Besides commanding millions for his heavy rotation of films, co- shepherding a large brood and building housing in New Orleans, Brad Pitt is adding another set of skills to his resume – designing furniture. His pieces will likely not be heading to an Ikea near you any time soon, but it is not just a passing fancy either. Pitt has been designing buildings and furniture since the 1990s and some of his pieces will be on display in New York in the coming days. The actor will present a dozen pieces including tables, chars and what Architectural Digest dubbed “one rather fantastic bed” along with dozens of other pieces with his collaborator, Frank Pollaro, whose New Jersey-based company is renowned for its re-productions of Art Deco furnishings. [ Related: ‘World War Z’ First Look: It’s Brad Pitt Vs. CG Zombies ] The display will open November 13th (pollaro.com has details). “I’ve been doodling ideas for buildings and furniture since the early 1990s, when I first discovered [Charles Rennie] Mackintosh and Frank Lloyd Wright,” Pitt said. “Actually, I found Wright in college, when looking for a lazy two-point credit to get out of French. It forever changed my life.” Pitt’s architectural affinity is evident in his Make It Right foundation, which taps the services of veteran architects to create “quality, affordable housing” in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. Pollaro noticed Pitt’s concepts in a sketchbook the Killing Them Softly actor had made while installing a re-production Ruhlmann desk the actor purchased a few years ago, Pollaro said, “I asked him, ‘Why don’t we make some of this stuff real?'” he recalled. “Brad said he thought that could be fun.” Now the two meet regularly pouring over what Pollaro said are “thousands” of ideas. The meetings “last anywhere from seven to ten hours.” It’s not everyone who gets to collaborate with a Hollywood A-lister mulling over aesthetics. “We talk about design, about materials, about craftsmanship, about classicism, about modernism. He has a respect for the masters of design,” noted Pollaro. The pieces headed for display include a bed, in which only nine will be made in different materials. Additionally, there is a dining table, a cocktail table, several side tables, a few club chairs and a bathtub that fits two in Statuario Venato marble. The designs will be customized in a variety of material and finishes that will be made in limited productions signed by Pitt and Pollaro who said some pieces may eventually be adapted for larger-scale productions. “The same chair we charge $45,000 for might sell for a fraction of that,” said Pollaro. Despite the new gig, Pitt will maintain his day job . His latest project, Killing Them Softly by Andrew Dominik will hit theaters November 30th. [ Sources: Architectural Digest , Yahoo ]
A moving and emotional powerhouse, Canadian director Kim Nguyen’s War Witch packs a punch worthy of the best of conflict thrillers, though more shocking is that the events depicted in the feature, which is Canada’s contender for Best Foreign-language Oscar consideration, are happening every day. The story of a teen girl who is kidnapped by Congo rebels after she is forced to execute her parents left audiences aghast at AFI Fest where it screened this week. Hailing from Canada, Nguyen may seem an unlikely filmmaker to take on some of the most notorious human rights tragedies of modern times, but he became interested in child soldiers after meeting a former youth who became lead a pack of others in a violent uprising in Africa. “There was this kid named Johnny who was a child soldier who was nine years old and smoked cigars everyday. He said he woke up one day thinking he was a reincarnation of God,” Nguyen told ML. “He had a [group] of soldiers that he lead in a rebellion against the government. The sheer madness of it all struck me and it pushed me to pursue this story.” The French-language feature, which won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, stars non-pro Rachel Mwanza who plays a 14 year-old girl who becomes an important spiritual figure for a brutal leader of a band of violent rebels. The “Great Tiger” as he is known to his followers, believes she is a war witch who is capable of seeing government soldiers in the thick jungle. She is given preferential treatment, but she is also aware that if she fails in her job, she will likely be executed quickly. Another child soldier whom she calls “Magician” looks out for her and convinces her to run away with him. He tells her that three previous “war witches” were gunned down by the “Great Tiger” after they failed to warn him of the presence of government soldiers on previous occasions. The pair flee to one of Magician’s relatives and are “married” though the rebels eventually track them down. “Learning about child soldiers eventually lead me to Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Nguyen. “I learned that there are actually more women child soldiers than men, which was surprising. What’s tragic, of course, is that they’re used as sexual slaves.” Initially, Nguyen thought of casting actual former child soldiers, but decided against it after meeting them because the trauma of what they had been through was too much. “I had this idea of working with ex-child soldiers but they were just so broken. There was this stare and they were just so broken. So I had an idea to work with people who had similar tough backgrounds as many of the child soldiers, but hadn’t actually [faced warfare].” War Witch won Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival last Spring in addition to another Best Actress win for Mwanza. The festival’s distribution wing, Tribeca Film will release the feature in theaters in early 2013 in addition to Video On Demand and other digital platforms.
We were duped too. A video thought to be linked to Kanye West ‘s Cruel Winter release is, in fact, not his. Director Austin Christianson, who has worked with Wiz Khalifa and Rihanna, said the trailer was made outside of the artist’s G.O.O.D. Music or his label, Def Jam. Late last week, a video circulated via YouTube that appeared to be a follow-up of West’s Cruel Summer project . According to Fuse , the video is actually a concept that had been made public with the aim to work with West and was only intended for him to see, though it made its way into the press around the world. “Without getting into many details, I will say that the trailer was independently made and the video is essentially a concept trailer… It’s used for pitching an idea and/or concept to a client,” Christianson told Fuse. “With that said, the video was being used for pitching purposes and it’s naturally intended only for the client to see.” Apparently Christianson had opted to work with West and decided to reach out to him in a not-so-private way. The brouhaha ramped up when Def Jam denied involvement and the trailer was removed. For his part, West’s crowd has not referenced the fake Cruel Winter trailer and hasn’t even confirmed if one is in the offing. [Source: Pitchfork ]
To cast Sergeant Calhoun, the no-nonsense video game heroine with a heart in Wreck-It Ralph , director Rich Moore looked no further than Hollywood’s favorite ball-busting dynamite gal: Jane Lynch . Alongside John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer and a cast of fellow character actors and comic veterans, Lynch brings Calhoun to life with pathos and dimension, not to mention a burning passion for blasting evil space bugs into pixelated oblivion. Movieline sat down with Lynch to talk Wreck-It Ralph , the fun of bringing Calhoun to life, and how the film’s deeper themes of self-determination and destiny resonated with the once-aspiring actress who left home to pursue her dreams. But first, the whip-smart Glee fave spitballed an impromptu back story for her space warrior alter ego, known in the film only as Sergeant Calhoun… Only after watching the movie did I learn that your character’s full name is Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun. How much of a life before the game within the movie did you imagine for her? Tamora Jean. Tammy Jean! Get out of town. I’m going to write a whole story about her right now: She grew up as Tammy Jean in Alabama, and when she joined the military right after high school she said, “I’m no longer Tammy Jean – I’m not even Tamora Jean. I’m just Calhoun !” You know, there was a back story for my character that is revealed in the film; she was in love, and her husband-to-be was killed by the Cy-Bugs. Cy-Bugs! Her mortal enemy ! I wasn’t sure if anyone involved had seen MacGruber , but MacGruber shared a similar fate. With Will Forte? I love him. I wonder if we ripped it off from him… Did it mean a lot to you to be a part of a Disney film like this? How did you get the call to voice Calhoun? It was huge working with Disney – I mean, to be in a Disney animated film was so preposterous it wasn’t even on my bucket list. So that was a huge thing. Then John Lasseter, who heads up Disney Animation these days, invited me and Jack [McBrayer] and Sarah [Silverman] and a bunch of other great character actors to fly up to San Francisco about two and a half years ago to do a table read. It was like a field trip, we all met at the airport and jumped on a plane, then jumped on a bus… We spent the day with John and within six months we were recording here in L.A. They showed us a rough rendering of our characters and everything involved; Richard, our director, has been working on this for four years. He’s been in a little cave literally for four years and is just now seeing the light of day. Researching arcade games must have been more fun than your average movie prep work. I learned a lot about this world because I’m not a gamer, and am still not a gamer. But the whole world of the arcade, that resonates with a lot of kids. It’s geared toward children of today who know games like Call of Duty, which Hero’s Duty is based on, but there’s a lot more for the now-grown adults who played 8-bit games as children decades ago. Were those games in your life at all when you were a kid? Not a lot. I think I played Pac-Man a couple of times and I played Asteroids in college, but not obsessively or anything. Just at the bar. Your character is, interestingly enough, one of the only representations in Wreck-It Ralph of modern gaming – she’s the heroine of a first-person shooter called Hero’s Duty , and one of the sole female characters in this male-dominated world. But she’s also got a soft core inside that Jack’s character, Fix-It Felix, is able to find . He fixes my heart! And he doesn’t even need to use his magic hammer. No, just by looking at me with the honey glow. “Well, I’m getting the honey glow!” You two have so many great lines; were they all written beforehand or did you slide in some improvisation? They were all written, so I can’t take credit for them. We did improvise a little bit because I got to work with Jack in the sessions, but not a lot, but that always brings the chemistry element into it. Rich really loved that and the stuff we did in those sessions, he used it all. My favorite Calhoun line is “Flattery doesn’t charge these batteries.” I might try to use that in real life, maybe in a bar situation. Go for it! [Laughs] The big theme in this film for Ralph is that he’s turning 30 years old, facing a life crisis. He’s turning 30! I’d never looked at it that way – I’ve been going into adulthood, have been doing the same thing for 30 years and now I’ve got to shake it up. Wondering if you’re on the right path in life, or if that’s even something you can change – is that something you feel you can relate to? Oh, yeah. More about when you’re 20 and stuff like that, but when you’re going into 30 there’s a certain set of expectations that you should be into your adult life now, you should be into your purpose, and a lot of people aren’t. And, you know – should’ve, would’ve. Who knows when the right time is for that? But I think Ralph is at a point where he’s been doing the same thing over and over for years, how many times a day, countless times a day, and he’s not getting any appreciation for it. He’s not enjoying it. He’s not getting invited to any of the parties; he sleeps in the garbage dump. It’s awful. So he says, “You know what? I’m not going to do this anymore.” He thinks being a hero is about getting a medal, but he finds out that being a hero is all about his relationships. He meets Vanellope and cares about her and champions her, and he comes back to where he started, like Tennyson says, and it’s like he’s seeing it for the very first time. Everybody appreciates him now because when he left the game fell apart; he’s like the prodigal son. He takes pride in his work and he knows it’s not about a medal. I love the end of the movie; I burst into tears at that moment. Have you had any Ralph-like moments of revelation in your own life? Getting out of my hometown; going to college was what everybody did, but when I went to graduate school I didn’t have any support for that. Wanting to be an actress, it was like, find something you can do and learn to type. I got offered a scholarship to Cornell to go to graduate school and although my parents were like, “Wow! That’s really great,” they were like, “Theater? Theater ?” I was like, I’m going to do it anyway. I hopped on a train and went to Ithaca, New York. I worked to make money and was given a fellowship, and I taught a class in order to make money, but I did it on my own. What did you teach? Acting. It was part of my fellowship. I think we made $120 a week or something, but it was enough. It was enough in those days, anyway, to pay my rent and keep me in beer and coffee. The essentials! So I think we all have those things where we go, you know what – I’m not getting a lot of support here for this, but I just have to go. I have to go do what I need to do, and I have to take the chance. I can’t take one more day of being in the doldrums because that hurts too much. That’s what I love about this film; these are games, but they’re such metaphors for life. You’re playing your game, but you can “jump” your game. Wreck-It Ralph is in theaters; read along as Movieline gets way existential with star John C. Reilly here . Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Kristen Stewart has a big Grauman’s Chinese Theater Hollywood premiere this weekend and vampires are no factor. That didn’t stopping legions of teens to line Hollywood Blvd to catch a glimpse of Stewart (and who knows who else) who is starring along with Garrett Hedlund , Sam Riley , Kirsten Dunst , Amy Adams and Steve Buscemi in Walter Salles ‘ stunning On the Road , screening as a Centerpiece Gala at AFI Fest where it is having its U.S. premiere. In the film version of one of the most celebrated works of 20th Century American literature written by Jack Kerouac, Stewart plays the unconventional free-spirit Marylou, the former wife and still frequent lover of Dean Moriarty, a fast-talking charismatic with an insatiable libido. Dean and best friend Sal (Sam Riley), a young writer whose life is shaken after Dean’s arrival, take to the road. Marylou frequently accompanies Sal and Dean’s travels across the country in adventures fueled by sex, drugs and the pursuit of the ” It ” – a quest for understanding and personal fulfillment. Stewart spoke with ML during the Toronto International Film Festival where the film had its North American premiere. She shared thoughts on her character’s “hard love,” how she grew herself being a part of the film and how this was the “biggest experience” she’s felt on a set. So what was your road to On the Road ? I was 14 or 15 when I first met Walter Salles. I spoke to him when I was 17, I think I may have shot the first Twilight , I’m not sure – possibly I was about to go do it. At first I was talking about playing another part, so it’s been a long time coming. I don’t know how I was able to get around that kind of energy, but to convey that I loved this thing in the way [Walter Salles] does and as soon as you get around that energy it passes between you, nothing really needs to be said. I got the job on the spot, and I drove away just vibrating. I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ Plus I was very young, I wasn’t quite old enough for the part yet. When I read the book many years ago, I found it sprawling and didn’t seem to have elements that would make it translatable to the screen – at least I remember thinking that at the time. What did you think of the book when you first read it? I was reading it for school, so I had to read it. I did independent study when I was in high school. I remember, I took so long to read the book. All I had to do was read it and write a report, it wasn’t like I had to do an intensive study of the book, and it took me months and months – I was late. But, I think my teacher was OK with it because I think ultimately the paper was good. But, people say it’s different when you read it at different ages – but for me at the time, it was fun! At that age you start realizing you have a choice in who you surround yourself with. Up until that point, you’re just around circumstantially who you’re with – your family or whatever – but at that point you can start choose your family – and I’ve got a great family by the way – but I mean just the people you decide to surround yourself with. I don’t want to sound cliché, but people should pull something out of you that would otherwise remain unseen. And when I read the book I thought, ‘gosh I need to find people like that.’ I’m definitely not [my character, Marylou’s] type. As I continued reading it and got older, the weight of it started to mean more. I was totally enamored by the colors and the way he wrote it and jumped over words and how it read like a song. Then when I did the movie, to play a part like Marylou – she’s very vivid. She’s very colorful and interesting and on the periphery so you don’t know how and why she can do the things that she does. By the time it came to bring it to life, I didn’t want to play just a crazy, wild sexy girl. I wanted to apply all the whys and get to know the people behind the characters. There’s a weight to it. It’s not easy to live a life like that. That’s what makes these people kind of remarkable. It’s a give and take. There’s no way to have this without pain, but they’re not frivolous, they can feel it… Marylou’s a forward thinking progressive soul, but she’s also surrounded by this situation with her ongoing yet ever-changing situation with her ex-husband, Dean, who is still an emotional roller coaster, both for himself and her. Did you ever judge her in respect to why she’d tolerate him for so long? No, I never had done so. I always wondered how she could take it. How deep is that well? How much can you give and how much can you let be taken from you? What I found about her is that she’s very unique to her time, but nowadays she’d be something else. Her capacity to see everyone’s flaws and appreciate them is really unbelievable. Any interview we did with anyone who was involved with them [before doing the movie] always said the same thing – that she was such a wonderful woman. She’s infectiously amazing. So, no I didn’t judge her. So then, how would you describe the relationship between your character, Marylou and Dean? They really are simpatico. It’s tumultuous. It’s hard to love like that. But they’re so in love with each other. You don’t know this from reading the book, but they stayed lovers until the end of his life. He kind of raised her and she always had a place in his heart, though I think the capacity was so enormous that there were also others in that heart, but she was at the center. And the same goes the other way around. I think they helped each other grow up and they raised each other. How do you hope your Twilight fans will approach seeing this movie? Undoubtedly some will be curious to see you doing something outside of Bella and this may be for many their first chance. How do you hope they’ll approach seeing this film? Well, I mean you just walk into a theater [laughs]… I think if I can have anything to do with just one person that would not have otherwise read On The Road , then that would be incredible and I’m very happy to be a part of that. I think that if you have any inclination of seeing this being a Twilight fan, I have to say I don’t have much control over the things that I choose because I do need to feel compelled to do the roles that I do. I very rarely tactfully think about my career and how people are going to perceive it and I think that’s what people appreciate and if that’s not the case, then it’s kind of like – um, that’s not going to go away. It’s a false thing. I think people will really like it and if you didn’t like the book, then don’t watch the movie. You know what I mean? However anyone wants to interpret it is all good with me. People describe On the Road as a “watershed moment” in American culture in that it upended the strict conservative culture that prevailed in the 1950s in the U.S. So from your perspective as a 20-something, how do you see it as relevant culturally today? I think this is a good time to see this story visually because most people can watch it and not be shocked by it as they might have before. Back then, it would have been so shocking to see people doing drugs and having sex that they wouldn’t have seen the spirit behind it – the message behind it would have been [diluted]. Though, maybe it would have been good because it would have forced people to look. But maybe they weren’t able to yet. There’s always going to be conflicting intuitions that might not even go together, but these are people who have the strength to be OK with people disagreeing. At that stage of your life, there’s so much ahead of you – at least it feels that way. The reach is so important even if something is unbeknownst to you, but you feel compelled to find out what it is… Don’t ignore it! At that age, it’s important to have a faith in feelings you can’t articulate because at some point you need to hold onto them. And these guys found a word for that, it’s the ” It ” and I don’t think that’s ever going to go away. So what is that ” It “? How would you describe the It ? [Laughs] Trust me, we’ve talked about that so much… It’s the pearl . It’s that thing that makes your life bounce. I think if we knew it… I honestly think it’s an individual thing, but if something is funny to you and you’re alone you can smirk at it or whatever, but suddenly if you’re with a lot of people that also find it funny, you can be hysterically laughing. There’s something about life that you can’t completely describe. It also goes along with not ignoring that burn and going, ‘OK, I’m content right now to be smart and conservative and hold onto what I’ve got.’ I just think it’s important to keep going for it. How has your experience playing Marylou or in On the Road generally influenced your life professionally or personally? You said you’ve been a part of this project for a long time, so you’ve had quite a turn at experiencing this culture even as you took on other roles including, of course, Twilight . It was the most time I’ve ever spent feeling. Twilight was a good five years and was a very indulgent creative experience. [Most projects] are usually only about five weeks, three months or six months tops. But because I was attached to On the Road so long, the build up and pressure inside by the time we go there was just bigger than anything I’ve ever felt on a set. We had four weeks of proving that we were so thankful and happy to be there because we’re all fans of the book, but we had put in the work and we knew the purpose and the weight of it and how so important it is to so many people. It’s all to Walter [Salles’] credit, but if anything, what this has taught me is that if you stop thinking and just breathe through it, you’re such a better actor. You just have to put in the initial work and then not become too analytical because you have to trust that you’ve already done it all. So it’s opened me up in a way that’s appropriate to my age. I’m just a bit less inhibited. Just being able to not think so much before you speak is good. It has helped me in that way. It’s not being less shameful, it’s just being so much more unabashedly myself. I think that all started when I was 15. I can be around people and say what I think and have a conversation with a stranger and it’s all good.
It’s been a Cruel Fall so far in the Northeast, but Kanye West is already looking ahead to Winter. The rapper has followed up his Cruel Summer mix tape with a Cruel Winter short. The film, directed by Austin Christianson for West’s production Donda shows bare trees and trembling branches with other ghoulish accoutrement. The footage also includes a speech by George H.W. Bush. The trailer suggests a feature on the way, but does not reveal any release date – only Coming Soon . Last time around, West’s GOOD Music label released its Cruel Summer compilation. West then traveled to Cannes to debut his 30-minute short titled Cruel Summer . West directed that film himself, with shots of Kid Cudi in the in the Gulf state of Qatar, using songs by Big Sean, John Legend, Raekwon and a remix of Coldplay’s Paradise . The film has not had a wide release. Rapper Q-Tip (a GOOD artist) hinted about the Cruel Winter album last month. “If there’s a Cruel Summer then there’s got to be a Cruel Winter, right?” he told MTV News. “That’s all I’m saying.” [Source: The Guardian ]
Also in Friday morning’s round-up of news briefs, Jodie Foster will be this year’s recipient of the Golden Globes ‘ Lifetime Achievement Award; Jack and Diane and A Late Quartet are among this weekend’s previewed Specialty Release newcomers; And Showtime set for new Roman Polanski doc. Skyfall Passes Last Harry Potter to Break 7-Day UK Record The latest James Bond pic is now the biggest 7-day gross of all time in the U.K. with $59.86 million, overtaking Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 which grossed $57.4 million. The 23rd Bond pic opened October 26 in Britain and was its biggest 2-D opening weekend, Deadline reports . Jodie Foster to Receive Golden Globes’ Lifetime Achievement Award The Hollywood Foreign Press Assoc. said it will give the two-time Oscar and Globes winner its Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 70th annual Golden Globes ceremony on January 13th, Huffington Post reports . Peter Jackson Makes Cameo in Airline Safety Video Peter Jackson has made a cameo appearance in the on board safety film for Air New Zealand. The airline’s new safety video was made as an ode to Jackson’s upcoming Hobbit films, BBC reports . Specialty Release Preview: The Bay , A Late Quartet , Jack and Diane , This Must Be the Place Box office repercussions of Hurricane Sandy likely will continue this weekend in the Specialty market. Two releases, A Late Quartet and This Must Be the Place were set for launches at the Sunshine Theater in Manhattan’s Lower East Side which is still without electricity. Con Edison notified customers in the area today that power is estimated to return Saturday at 11PM. Magnolia Pictures will roll out Jack And Diane whose director Bradley Rust Gray lured a nice cache of talent, Deadline reports . Showtime to Debut Roman Polanski Documentary Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out will bow in 2013. The film is a follow-up to Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired by Marina Zenovich. The latter recounts the filmmaker’s arrest in 2009 in Switzerland en route to the Zurich Film Festival, facing extradition to the U.S., THR reports .
Francis Lawrence , who is directing the second installment of The Hunger Games franchise, Catching Fire will come on board for the final two in the series, Mockingjay – Part 1 and Mockingjay – Part 2 . Lawrence is currently filming Catching Fire , which is due out in 2013. Collider broke the news of Lawrence’s commitment to the final two Hunger Games . Gary Ross, who directed the first Hunger Games , starring Jennifer Lawrence, Wes Bentley, Stanley Tucci and Josh Hutcherson declined to direct the follow-ups saying he didn’t believe he could reasonably take on the tight schedule. Lawrence noted last May after the announcement he’d direct Catching Fire : “It is truly an honor and a privilege to bring Catching Fire, the second chapter of Suzanne’s beloved trilogy, to the big screen. I fell in love with the characters, the themes and the world she created and this chapter opens all of these elements up in such a thrilling, emotional and surprising way. I can’t wait to dive right into it and bring this chapter to life along with the truly superb cast and filmmakers involved.” Catching Fire will open November 22, 2013. Mockingjay – Part 1 is due out on November 21, 2014 and Mockingjay – Part 2 is set for November 20, 2015. [ Source: Collider ]
Disney’s 2011 family adventure Mars Needs Moms wasn’t just a box office disappointment; it was a box office disaster , one of the worst in movie history . Mars producer Robert Zemeckis , appearing at the Philadelphia Film Fest with his latest Oscar-hopeful, Flight , prefers to remember Mars Needs Moms another way: “It’s the best 3-D movie since Avatar .” Zemeckis’s bold answer matched the bold question that prompted his trip down memory lane during Flight ‘s post-screening Q&A session on Saturday night. Following a string of massive career hits ranging from the Back to the Future franchise to Oscar juggernaut Forrest Gump , the Zemeckis-produced Mars Needs Moms opened last year as the filmmaker’s most high profile critical and commercial failure. ImageMovers Digital, the Zemeckis-founded CG house that produced Mars as well as his own films The Polar Express , Beowulf , and A Christmas Carol , was shut down after completing Mars , while plans to embark on a Yellow Submarine pic with Disney were also scrapped; needless to say, it’s probably not Zemeckis’s favorite topic of conversation. (For what it’s worth, Flight , Zemeckis’s Denzel Washington -starring return to live-action film, played well with the Philly crowd.) But one Philadelphia Film Fest attendee was eager for answers. Film critic Martin Schneider penned a reasonably questioning if snarky review of Mars Needs Moms at the time of release, criticizing the film for a slew of offenses ranging from its animation to character development, with particular scrutiny of the film’s “anti-gay,” anti-progressive gender messaging. He seized the opportunity during the Philadelphia Film Fest closing night film event to share how offended he was by the film, asking Zemeckis to explain: What happened ? For his part, Zemeckis didn’t flinch. Prior to the film’s screening, Philadelphia Film Society Executive Director J. Andrew Greenblatt told the audience that the director would be taking questions, and that they could “ask him anything.” It’s tough to say whether or not Zemeckis expected the subject of his history-making bomb to pop up, but when faced by his accuser he kept his cool under pressure, like Denzel’s alcoholic hero Whip Whitaker. And then Zemeckis flew the airplane upside down, so to speak. “It was not marketed properly,” he said of the 3-D CG sci-fi flop, which cost a reported $150 million to make and made back just $38.9 million upon release, becoming the worst Disney performer of all time and one of the most miserable wide release 3-D openings in history. Zemeckis said Mars Needs Moms had been lost in the studio shuffle. He called it “breathtaking.” “It’s the best 3-D movie since Avatar ,” he continued. “It’s the way 3-D should be presented.” Meanwhile, in a career built on crowd-pleasers and after a decade spent attempting to bridge the uncanny valley with CG children’s films, Flight marks only the second film Zemeckis has directed to earn an R-rating. (His first? 1980s’s Used Cars .) Rated R “for drug and alcohol abuse, language, sexuality/nudity, and an intense action sequence,” Flight wasn’t gunning for anything less, given its full-tilt dive into the depths of addiction. “There was no way an adult drama was ever going to be anything other than R-rated,” said Zemeckis. Still, he earned applause with a parting shot at the MPAA: “I hate the ratings system. I think it’s horrible and despicable, and we should get rid of it.” Flight opens nationwide November 2. For more info on the Philadelphia Film Fest, head here . Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Disney’s 2011 family adventure Mars Needs Moms wasn’t just a box office disappointment; it was a box office disaster , one of the worst in movie history . Mars producer Robert Zemeckis , appearing at the Philadelphia Film Fest with his latest Oscar-hopeful, Flight , prefers to remember Mars Needs Moms another way: “It’s the best 3-D movie since Avatar .” Zemeckis’s bold answer matched the bold question that prompted his trip down memory lane during Flight ‘s post-screening Q&A session on Saturday night. Following a string of massive career hits ranging from the Back to the Future franchise to Oscar juggernaut Forrest Gump , the Zemeckis-produced Mars Needs Moms opened last year as the filmmaker’s most high profile critical and commercial failure. ImageMovers Digital, the Zemeckis-founded CG house that produced Mars as well as his own films The Polar Express , Beowulf , and A Christmas Carol , was shut down after completing Mars , while plans to embark on a Yellow Submarine pic with Disney were also scrapped; needless to say, it’s probably not Zemeckis’s favorite topic of conversation. (For what it’s worth, Flight , Zemeckis’s Denzel Washington -starring return to live-action film, played well with the Philly crowd.) But one Philadelphia Film Fest attendee was eager for answers. Film critic Martin Schneider penned a reasonably questioning if snarky review of Mars Needs Moms at the time of release, criticizing the film for a slew of offenses ranging from its animation to character development, with particular scrutiny of the film’s “anti-gay,” anti-progressive gender messaging. He seized the opportunity during the Philadelphia Film Fest closing night film event to share how offended he was by the film, asking Zemeckis to explain: What happened ? For his part, Zemeckis didn’t flinch. Prior to the film’s screening, Philadelphia Film Society Executive Director J. Andrew Greenblatt told the audience that the director would be taking questions, and that they could “ask him anything.” It’s tough to say whether or not Zemeckis expected the subject of his history-making bomb to pop up, but when faced by his accuser he kept his cool under pressure, like Denzel’s alcoholic hero Whip Whitaker. And then Zemeckis flew the airplane upside down, so to speak. “It was not marketed properly,” he said of the 3-D CG sci-fi flop, which cost a reported $150 million to make and made back just $38.9 million upon release, becoming the worst Disney performer of all time and one of the most miserable wide release 3-D openings in history. Zemeckis said Mars Needs Moms had been lost in the studio shuffle. He called it “breathtaking.” “It’s the best 3-D movie since Avatar ,” he continued. “It’s the way 3-D should be presented.” Meanwhile, in a career built on crowd-pleasers and after a decade spent attempting to bridge the uncanny valley with CG children’s films, Flight marks only the second film Zemeckis has directed to earn an R-rating. (His first? 1980s’s Used Cars .) Rated R “for drug and alcohol abuse, language, sexuality/nudity, and an intense action sequence,” Flight wasn’t gunning for anything less, given its full-tilt dive into the depths of addiction. “There was no way an adult drama was ever going to be anything other than R-rated,” said Zemeckis. Still, he earned applause with a parting shot at the MPAA: “I hate the ratings system. I think it’s horrible and despicable, and we should get rid of it.” Flight opens nationwide November 2. For more info on the Philadelphia Film Fest, head here . Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
