Father Geek here with a bit of the ol' Downunder reportage... But before I turn it over to Latauro, I've got this of interest from our reader Hakkansson in Sweden...
A swedish news paper, Aftonbladet, reports from the set of Return of the King and has some details about Jackson's KING KONG.
Well maybe this is nothing new, but still have a look at it "i know how much you guys at Geek Headquarters like King Kong, so maybe you will like this"
transalation of the text "the best parts":
PJ says : "King kong to be based on the original movie." "King Kong" is going to be Peter Jacksons next movie after "The return of the king". It will be made in New Zeeland with the same krew as the rings trilogi.
PJ: "this is the perfect time to do "King Kong" we kan ALL start on this projekt in the fall the script is basikly ready."
PJ: "we are focusing on the old movie plot from 1933, we kompleted the script a kouple of years ago before rings, but we are not kompletly satesfied yet. when we are finished with the RINGS Fran, Philippa and I will sitt down and Komplete the final script revision,"
Aftonbladet: Will it have the same story as the original?
PJ: "Yes its the same basik story and it takes place during the 30`s. its importent that teh movie feels realistik, and now we just have to find teh island that the great Gorilla and the dinosours live on."
Aftonbladet: are you going to be filming in new york as well?
PJ:" No, We are shooting everything from Nya Zeeland. but we will turn it into new york of the 1930's in the end of the movie."
No actors pieked for the film. Peter Jackson says that he has not choosen any actors yet for the film as yet, but he says that Ian McKellen who is playing Gandalf in the rings trilogi will have a part in the movie.
Ian mckellen: "if there are not alot of actors from the rings trilogi in king kong i will be very surprized and dissapointed."
The crew and orginasation of lord of the rings will be totally behind King Kong.
PJ: "its kommón sense to use the crew of lord of the rings for this movie, Weta is working till oktober on return of the king and after that they will begin working on king kong fulltime!"
Aftonbladet:What do you think about the new version of King kong from 1976?
PJ: "we will act like it never happend!"
Father Geek back... now here is our man downunder, Latauro...
You’re funny. You want to watch me file?
AICN-DOWNUNDER
I’ll keep the preamble to a minimum, because we have a total of six reviews for you, not to mention a stack of news.
As I type this, the 52nd Melbourne International Film Festival is coming to a close. Despite an awful introduction to the festival (that chronic Film Opening thing I told you about in the last AICN-D), and missing out on about half the films I’d intended to attend, I have a hunger. I need more.
So until I work out a way to satiate that hunger, here’s this week’s report. I’ll be back later on in the week with an exclusive script review of a film that just got its funding these past few days.
Enjoy.
NEWS
* AICN recently published a few reviews of John Dahl’s THE GREAT RAID (http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=15747). Well, a crewmember from the Australian shoot wrote to me in response. Addressing the complaint that Bratt looks wrong in the part of Mucci, it seems that Dahl fought hard for Bratt because he “looks uncannily like the real live Lt Mucci...spookily so. In fact, in lots of cases great care was taken to cast actors who closely resembled the real people”. The crewperson goes on to say that in sticking so fervently to Bratt as the lead, Dahl lost many of his first-choices for the supporting cast (who didn’t want to play second fiddle to Bratt). “To him, getting the story right was more important. He was soooo overwhelmingly passionate about it.” Dahl is continuing to tune the film before its February 2004 release.
* THE BLACKWATER LIGHTSHIP, based on Colm Toibin’s novel of the same name, will be brought to the screen by producer Heather Ogilvie (TV’s “Dark Realm”... if you haven’t seen this “Twilight Zone” knockoff, then you haven’t seen Shakespeare as it was meant to be). Partnered on the production is US company Hallmark Hall of Fame.
* Another film based on a novel, THE DRESSMAKER, will go into production in 2004. Sydney outfit Mirabella Productions will adapt Rosalie Ham’s novel for big-screen glory.
* Sydney production company Arclight Films and UK-based Spice Factory will launch a film fund in Australia to develop official co-production opportunities. If the deal is successful, it could be the closest thing Australia has to a self-funded studio.
* Aussie director Phillip Noyce has signed to direct AMERICAN PASTORAL, based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Philip Roth. The story follows teenage athlete Seymour ‘The Swede’ Levov, whose daughter has become a revolutionary terrorist. Noyce is also attached to DIRT MUSIC, based on the novel by Australian author Tim Winton.
* Another Aussie director, Andrew Dominik (CHOPPER), will direct Paramount’s science fiction film THE DEMOLISHED MAN. Based on Alfred Bester’s 1953 novel, the film centres on the circumstances behind a murder in a futuristic society where telepaths are able to stop premeditated murders. So, MINORITY REPORT only with a... uh... er... I’m sure there’s bound to be some difference there.
*Fred Schepisi will direct EMPIRE FALLS, based on the novel by Richard Russo, for HBO. The film will star Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Ed Harris, Helen Hunt and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
*Baz ‘Never Say Die’ Luhrmann and Dino ‘But “Die” means “The” in German’ De Laurentiis are currently searching for someone who basically looks like a pre-teen version of Leonardo Di Caprio. (Like Di Caprio couldn’t play it...) There’s a worldwide search going on for the kid, so if you know anyone... well, good luck to ya.
* Naomi Watts has signed to play Bettie Anne Waters in THE BETTY ANN WATERS STORY. Waters was an American high school drop-out who represented her brother in a murder case. The film will be directed by Tony Goldwyn for Working Title.
* Cate Blanchett may play Nora in an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s A DOLL’S HOUSE. Directed by Liv Ullman, the film will shoot in Norway and release on the 100th anniversary of the playwright’s death.
* Finally, AICN-D joins recommends you ‘FLIM AUSTRIA!’. A federal Government report has found that a film made in Australia could cost 7.5% less than the same film made in Canada. Why someone would want to make two films simultaneously is beyond us, but Hollywood producers take note: think of what you could spend with that 7.5%!
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
MONTREAL FILM FESTIVAL
Gaylene Preston (WAR STORIES) has seen her latest film PERFECT STRANGERS invited to screen at the Montreal Film Festival. The film, which features Sam Neil, is about a woman who goes home with the best looking stranger only to find herself kidnapped.
BOX OFFICE
The newest Republican candidate ironically tries to stop the end of the world in the top spot, whilst newcomers IDENTITY and VIEW FROM THE TOP slide in to the list.
Here be the winners...
- 1. TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES
- 2. IDENTITY
- 3. CHARLIE’S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE
- 4. VIEW FROM THE TOP
- 5. BAD EGGS
RELEASED THIS WEEK
Pie Guy hitches Willow, Jamie Kennedy fleshes out a five minute skit to eighty-six minutes, and Rob Lowe proves there’s life after “West Wing” (even if it is a turgid life of cameos in bad films... not too late to come back, Rob).
Here They Are...
- AMERICAN PIE: THE WEDDING
- MALIBU’S MOST WANTED
- VIEW FROM THE TOP
REVIEWS
The biggest reviews section AICN-D has run so far (due to a severe outbreak of nation-wide film festivals). The first four are from me, the last two are from Gold Coast correspondent The Incredible Kitster, who gives us a taste of what’s on offer from the Gold Coast Film Festival. On with it...
IDENTITY (SPOILER-FILLED)
Reviewed by Latauro
Sell-out. Complete sell-out.
That’s what we heard when my friends and I arrived at the box office two hours before INFERNAL AFFAIRS was going to start. Colour us unhappy. I have to miss the coolest undercover cop film to come out of Hong Kong since the last one, and it’s four hours until SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE starts. So we go see IDENTITY.
I’m really not sure what to make of this film. About halfway through, I had an inkling of where they were going with the ending and I prayed I was wrong. If there’s one style of ending that’s so inappropriately awful it’s mocked by even George Lucas, it’s the ‘It was all a dream!’ ending. (The producers of the new DALLAS movie, you will be exempt from a burning if you have the balls to do that ending.)
Of course, that’s essentially the twist of the movie. It’s all in this guy’s head. I’ll stipulate that it’s the best possible way to do this ‘dream’ ending – it don’t have a lot of competition, but it’s certainly the best I’ve ever seen – but I still feel cheated.
There are some marvelous setups. The numbered keys turning up on the bodies, the victims going missing, Jake Busey’s secret... It made me feel as if the screenwriter was smarter than me, and that’s how I want to feel. I don’t want to see things coming. I want to see an impossible-to-explain set up, and then have it explained in such a way as to make me plotz.
Though there was an adequate explanation, it still felt lacking. I was invested in these character, but then not because they weren’t real, but yes they are so keep watching. I was intrigued by plot setups, but then it turned out to be in this guy’s head, but even so it’s relevant so keep watching.
It’s a pendulum film for me. Really good, but with exception. I believe that this story was told in the best possible way, but I can’t help but wonder if it was a story worth telling.
SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE
Reviewed by Latauro
This is a film I would like all world leaders to view before going to war.
Since seeing this film, I’ve become convinced that this is what the filmmakers intended. Because it’s as much a film about every nation with a grudge as it is about a deaf man trying to save his sister and a businessman trying to find his daughter.
I’ll come back to that. First I have to talk about the performances, each of which were so superb and unwavering that I stopped being conscious of the artifice behind it (something I find difficult to do in the best of films) and believed every moment. The scene between the main character and the little girl in front of the television was perfect and completely natural. It was also the last time I was able to fully relax. From thereon in, the tragedy snowballs until everything that can go wrong has gone wrong.
You’re probably asking, how is this film about war? Or, more likely, you’re asking if I really think such an obvious connection will be considered insightful. Well, it’s what I got from the film. Like most two nations at war, one is powerful (the businessman) and one is a determined underdog (the deaf mute). They both are charged with looking after innocent civilians (the small girl, the sick sister). When their citizens are attacked, they both feel absolutely nothing but the need for retribution. And it never ends. You hurt me, I hurt you. And it spills over into anyone who has every wronged them (the organ buyers), because the need for vengeance is greater than the need for justice.
In the end, we are asked to have sympathy for the characters (the title, I believe, refers to both of them). After suffering such an enormous loss, they are victim to their own base emotions. From the point they lose their loved ones, each loses their ability to reason. Their yin has died, leaving the yang to exact vengeance.
Not every warring nation can have their own T.E. Lawrence to step in and agree to kill a grunt in order to end a conflict, but they can see this film. And hopefully take something away with them.
MAY
Reviewed by Latauro
I was arguing about spoilers with a friend. Both he and I are spoiler junkies (in regards to TV shows), only I’m against it (hypocrite me) and he’s completely unapologetic about it. In our last round, he claimed that knowing spoilers does not affect his enjoyment of the product. I couldn’t agree less.
Films, like TV, should really be gone into with complete ignorance. What drove this home is a recent episode of “Friends” (no, really). Usually I idly read the blurb in the TV guide, but this week I didn’t. Each joke surprised me because I wasn’t expecting the setup. I didn’t know where they were going. “Friends” is by no means plot-driven, but the unexpected is what’s entertaining. And that’s been the most noticeable difference in going to film festival films instead of general release films. The audience has no idea what’s coming next, and the reaction is so brutally honest and exciting that the roof nearly came off the place at the MIFF screening of MAY.
I knew it was a horror film, but I didn’t know in what sense. Was it more thriller-like, a la SIXTH SENSE, or was it going to be a franchise kick-starter, a la NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET? If it hadn’t been for the brief clip in the opening of the eye stab, I don’t think anyone would have expected a horror film. For the most part, it’s an hilarious character study. Lucky McKee (if that *is* your real name) is either the most talented director of actors to come onto the scene since the last undercover cop film, or he’s a major fluke artist. When I see a film that blows me absolutely away (SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, LOST HIGHWAY), I don’t believe that the director knew what he was doing. Those films, in my eyes, are so perfect that I can’t comprehend someone doing that on purpose.
And that’s how I feel about McKee’s direction of the actors. Angela Bettis’s portrayal of May is about as spot-on as you’re ever likely to see, while Jeremy Sisto and Anna Farris are so real and fascinating, you could just watch them forever.
It’s appropriate that McKee and M. Night Shyamalangadingdong are both directing films called THE WOODS, because I see a definite similarity in their styles. Like M. Night, McKee spends the entire film in a carefully-controlled, edge-of-seat build-up, until the final extraordinary payoff.
And that honest audience reaction I was talking about? Many people walked out. The rest of us applauded. Surprise is key.
A MIGHTY WIND
Reviewed by Latauro
Sure, fine, I can accept that INFERNAL AFFAIRS sold out two hours before it screened. But SHAOLIN SOCCER selling out a *week* before it plays? Didn’t anyone consider that I’d want to see it? Anyone?!?
Okay, I’m not so pissed about that ’cos I’m pretty sure we’re getting a selected release of SHAOLIN in October, but with a group of people ready to see a film and a clean slate of a night, we ended up in Christopher Guest’s latest mockumentary, A MIGHTY WIND.
It’s a good thing Guest is out there doing these films, because the mockumentary is a way-underrated sub-genre that doesn’t get utilised nearly enough. (For the record, the mocko ZELIG is one of my five favourite Woody Allen films. It’s near-impossible to track down, but if you haven’t seen it, find it.)
Guest and co-writer Eugene Levy make it quite easy for the actors to improvise; the characters they created in the script are so believably absurd, there’s bound to be hours upon hours of usable footage that never made it to the film.
I’m not, like, a massive folk music fan, but I do like the stuff. I have a fond appreciation. It was strange talking to people after the film; most of the conversation revolved around people’s dislike of folk. Aside from being a note-perfect parody of the genre (Harry Shearer doing a calypso is so very right and so very wrong at once), many of the songs are actually quite good. The film would fail if they weren’t. I’d buy an album featuring The Folksmen’s “Wanderin’” (but not with a version by The New Main Street Singers... don’t get me started on covers...).
After discussing a film’s warmonger subtext, a schizophrenic’s psyche, and a slow-burn revolutionary horror film, I feel like I’m struggling for a hook upon which to review WIND... so I’ll leave it at this: best moment was the Yiddish-laden speech by Ed Begley Jnr (tears in my eyes). Very funny film.
UNDEAD
Reviewed by The Incredible Kitster
Undead... I was surprised when they said the budget was only 1 million dollars. Australian. Actually, blown away by that fact. It seemed like it was made for, I dunno, 10 million? Well, it seemed more expensive looking...... not to mention that it's the piss funniest film I've seen come out of Australia. Yeah, I thought it was funnier than Bad Eggs...... every gag works, every gross out scene looks better than anything out of Hollywood horror films lately (especially that piece of shit House of 1000 Corpses, which I think cost a lot more too) So yeah.... everyone who can see Undead, see it (well, you probably have anyway) I'd love to see what Peter and Michael Spierig could do with a 30 million budget...
TONGAN NINJA
Reviewed by The Incredible Kitster
Right.... well, this is the review you asked for .... Tongan Ninja.......... well, I've seen the funniest Kiwi DV Kung Fu Bruce Lee Piss Take movie of the year, OK it's the only Kiwi DV Kung Fu Bruce Lee Piss Take movie I've seen this year, and it was a fun fun movie. From the opening Elvis tinged theme song to the final fight between Tongan Ninja and his arch nemesis Action Man, I had a great time watching it. The fact it was shot on DV didn't put me off a bit... although some shots were a little muddy, but hey, it's part of the charm. They even go far enough to have badly dubbed Kiwi accents doing it (ala Shaw Brothers...... am I right? I only ask because the only thing I know of Shaw Brothers stuff is from Tarantino and Kill Bill.... hey, I live on the Gold Coast!) It sort of covers similar stuff Kung Pow was spoofing, but does it much better. The gags worked well, specially a hilarious scene where Tongan Ninja kicks the arse of an assassin called Gun Man with a boom mike... (OK, it's funnier than how I describe it.) So if you can catch this film, go see it. You'll piss yourself laughing.
NEXT WEEK
- Arnie decides to resurrect his career in sex comedy GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS alongside Gary Coleman, Angelyne and Larry Flint
- Bruce Boxleitner and Annie Potts sign on to GIGLI 2: GIGGLING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK
- Questions are raised over the delay of the release of LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING, given it was shot over two years ago
