December 31, 2017

‘Not Directed by Terrence Malick’ Shows the Master Filmmaker’s Huge Influence — Watch

Terrence Malick is one of the most influential filmmakers alive, with everyone from Christopher Nolan and David Gordon Green to John Hillcoat and Andrew Dominik citing him as an inspiration. To show the extent to which the “Badlands,” “The Thin Red Line,” and “The Tree of Life” director has left his mark on a generation of directors, Vimeo user Jacob T. Swinney made a video called “Not Directed by Terrence Malick” made up of shots from other filmmakers whose work bears a distinct resemblance to Malick’s. Watch below.

Borrowing the music that graced the trailer for “To the Wonder,” the strikingly made video cuts between Malickian footage from a range of films: “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” “George Washington,” even “Man of Steel” (whose first teaser had a heavy Malick influence that was sorely lacking from the actual movie).

Here’s the full list of movies featured:

“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” (2013), David Lowrey
“All the Real Girls” (2003), David Gordon Green
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (2007), Andrew Dominik
“Beasts of No Nation” (2015), Cary Fukunaga
“The Better Angels” (2014), A.J. Edwards
“Ex Machina” (2015), Alex Garland
“George Washington” (2000), David Gordon Green
“Joe” (2013), David Gordon Green
“Lost River” (2014), Ryan Gosling
“Man of Steel” (2013), Zack Snyder
“Shotgun Stories” (2007), Jeff Nichols
“Silent Light” (2007), Carlos Reygadas
“Up in the Air” (2009), Jason Reitman
“Upstream Color” (2013), Shane Carruth

Source: IndieWire film

December 31, 2017

Tom Hanks Fondly Recalls Jonathan Demme, a Filmmaker Unafraid to Break the Rules

Before he was one of the most revered actors on the planet, Tom Hanks was best known for more comedic performances in films like “Big,” “The ‘Burbs,” and “Turner & Hooch.” That changed when he starred in Jonathan Demme’s “Philadelphia,” for which he won his first Academy Award; the second, for “Forrest Gump,” came just a year later. As part of Entertainment Weekly’s efforts to recall those we lost in 2017, Hanks has shared his fond recollections of a filmmaker who wasn’t afraid to ignore the rules.

Prior to their collaboration, Hanks was simply a fan of Demme’s. “I took my wife out on one of our first dates it was to go see his Talking Heads concert film ‘Stop Making Sense,’” he recalls. “I remember ‘Something Wild’ was a fantastic movie, ‘Married to the Mob,’ then of course ‘Silence of the Lambs.’ I think I had been in the audience when ‘Silence of the Lambs’ won best picture in 1992. But I had never met him. He was a mystery to me.”

That changed with “Philadelphia,” of course. “I think the boldest thing that he did, and this was again him breaking the rules, was ‘Philadelphia’ was pretty much conceived despite the idea ‘nobody is going to pay to see a movie about this. You get AIDS and you die?’ A lot of people are afraid of it, and they’re not going to want to go see a movie about a subject matter that’s too painful.”

Demme didn’t just make a movie about AIDS — he cast performers who were actually living with it. “There were a lot of people in ‘Philadelphia’ who had AIDS and they were scattered throughout,” remembers Hanks. “Some of them played people with AIDS and some of them played people who did not have AIDS. Ron Vawter was certainly the biggest part of that.” Read his full thoughts here.

Source: IndieWire film

December 31, 2017

‘Padmavati,’ the Controversial Bollywood Film That Inspired Death Threats, Has to Change Its Name

Almost no one has actually seen “Padmavati,” but that hasn’t stopped the historical drama from becoming one of the most controversial movies in Bollywood history. After much uncertainty about whether Sanjay Leela Bansal’s film will even be released, India’s Central Board of Film Certification now says it will certify “Padmavati” if the title is changed, 26 cuts are made, a disclaimer is placed at the beginning, and the song “Ghoomar” is revised.

The controversy arises from a dream sequence that reportedly hints at a romance between a Hindu queen and a Muslim sultan, which has led extremist groups to call for the beheading of lead actress Deepika Padukone — a death threat that an Indian politician offered a $1.5 million bounty for anyone to carry out. Last month, the group Karni Sena threatened to set fire to any British cinema that screened the film. For all of this, Bansal claims that the scene in question doesn’t even exist.

The new title won’t be much different: “Padmavat.” Padukone responded to the threats against her life with defiant bravery: “I feel angry, I feel let down and I also find it amusing,” she said last month. “I will never feel scared. Fear is not an emotion I have ever identified with.”

Source: IndieWire film

December 30, 2017

Gal Gadot Is the Highest-Grossing Actress of the Year

It’s been a wonderful year for Gal Gadot, whose starring roles in both “Wonder Woman” and “Justice League” were enough to make her the highest-grossing actress of 2017. Her two movies took in a total of $1.4 billion worldwide, which makes her the third-highest-grossing performer overall; Vin Diesel (“Fate of the Furious,” “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage”) took the number one spot with $1.6 billion, followed closely by “Furious” co-star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (who also starred in “Baywatch” and “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”) at $1.5 billion.

The annual list comes from Forbes, which publishes a similar report at the end of every year. The outlet once again culled its data from Box Office Mojo and and “did not count animated movies where only actors’ voices were used and only included actors who were top-billed or had the most screen time.” Two other women made the top 10 as well: Emma Watson, who came in fourth with $1.3 billion, and Daisy Ridley, whose $1.08 billion was enough for sixth place.

Here’s the full list:

1. Vin Diesel ($1.6 billion)
2. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson ($1.5 billion)
3. Gal Gadot ($1.4 billion)
4. Emma Watson ($1.3 billion)
5. Johnny Depp ($1.1 billion)
6. Daisy Ridley ($1.08 billion)
7. Tom Holland ($888 million)
8. Chris Pratt ($864 million)
9. Chris Hemsworth ($845 million)
10. John Boyega ($815 million)

Source: IndieWire film

December 30, 2017

Porgs Got Their Adorable Chirp From a Mix of Three Different Birds at Skywalker Sound

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who love porgs and those whose empty hearts know no joy. The best part of Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi,” the puffin-like creatures have stirred debate since the moment they were first glimpsed in the film’s trailer; they’ve also inspired curiosity, with many wondering how they came to be.

In a new interview with CinemaBlend, sound designer Ren Kylce (whose name is suspiciously similar to Kylo Ren) offers some details about their distinctive squawk and the animals that helped create it.

“At Skywalker Sound there’s a chicken coop with these little chickens, and Coya Elliott, our first assistant, went down and recorded those chickens,” Klyce says. “And then we took that sound and slowed it down and stretched it out and found little chirps. We found this man who releases doves at weddings, and we asked him to come down so we could record them. So we have a little snippet of that [turkey call], a little bit of chicken, a little dove, and cut it all together.”

Johnson previously revealed to Entertainment Weekly that porgs were inspired by puffins, which were present on the island where some of “The Last Jedi” was shot. “If you go to Skellig [Island] at the right time of year, it’s just covered in puffins, and they’re the most adorable things in the world. So when I was first scouting there, I saw these guys, and I was like, oh, these are part of the island. And so the porgs are in that realm.”

Source: IndieWire film