The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has unveiled its shortlist of 10 films that will contend for the Best Visual Effects Oscar. The films that have made the cut include The Dark Knight Rises, Cloud Atlas, Skyfall, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and Disney’s John Carter. The list is full of impressive blockbuster fare from 2012, but as we were reminded last year (Hugo over Rise of the Planet of the Apes) the winner of the category tends to favor a Best Picture nominee. As Ang Lee’s adaptation of Life of Pi includes stunning visual effects and is an early favorite to land a Best Picture nomination, prognosticators would do well to keep their eye on that film as the race moves forward. That said, there’s not exactly a lack of great work to thumb through, so this should be an interesting category.
Hit the jump to check out the full list of contenders, and leave your thoughts on the shortlist in the comments. The nominations for the 85th Academy Awards will be announced on January 10th, followed by the ceremony on February 24th.
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I try and heed the wise words of Conan O’Brien and resist the urge to be cynical. I really do. But while digging through our The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 coverage in anticipation of this week’s post I stumbled across this poster for the film and all of my best laid plans went to waste. There is just no excuse for a franchise of its stature to have a poster that terrible. I’m far from an expert in graphic design, but mercy…I re-read Adam’s original post several times hoping to find the sentence where he points out that the poster was the Grand Prize winner of Summit’s “Design the Worst Damn Movie Poster Possible” contest. Sadly, there was no mention of such a contest. This was real and it made my heart hurt.
All cynicism aside, in this week’s Top 5, The Twilight Saga comes to a merciful end with interviews and things of the like, Damon Lindelof‘s draft of the Prometheus script becomes available for your reading pleasure, news regarding the debuts of Star Trek Into Darkness‘ first trailer and first 9 minutes of the film surfaces, a handful of images and a video from the set of Thor: The Dark World make their way onto the Interwebs, and believe it or not, more news regarding Star Wars: Episode VII gets discussed. I trust you know where to find a brief recap and link to each.
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No matter what you thought about Ridley Scott‘s Prometheus (I thought it was great), it’s amazing that people are still talking about it. I say this because in our culture of always moving onto the next thing once something’s come out, I love that people are still discussing the ideas and mythology, and what they’d like to see in a sequel (which I hear is definitely moving forward).
As most of you know, Prometheus was penned by two screenwriters: Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof, in addition to the original conception of the franchise elements from Ronald Shusett and the late Dan O’Bannon. After a number of drafts by Spaihts, Lindelof was brought in to balance the story and to expand on character relationships and mythology, but to leave the characters and the narrative structure in place. Continued after the jump.
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Love it or hate it, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus certainly got people talking. The “prequel” with “Alien DNA” was penned by two screenwriters: Jon Spaihts (The Darkest Hour) and Damon Lindelof (Cowboys & Aliens), in addition to the original conception of the franchise elements from Ronald Shusett and the late Dan O’Bannon. After five drafts by Spaihts, Lindelof was brought in to balance the story and to expand on character relationships and mythology, but to leave the characters and the narrative structure in place. What resulted was a bit of a mess, in my opinion. But now, Spaihts’ original script, titled Alien: Engineers, is available for the readin’! Hit the jump to see where you can find it and for a summary of some of the major changes that occurred from script to screen.
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Ridley Scott’s Prometheus was a geek’s dream. Scott, who directed Alien in 1979, was one of the great science fiction filmmakers, but hadn’t done anything in the genre since 1982 – since Blade Runner. And though Alien spawned a franchise, Scott had never made his own sequel. Prometheus was sold as a semi-prequel, an “in universe” film that takes place before the events of the first film, but may not tie into them directly. After a series of great trailers, there was hope that the film (which was also rated R, rare for a huge summer movie) would be awesome, would be a great Scott film. Alas, it’s more of a mess. Our review of the Blu-ray of Prometheus follows after the jump.
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With the holidays approaching, Amazon has begun discounting some great DVDs and Blu-rays. The most important thing to know about Amazon sales is they change in an instant (unless it’s a gold box deal or something on sale for the week). So if you see something you like, don’t debate for too long.
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This week on Blu-ray, director Ridley Scott’s Prometheus comes to home video packed with special features that delve deeper into the film’s questions, Steven Spielberg’s E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial finally comes to Blu-ray, and two Alfred Hitchcock classics get the HD treatment. We’ve also got a couple of major titles that were released last week. Briefly:
Hit the jump for all the details.
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One of the most frustrating things about Prometheus is its potential. There are simply too many plot holes (which, admittedly, I didn’t notice when I saw the film; I was wrapped up in the visuals, performance, and strength of Ridley Scott‘s direction). The fact that the marketing for the Blu-ray has had to be “Questions Will Be Answered” is preposterous. This isn’t Lost. This is a movie, and either the questions should have been answered or they should purposely be left ambiguous. Looking back on Prometheus, I’ve wondered if the more fulfilling picture is out there either in a director’s cut or in screenwriter Jon Spaihts‘ original script.
Hit the jump for why we won’t be seeing the director’s cut, but we can learn a bit more about what Spaihts intended before screenwriter Damon Lindelof came on board. Prometheus hits DVD, Blu-ray, and 3D Blu-ray tomorrow.
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Seventy years separate the timelines of Ridley Scott’s directorial efforts Blade Runner and Prometheus, but a new Easter Egg suggests the plots take place in the same world. Available on DVD/Blu-ray in just a couple of days, Prometheus will have a special feature that reveals a few lines of text supposedly written by Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce). The text, which you can read after the jump, talks about Weyland’s mentor, a creator of synthetic lifeforms who will be instantly familiar to fans of Scott’s 1982 sci-fi classic, Blade Runner. This may be a simple nod to the fans that connects Scott’s works or perhaps it hints at a potential crossover in the planned sequel to Blade Runner. Hit the jump to check out the Easter Egg.
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Though we previously saw a leak of some possible special features and specs, the official details regarding the Blu-ray release of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus have finally been unveiled. Two versions of the film will be available: a basic, 2-disc Blu-ray, and a special features-packed 4-disc collector’s edition. The collector’s edition includes both the 2D and 3D versions of the film as well as a DVD and digital copy, but the real treasure is in the extras. A whopping seven hours of special features are included on the collector’s edition including two sets of commentaries (yes, Damon Lindelof did one), 15 minutes of deleted scenes, and five featurettes.
A Blu-ray trailer has landed online that teases the multitude of extras, and it promises that “questions will be answered.” In the video we see Scott tease that we’ll “find out who this race was” in the sequel to Prometheus, and some hotly discussed issues (such as whether this is the same planet as in Alien) are addressed. Moreover, another video has surfaced in which Scott explains that seeing The Social Network convinced him to shoot Prometheus using the RED camera. Hit the jump for much more.
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Next month, Ridley Scott‘s Prometheus will hit Blu-ray, and it will contain a slew of special features including 15 minutes of deleted scenes. One of those scenes will let us listen to the Engineer’s voice. You may recall [spoilers for those who haven't seen the movie yet] that the Engineer stays silent when David speaks to him (click here for what David (Michael Fassbender) said). In the deleted scene, we hear that the Engineer speaks in a guttural voice, which fits the character’s size and build, but doesn’t feel too original. Prometheus has a lot of problems, but letting the Engineer stay silent and mysterious isn’t one of them.
An unused track from the film has also leaked online, and it was reportedly supposed to be used during the scene where Shaw (Noomi Rapace) ventures out into a storm to retrieve the decapitated head of an Engineer. I’m not sure if the music would have fit the scene (I only saw the movie once), but it would certainly fit a bevy of trailers for sci-fi action movies. Hit the jump to check out the deleted scene and the unused track. Prometheus hits Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on October 11th.
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Though debate over the merits/meanings/plot holes of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus will likely continue for some time, the film has been out of theaters for a while now. The Blu-ray/DVD release is looming closer, and a mysterious new video has cropped up online that’s not dissimilar from the viral videos we saw in anticipation of the theatrical release. Over thirty seconds of some sort of code or transmission stuff is followed by footage of Idris Elba in character as Captain Janek preparing for a mission. I really have no idea what to make of this, but I’m sure some keen-eyed fan will uncover its secrets soon enough.
Hit the jump to check out the video. Click here to check out the details on what special features will be included on the Prometheus Blu-ray when it hits shelves on October 11th.
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It looks as if the Prometheus sequel is indeed moving forward. Anticipation for Ridley Scott’s Alien-esque sci-fi pic was at a fever pitch when the film hit theaters, but reaction was enthusiastically polarized. Some loved that Scott left many questions unanswered and tackled large ideas, while others were distracted by the script’s plot holes and ridiculously inept scientists. I fell somewhere in between, but I’d by lying if I said I wasn’t interested in seeing where Scott plans to go for the follow-up.
Fresh off the film’s healthy box office take (especially for an R-rated sci-fi movie), Fox has now revealed that they are actively moving forward with the Prometheus sequel, and screenwriter Damon Lindelof may not be returning this time around. Hit the jump for more.
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While at Comic-Con for a big presentation in Hall H (click here for our recap), director Guillermo del Toro and actor Charlie Hunnam talked to the press about the epic film Pacific Rim, which centers on a battle between gigantic, human-manned robots, called Jaegers, and massive creatures, called Kaiju. During the interview, they spoke about what makes the film and characters relatable, what inspired the story, giving each of the giant robots a personality, and maintaining a balance between practical and CGI. Del Toro also talked about how he’d like to do an anthology television series of famous ghost stories, and how he’s still afraid to see Prometheus. Check out what they had to say after the jump.
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Special features are a highlight of buying a home video these days for myself and many others. Sometimes it can make the purchase worthy of the monetary value itself. You can read as much as you want, but nothing compares to a visual medium explaining, showing, and telling you about a favorite film or television show. Earlier today at Comic-Con I had the pleasure of sitting in during a special feature discussion in Room 5AB. The panel began with moderator Bill Hunt introducing his compatriots at Digital Bits, Todd Doogan and Dr. Adam Jahnke. He also went down the panel further, introducing Charles de Lauzirika (Prometheus, The Amazing Spider-Man), Cliff Stephenson (The Hunger Games), Robert Meyer Burnett (Star Trek: The Next Generation-Seasons One and Two), and Warner Home Video’s former senior VP of theatrical catalog marketing and current head of digital distribution, George Feltenstein. Legal battles, film restoration, and the struggles to turn around a DVD and Blu-ray with special features already included before a film even hits theaters were among the topics discussed. Hit the jump for more.
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