Showing all posts about film
The Film Adaptation Test of a book
25 February 2022
Telling an author you read their book is the greatest compliment they can receive, according to American poet Lee Ballentine. Anyone taking five to six hours out of their time to read a book cover-to-cover must have — in most cases — thought highly of it. The title evaded the did not finish pile: that’s saying a lot.
As an additional compliment, you could tell the author you’ll read their novel again. But with so many books in the world, who has the time to repeat read a title? Instead it might be better to say their book should be made into a film. It’s a way of saying your novel is so good, more people need to experience it, so let’s get it into cinemas. For most authors that’s probably an affirmation; it’s my guess many quietly hope their work will result in a movie.
It’s more than a commendation though. It’s an endorsement that discharges a reader from the obligation to pick up the book again. But it also makes for a useful metric in assessing a novel. If a book is worthy of being adapted for the big screen, it’s probably a good story. It’s something that should be put before a wider audience. And if not, perhaps you could settle for telling the author you read their book, and leave it at that.
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Elvis, a film by Baz Luhrmann
23 February 2022
Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann brings the life of late American singer Elvis Presley to film, in Elvis, trailer. Luhrmann’s movies are always worth looking forward to.
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Liane Moriarty’s The Husband’s Secret film adaptation
21 February 2022
Sydney based Australian author Liane Moriarty’s 2013 novel The Husband’s Secret is headed for the big screen. American filmmaker Kat Coiro whose credits include L!fe Happens and Marry Me will direct the adaptation.
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film, Kat Coiro, Liane Moriarty
Studio 666, a film by BJ McDonnell
19 February 2022
Dave Grohl and the Foo fighters move into a nice old house in the country to record their tenth album, in Studio 666 (trailer), a film directed by BJ McDonnell. But things don’t quite go to plan. Grohl begins to lose his mind, and it turns out the house is a conduit, allowing maligned spiritual entities to cross from their world into ours. Ah, the trials and tribulations of the difficult tenth album…
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BJ McDonnell, film, music, trailer
Twitter users to get Oscars vote
16 February 2022
Twitter users have been given the opportunity to participate in the Oscars/Academy Awards voting process this year, though it looks more like a people’s choice vote, rather than a say in the regular award categories.
From February 14 to March 3, Twitter users will be able to vote up to 20 times a day for their favorite film and favorite film moment of 2021. The winning film and scene will then be featured during this year’s Oscars broadcast.
Talking of the Oscars, Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, and Amy Schumer, look set to be named hosts of the awards ceremony.
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2001: A Space Odyssey, a 2022 remake
14 February 2022
Related to my earlier post, can it be? George Lucas and Steven Spielberg collaborated on a remake of 2001: A Space Odyssey? How did I miss this? And even though the remake has a release date of 3 December 2022, it has already been appraised by the critics:
The film got mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 89%, which is very close to the original films rating. People thought that it had good music (while the original barely had any music) since it was performed by John Williams, who makes great music, and they loved HAL 9000’s theme “Bad Programming Day”. Also, a lot of people thought that it was similar to the original film. Harrison Ford even got a reward for his excellent acting in this film, people even say that it was better than his performance as Han Solo.
In this… “remake” Harrison Ford voices HAL, Chris Pratt is David Bowman, Jason Bateman is Frank Poole, and Mark Hamill portrays Heywood Floyd, so it looks like the reboot fails the Bechdel Test. John Williams composed the soundtrack, which is awesome even if it means no Blue Danube this time around.
Can’t wait to see it though…
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2001: A Space Odyssey, film, science fiction
Vale Douglas Trumbull, film visual effects artist
14 February 2022
Douglas Trumbull, a visual effects artist whose film credits include Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek: the Motion Picture, The Tree of Life, and the mind-boggling “star-gate” sequence in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, died last week at the age of 79.
By the way, the above trailer was made in 2018 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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2001: A Space Odyssey, film, science fiction, trailer
Drive My Car, a film by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
9 February 2022
Drive My Car (Doraibu mai kâ), trailer, is the latest feature from Japanese filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, and tells the story of a recently widowed stage director coming to terms with his wife’s sudden death, and revelations about her life that surface after her passing. Drive My Car has been nominated in this year’s Oscars for Best Director, and in a first for a Japanese film, Best Picture.
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film, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, trailer
Nominations for the ninety-fourth Oscars/Academy Awards
9 February 2022
The nominations for the ninety-fourth Oscars were unveiled overnight, and almost seem more notable for their exclusions rather than their inclusions.
For instance Lady Gaga and Jared Leto were not recognised for their roles in House of Gucci, ditto Cate Blanchett and Bradley Cooper for Nightmare Alley, and then arguably the big one, Denis Villeneuve missing out on a Best Director nomination for Dune, though the film is in the running for Best Picture.
On the other hand Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog is in line for a dozen Oscar gongs, including Best Director and Best Picture, while Australian actors Nicole Kidman and Kodi Smit-McPhee, have also been nominated. The Oscars awards ceremony takes place on Sunday 27 March 2022.
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Flee, a film by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
7 February 2022
Flee, trailer, an animated documentary by Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen, recounts the story of Amin, who left Afghanistan as a child, and settled in Denmark. As he prepares to marry his boyfriend, he confides in a friend, sharing a story about his past he has so far kept secret from everyone.
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