JJ Abrams’ Enterprise Feels Fully Functional
Harry Knowles got the chance to see some early footage from JJ Abrams’ Star Trek. The few short clips he saw were early edits without proper cg or color timing. The one bit I found particularly interesting is the first description of the bridge of the USS Enterprise:
“For the first time in the history of Star Trek, [the bridge] looked amazingly functional. It echoes that classic Trek look – but imagine if you handed that design to the folks at APPLE and said… Make it really work. I instantly believed in the functionality of everything. That’s hard to quantify, but it is true. Remember when you saw the war room underground on Hoth in EMPIRE STRIKES BACK? How it just felt functional – that’s what this looked. And it looked Star Trek, without looking as cheap as Star Trek. It was a tech-fetishists wet dream.”
You can read Harry’s full report on AICN.
Fanboys Being Recut and Reshot by Weinstein Co?
So many years have passed without a release for the Weinstein Company’s Fanboys we’re surprised some kook hasn’t retitled it Cannedboys for his own sad amusement. Today word arrived via AICN that Judd Apatow’s producing partner Shauna Robertson is overseeing the film with possible reshoots and a major edit to the film’s plotline involving a fanboy with cancer.
The story follows a group of friends who try to break in Skywalker Ranch to steal a copy of Star Wars Episode 1. The reason they finally agree to do it is because one of the friends in dying of cancer and won’t live to see it in theaters. Apparently the Apatow people have done research which says most people won’t laugh for 5 or 10 minutes after cancer is mentioned so they want to do away with the entire cancer subplot and I’ve heard they have a version which edited out the entire cancer plot.
Mind you, the quote above comes from a “friend of a friend close to the production,” but either way, it sounds like there’s activity once again with the troubled production. How much of a hands-on role Judd Apatow has in this, if any, is unknown. If you’re asking what would replace such a pivotal aspect (re: cancer boy) of the flick if it’s in fact redacted, the source says the Weinstein Co. wants to make the fanboys’ mission a nutty idea for the sake of nuttiness a la a prototypical heist flick. I haven’t seen the movie, but Harry Knowles says such a change would suck its “soul” out. How do you feel about it? The last tentative date for the film in a litany of them was set for next weekend. More on on Fanboys‘ predicament as it develops.
AICN Reviews Cloverfield
Harry Knowles of AICN has seen Cloverfield, and has posted a raving review. Here are a couple snippets:
“CLOVERFIELD is a bold genre-reinvention unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.”
“The movie is f**king brilliant. It’s what we were told it was going to be. An intimate perspective on an impossibly grand scale human disaster beyond most human levels of comprehension.
“Like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, but instead of Nazis it’s a giant monster.”
“Characters die. Shit goes horribly horribly wrong – and it rules!”
“There’s no score, there’s no rules, there feels like there’s no script and no movie. It feels found, but it is so huge that you can’t ever really believe that… but handheld film just has never had a story of something this fantastical or huge happen. The movie is a landmark genre film. A true milestone in film.”
“[Matt Reeves] just came out with a film about as SUNDANCE as you could imagine. This is like an INDIE film – that you’d dream Spielberg would make.”
“CLOVERFIELD is worth the obsession, worth the months I’ve had to put up with fans wondering what the hell it was”
Disclaimer: But before you drink the kool aid, please remember that Harry Knowles has never been known as a good barometer of taste. This is the same guy who once gave the American remake of Godzilla a glowing review, right? This is not a knock against Knowles or his site, as I’m sure even Harry would agree that he gets way over-excited in his movie reviews. I’m also not saying that Cloverfield won’t be awesome. Everyone I’ve talked to who has seen it has had nothing but good things to say about the movie. Just something to consider.
The Buzz: Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales Screens at Fantastic Fest
The new 20-minute shorter special effects infused cut of Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales premiered at a super special screening at the Fantastic Fest this weekend. Response seemed to be more favorable than the infamous Cannes Film Festival screening. was unable to make it to Austin to catch the flick on the big screen, but here are some people that were:
Twitch: “It is overly ambitious, incredibly dense with ideas often obscured by stylish diversions, and a prime example of pop culture philosophy in action.””Southland is also a dazzlingly smart, funny, and engaging work, one that fuses political fears with apocalyptic religiosity and techno-dread and wraps it all in a glossy, colorful package. Southland Tales is far from the mess it has been made out to be, a work that rewards as much as it challenges and succeeds in finding the human, emotional core lurking beneath all of its high concepts.”
Harry Knowles at AintITCool: “If you want a simple tale, look elsewhere. This is the type of end of the world conspiracy that you’d expect to come out of Terry Southern or Hunter S Thompson or Kurt Vonnegut. It concerns alternate realities, subversive sub-cultures, neo-politic-paranoia and religious doomsday soothsaying. You may not get what it all means, but it is about asking what it means and laughing at the absurdist fever dream that you just watched. It’s a Basquiat at 24 frames a second – if that makes any sense to you – then perhaps this film is for you.”
Jette at Cinematical: “The recut film may still be difficult to follow and occasionally difficult to enjoy, but audiences who are willing to pay close attention and focus on the world of the film for more than two hours are rewarded by something extraordinary.”
Austin 360 Film Blog: “The sci-fi-steeped audience was clearly delighted to see the film, even if they didn’t always seem to connect with its brand of satire. (Dead silence greeted many of the movie’s jokes.)”
CinemaIsDope: “I liked. It’s a challenging film for sure but its essentially “Donnie Darko” on a global scale with a really engaging post 9-11 discussion. The only thing I really didn’t care for in the film was the ending. Not sure if I’ll warm up to it or something will occur on repeat viewings that might make it hold up better. Kelly’s strong voice of cinema and the stellar ensemble acting make up for an often much more complex than perhaps it needs to be film.”
Massawyrm at AICN: “There are exactly two things wrong with Southland Tales - the first is that Richard Kelly REALLY wanted to write a Phillip K. Dick Novel. And secondly, rather than putting it in novel form he decided to adapt this unwritten novel to the screen using the imagery of Terry Gilliam. The result is one of the most stunningly incredible failures I’ve ever witnessed.”
My Journal is Better Than Yours: “There were a few moments of clarity where I kind of enjoyed myself but for the most part it was a real big mess. An incoherent, disconnected, needlessly obtuse yet mind-blaringly on the nose (at the same time!), indulgent mess.”
HD For Indies: “A big steaming pile of What The F*ck Was That. Another reviewer turned to me at the credits and said ‘I have no idea how to start a review of that movie.’ I later thought about adding ’so long as you finish with Don’t Go.’”