DreamWorks Pictures announced today that AMC Theatres will be presenting A Conversation with Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis Live only on Yahoo! following a special screening of Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” on Wednesday, October 10 at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 in New York City. The event, which starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET), features a live Q&A session with director Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis following the presentation of the film.
This event gives film fans a unique opportunity to engage in a live question and answer discussion with Steven Spielberg and Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis, who portrays President Lincoln, by submitting questions via Twitter using the hashtag #Lincolnmovie. The screening will start simultaneously in nine other cities—Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Boston, Washington DC, Seattle, Miami, Atlanta, Houston—and audiences in those cities will view the Q&A live via satellite after the film and will be able to text questions to the moderator. The Q&A will stream live on Yahoo! Movies at: http://www.movies.yahoo.com/lincoln-live.
Spielberg directs two-time Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln,” a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President’s tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook and Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln” is produced by Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, with a screenplay by Tony Kushner, based in part on the book “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The DreamWorks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox film, in association with Participant Media, releases in U.S. theaters exclusive on November 9, 2012, with expansion on November 16, 2012.
Now this will be funny! It was announced today that Seth MacFarlane will host the 85th Academy Awards. Telecast producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron made the announcement today. This will be MacFarlane’s first appearance on Oscar’s stage.
“We are thrilled to have Seth MacFarlane host the Oscars. His performing skills blend perfectly with our ideas for making the show entertaining and fresh,” said Zadan and Meron. “He will be the consummate host, and we are so happy to be working with him.”
“It’s truly an overwhelming privilege to be asked to host the Oscars,” said MacFarlane. “My thoughts upon hearing the news were, one, I will do my utmost to live up to the high standards set forth by my predecessors; and two, I hope they don’t find out I hosted the Charlie Sheen Roast.”
“Seth is unbelievably talented,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “We couldn’t be happier with the creative team we’ve assembled. With Craig, Neil, and now Seth, we’re off to a great start.”
MacFarlane made his feature directorial debut this summer with the box office success “Ted. “He also co-wrote and produced the film, and voiced the title character. “Ted” has brought in over $420 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing films of the year.
MacFarlane is the creative force behind the television series “Family Guy” and co-creator of “American Dad!” and “The Cleveland Show. “In September he hosted “Saturday Night Live” for the first time, for the show’s 38th season premiere. An accomplished live performer, MacFarlane has played to sold-out audiences at London’s Royal Albert Hall and New York’s Carnegie Hall. In 2011 he released his debut album, “Music Is Better Than Words,” which earned two Grammy® nominations. He also has earned 13 Emmy nominations and won two for his work on “Family Guy.”
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center. Don Mischer will direct the telecast for the third consecutive time. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
The final theatrical one-sheet for the highly anticipated last film in the series, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 2, will be fully revealed at dawn Pacific Time on Tuesday, October 2 at 9AM PT, after the culmination of a 24-hour worldwide countdown across all of the Facebook pages of the Twilight Saga network.
In BREAKING DAWN – PART 2, Bella, Edward & Jacob must assemble vampire covens from across the globe to counter the new threat of the ruling Volturi. In this spirit, a portion of the final theatrical one-sheet will be released at dawn local time around the world, giving each region around the world a chance to participate in the exciting launch.
There will be 6 total portions revealed across 6 regional time zones, all on Tuesday morning local time, starting with New Zealand and ending with Los Angeles. Each of the 6 portions will be released at the below times on the denoted Facebook pages. Fans are being asked to help us break each page’s record for the highest number of “likes” on a post.
The worldwide schedule is as follows:
MONDAY, 1:00 PM PT (Tuesday, 8:00 AM – New Zealand)
Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt begin shooting ALL YOU NEED IS KILL today. Based on the book All You Need is Kill, Warner Bros. Pictures will open the film on March 14, 2014. The upcoming epic sci-fi thriller, directed by Doug Liman, is the first motion picture to be shot at the recently christened Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden– a film and media complex in England owned by Warner Bros. Other films that have been shot at the UK studio are JAMES BOND: GOLDENEYE, STAR WARS EPISODE ONE: THE PHANTOM MENACE, and Tim Burton’s SLEEPY HOLLOW. Most recently was The SHERLOCK HOLMES and HARRY POTTER films.
Brad Pitt was originally approached to play the lead, but had conflicts with other films. The Warner Bros. Pictures’, Legendary Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ film stars Cruise (the “Mission: Impossible” films, “Collateral,” “Jerry Maguire”) and Blunt (“The Devil Wears Prada,” “The Adjustment Bureau”). The movie also includes Bill Paxton (“Aliens,” HBO’s “Big Love”), Jonas Armstrong (BBC TV’s “Robin Hood”), Tony Way (HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), Kick Gurry (Australian TV’s “Tangle”), Franz Drameh (“Attack the Block”), Dragomir Mrsic (“Snabba Cash II”), and Charlotte Riley (“World Without End”).
The story unfolds in a near future in which a hive-like alien race, called Mimics, have hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, shredding great cities to rubble and leaving millions of human casualties in their wake. No army in the world can match the speed, brutality or seeming prescience of the weaponized Mimic fighters or their telepathic commanders. But now the world’s armies have joined forces for a last stand offensive against the alien horde, with no second chances.
Lt. Col. Bill Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and then dropped—untrained and ill-equipped—into what amounts to little more than a suicide mission. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an Alpha down with him. But, impossibly, he awakens back at the beginning of the same hellish day, and is forced to fight and die again…and again. Direct physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop – dooming him to live out the same brutal combat over and over.
But with each pass, Cage becomes tougher, smarter, and able to engage the Mimics with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt), who has lain waste to more Mimics than anyone on Earth. As Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated battle becomes an opportunity to find the key to annihilating the alien invaders and saving the Earth.
Liman (“The Bourne Identity,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”) is directing the film from a screenplay by Dante Harper, Christopher McQuarrie and Joby Harold, based on the acclaimed novel All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The behind-the-scenes team includes Academy Award®-winning director of photography Dion Beebe (“Memoirs of a Geisha”), production designer Oliver Scholl (“Jumper,” “Independence Day”), editor James Herbert (“Sherlock Holmes,” “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”), costume designer Kate Hawley (upcoming “Pacific Rim”), and Oscar®-nominated visual effects supervisor Nick Davis (“The Dark Knight”). The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
How do you react when you walk past a strange man or woman shouting seemingly absurd statements about politics, aliens or the end of the world? Do you stop and listen intently? Do you retaliate with your own brand of biased retorts, or do you simply pass them by, putting every ounce of your being into convincing yourself they do not exist? Now, consider this… what if everything coming out of their loud, obnoxious mouths were true.
Writer and director Christopher MacBride invites the audience to consider this while viewing his film THE CONSPIRACY, which is a faux documentary of sorts, but doesn’t attempt to fool the audience that it’s a real documentary. Intentional or not, there are signs that the film is a fictional production, from the way the documentary filmmakers are presented to the way in which the film is shot and structured. The opening scenes are very much designed to convey the feel of a riveting documentary, but this feeling rapidly tapers off as the story progresses and the heart of the film begins to take form.
THE CONSPIRACY begins with interview segments and on-the-street clips inter-cut with various bits of archival footage as documentary filmmakers Aaron (Aaron Poole) and Jim (James Gilbert) build a profile of an outspoken conspiracy theorist. As their exploration evolves, the man who at first appears mentally unbalanced begins to actually start making sense… and then, he disappears. His apartment ransacked, the filmmakers’ footage is all that remains to prove the man had ever existed.
Left with an unfinished film and a mess of the missing conspiracy theorist’s collected documents, Aaron and Jim choose to explore his theories further in hopes of either finding the man, or what happened to him. This marks the point at which a rift begins to form between Aaron and Jim, but also where the film itself begins to morph into something completely different from what was initially presented to viewers. This is also the point at which it becomes unquestionably apparent that the filmmakers were not out to fool audiences that this is an authentic documentary.
THE CONSPIRACY shifts from feeling like a documentary expose to a film that actually draws the audience in and makes them feel a part of the conspiracy, challenges the viewer to ask themselves about the validity of the “facts” and “theories” they are being exposed to on screen. MacBride clearly took great care in his research and in constructing the this film. MacBride wants us to question the truth as we know it, not to suggest that what we understand is false, but instead encourages us to questions the sources from which we receive our information.
As the stakes in THE CONSPIRACY increase and we inch closer to the truth, the film is already in the process of shifting into thriller mode. While there is a point where the film’s outcome becomes something predictable, it doesn’t draw too much from the experience. There are some logistical arguments to be made regarding the production, such as a flawed attempt to convincingly present a portion of the film as shot by a tiny, hidden tie pin camera. Then again, most viewers probably won’t even bat an eye, but for some viewers this will nag at you after the fact.
THE CONSPIRACY is engaging, entertaining, even a little bit educational. While the ending does get chalked up to being a fairly typical genre conclusion, it’s the journey to reach that outcome, the experience of the film that makes THE CONSPIRACY worth seeing. Allow yourself to be taken for a ride. Follow the filmmakers down the rabbit hole of the conspiracy theories and the mystery inherent to revealing the identity of who is pulling the strings.
With THE DO-DECA-PENTATHLON now out on Blu-Ray and DVD, I recently spoke to stars of the film Mark Kelly and Steve Zissis about everything from injuries on set, to their first times shotgunning a beer. Check it out below!
THE DO-DECA-PENTATHLON was written and directed by the Duplass Brothers and tells the tale of two grown men that take sibling rivalry to new heights of hilarity. All bets are off during a family reunion when estranged brothers Mark (Steve Zissis) and Jeremy (Mark Kelly) secretly resurrect a decades-old quest to be the best. Determined to complete 25 outrageous events in order to crown a true champion, the exhausted pair find themselves leg wrestling, ping-ponging, and laser tagging to the finish line…while learning a few life lessons along the way. THE DO-DECA-PENTATHLON brings home the gold — and the laughs!
Check out the theatrical trailer here:
This film was shot quite a while back, what was it like returning to it? What was it like returning to the film after all of this time?
Mark: Aww man. It was… ah… quite awesome really. Shooting the film itself was, you know, an incredible experience… and having four years to sort of let it digest and kind of forget how the movie was going to cut together, and then to come back and see it fully assembled was great.
Steve: Um, it was a little sad for me because I had more hair. (Laughs) But I like that there is a time capsule of when I had more hair on my head. No, um, seriously though, it was fantastic! It was like a Christmas gift had been hidden for four years, and then you found it and you’re just thrilled to have it. I mean, as actors, we definitely had to be very patient with the process, because it took so long to come out, but it was really worth the wait and we really got to celebrate it by going to film festivals ,and sharing it with audiences, and promoting it. So… and the fact that it turned out to be a great movie was really what made it great.
The Duplass brothers are pretty open to improv on their sets. How much improv did you get to do? Do you prefer improv over a strict script?
Mark: Well, you know, most of the film was actually improvised, and in terms of preference… it kind of depends on the writing. The really unique thing with the Duplass brothers is that they write these amazing scripts that as a well-trained actor, you would be more than thrilled to learn and perform. But to have this well written script, and to shoot it in order, which is also a rare thing, and then to improvise on top of it was just, I’ve experienced nothing like it. I’d love to do it again. And, you know, working with Steve and Jenn Lafleur was just incredible because they’re just very skilled improv actors. So, we had a really good time working on the movie together… and to get to improvise dramatic scenes as well as comedy was kind of magical as well.
Steve: I’ve been working with Mark and Jay for several years now, so I’m very accustom to how they work. And, for me personally, I love working in their style because it’s really freeing in a lot of ways. It definitely has its own set of challenges, and it probably depends on the actor you ask. Some actors are probably like “Look, I want my script. I want my lines. That’s what I’m comfortable with, and that’s what I want. That’s what makes me happy.” That’s fine for me too, but I prefer working in their style, because it opens the door to changes in direction, spontaneous moments, and surprises, and, you know, all kinds of stuff.
Steve (Cont.): The other really interesting thing that happens, for me, in working with Mark and Jay, is what will come out of my personal history, or my self-conscious, and they’ll just sort of pop out. When they do, sometimes it’s funny, sometimes it’s horrifying, but it usually makes for some interesting scenes.
You both get pretty physical in this film. Were you prepared for all of that “usin’ and abusin'”?
Mark: (Laughs) Well, Steven and I could relate that we’re both heavily influenced for the roles by our older brothers in real life. I grew up with two older brothers, so we were very physical. I was also a high school athlete, both swimming and baseball… so, I had an idea of what they were throwing us into when I arrived on set. But, in terms of the shooting schedule, that certainly caught me off guard. We really dove into the sports when we were shooting, and both being competative, Steve and I, we certainly went for it. (Laughs).
Steve: No, I was absolutely not prepared! And I definitely feel like Mark Kelly and I definitely sustained some injuries, but that was the whole point. If Mark Kelly and I looked like Ryan Lochte then some of that humor and story would have been lost, and I think the point was… Here are these two guys in their late 30’s – early 40’s that are not in shape, and are destroying themselves and their bodies while trying to destroy each other.
There was a lot of roughhousing, on top of the competition in this film. Tell me about some of the injuries on set?
Mark: (Laughs) Actually the first event we shot was the long jump and I think we both got hurt in that one! (Laughs). Steve kind of tweaked his back and I strained my hammy. We sort of, not having any time, personally, I didn’t have any time to research what a long jumper does, but I was channelling Carl Lewis in my mind from the 1984 olympics. That’s, uh, kinda where my form was inspired.
What was your favorite event in the film?
Mark: I guess I would have to say baseball for me because I grew up playing baseball, and was so thrilled to get the chance to put my swing in the movie. And, I know for Steve, basketball was his. He was into high school basketball. So, we made sure to negotiate with the brothers that we were allowed to actually win those events for our own pride.
Mark (Cont.): One of the more memorable events was ping-pong, for sure, because we had allowed for, I guess, five hours of shooting that scene, and the Art Department on set was finding that our actual sweat wasn’t reading on camera. So, someone had advised that we be lathered up in Karo Syrup and (laughs)
Ewww…
Mark (Cont.): That was just a truly miserable experience. Probably the most miserable experience on such a great shoot was being lathered in the corn syrup. Of course, we found out for the rest of the shoot that glycerine is what you are supposed to use to do the trick. (Laughs)
Steve: Well, I know that the one that I dreaded the most was probably swimming, because I am just not a good swimmer. So, that event kind of worried me and scared me. You can actually tell in the movie when I dive off of the diving board. My form is really bad and I just, kind of, drop into the water like a ton of bricks. It’s actually really funny, but also really, really, really horrifying for me to watch . I guess my favorite was basketball because in real life that is my favorite sport.
This film is based on a set of real brothers. What was their reaction to the film?
Mark: Apparently they were totally flattered by it. I mean, the difference being that it was inspired by them and their competitive nature, but certainly the drama that was added wasn’t autobiographical, and they’re much better athletes than the athletes we portray in the film. They were just taken aback that a movie was made, inspired by them. They certainly got a kick out of the end result. We actually got to meet the parents at one of the screenings at SXSW. They made themselves known in the Q&A. And, apparently in real life they’re still extremely competitive. They live miles from each other in Buffalo, NY… and I guess in the DVD extras Jay shot an actual redo of the Do-Deca with the brothers, and it came down to a final event. So, I’m looking forward to seeing that.
Steve: I haven’t actually gotten a chance to meet the brothers yet, but from what I’ve heard through the grapevine, they were thrilled about the fact that a movie was being made that was inspired by their lives. (Laughs) I did meet their parents, however at a film festival, and they were super nice, and gracious, and they really got a kick out of it.
You play estranged brothers in the film. Did you have a method of staying away from each other for the filming?
Mark: (Laughs) You know, that was fine. You know, we both have our moments with method acting, but we fell in love with each other, kind of right away. Which, I think, lends itself to the ending of the movie… and each shoot day. In that regard, we actually became quite close, and remain so. I really can’t say enough great things about Steve Zissis, who’s just an incredible actor and incredible person. And, that certain bond with us really helped us keep it together during the four-year wait of the movie coming out. (Laughs). I was calling him, I think, on a monthly basis, to see if he had any inside information on the progress of the film. He was very big brother like in keeping me patient… (laughs)… patient in waiting for the movie to come out.
There are some really good beer drinking scenes in the film. I’m curious, when was the first time you shotgunned a beer?
Mark: (Laughs) In real life or on set?
Oh, we’re talking in real life. (Laughs)
Mark:Gosh, well… of course at the legal age. Um, (Laughs) I think that was another brother moment. Shotgunning beers with my brothers in Oregon and their fellow baseball teammates. And, I certainly went in… Jenn Lefleur is certainly a competitive person and was disappointed that she didn’t get to compete in any of the events in the movie. One of our favorite stories to tell is after finishing a long shoot day, you know, she was all riled up from watching us play ping-pong all day, and we were having a few beers after, and she challenged me to a shotgun contest. Of course, I thought I was going to take her down, no problem being as she’d never shotgunned a beer before. And, wouldn’t you know it… she smoked me. Impressive. Quite impressive. It was about a 3 1/2 second shotgun. So, hats off to Jenn, and of course, if there’s ever any Do-Deca redo I’m sure she’ll be ready to go.
Steve: (Laughs) Shotgunned a beer? Let me think. Well, since I’m from New Orleans, and people get started pretty young, drinking alcohol there… I probably first shotgunned a beer when I was 14. I’m not sure. I’m not really a beer drinker, per say. I’ve probably shotgunned a beer twice in my life. I don’t even know.
The Duplass brothers show just how far sibling rivalry can go in THE DO-DECA-PENTATHLON. As in the past, the brothers take on the “family relationship”, showing a dark, funny side. Mark (Steve Zissis) and Jeremy (Mark Kelly) are tired of the tension between them after a 20 year grudge, and decide to settle things once and for all in a sporting competition that’s… not so sporty. 25 events, such as ping pong and laser tag, will determine who is the more superior brother.
THE DO-DECA-PENTATHLON is available now on Blu-Ray and DVD
Renowned director Ridley Scott takes fans on a gripping sci-fi adventure that “kicks ass so hard and often that it’s impossible not to be thrilled by it” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone). Launching into space to discover the mysterious creators of the human race, the “genuinely epic” (Tom Long, Detroit News) film,PROMETHEUS, debuts globally on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD October 9 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. An unmatched home entertainment experience, watch the highly-anticipated blockbuster hit in the format it was meant to be viewed, stunning 3D high-definition.
The best part? The Blu contains over seven hours of bonus material including an alternate opening (as seen in the photo below) and ending, deleted and alternate scenes and access to Peter Weyland’s files. Written by Damon Lindelof (“Lost”) and Jon Spaihts, PROMETHEUS features outstanding performances by Academy Award® winner* Charlize Theron (Monster), Golden Globe®-nominee* Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds), Guy Pearce (Memento), Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Logan Marshall-Green (Devil).
Archeologist couple Elizabeth Shaw (Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Marshall-Green) discover a star map that they interpret as an invitation from humanity’s forerunners, the “Engineers.” Determined to find out more about them, the couple boards the scientific vessel Prometheus, created and funded by Peter Weyland (Pearce), CEO of Weyland Corporation. Lead by mission director Meredith Vickers (Theron) and monitored by Weyland’s android David (Fassbender), the team of explorers find a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth and embark on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe where they fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
Loaded with over seven hours of bonus material, the PROMETHEUS 4-Disc Collector’s Edition and 2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack feature the original theatrical release and are available in premium packaging. Fans can get the ultimate Prometheus experience with an Alternate Opening and Ending, Deleted and Alternate Scenes, access to “Peter Weyland’s Files,” commentary by directors and writers, a cutting-edge Prometheus Weyland Corp. Archive Second Screen App and more!
PROMETHEUS 4-Disc Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Special Features
Disc 1
Theatrical Cut
Commentary by Director/Producer Ridley Scott
Commentary by Writer Jon Spaihts and Writer/Executive Producer Damon Lindelof
The Peter Weyland Files
Deleted and Alternate Scenes that include an Alternate Opening / Ending
Prometheus – Weyland Corp Archive Second Screen App
Disc 2
The Furious Gods: Making Prometheus
Enhancement Pods
Weyland Corp Archive
Pre-Vis
Screen Tests
Disc 3
3D Theatrical Cut of Movie
Disc 4
DVD / Digital Copy
PROMETHEUS 2-Disc Blu-ray Special Features
Disc 1
Theatrical Cut
Commentary by Director/Producer Ridley Scott
Commentary by Writer Jon Spaihts and Writer/Executive Producer Damon Lindelof
The Peter Weyland Files
Deleted and Alternate Scenes that include an Alternate Opening / Ending
Prometheus – Weyland Corp Archive Second Screen App
English DTS-HD-MA 7.1
English Descriptive Audio DD 5.1
Spanish (Latin Spanish) DD 5.1
Quebecois (Canadian French) DD 5.1
Portuguese (Brazilian) DD 5.1
Russian DTS 5.1
Hindi DD 5.1
Tamil DD 5.1
Telugu DD 5.1
Ukrainian DD 5.1
English COMMENTARY DD 2.0 Stereo: Ridley Scott
English COMMENTARY DD 2.0 Stereo: Writers
DVD:
English 5.1 Dolby Digital (DVD)
English Descriptive Audio DD 5.1
Spanish (Latin Spanish) 2.0
French (Quebecois) 2.0
Subtitles BD:
English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Spanish
Danish
Finnish
Norwegian
Portuguese
Russian
Swedish
Estonian
Hindi
Latvian
Lithuanian
Tamil
Telugu
Ukrainian
DVD:
English for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Spanish
U.S. Rating: R
Total Run Time: 124 Minutes – Original Theatrical Version
Closed Captioned: YES
PROMETHEUS 2-Disc BLU-RAY (Catalog# 2281407)
Street Date: October 9, 2012
Screen Format: 16:9 (2.40:1)
Audio: See above
Subtitles See above
U.S. Rating: R
Total Run Time: 124 Minutes – Original Theatrical Version
Closed Captioned: YES
PROMETHEUS DVD (Catalog# 2281409)
Street Date: October 9, 2012
Screen Format: 16:9 (2.40:1)
Audio: Please see above
Subtitles: Please see above
U.S. Rating: R
Total Run Time: 124 minutes – Original Theatrical Version
Closed Captioned: YES
Paramount Pictures has teamed up with iPhone app Ptch (pronounced “pitch”) to give fans of the upcoming PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4an exciting new way to interact with the popular horror franchise. Starting today, Ptch app users will have the ability to integrate filters, sounds, clips and images from all four Paranormal Activity movies into their own videos and share them with friends on Ptch, Facebook, Twitter and email. This unique promotion with Ptch is the first time fans are able to add the films’ terrifying style into their own videos using Ptch. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4opens in theaters nationwide on October 19, 2012. (@TweetYourScream).
Starting today, fans that create and share their own Paranormal Activity inspired vignettes could win tickets to be among the first to see PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 in their local theater, as well as, other movie merchandise. Winners will be chosen from a variety of categories including Most Popular (i.e. most shares, likes and views), Scariest, Most Realistic, and Most Tense. The contest will be open to U.S. residents ages 17 and older and will run until October 10, 2012. For full details and restrictions, see Official Rules (http://www.paranormalmovie.com/ptch/). No purchase necessary.
“Ptch was designed to empower the creative storyteller in everyone”, said Ed Leonard, CEO of Ptch. “I’m super excited to see what Paranormal Activity fans create using our new Paranormal Activity style that captures the fun and intensity of the films, and delivers it to user’s photos and videos.”
Launched in July 2012 and born out of DreamWorks Animation, Ptch’s iPhone app platform allows users to quickly and easily compose multimedia mash-ups up to 60 seconds in length using photos, videos and music from their iPhones and social feeds. The Paranormal Activity style gives users the ability to create found footage inspired vignettes with their iPhone camera through exclusive filters, creepy sounds and bone-chilling images into their Ptches. The Paranormal Activity style automatically recognizes if clips and images are shot in the daytime or at night, and integrates the appropriate filter. The style seamlessly integrates the jump cuts, graininess, and terrifying images from the film franchise, into users’ Ptches, to create frighteningly textured vignettes from their photos and videos. These ptches can be easily shared with friends on Ptch and other social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+. The app also provides links for users to purchase films from the Paranormal Activityfranchise.
The Ptch app is available for iPhone 4, 4S and 5 devices, as well as the iPod and iPad, and is free to download now in the Apple App Store. (@officialPtch)
Iceland has selected Baltasar Kormakur’s compelling drama THE DEEP as its entry for the 2013 Best Foreign Language Oscar. THE DEEP, co-written and directed by Kormakur, premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. Screen International called it “… a masterful blend of sound and fury …” In its opening weekend in Iceland, THE DEEP took in over half of the country’s total boxoffice receipts. Baltasar Kormakur, has worked extensively as an actor, producer and director in both theater and film and he divides his time artistically between Iceland and abroad. He is currently in post-production on his next American film, the Universal Pictures’ thriller, “2 Guns,” starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, scheduled for release in August, 2013.
Based on an astonishing true story, THE DEEP follows Gulli (Olafur Darri Olafsson) the miraculous sole survivor of a fishing boat that sank off the south coast of Iceland in 1984. Against incredible odds, Gulli swam for five hours through the frigid sea only to find himself on a deadlylava field. The Deep” is the tale of an ordinary man whose tenacious will to live made him both an inexplicable scientific phenomenon and a reluctant national hero whose truly fearless act was to return home.
THE DEEP is a classic examination of man vs. nature. It also explores how one man survives with quiet grace and dignity. Gulli eventually returns to his village, embraces the simple life he has always known and, in the process, reclaims himself. The incident it is based on is well-known in Iceland and the movie is also Kormakur’s reflection of the country itself, an island nation constantly affected by the sea and particularly the vagaries of the world beyond.
Kormakur eschewed green screen and tank work and shot the film in the North Atlantic – and many times, found himself swimming in it to achieve shots. He literally went down with the ship – the filmmaker also served as “The Deep’s” defacto stunt coordinator and vowed not to ask his actors to do anything he would not attempt either. The film will screen next at the Mill Valley Film Festival as the festival’s Official Members’ Screening October 9 and October 11, 2012.
Kormakur also directed Wahlberg in “Contraband,” based on “Reykjavik-Rotterdam,” which he produced and in which he starred. His other films include “Jar City” – he will produce the American remake with “The Deep” executive producer and Lava Bear Films’ CEO David Linde – and “101 Reykjavik.” He recently optioned the celebrated Iceland book Independent People by Nobel Prize-winner Halldor Laxness. Kormakur co-wrote “The Deep” with Jón Atli Jónasson, based on the stage play of the same name. He produced the movie along with Agnes Johansen through his Blueeyes Productions.
Hey kids, Melissa here with some exciting news. This week I made the journey to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA to sit down with Tim Burton and the cast of FRANKENWEENIE.
Stay tuned, because starting next week I will be posting roundtables with Tim Burton (Director), Winona Ryder (voice of “Elsa van Helsing”), Martin Landau (voice of “Mr. Rzykruski”), Martin Short (voice of “Mr. Frankenstein”), Catherine O’Hara (voice of “Mrs. Frankenstein”), Atticus Shaffer (voice of “Edgar ‘E.’ Gore” ), Charlie Tahan (voice of “Victor”), Don Hahn (Executive Producer), John August (Writer), Allison Abbate (Producer) & Trey Thomas (Animation Supervisor). That’s a whole lot of FRANKENWEENIE talk!
Did you know that this is the third time Winona Ryder and Tim Burton have worked together? Their first film was BEETLEJUICE, followed by EDWARD SCISSORHANDS. It has been 21 years since the two worked together.
Tim Burton’s original short FRANKENWEENIE was made in 1984. This marks 28 years from the original short to the full length feature.
While you wait for the press day goodness, here is the FRANKENWEENIE trailer to hold you over:
In Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie, young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences.
