Archive for the ‘Television & Web Series’ Category
Posted by Jesse in Arts, Books, DVD & Blu-Ray, Events, Latest News, Movies, Television & Web Series, Toys & Collectibles on March 16th, 2010
We here at Famous Monsters love the Rondos, and who wouldn’t?
Begun in 2002 by David Colton and Kerry Gammill over at the scare-tastic Classic Horror Film Board, the Rondo Awards are dedicated to honoring achievements in classic horror, recognizing everything from “Best Movie,” to ”Best DVD Commentary” to “Best Horror Host.” Lucky winners receive a beautifully sculpted bust in the likeness of famed horror star Rando Hatton (The Pearl of Death, House of Horrors), for whom the award is named. And now, every year, the cool ghouls of the internet come together to celebrate the best and brightest in the world of classic horror, science fiction and cult films.
The best part is that anyone can vote. Your voice matters! As a fan of all that is classic horror (and surely that is you, fair reader, for who else would frequent the abode of the Ackermonster?), it is your sacred franchise to cast your ballot in favor of your favorite fiends.
Hit up the Rondo Awards’ official site when it is Kong-venient, and cast your vote!
While every category should be of great interst to FM readers, we wanted to single out a few awards and nominees that have particularly wowed us this year.
A bounty of excellent films from 2009 is present In the Best Movie category. Last year was a particularly rich one for genre fans, and pictures like Henry Selick’s beautiful Coraline, Neill Blompkamp’s astounding and provoking District 9, Sam Raimi’s delerious Drag Me To Hell and Duncan Jones’ mind-bending Moon represented the best of what genre cinema can be.
Fan favorites from the TV category include the final season of SyFy’s milestone Battlestar Galactica, Fox’s brilliant head-scratcher Fringe, as well as perennials Lost and HBO’s vampire drama True Blood.
This writer needs to single out the extremely overdue release of Night of the Creeps in a wonderful collector’s edition, for the Best Classic DVD category, as well as the Beware the Moon documentary from last fall’s excellent An American Werewolf in London special edition. When it comes to Best Commentaries, we were blessed with an embarrassment of riches last year, with Fred Dekker offering insights into the aforementioned Night of the Creeps, ace film historians Greg Mank and Tom Weaver (with guests Bob Burns and Charlotte Austin) lending great depth and context to classic Karloff creepers The Walking Dead and Frankenstein 1970, respectively, as well as another great duo of commentaries from Japanese film experts Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski for the Toho Science Fiction Collection.
If you head over the Rondo site, you’ll be greeted by the incredible nominees for Best Magazine Cover, including a Plague of the Zombies/The Reptile tribute, in the form of a startling contribution to Little Shoppe of Horrors by Bruce Timm.
Best Website has a daunting number of nominees (including yours truly, a-thank you), and surely one of the coolest of the bunch has to be director Joe Dante’s amazing Trailers From Hell, where Joe invites several celebrity buddies in to provide commentary for some of the greatest genre trailers. Everything from Attack of the 50ft. Woman, to Stanely Kubrick’s classic crime caper The Killing is up for your amusement, with commentators like Larry Cohen, John Landis, Eli Roth, Edgar Wright, and Roger Corman himself!
Nominated for Best Article is Steve Vertlieb’s excellent “The Most Famous Monster of Them All: A Personal Remembrance of Forrest J. Ackerman,” a feature FM is proud to have re-presented on our site. Also relating to Forry, Joe Moe’s wonderful tribute to the Ackermonster at the Egyptian Theatre is nominated for Best Fan Event.
The Best Toy, Model or Collectible category has too many goodies to name, but who wouldn’t want that Dracula ornament for the tree? Or to have Boris Karloff (with three changeable heads!) glaring down at you from the top of your desk?
And we would be remiss if we didn’t remind readers that we’re all partial to Eric Powell’s fantastic The Goon and Mike Mignola’s always brilliant Hellboy, which are both nominated for Best Horror Comic.
Count Alucard’s Controversy of the Year has some gems, including fans’ debate over whether or not a snippet of Bela Lugosi’s original Monster dialogue can be heard in a scene from Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, as well as the growing trend of big studios pressing specialty DVD’s by order, as opposed to standard releases.
There’s so many more categories and so much more to choose from, so head on over the Rondo Awards site for a full list of nominees and be sure to cast your vote! The polls are open until midnight, April 3rd.
Posted by Bryan in Latest News, Reviews, Television & Web Series on March 12th, 2010
Has there ever been a Ben episode that didn’t deliver? First was the highly-anticipated origin tale of “The Man Behind the Curtain,” one of the high points of an uneven third season. That was followed up by season four’s “The Shape of Things to Come,” which capably pulled off the difficult task of wringing an incredible amount of emotion from the relationship between the show’s villain and a daughter he kidnapped. Season five brought “Dead is Dead,” which was good enough to win Michael Emerson his second Emmy, and first for the role.
It’s impossible to discuss these episodes without constantly praising Emerson, who impressed the creators so much in what could’ve been a five-episode stint in season two, that he was bumped up to series regular and became one of the most integral parts in the show. Ben hasn’t had a ton to do this season in the wake of his violent outburst against Jacob in “The Incident,” but Emerson once again makes good on his annual episode showcase in “Dr. Linus,” reminding us of why the character is so compelling, and just why the show had to keep him around.
The most surprising part about this episode was the dexterity with which it alternated between on-island events and the flash-sideways storyline. I’ve been vocal about my fondness for the new framing device the writers concocted for this season, but as intriguing as it’s been to receive continued glimpses into this strange new timeline, I wouldn’t consider them to be the most compelling drama on the show this season. They’ve operated as a compliment to the main action in a similar way to the flash-forwards of season four, providing additional shading for the characters and just enough plot to justify inclusion on that basis.
But despite the positive of the flash-sideways, it has still seemed at times that the creators have thrown in things that exist merely to wink at the audience. Here I’m thinking of Claire popping up in the cab Kate hijacks, or Jin being tied up in the building Sayid kills Keamy in. It may prove that these crosses are more than sheer coincidence, but as of now they reek a little of the tendency writers had in the first couple of seasons, to stick recurring minor characters in cameos for others’ flashbacks. Sure, these moments are exciting on a “hey, it’s that guy!” level, but when they never rise above that, they can seem a little pointless.
So when Ben popped up, as a teacher of European History no less, in Locke’s flash-sideways the other week, the immediate reaction I had was to suspect cheekiness from the writers. Thankfully, “Dr. Linus” managed to utilize the new format better than any episode thusfar, resulting in an engaging hour that both answered some questions while raising some intriguing new ones.
The way that Ben’s storyline called back to the choices and sacrifices he had to make on the island were evident without being overstated. From choosing between his affection for Alex and more self-centered crises of leadership to caring for his aging father, even providing an oxygen tank, these moments all worked as interesting turns on Ben’s story as we’ve seen it so far. Plus, in an unexpected twist that makes perfect sense, we discover that not only is Locke employed at Ben’s high school, but so is the hapless science teacher, Leslie Arzt (Daniel Roebuck). Since accidentally blowing himself up in the first season finale, Arzt has become one of Lost’s most valuable in-jokes — a memorable and funny character it can pull out of its sleeve in situations like this to provide that additional bit of humor, such as in his scenes with Ben, agreeing to support his run at principal as long as he receives a better parking space.
But the real reason the material works so well is the energy and pathos provided by Emerson. Just as in season four, he completely sells his relationship with Alex, even when it’s placed in a completely different context. The series has taken so many twists and turns with Ben’s character, taking him from a clearly drawn villain to someone that didn’t really have the answers he seemed to, that it was a logical progression to place him in the role of valiant hero here, to see how his persona translates to truly being one of the “good guys.”
The scene where he flees to join the smoke monster, because he’s the only one who will have him is a fantastic piece of acting, both by Emerson and Zuleikha Robinson, who conveys an aching grief over the loss of Jacob, but makes the difficult decision to accept Ben back into the fold.
All of this is not even to mention the compelling new developments with Richard, who leads Jack and Hurley to (presumably the vessel on which he came to the Island) the Black Rock, where he makes the sudden request of Jack to kill him. Richard also reveals that because he was “touched by Jacob” he does not have the ability to do it himself. Since we have seen Jacob touch several of our castaways, the “candidates,” are we to assume that they too can’t off themselves? It does call to mind Michael’s off-island storyline in season four’s “Meet Kevin Johnson” where his attempts at suicide were deterred by some odd combination of inexplicable coincidence or fate.
We also got a couple of nice shoutouts to previous seasons, the most surprising being Miles’ mention of the ill-fated Nikki and Paolo, including an amusing visual callback at the end where Miles revealed he had dug up the diamonds they were buried with. And of course the episode concluded with the surprising reveal that Charles Widmore was on a submarine, plowing straight for the island. It’s safe to assume that he is the one who was coming in “Lighthouse,” as predicted by Jacob. The whole Widmore storyline was one that seemed like a focal point of the show for a while, but has somewhat fallen by the wayside since the introduction of the Jacob/Man in Black stuff that has risen to the forefront this season. It should be interesting to see how he fits back into the shape of what the show is now, and how his ongoing feud with Ben will play out.
Another very strong episode, but it’s really hard to believe that there could possibly be only nine more weeks of Lost, ever. It’s a safe bet that they’ll be memorable.
Posted by Bryan in Latest News, Reviews, Television & Web Series on March 8th, 2010
Now things are really starting to cook. While Caprica has done a good job of mining the dramatic fallout of events from the pilot, charting the separate and collective grief of the main characters, it was only a matter of time before the writers needed to make a concerted move forward in plotting. This week’s episode, “Know Thy Enemy,” represented that first step forward, but it was also a slightly ginger one.
Most of my admiration of the series thusfar has stemmed from its emphasis on character and world-building. Plot wasn’t forestalled so much as secondary to fleshing out this odd world and its inhabitants. Although the story in “Enemy” focused on an event that occurred within the Pilot (Daniel’s hiring of the Tauron mob to steal a part from his competitor), it also introduced new characters and new developments that provide us with an idea of where the show is heading.
The first of these new characters is Daniel’s aforementioned rival, Tomas Vergis. Much of the episode is dedicated to Vergis’s arrival on Caprica, and his declaration to Daniel that he will have revenge for the slaying of his two co-workers/godchildren. At first he claims he wants to help Daniel by buying the Caprica City Buccaneers so that Graystone Industries can get the money they need to perfect the MCP. Daniel doesn’t believe it, though, and finally comes to the decision that Vergis is merely trying to ingratiate himself into Caprican society to steal military contracts from Graystone. In a pivotal scene, Vergis reveals that Daniel’s barking up the right tree, but there’s more to it. He wants to own the C-Bucs because he knows how much Daniel loves them. “My dream is to tear up your dream,” he says with a smile.
This plotline unfortunately had to do so much heavy lifting to both introduce Vergis, and then tie him into the proceedings that there wasn’t much room for nuance. The same could be said for the subplot involving the other new character introduction this week, genre favorite James Marsters as STO fringe leader Barnabus. We get a sufficiently creepy introduction to the man, with a strip of barbed-wire strapped around his arm, opining about the necessity of pain. But at this point, Marsters is merely being set up as a dangerous ally for Lacey — unwilling to advance further in their coalition until he understands more about her motives.
Thankfully, the pair of other subplots were given the room to breathe that has characterized the series’ strength so far. First was Sister Clarice’s desperate attempt to infiltrate the Graystone household in order to poach technological data from Daniel’s database. Though the other members of her pluralistic marriage harbor doubts, she exhibits some unforeseen cunning in tricking Amanda by getting her drunk and then accepting an invitation into the laboratory to get a good luck at the Zoebot.
Speaking of Zoe, she was allowed to further explore her relationship with the young technician, Philomon. He’s so lovesick that he finds himself awkwardly romanticizing his robot, until Zoe takes matters into her own hands by inviting him on a date in V-world, under the pseudonym of “Rachel.” This is the kind of plot that doesn’t serve any sort of overarching purpose in the show’s trajectory, yet it provides great shades in character that you don’t get in a lot of television.
Now that they’ve established the rivalry between Daniel and Tomas, I’m hopeful that it can continue to be explored with as much nuance as the plots up until now have been dealt with. In some ways, this show is oddly reminding me of HBO’s Deadwood. Like that show, the writers are accumulating a huge collection of characters, each with their own unique quirks and motivations, and then throwing them together in a community to see how they react against each other. Deadwood was pretty brilliant from the outset, but really picked up in season two when the world and characters were well enough established to be left to their own devices, free from excessive plot contrivance. The same could very well hold true for Caprica, but for a season that could be largely about setting the table, it’s been pretty darn engaging so far.
Posted by Bryan in Latest News, Television & Web Series on March 8th, 2010
If J.J. Abrams had created Fringe ten years ago, it could have served as a coy little meta-joke about the writer/director/producer’s career to that point. But today, with the news via Entertainment Weekly that Fringe has been picked up for a third season on FOX, the name is a true oxymoron.
Abrams began his career writing assigned scripts for a few big-budget Hollywood productions (Armageddon, Joy Ride), before finding his niche in the realm of network television. He gave Keri Russell minor stardom in the WB college dramedy Felicity, and then made a splash by essentially tweaking a similar premise with the qualifier “what if she was also a spy,” and creating Alias. Despite critical praise for his creations, neither managed to garner huge ratings. Nevertheless, Abrams would gain further critical attention with his next brainchild, Lost, and manage to accumulate enough clout to be hired on to direct a few huge blockbuster franchise films — Mission Impossible III and Star Trek.
In the midst of his rising stardom, Abrams carved out enough time to create his first televised serial since Lost (excluding a string of other short-lived Abrams-produced offerings that bore little more than his stamp of approval), the paranormal detective tale, Fringe.
Since debuting two seasons ago, the series has proved relatively prosperous for the network that is forced to measure all ratings against their one cultural behemoth, American Idol. Although a recent timeslot shift to the more crowded Thursday nights has led to a decrease in overall viewership — estimates are at 7.6 million viewers per episode, enough for just 50th overall in the key 18-49 demographic — FOX clearly still feels kindly enough to keep it around.
J.J. Abrams produces alongside longtime collaborators Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. It stars Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown and Jasika Nicole. Currently on a hiatus, Fringe will return with new episodes beginning April 1.
Posted by Bryan in Reviews, Television & Web Series on March 4th, 2010
For all its faults, Lost has always been nothing if not unique. Although it has constantly evolved since season one, incorporating more elements and shifting focus regularly, the show has proven to be inimitable. Since becoming a hit with its premiere in 2004, every network has attempted targeting what makes the show tick, in an effort to replicate its success. There have been those that looked to the heavily serialized science-fiction elements (FlashForward, V, Heroes), and then there have been those that went with the “everybody-is-connected” thread (Six Degrees, Reunion, The Nine). The problem with all these (short-lived) imitators was they didn’t realize that Lost works so well because it fuses so many seemingly disparate elements into a cohesive whole.
This week’s episode, the Sayid-centric “Sundown,” perfectly embodied the show’s balance and precision — providing a hefty helping of philosophical headiness before careening into an action-packed thrill ride. This has always been Lost’s greatest draw for me. Sure, it’s fun to extract meaning from the show’s proclivity for philosophical references, whether they be in the character’s names or a book someone happens to be reading (heck, Lostpedia.com is a downright addicting website), but they can often only take you so far.
When it comes right down to it, Lost is still a network show, prone to the restraints implied therein. On a purely intellectual level, it’s never going to approach the subtle humanist ponderings of a Deadwood, or the detailed societal examination of The Wire. But that’s okay. What the show lacks in those respects, it has always made up for in its sheer ability to thrill. Television isn’t a medium ideally suited to the action sequence, but Lost has always pulled them off with flair. From the opening minutes of the Pilot where Jack pulled Claire from beneath burning wreckage, to Hurley running down a swarm of others in his VW bus, the show consistently finds ways to encapsulate tension and release on a television budget. 
The most impressive thing about “Sundown” was the way it utilized that familiar tendency for jaw-dropping action sequences, while simultaneously making it relevant and necessary for the storyline. To elaborate, many have griped that the recently-introduced quarrel between Jacob and the Man-In-Black has come along too quickly to have so much relevance to the conclusion of the entire series. These complaints certainly had merit — why should the viewers feel invested in these two God-like supernatural entities as opposed to the characters we’ve followed all along?
The final passage of this episode, where Sayid eerily drifts through the fallen bodies, “Catch a Falling Star” twinkling on the soundtrack, were both spooky as a coda to the violence he had helped perpetuate, but also oddly poignant. The firm arrival of Sayid onto the so-called “dark side” effectively solves the show’s dilemma — this familiar character is now a part of the story they want to tell. I’m not sure how much of this comes from Naveen Andrews performance, but it’s key that through all his horrific actions – first drowning Dogan and then slitting Lennon’s throat, he’s still recognizably Sayid. While Terry O’Quinn continues to do outstanding work, he no longer playing Locke. It should help now to have the actual character of Sayid employed by the Man in Black, to allow the storyline to cohere without us losing investment.
The jury is still out this season on who we are supposed to side with in this ultimate conflict between Jacob and the Man in Black. Ongoing inferences that the dark represents evil have been toyed around with, notably in the previous episode where Jack raised a fuss about being pushed along and watched his entire life by Jacob in his lighthouse. Although the Man in Black kills many, many people in this episode, the scene where Dogan reveals the origins of his relationship with Jacob is very telling. It seems that Jacob is willing to provide people with the opportunity to have the one thing they want (in Dogan’s case his son’s life), with the qualifier that they cannot directly interact with them ever again. It only further complicates the quarrel between the two entities, and intrigues me as to how their ultimate relationship affects our characters.
Amidst all this I’ve barely mentioned Sayid’s actual plot, including the flash-sideways story that finds him still pining for Nadia, now married to his brother. The whole thing serves as a nice grace note for the character, and makes the final payoff of his embracing the dark side all the more potent. Overall, I think this rates as another very good episode to begin this final chapter of the story. In a way, it’s almost more reassuring now that they’ve nailed these opening episodes — the creators have had so much time to mull over the ending that I’m confident it won’t disappoint, which leaves only the journey there as the last question mark. So far, so good.
Posted by Bryan in Books, Latest News, Television & Web Series on March 2nd, 2010
It’s been a big day for HBO. Earlier they confirmed rumors that famed screen actor Dustin Hoffman had been cast as the lead in a new David Milch (Deadwood) horse-track gambling series, Luck. Now they’ve followed that announcement with another that fantasy buffs have been eagerly awaiting for several years — George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones has been ordered to series.
For those not in the know, Thrones is the first in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic novels written by George R.R. Martin. The first (Thrones) was published in 1996, and to date four out of a projected seven volumes have been published. Three years ago, HBO optioned the rights to adapt the novels into a weekly television series, and since that time the project has gone through various stages of development.
Finally in 2009, the project got off the ground, with the pilot going into production under the direction of Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent, The Visitor), and featuring such actors as Sean Bean and Peter Dinklage. Devoted fans followed the process through a trail of informational scraps left by Martin on his blog, culminating in his recent proclamation that the pilot had been completed, and they now merely awaited the official decision of the HBO executives on whether it would be ordered to series.
That news came today, courtesy of Variety, that the official decision has been made, and A Game of Thrones will enter production in Belfast in June. Ten episodes will be produced for the first season.
HBO should be the perfect venue to provide the proper treatment for the very adult themes in this fantasy series — they’ve proved with both Deadwood and Rome that they can tackle historical periods while allowing for whatever mature themes the story might require. The fantasy of Thrones takes place in a fictional world that the production will film primarily on foreign soil in Belfast. It’s definitely an ambitious project — probably the most expensive HBO has tackled since the unceremonious decline of Rome, but it’s encouraging to see the pay-cable channel reinvesting themselves in ambitious projects.
Thrones is set in the mythical land of Westeros, and tells the story of the noble Stark family who become entangled in some unwanted intrigue when patriarch Eddard becomes the king’s new right-hand man. The books take the approach of setting each chapter from the perspective of a separate character, with each ending in a cliffhanger — a structure that would likely lend itself well to television translation. Martin himself got his start in writing for episodic TV (Beauty in the Beast).
The plan will be to have each book cover the length of one season, in much the same manner as True Blood is produced. The pilot was written by David Benioff (The Kite Runner, Brothers) and D.B. Weiss. In addition to Bean and Dinklage, the cast includes Mark Addy, Lena Headey, Jennifer Ehle, Richard Madden, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
With production beginning this summer and looking at the slate of upcoming projects they have planned, it’s probably reasonable to guess that Thrones would premiere sometime in the coming spring. Color us insanely excited about this news, as it’s always nice when some great material seems to get the treatment it truly deserves. The wait until next spring will be brutal.
Posted by Bryan in Reviews, Television & Web Series on March 1st, 2010
For those who have complained about the schizophrenic nature of Caprica, “There Is Another Sky” certainly doesn’t quell any complaints. Lacy and Sister Clarice? Not present. Amanda and Zoe? One scene apiece. It was probably inevitable, and certainly makes sense that the show would take an episode to shift the focus from the Greystone family to the Adamas, and the approach the creators took was certainly an interesting one.
We spend the majority of this episode jumping between the V-world escapades of Tamara and the ongoing grief over her death by her relatives. While the shift in focus wasn’t the series strongest outing to date, it contained some spectacular images and moments that could only be found in this show.
It’s been difficult for critics to evaluate Caprica on its own merits, as both its positives and negatives have seemingly been weighed against and in concordance with its mother series, Battlestar Galactica. But as I’ve argued for the past several weeks, this show has proven itself as having a new agenda, and has continued to flesh out its world via strong characters and world-building. And “There Is Another Sky” featured both in spades.
The scenes set back on Caprica feature an intense, brooding atmosphere appropriate to the Adama family, as we see them attempt to console the lingering grief over their loss. Joseph has taken to further neglect of Willie, and when he tries to reconnect with a family fishing trip, things quickly turn to Willie brutally beating a racist heckler. The budding father-son relationship between Sam and Willie only further inflames things, until the only thing that can bring them together is the funeral for their lost family members.
The series also continues to legitimize a controversial visual decision to present the Zoe-bot alternately in human and robot form within the same scene. This brings us to the aforementioned single Zoe scene of the week, Daniel’s chilling presentation to the board in which he requires the robot to violently tear its arm loose from body. The lingering image of Zoe’s dough eyes on her unknowing father just prior to completing her task are as haunting an image as you’ll find on television, and also one that only this show could pull off.
That’s perhaps the most impressive thing about Caprica in the early going, it’s become so dexterous at shuffling between tones, moods, and genres, that it’s becoming something more than a composite of all of them, something unique and outstanding. 
The scenes in the V-world, with Tamara stumbling around a futuristic remodeled Caprica, dubbed “New Cap City” are visually something along the lines of Blade Runner meets Sin City, but the execution was at times a bit tepid. While the eventual empowerment of Tamara, and particularly the final shot of her triumphantly marching down the abandoned street were both enigmatic and unexpected, the road to getting there was too plodded down with the nonsense about guns and virtual cash.
Still, the episode maintains the momentum built up over the last several weeks, and continues to build and expand its frame, encompassing more and more characters without losing a central focus. It’s still early enough where the deliberate pacing hasn’t revealed a season-long story arc proper, but the measured unfurling of character give the impression that when things really break, they’ll explode.
Posted by Bryan in Events, Games, Latest News, Movies, Television & Web Series on March 1st, 2010
James Cameron is having a good year. After hearing rumblings about the innovative special effects in his new film, Avatar, for years leading up to its 2009 release, audiences rewarded Cameron’s pioneering with unprecedented box office. With awards season now in full swing, several film academies and organizations have begun lining up to dole out some more praise for the film’s achievements. The latest ceremony, Sunday night’s Visual Effects Society Awards, provided the Avatar crew with six more pieces of hardware, making them the big winners on the night.
The film’s winnings included the society’s most prestigious award — Outstanding VFX in a VFX-Driven Motion Picture, and the Best Single Visual Effect of the Year, for the “Neytiri Drinking” scene.
The Visual Effects society advertises themselves as “the entertainment industry’s only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of entertainment from film, television and commercials to music videos and games.”
These were the first nominations and wins for Cameron, who hasn’t made another film since the awards’ inception eight years ago. However, his past work was also commemorated at the ceremony with a lifetime achievement award for his work on past films such as Titanic and Aliens. In accepting his award, Cameron cited several influences on his work dating back to seeing Ray Harryhausen’s films as a small boy, and then later 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars.
Cameron also showed graciousness to the late Stan Winston, who participated in the lengthy development of Avatar before passing away prior to completion. Cameron shared an anecdotal conversation he shared with Winston prior to his passing, in which Cameron shared his plans to experiment with 3D on a small movie first.
“Stan said ‘No, you do the biggest thing you’re going to do with this, you do your Star Wars with this.’ Stan was like that. So we decided to make Avatar. I owe that to him,” Cameron said.
Cameron began his career as an f/x technician, before catching a break and ascending to one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood. He talked some about the digital age supplanting the techniques he once learned.
“But it doesn’t matter,” said Cameron. “Because it’s the artists and imaginations and the pioneering spirit that makes visual effects.” He then coyly added, “I’m deeply honored to be a member of this brotherhood of warlocks and magicians.”
The six trophies matched the second-most ever held by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, and was only one behind the all-time best seven taken home by The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Pixar was the other big winner of the night, as Up took home three prizes in the animation categories, and Pixar’s Ed Catmull received the George Melies Award for his work on computer graphics, digital filmmaking and CG animation. But Catmull admitted he never felt like a pioneer in his field.
“I was just trying to have an impact, solve interesting problems with good friends and good colleagues,” said Catmull. “The greatest honor was to have worked with you all these years.”
In television, Battlestar Galactica won for vfx in a broadcast series, and CSI also took home a pair of awards.
In videogames, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Gulag Extraction won for real time visuals, and Halo 3: ODST – The Life won for best vfx trailer.
Find the complete list of winners at the VES website.
Posted by Jonathan in Latest News, Television & Web Series on February 25th, 2010
According to the NY Daily News, next Monday’s CSI: Miami may seem a little “dark, spookier, scarier, and more dangerous with a lot more edge.” This, of course, may have to do to the fact that horror enthusiast Rob Zombie has jumped behind the director’s seat. And Rob Zombie is not alone.
The episode will feature a guest-roster including Michael Madsen, Malcolm McDowell, William Forsythe, ZZ Top’s own Billy Gibbons and even Rob’s wife, Sheri Zombie.
Zombie says the episode won’t feel like a complete departure from the regular season; longtime CSI fans won’t feel like they are watching an entirely new show, and die-hard Zombie fans should still be able to notice a Rob Zombie flair.
“In the opening scene, it’ll seem obvious [that I was the director],” said Zombie. “But I wasn’t trying to disrespect the show by disregarding anything they’ve done. I wasn’t trying to turn it into something different.”
The episode is airing at 10:00 p.m., EST, on CBS.
Posted by Bryan in Reviews, Television & Web Series on February 24th, 2010
Predictions of a Jack episode last week as a continuation of the season one flashback pattern held true this week, and in ways it was the quintessential Jack episode. There’s still a strong sense that the characters’ actions this season reflect a conscious attempt to evoke the spirit of the first season, Hurley even going out of his way to comment on such this week as he and Jack went on one of their classic romps through the jungle. But I thought the best season one-like evocation we got this week was the rather simple way that the flash-sideways (or what would’ve been the flashback in season one) complimented the on-island action, and provided a resonant accompaniment to our knowledge of the characters’ journey.
Jack has never been my favorite character, primarily because since he is the essential lead of the show, the writers have felt the need to adapt him into too many different situations that occasionally came off as clumsy. There’s a pretty clear reason for this — the original conception for the character included him dying valiantly in the pilot. After Matthew Fox was cast in the role, producers were so taken with his feral intensity that they decided to make a quick change, and ever since Jack has constituted an essential part of the main cast. Despite his worst moments, though, Jack has really grown as a character since his iconic “We have to go back!” speech in the season three finale.
By that point in the series we had seen extensive flashbacks into Jack’s home life, his messy divorce with his wife and troublesome relationship with his alcoholic father. But just when Jack’s heroic self-righteousness started to seem rote, he became something else, something slightly more believable. In the scene from the season five premiere, where Ben tells Jack to pack up everything he owns for a return trip to the Island, relief washes over the hero’s face. This is a man who never truly believed in his greatness but felt he needed to constantly strive for it. Now he’s come to the harsh realization that when faced with the so-called real world, he’d actually rather return to the harsh confines of the Island jungle.
In other words, I’ve warmed to Jack in the past several seasons as I feel he’s gained a measure of complexity, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still grate. Though I love to see Angry Jackface, the scene where he smashes the mirrors in the lighthouse is another convenient way for the show to introduce the prospect of answering questions, and then slinking slowly away from it. Yet the scene was also legitimate, because I believe that that’s exactly how Jack would react in the given situation — he finds out someone’s essentially been jerking him around his whole life, and he’s never really been in control of his own destiny. So he does the best thing he can think of in the moment to take back some semblance of control.
Still we got some fleeting moments of mythological intrigue, through the names etched on every compass-point of the rotating wheel, and the brief glimpses Jack got in the mirror before going all smash-happy. And as I said before, a lot of the enjoyment I got from this episode actually came from the flash-sideways where we saw Jack coming to grips with his own parent-child issues through the inverse of his usual dynamic with his own son. The scenes where Jack follows him to a piano recital were oddly poignant without overstating anything, and running into Dogan off the island only further adds to the intrigue and confusion about how exactly this alternate reality exists in conjunction with the other.
All of this is nicely elevated by the scenes with Claire and Jin in her new Rousseau-like environs, as she makes it a little more clear that whatever “darkness” has possessed her, it’s certainly doing some dirty work. As a friend remarked, Jin obviously has never seen Arrested Development, or else he’d know that you never promise crazy a baby. In a devilish way, I’m excited to see the eventual confrontation between this new Claire and Kate, who we’re reminded in this episode has made it her personal mission to return Aaron to his deserving mother. Claire’s line about intending to kill Kate if she had actually taken her son was a little clunky, but establishes an interesting, and to me slightly amusing, dynamic that I’m sure the show will get around to. I’m still slightly unclear, however, as to how Claire’s disappearance story jibes with her sudden disappearance, sans baby, in season four. Hopefully that gets followed up on at some point.
Overall, another good episode that only further sets the stage for the final push to come. Still many questions, including some new ones, such as who Jacob is trying to bring to the Island? We’ll be back next week to suss them all out.
Posted by Bryan in Latest News, Movies, Television & Web Series on February 24th, 2010
It’s hard to say whether Johnny Depp is a true fan of genre work, or merely a really good friend of Tim Burton’s. Either way, it’s to our benefit as he continues to churn out his trademarked eccentric performances. At the press junket for his latest, Alice in Wonderland, the actor let loose an update on his future plans.
Towards the end of the panel, as Depp was joined by director Burton, he was asked about their upcoming collaboration, Dark Shadows, based on the cult classic vampire soap opera.
“I see it going this year,” Depp said of the anticipated project. “I hope it does. I do, yeah.”
So nothing concrete as of yet, but it appears we’ll be seeing the project sooner rather than later. The original Gothic soap opera originally aired weekdays on ABC between 1966 and 1971. Oddly enough, when the series premiered there were no supernatural elements to be found. About six months into its run, however, they introduced ghosts into the world of the show, and a year in saw the introduction of vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid).
Depp will presumably play Collins, as he has been quoted before as saying that he longed to be the vampire as a child watching the original series.
The show was the first of its kind to delve into any sort of supernatural storytelling, and in addition to vampires it featured werewolves, ghosts, zombies, witches, warlocks, and time travel. In addition to both Burton and Depp, Madonna has gone on record saying that she is a huge fan of the series.
Assuming it comes to fruition, this will be the first successful revival of the series since a short-lived 1991 primetime television remake on NBC. That remake had initial success but coincidentally premiered just prior to the Gulf War, and ratings quickly tanked, causing it to be canceled after 12 episodes. In 2004, a pilot was filmed for the WB network, but was never ordered to series.
During the press junket, Depp also took the time to confirm that actors Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom will not appear in the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film. This was assumed, and as previously reported, the Disney producers have found some pretty exciting talent to replace them — Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane.
Depp always stays busy, and he appears to have some exciting prospects on the horizon.
Posted by Bryan in Events, Latest News, Movies, Television & Web Series on February 22nd, 2010
During awards season, the greatest anticipation is always built up for shows like the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes — high-profile stages for the largest of talents, but more importantly the largest of stars. The Oscars may honor representatives from a wide variety of categories, but it’s no secret that the emphasis is placed firmly on the so-called “big races” — actor, actress, director, picture. It’s a shame that the technical categories so often get lost in the shuffle at these big events, but it’s all the more reason to hold events like the Golden Reels, an audio/sound design awards show, which held its 57th annual show over the weekend in Los Angeles.
Organized by The Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE), the awards honor the various areas of sound editing: Dialogue & ADR, Effects & Foley, and Music. This year’s honors paid dues to several science fiction productions, including James Cameron’s Avatar, which took home two awards on the film side, while SyFy earned two posthumous awards for Battlestar Galactica.
Avatar was recognized for sound editing of music in a feature film and sound effects/foley. Other winners on the feature side included Up, Inglourious Basterds, This Is It, and District 9, which was awarded Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects, Foley, Dialogue and ADR in a Foreign Feature Film.
Battlestar received honors for Long Form Dialogue and ADR, as well as Long Form Effects and Foley. Other television winners included The Penguins of Madagascar, House, Glee, and True Blood, which was given the award for Short Form Dialogue and ADR.
A lifetime achievement award was also given to ADR editor Larry Singer, the first ADR editor to receive the honor. ADR (automated dialogue replacement), more commonly referred to as “dubbing” is the process of recording voices in post production for the purpose of replacing poorly recorded or lack of on-set audio.
Steven Spielberg was also hailed with the MPSE Filmmaker award, which he accepted in person. There may not have been many other recognizable faces at the awards, but without this slew of editors, recordists, and effects men, those famous voices probably wouldn’t sound all too good.
