Cool News
News from Malta on U-571!
Hey folks, sorry for the delay in updates, but yesterday when I came on to update, the site went down in Santa Monica, so me (here in Austin) wasn't able to log on to update anything. Once again, I'm sorry. Also, I didn't ban JMS, Father Geek did, and if JMS writes me with the email address of his registered TALK BACK, I'll bring him back. Somebody pass it on to him. Now I have to do more updating. Here's a bit on McCoughnahey's latest film...
I'm just back from a few days in Malta where the movie U-571
is now filming on location at Mediterranean Film Studios (MFS).
Some of the crew from the 2nd unit was at my hotel and local paper
The Maltese Times just put out a two-page article from an
interview with director Jonathan Mostow from which I've extracted highlights
below.
The film producer is Dino De Laurentiis and this is the second collaboration
between the two men - the first was Breakdown (1997).
Mostow calls De Laurentiis 'one of the legends of show business' and says
Dino backed him where nobody else would.
The cast includes Harvey Keitel, Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton,
Jake Weber, David Keith and Jon Bon Jovi. Apparently Harvey Keitel
contacted Mostow directly seeking the role as he'd grown up watching
submarine movies and had always dreamed of starring in one. There were a
couple of location photos of Mostow with McConaughey - one nighttime, one
daytime - but I don't have a scanner, will try to send these separately.
The movie takes place during WWII in 1942. As you can probably
guess from the title the action takes place aboard a submarine -
a U-boat. Mostow describes the movie not as a war movie, but as a submarine
story set in WWII, a seafaring tale. He is conscious of inevitable
comparisons with Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line and says it has a
different focus, calling it "a film about heroism" and that he wants to
portray the tension the submariners are constantly battling with, where "the
biggest enemy is not even the enemy, it's the surrounding sea". He says "the
movie's architecture is based on suspense: all I want is to offer audiences
the opportunity to live the visceral, submarine experience".
"U-571 is probably the last gasp of real, old-fashioned film making"
says Mostow, who predicts that within a few years all acting will take
place in front of blue screens until acting itself became obsolete, at
which point he would stop making films.
The set is on its 70th day of filming and the action is taking place at the
Rinella water tanks in Malta which are the world's second largest studio
tanks after those in Mexico built for Titanic (apparently Mostow visited
these but decided for Malta). The set is described as 'raging flames,
explosions, debris, floating bodies and a 600-ton, life-size U-boat'; SFX
include bodies spinning through the air and patches of burning oil. So far
to Mostow's surprise the water sequences have run completely to schedule and
on budget, with good weather, little wind and "everything has worked out
really well". For these sequences, Mostow is working with Lance Julian who
was involved in Waterworld, Amistad, The Beach and Titanic. The movie is due
to be released next summer.
Don't think I'll be back in Malta soon but with filming well underway
further reports should start appearing.
My all-time classic submarine movie favorite is Das Boot, which shows the
claustrophobia of being in a closed tin can hundreds of feet
underwater better than any other movie I've seen -- there's one shot where
the camera follows a crewman running down the length of the ship which is
fantastic. I look forward to see how this film turns out, and I hope they
get the 'ping' sound effect right - it's essential!
Signing off,
Timezone
-
+ Expand All
-
I've been jonesing for this movie since I first heard about it - just the name alone conjures up images of dark, cramped walkways, of a hundred men co-existing in a world where the walls seem to constantly be closing in on them. Submarine movies rule! OK, besides the obvious "Das Boot," the two that spring to mind of recent years are "Red October" and "Crimson Tide." Topic: Which is the better submarine flick? Discuss amongst yuahselves!
-
I've been jonesing for this movie since I first heard about it - just the name alone conjures up images of dark, cramped walkways, of a hundred men co-existing in a world where the walls seem to constantly be closing in on them. Submarine movies rule! OK, besides the obvious "Das Boot," the two that spring to mind of recent years are "Red October" and "Crimson Tide." Topic: Which is the better submarine flick? Discuss amongst yuahselves!
-
I seriously doubt it. Although I'm sure that special effects films will be done a lot more once the technology is cheaper, the character films won't go away even if they aren't blockbusters. Hopefully there won't be many Michael Bay type filmmakers in the future who are willing to sell their artistic souls for special effects money makers cause a computer will NEVER be able to write or direct films better than humans. Besides, who's gonna go see a movie staring T58383954.
-
May 13, 1999 4:00:09 PM CDT
Timezone or Harry, have you heard any news on that other WWII fi
by abking
What is happening with Arnold Schwarzenegger's WWII action EPIC WITH WINGS AS EAGLES? I hope Paul Verhoeven directs EAGLES and CRUSADE with Arnold.
-
Fun about the comment about the tanks in Mexico built for the movie Titanic. The tanks in Malta were also built for a Titanic movie... Raise the Titanic. Not the greatest of movies; but as I remember, the model shots were impressive.
-
Mostow is clearly exaggerating in regards to technology replacing actors - Armageddon couldn't have brought home the box office it did no matter how heavily hyped it was if it hadn't some significant star power. Directors who denigrate the human element too heavily will ultimately pay the price. Which leaves the whole question of why U-571 is being filmed in the first place, given the inevitable comparisons with DAS BOOT, not only the greatest sub movie of all time (without question) but arguably the best war movie of all time as well (though you could make an argument for STALINGRAD). It's going to be a nearly impossible act to follow - but if he can, more power to him.
-
May 13, 1999 5:13:45 PM CDT
Make a real action/suspence war film called WITH WINGS AS EAGLES
by abking
When Arnold makes this film, we will see an EPIC on the level of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. Think Private Ryan on steroids though. Read the EAGLES script if you want to be AMAZED.
-
May 13, 1999 7:07:34 PM CDT
Saving Private Ryan v. Dumbass Arnie Action Flick: You decide..
by samauri7
"...An epic on the level of Saving Private Ryan?" Fuck you! Did you even see SPR? Now, compare the amazing performances by Tom Hanks, and the rest, to ANY film Arnold has ever done. No, it won't be a fucking EPIC, it will be a fucking DUMBASS ACTION FLICK set in wartime. While it could be a fun movie, there's NO FUCKING WAY IN HELL that it could be an "epic" to hold up to any of the great war films of our time. Get thee to a video store!
-
Originally, this was going to be directed by the fella that did "pi" and star Michael Douglas until he bowed out. The script has the crew of a US sub try and capture and ENIGMA machine of a wounded German submarine. Our guys get aboard, take over the ship, the Germans then take over the ship, some sailors die on both sides and the hero gets the machine. I dunno, pretty tepid stuff if you ask me.
-
May 13, 1999 8:37:07 PM CDT
$5 says the sub hits an iceberg, plus Matthew and Harvey steam u
by spike lee
You know the suits would except any script with the words "water" and "anything that floats". Sounds like there might be something else floating in the water.
-
I know this film is a work of fiction, and many people will argue that it therefore does not have to have any basis in reality. However there are several facts being historically "revised" in this film. Firstly it was the British who successfully captured an Enigma decoder and code papers from a German U-Boat. Secondly this happened in 1941, before the United States had even entered the war.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not English, I'm Australian, so there isn't an element of national pride in this. I just believe that this kind of distortion ranks with the revisionist history taught in Japanese schools about WWII.
I'm sure many American servicemen would be deeply offended if a Japanese film portrayed Pearl Harbour as Japan's only defence against a powerful aggressor. If film-makers base their films in a historical context then they shouldn't rewrite the known facts. -
BBC Radio 4 over here in the UK had an item on this film yesterday (13th) and the supposed row over the re-writing of history. The English Captain who led the boarding party onto the sub to search it (from a frigate, not a rival sub) said that all the Germans had abandoned it long before he got there, so if the film was realistic it would be boring as hell. Also he said he understood why it featured American soldiers and not British since the majority of it's audience would be Americans. The film will apparently end with the caption "The events portrayed in this film never really happened", which I guess would spoil the atmosphere as you leave the cinema (it kind of brings you back to reality with a bit of a jolt).
-
Breakdown was a brilliant film and I reckon Mostow can pull this one off OK. Can't really imagine Harvey Keitel and Jon Bon Jovi on screen together though.
-
I agree totally with the discussion that Hollywood has a problem with acknowledging that there were other countries fighting in World War II apart from the US and that the war didn't start in 1941.
This is something that even SPR is guilty of. Surely it's not that difficult to try and have some aspect of historical accuracy given the millions spent on making every other part of a story as accurate as possible. It would be a shame to think that the makers of these movies think that the US audience is not able to identify with foreign characters as I think that's not the case.
I was glad to see a BBC report that U571's makers have now agreed to mention that the story is based on a British action in 1941. The article is at http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/newsid_343000/343037.stm Hopefully it won't be stuck right at the end of the credits when everyone has left the theatre.
For those of you outside the UK who are interested in Enigma, check your TV schedules for a recent Channel 4 production called 'Station X' that tells the story of the code crackers - many of them speaking for the first time. It's an excellent programme which succeeds in making what could be a dull piece of history absolutely gripping.
Best wishes,
Mike. -
I'm happy that some have already mentioned the US movie peeps re-writting history as they see fit.
Saving Private Ryan, although a very good film in the most part, was again at extreme fault for it's inaccuracy. And with Spielberg and his team supposedly having gone to soooo much research, it was ridiculous to get so may aspects historically wrong. I realise that most films, no matter what their subject matter is, are going to make most of their money in the USA. Therefore it's equally understandable that a movie exec might want to customise it a little for that audience.
Hell, i'm shooting a film this summer in NYC because the story as a whole is more fitting to a US urban background. It simply works better set in the sprawling streets of NYC. But it's a British film, a british crew, a varied nationality of cast, and a british aspect - but it's fictional. I wrote it as a dramatic thriller to simply stir people's minds into issues not usually thought about.
But when film-makers produce a film based on an historic event - i believe there are limits to which you should stick. (i.e. don't re-write the entire event to suit your own wishes or to suit a particular audience).
I have to tell you, when kids are growing up watching these films, it makes me annoyed that they aren't getting something accurate - and there is really no reason for this.
Hopefully kids will be so inspired by the film that they will read about the war in their own time - and learn the true events.
Every US war film seems to end with the usual wide-angle shot of the white tomestone mass graves and the one surviver crying over them. Even films like Under Seige 2 used it.
I realise America lost a lot of people - but in WWII, they really helped with supplies of food, arms, ammo etc. That's what won the war for us Allies (Brits, French, Australian, etc.) The Germans couldn't supply their troops - but the US helped supply ours. But as for them running around Germany and France killing masses of supposedly "evil" germans (many were NOT Nazi's) - it just didn't happen. France, Britian and even Australia (and many others) lost so many more troops than America in this war, and i'd just like that to be acknowledged in film occasionally. Perhaps to at least say we lost SOME troops for goodness sakes.
Screenwriters and alike have such an amazing chance to tell a story to many thousands of people - and really should get it historically correct whenever possible.
I read about U-571 months ago, and was outraged. To base an entire film around an historic event - a true story - and to virtually throw out all the historic accuracy ... madness at any level.
The filming, for instance, of the boarding of the submarine, takes place in "dramatic" style. It's shot at night, with rain and wind - all for movie effect. In reality it took place on a quiet, bright summer day.
But as the Captain of the boat involved said, he'd never been so scared in all his life. I'd rather have seen the script include lots of close-ups and intense dialogue with the crew discussing the boarding of the sub than, instead, putting in lots of dramatic camera swoops, rain, storms and an entire US cast. Personally, i feel it could have been a superb film. But the US angle to the script, in this case, really makes it a pointless escapade. It's mostly fictional [the script], and not particulary good at that.
Hopefully people will be so interested by the end message of "the real events involved a British crew and airforce" that they will read the real story in their history books - but somehow i doubt most viewers will.
p.s. Station X was indeed a superb documentary.
p.p.s. All the above is just personal comments, so go easy. I'm not telling anyone how to make their films or what to do. Their own morals, principles etc are down to them. But U-571 could have been an excellent story. Sadly, in script form, it's just a mish-mash of American slang and special effects. -
Just while i have a moment...
As for national pride - I am proud to be British. And i am proud of the many hundreds of thousands who have died under the Union Jack. They gave their lives in one way or another so that i might be here today, living a free (for the most part) existence. I don't think there's anything wrong in being a patriot.
So you US peeps might understand what it feels like...
If, for my next film, i was to take the first landing on the moon - and cast Neil Armstrong as a British man, so that it might be more "revised" to suit a British audience - wouldn't you yanks all be pissed?
Or base a film around Vietnam - to have the story revolve around a true incident, but to have the american troops all cast as brits, would you then be pissed?
Particulary if there was someone alive today who had a son or grandson represented in the film - and he was cast as a Brit?
Well?
Let's try and have a little MORE respect eh?
Signed,
LittleMo -
I certainly understand the comments of my Allied friends on the Jingoistic attitudes we Yanks sometimes bring to films, but I think you tend to go overboard into adsurdity, at as far as SPR goes. SPR deals with a small group of men on a specific mission so I can't imagine why anyone thinks they should show the "Big Picture" of all the nations involved. Why is no one upset that "Das Boot" didn't have an international cast? "The Odd Angry Shot," an Austrailian film about Vietnam doesn't include Americans, Thais, Koreans, Phillipinos or other Allied Forces, and I'm glad it doesn't. SPR wasn't a remake of "The Longest Day," and it seems odd to expect it to be all things to all people. I would love to see the English, French, Germans, WHOEVER do a D-Day film. The surface has barely been scratched. Why we can't make a movie about our heroes without being accused of being insensitive is beyond me.
There are certainly historical inaccuracies you could drive Buick through, but not showing the Allies isn't one of them.
As for U-571. I'm as mystified as anyone else, except that they are obviously didn't think they would sell tix as an English film. I also thought the real story was more interesting, but I'm not sure the average 16 year old American see-the-movie-six-times and-hang out at the Mall-with- your-buddies would have. -
What damn planet are you from? Britain, France and even Australia lost more troops than the U.S. in WW2? 'Fraid not... U.S. casualties were 292,100. France's were 210,671 (Mostly captured), Great Britain's were 271,311, and Australia's were 29,395. Source- The Times- Atlas of the Second World War...
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 419 total posts 209 posts
- WTF HOLLYWOOD: SOLARBABIES -- 131 total posts 129 posts
- Herc’s Seen Tonight’s Return Of THE WALKING DEAD!! Discuss Also DOWNTON ABBEY, FEAR FACTOR, PAN AM, ONCE, SIMPSONS, DYNAMITE, LUCK, SHAMELESS, BAIT CAR, THE GRAMMYS And More!! Sunday Is Sweeps Day 11!! -- 123 total posts 122 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 124 total posts 58 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 191 total posts 47 posts
- Avid Comic Reader Hercules Does Battle With Tedium During Kevin Smith’s COMIC BOOK MEN! -- 43 total posts 43 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 60 total posts 42 posts
- I am The Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day! No, I’m the Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day! -- 27 total posts 27 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 506 total posts 26 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 77 total posts 24 posts