Friday, March 30, 2012

ROLAND EMMERICH TACKLES SHAKESPEAREAN MYSTERY IN “ANONYMOUS”

Best known as the director of the epic blockbusters “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow” and “2012,” Roland Emmerich now takes on the mystery genre in Columbia Pictures' acclaimed and gripping thriller “Anonymous.”

             Set in the political snake-pit of Elizabethan England, “Anonymous” speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds such as Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Sigmund Freud, namely: who actually created the body of work credited to William Shakespeare? 

             Experts have debated, books have been written, and scholars have devoted their lives to protecting or debunking theories surrounding the authorship of the most renowned works in English literature. “Anonymous” poses one possible answer, focusing on a time when scandalous political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles lusting for the power of the throne were brought to light in the most unlikely of places: the London stage.

             To be shown soon exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3 and Trinoma), “Anonymous” stars Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis, Xavier Samuel, Sebastian Armesto, Rafe Spall, Edward Hogg, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Derek Jacobi.
             The Shakespeare authorship question is a debate that started over one hundred years ago surrounding the identity of the works traditionally attributed to the bearded Bard from Stratford-Upon-Avon, William Shakespeare. Was he really the genius behind Hamlet’s tragic life, Romeo’s burning love, and Lady Macbeth’s plaguing guilt? Could the intellectual behind literature’s most brilliant characters be this very ordinary man from Stratford? 

             So little is known about the man from Stratford that many find it impossible to believe that the son of an illiterate tradesman was the author of such literary masterpieces as “The Merchant of Venice,” “King Lear,” and “Henry V.” His education from a village school could never have provided Shakespeare with a vocabulary extensive enough to write the most talked about literature in the world and there is no proof that he travelled to foreign lands let alone learnt to speak their native tongues. The only written documentation historians can ascribe to Shakespeare is several signatures on official documents with at least six different spellings (Shaksp, Shakspe, Shakesper, Shakespere, Shakspere and Shakspeare).
             Aside from the plays attributed to him, there are no manuscripts, letters, journals or poems accredited to Shakespeare, which is quite astonishing, considering this was his legacy. His death in 1616 was met with silence, unlike other celebrated writers of his time, and his illiterate wife and children were bequeathed only his “second best bed” – no money – and even more shockingly, his will mentions no books or manuscripts of any kind. 

             “Anti-Stratfordians,” those that believe there is reasonable doubt that Shakespeare is the real author of the works, include literary greats, teachers, writers, world-renowned actors, directors and scholars such as Sigmund Freud, Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Sir John Gielgud. Whilst some believe in group theories (i.e. that a collective group of writers is responsible for the works), others favor singular writers such as Edward De Vere – the Earl of Oxford, Francis Bacon, or Christopher Marlowe. 

             Oxford (played in the film by Rhys Ifans) is perhaps the leading alternate candidate within anti-Stratfordian circles due to the remarkable concurrences between the nobleman and the scribe. There are many significant facts to support Oxfordian arguments that simply cannot be debunked by Stratfordians, among them that Oxford took a 16-month tour of the Continent which took him to all to of the cities in Italy with which Shakespeare evinces an easy familiarity, among them Padua, Milan, Verona, Mantua, Florence, and Siena. Another is that “Hamlet” eerily parallels Oxford’s life in an almost autobiographical form, depicting his father-in-law William Cecil as Polonius and his daughter, Anne Cecil, being Ophelia; the Queen herself, on whom Gertrude is modeled, was a surrogate mother to Oxford from the age of twelve and later became his lover. Was it a pure coincidence that Oxford’s annotated copy of the Geneva Bible marks passages that were used by Shakespeare or that Oxford’s nickname was “spear shaker?” 

             In 1987, US Supreme Court Justices John Paul Stevens, William Brennan, and Harry Blackmun held a mock trial on the authorship. Justice Brennan, the Senior Justice on the case, ruled that the Earl of Oxford did not meet the burden of proof required under the law to claim the authorship, however, Justice Harry Blackmun added that whilst this conclusion was the legal answer, he was doubtful it was the correct answer. 

             Until such time that there is conclusive evidence or definite proof to support any one theory, theoretically there is no right or wrong conclusion to this debate. However, one important question remains. As long as these masterpieces live on in our cultural conscience, does it really matter who Shakespeare was?

Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Wrath Of The Titans

Sam Worthington as Perseus
Story: Sequel to Clash of The Titans(2010). Years after the first quest, Perseus is now living as a normal fisherman with his son when the Titans was released from their imprisonment and about to unleashed chaos.

Review: The remake of the Clash Of The Titans deviated from the original. When the idea of a sequel pushed through, it was unexpected. Because Perseus is known only for slaying two monsters, the Gorgon Medusa and the Kraken. Even the mythology has no further records of Perseus. Just like the original, the remake also deviated from the original Perseus story. The original 1981 version added Pegasus as the winged steed of Perseus. In the original story, Perseus was only loaned the winged sandals of the god Hermes. Pegasus' only connection with Perseus was when he was born from the blood of Medusa after being beheaded. Pegasus was the only winged horse but the 2010 movie made Pegasus a breed of winged horses. Pegasus was originally rode by another hero Bellerophon to slay another monster, Chimera.

Unlike the original, the women were given more focus in the story. Very Most of the heroes were men unless they were demigods like Perseus also. The Greeks were also patriarchal about their myths. Rosamund Pike took over the role of Andromeda for this sequel. I believe the reason for casting her is somehow obvious as she was seen in the posters and trailers. it requires her to be more of the warrior queen. unlike in the first movie. The sequel makes it worthy to expand the Greek mythology and bringing it back to the movie screen. Hopefully, it will give way to another sequel since there are more heroes and demigods in the Greek myths. What I was expecting in this sequel is that there were more monsters than Titans. 

Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes reprises their roles as Perseus, Zeus and Hades. Besides Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy is one of the the newest addition of the cast. For the viewing experience, I suggest to watch it in IMAX. The Wrath of Titans is released and distributed by Warner Bros. Philippines and is now showing in Philippine cinemas in 3D, 2D or IMAX format. Thanks to Warner Bros. Phils. for the screening last March 27 at IMAX SM Mall of Asia.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

ASSEMBLING “THE AVENGERS” – THE SUPERHERO TEAM UP OF A LIFETIME!

Chris Evans as Captain America aka Steve Rogers
With the successful launching of the “Iron Man” franchise in 2008, the first hints for what would be Marvel’s most ambitious new franchise to date began to surface— bringing together its beloved characters in one film for “Marvel's The Avengers,” the holy grail of the Marvel Universe.

The idea for “Marvel's The Avengers” first surfaced during the production of “Iron Man” when producer Kevin Feige had a notion that S.H.I.E.L.D. could be part of both “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk.”

“We started looking at the list of characters in the Marvel Universe that hadn’t been taken by other studios: Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow,” says Feige. “And I thought, ‘Isn’t that interesting; all of these characters happen to form one of the most popular comic book series—‘The Avengers.’

“When the idea of a Nick Fury cameo started coming up, we called Sam Jackson and he thought it was a cool idea,” continues Feige. “It was his enthusiasm about it that led us to shoot that end credit scene and what he says to Tony Stark in the scene, ‘You’re part of a bigger universe, you just don’t know it yet.’ The line was also Marvel telling that to the audience as well.”

The producer adds, “Audiences loved the cameo and the buzz about Nick Fury began. We did it again two months later on the ‘Incredible Hulk’ and the reaction once again told us ‘The Avengers’ is going to work. Our plan then became to build it one Super Hero at a time because it was really important that we introduced all of the characters first in their own franchises before putting them together in ‘The Avengers.’ We also hired filmmakers on ‘Thor’ and ‘Captain America’ who were open to the idea that they were playing in a shared sandbox.”

“The Avengers” was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first published in September 1963. “The Avengers” team originally consisted of Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Ant-Man and Wasp. Captain America joined the team in Issue #4 after being revived from being trapped in a block of ice. For Stan Lee, seeing so many of his characters continue to grow in popularity is a testament to the Marvel Universe he helped create over the last 50 years. “I’d like to think that one of the reasons that Marvel characters have been so successful is when we created them, we tried to give them interesting personalities and personal problems so people would still be interested in them even if they didn’t have superpowers,” explains Stan Lee. “In other words we tried to make our heroes and heroines three-dimensional, interesting people.”
Lee continues, “Sometimes people make the mistake of just concentrating on the super power while the real person beneath the costume gets ignored. That’s when those particular stories don’t do as well. Every character in ‘The Avengers,’ is flawed in some way and has a dynamic, interesting, personal story in addition to them saving the world.”

While Lee’s and Jack Kirby’s colorful characters have thrilled Marvel readers for decades, one challenge for filmmakers was that they would still be editing and releasing both “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger” during the pre-production and production schedule of “The Avengers.”

“We had to have a lot of confidence in the direction we were heading, but two of the four characters had not been introduced to audiences yet and it was a bit of a leap of faith,” says Kevin Feige. “A big part of the puzzle was introducing both ‘Thor’ and ‘Captain America’ in self-contained origin stories with very distinctive beginnings and endings that segued nicely into the storyline for ‘The Avengers.’”

The plan worked to perfection for the filmmakers as both “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger” were summer box office hits and fueled the fire for bringing “The Avengers” to the big screen.

(The film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Marvel's “Spider-Man” and “The Incredible Hulk” animated series are now aired over ABS CBN, comprising an hour of early programming on Sunday mornings from 8:30-9:30am. ABS-CBN previously aired Marvel's “The Avengers” and “X-Men” animated series.)

WARNER BROS. BEGINS PRODUCTION ON “SEVENTH SON”

Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore and Ben Barnes Lead the International Cast
Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore

BURBANK, CA, March 26, 2011 – Principal photography is underway on Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ fantasy action adventure “Seventh Son.” Shooting began on March 19, under the direction of award-winning filmmaker Sergei Bodrov, director of the Oscar®-nominated foreign language films “Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan” and “Prisoner of the Mountains.” “Seventh Son” stars Academy Award® winner Jeff Bridges (“Crazy Heart,” “Iron Man”), Oscar® nominee Julianne Moore (“Far From Heaven,” “The Hours”), and Ben Barnes (“The Chronicles of Narnia” films).
Ben Barnes

In a time long past, an evil is about to be unleashed that will reignite the war between the forces of the supernatural and humankind once more. Master Gregory (Bridges) is a knight who had imprisoned the malevolently powerful witch, Mother Malkin (Moore), centuries ago. But now she has escaped and is seeking vengeance. Summoning her followers of every incarnation, Mother Malkin is preparing to unleash her terrible wrath on an unsuspecting world. Only one thing stands in her way: Master Gregory. 

In a deadly reunion, Gregory comes face to face with the evil he always feared would someday return. Now he has only until the next full moon to do what usually takes years: train his new apprentice, Tom Ward (Barnes) to fight a dark magic unlike any other. Man’s only hope lies in the seventh son of a seventh son.

The film’s international cast also includes Alicia Vikander (“The Crown Jewels”), Antje Traue (“Pandorum,” upcoming “Man of Steel”), Olivia Williams (“Hanna”) and Kit Harington (HBO’s “Game of Thrones”).

Bodrov is directing the film from a screenplay by Matt Greenberg, Charles Leavitt and Steve Knight, based on the book The Spook’s Apprentice by Joseph Delaney. “Seventh Son” is being produced by Basil Iwanyk (“The Town,” “Clash of the Titans” upcoming “Wrath of the Titans”), Thomas Tull (“Inception,” “The Dark Knight” upcoming “The Dark Knight Rises”) and Lionel Wigram (“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” the “Harry Potter” films). The executive producers are Jon Jashni, Brent O’Connor and Alysia Cotter, with Jillian Zaks and Erica Lee serving as co-producers.

The behind-the-scenes team collaborating with Bodrov includes director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel (“Drive”); three-time Oscar®-winning production designer Dante Ferretti (“Hugo,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “Aviator”); Oscar®-nominated editor Paul Rubell (“Collateral,” “The Insider”); Oscar®-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Social Network”), and Oscar®-winning visual effects supervisor John Dykstra (“Spider-Man,” “Spider-Man 2”).

“Seventh Son” will be filmed entirely on location in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
A presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, “Seventh Son” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

BATTLESHIP Character Posters Revealed

Admiral Shane
From the producer of Hasbro the Transformers franchise.  Summer 2012 begins with the biggest battle of all: Battleship.
Stone

Peter Berg (Hancock, The Kingdom) produces and directs Battleship, an epic action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force.  Based on Hasbro’s classic naval combat game, Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch as Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Sam, a physical therapist and Hopper’s fiancée; Alexander SkarsgÃ¥rd as Hopper’s older brother, Commanding Officer Stone of the USS Samson; Rihanna as Lt. Raikes, Hopper’s crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones, and international superstar Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stone’s superior (and Sam’s father), Admiral Shane.
   
Raikes

“Battleship” distributed and released by
United International Pictures
through Solar Entertainment Corporation.

Hopper

Friday, March 23, 2012

WARNER BROS. READY FOR ANOTHER “HANGOVER”


Director Todd Phillips will reunite with Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and
Zach Galifianakis for Part III of the blockbuster comedy franchise,
to open on May 24, 2013.

BURBANK, CA, March 22, 2011 – Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures are reteaming with Todd Phillips for “The Hangover Part III,” the third installment in the record-breaking comedy franchise, which is slated for release on May 24, 2013. The announcement was made today by Jeff Robinov, President Warner Bros. Pictures Group.
The Hangover Gang
 
“The Hangover Part III” will star Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis, who will reprise the roles of Phil, Stu and Alan, collectively known to moviegoers as “the Wolfpack.” In the previous two films, the three friends’ attempts to plan a celebration have resulted in disaster for them, but led to a combined billion-dollar success at the worldwide box office.
In making the announcement, Robinov stated, “We are extremely pleased to have Todd Phillips and the guys back together again for another ‘Hangover,’ and we look forward to collaborating with them on another great movie.”

Phillips said, “I’m so excited to embark on another ‘Hangover’ film with Bradley, Ed and Zach. We’re going to surprise a lot of people with the final chapter we have planned. It will be a fitting conclusion to our three-part opera of mayhem, despair and bad decisions.”

Phillips is writing the screenplay with Craig Mazin, who also collaborated with him on the screenplay for “The Hangover Part II.” Phillips is again producing the film under his Green Hat Films banner, together with Dan Goldberg. Thomas Tull and Scott Budnick will serve as executive producers.
 
Production on the film is projected to begin in September 2012. 

A presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Legendary Pictures, “The Hangover Part III” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

A SOLDIER SEARCHES FOR HIS LUCKY CHARM IN “THE LUCKY ONE”


Efron and Schilling in The Lucky One
Warner Bros. brings Nicholas Sparks' bestseller “The Lucky One” to the big screen starring Zac Efron (“Charlie St. Cloud,” “New Year’s Eve”) and Taylor Schilling (upcoming “Argo”). The passionate, romantic drama is directed by Academy Award®-nominated writer/director Scott Hicks (“Shine,” “No Reservations”).

             In the film, U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault (Efron) returns from his third tour of duty in Iraq, with the one thing he credits with keeping him alive—a photograph he found of a woman he doesn’t even know. Learning her name is Beth (Schilling) and where she lives, he shows up at her door, and ends up taking a job at her family-run local kennel. Despite her initial mistrust and the complications in her life, a romance develops between them, giving Logan hope that Beth could be much more than his good luck charm.

             “The Lucky One” marks the fourth film Denise DiNovi has produced based on the acclaimed, best-selling novels of Nicholas Sparks, including “Message in a Bottle,” “A Walk to Remember” and “Nights in Rodanthe.” “I fell in love with his writing when I first read `The Notebook,'” DiNovi recalls. “I was just completely blown away by how beautifully romantic and imaginative it was. Every one of his books is a completely original story, yet they all renew your faith in the power of love to heal and to transform lives. They’re also always grounded in reality. When you read the books or see the movies, you think, ‘That could happen to me,’ or ‘I wish that would happen to me.’ Everyone wants to believe that love can conquer all, and that theme resonates so deeply in `The Lucky One.'”

             With a screenplay by Will Fetters (“Remember Me”), DiNovi turned to the vision of director Scott Hicks, who has made such expansive, emotionally resonant films as “Shine,” “Hearts in Atlantis” and, most recently, “No Reservations,” to bring the story to life. “In Scott’s work I have seen the ability to make human emotion completely captivating, emotional and compelling,” she says. “He is also such a beautiful director in terms of visuals. He has an amazing eye for imagery, and this story has such a diverse visual scope—from the scenes in Iraq to the lushness and sensuality of New Orleans. He also has the rare ability to capture onscreen the unspoken layers to a relationship. That’s a very difficult thing to do, but he has that kind of eye.” 

             Hicks was immediately affected by the story and was intrigued by the notion of characters whose lives are intertwined by luck rather than geographic proximity or other formal constructs. “I found the whole idea of chance and fate—and how a random event like finding a photograph in the middle of a war zone—could change so many lives and have an impact on all the characters in the story,” he says. “I think everybody has probably experienced something in their lives where a chance encounter or meeting is a turning point. And I’m sure many people feel the same way. That element is something I found very appealing.”

             Hicks’s wife, Kerry Keysen, is his partner in life and in work, serving as a co-producer on the movie. “I am a firm believer in the power of moments,” Heysen says, “because some people really do take their chances and follow their dreams and I think it’s good that we show the value of doing those things.” 

              “The Lucky One” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.