Come Hell or High Water (Again), Terry Gilliam Will Make That La Mancha Movie
Paste reports the almost inevitable news (first noted at Empire) that Terry Gilliam is keeping the dream alive. He once was lost (in La Mancha), but he will be found.
"[Producer] Jeremy Thomas is very close to getting all the pieces of paper signed from all the people who you gotta get signed," Gilliam told us. "He's been on it for a year now, and he's come the closest to getting it untangled from the legal swamp it was in. And, um, I don't see why, I donæt see anythying that's gonna stop it now. He's just gotta get all the paperwork done and then I call Mr Depp and see which pirate film he's still on".
And there's still hope for Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman fans that Good Omens will be a Gilliam movie.
"I'm the only one who can make it, 'cos that's what Neil and Terry have said. I'm the only one", Gilliam insists. "And I thought with Neil, with Stardust and with Beowulf and there's another one ... an animated film, a Henry Selick thing he's written [Coraline], I was thinking he's really hot now, so maybe there's a chance. I mean it's such a wonderful book. And I think our script is pretty good, too. We did quite a few changes. We weren't as respectful as we ought to have been. But Neil's happy with it!"
Casting "The Hobbit": Who Would You Choose?
TheOneRing.net is buzzing again, now that a big-screen version of The Hobbit is a sure thing.
The big question of the day: Who should be cast?
They perpetuate the popular idea that Martin Freeman should play young Bilbo. Or Colin Firth. I like both ideas, but...
Looking Closer's 25 Favorite Films of 2007 (With an Introduction About List-Making)
Once upon a time, I was naive enough, and arrogant enough, to post lists of "the year's best films."
But now, I'm reluctant to even offer a list of recommendations. It would probably be better if I posted my Favorite Movies of 2007 in 2009 or 2015.
And speaking of lists, here are a few reasons why...Read more
Killer of Sheep (1977/2007)
Filmed in 1977 as a thesis project on a budget of about $10,000, Charles Burnett's award-winning Killer of Sheep won an award in Berlin in 1981, and was among the first 50 films entered in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. The National Society of Film Critics named it one of 100 "essential films." And Andrew O'Hehir at Salon.com calls Burnett "the most important African-American director" and "one of the most distinctive filmmakers this country has ever produced."
But this movie was almost impossible for American film enthusiasts to see until IFC restored it for a DVD release in 2007.
It's still amazing.
Filmed in black and white, it carries on a meditative tour of the Watts neighborhood in 1977, an L.A. ghetto where many barely have enough resources to feed themselves. Every day presents them with opportunities to compromise in order to get by. It’s a battlefield of temptations and dangers. And the noblest fellow in the neighborhood — Stan, a slaughterhouse worker — is becoming despondent, feeling powerless to change his predicament. He and his neighbors have a common challenge — seemingly inescapable poverty, the pain of which is enhanced by a constant awareness of America’s promises.
Burnett's meditative style does not draw attention to itself. With his patient gaze, he seems fascinated by children in rowdy play, teenagers caught between confusing societal pressures, and adults who either struggle to live with dignity in their poverty, or who give in to the attraction of crime. The camera's way of drifting down alleys, through walls, and into characters' private moments recalls Wim Wenders's Wings of Desire. But there don't seem to be any benevolent angels in sight.
It's also to Burnett's credit that he is able to observe problems of class and race without narrowing his vision to become an "issues movie" or a sermon. His characters have been dealt a bad hand, but some of them are making hard times worse. Despite Burnett's marvelous eye for the specifics of a time and a place, his subject is nothing less than the human condition, and his mode is closer to epic poetry than documentary or drama. While the acting is sometimes amateurish — Burnett was working with the resources at hand, rather than drawing from a host of accomplished actors — these weaker moments are forgivable in view of extraordinary scenes involving children, and images that are as detailed and deep as those you’ll find in the works of masters like Ozu or Tarkovsky.
[Update: This film was selected for The Arts and Faith Top 100 Films List in 2010.]
Seitz on Paul Thomas Anderson
Matt Zoller Seitz is still writing about There Will Be Blood. Here he is in The New York Times celebrating Paul Thomas Anderson.
Monster, Wretches, "Bad People" ... and Me.
Guillermo Del Toro, the new king of monster movies, is about to unleash Hellboy 2.
But according to MTV.com, his mind is already busy with visions of what might be his his next big project. No, it's not The Hobbit, and no, it's not that Tarzan project he was talking about a while back.
Here's a hint: For Kenneth Branagh, it was a big mistake.
Personally, I've had this particular monster on the brain lately...Read more
Fantasy Book Critic on Auralia's Colors
Fantasy Book Critic has just published thoughts on Auralia's Colors, and he's offering a free copy!
Thanks to Robert Thompson for the review!
Every year, whether you're talking about movies, music or books, you have what are commonly known as "hidden treasures." You know the album that never cracks Billboard's Top 200 list, the film that is forever relegated to "indie" status, the novel that can't be found in your local bookstore.
For whatever reason, these releases just don't get the respect they deserve even though they're just as good, if not better than any of the so-called bestsellers or blockbusters that all the major publications are praising. Well here's another gem for you....
Morehead on "Stardust"
I always look forward to Jason Morehead's reviews. He writes when he's passionate about something, and it makes a difference.
He's passionate about Neil Gaiman's novel Stardust, so I've been looking forward to his review of the film. It's taken a while for him to see it and to compose his thoughts. But, as usual, it's a passion-fueled review.For the record, my review ran at CTMovies when the film opened.
What Would You Rather Do? See a Great Foreign Film, or Jump In a Volcano?
Will any conservative Christians go see 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days?
Jeffrey Wells doesn't think so. Here's a clip from his blog (Wednesday) on an internationally celebrated film that has yet to show up on the radar of most Christian media sites.
Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days "manages to deal with abortion without advocating any stance other than compassion," writes Times Online critic Kevin Maher. "It illustrates what happens when a woman's right to choose her biological destiny is removed, and yet it also shows a picture of abortion that would please the most adamant pro-lifer."
And yet, as I wrote last summer, the likelihood of any American right-to-lifers seeing this movie is next to nil. Their commitment to stopping abortion is sincere, but it pales next to their xenophobia. I suspect that most conservative Americans would rather jump into a raging volcano than see 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days.Read more
A "His Dark Materials" Caution... back in 2002
My brother-in-law Derrek just brought something to my attention I'd forgotten.
Five years ago, I posted an alert that The Golden Compass was about to be made into a movie. Then I invited people to suggest how Christians should respond, considering the content of the books.
Now that the film has come and gone and made very little fuss at the U.S. box office, it's interesting to look back and reconsider such early tremors.
So if you're curious, here's that five-year-old link.
And isn't it interesting that very little happened in the way of discussion about the books. It was only when the movie arrived... more than a decade after the book's publication... that suddenly folks started acting as if this was some new "threat," and the chain-email protests began.
Anyway, we now return to 2008.