The Wachowskis are about to shoot their first film in 3D, which, after the complexity of Cloud Atlas, almost sounds like a comedown. FilmStage.com reports that the cinema siblings will utilize 3D for the first time to make their next science-fiction film, Jupiter Ascending, which begins shooting early next year. more »
Disney's 2011 family adventure Mars Needs Moms wasn't just a box office disappointment; it was a box office disaster, one of the worst in movie history. Mars producer Robert Zemeckis, appearing at the Philadelphia Film Fest with his latest Oscar-hopeful, Flight, prefers to remember Mars Needs Moms another way: "It's the best 3-D movie since Avatar."
more »
Friday night saw the opening gala for the fantasy adaptation Life of Pi at the 50th Annual New York Film Festival, and oh boy the times they are a'changing! Who'd have ever guessed that a 3-D flick would open a prestigious film festival?
Well, apparently if it's from Ang Lee all bets are off. The director got major kudos from his peers for embracing 3D, with Fox head honcho Tom Rothman saying Lee has even topped Scorsese's use of the medium in Hugo! more »
Although the proliferation of talent shows on TV is proof of just how much audiences have come back around to watching dance on screen, Step Up Revolution suggests Hollywood is still conflicted about how to film it.
On one hand, the fourth movie in the Step Up franchise was shot in eye-popping 3-D. In choreographed numbers that grow crazier and more extravagant as the film proceeds, breakdancers kick their legs out toward the camera and hold gravity-defying poses; tracking shots glide across the pavement between cars as kids stride out in time to music; performers on bungee cords leap down a ramp toward us only to snap back. As spectacle, it is resoundingly cool.
more »
Director Barry Sonnenfeld exudes a nervy confidence that extends from his blithe dismissal of reported troubles in the making of Men in Black 3 (“The story is if the movie works when it’s finished…”) to the navy blue stingray leather cowboy boots he rocked as he sat with Movieline for a chat (“They’re fish. Feel ‘em!”). And with the sci-fi comedy threequel earning pleasing grades from critics, marking box office titan Will Smith’s return to the screen, Sonnenfeld is already basking in another coup — his first, effective, foray into 3-D filmmaking: “I think this is — I’ll just say it — the best use of 3-D.”
more »
About 20 minutes into a 3-D press screening of The Avengers Monday night in Los Angeles, one member of the audience interrupted the superhero theatrics to make it known that all was not right with his viewing experience. “Fix the projector!” the exasperated gentleman bellowed during a conspicuously quiet moment, as Mark Ruffalo’s contemplative face filled the screen. Something was very off, giving the complainant and others in attendance a less-than-ideal, even disastrous presentation. The only problem? There was nothing wrong with the projector.
more »
Good news! Those annoying extra ticket price surcharges you've been paying to see movies in the third dimension could wane in the coming year, predicts Spotlight Theatres CEO Joe Paletta. Oh wait, there's bad news too: Regular old 2-D prices will rise to even things out.
more »
Forget John Carter's controversial budget woes and terrible tracking for a minute; Wrath of the Titans has been threatening to be the first big biff of 2012 since it was announced, thanks largely to its poorly received predecessor, Clash of the Titans. The sequel's initial Marilyn Manson-themed trailer didn't help, either, but Warner Bros. have thankfully tightened things (and stopped lingering on Sam Worthington's Kenny Powers 'do) for a new trailer that actually promises some fantastic CG creature work. Bring on the lava monster thingy!
more »
The re-release of The Phantom Menace opens with that exhilarating blast of John Williams's famous theme, the Star Wars title zooming off into the distance in 3-D before the familiar text crawl creeps across the starry backdrop, revealing the words we've all been longing to see back on the big screen:
more »
Between the rise of digital media and the shortcuts many theaters have taken to alleviate waning profits – forgoing film rigs for digital projectors, replacing projectionists with button-pushers, lowering projection-bulb levels to cut replacement costs – many filmmakers are concerned about the state of their industry. Visual effects veteran and filmmaker Douglas Trumbull (2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters, The Tree of Life), for one, is doing something about it: He hopes to bring back the spectacle of the theater-going experience – and revitalize the industry in the process -- with a project he’s shooting at 120 frames per second, in 3-D, to be projected at seven times the luminosity often seen in theaters today.
more »
Forget blowing a million or more on a Super Bowl ad; the day after upcoming tentpoles John Carter, Battleship, and G.I. Joe targeted football-watchers with pricey TV spots, Sony went after niche fans with an international simulcast screening of new footage and a 3-D preview of the new Amazing Spider-Man trailer set to hit tonight at midnight PT. Though it included some unfinished visual effects, the sizzle reel featuring 30-40 percent new footage (according to a rep for the studio) hinted at the scope and darkly humorous tone of the Marc Webb-directed reboot.
more »
If Movieline ran a feature to accompany Bad Movies We Love called Bad Trailers We Love, the gory sales preview for Dario Argento's monsterpiece Dracula 3D would be spotlighted this week. It features everything that is awful about bad horror movies -- but in such a straightforward way that you can't help but watch the trailer in knee-slapping awe. Beware: One gratuitous sponge bath, buckets of movie blood and spoilers galore await you.
Remakes often suck -- but when they're total stylistic upheavals of the source material, I'm more optimistic. Would you see a whacked-out, space-age remake of a classic period piece like Little Dorrit? I would! Or better yet, this weekend's ridiculous, steampunk The Three Musketeers in 3-D? It puts the "rich" in Richelieu and the "dumbass" in Dumas. I dig it! Ahead, we investigate five other Victorian novels worth revisiting in a fulgent 3-D experience. Put on your special glasses, Heathcliff.
"Look at this stuff, isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?" Insert "piles of The Lion King 3D cash" for "stuff" and you'll see why Disney's planning to roll out even more retro hits in similar fashion in the next few years. Why leave those catalogue classics in the vault when they can bring in as much as $80 million more a pop?
Whilst watching the Shrek franchise, you may have wondered: How does Puss, the swashbuckling cat voiced by Antonio Banderas, justify donning footwear but not clothes? A new video for his upcoming spin-off movie, Puss in Boots, has your answer. This movie star endorses a freer, more versatile lifestyle choice: No-pants pants!
FILM NEWS 
