The actual numbers are in and Marvel’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY totaled $94.3 million in box office receipts. Among the most dazzling aspects of James Gunn’s space epic are the ships.
One of the spacecraft production designer Charles Wood and his team designed for Marvel’s latest film was the Milano, Peter Quill’s Ravager ship.
On Twitter, the director fessed up to how the ship got it’s name.
Less high-tech technology was used in the design to give the idea that Quill wants to have more hands-on control and experience the ride—much like a driver who prefers stick over automatic.
Watch as actor Chris Pratt gives you a walking tour of the ship.
Constructed as a double-level composite set, with an upper flight deck and lower living quarters, it was a 14-week build involving several trades. “Our biggest inspiration for the Milano was Chuck Yeager and the early test flights and missions that took place in the late ’50s, early ’60s,” says Wood. “So we looked at a lot of that footage. James wanted to come up with an environment for Quill that was reminiscent of Earth and had a tangible quality—mechanical with chrome and leather and a muscle-car look. A little boy’s dream.”
In order to have the sense that Quill thought of his ship as home, Wood and set decorator Richard Roberts worked to collect and build items that would evoke 1980s nostalgia. “Rich and his team got together all of the ephemera and other bits and pieces to remind him of home,” says Wood.
Milano
“The Milano itself was probably the biggest construction thing that we did and unusually for a prop master, I’m also involved in the manufacturing of the set decoration parts. So we did an immense amount of work going from the beds to all of the flight seats. Everything in the Milano was created from scratch.”
Richard Roberts echoes, “We made everything. We bought ejector seats from jet fighters and completely remodeled them and we worked from a lot of concept work that Charles Wood created. So we were creating a ship that looks like it’s got some ’80s notes, but we built it so it was really just the personal items that we bought that are from the ’80s.”
Among the items the filmmakers built was a cassette player built into the spaceship that looks like a car stereo. They also installed shag-type carpet of various colors and a black light in the living quarters. With the idea that Quill had a backpack with him when he was abducted from Earth, Roberts peppered the interior of the Milano with iconic items that would have been in a 9-year-old’s possession in the 1980s: Alf stickers, baseball cards and Troll dolls, among other items.
Wood’s efforts were not lost on Chris Pratt, whose character Peter Quill commands the Milano. “I couldn’t believe it when I first saw it and I have been in awe ever since,” enthuses Pratt. “Inside it, I felt like I was on a ride at a theme park, something people would wait in line all day just to get a glimpse of and I got to pretend it was mine. It was pretty amazing and helped inform my performance.”
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is now in theaters. James Gunn will return to write and direct the sequel, scheduled to open on July 28, 2017.
Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner are run through the mill in two “before and after” posters from the upcoming movie ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY.
The 1972 children’s classic was written by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Ray Cruz and inspired by Viorst’s sons Alexander, Anthony and Nicholas. With more than 2 million copies in print, it became an ALA Notable Children’s Book and won a George G. Stone Center Recognition of Merit, a Georgia Children’s Book Award, and distinction as a Reading Rainbow book.
Viorst penned the sequels: “Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday” (1978) and “Alexander, Who’s Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Move” (1995).
The film follows follows the exploits of 11-year-old Alexander (Ed Oxenbould) as he experiences the most terrible and horrible day of his young life – a day that begins with gum stuck in his hair, followed by one calamity after another.
But when Alexander tells his upbeat family about the misadventures of his disastrous day, he finds little sympathy and begins to wonder if bad things only happen to him.
He soon learns that he’s not alone when his mom (Jennifer Garner), dad (Steve Carell), brother (Dylan Minnette) and sister (Kerris Dorsey) all find themselves living through their own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Anyone who says there is no such thing as a bad day just hasn’t had one.
Directed by Independent Spirit Award-winner Miguel Arteta (“The Good Girl,” “Cedar Rapids,” “Youth in Revolt”), ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY hits theaters nationwide Oct. 10, 2014.
“You got a bad attitude, pops. Lighten up before your arteries harden!”
AKIRA (1988) is considered one the classics of not just anime, but animation in general.
AKIRA tells the tale of a secret military project that endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psionic psychopath that only two kids and a group of psionics can stop. Got that? I confess I’ve never seen AKIRA. I’ve had plenty of opportunities, so I have no good excuse. Perhaps this weekend I’ll finally take it in.
I asked Brian Lan over at the St. Louis-based Anime fan group Fant-Asia St. Louiswhy AKIRA is such a classic and he said “AKIRA is certainly one of the anime that is most cited for bringing in new fans to anime. AKIRA is visually exquisite and best appreciated on the big screen.”
Now lucky St. Louisans can experience the lightning pace and smooth animation that is AKIRA when it plays on the big screen this weekend (August 8th and 9th) at the Tivoli as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight series. The Saturday night screening is sponsored by Star Clipper Comics and they will have trivia questions with prizes Saturday night. I’ll be there Friday night with my own trivia and prizes.
The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO. Admission is a mere $8!
CALVARY’s Father James (Brendan Gleeson) is a good priest who is faced with troubling circumstances brought about by a mysterious member of his parish. Although he continues to comfort his own fragile daughter (Kelly Reilly) and to help members of his church with their various problems, he feels a foreboding sinister force closing in, and begins to wonder if he will have the courage to face his own personal Calvary.
From the director of THE GUARD, John Michael McDonagh, CALVARY opens in St. Louis August 15th.
WAMG invites you to enter to win passes to the advance screening of CALVARY on Tuesday, August 12th in the St. Louis area. We will contact the winners by email.
If you are a winner, you will need to head over to FoxSearchLightScreenings.com and register to receive your two passes.
Answer the following:
What profession did Brendan Gleeson leave in order to pursue a career in acting? What film role brought him to the attention of Hollywood?
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. ENTER YOUR NAME AND ANSWER IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
Fox Searchlight Pictures, Bord Scannán Na Héireann, The Irish Film Board And BFI present, in association with Lipsync Productions LLP, a Reprisal Films And Octagon Films production, CALVARY starring Brendan Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillen, Dylan Moran, Isaach De Bankolé, M. Emmet Walsh, Marie-Josée Croze, Domhnall Gleeson, David Wilmot, Gary Lydon, Killian Scott, Orla O’Rourke, Owen Sharpe, David McSavage, Mícheál Óg Lane, Mark O’Halloran.
The film is written and directed by John Michael McDonagh (THE GUARD). Producers are Chris Clark (JOHNNY ENGLISH), Flora Fernandez Marengo (THE GUARD) and James Flynn (“The Borgias); executive producers are Robert Walak (SHAME) and Ronan Flynn (“Foyle’s War”); co-producers are Elizabeth Eves and Aaron Farrell with Patrick O’Donoghue as line producer.
The filmmaking team includes director of photography Larry Smith BSC (ONLY GOD FORGIVES); casting by Jina Jay (THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL); production designer Mark Geraghty (“Vikings”); editor Chris Gill (THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL); costume designer Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh (ONDINE); composer Patrick Cassidy (LAYER CAKE) and music supervisor Liz Gallacher (ELYSIUM)
“No one paid any attention to the orchestra. I could have saved that 85 bucks!”
After his daughter selects a mate, the father must endure sleepless nights, sticker shock, and the disruption of his household as he navigates through the nightmare of wedding planning. In the original 1950 comedy classic FATHER OF THE BRIDE, Spencer Tracy is terrific as Stanley banks, the harried father whose plans for a small wedding go awry. As his wife and daughter, Joan Bennett and Liz Taylor aren’t given much to do except look supportive and lovely, respectively (Interestingly, both actresses played Amy in film versions of LITTLE WOMEN; Bennett in 1933 and Taylor in 1949). Don Taylor, who plays the groom, would have a long career as a TV director. Director Vincent Minnelli does a nice job of balancing the comedy and the sentimentality in FATHER OF THE BRIDE, which was a huge hit in 1950, spawning a sequel (FATHER’S LITTLE DIVIDEND) and the ubiquitous Steve Martin remake in 1995.
Now you’ll have the chance to see FATHER OF THE BRIDE in all of its big screen glory when it screens this Saturday morning (August 9th) at St. Louis’ fabulous Hi-Pointe Theater (1005 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, MO). The movie starts at 10:30am and admission is only $5.
Check out the original FATHER OF THE BRIDE trailer:
Between January and August of 2014, local cinemas worldwide entertained moviegoers with themes of sci-fi, documentaries, animation, fairy tales, horror and thrillers.
Glowing up on the big screen were images of clicking colorful bricks, racing trains, mysterious creatures, superheroes – both shielded and guarded, coming-of-age tales and a fond farewell to the best Movie Geek ever.
Small and original storylines or epic stories with big stars, it’s been a good time at the movies this year and a lot for ticket buyers to choose from.
With so many to great films in the first half of 2014, including SNOWPIERCER, UNDER THE SKIN, ENEMY, LONE SURVIVOR, EDGE OF TOMORROW, and NOAH, whittling it down to a list of our “10 Favorite Movies of 2014… So Far” was a challenge.
Check out our lineup and let us know in our comments section below what your favorite movies have been this year. Some of these films are in theaters or you catch them at home on Netflix, OnDemand or a Premium Channel.
HONORABLE MENTION: THE LEGO MOVIE
Synopsis: The original 3D computer animated story follows Emmet, an ordinary, rules-following, perfectly average LEGO minifigure who is mistakenly identified as the most extraordinary person and the key to saving the world. He is drafted into a fellowship of strangers on an epic quest to stop an evil tyrant, a journey for which Emmet is hopelessly and hilariously underprepared.
THE LEGO MOVIE is wildly creative and often hilarious.
Opening Weekend: $69 million
10. THE RAID 2
Synopsis: He thought it was over. After fighting his way out of a building filled with gangsters and madmen – a fight that left the bodies of police and gangsters alike piled in the halls – rookie Jakarta cop Rama thought it was done and he could resume a normal life. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Formidable though they may have been, Rama’s opponents in that fateful building were nothing more than small fish swimming in a pond much larger than he ever dreamed possible. And his triumph over the small fry has attracted the attention of the predators farther up the food chain. His family at risk, Rama has only one choice to protect his infant son and wife: He must go undercover to enter the criminal underworld himself and climb through the hierarchy of competing forces until it leads him to the corrupt politicians and police pulling the strings at the top of the heap. And so Rama begins a new odyssey of violence, a journey that will force him to set aside his own life and history and take on a new identity as the violent offender “Yuda.” In prison he must gain the confidence of Uco – the son of a prominent gang kingpin – to join the gang himself, laying his own life on the line in a desperate all-or-nothing gambit to bring the whole rotten enterprise to an end.
THE RAID 2 is compelling drama punctuated by fist-pumping action, and stomach-churning violence that barely gives the audience a moment to catch their breath
9. PALO ALTO
Synopsis: Shy, sensitive April (Emma Roberts) is the class virgin —a popular soccer player and frequent babysitter for her single-dad coach, Mr. B. (James Franco). Teddy (Jack Kilmer) is an introspective artist whose best friend and sidekick Fred (Nat Wolff) is an unpredictable live wire with few filters or boundaries. While April negotiates a dangerous affair with Mr. B., and Teddy performs community service for a DUI — secretly carrying a torch for April, who may or may not share his affection — Fred seduces Emily (Zoe Levin), a promiscuous loner who seeks validation through sexual encounters. One high school party bleeds into another as April and Teddy finally acknowledge their mutual affection, and Fred’s escalating recklessness spirals into chaos.
PALO ALTO methodically paints a portrait of a generation that’s simultaneously looking for the truth and yet trying to drink enough to forget it.
8. MALEFICENT
Synopsis: MALEFICENT explores the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty” and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king’s newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.
Synopsis: A growing nation of genetically evolved apes, led by Caesar, are threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species.
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES leaves a lasting impression based on the impressive special effects, rich visual landscapes, and moving character interactions.
Opening Weekend: $72 million
6. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
Synopsis: After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off assailants sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.
This crackling action-adventure tale may be the brightest gleaming jewel in Marvel’s dazzling movie crown.
Opening Weekend: $95 million
5. TRUST ME
Synopsis: TRUST ME tells the sharp, comic story of Howard Holloway ( Clark Gregg), a down-on-his luck agent for child actors and truly one the last good guys left in Hollywood. After discovering a 13-year-old acting prodigy (Sharbino), he is poised to close the deal of a lifetime which would catapult his tween client and, at long last, himself, into the big time. With the support of his gorgeous new neighbor (Amanda Peet), he must wrangle the actress’ volatile, overprotective father, dodge a scheming producer (Felicity Huffman), and outwit his uber-slick nemesis (Sam Rockwell). As he arrives on the brink of the Hollywood dream that’s eluded him for a lifetime, he begins to sense that his innocent young starlet may not be quite what she seems. This is the second feature film written and directed by Gregg, who made his directing debut with Choke, an adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel that starred Sam Rockwell.
Clark Gregg bucks his beloved SHIELD Agent typecasting by writing, directing and starring in this smart, sincere, darkly comic tale of Hollywood extremes that proves he has much more to offer than playing a guy in a suit with a gun.
4. GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
Synopsis: THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune — all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.
Thanks in part to his terrific script but mostly to a magnificent central character played by Ralph Fiennes, Wes Anderson pulls out his best film yet.
3. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Synopsis: From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand – with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.
It’s original, smart, it doesn’t talk down to audiences, and it’s above all, an emotional film about outsiders finally finding a place to fit in.
Opening Weekend: $94 million
2. LIFE ITSELF
Synopsis: Acclaimed director Steve James (Hoop Dreams) and executive producers Martin Scorsese (The Departed) and Steven Zaillian (Moneyball) present LIFE ITSELF, a documentary film that recounts the inspiring and entertaining life of world-renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert – a story that is by turns personal, funny, painful, and transcendent. Based on his bestselling memoir of the same name, LIFE ITSELF, explores the legacy of Roger Ebert’s life, from his Pulitzer Prize-winning film criticism at the Chicago Sun-Times to becoming one of the most influential cultural voices in America.
WAMG review HERE
LIFE ITSELF is a heart-wrenching love story, a witty tale of news hounds, a glitzy jaunt through “Tinsel Town”, mixed together with great warmth, skill, and affection.
1. BOYHOOD
Synopsis: Filmed over 12 years with the same cast, Richard Linklater’s BOYHOOD is a groundbreaking story of growing up as seen through the eyes of a child named Mason (a breakthrough performance by Ellar Coltrane), who literally grows up on screen before our eyes. Starring Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as Mason’s parents and newcomer Lorelei Linklater as his sister Samantha, BOYHOOD charts the rocky terrain of childhood like no other film has before. Snapshots of adolescence from road trips and family dinners to birthdays and graduations and all the moments in between become transcendent, set to a soundtrack spanning the years from Coldplay’s Yellow to Arcade Fire’s Deep Blue. BOYHOOD is both a nostalgic time capsule of the recent past and an ode to growing up and parenting. It’s impossible to watch Mason and his family without thinking about our own journey.
Richard Linklater has transcended the “coming-of-age drama” and has in fact achieved a cinematic marvel.
As to what’s coming up in the remaining months of 2014, MY OLD LADY starring Maggie Smith and Kevin Kline, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s BIRDMAN (Oct. 17), Graham Annable’s and Anthony Stacchi’s THE BOXTROLLS (Sept. 26), Christopher Nolan’s INTERSTELLAR (Nov. 7), Tim Burton’s BIG EYES (Dec. 25), David Ayer’s FURY (Nov. 14), Bennett Miller’s FOXCATCHER (Nov. 14) and David Fincher’s GONE GIRL (Oct. 3) are just a few of the films we can’t wait to see. How about you?
In celebration of the August 5th home entertainment release for NEED FOR SPEED, an exclusive screening event was held for Petersen Automotive Museum Members on the evening of Thursday, July 31 and WAMG was there.
The event showcased an advanced screening of the bonus feature “Capturing Speed: Making An Authentic Car Movie,” hosted a filmmaker/talent Q&A with Director Scott Waugh & childhood family friend and industry stunt coordinator extraordinaire Lance Gilbert, and then screened the entire film. The hero car from the film will be on display at the museum through October.
In Capturing Speed: Making An Authentic Car Movie, viewers are invited to go behind the wheel for an up-close look at what it takes to capture high-octane car stunts on camera.
The filmmakers discuss the challenges and benefits of this “old school” in-camera approach, which requires the actors to learn how to handle a car at high speeds; building cars that actors can drive and that can be filmed; cameras that can fit in small spaces; and the marriage of physical special effects and stunts. All of this translates into an exhilarating cinematic ride, as the actors discuss the difference between pretending to go 100 mph in front of a green screen, and really going 100 mph in a vehicle.
We talked to Lance Gilbert, a third generation stunt coordinator whose grandfather performed in BEN-HUR. He enjoyed working with his father and brothers on the amazing “grasshopper” jump in which the Mustang takes an airborne detour. Another innovative, high-flying stunt involved a Koenigsegg Agera launching a second Agera from a ramp into the air. Foregoing CGI allowed Lance to choreograph the stunts like plays with longer takes covered by as many as 20 cameras. One camera was hit by a car but recorded enough to get the shot in the can!
Based on the best-selling video game series, the action-packed movie NEED FOR SPEED is racing home for ownership on Blu-ray Combo Pack, Digital HD, DVD and On-Demand August 5th, each tricked out with never-before-seen bonus features you won’t want to miss!
Buckle up with star Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”), Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi), Dakota Johnson and Michael Keaton in this high-speed tale about an underground driver (Paul) who sets off on a race for revenge against the wealthy ex-NASCAR driver (Cooper) who framed him for a crime he didn’t commit. Delivering real speed, real danger and real action, this turbo-charged thriller explodes on screen on Blu-ray and Digital HD with spectacular high definition picture and sound!
NEED FOR SPEED was directed by Scott Waugh (Act of Valor) and stars Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad,” Mission Impossible 3), Dominic Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger, The Devil’s Double), Imogen Poots (Fright Night, That Awkward Moment), Scott Mescudi aka Kid Cudi (upcoming Entourage: The Movie, “How to Make it in America”) Dakota Johnson (upcoming 50 Shades of Grey, The Social Network) and Michael Keaton (Batman, Toy Story 3).
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is tearing up the box office right now! After a record breaking weekend of $94 million dollars, and $160 million dollars world wide, it’s pretty safe to say that the Galaxy has embraced it’s new band of misfit guardians! Recently, WAMG attended the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY press day where director James Gunn and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Michael Rooker, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista and Benecio Del Toro talked about their experiences working together. Check it out below.
From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.
While at the conference Director James Gunn talked about how liberating it was to create a new story for the Marvel Universe :
“It was, frankly, liberating. It was, you know, for me I think I would have had a harder time trying to fit into the regular, you know, Marvel scheme of things and this gave me a chance to take what I loved about Marvel movies and Marvel comics and create a whole new universe which is really, you know, what has been the most exciting thing for, you know, in my entire professional career. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the different planets in the solar system and I — we used to create for every single planet a different alien race with a certain kinda pet and a certain kinda house and a certain kind of, you know, water system and everything. And I would draw these pictures and I had hundreds of these pictures and had them in a box and really to me this was like going back to that childhood box and creating this, you know, fun universe.”
He also let us in on he relationship between Chris Pratt and Michael Rooker:
“Rooker and Chris like kinda hit it off immediately and the three of us would hang out a lot at my house in London. And they came and they sat down and this was when they first met each other and they started talking about all these things that they have in common. They’re both a couple of hicks and, you know, loved to shoot and stuff like that. And so they’re sitting there talking and they’re really getting along and Chris is like, you know, this wide eyed kid and he’s like, “You know, we oughtta go and hang out and, you know, like get to know each other like in a father son way so that we, you know, can bring that in the movie. We oughtta go and hang out like that” and Rooker goes, “No.” [LAUGHTER]”
Chris Pratt seemed to have an easy time taking on the role of Star-Lord, but expains that it’s not always easy to perform in front of an audience:
“You know, in terms of the attitude, that was something that like, you know, in kind of the whole process for me on this one was just trusting James really. And taking big swings and sometimes falling flat on my face and just like the big challenge for me was just trying to ignore the embarrassment of being an actor. It’s a pretty embarrassing thing to do and you got people pointing cameras at you and hundreds of people watching you as you’re trying to be great and often — almost every time you’re not. And then there’s one moment where you are and the editor will dig through all the shit to find it and then put it in the movie, you know. So the challenge is not like finding the attitude, it’s really just like being open and willing to go for it and try different things and having a director that you can trust. And so the attitude is not something that I intended or created. It’s something James intended and created by getting me to try different things and so that’s really what that was about.”
Although Gunn was not sold on Pratt as Star-Lord, he quickly warmed up after seeing him audition:
“We had screen tests of at least 20 people, actually screen tested at least 20 people of all, you know, big stars, you know, no names, looking for the right person because I really wanted somebody who could embody this character and take it beyond what was on the page in the same way Robert Downey, Jr. did for IRON MAN, essentially. And nobody blew me away. Plenty of people were really good; maybe the people were great, but nobody blew me away. And this — Sarah Finn, our casting director really deserves the credit for Chris in a lot of ways because she kept putting his picture in front of me and saying, you know, “what about this guy? Why don’t you meet with him?” And I was like, “the chubby guy from ‘Parks & Rec?” [LAUGHTER] “You’re stupid, you know.” And she kept doing it and kept doing it and finally she like really — I don’t remember ever agreeing to see Chris. I just remember her saying okay and after this guy, you know, Chris Pratt’s here and I was like I thought I — and I was a little mad. I was like ‘I thought I didn’t wanna see him.’ But, you know, and then Chris came in and, you know, he started to read and this is a hundred percent true that within 20 seconds I was like, ‘holy shit, that’s the guy. That’s who we’ve been looking for.’ He had this thing that was himself and sometimes a role and a person are meant for each other and that’s what I felt this was. And I turned around to Sarah Finn was sitting behind me and I’m like ‘he’s the guy.’ And I’m like, “chubby or not, if he’s chubby, the world’s gonna have to be ready for the first chubby super hero” [LAUGHTER] “because he’s still gonna be better than all the other people we had.”
In fact, Pratt himself didn’t necessarily see himself as Star-Lord right off the bat:
“People probably didn’t see me. I’m not sure I even saw myself in this kind of a role. I’m never — but what’s really kind of nice about this movie and I believe this is that we did something with this movie that’s never been done before. I think this is like unlike anything that’s ever been done and I think anyone who has seen this movie would agree. I’ve never seen anything like this movie before. And I so I don’t think I was — I don’t think I was right to do anything that’s, you know, similar to what’s been done before. Like, you know, I wouldn’t have been right to do those — to do other movies. So maybe people wouldn’t have seen me in this role, but that’s because they weren’t able to have the vision that kinda James had for what this could be, you know. And so he just told me in the audition, he was like I’m just looking for someone to come in and just own this and just do what they — do their thing. And at the time, I’d been sort of having an identity crisis as an actor. I didn’t know what I was; if I was a action guy, you know, or a comedy guy. And I thought maybe I could do a combination of both, but there’s nothing out there that’s like it. Maybe I have to develop something and my manager just kept saying GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, man. I said all right, maybe you’re right, let’s go meet on it, you know. And then James said I just want somebody to do their thing and part of me thought okay, well then I’ll just do my thing and if it’s not right, that’s okay, but now I had an idea what thing was and it was the thing that I got to do in this movie.”
To take on the role of Gamora, Zoe Saldana didn’t train as hard as she has done with her past action flicks:
“Actually, I stepped down from the training. I’ve done so many action movies and I was sort of like looking at last summer thinking oh my God, I’m in love and I just wanna chill and go to Italy and eat pasta. And then all of a sudden, James calls and he’s like, “Hey, you wanna be in GUARDIANS and be green, work six day weeks, for five hour sessions of makeup and yeah, be an alien again.” And I’m like ohhh. So then I did it, but the training process, after I kind of figured out where she was going to be spiritually, there’s muscle memory in all of the things that I’ve done in the past seven or eight years. So I was able to kind of relax with my body and, you know, work the stunt coordinators but not excessively like I’ve done on other films.”
As for Vin Diesel, he and his family have found joy in his portrayal of Groot:
“I took my kids to a screening to see this movie and they walk around the house reciting Star-Lord, Gamora, and all the characters and something very beautiful happened in playing this role. Something that as an actor I never would have imagined. And that is when my kids see trees, they refer to the trees as my brothers and sisters. [LAUGHTER] And so, they’ll say, “Look daddy, it’s your brothers and sisters.” And the idea to be associated with trees like that is remarkable. It’s so much more gratifying than you would ever imagine. It was — I was really lucky. I was really lucky that that specific role came up. I was really, really, really lucky that when I went to breathe life into the role, I had a director that was willing to indulge in the way that he did. I felt like I was the last person in, so I got to see all of the performances and I was so blown away by the performances. It felt almost too good to be true.”
To find out what else James Gunn and the cast of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY had to say check out the video at the top of the page. If you haven’t seen GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, don’t miss out. Go see it now!
Lakeshore Entertainment has cast Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly to co-star in the upcoming Philip Roth adaptation, AMERICAN PASTORAL. Connelly joins Ewan McGregor in the Phillip Noyce directed project based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel. Connelly will play “Dawn”, the wife of McGregor’s “Swede Levov”.
“Jennifer Connelly is one of the great actresses of our time,” stated Lakeshore CEO, Tom Rosenberg. “We always wanted her to play ‘Dawn’ in American Pastoral and we’re thrilled to be working with her.”
AMERICAN PASTORAL’s adapted screenplay was written by John Romano (LINCOLN LAWYER) with filming scheduled for March 2015 in Pittsburgh, PA. AMERICAN PASTORAL will be produced by Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi.
AMERICAN PASTORAL follows Seymour “Swede” Levov, a legendary high school athlete, who grows up to marry a former beauty queen and inherits his father’s business. Swede’s seemingly perfect life shatters when his daughter rebels by becoming a revolutionary and commits a deadly act of political terrorism during the Vietnam War.
Connelly previously starred in NOAH and won an Oscar for A BEAUTIFUL MIND. She will next be seen in the upcoming ALOFT and SHELTER. Connelly is represented by CAA and Risa Shapiro at Schiff Company.
Focus Features has sent us the brand new photo from their upcoming film on the personal life of Stephen Hawking, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones.
Be sure to come back this Wednesday, August 6th when the trailer debuts.
Starring Eddie Redmayne (“Les Misérables”) and Felicity Jones (“The Amazing Spider-Man 2”), this is the extraordinary story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde. Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of – time. Together, they defy impossible odds, breaking new ground in medicine and science, and achieving more than they could ever have dreamed.
The film is based on the memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, by Jane Hawking, and is directed by Academy Award winner James Marsh (“Man on Wire”).
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING opens in theaters starting November 7th.
