Cinema is Dope

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New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit! (Guilala no Gyakushu — Toyako Summit Kiki Ippatsu) will be screening in the Out of Competition section of the 65th Venice International Film Festival (listing). The 65th edition of the Venice International Film Festival runs from August 27th to September 6th. In October it will screen at the 41st Sitges Film Festival.

I first found out about this project at Nippon Connection film festival last year when I interviewed Minoru Kawasaki (read here). A kaiju style throw down with Takemajin (Takeshi Kitano and/or voice of) vs. Guilala certainly on paper and in these images looks to be one hell of a delicious treat. Mark Schilling wasn’t crazy about the film (read review), yet I still reserve hope. After all, Rug Cop certainly wasn’t as entertaining as Executive Koala, but it still had many great and hilarious moments.

Related Coverage:
::: Let The Stomping Begin! The Full GUILALA Trailer Is Here! - Twitch
::: All that glitters may not be Takemajin - Ryuganji
::: The true form of Takemajin revealed for all to see! - Twitch
::: Minoru Kawasaki Reviving GUILALA! - Twitch
::: Synapse Films presents The Minoru Kawasaki Collection - Twitch

Synopsis from the 65th Venice International Film Festival :

On July 7th 2008, at Lake Toya in Hokkaido, Japan, the G8 Summit is being led by eight leaders of the world in an international conference hall by the lake. The main agenda of the Summit is the environment. Meanwhile, China’s Mars probe crashes into Sapporo city, only thirty miles away from Lake Toya. The monster Guilala appeares from the crash site, and destroys the city of Sapporo by spitting out giant fire balls. Although the Japanese government wants to cancel the Summit, the U.S. President decides to stay and fight against the monster for the public ratings, encouraging other leaders to follow. Now the G8 Summit has become the “Space Monster Task Force Headquarters”. Putting at stake the prestige of their countries, the world leaders plan and execute strategic operations, such as the “Great Roman” tactics, or the deadly poisoning from the Russians. However, they all end in failure and finally a nuclear weapon is about to be launched, putting the world in even greater danger. When the world is close to its final destruction, two journalists find a key to defeat the monster Guilala… A legendary giant called Take-majin is summoned to fight the monster. Will the world ever see peace again?

Japanese Cinema:
::: Jason Gray
::: Mark Schilling’s Tokyo Ramen
::: Midnight Eye
::: Nippon Cinema
::: Outcast Cinema
::: Ryuganji
::: Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow

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New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Woody Allen romanticizes one of my favorite cities in the world in Barcelona in his latest film. I can’t wait to see all the locations shot in the film and think the setting of Barcelona should serve as an amazing back drop for its story. If you have never been to Barcelona, I can’t recommend it highly enough from its historic offerings to its fine dining along the Mediterranean coast, there is something for everyone there!

Related Coverage:
::: Cannes 2008 Press Conference
::: Cannes 2008 Photocall Video
::: Cannes 2008 Steps Interview
::: Cannes 2008 Clip from the Film
::: GreenCine Daily Post

Synopsis:

Vicky and Cristina, two young American girls, go to spend the summer in Barcelona. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is straight-laced and about to be married. Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) is a free-spirit and very sexually adventurous.

They meet a flamboyant, Spanish artist (Javier Bardem) and his beautiful but insane ex-wife (Penelope Cruz). They all become involved in romantic adventures that are either hilarious or harrowing, depending on your point of view. Barcelona is seen as a very beautiful, romantic city like New York was in the movie, Manhattan.

- Woody Allen

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New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Monday, August 25, 2008

Full production notes and cast and crew info follow…

Over at Ryuganji (view here), Don has a great post on the upcoming US release of Miike’s Sukiyaki Western Django along with commentary on its strange US poster and the interview from its production notes. The US poster works fine as a character poster for Yusuke Iseya who plays the leader of the white clad Genji gang, Yoshitsune Minamoto. As an overall poster for the film itself it certainly falls short of what it could have been. This US release seems like it will be a blink and it’s gone type affair so be sure to check and double check your local listings, especially if you live in New York and LA where it kicks off its US run.

Related Coverage:
::: Midnight Madness SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO Intro with Special Message From Miike
::: Review by Todd - Twitch

Japanese Cinema:
::: Jason Gray
::: Mark Schilling’s Tokyo Ramen
::: Midnight Eye
::: Nippon Cinema
::: Outcast Cinema
::: Ryuganji
::: Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow

SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO - PRODUCTION NOTES:
An integration of the Western and the Japanese Tales of Heike…

It can be said that Westerns are the roots of Hollywood films while samurai dramas are the roots of Japanese films. That Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai inspired John Sturges’ The Magnificent Seven, one of the all-time great Hollywood westerns, is well known. It is also widely known that Kurosawa’s The Bodyguard became the basis for director Sergio Leone’s Italian film Per un pugno di dollari (Fistful of Dollars). The Made-in-Italy-westerns, dubbed “macaroni westerns” in Japan, and “spaghetti westerns” in the U.S, became a worldwide phenomenon from 1960’s to early 70’s.

The man infusing fresh blood into the genre today is Takashi Miike. While paying the homage to spaghetti westerns, Miike has created a unique and stylish action film in this never-before-seen “sukiyaki” world.

Gun smoke drifts in the air and the haunting sound of melodic whistling echoes as you step into a world that transcends time and space, a world where the Japanese shukuba-machi (post station) and western saloons co-exist. From the familiar scenes of spaghetti westerns, to elements from Tales of The Heike, the War of the Roses and the legendary goddess of murder “The Bloody Benten,” anything goes in the Miike world. The climactic scene even extends a nod to the world of the classic western film, Shane (1953). However, this film is by no means a parody. What emerges from the sukiyaki pot, in which all of these ingredients simmer together, is Miike’s magnificent view of the world.

Music…

The word “spaghetti western” immediately brings to mind the melodies of Ennio Morricone. In Sukiyaki Western Django, Koji Endo has created a melancholic score that combines trumpets, ocarinas and whistling. The original theme song for Django (1966), one of the best spaghetti westerns ever made, has been arranged into a new theme tune for Miike’s film. With newly written Japanese lyrics, a haunting new version is sung by Saburo Kitajima, the veteran enka (Japanese blues) singer, known for his powerful kobushi (a vibrato-like vocal technique).

What’s the connection between the renowned blues singer and Miike? In 1996, Miike directed a made-for-video movie Jingi naki Yabou at the Toei Uzumasa Studio. Saburo Kitajima, who was already major star, had been cast as the gambler. For the film, Miike had unsparingly splashed the great singer/actor with artificial blood. Kitajima had mumbled, “I’ve been acting for some twenty, thirty years and I never knew that artificial blood felt so cold!” Miike’s unconventional techniques left a strong impression on the blood soaked Kitajima.

Behind the Scenes…

A red and white rose blooming in the wilderness. Inside the sukiyaki pot live love and death.

Sukiyaki Western Django was filmed on a specially built outdoor set in Ishikura, Yamagata, deep in the mountains of Tsukiyama. A surreal set combining both a western theme and “Jidai-geki” (Japanese period dramas) suddenly emerged in the midst of Tsukiyama’s magnificent mountain scenery.

The logistical difficulties of the shoot made the production a constant struggle primarily due to the extreme weather conditions. The freezing Fall nights of Tsukiyama were severe enough to freeze the food on the plates of the cast and crew. To make matters worse, it rained for a whole month, turning the ground into mud and when the production needed snow, however, an unusually warm winter resulted in almost no snowfall.

For the scene shot at sunrise in the caves of Zao, the crew had to hit the trail on foot at 2 a.m. in the morning in order to arrive at the location by 4 p.m., allowing enough time to make up the actors. Walking in the darkness with only the lights of the lighting department to rely on, more than a few crew members were nearly lost in the mountains.

For one shot, forty horses, brought to the set from the Tohoku area, were required to gallop away at full speed, a stunt rarely seen in recent Japanese productions. Working with such a large number of extras and coordinating the complex gunfights was also challenge. As a result, Miike found the usual calls of “Ready!” and “Action!” were not adequate and he resorted to donning a ten-gallon hat, taking out a Smith & Wesson and firing a blank in the air instead! The unexpected sound of gunshot surprised the extras whose reactions were expertly captured on film by cinematographer Toyomichi Kurita. One could say that the ultimate thrill of the production was the “face-off in the wilderness of Shonai territory” between Miike, shooting his Smith & Wesson, and Kurita, shooting with his Arriflex ST&LT!

Sukiyaki Western Django was shot entirely in English. As with his other English language film, “Masters of Horror – Imprint,” Miike created a unique atmosphere on set. The actors went through a month-long intensive language training under Nadia Venesse, the dialogue coach who has worked with many of the top Hollywood stars in features such as Chocolat and North Country, and with Christian Storms, who translated the Japanese script into English. For Venesse and Storms, Sukiyaki Western Django was their second collaboration with Miike following “Masters of Horror – Imprint.”

Japanese star Koichi Sato’s comment on the experience was: “I realize now how effortlessly I’ve been making money all these years.” The actors not only had lessons in English but were required to learn horseback riding and gun slinging. The actress Kaori Momoi also had the additional challenge of working with flying wires and trampolines as the legendary fighter “Bloody Benten.” At one point her whole body was wrapped in plastic to protect her from the cold, which made even a simple somersault a challenging feat.

Cast & Crew Notes follow…

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New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Saturday, August 23, 2008

78-year-old Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) in the upcoming Pixar film, Up.

Related Coverage:
::: First Look: Pete Docter Reveals More on Pixar’s Up - First Showing

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Vintage Movie Wallpaper of the Day
Saturday, August 23, 2008

For those wanting to see a great Charlie Chaplin still, here you go! Be sure to comment below with your favorite Chaplin moments.

Amazon.com Link:
::: Buy the City Lights (2 Disc Special Edition DVD)

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A younger and still stoic looking Mads Mikkelsen stars as Horst in the 2002 film, Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself.

Related Coverage:
::: MadsOnline.net
::: Mad About Mads Mikkelsen - Big Online Fan Forum
::: MadsOnline.net - Valhalla Rising – A Video Diary
::: MadsOnline.net - Latest Mads News
::: Mad About Mads Mikkelsen - Valhalla Rising (2009)
::: Casino Royale villain Mads Mikkelsen reveals friendship with Old Firm stars during Scots film shoot - Brian Mciver, Daily Record

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With a heavy helping of controversy, Tropic Thunder has stormed the box office with long lines and pulling in incredible numbers and dethroning a certain well known bat along the way. Funny how controversy in many cases always seems to translate into instant box office success!

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New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Just posted my interview with the director of Astropia over on Twitch (see link below). For low budget indie films I’ve seen in recent memory, this is one of the best and most charming. The world of comic culture and fanboy-ism is playfully realized in this film. What happens when a drop dead gorgeous self centered glamor decides to work at a local comic shop? Hilarity and a great time at the movies ensues!

Related Coverage:
::: NIFFF 2008 - Gunnar B. Gudmundsson Talks Astropia/Dorks & Damsels - Twitch

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This one looks like it could be very funny. The above image is pretty outrageous and over the top. It feels there has been a big gap between the last true balls to the wall Jim Carrey comedy!

Synopsis:

Jim Carrey stars as Carl Allen, a guy whose life is going nowhere–the operative word being “no“–until he signs up for a self-help program based on one simple covenant: say yes to everything…and anything. Unleashing the power of “YES” begins to transform Carl’s life in amazing and unexpected ways, getting him promoted at work and opening the door to a new romance. But his willingness to embrace every opportunity might just become too much of a good thing.

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New Cinema Wallpaper of the Day
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

If you ever wondered what Coen Brothers dialogue sounded like in German, you should watch the two trailers for this film at its German site (watch here). Burn After Reading was just today to the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival lineup.

Synopsis:

A dark-spy comedy from Academy Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen. An ousted CIA official’s (Academy Award nominee John Malkovich) memoir accidentally falls into the hands of two unwise gym employees intent on exploiting their find.

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