Getting More Immersed with Indiewire


  The Penske Media purchase of Indiewire has resulted in an expansion of my role as crafts and awards season contributor.  Beginning this week, I begin Emmy coverage of below-the-line contenders along with my usual Oscar season crafts reporting, working closely

Immersed in Blu-ray: Hitchcock and Bogart


The WB Archive Collection gets Hitch and Bogie on Blu-ray and they've never looked better for home viewing. In Kent Jones' indispensable doc, Hitchcock/Truffaut, he reminds us that Truffaut was on a mission to correct misconceptions about Hitch as a lightweight

Immersed in Books: Farber on Film


For the first time, the complete writings of film critic Manny Farber is available from Library of America, edited by Robert Polito (Savage Art: A Biography of Jim Thompson). Manny Farber (1917-2008) was the first modernist film critic to write like a modernist.

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Books

Miller & Rodriguez Talk Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, Below the Line, Books, Movies, Tech, Trailers, VFX, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nine years since Sin City.  So much has changed and we’re worse off, in many ways, which makes the timing just right to slip back into Frank Miller’s deliriously noir hell hole. If anything, A Dame to Kill For is bolder yet more cohesive and emotionally involving. It’s certainly more immersive in 3-D and it’s all green screen with no sets whatsoever. As a result, this dream-like world where Shock Corridor collides with Kiss Me Deadly seems even more tactile and surreal. Read more

The Female Superhero Finally Strikes Back

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Books, Movies, Tech | Leave a comment

Suddenly there’s momentum for female superhero movies, thanks to Warner Bros. and DC breaking the ice with Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. This has led to Sony entering the female fray with a Spider-Man spinoff scripted by Lisa Joy (Burn Notice, Pushing Daisies). No confirmation yet if it’s Spider-Woman, but it’s a significant development. And word is, Marvel is developing its own female counter-attack by turning the spotlight on Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, with a script to be written by Guardians of the Galaxy’s Nicole Perlman (but who tweeted on Monday that there has been no active development since turning in her treatment in 2011). Read more

Hallstrom Talks Spicing Up The Hundred-Foot Journey

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Bill Desowitz in Below the Line, Books, Cinematography, Movies, Tech, Trailers | Leave a comment

In light of Kodak’s decision to continue producing film stock and the vigorous support by Martin Scorsese and a host of other prominent directors, it’s ironic that Lasse Hallstrom had to be forced into using film again for The Hundred-Foot Journey. What’s stranger is that it took Steven Spielberg, the film’s producer, to pair Hallstrom up with Swedish cinematographer Linus Sandgren (American Hustle), who insisted they shoot on film. Read more

Peter Jackson and George Miller Geek Out at Comic-Con

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Below the Line, Books, Movies, previs, Tech, Trailers, VFX, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

Despite the momentary wow factor of glimpsing that spooky stare-down in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (yes, Ben Affleck looks perfectly suited as The Dark Knight), the real joy of the Warner Bros. Hall H panel was Peter Jackson and George Miller geeking out about the The Hobbit finale and the re-imagined Mad Max. Read more

Immersed in the Laika Boxtrolls Set Visit

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, Below the Line, Books, Cinematography, Costume, Movies, previs, stop-motion, Tech, Trailers, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

With The Boxtrolls (Sept. 26), Laika tackles its first period piece — Victorian Steampunk — as well as its first creature-oriented tale about an orphan boy, Eggs, raised underground by cave-dwelling trash collectors. The result is a more stylized, theatrical look along with more ambitious storytelling. And judging by my set visit last year in Portland and footage screened last month, The Boxtrolls is sure to be one of the year’s best animated features and a prime Oscar contender. Read more

Trailering Unbroken From Angelina Jolie

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Bill Desowitz in Below the Line, Books, Cinematography, Editing, Movies, Music, Production Design, Tech, Trailers | Leave a comment

Watch the first trailer from Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, Unbroken (Christmas Day), which, at first glance, evokes Chariots of Fire and The Bridge on the River Kwai. Read more

Trailering Gone Girl from David Fincher

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Bill Desowitz in Below the Line, Books, Cinematography, Editing, Movies, Music, Production Design, Tech, Trailers | Leave a comment

Watch the new trailer for Gone Girl (Oct. 3) and enter the chilly grasp of David Fincher once again. Read more

Purvis & Wade Back for Bond 24

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Bill Desowitz in Below the Line, Books, James Bond, Movies, Screenwriting | Leave a comment

Turnabout is fair play, as veteran James Bond scribes Neil Purvis & Robert Wade have been reinstated to add a bit of witty repartee to the upcoming Bond 24, according to the reliable Baz Bamigboye of UK’s  DailyMail. Read more

Trailering Fourth and Final Boxtrolls

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, Below the Line, Books, Cinematography, Costume, Editing, Movies, previs, Production Design, Sound, stop-motion, Tech, Trailers, VFX, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

Watch the final trailer for Laika’s The Boxtrolls (Focus Features, Sept. 26), which tells us more about the world and plot involving this unusual family. Read more

Will Finn Talks Legends of Oz

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Bill Desowitz in 3-D, Animation, Below the Line, Books, Movies, Tech, Trailers, VFX, Virtual Production | Leave a comment

Coinciding with the 75th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, comes Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return, an indie animated musical from Summertime and Clarius, made by Prana Studios. Adapted from the initial book by Roger Baum, the great grandson of L. Frank Baum, co-director Will Finn (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Beauty and the Beast, The Secret of NIMH) discusses his first foray in helming a CG-animated feature. Read more

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