Tag Archives: film

‘Green Lantern’ Special-Effects Wiz Took ‘Artistic License’

Ryan Reynolds, director Martin Campbell and designer Neville Page explain creatures’ creation to MTV News. By Kara Warner Ryan Reynolds in “Green Lantern” Photo: Warner Bros. Nowadays, it seems moviegoers don’t see anything that isn’t at least partially CGI-enhanced — especially when talking about summer blockbusters and comic book movies. Not that we’re complaining. A movie like “Green Lantern,” which opened Friday (June 17), wouldn’t be possible without a heavy assist from computer-graphics specialists and visual-effects teams. When MTV News caught up with the film’s star, Ryan Reynolds, director Martin Campbell and creature designer Neville Page at the premiere this week, we asked them about the challenges involved in acting and working with so many non-existing environments. “I had pretty strong visual cues to work with,” Reynolds said. He explained that he was mostly working with actual people, actors who wore green-screen suits and were later replaced or enhanced with CGI in postproduction. Campbell said that although a lot of the time the actors were playing off “tennis balls on C-stands,” they all learned to work from nothing. “You’re sitting in a blue cave for god knows how long, and after a while, it’s fine,” he said. “You sort of adjust to it, you get used to it like anything else, it becomes the norm. Regarding the specifics of the film’s visual and CG-related feats, Page admitted that the alien characters, Tomar-Re and Kilowog (voiced by Geoffrey Rush and Michael Clarke Duncan), proved to be particularly difficult. “As soon as I saw the comic book design of it … I thought, ‘How are we gonna get a chicken guy to work realistically next to Ryan Reynolds and not have people laugh?’ ” Page said of designing Tomar-Re. “Kilowog was a similar character,” he added. “Obviously, we’re mindful — very mindful — of the fanbase and their expectation of what they are hoping to see,” he explained, mentioning details like body-part proportions and skin texture. “But at the same time, you have to take artistic license to bring these things to true, CG, cinematic life,” he said. Check out everything we’ve got on “Green Lantern.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Videos It’s ‘Green Lantern’ Week! MTV Rough Cut: ‘Green Lantern’ Related Photos ‘Green Lantern’ Trailer: Five Key Scenes

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‘Green Lantern’ Special-Effects Wiz Took ‘Artistic License’

Lady Gaga’s ‘Edge Of Glory’: A Pop-Culture Cheat Sheet

In her newest video, Gaga pays homage to classic clips of the 1980s. By James Montgomery Lady Gaga Photo: Getty Images The first thing that strikes you about Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory” video is the fact that it’s steeped in the rich, gauzy traditions of classic pop clips and noticeably missing any of the allegories , agendas or, uh, afterbirth of her previous work. Simply put, “Edge” is an homage to an entire genre of videos that has since gone by the wayside — namely, the eternally soft-focused, ethereal mini-movies of the 1980s, (mostly) pop productions that reimagined cityscapes as dream-like fantasy worlds, where the just-wet streets shone like mirrors, the manholes frothed with steam and no piece of fabric was left un-billowed. These were decidedly big-budget, unapologetically Hollywood things, shot on studio backlots, glowing with million-dollar lighting budgets and given extra grandeur thanks to sweeping, soaring crane shots. They made no attempt to portray reality as anything of the sort — because, much like the songs they accompanied, there was rebellion in that fantasy — or of hiding their excesses. And, not surprisingly, as the decade came to a close, and earnestness began to reign supreme, they slowly disappeared (surely, their big budgets didn’t help their fate either). But with her new clip, Gaga resurrects the epic videos of the ’80s once again. And, seemingly, all at once. There truly are too many nods to the classics to list individually, and really, that’s beside the point. With “The Edge of Glory,” LG is paying tribute not to individual artists, but to an entire genre. Still, there are some whose influence stands above the rest, and we’ve combined them into one handy cheat sheet. Of course, in keeping with her tradition, not all of them come from the 1980s. Because if there’s anything Lady Gaga has proven, it’s that she refuses to be fenced in. Here’s our list: Bonnie Tyler : Welsh-born belter whose better-known videos (like “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out for a Hero”) practically set the standard for the fantastical pop videos of the 1980s. Soft focus, arching crane shots, achingly staged lighting — they’re all there, and they’re all on display in “Edge of Glory” too. Blondie, “Rapture” : One of the earliest examples of the ethereal ’80s (it was released in 1981), the video follows Debbie Harry on a dream-like traipse through the streets of New York City, complete with guest appearances by Fab Five Freddy and a shuffling Uncle Sam (to name just a few). It makes no sense, because it’s not supposed to. Cyndi Lauper : Gaga’s good friend and, along with Madonna, perhaps the premier ’80s video star, Lauper’s classics — be they the good-natured rebellion of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” or the moody, arty “True Colors” — both seem like spiritual successors to “Edge.” “Fame” : Epochal tale of performing-arts students living and loving in NYC during the early ’80s, it’s spirit and style have long influenced Gaga’s work. With its dance moves and dreamy, freedom-in-the-streets scenes, “Edge” is perhaps the best example of that. “Flashdance” : Prototypical “girl finds escape in dance ” film from 1983, it stars Jennifer Beals as a steelworker/dancer who dreams of a better life. Not only are the same sentiments echoed in “Edge,” but Gaga pays tribute to the film’s most memorable scene — where Beals reclines in a chair and is doused in water — by striking a similar pose outside her apartment building. George Michael : Before he became known for his various, uh, exploits, Michael was the biggest British pop star of the 1980s, and as such, he churned out some appropriately huge music videos. Two of his biggest — “Father Figure” and “Careless Whisper” — seem to have influenced Gaga with their gauzy, steamy portrayals of late-night life in the big city and, in the case of “Whisper,” that balls-out sax wailing. Michael Jackson : You can’t write anything about videos from the 1980s without mentioning MJ, who took the art form to rarely duplicated heights. Usually, his clips were fantastical things, but occasionally, he also got gritty, and it’s those moments (videos like “The Way You Make Me Feel” and “Billie Jean”) that seem to have stuck in Gaga’s mind. “Newsies” : The 1992 Disney musical is most notable for its initial “flop” status and its subsequent rebirth as a cult classic. It tells the story of newsboys on strike in New York City, and in classic scenes like Christian Bale’s performance of the song “Santa Fe,” it takes that struggle to the twisting fire escapes of the city. Sort of like “Edge of Glory,” really. “Rent” : Broadway retelling of Puccini’s “La boh

Lady Gaga’s ‘Edge Of Glory’: A Pop-Culture Cheat Sheet

In her newest video, Gaga pays homage to classic clips of the 1980s. By James Montgomery Lady Gaga Photo: Getty Images The first thing that strikes you about Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory” video is the fact that it’s steeped in the rich, gauzy traditions of classic pop clips and noticeably missing any of the allegories , agendas or, uh, afterbirth of her previous work. Simply put, “Edge” is an homage to an entire genre of videos that has since gone by the wayside — namely, the eternally soft-focused, ethereal mini-movies of the 1980s, (mostly) pop productions that reimagined cityscapes as dream-like fantasy worlds, where the just-wet streets shone like mirrors, the manholes frothed with steam and no piece of fabric was left un-billowed. These were decidedly big-budget, unapologetically Hollywood things, shot on studio backlots, glowing with million-dollar lighting budgets and given extra grandeur thanks to sweeping, soaring crane shots. They made no attempt to portray reality as anything of the sort — because, much like the songs they accompanied, there was rebellion in that fantasy — or of hiding their excesses. And, not surprisingly, as the decade came to a close, and earnestness began to reign supreme, they slowly disappeared (surely, their big budgets didn’t help their fate either). But with her new clip, Gaga resurrects the epic videos of the ’80s once again. And, seemingly, all at once. There truly are too many nods to the classics to list individually, and really, that’s beside the point. With “The Edge of Glory,” LG is paying tribute not to individual artists, but to an entire genre. Still, there are some whose influence stands above the rest, and we’ve combined them into one handy cheat sheet. Of course, in keeping with her tradition, not all of them come from the 1980s. Because if there’s anything Lady Gaga has proven, it’s that she refuses to be fenced in. Here’s our list: Bonnie Tyler : Welsh-born belter whose better-known videos (like “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out for a Hero”) practically set the standard for the fantastical pop videos of the 1980s. Soft focus, arching crane shots, achingly staged lighting — they’re all there, and they’re all on display in “Edge of Glory” too. Blondie, “Rapture” : One of the earliest examples of the ethereal ’80s (it was released in 1981), the video follows Debbie Harry on a dream-like traipse through the streets of New York City, complete with guest appearances by Fab Five Freddy and a shuffling Uncle Sam (to name just a few). It makes no sense, because it’s not supposed to. Cyndi Lauper : Gaga’s good friend and, along with Madonna, perhaps the premier ’80s video star, Lauper’s classics — be they the good-natured rebellion of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” or the moody, arty “True Colors” — both seem like spiritual successors to “Edge.” “Fame” : Epochal tale of performing-arts students living and loving in NYC during the early ’80s, it’s spirit and style have long influenced Gaga’s work. With its dance moves and dreamy, freedom-in-the-streets scenes, “Edge” is perhaps the best example of that. “Flashdance” : Prototypical “girl finds escape in dance ” film from 1983, it stars Jennifer Beals as a steelworker/dancer who dreams of a better life. Not only are the same sentiments echoed in “Edge,” but Gaga pays tribute to the film’s most memorable scene — where Beals reclines in a chair and is doused in water — by striking a similar pose outside her apartment building. George Michael : Before he became known for his various, uh, exploits, Michael was the biggest British pop star of the 1980s, and as such, he churned out some appropriately huge music videos. Two of his biggest — “Father Figure” and “Careless Whisper” — seem to have influenced Gaga with their gauzy, steamy portrayals of late-night life in the big city and, in the case of “Whisper,” that balls-out sax wailing. Michael Jackson : You can’t write anything about videos from the 1980s without mentioning MJ, who took the art form to rarely duplicated heights. Usually, his clips were fantastical things, but occasionally, he also got gritty, and it’s those moments (videos like “The Way You Make Me Feel” and “Billie Jean”) that seem to have stuck in Gaga’s mind. “Newsies” : The 1992 Disney musical is most notable for its initial “flop” status and its subsequent rebirth as a cult classic. It tells the story of newsboys on strike in New York City, and in classic scenes like Christian Bale’s performance of the song “Santa Fe,” it takes that struggle to the twisting fire escapes of the city. Sort of like “Edge of Glory,” really. “Rent” : Broadway retelling of Puccini’s “La boh

Weekend Forecast: Just How Green Will Green Lantern Be?

Who’s ready for another comics hero to make the leap from the page to the screen? I said, who’s ready… Enh, forget it. Let’s just get on with it: Your Weekend Forecast is here, and it’s looking… troubling.

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Weekend Forecast: Just How Green Will Green Lantern Be?

Dominic Cooper’s Devil’s Double Photos Show His Spooky Range

At Sundance we described The Devil’s Double as the outrageous, over-the-top Iraqi Scarface you’ve been waiting for , then we evaluated the movie’s incredible trailer , and now we have more information to prove that Dominic Cooper’s dual roles in the film (one as Uday Hussein) are as buzzworthy as the project itself. Cinema Blend has two new images of Cooper that show his transformation during the movie, and [spoiler] they’re grittier than his role in An Education . He’s also talking to himself in one of the photos, which is cute.

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Dominic Cooper’s Devil’s Double Photos Show His Spooky Range

Would You Watch a 6-Hour Cut of The Tree of Life?

We now visit that famously vague, gossipy realm of Internet discourse known as the IMDB message boards, where a translation of a French-language interview with Tree of LIfe DP Emmanuel Lubezki has surfaced to announce that director Terrence Malick hasn’t finished tinkering with the film. To wit, who’s up for a six-hour cut?

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Would You Watch a 6-Hour Cut of The Tree of Life?

‘Green Lantern’ Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know

Relive the superhero’s journey to the big screen with our handy guide! By Eric Ditzian Ryan Reynolds in “Green Lantern” Photo: Warner Bros. Comic book adaptations often weave a circuitous and amusing path toward the big screen. Remember when Cher was rumored to be up for the role of Catwoman in “The Dark Knight Rises”? But few superhero flicks can compete with the epically bizarre twists and turns that tripped up “Green Lantern” for years. Jack Black was once tapped to play the ring-bearing protector of the universe. When the rotund comedian’s version collapsed, everyone from Brian Austin Green to Justin Timberlake were rumored to be circling the green-suited superhero . Can you imagine Quentin Tarantino helming a “Green Lantern” flick starring one of these dudes? Well, the “Inglourious Basterds” director turned down the chance to take control of the project. And now, here we are. “Green Lantern” opened in theaters Friday (June 16) with Ryan Reynolds as test pilot-turned-superhero Hal Jordan, Martin Campbell (“Casino Royale”) in the director’s chair, and the film, we’d say, is all the better for it. But how did we arrive at this moment? To answer that question, let’s slip on our power rings and take a trip back into the cinematic past with another MTV News cheat sheet. That’s the only way to discover everything there is to know about “Green Lantern”: Recharging the Lantern After years in development hell, the project seemed finally to be moving forward in August 2008, when the DC Comics property moved back into active development with a script by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green . There was even talk that the movie would begin filming the next spring and that Ryan Gosling would take on the lead role . While Campbell eventually began to eye the film, production didn’t move forward, even though Warner Bros. announced a December 17, 2010, release date. Would filming begin in September ? Would Anton Yelchin (“Star Trek”) become Hal Jordan? What about fellow “Trek” star Chris Pine ? Rumors, rumors, everywhere! Unsurprisingly, the release date was moved back to June 17, 2011. Finally, in July ’09, the ring chose its man: Ryan Reynolds officially landed the role of Hal Jordan . Greeting the Corps “I fell in love with the character when I met with Martin Campbell,” Reynolds told us a few months later. “When I sat down with him, I really got what it is that this guy is all about. When you have a guy like Martin Campbell, part of his charm is that he has balls of titanium, and the other part is that he’s slightly crazy, and you have to be to take on something with the scope of ‘Green Lantern.’ ” No joke. The 3-D film journeys from the shores of America to the most distant planets of the universe. There are aliens galore, a villain who thrives on fear and power rings that harness willpower into fantastical manifestations, like giant machine guns and supercharged fists. Jordan finds himself at the center of it all, after he’s chosen to join the Green Lantern Corps, an army of fighters chosen to protect the universe from all evils. The baddies they must confront in the film are Dr. Hector Hammond, a scientist turned lumpy-headed villain, and Parallax, a smoky enemy capable of engulfing planets and who threatens to snuff out all life forms. Into this mess steps Jordan with two quests: stop the bad guys and get the girl — a lovely test pilot named Carol Ferris, played by Blake Lively. Lively nabbed the part in January 2010, and the rest of the cast soon followed: Mark Strong as the Lantern named Sinestro, Peter Sarsgaard as Hammond and Tim Robbins as his father, Senator Hammond. We got our first peek at Reynolds in his motion-capture gear in May. It’d be another two months until we peeped the actor in glowing-green character . Not everyone was pleased with what they saw. “There has to be a little healthy debate about it,” Reynolds told us later . “I mean, that’s important. If it were just slanted one way or the other, I don’t think it would be that satisfying. And truthfully, we’ve only seen a tiny glimpse of the suit, you know, we haven’t seen it in motion. And we haven’t seen the full suit as well.” Green Lantern’s Light The first trailer popped up in November, and once again fans were less than impressed. But Reynolds didn’t sweat it . “I’m not worried about it,” he told us in April. “We’ve never been worried about it, because we saw the early concepts and we saw how well they worked. Unfortunately, that was stuff you can’t just release and show to people, because it needs to be perfected and all that stuff. I’m not worried about it at all.” Public opinion started to change this summer at WonderCon and CinemaCon, as fans got their eyes on fresh “Green Lantern” footage . “The first time I saw it was just breathtaking,” Reynolds told us recently. “I think the first time it hit me that we really did it right was in WonderCon,” he told us recently. “I’d been shooting in Africa at the time, so I flew back just to be there, and I was exhausted, and they put up this 10 or 11 minutes of footage, and you could feel it going like a wave through the audience.” Breathtaking was exactly our opinion of an eye-popping poster we debuted in April — one that featured a slew of Corps aliens like Tomar-Re, Abin Sur and Kilowog. Another trailer arrived in May: more aliens, more action and more of Reynolds’ sometimes goofy, sometimes badass superhero. It was more than enough to get us pumped about the movie to come. “For me, what attracted me to it most was the space-epic nature of it,” Reynolds told us at the MTV Movie Awards in early June. “I just loved that you had this film that was an origin story, that’s not really starting in the third act like a lot of them do. I grew up with movies like that. I love movies like that. So just to be part of it was mind-boggling.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Green Lantern.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Green Lantern’ Related Photos ‘Green Lantern’ Trailer: Five Key Scenes

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‘Green Lantern’ Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know

‘Green Lantern’ Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know

Relive the superhero’s journey to the big screen with our handy guide! By Eric Ditzian Ryan Reynolds in “Green Lantern” Photo: Warner Bros. Comic book adaptations often weave a circuitous and amusing path toward the big screen. Remember when Cher was rumored to be up for the role of Catwoman in “The Dark Knight Rises”? But few superhero flicks can compete with the epically bizarre twists and turns that tripped up “Green Lantern” for years. Jack Black was once tapped to play the ring-bearing protector of the universe. When the rotund comedian’s version collapsed, everyone from Brian Austin Green to Justin Timberlake were rumored to be circling the green-suited superhero . Can you imagine Quentin Tarantino helming a “Green Lantern” flick starring one of these dudes? Well, the “Inglourious Basterds” director turned down the chance to take control of the project. And now, here we are. “Green Lantern” opened in theaters Friday (June 16) with Ryan Reynolds as test pilot-turned-superhero Hal Jordan, Martin Campbell (“Casino Royale”) in the director’s chair, and the film, we’d say, is all the better for it. But how did we arrive at this moment? To answer that question, let’s slip on our power rings and take a trip back into the cinematic past with another MTV News cheat sheet. That’s the only way to discover everything there is to know about “Green Lantern”: Recharging the Lantern After years in development hell, the project seemed finally to be moving forward in August 2008, when the DC Comics property moved back into active development with a script by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green . There was even talk that the movie would begin filming the next spring and that Ryan Gosling would take on the lead role . While Campbell eventually began to eye the film, production didn’t move forward, even though Warner Bros. announced a December 17, 2010, release date. Would filming begin in September ? Would Anton Yelchin (“Star Trek”) become Hal Jordan? What about fellow “Trek” star Chris Pine ? Rumors, rumors, everywhere! Unsurprisingly, the release date was moved back to June 17, 2011. Finally, in July ’09, the ring chose its man: Ryan Reynolds officially landed the role of Hal Jordan . Greeting the Corps “I fell in love with the character when I met with Martin Campbell,” Reynolds told us a few months later. “When I sat down with him, I really got what it is that this guy is all about. When you have a guy like Martin Campbell, part of his charm is that he has balls of titanium, and the other part is that he’s slightly crazy, and you have to be to take on something with the scope of ‘Green Lantern.’ ” No joke. The 3-D film journeys from the shores of America to the most distant planets of the universe. There are aliens galore, a villain who thrives on fear and power rings that harness willpower into fantastical manifestations, like giant machine guns and supercharged fists. Jordan finds himself at the center of it all, after he’s chosen to join the Green Lantern Corps, an army of fighters chosen to protect the universe from all evils. The baddies they must confront in the film are Dr. Hector Hammond, a scientist turned lumpy-headed villain, and Parallax, a smoky enemy capable of engulfing planets and who threatens to snuff out all life forms. Into this mess steps Jordan with two quests: stop the bad guys and get the girl — a lovely test pilot named Carol Ferris, played by Blake Lively. Lively nabbed the part in January 2010, and the rest of the cast soon followed: Mark Strong as the Lantern named Sinestro, Peter Sarsgaard as Hammond and Tim Robbins as his father, Senator Hammond. We got our first peek at Reynolds in his motion-capture gear in May. It’d be another two months until we peeped the actor in glowing-green character . Not everyone was pleased with what they saw. “There has to be a little healthy debate about it,” Reynolds told us later . “I mean, that’s important. If it were just slanted one way or the other, I don’t think it would be that satisfying. And truthfully, we’ve only seen a tiny glimpse of the suit, you know, we haven’t seen it in motion. And we haven’t seen the full suit as well.” Green Lantern’s Light The first trailer popped up in November, and once again fans were less than impressed. But Reynolds didn’t sweat it . “I’m not worried about it,” he told us in April. “We’ve never been worried about it, because we saw the early concepts and we saw how well they worked. Unfortunately, that was stuff you can’t just release and show to people, because it needs to be perfected and all that stuff. I’m not worried about it at all.” Public opinion started to change this summer at WonderCon and CinemaCon, as fans got their eyes on fresh “Green Lantern” footage . “The first time I saw it was just breathtaking,” Reynolds told us recently. “I think the first time it hit me that we really did it right was in WonderCon,” he told us recently. “I’d been shooting in Africa at the time, so I flew back just to be there, and I was exhausted, and they put up this 10 or 11 minutes of footage, and you could feel it going like a wave through the audience.” Breathtaking was exactly our opinion of an eye-popping poster we debuted in April — one that featured a slew of Corps aliens like Tomar-Re, Abin Sur and Kilowog. Another trailer arrived in May: more aliens, more action and more of Reynolds’ sometimes goofy, sometimes badass superhero. It was more than enough to get us pumped about the movie to come. “For me, what attracted me to it most was the space-epic nature of it,” Reynolds told us at the MTV Movie Awards in early June. “I just loved that you had this film that was an origin story, that’s not really starting in the third act like a lot of them do. I grew up with movies like that. I love movies like that. So just to be part of it was mind-boggling.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Green Lantern.” For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Green Lantern’ Related Photos ‘Green Lantern’ Trailer: Five Key Scenes

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‘Green Lantern’ Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know

Russell Crowe In Talks to Play Jor-El in Man of Steel

It’s not Sunday , but that doesn’t mean Man of Steel casting news can’t slip out from Hollywood. Variety reports that Russell Crowe is in talks to play Superman’s father, Jor-El, in the Zack Snyder-directed reboot. Marlon Brando famously portrayed Jor-El in Superman: The Movie , and earned roughly $12 million for his ten minutes in the film . Here’s guessing Crowe won’t be that financially lucky. Otherwise, nice! Developing… [ Variety ]

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Russell Crowe In Talks to Play Jor-El in Man of Steel

Mr. Skin Celebrates the ’80s: 1983 [PICS]

1983 marked great nude beginnings in skinema, like the film debuts of future Mr. Skin Nudity Hall-of-Famers Helena Bonham Carter , Nicole Kidman , and Juliette Binoche , as well as the nude debuts of Jamie Lee Curtis , Besty Russell , Linda Blair , Lea Thompson, and more! But(t) among all the horny hellos there was one sad goodbye: Phoebe Cates ‘s nude career went out with a moon at the end of Private School . See more of Mr. Skin’s Favorite Nude Scenes of 1983 after the jump!

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Mr. Skin Celebrates the ’80s: 1983 [PICS]