Interview

Collider Visits the Set of JOHN CARTER

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 9th, 2012 at 9:07 am

“Barsoom” reads a sign on the outskirts of the movie set we’re about to visit.  “Barsoom” is what Martians call their planet in Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ A Princess of Mars.  A group of my fellow online movie journalists and I are headed to the set of Andrew Stanton‘s adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel, John Carter.  Mars may technically be in Big Water, Utah, but today we’ll be walking the ruins of an ancient Martian city, meeting a princess who bleeds blue, and a nine-foot-tall nomad tribe of warriors.  Hit the jump to take a trip to the red planet and find out about my visit to the set of John Carter.

Taylor Kitsch JOHN CARTER Set Visit Interview

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 9th, 2012 at 9:06 am

If you ever watched TV’s Friday Night Lights, then you’re probably already a Taylor Kitsch fan.  You know he’s got the charm and acting chops to carry a film, and he’s carrying two blockbusters this year.  First up is Andrew Stanton‘s John Carter, based on Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ novel A Princess of Mars.  Kitsch plays John Carter, a Civil War veteran who finds him transported to the surface of Mars and thrown into a new civil war, but this it’s between nine-foot-tall green aliens and princesses who literally bleed blue.  While on the film’s set, we talked to Kitsch about finding the balance between everyman and action hero, being the audience surrogate, working with director and co-writer Stanton, acting in physical environment as opposed to a green-screen soundstage, and more.

Hit the jump to check out the interview.  John Carter opens March 9th.

Director and Co-Writer Andrew Stanton JOHN CARTER Set Visit Interview

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 9th, 2012 at 9:06 am

Making the move from directing animation to live-action was the big question facing Andrew Stanton when I visited the set of John Carter in April 2010.  Stanton had already delivered two amazing Pixar movies with Finding Nemo and WALL-E, but he headed to Mars with John Carter and Mars was a mix of live-action and CG.  Stanton was refreshingly honest about the transition and how the two mediums compare.  He also talked about his frustrations with the live-action process, how the film isn’t in post-production but “Principal Digital Photography”, the process of adapting the book, trying to flesh out the main characters, where they’re at with the planned sequels, and more.

Hit the jump to check out the interview.  John Carter opens in 3D on March 9th.

Willem Dafoe and Thomas Haden Church JOHN CARTER Set Visit Intervew

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 9th, 2012 at 9:06 am

Tharks, the green-skinned, six-limbed creatures living on Mars in John Carter are about nine feet tall.  Great actors though they are, Willem Dafoe and Thomas Haden Church, are not nine feet tall.  Even though they’re wearing the standard motion-capture grey leotards and tracking dots, there’s no accounting for height…unless you add stilts.  Watching Dafoe and Church march around on stilts is one of the high-lights of any set visit I’ve gone to.

With a sandstorm whipping into our faces and into our microphones, my fellow movie journalists and I spoke to Dafoe and Church on the set of John Carter.  In addition to talking about the stilts, we spoke about the scene they were currently filming, their characters, how doing motion-capture on set helped their performances, and more.  Hit the jump to check out the interview.  John Carter opens in 3D on March 9th.

Lynn Collins JOHN CARTER Set Visit Interview

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 9th, 2012 at 9:05 am

Andrew Stanton‘s John Carter is based off the novel A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  Lynn Collins plays the novel’s eponymous princess, Dejah Thoris.  But rather than a damsel in distress waiting for the Earthman John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) to come to her rescue, she can hold her own and kick some ass. When I went to the set of John Carter with some of my fellow movie bloggers, Collins spoke to us about her martial arts training, Dejah’s fighting style training, the three hours it takes to cover her body in intricate tattoos, what the tattoos mean, and more.  “John Carter” may be the title of the movie, but don’t be surprised if we’re paying just as much attention to the Princess of Mars.

Hit the jump to check out the interview.  John Carter opens in 3D on March 9th.

Samantha Morton JOHN CARTER Set Visit Interview

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 9th, 2012 at 9:05 am

Like most of her John Carter co-stars, Oscar-nominee Samantha Morton (In America) has been in blockbuster films, but she’s never had to do motion capture up until this movie.  Also, since she plays a Thark, she also never had to walk on stilts until John Carter.  Morton plays Sola, a pariah of the war-loving Thark society due to her caring and nurturing attitude, and she’s given the task of helping John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) acclimate to life among the Tharks.

Morton was a bit reluctant to talk about her character since she’s used to talking more about the film after it’s finished rather than during production.  It’s a position I absolutely respect, and I’m glad she was at least willing to comment on how working with director Andrew Stanton compared to working with Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York) and Steven Spielberg (Minority Report), adapting a classic piece of literature (John Carter is based off Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ A Princess of Mars), and a bit more.  Hit the jump for the interview.  John Carter opens in 3D on March 9th.

Linda Cardellini RETURN Interview

by Christina Radish    Posted: February 8th, 2012 at 1:20 pm

The indie drama Return (opening in theaters on February 10^th) tells the story of Kelli (Linda Cardellini), a woman back from a military tour of duty, who’s looking forward to rejoining her old life with her husband (Michael Shannon) and children. Even though she wanted nothing more than to experience the feelings of everyday life again, she slowly realizes that her world has become unfamiliar. Her friends and family just don’t understand what she’s been through, and she doesn’t know how to overcome that to move forward.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actress Linda Cardellini talked about what attracted her to this role, finding ways to identify with this woman even though she never chose to make the same sacrifice, talking to people with similar experiences to hear their stories and how they dealt with returning home after war, working with two amazing co-stars like Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire) and John Slattery (Mad Men), and the challenges of being on screen for almost every single minute of the film. She also talked about last year’s Freaks and Geeks reunion at PaleyFest and what it was like to see not just her co-stars but their families again, how she got interested in writing and developing her own projects, and what she’s looking for now in acting roles. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

Writer-Director Andrea Arnold Talks WUTHERING HEIGHTS at Sundance

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 7th, 2012 at 3:30 pm

At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, I was able to sit down with writer-director Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank, Red Road) for an extended interview about her adaptation of Wuthering Heights that stars James Howson, Kaya Scodelario, Steve Evets, and Nichola Burley.  Here’s the short synopsis:

“What would you do if you were denied your soulmate? The passionate tale of Heathclith and Cathy, two teenagers whose elemental love for each other creates a storm of vengeance. From Andrea Arnold, comes a new take on the classic, a startling vision of desire and obsession.”

Like her previous films, Arnold has added a realistic take to the material, and it was one of my favorite films at Sundance.   During the interview, Arnold talked about being at Sundance, how she got involved in the project, her writing process, having the film vary its aesthetic depending on the characters age,  what she learned from showing the movie to friends, film vs. digital, what she has coming up, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to read or listen to the interview.

Director Oren Moverman Talks RAMPART, His David O. Selznick Biopic at HBO, QUEER with Steve Buscemi, and More

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 7th, 2012 at 10:37 am

With his new film Rampart (which ranked #4 on my Top 10 of 2011 list), writer-director Oren Moverman took the corrupt-cop genre and twisted it just like he did with The Messenger‘s soldier-PTSD story.  He’s one of the more exciting filmmakers working today because of his ability to play against expectations and come out with a more powerful, realistic story as a result.

I got the chance to interview Moverman about the film and we talked about where the real Rampart scandal came into the story, re-teaming with Woody Harrelson, shooting the movie as if it were two different films, and more.  Moverman also spoke about his collaboration with Ben Stiller for a David O. Selznic biopic for HBO, and we discussed his script for Steve Buscemi‘s upcoming film, Queer.  Hit the jump to check out the interview.  Rampart opens in select cities this Friday.  Click here to read my full review.

Ed Helms Talks THE HANGOVER 3, JEFF WHO LIVES AT HOME, and THE OFFICE

by Christina Radish    Posted: February 7th, 2012 at 9:41 am

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, the beloved children’s story that’s also its author’s favorite work, opens in theaters on March 2^nd. To promote the film’s release, Collider got to participate in the press junket and sit down with actor Ed Helms, who lends his voice to the iconic role of the Once-ler, the old and bitter hermit whose greed got the better of him.

While we will run what he had to say about the film closer to its release date, we did want to share what he had to say about his next feature film, Jeff Who Lives at Home (due out in theaters on March 16^th), which he is clearly very proud of, the current status of The Hangover 3, and how much fun he’s been having as the office manager on the NBC comedy series The Office. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Oren Peli Talks THE RIVER; Premieres Tonight on ABC

by Christina Radish    Posted: February 7th, 2012 at 9:36 am

ABC’s intensely scary paranormal thriller The River follows the story of world famous wildlife expert and TV personality Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), host of the beloved series “The Undiscovered Country.” After Cole goes missing deep in the Amazon, his wife, Tess (Leslie Hope), and estranged son, Lincoln (Joe Anderson), decide to lead a rescue mission deep into the unexplored reaches of the Amazon River, where nature is cruel, magic is real and nothing is what it seems.

While at the TCA Winter Press Tour, executive producer Oren Peli (creator of Paranormal Activity) talked about how he ended up developing an idea for a TV show, the extent of Steven Spielberg’s involvement, the challenges of telling a season’s worth of story in only eight episodes, doing the episodes with a scare-of-the-week while also advancing the overall mystery, trying to create moments where you don’t know what’s going to happen because it’s the unexpected that’s scary, and that even though no one is safe, characters won’t be killed off just for the sake of killing them off. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE 3D Interview with John Goodson; Talks PODRACING, Destroyer Droids, Concept Models, and More

by Steven Shaw    Posted: February 6th, 2012 at 7:15 pm

With the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D this weekend, Twentieth Century Fox recently hosted a press junket at Skywalker Ranch and Lucasfilm.  In an effort to promote the experience for the next generation, my seven year-old daughter, Cyan, interviewed four people who helped bring George Lucas’ vision to life.  Her first interview was with John Goodson, a digital artist with Lucasfilm who worked as a concept model artist on The Phantom Menace.  They talked about the kind of training he needed to become a concept artist, his favorite creation, podracing, his favorite Star Wars character, Destroyer Droids, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Directors Jake Schreier and Screenwriter Christopher D. Ford Talk ROBOT AND FRANK at Sundance

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 6th, 2012 at 6:30 pm

One of my favorite films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director Jake Schreier‘s Robot and Frank.  The film is set in the near future and centers on an elderly ex-jewel thief (Frank Langella) whose kids (James Marsden and Liv Tyler) give him a caretaker robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard), sparking an unlikely friendship. Susan Sarandon plays a librarian who serves as Langella’s only friend.  Since premiering at the festival, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions and Samuel Goldwyn Films picked up the film for distribution, so you can expect to see it for yourself later this year.  For more on the film, you can read Matt’s review.

Right after seeing the film I got to sit down with Jake Schreier and screenwriter Christopher D. Ford.   During the interview we talked about the origin of the movie, how the script changed along the way, how they got financing, the design of the robot, the quick shooting schedule, what they learned during friends and family screenings, premiering at Sundance, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to the interview.

Executive Producers Jeremy Carver and Anna Fricke Talk Syfy’s BEING HUMAN Season 2

by Christina Radish    Posted: February 6th, 2012 at 1:05 pm

The Syfy drama series Being Human, currently in its second season, follows three roommates – vampire Aidan (Sam Witwer), werewolf Josh (Sam Huntington) and ghost Sally (Meaghan Rath) – who try to lead normal lives while fighting the temptations of their supernatural side. This season, the three friends are all on their own dark and destructive paths, with people from their pasts returning to threaten their futures. As they fight harder than ever to maintain their humanity, it is put more in jeopardy than ever before.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, executive producers/writers/showrunners Jeremy Carver (Supernatural) and Anna Fricke (Men in Trees, Everwood) talked about how Season 2 has evolved from what they established in Season 1, why they think their show has managed to succeed when so many other remakes and re-imaginings haven’t, how the individual journeys will affect the core friendship of the characters, how much they draw on already existing creature mythology versus using their own imagination, the ways in which the new characters will affect the existing ones, and just how dark things will get this season. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

Creator/Executive Producer Theresa Rebeck Talks NBC’s SMASH

by Christina Radish    Posted: February 6th, 2012 at 8:32 am

The NBC musical drama Smash celebrates the beauty and heartbreak of Broadway theater, as told through a group of individuals, all following their dreams. Centering on the process of creating a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, written by the successful songwriting duo of Tom (Christian Borle) and Julia (Debra Messing), the series illustrates the rivalry that forms between youthful, inexperienced Midwestern beauty Karen (Katharine McPhee) and stage veteran Ivy Bell (Megan Hilty), both vying for the coveted lead role. When you add in a tenacious producer (Anjelica Huston) and brilliant director (Jack Davenport), there is sure to be a season’s worth of high drama with some great songs thrown in.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, acclaimed playwright Theresa Rebeck, who is also the show creator and an executive producer and writer, talked about the evolution of Smash, how this is a show about the universal idea of following your dreams, assembling this incredibly talent cast of actors, the process for determining which songs to include in each episode, and how this season will end with the out-of-town try-out for the musical, with Season 2 (if there is one) being about whether the show makes it to Broadway. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

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