Posts Tagged ‘Twilight’

Short Take: Definitely the most interesting of the series thus far

Director: David Slade (30 Days of Night)

Screenwriter: Melissa Rosenberg (Twilight Saga, Step Up)

Cast: Kristen Stewart (Twilight Saga, The Runaways, Adventureland), Robert Pattinson (Twilight Saga, Remember Me), Taylor Lautner (Twilight Saga, Valentine’s Day)

Length: 2 hours 4 minutes

Synopsis: When last we left Bella Swan (Stewart) in New Moon, she was deciding between vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen (Pattinson) or werewolf and best friend Jacob Black (Lautner).  Bella spends much of Eclipse weighing her options.  On the one hand, she could spend eternity as a vampire with Edward, though that would mean giving up important human experiences like aging and having a normal family. Choosing Jacob would allow her life to continue unchanged, except that she would have to lose Edward.  On top of this love triangle an army of recently turned or “newborn” vampires is after Bella, and Jacob and Edward must put aside the rivalry between their warring families to protect her. Read the rest of this entry »

Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly's "Cyrus" has been one of the recent indie successes

According to Pamela McClintock of Variety.com the “specialty sector”, or independent film market, has received a recent boost in box-office grosses thanks to releases like Mark and Jay Duplass’ Cyrus starring Jonah Hill, John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, and Catherine Keener, a documentary that follows the raising of several children from all over the world titled Babies, as we as several others.

President of Fox Searchlight Steve Gilula says that the recent (relative) success of these independent films are indicative that there “is life in the [indie] market, even as audiences are being more selective.” Some other examples of these films include City Island, Exit Through the Gift Shop, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

These indie successes hope to continue their theatrical and VOD runs, because as with any film the longer the run the more money they make. However, with word of mouth being the primary propellant of their runs such success is almost completely reliant on audience buzz, which is means these films’ futures are harder to predict than most.

One aspect that’s being tentatively attributed to these films’ financial achievements is how there are fewer large-market films being released during the Spring and early Summer months. Also consider the recent Warner Bros. flop Jonah Hex, for example, and it can be said that independent films have had less competition than usual.

The momentum that the “specialty sector” is building right now will be important for the current releases in creating Oscar buzz come Fall and Winter, as well as help later indie releases like Bill Murray and Robert Duvall’s Get Low, which will open July 30th, to do the same by holding the attention of audiences who may become distracted by bigger films such as Inception, Predators, Twilight: Eclipse, Salt, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and Tron.

Source: Variety

Writer/Director Bill Condon

The fourth film in the Summit Entertainment series, Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, has now hired Bill Condon as its director. Condon is perhaps the series’ most respected director to date, helming the Oscar nominated films Dreamgirls (Nom. Best Supp. Actor Eddie Murphy, Won Best Supp. Actress Jennifer Hudson) and Kinsey (Nom. Best Supp. Actress Laura Linney).

Commenting on the opportunity to direct a film that’s part of such a huge franchise, Condon said, “I’m very excited to get the chance to bring the climax of this saga to life onscreen,” said Condon. “As fans of the series know, this is a one-of-a-kind book — and we’re hoping to create an equally unique cinematic experience” -HR.

Summit Entertainment production president Erik Feig expressed his delight with the decision to hire Condon, saying, “Bringing Stephenie Meyer’s Breaking Dawn to the screen requires a graceful and intelligent hand, and we believe Bill Condon is exactly the right steward, having shown equal and abundant talents of immense creativity and subtle sensitivity” -HR.

Condon also won an Oscar for writing the adapted screenplay for Gods and Monsters.

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The next installment in the Twilight series, Twilight Saga: Eclipse, is directed by David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night) and is set to release June 30th.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel in the upcoming "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," about a wizard training a teenager in magic

There have been a number of films to come out the past few years that incorporate young leading actors, particularly teenagers (or at least roles written to be teenagers), such as Twilight (1 and 2), Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and the Harry Potter series. And what’s more, the trend is continuing with films like Kick-Ass, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, the ongoing Twilight series, I Am Number Four, and I’m.Mortal. All of these films not only star young actors but appeal to the teenage demographic as well – naturally. I’m.Mortal, for instance, is a story about earth as a place where people never look older than 21, and so teenagers appear identical to their parents and others older than them.

The Hollywood Reporter claims that this is because studios are convinced that movies starring young actors can work in any genre. Plus, it helps support the idea that what are popular right now with audiences are fresh faces. The trick, they claim, is “casting astutely and marketing shrewdly;” finding young actors that can fit the parts – just like with adult roles – as well as prove marketable to whatever the film’s target audience is (teenage girls or teenage boys, say).

What all of this could mean is that, if these films prove profitable, you can expect to see more of them in the future.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Quick Opinion: I’m not at all surprised to see more movies being made that gear towards teens. The teenage demographic is one of the largest for Hollywood movies (perhaps second only to families), and that was since before the recession. It only makes good business sense that the industry focus on these two primary audience types during a time when they’re trying to make the safest business decisions they can. What’s good about this new attention to teen audiences is that with more teen-geared projects to make, studios can afford to be more daring with which projects they green light. The teen movie genre has opened up to include material that is created for more niche audiences, who would have otherwise probably been ignored.

Add all of this to the following facts:

• some audiences are in fact getting tired of seeing the same faces over and over again and so introducing new talent will potentially raise the interests of a lot of people.
• Young actors are cheap and willing to work, so not only are they cost-effective but you know you’re going to get their best efforts. Less money spent on the cast means more money can be spent on hiring better hands and directors to build the film, increasing the overall quality of the product while also assuring at least decent quality performances (in theory).

The release of Kick-Ass, for example, might spark hope in some of you that niche teenage audiences are finally getting the attention they deserve. However, I wouldn’t be fooled into thinking that this new attention will continue any longer than until the time when they stop acting as a crutch for the studios. Once the recession ends, whenever that may be, I predict that the teen genre will go right back to where it was before – focused on boy-meets-girl high school dramedies. In the end, though, what’s really important is the job market for young Hollywood actors. Congratulations to them!

Miramax has long been considered a haven for independent financing and distribution, but with it being limited to only a few films per year who will pick up the slack?

Every few months or so I get into this strange mood where I think the film industry has become all hype and no substance, and I feel nostalgic for the movies I used to love.  Typically during these periods, every film I see only seems to confirm that sense and I grow increasingly disappointed until something finally snaps me out of it.

This time last year, I found myself in the midst of one of these film industry doldrums and I walked into Greg Mottola’s coming-of-age film Adventureland expecting yet another gross-out teen comedy like his previous film Superbad.  However, what I encountered was a film that restored my faith in the medium. Read the rest of this entry »

Would critics like Rolling Stone's Peter Travers be as influential if his reviews weren't published before the release dates?

In thinking of what kind of strange changes could be made to drastically alter the movie industry, I tried to think about how different things would be if we simply changed the time at which movie reviews were allowed to be published. Obviously most of them are written and published before the movies they judge are released into theaters, but some studios decide every so often to not hold critic screenings for some of their films. When this happens it is usually taken to be an indicator that the studio is not confident in its product and therefore wants to spare the film in question any bad publicity for as long as it can, which is up until the end of its first weekend.

What if, though, there were no preview screenings for critics period? Some might say this would completely change what most people take to be the function of a movie critic, which is to act as a sort of consumer reporter that evaluates the quality of a product and relays its findings and opinions to the public. No one wants to go to a “bad” movie for obvious reasons – it’s a waste of time and money. Right? So if there were no advanced critic screenings then how would people know which movies are worth their time and money, and which ones aren’t? Moviegoers would be forced to rely more on their friends, family, and general word of mouth. This may seem hugely inconvenient, but some studies show that people already put more stock into word of mouth than in movie reviews (this Variety article proves very enlightening on this topic). Read the rest of this entry »

Actor Enver Gjokaj, a man who Marisa says is one to keep an eye on because of his impressive range

We here at Movie-Thoughts find it very interesting to keep tabs on actors throughout their careers, especially from the time when they make their big break to when they become a full-fledged star. Below is a list of 7 actors and actresses from movies and/or television shows that our writer Marisa Carpico contests are worth keeping a close eye on, because you’re bound to see more of them in the future. Some names you might recognize, as they’ve been in the professional acting arena for several years, but they might not have thus far had the kind of notoriety that propels the gifted few into the “A” Class of Hollywood.

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Lea Michele: Glee fans will know her as the borderline-obnoxious overachiever, Rachel from Fox’s hit show, but before she lusted over the cute quarterback, she lusted over the cute rebel in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Spring Awakening.  As a successful Broadway actress with plays like Awakening, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award, and Les Misérables on her résumé, Michele clearly has talent.  Her abilities are on display in every episode of Glee where she lends her incredible vocals to tracks like “Don’t Stop Believing” and “My Life Would Suck Without You,” both of which had strong performances on the Billboard Top 100 Chart.  However, though her singing is certainly excellent, her acting is just as interesting.  During her show-stopping performance of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from Funny Girl during the “Sectionals” episode, Michele lent the song an energy and abandon that made her character’s desperate need for fame evident.  Michele’s skill at bringing Rachel to the point of unbearable, but always making her vulnerable and talented enough to keep viewers from hating her is likely what garnered her a Golden Globe nomination.  The big challenge for Michele in 2010 will be to find roles that show off more than just her vocal talents. Read the rest of this entry »

News has leaked that Summit Entertainment, which owns the rights to and finances the Twilight films, is in the midst of deciding whether or not they’ll try to extend the series by splitting the fourth and final book in Stephenie Meyer’s saga into two movies. The company is supposedly leaning towards splitting the fourth movie into two (making 5 movies overall), but in order to make that plan a reality must first jump a few hurdles.

With New Moon making over $400 million worldwide in its first two weekends, the franchise has risen to a monumental status. This being the case, it then presents the option of extending the series more so than originally planned because box-office returns will have be extremely secure (barring catastrophes). But Summit would need to first get permission from Meyer, who holds vetoing power on almost everything related to the films. And because of New Moon’s success, Summit wants to resign the film’s director, Chris Weitz,  for the fourth and potentially fifth film. However, he had already made plans to direct another film to be produced by Summit, The Gardener, but no deal has officially been closed as of yet. The company has reportedly not ruled out the possibility of making Weitz put that film on hold until after completing the fourth and fifth films – if he signs on to direct.

With the money Summit has made and continues to make on New Moon, it will be able to as well as likely have to pay extra for Weitz services, not to mention also the services of the cast and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg, all of which were signed on for only four films.

Source: Variety

Quick Opinion: Extending a franchise by splitting its source material into parts by way of making a higher number of movies is a Hollywood money-making tactic that most seem to actually like. Many Harry Potter fans were upset with each additional film’s lack of detail, faithfulness, etc., saying that all of the films were far too condensed. With Warner Bros. splitting the last film in the series into two films, it has re-encouraged this particular crowd. This is not to necessarily say that the Twilight series has the same breadth as Harry Potter’s, but more movies means more attention to detail, which fans appreciate. So, studios get more money, fans get more material to watch, and everybody wins.

Short Take: If your expectations are in line, expect to be satisfied

Director: Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass, About a Boy)

Screenwriter: Melissa Rosenberg (Twilight, Step Up), Stephenie Meyer (book)

Cast: Kristen Stewart (Adventureland, Twilight, Into the Wild), Robert Pattinson (Twilight, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Taylor Lautner (Twilight, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D)

Length: 2 hours 10 minutes

Synopsis: Picking up where the last film left off, Bella Swan (Stewart) is still trying to convince her vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen (Pattinson) to turn her into a vampire.  While celebrating her eighteenth birthday with his vampire family, an accident nearly leads the family to attack Bella.  Convinced that the only way to protect her is to leave, Edward and his family depart forever.  Bella slips into a depression only lessened when she spends time with her best friend Jacob Black (Lautner).  However Jacob, a werewolf, and Bella slowly cultivate a romance.  Just on the point of Jacob and Bella developing a full-fledged relationship, Bella must go to Italy to stop the vampire royalty, the Volturi, from killing Edward. Read the rest of this entry »

Christian Bale

In a Hollywood era that seems to favor making the remake as opposed to gambling on fresher projects, I would not put it past several production studios to consider remaking – yet again – the tale of Dracula. The popular Twilight series will get another financial boost once New Moon is released on November 20^th, and HBO’s True Blood series has so far been very successful in finding a fairly large audience as well. Vampires are “in” right now it seems, however they don’t appear to be anywhere near as frightening or evil as they once were in the Bella Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Max Schreck, or even Frank Langella days. They have turned from being classic movie monsters epitomizing depravity to hopeless romantics who fall in love with humans and are more concerned with coven politics than feeding their animalistic hunger. Read the rest of this entry »