Review: "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is Down with Love

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 12 (of 2009) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
Running time: 130 minutes (2 hours, 10 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some violence and action
DIRECTOR: Chris Weitz
WRITER: Melissa Rosenberg (based upon Stephenie Meyer)
PRODUCERS: Wyck Godfrey and Mark Morgan
CINEMATOGRAHER: Javier Aquirrearobe
EDITOR: Peter Lambert

DRAMA/FANTASY/ROMANCE with elements of action and horror

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene, Jackson Rathbone, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Sam Uley, Michael Sheen, Dakota Fanning, Anna Kendrick, Michael Welch, Rachelle Lefevre, Justin Chon, Christian Serratos, and Edi Gathegi

In the 2008 smash hit film, Twilight, movie audiences saw romance bloom between high school student Bella Swan and her vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen. Now, in the follow-up, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Bella and Edward’s star-crossed romance crashes to earth.

New Moon opens on Bella’s (Kristen Stewart) 18th birthday, a day about which she is not particularly crazy. That evening, Edward’s (Robert Pattinson) family, also vampires, throws a birthday party for Bella, which starts nicely, but takes a shocking turn. Following Bella’s ill-fated birthday party, the Cullens abandon the town of Forks, Washington, in an effort to protect Bella from the dangers inherent in their world. The most shocking blow: Edward breaks up with Bella.

Heartbroken and depressed, Bella sleepwalks through the first half of her senior year of high school, totally shutting out her other friends. When her father, Forks Police Chief Charlie Swan (Billy Burke) demands that his daughter make a change, Bella goes on a date night with a girlfriend. It is on that night that Bella discovers that Edward’s image comes to her whenever she puts herself in jeopardy. Determined to see this vision more often, Bella begins to concoct ways that will put her life at greater and greater risk.

Bella seeks out childhood friend, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a member of the local Quileute Native American Indian tribe. A gifted mechanic, Jacob refurbishes an old motorbike that Bella will secretly use to put herself in danger. Something else surprising happens when Bella finds herself drawn to Jacob, a formerly scrawny boy. He is literally growing taller and more muscular (with killer washboard abs) every day and right before Bella’s very eyes. Jacob, however, also has a shocking supernatural secret of his own, which causes a rift to grow between him and Bella. Then, Edward’s sister, Alice (Ashley Greene), returns, seeking Bella’s help in saving Edward’s life, and the rift grows wider.

Like Twilight, New Moon is based upon a novel by Stephenie Meyer (The Host). Obviously, in the translation from novel to film, plot elements and scenes from the book are left out or changed in the film. However, screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg (who also adapted Twilight) retains the central themes, as well as the spirit, of the source material. The novel asks probing questions, such as: after the euphoria of new love, what is real about this relationship? What do Bella and Edward want of each other? What are their motivations, and how much are they willing to fight for their relationship? Just how deep and strong are Bella’s feelings for Jacob? The screenplay keeps those questions at the forefront of the narrative.

And speaking of fight, director Chris Weitz, an established Hollywood filmmaker (About a Boy, The Golden Compass), doesn’t fight the love story at the core of this franchise. New Moon may be filled with thrilling chases and riveting hunts in the forests around Forks. It may carry viewers breathlessly across the world, only to drop them in the mysterious world beneath a rustic Italian town. Weitz still manages to emphasize the ache and yearning of a young love blazing so brightly that it threatens to burn itself out.

The reported increase in the production budget for New Moon (as compared to Twilight), is evident in the flashy visual special effects. The werewolves are in a word – awesome. The spectacular cinematography is pitch-perfect in capturing the right mood and look for every setting in the film: from the forests surround Forks to the murky nights of Port Angeles. An improvement in the art direction also makes even the Swans’ humble home seem cosmopolitan.

New Moon is not perfect. Under Weitz’s direction and Peter Lambert’s editing, the film often moves too fast, sometimes hopping around like someone high on stimulants. Still, this film works. In the intimate moments when the actors, especially Stewart, Pattinson, and Lautner, convince us that they know these characters and that they are going to make the story real for us, New Moon seems less like a fantasy and more like a real love story.

7 of 10
B+

Monday, November 30, 2009

--------------------------

AMPAS Invites New Members; Mo'Nique, Lee Daniels, Bono Among Invitees

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - the organization that hands out the Oscars, has announced its annual list of actors and filmmakers who have been invited to join its ranks.  Previously, the list was not released to the public, but apparently has been since 2007.  The membership of the Academy, which reportedly hovers just under 6000 members, is still not made public.

There are some surprises - Bono and the Edge of U2 and actor Tobin Bell of the Saw franchise.  Jon Landau, producer of the Oscar-winning Titanic, is just now being invited?  Here's the list of the 135 invitees:

Actors

Tobin Bell – “Saw,” “The Firm”
Vera Farmiga – “Up in the Air,” “The Departed”
Miguel Ferrer – “Traffic,” “RoboCop”
James Gandolfini – “In the Loop,” “Get Shorty”
Anna Kendrick – “Up in the Air,” “Twilight”
Mo’Nique – “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Phat Girlz”
Carey Mulligan – “An Education,” “Public Enemies”
Jeremy Renner – “The Hurt Locker,” “28 Weeks Later”
Ryan Reynolds – “The Proposal,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”
LaTanya Richardson Jackson – “Mother and Child,” “Losing Isaiah”
Peter Riegert – “Traffic,” “Crossing Delancey”
Sam Robards – “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” “American Beauty”
Saoirse Ronan – “The Lovely Bones,” “Atonement”
Zoe Saldana – “Avatar,” “Star Trek”
Adam Sandler – “Funny People,” “Punch-Drunk Love”
Peter Sarsgaard – “An Education,” “Boys Don’t Cry”
Gabourey Sidibe – “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Shaun Toub – “Iron Man,” “The Kite Runner”
Christoph Waltz – “Inglourious Basterds”
George Wyner – “A Serious Man,” “American Pie 2”

Animators
Ken Bielenberg – “Monsters vs Aliens,” “Shrek”
Peter de Seve – “Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” “Ratatouille”
Steve Hickner – “Bee Movie,” “The Prince of Egypt”
Angus MacLane – “Toy Story 3,” “WALL-E”
Darragh O’Connell – “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty,” “Give Up Yer Aul Sins”
Simon Otto – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Kung Fu Panda”
Bob Pauley – “Toy Story 3,” “Monsters, Inc.”
Willem Thijssen – “The Aroma of Tea,” “A Greek Tragedy”

Art Directors
Kim Sinclair – “Avatar,” “Cast Away”
Dave Warren – “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “Bridget Jones’s Diary”

At-Large
Darcy Antonellis
John Lowry

Casting Directors
Laura Rosenthal – “The Messenger,” “I’m Not There”

Cinematographers
Barry Ackroyd – “The Hurt Locker,” “United 93”
Christian Berger – “The White Ribbon,” “Cache”
Hagen Bogdanski – “The Young Victoria,” “The Lives of Others”
Shane Hurlbut – “Terminator Salvation,” “We Are Marshall”
Tom Hurwitz – “Valentino The Last Emperor,” “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib”
Dan Mindel – “Star Trek,” “Mission: Impossible III”
Tobias Schliessler – “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3,” “Hancock”
Stephen Windon – “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” “House of Wax”
Robert Yeoman – “Get Him to the Greek,” “The Squid and the Whale”

Costume Designers
Catherine Leterrier – “Coco before Chanel,” “Avenue Montaigne”
Janet Patterson – “Bright Star,” “The Piano”

Directors
Jacques Audiard – “A Prophet,” “The Beat That My Heart Skipped”
Juan Jose Campanella – “The Secret in Their Eyes,” “Son of the Bride”
Lee Daniels – “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Shadowboxer”
Claudia Llosa – “The Milk of Sorrow,” “Madeinusa”
Lone Scherfig – “An Education,” “Italian for Beginners”
Adam Shankman – “Bedtime Stories,” “Hairspray”

Documentary
Nancy Baker – “Rehearsing a Dream,” “Born into Brothels”
Rick Goldsmith – “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,” “Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press”
Davis Guggenheim – “It Might Get Loud,” “An Inconvenient Truth”
Tia Lessin – “Capitalism: A Love Story,” “Trouble the Water”
Cara Mertes – “The Betrayal,” “My Country, My Country”
Frazer Pennebaker – “Al Franken: God Spoke,” “The War Room”
Julia Reichert – “The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant,” “Seeing Red”
Morgan Spurlock – “Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?,” “Super Size Me”

Executives
Christopher W. Aronson
Jim Berk
Philippe Dauman
Sheila DeLoach
Donald Peter Granger
Nathan Kahane
Andrew Karpen
Ryan Kavanaugh
David Kosse
David Andrew Spitz
Emma Watts

Film Editors
Robert Frazen – “Synecdoche, New York,” “Smart People”
Dana E. Glauberman – “Up in the Air,” “Thank You for Smoking”
Joe Klotz – “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Grace Is Gone”
Bob Murawski – “The Hurt Locker,” “Spider-Man”
John Refoua – “Avatar,” “Reno 911!: Miami”

Live Action Short Films
Joachim Back – “The New Tenants”
Gregg Helvey – “Kavi,” “The Knife Grinder’s Tale”

Makeup Artists and Hairstylists
Kris Evans – “X-Men The Last Stand,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”
Jane Galli – “Knight and Day,” “3:10 to Yuma”
Mindy Hall – “Star Trek,” “World Trade Center”
Joel Harlow – “Star Trek,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
Jenny Shircore – “The Young Victoria,” “Elizabeth”

Music
Christophe Beck – “The Hangover,” “Bring It On”
Bono – “Gangs of New York,” “In the Name of the Father”
T Bone Burnett – “Crazy Heart,” “Cold Mountain”
The Edge – “Gangs of New York,” “GoldenEye”
Brian Tyler – “Fast & Furious,” “Aliens vs. Predator Requiem”

Producers
Stephanie Allain – “Black Snake Moan,” “Hustle & Flow”
Gregory Jacobs – “The Informant!,” “The Good German”
Jon Landau – “Avatar,” “Titanic”
Marc Turtletaub – “Away We Go,” “Little Miss Sunshine”
Glenn Williamson – “Sunshine Cleaning,” “Hollywoodland”

Production Designers
Kirk M. Pertruccelli – “The Incredible Hulk,” “The Patriot”
Edward S. Verreaux – “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” “Jurassic Park III”

Public Relations
Dwight Caines
Suzanne M. Cole
Tommy Gargotta
Sophie Gluck
Josh Greenstein
Pamela Levine
Wendy Lightbourn
Michele Robertson
Tony Sella

Set Decorators
Maggie Gray – “The Young Victoria,” “Ella Enchanted”
Douglas A. Mowat – “Role Models,” “The Sixth Sense”
Caroline Smith – “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” “Match Point”

Sound
Frank Eulner – “Iron Man 2,” “Hellboy”
Adam Jenkins – “I Love You, Man,” “Crash”
Tony Lamberti – “Inglourious Basterds,” “Sideways”
Dennis Leonard – “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” “The Polar Express”
Tom Myers – “Up,” “WALL-E”
Paul N.J. Ottosson – “The Hurt Locker,” “Spider-Man 3”
Resul Pookutty – “Ghajini,” “Slumdog Millionaire”
Gary A. Rizzo – “How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Dark Knight”
Michael Silvers – “Up,” “Ratatouille”
Gwendolyn Yates Whittle – “Avatar,” “The Simpsons Movie”

Visual Effects
Matt Aitken – “District 9,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”
Karen Ansel – “Angels & Demons,” “Men in Black II”
Richard Baneham – “Avatar,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”
Eric Barba – “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Zodiac”
Paul Debevec – “Avatar,” “King Kong”
Russell Earl – “Star Trek,” “Transformers”
Steve Galich – “Date Night,” “Transformers”
Andrew R. Jones – “Avatar,” “I, Robot”
Dan Kaufman – “District 9,” “Ocean’s Thirteen”
Derek Spears – “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” “Superman Returns”
Steve Sullivan – “Avatar,” “Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith”
Michael J. Wassel – “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” “The Bourne Identity”

Writers
Neill Blomkamp – “District 9”
Mark Boal – “The Hurt Locker,” “In the Valley of Elah”
Geoffrey Fletcher – “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Nick Hornby – “An Education,” “Fever Pitch”
Alex Kurtzman – “Star Trek,” “Mission: Impossible III”
Tom McCarthy – “Up,” “The Visitor”
Roberto Orci – “Star Trek,” “Mission: Impossible III”
Terri Tatchell – “District 9”

Review: "WALL-E" Was and Still is the Best Film of 2008

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 48 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

WALL-E (2008)
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTOR: Andrew Stanton
WRITER: Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon; from a story by Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter
PRODUCER: Jim Morris
EDITOR: Stephen Schaffer
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman
Academy Award winner

ANIMATION/SCI-FI/DRAMA with elements of action and comedy

Starring: (voices) Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy, and Sigourney Weaver

In terms of American animated films, WALL-E, a film from Pixar Animation Studios, is a visionary work, and even considering the few exceptional films released in 2008 (like The Dark Knight), WALL-E was the best film of that year. It is the extraordinary story of a lonely little robot that has been doing what he was built for until he accidentally discovers a new purpose in life when he falls in love.

WALL-E is set centuries in the future on a ravaged Earth, devoid of vegetation and with its cities now largely empty ruins. Mountains of garbage, waste, junk, etc. cover the planet, and humans long ago fled the planet in spaceships that resemble cruise-line ships. Left behind to clean up the mess are small robots with melancholy binocular eyes called Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class or WALL-Es, for short.

For hundreds of lonely years, one WALL-E (Ben Burtt) has been compacting garbage into small cubes and piling them up until they form skyscraper-like heaps. WALL-E also collects knick-knacks, keeps a plucky cockroach as a pet, and obsesses over the 1969 film, Hello, Dolly. WALL-E’s life changes when he meets a strange new visitor to the planet, an advanced probe robot called Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator or EVE (Elissa Knight), and falls in love with the sleek female robot at first sight. After EVE comes to realize that WALL-E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the Earth’s future, she races into space to return to the human flagship, the Axiom, where she will report her findings. Meanwhile, the smitten WALL-E has followed her.

WALL-E has the usual ingredients of that help make Pixar movies such huge hits, like exotic settings, splendid storytelling, winning characters and quirky but charming concepts. What makes WALL-E even more special is that it is the first Pixar film that is also a cautionary tale. The film assaults so many things that we hold dear: our materialism (as exemplified by the world-controlling mega-corporation, BnL or “Buy n Large”), gluttony (which results in obesity), our throwaway lifestyle (thus, the piles of garbage), and the instant gratification that high-tech gadgets offer.

This is the kind of thoughtful science fiction that American audiences rarely get. Director Andrew Stanton and his co-writers, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter, tackle our modern malaise and short-sightedness, the grasping corporation with their voracious appetites for wealth in almost any form, and our insipid and incompetent politicians.

Yet WALL-E, like other Pixar flicks is inimitably entertaining. All the robots, not just WALL-E and EVE, have such sparkling characters. Perhaps, that is the true magic of Pixar, the ability to fabricate humanity in any fictional characters – from a pack rat robot that picks up garbage and collects odds and ends to a busy-body sanitation robot neurotically cleaning contaminants. The voice performances (especially Ben Burtt’s) make all the characters, even the robots, seem uncannily human. The eventual robot mini-rebellion, which is a much smarter spin on man vs. machine than even The Terminator or The Matrix, provides the frenetic action-comedy that Pixar films always offer.

Thomas Newman’s exuberant score is consistently pitch perfect. It gives color to the film’s silent movie-like first act and helps brings the budding romance of WALL-E and EVE to life. Newman’s compositions turn the drama, conflict, and tension of the last half-hour into a whirlwind of action that just might take your breath away.

What else can I say? As usual, Pixar delivers, but this time WALL-E is especially special. It tells a wonderful love story, and asks us to love our world and to take care of ourselves. This is a visionary work.

10 of 10

NOTES:
2009 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (Andrew Stanton); 5 nominations: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score” (Thomas Newman); “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Peter Gabriel-music/lyrics and Thomas Newman- music for the song "Down to Earth"), “Best Achievement in Sound” (Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, and Ben Burtt), “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood), “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (Andrew Stanton-screenplay/story, Jim Reardon-screenplay, and Pete Docter-story)

2009 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Animated Film” (Andrew Stanton); 2 nominations: “Best Music” (Thomas Newman) and “Best Sound” (Ben Burtt, Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, and Matthew Wood); 2008 BAFTA Children's Award Best Feature Film (Jim Morris and Andrew Stanton)

2009 Golden Globes: 1 win: Best Animated Feature Film; 1 nomination: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Peter Gabriel-music/lyrics and Thomas Newman-music for the song "Down to Earth")

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

-----------------------

Siggraph 2010 Winners Announced; Pixar Entry Among Highlights

SIGGRAPH 2010 Announces Computer Animation Festival Winners

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SIGGRAPH announces the Computer Animation Festival’s Best in Show, Jury Award, and Best Student Project recipients for SIGGRAPH 2010 to be held in Los Angeles this July. Nominees were chosen from 750 submissions from around the globe, presented by both professional studios and students alike.

“It was difficult to narrow the pool of submissions because of the high level of quality and technical expertise,” said Isaac Kerlow, Computer Animation Festival Director from The Earth Observatory of Singapore/NTU ADM. “Attendees will experience an endorphin rush as they watch the screenings of independent and commercial films, and will get a behind-the-scenes perspective from the planned Production Sessions featuring the visionaries behind some of this year’s most successful Hollywood films. Whether you are an industry veteran or someone who just enjoys quality visual effects and animation, there is something for everyone this year.”

In all, approximately 100 films will be shown during the Computer Animation Festival. The Electronic Theater, the iconic and tribal SIGGRAPH experience, features an identical program three nights in a row, including most of the Jury Selections. Four thematic Special Screenings show the best in TV Commercials and Cinematics, Long Shorts, Student Animations, and for the first time a special focus on Chinese Student Animations. Truly an international event, the festival had entries from 49 different countries and five continents. Fifty-two of the accepted entries are international, and 18 countries are represented in the final selection.

Some of the year’s top visual effects for feature films are featured in the Computer Animation Festival including “Avatar,” “The Last Airbender,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Iron Man 2,” “Prince of Persia,” “2012,” and “Alice in Wonderland.” Plus, eight Live Real-Time Demos, ranging from mainstream to independent work, also contribute to making the Computer Animation Festival a memorable experience.

Since 1999, the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival has been an official qualifying festival for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences “Best Animated Short Film” Academy Award®. The film “French Roast” became an Academy nominee in the Best Animated Short category after winning Best in Show at last year’s Festival. For the third consecutive year, the Festival’s screenings, panels and production sessions will be open to the public, allowing general audiences to get a glimpse behind the making of computer generated effects, visualizations, and animations that is rarely available.

A complete preview video of the 2010 Computer Animation Festival is available here.

Here are just a few highlights of this year’s Computer Animation Festival films and Live Real-Time Demos:

BEST IN SHOW AWARD
“Loom”
(Germany)
Directed by Jan Bitzer, Ilija Brunck, and Csaba Letayat

“Loom” tells the story of a moth being drowned in one of nature’s complex cycles. “Loom” was the final project of Jan Bitzer, Ilija Brunck, and Csaba Letayat at the Filmakademie Baden Württemberg, Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction. The production time, including story development and preproduction, was one year.

JURY AWARD
“Poppy”
(New Zealand)
Directed by James Cunningham

“Poppy” is an independent short set on France’s western front in World War One. Two New Zealand soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines. They find a baby in a muddy ditch, under its dead parents. One of the men wants to save it—the other does not. Based on true events, “Poppy” was written by the great-grandson of one of these soldiers. An innovative combination of motion capture with exquisite facial animation.

BEST STUDENT PROJECT PRIZE
“The Wonder Hospital”
(USA)
Directed by Beomsik Shimbe Shim, California Institute of the Arts

In this student project, a girl enters a mysterious hospital that alters her way of seeing beauty. She is given a choice between two images of her face, “Before” and “After.” As she continues on this illusionary journey, she realizes that beauty is something very different from what she expected.


“2012” — The Last Fluid Simulation
(USA/Germany)
Visual Effects by Scanline VFX, Los Angeles/Munich
“2012 - The Last Fluid Simulation” shows the underlying technology that was used for more than 100 massive fluid simulation shots on “2012”. Included are examples of fully computer-generated shots with massive tidal waves, simulated ice and snow, and, finally, the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy smashing into the White House.

Assassin’s Creed 2
(Hungary)
Cinematic by Digic Pictures for Ubisoft Entertainment
Stunningly rendered and animated, this cinematic narrative follows an assassin on the prowl in a street carnival, on his quest to reveal a secular conspiracy during the masquerades of the Italian Renaissance.

“Animated History of Poland”
(Poland)
Directed by Tomek Bagiński, Platige Image
A tale about 1,000 years of Polish history in the format of a musical-visual poem. The story starts with the beginning of the Polish nation in the ninth century, and shows the most important events and processes that took place until the 21st century. The project is a presentation-educational piece produced for the EXPO 2010 in Shanghai.

“Guinness World”
(United Kingdom)
Commercial by The Mill for AMV BBDO
This commercial spot shows how a pint of Guinness comes to life when poured, opening with a man striking a match and lighting a rocket as a voiceover whispers, “It’s time to bring this place to life.” There begins an exhilarating journey, bringing life to barren landscapes across the planet.

“Day & Night”
(USA)
Directed by Teddy Newton, Pixar Animation Studios
When Day encounters Night, sparks fly! At first frightened and suspicious of each other, they get off on the wrong foot. But as they discover each other's unique qualities—and realize that each offers a different window onto the world—the friendship helps them gain a new perspective.

“Suiren”
(Japan)
Directed by Tomoya Kimpara, wow.inc
“Suiren” is a poetic science-fiction visual music piece where the ocean is a symbol of life, and machine-seeds are born to devote themselves to the creation of beautiful creatures.

“Upgrades”
(USA)
Directed by Anya Belkina, Emerson College
“Upgrades” is a hilarious and breakneck-paced animated parody chronicling major upgrades in computer graphics software. Set to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumble Bee”.

“Making of Nuit Blanche”
(Canada)
Directed by Arev Manoukian, Visual Effects by Marc-André Gray, Stellar Scene
In this reel we explore the making of “Nuit Blanche”, an elegant and poetic short film that explores a fleeting moment between two strangers, revealing their brief connection in a hyper-real fantasy heavily dependent on visual effects.

“Visualizing Empires Decline”
(Portugal)
Directed by Pedro Cruz, Centre for Informatics and Systems of the University of Coimbra
This information visualization project narrates the decline of the top four maritime empires in the 19th and 20th centuries. A physics engine is used to build a visual mood that conveys the tone of the empires’ decline.

“Cours Toujours”
(France)
Directed by Olivier Barré and Elise Garcette, La Station Animation
An intrepid creature throws himself into a wild pursuit of a bird, which gets him into comically frantic situations.

“Making Love”
(Sweden, Live Real-Time Demo)
Quel Solaar
This game exploration demo is an exploration of the world of the procedural one-man indie “MMO LOVE.” The demo also showcases the tools used to create assets, like sketch-based modeling, 100 percent automatic UV mapping, shader and asset management tools, and the layer-based procedural texturing tool.

God of War III
(USA, Live Real-Time Demo)
Sony Computer Entertainment of America
God of War III is the latest entry in the successful God of War commercial video game series and the first on PlayStation 3. It combines epic set pieces with exquisite fine detail, and its visuals display both technical and creative virtuosity.


About SIGGRAPH 2010
SIGGRAPH 2010 will bring approximately 25,000 computer graphics and interactive technology professionals from six continents to Los Angeles, California, USA for the industry's most respected technical and creative programs focusing on research, science, art, animation, music, gaming, interactivity, education, and the web from Sunday, 25 July through Thursday, 29 July 2010 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. SIGGRAPH 2010 includes a three-day exhibition of products and services from the computer graphics and interactive marketplace from 27-29 July 2010. More than 200 international exhibiting companies are expected. More details are available at www.siggraph.org/s2010

About ACM SIGGRAPH
The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques www.siggraph.org is an interdisciplinary community interested in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. Members include researchers, developers and users from the technical, academic, business, and art communities. ACM SIGGRAPH enriches the computer graphics and interactive techniques community year-round through its conferences, global network of professional and student chapters, publications, and educational activities.

About ACM
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery www.acm.org is the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field's challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession's collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.

Review: "Finding Nemo" Recalls the Drama of Disney's "Bambi"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 84 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Finding Nemo (2003) – animated film
Running time: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
DIRECTOR: Andrew Stanton with Lee Unkrich
WRITERS: Bob Peterson, David Reynolds, and Andrew Stanton, from a story by Andrew Stanton
PRODUCER: Graham Walters
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Sharon Calahan (director of photography) and Jeremy Lasky (director of photography)
EDITOR: David Ian Salter
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman
Academy Award winner

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE/COMEDY

Starring: (voices) Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe, Brad Garrett, Allison Janney, Austin Pendleton, Stephen Root, Vicki Lewis, Joe Ranft, Geoffrey Rush, Andrew Stanton, Eric Bana, and Elizabeth Perkins

Marlin (Albert Brooks), a clown fish, and his wife Coral (Elizabeth Perkins) live in an underwater suburban utopia for fish. They are about to be new parents as they await the hatching of over 400 eggs, when suddenly tragedy strikes in the form of a natural predator. After a horror that recalls the Disney classic Bambi, all that is left to Marlin is one tiny egg.

As the story moves to the future, Marlin has never really recovered from his loss. He is overprotective of his son Nemo (Alexander Gould), who was born with an underdeveloped fin (formerly known as a handicap), so he doesn’t swim well. Naturally, Nemo hates his father coddling him. One day he rebels by approaching a shipping vessel where a human captures him. Devastated, Marlin begins a desperate quest to find his only child. A blue tang fish named Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), who has short term memory loss, joins Marlin on the search for the boy. In the meantime, Nemo has found himself in the aquarium at an Aussie dentist’s office. He befriends a group of fellow captives who plot to help Nemo escape before he ends up an unfortunate gift to the dentist’s niece.

This is the fifth Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios co-production, and the union has produced five beautiful films. Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are two of the best animated films ever made. A Bug’s Life was a big hit, and I adore Monster’s Inc. more every time I see it. Finding Nemo ably stands with its brethren as another very fine achievement in the very short his story of computer animated feature films. I can say this without hesitation: Finding Nemo is a great animated film. I’ll save you the time reading this unless you really want to know what I have to say – rush out and see this film. It’s not perfect, and I can forgive the filmmakers the awfully syrupy fish suburbia that they created for the film’s opening scene; still, excellence must be noticed.

Directed by Andrew Stanton (co-director of A Bug’s Life) with Lee Unkrich (Monster’s Inc. and Toy Story 2) the film has the emotional resonance of the Toy Story films. Yes, it is inspired wacky fun for the kids, and they’ll laugh at lot; adults will probably laugh more than the tykes. Yes, the film has a gorgeous color palette that just dazzles the senses; it’s a colorful, visual treat on par with the great Technicolor films of yesteryear. However, the most important thing about the film is how it touches upon the relationships between people, both entertaining and connecting with the audience. You know there is something special about using animals to tell human stories. People have told these “anthropomorphic” tales since we could tell stories. It is easier for people to laugh at human foibles when we see our foolishness copied by cartoon animal-people. Animated films, cartoons, and comic art stories use this genre extremely well and through this animators and cartoonists take the craft of storytelling and make it an art.

The central story is about the protective bond between parents and their children, in this specific case, a father and his son. Marlin lost so much when he seemed about to have it all that he is way too overprotective of Nemo, essentially the only person he has left in his life. Marlin can’t deal with the fact that the older his son gets, the harder it is to micromanage the boy’s life. He can’t stop every bad thing that may happen to his child from happening. He’s also afraid of the environment in which he lives, the ocean, so he doesn’t really enjoy life. Nemo wants to be independent, but buried in the back of his mind is that he may be as physically inadequate as his father treats him. There are also many notable subplots: friends overcoming obstacles, learning to accept the differences in others instead of prejudging negative traits on them, people joining together to help a stranger in need, and of keeping hope alive.

I know that this might seem to be a bit heady for a cartoon, but this ability of a Pixar film to entertain and delight and to teach and to inspire simply continues that which is a tradition of the best Disney animated films. We’ve often considered classic Disney animation to be amongst the best films ever made (well, at least some of us), and Pixar just shows audiences that an animated film can be just as fun as the funniest comedy, that a cartoon can mimic the drama of humanity as well the best “real” movies.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Animated Feature” (Andrew Stanton); 3 nominations: “Best Music, Original Score” (Thomas Newman), “Best Sound Editing” (Gary Rydstrom and Michael Silvers), and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Andrew Stanton-screenplay/story, Bob Peterson-screenplay and David Reynolds-screenplay)

2004 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Screenplay – Original” (Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, and David Reynolds)

2004 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy”

---------------------

Lionsgate Acquires Gerard Butler Action Flick for 2011

Press release from Lionsgate:

LIONSGATE HITS BULLSEYE WITH MARC FORSTER’S MACHINE GUN PREACHER

Studio Acquires North American Distribution Rights To Fact-Based Action Drama Starring Gerard Butler

Fall 2011 Release Planned – Principal Photography Begins In July

SANTA MONICA, CA, June 21, 2010 – LIONSGATE® (NYSE: LGF), the leading next generation studio, today announced that it has acquired North American distribution rights to the fact-based action drama MACHINE GUN PREACHER, directed by Marc Forster (QUANTUM OF SOLACE). The film is the studio’s first collaboration with Forster since the Oscar®-winning MONSTER’S BALL. Gerard Butler (LAW ABIDING CITIZEN, 300) stars as Reverend Sam Childers, known as “the machine gun preacher.” Michelle Monaghan (EAGLE EYE, GONE BABY GONE) co-stars as his wife, Lynn Childers; Oscar nominee Michael Shannon (THE RUNAWAYS, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD) portrays Childers’s best friend, Donnie; Madeline Carroll (THE SPY NEXT DOOR, SWING VOTE) plays Childers’s daughter, Paige; Kathy Baker (LAST CHANCE HARVEY, STREET SMART) plays Childers’s mother, Daisy Childers; and Souleymane Sy Savane (GOODBYE SOLO, “Damages”) plays Deng, Childers’s right hand in Africa. The screenwriter is Jason Keller. Forster will produce under his Apparatus shingle alongside Robbie Brenner; Gary Safady and Craig Chapman of Kaushi Entertainment; and Deborah Giarratana of GG Filmz. Executive producers are Myles Nestel of Merlina Entertainment, Brad Simpson of Apparatus, Gerard Butler, Alan Siegel and Louise Rosner. The announcement was made by Joe Drake, Lionsgate Chief Operating Officer and Motion Picture Group President, and Mike Paseornek, Lionsgate President of Motion Picture Production.

Principal photography for MACHINE GUN PREACHER is scheduled to begin on July 5th in Detroit and South Africa. Lionsgate plans to release the film in fall 2011.

Said Paseornek, “MACHINE GUN PREACHER combines a fascinating, action-packed story and unique characters with great talent on both sides of the camera. We’re delighted to be back in business with our friend Marc, one of the most gifted and versatile filmmakers working today. And Gerard Butler is the ideal actor to capture the strength, complexity and charisma of this film’s real-life hero, Sam Childers.”

Said Brenner, “When I learned about Sam Childers, I thought, ‘here is a man who is making a difference, defying the odds and not just talking about what he believes but actually doing it.’ Seldom do you find a story that is gripping and relatable but is also about something bigger. Here was a movie that begged to be made. Jason Keller wrote an exceptional screenplay, and I can think of no one better able to depict this story than my dear friend, Marc Forster."

Said Safady, “I am honored to play an integral part in telling the amazing story of Sam Childers. I think this is the perfect movie as a foray into the film business, as it is both commercial and topical. In today's society, stories like his are rare and this is one that deserves to be told.”

Said Forster, “I am thrilled to be working again with Lionsgate. They have a keen understanding for the complexity of the material and will give our film the care and guidance it needs to expose the story to the masses.”

The deal was negotiated for Lionsgate by Rob McEntegart, Senior Executive Vice President, Motion Picture Group, and by Merlina Entertainment’s Nestel, on behalf of the filmmakers. Forster, Keller, Butler and Shannon are represented by CAA. Forster and Keller are represented by Guymon Casady of Management 360. Forster is represented by attorney Linda Lichter of Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Adler & Feldman.


SYNOPSIS – MACHINE GUN PREACHER
After renouncing his outlaw ways, Sam Childers embarks on a spiritual path, becoming a warrior for the desperate and helpless children in a war-torn country in Africa.


ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF - News) is the leading next generation studio with a strong and diversified presence in the production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming through Debmar-Mercury and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has nearly 20 shows on 10 different networks spanning its prime time production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as "Mad Men," "Weeds" and "Nurse Jackie" along with new series such as "Blue Mountain State" and "Running Wilde" and the syndication successes "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," its spinoff "Meet The Browns" and "The Wendy Williams Show."

Its feature film business has generated such recent hits as TYLER PERRY’S WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO?, the action film KICK-ASS, which opened at #1 at the North American box office and the critically-acclaimed PRECIOUS, which has garnered nearly $50 million at the North American box office and won two Academy Awards®. The Company’s home entertainment business has grown to more than 7% market share and is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company’s core businesses. The Lionsgate brand remains synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

"The Karate Kid" is Still a Winner

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 47 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Karate Kid (2010)
Running time: 140 minutes (2 hours, 20 minutes)
MPAA – PG for bullying, martial arts action violence and some mild language
DIRECTOR: Harald Zwart
WRITERS: Christopher Murphey; from a story by Robert Mark Kamen
PRODUCERS: James Lassiter, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Ken Stovitz, and Jerry Weintraub
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Pratt
EDITOR: Joel Negron
COMPOSER: James Horner

DRAMA/MARTIAL ARTS

Starring: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson, Wen Wen Han, Zhenwei Wang Rongguang Yu, Zhensu Wu, Zhiheng Wang, and Luke Carberry

The Karate Kid 2010 is, of course, a remake of the 1984 film of the same name. The new film stars Jaden Smith (son of actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith) and international martial artist and actor, Jackie Chan. The new film is an absolutely lovable, well-made film that stands on its on and does the original proud. This time, however, kung fu, not karate, is the martial art of choice.

Twelve-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) moves to Beijing from Detroit with his mother, Sherry Parker (Taraji P. Henson), because of her new job. Dre experiences love-at-first-sight when he sees a young violinist named Mei Ying (Wen Wen Han), practicing in the park, and the feeling is mutual. However, Dre’s feelings for Mei Ying make an enemy of the class bully, Cheng (Zhenwei Wang), a kung fu prodigy and rival for Mei Ying’s affections.

Dre knows a little karate, but it is not enough to help this karate kid from America safely navigate his new home. Cheng uses kung fu to beat the crap out of him. Dre finds a friend and mentor in Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), the maintenance man of Dre’s apartment complex, after he rescues Dre from a beating. After a futile attempt to settle the dispute between Dre and Cheng peaceably, Mr. Han enters Dre in the “Open Kung Fu Tournament” where Dre may face off against his nemesis. Han begins to teach Dre real kung fu, but although he is being trained by a master, Dre realizes that surviving the tournament will be the fight of his life.

At its heart, The Karate Kid is a wonderful story about a teacher-student relationship that develops into a surrogate father-son bond. It is a superbly written (by screenwriter Christopher Murphey) example of a bond between two people in which each not only helps the other heal, but also soar to new heights of achievement and happiness.

The relationship between Dre and Mr. Han works so well because of the strong screen chemistry between Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. Their performances make the characters’ actions and emotions seem authentic and sincere. They not only ground the story’s more fantastical moments, but they also give it a touch of goofy charm, which lightens the movie’s overall dark and sometimes edgy and grim atmosphere. Jaden has inherited his father, Will Smith’s cheeky cockiness, but the young actor seems like more of a natural talent, as if he doesn’t have to try as hard as his father.

In this film, Jackie Chan gives what is by far his best performance in an American production. Perhaps, I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. Chan gives a complex, layered performance to create in Han, a complicated and inscrutable man. This is best exemplified in the scene in which Cheng’s Master Li (Rongguang Yu) and Mr. Han have a tense confrontation. Chan plays the scene with barely checked but mostly concealed fury. It is difficult to figure out what is going on in Mr. Han’s mind at that moment, and that’s the way Chan probably wanted it because it adds another layer of mystery to Han.

Fresh of the maligned Pink Panther 2, director Harald Swart has delivered a winner. This film, however, is as much a Chinese and American take on Rocky as it is a remake of The Karate Kid 1984, itself a teen, martial arts spin on 1976 Oscar winner for “Best Picture.” It is unsettling to see 12-year-olds beating each other up, as they do here, but The Karate Kid 2010 is excellent family entertainment. Its messages about setting goals and being open-minded and resilient make it even more of a winner.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, June 26, 2010