Emmy Winner Aaron Paul to Play Lead in DreamWorks Studios’ “Need for Speed”
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aaron Paul has been cast to play the lead in DreamWorks Studios action film “Need for Speed,” it was announced today by DreamWorks’ President of Production, Holly Bario. Scott Waugh (“Act of Valor”) is attached to direct, and the project has a target production start date for early next year and a theatrical release on February 7, 2014.
"We are huge fans of Aaron's and his stellar work on 'Breaking Bad.' We couldn't be more excited to have him headline our cast for 'Need for Speed,’” said Holly Bario, President of Production, DreamWorks Studios.
"Need for Speed is one of the most action-packed entertainment experiences you can find," said Patrick Soderlund, Executive Vice President, Electronic Arts. "The newest game, ‘Need for Speed Most Wanted’ and the upcoming film take the action to all new heights. Like the game series itself, the cast for the movie needs to be edgy and cool. Aaron Paul is a rising star -- a great choice for the film lead. We're looking forward to announcing the rest of the actors that will bring this racing franchise to the big screen."
Aaron Paul is a two-time Emmy winner for his breakthrough performance on the television series “Breaking Bad.” Paul’s other credits include “Smashed,” “The Last House on the Left,” “Mission: Impossible III,” and HBO’s “Big Love.”
DreamWorks acquired the feature film rights to EA’s popular video game franchise earlier this year. George Gatins and John Gatins developed the original story with George writing the feature’s screenplay. The screenplay is based on the “Need for Speed” series, but is not based on an individual game. John Gatins, Mark Sourian and EA’s Patrick O’Brien will produce.
The film adaptation will be a fast-paced, high-octane film rooted in the tradition of the great car culture films of the 70s while being extremely faithful to the spirit of the video game franchise. In “Need for Speed,” the cars are hot, the racing is intense and the story keeps players at the edge of their seat.
“Need for Speed” is one of the biggest and most successful franchises in the video game industry, having sold more than 150 million units worldwide and generating an estimated $4 billion in revenue. The next blockbuster release in the series is “Need for Speed Most Wanted” - the most socially-connected game of this generation, launching October 30, 2012.
Aaron Paul is represented by United Talent Agency (UTA) and Loch Powell of Leverage Management. EA is also repped by UTA.
About DreamWorks
DreamWorks Studios is a motion picture company formed in 2009 and led by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider in partnership with The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The company’s recent releases include “Real Steel,” starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Shawn Levy, Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse,” based on Michael Morpurgo’s award-winning book and was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, and “The Help,” which resonated with audiences around the country and earned over $200 million at the box office and received four Academy Award nominations with Octavia Spencer winning one for Best Supporting Actress. Its upcoming releases include Spielberg’s “Lincoln” starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.
DreamWorks Studios can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DreamWorksStudios and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dw_studios.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Catch "Virus" When You Need a B-Movie
Virus (1999)
Running time: 99 minutes (1 hour, 39 minutes)
MPAA – R for sci-fi violence/gore, and for language
DIRECTOR: John Bruno
WRITERS: Chuck Pfarrer and Dennis Feldman (based upon the comic book series created by Chuck Pfarrer)
PRODUCER: Gale Anne Hurd
CINEMATOGRAPHER: David Eggby (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: M. Scott Smith
COMPOSER: Joel McNeely
HORROR/SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, Joanna Pacula, Marshall Bell, Sherman Augustus, and Cliff Curtis
The subject of this movie review is Virus, a 1999 science fiction-horror film. The movie is based upon the 1992 comic book miniseries, Virus, which was created and written by Chuck Pfarrer, drawn by Howard Cobb and Jimmy Palmiotti, and published by Dark Horse Comics.
A crippled salvage tug, the Sea Star, seeks refuge in the calm eye of a typhoon. The crew discovers a seemingly abandoned and ghostly silent Russian research vessel. The Star’s captain, Robert Everton (Donald Sutherland), seeks the potentially lucrative salvage rights for the ship, but the Star’s navigator, Kit Foster (Jamie Lee Curtis), and chief engineer Steve Baker (William Baldwin) sense wrongness about the ship. Their suspicions are justified when they find the Russian ship’s sole survivor, chief science officer Nadia Vinogradiya (Joanna Pacula) who is deathly afraid of something mysterious and malevolent, an alien virus or life form that is loose on the ship. The virus takes over machines and electronics and merges it with human tissue to create monstrous creations bent on wiping humans, which it also considers a virus, off the face of the planet.
Director John Bruno, a long time visual effects specialist, creates an occasionally very intense and scary thriller. In a sense it is one of the best B-movies in recent memory – cheesy, but enjoyable and, for SF fans and action movie fans, a fun movie. The story drags a bit early on, and screenwriters Chuck Pfarrer (Hard Target) and Dennis Feldman (Species) include the standard horror movie bumps, knocks, and chills the first third of the movie before revving up the gore and violence.
The characters are standard for this kind of movie. It has the standard lead characters around which a movie revolves; we know something of their motivations and of how their pasts affect the story. We also get the stock cannon fodder, the guys with the guns and the testosterone that inevitably die. However, everyone plays up to his or her part, and no one is lax in the proceedings.
Ms. Curtis is the consummate professional who can be smart when she has to be; she can scream and play the backpedaling victim, but she can fight back in the end, although this movie does force her to be limp enough to allow for Baldwin’s manhood. Not great, but a good supporting player, Baldwin plays the blue-collar guy smart enough to survive. Sutherland, slumming as he so often does, is the consummate character actor; with a distinctive voice and the skills to play a variety of characters, he gives Captain Everton that touch of evil that would make his captaincy ripe for mutiny.
Virus is a nice one for home viewing, especially on a dark and stormy night. Obviously not a fine meal, it’s a darn good burger.
5 of 10
C+
Monday, October 15, 2012
Even Stripped, "Skinwalkers" a Good Werewolf Flick
Skinwalkers (2006)
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour 31 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual material and language
DIRECTOR: James Isaac
WRITERS: James DeMonaco, Todd Harthan, and James Roday
PRODUCER: Dennis Berardi and Don Carmody
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: David A. Armstrong and Adam Kane
EDITOR: Allan Lee
FANTASY/THRILLER with elements of horror
Starring: Matthew Knight, Jason Behr, Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra, Natassia Malthe, Kim Coates, Sarah Carter, Tom Jackson, Rogue Johnston, Barbara Gordon, Shawn Roberts, and Lyric Bent
The subject of this movie review is Skinwalkers, a 2006 werewolf movie and horror-action film directed by James Isaac (Jason X). It was released to theatres in the United States in 2007.
In Skinwalkers, a pre-teen boy learns that he is the balance of power and object of desire in an old war between two factions of werewolves.
As he prepares to turn 13, 12-year-old Timothy (Matthew Knight) finds his health crashing around him, as he’s beset by asthma attacks and fainting spells. Timothy is also blissfully unaware that he is the tipping point in a long war between two groups of werewolves, which are also known as skinwalkers. One faction wants to be free of the curse of the werewolf; the other side joyously feeds on human flesh and thirsts for human blood. Timothy doesn’t know that he is a half-breed; his mother, Rachel (Rhona Mitra), is human and his deceased father is a werewolf. Timothy doesn’t even know that the extended family with which he grew up, including his Uncle Jonas (Elias Koteas), is a band of good-hearted werewolves that has been protecting him since the day he was born.
Timothy is the child foretold by an Indian prophesy. The arrival of Timothy’s 13th birthday during the last night of the “blood red moon,” will somehow forever end the curse of the werewolves. Skinwalkers will become wholly human. However, the werewolves who don’t see their condition as a curse and embrace the bloodlust have been lurking in the shadows. Led by Varek (Jason Behr), an evil pack of werewolves has been waiting for more than a decade to kill Timothy before he turns 13, and now they’re making their move. Jonas, Rachel, and a select group of fellow believers go on the run hoping to keep Tim just out of reach of the other werewolves until his birthday, but the relentless Varek practically has Timothy his bloody grasp.
What was supposed to be a 1 hour and 50 minute, R-rated movie was cut down to a 91 minute, PG-13 rated movie (although this movie still has enough blood, gore, violence, and simulated sex to have maintained it’s R-rating). Still, even with the obvious holes in the plot and story that come from removing 19 minutes of narrative, Skinwalkers is a very entertaining monster flick. It’s more fantasy and suspense thriller than horror, and though it doesn’t have the bite of such werewolf flicks as An American Werewolf in London or The Howling, Skinwalkers often packs a wallop. Its intricate back story and open-ended final scene leave room for sequels, but what it offers now is entertaining enough to make one pine for an “extended edition” DVD.
6 of 10
B
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Sunday, October 14, 2012
"The Walking Dead" Travel to 2012 Wizard World Austin
Joins Fellow Cast Members Norman Reedus, Michael Rooker At Austin Convention Center, October 27-28
Fans of “The Walking Dead” have another great reason to rejoice, as Jon Bernthal, who portrayed “Shane Walsh” in the hit AMC series, has been added to the roster at Wizard World Austin Comic Con at the Austin Convention Center. He joins fellow cast members Norman Reedus (“Daryl Dixon”) and Michael Rooker (“Merle Dixon”); all three are scheduled to appear on Saturday, Oct. 27, and Sunday, Oct. 28.
The classically-trained Bernthal recently completed filming Ric Roman Waugh’s action drama, Snitch, opposite Susan Sarandon and Dwayne Johnson. He has appeared in such large-scale productions as World Trade Center, The Pacific and Rampart, and has had guest roles on top TV series like "CSI: Miami," "Boston Legal," "Without a Trace" and "How I Met Your Mother."
Bernthal, Reedus and Rooker will greet Wizard World Austin Comic Con fans, sign autographs, pose for photo ops (including a chance to be photographed with all three) and participate together in an interactive Q&A panel.
“The Walking Dead” earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama Series, a Writers Guild of America nomination for Best New Series, and recognition as one of AFI’s Ten Best Television Programs of the Year. The series set new records as the most watched drama series in basic cable history, and is aired internationally in over 120 countries and 33 languages.
In addition to Bernthal, Reedus and Rooker, eight stars of the popular series “Star Trek: The Next Generation” will gather for their first 25-year U.S. reunion at Wizard World Austin Comic Con, including the legendary Patrick Stewart, who portrayed the stern, determined "Captain Jean-Luc Picard," commander of the USS Enterprise.
Other popular Wizard World Austin Comic Con guests include Eliza Dushku (“Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” True Lies), WWE® Superstar CM Punk®, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino (“Jersey Shore”), Dean Cain (“Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” “90210”), Anthony Michael Hall (Sixteen Candles, Weird Science), Lou Ferrigno (“The Incredible Hulk,” “The King of Queens”) and the Boondock Saints trio of Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery and David Della Rocco, among others.
Wizard World Austin Comic Con (Oct. 26-28), produced by Wizard World, Inc. (WIZD.PK), will bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, comics, toys, video gaming, television, sci-fi, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. Admission is free for kids 10 and under, and Sunday, Oct. 28, is “Kids Day,” with an array of programming specially designed for children.
For more on the 2012 Wizard World Austin Comic Con, visit http://www.wizardworld.com/home-tx.html.
About Wizard World:
Wizard World produces Comic Cons and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate graphic novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology, toys and social networking. The events often feature celebrities from movies and TV, artists and writers, and events such as premieres, gaming tournaments, panels, and costume contests.
The full event schedule can be found at www.wizardworld.com.
***** SAVE THE 2012-13 DATES *****
October 26-28, 2012 – Wizard World Austin Comic Con
November 30 - December 2, 2012 – Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con
February 22-24, 2013 – Wizard World Portland Comic Con
May 30 - June 2, 2013 – Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con
August 8-11, 2013 – Wizard World Chicago Comic Con
September 20-22, 2013 – Wizard World Ohio Comic Con
Review: "Snow White and the Huntsman" is a Fractured Fairy Tale
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
Running time: 127 minutes (2 hour, 7 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sensuality
DIRECTOR: Rupert Sanders
WRITERS: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, and Hossein Amini; from a screen story by Evan Daugherty
PRODUCERS: Sam Mercer, Palak Patel, and Joe Roth
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Greig Fraser
EDITORS: Conrad Buff IV and Neil Smith
COMPOSER: James Newton Howard
FANTASY/DRAMA/ACTION
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Sam Claflin, Sam Spruell, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones, Johnny Harris, Brian Gleeson, Vincent Regan, and Noah Huntley
Snow White and the Huntsman is a 2012 action fantasy film starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Charlize Theron. The film re-imagines (a word I’m starting to hate) the German fairy tale “Snow White” as an epic fantasy.
The film opens in the Kingdom of Tabor, where King Magnus and Queen Eleanor welcome a baby daughter they name Snow White. Sometime after Eleanor dies, Magnus marries the mysterious Ravenna (Charlize Theron), who turns out to be a powerful sorceress. After usurping the throne, Ravenna imprisons Snow White (Raffey Cassidy) in the north tower of the castle. With her brother, Finn (Sam Spruell), at her side, Ravenna rules over the kingdom, while draining the youth from young maidens in order to maintain her own youthful appearance.
After coming of age, Snow White (Kristen Stewart) escapes into the Dark Forest. Ravenna orders Eric (Chris Hemsworth), a huntsman, to find Snow White, but Snow White’s destiny may prove to be bigger than any one person’s plans for her.
I discovered that Snow White and the Huntsman is the first feature film directed by Rupert Sanders, which may explain why the movie’s narrative develops in fits and starts. Sometimes, Snow White and the Huntsman is overly serious, and sometimes, it is painfully dull. It’s as if Sanders wants to treat some of the movie as if it were Lord of the Rings (which it is not). When he’s not trying to do his own version of director Peter Jackson, Sanders is trying to create some character drama and that’s mostly awkward.
First, let me say that I am a fan of Kristen Stewart. I think Stewart is perfect for Sanders, because, as an actress, she is overly serious. In practically any movie in which she appears, Stewart will spend part of that film kind of hunched over, like a dog waiting to be smacked across the head with a newspaper even when she does something good (like rescue Timmy from a well). I could be nice and say that her acting is decent, although she delivers dialogue with all the stiffness of a graduate of the Keanu Reeves School of Acting. Her big speech scenes in the last act of Snow White and the Huntsman are not inspiring and are, in fact, dry as dust.
Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron try, and Theron really tries, but the script seems unsure about what it should be – action movie or fantasy drama… or Evil Queen movie? The script isn’t even sure who the lead character is, and I’m not sure Sanders knew which characters should be the focus and when they should be. This movie should have been titled “Sometimes Snow White and sometimes the Huntsman and sometimes the Queen.”
I’m being critical because this movie and its story/concept have so much potential, and there are times when Snow White and the Huntsman seems like it is going to be an exceptional fantasy film. A clunky opening act and its occasional meandering are what keep Snow White and the Huntsman average rather than special.
5 of 10
B-
Sunday, October 14, 2012
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Saturday, October 13, 2012
"Ginger Snaps" Breaks Werewolf Movie Mold
Ginger Snaps (2000)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)
Unrated by the MPAA
DIRECTOR: John Fawcett
WRITERS: Karen Walton; from a story by John Fawcett and Karen Walton
PRODUCERS: Karen Lee Hall and Steven Hoban
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Thom Best
EDITOR: Brett Sullivan
COMPOSER: Mike Shields
HORROR with elements of comedy
Starring: Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle, Kris Lemche, Mimi Rogers, Jesse Moss, Danielle Hampton, John Bourgeois, Peter Kelegan, Pak-Kong Ho, and Christopher Redman
The subject of this movie review is Ginger Snaps, a 2000 Canadian horror film and werewolf movie. The title is a pun on the term, “ginger snaps,” which in the U.S. is a name for a kind of cookie. In this film, there is a girl named Ginger who “snaps,” as in goes really crazy.
In the horror and dark comic film, Ginger Snaps, Brigitte “B” Fitzgerald (Emily Perkins) and her sister, Ginger (Katharine Isabelle), are local outcasts because of their fascination with death and the macabre. Sullen and frequently dressed light goth, the girls earn the derision of their classmates. However, one night while wandering near the woods on their way to get a minor revenge against tormenting female classmate, a large wild animal attacks and bites Ginger.
Sam (Kris Lemche), a local drug dealer with an eye on “B,” runs over the beast while it’s chasing the girls and realizes that the thing is a werewolf. Before long, Ginger is exhibiting hostile behavior and becomes sexually aggressive. Her body begins to change, and once she realizes and accepts that she is becoming a werewolf, Ginger wants “B” to share it with her just as they promised to share death in a suicide pact. Brigitte is having second thoughts, and she gets Sam to help her find a cure for Ginger. Ginger, however, isn’t taking “no” for an answer.
Ginger Snaps is a novel take on the werewolf mythos, mixing in elements of teen angst, feminism, grrrl power, and lots of teenage female body issues, especially menstruation. The film comes across as a bit gross at times, but film’s ideas are engaging. It’s unique and interesting how the “curse” of the werewolf is tied to the “curse” of that time of the month and to Ginger and B’s close and intense relationship. Most of the credit should go to screenwriter Karen Walton for her sharp and witty dialogue. Though the script tends to drag, the chatting between the characters has an intimate feeling (even when characters are fighting amongst themselves) that gives the illusion that these people really know each other. The performances are occasionally tepid, but sometimes nuanced and passionate. Mimi Rogers is creepy as the girls’ mother, Pamela.
Ginger Snaps seems about five or ten minutes too long, and it really tends to drag. However, the film has good atmosphere and is a nice twist on the werewolf movie. I especially like the fact that the creature effects are makeup and (apparently) animatronics rather than CGI.
6 of 10
B
Friday, October 12, 2012
"The Innocents" is the Ultimate Ghost Story
The Innocents (1961) – B&W
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
Running time: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Jack Clayton
WRITERS: William Archibald and Truman Capote with John Mortimer (additional scenes and dialogue); based upon the novel The Turn of the Screw by Henry James)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Freddie Francis
EDITOR: Jim Clark
COMPOSER: Georges Auric
BAFTA nominee
HORROR/MYSTERY
Starring: Deborah Kerr, Martin Stephens, Pamela Franklin, Megs Jenkins, Peter Wyngard, Michael Redgrave, Isla Cameron, and Clytie Jessop
The subject of this movie review is The Innocents, a 1961 British horror film produced and directed by Jack Clayton. Although it is based on Henry James’ novella, The Turn of the Screw, this black and white film takes its title from The Innocents, a 1950 Broadway stage adaptation of James’ novella by William Archibald.
Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr), a young governess, accepts a position supervising a young girl, Flora (Pamela Franklin) and her brother, Miles (Martin Stephens), (who is away at school when Miss Giddens first arrives), in a lonely old house on a large English country estate. Things are going well until Miles is expelled from school and returns home. Not only must Miss Giddens deal with Miles disruptive behavior, but she also begins to see shadowy figures and ghostly apparitions and to hear mysterious voices, strange noises, and unexplained music in the manor house and on its grounds. Miss Giddens comes to believe that the house, as well as the children, are haunted by former servants, but the estate’s clouded history is keeping her in the dark… and in danger.
The Innocents, a film adaptation of Henry James’ famed novella, The Turn of the Screw, is one of best English-language horror films ever made. It’s hard to imagine that this film isn’t among the top three to five best Western ghost stories on film. Like James’ novel, producer/director Jack Clayton’s film is coy about whether there are actually ghosts haunting the house or whether Miss Giddens the governess is mentally disturbed, though Clayton and his writers lean towards the former. Viewers may recognize one of Nicole Kidman’s films, 2001’s The Others, as a clever reworking of Henry James’ story via this film. The 2005 film The Skeleton Key also seems to have been launched from this concept.
However, regardless of how one interprets the film, it is a masterwork. Deborah Kerr is superb as the busybody Miss Giddens who is at once high-strung and then quite reserved. Pamela Franklin and Martin Stephens are mesmerizing as the sly, manipulative, and clever children. Rarely have young actors managed to look purely innocent and naïve while at the same time coming across and guilty and disingenuous. Megs Jenkins does a fine turn as the subtle messy housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, with her crafty touch of instantly feigning innocence. We can’t quite get a bead on the children, and Miss Giddens obviously has her problems, while Mrs. Grose knows more than she’ll ever let on – no matter how innocent she may act. And those ghosts: they are determined phantoms that the children must see because they seem like such obvious solid looking phantoms, but the director presents them in such a way that maybe only Miss Giddens is crazy enough to see them. And the great performances totally sell us into the confusion and doubt.
Not only do we get excellent acting, but also Clayton, cinematographer Freddie Francis, and composer Georges Auric deliver career-defining work. Auric’s music for The Innocents defines the term, “haunting score,” yet you wouldn’t really notice it unless you stopped specifically to hear it. Auric made the score quiet, yet forcefully effective. Oscar-winning cinematographer Freddie Francis (Sons and Lovers, Glory) gave the film a look that is as beautiful and it is frightening. Rarely does a ghost story seem so fascinating; his lighting crew certainly did stellar work. I wanted to live in Francis’ beautiful shot dream world no matter how many ghosts were there. Finally, producer/director Jack Clayton brought his talented cast and crew together and created a captivating film that is as distant as it is alluring – always calling the viewer, yet being standoffish.
The Innocents is a ghost story that seems itself to be a ghost – a haunting black and white dream that refuses to give up it secrets no matter how coy it is when giving up tidbits. Its shocking, disquieting ending is like an unsettled ghost that won’t let us leave but also pushes us away. This spectral ghost story is unforgettable.
10 of 10
NOTES:
1962 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Film from Any Source,” and “Best British Film”
1962 Cannes Film Festival: 1 nomination: “Palme d'Or” (Jack Clayton)
Sunday, April 09, 2006
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