Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Film: Captain Richard Phillip’s Story Will Be Produced by Kevin Spacey and Company
This is the latest thing I guess, and we will see if they actually produce a good film about Captain Richard Phillip’s ordeal off the coast of Somalia. –Matt
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Heavy hitters are on board for piracy drama
Rescued freighter captain’s story will be produced by Scott Rudin, Michael DeLuca and Kevin Spacey.
By PATRICK GOLDSTEIN
May 30, 2009
Earlier this week, Sony announced that it had acquired the rights to the story of Richard Phillips, the captain of the Maersk Alabama freighter that was captured by Somali pirates, prompting a tense showdown that resulted in Phillips’ rescue by Navy SEALs on the high seas. The studio also purchased the film rights to Phillips’ upcoming memoirs.
The interesting angle, for those of us who follow the inside workings of Hollywood, is the lineup of producers attached to the project. It’s quite a murderer’s row of talent, notably Scott Rudin, Michael DeLuca and Kevin Spacey, along with his producing partner Dana Brunetti.
How did that formidable team manage to converge? Mark Roybal, who heads Rudin’s production company, had approached Sony about doing a movie about Phillips while events were still unfolding. Meanwhile, Spacey and Brunetti, who had shared producer chores on the film “21” with DeLuca, made contact with Phillips’ family shortly after he was rescued. “Kevin went to Vermont to meet Phillips and his family, who agreed to work with us on a film project,” DeLuca told me during a recent conversation. “We developed a take on the framework of the picture, went to Sony and they put in an offer to lock up the material.”
Since Rudin had already approached the studio as well, the Spacey-Brunetti-DeLuca group agreed to link up with him. As it turns out, the producers were already in business together, having teamed up to make a film at Sony about the creation of Facebook, with a script by Aaron Sorkin. “We’ve had such a good time working together on the Facebook project that it was an easy call to team up again,” DeLuca said. “No one has access to top of the line A-list talent the way Scott does, so his involvement will really be a big benefit for the project.”
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Film: The Expendables
Ok, this would just be a fun flick to watch. How could it not? It seems to be collecting every 80’s action hero out there as well. If you want to track the making of it, here is a blogger that is on set and connected. –Matt
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Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li in town for ‘The Expendables’
May 12, 2009
Sylvester Stallone takes aim in a production still from the Brazil set of ‘The Expendables,’ which this week started shooting in New Orleans.
The collective muscle mass of the New Orleans area was pumped up considerably this week with the arrival of the brawny, alpha-dog cast of the big-budget action flick “The Expendables,” which started shooting Monday morning, headed by writer-director-actor Sylvester Stallone.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Film: Hollywood Attacks the PMC Industry–War Inc., 24 and the Movie State of Play
Disappointing news about ’24’, and I am sure the fans are crushed. Please write in and voice your displeasure with this crap. And adding Janeane Garofalo to the cast? What in god’s name were you guys thinking? I guess they really wanted to kill the show, because that is a great way to do it.
As for the movie State of Play, who knows how that will turn out. But obviously Hollywood is in bash PMC’s mode, and to me, that is an extremely tired and way overplayed theme in today’s cookie cutter film industry.
How’s this for a unique idea… make a cutting edge movie that actually supports the concept of PMC’s and shows them saving the day for once? Now that would be some interesting film making, because it would actually take some courage to make. Or you guys could continue to be cowards and take the easy way out with these poorly made and poorly received, PMC bashing flicks. Pffft.
And what really kills me, is where is the profit motive for making these types of flicks? I have yet to hear of a ‘PMC bashing flick’ that has been successful. For example, here is the Wikipedia on War Inc., an absolutely terrible film that did not do well at all. –Mudeer
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Critical reception of War Inc. (Wikipedia)
War, Inc. received generally negative reviews from critics. As of May 24, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 30 percent of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 34 reviews — with the consensus that the film “attempts to satirize the military industrial complex, but more often than not it misses its target.”Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 37 out of 100, based on 21 reviews.
Box office performance
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Film: Antony Beevor on Films That Rewrite History
I want to thank Scott for sending me this link, because it is relevant to our industry and to the military. There will come a time, when this industry will be represented in film, and the story and message will be in the hands of those film makers. The question we have to ask is if these individuals care about producing something accurate and fair, or something that suits an agenda of historical revision or politics. Our industry is old, but to the unknowing public, it is absolutely new and virgin thought territory. We must engage those individuals that seek to define our industry through film or music or video games, and make sure that they get it right and care to make a good product. And if they don’t listen, and could care less, then at least we can call them out on it.
Or better yet, we can embrace the process and work with them. If someone was to do a film on Blackwater, would it benefit Blackwater to protest it, or would it benefit Blackwater to work with them and insure that it is accurate and fair? Shared reality between the two groups, would help out the overall image of the portrayed group in that film.
Also, if you ever want to watch an interesting show, check out The Unit. One of the main writers of the show is Eric Haney, a retired CAG officer. Also, Pete Blaber has contributed to the writing of the show as well. In essence, the most secretive and best soldiers in the US, are now contributing to a TV show about their unit(Eric wrote the book The Unit, and the show revolves around the book). Instead of fighting media, they are embracing it, and controlling the quality and content(or at least trying to). That is a lot better than someone making a show about this incredible group of guys, that have no credibility at all about this subject.
Media relations is the one area where PMC/PSC’s really drop the ball on. Hell, the entire contracting industry as a whole sucks at media relations, and film is one area that we certainly need to be wary of, just for the very reasons that Mr. Beevor discusses in this article. –Matt
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Antony Beevor on films that rewrite history
From The Sunday Times
January 18, 2009
Open Minds: Films that rewrite history, says Antony Beevor, are fatally warping our sense of reality
Antony Beevor
In the West, we tend to assume that the greatest threats to democracy and liberty come from outside. We think of the totalitarian systems of the last century or fundamentalist terrorism today, but we fail to recognise the viral strain that has developed out of our own entertainment industries.