10,000 BC
Of late, there have been very few examples of historical fiction in the film industry that go beyond just 200 years. Not very much history is explored in films, especially not in the action genre. However, this could be about to change. Director Roland Emmerich, the director who brought us the films “Godzilla”, “The Patriot”, “The Day After Tomorrow”, “Stargate”, “Universal Soldier”, and “Independence Day”, brings us a vision a life in prehistoric times with the new prehistoric action film “10,000 B.C.” The film will star Steven Strait, perhaps best known for playing Warren Peace in the Disney superhero film “Sky High”, as D’Leh, which is the German word Held, which means “hero”, backwards. The film will also star Camilla Belle as Evolet, D’Leh’s love interest.
According to the film’s official synopsis: 21-year-old mammoth hunter D'Leh (Steven Strait), a member of a hunter-gatherer tribe living in 10,000 B.C. (at the end of the late Upper Paleolithic period), travels through unknown lands on a quest to rescue his people from extinction.[1] Leading an army, D'Leh uncovers a lost civilization while in pursuit of a warlord who kidnapped his love, Evolet (Camilla Belle). D'Leh and his army encounter saber-toothed cats, mammoths and other prehistoric creatures in the journey to save his tribe.
Roland Emmerich’s decision to cast lesser known actors and actresses in the film has greatly helped to keep the budget of the film reasonable. The decision was made in order to help keep the audience focused on the story instead of the actors. He stated that he felt the audience would look at the actors and then if something important would happen, they would focus back on the story saying “What’s that?”. This could be a very wise move on his part due to the fact that not too many successful films have been produced in the genre that Emmerich’s film is. There have been very few attempts at making prehistoric action films, especially one of this scale. The film is expected to have large, climactic battles evoking (unintentionally, it should be noted) some of the imagery of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and some of the previews have even helped reignite interest in the genre, reaffirming to many that there is still some wonder left in the world, even if it only comes from our past. 10,000 BC is expected to roar into theatres March 7.
Friday, April 11, 2008
watch on your Plasma TV, 2008 Academy Awards
2008 Academy Awards
This year the Academy Awards, the biggest award show of all of Hollywood, may be under the threat of having no red carpet coverage, and worst of all no movie stars. This comes from the Writer’s Guild of America strike which has already claimed the Golden Globe Awards as a victim of the very things that threaten the Academy Awards. However, there may be hope yet for the ceremony as negotiations have commenced once again between the Writer’s Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that may allow actors and writers in support of the strike to be present at the award show.
This year the nominations for the best picture Oscar are “Atonement”, directed by Joe Wright, “Juno”, directed by Jason Reitman, “Michael Clayton”, directed by Tony Gilroy, “No Country for Old Men”, directed by the Coen Brothers, and “There Will Be Blood”, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The nominations for best director are Paul Thomas Anderson, the Coen Brothers, Tony Gilroy, Jason Reitman, and Julian Schnabel. The nominations for best actor in a leading role are Johnny Depp for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”, Daniel Day-Lewis for “There Will Be Blood”, Tommy Lee Jones for “In the Valley of Elah”, George Clooney for “Michael Clayton”, and Viggo Mortensen for “Eastern Promises”. The nominations for best actress in a leading role are Cate Blanchett for “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”, Julie Christie for “Away From Her”, Marion Cotillard for “La Vie en Rose (La mome), Laura Linney for “The Savages”, and Ellen Page for “Juno”.
Several nominations are of interesting note, such as the best supporting actress nomination for Cate Blanchett in the film “I’m Not There” where she portrays singer Bob Dylan. Another notable nomination is Johnny Depp’s nomination for portraying Sweeney Todd, where he actually had to learn how to sing due to the fact that the film was a musical. The Disney and Pixar computer animated film “Ratatouille” is a serious contender for the best animated film award as for four other nominations, which earns the film the record of the most nominations for an animated film in Academy Awards History. The category for best original song was dominated by the Disney film “Enchanted” with three nominations with only two competitors from the films “August Rush” and “Once”. The Academy Awards are set to be broadcasted on February 24th.
This year the Academy Awards, the biggest award show of all of Hollywood, may be under the threat of having no red carpet coverage, and worst of all no movie stars. This comes from the Writer’s Guild of America strike which has already claimed the Golden Globe Awards as a victim of the very things that threaten the Academy Awards. However, there may be hope yet for the ceremony as negotiations have commenced once again between the Writer’s Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that may allow actors and writers in support of the strike to be present at the award show.
This year the nominations for the best picture Oscar are “Atonement”, directed by Joe Wright, “Juno”, directed by Jason Reitman, “Michael Clayton”, directed by Tony Gilroy, “No Country for Old Men”, directed by the Coen Brothers, and “There Will Be Blood”, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The nominations for best director are Paul Thomas Anderson, the Coen Brothers, Tony Gilroy, Jason Reitman, and Julian Schnabel. The nominations for best actor in a leading role are Johnny Depp for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”, Daniel Day-Lewis for “There Will Be Blood”, Tommy Lee Jones for “In the Valley of Elah”, George Clooney for “Michael Clayton”, and Viggo Mortensen for “Eastern Promises”. The nominations for best actress in a leading role are Cate Blanchett for “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”, Julie Christie for “Away From Her”, Marion Cotillard for “La Vie en Rose (La mome), Laura Linney for “The Savages”, and Ellen Page for “Juno”.
Several nominations are of interesting note, such as the best supporting actress nomination for Cate Blanchett in the film “I’m Not There” where she portrays singer Bob Dylan. Another notable nomination is Johnny Depp’s nomination for portraying Sweeney Todd, where he actually had to learn how to sing due to the fact that the film was a musical. The Disney and Pixar computer animated film “Ratatouille” is a serious contender for the best animated film award as for four other nominations, which earns the film the record of the most nominations for an animated film in Academy Awards History. The category for best original song was dominated by the Disney film “Enchanted” with three nominations with only two competitors from the films “August Rush” and “Once”. The Academy Awards are set to be broadcasted on February 24th.
Play "21" avilable film on your TV
21
Blackjack is one of the most popular card games in casinos today. With the simple formula of “whoever gets 21 or the highest number wins”, the game is easy to play and is one of the few card games in which the player has just as much of a chance of being the winner as the dealer. Or at least it would seem. The new film “21” is based on the true story and book “Bringing Down the House” based on the exploits of four MIT students who were brought together and went to Las Vegas where they attempted to win money at Blackjack by means of card counting. While card counting is not illegal in Las Vegas, if one is caught card counting, their can be dire consequences to those in control of whatever casino one is in.
The plot for the film is as follows: Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is a shy, brilliant M.I.T. student who – needing to pay school tuition – finds the answers in the cards. He is recruited to join a group of the school's most gifted students that heads to Vegas every weekend armed with fake identities and the know-how to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor. With unorthodox math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) leading the way, they've cracked the code. By counting cards and employing an intricate system of signals, the team can beat the casinos big time. Seduced by the money, the Vegas lifestyle, and by his smart and sexy teammate, Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), Ben begins to push the limits. Though counting cards isn't illegal, the stakes are high, and the challenge becomes not only keeping the numbers straight, but staying one step ahead of the casinos' menacing enforcer: Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne).
The film has received some racial controversy due to the fact that in reality and in the novel of which the film is based, the four main characters were Asian Americans whereas the film executives have hired mostly Caucasian actors to portray said characters. This has led many to accuse the studio of white-washing the film. It should also be noted that more “American sounding” names were given to two of the main characters. Controversies aside, the film is expected to remain, for the most part, faithful to the book and true event. 21 opens in theatres March 28, 2008.
Blackjack is one of the most popular card games in casinos today. With the simple formula of “whoever gets 21 or the highest number wins”, the game is easy to play and is one of the few card games in which the player has just as much of a chance of being the winner as the dealer. Or at least it would seem. The new film “21” is based on the true story and book “Bringing Down the House” based on the exploits of four MIT students who were brought together and went to Las Vegas where they attempted to win money at Blackjack by means of card counting. While card counting is not illegal in Las Vegas, if one is caught card counting, their can be dire consequences to those in control of whatever casino one is in.
The plot for the film is as follows: Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is a shy, brilliant M.I.T. student who – needing to pay school tuition – finds the answers in the cards. He is recruited to join a group of the school's most gifted students that heads to Vegas every weekend armed with fake identities and the know-how to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor. With unorthodox math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) leading the way, they've cracked the code. By counting cards and employing an intricate system of signals, the team can beat the casinos big time. Seduced by the money, the Vegas lifestyle, and by his smart and sexy teammate, Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), Ben begins to push the limits. Though counting cards isn't illegal, the stakes are high, and the challenge becomes not only keeping the numbers straight, but staying one step ahead of the casinos' menacing enforcer: Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne).
The film has received some racial controversy due to the fact that in reality and in the novel of which the film is based, the four main characters were Asian Americans whereas the film executives have hired mostly Caucasian actors to portray said characters. This has led many to accuse the studio of white-washing the film. It should also be noted that more “American sounding” names were given to two of the main characters. Controversies aside, the film is expected to remain, for the most part, faithful to the book and true event. 21 opens in theatres March 28, 2008.
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