’s thoughtful waitress, seem to be the only
people in the film who actually shut up and listen, leading to quite a
beautiful, if unspoken connection. Is listening the message of the film?
“It’s certainly part of it,” the director responds
assuredly. “First of all, Sarita Choudury is a treat! The quiet moment where
she’s behind John and you see their whole relationship- the joy of working with
the actors in that particular scene was that they were so connected without
even looking at each other. The answer to the question again is, yes,” he carefully reiterates. “We have
become so immune to the noise of everything that nothing is shocking anymore.”
“That’s not true”,
Keanu ventures with ease, clearly demonstrating the comfort and intellectual
rapport between the two friends and collaborators. “It’s not that nothing’s
shocking, it’s just that there’s a state of shock. These characters are shocked
characters in transformation, trying to reach out to have any type of intimacy
or connection.”
With characteristic deliberation, Mark responds, “It
fascinates me, the subtle differences in motivation. Like whatever my intentions
are in writing it and (Keanu’s) intentions are for playing that character, they
are different, and it’s a fun conversation. I just like the dialectic.”
What did you each take
from this experience?
“It’s my first narrative film and I feel so happy to have
been able to make the film I wanted to make,” says Mr. Mann appreciatively. “(The
whole process) was very organic and I was allowed to just make the film without
(studio executives) coming at me, and most of that was due to Keanu.”
But for the reluctant superstar whose presence clearly still
carries some hefty clout in this industry, it was all about his
writer/director. “There are so many pleasures that Mark’s story offered me as
an actor (especially) this idea of hope for these trapped characters. And just
the opportunity to create, and I’m happy.”
Directing the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics was possibly one of the most time-consuming and stressful jobs Danny Boyle has ever done. It was a far cry from filmmaking and being on set with his cinematographer and troupe of actors.
That's why working on his latest thriller, Trance, was an escape for him. Shot in London during summer weekends -- in between his Olympic duties -- Boyle was able to do to what he loves to do.
The film centers around an auctioneer (James McAvoy) who loses his memory when he gets tangled up in an art heist that goes horribly awry. With the help of a hypnotherapist (Rosario Dawson), he attempts to resolves his involvement witht he criminal mastermind behind it all (Vincent Cassel).
These three characters soon become unreliable protagonists as none of them are who or what they might seem at first meeting. "The story's got three excellent parts in it and they battle for who's at the center of the film," says Boyle. "That triangle is a lovely dynamic to have in place as you can play with the question of which character the story belongs to."
Taking the role of Simon is McAvoy, who felt a magnetic attraction to the film. "I was completely blown away by this mind-bending, genre-bending, psychological heist movie," he comments. "When I auditioned for Danny, he was incredible. I've rarely been directed in an audition so interestingly. That made me desperate to get the part. Luckily for me he phoned up and said, 'Would you like to do it?'"
Boyle was surprised by McAvoy. "I thought he might be a bit young for it, but when we met, it was really interesting because the part makes him seem older. It was fantastic the way he grew into it."
As for the role of hypnotherapist Elizabeth Lamb, Rosario Dawson loved that her character played as an equal in this male-driven mind game. "I've never played anyone even remotely like her," she says. "Elizabeth is totally different because she's hiding everything. You only get hints of her emotion through her doing things with with her hair to show her restraint, but when she lets her hair down, she really lets her hair down."
One of the most intriguing aspects of Trance for Boyle was the chance to present a woman as equal player in a crime thriller. "You make all these films, and you have great women in them, but they're basically about the guys...So what I love about this film is there's a woman most definitely right in the thick of it, holding her own."
Years ago, the ensemble drama to shock your system into thinking about today’s societial issues was Crash. It won awards and shocked audiences with its realistic view of how we all interact on a daily basis.
But that was eight years ago, and it's time for an update. Today, we’re all so caught in cell phone culture that the more we connect online, the less we seem to understand each other face to face. Times have changed, and it was time for a film to make us see that.
Disconnect, directed by Henry-Alex Rubin does exactly that. It takes a harsh look at how families, friends, and even strangers are affected by today’s digital world. Kids are bullied, families drift apart, and sex is more easily accessible than ever before -- and Disconnect makes you look up from your smartphone just long enough to realize that you’re guilty of it too. Andrew Stern wrote the screenplay when he noticed that everyone around the dinner table spent more time texting and emailing than connecting with each other. And what he came out with is a cast of characters who mingle and intertwine as they slowly realize how lost they all truly are in a world connected by technology.
And that's about it. After all, if you're not a Buffyverse follower -- or have no idea who those actors are listed above -- then you're not as rightfully pumped and geeked out over this black-and-white modern adaptation of Shakespeare's twisted comedy as we are.
If you thought the Scary
Movie franchise was dead and gone, surprise, it’s back! After a seven-year hiatus from the big screen, the fifth film brings
forth a fresh slew of movies, TV, and popular culture to spoof, skewer, and eventually run into the ground.
Director Malcolm Lee (The
Best Man, Roll Bounce) joins veteran producer/writer David Zucker in this
new effort. Scary Movie V continues
to follow the gag joke tradition as it’s chock-full of celebrities and actors
who play themselves and guest-star as drop-in characters.
Looking for a plot? Good luck: The film follows Jody (Ashley Tisdale) and her husband Dan (Simon
Rex) on a journey as new parents. They adopt Dan’s recently deceased brothers
three children and move into a new home while agreeing to have their
lives videotaped for a study. Once the children enter the home, Jody begins to
feel an unwelcome presence. The
maid feels this as well (hooray for Hispanic stereotypes!) and continually blesses the house, while Dan sees
nothing wrong. They begin to seek help from psychics and other outside sources
to rid them of the “demons."
Jody is a prima ballerina while Dan works in a lab trying to
increase the intelligence of apes. Now if any of this sounds familiar, it
should. It takes a playbook from every scary film made in most recent
years and spoofs them like there's no tomororw. It takes cues from Mama,
Paranormal Activity, Sinister, Planet of the Apes, Black Swan, Inception,
and last but not least, the more recent incarnation of Evil
Dead.
Although Scary Movie V is bereft of any conventional plot (any keen film major could easily tell some scenes were slapped together at the last minute), there
are some funny moments throughout the movie. The film takes pot shots at Black Swan and its intense camera
angles, which gets some giggles. When it breaks down Evil Dead, which is by far one of the goriest films of the year, it
manages to make it look light and comical. Also, the film manages to admirably snag a
dead ringer for Leonardo DiCaprio for the Inception scene.
With cameos from Charlie Sheen -- no stranger to the franchise -- Lindsay Lohan, Usher, and Mike Tyson, it’s seemingly refreshing to see stars making fun
of themselves, but let's face it: it's a paycheck for these spotlight-hogging celebs.
Ashley Tisdale does bring a bit of warmth and reality to the
film, while Simon Rex’s character is less appealing this time around. It isn't his
fault: he's just playing it as it's written -- and it's scripted as if a high school stoner with a lit agent got a hold of some producers and shot this thing with a trust fund check.
As long as you know you aren’t going to see a cinematic masterpiece and are willing to lose a few
brain cells in the process, then go right ahead and buy that movie ticket.
The trailer for the Channing Tatum-Jamie Foxx action-thriller, White House Down, has debuted this week, and if you're a fan of Roland Emmerich's tentpole films (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012), I'm sure you'll be salivating over this one.
Washington D.C. gets attacked, and it's up to one man, a former secret service agent (Tatum), to protect the POTUS (Foxx) and save the day.
No, this isn't a reboot of this month's Olympus Has Fallen.
For all you trailer junkies out there, you may have noticed a formula regarding the previews for Emmerich's films. Step 1: Open with news soundbites of reporters announcing Something Big going down. Step 2: Reveal an iconic shot that will establish what we're dealing with. Step 3: Bring down the noise considerably so we can gather our thoughts and feel the tension mounting. Step 4: Remind us who Roland Emmerich actually is. Step 5: Cut to a series of well-paced shots of familiar faces. Step 6: Show that our hero must race against time to set things right...while embracing someone he loves. Step 7: Close out with more shit blowing up, this time accompanied by a minimalist score. Voila.
The writers of the Antoine Fuqua-directed Olympus Has Fallen, like me, must have come of age in the 90s and enjoyed the hell out of watching Harrison Ford play the POTUS and defeat Russian terrorists in the rollicking Air Force One. The reason why I unabashedly assume this is because Olympus takes that film's premise, grounds it at the White House, swaps out Glenn Close for Morgan Freeman (or Angela Bassett, if you want to check off "Stoic Supporting Female Role" in your Patriotic Action Movie Guidebook), replaces Russians with Koreans (it is 2013, after all), and infuses it with a score by a composer who, from the sounds of it, could have been a protege of Hans Zimmer.
As a matter of fact, Olympus Has Fallen, which stars Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart, feels so much like it was made in 1997, I half-expected one of the characters to make a Spice Girls reference and the film's soundtrack to give a shout-out to Chumbawumba. But I guess after a decade of consuming Jason Bourne-style grittiness and morally ambigious heroes at the multiplex, a little 90s throwback won't hurt anyone.
I just didn't expect something like this to come from the man who brought us the rivetting Training Day. Here, it seems as if Fuqua called up Michael Bay and asked him for a few cinematic pointers. A golden-hued shot of the American flag waving above the ashes? Check. National landmarks getting blown to smithereens? Check (so long, Washington Monument). Several lines of predictable dialogue that'll make any eye roll? Check.
By now, if you're still wondering about the plot, chew on this: Butler plays Mike Banning, a former Secret Service agent with a tortured past (a wintry prologue establishes his relationship with the President, his adorkable son, and Ashley Judd's First Lady). Cut to 18 months later, and Mike's stuck at a desk job at the Treasury (conveniently) across the street from the White House. When a group of highly trained extremists launch a daylight attack on Washington D.C. -- and it's a deadly doozy -- Mike becomes the only one who can jump in and save the day. Literally, he hops onto the front lawn amidst the battle, knocks off a couple of guys, and John McClanes his way into the building.
From there, it's the stuff red-blooded actioners are made of: Watch Angela Bassett and Morgan Freeman bounce worried expressions off each other in a briefing room! See Gerard Butler shoot, stab, and break the necks of a dozen bad guys! Wince every time Melissa Leo, who plays the Secretary of State, gets the crap beaten out of her! Laugh when Butler takes a bronze bust of Abe Lincoln and bashes the skull of a shooter -- the theater I sat in sure did.
Olympus Has Fallen clearly doesn't know the definition of subtlety. Its cast and crew clearly don't know how to say no to a paycheck. And every overly proud, God-fearing American will clearly eat up this noisy, ego-driven movie with relish.
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