23rd Bond movie on the way!

Daniel Craig

By DAVE MCNARY – Variety.com

The 23rd James Bond film will start shooting late next year, according to Daniel Craig.

The thesp made the disclosure Friday in New York in response to a fan’s question as he exited the stage door for “A Steady Rain,” a Broadway play in which he’s starring with Hugh Jackman.

MGM had no comment about Craig’s comment. He’s starred in “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace,” which took in nearly $1.2 billion in worldwide box office.

The most recent announcement on the Bondpic came in June when Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Prods. and MGM disclosed that Peter Morgan, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were writing the script for the film, which does not have a director attached yet. Purvis and Wade most recently worked on “Quantum of Solace” and “Casino Royale.”

Writer McQuarrie tapped for “Wolverine” sequel

By Borys Kit – Hollywood Reporter

Christopher McQuarrie has signed on to write the script for the “Wolverine” sequel, in which Hugh Jackman will return as the Marvel Comics character, a mutant with healing powers and a skeleton laced with the indestructible metal known as adamantium.

The 20th Century Fox movie’s story line will take its cue from the early 1980s Chris Claremont/Frank Miller miniseries, which is set in Japan and features Wolverine dealing with ninjas as he struggles to decide whether to follow his animal killer instincts or live under a samurai’s code of honor and respect.

The studio put a sequel in development after “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” carved up almost $180 million at the domestic box office and $363 million worldwide.

The sequel’s story line was hinted at in one of the movie’s codas after the credits. (The other teased a spin-off based on Deadpool, the character played by Ryan Reynolds.)

McQuarrie is not unfamiliar with the character. The screenwriter, who won an Oscar for “The Usual Suspects,” reteamed with that film’s director, Bryan Singer, to write “X-Men.” McQuarrie could have received a credit, but he voluntarily took his name off the movie when the final version was more in line with David Hayter’s script than his.

Kate Beckinsale might be in Gears of War movie

Mark Fujii – CollegeNews.com
   During Epic Games’ Gears of War Panel at Comic-Con 2009 in San Diego California, the director, Len Wiseman, and writer, Chris Morgan, of the upcoming film adaptation shared some details with fans about potential casting selections for the movie.

According to IGN, amongst the prospects to play Maria, the wife of one of the game’s protagonists, Dominic Santiago, Len Wiseman said he was interested in British actress Kate Beckinsale.

   “If I can convince [Kate Beckinsale]—and I think I have a shot—I’d love to see that,” said Wiseman. He is also currently married to Beckinsale. Minor detail, that.

Though best known for her more dramatic roles in films like The Aviator and Pearl Harbor, Beckinsale is no stranger to making action flicks either. She starred in 2003 action movie Underworld as a sultry, leather clad vampire, and co-starred opposite Hugh Jackman in 2004’s Van Helsing.

   However, contrary to Internet rumors that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would be starring in a Gears of War movie, Wiseman was quick to announce they were currently not pursuing the former WWE wrestler.

   “A Doom connection would not be smart for us,” said Wiseman, referring to the 2005 film adaptation of the classic PC shooter franchise which was a box office flop. The Doom movie starred recognizable actors like Johnson and Karl Urban, but was scorned by critics and currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes rating of only 20%.

Wiseman said he wasn’t looking to “throw a bunch of strongmen into the ring and see who comes out victorious… I’m looking for an actor for the role and then put him into shape,” according to IGN.

   Wiseman also added that he’s “always thinking who could play the best Marcus [the leading protagonist in Gears of War]. You want to get hooked into the character and then all the amazing spectacle.”

In addition to talking about some of the casting choices for Gears of War, the game’s executive producer, Rod Ferguson, talked about how they were taking steps to avoid the failures of past video game movies.

“You can be too tied to what is the game,” Ferguson said.

   Ferguson then elaborated that creators “so oriented at grabbing the gaming audience, we don’t leave behind what shouldn’t be in the movie. We’re about making the best movie possible, not about making Gears of War the game into a movie” before adding that previous movie-game adaptations “haven’t been willing to let go.”

According to Ferguson, Epic Games, developers of the Gears of War video game series gave the film’s director and writer “basic stuff that are important” but otherwise only requested that Wiseman and Morgan “”make the best movie possible that fits [their] medium.”

   One change that gamers could see in the movie that differs from the video game is the appearance of female COG soldiers. In the Gears of War video games, the cast is almost exclusively male. When asked if women soldiers would play a bigger part in the film than in the games, Wiseman said, “I’d love to see it happen. I’m a big supporter of that.”

   Though a script or a firm plot has yet to be written out, Morgan told Comic-Con attendees that “Emergence Day is making its way into the film. That will be big.”

Emergence Day is a pivotal moment in the Gears of War video game’s storyline where an alien race called The Locust dig their way to the planet’s surface and begin waging war on humanity.

   However, Emergence Day takes place before the events of the first Gears of War game, leading many to believe that the movie will be a prologue for the series rather than a sequel.

Len Wiseman’s last film as director was for Live Free or Die Hard; Morgan is known as the writer for the Angelina Jolie shooter Wanted.

134 New Names Invited to Join the Academy

Here is the 2009 announcement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as it extended 134 invitations to several artists and executives “who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures” read the press release.

Actors

• Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Gone Baby Gone
• Emily Blunt – Sunshine Cleaning, The Devil Wears Prada
• Michael Cera – Juno, Superbad
• Viola Davis – Doubt, State of Play
• James Franco – Milk, Spider-Man
• Brendan Gleeson – In Bruges, Mission: Impossible II
• Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married, The Princess Diaries
• Taraji P. Henson – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hustle & Flow
• Emile Hirsch – Into the Wild, Lords of Dogtown
• Hugh Jackman – X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Prestige
• Melissa Leo – Frozen River, 21 Grams
• Jane Lynch – Role Models, The 40 Year-Old Virgin
• Eddie Marsan – Happy-Go-Lucky, The Illusionist
• James McAvoy – Atonement, The Last King of Scotland
• Seth Rogen – Monsters vs. Aliens, Knocked Up
• Paul Rudd – I Love You, Man, Knocked Up
• Amy Ryan – Changeling, Gone Baby Gone
• Michael Shannon – Revolutionary Road, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
• Michelle Williams – Wendy and Lucy, Brokeback Mountain
• Jeffrey Wright – Quantum of Solace, W.

Animators

• J.J. Blumenkranz – Monster House, The Polar Express
• Konstantin Bronzit – Lavatory-Lovestory, The Cat and the Fox
• Kendal Cronkhite – Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Antz
• Rodolphe Guenoden – Kung Fu Panda, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
• Byron Howard – Bolt, Lilo & Stitch
• Kunio Kato – La Maison en Petits Cubes
• Doug Sweetland – Presto, The Incredibles
• Chris Williams – Bolt, Chicken Little

Art Directors

• Andrew Ackland-Snow – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Notting Hill

At-Large

• Matthew D. Loeb
• Redmond Morris

Casting Directors

• John Papsidera – The Dark Knight, Agent Cody Banks
• Bernie Telsey – Sex and the City, Across the Universe

Cinematographers

• Russ T. Alsobrook – Paul Blart Mall Cop, Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• Anthony Dod Mantle – Slumdog Millionaire, The Last King of Scotland
• Henner Hofmann – Ave Maria, La Leyenda de una Mascara (The Legend of the Mask)
• Claudio Miranda – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Failure to Launch
• Rodney Taylor – Save Me, Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France
• Mandy Walker – Australia, Shattered Glass

Costume Designers

• Deborah Hopper – Changeling, Million Dollar Baby
• Louise Mingenbach – The Hangover, Superman Returns
• Michael O’Connor – The Duchess, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
• Michael Wilkinson – Watchmen, Babel

Directors

• Rachid Bouchareb – Days of Glory, Dust of Life
• Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire, Sunshine
• David Frankel – Marley & Me, The Devil Wears Prada
• Rod Lurie – Nothing but the Truth, The Contender
• Thomas McCarthy – The Visitor, The Station Agent
• Tyler Perry – Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, Madea’s Family Reunion
• Henry Selick – Coraline, Monkeybone

Documentary

• William Gazecki – Crop Circles: Quest for Truth, Waco: The Rules of Engagement
• Rachel Grady – Jesus Camp, The Boys of Baraka
• Rory Kennedy – Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, A Boy’s Life
• Scott Hamilton Kennedy – The Garden, OT: Our Town
• James Marsh – Man on Wire, Wisconsin Death Trip
• Megan Mylan – Smile Pinki, Lost Boys of Sudan
• Doug Pray – Surfwise, Scratch

Executives

• Daniel D.A. Battsek
• Steve Beeks
• Graham W. Burke
• Joe Drake
• Erik Feig
• Paul Hanneman
• Donald P. Harris
• Claudia Lewis

Film Editors

• Roger Barton – Speed Racer, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
• Hank Corwin – What Just Happened, The New World
• Chris Dickens – Slumdog Millionaire, Shaun of the Dead
• Elliot Graham – Milk, Superman Returns
• Kathryn Himoff – Appaloosa, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
• Leo Trombetta – Little Children, Northfork
• Brent White – Step Brothers, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
• Pam Wise – Then She Found Me, Transamerica

Live Action Short Films

• Reto Caffi – Auf der Strecke (On the Line), Leos Freunde
• Jochen Alexander Freydank – Spielzeugland (Toyland), Dienst (Duty)
• F. Carter Pilcher – The Dreaming, Bitter

Makeup and Hairstylists

• Howard Berger – Seven Pounds, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Mike Elizalde – Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer
• Louis Lazzara – Race to Witch Mountain, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
• Gerald Quist – Tropic Thunder, The Santa Claus 3: The Escape Clause

Music

• Jeff Danna – Lakeview Terrace, Fracture
• Andrew Dorfman – Baby Mama, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
• Peter Gabriel – WALL-E, Philadelphia
• Clint Mansell – The Wrestler, The Fountain
• A.R. Rahman – Slumdog Millionaire, Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Producers

• Mark Ciardi – The Game Plan, The Rookie
• Christian Colson – Slumdog Millionaire, The Descent
• Gordon Gray – Invincible, Miracle
• Broderick Johnson – One Missed Call; P.S. I Love You
• Cathy Konrad – 3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line
• Andrew Kosove – Racing Stripes, Dude, Where’s My Car?
• James Lassiter – Hancock, Lakeview Terrace
• Russell Smith – Juno, The Libertine
• Paula Wagner – Death Race, Elizabethtown

Production Designers

• Donald Graham Burt – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Zodiac
• Michael Carlin – The Duchess, In Bruges
• Jane Ann Stewart – The Savages, Sideways
• Kevin Thompson – Duplicity, Michael Clayton

Public Relations

• Michael D. Camp
• Marc Cohen
• Megan Colligan
• James C. Gallagher
• David Kaminow
• Sal Ladestro
• Maria Pekurovskaya
• Elizabeth Petit

Set Decorators

• Rebecca Alleway – The Duchess, The Last King of Scotland
• Peter Lando – The Dark Knight, The Invisible
• Barbara Munch-Cameron – Bottle Shock, Rent

Scenic Artists

• Robert Topol – Doubt, The Departed

Sound

• Michael Barry – The Reader, Mamma Mia!
• Derek Casari – The Soloist, Beowulf
• Aaron Glascock – Deception; Good Night, and Good Luck.
• Ren Klyce – Zodiac, The Fight Club
• Peter F. Kurland – No Country for Old Men, Walk the Line
• Karen Baker Landers – 27 Dresses, The Bourne Ultimatum
• Hamilton Sterling – Fool’s Gold, Scary Movie 4
• Deborah Wallach – Frost/Nixon, The Da Vinci Code
• Kim Waugh – Shade, Monster’s Ball

Visual Effects

• Christopher Bond – Idlewild, Superman Returns
• Matthew Butler – The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Letters from Iwo Jima
• Chris Corbould – The Dark Knight, Casino Royale
• Rob Engle – Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience, Beowulf
• Scott Gordon – Nim’s Island, Spider-Man 3
• Hal Hickel – Iron Man, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
• Van Ling – Milk, Vanilla Sky
• Shane Mahan – Iron Man, War of the Worlds
• Steve Preeg – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
• Tim Webber – The Dark Knight, Children of Men
• Edson Williams – Star Trek (2009), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Writers

• John August – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie’s Angels
• Dustin Lance Black – Milk
• Courtney Hunt – Frozen River
• Howard A. Rodman – Savage Grace, Joe Gould’s Secret

Amazon Specials!

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Hail the Cinematographer!

Best Cinematographer winner for 'Slumdog Millionaire' Anthony Dod Mantle

By David Coddon, San Diego Union Tribune

Let’s hear it, belatedly, for Anthony Dod Mantle. Whaddaya mean “who?”

Just a couple of months ago, he won the Oscar for best cinematography for his work on “Slumdog Millionaire.” If you remember the sweeping scope and stirring visuals of that film, you can understand why Anthony Dod Mantle was honored with a gold statuette. It will console him in his anonymity (at least outside the technical arm of the movie industry).

This also may explain why no one around the newsroom ever “picks up and forgets” (i.e., purloins) to return my copy of American Cinematographer. A monthly insider on how films are made, it lacks the glitz of Entertainment Weekly or the gossip of Us Weekly.

The cinematographer’s contribution to film is immeasurable. Yet he – or she, as the case may be – is a name in the credits and nothing more to most moviegoers.

The cinematographer is the movie’s director of photography, working with the director on how the film is shot. We take this for granted as viewers, in a way that we don’t take for granted, by comparison, special effects. We may not know – or care – who’s responsible for a film’s special effects, but we comment or opine, one way or the other, about them.

When was the last time you came out of a theater with anyone but a filmophile and heard the movie’s cinematography praised?

To wit: “Hugh Jackman was awesome as Wolverine, and Ryan Reynolds was cool. But how about that cinematography of Donald McAlpine’s?”

More than special effects – something blowing up or somebody flying – the look of a film, when it engulfs you, draws you in – makes me go “Wow” under my breath.

“Apocalypse Now” made me go “Wow.” So did “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and so did “Dances With Wolves,” among many others. A film need not be a spectacle to be a triumph of cinematography, either. “American Beauty,” for example, won the best cinematography Oscar, and it was a character study. But one we remember for its images (remember the paper bag blown by the wind?) as well as for its close-ups and its script.

Remember when, in that movie, image and script come together? “Sometimes,” Ricky (Wes Bentley) says to Jane (Thora Birch) as they’re watching the bag swept on the breeze, “there’s so much beauty in the world I feel like I can’t take it, like my heart’s going to cave in.”

The director: Sam Mendes. The writer: Alan Ball. The cinematographer: the late Conrad L. Hall. The moment: Perfect.

 

Anthony Dod Mantle other works include 28 Days Later,The Last King of Scotland and Antichrist.

Get Slumdog Millionaire on Blue Ray DVD

 

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