When we move into the Christmas period we can always expect a number of really exciting films. Lots of the main Oscars contenders hit the screens in the UK in December and January and one that is causing a stir is Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan.
Black Swan stars Natalie Portman and Vincent Cassel and promises sterling support from the likes of Mila Kunis. Ostensibly, the film is about a ballet dancer who wins the leading role in Swan Lake, but fans of Aronofsky won’t be surprised to hear that the tale is much more disturbing than its basic description suggests.
This film is likely to feature in the Oscars line-up in several different categories, with Aronofsky, Portman and Cassel bringing serious credentials to the production.
I wonder if you will agree. Ice Age 3- Dawn of the Dinosaurs should have been the second film the creators should have released, drawing a close to the films?
The creators seem to have oozed out as much as they can with this third film. The plot was somewhat aywoll. I thought that the dinosaurs had been dead for about 30 million years before sloth’s and mammoths existed? Never the less although some may have been critical over the plot, the children watching were happy enough to watch, and the quality of the animation lived up to what come to expect.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is finally due to hit cinema screens across the UK.
It is the sixth film in the popular Harry Potter film series, which have all been based on the books by J.K Rowling. Filming commenced on 24 September 2007. It was originally planned to be released on 21 November 2008 in the UK and North America; however, the date was later changed to 15 July 2009. So far the long awaited film has received very positive reviews from critics and most Harry Potter fans are waiting by the telephone to be the fist to book tickets at their local cinema.
Some how the new X-Men movie was leaked online just a month before its release date in the states. Hugh Jackman has expressed his disappointment over the leak and his disgust to who ever was responsible.
It has been confirmed that about 100,000 people illegally downloaded the semi complete movie from sharing websites before it was identified and removed before anyone else could do the same. The film is due to be released on the 1st May this year in the US and 29th April in the UK.
Jackman said:-
“It’s a serious crime and there’s no doubt it’s very disappointing. I was heartbroken by it. Obviously people are seeing an unfinished film. It’s like a Ferrari without a paint job.”
Jackman then teased fans with a 20min preview of the film at the event.
With the Films industry struggling at the moment, it is sad to see this situation constantly occurring for the sake of saving £5 for a cinema ticket. If this continues it could see the end of big movie blockbusters like this in the future.
The FBI are still investigating where the leak came from and 20th Century Fox have put their foot down regarding this incident. Having insisted that who ever was responsible would be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law”.
Michael Caine has confirmed that the third installment to the Batman franchise is a long way off.
Caine has played Alfred Pennyworth in the two most recent Batman films Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. He hopes to reprise his role as the superheros butler in the new movie however, fears its going to take some time before this happens because director Christopher Nolan is very busy on other movies.
Caine said:
“Christopher is doing a picture called Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio which I saw on the Internet. So I imagine another Batman is quite a long way away.
“If they do another one, I’ll probably be the butler. I hope I’m still alive. Michael Gough, who played Batman before me, the last time he played in Batman he was 84.”
He is confident that Nolan will return to direct the next Batman movie and has dropped a hint that the next super villain will be The Ridder, who was originally played by Jim Carrey in the 1995 version Batman Forever directed by Joel Schumacher.
Producer Michael Uslan has estimated that it wont be until 2011 before this film will hit our cinema screens.
Film makers are starting to use logo designs in movies to encourage higher returns on films.
A good film logo on a big movie could see film makers rake it in via advertising and promotional items such as t shirts, mugs and other means. The most recent example of this has to be blockbuster movie Watchmen’. The films logo of ‘The Comedian’ (a yellow smiley face with blood trickling down) has helped the film become widely recognised, encouraged viewers and branding for merchandise.
This is not a new development for the film world, Star Wars is probably the best example. Although the movie brought in huge profits for the film producers it was the branded products, toys etc.. most of which sporting the films logo that made the big money!
A good Logo Design can separate similar types of movies being categorised as the same and helps it establish its individual identity. Movies like Troy and Alexander are victims of this kind of categorisation which did end up leading to decreased interest from potential viewers, where as 300 was pretty much in a league of its own and was a very popular choice amongst the cinema watching public.
Making money from films is tough these days with illegal downloading being the main culprit so every avenue possible should be adopted to get the most return of investment - a films branding can contribute towards this!
Its been a while in the making but finally its been confirmed that a third installment to the popular Sci-Fi movie Ghost Busters. As a nice surprise it looks like the original cast members Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd will be returning to reprising their roles.
Harold Ramis (writer-actor) confirmed Murray was 100% featured in the up coming sequel even though they are yet to discuss the project with each other.
Ramis said:
“Gene [Stupnitsky] and Lee [Eisenberg ], both of whom I mentored, are now writing the new Ghostbusters.
“I’m consulting with them, as is Dan Aykroyd and Ivan Reitman. Bill Murray is just waiting for the truckload of money to arrive to get him out of his office.”
Speaking about Murray, he added:-
“I haven’t talked to him about it. I want to talk to him about it eventually. I think we just need a script, because he’s the thorniest of the group.”
Marvel have decided to push back the release dates for its up and coming super hero movies Thor & The Avengers to minimise clashing with others they are due to release in the next 2 years.
Thor’s was due to be released in July 16 2010 but has now been Re-arranged to June 17, 2011. The Avengers was originally planned to be released on July 15 2011 however has been moved to May 4Th 2012.
David Maisel, Marvel Studios chairman - said that the reason why The Avengers has been delayed for so long was to space out other ’solo’ superhero blockbusters Marvel plans to release before reunited the characters in the one big superhero film.
“[It] maximizes the visibility of our single-character-focused films, leading to the highly anticipated release of the multi-character The Avengers film in 2012,” he explained.
The plan was to bring out Marvel movies Iron Man 2 and Thor in 2010 and another three the next year The First Avenger: Captain America, Spider-Man 4, and The Avengers. However, it was felt that there wasn’t enough of a time lapse between First Avenger: Captain America and Spider-Man 4 before The Avengers came out, which is basically a team up of all the marvel heroes.
Many Independent film makers struggle to make money from their projects - not only is it a risky industry where many new movies flop on a regular basis but also down to the fact that initial funding for a new film is not investigated out properly.
Obviously the best way to make money from film making is to actually sell the film - if possible on screen or via DVDs etc.. but to do this, it has to get noticed by a distributor. Big names are always going to be easily seen by them but for new movies from people not hugely known in the industry (yet), its a fight to get the movie recognised.
The most common way for independent film makers cover their initial outlay on producing the movie is to fund the project personally. This involves saving up over a large amount of time or by taking personal loans. This however is never a good idea because after paying back interest on loans etc.. generally means the filmmaker is out of pocket (unless its a big hit which is rare).
A better way to approach funding rather than banking on loans is to find a funding bodies designed to support or average filmmaker but be warned - they will only accept strong applications and in depth knowledge in what you are doing will be essential, they will spot people who haven’t done their research. Scottish Screen, the UK Film Council and Film4 are examples of these and regularly provide start up filmmakers with grants and other schemes etc.
The most ideal way of course is to approach the bigger companies to get your film funded or a sponsorship deal with little risk to yourself. They will expect something in return though like return on the investment, use of your services etc.. amongst other things, so before going down this route, you need to know what you are prepared to offer them.
Once funding is sorted and the film produced, other avenues to sell the movie is another way to encourage a better return from the film. As mentioned before, DVDs and cinema are the most common but many filmmakers have been drawn to the online marketing like paying per download and selling DVDs on their web sites etc.. Teaser trailers using social networking sites are also a good way to get the movie noticed.
The wait is almost over and X-Men fans will finally find out about Wolverines past in this new Marvel movie due to be released in April 2009.
Its been a long running secret as to what happened to him from the first X-men movie, with him getting close to the truth during the second X-men film but it still remained unclear what really happened to him in the past - how he came to have an adamantium in-cased skeleton and why him and (Victor Creed) Sabertooth are mortal enemies.
The film is obviously a prequel, set 20 years before the first X-men movie and will also show other characters from the hit cartoon series such as Gambit and Deadpool etc.. It will also shed light on his relationship with William Stryker who he left for dead in X-Men 2.
X-Men Origins is the first of many spin off movies planning to be developed such as Gambit, Deadpool and probably the most anticipated after this movie is the story behind Magneto and Professor X - how two strong alleys and best friends turn to be mortal enemies. Hopefully it was also explain how Xavier ended up having to use electric wheelchairs to get around but although it has a script, its still in very early stages and anticipated to be released in 2011.