Critics, Hollywood insiders weigh in the possibility that the director may be removed from the upcoming superhero reboot. By Eric Ditzian Zack Snyder and Superman Photo: AFP/ Alex Ross/ DC Comics There was a time, after “Dawn of the Dead” and “300,” when few might have argued against handing Superman’s cape to director Zack Snyder and telling him, “Resurrect this franchise!” Then came his polarizing adaptation of “Watchmen” and a disappointing box-office performance in “Legend of the Guardians,” neither of which prevented Warner Bros. from giving Snyder the “Superman” gig last October. Now, though, in the wake of the critical drubbing and weak opening weekend of “Sucker Punch,” some industry insiders suspect that the studio and its corporate parent are starting to wonder if Snyder — a director with a keen visual eye but not always the deftest storytelling touch — is truly the right man for the job. In fact, David Poland of Movie City News even speculated that the director might end up departing the production. “Next month would be the moment when Snyder ‘decides to do a more personal project,’ if he was being given the heave-ho,” the critic told MTV News. Not that Poland or anyone else is suggesting that Snyder has one foot out the door. Certainly helping matters is that “The Dark Knight Rises” director Christopher Nolan has taken on a much-vaunted “godfather” role on “Superman.” “With Nolan shepherding ‘Superman,’ Warner Bros. will likely have complete trust in their collective vision as they attempt to reboot one of Hollywood’s golden franchises,” said Jeff Bock, box-office analyst for entertainment-research firm Exhibitor Relations . “Yes, ‘Sucker Punch’ is a creative and financial disappointment, and probably the last time in quite a while that Snyder will be given free reign over a film, but he was never going to have that creative autonomy with ‘Superman’ regardless.” Yet Nolan’s guidance is hardly enough to ensure “Superman” success on the level of “Batman Begins” or “The Dark Knight.” James Cameron, for instance, took on an executive-producer role on “Sanctum” — one can clearly see his input both in the visuals and the storyline — but no one would argue that the film resides in the same creative universe as “Avatar.” What’s more, it remains unclear how engaged Nolan will be as he readies production on “The Dark Knight Rises.” “How involved will Nolan really be? His [‘Batman’] casting is ahead of ‘Superman”s,” said Poland. “[Is] Nolan godfathering Snyder or just WB? Is he there to give script notes or to really assert an influence? It’s an unknown.” Poland maintains that Snyder’s hiring always seemed to be a move spearheaded by Warner Bros. Pictures Group president Jeff Robinov rather than Nolan, since the two directors possess vastly different stylistic vocabularies. In this sense, it may not be that WB is reassessing Snyder so much as that Robinov’s higher-ups at Time Warner are. “[I]t’s more about the bosses second-guessing. Will the noise level turn [CEO] Jeff Bewkes’ head?” noted Poland. “Could another ‘Superman’ flop — meaning just $400 million worldwide, hit numbers for most films — change how Jeff Robinov is seen inside the company? … I do believe that [Snyder] is Robinov’s guy and that Robinov’s career is on the line here.” It’s important to note, however, that Warner Bros. certainly knew what it had in “Sucker Punch” before hiring Snyder — its commercial and critical reception couldn’t have come as an inordinate surprise. Nor was its box-office debut ($19 million) especially shocking, according to Gitesh Pandya, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com. “The opening was only a tad bit below expectations,” he said. “If a branded film like ‘Watchmen’ opened like this, then it would be a big deal. The visuals were impressive and that’s a major factor when it comes to a superhero tentpole. Many directors with far less action experience were handed comic-book epics before.” But even action-savvy helmers have faltered with “Superman.” Just ask Bryan Singer. The thing is, after Singer’s “Superman Returns” failed to resonate with the public in 2006, Warner Bros. can hardly afford to stumble again. According to Bock, WB understands that “it’s do or die time,” and continues to have confidence that its pairing of Snyder and Nolan was the right choice. “[T]hey needed Nolan in a godfather capacity, and Snyder to up the hip quotient,” Bock said. “Snyder knows how to create a dynamic spectacle on the silver screen, as he has shown with ‘300’ and ‘Dawn of the Dead,’ and with Nolan guiding the story process, ‘Superman’ may just be the next big thing — again.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Videos ‘Sucker Punch’ Clips MTV Rough Cut: ‘Sucker Punch’ Related Photos ‘Sucker Punch’ Premiere In Los Angeles
Everybody loves a good David and Goliath story and boy is this a humdinger of one. In this corner is Zack Snyder, director of big event movies beloved by the Comic Con cognoscenti, helming a movie featuring big explosions, pretty girls in short skirts and elaborate fight scenes, all released in gross-maximizing IMAX and PG-13. In this corner is Diary of a Wimpy Kid , an unassuming kids’ movie rushed into production after the relative success of the first installment. And the Kid just cleaned Snyder’s clock, despite the aforementioned IMAX surcharges and despite a large chunk of Kid ‘s ticket sales coming from discounted child prices. Ladies and gentlemen, your Weekend Receipts are here.
MTV News spoke with filmmaker Zack Snyder and the cast about the making of the fantastical battle movie. By Kara Warner Abbie Cornish in “Sucker Punch” Photo: Warner Bros. At long last, Zack Snyder’s mysterious, “Alice in Wonderland With Machine Guns” film “Sucker Punch” has arrived in theaters. MTV News has been on the case since its humble beginnings, bringing you all the news, videos, scoops and interviews … in a nutshell, everything you need to know . To celebrate the film’s opening day, we present a few more fun facts about the film that we learned directly from the film’s director/writer Zack Snyder and the cast. 1. Snyder’s original plan for the movie was to build it around a big musical number. “I had this idea that it’d be cool if we used the musical number for the spine of the movie or the spine of the action sequence,” Snyder told MTV News during the film’s press day. “And then getting in and out of it would be like, the music would start and that would draw us in. That would be the sort of mechanism for the fantasy to begin, and when the music ended, that would be the mechanism for it ending. And that was sort of how it started.” 2. Inspiration for the look of the film came from the adult fantasy magazine Heavy Metal . “I still read it, actually,” Snyder said. “It’s got little short stories in it and they’re illustrated. And so it’s like a comic strip that has more sex and violence than you would get from a normal comic book,” Snyder said, adding that he started reading the magazine in his youth. “I think it influenced this movie in a pretty big way.” 3. For the high-action “train sequence,” Snyder used hundreds of shots to look like one, which took seven days to shoot. “[The train sequence] is a sequence that’s broken up into maybe 120 shots that look like one shot,” Snyder explained. “So you just kind of have to know where the cameras are going and knowing where it came from, and put these little camera moves in and all these shifts that have to happen. … You shoot one angle and then you shoot the other angle and then it’s going to be stitched with the CG section. So you have to know what you’re capable of,” he said. “How far you can push the CG stitch so it doesn’t break the shot. There’s a whole bunch of things like that.” 4. Everyone in the cast is wearing a ton of makeup. Even for Oscar Isaac, who plays creepy institution overlord Blue Jones and has the privilege of being one of the only men in the cast, the makeup process was extensive. “I remember they would spray-tan me and then put an extra coat of shine on it,” he recalled. “Then blush and then tons of eyeliner. My hair was basically glued tight to my head.” But compared to what the ladies endured, Isaac’s process wasn’t that bad. Carla Gugino told us the filmmakers wanted the makeup to make a statement, and that she spent at least two hours in the makeup chair every morning. “We definitely had so much fun,” Gugino said. “Rosalina [Da Silva] designed the look of the film makeup-wise. And we did ‘Watchmen’ together as well,” she explained. “She’s amazing. But there was a point when she said, ‘Carla, guess how many sets of lashes you have on your eyes?’ and I was like, ‘Including my real ones?’ and she was like, ‘Yes.’ And we realized that it was four.” 5. Snyder had to cut back on the violence in the movie, particularly a few scenes that involve implied or attempted rape. “Those [scenes] of course got trimmed away,” he said. “It’s really delicate because even that subject matter, you have the harder version that is sometimes better because it actually makes the point a little bit more directly. The PG-13 version was difficult for me,” he revealed. “I would say that the very things that they didn’t like were the very things that you needed to see in order for you to understand the content of the scene. You know, to know how to feel about it, because otherwise you’re sort of left in this weird middle ground,” he said. “So it’s difficult. It’s tricky.” Snyder went on to explain why the sexual violence and lobotomy images were necessary to include in the film, juxtaposed with the idea of women not being victims and being able to defend themselves. “For me it was all about having incredible threat in that world. Like, what is the most dangerous thing? What is the worst possible thing, and to me being lobotomized and then raped is probably the worst possible thing,” he explained. “I like the idea that the verdict or the … like if someone were to make a sacrifice, and you have two alternatives and one is just go back to jail. OK. You know, I get that. And one is you know, be lobotomized and then possibly raped for the rest of your zombified life. You know, you really need to think about that. You’re giving up a lot, I guess, is my point.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Sucker Punch.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Sucker Punch’ ‘Sucker Punch’ Clips Related Photos ‘Sucker Punch’ Premiere In Los Angeles “Sucker Punch”
Before you check out Zack Snyder’s action-packed flick, learn how it came to be. By Kara Warner Emily Browning in “Sucker Punch” Photo: Warner Bros./ Legendary Pictures Way back in October 2008, amid the buzz surrounding Zack Snyder’s big-screen adaptation of “Watchmen,” news broke about plans for his next project, an original screenplay penned by Snyder and Steve Shibuya called “Sucker Punch,” billed simply as “Alice in Wonderland with machine guns.” For Snyder’s devoted fanbase, that descriptor was enough to set minds speculating and Internets buzzing for well over two years. Naturally, MTV News has been following the project from conception to opening day Friday (March 25). Here’s everything you need to know about “Sucker Punch”: First, in addition to the “Alice in Wonderland with machine guns” tease, the initial logline announced that the plot revolved around “a young girl institutionalized by her wicked stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the facility.” In March 2009, an all-female cast was announced, with several of Hollywood’s most in-demand ing
‘The whole thing is very much from that perspective of respect the canon but don’t be a slave to the movies,’ director tells L.A. Times. By Eric Ditzian Zack Snyder and Superman Photo: AFP/ Alex Ross/ DC Comics “Superman” director Zack Snyder finds himself in much the same position Christopher Nolan did in the run-up to “Batman Begins.” Nolan had to pick up the scraps of a broken franchise — thanks, “Batman & Robin”! — and re-engineer the Caped Crusader for a new century. Snyder, similarly, finds the Man of Steel in poor shape following an attempted 2006 reboot that left audiences underwhelmed. Is it any surprise, then, that Snyder plans to follow the example Nolan set back in 2005? “Literally, the one thing that everyone can start to think about is that we’re making a movie that finally goes with the approach that there’s been no other Superman movies,” Snyder told the Los Angeles Times. “If you look at ‘Batman Begins,’ there’s that structure, there’s the canon that we know about and respect, but on other hand there’s this approach that pre-supposes that there haven’t been any other movies. In every aspect of design and of story, the whole thing is very much from that perspective of respect the canon but don’t be a slave to the movies.” To that end, it helps, no doubt, that Nolan has taken on a sort of godfather role on the project (officially, he’s a producer), not just as a creative guide, but as a concrete example showing that such an approach can actually work. “Chris is awesome. He’s super-respectful but super-helpful, too. You can’t imagine a more generous [collaborator],” Snyder said. “Once he sort of got what I want to do with it, he was like, ‘OK,’ and once he said, ‘You know what, that’s awesome,’ now he’s 100 percent. If I say, ‘What do you think of this?’ he’s like, ‘That’s awesome,’ and then there’s a great give-and-take about it, a great conversation that we can have about it and making it better every day.” There are a lot of days still ahead. The movie — which, Snyder confirmed, has the working title “Man of Steel” — won’t hit theaters until December 2012. Before they even begin shooting, Snyder plans to release a photo of Henry Cavill in costume as Superman , lest an unsanctioned paparazzi photo become the first-ever look at the revamped hero. What we end up seeing in the first official pic, and what ends up onscreen late next year, may not be at all what we’re expecting. “In some ways Superman is the most recognizable superhero on the planet but also the most unknown. Just what he can be?” Snyder said. “People have preconceived ideas about him but probably all of them are wrong.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Man of Steel.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com .
In an outrageous power grab, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and the Republican-dominated state legislature passed legislation today that allows Snyder to declare a local city to be in a financial emergency and appoint an emergency manager. That manager can, without anyone else’s approval, cancel contracts, including collective bargaining agreements, force consolidation of schools, townships, cities and… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : AFL-CIO Weblog Discovery Date : 09/03/2011 20:58 Number of articles : 2
‘We are thrilled to have Diane in the role,’ director Zack Snyder says in a statement. By Eric Ditzian Diane Lane Photo: Stefanie Keenan/ Getty Images While rumors continue to swirl that “Superman” director Zack Snyder is eyeing Viggo Mortensen for a villainous role in the rebooted comic book franchise, Warner Bros. has officially announced the casting of a good guy — or, we should say, a good mom. Diane Lane is officially onboard to play Martha Kent, the adoptive mother of Clark Kent, according to a studio press release . “This was a very important piece of casting for me because Martha Kent is the woman whose values helped shape the man we know as Superman,” Snyder said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have Diane in the role because she can convey the wisdom and the wonder of a woman whose son has powers beyond her imagination.” The casting doesn’t mark the first time the Oscar-winning actress has entered a high-profile comic book adaptation. In the mid-’90s, she appeared alongside Sylvester Stallone in “Judge Dredd.” She’s also co-starred in action- and thriller-oriented fare like “Jumper,” “Murder at 1600” and the barely seen “Killshot.” Lane joins Henry Cavill, who’s playing the Man of Steel, as confirmed “Superman” castmembers. Mortensen has been rumored for the role of General Zod, the nefarious alien at the heart of 1980’s “Superman II.” Kevin Costner has been mentioned as a possible choice for Jonathan Kent, the husband of Martha and the adoptive father of Clark. Directed by Snyder, produced by “Dark Knight” guru Christopher Nolan and with a screenplay penned by David S. Goyer, the new “Superman” flick is slated for a December 2012 release date. For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com .
Director Zack Snyder says actor exuded ‘crazy-calm confidence.’ By Eric Ditzian Henry Cavill Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images Less than three weeks after Henry Cavill was tapped to be the latest actor to pull on Superman’s tights in Warner Bros.’ rebooted take on the iconic hero, the 27-year-old actor is stepping into the public eye as the face of the franchise. Cavill graces the upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly , not suited up like the Man of Steel but wearing a faded “S shield” T-shirt underneath a leather jacket. Of course, he did have to don Superman’s duds to win the role. In fact, according to director Zack Snyder, the tights he tried on were a replica of the ones worn by former Superman Christopher Reeve. “If you can put on that suit and pull it off, that’s an awesome achievement,” Snyder said. While Cavill had packed on muscle for Tarsem Singh’s action-fantasy, “Immortals,” he had to shed the weight for his latest gig — a starring role opposite Bruce Willis in “The Cold Light of Day” — and the prospect of trying on Superman’s costume had him feeling more than a little anxious. “All I could think was: Oh, god. They’re going to look at me and go, ‘He’s not Superman. Not a chance,’ ” Cavill admitted. “The actor inside me was going: ‘You’re not ready! You’re not ready!’ ” Cavill could certainly be excused for his apprehension. The Brit had numerous close calls with major franchises. He was previously attached to a role as Superman, but lost out after McG exited the project and Bryan Singer eventually signed on to direct. Cavill also was reportedly considered to play Batman, James Bond and Green Lantern , but was passed up each time. This time, however, Snyder took one look at Cavill in the Super-suit and knew he could play the Man of Steel. “He walked out, and no one laughed,” the director said. “Other actors put that suit on, and it’s a joke, even if they’re great actors. Henry put it on, and he exuded this kind of crazy-calm confidence that just made me go, ‘Wow.’ OK: This was Superman.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Photos Meet Henry Cavill, The New Superman Henry Cavill Imagined As The New Superman
Reports have asserted that the Chinese government is actively using Chinese telecom companies to conduct cyber espionage against the United States, and questions have been raised about partnerships with Chinese telecom companies and corporations tied to Governor-elect Rick Snyder of Michigan… https://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/9709-Chinese-Pursue-State-Sponsored-Cyber… added by: Paisano1
Comments Off on Chinese Pursue State Sponsored Cyber Espionage
Breaking Sports Video
