Jennifer Lawrence stars in the new preview for THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1.
Lionsgate today unveiled plans to debut the year’s most anticipated film, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, in the UK, Asia and North America. The film, the third in the global blockbuster Hunger Games film franchise, opens in theaters worldwide on November 21, 2014 and will hold its world premiere in London, England on November 10th. Beginning in Beijing, the cast including Academy Award-winner Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, director Francis Lawrence and producers Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik, will embark on a World Press Tour with stops in Seoul, London, New York and Los Angeles.
Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Natalie Dormer, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland will join the delegation in London for the film’s UK world premiere in Leicester Square. Fans in the U.S. who purchase tickets on Fandango October 29th during the first 24 hours of advance sales will be entered for a chance to win a trip to the London Premiere. All purchases on AMCTheaters.com, Cinemark.com, Fandango.com, and MovieTickets.com in the first 24 hours will receive a free download of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on VUDU.
All of the cast will reconvene for the Los Angeles premiere, which will take place on November 17th at the Nokia Live Theater.
The first Hunger Games film generated nearly $700 million at the worldwide box office. The second film in the franchise, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, was the #1 domestic film of 2013 and the 10th highest-grossing North American release of all time, grossing over $860 million around the world and bringing the combined global box office of the first two films to over $1.5 billion.
The worldwide phenomenon of The Hunger Games continues to set the world on fire with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, which finds Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in District 13 after she literally shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin (Julianne Moore) and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and a nation moved by her courage.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong, from an adaptation by Suzanne Collins and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the third in a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins that has over 65 million copies in print in the U.S. alone.
Also starring Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci, Jeffrey Wright, Natalie Dormer, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Willow Shields and Philip Seymour Hoffman, THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 1 opens nationwide November 21.
It’s fall, love is in the air, the leaves are changing color, and Relativity’s new love story THE BEST OF ME hits theaters this Friday. We know you love a good love story, so recently I attended a press day for the film in Los Angeles for the film where I sat down with writer / producer Nicholas Sparks for an exclusive interview. Check it out below!
Based on the bestselling novel by acclaimed author Nicholas Sparks, THE BEST OF ME tells the story of Dawson and Amanda, two former high school sweethearts who find themselves reunited after 20 years apart, when they return to their small town for the funeral of the beloved friend. Their bittersweet reunion reignites the love they’ve never forgotten, but soon they discover the forces that drove them apart twenty years ago live on, posing even more serious threats today. Spanning decades, this epic love story captures the enduring power of our first true love, and the wrenching choices we face when confronted with elusive second chances.
What do you think it is about you that makes you able to look beyond the tragedy and find the good in your writing, or even in life?
NICHOLAS SPARKS : Well, I think it comes from a little bit of my world view… in that tragedy isn’t the end of the world. I started my career with the idea that all great love stories, by definition, have to end in tragedy because at one point or another one of them dies. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about the love of your life, or your parents, or your siblings, or your friends, or your pet. Great loves, by definition… it has to end in tragedy, so it’s inevitable. That doesn’t mean that you can’t find joy in life. Even if you know it’s going to end tragically, that doesn’t mean that you have to have a tragic life. You enjoy love, and the moments that it’s in your life because it provides you with everything you live for.
It seems like a prop in the background of all of your stories are letters, regardless of the timeframe. Are you hoping to preserve the art form, or is it strictly for the romanticism?
NICHOLAS SPARKS : Both. Yeah, you know, I still write letters. I still hand write letters, and I still receive hand written letters. So, it’s still out there, and I think it’s a wonderful… As far as a novel goes it’s a wonderful way to – perhaps if you’r writing a third person novel – to shift into first person for a little bit to provide additional depth and emotion for that particular character. I also admire the craft of writing a good letter. When people reach out to me because they are struggling, for whatever reason, my first instinct is ‘Ok. I shall write them a letter.’ as opposed to necessarily sending flowers, or something. I do that as well, but my first instinct is to write a letter because there is something beautiful in the written word if it’s done in a meaningful, authentic way. It’s sad to me that people don’t do it as much, but there are those that do, and those that do find great meaning in it whether they are writing them or receiving them.
Building off of that, we’re living in a time where social media is all over the place, and people are living through their phones. How do you balance bringing your films up to date with keeping the nostalgia?
NICHOLAS SPARKS : Well, I think technology changes. Technology obviously changes but the emotions don’t. For me, I don’t necessarily focus in on any sort of technology. I don’t think it’s necessarily intrinsic to the stories that I’m wanting to write. Emotion changes so incredibly slowly. If you were in love in 1950, or falling in love in 1950 it felt the same as falling in love today. You can go watch CASABLANCA, right? They write this film, and it’s this deep ache… You could see the depth of love they had for each other. That doesn’t change. It just doesn’t change. So, whether they have cell phones, or look up something on the computer rather than a novel… the emotional connection comes from one-on-one interaction.
The internet was buzzing last week about a statistic released by the U.S. government. According to their tracking, this is the first time that there are more single adults than married. I’m just curious if you think that this, or factors relating to it will, in any way, affect your writing in the future.
NICHOLAS SPARKS : Not necessarily. I don’t think it will. It’s certainly known that there are challenges for people who are single that may not have been married.
What do you think makes a love story that appeals to a broad audience?
NICHOLAS SPARKS : It’s something that I keep in mind as I’m writing. I have tried to vary everything in the novels with the exception that if they take place in North Carolina, there may be a love story, and it’s probably going to be in a small town. Everything else is different, from the theme, the ages of the characters, the dilemma… In my most recent novel they were Jewish, and they were ninety years old, and I did A WALK TO REMEMBER. They were teenagers. I did THE NOTEBOOK. Well, he way eighty! He was also 28, or something like that. I’ve done characters in their early fifties, or their late forties. I do try to vary it to bring in, I guess the concept that love is possible at any age, and that when it’s right it’s right. I think that’s timeless at twelve or timeless at eighty.
Award-winning star of stage and screen Neil Patrick Harris will host the 87th Oscars, show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today. This will be Harris’ first time hosting the ceremony. The show will air live on ABC on Oscar Sunday, February 22, 2015.
“We are thrilled to have Neil host the Oscars,” said Zadan and Meron. “We have known him his entire adult life, and we have watched him explode as a great performer in feature films, television and stage. To work with him on the Oscars is the perfect storm, all of his resources and talent coming together on a global stage.”
“It is truly an honor and a thrill to be asked to host this year’s Academy Awards. I grew up watching the Oscars and was always in such awe of some of the greats who hosted the show,” said Harris. “To be asked to follow in the footsteps of Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Ellen DeGeneres, and everyone else who had the great fortune of hosting is a bucket list dream come true.”
“We share Craig and Neil’s excitement in welcoming the incredibly talented Neil Patrick Harris,” said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy President. “He is the consummate entertainer. Neil’s distinctive charm and showmanship make him the ideal host to honor the Oscar legacy and ensure we all enjoy another unforgettable celebration.”
“Neil is a terrific actor, singer, risk-taker and collaborator,” said Dawn Hudson, Academy CEO. “We can’t wait to see the show that he and Craig and Neil create together.”
“Neil Patrick Harris is highly energetic and a definitive entertainer,” said Paul Lee. “We are thrilled to have him as our 2015 Oscar host.”
A triple-threat performer, Harris has enjoyed a successful career in entertainment. He can currently be seen starring opposite Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike in David Fincher’s critically-acclaimed feature film, GONE GIRL.
Harris garnered multiple Emmy and Golden Globe award nominations for his role as Barney Stinson on the hit television series, “How I Met Your Mother,” and he won an Emmy for his guest-starring role on “Glee” in 2010. He also recently starred in the title role of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on Broadway, earning the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Harris served as host of the 61st and 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as the 63rd, 65th, 66th and 67th Tony Awards, for which he won four Emmys. Most recently, Harris added the title of author to his list of accomplishments with the release of his autobiography from Crown Publishing, “Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography.”
The last two Oscars telecasts, which were produced by Zadan and Meron, received a major spike in the ratings. The 86th Oscars was TV’s most-watched entertainment event in 10 years and attracted the biggest viewership since 2000, with more than 45 million viewers. The show resulted in dramatic gains in younger demos and social media conversation, with more than one billion impressions generated on Twitter and 25 million interactions happening on Facebook on Oscar Sunday. Additionally, the star-studded “selfie” became the most retweeted photo of all time with 32.8 million views.
The Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 4 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
87th Oscars Social Media Guide
Follow the Academy, Oscars producers and host Neil Patrick Harris for the latest updates throughout Oscar season.
Sony Pictures Classics has sent us the new theatrical trailer and photos from director Bennett Miller’s film FOXCATCHER, starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller and Anthony Michael Hall.
Based on true events, FOXCATCHER tells the dark and fascinating story of the unlikely and ultimately tragic relationship between eccentric multi-millionaire John du Pont and two champion wrestlers, Mark and Dave Schultz.
FOXCATCHER is a rich and moving story of brotherly love, misguided loyalty and the corruption and emotional bankruptcy that can accompany great power and wealth. As with Academy Award nominee Bennett Miller’s previous feature films, CAPOTE and MONEYBALL, he explores large themes in society through his complex character portraits of real people.
Steve Carell’s fans will be surprised to see him in a role as dark and challenging as John du Pont, a man of immense wealth and power whose downward spiral culminates in murder and imprisonment.
Miller, winner for Best Director at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, knew from the outset that the actor could play awkward, eccentric, and even violent. He also knew that it was useless to try and cast a conventional or expected actor in the role of a character whose nature was so unexpected.
“Nobody believed what du Pont was capable of,” says Miller. “But when I met Carell I realized how many layers there are to him – he is one of those actors with a public self and a private self. And you never see the private self, ever. I thought those protected, guarded areas might help him to relate to this character in some way.”
To prepare for the exacting role, Carell studied du Pont’s physical demeanor and speaking manner by watching hours of the Team Foxcatcher video footage Miller provided his cast. “I listened to his cadence — not only how he spoke physically, but the actual words he chose to express himself,” says Carell. “Bennett would sometimes have us improvise, so I allowed room for that. But there were certain affectations that were specific to him which I thought were important and lead with.”
His fellow actors were unprepared for the total transformation Carell brought when he arrived on set, already in character. “When Steve first walked out as du Pont, it gave me a shiver,” says Ruffalo. “In the thousands of hours of video footage I watched to prepare myself, two hundred of them included Dave interacting with du Pont in a coaching capacity. So I became very intimate with that man — who he was, how he sounded, how he moved. Steve’s ability to capture the physical qualities of du Pont was creepy and uncanny.”
Check out Carell’s Oscar chances over at Gold Derbyas the pundits predict the upcoming awards race.
FOXCATCHER opens in theaters November 14.
Photos by Scott Garfield, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
Starz finalized another deal at Toronto International Film Festival with the pick-up of the psychological thriller EVERY SECRET THING.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Amy Berg and based on the 2004 novel of the same name, EVERY SECRET THING stars Diane Lane, Elizabeth Banks, Dakota Fanning, Danielle MacDonald, Common and Nate Parker. Pick up includes all distribution rights for the U.S and will include a theatrical release and a pay TV premiere on STARZ. WME Global negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.
“This is an amazing film,” said Kevin Kasha, head of acquisitions for Starz. “It’s a gripping story with a great cast and we’re excited to have it on STARZ and to handle distribution via Starz Digital Media and Anchor Bay.”
“Every Secret Thing is a remarkable collaboration of females in film and offers a unique look into the minds of teenagers,” commented Amy Berg. “I am so pleased it will be in theatres in the spring.”
When a three-year-old girl goes missing, a small suburban New York town must revisit a tragic crime from seven years earlier. The underage perpetrators of the original crime, Alice Manning and Ronnie Fuller (Danielle Macdonald and Dakota Fanning), have been released from prison after coming of age and, justly or unjustly, come under suspicion once again. Detective Porter (Elizabeth Banks), who cracked the original case and is now the investigating officer of the missing girl, must examine her conscience and her deeply conflicted memories of the former crime. Alice’s mother, Helen Manning (Diane Lane), is given a chance to save her daughter from her complicated past.
The consequences of the original crime and of the current missing child investigation put into question the characters’ motivations and culpability – past and present. EVERY SECRET THING is a psychological thriller that also questions our judgment of the socio-economic fabric of suburban America. It allows the audience a complex portrait of murder and murderer, thought and deed.
EVERY SECRET THING was produced by Anthony Bregman (Begin Again, Enough Said) and Frances McDormand. Executive producers are Palmstar’s Kevin Frakes, Merced Media’s Raj Singh and Stuart Brown, Hyde Park’s Ashok Amritraj, Likely Story’s Stefanie Azpiazu, and Michael Bederman.
Today at a Time Warner investors meeting, Warner Bros.’ Chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara outlined an aggressive content strategy for the Studio aimed at increasing profits while “doubling down on outstanding content, working with the best talent and maintaining the culture that makes Warner Bros. so great.”
As part of his presentation, Tsujihara announced a bold expansion of the industry’s broadest theatrical slate, built around the largest, most important global franchises.
Warner Bros. Pictures will release three LEGO-branded films over the next four years, building upon the enormous success of this year’s “The LEGO Movie” ($468 million worldwide box office), starting with “Ninjago” in 2016, directed by Charlie Bean and produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
Batman will take a star turn in “The LEGO Batman Movie” in 2017, directed by Chris McKay, and the sequel, “The LEGO Movie 2,” will debut in 2018.
The Studio will release three pictures, in 2016, 2018 and 2020, based on best-selling author J.K. Rowling’s original story and screenwriting debut, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” Set in an extension of her familiar wizarding world, featuring magical creatures and characters inspired by Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbook and its fictitious author, Newt Scamander, “Fantastic Beasts” will be directed by David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter movies, and reunite the filmmaking team of David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram.
And, in a massive expansion of the Studio’s DC Entertainment-branded content, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema will release a slate of at least 10 movies—as well as stand-alone Batman and Superman films—from 2016 through 2020 that expands this prized universe of characters:
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” directed by Zack Snyder (2016) “Suicide Squad,” directed by David Ayer (2016) “Wonder Woman,” starring Gal Gadot (2017) “Justice League Part One,” directed by Zack Snyder, with Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Amy Adams reprising their roles (2017) “The Flash,” starring Ezra Miller (2018) “Aquaman,” starring Jason Momoa (2018) “Shazam” (2019) “Justice League Part Two,” directed by Zack Snyder (2019) “Cyborg,” starring Ray Fisher (2020) “Green Lantern” (2020)
On the television front, Warner Bros. Television Group is the undisputed industry leader, providing 32 shows to the five broadcast networks and an overall roster of more than 60 shows among network, cable, first-run syndication and animation. WBTVG will grow its leadership across multiple fronts, including cable, premium platform and kids programming as well as further its precedent-setting activities in SVOD and international television production and format sales.
Among the Studio’s programs are network TV’s #1 entertainment series in “The Big Bang Theory” and #1 unscripted series in “The Voice,” as well as favorites such as “Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Gotham,” “The Middle,” “Mom,” “Pretty Little Liars,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “The Bachelor” franchise, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and many more.
For Turner, Warner Horizon Television’s “Rizzoli & Isles” and Warner Bros. Television’s “Major Crimes” are two of the top three scripted series on all of basic cable for 2014, and the #1 and #2 shows, respectively, on TNT. The Studio has a number of future projects set up at TNT, including a pilot production order for an untitled drama set in the unpredictable world of the Florida cocaine trade in the 1970s, from Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Bay and Michelle Ashford, and is in development on “Titans,” from Academy Award-winner Akiva Goldsman and Marc Haimes, based upon the DC Comics characters.
At HBO, WBTV’s first series for the premium television company, the critically acclaimed “The Leftovers,” debuted this summer and has already been picked up for a second season. WBTV has also produced the pilot “Westworld,” from executive producers J.J. Abrams, Jonathan Nolan, Jerry Weintraub and Lisa Joy, and starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris and Evan Rachel Wood, and has a number of other projects in development at the company.
THE ROARING TWENTIES screens this Friday night, October 17th at 7:30 at Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium
THE ROARING TWENTIES is at heart a swansong to a decade and one of the greatest of all gangster flicks. James Cagney and Raoul Walsh, the star and director team behind 1949’s masterpiece WHITE HEAT teamed up here for the first time. Cagney’s trademark persona is expertly captured by Walsh’s camera, and the story ties in all the classic gangster film elements including love, business, gunfights, rivalry and the male ego. The plot follows three WWI veterans; one of which becomes a lawyer, another a bootlegger and the third (Cagney) the owner of a Taxi firm. The latter finds a lucrative business, which involves him brewing and selling alcohol, which was illegal at the time under the prohibition act.
James Cagney is definitely the star of THE ROARING TWENTIES, but bubbling just beneath him is an excellent Humphrey Bogart. Cagney’s ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES co-star turns in another excellent supporting turn here, which just hints at the acclaim he would go on to achieve. It’s always interesting to see an actor before they really hit the big time, and Bogart’s performance is one of the main attractions in THE ROARING TWENTIES. One of the things I loved about the way that the story is executed are the news reel bulletins that pop up every now and again to inform the audience of the wider plot developments. These give the film a very retro sort of feel, which also help it in its bid to remind viewers of the era (at the time of release) that had just gone by.
Now lucky St. Louis-area classic film fans can revisit the decade when THE ROARING TWENTIES screens this Friday night, October 17th at 7:30 at Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium (470 E. Lockwood Ave.)
Tickets
Unless otherwise noted, admission is:
$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$4 for Webster University staff and faculty
Free for Webster students with proper ID.
For more information call (314) 968-7487.
Webster University’s Film Series site can be found HERE
WHIPLASH has had the film festival circuit buzzing for some time, and is finally in select theaters, with a wider release this Friday. Recently, WAMG attended the Los Angeles press day where writer/director Damien Chazelle joined stars Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons and Melissa Benoist talked to a small room of press about the film. Check it out below!
Andrew Neyman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher, an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man’s life. Andrew’s passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his ability—and his sanity.
Do you think artists actually want this kind of pressure that Fletcher delivers?
MILES TELLER : I do think that for me the greatest success that I’ve had on a particular project or in exploring a role does come through collaboration. I wouldn’t want to do a movie where everything I do the director just says, “Good job,” and then I am under-directed. At the same time, I’ve done movies where I felt like I was kind of over-handled and over-directed and I didn’t feel like I was able to do some stuff that I wanted to. So I think it’s a fine line but at the end of the day you do, at least I do, need somebody to kind of see what I’m doing because, especially in film, even though I’m feeling it right here, it’s not playing that way in the camera. So for sure, for me, I do like directors that really will kind of inspire me with ideas and give me something to kind of chew on during the scene and something to get a better performance.
J.K. SIMMONS : God, I hope not. I mean, masochists do. I completely agree with feeling the need or the benefits of being pushed and of being directed on a project and collaborating. The kind of manipulation and abuse, I think, has no place in life.
Can you talk about putting your blood, sweat and tears into this film? And was what we heard in the film all you or was it sweetened?
MILES TELLER : I guess Damien could talk to you a little bit about that because I was not in the editing room for all of it. I hope it was sweetened a little bit because at the end of the day Andrew becomes a much better drummer than Miles was, although I have a pretty good skill set with it and it’s something that absolutely through hours of practice I got to a pretty good place with it. I started getting blisters. It’s funny because when I read the script there’s all this talk of, “And the blood splatters on the cymbals,” and all this stuff. I would come onto set sometimes and I would look at the drum kit and there’s all this blood there. And I literally to Damien would be like, “That’s too much. No way. Let’s get that off. It’s too much blood.” And he goes, “No, man. When I was playing, all my drumsticks were covered in blood. This is real. This is truthful.” So yeah, I started getting some bloody blisters and I was bandaging them up and stuff. Just the nature of filming a movie like this in 19 days with very intense drumming sequences, a lot of that sweat is real and that’s great because you don’t have to act when you’re actually kind of playing to exhaustion. I remember J.K. told me to hold back a little bit. He’s like, “Man, we’re going to have a couple takes of this. You should save some.” And then I was like, “Yeah, you’re right.” “Damien, what are you doing, man? I need to save some.” So a lot of it was kind of life imitating art which was nice. As far as the sound goes…
DAMIEN CHAZELLE : I think Miles said everything. Certainly we did a lot of work in the editing room. So a lot of it is just sort of raw stuff from on set and a lot of it is from pre-records. But everything that you see in the movie pretty much with the exception of a few shots is this guy.
How much rehearsal prep was there for the acting scenes and how many takes did you do?
DAMIEN CHAZELLE : [Laughs] They like to joke about… Certainly when you have this kind of schedule we didn’t have that many takes at our disposal. We didn’t have time to rehearse. So the first time Miles and Melissa ever met was the first day of shooting. First time Miles and J.K. met was… I think we did one read-through, we were able to do of the script.
MILES TELLER : J.K. didn’t even remember I was there. Or did you not remember doing it?
J.K. SIMMONS : Was I there?
MILES TELLER : [Laughs] You don’t remember doing it?
DAMIEN CHAZELLE : This is how much my actors really care about these things. So certainly everything was kind of short-changed and you worry about that in the moment. But when you have people like the people at this table, they just sort of brought it every day. There’s a lot of stuff in the movie that we knew we had to get in one or two takes in order to allow for the things that we just knew we’d have to do many takes of. For example, referring to the scene where J.K. is circling through the three drummers was done mainly kind of as a single take that was done over and over and over again without cutting. We sort of set it up so that we would just roll the camera and the camera would just roam around it — two cameras, actually, roaming around — and we did probably 12 or 15 takes of that and it’s like a five-minute scene. So by the end, I think you were pretty pissed, Miles, by the end.
What about the drum solo, did you do it more than once?
DAMIEN CHAZELLE : Yeah, the big drum solo, we did one kind of master of it and then everything else is so fragmented. I had storyboarded everything out and done an animatic to it and everything so I knew kind of, “Okay, Miles, we’re going to do measures 16 to 18 right now.” “Okay, cut. Now, we’re going to go to the cymbal and do the coda of the song.” “Okay, now we’re going to do the bridge twice through from this lower angle.” So we kind of played it out that way. But I remember the real trick with the solo for J.K. and for Miles was continuity because we only had extras as audience members in the theater for six hours so everything pointing in that direction had to be done at once. And then you kind of flip around. These band members we wanted to let go and then we wanted to let Miles go and do the band members and let J.K. go. So you wind up scheduling everything…
MILES TELLER : I’m so glad I didn’t have to think about all that crap that you have to think about when we were doing that [laughs]. Oh my God. It’s stressing me out just hearing you talk about it.
DAMIEN CHAZELLE : You’d be like on Miles and be like, “Okay, now we’ve got to do the end of the solo right now, so Miles has to be dripping with sweat.” “Okay, now we’ve got to go back to like the very beginning of the song so Miles doesn’t have sweat yet.” I just have these wonderful images of an entire like posse of makeup people descending on Miles every time we’d re-set up.
J.K. SIMMONS : Just one dude with a hose. [Laughs]
What did you draw on for inspiration to create these characters? What was your reaction when you first read the script?
J.K. SIMMONS : There was no conscious role model or anything that I used. I read the script and it was all there on the page. It was all there. I just felt like I understood it and I would be able to be the guy to help lift it off the page. Then once we started shooting, Miles and I just really settled into a rhythm and had a good time in, as we’ve referred to, 19 days. It was pretty much bing, bang, boom. We just went and did it. Damien turned on a camera or whatever the hell he does [laughs].
MILES TELLER : For me, same thing. A lot of people have been asking me because this movie is pretty autobiographical for Damien, they say, “Well, did you ask him advice about the character?” and all this stuff. I said, “Not really.” I asked Damien absolutely some technical questions with drumming because he is a better jazz drummer than I am. So I was using him for that as much as I could. But for the character, it was all there on the page. It was very clear what Andrew Neiman was all about. It was probably the most clear for him as any character that I’ve ever done — a lot of characters, a lot of different things going on and this and that. But for Andrew, he wants to be the greatest drummer of all time and that’s really his sole desire. And then other than that, just dealing with this guy every day on set.
Your musical background… if you didn’t have rhythm on this movie would be a disaster.
MILES TELLER : You would be really surprised because J.K. did a pretty good job.
Is there anybody, a coach, director, teacher that drove you in your career?
MILES TELLER : Yeah, my mom use to drive me everyday to school for a long time, and then I started driving, so I drove myself. [laughs] I started piano when I was like six and my two older sisters both played instruments. My sister Danielle was like 18 months older than me. Anything I would do she would do and vise versa. I mean she was the only girl playing in boys little league baseball and she played on my team, she was really good. She was just…she was better at piano than I was, she played the clarinet I played the saxophone, she was better at woodwind player than I was. Then I started moving away from that stuff into guitar and drumming and playing in some bands and stuff. Everywhere I went my drums went with me, I went to NYU, a very small dorm and I had my drum kit, and now in my house, three miles from here I have my drum kit. Yeah, I never really had a music teacher like that. There is a piano teacher that tried to push me, but I was eleven and I say “Its not worth it,” so I quit, taking lessons and just started listening to music. And then with sports I had a baseball coach that yelled just for the sake of yelling, It seemed like, and that did nothing because we did not respect him because we just did not know where he was coming from. With J.K. you can understand where he is coming from he is not just a guy yelling you know, kind of very funny vulgar statements at people all day, because nobody cares about that guy.
J.K. SIMMONS : You are talking about J.K. not…
MILES TELLER : Yeah, no I am just talking about J.K. off set [laughter] when they didn’t have [can’t make out] at craft services, or when they ran out…
J.K. SIMMONS : And I think it worked out, okay.
MILES TELLER : I had a driver ed teacher that had severe issues with anger, as if it was going to make us a better driver. I was like “Dude, we are like 15 we just trying to get our licence.” This guy was so pissed.
At the end of this movie was sort for remarkably poetic, how eager or maybe reluctant are you personally to romanticise the notion of being subjected to something that you not only survive, but you sort of transcend and reach another type of artistic or personal level?
J.K. SIMMONS : Damien that sounded like a smart guy question.
DAMIEN CHAZELLE : Okay. I mean yeah, I will jump in first. It is tough because the movie operates in teh screen differently than it did not the page for me, and I think that is because the music itself is not on the page. When writing it i think in my mind it was certainly more a tragic ending than a victorious ending, and really it ended in someone kind of gladly returning to an abusive relationship, and on the screen it is interesting, because on the screen you film a great drum solo to that kind of music and it does something. So I hope that there is still the question that is kind of you know, my hope through the scene it to give you a certain amount of a kinetic rush, but leave you with a question that maybe makes that rush a little more troubling. You know my hope is that that still kind of lingers in there.
J.K. SIMMONS : That was something that I know Damien had in mind from the beginning. as you just said that was one of the first things we talked about when we met and sat down, and thought that we were pitching ourselves to each other for the job, because I wanted to do it and he wanted me to do it. We were like, anyway… It was the ambiguity, that his point was to inspire discussion and debate and not decide are we happy for Andrew, or are we lamenting his loss of humanity at the end of the film? And I think based on the reception and the discussions that we have been involved in so far, I think that is what we have achieved. Plus, it is just like, awesomely entertaining to end a film with a ten minute drum solo.
One thing that I thought was really beautiful of Andrew’s was his determination…
MELISSA BENOIST : I definitely think, for me the whole digital technical age is really overwhelming and kind of a terrifying thing, so I hope there is a way to remain an artist and to not have to publicise yourself on so many fronts, just let it speak for itself. I think that is what I think is so special about this movie, you know that it’s all Andrew is doing, and I don’t know.
DAMIEN CHAZELLE : I think it is also funny, certainly it was also very conscious in terms how I wrote Andrew and how Miles played him. Andrew is kind of an acronyism, I mean he is not really interested in contemporary drummers, and I wasn’t when I was growing up. I was interested in Jo Jones and Chick Webb and Buddy Rich and Sid Catlett.
MILES TELLER : Travis Barker…
DAMIEN CHAZELLE : Miles and I differ there. [laughter] And so it was important to me that this was a kid that the pictures on this wall were black and white; the music he was listening to was mostly from the 70’s or earlier; he held his sticks with traditional grip whereas almost all drummers today use matched grip; he angles his snare drum down, like the old military style whereas most modern drummers angle his snare drum up. So all these little things were important, he is a guy who lives with in this artistic bubble that almost has nothing to do with temporary life. Which means that every time he exits his bubble and goes to the dinner table, or goes to… he is met with indifference, or worse.
MILES TELLER : I think what’s tough for an actor, especially a young actor, is you just want to work. Very few actors, I think, are truly steering their career, because it is tough. If all you want to do was independent films, do they give you the most control over a character, and a lot of times do they have the most integrity? Yeah. You don’t make any kind of money really from that. I remember Joe Pantoliano came to my class when I was in college and people were asking his advice on how you do movies, and he said, ‘My advice for you guys is do three movies a year – do one for the money; do one for the art; do one for the location,’ and he said you’ll be happy. So, hopefully you can balance it out or can do some things – maybe you want to go on vacation, maybe you want to live in a bigger apartment – so you can hopefully do something to make yourself happy, but at the end of the day, we picked art as a job and as an income, so the line gets a little blurry there sometimes.
J.K. SIMMONS : Yeah, the art/commerce line definitely gets blurred. But as far as modern…I’m not on Facebook or Twitter or any of that just because I’m a dinosaur and I’m lazy.
MILES TELLER : But you have started DJ-ing. (Laughter)
J.K. SIMMONS : Oh, yeah, I’ve been doing that a lot. (Laughter) Me and my 15-year-old. Yeah.
MILES TELLER : Have you been pressured to get on Twitter and that stuff?
J.K. SIMMONS : Just by Twitter. (Laughter)
In drum corps world, instructors worse than Fletcher…how important was it to convey the pressure put upon students?
DAMIEN CHAZELLE : It is interesting the different, even as a script, reactions the script would often get. People who hadn’t been drummers or hadn’t been to music school or hadn’t been in that kind of competitive world, the question was always, ‘They can’t…they can’t be like this.’ And I remember at the same time I was showing it to drummers, one who was a drummer at Lincoln Center and worked with Wynton Marsalis, and he had complained as well, but the complaint was exactly the opposite; it was, ‘It doesn’t go far enough,’ and, ‘It was worse for me.’ So, I think what’s fascinating is that there’s this whole side of the world that most people just don’t know about. A lot of music movies fit into a certain mold, but it was important to me that, if nothing else, this music movie was going to showcase things I hadn’t seen before in music movie – the blood, the physicality of it. We don’t think of instruments as physical – we think of dance as physical; we think of sports as musical; but music we don’t. Trumpeters screw their lips up, violinists screw their backs up, and drummers screw their hands up. So that was really important. And otherwise, I had a teacher like J.K., and it made me a better drummer. But I also, as a humanist, can’t condone what he does, and I wanted to make the character as monstrous as possible so that it’s as hard as possible to condone what he does. It’s undeniable that it’s a big part of jazz and music history, this kind of streak of tyranny leading to great musicianship.
J.K. SIMMONS : That kind of pisses me off actually that [other instructors] were worse than me. Especially after I met Miles, I wanted to go farther. (Laughter) I think Damien and I have very similar philosophies there, and again, that’s the debate; I love that this movie is inspiring that debate: How far is too far? How much is too much? Is it worth it? I’ve made the comparison before, this kind of relentless abuse might be necessary and appropriate if you’re training Navy SEALs; I don’t know if it’s appropriate in music school. But it’s there! And it can be productive. There’s no denying that. From my own perspective, I’d rather have a pretty girlfriend than go work with this guy and my hands bleed all the time. I would’ve made a different choice.
The Park Is Open on June 12th. Universal Pictures has released the official logo for JURASSIC WORLD.
Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt star in the long-awaited next installment of Steven Spielberg’s groundbreaking “Jurassic Park” series.
Colin Trevorrow directs the epic action-adventure from a draft of the screenplay he wrote with Derek Connolly. Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley join the team as fellow producers, and Spielberg returns to executive produce.
JURASSIC WORLD will be released in 3D by Universal Pictures on June 12, 2015.
The BIG HERO 6 original motion picture soundtrack will be available at digital retail on November 4 and on CD November 24 and features an original song, “Immortals” from Fall Out Boy.
The soundtrack includes score from Henry Jackman (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain Phillips” and “Wreck-It-Ralph”). Pre-order for the album begins today.
Fall Out Boy was tapped to write and perform the song for the film’s sequence in which the “Big Hero 6” team is transformed from a group of super smart individuals to a band of high-tech heroes. “The idea of this kid stepping up on behalf of his brother is what inspired the song’s title ‘Immortals,'” says Patrick Stump. “Your victories aren’t exclusively yours, so the fact that all of these people are coming together to help him get to the finish line is really exciting.”
“They’re testing out their new super suits for the first time in the scene,” says Pete Wentz. “Some of it works—some of it doesn’t. You get the sense that they’re stepping into a bigger role. The story’s in the DNA of Fall Out Boy. It is an authentic story and it’s who our band is—we’ve always identified with the underdog.”
Jackman used a 77-piece orchestra and created a score that celebrates the comic-book style action of “Big Hero 6,” the embracing of technology and, of course, the special relationships that are forming. “It’s very important to me in a score like this when there’s a lot of emotional content, as well as heroism and jeopardy and the rest, to allow the musicians to play together. If you can put everyone in a room together, it’s great. They bounce off each other. Music is really the emotion of the movie, beautifully stitching the scenes together,” says director Don Hall. “We wanted a score that was melodic with prominent themes, while pushing technical boundaries with electronica music, too. Henry Jackman was able to weave it all together brilliantly.”
From Walt Disney Animation Studios, the team behind “Frozen” and “Wreck-It-Ralph,” comes “Big Hero 6,” an action-packed comedy-adventure about the special bond that develops between Baymax (voice of Scott Adsit), a plus-sized inflatable robot, and prodigy Hiro Hamada (voice of Ryan Potter). When a devastating event befalls the city of San Fransokyo and catapults Hiro into the midst of danger, he turns to Baymax and his close friends adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago (voice of Jamie Chung), neatnik Wasabi (voice ofDamon Wayans Jr.), chemistry whiz Honey Lemon (voice of Genesis Rodriguez) and fanboy Fred (voice of T.J. Miller). Determined to uncover the mystery, Hiro transforms his friends into a band of high-tech heroes called “Big Hero 6.” Inspired by the Marvel comics of the same name, and featuring breathtaking action with all the heart and humor audiences expect from Walt Disney Animation Studios, “Big Hero 6” is directed by Don Hall (“Winnie the Pooh”) and Chris Williams (“Bolt”), and produced by Roy Conli (“Tangled”). The film hits theaters in 3D on Nov. 7, 2014.
TheBIG HERO 6soundtrack is set for release at digital retail Nov. 4 and on CD Nov. 24, 2014 and is available for pre-order beginning today. A special bundle featuring a Baymax 7″ vinyl single, the soundtrack CD and poster is now available for pre-order at Disney Music Emporium: http://smarturl.it/bhsva1.
For more information on Walt Disney Records’ releases, like on Facebook.com/ disneymusic or follow at Twitter.com/disneymusic. To purchase Disney music, visit the online store at www.disneymusicstore.com.
