Category Movies

Jul 15 2013

Sci-Fi Film ‘Europa Report’ Uses Science to Show Space Travel Perils

From Yahoo! News

 

Miriam Kramer July 12, 2013
Sci-Fi Film 'Europa Report' Uses Science to Show Space Travel Perils

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The new science fiction movie “Europa Report” is billed by some admirers as one of the most accurate depictions of human spaceflight ever put on film, and that realism is no accident.

Screenwriters, expert consultants, actors and others worked to bring a sense of reality to “Europa Report,” paying meticulous attention to the world they were creating in the spaceship and depicting on the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.

“One of the first things that drew me to the script was the fact that, as I was reading it, everything in there seemed to be at least inspired by what we know both about space travel and the possibility of what could be found on Europa while at the same time keeping a great equilibrium with making a movie that was also thrilling and interesting that kept me gripped until I finished the last page of the script,” Sebastián Cordero, the director of “Europa Report,” said. [See images and stills from the science fiction film “Europa Report”]

The movie follows the journey of a crew of astronauts sent on the first manned mission to Europa. It is shot documentary-style and features interviews with various people involved in the harrowing undertaking to seek out alien life in the solar system. You can watch the “Europa Report” trailer here.

 

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Sci-Fi Film 'Europa Report' Uses Science to Show Space …

An astronaut works outside a spacecraft cockpit in this still from the 2013 science fiction film ‘Eu …

Scientists working with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., consulted with Cordero and other members of the team during the film’s production. Steven Vance — the lead for the habitability team of JPL’s Icy Worlds Astrobiology group — and Kevin Hand — the deputy chief scientist for solar systems exploration at JPL — both helped to create the realistic world of “Europa Report.”

“We would go back and forth on the different issues that they would find … and different things we could incorporate that we could run by them,” Cordero said of Hand and Vance’s work on the movie. “During the shooting itself, we had a very short shooting schedule and basically once we had settled on the things that the screenplay called for, and once we basically had some sort of blessing from our scientists, we felt that we could go ahead and shoot this. However, during postproduction, there was also a lot of back and forth.”

Scientists helped Cordero and the rest of the production team craft a realistic-looking computer- generated surface of Europa when they were putting the final touches on the film.

The filmmakers also conferred with other scientists during the movie’s production. In order to understand the backgrounds of some of the astronauts written into the script, Cordero and his team worked with other researchers to more fully understand the motivations the characters could have for embarking on such a dangerous journey.

In the original script, the screenwriters had written generic scientists into the movie, but after consulting with an oceanographer, the filmmakers decided to be more specific, including an oceanographer, engineers and other scientists onboard the ship bound for Europa, Cordero said.

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Sci-Fi Film 'Europa Report' Uses Science to Show Space …

Astronauts work in their spacecraft cockpit in this still from the 2013 science fiction film ‘Europa …

The filmmakers also added a few hidden gems for fans of space travel. The rocket launch shown at the beginning of the film was footage from the 2011 launch of NASA’s Juno spacecraft, expected to arrive at Jupiter in 2016.

“Europa Report” is currently available in the iTunes store and is set for release in theaters on Aug. 2.

Jul 15 2013

Pacific Rim washes up third as sequels dominate

per the UK Daily Guardian

 

Guillermo del Toro’s apocalyptic adventure can’t beat the combined might of Despicable Me and Adam Sandler sequels

Posted by

Monday 15 July 2013 07.23 EDTguardian.co.uk

 

Warner Bros‘ robots v monsters mash-up Pacific Rim arrived in third place at the North American box office this week on an estimated $38.3m. By most standards this would be a decent opening haul for the latest Guillermo del Toro movie. However in these days of engorged budgets and the close attention of a frantic US trade press desperate for headlines on a Sunday, it is simply not good enough.

  1. Pacific Rim
  2. Production year: 2013
  3. Country: USA
  4. Cert (UK): 12A
  5. Runtime: 131 mins
  6. Directors: Guillermo del Toro
  7. Cast: Burn Gorman, Charlie Day, Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Ron Perlman
  8. More on this film

Pacific Rim reportedly cost around $190m and that is a lot of lolly to recoup, especially when you add as much as $100m in global marketing spend on top of that. This was a big weekend at the box office and the potency of Del Toro’s film will have been neutered somewhat byDespicable Me 2 and the No 2 title Grown Ups 2 starring Adam Sandler.

Both the No 1 and No 2 movies are sequels boasting household names. Pacific Rim is neither: it’s hard to launch a new property with little brand awareness and a lack of A-list talent. Despite the opinion of some who say the effects are the real stars these days, you can never underestimate the allure of a celebrity.

Pacific Rim lacks one, with all respect to Charlie Hunnam, who will be familiar to US TV viewers through Sons of Anarchy, and the mesmerisingIdris Elba, a renowned TV actor on both sides of the Atlantic who you get the sense could be on the cusp of movie stardom. Maybe his lead role in the upcoming Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, will unlock the vault.Harvey Weinstein has the movie in the US and if he believes Elba has a crack at an Oscar, the British actor could not wish for a more influential advocate.

Still, the numbers are the only story the studios care about. On that note, it’s worth considering the movie’s international performance. Pacific Rim ventured into its first territories outside North America and the results were highly encouraging. Del Toro’s tentpole came within a hair’s breadth of kicking Despicable Me 2 off its perch, grossing an estimated $53m from a relatively light footprint of 38 markets, compared to the second weekend heroics of Despicable Me 2 on $55.5m.

Top brass at Warner Bros and their outgoing financing and production partner Legendary Entertainment will take heart from this. Legendary financed most of the movie so we’re not talking about a hit to the studio that will be anything like as severe as the one Disney is preparing itself for with The Lone Ranger. It’s possible Pacific Rim will become an international hit.

The 72% approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes could bode well for North America too if word of mouth gets out and the movie sticks around for a few weeks.

The aforementioned Harvey Weinstein released the acclaimed dramaFruitvale Station in seven US theatres at the weekend and it grossed an excellent $377,000. Weinstein snapped up the movie following its world premiere at Sundance last January and by eerie coincidence its themes echo those of the Trayvon Martin case that has gripped the US in recent weeks and concluded on Saturday. That could not have been Weinstein’s plan when he plotted the release date months ago, but the zeitgeist could fuel further admissions. This quietly devastating movie will play a part in awards season.

North American Top 10, 12-14 July

1. Despicable Me 2, $44.8m. Total: $229.2m

2. Grown Ups 2, $42.5m

3. Pacific Rim, $38.3m

4. The Heat, $14m. Total: $112.4m

5. The Lone Ranger, $11.1m. Total: $71.1m

6. Monsters University, $10.6m. Total: $237.8m

7. World War Z, $9.4m. Total: $177.1m

8. White House Down, $6.2m. Total: $62.9m

9. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, $5m. Total: $26.4m

10. Man Of Steel, $4.8m. Total: $280.9m

 

Jul 14 2013

Ender’s Game faces backlash over author Orson Scott Card’s anti-gay views

In the essence of transparency, I’m neither for or against homosexuals. Sometimes I think people on both sides are being far too militant over the entire thing. So, the purpose of the post is to point out the controversy swirling and why authors are best keeping their views to themselves sometimes.

 Science-fiction writer Orson Scott Card is leading opponent of same-sex marriage

per the Independent

SUNDAY 14 JULY 2013

Jul 14 2013

Perhaps You Should Boycott Ender’s Game

This is from Forbes magazine. I don’t agree with the article, but I’ll let you decide. Boycotting a movie that the author hasn’t been involved with for years is rather stupid. Boycotting his books would be far more effective. Avoiding the movie just hurts the film company because Card’s already gotten his money.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/07/14/perhaps-you-should-boycott-enders-game/

Jul 14 2013

Box Office: ‘Despicable’ Repeats and Sandler Soars, but No ‘Pacific Rim’ Surge

Things are not looking good.

The Wrap

By Todd Cunningham | The Wrap – 10 hours ago

 

'Pacific Rim' Third as 'Despicable Me 2' Edges 'Grown Ups 2' at Box Office

 

“Despicable Me 2” edged the Adam Sandler comedy “Grown Ups 2” at the domestic box office this weekend, while the surge some predicted for Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim” never quite materialized — making it the latest big-budget beast to come crashing down this summer.

A big Saturday turnout lifted the animated kids film from Universal and Illumination Entertainment to an estimated $44.7 million in its second week. It passed the $200 million mark Saturday at the domestic box office, just the fourth animated film to do it in that timeframe, and its global haul is now nearly $475 million.

“Grown Ups 2” had led the pack after a terrific $16.5 million opening day Friday, but the family crowd began turning the tide for the minions of “Despicable Me 2” on Saturday — and Sony’s PG-13-rated comedy wound up at $42.5 million. That’s better than the 2010 debut’s $40 million open, and that film went on to take in $270 million worldwide, best-ever for a Sandler movie.

Also read: Bombs Away: Hollywood Braces for Historic 4 Straight Weeks of Megaflops

Del Toro’s giant robots-vs.-monsters 3D epic was running second after Friday but lost some steam and finished the weekend with an estimated $38.3 million. That just under where the analysts had the $180 million tentpole movie landing, after weeks of soft pre-release tracking.

Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. had hoped the film’s “A-” CinemaScore and strong reviews — it was at 72 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes — would drive word-of-mouth so that it could play beyond its core audience of young boys and Del Toro fans. But Saturday’s haul was about 13 percent down from Friday’s, which were swelled by $3.6 million.

The fanboys turned out in force, particularly for 3D showings and at Imax, which accounted for a whopping 19 percent of the grosses. The crowd was predictably young (67 percent under 35) and male 61 percent).

“Three weeks ago we were looking at $25 million-$30 million, so we’ve come a long way and this gives us something to build on,” said Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman. “We have great reviews, a strong CinemaScore and strong word of mouth. Our job now is to take that and expand it beyond that fanboy base over the next weeks.”

Warner Bros is counting on a big international performance from “Pacific Rim,” which should get a boost from Del Toro’s significant international following. It’s off to a decent start with $53 million in 38 markets this weekend.

 “Pacific Rim” is the third box-office misfire for a big-budget tentpole in as many weeks, coming on the heels of last weekend’s disappointing debut of Disney’s $225 million “Lone Ranger” and Sony’s “White House Down” the week before that.

A big part of that is the intense competition this summer, which is filled with $100 million-plus would-be blockbusters. The overall box office remains healthy — summer is running about 13 percent ahead of 2012 — and the weekend’s numbers continued that trend. Overall business was up nearly 30 percent over last year’s comparable weekend, when “Ice Age: Continental Drift” opened to $46 million.

Critics loathed “Grown Ups 2” – it has a 7 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes – but

 

moviegoers gave it a “B” CinemaScore and the solid debut underscored the disconnect between reviewers and Sandler fans.

The audiences were young, with 54% under 25, and surprisingly female at 53 percent, suggesting it was drawing families.

The strong showing — particularly since it was competing with the R-rated Melissa McCarthy-Sandra Bullock comedy “The Heat” — signals a box-office turnaround for Sandler.

He voiced Dracula in Sony’s surprising animated hit “Hotel Transylvania,” but his last two live-action efforts – “Jack and Jill” and “That’s My Boy” – have disappointed. The latter film was R-rated and a bid by Sandler to broaden his youthful base, but it came up short. Reteamed with Kevin James, Chris Rock and David Spade, the PG-13-rated sequel — made for $80 million — was right in his wheelhouse.

                                          Weekend         Total
1. Despicable Me 2              $44,754,000    $229,237,000
2. Grown Ups 2                    $42,500,000    $42,500,000
3. Pacific Rim                      $38,300,000    $38,300,000
4. The Heat                          $14,000,000    $112,363,000
5. The Lone Ranger              $11,140,000    $71,101,000
6. Monsters University           $10,621,000    $237,760,000
7. World War Z                     $9,430,000    $177,087,000
8. White House Down            $6,150,000    $62,963,000
9. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain $5,000,000    $26,378,000
10.Man of Steel                     $4,825,000    $280,995,000

Jul 14 2013

Why ‘Pacific Rim’ is a good movie for geek girls

http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/07/13/pacific-rim-good-geek-girls/

 

Per Entertainment Weekly:

PACIFIC-RIM-HUNNAM

 

 

by  on Jul 13, 2013 at 4:59PM  @maricelag21

 

There isn’t much entertainment out there for ladies of the geek persuasion — or to be more accurate, geek ladies and geek gentlemen attracted to other gentlemen. Well, at least there isn’t much marketed directly to us. But we all know the dirty little secret of being a geek lady in a predominately geek man’s world — there are a lot of hot guys in sci-fi movies. Pacific Rim, which opened yesterday, is no exception. SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!

Pacific Rim is in no way a perfect movie. It’s plagued with corny dialogue, underdeveloped characters, and a predictable, anticlimactic ending. And like most sci-fi movies, it doesn’t pass the Bechdel test. The Bechdel test, named after cartoonist Alison Bechdel, requires a movie to include at least two named female characters who talk to each other about something besides a man. There are two named women in Pacific Rim — Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) and Lt. Sasha Kaidanovsky (Heather Doerksen). However, Doerksen has a small role, says a few lines (most of which are directed toward her husband and copilot), and dies in the middle of the movie. Kikuchi’s Mako is a central character with a dynamic story arc though she’s less active than her male counterparts. Unlike many ladies in sci-fi, she is not objectified or criticized solely on the basis of her gender — a conscious decision made by director Guillermo del Toro.

So what is there for a geeky woman to enjoy in Pacific Rim? Well, there’s plenty of male eye candy. Charlie Hunnam plays Raleigh Becket, who returns from a five-year hiatus to help fight alien kaijus. Without his flesh-toned beard and biker hair from Sons of Anarchy, Hunnam can’t hide his striking features from the audience — or his costars. Mako practically screams “I’m the audience’s surrogate!” as she looks through a peephole at Raleigh’s shirtless torso, marked with tattoo-like scars from his previous battles. The multiple voyeuristic peephole shots recalls Psycho, but the fact that a guy is the object of the peeping offers a clever role reversal.

While Mako and Raleigh don’t so much as kiss on screen, their connection is undeniable. Raleigh and Mako’s sparring match is quite sensual, which, of course, discomfits her adoptive father, Marshall Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba). Speaking of Elba, he proves that the tailoring of a quality suit can do wonders for the male form. With precise military haircut, expressive eyes, and an authoritative but ultimately loving demeanor, Elba proves to be a no-nonsense leader of the jaeger fighters battling the kaiju. Plus, he gets many of the film’s best lines, all delivered in his smooth, booming British accent.

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True Blood‘s new addition Rob Kazinsky, as the inexplicably douchey jaeger fighter Chuck Hansen, might have been unwatchable if he wasn’t so hot. It’s never clear why Chuck is such an egotistical jerk — maybe he’s secretly in love with Raleigh. (If the film isn’t going to show any other reason for his brusque manner, then I’m going to make up my own.) I just wish I could have cared more about his tearful goodbye scene with his father and dog. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that his dad is played by Max Martini — I still miss Martini’s stony, almost too loyal bodyguard Frank Stevens on Revenge.

There’s a guy for just about everyone’s taste in Pacific Rim. For fans of the traditionally handsome, Homeland‘s Diego Klattenhoff briefly pops up as Raleigh’s brother, Yancy (as if to confirm that Morena Baccarin’s Jessica Brody should never have broken things off with good guy Mike). If you go for wise-cracking, goofy hipsters, there’s Charlie Day of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. There’s even Burn Gorman if you’re drawn to Type-A, hunchbacked-from-too-many-hours-online scientists.

Regardless of the politics of objectification and gender representation, Pacific Rim is a fun spectacle — giant mechas, grotesque monsters, epic sound design, and attractive men galore. I’m still holding out for a sci-fi movie in which women aren’t mere tokens, but for now I’ll take what I can get.

Jul 13 2013

Could the Ender’s Game boycott actually sink the movie?

k-bigpic

 

http://io9.com/could-the-enders-game-boycott-actually-tank-the-movie-749408769

 

Usually when people organize a boycott of a big Hollywood movie, you sort of assume they’ll barely make a dent. But with Ender’s Game, it actually seems somewhat possible that the fan boycott of the film could generate enough static to keep the studio from getting the word out.

A bit of backstory: Ender’s Game is a classic 1985 novel by Orson Scott Card, about a war between humans and insectoid aliens, known as the Formics or “Buggers.” The book has won tons of awards, and is considered a major classic of the genre. In the nearly three decades since writing Ender’s Game, Card has established himself as a leading critic of same-sex marriage, and has advocated for laws against homosexuality.

Over the years, Card’s homophobic views have caused an uproar — most notably when he wrote a weird gay-baiting version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and when the artist on his Superman comic quit to avoid controversy over his views.

But it wasn’t until recently, with a huge budget movie of Ender’s Game coming this fall, that Card’s opinions on homosexuality have become more of an issue. A group called Geeks OUT has started a campaign called Skip Ender’s Game on the grounds that if you buy a ticket to the movie, you’re putting money in Card’s pockets. This boycott was already getting a lot of attention, when Card threw gasoline on the fire by issuing a bizarre statement claiming that homosexuality wasn’t an issue in 1985, and boycotting his work is a sign of intolerance.

All of which makes me wonder: Is this controversy going to make it hard to get mainstream audiences to pay attention to the film? To be successful, an Ender’s Gamefilm has to reach beyond fans of the books, and if the movie is remotely close to the subject matter of the book, then there are going to be some themes and ideas that will freak out a lot of mainstream audiences. Reading from this book has already gotten one middle-school teacher in trouble.

Even by itself, a movie about space seems to be a hard sell these days — and we’ve seen plenty of other similar movies lose out lately, because mainstream movie audiences just couldn’t get interested in them. So it seems entirely possible that the mainstream media will be too busy debating Card’s views, and moviegoers will come away with a vague sense that this is a movie about gay-bashing. (The fact that the aliens are called “Buggers” probably does not help.) In today’s crowded movie marketplace, it seems like you have a brief chance to get people’s attention and sell them on your film — and if there’s any narrative out there that confuses the issue, you’re probably doomed.

If that does happen, of course, it won’t be the boycott organizers’ fault — it’ll be Card’s. He absolutely has the right to express unpopular or extreme views, but he also has to take the consequences. He wouldn’t be the first artist whose work was ignored or marginalized because of extremist political opinions, and in this case it’s hard to feel sorry. On the other hand, this could be another nail in the coffin of us getting interesting, challenging space opera on the big screen.

As to whether you should join the boycott — that’s absolutely a personal decision, and probably depends on how much you’re able to separate the author from his work. There are some pretty good thoughts on the subject in this comment from dlomax, however.

Jul 13 2013

Lionsgate responds to calls for ‘Ender’s Game’ boycott

Per USAToday.com

 

Lindsay Deutsch, USA TODAY5:09 p.m. EDT July 12, 2013

 

Studio does not support author Orson Scott Card’s anti-gay stance but says it has nothing to do with the film.

 

Lionsgate is responding to what could be a potentially potent publicity problem for its upcoming fall sci-fi blockbuster, Ender’s Game.

Calls to boycott the film have popped up online because Orson Scott Card, the author of the 1985 book series Ender’s Game on which the movie is based, is publicly anti-gay and anti-same-sex marriage. The movie, starring Harrison Ford, is due out on Nov. 1.

“As proud longtime supporters of the LGBT community, champions of films ranging from Gods and Monsters to The Perks of Being a Wallflowerand a company that is proud to have recognized same-sex unions and domestic partnerships within its employee benefits policies for many years, we obviously do not agree with the personal views of Orson Scott Card and those of the National Organization for Marriage,” Lionsgate wrote in a statement. The studio pledged to host a benefit premiere for Ender’s Gamesupporting LGBT causes.

Recently, a group called Geeks OUT released its plans to boycott Ender’s Game, distributing a quote Card wrote in 1990 advocating “laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books,” and exposing his role as a board member of the anti-same-sex marriage organization National Organization for Marriage.

On Monday, Card released a statement to Entertainment Weekly, saying, “With the recent Supreme Court ruling, the gay marriage issue becomes moot… Now it will be interesting to see whether the victorious proponents of gay marriage will show tolerance toward those who disagreed with them when the issue was still in dispute.”

Statements from both Lionsgate and Card reiterate that the stance has nothing to do with Ender’s Game, which is about child soldiers in space.

“The simple fact is that neither the underlying book nor the film itself reflect these views in any way, shape or form. On the contrary, the film not only transports viewers to an entertaining and action-filled world, but it does so with positive and inspiring characters who ultimately deliver an ennobling and life-affirming message,” Lionsgate wrote in the statement.

It’s not the first time that Card has come under fire for his anti-gay beliefs. In March,DC Comics caused fan furor for choosing Card to contribute to its Adventures of Superman anthology. A petition garnered more than 18,000 signatures, and the illustrator of the series, Chris Sprouse, left the project because of the controversy.