Couple of pieces of news here - firstly, Guy Ritchie has been finally confirmed to helm KING ARTHUR (he has been attached since 2010) for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow and secondly it will be in 3D. Whether or not it will be a native 3D production or a conversion is still being held closely to the vest. Always hoping for native!
KING ARTHUR is expected to be released on July 22, 2016 and it looks to be the first of a six film franchise.
Here's a teaser of the King Arthur legend courtesy of Wikipedia: Although the themes, events and characters of the Arthurian legend varied widely from text to text, and there is no one canonical version, Geoffrey's version of events often served as the starting point for later stories. Geoffrey depicted Arthur as a king of Britain who defeated the Saxons and established an empire over Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Norway and Gaul. Many elements and incidents that are now an integral part of the Arthurian story appear in Geoffrey's Historia, including Arthur's father Uther Pendragon, the wizard Merlin, Arthur's wife Guinevere, the sword Excalibur, Arthur's conception at Tintagel, his final battle against Mordred at Camlann and final rest in Avalon. The 12th-century French writer Chrétien de Troyes, who added Lancelot and the Holy Grail to the story, began the genre of Arthurian romance that became a significant strand of medieval literature. In these French stories, the narrative focus often shifts from King Arthur himself to other characters, such as various Knights of the Round Table. Arthurian literature thrived during the Middle Ages but waned in the centuries that followed until it experienced a major resurgence in the 19th century. In the 21st century, the legend lives on, not only in literature but also in adaptations for theatre, film, television, comics and other media.
I happen to be a fan of Jon M. Chu's work so I'm so glad he has be attached to follow up his great directorial effort with G.I. JOE: RETALIATION ($350m worldwide box office). He has an amazing eye for action and blending meaning with said action. Great choice.
G.I. Joe 3 will be a better movie because of Chu. Further we know that the franchise will continue with 3D and look to expand upon it! Think of those actions scenes shot with 3D in mind from the get-go.
More info when I get it! Snake Eyes rules. That is all.
I had the privilege of having lunch with the directors of UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING, Måns MårlindandBjörn Stein (SHELTER) and naturally I recorded the whole thing! Please bear with the background noise of us stuffing our faces while conversing.
I must say right up front that not only are these two directors solidly on their game, but they are total class acts and great company.
Allow me to impart to you what it was like to watch both of them at work on the set together. It is amazing to see in action. First of all, they take turns directing for a day, but they are both normally on set at the same time. They frequently discuss their shots together and really operate as one after a quick consensus. I saw no real disagreements or slowness in their process and in fact there were many benefits that I could see to their way of doing business! Clearly they had control of the set and creative freedom that any director insists upon, but they had almost a omnipotent feeling over the production to me. But the set was a relaxed yet thoroughly professional! The speed at which everyone worked to pull together the next shot was amazing. I liked what I saw and certainly the end result is fantastic. You are going to love it, especially if you are a fan of the series or action. Their passion in filmmaking was completely evident to me in person and so is their final result to you I'm sure.
0:15 -On how to pronounce their names! :-) Mads and Bjorn play along with me as they have obviously encountered this issue with other English speaking individuals! 1:00 -On what drew them to the production. Obviously the script attracted them and the fact that they had an idea about how they were going to shoot it put it over the top. They wanted to make something new out of this gothic series. 3:30 -How they are using S3D as another tool to differentiate this movie from the earlier efforts. This is their first stereoscopic 3D project and so they have brought on some expertise in the field to assist - but it still all done in house and without a third party. 4:15 -Being terrified at first about using 3D for the first time. After getting over the fear and that their shooting would change slightly for 3D, they accepted the challenge as a good thing for their careers. They both took the same 3D professional training course that James McQuaide (Visual Effects Supervisor, Executive Producer) took with Sony and the lights went off in their heads: 3D wasn't actually a problem, but a solution for their needs on UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING. 5:30 -On lens changes. The only issue, after getting up to speed with shooting 3D, is lens changes. Once that was addressed though, they are shooting now pretty much like an ordinary movie (given that the handheld shots are more restrictive in the format). 6:30 -On 3D bring much richer experience for audiences. 7:00 -On being one of the first filmmakers to be able to use the 5K Red Epic Cameras. This is their first digital production (other than commercials)! Imagine having your first experience in digital using the best on the market in Red Epics! Kasimir Lehto (Stereographer and 3D Supervisor) was at our table too - you can hear him speak up now and again. They simply love shooting in 120 frames per second (all those tricks that become possible in post - outstanding slo-mo, etc) and the fact that you don't have to keep changing cameras for different shots - the Red on max framerate covers them all. 8:30 -On using the 3ality Technica 3D rigs. They compared the 3ality rigs to the Pace Fusion rigs and thought that the Fusion ones were much larger (at least the older versions that they might have seen) and that the crew says they can work twice as fast as Fusion equipped productions. Their guess is that it has something to do with the rigs, but lets face it - directors don't mess around with the cameras very often at all (unless your James Cameron!). 10:00 - On clearing up misconceptions about 3D. Yes, handheld shots are hampered by using 3D as it is hard on the eyes of the audience if the camera is jostling around. The Red Epics can be used by restricting to 60 or 70% of the frame size to zoom because of the immense resolution of the camera. DPs like using prime lenses (artistically) and directors like zooms (because they're fast) but it doesn't take as long to align the latter.
Thank you so much Sony Screen Gems and Gloria Davies for setting this whole thing up! I loved my time on set and being back in my old neighborhood, beautiful Vancouver. I still have more interviews that I will get up soon and also for when the UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING 3D blu-ray disc hits. Stay tuned!
UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING bites into theaters TOMORROW! Check it out!
Just heard back from one of my top sources and he confirms that while there is interest being shown in other directors for THE HOBBIT, they are fallback positions in the event that Peter Jackson cannot free himself of other obligations. Other sites have been talking about David Yates or Brett Ratner taking the helm.
Here is my source's words verbatim:"Peter is in a tricky place, in order for him to go forward in directing, he has to first make sure his obligations are honored or at least put within an all round time frame which will make everyone happy. If not for this, Peter would be signed to shoot as soon as the button is pushed. He wants to do it. He is also aware that he has obligations, but he is in the process of trying to resolve this. Let's think of it as fate, I would be very happy to say he is by far the number one choice. Pending other engagements he will most certainly be directing. Fingers crossed Jim because I for one do not want to see the title directed by David Yates or god forbid Brett Ratner."
So lets all hope Jackson can appease the suits and soon. The world wants Peter Jackson to direct THE HOBBIT - they have always wanted that. November is still the giant target in everyone's mind on the project. Decisions have to be made soon.
Peter Jackson has confirmed that November would be the earliest that THE HOBBIT could being shooting - We exclusively gave you that information back in March.
FURTHER, Jackson spoke about the budget of the movie (from Stuff): "US$150 million budget was a ballpark figure, but it could be higher if it was filmed in 3-D." Read that guys - this is the man himself talking 3D here.
So just when did Jackson's team find out about Guillermo del Toro's departure?Saturday. That must have been a shocker for them - but Jackson did say it was amicable.
And in a not so surprising move, Jackson has stepped forward to say that he would take over the reins of directing the movie if need be - if it can be worked out with other commitments: "If that's what I have to do to protect Warner Bros' investment, then obviously that's one angle which I'll explore. The other studios may not let me out of the contracts."
So, in the end it sounds like there is a real possibility of Peter Jackson directing THE HOBBIT in 3D. That has a familiar ring to it doesn't it? :-) More when I get it!
Jim here. If you have been following along recently there was an unsubstantiated rumor circling the interwebs that James Cameron will not be directing AVATAR 2 and that he would only be producing.
We called BS on that one and got to the bottom of it immediately through our trusted sources. Rest assured Cameron is directing as he verbally confirmed (via SciFiWire) at the Visual Effects Society Awards where he received their lifetime achievement award. He may bring someone on to train them for future movies, but I think that is posturing as well for his negotiations with Fox. My money says he will be directing the whole trilogy.
Further, Cameron talked about the potential title of the first sequel and what it will NOT be called: AVATAR 2. Says Cameron, "Certainly I don't want to call it Avatar 2. He's not an avatar anymore, is he? Maybe we'll call it Na'vi."
It looks like Cameron will be able to focus more on the spiritual side of the Na'vi with AVATAR 2. "I think we can see that there's a greater receptivity to it on the part of the audience than certainly the studio originally imagined," Cameron said. "We pared back on it a fair bit in the first film, and I think we can go farther in that direction and not alienate people."
So good news all around I think. Future Earth, different moons, war and spirituality (Sigourney Weaver is still alive!) for AVATAR 2 it seems so far!
I have some new info on just what MIGHT be in AVATAR 2 and will be posting something soon. It is very hard at this stage to positively say anything about the movie as brainstorming has yet to conclude. As new ideas surface, others may be back burnered. I will be sure to make sure everyone knows that when I post them. Stay tuned!
Jim here. Right off - let me share with you the best part of the whole THR clip: Quentin Tarantino swipes half of Peter Jackson's glass of water; the look on Jackson's face is immeasurable!! (at about the 2 minute mark)
Other than that obvious piece of funny business, the group of six directors have a great conversation and well worth the time to watch it:
Next, you can click through here and here to see a couple other clips from the same table - and I will say that Reitman comes across here as a very charming director and clearly influenced by his father (not a bad thing). Would have loved to hear Cameron and Reitman discuss 3D though :-)
Interesting how Tarantino is not interested AT ALL in digital filmmaking and wants to stick with his 35mm. Probably not that surprising though as he is a purist and loves the nostalgia of film. Good luck at the awards guys!
Jim here. Sounds like Michael Mann wants to bring his cutting edge brand of filmmaking to 3D! If a suitable project can be lined up, he would surely join the ranks of our current roster of superlative stereo directors: Cameron, Jackson, Soderbergh, Burton, Zemeckis, Spielberg, and so on.
Here is what Mann told a crowd assembled for PUBLIC ENEMIES recently (via screenWEEK): "Yes! I’d love to shoot a 3D movie, it’s something that fascinates me! The more the audience is immersed the better it is!"
I love that he is not afraid to embrace something as new as modern stereoscopic 3D, especially in his mid sixties. Not that he couldn't do it, but it seems so many are stuck in a rut. Glad to see Michael Bay Mann is so enthusiastic! I am sure he will pull off an amazing project - soon I hope... Oh man, could you imagine HEAT in 3D? That LA street gun battle? Welcome aboard Michael!
