The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” played as male models Derek Zoolander and Hansel walked the runway at the Valentino Women’s Collection Fall/Winter 2015-16 Fashion Show during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday (March 10, 2015) in Paris, France.
Check out the hot video below.
Starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, ZOOLANDER 2 will open in theaters nationwide on FEBRUARY 12, 2016.
I love the movies, really, truly I do, I love the movies. Cinema, motion pictures, movies, film, whatever you want to label this peculiar art form that we all cherish here at We Are Movie Geeks, I have loved it ever since the first time I saw a movie on television, in a theater or at a drive-in. I wish I could recall the first movie I ever saw and what the medium was in which I saw it.
One of my earliest memories was the yearly showing of Wizard of Oz on television and my delight at seeing Judy Garland in a different movie, Pigskin Parade, and realizing that actors made a living by appearing in more than one movie or television series.
I can recall seeing Battle Beyond the Stars at the Pine Hill Drive-in in Piedmont, Missouri, one of the Russian space movies bought and re-edited by Roger Corman. I stood in the playground in front of that huge screen in awe of the space adventure unfolding against a night sky that blended seamlessly with those images of silver rockets and asteroids and weird looking monsters.
I can recall my family going to an indoor theater, probably in Greenville, Missouri, to see a western, in color, and feeling lost in the wide open spaces captured in that (probably) B-movie landscape.
I came to love every genre of film and from every country that makes them. Italian peplum, Russian fantasy films, Japanese historical and giant monster epics, English historical romances, American westerns, comedies, monster movies, musicals, everything, just everything.
And among my favorite films are movies about the movies, documentaries giving the history of the medium or narrow casting down to the history of a single studio or director or actor and using numerous clips to illustrate the story. In my collection are excellent documentaries on the history of Warner Brothers, Universal, RKO and MGM studios. Biographies of John Huston, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, Roger Corman. Profiles of Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, James Dean, John Wayne, Ginger Rogers and Jimmy Stewart. I particularly love a series called 100 Years of Horror hosted by Christopher Lee and featuring clips from every monster and horror and science fiction picture imaginable.
I say all this as an introduction to an incredible piece of work, a 15 episode history of innovation in the movies, The Story of Film, sub titled An Odyssey by Mark Cousins. This project should be subtitled a Personal Odyssey and I’ll get to that in a minute. I found this box set at one of St. Petersburg’s libraries and brought it home, knowing nothing about the project. Of course I became hooked and watched it all, usually one episode a day, then watched the whole series again and have dipped into certain episodes ever since.
A “Personal” Odyssey would be a more accurate subtitle as Mr. Cousins, (who first wrote a book covering this same ground and then spent six years shooting the documentary) lets us know up front this is his personal and highly opinionated story of film. He takes us step by step through every technical innovation from the invention of the camera to the recent changeover to all digital shooting and projection. He accurately informs us that it was not the camera that made the movies, it was the editing table. The first time two or more pieces of film were spliced together to create a narrative, cinema was made. Then came color tinting, sound, wide screen systems, stereo sound, 3 Dimensions.
If you have ever taken a course in film history or read any of the many books on the subject you’ll recognize a lot of the names here. Among the usual suspects are the Lumiere Brothers, Georges Melies, DW Griffith, Murnau, John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, John Huston. And covering so much ground in only 15 one hour episodes of course a lot gets left out. David Lynch is well represented and I was delighted to see David Cronenberg also discussed at some length. If Woody Allen or Mel Brooks were mentioned I missed it.
Cousins narrates his project with his soft Irish brogue and takes a global view of film. Which makes it all the more curious that he does not mention Irish film at all, since there is such a thing. Angela’s Ashes qualifies as Irish and so does The Crying Game. Europe is will represented but there is no mention of the astonishing work of Harry Kumel of Belgium.
Among the countries discussed at length: Germany, Russia, the French New Wave and the Italian neo-realist school. Ozu gets quite a lot of coverage, and rightfully so. But we also get quite a lot on Takeshi Miike (that most horrifying shot from Audition, if you’ve seen it you know what I mean.) and Shinya Tsukamoto.
But I was glad to learn so much about film makers I had never heard of, from countries I had no idea made world class films, or that I had very limited knowledge of. Egypt, Israel, Iran, and Brazil are discussed at some length. Although there is no mention of Jose Mohica Marins (Coffin Joe,) probably the most well known Brazilian film maker, to me anyway.
If Cousins work has a failing it is an open prejudice about main stream Hollywood product. From the beginning he shows us a Christmas tree ornament hanging in space near the Hollywood sign (really!) and labeling Hollywood “the Bauble”. From many comments throughout the series we are asked to consider most of that body of work useless and without merit. I have to be fair and admit that a lot of disposable fluff came off the Hollywood assembly line in the 30s through the 50s. But many smart, personal, well thought out films were made by several directors, most of which have stood the test of time.
Our narrator also makes some truly outrageous statements, and some glaring omissions. While covering Orson Welles we are told that in his entire career Welles “never worked for any of the four major studios!” FOUR major studios? I thought there were about 6 or 8 major studios, RKO was never major? Or Universal? What about Columbia? Also when we get to the French New Wave we are not told that Truffaut, Godard and most of the rest of that crew had been film critics. Their back ground is critical in understanding where, how and why the French New Wave came about. For that matter we never hear the name Cahiers du Cinema, easily one of the most important film magazines ever published.
One very curious statement, Cousins spends some time on Performance, the outrageous psychotropic English gangster mind melding, cross dressing enigma and proclaims it THE film that any aspiring film maker should watch, to see how a movie should be made! Please don’t get me wrong, I love Performance, have watched it numerous times, abused a variety of substances in order to do so. But that is a very strange statement to make. Just as an aside, any time I see James Fox in anything I cannot help but think of Chas and that outrageous Memo From Turner! “Does that sound equitable?”
But when Mark Cousins is on top of his game this series hums. Cousins really gets warmed up when he gets to the 70s and the Decade under the Influence, when the styles of the neo-realists and French New Wave were absorbed by Hollywood film makers like John Cassavetes and Robert Altman. In fact I got the impression that covering the 70s was the point of the whole series.
Many Directors are interviewed and more than a few actors, but even here there are some odd choices. We get interview footage with Gus Van Sant, for instance. But then we get a side by side comparison of Hitchcock’s Psycho and Van Sant’s ill advised remake and what amounts to an apology for the color remake being made in the first place. Van Sant (who I do like by the way, I thought My Own Private Idaho was brilliant) explains that he made the remake basically for the paycheck. Fine, he has that right, just as I have the right never to watch the thing. The main point seems to be that Van Sant could show much more of Ann Heche’s naked body and bloody open wounds than Hitchcock could have ever gotten away with in 1960. Thankfully that is about the only time spent on useless remakes.
The real danger in watching a series like Story of Film is the urge to get out copies of the complete films and watching them all, all over again. If I see clips from Intolerance, Vampyr, Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Passion of Joan of Arc, The Searchers, Blue Velvet, The Godfather, Once Upon a Time in the West or any number of other titles, I want to see the whole movie again.
And the real value in a series that attempts to be this comprehensive is in learning about so many new film makers and their projects. I kept a notebook and a pencil handy to write down Directors and titles while watching Story of Film, and so should you.
There is only one special feature to this set and it is on all five discs, a 90 second ad which covers the whole series in a machine gun edit of clips from every major film and director interview. Maybe I have spent too much time watching movies; I could name just about every clip as it flashed by.
With any faults this is a very valuable and enjoyable series for any movie geek, I learned quite a lot, and I have been accused of knowing everything about movies. The more I learn, about anything, the more I realize how much more I have to learn.
Now if you’ll excuse me I have to watch Gallipoli, Kansas City Bomber and West of Zanzibar again. Oh dear, not enough hours in the day……
Hitting theaters on May 29th, Warner Bros. Pictures has released the epic new trailer for SAN ANDREAS.
After the infamous San Andreas Fault finally gives, triggering a magnitude 9 earthquake in California, a search and rescue helicopter pilot (Dwayne Johnson) and his estranged wife make their way together from Los Angeles to San Francisco to save their only daughter.
But their treacherous journey north is only the beginning. And when they think the worst may be over…it’s just getting started.
The film also stars Carla Gugino (“Night at the Museum,” TV’s “Entourage”), Alexandra Daddario (“Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” TV’s “True Detective”), Ioan Gruffudd (“Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”), Archie Panjabi (TV’s “The Good Wife”), Hugo Johnstone-Burt (Australian TV’s “Home and Away”), Art Parkinson (TV’s “Game of Thrones”) and Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti (“Cinderella Man”).
The music is by Andrew Lockington.
SAN ANDREAS was shot on location in The Gold Coast and Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The film is slated to open in theatres in both 3D and 2D on Friday, May 29, 2015.
Principal photography has begun on Warner Bros. Pictures’ new big-screen, 3D adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s beloved classic THE JUNGLE BOOK, marking the feature film directorial debut of Andy Serkis.
Blending live action and performance capture, the film stars Oscar winners Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett and Oscar nominee Benedict Cumberbatch.
The story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli, raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India. As he learns the often harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo and a panther named Bagheera, Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own. All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan. But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins.
The actors performing the roles of the story’s central animal characters are: Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Imitation Game,” “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”) as the tiger, Shere Khan; Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine,” “Cinderella”) as Kaa, the snake; Christian Bale (“The Fighter,” the “Dark Knight” Trilogy) as the panther, Bagheera; Andy Serkis (“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy) as Baloo, the bear; Peter Mullan (“Hercules,” “War Horse”) as the leader of the wolf pack, Akela; Tom Hollander (the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, “Pride & Prejudice”) as the scavenging hyena, Tabaqui; Naomie Harris (“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” “Skyfall”) as Nisha, the female wolf, who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Eddie Marsan (“Snow White and the Huntsman,” “Sherlock Holmes”) as Nisha’s mate, Vihaan; and Jack Reynor (“Transformers: Age of Extinction”) as Mowgli’s Brother Wolf. On the human side, young actor Rohan Chand (“The Hundred-Foot Journey,” “Lone Survivor”) will play the boy raised by wolves, Mowgli.
The film is being produced by Steve Kloves, who wrote seven of the blockbuster “Harry Potter” films, and Jonathan Cavendish (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason”), with Nikki Penny (“Gravity”) serving as executive producer. The screenplay is by Callie Kloves, based on the stories by Kipling.
Among those collaborating with Serkis behind the scenes are production designer Gary Freeman (“Cinderella”), Oscar-winning editor Mark Sanger (“Gravity”) and Oscar-winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne (“Elizabeth: The Golden Age”).
The film is slated for release on October 6, 2017.
Focus World has released the latest trailer for 5 FLIGHTS UP.
A wise comedy about life, love, and real estate, 5 FLIGHTS UP stars Academy Award winners Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman as a couple whose attempts at relocation send them on an urban odyssey — and help them redefine the meaning of home.
This often humorous, delicately constructed and poignant film is based on the novel Heroic Measures by Jill Ciment, which was hailed by Oprah and praised by the Los Angeles Times as “a brave, generous, nearly perfect novel.”
Check out the new trailer here.
When Ruth (Diane Keaton) and Alex (Morgan Freeman) first moved to Brooklyn, it was the 1970s — years before gentrification, and years before they would realize that they won’t always be physically able to climb several flights of stairs just to get home. Still highly active, yet feeling the undeniable effects of age, the couple opts to put their apartment on the market. But the decision coincides with a flurry of problematic events.
A trailer jackknifes on the Williamsburg Bridge and the driver inexplicably flees the scene, putting all of New York on an overblown terrorist alert. The couple’s dog becomes ill and the vet bill comes to $10,000. An overwhelming sequence of encounters with realtors, agents, and snotty bargain hunters only adds to their troubles.
5 FLIGHTS UP opens in theaters and On Demand on May 8, 2015.
Shooting began this week on Academy Award winner Stefan Ruzowitzky’s action-thriller, PATIENT ZERO.
The feature stars Matt Smith (“Doctor Who,” Terminator Genisys), Natalie Dormer (“Game of Thrones”), John Bradley (“Game of Thrones”), Agyness Deyn (Clash of the Titans) and Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games).
Production is based in the UK at Shepperton Studios and will shoot in and around London until April 18, 2015.
In PATIENT ZERO, an unprecedented global pandemic of a super strain of rabies has turned the majority of humankind into highly intelligent, streamlined killers known as ‘The Infected.’ One victim, Morgan (Matt Smith), who is asymptomatic and can communicate with the infected, leads the last survivors on a hunt for Patient Zero and a cure.
PATIENT ZERO is directed by Austrian Writer/Director, Stefan Ruzowitzky, best known for the 2008 Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Film THE COUNTERFEITERS, and is from a screenplay written by Mike Le. Vincent Newman (We’re the Millers) produces along with Executive Producer Steve Norris (The Riot Club).
Cinematography is by Benedict Neuenfels (The Counterfeiters), Production Design by Jonathan Lee (Stealth), Make-Up and Hair Design by Jane Walker (The World’s End), Costume Design by Suzie Harman (RocknRolla) and VFX Produced by Raoul Yorke-Bologinini (Sinister 2).
PATIENT ZERO will be released by Screen Gems in the US in 2016 and will be distributed by SPE worldwide.
On Friday, March 13, Disney will release the live action version of CINDERELLA from director Kenneth Branagh.
The original animated movie opened on February 15, 1950 to universal acclaim and 65 years later, CINDERELLA has become one of studio’s most treasured titles.
Branagh has once again turned to the Scottish composer Patrick Doyle for the score. The album features original music by Doyle marking the eleventh time he has teamed with Branagh.
In 1989, the director commissioned Doyle to compose the score for HENRY V and they have subsequently collaborated on numerous pictures, including DEAD AGAIN, MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, HAMLET, AS YOU LIKE IT and THOR, and most recently JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT.
Doyle scored RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES for 20th Century Fox and BRAVE for Disney Pixar, which was awarded Best Original Composition for Film at the International Music and Sound Awards.
From the worlds of Asgard to the Highlands of Scotland, Doyle’s various scores have whisked audiences off to distant lands, past, present and future. With an enchanting score full of magic and musical color, as well as creating a new Disney song, this time the Oscar-nominated composer takes us to the fairy-tale kingdom of CINDERELLA.
WAMG: CINDERELLA is such a beautiful film and your score is just wonderful. It sounds like a fairytale.
Patrick Doyle: Thank you very much. I think it’s a gorgeous, sumptuous film. It’s a classic movie – a timeless movie. It’s enchanting and it’s funny. It’s magical and very emotional. It’s a wonderful opportunity for a composer.
WAMG: The story is very familiar as well as the music. What was your first thought when you found out Kenneth Branagh was doing a new version of CINDERELLA?
PD: It’s a classic story. Number one, knowing Ken, I knew it would be a completely different approach to the iconic animated version. I think he’s done a wonderful job transferring from animation to live action. There’s always a thought that people will compare the two. I have been through this in the past with HENRY V and I knew Ken would have new approach to the film. I think he did a tremendous job.
WAMG: Your score is very romantic and while reminding the audience of the original, it takes you into this new adaptation.
PD: I’m glad you agree. I tried to write a classical score and hopefully it will have a classic feel to it. The reaction to the film, and the score, has been fantastic and it’s a tremendous opportunity to write for a symphony orchestra. Any reason to employ a symphony orchestra in a movie is always welcomed, especially when it’s the calibre of the London Symphony Orchestra.
The movie is from the original Charles Perrault’s French interpretation of the tale entitled “Cendrillon, or the History of the Little Glass Slipper” which introduced the fairy godmother, the pumpkin carriage and the glass slippers. We also come from a culture where we have what’s called Pantomime in Scotland, England and Wales. It’s an annual event – they’ll show Puss and Boots one year and Cinderella the other. Cinderella is a wonderful story and goes back to Greek times. It deals with diversity and it’s universal to every culture – it resonates to every culture the world.
It has a wonderful happy ending that everyone knows, but it’s the journey along the way is what’s so traumatizing. It’s cathartic in the end to watch her dream come true where she finds someone who’s a good person. It’s the best possible circumstances where people fall in love for themselves and not what they are.
WAMG: I loved Cate Blanchett’s theme – she makes quite the entrance as Lady Tremaine with the cat Lucifer in tow. Did you go with theme cues first or melody cues first for the character?
PD: (Sings the cue) I worked very hard to have a sort of chromatic theme – to roll around in the lower register of the instruments in the orchestra. I wanted to have a very distinctive theme for her.
The CINDERELLA waltz music at the ball, “La Valse de L’Amour,” was heavily plundered and mined by me throughout the score. (Sings the cue) I like to weave all these themes throughout the score. There’s waltzes and polkas, along with a plethora of dances, so there was a wonderful opportunity for me to write real classical music.
WAMG: You can hear it all through the film. With that classical theme in mind, what instruments, whether it was percussion, strings, brass, were you keen on using?
PD: It was an absolute mixture of everything. That’s the joy for a score like that – you can choose and strategize so that the sound can influence the viewer to see specific things. You can use the oboe for the mystery with the lower register, the bassoon for the entrance of the step-mother, the harp for the magical qualities. The whole symphonic voice comes into play and every instrument is utilized. The palette was wide open. I used the percussive sounds to give off wonderful colors.
My objective was to capture the magical enchantment and emotion in order to give it a timeless quality because the Disney canon is timeless. It survives generation after generation and that was in the back of my mind. I wanted to honor that great musical tradition of Disney.
The first film I saw on my own was FANTASIA. I went on my own at age 14 to Glasgow to see that film. That turned me onto music and animation – I was amazed by the marriage of the two.
In addition to the score, the soundtrack also includes end credit tracks by Lily James (“Cinderella”) and Helena Bonham Carter (“Fairy Godmother”), plus the end credit original theme song “Strong” (written by Patrick Doyle, Kenneth Branagh and Tommy Danvers) performed by Compound/Motown recording artist Sonna Rele and produced by TommyD (Kylie, Kanye West, Corinne Bailey Rae, FUN). Sonna was chosen by Kenneth Branagh to record “Strong.”
WAMG: Along with the score, fans have always liked that Disney made it a point of adding songs to his animated & live action films. In this CINDERELLA, there is the song that your wrote, “Strong.” How did that develop for the movie?
PD: The tune is totally based on all the themes in the film. You’ll hear the melodies and motifs, which I’m very proud of because all the score was first and then the song came in based on all the material in the score.
TommyD Is a great producer and writer and Ken worked on the lyrics and we worked very hard on it. I’m very proud to be part of that tradition to have written a Disney song. It’s really lovely.
I’ve also been the only one to write a Gaelic song for Disney with the movie BRAVE. I loved being involved in “Strong.”
WAMG: If I may ask you about BRAVE for a moment. When you first found out the movie was being made, being from Scotland, did you get choked up?
PD: Talk about being choked up! When the Pixar people invited me to San Francisco, after my initial meeting, to talk about the movie, I walked into a conference room and they had rocks, heather and little twiglets and branches and pictures beautifully displayed for me. Pictures of Scotland and the glorious Highlands – my wee eyes got choked up.
“I can’t believe you’ve done this to me,” I said. My life flashed in front of me! I was very proud to be asked to do that score.
WAMG: Your music for RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES goes so well with the Jerry Goldsmith’s original 1968 score. The movie was such a success, especially for fans of the APES franchise. In APES and CINDERELLA, there are a ton of sound effects to accompany the visual effects. Did you work closely with the Sound Department on both movies?
PD: It was a fantastic opportunity to work on such an iconic franchise. I remember on RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, I asked the sound department to let me hear the early recordings they took of the real apes and I used one of their cries and turned it into a noisy musical cue for the percussion parts. It also became the running string motif in the film driving all the action sequences.
When thematic sounds come from an organic source, I think it has far more resonance so hopefully it connects people to the film.
I worked very closely with the sound department on CINDERELLA. I did a facsimile of the score, as I was going along, to give them so they were able to shape their sounds around the music and to tune the effects to the key of the orchestra. I had to work very closely with them to get an inter-organic marriage.
WAMG: You wrote the score for the silent movie IT starring Clara Bow, commissioned by the Syracuse Film Festival, which received its world premiere at the Syracuse historic Landmark Theatre in October 2013. How was it to score a film after the fact?
PD: I’ve always been a great fan of the early days of cinema. When I was a kid we had only two television stations in Scotland. There was the BBC and an independent station, and that was it. They would show lots and lots of movies from the 1920’s and 1930’s through the 1940’s and 1950’s. When I look back on it, I watched silent movies that were only about thirty years old.
I’m very lucky to be in that transition period to have written in the 20th and 21st century. When I was approached to commission the score I leapt at the opportunity. I loved the film and I’m very aware of Clara Bow. I took great care to write a contemporary score.
I’m quite excited because there’s going to be a Scottish premiere in June and I’m working with young children from my old Shire. I’m tremendously pleased and other movie industry people are doing workshops with these kids, so I’m very proud to be working on that.
All young kids from North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire where I was educated will be there. I remember as a very young kid going on weekends where I played in the youth orchestra and to be able to go back after working on this for a number of years, is a nice feather in the Royal Scottish Academy of Music, so we’re very excited about it.
Walt Disney Records will release the original motion picture soundtrack for CINDERELLA on March 10, 2015.
The score was recorded at Air Lyndhurst Studio in London, and was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Shearman and produced by Maggie Rodford. The film arrives in theaters on March 13, 2015.
CINDERELLA track list:
1. A Golden Childhood 2. The Great Secret 3. A New Family 4. Life and Laughter 5. The First Branch 6. Nice and Airy 7. Orphaned 8. The Stag 9. Rich Beyond Reason 10. Fairy Godmother 11. Pumpkins and Mice 12. You Shall Go 13. Valse Royale 14. Who Is She 15. La Valse de L’Amour 16. La Valse Champagne 17. La Polka Militaire 18. La Polka de Paris 19. A Secret Garden 20. La Polka de Minuit 21. Choose That One 22. Pumpkin Pursuit 23. The Slipper 24. Shattered Dreams 25. Searching the Kingdom 26. Ella and Kit 27. Courage and Kindness 28. Strong Performed by Sonna Rele 29. A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes Performed by Lily James 30. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo (The Magic Song) Performed by Helena Bonham Carter
From Disney comes two-time Oscar winner Brad Bird’s TOMORROWLAND, a riveting mystery adventure starring Academy Award winner George Clooney. Bound by a shared destiny, former boy-genius Frank (Clooney), jaded by disillusionment, and Casey (Britt Robertson), a bright, optimistic teen bursting with scientific curiosity, embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space known only as “Tomorrowland.” What they must do there changes the world—and them—forever.
Featuring a screenplay by “Lost” writer and co-creator Damon Lindelof and Brad Bird, from a story by Lindelof & Bird & Jeff Jensen, TOMORROWLAND promises to take audiences on a thrill ride of nonstop adventures through new dimensions that have only been dreamed of.
The film also stars Hugh Laurie as brilliant scientist David Nix, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Judy Greer, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key and Thomas Robinson.
TOMORROWLAND is produced by Damon Lindelof, Brad Bird and Jeffrey Chernov and directed by Brad Bird, with John Walker, Brigham Taylor, Jeff Jensen and Bernard Bellew serving as executive producers.
TOMORROWLAND opens in U.S. theaters on May 22, 2015.
When I reviewed the DRAGONHEART 3: THE SORCERER’S CURSE Blu-ray, I called it “a worthy prequel to the original, incorporating enough of the lore, and some of the score, to please any fan” (read all of my review HERE)
Now We Are Movie Geeks has two copies of the Blu-ray to give away. All you have to do is answer this simple question: what is your favorite “Threequel” (Part 3) of any film series? (mine is TOY STORY 3)
It’s so easy! Just leave your answer in the comments below and we’ll pick the winners next week. Good Luck!
DRAGONHEART fans will embark on an all new adventure featuring Ben Kingsley as the voice of Drago the Dragon in DRAGONHEART 3: THE SORCERER’S CURSE, which debuted on Digital HD on February 10, 2015, and on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack with Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD with Ultraviolet™ and on DVD on February 24, 2015 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Renowned producer Raffaella De Laurentiis returned with a brand-new installment of the legendary fantasy franchise that has delighted audiences worldwide. Packed with non-stop excitement and mind-blowing special effects, the Blu-ray and DVD showcase a special behind-the-scenes featurette taking fans deeper into the thrilling journey.
In DRAGONHEART 3: THE SORCERER’S CURSE aspiring knight Gareth goes in search of a fallen comet rumored to contain gold and is shocked to instead find the dragon Drago. After Drago saves Gareth’s life the two become intricately bonded, and must work together to defeat an evil sorcerer and stop his reign of terror. Along the way, Gareth learns the true meaning of being a knight in this action adventure for the ages!
The Blu-ray™ Combo Pack includes a Blu-ray™, DVD and DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet™.
Blu-ray™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD and theater-quality surround sound.
DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.
DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet™ lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.
Bonus Features on Blu-ray™ and DVD
Bringing Drago to Life – a behind-the-scenes featurette with Ben Kingsley
FILMMAKERS
Cast: Ben Kingsley, Julian Morris, Tazmin Merchant, Jonjo O’Neill
Director: Colin Teague
Written by: Matthew Feitshans
Produced By: Raffaella De Laurentiis
Casting: Gillian Hawser, CDG, CSA
Editor: Fiona Colbeck, Eric Strand
Music By: Mark McKenzie
Production Designer: Dan Toader
Director of Photography: David Luther
Costume Designer: Oana Păunescu
TECHNICAL INFORMATION – Blu-ray™:
Street Date: February 24, 2015
Copyright: 2015 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Selection Numbers: 63127605 / 63142417 (CDN)
Running Time: 1 hour, 37 minutes
Layers: BD-50
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen
Rating: PG-13
Technical Info: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles
TECHNICAL INFORMATION – DVD:
Street Date: February 24, 2015
Copyright: 2015 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Selection Numbers: 63127604 / 63142418 (CDN)
Running Time: 1 hour, 37 minutes
Layers: Dual Layer
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Rating: PG-13
Technical Info: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles
Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ AMERICAN SNIPER has surpassed two more major milestones, emerging as the top-grossing domestic release of 2014. The film has also surpassed half a billion dollars worldwide, and still climbing.
To date, the film has grossed an estimated $337.2 million at the domestic box office, and still counting, making it the highest-grossing film in director Clint Eastwood’s long and illustrious career. Among its many other records, AMERICAN SNIPER is also the number one war movie of all time and the top-grossing film in the career of Bradley Cooper, who earned his third consecutive Oscar nomination, for his portrayal of the film’s title character, Chris Kyle.
In addition to its domestic success, AMERICAN SNIPER is drawing large numbers of moviegoers overseas, where it is currently in release in 57 markets. The film, to date, has earned an estimated $163 million at the international box office, for an extraordinary worldwide total of $500.2 million and rising.
The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, Sue Kroll, President of Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President, International Distribution, and Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, Warner Bros. Pictures.
Kroll stated, “‘American Sniper’ has become a cultural touchstone that people want to share, discuss and remember. We are thrilled that the movie is still filling theatres, not only in the United States but around the globe, as filmgoers everywhere experience the power of the story of Chris and Taya Kyle.”
“We are all so proud of ‘American Sniper,’” Silverman added. “Its box office success is not only a testament to the talents of Clint, Bradley and all those involved in the film, but also a measure of our appreciation for the sacrifices of all veterans and their families. Congratulations to our partners at Village Roadshow and Ratpac-Dune and everyone behind ‘American Sniper’ on reaching another momentous benchmark.”
Kwan Vandenberg noted, “Clint Eastwood has delivered a powerful story on the personal cost of conflict, and the response we’re seeing internationally alike reflects the universal reach of this compelling drama. Along with our partners at Village Roadshow, we couldn’t be more thrilled with these spectacular results.”
Eastwood directed AMERICAN SNIPER from a screenplay written by Jason Hall, based on the book by Chris Kyle, with Jim DeFelice and Scott McEwen. Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller star in the film.
The film has been rated R for strong and disturbing war violence and language throughout, including some sexual references.
