Archive for the ‘Interview’ Category

  • 09 Jun

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    Herzog on Penguins and Neutrinos in Antarctica

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    Your Werner Herzog dialogue of the day. Penguin chat at the 3:20 mark. March of the Penguins or Happy Feet this ain’t. Getting closer to turning the ecstatic trick.

    (via MovieCityNews)
    And David Hudson has a lot more over at Greencine Daily

  • 05 Jun

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    Werner Herzog talks Bad Lieutenant and Abel Ferrara

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    Defamer was fortunate enough to sit down with filmmaking legend, and Row Three favourite, Werner Herzog – ostensibly to talk about his Encounters at the End of the World documentary, but the conversation inevitably slid towards the baffling re-envisioning of Abel Ferrara‘s Bad Lieutenant. A film which according to Herzog is not set in New York, not a remake, sort of a continuation, except with a different actor. Confused yet? Why even bother keeping the title or association which seems to put the project at a disadvantage right out of the gate? Perhaps Herzog likes it that way, as Ferrara‘s vitriolic death-threat at Cannes seems to amuse him: “It’s like theater thunder. It’s like being backstage in the 19th century, with the machines that make thunder. It has nothing do with with his film. But let him rave and rant; it’s good music in the background.” and “I have no idea who he is. Is he Italian? Is he French? Who is he?” Zen. The Ecstatic Zen.

    The rest of the Interview with Defamer, wherein Herzog has a few words on Nosferatu 1922 and 1979 can be found at this link.

  • 06 May

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    Polanski Doc Finally Gets at the Truth

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    Roman Polanski, 75Roman Polanski is a fabulous director, but also a notorious one. In 1978, Polanski pleaded guilty to the statutory rape of a then 13, Samantha Geimer. Polanski fled to Paris, where he remains today, to avoid being sentenced.

    I personally knew nothing of this story until a few years ago when The Pianist was up for best picture and the tabloids were a buzz with predictions of whether or not Polanski would show up at the ceremony or not; risking being arrested.

    But now, film maker Marina Zenovich has put together a documentary that takes a serious look at the case and hopefully will provide some answers to the slight mystery of what actually transpired between Polanski and Geimer. The film, entitled Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, apparently made a bit of a splash at Sundance a few months back and has now been picked up for television and theatrical rights by THiNKfilm.

    So I hadn’t heard about the film until today, but I must say I’m intrigued as the word around the campfire is that it’s pretty well made and gets to the meat of some hidden issues. Director Zenovich had this to say about working on the film:

    “In 2003, talk of [Polanski] winning an Oscar and whether he’d risk coming to accept it started me thinking about this case because nobody knew exactly what happened. Fearing sensationalism, nobody would talk to me. It took five years. Eventually those involved realized I had good intentions and just wanted to tell the story. I met [Geimer's] lawyer and then Samantha, the girl herself. Why she consented, I don’t know. Even her mother talked to me. Now blonde, clear-eyed, 45, with three kids, Samantha lives in Hawaii and she basically has forgiven him.“

    If, like most of us, you’re not able to make this doc’s international debut at Cannes in just a couple weeks, HBO will air it on June 9th, with THINKFilm’s theatrical engagements beginning with a New York opening on July 11th. I for one will do what I can to catch this when it airs in June.

    Here’s an interview with Zenovich and Polanski regarding the film from Sundance:

    sources:
    Starpulse.com
    Movie City Indie

  • 21 Apr

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    Kristin Stewart in Twilight

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    Kristin StewartWith our obvious love around here for the Vampire genre (see Vampyre Chronicles) and one of our writer’s pedophilic obsession with rising young star Kristin Stewart (Into the Wild), her newest project directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Lords of Dogstown) probably won’t go overlooked come screen time by patrons of the third row.

    In sort of a Narnia or Harry Potter-esque franchise, the series of books entitled “Twilight” is getting the film treatment and will feature Stewart as a young woman who has fallen in love with a vampire. These are the stories of the unconventional couple’s exploits. Said vampire is played by Harry Potter’s Robert Pattinson with other roles still being announced.

    Kristin Stewart – from MTV.com:

    “The cool thing about the story is that it’s a seemingly wonderful fantasy — let’s fall in love with vampires and live forever — but it’s so much harder than that. Imagine living forever. Living one life is hard enough.”

    But don’t get fooled into thinking this is going to be ‘The Notebook’ for the undead. “The main character is like, superhuman,” Stewart said of the action scenes in the script. “He’s a vampire, but with really [heightened powers]; he can run faster than a car can drive, and he’s super strong. He throws me over his back [in one scene], right before he’s going to tell me that he’s a vampire, and then he runs over the treetops. And we’re going to be in real treetops; we’re not just going to CGI it. We actually get to go up there, and that’s what I’m stoked on.”

    I’m not familiar with this book series at all, but apparently it’s pretty popular among older teens these days. I’m a big fan of Joss Whedon’s “Buffy,” so hopefully this series will be as smart, engaging and as popular as that series was/is. Judging from Stewart’s comments, it sounds like maybe we’ve got a good story with some characters that are a bit deeper than your average, run of the mill Vampire flick.

    Currently a trilogy, hopefully we’ll see a quality big screen adaptation that can bring about a new franchise that does suck.

    UPDATE: I just found a couple of behind-the-scenes featurettes. One’s from Entertainment Tonight (via our good friends over at WorstPreviews.com) and the other from MTV. I’ll stick the videos under the seat if you’re interested:
    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 20 Apr

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    My Friday Screen Test

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    DVD PanacheJust an FYI regarding the long running series over at DVD Panache entitled “Friday Screen Test.” Back in January, writer Adam Ross started this neat little series of posts each Friday that spotlights a different movie blogger/pundit and focusses on his/her personal interests when it comes to movies and cinema. This past Friday was my screen test and thought I’d make sure it was known more publicly.

    Adam runs quite the fun site over there and answering the questions was a joy – although reading others’ answers to some similar questions (like what’s your favorite movie gross-out moment or pick one of these three titles and write two sentences about it…) is even more fun and interesting. Besides the Friday Screen Test series, there are plenty of reviews and oddball op/ed pieces (such as the relationship between shotguns and horror films) as well. Check out the site and leave your thoughts. I’d especially like to see feedback on some of my answers to his questionnaire.

  • 11 Apr

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    Harrison Ford Talks

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    indy4pic.JPGHey folks, just didn’t want you to forget that there is a neat and pretty low-profile Indiana Jones sequel coming out in a little over a month. Here is an interesting interview by Reader’s Digest with Harrison Ford. They cover the new Indy, Calista, his grumpiness, land conservation, the movie that makes him laugh most (great choice, probably my personal favorite comedy), and irresistible junk food (another great choice!). If you have a man-crush on Harrison like me, it’s well worth the read. If not, it’s still worth it, because Mr. Ford’s just a stand-up, classy guy.

    Also, the official soundtrack to Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull has been listed on Amazon with track names that provide hints (and potential spoilers) as to what the movie will encompass.

    Now, read on!

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 17 Mar

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    Crank 3 in 3-D

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    I was a huge fan of the first Crank movie starring Jason Statham. It was the film that really solidified Statham as the new action hero for the 21st century. It’s a mile a second rush of a thrill ride that goes and goes and never once stops to catch its breath. I like movies like that – as long as they’re entertaining.

    So this morning I was watching an interview over at Collider with Mark Neveldine, director of both Crank movies and the upcoming Pathology film. They talked a bit about 3-D technology and how they’d like to go there, but are waiting for the camera size to shrink down a bit. But they do plan on making the third installment all in 3-D.

    When asked about how he would up the bar for Crank 2, he talked about this new rig they’ve got that’s never been done before and makes takes The Matrix-esque bullet time shot and ups the ante a bit:

    “We’re going to be creating a ‘moving bullet[-time] camera’ that has never been done before. We’re putting about 15 cameras onto a piece of speed rail, all these super lightweight cameras that I’ll be holding on rollerblades flying around people. So you’ll have that image that you’ve seen in the Matrix, where they stop motion and the cameras spin around, except for the fact that our cameras can spin around and move while the actor moves.”

    Awesome. That sounds pretty cool. After The Bank Job (R3 review) and Crank 1, I’m more than on board for this; if for no other reason than to check out the new technology. The link to the entire video interview is below. A lot of it is filled with a bunch of nonsense, but there’s some good stuff in there – like the part I already transcribed above ;)

    Thanks to collider.com for the scoop.

  • 12 Mar

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    Lady Vengeance Remake

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    Charlize Theron in Lady Vengeance remakeNews of the unnecessary comes today from an interview with Charlize Theron over at “The Boston Globe”. Theron herself doesn’t mention it, but in the article it states that Theron plans to produce and star in a remake of Lady Vengeance (aka Sympathy for Lady Vengeance).

    Here’s another example of needless exploitation of the great films coming out of Asia in the past few years. If Hollywood wants to destroy all these Asian horror films (Ring, Grudge, Shutter, etc.), that’s one thing. But to allow The Departed to win best picture and now to have to endure a remake of one of my favorite trilogies of all time (the third part incidentally, which makes no sense) is a whole nother ball of wax. Don’t get me wrong, I like to watch Charlize Theron in all her glory for as long as possible as much as the next guy; but I don’t know whether to be upset or just laugh about this rumor and look the other way when it hits theaters.

    Anyone have an opinion? Or more interestingly, does anyone think this is a good idea and actually look forward to this?

    via: Twitch

  • 03 Mar

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    A Good Read: Recent Guy Pearce Interview

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    guypearce2.JPGOn my list of man-crushes I’ll admit to, Guy Pearce has ranked pretty high ever since I saw him in L.A. Confidential back in ’97. He followed that up with three more promising roles in Ravenous, Rules of Engagement, and the one that really put him in the spotlight, Memento. In my eyes, he was already one of the greats working and it really seemed like he was on the verge of breaking out and becoming a huge name in the business. His next five years were pretty unimpressive though, starring in a few mediocre Australian movies and some Hollywood dreck like The Time Machine and The Count of Monte Cristo (all of which he was good in – the movies themselves were just poorly written). Then, of course, he got his career back on track with the gritty Australian western, The Proposition, a true masterpiece (not to mention my favorite film of 2006). He followed that up with the decent First Snow and an exceptional performance as eccentric artist Andy Warhol in Factory Girl.

    He’s been pretty busy lately too and has a few movies already in the can looking all to be released in 2008! First up, he’ll be portraying Harry Houdini alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones in Death Defying Acts. Then he stars in How to Change in 9 Weeks with Sam Neill and Miranda Otto that follows the story of a fifteen year old girl who went missing and how the family deals with it. He’ll follow that up with The Hurt Locker with Ralph Fiennes and David Morse, an Iraq war drama about an elite Army bomb squad that is in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse. Then there will be the ensemble drama Winged Creatures about a random shooting at a Los Angeles diner and how the group of strangers deal with it, which will co-star Jackie Earle Haley, Forest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsale, and Dakota Fanning. guypearce3.JPGAnd lastly for the year (and the one I think I may be looking forward to the most) is Traitor, a drama-thriller co-starring Don Cheadle and Jeff Daniels, that follows a straight-arrow FBI agent who goes all over the globe trying to crack a dangerous international conspiracy dodging bullets and betrayal along the way.

    This was a long way of getting to my point, which is that I really like Guy Pearce and that I really like to hear what the man has to say, so I was pretty pumped to read a recent interview he had with the Australian website Executive Style. In it, he talks about movies throughout his career from L.A. Confidential to Memento to the train-wreck that was The Time Machine to The Proposition. It’s a pretty fun and interesting read and you can either click the link above or check out the full interview after the jump!

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 17 Jan

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    The James Family Chimes in on The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

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    Brad Pitt as Jesse JamesDirected by Andrew Dominik and starring Brad Pitt, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford has been lauded by cinephiles as a revelation, a work of immense beauty and depth, and is widely considered in film circles to be one of 2007’s finest offerings. However, film fans aren’t the only ones who’ve taken a liking to it. Eric James, a relative of Jesse James and the President of the James Family Preservation Trust, has written a 5-page review of the film, which he’s posted on his website, Stray Leaves. In Mr. James’ opinion, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was more than a work of cinematic art; it’s the film the James family has been waiting for Hollywood to produce for well over 50 years. I recently had a chance to pose some questions to Mr. James, who offered a unique perspective on both the movie and the legendary American icon on whom it’s based.

    Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions. Before we begin, may I ask how you are related to Jesse James?

    I’m president of The James Preservation Trust, founded by myself and a Great grandson of Jesse James, the late Judge James R. Ross. The Trust preserves and makes available the history of the James family for educational purposes. I also publish the family’s web site, Stray Leaves. Additionally, I’m archivist for the Joan Beamis Research Archive, that produced the first history of the Jesse James family, published in 1970 by The Kentucky Historical Society (Joan Beamis, now deceased, is a great granddaughter of Frank and Jesse’s uncle, Drury Woodson James). Presently I am writing a new history of the family. Like Joan Beamis, I descend from a different line of the family, other than from Frank or Jesse. Most among the family don’t advertise their relationship. Those who do advertise themselves as a Jesse James relative, most assuredly are not, and that includes Mr. Sandra Bullock. (Note: Sandra Bullock’s husband is Jesse James, the founder of West Coast Choppers).

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 17 Dec

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    Interview with The Sensation of Sight Director Aaron J. Wiederspahn

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    The Sensation of Sight Poster

    I was intrigued when I first heard that David Strathairn was starring in The Sensation of Sight, a low-budget indie drama about a middle-aged man who after facing a tragedy in his life starts going door to door selling encyclopedias and searching for the meaning of it all. I haven’t been able to get enough of Strathairn after seeing his Oscar-nominated performance in Good Night and Good Luck – and I’ve always loved films that deal with the meaning of life. So, this seemed right up my alley. Then I saw the trailer (which you can watch at the end of this article) and I loved what I saw. The winner of the Best Feature Film at the New Hampshire Film Festival and Best Cinematography at the Durban International Film Festival (where it was hailed “An instant American classic”), The Sensation of Sight has been receiving great reviews so far and some are saying Strathairn’s performance is one for the ages. I was fortunate enough to have the chance to chat with the film’s director Aaron J. Wiederspahn, who is making his feature film debut with this, and if his passion for the film carries over onto the screen, I think we’re in for something really special here.

    » Read the rest of the entry..

  • 15 Nov

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    Possibilities of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer Feature Film

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    Buffy started as a fairly campy, albeit loved, film of the early 90s starring Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry. I remember the movie being pretty bad, though I haven’t seen it in ages. When a television spin-off was announced, I thought to myself, “seriously!? There were enough people who cared about that movie and it had enough of a story to base an entire series on?” Of course, this was before I knew who Joss (NOT Josh) Whedon was and what his brilliance is capable of.

    I never checked out the show until about halfway through the second season. Then I caught another episode by chance. From there on out I was hooked. It’s campy, corny, bubblegummy and teenie bopper-ish… but it worked; and it worked well (nominated for Emmy’s and Golden Globes and countless other awards). The dialogue is just hip enough, the girls (mmm Charisma Carpenter) were hot enough, the characters were deep enough and the storyline was solid enough to get people really involved in the show and even become obsessive about it. Joss Whedon and Sarah Michelle Gellar breathed life into a character that I would’ve sworn would be unwatchable.

    So the show lasted for 7 terrific seasons with FANTASTIC characters coming and leaving throughout and ended when it needed to and on a high note. So now the question is, should there be a feature film? Bloody Disgusting caught up with SMG and asked her what her thoughts would be on reprising the role of Buffy Summers:

    “I have to be honest. That thought really scares me. Buffy was a movie and it didn’t work because her story was longer than that.”, Gellar said. “This was about a girl that you had to get to know and it took so long to figure out how to crack the ending so that people weren’t upset. Of course I never say never, so I’m not saying no, but my fear would be to open something like that up again, to only end it again.

    “Like Sex in the City is such a great ending, so I’m curious to see now how they’re going to open it up and how to shut it for us again. I feel like a show you love ends, you have like a mourning period, so do you open yourself up to that again, to wanting it but knowing it’s going to end? That whole thing worries me a little bit.”

    For me? YES! I don’t care if it’s going to end. I would love to see Buffy back for another round of slaying action. If there’s a thirst for something out there (which I’m sure there is where Buffy is concerned) and cast and crew are interested, I say bring it back. Why does it have to be “shut off” again? Her “Sex and the City” reference is a perfect example. I think “X-Files” or even “Star Trek” are two other examples of franchises that work; even if they are “opened and closed” several times.

    And I’m sorry, but you get Whedon behind this project as a writer and hire a good director, I’m sure Gellar’s fears would be put on the back burner in favor of some great exposure and a hefty paycheck. As would the rest of the cast I’m sure (Eliza Dushku, James Marsters, Allison Hannigan, Seth Green… the list is nearly endless). I just about guarantee a sell out at theaters across the country on opening night should this ever be brought to fruition. I know I’d be there.

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