Posts Tagged ‘Hugo Weaving’

Short Take: Full of action and fun to watch, but not exceptional

Director: Joe Johnston

Screenwriters: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely

Cast: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci

Length: 2h 4m

Synopsis: The year is 1942 and America is on the verge of militarily entering WWII. Brooklyn native Steve Rogers (Evans) has been applying to join the service but keeps getting denied. Nevertheless, he refuses to give up, and on his fifth attempt he is pulled aside and offered an opportunity to enlist after convincing the recruiters he is looking to fight for freedom, not just looking for a reason to fight. Across the Atlantic the dastardly Red Skull (Weaving), an ex-Nazi, has found the Cosmic Cube, a source of immeasurable energy which he plans to use to take over the world one country at a time. To combat his efforts the U.S. military authorizes Rogers to be a guinea pig for a new Super Soldier serum, which gives him great strength and speed. With his newfound abilities he becomes Captain America, and fulfills his dreams by doing his part to protect the innocent. But even for him, defeating Red Skull will be a tall order.

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Short Take: It's main message is nothing new, but at least the plot varries from the original 1941 version.

Director: Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park III)

Screenwriters: Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven, Sleepy Hollow) and David Self (The Haunting)

Cast: Benicio Del Toro (Che: Parts 1 and2), Anthony Hopkins (Beowulf), Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria), Hugo Weaving (V for Vendetta)

Length: 1h 42m

Synopsis: It is 1892. Lawrence (Del Toro), a well off American thespian, is beseeched to come home to Wales after his brother had been mauled by a mysterious creature. His brother’s fiancé, Gwen (Blunt), seems inconsolable, and his father (Hopkins) appears abnormally composed. Nearby gypsies are being blamed for the horrible incident, but soon everyone is forced to deal with the truth that no human of any level of insanity could do or be what they witness. They are cursed with an unnatural beast, with an insatiable thirst for blood.

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Publicity photo for Johnston's "The Wolfman"

Director Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, October Sky, Hidalgo) spoke with FilmJournal.com about his upcoming movie The Wolfman starring Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving, which opens February 12th, as well as some ideas regarding is next movie The First Avenger: Captain America.

Regarding The Wolfman: Johnston had only three weeks of pre-production, he says, because the studio “had already spent so much money and had gone down this road with Mark Romanek, and said, ‘We have to start shooting the movie at this point.’ I think a lot of it involved possibly actors’ contracts and a release date. Fortunately for me, Mark Romanek [the film's original director] made a lot of good choices. He cast some great actors”—the three leads were all aboard by this point—“I was able to cast a few more good ones, and I was able to change a few of the locations that I didn’t think were great.”

Concerning Captain America: “We’re in prep,” Johnston says. “Rick Heinrichs is production-designing and we’re set up down in Manhattan Beach [California]. It’s the part of the process that I love the most,” he enthuses. “We have eight or ten really talented artists, and we all just sit around all day and draw pictures and say, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if we could do this?’ It’s that phase of the production where money doesn’t matter: ‘Let’s put all the greatest stuff up on the wall and [then later] see what we can afford.’” The film, he says at this early stage, will begin “in 1942, 1943″ during World War II. “The stuff in the ’60s and ’70s [comic books] we’re sort of avoiding. We’re going back to the ’40s, and then forward to what they’re doing with Captain America now.”

To read more (which we recommend) see the full article.