Showing all posts about film production
Barbie by Greta Gerwig earns one billion dollars at box office
10 August 2023
With Barbie, American filmmaker Greta Gerwig has become the first woman director to make a billion dollar earning movie. In addition, Barbie is, so far, just one of nine films to reach the milestone featuring a woman as the main protagonist:
Nine, that is, if you count female fish. Finding Dory (2016) swims in the billion dollar club, along with the animated princesses of Frozen (2013), Frozen II (2019) and Beauty and the Beast (2017). Two mega-franchises managed to spit out a billion-dollar film with women at the story’s heart: Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and Captain Marvel (2019). Then, two other billion dollar one-offs: Titanic (1997) and a live-action Alice in Wonderland (2010).
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film, film production, Greta Gerwig
A sequel to The Way on the way says filmmaker Emilio Estevez
20 July 2023
I mention Emilio Estevez’s 2010 movie The Way one day, and the next I learn the American director is working on a sequel to the film, which was set on the Camino de Santiago, in Spain.
I also discovered The Way was re-released in American cinemas last May. Estevez describes the film as being more of its time today, than when it was made thirteen years ago, given people’s desire to embrace travel again after the Covid lockdowns. There’s clearly something in that sentiment, as I know of several people who have spent time walking the Camino this year.
Martin Sheen, Estevez’s father, and star of The Way, has indicated interest in being involved in the sequel, but aside from that little else is known about the proposed new film, with Estevez still to work out the finer details of the story:
We’ve been talking about doing a follow up, a sequel of sorts. Martin says he’s up for it and I’ve cracked the code for what it would be. I will go to Spain to do promotion for this, but also testing the waters for what a sequel might look like.
As of time of writing, there’s no mention of the sequel on Estevez’s IMDb page, meaning the project isn’t even in pre-production yet, so fans of The Way will be waiting sometime for it to arrive.
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Emilio Estevez, film, film production
The fiery brilliance of Oppenheimer was achieved with no CGI
11 July 2023
Oppenheimer, American filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s bio-pic about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American scientist often referred to as the “father of the atomic bomb”, opens in Australian cinemas on Thursday 20 July 2023.
This is a film that stands to be remarkable for many reasons, but few people would have ventured to say that would be on account of computer-generated imagery (CGI), or, as the case may be, lack thereof. But according to Ryan O’Rourke, writing for Collider, Nolan has said Oppenheimer contains no CGI whatsoever.
Take a look at all fiery explosions we see in the trailer. Is the absence of CGI incredible, or what?
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Christopher Nolan, film, film production
An Oscar Award for film stunts may be on the way
25 June 2023
American filmmaker Chad Stahelski, possibly best known for directing the John Wick films, starring Keanu Reeves, believes an Oscar Award for movie stunts is forthcoming.
While promoting the latest instalment of the franchise, John Wick: Chapter 4, earlier this year, Stahelski, a stunt actor himself, said he spent time talking to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who present the Oscars annually, and described the process as “incredibly positive”:
In a recent interview with ComicBookMovie.com to mark the Blu-ray release of “John Wick: Chapter 4,” Stahelski announced that conversations about a stunt Oscar have finally taken place “in the last couple of months” between the Academy and a contingent of stunt coordinators.
“We’ve been meeting with members of the Academy and actually having these conversations, and, to be honest, it’s been nothing but incredibly positive, incredibly instructional,” Stahelski said. “I think, for the first time, we’ve made real movement forward to making this happen.”
Earlier this year, entertainment and culture magazine Vulture, frustrated by the Academy’s apparent lack of interest in the matter, established their own awards for film stunts. Winners, who were announced in March 2023, included Top Gun: Maverick (surprise, surprise), The Batman, and Nope.
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awards, film, film production, Oscars
Behind the scenes images from the making of Asteroid City by Wes Anderson
14 June 2023
Design magazine Wallpaper* has published a selection of photos taken during the production of the new Wes Anderson film, Asteroid City. Anderson worked with his long-time collaborator, production designer Adam Stockhausen, to create the trademark “Andersonesque” sets of Asteroid City:
Stockhausen achieved the hyperrealistic quality of Asteroid City through the use of forced perspective: the town becomes desert and bleeds into the horizon, all on a set the size of a football field and its boundaries seemingly imperceptible.
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film, film production, Wes Anderson
Vulture magazine does their own stunts, stunt awards that is
11 February 2023
New York based pop-culture publication Vulture has established their own film award — a “mini-academy” — to recognise the work of stunt professionals:
Since the AMPAS won’t properly fete achievements in stunts, we’re going to do it. We’ve spent the past few months assembling our own mini-academy of stunt professionals: a select group of stunt people, writers, filmmakers, and other industry professionals (including cinematographers and visual-effects artists) who helped us establish our own set of relevant and distinct stunt awards in a variety of categories, honoring work in feature-length films released between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022.
Good work. Action movies, plus a lot more, wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for stunt actors. Nominations are spread across ten categories, which includes a lifetime achievement award. Winners of the inaugural stunt awards will be announced on Monday 6 March 2023.
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From the inside looking out, the anatomy of a box office flop
2 September 2011
Sean Hood, screenplay co-writer of recently released — and less than spectacularly received — Conan the Barbarian, describes how a movie that flops feels from the point of view of its producers.
By about 9 PM it’s clear when your “candidate” has lost by a startlingly wide margin, more than you or even the most pessimistic political observers could have predicted. With a movie its much the same: trade magazines like Variety and Hollywood Reporter call the weekend winners and losers based on projections. That’s when the reality of the loss sinks in, and you don’t sleep the rest of the night.
What a horrid feeling. But do read Hood’s full article, there’s hope in there amongst the despair.
Originally published Friday 2 September 2011.
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