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AICN-Downunder: STAR WARS - EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH, plus some other things...
Father Geek here... Well ol'Latauro couldn't do it. He couldn't wait till it opened like he had planned... a press screening of Sith seduced him to the darkside... just like Harry... just like Father Geek, and Quint, and Moriarty, and Alexandra DuPont, and tons of others who swore (beforehand) that they would wait to see it with a roomful of brother & sister geeks. The temptation, the sirens cry, the... DARKSIDE was just tooooo powerful! Annnnnd we all just crumbled when faced with the reality of a free, very early preview screening of the latest Star Wars opus...
I've got a bad feeling about this.
AICN-DOWNUNDER
Back on the SIN CITY topic, as I still receive regular emails about it, it
seems the release date is now July 14. IMDB.com, Village Cinemas, and most
every place has pushed the release date from August to the marginally-sooner
July. While it's almost a step in the right direction, it won't matter to
all the people down here who have already downloaded it. Thanks to the
people who continually offer to send me a copy of the film on CD or over the
net, but I'll wait. Sigh.
Speaking of telling you things, there was a really nice moment during the
Tori Amos concert in Melbourne the other night. She played a tribute to the
recently-late Paul Hester, the awesome drummer of the awesome Crowded House,
by performing the House hit "Don't Dream It's Over". It was a definite
highlight of the night, and everyone in the crowd really appreciated it.
Oh, and I saw REVENGE OF THE SITH on Wednesday. Want a review? Down you
scroll...
NEWS
* It looks like Joel "No Bar" Silver may be looking to shoot WONDER WHEDON in
Australia. Makes sense, given Silver shot the MATRIX films, GHOST SHIP and
HOUSE OF WAX here. Also, with SUPERMAN RETURNS, GHOST RIDER and, er,
SWAMP-THING all having lensed down south, perhaps there's some special
superhero tax exemption we don't know about. (It would certainly make more
sense than the so-called tax cuts announced this week! Am I right, folks?)
At the moment, everyone's going on about how secretive the casting
supposedly is, but with the script not yet completed, there's no way they'd
begin casting or production! I mean, who'd do that? Hey, who likes DEVIL'S
ADVOCATE?
* GRANDFINAL is a local film currently in development. Set on the day of the
AFL Grand Final, it's an Altmanesque tale of interlocking stories, all of
which reach a crescendo when St Kilda wins the grand (I might have added
that last bit). I'm wondering how much international appeal the film will
have given it's about AFL. Actually, given it's Aussie Rules and not Rugby,
I'm wondering how much appeal it will have outside of Melbourne... oh well,
carry on!
* YEAR OF WONDERS has just been approved by the AFC. Based on the novel by
Geraldine Brooks, the story follows a 17th Century English village in the
throws of the plague. The film will be directed by Pip Karmel (ME MYSELF I)
and produced by Phillip Noyce (star of last week's Next Week joke).
* AUS$2.7 million is a reasonable amount of money for an Australian film, and
a really ridiculous amount when you're talking about kitchenware. For a
start, while a good set of cutlery and nice glassware can set you back a
bit, you'd still be left with nearly all the $2.7 million, and even you
wanted to completely refit your kitchen, you'd still be left with an
enormous amount. That amount could be better spent refurnishing your entire
house, or better yet, buying an altogether new house. With the remainder,
you could take a nice holiday somewhere, or maybe even donate it to charity.
Basically, if you were setting aside part of your weekly budget to replace
your kitchenware, you'd probably go with a smaller figure than $2.7 million.
Much less than half, even. $2.7 million is a ridiculous amount to spend on
kitchenware, and anyone who does so should be given a strict talking-to by
those closest to them.
* AUS$2.7 million is reasonable amount of money for an Australian film, but
this is no ordinary Australian film. This is a co-production between
Australia and India. AN INDIAN SUMMER begins shooting in October or November
depending on its schedule, and is produced by Anupam Sharma and John Winter
(the latter of whom was responsible for one of the best Australian films,
RABBIT PROOF FENCE, and one of the worst, A MAN'S GOTTA DO).
* Hey, speaking of co-productions with Asian nations, Australia will also be
working alongside China for the film LONG, LONG IS THE ROAD, FAR, FAR IS THE
JOURNEY. Yikes. Convoluted, convoluted is the title. The film will likely
shoot in Shanghai and South Australia next year, and will be produced by
China-based Australian producer Barry Plews, whose phone number pops up when
you Google his name.
* Regular readers will recognise the name HERMAN THE LEGAL LABRADOR - now you
can recognise the name by seeing it on your DVD shelf! And I'm not sure if
that made much sense! To pickup your copy of the animated short that's
playing at festivals everywhere, go to
http://www.nakedfella.com/buy/preorder.shtml
AWARDS AND FESTIVALS
NSW FTO FFWS
If you love acronyms as much as I do, then you'll be ambivalent about me
expanding on the above subtitle. The New South Wales Film and Television
Office is after submissions for Round Four of the New Feature Film Writer's
scheme. If you have less than forty-five minutes of produced screen credits,
you are eligible (in the application sense, not the bachelor sense). Contact
the FTO well before the June 10 deadline, and you could find yourself with a
big enough budget to refurnish your entire kitchen.
28TH WORLDFEST FILM FESTIVAL
The film festival, held annually in Harryland, has given its Platinum Remi
Award (the top spot for the short drama flicks) to Melbourne-based
Writer/Producer Natasha Pincus. Pincus, who also happened to have made a
film to go along with the award, was selected from over 1 400 entries. Her
film, EMMA AND THE BARISTA, is about a girl in her late-20s whose only
refuge is a city laneway café that makes the perfect coffee. If that's not a
Melbourne film, I don't know what is. Oh, maybe that AFL one I mentioned
earlier.
BOX OFFICE
There's not much chance that any of these films will be upstaged by 9 SONGS
or THE UPSIDE OF ANGER, but they've only got one week of dominance left
before all five spots are taken over by EPISODE III. which isn't the biggest
crying shame in the world.
1. KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
2. THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
3. XXX 2: THE NEXT LEVEL
4. THE INTERPRETER
5. IN GOOD COMPANY
RELEASED THIS WEEK
The first in what we hope is a serious of sexually-explicit films featuring
Michael Nyman finally gets its day in the Australia sun, Raimi's biopic of
Humphrey Bogart takes a turn for the horrific, the German equivalent of
FIGHT CLUB is all ironic with its weird spelling, we get the greatest film
ever shot in Bhutan, and all the actors who missed out on getting roles in
MONA LISA SMILE band together to get Joan Allen drunk.
9 SONGS
BOOGEYMAN
THE EDUKATORS
TRAVELLERS AND MAGICIANS
THE UPSIDE OF ANGER
REVIEWS
STAR WARS - EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH
(MINOR SPOILERS)
My father got a call on October 27, 1977, from his friend Des who told him
he'd just seen the most amazing film ever, and he had to meet him down at
the cinema in two hours. So dad went down there and he's in the foyer
looking around for Des when the theatre doors open and a crowd of people
pour out. Through the crowd came Des, fresh from his second consecutive
viewing. He sees my dad and says, "Come on, it starts in a few minutes," and
heads straight to the ticket box.
I always feel a bit odd talking about STAR WARS with people. Reading reviews
from people like Harry, Moriarty, and Kevin Smith, I feel like being born a
few years after NEW HOPE's premiere meant I missed out on something. STAR
WARS never affected me the way it affected the generation that's
ever-so-slightly before me. I've watched the films a zillion times on TV,
but that's on a small screen, and I was watching them from such a young age
that I don't remember a time without STAR WARS. It's always been there, thus
the impact is somewhat lessened.
For the past few years, I've bought advance tickets to the prequels, but
most of the excitement I felt was feeding off other people. I liked PHANTOM
MENACE the first time, but was bored the second. I really dug ATTACK OF THE
CLONES the first time around, but it didn't really stand up to a second
viewing. I bought tickets for SITH the moment they went on sale, and I'll be
seeing it on the awesome V-Max screen at Knox. It's purported to be the
biggest screen in the Southern Hemisphere. It's where I saw MATRIX
REVOLUTIONS and RETURN OF THE KING, so it seems only fitting I should see
out the prequel trilogy there as well. The problem is, I bought the tickets
and I wasn't excited. I wasn't anticipating it with excitement. It was just
something I was doing because it was STAR WARS.
I went along to the media screening on Wednesday, expectations still around
zero. I've seen the (possibly) last ever STAR WARS film.
It kicks fucking arse.
That's the only way I've been able to describe it to people. It absolutely
rules. It's so good, I actually like MENACE and CLONES more than I used to.
It improves the prequels! It provides a believable link between the
trilogies. They connect now, and not just because they're both called STAR
WARS and have the same character names. No, they now feel like the same
Universe.
From the awesome opening (it's really as good as everyone's telling you), to
the phenomenal ending (that, aside the lame robot doctor, and the
unintentionally hilarious Vadar "NOOO!!!", rocks), it's almost as if Old
Lucas broke through the body of New Lucas and gave him a sense of cool
again.
See, I'm not a Lucas Hater, nor a Prequel Apologist. I think that the SW vs
LOTR argument is one of the most worthless things someone can waste their
breath on (same with SW vs TREK). I'm annoyed at what's been done to the
original trilogy, and aghast at the contempt with which Lucas has treated
his fans. Denying them the films they love is like snatching away candy from
a baby (not the most inaccurate simile for many SW fans), and it's why I've
refused to buy the recent SW box set. They're not the films I grew up on,
and I feel a sense of discomfort when I watch them. (Also, I think that the
oft-discussed decision to have Greedo fire his gun is one of the dumbest
things in film history, completely emasculating and undermining Han Solo...
this, more than anything else, has prevented me from owning the new box
set.) Bottom line is, I don't think Lucas is an evil Sith Lord or anything,
I just question most of the decisions he's made over the last decade or so.
But in SITH... man, oh, man... Here we see the promise from the OT. This is
adventure, adventure and tragedy. Sure, the romance between Anakin and Padme
still drags, but you don't care. The rest of the film is so good it doesn't
make a difference.
I think the biggest problem with MENACE was not Mr Binks, but with the fact
that there was no Han Solo character. There was no rogue, no one
particularly interesting to watch. In SITH, Ewan Macgregor steals the show.
He's always been good in the prequels, but he always seemed a little bored.
He was given the unenviable task of packpedalling Guinness's performance,
and admirably managed to imitate but not mock him. Here, he's knocked the
charisma up to eleven. This is, hands down, my favourite Ewan performance
ever, and given how much I love the guy's work, that's saying something.
Obi-Wan is the guy kicking arse all over the place, and the film is always
at its best when he's on screen.
The only thing in SITH that's better than Ewan is the other mac, Ian
McDiarmid. I had a bit of a JERRY MAGUIRE moment watching the trailer (as
in, "You had me at 'unnatural!'"), but that's only a taste of what he
delivers in the film. He chews up the scenery (or greenscreen) with an
intense ferocity, and revels in every single line he has. There's a real
menace to the satisfaction of a man who knows he's fooled everyone in the
galaxy. The small part of you that always secretly enjoyed seeing the Empire
take over will flip out when Palpatine's plan comes to fruition.
There's so much more to say, but it's all mostly redundant. When it comes to
STAR WARS, all anyone really needs to know before reading a review is where
the reviewer stands on all previous installments, and, consequently, how
does this one stack up? STAR WARS is a zeitgeist, and beyond telling you "it
kicked fucking arse", anything I say would be fairly redundant. Which might
make you wonder why you just read fifty paragraphs.
I'll just add that I'm now feeling a lot better about STAR WARS as a whole.
While there is still a truckload of perplexingly bad ideas crammed into the
films, the entire series now has a uniformity to it that I really like.
Remember those opening night tickets I have that I wasn't that excited
about? I now cannot frigging wait.
NEXT WEEK
- Richard Attenborough comes out of retirement to make a film about Carl
Jung's largely undocumented attempts to cure insomnia early on his career,
in THE JUNG AND THE RESTLESS
- Renny Harlin to remake Chan-Wook Park's SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE in
America, with Chad Michael Murray as a detective hunting a deadly serial
killer
- David Koepp, Frank Darabont and Tim Minear hired to script STAR WARS
EPISODES VII-IX respectively (note: not a joke, just wishful thinking)
Peace out,
Latauro
AICNDownunder@hotmail.com
AICNDownunder@hotmail.com
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+ Expand All
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Sounds awesome.
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Must. See. Movie. NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
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cant wait to see it! anybody found it on the net yet? LOL
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Actually I'm sixth but I'm the First to say that in this thread. hahaha.
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holy christ paulstanley, you expect anybody to read all of that?.....i sure didn't
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He has officially surpassed SirBitachReturns, MinasTirithII, and ForeverTJ combined.
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Good one.
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Just like Chancellor Palpatine IS Darth Sidious
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My $6 is going to see Star Wars III. Actually, I'm not in the bottom tax bracket, so it might even cover the whole cost of my ticket ...
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May 16, 2005 1:19:41 AM CDT
"I keep getting banned so I keep coming back. Note, NO ONE has E
by voice o. reason
Nope, no contradiction THERE. No siree!
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Posting off topic in a talkback can get your posts deleted or even your account deleted, especially if it contains personal attacks, racial abuse and the like, just in case there was still anyone out there who was wondering how it can happen ...
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Please shut up and go away. No one here knows or cares about you. It wasn't a talkbacker that banned you (they don't have the power), it was the people who actually run this site.
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I think all this pre-release hype is, at the end of the day, going to do the film a lot of damage, especially when, even if it is damn good, or even great, it doesn't turn out to be "the best film ever!", or even "the best Star Wars film ever!". I understand the excitement, but people are hyping this film up way too much, with all the bullshit "it makes the first two films better" type stuff. It's gotten to the point where most fans are seemingly expecting a filmic second coming, and should it turn out to be anything less than that there's going to be a huge negative backlash and overwhelming feeling of disappointment amongst a whole lot of people. After all this hype (which happened last two times around too with mostly highly positive and over hyped early word, which people seem to have chosen to since forget or ignore) how can it even hope to live up to such over inflated expectations, even if it is better, or even far better than the last two prequel outings? I also have to wonder just what degree of nostalgia and special treatment and forgiveness this film is recieving from many reviewers simply because it is 'The Last Star Wars Film Ever' tm., makes you wonder a little bit at least, doesn't it? **************************************************************************** Now I'm not here saying it's gonna suck, as I honestly hope against hope that it does deliver and kick ass left, right, up, down and all around, honestly nothing would make me happier than to see one final great Star Wars adventure, like I first experienced back in '77. But all I am saying is adjust your expectations folks, don't fall prey to all this damn hype, and don't go in expecting the best film ever made, or chances are no matter how good the film actually may be, it'll still be a disappointment and you won't enjoy it half as much as you could have done had you not had such sky high expectations going in to begin with. Go in with an open mind and a glimmer of hope, and see where it takes you. That's what I'm doing anyway, and then we'll just see what we'll see...
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..ForeverTJ? Now thats a name I've not heard in a looong time. A long time.
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oo. impressive quelling of rampant douchebaggery webmasters I must say. does that make us the establishment? is AICN 'The Man'?
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3 fucking days to go (there are pirate copies floating about now, but ive not given in...MUST. STAY. STRONG).
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come on. I saw Fellowship a bunch of times, and the original Matrix a bunch more than that. you're telling me that Sith is going to be even on that plane? it's hard to have lower expectations after the last few, true, but these reviews are really pushing things. this movie had better rock my socks off, or I'm going to be pissed.
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May 16, 2005 2:37:27 AM CDT
Anyone catch the SW-satire ending of 'Family Guy' tonight?
by hanfiredfirst
Peter Griffin receives a medal from mayor Adam West on the steps of City Hall, with R2 and Threepio in the background ... SW trimuphal march playing as the screen goes to the standard SW end credit roll. LOL!
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They, like, rocked. I wonder if he posts in makeup.
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All I have to say to all you Episode III boosters, is you better be right, because this is the most hyped I've been for a movie in my life. And I am no Ep I and II apologist either.
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May 16, 2005 2:57:58 AM CDT
I am trying NOT to get excited, but it's hard at this point....
by doom ii
...as these reviews are all pretty positive. Anyone been in a Burger King this past week? I've never seen a marketing blitz this blatant at a food chain. Taco Bell was saturated with Phantom Menace stuff, but EVERY INCH of Burger King was plastered in posters, standups and Sith images! The 31 different toys are decent, so I may geek out and just eat Kid's Meals for the next month. That Burger King Darth Vader/Anakin figure is already going for 25.00 on ebay! Man I hate fast food.
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I', officially hyped for this fucking film! It better rule or i'll fucking hunt Lucas down and kick his ass - but not before shaving that fucking beard off him and seeing his round, pudgy egg head in all its glory.
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As far as all reviews are concerned. Fuck it, I'll be there. Call me an apologist, but I kinda like the prequels.
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(nm)
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You know that Paul Stanley IS ForeverTJ, and I think it is fucking hilarious that his post are already gone. Give him credit; you can't keep him down. Now if only Cocolopez/Marvin Gardens would return. . .
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See those bald pics of Natalie PORNman at Cannes? Just imagine her with the GI Jane haircut wrestling your woman Michele Heaton. Oh yes, ROTS will fucking ROCK. The NY Times said it was THE BEST SW movie better, even better than ANH. And one more thing, MinasTirithII, get the fuck back here now bitch!!! It is gametime!!
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said it was the best SW movie George Lucas directed. The reviewer does not state how he ranks it against Empire.
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May 16, 2005 4:19:07 AM CDT
Roger Ebert just gave RotS three and a half out of four stars.
by colonel_blimp
I'm officially excited. Heck, I woulda been excited just by the release of a new SW film, but it's also the LAST one, and it's getting rave reviews all over the place. May 19th will be a day long remembered. Read the review here: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050515/REVIEWS/50503002
I'm to scared of spoilers to read it myself. -
May 16, 2005 4:19:33 AM CDT
KRULLBOY - Natalie PORNman looks like a carpet muncher in those
by banthafodderuk
oh yeah mate - who is paul stanley????
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May 16, 2005 4:35:23 AM CDT
why do you have to be an apologist just cause you like the prequ
by colonel_blimp
They're fun. They ARE! I mean it. The battle of geonosis is second only to the battle of Hoth when it comes to SW ground battles IMO.
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May 16, 2005 4:51:10 AM CDT
BanthafodderUK, Paul Stanley is either ForeverTJ, or one of the
by krullboy
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Michelle Heaton was on CW Saturday, and quitted whilst she was still behind as she was getting the shit kicked out of it. Bitch, I've never been so sexually frustrated since the first girl that I kissed, a right fat shitter, kissed her alsation in front of me, and said that HE was a better kisser than me. Rather Kiss A Wookie. Sheet, no I know why.
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KRULLBOY - CHEERS FOR THAT MATE - WHY DID HE GET BANNED?
CPT KIRK - REMEMBER, I ACTUALLY KNOW WHO THE GIRL WAS YOU FIRST KISSED AND I WOULD RATHER LICK MY OWN ARSEHOLE THAN GO NEAR HER (EEEEAARGH) -
That silly fat fuck gave Phantom Menace three and a half stars as well. I mean he's entitled to his opinion and all, but his ratings mean less than nothing to me personally, and I certainly don't see his endorsement as anything to get overly excited about. Still, that's just me I guess...
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So that means he thinks RotS is 75% better than AotC and... Ok, I completely agree that ALL rating systems are by definition flawed.
My point is only that Ebert is one of the best known and well respected critics in the world, and I find my own taste often to coincide with his. I wouldn't have cried and chosen not to se RotS if he had given it one star, but his positive review makes me look forward to this even more, giving me hopes that this movie may actually have the artistic merits I hope it has. -
I'll say that I'm gonna wait and see what Margaret and David have to say. Always right. Always.
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Ok in less than 48 hours I'll finally get to see the movie. I enjoy reading the reviews but the opinions of other people won't sway my excitement up or down.
That being said, it is still annoying when reviewers who are supposed to know something completely miss the boat. I've seen a couple negative reviews ripping the amount of CGI and effects. One review (Rolling Stone)compared it to the OT and called the effects in that trilogy "low tech".
Umm, the effects in the OT not only were the best available at the time by a long shot, they had to create a whole new company (ILM) to invent the technology necessary to have such special effects. So now CGI and digital film are available and Lucas is making use of it. It makes no sense to say they should have done it like the OT. That's exactly what they are doing!
Sorry, I'm sure everyone here knows this. I just had to vent somewhere about the stupidity of some critics. -
READ IT: http://www.infowars.com/articles/ps/darth_nwo.htm
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