Amph The Style of Spielberg

And his last movie--so far: "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

 

Well, I suppose now we'll move on to Spielberg's upcoming projects. Starting with what's supposedly his next film: Tin Tin (2009).

[image=http://filmoracle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/tintin.jpg]

This is a collaboration with Peter Jackson, and that alone makes me excided. Plus it's nice to see Spielberg going back to more escapist films between this and Indiana Jones.

Thomas Sangster (Love Actually) will star in the trilogy of films, which will be shot using motion capture. Also stars Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock.

 

It'll be something different, but I don't know if it will work. Tintin is set in the 30's, which I suppose helps.

 

On Indy IV:

I enjoyed this movie, but I think I've seen the basic outline one too many times to give it an outstanding rating. Shia matches up nicely with Ford, and it's pleasant to see Karen Allen back. There are nice touches: the contrasting reactions to the decapition of Marcus' statute, and Indy's reaction to Mutt's identity. But a lot of it is extraneous, most notably the characters of Hurt and the Other British Guy. The suggestion that Indy was in intelligence during the war is intriguing, and I wish this movie had been set then. The villains don't engage me much, though Cate is elegant. The McGuffin ain't bad, and I don't mind to the scifi elements.

But...you can practically read the script breaks [insert extended over-the-top action scene here]. The jungle chase, which ends with the hero group surviving three waterfalls is just padding. The beginning of the movie is fine, and the 50's suburb is funny--for a while. The problem is, wit is the soul of understatement, but the filmmakers seem to feel that forsaking the formula will disappoint the audience. And Indy surviving a mushroom cloud is just silly. I resent the padding, because this movie could have given us more insight into both Indy and Marion instead.

In "Catch Me If You Can" Spielberg gave us skewed father-son dynamic (literally, between DiCaprio and the indulgent and slightly larceny-prone Walken, and figuratively, between DiCaprio and his pursuing Puritan mentor, Hanks) which are a lot richer than this one. Does anyone think Indy and Marion will last longer than a month? I don't. So their marriage makes no logical sense, though undoubtedly they love each other.

So, when critics say that this film is a lost opportunity, I see what they mean. The filmmakers felt that they must give the audience what they think it wants. They may well be underestimating it. I felt the same way after the PT.

 

It is being written by Steven Moffat (Press Gang, Coupling, Jekyl, the good episodes of new Who), who is a talented and witty script-writer. The results should be interesting.

 

Affording Steven Spielberg

An interesting crash course on the politics of Hollywood...

 

Despite all the buzz about the Lincoln movie, Tintin seems to be the next one.

 

And...maybe not: Tintin movie in financial trouble

 

Spielberg to divorce Paramount

 

There was a very good TCM documentary on yesterday called "Warners at War", which was narrated by Spielberg.

 

Spielberg and Will Smith are looking to remake "Oldboy"

 

That article sounds like a bunch of people are planning to go strap suicide vests to themselves over this.


Some folks just take movies waaay too seriously.

 

Scorsese didn't do badly with "The Departed"...

 

Will Smith ??!

Will £$%^ing Smith ?? he's got the acting range of an amoeba .

Olboy is an astonishing film , I doubt Spielberg could do it and CERTAINLY not with will smith .

 

The Departed surpassed it's source material. Spielberg probably isn't the right director for this, but Smith is great in everything he does.

 

I'm very much looking forward to this. Spielberg is still one of my favorite directors, and Will Smith is one of my favorite actors. And actually, I think he'd be perfect for a film like this, and I base this on his performance in I Am Legend. I could see him pulling off something like this very well.

 

Spielberg to direct "The 39 Clues"?

 

Steven Spielberg's Lincoln: Who should play Booth?

Feb 16, 2009, 08:32 PM | by Benjamin Svetkey

Categories: Film

"There was a rumor going around that this President's Day Steven Spielberg would finally announce a production start date for his long-awaited Abraham Lincoln biopic. No such luck. We're still waiting to find out more about this intriguing project. All we know at this point is that Liam Neeson (who picked up an Oscar nomination the last time he worked with Spielberg, in Schindler's List) is attached to star as the stovepipe-hat-wearing commander in chief; that Sally Field might end up playing Mary Todd Lincoln; and that Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner (who nabbed an Oscar nomination for writing Spielberg's Munich) has been hard at work on a script, which will reportedly focus on the last two months of Lincoln?s life. What we were really hoping to find out today was who?ll be playing John Wilkes Booth, the Confederate loyalist who murdered Lincoln in 1865 during a play at Washington, D.C.'s Ford's Theatre, then jumped onto the stage to take a bow before escaping into the night.

What makes that character so interesting, at least to us, is the fact that Booth was an actor. And not just any actor, but one of the most famous and successful of his day. To put it in 21st-century terms, it?d be as if George Clooney or Johnny Depp had been implicated in the assassination of a president. Come to think of it, either of those two stars would be perfect for the part, if they?d be willing to grow a Booth-esque mustache. Or maybe Spielberg should go for a JWB-style three-name thespian. Johnny Lee Miller, perhaps? Or Daniel Day-Lewis? How about Sarah Jessica Parker?"


Johnny Depp would be my choice.

 

I mentioned this in the other thread, but I think Christian Bale could do it.

 

I think either Depp or Bale would be fantastic in the role.

 

Daniel Day Lewis even though he may be a bit old for the part.

 

Yeah, Bale would be great. He's got the combination of talent, intensity, and similarity to JWB for the role. I think Day-Lewis would be better suited as Lincoln himself, moreso than Neeson.

 

Olboy is an astonishing film , I doubt Spielberg could do it and CERTAINLY not with will smith .

You don't think one of the world's most versatile directors could do it? The man who made E.T. (Disney kids film), Raiders of the Lost Ark (superb action adventure), Jaws and Jurassic Park (monster horror), Schindler''s List(historical drama) and Saving Private Ryan(war film) has already demonstrated fantastic dexterity as a film maker. I'm sure he'd give it a good try, at minimum.

 

Bale, Depp, and Day-Lewis are all too big for a part that would probably be a side role. And it doesn't help that Depp and Day-Lewis are both decades too old for the part.

My advice: grab somebody fresh. In the other thread, I mentioned Casey Affleck and Shia LaBeouf. Both are more reasonable than any of the names mentioned by EW.

 

I don't see the big deal of Bale making a small appearance in a film here and there, especially in a role such as this.

But I didn't even think of Casey Affleck. He'd be a great fit as well.