Cool News
Through the Roof Screening of David Koepp's STIR OF ECHOES
Ya know... I love reports that come 'out of the blue'. Actually, it isn't totally out of the blue, you see, just last week Moriarty told me that David Koepp's script for this was a fantastic adaptation of Richard Matheson's original work. And that out of all the haunted/ghost thingees.... This would be the film to watch out for. Once again, it seems Moriarty had his finger on the pulse. Of course, while Koepp gets knocked around a bit for his writing (Snake Eyes, Lost World, Men In Black and Mission Impossible), but I absolutely loved his writing and directing on his own THE TRIGGER EFFECT. That was a film that I completely believe was looked over without near the attention it deserved. David might be one of these writers, who best adapts his own works, or perhaps he saves his heart and passion for his personal projects. Whatever it is... I'm looking for more word on STIR OF ECHOES.... when I hear comparisons to THE SHINING and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.... I pay attention, till I learn otherwise... And right now... that won't be till OCTOBER 1st, that's the projected release date as of the moment...
There was a preview screening of David Koepp's STIR OF ECHOES at the AMC 30
at
The Block in Orange, CA last night that played through the rafters (and
tested
through the rafters though I would be subject to a fate worse than than
death
if I gave out exact top 2 box numbers) ... It was scary, suspenseful, with
a
surprising amount of humor. The focus group compared it to THE SHINING and
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS ...
The effects were done completely by Banned From
The
Ranch (Van Ling & Casey Cannon), and though most of the effects were
temporary, were pretty phenomonal. The hypnosis scene that took place
inside
the movie theatre was mind blowing, and quite a head trip to see while in a
movie theatre ... This was a first showing of the film for an audience, and
still has not had the benefit of the James Newton Howard score to accentuate
the suspense ... The editing by Jill Savitt was incredible, while built
suspense, provided a few jump scares & screams, and gave breathing room for
comic relief. The cinematography by Fred Murphy was stylish, and provided
quite a bit of visual cleverness with it's various swish pans and match
cuts.
It is dark, moody, and evocative. And the center of all this was the
confident and sure-handed David Koepp, who has a huge hit on his hand in his
adaptation of a Richard Matheson novel (there is even a visual plug to
Matheson's THE SHRINKING HAND, a book being read by the babysitter) ... Oh,
and I guess I should mention the tour de force, crowd pleasing performance
by
Kevin Bacon ...
Anyway, expect a break-out sleeper hit this fall by
Artisan.
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+ Expand All
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Richard Matheson is the greatest - stir of echoes is a top idea but it's Thursday and I've got a finance assignment to resit, anyone any good at trading, profit and loss accounts..????
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I agree with Harry's Koepp comments. The Sept./Oct. 1998 issue of CREATIVE SCREENWRITING featured an interview with the man that showed him to be intelligent and very frank about the strengths and weaknesses of his work. Maybe this'll be the flick to realize his potential.
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Am I the only one around here that's even remotely interested in MORBIDITY OF THE SOUL? The sequel to the mother of all serial killer flicks? You guys NEVER talk about THAT. Show some interest people!
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Let's hope so! I just recently discovered the brilliance of Richard Matheson and have been reading as many of his novels as I can find. Unfortunately, the fact that many of his novels are out of print makes it hard for me to do this. With the advent of What Dreams May Come and this upcoming Koepp film, perhaps there will once more be interest in Matheson's work.
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Sounds like something to look forward to!
It's good to see you comments about 'The Trigger Effect', which I also thought was one of the best films of that year. And that line from Goddess Elizabeth Shue about butter.
Hmmmm.
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I really couldn't stand that movie. It proved to me that Koepp is totally incapable of writing anything low-concept. Take away the usual hundred million or so that are spent developing his scripts, and you're just not left with much. Very mechanical with only the slightest hint of substance. And his direction left much to be desired; if he could have done just one interesting thing with the camera and/or actors, I would have admired his effort as a novice, but dammit, he just didn't try. Personally, I just don't think he has much of an imagination.
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at last SOMEONE who sees the worth of The Trigger Effect. In my dear homeland, Britain, the film failed to warrant a theatrical release and only emerged on rental a year ago. nobody knows a damn thing anbout it over here. i happened to see it back in september '96 whilst in san francisco; wanted to see a film on a foggy sunday afternoon, nothing decent on, knew nothing about the trigger effect, liked kyle and shue so we took a chance at the Kabuki 8, and were blown away. just about a perfect film.
Not a single shot or line thrown away. the scenario, the characters, the relationships were all utterly convincing. Acting of the highest order, beautiful cinematography - never has sunlight and blue been so scary, precision scripting and faultless direction. the fact that over here its seen as a straight-to-video flop kind of adds to its skewed beauty. I figured after its poor showing Koepp would never get another stab at his own show, so thanks for the cool news, Echoes sounds excellent, although heck knows when it'll reach these far flung shores. -
but at least i got to see Elisabeth Shue's nipple
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I'll try to keep spoilers out of this, but some of the mechanisms used were absolutely brilliant. While this genre has been done before (individuals who can see things others can't), this approach feels fresh.
Key techniques the entire test audience loved here in Phoenix were the opening sequence with the youngster's conversation, the hypnosis sequence (in particular, I thought the director took a ballsy risk here treating the screen the way he did), the way in which 'the vision' appeared, and the timeline juxtaposition used by the writer.
Believe it or not, Kevin Bacon's performance was also one of the memorable and enjoyable parts of the film. I hate to admit it, but this guy's turning into one damned fine actor by anyone's standards (add to that, as a native Chicagoan, I was impressed that he had the accent down perfect).
Thom Kozik
VP, Arizona Film Society
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