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By Collin, on May 27th, 2011

Albert Hughes leaves Akira film adaptation


I’ve been posting things on and off about Akira because it happens to be one of my most beloved works of graphic fiction. On a side note, my favorite graphic novel, as well as one of the best books I’ve ever read, is Black Hole – a work that I honestly think trancends the medium. But anyway, Akira has been going through a lot of growing pains lately but is still being fast tracked.

I rarely let the fanboy out, but when it comes to Akira I can’t help but nerd rage and the news that the mediocre talent Albert Hughes was going to helm the movie with and that Keunu Reeves was being courted with major roles made me face palm. What a joke. Don’t get me wrong though, Hughes has his talents: Making mediocre movies (From Hell, Dead Presidents, Book of Eli). Menace To Society is pretty damn good, but that was ages ago and he was only a kid (something like 21).

Anyway, in stroke of great fortune Albert Hughes has left the movie and hopefully someone better will step in. Deadline reports that:

Director Albert Hughes is exiting the movie, I’m told. Insiders say that it is an amicable creative differences  parting of the ways. Warner Bros will try to put him on another movie right away (Hughes and his brother Allen directed the hit The Book of Eli, and WB topper Jeff Robinov is their former agent and is very close with them).

Also interesting from that article was the little snippet that, “Warner Bros is back to the other plan, and will likely go back to that list of actors in hopes of making the picture later this year or early next.”, referring to their return to using “fringe famous” actors such as McAvoy, Patterson, and Garfield.

I’m still fairly satisfied with how things are going and can always be satisfied I can return to the books and/or movie if this one never gets made.

-Collin

 

By Collin, on May 25th, 2011

The elephant in the room: Why aren’t there more female directors?

 

One of the better science fiction films of that decade.

I often find myself thinking of two things before I watch a film directed by a woman:

1. What a shame that terrible chick flicks are relegated to women directors.

2. I get to see a different perspective from that of a male – variety is critical in any art form.

The past ten years have been very good for women, but ironically the number of female directors remains few. Kathryn Bigelow is a fine talent, but that she is the saving grace of female directors is foreboding. However, other female directors have risen and made powerful contributions to the art form.

One of my favorite movies of 2009, as well as one of the best movies of the past few years, was the great film Fish Tank, directed by Andrea Arnold. If you haven’t seen it, check it out on Netflix Streaming right now. What a breath of fresh air that movie is.

Another important entry was one of my favorite films of the 2000s, Lost In Translation. Sophie Coppola is a major talent and LIT remains one of the most atmospheric, emotional, and existential movies I’ve seen by any director in the past ten years. The caveat, however, is she shares the name of the greatest director of the New Hollywood era and nepotism was likely a driving force of her opportunities. This is not to discredit her, but comparing her to the average “up-and-coming” is pointless.

Another major female filmmaker is Julie Taymor. Her film Across the Universe is kind of a masterpiece. My brother, totally oblivious to the pleasures of musicals, applauded this movie. It is energetic, catchy, and even dramatically effective. She also made the impressive film adaptation Titus, which is entertaining despite the challenge of adapting Shakespeare to a modern audience. Frida was also a fantastic film – a thoroughly enjoyable biopic about Frida Kahlo.

That is basically where the list ends. Any other additions are minor – if not annoying. I’ve missed a few – yes. But was Thirteen really that good? Julia and Julia is okay. The Sex and the City movies were made by a male. It’s Complicated and The Holiday, directed by Nancy Meyers, are ordinary. There are many great movies by women throughout time, but only a handful recently. Why?

I won't use the word masterpiece, but I loved this movie. It succeeds in a style and genre that so many (especially men) fail in.

Well, here are my theories:

Women get pigeon-holed into “chick flicks” and then other women can’t get money from major financiers for their independent films. As in, when a female director climbs through the ranks of Hollywood they rarely get that pivotal promotion to the directors seat – for sexist reasons. Also, one of the other big ways to jump into the directing scene is having a great indie film, but it might be that large sums of cash are not being trusted with a female filmmaker’s first film.

I don’t know, but the evidence is there: That directing has been nearly impossible for females to get into. Kathryn Bigelow has been hailed as the master, but her only great film is Strange Days. Yes, The Hurtlocker is fantastic, but falls far short of greatness.

The argument that it doesn’t matter what gender is behind the camera is a stupid one. It does! Otherwise, besides discrimination, it wouldn’t matter that women are not present.

Finally, the natural assumption is that women just don’t like the same types of movies men do. That they’re less inclined to shoot an action film or blockbuster “shoot-em-up”. That they’re less likely to break into the film scene with a splatter movie or didn’t grow up worshipping Kung fu movies or picking up the latest Troma releases. There is no “female Tarantino” – a women who embodies the love of movies.

I had female classmates in film school who loved all kinds of movies, but I’m unaware what types of movie they really inspire to make. Some great female writers and producers instantly come to mind: Emma Thomson (Dark Knight, Inception), Jane Goldman (X-men: First Class, Kickass), Fran Walsh (Lord of the Rings series, King Kong). You should instantly get my point. They’re are powerful women behind some of the biggest and best films of all time. Why don’t they sit down in the hot seat themselves?

-Collin

By Collin, on May 18th, 2011

Netflix is king and increasing paid content online

I fucking <3 Netflix

 

I totally called this back in an article I wrote last year. Obviously it wasn’t hard to call, but I like to toot my own horn when I’m correct. Now that thousands of BitTorrent users are getting butt-fucked by the whole Expendables thing - a worthy “bf” if you ask me – I think Netflix is going to take over completely.  In a great article from CNN they stated the following:

Netflix accounts for 22.2% of all U.S. broadband traffic compared to BitTorrent’s 21.6% share. And at peak times, Netflix hits 30% of all traffic, a bounce of 44% over results from the fall.

Netflix is doing more to actually combat the problem than suing some nobody douche. It encourages people to pay for their content. If production companies would just get with the program and realize the their million dollar, straight-to-DVD movie starring some washed-up C-lister isn’t going to encourage people to buy it. They should just put it on Netflix Streaming.

Many of the companies suing over copyright involve indie movies, which is understandable. Small movies don’t have huge opening weekends and they certainly don’t encourage people to get their exclusive Blu Ray with tons of extra content, as in they don’t have one. What they have is a shitty DVD that would be a waste for people to spend $15 bucks on or $4 at Blockbuster.

The excuse they can “rent” it on Netflix doesn’t apply anymore. My generation wants their content fast – meaning right this minute.

Netflix streaming isn’t lucrative, but it is a fucking reality. A Netflix Streaming subscription is almost free…almost. Between sites like Hulu and Netflix, they’re changing the way we pay for and watch content. It is exciting. Youtube has a pricey subscription feature. I’ll have to look into that.

 

-Collin

By Collin, on May 13th, 2011

The Expendables lawsuit and will it end movie piracy?

Most people have pirated something in their lifetime and people in the know are aware that Torrent using is a fast and efficient way to get a movie illegally. Pirating is bad. No way around it. Measures have been put in place to stop this, but it has become a problem.

After the recent news regarding individuals being subpoenaed over downloading The Expendables I imagine a lot of companies are going to follow suit. Wired reported the following:

A federal judge in the case has agreed to allow the U.S. Copyright Group to subpoena internet service providers to find out the identity of everybody who had illegally downloaded (.pdf) the 2010 Sylvester Stallone flick — meaning the number of defendants is likely to dramatically increase as new purloiners are discovered. Once an ISP gets the subpoena, it usually notifies the account holder that his or her subscriber information is being turned over to the Copyright Group, which last year pioneered the practice of suing BitTorrent downloaders in the United States.

But maybe companies won’t follow suit though? It might cost more to actually sue all these people than to actually receive compensation from them. Most of the time people download something illegally because they’re poor and can’t afford it – I think?

It is almost a tragedy that Stallone’s image has to be wrapped up in this. After all, I don’t think maybe people who are going to have to fork out a couple grand in settlements will point fingers at the Copyright Group and not Stallone. Right?

You can argue all you want about whether or not it is okay to pirate, but you should stop pirating stuff. Yes, everyone has downloaded a song from their roommate or snagged a movie online for a homework report. Those days are over. I’ve read other places that it won’t stop anything, which is true. But, it will decrease it. I haven’t pirated something in years, but especially wouldn’t now out of fear of being humiliated and paying a couple grand.

Also, it makes you wonder: They’re going after people who are downloading the material, but not the people who are producing the material. I don’t think that’s quite true. Government officials have been trying their best to go after those people for a long time.

The obvious comparison is drug to drug dealer and, yes, they should go after the dealer, but someone has to put their foot down. The companies own the property and have the right to defend it. Get Netflix or a Blockbuster membership. No need to steal. :)

My favorite part though from the same article:

The closest single lawsuit in size to the Expendables case targets 15,551 BitTorrent users for downloading a handful of porn flicks with titles such as Big Dick Glory Holes and Spin on My Cock. A judge has not decided whether to authorize subpoenas in that case.

The judge has not decided whether to authorize subpoenas in the case and with names like Big Dick Glory Holes and Spin on My Cock, I wonder why?

-Collin

 

By Collin, on May 13th, 2011

Lars Von Trier is challanging Scorsese to remake one of his films, but with a set of limitations.

 

Cool news! But movies like this are usually bad. That is, experimental movies that challenge filmmakers to step outside the conventions of the normal Hollywood narrative.

They’re interesting and self-contained, but are never movies that I obsess over. Von Trier (Antichrist, Breaking Waves) is famous for this stuff, often times never even following his own rules, such as Dogme 95, and choosing instead to be inspired by limitations in general.

Limitations are good. Think of El Mariachi – zero money and two camera lens. Limitations are a filmmaker’s best friend. If you’ve ever spent a few hours watching through the Dogme 95 influenced films from Denmark – you’ve probably seen a lot of garbage.Von Trier’s masterpiece, Break Waves, came almost immediately after the release of Dogma 95 and contained almost none of the restrictions. Or maybe it did? That is up for you to decided..

Moreover, Von Trier is a champion of restrictions, believing it sets a filmmaker free. Von Trier is throwing down rules for Scorsese to follow when he remakes one of his famous shorts or re-shoots a famous sequence or scene. What does all this prove? Very little. But Scorsese, of all the active filmmakers, has most command over what makes filmmaking artistic. His command of his film technique can not be matched. Maybe he’ll flesh out some cool ideas.

Source: hollywoodreporter

-Collin

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