Blog Archives
Spielberg in the (Digital) Flesh
If you could take a private tour of the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot with any person in the entire world, who would you choose?
Steven Spielberg. That’s right!
Brought to us by Anthony Breznican of Entertainment Weekly, his guided tour of Universal Studios with Steven Spielberg is everything you’d expect and more. There is no better movie director to ask questions and learn about exciting behind-the-scenes stories than the man responsible for so many of the studios’ blockbuster classics.
Click the video below and enjoy!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the masterclass tour of the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot.
RIP Garry Marshall
He was one of the good guys in Hollywood.
Garry Marshall, the beloved TV creator, producer and movie director, has died at 81 years of age. He was the man behind Happy Days, The Odd Couple, Pretty Woman, Beaches and many other popular films. A few of these movies (Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve, Mother’s Day) featured fun, interweaving story lines with star-studded casts. The phrase “star-studded casts” was no exaggeration.
And the actors and actresses in his films always performed well because Garry wanted them to perform well.
Garry Marshall was one of the good guys in Hollywood.
RIP Garry Marshall.
Bringing a Tsunami of Chaos to the World
(Jurassic Park, Facebook)
Colin Trevorrow and Steven Spielberg collaborated to make Jurassic Park a real tourist destination (at least theatrically) in Jurassic World.
Can the director of The Impossible make us believe in a world with dinosaurs, sans fences and elaborate glass bird cages?
J.A. Bayona was given the reins of the prized Jurassic Park franchise to direct Jurassic World 2 (title still TBD), scheduled for June 22, 2018. Unsurprisingly, there is already tremendous buzz about this sequel. Why? First, Jurassic World earned a record-breaking $1.6 billion. Second…it’s the second film in the trilogy.
The plot of the first film in this new trilogy revealed there’s a good likelihood of dinosaurs (specifically Velociraptors) being militarized. Will this work? Is this the best idea for rebooting the franchise? Surely, Steven Spielberg has thought long and hard about this and, after many meetings and debates, has determined this is the natural path forward for genetically engineered dinosaurs.
The Impossible is a gritty, emotional movie with beautiful (though devastating) cinematography. Mr. Bayona knows how to film in the elements, especially when nature collides with a tsunami and the chaos that follows.
If Dr. Ian Malcolm were a real person, he’d give his real endorsement of J.A. Bayona as director with a Favorite or Retweet.
Even though there are some scenes in The Impossible that are difficult to watch, Mr. Bayona always scaled the setting and the story perfectly.
What do I mean?
The devastation from the monstrous tsunami was widespread, literally as far as the eye could see, and then some. When the audience needed to see the full landscape, he showed it using every inch of the silver screen. When we needed to see and connect to the characters and experience their highly-emotional struggles, he framed these moments with heart-wrenching precision. And those small, slow burning sparks of hope were there to keep us believing like the desperate families in the film.
The Impossible was both grand and intimate through the intricate collaboration of real-life and CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery).
J.A. Bayona: Welcome to Jurassic World.
P.S. Colin Trevorrow (39) had one notable hit before being hired for Jurassic World. J.A. Bayona (40) has a similar portfolio in preparing for Jurassic World 2. And yet, Steven Spielberg was already a legendary filmmaker when he took on Jurassic Park. Today, it’s regarded as one of the best movies ever made.
Should Spielberg have chosen more experienced and acclaimed directors for continuing his directorial legacy in the dinosaur franchise?
Just an observation to ponder.
Happy Monday!
Last night was the 2016 Mad Max Awards Oscars.
Let’s get to the main event of the night:
Leonardo DiCaprio won his Academy Award for Best Actor for The Revenant. As a favorite among moviegoers from his earliest acting in This Boy’s Life and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (both 1993), the clock has been running to when he would hold that legacy-defining golden statue. Twenty-three years after the aforementioned films and Leo struck gold.
The following scene best sums up Leo’s moment.
You could say he’s officially the king of the world (real and imaginary).
Have a Great Week!
Jimmy's Daily Planet 