“Chronicle” is a compelling character drama, a visual dazzler

By Scott Mendelson

TrendPK.com: I’ve written a lot over the last couple years about how, if superhero films are going to survive, they are going to have to be able to be about something other than the generic tropes of superhero comic book adventures. Captain America excelled because it was a World War II period action drama, while Green Lantern mostly faltered because it wasn’t about anything other than its own conventions. Chronicle (written by Max Landis and directed by Josh Trank) is a shining example of a powerful emotional tragedy that involves certain comic book conventions without really being about them. At heart, the picture is a fierce rebuttal of the now-cliche ‘with great power comes a superior destiny’ motif that has been central to the last ten years of big-budget fantasy pictures, both those based on comics and those based on young-adult fantasy novels. More than just a deconstruction of fantasy tropes, Chronicle is a thoughtful and empathetic story of three disparate teens who end up with special powers and how it does or does not change them.

Although it is an unofficial member of the ‘found footage’ school, it uses that oft-derided format to its advantage, bringing intimacy and realism to the forefront (it helps that the film looks visually engaging and has a bare minimum of ‘shaky cam’ effect). While this may be damning with faint praise, Chronicle is arguably the best ‘found footage’ film yet made, using the technique to make its special effects feel truly special. It also contains the truest and most compelling variation on the that classic ‘they discover they have powers’ concept, feeling absolutely authentic as the three young men explore their new found abilities in not very heroic ways (my favorite involves playing that prank in a toy store that you’ve always dreamed of doing…). This experimentation phase culminates in a soaring bit of action and special effects that feels far more real than any number of $100-200 million franchise pictures that have tried the same effect. The is a plausibility to the effects work and to the scenarios being played out that renders them genuinely special and that-much more engaging. It is one thing to believe your eyes when you’re seeing practical stunt work. It is another thing to absolutely believe your eyes when you’re seeing something that cannot actually be real.

But the picture is more than just a demo reel of how to make cheap special effects look better than far-more expensive visuals. The picture is a true character study, centering around the three young men who stumble upon what can only be described as ‘super powers’. The film’s main point-of-view is young Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan), who initially begins filming in order to document the violent abuse of his drunken father and the medical suffering of his terminally-ill mother. The two other main characters are Andrew’s cousin Matt (Alex Russell) and Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan), a popular and extroverted student who just happens to stumble upon the mysterious underground rock at the wrong time. Everyone shines and everyone – supporting cast, cameo players, etc – give superb slice-of-life performances. The screenplay gives the three leads so much depth that you realize about halfway in that Steve isn’t just ‘the token black guy’, but a full-blown lead character in this drama. The few female characters are pretty thin, but they are both accorded appropriate respect and not overused for the sake of having a pretty girl to put on the poster (Ashley Hinshaw does fine understated work as Matt’s crush).

Where this story goes I will not reveal, only to say that it is just slightly disappointing that the film doesn’t play around with certain formulas a bit more in the third act. Once you figure out just what story is being told, you can pretty-well map out what will transpire. But the telling is solid, with Trank and Landis confidently bringing their story to its inevitable conclusion even as we hope for a different outcome. What works in a narrative sense is the refusal to paint an arc for each major character in a conventional sense. Andrew and Matt don’t change all that much throughout the film, while Steve merely opens up a bit as he finds himself socializing with people far outside his usual peer group.

Also giving the story an added gravitas is the fact that the majority of the school is not made up of bullies and would-be enemies. When Andrew gets a brief moment of social acceptance, it feels real because it IS real. Most of the kids in this film are relatively decent people, which adds a level of pathos as we realize that Andrew has been self-ostracized and beaten-down by his father for so long that he doesn’t know how to deal with something resembling friendship. This isn’t a case of Anakin Skywalker going to the dark side because none of the Jedi bothered to intervene, or a case of Carrie White being endlessly tormented until she exploded in a fiery rage. Chances are missed and the wrong things are occasionally said, but there is potential for a happy ending, although I will not reveal if one actually occurs.

When a genre becomes old enough or repeated often enough, the tropes become so familiar that the deconstructions become more engaging and entertaining than the real thing. When film critics discuss their favorite westerns, it is usually films like The Searchers, Lonesome Dove, and Unforgiven that get heralded above the others. By looking at the genre motifs with a somewhat clinical eye, it is that much easier to find profundities within the genre trappings while both being of and standing apart from that genre. Chronicle attempts something even trickier, which is to examine the messages and ideologies of the super-hero drama without actually existing in said genre, while telling a fantastical story in an absolutely relatable and plausible fashion. It is not a super hero picture in any conventional sense, but it has an awful lot to say about them.

To read more go to Mendelson’s Memo

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Oscars: Screenwriter John Logan talks “Hugo,” “Rango” and “Coriolanus” — AWARDS ALLEY

By Sean O’Connell
TrendPK.com: The only thing bigger than the films John Logan wrote in 2011 are the films he’d credited with writing in 2012 and beyond.

He’s credited with an early draft of Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln.” He penned the latest installment of the James Bond franchise, “Skyfall,” for director Sam Mendes and star Daniel Craig. And he recently signed on the dotted line to write the screen adaptation of the smash Broadway musical “Jersey Boys.”

But it’s the three films Logan wrote in 2011 – “Rango,” “Coriolanus” and “Hugo” – that has his name buried deep in the heart of the ongoing Oscar race. “It’s kismit,” Logan told me. “Movies have their own internal time table. You never know when they’re going to achieve critical mass.”

The marathon comes to a head Tuesday morning, when nominations are revealed. We’ll see if Logan can add to his current nomination total of two. (He was recognized for penning “Gladiator” and “The Aviator,” also with Martin Scorsese.)

On the eve of the Oscar nominations, here is the gregarious, honest and refreshingly enthusiastic screenwriter, John Logan:

TrendPK.com: You have talked about how long it took to make “Rango.” How collaborative was it? Were you there for most of the process to keep changing dialogue or was it pretty much set in stone?

John Logan: It was pretty established early on, but we spent a long time getting it there. And it was the most mad cap experience I’ve ever had making a movie. We did most of the heavy lifting at Gore Verbinski’s house, away from a studio and away from society. The creative team was there, and we would walk around, through the hills, or sit in the backyard and hash things out. This involved a lot of acting on our parts, as we popped up and played almost all of the characters. We wanted the movie to have an off-the-cuff feel, an idiosyncratic energy.

But by the time you get to doing a story reel, the language and dialogue had to be set. And so once we got the actors in to record it – and we sort of filmed them doing it as if we were doing a live play – it was all pretty set. Though we did use that process as an excuse to further explore these characters and to let the actors improvise around the text.

It was more fluid then I think animation usually is.

TrendPK.com: And yet, it’s so drastically different than “Coriolanus.” Tell me how you became involved with Ralph Fiennes’ Shakespeare adaptation.

It was years ago, and it came to me because of my great affection for Shakespeare. The reason that I am a writer today is Shakespeare, and just falling in love with theater.

I’d always thought, from the time I started writing screenplays, that sooner or later I would try my hand at adapting Shakespeare. And I always thought “Coriolanus” was the one that I was going to do. I think that it’s a very cinematic story. And very modern. But not in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that anybody in the world would want to make a movie of “Coriolanus” until I met Ralph Fiennes! Laughs

We have similar contact. Kathryn Bigelow is a dear friend of both of ours. We met, and he sort of pitched me his take on the movie, which is exactly how I thought it should be … very modern. And we just dove in and did it.

TrendPK.com: You always wanted to bring Shakespeare into a modern time?

Completely. Well, with “Coriolanus.” If I were doing “Winter’s Tale,” I wouldn’t. But this, because of the central character, seems to me to be very modern. It’s less about the contemporary parallels, of which there are many. What I find particularly filmic and modern is the character of Coriolanus. He is a very complicated, murky individual. He’s deeply, deeply complex. And one of the things that draws me to people I want to write about is the examination of deeply flawed characters. Whether it’s Charles Foster Kane in “RKO 281” or T.E. Lawrence or Norman Bates. The people who we don’t understand, but the camera can let their internal lives come out. And that’s why, to me, “Coriolanus” was going to make such a great movie.

TrendPK.com: Shifting to “Hugo,” as we run through your impressive credits from the year, I’m curious if you connected with the topic of film preservation in the same way that Martin Scorsese does?

It’s less about preservation for me as it is understanding where you stand in the continuum of your art form.

I think we all stand in the good grace and on the backs of those who came before us in the movies. It’s shocking to me when I meet film people who’ve never seen “Night of the Hunter,” who don’t know “Vertigo,” “Intolerance,” “Top Hat” or “The Band Wagon.” Who don’t understand who Ben Hecht was. To me, it’s very important to know the lineage of your art form, whether it’s in the theater or movies, which are the two forms that I like to explore.

Clearly, there’s that thing in “Hugo” that is about the acknowledgement of the masters of the form. And I know Marty connected to that, as did I.

TrendPK.com: One topic that emerged from “Hugo” was the advancement of 3D technology, as Scorsese figured out how best to use it to aid his storytelling. Does 3D change the way that you write, and if so, how?

It certainly did in my case. Once the decision was made to go to 3D, it encouraged me to write a different way. When I write screenplays, I try to imagine the whole thing in a sort of virtual, 3D environment anyway. So it encouraged me to find ways to go into things and through things, so I wrote more sequences of Hugo going through the tunnels, of the camera going inside of the automaton to see how all of the pieces work. Or simple things like the dogs being a Doberman and two Dachshunds because those are long dogs that would look good in 3D.

TrendPK.com: Ah, that’s interesting.

Right. So it absolutely informed a lot of decisions in a really exciting way.

TrendPK.com: Would you like to potentially go back and do “The Time Machine” in 3D?

Laughs No, I’m leaving H.G. Wells in my past.

Awards Alley brings you the best Oscar coverage. Click below to read our exclusive interviews with:
– Harvey Weinstein
– The cast of “The Artist.”
– Kenneth Branagh for “My Week With Marilyn.”
– Bennett Miller talks “Moneyball.”
– Producer Jim Burke for “The Descendants.”
– Sir Ben Kingsley and Chloe Grace Moretz for “Hugo.”
– Tilda Swinton for “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
– David Fincher, Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara on “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”
– Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer for “The Help.”
– Tate Taylor for “The Help.”
– Woody Harrelson for “Rampart.”
– Gavin O’Connor for “Warrior.”
– Gary Oldman and Colin Firth for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
– Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody for “Young Adult.”
– Steve McQueen for “Shame.”
– Glenn Close for “Albert Nobbs.”
– Seth Rogen and Will Reiser for “50/50.”
– Producer Grant Heslov for “The Ides of March.”

For complete Oscar and Film Festival coverage, visit our Awards Alley for the latest news items, reviews and interviews all season long.

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Spider Man on broadway is casting for new female leads

TrendPK.com: Broadway’s $70 million “Spider Man: Turn off the Dark” actually started performances in mid November 2010, if you recall. Coming up on the year anniversary, two leads from the show are being re-cast. Presumably, Jennifer Damiano and TV Carpio, respectively Mary Jane and Arachne, are leaving since a casting call has gone out for their replacements. Additionally, a casting call went out for a new Peter Parker to understudy the role while Reeve Carney goes off to shoot a biopic about late singer songwriter Jeff Buckley. Sources say the new Mary Jane and Arachne should have their first performances in mid November.

That’s around the same time Carney will exit for 8 weeks. “Spider Man,” like most of Broadway, is having a tough fall at the box office. After its wild winter and spring, the troubled musical finally opened on June 14th. Between kids being out of school and mordbid curiosity, the musical played to fairly full houses through Labor Day. But now it’s doing about 79% business, and offering all kinds of discounts. On the bright side, there don’t seem to be reports of injuries anymore among the flying actors.

Miramax streaming chunk of library on Facebook

TrendPK.com: Studios have explored streaming movies on Facebook. Warner Bros. blasted the social networking tool with their “The Dark Knight” while Paramount and Universal has dipped their to in the water. But Miramax is about to make a major splash with the largest offering of titles in the short history of movie streaming.

PaidContent reports that the Miramax eXperience is going to make 20 titles available to rent in the U.S., with 10 being made available in the U.K. and Turkey. The report goes on to say that France and Germany will have access to these titles in the near future.

“Chicago,” “Cold Mountain,” and “Good Will Hunting” are among the first titles added in the first wave of programming, which also includes “Pulp Fiction” and “No Country for Old Men.”

“We wanted to fish where the fish are,” explained Miramax CEO Mike Lang. “We could have created the most robust Miramax.com in the world and other than my family members, who would be there?”

But the app doesn’t end with streaming. The report says the Miramax eXperience “includes a game that allows people to cast friends in various roles of Miramax movies; as they play, they can unlock bonus content that’s not otherwise visible.”

‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ nominated for Razzie

TrendPK.com: It seems not everyone loved ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ as it was nominated for the embarrassing Razzie award.

‘Twilight’ was nominated as Worst Film Of The Year alongside a number of other major films, states Digital Spy. ‘Sex and the City 2,’ ‘Clash of the Titans,’ ‘The Last Airbender,’ ‘Little Fockers,’ ‘Vampires Suck,’ ‘The Bounty Hunter,’ ‘Killers,’ ‘Jonah Hex’ and ‘The Expendables’ were all also nominated.

Surely ‘Twilight’ fans will be disappointed in this nomination.

Voyage to the bottom of the sea

Voyage to the bottom of the sea, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a 1960s American Science Fiction television series based on the 1961 film of the same name. Both were created by Irwin Allen, which enabled the movie’s sets, costumes, props, special effects models, and sometimes footage, to be used in the production of the television series. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was the first of Irwin Allen’s four science fiction television series. The show’s main theme was underwater adventure.

Voyage was broadcast on ABC from September 14, 1964 to March 31, 1968, and was the decade’s longest-running American science fiction television series with continuing characters. The 110 episodes produced included 32 shot in black and white (1964–65), and 78 filmed in color (1965–68). The first two seasons took place in the then future of the 1970s. The final two seasons took place in the 1980s. The show starred Richard Basehart and David Hedison.

Cast
* Richard Basehart as Admiral Harriman Nelson
* David Hedison as Commander Lee Crane
* Bob Dowdell as Lieutenant Commander Chip Morton
* Henry Kulky as Chief “Curly” Jones (1st Season)
* Terry Becker as Chief Sharkey (2nd–4th Seasons)
* Del Monroe as Kowalski
* Arch Whiting as Sparks
* Paul Trinka as Patterson
* Allan Hunt as Riley (2nd Season)
* Richard Bull as the Doctor
* Wayne Heffley as Seaview Doctor (2nd Season 1965-66, 3 episodes)
* Paul Carr as Casey Clark (1st Season, Recurring afterwards only in stock footage scenes)

Source – wikipedia

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Voyage to the bottom of the sea was first posted on November 15, 2009 at 8:35 pm.

Goddess Of The Market, Jennifer Burns

Goddess of the market, Jennifer Burns is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Virginia. His new biography, the goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American right, follows through its Rand 9780195324877rise fight meteoric Hollywood screenwriter best-selling novelist. Burns highlights two aspects of the work of Rand, which makes it a perennial draw for those on the right: its promotion of capitalism, and his advocacy of limited government. In honor of the appearance Jennifer Burns The Daily Show (be sure to set at 11 tonight!) We published an excerpt below.

“I’m coming back to life,” Rand said as the Nathaniel Branden Institute entered its second year of existence. Watching Nathan packed conference, Rand began to believe that it could still have an impact on culture. He awoke from his despair, he began writing again. In 1961 he published his first nonfiction work, For the New Intellectual, and in 1962 launched its own monthly magazine, The Objectivist newsletter. During the decade that reprinted articles from the newsletter and the speeches he had given in two books, the virtue of selfishness and capitalism: the unknown ideal. Although occasionally spoke of a fourth novel, Rand had abandoned the fiction forever. Instead, it reinvents itself as a public intellectual. Gone were the shops allegorical, tragic heroes and heroines, the coded references to unrealistic politicians, intellectuals, and events. Rand Objectivist Newsletter in the name and the names of the fingers pointed, direct-injected itself into the hottest political issues of the day.

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Goddess Of The Market, Jennifer Burns was first posted on October 16, 2009 at 12:41 pm.