Friday night saw the opening gala for the fantasy adaptation Life of Pi at the 50th Annual New York Film Festival, and oh boy the times they are a’changing! Who’d have ever guessed that a 3-D flick would open a prestigious film festival? Well, apparently if it’s from Ang Lee all bets are off. The director got major kudos from his peers for embracing 3D, with Fox head honcho Tom Rothman saying Lee has even topped Scorsese’s use of the medium in Hugo ! Check out my video interview below not just to hear Lee defend 3-D, but for an awesome Movieline shout out from Frank Oz himself. Plus: Tom Rothman has a warning for all other films on behalf of his upcoming Steven Spielberg sci-fi actioner, Robopocalypse , which I’m pretty sure will be in 3-D… Follow Movieline on Twitter . Follow Grace on Twitter .
Also in Wednesday morning’s round-up of news briefs, Brazil makes a move to ban Anti-Islamic film in its borders. After Rupert Wyatt exits Dawn of the Planet of the Apes , Fox comes up with possible short-list. And an aging gay drama set for New York Film Festival premiere becomes the Philippines’ entry for Oscar. Disney’s Lone Ranger Shoot Nears Completion The film starring Johnny Depp and directed by Gore Verbinski ( Pirates of the Caribbean ) began shooting at the end of February and should wrap up at the end of September, for a total of between 140 – 150 days. The budget is said to be $250 million for the action movie, THR reports . More Innocence of Muslims Fallout: Brazil Orders YouTube To Remove Pic A Brazilian court ordered YouTube to pull the video. Brazil’s National Islamic Union said posting the video was a violation of the constitutional right to freedom of religion. In issuing the order, however, the judge said that banning something shouldn’t “offend” freedom of thought and expression. In related news, Iran made official that it will boycott this year’s Oscars, Deadline reports . Possible Short List for Fox’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Director The studio may have a short list of directors to replace Rupert Wyatt who left the project. Among the names in the list are Cloverfield ‘s Matt Reeves, The Disappearance of Alice Creed director J. Blakeson, 28 Days Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillio, Pacific Rim ‘s Guillermo del Toro and Looper ‘s Rian Johnson, Deadline reports . Barry Sonnenfeld Eyes Warner Bros. Lore Dwayne Johnson is set to star in the sic-fi action pic, while Sonnenfeld is in talks to direct the feature. It is based on a IDW book/graphic novel by Ashely Wood and T.P. Louise and has been described as Men in Black with mythological creatures.” Sonnenfeld recently made Men in Black 3 , THR reports . Drama on Aging Gay is Philippines’ Oscar Entry Writer/director Jun Robles Lana’s Bwakaw (Voracious) is an indie drama that explores “loneliness and missed opportunities” of an ailing 70 year-old gay man. Bwakaw will screen at the upcoming New York Film Festival, opening Friday, A.P. reports .
Just in time for its World Premiere at the New York Film Festival this Friday, a new and more sweeping trailer for Ang Lee ‘s Life of Pi has hit the web, setting up the 3-D adventure based on the 2001 novel by Yann Martel. The fantasy-adventure follows “Pi,” an Indian boy who survives a shipwreck and is stranded on a boat in the ocean with a Bengal tiger along with some other charming critters. The trailer sets up the ship wreck that sees Pi (newcomer Suraj Sharma) survive the disaster at sea and finds himself in the company of the tiger, set to the tunes of Coldplay’s Paradise . Life of Pi, which also stars Irrfan Khan, Gérard Depardieu, Shravanthi Sainath, Suraj Sharma and Tabu, shot in Taiwan and India earlier this year. 20th Century Fox will release Life of Pi November 21st. Official log-line: Director Ang Lee ( Brokeback Mountain , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ) creates a groundbreaking movie event about a young man who survives a tragic disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While marooned on a lifeboat, he forms an amazing and unexpected connection with the ship’s only other survivor – a fearsome Bengal tiger.
Sad news out of Manhattan: Amos Vogel, whose championing of foreign and independent film changed the direction of modern cinema over the last half-century, has passed away. He was 91. Vogel’s Cinema 16 events, introduced in 1947, battled censors and opened viewers’ eyes to the likes of Roman Polanski, Yasujirō Ozu, Robert Bresson, John Cassavetes and scores of other auteurs — in some cases before the word “auteur” meant anything. He also co-founded the New York Film Festival, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary as the city’s leading light of movie culture. Over at the Web site of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, which as recently as last fall hosted Vogel to kick off a countdown to this year’s milestone NYFF, Eugene Hernandez offers a nice look back at the film firebrand’s life — including a statement by Vogel devotee Martin Scorsese: “If you’re looking for the origins of film culture in America, look no further than Amos Vogel. Between Cinema 16 (which he ran with his beloved wife Marcia and which opened our eyes to Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, Bruce Conner, Kenneth Anger, Cassavetes’ Shadows, and hundreds of other visionary films and filmmakers), The New York Film Festival (which he co-founded with Richard Roud), and his book Film As a Subversive Art , Amos opened the doors to every possibility in film viewing, film exhibition, film curating, film appreciation. He was also unfailingly generous, encouraging and supportive of so many young filmmakers, including me when I was just starting to make my first pictures. No doubt about it – the man was a giant.” Vogel, who turned 91 a week ago today, passed away surrounded by family in the Greenwich Village apartment he shared with his late wife Marcia, who died in 2009. Paul Cronin’s 2004 documentary about Vogel, Film as a Subversive Art: Amos Vogel and Cinema 16 , is viewable in its entirety below. R.I.P. [ FSLC ; Photo of Amos Vogel: The Sticking Place ] Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
After a weekend of speculation, guesses and second-guesses about which top-secret “work in progress by a master filmmaker” would in fact screen tonight as a last-minute addition to the New York Film Festival, Martin Scorsese confirmed today’s reports by taking the stage at Avery Fisher Hall in Manhattan and introducing his family-friendly 3-D opus Hugo to a loving hometown crowd.
Our sister blog Deadline is reporting that the surprise sneak screening tonight at the New York Film Festival — showcasing a “work in progress from a master filmmaker” — will be Martin Scorsese’s Hugo . If true, it would be Scorsese’s second film to screen at this year’s NYFF (after George Harrison: Living in the Material World ) and a considerable risk for Paramount, which would be exhibiting the uncompleted 3-D film in one of the tougher filmgoing environments known to man. Movieline will be there in any case; check back with us later on for a report. [via @NikkiFinke ]
Hugh Jackman’s plummy-eyed posters did not scare off moviegoers (or robot foes) this weekend, as Real Steel toppled all challengers at the box office. The Ides of March comes in for a distant, but respectable #2, and Moneyball and Dolphin Tale continue to hold hands, shut out the rest of the world, and survive on sheer joy.
It almost wouldn’t be the New York Film Festival these days without Michelle Williams, whose My Week With Marilyn marks the actress’s fourth effort in five years to grace Manhattan’s venerated fall-movie showcase. It’s inarguably her highest-profile work to splash down here — a world premiere debuting in the festival’s prestigious Centerpiece slot, glowing with awards-season ambition and hinging almost entirely on Williams’s risky interpretation of Marilyn Monroe. But come on: We’re talking about Michelle Williams here. Of course she pulled it off.
Harrison Ford turns 40 this weekend! Well, his filmography anyway. Cowboys & Aliens marks Ford’s fortieth feature credit, and the National Post has decided to celebrate this milestone with an illustrated guide to the many characters he has played over the last six decades. If you can tell the difference between the roles Ford played in Hollywood Homicide and Firewall , you’re already ahead of the game. [ National Post ]
Because it’s Friday and you deserve it, here’s the latest newcomer in the world of the artistic pop culture food art wars: Watermelon Optimus Prime, forged from the flesh of a juicy, juicy watermelon. But how does the edible Autobot leader compare to the nefarious design of delicious darkness that is Carrot Darth Vader?
