Tom Cruise’s collaboration with Christopher McQuarrie (director of Jack Reacher & Valkyrie) continues, as Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions have announced the fifth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise has started principal photography. McQuarrie, who also penned the Cruise flick Edge of Tomorrow, wrote the new film with scribes Drew Pearce, Will Staples.
Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol vets Jeremy Renner, along with M:I staples Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames are returning for another round with Ethan Hunt (Cruise). New cast members include Alec Baldwin and Rebecca Ferguson.
Released in December 2011, Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol earned nearly $700 million worldwide, making it Cruise’s highest grossing film of his career.
The new movie will shoot in London, Morocco, and Vienna. Cruise first played Ethan Hunt in 1996’s Mission: Impossible, a Brian De Palma directed feature which had Hunt going toe to toe with previous M:I icon Jim Phelps (Jon Voight).
EA Sports has announced that Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard will serve as the cover athlete for NBA Live 15. Named Rookie of the Year in 2013, Lillard is the next generation of tough nosed Oakland guards to flourish in the NBA, following such storied predecessors as Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, and Brian Shaw.
What sets Lillard apart from the pack (and makes him a great choice for cover athlete) lies not only in his impressive skill level (he’s can play both guard positions and is a dead eye clutch shooter) but also in his laser focused work ethic.
Lillard, who has worked with the NBA Live team for over two years, posted a video on his Instagram account and the following statement:
So thankful for being named the @EASportsInsider #NBALIVE15 cover athlete. I’ve been playing the game since the 16-bit days, so you know this is a dream come true! Hard work has led to so many great things for me and I’m not even close to satisfied. #CoverAthlete #1stBlazerOnTheCover #ItsInTheGame #RipCity #LillardTime
With a great nucleus that also includes the sweet shooting LaMarcus Aldridge and defensive stopper Nicolas Batum, the Portland Trail Blazers are easy favorites to make a deeper run in the playoffs. Speaking of getting better, NBA Live 15 comes with over 500 “core gameplay improvements” and new real-time physics to give ballers from all walks of life a more realistic feel to their gaming experience.
Although I’m a diehard Los Angeles Clippers and Chris Paul fan, it’s hard not to pull for the hard working Weber State star. Lillard is doing a great job representing Rip City and, along with Kyrie Irving, is spearheading the next generation of scoring adept (but team oriented) point guards. Hopefully NBA Live 15, which comes out October 7 for Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, will be just as tight as Lillard’s game.
For more info on Lillard’s background and his dedication to Portland and Oakland, check out his interview with Gary Payton below:
Director Brian De Palma’s lifelong obsessions (sexual betrayal and manipulation, JFK’s assassination, Alfred Hitchcock) coupled with his unique visual aesthetic, are in full bloom with Phantom of the Paradise, and Shout! Factory has released a 2-Disc Blu-ray set befitting the movie’s ambitious scope.
Originally co-penned by De Palma and Louisa Rose, Phantom of the Paradise had been stirring in De Palma’s brain since 1969. After moniker changes due to lawsuits (it was originally titled Phantom of the Fillmore and then just plain Phantom) and a creative disagreement with Rose, De Palma rewrote Rose’s sections of the script, worked out a suitable name for the film, and forged ahead.
The result is De Palma at his baroque best, as the filmmaker blends horror and musical genres to create an eviscerating look at the uneasy (and in De Palma’s case, destructive) marriage between art and commerce.
Late actor William Finley, whose extensive collaboration with De Palma includes Sisters, The Fury, and The Black Dahlia, is Winslow Leach, a composer whose lyrical work doesn’t mesh with the pop music/rock vagaries of the day. Winslow’s dreams of seeing his songs take center stage takes a tragic spin when an evil record tycoon named Swan (Paul Williams who penned Phantom’s songs and score) bastardizes Winslow’s vision and transforms the tunes into a garish display spearheaded by a pop group known as the Juicy Fruits (Archie Hahn, Jeffrey Comanor, Harold Oblong).
Phantom of the Paradise – Shout! Factory
After taking a beating from Swan’s goons and getting his face disfigured from an accident, Winslow dons a phantom mask to haunt Swan and his performers (a split screen sequence, which has Phantom planting a bomb inside a stage crew designed vehicle, is one of the film’s most visually arresting moments).
Jessica Harper is Phoenix, a silk voiced ingenue who serves as Winslow’s muse. Even though Swan is his mortal enemy, Winslow’s lust and admiration for Phoenix (he tells her that he wouldn’t let his “personal desires” influence his “aesthetic judgment”) wins out, and he enters a Faustian bargain with Swan that leads to heartbreaking results.
If Shout! Factory simply released the high-definition transfer of Phantom of the Paradise, I’d still be in hog heaven. Thankfully, they have littered this edition with tons of special features. Here’s just a few of the treasures that await Phantom of the Paradise fans and future initiates:
Paradise Regained – This is a 50 plus minute look at the making of Phantom of the Paradise and is the first feature I’d take a peek at. Each chapter is broken down to interviews with Brian De Palma, producer Edward R. Pressman, William Finley, Paul Williams, Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham and other members of the cast.
Brian De Palma Interview (36 minutes) – A must see interview with the director, as he explains the importance of visualizing a movie and why he’s not a huge fan of directors who simply shoot coverage. “I have a very definite way of shooting things and when I write a scene or have an idea for a movie,” says De Palma in the feature. “I have a very direct, important place for the camera to be or a way to structure a series of images and I think about it quite a lot.”
Paul Williams Interview (30 minutes) – Although Phantom of the Paradise is De Palma’s brainchild, a huge portion of the movie’s soul comes from Paul Williams’ music and “devilish” (spoiler alert!) performance as Swan. During the interview, he cites the Phantom song “Old Souls” (sung by Jessica Harper) as one of his two favorite compositions which, considering his prolific work, says a ton.
Guillermo Del Toro & Paul Williams Conversation – Clocking in at 72 minutes, Del Toro is a huge Phantom of the Paradise fan, and he’s collaborating with Williams on a stage version of Pan’sLabyrinth. Thus, the pair have a mutual shorthand, and the talk is an informative look on Williams’ creative process as well as Del Toro’s passion for Phantom (at one point, he considered naming his daughter Phoenix). It’s also great to hear the pair randomly geek out over actor Montgomery Clift (“Before he says a word, before he makes a move, you feel (Clift’s) pain,” says Williams).
Other special features include audio commentary from the cast and crew (which includes Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham, Jeffrey Comanor, and Harold Oblong), 40 minutes worth of alternate takes, TV & Radio spots, a still gallery, theatrical trailer, and interviews with production designer Jack Fisk drummer Garry Mallaber, producer Edward R. Pressman, and quick clip of William Finley promoting a rare Phantom of the Paradise doll.
Jessica Harper, William Finley as Phoenix and the Phantom in ‘Phantom of the Paradise’ (Shout! Factory)
Phantom of the Paradise is a perfect example of Brian De Palma’s successful collaborations with musicians and songwriters. Williams, as witnessed from his work with The Carpenters, Three Dog Night, and even Diamond Rio (“You’re Gone”), knows how to write and compose an evocative tune, and that melancholic tone serves as the perfect balance to De Palma’s audacious and stylized filmmaking.
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De Palma’s own personal attachment to Winslow Leach is, upon closer view, a rather obvious one. Winslow Leach would rather craft elaborate cantatas than subject himself to penning pop jingles, and De Palma is happiest when left to his own creative devices.
Although he’s directed excellent studio driven projects such as Scarface, Mission Impossible, and The Untouchables, much of his creative bliss lies in writing and directing intensely personal and suspense filled narratives (Sisters, Raising Cain, Dressed to Kill, and the woefully overlooked Femme Fatale are pure, De Palma driven cinema)..
Back in 2002, I interviewed De Palma for Femme Fatale, and in the following clip, he talked about why music is a huge influence in his storytelling:
Phantom of the Paradise is now out on Blu-ray, and you can order it online via Shout! Factory through this link.
Guardians of the Galaxy continued its box-office dominance, as it took in $17.6 million to beat out newcomers If I Stay (#3, $16.3 million), When The Game Stands Tall (#5, $9 million), and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (#8, $6.47 million).
The weekend’s biggest surprise was the tepid box-office numbers for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. Although the film continues the film noir, gritty graphic novel spirit of Sin City, Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez didn’t strike oil the second time around. A huge reason for the film’s tepid reception is that sometimes absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder (Sin City came out in 2005), and audience members have apparently moved on (or will just wait when the movie hits digital, DVD, & Blu-ray).
I actually loved Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and hope it gets a fair shake down the road. Here’s the top 10:
Guardians of the Galaxy – Groot, Star-Lord, and his buddies collect even more dough for Marvel, as the flick made $17.63 million.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – $16.8 million
If I Stay – Chloë Grace Moretz tearjerker does a solid $16.35 in its first weekend.
Let’s Be Cops – Budgeted at $17 million, Let’s Be Cops is a sleeper hit with a $45.25 domestic haul. This weekend, it turned in $11 million.
When the Game Stands Tall – Football film starring Jim Caviezel and Michael Chiklis debuts with $9 million.
The Giver– $6.73 million
The Expendables 3 – The third time wasn’t the charm. A $6.6 million showing in its second weekend is, for lack of a better word, expendable.
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For – She may be worth killing for, but is she worth watching? A poor showing of $6.47 million proves otherwise.
With almost 30 years of songwriting under their belt Erasurecontinues to expand their music horizons. Their new single “Elevation” receives a remix treatment from revered electronic artist BT, and the track, which also includes interpretations from Cutmore and Club Clique will be released September 15. “Elevation” is also available on iTunes pre-order.
Erasure’s busy 2014 includes the September 23 release of their album The Violet Flame, which had Vince Clarke and Andy Bell finding their creative muse in Miami’s sun drenched surroundings. “All that we said was that we’d like to make an uptempo dance record,” said Bell. “And that’s how it came out.”
Along with the standard release, The Violet Flame will also come out as a 2CD edition which features Erasure’s live performance at Mute’s Short Circuit festival in 2011. Exclusive 3CD deluxe box sets and a VIP ticket bundle are also up for grabs, and more info can be found here.
The “Elevation” remixes are catchy and addicting (I’ve got “Your love gets higher/Your love gets higher” stuck in my head), and the remix tracks can be heard below:
Erasure embarks on The Violet Flame Tour starting September 12 in Miami. To check out their domestic and internation concert schedule, which includes stops in Chicago (October 3-4, Chicago Theatre w/ All Hail The Silence), Los Angeles (October 24-25, Hollywood Palladium w/ Superhumanoids), and London (December 14-15, Forum), go to http://www.erasureinfo.com/concerts/.
Kevin Durant is arguably the NBA’s most intimidating scorer due to several obvious factors. When you’ve got the height of a center, the fleet feet of a point guard, and the wiry athleticism of a small forward, you’d be virtually unstoppable. Blessed with a team first and iron will attitude, Durant is right up there with LeBron James when the “best player of the NBA” talks surface.
But even Durant needs a bit of motivation, especially before game time. During a conversation with NBA 2K15 Uncensored, the Oklahoma City Thunder forward cited Clipse’s “I’m Good” as a tune that always gets him on point.
“It just makes me feel right,” said Durant. “Every time I listen to it. Every game for like the last four years. That’s probably my theme song – my theme music when I walk into the arena, when I walk into the game. That’s my favorite song of all time.”
The video version Kevin Durant’s answer can be seen below:
NBA 2K15 is scheduled for an October 7 release in North America and will be out on the PS4, PS3, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 platforms. The game comes out October 10 internationally.
If you’re not familiar with Clipse’s music or haven’t heard KD’s favorite song, check out the video for “I’m Good” below:
The Chloë Grace Moretz weeper If I Staystood its ground on Friday by taking in $6.8 million at the box-office, beating out fellow newcomer Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, which took in just $2.62 million. Guardians of the Galaxy continues to rake in the bucks, as it made $4.8 million. Coming in third was the Jim Caviezel headlined football drama When The Game Stands Tall with a $3 million showing.
If I Stay, based on Gayle Forman’s book, centers on two musically inclined youths (Moretz, who spent seven months learning the cello, and Jamie Blackley) whose romance takes a tragic turn after Mia (Moretz) is involved in a car accident.
If I Stay should continue its momentum throughout the weekend, especially since movie fans don’t mind a mix of tears with their popcorn ( The Fault In Our Stars made over $124 million domestically).
In the clip below, Moretz explains how the life after death theme is handled with If I Can Stay:
Person of Intereststar Jim Caviezel, who starred as a shady warden last year in the Sylvester Stallone/Arnold Schwarzenegger feature Escape Plan, dons the white hat once again in the sports film When The Game Stands Tall.
In the fact based film, Caviezel plays Coach Bob Ladouceur (he’s known as Coach Lad), a man who led the De La Salle High School Spartans to 151 straight wins. When The Game Stands Tall also looks at how Coach Lad united his team through tragedy and heartache. Even in the darkest of times, Coach Lad relied on his resolve, family, and faith to carry the way.
Jim Caviezel’s didn’t take the role simply because the movie has a faith based message. “I took it because it’s a great story,” said Caviezel. “Does it have faith elements in it? Yes. But at the end of the day, so did To Kill A Mockingbird. So did Ben-Hur and Braveheart. I’m looking for stories that are moving to me that have some sort of redeemable quality to it.”
With a body of work that includes the first rate features The Thin Red Line, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Passion of the Christ, Caviezel has carved a creatively gratifying career. But before he became a movie star, the actor was a 21-year-old waiter looking for a little bit of direction. Thankfully, James Stewart was one of the men who stepped in his path.
Click on the audio below to hear Caviezel relay an important conversation he had with Stewart in regards to making movies.
When The Game Stands Tall, co-starring Michael Chiklis as assistant coach Terry Eidson, is now playing nationwide.
Two recent Warner Archive releases, Trialand Young Man With Ideas, feature Glenn Fordas well intentioned lawyers. Don’t expect a cookie cutter story from either film, however, as each release are blessed Ford’s acting versatility and engaging narratives.
If hard hitting dramas are your cup of tea, Trial packs a wallop. Glenn Ford is David Blake, a law professor who needs actual court experience to keep his day job. His desperation lands him in the hands of shady attorney Barney Castle (Arthur Kennedy, who received an Oscar nod for the role) and Barney’s ex-lover/secretary Abbe (Dorothy McGuire).
A 17-year-old youth named Angel Chavez (Rafael Campos) is on trial for a girl’s murder. Since Angel’s caught in a town poisoned by racists, his Hispanic roots could spell his doom. David immediately bonds with Angel and becomes a surrogate father figure, but the trial is compromised after David uncovers Barney’s Communist leanings. Directed by Mark Robson (Peyton Place, Von Ryan’s Express), Trial contains an inspired and showy performance from Kennedy, as Barney is more than willing to sacrifice Angel’s life to increase the Communist Party’s hold on the nation.
Trial – Warner Archive Collection
The entire ensemble, which includes Katy Jurado (HighNoon)as Angel’s mom, Juano Hernandez (Kiss Me Deadly) as the principled judge, and John Hodiak (Battleground)as the prosecutor, all do excellent work. Special mention goes to the palpable chemistry between Dorothy McGuire (The Spiral Staircase) and Ford. Both Abbe and David believe in making the world a better place, but for Abbe her road took a bit of a detour.
McGuire fills an exposition filled scene that could have gone sideways with conviction. There’s nothing about Abbe’s story, even if she’s a supporting player in the proceedings, that’s boring. And much of that credit goes to McGuire’s sheer believability in the role.
While the supporting players gets their moment in the sun, it’s Ford who serves as Trial’s narrative backbone. As always, he brings a reliable and sure-handed approach to the part. Although David Blake’s handling of the Angel Chavez case gets a bit shaky, Mr. Ford is always on steady ground. Trial is Manufactured On Demand and can be purchased at The Warner Archive Collection site.
Made in 1952, the 84-minute Young Man With Ideas is lighthearted fare, as Glenn Ford is Maxwell, a Montana legal researcher who quits his job and heads out to Los Angeles with his family in tow. Encouraged by loving wife Julie (Ruth Roman) to start over in California, he lands a job as a bill collector while spending his free time studying for the bar.
Their new digs is the former residence of a bookie, and when Julie accidentally takes a bet over the phone, their domestic bliss takes a momentary turn for the worse. Along with a mobster (Sheldon Leonard) on his tail, Maxwell also must pull away from the advances of law classmate Joyce (an astounding Nina Foch) and a French singer with money problems (Denise Darcel).
Each woman have their respective hold on Maxwell’s decision making, but eventually this affable and self deprecating chap must grow a backbone and end his passive ways. Ford proves he has a deft comedic touch in the feature, and he’s wonderful working opposite all of the actresses.
Young Man With Ideas – Warner Archive Collection
Nina Foch, who also starred that year in Scaramouche with Janet Leigh and Stewart Granger, is a total revelation as Maxwell’s fetching colleague. Foch had a long career in Hollywood and also spent years working as a renowned acting teacher, and her unpredictable and compelling delivery shines through in this predictable yet ultimately engaging comedy.
When Maxwell enters Julie’s (Foch) Los Angeles apartment, she’s seductively dressed to the nines. A happily married Maxwell is there to study for the bar exam, but Julie’s advances momentarily distract him as she walks into the living room to ask, “The fire still burning alright?” It’s a sexual innuendo that’s subtly played to the hilt from Foch, with Ford effectively lending support as the befuddled Maxwell. The beautifully shot and performed sequence between Ford and Foch can be seen in the preview clip below.
Although not as weighty as Trial, Young Man With Ideas has its share of moments, and along with my lifelong appreciation for Ford and Roman, I’m now a huge fan of Nina Foch, even without the fireplace.
Weaving The Past: Journey of Discovery has extended its exclusive engagement at Pasadena’s Laemmle Playhouse 7 through Thursday, August 28. The film, which received an Accolade International Film Competition Award of Merit and The Indie Fest Award for Documentary Feature and Editing, is a personal story straight from writer/director/producer Walter Dominguez’s soul.
“Facing certain imprisonment and death by execution, my grandfather and his comrades escaped across the open U.S.-Mexico border and began a new a life as laborers laying railroad tracks in the wide expanses of the American West and then eventually as miners in Arizona,” said Dominguez, who produced Weaving The Past with his wife, actress Shelley Morrison. “The work at the mines in Arizona, where discrimination against Mexican laborers was rampant, caused them to begin unionizing Mexican miners, and then from their base of operations in the U.S. becoming major players in the growing movement to overthrow Porfirio Diaz, which ultimately succeeded – at great personal cost and death.”
Weaving the Past: Journey of Discovery is an insightful and thought provoking look at the importance of tracing one’s roots while also continuing to forge one’s own path.
“I had a wonderful director, years ago,” said Morrison, whose work includes a highly successful run on Will & Grace and the film Mackenna’s Gold. “My roots are in the theater, and this wonderful director . . . I was doing a Tennessee Williams play and he said, ‘Of course it’s important (to believe). If you don’t believe, then the audience won’t believe it. But let the audience do some of the work, that’s what they’ve come here for.'”
In the following clip, Morrison and Dominguez talk about taking the audience on their own journey of self-discovery and why it’s important for them to not spell everything out for the viewer (Dominguez elaborates on a scene that was cut from the movie).
