Movie Mazzupial

Favourite Movie Friday with D12

2012-01-27T10:42:00.000+10:00

Eminem’s posse D12 are currently in the country for a national tour and I chatted with two members of the `quartet’ about boxing kangaroos, Proof’s legacy and – naturally – favourite movies. Here’s what Swifty and Fuzz Scoota had to say:

Swifty: "I love Goodfellas. I like a lot of the mob movies, but Goodfellas is the best. One of my favourite movies is Dead Presidents, I love that."

Fuzz Scoota: "Holiday Heart with Ving Rhames playing transvestite *laughs*. And Swift loves Flashdance too. Se7en is one of my all time favourite movies, with Morgan Freeman. That was some cold shit."

For D12's tour dates click here.

Simply the best (men)

2012-01-26T13:00:00.005+10:00

Australian comedy A Few Best Men doesn't play it safe and that's just the way director Stephan Elliott and star Kris Marshall like it. Elliott (The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert) says he set out to “push the boundaries of bad behaviour'' in his latest film A Few Best Men.
It comes as no surprise then that he cast the man he considers his “evil British twin'' - Kris Marshall.
"He likes to think that and we indulge him because he's 50 years older than me,'' says Marshall.
"No, really, I'm quite happy for him to keep making that comparison as long as he keeps hiring me for his films.''

Marshall is best known for his turn in hit ensemble comedy Love Actually, as well as roles in Death At A Funeral and The Merchant Of Venice. His ongoing partnership with the Aussie filmmaker originally came about when Elliott was preparing to film his period dramedy Easy Virtue with Jessica Biel and Colin Firth. Elliott, who also wrote the film, was scheduled to play the butler and when it became apparent he wouldn't be able to do that with the shooting schedule, he called the next best thing.
"I'd never met Stephan before and two weeks before shooting I got this vague message on my answering machine.
"It said `Kris mate, it's Stephan Elliott here. I want you to be in my movie.'
"I was honoured to enter the long pantheon of British screen butlers.''Marshall says it was the start of a "beautiful friendship'' and one that led to him nabbing a part as one of the troublemaking groomsmen in Elliott's latest A Few Best Men.
"Everything that goes wrong in the film is due to my character,'' says Marshall of the mischievous role that appeals to both his and Elliott's sense of humour.
"On set Stephan would always say to me `find the devil' and I would reply `it has to be justifiable, otherwise he's just a c***.'
"He (the character) just doesn't think about things properly. He has a very male, short-termist view.''

The film reunites Marshall with Death At A Funeral writer Dean Craig, who he says has a remarkable ability to "knock down the bastions of social life''.
Marshall says the "layers'' of Craig's comedy provide the most "important'' ingredients.
"An audience like to be led down a garden path, but they don't like to be cheated or kicked down a garden path. That's an important discrepancy.
"You need to slowly ramp up the tension.
"Good comedy is all about high stakes and what people have to loose. The schadenfreude amongst people and the more devilish side of humanity likes to sit and witness that with the comfort of being outside of it.'' From cocaine-induced mother in laws to CPR on a ram, A Few Best Men doesn't play it safe. For Marshall, that's just the way he likes it.
"When I read the script I was like `this is nuts,'' he says.
"Stephan said to me `this isn't War and Peace or Ides Of March, it's just a laugh'.
"In times of austerity and when the world's going down the tube, people need a laugh.
"It's a riot.''

A Few Best Men opens today.

Josh Hutcherson gets hungry

2012-01-19T15:21:00.000+10:00

With five movies coming out this year – FIVE – Josh Hutcherson is shaping up to be the breakout star of 2012. He’s already a familiar face to movie buffs, having made his big screen debut at the age of 10 in the Oscar-nominated American Splendor. Since then he has proven himself to be one of the most versatile young actors in Hollywood. He’s balanced mainstream flicks like Bridge To Terabithia and Zathura with indie fare such as The Kids Are All Right and Winged Creatures. But he’s about to take on his biggest role yet.

The 19-year-old is starring as baker-turned-tribute Peeta Mellark in the highly anticipated The Hunger Games movie, based on Suzanne Collins’ best-selling dystopian series. If you’re not familiar with The Hunger Games story, firstly, check yourself before you wreck yourself. Secondly, get familiar with the intricacies of the plot here.

I was fortunate enough to interview Hutcherson earlier in the week when he visited Australia for the first time to promote his new flick Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. In preparation for the interview I put a call out on Twitter for fans to send me questions. And send them you did. My Twitter feed nearly crashed with all the suggestions and I sincerely thank all of you who tweeted me with great things you wanted to ask him and proclamations of love. The latter was unhelpful, but the former proves just how dedicated The Hunger Games fans are. Seriously, if my novel ever gets published I want a fanbase like you. Also, a movie deal.

Anyway, because there were so many questions – I couldn’t ask them all, sorry – and we covered so many topics, I’ve pondered for a while about how best to present this interview. The best way, I’ve decided, was to break it down into topics. Here it is - Josh Hutcherson talks The Hunger Games, the power of the individual and much, much more.

May the odds be ever in your favour.

Josh Hutcherson on what appealed to him about the character of Peeta:
“I never read a character I related to more, honestly. He has this idea that no matter what situation you’re in and where you are, you have to stay true to yourself and the values you stand by. That’s pretty much the moral I live my life by.”

On preparing for The Hunger Games fandom:
“It’s hard. I don’t know if anyone can prepare for that kind of thing. I’ve never been part of a project that had so much anticipation surrounding it before we even started filming. It brings added pressure, but at the same time it makes you strive to work better and harder. I think we’ve done a really good job on the film and I hope people like it, especially the fans. In fact, I know they will.”

On how The Hunger Games differs from your everyday blockbuster:
“It’s serious and darker, which makes it all that more important.” On working with Jennifer Lawrence:
“Jennifer is one of those people who can be herself in any situation and says what she wants. To meet someone as talented and beautiful as she is who’s like that is really refreshing.”

On reality television and its effect on society:
“I’m not a huge fan. I don’t watch a lot of TV in general and especially not the reality stuff. It’s interesting how people push themselves to the limit to get in front of the cameras. The idea they would push themselves to battle each other in a similar arena isn’t that much of a stretch.”

On stunt work and weapons training:
“In the beginning Peeta has a spear, but I get injured pretty early on so I don’t have to do too much of that.”

On The Hunger Games social commentary:
“The movie speaks a lot to the individual power of an individual and how a group of people can band together. Especially with what we’ve see at the moment with the 99 per cent fighting the 1 per cent in the Occupy Wall Street Movement, that’s very relevant. The Hunger Games series is an interesting commentary on that.”

On what strategy he would take if he had to compete in The Hunger Games:
“My family. I’d be driven like Katniss is and try to focus on getting back to my family and helping and supporting them.”

On being on board The Hunger Games sequels:
“For sure, as long as people come out and see the movie. I’m very excited about it. We need to make sure that people see the movie first before we get ahead of ourselves. But I’m really excited about it and where the story goes, especially for my character.”On working with Liam Hemsworth:
“Liam and I get on so well. He’s like my 6.4ft Australian brother. I’ve worked with both of the Hemsworths now because his brother Chris and I did Red Dawn together. I’m kind of an honourary Hemsworth.”

On his diverse body of work:
“That’s my main goal as actor. I want to try as many roles and movies as possible and tell as many different stories as I can. I’m lucky had the opportunity to do that so far.”

On the favourite role he’s played:
“Probably my character in The Kids Are All Right. I liked him a lot.”

On becoming famous:
“At the end of the day I’m the kind of person who does what I believe in and what I want to do. I think that’s a really important value to stick to.”

On crashing my Twitter feed:
*laughs* “Sorry.”

Movie tips from comic strips

2012-01-13T18:00:00.000+10:00

Comics are taking over Hollywood. This is not a drill. This is reality. Or, coincidentally, hyper reality. The world of superheroes and superheroines, capes and crusaders, tights and tightly wound villains will be dominating our screens in 2012. It has been a growing trend, but when you look at the upcoming slate of blockbusters it's clear to see the takeover is complete.

Take The Dark Knight Rises, the third and final Batman film to be directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale as the billionaire vigilante. It's the most anticipated film of the year and after its predecessor The Dark Knight grossed over $US1 billion, early predictions tip the July 19 release to set new box office records. Yet it's not the only film lifted straight from comic book panels that's vying for the audience dollar in 2012, with Marc Webb's reboot of Spider-Man - The Amazing Spider-Man - out three weeks earlier. Add to that Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Dredd and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days - to name a few. In a world where film studios are looking for the safe bet at the box office - hence the remake, reboot and sequel culture - comic book movies have become the sure thing. Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger were two of the big hits of 2011, while even flops like Green Lantern still get green lit for a sequel. James Jagic, manager of Queensland's oldest comic store Comics Etc in Brisbane, said part of their appeal is they have a "different feel'' to a regular action film. There's also the built-in audience to consider. Titles like Batman and Superman have been around since the 1930s, with several generations of fans already invested and interested in the characters before they hit the big screen.

Marvel's superhero movie to end all superhero movies, The Avengers, is out in May and is set to cash in on this fanbase. Directed by Buffy The Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, it will feature iconic characters such as Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and others together on film for the first time. British actor Tom Hiddleston plays the villain in the film, Loki, and said comic book characters and storylines have become generationally important.
"I think that's what Marvel is now - comics and superheroes and super villains - it's the modern version of mythology,'' he said.
"You have Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, there's just a depth of pain and experience to them.
"Part of the reason we love them is despite that, they always choose to do the right thing.'' Arguably one of the reasons we're being inundated with more comic book movies than ever is the most influential directors in Hollywood grew up reading and appreciating comics. Directors like J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, Kevin Smith, Christopher Nolan and Robert Rodriguez grew up as fanboys and now they're calling the shots.
"The thing with Chris Nolan is he was writing comics for 15 years before he became a filmmaker, not many people know that,'' said Mr Jagic.
"He wrote Justice Society which was a spin-off of Justic League and Joss (Whedon) did Buffy (The Vampire Slayer), but he's gone on to write comics across a number of titles.
"It used to be a special event when someone from books or movies went across to comics, now it's the norm.
"Damon Lindelof (Lost, Strar Trek) is doing a Wolverine run and Stephen King does comics every month, at least three or four of them.''

Although Mr Jagic said the box office returns from the films is still strong, he expects people to "get sick'' of the genre soon. Just not too soon. Already 2013 is to be as equally packed as 2012 with comic book movies such as Man Of Steel, Green Lantern 2, Iron Man 3, 300: Battle Of Artemisia, Thor 2, Sin City 2, The Wolverine, Kick Ass 2, X-Men First Class 2 and The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun slated for release.

Favourite Movie Friday with Parkway Drive

2012-01-13T05:08:00.001+10:00

If you’re talking about Australia’s heavy music scene there’s really only one name you need to be discussing; Parkway Drive. The Byron Bay boys have had a hectic past 12 months, touring everywhere from Guatemala to Kolkata. I spoke to drummer Ben `Gaz’ Gordon ahead of their gigs at the 20th Big Day Out and, naturally, I asked him the tough questions like `what are your favourite movies of all time?’ Here’s what he said:

“I’m a bad person to ask about movies because I mainly like to watch documentaries. I guess my favourite series would have to be the Die Hard movies. (I tell him there’s going to be a fifth Die Hard movie) No way, that’s awesome. I reckon he’s going to die in this one. Bruce Willis is a legend.

Besides that I haven’t watched many movies in the past 10 years. I’m a terrible person to watch movies with because I’m very judgemental of the Hollywood system. My favourite documentaries are The Human Planet, it’s the best, and Frozen Planet. Also anything that David Attenborough has touched or is involved with is awesome.”

Parkway Drive have a new concert DVD and album scheduled for release in 2012. BDO tickets are available here.

Dragon Tattoo remake is Stieg Larceny

2012-01-09T16:16:00.001+10:00

Once you strip away all the complexities and detail from the Stieg Larsson's best-selling Millennium Trilogy, the books preach two things;
1. Corporations are bad.
2. Yay for women.

It seems utterly blasphemous then that these are the two things most obviously ignored in director David Fincher's Hollywood remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Of course, there have already been three Swedish films made of Larsson's books. These had an unusually large mainstream audience for foreign films and its stars - Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander and Michael Nyqvist as Mikael Blomkvist - have both gone on to major Hollywood roles in films such as Sherlock Holmes: Game Of Shadows for the former and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol for the latter. Why an English-speaking version set in Sweden where half of the main characters speak with an American accent and half speak English with a Swedish accent was needed is beyond me. The accent discrepancy being just the most obvious (and annoying) flaw.The first poster for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, for example, featured Daniel Craig's character fully dressed and holding actress Rooney Mara from behind as she stands topless with her pierced nipple exposed. Yes, nothing represents feminism more than a highly sexualised and exploitative poster that actually tells us nothing about the story and contradicts the Larsson's themes. Sigh.

And nothing better portrays Larsson's anti-corporation stance than the shameless product placement scattered throughout the film which includes multiple scenes of the female protagonist eating McDonalds Happy Meal's and drinking Coke. I can see the advertising pitch now featuring Mara in character as Lisbeth Salander: *sips coke* “Mmmm, when I’m done bringing the elite powers that rule the planet under a totalitarian government that uses the media to keep people stupid and women in their place, I get thirsty. That’s why I drink Coke.”

The film follows journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Craig) who - after a fall from a grace - is hired to investigate the disappearance of a woman some 40 years earlier. He's aided by Goth computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and together they uncover a spate of gruesome serial killings that target women. Technically there's not much to fault. The production is all indicative of the $90 million budget and it's money that has been well spent on immaculate set pieces, breathtaking on location shoots and explosive action sequences. What's missing is the tension and building sense of dread that was so beautifully translated from the book and into the Swedish version of the film. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo crawls in some parts and with a run time of almost three hours, there are often scenes so necessary you can't help but wonder whether the editor stepped outside for a coffee. Or nine.The performances are solid and once you get past the fact Mara's eyebrows have been bleached white so that she resembles a 14-year-old albino punk, she's quite good. Considering Rapace's performance in that same role has already become iconic, Mara does an impressive job at making the character her own and taking it in a new direction while remaining faithful to the original nature. The opening credits are like the beginning of a Gothic James Bond film and you will not find a better two minutes in the film as Trent Reznor and Karen O's haunting song accompanies the visual art.

Reznor's score seems strangely underused for the remainder of the film and the only other musical highlight is during a climatic scene which will see you deleting Enya's Sail Away of your iTunes as soon as you home from the cinema. The remaining two sequels for this film have already been green lit and maybe - if Fincher returns - he can learn from his mistakes with this one. However, fans of the book and Swedish film, not to mention those who enjoy a good thriller, will be disappointed with this movie which can only be described as a sell-out.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is out Thursday.

Movie Mazzupial's films to watch in 2012

2012-01-06T14:42:00.002+10:00

Ah yes, with 2011 comfortably over it's time to shift focus to the films of 2012. Not to get ahead of myself, but it's going to FREAKIN' AWESOME BRO! Even Bane's excited. Although there were some gems last year - as evidenced in my top 10 and honourable mentions - in general the films of '11 could be summed up with one word; disappointing. From Sucker Punch to Red Riding Hood, blockbuster after blockbuster sucked. It was the small films from unexpected corners of Hollywood that brought audiences to the proverbial yard.

In 2012 that's likely to be the opposite. With two new films from Tim Burton, the first instalment in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit, the superhero movie to end all superhero movies Avengers, World War Z, The Great Gatsby, Tarantino's newbie Django Unchained and SO many other massive flicks, it's safe to have our expectations set relatively high. There are big directors making big movies this year. There are also some smaller gems that will bring an entirely different (yet tasty) meal to the table. I'm talking genre flicks like Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters from the stylish team behind Dead Snow, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and a movie adaptation of one of my favourites books Warm Bodies. Out of left field there’s The Grey which pits Liam Neeson against wolves, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Michelle Williams vehicle My Week With Marilyn, the hilarious A Few Best Men and Ralph Fiennes directorial debut Shakespeare war film Coriolanus.

The film I’m most looking forward to in 2012 is unsurprisingly The Dark Knight Rises. Everything else I’m excited about is on this list, including the epic looking Snow White and The Huntsman and animated charmer The Pirates! Band Of Misfits. I’m also going to make an early call and predict Mirror, Mirror as the worst film of the year and The Hunger Games as the biggest disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a colossal fan of Suzanne Collins' book series but from the casting to the severely disappointing trailers, I think this is going to be a disaster. I hope I’m wrong.

Movie Mazzupial's films to watch in 2012

The Muppets
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
Warm Bodies
The Grey
A Few Best Men
J. Edgar
World War Z
The Woman In Black
Cabin In The Woods
The Dark Night Rises
Young Adult
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Coriolanus

Contraband
Dark Shadows
The Pirates! Band Of Misfits
Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengence

My Week With Marilyn

Under The Skin
Voyage Of Time
John Carter
Frankenweenie
Brave
Magic Mike The Great Gatsby
Avengers
Neighbourhood Watch
Argo
Ted

Premium Rush

The Great Gatsby
Cloud Atlas
Snow White and the Huntsman
Looper
A Dangerous Method
Paranorman
Red Dawn
Skyfall

Django Unchained
Gangster Squad
47 Ronin
Hippie Hippie Shake
Red Lights
The Darkest Hour
On The Road
Byzantium
Haywire

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Shame
Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World
Anna Karenina

Stoker
Filth
Man On A Ledge
A Single Shot
A Late Quartet
Savages
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Jack The Giant Killer

Prometheus
Nero Fiddled
Thicker
Seven Psychopaths
The Girl
Dorothy Of Oz
Wettest Country
Lovelace
Rock Of Ages
The Brass Teapot
The English Teacher
He Loves Me
The To Do List
21 Jump Street
Hit Somebody: Home
The Place Beyond The Pines

The Raven
The Perks Of Being A Wall Flower

Favourite Movie Friday with the Vengaboys

2012-01-06T13:45:00.003+10:00

Let me preface this by saying; I'm not joking. I actually interviewed Kim Sasabone (the one at the top end of the rocket) a few weeks ago ahead of their first Australian tour in over a decade. My eight-year-old self would have been so please with 23-year-old me.

When the Vengabus isn't coming and everyone's not jumping, Kim says she enjoys nothing more than chilling out and watching a movie. What movie, you ask? Read on:

"Oh, that's hard because there are so many I love. One of my favourites from my childhood is The Wizard Of Oz. That's such a beautiful movie with so many great songs and moments. If we're talking about later on in life I'd have to really think about it. The Wizard Of Oz is my stand out favourite though.''

The Iron Ladies

2012-01-03T11:30:00.002+10:00

When you talk great film directors you think Spielberg, Scorsese and (to ruin the alliteration) Hitchcock. But how many females can you name? Sofia Coppola, sure, Catherine Hardwicke, maybe, and possibly Jane Campion for being all arty and brooding like. Now meet Phyllida Lloyd: director, artist, lesbian. Since her debut film Mamma Mia made her one of the most successful female directors of all time, the 52-year-old Brit is taking on the male-dominated world of Hollywood. For her sophomore effort Lloyd (above) re-teams with Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. Movie Mazzupial sat down with Lloyd to speak success, Thatcher, gay rights and the ever magnificent Meryl Streep.

The Iron Lady

Ah, Margaret Thatcher. The tough-as-nails politico was a woman who invoked fear in the hearts of male colleagues and is still called She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named among lefties. Perhaps. Released on Boxing Day, audiences got to see her story on the big screen in period biopic The Iron Lady. And no, this is not a spin-off of superhero flick Iron Man where Meryl Streep replaces Robert Downey Jr as the billionaire playboy. Cue collective sigh. Rather, this is a look at the private and political life of Thatcher, Britain’s only female Prime Minister. As one of the most polarising figures in modern political history, Thatcher’s life lent itself to the cinematic treatment. But director Phyllida Lloyd says it was the “unconventional” nature of the biopic that attracted her.
“Her story did have the shape of a Shakespearean tragedy,” she says.
“We spoke about it on set as King Lear for girls.
“It’s a story of a mighty leader afraid of losing her own wits and who’s brought low by her own arrogance and the villainy of the people around her.”
“Her downfall was like the stuff of grand opera.”

As one of Britain’s most acclaimed theatre directors, opera and Shakespeare are things Lloyd knows plenty about. She has been at the helm of dozens of award-winning productions that have graced the West End stage, including the smash hit Mamma Mia which she adapted for the screen. From sequined-jumpsuits and Pierce Brosnan vocal solos, to social upheavals and the Falklands War, The Iron Lady is quite the leap. Growing up in the height of Thatcher’s reign, Lloyd says she was less interested in the “controversy” and more interested in the “feminist and classist” point of views to the story.
“As someone who started their professional career in the eighties, Thatcher excited that anarchy in a lot of us,” says Lloyd.
“She was like the stern headmistress.
“Even now people are still arguing over whether she was right or wrong 30 years down the track.
“Meryl (Streep) called it a `special venom’ that people use when they talk about her and we wanted to get to the bottom of what it was that incited this `special venom’.”

Woman on top

The similarities between Thatcher and herself aren’t lost on the director. After all, Thatcher was a strong, independent woman trying to make it in a male-dominated world (politics in the eighties) and Lloyd is a strong, independent woman trying to make it in the male-dominated world of Hollywood. Lloyd says there were “all kind of aspects” she identified with in Thatcher’s story, especially that of succeeding in a testosterone heavy environment.
“I know Thatcher once said to a political colleague on the other side of the divide that `we have to be 10 times more prepared than the men’ and I still feel that way.
“I hope your generation doesn’t feel as neurotic as we did.
“My parents expected me to get married, have kids, and not necessarily have a career. “I still get a sense of pinching myself and wondering `Am I allowed to do this? Am I allowed to be here and have all this?’
“I’m always wrestling that sense of entitlement. I don’t think Thatcher had that self-doubt but she did work harder, fight harder, and make sure she was always the last to leave.”After turning the musical into a worldwide sensation, Lloyd made her feature film debut with Mamma Mia (above) – the all singing, all dancing, ABBA spectacular. The box-office success made her the highest grossing female director of all time – with a worldwide take of $US601M– until Jennifer Yuh knocked her off her perch earlier this year with Kung Fu Panda 2. That’s no mean feat when you consider the boys’ club mentality most women directors have to battle in Hollywood. Only one woman has ever won the best director Oscar (Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker), with three others having been nominated (Coppola, Campion and Lena Wertmuller for those of you playing at home). Lloyd says she implores the next crop of female filmmakers to “feel more entitled than we did”.
“I think that the world so needs women making stories to make a female audience feel that they’re at least 50 per cent of the population.
“I feel you don’t have to be a thrusting bitch to make it as a director, you’ve just got to have incredible stamina and keep on going at it.”

The magnificent Meryl

There’s one woman, however, who certainly has Academy Award voters whispering `My my, how can I resist you?’ That would be Streep. Meryl Streep. And with 15 nominations and two Oscar wins under her belt, the she deserves to have her name spoken like Bond. James Bond. She would probably be more a more convincing spy too because, as Cam wisely said on Modern Family; “Meryl Streep could play Batman and be the right choice, she is perfection.”

As Thatcher she truly is. Her complete encapsulation of Thatcher’s speech and physicality, right down to her frosty demeanour and vulnerability, has the smart money already firmly placed on Streep to take out the best actress Oscar come the 2012 Academy Awards in February. Once she’s nominated, of course, a mere technicality. Lloyd says she went on a “life changing adventure” with Streep during the making of The Iron Lady, an adventure that featured plenty of goosebumps along the road.
“I had my first goosebump moment about a year ago when I was shopping at (UK department store) Selfridges doing one of those frantic how-many-presents-can-you-buy-before-Christmas shops when my iPhone beeped.
“It was a message from Meryl that said `My first attempt at Maggie’.
“I sat down on a bench, put my headphones in, pressed play and began listening to her speak this six minute interview where she was Margaret Thatcher.”Lloyd says she felt “privileged” to watch and direct Streep in the role, which was developed from its earliest attempts by adding prosthetics to match Thatcher’s physical resemblance. She says everyone on set experienced those “frequent jaw dropping moments” watching Streep embody the character.
“The fact Meryl was the outsider playing the outsider gave it real electricity,” says Lloyd.
“During a take one day I remember one of the British actors said to another `close your eyes, she’s in the room.’
“The other actor turned to him and said `no, open your eyes, she’s still there.”

Power lesbian

As a journalist there are few questions you feel more uncomfortable asking someone than how they feel about being called a `power lesbian’. But it’s a title commonly associated with Lloyd who’s a stalwart on The Independent’s annual 101 most influential gay and lesbian people in Britain.
“I’ve plummeted in the charts this year which is a worry,” she jokes, after peaking at number seven in 2009 before dropping to 22 last year behind the likes of Graham Norton and Elton John.
“If anything hopefully the release of The Iron Lady can make up a few points.”

Lloyd says she find the “notional” nature of the charts amusing. On a more serious note, despite a bit of initial discomfort, her private life becoming public has far more pros than cons,
“It was something I struggled with in my early years, the public notion of it,” says Lloyd.
“Now I feel entirely at ease. I guess if it helps other people feel more comfortable that people in the public arena speak out about being gay, then it’s important.
“If it helps to make young people feel less alone, less terrified, then that’s a great thing.”As for the gay marriage debate, Lloyd (above) says it’s a “big move from the time of Margaret Thatcher” which is nothing but good news for the wider homosexual community.
“I’m not married, but I’m very, very glad I could be one day.”

The Iron Lady is out now.

10 Best films of 2011

2011-12-31T23:34:00.002+10:00

I know, I know, I'm cutting it close to the wire. But still, 25 minutes until 2011 is over so without further ado . . . Movie Mazzupial's 10 best films of 2011.

10. Scream 4
What's your favourite scary movie? Of 2011 it was Scream 4, something I was both delighted and relieved about because lets be honest, Scream 3 was shite. Yet how, in the decade of horror movies since the last Scream movie, could Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven make a witty, sassy, self-aware statement on the genre again? By being darn clever, that's how. With an opening so dangerously meta to an ending poignantly commentating on our current fame obsessed society, Scream 4 proved an original spin can have endless worth in a genre drowning in remakes.

9. Blue Valentine

Love is glorious. Love is beautiful. And love is sometimes not enough. No one captured that better than Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling as a married couple nearing the end of their relationship. Writer/director Derek Cianfrance spliced scenes of their disintegrating relationship with the story of how they first met and fell in love, making the inevitable conclusion all that more heartbreaking for the audience. Realistic, raw and unforgettable.

8. The Bang Bang Club

This gritty drama was based on the real life exploits of The Bang Bang Club - a group of four photojournalists capturing the final days of apartheid in South Africa. Like an underrated version of Blood Diamond, this was a hard hitting look at the civil unrest in Africa told through the stories of the notorious band of photographers who took some of the most famed images of all time. Jaw-dropping, action packed and shocking (even more so when you consider the truth of the story) this is one of the best movies on journalism. Period. The curve ball cast - which includes Ryan Phillippe and Malin Akerman - are also super impressive, none more so than Friday Night Lights alumni Taylor Kitsch. He gives a career best performance as Kevin Carter and illustrates his potential outside of the Hollywood blockbuster sphere.

7. Never Let Me GoKazuo Ishiguro's award-winning novel is flawlessly adapted by director Mark Romanek is this soul-shattering, breathtaking piece of cinematic art. Perfectly capturing the despair, the hopelessness and the black romance of the book, Never Let Me Go will leave you feeling like a shell of your former self afterwards. But it's worth it, partially thanks to pitch perfect performances from three of Britain's greatest young actors: Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield.

6. Jane Eyre

One of my favourite books of all time turned into one of my favourite films of the year thanks to the masterful direction of Cary Fukunaga and the powerhouse double act of Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. Jane Eyre and Rochester have already been explored countless times in modern pop culture, but these two great performers gave them new life and energy. Jane Eyre brought a passion to the big screen in 2011 unlike anything else I saw. Wistful sigh.

5. Drive

Originally a $100m action vehicle for Hugh Jackman, Drive proves just how important the singular creative vision of a director can be. Ryan Gosling, undoubtedly the actor of the year, gave a subtle yet powerful turn as a Hollywood stunt driver who gets on the wrong side of the local criminal underworld. Director Nicolas Winding Refn spliced together romantic moments of French New Wave with Tarantino-esque ultra violence and one of the best soundtracks of the year.

4. Agora

For those who saw Agora during its limited theatre run, it left a searing impression. Rachel Weisz plays famous female philosopher Hypatia during the rising tide of Christianity in Roman Egypt. Max Minghella and Oscar Isaac round out a trio of superb performances in this heartbreaking, soul-destroying and ultimately uplifting historical drama from acclaimed Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar (The Others, The Sea Inside).

3. HannaOne of the most underrated films of 2011, this fairytale parable starred Oscar-nominated teen actress Saoirse Ronan as a blue-eyed killing machine trained by her father (Eric Bana) and out to kill a sinister CIA agent (Cate Blanchett). A jaw-dropping, stylish turn from director Joe Wright (best known for his period pieces Pride & Prejudice and Atonement), this was an edge-of-your-seat action thriller with no safety nets. The Chemical Brothers haunting score is unforgettable.

2. Attack The Block

Few films made as big a splash in 2011 as the debut from British writer/director Joe Cornish. A homage to classic sci-fi /horror films of the eighties, it follows a teen gang forced to defend its South London housing block from a vicious alien invasion. Hilarious, scary and exceptionally original, Attack The Block instantly gained cult movie status among genre aficionados.

1. Midnight In Paris

A time travel film. From Woody Allen. On paper it sounds like a disaster, but the veteran filmmaker made something truly remarkable with this ode to nostalgia and Paris's golden age. Full of wit, beauty and more celebrity cameos than rehab, you couldn't help leave the cinema with a goofy grin on your face. Some have called it Allen's return to form. Yet for the diehards out there, one of cinema's longest lasting voices never went away.

Honourable mentions: the films of 2011

2011-12-31T08:02:00.000+10:00

No explanations. No breakdowns. Just this; an honour roll of the films I dug this year. They didn't make my top 10 of 2011, but they were memorable enough they deserved a special mention. From guilty pleasures and smart comedies, to moving dramas and kick ass blockbusters, there's a bit of everything in here. Enjoy. Or not.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

The Lincoln Lawyer
Rabbit HoleX-Men: First ClassRed State

Albert NobbsDrive AngryWe Bought A Zoo

Fright Night

The Adventures Of TintinThe Debt

Paul

Brighton Rock

Snowtown

Bridesmaids

Beginners Super 8

Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Wasted On The Young

Horrible Bosses

Hereafter

The Way Back

Thor

Tangled

Priest 3D

The Hunter

Captain America: The First Avenger

Somewhere

Griff The Invisble

The Ides Of March

Burlesque

Movie Mazz looks back on 2011, a year in (movie) review

2011-12-30T17:30:00.000+10:00

Warning: the following post is entirely self indulgent and reflective. If you're allergic to the word `I' then I suggest you stop reading now. Right now.

For those of you who remained, hello. 2011 has been a massively exciting year for me (like Liam Neeson's cock-level of massive) and I felt the need to get a touch reflective. Alas, here I am, breaking up my end of year lists with another list - Movie Mazzupial's top six moments of the blogging year.

I went to Comic Con

I fulfilled a lifelong dream and made the geek pilgrimage to San Diego in July to attend COMIC-FREAKIN-CON (official title). This is something I've wanted to do since I was a tween. It was everything I wet-dreamed and more. So, so, SO much more. The five 19-hour days were long and sure, I spent two days after the Con in a sleep coma. But when it was on, it was ON. I got to attend some of the biggest press conferences in the world (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, The Adventures Of Tintin etc), interview some of the biggest names (Nic Cage, Danny Pudi, John Boyega, Peter Dinklage, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Taylor Lautner, Joe Cornish, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and more), meet some of my favourite artists (John Picacio and Scottie Young, the last who turned out to be a douche),

buy a total of 9 geek shirts and an entire suitcase of geek merch, see 13 heavily guarded Frank Frazetta originals, watch a festival worth of incredible films (including Attack The Block and Captain America: The First Avenger) and literally - physically - bump into Kristen Stewart, Guillermo del Toro and Adam Brody, the latter who was so lovely we sparked up conversation and he introduced me to his friends aka the red headed delight that is T.J. Miller. My Aussie accent also made me an amusing novelty at the amazeballs Comic Con parties and I got to meet a posse of rad movie bloggers from around the world - writers who I'm now lucky enough to call friends. The highlight? Ryan Kwanten recognising me in the middle of the Knights Of Badassdom press conference and pointing me out with a "hi Maria" even though I'd only interviewed once six months earlier. Yes, I did pee myself a little.

I met my hero . . . Robert Rodriguez This is really an extension of the Comic Con thing, but since he's been my hero since I was 13 I figured he deserved his own mention. Yep, I met Robert `he of the many Troublemaker hats' Rodriguez at Comic Con. How you ask? One of the things about the Con is once you're signed on as media you get invited to more parties, screenings and interviews than you can ever possibly attend in a month let alone five days. I was at the Rodriquez' post-panel after party at the Hard Rock (surrounded by the mentioned Frank Frazetta paintings) when I saw him arrive. It took me 15 minutes to work up the courage to approach him. But I did, sweaty palms and all. I said (and I shit you not): "Hi Robert, my name's Maria and you've been my favourite filmmaker since I was 13. I'm from Australia and I was wondering if I could get a quick photo with you?'' He agreed even though he said I made him “feel old” and the result is what you see above; the single greatest photo of my life. Did I mention my voice broke mid-sentence? It did. I was also so nervous that as soon as we got the photo I excused myself, ran to the bathroom, locked myself in a cubicle and cried like a Justin Bieber fan. I. Was. That. Happy.

You have to understand, the films of Rodriguez changed my life and made me the movie fanatic I am today. I rate his entire filmography amongst my all time favourites and I worship at his writing, editing, producing, directing, scoring, one-man-film-crewing altar. For the rest of the night I was terrified the camera would break or it would get stolen before I had a chance to upload the photo to my computer. I clung to it for the remainder of the party, after party, screening and car trip home. Go on, judge me.

I was quoted on the Thor movie poster It's funny, I always thought that the first time I'd be quoted on a movie poster it would be for some low-budget indie horror film that no one saw. Instead, it was the God Of Thunder. To be fair, it was a one word quote - "Thorsome''. However, seeing "Maria Lewis, Gold Coast Bulletin'' on the national print ad for Thor is the highlight of my film critic career. The above is a cartoon my talented artist pal Ant did for me in celebration.

I joined the Bloodydisgusting.com team When I was in high school I got detention once after my English teacher caught me looking at a "disgusting'' website. No, it wasn't www.ChrisBrownnude.com. It was Bloodydisgusting.com and Mrs Mullins had an issue with the blood-splattered background. Turns out Mrs Mullins was a bitch and I ended up joining the BD team this year as their Australian correspondent. The title is fancier than it sounds, but it sure is fancy. As someone who has been a lifelong fan of the horror genre I'm truly honoured to be able to say I write for these guys - the leader in online horror news.

I babbled the fuck on

While in the US I stopped in at Universal Studios to catch the best podcast on the internet - Hollywood Babble On - live with Kevin Smith and Ralph `Roger' Garman. After hours of listening to these guys, sitting down in the Jon Lovitz Podcast Theatre to watch them was . . .*resists the urge to use surreal* . . .wicked. Incredible. Memorable. All of the above. In summary, Garman called me a whore as Sean Connery and I was okay with that. Listen to the audio here. GARMY STRONG!

You

The readers, the tweeters, the commentators.

Favourite Movie Friday with Pendulum

2011-12-30T10:00:00.000+10:00

Rounding out Favourite Movie Friday for the year are the choices of Gareth McGrillen, one sixth of Australian dance/rock outfit Pendulum (above). He says:

"I love so many movies; Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Bronson – someone like Chopper (Mark `Chopper' Read) based his life on Charles Bronson - The Joneses, Sucker Punch and The Castle. "

Pendulum are playing around the country as part of the Summafieldayze 2012 line-up. For ticket info click here.

10 worst films of 2011

2011-12-29T05:01:00.001+10:00

When you run through the worst films of the year it's the kids who got the pointy end of the stick. Not only did the poor tykes have to put up with Zoo Keeper - where Kevin James raps to Flo Rida's Low with a GORILLA - they also had to endure dishonourable mentions such as Yogi Bear, Hop, Smurfs, Cars 2 and a heartless rehash in Kung Fu Panda 2. The poor, poor children. Us adults, on the other hand, still had some trash to put up with but the situation was marginally less dire. Marginally.

From cookie-monster talking werewolves in one of the most unnecessarily drawn out films of '11(Breaking Dawn Part 1), to an overlong, over-indulgent ode to depression and the first world problems of rich white people (Melancholia), there were some stinkers. Don't even get me started on the cliches of underdog story Real Steel which - even though it allowed me the opportunity to interview Hugh Jackman - had me seething in my seat as I watched robot hands clumsily reach for the heartstrings of the family market. Lets not even get started on the ridiculousness of Troll Hunter, whose point I totally missed, and end-of-the-world thriller The Divide which had me wishing the world would actually end so I could get the fuck out of the cinema.

Sigh. Alas, here they are; my pick of the 10 worst films of 2011. BYO tomatoes.

Zoo Keeper

The Next Three Days Green Lantern

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1

Melancholia

A Heartbeat Away

The Divide

Troll Hunter

Jack and Jill

Real Steel

Biggest disappointments: Sucker Punch and Red Riding Hood.

Stay tuned for the highly commended films of 2011 as well as the 10 best.

Burying the Thatcher

2011-12-28T12:24:00.001+10:00

The Academy Awards are a mere few months away and all anyone can talk about is Meryl Streep. It's a familiar scenario. Critics buzzing about an incredible Meryl Streep performance seems to mark the beginning of Oscar season these days. After all, she does hold the record for the most best actress nominations - 15 in total. Although she's been nominated five times in the last decade, Streep hasn't won an Oscar since her second gong in 1983 for Sophie's Choice. It's an oversight that's been blasted in the trade journals and one that's unlikely to continue after her jaw-dropping turn as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady.

Streep's portrayal of Britain's only female Prime Minister in the period biopic is eerily accurate and has punters already tipping her as the sure thing come the Academy Awards in February. From the effluent speech to the physicality, director Phyllida Lloyd says the performance all comes down to Streep's ``extraordinary command and charisma''.
``During a scene where she is being blisteringly cruel to her cabinet minister one of the younger actors told me he was sitting there shaking because he was scared she was going to turn on him,'' she says.
``He knew she was in character and it wasn't even our first take, but Meryl was that powerful.'' The Iron Lady is a reunion for Lloyd and the veteran actress, with Streep starring in Lloyd's ABBA musical Mamma Mia which went on to become the highest grossing film directed by a woman. Coming from a background as an acclaimed theatre director, the 52-year-old directed Mamma Mia for the stage before making her directorial debut with the big screen version. Making the step from fluffy musical to genuine awards contender wasn't as much of a leap for Lloyd as expected. She says she always considered Thatcher's story to be ``like King Lear for girls''.
``We show very selected incidents of her political life and they're all triggered by what was happening to her in the present,'' she says.
``It wasn't about the controversy of it or whether she was right or wrong. People in the UK have been arguing about that for 30 years and we're never going to agree on it.
``I was more interested in things like when she initiated the Falklands War and how it felt to stand in a room making the decisions when she was the only woman, firstly, and the only one not wearing a war medal.''

Besides the ``feminist'' aspects, Lloyd was also interested in the story from a ``classist'' point of view which she says is something that ``still runs very deep in Britain.'' As for Oscar-fever, the usually London-based Lloyd is currently travelling from New York to San Francisco on the awards circuit ``rollercoaster'' with The Iron Lady proving itself a critical darling. She hopes that all eyes will turn to Streep once again in the coming months and she will receive the industry's top honour.
``Meryl took me on a life changing adventure with this and she's beyond deserving,'' says Lloyd.
``She seems to pack more into a day than most do in a month and her vision for a project is just so huge, it sets the bar very high for everyone.
``She's very tough on herself.''

The Iron Lady is out now.

11 Best Movie Soundtracks of 2011

2011-12-27T13:46:00.008+10:00

Why 11? Put simply, the thought of cutting any of the titles from this list caused me to weep uncontrollably. The year in movie soundtracks was a varied one, unearthing new composers and underground acts. Then there were the unexpected gems - the Footloose remake was not only surprisingly good, but the accompanying music was surprisingly addictive. Plus the unexpected failures - say what you want about the films, The Twilight Saga soundtracks have featured some of the best and most beautiful original music in recent years. That is, until the underwhelming collection of songs featured on the Breaking Dawn: Part 1 soundtrack.

All in all, here are 11 movie soundtracks I could not turn off this year:

Blue ValentineAs a massive fan of Ryan Gosling's graveyard indie rock act Dead Man's Bones, it's a shame there's only one song written and sung by Gosling on this album. It's less of a shame that the remaining album fillers are from enigmatic Brooklyn band Grizzly Bear who create music as gorgeous and heartbreaking as the film's story. If you can, hunt down Gosling's original song Unicorn Tears which is in the movie but not on the soundtrack.

Standout track: You Always Hurt The Ones You Love - Ryan Gosling

Red Riding HoodThe prospect of producer Leonardo DiCaprio and Catherine Hardwicke directing a Gothic retelling of Red Riding Hood turned out to be more exciting than the film itself which was, in fact, a huge disappointment. The accompanying music surpassed the feature with Brian Reitzell and Alex Heffes creating an atmospheric scored teamed with contributions from some of indie pop's most interesting artists; M83, Fever Ray and The Big Pink.

Standout track: The Wolf - Fever Ray

Drive

Pop, pulp and punchy; Cliff Martinez' acclaimed Drive soundtrack was a prefect reflection of the somewhat polarising film. Forgotten eighties gems from Kavinski, Lovefoxxx, Desire and many more brought this noir action romance to life.

Standout track: Tick Of The Clock - Chromatics

FootlooseIt's fair to say no one expected this to be a good film. It was a jaw-dropping surprise when it turned out to be . . . well, quite fantastic. This was helped largely by the toe-tapping soundtrack which - like the film - tried to create it's own identity while at the same time paying homage to its eighties origins. Keep an eye on Where The River Goes by Zac Brown, which has been shortlisted as a possible nominee for the best original song Academy Award.

Standout track: Fake I.D. – Big & Rich feat. Gretchen Wilson

Beginners

How do you score a profoundly moving film about the nature of love and loss? With profoundly moving artists, that's how. Every one of the dozen tracks on this album paints an emotional picture, making the Beginners soundtrack one of the most hit-repeatable of 2011.

Standout track: The Da Da Strain - Marmie Smith

Fright Night

German-Iranian composer Ramin Djawdi previously worked on Iron Man and Prison Break, but it was his addictive score on the Fright Night remake that saw him emerge as one of cinema's most promising musical stars. Layered and dramatic, few lyric-less soundtracks are as enjoyable as this one.

Standout track: Welcome To Fright Night - Ramin Djawdi

Hanna

If you were to buy only one movie soundtrack from 2011, let it be this. My standout favourite on the list, The Chemical Brothers somehow managed to perfectly capture the suspense and magic of Joe Wright's fairytale parable. Like candy for your ears, this is the kind of spine-tingling music that drove most of us straight to iTunes to download the album as soon as we watched the movie. Ranging from powerful beats to soaring lullabies, it's no wonder tracks from this are already being used in the trailers for some of 2012's biggest blockbusters (see Safe House and Haywire). Truly and utterly mesmerising.

Standout track: Hanna's theme (vocal version) - The Chemical Brothers

Attack The Block

Feature film composer Steven Price has been a part of the teams behind some incredible cinematic soundtracks; Batman Begins, The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. However, he really came into his own with Attack The Block. Price poured attitude, style and charisma into each song. He achieved what all great composers set out to - he made the music a character of its own.

Standout track: The Ends - Basement Jaxx

The Muppets

I consider this technically a two-parter because although The Muppets movie isn't released in Australia until January 12, two great official albums are currently in stores. The original soundtrack features all the catchy, Flight Of The Conchords-esque sing-a-long tracks from the movie, while The Green Album hosts a who's who of rad bands singing about the muppets including (but not limited to) Ok Go, The Fray, Amy Lee and more. Wucka wucka, ay?

Standout track/s: Man or Muppet - Jason Segel and Rainbow Connection (ft. Hayley Williams) - Weezer

Sucker Punch

So the movie sucked. The soundtrack, however, delivered a sucker punch to your ear drums. Featuring an eclectic mish-mash of acts - from Bjork to Queen - the real gold can be found in Aussie actress (and the film's star) Emily Browning's haunting vocal work.

Standout track: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) - Emily Browning

The RomanticsSure, the movie might have boasted an interesting cast but in reality it was a film about pretentious white people with pretentious white people problems. Thankfully the music was more redeeming and introduced us to little-heard of talents such as Andrew Willingale, Bedouin Soundclash and Hollywood indie`it' girl Lorene Scafaria.

Standout track: Preparedness (live) - The Bird and the Bee

Related links:

My somewhat dated list of the best movie soundtracks of all time is here.

For the best movie soundtracks of 2010 click here.

Finally, the best movie posters of 2011 are here.

Tintin is Twotwo?

2011-12-26T14:40:00.001+10:00

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson say they always envisioned multiple sequels to The Adventures Of Tintin and it appears they'll get their wish. Although the film was only released in Australia and America today, its strong box office results in the UK and international territories have been enough to greenlight the first sequel already. A critical and commercial success, The Adventures Of Tintin has earned over $233 million at the international box office.

It was officially announced last week that pre-production has begun on the sequel, which Spielberg says will star beloved character Professor Calculus.
``Peter (Jackson) is scheduled to direct the second Tintin adventure which does feature Calculus heavily,'' he says. Professor Calculus is a bumbling, hard-of-hearing inventor that builds many of the gadgets that Tintin's adventures revolve around. Jackson says they were "interested'' in adapting The Calculus Affair storyline which follows the professor's kidnapping.
The reason they haven't introduced Calculus (above) earlier - says Speilberg - is the wealth of Tintin storylines they've had to work from.
``There's a lot of plot,'' he says.
``I mean, look at the Herge books - there's a lot of narrative and a lot of sub plot.
``For the first movie we wanted to introduce the character of Captain Haddock and we even go back to his ancestors to learn about why Haddock is the man he is.''

Producer Kathleen Kennedy says they have even started discussing plans for a third Tintin film. Suffice to say, we can expect the blonde-haired journalist to be back for many more adventures.

Favourite Movie Friday with Hilltop Hoods

2011-12-23T09:26:00.000+10:00

Earlier this week the Hilltop Hoods released three videos for their latest single I Love It, featuring Sia, including one clip directed by Nash Edgerton - filmmaker and brother of Joel Edgerton. I spoke with one member of Australian hip hop royalty DJ Debris about his favourite movies of all time. Here's what he had to say:

“I always get caught off guard with this question. First is Fresh with Samuel L. Jackson. You’ve probably never heard of it but it’s kind of a hip hop movie and very interesting. Second is Heat with Robert De Niro and third is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

Hilltop Hoods play Big Day Out 2012 in the New Year. For dets click here.

The eye in Tintin

2011-12-22T16:28:00.000+10:00

There may be no `I' in team, but eyes were one of the most important features for partners Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson when it came to making The Adventures Of Tintin. The film boosts an all-star cast in Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis and Nick Frost and Simon Pegg as hopeless investigators Thomson and Thompson, yet you won't see them in front of you on screen. What you will see, says Jackson, are their incredible performances and, importantly, their eyes.
``When you're casting a movie or shooting a film the eyes are the most important feature. Any great actor knows that,'' he says.
``You study real eyes, the way the light reflects and the way the irises reflect emotion. You go to great scientific detail.
``We did that with Gollum, King Kong, Avatar and our company (WETA Digital) has put a huge amount of research into the eyes.
``Our actors had to create characters that were just as expressive in the eyes as real people.''

The actors were filmed over the course of 50 days wearing the specially designed mocap suits that translate their movements into a digital outline which is then turned into the 3D animation seen in the film. Spielberg says although it ``may be the digital era in certain kinds of movies'', it's still very much the ``analogue era'' in terms of storytelling. And the success or failure of a story hinges on the performances.
``I always found with costumes and make up - even though it does give you sense of great ambience and environment - it all comes down to the actors looking each other in the eye,'' he says.
``That's where all the drama and comedy happens.
``You see Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon dressed up in Some Like It Hot and when they're looking each other in the eye, that's when something special happens.
``When wearing motion capture suits with the dots and the masks all over their faces, then they're just acting.
``It's their skills as a professional actor that see you through, not what they’re wearing.'' Spielberg bought the rights to Tintin in 1983 and in the many years that he and Jackson have been working on the film together, he says the Kiwi filmmaker has supported him in ``just about every creative decision''. Jackson too says their journey together has been enlightening.
``I find that during the process of making a film you're constantly discovering things you would never imagine would work at the beginning,'' he says.
``When I start something I can shut my eyes and imagine the film, the camera angles and even the music - not the exact music but the type of tune.
``With Tintin the process was even more stimulating because it begins with a very crude animation and visualisation and then it's layering and layering and layering.
``It's been five or six absolutely exciting years because we're seeing new things and things we've seen before done in new ways.''

The result is one of the most visually exciting and ridiculously entertaining movies of the year. As one of the best action/adventures of the decade, it's no wonder the film has already found a fanbase with international audiences despite not being released in the US or Australia yet. With 82 years of history and hundreds of stories, Spielberg sums-up the big screen version of Herge's characters best: ``Tintin is an audience movie.''

The Adventures Of Tintin is out Boxing Day.

Attack The Block 2? Allow it

2011-12-22T10:27:00.000+10:00

In a world of sequels and remakes, we're often left to ask the question - is there an original idea in Hollywood anymore? Attack The Block proved there was and it's proving there are some sequels people actually want to see. Some. Attack The Block 2 is definitely one of them. When I caught the film at San Diego Comic Con in July - a fortnight before the limited US release - there was already talk of a sequel, so much so writer/director Joe Cornish, executive producer Edgar Wright and star John Boyega had to address the rumours in a post-screening Q & A. It was here that Boyega shared his vision for the project, a vision that raised more than a few excited goosebumps:
"I have this one image in my head of Moses on a BMX riding over London Bridge with a whole gang behind him as more asteroids rain down on the city," he says.

I spoke to Cornish earlier this month ahead of Attack The Block's Australian release date and he says Boyega also pitched him about seeing "Moses on a police horse".
"He has this whole image of a bigger alien attack on London, like the one we saw in the first film was the first wave, the beginning," he says.
"Just like when they find and kill the first alien, the baby, to when the others arrive, the next attack would be bigger creatures."Sounds. Awesome. Almost as awesome as the plethora of internet stories about Cornish being in "serious" talks about the possibility of an Attack The Block sequel and even a TV series.
"All that’s fun chit chat really," says Cornish.
"I guess Attack The Block was quite a punchy movie being just under 90 minutes so instead of feeling exhausted and bored by the end of it, like so many of these other three hour Hollywood movies, people want more.
"It would be nice to work with a bigger budget. Plenty of people keep asking me about."

Although Cornish says he's working on "something pretty exciting" at the moment - and entirely Attack The Block unrelated - Boyega's vision does appeal to him.
"John (Boyega) has spoken a lot to me about Moses leading the defence of another alien invasion and them peddling an army over London Bridge.
"We'll see . . . it's just really fun to even talk and think about it."

Only time will tell if we can believe in an ATB sequel, bruv.

Ring-a-ding-ding for Tintin

2011-12-19T16:30:00.000+10:00

Spielberg. Jackson. Two of modern cinema's greatest filmmakers have teamed up to bring the adventures of intrepid reporter Tintin to the third dimension. Almost a century has passed since Tintin made his first appearance in a comic strip. The brain child of Belgian writer Georges Remi - working under the pseudonym Herge - the young reporter and his faithful dog Snowy have experienced various reincarnations over their 82 year history with live action films, animated series and endless stories published on their adventures.

But never has Tintin been seen like this.

Utilising the motion-capture technology (mocap) developed by Peter Jackson's Weta Digital in New Zealand, Tintin and his universe will be coming at Boxing Day audiences in jaw-dropping 3D. The Adventures Of Tintin is the passion project of Oscar-winners Steven Spielberg (E.T., Jaws) and Jackson (The Lord Of The Rings trilogy) who produced the film together, with Spielberg also directing and Jackson first assistant director. The duo have spent years tirelessly working to get Tintin on the big screen again.
``Tintin is an intrepid and tenacious reporter,'' says Spielberg.
``What I always I identified with with Tintin is he doesn't take no for an answer, which is the story of my life.'' The technology used to create the animated characters is the same seen in Avatar, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and was used to make Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings. With motion sensors attached to real actors, the performers act out the story while their movements and expressions are translated into a digital model. For someone who ``can't even send emails'', Jackson says the mocap is an invaluable filmmaking technique.
``Motion capture is not a genre, it's a tool and a technique,'' he says.
``We can't use computers, either of us, but we wanted to walk into this digital world where Tintin was created and be able to pick up a camera - literally pick up a digital camera.''

The result is action scenes usually too incredible to film in real-D being brought to life in an action/adventure epic unlike any other. The scenario of getting two Hollywood heavyweights working closely with each other for over a year could have resulted in a disastrous feud. Instead, it has resulted in a blossoming bromance between Spielberg and Jackson.
``There was no ego, no competition, we were both on the same page,'' says Spielberg of working with the New Zealand filmmaker.
``We were just two Tintin fan boys trying to bring those books to life.
``He's a problem solver and likes to look at things from all angles. I get anxious on sets and have a thousand ideas at once, but Pete has a very good sense of seeing the big picture and realising the way to get there.
``We were like two code breakers working on the Enigma code together.'' Jackson too says he took a lot from the partnership.
``He brings a childish enthusiasm, which is exciting,'' he says.
``I discovered that the first time he walks on set it's like the he's stepping on a movie set for the first time ever.''

The Adventures Of Tintin opens Boxing Day. For parts two and three of my chat with Spielberg and Jackson on Tintin, stay peeled in the coming days.

Favourite Movie Friday with Miles Teller

2011-12-16T20:01:00.001+10:00

Gushing appreciation for the uber talented Miles Teller aside, earlier in the year I spoke to the breakout star of Rabbit Hole about his boot scootin’ turn in the surprisingly good Footloose remake. We also talked favourite movies, of course, and although Teller said he has never been much of a big movie goer, he does have some all-time favourites.

“The only movies I own are the Indiana Jones trilogy, and I will call it a trilogy. I’m ignoring the last one. And The Wizard Of Oz, of course. Those are my favourites.”

The best movie posters of 2011

2011-12-15T14:06:00.017+10:00

Ah yes, it’s that time of the year again. Pfft, not Christmas. Annual best and worst-of list time! Celebrate! It’s widely known I love me a good list and to kick off the first of many coming in the next few weeks, here’s my breakdown of the best movie posters of 2011.

Studios rarely release one single movie poster any more, preferring to offer several variations in a bid to hook different viewers. The following are undoubtedly the best of the year and although some of these films aren’t released in 2011, I’ve judged it on posters released over the last 12 months.

Without further ado . . .

The Devil’s Double

I love gooooooold. BYO Gold Member accent. But seriously, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more striking and artistically ballsy poster than this in 2011.

The Mechanic
It’s a shame this poster wasn’t used more widely, because the standard action variant was a lot less interesting. This was clever, creative, and just darn cool.

MelancholiaI may have thought the movie was over-hyped and overlong. yet there’s no denying the impact of this single image, single moment shot of Kirsten Dunst. Plain. Beautiful.

The RavenEdgar Allen Poe (John Cusack) is investigating a serial killer in next year’s period thriller The Raven. I’m a sucker for splashes of paint on anything and the Anonymous poster tried to pull off a similar look to less effect. I love the mix of blood and ink splatters on this, illustrating the Gothic nature of this very promising film.

Griff The InvisibleMost of the variations on the Griff poster were lovely, but this one in particular is my favourite. It embodies the quirky, indie nature of this colourful yet unconventional superhero tale.

Don’t Be Afraid Of The DarkArguably one of the most underrated films of the year boasts one of the most atmospheric posters of the year. Perfectly captures the creepy and creative nature of the film.

The Ides Of MarchThe beauty of The Ides Of March poster is it manages to depict its two biggest draw cards – Ryan Gosling and George Clooney – while at the same time demonstrating the plot and themes of the flick all in one go. Posters for political dramas are as a rule bland (emphasis on the bla). The team behind this broke the mould and providing something both eye-catching and poignant.

Scream 4It may have flopped at the box office harder than Alsion Brie’s body did on pavement, but I dug this subtlety inventive poster that shun headshots of the main cast and instead highlighted the iconic villain and his weapon of choice. The more I look at it, the cleverer I think it is.

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes One of the best blockbusters of the year sported one of the most boring poster so the year, that is, until I came across the revolution line for Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. I wished these had been used more widely because they’re cool and punk rock. It’s Banksy, with monkeys!

We Bought A ZooThe minimalist poster for Cameron Crowe’s family boxing day fair is just splendid and, frankly, it’s nice to see a major Hollywood picture use a star-free, pitch-free poster. Of course there are the Christmas and Matt Damon/Scarlett Johansson versions for the multiplexes. This, in all its muted and homesy glory, is the best. Less really can be more.

The Cabin In The WoodsThe series of posters released last year which riff of the conventions of the horror genre are still wickedly brilliant. In light of the full length trailer, however, this is a visually interesting shout out to the unconventional twist the flick will take to the `cabin in the woods’ format. Teamed with the apt tagline, it builds anticipation and tells you to expect the unexpected.

Midnight In Paris

One of my favourite films of the year, Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris was all about escaping your current reality and drowning in the nostalgia of whatever you thought the `golden age’ was. Integrating Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night into the Parisian skyline not only hints at the joyful escapism you’re going to experience in the movie, it signifies Owen Wilson’s character’s struggle perfectly. It’s also pretty.

BridesmaidsThe Bridesmaids poster was full of ‘tude, just like the film. A chick flick, but not as you know it. The attitude-packed poster really kicked home that point and although it wasn’t particularly arty or wall-display worthy like some of the others on this list, it captures your attention. Most importantly, it makes you want to see it.

The Human Cenitpede 2The film is a controversy-seeking piece of shit. Still…I can’t help this is a touch clever.

Ghost Rider: Spirit Of VengeanceFlame. Freakin’. On! The team behind Crank are taking charge of the new Ghost Rider film and to accompany the explosive footage (which already surpasses the original) came this very metal poster. Fire, chains, and Johnny Blaze blazin’ as Ghost Rider. What’s not to love? These two purely illustrated variants are also worth a mention (below):
Now unfortunately these weren’t the official posters released by the studio so I couldn’t include them in the list BUT I wanted to give a special shout out to Mondo’s series of six Captain America posters which are fucking fantastic. I was lucky enough to snag the first one when I attended the world premiere of Captain America at Comic Con in July. It’s funny, Chris Evans jumped out of the audience and sang with an All American-Girl chorus group at the screening but I was still more excited about getting the limited edition print. Meh.

Also, the ever-talented Alex Pardee whipped up this lil’ tribute to Attack The Block. Love, love, love.

For other borderline OCD movie lovers such as myself, my other lists coming in the following week/s include the best movie soundtracks of 2011, the worst films of 2011 and, of course, the best movies of 2011. The last is always posted on the second or last day of December so I have as much time as possible to see as many of the year’s flicks as I can.

Side note: to view my best and worst movie posters of all time lists, click here and here. Best posters of 2010, here.

Nanananananana - Ant Man!

2011-12-15T11:45:00.000+10:00

Doesn't quite have the same `Batman' ring to it, but if Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright have their way...it will be ring 'a ding dingin' bitches. Last month I spoke to writer, director, comedian extraordinaire Joe Cornish about his stellar directorial debut Attack The Block. As well as gushing over the film's awesomeness and talking about his work with Edgar Wright on The Adventures Of TinTin script, I asked him about the possible Ant Man movie he's working on.

For those unfamiliar with the character, Ant Man is one of Marvel's lesser known superheroes (albeit with a considerable cult following) who first appeared in print in the sixties. There have been various incarnations of him since in comic books, but the basic storyline follows a brilliant scientist (is there any other kind?) who invents a substance that allowed him to change his size at will and communicate with insects. Right, so, a guy who can shrink to the size of an ant or the height of Goliath isn't exactly one of Marvel's more marketable heroes but you can't deny the potential. And neither can Cornish.
One of the more productive bromances in Hollywood at the moment is that of Cornish and Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World) (R-L, above). The two had been longtime friends before Cornish had bit parts in Wright's Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, then Wright executive produced Attack The Block and most recently the duo reworked Stephan Moffat's script for The Adventures Of TinTin. They also wrote a draft script for a big screen adaptation of Ant Man, something Cornish says he's quite chuffed with.
"We’ve handed over the draft and are really happy with it," he says on the development status of the project.
"It’s in the hands of Marvel and Edgar now if they decide to do it.
"We’re pretty excited with the script and the direction we’ve taken."

Cornish says if it goes ahead, he will most likely serve in a producers role and Wright will direct. Although he was hesitant to reveal exactly what direction they've taken the character, other movie blogs have reported everything from Ant Man as a super spy to an action/comedy take on the story. Despite the stream of superhero flicks flying their way into our multiplexes, Cornish says there would still be room for an Ant Man movie. At least their version anyway.
"In a market place that’s crowded with superhero movies and comic book heroes we think we’ve got a pretty cool take on Ant Man that’s very unique," he says.

So just when will we see an Ant Man movie? On IMDBPro the film is officially listed as `in-development' with a 2014 release date attached. Marvel Studios co-President Kevin Feige is also attached as producer, naturally, having steered over 21 of the studios other major titles (such as X-Men and Thor) through to completion. With Marvel's Godfather Stan Lee now praising Cornish and Wright's version, we can only pray it's a matter of time until we're all chanting `nananananana - Ant Man!'

Who you gonna call? MI4: Ghost Protocol

2011-12-12T10:49:00.000+10:00

Forget Cruise control, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is out of control - in a good way. While most action franchises begin to lose traction the later they linger, the Mission: Impossible series has found a whole new gear. IMF (Impossible Mission Force) agent Ethan Hunt has been AWOL after the `end' of his marriage, but he can't turn down a mission to thwart the schemes of end game theorist turned nuclear extremist Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist). His plan quite literally explodes in his face when he and his new team are implicated in the bombing of the Moscow Kremlin and America edges closer to nuclear war. With the IMF shut down and enforcing ghost protocol, Hunt and company go rogue to clear their organisations name and, naturally, save the world.

This is the first live action film from director Brad Bird who previously made a name for himself with Pixar hits such as Ratatouille and The Incredibles. Bird clearly has an eye for visual flair and he makes a seamless transition into the big budget sphere with what is an entertaining and action-packed blockbuster. And the action really is packed to the brink. This the first of the Mission: Impossible films to have any continuity, which is nice change because you're not spending the first 15 minutes wondering what happened to the hot brunette. Add to that two hours of some the most exciting, thrilling and daring action sequences ever caught on film. Ethan Hunt launches himself into the league of our favourite cinematic super spies - such as James Bond and Jason Bourne - as he chases baddies in a sandstorm or scales the world's tallest building in Dubai. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to get through the latter scene without biting away your finger nails.What the Mission: Impossible franchise had been lacking was a sense of humour and that's something J.J Abrams (Alias, Lost, Star Trek) brought when he stepped in to direct the third outing. In an executive producer role for MI4, Abrams continues to bring the funny in everything from chuckle-worthy one-liners to subtle Bruce Springsteen shout outs. The cast in the Mission: Impossible films has always been great, but this time it's exceedingly so. Besides a small cameo from stalwart Ving Rhames and Michelle Monaghan, it's a host of fresh faces making up Hunt's new team including Oscar-nominee Jeremy Renner as an analyst/agent, Paula Patton as the token femme fatale and Simon Pegg returning as the technicians expert.

Fresh off playing a crime-fighting journalist in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and its sequels, Swedish talent Michael Nyqvist appears in his second big Hollywood villain role for 2011 after a commendable turn in the cringe-worthy Abduction. Nyqvist has a lot more room to move here and is beyond convincing as the single-minded villain bent on a nuclear holocaust. Cruise does his part, remaining cool and buff in front of a wall of explosions, but Renner and Pegg bring a joyful energy to the set-up providing comic relief and playful banter. And Paula Patton, well, what can be said about her other that PHWOAR! Patton is all woman as a heartbroken yet fierce IMF agent and she gets one of the best fight scenes in the film against French beauty Léa Seydoux. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol closes with the open-ended possibility of another film and after the adrenaline-pulsing fourth outing, audiences will be hoping a fifth is more than possible. MI4 proves this is a franchise that won't self destruct in five minutes.Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is out Thursday.

Favourite Movie Friday with Philippe Le Guay

2011-12-09T03:14:00.000+10:00

French filmmaker Philippe Le Guay's new flick The Women On The 6th Floor is out in selected cinemas this week, so I spoke to him about his favourite flicks and lifelong passion for cinema:

“It changes on the day. Today I would say City Lights by Charlie Chaplin and tomorrow I would say Vertigo by (Alfred) Hitchcock. Certain films become more present to me every now and again at times, but that’s not to say the other one means less. Cinema is my life and my passion. I’m very lucky to be able to make films, which is sometimes very difficult and sometimes not so much.

This year I was very impressed by Animal Kingdom. I was struck by the talent and power of the director (David Michod). Otherwise I have I thought The Tree Of Life was great, which won Cannes, and I very much like the Spanish film The Skin I Live In.”

Shed a Trier

2011-12-08T14:28:00.003+10:00

It's the end of the world as we know it and Lars von Trier does not feel fine. In fact, if his latest film Melancholia is anything to go, the Danish filmmaker has a very bleak view of the world. Melancholy presses down on every frame in his epic ode to depression, making this one of the most obviously titled films since Kill Bill (because she sets out to kill a guy named Bill, get it?). The first 10 minutes of Melancholia are quite beautiful as one lush, slow-motion shot flows dramatically into another and Beethoven's The Symphony No. 9 plays in the background. With no dialogue and no story, these are probably the most memorable moments of the film as the central characters feature in the living painting von Trier has created.

Unfortunately that's where all notions of warmth towards Melancholia end as we're kicked into the story of Justine (Kirsten Dunst), who has just married Michael (Alexander Skarsgrd). The initial happiness of the newlyweds is short lived, however, as the pair arrive late and to a hostile reception from Justine's dysfunctional family at their wedding reception. The unhinged father (John Hurt), the bitterly disruptive mother (Charlotte Rampling), the cold and calculating sister (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and wealthy wanker brother-in-law (Kiefer Sutherland) make up Justine's immediate family. With their continued jibes and selfishness, throughout the night Justine begins to unwind and we're given a glimpse at her true personality. Beautiful and wanting desperately to be like everyone else, Justine is a very unhappy and unstable young woman.By the second half of the film we get an idea of just how troubled Justine is when the story is told through the perspective of her sister Claire (Gainsbourg). Justine is suffering from crippling depression and after the failure of her brief marriage, she moves in with her sister who fights to help her perform the most basic of tasks such as bathing or eating a meal. Claire's husband John (Sutherland) and son are spending most of the time at their mansion anticipating the arrival of the newly discovered planet Melancholia. The huge, blue orb had been hiding behind the sun for centuries and is predicted to pass close by the earth in a matter of days. As John explains, there are thousands of variants with a scientific phenomenon this huge and it soon becomes clear that Melancholia is going to collide with earth and destroy the planet. While their imminent destruction begins to bring Justine out of her depression, Claire starts her own spiral.

Technically Melancholia is an impressive film. Von Trier - although best known more recently for his Hitler comments at Cannes - is an accomplished filmmaker who has made a visceral and disturbing piece of art. Dunst deservedly won the Best Actress award at Cannes for her role and she may only lose out on winning the Oscar due to the understated power of her performance. The rest of the cast too is faultless, especially Skarsgrd in a refreshingly daggy turn instead of his usual sexy villain shtick on True Blood.The problem is the central message of Melancholia seems to be life's a bitch and then you die when a big blue planet crashes into earth. Not every film needs to have a redeeming comment on life, but the film is so long and utterly hopeless you can't help but leave feeling angry at both yourself, for coming to see it, and von Trier for being such a miserable bastard. Melancholia would have played better as a dialogue free, four minute video clip for a 30 Seconds To Mars song than the well-over two hour ordeal that it is.

Melancholia is out next week.

It begins: Your guide to school holiday movie season

2011-12-07T13:44:00.009+10:00

'Tis the time to be jolly and hide the red snakes; school holiday movie season is upon us. After a lacklustre year for family audiences with critical and commercial flops like Yogi Bear and Mars Needs Moms, all of the major film studios have blockbusters aimed at claiming the family dollar. The first cat out of the ranks is Puss In Boots, a spin-off from the hugely successfully Shrek franchise by DreamWorks Animation. Having already grossed $204 million at the international box office, the animated film is expected to be a big hit in Australia where Shrek has a loyal following.

Boxing Day is traditionally the biggest day of the year for movie goers and it won't disappoint for the family crowd in 2011 with Happy Feet Two, We Bought A Zoo, War Horse and The Adventures Of Tintin. Legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg directs both War Horse and Tintin, the former based on the novel and hit Broadway play that follows a boy and a horse's friendship through WWI.
With Herge's Tintin comic strips first appearing in 1929 and a popular animated series in the nineties, the Tintin mythos is more familiar to the older crowd. But the intrepid reporter is set to find a whole new generation of fans thanks to Spielberg and Peter Jackson who are together helming a 3D feature length version of the story. The technology means a higher ticket price, yet Jackson said audiences will get their money's worth with Tintin.
``After Avatar, 3D survived for a while as the premium experience but audiences have now come to realise there are bad movies being made in 3D too,'' he said.
``On top of that you're paying an increased ticket price to see a film that was worse than something in 2D.
``But when done right, 3D can make a good film, a great film.''

Both Spielberg and Jackson serve as executive producers on the film with Spielberg also directing and Jackson first assistant director. The film utilises the groundbreaking motion capture technology developed by Jackson's WETA Digital studio and used in films such as Avatar, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and The Lord Of The Rings. Spielberg said although 3D isn't appropriate for every type of film - "little love stories shouldn't be in 3D'' - Tintin was an ``event movie'' that would blow audiences away.
``As a filmmaker, delving into the world of Tintin in 3D was the most amazing experience and I know that feeling will be shared by audiences,'' he said.
``I think five minutes into this movie people will see it's not the medium, it's the message.
``How it's made will be the least of your concern, you'll only want to have a good time.
``I'm certainly hoping 3D gets to the point where people stop noticing it and it becomes just a tool.'' If the first film is successful, Spielberg said Jackson will direct the second Tintin feature and he will serve as first assistant director. With Spielberg and Jackson considered two of the greatest directors in modern cinema, another great - Martin Scorsese - is throwing his hat into the three dimensional ring. Scorcese will make his debut with the technology early in the new year, January 12, with the release of period adventure film Hugo 3D. Beloved family favourites The Muppets will also be making a triumphant return on January 12. As well as starring in the film alongside Amy Adams (The Fighter), How I Met Your Mother actor Jason Segel was the writer and executive producer. Segel said his love of the wise-cracking puppets started when he was a kid.
``The Muppets were my first comic influence and I was in love with puppetry.
``I just thought it was an amazing art form.''

Best known for raunchy comedies such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Knocked Up, Segel said the beauty of The Muppets was their uplifting nature.
``Modern comedy makes jokes at other people's expense,'' he said.
``The Muppets never make fun of anybody. They're all about being good and nice and trying to make the world a better place.
``It's easy to get a laugh out of making fun of somebody, but the Muppets never relied on that.''

AT A GLANCE: KIDS FLICKS OF THE 2011 HOLIDAY SEASON

Puss In Boots (out Thursday)
Rating: PG
Stars: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis
Plot: A story about the events leading up to the sword fighting cat's meeting with Shrek and his friends.

Dolphin Tale (Dec 15)
Rating: PG
Stars: Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr
Plot: A story centred on the friendship between a boy and a dolphin whose tail was lost in a crab trap.

The Adventures Of Tintin (Dec 26)
Rating: PG
Stars: Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
Plot: Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock's ancestor.

Happy Feet Two (Dec 26)
Rating: TBA
Stars: Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Pink
Plot: Mumble's son, Erik, is struggling to realise his talents in the Emperor Penguin world. Meanwhile, Mumble and his family and friends discover a new threat their home.

War Horse (Dec 26)
Rating: M
Stars: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Tom Hiddleston
Plot: Follows the bond between a young man named Albert and his horse, Joey, after he's sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches of World War One.

We Bought A Zoo (Dec 26)
Rating: TBA
Stars: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson
Plot: Set in Southern California, a father moves his young family to the countryside to renovate and re-open a struggling zoo.

Alvin and the Chipmunks 3: Chipwrecked (Jan 1)
Rating: G
Stars: Jason Lee, Justin Long, Anna Faris,
Plot: Playing around while aboard a cruise ship, the Chipmunks and Chipettes accidentally go overboard and end up marooned in a tropical paradise.

Hugo (Jan 12)
Rating: TBA
Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Jude Law, Sacha Baron Cohen
Plot: Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.

The Muppets (Jan 12)
Rating: TBA
Stars: Miss Piggy, Kermit, Jason Segel, Amy Adams
Plot: With the help of three fans, The Muppets must reunite to save their old theatre from a greedy oil tycoon.

Le Guay and his flooring film

2011-12-06T15:23:00.000+10:00

French filmmaker Philippe Le Guay sheds light on a forgotten part of French history.The Help has been one of the big movie hits of 2011 for its light-hearted look at the women on the outskirts of society raising white children. It shares a lot in common with Philippe Le Guay's The Women On The 6th Floor, also set in the sixties. Le Guay's French film digs into a forgotten aspect of French modern history and looks at the legions of Spanish women who raised French children during the period.

It's a story the 55-year-old French writer/director had almost forgotten until a childhood memory sparked an epiphany.
``It all came from a childhood memory where, from the age two to five, I had a Spanish maid in the house,'' he says.
``She left when I was around five and became kind of a legend in the family because she was full of joy and very warm.
``She taught me songs and prayers in Spanish and she left a very vivid impression in the household.
``The memory only very recently came back to me and through that I wanted to tell the experience of a whole generation of women that came from Spain.''With generations of French children brought up by these women, Le Guay says he wanted to the tone and story to give them a voice.
``I wanted to tell a story of these women who had no stories,'' he says.
``You look at pictures from the sixties and you very rarely see Spanish women of any kind in them, which is just absurd.
``They were there constantly but were treated like part of the domestic life, like furniture.
``It was this invisible presence I wanted to give a face to.''

Best known in France for films such as The Cost of Living and Nightshift, Le Guay is currently visiting Australia for the first time to promote The Women On The 6th Floor. The ``art galleries'' and ``Australian paintings'' have been Le Guay's favourite attractions so far. Like Australia, Le Guay says immigration is a ``big issue'' in France and it was interesting to look back at the situation in the sixties.
``Immigration wasn't as dramatic as it is today,'' he says.
``The laws have become tougher and tougher, and even more repressive.
``A lot of foreigners every year are put back to their homes. In the sixties the Spanish colonies were flourishing and a lot more optimistic.''

The Women On The 6th Floor is out Thursday.

Exclusive: Mad Max 4: Fury Road

2011-12-05T13:09:00.000+10:00

Meet the teenager about to head to Africa to begin work on a Hollywood blockbuster. Harrison Norris is not only acting in Mad Max 4: Fury Road, he will also be working behind the camera. I know what you're thinking: Lucky. Bugger. But luck has nothing to do with it for the filmmaking prodigy. Norris swept the Bond University Film and Television Awards last week, picking up seven gongs for his short film Silent Night, including best director.

Now the 16-year-old is packing his bags and heading to Namibia in late January to begin work on the fourth film in George Miller's classic Mad Max series. "It's incredibly awesome,'' says Norris, who just graduated from the Queensland Academy for Creative Industries. "It was a small part (to begin with) that's now getting increasingly exciting.''

Son of Gold Coast filmmaker Guy Norris (John Wayne Parr: Blessed With Venom), Harrison won the role after auditioning at an Australian casting call earlier in the year. He's currently in "physical training'' four times a week in preparation for the shoot, which will also see him work in a production role. "I'm going to be rotated through the crew; editing suites, extras work, all of it,'' he said. "Working with the 3D tech is going to be brilliant because that technology is cutting edge, it's so exciting.'' The once troubled production is eyeing a March, 2012 start date after a disastrous pre-production schedule. Directed by George Miller, Mad Max 4 was originally scheduled to start filming in Broken Hill in late 2010 before production was pushed back, rescheduled, pushed back, rescheduled and pushed back again before being cancelled and moved to Africa. Although no longer filming in Australia, the estimated $100 million production is set to give a much needed boost to the Australian film industry with mainly Aussie crews working on the film in pre and post production.

Harrison said being part of one of the most anticipated films of the decade is going to be a big change from working on short films.But it's a challenge he's ready for and, it seems, one he was born to take up. Harrison said he "pretty much grew up'' on film sets. His father Guy started his film career performing stunts on Mad Max 2 before going on to coordinates stunts on films such as Moulin Rouge and second unit director roles on The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and Australia. "My dad did nearly all the death scenes in Mad Max 2 so it's weird my first role on a major film will be Mad Max as well,'' he said.

Guy Norris will also be on the set of Mad Max 4 as stunt coordinator and Harrison said the family are looking at relocating to the continent for the duration of the year-long shoot. The next Batman villain Tom Hardy (Inception, Warrior) is taking over from Mel Gibson (JEWS!) in the title role with names such as Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoe Kravitz and Adelaide Clemens set to co-star. Specific details on the film are being kept under wraps but some geek-out worthy images of possible Mad Max 4 vehicles were leaked in September. Harrison said he too has to keep his lips sealed, but fans won't be disappointed. "Everything is cool,'' he said. "The cars are cool, the weapons are cool, the locations are cool . . .everything.''

Harrison said those worried about the gap between Mad Max films need not bother as the reboot has plenty of potential. "Personally I know it's going to be fantastic,'' he said. "What we're seeing with remakes and reboots at the moment like The Nightmare On Elm Street is even if it's a terrible film - which that was - it's introducing a whole new generation to that icon. It's reminding people that it exists and it's kicking it into a new generations mind. With this, a lot of people remember the Mad Max films and for those that don't, this is a way to rediscover them. It will be very cool. It's amazing over there. There are these huge, rolling sand dunes that I can't wait to film.''

I have faith. I know people are still pissed at this for leaving Australia to shoot but honestly? It couldn't be done. They couldn't make the film they needed to make here with the support they needed. They're still employing a largely Australia crew, cast and extras so shut the frak up about it. Plus, unlike so many others, I think this is a reboot people genuinely want to see.

Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is more of the feral boomerang kid (above) from Mad Max 2. Sincerely, Movie Mazz.

November reading list

2011-12-05T12:23:00.006+10:00

While the impeccable Kat has been ploughing ahead with our monthly reading challenge for 2011, I've taken quite the break. In my defense, I haven't been reading any new material because I've been writing a novel of my own. Titled Who's Afraid, I finished my book last month and have been in the editing process before sending it off to literary agents for rejection, cough, I mean, potential representation.

Anyway, with the ink nice and dry on my debut I lifted the reading ban last month and caught up on a few books at the top of my list.
I had been meaning to read this for a while after I saw a glowing review on it by Nick Hornby. The best and worst thing about this was the format, flashing forward and back in time over 20 years in the lives of two people. It was frustrating at times, enthralling in others. For the most part I found it jarring because just as you would sink into a part of the story you would be thrown out of it again. The strong point was the characters Nicholls created, both very realistic and witty. They weren't hugely likable, which was refreshing so they felt more like people you actually knew. They were flawed, fucked up and floundering. I also liked how the romance developed over a very realistically represented friendship.
Earlier in the year I read the first in Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series - The Bone Collector - and adored it. It was chilling, clever and flawlessly written. The sequel was a tad lacking in the brilliance of the first, but there's no doubting Deaver is one of the best living crime writers. The problem with this, I felt, was the lack of a villain as interesting as `the bone collector'. There was also too much going on with sub-plots and schemes. That's not to say this wasn't good, it was, but it wasn't great like The Bone Collector. I'm not sure if I'll keep reading the other books in this series. Deaver's stories are so well researched and content packed, I might need a break between the next Rhyme mystery with something lighter.In April I read Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder and loved it. It was a brilliantly clever twist on the sci-fi genre. I decided to track back to her debut works and New York Times best-selling series with Poison Study (the first of three). Again, I liked this a lot. I think Snyder is a great writer and she creates very strong, intelligent and fascinating female characters that you can't help but want to spend time with. This was hugely different from Inside Out, being a medieval fantasy and all that, but I really dug it. Although this is lumped into the Young Adult category I wouldn't call it that since there are some pretty hardcore themes and violence. I'm looking forward to reading the remaining two novels in this series. And Snyder, man, what an imagination. This is an author I'm going to be paying a lot more attention to.

Favourite Movie Friday with Jodelle Ferland

2011-12-02T10:47:00.002+10:00

This week with The Twilight Saga: Eclipse star Jodelle Ferland. For my full stories with the dainty Canadian, click here. Otherwise, enjoy her picks:

“I love the movie Ghost Town with Ricky Gervais, Wall E, and I think the Harry Potter films are amazing. Oh, and August Rush because I love music.”

Hugh Jackman talks Wolvie 2

2011-11-30T04:34:00.000+10:00

And now, in a break from my heavily Attack The Blog orientated programming . . . last month I interviewed Hugh Jackman ahead of the release of his robots punching other robots flick Real Steel. You can read that full interview here where he spoke about his family, boxing, and being a stage dad.

We also spoke about his much-troubled sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. With directors like Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan) dropping in and dropping out, production scheduled to start and then delayed, Jackman said it has been hard to maintain enthusiasm for his passion project.
“I’ve always been enthusiastic about it, but it was frustrating,” he said.
“Earlier this year I gained about 20 to 25 pounds for the role and then we were delayed again and I lost it.
“It’s physically and mentally demanding.” Now things are looking considerably better for the squel – titled The Wolverine – with filming set to begin in the “June or July” 2012 once Jackman gets off his record breaking Broadway run and wraps filming Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables. There’s also a new director on board, James Manogold (Girl Interupted, Walk The Line), someone Jackman said he’s “really” looking forward to working with.
“He’ a great director,” he said.
“I worked with him on Kate and Leopold and he’s very smart.
“I know he’s going to make an amazing film and this is the best script we’ve ever had.”

The Wolverine story picks up where the last film left off and loosely follows Frank Miller’s acclaimed Wolverine arc where he-of-the-many-claws heads to Japan and learns the ways of the Samurai. Along with facing off against new villain Silver Samuari, Jackman said X chromosomes will definitely be featuring more heavily.
“There will be more chicks for sure,” he said.
“It was very testosterone heavy last time.”

The Wolverine is tagged with a 2013 release.

A slice of Cornish pie

2011-11-29T12:40:00.005+10:00

It has been a busy year for British filmmaker and comedian Joe Cornish. Based in London, Cornish has spent most of 2011 touring the world after the runaway success of his debut film Attack The Block.
``I've had a fun year with all the travelling and I've been taking a lot of exciting meetings and reading scripts,'' says Cornish, who has just returned to his UK home after more ``exciting meetings'' in LA.
``Attack The Block has been a big success. It's not Harry Potter huge, but I'm amazingly gratified genre fans have taken to it.
``I haven't really had time to reflect yet. I'm a geek and sci-fan in my forties and after a life watching and sharing and enjoying films like that, to have it embraced by those sort of people is really cool.''

Cornish says the film really gained momentum when it premiered at South by Southwest (SXSW) in March and won the audience award. From there it's been a fairytale for the Brit, whose good friend filmmaker Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World) served as executive producer on the film. Attack The Block follows a youth gang who have to defend their South London housing block from an alien invasion. Playing at countless film festivals around the world, Attack The Block has become one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year and a cult hit amongst genre aficionados. And to think, it all stemmed from Cornish getting mugged in the neighbourhood he grew up in.
``I was robbed of my phone and wallet by an enterprising young gang with masks and hoods,'' he says.
``It didn't seem real. The whole time it seemed like something out of a film.
``Later I started thinking about beginning a movie like that. Then by introducing the sci-fi alien element I could turn those kids around and make them take responsibility.
``They would become self sacrificial and altruistic.
``Most decent science fiction is saying something about the present as much as it is about the future.''

Cornish, who made a name for himself in the UK on popular sketch comedy The Adam and Joe Show, headed into the belly of the beast and worked with troubled youths in South London to develop the story and authentic street slang used in the film.
``Good sci-fi films have their own language that doesn't mean anything to people outside of the film, like Klingon,'' he says.
``With Attack The Block that happens with the slang they use. As well as being an exciting alien invasion movie, it's a wicked language lesson.
``And the BMX bikes they ride are very E.T. while in that urban environment the block itself looks very futuristic, like a space ship.'' Cornish says those hours spent with the youth groups are responsible for much of the humour in the film because “teenagers in general are so hilarious”.
“I got their responses to the story and asked them what they would do. My experiences from that are reflected in the film,” he says.
“I met kids who had done bad things but I was impressed by how even the most troubled young person - once you talked to them and gained their trust – they were so witty and funny.
“You saw how much potential they had.
“It gave me even more enthusiasm to show that when you’re a kid, you’re defined by the options life gives you; where you’re born etc.
“These kids come from pretty troubling and difficult environments - I don’t want to excuse the stuff they did - but I left with a lot of empathy for them.
“Certainly Attack The Block is all about taking responsibility, not just monsters.” Cornish says he spent time with the kids in a “very laid back” environment which helped bring out their “normal kid” sides.
“It was youth groups, there wasn’t thick Perspex between me and the kids. There were no orange boiler suits,” he says.
“The way we portray the character of Moses was influenced by this one kid I met and the way he used his baseball cap to hide his eyes.
“He covered them with the brim of his cap for most of the interview but then, slowly, as we continued and he relaxed he started to lift it and make eye contact.
“By the end of the interview he was just a normal kid.”

Amongst the street attitude and plethora of geek references and, Attack The Block features plenty of horror movie elements. From vicious aliens with glow in the dark jaws to a ``good bit of splatter'', Cornish says he wanted the teenage characters to be in genuine peril.
``It's not real, the actors are still alive,'' he says.
``But that was a horror film thing like Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, The Thing or Alien where the cast is eliminated one by one.
``I remember in eighties movies more so than now you would go to a Spielberg film like Jaws or Raiders of the Lost Ark and a head would explode.
``Those were family films and there would be quite hardcore gore in them. I remember that being exciting.''
For a Spielberg diehard like Cornish it doesn't get more exciting than working with the legendary director on his latest film The Adventures Of TinTin, co-directed by Peter Jackson. Cornish and Wright reworked Steven Moffat's script for the comic-book blockbuster and Cornish says it was like working with a ``parent or a teacher you really loved''.
``It wasn't too stressful but when I did something that's wasn't up to scratch it was like disappointing your dad,'' he says.
``When you did something right and he went `Oh! That's great!' it was the best thing ever. I felt like E.T. was going to come out and give me a hug.''

The Adventures Of TinTin is out Boxing Day.

Attack The Block opens Thursday, December 1.

Stay peeled for my upcoming interview with Cornish on Ant Man and a possible Attack The Block sequel.

Favourite Movie Friday with Joe Cornish

2011-11-25T16:01:00.003+10:00

With Attack The Block closing the Gold Coast Film Festival on Sunday night and opening in Australia next week, what better time to grill the writer/director Joe Cornish about his favourite flicks. He said:

“Gah, that is such an impossible question, there are lots of movies I love. E.T. is up there, I love Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander, Die Hard, Over The Edge which was this American movie directed by Jonathan Kaplan and John Carpenter’s Halloween is an incredible film. There are so many, it’s unfair to choose one. I just love movies.”

Stay tuned for my full interview with Cornish later this weekend.

Attack The Boyega

2011-11-18T09:43:00.000+10:00

You may not know the name John Boyega (above) now, but you will. He was the 17-year-old kid plucked from a London stage to carry director Joe Cornish's ghetto alien invasion flick Attack The Block. Boyega plays Moses, the leader of a teen gang in South London as they try to defend their housing block from an alien invasion. Written and directed by Cornish, Attack The Block closes the Gold Coast Film Festival tomorrow night next week.

Applauded by critics and audiences alike, Boyega snagged the role after the casting directors saw him performing in a play in North London.
“At the time I was doing my first job as a professional actor on stage,'' he said.
“The producer and the casting director came to see me and I was only on stage for 10 minutes.
`”It was crazy.''
Boyega auditioned for the role six times - "it was recall after recall'' - but Cornish had already made his decision.
“He said I had the part after the first audition, he just wanted to see my chemistry with the others,'' said Boyega.
“I was like `man, why didn't you just tell me?' I was sweating.'' He joined a cast of young unknown British actors with many, like Boyega himself, native to the area depicted in the film.
“It's the closest urban script I've ever read,'' he said.
“I'm from South London and when I'm with my boys, the energy . . . there's something you just can't explain. It was fun to have that sort of script.”
Boyega said it was a great experience to "share our first film together'' with the teen cast. Yet there were also some Hollywood heavyweights on set including executive producer Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun Of The Dead, Scott Pilgrim, ) – “he's just like Batman'' - and Nick Frost (Paul, Hot Fuzz, Shaun Of The Daed) – “we call him Uncle Nick. Nick is like your all year round Santa Claus''.

Boyega said his parents now see him as their own action movie star.
“My mum sees me in a different light, she thinks I'm an action superhero. Therefore whenever she hears something creaking downstairs in the kitchen she's like `John, you get it. Do something like you did in the film.'
“Dad thinks I'm incredibly cool but he still wants me to get to the level of Bruce Willis because he's a big Bruce Willis fan.''

Touted as “the next Denzel Washington'', Boyega has officially broken into Hollywood with Attack The Block and said he has been getting a lot of “interesting'' offers.
“I'm an audience member as much as an actor," he said.

"I would love to do something of the same ilk but a different character.
“I'm very much into creating other people so that when you watch me on screen and see me in real life, you can say those are two totally different people.
“That's the magic of acting.
“I just got signed by CAA management and the scripts that I've been getting have been very, very interesting in terms of people not giving me the same old.
“The way they want to go is of epic proportions, let me just say that. I may be leading some sort of army again.''

Attack The Block closes the Gold Coast Film Festival on Sunday, November 27 at Birch Carroll and Coyle Cinemas, Australia Fair at 7.30pm. For more information visit http://www.gcfilmfestival.com/

Attack The Block opens in Australian cinemas nationally on December 1. Trust.

Favourite Movie Friday with Cameron Bailey

2011-11-18T08:48:00.005+10:00

Hollywood, meh. The Asia Pacific Screen Awards are the Oscars for the rest of the world (and by rest of the world I mean the region that accounts for 60 per cent of the global population). With the ceremony set to get underway next Thursday, APSA jury member and co-director of the Toronto International Film Festival Cameron Bailey shared his favourite movie picks. Dig:

“That’s always a difficult question, it’s impossible to pick just one. I like Hitchcock a lot, Vertigo is my favourite film of his. Also, I love Jerry Maguire. That used to be my girlfriend test. I’d make a girl sit down and watch it and if she liked it I knew she was okay. It’s impossible to pick just one and what I love about the job is almost every day I’m exposed to something new in cinema.”

For more information on the APSAs and list of nominees click here.

Breaking Dawn stars talk immortal love, marriage, and vampire babies in a carriage

2011-11-16T04:06:00.001+10:00

Love it or hate it, The Twilight Saga has sunk its fangs into audiences. With an international box office gross of over $US1.7 billion so far, the film franchise is up there with Harry Potter as the movie event of a generation. It has created a legion of loyal fans, Twihards, and turned its top-billing cast into Hollywood stars. And yet it is the beginning of the end. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 is released worldwide on tomorrow and marks the first of the final two films based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling books.

Like the last Harry Potter instalment, the fourth and concluding novel in the saga, Breaking Dawn, is split into two films. It follows the continued tension between werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) as Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) prepares to marry her vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). Things reach boiling point when Bella returns from the honeymoon pregnant with a supernatural fetus. Stewart was handpicked to play Bella by the original director, Catherine Hardwicke, and said she has become attached to the character.

The 21-year-old said there was a lot of pressure going into production on the final films but they remain "sincere'' to the Twilight story.
"We've been building up to these moments for fours years from when I started doing this (series) when I was 17,'' she said.
"All of these moments are complete fantasy but they're all very rooted in reality and situations I can see myself being in.
"I can't draw a line between myself and what I do. With everything I do it's hard for me to take myself out of it, not just this.
"I tried to just go for it and I feel it's very, very close to the book.''
Breaking Dawn director Bill Condon added; "There's no bigger fan of Twilight than Kristen.
"She's always pushing, pushing, pushing to know that she's capturing that moment and that feeling.'' Condon is the fourth filmmaker to take on the thinly veiled celibacy fable after Hardwicke (Twilight), Chris Weitz (New Moon) and David Slade (Eclipse). It's considerably different territory for the veteran filmmaker who won an Academy Award for his work on the Chicago screenplay. Better known for directing films such as Dreamgirls and Kinsey, Condon dipped his toe in the supernatural genre with 1995 horror film Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh. He said sitting in the directors chair for the final two parts of The Twilight Saga satisfied a lifelong fascination he has had with vampires.
"When I was a kid I would run home from school to see that show Dark Shadows will all the vampires, creatures and those (supernatural) characters,'' he said.
"Whatever new vampire movie or book comes out, I've always been interested.
"I don't know why. Maybe it has something to do with growing up in an intense Catholic household.''
Condon said the nature of the characters central to Meyer's story was also appealing.
"It sounds really pretentious to say that, but I do really hook into characters that are outsiders,'' he said.

Stewart herself was much of an outsider, carving a career with critically acclaimed roles in smaller films such as Into The Wild, What Just Happened and Undertow. It was her portrayal of Bella that broke her into the mainstream and Stewart is now one of the most sought after actresses in Hollywood. It's a comfortable position, allowing her to work on passion projects such as The Runaways, Adventureland and Welcome To The Rileys between blockbusters like The Twilight Saga and Snow White and the Huntsman, currently filming.

Although Stewart said she misses the anonymity of being an indie actress, she's glad Twilight turned into a box office juggernaut.
"If this was a tiny little independent movie that only ran at Sundance (Film Festival) we wouldn't be able to do the story justice,'' she said.
"Maybe you could do that with the first film, but not this one (Breaking Dawn: Part 1). It's a big film.
"It's nice to be indulgent and be able to shoot for six months with an A-Lister (like Robert Pattinson).''

Yet the Twihard frenzy does have its downsides. The intense media coverage of the stars and the shoot itself made it difficult for the studio to keep images under wraps before they show on the big screen. Stewart said the producers on set were like the "secret service'' filming the highly anticipated wedding scenes.
"During the wedding we weren't allowed any cell phones, no checking emails, nothing,'' she said.

"I had a Volturi cloak on to try and cover up the (wedding) dress as helicopters were circling above.
"I was so thankful for the crew and everyone giving up the technology because I was thinking `if this dress ends up on the internet I'll die.''
As the first half of the final book in the film franchise, Stewart said Breaking Dawn: Part 1 contains several "iconic'' scenes fans have been dying to see. Among them is the controversial birth scene where Edward and Jacob have to forcibly remove Bella's unborn child from the womb. Desipte both films having a mild M rating, Pattinson said the scene is "very graphic''.
"I think the birth scene is so different to everything else in the movie,'' he said.
"For a fantasy series that has a pretty young audience, it goes quite far.
"But if you read the book there's like literally no other way to do it.
"You can't be tame. It goes all the way.''

Real life couple Pattinson and Stewart become parents in the film to half-vampire half-human daughter Renesmee. Stewart spent weeks mentally preparing herself for the moment when she sees her daughter for the first time and said discovering she would be holding a doll and not a real baby was "jarring''.
"In the book that was raw and one of my favourite parts,'' she said.
"Then to know you won't be looking at a child and a doll instead . . . it was hard.''
"It kept reminding me of a Chucky doll,'' added Pattinson.
"I don't know if you've ever seen a baby with a wig on, but it looks like a troll.
"Chucky.''

The situation didn't become any easier when real children were brought into play their daughter through her various stages of advanced growth.
"We have Mackenzie Foy who's an amazing little kid playing her for the most part,'' said Stewart. "Then we had other kids come in that played younger versions of her but I couldn't pick up the kids.
"It was ridiculous, I was very awkward.''

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 opens worldwide on Thursday, November 17.

Twihard or go home

2011-11-15T16:46:00.002+10:00

If you thought Star Wars fans were hardcore, Twihards are giving them a run for their geek dollar. With the stars walking the red carpet at The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 world premiere as we speak, I figure what better time to look at some of the weirdest entries into the Twilight merchandise cannon.Shower Curtains: More terrifying than Psycho's shower scene, these are regular sell outs courtesy of makers at online hand-made retailer Etsy. After all, who hasn't wanted to have a bath while a teen vamp scowls at you from just inches away? Ah-hem.

Female hygiene products: For that oh-so-uncomfortable time of the month. This raises the `ick' factor to an all time high.

Lip Venom: Sparkly, just like your favourite vampire family, the Twilight lip venom from DuWop is a hit with tween Twihards. Usually teamed with the Edward Cullen body glitter.

Band aids: Have an owie? The Twilight gang will make it all better.

Twilight crop circles: If you thought the Twilight tampons were bad, in 2009 the minds at Utah's largest corn maze decided to create 24-acre portraits of Jacob Black and Edward Cullen. Less a sign of higher intelligence and more a sign of the apocalypse we think.

Twilight hip flasks: If you can't drink the immortal drink, no dramas. The Edward and Bella hip flask can hold your blood substitute.

Edward Cullen bedding: Adore Edward Cullen's brooding stare? Then have him watch you while you sleep! Although the unofficial line hasn't been extended to include often shirtless werewolf Jacob Black, the Edward bedding range is a best seller and includes pillow cases and doona cover.

Twilight Vibrator: Yup, the cold sparkle Vamp dildo from Tantus crosses more lines than we dare count. Lets just hope there's not a werewolf range.

The 2011 Gold Coast Film Festival program - at a glance

2011-11-12T10:02:00.000+10:00

It’s that time of year again! No, not the Christmas. Puh-lease, that is so B.C. The Gold Coast Film Festival is just over a week away *cue excited squeals*. This year’s theme is `get some action’ and with the program announced last month, the GCFF is certainly delivering on that promise. There are 30 films playing over the seven day event and I’m not going to go through them all because, well, there’s 30. Here are a few highlights:

Let The Bullets Fly
The fattest man in international cinema, Chow Yun Fat, stars in this Chinese action epic that smashed records at their domestic box office. Let The Bullets Fly grossed a staggering 730 million Yuan (US$111.1 million), making it the highest grossing domestic film in China's cinematic history.

Children Who Chase Lost Voices From Deep Below

He has been touted as `the new Miyazaki’ and Makoto Shinkai’s new animated film leaves little doubt he’s a Japanese visionary. A coming of age story, the flick looks at young love amid a dark world of grief and personal loss. To read my chat with Shinkai last week, click here. Alternatively, just scroll down the page you lazy git.

The Killage
One of a handful of impressive Queensland films playing at this year’s GCFF, The Killage is a horror/comedy from Brisbane filmmaker Joe Bauer. Full of gore and gags, this is must-see for genre fans.

Super

Not to be confused with Super 8, Superbad, Superman Returns, or the host of other films released in the past five years with `super’ in the title. After his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer, an everyday guy (Rainn Wilson) transforms himself into Crimson Bolt, a superhero with the best intentions, though he lacks for heroic skills. The oddball comedy also stars Ellen Page, Kevin Bacon and Liv Tyler. Laugh out loud funny, Super will have you proudly leaving the cinema with your underwear on the outside of you pants.

Viva Riva
Contrary to popular belief, Michael Critchton’s Congo – about the eyeball eating gorillas and such – isn’t actually a Congolense film. With that fact bubble, I present the first film from the Congo in two decades – Viva Riva. An action film alike anything you’ve seen before, it looks at modern Congo the only way it can – through a crime story. Fresh off screenings at the Toronto, Berlin and South by Southwest films festivals, this is a rare cinematic event.

Attack The Block It opened Brisbane International Film Festival last fortnight and it’s closing GCFF, which is fantastic news for local sci fi/horror geeks. I checked out this puppy at San Diego Comic Con in July and it’s up there with Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris for my favourite film of the year so far. Funny, tense, scary, and just f***ing awesome, Attack The Block is the directorial debut of Joe Cornish and produced by Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim). It follows a gang of kids living in South London who have to defend their housing block from an alien invasion. Stay posted for my interview with Wright and the films star John Boyega (he’s the next Denzel, I’m telling you).

The Gold Coast Film Festival plays at Birch Carroll and Coyle Cinemas, Australia Fair, from November 21-27. Visit www.gcfilmfestival.com for the full program and ticket dets.

First Snow White and the Huntsman trailer will make you jizz

2011-11-11T10:48:00.008+10:00

Doubt me? Shut up watch this highly explosive 1.52 minute trailer for the film that debuted on Apple. It. Looks. WICKED!

Click here.

HOLY FUCKSICLES! Am I right or am I right? Since attending the Snow White and the Huntsman panel at San Diego Comic Con earlier this year I've been pumped about British director Rupert Sanders' debut. The test footage we saw has definitely progressed into the trailer, especially the scenes with Charlize Theron. At the Con Sanders said he envisioned the film as part of a The Lord Of The Rings scale trilogy and it certainly has that epic feel. The trailer gave me goose bumps.In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth aka mighty Thor) is ordered to take Snow White (Kristen Stewart) into the woods to be killed but winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen (Charlize Theron). SWATH is one of two big budget Snow White flicks opening next year. The other is directed by Tarsem Singh (Immortals) and stars Lily Collins as Snow and Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen. To be honest, I was always more enthusiastic about Sanders' take and now after comparing his trailer to the others official pics, SWATH is going to slay Singh's technicolour lolly fare. Its title? The Brothers Grimm: Snow White. Boring.

Props to the marketing team by the way, who have not only released a bunch of ready-to-go-posters (see above, middle, below) but the trailer debut is a very well planned strategy. Given production only started in the UK less a month ago, you wouldn't think they would have enough finished and special-effected footage for a 30 second trailer let alone a meaty one. But they've pumped out a spectacular trailer and utilised the interest in Kristen Stewart at the moment (given the release of Breaking Dawn Part 1 next week).

I haven't been this excited about a movie in a long time. Oh, wait, I am about The Dark Knight Rises. And Avengers. And The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Lets just say 2012 is going to be the year of the worthwhile blockbuster.

Favourite Movie Friday with Hugh Jackman

2011-11-11T10:23:00.003+10:00

During his worldwide press dominion for Real Steel, I spoke to Hugh Jackman. Wolvie himself sunk his claws into favourite movie picks:

“I love Indiana Jones Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Singin' In The Rain, Casablanca, When We Were Kings and I love One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.”

For a flashback to my interview with Hugh, click here and here.

The men of Twilight

2011-11-10T10:22:00.000+10:00

Team Edward. Team Jacob.
They're the characters that have split female audiences into teams and helped feed the frenzy of Twihards around the world. For Robert Pattinson, 25, and Taylor Lautner, 19, they're the characters that made them Hollywood heart throbs. But it's the beginning of the end for the male portion of the Twilight love triangle. The second last film in the billion dollar franchise, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, is released next week and marks one year until the whole phenomenon is over.

Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Bill Condon, this instalment features some of the most anticipated scenes for lovers of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling book series. From the wedding of Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Pattinson) to werewolf pack rivalries, Lautner says he sympathises with fans as it was too hard to pick a single favourite moment.
“I've always been able to choose one out of each of the movies every single time, but this one I couldn't,'' he says.
“There's so much going on in this movie and all of the characters are dealing with their own little things.
“Especially Jacob. He changes so much from beginning to end.'' The Breaking Dawn films, parts 1 and 2, see Lautner's Jacob Black go through perhaps the biggest transformations of any of the Twilight characters. This, Lautner says, was "exciting'' to bring to the big screen.
“The most interesting thing about Jacob in this movie is from the beginning to the end he becomes a totally different person,'' he says.
“At the start he's immature, he doesn't handle situations very well. Throughout the course (of it) he's forced to become a man, to mature.''

The final two halves of The Twilight Saga certainly deal with more adult issues than their predecessors. With everything from sex scenes to a bloody birth, there was a lot for its stars to be nervous about. For Lautner the most “challenging'' aspect was trying to portray the connection he has with Bella and Edward's child.
“I was pretty nervous about imprinting,'' he says.
“I was given an X on the wall to look at and pretend it was the baby and I thought `there isn't an ideal scenario here'.
“I had to walk into the room on the verge of killing this baby and then stop and imprint, whatever that means.
“I spent a lot of time talking to Bill (Condon) and Stephenie (Meyer) going `what exactly does imprinting look like?''

Pattinson was nervous for entirely different reasons.
“Embarrassingly the thing I was most nervous about was taking my shirt off,'' he says.
“So much of the books are about Edward's body and I managed to avoid that for most of the movies. But in Breaking Dawn it's like every three pages.
“When they wanted me to go swimming (on the honeymoon) I was like `can I keep my shirt on? Can I wear a onesie or something?'' Adored as much for their abs as their acting, female fans of the series - Twihards and Twi-mums - have been known to get a touch hysterical over Pattinson and Lautner. Despite the sometimes mania, Pattinson says he's “not creeped out at all by it''.
“To be creeped out by it you'd have to be creeped out by all women in general. I'm not at all,'' he says.
“Different folks, different strokes I guess.''
“We love our Twi-mums,'' adds Lautner.

Filmed back to back, shooting wrapped on the Breaking Dawn films more than 12 months ago for Pattinson and Lautner. After developing close relationships with the cast and crew over the four yearss working on the franchise, Lautner said “it was sad'' to call it a day. The good news is The Twilight Saga might not be staked in the heart just yet. With the Bree Tanner spin-off novella published last year, speculation is rife Meyer will continue the series at some point. Unable to add any truth to the rumour, Pattinson says he would be happy to return to the role at a later date but “it's up to Stephenie (Meyer) really.''
Condon adds; “She (Meyer) always says it's the end of the Bella and Edward story. But there are so many characters I suspect she'll want to revisit them.''

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 opens on Thursday, November 18. Stay tuned for my feature with Kristen Stewart, Bill Condon and Pattinson next week.

King of the creature feature

2011-11-10T02:29:00.002+10:00

David Ellis had no intention to be a film director. In the seventies he was one of America's top "action athletes'' and the third highest ranked surfer in the world. Then everything went off script.

"I met these stunt people in Malibu and I started hanging out with them and they were telling me all their stories,'' he says.

"They called me up one day because they brought a guy in to do this tricky water stunt and he couldn't do it.

"I went down and did it for them and that's how I got into the business.''

Ellis says being a Hollywood stunt man was the perfect career transition because he was still achieving "that adrenaline rush''. Working on classics such as Scarface, Lethal Weapon and Patriot Games, Ellis says being on set was like "getting paid to go to film school''.

"Coming up through the ranks I got to work with so many great directors with different styles,'' he says.

"I got to understand how action could be executed and the best way to capture that.''

His eye for action led Ellis to second unit directing roles on films such as The Devil's Own, the Perfect Storm and The Matrix Reloaded - he was responsible for creating the three-way chase scene - and to directing his own features including Final Destination 2 and Cellular.But it was the Samuel L. Jackson vehicle Snakes On A Plane that really put Ellis on the motherfucking map.An instant cult hit, Ellis says he still gets letters from fans saying "they've seen the movie over 200 times''.

"I was really surprised with the cult following that happened,'' he says.

"When MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) inducted it into their museum archives . . . it was crazy.

"It's got some classic stuff in there you will never see in a movie, ever, like the guy that gets bitten in the bathroom. Not every movie has that.''

Certainly audiences haven't seen six different species of shark fighting over a group of tasty college students like they will in his latest film Shark Night 3D. Although Ellis says he likes his films to "not take themselves too seriously'', Shark Night 3D "taps into a universal fear''

"People are inherently afraid of sharks,'' he says.

"Sharks mystify people. It's a guilty pleasure being terrified of sharks and people are aware of that when they're in oceans and now, because of my movie, in lakes.''

Shark Night 3D follows seven college students who retreat to a lake house for the weekend.Little do they know the lake is filled with ravenous sharks whose owners are using the kids as bait.

"Real bull sharks have gone miles up river and been found in places you would never expect,'' Ellis, who says there is an element of reality to his horror comedy.

"You're trying to put people in situations where they feel like they're trapped.

"These kids are trapped on island with sharks in the water, previously it was being trapped on a plane with snakes.

"They're ridiculous movies with an element of fun to them.''

Due to the different species of sharks used in the film Ellis says "unfortunately'' they weren't able to film real ones.Instead they relied on CGI and animatronic sharks, technologies he was comfortable using after working second unit on another big shark film; Deep Blue Sea, also with Samuel L. Jackson.

"It definitely helped me,'' he says.

"I've done second unit directing on a lot of water films and from working with the animatronic sharks on that, I knew what their limitations were.

"It was a big plus because I was able to plan a scene with either CGI or a model to make it as terrifying as possible.''

Shark Night 3D is out today. To read my story on David Ellis' next project, Kite, click here.

Favourite Movie Friday with Merlin’s Colin Morgan

2011-11-09T04:41:00.000+10:00

He’s TVs favourite wizard – sorry Waverley Place – and Colin Morgan is in Australia at the moment for the Supanova Pop Culture Expo, which kicked off in Brisbane last week. Unfortunately I had to pull out of the podcast I was supposed to be co-hosting at Supanova because I came down with a severe case of tonsilitis. Worst. Timing. Ever. Anywho, I was originally going to post this portion of my chat with Morgan the day before Supanova but since I've been out of action for six days . . . favourite movie Friday on Wednesday! Woo! I spoke to the Merlin star last fortnight and he shared his favourite movie picks:

“I’ve got so many all time favourites. I’ve got to say American Beauty and 21 Grams, definitely. In the next few years one that will become one of my favourites is Drive. I saw it the other day and it’s absolutely amazing. It has one of those soundtracks where as soon as you walk out of the theatre you say `I need that now.’ Richard Wilson (Merlin co-star) introduced me to Akira recently, which is phenomenal. I’ve got loads but those are just some.”

For Supanova dets click here.

Lovegood by name, Lovegood by nature

2011-11-03T15:24:00.001+10:00

When it comes to fairytales, it doesn't get more magical than the story of 20-year-old Irish actress Evanna Lynch. A “massive'' Harry Potter fan, Lynch begged her parents to take her along to an open audition for the role of Luna Lovegood in the fifth film; Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix. With no acting experience and nothing to recommend her outside of being “in love'' with J.K Rowling's book series, a then 15-year-old Lynch went along to the auditions with thousands of other hopefuls.
"I had one audition, then a week later I had a screen test with (director) David Yates and Daniel Radcliffe,'' she said.
"It all happened in the space of two weeks, it was just so hard to process.
"I was in love with Daniel Radcliffe in particular and when I had to do the screen test with him I tried to keep my cool.
"It got really awkward because I couldn't converse like a normal human being.
"I kept standing there, looking around at the set and thinking `you might never be here again'.
"I went home from the screen test that day and just cried and cried because it was the best day of my life.''

But as fans of the billion dollar Harry Potter film franchise know, Evanna Lynch did get to go there again after she was cast in the role of Luna for the remaining four films. Lynch said playing Luna was a dream come true as she was always the character she identified most with.
"I find Luna inspiring,'' she said.
"I get offended when people call her weird because that implies something is out of balance and that's just not Luna.
"I just admired that's she was different and quirky and never questioned herself.
"I was 12 when she came into the books and I've always been a bit different, but I wasn't cool with it like she was.
"I always felt uncomfortable and then she came along. I had been trying to fit in but she was 10 times cooler because she doesn't try to.
"I can't stress how much she helped me.''I’m speaking to Lynch via telephone from her home in Los Angeles, where she is “trying to sort out” he career post-Harry Potter. She said she has been in the states for a month, but is freaking out after seeing a screening of romantic drama Like Crazy a day earlier where the central character gets deported from the US
“It really scared me because you can get deported if you overstay your Visa, I didn’t realise that,” she said.
Lynch said she’s still getting used to the “hot” L.A. climate and its abundance of wildlife.
“I saw a lizard the other day and I freaked out, I was so excited.”

Australian Harry Pottheads will be freaking out tomorrow when Lynch appears at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo at the RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane, which runs until Sunday. Her first time Down Under, Lynch said there is one tourist activity she "must'' do.
"Does heading to the beach count? It would be really funny to go to the beach in November because back home it's freezing and you would never dream of it.
"I'd love to see some weird animals too because we have nothing like that back home.
“Even if the koalas are smelly.”

It’s been a big year for Lynch, who’s been busy on the Harry Potter press tour with the release of the final film and moving to the States. Despite being a “very close” cast and crew, Lynch said there wasn’t a sad feeling during the final days of shooting “at first.”
“We were all so excited because it was just so big,” she said.
“Especially the final battle scenes; they were huge.
“For many days we had all the cast together and it was just great to be one person amongst this big picture.
“In the last week it did get that feeling of `oh my God, this isn’t happening, this is ending.’
“When they said `cut’ on the last day we all hugged and got together for this huge cast photo.
“Then the world starts collapsing and this family you’ve had start leaving and you’re like `where is everyone going?’
“We’re all proud of what we’ve done, but it’s like when school ends and you’re stomach drops.
“I’m still trying to get used to it.”Lynch said the climatic battle of Hogwarts was one of her favourite memories in her time filming the series. Yet despite having a multi-million dollar budget and the pressure of ending history’s most successful film franchise, Lynch said the crew always remained “so nice.”
“They were so nice, everyone without exception,” she said.
“They were all so good about the hours. I know some people work 18 hours straight until they get the scene done but with us - because it started with kids – we had a 9.5 hour rule that once that time was up we were done.
“It should have ended when we turned 16, but Dan (Radcliffe) and Emma (Watson) were so focused on their studies and the producers were really good with that.
“They recognised what a sacrifice it was for Dan, Em and Rupert (Grint); it was a sacrifice of their time and their childhood.”

Supanova Pop Culture Expo is on from Friday, November 4 to Sunday, November 6 at RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane. For ticket and guest information visit www.supanova.com.au

Meet the new Hayao Miyazaki

2011-11-03T13:01:00.000+10:00

Animation is no longer a thing for kids. In fact, according to Japanese filmmaker Makoto Shinkai, the genre has taken on a new life in the past 20 years and won over a legion of adult fans just as loyal as the kids. And Shinkai would know. As one of Japan's most acclaimed anime filmmakers, Shinkai has helped bring the once underground genre into the mainstream. Along with Academy Award winner Hayao Miyazaki (Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo), Shinkai has been leading the Japanese invasion of the genre with his critically acclaimed features 5 Centimetres Per Second and The Place Promised in Our Early Days.

His new film Children Who Chase Voices From The Deep Below will have its Australian premiere at the Gold Coast Film Festival later this month as part of their Cool Japan program. Shinkai said the mass appeal of all forms of animation now is "something to be celebrated''.
"When I was a child, animation and comics were things for children,'' he said.
"But thanks to the efforts of creators and producers animation now has a charm and depth that can be enjoyed by a wide age range.
"I think it's a good thing.'' Shinkai wrote, directed and produced Children Who Chase Voices From The Deep Below which has already screened at several prestigious international film festivals. Shinkai said underneath the light visuals there are some darker issues dealt with in the film.
"One day, a girl named Asuna meets a mysterious boy from a different world and makes an emotional connection with him,'' he said.
"A few days later, however, the boy suddenly disappears.
"In addition, there is a man named Morisaki who has been searching for a way to revive his late wife for ten years. Asuna and Morisaki depart for an underground world in order to meet the deceased one more time.''

Hailed as "the new Miyazaki'' by overseas critics, Shinkai has been working in the animation industry for a 10 years and directing from "the very beginning''. Although the mind blowing visuals are what intially drew attention to his work, Shinkai said the stories have left a lasting impression on audiences.
"I'm ecstatic to receive praise for the beauty of the visuals,'' he said.
"The visuals, however, are a tool for telling the story and need to be beautiful in order to tell the story well.
"In other words, the story comes first, and the visuals follow.''

The Gold Coast Film Festival plays at Birch Carroll and Coyle Cinemas, Australia Fair, from Monday, November 21, to Sunday, November 27. Visit http://www.gcfilmfestival.com/ for more info

Movie Mazz is co-hosting a podcast at Supanova!

2011-11-03T04:08:00.001+10:00

Movie Mazz is co-hosting a podcast! This makes her orange with joy!

Australia's premiere geek event - the Supanova Pop Culture Expo - kicks off at the RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane tomorrow afternoon. Running until Sunday, there's a massive line-up of pop culture personalities appearing at the convention including Val Kilmer (Batman Forever, Top Gun), Christopher Lloyd (Back To The Future), Billy Boyd (The Lord Of The Rings trilogy), Colin Morgan (Merlin), Julie Benz (Dexter, Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Renee O'Connor (Xena), Evanna Lynch (Harry Potter franchise) and many more.

Also broadcasting from the event is film and pop culture internet radio show The Reel Thing. Usually recorded in Melbourne, host Paul Turner will air the show live from the event at booth 76. I will be co-hosting the podcast which will include interviews with Michael Parks from Kevin Smith's Red State, Claudia Wells from Back To The Future and Michael Gross Family Ties.

There will be three recordings of the podcasts on Saturday and another three on Sunday and Turner says it's a great opportunity for the Supanova crowd to ``have a chat.''
"We're going to have some fun, talk to some cool people and get the crowd involved,'' he says.
"We want the audience to be able to ask some questions of our guests and there will be prizes, quizzes and give aways too.''

Of all the talent to be interviewed, with more acts yet to be announced, Turner says Parks will be a fascinating guest.
"He used to sing with Johnny Cash and he's done so many things people don't know about,'' he says.
"I love the work he's done with Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez as Earl McGraw.
"He died in the first movie they did together but has come back with a role in six more.''

For those who miss the live shows The Reel Thing can be downloaded as a podcast from The Reel Thing's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TheReelThing.

Supanova Pop Culture Expo is on tomorrow to Sunday at RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane. For ticket and guest information visit http://www.supanova.com.au/

Halloween edition: Favourite Movie Friday with Courtney Solomon of After Dark Films

2011-10-28T04:36:00.001+10:00

As the head of the most successful horror movie company in the world, Courtney Solomon (above, Captain America shirt) has seen his fair share of horror movies. But his favourite movies of all time? Find out below:

“I love Halloween, I’ve just always loved that film. I always like to watch Halloween over the Halloween period. I love the original and the second, those first two were great. The original Nightmare On Elm Street, not the remake, and the original The Omen. Usually The Exorcist is in there. I have a soft spot for Sissy Spacek, she was in my film An American Haunting, so Carrie. Sometimes I love Rosemary’s Baby and sometimes I don’t depending on my mood. Candyman was fun, I just like the mirror thing. Those are my classic, all time favourites but there are some other gems I’ve left out probably.”

About a Boyd

2011-10-27T15:41:00.006+10:00

Scottish actor Billy Boyd has spent the day painting his sons room. It's “exhausting'' work but the kind the quiet family man loves now he's no longer trudging through Middle-earth as part of The Fellowship Of The Ring. Boyd, 43, is best known for playing beloved hobbit Peregrin `Pippin' Took in Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings trilogy. He'll be leaving the comforts of his Scottish home life next week when he makes the trip to Australia for the Supanova Pop Culture Expo. Returning to Australia is like "coming home'' to Boyd, who regularly crossed the Tasman for holidays with LOTR cast mates when filming in New Zealand.

Boyd was the first actor cast in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, a fact he was surprised to learn from Sir Ian McKellen (who played Gandalf).
“I had no idea until Ian mentioned it in this big speech he did at the end of filming,'' he said.
“I went on the internet straight afterwards and tried to figure out if it was true.
“When they started casting, everyone was up for it. Literally every actor you knew or spoke to was auditioning for Lord Of The Rings.
“I sent a tape in like everyone else and when I got asked to go down and meet Pete (Jackson) he said `the part's yours if you want it'.
“I said yes because it was Tolkien and it was Jackson and I was going to New Zealand for two years.'' Boyd said they had no inkling at the $1,119,110,941 billion box office juggernaut the films would become.
“I know people won't believe this but there was never a feeling this was going to be a big movie,'' he said.
“It could have just as easily gone to straight to DVD like so many other fantasy movies.
“I watched the cartoon version when I was a boy and I remember people saying it was unfilmable because it was too big and such an epic story.
“Initially we were just four hobbits running around in the bush for weeks, filming under trees and in the forest.
“We had no idea what people were making on set.''

Boyd said it wasn't until they shot scenes in the ancient dwarf city of Moria - from the first film - that he had to “pinch himself.''
“When there was a break you would walk about the set and there would be dwarfish writing carved into the wall.
“You would think `on no other set would you see that happen.'
“That detail was never going to be shot, it was never going to be seen, yet they'd done everything to make it look like it was 1000 years old.''
He said another surreal moment on set was filming atop the picturesque New Zealand mountain ranges.
“I looked around me and there was Aragon, Legolas, Boromir, the whole fellowship. I was like `how am I a part of this?''

The actors had six weeks of training together in New Zealand before filming got underway. Although no one knew each other before the shoot, Boyd said they all came out of the “intensive” training as good friends.
“It was very demanding physically.
“We would get up at 4.30am and be finishing at 8pm doing canoeing, fencing, all kinds of things.
“We’d go around to Pete’s house and work on the script and us four hobbits would sit around and discuss who we thought we were in the story.
“There were a lot of dinners and nights out playing pool so by the time we started filming we were all mates.
“If one person had been a prima donna the whole thing would have fell a part.
“We were working 15 hour days, six to seven days a week, and there was just no time for that.
“It wouldn’t have happened with that Australian and New Zealand work ethic either. “They would have just slapped you and said `get in there.” The story of how close all of the cast and crew became is now a popular Hollywood tale, with the nine members of the fellowship getting tattoos together.
“Towards the end of shooting we had this feeling a massive thing was ending and Dom (Dominic Monaghan) and Viggo (Mortensen) said we should get tattoos,” said Boyd.
``But what could we get? We couldn't get an orc’s head or something so we started asking the WETA art guys for ideas and one of them came up with the elvish symbol for nine.
``We got hold of this tattoo artist in Wellington who was about to retire and he opened his shop for us at 10am on a Sunday morning and we spent all day there.
``I went first and John Rhys-Davies didn't want to get one so his stunt double ended up getting it.
``Peter Jackson got the number 10 later, which is cool.'' It’s been over a decade since the cast and crew of hundreds started filming on the Lord Of The Rings, yet Boyd said he’s still blown away by the fans.
“I get letters where people are telling me they haven’t left the house in two years because of fear but after they saw the bravery of the hobbits they went out and got a job,” he said.
“I think `wow, it’s amazing a film can affect someone like that.’
“The amount of people I’ve met and become friends with . . .whenever my band Beecake play I meet people after the gigs who have come to see us because of the movies.
“They’re from Australia, Japan, Europe, everywhere, and they come together to listen to the music.”

Music is another passion of Boyd’s and he plays regular shows with Beecake. Boyd also has one of the most touching scenes in the trilogy when – in The Return Of The King – he sings for Steward Of Gondor Denethor. The song, titled The Edge Of The Night, was composed and sung by Boyd in what he describes as an “amazing” experience.
“That was a totally last minute thing,” he said.
“There was originally no song there at all and Howard (Shore) was going to write something and then they moved the schedule so he couldn’t anymore.
“They said `could you write something?’
“So I went around to Pete’s house and we listened to what I’d written and agreed on the tune.
“In post-production they needed to record it again so they had me recording the song at Abbey Road.“I’m a massive Beatles fan so it doesn’t get any better than that.” The Supanova Pop Culture Expo is on in all Australia capital cities. For ticketing and program information click here.

No bummer summer for Beatty

2011-10-27T00:22:00.001+10:00

How exactly does a 13-year old Aussie girl score the lead role in American kids film Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer? The answer is Skype. Sydney actress Jordana Beatty auditioned for the role of Judy Moody via Skype and after getting call back after call back, she secured the role.

Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer is based on Megan McDonald's popular Judy Moody book series and follows a third grader who sets out to have the most thrilling summer of her life. Beatty landed her first acting gig when she was four and starred in a TV commercial. Since then she has gone on to small parts in TV shows All Saints and Legend Of The Seeker, as well as a bit role in Superman Returns.
Playing the red-headed girl with a colourful imagination is Beatty's big break and she couldn't be more ``excited.''
``I had read the books before I took the role and I was a big fan of them,'' she says.
``Then being a part of the film was just so much fun because every day was something new.
``All of it was stuff I'd never done before.'' Although critics haven't been responding well to the film, Beatty says it's a ``really good'' movie for younger audiences.
``I have so many favourite scenes,'' she says.
Co-starring with Beatty in the film was Heather Graham (The Hangover, Boogie Nights) as Moody's quirky Aunt Opal.
``Heather was really nice and made it really comfortable for me,'' she says.
``She was always playing games and having jokes on set.''

One of the unexpected side effects of landing her big break has been picking up an American accent.
``It's because I do a lot of publicity in America,'' says Beatty.
``I don't know why I'm doing it, but I can't get rid of it.
``When I go back to school and hang around with my friends more it goes back to normal.''
School is still a priority for the grade seven student, despite keeping an eye out for more film roles in the US.
``I enjoy school and I have a lot of favourite subjects,'' she says.
``It can be hard to juggle sometimes, but it's worth it.''

The Warrior way

2011-10-26T02:30:00.000+10:00

If you've ever seen a fight movie - and I do many any fight movie - you will have a rough idea of what to expect from Warrior. Aussie Joel Edgerton (above left) plays highschool physics teacher and father of two Brendan who's “upside down'' on his mortgage. He decides to enter a brutal Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tournament for a shot at the $5 million prize money. Unbeknownst to him, his estranged brother Tommy (Tom Hardy) has returned from serving in Iraq and is also planning to compete in the tournament. Still housing a searing hatred for his former alcoholic father (Nick Nolte) - who forced him to flee town with his sick mother years earlier - Tommy seeks him out as a trainer. Despite being the two underdogs in the competition, Tommy and Brendan inevitably end up fighting against each other for the championship where all of their past differences come to a head.

Although Warrior adheres to the cliches of the fight movie genre, it's not as noticeable thanks to the strong performances from Edgerton, Hardy and Nolte. Like Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe, Edgerton is finding success in Hollywood later in his career and this is one of two films he's starring in at the moment, the other being The Thing. He's impressive as ever here as the stoic, loyal father with a lethal roundhouse kick and the performance will certainly stay in the mind of international viewers. Nolte is superb as the damaged father trying to make amends, but the standout is Hardy. Considering he has the least amount of dialogue out of the trio, Hardy's performance is as forceful as his commanding physical demeanour. He manages to make Tommy someone to be feared in and outside the ring with his bouts of spitting rage, but he's also someone you want to hug and pat on the head saying `it's alright son.' Given how well the talented cast have done with the source material, it's a shame writer/director Gavin O'Connor didn't try to do something more creative with the genre formula. There's such a believability and grit to most of the film, it feels like a punch in the face when everything falls in line for the characters. Warrior's impact is muted by it succumbing to the Hollywood happy ending, but it's still a formidable opponent.

Warrior opens on Thursday, October 27.

Side note: Keep an eye for Hardy’s hulking frame as this gives viewers a taste of what he’s going to look like as villain Bane in Nolan’s final Batman film The Dark Knight Rises. Holy shit man, he has muscles that leap straight from his shoulder to ear! Mutalo mutalo Bane Bane!

Dafoe goes a huntin'

2011-10-25T04:06:00.000+10:00

As one of the most sort after character actors, you would think Willem Dafoe is able to pick and choose his roles. That's not the case according to the 55-year old Hollywood veteran who said he's always on the hunt for the perfect part. He found it in director Daniel Nettheim's atmospheric Australian thriller The Hunter.
``I was sold on the idea of the project,'' said Dafoe.
``It's always a risk when you don't know the people.
``Daniel was smart and passionate, I liked him. It was a passion project, which was important to me.''

Based on Julia Leigh's acclaimed novel of the same name, Dafoe plays bio-tech mercenary Martin who's sent into the Tasmanian wilderness to try and find the last surviving Tasmanian tiger after a recent sighting. Nettheim said he had only one person in mind for the role and sent the scipt to Dafoe's agent on the off chance the two-time Oscar-nominee would like it.
``He responded pretty quickly and I flew over to New York to meet with him,'' said Nettheim.
``After the first meeting he said yes.
``I knew people who worked with Willem on Daybreakers and learned he was a very approachable guy.
``He's a very versatile actor who's serious about his work.''Dafoe said it was Martin's complexities and the story's central mystery that attracted him.
``He's complex and I liked the arc of what I thought the personal journey was going to be.
``The story has its mysteries and then finally when it comes together at the end there's a very strong impact and a lot of things that you didn't know about all of a sudden make sense.
``And not because of tricky narrative plotting either, it's more of an emotional thing.''

Dafoe said one of the other ``attractive'' aspects of the role was getting to learn how to make traps and snares like a professional hunter. The Hunter filmed over seven weeks deep within the Tasmanian wilderness through rain, hail and snow. Nettheim said he was impressed with Dafoe's ``discipline'' during the harsh conditions and particularly how he refused to use a stand in.
``I don't like to use a stand in. Ever,'' said Dafoe.
``It's part of my job.
``I feel like the stand in can never really be me so you're removing the scene one time so I want to be there when the technicians are setting up and I want to have that relationship to the camera, I want to know where it is and what it's doing.''

The Hunter is currently screening.

Favourite Movie Friday with Drapht

2011-10-21T08:42:00.002+10:00

He’s responsible for one of my favourite albums of the year, The Life Of Riley, and Oz hip hop artist Drapht (aka Paul Ridge) was kind enough to share his favourite movie picks here. He lists some pretty stellar choices and shares a surprising appreciation for Brad Pitt.

“I like Fight Club, it’s definitely one of my favourite movies. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch; I’m a big Brad Pitt fan. He’s a fucking amazing actor which sounds strange coming from a guy. I’m a big Leonardo DiCaprio fan too. Pulp Fiction as well is obviously another big favourite for me.”

Drapht plays 600 Sounds tonight with Bliss N Eso, Illy, Potbelleez and a truck load of others.

Kevin Smith sees red

2011-10-18T12:18:00.001+10:00

Clerks. Dogma. Chasing Amy. Filmmaker Kevin Smith has made some cult classics in his 20-year career. He's also had some misfires; Jersey Girl and Cop Out invoked the wrath of international critics. But his latest film Red State is winning over reviewers, audiences and, hopefully, Academy Award voters.

A Red State of affairs

The 41-year old says Red State is the film he always wanted to make but ``never had the balls'' to. Smith began writing the quasi horror film after watching a ``terrifying'' interview with Fred Phelps, leader of Kansas' Westboro Baptist Church, in his friend Malcolm Ingram's documentary Small Town Gay Bar.
``It came from watching those people disrupt funerals, do all the shit they do and just be generally miserable in public,'' he says.
``I always felt as an American I can't be like `this has to stop' because everyone's allowed freedom of expression.
``But as an individual it made me heart sick.
``The only arrow I've got in my quiver is satire, so that's what I went for.
``If you take a monster, de-fang it and turn it into a clown it's not that important anymore.''

Set in Middle America, the film follows a group of male teenagers (Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner, Nicholas Braun) who travel to a remote location after replying to an invitation for sex from an older woman, played by Oscar-winner Melissa Leo. The rendezvous is a trap and the teens soon fall prey to a group of religious fundamentalists. Smith funded the $4 million production himself and distributed it successfully outside of the studio system by touring the film city to city. He's even preparing a campaign closer to Oscar season in a bid to secure nominations for Michael Parks (below), John Goodman and Leo.
Team Smith Vs The Westboro Baptist Church

Members of The Westboro Baptist Church are notorious for picketing the funerals of soldiers, children and disaster victims to condemn homosexuals to hell. They first picketed a Smith film in Kansas City and members held up signs that said `God Hates Fag Enabler Kevin Smith.'
``My brother sent me the press release. He's gay and has been married to a dude for 20 years and said `Oh my God, you've finally made it!'
``That shit bugged me, I didn't want to be involved with animals like that.
``I was upset and he's like `no, fag enabler means you're a pimp and you can get gay folks laid.'
``I thought if that's my new nickname, it beats fat ass''

When Red State premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January the church picketed again. What they didn't expect was for Smith fans ``to come out of the woodwork.''
``They literally showed up to protest the protest,'' says Smith.
``The Phelps didn't know what hit `em.
``They're a very small group but they have them holding three signs each so it looks like double the number.
``There's this little hill of snow and three Phelps were standing there holding these giant signs and across from them on the sidewalk were about 100 people and kids from the high school.
``They had signs that said `God hates breast feeding', `Down with mutants' and `I'm a happy Jew' with a smiley face wearing a yamaka on the back.
``It was genius.''

But it's not all hate. Smith says the granddaughter of Fred Phelps, Megan Phelps, had been tweeting him for months and when Red State came to Kansas City a few months later he invited members of the church.
``They announced that they were going to protest so I said if you're going to be there why don't you come along and after the movie you can get up on stage and review it.
``Shirley (Fred's daughter) said `you're not going to let us say what we want' and I said I will.
``I believe in freedom of speech so just be honest. I gave them six tickets and hung up.
``She called me back later and goes `can we get 15 tickets?'
``I said `God hates fags but he loves a discount don't he?''

Sure enough 15 church members came along to the screening and they even gave Smith two posters; one with `God hates fag enablers' done in the movie's title treatment and one that said `Red State fags' which they had all signed ``like they were rock stars.'' But they couldn't make it to the end of the film.
``I'd just sat down in my seat after giving the introduction and we were a few minutes into the movie when I get tapped on the shoulder,'' says Smith.
``It was Megan Phelps and I freaked out because you never expect to see a Phelps behind you.
``She said `I just wanted to say goodbye.' I was like `you're not staying?'
``She said `no, this is filthy.''

Credits

Smith has already begun pre-production work on his next film - Hit Somebody - which the filmmaker says will be his last.
``So many people get pushed out of this business, I want to get out on my own terms,'' he says.
``It's taken me about 20 years to develop my talents as filmmaker and you've got to see me go to film school in front of you for almost two decades but now after all that time I'm ready to put that medium to the side.
``I don't want to work for anybody but the audience, I'll work like shit for the audience.
``People will value in this life if you feel or think something for them that they can't express for themselves.
``That's the only reason I get to do what I do because sometimes, not all the time, I say things that people relate to and then they support me.''

But just because he'll retire after the hockey epic, that doesn't mean he won't stop creating.
Smith's internet radio station SModcast has morphed from a side project in his lounge room to the home of the most popular podcasts in the world, all free, including Hollywood Babble On with Ralph Garman and Jay and Silent Bob Get Old with long time friend Jason Mewes. A reality series on the lives of clerks working in Smith's comic book store The Secret Stash has also been picked by network AMC.

He says one of the main reasons he's calling it a day is so he can spend more time with his family; wife Jennifer Schubach and teenage daughter Harley Quinn.
``I find my role now is more useful as Harley's started to discover her voice as an artist,'' says Smith.
``She's started writing which does my heart so good.
``My kid is insanely empathetic and I identify because I recognise this from my own youth.
``My kid feels for everything, bugs, animals, everything.
``I told her about Hitler once like `this is the worst human that ever lived' and when we got to the end of it she's like `but is he okay now?
``She's a real human being.''

Smith said post-Hit Somebody he's looking forward to ``chasing whimsies.''

Red State is out now.

Miles away

2011-10-12T11:47:00.006+10:00

Things are coming full circle for Miles Teller. The 23-year-old American actor's first acting role was in a Broadway production of eighties musical Footloose where he played humorous side kick Willard. Now he's playing the character again, this time in the big budget film remake (above).
``I had such a strong foundation going from playing Willard on stage to the film,'' he said.
``I knew this character and I knew his story arcs.
``I started from a place of comfort and I had more knowledge about him.''

Teller came into the production late when all roles had been cast except the lead character Ren, originally played by Kevin Bacon.
``I didn't want that role, but I was so desperate to be in the film I auditioned anyway,'' he said.
Casting directors came back to Teller days later and offered him the part of Willard instead, which he jumped at.

Directed by Craig Brewer, the filmmaker behind the edgy Hustle and Flow, Footloose stars dancer turned actor Kenny Wormald as the cut-loose teen who defied the laws of a town that had banned dancing.
``I'm a pretty good dancer, but Kenny is phenomenal,'' said Teller.
``He was the lead guy in that Michael Jackson tribute at the Video Music Awards.
``Both him and Julianne (Hough, the female lead) don't come from an acting background so he asked me a lot of questions.
``I told him that if he taught me how to dance, I'd teach him how to cry.'' It clearly worked, with Wormald and the entire ensemble cast being praised for their "dynamic'' performances. But it's Teller who steals the spotlight with his supporting role, no rare feat for a guy who only last year scored his first film role. Mind you, that was playing a central character in the Oscar-nominated drama Rabbit Hole alongside Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart (above).
``Rabbit Hole was kind of sink or swim because I had such well-trained actors and high calibre performances going on around me,'' he said.
``My first conversation with Nicole was in character and the first time I ever met Aaron was this really intense scene where his character lays into me.
``I just walked into that scene and there I was talking to Two Face, it was an out of body experience.''

Teller played a damaged teenager in Rabbit Hole who accidentally killed the son of Kidman and Eckhart's characters after he ran out in front of the car. It was a role that hit home for Teller, who was nearly killed in a car accident several years earlier and lost two friends shortly before the film in a similar way.
``A friend of mine was driving and he lost control of the car and we rolled seven or eight times across the freeway,'' said Teller.
``I was rocketed out of the window and they found me 25 feet away from the car, unconcious and covered in blood.
``Less than a year later I had two of my closest friends pass away five weeks from each other in car accidents.
``There was this odd kind of parallel path that my life had taken with that role.''

Footloose is out now. To read my other chat with Miles, click here.

Eye of the tiger

2011-10-11T12:59:00.000+10:00

Is the Tasmanian tiger (above) still out there? That's the question a bio-tech mercenary (Willem Dafoe) is trying to answer in moody Australian thriller The Hunter. Director Daniel Nettheim says he has always been ``intrigued'' by the myth that the species is still alive, even though it was declared extinct in 1936 when the last remaining tiger died in captivity.
``People find that myth appealing too because it allows us to redeem ourselves from the sins of our past,'' he says.
``This belief that it's still out there means we don't have to look at the reality of what happened; that this animal was brutally hunted to extinction by colonial settlers.''

Based on the book of the same name by award-winning novelist Julia Leigh, the film also stars Sam Neill and Frances O'Connor. Shot deep within the Tasmanian wilderness, veteran character actor Willem Dafoe says he couldn't help but ``wish'' the species was still living in that environment.
``I'd like to believe there are remaining tigers, but probably not,'' he says.
``I'd heard of the Tasmanian tiger and knew that it was extinct, but I didn't know what it looked like or many other details before shooting the film.
``But there are a lot of strange animals in this part of the world that I don't know, so who knows what's out there?'' Dafoe says the film's story took on a life of its own two weeks into the shoot when there was Tasmanian tiger sighting.
``When we were filming there was a sighting and something was put on YouTube so we immediately checked it out and thought `my God, this is so topical,'' he says.
``But nothing ever really came of it.''

Nettheim says since ``people keep seeing it'' he hopes one day soon the species will be rediscovered.
Even better if that's close to The Hunter's release, he joked.
``You wait, on the day of release I bet there will be some exciting sighting,'' he says.
``Come on guys, we really need to time the rediscovery perfectly.''

The Hunter is out now.

Favourite Movie Friday with Eskimo Joe's Kav

2011-10-07T03:40:00.002+10:00

This week with the Joe's frontman Kav Temperley. You will sense a theme:

"Pretty much all zombie films. The classic Night Of The Living Dead, it has a mystique about it. Brain Dead by Peter Jackson, Dawn Of The Dead is on pretty equal terms with Night Of The Living Dead for me. I really enjoyed The Walking Dead series, I read the comic books. Evil Dead II and 28 Days Later is an absolutely awesome film, I fucking love it."

Hugh keeps it real

2011-10-06T09:01:00.000+10:00

If you were born sometime after 1964 you might have played the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots toy. Two different coloured robots battle it out in a boxing ring with the users in charge of their moves by pressing buttons.That concept is brought to life in Hugh Jackman's latest film Real Steel, which is also based on Richard Matheson's 1956 short story Steel. Sounds basic? It isn't, not according to the Australian star.
``There's more to it than people expect,'' says Jackman.
``When I read the script there was certainly more to it than what I thought when I first heard about the movie.
``Hollywood can be blamed for overhyping, so it's nice to surprise people.''

Jackman plays washed up boxer Charlie Kenton in a future where massive humanoid robots have replaced humans in the ring. Although Jackman doesn't duke it out with a Transformer in the movie, sorry boys, he did prepare for the role by training with boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard.
``He's the nicest guy,'' says Jackman of now good friend Leonard.
``He's so open, so giving and he gave me a lot for this film.
``We talked a lot about the psyche of a boxer.
``The difference with Charlie is he's the kind of person who has given up on himself.
``He's switched off inside.
``He doesn't want to participate in life because everything's too painful.''The one-on-one coaching with Leonard meant Jackman was once again in incredible physcial shape for the film. While that's great news for the ladies, he says not everyone loves his buff frame - wife Deborra-Lee Furness in particular.
``Sometimes she wishes I was more out of shape,'' he says.
``My job as a husband is to make the wife look good and she's like `enough of this Wolverine business.''

Once you look past the flashy robots and big budget special effects, at Real Steel's core is a story father and son narrative. After the unexpected death of his former partner, Charlie agrees to take on his now orphaned son - for a price - and together they rebuild heir relationship after they find a boxer on the scrap heap who becomes a million-to-one shot Rockybot. For someone who puts his family above everything, Jackman says it was ``definitely more fun'' to play the very flawed Charlie.
``Most actors love to play a good guy that's actually not that nice,'' he says.
``But hopefully I'm a better father off screen than on screen.''

Maintaining a normal family life in Hollywood would seem impossible to most, but Jackman says he has ``more time off than people think.''
``Time is the great commodity. Kids are busier than we were, parents are busier, all of those things make it difficult. But we set ground rules which help, like we're never apart for more than two weeks.''Jackman says it's easier when he makes a film he can take the kids to.
``Both of my kids loved it, the 11 year old and the six year old.
``Even my mother-in-law loved it.
``I took her along to a screening and she said she liked more than any of my other films.
``My dad had tears in his eyes, it really is a film for everybody.''
Once off the global Real Steel press tour Jackman is taking his one-man show to Broadway followed by starting work on Tom Hooper's (The King's Speech) big screen adaptation of Les Miserables with ``good buddy'' Russell Crowe.

Real Steel opens today.

Willem Dafoe talks John Carter

2011-10-05T15:05:00.000+10:00

Veteran character actor Willem Dafoe is currently doing the press rounds for his new film The Hunter – a moody thriller set in the Tasmanian wilderness. I sat down with him yesterday and as well as chatting about The Hunter (story pending) I grilled him on the highly anticipated John Carter. It really is a shame they dropped the `Of Mars’ off the end of the title because it sounds much less awesome.

Anyway, Dafoe said it was “exciting” shooting the big budget fantasy epic despite having to pull a few circus tricks.
“That was six months shooting on stilts,” he said.
“Seriously, I did the whole thing on three foot-high stilts.
“I haven’t seen the whole movie but I’ve seen scenes, it looks great.
“Because I’m a motion-capture computer created creature you wonder whether the expressions will be lost but they’re very good.
“The people at Pixar - and Andrew Stanton (the director) in particular - they really do a lot of research and they’re very detailed.
“They really take your performance and use the gestures, the expressions and your voice before they make the gestures of the creature.
“It’s pretty amazing what they do.”
Friday Night Lights alumni Taylor Kitsch plays John Carter, a Civil War veteran transplanted to Mars who discovers a lush planet inhabited by 12-foot tall barbarians. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter a princess (Lynn Collins) who’s in desperate need of a savoir. Carter is a character originally created by Edgar Rice Burroughs and is iconicly portrayed in the above Frank Frazetta painting.*

Dafoe was careful not to give away the specifics of his character Tars Tarkas and how he’s involved with Carter (below), but he was able to provide a basic overview.
“It’s one of those characters where you’re not sure what he’s about,” he said.
“The best way to describe him safely without giving too much away is on Mars there’s a humanoid species and there’s these more native indigenous people.
“I’m the head of this warrior tribe that was once a great culture and now, through the wars and difficulties, have lost their culture.
“Now they’re basically just a roving band of warriors, but that’s not lost on the character.
“Even though he’s the leader and has to be very tough, he reflects a lot on lost glory. “When he sees John Carter he recognises in him the possibility to return to some sort of compassion.”
John Carter is out March 8, 2012 and you can view the trailer here.

*Geek fact: I’ve actually seen the original John Carter Of Mars painting up close! Robert Rodriguez had 13 Frazetta originals on display at his Comic Con party in July and let me just say, the work is possibly a thousand times more brilliant in person. The skill, the detail, the imagination; a-mazing.

One for the scrap heap

2011-10-04T16:28:00.002+10:00

In the not too distant future robots have mohawks. And they fight each other. If that makes you want to throw a fist pump in the air than Real Steel is the movie for you. For the rest of us, the family orientated action flick is a painful exercise in Hollywood conventions.

Hugh Jackman plays washed up boxer Charlie Kenton who's become involved with robot boxing after it replaced the human variation. After his ex-partner dies, Kenton reluctantly agrees to look after his son Max (Dakota Goyo) and, unsurprisingly, initial hostility soon grows into a warm and fuzzy relationship when the pair begin training a broken-down robot. Yes, the bot - Adam - is an underdog. Real Steel loosely follows the format of boxing drama so you don't have to be Stephen Hawking to see where this is going.

One of the big missteps is the direction of child actor Goya, who looks like Justin Bieber but with that snarky Disney star attitude. Lets not even mention his character's gimmick of hip hop dancing in the ring before each fight. C'mon guys, you're supposed to be endearing him to the audience; not making us want to see him squashed by a 2,000 pound humanoid. It's refreshing to see all round nice guy Jackman play a douchebag in Charlie but he's more an enjoyable as an anti-hero in the beginning than the save-the-day type he becomes by the end.

Director Shawn Levy is responsible for family flicks such as Night At The Museum and Cheaper By The Dozen and like those there's nothing about this film that will stay with you once you leave the theatre. There are too many clichés, too many blatantly cutesy moments and too many underwhelming robots. Michael Bay's Transformers series might be soul-sucking, but you can't say his endless cast of Autobots aren't spectacular to look at.

Real Steel is out this Thursday.

Willem Dafoe answers the age old question: are children scared of him?

2011-09-30T16:53:00.000+10:00

It’s no secret Willem Dafoe has terrified me for sometime now. I’m not exactly sure which role did it, but the dude is scary. On screen, that is. I interviewed Dafoe In Brisbane this morning about his new film The Hunter – which is excellent by the way – and I was pleasantly surprised at what an utterly lovely and non-threatening person he is. He even gave me a hug! But it turns out quite a few people have that reaction to Dafoe and the actor said it’s usually related to his portrayal of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in the first two Spiderman films. He explains:

“What happens sometimes is parents see me and they’ll run up and want me to get a picture because they think the kid will appreciate it but the kid is not into it all. Just recently when I arrived in Brisbane a woman was pushing a kid to me and I said `come on, let the guy go’ because he looked terrified. I don’t know if he’s terrified of me or because of the character which I don’t think so because I don’t look like the character. Everybody forgets to that 90 per cent of that role was Norman Osborn, which to me is the more interesting part.”

Yes, but for the remaining 10 per cent you looked like this *shiver*.

Favourite Movie Friday with The Amity Affliction's Troy

2011-09-30T14:39:00.000+10:00

The Amity Affliction have the hottest live show in Australia at the moment and they've been selling out gigs all over the shop. I spoke to their guitarist Troy Brady last week and he spilled his fave movie Friday picks:

"American History X, you definitely get a message from that movie. I'm going to put it out there and say a bunch of stoner flicks. I saw Your Highness recently and it's probably one of greatest movies I've ever seen. I love Pineapple Experience. You can't go wrong with typical stoner flicks like Half-Baked, stuff like that."

X-Men puns 101

2011-09-29T17:02:00.004+10:00

Hugh Jackman on Wolverine: "It’s really been the backbone of my career."
Me: "The metal-plated backbone would you say?"
Hugh Jackman: “Oh, nice. The sub-editors are going to love that one.”

Actual Hugh Jackman article coming.

Footloose star kiss and Teller's

2011-09-28T16:39:00.007+10:00

How do you follow up your debut film role alongside Nicole Kidman in the Oscar-nominated Rabbit Hole? For 23-year-old Miles Teller (above) the answer was starring in the remake of eighties classic Footloose. When casting was first announced critics called it a dumb move, but its one that's clearly working out for Teller. Since filming Footloose he has shot Project X, a comedy produced by The Hangover director Todd Phillips, and is currently on the set of 21 and Over, a comedy directed and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (The Hangover, The Change Up).

Teller is speaking to Movie Mazz from the 21 and Over set after injuring himself in one of the film's stunts.
“I'm nursing a sprained ankle and a sprained knee with ice,'' he says.
“I got run over by a golf cart.
“A buddy of mine was driving it in a scene where I'm supposed to jump into a moving golf cart and he ran over me.”

Such are the hazards of filmmaking.
Teller got to experience more of them in the lead up to shooting Footloose when he hazarded a trip to the internet.
“It's definitely a film people did not want us to remake,'' he says.
“Going on the net in the past few months and seeing what was being said, I never realised how sacred it was.”
When Craig Brewer, the director of edgy drama Hustle and Flow, was announced as the writer/director more than a few eyebrows were raised. The scepticism turned to outright hostility when dancers Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough were named as the leads Ren McCormack (played by Kevin Bacon in the original) and Ariel Moore (Lori Singer). But it's a film that has been winning over critics and audiences alike, screening by screening Brewer's direction is electric and the talented team manage to overcome the originals cheesiness, while at the same time paying homage to it. Undoubtedly it will be one of the big surprises of the year for audiences and Teller laughs knowingly at the praise.
“We'd always rather surprise than disappoint.”

Teller plays Ren's close friend and small town hick Willard (above, red cap) in the film.
Despite having “no interest” in seeing the original Footloose, it's a role Teller is very comfortable with as he played the same character in a Broadway version when he was at college.
Coming from a small town in Florida, Teller says he also had plenty of real life experience to draw from.
“When I first moved to Florida I was 12,” he says.
“I remember getting to middle school and sitting in the office being introduced to the principal when in walks a Willard-looking guy in Wrangler jeans, boots and a cowboy hat.
“I didn't know what was going on, I thought he was in the school play.
“When I started walking around the school I saw about 30 to 40 more Willards.
“It was a town of 6000 people and Walmart and Applebee's were big things.”

Footloose next Thursday, October 6.

Favourite Movie Friday with Eve

2011-09-23T13:38:00.000+10:00

Yep, as in that Eve. As in rapper Eve. As in actress Eve. As in `she with the paw-printed breasts' Eve. I interviewed the Grammy Award winner yesterday when she arrived in my home town for her Australian tour. The lovely lady complimented me on my zombie necklace, which instantly made me love her, and she also shared her favourite movie picks. They'll blow ya mind *boom tish*.

"That’s a tough question. It’s hard because I like all kinds of movies. I love black and white movies. Horror is my favourite genre and one of my favourite horror movies of all time is Rosmary’s Baby, the original, and I love Carrie, the orginal. I like all the orginals, I’m not into all those whack remakes. My favourite kids movie of all time is The Goonies. And one of my favourite family movies of all time is Soul Food. I don’t know, I have a wide, wide range."

Eve is on Twitter @therealeve

Abduction - where sexy llamas don't wear helmets

2011-09-22T20:42:00.002+10:00

Famous for being the oft-shirtless werewolf Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga, the big question is can Taylor Lautner carry a film? The 19-year-old is the top-billed star in action/thriller Abduction, which is saying something considering the supporting cast features the likes of Sigourney Weaver, Maria Bello, Alfred Molina and Jason Isaacs.

Lautner plays testosterone-fuelled teen Nathan, whose past times including riding on the top of car bonnets for funsies, wrestling and driving a motorbike without a helmet. But when his crush Karen (Lily Collins) discovers his baby photo on a missing persons website, Nathan is forced to question his true identity and whether his parents are really his parents. Turns out they're actually spies and after they're killed by Russian hit men - no big surprise there, it's shown in the trailer - Nathan and Karen go on the run from shady government and underground agencies.

Abduction is everything you would expect from director John Singleton, who's past credits include Boyz n the Hood, Shaft, 2 Fast 2 Furious and Four Brothers. The film is heavy on the action and makes no apologies for it. In fact, Abduction is at its best during the big-budget shoot outs and bone-cracking fight scenes. It's the plot that lets the film down with inconsistencies in the central mystery and nonsensical subplots that go unresolved or completely unaddressed by the films end. Abduction is like a dumbed-down version of the Jason Bourne films and male viewers under 25 won't have a problem with that. After all, you don't go and see a Singleton film for the story. Lautner makes a convincing action star and although he might lack the acting chops of previous Singleton alumni like Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, he has something they lacked; physical skill. Continuous shots of showcase Lautner's ability as a martial artist as he back flips and high kicks his way into the Jason Statham league. Like Statham, Lautner's range is limited as an actor, but for action movie purposes the phsyciality takes priority. And that he has.

Stellar actors fill out a black and white supporting cast of spy-movie characters, but the highlight here is the Hollywood debut of Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist (above). A familiar face to adult audiences as protagonist Mikael Blomkvist in the film adaptations of Stieg Larsson's The Millenium Trilogy, he makes a charismatic and engaging villain. Like his co-star Noomi Rapace, hopefully he's someone we'll be seeing a lot more of.

Lively and Lawrence to get high as Kite?

2011-09-22T15:58:00.001+10:00

Director David Ellis has his eye firmly trained on Blake Lively or Jennifer Lawrence for the leading role in his next film Kite. I spoke with Ellis earlier today about his new film Shark Night 3D and the former stuntman was more than willing to spill the beans on his next project.

News broke last fortnight that the Snakes On A Plane director was signed on to bring a real-D version of edgy Japanese anime Kite to the big screen. The original 1998 film follows a young girl, Sawa, who sets out to track down the killer of her father, who was a cop. The characters occupy a post-financial collapse failed state where corrupt security traffics young women for profit.

Ellis said he was first introduced to the anime version of Kite by his son, who’s a big fan.
“I was aware of it because my son’s really into Japanese anime and I watched Kite with him,” he said.
“Then when the script started floating around and they were looking for another director my agent sent it to me.
“I read it and loved it.
“I had lunch with the producers and I talked about my vision for that world.
“It reminds me of that Mad Max: Road Warrior universe.”Ellis said they’re ready to start filming in South Africa by the end of the year and that he envisions either Blake Lively or Jennifer Lawrence in the role of heroine Sawa (above).
“I would love either Blake Lively of Jennifer Lawrence for the lead,” he said.
“Both are really good, but we’ll have to see if we can afford them and if they’re available.
“There are a lot of people we like for Kite and we’re still getting on to that side of things.
“We’re waiting for a new script which comes out next week and the casting director is getting started.”

Lively or Lawrence would definitely be interesting choices and the part of Sawa is no doubt going to be a whole coveted one. It would be an edgy choice for any Hollywood actress, given the sexual abuse sub-plot and general violence inflicted at her hands. Basically it’s like a younger version of The Bride aka Beatrix Kiddo from Tarantino’s Kill Bill. Lawrence may be a tad hesitant to sign on to Kite, however, given she’s already committed to playing one strong female heroine in a post-apocalyptic world in The Hunger Games and its potential sequels. Anant Singh (I Capture The Castle, Pulse) and Brian Cox (Pulse, Don’t Look Up) are producing. Ellis, a former professional surfer and stunt co-coordinator on films such as Scarface and Patriot Games, has helmed mainly horror films since sitting in the director’s chair. But he has impressive pedigree. Ellis has been second unit director and in charge of filming the heavy duty action in flicks such as Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World and The Matrix Reloaded. He said he’s definitely up for the job and looking forward to some of Kite’s hardcore moments.
“I love action and Kite’s an action film,” he said.
“I’m excited to get to do that and I’m ready to step outside the genre I’ve been working in.”

Taylor Lautner: ABduction

2011-09-19T13:45:00.003+10:00

When John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Four Brothers) directs a film, you know what you're getting; action, explosions and testosterone. He's also helped shape some of the biggest action movie stars in Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L Jackson, Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Ice Cube and Christian Bale. So where did he go to find his new leading man? The world's most popular romance series, The Twilight Saga.

Taylor Lautner, best known for playing werewolf Jacob black, is the star of Singleton's new film Abduction which follows a seemingly ordinary teen forced to go on the run from shady government agencies after he discovers his photo on a missing persons site. It's a welcome shift for Lautner who says although he's "extremely thankful'' for his Twilight fanbase, Abduction was the opportunity to do "something new.''
"The Twilight universe has given me a lot, but the great thing about Abduction is it was a new way to challenge myself,'' he says.

Those challenges were welcomed by the fit 19-year-old, who was able to utilise over a decade of martial arts training by performing majority of the his own stunts.
"I was super fortunate to be able to do most of it,'' he says.
"I started martial arts when I was six and I was able to use some of that in the movie in the fights, flips and kicks.
"Then the things I hadn't done I had training for, like riding on top of a car in the opening scene was a blast and learning to ride a motorcycle, the boxing and wrestling.''

Coming from the more female-targeted Twilight universe, Lautner says it was ``very cool'' to work with Singleton on a film for the boys.
"I really think Abduction is a movie for everyone because it does have the action for the guys, but at its core it's a great story,'' he says.
"The characters are very interesting, there's a love story, plus it's a mystery that has those twists and turns.''

Going from family films such as The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lavagirl straight to international heart throb status as a teenager with the Twilight films has been an interesting journey for Lautner. For someone who's still trying to find his way in Hollywood, he says he was able to learn a lot from the cast of showbiz veterans in Abduction.
"It was great for me to go from the Twilight cast, where we've been working together for years and are like a comfortable family, to an impressive cast like this.
"Sigourney Weaver is a legend, not to mention everyone else like Maria Bello, Alfred Molina, Lily Collins and Jason Isaacs, who's just about the funniest person I've ever met.
"The advice they gave me and just being able to observe and watch them was awesome.''

Abduction is out Thursday, September 22.